Weight: I need to hop on our scale at home with him and see. He’s wearing 9 and 12 month clothing.
Health: All is well! He’s starting to drool and shove his hands in his mouth so teething is right around the corner. Riley started at 3 months too. I’m praying he handles it better than his older brother. It was a rough several months with set after set coming in. We were done teething was ahead of everyone else – but it was brutal for a long time.
Sleep: 45 min – 1 hour naps are the norm. And he’s sleeping well at night, often only waking once to eat somewhere between 2am – 5am. I’m bracing myself for the 4 month sleep regression though. Boo. He’s really good at falling asleep quickly and on his own. I don’t know if that’s because he’s better at it than Riley was – or if I’ve just intervened less and he’s figured it out on his own. Still using a pacifier to settle down sometimes, but it’s getting less and less so we’ll probably stop using it soon.
Nursing: He’s gotten much more “busy” in the last month so sometimes he’d rather look around than settle down and eat. That’s frustrating for me since I prefer him to eat first thing after waking up, then playing and chilling until it’s time to sleep again. I know it’s all part of the growth spurt he went through and he’s just excited to see the world. We went away for the first time since he was born and Nonny watched him. He wasn’t too excited about eating all his meals from a bottle, but he did OK. I need to remember to keep offering it to him a few times a week so he doesn’t start to completely reject it.
What Charly is up to: We’re just getting into the “sweet spot” where he’s so happy and interactive but also not mobile yet ;) He’s smiling and started to laugh back at me if I laugh at him. It’s so cute. He loved to sit up like a big boy – even though he totally can’t on his own. If you prop him on the couch he’ll immediately lean forward to look at his feet and tip over.
Cousins!
Mmm. Feet.Please keep those blue eyes
PostPartum: Wrapped up my Whole30 this month. Lost 11lbs and several inches. Fitting into much more of my clothing, and even got a few new fall things. I’m still a ways from my pre-pregnancy weight, but I’m not to worried about it. I’m sticking to a mostly Whole30ish diet and enjoying some bread, wine or cheese a few times a week. I’m trying to stay away from sugar as long as possible. Not a single piece of Halloween candy was consumed in our house! My attitude toward eating non-whole30 foods has been to ask myself “is this special, or really really yummy?” I’m not going to eat a bunch of french fries or donuts just because they’re sitting there. But if it’s truly yummy and delicious than sure! Balance.
Thoughts: This was a good month. Halloween was fun! I’m getting really excited for the holidays and our upcoming move – even though it’s months away. I can’t believe we’ll likely see Charly walk in another house, or celebrate his 1st birthday somewhere else. It’s so bittersweet.
Weight: We’ll find out at his appointment tomorrow – I’ll update :) Update: 15.6 lb, 24.75″. He’s wearing some 6 month clothing, and it’s tight – so 9 months it is! We just moved up to size 2 diapers.
Riley
Health: Got his first cold this month. Riley had the sniffles over the weekend and passed it on. Lots of baby Vics and humidifier use and he’s doing much better. So sad to see a little baby congested. The whole time he was eating and sleeping well – thank goodness.
Sleep: Slept through the night (8 hours) for the first time! I ended up having food poisoning that night so I didn’t get to enjoy it, but it was probably good timing ;) He’s a great sleeper and prefers to nap in his room during the day – all good with me! At night he does around 6 hours after we go to bed, eats and back to sleep, then is up around 7am, eats and back to sleep. Riley’s up between 6:30am and 7:00am so it works out OK. If Kelly’s home he normally gets up with Riley so I can feed Charly and get an extra hour of sleep.
Nursing: Good! I was a little nervous with his cold he would have a hard time, but he’s been eating fine. I need to start stockpiling milk for a trip we’re taking at the end of October. I’ll be gone from him about 48 hours. Our first night apart, sniff.
What Charly is up to: We’re getting into the fun stage of smiles and coos. I love hearing him “talk” and he’ll melt your heart with a cute little side grin.
Hair!Brothers
He wanted in on the photo actionBelly
PostPartum: Cleaned up my eating big time this past week. So. About a year ago I did my first Whole 30 Challenge and funny enough – got pregnant with Charly while doing it. I was eating great, and feeling awesome. Then I hit the first trimester, and ate like crap for 10 months. First 2 months postpartum I continued eating horrible. Because: tired, lazy, short on time = bad food choices. I’ve done the whole “post baby body” talk with myself before. I get that. I’m going to look different. I JUST had a 10+ pound baby. 10 months up, 10 months down. But it’s the way I’ve been feeling that’s gross. I needed a sugar intervention. Like major. So Kelly and I are on our first week of Whole 30 and it’s going well. Let’s be real though, sugar detox is no joke.
Thoughts: This month was rougher. It was a mix of hormones, emotions (we lost a family member) and toddler behavior stuff. I really had to check myself and see where my feelings were at a few times. We’re also talking a lot about moving and what we need to do to make that happen. I love Charly, and he fits into our family perfectly. I always knew that this fourth member of our family would be an exact fit, and I’m so thankful for him.
I’m a little late on this, he turned 2 on July 31, 2015. But I was waiting on his 2 year old check up stats. Since Charly’s due date was so close to his birthday I wanted to wait until the dust had settled for his appointment. We had is back on September 16.
The past 6 months have gone quickly so I though it might be a good idea to do a little update on our tiny human.
Size: 35lbs. (>98%) Height, I think around 40″ (> 98%) I forgot that stat, everything was sort of hectic, getting him to hold still was my only goal – I don’t think the nurse even told me. Basically he’s the size of an average 4 year old, or a normal 5 year old. He’s wearing 4T clothing and size 8 shoes. He’s about ready to move into the next sizes up though.
Health: He’s been really good these past few months. He just recently had a little cold but extra sleep and some Elderberry syrup helped kick it. At the check up his doctor was even impressed that we’re not in the office often for sickness. I think he had 1 ear infection? I took him in and we did one round of antibiotics. At the appointment he had a urine sample (interesting – they use a bag with adhesive) blood drawn – he was a champion! I held him and he maybe cried for 2 seconds. Hep B shot, and a flu shot. He was such a trooper and did so well and only cried another 2 seconds after the shots. I love our Peditrician and the staff at the office.
Sleep:He held onto the 2nd nap for a long time. Finally dropped it around 21 months? Sometimes he’ll still need an extra nap, especially on days when he wakes up really early. Right now he’s going down for his nap between 12:30/1:30 and sleeps for 2 – 3+ hours. In the morning he’s waking around 6:30am and gets up to turn off his sound machine then hops back into bed to roll around until 7:00am when we go get him. His bedtime is 7:30pm, unless he naps late then he’ll go down at 8:00pm. I asked his doctor about his sleeping schedule and told him that even 30 or an hour less a day and he’s a mess. He said that bigger kids need more sleep, and he’ll likely nap until 5. Good to know! In our house sleep is a commodity, and a cure all for anything. A solid nap and a good night’s sleep = happy toddler/happy mama.
Eating: Pretty typical American kid appetite. Loves cheese and cheese foods: grilled cheese, mac n’ cheese, quesadillas. A grilled cheese from In N Out is winner. Eats tons of fruit. All berries, apples, bananas, Cuties. Smoothies with spinach. Applesauce + veggies (carrots, broccoli) Chicken nuggets, fries, sweet potatoes. Loves breakfast – oatmeal w/peanut butter and honey, gluten free waffles, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, donuts, blueberry muffins. Current favorite snacks are popcorn, dry cereal, dried fruit, nuts, Pirates Booty. He drinks a ton of water (just like Mama) and has a cup of 2% milk with breakfast and dinner.
What Riley is up to: Talking is happening, but pronunciation is still unclear for a lot of things. His Pediatrician offered Speech Therapy which I happily agreed with. I worked at a Speech + Hearing Center after college, and it’s awesome. I’m all about it. He’s running and climbing and jumping all over the place. He’s an energetic little boy for sure. Sliding down the slide or digging in the sand are favorites at the park. He can throw a ball and race around after Betsy. He can stack and build and do puzzles. He’s really good at a shape app on my phone, which is an awesome distraction when I need to nurse Charly in public. Tantrums are here! I read the book 123 Magic and we’ve been using that system and it works really well for us. The one thing we’re still correcting is him chasing Betsy and being too rough with her. He’s started with a really high pitched scream when he’s happy or excited, ouch. He’s got some awesome friends that he loves (Lee + Moor). He always has to have his shoes, sunglasses, hat and backpack before we leave the house. He’s got a thing for shoes (like his Daddy) and he’s all about you wearing them, him wearing them, making sure everyone has their shoes. Monday is Trash day, and man – that kid loves his trash trucks. When I was a kid I would sit outside and wait for the trash truck to come up the street, he spends the morning sitting in our living room window watching :)
Looking too grown up
All about the sunglasses
Family Bike Ride
First Beach Trip
Babywearing
Trolly at the Grove
Chappy
Backpack Love
Malibu Pier
Family
Buddies
Helping Daddy
BFFs
Trains
Big Brother
Toys + Activities: Puzzles, PlayDough, our sandbox, Hot Wheels, Little People Cars + Track, coloring books and crayons, all things Curious George, pots and pans and kitchen gear, Trash Trucks, helping in the kitchen, laundry, making cookies/pizza, music and dancing, splashing in the pool.
Thoughts: Being a mom to two is a different adventure! I’m learning how to parent Riley as a toddler, just as he’s learning to be a toddler. It’s challenging, but also really rewarding. He’s so funny, and has such cute little habits.
The Merfett 