It's been three months (well, three and a half by now) with our newest love! He has had quite the interesting start to his little life. Being the third child, I haven't been able to do monthly blog posts like I did for the other two (sorry kid) BUT I am hoping to do one every three months or so!
So, let's start from the beginning!
Month 1:
Griffin Jack Lowery joined our family on Saturday, December 28, 2019. You can read all about his birth story HERE
My grandpa Jack (who Griffin is named after) died very suddenly when Griffin was 2 days old. We traveled to Conway for the rest of that week to be with my family and Daniel had the opportunity to lead his funeral, which was really special. Even though it was a complete shock and the first week of his little life didn't pan out like we had expected, God was so gracious and merciful to our family during that time. The fact that Griff came on his own 8 days early was a miracle in and of itself! If that hadn't happened, I would not have been able to travel to Conway for the funeral and my grandpa would never have known he had a great-grandson named after him.
The same day my grandpa passed away (December 30th), Holt asked Jesus to live in his heart and be the boss of his life. Made a sad day a day also full of joy and thankfulness!
We came back home after the funeral and started adjusting to our new life as a family of five. We had newborn/family photos made by a local photographer. And he started exhibiting symptoms of having the dairy intolerance like the other two so I cut out dairy from my diet. And I started planning and gearing up for my Spring Rhea Lana Event.
Month 2:
When Griffin was about 6 weeks old, Holt came down with the flu. He was sick for about 5 days and the whole time we just prayed over Griffin and that he wouldn't get it. We were finally getting over the sickness and then Daniel came down with it and then HE was sick for about 5 days. I think I ended up getting a super mild case of it, but nothing too serious. Griff and Evie stayed healthy the whole time PTL!
About that time though, Griffin started showing signs of reflux. We started him on Zantac when he turned two months old and then he and I pretty much immediately left for my Rhea Lana event.
Month 3:
The first week of RL, poor buddy cried CONSTANTLY. He just hurt all day everyday. I called my pediatrician's office at the end of the week to switch to a different med. We found a local pharmacy that made a compound for us and it worked so much better! The event was a great success and Griffin was much happier the second week.
Griffin and I got home from Rhea Lana's on Saturday, March 14th and on Monday, the 16th, President Trump announced the national 14-day quarantine period because of Covid-19. I am so incredibly thankful I was able to have my event and make it back home before all the Corona-craziness started! We also had him evaluated for a lip tie and tongue tie at a pediatric dentist up in NWA. Turns out he had a Class 3 in both (Class 4 is the worst) so we had it revised. It definitely has helped!
Griffin did amazing when we got home--he was taking (3) 2-hour naps every day and only waking 1-2 times a night. I think he missed being at home too! The second week we were home though, he started acting like his belly hurt again and he started exhibiting signs of dairy issues. But I was really watching what I was eating and knew I hadn't had any. I finally figured out his new reflux medicine had lactose in it (like WHY??!!)---ugh! So frustrating! I spent the next 3 days on the phone with my pediatrician's office and a local pharmacy to try to figure out another solution. We finally came up with a new plan and started it right when he turned 3 months old.
Favorite things:
Griffin loves----*his daddy (he can be screaming with me all day and then as soon as daddy walks in the door he smiles and talks) *his brother and sister---he lights up when he hears Holt and Evie *to be held *"talking" to people *observing all the action and looking around---don't leave him laying on a blanket or on his mat very long or he starts to get upset!
Milestones: *he has always been able to hold his head up remarkably well--even since birth! *he can stand for a good amount of time *he can roll from his belly to his back *he can push up on his arms and look around *talks/coos and has become really interactive *his hair is starting to turn red! He may end up being strawberry-blonde or maybe auburn, but he definitely has quite a bit of red coming through. That would be really special if he ended up being a red-head because my Poppa Jack was a redhead too :)
Sleep: He has been a pretty good sleeper. In the beginning he seemed to have his days and nights mixed up so that was pretty exhausting for a few weeks. But he wakes up 1-2 times a night pretty consistently. He finally stretched to every 3 hours and then sometimes he made it 4-5 hours. It just kind of depends on the night. Naps are hit or miss. When he was tiny he took great naps, and then at RL he napped either on me or my mom. Once we got home from RL, the first week he napped awesome but since then he has started the 45-minute naps (no matter what time he goes down to sleep) and that is just HARD.
Feeding: So far, nursing with him has been the best out of all my kids. I have truly nursed on demand with him and I think it has made a big difference in my supply. Plus we caught his dairy issues and reflux issues earlier than with Evie which also helped. My initial goal is to make it to 6 months and if we make it that far, I'll re-evaluate!
Schedule: Unlike my other two, his schedule is quite a bit more relaxed. We try to stick to the "eat/play/sleep" routine during the day, and he usually eats pretty much every 3 hours. But I am nursing on demand this time so sometimes he eats every 1.5 hours, sometimes it's 2 hours, sometimes it's 3 hours. Plus with the two bigs, it's just more difficult to have a set schedule--although, the Coronavirus has made it a little easier since we aren't really in the car. *usually, our day goes somewhat like this (at 3 months):
7:30/8am---wake up and eat
playtime
9/9:30am--nap (usually for 45 minutes)
wake up and just be with people until hungry
10/10:30--eat
11:30ish--nap (usually 45 minutes)
wake up and be with us
1/1:30pm---eat
3:00pm (ish)--nap (usually 45 minutes)
wake up and be with us
4:00pm--eat
*usually awake from here on out, but sometimes a catnap around 5/5:30pm
7:00pm--pajamas, sleep sack, bedtime diaper
7:30pm--eat
8:00pm--bedtime
**sometimes he wakes up 45 minutes in and takes a while to be settled back down. Sometimes he sleeps from 8pm-1/2am before needing to eat.
**usually eats 1-2 times in the middle of the night (getting close to the 4 month sleep regression, plus his reflux has been acting up again so he has been waking more)
Our precious Griffin Jack,
You are one loved little boy! Your brother and sister are absolutely OBSESSED with you---they love to talk to you and hug you and give you a paci when you're crying. They always want to know where you are and want to be with you! Even though you have had a rough time with reflux and tummy issues, you have still brought so much joy to our family. You are a bright light in the middle of this crazy time!
