Baby Archives - Page 3 of 5

Category: Baby

Planning for Our Little Guy’s First Birthday

Posted on March 8, 2017March 6, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

I’ve started the process of planning for our little guy’s first birthday. Every time I think about him turning ONE I get choked up. This past year has flown by. To think this time last year I was blissfully unaware just how dramatic our little guy would be making his entrance. I couldn’t imagine how my life would be flipped around – all for the better.

This party will be epic. Mainly because if I’m throwing a party I want it to be amazing. I threw my sister’s wedding shower in my backyard a few years ago and it was so pretty. I created a photo table runner filled with images of the couple, I had created a teal drink since they were getting married on the beach, and had the delicious beach themed cookies made. I know if I want this party to be great then I needed to start planning early. I’m a planner, to-do list maker and a little OCD. I figured with it being tax season and the fact I work in an accounting office, I should get started sooner rather than later. I knocked out a to-do list followed by a time frame map. That way not only would I remember the big stuff (like order invitations and then mail them), but I would also remember the small ones (charge the camera batteries, buy ice, etc.).

Choosing a first birthday theme is super hard. There are so many to pick from. Do you go with cars, baseball, football, puppies, firetrucks, fishing, character-themed? It’s so hard! And Pinterest is absolutely no help. You look up images from one theme and you fall head over heels for it. Then you step back and ask yourself if it’s realistic for you to get to that image. Usually the answer is no, at least it was for me.

After a few weeks of mulling around different ideas, I decided. Gone Fishing!

That’s the theme. J loves to fish so I figured it would be cute. Plus we’re planning on having the party at our house so we have our whole backyard to utilize and can create a cute fishing game. I’m pumped!

Now it’s time to get my checklist pulled out and knock a few items off. Once I get the party planned, I want to share my checklist with you. I just don’t want to do it too early because I’ve already had to make a few changes as I’ve gone so I would like it to be final. I’m hoping that my trial can really help you in the long run.

What are some party themes you’ve thrown? I’ve figured it’s never too early to start planning his 2nd. HAHA!

Amazon is Mom’s Best Friend

Posted on March 6, 2017March 6, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Moms, let’s talk about how Amazon is Mom’s best friend.

There’s a saying about how a dog is man’s best friend. Which I totally get and would have agreed with before having a baby. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my dogs. I would do just about anything for them, which is evident in the $1500 we’ve shelled out for Bud recently. They still think they’re my best friend, which usually ends up in me asking “why do you love me so much?” when they are follow me through the entire house. Tiny with always having to be under my feet. Bud with finding ways to stick his entire head in the shower each morning. And Maggie only wanting to play when I’m sitting in the floor with the baby.

But let’s talk about my real, real best friend – Amazon. Let’s get serious, shall we? Only a true friend is there for you around the clock. Only a true friend will bring you whatever you heart desires. And Only a true friend will have a little dot that sits on our TV console that allows me to add laundry detergent (or chocolate) to my car without judgment.

This true friend is Amazon, folks.

The other night while sleep training our little guy I realized we desperately needed a white noise machine. Our neighbors park their trucks close to his bedroom window and their son works odd hours through the night. So around 4am each night he is either returning home or leaving for work. The start of a F150 is enough to wake our little guy out of a deep sleep. Of course the idea hit me at 4am, when I had to stumble through the dark to comfort our son. What did I do? Grabbed my phone and added a white noise machine to my shopping cart. It arrived two days later. Easy!

Let’s talk about all the other wonderful stuff you can buy on Amazon. Like… protein powders I get to buy without ever having to step foot into a store. I can do my research, read reviews from people and then make my selection. No small town options for me! Or how I have the dogs’ food delivered once a month automatically. They go through close to 100 pounds of food a month now I don’t have to haul it around the store or make a special stop since we feed them a higher quality food then the local Wal-Mart sells.

We’ve ordered step-ups for J’s truck, a TV console, clothes, nursing gear (that I ended up not being able to use), jewelry, dog food, diapers, wipes, protein powders, ready-to-drink shakes, toilet paper, detergent, veggie spiralizer, chew toys (for dogs and baby), and so, so much more. My order history looks like a cornucopia of wild thoughts!

A best friend remembers even when you forget.

Can we talk about diapers for a second? Moms our little ones go through so many diapers. Who knew a child so small could produce so much?! Am I right? Nothing is worse than having to run to Wal-Mart in the middle of the night leaving one parent home with a diaperless child because you ran out. What do you do with them? Put a bunch of blankets around them? Sit them in the bathtub?

I mean, seriously what do you do with them?

Amazon will remember your diapers for you. Once a month I receive a case. Did I remember to hit the “buy now” button? No. But Amazon remembered. It remembers two bags of dog food a month, a case of wipes and a case of toilet paper every three months.

It’s magical. Every month two bags of dog food and one case of diapers just appear. Then every three months I also get a case of toilet paper and wipes. Pure happiness. I have to admit, I just added the TP to my subscribe & save feature. I needed one more item to boost my savings and I thought it would be a good fit. The case came but we didn’t need it right away so I stuck it in the garage. The other morning J yells down the hall that we’re out of TP. So I go out into the garage, grab my case and set it down in front of him. I said “here ya go, think this is enough?” He just looked at me. I knew what he was thinking – why did you order a CASE of toilet paper? Then I showed him the math from buying that same amount at the store compared to what I spent… it was enough to pay for half of the case.

Not only does Amazon remember what I need, but it gives me a discount for forgetting! Seriously?!

Thank you Amazon for being the best friend I didn’t know I needed during the hardest transition of my life – parenthood.

A Daily Schedule for Baby

Posted on March 3, 2017February 7, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Having a daily schedule for baby can be great. But it can also be very difficult to follow. Days are not always mapped out perfectly, no matter how hard I try. Things come up, stuff goes wrong and nap times go out the window when dealing with a 10 month old. However, I’ve been trying since January to get our little guy on a better sleep schedule so that has rolled over to the rest of our day.

The reason I’m sharing our weekend schedule is because he goes to a sitter Monday – Friday. Plus, his schedule is pretty similar to the weekdays, but the weekends are where we try to set-in-stone his nap and sleep times. I’ve also shared what my daily life looks like too. It’s so hard for this OCD planner to not have a set schedule.

7:00am – wake up (some days he’s up by 6:15 and other days he wants to sleep in until 7:30, but on average he’s awake by 7:00), change diaper and get dressed for the day
7:15am – first bottle of the day. He’s not super hungry first thing in the morning (I blame me for him not being a morning person). So we stick with a smaller bottle until he’s fully awake.
7:45-10:30 – playtime. We try to burn off some energy by playing around the house. It’s been too cold to do much outside. We play games, paint, or just play with some of his toys.
10:30 – another bottle, this time is a full 6 oz. one.
11:00-12:30 – we run any errands that we need to for the day.
12:30-1:00 – We try to be back home for lunch and to get Baby Boy settled to take a nap
1:00 – bottle time again
1:30-3:00 – naptime. He will usually fall asleep somewhere between 1 and 3. Usually his naps last an hour or longer.
3:00 – 4:00 wake up for a diaper change and then we play some more. It’s also time for another bottle
4:30-5:30 – play time, we usually play with the toys in the living room while waiting for dinner to finish cooking.
5:30 – 6:00 – dinner as a family. I eat while also feeding Baby Boy his solids.
6:00 – 7:00 – play time, again we’re back in the family room playing with all the toys.
7:00 – 8:00 – start bedtime routine, which consists of a bath, change into pajamas, start the nighttime bottle and read stories to. Typically he’s asleep within 30 minutes, but some nights it takes longer than others.

What’s your daily schedule for baby? Have you found it a lot easier if your little one is in a routine? We have for sure!

Dr. Facebook is Not Your Health Professional

Posted on February 27, 2017January 30, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Alright this post might offend some of my Facebook friends. But that’s okay. I’m all about speaking my mind. I think I get my bluntness from my Dad.

When our Baby Boy was really sick before Christmas I knew deep in my heart it was RSV. But I wasn’t about to go searching his symptoms on Google or asking by FB friends. Because here’s the problem with that… you will get every story, disease, illness under the moon – even the ones that haven’t been discovered yet!

Have you seen the movie “He Just Not That Into You”? Justin Long’s character is explaining to Ginnifer Goodwin’s character the rules of men. How if a guy doesn’t call you back then he’s just not that into you. Or if a guy acts like he doesn’t care then he genuinely doesn’t care about you. Gennifer’s character is good because she then goes on to say well she knew a friend whose cousin met a guy that didn’t call back for one month and now they are happily married with kids. Justin Long just simply says “that’s the exception, not the rule.” You are not the exception to the rule.

You may be thinking how does this movie relate to Dr. Facebook? … well it does. Because your child’s sickness is probably not the exception. Meaning it might be a simple cold, but you don’t know for sure. You need to talk to an actual doctor. And if for some reason your FB friends with a real doctor then I hope you are good enough friends to have their number so you could just call and ask. Most doctors aren’t going to do a diagnosis over status update.

That’s the rule.

So before you go typing away how your kids poop is yellow and they haven’t eaten in two days, maybe you should save your time and take them to the emergency room or urgent care. Just a thought.

J gets a little overwhelmed when he tries to look symptoms up online. He usually ends up thinking he has a tumor or some sort of incurable disease. So I have to play the cool cucumber when Baby Boy gets sick and just call the doctor myself. I can’t get sucked in to googling every little thing. Especially when it’s your child involved. Because if I was coughing with a low grade fever then I assume it’s a cold and I would take a swig of Dayquil and go about my day. But if it’s Baby Boy that has a cough and low-grade fever then I feel like my world is crumbling down.

Before I go asking online what could be wrong, I ask myself if I really want to read other people’s responses. Because they could have been the exception to the rule and my kid will be the rule. Their kid could have ended up in the hospital when mine just needs Tylenol. Their kid could have also had their symptoms longer or have more symptoms then they remember. Who knows.

But please, people for all that is sane stop posting medical questions on Facebook. Just call the doctor or take your kid to see one.

Surviving Motherhood

Posted on February 20, 2017January 30, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Let’s get real here. Motherhood is hard. No matter how many kids you have, or if you work full time, part-time, work from home or stay at home. It’s hard. Being a Mom kicks you in the butt every single day. I mean it. Surviving motherhood may be a misleading title, because I’m pretty no matter my son’s age I’m still going to be a crazed-filled Mom ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

When my little guy was sick I was fortunate to stay home with him for 3 days straight. There I was 24 hours a day on call. No one to hand me anything, no one to help me when I went pee. It was just me and a sick little 9 month old… and three dogs that followed me wherever I went. Well…. Until my husband came home from work.

You never know how loved you are until you hear a baby start to cry because you set him down to run to the bathroom. Friday night rolled around and J asked me how my day went. I looked at him and with all seriousness said I’m in the same clothes since yesterday at 5. I don’t even know if I’ve brushed my teeth today. I can’t get a comb through my hair because it hasn’t been combed since Sunday night and because every time I get the comb out our little guy thinks it’s his to play with. Today has been great.

I meant that though… it really was a great day. Our kid was finally feeling better. It was worth it!

That’s motherhood. All is fine if the kids are doing good. You can get through anything.

There are so many sleepless nights and days where all you want is your kid to take an amazing 2 hour nap just so you can start a load of laundry and change the channel to something that isn’t animated. At least that’s how felt last week and that was only 3 days!

Most days I struggle with Mom Guilt because I have to drop him off a sitter while I go to work. I think about him and miss him the entire day. But I get a break. I get to have grown-up conversations and sit at a desk by myself. But as soon as evening comes I rush to pick him up just to hold him again. In the evenings I’m juggling dinner while getting ran over by a walker. If you’ve never carried a plate of food, a glass of liquids while having your bare toes ran over by mini plastic wheels then you haven’t lived!

You know what we need in this motherhood thing? Moms being nice and telling you that you’re doing a great job. Momhood is messy, it’s filled with too much caffeine, sleepless nights and too much judgement. We’re too busy judging ourselves and wondering what other people are thinking of us. Well let me tell you… I don’t even notice the other Moms because I’m the mom scrambling around.

I showed up for an after-work event for me and J, but since he had to work late I took my 9 month old son as my plus one. But don’t worry, it wasn’t cute. He spilled his bottle all over him in the car so it looked like he wet himself. I had to dig for my fleece jacket off the floorboard because I forgot his jacket. And I also couldn’t stay long because I didn’t have one single diaper with me… nope not even an old one that was too small. I was afraid I would have ended up wrapping him in swaddle blanket if he peed through his diaper just to get him home. And I wasn’t about to have to clean his car seat cover that night.

Mom. Of. The. Year. Right here, people. That’s me! To have another Mom say “I’ve been there.” or “Hey! He’s alive and doesn’t have poop all over his body. You’re doing great!” would be amazing. That’s what we should be doing. Encouraging each other because we are in this together.

If you see a Mom who looks frazzled and like she hasn’t slept in days, then let her know how great she’s doing.

Baby’s First Valentine’s Day and 10 Months Old

Posted on February 15, 2017February 13, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Can you believe it’s baby’s first Valentine’s Day? I can’t believe he’s getting so old!

Our little boy celebrated his first Valentine’s Day yesterday. We didn’t do much. But I wanted to do something special to remember the holiday. Last week I talked about creating this printable Valentine’s for him to hand out at school, which was great. But now it’s time to focus on just him. My sweetheart.

Today is also a very special day because our baby is turning 10 months old. It’s insane to think that he is already 10 months and that I get to start planning his first birthday party. He is growing too fast.

Sometimes I wish for time to slow down. Let me hold my baby just a bit longer. I really didn’t mind the late night feedings or the times I couldn’t get anything done because he wanted to be held. I knew they were going slip away, but I still wasn’t ready for it. I remember the moment we took him home. The moment we were told he needed to be admitted to the NICU and the tears I cried. The day he rolled over for the first time and the crawled.

I don’t want to forget a single moment. I want to remember it all.

Mess Free Painting For Your Baby

Posted on February 10, 2017January 30, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

When our little man was sick not too long ago we spent a lot of quality time together. By the second day we were both going crazy from boredom. He was so use to be at his sitter’s house with other little kids and I was use to not being with him 24 hours a day. So we needed a plan. A distraction. I saw on Pinterest an image… and that’s all I needed. It’s title had me from the first glance “Mess Free Painting” I was like the heavens opened up. We had a painting party right in the middle of the kitchen floor.

It only lasted about 20 minutes, but it was enough distraction I needed to have my lunch finish cooking and him to pass enough time to eat again.

I found some construction paper in a closet, who knows how old it is, but it was there. I cut it into smaller pieces and put some old craft paint on it. Now here’s how you tell how old your craft paints are. When you open them and nothing but a clear liquid comes out then it may be time to toss them. Or when you shake them and only hear chunks moving around then it’s time to give in the towel and move on. So after a few tries we finally found three colors that were still good. White, yellow and teal. Not the best choices, but he’s 9 months old so it’s not like really cares. Then the construction paper choices weren’t any better either, red and blue. Oh well! We’re not going to be winning any awards today.

So I put dots of paint on the paper and slid them into a gallon-size baggie. Sealed it up and laid them in front of our little man. He went to town. Smashing them, picking them up, throwing them and then trying to eat them. At that point I knew it was over. Here’s a great tip though, that I almost found the hard way. It’s called mess free painting because it’s all contained in the baggie. So make sure your baggie is sealed all the way. Also make sure your paper fits fully inside the baggie. Mess free painting is all about being smart. You may have to trim some paper off to fit inside your bag. I used gallon sized bag and didn’t have to cut much off.

I took them out of the baggies and set on top of foil on our washing machine to dry. I chose foil because that’s all I had on hand. I chose the washing machine because I gave up the illusion of getting caught up on laundry earlier that day.

I had the pictures of him making his masterpieces printed. Then I sent one picture to my Mom, J’s Mom, my sister and J’s sister. I of course kept the best for myself and framed it for our wall.

This kid has skills!

Then when the painting was finished, he discovered the bottom drawer which houses the plastic baggies. And did he go to town!

Sleep Training Your Baby

Posted on February 8, 2017January 30, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

I hate that title. It sounds like I’m teaching our kid to do tricks. Next I’m going to tell him “good boy” for sitting on command. Ugh! But that’s what we’re working on… sleep training. Because God knows he needs his sleep and God also knows that his parents need their sleep too.

Baby Boy had been a pretty good sleeper since about 2 months. That’s when we bought the DockATot. I highly, highly recommend ordering yourself one if you have a little one on the way. These are the best! If you want to try one out, then you can use my referral code for $10 off. We transitioned him into his crib at around 5 months, we used the DockATot for the first few nights, but eventually we stopped using it since he was getting a little too big for it. And he was doing great. Asleep by 8:00 and minimal late nights and midnight feedings. Then it all went downhill… FAST!

Back in early December our little guy came down with a cold. I took him to the doctor where the RSV test and Flu test came back negative. Hallelujah! A week later I was back for his second round of the flu vaccine since he was feeling better. He was just a little trooper for Momma. Only a few tears and then he was back to his smiling self. Thank you!

The week before Christmas his fever spiked – like whoa! It hit 103.9 at around midnight. So the next morning I took him to the doctor, but this time we weren’t so lucky with his RSV test. It was positive. We loaded down with breathing treatments and this fancy machine with these tubes and cords that just scream “PULL AT ME!”

After 5 days of doing breathing treatments every 4 hours we were back in business. But not when it came to sleep. Since he was sick and the doctor said to listen for any labored breathing while he slept, which meant I didn’t sleep for 5 days and he slept in our room so I could hear, see and feel him next to me.

For one month we had been struggling getting him back in his crib and to sleep at a decent time. I’ve ready countless studies that all basically said a 9 month old should be getting over 13 hours of sleep between night and naps. Ugh! He wasn’t anywhere near that.

I had it settled that on Sunday night he would be back in his crib. We were going to sleep train that beast! No, he’s not really a beast… but he can be when he’s tired, or hungry, or drops his toy and can’t reach it.

At 7:00 I would start getting him ready for bed. Bath, pajamas, big bottle and story time. Then it’s off to the crib for sleepy time. If he woke up, I would gently lay him back down and rub his back until he fell asleep again. No picking him for anything! Unless he peed through a diaper or couldn’t stop coughing because that meant projectile vomit coming.

Night 1: Sunday started at 7:00 took 2 hours and 5 minutes to get him to fall asleep. Then probably spent 15 minutes getting up 2-3 times through the night to rub his back. He woke up for the day at 7:10.

The first night was rough because he started crying. So I went back in and laid him back down (usually he would sit up or stand up) then rub his back while the dog continued to play music. When he was pretty much asleep I would sneak out of the room. Then if he woke up and cried more then I would go back.

Night 2: Monday started at 6:55 took 1 hour and 10 minutes for him to fall asleep. Then spent 20 minutes throughout the night by getting up 3-4 times. He woke up at 7:10 again this morning.

Night 3: Tuesday night was rough. My parents watched him and it’s hard to get someone to follow your routine exactly, but I think he still did pretty good. I ended up sleeping on my parents’ couch so that I didn’t have to wake him up completely and ruin the whole evening. My parents put him down at 7:05 and it took him 30 minutes to fall asleep. Then about 10:00 he woke up and was awake for an hour and 20 minutes. He slept the rest of the night through until 8:10.

A little after 11:00 he woke up, sat up, whined and then when he didn’t see me or hear me, he laid himself back down and went right to sleep. So now I usually wait a minute or two before going into his room. He has sat up a few times, looked around and then laid back down.

Night 4: Wednesday night we started our routine at 7:20 and it took 30 minutes to fall asleep. Then we spent about 45 minutes with him until the night was a complete failure. I was exhausted from being home with a sick baby and not sleeping too great, so J watched him. Again, I really wanted to watch him the first week because I was following the same steps each time he woke up. It’s hard to get anyone else to do it the exact way you would. So after 45 minutes J couldn’t take it anymore and I was too tired to care so he came into our room. He slept great until 7:05 the next morning. J and I slept awful!

Night 5: Thursday night I was back on it! He was so tired so we started getting him ready at 7:00 and within 40 minutes he was out. Then I spent about 10 minutes rubbing his back, but this time I only had to get up one time. He woke up at 6:55 that morning.

Night 6: Friday night he was falling asleep playing so we started our routine at about 6:50 and it took only 20 minutes for him to be out. Then I got up once to lay him back down and rub his back for about 5 minutes. He woke up at 6:25.

Night 7: Saturday was the best night yet. He was struggling to stay awake since he didn’t have a good nap all day. We started getting him ready for bed around 6:45 and within 40 minutes he was passed out. At around 10:00 he woke up, sat up and started to cry. So I walked in his room, laid him back down and he was out cold. He woke up at 6:30 the next morning, which was too early for J and I. So we laid around and he eventually fell back asleep at around 7:30 for another hour! Yes!

Here’s our nightly routine in case you are wondering.

7:00 – bath, if needed
7:10 – pajamas
7:15 – bottle, 8 oz.
7:15 – rock in a chair in his room while reading a story

As soon as he finishes the bottle he is usually pretty out of it. So I lay him down in his crib, he’s not fully asleep at this point. He has a stuffed dog that plays lullabies for 15 minutes, I turn that on and turn off the lamp. I walk out and shut the door behind me. The time I counted above includes everything. The time it takes to give him a bath, finish a bottle and fall asleep.

I also use a CloudPet that we received. It connects to my phone over bluetooth. So if he’s still moving around a lot and the dog has stopped playing music, I can stand outside his door and start playing music through the CloudPet. That way he will fall back asleep and I don’t have to disturb him.

J and I have been talking about getting a white noise machine so he doesn’t have to rely on music or specific sounds to fall asleep to. I have it ordered from Amazon and am just waiting for it to come.

Before J and I go to bed, I crack open his door, but don’t turn on any lights.

I could end this post here and let you believe that all is good. The little guy is sleep trained and it takes less and less time to get him to fall asleep each night, but that would be a LIE. And I’m not about telling lies here. I want to tell the truth… so let’s go ahead and talk about night 8. Night 8 was rough. We stayed in all day Sunday since he was still fighting his sickness and we were now coming down with it. His feeding was all off and his naps were all over the place. During his 4:00 bottle, he fell asleep in his Dad’s arms. I wasn’t paying attention (dang movie!) and didn’t notice. An hour passes and I made a comment about how tonight was going to be rough with him napping so late. J thought that meant to wake him.

WHAT?!

Yeah, he woke him up. He was mad. He was also hungry. He had a small bottle at 5:00 and then we played. He acted tired at about 7:00 so we went ahead with our normal routine. But he wasn’t tired. He wasn’t hungry. He wanted to play. It took us close to 2 hours to get him to settle down and sleep. Then he woke up at midnight, and that took about 5 minutes to get him to go back down. Then at 4:30 he woke wide up and it was about 30 minutes until he fell back asleep. He was finally awake for the day at 7:15.

When Your Little One Gets Sick

Posted on February 3, 2017January 30, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

There is nothing worse then when your sweet, smiling little one gets sick. You would do anything to take away their pain and sickness. I know I would gladly take their fever or their earache so he wouldn’t have to feel the pain.

Last week our little man ended up with a cold that led to a double ear infection. Mix in some teething and we were in for an amazing week! Can you detect my sarcasm? I am so fortunate that my job is flexible. I can stay home with him if needed or I can take him to work with me on the days I need to be in the office. I’m lucky. Not every Mom or Dad gets to do that.

But when you’re not used to staying home day after day then by the end of the week you feel like you got punched in the gut a few times. I was exhausted. I had tried hard to keep the house clean, the dogs were getting too spoiled with having me home all day – meaning they wanted outside every 20 minutes to sniff around and bark into thin air. Not to mention there is only so many times you can hear Daniel Tiger’s theme song before you want to scream fast first into a pillow!

One of the best tips I found online was a way to track our Baby Boy’s medications. You think once in the morning and once in the evening would be easy to remember, but it’s not. Especially when you have two adults trying to help and a dog that is on daily medications as well. Some days J has time in the mornings and sometimes he doesn’t. Instead of just having to rely on one another or call each other with “did you give the dog his meds? what about the baby? did you feed the dogs?” It’s too much. I quickly grabbed a Sharpie and drew two sections – AM and PM. Then drew lines going across so there would be one box for each day. Now if you give him the medicine, just mark it off. Problem solved! I love Pinterest!

I also found a few baby-friendly activities that we did together. First, we played with our Tupperware. We pounded it together, we threw it around and it was the best! When that fun wore off I jumped onto the next activity. Mess free painting. Again, that was another win but it didn’t last long. Why can’t this boy of mine have a longer attention span!? Finally, I discovered his love of the dogs’ water bowl. He’d race to it as fast as he could and I would jump up and tell him no. We would go back and forth until I finally barricaded him in using the excersaucer and bouncer. He wasn’t happy and tried to climb through the walker to get to it.

There is nothing worse then when your little one gets sick. Am I right?

By Saturday morning our little guy was feeling so much better. But of course J and I woke up feeling awful. Great! You know, I said I would take his sickness from him? Well that didn’t mean when he was finally getting over it. I didn’t want him to suffer at all. Now I have (an almost) well kid that wants to play and two parents who feel like crap.

Awesome!

Let’s hope these meds kick in fast because I can hear him in the kitchen knocking over the trash can with his walker as I type this. Cheers to the weekend!

9 Months Old

Posted on January 13, 2017January 11, 2017 by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Sunday is a big day in our house. Our little guy is turning 9 months old. Nine Months…

Where has the time gone?!

Every day he is learning something new and showing more of his personality. He’s stubborn like his Mom, loves laughing at Dad’s weird noises, hates waking up too early like Mom and is a heavy sleeper like his Dad.

He still looks incredibly like J, but every once in awhile I can see a little bit of me sticking out. But then it fades away and he goes back to look just like his Daddy.

He’s inquisitive and mischievous. Always into something and never wanting to sit still.

He’s been crawling everywhere and pulling himself up whenever one of us is near (darn slick floors… he’s fallen a few times and has quickly learned to have one of us around). He constantly says “Daddy” and every once in awhile he sneaks a “Momma” in to melt my heart.

He loves most foods, except peas and meats. Which we are still working on. He thinks it’s fun to drink out of his sippy cup and prefers to feed himself the bottle, but ends up playing with it more than eating.

He’s my everything.

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Moms, let’s talk about how Amazon is Mom’s best friend.

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