The hustle and bustle

Wow.

When people tell you that times flies, BELIEVE them. 

Between going back to work, dropping the kiddo off at my MILs every day, trying to cook, keep the house looking halfway decent, Christmas shopping, laundry, decorating for the holidays, cooking for Thanksgiving, and trying to still have time for my hubby....I AM SPENT!

It's a good thing, I reckon.  I choose to look at it as being extremely blessed.  To have a wonderful job that allowed me to move to part time hours, to have a WONDERFUL mother in law willing to keep my child every day, to spending time with family for the holidays...although I would love a week to relax at the beach with a margarita the size of Texas, I am so thankful and grateful for all that's going on.

But, this little space here on the interwebs has not been on my mind at all.  And I think that's a good thing.. I needed to just forget about television (I've miss the last THREE weeks of The Walking Dead!) and being on the computer all the time.

Having a baby has taught me to slow down.  He makes me stop and breathe.  I love that.  Like, when we nurse, I have to pay attention to him and nothing else.  And I use that time to pray and thank God for letting me be Winslow's momma.

So...here's a little life update, and in the coming weeks, I hope to be a little better at updating. :) 

Winslow got his picture made with Santa.  And this photo makes me laugh because they are totally making the same face.  HA!

We also celebrated the 1st birthday of my bestie's little one, Ryder.  He had a cowboy party and oh my word was it adorable.

He was pretty excited to partake in the Thanksgiving festivities.

We had some of our friends over for a Thanksgiving feast.

And once the babe went to bed, we enjoyed an evening outside near the firepit.

AND we got our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving day.  It was killing me not to get it sooner since Thanksgiving was so late this year, but alas, it's up and beautiful. I'll post photos of the Christmas decor this week!

 

And I will also be sharing what we're getting the little one for Christmas too! Stay tuned!

Xoxo,

Kait

Back to work.

Yesterday was my first day back at work.

and man, was it hard. 




































I thought I would keep it together and be okay since I am working part-time...but that didn't really work out.

I called my mom (because moms make everything better) at 6 in the morning crying saying "I can't go to work, I can't go to work"  but alas, I did.

I dropped off little W at my MIL's house and he was happy and smiling when I left.  Then on the way to work, I called hubby bawling my eyes out.  I didn't realize the emotions that came over me when I left.  But it's normal and okay to cry like that. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed.  I am doing what it best for our family in the phase of our life, and although my dream is to stay at home one day and homeschool (possibly), right now this is just a season.

A season where I'll drop little W off with the best Grammy in the world.  He will be loved on all day and I'll be back to snatch him up just 5-6 hours later. 

I'm really blessed to have family close by that will sacrifice their time to care for him. 

The only bump in the road is that he will still not take a bottle.  He went almost 6 hours on Monday without eating and boy did that stress me out.  I know he will be fine, but I still don't like the think of my little man not eating when I'm not there...but today was better..he didn't take a bottle but he did eat over 2 ounces of milk from a SPOON! Hah! Yes, a spoon! Isn't that crazy?

My sweet MIL took the time to spoon feed him over 2 ounces of milk.  He was happy the entire time and when she would raise the spoon up to his mouth, he would open wide and smile! Crazy little boy. 

So we've been playing with the bottle this evening in hopes that he will get used to it. (although i really have tried every bottle and tip in the book)  He sucked on it this evening...we will see and I am continuing to pray he will learn to take it..or learn to take a sippy cup..SOMETHING!

 

Babies really do have a mind of their own..and although I find it flattering that he prefers his momma, it would make it easier on all parties if he took a bottle.  ;)  

{Side note:  Winslow took a bottle great with no problems when he was smaller..I gave him a bottle 3-4 times and then went over a month without giving it to him again..so please no negative comments about how I should have started introducing the bottle sooner, or I shouldn't have waited that long...nothing can be changed about the situation and I don't want any advice that isn't uplifting.}  :)

I have googled the situation like crazy and it's comforting to know that a handful of breastfed babies won't take bottles easily.  I have no doubt that he will EVENTUALLY take one (maybe?) or a sippy cup..but he's not the ONLY baby in the world who is stubborn and won't take one. Just like him learning to breastfeed, it may take some time for him to get it down.

Anyway.  I am praying he will learn to take one and if you wanna say a little prayer too, that'd be awesome! 

I am off tomorrow (YAY) and so is hubby (and it's his BIRTHDAY) so we are going to celebrate as a family and I'm taking him out to lunch.  (He has class in the PM).

It's just a season, it's just a season...

 

Winslow is three months!

   

        Weight: 15 pounds 8 ounces
Height: 25.5 inches
Nicknames: Win, Winsy, W, Little Fella, Monkey
Eating: Little man usually eats around every 3 hours...sometimes less and sometimes more..but it usually stays close to the 3 hours mark.  He was getting up just once to eat around 4am but last week he got his first cold and wanted to eat more.  Sometimes he would get up 2 times to eat.  He is pretty quick at nursing now and we are getting good at nursing in the car when we are out and about.  

     
Sleeping: Sleep...oh, sleep.  This month he slept wonderfully except for the one week he was sick.  He had some congestion and woke up 3-5 times at night for a week.  It like to killed me, ha!  He is getting better and has starting only waking up once to eat now instead of 2 or 3 times but now he will wake up around 3:30-4:30 and then go back down for two hours before he's ready to start the day!  So he wakes up around 6:45 and I'm not ready to wake up that early yet! haha..but come Monday, i'll be getting up at six.  I have to go back to work.  :( :( :(    Time for my pity party.     But anyway,  sleep has been decent this month.  Naps are still on and off...my mom came to visit and he napped WONDERFULLY the whole week she was here...then when she left, he wouldn't nap worth a flip..He must miss his grandma!  He naps great when I'm holding him (of course) but when I put him on our bed or in his pack and play, he'll wake up within 30 minutes. Argh.  Hopefully this next month he will get better at napping.    
Diapers: This month we did the big switcharoo to cloth diapers.  I am SOLD.  I love them.  I bought a stash of around 30 diapers that consist of BumGenius, Happy Heinys, and Fuzzibuns.  I am partial to BG, but like them all.  He has NO blowouts and only leaked a few times but that was user error.  I don't think I put the diaper on tight enough and it leaked out the leg opening.  But  I love cloth diapers and the laundry doesn't even phase me really.  We still use disposables at night due to the fact that I haven't bought the right night time inserts for his diapers yet, but I'm getting them real soon.  :)  I've even used cloth when we are out and about..it's not hard!  

   
Clothing: Wearing 3 month and 3-6 month clothes...and for pants he wears 6 months due to his fluffy bum!
Social: He is a smiling machine! He LOVES to smile at his daddy and it makes me a tad bit jealous! ;)  He will smile at me too a lot, but once his daddy gets home from work, he's giggly and smiling like crazy.  He has been cooing a lot this month, and will let out this dinosaur scream that is adorable.  It sounds like it should be on Jurassic Park. He is talking so much more this month than last and he can track us when we walk around the room.  He has a favorite toy who we named Mr. Lion and he LOVES smiling and talking to him.  It's the most adorable thing in the world.     

  Likes: He still LOVES bathtime, he loves his playmat, being in just his diaper, chewing on his hands. DROOLING like crazy, and being bashful.  When I talk to him, his eyes will light up and he does this little thing where he turns his head away like he's bashful.  He loves Mr. Lion, his daddy, and kicking his legs in the air.    
Dislikes: hiccups, sometimes his car seat, being held like a baby, burping,
What we're looking forward to: all the wonderful Holidays!!  Christmas, visiting family, eating lots of great food  

  Milestones/ things to remember: He has started to laugh a tiny bit..smiles all day, kicks his legs like crazy and brings them up to his midsection, coos and screams,     

  Trips/Outings: Target of course, Hobby Lobby, Southpoint mall in Durham, church, walks with Darla.    

    Look how I've grown!