playtime with Palmer

Palmer is a busy boy who plays hard!  Here is a peek at what he's been up to.  He has always loved going outside and it is often a fight to get him back in.  These are from a particularly nice day when we spend a lot of the afternoon in the backyard while daddy was at work.  He loves playing with his trucks, watching me blow bubbles, and sliding!  Russell was content to sit in the bouncy seat, modeling for the camera :)

Palmer has a couple coloring books that he scribbles in with his crayons and puts stickers in.  He usually needs help peeling the tiny stickers off the backing, but has no problem removing them from the coloring page and placing them on his face.  Why he does this, I do not know!

Cars and trucks of all sizes are Palmer's favorite thing right now.  Especially trucks.  He spends hours with his matchbox trucks every day, with a periodic ride in his big truck!  Here he is manhandling the truck, trying to make it run over the big stuffed bear in the corner.  (Please excuse the paci. . . he was in a mood :) )

Isn't this an awesome diaper? ;)

cloth love #2

This is just my second cloth love entry, sharing with y'all our wild world of cloth diapers :)  My first entry was about a cover.  Follow this link to read it!  This entry is about an economical way of cloth diapering while still using cute prints!  Extended tab prefolds, or wing tab prefolds as this company calls them, are easier than standard prefolds to use because the length is sized to fit certain size babies and the corners of the prefold that you bring around to the front to pin or snappi are longer, making for easier fastening!

Russell modeling his Blessed Bee Baby diaper

Modern Sesame print for Russell and Planes for Palmer

The wing tab prefolds from Blessed Bee Baby on Etsy are so cute, squishy, and awesome!  I have two in Russell's size and one that Palmer is just starting to grow out of.  Meg A Roo's Designs also makes great ETPF's.  Both brands have absorbent layers of bamboo backing the print, with extra absorbency in the middle.  Here are some pics unfolded so you can get an idea of how these work!

Completely unfolded

Ready to go on baby

Of course, these need a cover over them to make them pee-proof!

babywearing

Today is one of those days that Russell just HAS to be held.  All day.  Here is the Sakura Bloom ring sling I talked about in another post!  It is made of linen, so much cooler than the cotton Moby.  Although it isn't as comfy for long periods of time since the Moby is a 2-shouldered carry, it is sooo convenient.  The Moby is about 5 yards of material that have to be folded in half, then wrapped in sort of a complex way.  This ring sling goes on a lot faster since you can leave it threaded, but takes a little more practice to get the hang of adjusting.  

Tyler asked how many baby carriers we need. . . well they are all so different!  So there's the Moby (a stretchy wrap), the Sakura Bloom (a ring sling), and we also have an Ergo (a soft structured carrier) that we got for a vacation last year.  It was awesome for carrying Palmer through the airport and can do everything from newborn tummy to tummy to toddler back carries.  I prefer the Moby and ring sling for tiny babies though since they get tightly wrapped like a swaddle.  

Here is a pic of Russell in the Moby.  It was perfect to wear to the church's Trunk or Treat with Palmer since I would be wearing it for a while and it was a little chilly outside.  He slept the whole time we were there, through carnival games and all!  On the other hand, I like the ring sling for the grocery store, running Palmer in to MDO, or using at home when I need to put him on quick or it's too warm for the Moby.  I guess the answer to Tyler's question is three. . . for now ;)

Russell, 1 month old

This poor second child may not get as many milestone blog posts as his big bro did, but I'll do my best to keep up!!  Excuse rapid changes in topic, misspellings, and general nonsensical blabber since my brain is totally garbled these days!  Russell turned 1 month old yesterday, October 26th.  Palmer turned 21 months the same day!  Since their birthdays are 1/26 and 9/26 it is nice and easy to keep track :)  Russell is eating and growing more every day, occasionally waiting 3 hours to eat, but this boy will not hesitate to nurse after only an hour and a half if the mood strikes him!

Just this past week he has been focusing more on faces and will turn toward my voice when I talk.  A nice tight swaddle calms him when he's fussy.  Pacifiers aren't really his thing, but he tolerates them sometimes.  I have to be careful not to leave his pacis laying around because if Palmer finds them, he insists on jamming them in Russell's mouth, whether he wants it or not!  See below.

For the most part, Palmer is doing great with Russell!  He likes to tickle him, which is fine- we're just trying to teach him we don't tickle faces.  He has just recently started to try and pick Russell up.  Eeek!  I'm going to have to be more careful leaving them unattended together.

Sometimes Russell will be happy while awake now, which is so refreshing!  On a good day he will sit in the bouncy seat while I fix Palmer's breakfast, and he did awesome propped up on the couch for this little photo shoot.  Looking forward to more happy moments and seeing his personality come out over the next few months!  I recently bought a ring sling carrier by sakura bloom which he spends quite a bit of time in while cranky or sleepy during the day.  This snuggle bug loves to be held by mommy.  He will sleep in the sling while I rinse diapers or follow Palmer around while he plays.  This napping in the carrier has become a necessity because with his older brother shrieking and launching hard plastic toys off the coffee table, there isn't enough quiet for a good nap in the swing lately.  I'll get a pic soon of him in it!  I like the linen sling even more than my Moby because it is MUCH cooler to wear and faster to put on, although the Moby is probably more comfortable for long periods.  

If you are wondering, yes, life with two under 2 is crazy with a capital C, but I just try to focus on giving them all the love and attention I can, and worrying about the rest later :)  I have gathered the ambition to do some real meal planning and grocery shopping tomorrow- I think my crock pot will be put to work this week in honor of the cool temperatures!

Speaking of things that go along with cool temperatures, Russell is wearing his first pair of wool longies in this pic!  They are so snuggly and cozy, double as pants, and make for a very breathable diaper cover over his fitted cloth diapers.  He also has some cute wool shorties we'll bust out on a warmer day :)

 Happy 1 month sweet boy!  We love you and our little family of four!

flashback to delivery!

I received all the images from the lovely Kelsey who took photos at Russell's birth.  Here are some that weren't on her blog post, plus others you may have already seen!

2 weeks old

Russell went to the pediatrician yesterday for the first time! My mom was very nice to come along and control Palmer during the visit, thank goodness- he is a wild man. Russell is already 10 lb 5 oz!  The doctor confirmed that he is perfectly healthy and BIG, as we already knew :) 94th percentile in weight, 99th in height, and above the 99th in head circumference.  He nursed quite a bit after his weigh in, so he could have been even a couple ounces heavier!

Russell loves to nurse and would do just that all day, in a sleepified state, if he was allowed to. I try to spur him through his feedings with feet tickling and other methods to keep him awake.  This way I'm not nursing quite all the time!  We are getting a decent amount of sleep, probably because I give in really easily to letting him sleep snuggled up next to me after nursing.  Swaddled in his pack and play/ cosleeper type thing, he generally only stays asleep 30 mins at a time. Ugh.  Sleeping next to me after falling asleep nursing, he will sleep a couple hours! Russell generally gets a burst of energy around 3 or 4 and is wide awake for an hour or so, but he is normally in an ok mood as long as he doesn't have hiccups.

Hmm, what else to share. . . Oh, he has blue eyes for now, and darker brown hair than Palmer started out with. We have been cloth diapering Russell and I am happy to say only two disposable diapers are in the trash from this two week time span!  Russell enjoys looking at our living room lamp, napping in his swing, and being carried around. . . everywhere.  He screams in the car and sleeps in the Moby. Love my new little boy!

I can't get my iPad to let me upload pics so I will post some later from the desktop

brotherly love

Snuggle time on the couch. . .

Practicing his big brother skills, tucking Grover in the swing. . .

Night night Grover!

Palmer likely considering yanking on Russell's leg. . .