Brooks Matthew: 4 months

Don't you just love the drool!

Happy 4 Months Brooksy Boy! 

I skipped a 3 month update. I think every 2 months is going to have to be it for right now. Blogging isn't very high on the priority list these days. Plus, there is SO much change between 2 and 4 months that there's more to blog about!

Brooks is growing like crazy. Everyone constantly comments on how big he is. I see it in the cheeks, but really, he's not as big as he appears. He is just now wearing 3 and 3-6 month clothes. He has such a laid back, sweet personality these days. Unless he's hungry or tired, he rarely cries, which makes things a lot easier on this momma. His little smile is absolutely adorable. Sometimes he even seems a little shy..he'll give you a big smile and then look down or away in a bashful way. So precious.

Size:

At his 4 month appointment yesterday, he weighed 15lbs 12oz (75th percentile) and was 25 inches long (50th percentile). His head was still in the 50th percentile as well. So he weighs a little more than the average 4 monther, but he's not gargantuan haha. And his head is average :)

Sleeping:

Much better than the 2 month update. I think I had high expectations of my 2 month old. These days he: 

-goes to bed between 8 and 9 most nights. He randomly has some fussy nights where he doesn't settle down until after 9. 

-Around 3 months he started sleeping until 5:30am. It was awesome. And only lasted about 3 weeks. He started waking up about 2:30 again and then sleeps until 6am. So I guess only waking up once isn't too bad. But I sure miss those nights of solid sleep. 

-After his 6am feeding, he will usually sleep until 9am unless I make him wake up. He goes down for naps about 2 hours after waking up throughout the day. 

In the last post, I commented about how he wasn't doing well going to sleep on his own in his crib. That completely turned around once I was ready for it to. It took a couple of nights, but not long after 2 months, he started doing great laying in his bed at nap and bedtime and drifting off on his own. He plays with his hands or blanket for a little bit and sometimes talks to himself, and is usually out within 10 minutes or so. Obviously, like all babies, he'll cry somedays and I'll have to just let him work it out and eventually he'll settle down and go to sleep.

Teeth:

He's still working on the same tooth that we thought was breaking through 2 months ago. Its more visible right under the surface now and we have lots of drooling going on. 

Sleepy boys all piled in our bed one morning

Milestones:

-Smiling, laughing, and "talking" a lot

-Raises feet up to play with them

-Rolls from back to side but hasn't made it all the way over yet

-Grasps toys with hands, puts things in mouth

Likes

-He is coming around to the paci, somewhat. He likes to chew on it and it will settle him down for a short while if he's fussy or tired. But he doesn't require it to go to sleep.

-He LOVES to pull his blanket up around his face and neck when he's going to sleep. Just about every time he goes down, I have to go in a few minutes later to pull the blanket off his face because he's covered it. (Don't worry, I use lightweight cotton blankets) He likes to chew on it and rub it. Today I introduced a taggy that was given to Brody that he or Carson never really took to. Brooks LOVED it and is currently sleeping with it right up next to his face. How awesome would it be if I can convince him to use this instead of dragging blankets around the way my big boys do :)

-Loves being talked to and having people around. He's content laying down with a toy as long as he's not completely alone in the room for long periods of time. He's definitely a people person. 

Dislikes

-He still despises the car seat. If he's in the seat, and he's not asleep, its not a happy car trip for us. So although its not great for the nap schedule, I try to plan my errands around his morning nap. If he's tired, he'll fall asleep in the car seat and if I can get my errands done, and keep him asleep, it goes well. However, if he's not tired, then he is unhappy pretty much the whole time he's in the seat. We bought new car seat toys as well as put a toy on the seat in the car for him to kick at and see himself, but he's not all that interested. 

-At the moment, I can't even think of anything else. I'm sure in the next couple of months he'll start being more opinionated. 

I did a horrible job of taking good pictures this last month. He's not even in very many Christmas pictures because he slept through most of the events. I'll have to do better this month! 

Potty Training: Day 1

I was hoping to get to write this post last night, so that today's events wouldn't affect my opinion of yesterday, but..it didn't happen.

Day 1 didn't start out the way the book says to do it. Brooks had his 4 month well check up, and since his doctor is popular and you have to schedule well-checks well in advance to get in with him, I didn't want to reschedule. So we did that first thing in the morning, and began potty training when we got home around 10am. We (Brody, Carson and I) laid out the vinyl drop cloth that Matt picked up the night before.  The "plastic blanket" was a hit with them. Next, we all went in the bathroom and talked about how exciting it was for Carson to get to wear underwear. He picked a pair from the bucket we keep under the sink  and worked hard to get them on his chubby legs. (Apparently 2T-3T are a little small for my 2 1/2 year old. We'll be picking up a bigger size once we can leave the house.)

The underwear bucket we keep under the bathroom sink.

We played all morning on the plastic blanket. I tried to push fluids so the need to tee-tee would come up more often. But for some reason, he was not interested. He kept telling me "I'm not thirsty, Mommy." I even offered glasses of sweet tea, his fave. Still no interest. The book tells you to constantly remind them all day to tell you if they have to go, not to ask them if they have to go. So all day I felt like a lunatic saying "Remember to tell mommy if you need to go potty. Make sure you tell mommy if you need to tee-tee. Let's check and see if you're underwear are dry. Oh good they are! So remember to tell me..." He actually got very tired of it and even sighed one time before he said "Yes, they are dry." 

The only shot he would let me get of him in his underwear. 

We took a break from playing and watched a short movie. 

Don't you just love the drop cloth? So glad we thought of this. We can't get new carpet yet :)

The first time he had to go, he told me and we ran to the potty. He went a tiny bit, but who cares! Brody and I were so excited and gave him lots of praise and high fives. He then received a Mini M&M as a reward. This opened up a whole  new world for him. So you're telling me if I even drip in the toilet I get an M&M? For the next 2 hours he would tell me every 15 minutes he had to go. We'd run in there and he'd barely go and then ask for his prize. If they go even a tiny bit, you are supposed to reward them. So I tried to explain to him to only tell me he had to go if he really had to go. But at the same time, I couldn't figure out how to prevent him from doing this. And worse, Brody felt he needed a reward every time he went to the bathroom and he started doing the same thing. He's been potty trained for a year, but didn't see why Carson got a prize and he didn't. So, in order to avoid making an ordeal out of it, I just went along with it. But I did convince Brody to stop going when he didn't really need to.

I eventually had to put these in the kitchen cabinet. Having them in the bathroom was too tempting for them. (and the lighting in this bathroom is really yellow..hence the hideous pictures.)

At nap time, I went ahead and put a pull up on him. I just decided that I wasn't ready to attempt that right now. Maybe I'll regret it later, but he's typically pretty wet when he wakes up so I knew it would be a mess to deal with right now. After nap time, we had a lot of the same...refusing to drink more than he wanted, and never really going to the bathroom with a full bladder. He'd go more often and just have small releases. He never let himself get to the point of REALLY needing to go, so we never had a single accident the entire day. But I knew not to be excited about that. The real training comes when they really have to go, they start to pee on themselves, and are rushed to the bathroom. This teaches them the sensation of needing to go and how to control it. Going every 15 minutes when they don't really need to go doesn't teach them much, at least not in a quick fashion. 

So we went to bed that night with no accidents. Matt asked if Day 2 of potty training was going to be like week 2 on the Biggest Loser. I laughed and said yes, I was positive it was. You see, if you're a biggest loser fan you know that week 1, the contestants lose tons of weight and do awesome. Week 2 they usually don't lose much weight at all and are really disappointed with the results. I knew that day 2 would not be like day 1. While day 1 was actually really easy, I knew day 2 would bring on the REAL training. I expected him to start having the accidents one after another and we'd go through lots of underwear. And actually, I was hoping for that. Because I learned with Brody that until they reach the point of learning what it feels like to need to go and having accidents to learn how to hold it, they don't really learn what to do. And the process is prolonged. Coming up....day 2 :)

Here We Go...

Tomorrow is the BIG day..Day 1 of potty training Carson. He has been waiting for this day for a while now. He's been asking us when he can wear underwear, he's teetee'd on the potty numerous times, and knows exactly what its all about.

But its never been the right timing. When he was "ready" to start training, Brooks was born. I was not about to start potty training with a newborn. So we kept telling him "after Christmas, you get to start going on the potty!" Matt at one point told him that after we take down the Christmas tree, he could start going on the potty. Well Christmas came, and went. We traveled New Years weekend, as well as the weekend after to wrap up all of the Christmas celebrations.  And the tree stayed up. Because we knew he would remember. Once, a couple of weeks ago he even said "We're gonna knock that Christmas tree down to the floor and then I can tee tee on the potty!" So you see, this boy is BEYOND ready!

Then last Monday was my birthday..and potty training didn't sound like a very fun birthday gift to myself. So I was going to start Thursday...and then remembered that Brody had physical therapy that morning and I had errands that HAD to be completed on Thursday. Soo...it got pushed back again. Finally, yesterday, we took down the Christmas tree. I had taken the ornaments and lights off New Years week. But left the tree up until we were ready. And seriously, like clockwork almost, Carson was ready. We didn't start today, but Carson kinda did on his own. Matt changed his diaper when he got him up this morning. When I undressed him to give him a bath before church, the diaper was dry and he ran to the potty to go before he got in the bath. Then after the bath, while he was still diaper-less, he said "I need to tee-tee!!" And ran to the bathroom. His diaper remained completely dry all through church. During a meeting we had after church, he told Andrea he needed to go, as if he'd been doing it for years. She took him, he went, and was still dry when we put him down for his nap. He woke up dry as well.

Sooo...I'm not sure of my expectations for tomorrow. I feel like this could be a piece of cake. Or he could change his mind and it could be harder than I'm thinking. But he's showing ALL signs of readiness and eagerness. We do the 3 day method which is intense but very worth it in the end. The only thing I did different with Brody, and will probably do different with Carson, is her "no pull-up rule." The first attempt to potty train Brody failed utterly (his CMT probably played a part in that) but still..it was a disaster and we all were miserable. And what stressed me out the most was the wetting during nap and bedtime. He wasn't getting good naps, it was a huge mess, and at that point in life, I couldn't take it haha. I  feel like I probably could do better with it this time. So I'll probably start him out like she says and not put a pull up on at nap and bedtimes. But if it goes too long with accidents during those times, I'm not opposed to changing things up a bit. Sleep is very valuable around here :)

If I can remember, and have time, I'll try to post at the end of each day how things are going. And hopefully I'll remember to take pics. Matt is gone to lowes right now to get a couple of things and is going to pick up some drop cloths for the living room. This should be interesting....

Merry Christmas!!

a little bit of november and december...

we still haven't finished all of our Christmas celebrations..we are headed to my parents' this weekend. so i'll do Christmas posts next week once its all wrapped up.

 life is crazy, as always. so adding the holiday "hustle and bustle" only adds more to our life. if only the world would slow down to truly celebrate Christ this season...and i'm preaching to myself too! in november, i had a plan. this year, i was going to be done decorating and gift shopping by december 1 so that we could slow down and truly reflect on the gift of Christ for the entire month of december without the distractions of needing to buy gifts, etc..and not only did i utterly fail by having it done by december 1, but i was still shopping 3 days before Christmas. i only had a handful of gifts to buy this year, and i still couldn't get it all done before the week before christmas. did you know that its hard to take two children shopping, and its 10 times harder to take three??!! so my shopping trips were in quick spurts. and if i didn't already have a specific item to go buy, forget it. there is no "looking around, getting ideas, oh maybe they'd like this." its i came for "this" and i'm out of here before brooks needs to eat, brody needs to potty, carson wants to go to "chick a way" and before all three combined start fussing because i couldn't meet all those needs at that exact moment. so you see, life is crazy. but in a good, normal, mom of 3 boys kind of way.
so here's a little of our life over the last month...

 he's just cute 

 matt intricately placing the lights on the tree. this took 1 1/2 days.

 i adore my mantle and stockings. 

 Carson placing the star on the tree...

 Brody placing the star on the tree...

Matt correctly placing the star on the tree.

 Carson was ALL ABOUT decorating the tree...or should I say..decorating one branch.

 Watch the progression...

I think this one branch had about 10 ornaments once he was done with it.

 Brody liked decorating the back of the tree.

 Dre-Drea stopped by during the process

A couple of my fave ornaments....

gotta love my life

this is just a quick post to say...i'm working on my Christmas card...trying to decide on pictures..and this is what i've got to work with...

It would be fair to say that I'm never bored. Life with these kids...wow.

baby brooks: 2 months

Little Man is already 2 months old. The days are literally flying by. We seem to constantly have something going on, so every time I turn around it seems like my boys have changed and grown so much in just a short time. 

Brooksy Boy, we are all so in love with you. Mommy and Daddy love the time we get to cuddle on the couch with you after your brothers have gone to bed. Although, we do appreciate the nights you go to bed early and give us some time to relax with just each other. Brody and Carson adore you, of course. They are still constantly kissing you and trying to soothe you when you cry. They are very ready for you to be ready to play with them, but Mommy wants you to stay just like you are. 

Size:

Weighs 12 lbs 11 oz (75th percentile) and is 22 1/2 inches long (30th percentile). So far he's built like Carson we guess, short and thick, although when you look at him he doesn't appear that stocky. His head was only in the 50th percentile! Woo hoo! Not quite as large as his brothers'. 

Sleeping:

- Goes to bed for the night about 11pm. We've tried and tried to move this up, but if we do, he'll still wake up at some point, and go to sleep at 11. He'll then sleep til 3am, eat, and then sleep until between 6-7am. So I can't complain..technically only waking up once during the night. 

-After waking up between 6-7am, he'll eat and then sleep until usually sometime after 9. (I've tried to get him to start his day when he wakes up at 7, but he's just not interested.) He stays awake until around 11 and this is usually a really long nap. He wakes up, eats and plays a little. He usually has 2 more shorter naps during the day and evening before going to bed for the night. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm hoping to adjust this to waking up for the day earlier and having 3 distinct naps and going to bed around 9pm. I have to say though, it gets harder and harder with each child to get them on the schedule you want. Having other kids to care for definitely makes it a little harder to do things "by the book."

Teeth:

I can't believe I have to put this category on the 2 month report, but its true! He's already getting a bottom tooth! 

Milestones:
-Smiles when talked to, as well as at random objects
-Coos, and has even attempted a laugh, although it wasn't quite there yet
-Lifts head a little when on his tummy

Likes:

-Being swaddled to go to sleep.

-snuggling (mommy loves this since Brody and Carson weren't snugglers.)

-nursing

-sucking on his hands, probably because of the teething

-being talked to

-still likes the sleep sheep

-looking at the pictures on the wall above his changing table

Dislikes:
-being in the car seat (unless he's VERY tired)
-paci (yes, he's kicked it to the curb and i'm heart broken by this. i keep meaning to try a new kind and see if he likes something different.)
-being alone in a room while he's awake. i don't even know how he knows this.
-bottles

What Mommy is learning:
I think that because we know he is our last biological child, I might be a little more lax with his bedtime routine, etc than I was with Brody and Carson. With them, once they were past a few weeks old, I always put them in their crib or basinet awake to go to sleep. I rarely rocked them to sleep and made them cry a while. Brooks, for the most part during the day, will go to sleep on his own in his bed. However, at night, I think he's very accustomed to the routine we've established with him and likes it. Matt and I both take turns snuggling with him and he usually falls asleep in one of our arms. We've tried many, many times to put him down while he's awake and it never works. Part of it may be because his room is right next to the big boys' room and we're afraid he's going to wake them up with his screaming. But I think the other part of it is that we just want to soothe and love on him. So I can't really blame him for that.

The "scheduler, routine lover" side of me says this must stop soon. He must go to sleep on his own every time. But the "this is my last baby and I want to take in every moment" side of me says I should just get over it and enjoy these times because they won't last much longer. So we'll see what happens. I think it will be a slow transition. Brooks and I both need to ease into it :)

He is still holding on to the blue eyes. I really don't think any of these photos show them very well, but they are still a deep blue. The pediatrician was shocked at his 2 month check up that he still had the light hair and eyes. I'm hoping it stays around a while!!