1.28.2016

Day in the Life [with a 4 month old]

My favorite posts of my own to look back on our the "Day in the Life" posts - and I think now with a baby that will be even more so the case. When I look back at my last post when Leo was 1 month old, so much has changed in the last 3 months......and he looks so young in all of those pictures! 

This day was last Wednesday,  1/20 and Leo was just 4 days shy of four months old

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6:30am - This whole week Leo has been up at 6:30am on the dot - which to me is perfection. Joel goes to get Leo and brings him in to our bedroom for me to feed him. Right after he is done eating we stay in bed to cuddle with Roscoe.


7:00am - Joel is sick, and I'm feeling like I might be catching something too, so we both chug an Emergen-C and I make us breakfast while Joel plays with Leo.


7:00-7:30am - Joel eats his breakfast with the baby which gives me about 20 minutes to chug my coffee and eat my breakfast before he zips off to work.

7:30-8:15am - Leo and I hang out in the living room and decide to FaceTime Coco and Aunt Bridie.

8:15am - We read a few books and then I zip Leo up in his Merlin sleep suit and put him into bed. It takes him about 12 minutes of crying before he's sleeping.


8:25am - I capitalize on his short morning nap and try to put on my make-up, do my hair, and out on some clothes. I don't have time for a shower today.

8:45am-9:10am- I try to pump during his naps if I'm home. He takes a 7oz bottle at night which takes me almost 3 pumping sessions to make, so I'm strapped to this thing a lot - but it's actually a nice chance to sit and read blogs or watch last nights RHOBH.


9:15-9:30am - Leo is still sleeping so I decide to do a 10min workout video. I'm already dressed but I took off my sweater and just did the workout in my boots......sad but true.


9:45am - Leo is up so I feed him, change him, and get him dressed for the day before we head out. We play for a bit but we have a baby class today at 11:30 and I know he'll be better if he catches a cat nap before class so we hit the road a little early to take a walk before class.



10:30-11:30 - We drive to class, take a walk to the water, and pick up a coffee before class.


11:30-12:30 - Baby class is our favorite hour of the week. It's at Books and Cookies in Santa Monica. Leo loves the instructor Harriett and the babies sing, dance, listen to stories, and then play with bubbles. It's all mom's and nannies so I try and stay a while to visit with everyone and get the most of our hour.

 

1:00pm - On our way home we stop and meet my girlfriend Dawn for a quick lunch at Huckleberry in Santa Monica. I had the best lunch - their trio salad is amazing - kale salad, beet salad, and brussels sprouts with a large chunk of homemade bread (


1:45pm - We are home and it's time for Leo to eat again. After he's done eating, we play with books and practice tummy time.


3:00pm - Leo is starting to get fussy so I strap him into the ergo for a 20 minute walk with the dog to calm him down before his nap. I called my cousin Amanda (LeeLee's God Mother) to chat while we walked.


3:30 - Nap time for Leo, and he sleeps from now until 4:45pm. I pump again, work on a blog, and do a few Amazon return slips.....


4:45pm - Leo is up again and it's time to feed. Once he's done, he hangs out in his bumbo chair and I try to get a few things done around the house and get dinner going. We still have Christmas cards up, so it's time to say goodbye to those. This is normally the time I'll pour a glass of wine, but I'm not feeling well so I'm sticking with my favorite mocktail tonight. I'm also dipping into my freezer reserves and heating up meatballs that my mom made while was here.

6:00pm - DAD's HOME! We eat dinner together at the table and trade off Leo duty.

6:30pm - Dad reads some stories and then we start the bedtime routine. (We don't always do this all together, but it was keeping Leo calm and happy, so we went with it).


6:45pm - I give Leo his bath, and it's one of our favorite times of the day. He's typically really happy and splashy and just seems to love it. Sometimes we'll facetime Coco and Papa and sometimes we'll read bath books or play with letters....but we try to stretch this happy time out for as long as we can.


7:15pm - I put on Leo's pjs, and I hand him off to Joel to feed him his last bottle on the night and put him to bed. *It takes Leo about 20 minutes to take the bottle and then 10 minutes of songs before he's put in his rock and play to go to sleep


7:30pm - I put a pot of tea on and draw a bath. I'm not feeling well at all by this point, so after the bath, I pump for 20 minutes and then crawl into bed.




And that's pretty much a wrap! 


1.26.2016

Leo - Month 4





Weight:   12lbs 7oz and 24.5"
Nicknames: Wee-Woo, Leeman, Lee-Lee, Goo monster,
 
Clothes: I could buy clothes for you every single day and it takes everything in me not to. Everyone always complains about boy clothes being hard to find, and I do think the selection sucks but I love the hunt and thrill of finding darling outfits. 

You're too tall for 0-3 months, but your booties help hide the floods ;) - otherwise, you're in a pretty good mix of 3mth, 3-6mth, and even a few 6mth sleepers.
Sleep:  You're a great sleeper and typically sleep from 7:30pm-6:30am, but this month we will be switching up a few things on you. You've loved your baby taco (the FP Rock and Play) and your miracle blanket swaddle, but you are outgrowing them. Right now you are taking naps in your crib with the help of a Merlin suit and soon you will be sleeping in the crib full time! You're getting to be such a big boy!

Schedule: We've had a nice schedule going this past month. No day is exactly the same, but if you wake up at 6:30...
6:30am feed
6:30-8am play
8-10am nap
10am feed
10:30- 1:30 nap and play
1:45 pm feed 
1:45-3pm play
3pm -5pm nap
5pm feed
6:45pm bath
7:15pm bottle
7:30pm bed

Health: We are so thankful for your perfect health!
Crying: You're easy to please, but you do whine when you're not happy. You'll take your paci to calm down and then continue to play - or if you're really fussy, you typically need a nap.
 
Feeding:  Most days you eat 5 times unless you have a growth spurt and wake up around 4am, then you'll sneak in a 6th feeding. You're exclusively breastfed, but Dad gives you a 7oz bottle before bed.

Likes:  This has been a really fun month! You love to make faces, mimic noises, make funny noises with your lips, and blow rasperries. You love to "stand", you are really liking your neutron looking rattle, and your kick mat that you got for Christmas.
Dislikes: You don't like to bet put into the car seat, but once we start moving, you're good. You don't like being cold, being tired, or getting bored.
Milestones:  You rolled more in your 3rd month than you did in your 4th but you'll still surprise with one here and there. You're really starting to grab things lately, and I'm noticing a lot more 2 handed play too. I think the way you mimic us is a pretty adorable milestone and your overall strength is seriously impressive.
Places You’ve Gone:  Coco, Papa , Aunt Hannah and Aunt Birdie have been with you this whole month and have taken you just about everywhere. You went to more restaurants this month than most babies go to in a year. We went down to Newport Beach, went for hikes, spent a lot of time at the ocean, visited the Venice canals and hit up Rodeo Drive a few times too.
Visitors: You met your Great Grandma - Kuka - this month....She's 87 and flew to California from Chicago with your cousin Liz. It was pretty amazing Leo that you got to meet such an important part of my life.

Postpartum:  Now that I feel back to normal, I want to look back to normal too! I still have 10 pounds to lose and these seem to be pretty dang sticky. I'm really trying to stay active with you and eat a lot less carbs. I was hoping that breastfeeding you was going to do all the work for me, but it looks like I'm going to have to give it a little more effort to get back into my jeans.
 
Roscoe: This month he has started to give you a kiss almost everyday and you love it. If I let him, I think he would kiss you for ten minutes straight. He turned four this month too!

1.25.2016

Last Weekend Report

I'm a little behind here, so let me back track to two weekends ago when my cousin Liz and my Grandma...we call her Kuka...flew out to LA. 


Kuka (she's 87) and Liz came in on Thursday, and as soon as their feet hit the California soil, we never stopped moving.



 We spent Thursday at home playing with Leo and then went out to Tavern for a drink and later Pecarino for an authentic Italian dinner.


The owner of Pecorino is from the same town in Italy as my Grandma, so we knew we had to take her here when she got into town - and she loved every bit.

My dad had already left to head back to Chicago, so Kuka and Liz stayed at my parents condo with my mom and Nellie which worked out perfectly. That Friday morning, Leo and I headed to their house early and then we spent the day in Santa Monica. 

Our first stop of the day was lunch at Huckleberry which neverrrr disappoints.


From there, we took a long walk on Ocean and then walked up the pier.
 

We caught a beautiful day in Santa Monica, so we decided to make a pit stop at Shutters (one of my all time favorite hotels) so that I could feed the baby and we could all have a drink and enjoy the view. 

   

That night everyone stayed at my house and we made meatballs and pasta, and my cousin Cole came over too to have dinner and play games. 


 Saturday I drove the girls into Hollywood to do some good old fashion tourist activities. I didn't have a ton of desire to do the celebrity house tour and Madame Tussads tour....but it actually sounded like it was really pretty fun.


Sunday Joel left for a work trip in Florida, so Leo, Roscoe and I moved in over at the condo with all of the girls. We spent all of Sunday at the house...took a few long walks, explored Venice and then broke out the champagne.


Later that afternoon, my cousins Cole and Brianna and their son Nolan joined the party - and we bascially spent the rest of the night being entertained by Nolan.

 

Monday morning we all had breakfast at home and then had to get them ready to head back to the airport.


We had the absolute best time with them in California (even though it made me that much sadder not to live close to them back in Chicago). It meant so much to me and my mom that they were able to come to us and soak in some of Leo's goodness.....