Friday, November 13, 2015

6 Month Update with Stats

Yesterday was Leela's 6 month appointment.  Everything went well!  Here are the stats:

Height 26.7"  - - 77%
Weight 16 lb. 13oz.  - - 61%
Head 43 cm - - 73%

She is wearing size 9m clothing (some 6/9M) and going to be moving into 12m for the winter.

She sleeps mostly through the night in her room in her crib.  No feedings at night and usually only up 1-2x!

She has 2 bottom teeth.

She eats about 27-30 oz of milk per feeding and we just added another meal of purees at lunch and dinner.  She can sit fairly well on her own.  She does not hold her own cup but I am pretty sure that is because she thinks she is a princess and doesn't have to.  I am still pumping at work and I now make a bottle before I go to bed which is getting her though her bottle feedings at daycare.  I have approximately 1000 oz in the freezer and feel extremely blessed.  My goal is for her to make it to 11 or 12 months and go straight to whole milk.  We will see how my supply lasts!  Here is her 6 month photo where she was grumpy and feverish from teething.

 

Monday, November 9, 2015

Are we out of survival mode yet?

The first months of a newborns life are extremely hectic.  Sleepless nights, constant feedings, stress of making decisions like "is this normal", "should I call the doctor" "am I a good parent"?  On top of that you finally think you've got your shit together and then teething begins.  We are lucky and the first go round we had a real trooper.  Besides the drool and chewing on everything Richie made it through teething fairly easily.  Leela is now teething and it seems like it is taking much more of a toll on her.  She has had a fever for days, she is grumpy and overall just seems uncomfortable. 

Anyways, having back to back children has made our lives feel like we are in constant survival mode.  Throw in moving between the two babes and its a wonder we made it through!  However, here we are Leela is 1/2 a year old and we survived and things just keep getting better.  She is becoming more independent and more importantly she is sleeping better!  We waited longer than we should have to begin sleep training and we paid for it dearly.  The sleepless night went on way too long and the unnecessary nighttime feed has finally been cut.  I'm able to string together more than 3 hours of sleep at a time.  I'm not saying we are out of the woods, but every once and awhile I can say I feel rested and that is a big deal!

This weekend marked a huge weekend for me.  It was the first time in a long time things felt calm and routine.  We stayed home.  We baked.  We had a fire in the fireplace.  We watched the Packers get their butts kicked.  We cleaned.  We went to church.  We snuggled.  We were content.  We were happy!

It got me thinking...hey...maybe we no longer have to live in survival mode.  Maybe we can just live! 












Julie








 

Thursday, November 5, 2015

6 Months & Mr. Big Boy Bed

So much has happened this month!  Richie has moved into his big boy bed, Leela is in her crib.  She has been sleeping so much better and going to bed earlier 7:30-8.  Almost the same time as Richie.  She is a side sleeper like her Momma.  She started solids this month along with still nursing.  She takes 3 - 5oz bottles at daycare and one solid meal at dinner.  Like her brother she likes sweet potatoes and carrots and again we are making our own baby food.  We are so excited to have over 900 oz frozen breast milk and I'm still pumping enough each day at work so we haven't had to use much of it.

She can sit up and loves playing in her kitchen.  She is very chatty and thus far is a mommas girl!  Tonight we noticed she popped her first tooth!!!  Halloween was this past weekend and I had a little duck and a chicken.  

We've been so busy with work and parenting and house chores its kind of nice to have the kids sleeping early so we can relax.

Richie cracks me up every day whether it's his excitement about BIG trucks or asking "you okay"? Every time I sneeze.  He loves Thomas the train and Mater from Cars.  He also loves to color and paint. 

He also loves being outside.
Somehow I've managed some time for myself!  2x per week I stay after work and go for a run with my coworker before I pick up the kiddos.  A couple weekends ago I spent a day/night in Madison and saw Wicked, ate ice cream, and ate at a German restaurant and drank a boot of beer!

I must say life is exhausting but amazing!

I feel so blessed to have what we have and be where we are at in life.  I'm a firm believer that God answers prayers and He has given us more than I could have ever imagined.

Julie

The Chickee La La's

It took us years of discussion to finally pull the trigger on being "Chicken People".  Let me tell you why, our dog Lady has Cock...