2 Months of Sutton.

I can't believe she's been around for over 2 months already. 

When it comes to birth/recovery, I've really come to terms with the fact that I probably haven't processed her birth story. I listened to a really great podcast episode where a mom had not one, but two semi-traumatic births. Babies were fine in the end, but she brought up the point that it was no surprise to God how it all played out. The amount of preparedness you put into birth doesn't matter in the end at all. That is a lot of energy and effort kind of wasted if the baby isn't ready to arrive the way you anticipate.

The fact that they couldn't tell me what went wrong with Sutton still bothers me (was it a placenta issue? we still have suspicions about this) because, if she were my first baby, I don't know that I would happily go into pregnancy with a second. My pregnancy with Wells was so easy and labor and delivery and recovery was so smooth that I didn't wonder/worry about how it'd go a second time. I don't think we're anticipating a third baby in our family but I was told that post-partum preeclampsia or even regular preeclampsia would probably happen again. It's possible it even happened with Wells because I definitely had some symptoms, but they just didn't catch it and I didn't know any different. 

PRAISE THE LORD. We have a sleeper. I've said many times that Wells was up every 2-3 hours for 18 months, at least. I think he slept 5 hours once and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. (It never happened again.)

Sutton goes to bed around 8-8:30pm. I tried to keep her up later, like 10:00, but she just wasn't having it. If she was just falling asleep/drowsy after that 7:30 or 8:00pm bottle, I put her in a sack and put her down for the night. She'd had it with the velcro swaddle by 3-4 weeks so we went to a swaddling blanket, and now I have her in a sack. 

She's been getting up around 4:00am and I change and feed her and put her back down. She'll sleep then until 8-9am. Which means I'm still up for an hour or so super early, but then I sleep in. I've literally scheduled everything in our life right now to start at noon or later and it's a pretty great system. 

When it comes to eating, she is incredibly predictable in a way I was not used to with Wells. She is either hungry or she's not. There's no in-between. I really try to do a sleep-eat-play instead of play-eat-sleep pattern but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. 

She's drinking 4 oz. bottles but I don't count ounces. I seriously feed her every time I assume she's hungry. I read somewhere that babies know exactly how many calories they need to stay full, and the goal is to make those daytime calories. I don't try to feed her at night unless she fully wakes up.

Sutton's room is a nursery with a guest bed, so I moved her into the crib around 9 weeks. 

She had her 2 month appointment two weeks ago. Their computer system wasn't working so I don't have actual statistics, but she got some shots and then she weighed 9 pounds 9 ounces. That's up well over 3 pounds from birth. Definitely smaller than Wells was at this age (11 pounds I think?) but she's truly chunked up over the last few weeks. 

This one just makes me laugh:

Stuff and Things 5/26

+I had posts planned for this week..just needed to write them..and then we lost our modem in a storm the other day and had to wait for a new one and I've been living off of LTE and Weeds DVDs and Wells was introduced to "the DVD". We do own a few kid-appropriate ones..he liked Fern Gully and Ratatouille. We had to dig them out of a box in the barn and dust off Scott's laptop (since mine doesn't have a disk drive). It's been like Little House on the Prairie over here. 

+One of our recent trips to the chiropractor. She's getting the bill for this some day. 

+Wells has a thing for this protein milk. He's allowed exactly 1/3 of a bottle each day if he wants it, and he was beside himself with joy when he saw this display. 

+ A good book I read last weekend. Four solid stars. 

+ Trying to get out of the house one day last week. 

+Sitting in the hospital basement with hundreds of others during a tornado warning last week. All I was trying to do was get this poor thing to her two-month appointment. FWIW, neither of them were bothered a bit by the commotion and the unfamiliar circumstances. 

+I don't know.

+A definite 5-star read from this past weekend. 

+Went in to clean out a bunch of stuff last weekend. I need to write my "I'm done teaching...again" post. 

+This week's library haul for Wells (Me? I gave up on this library and subscribed to Kindle Unlimited again.)

+Scout turned 9 this week. He got salmon. 

+I told Wells I wanted a last day of school picture since his preschool was officially done last week. Just to compare it to August. 

This was August: 

+ Also, today is our marriage anniversary! Wedding anniversary will be in September. 13 years. I have actually lost track of how many we've been together for and how many we've been apart for. Check one in the latter column for #13. 

+ Finally, I'm still formulating thoughts on the awfulness that happened in Texas this week. I don't often speak long-form on current events here but I figure, as a teacher, I do have something to say about it. Maybe tomorrow. Truly, thoughts and prayers. 

A few favorites.

I got a complaint list as long as my leg, truly. But there's a lot of good things I need to mention too. So instead of deep-diving into yesterday's tornado warning and the fact that I cannot, no matter how I try to work it, get the grass cut by myself. Two acres is too much when I can't trust a solid hour+ nap from the baby. 

1. I'm almost finished with the end-of-the-year postcards for my students. 

                                                                            25 is a lot. 

I'm planning, barring another natural disaster, on going in next week to see them again. 

2. Sutton is so much better at sleeping than Wells ever was. The tale I tell is that Wells didn't sleep through the night at all until 18 months (post-18 month regression) and didn't do it regularly until he was 2. 

I fully expect regressions with Sutton but she just like...goes to sleep? Idk. It's so foreign to me. Wells was up every 2-3 hours for 18 months. Of course, Sutton came into the world actually yelling via emergency c-section so...

I have Taking Cara Babies' 3-4 month series to read to prepare myself for this time around.

3. Speaking of baby stuff, Milestones and Motherhood is such a great resource. I find myself getting absolutely lost in her Stories. She's a pediatric PT and there's really nothing she doesn't cover. Also: turns out I did everything wrong with Wells and he turned out FINE. So, don't take everything she says as a must-do. 

Here's to hopefully accomplishing a few things this weekend...cleaning out my classroom a bit, buying/planting flowers, and going to the library are top of the list. 

Weekend Photos.

We're finally at a place where we can borrow library books and I don't worry for their well-being. 

Very hot Saturday. 

This is Sutton's elephant. On Friday, Wells wrestled it, "killed" it, said a prayer (Dear God, thank you for the food so good, help us do the things we should. Amen.), and "ate" it. 

I use the BruMate because I have two and they're FINE, but I'm not impressed. Also, baby moved to her own room this weekend. I kept her in the bassinet, not the crib yet, because she sleeps so well in the bassinet. 

Have I spent $8 this weekend on buying new episodes of Better Call Saul on Amazon? I have. 

Much nicer out yesterday.

Scout is...somewhere. 

Friday Favorites: Movies

This week got away from me. I blame it on the fact that I had, like, one thing to do Monday morning and that just meant I had to recuperate all of Monday into Tuesday and well..it just kind of went from there. 

I had a conversation with Scott weeks ago about how I don't know what it says about me that my two favorite movies are Taken and Law Abiding Citizen. 

If you know me, you know I'm rarely a movie person. I prefer a long drawn out series I can spend weeks watching on a streaming network. Breaking Bad, Weeds, Friday Night Lights...even rewatching The Office...I need it to be never-ending. 

(I also don't know what it says about me that Wells and I watched El Camino together yesterday...I had the subtitles on and the volume way down soooo..judge not lest ye be judged and all that.)

Here is our winner for most evil TV villain of all time, by the way. 

Taken. Easily the best movie of whatever year it came out. Liam Neeson's best work for sure. This needs to be the plot enacted by parents today more readily. (I think this is how the movie discussion came up...talking about how you'd literally kill to protect your children.)

Law Abiding Citizen. I feel like this didn't get enough notoriety. Maybe it did? I think it was 2009 when it came out, so the internet was as BIG then so maybe I didn't notice. But a friend in Alaska mentioned this once, and then Scott said it was good, and so we watched it together. It's intense. I recommend it, whole-heartedly. It's like Dexter meets ...Taken? Yes, Dexter meets Taken. 

Unfaithful. Diane Lane is a treasure. There is something so sad and haunting about this movie. Was it a book? It should be a book. If you like a domestic literary thriller-type of book, this movie is for you. If you haven't seen this, find it. 

The Other Guys. This is the funniest movie. We watch it regularly, especially if it's been a long or hard week. I also just love Mark Wahlberg. I'll watch anything with him in it. Like Ted. We definitely own the movie Ted. 

National Treasure. I love a good Nicholas Cage adventure movie and this is possibly the best ever. A student told me this year that NT was his favorite movie. And then I had to tell the story about how NT 3 was supposed to come out in 2011 and I will always be sad about that project being canceled. Still, to this day, I am sad about it. 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I don't even know what it is about this movie. The cast, the storyline, the self-deprecating comedy, the writing. It's a winner. 

Such a loaded question here, but what's your favorite movie? 

Friday Things.

I've been making the poor choice to stay up late watching Netflix and the baby chose to be up from 2:30-5:00am this morning, just reinforcing how poor my choices have been... so let's try this in real time.

1. This week in i-hate-the-library:

6 months. For an ebook. 

2. My mom has been watching Call the Midwife and I cannot with that show. It's so depressing. I read the book years ago and it was fine, but I just find all the helpless babies so sad to watch.

3. I was supposed to go visit my class today but all of Missouri is flooded out and half the base is closed and the route we take follows the river and it's unpredictable. So no. The last time we lived here, our road flooded constantly and it was very stressful to live like that.  

4. This week I went to the dentist after procrastinating since January...don't recommend a dentist trip 6 weeks after having a baby. The hormones are still very much in your system, so holy bleeding gums. I also had a doctor's appointment, which I suppose I could go more into on IG stories. I went to the chiropractor, where they popped my hip back into place (they've been doing this since I was 30 weeks pregnant). She said it'll take up to 6 months for the ligaments to go back into place, which sounds exactly like something a chiropractor would say to keep you coming back. I took a load of boxes and bags to donate because I'm purging all the things. I also picked up the baby's birth certificate and made it to the post office to mail some gifts. I still feel like I accomplished nothing, so there's that. 

5. Things I did not do: have any success with the 3 books I'm trying to read. They're just not pulling me in. I hate spending my lounging around time on Twitter or Netflix, but those are both better options than reading books that aren't that great. 

6. Doing Pilates after bedtime, I know, is not going to work long-term because it'll take very little to throw off this routine..if I'm tired, if someone won't go down easily...but late-night Pilates has always been my thing. Fitting it into nap times or baby playtime is always a second choice. 

7.  I'm sorry, but this tweet cannot be shared enough times:

Happy Mother's Day!

Bought lately.

I've really been splitting my online shopping between Amazon and Target lately when it comes to things I "need". Amazon is where I go when I need something. Target is a close second. Walmart is only of use to me because it's there. (I have to say that the clothing, still, at Target is horrendous this spring and Walmart...I know you all love shopping there for random clothing pieces!...is just as bad. So, still at a loss on where to shop for clothing that is practical for summer as a SAHM.)

This baby gym. I really like it so far. We didn't have one with Wells. 

Wells' aunt and uncle sent him this dino blanket and it's pretty adorable and amazing. It's so soft that I'm jealous. I got him the pillow to match. I also got him a Pillowfort comforter from Target and it's so comfortable that I want one. Then I got one of the dino blankets in pink to send to Wells' cousin for her birthday this month. 

And onto Amazon...

I absolutely love our carpet and upholstery scrubber/cleaner. We use it all the time! Carpets, couches, etc. About a month ago, it was in the garage and a giant box fell off the shelf and landed right on the upholstery nozzle and smashed it to pieces. What are the chances? So I googled and ordered just the nozzle and it works perfectly. I alternate cleaning solutions. This is the one I grabbed most recently. 

Eye cream. This is my favorite and I've bought it multiple times. It's necessary since I'm up twice a night, at least, right now. 

Mouse traps. Ugh. But these are my favorite ones. Also, I do not reuse mouse traps. I'm not into that nonsense. 

That's kind of it for this month. I feel like I'm buying things all the time but, really, it's just formula from Amazon other than those few necessities.

I also did some in-person shopping this week, which is rare for me. But I had to go to Springfield, so I made it worth my while picking up some baby gifts, some decorations for the house, and a clutch for me (for inside the diaper bag). 

Linking up!

May Goals.

I haven't set goals since February and I'm not crazy enough to look back at them now.  March was unpredictable. April was survival mode. May is going to be survival mode too but I have to jump back in at some point. 

flower-planting is a goal this month too. our neighbor said the last people who lived here chopped down the most beautiful lilac bush. this year, for the first time, it's started to come back. 

1.  Do the May calendar for The Balanced Life. I'm committing to a full month of pilates before jumping back into any kind of cardio. I haven't done regular pilates since...oh-em-gee, maybe last May? I'm super excited to watch pilates work its magic in the post-partum months. I'll add in cardio workouts soon enough, but it feels good to know I have the confidence in the tried and true workouts I love and don't need to push myself into sweating to feel progress. 

2. Begin and follow through on a full month of Bible reading, going along with this plan. 

3. Read the two books that I have started but not been patient enough to sit down and finish. 

I have a lot of other random tasks on my plate for the month...packing up my classroom, cutting the grass, planting flowers, making a vet appointment, sorting through boxes in the garage and barn...

So I'm going to say if I can do #s 1 and 2 up there, I am going to reward myself with some book purchases. I very rarely buy books. Almost never, in fact. But, since my library is so bad that I've actually complained, I am going to be willing to spend a bit of money on books. I've always found it absolutely pointless to buy stacks of books you just have to store (and move around) when libraries offer them for F-R-E-E. But when I can't get an ebook I want to read for a least 6 months, I have to just throw in the towel. 

Again, I'm just kind of posting these for public accountability. Some days right now, honestly, my only goal is to make sure I have dinner made.

Any goals for May?