Out First 4th of July 2015

We had a nice relaxing 4^th of July at our home this year. We normally go into Coeur d’Alene to watch the fireworks but decided to just have a low key holiday this year.

We had a nice surprise when Cash’s Auntie Shanna called and told us that she was in town for a surprise visit. We haven’t seen Shanna since Cash’s baby dedication and Cash has been missing his auntie so it was such a nice surprise!

Nick’s family brough the BBQ to us and we barbequed steaks and veggies and enjoyed some yummu caprese salad! After dinner we hung out on the back patio while we passed Cash around from aunti to Gigi to papa.

You can just see the love that both of our families have for our son and there are just no words to describe how amazing it is to see people love our child.

Our First Father's Day 2015

We had a nice first Father’s Day. It didn’t go exactly as I wanted it to, but it ended up being nice nonetheless.

I wanted to make Nick breakfast in bed but he played at church so he was up at 6 AM and Cash was not ready to wake up. Nick went to church and a very fussy Cash and I met hi there for the 11:15 service. Since Cash is a chatterbox we sat out in the lobby for the service and watched it on the TV. After church we went home and I attempted to make an omelet for Nick while I wore Cash in the wrap. I ended up cooking the omelet too long but it was still edible. Cash was so fussy so we laid down for a nap.

After a very long naptime our day turned around. We had my dad and Nick’s dad and mom over for a bbq. Steaks were cooked, beers were consumed (Kombucha for me) and a good time was had. We opened present after dinner and Nick was really touched by the cards that Cash and I picked out for him. We also got him a picture frame with a picture of him holding Cash when he was 6 weeks old and a gift certificate for a 90-minute massage.

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband and am so proud of the man and father he has become.

6 Months Old

Nursing: Cash has been exclusively breastfed for 6 whole months now! It’s hard to believe he has been with us for half of a year already! Cash has been pushing the boundaries with nursing this week. He will then lightly bite down on my nipple look up at me as if to sat “Is this ok mama?” Ummmm answer is most definitely NO! Cash has also started to sit up in my lap and nurse. This is just about the most precious thing ever – it makes up for his “bad manners” at the breast this week!!!

Cloth Diapering: Cash consistently poops once a day. Thankfully we haven’t experienced any more nighttime poops. His poop is definitely thicker more often than not. I have slowly been building Cash’s basewoolie stash for the fall and with the 2 recent stockings I was able to score some super cute pairs!

Sleep: I have been working on transitioning Cash to a solo nap time this week. I have tried nursing him to sleep and then laying him down in his crib, but his eyes pop open the second I lay him down. I have also tried laying down in the bed with him to nurse and then slipping out after he is asleep. This works a little better but he only stays asleep for 20 minutes max. He is a great sleeper at night as long as he’s in my arms or on my chest. I don’t sleep too great, but I do sleep better than I did in the beginning so I can’t complain too much.

Likes/Dislikes:  We started reading books and Cash just loves to look at the pictures while we read to him! His two favorite books every night without fail are The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? He also tries to put every book in his mouth, but that’s no surprise since everything goes in his mouth. Nick also spreads the books our on the wool rug in his room and Cash lays on his tummy and reaches out to play with the books.

Cash just loves the dogs too! He gets so excited when they jump up next to him or lay next to him during tummy time. It so cute to see him get so excited! Unfortunately, he isn’t very gentle with them so we have to really watch his grabby little fingers. We show him how to pet the dogs and then take his hand and help him pet them, but he always tries to grab their fur.

Activities: We celebrated my mom and Tony’s birthdays this week by going to dinner at Angelo’s on Saturday. Cash was happy to be passed around the table and then he fell asleep in the wrap right before our food arrived.

We also ate lunch at Red Lobster and Cash LOVED playing with the bread plate! Nick and I were so entertain by it that we didn’t realize how noisy he was, but luckily the restaurant wasn’t too crowded.

Health: We had our 6-month checkup with Dr. Morical and Cash is healthy and hitting all of his cognitive and emotional checkpoints. He weighed 13 pounds 6 ounces, measured 25 ½ inches and his head circumference was 16 ¼ inches. Her baby scale wasn’t working so his weight was based upon my weight holding him minus my weight not holding him so I’m not sure that it’s super accurate. When I weigh him at Mother’s Haven he weighs more but who knows about the accuracy of each scale.

Cash man is a rolling machine! This boy flips more than a pancake! We lay him down on his back and he immediately flips onto him tummy and pushes himself up with his arms. He also rolls from his tummy to his back. He isn’t crawling yet but we think he’s getting close. He rotates in a complete 360 on both his tummy and back and he scrunches his knees up every once in a while.

Cash’s eyes are still the grey/blue with the hazel center but they are very very pretty! His hair is also finally starting to grow!

Best Moment: Nick played his guitar for Cash this week and Cash was so mesmerized by it! He loved hearing his daddy play the guitar and sing to him! After Nick played several songs I sat next to him and Cash got to strum and “pet” daddy’s guitar. He absolutely loved this! I think he played the guitar with daddy for about 30 minutes. I really hope that Cash grows to love the guitar just as much as his daddy does.

24 & 25 Weeks Old

I came down with a really bad stomach flu that lasted about 5 days so blogging and taking photos were the last things on my mind that week. We have been so busy I simply forgot to post this!

Nursing: We were on a family walk this week and Cash was a little fussy in the wrap so I tried nursing him in the wrap for the first time. It was a success! It was actually way easier than I thought it would be. He nursed a bit and then fell asleep. Easy as pie! I felt like a nursing pro!

Cloth Diapering: Cash normally poops once a day but for some reason he has a pooping spree one day this week. We were all sleeping soundly until Cash decided he was going to wake up and start chatting around 1 AM. I tried to get him to go back to sleep but he was just a chatty Kathy. This quickly turned into fussing and then around 1:30 he pooped! Bu that time we were all awake so Nick helped me change his diaper. It was a H-U-G-E poopy mess! Once Cash had a clean diaper we went back to bed and nursed a little bit. Right around 2:30 AM he was just about asleep when he pooped again! We couldn’t believe it! Once again we were changing his diaper! We had the diaper cream on his little bum and were just about to put his new diaper on when he decided to poop again! It got all over the changing pad cover (because I forgot to put a flat under him) so we put a towel down under him. We wiped him up and started to put diaper cream on when he pooped a fourth time! At this point I was laughing and Cash thought that it was pretty funny too. I looked at Nick and said, “You have to admit, this is pretty funny…” Nick just looked at me and said, “Tomorrow it will be funny.” After the new diaper was on we all went back to bed. By this point it was around 3:30 AM. We were tired the next day but we were able to laugh about the whole thing.

Sleep: Besides the “pooping spree” night, Cash has slept pretty well. He did have another night where he was a bit fussy and I was pretty tired, but in general, he is a great sleeper.

Likes/Dislikes: Cash loves ceiling fans! When we go to Pilgrim’s Market he loves to stare at all the fans on the ceiling. We also have a ceiling fan in our master that he loves to watch. He also likes his 4Moms Rockaroo swing now! He likes the mobile that hangs above him, but I think he really just wants to put it in his mouth. He has even realized that he can reach up and pull it down...he just can't quite get it in his mouth.

Cash is definitely a sensitive little boy. He normally likes other people but if he is tired he just likes to be with his mama and daddy. He may be starting to shows some “fear of strangers” but for the most part he is great with new people.

Activities: Since we had the 3-day weekend we planted our flowerpots around the house. I put a bug beach towel down on the grass for Cash and put all the flowers in front of him to look at. He loved looking at the flowers and he also enjoyed ripping the grass out of the ground.

Health: Cash definitely had a growth spurt! We just switched to some 3-6 month Burt’s Bees jammies and this week we moved up to the 6-9 month jammies. I feel like he only wore the 3-6 month jammies for 2 weeks! It’s just crazy how quickly he is growing. Cash also put his toes in his mouth during a diaper change for the first time. 

I had an awful stomach flu this past week that lasted 5 days! Thank goodness Cash didn't get it! I felt so blessed to have such wonderful hubby this past week. Nick took care of Cash pretty much the whole time I was sick. He is such an amazing daddy! I sure am a lucky lady!

Best Moment: My breastfeeding/teething necklace came this week and it was just in time too! Cash loves the necklace! It was the best $20 purchase ever!

23 Weeks Old

Nursing: I think we are through our growth spurt because Cash is back to his “normal” nursing routine. When we are around the house Cash likes to nurse every hour or two. He did the oddest thing while he was nursing one morning….I hope it’s not a new habit for him. Cash was nursing in bed and I had a really loose stretchy tank top on so both of my nipples were accessible to him. He was nursing on one side when he looked over at my other nipple and decided to grab it between his fingers and pull on it! It stretched like crazy and he had a vice-like grip on it! It was so crazy! Thank goodness my nipples aren’t sensitive anymore!

Cloth Diapering: I switched to 7^th Generation Free and Clear powdered soap a while back and I am so happy with it!  Feel like my diapers are way cleaner and since we have such nice weather I am able to sun out any stains. Cash’s diapers look and smell so so clean!

Sleep: Cash sure does love to sleep! We take naps in our bed during the day so Cash can get some solid sleep. I try to sneak out of the bed but, he usually wakes up. I have also tried laying him down in his crib after we nurse to sleep but his little eyes pop open the second he is out of my arms.

Likes/Dislikes: We have several wood Haba toys and Cash just loves the brigh colors. Cash also love dogs! While he is on the ground for tummy time he loves to watch the doggies. He also really likes GiGi and Papa’s little dog Zoey. My mom mentioned that Cash is going to think all dogs are white. She may be right because our dogs are white, Nick’s parent’s dog is white and Greg and Kristi’s dog is white. The only non-white dog he has seen is nana’s dog, Dewey.

Cash still doesn’t like his car seat. I’m still hoping that he will like the toddler car seat better.

Activities: Nana and I took cash to a beautiful nursery in Rathdrum this week. He screamed in the car seat the entire drive there and was pretty upset when we arrived but he took a nap in the wrap and when he woke up he really enjoyed all the plants and flowers. We also took several walks with doggies. Cash loves to go on walks. He watches the dogs and makes adorable little cooing noises until he passes out.

Health: Cash is thankfully healthy and happy! His eyes are still grey/blue but they are hazel in the center. Cash’s hair is slowly growing, but he has more of a baby mullet than anything else.

Best Moment: Even though Cash cried all the way to the nursery I would still say that trip was the best moment this week. I love watching Cash experience new things. Every bright colored flower he saw he reached out and grabbed. You could tell that he loved the colors and textures of everything he touched. They also had several water features that he loved looking at.

5 Months Old/Mother’s Day/Baby Dedication

Nursing: All Cash wants to do is nurse and sleep! I can tell that he’s really growing because he feels heavier too!

Cloth Diapering: Our small OBFs are getting a little bit snug so I think I need to purchase a few more mediums to add to our diaper stash. I have also been perfecting my diaper cream and I am happy to report that I am really pleased with it now after several little tweaks.

Sleep: On average, Cash is sleeping around 10 hours each night. He has been talking more naps lately too. We have been snuggling up in bed for naps and nursing a lot this week.

Likes/Dislikes: My mom bought Cash a new Haaba frog toy and it is his new favorite!! He chews on it constantly and even tries to chew/suck on it while he is nursing! It’s pretty cute!

We had a few good rides in the car seat and thought that we were through with the worst of it, but that was wishful thinking because Cash has been even worse in the car seat since those three trips.

On a funny note, Cash also doesn’t like it when mama and daddy sneeze! I don’t know if it startles him or what but he does not like us sneezing!

Activities: We had Cash’s baby dedication at our church on Mother’s Day. I was really glad that we were able to have his dedication on such a special day that we will always remember. We had quite the crowd with us and Nick and I felt so blessed to share this moment with our loved ones.

Health: Cash is a super healthy little man!  Praise God!

Best Moment: Cash’s baby dedication was by far the best moment this week.  Nick and I felt truly blessed to have the support and love from our friends and family.