Christmas Tree Farm - 2016

All my life I've had a fake tree. I really know zero about having a real Christmas tree. 

But that changed this year! I'd seen one too many Christmas tree farm pics via IG to know that I was missing out. 

So we packed the boys up and headed about 20 minutes down the road to a perfect little farm off the highway. We got to ride two tractors, cut down our own mini tree, drink some hot cocoa, and visit with Santa Claus. I loved it [no big shocker there!], the big boys were fans as well, and the littlest was attached to my hip. All in all, I'd claim it as a success and I absolutely will be adding this to our holiday to-do list for the coming years. 

We ended our day with gingerbread house crafting with Elf playing in the background...can I just say that life right now has been so sweet?? Trying not to take a single second for granted. 

xo, 
Joi

Townes Nova // 5 months

Townsie is just a smidge over 5 1/2 months and has been a total sweetheart lately! 

GROWTH

• Weighs approximately 15.5 lbs.
• No clue how long he is!
• Is in a size 2 diaper
• Comfortably fits in his 3-6 month clothing

LOVES

• Being held!
• Playing with Sophie and his soft blocks
• Cuddling his lovie when he goes to bed
• Getting his lotion rubbed on his belly
• Seeing Theron [he adores him!]
• When you blow on his tummy
• When Dave talks to him
• Being out and about 
• Being worn in the Beco carrier

FIRSTS

• Taste of banana and he LOVED it!
• Time at the Physical Therapist and didn't cry the whole time!
• Trip to Wal-Mart [I think...]
• Trip to Bread Co. and Dierbergs!
• Trip to the Airplane Park in Edwardsville
• Sitting up, sort-of unassisted, for a few seconds!
• Stroller ride to the park with Grandma Carol

EATING

Townsie is still nursing about 6 times a day and I'm pumping twice a day at school. He usually wakes to nurse 1-2 times a night. He nurses well and is becoming more efficient since he wants to know what's going on around him. I feed him in a quiet room most times if I know he needs to eat and is getting distracted. He doesn't comfort nurse like his brother but still enjoys it. I love it this time around, too. I get all emotional thinking about it being over. 

We gave him some banana to gnaw on the past couple days and he loves it! We plan on trying to do BLW this weekend! I have a chart printed out and have researched it. We'll see how it pans out! We're not going to be hard on ourselves if it doesn't work or becomes a challenge for Townsie or us! No pressure!

SLEEPING

Townes is starting to figure it out...I think! He semi-regularly takes two good naps at Grandma Carol's house during the week and MOST times doesn't protest too bad. They can last anywhere from about an hour to over two hours. He is finally not protesting almost at all at home as well. It makes me so much more relaxed when he doesn't cry to go down for a nap. 

At night he still is pretty inconsistent. We still lay him down awake and he 9 times out of 10 goes down without a fight. I nurse him in his room, make sure he's awake and David reads a story or two to him. He takes his lovie and usually goes right to sleep. Since he can roll over he seems to prefer his belly. 

The biggest pattern that I've noticed is that he has been making it almost 6 hours for the past two weeks for his first stretch. After that, sometimes I fall asleep in the glider with him and then put him back down. Even if he's awake he doesn't fight it--which is a HUGE success to me. If he wakes another time is really a guessing game. 

PLAYING

• He loves to play with Sophie the Giraffe [Theron hated it!] 
• He enjoys playing with his keys and sucking on his hands and his blankies
• He like to sit in his bumbo 
• We'll try him in the jumperoo again since he got the go-ahead from his PT
• He has stretched his awake time to close to two hours and could go longer if out and about
• He goes days without cooing and then coos up a storm. 
• He laughed in response to Theron for the first time the other day and it was the best! In the past, he had just smiled and done a silent giggle. Or laughed because I tickled him. Knowing he gave Theron the first giggle made my heart swell! 

HEALTH

• Townsie still has very sensitive skin and I use the prescribed ointment when his eczema flares up and put the aquaphor on him 2-3 times daily. 
• His head is often times inflamed and I use the ointment when it's bad and spray coconut oil on it as needed. 
• He has about a bath a week to make sure his little body doesn't dry out too bad.
• He is still going to the PT once a week to strengthen his neck muscles due to his torticollis. My in-laws take him during the day [we are so lucky!] and the physical therapist is super impressed with his progress. She has to remind herself what side he actually even has trouble with!   
• I keep thinking he'll get a tooth here soon, since Theron got his in his 24th week, but no signs just yet!

PARENTING

As the months go by I feel like this momma of a baby thing gets easier! I'm confident the more sleep you get the better you feel thus the more energized I am! I am staying up later at night and doing things like blogging, spring cleaning, catching up on Teen Mom and Real Housewives and pampering myself which makes me feel like me, ya know? I know that even if he wakes before midnight, we will let him CIO, and I'lll go in there if need be after 5 hours. Knowing that I'll get sleep is so relieving. 

Townsie, thanks for being patient with us as we navigate the parenthood waters! We love you and your little grin so much! 

xo

Townes Nova // 4 Months

Of course I thought I'd be better at updating, but alas, time has passed me by! I am excited though that so far, I've only missed one month--haha. We'll see how it works out come 12 months. 

Townsie is a little over 4.5 months and here's a little about him these past few weeks! 

GROWTH

• Weighs 14 lbs 11 oz & is 25" long
• Still rocking the dark brown eyes!
• His skin is still super dry [and we actually made a special trip back to the doctor for an eczema flare up all over his body] and his scalp still has cradle cap. We have been lathering him up with cortisone per the ped's advice and then covering that with vaseline. His skin seems very sensitive and randomly gets red and bumpy out of the blue. We wash his belongings in Tide free and clear and haven't changed anything but his little body has flare ups a lot. 
• He fits comfortably in 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers.

LOVES

• Being held 
• Sitting [straight!] up
• Playing with his toys 
• Smiling and cooing
• Being with his favorite people and is starting to have distinct preferences

FIRSTS

• Rolled from back to belly, but got mad doing it! [first week of February]
• Slept over 8 hours last week [first week of February]

EATING

• Breastfeeding is still going well and he eats on demand. While he's away from me when I'm at work he takes about 3-6 oz. per bottle/twice in an 8 hour period. He's still not a comfort nurser, but if he gets tired and we're out, he most likely will fall asleep! We're waiting to start him on solids because we are contemplating doing Baby Led Weaning. I don't know if I'm up for it, but we shall see. I think, if we decide to do it, we're going to wait until the first week of March or so, when Townsie is over 5 months. 

SLEEP

• Oh man, sleep! Such a conundrum. The best word to describe his sleep is that it is consistently INCONSISTENT. I, like a glutton for punishment, track his sleep and wakeup times and they are all over the place. No patterns. 
• Some nights he has three wake ups and some nights he has one. Some nights he'll sleep 5-7 hours for his first stretch and other nights he barely makes it two. 
• We've started letting him CIO when putting him down for the evening and he rarely ever even cries. I was hoping that would help him figure out how to soothe himself back to sleep during the night but it hasn't really done that.  I don't mind waking up, I truly don't, but the on-the-clock every 1-2 hour wakeups [especially during the holidays--yay--ugh!] were killing me. 
• Per the doctor's advice, I feed him around 30 minutes before bed so he goes to sleep used to not having a super full belly. I think this may be helping him. 
• I have noticed that he is going down better and for longer stretches during the night than he used to. 
• He is in a sleep sack and uses his lovie and hands to attempt to self soothe. 

NAPS

• Oh man, naps! Haha. We definitley didn't want to have him CIO for naps but rocking him and nursing him to sleep were habits we didn't want to maintain [plus--they weren't even working]. We value sleep for him and want him to be able to get rest. 
• He goes down fairly simple for us [cries or fusses for ~10 minutes] and then usually sleeps around 45 minutes. He can't figure out how to get past that first sleep cycle and I'm hoping he gets it soon. At my mother and father in law's he seems to have longer naps and better success--I wish I knew the secret! 
• He's never taken a nap longer than 1.5 hours in the crib for me, but has taken over 2 hour naps in the pack n' play for my mother in law. Who knows! 

HEALTH

• Still battling the sensitive skin issue--I just want him to have baby soft skin always and some days that just isn't the case. It can literally go from hour to hour on how it is. So weird. I'm hoping it gets better every day!
• At his 4 month appointment the doctor noticed that he had a flat spot on the right side of his head. She was concerned because she didn't usually see that type of flat spot on the front but more-so on the back. She referred Townes to a plastic surgeon and said she was concerned he may need surgery if his skull sutures were fused. Cue mom freak out. Less of a freak out was for the possible helmet. Say what? A helmet? I thought I had done everything 'right' to avoid one. Of course I felt responsible. I was hard on myself because I thought I had made sure he wouldn't get a flat spot by not letting him use the rock n' play & only let him sleep in the swing for naps AND only for a few weeks! Mommy guilt is so strong sometimes. 
• The surgeon wasn't convinced he needed a helmet and was confident that his sutures hadn't fused. We wouldn't need the surgery [thankfully!] but we did get a referral for a physical therapist. She evaluated him last week, he'll be going weekly for an undetermined amount of time, and will be working on correcting his torticollis [or weak neck muscles]. She said he probably developed them in the womb [which made me feel less at fault--I know, silly, but true] and said that the therapy would help him to loosen up and favor his left side like he does his right side. 
• The physical therapist wasn't convinced he needed the helmet unless we just wanted him to have a perfectly round head. She said the flat spot would not probably go away per se, but with his head growth and hair growth it wouldn't be all that noticeable. We decided to forego the helmet especially since it is really only noticeable from looking down if standing over his head, which likely won't happen as he ages. 

I don't know about you...but he looks pretty perfect to me. ;-)

Social/Playing

• Townes is such a smiley baby and overall pretty content [unless you're trying to nap him-haha!]
• He loves reaching out for toys of all kinds and does a silent giggle here and there
• He finally has actually tolerated his carseat well and doesn't cry when you put him in it and sometimes even coos during the ride! Success!
• We're working hard on tummy time to strengthen those neck muscles and he actually prefers that to being on his back

PARENTING

• Overall my anxiety has lessened as sleep has gotten better. Townes being so happy during awake time makes me such a happier momma! I love that Dave and I tag-team everything without even having to remind one another. He's the best partner, husband, and father I could have ever dreamt of having. The week days fly by and the weekends seem so long--especially being awake so early with two little ones. We try to get out a lot so that we keep Theron entertained and keep the days moving! When Townes struggles with napping [i.e. almost every weekend!] it's vital to keep us busy to not dwell on the next nap--haha. 
• I'm loving Townsie in this smiley stage and am getting really excited for the sitting up unassisted stage and riding in carts stage. 

We love you, Townsie! Thanks for bringing so much to our little world. 

xo

Townes // Two Months

Townsie is almost three months old but here's his two month update nonetheless! 

T O W N E S // 2 Months

GROWTH

• Weighs 12 lbs 2 oz & 23.5" long
• He took his shots ok; he did the dreaded silent cry after and then slept the entire rest of the day! He had a rocky next few days but has since rebounded in the 'tude department
• Still rocking the dark brown eyes!
• His skin is still super dry and his scalp has cradle cap. Per the pediatrician's advice, we apply vaseline to his body and wash his head with cetaphil. I see mild improvements but nothing drastic. Supposedly it should clear up by around 6 months. 
• He fits comfortably in 0-3 month clothing and size 1 diapers

LOVES

• Not a super huge lover of anything but he definitely prefers to be held versus anything else. 
• He enjoys being sung to and talked to. 
• He definitely does NOT enjoy his carseat and still cries a lot while in it. 
• Against my strongest wishes and urgings, he has not been a fan of the paci either. Oh well! I gave it a valiant effort this time around--haha!

FIRSTS

• Has been smiling for sure this month! No second guessing if it was just gas. :)
• He rolled from belly to back at his 2 month check up!

EATING

• He still eats every 2-3 hours and sometimes more. He still is not a comfort sucker like Theron was, unless he is really tired. He is efficient and once he's done, he wants to be up and looking around. 
• During the week I nurse him about 6-8 times in a 24 hour period and pump 2-3 times. 
• On the weekend I nurse him on demand. 

SLEEP

• He takes 2-3 naps for my mother-in-law in the swing at her house during the week. He sometimes fusses/cries before them but never too bad. He does the same for us on the weekends. He ranges anywhere from 45 minutes - 3+ hours in the swing. We had one weekend where he cried and cried in the swing for naps but that seems to be the exception. We swaddle him for his naps and it seems to be working out ok. 
• Nighttime sleep has gotten better after it got worse. I'll update in his three month post on that front!

PARENTING

• Life with two kids is go-go-go! Theron's at such a fun age and he loves his baby brother! Having two scared me so much, but it hasn't been that bad. I think it's because David and I really tag team everything. We both have our "jobs" around the house and he tends to Theron while I tend to Townes. We both get up around 4:30 a.m. during the week and around 5-6 a.m. on the weekends. That makes time for us to be super productive before both of the boys wake up and require all of our attention. I'm still shocked I'm not more tired but I'm not. I'm not questioning it, because it's awesome. I'm able to clean up, meal prep, and take care off all the odds and ends almost before the sun rises. Hahah. I can't believe this is my life because I am a lover of sleep! 
• I still get anxious waiting for Townes to cry but I feel like I'm getting better. He only really cries when he's tired and it's only an issue if we can't get him down in his swing or if we're out. I'm excited for him to get older and have more awake time. We will be sleep training in a few weeks as well. It worked well for Theron and I'm hoping it does for Townes too. 

xo

Townes // One Month

Taking yet more inspiration from Kelsey over at Snappy Casual, I'm trying my hand at this sort of monthly update. I like that there's a template so I don't forget to record certain things. And I like that it will be consistent. So Type A, that's me! 

So here we go! 

T O W N E S // 1 Month

GROWTH

• Weighs 10 lbs 4 oz (up nearly 2 pounds since birth)
• Is 22" long
• His eyes are dark brown and his eyelashes are coming in!
• His skin has been peeling since birth + he has a touch of baby acne. 
• His right eye has been a little gunky in the last few days. 
• Still in newborn clothing, but can fit into some 0-3 month pieces!

LOVES

• Well, not much in the first month. He's definitely more cuddly than Theron and prefers to be held.
• He hasn't loved being put in his mamaroo, he's not a fan of the carseat but will mostly tolerate it, and the same goes for pacifiers. He's definitely not addicted to the paci but he will take it, which is more than Theron ever did! You kinda have to force it in his mouth and he will suck for awhile. He only tolerates the MAM brand. 
• He does like to look up at the tapestry on the wall in his nursery while getting his diaper changed. 

FIRSTS

• Smile...maybe?? It's hard to tell if he's smiling or just relieving some gas! But if we have caught some it's been in the last two weeks. 

EATING

• He eats every 2-3 hours and sometimes [lots of times!] more. The difference this time around is that he is not nearly as big a comfort sucker that Theron was. If he doesn't want to nurse, you can't really force him. It's a good and bad thing because I was so used to that always calming Theron. I struggled for nearly 6 weeks with nursing Theron before it felt "normal" and right off the bat Townes and I have had a great nursing relationship. Some nights he gets frustrated if the flow isn't as fast as he would prefer but overall it's been awesome!

SLEEP

• He sleeps a lot right now. He usually falls asleep nursing and I let him sleep on me. He will nap for about 1-3 hours at at time. We've moved him to the rock n' play after nursing & occasionally he has napped there. David has got him to fall asleep in the Bjorn bouncer and he will usually fall asleep during a car ride. 
• At night...we have a different story. On night one we tried to put him in his crib, like we did successfully with Theron, and NO DICE. He HATED it. We tried the rock n' play  [that our neighbors graciously landed us after a walk one night] that I swore I wouldn't use, and it was a no go on that as well. So, I have resorted to holding him and he slept. Ugh...not what we wanted. I broke down and bought a cosleeper off Amazon and had my fingers crossed he would sleep there. I've had VERY minimal success with him sleeping there. We still swaddle him and put him in his crib first every night. Some nights he'll sleep almost three hours in there and some nights we're lucky to get 20 minutes. After his first wake up it's pretty much guaranteed that he won't go back in there. I try, but he only lasts tops--20 minutes. So, I bring him to bed with me and he sleeps on and off while nursing on and off. Amazingly, I'm not as exhausted as I was with Theron but I SO wish he would sleep in his crib more. BUT, I'm trying not to stress about it and figure it out as we go. It's blatantly obvious to me that no two kids are alike. We are continuing to try the crib twice every night and I hope that maybe once he starts giving me longer stretches [if he does--here's hoping!!] he will last longer the first stretch in the crib. I'm concerned for this setup when I go back to work, but it is what it is. Ahhhh, babies and sleep! Such a conundrum.

HEALTH

• He's been pretty healthy this first month besides a little congestion, sneezing, and the occasional cough. None of it seemed to bother him and I think it's all pretty normal for a newborn's little system. 
• He's not the easiest baby in the world, but he hasn't been the screamer that Theron was either. He fusses a lot and the last two days of week 4 were tough on me. David went back to work and being home with an unhappy baby is NO JOKE. I did buy some Gerber Soothe Colic drops and took Townes to a chiropractor on the second to last day of his 4th week. Maybe they helped-maybe they didn't-but I'm not opposed to trying things to make our situation calmer! 

SOCIAL/PLAYING

• Being so little, he hasn't really played with anything, but I'll be happy when he starts to!

PARENTING

• As you all know, I had a REALLY REALLY tough time with Theron as an infant. I was terrified that Townes would be the same. And like I said earlier, he's no Theron but he's not a walk in the park either. I have had some anxiety about having another baby and have cried my fair share of tears. But overall, everyone says I'm doing better this time around. I get frustrated with myself, right or wrong, when I get overwhelmed because I'm normally not one to stress too much in my day to day life. I compare myself way too much to other moms everywhere and need to work on stopping that. I know my anxiety will ease up as Townes sleeps better and gets to sitting up, smiling, cooing etc. I will probably return to work earlier than I had originally planned because the stay-at-home mom life is not for me. Kudos to all of you stay at home parents! You have THE hardest job in the world and never get a break. 
• I'm proud of myself and David [I could write an entire blog about how wonderful he is to me and our sons!] because we got out so much in this first month. Having a longer paternity leave was SO BENEFICIAL to my emotional well-being and I am eternally grateful he made a priority to secure that time. We went to Target, made runs to get take out, took Theron to school everyday, visited the newly opened IKEA and the mall, I got a fresh hair color/cut + eyelash extensions, took part in our normal Saturday routine of the choo-choo store and Steak n' Shake for Theron, visited 2 fall pumpkin festivals, and we even went to the Young House Love book signing! 
• With Theron I didn't get out until he was over 2 months old and that was SO BAD for my psyche. I know that keeping a baby healthy is priority, obviously we didn't want people touching and breathing all over Townes, but maintaining your identity and sanity is VITAL. I just can't stress that enough. 

We're looking forward to our little guy growing and are navigating our way through the world of two kiddos!

xo