Isaiah - 4 months

So this is a little late - normal for me, I suppose ;)

Isaiah had his 4-month check-up and here's the stats:
weight - 12 lbs. 9 oz.
height - 24.5 inches

Dr. Arouse said that he was very happy with his weight, and that he was a very proportionate baby.  He's definitely not the rolly-polly baby that Balian and Bella were, but he's definitely healthy.

Eating and Sleeping:
During the day, Isaiah eats about 4 times per day - about every 4 hours or so.  He usually takes one good, long nap (like 2+ hours) another nap that's a bit shorter (1.5 hrs.) and sometimes a catnap in the evenings, but sometimes not, depending on how the afternoon nap went.
At night, he gets his last feeding at about 8pm, goes right down to sleep (even though he's fully awake when put in his bed) and sleeps until about 8am - sometimes longer (like today, when I had to wake him up at 9am!!)
Don't let the amount of feedings fool you though - this kid can eat!  In fact he eats so much first thing in the morning, that I am HURTING when I wake up.  I was wondering why my body wasn't adjusting to him going longer at night...then after a couple of weeks, I started hurting WORSE in the morning.  Then, I realized that the reason my body wasn't compensating was because he was actually emptying out my supply in the morning...I pumped to find out how much that was...and I pumped out 10 oz!!  I'm not sure where he puts all of that milk...
So I talked to my LC today to figure out what I can do about the pain in the morning...she gave me some ideas - pump before I go to bed - or if that doesn't help to wake up at like 3am and pump just for relief (apparently the milk-producing hormones are at their highest levels usually between 2-5am).  We'll see what helps.

Needless to say, things are going VERY well in the breastfeeding department.  I am THRILLED!!  I have some videos of him eating before and after his lip-tie surgery.  I haven't posted them because I'm a little hesitant, but it does show the difference that it can make in a baby's latch.  I'll post them if I get enough feedback to do so, otherwise, I suppose we can do without it, and you'll just have to take my word for it.  But things are seriously better.  no pain because of a poor latch.  He's getting more milk at a time (obviously), and going longer between feedings.  MUCH less gas and colicky symptoms - the gas is easier to get out and Isaiah isn't waking up from naps because of it.  Reflux is something of the past.  He only spits up the amount any typical baby would...unless he has a bottle and isn't burped well - which I suppose is in the "normal baby" category as well.  Amazing.  And it's so interesting.  EVERY SINGLE woman I have talked to (since dealing with all of this) that has had breastfeeding problems in the past - yup.  their kid(s) have a tongue tie or a lip tie.  Yes.  100% of them.  Isn't that wild?  They thought they couldn't produce enough milk...or gave up because it was so painful they couldn't handle it.  What a difference knowledge can make!  And what a difference a simple procedure can make in a mother's emotional state (from helplessness, hopelessness, and frustration to empowerment, enjoyment, and satisfaction) and a baby's ability to breastfeed successfully!!

But so far, Isaiah, although eating a TON of milk, is completely content with milk alone.  This is all so new to me.  With the other two kiddos I had to start giving them cereal at 4 months on the dot.  They were just not satisfied with formula alone.  If he's content with just milk, then I'd rather wait until he's ready for something else, or until he's 6 months, to start solids.  I really don't want to start later than that though.

on other things, I think he's teething....joy...  My other kiddos started teething at 4 months (the drool...the fussiness...the restlessness during naps...the random fevers, etc...) and didn't cut a single tooth until 10.5 - 11 months.  not fun.  I'm not excited about this.  At least knowing what is going on helps me to calm him.  Teething tablets are my friend!

But one thing that is nothing but pure joy is to see my baby smile!  I love that his grin is so big that takes up almost his entire face!  He is seriously a happy kid - and I think he may be the loudest, most vocal kid so far at this age.  He is so loud with his squeals of delight and play that sometimes Neil and I have to yell over him just so that the other can hear what we're saying! ha.  I'm pretty sure that's a first.


There is definitely a mutual love between Isaiah and both of his siblings.  Bella loves to play with him (although, we have to remind her to be gentle - she still just doesn't know her own strength!).  She also helps me out a LOT when I'm feeding and can't do something for Balian, or she'll get me breast pads in the morning without being asked.  Balian will go up to Isaiah, lie down next to him, and say "hi" over and over and just talk away to him - and share his cars with him - which is a HUGE thing.  He doesn't like to share his cars with anyone - but he'll share with Isaiah.  so sweet.  Balian also loves to get me things for Isaiah - especially socks and bibs (because he knows where they are and he CAN get them.)  He also gets upset if he hears Isaiah crying.  He'll come up to me and in the most concerned voice say "Isa?"  In return, Isaiah just loves to smile back at his brother and sister - and he likes to watch them interact (aka. tackle each other, etc.).  It's crazy to think that it really won't be all that long until he's right there in the action with them!

The Boys

I have to say that I love, love, love having boys!  Before I got pregnant with Bella, because I had helped my mom out so much with my brothers, I was actually scared of having a girl.  Ha.  Then, once I had Bella around for a while, I was so used to having a girl that I wondered what I would do with a boy...
but oh...how I love my boys!

Balian

We have had a major accomplishment last week.  Balian went 5 days without ANY accidents!!  Over the past couple of weeks, he's gotten better and better and had a couple of days where we just had one or two accidents, but we've never had an entire day without one - and now, all of a sudden, we had 5!  The big change:  We pulled out the little potty again.  Apparently it's been so long since he'd sat on it that he forgot that he hated it...and decided that he liked it. He gets really excited about seeing what he did, that sometimes we have to remind him that he needs to finish going first. Ha!  He is by no means going entirely by himself, but we're making steps in that direction.  He's helping pull his pants down and pull them up...and with using the little potty now, hopefully it won't be long until he can go on his own, but for now, we're celebrating dryness.
Balian has been wearing real underwear during the day at home, which have his favorite thing on them - Cars!  So, after he went 2 days of keeping his "cars" all-dry, we watched the movie Cars (he'd never seen it before).  Of course, through the entire hour and a half of the movie we hear "Ca, ca!" (car, car) over and over again...he was so excited!
The bad news is that on day 6 I was reminded that just because a kid is "potty- trained" doesn't mean there won't be accidents...and some days will be better than others...and any little change in their day can make things worse.  oh, and resistance can rear its ugly head as well...and they may just decided that they don't like the little potty again...oh well.  at least I know that the end of potty training my second-born is around the corner somewhere...just not sure how long that corner is...

Balian is also starting to speak a little better.  He's actually trying to repeat what we say, instead of just grunting and calling it good like he has been.  We've tried to encourage him to repeat what we say, but he was having a pretty hard time.  After I started doing flashcards with him (just before Isaiah was born) we definitely saw a huge improvement with what letter sounds he could say.  Now we're at the point that there are only a couple letter sounds he can't say.  But what's even better than that - he not only can say the sounds, but he knows what letter makes what sound.  He doesn't know all of them yet, but we're working on it...here's a video:


Isaiah
It took about 2 weeks to notice the big differences in Isaiah after he got his lip-tie lasered, but now I am completely confident that we made the best choice in getting it done.  Not only is he latching on better and getting more milk at each feeding - He's now going longer between feedings because of more milk AND he is no longer waking up during his naps because of gas!  He is also a LOT easier to get down for naps in the first-place.  He is no longer being swaddled, and will put himself to sleep after some wind-down time of a diaper change and reading a book.  He loves his "lovey" bear blanket that was given to us by our friend Tricia, and he snuggles with it as he goes to sleep.
I think I've figured out that because of this, I have an additional 4 hours a day (if not more!) that I didn't have before - to spend with the other kids - or actually have some "me" time.  That is seriously a lot of time if you think about it!  Not to mention how much less stress I have now.  When your baby won't go to sleep because of gas...or is waking up constantly because of it - it can be emotionally draining and really stressful.
I am so, so thankful that we got all of this figured out!  Thank you, Jesus, for directing our paths!

I'll post more on Isaiah later - after his 4-month check-up.  For now, here's a picture of his first day in the "jumper."

Fabric!!!

So, I ordered a TON of supplies for diaper-making, and they arrived the other day!  I'm super-excited!  I haven't received all of it, because some stuff was on back-order, but here's what I've got:

For the fitted diapers/ inside of AIO diapers, we have 100% organic cotton fleece in Natural.  The good thing is that unlike most "natural" cotton cloth diapers you get, this fabric comes pre-scoured (de-gummed/oiled), so you don't have to wash it 5+ times to get it ready for use.  I'll wash it once before I cut diapers out of it, so really, after they're made, the diapers won't HAVE to be pre-washed at all - unless you just want to wash them.

Next, we have PUL (waterproof fabric) for covers and the outside layer of AIO diapers.  From left to right, we have Chocolate (some, but not a lot), purple, White, Aqua, Red, and Spring Green.

I can do 2 layers of PUL for a cover, or I can do one layer of PUL on the inside, and cute cotton prints on the outside:

Chocolate dots, 123s, Multi-dots, and Flowers

What you can get:
Fitted diapers (snaps and thread match - based on size)

Covers - either 2 layers of PUL or PUL on the inside and cotton print on the outside.

AIO diapers (fitted diaper and cover are all-in-one piece)  I can do side-snap or front snap.

Sizes:
NB (up to 10 lbs.), M (10-20 lbs.), and L (20-30 or so lbs)
Also, I can do one-size, which is essentially the size L with lots of adjustments to make it fit from NB+ - but like all one-size diapers, they won't fit AS well as the sizes - and the smaller the baby is, the more bulky they will be because of the extra fabric that wouldn't be on the smaller sizes.

I haven't set up my Etsy shop yet.  My thought was to make a bunch of stuff, then set up shop and sell it.  But, I've already had some people (friends) put in some orders that I'll be working on.

Also, I've had some people just donate money toward what I'm doing, and because of this, I'll be sending some diapers to Romania in about a week!  I found out about this opportunity only a week ago, so I won't be able to do as much as I would like, but I'll be sending some...and maybe I can send more to the same place as time goes on.

Anyway, I'm excited!  Now, to sew like mad...