Tag: babies

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Babies Photography

Zach: Four Months

Zachy poo is still our little guy. At his four month appt this week, we learned he’s still not quite on the growth charts for weight for his age. Our pediatrician isn’t concerned since he’s gaining weight well & following his own growth curve. Zach now weighs 11lb 7oz {which is almost triple his birth weight}. He did make the chart for height though! At 23.5 inches, he’s around the 15th percentile. Definitely our lil bean pole.

We’ll continue to fortify his pumped breastmilk bottles for daycare with a teaspoon of preemie formula. He’s taking bottles fairly well for daycare. We feel like his reflux is getting better but daycare has laughingly mentioned him being a lil high maintenance {we think due to him taking breaks & needing to be burped multiple times a feeding}. Our breastfeeding relationship has been awesome lately. He’s doing great there.

Zach loves his wubbanub. So much so that we’ve recently bought back ups. So now he has a tiger & a monkey to suck on. You’ll be pressed to find a photo of him where the wubba isn’t close by.

He goes down great around 8-10p & likes to sleep on his side.  Zach’s yet to completely sleep through the night, but for the most part, I’ve gotten to enjoy he & I’s quiet time nursing around 330a. We’ve gotten it down pat: disposable diaper change, nursing, him sitting up/burping while I pump, then both of us back to sleep for another hour or two or three {my dream!}.

Zach is our tummy time champ. With a boppy under him, he’s holding his head & chest up looking around. He likes the bouncy seat, play mat & the little swings at daycare too. But his teachers say & we know that he likes to be held best. And with his gummy tongue out smile or tiny pouty lip & batting those long eyelashes, we will gladly plop him in our laps or next to us in a boppy. Or his favorite is standing & squatting while we hold him up. The doctor was impressed with this development skill of his.

I recently gave up squeezing him into NB clothes & packed those up for his two sets of to-be twin boy friends. He’s now wearing 0-3 clothes well, Carters skinny 3 month fit great & he’s growing into some 3-6 outfits of which onesies can act like shorts too.

We’ve kept Zach in Huggies Natural diapers at night but he wears cloth diapers during the day. Skinny sized AppleCheeks diapers {review to come soon!} & our two Itti Bitti diapers fit our lil guy so well.

Categories
Babies Photography

Lucy: Four Months

Miss Lucy girl keeps us on our toes. She loves people & doesn’t like being alone or unwatched. Her ‘chatting’ has reached new levels. It’s hilarious, unless it’s 3a like now & she’s ooohhhing & cooing. But she’s so cute & smiley about her chats that you can’t be annoyed.

I think she’s discovered her fingers within the past week or so. All the sudden, she’s staring at them in addition to shoving them in her mouth. She’s also an occasional thumb sucker as well as enjoying her wubba which she likes but can live without.

Lucy has adjusted to daycare swimmingly. Eating for others? No problem. She takes all of her four ounces bottles. Then coming home & switching back to the boob like the eating champ she is. She’s gotten pretty efficient breastfeeding – ten to twenty minutes. She’s started this thing of spitting up. More after the fact than immediately that we plan to ask her pediatrician about Wed {we asked he called her a Happy Spitter & said no worries}.

Speaking of the pediatrician, at the appointment yesterday, she weighed in at 13lb 11oz & was 24.5 inches long. I believe that’s in the 25-50 percentile for her actual age & more like 50-75% for adjusted age! Because of her on-the-chartness, we no longer have to fortify her bottles. Yay Lucy!

Our baby girl will sleep 6-8 hours straight. Earlier this week, she was exhausted from daycare, fell asleep at 7 & decided 330 am was a good time to get up for the day! But typically she’ll fall asleep on the way home from daycare, nap for a bit in her car seat or swing while I unpack from the day, nurse & hang out for a bit before going to sleep between 8-10p & getting up between 5-730a. I’m quite thankful for this sleeper!

She has fun playing on the play mat {although still not a tummy time fan}, will tolerate a bouncy seat & our infant-to-toddler rockers. Daycare says she likes the excaucer but we haven’t put ours at home together yet. She loves the swing, especially if she can glimpse a view of the TV from it. Girl is a fan of football already. Not sure if its the green grass background or just colors in general but it cracks us up.

Lucy wears mostly size three month clothes with the occasional 0-3 & 3-6 mixed in. I’ve been trying to work in NB dresses as tops/tunics with baby jeans or leggings, but she doesn’t like tight necks over her head.

She’s still in size 1 baby dry disposables for overnights. But cloth diapers all day at daycare {post on this to come!} & evenings & weekends home with us. As of this week, we’re officially calling her as outgrown the XS Thirsties covers. The M Bumgenius AIOs {thanks for letting us borrow Poe} fit her pretty well already even though were still squeezing her in the size 0 kissaluvs.

Happy four months {posted six days late}, baby girl! {updating with photo later I promise}

Categories
Babies

Back to Work

I’m two days in to being an ‘official’ working mom. I’m so thankful for my company allowing me to take 16 weeks maternity leave {awesome, right?}. Where & how did that time pass so quick? I’m back to the same work where so much is the same & so much different.

Although I swear I’ve been working just as hard if not harder in these last four months. But that’s another story & discussion & drama.I’m don’t and am now trying to go there. Just safe to say that being a SAHM is crazy hard with two babies. I was always multitasking & sometimes feeling like I was doing it all just half way. Trying to put the babies & their needs first & the households last. With mine & my husband’s hopefully in the mix somewhere. Start the dishes but not able to unload. Start laundry & hope someone not holding a baby can throw them in the dryer. Hold a baby & blogging {what, you’ve done that right?!}. I haven’t been caught up on cooking {even just having time to heat up frozen meals was tough}, cleaning {ha!}, laundry since May 7th {hell, more like Oct 22 when I got that BFP!}.

Being a SAHM just wasn’t in the cards for me. My pay & benefits will better serve my family than me being at home {even factoring in ridiculously expensive daycare times two}. I need, crave really, time with other adults. Exercising my brain in ways other than just babies & our house. I even was looking forward to getting back in a cubicle.

So here I sit. In that cube, overhearing conversations all around me, multitasking still, but with phone calls, work emails, & paper work.

But the difference between the working girl who last sat in this chair May 7th & the one who arrived yesterday morning is grand. Now there are baby photos on my desktop. I rush off twice a day to a nursing mothers’ room to pump milk to get them through the next day. Most of my conversations revolve around Zach & Lucy {yes, I’m that new bragging mom}. My heart is fuller & pulled to a certain two babes resting & playing at home this week with my mother- & sister-in-law. I stare at the clock wishing for 5 o’clock more than I’ve ever known.

And I drive too fast home to their happy faces. I’m pretty sure I gave both a days’ worth of kisses in six hours last night. Holding & hugging them tight. & so thankful for our time together nursing {I couldn’t take my eyes away from theirs}.

Last night, I let the oven stay empty & we picked up take out instead. I couldn’t put down L or Z for long enough to cook. I waited until after they were in bed to wash bottles, to get ready for the next day by packing up my pumping bag & my lunch. I went to bed just before midnight. Feeling like a mom, a working mom. And I loved it.

Categories
Babies Family/Travel

Being ‘Mom’

The mom jeans, mom unwashed ponytailed hair, mom under belly chub. The breastfeeding mom tank tops. Mom van. Mom black undereye circles. Check. Check. Check. I have all of the above.

And I’m embracing them. Loving them for now. Because I worked really damn hard earning the ‘mom’ title.

While its tough & people {including myself on the hard days} complain, it’s worth it. So for now, I’m pulling my mom pants up a lil higher, & smiling, because these two {when they
can talk} call me Mom.
{Post written & photos taken Thursday during the babies first half day trial at daycare.}

Categories
Babies

Leaving the Nest

I’m tempted to place blame on my super Daddy of a husband in this post, but I’ve been a bit nervous & more protective than I expected. When I learned our babies were going to be born early, I figured we wouldn’t be taking them out & about right away. Hells, when I learned I was having multiples, I knew I’d been intimidated by that. But I figured it wouldn’t take us three months.

But aside from pediatrician appointments & a quick visit to each of our works, these babies haven’t left our nest together. A couple {Lucy’s had two & Zach one} walks have been taken, but it’s been hot. With my mom on tow, Lucy, in the Moby wrap, went to a baby store, BJs & Lowes Food about a month ago. She did great; sleeping her way from place to place. Two Saturdays ago, Zach joined Mom & I out to return my rented Symphony & go to Harris Teeter. Mom used our Ergo carrier & Z slept the whole time.

So yesterday I was feeling a bit stir crazy & hungry. I love dining out & while take out is good, it’s not the same as a restaurant experience. I brought up eating out Monday morning. The husband didn’t immediately say no. {I took this as a good sign.} Later when he mentioned craving Relish take out, I popped out ‘what if we all went?’. Husbands’ parents are in town & were game, so I began preparing for a 7p dinner at 530. Getting non-spit-up covered clothes out for myself. Clean, cute clothes & disposable diapers out for the babes. Waiting for them to wake up, nursing Zach, then handing him to Jason for burps & dressing while I then nursed Lucy. I got her & I dressed while Jason put them in the car seats. And off we went. We were just five minutes late {pretty sure I’ll never be ‘on time’ again}.

And I think it went well. Babes enjoyed the car ride. Zach fell right asleep at the table, only waking once we were done eating. Lucy stayed wide eyed for a while & then got sick of the car seat seconds before our food was served. J & his mom took turns walking her & eating until she fell asleep. Once we gulped down our delicious food, we called it a success & left before anyone melted down.

Zach slept 3.5 hours in his crib & Lucy fell asleep at 1115p last night. So their trip out did good things to them too. Watch out world, we’ve made a {little} step out of our nest with the two babies!