September 26, 2014 by Stephanie

George-1 month

Weight: Two weeks ago he was 5 lbs and 15 oz at the doctor, which is officially one oz over his birth weight! I weighed him on our scale here at home today, and it says he is a little over 7lbs.

Health: He is still spitting up after he eats, and now it looks like cottage cheese coming out his nose. Other than that, he seems super healthy! I know his lungs work just fine…

Diet: We have successfully moved to breastfeeding 24/7. We may do a bottle of breastmilk once every few days so Tom can get in on the feeding action. I am happy not to be doing as many dishes with just the breastfeeding. Although, I feel that I am a human cow, and my life has been diminished to being a fast food drive through for George. Seriously, it dictates everything-what I wear, when and where we can go out, our schedule in general… I am pretty proud of myself for being his sole source of food for a month!

Clothes: He is is still in newborn clothes and diapers. He is starting to fill them out a little more, but some of the clothes still are pretty big. Grandma and Auntie Em brought him some premie clothes which he was only able to wear once before he outgrew them. Go figure. He has a few less wrinkles, and seems to be getting longer.

Sleeping: We have been on a struggle bus for the last week. We have a Jekyll and Hyde baby. He is so good during the day, but as soon as night hits this kid does NOT want to sleep. He will sleep for half hour spurts and then scream the rest of the time. We have a few theories why this is happening. Reasonable explanations are that all newborns go through a transition period in the first month or so to being more active during the day than night. While babies are in utero, apparently they like the night time more and once on the outside it takes them time to adjust to not being nocturnal. We also think he might be colicky, which is basically just not feeling comfortable and crying it out ALL THE TIME. Explanations specific to George are that he hates his crib and laying flat on his back. We also think that he hates the upstairs. Yes you read that right. We have had him downstairs for most of the day in his rock and play bassinet since that is where we are. We have the SAME rock and play bassinet upstairs and he hates it. He also cannot lay in his actual crib for more than 10 minutes before he wails no matter the time of day. So we are convinced there is some aura upstairs that turns him into a different baby. This really only started in the last week, which has amounted to several nights of me ending up “sleeping” downstairs at 3am so he can be in his downstairs bassinet. We are trying to keep him awake more during the day to hopefully encourage him to sleep more at night. I have also been trying to get him to take one of his day naps in his crib to get him acclimated to it. I can’t sleep downstairs forever. Hopefully we are going in the right direction. Some nights are good, and some nights are still pretty bad. Needless to say the Whiteners have been getting very little sleep…

Likes: He LOVES being in the stroller and going on walks. He can be crying his little eyes out, and I will put him in the stroller and Wammo he is perfectly calm. Sometimes I will put him in it and move the stroller just around the kitchen to satisfy him. He also loves being cuddled.

Dislikes: His crib, being naked, diaper changes, baths, the hours between 11pm-5am

Milestones: He got circumcised two weeks ago since he wasn’t able to when he was born thanks to his NICU stay. Because of the circumcision, we weren’t able to give him a bath until this week. So he endured that yesterday. (Hot mess)

Quirks: His grunts resemble the noise of goats or sheep. His cries also sound like a CD scratching. He still makes the best faces. I try to show a lot of them on my Instagram account. You’re welcome.

Worst moment of the month: For George probably the circumcision, for parents the lack of sleep

Best moment of the month: Outside of the whole being born thing…meeting his cousin Ava and other members of our famjam.

Happy Birthday George! Glad we were able to keep you alive so far!

September 24, 2014 by Stephanie

Crochet Tie and Hat

In my quest to expand my crochet skills thanks to my 35 before 35 list, I knew I wanted to make something for George.

I saw lots of cute things on Pinterest.

3ce14c873ff7e0bd25e1e2540c9de292

image via

I need this baby in my life…

3ac5bc89e430467fccc918f68a3f2948

image via

bfcfaac24e0c920a8b5e1bc328a90e36

image via

Cute right? Well some of the things I found either didn’t have patterns, the pattern wasn’t free, or the pattern included things such as buttons or I couldn’t understand the stitches. Problems.

I finally settled on this pattern for the tie. Then I used this video for the hat (which is way to big for G right now since I made it before he was born.)

I used yarn that I had left over from other projects, and it didn’t need very much for either.

This is my first successful attempt at a hat!

2014-09-23 11.15.55

It will be fun to take these pictures again in a few months to see how he has grown. That tie looks huge on him now!

This last one is possibly one of my favorites shots of him.

For the first time ever, I am feeling a crochet drought. I just am not feeling inspired to do anything. We’ll see how long that lasts. I do have projects in mind, just no gumption to do them right now.

Everything has it’s season I guess.

Have you done any projects lately? Any crochet ideas to share?

September 19, 2014 by Stephanie

Friday Filter: A Year in the Blue

I was given access to this documentary as compensation for my review. All the thoughts are my own.

I was contacted by Passion River Films to take a look at a new documentary they have available.

“A Year in the Blue” is a film following a few cadets during their first year at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

7010458

image via

When I was told documentary, I was pretty much sold. When I saw that it was related to the military, I definitely knew I would find it interesting.

This film portrays the difficulties and triumphs of entering the Air Force Academy. It runs you briefly through the obstacles that each person must face to enter among the ranks in this particular branch.

They show you pieces of basic, when they choose their majors, how invested they are in their studies, and why being part of the Air Force is important to them. You witnessed struggles they faced as they were tested. You were able to experience the emotional toll that occurred throughout the process. You saw how pride and passion carried them through it all.

I liked being able to see glimpses of traditions at the school from the Ring Dance to the sporting events. I found this interesting to see on the film after hearing some of these events from my friend, Janelle’s, perspective of watching her husband go through these very things.

What I liked most about the film was the interview structure. They would show group interaction, but then they would interview individuals so you got to actually hear their emotions and see their reactions first hand. They also interviewed alumni, which I thought was a pretty neat way to show continuity and longevity of the lessons learned and the take away from the program. Most of you know that I love a good personal story!

Since most of my “military” experience is with the Army, I enjoyed learning more about the Air Force. They do things WAY different than the Army. I think what I found to be most intriguing about the film was being able to compare it to what I have seen in the Army and how vastly different the experiences are, but ultimately that these men and women are in it for the same reasons that Army folk are.

I really do appreciate all that our Armed Forces do, no matter what their training and experiences look like. Each branch has their own way of doing things, but they all give a lot of themselves and their families as a sacrifice to our nation.

I would highly recommend this film. It is an easy watch and gives you some great insight!

If you would like to view the film, it is now available for public viewing. There are a few ways you can get a hold of it. You can purchase the documentary on the public website at www.passionriver.com and various retail stores like Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or CD Universe.

Have you ever visited the Air Force Academy in Colorado?

September 18, 2014 by Stephanie

Rockaway

Have you ever looked at prices for rocking chairs and nursery gliders? Absurd.

Normal people cannot afford those. Especially on top of everything else needed for a nursery.

We got this rocking chair from my grandparents. Instead of trying to purchase something way out of our price range, I decided that we would just make a chair cover for it and call it good.

Off to Pinterest I went looking for patterns and inspiration.

I cannot take credit for actually making this. My mom came to our rescue again. Off my pins, she made made up our own patterns to fit the chair.

I did help cut out the fabric!

We used two fabric patterns, foam cushioning, and 550 cord.

The 550 cord is for the piping on the side.

I really like that it is reversible. And I am obsessed with these colors…obviously.

She added orange ties to all the corners so it can be easily tied to the chair.

We also made this side pocket thing. I actually did do some of the sewing on this one. My mom had a pattern for this from a bedding set.

It is really helpful to have on the rocker. I have it stuffed with wipes, bibs, granola bars, and anything else that I may need during a feeding.

I think this helps pull together all the different patterns we have in the room.

The chair is pretty comfortable pretty comfortable! I may have fallen asleep in it a few times.

Here soon I will try to do a full tour of the nursery so you can see the full set up of everything. I may even attempt to do a video tour, but don’t hold your breath.

Have you done any furniture coverings or upholstery?

September 17, 2014 by Stephanie

Puppy Love

Everyone wants to know how Crosby and Grace are reacting to Little G.

Our first response is great and better than expected.

When we left the hospital before George, we brought home his little nursery hat so the dogs could get a whiff of him before we brought him home.

Crosby thought it was a toy and snatched it out of my hands.

Oh boy.

That’s enough to make you nervous.

When we brought him home, they tried smothering him with kisses. Then they didn’t really know what to think.

Who is this new puppy we brought home? And why does he get held all the time?

(I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality. Dogs don’t know how to stay still for a camera.)

2014-09-02 13.33.03

Now they have gotten used to each other for the most part.

The dogs don’t react when George cries.

George doesn’t react when the dogs bark, even right near his head.

2014-09-02 15.16.10

Crosby does not seem interested in George most of the time. He kind of keeps his distance, unless he is trying to sneak in a full head lick. We try to discourage his licking because he is a little rough when he licks us. When he licks George it’s like he is trying to make him a bobble head.

Grace, however, wants to be near George All. The. Time. She loves to dote on him. She never is very far from him and is so sweet with her kisses.

2014-09-12 15.58.16

The other night Tom and I were laying in bed doing our nightly routine of watching the baby monitor for a few (more like 10) minutes to make sure that G is doing ok in his crib before we fall asleep ourselves. We hear this weird noise on the monitor like a scratch, but George wasn’t moving. We scrolled the monitor out a little to see a paw reaching in between the crib bars. We pull it out even more to then see Grace try to GET IN the crib. She had put her paws over the top of the crib like she was going to jump in to cuddle with G. I laughed so hard I could barely breath.

2014-09-09 11.25.27

It is probably my favorite moment since bringing George home.

Once he is in a big boy bed, we are sure Grace will be cuddling with George more than us. (That’s fine with me because that means more space in our bed!)

2014-09-04 20.39.19

Until this last weekend, we didn’t have any issues with the dogs grabbing dirty diapers or George’s toys as their own. Our family was here this weekend, so I think they just got over-excited with all the people and couldn’t control themselves. That is the only time a diaper or toy has been grabbed. In Crosby’s defense, the toy did look like it could pass for a dog toy. George got his first stuffed animal this weekend, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous that it may become a chew toy in the future. So hopefully they stay away from it!

Grace does try to lick all the spilled milk off the burp clothes and bibs. I will pull one up and find it so wet from her trying to get all the taste off it.

We try to give the dogs intentional attention so they don’t get jealous. And as soon as I am released from the doctor to get back to exercising full force, they will get their daily walks again. I think it does help that I am home all day with them so they do get attention that they weren’t getting before anyway.

George is now three weeks old, and so far they have done really well together. I can’t wait to watch their relationship blossom even more as G gets older.

I just know they are going to be best friends.

Were you best friends with your pets growing up?