It’s been some time but I’m working hard to get back on track with blog posts! Colton is 14 months old, becoming a confident little boy, and while I love it, I am also starting to miss the baby days. He’s going to outgrow his sweet nursery in no time and though I’m pumped about decorating a toddler’s room, I want to savour this nursery just a bit longer.
This is the change table area that I haven’t yet shared. My favourite piece is by far the change basket. I worried that we wouldn’t be able to use it for long or that he’d outgrow it too quickly but 14 months later, it’s still perfect!
DECOR TIP: If ever in doubt, ladders and wall shelves are fantastic go-tos for any room. If you love anything that you see here, all the details are below.
We’ve been spending a ton of time in this exact spot, enjoying pureed foods; the most common being oatmeal mixed with apples, bananas, and spinach in the early afternoon, and beef, potatoes, and veggies in the early evening. Sometimes we’ll sit here for a while when he’s in a bit of a mood and won’t open his mouth. Other times, he will chow down in minutes like a savage. He gets upset if I sit him in his chair without his meal ready and can’t stand watching and waiting while I prepare, but I purposely do it anyway because well, he’s gotta learn to wait. He didn’t get that from me. High chairs are also a thing of filth, it’s not easy keeping them clean. The best baby months are upon us and I’m especially savouring every minute.
8 months is exciting. The last few weeks have been leading up to a baby with oh so many newfound capabilities ANDDD a little personality starting to come through. He is ALMOST crawling, moving in every direction but forwards and falling face-first more often than I’d like. He reaches out to us to be picked up and held and wraps his arms around our necks in an embrace – there’s a sweetness about him that’s really emerging. And quite often now when he is whining, “mamamam” sounds come out. I’m going to pretend he knows exactly what he’s doing and he’s calling my name :)!
The wildest thing that has happened lately is that Chris and I have been sick for about a week with a pretty persistent cough and cold and Colton is practically swimming in our germs day-in and day-out, and yet still healthy as a horse. How it this so? I don’t have a good answer other than the boy is protected through prayer. HE makes the impossible possible. I’ve seen it happen again and again and my faith grows greater and greater.
It’s worth noting that this family picture here was taken with a tripod and remote control on a rainy day with a baby. I’d say it’s not too shabby at all!
Couple of weekends ago, we made sure to go out for an Autumn drive, not once but twice; one in Forks of the Credit in Caledon and another at Snake Road in Burlington. This sight is so short-lived, we made sure we got our dose of it. Autumn has grown to become my favourite season over the years. As soon as it approaches, my heart feels warmer than usual. I mean, couple this red-orange masterpiece with the crisp, cool air, pumpkin spice everything, blankets and snuggles, cinnamon delights, Thanksgiving and turkey dinners, Halloween and pumpkin carvings, cozy sweaters and fuzzy socks, Fall-scented candles, and a season closer to Christmas, need I really say more?
I’ll wrap with another photo of Colton and I :). There are so many cute ones, I can never decide which to edit. But more importantly, thanks to Chris for keeping up with our monthly photos! Love him!! xoxo.
First of all, of course it’s been another month since my last post. Time is running away like it always does, what’s new, right? Tonight I want to reflect on motherhood and how it’s completely got me. My baby boy is 7 months old. This is what I wrote on my Instagram:
“Happy 7 months! But how is it already 7 months?! The days are slipping away so quickly, I’ve never been more reluctant about the passing of time. I just adore every moment with this baby boy. Every month is better than the last but every month for the past 7 months have also been the best months of this life, making the end and beginning of each so bittersweet. My heart is and has been joyful beyond words; love is always exploding to new heights in this house and motherhood has swept me off my feet. Thank you, Lord, for making my heart so full.“
Those are all my feelings right there. Each and every month is bittersweet. My love for motherhood has been unexpected. Let me get real honest for a second: I thought I loved life before; I thought life was too good; so much so, I didn’t really want to have kids. There are probably documented text messages I could pull up with my girlfriends where I was ignorantly bashing life with kids. I was determined to dance through life as a married couple with Chris and reap the rewards of a DINK household (and that we did for 3 solid years :)). I wasn’t in a rush to have kids and was never the girl who was certain about having kids. Also, babies never did much for me. You know when people bring babies to the office and everyone gawks and awws and shrieks with excitement? I was never that person. I would stay in my cubicle and work as much as I could get away with because I just didn’t care for babies. I always told my girlfriends that I wasn’t very maternal and that I was too selfish and that motherhood would be awkward on me. I remember calculating the Net Present Value of raising a kid and it was some crazy $200,000+ and thinking why in the world would I do this?
Well, I’m here to tell you that it has ALL changed the moment we got pregnant and Colton was born. And the change is reinforced with each passing day. Nevermind that I was (morning) sick out of my mind for the first 12 weeks of my pregnancy, where I literally felt chronically ill, vomiting several times a day and dry heaving the rest of the time while fatigued to death and crying my eyes out every other day (that story is here). Nevermind that my labour was 24 hours long and I was in agony for a solid 12 hours because my body wasn’t moving quickly enough for me to get an Epidural. Nevermind that Colton was born on CODE PINK (as in Infant Cardiac Arrest; as in everyone drop everything you’re doing and come save this baby) because he wasn’t breathing properly when he popped out (that story is here).
I’m a CONVERT. I GET IT. It’s like a veil was lifted. I’m in love with motherhood and EVERYTHING about it. I’m also in love with babies and all things baby – I now look at them in sheer awe, thinking where have you been all my life? And all of a sudden, boogers, snots, poops, and slobber don’t gross me out even a little bit. They (babies) are just the most precious things on Earth; how could I have ever not loved them?? Now I seem to frequently ask myself, what was life without a little baby? This life is far better, richer, and more joyful than I could have ever imagined. THIS is what it’s all about. I am just so grateful to be a mama to this sweet little boy, who happened to be so easygoing and so happy, making this journey so pleasant right from Day 1 of Postpartum.
I mean, the boy sleeps 7pm to 6am and predictably naps 3-4 hours during the day. What did I even do to deserve such a good little babe? Anyway, 7 months. He’s sitting like a champ, eating solids like a savage, shrieking like a dinosaur, laughing like a hyena, pooping turds, completely (and gently) sleep trained via The Shuffle technique, smiles in response to “I Love You”, fake laughs because he likes the way we react to him laughing, plays in his playpen, sits in his Bumbo chair everywhere we go, touches EVERYTHING within his reach, has major FOMO and doesn’t nap as nicely when daddy is at home, grew some Eczema on his cheeks that was taken care of by the miracle cream that is Weleda’s Calendula Cream, goes to baby programs 2-3x a week to sing songs and play, and has spiky hair growing straight upwards on his head.
Okay, how is it already a month since my last post?? I can hardly keep up with life! I was supposed to post this a week ago when Colton turned 6 months but better late than never :).
Happy 6 months to my big little boy! I don’t know to be happy or sad. He weighed in at 17 lbs. 2 oz. at his appointment and is still nicely in the 50th percentile. Anyhow, this series would not be complete without capturing a nursing moment! Looking back, it’s wild that I used to rely on a breastfeeding pillow and could barely figure out how to hold the little human in the right position without feeling like I was going to break him whilst trying to feed him (lol). I remember sitting in the hospital with nurses violating *all* of my personal space, teaching me how to latch the baby, and leaving me feeling like a dummy because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Now? We can do this one-handed while standing, walking, hanging over the car seat in a moving car, heck, even while throwing in a load of laundry, no problem.
For something so natural, breastfeeding is pretty damn hard at first, no?? We make it look easy, but easy only comes after some seriously hard work in the early days. It is also the driver of so-called “bad” habits like feeding on demand, nursing to sleep, being a human pacifier, bla bla. We fall into these bittersweet traps as a FTM without even realizing it. BUT, in the end, it quite literally is the most magical thing (cliche but 100% factual). And I’m holding on to what’s left of these precious, fleeting moments because there’s probably just another six short months left before all this comes to an abrupt end and that day my friends, will be a very sad day.
We’ve also started round 2 of sleep training to improve Colton’s night wakings. And this time, we’re working with a gentle sleep coach using a gentler technique, “The Shuffle”. Boy, what a difference in levels of stress. Although physically more demanding, it has been so much more bearable emotionally and mentally. When we were doing Ferber a month and a half ago, it was tearful on my end and I’m so happy to say, I haven’t shed a tear this time around :). The results are slow and steady and I’m more than okay with that. We’re getting there and the little guy is doing so, so, so well!
Is it just me or am I extremely saddened by the thought of this little bundle of joy growing up? That one day, he won’t need me anymore and won’t want to cuddle anymore and may hate me and fight with me… I just love him exactly the way he is right now! 6 months is such a magical age. Chris can’t wait for him to grow up and I couldn’t be more different! Time is completely the enemy right now :P.
Vacation Update: I’m in love with beautiful Nordic landscapes and have been dying to see Norway. I thought we could make it there this year right before the place turns winter wonderland but because we’re sleep training C, timing is a challenge. We’d have to go by the end of September to catch what’s left of pre-winter Norway but that would mean C’s newly learned sleeping skills would unravel too quickly. SO, postponing Norway and considering a simple tropical vacay in November for now. Norway will be worth the wait!!!
I haven’t documented Colton in a little while and worry that I am going to forget all the juicy details of his beautiful life, so I am packing it all in tonight.
At around 4 months, Colton weighed 15 lbs and change. He was starting to tripod-sit, supporting himself upright with his hands and arms, which really impressed me. We also started to crank up tummy time at around this age to be more diligent in training his core muscles. What a difference it made in his overall strength. A few days after, Colton was rolling and then not too long after, he was able to tripod-sit for longer periods of time. We also started to spend a lot of time at the Little Gym of Oakville, exercising :). More on that in a future post.
At 4.5 months, we started playing around with his first solid food, Oatmeal, but only for fun at this point, not a meal replacement. He was absolutely ga-ga over the taste of something new and was literally ready to eat the spoon, too. Thank goodness for being able to capture these moments so easily on video because it was truly hilarious to watch him eat from a spoon for the first time.
At 5 months, Colton weighed 16 lbs and change, on track with doubling his birth weight! We continued to do LOTS of tummy time and by this age, he was able to sit upright for a few seconds, unsupported by me or his arms! He is also discovering his love for standing. :) We’ve also introduced pureed prunes to regulate his bowel movements because he started to go 8 days without pooping and it tripped us out :P.
Clearly Colton has been very busy with growing up, it’s no wonder his night wakings have been worse than ever, which leads me nicely to the topic of sleep training – Lord, have mercy, lol.
Rewind back to 4.5 months, we decided to start sleep training because Colton was determined to wake up multiple times a night and I was stuck nursing him back to sleep with each waking (15 to 30-minute process) and I was a zombie, albeit still a happy one, by morning. I mean, he was sleeping reasonably well by 3 months, giving us anywhere from 4 to 6-hour stretches then all of a sudden, we got hit hard with the 4 month regression and the night wakings were unreal. Don’t get me wrong though because honest to God, from the bottom of my heart, I love, love, LOVE every minute of every part of this whole journey. Nonetheless, I wanted my son to be a great sleeper because ultimately, it is good for everyone, himself included. So we moved forward with Richard Ferber’s gradual extinction / progressive-waiting method.
Day 1 was not too shabby – we handled it well and felt empowered by the results. He cried for 28 minutes at bed time and then no more than 15 minutes during 2 subsequent wakings that night. Looking awesome. Simultaneously trained for naps as well, and it was effortless.
Day 2 was great! He cried for 13 minutes at bed time and self soothed himself for 2 subsequent night wakings within 10 minutes and mostly just whined vs cried. WOW, I thought to myself. This is wonderful. Naps were peachy, too.
Day 3, the momentum kept going! He cried for 3 minutes at bed time and self soothed himself for 2 subsequent night wakings within 8 minutes. Amazing!! This is magic!! Naps continued to be peachy.
Then Day 4 happened. Complete regression. Cried 20 minutes at bed time and 30 minutes during one of his wakings, followed by several other wakings. It was just so much crying that night. We were caught off guard. It felt like Days 1-3 never happened and we felt discouraged. (Naps were still great.)
Day 5 was a slightly better night in the sense that bed time was effortless and he self soothed throughout his night wakings but it was worse than Days 1-3 because his actual number of wakings increased from 2x to 3x when it should have decreased by this point. (Naps still great.)
Day 6, he woke up 3x again. (Naps still great.)
Day 7, he woke up 6x!!! LOL. What happened?!?!?!?! (Naps still great.)
Day 8, I stopped documenting and was winging the training. I was exhausted and completely emotional. We were messing around and changing up Ferber’s method according to what made us comfortable and what allowed us to survive the crying, making the training inevitably ineffective. (Naps still great.)
Day 9, we persisted through another messy night. Not worth discussing. (Naps still great.)
Day 10, we decided to take our wins so far and stop training. (Naps still great.)
THE WINS:
1. We no longer nurse and rock Colton to sleep. This is a HUGE win. 2. We’ve weaned him off his swaddle, yay! 3. We can put him down in his crib awake during nap AND bed time and he will go to sleep all on his own. He will sometimes still fuss a little bit but nothing crazy. Bed time from start to finish is now a 30-minute enjoyable, relaxing process vs a 1.5 to 2-hour ordeal that sucked the life out of our entire evening! 4. Colton now consistently naps 3x a day for 1-2 hours at a time. They are NICE, CHUNKY, SOLID naps. I find myself anxious about what to do with all this extra time! 5. During his night wakings, I can soothe him and put him back down in his crib awake and he will finish the falling-back-to-sleep process on his own. The breast is still the fastest way to soothe him unfortunately but I need not keep him at the breast all the way back to sleep, which is PROGRESS. (However, he still wakes up a lot. In fact, he’s waking up every 1-2 hours right now. Did I mess up the training that badly? lol!)
Alright, so where does this leave us? We are probably 60% of the way there. And well, I actually know exactly why our training for the night wakings failed epically. Sleep training logically works best if the baby no longer feeds at night. This allows firm consistency in the controlled responses/comforting to the cries. For example, if baby wakes up crying at 10:00pm and has to self soothe all the way back to sleep and then wakes at 2:00am and this time, mom comes in, picks him up, and nurses him, a completely different response to the first waking, would this not be super confusing to baby? Now imagine every waking consistently required self soothing all the way back to sleep and mom never intervenes with a feed? Baby would catch on much quicker.
The challenge is my Colton is a big nighttime eater and it breaks my heart to cut it all off cold turkey. No one wants to feel like they are deliberately starving their child and there is debate as to when babies no longer need to feed at night, so I kept 1 feed during training but it was enough to weaken the entire thing and make it ineffective or at least slow to progress. My plan is to train for the night wakings a little later, maybe at 6.5 months, when I know for sure he no longer medically needs to eat at night.
For now, I’ll say this: it was by far the toughest week since giving birth and it was my first testing challenge as a first-time mom. I’ve entirely underestimated the emotional and mental readiness needed for this daunting task, walking into it excited when anxious was probably more on target. It’s the hardest thing in the world to hear your baby cry and takes every fibre of your being to not respond right away. It was a lot of emotional nights. But I know in my heart of hearts, it was the right thing to do and he is better for it. We will get there. :)
Despite all of this, months 4 and 5 are easily my favourite seasons so far and I will surely mourn for them. It keeps getting better and better. What was life without Colton?
I started this draft 2 weeks ago and am just finding time to get back to it now! I really need to write up this post because Pennsylvania is becoming a distant memory and there are so many new experiences since then to blog about!
Pennsylvania was another super fun trip. It was quite different from Hawaii in that it was a more aggressive “travelling” trip and we spent a lot of time on the road, driving to different cities, and sight seeing. This of course was much tougher for Colton given that he was often stuck to his car seat whether it be in the car or in his stroller and we all know how much babies love their car seats, right? (lol) He dealt with it nonetheless and was a champ for the most part!
What I loved most about this trip was having Colton spend time with my mom and dad; the first Instagram story below is just the sweetest photo of all 3 of them! :)
We stayed in Allentown, which although was quite boring in itself, it was close to family we were visiting, so it was convenient :). We took day trips to Hershey Park, Philadelphia, Princeton, and Lancaster, Princeton being my absolute favourite. What a charming little gem; of course Colton and I had to have a mini photoshoot :P.
Here are some new prints featuring Princeton! This here was Albert Einstein’s home for the last 20 years of his life, 1935-1955. Pretty cool!
This here is simply capturing the style of homes and greenery that lined the streets of this very charming city.
And finally, a scenic drive through the Princeton countryside…
Lancaster was also very interesting, particularly because of the Amish community. It is truly admirable how simply they live. Here’s Colton unimpressed with the stench of horse manure during our horse and buggy ride! It was also uncomfortably hot that day but I so adore those chubby cheeks when they get rosy :).
And here are a couple of new prints featuring Amish Country in Lancaster:
Philadelphia was groovy but not a place to really bring a baby, so we were only there for about half a day! This is Colton in Elfreth’s Alley; probably the cutest photo I’ve taken of him. That little face is just perfect!
New prints featuring Philly:
Another memorable trip in the books :). We MAY be taking another trip to California later this year; I’m crossing my fingers that we can make it happen. I love California!!
Upcoming Posts: new milestones for Colton and the daunting task of sleep training!
We’ve been so, so, so busy but I am forcing some blog time tonight before Hawaii becomes a distant memory!!
We were in Kauai island and it was a BLAST. What a beautiful place with the most gorgeous lush landscapes and what a memorable week it was. It was such treat to see Colton experience the tropical sun, rain, and breeze for the first time. He was such a happy boy and he left Hawaii with the cutest, rosiest cheeks – his version of a tan :).
Although we didn’t get to do Kauai the way we would without baby, it was just as fulfilling, if not more, in a whole different way. Buying travel experiences, not things, for this little family is the new mandate!
Colton was an angel throughout the trip and especially through intense 18-hour travel days with multiple stop overs and delays!! I was certainly cranky so thank goodness he wasn’t. My fears of travelling with a 3 month old were valid and I expected it to be challenging but he proved me so wrong, as if to say, ‘mom, have a little faith’. It was truly so much easier than I had anticipated; we were lucky and we can’t help thinking about the next trip already!
I also can’t help but wonder: how did we ever live without stories in past social media?? It’s just the best and I am shamelessly obsessed with it. :) Here are my Instagram stories from days 1 to 7 of the trip packaged together! Thanks to the tech Gods, it has never been easier to document sweet memories.
Here are 10 quick tips I want to pass along that made travelling with a 3 month old a breeze for us:
1. Master teamwork with hubby. As always, share the load. Alternate holding / soothing / changing baby. This makes all the difference! Chris is such an all-star dad and partner.
2. Limit number of luggages / bags / carry-ons. The less you have to lug around, the easier your life will be. We managed with 2 check-in luggages and 2 carry-on backpacks and it still felt like a ton of stuff when you add the stroller, car seat, and baby itself!
3. Bring the stroller and car seat that you use every day because baby is familiar with and used to them! And then buy these cheap gate check bags on Amazon: here and here.
4. Bring your baby carrier! We didn’t use it that much but when we needed it, we really needed it, so it was good to have.
5. Co-sleep :)! It’s so much easier and makes your vacation a vacation! Take a break from your routine (this is probably controversial, lol); but the trip is going to throw it off no matter what, especially if time zones are different, so you might as well go all out. Bedtime was effortless and Colton slept 6 hour stretches every single night. It was a dream.
6. Specific to tropical vacations, spend the money and get a cabana that comes with fancy beach beds, food, and drinks. It is worth every penny for all-day shaded, private, and super comfortable space for baby.
7. Take your time at the airport. Stop and feed/soothe when you need to. Don’t let baby crank up to 100; that means leaving the check-in, security, or boarding line if you have to! Relax and take your time :).
8. Don’t board the plane until the very last call. You don’t want to sit in the plane longer than you have to with an infant, especially if, God forbid, take-off gets delayed, which happened to us the entire trip there and back!!
9. If baby does freak out during flight, take it easy and don’t sweat it. I found the passengers and stewardesses very understanding. Most people are nice enough to look at you with empathetic eyes, being like, ‘I’d prefer for your baby to be quiet but I also totally get it, so it’s okay.’ :)
10. Get this inflatable rubber ducky for bath time and a mini pool at the beach. It’s all of $15 and works wonders.
Most of the trip was spent cuddling by the oceanside with hubby and baby but we also managed to squeeze in 2 road trip days, which I am so grateful for. We got to drive around the entire beautiful island for some fresh photography!! Below are a whole bunch of new prints I have yet to post in our shop and on Etsy. I’ll get on it SOON. For now, enjoy!
We are also taking another little trip to Pennsylvania for a few nights, leaving on Saturday morning! :) And then heading up to the cottage the following weekend. It’s going to be an incredible summer. Back again soon! xo.
Colton is 3 months old today, weighing 13 lbs. 14 oz! Someone slow down the clock, please. It’s also my 31st birthday, yay! Age is just a number – I still feel like I’m 20 ;).
This photo captures much of my days that are spent playing, laughing, and babbling with this sweet boy resting snuggly on my legs. One day he’ll be too big to sit with me like this, but ’til then, it’s a date every day!
The last 2 weeks have been somewhat of a transformation. It’s the first time I’ve felt like I have a good handle on the baby; that I know him well now. It took 3 months but I understand most of his cries and needs and can respond confidently and appropriately. The result is that crying is rare these days; as soon as the whimpers and whines begin, we already know how to respond. I’m enjoying him even more.
He has officially stopped cluster feeding, which he did for many weeks, wanting to nurse every 1-1.5 hours. Most days I didn’t mind it but some days I felt like my breasts were going to fall off. I thought it would never end but of course it did! He is also an extremely efficient feeder now. When he’s seriously nursing (vs nursing to sleep), he’s on and off within 10 minutes. LOVE IT! I thought the 45- to 90-minute feeds would never end either but of course they did, too!
At night he is starting to consistently sleep 3-5 hour stretches – movin’ on up in the world here! When he sleeps longer than 3.5 hours, I find myself waking up to my internal clock a bit dazed, confused, and even worried: “What happened?” :P It’s something to get used to!
His naps are like clockwork: 3x a day ranging from 1-2.5 hours each. I have a little secret: I let him nap on his tummy. I realize it’s not recommended for safe sleep in Canada but both my hubby and I were raised sleeping on our tummies (not just for naps but at night, too) and as long as I am always watching the babe, I feel 100% comfortable with it! I’ve found that he loves being on his tummy; he doesn’t startle easily and sleeps beautifully, so I treat him to tummy naps during the day. :) By the way, the kid sleeps through noise like it’s going out of style; he’s out like a light even with a vacuum turned on right next to him. Plain awesome.
We are leaving for Hawaii on Sunday morning at 6AM. It’s our first trip together as a family and I am both nervous and excited at the same time. My biggest fear is the 10-hour flight, which is quite long for an infant, so I am crossing my fingers that we get through it without any major trouble! Lately he’s been explosive pooping up his back getting everything everywhere on himself and his clothes. Not a fun scenario on a plane, lol. But I am excited because we are going at a time when we feel we have a good handle on him. He has become a truly good, easy, and somewhat predictable baby at this point, so he is right where he should be for taking his first trip :).
We’ve solidified a loose bed time routine over the past 2 weeks and it’s been working nicely. We’ve reduced the time it takes to put him to bed from 2 hours to 1.5 hours :P. It’s unfortunate though that all of this progress will be tossed in Hawaii with the 6-hour time difference! I’m hoping it’s not too big of a challenge to re-establish the routine when we return.
And while we’re in Hawaii, there will be a bathroom renovation taking place in our home :P. How’s that for multitasking! It’s one of the last renovations we are taking on and one that I am quite excited about for 2 reasons: 1) It is for Colton, especially as he grows up and starts to bathe in a real tub and 2) I’m going to go ahead and say that after renovating pretty much our entire house inside and out, we are experienced renovators now and know how to manage these projects effectively without tears and all sorts of drama. Yup, many of our earlier renovation projects brought me to tears, mostly because of nightmare contractors. No more of those! I’ve been dying to design and decorate a bathroom so I can’t wait to share pictures :).
Last but not least, a new print below! Spotted this teeny tiny home standing in solitude among Utah’s great big rocks. I thought it looked beautiful.
That’ll be all for now! Life is sweeter than it’s ever been and I give thanks to my God for all that he has given us.
Colton is 10 and a half weeks old already! He was weighing in at 13 lbs. and change right at the 10 week mark. While still in the 50th percentile, he just feels solid and really heavy, killing my back and giving me muscles! He is also measuring 24″ in length, putting him in the 85th percentile for height. After all, dad is 6’3. :P
Every week or set of weeks have their own challenges. The last 2 weeks have been all about creating a loose routine and paying a lot more attention to his sleep schedule. Surprisingly, I’ve found the last 2 weeks to be particularly stressful; more so than the previous earlier weeks, which tend to be the traditional more “stressful” weeks. I found and am still finding it difficult to balance the freedom of no-routine with the structure of a loose and eventual rigid/strict routine, which I understand is critical to fostering good sleeping habits. SLEEP is a beast of a thing to tackle with children.
1. He still doesn’t sleep through the night and wakes every 3 hours on average. On a few rare occasions, he falls under a sleeping spell and gives us a 4-6 hour stretch; this doesn’t repeat itself very much for the time being although we’re hopeful it starts to soon.
2. Ever since tuning in more closely to his sleep, I’ve learned he is a great napper. He will nap on average 3 times during the day for 1-2 hours each time. I’ve been guilty (pleasurably) of letting him nap on me because transferring him to his crib during naps has grown to become epic fails and before you know it, that nap window slips away altogether and you’re left with a cranky babe! Funny story: prior to letting him nap as he pleases, I actually tried to keep him awake during the day so he’d sleep longer at night! What a rookie mistake. Sleep indeed begets sleep is what I soon learned.
3. He has been sleeping in his crib at night since 7 weeks and continues to do so, which is awesome. We co-slept a bit from weeks 5-6 and while I loved every minute of it, I also missed sleeping independently in our bed without him, so it was nice to wean off of that quickly.
4. Bed time makes me anxious because it’s currently such a long and drawn out process. 65% of our evenings are spent trying to get him down for the night! His bed time was quite late around 11pm for weeks and trying to move it up is a grind. Oh the patience. I can’t wait until it gets more efficient!
5. We are starting to educate ourselves on sleep training. There’s a ton of stuff out there and hoping to find one that works for us.
Lots more serious business and challenges going on in these coming weeks; we’re just enjoying the ride while it lasts :).
New wanderlust / road trip print down below! I often make myself nostalgic with my own images – ha! I surely do miss being able to pack up, hit the open road with windows rolled down and music blasting, and drive somewhere. There are limitations now but such are the beautiful stages of life and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Colton is my biggest, brightest star, and has shown me the higher realms of love and happy hearts.
Baby is napping so I’m squeezing in a super quick post for the nursery series :).
Here’s both a decorative and functional wall we put together for hanging clothes and things. The heroes of this wall are undoubtedly the adorable cloud, whale, panda bear, and polar bear hooks that are just to die for. All purchased on Etsy, all the way from England and Israel – see ‘Shop this Look’ below for links to the shops.
The elephant faux taxidermy is super cute and adds to the fun on this wall. I’m not huge on real taxidermy but these faux ones are so lovely in nurseries.
The shiplap wall continues to complement and I’m obsessed with it (might put shiplap in our bathroom, too)! And down below is a toy dump hamper. Yes, it’s a hamper, but it works just as perfectly for toys as it does for clothes :).
Beside the toy dump hamper is a DIY step stool that Chris put together for me, so I can reach the top of baby’s closet :P. We repurposed barnwood scraps from our basement renovation project that would have otherwise ended up in the garbage. To be honest though, it’s not the safest stool to stand on unless you were extremely, extremely careful (ha!). It loses balance. We don’t have woodworking expertise and didn’t know how to make it structurally safe. I do deem it safe for sitting though, so it’s not completely purposeless!
Stuffed animals in the toy dump (puppy dog and wolf) are just starters for now to finish the look. Colton will have a growing collection of toys going in there as he gets older and I’m sure it’ll be a huge mess soon enough!
Hi, Charlene Precious here! Welcome to my blog that is both a life journal told with words and photographs and an evolving portfolio. I'm thrilled to be able to share my work and my world with you, so thank you for following! (Read more)
Portfolio
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