Baby Boy's Nursery!

I was really struggling to brew up ideas for a nursery if little one was a boy. Well, here we are and I have had to do a lot of digging to come up with something I love!

 

We are moving Charlotte to the spare bedroom, since it's bigger and best suited for a girl ;) Ideas for her big girl room will come next!

 

Here's what I have so far. I'm thinking a light, pale blue on the walls, with white chair rail and trim. We might be reusing the crib, but it depends on if Charlotte transitions to a big girl bed in time. Otherwise, we'll just invest in another crib for little man! I love the softness of the blues but adding in some masculinity with the animal heads and wood lamp base. I'm also not set on a gray crib/furniture, but I think it's a nice change from the white, which we have for Charlotte.

 

 

 

 

Mobile- Crib -Dresser -Paint- Crib Skirt - Sheets- Lamp- Animal Heads

Christmas List 2014

I can't believe Christmas is in 9 days! I feel like the holiday season has just flown by (as it usually does), but I'm looking forward to taking some time off work with Hubs and Charlotte so that we can enjoy some festivities before the big day, as well as after.

 

 

 

Downtown Pittsburgh offers so many fun activities for kids. I'm looking forward to taking her to Market Square to see the ice skating rink and huge Christmas tree. Inside PPG Plaza they have lots of really neat displays, including trains, Santa's and village scenes.

 

Outside in the center of the square they have a market with shops and of course, Santa! I don't think we'll take Charlotte to see Santa again, but if she seems interested, we might!

 

 

 

We tried not to completely overdo it on presents for Charlotte this year, but I just can't help myself! Hubs and I both were spoiled at Christmas time and I feel like we both agree it's a great time to do so. Here are some of the fun things we picked up for her:

 

 

 1 -2 -3- 4- 5-6- 7- 8 -9

 

We also got her some arts and crafts supplies, including safety scissors, stickers, tabletop paper, an Abby Cadabby doll and of course pajamas!! I especially love the Cookie Monster puppet, since we picked that up at the hospital gift shop after finding out she was having a baby brother. I'm excited to just see her open her presents this year, and I can't wait for her to fully understand the meaning of Christmas for years to come.

 

So, what's on your kiddos lists?

It's a BOY! 20 Weeks

Well, we found out last week that little one is a BOY. We are super excited (Hubs more than me, haha!) and I'm a little anxious. Boys are completely foreign territory to me, but I will adjust :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How far along?: 20 weeks

Weight gained?: 7 pounds
Showing yet?: Yep!

Clothes?: Mostly maternity, tops are still too big.

Cravings?: Nothing since I can't taste anything!
Aversions?: Nothing

Sleep?: Terrible due to a cough/cold. I'm finally on an antibiotic but have been struggling for 10+ days to get better.

Boy or Girl?: Little mister!

Movement?: Yes!

Symptoms?: Tired legs after a long day.

Looking forward to?: Shopping for baby boy and planning his nursery!

 

 

Cousinly love! Cut down our Christmas tree this weekend with these two cuties!

19 Weeks!

Holiday weeks and time off are great for the soul, but I am exhausted! I was able to enjoy time off with Hubs and Charlotte and I am so thankful to have them both in my life!

 

 

 

It's hard to believe I'm almost half way through this pregnancy. Toddlers have a way of making time fly right on by. Hubs and I are super excited for tomorrow. Not only is it our anniversary but we also have our anatomy scan scheduled in the morning! I don't have a feeling either way, but this pregnancy is very similar to my last one, aside from the terrible morning sickness.

 

 

 

 

How far along?: 19 weeks

Weight gained?: 7 pounds
Showing yet?: Yep!

Clothes?: Mostly maternity but still hate the way that tops are fitting.

Cravings?: Salads
Aversions?: Not really, just struggling with meal planning and what to make for lunch.

Sleep?: Terrible but not due to pregnancy. Between constant colds and coughs, I am up quite a bit at night.

Boy or Girl?: Tomorrow!

Movement?: Yes! It's random, mostly right after I eat breakfast and at night when I lay down in bed.

Symptoms?: Nothing to attribute to pregnancy, which is awesome.

Looking forward to?: Finding out the sex! It definitely made my last pregnancy feel more real once I knew there was a little lady inside.

 



 

Saw Santa this break. She wasn't a fan until he gave her a candy cane.

 

 Lotte's mini- Christmas Tree. We are cutting ours down this weekend but she loved putting hers together.

 



Watching the parade Thankstiving Day morning. Love her jammies even if they are from the little boys' section!

 

17 weeks!

Super late, and way closer to 18 weeks at this point, but I'm enjoying some nice time off from work next week and thought I'd get a tweener in between 17-19 weeks.

 

Only 12 more days until we find out baby's sex (but who is counting?!) Super excited and would be happy either way.

 

 

 

How far along?: 17 weeks, 4 days

Weight gained?: 7 pounds
Showing yet?: Yep!

Clothes?: Maternity pants, finding that maternity tops make me look pregnant, whereas non-maternity tops make me look chubby!

Cravings?: Smoothies & salad, not bad, right?
Aversions?: Having a hard time finding things that sound appetizing.

Sleep?: Eh, been better. I've been struggling with a couple of colds that make sleeping hard.

Gender?: 12 days! Back to thinking that little one is a boy, but who knows. Only one way to tell and that includes waiting!

Movement?: Yes! Hubs even felt baby kick last night, which was amazing and super early. Strong little thing, just like it's sister!

Symptoms?: Fatigue, as expected when pregnant with a toddler ;)

Looking forward to?: Thanksgiving! We are blessed with big families but that means we rarely get to enjoy family time with the three of us. I am looking forward to starting a Thanksgiving morning tradition- breakfast with a fire while watching the parade! We'll see if Charlotte allows for that to take place.

16 weeks & Life Lately

Ah my people! I love this little family of mine. We took Charlotte to the zoo last Monday and she had a BLAST!

 

 

How far along?: 16 weeks

Weight gained?: 6.5 pounds
Showing yet?: Yep! Popped earlier than the first time around, which is normal.

Clothes?: Maternity pants, mostly non-maternity tops

Cravings?: Not really!
Adversions?: Finally enjoying coffee again, so nothing at the moment!

Sleep?: Great!

Gender?: Almost 3 weeks away!

Movement?: Flutters, but nothing consistent.

Symptoms?: Back pain, light headedness, dizzy. Fun.

 

 

This weekend we had no plans, which was SO nice for a change. Saturday morning we went grocery shopping and then to the mall. Charlotte rode the escalator for the first time and hopped on like a boss! I was quite impressed with her bravery. 

 

 

Hubs had a birthday on Wednesday. Charlotte loves to give him eskimo kisses. She won't give them to me!  

 

 

And one from the park yesterday. Love her!

 

 

 

 

 

Round Two!!

We've been quite busy and quiet as we've been waiting to announce the news that we are expecting Baby Brine 2.0! It's been a whirlwind, and we're so excited to have safely made it through the first trimester.

 

 

I have to say, the second time has been SO different. A lot more nausea and vomitting, way more fatigue (but I blame a lot of that on bink weaning), and a beautiful little toddler that I got to run after this time.

 

Due April 27, 2015, this little one is due 9 days before Charlotte's second birthday. We always imagined our children would be around 2 years apart, and we are so blessed that has come to be!

 

I really want to start tracking bump updates, since my two pregnancies have already been SO different, so we'll get started with this weeks. A little late, but this is from Monday at 14 weeks.

How far along?: 14 weeks

Weight gained?: 6 pounds as of last week (aka way more than round 1, sigh...)
Showing yet?: A little bit, especially at the end of the day. Still able to hide it pretty well!

Clothes?: Working from home full time has allowed me to stay in my non-maternity sweats. I can still wear some jeans and dress pants, but they get a bit uncomfortable. Still sporting all non-maternity tops.

Cravings?: Anything salty
Adversions?: Coffee. I know, right?

Sleep?:  Pretty good. Rocking my second cold in the last 2 weeks, but managing to sleep pretty well. Enjoying the fact that I am not having to get up to pee anymore, which won't last.

Gender?:  Just scheduled our anatomy scan for our anniversary on December 3!

Movement?: Feeling flutters but they're very infrequent.

Symptoms?: I still get queasy in the mornings, so eating first thing is a must. Sporting some fun acne, which is new.

 

And a big sister picture!

 

 

Life as of Late/Bink Weaning

It's been super hectic running around and loving up on my sweet Charlotte girl. I can't believe she'll be turning 17 months next week. Times flies when you are having fun, that's for sure!

 

 

 

Our baby girl is full on toddler mode these days, talking up a storm and oh so very active.

 

Her vocabulary expands daily, and she constantly amazes me with how grown up she seems. I know soon enough she'll be talking in full sentences! Here are some of her most frequent words:

 

Mama

Dada

Baaa Baa (her lamby)

Char Char (that's what she calls herself, I die)

Apple

Milp (aka Milk)

Wawa

Waffle

Ball

Cup

Up

Down

Elmo

Buh-Bye

Owl

Fly (loves airplanes!)

Wagon

Shoes

Socks

Bow

Brush

 

 

I know she's probbaly in the average range for vocabulary, but I just want to bottle up the way she says some of these words! When she hears or learns a new word, she looks at the way your mouth is moving so she can mimic. It has to be the sweetest thing I've seen!

 

Another thing that we decided to attempt this past week was bink weaning. I honestly don't know WHY I felt the need to wean her, but it jut tseemed like time. Her teeth are almost all in and I feel like it can't be good for her. Anyway, aside from that, we decided to goes balls deep last weekend. On Saturday night, we tried cold turkey. Girlfriend was PISSED! We ended up cutting the tip of her bink off and gave it to her. She fell asleep okay, but woke up in the middle of the night once and struggled to get back to sleep.

 

On Sunday and Monday, for both naps and bedtime, she used the cut tip bink. She was up more frequently than usual and her bedtime routine seemed never ending.

 

On Tuesday, her teachers at day care decided to not give her a bink altogether. She took a great nap for them so we thought we were making some progress.

 

Tuesday night was HORRIBLE. I am not trying to sound dramatic, but she struggled big time. Her normal 5 minute bedtime turned into an hour and a half. She ended up losing her bink so she's been sans bink ever since. She cried, we checked in on her, she cried more, and eventually she was out. She woke up once that night and Hubs went in and checked on her, changed her diaper, and laid her back down. She got up and screamed for a minute, and then slept until morning.

 

*KNOCK ON WOOD* We've had some pretty successful bedtimes since then. More to come on if she regresses or anything, but overall it wasn't as painful as we expected.

Charlotte at 15 Months!

Charlotte will be 15 months in a week, and I've been majorly slacking on documenting everything that's been going on. I swear we've been to the pediatrician every week since she turned 1. It's been exhausting and super frustrating. Let's hope she's healthy for the rest of summer & fall!

 

 We've been loving our little lady's personality these days. She's got SO much energy and so much to say. She babbles all. day. long. I personally love it, because I'm a talker & I finally feel like I'm getting a good conversation with her haha!

 

We were at the doctor's yesterday, so these will change once she goes to her formal 15 month appointment in August, and these are her stats:

 

Weight: 21 pounds, 11 ounces

Height: 28.5 inches

 

Girlfriend is wearing a size 3 shoe (ready to size up soon!), and size 3 diaper. We bought 4's, but once they get wet/full, they sag. This is no bueno, so we'll be going back to 3's.

 

She's still wearing 12 month clothes, but will likely need some 18 month things soon. She's getting a big buddha belly that's hard to fit into some of her things ;)

 

 

We're down to one glorious nap, which ranges from 2-3 hours. She normally goes down around 1:00 at day care, but at home we can get her down a little earlier. During this time I run around like a maniac to cook, clean, do laundry, help Hubs with yard work, or contemplate taking a nap.

 

 

Meals are SO tricky right now. She's so disinterested in eating a solid meal and prefers to graze all day long. It's really frustrating, and we're trying to get better at giving her better options. She loves carbs, hates meats, and picks at fruits and veggies. She loves PB&J, milk, watermelon, grapes, yogurt & green beans.

 

She loves running around outside (which has be pondering what we'll be doing to burn energy in the winter months!), playing at the playground, diggy in dirt & "pretending". She'll play with her babydoll, give her hugs, play tea with her teaset, and help mama with chores.

 

She's really independent these days, and we need to find ways for her to help. This can be tricky, but so much fun to see her get excited when she does something on her own!

Charlotte's Pink Lemonade Party

I found some of the cutest ideas for Charlotte's birthday party on Pinterest (DUH!) and was SO excited to do a lot of DIY's along the way. I started planning details and making purchases in March, as many mom's know, time is of the essence. It seemed much less daunting to plan a party for 50+ people by planning so far ahead.

Here are some shots from her big day!

 

Tissue Paper Garland from The Flair Exchange

 

Kraft Boxes from Shop Sweet LuLu

 

Pinwheels from Pottery Barn Kids (sold out)

 

I love getting my sunflowers from Trader Joe's! $3.99 for 4-5!

 

Lemonade Stand DIY, crate from Michael's

 

Smash cake, decorated by my cousin & I!

 

Dr. Seuss Book

 

DIY tutu

 

 

Petite Lemon Poster

 

We had such a fun time celebrating Charlotte's first birthday. She was spoiled beyond belief and loved every minute of it, most especially when it came time for cake!

Happy 1st Birthday, Charlotte!!

As I logged onto blogger to post this, I saw it's also my 100th post- how ironic!! Two big milestones today!

First off, a HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite one-year-old girl!! It's so hard to remember life before you. This year has taught me so much- how to love unconditionally and without limits, and how to be patient. Also, that this life isn't about me anymore, and making you smile is my number one goal. You have brought so much joy into our lives, and so much happiness. 

You may be pint size, but you are full of spunk and energy. I hope that you never lose your open mindedness- your smile lights up a room. Your princess wave has been known to make someones day and your smirk warms the coldest of hearts. 

I love you so much, my princess! You have been the best thing that's ever happened to us, and we couldn't imagine loving you more, though we'll try. You'll always be out little munch, the spunky baby girl who stole our hearts. Thank you for teaching me SO much about being a mother, and thank you for choosing us.

Mini Meal's: 11 Months

Charlotte went through the puree phase quite fast. She never really liked them for more than 2 months, and once she figured out how to grab the spoon, well, she wanted to grab the food as well! We had to quickly come up with finger foods for her to enjoy, which can be fun, but also limited at this point in time.

 

She's not a fan of protein (we've tried chicken, pork and beef), and loves veggies and grapes. I can't get her to eat bananas, pears, or apple sticks, so I'm needing suggestions!

 

Her veggie preferences are peas, cooked carrots, butternut squash and green beans. I've tried broccoli and she wasn't enthused either

 

She enjoys sucking the marinara off cooked pasta, but rately eats the pasta itself.

 

Our two other go-to items are yogurt and cheese. I buy these in the snack sizes from Costco and cut them into sticks. She loves them and will sometimes eat 2 at a time.

 

I'm waiting for her to turn 1 before I give her strawberries and peanut butter. I'm hoping those will also become go to items, but we shall see.

 

So, what are you little one's go to meals? I love suggestions!  

11 Months!

I feel like over the last month Charlotte has grown so much that I've statred to refer to her as a toddler. Ah the "T" word! I want my baby to stay a baby!

 

I've loved watching her grow and develop. This past month we've maintained her diet and routine, which has been nice. She's doing so many more new things, so I'll focus on that this month instead!

 

- "dat?" Is her newest trick. She loves to point at things to inquire about what they are. I love this and enjoy teaching her all about the new things shes observing!

 

- Babbling all.day.long. This girl went from random babbles throughout the day to full blow talking non-stop. The "mamamama" and "gagaga" are my favorite. I'd say it's the female in her ;)

 

- She's been taking a few steps unaided here and there, but is mostly content on crawling, which she is quite efficient doing! We try to get her to walk but she's very stubborn and will only do it if SHE wants to.

 

- Loves to stand and squat, which is hilarious to watch her do. Her legs have to be a tiny 10 inches long. Love her and her pint size!

 

- Playing with things that are not toys is probably her #1 favorite thing to do. Fine by me, less clutter in the living room! Whoop!

 

- Eating off our plates. Ya, I hate this and hope to not make it a habit. She eats table food but typically eats dinner much earlier than we do. She's been pushing back her bedtime a bit, so we've been eating dinner while she's still awake which means she wants to eat everything we have. This includes putting her whole hand in my ketchup. Nice!

 

We've been loving this stage and I'm probably going to melt down when she turns 1. She's been the light of our life and we can't remember life before her!

Breastfeeding: Part 2

I would have to say that my favorite period of nursing over the last 10 months was when Charlotte was around 7-8 months old.

 

At month 6 we introduced solids. We aimed for 2-3 jars of baby food a day, and depending on her appetite, we'd do about 32 ounces of milk. Over Thanksgiving, she started waking up in the middle of the night to eat. We decided it was time to start sleep training as we knew she couldn't be hungry based on her food intake during the day.

 

Sleep side note: Sleep training Charlotte was a breeze. We never did a full Cry It Out method, and instead transitioned her from nursing back to sleep to being rocked back to sleep. Once we conquered her waking up in the middle of the night (from a trend perspective, not a one-off), we waited a bit longer to tackle her bed time routine.

 

Once we had her middle of the night feeding eliminated, I would still nurse her (on weekends and Monday's) about 4-5 times a day. Her typical day would look like this:

 

7:00 Nurse

8:00 Puree of Fruit with Oatmeal

10:00 Nurse

11:00-noon Puree of Fruit or Vegetable

1:00 Nurse

4:00 Nurse and Puree of some protein/veggie medley

7:00 Nurse before bed

 

Sleep side note: Since she's never been a big napper, bedtime always consisted of her passing out after nursing/having a bottle. We decided to start trying to get her to sleep in her crib, as opposed to in the rocking chair. Once she started to get groggy, we'd pull out her bottle (or boob), pop in her bink, and lay her in her crib. Again, we never went straight to letting her cry, but instead would pat her back/bum until she was asleep. Eventually we started having nights where she'd just keep sitting/standing up while we were in there, so we started leaving the room. Some nights (even to this day) she'll stand up and cry for a minute, but will eventually lay down. Sometimes she'll lay there and talk to herself. The key for us is that she's able to lay down in her crib, awake, and put herself to sleep.

 

Eventually Charlotte stopped showing interest in puree's because she wanted to feed herself. This is when I started introducing baby pouches. They are more expensive but they were more up her alley. She wasn't quite ready for solid foods, so they were the middle of the road option.

 

Come January and two top teeth later, I felt Charlotte was ready for some more finger foods. She cut down to 24 ounces of milk (4 bottles) a day, and this is when we stopped nursing.

 

Charlotte became a biter once her top teeth came in. I was unable to continue to nurse her as she wouldn't stop. I assumed she was disinterested in nursing and decided exclusively pumping/bottle feeding was our best option.

 

In early February, right before she turned 9 months, I called our Pediatrician and asked how much milk she should be getting a day. They said around 10 months they can cut down to 18 ounces a day, but before that, they should still be getting 24. We fought a hard battle getting her to get in 24 ounces, so when she turned 10 months, I decided to start weaning her to 3 bottles a day. Well, don't you know that Miss C decided she was completely and totally disinterested in bottles, period? We offer her at least 18 ounces of formula a day at this point, but we don't think she gets that much as she often leaves an ounce or two left in a bottle at a time.  

 

Earlier this month my supply continued to dwindle, and I was expressing 10 ounces per day. In the grand scheme of things I was proud of how long I lasted, but the time and effort I had to put in to get those few ounces was exhausting. I decided to retire the pump and we have since gone straight to formula.

 

I'm looking forward to the next month or so and transitioning Charlotte to cow's milk. I think she'll like that better than the formula and I hope that she gets used to the sippy cup. For now, she's not really interested in drinking formula from a sippy, but I'm not concerned.

 

All in all I absolutely loved nursing and breastfeeding. My hope is that with our next I can continue to nurse longer than I could have with Charlotte, give or take biting and supply/demand.