Nakita Grinie

My baby is not a baby anymore, people! (How big is Porter? Sooooo big!)





He felt much better today and I think he's headed in the right direction after whatever sickness hit him hard. He was well though for a monthly photoshoot but it didn't last long. Still cute;)



Communication/Tricks/He understand what we say: Waves, claps, so big, blows kisses, points and dances all on command. Actually the dancing thing happens when he hears music or sees his siblings running around like fools. Says 'dada' and actively looks for Nate, or will say it when he first sees Nate. If I ask, 'Where is daddy?' he will stop, look towards our back door, and say 'dada' in a perplexed voice. He did this today when Nate was sitting across the table from Porter, so who knows?

Loves Henry's beard.


Short arms!!


Attempting the back carry in the Ergo one day. Sort of liked it.


My little nugget baby.


Sometimes Porter mumbles 'mama' but it's usually  directed towards any inanimate object, or when generally disgruntled. I know he loves me but MAN, would it kill a baby to recognize and verbalize that I'm his mom like he can do for his dad? Hmpf. Says 'hi' and 'bye-bye' while waving and I'm officially calling 'hi' his first real word. Uses that one appropriately and it's beyond adorable when he will say it to random strangers in a store. Shakes his head 'no' as soon as he throws food on the ground, learning this is not something he should do....yet not caring enough to stop. Signs 'more' by clapping enthusiastically in his high chair but I've forgotten all of the other baby signs that we were so great to use with Truman. (I won't pretend we signed with Cecelia either, sorry kids number two and three).  Just starting to cry when Cecelia takes something away from him, really asserting his opinions about what he likes and doesn't like.

Soccer practice fun.


Greatly enjoys watching cartoons with big brother.


One thing Porter doesn't like? Mobility. Porter is SO not mobile, it's sort of starting to worry me. But I also selfishly LOVE the fact that my baby will sit happily in one place, since we all know a mobile baby is 1000x harder than a happily immobile one. Porter will roll and lay on his stomach but he's not barrel rolling everywhere, sometimes gets stuck on his tummy and then gets angry about that. He will not get up on all fours. He will not army crawl. He does not pull to stand. He mostly just sits or lays on his stomach, and he can scoot around while sitting, too. It's interesting because third babies seem to get the reputation to be super mobile early, trying to keep up with their siblings. I think Porter is not motivated and highly content to sit still, knowing his siblings will bring him toys and his mommy likes to carry him and snuggle the baby of the family. He likes to stand if we help him get there and I don't think he's 'low tone', so I'll continue to tell myself that every baby is different and I should enjoy my slow-to-move baby as long as possible. I'll of course talk to my pediatrician at the next appointment, too, but I think he might say that Porter is his own person and not to compare my kids. SO HARD though.

Obsessed with swings.


Immobile baby in the Missouri grass.


Note the crossed ankles and clapping. And why is there always a laundry basket in all of my pictures??


Sleeping is still one of Porter's most prized talents, although he's waking a bit earlier for the day around 6am instead of 7am. But he still clocks about 11 hours at night with bedtime around 7-7:30 so I cannot complain. His morning nap is usually a quick 30 minutes and the afternoon nap rocks my world at 2-3 hours. NICE. I know. I love this category now, even more so after I read about Cecelia at ten months waking anywhere from 2-4 times at night and NOT napping. (shudder).

Fat belly.


Oh, hi. I'm trying to crawl but not really.


Eating is another one of P's specialties. Food and formula are his favorites. He's drinking less in bottles and amping up his solid food intake, but still probably drinks about 24 oz in formula plus three meals in real food. He thinks he is an adult and still really prefers to feed himself, but will tolerate Greek yogurt via the spoon and occasionally applesauce or pureed baby food. Lori says that at daycare Porter gets really really angry if the bigger kids are eating something he can't have (like popcorn) and he is highly driven by food. He would seriously be content to sit in his highchair most of the day, shoveling food into his mouth-- a boy after my own heart.

Blackberries.


Loves those bottles.


Scary sister smile.


Hmm, bananas are so boring, mom.


Superficial matters: Besides the simple fact that he is the CUTEST? 18 month clothes fit now, and I have a mix of 12 month, 12-18 month, and straight up 18 monthers in the rotation. Kind of boggles my mind because 18 month sleepers always look gigantic compared to 12 months for some reason, but they fit my long boy. He was about 21 pounds a few weeks ago, but apparently he lost at least one pound being sick (probably just fluids, but still sad). So he's not ssuper fat but he's sturdy and plump and...perfect. Size 4 diapers, size large ears, growing more hair, big blue eyes. STUNNER. Little stud muffin. I'm under his spell, I can't help it.









Two teeth. He only has two teeth! The other kids had six each by now, and I swear to you that Porter's top four teeth will all come through in a matter of days. They look painful and swollen are just taking their sweet time up in his grill.



He still doesn't take a nuk, but someone else does in this house.


Comparing sibs: 
Cecelia's 10 month post: was army crawling, crawling on all fours, pulling to stand, had six teeth, fantastic nurser, horrible sleeper, and loved solids.

Truman's 10 month post: was just starting to army crawl, had six teeth, winding down with nursing, just starting to sleep, and was hit or miss with solids.

Hooligans.


I mean...


Loves to pick his sister's nose.


And wear hats with big brother.


So Porter is officially my slowest motor guy, my best sleeper, my earliest to wean, and has the least amount of teeth. HE HIS OWN MAN, guys. He's probably the smiliest and possibly the sweetest, too, but that might just be my obsession for this baby speaking.

Luckiest mom.




Meh, whatever, ma.


No seriously, I'm madly in love with you, Porter. What a privilege to watch you grow and to be your mom. Ten whole months of this life with you. I'm not sure how this is possible but I'll do my best to embrace the passage of time instead of cursing it. Because you are way too much fun to waste time being sad.


Love you, Porter P.
xoxo
Mommy

Wallace's first ten days are in the books and I like to share these special times on the blog, since everything is such a blur with a new baby.

Nicknames:
We go between calling him Wallace and Ace pretty equally, we will see which one sticks. Cecelia likes to call him 'Wally' and I know that is the obvious nickname for 'Wallace', but we just like Ace a lot better. Also: Waller Baller, Wall-man, W, and Porter's favorite pick: Wallipop. Which is hilarious, because he can't say his 'Ls' very well, so it's literally the same word as Lollipop for him;)

Other name choices not selected:
A commenter mentioned that I should tell what our other name options were. The second pick was Gilbert Stanley, or 'Gil' after my dad's first name (he goes by his second name, he is a junior). I love Gil so much but Nate just couldn't get behind it when it came to crunch time. And my dad has never liked his first name that much, so we figured Wallace could hate his name less as an Ace versus a Gil?

I also loved Calvin (Cal), Macallister (Mac), Murdoch (Doc), and Howard (Howie). Also Silas, Lorenzo (Enzo), and Amos (Moe). I was very big into nicknames this time around and again, Nate immediately liked Wallace the best. I admit some were pretty 'out there' but it was a lot of fun to make a hug list again. This guy is 100% Wallace, for sure. Did I mention that Stanley is Lois's dad's name? So each of our kids has a grandparent or great-grandparent middle name, for all four of our parents. Kind of love that symmetry stuff.

If he was a girl, I would have pushed hard for Alice Rosemary. Also really like Phoebe, Louise, and Dorothy....but we didn't even discuss girl names that much since we didn't talk names until after our 20 week ultrasound. Truman wanted his mythical sister to be named Rose and I would have liked to use Lois's middle name of 'Mary' in there somehow. I thought Rose Mary would have been a little odd though.

Can't straighten his legs in this NB sleeper of Truman's.


Another Truman/Porter outfit.


Sleep:
Wallace is still pretty sleepy overall and seems super chill so far. He's consistently waking up twice at night to eat, which ends up being a 3-4 hour stretch each time. On day eight, I must mention that he slept from 11pm-5:20 am, when I had to WAKE HIM to feed because I was about to explode. That's a six hour stretch and technically sleeping through the night, what the heck?? He then napped for another 3 hours after that so obviously he was in a sleepy phase that day. After that insane night, he went back to waking every 3-4 hours which is just fine by me for now, honestly. So much more comfortable, too!

First night!


New to the woombie, sort of a fan.


He loves to move and be held, but also likes his Mamaroo swing quite a bit. That is where he's been sleeping at night, and I've been sleeping next to him on the couch. We tried sleeping upstairs with the co-sleeper but it's really hard to nurse sitting up in bed for me, diaper changes are a lot more cramped, and we are just more comfortable on the lower level. I do want to get back up into my bed soon, so I will probably have Nate bring the swing up and down the stairs for Wallace's best sleep. We also have a rock and play this time, could try that at some point--but the Mamaroo is his favorite for now.

CHEEKS.


Naps are obviously all over the place but he's sure to pass out in the Moby wrap or car seat. This makes me happy because Porter was already freaking out in the car seat by one week of life. Really hoping Wallace remains pretty chill and a decent sleeper, but of course it's way too early to tell. Enjoying it now while it lasts!

Best days at home with Nate off work for a week.


Nursing:
This guy is a champ and loves to eat! He does get pretty sleepy at the breast, but will continue to suck even when asleep so I don't usually rush to pull him off. Sometimes he will take only one side and then takes a long nap, sometimes he will wake up after 5 minutes and want the other side. The new thing I've learned about Wallace this week is that he needs to burp after eating. He was getting very grunt-y and uncomfortable during some cluster feeding, and so one day I tried burping him. It was like a man burp, it was so loud. No wonder he was uncomfortable! My other kids would puke up a ton of milk when I burped them, so I sort of just stopped. But Wallace doesn't really spit up that much or that often, so I need to keep burping him to feel comfortable.

Covering his face. Sometimes he will cover both ears when it gets too loud in our house, too.


Milk drunk smiles.


I still feel pretty full in the mornings and in the middle of the night with this guy, but I'd say on average he does eat every 3 hours during the day.

Hi, buddy!


Cutest face.


Doc appointments: 
Nate and I took Wallace to the pediatrician the day after discharge, and my mom stayed back with the big kids. It was fun to have both parents with just the baby and Wallace did great! It was a weight check and bilirubin draw, and his weight was basically the same as it was when we discharged: 8lbs 5.5oz. The bilirubin did go up from 10.3 at the hospital to 13.0 when home, but the doc said as long as it's under 15 they wouldn't worry. His coloring looks good and so no more blood draws! The doc did have me bring him in for one more weight check on Friday, 7/14 and it was up to 8lbs 7.5oz so he gained about an ounce a day. That was great and the doc was pleased, so we won't go back until his month appointment for a check up.

Daddy at the doctor with us.


Gotta rock some Gogo bowties!


Sibling Love:
Oh, if I could bottle up the sweetest of our three big kids when they interact with their baby brother!
Favorite moments include Truman coming downstairs first in the mornings, walking right over to Ace and I, and giving the baby a huge kiss on the forehead. He'll talk quietly and ask how he slept at night, and then will tell me, 'I'm so glad he's here, mom.' Truman is the greatest big brother ever, seriously. He will fill up my water bottle for me, will grab a diaper and wipes, will hold the baby, put his pacifier in his mouth, and even attempts to help manage Cecelia and Porter (much harder than helping with the baby).



Cecelia has had some incredibly sweet moments with her newest baby brother, too. Yesterday she started singing to him in the highest pitched angel-voice, saying things like, 'You are so little, I love you so much, you are my best friend, go to sleep little baby.' Um, BEST FRIEND, guys. She asked me last night, when Nate took Wallace downstairs so I could do my part of bedtime with the bigs: "Where did my best friend go?" I cannot even.



Porter has had the biggest adjustment to Wallace, of course, but he's making us very proud overall. I mean, P just turned three last week and gained a new brother, so all in all he's handling it pretty well. There have been more tantrums and testing the limits, but that might just be part of turning three. He's refused to nap several days and seems to enjoy pushing our buttons but he's also the sweetest dude ever. He loves 'Baby Wallace' and wants to hold him, kisses him, and accidentally pokes his eyes many times a day. There was one frightening moment when I had Ace on the floor on a blanket, was sitting right next to him, and Porter was leaning next to us staring at the baby. Then I saw him bend over and start to JUMP over the baby----I grabbed him and whipped him back to the ground before he could take off, and it scared him but it scared me more!



My July Guys;)


We had a big talk about not trying to jump over the baby and he seemed to get it, but yeah---definitely won't be leaving Wallace on the ground unattended! Porter will also tell strangers who stop to look at the baby, 'That's baby Wallace, I'm a big brother!' Seriously, so sweet. I've been trying to give Porter plenty of focused attention, hugs, and time with just mama. He eats up the time without his bigger siblings so much (both T and C have a few day camps this summer so Porter and Ace should have some solid quality time at home with me going forward). Porter only wants mama to tuck him in for naps and bed and only wants me to change his diaper....which is another story entirely. He was showing signs of being ready for potty training right before Wallace was born but right now we are not pushing it. I suppose we will go for it during maternity leave, but for now....two in diapers, again!



THREE BOYS!


Our crew.


Some big firsts of the week:
First trip to Target on 7/14! Mama needed some new postpartum clothes, pads, and stool softener. Sorry for such a boring trip, buddy!


Yo Mama on 7/17: he took the double bob with Porter for the first time and slept the entire time it was moving, got a little fussy as we ate our ice cream because he was jealous, obvi. ;)


Farmers Market on 7/15: in the Moby, even though it was kind of hot. Lots of comments about how tiny he was, and we even got a free block of cheese from a vendor because I had a baby. YES.


First bonfire and s'more observance 7/14


First trip to the pool 7/15 (he slept through the night after this, so it must have been exhausting!)


First playground picnic 7/16


All in all, the first ten sleepy days have been wonderful. And now we begin our new sense of normal, with Nate back to work. Let's do this, gang!

Porter's first week | Cecelia's first week | Truman's first week