baby – Page 3 – The Merfett

Charly is 3 Months!

November 4, 2015November 4, 2015 The Merfett

3 whole months. 1/4 of a year. Wow.

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.

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.

Baby Gear: Swaddle Me Velcro Swaddles. 9 (NINE) + 12 month old clothing. Ergo. Britax Carseat + stroller. Activity Mat. Pampers (2).

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.

Currently

October 3, 2015October 3, 2015 The Merfett

Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet does a Currently post every once and a while, and I’m a big fan of her blog (and the series) so I thought I’d share my own. Call me a fangirl.

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Reading: JUST started reading Why Not Me via my library eReader system. Can I say how excited I am to have access to an eLibrary?! I’m not even through the intro of the book, so I should get moving on it before I have to renew it! I recently finished 123 Magic (ugh. toddlers) and For the Love (so good).

Eating: Whole 30. Kelly and I started the challenge last Monday so it’s been a week of no diary, booze, legumes, gluten or sugar. I did a challenge a year ago (and got pregnant!) and it was time for me to have a sugar intervention. Breastfeeding = sugar cravings! So far it’s been lots of eggs, Chicken Apple Sausage, green beans, tomatoes, apples (hello Honeycrisp) butternut squash and bananas.

Thinking About: Our someday move. We’ve been talking about it more, and strategizing for what we need to do to make it happen. So many big changes. It’s scary for me, but I’m also excited. We’ll get to experience the 4 seasons! We can have dinner together as a family more than 2 nights a week! We can have date nights!

Looking Forward to: I took a leap and emailed a women’s ministry at the church we attended back when I was pregnant with Riley. We’ve taken an unplanned extended church hiatus and it’s time to get back into the groove. I tried to “put myself out there” and make some church friends, but it didn’t stick. So I’m recommitting. I dislike being the new girl, but I’m trying. There’s a thing called Project Bag Ladies where a group gets together to sew tote bags to sell for charity. I can sew! I want to make friends! So, I’m meeting them on Monday. I did love an email I got earlier, addressing me as a ‘Bag Baby’ since anyone under 50 is baby, and anyone over is just a ‘Bag.’ Hah. Charly’s coming along too ;)

Enjoying: Black coffee + coconut milk. I’m a latte lady normally. I don’t need a fancy coffee drink (I pass on the PSL craze) but I do like a creamy coffee. Whole 30 coffee is either black or with approved coconut/almond milk. Drinking coffee ‘stripped down’ really makes you appreciate good coffee. Man. There’s some bitter/burned brews out there.

Learning: About some new music! I used to be keyed into all kinds of fun and current music. Not so much anymore. I recently found Johnnyswim and I’m really liking them. Mellow. Sweet. And I love a strong male/female sound. Oh. And I’m learning how to use Snapchat (eek!) and Periscope. I’m just getting into Snaps [daniellajoyy] but I won’t be ‘scoping – I just like following along. Jess Connolly is my current fave.

Loving: My happy little Charly baby. Man. I got lucky (#blessed) with him. Riley’s a very typical toddler – high energy and loud. And he can for sure throw a tantrum. But. He’s also really funny and sweet. Charly is mellow and laid back, just like his Daddy. When Riley’s high-need, Charly can chill and wait for me to get to him. Thank goodness. Since I solo parent most of the week it’s been so much more doable having a mellow newborn.

Family

Charly is 2 Months!

October 1, 2015October 14, 2015 The Merfett

Time for a Charly update :)

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.

1229964_10152226642179848_1862207805_n — 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.

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.

Baby Gear: Swaddle Me Velcro Swaddles. 9 (NINE) month old clothing. 4Moms Mamaroo, SollyBaby Wrap. Ergo. Britax Carseat + stroller. Humidifier. Baby Vics.

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.