zero point five

It's hard to believe we've come to the time where Theo has been with us for half a year already! Some days I feel like we just brought him home last week. Most days I don't remember life without him and feel like he's been with us forever.

Two days ago we went to his 6 month well visit and I was hoping to get the miracle answer for making him sleep longer. Apparently the miracle answer is that I need to feed him more. Wait, what?! Feed my already chunky monkey even more?! Dr. Brown said I'm starving him. I'm sorry, what?! The kid is 19 pounds and is in the 60-75%-tile. He already weighs more than Anna weighed when she was a year old! When the pediatrician says I need to be feeding him more she means I need to be feeding him solids and 3 times a day! So much for baby led weaning! I tried that for a few days and it didn't seem like he was eating anything--which I guess is how it works at first. I'm totally conflicted because everything I read online tells me babies under a year mainly need milk, solids are experimental, and baby led weaning is how the rest of the world feeds their babies. However, the pediatrician seems to be saying the exact opposite. Guys, I felt like she was going to call social services on me right then and there when I told her I'm not even feeding him solids everyday. I'm pretty sure at this point with Anna she was eating 3 times a day and loving it. For some reason with your second kid it's just not as exciting to jump into solids and I didn't feel rushed to start.

So we've taken starting solids slower with Theo. I would love to think that's exactly the reason why he's not sleeping through the night. But my motherly instincts are telling me otherwise. Even if he had been eating solids 3 times a day for a while now I believe he'd still be waking up throughout the night because it's not like he used to sleep through the night and now he's not because he's hungry. He's never slept through the night and by feeding him solids he's just going to all of sudden start? I just don't see that happening. Regardless, now that he's 6 months, I probably should get a move on. I'm going to try both purees and baby led weaning. Maybe spoon feed him oatmeal with bananas while he gnaws on a steamed apple slice. At least that way he's getting the calories the pediatrician said he so call needs and he's still practicing feeding himself.  I guess I got to go dust off the ole Ninja and de-ice the ice cube trays because, baby, we're going to be chowing down!

Oh so close to crawling!

Well hey there, Mama ;)

And just for fun let's compare my twins babies:

Anna at 6 months; weighed 15 pounds and was eating solids like a champ.

Theo at 6 months; weighs 19 pounds and would be happy drinking Mama's milk and that's it.

Let's not forget those awesome stats:

  

We're singing in the rain

Because that's all that's been going on over here.

Rain, rain, go away!

I'd usually exclaim but when all your daughter wants to do is go jump in puddles you let her because she's only two for one year and you can only jump in puddles for so long before it's just not cool anymore.

...Wait, is it ever not cool?

Someone's pretty proud of her little puddle. All in a day's work, Momma. 

All work and no sleep makes Jess a dull girl

You would think we took another break from social media but that is not the case. I really don't know how you mothers of more than one actually have time to sit down and write. It must be the fact that your babies are actually sleeping through the night. And if that's the case, oh, how I do envy you.

I really believe God gave mothers extra energy. He had to have. There is no humanly possible way someone can get by on multiple nights of only 2 hours of sleep at a time. And when I say multiple nights I mean five months. Basically since we've been a family of four. I can count on one hand the number of nights I've been able to sleep longer than 4 hours at a time. Does it sound like I'm venting? Yes, it does, and yes, I am. I feel like this is a safe place to do that. And you may say, "that's what you've signed up for in being a parent" or "get over it, we all go through tough times". And I don't want a pity party. I just want to hear an Amen! that parenting is hard as crap! After people ask if Theo is sleeping and I just laugh they ask me how I do it. I just do. I've learned to love coffee again. So there's that. I get by just getting what needs to be done and some days not even that (hence why the blog has been put on the back burner). Baby books are still sitting empty, pictures are still on my phone and camera and have yet to be uploaded to Shutterfly to make beautiful photo books, and projects around the house are being left incomplete. But those things can wait right? Even though every time I think about them I get a twinge of guilt because I want to work on them, I realize at least the most important things are being tended to. My kids are being fed, the house hasn't totally fallen to shambles (it may have taken me a week to finally fold 3 baskets of clothes but hey they eventually got done), and since I took a fast from social media for a month I've been able to find time to fall more in love with Christ and find a new hunger for the Word.

Speaking of sleeping, or lack there of, we tried putting Theo in his crib for the first time two weeks ago. Travis and I were both so ready to move him over to his and Anna's bedroom. Travis has been wanting to do it for a long time but I just didn't want to keep getting up every 2 hours to feed Theo and I was afraid he'd wake up Anna every time. After I realized he was waking himself up because he was outgrowing his bassinet I finally relented. The first night was awful! Theo was up every hour. But since then he's been sleeping so much better. Not 9-11 hours like Anna was at this age (I just can't even. I hate my former self for ever complaining about anything!) but between 3-4 hours and that's better than what it was when he was in the room with us. Anna's doing great! She sleeps right through his crying. And so does Travis. He's all "I didn't hear him last night. Did he even wake up?" Yes, Travis, like every other night he woke up at least twice. You'll know when he sleeps through the night, I'll throw a huge party. Naps have been really good. They nap together and it'll usually last 2-3 hours so I'm able to catch a quick nap or get things done around the house or finally finish that blog post I've been trying to write for the past month. Nap times make up for the rough nights for sure. In the next month or so we're going to try dropping the middle of the night feedings by letting him cry it out a bit. Since Anna already sleeps right through his cries I'm hopeful he'll be able to learn to soothe himself without bothering her. **fingers crossed**

Yesterday was rough. Theo was very clingy. I told Travis he's going through a growth spurt because he seems ravenous, he's teething, or he's super tired because he hasn't been sleeping well. Travis reminded me that unfortunately at Theo's age he could be experiencing all three! At one point during the day while he was inconsolable I was trying my best to stay calm and tell him he was ok and in the midst of crying he gave me a huge smile. I had to stop and thank God for my sweet little guy. In that moment I was reminded that time is fleeting. My kids won't always be vying for my attention like they do now and one day I'm going to miss that. So instead of getting upset that I couldn't console him, I held Theo even tighter in that moment. He eventually calmed down and fell asleep in my arms. Usually I'd lay him down in his crib. Instead I let him sleep on me while I took a little snooze as well because, again, time is fleeting.

So maybe I'll be back in a few days or maybe it won't be for another 6 weeks. In the meantime please grant me grace while we try to catch up on sleep over here.

As of Lately (and a 4 month old Theo)

We've taken a little break from Social Media, a whole month in fact. And while I'd like to say so many crazy things happened with the Joneses, I have to admit, life continued on as usual. I think the biggest thing that happened was that Anna pooped in the potty after going on a little hiatus and continues to do so. Which, if you're a parent of a toddler or ever have been, then you know this is major news! Travis continued playing soccer with the boys on Mondays and Tuesdays, my girls nights continued as usual, we went to the mountains for our staff retreat while Anna stayed home with Mimi and got spoiled rotten--that's what Mimi's are for ;) And the kicker to end it all: we all got sick AGAIN!!! complete with double ear infections, pink eye, upper respiratory colds, sever sore throats, and RSV for the second time in less than a month. We've been to the doctor so many times in the last 7 weeks that any time we leave the house Anna asks if we're going to see Dr. Brown again. A majority of the time the answer is yes. She doesn't seem to mind. She loves Dr. Brown.

Taking walks on warmer days. Somehow as February has gone on it's gotten colder.
That's not how it's supposed to work--doesn't it know that?

Staying warm inside taking bubble baths.

Proof that bibles are being read! They're falling apart. What a beautiful sight. 

Mrs. and little Mr. Sickie. 

Our first, and hopefully last, snow and ice storm came through the other night. While we only got a few inches (if that) of snow, the ice was pretty thick so they called school. I'm sure they would've called school even if we didn't get the ice because that's just how it goes down here. I didn't mind like I usually do because we were stuck inside being sick anyway. Anna and Travis got out for a bit though and played with the other kids who turned cardboard boxes into sleds because that's just what you do in the south. At one point Travis said, "I wish we had a sweet sled!" And I'm all, "what would be the point?!" Plus sifting through the dumpster to find the perfect piece of cardboard is the cherry on top. 

My mountain man and sweet little eskimo

In other big news Theo turns 4 months old today. I remember when Anna was 4 months old. We were in Ohio while Travis was in SE Asia. She was getting over RSV too. We were excited about starting solids with her. Starting solids with Theo really hasn't crossed my mind. The first time we tried with Anna we decided to wait a few more weeks because we knew she just wasn't quite ready. I may wait a few more weeks for Theo too. Besides being twice the size of his birth weight he hasn't really shown any other signs that he's ready for solids yet. I'm pretty sure he started a growth spurt a few weeks back. He all of a sudden started waking up every two hours at night to eat like he was a newborn again. The first few nights weren't too bad but by the fifth night I was becoming exhausted and a little annoyed. At almost 4 weeks later he's still waking up every 2-3 hours. My body is finally get used to it again but that doesn't mean I don't long for the nights when I'll be able to get a consecutive 4 hours of sleep! His day schedule isn't any better. I feel like with Anna at Theo's age we had a pretty good schedule going but when you've got a toddler who has her own needs too the second child tags along for the ride. He naps 3 to 4 times a day and thankfully takes a long nap while Anna naps in the afternoon which means I can catch a shut-eye every now and then. It's been extra difficult with Theo being sick twice in one month and going through a growth spurt but we know we'll eventually get in the groove, it's gotta happen at some point. Plus he doesn't seem to mind getting the extra cuddle time at night.

Who needs Christian Bale when I have this little guy as my Batman?

Big Boy

Yup, I went there. It needed to be said and I'm just trying to be honest.