The Séamus Weekly - week 27

I'm kind of in disbelief at how quickly time is passing with little Séamus.  We are soaking up every single minute of babydom and my heart could explode with gratitude and love.  He is the perfect addition and completion to our family, his personality fits in so well and so far it's true what they say about the 3rd baby.  He is super chill, goes with the flow, and is really quite the happy boy.

 

Sweet little Séamus hit the half way mark and has made the past 6 months the best ever! So many milestones have already been met and many more changes are going to happen before he turns 1! He is quite the little petite boy at 13.1 lbs and 25" tall.  Of course this comes as no surprise seeing how small I am.  He is perfect in every way.

Eats: we are still nursing all the time and in the night.  He absolutely loves it and I am convinced that he has started signing "milk" all on his own!! Probably just a coincidence but we're going with it and calling him a baby genius.  We have pretended to introduce some solids...that he has wanted nothing to do with (except he has a weird affinity for Thomas' beer bottles), so far we've given him the tiniest of tastes of french fries (he sucks on them), hummus, avocado, and lentils.  My friend gave me the idea to mix up with breastmilk (why didn't I think of that??) so I will be trying that out this week!!

Sleeps: napping has been off this week, probably partly due to our schedule, but he has been catching those zzzzz's when he gets a chance.  I have successfully transferred one time from the car seat to the crib this week and am patting myself on the back for it.  He still falls asleep in my arms on the couch at night, I transfer him to his crib, and he is there from about 8pm to midnight.  A couple of nights he has made it 1:30-2:30 and other nights we see him again in our bed by 11pm.  He wears a sleep sack at night and still does not like sleepers with feet on them.

Does: Séamus is getting up onto his hands and knees every chance he gets and rocks back and forth, he's moved his legs and got his arm to move once!!! so exciting getting to watch him attempt to crawl every day!!  He is reaching for all the toys, putting everything into his mouth, loves Copaiba for all the teething and gum support, watches his sisters do their crazy things.  He loves tummy time and will roll himself over every single time.  He can move all around the living room and bedrooms to get to where he wants to go and has some super epic gas ;)

Goes: Oh man this little guy (and us) were so so busy this week!! On Saturday he and I attended a Make and Take with one of my friends who is a business partner!!  He was so well behaved and we had a GREAT time!!  On Sunday we attended a 2nd birthday party and all three kids had a blast!!  Monday Séamus had his 6 month appointment and was a total champ!  We also visited two libraries for Play Group and both Séamus and Finnley had so much fun, even Thomas got to join us for the first time...it was perfect too because it was Dinosaur day!!!  Ellie had her first big girl gymnastics lesson and all five of us attended, one of Ellie's friends from when she did ballet is in her group so her mom had so much fun holding the babe!! 

Wears: 3-6 month every thing.  Socks and those fleece booties have been so great to have this time around. He'll wear hats...as long as they stay on his head, some hoodies and he is in size 2 diapers.  I am loving dressing a boy way more than I anticipated and am quite pleased with what they have to offer for their style!!  We are also completely obsessed with the Seedlings line from Young Living.  All of the products in this line a specially formulated for babies and are made of pure, safe, and nontoxic, chemical free ingredients.  The wipes are by far our most used product closely followed by the calming linen spray for his crib!  I also have really liked the diaper rash cream and the lotion is too die for soft!! We all use it and it's so gentle on our skin.

Mama: Oh my word I am jut loving all of this baby stuff.  Watching my kiddos grow up and being present in their lives, daily.  I love that I get to focus on them so much and that we are all benefiting from Oils.  Our sleep has been so great, our immune systems fully supported, and most importantly we are all getting the emotional support we need.  This postpartum stuff is no joke and I am just so grateful to have tools to help!  I am also just loving my Oils business and bringing wellness into others homes.  I have some big goals and know that I will get to achieve them through this business.  If you've been thinking about getting into Oils I couldn't recommend it enough!! They have made a world of difference in our lives, and of course I would love for you to Join My Team!!

Sisters: it's always safe to say that Finnley is obsessed with Séamus.  While I find myself constantly telling her to leave him alone or to get off of him or to be gentle, I am so happy that those are the words coming out of my mouth.  I really wasn't too sure how my sweet Finnley Ann was going to adjust to being a big sister since she is my leech but I am so so glad that she loves him.  She has gone above and beyond my expectations and is seriously so good at helping out with little bro.

Ellie once again does not disappoint in the Big Sister department.  She is constantly telling us that she always wanted a baby brother and now she has one.  She is always showering him with kisses and gets so excited for all the new things he does.  She without fail smothers him (whether he is sleeping or not) when she gets out of the car or into the car for school, wants to carry him around.  She is also still totally rocking it at being Finnley's sister and includes her in a lot of things.

Lately both of the girls have been putting on "A Show" at nighttime where they get dressed up in princess dresses and fight over the step stool in their room while singing and dancing.  I can't make out what song Finnley is singing but its the same one every time.  And Ellie is singing some song that she heard from somewhere and its the cutest ever.  Finnley will come out and get us repeating incessantly "We're ready!! Show ready!!" and it is hands down the sweetest thing ever!

Previous Weeks

Séamus week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5, week 6, week 7, week 8, week 9, week 10, week 11, week 12, 13 weeks, week 14, week 15, week 16, week 17, week 18, week 19, 20 weeks, week 21, week 22, week 23, week 24, week 25, week 26

Finnley at 27 weeks

Ellie at 27 weeks

♥ Ashley

Our Weekend - the middle of January

A couple weekends ago we took a day trip to our favorite island.  The only way on or off the island is by a Ferry and it's one of the girls favorite parts of the trip.  The Ferry ride is super quick maybe a 15 minute ride...but it's also very busy so we have to get to the Ferry dock at least 30 minutes before departure (both ways) otherwise we risk not being able to board.

Our first stop is always The Snapdragon to grab some delicious vegetarian pastries, then to Café Luna for the best latte's in the State.  Our favorite is a Caramel Hemp Latte but one time they have a Lavender Honey Latte with Hemp that was so bomb.  Ellie decided to try a juice (and actually liked it) and Finnley had a cup of cold milk that she somehow managed to get a giant milk mustache from. Séamus got to hang out in the high chair and it was just the best ever! 

After we sat in the Café and enjoyed our coffee, read some books to the girls, we made our way back into the car to drive across the street to the park in town.  We bundled up the kids so they could stay warm while they played outside. The girls had an absolute blast on the tire swing and climbing on all toys.  Séamus was bundled up and hung out in the stroller, I tried to get him into the baby swing but he wasn't having it.

After playing at the park, Séamus and I walked to the restaurant (he had fallen asleep in the stroller) for lunch to put our name on the waitlist.  Thomas got the girls in the car to move it again closer to the restaurant.  While we were waiting for our table we made our way to the Pharmacy to play in the toy aisles and check out all the cute island wear.  We may or may not have purchased a couple of onesies and a sleeper for Séamus...

We had our lunch. Ellie had Fish and Chips, Finnley ate crackers, Thomas had a burger, and I had Eggs Benedict. Séamus finally woke up half way through the meal and Thomas offered to go and change his diaper (bless him), and then we hopped in the car to head out to the beach!  The girls made friends on the beach, made sand castles, got soaked in the water, and Séamus just hung out with me on a log.

Then it was time to head back to the Ferry and we fully enjoyed our day on our favorite island.  On the way home we checked out airbnb and have decided that we're going to rent a house for a couple of nights this year so that we can fully explore the island and see all that it has to offer!

♥ Ashley

Half a Year!!!!!!

These past 6 months have seriously just flown by.  Life with 3 kids is definitely super busy and I wouldn't change it for anything.  Even though I started a business the same month that Séamus was born, I have had the opportunity to still be incredibly present in his daily life, nurse him on demand, and watch the kids every single day!  We have had so many highlights and accomplishments this half of a year and I have to admit that I am in both complete disbelief that this is actually our lives while also feeling that this is exactly how it's meant to be.

Séamus has grown and changed so much in his first half of a year and in reality that is when most of the changing actually happens.  He has also experienced almost every major holiday so far, which just blows my mind but I guess that's what happens with a summer baby.  So let's go over some of the Highlights of Séamus first 6 months...because I really just want to have them all written down in one space.

July:

Séamus was born 5 days late via emergency C-section.  We had to switch gears on our birthing plan and instead of being discharged within hours of his delivery we got admitted into the hospital and spent 2 nights there.  I dedicated so much of my time to physical recovery as well as learning how to breastfeed and navigating all of the hormonal milk production.  We focused a lot of energy on encouraging Joy and Love between Ellie, Finnley and Séamus and did our best to continue to give a lot of attention to the girls.  We took our inaugural trip to Target, out to eat, and spent plenty of time at home. I also started my Oils Business.

August:

We went on a family vacation and Séamus went on his very first plane ride at just 3 weeks old to go to Disneyland.  We survived the heat of Southern California, the crowds at Disneyland, and how different it is going with 3 kids.  Finnley got her collarbone broken so we had to manage the healing and set up Xray appointments.  We had post delivery doctor appointments and well baby check ups. I hit my first Rank of Star in my Oils Business. Séamus was nursing non-stop and it was quite painful at times. So we had a couple visits with the lactation consultants for more tips and tricks and learned he had a severe lip and tongue tie.  This was the month of using Stress Away daily and when we really leaned on our oils for emotional support.  We also went on lots of excusions and took the Ferry over to our Favorite Island and Séamus got to go on his very first beach!

September:

Séamus had his procedure for his lip and tongue tie as well as 6x daily recovery exercises and stretches to help his mouth heal well.  He absolutely loves baths (from his very first one after his stump fell off) the first of the three to love them from the get go!! Finnley's collarbone wasn't healing as expected so she was required to be in her sling for 3 solid weeks.  Ellie started Kindergarten several days late due to the Teacher's being on Strike because the District was unwilling to negotiate a fair wage.  We started back up with Nannying and began creating a new routine with Ellie in school 5 days a week. A visit to the State Fair was in order and we all had so much fun, the girls going on rides, pushing the boy around in the stroller and enjoying the ever famous scones!! We ramped up our use of Thieves around the house to give us all the immune support now that Ellie was in school and I made some major strides in my Oils Business that gave me the confidence and knowledge that I Can Do This!!

October:

Séamus turned 3 months and we got sibling photos taken.  All three kids did an amazing job and they were probably the best photos of Finnley to date!  We went to two different pumpkin patches, one with our MOPs group and the other on the other side of the mountains with Nanny and Papa.  It was a beautiful day, Séamus slept in the Ergo for most of it and then nursed the rest!  The girls went bananas for the whole excursion and both wanted to pick up the biggest pumpkins they could find.  Séamus also got to celebrate his very first Halloween and went out trick or treating as Mickey Mouse!  This month was also flooded with memories of all the hormones, shots, injections, appointments, emotions, ultrasounds, and procedures we endured last year (2017) to make Séamus a reality.  I also hit the Rank of Senior Star in my Oils Business, which was so very exciting!

November:

We were filled with gratitude this month as we approached Thanksgiving and once again were reminded at how fragile we were last year at the newness of our pregnancy.  Séamus was a happy happy boy, still nursing around the clock, not sleeping through the night and quite the petite little boy. At his 4 month well baby check up our pediatrician felt that he wasn't gaining weight quick enough and advised that my breastmilk was not substantial enough and we needed to move onto formula and/or begin solids.  I refused to do either and instead I began applying Fennel Essential Oil, increased my water and calorie intake as well as nursed Séamus as often as he wanted.  Aside from him being at the bottom of the weight percentile he was the happiest little boy and hitting all the other major milestones and was thriving.  We took a day trip to Portland, attended an assembly at Ellie's school (per her request), little man got to go in the pool for the first time as well as begin life in the exersaucer!! My Oils Business went crazy and I moved up another Rank to Executive!! Never in my mind did I think I would hit that rank so quickly and I am so so grateful for my team and leader to help me achieve this!

December:

We really tried to take this month slow and easy.  We eliminated a lot of our Christmas Activities and just did our best to soak up this fleeting time with our kids.  Séamus was the best little trooper and went along with all the things we did decide to do.  I attended my first vendor event with Séamus and he was absolutely perfect and the event was quite successful!! Hooray! The littles and I attended play group at the library, I hosted my annual Ladies Holiday Party (with Séamus in attendance), and we had a baby play date.  We celebrated Christmas with ourselves and each of our families, visited Santa, and enjoyed all the family time we could.  Séamus was still nursing all throughout the day,  moved up in the clothing department, and was just as happy as could be.  Near the end of the month/year he was so close to sitting and we all couldn't wait for it to happen. My team and I worked as hard as we could and made some great strides but I didn't maintain my Executive Rank this month.

January:

Séamus rang in the New Year with a new skill!!  He began sitting with intention on New Years Day and we all celebrated.  We spend the last week of Christmas Vacation with each other doing all the things.  Séamus spent a lot of time working on his sitting skills, sitting in the Bumbo, and began drooling even more than usual and was sticking all the things in his mouth.  We got all bundled up and took another day trip to Vashon Island, spent lots of time at the library, and Séamus got to sit in his very first high chair! I was still taking in lots of water, eating more food, and continuing to incorporate Fennel Essential Oil into my daily routine.  He rolled all over the place and was able to wiggle himself to where he wanted to go. Sweet boy hit the 6 month mark and gained enough weight for our pediatrician to accept that he is just a petite little guy.  We also started to have Séamus begin sleeping in his room at night and a nighttime routine set in place with getting his diffuser set up with Sleepyize and Gentle Baby, spraying his crib with Seedlings Linen Spray, and being sure to apply his baby roller to his feet when he gets changed into his jams.  He would make it about 3 hours before he woke up and joined us in our bed for the remainder of the night.

This 6 months has gone by so quickly and I love looking back and remembering all the fun things, milestones made, challenges overcome, and growth in all things we have experienced.  Life is better with our family complete and I can't wait to see what the next 6 months brings: crawling, walking (hopefully), talking (hopefully), solid foods, and Séamus first international vacation to Ireland and England!!

♥ Ashley