George 5 months

George continues to grow and add chubby girth to his already substantial thighs. He weighs 20 lbs 7.7 oz and wears mostly size 12 month clothing (sometimes 9 months, sometimes 18 months- depends on the brand and how many times I've washed and dried it already.)

He had an his first (I hope his last!) ear infection. He cried and cried in the middle of the night from 10 pm to 3 am and couldn't be soothed. He refused to nurse (which really was a big clue that it was his ears) so I tried all my tricks to ease the pain: lavender essential oil, Tylenol, swaddling, unswaddling, and nothing worked. I just bounced and bounced him for hours and prayed. Every time I'd go to lay him down, he'd wake up again. The worst part is that John was in Belgium on a business trip. It was rough for both of us to go through that solo. I finally got him to sleep and we both slept huddled sideways on the bed the rest of the night, because I didn't dare move.

Likes to blow spit bubbles and has found his feet. Every time I change his diaper he seems delighted and surprised that his naked toes are within reach again.

I can't believe I've forgotten to write about this- when he's tired, he makes a low, whiny, grunting cry. It's like his own little expiration date alarm to say, "Hey people, I've had it!" He does it in the car seat or when I'm bouncing him before he falls asleep. It's so cute.

He's talking and babbling a lot and it's so fun to hear that his voice is similar to Charlie's.

He's getting interested in looking at (and gnawing on) books.

This month for the first time, he's started getting mad and crying if you take away something that he wants. He's also becoming pretty worried around strangers. Other than those two instances, he's very happy and pleasant and even-keeled. He's a good balance for Charlie at this age. :)

Kate's baby shower

Gotta love the thrift store

I picked up this treasure a few months before Christmas- a whole knit outfit- sweater, pants and hat- for only 2 bucks. I had Charlie wear it for our post-Christmas friends get together and he was the height of fashion. He's also sporting a black eye that he got on Christmas Day from being amped on sugar and excitement and no nap.

 

Featured on the news!

Last Wednesday, I got a phone call from my Hypnobabies coach, Marinda Lloyd, asking me to participate in a television interview featuring her business, The Doula House. The only catch was they were going to be at my house in less than an hour! Yikes! Marinda is a wonderful teacher and friend, not to mention that she showed up in the middle of the night on a moment's notice to assist in George's birth. So of course, I was happy to help her out.

Barb Smith from ABC4 interviewed me about my experience using Hypnobabies hypnosis for childbirth and I had a lot of fun sharing my story.

Here's a link to the article and video.
Hypnosis helps women deliver babies without pain


A special thanks to Grandma Sue who dropped everything at a moment's notice to come help me with the kids so I could be interviewed. :)

*cross posted on my other blog 3 Mamas Wellness.

Co-sleeping (originally published Feb. 28, 2010)

This post was originally published here in 2010. 

Bringing home my newborn baby was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Not only was I responsible for this little human’s survival and happiness, I had to make all the rules regarding his care. It was overwhelming to begin to make these decisions for Charlie.
One decision was where he should sleep at night. Holding him in my arms all night didn’t seem unreasonable to me! We had a crib in the nursery that adjoined our room, a mere eight feet away from our bed.

It was too far away.

We had a bassinet in our room that I placed next to my side of the bed, two feet away from me.

Still too far away.

I wanted Charlie right next to me where I could reach out and touch him in the night. I had spent over 9 months with no separation between our bodies at all and it seemed so foreign and strange to me to be apart from him.

After three sleepless nights, I found this co-sleeper and had it shipped overnight. I was finally able to rest comfortably, with my baby sleeping safely beside me where I could see, hear, touch and nurse him throughout the night.

As he grew bigger and I grew as a parent, co-sleeping continued to be our family preference. He outgrew the co-sleeper and I read up on safe family sleeping. I learned to breastfeed lying down, so Charlie’s night feedings barely woke either of us. I began to feel more rested. The peace of mind of having him near me allowed me to overcome a lot of my new-mother anxieties.

Sure, there were sacrifices in sharing our bed. We couldn’t read or talk before bed, we had to tiptoe across the incredibly squeaky floor, we had to be creative when it came to, um, connecting as a couple. Occasionally I got head butted or smacked in the eye by my increasingly mobile child. But these inconveniences seemed small in comparison to the benefits of closeness we gained.

Many people have asked me if my husband minded our sleeping arrangement.  Quite the contrary, he is a huge fan of family sleeping! He works long hours and having that extra time with Charlie throughout the night and waking with him in the morning has brought him so much joy.

After 11 months of co-sleeping, we began moving Charlie to his crib. It’s been slow, gentle, and baby-led. Most nights he ends up in our bed in the wee hours for an early morning feeding and we all fall back to sleep together. I love how gradually and peacefully he is learning to sleep on his own. And I love sharing my bed.

George- 4 months

18 lbs 11 oz (97%)
27.25 inches (98%)
head 76%
For comparison, Charlie at 4 months: weight- 18 lbs (94%), height- 27.5 inches (99%), head (83%)


George, you are getting to be more and more fun every day! You've started laughing at Charlie and Charlie loves it! He'll sometimes stop what he's doing when he notices you laughing and will try to get you to do it again.

You are still roly, poly and chubby. You love grabbing for your feet during diaper changes. Speaking of diapers, you moved up again and now you're wearing size 4!

Everyone comments on how happy, pleasant and social you are. You really are so chill and happy most of the time. Unless I try to leave you for very long at night, then you get really mad. You don't like binkies or bottles so that's part of the problem.

You are still a catnapper, taking between 3-4 naps a day.

Sometimes you get distracted from eating because you wants to just smile at me and coo and talk. It's very darling but kind of wet for both of us.

You think that anyone talking near you is talking TO you and you smile at them with a huge, gummy grin. You love being talked to- sometimes I can get big laughs from you just by talking to you.

You laugh in your sleep all the time, it's the most darling thing ever.

It's funny that some people say how much you look like Charlie because I think you two look SO different!

Enter to win a hand drawn portrait!

My friend, Jessica, writes a wonderfully fun and creative blog called The Blue Basket. She posts tutorials and crafts that she does with her 3 (soon to be 4!) boys. My favorite part is that when I read her blog, I'm left feeling inspired and capable instead of overwhelmed and imperfect like I do when I read some other creative blogs. Her ideas are fun, engaging and doable. Love it.

Today she's having a giveaway of a beautiful hand-drawn portrait for free to one lucky commenter (a $175 value). What a talented friend I have! Head on over and enter for your chance to win!

George 3 months (December 5th)

(I'm a touch behind on blogging, bear with me as I catch up!)

George's 3 month photo (it was more like 3.5 months)

George, you are so much fun. This month you...

-gave us lots of smiles and laughs.
-came down with a croup-y cold but by using my newfound knowledge about essential oils, we were able to help you recover quickly and comfortably.
-survived Christmas. It was hard on you to be off your schedule and you were sick, so a lot of the holiday was spent nursing you or rocking you away from all the action. That's okay, though, because you are my little buddy.
-take between 3 and 4 naps a day, the best one in the morning. You will sleep for several hours in the afternoon if I a) hold you b) sleep with you in my bed c) nurse or rock you back to sleep
-started to be disturbed and awoken by loud noises (like Charlie in the other room or the squeaky hardwood floor) so I bought a second sound machine to help you stay asleep.

Look at that happy boy! Love him.

Continues to make us sick with worry that he isn't getting enough to eat...

He likes to sleep on his side and sometimes his tummy

I love how beautiful his eyes are- I think they look like marbles because they are so round!

Little bundle snuggling with Dad

We don't let winter weather get us down!

My boys in their first pair of matching jammies! I think they look so different in this picture.

A new endeavor

I love being a stay at home mom/ trophy wife. I feel fulfilled in parenting and I love the freedom of my days. I'm learning to love housekeeping and cooking more (it's a journey for me). I feel blessed to have the option to stay home with my young children. That being said, I have been searching for something to call my own outside of my work as mom and wife. I've dabbled in taking some of my hobbies to the next level (photography, blogging, etc.) but nothing really seemed to click for me until a few months ago.

I attended a health and wellness class put on by my sister-in-law, Kate, focusing on using medicinal grade essential oils to treat illnesses and promote better overall health. I was so amazed by what I learned! I had never even heard about essential oils, let alone that they could supplement or replace traditional medicine in my home. I've slowly been embracing alternative medicine and healthier lifestyle choices (and sometimes not so slowly, ahem, George's unplanned homebirth) and this has become a big piece of the puzzle for me. I've had so many positive experiences using these oils in the few short months I've been using them.

As I learned more about these oils and the company that offers them, I felt it clicking for me that this could be the opportunity I've been looking for. So I have now become an independent product consultant for doTERRA essential oils. It has been a really great outlet for me- time away from home at conferences, classes and events; opportunities to learn, teach and share my knowledge; and fun people to associate with. It's definitely been an adjustment to take on a part-time job like this, but it's so fun. John has been really helpful and supportive. I've even started a new blog (one of my current hobbies) with Kate and my mother-in-law, Sue, to share some of what we're learning. I would love it if you wanted to visit it and leave me a comment, 3MamasWellness.com 

December fun

We're still it the stage with our little family where we are creating traditions, trying things out and seeing what works for us. We still celebrate with both of our families quite a bit, but we are beginning to do more things on our own and finding our groove. A lot of the most fun moments this year were with just my three guys. Here's some of the things we did this year to celebrate, mostly documented with my cell phone camera.

Putting up the Christmas tree

Seeing the lights at Temple Square with Grandma and Grandpa T

one of the luminaries that Grandma T helped design and hand-punched over a decade ago when she was working at the Temple Square gardens. They're made out of Tyvek (not paper) so they've lasted this whole time!

Talking with Santa at our ward party

Christmas jammies

making gingerbread houses with my family- Steve and Charlie were on a team

Johnny's former band, Marmalade Hill, played his company party and he got up and played a few songs with them. He had so much fun playing again and it was so funny to see everyone in the company look at him in a whole new way!

Johnny and Charlie playing with Charlie's Little People nativity set. Reading the Christmas story out of the scriptures, singing hymns and recreating the nativity is one of John's family's traditions and it was fun for Charlie to have his own nativity set to play with and be occupied with. 

We went to the Lower Lights Christmas concert at the Masonic temple. It was THE highlight of the season. The music was beautiful and the feeling of camaraderie was palpable. 

The cool constellation ceiling at the Masonic temple

Charlie and Grandpa T reading the Polar Express

Johnny experimenting with new rice krispie treat recipes to take for our neighbor gifts