Motherhood: Month 6.5

Man, I love that face 😍. 

It has been a very restful weekend, which was very needed. Quinn woke up to eat at 11pm last night and then slept until 7am this morning! We got up to eat and pump and then laid back down, not waking up until 11:30! It was amazing! 

Since my last post he has made great progress in eating and we’ve retried all the veggies he didn’t seem to like the first time he tried them. Did you know that it can take trying a food 17 times before a child likes it?! So keep offering if you have a picky eater. Don’t force your child to eat a food they claim to not like though, that will only lead to issues with food later in life. Speaking of eating, we’re about to start week 3 with a meal plan and the previous two went rather well. We made a last minute switch this past weekend because I realized we were going to have rice for the third time and didn’t want it. Having a meal plan has definitely made life easier. It has also maybe made the kitchen messier but we have a dishwasher so it hasn’t been too bad. Philip likes to cook a lot and we’ve been having fun making food from scratch (me having the most fun as I don’t make the majority of it and get to eat it 🤪). The best decision I’ve made is agreeing that we should get a KitchenAid mixer because that sparked his cooking craze that started before Christmas and hasn’t let up 🙌🏻. He has made about 86 batches of biscotti (not bruschetta, Marsha! 😝 And not 86 but enough that I’m good without biscotti for a bit), different kinds of bread, and lots of cookies. Although the mixer inspired the cooking frenzy, not all of it has involved using it. He also made homemade lo mien noodles, Air Fryer burgers, wings, French fries, and mini apple pies, and I made a 27 pound lasagna, the first time I’ve ever made it. Last weekend we had Lori and the kids (minus Coen because he caught that awful stomach bug 🤮) over to show them how to make homemade ice cream in our ice cream maker. Philip made some ahead of time so that we could show them the three stages to make it and I videoed it for Coen. Haleigh, Kate, and Link helped with making the custard and Kate even scooped out the yolks of the eggs from a bowl with her bare hand 😆. She was a good sport but she’s always up for anything messy 😉. We made chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. It was all amazing! The chocolate had a bit of an odd texture but that was because it had too much of a chocolate bar in it and we’ll use less next time we make it. I found a recipe for brownie in a mug to make an individual one for Haleigh’s ice cream and she said she and Kate have made them several times now 😂. Today he made homemade crepes, whipped cream, and caramel. We stuffed them with either Nutella or peanut butter and topped with bananas, strawberries, and/or walnuts. They were delicious! 😋

All of this cooking and meal planning are part of the goal we set for this year. We had a staff meeting this week at work and at the end, Lisa S. from WVU Extension talked to us about vision boarding and brought lots of supplies for us to use to make a board for ourselves. We all really enjoyed doing that. It was a fun activity to think about our goals and to find pictures or words in magazines to cut out and use to create an illustration of them. Mine is shown below. It isn’t quite finished yet but close. I think I will continue to do this as my goals for the future change!

It has gotten increasingly harder to take Quinn with me to work because he is awake so much more now and wants attention so I’ve started transitioning him to a sitter two days a week. Well, two sitters actually. Lori and Linda are each taking a day for me. It’s hard for me to leave him but I know it’s good for him to be with other people and it’s easier for me to get work done. They both take good care of him so I don’t have to worry about him. He’s into what I call the “Snuggle Bug” phase and loves to cuddle. That’s what makes being away from him so hard because I, too, love to cuddle him and I miss out when I’m not with him. He now likes to touch my face when he’s going to sleep, which can be really sweet. It can also be hilarious because the other night he grasped my entire nose and held it as he fell asleep. I tried to contain my giggles. Sometimes his hand is wet from chewing on it and he gets a little rowdy fighting his sleep and I end up with the worst facial of my life. He doesn’t respect boundaries and his fingers often go in my mouth and up my nose 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️. 

Trying to slime Mimi 😂🤤. 


I will never have enough pictures of him sleeping ❤️. 

A perfectly reasonable way to sleep 🤷🏻‍♀️.

He loves his bink tether 😂😃.

I felt really bad one night because I had him laying on my lap on his boppy pillow while I fed him and I was half asleep so when I went to grab my phone I accidentally fumbled it and it hit his face. It couldn’t have hit very hard but he screamed bloody murder and I felt like the worst mother in the world. Oh, and one night, we gave him a bath and we always have two washcloths, one to wash him and one to cover his weiner because nobody wants to get peed on. Anyway, he usually ends up playing with his weiner rag, and he did that night, bringing it with him when we got him out of the tub. He was holding it while getting dried off, when I put oil on him, and while getting dressed. We fed him and put him to bed and then I went to put his bath stuff away.  I couldn’t find the second washcloth anywhere. I even emptied out the hamper thinking I may have dropped it in there and it fell to the bottom. Then I started to panic, like did he put it in his mouth? Baby washcloths aren’t that big. I thought surely we would’ve noticed and he couldn’t have eaten his bottle with a washcloth in his mouth, right? Philip said maybe it was in his clothes so without disturbing him too much I felt around the front of his sleeper and didn’t feel anything. I hate to lose things but I was at a loss as to where this stupid rag went so I let it go. Fast forward several hours when Quinn woke up to eat in the middle of the night. I changed his diaper and lo behold, the friggin’ washcloth was on his back! That poor kid slept with a wet washcloth on him for hours! I felt so bad 😭. Now we do a rag count before we leave the bathroom 😉. 

I said before that I didn’t really feel like a mom, I was just me and there was a baby around now. I no longer feel like that. I feel so fortunate to have been able to bring him with me to work these first six months and I think that has helped me form such a strong bond with him. I’m sure we would’ve had an attachment still, had I needed to leave him with a sitter all this time, but I’m so glad that I got to spend all that time with him. I wish more workplaces would allow this. For dads, too! Sansa also helped solidify my Mom title the other day because I could finally relate to a meme I see often: I was tending to Quinn in the bedroom, who was fussing and fighting sleep, and she came in to “yell” at me in her way that she does because she wanted something. All the while Philip was sitting on the couch 🤦🏻‍♀️. She almost woke Quinn asking me for something when she could’ve asked Dad. Typical kid 🤬. 

I’ve been thinking lately, as an experienced Dog Mom of 4 now, and a human mom of 1, dogs and babies are pretty similar in a lot of things. They put everything in their mouths, they slobber on your face, they both enjoy chew toys, they want anything they’re not allowed to have…the list goes on. Quinn now reaches out with both hands for things he wants. He’s attracted to everyone’s cups but especially to Philip’s Camelbak water bottle. He loves chewing on the bite valve. He can’t suck yet so we let him chew on it. Philip’s bottle is stainless steel and heavy when filled with water so I took the lid off of his spare one and tested to see if it would fit on Quinn’s sippy cup and it did! I don’t put anything in it, I just let him chew on it. He seems to really like it. He’s started reaching for people in the last few days when you hold your arms out to him to take him. He can also follow your finger to see what you’re pointing at, a skill Sophie has yet to learn 😜. You can put your finger right up to a treat that was dropped on the floor and there’s a 50/50 chance she’ll find what you’re pointing to 🤷🏻‍♀️. 

Lovin on Coen 😍. 


These are the faces we make when Mom comes home from yoga 😃. 

Sophie is a special girl, I tell ya. She is afraid of farts: other people’s, hers, noises that sound like farts. She hides under the kitchen table. She really is a goofball. She’s still pushing her limits all the time. Sansa is our good girl but even she was on our nerves the other night. The same night she was “yelling” at me when I was trying to put Quinn down. She kept going to her bowl but she had been fed. She wouldn’t stop so she got yelled at. She went and pouted on the couch 😆. 

“Mom and Dad are mad at me 🙁.”

Sophie hiding because my pump made a noise that could’ve been mistaken for a fart 🙄😂😂. 

Curled up on my legs, laying in a space just big enough to fit her because I had Quinn on the other side of me 🙄. 

Sansa sleeping behind the pillow cracked me up. Soph was asleep too, until I walked closer to take the picture. 

Until next time! 

Motherhood: Month 6

We’ve entered a new decade since my last post. The end of the previous decade was the worst year of my life and the end of this one was the best! I was never one of those women who always wanted to be a mother but Quinn has turned me into one, for obvious reasons but also by the love that I have for him. I’m just so lucky to have a husband and a son that I love more than anything. It’s an amazing feeling!

The onesie I made for Quinn using my Cricut Easy Press that Philip got me for Christmas ❤️.

He woke up just in time to celebrate his first New Year!

The best way to spend New Year’s Day, in Happy Baby pose 🙂. 

Quinn turned 6 months old this week, which is unbelievable. Six months is like the magical age for babies. It’s when they seem to start doing everything: sitting up, eating baby food, rolling over both ways, driving…ok that last one may be a stretch. I was getting worried because Quinn was not rolling over aside from the one or two times he did a few months ago but just this week he started going both ways like a champ. Maybe it was the 6 month magic 🤷🏻‍♀️. He has finally started eating some baby food without spitting it back out, which most likely means he wasn’t ready for it before. He still puts his tongue up to the roof of his mouth sometimes, making it difficult to get the food in. We’re going to revisit the veggies he didn’t seem to like before and see if things go differently now that he’s getting the hang of it. He likes to grab the spoon and “help” feed. He has gotten really good at using his hands and bringing things to his mouth. He will even grab our faces and pull us in for a slobbery kiss 🤤. He’s also really great at pulling my hair, my least favorite of his newly acquired skills. I’m losing enough hair as it is from postnatal hair loss, I don’t need any help from him to pull it out. Speaking of my hair loss, why is it that none of the ones that fall out are ever the gray ones? Those suckers hang on tight but my brown ones detach effortlessly. So lame 😒. 

He just gets cuter and cuter every month 🥰. 

Poor kid. Green beans are his sisters favorite food. I’m hoping he’ll learn to like them too 😉

He learned to jump recently. His feet don’t quite reach the ground but that’s nothing a few yoga blocks and a strap won’t fix 😉. 

Quinn threw his first tantrum the other night. He, for some reason, loves Philip’s water bottle. It’s a Camelbak Eddy so it has a bite valve and he loves to chew on it. Any time he notices it he immediately reaches out with both hands and opens his mouth. He had it one night when we were doing our bedtime routine and Philip was holding it for him to chew on. When he had to put it down to get the book we were going to read to him, Quinn went full on tantrum. He scrunched up his face and screamed. We laughed about it this time but Lisa H. told me it’s funny the first time, not so much after that 😂. 

What sucks the most about Quinn being six months old is that means I’m six months postpartum and still about 15 pounds heavier than I would like to be. I can’t say that I don’t have time to workout because I do, I just like to sleep or clean or watch YOU (it’s a great show on Netflix if you haven’t seen it. Highly recommend!) during that time. Quinn is sleeping really well, usually going to bed at 7pm and only getting up once during the night to eat. I’ve hit a 6 month milestone with exclusively pumping. My supply has slowed some so I no longer feel like a dairy cow most days but I’m still making plenty to feed him. Not to mention I have a freezer full of milk. At this point, making it to a year (my goal) seems like it won’t be an issue. 

I was chosen to participate in the PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) project and filled out a questionnaire about my prenatal health. For participating I received a free certificate of live birth (official birth certificate that he’ll need for school), a book, a onesie, and a sleep sack. He already has a sleep sack but it is fleece and the new one will be nice for summer. We’re actually just about to switch him to a 6-12 months one because he has gotten so long! I’m excited to see his stats at his 6 month wellness check in a couple of weeks. I love his sleep sack though, it has helped calm my anxiety over him suffocating himself by accident while sleeping. It’s basically a wearable sleeping bag. He wears it at night but I don’t put it on him for naps. A few weeks ago I laid him down for a nap in his crib and just tucked a blanket around his legs loosely to keep him warm before I got in the shower. When I got out I looked in on him and he had the blanket over his face and was struggling to get it off. It scared the crap out of me. I won’t put a blanket in with him now. He can use his hands much better now than he could then but I’m still not confident that he is completely able to remove one from his face. Until he can he will nap without one. 

He likes to hold hands when he’s falling asleep. We were out shopping and I had to pump so I sat in back with him while we waited for Dad to get some stuff at Hobby Lobby. A few rounds of Rockabye Baby put him out. 

I love sleepy baby cuddles 💕. 

I’ve been meaning to tell anyone who is struggling with cradle cap on their child’s head about the shampoo that was recommended to me when we had that problem. Since we started using Mustela (available on Amazon) shampoo and lotion, Quinn hasn’t had any issues. It cleared it up in about two days and hasn’t returned since. That stuff is amazing!

Hey, if you are a prime-o-holic like us and want to be perhaps dumbfounded (and maybe a little sickened) by how much money you spend (*ahem*waste*ahem*), run your yearly report on Amazon. What an eye opener! We’ve been discussing financial goals lately and that’s one that needs to be controlled. Yikes. 

Another mission I’m on is to meal plan and grocery shop more intentionally, simplifying our daily struggle called, “What do you want to eat? I don’t know, what do you want to eat?” I’ve created a master list of meal options and scoured Pinterest for new recipes to try and now have a sample meal to test out this week. I’ll let you know how it goes! 

The girls enjoyed the nice weather this weekend, having spent lots of time outside, too much of it unsupervised, allowing them to crawl under the deck and come out CAKED in mud 🤦🏻‍♀️🤬. They brought it in the house, of course, so that was fun 🙄. Sophie is like the Visa slogan lately, “Everywhere you want to be,” meaning she’s Always. In. The. Way. She’s still driving me nuts. I love her but she’s gotta chill with the constant attention seeking. I’m still waiting for that two year old calm that Sansa acquired at her age. Guess I better not hold my breath 🤦🏻‍♀️.

He woke up while I was pumping one night so I fed him in his Baby Nest and then laid him on his belly to burp him. He saw Sophie and petted her 😍. 

“I just want to play, Mom”

My trusty guard dog while rocking Quinn. 

What is it with her sitting like this? 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Sansa’s pillow fort. Did she build it to keep Soph away? Probably. If that works I’m gonna build me one 😝😉. 

To entertain them the other night I hid treats around the living room while Philip kept them in the kitchen. They loved searching for them! It’s a fun game for them and keeps their skills sharp so they can find me in case I ever get abducted 🤷🏻‍♀️😉. 

Happy New Year to you all. May 2020 be your best year yet!