I'm not one to be super "crunchy" as a mom or anything, but I do exclusively breastfeed Charlie and although I haven't had it as "hard" as some new moms have, sometimes it has been frustrating.
Reading this explanation from a baby's point of view made me a lot more willing to keep on trying.
SIX
Since I've basically turned into a mommy-blogger over here; I just wanted to remind you to check out the post featuring Charlie's baby showers!
We were so blessed to be showered by lots of friends and family and I loved all the little details in both days. 💙
SEVEN
Saturday, we took Charlie to his first bull sale, Southern Excellence at Whelan Farms.
This is a sale we always enjoy going to and the weather was beautiful, I can only imagine all the future sales he'll be running around at in the future!
It's on sale for only $30 and I'm loving all the little details.
NINE
Sunday we got out one of our horses, Willow, and let Charlie on for the first time!
Y'all, this is something I've looked forward to for a very long time-having a son or daughter to pass the horse bug on to and I'm hoping Charlie got the fever today!
And man, did it feel good to just be back in the saddle myself.
It's been so long since I've ridden and I really missed it.
TEN
Since Charlie's first Christmas is coming quickly (omg, how is it so soon?!) I'm trying to decide what ornaments I want to get to add to the tree that will be in his room. . .
This black Lab would be perfect since it looks just like our Forrest
But this dog ornament is precious too, I just love the bottlebrush details
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TWO WHOLE MONTHS with our boy! ❤
You can check out his one month update here, it seems like just yesterday I was sharing that here...time is just flying by.
(Just a little behind the scenes of what our photoshoots look like...big brother, Forrest is never far away)
Weight: 11 Pounds 10.5 Ounces
Height: 24 Inches
Clothes:
He's pretty much wearing solid 0-3 month outfits and starting in some 3-6 outfits (like some of his Baby Gap clothes). He's outgrowing some of my favorite outfits and it makes me so sad!
Sleep:
We've had some huge improvements with his sleep, but I'm trying not to get too excited about it because I know just how easily that can go away.
He typically takes a few naps throughout the day, he has basically transitioned to having to nap in his bassinet in our room-he can't sleep really well for long periods of time in the living room anymore.
We start trying to put him to bed around 7, for an 8 o'clock (hopefully) bedtime.
Sometimes he gets there, sometimes he doesn't. We're trying to get there though!
Usually we can get a five hour stretch out of him at night, then he'll wake up to eat, then sleep for two or three more hours so I consider that a win at two months old.
Schedule:
Still eating at 2 hour intervals during the day, but like I just mentioned we do get those longer stretches at night usually.
He's napping more regularly for longer times, just at fewer intervals.
Still no real schedule, because we don't focus on actual times of day, just lengths between naps/eating/etc.
Health:
So far, our boy hasn't had any big health issues.
He has had two colds, but we do take him with us basically everywhere we go which equals being around people which equals germs. Plus it's just that gross time of year with weather changes and people being sick.
We're thankful that it wasn't anything that couldn't be treated with his nose frida, humidifier, and some snuggles.
Crying:
Our little guy really doesn't cry unless he's over-tired or over-hungry.
He wants his diaper changed immediately, but as soon as you pick him up and head in the direction of his room where we change him, he seems to know it and stops crying.
Likes:
Laying on his play-mat
Riding in the truck
Sitting with us at the table at restaurants
Being talked to
Dislikes:
Forrest licks (we're working on the no-licking thing)
Sitting still in his carseat
Having his nose wiped/cleaned out
Milestones:
Holding his head up really well for very short periods of time
Pushing up on his arms while doing tummy time
Places You've Gone:
Auburn! (Several times!)
The Vet School (for Forrest's appointments)
Acre for a yummy lunch date
To Aunt Judy & Uncle Bill's house
To the dentist with Mommy & Daddy
Your first trip to Waffle House 😂
Trunk or Treat at church
Farm City Luncheon
To the polls to "vote" for the first time!
To your first Clay County Farmer's Federation meeting/dinner
To the local City Council meeting so Mama & Daddy could receive a Proclamation from the Council
Postpartum:
Y'all, I don't want to brag but I feel great.
Literally probably better than I did before I got pregnant with Charlie.
I'm down to lower than my pre-pregnancy weight and I want it to just keep coming off.
I try to be more active (it's been hard this past week with the rainy weather), but walks in the neighborhood with Forrest and just keeping busy around the house plus watching what I eat and trying to drink lots of water-those are the things that I attribute my success to.
It must be working because I've gotten lots of compliments about how I've looked lately so that's always a positive feeling!
This was convenient for bringing Charlie home in his first month when he slept a lot on the couch next to me during the day, however really where it has come in handy is using it inside of his Halo Bassinest! It's the perfect size and it makes him feel so cozy and safe, so it's the perfect mix of having him comfortable and close to me at night but not co-sleeping in the bed with us.
Charlie has several pairs of pajamas, but some of my favorites are the ones from Old Navy.
This pair in particular are so cute for wintertime because they're Christmas red & have different cute doggies on them! I also really love them for their price and the sweet inverted zipper detail (aka it unzips from the foot).
We haven't always swaddled Charlie, but in the past few weeks that's been the only way to get him to stay asleep for those longer stretches.
Sometimes we use a Rafe+Moose swaddle blanket & other nights we use this super sweet swaddle sack from Halo.
It's SO easy to use because you just zip their body up, tuck their arms in and then wrap the swaddle around them, using the velcro to keep them in place.
This one is actually on sale & I'm SO tempted to pick up another one.
This might be the most pricey thing I've ever mentioned for Charlie, but it's probably the thing that's given us the most peace of mind, especially with his cold/cough he was dealing with for the past week.
It's an oxygen and heart rate monitor that he wears on his foot while sleeping and it connects to an app on my phone that I can check at any time.
I don't really use this as a nursing pillow, but we do use it to prop our boy up in and he loves it!
He's so alert and loves to sit up and be able to see around him, so we love using this while we're playing with him-I'm sure it will continue to come in handy as he gets older.
In a moment of desperation, I discovered that Charlie loves the sound of white noise by playing this video for him & it quieted him down right away and almost immediately put him to sleep.
Well, after a week or two of using my phone to play this YouTube video all night, I picked up this white noise machine on Amazon & never looked back.
It's portable so we'll be able to take it with us when we travel and it has tons of different sounds-it's super affordable as well.
We registered for this & got it as a gift for one of our baby showers and it's one of my favorite things to use for tummy time for Charlie.
He loves that it plays music and has a mirror, I love the little pillow to prop him up on and I'm sure he'll love all the little toys as he becomes more able to grab and hit them in the future.
Well, these are our favorites for month two & a little update on our sweet baby boy...let me know if you have any tips for helping him sleep longer through the night, kicking the swaddle habit in the future, and any product or toy suggestions for the next month with our sweet love!
Now that Charlie is here (he's almost TWO months old, can you believe that?!) I'm so thrilled to share our baby showers with y'all.
Both of them had so many sweet details and we were able to share our excitement with so many friends and family.
My first shower was given by my mom & sisters, as well as a few other family members and it was held at my aunt & uncle's barn venue.
My oldest sister Trystan did all of the chalk art and calligraphy that you see around the party.
She also created this shower invitation just for me, based off of the quilt set that we chose for Charlie's room. You can have her make custom invitations and stationary items by visiting her Etsy shop-she's amazing, y'all!
Loved this chalk art that she did for us!
Here are some shots of our gift tables, we were showered with so many beautiful and special gifts!
Trystan also painted this sweet "C" for Charlie's room-it matches his furniture almost perfectly.
Personalized gifts are the most fun, don't you think?!
This heirloom quilt hangs on the front of his crib & that name blanket is a staple for Charlie's diaper bag every time we leave the house.
The food for this shower was pretty much my favorite!
We decided to do mini pies instead of cake or cupcakes and I thought it was such a fun, rustic touch perfect for our theme and venue.
We chose sweet potato (my favorite!), apple, lemon, and cherry from our favorite bakery in town.
We also had tons of fruit on the menu, a staple for me!
I'll be sure to share this sherbet punch recipe soon-it's delicious but so bad for your diet-haha!
My sister Julie's sausage pinwheels and chicken ball, plus my favorite pimento cheese rounded out our menu-so yummy! My mouth is totally watering just thinking about all of my favorite snacks.
My sweet husband came by to help us load all the goodies up to take home, so of course we had to snag a quick picture! I wore my all-time favorite dress, a Lilly maxi that is perfect then and I can still wear it now!
So many of my sweet friends were able to come & celebrate with us which made this shower even more special.
I hate that I don't have any pictures with my mom & sisters, but they did such a beautiful job with this shower and I appreciated it so much!
The second shower that I was given was thrown by our sweet church family. . .
Our guest book was the children's book "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" and the theme was "Muffins & Mama" which I thought was just the cutest thing. We had pictures of our childhood up to show off-so sweet!
The food set up was just beautiful & so tasty, coffee punch and a variety of little muffins-both sweet and savory.
The most yummy petite fours ever!
Our church family was so generous to our family-we were so thankful for everything!
Family 💙
Love these sweet hostesses!
And of course, a picture with my sweet! (His eyes would be closed in this picture-darn it!)
I wore one of my favorite Lilly dresses for this shower too, this print was perfect for a boy's baby shower!
Our family has been so blessed through this journey of bringing Charlie into our family-we are so thankful not just for the gifts, but for the love and support that we have felt all along the way.
I'm so glad I can share these pictures with y'all too!
