Baby Jack - Three Months

Birth: 7lbs 8oz, 21in long

1 Month: 9lbs 4oz, 22 3/4in long

2 Months: 11lbs 12oz, 24in long

3 Months: 13lbs 6oz, 25 3/4in long

Here's what Jack is up to at three months:

• Jack slept for 7 hours and 45 minutes the night before he turned 3 months!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!! He's slept 6.5 and 7 hours the past two nights, so hopefully this is a trend moving forward. :)
• He loves looking at his feet, though he hasn't figured out how to grab them with his hands yet.
• He sticks his tongue in and out all the time and loves to talk!
• He hasn't laughed but a few times since his first laugh.
• He's been to the nursery at church several times and does really well!

And now a video of Jackson for his three month "mirthday":

Diaper Duty: On the Go

We've been doing cloth diapers for 2 months now and 

EVERY DAY I am so glad we made this decision.   

One big question I get from people is how do we do it "on-the-go". If I'm taking Jackson somewhere, then the picture below is what I will bring. I'll usually put him in a Flip diaper (shown on the right) and then I bring an extra cover and 2-3 inserts.

Flips on the go

If I'm taking him to be with someone else for a while (Mimi, Grammy, etc.) then I will send pre-stuffed BumGenius diapers with velcro (hook & loop is the official name). They are the most like disposables as far as how you put them on, and the person using them doesn't have to do anything other than velcro it closed. 

BumGenius' for "babysitters"

The bag I use on the go is a Planet Wise wet/dry bag (we have it in Outer Space) so I put the clean diapers in the front zippered part and then the top zipper opens to a lined "wet bag" for the dirty ones. As I explained in the "At Home" cloth diaper post, I just dump the dirty diapers and the bag into the wash when it's time to wash everything.

Other Questions:

*What kind of detergent do you use? - I started out using Clean B detergent that my friend Erin gave me. I really liked the way it smelled and felt like it did a great job of getting everything clean. Now I'm using Charlie's Soap because I can get it at local grocery stores (Earth Fare, Whole Foods) instead of ordering online.

*How are the diapers sized? / When will you have to get bigger diapers? - I love this one because the answer is I DON'T!! The BumGenius and Flip diapers we have are One Size diapers which means they snap to fit from 8 pounds all the way to 35+ pounds - we will use the same diapers from birth to potty training! The diagrams below show how the covers adjust over time to accommodate the growing baby. How cool is that?! (We are still on the smallest size now.)

Snap closures

Velcro closures

I hope that answers some of your questions about cloth diapering - 

feel free to ask away if there's anything else you're curious about! :)

Babies and Sleep - Your Advice!

Okay everyone! As Jackson approaches 3 months, I'm working towards have a more regimented nighttime/nap routine and hoping he will start sleeping through the night more. 

From 8-10 weeks he was sleeping 5-6 hours then 4 more after a late night feed - fabulous!! THEN 11 weeks hit and it became every 2 hours or so... yeesh. Now that he's at the 12 week mark, he's moved back up to 4 hours or so, but I would LOVE to get back to 5-6 hours (especially since I'm starting work next week!). 

So here's where I would love your advice. What worked with your family? There are several different "methods" - Baby Wise, The Baby Book, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, etc. I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice on how to create consistent routines and get your babies to sleep well!

Let's hear it!

Right Now

Right now, my sweet baby boy is 12 weeks and 3 days old. 

His newborn baby hands have disappeared and he officially has chubby little boys hands - at least in my eyes.

He is a little chatterbox. Mostly "eh's" but a few "ah's" as well. 

(Sometimes "hi's" and "oh's" although I didn't get those on video.)

The weather is getting cooler and I'm breaking out my jeans.

Jason has MBA classes on Mondays and Thursdays and is getting closer everyday to graduating.

I have one more full week of maternity leave before I head back to work part-time. 

This is where we are RIGHT NOW -- 

I'm savoring it and don't want to miss a minute.

Meeting Granny & Pawpaw

On Monday, Mom and I went down to Kennesaw, GA so that Jack could meet my Granny & Pawpaw for the first time! It was so wonderful to see them and spend some time together!

Video of Jackson with Granny & Pawpaw...

...and a video of Granny making Jack smile!

Aunt Angie came by too!

WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Girls Craft Night

EDITED TO ADD: final pictures of everyone's wreaths are now at the bottom!

Last Friday night a few girls from church got together at Stephanie's house for a craft night! The plan was to make a Halloween ribbon wreath like at The Picky Apple, but I knew that I wanted to make a Tennessee wreath right away! You can check out her blog for official instructions, but basically you get a ton of ribbon, cut it into strips, then hot glue it into a loop and glue that onto a wreath. 

I have to brag on Jack for a minute - he was AMAZING the whole time. He was happy when he was awake and sleeping otherwise. :)

We worked hard on our wreaths while chatting the evening away. Before I left, I took pictures of where everyone was in the process:

Stephanie & Debra

Amanda & Alissa

(Jennifer was there too! She didn't work on a wreath but just came to enjoy some girl time - she's got a lot of testosterone goin' on at her place.)

And me! I got a lot further than I thought I would (since I wasn't done looping all my ribbon when I got there...), then I finished it up on Saturday afternoon!

I LOVE how it turned out!

I have a little football that I'm going to add to the bottom right with "The Lawhorns" on it, but I thought I would go ahead and put it up! I'm so proud of myself for actually FINISHING a craft project! 

Thanks to Stephanie & Amanda for "forcing" me to be crafty! :)

Final pictures of everyone's wreaths (in the order they were shown above)!

Stephanie's

Debra's

Amanda's

Alissa's

Everyone's turned out so awesome and FULL looking! I love it!!

Baby LEW is Here!!

One of my VERY BEST FRIENDS, Alex, had her baby girl today!! 

Leighton Elyse was born at 7:36am, weighing 7lbs 10oz and 20in long!

Leighton & her daddy

I am already crazy about this little girl and can't wait to meet her!