Ugh, these cheeks. You guys, these cheeks get munched on all the livelong day because they are simply irresistible. This little chunk of love gets cuter and chunkier every single day, and at 8 weeks in that means he’s a whole lot of cute!
Last night he was so happy just kicking around in his diaper before bed that I just carried him around without any clothes on and I was so delighted to see his little rubberband wrists and chins for days! Chubby babies are the best, and while I don’t think he’ll ever be the Michelin-rolls kind of baby I’ll take all the chub I can get!
This past week has been really fun with our newest little guy. Lots of smiles, cooing, baby chuckles and finally the realization that the play mat isn’t a torture device. He’s still not loving tummy time, although he rocks it when he does it. The other day I put him on his tummy and walked around the other side of the couch to pick something up, and when I went back to check on him about 5 seconds later? He had rolled over from his front to his back. WHAT?! #overachiever
He’s actually kind of magically created a bedtime for himself this past week. Basically around 8pm he gets changed into his pajamas and given a bath (if it’s a bath day), and then I nurse him and he goes down til about 3:30 or 4:00am. It’s not something we pushed or really even tried to do, just followed his lead and figured he’s getting a decent chunk of sleep so mama gets some too!
Napping is a whole different story though. We roamed an outdoor mall here the last 3 days of the week last week because he was only sleeping well in his carseat. Going to the mall allowed him to sleep while I pushed the stroller, and gave Wes 90+ minutes to run around and climb and jump off of things. I guess we all won with that, although it would be nice to have him nap a little better at home. We get one good nap out of him a day at the house, and the rest are pretty short-lived. To be fair, though, our pediatrician did say that would likely happen. She said that typically a baby that sleeps well during the day will be up a lot at night, and babies who sleep well at night are cat-nappers during the day. That’s been 100% true for us pretty much his whole life thus far!
Wes continues to be a great big brother, and watching Nate with both of them makes my heart jump out of my chest. Not in a “let’s make more!” way (yet) but it’s just so amazing to see him in his roll as Daddy. I never doubted the fact that he would be a fantastic father, but the reality is so much sweeter than I ever dreamed of.
I’m doing pretty well this week. Catching up on a little sleep from time to time, working out consistently (I’ve been doing 30 minute Barre3 workouts and walking about 30-45 minutes a day with the boys), eating a little better. The moodiness is subsiding a little bit day by day, which I think is because of all the sleep/exercise/healthier eating, plus the fact that there’s another week of postpartum hormones decreasing.
This is super random, but something I’ve been toying around with: minimalism. I’ve always been one that would give stuff away if I hadn’t used it in 6 months or so, but lately it just feels like all the stuff has just been building and building and then exploded all over my life. The closet of clothes that I don’t like, the masses of toys that we have when Wes only plays with 3 of them, the boxes of stuff that we literally moved from Colorado 3 years ago and haven’t yet opened. All the swag from conferences and gifts from clients that are all duplicates in our kitchen, and then all the things we have to HOUSE the things. It just seems like life could maybe be a bit simpler if 3/4 of it disappeared! So I’ve kind of started weeding out clothes that I know I don’t like and won’t wear even when they fit again, and whenever there’s a spare moment of non-nursing, non-playing, non-cooking, non-working in my life I’m going to rent a truck and take all of it to donation centers. It’s gotta happen!
Question for y’all: what do you think of the minimalist movement? Anyone else feeling the way I feel? And if so, what are some good resources you’ve found? I’m all ears!
I think the “minimalist movement” is a great one, but sometimes putting that idea into action is complicated. A friend of mine told me about a friend of hers who only had four to five outfits per child as a way to simplify. I had to wonder how many times she had to do laundry in a week? That kind of minimalist activity would make my life harder, which defeats the purpose. I’m trying to be better about getting rid of clutter and I agree with you: so much stuff can be done away with. I would love to see swag made up of things like post-it notes and toilet paper. Those are things I would really use.
I can definitely see how over-minimalizing (is that a thing?) would be counterproductive for sure. I just can’t get over the excess of stuff that we just simply never use…simplifying THAT is really my main goal. That, and making sure that we don’t just keep accumulating MORE! But doing laundry more often? NO thanks 🙂
I agree! I would like to take everything out of my closet that I don’t LOVE and shop for things I will but that will coordinate–you know, like the ads for people who will organize your closets for you: PERFECTION! HAHAHAHA
Wouldn’t that be nice?! If only I had endless resources (time and money) to make all that happen! Maybe someday? 🙂
Heather! We have been on such a minimalist kick ourselves. We just got rid of most of the unused stuff in our basement, a third of our toys, and we’re in the middle of the toys. The best (and most motivating) resources for me were:
1. This podcast: https://theartofsimple.net/67/ (An interview w/ Joshua Becker, author of the blog Becoming Minimalist) – it basically gives an outline of his ethos and methods
2. This quote: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/101401429086734460/
Both the interview & the quote helped me see minimalism less as a spartan, go-without lifestyle, but more as a way to really hone in on our values and keep only the things that give those values the most life.
Would love to chat more! hopefully those two resources get you excited 🙂
OK. Are we the same person? I think we may just be…
That quote is fantastic, and the moment I have time I’ll be listening to that podcast! I’ve been pouring over Becoming Minimalist like it’s my job when I’m nursing at night! I feel like the very moment I can let the boys entertain themselves for a few minutes I’ll be ridding our house of all the things. It’s overwhelming, and I’d rather spend the time that it takes to clean up with them anyway!
I am almost done purging my house. Not yet minimalist but so much more manageable and easy to clean. “The Life-Changing magic of Tidying up” is truly a life changer. It takes you through purging clothes and books. Once that is done you can apply the knowledge gained to purge the rest. My last hurdle is paper. Oh my, that is going to be a struggle but by the end of summer, the paper will be gone with systems set up so I don’t accumulate paper anymore.
I’ve heard that book is amazing! And it’s such an encouragement to know that someone else is doing the same thing 🙂 I definitely need to start doing the paperless thing; I think we have about half of our stuff set up that way, but it’s that last half we have to eliminate!
Oh good, my 9 week old isn’t the only baby on a nap strike lately! (But we get 7-9 hour stretches of sleep out of her a night, so I can’t complain!)
That second photo kills me! So adorable.
Girl, it’s just the first of many different “strikes” they like to set up for us to figure out 🙂 But you’re definitely not alone!!!