I’ve created a monster.
Every morning, I make myself a latte using our nespresso coffee maker and lately, every morning, Miss Charlotte asks for some steamed milk, please.
Oy.
The plus side to my child’s over-privileged love of steamed milk?
I have a permanent coffee date with the cutest little lady ever…
We signed Charlotte up for soccer and let me just say a few things…
Mark took two videos of her from two weeks ago and oh my goodness. They’re hilarious. He accidentally took the videos in slo-mo, which has someone managed to make the videos even more epic.
Enjoy…
Remember that time I called Henry the worst sleeper EVER? Well, I’d like to retract that statement and apologize to my little, because guess who SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT last night?
Yup! You guessed it 🙂
My pumpkin Henry slept from 7:30pm until 7am! He woke up once around 4/430, but by the time Mark got a bottle ready, Henry was already sleeping again.
Henry must have known that I had hit my breaking point. I was literally ready to crawl under a rock and stay there for the next two years.
Hopefully the trend continues!
As a side, little man is also napping like a champ. He’s turned his 30-40 minute naps into legit 1.5-3 hour naps! Such a good boy (and yes, seemingly a great sleeper all of a sudden).
Cheers to Henry pie!
Guys! My sweet Henry is a legit laugher. Not just a laugher when tickled. But really laughs!!
Today he couldn’t stop laughing at our silly Toby pup…
I just can’t get enough of this little guy.
💛💛💛
Tonight when I went to put little Henry pie to bed, he was wide awake. I nursed, potched and rocked him to no avail.
After maybe 30-40 minutes of the “please go the heck to sleep” dance, I gave up.
Okay, Henry. Momma’s just going to put you down in your crib and take a little break. You be good.
I fully anticipated my little guy to throw a big fit and demand I bounce faster, potch harder. But I walked out of the room anyway.
I quickly grabbed the monitor to watch. He looked right, he looked left. He chatted. He moved his feet around. He wiggled in the swaddle. Then, maybe 15 or so minutes later, it happened. He turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. Then, he fell asleep!!!!
No potch necessary. Not crying at all.
This is a big step, because if Henry hasn’t fallen asleep nursing, he is usually screaming the moment I even consider putting him down. He can sense these things.
So, after falling asleep around 830, the little dude slept until 215/230ish! I don’t know why my boobs can’t handle it, because I’ve gone this long before, but holy crap. I think I’m about to pump a gallon of milk (Mark takes the first night feeding while I pump).
Anyway, the moral of the story is that my little man is amazing!! Go Henry! Keep up the good work 🙂
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this at all on here, but three weeks ago, I started a bootcamp challenge. The challenge includes (3) one-hour crossfit classes per week and a paleo diet (no dairy, soy, wheat, sugar… Aka none of the good stuff).
I was really dreading the workouts because a) duh. B) I’m not the cross fit / weight lifting type (I have never lifted weights prior to my class) and C) it felt like a huge time commitment.
Well, let me say that I’ve been absolutely loving it. I’m signed up with my neighbor and it’s just become a fun little escape (during the peak of nighttime craziness) that feels great!
The diet… It’s fine. I can’t eat dairy or soy anyway because of Henry, so it’s not a huge change. I’ve cheated maybe 3 very small times (small bowl of cereal in almond milk, a bite of bread). However, I didn’t give up coffee or wine. That’s just nonsense.
All in all, I’ve dropped 7 lbs and am way more muscular than when I started. Still a ways to go, but I’m feeling good! Most importantly, it’s a little less frustrating getting dressed every day.
Weight: BIG! Henry hasn’t been weighed since his 2-month check up (at which point he was nearly 14 lbs!!!), but I can pretty much guaranty that he’s a giant. And luckily for me, he loves to be bounced and rocked and patted to sleep. Let’s just say that my arm muscles have been getting quite the workout.
Height: As with his weight, Henry’s height is pretty off the charts, too. I can’t remember what it was at 2 months, but I do remember that he was in the 98th percentile or something similar. I think closer to 75th for weight (he lost a bit of momentum on his weight after having diarrhea for a month straight). Anyway, he’s giant. Will likely be carrying me around by his third birthday.
Health Updates: The poop saga has seemed to have subsided. After a very long month of diaper blow out after outfit changing diaper blow out (sometimes as many as 6 per day), his poo seems to be pretty normal. I am still not eating dairy or soy (and have actually given up wheat/gluten as well) and Henry is taking a daily probiotic. Other than that, the poor little bumpkin currently has a cold/cough that the toddler so graciously brought home for all of us to share.
Sleep: The word sleep makes me cry. But really, it’s not SO bad lately… the problem is that I haven’t slept in nearly 3.5 months and I’m so incredibly sleep deprived that I don’t notice what an improvement we’ve seen in Henry’s sleep this third month.
He’s now waking up twice per night. Always sometime between 10-12 and 3-4 for about 30-60 minutes total. Not bad…
It’s interesting, I was looking back at my blog to see what Charlie was doing at this age because in my memory, she was only waking up once. Well, turns out (according to this blog post), she was actually on the exact same schedule as Henry. Like… waking up at the exact two times. Pretty crazy, huh?
Makes me wonder two things…
Anyway, let’s just say in the sleep department, there is room for improvement.
It should also be mentioned that Henry DEMANDS a good tush potch and rock until he’s fast asleep before being put down (sorry, Henry, but at 4-5 months, you’ll be crying it out like your sis). If you even think about putting him down before he’s ready, his eyes pop open as if to say, “don’t even think about it!!!”
Also, since I’ve been back at work, Henry has become a regular napper. Although, some days, he’s just a total butt. Refuses naps, forces me to potch for hours, etc.
Clothes/Diapers (Sizes): Henry has been in size 3-6 month for awhile, but as of maybe 2-4 weeks ago, he just flat out doesn’t fit in 3 month clothes. As for diapers, he’s a 2.
Diet: Milk, milk, milk. And fingers. He LOVES to shove his fingers or my hands in his mouth. BUT, still no paci. Apparently, Charlie started at 3 months. Fingers crossed.
Baby Gear Love: Henry LOVES his “baby,” which is an adorable reindeer named Rodolfo, from Cuddle + Kind. He also loves all of his Eric Carle toys like these. Otherwise… I don’t know. My favorite item is the Dr. Brown’s bottles because when they’re in use, it means Mark is feeding Henry and I’m getting a break. But really, I don’t know. I feel like this time around, I’m hardly using anything. We haven’t been using the ring sling much, the swing is alright, I stopped using the boppy awhile ago… Whatever, I don’t know.
Milestones/Firsts: This month, Henry started rolling from his tummy to his back. He’s become an expert head holder upper (yes, this is a thing). He giggles! He’s pretty much smiling 85% of his awake time, staring blankly 10% and screaming his face off 5%.
He pulls himself up while holding onto my fingers. Loves trying to sit up. Grabs at all his toys and shoves them in his mouth. He can follow / track toys. He’s pretty much a genius.
Likes: Mommy, Daddy, Charlie (loves Charlie… except when she’s being a jerk), Rodolfo, smiling, reading books with Mommy, being rocked, being tickled, being held.
Dislikes: Being put down when he’s not ready. When Charlie is too rough.
Things I Don’t Want to Forget: All of it. He’s totally my little momma’s boy baby love. He hugs me like a koala and I just can’t get enough. We play a game where I kiss and smush his little cheek with my lips/face/nose and he tries to eat my face while smiling. Sounds weird, but it’s the best. He’s just such a sweet pumpkin pie.
Also, I know I’ve said it a million times, but he’s just such a happy little fella. He makes me one very happy momma.
*I wrote this back in July. I will work on Part 2 soon, as her language and silliness has evolved so much since then!**
Charlotte’s language has been exploding lately! She’s gone from knowing maybe 50 words, to having a full vocabulary that she can use to string together 4+ word sentences!
Some of her vocabulary is a bit… unconventional. I thought I’d try to document them so I don’t forget 🙂
**SO, I saved this draft 2 months ago… I’m thinking I’m just going to publish as-is and work on little Henry’s 3 month update. Dang. I guess this is life with two kids :)**
I can’t believe my big little man is already 8 weeks old! It’s most definitely been the fastest 8 weeks of my life. They have been challenging at moments and so full of love I could explode (although at some moments my head is bordering explosion for other, less glowy reasons).
Anyway, for the past 4 weeks, I’ve been meaning to write a “one month” update for Henry… so I’m thinking I’ll just get it all out now!
Sleep
Henry was a great sleeper right out of the womb. Honestly, I can’t remember the first couple of days, but I feel like he was already doing 2-3 hour stretches. By week 2 or 3, his night stretches were anywhere from 4-7 hours, followed by one or two 2-4 hour stretches. It was magical. I should also mention that during this time, we believed that Henry had a “witching hour” between 7-9 pm.It really seemed to turn out to be that he was just ready for bed at 7 and needed us to actually “put him to bed.” Once we discovered this, we swaddled him and I would go in a dark room with him and feed him/rock him to sleep. This is when his bedtime moved from 9-11pm to 7-9pm.
By week 5/6, he regressed. I was anticipating him sleeping through the night like Charlie did at that age, but instead, he dropped his long stretch down to 3-4 hours and then demanded we cosleep the rest of the night. At this time, he also got his first cold, so I just cuddled him through the night(s) and developed quite the stiff neck. Over the past week or so, he’s gotten back to his long stretch. He goes to bed quite regularly around 7:30/8pm, sleeps 6 hours followed by a 3-hour stretch and then usually 1-2 after that. Most of which is done in his bassinet (although every so often I fall asleep nursing him). I should also note that in his first few days, he did seem to have his days and nights confused. I made a very deliberate effort of napping him in brightly-lit rooms and making sure he was swaddled for night sleep. It worked quickly and easily.
Henry is now getting more regular with napping, too. He seems to nap every day around 9/930 (either on our way to drop Charlie at school or once she’s dropped off). This nap lasts anywhere from 1-3 hours. The other more consistent nap time is at around 2/230. This is a great one because it coincides with Charlie’s nap. YAY for “free time.”
All in all, the first 8 weeks haven’t been horrible in terms of sleep. I have discovered that I operate pretty well with 6 hours of interrupted sleep. As long as I get that much, I can make it through the day. I’d say I’ve been pretty lucky in this department.
Size
Henry is a giant. At his 2 week appointment, he was in the 100th+ percentiles and just a week later when I brought him to the doctor, he was already significantly bigger. As a side note, Henry had milk residue all over his tongue for the first 3ish weeks of life. I convinced myself that he had thrush and immediately took both of us to the doc to be checked. Turned out to just be milk residue and a paranoid mom.
Anyway, upon birth, Henry was immediately in 0-3 month clothes. He didn’t fit in any of his newborn clothes. We had him in newborn diapers for about a week, but quickly switched him to size 1, as those pesky newborn dipes were just too small.
At about 7 weeks, we switched Henry to size 2 diapers and started transitioning to 3-6 month clothes. He still fits in some of his 0-3 stuff, but it all depends on the brand. For jammies, he’s pretty much only wearing 3-6m.
It will definitely be interesting to see what he weighs at his next appointment. He feels huge and so heavy to me! Hopefully he’s building up my arm muscles.
Skin
When Henry was born, he had the smoothest most delicious skin ever. I don’t remember Charlie feeling so soft and smooth. It was just perfect. By 3-4 weeks, he developed some baby acne on his face that soon after took over his arms and chest, too. The acne only lasted a week or two and then his face/skin just got super dry and scaley, which led to a mild case of cradle cap.
With some aquaphor, olive oil and determination, I got rid of his cradle cap within a week. Now, his skin is on its way back to…
Guys, Henry just slept from 730-300!!!! That’s the longest stretch he’s done since week 3 or so!
It’s funny because I was just telling Mark that I felt like if he stayed consistent with his two wake ups, we could likely try to drop the first, because he doesn’t typically eat much at that time.
Apparently Henry got the memo!!
Fingers crossed that he does it again 💛
Playing House 