Theo: 4&5 Months

Totally slacking here with the second child updates. Please forgive me sweet child of mine. I'll do my best to recap the past two months. It involves a lot of eating and not so much sleeping...but lots of laughs and smiles. I think the time goes even faster with the second child. I blink and another week has passed. 

As of November 25th: 

Weight: 23 lbs 

Length: 27 inches 

Clothes: size 12 months and size 3 diapers 

Eating: around 4 months you started lengthening the time between feedings...at least during the day. You basically eat 4 times in the daytime at 8am/12/4 and bedtime 630/7. Your still fast and efficient...taking 15 mins per feed. 

Overnight you are atill eating anywhere from 2-3 times...more on this to come.

We started solids officially the week you turned 5 months. Just cereal once/day. It's safe to say you hate it. You turn your face, close your lips and sometimes even cry. Nothing like our brother who basically begged for more...

Sleep: what I wouldn't do for a full nights sleep. At this point it's gotten so bad i think we are at the point of no return. We have gotten you to sleep until 7am which is much improved over your 5/530 wake-ups around 4 months. However, you no longer give me any kind of break by sleeping for a long stretch when you first go down. Now, sometimes you wake after only being down an hour. Sometimes it's 2-3 hours. From there on out, you wake routinely every 2 hours until 3/4am. At that point I normally refuse to feed you to sleep again and toss you in the swing...where you finish off the night until 6/7am.

To he honest, I'm not sure how I am surviving on what little sleep I am getting. It's so fragmented and foggy, I feel as if I am just getting back to sleep and you wake again. We're talking about sleep training in the near future, because with your age and weight there really shouldn't be any reason for these wake ups.

Naps are pretty routine now. Normally 3/day at 8:30 and 11:30 and a cat nap around 3 or 4pm...normally on the way to get brother at daycare. 

Likes: sitting in your high chair at meal times with the family. 

Bath time!

Watching your brother.

Dislikes: you still refuse a bottle, and a soother. Why use a soother when you have me! (Sense a little bit of resentment...). 

Milestones:

*the week you turned 5 months you started rolling from your back to belly. 

*You started using the jumperoo just shy of 4 months and you love to bounce when you are happy and not overtired.

*Transitioned you out of the swaddle just shy of 4 months. You now sleep in the zipadeezip or a sleep sack. 

*You've put yourself to sleep a few times watching the aquarium.

*started solid foods

Noah : 21 & 22 Months

Height: 35-36 inches?

Weight: 30 lbs?

Shoe size: size 5

Clothing: size 24 months and some 2T

Teeth: 16 and working on his 2 year molars

We are quickly approaching the 2 year mark with Mister Noah, as he only has two more months as a one-year old. There is no denying this little man is all boy...tractors, trucks, airplanes, sandbox fun, getting dirty on the daily. However, he has this incredible sweet side and loves to cuddle with those that he loves. He has matured and grown so much in the past 2 months, he seems like such a big boy now. Maybe it is because we have a new baby in the house, but I swear Noah seems taller by the day. He communicates relatively well for his age, and understands everything we say. His vocabulary is improving, and he is learning new things on the daily. His 21 month old post got lost in the shuffle of soaking up the final few weeks of summer, but here is some highlights from 21-22 months.

• Can count 1,2,3
• Eats with a fork and spoon
• Had a runny nose this month
• Completes puzzles all on his own (Melissa and Doug)
• Loves the iPad and watching tractor videos
• Loves playing with tractors 
• Words include: tractor, Mama, Dada, Nanna, boots, let's go, boat, airplane, pup-pup, don't do that, no, hi, bye, wa-wa, in there. 
• Can point out belly-buttons, eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair
• Will hold little brother's hand
• Gives lots and lots of kisses and hugs
• Loves to cuddle 
• Still obsessed with wubby
• Started swimming lessons and LOVES it
• Went potty in the big potty ONCE
• Adores his daycare buddies, Carson and Nolan
• Starting to point to his diaper in the morning if he has a stinky

Sleeping:

We are totally back on track with sleeping the past month or two. No more waking through the night shrieking (not sure what that phase was all about but we are thankful it has passed). Daddy normally does bedtime these past few months since Theo has arrived. Lots of stories, rocking and cuddling before going into the crib. Most nights asleep by 8pm and awake anytime between 6:30-7am. Naps vary anywhere from 1-2.5 hours, normally going down by 11:30/12 on the weekends when at home. The worst is when we are out and about in the mornings and if he falls asleep for a few minutes in the car...nap time is disastrous after this happens.

Eating:

Noah is definitely going through a slightly picky phase as of late. Some days I feel as if all he eats is carbs, although avocado is always a win at supper time if I feel as if he didn't get much veggies that day. I also load up his morning smoothie full of spinach, a great way to get the greens into him. Favorite foods are still toast and PB, cheese, grilled cheese, french toast, spaghetti, homemade mac and cheese, bananas, green smoothies, yogourt, apple sauce, pancakes, BACON, hard boiled eggs, tuna melts, avocado, and deli meat. Meat is a struggle, even doused in ketchup. Some days he will eat homemade burgers with ketchup, but he really isn't a big fan of chicken and roast beef.

Personality and Discipline:

I feel like we have successfully navigated through the worst of the toddler tantrums, and most days we get through without any major meltdowns. There are days Noah definitely tests our patience...but for the most part he is a pretty stellar and hilarious little boy. I know all parents think their kids are funny, but our kid truly is one of a kind. He cracks us up on the daily. Often we find it really hard to discipline because we find what he is doing so darn hilarious...but bad at the same time. How do you act mad without laughing?? Life with a toddler...never a dull moment!

Pretty good at independent play. He enjoys playing with his tractors, doing puzzles, playing at the park. He also likes sitting at his own little table at dinner time. This doesn't always result in a productive dinner time, as there is lots of up and down and running around, but we are getting there. 

Transition to Big Brother:

Doing amazingly well at the big brother roll. Unprompted he will hug Theo on his play mat, occasionally give him kisses and will hold his hand. When Theo cries, he will run to get Theo's soother (even though he doesn't take it) and will bring it over to him and try to get it in his mouth. We don't make a huge deal about Theo and it seems to be working well. We try to give Noah one-on-one time as much as possible with both of us. When Theo cries and needs to be picked up Noah used to whine and grab my pant-leg and want to be picked up at the same time as well, but lately, that has stopped as well. He just seems to accept the fact that Theo is a part of our family now.

Theo : 3 Months

Stats as of September 15th, 2014 (11.5 weeks)
Height: 26 inches 

Weight: 18 lbs 3 oz

3 months old as of September 25th:

Milestones this Month: 

• You are laughing and coo-ing, and it is adorable!! You are so ticklish under your arms, and Daddy loves to tickle you to hear you laugh. 
• Started spending a few mins in the jumperoo and bumbo.
• You are in size 3 diapers, and size 9 month clothing! 
• Still a champion eater, done in 15-20 minutes. And not a spitter at all, so this mama isn't crying over spilled milk!
• Still sleeping in your own crib.
• Much more alert. You don't fall asleep in the car all the time anymore, and can stay awake for 1.5-2 hours at a time.
• Completely refusing all bottles and soothers. Mama is devastated...

Sleeping:
We are getting into somewhat of a schedule, but we aren't really strict with it. If we have to go somewhere, I wake you up to go. Or if we are out and about, I stretch the time between naps to the max. We can't live our life by the nap bible, maternity leave is too short! 

Waking around 630 for the day and first nap is normally around 8am for 45 minutes- an hour. 

You normally take 3-4 naps/day and some are in the swing and some in the crib. Typically two short morning naps, and one very long afternoon nap or two shorter afternoon naps if we are on the go. I love these long afternoon naps as it gives me time to catch up on house work, naps, or shows. You are still sleeping swaddled in the miracle blanket. 

For the most part, our daily routine looks like this:

6:30- awake for the day and 1st feeding. This is great because big brother is normally up between 6:30-7am as well, so I can feed you and then get Noah up and ready for daycare right afterwards.

8:00 - get the boys out the door, and then it's nap time. Nomally is down for 45 mins-an hour.

9/9:30 - Feeding and awake time

10:30/11 - Naptime (about an hour)

12:00- Feeding and awake time

1:30 - 4pm - a nice, very long afternoon nap. Normally I have to wake you at 4pm so we can go get big brother at daycare.

4pm - Feeding

Sometimes a little cat nap in here between 5-6pm.

7pm - Bath and bedtime routine, normally down for the night at 7:30.

11:30pm - Night feed #1

3:30 am - Night feed #2

Theo: 2 Months

I totally forgot to post this monthly update. Here is Theo's 2 month update as of August 25, 2014:

Height: 24.5 inches (94th Percentile)

Weight: 17 lbs 1 oz (99.5 Percentile)

Head Circumference: 43 cm (99th Percentile)

Milestones this Month: 

• You are smiling. Gosh I love those gummy grins.
• You are great at tummy-time, when we remember to do it! You can hold that big old head of yours up for a few minutes and you love looking at your reflection in the mirror.
• You are in size 2 diapers, and mostly 6 month clothing. I packed away all your 0-3 month outfits. I would say the next box of diapers we buy will be size 3's.
• You are a super efficient and fast nurser (unless you are just doing it for comfort and you fall asleep). Most times though you are done in 20 minutes or less. So much faster than your brother. You're not a big spitter yet, thank goodness. Saving Mommy lots of outfit changes. 
• You had your first cold this month..if that counts as a milestone. Big brother had a summer cold (runny nose) and he seemed to have passed it on to you. You were pretty congested which caused you to gag a lot and projectile vomit on a few occasions. Sometimes in your sleep which made us so terrified. We kept you in the swing for a night or two to keep you elevated.
• You slept from 8:30pm-4am one night. Hooray! Most nights you give us a solid 5-6 hour stretch, from 9pm-2/3am. Followed by a 3 hour stretch after that.
• You've been sleeping in your own room, in your own crib, for 3.5 weeks now. It's going great.

Things you Like:

• You like bath time, and that is when we get the most smiles out of you.
• You normally enjoy car rides, it puts you right to sleep.
• If you are drowsy, you will nap and tolerate your swing. If you are wide awake, forget it. You also aren't crazy about your bouncy chair.
• You love your playmat. Just today you were under it having fun and I was in washing my face. I could hear big bro chanting "let's GO" (from frozen...he's obsessed) and I thought he was just singing. I came out of the bathroom to find him dragging you by your feet across the living room floor as he chants "let's go, let's go". He was obviously ready to get out the door to daycare. Your eyes were slightly terrified!
• You like to sit and be bounced on our knees. It normally puts you to sleep.
• You enjoy the baby k'tan wrap, you love to be snuggled in close and fall asleep.
• Grasping Mommy's shirt when feeding. You always have to have your hands on something.
• Sleeping in the Miracle Blanket - It calms you down after your bedtime and nighttime feedings and you go to sleep immediately. You are growing out of it though and I don't know what we will do!

Things you Dislike This Month:

• The wubbanub - For awhile there you were taking it so well, but lately you can't seem to figure it out and it makes you so angry. So we will toss it for a bit and try again in a week or two.
• The Nasal Aspirator and paediatric nose drops - You despise when we try to clear your nose with this cold, and hate the nose spray even more. Talk about freak out.
• Reflux Meds - You aren't a huge fan of taking your medicine. I try to do it while I am breastfeeding, I insert the syringe into the side of your mouth while you are swallowing and it seems to work best. But sometimes you yank yourself off and look at me like what the heck is that crap Mom??

Special Memories From This Month:

• 1st cold
• 1st trip to the beach
• 1st overnight stay at the cottage
• 1st of many Hot Mama's fitness classes
• 1st needles
• Attending 2nd Wedding
• 1st Boat Ride in our speedboat 'Noah's Ark'
• 1st babysitter (Nana and Auntie MaryEllen)

Theo's Newborn Photos

A few of my favourites, by the talented Amy Parsons Photography located here in Charlottetown, PE. We met a few years ago at the yoga studio (she is an instructor) and hit it off. We feel very lucky to have a friend as talented as she is to do our photos :)

8 Weeks of Theo

Our chunky monkey is now in his 8th week of life. He is becoming more alert during the days and is sleeping like a trooper at night. He is smiling and interacting with us so much more the past week to ten days. He enjoys his playmat more and isn't needing to be held 24/7.

He has totally lost the newborn look, and resembles a 3 month baby now. He is huge! By huge i don't mean full of rolls, but he is solid and thickly built. We're in size 2 diapers now and he is already outgrown some of his 3 month summer rompers and sleepers. This boy is a tank!

 

He has been sleeping in his own crib

in his bedroom now for two weeks and he is doing SO well. I am feeling so much more rested myself without listening to his baby noises all night long, which has made for a happy mama. He goes down around 8pm after we get big brother asleep, with a dream feed around 10pm when I go to sleep, and some nights is only up once around 3 or 4am and then again at 6-7. Most days he will go back to sleep until 8-9am. Other nights he will be up at 2am and 530am. It just depends. Regardless I am loving the improvement in his sleep since we started the reflux meds.

His naps are pretty sporadic, ranging from Marathon naps of 3+ hours to cat naps of 10-30 mins. I have noticed that he will only nap for long periods at home when tightly swaddled. Even in the swing I need to swaddle him in the Miracle blanket. He sleeps almost instantaneously in the car, but tends to wake up when we bring him inside from the car.  He takes his wubbanub every now and again, mostly in the evening hours.

We take him everywhere with us and have been on the go basically every day. Most days it's for a walk and to the park, but he's also spent an entire day at the water park (and slept in the k'tan ALL day...such a superstar), has been in the speedboat at the cottage 3 times, spent his first overnight trip at the cottage, has been to the beach, and has gone to his first parade. I guess this is the perks of being (a) a summer baby, and (b) the second child. 

He really only cries when hungry. Still nursing on demand. During the day mostly every 2-3 hours, and at night we get 4-5 hour stretches. He sleeps tightly swaddled on an incline in his crib. When he wakes he normally doesn't fully wake up as I get him before he really screams. He is quick to feed (20 mins or so) and then goes right back down. He still occasionally gets gassy after the second am feeding (5-6am) as he normally has a large poop around this time. 

I haven't been pumping the past two weeks as we've been having a staycation with daddy home and Noah home from daycare but hope to start back up here soon to get a little stash going. Not a huge priority at the moment, totally giving myself a break on this one. 

His looks are totally starting to change. As a newborn he looked so much like his brother but he is looking like his own little person now. His face is longer, his forehead bigger and he is much stockier! Here is a little 6 week comparison of the two in the same Jammie's: 

He really is pretty chill and laid back. Second time parenting helps as well as we are much more laid back too. He is the perfect little addition to our busy little family! 

Theo's Birth Story

40 weeks 5 days, taken June 24th the day before I went into labour

June 25th started off like any other day that week. It was a Wednesday, the day after hubs birthday, I was 5 days overdue and still feeling great. If nothing happened today, but Doctor would be doing an induction the next day. Noah woke up and was chatting to himself on the monitor. Hubs was next to me waking up, and suddenly I felt a little bit of water trickle as I was lying in bed. It was just a tiny little bit, just enough to wet my underwear a bit and wonder if I had in fact just peed my pants. I got up without saying anything, and went to the washroom. As I peed I realized it was my water that had broken, as a slow trickle of fluid was coming out at the same time. I made my way back to bed and casually informed Tim that my water had broken. He didn't seem too phased. He got up and brought Noah into bed with us, like we had been doing most mornings since I had started my mat leave. We snuggled in bed for awhile, and then I got up again to go to the washroom and more fluid leaked on the floor and on my walk to the washroom. When I peed this time, there was much more fluid leaking.

Snuggling with my boy before heading to the hospital.

I got up with the boys, and got Noah ready for daycare. I told hubs to go into work since he was EXTREMELY busy (June 30th being the end of busy season for him) and I would call L&D and ask them what to do next. I figured (a) since I was GBS positive and (b) 5 days overdue, that they would likely want me to come in pretty soon. But I figured we could take our time first.

I called L&D after I got the boys out the door to tell them my water had broken. Normally they would give me 24 hours to go into labour on my own after my water broke, but since I was GBS positive they said I should come in and get checked out as soon as I could. Right after I got off the phone with them (8am-ish) my Mom messaged me to see how our night was. I called her back and told her my water had broken. She told me she could clear her schedule and come over and take me into L&D.

She arrived around 8:30, I was puttering around the house cleaning up and packing the last few things into my hospital bag. I then hopped in the shower and took my merry old time in there, I figured it could be my last nice long hot shower for awhile. While I was in there my Mom kept poking her head in trying to hurry me along. She was more anxious then I was, as i was pretty carefree at this point. I got out, dressed and left my bag at the door and messaged hubs to tell him we were headed in.

We arrived and filled out the paper work at the admitting desk, and went to L&D arriving around 9:30ish (after running into 2 people we knew on the way). The nurse that greeted us gave me a gown, asked me to pee in a large container (to check to see if my water had in fact broken, which there was absolutely no question about as it was murky and white) put me in an observation room, and hooked me up to the heartbeat monitor and the contraction monitor. Around this time I started having mild contractions that were charting on the graph next to me. The OB on call that day was in surgery, so the nurse sat in with me and went through a gazillion questions. Turns out she was a nursing student of my mother's, so they were chatting and catching up while I laid there still in a  bit of denial that this was actually happening.

Around 10:30 the OB on call came in to see me. I had been having irregular contractions for about 30-45 mins at this point, anywhere from 6-9 minutes apart. My body was slowly doing its thing. She said since this was baby #2, and since I was GBS positive, she thought they would keep me and induce me right away. We were having this baby! I messaged my husband at work and said "this is it, you need to get here right away!". I told him to go home and change, grab our bag and camera and make his way in. Since this was my second baby, and since Noah was born so fast (4 hours after induction) they decided to wait to start the pictocin until after Tim arrived. But the nurse did get my IV going (after 2 failed attempts, 1 busted vein and many many bruises) and started the IV antibiotics for the Group B strep.

Tim arrived around 11:15, and they started the pictocin at 11:30....

Part 2 to come soon!!!

Theo's Birth Story : Part 2

When I left off in Part 1, Tim had just arrived in L&D with our bags and camera in tow. Totally chill. So different from our first labour experience with Noah a short 19 months ago (read his birth story here. 

While Mom and I were waiting for Tim to arrive we got to know my nurse Leah, and realized we knew so many people in common. Her husband was from my husband's small hometown and she was my Mother's student many years ago (as were most of the L&D nurses we had that day). When Tim finally walked in, I was so happy and relieved to see him so we could officially get things rolling. Although I had a pretty good feeling when he left for work that morning that we'd be having a baby today, I don't think it really hit me when I kissed him and sent him on his way to work. 

Next up, the pictocin drip was started and we were rolling. The first hour or so things were quite manageable but by 12:30 the contractions were getting pretty painful. Leah checked me at this point and I was at 1.5-2. Much improved over my zero dilation at my 40 week doctors appointment.

The next hour was awful, my mom was in and out of the room (keeping my family and MIL updated) and I was on my side clenching Tim's hand during each contraction which felt like they were on top of each other with almost no time to recover in between.

At 1:30 Leah checked me again and I was 3cm. I had no plan in terms of pain meds going in, I figured if things went fast like with Noah I would attempt an unmediated birth but if I needed them, I was getting them. When she said I was only 3cm, I knew I wanted an epidural. My mom tried to convince me otherwise reminding me how alert Noah was at birth, but I knew I couldn't keep it up. Leah our nurse said the doctor prefer you to be at least dilated to a 4 before you get an epidural but she was going to see what she could do. I gave her a look that must have tugged at her heart strings because when she returned she told me she had convinced the doctor to let me have it. Praise The Lord. I had my last pee while I still could and waddled back to the bed. 

She made the call and luckily for me, the anesthesiologist was there within 20 mins. These twenty minutes felt like the longest of my life. Every contraction I'd be watching the clock asking where he was and when would he be there. When he finally arrived the prep felt like it took an eternity. To make things worse, my husband and the anesthesiologist started chatting about engineering and roundabouts. Im so glad they were having such a great time at my expense. I felt like yelling 'focus here people!!'. 

Finally he was ready to get rolling. I sat on the edge of the bed with Tim sitting on a chair in front of me. They stressed the importance of my posture, if it wasn't perfect the epidural wouldn't be placed in the correct spot. I remember getting intense contractions and feeling like they were going to screw up the epidural but the anesthesiologist worked right through them. The first attempt failed. I was expecting the needle to really hurt but the local freezing he gave masked a lot of the pain. He tried the same spot a second time and he felt confident he got the placement right. They taped up my back and had me lie back down. He told me within 10 minutes I should start to feel tingly. Since this was a walking epidural I would still be able to move and feel my legs. At first i was skeptical that it was working, I could still feel each contraction like before and my legs felt completely normal. However, by the end of that ten minute mark I knew it was working as it should. I could still feel the tightening in my abdomen and I could still feel the pressure of the contraction but the pain was gone and it was glorious. I could still lift my legs and move them around. 

By this point it was approx 2:15. For the next hour or so I labored comfortably. My mom came back in the room, we chatted with our nurse Leah, I felt like a completely different person. I could carry on a conversation and was laughing and joking around. Leah checked me again shortly after and I was dilated to a 5. I felt like things were going slow and wondered if this baby would be born before the nurse change-over at 7pm and Leah assured me we would have a baby by then. 

By 3:30 I was starting to feel some major pressure and I knew this was the transition stage. Baby was moving down.

I told Leah that I was feeling more and more pressure as the minutes ticked by but she had just checked me and I was a 5. She said she wanted me to labour down a little longer so that baby would move down on his/her own and save me pushing. Finally, I said I really feel like I need to push, I couldn't hold off anymore. She checked me again and I was a 9.5. Just a tiny lip left. 

Leah left to go find the doctor and came back with some not so great news. Dr Castle was in the OR and it wasn't looking like she'd be out in time to deliver this baby. She placed a call right away to the OB-GYN office to the doctor on call, and came back to tell me that Dr Coolen was on her way. I said she better be getting in her car immediately because this baby was coming!! 

Leah prepped the room and her and my mom kept trying to get me not to push which at this point felt torturous. It was near impossible with the pressure I was feeling. 

A few minutes later, Around 4pm, to my surprise Dr Castle poked her head in the room. Supposedly there had been a communication problem, she had in fact been finishing up in the OR and she was able to deliver this baby. Thank the heavens!

Next thing I knew....

To be continued in Part 3 :)

6 Weeks of Theo

Well Theo is officially 6 weeks today. I feel like even though it's summer and we are on the move...A LOT, that we are into a pretty good rhythm. By no means a schedule as I totally feed on demand and every day for us in the summer months is different, but it's getting more and more predictable. I remember this happening around the same time with Noah too.

Chunky Monkey

In many ways I feel like Theo has been a part of our lives forever. When people ask me how our 'boys' are, it makes me smile to think I am a mama to two beautiful, healthy boys.

Since going on medication for his reflux his sleeping has gotten so much better. In fact it's going so well that he spent his first night in his crib Monday, August 4th. Prior to that he'd been in our room in the pack n play but I am such a light sleeper that I really wasn't sleeping very well with all his baby noises. We are all sleeping so much better in our own rooms with our video monitoring scanning between the two baby rooms. He has never given us more than 5 hours at a time, and that only happened one time, but that's to be expected. 

Theo's nighttime schedule looks like this:

9pm - bedtime feed in rocking chair, give his medication, then swaddle in Miracle Blanket, white noise and into crib by 9:30.

9:30-1:30/2 - sleep, then wake up for a feed. Normally I change his bum in the middle of the feed to keep him awake.

2:30- 5/530 - sleep and wake for a feeding, change bum in middle. I find him hard to get back to sleep after this feeding maybe because his meds are wearing off and he always seems extremely gassy at this time as every morning between 5-7 he has one very LARGE BM. Like every morning, it's clockwork. His swing is in his room so often I swaddle him and put him in swing for an extra few hours sleep if he is hard to get down. 

7/730 -awake for the day. I normally get hubs to get up with him so I can catch a few extra zzz's until he's starving around 7:45/8am.

The daytime we are on the go most days so often that means car seat naps which he LOVES. When we are home I've been swaddling and putting in crib and/or the swing. 

7:30- 930/10 - awake time

10-11 - nap

11am - feeding 

12:30 -2 - naptime (this nap is crucial for me as this is when big brother also naps!! I love when they are both asleep at the same time, gives me time to shower and do things around the house).

2pm- feeding ( I normally wake him from this nap to feed so that we can get to our afternoon plans.) 

2:30-430 - naptime as we are usually on the go in the car which puts him to sleep.

5pm- feed and wake time

6:30 - nap

8pm - bath and bedtime 

He is wearing 3 month clothing  and is filling it out totally, and I packed all his newborn clothes away. He's in size 1 diapers but the next box we buy will be size 2 as 1's are getting small. He'll be in 5's like big brother before we know it at this rate!! Actually, big brother better be potty trained before that happens HA!

It's been quite the 6 weeks, but we are loving every minute of being a family of 4. Summer babies are so great!

Week 4&5: Two Under Two

Another two weeks down, I'm not sure where the time is going. This week flew by. We had mostly good days the past few weeks. We finished week 4 by seeing our family doctor who put Theo on some reflux medication. It's been a full week now that he's been on them and he seems to be sleeping much better.

He is also a whopping 14 lbs already. That's up 5 lbs from his birth weight. It blows my mind that this tiny human can grow that much in such a short period if time but I guess it's possible! 

I am 1 month old!

Theo had his first trip to the beach this past week (which he slept thru...lucky for us), had a lunch date with his gf Charlie, went to 2 fitness classes, and met some family that drove over two hours to meet him. A busy few weeks!

Theo's first trip to the beach!

We are starting two weeks of vacation this weekend. Our babysitter is off for two weeks, which means Noah is home with me and hubs is taking vacation to help out. 

Sleep: 

Theo is still sleeping in our room in the pack n play. We are using a wedge to keep him upright and the miracle blanket to keep him in a tight swaddle. The Velcro swaddles allowed him to much freedom. His sleep is getting more predictable at least at night. Still going down around 9:30-10 and wakes up around 1-2 and again around 5-6. He doesn't normally poop overnight but then at his 5/6am Wake up he is always grunty trying to have a bm. When he finally does, it's a doozy. I can get him go sleep peacefully now on his back in the pack n play until that 5am wakeup. Then I normally move him to the swing (in his bedroom) from 5-7 as he grunts and tries to have his poop (which allows me to get a bit more sleep). 

Noah has been sleeping MUCH better. Bedtimes have been easier and there has been almost no middle of the night wake ups lately either. 

I love ice cream!

Personality:

Theo isn't a baby that can sleep on a whim, anywhere anytime. He does sleep in the car almost all the time. But isn't a fan of sleeping in his swing or bouncy chair. He will doze in them occasionally for 45-60 mins but that is all he will allow me. I find it's to my benefit to get out as much as possible and have him sleep in the car seat as he seems to sleep anywhere from 2-3+ hours when we are on the go. He seems to be fussier between 6-8pm...which makes evenings hard with supper, bath times and bed times. We don't normally breath a sigh of relief until we get Noah down to sleep. 

Feedings:

Again when we are on the go during the day he will give me 3+ hours in between feedings. But if we are home all day, he eats more frequently. He definitely eats more during the evening hours as well. 

milk drunk

Postpartum:

Well i started back to fitness classes this week and it feels great. I love that I can take Theo with me and go during the day, otherwise I am positive I would never make it out of the house. I am certainly sore and have had to modify a bit as I am starting back earlier than most, but does it ever feel good. Still about 12 lbs to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

big brother helping with bath time

I feel like we are on the up and up over here. Hoping we manage ok without our babysitter these next few weeks, wish us luck :)

A Day In the Life: 4 Week Old

1:15- baby is awake for his first feeding of the night. He's been asleep since 9pm so this is pretty good. I shuffle over to the pack n play, change his bum, and take him back to bed where I prop up the pillows and feed him.

I give him ovol drops afterwards as he is kicking his legs and grunting. After some

Bicycling and some bouncing he settles around 2:30 in the bouncy chair. 

4:15 - baby wakes again for his second feeding of the night. I change his bum and he has a big #2 which I hope means he got rid of what was bothering him earlier. I prop the pilows and feed him until 4:40. I try to get him down on his back in the pack n play but he isn't having it. Back to the bouncy chair he goes. I collapse into bed and hope he settles. 

6:45 - Theo starts to stir. I eventually get him up and changed and then brother bear starts yelling to let us know he is awake too. We all go in to greet him.

7:10 - I feed Theo on the couch and snuggle with Noah while he watches Zigby and Daddy makes us all breakfast. 

7:55 - I send Noah and hubs out the door for work and daycare. Theo does tummy time and spends time on his play mat. 

9:00 - baby is asleep in the swing. I put a load of laundry in, clean up the kitchen from breakfast, clean my pump parts and fold some towels.

10:30 - I quickly shower, as I get out i can hear Theo crying and is ready to eat. I throw some clothes on and feed him with my hair in a towel. I just feed him enough to tide him over, then quickly finish getting ready. 

11:15 - we are out the door for our appointment at the bank to set up Theo's education fund. I have to switch the double stroller out for the single and grab my purse and diaper bag...we're late already #lifewithababy

While were out, we do a little shopping. We grab some diapers at Target for big brother, head to Walmart to get a sun hat for Theo's little head, and head home. 

1:15 - home and baby is HUN-GRY. So is mama. I feed Theo, we have a cuddle and then mama eats lunch.

2:30 -  I fold laundry, sweep the floors, and lie down for a quick nap while Theo sleeps in his swing.

4:00 - baby awake to eat again. The boys get home while I am feeding Theo, pretty happy to see my big boy!

5:30 - hubs made BBQ for supper, we all sit down to try and eat. The toddler has a meltdown and refuses to eat his supper and the baby starts screaming in the swing just as we sit down to eat...great timing. I shove a few mouthfuls of food in and head to the couch to feed him. Noah gets out of his highchair without eating any supper and gets taken directly to the bathtub. #mealtimefail 

We hang out in the living room until bedtime for Noah. He thinks nail clippers are fun to chew on while sitting on ottomans. I pick my battles...

7:15- after trying unsuccessfully to get the toddler to bed, he comes back to the living room for some toast and yogurt sice he ate Zero supper. Surprise surprise, Theo wants to eat....again. 

8:00 - Noah is finally asleep, hubs and I polish off a bag of ketchup chips after a stressful night of parenting. I get ready for bed and feed Theo one last time before putting him in the pack n play. 

9:00 - Theo is settled and I leave hubs on the couch as I fall into bed. Another day done. Exhausted but happy :) 

Noah: 20 Months

Stats:

Height: 32 inches

Weight: 28 lbs

Shoe Size: 5W

Clothing: 18-24 months with some 2T shirts. 

Teeth: 16 (i think)

Well my big boy, this has been quite the month. You had your first real sickness a few weeks ago when you had the croup. You had a barky cough, a high fever and were convulsing from your high fever. It was really scary for all of us. Since you've never been really sick before you Dad and I were totally consumed with you. Your barky cough really gave you quite a scare at night when you would wake yourself up coughing. The heat and humidity made it even worse. We got you on steroids, and luckily within 2-3 days you were feeling more like yourself.

Sleep has been a challenge this month. It started before your brother was born, so we can't blame it on the adjustment phase. Bed times are harder lately, you won't let me leave the room until you are dead asleep in my arms and I quietly place you in your crib. Sometimes this takes 45 minutes. You were waking up on the regular at 3am screaming your head off. The past week or two it has gotten better. You still do wake shrieking occasionally, and require 30 minutes of rocking to go back to sleep, but most nights you are sleeping through the night. Normally wake up is anywhere from 6-7am: You still nap at daycare from 12:30-2:30. At home it's more like 12-1:15. You have quite the entourage for bedtime these days. Pup Pup, a blankey, and wubby are needed. You love to give mama and pup pup kisses at bedtime...its so sweet.

You still love to eat. New faves this month are hard boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, yogurt covered raisins, ice cream and popsicles, and the usual faves such as applesauce, yogurt, toast and peanut butter, pancakes, green smoothies, avocado, peas and carrots, strawberries, and anything that can be dipped in ketchup! You are quite good now with a fork and spoon, and prefer to feed yourself most of the time.

You are talking up a storm lately. No real sentences yet, but lots and lots of words. Some news ones include:

-hat

-Theo

-hot

-One, Two, Three

-Boat

-Heather

-Wa-wa

You are still obsessed with the iPad, and we've been trying to restrict your screen time. You aren't interested at all in the TV anymore. All you want to do is watch tractors on the iPad. You also love to play with tractors. Such a boy! You adore real puppy's, I have a feeling we will be in trouble when you are old enough to start asking for a real one. You adore your family, both sets of grandparents and all your aunties. You are also quite affectionate with your little brother...melts my heart. You love playing outside, mowing the lawn with your lawn mower, and doing anything you shouldn't be doing. You dislike diaper changes in the morning, and getting your face and/or nose wiped. You aren't sure if you like Grampy's boat yet, and we anticipated a real fight the first time you put your life jacket on, but you put it on no problems and sat on dad's knee in the drivers seat. We never actually left the dock, as we thought baby steps were appropriate. The next time you again put the life jacket on without any issues. This time we took you for a little cruise. You didn't love it, and there was a fee tears, but you didn't hate it either. I have high hopes that you'll love the water (and boating) as much as your parents do :)

Week 3: two under two

Our third week as a family of three is in the books. After a great week last week, this week has had it's ups and downs - especially in the sleep department. 

It's funny how much easier everything is the second time. Maybe easier isn't the right word since life is definitely crazy busy, but you know what to expect and your confident in your decisions and parenting in general. Breastfeeding and baby life just seems easier, more manageable, despite having a toddler tornado. I'm not afraid to leave the house and we've been on the go almost every day. I don't schedule our day around feedings. I used to be so afraid with Noah to go anywhere until after I fed him and I was strict with our 3 hour feeding schedule. With Theo, I don't give it a second thought. I either feed him early way ahead of schedule so we can go where we want if we have some place to be, or I simply feed him on the go. Something i definitely wasn't comfortable doing with Noah for quite some time. 

Sleep: 

Theo is still extremely gassy and hard to settle at night. Earlier this week I was averaging about 3-4 hours of sleep a night. Later in the week was much improved, Theo slept from 10-2 one night and again from 3-5. We alternate having him in the pack n play and in the vibrating chair and swing. Normally I can get him down in the pack n play first thing, but from there on out its impossible to get him settled on his back. We've tried swaddling and unswaddled, it doesn't seem to make a difference in his sleeping. Most times he fights it unless he is really out cold. 

During the day if we are on the go, he will give me 3 hours or a little more in his car seat and sleep really well (without being gassy and grunty). 

Personality: in comparison to Noah, he is definitely higher maintenance. He doesn't really enjoy the swing or bouncy chair but will tolerate them at times, and doesn't like to be set on his back. He isn't fussy per say, but he isn't laid back either.  He cries if we put him down when he is awake. He doesn't cry all that often, but he definitely has a good set of lungs that he uses by times. Noah hated his car seat and Theo really enjoys it and car rides, so that is one good thing in my favor. 

Issues:

We tried ovol drops this week which may have helped a bit with his gassiness. We also started the probiotic ProGaia which I am hoping will also help. It's still too early to tell. This morning Theo had us up at 5am as he was so uncomfortable trying to have a poop. Tim took him out to the living room so I could sleep a bit, and after some bicycling and some man-sized farts, he finally filled his diaper am settled. 

Feeding: 

Still eating every 2 hours or so during the day if we are home, a little longer if we are out and about.  I am still pumping off an oz or two before each feeding at night to help with my letdown.

I also started to pump. I don't get around to it every day, but my goal is to try to every second day at least. Hopefully this won't set my supply in a crazy direction but will slowly build a freezer stash for down the road. I find before bed the most convenient time right now. 

Post partum: pretty standard here. I had a very easy recovery despite the interesting labour experience (more on that to come). Healing went really well and I've been feeling back to normal since the end of week one or the start of two or so. I have approx. 14 lbs left to lose. Still wearing my maternity shorts (is it sad I don't want to part with these??) but otherwise am back into my normal clothes. I've yet to try a pair of jeans on, thank goodness it's summer and I won't have to face challenge that until the fall! I can't wait to get back to some exercise, I've been walking with the boys but I can't wait to sweat! I'm hoping to start back next week to some classes.

Also had no issues with breastfeeding and no use for Nipple cream or Jack Newman's. Thankful for that!

Noah adjustment:

It's crazy how big and mature Noah suddenly seems. He's a real boy now, holding our hand when we walk places and we've been leaving him out of the stroller more and more letting him explore. Changing his diaper now feels like I'm changing an adult...it's so weird! He seems to have moved beyond the clingy phase and it back to his normal self. He still doesn't take too much interest in Theo, but he acknowdges him when we ask about him. We're trying to give him as much attention as we can, which would certainly be easier for me of Theo would sleep/settle a little easier. Luckily our extended family has been great for taking him and dropping in to play. 

His sleeping is basically back to normal, his tantrums are fewer and farther between, and he seems pretty happy for the most part :)

Back next week with another update in our life with 2 under 2!! Xo