12 Months of Hudson// Month 4

-Eats 4 ounces of formula every 4 hours.

-Sleeping is very unpredictable.

-The 4 month sleep regression hit hard when he was around 3 and a half months old. Anyone have any tips for how to get him to sleep better again?? This sleep regression is doing no good for this

tired momma that is starting another semester today..

     -He was going down at 8, waking up to eat at 2, again around 5 or 6, and then up for the day sometime between 8 and 9. He has been up at least 4, if not 5, times a night lately.

-When he does wake up at night he goes right back to sleep after being fed or given his pacifier.

-Always swaddled at night.

-Size 2 diapers

-Mostly wears 0-3 month clothes with about 5 3-6 month outfits that fit him.

-0-3 month sleepers

-Naps 3-4 times a day anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Still typically naps in his swing but he will nap in his crib if I put him down in there.

-Has started to grab at toys.

-Occasionally holds his own bottle for a minute or two.

-Puts everything in his mouth that he can grab.

-Copies "hi" and does a pretty good job at 'saying' it.

-Coos all the time.

-Celebrated his first Easter.

-Fist general conference.

-First taste of a peep, Reed's dairy huckleberry and cookies and cream ice cream, and frosting thanks to Aunt Rebekah. (mom does not approve)

-Rolled from back to tummy on 4/14/15 and hasn't stopped since.

-Tries to sit up if he is sitting in your lap and you are leaning back.

-Lifts his head up when he is sitting in his car seat and his swing.

Hudson went on his first Rzr ride. I was a little worried that he would be fussy the whole time, but that was not the case at all. I put him in the carrier with his jacket on and zippered my jacket over him. He cried when we stopped at the first place that the boys hill climbed, but after that he slept the whole time. So, he pretty much slept the whole hour and a half that we were gone. I don't know how he did it because the trail was very bumpy.

Just melt my heart, why don't you?

How is this boy old enough to be rolling over?!

When your cousin splashes in the bath tub and you realize that getting splashed is the funniest thing ever.

Baby sunglasses are my new favorite thing. 

I love that wearing them doesn't bother him at all.

&Those eyes just melt me.

His Wubbanub is his favorite "stuffed animal"

&Like father, like son. (I promise that picture was not staged whatsoever)

He loves his jumparoo because it stands him up.

&When he is tired of being in it he eats his hands. 

Saying goodbye to Aunt Rebekah's money when we bought her car

Love my little chubs.

Trying to eat his hands while holding toys does not work out the best.

Onsie from Uncle Matt

Favorite way to sleep when he isn't swaddled.

Time with Great Grandma Ella and Grandpa 

Boy knows how to relax.

Getting dressed is a problem when all you want to do is eat your hands.

Trying to get a picture of the cousins in their matching Penn State outfits is an almost impossible task when neither are in the best of moods.

&Bath time is too much fun.

Bath time with cousin Maverick

Naps on the church pew during sacrament meeting lead to the best snuggles.

Hudson's Nursery Reveal

I was so excited to be buying a house after I found out that I was pregnant. It meant that I would get to create a nursery exactly how I wanted it to be.

I wanted his nursery to be simple and didn't want to spend a lot of money on it.

This picture was taken by Brittany Stanly Photography.

All other pictures are my own.

Wooden letters: Walmart $12 

Crib: Walmart

The glider doesn't really match the room, but we got it on clearance at Walmart and 

even more off for it being the display model. I believe that we paid around a hundred.

I love sitting in it and rocking my baby to sleep.

I bought the dresser from a Facebook sale page for $20.

I bought three sample cans of paint for 3 dollars each and a can of spray paint for a dollar.

I already had the white paint from painting ceilings and things in our house. 

The drawer pulls were the original ones just spray painted.

Cost of dresser: $33

Frames from thrift shops painted with leftover paint from the dresser.

Prints found here, here, and the print with Hudson's birth stats was made by my aunt.

Lamp was on clearance from Target for $5.

I used card stock I already had to cover it so it matched his room better.

Frames from the Dollar Tree. Print by me. 

I used Taylor's old dress shirt from his mission.

Every little boy needs his toys.

I love how the bins keep all of the smaller toys together and mess free.

Every child needs books

I kind of love this room that we have created for Hudson.

I love that I was able to make it personal and put my love for him into the room.

I love that for now it is all his.

Easter 2015; Hudson's First Easter

Holidays with a child are so much better. Will Hudson remember his first Easter? Absolutely not. But I will. So you better believe that my 3 month old baby got an Easter basket filled with goodies for him.

It was general conference weekend so we spent the day at home watching conference with Sheldon and Rebekah since they were both here for the weekend. 

His tractor from his Poppy and Gigi.

I got a new camera for my birthday so I couldn't help, but have a little photo shoot with Hudson. I'm no professional, but it was fun to get some decent Easter pictures of him. 

Lehi, Brei, and Maverick came over for an Easter dinner. Thankfully, I did a much better job on this dinner then I did on our Christmas dinner. After dinner we skyped with Poppy and Gigi until it was time for the babies to go to bed. 

It was a great day and weekend. I'm so excited for all of the future Easters that we will have to celebrate as a family and to teach Hudson what Easter is really about.

I'm not the mother I thought I would be.

I'm not the mother I thought I would be.

There were a few things that I knew how I wanted them to be when I first found out I was pregnant.
I would breastfeed until I went back to school in April.
Hudson would sleep in his room in his crib from day one.
The baby will not go to nursery with me while at church.
Other than these few things I felt like I was pretty relaxed..

I never expected breast feeding to not work out for us. I thought that it would be easy, and I would love it. I mean it's the natural way to feed so it should be easy, right? I thought that I would breastfeed until I went back to school in April when I would no longer be able to. I never thought that I would have trouble with supply and latching. I never thought that I would have so many issues with clogged ducts and would end up with multiple high fevers from them. I never thought that I would exclusively pump for the first 2 months until my milk dried up. I never thought that my child would be formula fed before I went back to school.

I never expected Hudson to sleep in our room, let alone in our bed. I thought that he would sleep in his crib. I thought that he would sleep in his room, and I would get up and feed him in his room so that Taylor could continue to sleep without really being interrupted. I never thought that he wouldn't wake up to eat when he was first born. I never thought that he would get sick when he was 8 days old and up end up sleeping in our bed so that we could keep a closer eye on him. I never thought that someone who was totally against co-sleeping would let their child sleep in their bed for 2 months. I never thought that I would let him sleep in his swing four a few hours in the early morning when he wouldn't go back to sleep easily.

I never expected to be so comfortable having Hudson in the nursery at church with me. I thought that I would be super worried to have him in their being that he is a winter baby. I thought that Taylor would always take him during the last two hours of church so that he wouldn't be around all of the germy little kids. I never thought that I would be so worry free having him in the nursery with me. I never thought that I would let one of the little girls put his pacifier back in his mouth. I never thought that I would let the children touch him and show their immediate adoration for him.

A lot of things that I never thought would happen have definitely happened. I have learned to adapt to these situations among many others. I have not stuck in my original ways because that has not been what is best for my baby. I've learned how to be the mother that my child and my family needs in these short 3 and a half months, and I realize that I will continue to learn how to be the mother that my family and child needs. Do I want our next child to sleep in its room from the beginning? You betcha. Do I want my next child to be breastfed? Probably. But I know that I will be more ready and willing to adapt to things that don't go as planned because of the choices that I am making now.

I'm not the mother that I thought I would be, but in my opinion, I'm better than the mother that I ever dreamed of being.

Thank you Hudson for making me realize that I do have maternal instincts. Thank you for teaching me that I do know what is best for you. Thank you for helping me learn how to adapt to situations when they don't go as planned. Thank you for loving me even when I have no idea what I am doing with you. Thank you for being such a happy baby. Thank you for being my son. Thank you, sweet boy, for making me a mother. More than that, thank you for making me the best mother that I can be.