Friday, March 28, 2014

What's Most Important

"The housework can wait. You're doing much more important work right now watching and taking care of your baby."
 
These are the words my mom spoke to me a week ago when we were having one of our daily talks. She may not be near by and able to come over to help, but she definitely knew what I needed to hear. Right now I'm backed up on laundry and unpacking. My kitchen island is full of papers and I have so many things to organize and put away it's not even funny. But, my little boy is healthy and learning new things all of the time.
 
He's eating solids three times per day and having a bottle every 3-4 hours. We've been working on giving him more tummy time and practicing sitting up more. They want me to work on putting toys to the side so he'll reach over and turn to play so we've been doing that too.
 
I still freak out sometimes because in my head I want things picked up, but I can only do so much. I'm not failing because the bigger picture is there and we're all doing well. My little man is growing so fast and I don't want to miss these times when he's little and still wants his momma. The day will come all too soon when he'll want to do everything on his own and not need me anymore. Until then, I will soak up these moments even on the rough days.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Evalutations

I've kept it a little quiet here on the blog, but Matthew was evaluated recently to help him hit his milestones. Everyone agrees that he's right on par with some things (i.e. sitting up), but he's still not doing some other things that are important. The specialists that we've seen are all in agreement that it's because of all of the trouble he had with his reflux and stomach early on and his intolerance of tummy time for months. Now that he's able to tolerate it more, he's doing much better!

Every two weeks the physical therapist will come out and play with Matthew and teach me new ways to practice his skills. We're currently working on getting him to play with toys and move around more. He can roll, but usually chooses not to. We'd like to see him explore his surroundings more and to get him rolling around and scooting around.

We have a great team on our side who isn't concerned and that makes me happier than ever. Early on there were so many things that came up and I was constantly stressed about one thing or another. It's nice to not be worried about any of those things anymore and to know that we're doing the right things to help him reach his milestones.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Staying at Home

I always knew that being a stay at home mom was a tough job. I nannied for five years and it was one of the best and hardest jobs I've had until now. Back then I could go home at the end of the night and I had someone else making all of the big decisions for the family. Now, that's my job and it's I have to admit it's a lot to handle.

I love my job though. Sure, we have incredibly long days and nights, but at the end of the day I'm shaping this little boy into someone special. He looks up to me and his dad to love and teach him what he needs to learn. He may be a little spoiled being the first and only child we have, but he's a sweet little man.

Last night was rough and more often than not, he ends up in our bed in the early mornings with me while his daddy is at work. For some reason he wakes up so much more when I get up with him in the middle of the night and it's frustrating, but I get baby snuggles in the morning and I love that.

We're working on a new normal here and that's still tough with unpacking and constantly running to the store to get things, but we're making it work and he's been pretty good throughout this whole process.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Moving In

I've been a little busy lately. Unpacking with a 7 month old is a little difficult, but I love our new house and how it is starting to feel like our home. Living with my in-laws for a little over a year was definitely not idea, but it put us in the position to own our home and for that, I'm grateful.

We're still trying to get into a routine with our little guy, so for now we're rolling with the punches and loving that he's ours. Every day is different and that's ok.

There have been some positive changes with living here! My husband is home an average of 30 minutes earlier and is coming home early on Fridays starting tomorrow! He's also signed up to be able to work from home and we're hoping that he'll be able to start that once every two weeks as of next week. This means he would be off work that day at 2:30pm and be here to spend more time with me and Matthew.

I love that this new house (and the location) has given us new opportunities to be together more. With his commute being so long, it's nice to have more time together and Matthew lights up when his daddy walks through the door. It's seriously so cute!

We're all adjusting here nicely and constantly running to the store, unpacking, or cleaning up around the house. We're very blessed.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Operation Ditch the Swaddle Update

We tried going swaddle-free for the first day (naps only) and he slept for 20 minutes each time. Now, 20 minutes is better than not falling asleep, but he would wake up happy and exhausted all at the same time, which meant tons of crankiness. By the third nap that day, he was back in the swaddle.

The next day we tried the first nap swaddle-free again and the same thing occurred. Not awesome. The rest of the day he was swaddled for naps so that was super fun, but he's getting so big that he can barely fit into them. I might seriously have to rig a sleep sack and sew swaddle wings for him to still have one!

At this point, we need to continue to unpack and our little guy needs to be well-rested. I guess we're going to keep swaddling and try again in another week or two.

Here's hoping that we can make these darn things fit until he's ready to nap swaddle-free!

Friday, March 7, 2014

Operation Ditch the Swaddle Part 1

Matthew is just a few days shy of 7 months old and has started breaking out of the swaddle...again. He loves the feeling of being secure, but he's getting too big for the darn thing and is almost rolling over at night while he's wearing it.

I've tried to transition him before with no success (he would cry indefinitely until he was swaddled) so I'm really hoping that he's ready this time. They don't make swaddles bigger than this and it would be so nice to not have to swaddle him for every nap and at bed time.

We've decided to start with naps and see how that goes, then transition him at night. We're trying something called the Zipadee-Zip and it's so much easier to put on! He seems to like it more than the Baby Merlin's Magic Sleep Suit (which worked, but he was too big for the small and too small for the large) and it's safe for him to roll onto his belly if he chooses to do so.

I can't wait to ditch the swaddle and have him sleep well again. We figured with the move and transition to a new house, it's the perfect time to get him transitioned and ready to go.

Any one have any tips on how to transition from the swaddle?

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Our New House

I've been a little more M.I.A over here lately (not that I end up posting too much as of late) and it's because I've been super busy with our new house!


We closed the day after our anniversary (what a great gift!) and we went straight to painting for two days and my mother-in-law did a lot of cleaning. Our house was pretty much move-in-ready (for the most part), but as with all houses we have already had some unexpected costs.

Our storage locker that held most of our belongings for the past 15 months was an outside unit, so with the weather out here, a ton of our belongings were so molded we had to throw them away. We still have plenty of things and have been blessed with Phil's family that has offered us some extra furnishings to get by until we choose to upgrade them. We've had to be a little creative with seating since we currently have no couch or dining room table so we've been working with two bar stools, the recliner in Matthew's room, and an Ikea Poang chair without the cover (since that was molded).

We've also chosen to replace the appliances and the toilet in the hallway bathroom. The dishwasher was unsalvageable due to the lack of upkeep and was so disgusting. The washer was able to be cleaned, but left the clothes really wet after the extra spin cycle, and the dryer was a fire-hazard with the lint caked in under the trap, the bearings going out, and the smell of something burning when running. We also got an upright freezer for the basement for extra food storage and that makes me one happy girl!

Even though we've had unexpected costs (thank you, Lord for our tax return!), we're still very happy with our new place. We have a lot of furnishing to do over time, but I'm so glad to be able to raise my son here and have a place for our little family to call our own.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

6 Months!

Matthew turned 6 months old on the 9th, but we didn't have our doctor's appointment until last week. Since turning 6 months old, he definitely has started to slowly become happier!

 
 
Weight: 16 lbs 1oz (19th%)
 
Height: 26.81" long (53rd %)
 
Sleeps: 3 naps per day and 11ish hours at night with an average of one wake up to eat.
 
Likes:
-Playing in his exersaucer
-His swing
-Jumping in his jumperoo
-Sitting up (for brief moments unassisted, otherwise supported)
-Squash
-Being tickled
-Being upside down
-Lifted up like an airlane
-Kisses on his cheeks
-"Boo!"
-Saying "a-mom" when he's upset and wants his Momma
-His paci
-Being out and about and looking at new things
 
Dislikes:
-Tummy time
-Peas
-Grandma when he's really upset (must.have.momma!)
-Napping well (at the moment)
-Doing the same thing for too long
 
Matthew is awake for about 2 hours or so and tends to need a nap. He's a very active little guy who has started sitting on his own for a few seconds! He is reaching and grabbing for toys and is exploding with new skills weekly! We started solids this month and he's tried squash, bananas, pears, peas, and carrots. He is eating anywhere from 3-5 oz of formula every 3-4 hours. He is getting to be much more vocal and must have his hands in his mouth! In fact, he's really started sucking his thumb lately and we think it's the cutest!
 
Our little man definitely has a personality and will let you know if he likes or dislikes something. He surprises us all the time with what he can do now. He's still a skinny little guy and is keeping up with his height so we're thrilled that (so far) he's taking after his daddy in that regard.
 
He's going to the sitter today for the first time and I'm hoping to make it a regular (monthly?) thing for him to hang out with her and that it will be a good long-term thing for him.