4 Months Old

Our boy is 4 months old! :) I feel like Elias has grown so much over the last month. At 14.4 pounds, we're having to readjust how I hold him in the baby carrier because he's just too heavy for some of the positions that we started with. He's also strong enough to break out of the swaddle, not matter how nicely I wrap him in it. :) But beyond his size, he's growing in his motor skills and overall awareness as well. He's always been pretty alert, but now he is able to follow my voice or Ryan's voice if he hears us, look for us if someone else is holding him, watch us as we leave his room for nap time, etc. Along with that alertness comes the ability to get bored. haha. He gets restless if we leave him in the same spot or with the same toy for too long. Speaking of toys, he is getting much better at holding objects and pulling them to his mouth. And he really chomps down on whatever goes in there. I know because it often ends up being my knuckle. ;) We haven't seen any teeth break the surface of his gums yet, but they're definitely in the works. 

Elias loves being active and seeing activity. If he is laying down, he's kicking his legs, waving his arms, and usually talking up a storm. He prefers to stand or sit up as much as possible though. I've been setting his Bumbo seat up on the counter so that he can watch me do dishes or put dinner together. I'll also wear him as I'm taking care of stuff around the house and he just looks around and takes it all in. :) It's fun. The only down side is that because he likes watching everything, he is more easily distracted now. I have a harder time getting him to finish his bottle if there is a lot going on around him, and he can't just fall asleep anywhere anymore. I've got to close off the world for him a little bit in order for him to relax enough to fall asleep. :)

hmm...I think that's about it. Here are some pictures from month 4! :)

Standing up on those gorgeously chubby little legs of his. 

Doing some afternoon reading with mom. 

Chomp, chomp, chomp!

Being crazy with cousin/BFF Derek. :)

Enjoying some pool time in Palm Springs.

Elias' first hotel stay! He liked looking at the room service menu with daddy. ;)

Doing some chores with mom.

Little escape artist - three limbs out of the swaddle! haha

Hanging out at the park with his lady friends. ;) I love that we know so many babies his age!

He's such a happy boy. :)

Baby Must Haves - Months 1-3

I've realized and embraced something about myself over the last year or two. I'm a salesperson. When I find a product I like, I will tell people why I like it, how to use it, and how much they need it in their lives. lol. Having Elias has opened up a whole new world of products, which has been awesome! :) I know that there are a lot of new moms and moms to be that follow the blog, so I thought I would share a list of my personal Baby Must Haves for months 1-3, in no particular order. :) I'll include links for where you can find the items if you're in the market for such things. 

A compact changing station. The specific one that I use is an Eddie Bauer change kit that I picked up from Target, but I know there are other brands that have compact options as well. I love that this doesn't take up too much space in my diaper bag, and that everything I need to change Elias is all centralized in one location. No digging around for wipes, no carting the whole diaper bag to the bathroom at restaurants, I just grab this little baby and I'm good to go. *find it here

A compact bath. Notice a theme already? lol. We don't have much storage space in our home, and my wonderful sister in law was kind enough to take that into consideration when buying this bath for Elias. :) This is a Summer Infant bath that folds up nice and neat. It's small enough to throw in the bathroom cabinet with room to spare! We also like that the bottom is inflated so it's nice a soft, not a hard plastic or rubber surface. It's an all around win! *find it here

Snap closure jammies. This seems like a basic thing that maybe some people don't even develop a preference for. But I just wanted to throw out why we prefer snaps over zippers. We don't have mid night changes anymore since Elias sleeps through the night now. But when we did, I liked that I didn't need to completely unzip Elias' whole outfit multiple times a night for diaper changes. It was cold! I liked the ability to just get his little legs out, and keep his upper body warm in the jammies. I also found that the zippers bubbled up and always ended up poking him under his chin, which just seemed uncomfortable to me. *find some here

Dr. Seuss board books. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know by now that I am a Dr. Seuss fan. However, some of the traditional books can be long or would be more fun to read with older kids. I really love the Dr. Seuss Nursery collection board books. They're quick, simple reads that I think helped me get into the habit of reading to Elias regularly. The Sleep Softly Book is our favorite. :) *find it here

Tommee Tippee formula dispensers. These things are awesome when we're on the go! They allow us to have his bottles ready without taking up extra space in the diaper bag with the formula container. You fill the bottle up with water and scoop the formula in the dispenser to store until you're ready to shake it up and feed baby. *find them here

A baby carrier. I have a wrap, a sling, and a soft structured carrier. Right now, we're specifically in love with our Sakura Bloom ring sling. Whether we're shopping, eating out, having fussy/clingy days at home, whatever, we use our sling pretty much every day. I don't use a stroller anymore. There hasn't been a need to deal with it and the heavy carseat when I've got a linen piece of material that does the same thing while allowing me to be hands free. It's ergonomic for both of us- Elias is fully supported and it distributes his weight evenly across my torso. I can hold him a variety of ways and he can either see and interact with his surroundings, or sleep like a dream. It's breathable and lightweight. AND it folds up nicely to fit inside my diaper bag. Seriously, ladies, you need one. lol. Below are just four of the ways that I use it so far. :) *find it here

Fisher-Price Rock n Play. We used this as a bassinet in our room for the first couple months, and we still use it as a bed when we're on the go. It folds up flat for easy storage and portability. Lightweight, compact, comfy for Elias, it's just plain great. *find it here

Well that's it guys. I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of our favorite things. :) If you have any questions about any of the items mentioned, feel free to ask away! 

3 months Old

My little chunkamonk is three months old! It's weird because on one hand I feel like he's just always been here, and on the other, I can't believe he's three months old. :) He currently weighs 13.8 pounds, and is blowing through 5 ounce bottles like a champ these days. There were definitely a lot of fun developments this month. He has continued to be a chatter box, but he's added laughter to the mix as well. At first it was just in response to tickles, but we're now starting to see him laugh at things that he thinks are funny too. He's so much fun right now! His neck strength is great and he no longer needs help to hold his head up. Sitting in the Bumbo has been a regular activity over the last couple weeks. He pretty much only wants to sit up now. Apparently laying down is for newborns and he's moved past that. ;) lol. Just this week, he has started to lock his legs to put weight on them. It's only for a few moments at a time but he's doing it! :)

We're slowly working toward a day time schedule, but I've accepted the fact that Elias is constantly changing and growing so his wake time and food intake are still shifting and that's ok. His nights are consistent and honestly that's more important to me than the day time. He's going down for the night at 9pm, waking up at about 6am for a bottle, and then back to sleep till 8 or 9am. It's so nice! :) 

So those are all the positives. The only down side to life right now is that he has started the process of teething. Boo. He's definitely had a few days of misery where he's needed some extra lovin. So we'll see when those puppies come in! I think that's all for now. Here are a few pictures of Elias' third month of life! :)

Bath time with Daddy!

Excited to test out cloth diapers.

All smiles with mom. <3

Pooped after an afternoon swim on the 4th of July.

Big boy in his Bumbo. :)

Cuddles with mom during a rough night of teething. 

Holding on to a toy for the first time. 

Snug as a bug in a rug in our Sakura Bloom ring sling. We love being a party of three. :)

Cloth Diapering Update

Below is a super casual video update on how I'm liking cloth diapering so far. Experienced cloth diapering mommas, please feel free to offer suggestions for me! :)

Two Months Old

Elias turned two months old on Friday. Better a late post than not posting at all I suppose! :) I missed out on giving a formal one month update, so I wanted to be sure to get things written down this time. We're all doing great! Elias is such a wonderfully natural addition to our family in every way. Ryan and I are so blessed to be his parents. There have been several moments since he's been home that I just look at him and cry, because I can hardly believe that I get to be his mommy. From eternity past God planned for the three of us to be a family and that's just such an amazing thought. :)

Our boy is 12.1 pounds, and just shy of 22 inches long. That puts him in the 10th percentile for height. haha! He and I will be shorties together! ;) We really started to see more personality come out this month since he is having more awake time now. He is very alert and social. He loves to coo and smile at people when they talk to him, especially in the evening. And much to my delight, he is a total cuddle bug! Our home was pretty full of hugs and kisses before Elias came to us, but it's gone to the next level. lol. We're in a constant state of cuddles. :)

Right now he is eating 3-4 ounces every three hours or so. We're getting longer and longer stretches of sleep at night which is nice. Ryan and I are night owls, so Elias has definitely picked up on that. He's usually down for the night at about 11pm, and he'll sleep till about 8am. That's one of the main questions I get from people so yes, we're sleeping through the night! :)

Anyway, I think that's about it for now. Below are some pictures from his second month of life. :)

I tried to take a nice formal two month photo of him, but he just wasn't cooperating. lol. 

Not gonna lie, we both love napping together. :) We probably sprawl on the couch like this once or twice a week. 

Dinner and a movie - party of three! :)

All smiles at bedtime!

Chatting with Daddy and touching his face. :)

Hanging out with cousin Derek (only three days older).

"Ahh Daddy that tickles!"

First time at the pool. :)

All dressed up for Uncle Aaron and Auntie Alyssa's wedding.

No lack of kisses in our family! :)

Newborn Photo Shoot

It sure is handy to have a photographer in the family. :) My mom, Vonnie Perez, did Elias' newborn photo shoot and we could not be happier with the results. If you're local and looking for someone to do your family photos, hit her up on Facebook. :)

More photos are on our Facebook album if you want to check it out! :)

Thoughts About Mother's Day

I have very mixed emotions about Mother's Day this year. It's always been hard for me. I think it has made me extra emotional in the past because it is right around the time we started trying to get pregnant. So not only was it a reminder that I was not a mom, but it was a reminder immediately following another "anniversary" of a failed year. C'est la vie. But the timing of things is not exactly a consequence that you think through when you start trying to get pregnant. ;)

Prior to this adoption, I had plans to ditch church on Mother's Day this year. People have the best intentions at heart, and I appreciated the thought behind wanting to make me feel included...but in truth most just don't know what to say to someone who has experienced infertility and/or loss. In all fairness, I'm not sure what I've wanted or needed to hear, I just know it hasn't been said. lol. Last year after rushing to the car to cry after church, I decided that I don't need to put myself in that position anymore. I planned to stay home this Sunday. But in God's perfect timing, I am writing this post on my bed, next to the cutest pair of little legs I've ever seen. Elias has his arms thrown up over his head and is snoring, cause he's a loud sleeper like that. :) After almost exactly four years of trying to add to our family, in every which way, he's here. I'm a mom. Just in time for Mother's Day.

Much to my surprise, sheer happiness is not the only emotion that I have when I think about Sunday. I am thinking about how I felt last year. I'm thinking about how just a few short months ago, we miscarried and felt such defeat and anguish over the constant string of losses we've experienced. I'm thinking about the women who are going to spend Sunday in tears because infertility, pregnancy loss, or the death of a child has left their arms empty. My heart aches for them whether I know them personally or not. I'm thinking about Elias' birthmom, and wondering how she and all the other birthmoms in the world might be feeling. I'm thinking and feeling all these sad things. But mostly I'm feeling overwhelmed with gratefulness. I can't even put into words how thankful I am that God faithfully led us through a long, dark season, and it's suddenly over. He gave us the most incredible blessing in this baby boy and my cup runneth over. <3