an update on life with truett

Hello blog world. 

I've been a little MIA lately. But I suppose that's typical when you have a pretty fresh-out-the-womb baby at home. I have been really enjoying just taking it all in and loving on this little man. 

Last week he started giving us some real smiles and now he just never stops! It is literally the best feeling. He responds to our voices and loves to give slow blinking flirty eyes. The cutest!

He also loves to be pulled up into a sitting position and then a standing position. All assisted of course but he is so strong already it's so amazing! Everyone keeps commenting on it but honestly I have nothing to compare it to. 

He does a good job with tummy time and seems to be lifting higher and higher each time. He likes to wiggle a lot and move his legs. I can already tell he's going to be an active little guy! He just wants to move, move, move. 

He has also been getting more vocal lately and loves to make cooing sounds as well as some other funny noises. He can get a little whiny when he is tired and I know this sounds terrible but even those sounds are cute! Clearly I'm head over heels for this kid! 

Vince and I have a pretty good system down, if you can call it that. It's not necessarily a strict schedule by any means. But we make a pretty good team. Since he works nights, I'm alone with True from about 6:45pm to 11am which allows time for him to sleep after work. Then he gets up and helps me out a lot. He really is such a great dad and I love watching him with T. Their relationship is so cute and I can't wait to see it blossom even more. 

we also just started T25 workout DVDs on Monday. It's a 10 week course so hopefully we stick to it! 

I'm loving being a mom and watching Truett grow. It's amazing how much he has already grown in the past weeks and the personality he is developing. It kind of makes me sad that he's growing up so fast. I wish he could stay little! But at the same time I am so excited to see him develop even more. 

the early days - a reflection

It's so hard to believe it's been almost a whole seven weeks since this little man came into our lives. Time flies, I tell ya.

I figured it would be a good idea to write about the first few weeks while it's fresh in my slightly sleep deprived brain. So much has happened and I wish my memory was dependable enough but sadly tis not. So blog I must!

Truett was born on a Friday morning and it was a beautiful day! We were at the birth center for only five hours after he was born and then we made the journey home to begin our new lives. We had some visitors that day, including my brother Jake and his girlfriend Lindsey. The visitors continued throughout the weekend and most our family was around to visit. 

Our first night with True I don't think either of us slept very much at all - not because he was crying but because we just wanted to stare and take in every second. We hardly put him down except to be changed - which he totally hated for the first week until he (or we) finally got the hang of it all. He slept in bed with us, in our arms or on our chest. He was such a cuddler and a sweetheart (and still is!) He rarely cried at all that first week but he certainly let us know how much he hated his diaper changes. It was the only time he cried and seriously broke my heart to see him get so upset! 

His looks really seemed to change over the first week. His skin adjusted to the outside world and he broke out a little bit but nothing major. 

We stayed couped up in our bedroom until Tuesday, when we finally brought the dogs home from my moms. I wasn't supposed to use the stairs for the first few days (due to my stitches from pushing out a nine pounder) but eventually made my way to the living room. Introducing the dogs to the baby was the cutest thing in the world. I was super nervous because they are both so attached to me but they did a great job and have since fallen in love with their new hairless brother. 

The next few days we slowly got into a routine of sorts. I tried hard not to wake Vince at night so I could get used to not having his help (he works nights). It was a little challenging at first because True was waking every 2 hours for a feeding and changing. But I managed. We lazied around the house during the day to make up for the lack of sleep at night. 

On the Thursday following his birth we made our first trip out of the house! To target we go, hi ho hi ho hi ho. He loved being in his baby wrap - which to this day he still does and quite surprisingly because he hates to be swaddled. It was a success but we discovered he hates the car. 

Per recommendation of my midwives we bought a blow dryer for his diaper changes and he was a whole new baby! He suddenly loved them. He also wasn't a huge fan of sponge baths the first week but now doesn't ever want to get out. He hasn't quite gotten the car thing down yet but he's much better. 

Vince went back to work on the Monday after Truett turned 2 weeks. It was so nice to have him home with us during that time but it was good for True and I to get our own routine down. 

My emotions the first week were a little crazy. I was exhausted from my fast and furious labor but on a total natural high from it at the same time. I never wanted to sleep because I just wanted to enjoy my new baby. There were days though when the emotions got the best of me and I just had to cry. I was so happy to be a mom and so in love with my new family that happy tears came streaming. He had a couple rough nights the first week Vince was back at work where I cried tears of exhaustion but it quickly subsided. It's hard work in the beginning, I'll tell ya that much!

Whenever I felt like I was getting a little too tired I'd take a few extra of my placenta pills and soon after I would feel way better. Maybe a placebo affect but whatever cause it worked. 

Breast feeding also seemed to be a challenge for me at first. I say me because he was great and thriving and gaining weight just fine but I was having some pain issues. We had a lactation consultant come by as well as a craniosacral therapist and it helped to loosen a posterior tongue tie which has helped immensely with our feedings. Before the therapies I would get pinching feelings in my nipples and my toes would curl in pain but now it's much more peaceful. I love breast feeding now! And it makes me so fulfilled to know I am nourishing my sweet boy. 

Having a newborn is such an amazing thing. And become a mom is even more incredible. There are truly no words to describe the feeling when you hold the being that grew inside of you for the very first time. There are no words to describe how amazing it feels when I'm all that he needs to calm down. It is definitely an overwhelming and wonderful time and I have loved every second of it, even the hardships. Because even when it's hard, at the end of the day I have an amazing little boy who I love so much. And I am so grateful for him and for my husband. 

pamper me pretty

Since no one has yet to invent a magic pill to make my post baby body normal again, I had to take measures into my own hands and have myself a little pampering day. Which included a lash fill and a new 'do.

Thank god for hair dye, people. There's nothing like a new color job to make a girl feel better about herself. 

(ok seriously look at that happy boy's face! I think he likes mamas new do)

Although my post baby body is still flabalicious, it definitely lifted my spirits and I'm sure the mister will enjoy my little bit of newfound confidence. 

You may not find me strutting my stuff in a bikini anytime soon (AKA this year) BUT there sure is a smile on my freshly lash-filled face! 

And by the looks of it, True is enjoying the new style just as much as I am!

boobs.

Yep. 

You read that title right. 

I'm about to blog about my boobs. Because let me just tell you, my girls are out. of. con. trol.

I've always been a busty lady so when the mountains grew mid pregnancy I wasn't super phased by it. Oh, what's that, one more size up? No biggie. I'm already almost half way through the alaphbet so what's another letter. 

But how come no one told me they would grew again, and again, and again! I mean seriously, these things should be illegal. They aren't even fun anymore. Instead of looking cute in tops, I just look sloppy and gross. They take over. They are running around and about to take an eye out!

The hardest part has been trying to find an over the shoulder boulder holder to keep these bad boys in place. I swear the bigger the boobs, the uglier the bra. I can't find anything cute, comfortable, or tata taming in anything remotely my size. 

So for my big boobie mamas, how do you control the girls? I need me a good tata tamer. Stat!

to sell or not to sell..

When we bought our home in 2011 we knew it would be our starter home and in our five year plan. We weren't even married yet.. or even engaged for that matter.. but knew that that was next on our list (and I say "our" lightly because let's be real, Vince probably didn't really have a set five year plan and list like I did). So we happily signed our names on the dotted line and purchased our first house together, as "single" people. 

Three years, two dogs, a marriage, and a baby later and we (or I) are beginning to rethink..revise..revisit our five year plan and questioning whether or not to turn that into more of a 3 year plan. Now don't get me wrong, we love our starter home and feel so fortunate to have been able to purchase a home as youngins.. but now with all the said above things, I'm feeling like we need more space. There are so many things that are great about this house, but just no longer great for us as a family. When it was just the two of us and the dogs it was fine. We have a tiny yard and two tiny dogs with tiny poop so really no biggie if the poop doesn't get picked up or the lawn doesn't get mowed. But now with a baby who will be toddling around this time next year, i would love a big yard for him to play in. 

The tricky part is this... How do we sell our house and buy a new house at the same time? Do we buy then sell, sell then buy, or try and do it all at the same time? I've clearly never done this so I'm a little naive to the lingo and all the deets but it can't be that hard right?

We have already found the subdivision we want to be in. It's currently under construction now so we have a bit of time. But all these thoughts keep swirling in my crazy, over thinking brain and I can't seem to get them all straight. So naturally, I blog! Also known as venting, or word vomit. Take your pick. 

a tent for one

We've been having some fantabulous weather up here in the PNW, so what does that mean? A family BBQ was in order of course!

Which in turn meant we got to bust out this tent for Truett.

I was pretty excited about this as it has SPF protection, not to mention a bug free zone. 

He certainly seemed to enjoy it & even napped through half the BBQ, much to my delight - giving mommy plenty of time to lose at badminton. I would not call myself sporty, that's for certain! 

We have quite a few hot summer trips planned so I'm very pleased that this tent did the trick. Gracias Amazon! 

one month old [truett]

Grab me some tissues. My baby is a month old already!

Can you believe it?! I mean, seriously he looks like a grown kid! This little chair he is "sitting" in was mine as a baby. Awww, I know, I know, sooo cute. Right?

On Wednesday at our 4 week check up he weighed in at 11lb 2.5oz. 

He still loves tummy time but is getting much better at being on his back. We bought an extra blow dryer that we turn on during diaper changes and he seems to really like this. Added bonus: less pee sprays directed at mommy. Yay!

Check out that faux hawk! Hair is coming in blonde at the roots so I'm really curious to see what color it ends up being. 

His eyes are still a nice baby blue. Mine are brown while Vince's are a blue-green so it's a toss up as to what they will turn into. I think I've heard they can change up until a year or something?

Still sleeping in 2-3 hour chunks and eating about every 2-3 hours around the clock. Sometimes I think he forgets he just ate and gets hungry again barely an hour later. I suppose that explains how he's already over 11 pounds! Chunkster. 

He's starting to develop more of a personality and I can't wait until he starts interacting with us more. It's been so fun to see him grow over the last month. I am so excited for him to be able to play and hang out with us. But I'm definitely enjoy this time while he's still little and just wants his mama all the time. I love that he needs me! He's seriously my whole purpose! I didn't know I could love someone so much!