Noah - 5 Months

( this post is 2 weeks late)

Weight:

12 lbs 2 oz - 4 months
12 lbs 5 oz - 4.5 months
12 lbs 11 oz - 5 months

Height: 
26 inches

Sleeping: Ugh I hate writing this down, because I fear soo badly that it will backfire, but Noah is a fantastic sleeper! I really can't complain! Even while travelling, he slept all night after the first night. The first night was hard on him, being in a new place and he ended up in bed with us! He did get up much earlier while we were out west, but we made it work. Napping is hit and miss. On our trip I feel like he did soo well for napping while out and about, except now that he's home all naps are in his pack and play. We plan to transition Noah up to his nursery within 2 weeks, we just want him to adjust to being back in our timezone and we are hopefully going to transition him out of his swaddle wrap and into his sleep sacks before he moves up! 

Feeding: He is feeding every 2 hours in the day still, but gives me a some 3-4 stretches, but it's usually when we are out and about. I am hoping to stretch these out to 3 hour feeds consistently, which we have done a few times. He still takes a bottle well. We have been battling reflux. He has been puking soo bad lately, so we have stopped burping him and sit him up after a feed and allow him to burp on his own. This helps with cutting back on the puking/spit up, but it is not perfect.

Clothing: Noah has outgrown all of his 0-3 sleepers! He still wears 0-3 in pants if they are long enough and his sweatshirts are 0-3. Otherwise most of his clothes are 3 months, although there are some 6 month sleepers in the mix for length! Noah is lean and lanky!

Diaper Changes: Still size 1, we are finishing the last sleeve as we speak. On vacation we bought size 2, so when we came home we decided to finish the last sleeve before moving on to the size 2's which I have stocked right up on! I will say it is soo much nicer not going through soo many diapers! I bought a box of size 2's when we arrived in Calgary and we ended up with 2 diapers left in our diaper bag. We cut it closer than I would have liked, but we survived!

Looks: Blue eyes, and brown hair. 

What The Doctor Had To Say: Noah is didn't gain a full pound this month, so I am sure she wasn't impressed. However, she did decide to refer him to a pediatrician, so I am happy with that idea at least! Until I found out she made it an urgent referral without me knowing... I also think he is suffering from reflux, as his puking/spitting up is much worse, add coughing and gagging to mix and a cranky babe. So she ordered an abdominal ultrasound as well. She didn't suggest formula for once. We enjoyed our 2 weeks off from worrying, now we are back at square one! I really had hoped he had gained more weight. 

We saw the pediatrician and he wasn't concerned one bit! He did prescribe medication for his reflux, told us we could start cereal, and just said he is petite! Babies grow differently, but he is bright-eyed, healthy and thriving! I did talk to him about introducing formula with his cereal and he told me I could do up to one ounce a day to get him introduced to it. We go back to see him in a month at which point I will ask if he can just follow him from here on in.

Nicknames: Stretch, Spike, Captain, Mr. Magoo, Little Man, Toots, Mama's Monkey. 

Likes: His hands, his fleece blanket, calgary the bear is a huge hit, snuggles, baths, his play mat, walks in the stroller, the bouncer, swimming, the baby bjorn, going for walks, Lux, Jazz, Grace and Lily. Noah loves seeing himself. He loves it when I sing to him, although only certain songs have a calming effect on him, especially the ones we listened to together when he was in my tummy! He has really become quite the storyteller and enjoys the sounds he can make. He is also starting to love sitting up!

Dislikes: The carseat we used on vacation! It laid back more than he was used to and caused a lot of drama! We noticed we also have to give him a little while to wake up now. He hates puking/spitting up and gas pains!

Fur Baby Update: Noah has really started to notice Lux and flashes him the biggest smiles when he is around! He will also reach out to "pet" him. Although we didn't have much time at home with the dogs, I think they enjoyed vacation while we were gone!

Personality/Events: Noah cried his first official tears while we were in Calgary, luckily it doesn't happen often so far, because it stresses this mama out and breaks my heart! Hopefully I get over this soon! Noah has become quite the frequent flyer this month! 3 flights under his belt! He tried swimming for the first time this month too and LOVED it!! A lot of firsts this month and we feel soo blessed to watch him experience them all! We also enjoyed our first family vacation! It was great to have some family time together, show Noah some of our favorite places and introduce him to friends and family! 

Mommy & Daddy Update: Travelling with Noah wasn't bad at all, guessing as to what to pack was tricky because of the cooler weather, although this trip wasn't too bad! And I can honestly say I didn't over pack for Noah, he used pretty much everything I packed. We are getting better with packing up for day trips as well. We loved experiencing all of Noah's first this month. Crazy to think this month last year we were just finding out that we were expecting and now our miracle is here! Soo surreal, soo blessed and soo lucky to have such an easy going happy-go-lucky baby! 

Weekend Rewind

We had a fantastic weekend despite a shady weather forecast.

Friday was pretty good to start off with, but got even better when the insurance company finally called. We had been told a week or so a go that we would be responsible for bringing the house up to code, which wasn't great news as far as we were concerned. I called the bank, got the house appraised, got approved for a loan to cover the work, all in time for the insurance company to call and tell us that they decided they were going to cover it ALL!! Huge celebrations were had!! 

M and I went to London because he had a part to pick up and I wanted to get my lulu's hemmed, however I forgot my lulu's, but had good luck at target anyways with my Mom. We had a good quick visit and dinner with my mom before heading back home just in time for M's ball game! It ended up being a double header and they won! It was a bit of a crazy game, as the umpire ended up kicking a player off the other team out of the game and then out of the park. 

My target finds, for less than $50:

Friday night was also the last night Noah slept in our room for bed time. 

Saturday we did some housework, spent the evening with friends, and sure enough we put Noah to bed in his nursery for the first time. He did great! Me on the other hand not so well!! Crazy how much I miss having him in our room! I know it will get better and that it's for the best that he is in his own space, but the last two nights have been rough for me, despite him sleeping all night long up there on his own! 

Sunday we decided to head to the lake despite the thunderstorm forecast and I am glad we did, because it was a perfect sunny day out on the water, but we could see it was cloudy on shore! 

We took Noah in the water, but he wasn't a big fan of the temperature, but did better than he did in our pool! Haha. Lily and Gracie are tuckered out today after their first swim of the season! They stayed in the water for most of the day, but we did manage to get them out a few times:

I also soaked up some much needed sun too!! 

We came home to thunderstorms and it is a rainy morning here, but that is okay, we don't have anything on the go today!! So snuggles will be gladly accepted: 

On a side note to a good weekend, could you all say a prayer for a family who was a part of a tragic accident on Friday at Costco, when a car backed into the store hitting an 8 month pregnant woman and her two daughters ages 6 and 3. The 6 year old has passed away, the newborn is fighting for her life and listed critical and the 3 year old and mother are now listed as fair. Such a tragedy and my heart just aches for this family and I don't even know them. Just goes to show how you just never know how life is planned for you. Live each day to the fullest! 

Facts On Friday

- pretty sure my allergies have turned into a minor sinus infection/sinus cold... Awesome.

- my son has got up waay to early and napped waay to little this week. This mama is tired! 

- but it is smiles like these that keep me going:

- my pool is officially swimable again!! Big accomplishment over here!! 

- Noah has topped the scales at just over 13 pounds!! Love my little small fry! 

- my DIY project has hit the annoying part... Rag quilt - cut, put together, sewn, now the dreaded snipping part! 

- my life just got easier as far as posting pictures goes from my phone! Thanks J for the tip, photo sharing saves a lot of time! Now if blogger would just let me size them and centre them.

- Noah has fully transitioned from swaddle sack to sleep sack now! He's one step closer to moving up to his room! We might just try this weekend! 

- love my little entertainment crew: 

- this weekend is supposed to be stormy! We were hoping to make it to the lake... Hopefully the weather holds out! 

Have a great weekend friends!! 

So What Wednesday

Oh boy, it is one of those weeks and to think Monday was actually was a good day! So here are some of the things I am saying So What to this week:

- so what if I am running on very little sleep today. I can't even blame my baby, but I can blame my allergies! 

-so what if I can also blame last nights crazy thunderstorm? It was intense, but luckily Noah slept through it! 

- so what if my child is slacking in the nap department. It's even worse than before, because now he becomes a bear and fighting sleep is at all time high! At least he sleeps all night is what I keep reminding myself with, but it can make for a long day. 

- so what if I drove into town yesterday all to realize that I forgot my wallet?? Waste of half an hour and my gas! 

- so what if I was determined and after waiting for Noah to nap (which he didn't), I fed him, at which point he had a nap and then we went into town! 

- so what if Monday was our 7 year anniversary that both M and I sort-of forgot about! We had talked about it on the weekend, knew it was approaching. I texted M in the late morning Happy Anniversary, to which we both laughed because we both forgot! We will do a nice dinner out eventually! 

- so what if M spoiled me yesterday with a rolo McFlurry, that is actually still in the freezer because if you know me, I'm the worlds slowest ice cream eater! Soo sweet of him! 

- so what if I have decided to crack down on my to-do list! This mama is making a rag quilt!! I got all the prep done yesterday, today I'm going to sew it all together after I find time to shower! 

- so what if today is the first day my pool remotely looks like a pool one could swim in!! It's been a funky shade of green since we got back from holidays! I've been fighting an algae battle and finally came out on top! I'm going to shock it one more time today for good measure!! 

- so what if that feels like a big accomplishment - pool treatment is no joke! We are slowly learning. I've had a pool my whole life, but never treated it! 

- so what if I found a mint chocolate chip cookie I actually like!! It reminds me of girl guide cookies. I don't even like mint chocolate chip! These are the ones: 

Do yourself a favor and go buy some! 

- so what if it looks and sounds like a jungle in my great room today? I'm trying to get my kid to nap and the jungle sounds on the mamaroo are working unlike every other baby item in the house that is scattered around the room after trying them all! Desperate measures mean desperate sounds! 

Weekend Rewind

We finally had a nice low key, slow weekend.

Friday night was baseball... It was a pathetic loss. These games are getting harder and harder to watch  because by the last two innings they lose focus it seems, make mistakes and hand it over to the other team, even when they were up by 10... I told M I am going to stop keeping score and keep track of errors instead. This is totally a fun team, in a beer drinking league, but these pathetic losses I am sure are taking a toll! 

Saturday we lazed around the house, since I managed to get the house cleaned from top to mostly bottom on Friday! M got done work early on Friday so we did groceries together, I fought with the Wal-Mart pharmacy - yup I was that lady in Wal-Mart, who refused to fill Noah's prescription and then left me standing there waiting for nothing for 15 minutes. This will be the last script they get. End rant. While we were gone Lily and Gracie decided they should eat Kleenex... We later discovered it was Lily who did it, but we dog shamed them both! Little brats: 

Back to Saturday, I vacuumed the pool, we are still dealing with a very green pool, despite the copious amounts of shock we have put in it. It is very frustrating! So today I'm going to try an algeacide. Binx got her bath, Noah researched cereal:

I had a nice long nap in the afternoon, M worked on some yard work and had downtime with Noah. It was great! 

Sunday was an exciting day, Noah tried cereal for the first time and he loved it! 

I worked on the pool again, did some laundry, watched a lot of The Good Wife, M bathed the other two cats! Lux was really impressed:

We had ribs for dinner, went for a full walk around the village and then put the little man to bed! It was a nice weekend to get caught up on rest and what not after travelling for 2 weeks that's for sure!

Boutique Comfy Monkee

Today I am finally going to share an awesome etsy shop with you. I have been meaning to post this for over a month now, but the good thing is the products Chantal sent me are well tested. Better yet they are a huge hit in our house!! 

The shop owner Chantal is a SAHM of two and fellow Canadian!! She decided to start making baby products that were tailored to the needs of her children, her little boy suffered from reflux (a diagnosis Noah just received) and was going through burp cloths and blankets like crazy - boy do I know how that works! It is never ending laundry over here!

Chantal does have a blog found here. She also has a website where you can find her blog, more about Chantal, and her awesome product line right HERE.

When I came across Boutique Comfy Monkee on etsy, I knew I needed this blanket:

It was perfect - matched my car seat color, my love for anchors and Noah's need for anything soft!

Anchors for me are a symbol of all we have been through with infertility - they show strength and hope in my eyes, hence little man's nautical theme or the fact that he has a million anchor outfits hanging in his wardrobe!

Chantal surprised me and not only sent me the blanket, but added in this bib as well!!

They are perfect.

Noah loves both items, especially the blanket, it totes around with us everywhere and we are always getting compliments on them. 

They are so very well made, have been washed A LOT and come out still looking new, softer than ever!

Unfortunately Noah lives in a bib lately to save me from changing him in and out of a dozen outfits a day with this reflux, but his bibs don't have to be tacky or ugly!

Boutique Comfy Monkee has quite a few other items I find myself drawn to:

burp clothes:

Nursing covers:

How cute is this little girl bib:

Make sure you check out Boutique Comfy Monkee on:

 Etsy

Facebook

and her website is listed above with her blog as well!!

Thanks again Chantal, these items are staples in our house!!

What Is New Wednesday?

I figure since I took a blogging hiatus for holidays I should update you all on what is going down with us now that we are home?

1. Noah turned 5 months old today!! How? Where did time go? I will say I love watching him experience new things, develop new skills, and listen to his new sounds! Such a fun stage! Both M and I were just saying how we couldn't imagine life without him, we are soo blessed!

2. On the topic of Noah, we are finally bouncing back into our timezone, everyone is sleeping much better now! Noah is less cranky, as long as I get him to nap before 5 PM - because 5 PM is cranky hour!

3. I am getting back on track with Operation Shape Up. I did take 2 weeks holidays, but somehow managed to not gain any weight! Perfect!! I will share more on this operation soon!

4. While Operation Shape Up is in progress, so is Operation Get Organized!! I don't know what it is about getting home from holidays that makes me want to get things moving, so the plan is everything must have a home and if it doesn't it goes, or something else goes to give it a home! M and I have both come to conclusion that we have too much "stuff".

5. We are still waiting for the final report from the insurance company in regards to our roof, so while we wait for that, everything else is on hold too! Including the deck around the pool and phase 2 of the bathroom!

6. Noah has his first appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow. We will be addressing reflux and I'm sure his slow weight gain - which I am not as worried about. While M and I were away it was great not worrying about it at all, we would high five each other when people told us how big he was, then as soon as we get home, back to the doctors and the concern starts all over again. It is soo frustrating! I know everyone has his best interests at heart, but so do we! It would be a different story if he wasn't a happy, chill baby or wasn't going above and beyond his milestones monthly - then I would be concerned. If they considered his weight with being 3 weeks early he would be on par! So tomorrow will be interesting. I may just take friends advice and stop taking him to get weighed weekly to eliminate that stress.

7. We are getting ready to transition Noah up to his crib over the next 2 weeks -we are hoping! We wanted to give him a week to adjust to the time change again and then I want to start unswaddling him at night. A lot of big changes for him all at once! But during nap time he isn't swaddled, so I am going to start leaving one arm out at a time at bedtime, as well as wrapping him loosely. Then I will switch to a sleep sack, yet leave an arm tucked in and then completely out. That is my plan! Any tips or tricks on how you other moms made this transition?

Happy Wednesday Friends!!

Calgary Day 2 - Canmore

Of course travelling all the way to Calgary, we couldn't miss out on visiting and introducing Noah to one of our favorite places in Canada - Canmore! I will forewarn you there are a lot of pictures in this post!

So we had a great breakfast at the hotel before heading over to Alison's to pick up her and Miss D. I couldn't resist a good snuggle with Cruz - shhh don't tell Lily and Gracie!

Delainey and Noah checked each other out:

Then we were off to Canmore! Poor Alison was stuck in the back of our Jeep Wrangler in between both babies!

We toured around thanks to our trusty tour guide lol, who guided me into a business to ask where the river was, however that was the best thing we could have done because she sent us to an old rail bridge that goes over the river and into the mountains! Big score, perfect for pictures, but a hidden little gem!

So here are the pictures Alison took of us and we took of her, etc.:

Taking these next ones were a challenge! The babies just wanted to pull at each other in a friendly way of course!

After pictures, we went to The Wood for lunch! It was pretty good! We enjoyed a nice patio view of the mountains.

Noah didn't really feel like smiling apparently!

But Delainey did:

We introduced Alison to Somersby! You Calgary girls have been missing out up until this point! Although the guy at the liquor store later on in the week said they sell out before they hit the shelves! 

We tried again:

We enjoyed some yummy food! 

Even smooches couldn't crack him! I blame the time change, it took him a while to adjust!

This one is from Alison's phone and the babies we realized just weren't going to look or smile and that was okay!

We toured around Canmore in and out of shops, grabbed some ice cream before heading back to drop of Alison. 

Unfortunately the drive home was not as smooth sailing as the ride up. Noah lost it about 20 minutes from Alison's and when I say lost it, I mean LOST it! He cried his first real tears! I was stuck driving and couldn't do anything about it! He just hated that car seat, it laid him down further than ours at home, add hunger to that mix and he was not happy! Poor guy! Poor Alison! I finally consoled him when we got back to Alison's, gave him a quick feed and we headed back to our hotel!

I did sneak in a snuggle with this wiggly worm:

(stolen from Alison's blog)

We popped into WalMart to grab diapers and some snacks for the hotel.

Overall it was a great day, minus Noah crying his first tears, which broke my little heart, but we survived. I gave him extra snuggles that evening. 

I will say that we were in bed by 9 that night. 

I am soo happy we were able to show Noah Canmore, even though he won't remember it, it is just one of those wonderful places that we feel drawn to.