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...

Discoveries, Confirmations, and School

I made a fabulous discovery this past week.  Well, I say that.  Really, I've known it all along, but it was definitely confirmed this week.  Here it is:

About 90% of Bella's disciplinary problems stem from boredom - lack of cognitive challenge and/or physical and metal stimulation.

I mean really, I've known this.  The kid will wander around the house or follow me around like a puppy dog...drives me crazy...  I'll tell her to go find something to do, but playing just isn't enough for her.  And let's be honest - I have been horrible about challenging her.  Yes, we've done "school" but not super-consistently.  And once Isaiah came - yeah...didn't happen.  Anyway, so on Thursday I decided to do an experiment (on my children...mwah-ha-ha!)  I was going to have Bella and Balian paint, but Bella said she wanted to do play-dough...so they did play-dough at their "little table" while I was feeding Isaiah...(the first time I've included Balian) and lo and behold - they played together!  they shared!  there was no fighting!  Bella was actually helping her brother, and Bella probably worked on play-dough for a good hour or so.  seriously.  Then, I tried to make a point of letting Bella do as much as she could all by herself.  She made her own sandwich for lunch, cleaned up her own messes, and helped me with various things (not that she doesn't do these things on a typical day...just trying to over-emphasize it).  That afternoon, I pulled out the mega-blocks, and Bella built towers for over an hour that afternoon.
Over the course of the entire day I had little to no disciplinary problems with her.  I know that all of these activities seem elementary for her, but the point was that she needs direction to get her started on something, but once she got started, she would work diligently for over an hour without a fuss, a fight, or wandering around aimlessly...

The odd thing is that I suppose I have been wandering pretty aimlessly myself, so to speak.  I mean, I've had this idea of what I want "school" to look like, but I haven't been able to achieve it.  I tried getting a curriculum, but every day as I'm looking over the activities for the day, most of it wasn't challenging for Bella at all.  And I am so not good at coming up with my own activities - that takes a special kind of creativity, and I don't have it.  I actually was thinking about giving up the whole homeschooling thing for this next year and enrolling Bella into a PK-4 class.  I was actually looking at some websites for some local places...but I couldn't seem to find what I was looking for.  Then, just out of curiosity, I checked out the Montessori schools - and I realized then that my whole way of doing things (teaching, potty training, etc.) all seemed to be rooted in this "Montessori" approach.  The ironic thing is that over a year ago my mom had given me a book called "Teaching Montessori in the Home" - I just never took the time to look at it.  So I suppose a lot of my ideas about potty training and teaching my kids in general have stemmed from my mom's way of doing things, which came from the Montessori approach.  Totally makes sense.  The more I looked into teaching Montessori at home, the more I liked it - and the more I saw that I really could do it - and how perfect it is for ALL of the kids, because it is supposed to be used in a context of multiple ages.
So now, we have a plan for next year (or as soon as we can set it up) that is much less stressful, and much more challenging for Bella.  It helps her to work at her own pace and teaches her to become self-disciplined in all that she does.
In the meantime, I'm trying to incorporate as much of the Montessori approach into everything that we do here, at home, as much as I can.  Now that I know what I want, I have much more direction (and motivation) to do it.

This week we've done a lot of "small" things.
Building towers with blocks:

And learning how to set a table properly:

Bella also learned her months of the year and can officially count by 10's on her own.  It always amazes me how much more easily kids learn when you put something into a song.  We learned the months of the year to the tune of "5 Little Indians."  The words all fit (if you add a couple of "and"s in there)and she learned it in about a day.  Works for me!

January, February, March, and April
May, June, July, and August
September, October, and November
December

Tongue Ties and Breastfeeding - Part 3

Today we went to Ft. Worth to see Dr. Cole about Isaiah's lip tie.  After looking him over, asking a lot of questions, and explaining all of the issues that it can cause, he said it boiled down to 2 questions:
1. "Is he gaining enough weight?"
2. "Are you experiencing any discomfort while nursing?"

The answer to the first question was yes.  He's been gaining weight well ever since he got his tongue clipped.  However, the answer to question #2 was yes as well.  I've still been having a lot of soreness while nursing.

Essentially, it boils down to if the lip tie is causing symptoms in either mom or baby.  If the baby has a lip-tie, but there are no symptoms in either the baby or the mom, then it doesn't need to be clipped.  However, if the baby or the mother are symptomatic, then it should be clipped to help with the nursing difficulties.  However, just as I have stated before, he explained that a baby can be symptomatic even if they aren't breastfeeding.  They can have just as hard of a time with a bottle as well - if not more so (like Balian did).

*side-note - I really liked Dr. Cole.  He isn't a pediatric dentist, but rather a holistic dentist.  You could tell right off that he is a believer, because of his incredible Joy.  Very positive and very good about explaining everything.  He wanted to make sure that I knew the ins and outs of the symptoms, why the symptoms were there (how it all worked), the procedure, and what to expect (or not expect) after the procedure and healing process.

After our consultation, Dr. Cole put a swab of stuff to numb a bit on the lip tie site. A couple minutes later, I swaddled Isaiah in his swaddle blanket and laid him down on the dental chair.  We all  put on our "special" glasses to protect our eyes - yes, even Isaiah - and while I kinda held Isaiah still, Dr. Cole used the laser to cut Isaiah's lip tie.

The procedure itself probably took about a minute or 2 total.  Isaiah cried a good amount, but only because they had to hold his upper lip up to cut the tie, which covered his nose and he couldn't breathe as well - or so he thought.  As soon as the procedure was done, he stopped crying, even before I picked him up.  They put some Aloe on the site to aid in the healing process, then left me to nurse him.

I immediately noticed a difference.  First, he was able to get SO much more of the nipple in his mouth - so he got a deeper latch.  His lip was able to flange up, like it's supposed to, and I could hardly see any of the areola - because Isaiah's mouth was covering it all!  His suction felt much stronger, and as soon as I had a let-down he started choking.  This totally makes sense.  He was able to stimulate the areola much more, and his suck could be more efficient due to a better latch - so my flow was a lot faster than what he was used to!  And that goes into the next thing - a shorter feeding!  It took him about 20 minutes to eat vs. the 30-45 minutes it has been taking.

I did notice a bit of discomfort on the areola while nursing - probably because Isaiah hasn't been stimulating that part of the areola up to this point.  So my nipples have been "toughened up" in the spot his mouth is usually stimulating, but because he's getting a deeper latch I'll have to kinda "re-toughen up" on the areola where he will be stimulating now.  Other than that, it felt much better.

At his second feeding, he did the same thing.  He actually drained the first breast in about 10 minutes, then only ate for about 5 minutes on the second side.  I don't think he has ever actually drained a breast before.  I usually switch sides before he does (at about the 15 minute point.)  So I was amazed.  I kept offering it to him again, but nope - he was done.

So, we set up a follow-up appointment, and they sent me home with instructions to stretch the lip out good with every feeding, give Tylenol if necessary, and they gave me some Aloe to put on the site a couple times a day until it healed.

Let the healing begin....

New Fitted Diapers for LoveBums

So I've been experimenting with some new fabrics and new techniques for some of my diapers.  I think I've got a new fitted diaper down, and I'll (hopefully) be ready to sell some of these pretty soon.  I finished this diaper yesterday, and I'm really happy with how it fits - so glad I have a baby to fit it on :)

Ok, so here's the stats:

This diaper is made out of 4 layers of 100% organic cotton fleece (so soft!!) - 2 diaper layers, and 2 soaker-pad layers.  100% organic cotton French Terry is another option that feels very similar - the same weight of fabric, and also very soft.  They both feel like your favorite sweatshirt!  Stitched and serged on edges for durability and no raveling.
6 snaps in the front.











Soaker pad is a "flap-style" - sewn in, but only on the top edge, so it "flaps" around while in the dryer, therefore drying faster.

Elastic at legs and waist, to help contain messes.







And I know you want to see this on a baby...

Isaiah is about 11.5 lbs. right now, and this is a size small that should fit 10-20 lbs.  The smallest snap setting fits, but is starting to get snug.

              

Not super-bulky, so it's easy to move around in, but the absorbency is very good.  Isaiah wet in it twice before I could even feel that it was damp, and at his normal diaper-change time, it was wet, but didn't feel totally soaked.

     Hugs the legs without being too tight.

Doesn't it just make you want a fluffy bum at home?

These will sell for $10 (the French Terry fitted would be $8 - less expensive fabric).  Most fitted diapers you find are well above that (about $15) for different sizes, and one-size fitted diapers are more like $20.  I think that's crazy.  And remember that all of my proceeds will be going toward making diapers for those that need them!!

I'll be ordering a bunch of supplies (hopefully) this week.  So I'll be making these ready-to-sell very soon! :)

Let me know what you think!!

Cars

Balian's new favorite obsession: