Baby 5 summary {20 weeks}

by Meghan // October 29, 2020 // Comments off

Y’all. I seriously just had to look up how old he is. That’s How fast it goes by(and how hard it is to keep up with baby #5 stuff).

My posts have been few and far between because I am currently without my laptop (needs a new hard drive we think), which makes it very hard for me to get all my pictures and things uploaded. Also, my iPad screen doesn’t work well, and when it really decides to freak out on me, typing is useless because it phantom types. (Also, trying to correct the random capitalization and things my iPad does is really hard, so bare with me).

This year my laptop, iPad, Fitbit, and baby monitors have all died or half broken. I have yet to replace any of them cause $$$

———–

So. Moving on to baby 5.

Oh my goodness, how is he 20 weeks already?! He won’t be 5 months until nov 10, so the weeks are a little off from months just yet. He is growing so fast- he is huge. He got really long during his last growth Spurt, and now he is getting really chubby again.

I swore I would remember his schedule and would post them, and I totally didn’t.

But we just switched to a 3.5 schedule about 1-2 weeks ago. Before that he was still eating every 3 hours. But he wasn’t hungry at 3 hours anymore, and taking 4 naps had become 4 short naps.

3.5 hours just Consolidates eating to every 3.5 hours with longer wake times and 3longer naps.

Here’s how our days look right now:

730dwt
855/9 nap
11 eat
1235 nap
230 eat
400 nap (this becomes a cat nap around 6-7 months)
530 nurse and hang out until bedtime routine (this will also add solids for dinner time with family)
645 nurse, bottle, bed
720ish in bed (the goal is 730 but he is usually zonked out by 720)

That’s it. He has fallen seamlessly into this routine. He loves to nurse, which makes me happy; Hopefully he will go until a year. We’ve started playing around with some solids, he really likes avocado. But it isn’t a normal part of every day yet.

Development

At 20 weeks, Sir is rolling from belly to back, side to side, and can get from his back to his tummy. He has discovered his voice and has realized if he “talks” loudly enough someone pays him attention. He is always sooo happy, is super snuggly, and loves to be held. If another child (namely our 4th) cries it does scare him, and he will cry. But otherwise he is a happy boy.

He is getting 2 teeth! They’ve almost Broken through; I can’t believe they haven’t yet. He sucks his thumb and fingers when awake, and sometimes I catch him sucking his thumb in bed.

We are still using the winged swaddle (love to dream transitional swaddle), but I’ve removed one sleeve, so he has access to that hand. He likes to suck on and snuggle the other wing, so I will prob just leave it.

This boy loves tummy time! He belly surfs and plays. When he gets tired he just lays his head down … no fussing or complaining. We couldn’t have asked for a happier baby. He makes having 5 easier than I thought.

19 weeks Baby Summary {babywise}

by Meghan // January 28, 2015 // Comments off

Well, tomorrow marks the beginning of Ila’s 20th week of life; we just finished week 19. Oh my goodness! She has two more weeks before she actually turns 5 months old, so I am using that as a way to console myself that she is already this old. It is just going by so quickly.

Ila is simply a joy. My oldest was a happy girl, but was colicky- gas, a little reflux, etc. Mister was a bear of a baby (and still is)- very fussy, screaming with reflux, sensitive, didn’t nap well because of it, etc. (they both have dairy sensitivities/allergies)

I think I sorta thought that babies = crying, gas, etc.

Boy was I wrong! Next to “happy” in the dictionary should be a picture of Ila James! (Provided I am dairy free, and she is too, so that is probably most of it. She is able to eat and sleep well, and it just makes a HUGE difference.) She is the baby that meets your eyes and just starts smiling for no particular reason except that you’re there!

She has gone through her wonder week 19- it was a doozy, and she got her first tooth during it! It broke through a few days ago. YAY! As of now, her schedule looks like this:

7am wake/nurse/bottle
8:15am down for nap (soon to be 8:30 I think, some days she stays awake a while before falling asleep) and she has decided this first nap is a great time to have a poopy diaper!
11:00 wake, nurse, oatmeal with breast milk and applesauce, bottle
12:15pm down (soon to be 12:30 I think), asleep by 1:00
3:00pm up, nurse, bottle-soon to add solids here
4:30pm down, asleep within a few minutes usually, sometimes asleep at 5pm
7:00pm up, nurse, bottle
7:40pm in bed, asleep
Sleeps until DWT of 7am

At 23 weeks there is another wonder week, and I imagine during or after that phase she will start trying to drop the third nap. So at that time we will probably move dinner up to 6:15 or so, and bedtime up to 7pm. Depending on her needs it may be even earlier than that. (It always has been for my other two.)

Development

During her waketimes, Ila is talking like crazy! She discovered her voice this past week and she loves to talk. Usually she does it if she is by herself in the living room, or pack n play. I have to sneak up on her to get it on video. Usually once someone is there she gets quiet again.

She is trying to roll form her back to her belly, so that is fun. She is almost there and can get twisted over on her side, but needs help to get all the way over. And she has discovered her thumb … I am not thrilled about this; we already have one thumb sucker (Mister) to break eventually, so I am hoping this is just a phase since she found her hands and is able to get them to her mouth. But I don’t want a pacifier either, since she sleeps fine without both I am just pretending like she isn’t doing it, and hoping she stops. 😉 (maybe she is just rubbing in the teeth? There is another coming in.)

She is not reaching for things, like purposely. She wakes her arms a bit but has no interest in stuff around her or in front of her yet.

She hasn’t lost her hair yet, so maybe she won’t? Lexie and Max both lost some; Ila just has a thin spot on the back where she sleeps. I have to spry in conditioner and comb out the tangles a few times a week (there is just so much hair!).

Eating

So far, Ila is still a nursing champion. She loves to nurse; she has started talking while she nurses. Sometimes she just stops and looks up at me and babbles while milk pours out of her mouth. It is pretty funny; then she will just smile and go back to nursing. After practicing for a few weeks, she is finally taking food from a spoon. I know she is young, and she doesn’t really need it. However … this baby is nursing 15-20 minutes, then taking an 8 ounce bottle. EIGHT OUNCES! Every 4 hours … of a $45 per can formula. Which equals $150 a month! She has gone from going through one can in 10 days, to finishing a can in 6-7 days. She is HUNGRY! Plus, good fats are good for her. I am going to give it another week of practicing with homemade oatmeal and breast milk, then start giving her soft boiled egg yolks. She has had avacado and liked it. Introducing her to good fats at 5 months isn’t going to hurt her or cause problems. We will hold off on veggies, meats, and fruits for a while. Solids aren’t needed right now, but because she is so hungry, I think healthy brain-power fats are fine.

Sleep

Ila is still double swaddled to sleep for naps and bed time. Doubling swaddling is a great method for babies that can get out of the swaddle during sleep, but aren’t ready for their hands to be free yet. I don’t think unswaddling her is far off, but I have tried SO MANY TIMES to transition her with one arm out, and it just disastrous. So for now, she is still double swaddled and goes to sleep perfectly this way. Once she starts rolling over this will for sure have to stop.

As for me, postpartum not much has changed. I am getting sleep, so I’m a happy mama! I am working on healing my diastasis recti, which means no traditional exercises like crunches, or other things that are in most all of my workouts (T25, the 21 day fix workouts, BBL, or Turbo Fire). I am using Fit2B.com to heal my DR and strengthen my transverse muscle FIRST, while I walk/run on the treadmill.

My mom and some others have asked how I knew I had the DR; I discovered I had DR a few ways- my back was constantly hurting. Provided, I have been overweight for 2 years (since after I had Max), but I knew that wasn’t causing the pain. Every time I worked out with any of my workout dvds I couldn’t get out of bed the next day, let alone walk, even after doing the modified moves. I also just couldn’t feel my abs anymore; after Ila there wasn’t even anything to flex. When I came across DR, and tested for it, it was the most disgusting thing I have ever felt. Basically, when you have a DR, your abs are split and you can put your fingers down between your abs. How many fingers fit determines just how bad yours is. Mine is 3-4 wide. *ewww* I remember after Lexie my abs were split, but I don’t remember ever trying to “heal” them, I just sorta went on with life. But this time I knew I had to do something. So, I signed up for Fit2B and I LOVE IT. I am finally starting to feel my abs again, and although this isn’t going to burn 600 calories in 40 minutes, it is healing my body so I CAN eventually burn 600 calories in 40 minutes doing my favorite heavier exercises. Exercises like crunches, planks, and basically every. single. move. in all my workout DVDs cause DR to worsen, not heal. So for now, those are on the back burner.

But that is okay! I am working on waking early in the mornings to get my workouts in (this is hit or miss, sometimes I have to fit them in during the day or before bed), but I feel good and eat good, so there you go.

And that is pretty much it! Ila’s 19th week of life. =)

22 weeks old … I think

by Meghan // February 8, 2013 // Comments off

Im in bed writing this post, and i usually have my planner to help me with what week i am on. I do not, however, have my planner. Oh- it is a very fun planner, it is an Erin Condren life planner, and i LOVE it. My only complaint is there aren’t enough lined pages for writing notes and thoughts .. but they sell a separate notebook for that, of course! Anyway. This is not a post about my planner. The point of me mentioning it, was to say the weeks are running together on me!

Max is in the middle of his 22nd week of life; this weekend is going to be SO busy, so I am writing this one early. He is rolling over like crazy; especially when he is trying to go to sleep. He is a side sleeper. So he rolls onto his side and sucks his thumb. Its oh. My. Gah. So cute! Bt, he also flips over to his belly. And while playing and alert, he can easily flip back over to his back. B when he is tired and trying to go to sleep, he gets angry and does a lot of yelling… So i have to go roll him back over. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen.

He is nursing better, thankfully. He is taking his bottles well, but after about 5oz he is ready for his oatmeal. The boy is devouring oatmeal! I use a measuring spoon to measure out the oatmeal, then eye ball the formula to mix it with. He usually ends up eating 4-6 tablespoons, sometimes more, 3xs a day. That usually means i end up mixing the rest of his 8oz bottle into the oatmeal. So he is taking a full 8-9oz per feeding. I am still doing the probiotics twice a day and not doing any solids besides the oatmeal. Since we are moving and all, I think I will wait until after the move to add in real foods. It will just be easier with the traveling and everything to only have t have oatmeal, formula, and my pump in case he doesn’t nurse well.

He is in 6 month clothes and pajamas, and can wear some 6-9 footies, they’re just a little big in the feet. But it wont be long and they will fit perfectly. We are still signing, I am doing “milk” and “more,” while he eats. He watches me, like “Hrm, what is it that she’s doing?” but hasn’t started signing back at me yet. He likes to squeal! It sounds like he is gasping for breath, you know what I mean? But he is squealing- it’s cute. He is obsessed with his feet (what a difference a week makes!) and reaches for his toys, or anything that is in front of him. I have started sitting him up more, and he can balance for a second before he topples over. =)

Lexie is so much fun, we have started building forts! She loves it, haha. We went to Mid America Science Museum Sunday, and it was wonderful! We have never been because before now she was really too young to enjoy it. But thanks to super bowl, we were the only souls in the whole place. Seriously, she got to run around and do anything and everything she wanted. It was us and a lady building with blocks. And the guy who took my $10. Lexie is under 3, so she was free. Who knew a $10 outing would be so fun?! I promised we would go back next week after Jtom leaves. I have some videos i will upload here soon.

Tuesday we went to the library. I have packed up *most* of her books, so we have started borrowing them. Her new favorite book is the “Three Billy Goats Gruff”. She retells it by saying, “the billy goat broke the troooole!” That’s the only thing she cares about. I didn’t realize how scary/weird those classical stories are… But they are important for her to read. She is down to one day a week of school, so now we can do something fun on that day we don’t do school anymore. Really, I’m relieved she isn’t going to school two days a week. A break is nice, but now that Max is older and can travel more easily for outings, i feel like our time can be better spent together, learning and experiencing things together. Although i did a lot of chores while she was at school 2 days a week, the other three days during the week were mostly spent at home, because otherwise were were out of the house 3-5 days out of the week! That’s a lot of running and going with two young children. It’s just too much for us. So now that she’s down to one day, we can use a second day for our outing(s), and spend the other days playing and learning at home. Its less chaotic and less pressure.

My woven wrap came in! WE LOVE IT! It is a beautiful bright turquoise. I only know hwo to do one carry, but I will learn some others soon. I have sold some of my girly cloth diapers, and have my ring sling listed to sell. I am saving money for this wrap:

Isn’t it beautiful?! It is a super strong wrap, the length I want is $135, so I have a way to go to save! But I am getting there. I have tried to find one used, but they’re hard to find because people love them so much. So I may end up having to pay full price. The mama owned business I want to get it from offers a 5% discount coupon, so that would help some. Anyway, wraps are super fun. There is a whole lingo (sorta like cloth diapering, and sleep training) for wearing babies, especially in wraps. You have to “break in” your wrap. The Colimacon et Cie that i bought is pretty soft out of the package and doesn’t require as much breaking in. But the Storch I want is one that needs a lot of work. It’s suggested that you sleep on/with it, use it for picnics, forts, braid it (which is basically making a chain knot like you would in crochet), let the kids play on it, wash it, etc. to get it broken in good. I want the longer length in this one so I can do more carries with it, plus I like having a longer tail on mine. The turquoise one I have is an average size length at 4.6 meters, but I think I would be more comfy with the longer length, especially until I lose some more of the baby weight (which is slowly coming off, but at least it is coming off!) I got a few pics of Max and me in the wrap outside the other day; after I get them uploaded to the computer I will get them on the blog.

Anyway, so that’s what we have been up to. Something sweet, the other day we were reading our devotional. That day it was about angels, and how God sends them to watch over us and take care of us. Lexie said, “Like Da does!” (She calls JTom Daddy, dada, and Da, a lot). I said, “Yes! Just like Daddy does.” Oh, priceless. Today, JTom got home and Lexie was down for nap… not napping. When it was time to get her up, he went in and she was so excited she stuttered. She couldn’t get anything out! It was so cute. When he got her changed into her “walking panties” (those are her regular panties, instead of her “night night” panties which are her lupus , and got her milk she said, “mama! I am so excited, Daddy is HERE!” haha After that we showed daddy all her new tricks- she can wink! We also do this thing where I lay on the floor on my back, and put my hands by my head. She stands in my hands and I lift her up. It is what we used to do in cheerleading to prepare for single basing stunts. Anyway, she loves it, so that was new. We also do a new trick where i lay down and put my feet on her chest, then lift her in the air, and she is on my feet … if that makes sense? I will get JTom to do some pictures this weekend. Anyway, we had to show him that, and the library books … and the fort. Then I ran to TJ Max to get boxes and they played outside, feeding the chickens and stuff.

About the move
We have the movers lined up for Monday, February 18th. They will come and do some of the packing I am not doing, like the kitchen, breakables, pictures, mirrors, electronics, etc. Tuesday the semi truck will come and load up, and leave! The kids and I are going to drive to Memphis, see family in a quick 36 hours, and then my mom is traveling with us to Nebraska. Once there, our things will hopefully have arrived by then, and we can get settled in. Mom can help w the kids, and the decorating, etc. Although we have all this “planned” it is strictly contingent on the closing of the house. I am signing papers in AR and supposed to be over-nighting them back to whomever I’m told to… There are still a few things not complete, like something the appraiser is supposed to have turned in. If everything gets done and here are no glitches, we close next Friday. 7 days and a handful of hours from right this moment. And I am terrified. Not really. I am actually pretty calm about it, for me. I’m just concerned about something not going right and the closing being moved … which means we live separate for 2+more weeks. =/ The other option is to move into the basement JTom is a guest in. And if closing doesn’t go well, then that may be just what we do! Just pray for us that things go smoothly, and happen like they should.

Thankfully, JTom’s uncle is just 40 minutes away and he is going to take the chicks for us. I am so sad, and I mean SO SAD, to let them go. They’re so rotten, and so sweet. And I have enjoyed eggs every single day since JTom has been gone; with the longer days they are back to laying an egg a piece per day! Maybe that’s why I am losing weight, I eat eggs and whole wheat toast for breakfast and dinner. =)

Here are some videos. I figured out how to upload them from my phone to youtube, so hopefully I will be loading a lot more on here in the future.

I don’t remember if i posted this one or not? It is from August (notice her tan!), she was not yet 2, identifying all her ABCs. She now knows the sounds of some of the letters. We play phonemic awareness games during the day; for instance I will ask her what words start with the /m/ sound- like Max. And she will name a bunch of words that start with m. She also does it on her own, randomly. I might say, “let’s do a flip!” and out of no where she will say, “flip is like four or friday!” Using that as a teachable moment, we will talk about the letter f and the sound it makes. We have fun =)

Identifying and placing some of the States on her map puzzle

These are all from the museum Sunday:

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This is probably my favorite. It was so warm the other day, and she wanted to water the flowers. So… that is what she did!

21 Week Baby Summary- baby 2

by Meghan // February 2, 2013 // Comments off

Baby 2 is 22 weeks tomorrow, and 5 months old! Wow, how the last 2 months have flown by! The first 3 …. well, those seemed to drag on forever, and that’s probably because he didn’t feel good. But now, they are going by so quickly.

Developmentally, during his 21st week of life, he started really grabbing and reaching for things. If a toy was on the blanket next to him, he rolled to his side, and reached for it. It was pretty cool the first time he did that. =) He can sit well in the corner of the chair, but isn’t really anywhere near ready to sit on his own.

Something I notice with #2, is they don’t get to do as much as early as #1 did. Well, for mine anyway. I think this is because I still have to be careful where I put Mister, can’t leave him etc., with Lady able to reach. She will try to lay him down so she can lay with him, roll him over, sit him up. She knows not to, but being the 2 year old she is, she thinks he “needs to, Mama!” haha

He is rolling over consistently now, from his back to his belly. Mister is a side sleeper! When he falls asleep, it is often on his side. Oh the joys of having a video baby monitor =)

I think I mentioned last time, Mister’s reflux has seemed to flare up. The dr. said although the dairy allergy aggravates it, babies with reflux will have flair ups between 4-6 months old, it just happens. She suggested medicine, which our insurance doesn’t cover and is …. $132 a month! Not happening. So, I got to thinking and remembered I had some powdered probiotics (this brand) left over from Lady having thrush. I started googling and read that many parents have calmed reflux flare ups with probiotics. We tried it, and it is working! Yay! $17 (I think they were) vs $132, I’ll take that any day!

Because of the reflux flare ups, I have taken him back to only formula mixed in oatmeal, no more solid foods; he was’t tolerating them well. Everything came back up. He is eating the oatmeal/formula mix like crazy, and that’s good enough for me, for now. =)

JTom came home last weekend, and everyone was so happy to see him. L was excited, of course, and Mister laughed and talked to him a lot. Baby2 definitely knew his daddy! I think we were both a little nervous he wouldn’t after 2 weeks. But, he did. The first thing Lady did when she saw her daddy was show him her fingernails. Then she hugged him and asked him to play.

We are anxiously awaiting the move; I have started packing. Warning to all grandparents: NO more stuffed animals or dolls. EVER! For either child. I do not care how cute they are, how fluffy they are, or how much they look like our own animals. No more! Please … =) I have thrown out I don’t know how many stuffed animals that L doesn’t play with. Oh, and no more battery operated toys, unless they are the trains that go to her Thomas set. Those are okay. Books, age appropriate puzzles, art stuff, educational toys, that stuff is fine. Just no more stuffed fuzzy things, please. =)

Anyhow … oh! Good news! We found a chicken! We thought the dog killed and drug off the missing chicken, but it turns out she was at the neighbor’s house … so Lady and I went down yesterday afternoon and got her. The only problem we had was Lady eating the banana we were going to use as bait… But we got the chick. She is happy, being back with her buddies again.

That’s it for now. I will try to keep updating through the move, but it may be hard for a while.

Meg

Poor Lexie

by Meghan // February 11, 2011 // Comments off

Well, our Lexie Love just can’t catch a break! First the bacteria infection, then the flu, and now some RSV and possible allergies!

After calling the doctor’s exchange Wednesday afternoon, we took Lexie to the ER. Due to all our ice and snow, the doctors’ offices were closed, but I noticed while we were playing her coughing was more than coughing. She had started to wheeze and the V at her collar bone was sinking in when she breathed. At the ER they ran a flu test, a RSV test, gave her a breathing treatment, and took some chest x-rays. The doctor there said he heard some bronchitis, she was breathing awfully fast and her xrays were “foggy” so to get her to the doctor the next day. He sent us home with an inhaler and the breathing treatment equipment. Because her oxygen levels were good and she was not running fever, they decided not to keep her.

So yesterday we went to the doctor. He listened to her chest and said she was definitely wheezing and breathing too quickly. Then he asked if J.Tom or I had asthma or allergies.. =/ I told him about my asthma and allergies and that J.Tom had allergy shots as a kid because his were so bad. He said Lexie realy didn’t stand a chance against it then, but we could always hope. He also said the RSV test is only about 75% accurate and he thinks she has some RSV (which is a respiratory virus). This makes sense because when they stuck the qtip things up Lexie’s nose, the nurse said that there was not a lot of “stuff” on it but hopefully it would be enough… I guess it wasn’t. He prescribed her another inhaler to use with the one given to us at the ER and some pink medicine. If she was not much better by the beginning of the weekend I am to take her back Monday, otherwise come back in a week.

I also had him look at a rash that was on her upper torso, mainly on her shoulders and upper back. He said it is eczema and prescribed a cortisone cream for it; he also said that when babies have allergies and/or asthma they are often accompanied by eczema. Lovely. I guess our daughter is doomed in the wellness department. Maybe God will give her a decent hand in the sweet tooth/love to exercise/never want to smoke department. A mother can only hope.

So anyways, we left there and came home. She has not held down the pink medicine, so I just called the nurse, who in turn said to come in for a shot at 3:30. Poor Lexie. =( Her cough sounds terrible and her nose is so runny but she plays like she feels fine. I have a feeling when we get there today he may want to go ahead and do chest xrays; he didn’t do them yesterday because the xray tech lives in Malvern and could not get to work. Since everyone will probably be there today, I think he may take a different approach. I hope her oxygen levels stay up and she isn’t worse than he thought. I don’t want my baby admitted into the hospital, although it wouldn’t be a HUGE deal it would make me feel like a failure as a mother.. but whatever gets her well is what I want them to do.

Due to the 5″ of snow we got in great ole HOT Springs, Arkansas I did not have my supervisor evaluation Thursday. It has been rescheduled for Tuesday of next week which makes me terribly nervous. I did get my video teach done, spur of the moment (we planned to do it Wednesday, but because of the weather…) but I am really not happy with it. Frankly, I don’t care that much. The one snippet of teaching from a semester where the children have had 9 days of snow, 5 days of NWEA Testing, a week of Dibbles testing, and are in a brand new classroom (which the teacher moved into over Christmas break) is not going to make or break my teaching career or tell the world what kind of teacher I will be. I am tired, can you tell?

I do LOVE teaching though. And when I had the classroom to myself last week (my coop teacher was gone to a space convention) it was awesome! I felt very much like I would love to have my own classroom.

Also, Lexie gets dedicated Sunday, hopefully she will be well by then!