How old?: 4 Months!
Weight/Height: 15.6 lbs, not sure about his length
Baby clothes: I would definitely say he's most comfortable in 3 month and 3-6 month outfits. Still in size 2 diapers.
Milestones: Zilla is getting pretty good at bringing toys/hands/hair/anything to his mouth and chewing on it. One time he was looking at me and with all his concentration he slowloy raised his hands up to my face and grabbed my glasses. It was pretty cute. He also started to giggle this month and it literally melts my heart. He's also good at recognizing familiar voices and looking around to find the source. We can pretty consistently make it about 10 minutes of tummy time where he's happy and sometimes longer. He loves doing tummy time lying on my shins while we play airplane. He thinks it is so funny when we're doing that and Boots comes over and plays around my head. He has rolled over front to back a few more times and is getting so close to rolling from his back to stomach.
Another big milestone this month was that we celebrated Zilla's conception day! He has been alive for one full year, wow! This is one of my favorite parts about NFP. We can know to the day when his little life began. We also did a little celebrating on the one year anniversary of getting the positive pregnancy test.
Lastly, I suppose this is a milestone, Zilla got sick for the first time. He had himself a stuffy nose, a cough, and quite a fever.
Another big milestone this month was that we celebrated Zilla's conception day! He has been alive for one full year, wow! This is one of my favorite parts about NFP. We can know to the day when his little life began. We also did a little celebrating on the one year anniversary of getting the positive pregnancy test.
Lastly, I suppose this is a milestone, Zilla got sick for the first time. He had himself a stuffy nose, a cough, and quite a fever.
Special outings
We made another trip to Houston this month and got to see Uncle Paul and his new wife, Kayla. Zilla also got to meet his Aunt April, Uncle Jason, Uncle Cody, and cousin Luke for the first time!
We made another trip to Houston this month and got to see Uncle Paul and his new wife, Kayla. Zilla also got to meet his Aunt April, Uncle Jason, Uncle Cody, and cousin Luke for the first time!
The other big outing was his Aunt Kimberly's baby shower. Zilla was passed around like a little football. He did pretty well the whole day, but man was he pooped that night.
Highlights of the month:
Without a doubt, the birth of Zilla's cousin, Reese! My sister had her little girl this month and she is the most precious, tiniest little angel to ever grace this earth. I'm so happy for my sister and BIL to start this parenthood journey!
The second highlight of the month would have to be celebrating Father's Day. I love watching my husband be a Father.
Baby's routine:
He's falling into more of a routine these days. we pretty consistently wake up at 7:30 for the first feeding of the day and play until 9. Then back to sleep for two hours. He eats again around 11:30 and plays until 1. Then the goal is another 2 hour nap, but sometimes I have to settle for an hour to an hour and a half. He'll eat again around 3:30. On the week days, daddy picks him up from daycare and they come home and play for a bit before it's time for another nap. Then when mommy gets home it's time to feed and the last playtime of the day. We try one more feeding before putting him back to bed. If successful, he'll usually sleep until about midnight and wake up to feed but then falls directly back to sleep. Otherwise he'll wake up around 9 or 10 for a feeding and falls back asleep. The nights vary. Sometimes he'll sleep for 5-6 hours in between feedings but other times he'll stick to a 3 hour schedule.
He's falling into more of a routine these days. we pretty consistently wake up at 7:30 for the first feeding of the day and play until 9. Then back to sleep for two hours. He eats again around 11:30 and plays until 1. Then the goal is another 2 hour nap, but sometimes I have to settle for an hour to an hour and a half. He'll eat again around 3:30. On the week days, daddy picks him up from daycare and they come home and play for a bit before it's time for another nap. Then when mommy gets home it's time to feed and the last playtime of the day. We try one more feeding before putting him back to bed. If successful, he'll usually sleep until about midnight and wake up to feed but then falls directly back to sleep. Otherwise he'll wake up around 9 or 10 for a feeding and falls back asleep. The nights vary. Sometimes he'll sleep for 5-6 hours in between feedings but other times he'll stick to a 3 hour schedule.
Baby's favorite food: breast milk.
Baby's favorite activity:
He likes to be held facing outward these days. He's also fond of being lifted up into the air above our heads.
He likes to be held facing outward these days. He's also fond of being lifted up into the air above our heads.
Baby's favorite toy: His play mat
Big changes:
The biggest change for us this month is that mommy has found a job! This is both good and sad news. Good, because our household needed a second income and honestly, it's probably healthy for me to be getting more adult interaction. But sad because it's so hard to leave him everyday. The first day I dropped him off was so tough! I cried a lot that day...okay maybe that whole week. I'm getting better, but sometimes the evenings are hard because I only get to see him for such a short time.
The biggest change for us this month is that mommy has found a job! This is both good and sad news. Good, because our household needed a second income and honestly, it's probably healthy for me to be getting more adult interaction. But sad because it's so hard to leave him everyday. The first day I dropped him off was so tough! I cried a lot that day...okay maybe that whole week. I'm getting better, but sometimes the evenings are hard because I only get to see him for such a short time.
He does seem to be doing great at day care. Miss D always says he's perfect, and for some reason he's quite cooperative with taking 2 hour naps with her.
The other big change is that daddy gets to come home from work earlier these days! This is wonderful news all around. I know it's been nice for him to get to spend more time with Zilla, and I love having him home when I get home.
Another big change is that we have moved Zilla into his crib for both naps and nighttime. This means no more co-sleeping. Much like me finding a job, this is both exciting but sad news. It's nice to have our bed back but there sure are nights I miss his sweet little self all snuggled up next to us.
Another big change is that we have moved Zilla into his crib for both naps and nighttime. This means no more co-sleeping. Much like me finding a job, this is both exciting but sad news. It's nice to have our bed back but there sure are nights I miss his sweet little self all snuggled up next to us.
Mommy Journal
I've only been working for a little over a week now. I think the hardest thing is letting go of an extra feeding session. Daddy was doing one bottle feeding each night so we could build up a supply, but we cut it out so that there's usually only one additional bottle feeding each day. It's so hard to pump every three hours at work. Even though I know I need to in order to keep supply up, it's just awkward to disappear into my office for 15 minutes, especially when there are clients right outside. It makes me appreciate even more when I hear about companies who are becoming extra accommodating to lactating mothers.
Other than that, I'm enjoying work, but I think about Zilla a lot. Luckily, Miss D sends me picture texts throughout the day. My favorite is one of him sitting across from another little boy at the day care. It reminds me that this is a good thing for him to start socializing, even at this young age. These days, my favorite part of the day are the middle of the night feedings. He's usually easy to feed and as soon as he's done he'll just snuggle into my chest and fall asleep. I'll just sit there holding him for awhile because it's becoming rarer for him to fall asleep in my arms like that.
Part two of mommy journal is going to be more about experiencing Zilla's first illness. He got sick one day before his 4 month birthday. I had to go to work that day and Jason took him to the doctor. Part way through the day I went up to the doctor's office to feed Zilla and while I was there the doctor told us we would have to take him to the ER. Those words are so hard to hear as a parent. I had to go back to work and the next thing you know I get a text from Jason saying his temp had jumped to above 103.
All I could think about was his tiny little body being so hot. I left work immediately and cried the whole way to the hospital. And then the "fun" of watching my tiny baby get poked over and over began. You don't realize how much the little guy means to you until you see him in pain and would literally do anything to take it away. I would go through labor 1000 more times to have made it stop hurting. And then there's the "what if" thoughts that started to pop into my head. I have a tendency to go straight to the worst case scenario. Thankfully, it was likely just a regular old virus he caught from being at daycare for the first time.
That night I slept on the floor outside his room so that I could hear him breathing. After his feedings that night I sat up holding him for two hours and the next night co-slept with him laying on my arm, because he did not want to be put down in his crib. He would be sleeping peacefully after eating, but the second I laid him down he would start screeching. It wasn't so bad. In fact, it kind of warmed my heart thinking that being near me was comforting to him.
Part two of mommy journal is going to be more about experiencing Zilla's first illness. He got sick one day before his 4 month birthday. I had to go to work that day and Jason took him to the doctor. Part way through the day I went up to the doctor's office to feed Zilla and while I was there the doctor told us we would have to take him to the ER. Those words are so hard to hear as a parent. I had to go back to work and the next thing you know I get a text from Jason saying his temp had jumped to above 103.
All I could think about was his tiny little body being so hot. I left work immediately and cried the whole way to the hospital. And then the "fun" of watching my tiny baby get poked over and over began. You don't realize how much the little guy means to you until you see him in pain and would literally do anything to take it away. I would go through labor 1000 more times to have made it stop hurting. And then there's the "what if" thoughts that started to pop into my head. I have a tendency to go straight to the worst case scenario. Thankfully, it was likely just a regular old virus he caught from being at daycare for the first time.
That night I slept on the floor outside his room so that I could hear him breathing. After his feedings that night I sat up holding him for two hours and the next night co-slept with him laying on my arm, because he did not want to be put down in his crib. He would be sleeping peacefully after eating, but the second I laid him down he would start screeching. It wasn't so bad. In fact, it kind of warmed my heart thinking that being near me was comforting to him.
Time really has gone by so fast. Especially these last two months. I can finally say that I am in a much better place emotionally and am excited for everything ahead!
there is a state law which requires companies to give nursing mothers a private place to pump (other than a restroom). I know you mentioned pumping in your office, but you may want to investigate if there's a designated room specifically for this purpose. If not, I believe if you ask they're required by law to give you a room.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/
Yeah, the funny thing is when I was at headquarters downtown they do have a really nice little room for moms to go in with a comfy chair and a sink and privacy which I was really excited about. But the site I'm at is technically in a goodwill store so the best place for me is probably the office. I think the hardest part is really just finding a good time to go do it. It seems like every time I go in and shut my door a client walks through the door and needs to see me. #lactatingproblems
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