Elias: 8 Month Update

Age: 8 Months. How? I'll never understand. I swear to you, he was just born last week. No. Freaking. Way. Is he 8 months old. No. Way.

And, I know. I'm a terrible, terrible mom for missing month updates. Ugh. I tried. I failed. I'll work on it. But, let's do a quick pic recap to make me feel a little better about my mother failure.

 

Stats:

Weight: About 20 pounds. Bub is SOLID. He's got rolls for days and I love every inch of them.

Height: No freaking clue. I think he's short for his age though. We'll see at his 9 month check up.

Diaper/Clothes Size: 6-9 month clothes, Size 3 diapers (4 overnight)

Sleep: We're a LOT better!! We did a gradual CIO method for overnight, MOTN sleep around 6 months. It took a few nights. It was miserable. It was horrible. I slept so little I was delirious. But, he started to get it. Then he got sick and it all went to shit. My life. So, we had to do it again, but it was quicker and much less painful that time. It's still not perfect. He's way, way less consistent with sleep than Bailey was, but it's better.

99% of the time, he goes to sleep mega easy. We do a bottle of about 7oz of pumped milk at 6:30pm. Then, we change into overnight diaper & PJs and get into the sleeping sack (he'll go to college wearing one of those suckers if I can help it). We read 2 books with Bailey, since You Are My Sunshine, and at 7pm put him into his crib wide awake with his paci, turn the mobile and a fan for white noise on, and walk out. 99% of the time, he goes straight to sleep without a peep. If he does fuss, it just takes 1 re-paci and he's out.

We used to do a dream feed at about 9:30pm, but we cut that a week shy of 8 months, so we're officially done with that. We cut the dream feed cold turkey with no issues whatsoever. 

Staying asleep has always been his issue. I'd say 75% of the time, he stays asleep til 5am. Which, is pretty damn good, I'd say. The other 25%, he'll wake once sometime around 3-4am simply for a quick re-paci. Stinker. Here or there, he'll make it all the way from 7pm-6:30am, but usually he's up at 5am for either a quick re-paci or h

e'll need 4-5 minutes of nursing and then he'll go back down til 6:30am. It's not perfect. We're still working on it. I have no idea when or how we'll get there. But we will. Somehow. I hope.

Schedule:

Our schedule has always had to be a bit more flexible and fluid than I ever was with Bailey. Poor 2nd kid. But, we do have a schedule that I work hard to maintain most days.

His schedule is generally:

6:30am: Wake, nurse, change

7:15am: Solids & I pump

8:30-10am: Nap 1

10am: Wake,nurse, change , play

12pm: Nurse, then solids

1-3/3:30pm: Nap 2 (also when Bailey naps)

3:30pm: Wake, nurse, change, play

5pm: Solids, then play

6:30pm: Bottle of pumped milk (6-7oz)

7pm: Bed

I work hard to try to get naps at home, in his crib. But, sometimes I have to wake him early or we do naps in the car so we can do something. It is what it is.

Eating/Nursing:

It's going well! We nurse 4 times a day and he gets a bottle of pumped BM once. I pump twice a day, once during breakfast and once after kids are in bed. I hate pumping, but it's working for us. Nothing super exciting about nursing. It's going.

Solids are going in full force! Super exciting!! We started around 5 months with traditional pureed baby foods and baby oatmeal and 1 meal. We moved to 2 meals around 6 months. Around 7 months we started really focusing on slowly transitioning away from purees and to real solids. With Bailey, we did BLW and really did very little baby food. That was always my plan with Elias, but we started earlier and I just felt he needed the food before he was ready for solids. So, we didn't start straight with BLW, but we're there now. We still do occasional purees here or there for convenience, but mainly we're doing plan ol' regular food. And, let me tell ya-- bub LOVES it. He loves every food he's tried. Broccoli, cheese, peanut butter, sweet potatoes, pears, sausage, chicken, waffles, eggs... you name it. He loves it and can't get enough. I legit have to cut him off. He's a beast. He doesn't quite have the pincher grasp down yet, but he's getting so close.

Likes:

His sister! OMG. He just loves watching her. It's adorable and makes my heart explode. He loves his bouncer, Sadie, being held by his mama, and eating. Oh, and he LOVES being outside. Often, if he's fussy, just going outside makes him turn into a totally new baby. It's amazing.

Dislikes:

He's a big mama's boy, so he's a little hit or miss when basically anyone else holds him. Stinkerbutt. He hates being poopy, being hungry, and being overtired. He's a total schedule baby and doesn't do great if I try to push him to be awake too long.

Special Moments:

Well, like a gazillion since I've missed so many updates. He started rolling over back to belly around 7 months and rarely belly to back at the end of 7 months. He's cooing and making so many more noises. He started sitting up unassisted at about 6 months. He's not crawling yet, but he's working on it. He's getting super close to being able to hold his own bottle. He can stand on his own holding onto something, but can't pull himself up yet by himself.

Elias: 5 Month Update

Age: 5 Months

Stats:
Weight: Not really sure, but probably around 15-16 pounds. Little tank. He's just SOLID.
Diaper Size: 2's with 3 overnight diapers at night
Clothing Size: 3-6 month

Sleep: I always put him down wide awake and he generally does great at going to sleep with minimal, if any, fussing. Naps are pretty great. Night, however, is another story. He's generally down from 7pm-12am, with the DF. But, starting around 12am, he wakes several times needing me to go re-paci him or pat and shush him. I only feed him once, around 2am. Then, starting around 4:45am til DWT is a constant battle of re-paci's. It's exhausting and frustrating. I'm hoping now that I'm really working on the day time schedule and we're going to introduce solids, he'll cut that on his own. But, something tells me I'm going to need to do some very intentional and not so fun sleep training. Ugh. I'm giving him til 6 months.

Schedule: Right at about the 5 month mark, we began working pretty hard to get a better and set schedule. It's not easy and it's not fun. It's sacrificing going out and doing things during the day which can make me go a bit stir crazy, but it'll be worth it in the long run... I hope. His current schedule is (ideally):

6:30am: DWT and nurse, then play

8:30-10am: Nap

10am: Nurse and play (no nap, or at most a quick cat nap on our way home from somewhere)

12pm: Nurse and play

1-3pm: Nap

3:30pm: Nurse then play

4:30-5pm: Catnap

5-6:30pm: Play

6:30pm: Nurse, then bedtime routine

7pm: Bed

10:30pm: Dream Feed bottle

~2am: MOTN feed

Nurse/Eating: The same. We're nursing exclusively, with 2 bottles of pumped milk a day-- at about 3pm because my supply just seems to dip then and again at about 10:30pm from the Hubs while I'm asleep. I still stare longingly at the formula every time I'm at the store. I know formula would be easier, but I also know nursing important to me. So, after I stare for a few minutes I walk away empty handed. I don't know if we'll make it a whole year nursing, but I'm trying.

General: Still working through the colic. It's definitely not been easy. He's a high maintenance baby through and through. But, I do think he's getting easier and less fussy everyday. It's a slow process, but I think we're getting through it.

He LOVES to stand on his legs and to kick like crazy when he's laying down. He's got some super strong legs. Maybe a future soccer star!

Likes: Still super into the play mat. He also loves his bouncer thing.

Oh, and me. He's a total and complete mama's boy.

He loves watching his big sister which is just the cutest thing in the world.

He likes bath time until he gets out and then it's meltdown city. And, being outside. He'll be totally content for his longest stretches as long as he's in the fresh air.

Of course, with this being March in Michigan, the days we can get outside right now are limited, but we make sure to take full advantage of the nice days.  

Dislike: Losing his paci, getting into the carseat, and keeping socks on his feet. Kid is always barefoot.

Special Moments: More smiles and giggles. First St. Patrick's Day!

Little man is definitely a handful and keeps me busy. Those checks make me want to do nothing but kiss them all day! He is so very loved.  

Elias: 3 & 4 Month Recap

Poor second kid. I totally meant to get the 3 month recap up and I just never got to it. Blah. I suck. But, whatever. Here's a few 3 month pics!

Now, let's dive straight into a 4 month recap!


Age:4 Months

 

Stats:
Weight: 14lb
Length: 24.5 in
Head:16.5 in
Diaper Size: Moved from 1 to 2 right after he turned 4 months
Clothing Size: Some 0-3 month stuff still fits, but moving to 3-6 month stuff

Sleep: Blaaaaaah. I mean, he's not a terrible sleeper, I suppose. But he most certainly isn't a great sleeper. At night, he's up anywhere from 2-10 times needed just to be paci-ed and once around 3 to eat.

I feel like the needing to be re-paci-ed issue is a mess. I don't know if I should just say screw it and force him to drop it altogether with some oh so fun CIO or if I should just sorta stick it out til he can pick it up and put it back in himself (not that he even could right now b/c he's still swaddled). Ugh. I don't really remember B needed me to stick it back in sooooo often in the MOTN, but maybe that's just been blocked out. I'm not sure. Hopefully he gets the hang of it soon, dammit.

Schedule: Welp. Turns out it's SUPER hard to keep a good schedule with kid 2. Like, really hard. Or at least it's super hard for me. He's LOOSELY on the following schedule:

6:30-7:30/45am: DWT. Nurse, play

7:30/45-9:30am: Nap 1. Always in crib. This is generally his best nap.

9:30am-12:30pm: A totally cluster. He eats and then its just a mess of play and sleep and play and sleep. We're always out and about during this time, so it's just a mess. It's never in his crib. It's almost always in his car seat or being held. It's just a freaking mess. Ugh. And it's all my fault because we're go-go-go.

12:30pm-1:30pm: Nurse, play. Sometimes it's only til 1 if he had a really short nap for nap 2.

1:30-3:30pm: Nap 3. Almost always in crib. Generally this one is pretty good.

3:30-5:30pm: Nurse, play, catnap. Ideally, it'd be 3:30-4:45 as wake time, and then 4:45-5:30 as a cat nap, but this really just varies because we're often at the gym during this time and sometimes he naps there and sometimes not. Again, totally my fault.

5:30-7pm: Nurse and play

7pm: Nurse and bed

10:30pm: Matt gives DF bottle (~4oz)

3am: MOTN feed

I know in order to get him on a good schedule, he need consistency. And I know to get consistency he needs me to sit down and not leave the house for weeks. And I just can't. And I just won't. So, I really don't know. We'll see how this pans out. I'm going to really try to focus on DWT being the same, getting the times of the feeds at the right times, and getting at least 1/2 solid naps a day and hope the rest sorta play themselves out.

One way to pretty much ensure he naps is to move him to the RNP. I'm trying hard not to move him there every time because I know he can't be in there forever even though it's the magic bullet for now. It's a last resort and I try not to crack too too often.

Nurse/Eating: The same-- it's going. I genuinely do not enjoy nursing this time. I feel awful saying that, but it is what it is. I'm committed to it and I'm sticking with it. It's important to me, but I'm counting down the moments til we're done. 8 months and counting... :)

And I'm still pumping 2-3 times a day. Matt's consistently giving him a DF bottle. He generally takes a bottle great, but has had a few weird spurts where he COMPLETELY refuses to take the bottle for some reason. He's such a weirdo kid. What works one day seems to not work the next for no reason.

General: Ugh. Have I mentioned Eli has colic? Because he does. And it's the absolute worst. Every time I think he's growing out of it, we have bad days. There's just sooooo much crying. All the time. Sometimes no matter what. We have good days and moments too, but sometimes he just will not stop crying. And it's soul crushing. But, we're moving through it. Slowly. I think we're slowly getting through it. SLOWLY. Or at least I hope.

Likes: The playmat! He LOVES looking into the mirror and now he bats at the toys and grabs onto them. We also started putting him into the jumper sometimes now. It's hit or miss, but I can tell he's going to love putting the pieces into his mouth any day now. He's slowly starting to get interested in toys. He's still a total mamas boy.

Dislike: Getting into the car seat. He haaates it. Once we're moving he's generally happy, but the second the car stops (even at stoplights), he hates it. He's better than Bailey but still not a happy car baby. Beyond that, who knows. Like I mentioned, some days he HATES the bottle, some days not. Some days he likes being held one way, and some days he screams his head off.

Special Moments: Much more smiles! Which is so great. It makes the screaming moments much easier to handle. We've even got a couple little chuckles which is great and we're getting more coo's and sweet noises. He's started to notice his hands and more things and people around him. We had our first time where he smiled at strangers at a restaurant and they just loved him, so that was fun. He's sorta starting to wake up and starting to become more baby and less infant. We're not there just yet, but we're getting closer.

Elias: 2 Month Recap

Age: 2 months!

 

Weight: 10.27 pounds (13% on normal non-premie scare)
Height: 22.9 inches (44% on normal non-premie scare)

He's growing great! Both his percentages are up and the doctor is really happy with his gains. He's happy and healthy... well, happy might be pushing it... :/

Sleep: Wait... what's this sleep you speak of? No, no, I kid... he's doing... ok.

MOST nights, he goes to "bed" at 7:15pm right after nursing. Then, he wakes on his own b/t 10-11pm, 1-2am, and, then again around 5-5:30am, before getting up-up for the day at 6:30am. The last wake-up is the worst. SOMETIMES, if he doesn't get up til 2:30am for the one before, he can make it to 6:30am. It's just so inconsistent and nothing we try seems to ensure 1 thing or another. And trust me, we've tried it all. Bottles, nursing, nursing and bottle, gripe water, gas drops, sleeping in Rock N Play, sleeping in crib, sleeping near us, sleeping in own room. We've tried. it. all. Ok, everything except co-sleeping. It's just not for me. But, beyond that- man. We've tried it. I think... perhaps... he's JUST A BABY and just not ready to be consistent yet. SHOCKER, I know. Keep reminding me of this, ok? I forget. A lot. LUCKILY, most nights he goes right back to sleep, so he has his days/nights figured out pretty well. I'll take that. Oh! And we moved him to his crib (and often RNP) in his room sometime at about the 1.5 month mark. We all sleep so much better when he's in his room. Newborns are so noisy! 


Awake Time/Schedule: Right now, his schedule is pretty good... it's a lot more fluid and changing than Bailey's was (poor second kid) because we're on the go and our schedule changes day to day. Baby's gotta fit into family, right? So, his schedule is:

6:30am: Desired Wake Time (DWT). Wake, nurse, change, play. We also get big sister at 7am and she joins us for some playing

7:30-9/9:30am: Down for nap and big sister and I go down for our breakfast and I do my work from home stuff. This is an important nap that I TRY to have be consistent everyday and try to have be in his crib.

9/9:30am: Wake, nurse, change, play. Often, we're getting in the car right after this feed to go to a play date or something.

10:30-12: Nap (often in carseat or being worn b/c we're on the go)

12-1: Wake, nurse, change, play. We're usually just walking in door from somewhere, so I get Bailey her lunch, then nurse him.

1-3: BOTH KIDS NAP. This is the #1 most important time to my mental health. OMG. I'd lose it w/o it. BOTH kids go to their rooms, in their beds (I try to do Elias in his crib, not RNP), for 2 solid hours. It's all that keeps me sane. I eat my lunch, prep dinner, clean, do some work, and SOMETIMES take a shower or a nap myself.

3: Wake, nurse, change, play. Then, we get big sister (who RARELY actually falls asleep) from her room and all play.

4:15-5:15pm: Cat nap. He fights this one the most. We're working on it.

5:15pm: Wake, nurse, change, play. No nap b/t this feed and the next.

6:45pm: Stories, song, nurse and bed, in his crib in his room.

MOTN Wake-ups and feeds around 10-11, 1-2, and sometimes 5ish

Nursing/Eating: Going well. I wish he'd stay latched on better instead of pulling off every 2 minutes, but it's going. He's gaining so I assume it's going ok. He's getting more efficient and our nursing sessions are quicker now. I'd say he averages about 7-8 minutes a side each time, when it was about 12-15 minutes per side. B never got faster, so this is a nice change. BUT, I still just DON'T enjoy nursing this time. I'll do it. I'll give it all I have to stick with it, but MAN, I'll be jumping for joy when we're done. Maybe you're not supposed to say or admit that, but I'm saying it. I just don't like nursing. There. Said it.

Likes: He's a mama's boy. Poor Hubs. Elias sometimes will only stop screaming if I'm holding him, esp during the witching hour. I'm hoping it's a short lived phase, b/c man it's rough. He also loves looking at lights and his big sister. He'd rather be held than anything in the world. He loves his paci, even if he spits it out constantly. He likes to be

elevated. Tummy time is either a total miss or a total hit.

Hates: Getting into the car seat and being confined to it unless we're moving. Not being held. EVERYTING IN LIFE between the hours of 4-7pm. The doc said he has "a bit of colic". YAY. Super fun times.

Special Moments: First Thanksgiving! First Christmas! (ok, I guess technically that was after his 2 month birthday by a couple days). SO MANY FIRSTS! He's still so little and certainly doesn't "get" anything yet, but it's fun to have the first ones with him and makes me even more excited for when he does "get" it next year!

Nicknames: Eli, Nugget, Chicken Nugget, Bub, Snuggle Monkey, Baby Brother 

Can't believe it's already been 2 moths. I barely remember life before him and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Love this little nugget!