Brody Lawrence: 10 Month Update

Little late but here we are. :)

Weight: 20 pounds 7 ounces based on most recent MD visit due to sickness (ugh again.)

Length: I did attempt to measure him but honestly, he's too mobile and too quick and too strong.  Cest La Vie.

Head Circumference: Not a chance.

Physical Milestones:  Brody will occasionally stand on his own without support, but almost every time I try to encourage him, his little body goes limp so he can get back to the floor and crawling faster.  He just isn't interested in staying still.  I started using some "walkers" this month and really enjoys being able to walk while holding onto something.  He's become an expert cruiser and will often reach with one hand while barely holding with the other.  I've realized I'm not in a hurry this time around for walking.  He is already crawling up onto everything he can imaginably get onto so I'm not looking forward to the extra work.  Although Kayla is quite a bit of help most of the time.

Eating:  I really only give him purees in those little organic pouches that he can suck out of himself.  He's not interested in anyone helping him with eating.  He's become quite good with the sippy cup and the straw cup and he will often whine when he is thirsty during meals.  We still have yet to encounter anything that he will not eat.   

Sleeping:  We are still doing pretty well here.  He's still only waking up once at night.  Occasionally it will be earlier than 3, but I've learned the later I can feed him, the later he sleeps in the morning, so I'm trying to push it.  I'm considering cutting the night feed altogether, because it is starting to wear on me, but I kinda enjoy me extra 10 minutes just me and my little man.  For now, we are doing fine.

Napping is still pretty good.  Two solid naps 1.5 hours each in the morning and evening and he's becoming less fussy during the awake times.  All in all, we are better in this area.

Likes:  Peek-a-boo, climbing on the little chair and banging his hand on the wall, clapping, walking with my walker, "waving", Kayla

Clapping

Does anyone else completely LOVE babies clapping?  It's like the cutest thing.  They use their whole arms and body to do it and the get this big smile because they can make such a cool sound on their own.  Or maybe that's just Brody.  Either way, watching someone discover the world around them is an amazing thing.

Brody learned to clap right after he turned 9 months old, and I finally got a video.  Enjoy!

I'm loading/editing photos today so hopefully more posts coming soon!

Conversations with Kayla: First Installment

Kayla says a LOT of funny things nowadays since she's really learning so much language so quickly.  Plus, Aunt Meme thinks she's hilarious.  And I want to remember some of the adorable and humorous things she says down the road so I started writing them down.  And now I'm going to start sharing them with you. :)

Telling me she wanted some food or something:
"IIIIIIIIII want some.  You doesn't want some."

While digging through Aunt Meme's wallet for change:
Meme: "Hey, no we aren't going to pull things out of there."
Kayla: "But I need some for my piggy bank."

Kayla: "Kayla wants to go in the car."
Mommy: "Ok where do you want to go?"
Kayla: "Left."

While taking off her shirt to change into her pajamas, her big head gets stuck in the shirt while she's pulling if over her head.  "WHERE'S MY FACE!?!?"

"You're having this for dinner cause your tummy hurts."  Holding out a can of Sprite.  (No idea where she learned this...)

While watching mommy change into new underwear for the day:  "You need new ones.  Because you peed in those ones."  Um no, Kayla.

Puts her purse over her shoulder and shoes on.
Kayla: "I going bye bye.  I see you tomorrow."
Mommy: "Oh you are going bye bye.  Where are you going?"
Kayla: "'Sconsin."  (code for Wisconsin, where everything goes apparently, including all airplanes."

While eating Ritz cheese sandwich crackers for a snack:  "I don't like the cheese.  Lick it off please."

In the shower with mommy:
Kayla: "What's that?" Pointing
Mommy: "My belly."
Kayla: "What's that?"
Mommy: "My boobs."
Kayla: "Where's my boobs?"

On Having 2...

So remember like a year ago when I wrote this post about how I really felt about pregnancy #2?  Well, I do, and I got a few responses to that post from male and female friends alike.  As I was editing some photos of my kiddos together the other day, I started thinking about this list of worries I had back then.  I thought it would be an interesting post if I took those worries and responded to them now, in my all knowing mom of 2 state (not.)  But anyways, I digress.

Here's the original list of worries with my current thoughts in bold following the original bullet point.

I have to go through 9-10 months of getting fat and all those annoying pregnancy symptoms again (for me, this was more about getting fat, when I never really felt I got back into shape to begin with, since I actually loved being pregnant with Kayla.) 

I did get fat....boy did I EVER get fat.  I mean, you do recall Brody was almost 10 pounds right?  Well the excellent news is I was able to lose all that weight plus some and I am currently almost back to the weight I was in college and haven't really been since then.  This fear was founded...but silly nonetheless.

If this baby is overdue too I think I might die.

He was overdue.  I didn't die.  Great news. :)

Don't think for a second I forgot about the pain of labor.

Labor with Brody was SOOOO different that Kayla.  I can honestly say I didn't really have much pain with contractions at all until Linda broke my water.  And then pain was only for about an hour.  But I still won't forget about that.

This time, try being huge and hot through the summer while you are at it.

Oh boy was it EVER hot and humid last summer.  I think I could have managed being pregnant this summer.  I still lived. :)

Remember all that post partum bleeding...oh yay!

Significantly better this time around.  About half as long, however post labor contractions while breastfeeding the second time around = SOOO much worse.

There were all those breast feeding problems too (throwing up blood twice, the pain)

Breast feeding has been a breeze and mostly completely enjoyable with Brody.  I was going to write a post about it soon, but I actually think I might partially continue after he turns 1!

Don't forget the post partum depression, which when you have it one time, it becomes very scary that it will happen again.  And Lord knows you don't want to have all the regrets you had last time.

I felt great for about 3-4 months after Brody was born.  I do think the PPD started creeping up a bit when he wasn't sleeping well and then neither was Kayla and then we moved and switched their day care.  In short, it was hell.  But we made it through and I feel like I passed this test with flying colors.

These kids are NOT going to sleep/nap at the same times.  I am never going to sleep.  Will Kayla still sleep through the night or is everything in her head going to be completely messed up?  Do you KNOW how long it took to get Kayla to sleep through the night??

Brody slept all. the. time. at first so I did get to nap.  And Kayla did so awesome when Brody was first born.  It took a few months for her to truly realize he wasn't going anywhere but we made it through.  And I can honestly say very consistently now I can get a nap every afternoon as they nap at similar times.  And Brody is just now starting to sleep through the night, but it's partially my fault.  I did sleep, he wakes up at the ass crack of dawn, and I'm not good then.  But I'm learning and changing and adapting.  

Day care for 2 kids, can we even afford that?  Can we even afford 2 kids period?

So far this is questionable.  :)  Daycare is stupid expensive but we make it work.  And I love our life.

Other things:

• How is it even possible to love another human being as much as you love your first baby?
• You guys.  It's possible.  It's possible times a million.  In fact, you love your first even more because you see a new side of them you would never have seen.  Them with their sibling.  The human heart has an AMAZING capability to grow and love more and more and more.  It's like endless.
• I am completely uprooting her life, will she still be my happy, smiley, social baby who is relatively easy and almost always enjoyable to be around?
• She seemed totally unaffected by Brody.  I think she's happier with him around.  Granted, it was silly of me to think she would always be that "easy" through the 2s and 3s.  But for the most part, she is still a joy to be around and she makes me laugh and smile every day.  And so does her brother.
• Will she still know how much I love her, or will she think I love her less when BH2 comes?
• I'm pretty sure she still knows how much I love her.  I think I'm more afraid now that Brody doesn't know how much I love him because Kayla is so demanding of my time.
• She won't be my baby anymore.  This is all moving a little too fast for me.
• She'll always be my first baby.  She is like a little person now and I still miss those days with my baby girl, but this is life.  We grow and change and time passes.  But each new phase brings new joys and challenges that make me happy to be in the present.  Time still moves too fast however.
• I feel bad because I was such a wreck when she was little and I'm going to feel bad if I'm "better" with baby #2 than I was with her.
• This fear is completely stupid.  What was wrong with me!? :)  I probably was "better" but she doesn't know I was "bad" when she was a baby.  And she is here to help me with Brody.  And she's a great little mommy's helper.

And finally:

• I got to spend 8 months with Kayla without having to go back to work.  This is completely not feasible this time around and in fact I may need to go back to work even earlier than I would like.
• I had to go back to work at 10 weeks.  This one is still a little hard on me.  But I get to be home with both of them 3 days a week and he's gets some socialization at daycare.  I need to work to make their lives better.
• BH2 will never get as much 1 on 1 time with either of us as Kayla got.
• Brody gets a lot of 1 on 1 time with daddy because mommy takes Kayla out to distract her a lot.  I get some 1 on 1 time with Brody usually at some point during Kayla's naps.  Sometimes when she is playing independently I get some time with him, but I really want to try to get more time with just him and me.
• Will BH2 know how much I love him/her when I have to split my time between 2 babies?
• This one is still up in the air.  I think he knows how much I love him.  We have a very special bond, my baby boy and I.
• Will I be able to breastfeed as long as I did with Kayla when I have to go back to work SO much earlier?  Can I even pump that much at work?
• Dude, this one I'm a ROCKSTAR on!  We have only used 1.5 small cans of formula for Brody in his whole life!  I'm pretty consistently worried about my supply and making sure he has enough, but he loves his table food so much I actually think we might make it to a year and beyond!
• BH2 won't get to spend the quality time with family that Kayla got.
• This may be true, but Brody got his own room and his own stuff so much sooner than Kayla.  Which may be why he is so much more comfortable sleeping in his crib and not so great about traveling.  I try to look at the bright side.  Plus, he gets to live close to a lot of family more so than Kayla did initially.

I was also afraid of not getting to spend time with Justin just the two of us and making sure he knows how much he is loved.  This one is still questionable too.  We don't get a lot of time together but we are trying to make time for us.  I'm working on finding baby sitters that aren't my parents or siblings. :)

If you are a mom of 1 looking to have more kids and reading this post, don't think that just by me writing this you won't have many or all of the fears I had.  You most likely will.  And that's ok.  Everyone will keep telling you the same things I have, because they told me that too.  Just know it will be ok.  It will be more than ok.  It will be perfect, more perfect than you could have imagined.  No, our life is far from perfect, but my kids are happy and healthy and my heart grows more in love every single day.

Also, here is a sneak peak of some photos I took on St. Patrick's Day!

Five Little Monkey's Swinging From a Tree

So, Kayla LOVES music and singing.  In fact, after brushing her teeth with her new toothbrush that sings One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" today she said to me, "Songs make me happy."  (I told her songs make me happy too. :)) Ok I got sidetracked for a minute there.

She is still crying (some days a lot, some days only a little) when I drop her off at school but I know she has fun because she likes to talk about her friends and what they do there.  She also likes to come home and sing random songs.  A few weeks ago she started singing "Baby Bumblebee" at the table and when I started singing with her (Justin doesn't know this song...what?!?) she could not stop giggling when I could shout "OUCH it stung me!"

Well about a week ago, she started singing a song about 5 monkeys swinging in a tree.  At first, I thought this was a spin off of the monkeys on the bed...which is a favorite of both Kayla and Brody at nap time (because Brody's most favorite thing is that he can climb in Kayla's bed by himself.)  Turns out, a few days later she started singing the whole song.  This is one I didn't know so I youtube'ed it of course.

The BEST part about this song is that Kayla has this super sweet fairy like voice (unless she's having a tantrum) and she sings in this sweet voice right up until the alligator "SNAPPED that monkey right out of that tree!"  This is when she pulls out the raspy, angry voice and it kills me every time...

This post was short and sweet and I know I've been MIA, I'm working on it.  I really am.  Trying to edit and take photos and keeping a list of blogs I want to write.  Hopefully coming up first are a Kayla 2.5 year update, Brody 10 month update and maybe my first installment of "Conversations with Kayla."