Welcome to Austin's Page!
Austin was born on January 5, 2004 at 1:18 p.m.
He weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long.
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Austin Updates

July 29, 2005
Austin has peed in the potty! And he's only 18 months old! He has been copying Sarah, but actually peed in it! Yesterday he was getting his lotion on and he said, "Ought Oh" and then peed all over the place, ha ha, but at least he knows when he he has to pee!

June 24, 2005
Austin is such a character! He has a spunky personality and is very energetic. He loves to cuddle still and even kisses. He can talk when he wants to. We are trying to get him off his paci, but he's getting his incisor teeth and is having some issues with needed to chew. The paci keeps him happy and from biting others. We try not to use it at home during the day and only for naps or bedtime. Austin is Mommy's Helper. If Mommy does dishes, Austin does dishes. If Mommy cleans the floors, Austin cleans the floors, etc. He loves handing things to people, or getting things we need. He gets a hair trim every few weeks or he turns into a curly head and starts to look girly.

May 1, 2005
Poor Austin...he will probably have 2nd child-itis. I feel bad we don't have as many pictures of him, but I never thought life could be so busy with just life! We have re-introduced milk and he's doing ok on it. He loves to climb on the couch now and he just got all four molars.

April 2, 2005
Austin had his first hair cut today! Mommy cut about 2 inches off! He was a super curly head and now he looks like a clean cut little boy. He is just getting over a sinus infection, ear infection, and bronchitis. His allergy list is now up to: penicillin, egg, milk, barley, & mushroom. He is walking better now, not so bow-legged. He runs after the cats yelling "cat...cat...cat." He is all "boy" and loves to be outside running or wrestling with Mommy or Daddy. He got another tooth last week, so he is up to 9 teeth now.

February 25, 2005
Austin's had a rough couple of months with eczema and allergies. He started January in the "toddler" room at daycare and they feed "big boy" food instead of baby food. He was constantly broke out. Last week I took him to a pediatric allergist and so far we know he is allergic to egg. He now has an Epi Pen in case of anaphylactic shock. We will go back every few weeks for more testing. His little back is so small there isn't room for very many pricks to test. We think he is teething again, as he is soaked from drool and isn't sleeping at night very well. He walk around everywhere, but he's still wobbly. I have noticed his left foot turns out instead of walking straight. I will call the doctor about it next week. He can now say "Thank You" (tane - coo) "Sissy" (sissy) "Take a Bath" (ta - bath) "Kitty Cat" (ki - e -ca). He does a lot of grunting and pointing. The end of January he spent three nights at Grandma Jean's while Mommy and Daddy went on an Anniversary Trip. It was his first time away from Mommy at night. We both did fine! He has a head full of blond curls and a mind of his own!

December 29, 2004
Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's been 2 months since I wrote. Austin, all I can say is life is crazy with you and your sister! Austin is a wonderful boy! He went on his first road trip the week of Thanksgiving. Papa Pat flew down and drove with Mommy, Austin, and Sarah. We stayed at Papa's House for the week. Austin had a lot of fun meeting his relatives for the first time. He did great on the 18 hour car trip! Daddy flew up the night before Thanksgiving and drove us back down. A few days after we got home (on Dec. 4) Austin took his first steps alone! Now he can walk across the room by himself. In December he also started sleeping through the night. Mommy put Sarah's "Big Ellie" in the crib and Daddy played some music all night and something worked. Austin now has 8 teeth and loves to eat Big Boy foods. He loves yogurt and meat! His favorite snack is Cheeriois. He doesn't like to drink out of a sippy cup, so weaning off bottles is going to be hard for him. Next week he moves up to the Toddler Room at daycare. He is such a big boy now! For weeks before Christmas he opened his gifts, then on Christmas day he wasn't interested. He loves to play with Sarah's Dora House and his Fisher Price learning home. He still isn't much of a talker, but says "bath" and "kitty cat" if you listen closely. Otherwise he just jabbers, but he does it all day long! When he's not talking he's dancing! It's adorable to watch him dance.

October 10, 2004
Everywhere....one word sums it all up. Austin is into everything and is everywhere. Last week he started crawling. We thought he was able to get everywhere by rolling, but now when he crawls he can see where he's going so he has a plan of attack. His favorites are Sarah's toys and Daddy's electronics, ha ha!

September 20, 2004
Sadly I've had awful computer problems and have been unable to update this page for over a month! Austin is doing so much.....he can pull himself to a sitting position, he has four teeth, he claps, he eat solid foods, takes a bath in the regular bath tub, etc. I have stopped pumping during the day because it just wasn't working at work, so he gets formula during the day. We are slowly introducing a bottle in the evenings, also. Austin is getting better at not eating at night, but wakes up every hour looking for his paci, or because he has an arm or leg stuck in the crib bars. To help me catch up on sleep, he has still been sleeping with us.
To me Austin is the "perfect" age. He loves to cuddle, but also can play by himself for longer periods of time if need be. Big Sister Sarah still adores him and has fun playing and wrestling with him.

Aug. 14, 2004
Austin’s 2nd tooth came through today!
Yesterday we just barely dodged Hurricane Charley, a level 4 hurricane. It was set to come right at us, but turned 2 hours before landfall.
Austin is everywhere. He isn’t crawling but manages to roll where ever he wants to. His cute personality is really showing through, now. He’s easy to make smile and fun to play with. He sits well enough now he’ll just sit and play with his toys for a while all by himself!
Austin’s been sleeping with me for a few weeks now. Ever since I went back to work I just can’t get up every 2-3 hours and feed him, so he just sleeps with me and I can feed him in my sleep. I don’t like having him in bed, but it does help with exhaustion.

Aug. 2, 2004
Yesterday Austin’s first tooth popped through! He’s been teething for months so it was about time! He has two other teeth that we figure will pop out any day, also.
His tear duct is doing much better. We think we weren’t pushing hard enough to clear it out. If we keep it cleared out it isn’t goopy at all!

July 25, 2004

I haven’t been able to write in a while because my computer crashed! The big news is last night Austin said “Mama!” I was walking out of the room and he said, “MMM-ah” and held out his arms. I asked Andy, “Did he just say Mama?” and he said it sure sounded like he was trying. I continued to walk out and he held out his arms and said, “Mama” clear as a bell! I was so excited! Sarah, like most babies, said Dada first. Now I know for sure that Austin is a “Mama’s Boy” ha ha!
Austin is still sick. I swear he always has a cold now that he’s in daycare. He has a fever today, and is still snotty and congested. He’s been congested/runny nose for a few months now. It starts to get better then comes right back. I honestly don’t remember the last time he didn’t have a runny nose!
Austin is great at rolling. He can get across the room in no time flat! He gets up on his hands and knees, but no crawling yet. He can also sit by himself….until he tries to reach for a toy too far away then he topples over.
We had his eye appointment yesterday for his clogged tear duct. We have a new medicine and are to push on the duct 4 times a day. If it hasn’t cleared up in a few months he will have to have surgery around his birthday. We go back Dec. 4th to set up surgery, if necessary.

July 2, 2004.
Last week Austin started sitting up without support for a few seconds. Now he can (sometimes) sit without help for a couple of minutes! Another week or so and he's be sitting alone all the time! Both kids have RSV again.....Austin's been home more than at daycare due to colds!

June 29, 2004
Austin rolls like a champ, and can sit up by himself! He lasts about 5-10 seconds before toppling over, ha ha! He loves his "big boy" car seat. He also loves to play, and always has a toy, is playing with his hanging toy, or is in his exersaucer.
Austin is Sarah's start to her day. Each morning when she wakes up she yells for "Austie" to come in. I bring him in, she scoots over, and they lay and play together!

June 12, 2004
Two days ago Austin rolled from his tummy to his back! He now rolls/kicks/scoots all over the floor. He is everywhere! If he sees something he wants he scoots over to it. Last week we started him on cereal. He was trying to eat out food all the time. He LOVES to eat! Because we were told to wait, we are only giving him 2 tablespoons a day. That isn't enough to take away from breastmilk, but enough that he gets daily practice. So far he has had rice cereal and some bananas. This weekend we will try oatmeal cereal. I measured Austin this morning and he is 27 1/2 inches. We hadn't moved him to the bigger car seat yet, but we definitely will have to this weekend!

June 5, 2004
Austin is trying to roll from his tummy to his back. He can almost, but not quite, kick himself over. His neck is getting stronger every day, and he tries to sit up all by himself. In his carseat he is constantly leaning up. Because of his size we need to move him to a larger seat anyway. We'll see if that stops him leaning up so much.

May 28, 2004
Austin is slowly getting better---how do we know? He's only getting up every 3 or 4 hours a night instead of every hour like he has the last week. He's also starting to eat again. We found out that he had RSV and it could take another few weeks to fully recover. We hope it's soon because he's been sick for a while and we're exhausted and it's hard to see him so unhappy for so long.
Daycare thinks he's teething! They only work with babies this age, so they're probably right!

May 23, 2004
Austin has had a cold for about 10 days now. Sarah was sick first, so it's not surprising he has it now. It started with a cough and stuffy head, then Thursday he started a fever. This weekend he has been coughing, snotty, and has lost his voice. He winces when he swallows, so we think his throat hurts, too. Hopefully he will recover quickly! Austin also has thrush back, yuck! We'll deal with that when he feels better.
Austin started daycare two weeks ago. We really like the place and he seems to do well. We just have to go through this phase where he is exposed to so many germs/viruses.

May 16, 2004
Austin took a week to get over his shots...we think he had a bad reaction to the hepatitis one -- he was not eating, fever, fussy, and for 3 days had white , which is a sign of liver problems. He's doing better now. He's really into chewing on things and is drooling a lot so the teething process has started!

May 9, 2004
Happy Mother's Day! Austin was baptized today! He slept until Father Dex put the water on his forehead. He woke up and went right back to sleep after eating.

May 6, 2004
Our "little" guy (ha ha) turned 4 months old yesterday. He is 18 pounds 8 ounces, and 26 1/2 inches long. His weight is now back on the chart (barely) but his length is still above it. He is doing wonderfully! Dr. Kennedy mentioned multiple times how "big and healthy" he was. Since he's doing so well on breastmilk his doctor wants us to wait until he's 6 months old to introduce foods. Because I'm pumping at work, he did say if my milk starts to dry up and Austin starts getting formula to go ahead and start solids. But I've been to work a month now and my milk is still holding steady.
Austin gave me his Mother's Day gift early -- he had shots today and wasn't feeling well. I had to go pick up paperwork for the kids daycare (they start on Monday) and when I got home Andy was rocking him. He heard me, turned his head, cried and held out his arms for me to pick him up!!!!!!! After I held him for 5 minutes he's been happily playing on the floor. I was surprised he held out his arms for me to hold him like he did!

May 2, 2004
He rolled over!!!! He rolled from his back to his tummy. His arm got stuck under him, but he was all the way over - twice! I was reading that babies roll from tummy to back at this age, but not my kids, ha ha! They are supposed to roll from back to tummy around 5/6 months-we'll see if he rolls tummy to back then!

April 29, 2004
Austin is doing well taking a bottle while Mommy works. For the first 10 days Mommy went back to work Austin quit sleeping at night, and was up at 3:30 am every day. The last few days he is once again sleeping all night. He's a much happier baby now that the thrush is gone because he's a lot less gassy. Austin LOVES taking a bath. He kicks and splashes and has a great time! He's squashed in his little tub since he's such a big guy, but we're waiting to put him in a bath seat until he can sit up by himself. Now when you hold him on your lap he sits up, but he still needs support. Next week he will be four months old....

April 13, 2004
Austin had a good first Easter. He had a chick and bunny ears in his basket. He ate through most of the church service. Mommy has been back to work for three days now and Austin is doing ok with taking a bottle. (Mommy is pumping three times a day at work.) In the evenings he has to adjust from bottle eating to breastfeeding. He's still sleeping from 8:00/9:00 ish until 6:00 am when Mommy wakes him up. Austin can really suck his thumb now. He's also been taking Diflucan for his thrush for a week now and we're hopefull this time it will all be gone! His mouth looks clear but we're still boiling paci's just to be sure. Austin's baptism is set for May 9, Mother's Day.

April 7, 2004
Today was a trial for Sarah & Austin at Grandma's....Austin wouldn't take a bottle. This surprised us since he had one at Grandma's a few weeks ago.

April 5, 2004
I had to take Austin in to the doctor today and he weighs 17 pounds 14 ounces -- Essentially 18 pounds! ACK! As I have always suspected, Austin "officially" has eczema. It is on his arms and legs. We were prescribed the same cream Dr. Kennedy gave Sarah which worked wonders for her. If it doesn't work he'll put Austin on the new stuff on the market - Elidel I think it is. Allergies cause the breakouts, so we can almost bet that he will have problems with allergies like Sarah does. (Don't know if he is allergic to peanuts or not.) He's doing a great job of sleeping at night. Last night was the first night in a while he's woken up at night, but I just put in a pacifier and he went back to sleep. Now he normally sleeps 8:00 pm-6:00am!!

March 30, 2004
I put Austin to bed last night with his head facing south. This morning his head was facing north! He's quite the wiggly worm now!

March 25, 2004
The last three nights Austin has slept 7-8 hours! No need for a bottle! Mommy is very excited! He is now completely in 6/9 month clothes (at 2 1/2 months of age).

March 22, 2004
Austin had his first bottle of formula last night. Since Mommy will be going back to work in two weeks, we started bottle feeding at night so Daddy will be able to help. Austin took 5 oz without blinking an eye. He has been in a great mood today so the formula seems to agree with him. During the day Mommy will pump at work so he will still have most of his nutrition from breastmilk. We hope he will start sleeping through the night soon and then we won't need to give him a bottle at night.
Austin has eczema up and down his arms. It's not too bad right now, so we are just putting lotion on it frequently. If it gets worse we will contact Dr. Kennedy for some cream.

March 16, 2004
"ah-goo" "coo" "goo" "oohhhh" Austin is adding a new "word" each day. Last weekend he really started to smile at us. Before it was usually in his sleep, but now he smiles when you play with him. He went a couple of nights sleeping 8 hours, but last night was back to 5 hours. At least he's trying, but my poor boobs can't figure out his schedule and I'm often left pumping for relief. Austin's thrush is improving. Hopefully it will be completely gone in the next day or two. We want to be sure before stopping all the treatments.

March 12, 2004
Austin's clogged tear duct is all better. No more goopy eye. He is really cooing and smiling now! We still have thrush, but Mommy is treating it "holistically" now. Hopefully one of the remedies will work as Austin's doctor won't prescribe any meds for it.

March 5, 2004
Austin is 2 months old today! At his check-up he weighed 16 pounds, 3 ounces, which put his weight off the chart! His length was 24 1/2 inches, which was really tall! He is about 2 pounds bigger than Sarah at this age, and we thought she was big! He sleeps with his head to one side and it's getting a little flat, so we are to entice him during the day to turn it the other way. We got a prescription for his clogged tear duct and he had four shots.

March 4, 2004
Austin had a visit from Papa Pat and Grandma Sandy last weekend! They couldn't believe how big he is! He had his first trip to the beach!
Austin loves to play! He grabs, hits, etc at toys. He also "talks" to them. When Austin looks at you he "studies" you. He's very responsive to expressions! When nursing, he holds my shirt or plays with it. He's started "peeking" at Mommy, too. When you hold him on your shoulder he hugs you around the neck or plays with your hair.

February 22, 2004
Austin still has thrush as we can still see patches on his cheeks. He still hasn't worked out a schedule, yet, on sleeping or eating.

February 17, 2004
Austin's thrush is improving. I see hardly any white spots on the back of his tongue. He's starting to "talk" now. He has always been a noisy baby with grunts and such but now he's added a few new sounds and does them in reaction to events. He's also into "holding" your hair while you hold him. When he lays on his tummy he can move his head from side to side or rest on his chin. While on his back he can roll to his side, but doesn't go all the way over.

February 12, 2004
We've figured out why breastfeeding has been so painfull for me....Austin and I have thrush. We're also still working on our latch, we have the right position, he just doesn't have a deep enough suck. I'm to push his chin a bit when he starts sucking and that makes him latch deeper. Andy weighed himself and Austin and thinks Austin is about 14 pounds now -- at 5 weeks old!

February 10, 2004
Austin's doing great at sleeping at night. He will usually go one 5 hour stretch. We have decided that he's not allergic to milk, but may have a slight intolerance. Only when I have straight milk or ice cream does it seem to upset him. Austin's little face is still broken out, and now it's on his neck, chest and back. The poor little guy will have our sensitive skin. No more 0-3 month clothes for him! Every outfit we try to put on doesn't fit so he's wearing 3-6 month now. Austin's laugh is the cutest sound you've heard. He laughs all the time in his dreams! He's always been a "talkative" baby with all his grunts, but now they have meanings!

February 4, 2004
Austin has his first virus today. He and Sarah both have upset tummies.

February 3, 2004
Austin has done a great job the last few days of sleeping five to six hours at night! Mommy is feeling much better getting sleep in larger than 2 hour blocks. I am still trying to cut out dairy from my diet. It seems there is cheese in everything! I'm still hoping it will make a difference. He's not as fussy at night, but who knows why?
Austin, at 4 weeks 1 day of age, weighs 12 1/2 pounds! After eating he weighs 13 pounds, as he is eating 5 1/2 ounces at a time. When we weighed him, it wasn't even time for him to eat, so imagine how much he would've eaten had it been "lunch" time! This week 0-3 month clothes have started being too small, and he's wearing (it's fits) 3-6 month clothes. Many 0-3 outfits still fit, but because he's so long they are quickly becoming too short.
Austin's feet and hands are no longer dry & peeling, but now his head is flaky. Keep your fingers crossed he doesn't get eczema!

January 31, 2004
Austin had his first bottle of breastmilk last night. He drank all three and a half ounces of it! (And still had a little milk from Mommy.) Daddy was very excited to be able to feed Austin.

January 30, 2004
Austin's cord stump finally fell off yesterday - 24 days after birth! I was surprised how long it stayed on. Austin's sleeping habits are getting worse. We are suspecting that he is starting down the colic road like Sarah did. Mommy is exhausted from staying up most of the night with a fussy baby. We discussed today switching Austin to formula to see if it helps his fussiness. Mommy doesn't want to, but if it makes Austin feel better and stops colic then I will. I'm going to try to cut all dairy products out of my diet and see if that helps. If not, then I guess we'll switch to formula. Austin's skin is doing better. We're crossing our fingers he doesn't get eczema. Right now if we put lotion on him his skin is fine.

January 25, 2004
Austin slept in his crib in his room last night. He is a great sleeper. If he wakes up in the night and it's not time to eat he will put himself back to sleep. The problem was with him next to me, I would wake up with these rustles and not need to! He is starting to be awake for longer periods of time now. He's up at least a few hours in the morning, and many times about four hours. He also still has his evening awake time, which is usually one to three hours long. He's been on trips to Grandma's, Baby Depot, and Wal-Mart. He was so excited he slept right through it all, ha ha!

January 20, 2004
Austin's 2 week check-up was today. He's up to 9 pounds, 8 ounces, and 22 1/4 inches long. He seems to be doing well! I pointed out that Austin's toe nails grow into his toes instead of over them, so I am to pull the skin back 3 times a day. His circumcision looked ok, but we need to pull it back once a day to keep it from growing back. His collar bone is healing ok and he was moving his left arm some. I have noticed he doesn't move it as much as his right, but as long as he keeps moving it he's ok. His doctor wasn't too concerned about his peeling skin, and said just to watch it since I know what to look for/do because of Sarah.

January 18, 2004
Austin is almost 2 weeks old. He is quite the sleeper! He is only awake about an hour in the morning, an hour in the evening, and for an hour or so during the night. He does not need held while sleeping, and is content to lay in his bouncy seat. He has a few fussy moments, but is not a crier. He is still trying to figure out a schedule for eating and sleeping. Some days he will eat every 3-4 hours, some days he eats every 1 1/2-2 hours. As we figured, Austin will have eczema. His hands and ankles are peeling really badly. At this point we're putting vaseline on them, but we will talk to his pediatrician on Tuesday about a plan of attack. We don't like putting lotions on his hands since he puts his fingers in his mouth.