B'ham Videos

Just a couple videos from our time with Levi (when he was 4 months old!) while visiting family in Birmingham. Really, family will probably be the only ones interested in these videos . . . The first is of my mother playing with Levi and the second of my father-in-law bonding with Levi.

Fall is Here

Cooler weather and football. Fall has come. Here are some pictures taken the end of September while Levi is 4.5 months.

Naked Levi cuddled up in the soft, warm blanket our friend, Linda, made for him.

Roll Tide!!

We celebrated our friend, Tammy's, birthday. Of course, as a parent, you no longer blow out your own candles . . .

Abby just loves being around Levi and greeted him before acknowledging D and I. She even went out of her way to greet us at the door and hold it open for us when we arrived. She was so looking forward to her opportunity to hold Baby Levi.

I can't remember whose glasses these were, but Caleb tried them on, and he was fasincated (and confused) at how it was affecting his vision. It was hilarious watching him carefully take each step while quizzingly looking at his feet.

Cold weather brings some cute, warm clothes for Levicho! (the Bulgarian pet-name we have for Levi.)

This hat is a hand-me-down from cousin Isaiah, and it is absolutely adorable!

These 2.5 months back to work, I have been able to breastfeed Levi in the mornings before work. I am thankful that I've been able to maintain this connection with Levi and provide for him in this way. Here's his post-feeding cuddliness one morning.

So many times, Dustin and I wonder, if what we're doing in parenting Levi is what we should be doing. What should his bedtime be now? Naps? How much do we put into a bottle? How are these things suppose to change over time? (Levi usually never stops nursing on his own nor doesn't finish a bottle given to him. This is one of the reasons for my nerosis in renting a scale at the end of Levi's 3rd month to weigh him before and after nursing to determine the number of ounces he was taking in so to figure out what to put in a bottle. Oh, how I wish I had one of these fancy scales! The store Motherhood Express, in Florence, KY is a blessing!)

We read the book Babywise, which we thought was really helpful in giving some sort of frame-work from which to work. However, I wish it gave more examples beyond the 2nd month. Unless they were currently in that stage, most parents I talked to couldn'i remember these details.

Well, to document what we put together (so I can answer when asked later), here's what Levi's schedule looked like this during his 4th month:
Wake him at 7am
(1) Nurse 7:15a-7:40a or so.
Dustin takes Levi to Brittany's while I gather my pump supplies to pump for that morning and head to work. I pump twice a day--in the mornings after the am feeding and during lunch.
Naps around 9-10:15a
(2) Bottle (approx 5 ounces) - at 10:15a
Naps around 11:45a-1pm
(3) Bottle - 1pm
Naps 3-4pm? -> Dustin usually picks up Levi at this time and takes him home.
(4) Bottle - 4pm (Maybe once/week I can be home for this feeding, like on Tuesday afternoons when I can be done at 3pm or so.)
Naps around 5:30-6:30pm (around the time I get home)
(5) Nurses at 6:30pm
Time with Mommy and Daddy. Every 2-3 days we do bath time here.
Occasionally he may get a little nap in between 8-8:30pm.
At about 8:30pm, get into sleeper, ready for bed.
(6) Nurse at 9pm
Bed at 9:30pm, immediately after nursing. (We would often try to get him to bed by 9pm, but often it would be later since we were trying to get the last feeding in.)

So, that works out to feeding 6 times a day (about 4.5-5 oz in each bottle, increasing over the month) and 4 to 5 naps per day. Hmmm. Not sure if any of you find this interesting or helpful . . . but's a frequent topic of discussion for Dustin and I!

Visiting Family in B'ham

The subtitle to this post is "Photos in Excess."

We went to visit Dustin's family in Birmingham the weekend of Sept 19th-21st (Levi now 4 months old!) since they had not seen Levi since he was born and were not likely to make many more trips in the near future (and it would be one of the last times I could travel before being limited by my work schedule). I had come off a few long work days, so I personally was also looking forward to spending time with Levi while doing my best in "sharing" him. Thus, I believe, the many photos.

This was Levi's first plane ride, and he did beautifully! He really has become a very easy baby--pleasant most of the time. Honestly, usually the only times he really fusses is when I stop to burp him mid meal. That boy likes his food and does not want to be interrupted!!

In the airport together. The little stinker, as you will see, was going through a phase of CONSTANTLY having his hand in his mouth, especially with the camera out!

The happy Nana balancing her two grandsons. Nephew Isaiah is approximately 15 months old here.

My mom and grandmother decided to drive from Atlanta to Birmingham to see us while we were there and took up Dustin's mom's invitation in staying with her. As you can imagine, Levi received tons of attention this weekend!

Levi meeting Uncle Michael for the first time.

"Wait a second, is that Daddy??"

Levi also straining to get a good look at PawPaw.

Aunt Sara getting some Levi-lovin' in.

So, there were multiple "photo shoots" of Levi this weekend. It almost seems as if he had suddenly blossomed into this little cute boy. I think it was about this time he started wearing more shirt and shorts/pants separates, instead of just onsies, making him look older.

"What are these things on my feet??"

"It's my Mr. Deer!"

MaLu getting some Levi lovin'.

A Levi sandwich!

Nana and Levi bonding outside together.

Chatting it up with his Mama.

Uncle Dustin getting some Isaiah-time in.


One of the great things about this weekend was that we were able to celebrate my sister-in-law's 7th birthday! Dustin's half-sister, Melina, had a rockin' birthday party with all her friends!

Birthday-girl.

PaJ saying hello to Levi! (We're still working on Jerry and Judy's name for the grandchildren. Maybe Grand-dad and Mimi? Judy, I know, wants a "nontraditional" name. What do ya'll think?)

Showing Levi the inner-workings of being a DJ. (How many other 7 year-old birthday parties have a DJ??)

A picture for the books: The DiChiara Men.

Uncle Brian getting his time in. :-) Yes, I made everyone pose . . .

Great Aunt Mary Jo meeting Levi for the first time.

Nothing cuter to me.

Aunt Melina holding Levi too! She loved being around him!

We spent Saturday night at PaJ's/Granddad's (fill in the blank). You can see the two bonding in their PJ's.

Telling all about his day yesterday.

Bonding with daughter and grandson.


Since there are only 2 babies in the family now, and they were both together this weekend, they were the center of attention. There was also much effort in trying to get pictures of Isaiah and Levi together. The following photos are the best-of's.

A great picture of Aunt Sara with her Isaiah and Levi. Everyone looking at the camera--a miracle!

The new mamas and their babies!

Isaiah is trying to slip away . . .

This picture is to compare their heights side-by-side. Tall Levi isn't to far behind cousin Isaiah despite him being 11 months older!

All the moms and grandmas taking pictures of this rare opportunity:

Unplanned--both reaching for their right foot simultaneously.
Some good-looking DiChiara Boys!

"Hey, cuz!"
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Our little family. :-)

This really was a fabulous weekend with family. It almost seemed like this weekend was a turning point developmentally for Levi. He started, all of a sudden, being more cuddly. Instead of pushing off our chest to look around each time he was held close, he started being content being held and even cuddling a little back! Mommy and Daddy couldn't love it more!