Ear Infection

Well, Burke has his first ear infection. Last Thursday I felt it was time to get Burke to the doctor because he just wasn't doing well. Nothing was making him happy and he was pulling at his left ear. Turned out he had an ear infection in his right ear and we're almost done with his first go round with antibiotics. Thank goodness for the bright pink liquid. He was a different boy within 6 hours and within 24 he was eating tons of food and playing with his Grammie & Papa and Ouise & Grumpy (Justin's aunt and uncle).

So hopefully from now on I'll be able to figure out when he has an ear infection versus teething. He still could be teething, but there are no signs of little white mountains peaks poking through his gums.

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Evil Teeth

This past Monday I thought everything was finally getting better with Burke's sleep routine. Back in mid-April Justin and I started Ferberizing Burke in order to teach him to self soothe and put himself back to sleep. With coaching from my good friend, Mae, we went through some rough nights but sleep for all of us improved immensely. I kept up with the new routine while Justin was in SE Asia. The night before he returned home everything went to heck.

Burke woke up multiple times through the night screaming and he was sometimes inconsolable. My heart was breaking because I couldn't help him. My assumption was teething and we still assume he's teething. Needless to say, Burke's been a BEAR this past week. The Evil Teeth have yet to rear their ugly head(s). We hope they rupture soon!

We're trying lots of different ways to help Burke with teething. Thanks to advice from family, friends and posts on Facebook we're using teething tablets, teething gel, frozen peaches, biter biscuits, wet washcloths, acetaminophen, ibuprofen (both required a trip to a store with generic OTC pain killers due to the J&J recall), and giving him pretty much anything he wants.

Here's to wishful thinking that it will get better sooner rather than later. I know we have many more teeth to worry about, but right now I just want one, and if I'm lucky, two teeth, to appear over night. Justin and I need some good sleep!

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6 months...already???

On Tuesday, April 6th, Burke turned 1/2 a year old. Wow, time is flying. Looking back I remember thinking when he was just a few days old - "how am I going to make it to 6 months?" Some how I did and Burke is still alive, well and for the most part a happy baby. We've had our ups and downs but mostly ups. And I've loved every minute of it. Burke is growing but his pace has slowed a bit. I think he's working on his brain matter and creating millions of neurons to be a smart little cookie.

His stats:

• 18 lbs - 50th percentile
• 27.5 inches - 75th percentile
• 17.25 inch head circumference 50-75th percentile
  
• He is meeting all developmental standards for 6 month old babies

No teeth yet but I'm pretty sure he's teething. He's always chewing on my chin. His sleeping patterns leave much to be desired. Burke is more clingy. I'm trying to do what I can to make him feel better.

The biggest accomplishment of late is sitting all by his lonesome. I look forward to when he learns how to get into the sitting position all by himself because he can get pretty demanding when he falls over and can't sit up. But most of the time when he's horizontal he's rolling all over the place.

I don' think he'll be crawling in the next few weeks but he sure is working on the prerequisite skills. It's awesome to watch him turn circles on his belly. He's scooting backwards when he does attempt any crawl. So funny because he can get a little angry because he's moving away from what he wants.

Justin and I are so blessed to have such a fabulous little guy. We find ourselves truly amazed that he's ours. So lucky, so blessed.

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Burke's Got the Moves

Dancing from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

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Roll, Roll, Roll Mr. Burke from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

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Back to Front from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

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Peek-a-Boo with Daddy from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

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Burke's 4 Months Old!

On Saturday, Burke turned 4 months! Now he enters his 5th month of life and it will be a busy one. On Sunday Burke will earn his first flying wings as we head out over the Pacific Ocean headed for Hawai'i. We will be staying with our good friends Adam and Myriah Brady on Oahu. We are all heading to the Big Island 19th thru the 24th to check out the volcanoes and lava flows. Justin and Adam hope to ski and surf in the same day. On the 20th I celebrate my birthday! We head home on the 25th and then on the 27th Gramma Wanna comes for her second visit. It'll be a great month!

Burke had his well-baby check up today. He did great and he took the shots a little better this time. We were in the fire truck room!

4 month stats:

• 16 lbs 6 ozs - 75-90th percentile
• 27.2 inches long - 90th percentile
• 16 inch head circumference - 50th percentile
• He is meeting all developmental standards for 4 month old babies

Look how long he is!

Happy smiles for Mommy.

Go Gonzaga!

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My Pants Are Too Short!

Mom waited too long to put my cool suspenders on. 3 month clothes are too short for me!

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Changing Moods

Burke is developing his personality. It's so fun to watch his expressions and listen to his babble. Sometimes just before he pops his eyes open he'll make a little "razzberry" and say a few words. When this happens I know he's waking up on the right side of the crib! One of my favorite things is his eyebrows. They're so expressive. Usually they're in a very concerned position.

We're not sure if he's getting ready to sprout some teeth but he's become a bit more fussy. I bet we jinxed ourselves by always saying what a great little baby he is :). Well, still he's an awesome little guy!

We're saying our prayers that he's a good traveler. 13 days until we head to Hawai'i!

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Flying Burke from Kara DeArmond on Vimeo.

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Tummy Time

Some of my favorites. Burke was actually in a great mood during a session of tummy time. I love his smiles!

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Burke Got Shot...Vaccinated That Is

Today was Burke's 2 month well-baby check up. As of today he weighs 13 lbs 11ozs and is 24 1/2 inches long. He's growing like a weed and exceeded our expectations. Of course we had to end the appointment with 3 shots (which Burke hated) and some sugary concoction with the Rotavirus vaccine (which Burke loved). Burke had no idea what was going on when it happened. First he was hit by shock, then the silent cry, followed by turning beet red and then he gulped in some air and the screams began. I should have been a better mommy and held him or nursed him during this awful experience. Next time.

Our goal is to give him more tummy time to work on his neck muscle strength and making sure he chokes down the vitamins which are somewhat essential up here because with little sun it's hard to get Vitamin D.

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Sweet Precious Baby

Burke is 16 days old in the precious pictures. He did such a great job posing for the photographer. She coaxed him to sleep with lots of heat. Now Burke is 2 months old and he's so much bigger. He's smiling at us and telling us great stories. We've loved every minute and can't wait for more! Burke is 2 months in the two pictures below.

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Sleepy Little Burke

All photos copyright ISG Photography

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More Photos

All photos copyright ISG Photography

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Burke's First Professional Photos

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Family Visits Alaska

Gramma Wanna, Aunt Nikki and Cousin Hannah, and Grammie Becky all came to visit Burke in his first 3 weeks of life. It was so wonderful to have them here. Hope they come back and visit soon!

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One Month

As of Friday, November 6th, Burke turned one month. Happy Birthday, Burke!!

Justin and Burke 11/6/2009

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Bath Time

Justin takes such good care of Burke. From the get-g0 Justin was changing diapers in the hospital while I was stuck in bed and he hasn't stopped changing them yet. I am not looking forward to him heading back to work on Tuesday. I am so thankful the Army gave him 10 days of paternity leave for free. He decided to take another week while Grammie Becky visits. Grammie said that Justin will have to come home every 3 hours to help me with the changing, etc. and I think she might be right.

Here Justin is helping me with Burke's sponge bath. We can't wait for his cord to fall off so we can give him a real bath. Hopefully he'll like the water.



One of our favorite pictures!

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