Potty Time!!

Wow. Lucas is once again blowing my mind! We came home from Maryland on Monday and started talking about potty training, bought m&ms and undies on Tuesday, and started using the m&ms on Wednesday. He wore his undies yesterday and today and has kept them dry so far! Each time he pees on the potty he gets 2 m&ms and poop gets him 3. We went to a birthday party yesterday and church this morning and he kept the undies dry through both! I am so proud of him! We'll see how it goes from here, but I can't believe how well he has done so far!

Breastfeeding

I am so happy that I'm breastfeeding again. The first week was really hard and painful. I mean curling my toes in pain kind of painful. But once I got past that, ithas been great. Juliana is a fast eater, only takes about 5 minutes to nurse each side. Some feedings she wants to eat on both sides and sometimes just one. Which means that feedings are between 5 to 10 minutes long. That is super helpful since I don't have time to be sitting nursing her for half an hour or more. Lucas sometimes gets annoyed that I can't help him right away, but it's never too long until I can. 

This morning we were at the park and Juliana decided she was hungry. I just sat down and fed her. Didn't have to stop Lucas's fun and go home. Didn't have to go make a bottle. Just covered up with her blanket and fed her. That is my favorite thing about breastfeeding. It can really give you so much freedom. I don't have to be scared to go out and about. I can feed my baby wherever I go. 

I was interested to see how Lucas would react to me nursing his sister, since he stopped nursing at one, he has no memory of it. He asked me what I was doing the first time he saw me and I explained it to him and that was it. I told him this is how mommies feed their babies and it is called breastfeeding. End of discussion. He was satisfied with my answer and hasn't been concerned since. Although when Juliana cries he will tell me I need to feed her. 

Here is a picture of us at the park! Is she eating or no? You can't tell! :)

First night home

Well we are officially a family of four! I will post the crazy birth story soon, but for now I can say we are all in love with our little Juliana Elise. She is so sweet and cuddly, but also very content (so far!) I just finished a feeding and we are getting a better latch so that is awesome. This one wasn't actually painful enough to curl my toes! Haha yay for breastfeeding! But I know once we get it down it will be so much better than the alternative.

Lucas has been amazing with his new sister. He calls her His baby. And always wants to know where she is, but prefers it when he can touch her or kiss her and snuggle her. It just about burst my heart open yesterday when she was fussing whistle getting her diaper changed. He walked over to her and put his head near hers and whispered "It's ok Juliana. It's ok!".

And now I'm crying. Ugh the hormones have arrived!! I remember this from last time, so it's not quite as upsetting to me but it's still weird to cry over everything. Good, bad, neutral, whatever. I cry randomly.

Ben has really helped this transition be as easy as possible. He and Lucas have been spending Daddy/ bubba time together, which Lucas loves. Ben also got up twice last night to rock Juliana so mommy could sleep :) He is also so adorable with her, just like he is with Lucas, I love watching him be my kids' daddy.

Well, I am going to see if I can catch a few snoozes before everyone is ready to start the day! More to come, I don't want to forget this beautiful stage in our family.

Almost Done!

How can I possibly be full term?? I wrote out a longer post about the end of this pregnancy on the computer, but I also wanted to put up this picture from my phone. 9 months of growing a baby will certainly change your figure! I am so thankful that everything has gone so smoothly this far. Hopefully we won't have anything crazy happen now!

Being pregnant isn't always fun, but it is totally worth it! I have a constant reminder with me- Lucas! :)

Lucas says the Darndest Things

Our little guy has been talking for awhile now, but recently he has been saying the funniest things! Here are a few I want to remember:

- Lucas was jumping on the mattress on the floor in the guest room (redecorating and moving rooms right now) and the down comforter was covering part of the mattress. He moved it to the foot of the bed and said "That's much better!"

- After jumping the 6 inches from the seat of his Mickey car to the ground he looked at me and said "That's a piece or cake!"

- He will say "guess what?" And then tell you something. His favorite thing to tell you is that he rode a choo choo. (At the mall)

-He says please, thank you, bless you, excuse me, and sorry all in the appropriate dialog. Most of the time you don't have to remind him. If he burps, he says excuse me!

In the City

We decided to do a little trip to Oklahoma City this holiday weekend so we could get a few of the big items we need for the baby in the oven. It's about an hour and a half drive to the city, and always a struggle to figure out how to get down there and back and manage a nap around 1:00. So I decided to book a hotel for Friday night. We drove down Friday morning, did all our big shopping (futon - check, nursing chair- check), had lunch, went to the hotel and let Lucas take his nap. He woke up and we went swimming at the hotel pool. Then Texas Roadhouse for dinner, and back to the hotel for the night.

Saturday morning we went to the Science museum. It was really cool! They had a whole kids section that Lucas was able to run around in for awhile. It had an amazing water table with boats, a tractor to get into, and all kinds of activities. A lot of them were way over Lucas's head, but he still enjoyed everything. I'm pretty sure Ben had as much fun as Lucas. He is a science geek at heart, and loved showing Lucas all the exhibits, especially those related to his degree in physics. We didn't even get to the second floor of the museum because there was so much to do! Definitely worth the time going, and I think we will be back!

The trip was a successful shopping trip, and a fun family mini vacation. Just getting out and doing something different is needed sometimes!

On the Road Again...

Is it really May already? This year is flying by with alarming speed. But I'm so excited because Lucas and I are flying to visit my parents on Friday! We will be with them for two weeks. It stinks leaving Ben behind, but he is really busy with a new class right now, and will hopefully get lots of flying hours in while we're gone.

I was thinking back on how travelling with Lucas has gone since he was born, and realized just how many trips he has gone on. He has been on six roundtrip flights, and two cartrips over 9 hours each way. That's a lot in less than two years! I guess that is the way it goes with a military family. I'm glad that I have had the opportunities to travel with Lucas since he was three months old because it made it easier for me. I never stopped doing what I wanted to do because I didnt think I could handle it with him. There have been difficult flights, and cranky car rides, and moments of embarrassment and despair. But there have been weeks full of fun, laughter, family, and new adventures. I wouldn't trade those times for a few bumps in the road.

So I decided to write out a few tips for travelling with babies and toddlers. These have helped me thus far, and maybe they can help other mamas!

All Ages

• Gate check your stroller and carseat. There are several reasons to do this. One, it keeps everything mobile as long as possible. You aren't lugging around your baby, diaper bag, and carry on. It can all go in the stroller until you are almost ON the plane. Two, I'm scared of how... exhuberant? the luggage handlers are. If they drop it, throw it, or smash your carseat too hard, it no longer keeps my baby safe in an accident. Same reason you can't use a carseat after an accident. They can only take so much force. Last reason to gate check, on Southwest, you can ask if it is a full flight. If it isn't, you can bring the carseat on the plane and your baby has their own seat! Even though you didn't purchase a seperate ticket. Obviously there are no guarantees, but it's worth a try! We fly Southwest a lot and Lucas has gotten his own seat 3 or 4 times without buying one!

Infants (0-7 ? months)

• Get used to nursing in public as soon as possible! I bit the bullet when Lucas was less than a month old and never looked back. It is scarier in your head than in reality!
• Try to nurse on take off, but if the timing doesn't work out, don't stress it. One time, Lucas was hungry and cranky 10 minutes before boarding. I was like Really? Can't you just wait and do it on the plane? But for some reason, my infant didn't understand the whole "wait for it" concept. A fussy baby is never a good travel companion. Feed them if they are hungry.
• Let them sleep. Enjoy these months when they will happily snooze through anything.
• Accept help from strangers. I cannot tell you how thankful I have been towards helpful strangers going through security lines with me. I have travelled a lot with Lucas by myself and it is always a struggle in security. Random men and women have lifted my empty carseat onto the conveyor, helped with my stroller, and just told me that if I needed anything to let them know. This is beyond helpful. I hate being the annoying person taking a long time in a security line, and for other people to show that they understand and are willing to help means makes me feel so much better.

Movers (8- 12 months)

• This was a TRICKY stage of travel for us. Lucas was old enough that he didn't want to be held or constrained for a long time, but too young to engage in a lot of books, shows on my iPad, coloring, etc.
• I found that short flights, with a hour or two layover, worked better than a nonstop flight at this point. In the past, I would always take the nonstop option. But the chance to get off the plane and let Lucas move and explore was much more convenient than a longer direct flight.
• Bring distractions. New toys, books, snacks, etc. But in the end, do whatever works. Lucas once sat and lifted and lowered my armrest on the plane for half an hour. Whatever keeps them occupied!

Toddlers (12 months and beyond!)

• Use the iPad. Lucas is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I usually let him watch two to three episodes a day, each are about 25 minutes long. I lost count of how many times we watched MMCH when we were driving to Syracuse this Christmas. 12 hours in the car. Divided by 25 minutes. You do the math, I don't want to know. My brother in law, who was in the car with us, could quote the show by the end of the trip. But Lucas was happy so we all were happy!
• TRY to work around naps, but embrace the inevitable. I try very hard to keep Lucas's nap schedule. He only takes one nap a day, normally from 12:30 or 1 to 3 or 4. That is a big chunk of a travel day. So if it works out that we can travel in the morning and let him nap in the car on the way from the airport, wonderful. If not, we work it out. It's just one day. If the nap doesn't happen, or is short, oh well! Life goes on!
• Sit near other families with kids, if you have seat options. They can entertain each other, and the parents won't be as upset if your kid is throwing a fit. But on the other hand, try to avoid small babies. I once sat infront of a toddler when Lucas was an infant. I wanted to duct tape that kid's mouth by the end of the flight. :) Let's hope karma doesn't catch up with me and my toddler for my trip on Friday!