7 Months Old

How do I have a 7 month old?? Where did my newborn go? There's such a truth to "the days are long but the years are short" time please slow down!!

Feeding: Gage is still doing great breastfeeding and he nurses about every 3 hours. He likes to snack and I basically just nurse him whenever he wants, I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing. He is also eating solids twice a day. I've tried finger foods with him and all he does is gag. I really wanted to try baby led weaning with him but he wasn't into it. His favorite foods are sweet potatoes, oatmeal and pears. 

Sleeping: whyyyy is this always an issue?? Just when I think he's improving in the sleep department things take a turn for the worse. He naps pretty good during the day taking 2-3 naps daily. We put him to bed around 7:00pm and he sleeps from 7-11pm. Then after that he is up every hour until 5am. He won't go back to sleep until I nurse him which leads me to believe he may be having a growth spurt. 

Milestones: His second bottom tooth has finally broke through. Which makes me a little sad because his one tooth smile was the cutest. His army crawling has turned into speed crawling and he is into everything! The other day he fell out of his highchair before I could strap him in and thankfully I caught him before he hit the ground. Gave me a heart attack!! He is also growing out of his infant car seat and we are looking into a bigger seat for him soon. Carrying that fat baby around in his car seat is definitely becoming a challenge. 

Loves nursing, his binky, sleeping on his belly, taking a bath, making loud noises, putting everything in his mouth, pulling on the dogs ears, his lovey, pulling hair and crawling. He also adores Ryder! Whenever we can't get him to stop fussing we just get Ryder, he's out secret weapon. 

Hates when I take anything away from him or tell him no, getting his diaper changed and getting dressed, getting out of the bath and sitting still. It breaks my heart that he doesn't want to cuddle anymore. He's too busy to sit still. I do sneak a few snuggles in at bedtime though. 

This boy's middle name should be sass and he definitely keeps me on my toes. He is the happiest baby and smiles at anyone who looks at him. We sure do love this little spit fire and we love watching him grow! 

Hump Day Happenings

We are still recovering from our sickness' over here and it seems like we've been ill for ages! Thankfully Gage's fever broke a few days ago and he is almost all better. He was so sick on Sunday it was the saddest thing ever, you can tell in the pic that he just didn't feel good at all.

 

He is teething so he still isn't feeling that great but he's definitely improved. 

{baby gowns are my favorite thing ever!!}

I woke up Sunday morning with the Flu then woke up Monday morning with mastitis. I've never been so sick in my entire life! I'm pretty sure I got mastitis due to Gage getting up 10 times a night and screaming until I would feed him. No joke. He has been getting up 6-10 times a night. Throw that into the mix of everyone being sick and it makes for a rough couple of days. once he's all better we will be doing some serious sleep training. 

Ryder has been such a trooper while we've all been recovering. He's content with playing by himself while I get much needed rest and attend to Gage. He did a great job taking care of us all. Thankfully he was spared from this nasty bug although he did wake up a little stuffy this morning but I'm hoping its nothing too bad. 

I swear the only reason we all got sick is because I ran out of Thieves essential oil! I used the last of it when Tyson was really sick on Christmas so the rest of us wouldn't catch it. Which we didn't even though Ryder snuck a big sip of Tyson's Gatorade mid flu! So I learned my lesson and will always have Thieves on hand. You don't realize how good it works until you are out of it. 

It has felt like we haven't left the house in weeks so a trip to the mall and costco were actually really refreshing.

So again I am really sorry the blog has been a little quiet but we are on the mend and hopefully will be back to our normal schedules in no time. I have a lot to catch up being down for the past 5 days especially at home, Moms should be allowed to get sick! Hope you are all having a great week

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! I am so excited that it is finally the weekend. Ryder and I have colds, Tyson has a sinus infection and possible pneumonia and Gage is a teething monster. You know you are getting no sleep when your husband suggests we get a babysitter and go get a full nights sleep in a hotel room! I am looking forward to possible a date night to get out of the house and lots of rest for the sick babies.

 

 

 

 

On to a few of my favorites this week...

 

Little Baby Garvin Blog is one of my favorite blogs to read and I am so excited for her collab with Candelles and the release of some Valentine's Day scents next week!

 

Milk Snob is opening their shop soon at the end of the month and I am so excited to snag one of her nursing kimonos and maybe even a wrap or two. Her car seat covers are adorable too.

 

I am loving Stay + Co's Long Sleeve Rompers for Gage. He is getting to the point where he is growing out of all the cute tiny baby outfits and i'm having to dress him more like a little boy. Not okay!!

 

We are planning a big house remodel this Spring and This White Wash Plank Wall and this Faux Brick Wall are at the top of my list. As well as new kitchen flooring and cupboards. So excited for a fresh new look!

 

And it wouldn't be a Friday Favorites post without a few pics of my monsters. Have a great weekend!

 

Valentine's Day Boy Style

Sorry for the quiet blog lately everyone. Both boys are having a hard time sleeping at night, Gage especially. He's teething and gets up every two hours. If I don't nurse him he screams so I end up feeding him all night long. All this commotion wakes Ryder up and as soon as Gage gets back to sleep he comes strolling in the nursery asking for "coffee" and cartoons, which of course wakes Gage up again. Tyson is also sick again so I'm left doing most of the night waking madness on my own. I am running low on energy and since Ryder doesn't nap it leaves little time for me to get much done. Despite no sleep, yucky weather and sickness I am so excited Valentine's Day! I don't know why I love this holiday so much but having kids makes it even more fun. All though the boys have no idea what we're celebrating, it's still really fun to dress them up and give them a little vday box full of treats. Valentine's Day is definitely a little more of a girly holiday but you can still find cute festive stuff for boys! Here are a few of my favorites....

One.  Two.  Three.  Four.  Five

I get really excited with vday approaching because that means Spring is slowly on its way too! We definitely have a bad case of cabin fever going on over here. We were able to get out of the house a little last week before the weather got bad again. 

Have a great Monday!

New Year Thoughts & Life Lately

Happy 2015 everyone! I am so excited for this year. With Gage being born last Summer we spent most of the warm days recovering and getting the hang of a new baby, so I am really looking forward to doing some fun activities with the boys  this summer since Gage will be much bigger. Also, Tyson's new job will allow him to be home more so I can't wait to just enjoy him being around. As far as goals go I have a few simple ones I'd like to stick to 

-live a healthier lifestyle {cook healthier meals for the family and work out consistently}

-start saving better for a new home

-less social media

-stress less and embrace the chaos :)

-plan more activities as a family 

2015 is starting out with a big case of cabin fever. Ryder is really starting to get bored staying inside the house even with his new toys from Christmas, The kid just loves to be outside. I'm looking into doing some at home activities and crafts to keep him busy. Thank you Pinterest! We are going to spend January organizing and cleaning while hoping the month passes quickly. Next up, spring time!! Here's what we've been up to lately....

I love when I catch them holding hands. They have been doing it a lot lately and it makes my heart explode. 

Gage is absolutely my twin and I love it. Ryder looks like Tyson so I'm happy that Gage looks like me. I need to pull out my baby book to compare.

Never too old to be swaddled! Gage disagree's. Where did my newborn go??

Ryder's way of cuddling the dog

Gage at his 6 month appointment. He weighs 18lbs 50% and 28 inches long 90%

It takes forever to get Ryder dressed to play in the snow. But it's so worth it! He yells "snowball mama" and is getting really good at making snow angels. 

Teepee shenanigans 

Lots of play dates help the cabin fever. I'd say they make a pretty cute couple. 

Last weekend I planned a trip tubing for Tyson's 30th birthday. It was a blast! They hook your tubes up to a lift that pulls you up the hill so you don't have to walk it and you get so much speed going down the hill. I thought about taking the boys but pretty sure it would be way too fast for them. 

That's our New Year so far and I'm looking forward to making so many more memories this year. Hope you all are having a great start to 2015!

6 months old

This little spit fire turned 6 months old on Christmas Eve. I tried to stuff him in a stocking for a picture however he was a tad too chunky! His 6 month well check isn't until Monday so I don't know all his stats but he does weigh 18 lbs. I'm curious to see if his height is off the charts still. 

He has reached so many milestone the past few weeks and I'm still in shock at how fast he is growing. He is crawling!{you can see a few video's on my insta @whitrichins} Ryder didn't crawl until a little after 9 months so I totally wasn't prepared for an early crawler. He also has his first tooth and I forgot how miserable teething is! I also didn't realize I'd become a chew toy during it either.

Look how he's grown the past 6 months. 

                {6 months of Gage}

Feeding: He is still doing great breastfeeding and he nurses about every 3 hours. I am so happy that I've reached my second Breastfeeding goal! Next is to make it to 9 months then 12 months. I wasn't able to nurse Ryder so it feels amazing to go this far with Gage. He is having his 6 month growth spurt right no so he feeds all day long. I almost thought my milk supply was low because he was eating so often. We also have incorporated puréed fruits and veggies as well as oatmeal into his diet. I make his baby food because I find it a lot easier and I have more options. So far he has had avocado, peas, pears, sweet potatoes and oatmeal. He only eats them once or twice a day and breast milk is still his main source of food. 

Sleeping: He is FINALLY doing better on napping during the day. I no longer want to rip out my hair all day long and I can actually get stuff done. He does still fuss a little before falling asleep but if I just leave him alone he'll soothe himself. He also loves sleeping on his tummy and I think it actually helps him sleep better. He doesn't nap as long as he probably should but I'll take all I can get.  Right now he is taking 2 or 3 naps a day. He still gets up a few times a night to eat but will usually fall right back asleep. I try really hard to just give him his binky to get him back to sleep so he doesn't get a nursing sleep association but I know it's normal for babies to still wake to feed during the night at this age. With his growth spurt right now he gets up every 2 hours at night to eat so I'm excited for that to pass. 

Milestones: First tooth, army crawling, eating solid foods and sitting up by himself.

Loves nursing, his binky, sleeping on his belly, taking a bath, making loud noises {he wakes Ryder up constantly at night if he wakes up because he talks so loud} his big brother, snuggling up under daddy's neck, the dog, putting things in his mouth, pulling hair {including daddy's beard} crawling and anything that makes noise

Hates when I take anything away from him, getting out of the bath, sitting still, sleeping. 

We sure do love this ball of sass! I love watching him grow and seeing his cute personality develop. I can't believe we've only had him for 6 months, It feels like he's been a part of our family forever.