4/20/20 instastories

Up early, chores, school, play, eat

Happy Birthday Liam video

Since we couldn't have a party for Liam's birthday, I thought we should celebrate another way. Some people do zoom birthday hangouts or have friends drive by. But I didn't think for turning 1 it would mean that much to him. So I asked some friends and family to send birthday messages and I'd compile them.  I compiled it very late at night because I never got time.  Then I got a few messages later that I tried to add in.   Now Liam can look at this later and see the birthday messages from when he turned 1. I spent far too long doing clips for singing in the above video. I also have a longer version too.

Coronavirus (March 2020)

I wrote this in March but never posted it. I probably planned to write more but never did. Maybe I'll post this and then post one for April.  This is just some random notes about dealing with our first global pandemic.

We watched as China had more and more cases but still went about our business.
Some events about a month out started canceling or postponing.  Some cases but not many were happening locally.

Ella got sick but a cough and a cold. She still went to school.
On Saturday night Miles was up almost all night coughing and unable to breathe. I took him to urgent care when they opened (on March 8) and he got a steroid and a double nebulizer treatment.
On Sunday March 8, Dave took Ella to gymnastics. She didn't want to go but Dave said if she didn't go, she couldn't do fun stuff so they went.   Dave then went to the farmers market and Target.  He said that his started to feel sick while out. Around 3 PM he felt like death and had to take a nap.
On Monday and Tuesday it seemed like I had a cold but I'm so busy taking care of everyone it's even hard to notice and think.

He was sick all week from work. On Thursday, he went to the doctors. We sent the kids to school. (Well I kept Miles home Monday because of his cough and then I kept him home on Friday afraid Dave had coronavirus.)

Dave talked to his doctor many times and went in. She said he might have coronavirus but she couldn't test him. She said if he was still sick in a week to go back in.  She made a point to say she couldn't test him anyway and to just rest at home.

I forgot to mention Liam had a cold too. He had a cold that lasted 13 days.
Ella's cough and slight runny nose lasted more than 3 weeks. For the 3 weeks she has had a fever off and on many times.  (Adding: Her cough/cold lasted well over a month.)

Dave says the more he reads, the more he knows he has coronavirus but they just won't test him.

On Thursday, March 19 I woke up  achy, with a fever, and having trouble breathing.  I contacted my doctor.  The NP replied saying it was just a cold.   Then later the doctor called saying she thought Dave and I should be seen at the respiratory clinic.  We went. They looked at all 3 kids too.   Liam had an ear infection. Miles was still wheezing so we were told to continue his inhaler. We were told Liam was wheezing too. I thought he was better!

Now it's March 25 and we are all so much better but actually not in perfect health yet.

4/15/20 instastories

I keep taking videos and keep saving them since I never get around to making blog posts at least I capture a bit of my day.

Liam 12 Month Update

I took his weight on the right day but the height and weight the next day. Pictures went smoothly this time. He didn't smile a lot but he was good.

Stats:

• Weight: 22 lb 1 oz - 63rd percentile
• Height: 32.5" - 99.8th percentile
• Head Circumference: 46.5 cm - 63rd percentile
• Weight/Length Percentile: 15%
• Diapers: Size 3
• Clothing: 18 month clothing. 
• Shoe Size: I haven't tried shoes on him in awhile but maybe still size 5
• Teeth: 8

(stats using WHO)

Sleep
Sleep is less awful. He will sleep 3-4 hours at night for his first stretch. Sometimes I have issues getting him in the crib and other times I just fall asleep.  I'd say I sleep about an hour in my bed and hold him the rest. Sometimes I have failed crib transfers and other times I fall asleep and don't try. He won't nap in the crib either. This month he switched from 2 naps to 1 nap. He starts his 1 nap right after lunch. I nurse him and he naps on me.

Eating
Liam nurses before and after naps, in the morning, before bed, and many times throughout the night. Since going to one nap sometimes near 4 or 5 he wants to nurse a little.  He will eat 2-3 times in the high chair everyday.  I wish I had more things to feed him. He's actually pretty picky with his food. Also there are times he doesn't want to go in the high chair and instead of having him scream, I let him hold something and eat it on the floor and then play hopefully. He sometimes tricks me into holding him just so he won't scream and cry.

Sample Schedule:
It's still insane to have a sample schedule.  He nurses every time before he falls asleep and when he wakes up. He will have food when I everyone eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He started the month taking 2 naps but takes 1 nap now.

He starts bedtime near 7:30 and wakes up 3-6 times in a night. He wakes up near 7 am for good. He will nap once a day.  He will nap on me for 90 minutes or 3 hours or until the kids wake us up. He will nap max 20 minutes in the crib if I get him into the crib. I try often.

His nap starts right after lunch time.

Special Moments:

On March 17, we attempted CIO but it failed.  Then after midnight when he woke up, we tried again after a crib fail. I gave up after 10 minutes.

On March 19, at 3:18 AM Liam cried and went back to sleep on own.  At 1 PM, we were all seen at the respiratory clinic. Liam had an ear infection.
On March 21, maybe he officially swapped to 1 nap a day. He failed a crib transfer, and cried, but then I gave up.
On March 22, he pulls up to standing a lot.
On March 23,  at 2:46 AM, he has been awake 1.5 hours and then I put him in his crib awake. He climbed up on pink chair, then to standing to reach over and steal an M &M.

On March 25, he tumbled off the bed.
On March 26, Liam painted for the first time. He signed more for more food and also has been signing all day for awhile.
On March 30, he has a diaper rash. (it lasted a few days.
On March 31, Liam clapped.
On April 3, Liam slept all night. He clapped a few times. He  said “what’s this?” He woke up and went back to sleep near 10 PM. He moved all around and only cried lightly twice. It took him 12 minutes to go back to sleep.
On April 4, while nursing before bed, Liam sat up and started messing with the fan. I thought he was just being annoying. But he wanted it to blow on him and then he was good.
On April 5, Liam shakes head no. Has for a few days.
On April 6, Liam just got off bed feet first on his own as I was feet away
On April 11, I noticed he got his 8th tooth. But it’s up a lot. So he’s had it a few weeks at least and I just didn't notice.
On April 13, he discovered kicking while he sits
On April 14, I noted he's a pro at walking holding on to dining table. Walking to side of it while on booth.

Development:
Liam stands holding on for a long time. He started the month whining needing help going back to sitting but now he can do it. He became consistent drinking out of a straw. He learned to clap.   He clearly understands more rooms. He tolerated the pack n play more (but only when Dave or Ella put him in it).

Communication: 
He says "stop" when the google timer goes off and it sounds similar enough that google actually stopped the timer.  He will shake his head no but I don't think he's nodded yet.  He has pointed at something but I think only once.

Other Tidbits:
Likes
He loves to take a bath.

He likes to play outside.
He likes to ride in his red car or tricycle.
He loves going for walks.
He likes his pack n play (but only when Dave or Ella put him in).
He likes it when people make him laugh.
He likes to touch and feel Daddy's hair.
He likes to grab for wipes and medicine bottles.
He likes to take kleenexes and rip them apart.
He likes to crawl down the hall and take shoes off the shoe rack.
He likes to crawl and get to Poly's food and dump it out.
He likes to grab the door stopper things and pull off the white part and put it in his mouth.
He likes turning on and off his lamp in his room.

Dislikes
He especially doesn't like to nurse if I'm talking.
He doesn't want to be held by anyone but me if he's tired. You also better not put him down.
He doesn't like to nurse with distractions (a distraction is a lamp on the nightstand or a fan on the nightstand aka anything is a distraction)
He doesn't like to nap in his crib.
He doesn't like to be brought inside. He wants to stay outside forever.
He hates if he's crawling towards you and you change directions or walk away from him.

Fun Facts
Longest time sleeping: 12 hours 26 minutes
Days with a sleep greater than 5 hours: 16  These are a little deceiving because they are actually worse. If he was asleep on me sometimes I'd nurse in the middle and not really mark that he woke up.
Days with a sleep greater than 6 hours: 12
(According to the internet sleeping through the night is considered sleeping 5-6 straight hours.)
Days with sleep greater than 8 hours: 8
Diapers used (from April 1-14): 4 per day
Time spent nursing (from April 1-14): 5 hours 25 minutes per day
Time spent sleeping (from April 1-14): 12 hours 244 minutes per day
Doctor Visits: 1
Illnesses: 1 (the end of the cold counted last month and then an ear infection)

How Miles can hold Liam

Favorite Toys

books
drum
Doc McStuffins car
red car
remote
Things that are not toys!
balls
maracas
ipod music thing
phone
ball shooting thing

Favorite Songs
none

Favorite Books
none yet (He's loves books but doesn't seem to have a favorite)

Other Tidbits
Liam still drools an insane amount. His patches on his skin are getting worse from wet fabric sitting on it. I try to change the bibs and clothes so often but I am failing. I have tried a few creams or lotions and nothing seems to clear it up because he's just always drooling.   He is so clingy. I have had to hold him almost all waking hours and also while sleeping all but 1-2 hours a day for the past few weeks. It is rough.  I went back to the sleep sack and scratch sleeves all the time because sleep is just a little bit better even though it is awful.

My Recovery
My back got better then worse when I quit going to PT. and continued to get worse.  I didn't go to PT since the kids and Dave were sick.  Carrying Liam ALL the time is not helping. I gained 5 lbs this month. I'm above what I weighed when I went to the hospital to have Liam. 

4/13/20 Instastories

Another day of stories. A brief summary of the day!

4/12/20 instastories - Easter

What Easter looks like during shelter-in-place. The candies and toys weren't like normal either.

Happy Birthday Liam

This is late because it's the third kid and during shelter-in-place which requires home schooling too. It's a rough time.  But better late than never.  His birthday was April 14.

My mom made the number collage for me again. I made the chalkboard. I have to say the chalkboard was harder to fill out this time. I couldn't remember if his first word was dada or yeah. I tried to go back and find it but wasn't sure. I couldn't even think of foods he likes or what he likes to do.

    

If we would have had a birthday party, we would have displayed these. If we have a delayed one then we will print  them. 

I kept track up to 2.5 for Ella and 2 for Miles. I definitely won't keep track of all this for another year.

If you want to see I also have similar posts for Ella and Miles.

4/11/20 instastories

Ella wanted to decorate for Easter so some crafting went on.

4/10/20 instastories

Since I can't go anywhere I try to update instastories so then I can have a nice compiled video. I forget to save them sometimes but I'm getting better. Everyday is basically the same.

4/8/20 instastories

Is it odd seeing everyone at home all the time? I miss pictures at stores or gymnastics or school. This is such a unique time going on.

4/7/20 instastories

We are home all day and don't do much so lately I've been trying to document the days a little more  and then trying to remember to save the compiled videos to help me out later. I do hate that instagram is vertical but maybe one day I'll get over it.

1SE March 2020

1 Second Everyday for March. It's more like 1-3 seconds everyday. Enjoy. I love these videos. Shelter in place started halfway through the month.

2020 Week 6/52 photo

I put Liam in the ball pit. He was having fun but I couldn't get a decent picture. So I took a short video and then took a screen shot to get this gem.

Photo Taken February 7, 2020.

Sitting 1.8.20

Liam and Miles are just sitting together. Liam is like a big kid and they get along. It's nice because nobody is tormenting anyone. Nobody is hurting anyone.

Photo Taken January 8, 2020.

Cleaning 3.15.20

Normally I do a lot of cleaning on Sundays and Mondays but with Dave sick, I was doing so much and not able to be caught up. Then I like to go room by room to feel accomplished. Well I still wasn't ever finishing anything. So here I did half the island instead of the entire island but I even wiped down the half that I got it. I did feel better cleaning half off entirely instead of cleaning most of it off of all of it.

Do you have a method that you like for cleaning? What do you do?


Photo Taken March 15, 2020.

Leprechaun Traps (3.14.20))

Ella worked on her own Leprechaun trap for days.  Then took it school. She brought it home and worked on it more. Miles wanted one. She helped him make one. They spent hours working on it on various times.  Liam just wanted to be held all the time so I tried to baby wear to help my back and arm.

The kids were so proud, I did a google hangout with my parents. They were showing them what they had made. Then Miles put tape on my screen to cover mummaw. He would tell her to quit moving sot hat her mouth and eyes were always covered. Then Ella came over and taped over Pap-Pap.  They were so silly. They loved it.

Cooking 2.1.20

Dave made bread. The kids helped a bit.  It didn't turn out like he wanted/hoped. It was more like a focaccia bread. The kids loved it. There wasn't enough since everyone devoured it. Dave used it to make cheesesteaks.

Photo Taken February 1, 2020.

2020 Week 2/52 photo

Miles decided he wanted to make an egg.

He shared with Liam.

Then he said we had to make another one. He ate his first one. He made the 2nd one different at the suggestion of Dave and then he didn't like it as much.

 Photos Taken January 7, 2020.

Freezer 3.14.20

Friends were talking about stocking up on food to have enough in case there was a pandemic and we had to have a few weeks of food. I told them I think I had enough and took a picture of the freezer. I thought I'd get comments about how full it was but I did not. We had recently gone to Costco so we got extra stuff.  We didn't used to be able to get anything frozen at Costco because our freezer was too small. I wanted a chest freezer for over a year and finally got one in January. It was mostly full of paper towels for awhile.

Photo Taken March 14, 2020.

2020 Week 11/52 photo

I wanted to get stuff done as usual. Liam wanted to be pushed around on the car as usual.  I asked Ella if she'd ride around on the car with Liam.

She took it upon herself to push him back and forth. He was happy. Then she even went into better multitasking mode and used her foot to push it back and forth as she watched TV.

 Photo Taken March 14, 2020.

Riding 3.9.20 and 3.14.20

Liam sure loves this car. It is rough bending down to push him but Ella came up with the idea of riding with him. Everyone seems to love it.  Miles did ask where the other 2 cars are that we have. He was upset to know that when I got rid of toys I got rid of them.

Photos Taken March 9, 2020. 

Here we are again a few days later. The kids were still using the car. But now they also had an extra red car. I forgot the lady I bought the triple stroller from gave me a car. I was saving it for Liam's birthday present. Well we got it out early. IT's actually not as stable as Doc McStuffins car so he can't really use it but the other kids like it. It zooms and turns way sharper. 

Photos Taken March 15, 2020.  

Chef Miles 3.13.20

Miles doesn't just help make pancakes. Here he helped make Home Chef. 

Photo Taken March 13, 2020. 

3/30/20 Instastories

When I am nursing, I upload some pics or videos to instastories about my day. I don't take pics of everything but I get a decent amount. It just shows how the day goes with everyone home all day. Dave works mostly in the office and sometimes in the living room. I need to get some action shots of him working.  There is never any time without kids so we (or I) may get one area clean but never more than one area and then that one clean area is soon trashed.