Levi- 7 Months

Levi turned 7 months yesterday(Saturday 6/23/12).  And..... so I will be able to remember for years to come...here is a little overview of our sweet little man at 7 months!

- Went for his 6 month well check a week and a half ago and he is 27.5 inches long(75th percentile), 17lbs(25th percentile), and has a head circumference of about 17.5 inches(60th percentile).

-Nurses 5 times a day and is still exclusively breastfed. Actually at this point we aren't planning on starting solids any time soon. When at Levi's appointment the Dr. asked if he had had anything other than breast milk. I sheepishly replied no thinking he would get on to me for not having started sooner. But his response surprised me! He said, "Great, don't! Wait till he is a year old."  He then proceeded to tell me all the benefits of exclusively breastfeeding for one year. I knew exclusively breastfeeding till 6 months was good and had benefits and I knew with me that my mom waited till I was 8 months to start solids but I had never heard of waiting till a year. I was so excited that my Dr. was even more pro-breastfeeding than I thought but I was also relieved because adding solids sounded like so much work(lazy I know). Levi is sitting up much better, and is acting VERY interested but the Dr. said not to worry and to just keep giving him the breast milk popsicles or something to play with when we are eating! I asked him a few questions about it, and that was it. So for now the plan is to just keep doing what we are doing!


-Sits up unsupported but is still prone to toppling over sometimes.


-Gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Sometimes he plops forward but mostly he scootches backwards while doing this.


-Talks a lot when in a familiar environment or when he is not around a lot of people.


-Is very quiet when there is a lot going on around him.


-Can be very serious and pensive.


-Just recently started getting more interested in moving around and exploring. Is usually too content and too chill to care much about moving. Can spend forever in one place just looking around and inspecting everything.


-Is SOOOOOO very smiley.


-Loves to laugh and play with people but seems to prefer one on one or one on 2-3 rather than larger groups. 


- Loves to read. Can sit and read and be still for 30 minutes (he may be able to do more, we have just never read longer than that). His favorite book right now is the Berenstain Bears B Book.  He kicks his feet and gets so excited with EVERY page!  It's soooo cute!!!  


-poops once a day or every other day...but sometimes still poops twice a day. He's very irregular!! ha!


-most days still takes 3 naps. each nap is usually 1.5 hrs long but sometimes one nap will be 2.5 hrs long. does OK if he skips naps as long as we are on the go. Can stay up till 9 or 10 and be mostly pleasant if I work his naps during the day just right and there is plenty going on to keep him interested.


-usually sleeps from 8 or 8:30pm till 7am. Slept in till 8:30am yesterday and I was soooo shocked he NEVER does that!  


-Totally makes it obvious when he is tired...he gets SOOO winey! Unless he is really entertained  in which case you can only tell he is tired by his stillness and eye rubbing.

-always wakes up happy from naps and in the morning.

-Is already very opinionated and will let you know if he does not want to do something. Sometimes he really protests getting his diaper changed and gives me attitude but he is slowly starting to respond to me firmly telling him "no sir."  While proceeding to tell him in a super happy voice why it's good for him to get a diaper change.

-Has beautiful blue eyes that pierce your heart!

-Has the most perfect full kissy lips!

-Still has his pointy little elf ears. LOVE THEM!

-Has the fastest growing nails ever. I am always needing to cut them.

-loves to grab at faces.

-loves playing with his daddy like nothing else.

-lights up when daddy comes home from work.

-loves water.. whether it's a bath, the pool, the frio river, or a splash pad park! He is MY boy!!!

-loves being outside.

-loves to talk to family on G+/ G talk video.

-loves when daddy plays the piano for him or when I play the guitar for him. He really loves music and singing. Right now his favorite songs are The Rainbow Connection, The Bear Necessities, Veggie Tales Theme, and A Bushel and a Peck!

-Still spits up a lot.

-Drools A TON most of the time.

-Still hasn't watched a movie or TV, only an occasional video on YouTube. Hoping I can keep this up!

-Wears 6month 9month and even some 12 month clothes.  With his long body and poofy cloth diapers he can fit in almost anything!

-loves to play peek a boo/ hide in seek..etc. He loves it when I crawl around the room and hide and then peek out and say "boo."

-Loves to look in mirrors

-Has really fat wide feet..he's a hobbit I tell you! :)

-Likes to look at the wall where we have all our family pictures hanging.

-Likes big bouncing curly hair.

-Still enjoys being worn in the wrap.

-Is really into bending backwards and looking upside down.

-Is still sooo distracted while nursing. And sometimes it seems like he barely eats anything!

-Has many nicknames such as, Boo, biggie or biggie boy, baboozle, and Leaves.

-Loves beards..especially uncle Shane's!

-Is the most wonderful thing on God's green earth!

Happy 7 months Levi Grady...Momma and Daddy love you more each day and are so thankful for every day of life God gives you!

Our essential baby items list: Products we love!

I have so many pregnant first time Momma friends that I thought I should do a post on what Tristan and I think are the baby essentials.  I remember looking around online to find a list that would help me know the bare minimum basics, yet not neglect things that really make life with baby easier.  For years I have wanted to be a minimalist about things ...but even when you want to be a minimalist it seems to still take A LOT of stuff!! I'm including in this list the items for cloth diapering you would need too!

1. 8-12 cloth diaper covers. I HIGHLY recommend my friend Addie's diaper covers. She gave me 8 covers as a gift...we love them. Here is the link to her store : http://diapercircus.com/

These are the ones she made for Levi

2. 24 unbleached cotton prefold diapers. I really like econobum's unbleached cotton prefolds and the prefolds Addie makes!

3. 3-4 dozen cloth wipes. I bought these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040T80JA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

I figured there was no need to buy actual fancy wipes that cost a ton, so I just got baby wash cloths..an idea I got from Addie.  These are only $5.00 + $2.00 shipping so $7 for 12 wipes...not bad. I love them!  They work better than other things I have tried. I usually just wet several with water once a day and put them in the wipe warmer.

4. 2 Diaper pail liners.  I got these in slate: http://www.nickisdiapers.com/planet-wise-diaper-pail-liner.html

5. 1-2 to go wet bags. I have 1 that Addie made for Levi..it's super cute!  

6. Wipe Warmer. Not a necessity, but my mom bought us one and I love having it!

7. But Cream.  We use Dr. Smith's per my midwife's reccomendation.  It works awesome. If Levi gets a little redness I jsut smear it on and by the next diaper change it's gone.

8. Diaper Sprayer for Toilet. We bought this one: http://www.nickisdiapers.com/bum-genius-diaper-sprayer.html

9. Moby Wrap.  I was afraid to try it. It seemed complicated. But, I kept hearing that I should give it a try and  that once I got it down I would love it. So I watched the video below over and over and practiced and what do you know...I LOVE it.  Like, I can't live without it and I think EVERY mom should have one love it.  And not only do I love it but Levi loves it.  He has from the beginning and still does!! And of all the carrier options out there I find it's one of the cheapest. And it's easy to wash.  Also, if you want to support a smaller company you can buy the Lu Lu Wrap which is essentially the same thing but hand made by a momma!

10. Car Seat. I highly recommend Britax. Fortunately, my friend Kaye had already done tons of research on car seats so I just looked up Britax per her suggestion and was really impressed.  This was one area we weren't concerned with saving money. Our carseat cost over $150.00...but worth every penny in my mind!

11. Pack N Play.  Totally didn't think I would need this ...boy was I wrong! We put Levi down to sleep in it all the time.  It helps you to still get out and do things at night and during nap time!

12. White Noise Sound Machine. We use it as part of our bedtime and nap routine to help clue Levi in on what's about to happen and the womb like sounds seemed to really help him when he was littler. We have this one.

13. Video Monitor. I thought we didn't need a monitor....that they were silly and over kill. Boy was I wrong.  I LOVE the thing! We have this one and have been super happy with it! I totally a convert that a monitor is a necessity!

14. Jogging Stroller.  If you love to run or just want to take walks on more off terrain type trails than a stroller a jogging stroller is a must have. Levi loves going out and seeing the world in ours.  

15. Car mirror.  It's great to look in the rear view mirroe and be able to see what Levi is doing and he now enjoy's looking at himself as well. 

16. A good diaper bag. I still don't have a diaper bag and the bag I have is an exploding mess. I love to be organized and for everything to have a place so this is really annoying.  Maybe eventually I will find the right bag..at the right price...but until then I'll just stick with what I have. 

17. High Chair/ Booster Seat.  We have this one. I love it. Our place is small so this is perfect as it just straps down to a table we already have.  It's also really easy to clean and portable.  I think it's so great that there is really no need for a Bumbo.

18. Bouncy Seat.  We have this one in a tan color. I love it because it's simple looking. I can't even count how much we have used this thing with Levi. We don't use it as much anymore but we couldn't have done without it.  It was so helpful!

19. Mesh feeder/ teether. My friend Kaye gave us this one. We just started using ours when we started incorporating Levi into our dinner routine.  I made breast-milk ice cubes(we call it momsicle) that I put in the feeder and he sits and eats in at dinner while we eat.  He LOVES it!!!! 

20. Floor mat.  Our mat is great for naked time which Levi loves since he has bulky cloth diapers on all day...and will be very helpful when Levi starts solids.

21. 4-5 Pacifiers(you need them everywhere...they disappear easily!) I know not everyone wants to use them and some babies don't like them...but Levi really took to his well and it was really helpful in soothing him when we were out and about.

22. Swaddler. Levi weaned from swaddling almost 2 months ago so we don't need it anymore but for Levi during those first 3 months he couldn't sleep at night without it. My favorites are The Miracle Blanket and the True Womb Swaddler.  Both contained Levi comfortably! We tried swaddling him with blankets ..like those cute bamboo ones...but he was too wiggly and could get out! We found it best to have 2 so if one gets dirty and is getting washed you aren't without one!

http://truewomb.com/

http://www.miracleblanket.com/index.htm

23. Sophie. Levi doesn't have many toys but if I had to pick his favorite it would be Sophie for sure. But he also loves his links(which are great for hanging and connecting things to strollers too.) and his activity walker.

24. Clothes! We have been so blessed and haven't had to buy much at all. Levi pretty much lives in Footie PJ's every night, and One Piece outfits during the day..when he has clothes on that is. When he was little and since he was born in December we needed about 7 footie pj's in whatever size he was wearing just so I didn't have to do laundry too often.

25. Burb Cloths/ Thin Blankets.  Levi spits up all the time especially now that he moves around so much so we have to have a cloth or 2 in the living room, one in the bathroom, one in the bed room...one...you get the picture...EVERYWHERE!  

26. A nursing cover.

27. Breast Friend Nursing Pillow....my favorite!!

28. Breast Pump.  I don't use mine very often but there are times that it's soooo helpful!  Like on roadtrips, or for making momsicles..etc.  

29. Books.  Levi LOVES to read so we have lots of books and our favorite is the Jesus Storybook Bible. It's a great children's bible.

30. Children's music.  We love music in our home and listen to all kinds and though I don't prefer most kid music..Levi loves it and so many of the songs are great for educational purposes and learning scripture!

I'm sure there are other things that I am just not thinking of right now but I think I covered the basics. 

We don't use a children's bath tub..Tristan or I just get in the tub with Levi. We have done this since birth.  We don't have any special soaps or lotions. I make a natural, mild body wash/ hand soap for our family that we just use for Levi too.  So those things cut down on stuff!

Hope this helps some of you momma's to be!  Let me know if you have any questions or if I left anything out!

Other momma's out there...what did I forget?  What are your go to baby items? Let me know in the comments!!

Sickness, teething, worry, and a new trick!

(This was written Friday, but i couldn't get it to post)

(Also, blogging from my phone has been giving me trouble lately..so sorry if you get an email about the same post several times)

So yesterday I was sick..like couldn't get out of bed sick! So poor Levi pretty much just stayed on my bed with me all day! I felt awful but for him it wasn't so bad!  

There were lots of moments like this:

Tristan was amazing at helping me! When he came home from work he brought me some get well necessities and made me soup! He's wonderful!

Levi was extra super sleepy yesterday so I think he was fighting off whatever I had. Or it could be teething.

Speaking of teething, Levi has had a rough week as far as that is concerned. He's generally been happy most of the day with just a lot of drooling and fist gnawing.. but at his 5 pm feeding and until bedtime... wow...he has had some really sad, "I'm in pain" cries where he wouldn't      even nurse...he would just arch his back and writh in pain. He seems to be very sensitive when he is in pain and is very cuddly... I love that part!

With everything that's been going on (and the fact that he is so excited about the world around him)...he seems like he hasn't been eating as much...so naturally (but unfortunately), I worry!  Any tips mommas on how to not worry so much about things? Whenever he's upset or things aren't going well it's hard not for me to worry.."what am I doing wrong." Or "what did I do wrong." Anyone else experience this? I have these moments of deep trust in the Lord as a mom and in giving Him Levi's life...but I still find myself doubting everything I'm doing sometimes!

On a happier note..Levi has now not only found his feet but is obsessed with putting them in his mouth! It's sooo cute! He really loves his feet!

So, today we are trying to get back in the swing of things. We went for a jog at town lake and I made myself a ginger, lime,mango,carrot green smoothie in hopes of it giving me a shot in the arm!

A day in the life- 5 months

Here is a view into what a day at home sort of looks like for Levi at 5 months! Obviously on days we get out more or get out all day things look much different... but you get the idea!

-7am- Tristan and I go get Levi out of his crib and Levi nurses.

7:30am- Levi hangs out with Tristan while he gets ready for work and I go downstairs make coffee, pack Tristan's lunch, and make us smoothies.

8am- send Tristan.. aka daddy... off to work

8-8:30 - Levi and I play or he watches me do the dishes and plays in his booster seat.

8:30am- we head upstairs and read and sing and cuddle to get Levi wound down for nap time.

9am-10:30am - Levi naps

10:30-11am Levi wakes and eats

11am-12:00 we play, or go for a walk or Levi watches me do more cleaning!

12:30- we head upstairs and wind down for the next nap time!

12:30-2pm Levi naps

2-2:30- Levi wakes and eats

2:30-3:30pm- more play time or Levi watches me prepare some dinner things

3:30-4pm we wind down again for nap time

4-5 or 5:30 Levi naps

5ish Levi wakes and eats
5:30-6:30 I finish dinner, etc and we play some more

6:30pm - Tristan gets home from work and we eat while Levi sits at the table in his high chair and eats his momsicle

7pm - Levi has naked time and we watch him roll and play! Then Tristan reads to us,  and we pray.

7:30 or so I feed Levi and Levi is usually down to sleep no later than 8pm.

Levi-5 months

-rolls front to back and back to front very fluidly.
- has found his feet and loves to play with them! - sleeps 7:30pm or 8pm to 7am unsaddled and loves it!
- wakes up happy and talking in his crib most mornings and gives us the biggest smile when we go in to get him.
- recently became a thumb sucker when he is sleepy, or during his sleep.
- nurses 5 times in 24 hours. about 10-15 minutes on each side.
- is very sweet while nursing and usually does something cute like touching my face.
- is VERY easily distracted while nursing.
- loves to be outside
- loves to watch other kids play
- likes to sit up, rather than recline
- is generally very happy, Smiley, and content most days.
- melts our hearts every time he flashes us a smile.
- laughs a lot...especially if I'm being utterly ridiculous. And sometimes laughs just because I am laughing!
- naps 3 times a day for about an hour and a half each time.
- is very flexible and does ok if we are out and about all day and some of his naps get cut short. Seems to love being on the go!
- still is content in the moby wrap when we go out and and about.
- can sit quietly through most of the church service.
- watches Tristan and I like a hawk when we are eating.
- loves to sit at the dinner table like a big boy at dinner and eat his momsicle.
- talks to family on Google talk or in a Google plus hangout at least once a day. He must think everyone lives inside my phone or computer.
- is really learning how to get around by rolling and semi scooting.
- doesn't mind being on his tummy like when we first started doing tummy time at 6 weeks... he has pretty much disliked it until just a few weeks ago.
- loves loves loves to read, even long older kid books.
- loves spending time with Tristan while he is getting ready for work and talks so much I hear him all the way downstairs in the kitchen!
- gets a huge smile on his face when he hears Tristan's voice when he comes home from work.
- can go down for naps and bedtime with daddy.
- took a bottle from daddy while I was away from home taking care of Larry and Jana's girls
- loves loves loves bath time!
- loves to listen to music, and has "sang" along a few times.
- grasps and picks up things well.
- loves to put everything in his mouth.
- drools constantly and acts like he is going to bit his fists off. Sometimes is very irritable and cries a lot from teething pain.
- has outgrown most 3-6 month clothes and some 6 month clothes due to his big butt cloth diapers!
- loves to get his diaper changed.
- may love being naked more than anything else in the world.
- has beautiful soft dirty blonde hair growing in.
- still has huge beautiful blue eyes.
- has beautiful,smooth, peachy skin.
- gets hot easily and does not like to be hot!
- loves to look out the windows of the car.
-arches his back and does this scream protest thing when he doesn't want to do something... to which Tristan and I have already been telling him "no sir" very firmly.
- has defiantly already shown us he is not perfect and needs our consistency and correction! ;)
- has me and Tristan totally and completely in love with him. We are crazy about our boy!
- has shown and thought Tristan and I more real and deep things about our heavenly father and life than anything else has to date!
- is very very very loved!
Thanks to Mary Beaver for giving me the idea to do monthly posts like this...and keeping me motivated to blog!
And though it is sooo hard for me to do things out of order I felt like I needed to start blogging in real time and just do back track posts when I can!

A few more pictures of the early days

 Levi spent a lot of time laying in the sun in our room. He was only slightly jaundice, so I mostly did it because he liked it, I wanted him to get plenty of Vitamin D, and I wanted him to know it was day time! I loved watching him lay there.  He was so calm and observant.

 Kaye came over the next week to meet Levi. We sat and talked about our favorite things. Natural childbirth(I told her everything and showed her ALL the videos), mommyhood, etc...and of course we did it all while eating some delicious healthful(as a cookie can be),chocolate chip cookies she brought! Kaye came over several times during Levi's first months of life and left me talk it all out! She was so encouraging and made me feel totally normal. She also brought delicious meals and treats everytime...and once she even cleaned our bathrooms, did the dishes and I think even swept and mopped and vacuumed!  It was amazing! She is amazing! Love you sister!

Katie even got to meet Levi shortly after he was born because she was travelling back from Thanksgiving in Dallas.  It was such a wonderful and unexpected surprise because I thought Levi wouldn't get to meet her till Christmas break!    

 Levi's first time to leave the house! We went to target to get me some nursing sleep bras! Levi did great in his car seat and loved walking around the store with daddy while mommy tried on bras! This was on the 29th and I remember being pretty sore from all the walking and standing when we got home. For the most part I tried to take it really easy and follow my midwifes advice. She mentioned to me that if I noticed I was bleeding more to slow down. If the bleeding wasn't slowly getting less, I was doing to much...it was a good gauge for me.  I remember using LOTS of ice packs to help with the swelling and not sitting on my bottom much at all. After 11 hours of pushing ..I had a lot of swelling. But fortunately only a few small nicks/tears..and I didn't get any stitches. 

 Beautiful sweet boy!

 Levi and my mom! I think my mom ended up staying with us 2 weeks and my dad was with us about a week.  It was wonderful to have my mom with us.  She just cooked and cleaned and worked and worked.... and did her thing so Tristan and I could just focus on our boy! It was wonderful and she was a work horse as usual. Tristan and I wish she could come live with us really..but not because she is the most servant hearted person I know but because she is my best friend!  I remember sitting with her one time and crying and saying, "I can't believe you loved(and love) me this much." I'm pretty sure I apologized a million times too about any grief I may have caused her. It was a sweet moment that made me even more thankful for my mother.  Thank you daddy for sharing her with me so much..your the best!

Bethany and John Ryan finally got to meet Levi the 1st of December.  They had come up here for the birth but because it was taking SOOOO long they ended up having to leave to get back for some important commitments in Corpus.  In hindsight I could care less that I had a super long labor...EXCEPT for the fact that it meant these 2 couldn't be there.  Tristan and I want to share every(ok maybe not every..but...most every anyway) moment in life with them so it was like a huge moment of completeness when they got to meet our son. It was a beautiful moment and I could feel the love! 

First 5 days of life outside the womb

Levi's first 5 days of life in pictures! Looking back over these is such a joy...wants to make me go wake Levi up and just snuggle with him!  I love my boy!

All bundled up for his first night

My parents decorated our home inside and out!

Levi slept on grandpa for quite a while the next morning!

Since the next day was Thanksgiving my mom and dad made us a Thanksgiving spread and my mom even folded the napkins like diapers!!!

My midwifes assistant Nina came to check up on me and Levi on Friday! I love her!

Friday night Levi got to meet Heather, Paul, and Heidi when everyone was on their way back from Thanksgiving in LaVernia. We toasted, prayed, cried tears of joy and sang songs over Levi it was a beautiful evening!  

My dad even changed Levi's diaper!  

He's just beautiful!!!

Family Nap

Sunday morning Levi met the Gross family!

Levi meets Aunt Kate and Uncle Shane!

What a doll!  He was so alert and attentive from the start!

First Bath! We took an Herb bath together made from some healing herbs that came in our birth kit! He loved his first bath and still loves to take baths!

Blissed out!