Milk

Since Arlo has an allergy to eggs and possibly wheat, my entire back stock of milk is no good for him any more. 

Before I went to work I had 232 ounces of frozen milk. Knowing my supply would drop being away from baby barracuda, I would wake up in the middle of the night and pump during naps etc etc to assure I had enough to sustain us for as long as we could regardless how much my production dropped.

My first goal was to exclusively breast feed for four month. Now it is six months.  Once I hit that it will be eight months and so on with my ultimate dream goal being a years. I know that may not happen but I choose to work towards it however I can.

So to have all two hundred some odd ounces be useless was a bit of a blow. A sit in your car at work and cry sort of blow. But then I knew I could help someone with my back supply and I dried my eyes and out on my let's-find-someone-to-help pants on. 

[Delivery day]

The milk banks require at least 200 oz, blood tests and interviews. I'm not opposed to going that route but I ended up hearing of women locally (outside of the hospitals) who were in need so I chose to go that route. Plus- I don't know how milk banks feel about caffeine and wine being in the milk. 😳 I know how Arlo feels abou to it. 

[Loves it...]

So I am restating my supply. Megan (sister #1) is cutting out Arlo's allergies too and donating her milk to me. I mean seriously. It really does take a village. 

Her only request is that Arlo be allergic to refined sugar so she is motivated to cut those too. I agree- this baby weight doesn't stand a chance to his allergies!

Moving

It's a long story but we moved back to Cville from the little apartment we were renting on the farm.

We were sad to be leaving since we loved the simple life of the farm! 

The farm was where we healed our hearts from losing two babies, where we grew (well, I grew) and prepped for Arlo's arrival and ultimately where we brought him home.

To make ourselves feel better we put together a list of things we won't miss:

-Sharing a washer/dryer

-Our neighbor slamming doors

-Bugs

-Cleaning what is uncleanable 

-Bugs

-40 minute commute (it’s not that bad, but it made the list)

-the pot hole road

-bugs

-fearing for your life from bear attacks

-small restaurant choices

-bugs

-being far from church

-SUPER loud dishwasher

-Musty smelling bathroom

-bugs

-running two giant air purifiers to clean goodness knows what out of the air

-the woodstove

-not having central air or heat

-bugs

Not on the list:

-This view (taken after a 5 am feeding through a screen- don't mind the quality)

-This field:

-The walks we could take around the farm

-The lake/weeping willow 

Or this. Sigh...

We loved the farm! But it's off to slightly less green but certainly cleaner pastures!

For now I'll just stare at these photos instead of looking at my living room which currently looks like this. Yeeeesh. 

Here we go...

Arlo rolled over today. GULP. 

Four months old

Arlo is four months old! I know I will say this just about every age update, but MAN! How can four months feel like the shortest and longest amount of time?

Arlo is:

-Laughing!

-Yawn/yelling

-Is still daddy's best bud (Arlo's arm is around him 😄)

-Doing a little better with sleep but only when we co-sleep. [This is a topic that deeply divides people, so let's keep our opinions to ourselves and remember- it's all about what works best for us as a family. Ok. Kisses.]

-Naps are shorter- sometimes only 30 minutes. Sorry Jeff!

-Is enjoying his Bumbo! 

-Saw the doctor and is 15.3 lbs (45th%), 25.5 inches (70th%) and has a head circumference of 43cm. Which is normalizing at 75th%. Yah! No helmet for us!

-Got a mini haircut to remove the mullet.

All in all Arlo is still a super chill and smiley baby. While he is not a fussy baby he is still able to go from zero to ten (wailing crying) in mere seconds. But that's just a little bit of me in him so I think he'll be juuuuust fine. We are having a blast being his parents. 

...even if he doesn't love the selfie.

Arlo's first hair cut

Ok ok- so it's a bit of a first time mom cliche to document your baby's first haircut - but hear me out.

Arlo was born with a baby mullet. You know- business in the front but party in the back? 

No don't get me wrong- it's pretty amazing, but it was getting log and just a bit more awkward than awesome. So the buzzers came out this weekend.

Our family has a storied and hilarious past with at home baby cuts, so I'm behind the camera with a bit of a grimace and a whole lot of so help me God if you mess this up and all that.

Poor guy. He didn't make a peep. 

No- I didn't save this for his baby book. Just a picture for his baby blog. :) All in all it turned out just fine. Since it was a three inch section. Any more than that and we may need to hand it to a professional. 

I love how you can see his stork bite so much more now! 

Baby Meets Beard

You found it! Daddy's majestic beard.

It's the stuff of legends and it's yours to pull, turn and grab for next three years. Enjoy bud!

Arlo is three months old!

Arlo at three months:

-Loves to talk

-Loves to play on his mat:

-Kicks a ton! I try not to take it personally when I get in the way of those kicks.

-Napping 2-3x a day

-Sleep regression 😳

-Eczema/ woof

-Smiles at pretty girls. Does it really start this early????

-Stares at his hands:

-Is having a blast with daddy! And no one is funnier to Arlo than his daddy. Trust me, I've tried.

-Laughed at daddy! 

-Wearing 0-3 and 3 month clothing which consists of mostly white onsies and socks since it is HOT

-Weighs 14.5 lbs and is 24.5 inches long and still has a "giant @$$ head"

-Still very calm and is great in public. Until he's not. Then it's ON.

-We love and adore this boy! He is such a gift. Thank you, Lord!

Cosleeping

I can feel you snoring. I can't hear it because the air conditioner, air purifier and white noise (why do we bother?) are all whirring louder than you, but I can feel the low grumble in your chest.

You've got one leg in your swaddle and one leg out. It's the way your daddy does it. Both arms are in though- it's the itchy kid way.

I never really wanted to co-sleep. But you've been up every hour for more nights than I'd care to count. So tonight we will snuggle. Or you will. I'll just be over here sweating and contemplating exacly where my arms are supposed to go.

In a strange way I love just how awkward this scene is, because the awkward is equally and beautifully partnered with the feeling that this is exactly right- a natural fit, you and I. 

I hope you sleep well and maybe let me get a few winks in a well. But if you don't, that's ok too. I like our 2 am chats and the silly half grin that parts your pursed lips as you blissfully drift back to sleep. I'll take an awkward and sleepless night just for that sight. But I'll also take a full night sleep too. You pick.