LUCA THE LION // 6 MONTHS OLD
OH my goodness. We made it to half a year. We have a little boy who is SIX months old and sits up by himself!!! He's no longer a little bitty baby...he's turning into a little boy!! But he's still my little lion.
LUCA AT SIX MONTHS
OH my goodness. We made it to half a year. We have a little boy who is SIX months old and sits up by himself!!! He's no longer a little bitty baby...he's turning into a little boy!! But he's still my little lion.
WEIGHT: 17.7 lbs
He's getting up there! Last month I used our home scale which overestimates a bit, so he probably gained just under a lb this month. I thought he would be waaaay heavier because he started solids but nope, still in the 17lb range! He's still on the 50th percentile for weight and height so he's trucking along well!
HEIGHT: 26.5 inches
He grew a half inch this month. When I nurse him, he feels SO long! Can't imagine what he'll be at 9 months!
WEARS: I've finally started to put him in 6-12 month clothing. I haven't packed up all the 3-6 month clothing yet, but I must because it's waaay too small! I'm on the hunt for plain white onesies but I can't find them anywhere. I bought him this bear suit and it's the cutest. Ahh, the Gap has some seriously cute things right now...like this sweater (which is on sale too!) and these Mickey pants!
SLEEPS: This month Luca's sleeping has been amazing! Most nights he goes down between 6:30-7 and sleeps straight until 7 the next morning. I know, it may change when he cuts a tooth or gets sick but I'm just going to declare that it will stay this way ;) And ps. I still wake up in the middle of the night to check on him/go pee!
We finally got a video baby monitor where we can see him at night and it is the best! We used to use my ipad and then connect it to one of our phone's. It worked great but you couldn't see the video at night and I had to keep my phone in our room (we're really trying to not use our phones at night and not have them in the bedroom!) A couple weeks ago Luca started rolling over in his sleep and I got soo freaked out and convinced James we needed a video monitor. It's been so great though! I would find myself checking on him in the middle of the night and sometimes opening his door would wake him up (oops!) Now all I need to do is turn the monitor screen on and I can stare at his sweet sleeping face. #best
Naps are going really well! I'm learning more and more that he's not an on the go type of napper. He's actually a bit of a diva when it comes to sleep...white noise, sleep sack, warm room, space to spread out...lols.
EATS: And this month we started solids!!! Luca has been more than ready for awhile now so we started at 5.5 months and you guys, he is such a champ eater. He chews and hasn't gagged once! And HE FREAKING LOVES FOOD. For reals. He gets sooo mad when we can't feed him fast enough, it's hilarious. We started him on roasted yam puree and he loved it. He's tried pureed broccoli as well as a bunch of love child organic pouches. He did not like scrambled eggs so instead of giving eggs straight up, I mixed some with bananas, cooked it on a frying pan and voila, he loved it.
HIGHS: Awe, so many highs. Him meeting Santa and SMILING! His first food. Instantly stopping crying when mama holds him (oh my heart.)
LOWS: Breakfast the other day...mama didn't have her coffee and couldn't feed him fast enough resulting in screaming baby and one cranky mama.
PARENTING: Parenting has been good. James and I just finished season 1 of Parenthood and it feels like we're learning something every episode, HA. James had some time off earlier this month and it was so nice to just hang out at home as a family. He's so good with Luca and can put him down for a nap better than I can!! I was able to get out of the house a few times on my own during the day and it was glorious!
POSTPARTUM: Let's just say, Christmas baking is not the best diet...we'll talk postpartum exercise and diet next month ha! Oh, but I did start going to physio to work on my core, and since I started their exercises, my back has been so much better!
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: CHRISTMAS!!!!
Can't believe the next update will be in 2017!!!!
XO,
Laura
LUCA THE LION // 4 MONTHS OLD
LUCA AT FOUR MONTHS
Oh my goodness, my sweet baby boy is now FOUR MONTHS!! He officially is not a little baby anymore (insert crying face emoji!!!!). We have a ton of fun together. He may not be teeny anymore but he is interacting so much and brings James & I so much joy...oh how I love my little lion.
He has seriously changed SO MUCH since he was born. A lot of his dark hair has fallen out but it's been replaced with fuzzy blonde hair! He doesn't look as Italian anymore, which makes me sooo sad but he's still cute as heck...and looking a lot more like his daddy these days.
WEIGHT: 15lbs 9oz
Again, he's right on the 50th percentile for weight and height (still around the 85th-97th for head size LOLZ). My doctor at our four month check up called him perfect...I know she probably says that to every mama but oh, it made my heart beam..ha.
HEIGHT: 25.1 inches
I have a feeling he's going to be tall like his daddy. His feet and hands are HUGE!
WEARS: Still fitting 3-6 month clothing but some of it is getting TIGHT! I'm sure I'll be putting him in 6-9 month clothing very soon. We're heading down to San Diego later this month, so I'm hoping to get some cute numbers from ZARA!! I'm also on the hunt for more sweaters & jackets as it's been getting pretty cold around here. How cute is this one and this one?
SLEEPS: He's still sleeping great.....my fingers are crossed as I keep hearing about this dreaded 4 month regression! He did have a cold for two weeks and that usually caused a wake up around 2 or 3 but then back to sleep until 8. But since he's been cold free, he's been sleeping between 10-12 hours straight. We've moved his bedtime to 7-7:30pm and I think that is helping him sleep better. He also uses his hand to self soothe so I'm sure that's what helps him get back to sleep instead of nursing. I'm convinced our next child will be one who is up every two hours ha...
HIGHS: A huge highlight of my day is going into his room in the morning and seeing how happy he is to see me. He gives the biggest smiles and is giggling more and more. I also love to put on music and sing silly songs with him. That always guarantees a ton of smiles!
LOWS: Having his first big cold definitely SUCKED! He absolutely hates the nose frida and don't you even dare put a kleenex anywhere near his nose. So that being said, getting those boogers out of his nose were the WORST.
PARENTING: Ah, I love being this little guy's mama! Luca is at an age where he can just chill on our laps at restaurants/shops and it's the best. It doesn't take much to entertain him and he isn't moving like crazy so I can still put him down and get stuff done! I feel like he's reached such an easy going age and I cannot wait for unlimited family time in San Diego!
POSTPARTUM: As I shared last month, I started to make a bit more effort in the whole going back to pre-baby size. Some days have been real good and others have been GIVE ME ALL THE FOOD. ha. I did start doing a workout video program (which I do on days where I'm home in the morning..so mostly 4 days per week) and I just got a membership at a gym..yay! Hopefully this will kick my butt into gear before we go away but honestly, I'm totally okay with my postpartum body. As I continue to make effort, I know the pounds will slowly shed BUT I'm also really trying not to beat myself up when I miss a workout or eat poorly.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: One word...DISNEYLAND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're doing one day in Disney and it's going to be INSANE but I am SOOO EXCITED. (I've had TWO separate dreams where I wasn't able to go on any rides so my hopes aren't too high ha.) Also, lots and lots of family time in San Diego.
Okay and look at those LASHES. Seriously, cutest little boy in the whole wide world, ha. Love you so much my little lion.
XO!
laura
THREE WAYS TO BEAT THOSE POSTPARTUM BODY BLUES
You know there are a lot of things about having a baby that people don't really tell you. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before but before I had Luca, I pictured postpartum life as a delightful break from working, unlimited baby snuggles and free time to do whatever I please...HAHA.
Obviously, I was naive in my thinking and I learned that being a mom is the hardest job ever pretty quickly but I didn't expect as many, let's just put it as "surprises", that came with the postpartum body.
Let's talk about a few of those "surprises"...Now this may not be the case for everyone but before I was pregnant I was literally cold ALL THE TIME. Enter postpartum life where I would literally soak through sheets at night...it's tamed down now but still I haven't felt cold in a long time.
Another thing I didn't expect was to be in MAD PAIN. Birth was a flipping marathon...and pushing for almost 3 hours did a number on me and my body...I won't get into any details but let's just say, I took longer than I thought I needed to recover and heal...and dear Lord, remind me to invest in a donut pillow before I give birth again.
One more thing that I didn't really think about was postpartum body. I gained 45lbs with Luca, and like most of the naive world, I thought the pounds would just shed off with breastfeeding. A lot has but not all of it and what I'm left with is a body that's veeerrrrry different than before. A few years back God really healed me of some body issues (I wrote about that here!) But with this postpartum body, I found myself getting close to going down that old path of shaming and self-loathing....but thankfully by the grace of God (and encouragement from my sweet hubby) I'm beating those postpartum body blues.
Here are three ways I'm beating those postpartum body blues:
1. STOP COMPARING
I've written before on comparison but it is one I constantly have to say OH HECK NO to. Comparison is something that so many women deal with and it seriously rears its ugly head in every new season...especially in this whole mom thing. (PS. If you're local to Victoria, my church's womens group is doing a study on comparison on Wednesday mornings!)
I definitely found myself looking at other women who had babies (in real life and celebrities, ha) and being jealous/sad that the weight seemed to fall off of them. Why wasn't it flying off of me!!?? I needed to give my head a good shake and remember that we were all created differently (with different metabolisms and finances that afford personal trainers and chefs ha) and comparing myself to others would get me nowhere. Instead of comparing my body to others I needed to embrace the change taking place within myself.
2. EMBRACE THE CHANGE
Becoming a mom changes you. I did not expect this much change but I am definitely not the woman I used to be. Motherhood is not my sole identity (post coming soon on this!) but a part of me and it has changed me for life. So often the media celebrates women who bounce quickly back to their pre-baby body. But the thing about motherhood is, you're not meant to bounce back (found this article so beautiful on this!) You're different in mind, body and spirit and that is a beautiful thing.
I'm learning to embrace the change of motherhood. I feel stronger than ever before and when I look in the mirror at my jiggly stomach, instead of thinking ugggh, I see it as a reminder that I GREW A HUMAN BEING AND THEN BIRTHED THAT HUMAN BEING...THAT IS PRETTY FREAKING AMAZING. And now I get to snuggle that human being endlessly until he is 30.
So if you find yourself looking in the mirror wishing you would look like you used to look...please remind yourself that your body created life. And that is a very, very beautiful and selfless thing.
3. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF + BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Self-care for a momma is SO IMPORTANT. At the beginning I struggled with a lot of anxiety. My whole world was wrapped up in the little lion and I was pouring myself into him (literally as well lols). I didn't take any time for myself and I didn't take care of my body whatsoever. I ate like crap and was feeling like that too. My self-care had gone down the toilet.
But the moment I started eating healthier and exercising, I felt a world of difference. And I didn't go crazy like I would have in the past. I just started being accountable to what I was putting in my body (I use my fitness pal to track calories with my goal being around 2300) and started to exercise gently.
I'm also refusing to use shame as a motivator. Like I said in this post, my goal is to be healthy and not shame myself because shame is THE WORST motivator.
I'm also learning to give myself GRACE and to be kind to myself. Again, I'm referencing the post I just linked to but seriously...speaking God's word over yourself can truly transform your mindset. And this is for all the non-moms too...please be kind to yourselves. You are beautiful, you are valuable, you are loved.
These three things have helped me kick the postpartum body blues but I know everyone is different and different things work for different people (like hello mom of 3 kids, how do you do what you do!).
XO,
laura