Westley's 8 month update

Sleeping Patterns:  He's sleeping quite a bit better at night, maybe waking up twice, sometimes I feed him in my sleep lol.  Wakes up super early some mornings and won't go back to sleep.  Just transitioned to a 2 nap schedule, a 1-2 hour nap in the  morning and 1-2 hours in the afternoon.  Bedtime is usually around 7.  We've put him in the crib a couple of times but really we sleep better with him in our room right now.  

Eating Habits:  Nursing 5-6 times a day, when he's tired he wants to nurse as well, sometimes he just has a little snack before going to sleep.  He doesn't really nurse to sleep anymore, only if he's super tired.  We've had a little more success with solids.  It seems he likes actual solids not the purees.  A lot of times he will just play with whatever food we give him but occasionally he will go to town on it.  He seemed to really like zucchini, broccoli,  and strawberries.  We've also tried eggs, banana/egg pancakes, shredded cheese, banana, green beans, and cauliflower.

Accomplishments/likes/dislikes:  He's trying so hard to crawl, my guess is within the next 2 weeks he will be on the move.  He pushes up on his knees, rocks, and can move one knee forward before he gives up or falls down.  He will cry if you take away a toy he wants.  He plays independently really well.  Loves to watch Sam.  He really enjoys music, if the tv is on and a song randomly comes on he immediately looks and starts smiling.  He doesn't like getting dressed.  Enjoys chilling in the pool once he gets used to the water temp.  A couple of weeks ago he started saying "dada".  

Places we went:  All the usuals again this month, the zoo, lots of early morning trips to the park, swimming at nana and papa's, chick-fil-a (at least once a week), and the library.

Westley now weighs around 23 pounds.  At his WIC appointment they said he's in the 97th percentile in weight and 35th percentile in height  He's in size 5 diapers and 9-12 month clothes.  He had another ear infection, so hard to get medicine into that kid!  He got a lot of one on one time with us while Sam was in Missouri for 12 days.  He now has 2 teeth!  

Some favorite pics from his 8th month!

Sleeping through IKEA 

Wrestling with his cousin.

Trying out the crib.

He likes his new walker.

Finally eating some food, zucchini.

He likes playing at the park.

Two teeth!

He loves playing daddy's guitar.

Westley's 7 month update

These months just go by faster and faster.

Sleeping Patterns:  Not sleeping through the night, still co-sleeping.  I keep telling myself it won't be like this forever.  The last week he's been waking up between 6 and 6:30 which means he needs 3 naps.  For the most part he goes down easily for naps and takes decent ones.  

Eating Habits:  Still breastfeeding, no interest in solids.  I've been trying for 2 months now, taking breaks now and then to give him time to be ready but he turns his head and closes his mouth as soon as he sees the spoon.  We've had slight success with the Munchkin Baby Food Feeder, I'll put a link at the end for it.  He mainly just chews on it but once in awhile food gets in his mouth and its easier to clean than the mesh feeder.  He still has such a strong gag reflex so as soon as that's gone we should have better luck.  He's nursing 5-6 times per day and then throughout the night whenever he wakes up.  He likes playing with my hand while he's nursing and Howie says Westley rubs his arm while taking a bottle.  Still not great with a bottle.

Accomplishments:  Just started pushing himself backwards.  He's trying so hard to push up on his knees but hasn't quite figured it out.  He gives slobbery kisses.  Sits up unassisted for long periods of time.  Loves splashing in the bathtub.  Went in the pool for the first time and seemed to enjoy it.  He's starting reaching for Howie and I to pick him up.  Sits in the front of the cart when we go to the store.  Got his 6 month pictures taken, he did really good even though it was naptime.  He loves his wubbanub (link below) and is able to grab it and put it in his mouth on his own which is nice.

Places we went:  All the normal places; library, Chick-Fil-A, park, mall, zoo, and church.

Westley now weighs around 22 pounds!  He's in size 4 diapers and 6-12 month clothes.  Any clothes I buy are size 12 month so he can wear them for awhile.  He doesn't have any teeth and I honestly can't tell if he's teething.  Sam didn't get her first teeth until she was 17 months old so I'm not sure if he's going to be the same.  He's still our happy, easy baby!

Here's some of my favorite pictures from his 7th month!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases with no extra cost to you.

Wyze Cam

I haven't done a product review on here before, but we've come across something that I wanted to share. Its called a Wyze Cam and it is amazing! Here's the description from Amazon:

• 1080p full HD live stream direct to your smartphone. Works with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks (does not support 5GHz Wi-Fi)


• Motion Tagging technology detects and outlines motion in both live stream and playback video modes. Power Cable Length-6 feet


• Night vision up to 30 feet away - even in total darkness


• Motion and sound detection with free rolling 14-day cloud storage. Use the Wyze App (iOS and Android) to manage and share multiple cameras


• Magnetic base and included adhesive metal plate let you mount your Wyze Cam anywhere - no screws required

The video and night vision are unbelievably clear! It can be used as a security camera, baby monitor or just to spy on your family while you're at work😉.  Just in case you skimmed through the specs (like I would) you set the camera up where every you want it (its a wide angle lens) and can view/listen/speak from the app.  

You can record to your phone, but if you want continuous or event recording you just need a MicroSD card. Wyze recommends 32GB MicroSD card to record a continuous feed for days and will rewrite over old video when the card fills up. 

The following are some screenshots from the camera that sells itself!

This is the view from our refrigerator. 

This is the night vision in our laundry room, completely dark. We were using it to try and catch a mouse.

These are a couple of screenshots from the app. The first is the notification screen and the second shows all the options while you are watching.

A couple of things to note, it does need to be plugged in so wherever you decide to put it you need somewhat close access to an outlet.  Also to record you need a sim card inserted into the camera.

And I saved the best for last, the price....its a mere $25 on Amazon and its a Prime product.  I'm putting a link down below if you're interested. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases with no extra cost to you. And this is not a sponsored post just wanted to share a product we love!

Westley's 6 month update!

Has  it really already been half a year?!

Sleeping Patterns:  Not really sure if this kid has a pattern or if he's every going to sleep through the night.  He's been sick for about the last 10 days with a lot of congestion which makes sleeping rougher.  The last 3 nights though he's actually slept really well until about 4:30 in the morning when he wants to be awake for awhile.  His naps are pretty much the same and he will still nap on the go if we're out.  We recently got a king size bed so we all have a lot more space at night which helps a lot.

Eating:  Still breastfeeding, since he's been sick I've been giving him about a 1/2 oz of milk with this antibiotic in a bottle and he is terrible with a bottle!  It takes him forever to drink that small amount unlike when he nurses and gets a full feeding in less than 10 minutes.  I was doing oatmeal off and on this month and also had him try sweet potatoes.  Now that he's 6 months I really need to be getting more consistent with the solids and try to find a sippy cup that he'll take.

Accomplishments:  He finally rolled from back to belly all by himself!  He can sit unassisted for a good amount of time although I still try to put the boppy pillow behind him in case he loses balance after a while.  He found his feet.  He sits in the laundry basket in the bathtub with big sister.  He jumps and turns the seat around in his new jumperoo toy.  He likes to swing at the park.  Sam is really good at getting him to laugh.  He loves watching daddy play the guitar. 

Places we went:  We went to the strawberry festival, the clay county fair, the emergency room, Chick-Fil-A (always lol), the mall, and an Easter egg hunt.  He's getting much easier to take places its just a matter of working it around his naps.

Westley is already 21 pounds!  I'm still squeezing him into size 3 diapers because I bought a box and I'm determined to use it.  Most clothes I buy for him are 12 months so that he can wear them for a while.   I've probably said this in every update but he is still such a happy, content baby.  Even with being sick he was still smiling.  

One of our weekly trips to Chick-Fil-A.

Swinging at the park.

New toy!

Easter egg hunt at church.

Sitting up like a big boy.

Lunch time

Such big smiles

Bath time

Special delivery, he actually enjoyed being in the box lol

Sleeping in the ER, he didn't have pneumonia thankfully!

DEBT FREE!

If I could shout this from the rooftops I would! But there's a sleeping baby in the other room so sharing it with the internet will have to do;)  For those of you who have been reading my blog for the last year or so might remember my financial posts:

My student loan story
Financial Advice
How To Grow Your Savings

We have steadily been paying off debt for the past 6 years that we have been married.  We have paid off 2 cars, 1 motorcycle, $18,000 in student loans, $6,000 in medical bills, and around $5,000 in credit card debt.  I've already gone in depth of how we paid a lot of that off in the above-mentioned posts.  The Lord has definitely been providing for us this past year as usual.  I received significant raises at work and Howie started a new job that pays more as well.  With Howie going to school full-time he also received more grant money this year.  We tend to live beneath our means as much as possible but still do fun things.  Using Dave Ramsey's snowball method kickstarted our debt payoff and to see it through to the end feels great!  

Even with paying extra on debt, I've still been contributing to my 401(k) at work and been increasing my contribution with raises, I'm excited seeing how much its grown in just 2 years.  We've also been able to keep our emergency account healthy.  

The main new debt we had was medical bills.  First off our insurance was terrible, I had a $3,000 deductible and $6,000 max out-of-pocket.  Having a baby can be expensive with crappy insurance.  I had to prepay my Dr's office $2,000 before I delivered.  Hospital bill was over $3,000 and then the miscellaneous bills that came as well.  We just paid off the hospital bill and when I called to pay it off I asked if they offer a discount for paying in full versus payments.  Thankfully the hospital I had Westley at offers a 10% discount for paying in full.  If I had paid it earlier they could have done 20% but I was waiting on my $1,000 refund from the Dr's office.  It still helped save almost $200 on the remaining balance! 

We had about a year left on our car loan but decided with our tax return to pay it off.  It didn't save us a ton on interest but its less money going out each month.  This was especially important because this fall Howie might be in a program at school that wouldn't leave him time to work.  Currently working on trusting the Lord to work all of that out because we will still have living expenses. 

I write all this not to brag, although I am quite proud, but to show it is possible to be debt-free even while being considered "low-income".  We do live very much below our means and sometimes it feels like a sacrifice but for this time in our life it works.  

Our next financial goal is to live just on Howie's income and save mine.  I only work 1-2 days a week but it should still add up quickly. I would also like to make a little bit of side money with this blog, if anybody has tips on making that happen let me know!

If I have inspired or helped you on your debt-free journey I would love to know your story and please feel free to share any posts!

Westley's 5 month update

I cannot believe Westley is already 5 months old!  I love writing these monthly updates to look back on some day:)

Sleeping Patterns:  Westley is all over the place with his sleeping.  A couple of nights this month he slept a solid 6-7 hour chunk which was awesome.  Of course Sam woke up both of those nights so I still didn't get to sleep a whole night.  I'm really not sure why he's waking up so much at night, maybe he's gassy, hungry, hot, I have no idea.  He's basically in our bed the whole night because I nurse him back to sleep whenever he wakes up.  Its the easiest and fastest way to get him back to sleep.  On a positive note he's getting into a really good daytime routine.  He wakes up around 730-8, naps around 10 until 11:45-12 then goes back down around 2 until 4:30-5.  Because he wakes up pretty late from his 2nd nap we haven't been doing a 3rd nap unless we're not going to be home for him to be in bed at 7.  Sometimes I nurse him to sleep for his naps and sometimes I just lay him down and he goes to sleep pretty easily.

Eating:  We have made it to 5 months exclusively breastfeeding, the only little issues have been him not wanting to take a bottle as well recently.  One night I was at work form 3-9 and Howie was only able to get him to take one 4 oz bottle and that was broken up.  Normally he would take 2 bottles in that time frame.  It does take a little pressure off of me for making sure I pump enough.  Maybe he's eating just enough to take off the edge until he can nurse?  I just bought some baby cereal (oatmeal) to start trying in the evening, hoping it might help him sleep better although I really don't think it's because he's hungry.  I'm getting desperate though!  Still planning to wait a couple of weeks before starting other foods.  

  

Accomplishments:  He's not screaming as much in the car seat.  He's able to sit up unassisted for about 20-30 seconds before toppling over.  Still not rolling back to belly.  Able to grab toys and put them in his mouth to chew on.  Loves his kick and play piano.  Has to be buckled into his swing/bouncer or he shimmies himself right down.  He thinks peek-a-boo is hilarious.

Places we went:  Disney World when he was about 4 1/2 months old and he did amazing!  He napped on the go and rarely fussed.  Also got to go on some of the rides.  He slept pretty good those 2 nights we stayed because he was so worn out.  We also went to the zoo and the strawberry festival, he's really such a good baby when we're out.

Westley is around 19-20 pounds and 25 inches long.  He started what sounds like growling a week ago.  I think he was just overtired but it was pretty funny to watch.  Other than that he is a really quiet, content baby, sometimes I worry that he doesn't babble very much but try to remember every baby is different and he is a boy (they tend to babble less?).

Here are some of my favorite pictures from his 5th month!

Happy baby at Disney World.

Daddy and Westley at Animal Kingdom.

He was only terrified because Rafiki touched his arm.

Grandma and grandpa came for a quick visit!

Sleeping babies melt my heart:)

Giant smile!

Sitting like a big boy at Chick-Fil-A.

Fun at the Strawberry Festival.

Playtime with daddy

He wasn't sure what to think about sitting in the shopping cart!