Advice please??

So it seems that Orrin suddenly realized that he has a mind of his own. For the past few days, he is refusing to take a bottle and sleep in his crib. We've never had any problems with either of these before. It started on Friday when I tried to put him in his crib for his afternoon nap. He cried and I let him go for awhile, then went and gave him his pacifier and patted him until he settled, and left. He cried harder and I waited for awhile, and went back in to repeat the process and left again. Then he screamed - like a hysterical scream. I waited again, but when I went back in I had to pick him up because he was just inconsolable. He screamed for a few minutes after I picked him up even. He seems to be this way, he just ramps up to a point where he can't calm down. Anyway, I probably undid my nap work.
Then last night, he did the same thing when we put him down at bedtime. It took probably an hour and a half, but he did finally fall asleep in his crib. But he woke after a half hour and screamed again. So we (actually Scott) started over, but it didn't take as long to get him back to sleep. The positive is that he did sleep until 8am without waking up!
Same thing with the bottle. Scott got up with him at 8 yesterday and tried to feed him so I could sleep in. He would not eat for Scott. He didn't scream about it though (so I did get to sleep in!). He wouldn't take the bottle from the lady in nursery yesterday either, even though he was definitely hungry.
Anyone have any advice to offer?? Especially about the sleeping in his crib. We've been reading up on sleep training methods and want to decide on one to try so we are both on the same page of what to do. I'm not ready for just straight crying it out yet, he just seems to young for that. Thankfully Scott and I are both just as stubborn as Orrin and neither of us will give in and let him sleep somewhere else (at night anyway, naps haven't been as firm which is probably why its a problem).

Just for fun - here's some pictures of our fun weekend in Ann Arbor for the Delaware state game (which we didn't actually attend). I was dumb and we didn't get pictures with Michelle or Joyce, but we did get to see them too!




Orrin at his first Step Show


Tailgating on Elbel (the band practice field)
In front of the director's tower

It was cold!!
Orrin and Scott in front of the stadium


Instead of the game, we went over to South U and got bubble tea, then headed up to Howell to visit the Freemans.

Colby and Orrin
This is what happens when Kevin holds the baby

Mason and Colby
With Kevin again, I'm not sure who they are waving at


Having fun with the camera
Sara with Orrin, Mason and Colby

We can't wait to visit again!!

2 Months

I told you Orrin has grown - check out this comparison from 4 days to 2 months!


Some Orrin facts from the last month:

He loves his mobile

He loves playing with his hanging toys, especially this past week. He is starting to try to hit them and talk to them.
Even though we do it every day, he does NOT like tummy time
And is much happier when turned over to see and talk to me
He loves bathtime (but as I've learned, NOT shower time - which brings up another new development: a very loud shriek/scream when he is mad)
He still likes being carried around, although he usually falls asleep. So I can't tell you what he really thinks of art yet.
He likes to contemplate life

And then smile and tell you about it

He LOVES to talk, and is just starting to squeal a little trying to laugh.
He's sleeping 7-8 hours for a stretch at night, then another 2 hours or so after eating.
We've been working on a bedtime routine and he's still getting use to that. We're trying to get him to fall asleep at 8 or 9 instead of 12 or 1. He's getting better, and slowly learning to fall asleep on his own, too.
He just discovered the tv and finds it interesting. We need to cut way back (me especially, I like it on for the background noise usually).

We are having a blast with him and can't wait to see what he'll do next!

Ew

Please forgive me for posting this, but THIS is the grossest thing I think I have ever seen in my life! Who comes up with this stuff?!?

Warning: If you have a weak stomach, do not open this link!

Big Boy

Orrin is huge! He had his 2 month appointment today - 12 pounds, 6 ounces! And 24.5 inches long. So that is 95th percentile for length and 65th or so for weight.

He was so good and happy, enjoying all the attention from the doctor and nurse and smiling and cooing at them. Then she poked his leg and he got this sad look like "why did you just do that to me?" right after. He cried for a second and then just kept looking sad/hurt. He was a trooper though. We're going back in two weeks for the second shot. I was pretty worried that it was going to be a battle to get them split the shots up, but the doctor was very cool about it. They still keep bugging us about opting out of the hep b for now, though. Oh well. Orrin's a little fussy this afternoon, but nothing a little extra food and cuddling can't fix (like he really needs more food!). :)

Here's some pictures from Orrin's baptism last week:

Baptized


Introduced to the congregation with Pastor PaulI had to try on the bonnet - he didn't like it!

Family pictureThe cake (again from Cake Connection)


And here's a fun video for you - wait a few seconds and you will see how good Orrin is at communicating what he wants. I only get a few seconds to deliver, though. Then its total meltdown (you can see this about to happen at the end). Sorry about the quality, I was juggling him and the camera.

Cloth

See the post below for some of Orrin's recent adventures.

I thought I'd put some pictures of our cloth diapering. So many people were skeptical about this decision, but so far its worked out pretty well. I am still having issues with leaking out the sides when I use prefolds, I just can't seem to get it tight enough around his legs (and they are definitely not skinny anymore!). If anyone has suggestions for me - please share!! But the g-diaper covers with either cloth inserts or prefolds stuffed in them, and the fitteds that we got as gifts and that I sewed are working really well! I've been checking craigslist often and some of the cloth diaper discount websites and diaperswappers because Orrin will soon outgrow everything we have! I have prefolds in the larger sizes, 2 fitteds, and 1 cover in the next size up, so we need some more covers at the very least. Orrin has been napping for about 3 hours every afternoon, so I think I am going to try to sew some more diapers soon, too. Especially since those have been working so well for us. Scott really loves the thirsties fab fitted, but we only have one and they are expensive so I try and leave that one clean for when he changes Orrin.
The only negative (which is really a positive) is that Orrin definitely feels the wetness in a cloth and doesn't like it! He could sit all day in a disposable happily, but screams when the cloth is wet. So I end up changing him more often (but what do I care, since its free!). We haven't tried cloth at night yet, but I think we can soon since when I get up with him at 4:30am, he is usually still dry.

Here he is modeling a prefold (look how chubby he is getting!):

The snappis make putting them on so easy!

Here's one that I made
This is the Thirsties fitted - it is so soft and trim and nice!

And a wrap style cover goes on top (I use Thirsties)
Using cloth makes his bottom so big, though! I have to use a bigger size onsie and pants.
So there you have it - cloth diapering isn't so bad! I wash them about every other day. That doesn't bother me since it seems that I need to do regular laundry almost that much anyway. I even made my own cloth diaper detergent for super cheap. (you can't use most regular detergents since a residue can build up on the diapers causing them to repel liquid) And I'm able to hang dry everything on nice days.

Adventures

Here are some of the fun things that I've been doing lately:

Hanging out with John Ball and seeing all the animals at the zoo

Here I am with the Guanacos

And the ringtail lemurs

This is with Oma at the twins birthday party
Here I am playing with my cousin Leeum at his house
This is me at my Aunt Jerilynn and Uncle Jeff's wedding (don't tell anyone, but I also spent lots of time at salons getting pedicures and hairdos with the girls!)
I also went apple picking, seeing all the apples made me hungry
Dad and I both root for Michigan (in a couple weeks we're going to my first UM football game!)
As you can see, I'm a busy boy!