MIA

Its been way too long!! Sorry about that! The past 2 weeks have been totally crazy busy with life, 2 kids, and some work that Andy and I have been doing around the house!!

So lets update you where our lives are at!!

Judah is now 9 weeks old! He is smiling all the time, and last week I even got his first little giggle out of him! He is weighing 15 pounds, and is a big boy! He's fitting into 3-6 month clothes. During the day he is getting more onto a schedule. He is a very easy and relaxed kid. I cannot believe how lucky we are! He will honestly hang out under his play mat, or in his swing, or sitting in his chair for an hour as long as he is fed and content! This week I was doing lots of painting (Ill get to that later!!) and he is so happy just to hang out. Once he starts fussing it means he is either tired or hungry! Both are easy to remedy! When he's tired I swaddle him up, and he's out like a light!! At night he is sleeping better as well. We've start to put him in a wombie (like swaddling) and he is sleeping much better than compared to when we werent swaddling him. His bed time is getting earlier and earlier, and last night we even had both boys in bed at 7:30pm!! I was so happy!! We couldn't believe it. We had a quiet night together, just relaxing and sipping on a glass of wine. For the most part Judah will sleep anywhere from 5-8 hours, but his first stretch averages 5-6 hours. He's done 8 hours only once. Last night since we put him to bed so early I went in and dream fed him before I went to bed. That was at 10pm, and he slept till 3am. So not bad, all in all Im not complaining.

Ive had many tips and ideas as to how we can make our breastfeeding issues better... after trying quite a few of them Ive started to pretty much exclusively pump and bottle feed. Its a lot of work, yes, however Im way less stressed, and feel much happier. I was tearing myself up because he didn't want to nurse, and was always gassy, I had to fight with him to eat, and it was just not worth the stress for both Judah and I. Because I have so much milk, pumping is quick and easy for the most part. Usually by 12pm, I've pumped 2-3 times (depending on whats happening during the day) and I've already gotten 12-15 oz for the day. By the end of the day I always have milk left over, which is great! No problems with worrying about having enough milk. Im also so proud to say that he is exclusively breastfed (from a bottle that is!! ;-) but he has not been supplemented with formula once. Im very proud to say this considering all of the issues we've had. He is also sleeping better at night because he is eating till he's full, not just somewhat content. Surprisingly enough, after doing research there are alot of women who exclusively pump, and can make it work! Ive also had a friend lend me her double pump (yes I feel like a cow!!) but having a double pump makes things go so much faster, and another friend gave me her double pump to keep! Such a blessing!! So all in all Im content with my decision about bottle feeding and pumping. Its alot of work, but its so worth it. Im happier, he's less gassy, and anyone can feed him now as well... thats always a plus!!

Eli has been doing really well. He has a class on Friday mornings he goes to, which means I have 2 hours with just Judah and myself. Eli's learning about animals in his class, and loves going to "school." Last week he walked in and didn't look back. I didnt even get a hug or kiss, he just ran in and started playing!! I cant complain because Id rather have him do that, than throw a huge tantrum every time he knows Im going to leave.

Last week I decided to make some changes in our house hold. Eli is an extremely picky eater, and lives off of peanut butter and honey sandwiches for the most part. He does eat vegetables, and fruit, and little things here and there, but anything that he doesnt like the look of or is new, he refuses to eat. Usually, Ill just whip up a sandwich quickly so we dont have a big huge upset. However, Ive decided Im done with being a short order cook, and making 2 meals at dinner time. One for Andy and I, and one for Eli. So, last week we explained to him that he gets to eat what we eat, and if he doesn't want it thats fine, but not snack before bed. If he's hungry before bed he can have his dinner. A few nights he's eaten what we've had (including corn chowder!!) and a few nights he cried and cried in his bed because he was hungry. He kept saying over and over, "Im hungry!! Hungry!! Hungry!!!!" However I look at it as, if he's hungry enough he'll eat whats for supper. Im hoping it gets easier because so far he's gone to bed almost every night without eating dinner. So frustrating!

Over the thanksgiving weekend we had Judah dedicated at church. On Thursday of last week we met with one of the pastors at our church and visited with him. He asked us about our stories and how we came to know Christ, and what Gods doing in our lives now. It was so encouraging, and such an honor to have him in our home and chat with him. He is such a down to earth person, but so very real! He was willing to ask some hard, and real questions about our lives, and we loved that! So often many pastors and churches stay away from the tough questions... so it was a breath of fresh air to talk with him! Then on Sunday morning we dedicated Judah at church! In the evening we went out to my parents place for Thanksgiving dinner. Yumm!

This past weekend as well Andy and I have been working extremely hard on our dining room. I saw a blog recently with a neat design in her dining room, and knew I wanted to do the same sort of idea. The color in our kitchen and dining room isn't the nicest, and Ive been itching to do something, so this seemed like a realistic idea. I ordered the stencil I wanted to use on the wall (yes I said stencil!!) got our paint colors, measured out a few things(actually Andy did the measuring!!) and started the prep work 2 weeks away, and this weekend we got to work with the real "work!!" We're almost done, we have a few coats of paint to finish up with and then Ill show you the before and after pictures! Both Andy and I are so excited about how things are looking, we cant wait for the finish product! Next up on my list is to refinish the cabinets... anyone wanna help or babysit for us while we do this!?

Thats about it for an update. We're all doing well, and keeping busy! Since its a short week, I have something to do every day, and then the weekends here!! I should have an update with our new dining room by the end of the week, if not before so check back soon, I promise I wont go missing for as long as I did this past time!!