Weighing in at 22.5 lbs and standing tall at 2’ 6”, Ma Dude is ready to mess stuff up! This kid is getting into everything! Other than growing into the size of a moose I can’t say much has changed. I feel we have been on autopilot for the last few months. So let’s start with a recap and update how the Vegas trip went...
Back in March my husband and I took a trip back to Sin City. The only sin would have been leaving my 160 ounces of breast milk in Vegas, yep I brought it all home! If you’re interested how I did this, watch THIS Chit-Chat!
Needless to say, we had a ball!
Curious how I traveled with breast milk these last few years? I wrote an entire blog on my experiences while traveling to Miami, San Diego, Las Vegas and Jersey! Read the blog HERE!
While I am bad luck in the casinos, my husband Sean was born with a shamrock up is butt so we usually do okay, and by we I mean him. As he was killing it at roulette, I had high anxiety away from the kids. As they say, it takes a village, and that is no joke! My mom and my two aunts handled the kids and kept my nerves at ease, most of the time! So you might be wondering, how did Mr. Co-Sleepy handle me away? Not very well, although everyone saved the details until I got home. But it wasn’t good, luckily they’re all troopers and managed to come out on the other end despite the minimal sleep. I’m glad we were able to get away like we did, but you have my word, I will not be doing it again.
Just kidding, in April I went to Jersey for one night, only one night. I figured this time Mr. Co-Sleepy would do better than the Vegas trip experience because he’d have my husband... nope still not good enough. In the words of Drake, I only love my bed and my Mama, I’m sorry. That is Ma Dude, he’s my bud, I’m sure the milky boobs help too. Thankfully, this trip was shorter than the first. So now, after two trips back to back and sleepless nights for all involved... now you can take my word when I say, I’ll never leave my little dude again. Only way I’ll be taking a trip is if he’s sleeping in a crib. Speaking of cribs...
Founders Amanda Hunt of Davin and Adley and Marian Palase of Mimi and Pal
Kidding again, I’ve got nothing to report on about cribs, but I do want to try in the next few months. My husband reminds me he’s almost one, as if that means anything. If he’s waking to snack in the middle of the night or even so much roll over looking for me, I will not be leaving that bed. Do I love co sleeping? Meh, I did. I can’t say I still love it, I’ve got a stiff neck, and I do miss sleeping in my own bed with my husband. I just remind myself everything has a season, and right now it’s co-sleeping season. Eventually I’ll share a bed with my husband again. It’s kind of wild, toward the end of my pregnancy I slept in another bed because I needed more room, then baby boy was born and I went back to the same room with just him. I haven’t regularly slept in the same bed as my husband in over a year. I mean roles reversed, I’d be loving it, a whole king size bed to me? Sounds like heaven. Instead I’ve been on a full, sleeping with my butt off the edge of the bed most nights, as a human pacifier. It’s a season, it’s a short season.
I have noticed into the eleventh month he hasn’t been feeding as often as before, totally normal and okay with me.
*Hot Reminder* It is biologically normal for babies to wake to feed easily into 12 months of age. This was the time both of my singleton girls stopped nursing at night, will see what Ma Dude chooses to do. Not to ruffle any feathers here but sleep training isn’t for me.
This means when I wake I have more milk to pump since he’s not snacking through the night. Again, it’s fine by me. I prefer it this way because 1- I get more “sleep”, and 2- I’ll have more milk for the daytime while he’s being bottle fed. Between getting sick, seeing my supply fall off, smaller morning pump sessions, we’ve dipped into my frozen stash a little bit. Now that he’s sleeping more and snacking less, this is not a concern any longer for now.
How has our combo feeding been going, you ask? Pretty damn good. I find myself more comfortable with nursing than ever before. One thing I’d add to that, unless he’s feeding during the middle of the night, I don’t usually feel he’s drinking a ton of milk. So I continue to pump regularly as any exclusive pumper would. I forget I’m almost eleven months postpartum, again, not that would change anything with my schedule. Generally speaking pumping schedules will take you to a year of pumping, but I always pump for an extended time. With my multiples I pumped for 18 months, again for 16 with my first singleton, another 16 months with the next, and here I am now at 11 months. Only reason why I’ve stopped when I did was because I found out we were expecting, again and again! This all said, I don’t pump for a “year schedule”, I pump for what I need and not what the internet guides suggest. Currently I am pumping around 5 times a day and nurse during the night, if he wakes. Some nights he nurses more than others. I don’t really count those as “sessions” but as I’ve been known to say, any removal is better than no removal. This is why I stick to my daytime pumping as best as I can! I start my morning with my first pump of the day around 730am, 10a, noon, 3p 5p and last pump of the day around 9pm. In all honesty, he’s been more and more difficult to get down and sneak away from, so I have been missing my 9pm pump more than I’d like to admit. Either way, an exclusive pump schedule is really what works best for us.
Not only am I co sleeping but I’m also baby wearing, another new experience! Baby #5 has really shown me another side of motherhood. The Versa by Happy Baby has been a Godsend, both my aunt and I wear Ma Dude daily, that’s where he gets his contact naps in. Contact naps, haha! Oh boy have I changed my ways with this guy. No going back now!
While pumping five times a day and still managing to test pumps and cups, the BabyBuddha still remains my ride or die. The new track pad is the upgrade we’ve all been wanting, if you dealt with the roller ball, you’ll understand why. Read my review HERE!
Lets touch on solids, my least favorite experience about motherhood. I DREAD it, but I'm still a huge believer and advocate for Solid Starts, but I don’t always follow their advice to a T. I’m a huge fan of the NumNum spoons and recently found a less expensive version that I feel work just as well but won’t pack as much food as the original. I also was introduced to a straw training cup by the community, which I have fallen in love with. It comes in a three pack, and I highly recommend it. We do a lot of eggs in the morning and I put extra extra butter on toast so he can gnaw/suck on that. We do lots of chicken for dinner and he’s also dabbled in some noodles, as well. The kid loves to eat, but we didn’t just get there overnight. It was a slow process that started with the packing spoons and then into smaller chunks, which is contrary to Solid Starts. That’s what works for us though so I have no regrets. Anytime I start solids I always feel like I’m late to the game because I delay it, but I know it’s in their best interest to start sooner than later so I really force myself to dive in around six months of age with banana and avocado and anything else that I can really mash. You can listen to my podcast (Episode 31) I recorded with Jenny Best, the founder of Solid Starts all about starting solids. If you’re looking for some words of encouragement, it’s a very interesting chat!
My next update will be when he turns one year old. I cannot believe that it’s around the corner. Stay tuned!
