Tag: baby

Quick Update | Baby Has Arrived

Baby Boy #2 is here! After 34 hours of labor and delivery (and some complications)…we had an 8 pound 2 oz little boy! Today is the first full day that we are all HOME! Two adults, two boys, two dogs!

John “Jack” Emerson Devens arrived on January 6 at 13:43.

Stay tuned for some ADORABLE (if I do say so myself) baby photos!

I’m hoping that some time soon I can get writing. Until that time, I will be basking in that newborn smell, noises, and overall baby bliss! I’ll also be enjoying and helping the newest big brother transition!

Check out Instagram for some baby photos, if you just can’t wait until the next post!

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Must Haves | Sleep Regression

Here we are…early afternoon, lunch has been eaten, chores completed, the baby sleeping, the snow falling, and I am sitting down to write…Except, that I am hitting a wall with writing. I have a running list of posts and projects to write about, with very little time to complete them.

I typically write and take photos for a post anywhere from 10-14 days in advance. I do this for various reasons, but mainly so that I can take my time writing, editing, shooting photos, etc.

Today, and the last 2 posts, we are less than 24 hours out with nothing written down. Ah, motherhood, you are keeping me on my toes for sure. Because I can’t think of ANYTHING else than sleep today I’m writing about this horribly cruel phase called sleep regression.

For the last, almost 5 weeks, Mr. Baby slept through the night from 7PM to 7AM. 90% of the time, (from week 2 on) we were very strict about his nap and bed times. A few days before hitting his 4 month mark, though, all hell broke lose. He started a sleep regression. Holy hell! I think I am more tired than when he was a newborn! He started getting up every 3-4 hours, was starving, and incredibly fussy.

If it wasn’t for these four items, I don’t know how we would have handled this regression.

This is not a sponsored post.

Baby Wearing

I’ve worn Mr. Baby from birth, using the Baby K’tan and Lillebaby carriers, but they have been a LIFESAVER for this period. With the Lillebaby especially, I am able to be hands free for shopping, cleaning, and cooking. He is able to be comforted and I am able to get things done!

Enough said.

Noise Makers

When we got this aquarium, I was a little unsure of it’s effectiveness. We now have it hooked to the side of the crib, but can easily remove it and bring it downstairs.

We refer to it has his TV. It plays either white noise or lullaby music and the “tank” lights up, while the fish move. It buys me a good 5 minutes of contentment to be baby free. We don’t use it often, maybe once a day, but it was good money spent by the gift giver!

Bonus, it also has a remote for parental control. This allows you to turn it on or off without needing to be in the room. I haven’t used this yet, but it seems useful!

Formula Pitcher

This one is really simple. It’s a mixing pitcher for formula, pretty basic, but has made feeding time significantly easier. I don’t like mixing the formula in the bottles since it creates a ton of air bubbles and is always a little more once mixed. Letting it sit in the Dr. Brown’s bottles clogs tends to clog the air vent, so this pitcher is the best.

Anyway, this pitcher makes prepping the feedings for the day fast and easy. Making all the ounces at once and warming the formula may seem like no big deal, but those few minutes preparing every feeding add up. Now, I can pour the formula into the bottle, set it in the warmer, and it’s ready when I come back downstairs with Mr. Baby! Doing this, also cuts down on the amount of time he is fussy.

Music

This is THE CHEAPEST and easiest distraction method. I’ll play anything–classic rock, country, alternative/punk rock, pop, classical music, kids music…It doesn’t matter, Mr. Baby and I have danced or rocked and sang many hours away.

He doesn’t know where the noise is coming from so he’s constantly looking for it. My singing (for better or worse!) is something he can focus on. The movement is relaxing and more often the not the lights are dimmed, setting the scene for some sleep.

In the comments below, tell me what some of your sleep regression tips are. I’m sure this isn’t going to be his last one and this mama will need help keeping her sanity!

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Coming Back! | Our New Schedule

I am coming back with live, up to date content on November 14, 2018! Set your alarms!

This is the last preplanned, prewritten blog post since Baby Boy has been born! The last 7 weeks of blog posts were all prewritten content–hello, preparation. This allowed me to focus on baby, while still allowing me to connect and build a relationship with all of you!

My plan is to still publish a post every Wednesday around 10:30AM and slowly start to see if I can up my writing by a post or two. For the most current information about posts, and life in general, you can follow me on Instagram.

I can’t wait to establish The Colorful Notebook’s new routine and connect in real time with you all again! Just bear with me as I’m still trying to figure out how this new-mom life and blogging fit together!

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Update | Meet the Baby | One Month | Mom and Baby

Happy Halloween!
I can’t believe we are at the end of October already!

All attention has been focused on this little babe and it has been great! Hard, but great! We’ve been getting to know each other and settling in as a new little family of 3–and introducing him to the two newest set of grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles! Now, we are ready to officially introduce him to all of you!

If you are interested in, or need a quick refresher of, our journey to here, click me!
Click on the following links, if you’re interested in any of the Trimester Recaps (First, Second, or Third).
For the Labor and Delivery Story, stay tuned! That story will be published on November 14, 2018.
Until then, if you want a little more of a baby fix, come join us over on Instagram Stories!

Baby Birth Statistics

Name: Michael William, III
We aren’t sure what is nickname will be just yet. We do know that we would like to cut down on confusion as Grandpa, Dad, and he share the name and are all around each other quite frequently!

Birth Date and Time: September 21, 2018 at 1431

Weight: 7 pounds 10 oz

Height: 19 3/4 inches

Baby One Month Statistics

Weight: 8 pounds 6.6 oz

Height: 20 inches

At his one month date, he was still wearing newborn sized clothing and has TONS of dark hair! His eyes have gone from having hazel color to a deep blue.  He’s in between the newborn and size 1 diapers and squawks like a little dinosaur.

At the five and a half week mark, he is moving into 0-3 month clothing. They are still a bit big, but little boy is gaining weight!

This little guy has had a rough little start in his first month. A NICU stay because he was not breathing and could not keep his oxygen levels stable at birth. Then we had to go through jaundice therapy, blue spells, struggling to keep his weight up, GERD, and a milk protein intolerance/allergy. He’s a tough little guy who enjoys the baby sling, puppy kisses, stroller walks, the occasional swaddle, and being held upright!

Mom Postpartum Update

Weight: I struggle to admit it, but I weighed 218 pounds the morning I was induced. I was swollen, experiencing pre-eclampsia, and sick. Within 24 hours of giving birth, the swelling increased and (I assume) my weight did, too.

At the 2 week mark, I weighed 193.2 during the morning. At the 4 week mark, at the doctor’s office that afternoon, I weighed in at 194.4. I can NOT believe that within a month I lost almost 25 pounds. I especially can’t believe I’ve lost that without thinking about caloric intake or working out! I can’t wait to see what happens when I’m cleared for exercise.

Diet/Exercise: I have not done any exercising with the exception of a few family walks through the neighborhood. I have been using compression, postpartum jeans and leggings. When I’m not wearing them, I’m wearing the BellyBandit Original Belly Wrap at the recommendation of my doctor. I’m still getting used to wearing it and moving around, but am slowly starting to see results.

I have had to give up dairy, which is exceptionally hard, because we’re trying to rule out a milk protein allergy. I’m REALLY hoping that it doesn’t affect my supply too much and that we can continue on this journey.

Breastfeeding: I think I always assumed that I would produce enough for Baby to be satisfied and that it would be easy. During the day, we do just fine and he seems to be getting full. At night, however, I have to supplement the 2-3 feedings with a couple of ounces of formula. It’s a little discouraging, but him not going hungry is top priority!

I have also had to use a nipple shield almost from the get-go because of his bottle use during his NICU stay. This has been SO incredibly helpful!

Want more postpartum discussion? Every post related to postpartum is here!

If you came over from Instagram (hello!), let me know in the comments below!

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Quick Update | Baby is Here

He is here! After 44 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, and some complications…we had a 7 pound 10 oz little boy! AND we are all HOME!

To top it all off, Michael William has a very special birthday–September 21, 2018 (I’ll explain later!).

Stay tuned for some ADORABLE (if I do say so myself) baby photos!

This Wednesday (tomorrow), will be a non-baby post about fall essentials! In the weeks following, there will be a post every Wednesday ranging a variety of topics!

In the meantime, I will be basking in that newborn smell, noises, and overall baby bliss!

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Let me know in the comments below, if you’d like to see some of our day(s) on Instagram (@thecolorfulnotebooks)!

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Baby Haul | Part 2 | New York Baby Dinner

If you don’t know, 2 weeks ago I went to New York to visit with family and celebrate Baby! Some of whom I haven’t seen in over 2 years! It was a quick, physically taxing, but FUN trip!

Today, I am sitting down to talk about the “Baby Dinner” and give you a glimpse at what we received. Don’t forget that you can always look on Instagram (and Instagram Stories), to see a more “as it’s happening” view!

As lead up to the dinner, I was able to open the box below! It was filled with beautiful handmade items, wine(!), and items from our registry. It was such a fun treat to go through each item!

These onesies are funny little additions to our little stack of clothes, but my favorite clothing item out of this group has to be the handmade sweater! It’s a dark beige color with wide blue stripes and is very soft. I can’t wait until it is cold enough to dress him in, and hope he doesn’t resemble the Hulk by the time he’s able to wear it.

We also received our travel set of monitors and the baby wrap that will fit me.

I’ve already talked about the Pack-and-Play, but wanted to include it as it was meant to be a dinner gift! It is currently set up in our living room awaiting Baby’s arrival!

The day we put this together, we had laid out all the pieces on the floor prior to set up. A little someone decided that the bassinet would be the perfect spot to take a nap

The side table at the restaurant was set up  with the gifts and a diaper/blanket/towel Jeep. My husband and I both have had/have a Jeep and love them! This was a clever, perfect way to incorporate my husband and the Jeep Wrangler into the dinner, even though he couldn’t be there.

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The rest of the area (where the party-goers ate) had balloons anchored by a hard plastic, light blue, pacifier, confetti, and a cookie on each plate. The cookies were decorated to look like a baby fox, raccoon, or bear!

It was such a great celebration of life that went well into the late evening! I’m looking forward to the next get together, with Baby!

alaina

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