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.

12 Months of Hudson// Month 3

-Eats 3-4 ounces every three hours. Lately it has been 3 ounces every 3 hours.

-Milk dried up and we've used what I had frozen so as of this last week he is fed with formula. Let's hope he is still smart and can fight diseases ;)

-Formula has chunked this boy up.

-0-3 month clothes. 1 or 2 3-6 months outfits fit him, but almost all of them are way too big.

-Just switched him to size 2 diapers this past week.

-Sleeps in 3 hour stretches. 4 hour stretches disappeared when we moved him to his crib. Although, I think his longer stretches might be making a comeback!

-He very randomly slept 9 hours straight Wednesday night. And 12 hours last night. It was awesome! Before these two nights he has never slept longer than 4 hours at a time.

-Sleeps in his crib at night and typically naps in his swing during the day.

-Doesn't sleep for long in his crib unless he is swaddled.

-Rubs his eyes when he gets tired.

-If he is full before his bottle is empty he begins to play with the nipple with his tongue.

-He LOVES people and attention.

-Talks more when he is playing by himself or looking at his puppy mobile than when people play with him.

-His mobiles are his favorite toy. He has one on his swing and I bought one for his crib. He is content to stare at them for a long time. But other than that he still doesn't really have an interest in toys.

-Licks everything that gets near his mouth. Blankets, burp cloths, any part of his wubbanub, our shirts, our hands/arms, and anything else.

-Lizard tongue. Always sticks his tongue out like a lizard.

-Licks/sucks on his fist.

-Likes to be stood up.

-Loves to look around and see everything.

-Is a fan of being outside, but he hates the wind and when the sun is in his eyes.

-If he loses his pacifier he sucks on his fist.

-Aunt Rebekah gave him his tiny first taste of something other than milk/formula or water that gets in his mouth during a bath. He was a fan of her Kool-aid juice pouch and her shamrock shake.

-Loves to avoid eye contact so that he can look at other things.

-Hudson is a really happy baby. He only cries or gets fussy when he is tired or hungry. He just about always smiles when anyone talks to him.

His two month appointment was almost a week into this month so it is getting included on this post. Doctor said he is a healthy boy and didn't have any concerns for him other than a suggestion for some cradle cap shampoo. He really hated his shots. He cried from the time he got them until he fell asleep on the way home. He was pretty fussy that day. Like fussy enough that I almost asked Taylor to come home from work early. It's a good thing that I don't have a colicky baby because I obviously couldn't handle it. But the next day he was back to his happy self.

We started sleep training him when he was about 2.5 months old. Although he isn't really sleeping through the night it has still been a game changer. We start his bedtime routine at 8 or a little before depending if he is tired earlier. Then he gets a bath, his nighttime diaper, lotion, sleeper, and swaddled. Then we rock him in the glider until he gets drowsy and put him in his crib. He wakes up every three hours to eat, but doesn't usually wake up for the day until 8 or 9. It is so different to have our nighttime plans revolve around his bed time. We have to be home by 8 now and that has taken some getting used to.

Loves having his car seat canopy open when at stores. He loves to look around so much when we are out he won't/can't fall asleep unless it is closed.

He rolled over from his tummy to his back when he was 2.5 months old. Taylor was laying on the floor with him doing some tummy time while I was messing around on the computer. The next thing I know I hear Taylor saying, "Babe, look!" I looked down to Hudson being on his back and Taylor saying, "I didn't touch him I swear. I looked up at the tv for a second and when I looked back down he had rolled over." Hudson had never even shown a sign that he was trying to roll over before this which is what made it such a surprise. Now whenever we put him down he either tries to roll over or is able to flip right over.

He was left with a babysitter for the first time ever so I could go to my student teaching interviews. Thankfully, it was his Aunt Rebekah that watched him which left me pretty confident that everything would go just fine while I was gone.

Hudson has a strange love for getting bounced on our bed. 

Rolling over,

Falling asleep in my arms has become a rarer occurrence. 

I definitely treasure the times when it does happen.

After he spit up all over me and himself I laid him on the floor 

and that is the look and smile he gave me.

&Happy smiles at Walmart.

Baby model.

&Play hard. Nap harder.

A congested baby leads to choking on mucus. 

That triggers his gag reflex leading to throwing up all over me.

Notice that my shirt is inside out and you can see the white spit up. 

He managed to throw up inside my shirt..

He hates to have the blanket over his arms. He always pulls one or both out.

&I'm continually amazed at how high he can lift his head now.

Fist eater

&Smiles for Grandma Thomas' birthday

Happy to start the day

The "I just got released from my swaddle" stretches.

I was out shopping for a dress to wear to my student teaching interviews when Hudson pooped.

Dress Barn didn't have an easily accessible bathroom so I figured that I would run in to Chik-fil-a, change him, and grab a lemonade before I headed home for some lunch.

Well I didn't expect to see that when I took off his pants.

Poop was EVERYWHERE.

And this boy who never cries during a diaper change screamed bloody murder the whole time. 

I've never used so many wipes in one diaper change before. 

I was sweating by the time I was done. 

It was the diaper change from hell. 

You better believe that I left there with a large lemonade and a sandwich. 

This is what we call his shame outfit. 

I paid a $1.20 for it.

It stays in the diaper bag and is only worn when he soils his outfit when we are out and about.

Target trips are our favorite outings.

Baby overalls <333

&Bumbo skills