Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Why I Put My Babies On A Schedule

Before I get into schedules and sleep talk, I thought I'd give a little background info on how I became one of those schedule mommas and why I love having my kids on a schedule.
I didn't get Campbell on a schedule until he was 10 weeks old. I was absolutely exhausted and knew I had to do something to fix it. Campbell was a very fussy and challenging baby. Our days had no rhyme or reason to them and everything about life was chaotic and unpredictable. I know some babies do just fine without being on a strict schedule but that most definitely was not the case with us.
The reason I chose Babywise is because it's the only baby book I had laying around my house and I have no idea if I bought it or if someone gave it to me. I was so tired I couldn't even comprehend what I was reading so I asked Scott if he would read the book then tell me what to do. He spent an evening reading it, explained the concept and how it worked, and we got started the next day. I was instantly blown away by how much more smoothly life was going and less than 3 weeks later our baby, who was waking multiple times a night, started sleeping all night long. I never looked back and knew that from that point forward I would forever be a mom who followed a very rigid schedule.
I like having my kids on a schedule for three main reasons:
1.) Our days are predictable
2.) My kids sleep 12 hours at night
3.) Once the kids are in bed, I get to spend one on one time with my husband

I could list a number of other reasons why I'm pro-schedule but it would make for too long of a blog post (ha!).
One concern moms tell me they have about schedules is they feel they will have no flexibility in their life but I actually feel like I have more flexibility with a schedule because of the predictability of our days. There are a lot of great baby books that help show you how to get your baby on a schedule. I personally like Babywise because of their PDF (parent directed feeding) concept. I would try to explain it but it would take way too long so if you're interested in learning more you should check out the book! It's different than a lot of other baby schedules because it isn't a clock schedule. Our first feeding of the day and last feeding of the day are always at the exact same time (and I decided what those times would be) but everything in between is different every single day according to the baby and their needs that particular day. Sometimes Bennett gets hungry after 2.5 hours and sometimes he can go 4 hours. I like that I don't have to pay attention to the clock but instead let Bennett decide when he's hungry or when he's sleepy. It's interesting because his feedings and naps typically line up around the same time every day (give or take 30 minutes) but they aren't at the exact same time.

For me and Scott, we just like being on a schedule. We're both really strict with it and we've felt like it's made our life as parents easier. I know schedules aren't for everyone and every family needs to do what works best for them and for their baby. I personally love that I can get my babies to sleep 12 hours at night at a really early age. I love that I can put them to bed and have some time in the evenings to myself. I also love that I get to sleep. I would be grumpy, sad, and lose my patience easily if I was getting woken up in the night. It doesn't bother some but it bothers me so getting my kids to sleep through the night as soon as possible is best for me and my whole family who has to live with me!!

I get asked for a lot of tips and advice when it comes to scheduling your baby so I'll share more on that next time! Until then....

Monday, August 29, 2016

A Late August Weekend

We had a fun, family weekend. We went to the pool on Saturday and had fun swimming and being in the sun. We only have a few more weeks to enjoy the pool so we're trying to soak it up while we can!!
We actually had enough time before church on Sunday to snap a few pics of the boys in their little matching sailboat outfits! Bennett is finally big enough to wear his little bubble....a week before the unofficial end of summer. They looked so cute and I enjoy matching them way too much.
I just love this photo of my pretty little Ivy. I've shared my love for it on Instagram already but I had to put it on here too. This photo of Madison below is sweet too. It's cheerful and colorful just like my sweet little Madison.
I find it so hard to come up with topics to blog about these days because my life doesn't consist of anything but staying home with my kids. I do get a lot of questions from you mommas about baby schedules and sleep so I may pick one topic a week and write about it for a few weeks. I actually really love the challenge (for lack of a better word) of getting babies on a good schedule and sleeping well. I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about what it means to get your baby on a schedule and sleep trained. There are a lot of different methods and ways to go about it but I'll share what I do and what has worked for me with my two boys and we'll just take it from there. I'm obviously no expert but I do have two great sleepers and I'm about 99.9% positive it's not due to luck or coincidence. So. Stay tuned for that and if you have any questions or topics you're interested in hearing about, shoot me an email!

Friday, August 26, 2016

Pet Vet

Whew. What a day. I woke up this morning with the decision that I was not going to stay inside my house all day long. I wanted to go to Target and I also had to take the girls to the vet for their annual check up. Target was good. I pushed one of those jumbo carts for the first time because Campbell wanted to sit in it. I got tickled and wish I had a photo of me pushing that big ol' thing. I'm not gonna lie though it was kind of nice. I felt bad that I only had 1 kid in the seats instead of two but I definitely had more room for my target goodies and a spot for my purse so....win. After Target I had lunch with the boys.....by myself. Too hard. Too hard! Campbell decided mid meal he needed to go to the potty so that was fun. I keep attempting to get out of the house thinking I'll do better next time but I don't! There has to be some kind of trick I haven't figured out yet. I mean, I can't be home bound until Bennett is 4 so what's the secret to getting out of the house with two kids?
Scott tried to tell me not to do it but I took the boys with me to the girls appointment. Scott had a meeting and I've been needing to get them in and I just didn't feel like waiting any longer so I went for it. All was good at first. They gave Campbell a dog coloring book to color and Bennett just slept. The girls hid out in their crate hoping nobody would notice they were in there.
Ivy weighs 8 pounds, 9 ounces and Madison is 9 pounds, 8 ounces! Madison needs to start going for walks because she is a solid pound overweight. Oops! She doesn't look it so I was surprised to see her "large" number but it's time to make my super active, toy loving, ball fetching pup even more active....if that's even possible at all. Madison tried to tell me she's all muscle but I'm not so sure.
I have no idea what happened after the weight checks because my perfect baby angel who never makes a peep woke up from his car seat nap and was not happy about it. He cried and cried and wouldn't stop! I held and bounced him while trying my hardest to have a conversation with the vet before I finally just gave up, threw my credit card at them and busted out of there. I was so frazzled and was so sure I was going to end my evening with a glass of wine but #breastfeedingproblems. I went for a long run instead. I have some medicine that I'm supposed to give Madison and I have zero idea what it's for. Not a clue. I do know that the girls tests came back great though and I'm so thankful for my healthy little nuggets. And I'm also 100% positive I will never take them to the vet with their brothers in tote ever again.
Overall, crazy mom day. I'm just not so graceful with 2 (at one point 4ish) kids. So glad it's the weekend! I need it.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

So It's A Funny Story...

Something funny happened a few weeks ago that I've been meaning to blog about. I don't want to ever forget it so I'm writing it down here and hope you all get as big of a kick out of it as I did!
It was just a regular ol' day at home. I was sitting on a bench in my room and had just fed Bennett. He was sitting in my lap and Campbell was beside me watching one of his shows. Suddenly I heard a major poo come out of Bennett and I looked down to see that it had not only blown out of his diaper but leaked all the way out of his clothes and on to my lap. I was kind of at a loss as to what I should do for a minute. I lifted Bennett up to assess the situation and Campbell looked over at me and said "uh oh! uh oh!" I decided I needed to bring in re-enforcements so I yelled for Scott to come and help me. Every time I yelled "Scott!!" Campbell yelled it too "Scott!!!" "Scott!!!" I got so tickled at Campbell yelling "Scott" so frantically and couldn't help but laugh so hard at the entire situation I had going on there. For some reason Scott just wasn't sensing mine and Campbell's urgency so Campbell decided to take matters into his own hands. He ran out of the bedroom as fast as his two little feet would go and came back a few seconds later with a dish towel he had grabbed out of one of the drawers in the kitchen. He threw it in my lap and said "there you go Momma" then went back to watching his show while I laughed harder than I have in a really long time.
I may should have entitled this post "You Probably Had To Be There..." but I still wanted to share, mostly for my memories. I'm not sure if Campbell has ever made me laugh so hard by something he did or said and I know he's just going to keep me laughing as he gets older. I'm definitely looking forward to it!!

Monday, August 22, 2016

Back To School

Campbell had his first day of Mother's Day Out today!!
When I got him out of bed this morning I said "Campbell do you want to go to school today?!" and he said "No Momma." Umm, what? Campbell always wants to go to school. I think he was just wishing he was still asleep. I mean, I always feel that way when I first wake up. I scooped him up, fed him breakfast and got him ready for his big day.
By the time we pulled into the parking lot Campbell changed his mind about school. He was so ready to get to his classroom that he ran into it on his own while I was trying to check him in. I got his nap mat, back pack and lunch all situated, told my little peanut goodbye and went on my way. Campbell didn't even care or notice that I left....or even have time to say bye to me but whatever.
I spent my day going to Homegoods, PetSmart and TJ Maxx. Before I knew it, it was time for pickup!
Campbell had a great first day! He made an itsy bitsy spider craft, took a good nap, ate a bite of the cheese and black bean quesadilla I made him this morning, and had a great time playing with all of his little friends! I'm excited for Campbell that he's back at school, has a little more routine to his week, and at a place that he loves so much! It's going to be a great year!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Lifestyle

I've always loved lifestyle photography. I love to search images on Pinterest to get inspiration. I've also recently started following some really cool Instagram accounts of moms sharing lifestyle photos of their kids. It's so fun and inspiring to scroll their feeds and stare at their beautiful photographs. I'm trying to get better with a lifestyle type of photography with my kids because I just think it's neat to photograph our every day lives and what they look like. I still have to get a lot more practice in but I'm working on it! I shot these images of Campbell the other day getting ready for bed and I like how they turned out. I've always loved taking photos but it's quickly turning into a big hobby for me and I'm getting to where I want to learn more about cameras, photography, editing and the whole shebang.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Last Week Of Summer Break

Happy Friday! I officially survived our "summer break" from MDO! Before Bennett was born, I was so worried about these 4 weeks and how I would manage. Thankfully Bennett ended up being the sweetest little angel baby and Campbell hasn't seemed too bored being stuck at home day after day, so it all went way better than I ever anticipated it going! I am so looking forward to getting back into a routine and having a reason to get up and moving. It's currently 3:30 and I still have zero make up on. I have showered though so #win.
Both boys are napping currently so my house is nice and quiet. I can usually manage to get both boys down for a nap at the same time because Campbell is easy with his naps. I can lay him down anywhere between 12:30-2:30 and he's good. So I kind of just go off of Bennett's schedule since his isn't as flexible as Campbell's is. It does me good to have a few hours to myself every day. A lot of times I lay down and take a nap myself. Being a mom wears me out most days!!
We don't have any weekend plans but hopefully the rain will stay away so we can all go to the pool! We haven't been in over a week and seeing Campbell have so much fun swimming brings a big smile to my face. Y'all enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Meet and Greet

Today was open house for Mothers Day Out. We got to meet our teachers and check out our classrooms and it was so fun! Campbell will be in the same class with a lot of the same kids that were in his class last year. We're already familiar with one of his teachers so that's nice. I know Campbell will be SO excited to get back to school and have something fun to look forward to every week.
I've actually decided to put Bennett in MDO this year too. I know the lady who watches the little ones and she is so, so wonderful. I have so much faith in her taking care of my sweet angel and since there was availability for him, I went for it. Bennett will go twice a week just like Campbell and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited for some me time finally. I know both of my boys are in THE best hands and I love all of the women who work at our MDO so much. Not just the teachers but everyone involved. It's a great environment and I'm excited to get back into a routine of going again.
I had a special little treat today! Scott told me to leave the boys with him and go and get a massage. What? He didn't have to ask me twice. I picked up the phone immediately and booked an appointment. It was the best. thing. ever. I didn't want to leave. I basked in my hour and a half of pure luxury and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Until tomorrow....

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

All The Things

Hey-O. I've been MIA lately but I'm here now and ready to chat!
We had a fun weekend. My parents came up for a quick one night stay. We went to the Farmers Market on Saturday and lesson learned, bring the bassinet that goes with the stroller from now on. This child cannot sleep unless he's laying flat. What in the world? We clicked his car seat into the stroller and he was basically up for 4 hours. Agh! I used to put Campbell in his car seat to get him to take a nap but Bennett is the exact opposite. He was fine, he's such a sweet little trooper, but his eyes were red from being so tired and he slept like a rock all night long. I'm pretty sure he didn't move a muscle. Bless his heart. He needs his crib with his blackout curtains and white noise! Can't say I blame him.
Our life is pretty uneventful these days. We pretty much just stay home all day long and do nothing. For real. I had to take Bennett to the chiropractor today and thought it would be a good idea to go to Panera afterwards for lunch. We got in and ordered our food pretty easily. But then I was like hmmm...how can I fix my drink + hold Campbell's hand + hold the carrier. That was a thinker. Then Campbell was finished eating after his two bites of food and Bennett was ready for his nap so he started getting antsy. I shoved my salad in my mouth and peaced out of there. And remembered this is why I just never leave my house alone with two kids unless I can keep them contained in a stroller.
Even though I stay home all day, my days go by so fast. I guess that's a good thing! I feel like I'm just going all day long and before I know it, it's time for dinner. I don't get much down time but I do really enjoy life these day and being here with my boys and girls. Sometimes I'm itching to get out of the house and if it works out I can escape for a little bit while the boys are napping and Scott is home working. That's always a nice little refresher. I usually just go to Target. I'm such a mom.
Mothers Day Out starts back next week and I'm excited. I've been praying that Campbell will love his new teachers just as much as he loved his last ones. This past year was so wonderful and such a blessing in so many ways and I hope this year will be the same. We meet his teachers on Thursday and I am really looking forward to it. I know some of the same kiddos will be in his class and I'm so glad because his little friends will at least be familiar. Honestly though, I'm really not worried about Campbell. I know he'll be okay. This past Sunday was promotion Sunday at church. Campbell was promoted to a whole new building because he is such a big boy now and not a baby!!! Ahhh. We walked into the building and the toddler director was there to greet us. She showed us to Campbell's new classroom and he walked right in without even looking back. The director looked at us with wide eyes and said "well that's refreshing! We don't usually see that." Scott and I were like, yeah he's bored with us. Ha!! And speaking of promotion Sunday, we put Bennett in the nursery for the first time. He did great and it was nice being able to be in church and really focus.
So there we go. I'm a little caught up and hopefully I won't slack on my blogging anymore!!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Catch Ups

I feel like I haven't had a catch up post in a while so I thought I'd do that today!
This past weekend we went to Little Rock to visit my family. We had a car full of kiddos!
We left early Saturday morning and stayed until Monday. The boys did great on the car ride down! As long as Campbell has some good shows and a few snacks he's good. Bennett slept most of the way. We had to stop halfway to feed him and I had to reach back to insert the paci a few times. The girls always just snooze in our laps and sometimes Madison gets in the backseat between the boys to take a comfy nap! Overall it was pretty smooth sailing! I would never attempt it alone though. We had a fun weekend in Little Rock. It was nice to getaway and have a change of scenery.
We have one more full week home before Mothers Day Out starts back. I'm ready! I just feel like I can't go anywhere these days. It's SO hard to get out of the house with two kiddos. Campbell doesn't like being my errand buddy anymore and quickly loses his patience. I did manage to take both kiddos to First Friday on the Bentonville square all by myself. Scott had a late meeting and I didn't want to sit home alone. We had a nice time strolling around and it was something fun to do.
Campbell's cowboy obsession continues to run strong. I laid him down for a nap and went to check on him at one point. Those cowboy boots weren't there when I left him! It really tickled me to see this. I'm hoping he's still in the cowboy phase by the time his 3rd birthday rolls around. I've seen some super cute cowboy party ideas on Pinterest. When you're home with little ones day in and day out, you explore any and all things on Pinterest even when it's stuff you don't need to worry about for 7 months.
I'm a pretty strict Momma when it comes to our schedule and don't offer much flexibility when it comes to our routine. All sleep must be in our own rooms and our own beds. However, baby Bennett is just so snuggly!! And since Campbell was asleep in his room and I had nothing else to do, I decided to let my sweet baby take his nap on me while I watched Harry Potter. It was totally worth breaking the rules for. I had to resist kissing him over and over for fear of waking him up! I'm soaking these baby moments up so much more than I did with Campbell. I just know all too well how fast it goes. I keep looking at Bennett knowing that by this time next year he's going to be walking around and destroying my house with his messes! Agh! They change so much that first year so I'm trying to appreciate each sweet moment along the way.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Bennett | 3 Months Old


Weight: 12.5 pounds according to our scale at home.

Height: Forgot to measure and now he's asleep!!
Sleep: Bennett sleeps 8.5 hours straight--10:30-7:00! He goes to bed at 7:00 but I wake him up at 10:30 to do a dream feed then he goes right back down and sleeps until 7:00 the next morning! I'm working on pushing that dream feed back by 5 minutes every night and hopefully we'll drop it at some point this month. Bennett takes 3 naps a day. I wish he would take 4 naps or at least 3 naps and a cat nap but I cannot get him to take that last nap no matter what I try. So he's just chillin for a long 3 hours before he finally goes down for the day. Other than that much too long for his age wake time, his normal wake time averages about 1.5 hours now.
Eat: I'm still exclusively breastfeeding Bennett and he eats 6 times a day. He's usually hungry after about 2 hours, 45 minutes and it takes him about 9 minutes to nurse.

Clothes: Size 0-3 month clothes and Kickee Pants pajamas. A few of our newborn items still work! I bought him some newborn sized Freshly Picked Moccs but they're still big and look silly so we're still going barefoot around here.
 Diapers: Size 2 Pampers Swaddlers

Likes: Milk, laying and looking around , bath time, smiling, "talking" and going to the chiropractor!

Dislikes: Clothes going over his head, the car seat (most of the time, ugh!).
Milestones: Bennett is officially sleeping through the night. Yay Bennett! He is getting really good at tummy time doing mini pushups and holding his head so steady and strong! He sticks his hands in his mouth, coo's, squeals and babbles all the time and gives the most adorable smiles! He's given us a few giggles and has started following objects.

Month Three: Bennett is smiling all the time now. It is my absolute favorite thing in the whole world! We don't have to work hard at all to get a sweet smile out of our precious boy.
All About Bennett: Goodness I love this little boy! He is still just the sweetest little thing in the whole wide world. Bennett is so chill and quiet that you never even know he's in the room! Bennett is the most content little person I've ever known and his precious smiles melt my heart. I seriously cannot get enough of him and I'm still blown away with how easy he is. It's been another wonderful month with our sweet Benny Boy!!!!