The One With The Boys {a simple woman’s daybook 30}

by Meghan // February 12, 2017 // Comments off

Outside my Window …
My boys.

Mister has been attached to his daddy all day long. He’s done tractor work, dirt work, garden work, and now they’re playing baseball in the front yard.

I am thinking…
I wish this baby wasn’t so fussy so we could go join them; but she currently hates the cold, and it has turned cooler again.

I am thankful…
for a husband that loves spending time with his babies, guiding them, and teaching them how to be good people.

In the kitchen…
nothing. Lots of dirty dishes and no meals planned. That’s my kitchen today.

I am wearing…
pajama pants and a tshirt

I am creating…
plans for a few dresses; but I did get some things done in the sewing room last week, so that was nice.

I am going…
to Costco tomorrow! woo hoo, our favorite. =)

I am reading…
a few different titles, and my The Old Schoolhouse catalogue that came.
I am hoping…
Baby speeds up this teething process because this last week she was a bear, and still is!

I am looking forward to…
The Walking Dead tonight (yes … I love that show). School and relaxing this week.

I am learning…
This parenting thing is just flying by.

Around the house…
it is a disaster. Mama is lazy today.

A favorite quote for today…

My 6 month old teething …

‘Nuf said.

One of my favorite things…
bonfires with good friends, late nights with my husband,, easy mornings with my babies,

A few plans for the rest of the week:
get lots of school done, rearrange the living room a little, plan the garden

A peek into my day…

Baby Dispositions- Touchy Baby- {Baby Summary 10/11 weeks}

by Meghan // October 13, 2016 // Comments off

This week I really saw how Coralie is a “touchy baby;” she is really starting to come into her own personality and I am enjoying learning about her. She also showed me that she isn’t hungry at the 3 hour mark anymore; we have gradually shifted to 3.15-3.5hour routine and she is eating MUCH better now. This seems to also have helped her naps.

She seems to still have a witching hour in the evening, and it may have increased a bit in length; I am not sure why yet… We didn’t really settle into this new routine/schedule until today actually (Friday, her 11 week mark) but she has been showing me she was ready for a few days.

I’ve learned that as a parent when you start thinking, “Hmm, I wonder if she is wanting to stretch her feedings/sleep/waketime/etc,” she probably is! Go with your gut- use your tools, like helpful books, but use them in conjunction with your gut and you won’t go wrong. Oh .. and be consistent! 😉

The Routine/Schedule Now Is:

6:45-7am nurse, bottle
7:30 nap
10:15am nurse bottle
11:00 nap
1:30pm nurse bottle
2:15 nap
4:30pm nurse bottle
5:30 swing for cat nap
6pm nurse (?) sometimes I try to skip this cluster feed
6:45-7pm nurse bottle
Bed right after eating. She usually fusses and eats 1-2 more times after I put her to bed, until about 8:00pm
***Waking between 5-6:30am– I have started putting her in the swing with a paci to sleep until DWT of 6:45-7am. This has worked the few times that I’ve tried it, hopefully at some point, skipping nursing this early will help her sleep through to DWT (it helps by training her metabolism and sleep patterns if she is ready).**Also, I chose to try and skip eating at this early wake time because she wasn’t taking a FULL feeding, but just enough that she wasn’t hungry at her DWT; thus she would wake early from nap hungry. By holding her off until DWT (designated wake time), she gets in a good, full feeding and starts her day off better! Also, DWT most definitely affects how baby sleeps the following night so keeping that routine consistent is important for good, solid sleep.

Coralie is back in the Woombie, after a nap or two of busting out of the swaddle waking herself, and she seems happy again. So Woombie it is! She is still swaddled and then Woombied at night, and that is working for now.

This week she began spinning in her sleep; it has always been rotating to her left but today she started rotating to her right! How funny their development is!

She still seems to need to cry before sleeping. I put her down awake, but drowsy and within a few minutes she is fussing. She hasn’t learned to settle herself, and cry it out (in small amounts of time) doesn’t seem to help. So after she gets a good cry in I go pat her to sleep. It takes maybe 20 seconds. She just can’t get there alone yet, but I am sure it will come. Read why I let her cry a little HERE, in last week’s update. It is just her way of decompressing for now.

Eating

We have a big growth spurt coming up at 12 weeks, so that should kick in soon. Right now Coralie is nursing well, and has become much more efficient, finishing a feeding within 15 minutes. She then takes 4-6oz of a bottle, sometimes more.

Oh- speaking of bottles! Whether you feed your baby through milk or formula, you should always find the right product. Something that parents experience with their kids is after having been fed, they can experience colic/reflux when bottle feeding, therefore it is beneficial to look into something like best baby bottles for wind. Be sure to do your research when it comes to providing the best products for you and your baby, as an infant’s health is the main priority to any parent. You could also check out https://www.dapplebaby.com/baby-friendly-dish-soap/ to learn about baby friendly dish soap. We all know how dirty baby bottles can get, so getting a soap that cleans them is vital!
We have moved from the crazy expensive Nutramigen formula (which is just corn syrup solids- Yuck!) to a homemade recipe! (Not the bone broth recipe I made for Max and Ila, which is also great, but takes a little more work.) I will have a separate post on the new recipe soon. =)

I feel like Coralie may have more updates on the blog than Ila did, simply because she changes more from week to week with her touchy personality dictating things so much. Ila was an angel baby- by the book. Super easy; just simple and tagged along. Coralie most definitely lets us know when things are not okay with her, and that is a lot of the time. *sigh*

What is a Touchy Baby?

Per the Baby Whisperer– Touchy babies are the most fragile; they thrive on routine and NEED predictability. She says the more consistent you are the better you will understand each other, the happier baby will be, and the sooner she should sleep through the night. Usually touchy babies are later to the game of sleeping through the night, around 10-12 weeks. (this is certainly true for Coralie after the terrible 7-9 week wonder week!) Without a structured routine it is hard to gauge a touchy baby’s cries and that will most definitely make her more irritable. They are easily thrown off by an unexpected visitor, a dog barking, and if mama doesn’t notice and hunger or sleepy cue, baby gets upset and is hard to calm down <-- YES! YES! YES!

After nursing, Coralie gets SO upset if her bottle isn’t in her mouth within a few minutes. It is always best if I warm her bottle, then nurse, THEN have the bottle right on hand. But that just isn’t always possible. What stinks is it’s really hard to have a touchy baby as your 4th baby! Because you really need them to “tag along” and go with the flow more than the others. Thing is, people will say, “well if you just do it baby will adjust.”

NO THEY WON’T! At least not usually.

A touchy baby is such by nature; they are born that way, you can do nothing to change that. All you can do is everything possible, within reason, to make your life easier which means understanding and respecting their personality and developmental needs.

I don’t for one second believe that accommodating a touchy baby is spoiling them; it is called respect. They are people.

Do you like for people to run the vacuum or run into your bedroom screaming at the top of their lungs while you sleep?

Nope, me neither.

Do you like for dogs to unexpectedly bark loudly in your ear when you are relaxed and being cuddled? Or for someone to say they will meet you at 6pm and not show til 8pm? Yea- touchy babies don’t either!

Lexie was SO much like this, but so was I at that time in my life. I didn’t realize she needed it as much as I did, or even more. Looking back I know she was an easier-ish *ha* touchy baby because I kept her in routine, on schedule, she knew what to expect, when to expect it, and I eased her into things. For instance, she wouldn’t have done well staying away from home at 2 years old; I knew that. We waited until she was older and could make that decision herself; we respected her personality and because of that she has grown to a very independent young girl. She is confident in who she is, and recognizes what she needs- quiet time alone, snuggles with daddy, playtime outside, etc. She knows what she needs because we have helped give her the tools to do so.

I will keep praying that God continues to guide us with our newest touchy baby. =)

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Baby #4 Summary- Week 9

by Meghan // September 30, 2016 // Comments off

Coralie is 9 weeks old, almost 10. And sleep. Is. Awful.

There is a wonder week from weeks 7-9, and honestly I don’t think I remember my first 3 being affected by it. Coralie is definitely feeling this one!

While her witching hour has gotten better, she is waking in the night more- not every night. Some nights she goes until 4, 5, or even 6:30am! Other nights she is up around 1am and again around 4am, or she may sleep through from 1-6:30ish. You see- there is no consistency, and that makes me crazy! =P

I can handle wakings, bad naps, fussy babies … been there done that. But this inconsistency of sleeping good, then not, then sleeping through the night, then not- that I cannot handle.

So I am praying she comes out of this wonder week (which she should technically be done with), sleeping better, or at least back to where she was!

Her naps are pretty routine, but she is waking mid nap. Pacifier isn’t helping, and frankly she seems overstimulated by anything I try to do for her. So I often let her cry until she is just worn out, then pat her to sleep. (because even holding her doesn’t help and she refuses to eat; she isn’t hungry. Just an overtired mess!)

Personality/Development

Coralie is so social- she is still a happy girl, loves to talk and gurgle at back at you, and gets really upset when I get her ready for naps. As soon as I lay her down to begin her sleep time routine, she usually starts fussing (too bad she doesn’t realize she needs sleep to grow, develop, and be happy).

She loves being outside, being held by her siblings, and bouncing in her bouncer. Loud noises scare her, loud voices make her jump, and she cries over the smallest of things. Much like her biggest sister, Coralie is a touchy baby to a Tee. She is easily overstimulated, likes to suck (though it doesn’t help with sleep anymore-maybe that’s a phase?), needs LOTS of comfort and security about her world, and seems to use crying before sleep as a way to decompress from the world.

I remember Lexie crying before every single nap, every bed time. It wasn’t that she wanted to be held- that didn’t help. She wasn’t hungry, she’d just eaten. She didn’t really want anything, it was just how she fell asleep. She needed to let go of all the tension she took in while being awake; and that is OKAY. I am guessing that Coralie will be the same way; when she is a bit older and ready she will do this while putting herself to sleep.

My next post will have more detail on how/why Coralie is a touchy baby.

For now, our routine is still loosely:

7am nurse, bottle
10am nurse bottle (outside)
1pm nurse bottle
4pm nurse bottle (outside)
6pm nurse/bouncer in living room (while family eats/ winds down for evening)
6:45-7pm nurse bottle bed
Bed right after eating. She usually fusses and eats 1-2more times after I put her to bed, until about 8:00pm

Her waketime has been at 40 minutes the last 2 weeks, and with her naps being a bit of a mess, it is hard to tell if this needs to be increased or not? But I am guessing that by 12 weeks we will be at about 50-55 minutes.

We do wind down at the 35 minute mark, and “set the stage” with the room dark, calm, quiet, and white noise. I put her back in the swaddle full time because the woombie seemed to be frustrating her a bit. At night she is swaddled and then in the woombie because she busts out of the swaddle at night.

So, there it is- the 8-9 week old update! =)

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Introducing Baby #4 {weeks 1-5 Baby Summary, sleep schedule and feedings}

by Meghan // September 3, 2016 // Comments off

Well, on July 22, 2016 at 10:47pm we welcomed our 4th child, and 3rd baby girl, Coralie into the world.

Her birth story is to come (and it’s a pretty good one!) but for now I will just focus on her summary for weeks 1-5.

Weeks 1-2 we focused on nursing, sleep, and getting her days and nights in order. Not only was she confusing her days and nights (I had to wake her to eat during the day and she was up all night wanting to nurse 24/7), but she had reflux and was generally unhappy, sometimes even while nursing.

I didn’t cut out dairy before she was born, like I did with #3, and I did cheat and have creamer in coffee 2xs during the first 2-3 weeks so it is quite possible that her reflux was due to dairy in my diet. As of now (week 5), she is not having reflux.

We also decided to go ahead and supplement with formula pretty early on. I tried to avoid it with each baby, and with my last she lost 14% of her body weight only nursing before we tried formula. So, in an effort to avoid that all together, for my peace of mind, and hopefully to satisfy her upset stomach we started Nutramigen formula- and within 2 days she was a different baby! She was satisfied, her tummy didn’t seem upset as much (though she still had reflux from time to time) and she was happier. (when she is older and I have more time we will probably start on our homemade formula)

Today, at 5 weeks, I am 100% off dairy, she is nursing great, and reflux is gone. Reflux is known for coming and going and flaring back up around 6-8 weeks, but we are praying that won’t be the case. (I am actually posting this at 7 weeks ols, and her reflux seems to be back .. =/)

She has her days and nights in order, though I do have to wake her at the 3 hour mark sometimes to eat during the day. She is going from about 7pm of last feeding to about 2-4am most nights now. At 4 weeks old it was 2xs a night, and this past week has been mostly 1-2 times a night. Sometimes she makes it until 5am

She is having a witching hour that varies from 4 or 6pm until 9pm. Some nights she goes to bed at 8pm after her dinner no problems, other nights she witches until 9 or 9:30pm. Regardless, I am not complaining. Those first few weeks were incredibly tough, much harder than they were with my second or third babies. But things are calming down.

I would say so far Coralie is most like my oldest as a baby; she is amazingly alert during her wake times, eats like a champ, and I think it will be a while longer before she gets her nights stretched out really well.

At week 5 here is our routine:

6:45-7:15 wake, nurse, bottle (if she doesn’t wake up by 7am, I wake her to start our day)
40 mins later nap- her first wake time is usually about 40 minutes and she is asleep by 45 minutes
10:00am wake, (go outside) nurse, bottle- if she doesn’t wake herself before now, I wake her at 10
40 minutes later nap (or after first yawn if she yawns before 40 minutes)
1:00 wake, nurse, bottle- if she doesn’t wake up I wake her 3 hours after her last feeding
40 minutes later nap (or after first yawn if she yawns before 40 minutes)
4:00 wake, (go outside) nurse, bottle
40 minutes later down for nap, (or after first yawn if she yawns before 40 minutes)
This is where she usually begins her witching hour. She may go right to sleep for this nap, or she may stay up and fuss. If she is fussy I typically hold her on and off so she gets some sleep; we also will nurse on demand if that is all that will soothe her
6:30 bath if it is a bath night, I wake her if she is asleep
7pm nurse, bottle, straight to bed- sometimes she continues with the witching hour until after 8pm, sometimes she goes right to sleep
1 or 2 middle of the night wakings anywhere from 11pm-2am, and 4am-6am

Sometimes I miss her sleepy cues at nap and she gets a bit OT; I can usually give her a paci (a wubbanub to be more specific, she won’t take a regular pacifier …) to calm her, put her down and when she drifts off & spits it out, I take the pacifier away. Sometimes it only takes once, sometimes it takes more than once, but usually that works. Our biggest issue is getting her burped in time for the 40 minute mark without her falling asleep while being held and THEN avoiding hiccups. Just like in utero, she is very hiccupy!

She is just like her biggest sister, in that she is very sensitive to wake times! Sometimes she wakes early into her nap & fusses a few minutes and goes to sleep before I can even get to her; but mostly keeping her WTs at 40 minutes right now seems to be key.

Though a happy baby, she is a bit colicky, but very social. She started smiling and cooing earlier than my others, it seems. She is ticklish under her arms and at her ribs and loves to be snuggled by her older siblings.

She enjoys being outside and talked to. I would say she is definitely more needy than Ila was, but then again, Ila was basically perfect in the eating, and sleeping departments. Coralie is more like her brother and oldest sister right now.

We will see how she changes and grows!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Accomplish ALL The Things {Simple Woman’s Daybook 23}

by Meghan // April 20, 2016 // Comments off

Outside my Window …
It is gray, cloudy, and the sun isn’t up. We have had rain for 3 days now! YAY

I am thinking…
About all the things I need to start fitting into my day: more floor time with Ila, more violin practice with Lexie, more ironing of J.Tom’s clothes (one day I will be able to afford the cleaners!), more walking, more pregnancy exercises … oh. And more menu planning (really not doing good menu planning), and more blog planning.

How’s that for thinking 😉

I am thankful…
That my husband woke up before me to make coffee and feed the baby cows. =) We have started weaning them from their milk (a little late), and boy are they pushy! We don’t let them boss us, but the taller brown one sure tries.

In the kitchen…
There is bone broth that needs to be jarred up and put in the freezer.

And coffee!

I am wearing…
A maternity dress- it is one of the really old ones from my pregnancy with Lexie. It doesn’t really fit well, but they make great house dresses now, and are comfy to sleep in. Old Navy, $10 6 years ago.

I am creating…
probably a mess of everything. I have so much to do; today is cleaning day, but I also have to work in the basement (ugh) and get ironing done. I have dresses to finish sewing before baby comes, I want to put together a small unit study for the kids on Little house in the Big Woods, because we are about to finish that, and then we are going to grow crystals. That’s creating stuff, right? =/

I am going…
I need to go to Costco this afternoon; if the Mister takes a good nap we will go get groceries and then meet the daddy for dinner out.

Did I mention I have done a really bad job about menu planning lately?

I am wondering…
If it will continue to rain and fill the pond up. We thought we had a leak … thankfully the hubby had access to a few tons of kitty litter so we spread that out where we thought the leak may be. However, it may in fact just be that we didn’t have a wet winter and our runoff is blocked a bit, and there is a huge pond next door that has to fill before ours will.

Hoping the hard heavy rain we got last night started the process. We have had slow, steady rain for 2-3 days now. It has been wonderful!
I am reading…
Oh gosh! Okay, so I have a few books on my shelf, but have only really started one. The first two are homemaking books from the library, though I think I would like to own both. and the rest are books about raising boys. Cause … my little Mister is the only Mister and I am a girl. Therefore I really know very little about raising boys.

The Hands-On Home
Little House Living
Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing young Boys
Shepherding a Child’s Heart
I have a few more specifically on boys, but haven’t started them yet and am unsure of the titles.

I am hoping…
really more like praying God helps me find me the patience and energy today to accomplish all the things!

I am looking forward to…
Not having a mile long to do list! It seems to come in phases, sometimes I feel like I have it all done and everything is great (obviously, it probably really isn’t). And then sometimes I am SO. Far. Behind. Like now. =)

I am learning…
That my Mister needs freedoms, and boundaries, and more reinforcement of consequences when he breaks those boundaries.

Also, that I have let a LOT of time get by me before this baby gets here! I am 27.5 weeks already, and we have a TON of rather big things to do.

Around the house…
dusting. vacuuming. switching season clothes, packing kids clothes that are too small to save for baby, and I am always decluttering. Which right now I think we are in a pretty good place with that. Minus all these girl clothes I have to hold on to! I know I should throw them away, but I just can’t do it. We’re throwing enough away though, leaving us with a lot of space now. If anyone else needs to declutter their home, it might be worth contacting a company like 1300 Rubbish to make sure they can take the rubbish away from your home. That always makes the job easier.

A favorite quote for today…

One of my favorite things…
that Ila has FINALLY this week, started saying more words: red car, Lexie, mister, bear, more animal sounds, hair bow, and she pretends to read the words in books by speaking her own little baby Japanese. It is really cute.

I also LOVE that Lexie begs to take Ila outside while I am prepping meals, switching out laundry, etc. I do let her take her on the porch or to the back concrete and Lexie just loves it. So does mister- he drives Ila around in the back of his little pick up truck. She is so loved.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
I think ALL the lists above should cover this one. =)

A peek into my day…
This was the other day

Baby #3 Summary: 18 month Update and Routine

by Meghan // March 14, 2016 // Comments off

Well … Talk about dropping the ball =/ Poor Ila hasn’t had very many baby updates.

But, here I am with her 18 month baby summary!

Personality and Development

Ila walks to the beat of her own drum, for sure. While Mister and Lexie are out running around on their many adventures, Ila is usually either off in her own world (playing with trucks, or sitting in a hole in the yard playing with dirt), or totting right behind them. She is still obsessed with animals and tends to talk back to them in their language, more than she speaks to us in ours. She moos at cows, tweets and whistles at birds, growls at the dogs, and SCREAMS some wild meows at the cats; she can call, “here chick, chick, chick” just as well as I can, doesn’t have a single fear of those calves in the barn. As far as she is concerned, Thora and Charlie belong to her and she is one of them. (she doesn’t discriminate!)

Speaking of walking … Ila started walking full time somewhere around November (14 months) which is the absolute latest of all my babies. The first two were walking by 9-10 months. Ila just wanted to take her time.

Speaking of speaking … Ila has words, she just chooses not to use them most of the time. Ha! Her vocabulary consists mostly of: Tho-ra, charlie (which comes out something like chagie), dog dog, meow, cat, air (airplane), mama (for mama, more, please, I’m waiting! and NOW!!), dada, dada home (cause that’s the biggest deal of the day besides meals), and my absolute favorite which comes out plain as day Yes Ma’am! haha Why of all the words we have taught her did that phrase stick, we will never know… There are a few more I am forgetting I’m sure, but these are the most widely used. She won’t say Lexie or Max yet.

She does sign for her drink and please … but that’s about it. She CAN doe “more-more” but chooses not to most of the time unless I really make her. 😉

I can say this about her- she is smart and hilarious! She picks up on things so fast, without us even really realizing it, which I am sure is because she is submerged in a literature and language rich environment AKA living with her siblings. They talk to her, sing to her, read to her, pretend with her, and if I’d let them they would feed her (that may or may not happen on occasion). One day after dumping the ABC beanbags into the laundry basket, I found her sorting out the bean bags and laundry, putting each item where it belongs.
She is so funny, and will do just about anything to put a smile on your face. She also finds herself quite humorous … I think she takes after her daddy!

My silly, sweet, snuggly little rag-napper. She enjoys stealing my rag off the kitchen sink

She is the snuggliest of all my babies. Max was a snuggler, but mostly because he was refluxy and cranky and needed lots of reassurance; that snuggly behavior stuck through his personality to today. Lexie liked snuggling as a baby (and really craves it now at 5.5) but then she wanted to go do her thing and come back again later. Ila will just snuggle all day if you let her; she walks up to J.Tom and me and gives the BIGGEST squeeze hugs around our legs. She often just wants to be held and lay her head on my shoulder. She gives great big, squeaky kisses that put the slobberi-est of dogs to shame!

Eating and Favorite Things

At meals, she likes to be the first to fold her hands for the blessing so she can start eating. She has started pointing to things and counting (like she sees Mister do), and she likes to bring me letters and say Mmmmm. Apparently all letters are M (probably because Max says M-A-X Max! all day long). She has discovered her spit (ew) and blows spit bubbles to get attention. Her favorite foods are probably whole pears, which she has been eating since she was about 8 months old, and anything I cook that is warm. She will devour anything, but like beans and ham, spaghetti, turkey sandwiches with spinach, and loooove green beans. She really likes the tomatoes out of my vinegar salad and roasted broccoli.

She has finally started enjoying listening to me read to her; up to this point she just wanted to sit in my lap while she held the book and thumbed the pages. Somehow it just soothed her, the feeling of the pages flipping. And she still enjoys that, but we have started reading her Bible and she is actually listening and points to the pictures, etc. So that’s nice. While Mister and Lexie are doing school, she likes to ask for crayons and paper … but she just eats the crayons.

Her favorite things are our animals, anyone’s shoes, flipping through books, eating, and dancing. She will play with Mister’s toy trucks for what seems like hours and rolls them all over the house.

Her eating schedule looks just like ours now. Here is her daily routine:

7am wake/snuggles
7:30 breakfast- fried eggs, homemade oatmeal, and fruit with water
- play while we finish morning school basket/do morning chores, begin school
9:00/9:30-10:30 she goes to independent play in her crib while we do parts of school that require a little more quiet (Lexie reading aloud, math, me reading aloud if she is being particularly loud!)
11:15 lunch
12:00 nap She usually sleeps until 2 or 2:30
3:00 everyone up from naps
outside play/play downstairs if weather is nasty
5:30ish dinner
6:15ish bath
6:30/6:45/7pm bed, depending on what time she woke up from nap. If she slept until 2 or later bed is 6:45 or 7pm
All kids are in bed by 7, earlier if Max didn’t nap good

Everything is flexible by a few minutes other than sleep times.

This month marks the firs that we have truly been Wonder Week free! Whew- let me tell you, since about Christmas, we have had one WW after another. Some of those wouldn’t have been that noticeable, except that hers manifest themselves in waking at night- not just waking, but screaming all night unless being held. A few times I tried to hold her, but she wouldn’t go to sleep, only stop crying. So we had many wakeful, exhausting nights. And once she came out of the WWs (I think they were the last 2 until she turns 2?) everything went back to normal. Thankfully!

I think that is about it on her baby summary. My next will probably be when she is about 2. Of course we should have a newborn by then, so the summary may be a little late 😉

8.5 month Baby Summary Update {ww37 and babywise schedule}

by Meghan // May 27, 2015 // Comments off

Well, here we are; somehow Ila is 8.5 months old! To think she is closer to 1 year old than a newborn baby … =( It is going by so quickly.

But God meant for healthy things to grow, and she is surely growing! She is a little over 20lbs and 28.5″ long; not as big as her siblings at this age, but that is okay.

Ila has 5 teeth and is working on one or two more. She gave up nursing around the beginning of April, and though I was devastated and continued trying to get her to nurse, she was completely done by the third week of April. Trying to nurse had become a battle that stressed us both out. I really thougth she was going to nurse for the long haul; she was my best nurser out of my three babies. But just like the others, once she realized the milk in the bottle came out faster, with less work involved for her, (even though it was the smallest size Tommie Tippee nipple), she was done with mama. =(

She still has a head full of hair, and that is the first thing people notice about her. The second thing they mention is how happy she is. And she is happy. The happiest baby ever; I know I say that on all of her summaries, but really. She doesn’t get upset over much, she has never spit up a day in her life (which I attribute to not getting dairy protein through nursing or her formula), and the only time she has a hard time with sleep or not feeling well is during wonder weeks; she is even pretty happy while teething, with only one or two rough days. I know this won’t last forever, at some point she will become a tiny tantrum on two feet, but for now, it is bliss!

Eating At 8 Months

Ila is eating every 4 hours … sorta? =/ She is eating solids LIKE CRAZY. If we are eating, she wants a bite of it. Which means that she has been eating: burger meat, steak, meat loaf, rotisserie chicken, fried chicken, spaghetti, cooked carrots, cooked green beans, sautéed zucchini and onion, grapes, apple sauce, pears, banana, eggs … and really the list goes on (though no processed foods). Basically if it is soft enough for her to chew, and homemade with real ingredients, she gets it. I did give her some BBQ from a local restaurant the other night, and she liked that too. =)

So at 3 of her 4 feedings she eats solids, then takes her bottle. She refuses her bottle before she eats real food, and she won’t take it right after she eats … so a little after she has eaten she is ready for her bottle. Oh- and if she hasn’t had a poopy diaper she won’t take a bottle, so basically her life revolves around when she poops! haha But I am working on not letting her eat as much food before her bottle, since that should still be her primary form of nourishment right now.

Schedule

Ila has moved seamlessly to a 2 nap schedule. I knew it was time to drop the cat nap because her naps were being interrupted, but she was still tired after waking and about 20 minutes later she would go back to sleep. Also, the third nap just seemed to be messing with her night sleep and first morning nap. So … we dropped to a 2-3-4 schedule (loosely) and it has been working great. Really it is more like a 2-2.5-4 hour schedule. She hasn’t quite worked up to 3 hours at that second nap yet, but it won’t be long. I imagine after this wonder week (ww37) she will be ready.

So at 8.5 months, her schedule looks like this:

7am wake, bottle, solids
9 down
10:30 usually wakes, rest until 11
11 up, lunch, bottle
1 down for nap #2
2:30-3 wake, solids, bottle
5:30 dinner, bath
6:30 bottle, bed
Asleep by 7pm

Development

Ila is doing new things every day! Since my lsat summary, she has started sitting up, scooting on her belly, rolling all over the place to get to things she wants, clapping, and signing. She likes to roll around on the floor and is really trying to crawl; she is thiiiiiis close to crawling! But honestly, with the move, and rent house, etc. I am not a huge fan of her crawling too soon anyway!

She has started signing for milk and more. I think she started signing for milk about a month ago, but I wasn’t 100% certain. Then she began signing for more, and it was pretty obvious what she was wanting! haha The baby is covered with fat rolls and loves to eat, what can I say?

The other day at the rent house Ila was in the floor with Scout (the singing talking dog). It was singing a song and she started DANCING. It was possibly the cutest thing ever. So now, she just bounces and dances when it plays music.

Ila is working on grasping small pieces of food, and while she can usually pick them up, she has a hard time getting them into her mouth. She has also discovered throwing things .. including her water cup! NOT FUN. Ugh. But our little Mister is so sweet and gets it for her every. single. time she “drops” it. haha He is helping create a monster. =)

Big brother and sister adore her. I mean … just smother her to death adore her. Including Mister- she is his “sweet baby girl Ila.” I love that he is (usually) so gentle and good with her. And big sister is mama’s BIG helper. She is also in love with Ila and is always teaching her new things (works on signing with her) and cheering her on! Did I mention Charlie loves her, too?

As far as the WW is going … there is some fussing at sleep time and all around weirdness going on, but in the nest 3 weeks that should end. *whew*

That is all of Ila’s 8month update I think … I *love* this stage! (minus the wonder week!)

What is your favorite “baby stage?”

Best Baby Swaddle Transition Blanket {week 27/6mo summary}

by Meghan // March 25, 2015 // Comments off

Ila is 6 and a half months old, and today (Thursday, March 19th) begins the 27th week of her life. She is still a happy, sweet, content baby girl. She is definitely the most sensitive of our children; Ila really watches your face for cues to see if you are happy or upset before she will smile or interact with you a lot. Lexie was a determined go-getter from the start; she wanted your attention and would scream across the room and be silly in order to get it. Max was much more moody, but not based on anyone else’s mood; his disposition was usually determined by how his tummy was feeling (reflux and colic), and if he had a full belly or not. Ila is going to be a sensitive, loving girl, and that is okay. =)

Development

In the past two weeks Ila has finally started working on all those skills her past wonder weeks prepared her for- she is more smoothly reaching for things, talking, and rolling from her back to her front. She wants to sit up all the time and is not content laying down. We are working on sitting up by herself, and I have a feeling it isn’t far from happening. She also like to kick and stand.

She has recently started playing in the bathtub, which is so cute. She kicks the tub and splashed everywhere. Her little baby legs are just covered in fat rolls, and she is the happiest thing you have ever seen.

We also have two teeth, and I think she is trying to get a third on the bottom? But I am not 100% sure yet. She loves to talk when she is by herself, but when her older siblings are around she mostly just watches in wonder and awe. She think they are hilarious and they both love to sit with a book and read to her. This morning (3/25/2015) she finally reached for the toys on the bouncer and discovered one plays music when she pulls it.

Eating

Ugh. I don’t know if it is the 6 month growth spurt, the 6 month overall regression, my milk supply dropping because I am walking, Ila getting teeth, or a combination of all the above, but the last two weeks she has been on somewhat of a nursing strike. =( My perfect nursing baby is now very opinionated on when she wants to nurse and when she does not. Unfortunately the last few days it has been more of the not, than the wants to. I am not sure what to do to encourage her, so I am going to start back on my fennel oil to help increase my supply, continue pumping twice a day, and always offer to nurse before solids or a bottle. So far, if I get her up and nurse in her bedroom, with it dark and the door shut she will nurse pretty well.

As soon as Ila wakes, we nurse, then take a bottle. At her 11:00 feeding we nurse, then she gets solids (wither avocado or applesauce in oatmeal), and then she takes a bottle.

She loves avocado!

The Miss is devouring solids, so we are probably going to start offering them at her 3:00 feeding as well, for a snack. (which is also why she doesn’t get them before nursing..) She opens her mouth and really enjoys eating now, her eyes get SO big when it is time for a bite, but sometimes she can’t seem to figure out when to open her mouth- it is really funny.

Once she decides she is ready to wean, I will use our homemade formula exclusively for her bottles. Hopefully we can continue nursing until 12 months.

Sleep

Ila was double swaddled until about 2 weeks ago- then my whole life changed for the better! She had been fighting the swaddle, and was getting one arm out in the middle of the night, sometimes managing to get both out (which woke up her early in the mornings). But no matter how hard I tried, she still would not sleep during the day with one arm out. So I decided to get the Love to Dream Swaddle-Up 50/50 blanket.

{photo from Amazon.com}

Do you hear that?

It is angels singing!

Oh my goodness, why did I wait so long to get this?! I wish I had bought it MONTHS ago. It is amazing. (and no one is paying me to tell you that!)

So the blanket is made of a stretchy knit material, that allows baby’s arms to be free in the swaddle, but also tight enough that they don’t wake themselves during sleep transitions! Then, on top of that, the little arms are UN-ZIPPABLE!

You read that right!

When baby is ready to roll over, or start the transition to one arm out of the swaddle, you just unzip that bad boy and there you go! A perfect transition- one arm out and one arm in, but able to move and go back to sleep at the end of a sleep cycle. It is perfect!

Yes she chews and suck on the fabric that is zipped on, but it is not problem. It is seriously the most perfect thing ever in the history of baby products. I will get one for every single person I know having a baby in the future!

I would have started her in this blanket at about 3.5-4 months old if I’d had it on hand.

Once Ila is a little bit older we will probably start to use one of the blankets that a friend who lives in Germany bought us. It was such a sweet and lovely gift. Our friend actually had a blanket custom made just for our little girl printed with photos of all of her family members so that she can always be close to them.

She told us that you can now FotoDecke mit Ihrem Foto, Text oder Design gestalten (design blankets using your own photos for those of you who do not speak German!) quickly and easily using some of the brilliant custom gift websites out there. I still cannot get over how cute this blanket is and I am so excited to put it to good use once Ila outgrows her current one.

Anyway, her sleep is usually great and I really do attribute that to the Love to Dream Swaddle.

So for now, our schedule looks like this (we JUST extended her first wake time to 1.75hrs):

7am wake, nurse, bottle
8:45 down for nap
11:00 wake, nurse, solids, bottle
12:45 down for nap (this will probably move to 1:00 soon)
3:00 up, nurse, begin solids here soon, bottle
4:45 down for cat nap (this will probably be 5:00 soon)
6:15pm up, nurse, bottle, bed by 7
usually asleep by 7pm

This spring weather that started way early is amazing and Ila is really enjoying being outside. She hangs out in her bouncer, which my big helper Lexie takes outside for me. =)

Postpartum Update

As for a mama update- I am mostly good. Still working on healing my DR so I can move on to more intense workouts. I am just really taking it slow; it is hard because I want to jump right back in but I am telling you- my body feels SO MUCH BETTER since I stopped doing the wrong exercises! I cannot give enough praise for Fit2B.com- I will do a whole post on that another day.

But since starting my DR exercises, I can tell my TA (transverse abdominis) is getting stronger because my back no longer hurts as badly as it did. Your TA is the deepest ab muscle and wraps from your front to your spine; when you have back trouble and someone says you need to strengthen your core, this is the muscle you really should be working on.

Anyway, as my body heals I just feel better and better, even if I am not losing a ton of weight yet. This take priority right now. I have quite a bit of weight to lose, but don’t expect it to come off until Ila is done nursing.

I am not willing to stop nursing or go on a crazy strict diet and lose my supply while nursing, for the sake of losing weight. I figure, I am young, I won’t be fat forever and I only get to nurse my baby once. Some days I struggle with it, but I know this is what I want for both of us.

Emotionally I feel great- hormones don’t seem to be making me a crazy person right now (though that usually comes shortly after baby weans). We have been enjoying incredibly warm weather so at naps I have been laying out-Oh my goodness, REAL sunshine and vitamin D are some of God’s most wonderful gifts! I feel like a different person than I did in December just because of the sunshine.

So, that is it! Our 6.5 month update!

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. =)

Baby Summary 17 Weeks {WW 14-19}

by Meghan // January 17, 2015 // Comments off

WW 19 summary lookin like big sister {QuietInTheChaos.com}

Looking like her Big Sister, wearing the same jammies, same age. Lexie on left, Ila on right

(I started this post last week. Ila is now 18 weeks and we are still trucking through this WW.)

Ila was 17 weeks Thursday, January 8th. Really, it has been so crazy here, I thought she was 16 weeks- I can’t seem to keep up.

Ila is in the absolute dreaded WW (wonder week) 14-19. And oh man, are we aaaaall up in it! On top of that, she is teething, so life is just hard. I have been rubbing diluted oils on her gums to help with pain and am waiting on her teething necklace to get here. Naps and wake time length are just all over the place. I can’t wait for this WW to end!

She is somewhere around 15 Lbs I think, and is still practicing rolling from tummy to back. She sits up nice and straight with support, and holds her head up so well. She is sitting in the bumbo for one meal a day; we are practicing with oatmeal and apple sauce but she really doesn’t care anything about it. But I figure we should start now so that when it is time that she definitely needs solids (at 6 months or so) it doesn’t take us another month or two to get them in her. She still spits the oatmeal out; but she is nursing and then taking 5-7ounces of formula so it is DEFINITELY time for this big girl to get some solids in her belly!

She has started practicing with consonant sounds like “buh” and is infatuated with her hands. She loves to talk, but isn’t her same smiley self these days, thanks to the icky teeth.

Overall she is developing well and is a sweet baby. We all just lover her =)