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!

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?”

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 =)

Max Week 32/33 Summary.. and a huge photo bomb!

by Meghan // April 27, 2013 // Comments off

I wrote this entire post, and then it somehow was replaced with a duplicate of another post?! And now I am feeling very frustrated. So it’s going to be an abbreviated version of the original.

Max has just finished his 33rd week of life, and will be 34 weeks old (almost 8 months old) on Sunday.

Eating
He is eating better; I got his medicine flavored differently, and he takes it no problem now. He is eating everything except bananas. They still bother his tummy

Development
Max is standing better, sometimes without holding onto anything, and has become brave enough to take a few steps in the same spot he is standing (in other words, he doesn’t move, just picks up his feet). He has learned to fall onto his booty instead of his back, so there is a lot less crying going on now! Woo hoo

He says dada and has started trying to say mama. But it comes out na-na. He does this especially when he is hungry/while I’m making his bottle or food. Since he has started talking, he has stopped all that screeching. YAY He is still signing for milk, and has not picked up the sign for “more” or “please” yet, but I haven’t been very consistent.

We are in wonder week 37 territory. Naps have been short, but he isn’t too terribly cranky… it could be worse. This is supposedly a tough wonder week, so we will see. After this mental leap he will be able to categorize things in his environment, like milk and oatmeal are foods, jtom, lexie and I are his family at home vs people he doesn’t recognize, etc. He will start practicing crawling sometime after this leap (*edit* during the cat nap he refused this afternoon, he was up on his hands and knees rocking… so I guess the urge to start trying has begun).

It’s funny how different he and Lexie are; at this age she was raring to go, 24/7! She wanted to move, was loud, and wanted to talk to/get attention from everyone she saw. I remember my friend Whitney saying how determined Lexie was, and that’s true to this day. Max is more timid, laid back.. and you could say he is lazy. =) He is getting more and more excited about standing though; it’s really cute when he starts flapping his arms, smiling, and cheering for himself. He’s just a really sweet baby and is sensitive; but I do remember Lexie being sensitive too. She was scared easily by certain toys, noises, or faces. Max is the same in that aspect.

Lexie Raye
I had so many updates on her before I lost the original post, and now I can’t remember any of them! Ugh!

We still have engine friends, though the dinosaurs haven’t been back. She has been showing more interest in dinosaurs, so we may do a unit study on them this summer just for fun. Oh yea- she has finally stopped fighting baths. No more screaming or crying hysteria; and I was able, after many weeks, to convince her washing her hair in the sink would be fun! So now she will lay on the counter and let me wash her hair in the kitchen sink- I told her how my memaw washed my hair like that when I was a little girl. She really liked that and mentions it every time we wash her hair. She also enjoys bath time now; I plugged the hole in all her bath toys with hot glue (pinterest is useful, sometimes!) The black mold that came out of them freaked her out (uh … it would freak me out, too. but there was no way to keep them cleaned out). So, that is no longer a problem.

Mommy and “wittle Baby Essie”

Now I know how my parents felt when I sent my water back 7 times at a restaurant because there were “floaties in it.” She is the same way about anything she deems should not have dirt on/in it. But playing in or throwing dirt outside, laying down in mud, and eating bird seed are all A-Okay!

Suddenly, the crying at bedtime every night stopped. The first night we waited a few hours then went and checked on her. She had climbed into her rocking chair to sleep. We always put her down in her bed, but then she moves to the rocking chair. At bout 8:30 every night I go move her to the bed. I don’t care if she sleeps in the floor, as long as she stays in her room, off the couch, and out of our bed! Anyway, so that’s how she has been falling asleep for the last 2 weeks. Hopefully it is a phase that ends soon, and she will be comfortable falling asleep in her bed again. We don’t know what freaked her out about her bed, suddenly. She has started talking about things getting her. We have prayed with her about it, and emphasize that in our home she is safe; nothing is going to get her and that most of the things she is talking

about are pretend, not real. I’m sure it is part of a developmental phase; she is starting to realize there are real dangers in the world, but doesn’t know how to rationalize that idea yet.

Spring is finally here! YAY! Yesterday we went to the park for a lunch and play date with JTom. After nap we walked to the school and played on the playground there. This morning we went to the library for story time, then after lunch we went for a run. It is the first time I have ran since I was pregnant with Max, so it’s been about 16 months…? Yea. So, my calves were sore 10 minutes after we got back home! But a good sore and I enjoyed every minute of my run. I pushed them in the double jogger. We went to the disc golf park across from the house. There is a wide, paved track that goes all around; it’s very wind-y and has lots of inclines and hills. It was a good workout. We ran/walked 2 miles. My goal is to run 6-8 miles a week, more if weather permits. I love running and it makes me feel good.

proud Mister Bear

Yea, what’s up?

Hey, what’re yooou doing?

Hrm, I landed on my booty … what do I think of this?

Hey, Na-Na… what just happened?

Hrm…

Oh well, I’ll just rest my eyes a bit

Ha- just kidding!

putting her engines to night-night in their “hallway bed Tidmouth Sheds”

patting them and tucking them in to bed

night night engine!

“are you still in there?”

oh there you are!

Are you ready for wake up time?

upside down- washing her hair in the sink

Tomorrow we are going fishing! Woo Hoo! As much as JTom and I LOVE to fish, we have never taken Lexie. So tomorrow is the day! There is a really nice lake on the west side of town, so that’s where we are headed tomorrow. This next week we are going to keep tweaking our routine until we find something that really works best. I’m trying to get up earlier in the mornings to start my day, and be sure everything is picked up and in order before bed (which I’ve always done, but I’ve been slacking lately).

Here are a ton more pictures of our last week or two.

Dada!

this is a different day than all the other red diaper pics. This was the first day he stood with the activity table

April 26, 2013

Max Baby Summary: Week 31

by Meghan // April 18, 2013 // Comments off

Max has been very clingy this week. His second tooth is here, and he is chewing like crazy with his side gums, so I am wondering if he is getting more teeth?! But I’m not sure. For the most part this last week was good. Minus the screaming. Oh my! The screaming. And it isn’t screaming like, “Oh, I’m mad so I’m screaming.” Or “feed me now!” (though he does that sometimes while I get a bottle ready.) No, it is just screaming. For FUN. A high pitched “Wheeee!” sounding scream. He was doing this while we ate lunch the other day. Lexie leaned over, put her hand on my forearm and said, “Mama. I do not like that sound.” Oh sweet girl, neither do I! Hopefully he will grow out of it before long.

He is signing milk all the time now. While I make his bottle, that little hand is just going to town signing for “milk.” It’s so sweet. He has been eating okay, but not great. Since the first tooth broke through he has good days and bad; he usually is only taking 4-5ounces, but will finish the rest mixed into cereal. However, because his new meds are working for his reflux, he is able to eat lots of real foods he couldn’t eat before, and now protests plain oatmeal! The boy wants real food. haha So we have been doing lots of avacado, carrots, peas, green beans, pears, apples and blueberries, etc.

His sleep has been better this past week, with only a few short naps. This weekend he had *perfect* sleep. All. Weekend. Long. It was amazing, really. I also found the activity table; it was hidden in the garage. We started using it this past weekend, and he did really well. For a baby who doesn’t seem the least bit interested in crawling or moving around at all, really, he stood up on his own for a long time playing at the table. He hasn’t mastered the art of bending his legs when he falls; so rather than fall onto his bottom … he just topples over like a stiff log. haha He doesn’t think it’s very funny, and usually gets really scared when it happens, so I try to avoid it… but the boy needs to learn how to fall onto his booty. So we are working on bending his knees and bouncing while standing, but those feet are firmly planted; I just don’t think he’s ready for all that yet really.

Considering Mister has been having such good sleep as of late, it is fitting that Lexie has been a little hit or miss. A few weeks ago, she went from not wanting to go to bed at night (read: saying she is tired, wanting to sleep, but also wanting us to pat her or rock her, which we don’t do because she has always gone right to sleep) to sleeping in her rocking chair. For some strange reason she has decided she wants to fall asleep in her rocking chair; and despite our attempts at keeping her in the bed, she gets up. But we have been going in and putting her back in the bed. The craziest part about all of this is she has been NAPPING. Consistently. For an entire week! I think this is partially because she is done teething. All her two year molars are in, and now she is back to eating and sleeping well. We considered taking the rocking chair out of the room, but I think we will just wait and see how long this phase lasts. Maybe she is just ready for a big bed… I am not sure. The 2.5 year mark usually is a developmental milestone for children when you generally see added clinginess, sleep disruptions, and new fears develop. She is definitely more clingy to both JTom and me, and has mentioned being afraid a few different story characters were going to “get me.” We have reassured her nothing is going to get her; she doesn’t mention this at bed time or anything, just sometimes while playing alone in her room.

Moni, Shelby, and Lilly watching us play doll house

Her imagination is wild! We still have engines that are beyond wearing out their welcome. haha I think I tell them things 200 times a day. “Will you tell me engines what I am eating? Will you tell my engines they need to sleep at nap time? Will you tell my engines they need to stay on the swing set and leave Scarlet alone?…..” Oh my. Then, the other night we had dinosaurs. On the ceiling. The engines go everywhere with us; she even includes them in her stories during stretching at gymnastics. They really like the museum. As long as I don’t have to feed them, I guess they can stay. 😉

Right now, Lexie is really into reading her devotional and Bible. I mean … like they are attached at her hip. As a matter of fact, the devotional is falling apart, and she can read every day, word for word, from January until today. Not kidding. That’s what we read for every nap and bedtime. It is her favorite. She is now acting like a little Mama to Max and her dolls. When Max cries she says, “Oh! Let me go see what is wrong to Max. Max, what is wrong to you? Tell me why.” haha I am not sure why she says “to” instead of “what,” but I’m sure she will figure it out soon enough. Her new favorite words are “fantastic!” and “earlier.” Hearing her say earlier is hilarious.

chewing on a pear

dyeing Easter eggs … a week late =/

painting her fingernails

We visited a church this past Sunday. It was really nice; it reminded me of my church growing up, which was a Full Gospel church. This is a non denominational church, it is small but has many young families. I am excited to maybe visit it again this coming Sunday. J.Tom was raised Presbyterian, so it is different than he is used to. But I actually felt like I was in church. For the past 5 years in Hot Springs I just didn’t get what I needed from our church; provided I didn’t give much back to them in way of serving. I never felt like it was home. The sermons were more like the new school way of thinking-motivational sermons or get people involved in serving the church, but let’s not talk about sin, salvation, the devil, or how to grow in Christ. That’s how I felt, anyway. The church we visited Sunday had an amazing sermon, though a little long, and a great worship service. Lexie walked into children’s church like she owned the place. haha She enjoyed herself (although she was supposed to be in the nursery since she isn’t 3 yet..) I don’t know if we will visit a different church this week or try this one again. We will just pray about it and see. We just hope to find a church that gives us what we both need, and that we can be a serve as well.

How did you find your church home? Is it one you grew up in or one you found after marriage, college, children…?

Max Baby Summary: 29/30 weeks

by Meghan // April 9, 2013 // Comments off

Wow, I know. I’m behind… Max is now 7 months old/31 weeks. This is the update for his last (month) week, which was 30weeks old/the week he turned 7 months.

We have two teeth! The first one was his bottom center right, and it came in about a week ago. 3 days later the left tooth came through. The left one seems to really be bothering him today; he’s been pulling on his ears and chewing his fingers … but of course he hurts himself now when he chews them because there are teeth in there! Haha! It won’t be long before we will have to make a dentist appointment for him; he’s growing up so fast. I want to make sure that for his first dentist visit, we go somewhere who offer Children’s Dentistry as at least that way they know how to properly treat young children so that they are used to going to the dentist and not scared, (like I am). My friend takes her children to this Dentist in Sarasota, which is where they live, and they are supposed to be very good in treating children. So, I think I may look for a dentist local to us that offers a similar service so that his first visit is a good one.

He is sitting up all the time by himself (that actually started about a month ago). He is much more balanced. I noticed when Lexie was his age, in the middle of April she was pulling up on things and turning herself around while sitting. I’m wondering if it is harder for him because we have carpet now? Lexie had hardwood floors to spin on. If Max were sitting on hardwood floors, then everytime he leans over or reaches for something he would realize, ‘Hey, I can move!” haha I may get the foam ABC mat out that Lexie used and put it down instead of the quilt they play on.. But I’m not sure how well it will work on carpet.

He is babbling a LOT! Lexie taught him to say “dadadadadada” a few weeks ago. I’ve been working with him to say “dada” when JTom comes home or is holding him. Two days ago, the boy looked at his daddy and said, “dada,” then when JTom didn’t say anything back Max said, “dada,” until his daddy replied. Then he just beamed! JTom was very proud. =) So we are pretty well convinced he knows JTom is DaDa. He has a few other babble sounds he makes and is so proud of himself. Max is also signing for milk. He signs it when he is waiting for me to make his bottle, when I sign it to him, while he is drinking his bottle… so next we are going to do “more” and “please.”

He is wearing 12 month clothes (he has a few 9mo that he can wear). About 5 days ago, he woke up and had a head full of hair?! Prior to that he had a “mohawk.” Then 2 days ago he woke up with lighter hair! It’s crazy how babies literally change over night! His eyes … well I am going to let you decide from the pictures. I really don’t know. The centers look light green, but overall they’re just really blue.

Max’s 6 month dr apt went well. He started a new medicine, I think it is prilosec for babies. They compound it at the pharmacy. The taste is terrible so he has a hard time swallowing it (even with added flavoring) but it has helped tremendously! He went from barely eating and taking bottles to eating a LOT more! I think he has gained 5 lbs in the last 3 weeks. haha He has been eating peas, green beans, carrots, apples, apples w blueberries, and avacado with no problems. Bananas constipated him for a day or so, so he hasn’t had them anymore. But there have been no problems with anything else as far as reflux goes! What a blessing and answered prayer.

His sleep has finally gotten a little better for naps, and here is what his routine looks like:
6:45/7:15 wake
7:00/7:15 up, medicine, eat
7:45 independent play in pack n play
8:00/8:15 go downstairs to do calendar and activities with Lexie
8:50 wind down for nap
8:55-9 asleep (usually a 1hr10min-1.5hr nap)
10:15-10:45 wake up
11:00/11:15 eat, play
12:30-1:00 down for nap; we do 12:30 if he was SUPER tired from a short first nap, but 1:00 if not
2:00-3:00 wake up; time depends on what time he went down for second nap. (Usually a 1hr10min-1.5hr nap)
3:00 eat, play
sometimes he takes a cat nap (he is in the process of dropping this nap)
Ideally, his dinner is 6:00, bedtime is 7pm
On days he doesn’t get good sleep (usually if naps are interrupted it’s with a poopy diaper, or we go to the library for story time…) then we do bedtime an hour early, so asleep at 6pm. That helps his catch up on sleep, and keeps him from getting in an over tired cycle which can take weeks for a small child to get out of.

Lexie is doing great. She still enjoys gymnastics, and has all her “imaginary” friends. We read Goldilocks and the Three Bears, along with Billy Goats Gruff and the Three Little Pigs recently … now everything is a “daddy fill in the blank” “mommy fill in the blank,” or a “baby/Lexie fill in the blank.” Obviously this goes according to size of said object. =)

reading

She started letting me wash her hair in the kitchen sink, so hair washing and bath time are no longer a fight. She was doing great, and then about 4(?) or so weeks ago, it became an absolute screaming, tearful battle to get her in the tub so I could wash her hair. She doesn’t like teh water to get in her ears or eyes. Of course we did EVERYTHING to prevent this, but when
she is screaming and moving around, it becomes impossible to keep the water only on her hair …. After I convinced her the kitchen sink would be fun, and that my Memaw washed my hair in the kitchen sink, she was okay with it. =)

Two weekends ago, Spring hit Nebraska. Although this coming week is supposed to be stormy and cold, the last two weeks have been warm and sunny. We don’t do the Easter Bunny, so Lexie got a spring basket with some new learning toys and a few necessities. We gave her a Thomas the Engine (electric) toothbrush, some new PJs, new dry erase markers for her dry erase board, a pair of fiskar kid’s scissors, and some accessories for her light table. (The light table is a whole other post! Look for it later this week or next!)

She also got her first real kite! In Nebraska it is very windy, and out where we live used to be cornfields, so there are no big trees around the house, they are all a street over at the park and school. So it’s the perfect place to fly a kite. She had so much fun!

In many of the pictures I am posting, the grass was just barely turning green, now it is all green and trees have started budding and blooming(?). Our garden season is off from the south by about a month, so we don’t need to get anything in the ground for a few more weeks, at the latest May 1st.

JTom has been traveling some with work. He went to Milan, Italy last week. He brought back three bottles of Italian wine and some parmesean cheese. I still haven’t tasted the Italian wine, but I am sure it will be great. The cheese … well it’s good! =) In Italy they put (very expensive) balsamic vinegar on a little piece (like a cube) or parmesean cheese and eat it. So when we went to Grand Island last weekend we got some of the good, “gourmet” (though no expensive…) balsamic vinegar and tried it on the cheese. YUM! New favorite snack, for sure.
He brought back some “monies from Italy” for Lexie and she was beyond pleased. haha I got a beautiful rosary, and the wine.

Turkey season in Nebraska has opened, so JTom may be hunting Saturday. He joined a hunting lease here, that covers hunting land all over Nebraska, and in other states as well. I told him if he brings home meat so I don’t have to buy nasty store meat, it will be worth it. He said “it’s called hunting, not killing. I can’t promise I will bring anything home.” So, we will see if we end up w a turkey in the freezer. =)

We have started planning our garden. We know we are going to get in tomatoes and maybe a few other things. We have to get the fence done soon, hopefully in the next few weeks. All of the pictures below are from March, so they are actually a few weeks old, or older. You will notice Max’s hair isn’t very thick. Look at his hair and fat rolls in the next posts with pictures! It’s crazy how quickly they change.

reading to Bubby

Mister Bear playing in the bath

reading her Bible to Max

I love to be upside down

new outfit

playing outside in the dirt

Happy Bear

Angel Baby

just minding my own business…..

Until now ….

picnic outside

happy bear

Mister outside in the exersaucer

Hi Mama- look at me!

28 weeks old (6.5 months)/ First update since February

by Meghan // March 22, 2013 // Comments off

Well, it’s been a while huh? So … we have moved! We successfully moved our children, the animals, and our belongings a month ago. Whew, it was a little crazy, but we did it!

Sweet little mister

First I will do a quick update on Max and Lexie, then an update on everything else. Max has outgrown most of his 6 month clothes and is sitting for long stretches of time now. He still likes his feet, and loves his Lexie. We have been signing for “milk” for a month or two now, and he has started to do it back while eating or waiting for me to finish making a bottle. I am not sure if he has put the meaning of it to the actual result, but he signs back at me. So he is either good at imitating and will get the meaning soon, or he already gets it. He has been less than a good sleeper since we moved.
For the first 3-4 weeks his room was too bright while we waited on blinds to arrive. He was also getting used to his new surroundings, which I think was very distracting for him. He has started having good naps about every other
day. I’ve noticed when I get him up he smells SO BADLY of acid, and his sheets have been stained, so I do believe we are dealing with reflux again. This could be due to many things: A)not taking his medicine. We were doing probiotics and no dairy which were both helping. But at this age reflux tends to flare back up, and teething can make it worse. B) his baby food could be contaminated with dairy. Did you know food companies are not required to put ingredients on their products if it is cross contaminated, and not an actual ingredient? So it is possible his baby foods are coming in contact w milk. Also, I don’t have the carton to his oatmeal, but it’s possible it contains whey. We are going to the grocery store today so I am going to double check. We go to the dr tomorrow afternoon.

As for Lexie, since we cut back on milk, yogurt, etc. her eczema doesn’t seem to flare as much on her face. I just want to know for sure that Max has a dairy allergy, and what is causing Lexie’s eczema. I had some of his Prevacid left over so we started it again… with our new insurance we have to pay for all of it, and here it will cost us …. wait for it ….. $224.31. for a 31 day supply. When the insurance lady told me this I cried all morning. How is it possible these medicine companies can sell pain meds for $10-$15 a bottle (which many people turn around and sell on the street for $5+ a pill) and my son’s medicine, which he needs in order to EAT costs more than a car note? I don’t understand how this is possible?! And they don’t make a generic for the SoluTabs he has been prescribed. So at the dr tomorrow we will be asking what else we can do, if the dr. feels it is the reflux flaring up again.

snuggly girl after bath

So, because of the possible reflux flare up, the move, teething, etc. Max has just not been taking good naps. On good days he will take 1.5hr naps. On bad days, he sleeps for 20-40 minutes at a time. It’s exhausting for everyone, because it effects everyone. But like I said, about every other day is a good day for him. Then we try to replicate it the next, and it’s awful. I really have no idea what is going on. Hopefully it will smooth out in the next few weeks.

Lexie loves her new gymnastics. It is much different than the gym we went to in AR. Her tot class is in the evenings, and there is a lot happening in the gym at that time. It is really overwhelming for her, and it takes her about 10 minutes to become cooperative and pay attention to what we are doing. She has always been this way; at MDO she stood back and watched the other kids until she was comfortable a few weeks into it. The same went for playing at the Y while I worked out. And also at our play dates. Now instead of quietly standing back and watching, she just wants to go do something else, and won’t pay attention. I think this just comes along with her age, and being overwhelmed. After a few weeks I think she will be more comfortable. She has learned a lot of new, more advanced things, and has also shown the teacher a lot of things she could already do.

She LOVES her new house- her favorite room is the basement. I have set up a little area down there for us to play and learn. It is also plenty big for us to “practice” her gymnastics in the mornings when we can’t go outside. =) Gotta get some of the wiggles out. She is obsessed with Thomas and Friends (although she has’t watched TV since our first week here-more on that in a minute), and to ~~definitely not~~ help out with that situation, a train runs through the corn field on the other side of the house. They all have names from Thomas-Gordon, Charlie, Rose, Emily, etc. All names are the same as her imaginary friends that showed up after Christmas… and are still around. Nap times are now spent talking to them, instead of not napping. But I’ve convinced her to tell them she needs to sleep, so they need to sleep. She tells them no talking, but that lasts all of 15-20 minutes. (hey- I think that’s pretty good for a two year old!)

We have been doing a lot of fun activities; it is a lot easier now that I have a place to keep all our materials and things. I am going to do several separate posts on those.

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks around the house:

helping daddy

telling daddy how to do it … no doubt.

good morning!

reading Thomas with Daddy

oh garsh!

sharing her Baby lamb with Mister, and asking for a kiss on the hand

just playing and watching Sissy Lexie

I can sit up really well now!

bath time

Lexie reading to Max (and she got all the words right!)

Scarlet’s new normal- she can see in the back sliding glass door and windows. She and Lexie talk to each other.

Going for a walk

I know- so dang sweet!

This is how they clear the roads out here-they push the snow into our backyard! Lexie liked it though

“Oh- Im going to show daddy I wear his hat!”

Max vs Lilly- the stare down

Before the BIG cut

This is hair after- it now sits right at her shoulders when wet

Good times!

Week 19 Summary Baby #2

by Meghan // January 26, 2013 // Comments off

This week Mister really started moving more. He loves to laugh at Lexie. He is eating solids 3xs a day. One day, he just pushed himself to a 4 hour schedule! However, he is on a BIG nursing strike and I have to trick him into nursing. Like, wake him up and nurse him while he sleeps, but as soon as he wakes up, he’s done. Some days are a little rough, but mostly this is what our day looks like:

7:00am wake/nurse/6oz bottle (I usually have to wake him)
8:15am down for nap asleep by 8:30
8:30-10:30 or 11 nap
11:00am eat
12:15pm down for nap asleep by 12:30
12:30-2:30ish nap
3:00pm eat
4:30pm-5:30 nap
6:15pm eat
7:00pm bed

Ive started signing with him. Maybe he will pick up on it by 7/8 months like big sister did.

This post is going to be a short one, because I am behind and need to get week 20 done, too! Aaah, where do the days go?