Month: January 2019

Baby Update · Daily living · Holiday · Parenting · Travel

Berend: 8 Months

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Happy 2019! Our new year started with illness… early on New Year’s Day, Gerrit started vomiting. We’re thinking it was a 24 hour bug, but it took him a few days to fully recover from it and get his appetite back. Right after that, he and Berend both started coughing and having a runny nose, which they passed on to me. We probably got a bug from being with family right after Christmas (several people weren’t feeling great). I always get nervous when one of my babies is sick, because there’s just not much you can do for a baby besides let a virus run its course. Thankfully, Berend didn’t seem to feel too bad.

Age: 8 months on 15 January 2019
Weight: about 21 lbs
Height: about 28.75″
Teeth: 2… with another coming soon
Clothing Size: 9-12 months and 12 months
Diaper Size: size 3 in disposable and one size in cloth
Milestones: army crawling, pulling up to standing, cruising around furniture, saying “baba,” developing his pincer grasp, standing unsupported for several seconds

Likes: being carried around, chewing on everything, playing with Gerrit, tickles, kisses, baths, eating food, grabbing peoples’ faces & hair, growling/grunting, head banging (he likes to bop his head into our heads or chests), and smooshing his face into my face

Berend wants to be involved in everything… which means he pretty much wants to be carried everywhere.

Chewing on a prize from a game at Christmas in Missouri

Berend terrorizing his big brother already.

Trying some French toast

Dislikes: getting his clothes or diaper changed, when Mama walks away, car rides, being told ‘no’, getting his sleep sack put on (he knows what comes next ha), bananas

I generally don’t take photos of Berend upset, but here’s one of us returning from our trip to Missouri. Holding his hand from the front seat helped a tiny bit.

Sleep: Fighting sleep continues! I don’t think we had any great nights this month, although Berend did have 4 days around Christmas where he slept in 2 hour stretches, and didn’t wake 5 minute after I put him back in his crib.

Berend handled sleeping in the Pack n Play pretty well while we were away from home. He didn’t sleep any worse than in his crib, but he didn’t sleep any better either.

Although Berend can’t/won’t stay asleep to save his life, he’s pretty consistent about going to sleep between 7:30 & 8:30 and waking between 7 & 7:30 for the day. Once in awhile we get an early morning, or he’ll surprise us and sleep until 8am, but he’s a pretty reliable alarm clock if you need to be up by 7:30. He sleeps roughly 12.25 hours a day.

Berend still takes 2-3 naps a day. Once in awhile we are surprised with a good nap day, and we’ll stretch his wake time so he can just have 2 naps. But most of the time he takes short naps (30-60 min) and ends up needing 3 naps. He’s getting increasingly difficult to get down for a third nap, so I suspect we’ll be dropping it completely by 9 months.

Eating: Berend continues to do well with breastfeeding. In the last 6 weeks or so, he has pretty much stopped choking during letdowns, started emptying the breast during feedings, and generally just made nursing fairly stress-free. He nurses every 2-3 hours during the day and all the time at night.

Berend continues to do well with solids too. He makes me nervous putting too much in his mouth sometimes, but he’s getting pretty good about maneuvering food around so he doesn’t gag too often. I think he still enjoys meat the most, but there’s not much he won’t eat. Sometimes it’s just hard to tell how much is actually getting consumed.

Mommy Update: I’m hanging in there! The holidays were a bit stressful, our trip to Missouri was a bit stressful… let’s just say I’m glad it’s January and things are getting back to normal.

It was really great for me to see my family after Christmas. The actual traveling to and from Missouri was not pleasant, but actually being with everyone was amazing. We all stay in touch pretty well through phone calls, texts, and social media, but nothing beats getting together as a family. I loved catching up with my sisters, playing card games with everyone, and watching Gerrit have so much fun with his cousins. It really makes me envy people who have their family nearby, and I tried to soak it all in as much as I could.

Memorable Events: It was a busy month! Berend got to see some Christmas lights at St. Bernard farms:

It was a drive through Christmas lights show, so Berend was not a fan, of course, haha. Since we were driving about 5 mph, I pulled him up into the front seat with me so we didn’t have to listen to him cry the whole time.

Berend got to experience his first matching family Christmas pajamas:

Andrew’s mom got us these, so we wore them on Christmas Eve! They were really cute, and it’s too bad the boys will outgrow them so quickly.

Berend’s first Christmas Eve… and both of my boys’ first sibling gift exchange! They got each other bath toys.

Berend also got his first Christmas Eve gift from Andrew and me: a Christmas book and new pajamas.

And then of course Berend celebrated his first Christmas!

The day after Christmas, we packed up for a road trip to Missouri. It was Berend’s first big trip since we moved to New Mexico when he was only 2 months old. He did slightly better than he did in July. We were all thrilled to be out of the car though! And then Berend got to meet a LOT of people for the first time: all of his aunts and uncles (other than his Aunt Becki), his four cousins, and one of his great grandmas.

Berend had a pretty uneventful first New Year’s Eve (we were on the road), but he sure looked cute!

Once we were back in New Mexico, we had a nice day and Berend enjoyed his first time swinging! He loved it, especially when Gerrit pushed him.

And last but not least, here is Berend’s January photo:

Berend, you are something else! The older you get, the more we see your stubborn, strong-willed personality. You are very vocal about what you don’t like and full of smiles and giggles when you’re happy. You push me to my limits with your sleep-fighting stamina, but then I see your sweet sleeping face, and all is forgiven. Everyone comments on your adorably big cheeks — they are irresistible! You constantly keep us on our toes, little bear, but we love you so very much.

Daily living

Gerrit’s New Room

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When I wrote about setting up Berend’s nursery, I mentioned that we were reusing a LOT from Gerrit’s old room. That meant Gerrit needed a lot of new things: a new bed, a new mattress, new bedding, and a new dresser. He had had his beach nursery setup since we put his room together in North Carolina when he was about 6 months old. Here’s what his room had looked like for 3 years:

This was his room in North Carolina, but we set it up almost exactly the same when we moved to Texas.

When we found out we were pregnant with baby #2, I started thinking about ideas for Gerrit’s new “big boy” room. I found this awesome photo on Pinterest:

And then I asked Andrew how much he loved me and if he thought he could build furniture. 😀 Turn out… he can!

We put Gerrit in his new bed for about a week before we moved to Little Rock last spring, just to get used to being in a bed instead of a crib. Yeah… we kept Gerrit in a crib until he was almost 3.5 years old! Would you believe that he never once tried to climb out of his crib? He tried to climb into it a few times but never out. Anyways, we wanted him to get used to it before we moved since so much change would be happening, and we wanted him excited for his new bed when the crib got unpacked in New Mexico.

When my mom came to New Mexico to help out while Andrew was gone, she made the tent part of the bed. Thank goodness, because I’m veeery basic when it comes to sewing. It’s something I’d like to get more experience with, but I wasn’t about to just wing it with Gerrit’s tent. I’m so glad my mom took on the project for me! 

Gerrit loves his tent bed! I found the quilt set on Zulily, and I really liked the colors of it. I’m not a fan of “kid” bedding, because I prefer something that can be used for years to come. I also liked the quilt because of all the colors! Hopefully it will get used even if Gerrit wants a new room theme or if we pass it along to Berend down the road. Andrew eventually wants to build a small matching bedside table for Gerrit, but for now he’s using this cute tree trunk ottoman. Then we’ll move the ottoman into the reading corner. Gerrit stores some of his stuffed animals in there right now.

Here’s Gerrit’s reading corner! We hung his name print from my friend Emily on the wall, and I got him his own sling bookshelf to keep his books separate from the board books downstairs. My mom recovered a body pillow we had with a leaf print fabric for the corner, and I used the pillow sham from his quilt set for another pillow. I think I want to add more cushions or pillows, but that’s what we have there for now. I also have an idea for something to hang from the ceiling, but I haven’t had time to do it yet. Stay tuned! 

I have had this growth chart for Gerrit since he was a baby. I can’t even remember where I got it from! I’ve been keeping it updated, but I never hung it because it didn’t “go with” his beach theme room. It matches perfectly in his camping/forest room though, and he enjoys frequently checking to see if he’s grown lately. I got him a plug-in night light to replace his whale light too. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but I liked the map and the nod to our Air Force life with the airplane.

On the opposite wall, we put the table and chairs set that Andrew had had as a kid. His parents sent it along with him when he passed through Reno last August, and I love that Gerrit has it now.

Above the table and chairs we hung this canvas map of the United States. It was an early birthday present for Gerrit. He loves seeing where we’ve lived, where his cousins and grandparents live, and where we’ve traveled. Plus who doesn’t need a map when out camping? 🙂

Here’s the dresser my mom and I built! It arrived just in time for her to help me put it together, and thank goodness, because it was definitely a 2 person job. Gerrit even helped a bit too:

Once we got Gerrit’s clothes put away, we could put stuff on the dresser! I kept the blue basket from his nursery to hold his nighttime diapers and lotion, and he still has the same sound machine. I’m 100% okay with raising white noise addicts. I picked up the ‘explore’ sign at Walmart as well as the wood-look frame for the photo of Andrew and I with newborn Gerrit. The little lantern was going to be his new night light, because I thought he could take it with if had to make a trip to the bathroom at night. But it was super bright, and I was prepared to return it, but Gerrit loved it. So it stayed.

It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to hang above the dresser. I contemplated painting something myself again, but I wasn’t sure it would go well, so I thought I’d enlarge a photo instead. That looked like it was going to be expensive, so I scrapped that idea and decided to pick three of my favorite photos from our trip to Puzzlewood in England from 2013.

I found the frames at Hobby Lobby and loved the rustic, natural look of them. And the compass hanging with the photos was another Walmart find. I feel like their decor items have been improving lately… I may have to look there more often.

I still have a couple of things I’d like to add to Gerrit’s new room, but I didn’t want to delay sharing it any longer. He seems to like it (especially his awesome bed), and I hope you all like it too!

Baby Update · Daily living · Holiday · Parenting

Berend: 7 Months

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We’re heading into the Christmas season new year with a 7 month old! Yup, posting late again… oops!

Age: 7 months on 15 December 2018
Weight: about 19.5 lbs
Height: about 28″
Teeth: 1
Clothing Size: 9-12 months and 12 months
Diaper Size: size 3 in disposable and one size in cloth
Milestones: saying “mama,” up and down motion with arms (shaking toys, slapping the water in the tub or hitting the table), reaching out to be picked up, scooting backwards on his belly, smacking his lips, using raking grasp

Likes: being carried, standing with assistance (but he tries hard to only use one hand), walking with assistance, baths, tickles, food, bouncing, babywearing, putting everything in his mouth, sucking on his bottom lip and his tongue

Dislikes: being held while sitting, Mama walking away, going to sleep, reading ( 😦 ), car rides, getting stuck on his belly

Sleep: No real changes with sleep this month. We’ve had a few slightly better nights (sleeping a stretch of 3 hours) scattered among our bad nights, but Berend still sleeps only 1-2 hours at a time for the most part. He often wants to nurse when he wakes, especially if it’s been closer to 2 hours since he last ate, but sometimes he just wants to cuddle. I really don’t think he’s that hungry when he wakes, but nursing probably give him comfort, especially now that he’s teething.

Berend is pretty solidly on 3 naps a day, although he has had a few days where he only had time for 2 naps. He still takes short (30-45 minute) naps the majority of the time, but he also takes some awesome naps that are 1-2 hours long. I’m hoping we get more of those soon, because I’d much rather work around 2 naps than 3. I’d love to get out of the house more. I never thought I’d want to cut naps out, but it definitely allows more freedom in the day!

Berend is pretty much on the same schedule he was on at 6 months: to bed between 7 & 8 depending on when his last nap ends, up many times a night, comes to bed with me anywhere between 2am and 5am, nurses quite a bit (more at the beginning of the night than in the early morning), and is up for the day between 6:30 & 7:30. He averages about 12.25 hours of sleep a day total.

Eating: Ugh, I suck at remembering to offer food to Berend! He continues to do fairly well with solids. He seems to be getting better at moving solids to the back of his mouth to swallow, but he still occasionally gags and throws up a bit. I’m not sure he likes banana, but most other things he seems to enjoy. Berend really enjoys meat just like his big brother!

Berend continues to nurse around the clock. He is still easily distracted during the day and takes full feedings only before naps. He typically nurses every 2-3 hours during the day though. At night he nurses as often as every hour and sometimes stretches it to 3 hours. I guess this explains his wonderfully chunky arms & legs!

Mommy Update: Guys, I am so tired! I seriously fantasize about sleeping. I think the lack of sleep has made me a little Grinchy this holiday season. I’m trying to enjoy it all, but I’m stressed out and feeling spread too thin a lot of the time. Look at my tired eyes:

This photo was taken after Gerrit’s first Christmas program. Berend loved all the people and singing, although sitting still was a challenge haha!

I think I’m feeling especially stressed right now with Christmas. Like it or not, most of the “holiday cheer” comes from me as the mom. I’m in charge of 95% of the holiday stuff, and that on top of caring for 2 young kids and being sleep-deprived has me spread very thin. I’m trying to just enjoy the ages that my boys are at and see the magic of the season, but it’s tough sometimes.

Memorable Events: Berend celebrated his first Thanksgiving this month! We combined efforts with our neighbors across the street, and it was great to be with another family for the holiday. They have a 2-year-old son, so Gerrit had fun playing with him. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to get a picture of all of us! So here’s the photo I had Andrew take before I got Berend ready for bed that night:

About a week after Thanksgiving, Berend’s first tooth popped through! It really caught me by surprise, because Gerrit didn’t get his first tooth until he was 8 months old. I just assumed they would be pretty close to the same age for that since they’ve been so similar for most other things.

This month we upgraded from our family car to an SUV for some extra space: more seating and more room when traveling. I was hoping we could get a new vehicle before we traveled for Christmas, so Andrew decided to just go ahead and do it the first weekend in December. It seemed like a good time to switch car seats too: Gerrit went from rear facing to forward facing, and Berend went from his infant seat to a convertible one.

The rest of Berend’s 7th month was spent getting ready for Christmas! He got to see us decorate around the house and set up our Christmas tree. After 2 Christmases with just a 4-foot tree, we were excited to get out all the ornaments for a full 7-foot tree.

 

And here is Berend’s December photo:

Berend, it’s so fun watching you experience new seasons and holidays with us. It’s probably a little overwhelming on your end, but we love having you involved in our traditions. We love your smiles, your giggles, and your dedication to becoming mobile! We can’t wait to see what next month and the new year hold in store for you, baby bear!