Playdates

Last week Frankie had some hot playdates with two adorable little girls:

On 1/22, Maya came over for a visit

Last Thursday, 1/26, a very tired Frankie hung out at Emily's

Night Out & Road Trip

This past Saturday, Frank and I had planned to go to a little house party at our friend Will's house.  My mom came for the day and spent the night to babysit Frankie.  Because of Frankie's recent night-time screaming, I was extremely hesitant to go out and after spending two hours trying to get the little man down for the evening, I was ready to throw our plans out the window, but my mom insisted that we go...so, for the first time since Frankie's arrival, Frank and I both went out for the evening!  My cell phone didn't leave my hand...even after receiving a text from my mom right when we arrived that Frankie was sound asleep, I still couldn't fully relax - I was paranoid that he was going to wake up screaming - but we managed to enjoy ourselves for a few hours and Frankie was nice enough to wait until we were home in bed before he woke up screaming. :)

The next day, we met the Garone NY family half-way at Angela's house in Delaware for a post-Christmas/January birthday celebration.  Frankie drank from the bottle for Jennifer, Aunt Laura, and Mommy while we were there!  My mom came one day last week and got Frankie to drink 2 ounces and since then we've been trying every day with some progress.  Some days he'll take 1/2 an ounce, some days 1 ounce, some days 2 ounces...Baby steps, but I'll take it! 

And so it begins...

Well, Frankie, Daddy gave you your first three months off - Let the soccer practice begin!

Frank really had him 'kicking' the ball!

Official Diagnosis: Have Mommy & Daddy Wrapped

Our little guy is apparently no dummy.  Our usual bedtime routine involves me nursing Frankie to sleep, holding him until he's in a deep sleep, and then putting him in his crib asleep (which I know, I know, I've read you are not supposed to do).  Well, over the past week, every time I've gone to put him down in his crib, he's woken up screaming.  Sometimes we were able to get him back down; other times I would just either sleep in the glider with him or bring him in bed with me and prop myself up with pillows and have him snooze on my chest.  (Neither option was extremely comfortable for me, but hey, we got sleep!)  Frankie's screaming got to the point that I became concerned that something was wrong with him - maybe an ear infection?  maybe reflux?  On Tuesday afternoon we went to the pediatrician where Dr. Nikki called Frankie out on his little game.  Not a thing is wrong with our little guy - He just doesn't want to go in his crib and knows he has Mommy & Daddy wrapped around his little finger and we'll hold him if he cries.  Nice try little man, nice try, but we are on to your trick!  Dr. Nikki suggested that we start sleep training - gasp!  Ok , we decided to give it a go and started that night.  We gave Frankie his bath, put him in his PJs, read to him, sang, and nursed him.  Per usual, as soon as I put him down, he cried.  Oh, did he cry.  It broke my heart and I had all I could do to stay strong, but starting with every 30 seconds I would go in and reassure him, pat his back, etc to calm him.  Then I swapped out with Frank and he started going as long as 10 minutes...After 1 hour and 15 mins, Frankie went to sleep.  Then after both of his night time feedings, he was fine!  He did wake up briefly as soon as I laid him down, but went right back to sleep!  Yesterday morning was the true test - Did our son hate us?  Thankfully he was his usual happy self and was all smiles when he woke up.  Phew!  Then, last night he laid in his crib for about 20 minutes before lightly crying...I only went in 4 times, and then he was asleep!  And again, both night time feedings were fine!  No middle of the night scream-fests!  I was honestly torn about the cry-it-out method, and we really didn't let him go long without intervening and comforting him, but the doctor assured me that he would be fine and I know it will result in a better night's sleep for everyone - including Frankie!  Let's hope we continue with the positive results! 

Oh yes, this happy little boy can get so mad!

Piano Player

It's really quite amazing to see how hard Frankie concentrates on his hand movements - The other day, I put his little piano toy in front of him and was pretty shocked when he started hitting the 'keys' to play the music and rolling the ball-popper at the top.

Month 3

Wow, Frankie - You've certainly had a busy third month of your life!  This month you not only experienced the magic of the Christmas season but also had your first long road trip and learned a few new tricks, too!

Mom and Dad kicked off our own Christmas holiday with a casual dinner out - our first family meal out!  Frankie and Mommy have had several lunch dates out with friends and Grammy but this was our first dinner with Daddy and it went great (meaning Frankie slept the whole time!).  After dinner, we drove around Arlington to check out some Christmas lights at houses that were all the rave in my Mom's Group.  Later that week, Santa made an appearance on Pocomoke St when he rode by on a fire truck!  In a few years, I'm hoping Frankie will be more excited about this than his Mommy. :)

 

We spent the night before Christmas Eve at Uncle Jon's and Aunt Laura's house with Grandpa.  After opening presents and a delicious meal on Christmas Eve day, we attended Christmas Eve mass - and despite being extremely overtired from not napping, Frankie were quite good during your first mass!  The next two nights were spent at Grammy's house, where Santa visited one very special little boy!   

After a day back at our house, the three of us made the trip up to Long Island and only had to stop once each way to feed and change you!  We were pleasantly surprised.  You met so many special people during that trip - your Papa, Aunt Danielle and Uncle Tony, your cousins, Kate and Emma, Uncle Chris and AnneMarie, Aunt Dale and your cousin Michael, along with numerous family friends.  You were quite the attraction and of course were incredibly intrigued by so many new faces and surroundings that you did everything in your power to stay up all day, which resulted in quite a cranky little boy but also gave us your first 8 hour sleep stretch at night! 

As fun as it is to travel and spend time with family, we were relieved to be back home on New Year's Eve.  Mommy & Daddy had no intentions at all to stay up and watch the ball drop, but apparently Frankie was eager to ring in 2012 - He coincidentally woke up right before midnight to eat, so Frankie and Mommy quietly rang in the new year together.  It was so nice having time at home with just the three of us - relaxing and bonding with our little man.

In between all of the holiday excitement, Frankie started discovering his hands - It so cute to see him bring them up to his face and check them out.  When he's on his back on his playmat, you can tell he is purposefully starting to bat at his toys, too. 

He also loves 'standing' - He's able to support his weight on his feet and I think he likes this position because it allows him to really check things out. 

Frankie has also developed strong head control so we finally felt comfortable enough to take him for a run in the BOB - We kicked off the New Year with a family run.  Just this past week, we also broke out the Bumbo seat...He's not sure what to think of it yet but it seems to be growing on him. 

One of his favorite new tricks is sticking his tongue out at you, which I'm sure we won't appreciate as he gets older, but for right now it's adorable.