Baby Kippy

Apparently it is common for an older sibling to go through a period of regression when a new baby arrives in the family. Typically this means waking up in the night or having accidents if they were previously potty trained. For Kip, that regression has looked like acting/pretending to be a baby and/or mimicking things that Ivy does. All of this is done for attention and it makes sense from a toddler point-of-view. 

If mom and dad respond when sister cries, well then I can cry too!

"Whaaaa whaaaa whaa." 

Oh look, they're looking at me now. It's working. Keep doing it!

The advice on the interwebs is to indulge the behavior rather than ignoring, scolding, or telling them they are a "big kid." I have mom guilt about Kip no longer being my baby and having less time to spend with him between Ivy and returning to work. So, I play along with him and enjoy the extra cuddles and coddling. 

It's been four months since Ivy's arrival and Kip will still play baby quite regularly and you can tell almost immediately why he is doing it. If Dan, Mandy, or I are praising Ivy for doing something or we talk about something cute she did...Kip will almost immediately do it too.

So here, enjoy some toddler-sized baby Kippy. Or as he refers to himself..."mama's baby."

 

 

For the most part, the behavior isn't bothersome and just a quick reminder to give Kip some attention. Other times it's obnoxious. Like when he spits out whatever is in his mouth because Ivy spits up so much and gets so much attention for it. Or, when he gagged himself by shoving his hand down his mouth because Ivy does that too. Ugh!

Anyways, I know this behavior will change eventually and I might even look back and wish for the time when he would toddle over to me like he just learned to walk and say, "look! it's mama's baby."

Weekending it

 Oooh a post on a Tuesday, fancy that!

This weekend we all felt frantic that Fall was seeming to cascade quickly. The weather turned so soon and leaves are already peaking which is SO early compared to previous years. Despite the fact that 2020 has stolen so many traditions, we felt like we could get away with a few things even if we bi-passed our traditional bucket list. 

We live only a short ways away from the apple picking place we've taken Kip to ever year since he was born. Dan was working from home on Friday so we decided to leave the house as soon as everyone got ready and run over before the place opened the attractions. Usually we would come to this place on a Saturday and it would be jam packed with overflow parking across the street. We knew that wasn't something we wanted to risk this year so we just went for the pumpkin photos. No apple picking, no corn maze, no food trucks, no apple slushies. Compromise is the game of 2020.

Kip enjoyed seeing the pumpkins and we grabbed a few along with some stale donuts. 

Later that day Kip painted some pumpkins with Mandy for his school activity for the letter P.

On Saturday we did chores around the house and Mandy and I did a masked adventure over to Hobby Lobby. We hit the mother load of 50% off wall decor and even scored some 40% off Christmas items. It was a lot of fun.

On Sunday we discovered a cute little farm stand about 5 minutes away from us and they had zero crowd and a sweet little pumpkin patch that was fun to explore. Double pumpkin weekend!

Dan grilled steak for dinner and you know I got to thinking maybe the grilling alone was worth the move to NJ! It's the little things.

Weekending it

Ugh. Trying not to make posting about our weekend half-way through the week a regular thing but apparently it is. Apologies.

This weekend the highlight was cleaning out the garage. We were throwing all the moving boxes and trash in there for the last month. The previous owners left a lot of stuff that we tossed too. Once Mandy had moved-in and cleared out her apartment, she called 1-800 Junk and they came Saturday morning. 

Without the massive trash pile the garage was already looking so much better.

Then Sunday night while I swept and mopped the main living area (my Sunday-night cleaning task), Mandy and Dan got to work in the garage. I followed-up their work with a mop and voila!

 

Dan put-up a shade and we moved all the items to donate onto a bench by the steps (lower right corner).

 

This is the other side of the garage.
 

 

So I guess that's the first room-reveal look. It's a two-car garage but there is a two-car driveway where we have been parking. Let me tell you, Dan is THRILLED to not have to move the car anymore during street sweeping day in Brooklyn. The plan is to leave one side of the garage free for a car and the other side vacant as a quasi play area, as seen above.

The previous owners left shelf and the bike lifts which are awesome. 

If we ever get severe weather can can easily clear this left side of the garage and put both cars inside.

They also left the little workbench area and huge storage cabinet.

Sorry again the photos are so bad. These were taken late at night. 

Here are some photos from this morning.

A garage is a true luxury for us city slickers and we are loving it. 

 

We did some more tidying over the weekend and Dan and I even got out for a date errand to the hardware store. Mandy and I got masked haircuts and we all enjoyed walks outdoors. The weather is turning fallish so quickly this year which bums me out but life moves on. 

 

Happy hump day!

Check-up: 6 Years

I swear I published this post but I just found it in my drafts. Grrr. Oh well, better late than never?

Dan and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on August 30. It was squeezed in, hardly celebratory or special in any way but not forgotten at least. Mandy watched the kids for a couple of hours and Dan and I ate Wendy's drive thru in the parking lot. Then we went to Target to get a new bed spread and then we went to a beach town and walked along the path by the water. We got ice cream and got home in time for me to feed Ivy again. Mandy and Kip made us cupcakes. It was very 2020.

That night we went on a quick walk right by our house and held our anniversary tradition to say a prayer for the next year and throw a penny in the ocean. 

Life is so crazy right now but I grateful every day that I have him with me to endure it together. Love you Dan.

Today, I'm posting our little relationship check-up which we are doing annually now.

See our previous check-ups here:

6 months
1 year
18 months
2 years
2 1/2 years
3 years
3 1/2 years
4 years 

5 years 

 

We always answer the same set of questions but we do it separately and we don't look at previous answers, so similarities are coincidental.
 

6 years:

1) What is your favorite memory of the last year?

Dan: Ivy
Steph: Meeting Ivy for the first time

2) What is your favorite part of parenthood so far?

Dan: Watching Kip's imagination and creativity develop
Steph: Having conversations with Kip and watching his relationship with Ivy grow

3) Something you weren't expecting about parenthood.

Dan: The constant need to do two things at once (like, feed one kid a bottle while helping the other go to the bathroom)
Steph: Two is HARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

4) Something you were pleasantly surprised by about parenthood.

Dan: How much fun it is to play and interact with Kip and make up games with him
Steph: How it has changed how I see Dan and makes me more grateful that we have him

5) Something you learned about your partner after becoming a parent.

Dan: She knows a lot more about little kids than me
Steph: His gentleness and patience are never ending

6) Something to work on as a parent and a partner.

Dan: Better communication
Steph: Gratitude not judgement

7) Something to look forward to.

Dan: Holidays
Steph: Getting settled at the house and making new traditions here

8) Favorite thing about your partner right now.

Dan: Nothing. Just kidding...but it took him forever to think of something. Resilience.

Steph: He always listens 

These check-up questions tend to cause a lot of annoyance and grumbles...not sure how long we'll stick with it. We should probably focus on number 6 this year.

Ivy || 4 Months Old

Today Ivy turns four months old! This was a long month of other life craziness so my mind is foggy with memories and stress and spit-up and adjustments. But here we are at the 4 month milestone!! It's one I'm a little scared of going into. That big sleep regression that everyone talks about looms on the horizon. I fear Ivy is diving into it a little early. Peace be with us! The sleep deprivation has returned.

Ivy at Four Months

Weight: 13 lbs. (11 lbs. 4 oz. last month)

Height: 25 inches (24 inches last month)

Personality: chatty and curious

Likes

BATHS! Still her favorite

Sitting up and looking around

Stroller rides

Jamming her fingers/fist down her throat

Looking at her mobile

Gnawing on toys

Kicking

"Talking"

Dislikes

Being put in her chair, getting a diaper change, or being laid down shortly after getting up from a nap. She wants you to hold her...or else!

Getting spit-up wiped off her face

Being strapped into the stroller

Clothes/diaper changes

Waiting for a bottle

Loud/sudden noises

 

Wearing

Size 2 diapers

Tracking along just like Kip did, Ivy is starting to chunk up a bit. Baby chub!!! She is getting squishy and I love it! I feel like babies are easier to handle with a little more heft to them. She is in 3-6 month size clothes but still fits into some 3 month outfits. Now that the weather is cooling off I feel like we have a new wardrobe to tap into! Pants!! Long sleeves!! Holiday attire! It's fun 

Love to Dream swaddle transition sack for naps and bed

Things I want to remember about Ivy at four months old:

When she discovered her hands and started grabbing and grasping and bringing toys to her mouth

Her concentration on picking something up

The way she pulls and plays with her ear while nursing

How she slams her legs and feet down on her mattress in the middle of the night...just like Kip did. Thunk!

How she "talks" to me in the middle of the night

Her huge grin that makes her body wiggle with excitement 

Her beautiful blue eyes

How she is nearly always wearing a wet outfit covered in spit-up 

"Peanut butter poop" (Kip flipped out when he saw her diaper one day and called it PB)

Puking in the bath (Kip was horrified)

Toots that smell like poots 

The way Kip says "eww sister pukey-up...she needs a burp cloth!"

Noticing a trend? Ivy is a dainty little lady but she is also kind of gross.

 

 

Sleep

Oooh sleep, the plague of parenthood. Ivy has always been a good sleeper, all things considered. Last month she was only waking once in the night to feed. As soon as we moved into the house she started sleeping 5:30/6 pm - 6 am. It was ideal! She would wake up around the time Kip would come into our room after his OK to Wake clock turned on. And we would all get up for the day at 6 am. Then...last week...she started waking in the night again. Try as I might to simply give her the pacifier, she would get so excited to see me that she would start "talking." Not crying just cooing and making lots of noise until I finally gave-in and nursed her back to sleep. I thought it was a one-off. But we are now on night eight of this happening. Naps are crap too. We lost track of her wake windows and she takes forever to fall asleep some times. Often refuses naps after 3 pm unless it's in the stroller. It's a mess over here and I choose to blame my return to work, attempting to adjust to different caretakers every day (between Mandy and Dan and me) as well as developmental milestones (learning to grasp and starting to try to sit-up) as well as the 4 month sleep regression that everyone talks about. Will we survive? Yeah. Drained and exhausted but we'll get there.

Eat

This month we got Ivy used to bottle feeding. It took a bit of time but she enjoys it now. She likes freshly pumped milk slightly warmed. She does not like my frozen milk AT ALL! We've been able to get her to take 1 oz frozen to 2 oz fresh but I feel like that's a lot of work for little pay off. We end up having to dump half a frozen bag every day at that rate. We still want to try the drop of pure vanilla to see if that helps her take it better but at this point I've started to make peace with the fact that I may have to toss my entire freezer stash. It's hard for me. It was hard earned milk and my frozen stash was such an asset for us when Kip was a baby. I could try to find a way to donate it but I'd have to warn the other mom about high lipase and more than likely she'd dump it anyway. Since I'm working from home mainly, I don't need to pump as often. So in that sense, the stress of needing to pump enough for the next day is not so great. We also tried formula to see if she liked that. She loved it. So we have that as a backup. 

 

You all know I have lots to say about breastfeeding but truly it feels like the least talked about thing during pregnancy. Yes, it is natural but that doesn't mean it comes naturally. It is SO MUCH work and stress and struggle. It is a sacrifice and for that reason I will never pass judgement on another mother for the choices she makes in how to feed her baby. There is so much behind the scenes that other people don't know. 

Ivy still has really bad reflux. It's constant and yet unpredictable. Some days are good, some bad, some awful. She is not allowed to be on our bed, new couch, or rug. I'm hoping she grows out of it soon! Fortunately she seems totally unbothered by it except for the inconvenience of needing to be changed into new dry outfits. She isn't fussy and doesn't appear to be in pain so although we've considered food sensitivities, it's so inconsistent we can't say for sure it's that either. Plus, she discovered putting her hands in her mouth which means additional spit-up when she accidentally gags herself.

Play

Oooh the stage of discovery! She loves looking at her mobile, being walked around the room, and stroller rides with the shade up so she can see. She started playing with rattles and teethers and is easily grasping and grabbing. She is starting to try and sit-up so she is often seen grunting and crunching in an effort to pull herself up. She loves water play and watching Kip play.

Sister bear you are a Jersey girl now! You get so much more fresh air and sunshine now and ample walks and space to move. You went to the beach for the first time and started taking naps in your own room! You love to explore and talk and eat! We love you baby girl! Happy 4 months!