10 Weeks Old

Nursing: I love the bond that I feel with Cash while we nurse. It is the best feeling when he looks up at me while he’s nursing; sometimes he even pulls off to smile at me.

Cloth Diapering: We are so happy that we decided to cloth diaper! We just love the little cloth diaper bottom! Nick and I are going to a cloth diapering class at Mother’s Haven to check out the new Sustainablebabyish/Sloomb line of cloth diapers and wool covers that they are now carrying. I really excited because Sustainablebabyish is an amazing brand! My friend Laura (Tiny Toes Little Nose) bought Cash a pair of wool longies that are so buttery soft. I can't wait for him to grow into them!

Sleep: I am happy to report that the whole Morelli family is sleeping better! Since Cash is now quite a bit bigger than he was when he was born I am able to lie down and nurse him on my side! This has been a nighttime lifesaver!

Cash is still fighting sleep at every turn but Nick and I are starting to get to know the “over-tired” sleepy signs. Around 8 PM or 8:30 PM we change Cash’s diaper and start our nighttime routine. This consists of a diaper change, putting jammies on, turning all the lights off in the bedroom and walking or rocking depending on Cash’s mood. Some nights he will lay right down with me and nurse to sleep, but other nights he wants us to walk him around or rock him to sleep. He usually fights sleep for 30-45 minutes and then nods off. After he is asleep I transfer onto the bed and lay him on my chest.

Likes/Dislikes: Mr. Cash really enjoys his bath time! He has started to kick his legs out when I let him “float” in the water. I think I see some swim lessons in our near future!

Cash is way better about his diaper changes! Nick and I have started to blow raspberries on his belly and neck during diaper changes and he LOVES it! We always put a small pre-fold diaper over Cash’s little “squirt gun” and he has now discovered that he can pull it off and/or suck on it, both of which he finds very amusing. He is just so darling!

We are still having a hard time with the car seat, unfortunately. On our way home from dinner this week we had to stop 3 times to nurse and soothe our poor little guy. We let him fuss a bit in the car seat and try to comfort him or distract him, but once he really starts crying we pull over and take him out. My friend, Shannon, suggested getting a car seat mirror with lights (since Cash loves lights) and I think it may be a good purchase. The only thing that makes me nervous is the fact that they all seem to be shatter resistant not shatter proof. I’m probably just paranoid, but it still worries me.

Activities: Cash’s auntie Shanna drove into town from Seattle this past week so he got some much needed auntie time. We drove over to Papa Tony and GG Kathy’s house to surprise auntie Shanna when she came into town and spent a few hours there. We also had lunch at Twigs and dinner at Clinkerdagger so Cash got to experience so many new places this week.

Health: We are so lucky that Cash is a super healthy boy. He has a little bit of baby acne, but it’s not too bad. We did measure Cash this week and he was 22 inches long! This could be a little off since we measured him with a metal tape measurer, but it's close enough for us! He is growing up so fast!

Best Moment: On Shanna last night in town we went to dinner at Clinkerdagger and Cash really enjoyed all the soothing, dim lights. He was such a good boy at the restaurant. Once he nursed we passed him around the table while we all ate and then he fell asleep in his auntie Shanna’s arms.  It warms my heart to see how loved our little man is by his family.

2 Months Old

Nursing: I’m happy to report that my mastitis is gone and Cash and I are getting into a grove with our nursing. He still nurses every 2-3 hours but some of our nursing sessions are shorter than others. We did have one very funny nursing moment this week. Cash was busy nursing away when all of a sudden he popped off and my milk shot up his nose and on his face! It really startled him and he didn’t quite know what to make of it.

Cloth Diapering: Now that Cash’s diapers are back to normal things are great. Cash still likes to have his diaper changed every 2 hours. We have noticed that Cash is pooping less frequently. He seems to have around 4-5 big poops every day and a few small poopy diapers that Nick and I have started calling skid mark poops. We can always tell when Cash is working on a big poop because he grunts like crazy, really focuses on pushing and then we hear him FILL his diaper. It is truly amazing how much poop can come out of such a little person!

Sleep: Some nights Cash sleeps pretty well, going one 3-4 hour stretch, and other nights he is up every 2 hours. We had one particularly rough night where he woke up every hour and 45 minutes like clockwork. He has also started to fight going to sleep. I know he is super tired but he just wants to stay awake and take everything in. Cash will start to fall asleep and then he will jerk himself awake and fuss. One night he repeated this pattern for 3 hours. Nick was such a good daddy and just rocked his son, held him close and walked around with him until he fell asleep. Even though we complain about our lack of sleep, we feel so blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful baby boy. If lack of sleep is the worst thing we experience we will count ourselves lucky.

Likes/Dislikes: Cash still loves any kind of light. It is so fun to walk around the house with him and watch him take in all the different lights. He also likes it when Nick wipes his mouth with a burp rag. Nick has turned it into a little game; he pats each side of Cash’s mouth and laughs until Cash smiles at him. It just melts my heart to see how loving Nick is with his son. Everyday Cash is smiling more and more; he makes little giggling noises but we haven’t heard a true laugh quite yet.

Activities: We took Cash on another 2 mile walk this week. He slept through the walk until we were a few houses down from home. When he woke up he started crying and we had to carry him the rest of the way. What can I say, out little man likes to be held ALL the time!

Nick and I also took Cash to his very first trustee sale at the Kootenai county courthouse. He slept in his ring sling and woke up during the bidding to grunt and make a huge poop. Everyone else who was bidding heard his poop and just laughed! Overall it was a great first experience for him. We hope to teach Cash our business some day!

Cash is getting better about his diaper changes but he still doesn’t like his car seat. We had one particularly tough trip home from Coeur d’Alene this week where Cash just wouldn’t stop crying. I was so stressed out by the time we pulled into the garage that I burst into tears when I pulled him out of the car seat and saw the big alligator tears running down his face. He was fine the second I took him out but I was so upset that I had to give him to Nick until I stopped crying. I don’t know who was more upset, Cash, or me but there were lots of big tears all around. Even though he hates his car seat I always manage to snap some really cute pics of him in it!

Health: Cash is a happy healthy boy! He has started to grip things really tightly; usually his favorite thing to grab is my hair.

Best Moment: Cash is becoming more expressive by the day and Nick and I are really enjoying all his cute little facial expressions. I would say the best moments this week have been snugging up together as a family and watching Cash interact with us. He love to stick his tongue out and he also make the most adorable “O face”. We just can’t seem to get enough of our precious little man!

8 Weeks Old

Nursing: Unfortunately, I started to get mastitis again this week, so Cash and I stayed home for several days this week and nursed like crazy. Since I knew the signs from before I knew to start taking my vitamin C and garlic right away. Luckily it went away again after a couple days.

Cash is more and more alert everyday and has started to look up and me while he nurses, he even pulls off my nipple to smile at me sometimes! Cash also holds onto the back of my arm and the neck of my shirt. It is so precious! I just love our bonding time while

Cloth Diapering: Nick and I started to notice a smell coming from Cash’s clean diapers the second he would pee in them. Since I read mommy blogs like crazy I knew it was time to strip his diapers. Most mommies use blue Dawn dish soap to strip their diapers, however, I don’t like the ingredients in Dawn and didn’t want it to come anywhere near my precious boy’s diapers-even if it is rinsed out. I just didn’t feel comfortable using Dawn so I began researching ways to strip diapers naturally. I tried the following routines: washing on hot and rinsing several times, soaking in Borax, soaking in vinegar, soaking in baking soda and vinegar and soaking in Seventh Generation Dish soap - all followed by several rinse and spin cycles. To my dismay NONE of these routines worked. I was so frustrated and was about to break down and use the blue Dawn when my mom mentioned washing soda. I researched it and realized that it was the main ingredient in RLR, which I read was good for stripping diapers. I tried soaking some diapers in the washing soda and it worked!!! I was so excited!!! Now Cash has super clean, non-stinky diapers again! Thank you nana and thank you washing soda!

Sleep: Cash consistently sleeps one 3 or 4 hour stretch in the beginning of the night and then wakes up every 2 hours until morning. Nick and I are getting used to functioning on less sleep. We are just so grateful that he usually sleeps a solid stretch each night.

Likes/Dislikes: Our little man loves his bath time! We have started to put him in the tub with me for a water only bath and he has a blast. He liked it when I support his head and back and move him around the water like he is swimming. Cash enjoys a good nursing session in the tub as well!

While Cash doesn’t care for diaper changes still, he is getting a little better. Trips in the car seat are still really tough though.

Activities: Last Friday night we went to dinner with our neighbors Greg and Kristi. Their daughter, Kailey, played a couple songs on the guitar and sang. We went to her first guitar performance one year ago and it is amazing to see how much she has improved. Cash slept the whole time in the ring sling and only woke up at the end of dinner to nurse. We then went over to Greg and Kristi’s house for after dinner drinks (water for me of course). It was nice to get out of the house and have some adult time!

Health: No weight updates for this week, but I know Cash is still gaining like crazy. I swear he is heavier every time I pick him up! Nick likes to joke that he is doing his 10-pound curls in the morning when he holds Cash out in front of him.

I am also happy to report that Cash’s baby acne has mostly cleared up! Yeah! He will get the occasional spot here and there but it is so much better! He also has amazing head control and is turing his head from side to side quite frequently.

Best Moment: It is so hard to pick a “moment” each week as everyday is so special but this week mama finally got her first smile!! Nick was holding him but he looked at ME and smiled! I was so excited that I screeched and started clapping my hands, which of course startled Cash so he went from a smiling face to a pouting lip! That in itself was hilarious so I can’t complain!

7 Weeks Old

Nursing: Cash is still nursing like a champ. I think I have a bit of an oversupply so that has been a bit tough, but I would rather have too much milk than not enough so I can’t complain too much.

Cloth Diapering: It is amazing how often newborns poop! We change Cash’s diaper every 2 hours and it always has a poop in it! That’s a minimum of 12 poops a day! I hope that slows down a bit soon, but again, having lots of poopy diapers is better than the alternative.

Sleep: Cash consistently sleeps one 3-hour stretch from around 10 or 11 to 1 or 2 and then wakes up every 2 hours for the remainder of the night. Just having that one 3-hour stretch is amazing! I love to look over at Cash when he is sleeping because he sleeps just like his daddy - with his hands up over his head. Around 5 am Cash usually is a bit fussy so I put him on my chest, pat his back and he falls asleep right away.

Likes/Dislikes: Every day Cash is more and more alert so he now likes to be held facing forward so he can take everything in! He also likes to be held and have his back patted. It calms him down right away!

He still doesn’t like diaper changes and rides in the car seat but I think he is starting to tolerate both a little more this week. Here of my favorite car seat pictures; I think he gets his frown from me!

Activities: Nick’s parents treated us to dinner this week so Cash enjoyed his first outing to our favorite Italian restaurant, Angelo’s, in Coeur d’Alene. He was pretty good through the meal. He just nursed, had his diaper changed and was passed around the table so we all had a chance to eat. Our little man is such a good boy!

We also took Cash on 2 one mile walks this week because we had some unusually nice weather for a couple days. He slept the whole time! It was awesome to be able to get out and enjoy some fresh air!

Health: Our little boy now weighs 9 pounds 6 ounces. We had our last appointment with our midwife and our first appointment with our naturopath this week. Cash is healthy and growing like crazy! Both our midwife and our naturopath were very impressed with his weight gain! Dr. Morical, our naturopath, had some great tips for us and sent us home with some really helpful information. Nick and I are both so glad that we found a doctor for Cash who is supportive of our parenting choices and who really seems to care about her patients.

Best Moment: Nick and I were sitting on the bed and I was holding Cash when Nick said, “hi Cash, hi” and started making funny faces and noises at him. Upon hearing his daddy’s voice Cash turned his head, looked right at his daddy and smiled a HUGE smile! It absolutely melted my heart! Cash sure loves his silly daddy!