3 Months & Babywise Sleep Training

Judah is 3 months old.

Its pretty incredible that in 3 months, a little person can grow from this:

(Btw, he still sleeps like this every single night!!! Must've been how he hung out in the womb!!)

To This:

 

Our little Judah is not so little anymore! He is weighing about 16 lbs (which is almost, not quite double his birth weight!!) ,and is almost rolling over!! He is one of the happiest most content babies I know, however I may be a tad biased! He smiles at everything and is evening starting to giggle, but you have to work really hard to get it out of him! He is holding his head up so well, and loves sitting up. I think we'll be trying out the jolly jumper & exersaucer very soon!!

This weekend we started doing a bit of sleep training. I had had someone tell me about the Babywise method (quite controversial, you can google it if youd like to read more about it!)but its all about time blocks, and a routine of eat, play, sleep.Also letting your baby self sooth themselves (so some crying it out, but Im not quite willing to do that at only 3 months!!) and going to sleep on their own. We started yesterday, and we had a great night of sleep!! 

We started first thing in the morning. Im doing 3-4 hour blocks of time, depending on how he's doing with it. So we start off with a full feeding almost as soon as he wakes up. Then he has some play time/hang out time, and once he's ready for a nap, I swaddle him in his woombie, pop the soother in his mouth (yes its a sleep prop, but for the time being its working!) bounce him in my arms for 1-2 minutes, and put him down somewhat awake. Yesterday, he went to sleep on his own, and even watched me walk out of the room. Last night after a full day of scheduling like this he slept from 8:30pm till just shy of 4am. I was shocked. So we'll see how tonight goes!

I cant believe Judah is 3 months old already. Its goes by so fast!! Im still continuing to pump and bottle feed and it feels like we're settling into more of a routine with that. Im trying to build my freezer stash as much as possible, and in the last 3 weeks Ive been able to freeze 50 ounces of breast milk, and still have enough to feed him during the day! We're going to have to invest in a chest freezer soon since all we have is our fridge freezer!

Eli is still doing great with Judah. On Friday morning as we were getting ready to go to Eli's preschool program Judah was laying on our bed, and Eli was hanging out with me as I got dressed. Eli crawled onto the bed and quietly whispered to Judah, "Judah, I have a secret for you . . . I really really love you." And that was that!! My heart melted. He is so in love with his brother, and doesn't show any signs of jealousy at all!!

We're looking forward to taking Eli trick or treating this week, and every night Eli asks if its time to go yet. Not sure what we're going to do with all the candy but it will be a special evening for us!

Ill make sure to post pictures!!

My boys

The last few weeks we've had a lot going on. The weekends have been quite busy as 2 weekends in a row Andy was away on the Saturday. The first weekend he went hunting with some guys from work and his brother and the following weekend he was at the church's mens retreat. This means that I was very busy, and the weeks felt quite long. Im looking forward to having a whole weekend with him home. Counting down the days.

A few weeks ago, I took Eli to the dentist for his first appointment ever. He did so awesome, and let the dentist look in his mouth, count his teeth, and do whatever he needed to do. I was so proud!! However, one of the questions the dentist asked me is if Eli sucks on his thumb or has a soother still. The answer is yes. He still has a soother. The dentist explained to me that we need to get rid of the soother right away as it's cause bite issues. He had Eli bite down, and it was evident to me that his jaw wasn't lining up properly. My mindset with the soother was that he wouldn't take it to kindergarten, and I wasn't too concerned about it. Its not like we were walking around in public with it.

 So after we left the dentist I told Eli as we walked through the mall just the two of us that the soother had to go. I explained why, and he wasn't very happy about it. After 3 days of procrastination, I decided enough was enough and the soother had to go. I was actually shocked at how easy it was. He didn't throw huge tantrums, or get overly upset about it, although he did ask a few times for it, but its been gone for over a week now and we havent had any issues with it. That being said he's started to wake up earlier than usual, and Im wondering if the soother being gone is one of the reasons why.

About a week ago now, Judah started coming down with a bit of a cough. At first it was a dry cough, more of hack, and then over the last few days its turned into a very wet sounding cough. His chest was rattling, and he was very wheezy. Yesterday morning I woke up and something told me that maybe I should consider taking him in to see the doctor. One of the things I love about our doctor (no not the fact that I have to wait usually 30-40 minutes in the waiting room...) is that I can call the morning that we have a problem, weather it be an ear infection, or my 11 week olds cold and I can get in the same day. This is huge for me, since Im used to going to a doctor growing up where we'd have to wait weeks to get in and see her. Pointless, really.

So I called yesterday morning and they got us in for 2:20pm. After our usual 30 minute wait in the waiting room we finally got to see her. Again, Im not complaining about the wait (that much!) because Ive started to take it into account that Ill be waiting that long, but the fact I can get in the same day is usually worth it! She listened to his chest, and back, and also heard his cough. The right side of his chest was worse than his left, and the verdict is: Bronchitis. She said if he gets a fever or its not gone in a week than to come back because it could progress to pneumonia. No antibiotics (thankfully!!) and we wait just a bit longer. Poor little guy. We also havent been sleeping well because he cant stop coughing, but finally last night he did great, and this morning it showed. He slept from 8:00pm-2:45am, and then 3:30am-8:00am. Today he also napped for 3 hours. Im crossing my fingers tonight will be good as well.

As for me, Im just trying to survive being somewhat sleep deprived, and still expected to live a busy life. Im sure itll catch up to me, but for the time being I continue trucking on.

Eli is also very excited for Halloween this year!!

Dining Room Reveal

So I have pictures of our dining room reveal!! Its a few days late, so Im sorry for that.... but here you go!

Before:

 And after:

It took us about 2 weeks, but I did alot of prep before we actually started stenciling and doing the faux wainscoting. But, Im in love. We started with getting a new light fixture, which lead to a whole load of electrical issues, but thanks to our incredible brother in law, he was able to do some trouble shooting and get the issues fixed!! He was a life saver. I was not a happy lady, cooking dinner in a dark kitchen. Lets just say the electrical in this house is messed up!! Anyways. I bought the stencil from cuttingedgestencils.com . They had so many different designs, but Im going to be completely honest that I completely copied another design from a blog.

I started by painting the top an off white, and the bottom a baseboard and trim white. I only painted half the wall half and half, no sense wasting paint. We also had to remove the tiles that were around the dining room instead of baseboard. We weren't sure how easy or hard this would be, but once Andy got started they came off relatively quick and easy. Here a picture of my man hard at work.

 You can see the difference in colors between the top and bottom.

If I had known how much work the stencil was going to be, I probably would've tried wallpaper. This was mentioned in the blog where I got the idea from, but it really was a lot of work. Sometimes the paint would get on the back of the stencil and mark up the wall, or the lines wouldn't be crisp. I still have quite a bit of touching up to do, but for the time being Im content with how it looks. We also started with the wrong type of tape to hold up the stencil... this green painters tape, did not work. But once we got the blue painters tape that they told us to (I was too cheap to buy the blue stuff, because we had 2 rolls of green tape at home) things went much quicker. Quite often Id have to stop halfway through and wash my stencil. Needless to say this stenciling was time consuming, and a lot of work. But I think it looks good.

Next we got started on the faux wainscoting and kept on trucking with the stencil. 

Andys job was the wainscoting and my job was the stencil. We worked well together like this. Trying to keep 2 kids happy and finish our job was a lot of work, in the end we took shifts while the other worked.

 Stenciling is done, and the wainscoting is up. Just needed to paint the bottom and get it done!! We were exhausted and just wanting to see this project finished at this point!! I had issues with getting the stencil to line up in the corners and top. After a few days of being totally discouraged and wanting to just cover it up. Andy suggested doing the edges solid in white, and I said the only way I'd do the edges thick is if we did brown... Im so happy we did, because Im extremely happy with the way it turned out. It makes the room look larger, and you cant tell we technically messed up with the stencil.

 And finally, we're done!!

So tell me what do you think??

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!!

Funky Angel Photography - Birth Pictures

  I am so excited to get my birth pictures!! Because of how things went at the end of my deliver I wasn't too sure how they'd turn out, but I'am so happy with the results. Angela from Funky Angel Photograph offered to do them for me. She's looking to start doing birth photography and needed to get her foot in the door somewhere! She is extremely talented, and also does some really awesome boudoir photography as well!! I got a lot more than just these photo's but picked the ones I was most comfortable with sharing!! Its kind of a personal thing showing these pictures! So here you go!

 

 Andy helping me through a contraction

 Just some of the equipment that Cathy brings to births

 Andy and our Doula

Our table was covered with her medical equipment that she brought. Also for those of you who are unsure about homebirths and midwifery care the amount of paper work that the 2 midwives kept up on while I was in labor and during my delivery was huge!!

 This is Barbara Scriver (back up midwife) and she's checking Judah's heart rate at this point

 

 Cathy had just arrived, and the affect she had over me was incredible. I felt calm, and started to cry as soon as she came in. I was telling her here that I didnt think I could do it anymore. She spoke softly and just encouraged me

 

 

Getting to hold him for the first time

 

Gathered around making sure he is okay and getting a good look at him

The paramedics were here at this point, encouraging us to transfer to the hospital

 Right after he was born, and finally started breathing

 Andy holding him for the first time

.

I cannot say enough good things about the care I received. Cathy and Barbara were incredible!!! I wish I would've gone this route with Eli regardless of the outcome and needing to be transferred to the hospital!

6 Weeks

This week we're really back into the swing of things. Moms group, ladies bible study, Eli's preschool program, and a few play dates! Its a busy week, but Im enjoying it.

Judah the past 2 nights has slept great! We decided to try turning on some white noise in his room, and Im thinking its made a difference. We just turned the radio onto static, and the past two nights he slept 6 and 7 hours. I woke up this morning and looked at the clock to see it was 5:20am! I didnt wake up in the middle of the night either!! If he sleeps that well tonight (which Im preparing myself for a hard night, 3 nights in a row would be too good to be true!!) than Ill be a believer in the white noise for babies!! Some people swear by it, we'll see!! Judah is now 6 weeks old. I honestly cant believe how fast time has gone by! Eli is doing so well with him, and loves him to bits! Judah loves watching Eli, and funny enough Eli seems to get the most smiles from his baby brother! He doesnt have to do anything but walk up to Judah and he'll get a big smile! Its so beautiful!!

Yesterday I got my retainer after a week of having my braces off! Its a weird feeling, but Im adjusting to talking with it. My teeth were quite sore for the first 24 hours, but their feeling better now.

As for the breastfeeding, we're still having some issues. I had so many people tell me the first 6 weeks is the hardest, and if you can get through it then its smooth sailing. I feel like its only gotten more difficult. My letdown is still crazy, and for a few days I had decided I would exclusively pump and bottle feed because he wouldn't latch on. He prefers having a bottle, because its easier and he has more control, but then technically I would be bottle feeding and breast feeding. No thank you. In the middle of the night its so much work to make sure you have milk ready and then to heat it up while you have a hungry baby. The other night I nursed him while he was still sleepy, and he didn't pull off, or start screaming. If breastfeeding was that easy all the time I can see why women do it for so long! Going out in public and nursing is still not happening, although I've gotten rid of nursing with the big pillow. It took a few days for him to get used to not having it, but I was so tired of needing it when I nursed and thought maybe it would make our nursing in public issues easier. Well it didn't really, but Im glad to have gotten rid of the big bulky thing. Its now tucked away. Ive tried using a nipple shield to help control the let down, however once he gets used to the plastic feeling he prefers it because its like a bottle. At least thats what I suspect. So like I said we're still having issues, but Im hopeful (and praying!!) that it will eventually resolve itself, and will become very easy! I made another appointment for the lactation consultant for next week, maybe she'll be able to give me some encouragement. Some days its great, and others all I want to do is cry, but I remind myself that every day I continue to breastfeed is a precious gift to my baby. By the way on the topic of breastfeeding, Eli asked me the other day if he could feed his dolly (yes he has a dolly that he plays with!) milk from his boobs. I love how kids are so matter of fact. So simple most of the time!! I had to laugh!

Its starting to cool off, which means snow will be coming soon, but Im looking forward to the future. An older baby, and toddler as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas! Andy and I are hoping to start doing some renovations on our kitchen... floor, refinish cabinets, counter top, and a few other odds and ends. I'd like to start with painting and refinishing the cabinets. We'll see how that goes!!
 

The countdown is over...

Today was the day that Ive been waiting almost 2 years for.

Remember this picture?

This was in October of 2010. Right before Thanksgiving. My teeth were so sore, and my lips ached, I was so miserable because I couldn't enjoy thanksgiving dinner. It hurt to talk or move my mouth. The pain was something I wouldn't want to wish on anyone. Way worse than what I expected.

So now, 2 years later we have this, not the best picture... but you catch what Im saying!!

My teeth are naked, and I love it! I had read online that some people said it hurt to get their braces off, and that it was so uncomfortable! Nothing like having them on in the first few weeks! I also had read that some people felt uncomfortable with their teeth because they felt so huge, and slimy! I love to feeling, so smooth, and the fact that they look pretty much perfect... who cares how big they feel!? Not this girl!!

I go back to the orthodontist in 1 week to get my retainer, (which is purple) and have them shape a few of my teeth a bit more. He did some today, but said my teeth will settle a bit over the next week, and will do a bit more when I come back. I dont even have an issue or concern with wearing my retainer!! Compared to having braces for almost 2 full years, a retainer is not a big deal!! We had rice with supper tonight, and not having it all stuck in my braces was an incredible feeling!!

Things over the past week or so have felt busy, but life has been good. It continues to feel more and more normal, and Judah is a very relaxed baby. As long as he is fed, well rested, and dry, he is happy and content.

He drifts in and out of sleep in this swing with no problems! Just when you think nap time is over, and you go to get him, he's back to being asleep!! Last night he slept from 9:30pm-3:00am. I however woke up pretty much every half hour from 12:30am, because I was expecting him to wake up. Lucky me!!

Another thing, my babies seem to have issues with baby acne for weeks after their born. Eli had issues with it, and so has Judah. It gets more inflamed and red when he is upset, hot or sweaty. I mentioned it to one of the girls in my moms group, and she said to use Lanolin cream. Yup, like the nipple cream. I thought it sounded strange however with how bad his face was breaking out, I tried it. 1) It works!! His face cleared up within 24 hours, and continues to look better and better!! And 2) he loves having it rubbed on his cheeks! He smiles whenever we do it. Eli loves to help do this because Judah reacts and responds to us!!



Last week Eli decided he wasn't going to nap one afternoon, so we ventured off to the park for the afternoon. Eli was loving building sand castles, and found this to play with.

My muscle man!! Isn't he cute??


This week we're getting back into the routine of things more and more as bible study starts up next week, and our leaders meeting is this week. My moms group started last week, and Eli's programs start next week. Im looking forward to this routine and to life becoming more and more normal for us as a family of 4! Plus I cant wait for Thanksgiving this year!! Something about yummy food, and good desserts that just makes life feel good, plus we have a lot to be thankful for!!

1 month old & Eli's ears

Judah is one month old tpray. I really can't believe how fast a month has gone by! I had a check up for him yesterday and he is now 12pounds 4 oz! Clearly, he isn't going hungry! He is starting to who more signs of being a person, rather than just a baby who eat, sleeps and poops all the time. He is smiling more and more and attempting to make little noises. This makes the sleepless nights worth it!

This past week, Eli had a check up with the specialist for his ears. Upon getting there, Eli was extremely upset because he realized wha we were there for. He cried and cried and told me over and over that he didn't want the dr to look in his ears. Apparently appointment after appointment of holding a child down to lOok in his ears will traumatize him. Who knew!? Even after the nurse giving him a new hot wheels car and sticker he still was upset! Andy talked with him and told him the dr would look in his ears first. Sure enough dr Eksteen came in, and let Eli look in Andy's ears fits. He hen asked Eli if he could look in his ears. He let him!! No kicking or screaming, no crying. He sat on Andy's lap and let him look in his ears! I couldn't believe it! I was so proud! The dr said the tubes are still in there after 2 years, and I'd in 6 months time they haven't come out theyll have to go in to remove them. Apparently only 1% of kids hang onto them this long!! Crazy!! His ears looked great and there were no concerns! Music to my ears!!

This weekend is full of friends, family, getting my hair done (without a baby attached to my hip!!) and relaxing!! Andy has Monday off and I'm so looking forward to the family time together!

Ps I typed this on my iPhone so please forgive the typos!!