Jay's 9 Month Update

Who knew having a 8+ Month old could be so exhausting?

Everyone but me? Oh, cool. 

I have seen the most change in Jay this month since he was

first born. He has gone from army crawling

to legit crawling and pulling up on 

everything in our house and standing on his own (kind of).
Can you tell how much busier I am now??
Hence the extremely late update this month.
My Bad.

He now eats all sorts of things (basically whatever we are eating). 

He drinks from a straw sippy cup and has started to

be a lot more vocal. He loves to say "dada" 

at everything. I don't think he knows

what it means yet, so Im holding off on 

saying those were his first words. Sorry Scottie. 

I THINK I'm seeing a little tooth coming in, finally. 

Evidently, Scottie and I were both late to 

get teeth and it seems like

Jay is definitely taking after us. 

Before our walk...

After the walk...

Since Jay has been a mover and a shaker

this month, I haven't had very much time

to take my usual pics of him. Im too busy making sure he 

doesn't eat it when he stands

against different household furniture pieces. 

I put him in the Church nursery for the first time this month. 

I know. Im late to that party, but I'm 

also a new mom who gets anxiety thinking 

about him not being watched every second. 

He's done pretty well (that's what they tell me, at least). 

I know it is good for him to be around other little ones,

but I will admit I had to fight REAL hard

to not cry right in the middle of the nursery

when I dropped him off for the first time. 

Oh mommyhood, you have changed me so much. 

Happy nine months to our crazy, sweet, determined

little boy. We fall more in love with you

every day!

10 Things You Need After Your Baby is Born

Okay. I'm a planner. Professionally and personally... I plan the crap out of things. For that reason, I have recently started to think about the things that I will need next time around when I have another babe. Don't get all excited, friends, nothing's in the works or will be for a while, but like I said... I plan. 

Moving on... 

Here's the thing, when I was pregnant with Jay I spent every spare minute reading books and blogs on what i would need in the first month to "survive." Some things I read were not at all useful and others saved me. There were a few, though, that I wished I had and NO ONE told me about. I say no one with confidence because I'm pretty sure I read every blog on the web. 

So here they are. The ten things that I will be sure to have after my next baby is born: 

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1- Blowup Donut

Yall. This one is serious. Maybe I was at a real crappy hospital and they didn't offer them, but yours is amazing and will. If that's the case- congrats. If not, buy one of these for the day(s) following your baby's birth. I don't think it's any secret that hospital beds aren't comfy and your lady area is not feeling the greatest after giving birth, but for some reason I didn't think of this until it was too late and I was sitting on a concrete mattress for two days.  

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2- Your Own Pillow

See above. Hospital beds suck... 

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3- Soft Toilet Paper

Again, the kind the hospital has is like sandpaper. I get it- hospitals are meant to keep us alive and healthy. Not make us feel like we're at a spa. It is nice though to bring this along and ease the discomfort some. 

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4- Super Maxi Pads

You're gonna leak all sorts of things. Don't ask questions with this one. Just buy the damn pads and wear them. 

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5- Boy Short Underwear

You need some undies that can hold those extra super maxi pads and granny panties aren't really my style. I picked up a pack of 5 from target and they worked just fine. 

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6- Built-in-bra Tanks

Almost all the blogs I read had nursing tanks on their list sooo I bought them... I spent like $20 for each one and realized after about a week that I could have saved a lot of money by just buying the tanks with built in bras and pulling them down on whatever side I was nursing. Live and ya learn, ladies. 

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7- Zip Up Sleep n Plays 

If you'd like to buy some footsie pjs for yourself, by all means, go for it. This one is for your baby, though. When your newborn is... Newly born (?) they're going to need their diaper changed a lot. Nothing's worse than being sleep deprived and trying to re-button a onesie in the middle of the night only to realize you missed a friggin snap!!!!!! Save your sanity and get zip up sleep n plays.

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8- Adan and Anais Swaddle Blankets

This one is for anyone in a warmer climate. We got a lot of these and are still using them 8 months later. Jay hated to be swaddled so we didn't use them for that but I would use them as a car seat cover if we were in a store, a blanket for him when he was in his swing, a nursing cover, etc. I was so paranoid about him overheating when he was little so these were the only blankets we used for a while. 

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9- Protein Bars-

The first month that Jay was born I was so exhausted that the thought of even microwaving food made me want to cry. Maybe your newborn will be a fabulous sleeper and you will be back to your old refreshed self soon after they're born, but if not, have some protein bars to grab in the middle of the night or day to help you between meals. 

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10- Water Bottles-

 Again... You're exhausted. Take the lazy way and get a big pack of water bottles because getting a glass out of the cabinet and filling it with water is SO much work (I'm not being sarcastic... That's a lot of effort...). 

I hope these will help you in your first few weeks with your babe. If not, and I'm one of those blogs after you have a baby where you say "I'll never listen to her again!" Then I'm sorry and I owe you some diapers (not really). 

Good luck and may the force be with you =)

Jay's 8 Month Update

Gosh, it feels like I blinked and my little baby has grown so much. 

This month was lots of fun because it was Jay's first Christmas. I made sure to decorate my house as festive as I could because Jay will notice, of course! Scottie put up lights outside because we thought Jay would love it... I tried to tell him that Jay also loves when I buy new shoes, but he didn't fall for it. We had a long Christmas day going to both Grandparent's houses, but Jay was a trooper with only one very short nap in the car for the day. He got so many great gifts, but his favorite toy is still anything that has a tag attached to it. Figures. 

Santa came =)

...he approved

Jay's Aunt Collins is leaving for a year long missions trip in a few days. He's going to miss her so much!! 

Is there an army crawl race we can enter him in? If so, he will smoke everyone! He can stand up on his own now and as of just a few days ago can also pull up on his own. Wahhhhhh! 

The whole separation anxiety is getting real in this house. If I walk out of his sight he freaks. Its awesomeeeeeeeeeeee. 

Jay is officially a fan of food now. He LOVES extra steamed broccoli & mashed potatoes among many other things. We're trying those puffs now, but he has briefly choked on a few of them which has almost made my heart stop, but we persevered. 

We are so blessed to be able to watch Jay grow and learn every day. He is just the BEST. 

We love you, buddy! 

The (semi) calm before the storm- Jay's 7 Month Update

Here's the deal- Im having a hard time accepting that my baby boy 

is becoming less of an infant and more of a mobile little person.

 The first step is acceptance though, right?? 

This month has been a slight glimpse into the very near future

 when Jay gets totally mobile and I'm already tired. Ha.

 Jay has started to be able to army crawl and roll to different

 toys and places he wants to be on the ground. He is a very

 determined and focused little guy. I know I say this

 a lot, but it is the coolest thing to watch him discover and learn. 

Speaking of being mobile- that doesn't end when he's

 on the ground with his toys. Bath time has become

 quite the event with me basically wrestling him the whole

 time trying to make sure he gets clean/doesn't slip

 and whack his face. I'm sure it would be comical to watch. 

We introduced some puréed food this month and at first

 he was NOT impressed. Closing his mouth shut after

 about three bites. The past week, though, he has

 started acting like he's digging this whole food thing. 

He's uhb-sessed with tags

I heard that around this age baby's will start to have separation

 anxiety from their moms and I think it's safe to say we're there.

 He's become very clingy.. Literally, he clings to my

 neck/shoulders/hair. I love that he loves me so much

 right now so I'm trying to just soak in all the love because

 I know soon enough he will be running around and i'll

 be begging for my clingy baby back. 

After 6 long months of middle of the night feedings I am

 SO happy to say that he is now sleeping 11-12 hours

 each night before waking to feed in the mornings.

 I feel like a new woman! We're still working on the naps. In fact, as I 

write this I'm sitting in my garage with a sleeping baby in the back

 because he refused to nap in his crib this morning. I'll probably

 have to do this for his afternoon nap today too. Oh well, with

 time I think he will come around. 

Like my husband says: "Give him a break. He's a baby."

 I do need to hear that every once in a while because 

I forget that he's still figuring out life and what 

works for him so I'm trying to roll with it. 

 Jay is just the most fun, relaxed and smart little boy

 and we are so proud that God chose us to be his parents. 

We love you, buddy!