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Hello!
Thank you so much for following along these last couple years but we are moving sites!
You can now find us over at www.thedreamerandtherealist.com

See you there!

Musings on Motherhood Part 4

Musings on Motherhood 

Part 4

Sometimes instead of playing and interacting with Eli, I just hide outside the door and watch him.  It is so fun to watch him discover things on his own and see how his mind develops ideas.

Now that winter is here and Eli is forced to wear clothing, I'm regretting the fact that I never dressed him and therefore didn't force him to get used to clothing.  He is now a demon to get dressed… fail.

Eli has become quite the mama's boy, this both bothers me and greatly excites me!  Since Kenny is the favorite with most of our animals, I'm going to relish the time that I'm Eli's favorite; you know until he starts wanting cheeseburgers and fries and I deny him!

I never wanted to be the person that couldn't talk about anything but their kids.  However when I was spending time with my sister the other day, I was racking my brain to think of things beside Eli to talk about- books! Movies! Anything!

Thus far in my journey, I would say that months 4-6 are the most difficult.  Just past the honeymoon stage and right before you really start trusting yourself.

Eli chews on medicine bottles… Now before everyone gets all up in arms, he only chews on the baby homeopathic meds with child safety caps, but still, he loves them!

Month 10

10 Month Update

Weight: 21 lbs.

Naps: 2 naps a day; 1.5 hours, 45 min
Feeding:  3 meals a day, 25-30 oz. formula, 6 oz. water.
Clothing: 9 month clothing pretty solidly.  Except for pants- and why exactly are baby pants so freaking long? Who are these long legged babies?
Bedtime: between 7 and 8.

Eating:  Everything in sight!  He has been having so much fun, trying new foods and really starting to ingest the food instead of absorb it through his skin.  He has been having some pretty serious digestive problems ever since our trip to Redding for Thanksgiving.  We have changed his diet a bit and are seriously pushing fruit and water, so hopefully, everything will be moving right along soon.  The only thing we have discovered that Eli doesn't love is fish, big disappointment for me.  He is still really loving broccoli and blueberries, and has recently developed a taste for cookies!

Sleeping: !!!! YAY YAY YAY for sleep!  We sleep trained this little babe the first night we got back from Redding.  Before leaving for Redding, I was starting to fall apart due to our method of sleeping through the night.  Kenny and I finally decided that Eli was fine and would make it through the night.  The first night was rough, about 45 minutes of crying, second night 20, third night 5? Honestly, it is the best thing we have ever done.  I needed real sleep, not waking every 3 hours.  Eli currently sleeps 11-12 hours a night and wakes for a bottle one time, if at all. Hallelujah!!  This mam is so thankful and happy to be getting real rest at night.

Development:  first steps!!  Eli took his first steps on December 6th.  I was so excited, I screamed and scared him.  He is only taking a couple steps on his own at a time, but I am hoping he will be running around in no time.  This kid is developing so fast!  He is now mean mugging anyone that he doesn't recognize right away.  Eli loves to open and close things- doors, cupboards, books, toilets.   He also has recently  decided that he has very strong opinions about what he wants to do and when.  It has made him a little fussy, so we are trying to work on anticipating his wants early on.  He plays peek a boo by hiding his hands behind a blanket and loves to use his walker.  We are also noticing that he is favoring his left hand….

Likes: moving, all the time moving.  Eli is on the small side and I think that it is just because he constantly wants to be doing and therefore is constantly burning calories.  He loves to play in water, get kisses on his hands, playing in our mouths, climbing, looking at ears, animals, reading the same book over and over… and over and over and over.  After his nighttime bath, Eli gets nakey time and he goes crazy.  He is so happy and energetic and a total wild boy, its our favorite time of the day!

Dislikes:  We ruined him with our trip to Redding and now the kid hates his carseat.  He also despises getting his diaper changed and anything to do with getting dressed or undressed.  He can;t stand being placed on the floor when he is wanting to be in your arms, basically the kid is super happy, unless he doesn't get exactly what he wants.

Mommy/Daddy Update:  We are finally getting into the swing of this parenting thing.  I believe this has more to do with the fact that we are exiting the baby phase and getting into the toddler phase, which is much more our pace and style.  Things were getting difficult and stressful right before we went to Redding in November.  Lack of sleep and not having family around was really catching up with me, add in an early winter snowstorm and I'm a disaster of a person.  Fortunately, everything is better now and I've made peace with living in the arctic tundra.  As far as dealing with Eli?  We are having so much fun! He is a blast to hang out with and just watch grow and discover new things around him.

Month 9

9 Month Update

Weight: 19 lbs. 39% percentile

Head Circumference: 60% percentile

Length: 25% percentile

Feeding: 3 meals a day, water whenever he can, 20-30 oz. of formula.
Naps: 1.5 hour morning nap, 45 minute nap in the afternoon.
Bedtime: 7-8.
Clothing:  Ranges between 6 month - 12 month, depending upon brand.

Sleeping: Some nights Eli sleeps amazing and I am the happiest mom on the earth!  However, that percentage is low, as in about 30-40%, which sucks.  Those other nights he wakes up 2-5 times! In other words a ridiculous amount and I have already talked about the fact that I am no good when I don't get sleep.  I know that I need to start sleep training him through the night, but I don't have the drive to do it yet.  It's going to be about a week of sleepless nights and since our house is small with wood floors that echo, its going to be sleepless nights for both Kenny and I. Once we get back from Redding, we are going to push him to stay asleep through the night.

Eating: This kid loves to eat ALL THE TIME.  I think feeding Eli is my favorite activity of the day.  He not only devours anything put in front of him, but once he is finished and the tray is removed, eats all the food stuck to his tummy.  In honor of full disclosure, he also scavenges the floor for food once he is down from his high chair.  I blame the fact that he watches Cole do it all the time.  Eli's favorite foods are blueberries, oranges, chicken noodle soup, scrambled eggs, pumpkin puree, broccoli, peanut butter toast.  He is great at feeding himself with a spoon and using a sippy cup.  He also loves to drink water with an intense passion, from his cups, your cups, the bath, a sink faucet… dog's water dish.

Development: Eli grew by giant strides this month.  He has started babbling a ton, and even said "mama," however I'm fairly certain that he has no concept of what it means.  He loves to pull himself up on anything and walks all along the couch, chasing the dog.  He also crawls so fast and loves to play peek-a-boo.  Eli also listens when we say no!  I know that at some point he will be a disobedient little devil, but as of right now I'm loving that I'm the boss.  Another big development is 4 new teeth!

Likes/Dislikes: Likes: tearing DVDs off of the tv stand, playing with the vacuum, playing with the cable box- he has recorded the most random shows, being naked, reading- especially his peek-a-boo books, playing with our mouths, rough housing- pillow fights, tossed in the air, spun around, wrestling with Sam, getting ready with me, playing with water, watching Kenny play guitar.
Dislikes: diaper changes or getting dressed- unless we read to him while doing it, not getting food fast enough, not being allowed to eat dog food- Eli races to the dog food, our hands in his mouth- can't stand have his new teeth messed with.

Musings on Motherhood Part 3

Musings on Motherhood: Part 3

While cleaning Eli's diapers, I came to the realization that if we have the three children I want, I will spend 7 years cleaning cloth diapers. 

        On a related note, that means that if we stick with cloth diapers, we will save about $3000!

Also, if we have three children according to the timeline I have in mind, I will pregnant for a portion of the year, for the next 5 years.

I resist the urge to drop Eli off at daycare because sometimes I just want to sit at home.

Eli crawled off the bed when I had him… He crawled off the couch with Kenny, so at least we are equal with our negligence.

Feeding Eli is my favorite time each day; he shares with the dog and as soon as you take the tray off the high chair, he starts eating food off his belly, so cute and disgusting all at the same time.

Eli and I now share showers instead of baths because he became way too fascinated with my c section scar- things were getting awkward.

I have to resist the urge to worry about Eli's language development, physically Eli is doing really well, but language wise, he doesn't even try to pronounce words.  In other words, right on target for a boy.

Baby led weaning is the best way to consistently eat healthy due to not having time to make separate meals and wanting Eli to eat a strong base of fruits and vegetables.  That's been the real trick to losing the "baby weight."

7 Month Pictorial Update

7 Month Pictorial Update

We spent lots of time outside trying to soak up as much sunshine as possible before our freezing cold Idaho winter starts.

Kenny asked Eli if he was ready to go see a movie…

He was perfection and slept through the whole thing, right up until the credits rolled na she burst into tears.

Family sushi dates

Boy loves to stand- ALL THE TIME.  Thankfully he is getting much more stable and doesn't have quite so many head bonks.

Best way to cheer this kid up? Place him on the ledge of the sink and let him turn on the faucets.

6 Month Pictorial Update

6 Month Pictorial Update

Kenny went on a motorcycle trip to Banff with a bunch of his buddies; and rather than spend 5 days parenting on my own, my best friend Sara brought up her two kiddos!

It was so much fun going to the splash pad, the zoo and just getting to visit and catch up with one of my most favorite people.

Family Fair Time

The cats have been one of the best crawling motivators.

Everybody's favorite brunch date.

Eli has the best surprised face whenever he wakes up in his carseat in a different location.