So as you know, I went back to work part-time when Hank was 8 weeks old. It's went really good! I worked from 10-2 each day and time literally flew by! I loved working part-time, I wish I could do it forever! It was a nice balance for us! I went back to work full-time this week. It's definitely strange being away from him twice as long as I was before! I'm sure we'll all get used to it though! Casey takes care of Hank in the mornings which is awesome! Then he goes to daycare from 1-5. I'm so thankful that Hank gets his Daddy time even if I don't get to see Casey as much :-(
So Hank has changed so much over the last couple months, I swear he changes almost daily. It always blows my mind!! I still can't believe he's already almost 4 months old! He is almost always smiling (unless he's tired, hungry or gassy). He also loves to talk, he tells me all sorts of stories. He giggles now too, which is awesome! It makes me giggle when he giggles! He's slept completely through the night 1x, has done a lot of 6-7 hour stretches, but lately he's going through a sleep regression and is getting up 2-3x a night now. It honestly doesn't bother me, I'm a shitty sleeper as it is, so I get up more often than that unfortunately. I love our nighttime nursing cuddles! He holds onto his pacifier by himself and can grasp toys now. He drools like crazy and puts EVERYTHING in his mouth!! I don't feel anything teeth though! He loves to watch fans, he can spot one in any room we're in. He gets distracted more easily now with his surroundings, he likes to know what's going on. Sometimes he even refuses sleep because he doesn't want to miss anything! He likes to play on the floor or in his pack-n-play and he likes to watch TV! Haha! He's at such a fun age! He likes to stand too. A lot of times when I try to put him into a sitting position, he wants to stand, he has very strong legs! I don't think it'll be too long until he's sitting unassisted either, he has amazing head support and he does great sitting up! He likes to play in his exersaucer, it won't be long until he figures out everything that's capable of! He likes hanging out in his jumper too, he spins around, no jumping just yet. Most of the time he eats his hands while he's in it. I could go on and on about him, he's so amazing!
We are still exclusively nursing! Yay! He's never had a sip of formula. I have over 200 oz of breastmilk stored in the freezer! I'm not a fan of pumping while I'm at work, but I do it so I can give my baby the best there is!! I love nighttime nursing the best. We just cuddle up together, chest to chest, it's an amazing feeling, it warms my heart :-) He's been getting frustrated nursing lately during the day because I'm not fast enough for him, he sucks down a bottle quite fast, I'm even using a nipple he has to latch onto and is recommended for breastfeeding moms, but he's still so fast, so I'm hoping that this is just a phase that passes!
In a couple more months (minimum 6 months), I'm going to start introducing food to him, that'll be so fun! I've already started freezing some green beans for him! We're going to skip rice cereal and start with avocado and sweet potatoes. I'm thinking of doing a combination of purees (which I'll be making) and Baby Led Weaning (BLW). With BLW, Hank will learn about different tastes and textures and will learn how to feed himself. Instead of pureeing everything, we will be giving him pieces of food for him to chew on and put into his mouth. One of the main benefits of BLW is the baby eats what the parent eats and learns to feed himself instead of being dependent on someone else. So we'll see what works best for all of us! I can't wait! Maybe this will get Casey to eat more food because Hank will wonder why he has to eat it if Daddy isn't! ;)
The cloth diapers are also going wonderfully!! I am loving them, they've become quite a hobby of mine! My favorite brand is Chelory it's a "Work-At-Home-Mom" (WAHM) company, i.e. a real person hand makes all of these diapers!! Their absorbancy is amazing and they are so cute to boot! The best part, high resale value!! Yay! I'm sure cloth diapering is going to be a little harder when Hank starts eating solids, it'll just add an extra step of spraying the poop off into the toilet because it'll no longer be water soluble. I have our diaper sprayer all ready to be hooked up for when the time comes! Our daycare even loves these diapers because they are so easy and go on just like a disposable. Then when they're dirty, they just throw them into a bag and I take care of them at home. I do wash every 2 days. It's not tasking by any means! I even dry them on low in the dryer if I can't hang them out. Cloth diapering is definitely even easier than I imagined! I've become such an advocate for it! That's how much I love them! Plus, they're awesome for the environment and more importantly (to me), they're awesome for Hank's butt! He's never had a diaper rash or had a poopsplosion (blowout)! I can go on and on! So if you have any questions, just hit me up! :-)
I'll try to keep everyone updated more with us and Hank! :-)
