FOUR months!

So, you can tell that life is at least a LITTLE less crazy, because this post is actually ON TIME! Caden was four months old yesterday. At this point he is a BUNDLE of life. :) This is what life is like in our household...

1. As of Friday night Caden has moved from the little bed that was in our room into his big crib in his own room. This has been a WONDERFUL move for everyone involved. He now goes down for the night about 9:15pm and stays asleep until around 6:15am. Nine blissful hours. I know this could be temporary - but let me tell you - we are savoring it while we can.



2. We have also added in 1-2 lay down naps during the day (prior to this he would fall asleep here and there with someone holding him, and we could lay him down on the Boppy for a bit...) but this is scheduled "ish" - typically around noon. Again, I never knew I could savor one short hour of my life so much - OR get so much done!



3. Cloth diapering is still great - and I try to tell anyone and everyone I can how much I LOVE IT. We have even managed to travel using only cloth on THREE different occassions. It really has become just another regular part of our life.



4. As for his wardrobe, it is getting bigger and bigger each day. No - I haven't start shopping - it's that little man is getting BIGGER AND BIGGER - requiring larger clothes! Now we are in some 3 months, but mainly 3-6 month clothes.



5. During the past month Caden has become a lot more active. He is talking up a storm and LOVES people. He also has started to like tummy time, has gotten really good head control, and ROLLED OVER for the first time (tummy to back)! YAY!



6. He loves his play gym, but his favorite two toys are his Baby Einstein lion and his glowing Fisher Price Seahorse.



7. With all of the postitive things, the one big issue we are having is SPIT up. YUCK. We go through at least 4-6 bibs a day. He is healthy and fine - but lots of spit up can ruin an outing... and an outfit. Hopefully this mellows out soon...



8. Last Friday night we had him weighed and he was 14 pounds! We go for formal stats Wednesday this week, so I will update you guys. (As well as load our 4 month photos... I know you're excited!)

Until then... thanks for reading... and for loving us. :) You are all amazing.

Our adventure into... Travelling with an Infant.

Because we have family that live elsewhere we have taken Caden on three separate trips since he was born. The first time we travelled with him he was only two months old. Though I am far from an expert - there are some things that I have learned that I feel I should share.

1. This is a time for PAIRS. Caution! Do NOT try this alone. IF you must try it alone, I would suggest doing it at nighttime so the baby will sleep. For us, we travel in teams. Personally, I can not see how it would work otherwise.

Picture this: Driving down the road - pouring rain - screaming baby - unable to access the backseat or even really see how the baby is doing because those mirrors that show you him don't actually work when you're driving at nightime or in the rain and others lights are on. How can you be both super safe driver AND mommy of the year?!?

You CAN'T. (Or at least I know I can't) So you need two. For two of our journeys we were lucky enough to both be able to go, but for the third journey - I enlisted the help of a friend who is COMPLETELY out of her mind someone I can always count on. And. We. Survived.

2. You must bring your home with you. Suddenly you are responsbile for bringing everything that your baby could/would/should need to make it through your journey. Though none of our trips have lasted more than 3 days - I have found that it takes the same amount of baby STUFF to last one night as it does three. So you are forced to pack up the packandplay. boppypillow. outfits. bibs. burpcloths. diapers. pacifiers. entertainmentforthebaby. BIBS(we use QUITE a few of those in our household). Pretty much just bring along everythingthatyouuseonadailybasisthatyoumightjustpossiblyneed. SIGH. It can be exhausting. But trust me - this is one place where planning ahead will HELP you more than you can realize. Bring out the kitchen sink - you're probably going to need it.

3. You must not only think that you need to bring these things - but also think about WHERE you are going to put them in the car. Baby is spitting up do you really want the only other outfits you have to be buried under all of the junk in the trunk? The answer is no. Make one bag that is easily accessible. Or at least make sure your diaper bag is WELL STOCKED.

4. Be FLEXIBLE. There is no way that you can COMPLETELY stick to your schedule when you are in someone else's place - however, at the same time, remember you are the only advocate for your baby - so don't be afraid to speak up and say when you need to get your baby to sleep or if you need to have them TURN THE NOISE DOWN. :) Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.

Overall, when you're preparing to travel, know that you WILL survive. It IS possible to keep your baby in somewhat of their normal routine. And in the end... home is ALWAYS waiting for you on the other side.