Smiles For Friday!

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Baby News

Hi guys!! Guess who is over 10 pounds?! He’s up two whole pounds from his birth weight and is one ounce heavier than his big brother was at one month. We’ve had a few real smiles sneak out and that has been so fun!! Mazen can’t wait for him to laugh

While Birch and I have been happy and healthy, we’ve been dealing with some minor but super annoying issues. The first was thrush, which plagued us for a good two weeks or so. I ended up getting Diflucan in addition to OTC topical cream, and we did two weeks of oral nystatin for B. At our appointment yesterday our pediatrician said it looked all cleared up. However, I am still having some major pain on the right side, and we determined it is latch related. Since the thrush is gone, I was given the go ahead to start pumping and introduce a bottle which has been really fun! I’m pumping the right side to let it heal a bit before latching him back on and working on our technique. So on the left side breastfeeding is going so well, and on the right it’s been a horribly painful few weeks. At least he is growing well, and I’ve been pushing through.

Thomas’s mom gave B his first bottle while I went for a power walk with Gussie! It was really fun to be out walking fast without a stroller or a pregnant waddle. I can’t wait to run soon! Thomas did the next two bottles last night, and those went well too. I’m so glad he can share the feeding bond now! I have a Motif pump I got free through insurance, and my gosh pumps have gotten SO much better in 6 years.

My children LOVE to poop, and so we have a pretty bad diaper rash related to wiping so frequently. I’m now using a peri bottle on B and patting him dry with my reusable cloth wipes. So that makes diaper changes (which we do ALL the time) extra time intensive. Sometimes he goes through 3-4 diapers in a 30 minute period. I would wait it out a bit more, but I want to change him right away because of the rash.

B also hasn’t really lengthened his sleep stretches at night beyond 2.5 hours. His little friends are all doing 4-6 hour stretches and we weren’t really sure why he hadn’t done the same, especially since his weight gain is great. After the pediatrician yesterday we made both bottle and diaper rash changes and he slept FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT last night!!! Nothing short of a miracle. I got a total of 9 hours of sleep – the most I’ve gotten in a month. Felt pretty awesome! He’s also transitioned out of the rock and play to the Halo Bassinet so that is a good change as well. Still using both the Woombie (which I LOVE) and the Ollie Swaddle.

Food News

Remember how I used to love to crumble muffins on things?! I picked up a bran muffin from Mudhouse and had it over yogurt with almond butter, banana, and the last of the cranberry sauce. YUM!

And the maple latte I had at Mudhouse was pretty darn good too! Not too sweet and perfectly spiced.

Another yogurt bowl with cranberry, candied pecans and granola. I am loving the Brown Cow full-fat plain yogurt these days. Tastes like cream!

We are also loving steel cut oats in the rice cooker. Mazen and Thomas eat theirs before school at 6:30 and I eat mine whenever I’m ready – 8, 9, 10?! And I make a ton so the next day we can just add milk and microwave the leftovers. This bowl had cottage cheese, chia, peanut butter, and Dang coconut chips.

Another day: scrambled eggs with pepperjack cheese and grapes!

For lunches I’ve been relying on a bit too much take-out, but that is ok! I discovered the Mayweather bowl at Roots, which is a hugeeeee kale salad with BBQ tofu. This was lunch two days in a row!

For dinners we have been winging it a bit. Pot pies from The Pie Chest I pulled out of the freezer with more leftover kale salad. (And my Mama place tag!)

And grilled steaks with a tortilla and carrots and peppers. Totally winging it meal! We were going to do mashed potatoes but the potatoes had turned a little too old. And we didn’t have any green veggies so we had raw crunchy veg instead.

Another night we had broccoli, mac and cheese, and leftover wings from the weekend.

Fitness News

I want to write a whole post on nutrition/fitness postpartum to tell you more about my health goals, but that will have to come in depth another day. The short story is that I’ve been trying to go for a long walk everyday (sometimes on the treadmill). My goal is 3 miles or 10,000 steps. That is a very soft goal that I don’t meet everyday if I have an appointment or it’s raining, but most days I am able to walk. I haven’t braved taking Gus with the stroller, but I did take him while B was in the Solly wrap and that went well! I actually love walking when it’s really cold out because my down coat keeps me warm and I don’t get all sweaty : )

Lifestyle News

We had a ton of appointments this week!

Monday was a facial with my friend Alyssa at her brand new home spa! She gives the BEST facials – seriously I have had them all over with her at ACAC, and she’s the best. Her new business is Blue Ridge Skin Therapy, and instead of spending money on print/radio advertising she is giving each new client a FREE first-time facial. So everyone in Cville needs to go get yours and see what I’m raving about! (It’s a legit hour-long facial, not a little preview.) I took B with me and actually nursed him reclined while Alyssa worked on my face. Total game changer!

On Tuesday I got my hair cut and highlighted, which was pretty challenging with a baby, but we made it work! I was able to feed him under my cape and relaxed with him on the couch while my highlights set.

On Wednesday Mazen and I had dentist appointments. I was nervous to go with both boys, and B cried in the waiting room a bit, but then he fell asleep in the wrap and I was able to get my teeth cleaned with him on my chest. Thankfully everyone has been very accommodating!

And Thursday we had our pediatrician appointment which went well too! Next week looks a lot less busy : )

Birch says “jingle bells Batman smells” in his holiday Kickee Pants outfit from Green Bean that I bought on small business Saturday!

Have a great weekend! We’re hoping to get our Christmas tree!

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