OH my goodness. We made it to half a year. We have a little boy who is SIX months old and sits up by himself!!! He's no longer a little bitty baby...he's turning into a little boy!! But he's still my little lion.
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Oh my goodness, my sweet baby boy is now FOUR MONTHS!! He officially is not a little baby anymore (insert crying face emoji!!!!). We have a ton of fun together. He may not be teeny anymore but he is interacting so much and brings James & I so much joy...oh how I love my little lion.
He has seriously changed SO MUCH since he was born. A lot of his dark hair has fallen out but it's been replaced with fuzzy blonde hair! He doesn't look as Italian anymore, which makes me sooo sad but he's still cute as heck...and looking a lot more like his daddy these days.
WEIGHT: 15lbs 9oz
Again, he's right on the 50th percentile for weight and height (still around the 85th-97th for head size LOLZ). My doctor at our four month check up called him perfect...I know she probably says that to every mama but oh, it made my heart beam..ha.
HEIGHT: 25.1 inches
I have a feeling he's going to be tall like his daddy. His feet and hands are HUGE!
WEARS: Still fitting 3-6 month clothing but some of it is getting TIGHT! I'm sure I'll be putting him in 6-9 month clothing very soon. We're heading down to San Diego later this month, so I'm hoping to get some cute numbers from ZARA!! I'm also on the hunt for more sweaters & jackets as it's been getting pretty cold around here. How cute is this one and this one?
SLEEPS: He's still sleeping great.....my fingers are crossed as I keep hearing about this dreaded 4 month regression! He did have a cold for two weeks and that usually caused a wake up around 2 or 3 but then back to sleep until 8. But since he's been cold free, he's been sleeping between 10-12 hours straight. We've moved his bedtime to 7-7:30pm and I think that is helping him sleep better. He also uses his hand to self soothe so I'm sure that's what helps him get back to sleep instead of nursing. I'm convinced our next child will be one who is up every two hours ha...
HIGHS: A huge highlight of my day is going into his room in the morning and seeing how happy he is to see me. He gives the biggest smiles and is giggling more and more. I also love to put on music and sing silly songs with him. That always guarantees a ton of smiles!
LOWS: Having his first big cold definitely SUCKED! He absolutely hates the nose frida and don't you even dare put a kleenex anywhere near his nose. So that being said, getting those boogers out of his nose were the WORST.
PARENTING: Ah, I love being this little guy's mama! Luca is at an age where he can just chill on our laps at restaurants/shops and it's the best. It doesn't take much to entertain him and he isn't moving like crazy so I can still put him down and get stuff done! I feel like he's reached such an easy going age and I cannot wait for unlimited family time in San Diego!
POSTPARTUM: As I shared last month, I started to make a bit more effort in the whole going back to pre-baby size. Some days have been real good and others have been GIVE ME ALL THE FOOD. ha. I did start doing a workout video program (which I do on days where I'm home in the morning..so mostly 4 days per week) and I just got a membership at a gym..yay! Hopefully this will kick my butt into gear before we go away but honestly, I'm totally okay with my postpartum body. As I continue to make effort, I know the pounds will slowly shed BUT I'm also really trying not to beat myself up when I miss a workout or eat poorly.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: One word...DISNEYLAND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're doing one day in Disney and it's going to be INSANE but I am SOOO EXCITED. (I've had TWO separate dreams where I wasn't able to go on any rides so my hopes aren't too high ha.) Also, lots and lots of family time in San Diego.
Okay and look at those LASHES. Seriously, cutest little boy in the whole wide world, ha. Love you so much my little lion.
XO!
laura
You know there are a lot of things about having a baby that people don't really tell you. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before but before I had Luca, I pictured postpartum life as a delightful break from working, unlimited baby snuggles and free time to do whatever I please...HAHA.
Obviously, I was naive in my thinking and I learned that being a mom is the hardest job ever pretty quickly but I didn't expect as many, let's just put it as "surprises", that came with the postpartum body.
Let's talk about a few of those "surprises"...Now this may not be the case for everyone but before I was pregnant I was literally cold ALL THE TIME. Enter postpartum life where I would literally soak through sheets at night...it's tamed down now but still I haven't felt cold in a long time.
Another thing I didn't expect was to be in MAD PAIN. Birth was a flipping marathon...and pushing for almost 3 hours did a number on me and my body...I won't get into any details but let's just say, I took longer than I thought I needed to recover and heal...and dear Lord, remind me to invest in a donut pillow before I give birth again.
One more thing that I didn't really think about was postpartum body. I gained 45lbs with Luca, and like most of the naive world, I thought the pounds would just shed off with breastfeeding. A lot has but not all of it and what I'm left with is a body that's veeerrrrry different than before. A few years back God really healed me of some body issues (I wrote about that here!) But with this postpartum body, I found myself getting close to going down that old path of shaming and self-loathing....but thankfully by the grace of God (and encouragement from my sweet hubby) I'm beating those postpartum body blues.
Here are three ways I'm beating those postpartum body blues:
I've written before on comparison but it is one I constantly have to say OH HECK NO to. Comparison is something that so many women deal with and it seriously rears its ugly head in every new season...especially in this whole mom thing. (PS. If you're local to Victoria, my church's womens group is doing a study on comparison on Wednesday mornings!)
I definitely found myself looking at other women who had babies (in real life and celebrities, ha) and being jealous/sad that the weight seemed to fall off of them. Why wasn't it flying off of me!!?? I needed to give my head a good shake and remember that we were all created differently (with different metabolisms and finances that afford personal trainers and chefs ha) and comparing myself to others would get me nowhere. Instead of comparing my body to others I needed to embrace the change taking place within myself.
Becoming a mom changes you. I did not expect this much change but I am definitely not the woman I used to be. Motherhood is not my sole identity (post coming soon on this!) but a part of me and it has changed me for life. So often the media celebrates women who bounce quickly back to their pre-baby body. But the thing about motherhood is, you're not meant to bounce back (found this article so beautiful on this!) You're different in mind, body and spirit and that is a beautiful thing.
I'm learning to embrace the change of motherhood. I feel stronger than ever before and when I look in the mirror at my jiggly stomach, instead of thinking ugggh, I see it as a reminder that I GREW A HUMAN BEING AND THEN BIRTHED THAT HUMAN BEING...THAT IS PRETTY FREAKING AMAZING. And now I get to snuggle that human being endlessly until he is 30.
So if you find yourself looking in the mirror wishing you would look like you used to look...please remind yourself that your body created life. And that is a very, very beautiful and selfless thing.
Self-care for a momma is SO IMPORTANT. At the beginning I struggled with a lot of anxiety. My whole world was wrapped up in the little lion and I was pouring myself into him (literally as well lols). I didn't take any time for myself and I didn't take care of my body whatsoever. I ate like crap and was feeling like that too. My self-care had gone down the toilet.
But the moment I started eating healthier and exercising, I felt a world of difference. And I didn't go crazy like I would have in the past. I just started being accountable to what I was putting in my body (I use my fitness pal to track calories with my goal being around 2300) and started to exercise gently.
I'm also refusing to use shame as a motivator. Like I said in this post, my goal is to be healthy and not shame myself because shame is THE WORST motivator.
I'm also learning to give myself GRACE and to be kind to myself. Again, I'm referencing the post I just linked to but seriously...speaking God's word over yourself can truly transform your mindset. And this is for all the non-moms too...please be kind to yourselves. You are beautiful, you are valuable, you are loved.
These three things have helped me kick the postpartum body blues but I know everyone is different and different things work for different people (like hello mom of 3 kids, how do you do what you do!).
XO,
laura
I'm Laura. Wife, mama, pastor, diy-er + chocolate addict who's just trying to change the colour on your mood ring. Thanks for stopping by, XO!
© 2017 S.S. Heart. All rights reserved. If you want to use a photo, please contact me for permission! Let's keep it real. xo.
