Category: Family

Life with the Murphy’s!

Family

Riley is 4 Months!

The Merfett

I feel like this past month really flew by, but I’m so excited for the holiday season with the tiny human!!

Weight: So…I broke down and bought the word’s cheapest scale. Yea, like you can hardly see what the number is, and when you lean one way or the other it changes. Besides the point – I think he’s between 18 and 19lbs? We’ll get the official weight (and shots. boo.) at his 4 month check up in a few weeks.

Health: Healthy, PTL. I’m a little nervous about the number of people around us that are sick with colds, but I’m trying to be careful and keep myself healthy. I took some Emergen-C this morning and I’ll take a few more to prep for our upcoming travel. Since I’m breastfeeding all the good antibodies get passed along to Riley, so I’m doing my best to keep myself germ free in hopes that we’ll skate through flu and cold season. I know he’s going to get sick at some point, I just hope to avoid it as much as possible. We’ve entered the teething zone. No signs of them breaking through, but man are some days fussy. We’ve come to find and LOVE the Hayland’s Teething Tablets, seriously – they are magical. We’ve done some Tylenol, but I’m a much bigger fan (and so is Riley) of the tablets.
Sleep: Much more consistent this month. We’re normally up around 7:30am, but sometimes he’ll sleep until 8:30am or decide 6:30am is a good wake up time. He always wakes up happy in the morning, usually just talking to himself in his crib and wiggling around. We get ready for the day, short power nap on the ride to work. Three 45 – 1 hour naps at the office, then another power nap on the drive home. Extra awake time until bedtime at 8:30pm. I’ve been dream feeding him at 10:00pm and he’ll sleep until 3:00am or 4:00am. Since he’s waking up at different times in the middle of the night I know he’s still hungry, and not waking from habit. The past few nights he’s going until 5:00am. I think technically, he’s “sleeping through the night” since that’s 8 hours, from the time I put him down to the time he wakes himself up. I nurse him at his one nightly wake up and he goes right back to sleep until morning. The time change was rough a few weeks ago, but we’ve adjusted now. It’s also nice that he’s sleeping well, so I can stay up for a little while after he goes to bed. Gives me a little solo time to get things done or just relax.
Nursing: Finally feel like we’re really getting it. Each month I’m more confident and comfortable. I’m also getting to be proud that I can breastfeed. I was always determined, but I’m also so thankful. It was hard to get to this point, and I’m so proud that we stuck with it. Feeding out and about it getting easier too. I’ve got the hang of the crossed-leg arm cradle hold thing. Riley is MUCH more aware now, which can be hard when he gets distracted. He also likes to pop off and give me a few grins and some “goos” mid-feed. It’s adorable, but I’m always trying to coax him to get back to business ;)

What Riley is up to: Teething! Growing! Flirting! Smiling! I told Kelly the other night how as much as some of the teething days can be rough, he’s so much fun right now. I love how his personality is growing. He’s such a social baby, and loves to watch people. He’s happy to be held by anyone and chats up a storm when we’re out to dinner. He knows how to work the grin+smile+eyelashes and get goofy reactions from people. It’s so funny. He LOVES bathtime. He’s also much more comfortable with dressing and diaper changes. He hardly ever cries any more. The morning is his happiest/most chatty time of day. Last Friday we went to visit Santa. Riley is happy to be held by anyone – bearded men included. I work in an office with mostly guys…all of them have facial hair. So, we thought our chances with Santa were pretty good. If not – it’s still a funny “someday” story to tell him. So we waiting in line at our bank, since they were hosting Santa. When it was finally time for our turn Kelly handed him over – to which Santa replied “I’ve been doing this a long time – I know he’ll cry.” But Riley was Perfect!

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First Time Meeting Santa
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We Met Grumpy Cat!
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Rolling Over
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Tummy Timing
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Family Adventures
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PostPartum: So I decided to postpone my Sprint Tri – I’m now doing a race in February. I knew I could fake my way through the race, but I want to finish strong – not a big mess. I’m also doing a 6 week work out program which I’m really liking. Lots of new workouts and different moves I’m not used to. We also ordered a jogging stroller, so I can get my runs in with Riley. Child care is my biggest challenge. I can do my strength workouts at home after he’s asleep, but cardio is another challenge. I’m dreaming of getting a Spin Bike…I’m also seriously considering canceling my gym membership. I feel like I can’t get to any of the classes (like spin) I want. So I’d rather save that $40 a month and maybe put it into a Spin Bike both Merfman and I could use.

Baby Gear: Lots of winter clothing! Columbia Snow Suit. The Hoot hat from Krochet Kids. Hylands Teething Tablets. Wonder Weeks App. Activity Mat. Soothie stuffed animal toys. Bumbo Chair.

Thoughts: My show is starting to wind down, but it’s been a really busy past few weeks. I find that it’s a challenge to balance work and home stuff. Keeping the house clean (and I’ve totally lowered my OCD standards) is a challenge. Between cleaning, meal prep, family stuff and workouts over the weekend I’m exhausted. I’m also noticing that I have little patience for certain things. Not with Riley or Kelly – just with stuff. My time is limited and valuable so I have little interest in wasting it. Sometimes I daydream about what it would be like to work from home – which is still a possibility for me on some days…but overall I do like to get out of the house and go into work. I’m so thankful that Riley can tag along, and he really is good. The teething stuff can be a challenge, but he’s still really happy and easy going. I think it’s this lifelong quest to find balance. Figuring out what’s priority and just living each day as much as you can. One thing that’s been on my mind a lot is time. Slowing down time. I never want to wish that we’d be onto the next thing…the next phase..the next milestone. On the hard days you wish it over – but there are so many people trying to slow time down. Cancer patients with little children, families with their spouses home from deployment, grandchildren soaking up precious time with their grandparents. Why rush? We only get this life once, might as well enjoy the ride – rocky as it may be sometimes.

Family

Your Prayers

The Merfett

Wednesday morning at 7:50am we’ll be boarding a flight to New Jersey.

I’d be very thankful if you could send some prayers and good vibes our way. There’s been some pretty crazy activity at LAX recently – so this Mama’s a little anxious.

Then there’s the whole traveling with a 4 month old thing…yea.

Prayers for safe travels, favor with our fellow travelers, and grace. Lots of grace.

Protection from sickness and a calm and happy baby would be nice too :)

Where ever you are traveling to celebrate Thanksgiving I pray that you and your family get there safely and have a wonderful time. Soak it up.

Each year seems to pass quicker and quicker – savor these days.