Graham - Month 6

In just another six months, we will be celebrating a first birthday! 

Graham is a great baby! He is a chunk! Weighing in around 20 lbs already and wearing 9 month clothes. He's still in a size three diaper. His wellness check is next week, so I will know all his stats then. 

He drinks six, six ounce bottles a day. We will either cut a bottle out or cut it down to five ounces now that he is eating more food. He's been eating one container of stage one baby food a night. This weekend, I started giving him one in the morning and one at night. He's tried pretty much all the veggies and fruits. He liked them all, except green beans. He ate them the first time, but started gagging on them tonight. He had a taste of fruit and sweet potatoes, so I'm sure he would rather have that! 

He loves daycare. I love getting pictures and videos of him too! 

I'm glad to know he is getting a lot of loving! 

He eats, stays up for about two hours, then goes back to sleep for an hour, sometimes two. He goes down between 6 and 7 at night. Brandon gets off at 10, and gives him a dream feed. He wakes up for the day around 5am. Just like his brother! They are both early birds, and they both have a great routine. 

He loves bath time and tummy time. He has started to crawl backwards! He also LOVES his jumper and his Sit Me Up seat. I think he is in both quite a bit at daycare. He can get where he wants to go by scooting around, but he isn't sitting up by himself just yet. 

Rolls for days!

He has also found his voice. He likes to squeal and babble. His favorite sound to make is "dada" which makes Brandon super happy. Since he is so loud, I started taking him to the nursery during church. 

They are my favorites! 

Going back to work as been much easier this time!! Part of it is being a specialist, and partly because it's my second child. I know he will be ok! Brandon has a weird work schedule, so we have to have a  routine. Brandon cleans up the house in the morning, so when I get home, I get to focus on dinner, baths, and bedtime. We make a pretty great team. 

And Griffin is awesome. He's so stinking smart and grown up these days. I'm loving four and a half. He gets very little screen time these days. His imagination is so big. He can spend over an hour playing in his room by himself. He opens the car door himself, buckles himself in, dresses himself, brushes his teeth, helps me around the house, buys his own donuts, wipes his own butt, sticks his straw in his juice box, and so much more! Most of this started six months ago when Graham showed up, but he continues to amaze me. I love him dearly. 

Graham - Month 5

Seriously. I blinked, and my baby is five months old. 😳

Graham is absolutely precious. He's had a lot of changes the past two weeks. He has been taking bottles all day for the last week, and I nursed him just in the morning and sometimes evening. Yesterday, we had our last nursing session. It makes me want to cry. I was ready to stop nursing at this point with Griffin. But this time around, I wish I could keep going. However, with work demands, I just can't juggle it all. He transitioned to formula like a champ. He is also spitting up less now, and I'm so thankful not to be tethered to him all the time. It's hard following a breastfeeding baby's schedule. So I guess it's not all bad. 

He's also started solids! We started practicing with rice cereal at four months. I gave him a bowl when I remembered which was only about twice a week. The week before he turned five months, he displayed all the cues for being ready for the real thing. He has only had carrots so far. He wasn't a fan of them the first time he tried them, but he gobbled them down the day after that! 

And the next big change in his life will be on Monday. He will have his first day at daycare. Sigh. I have been fighting back the tears all day. I wish I could take him to work with me. I hate that I won't be his caregiver all day every day. But I know he will be loved. It'll be ok.... I keep telling myself that. 

He can even hold his own bottle! 

He spent some time at school with me getting my classroom ready! 

I chopped off an inch of his mohawk! I did a really terrible job too! Haha!

Stories at bedtime

He's happy about 80% of the time. He gets fussy when he has a bubble, tired, or hungry. 

He weighs 19 lbs! A chunk!!

He's in a size three diaper and 6-9 month clothes. 

He loves his toes! He actually wants something in his mouth to chew or suck constantly. 

He sleeps the best with something over his head and face. People give me dirty looks when it looks like I smother him, but he loves it. 

And this makes my heart melt!! Griffin climbs in bed with us around four in the morning which is about the time I nursed Graham. They both just stayed in our bed after that. Griffin is up and ready to start the day between 5 and 6. Most days I would get him a bowl of cereal, turn on his  cartoons, and go back to bed. I'm loving his age! 

Graham is now sleeping about 12 hours in his own crib. He goes down about 6:30. I do a dream feed around 9:30, and he wakes up between 6 - 6:30. Of course he has some nights where he will wake up or goes down later or gets up earlier. Overall he is an excellent sleeper. 

In other news, Brandon graduated from Police Academy!! I threw him a surprise graduation party. We had so much fun! 

We also celebrated my dad's birthday! 

Nana's house is the best!

We had a fun morning with just Griffin at SDC. He is so much fun to hang out with! 

We are blessed!

Graham - Month 3

Graham is three months! Time is flying. I only have two more months off, so I'm trying to enjoy every second! 

So I have to say the second baby is so much easier. I guess it's just because everything feels familiar, and I'm more comfortable taking care of a newborn. Or it might be because babies just need their basic needs taken care of. Whatever the reason, adjusting to life with two kids has been very easy for us. Praise the Lord!

Speaking of adjusting, Griffin is back to his old self. All the major life changes that happened back in March really threw him for a loop. I wasn't really sure what to do with him! However, I was consistent with discipline and routine (even when I wanted to lock myself in the closet and cry), and it's paid off! He is sleeping in his own bed again all night, putting himself to sleep, using his manners, and following directions. He's not perfect by any means, but we are in a much better place now! He hasn't been in trouble at school either. I'm SO thankful! 

Back to Graham...

He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and a size three diaper. He weighs around 16.5 lbs. He's my little chunk! He's very long! He started sleeping through the night right after he turned 12 weeks. Our days are very routine. He goes down around 8:00 at night and sleeps to around 5:00 in the morning. After he eats and burps, he goes back to sleep until 7:45 when I usually wake him up to nurse before taking Griffin to school. Griffin wakes up between 5-6. I just tell him to go play in his room until I'm ready to get up (usually around 7:00). After I drop Griffin off, Graham and I come home and walk at least two miles in the neighborhood. I've been trying to get this baby weight off! Graham loves to sleep in his stroller too. When we get back, he nurses again and is ready to play. He is starting to participate in the world around him more. He can track objects and is trying hard to grasp objects. He loves hanging out in his bouncy seat or playmat. He is trying really hard to roll over, but hasn't quite accomplished that feat yet. He also loves chewing on his hands after staring them down. After a couple hours of play time, he's ready to nurse again. After his lunch, he takes a really good nap in the middle of the day. He will sleep for 2-3 hours. I love it because when I have both boys at home, they're on the same nap schedule. It's total bliss! After nap, he eats again and we go get brother. We come home for some more play time with Griffin. I cook dinner and we eat around 5:00. Baths are at 5:30, nurse again, we watch a movie at 6:00, and Griffin is in bed by 7:30. I nurse Graham once more and he goes to bed. It works great for us! I think kids thrive when they have a routine because it helps them feel safe.

Of course surprises are fun every now and then! This week we went to the zoo with Megan and her two girls. Griffin is also enrolled in a cooking camp. He loves to help me in the kitchen, so he is learning about food every Friday in June. Summer time is the best! 

Graham is the sweetest baby. He rarely cries. When he does, he's either hungry or has a gas bubble. He's smiles with his entire body and has started to giggle. I'm so thankful God entrusted me to be his momma! 

I love pouty faces!

They are my biggest blessings! 

Griffin's first cooking class

Future photographer! 

At the zoo! It was HOT! 

My new boy mom shirt. Ha!

A bad idea. Lol

Graham - Months 1 & 2

Little Graham is already 2.5 months old! He is practically the same baby as Griffin. Seriously. The similarities are crazy! 

That first week my precious momma stayed with us to help us adjust. Graham pretty much slept all day long. I love that sleepy newborn stage! When she left, I found out quickly that taking care of a baby is pretty easy. Your main job is just keeping them alive. Now Griffin on the other hand.... He was a completely different kid for the first six or seven weeks. Between moving to a new house just a few months ago, Brandon becoming a police officer and starting crazy shift hours, and now a new baby, his world was turned upside down. I thought that he would've taken it out on Graham, but he loves his little brother. He was always so sweet to him. Instead, he took out his insecurities and frustrations on me. He would do any and everything for attention. He's gotten a lot better, but he still wants all the attention. However, I think we are all going to make it now when those first weeks I wasn't so sure we were! Ha!

But back to Graham! He's the sweetest and squishest baby ever. He is also a great sleeper! I put him down around 8:00. Some nights he wakes up at 2. Some nights it's not until 3. A few times he has gotten up at 4! So his first stretch is 6-8 hours, then he nurses and sleeps for another 3-4. During the day, he nurses every two hours. He likes to cat nap, but will take one really good nap in the middle of the day. He's gotten to where he eats, then stays up for an hour, sleeps for an hour, and does it all over again. He spits up just like his brother. He takes forever to burp just like his brother. He prefers to nurse laying down just like his brother. And he doesn't mind being in a dirty diaper, just like his brother. Sometimes that's not good because I'll forget to change him!

The past couple of weeks he has noticed his hands. He sees them flailing around and will stare them down. He also loves to suck on them. He likes to suck on something most of the time. He will be a paci baby, just like his brother! 

He lost a lot of his hair those first weeks, buts it's starting to fill back in. It's not near as dark, but it's not blond either. He loves to sleep on his belly, just like his brother! I was a nervous wreck when Griffin figured out how to roll over. I couldn't get him to sleep on his back no matter how hard I tried. With Graham, I would let him nap on his belly starting at about three weeks. He slept in his rock and play at night. At four weeks, I transitioned him to his crib and let him sleep on his belly. The video monitor eased a lot of my fears because I could watch him without disturbing him. He's been in his crib since then and is doing great!

At three weeks Graham started smiling. He has the biggest and sweetest grin! He also coos really loudly, and likes to "talk" to us. 

At two months old, he weighs 15 lbs and 5 oz. He is 25.25 inches long. He wears 6 month clothes and a size 2 diaper. He can lift his head up while on his belly and can track objects across the midline. He's a big, healthy baby!

Recovery this time has been a million times easier. I felt pretty normal right after delivery, and I was much more comfortable with a newborn.  I didn't even have a total melt down when my mom left! Ha! I did miss her a lot though. At three weeks, I was back in the gym. I wasn't consistent though because finding a new routine is hard. Just last week I started the Couch to 5k program so I can get back to running. I'm still up an extra 20-25 lbs. Nursing does NOT help me lose weight. However, I am not going to wait a year to start working out like I did with Griffin. I refuse to buy bigger clothes!!! Hopefully by August, I'll be able to wear my old clothes without feeling like I'm gonna bust a seam. Last week I dropped 5 lbs by eating better and exercising. It's just going to be a slow process for me. 

Life is good right now. Two kids are great. The transition was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be (esp now that Griffin is doing so much better). And if you were wondering, I still want another. :) I'm trying to talk Brandon into it though! 

Mother's Day 2016