Micah's Gal Pal

Our good friends from Michigan, Chuck and Samantha, visited us the week before Christmas. It was SOOOO good to see them! We got to meet their daughter, Kiara. What a cutie!

They loved sharing Micah's toys!

Who doesn't love a baby dressed in a ridiculously impractical outfit??

Lurking in the background. . .

Click here to see yesterday's CNN blog post on the John McCain campaign event in Des Moines. Do you see a familiar (yet blurry) face in the background? Look for the green sweatshirt...

I'm 4 months old!

I've been "on the move" this month. I have traveled to:

Grandma and Grandpa Govig's house in SW Iowa
Papa and Nana B's house in Nebraska (first time out of state!)
Dinner out (rare now) at the sub shop and Mexican restaurant

Compared to last month, I am now getting good at:

Rolling onto my side (but not all the way over yet!)
Kicking stuff with my feet to make it move...
Grabbing and grasping at my pacifier
Putting all kinds of things in my mouth
Looking at myself in the mirror
Holding my head up for long periods of time
Sitting with some assistance
Giggling! (on special occasions)
Wearing more "big boy" clothes

I am not quite as good at:

Sleeping at night without multiple pacifier insertions :(

A Christmas Haiku

We are out of town

Spending time with family

No new posts for now!

Quote of the Day

"They might as well just make disposable onesies."
-Kedron, after Micah pooped through his 3rd outfit in 2 days.

Reindeer Baby

Here is Micah, dressed in his Christmas best (yes, that's a reindeer bib). He likes trying to grab the little reindeer on his feet. What a festive cutie!

Our Official Endorsements

Just a reminder to those who live in Iowa: VOTE ON JANUARY 3rd! Seriously!

After much research and deliberation (99.9% of it done by my smarter half), we have reached a decision on whom to endorse in the Presidential race. On the Democratic side, we are endorsing Barack Obama. On the Republican side, our vote goes to John McCain.

Still not sure whom you'll vote for? Look through our older posts to find websites who can match up your beliefs with a candidate.

Who's your favorite SCRUBS character?

OK. . . I don't have any Bardwell-related news or pictures to share, so I thought I'd ask a random question to see how many responses I get. Who else loves the whole gang at Sacred Heart??

For the die-hard fans, you can indicate who your favorite "regular" is (returning character) and who your favorite obscure character is (example: Dr. Beardface).

For those who don't watch the show, this is further confirmation that you are probably a cooler person than I am! By the way, did I mention that I nearly cried during a SCRUBS clip show the other day? Darn post pregnancy hormones!

Well, that didn't go well.

I decided to let Micah "cry it out" today. We don't do this often but I knew he was really tired and figured now is as good a time as any. So he cries for several minutes (like more than 10); the cries increase in intensity until I hear a bunch of gurgling/gagging through the baby monitor. I run upstairs and Micah has spit up/vomited because he was crying so hard. This is not the first time he's done this. Any suggestions??

Razor Sharp

Micah's fingernails (trimmed yesterday): 3
Micah's sweet face: 0

Go ahead. Start laughing at me now.

Apparently my post-pregnancy hormones are still a little, well, sensitive. I say this, because yesterday, I was totally crying at the movie ELF. Yep, the one with Will Ferrell.

Is pooping a spiritual gift?

If so, Micah has it. This kid can poop in a variety of colors, smells, and consistencies, and can penetrate any amount of clothing layers we try! This morning, right after we took a bath, I was dressing him on the changing table. I had just put cornstarch on his little buns (mild diaper rash situation), diapered him up, and put on his clothes (short and long sleeved onesies-we like the layered look-and pants). I was JUST getting ready to pick him up when I hear the all-too-familiar "juicy toot" sound emanating from, well, you know where.

So I tear off his socks, pants, and unsnap his 2 layers of onesies. Micah had treated me to poop that had leaked out the back of his new diaper, through both onesie layers, and also onto the clean diaper that I had put down underneath the dirty one. Oh well; at least I haven't been peed on lately!

Here are some random pictures since I haven't posted any lately (you're welcome, Grandmas!)

Aren't babies supposed to love music?

I got out my guitar yesterday (for this first time in over a year). I thought it might be nice to play and sing a little to Micah, since music is supposed to be good for brain development, etc. So I sat on the floor with my guitar with Micah lying on the floor in front of me. As I was tuning, I looked at Micah and notice his eyes getting really wide. Then his chin wrinkles up, and his bottom lip starts to quiver. I know what's coming next: 3 seconds of silence followed by a loud wail. That's right folks; my son is scared of my guitar.

So much for that brilliant idea!

Uh Oh.

Well, I assumed we'd have this problem some day, but not with a 3 month old. Micah LOVES to watch TV. Yesterday he even preferred TV watching to eating. He became quite upset while eating yesterday, so I sat him up and turned him around (so he happened to face the TV) in order to calm him down. Every time I'd try to turn him around again to feed him, he would strain his neck to try to see the screen. If he couldn't see it, he'd start crying! This morning I was doing sit ups in front of the TV (which by the way are really hard after being pregnant), and I laid Micah on the floor next to me so we could look at each other. I guess he doesn't think his Mommy is prettier than the TV screen! No matter what position I'd lay him on the floor, he would find a way to twist his little head around to see at least part of the screen. I guess this means less TV in the Bardwell home. ..

I'm 3 months old!

Yes, I've managed to survive for 3 whole months without my parents doing too much damage! This month I discovered my tongue and my fingers. I love to grab things now! I have become more vocal and love to coo and make humming sounds. My parents really crack me up sometimes and I smile at them a lot! I've decided to let them sleep through the night (they say they REALLY appreciate that). My colic is gone, but I still have my crabby days when I don't nap well. I got to see all of my grandparents this month ~ they hold me all the time which I love! Mommy put up the Christmas tree yesterday and I love looking at the lights and playing with all those jingly bells!


I also made a friend! Here is my buddy Harrison. He was just born but is almost longer than I am already! He's the one who is actually awake. We'll have lots of fun playing together!

Love, Micah

Lying on my back? SO five minutes ago.

Micah has decided today that he doesn't EVER want to lie down on his back. He wants to be propped up in a sitting position so he can look around. Of course he can't sit on his own yet but he kind of lunges his big bobblehead forward in an attempt to. His neck muscles are pretty strong so it's only a matter of time until he'll be using the Bumbo chair all the time. What a big boy we have!

Counting our Blessings...

Rachel has a tradition each Thanksgiving Season of writing down 100 things she is thankful for. So this year we decided to compile the list together, for the first time, as a family of three!

Micah is thankful for:
Pacifiers ~ my blue stuffed puppy ~ smiling faces ~ car rides ~ my bilingual stuffed octopus ~ flashing cameras/bright lights ~ Mommy's boobs ~ ten hours of sleep a night (oh, wait, that goes in the parents' section!) ~ Halo Sleepsack ("baby straight jacket") ~ Grandparents! ~ watching football with Daddy ~ my 7 1/2 cousins ~ reading books with Mommy ~ baths ~ my tongue ~ Judge Judy (or at least snuggling with Daddy while he watches it) ~ anything I can reach/grasp ~ walks in the stroller ~ ceiling fans ~ my swing ~ my fingers ~ tummy time ~ looking at Loco ~ mobiles ~ anyone who will hold me

Rachel is thankful for:
Jesus ~ our perfect son Micah ~ my wonderful husband ~ sleep ~ epidurals ~ a reliable car ~ ice cream ~ baby milestones ~ a helpful family ~ cute boy baby clothes ~ digital cameras ~ great in-laws ~ Micah's coos and smiles ~ scrapbooking ~ tomatoes from the garden ~ baby cuddles ~ our home ~ no more colic! ~ a big Thanksgiving meal ~ Ked's steady job ~ breast pumps ~ good friends ~ our trip to DC ~ amazing grace ~ TiVO ~ out of town visitors ~ big band music ~ the fact that my husband is really hot ~ blogs ~ steady finances ~ my Simpson Bible study girls ~ freedom ~ all of my friends having babies ~ disposable diapers ~ Heaven! ~ air conditioning ~ an easy pregnancy ~ the ability to stay home with Micah ~ a good metabolism ~ autumn leaves ~ being married to a man of integrity

Kedron is thankful for:
God ~ nature ~ Rachel ~ a healthy, happy boy ~ a roof over my head ~ food to eat ~ health care coverage ~ freedom of speech ~ freedom of religion ~ parents who are still together ~ great friends ~ brothers and sisters ~ nieces and nephews ~ Loco! ~ our "family" at Colony320 ~ Simpson College ~ a liberal arts education ~ a job that I love to go to every day ~ students who care about the world around them ~ students who can write well ~ excellent colleagues ~ summers "off" ~ fishing ~ libraries ~ books ~ churches that still appreciate hymns ~ in-laws who are nearby ~the Internet (thanks, Al Gore!) ~ Iowa's 1st in the Nation Caucus! ~ John McCain ~ Mike Huckabee ~ technological innovation ~ NFL Football ~ C-SPAN

Micah's New Best Friend

We know how you love to see pictures AND video clips of our little man, so here is the latest...


Micah has taken a liking to small stuffed puppy that Linda (the secretary in Ked's building ) gave him as a gift. Well, today he started talking to the dog, and is now quite the conversationalist. Of course, we are still in need of a translator!!


Hope you enjoy seeing and listening to it, anyway. :)

We Heart Tummy Time!

Micah is starting to like being on his tummy since he can now lift his head so well.

And, as always, we love our tongue!

Iowans, No Excuses.

To all Iowans reading this blog: plan to participate in the upcoming caucuses (the evening of January 3rd)! Don't make excuses not to go! Iowa has a HUGE influence in determining who the nominated candidates and eventual president will be.

I would argue that your vote in the caucus is MORE important than your vote in the general election. Many people across the nation would kill for the influence Iowa has; don't take it for granted.

"But Bardwell Central, I don't know who to vote for!" you may say.

Below are links to online tools to help you pick a candidate that lines up with your views. They don't take much time at all...

Candidate Calculator

MPR Select a Candidate

If I can talk Kedron into it, Bardwell Central may reveal our official endorsements for a candidate in each party. It's a VERY highly coveted endorsement :)

HAAAA - LE - LU - JAH!

Guess who slept from 9pm to 6am last night??

(Unfortunately Ked and I couldn't take total advantage of this long stretch since we're programmed now to get up earlier, but we're still very, very excited.)

Do you think it hurts to be this CUTE?

Here's our little snuggly bear!

All the World's a Lollipop

Micah has recently discovered his tongue. He now likes to lick everything in sight. We swaddle him; he licks the top of the blanket. We try to burp him; he licks our shoulder. We try to do tummy time; he licks the carpet (actually he licks the blanket that we put him on so he WON'T lick the carpet). He is wearing his first official "drool bib" today since he was getting his shirt all wet! Too bad he doesn't have the hand/eye coordination to get things into his mouth yet!

Napping Dilemma -- HELP!

All right, we need some input on this one. Micah is sleeping well at night. He will sleep in his crib, flat on his back, and fall asleep on his own without pacifier or being rocked. Napping during the day is a different story. He does not sleep well in his crib at all. He basically needs to be propped up (in swing, boppy pillow, etc). He also needs to be held to go down for a nap. If I rock him to sleep and then set him down, he will sleep for like 15 minutes and then wake up screaming. If I pick him up then, he will be zonked out again within 5 minutes.

I know he's only 2 months old and we have tried letting him cry it out a few times. I'm not sure if this is the approach we should take or not! Plus I don't know what role his colic is playing in this. He does not seem to be gassy during the day much, so I don't think it's gas pains waking him up.

Parents out there, we need your suggestions! Is it OK to always rock him to sleep at this age? If yes, are we setting patterns that are going to be hard to break later on? If no, is it OK to let a 2 month old cry it out? Should I just set him down when he's acting sleepy and let him cry? If he falls asleep in my arms and I set him down, do I pick him up and rock him again when he wakes up, or let him cry it out then?

Which one?

Which option do you see in little Micah's future?

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our cute little spook!

I'm 2 months old!

It's hard to believe I've been alive for two whole months! I can do lots of things: smile, coo, laugh (kind of), bat at toys, and use my Kick and Play. I think it's really funny when people stick out their tongue for me to see! I just noticed a furry creature in my house that my parents call "Loco." My parents think my colic is getting a little better. I still get up twice a night to check on them, though. This morning Mommy and Daddy let me "cry it out" for the first time. I was pretty mad but fell asleep after a little while. I think Mommy had a harder time than I did (as you can tell, I wasn't traumatized).


To celebrate today, I have worn 3 different outfits. I pooped through Mommy's favorite outfit (pictured) and then peed through the second one onto Mommy's leg! I'm such a fun little man!

The face of colic

For those of you who think Micah couldn't possibly have colic because I've only posted "happy" pictures of him, here's a little reminder:

Babies Babies Everywhere!

Micah is excited to announce that his future girlfriend was born last night! Our good friends from Michigan, Samantha and Chuck, had a daughter, named Kiara Colette. She is beautiful!

There must be a baby boom; I can name ten other friends and acquaintances who are expecting babies soon. One of these is Micah's future cousin; my brother and his wife are expecting! For all you out there who are pregnant, click here to take a fun quiz. It uses old wives' tales to predict the gender of your baby. Be forewarned; it predicted Micah would be a girl, but it's still fun to take!

Our Sweet Boy

Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy!

This one's for you, Great Aunt Renee!

Well, Renee, you pleaded for me to post more videos, so I sat down with the Little Man today to see if he'd cooperate. Here is what I got!

Colic and sleeping through the night

Thanks to all of you who have offered support and comments on your experiences with colic! After hearing what some of you had to deal with, I think that Micah has probably a milder case, so we are thankful for that.

Question for parents of colicky babies: At what point did your baby start to sleep through the night? Micah is a good sleeper, but I think his gas pains might wake him up at night. He can go 4-5 hours in one stretch most nights. While this is good, Ked and I in the stage where it seems like we'll be getting up at 2am forever!

I'm just waiting for that glorious day when I frantically wake up at 6am and rush into his bedroom because I'm sure something has happened to him, since he didn't wake up all night. . .

A little milestone

OK, this may not be a big deal to many of you, but it is to us! Micah loves to sit under his activity mat, and today he reached out and batted one of the toys all by himself!

Push the play button in lower left corner to watch the video. I apologize for the grainy quality; I've never posted videos on the blog before :)

Happy Birthday!

Hi everyone! One of my two beautiful grandmas, Grandma Kathy, has a birthday today! I won't say how old she is, but I think she looks great. I hope she will visit me again soon!

Love, Micah

Being this cute wears me out!

The dreaded baby diagnosis that begins with the letter "C"

For those who don't know already, Micah is quite the fussy baby (although I like to think of him more as "passionate"). His fussiness began about 3 weeks after his birth with him crying/fussing several hours a day, due to obvious gas pains. It has gotten markedly worse in the past week. I cut milk out of my diet, thinking it might be a milk intolerance, but we've seen no improvement overall in his gassiness or crying. We finally decided to take him to the doctor to discuss colic and rule out any medical reasons for his fussiness.

Guess what?? Not only does he have colic, but also his first ear infection! Good times!!

(on a good note, he is gaining weight quickly; he now weighs 10 lbs 4 oz!)

Look how long I am!

I like to call it a "Baby Mullet"

Micah was born with a decent amount of light hair, but it is now starting to fall out. Most has fallen out on top of his head and has been replaced by very short, very fine lighter hair. So far he has retained the original hair on the back of his head, which has grown quite long in some places.

Baby Shower Version 3.0

I haven't gotten the time to post on this yet; sorry for the delay. Two weeks ago my friend/neighbor Jill threw me a delightful shower! The theme was, "A Star is Born."


Jill and our friend Tracy made this wonderful cake!! Micah was kind of crabby during the shower (more to come on his crabbiness in a later post), but I had a wonderful time! It was good to see friends and we got lots of nice gifts! Here is Jill, our great hostess (who is soon to have a little boy of her own).

Here are our good friends the Louks: Mara, Joy (holding Micah), Kaitlyn, and Annie.


Thanks again ladies for all the great gifts and and a wonderful afternoon!

Success

Last night, I put Micah in his crib fully awake, with no pacifier, and he put HIMSELF to sleep! Better yet, he slept for 6 hours straight. Yea!!

Smile!

We got our first REAL smile from Micah tonight. I say "real" because it lasted long enough for me to take several pictures (rather than just a passing smile from gas or something ~ we've gotten some of those so far).

It's hard to believe he'll be a month old tomorrow. Kedron and I agree that he looks different (older) today than he did yesterday!

Belated Kudos

I forgot to announce the winner of the "Guess That Baby" contest from the earlier post. Congrats to Mr. Mark Safly who guessed we'd have a boy on August 25th! Yea Marky Mark!

I should also mention that, at a baby shower in July, my Aunt Barb guessed that we'd have a boy on August 25th, and the weight would be 7 lbs 8 oz. Micah's weight was 7 lbs 7 oz! Barb, maybe I should get you to buy me a lottery ticket!!

What it's like to be a dad

While I was feeding Micah tonight, Kedron walked in the nursery and exclaimed, "I just realized I've been walking around with poop on my hand!" He explained that he noticed some mustard-yellow stains on his hand, and that they had probably been there for an hour or so. He had also just finished eating dinner. . . and serving up my food too!

Ahh, the joys of fatherhood!

Birth Announcement Photo Rejects

Here are some less than flattering pic's of our little guy (although even in these pictures he is still the cutest baby EVER!!). These will NOT be going out in birth announcements. . .

The boy and the cat

Several of you have asked how our cat Loco has responded to the new baby. We are happy to report that things are going quite well! Loco is only semi-interested in Micah. We secretly think that Loco is glad that we don't bug him now; all our attention is on the baby so Loco can just relax now!

(can you spot the cat in this picture?)

Bath time

The only thing that Micah likes about baths right now is snuggling in his hoodie towel afterwards!

Our trip to the doctor

Micah had his first doctor appt last week. His weight then was 6 lbs 12 oz (his weight at birth was 7 lbs 7 oz). The doc recommended I bring him back in a week just to check his weight. We decided to do this today, and had quite the experience. . .

The nurses make you take off all the baby's clothing, including diaper, when they weigh the baby. Despite changing Micah's diaper just before we left, he decided to poop on the car ride over. So while stripping him down, I apologized to the nurse and got out the wipes to clean him off. I got that all done, and then the nurse says, "It looks like he's not finished yet," and a big arc of pee starts flying through the air! The pee arc took no prisoners as it got all over his body, hair, and the clean onesie I had just taken off and laid by his head. SO, back to the wipes container to wipe him off again. We then placed him on the scale to weigh him, and he peed AGAIN, this time hitting the poor nurse that was so nice to us!! You guessed it; back to the wipes container to wipe him off one more time (I'm not sure what the nurse did; hopefully they have extra scrubs for such occasions). What a stinker! So we came home and promptly took an unscheduled bath!

The good news is, his weight was 7 lbs 13 oz. He is 12 days old and has already gained back his birth weight, which is awesome!!

Birth Announcement Advice?

All right moms, I'm needing some help deciding how quickly to send out birth announcements. I know I should probably do it right away. However, Micah's appearance changes so often that I am tempted to wait a while to send them out. Kedron and I joke that, right now, Micah looks like "Generic Baby" and not like either one of us. Perhaps if I waited a month, he will look more like his own person and less like all other blonde babies :) What do you think? How quickly did you all send out birth announcements?

Also, we are leaning towards sending many announcements via email; to cut down on paper and postage. Not to mention it will save me some time!! Is this tacky?

Number of times we've been peed on in the week we've been home from the hospital

THREE.

Oh, the thrills of having a boy!

The Bardwell Men

Micah just loves sleeping with Daddy!

New parent paranoia? Not here!

You know how most first-time parents are super careful and/or paranoid about everything concerning their child? Well, we just let our kid go a day and a half wearing only one sock. Yes, we knew he was wearing only one, and we even knew where the missing sock was. . . we just didn't have the energy to fix the issue (don't tell Grandma Kathy about this; she has issues with her grandkids and socks, we think :) Also, Micah peed on his bed sheet yesterday, so I washed the sheet, but didn't care enough to put the clean sheet back on the bed. So Micah slept on his mattress pad last night. He didn't even seem to mind!

Dumb New Mom Moment #1

We got home from the hospital Monday night. For some reason I decided that night, that it would be a good idea to weigh myself to see how much weight I've lost already. I know, apparently I went brain dead for a moment. Despite giving birth to a 7 1/2 pound baby, plus placenta, fluid, etc, I had lost ONLY SEVEN POUNDS.

For my pregnant friends out there, please DON'T attempt this at home. Box up your scale indefinitely!

More Micah pics

Here are a few more pictures of our little man!

Micah's cousin Lauren likes giving him kisses.


Our newest family photo!
(I'll try to write more when I get the time and
don't have to type with one hand :)

Welcome to Our World...

It's a BOY!!!!

Say "hello" to Micah Kedron.

7 lbs, 7 oz - 20 inches - and a little bundle of joy!



He is looking forward to meeting all of you soon!

40 weeks!

Yep, I made it to my due date.

Here I am in all my pregnant splendor.

PERFECT timing

It's 2 days before my due date, and GUESS whose husband was just diagnosed with pink eye??

Still pregnant

So, the doctor who told me 3 weeks ago that I'd deliver around the 15th was obviously wrong.

My new circumference

Just for kicks today (and to pass time since there's no baby yet), I measured my belly at its widest point. I am now 39 1/2 inches around. That is a good 7 inches more than my svelte husband (and approx. 14 inches more than my prepregnancy waist).

The human skin really is amazing. I have no stretch marks. . . yet.

PS: I just asked Ked to guess how big around I was, and he guessed SIXTY INCHES!! He is totally in the doghouse right now.

Republican Straw Poll '08

Here are some fun pics from the Iowa Straw Poll...where media were everywhere...and where the Heat Index was about 105 degrees all day long!

I bumped into CA Rep. Duncan Hunter ("is he STILL in the race?") in the parking lot...

And met Gov. Tommy Thompson, who looked exhausted (maybe it was the heat...or not!)

I met up with my sister, Keri, who made the trip all the way from Denver to volunteer...

And argued with Tancredo's campaign manager, Bay Buchanan, about health care/immigration.

Then Time Magazine's Joe Klein interviewed me for a story (we'll see if it gets quoted)...

But my favorite part was when my man "Huck" (Gov. Mike Huckabee) rocked the bass guitar. He performed with an Elvis impersonator...AND went on to take a surprise "2nd place" behind only Mitt Romney. Huck ran a supremely efficient campaign, and actually got more votes than the # of tickets sold...that means a lot of folks switched to Huck at the Straw Poll, or maybe rode to Ames at Romney and Brownback's expense, but then voted for Huck!

Well, it was an interesting time. I recommend going to the Straw Poll if you ever have the chance...it is a bit of Iowa Political Hoopla that you will never forget.