pate life

6 Months Old!

2012-01-24T22:35:00.000-06:00

6 Months Old

Griffin is 6 months old! That is half of a year! My oh my, where has the time gone? Time is such a funny thing. It feels like I was sitting right on this couch yesterday crying because I was home but my baby was in the NICU, and yet that also feels like a million years ago. Time marches on eh?

6 Month Stats:

Griffin weighs 15 lbs 8 oz (10th percentile), is 26" long (50th percentile), and his head is 43 cm (20th percentile).
Clothing: He is barely squeezing in 3 month clothing, is comfortable in 3-6 month and 6 month clothing and wearing 6-9 clothing with a little extra length. His diapers are still on the 2nd rise setting.
We are still breastfeeding exclusively. Six months in, wow. I am so thankful for my boss & coworkers support in this. We never would have made it this far without their understanding and support so I can pump each day. Griffin usually only takes 10-15 minutes to nurse now.
Still spitting up, but it is definitely getting better. Just in the last two weeks, we have noticed it is happening less and less. So he still throws up after every feeding at some point, but not as much in amount as he used to. Hopefully we are growing out of it?! We did reflux meds for the last month, but we did not see any difference and decided not to continue them this month. I do not think his spitting up has caused him any burning in his throat (which is what the meds treat). Here is to hoping by 7 months he is over it!!! I cannot even imagine having a baby who doesnt spit up constantly. Cant even imagine.
Schedule: Griffin is still on a 4 hr schedule. He is still doing well with eating every four hours, but the sleep is not always happening anymore. Oh daycare! They really struggle to get him to nap there. I am still not sure what the problem is. At home he will take a 1 & 1/2 or 2 hour nap. But not there. Whatever.
Nighttime Sleep: We are doing SO.MUCH.BETTER! Griffin is putting himself to sleep each night in his crib usually. He started rolling onto his stomach to sleep and sleeps so much better on his stomach, so we now put him on his stomach to begin with (I know I know, they say dont do that!). He does so much better this way! He has only been waking about 2 times a night now, which is a great improvement. Woo Hoo!
Milestones: He can now scoot himself backwards, and around in a circle. He is rocking back adn forth on his hands and feet and he even pulled up on something once this month! Crazy!
We started rice cereal last weekend. Our doctor has us do this for three weeks then we start yellow veggies. So far Griffin likes the spoon and the cereal, but he is still figuring out how to swallow with his tongue.
This month Griffin has fallen in love with Zoey, our cat. He loves to pull her hair or hit her (pat her). She is not his biggest fan, but she doesnt run away either. I mean, if it bugged her that much she would get up right? Ha!

Click here to see how Griffin has grown!

Goodnight Sweetheart...

2012-01-20T23:00:00.004-06:00

If you havent been following along on our sleep journey with Griffin, you can catch up here. It has been an interesting 6 months of sleep, I must say. There was little sleep in the beginning because of pumping, then late night nursing sessions. But Griff got the hang of it and started sleeping long stretches at 6 weeks and just improved from there. Then around 4 months old, Griffin started waking several times a night, and everything went down hill from there.

I have no real clue what happened, but I do have some theories or ideas. I think that Griffin's reflux started acting up, then he got his 4 month shots and felt horrid for a few days, then Mr.Pate and I did not stay consistent but instead we started changing everything up. Griffin got confused and we sent him mixed signals. We stopped swaddling really suddenly and probably before he was ready. He moved him from his crib to the rock n play. We started holding him more. And he got used to it. The fact that he is a gassy reflux baby made things more difficult. We didnt want to just leave him crying because what if it was his stomach issues?? And sometimes it definitely was. But we got in the habit of feeding him a couple of times a night again, and I think that made his stomach stuff worse at night.

So fast forward to now. Is he sleeping? Not usually but sometimes. Here is what I have learned through this process:

Babies sleep is a mystery. Some say more sleep brings more sleep. Some say really keep them up and exhaust them then they will sleep. Fill their tummies up with cereal and they will sleep.... etc. etc. We did these things to no avail. What I have learned is every baby is different.
Consistency is of UTMOST importance. A bedtime routine is key to him getting drowsy and putting himself to sleep. Griff usually puts himself to sleep great.
People are really opinionated on the CIO thing. I dont care which way you believe, but it does annoy me how much non-CIO people harp on the damage even 5 minutes of crying can cause. Do their babies never cry for 5 minutes?? Because there are lots of times throughout our day where Griffin may cry for 5 minutes straight even though I am there tending to him (diaper change anyone? giving an infant medicine?). I have read so many articles that harped on how I am killing brain cells by letting him cry... newsflash- babies cry. Not just when they are trying to sleep either.
All the books are saying the same thing. Basically they give you a plan and want you to stick with it. Consistency. Thats the point.
The "No Cry" approaches really dont give you a plan or an approach. They basically tell you to comfort baby then put them back down, then do it again and again. Eventually your child will learn to sleep. Well thanks for that... I really thought he would do this till age 30! ha!
I can function on very little sleep.
One day I will sleep again.
My son is soooo precious and most of the time I am taking the wee hours of the morning to truly savor him right now. I smell his hair and kiss his sweet cheek and listen to his cute breathing and thank my God for being so generous. For blessing me when I deserve a curse instead. Amazing Grace.

OTH

2012-01-20T21:17:00.003-06:00

I love the show One Tree Hill. It started while I was in college, and Kristen and I made it our show. We were busy kids, but we always come back to our dorm room and made sure to watch oth together. We got busy and stopped watching our senior year of college though. Then, while I was working at the BCM Darks introduced me to the reruns on Soapnet. I was hooked!

Well this is the last season for the show. They have been on for nine years I think. Wow. They have had a good run.

I always hate when shows (or movies even) come to an end. It really bums me out. I get so attached to the characters. It's like losing some of your best friends, people who you know everything about you know?

Am I the only one that feels this way?

Blog To Do list

2012-01-19T11:56:00.001-06:00

Things I really need to blog about:

• OTH
• Sleep/lack thereof/CIO/whatever
• 6 months old!
• Stumbling into Motherhood
• Update on the cloth diaper journey

Maybe now that I have a list it will happen?

Help A Family Out!

2012-01-18T08:36:00.001-06:00

ATTENTION FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS:

My friend's the Yancey's are in the process of bringing a child home from the Congo to be theirs FOREVER! I dont know how much you know about adoption, but it is very very expensive. Which is so sad because there are children all over the world (including here) that need and long for a family but are delayed or denied that privilege because of the money and red tape! Ugh!

So let's help the Yancey Clan get their new baby home as soon as possible! Order a t-shirt! They need the orders by Thursday night, so get them fast! You can get all the details on her blog by clicking here. Please help them out!

Reverse! Reverse!

2012-01-16T22:36:00.001-06:00

Who read that title and started singing the Cha Cha Slide? Haha!

Griffin has entered the trying to crawl phase! Oh where did my little baby go? So far he can move himself backwards and bounce or rock in place. Take a look:

YouTube Video

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Perfect in my book

2012-01-16T22:28:00.001-06:00

Today was perfect in my book. I woke up to my adorable son, who was in a fabulous mood. After he had breakfast, we played some and then he played on his own I his exersaucer long enough for me to dustmop, sweep, vacuum and wash diapers! Then my friend Elizabeth got here and we loaded our kiddos up and headed to Sonora. Several of us met up at my friend Melanie's house for some quality time. There were 2 two year olds, a one year old and 2 babies... So yes, someone was crying at all times! Ha! It was loud and chaotic, but a wonderful time.

Then we came home and played and played and played. Daddy made ranch burgers (soooo good) and then we played more. Griffin had a bath and went right to sleep for us, so Mommy and Daddy had some good quality time too.

The only thing that would make the day better? If we didn't have to get up and go to work tomorrow! Ha!

Gonna miss this sweet face!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

One little note

2012-01-15T18:51:00.001-06:00

Griffin twirls his hair, or mine, when he is sleepy or sleeping. So precious. I have got to get it on video so I can always look back and see this cute little guy. Love him.

What's Up Around Here

2012-01-15T18:46:00.001-06:00

• Griffin is sleeping better, not great, but better... Post coming soon on that
• I got short full bangs right before Christmas and have decided that I didn't hate them, but they aren't for me. So I am already growing them out.
• I am finally working out again. Why did I wait so long?
• I love three day weekends :-)
• I got a new camera lens and Photoshop Elements with my bday and Xmas money. Yay!! I have been playing around with them and trying to learn the ropes.
• I am pretty sure we do laundry every.single.day.now. Fun...
• I am ready for Spring. Not Winter's fan at all.
• One Tree Hill just started its last season ever! Post coming soon...
• My son will be six months on Wednesday. Half a year. Seriously? In the words of my sister "I just don't even know what to say about that!"

Puppy Love

2012-01-15T08:21:00.001-06:00

Everyone knows we love our pup Joey around here, but it is exciting to see Griffin falling in love with him too. Joey is doing an amazing job being patient and gentle so far also.

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Well Hello Brody

2012-01-14T23:43:00.001-06:00

Griff and I made a quick trip down to TN today to meet our little friend Brody. His mom, Cortney, and I grew up together and I am so glad we are going through this parenthood journey together too. Brody is 2 months old and has more hair than most grown men I know! Ha! It was so good to meet him and get to catch up with Cortney for a little while. Wish we lived closer!

Happy Birthday Ela!

2012-01-14T23:32:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we took Griffin to his first birthday party! His friend from daycare, Ela, turned one and invited us to celebrate with her at Hopscotch Place. We had a great time. Griffin got to slide for the first time ever and "play" on some inflatables (Daddy helped him). Enjoy the pics!

Cute and free- yay!

2012-01-02T09:12:00.001-06:00

I got to work and realized that I forgot to get a new monthly calendar, ugh. So I googled "free printable monthly calendar" and found a super cute website:

www.anythingbutperfect.com

She has lots of free printable things that are too cute and will help you get organized. Yay. How cute is my snowman calendar? Now on to getting organized...

Back to it

2012-01-02T07:48:00.001-06:00

And just like that- my two week taste of being a stay at home momma comes to an end. It's back to the daily grind of work for me. Oh how I hate leaving this precious face...

And it only took me 5 minutes to get to work today! There is no one out- I guess the rest of the world has the day off?

A Snapshot of 2011 according to my blog...

2012-01-02T00:40:00.001-06:00

January

Had a random and sudden root canal

I felt Baby Pate move for the first time

February

We found out the gender of our baby

We had a Gender Reveal Party with our Family

I took a trip down memory lane via music

March

I began getting clothes for Griffin!

We worked on picking things for the nursery

I passed my Glucose Test

April

We chose our pediatrician

May

Our Bradley Classes ended

I showed you guys these creepy cakes!

Got this Bib- which is sooo true now!

I had my first two Baby showers, one in BG and one in Gallatin

June

We finished the nursery!

I did several posts on cloth diapering

July

My due date came and went, and I spent the 4th of July in the Hospital

Oh... just had a BABY!

Spent lots of time in the NICU

August

Finally brought that boy HOME!

Shared my Birth Story

Returned to work all-too-soon

September

Adjusted to being a working mom...

October

Trip to Jackson's Orchard

Griffin rolled over for the first time!

Griffin's first Pumpkin Carving

Trunk or Treat

November

Griffin sat up all by himself

First Thanksgiving with our little turkey

December

First Christmas! Traveled to Louisville and Gallatin

New Year's Eve Baby

Happy New Year's Eve!

2011-12-31T22:16:00.001-06:00

We headed to Gammy Becky's for some New Year's Eve Bunko tonight. We had a small group, but had a great time. And Griffin did really well considering he has been sick most of the week and we stayed later than his "bedtime" (of course we are so out of routine right now that it is not even funny). Here are some pictures to remember the night.

Giggle Giggle

2011-12-31T13:32:00.000-06:00

Favor Much

2011-12-31T12:07:00.002-06:00

People always have their own opinions of who Griffin looks like, me or Mr.Pate. I have never been good at seeing adults in babies, I just think they look like babies! But over Christmas break I looked at a few baby pictures of Mr.Pate and am confirming that Griffin looks like his Daddy! See for yourself:

5 Months Old!

2011-12-31T11:36:00.001-06:00

5 Months Old

(Yep 1 am 2 weeks late... so 5 Months & 2 weeks actually)

5 Month Stats:

No checkup this month so I dont know what he weighs or how long he is. But he has definitely gotten longer!
He is in some 3-6 months and 6-9 month clothing. 3-6 is almost to short, and 6-9 month is a little long. I had to start double stuffing our cloth diapers, and I had to go to the next setting on the rise (meaning he is longer).
Still nursing and going strong! We went through a period of "distracted" nursing this month where the boy took forever to eat because he wanted to look at every noise or light. But we switched some things up and are going strong again.
Still spitting up a lot. We started noticing that he was making the spit up sound but not getting anything up more, and making a chewing face often, so we started him on reflux meds right before Christmas. He got a virus right after so we dont know if it has helped him yet.
Schedule: We moved him to a 4 hour schedule right after Christmas to see if it would help him eat better. He had been snacking and not taking full feedings. It worked and so far we are loving the new schedule! Yay! He is basically awake for 2 hrs then naps for 2 hrs now! Crazy awesome!
Nighttime Sleep: This month just got worse instead of better. We started putting him in his rock n play to sleep bc he didnt seem to want to be flat on his back. He wakes often. Ugh. Then he got a virus this past week and wouldnt sleep if we werent holding him poor thing. So lets hope it gets better now?
Milestones: He now blows raspberries, holds on to you when you hold him, gives hugs and big open mouth kisses!! He also reaches out for some people! ohhhhh i love that feeling when he reaches for me!
He is getting more and more fun! He sits up awesome now, and loves to play. He will go much longer in his exersaucer now and actually plays with all of the toys on it instead of just a few. He is really noticing Joey and reaches for him all the time. He seems to be good with strangers so far, and really turns on the charm with the ladies at Starbucks.

I cannot believe he will be 6 months in like 2 & 1/2 weeks... I say that every month I know. This really is going way too fast. He is a joy and I so cherish getting to be his Mommy. Love you Griffin!

Click here to see how Griffin has grown each month!

Whew

2011-12-30T01:47:00.001-06:00

My poor baby has ran a fever off and on (mostly on) since Tuesday night. So we went to the doctor today, just to check things out and he has a virus! He seems miserable, especially at night. Ugh, first real sickness... Mommy is not a fan.

One Stop Crock Pot

2011-12-28T09:22:00.001-06:00

We all know I love my crock pot. So I have been meaning to take all of my crock pot recipe posts and link them in one post for easier finding, but I kept forgetting. So without further ado, my crock pot recipes:

So do any of you have a go to crock pot meal? Or something delicious I just have to try?? Please share!

Christmas Tidings Gallatin Style

2011-12-26T15:41:00.001-06:00

We always spend Christmas Eve with Mr.Pate's side of the family and Christmas Day with my side of the family. We feel blessed that we are able to work out being with both sides and not missing anything. So Christmas morning we drove down to my parents house around 9am. My dad always cooks us breakfast, yummo! Around noon we head to my Aunt's house for time with my Dad's side of the family. This year we went back to Misty's after that to play games with her and the girls. We played "I've Never" and "Truth or Dare" which are actually "board games" but just like the old school ones. It was a really good time!

KneKne gave me some fruit... but Mama caught me!

This boy loves to stand.

Chillin with my Peeps.

I always catch the best faces from KneKne

Little miss stylish

Ash is looking very hip...

Silly Silly

Awake....

Asleep... ha! Slept thru all of our Christmas stuff

Group Shot

Amy did great with my little guy

I cannot believe she is in 7th grade... omg

Center of attention

KneKne got a jumper at the consignment store- good call. He had a blast.

He completely passed out on KneKne at the end of the day.

Just hanging around with Uncle Ashley

What a blessed Holiday we had. So glad we live close enough to spend time with our families. Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Tidings Louisville Style

2011-12-26T15:04:00.000-06:00

Our first Christmas as a family of 3 is officially over, and I am totally exhausted. It was a great holiday though! Griffin had really rough nights, but surprisingly he was still in an awesome mood all day each day. He was playful and fun and a smiling machine majority of the time.

We went to Louisville first to visit with Mr.Pate's side of the family. We got up there on Friday and just hung around his mom's house for the day. Saturday (Christmas Eve) we headed to Aunt Lisa's for our annual Christmas gathering with Mr.Pate's Dad's side of the family. It is always a good time with lots of noise and laughter and plenty of children running about. We play the "Dirty Santa" game every year there, and that is super fun! This year Kirk's (Griffin's Papaw) gifts got stolen every time he opened them. It was pretty funny.

Papaw pretty much hogged Griffin the whole day :) Cute Cute Cute

A shot of the kiddos opening their presents.

Being cute with Daddy.

Cheri got some awesome giggles out of our little guy.

After Aunt Lisa's, we headed over to Grandma's house for dinner and presents. Mr.Pate's mom (Griff's Grandma) always cook us a yummy meal and sets a gorgeous table. We had a great time this year and Grandma and Papaw took turns fighting over the little guy. And Uncle Ed, Griffin's Great Great Uncle, moved in with Mr.Pate's mom this past year so it was nice to have him down here with us instead of just calling him. He is from New York, so the crazy warm weather is quite a change up for him! Ha!

Uncle Ed (Griffin's Great Great Uncle) was here to celebrate this year!

Uncle Shelly.... I am trying to make that name stick!

Grandma let Griffin open a present... he was more interested in eating the paper!

A house divided... We got him a WKU hat, Sheldon got him an EKU sweatshirt... of course we know WKU is better!

Chillin with Grandma

Uncle Dustin gettin a little out of control with that bottle... of sparking grape juice! haha!

Group shot

Uncle Ed is funny

Blowing raspberries are my new thing...

Eating my toe is sooo fun. Just got into this habit this week too.

I stole Mommy's glasses!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T22:24:00.001-06:00

More on all of our Holiday celebrations later, for now just wishing everyone a Merry merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Gingerbread

2011-12-23T14:57:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe I do not have any posts on our annual Gingerbread House Decorating Adventures! What is up with that? Becky, Cameron, Jeanice and myself decorate Gingerbread houses every year (they have been doing it longer than me though) and this year we added a new member to the gang! So here are some pics from previous years:

I cant get Becky to turn right side up, go figure! Ha! And a pic from this year:

Love these ladies!

Griffins First Pumpkin Carving!

2011-12-23T14:48:00.000-06:00

I am way late with this one, but I just got the pics from Becky. Of course I forgot my camera! Ha! We go to Pumpkin Carving at Becky's every year. Here is a post from a few years back. It is a blast. Love it. So here are some pics from Griffin's first time joining us!

Prayers for the meantime

2011-12-20T19:24:00.001-06:00

A friend wrote these words about waiting for their adoption to go thru, and it really spoke to me:

"Your prayers would not be wasted that we might seek God's face in our heartache. In the unmet desires. Faithfulness and obedience would be our goal. To love God, to love each other, to love our children, and to love people. That's what we can be doing in the meantime."

Really it's what all of us can do in our "meantimes"... In our waiting for our particular prayers to be answered, for our unmet desires, I pray we can love passionately and be filled with joyful contentment.

Christmas, Christmas time is here...

2011-12-17T23:28:00.001-06:00

I am officially off for two whole weeks!!! AMAZING!

This morning Griffin got in the festive mood and we headed out to deliver Angel Tree gifts for our church. Then we Christmas shopped! It was a madhouse out there, but not as bad as I expected it to be.

We shopped for Angel Tree families Thursday and Friday nights, then finally started on ours today. Lots of shopping. But Griff has done so wonderful with it. We have gotten home late and been all out of whack, but he wasn't fussy or crazy. Yay! We have either been wearing him or taking the stroller when we shop. He does so great when we wear him. He just stares at what's going on.

Then tonight we went to a wedding reception to celebrate the marriage of our friends Angela and Willy. I have a few
Pics I will hopefully get uploaded later, but Griffin was a doll and gave everyone lots of smiles!

How was your Saturday!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

70

2011-12-14T20:25:00.001-06:00

I am standing outside in December without a coat, and loving how it feels. I know its unseasonably warm here, but I will take it anytime! What a awesome feeling night. That is all.

Stream of thought

2011-12-10T13:46:00.001-06:00

... I am sick. I have a head-cold of some sort. Ick. It started Thursday, I stayed home from work yesterday and feel somewhat worse today. Yay.
... My baby napped awesome yesterday at home with me. A one hour nap, 2 forty five minute naps and a two hour nap! Come on daycare- work on this please!
... Last night we took food to Mr.Pate at work. Afterwards I was thinking about how different our lives are now that we have a kid. I used to sit in Starbucks and read and sip on my fav drink to my hearts content. Now my time there is dependent on a napping and nursing schedule. Oh well.
... I have given up dairy for awhile to see if it helps Griffin's reflux. I had no idea how hard this would be!
... Griff has slept great most of this week. It could be due to cold medicine, but he has been going to sleep better in the first place too. Yay!
... I spent some time today just sitting in Starbucks sipping on a soy hazelnut hot chocolate and catching up on blogs while Griff napped. It was a lovely 20 minutes. Seriously.
... Shogun tonight with some friends, yummo. Hope I can taste it.

Even though I am sick, I am cherishing the extra time with my little guy! Happy Saturday.

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Gobble Gobble Gobble

2011-12-08T22:19:00.001-06:00

Did I seriously never blog pictures from Thanksgiving? What kind of Blogger am I?? Geez.

We had our families over to our place for Thanksgiving Lunch, and it was a fabulous day!

Misty, Ashley, Jilli, Livvi and my Mom came, and then Justin's Mom, Uncle Ed, Sheldon and Dustin came over too. We made turkey breasts and the mashed potatoes, then everyone brought all the other food. Props to my sister for running things in the kitchen and getting everything organized and warmed etc. We had a great time and played games with Justin's fam afterwards. The only bummer was that my Dad had to work and couldnt come, and my mom was sick so she couldnt be around the baby. Poor KneKne!

Happy First Thanksgiving Griffin!

Tis the Season

2011-12-08T10:00:00.001-06:00

For sickness that is! Poor Griff is all congested and snotty this week, and he has now shared his fun with me. He can't breathe thru his nose and sounds pathetic. Luckily it is not in his chest and there is no cough.

So in light of this sickness, we did not CIO and I am still not sure if we will or not. Griffin has slept well the past two nights with the help of medication! Hopefully he will feel better soon, poor thing.

Parade!

2011-12-05T15:40:00.001-06:00

We went to the Smiths Grove Christmas Parade very briefly Friday night. I put Griffin in the Moby and then zipped him up in my coat too. And then he wore this cute Santa hat!!

The Cry It Out thing

2011-12-05T15:38:00.001-06:00

Well hardly anyone really chimed in on my last post about our sleep issues, and we are mostly still in the same boat. One friend suggested it could be Griffin's reflux waking him, so we took him to the doctor last week to discuss.

We decided to start putting rice cereal in two bottles a day to weigh his food down some, and give him some prune juice each day to help him be "regular" (which is an issue for reflux babies apparently). So we started this on Thursday of last week. We also decided to start swaddling again on Thursday.

Griffin only woke twice briefly Thursday night! Yay! And the same Friday night. Saturday night he woke a few more times but went back to sleep pretty quickly. But last night was a beast! He went to sleep at 7:30ish, and woke around 8:30ish. Then back to sleep till around 9:45. So I fed him at 9:45 and he went to sleep. He woke a gazillion more times, almost hourly. And towards the morning it was half-hourly.

It's like he can fall asleep but not stay asleep.

Am I naive to think it's not something letting him cry a whole bunch would fix? I just feel like he wants to sleep but can't and I want to help him.

Maybe letting him cry it out is the best thing for him. Maybe he just has to learn to put himself back to sleep.

But maybe it's his stomach issues waking him? Or he is just overtired after this crazy month if sleep problems?

I just don't know how I am supposed to know what to do. Seriously. And it sucks.

I don't think it's hunger bc in the last four days we have added rice cereal and still fed the same amount of feedings. Friday he didn't even finish all of his bottles at daycare.

Oh parenthood. I hate being the one who has to decide what is best for your kiddo. Seriously hate it.

That is all.

Cutie!

2011-12-02T23:28:00.001-06:00

Silver Lining

2011-11-29T22:20:00.001-06:00

It's no secret I wish I could be a stay-at-home mom instead of working outside the home, but since thats just where we are I am trying to suck it up and love my blessed life as is. I really am blessed beyond belief.

So one neat thing about my child being in day care? They make cute little crafts with him that I can have as little memories!

His Halloween pumpkin patch, made with his palms and heels.

His Turkey, made with his handprint. Miss Danielle said as soon as she put the paint on his hand he balled his fist up and wouldn't open it! Ha!

And his ornament I got today! I can't wait to have a tree full of his homemade ornaments! (well I can bc I want him to quit growing so fast!!!)

I am thankful that my daycare makes these cute things with him!

I love this little guys creations!
- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Sleep training- what did you do?

2011-11-27T09:58:00.001-06:00

As I have mentioned before, Griffin has always been a good sleeper. When we brought him home from the hospital he automatically started going 4 or 5 hr stretches at night. By six weeks he was usually sleeping from 10-6! It was awesome. Then he got his first cold... About a month ago now. And he started randomly waking in the middle of the night some. We would give him his paci and back to sleep he would go.

The last month has been hot or miss. Some nights he sleeps without waking, some nights he wakes every hour. I keep making excuses or thinking it's a one time deal and will go back to how it was- but I probably need to face the music an realize something must be done.

So far we have tried taking away the swaddle, which seems to make it worse. I am still worried he will turn over in it so I think I am going To try to stick with no swaddle... He has to learn sometime right?

I have done a little crying it out, but I'll be honest I am not committed. It's harder than I thought it would be! And I find myself wondering what if he is hungry or sick or teething or in pain for some other reason? I don't want him laying there crying during that... Ugh!!!

Babies are a mystery! And I know each is different, but my question is- what did you do? Tell me what you did with your kids and if it worked. Please share!!! This momma needs.some.sleep!

But he is so darn cute! Haha!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Some random videos

2011-11-24T17:50:00.001-06:00

YouTube Video

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

A little visiting

2011-11-24T17:45:00.001-06:00

Yesterday Griffin and I made a little trip down to TN for the day. I had a thyroid dr visit (which went great- I don't have to go back for 6 months!! Woohoo) in Hendersonville, so afterwards we visited our Nanny Martha.

Griff did great and gave her several cute smiles.

Then we headed to meet Kristen, one of my very best friends. She lives in Arizona, so she hadn't gotten to meet the little guy yet.

Our visit was short, but very good. Yay for Thanksgiving Break!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

4 Months Old!

2011-11-22T21:08:00.001-06:00

4 Months Old

4 Month Stats:

Weighs in at 13 lbs 8 1/2 oz and is 25 & 1/8" long. This puts him in the 25th% for weight and the 50th% for length. For head circumference he is between the 50-75th%.
Clothing: He is mainly in 3-6 months now. He can still fit in some 0-3 month, but is too long for one piece outfits.
Nursing: Still at it! Woo Hoo! Typically takes about 10-15 minutes for the whole shindig these days. Love it. Recommend it to everyone!
He is still spitting up a lot, but it has gotten better than it was. We just try to embrace it now, so Griffin is pretty much always wearing a bib and we go through like 10 burp cloths a day.
Schedule: Still on a 3 hr schedule.
Nighttime Sleep: This month was not our month for nighttime sleep. He slept thru the night 11 nights total for the month (sporadically spaced out over the month). In his defense, he got sick, we had a time change and he had his 4 month shots. The past few nights have been much better, so here's to hoping we are on the upswing!
Milestones: This month Griffin rolled from tummy to back and back to tummy. He also is sitting up by himself for at least a minute or more (when you sit him up, he cant get up on his own yet).
Griffin is sooo fun at this age! He is loving being held on your shoulder where he can sit up and look around. When you carry him this way he holds on now, and even kinda hugs you! Love it! He is doing the bashful thing where he smiles at you, then buries his head in your shoulder.
His hands are still constantly in his mouth. And so is whatever he gets a hold of. We currently love our rings, sophie the giraffe, and key ring for toys. He likes spending time in his exersaucer or on a blanket on the floor.
He got congested for the first time this month and has spent the whole month all stuffy. So we have been sucking out his nose a lot. He hates it! He really hates saline solution.
We successfully slept overnight for the first time somewhere else this month.

I love this kid!

Click here to see how Griffin has grown each month.

What a cutie!

2011-11-21T13:50:00.001-06:00

Have I mentioned how much I love being a momma?

How about how much I love watching Mr.Pate be a daddy?

What a blessing. Children truly are a gift from the Lord!

Sleep- it is for the birds

2011-11-21T13:46:00.001-06:00

Griffin has been a good sleeper from day 1, of course day 1-14 were spent in the NICU where they really get you scheduled. But he started sleeping thru the night around six weeks! Amazing. I should never complain I know. Lately though, Griff has been waking several times a night! At first we thought it was because he was congested, but now I think we have a habit on our hands.

Sleep and babies is hard. They respond well to routine and consistency, but you have to merge that with your life. We have been sporadic about his bedtime lately. It's hard to always be home at 7:30! And he can now roll over, and I thought he was trying to while swaddled the other day. So I decided maybe we should drop the swaddle...

We tried that last Thursday night. FAIL. He woke a ton! I finally swaddled his arms in the wee hours of morning and he slept some. So we are back to swaddling fully for now.

Friday night he was miserable from his shots and had a fever. No sleep. Poor thing!

Saturday night he sleep soundly all night! Could have been a mix of being tired, medicine, got him down at the right time etc. Who knows??

So for now my sleep plan is to try hard to get him in be by 7:30-7:45, dreamfeed around 9:45-10, and swaddle. This is what has worked on the nights he has slept.

Oh sleep- it's so funny that when we are children we fight it, then as adults we long for it!

Isnt it ironic... Don't ya think?... A little too ironic, and yeah I really do think...

Happy Birthday to me

2011-11-20T07:08:00.001-06:00

I am one blessed girl. Today I celebrate 29 years of life. I got to spend the day with some of my best friends and their little ladies (poor Griff is totally outnumbered!). Though I got no sleep whatsoever last night, it was such a refreshing way to spend my day. These were college friends, and it is so funny to look back at how our lives have changed over the last several years! In college we would gather to watch Survivor or go to bible study, but now we have to plan out our visits months in advance. Everyone (accept me usually!) has a long drive to meet us in the middle. My house was filled with random crying, lots of feedings, and great conversation today. Thanks girls!!

The reason for the get together was to meet Maeve! She is so tiny and
Cute!

Afterwards Mr.Pate and I picked up some food and a movie and headed back home. We hung out with the kid, gave him a very fun bath, put him to sleep and then watched a chick flick. It was a laid back night- just what I needed!

Happy Birthday to me

2011-11-19T22:49:00.001-06:00

Poor baby

2011-11-18T15:53:00.001-06:00

Griffin is 4 months old today! I can't believe it. A more detailed post is coming, but for now enjoy a look into our doctors visit today...

Way to go Griffin

2011-11-17T21:50:00.001-06:00

The boy sat up by himself tonight! Way to go buddy!

We had such a great night just spending quality time at home. We had dinner here thanks to the crock pot, then we spent time playing with Griffin for awhile. He is sitting up really well, and when he has the boppy around him he will even pull himself back up when he falls over. He and Daddy had silly times during bath time tonight, and Dad put his hair in a Mohawk!

We decided to try not swaddling Griff's arms tonight for the first time ever, so I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

He turns 4 months old tomorrow- seriously?!! Where is time going?

Such a funny guy!

2011-11-15T21:13:00.001-06:00

YouTube Video

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Menu Plan Monday!

2011-11-14T15:12:00.001-06:00

Here is what we are having around here this week:

Monday: Burgers, green beans and mac n cheese
Tuesday: Asian Tomato Beef in the Crock Pot
Wednesday: Dinner at Church
Thursday: Pork Chops on the grill and Yummy Rice
Friday: Youth Bonfire & Hayride
Saturday: Friends over and then probably eating out for my Bday!

What are you eating this week?

I am highly considering doing a "freezer cooking day" of slow cooker meals. i keep seeing on Pinterest where people do basically assembly days for several crock pot meals, and then you have them ready for the month... I just need to get a free day and energy... hummmm.

ABC

2011-11-11T20:35:00.001-06:00

Copying my friend Elizabeth...

A. Age – 28... 29 next Saturday.
B. Bed size – Queen. I feel lost in a king sized bed!
C. Chore that you hate - Grocery Shopping... I consider it a chore and can't stand it!
D. Dogs – Joey! He let's us share his bed each night, and is a tad spoiled... Just a tad.
E. Essential start to your day – Hitting the snooze button
F. Favorite color – I don't really have one
G. Gold or silver – White Gold.
H. Height – 4' 9& 1/2
I. Instruments you play – Nada
J. Job Title-— Office Associate
K. Kids – Griffin, 3 & 1/2 Months Old and cutest.kid.ever.
L. Live – Bowling Green
M. Mother’s name – Sparks
N. Nicknames – SOG (high school), Bre (family and some friends)
O. Overnight hospital stays – 2, once for thyroid removal and once for baby
P. Pet peeves – Emails that try to pressure/guilt you into forwarding them on
Q. Quote from a movie – The concept is grasped! The execution is a little elusive.
R. Right or left handed – right.
S. Siblings – One older sister
T. Time it takes you to get ready – About an hour
U. Underwear – What does this mean?
V. Vegetable you hate – Onions and peppers! And okra!
W. What makes you run late – Always thinking I have enough time to fit in something more...
X-rays you’ve had – Teeth... I think that may be it.
Y. Yummy food you make – click "recipes" under my categories... Lava cakes!
Z. Zoo animal – Monkeys or Elephants.

So go ahead and jump in. Copy and paste and then insert your own answers.

Sweet Child of Mine

2011-11-07T22:13:00.001-06:00

This journey changes daily! Goodness!

We are now in the stage where Griffin can grab on to things or people. So when I hold him & walk around, he holds on to me. I love it! He will even cuddle in to our (daddy's and mine) shoulders some.

Tonight we had him laying in the floor and Daddy decided to come lay down too (this kid loves him some daddy!). He reached up and holds on or almost pets Mr.Pates beard! Too cute!

He is trying hard to giggle these days. What comes out is a funny laugh/snort/grunt.

He loves to toss his wubbanub around now. It cracks me up to look back in the rearview mirror and see a monkey flying around the carseat.

Sometimes he just looks at me, stares for awhile and smiles. I do the same thing back. Love it!

16 weeks old tonight... Wow.

Cloth Diapers: What the journey looks like at 3 months

2011-11-05T20:35:00.002-05:00

We are still going strong on our beloved cloth diapers and loving it. Seriously people- they are so easy and you save so much money! I sooooo recommend them to everyone. Check into it, you wont be disappointed.

Anyhow, I wanted to do an update to let you see what the one size diapers are looking like on our growing boy and give my opinions right now. If you want to catch up on all of my cloth diaper posts click here. These are the diapers we currently use & a summary of what I think right now:

BumGenius 4.0

We still love these. They are solid and made well. They still fit trim and are easy to snap.

Kawaii (Original CrossOvers, Ultrasoft CrossOvers, Round Tabs, Minkys, Bamboo Minky, Pure and Natural and Fun print)

Obviously I have several kinds of these! The original crossovers (and minkys, bamboo minkys and fun print) were very bulky in the beginning, but are fitting him better now. They are still our bulkiest diaper. These diapers are also very solid. When we first bought them I worried because they were so cheap, but they are as well made as my BumGenius. The crossover snaps are kinda annoying right now, bc Griffin is inbetween sizes. So I do not send these to daycare bc it is hard to show them how to fit them right now. Kinda funny because I loved that they had the crossover snaps in the beginning bc they fit his tiny waist better than the others, but now they fit him the worst. Ha! However, once he outgrows this phase I am sure I will love them again.
Not a fan of the ultrasofts. The shell is flimsy and I just dont like it.
The round tabs didnt fit him until a few weeks ago. But now that they fit him I love them! I like that the pocket is in the front, especially when its a dirty diaper.
The Pure and Natural ones are trim and smaller, which is nice. But they are not great quality! The velcro (they are the only velcro I own) is already ripping apart. Ugh.
Love the Minkys. They are the softest things ever.

Sunbaby 4.0

I have just fallen in love with Sunbaby. Wish I had known about them from the start! They fit super trim (which may mean they dont fit well later on when he is bigger?) and are easy to snap. They have hip snaps, which I like (so do the kawaiis). And they have such cute prints!!

GoGreenDiapers Champ

These are not fitting Griff right now. He is inbetween snap sizes on these so its annoying and I just put them aside for now.

Alvas

I have two alvas and they are very different from each other. I like my techno print one, but I do not feel like it is very good quality. It already seems kinda worn. I have a minky giraffe print also and it is too big in the legs for Griff so far.

So thats a short rundown of each of ours and how they fit right now. If I were recommending what to get to someone starting out right now, I would highly recommend Sunbaby or Kawaii. The price is great and they make such cute prints! I know BumGenius is super popular and I do really like ours, but I have to say that I dont think they are worth the $12-14 more you have to pay for them.

And now for some comparison picture shots:

Kawaii at 3 & 1/2 Months

Kawaii at 1 Month

Side View Kawaii at 3 & 1/2 Month

Side View Kawaii at 1 Month

Alva at 3 & 1/2 Months

Alva at 1 Month

Side view Alva at 3 & 1/2 Months

Kawaii Round Tab at 3 & 1/2 Months

I will try to take some shots of the BumGenius and SunBaby diapers and update those later. Currently I am washing the diapers about 2 a week, or every 3 & 1/2 days. We got an indoor drying rack and it has been great! I try to sun any that get stains (which totally works fyi) and then they rest I can just throw on this thing. We got the cheapest one at Wal-mart. It folds down very easily too. I make a batch of cloth wipes about once a week right now. Daycare is doing fine with the cloth diapers, and hasnt complained any. So far so good! Yay! I got some new sunbaby prints recently that are sooo cute and I will post some pics of those coming soon too! And thats all I have to say about that.

Back it on up!

2011-11-05T19:32:00.001-05:00

Guess who rolled from back to belly today???

You guessed it- Griffin! Yay for another fun milestone! I, of course, did not get it on video. And then he didn't do it again while I was video-ing either! Figures. It is a funny feeling, because I am excited to see him grow and learn how to do new things, but I am sadden by it too. It means he is growing up so quickly. Ahh!!

Trunk or Treat 2011

2011-10-31T21:31:00.000-05:00

We had Trunk or Treat at church tonight (Smiths Grove Baptist), and it was great!

It is crazy to think that at this time last year, we had basically just found out we were pregnant and only our families knew. I remember looking at every cute baby and thinking 'wow, i will have one of those next year!' And here we are a year later already!

Dustin was Captain Underpants

And we had a Hot Dog Stand.

Joey was a Hot Dog. He did so good and all the kids loved seeing him!

And our cute little Ketchup Packet! He did so well!

Our family of four!

Randa hanging with the boy.

"Please- No Pictures!"

We had a blast!

And for comparisons sake:

Our Family in October 2010

Our Family in October 2011

Wow...

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T18:27:00.001-05:00

Me

2011-10-28T08:14:00.001-05:00

- I am growing my hair out already. Short hair does not always equal easier. I need a good ponytail in my life.
- I have come to the realization that I will not be wearing cute jewelry for, oh let's say, the next two years of my life. I miss dangly earrings.
- This means scarves will be my only accessory... Good gift idea!
- I have always had a dry, flaky scalp. But it's on steroids now. I use the hardcore selson blue.. To no avail. Any other ideas??
- It is cold! Typing and walking don't mix in cold- my hand is freezing!
- Pinterest makes me want to bake and cook so bad! But I have no time in my life to do this...

It's Friday!!!!

Bring it on weekend!

2011-10-27T22:35:00.001-05:00

I am sooo glad tomorrow is Friday! I feel like the work week lasts forever! We have a busy but fun weekend coming up. Tomorrow night we (Griffin and I) are walking in the Monster Dash 5k here in BG. The money goes towards adoption, and it should be a blast. I will be wearing the kid and hopefully that will keep us both warm. Then Saturday is the annual Sims Pumpkin Carving! Can't wait!

And here is a little shot of my boy passed out in a milk coma, just for fun.

Time

2011-10-27T09:48:00.001-05:00

Dear Time,

Please stop going so fast. I would like to savor each of the moments during this phase of life, but I feel like you keep rushing by. What is your deal? Don't you know that I want to forever remember the precious smile on my son's face when I go into get him in the morning? Or that I want to sit and chat with my sexy husband on our couch forever? Why must you steal away these moments?? And It seems this year that we actually are having Fall, could you please freeze these gorgeous days and let me enjoy them? I know that tomorrow it will be January and cold and bleak. I just want to bottle these 70 degree days up! I would really appreciate if you could just slow your roll and let me drink in deep this magical time in my life. Thank you.

Sincerely,

A wife and mother who needs more time!

Rolling!

2011-10-25T23:19:00.001-05:00

On Sunday (Oct 23rd), Griffin rolled from front to back for the first time! Way to go Buddy!

3 Months Old!

2011-10-25T22:56:00.000-05:00

3 Months Old

Three Month Stats:

We dont go back to the doctor till 4 months, so I do not know what the boy weighs or how long etc.
Clothing: He is in 0-3 month and 3-6 month. He is almost too long for a lot of the 0-3 month clothing.
Nursing: We are still at it! Yay! A feeding takes around 15-20 minutes still. I am so glad we kept at it, because I love having this time with him! Pumping at work isnt so bad either.
Griffin is still spitting up like crazy! We are trying the chiropractor and probiotics right now, so Ill keep you posted on how that goes.
Schedule: We are still mostly on a 3 hour schedule. Naps at daycare are random and usually not long, which is frustrating. Any ideas on how to fix this??? On the weekends he naps great for me.
Nighttime Sleep: Griffin was sleeping from 7:30ish until 6:30 in the morning, except for the dreamfeed around 9:30. But for a week of the last month he randomly woke up several times a night crying.... and now every couple of nights he cries in his sleep until we go put his pacifier back in his mouth. Weird.
Griffin loves to sit up now (assisted of course in his bumbo or on your lap). He wants to see what is going on!
The boy is blowing spit bubbles or slobbering at almost all times.
His hands LIVE in his mouth right now.
He is trying hard to laugh, but cant quite do it yet. It makes for some funny sounds.
He can now reach out and grab toys on purpose. He also can put his paci back into his mouth most of the time (its a wubbanub).
We started carrying him front facing in the flip carrier and he loves that. I also started doing the hug hold instead of the newborn hug hold with the moby. Much more comfy for him, he is too long for the newborn one.
He rolled over for the first time!! This was actually the week after he turned 3 months, but since I am late with this post Ill include it now. He rolled from front to back this weekend! Yay! Still hates tummy time though.
He makes noises all the time!

I cannot believe its been 3 months. I love this kid sooo much!!!

Food for Thought

2011-10-25T21:02:00.001-05:00

Or maybe just food for eating?

I haven't posted a menu plan since May... yep that's five months! Basically in June and July I was pregnant and sick of cooking, so we ate out often or grilled. And then I had a tiny human and life got crazy! So we have not been cooking a ton the past 3 months either. And when we do, it has mostly been Mr.Pate getting the food on the table. But this week we have a meal plan and so far have actually cooked two meals! Pretty good compared to the past five months. Anyhow, the meal we ate tonight was yummy so I thought I just had to share! Plus its a crock pot meal- which is sooo easy!

Bacon Ranch Chicken

4 chicken breasts
2 tbsp bacon bits (I used like 1/4-1/2 cup instead)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pkg ranch seasoning mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
4 potatoes, chopped

Place chicken in crock pot. Combine bacon, garlic, soup, sour cream, seasoning and potatoes. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.

Its so yummy! I got it off of the "Crock Pot Girls" facebook page. Have you guys been on there?? They have tons of recipes, although many are similar to each other. Well, try this recipe and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

So Funny!

2011-10-20T10:40:00.003-05:00

Someone posted this on Facebook and I just had to share...

"Awake Training" for Mommies

Dear Fellow Babies,
OK, here’s my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 5 months. The first few months were great – I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, around the clock. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse.

I’ve talked to other babies, and it seems like its pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 5-6 months. Here’s the thing: these Mommies don’t really need to sleep. It’s just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep – they just don’t need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle.

It goes like this:

Night 1 – cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it’s hard. It’s hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it’s for her own good.

Night 2 – cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3 – every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don’t give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I know it’s hard! But she really does not need the sleep; she is just resisting the change.. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

The other night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with:

-My sleep sack tickled my foot.
-I felt a wrinkle under the sheet.
-My mobile made a shadow on the wall.
-I burped, and it tasted like rice cereal. I hadn’t eaten rice cereal since breakfast, what’s up with that?
-The dog said “ruff”. I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL.
-Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room.
-Too hot, too cold, just right – doesn’t matter! Keep crying!!
-I had drooled so much my sheets were damp and I didn’t like it touching me.
-I decided I was sick of all the pink in my room so I cried.

It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am. Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies’ internal clocks.

Sometimes my Mommy will call for reinforcements by sending in Daddy. Don’t worry Daddies are not set up for not needing sleep the way Mommies are. They can only handle a few pats and shhing before they declare defeat and send in the Mommy.

Also, be wary of the sleep sheep with rain noises. I like to give Mommy false hope that listening to the rain puts me to sleep sometimes I pretend to close my eyes and be asleep and then wait until I know Mommy is settling back to sleep to spring a surprise cry attack. If she doesn’t get to me fast enough I follow up with my fake cough and gag noise that always has her running to the crib. At some point I am positive she will start to realize that she really doesn’t really need sleep.

P.S. Don’t let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out.

Trust me.

Sincerely,
B

Woo Hoo!

2011-10-12T00:54:00.001-05:00

It's late... Very late.... And I am very up.... I am so going to be paying for this tomorrow!

Mr.Pate and I ended up driving to Louisville when I got off today to look at a minivan... And ended up buying it around 10pm! Crazy night! The good news:

- Griff did great with the random trip. I fed him early before we left, and he slept the whole way there plus the whole time we were test driving and doing paperwork. He woke up right as we finished, just in time to eat again and be put into his nighttime diaper. Then he slept the whole way back! I fed him when we got here and laid him back down. We will see how the night goes!
- We both feel like we got a great deal.
- The car salesman was a Christian and had a very neat testimony. We felt pretty confident the Lord lead us to this whole situation.

The bad news:
- I am exhausted. We got back at 11:30pm. Then I still had to wash the bottles, pack lunches etc. Woo hoo.
- I am exhausted but wide awake. Ugh.

Here is the van:

It's a 2006 Kia Sedona. It has a great clean carfax, is in great condition and is clean clean clean (which knowing us won't last!). It doesn't have tons of the bells and whistles- but compared to our older cars it seems so fancy! Haha!

I am so thankful to the Lord for answering our prayers to find a solid van within our budget quickly. It was hard to write the check after saving for so long, but I am glad to have it over with. Now I can get to work driving this one into the ground... Haha!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Morning walk

2011-10-11T08:26:00.001-05:00

Some quick thoughts on my walk into work:
- Griffin passed his hearing test! Couldn't remember if I blogged that or not.
- Our beloved minivan is a goner. Cracked radiator, brakes are shot, tires are down to the steel, and the transmission is ticking. We know how to run a car into the ground around here! Ha!
- I loved our van and will miss it! It was a gift from our youth parents three years ago, when we ran out last car into the ground. It always reminds me of what a giving church family we have.
- Griffin was sleeping through the night for the last three or four weeks consistently. Awesome. And then starting middle of last week he had started waking up several times a night. Any suggestions?
- My parents brought us one of their vehicles to drive until we find a minivan to buy (we have been looking for a while). We have the Best families!
- I love our Moby wrap. I went grocery shopping alone with the baby for the first time Sunday, and that thing made it a breeze! Plus it's comfy.
- Time to hit the grind again... I leave with a peek at my cute morning date:

Quite the looker, eh?

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

2011-10-08T15:27:00.000-05:00

The weather around here has been amazing! I mean, AMAZING! So today we took advantage of Mr.Pate having a day off (woo hoo!) and went to Jackson's Orchard. Its a local Orchard that has tons of family fun going on. We had not been in a few years, and wow have they stepped up their game. They have a huge playground area for only $2 a kid, hayrides, pumpkins everywhere, a petting zoo, pony rides, and yummy treats.

Griffin is still too young for all of that, so we just tried to have a little photo shoot... have I mentioned I have a spit-upy- baby? Poor pumpkins! Griffin spit up several times while we tried our best to get some good shots. I overexposed a lot of the pics, ugh! But here they are none the less... warning- if you dont like baby throw up dont look at the last one! Ha!

Love this face:

Why, hello cutie!

He dove forward and licked this pumpkin before we could stop him... nice kid.

And now the one with vomit.... just a warning in case you dont want to look.....

I want to remember what Griffin's early days were like, and they include lots of these moments so far! Ha!

.....

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.......

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Charlie!

2011-10-08T15:04:00.003-05:00

Charlie. We LOVE Charlie. Unfortunately Charlie and his parents, Terry & Judy, moved to Iowa about 2 years ago now. We miss them! They were in town recently and got to swing by and meet Griffin!

Look at how big Charlie is now! He is a teenager! Even his voice has changed!

Charlie did great with Griffin. He loves babies. We miss this family so much, and hope they will move back sooner than later!!

Test

2011-10-04T09:51:00.001-05:00

Griffin has his follow up hearing test today. For those who haven't been reading along, Griffin was on a heavy two week dose if antibiotics when he was born. A side effect is hearing damage. He passed his initial hearing test fine, so he should be ok. But it will be nice to know for sure! His appointment is at 1 pm, so I'll keep you posted.

Looking like a happy baby this morning!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Moms view

2011-10-01T10:29:00.001-05:00

Moms view today. Spending lots of time laying on my playmat bc mommy has some stomach bug. Being sick with a baby while your hubby has to work=no fun at all!!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Precious

2011-09-29T22:34:00.001-05:00

Just a few precious pics of my baby...

Being a cutie after bath time with Daddy. He and Daddy love their bath time!

The hair after bath time... Parts of it def have some curl! Ha! Still not sure what to do with it...

After our dreamfeed before I swaddle him back up. I think he is so cute with his arms up like that! Ha!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Seasons

2011-09-29T14:04:00.001-05:00

I have been walking on campus more these last two weeks, mainly because Beckys out and I have to take stuff up the hill. Anyhow, I have been seeing lots of this:

Couples all giddy and holding hands all over the place. (yes I randomly snapped a pic of one)
It takes me back...

Back to the Fall Semester of my senior year at WKU. That's when Mr.Pate and I started dating. We were so giddy and could not get enough of each other. We would be overjoyed at the opportunity to walk to class holding hands. What a sweet time.

I am finding that I love the seasons of our relationship, though they have all been so different. I loved when it was all new and we had so much anticipation over what it would become. The season if engagement was one of my favorites with the planning and investing for our future together. Life as a newlywed seemed so carefree and spontaneous. When we went through a season of hardships with job loss and health issues, we truly learned to depend on one another. Buying a house was both exciting and terrifying. And our new season of Becoming a family of three has been maybe the sweetest of all.

Seasons. The hand holding reminds of seasons. We are always excited for the start of a new season. Then we get restless and annoyed with it, and then we look back fondly at the memory of it.

I am thankful to be weathering the seasons with my man. I can imagine it any other way. So maybe tonight I will go home and be as excited to hold his hand as I was on the way to MMTH that Fall seven years ago.

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Things

2011-09-28T23:07:00.001-05:00

• Tomorrow is Thursday.
• That means only two more days or dropping Griffin off this week, only two more days of work, and only two more days till I get my boy for two Whole days!
• The Big Bang Theory comes on tomorrow night too!! Woo hoo! I think that show just gets funnier and funnier. But I am ready for Prea's (sp?) character to be gone. She just doesn't mesh well. Amy Farah Fowler on the other hand, was a genius addition to the cast!
• Guess who is in the country? Karen, Heath and their new daughter Reese! They live in Mexico. And we get to see them Saturday!!! I am sooo excited! It is very last minute. Heaths grandmother passed away, so they didn't get to come to the states for a fun visit. But I am glad I wil get to see them before Christmas.
• I am loving this weather!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Another Day 2

2011-09-28T08:21:00.001-05:00

So this is Day 2 of dropping Griff off at a daycare. Up until now he has stayed with a friend or my family and I have not had to worry one bit about the kind of care he is receiving. I knew he was being loved and cared for. End of story.

But now we are embarking on a whole new journey.... Daycare.

I know I am not the first. It will be fine. I grew up in daycare and look how fabulous I am- ha! But it is just a different experience leaving your pride and joy with complete strangers. Yesterday I worried all day about the type of care he was receiving. Were they loving on him? Did he nap? Did he get fed when he needed too? It was horrid and I was a complete mess.

When I picked him up he seemed fine. I got very annoyed bc they did not fill out all of his "cuddle gram", the piece of paper that tells me about how he ate and napped and diapers etc. It did not say a thing about his naps, or his last two feedings. Really?? So Mr.Pate is going by today to talk to them about that, and just to pop in and see what is going on in the middle of the day.

As with everything these days, they say it gets easier. When is that supposed to happen exactly? Because I am not really feeling like any of it is easier, but harder as I go. Ugh.

But you know what? The Lord is gracious. This morning I was blessed to have a smiling and cooing and hilarious baby boy, that continued to look up at me and smile like a goof during nursing. He was such a ray of hope and light to start my day. That is the Lord's mercy to me. Thank you Lord, for blessings I do not deserve!

"22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. " Lamentations 3:22-27

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

If...

2011-09-26T17:00:00.000-05:00

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be fun to wonder "if"... Maybe you want to join in? Answer each thought after the underlined part... feel free to put it in the comments or on your own blog.

If I were to get pregnant again I would probably have an emotional breakdown thinking about how it all played out last time and how we would afford it. Then I would be super excited to have another fabulous child.
If I could have any job in the world I would get paid to be at home with Griffin and keeping Mr.Pate organized. Why doesnt anyone want to pay me for that? Or I would be a paid blogger. Or a photographer.
If I had a day to myself I would sleep in, drink coffee, watch girly movies and read.
If I could get married all over again I would have a destination wedding where it is warm and beautiful, and then have a reception here. Better pictures that way, ha!
If I could live anywhere in the US I would live somewhere where the temperature is always in the 70s?
If Griffin were a girl he would have been named Adalei/Adalay (of course we never agreed on the spelling).
If I could have any talent in the world I would be good at photography.
If you met me in real life I think you would like me, but think I am short and bossy.
If I could go back to school and get a different degree I would major in photography or counseling.
If money were not an object I'd live in my same house but add a master suite on, drive a new minivan, not work , and I would eat out all the time.
If I could meet one celebrity I think I would want to meet the One Tree Hill cast.
If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it'd be TJ Maxx.
If we get another pet I would want a chihuahua! Or a dwarf giraffe (my niece wants one! ha).
If I could go on a trip, RIGHT NOW, I'd want to go to Cancun.
If I had to chose between a house cleaner and a personal chef, I'd pick the personal chef.
If I had the option of plastic surgery I'd get laser hair removal on my legs and underarms. It would save sooo much time!

Two Months Old!

2011-09-26T12:39:00.000-05:00

Griffin is 2 Months Old!

Wow this is going sooo fast! I cannot believe our little guy is a 2 month old!

Here he is at 2 weeks old:

And at 1 Month Old:

And at 2 Months Old:

Two Month Stats:

Griffin weighed in at 11 lbs 11 oz at his checkup. He is 24" long now! He has grown 3" since birth, and he was long at birth! I think its funny that my son is long... ha! This puts him in the 38th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for length! Ha!
Clothing: He is wearing 0-3 month clothing and some 3-6 month clothing. He is too long for all of his newborn clothes now. Most of the 0-3 and all of the 3-6 are still big width wise, so I guess he is kinda skinny. But I dont think he looks super long and skinny? Who knows.
Nursing: We are still going strong with the nursing. He is getting better at it and rarely fusses now. A typical nursing session only takes about 15 minutes now (instead of 45 like it used to!).
He is still spitting up a lot.
Schedule: Still on a 3 hr schedule usually, where we eats, has playtime and then naps. Every since I came back to work naps have been interesting. He will usually sleep about an hour during naps on weekends, but during the week he is waking up on and off during them. And fyi- he is not a happy camper when he wakes from a nap early. And usually one nap a day is 1 & 1/2 hr long. We start our day at 6:30am. Here is what the typical day looks like for him right now:

6:30am wake and eat
7:30-7:45am I leave and he goes down for nap
9:30am eat
11:00am nap
12:30pm eat
2pm nap
3:30pm eat
4:45pm I get home! catnap somewhere in this time frame
6:00 or 6:30pm eat
7:30pm or 8pm down for the night
9:30 dreamfeed (I get him up to eat then he goes right back to bed)

Nightime Sleep: As soon as I went back to work, Griffin started sleeping long stretches at night! Woo Hoo! It was the Lord's grace I do believe. Currently he will usually sleep from 7:30ish until the dreamfeed, and then I put him back down at 10ish. He will sleep from 10pm-6:30am!!! Not every single night, but most nights now! Yay! Isnt that incredible? On the nights that he doesnt do that, he usually wakes up around 3am for some reason.
Griffin loves to smile now and has the cutest smile ever!
He is loving to make spit bubbles these days and slobbers a ton.
He is making all kinds of noises, which we call "talking" to us. It is so fun!
He loves his playmat! He is just starting to bat at the hanging things.
I saw him reach out and grab a toy for the first time last week! Yay!
He is obssessed with eating his hand.
He sits in his highchair at the table with us and loves it. He is also just starting to sit in the bumbo and seems to like it too.
Still hates tummy time. A lot.
He has lost a strip of hair around his head, where he lays on it. But he has a thick strip of hair at the bottom and top, so it looks super funny. I have to take a picture soon.
Still not a fan of the swing. He likes his bouncer, but I just dont put him in it often.
He still falls asleep in the car everytime, and on walks.
We now wear him in the flip carrier and the moby. Love wearing him around!
He got Joey kisses for the first time this month! And he loves it! Haha!

I am so incredibly in love with this little guy. Beginning motherhood was rough for me I think. The emotions were overwhelming. But I am now totally obsessed! Ha! I went back to work when Griffin was 6 weeks old, and that has been a tough transition. We are still working on it. I miss him so much during the day. Looking back at his 1 month post made me remember being at home with him all day every day in the beginning. He was in the NICU at first of course, and then the first two weeks he was home I was so overwhelmed that I couldnt really enjoy it. So I feel like I really only got 2 good weeks of maternity leave before coming back. I came back part-time for two weeks so that helped a lot. Emotionally I feel much more like myself this month vs last month. I sooo adore seeing Mr.Pate with Griffin. He is such a good dad and an amazing husband. Sharing this parenting journey with him really does make me love him even more!

Happy Two Months Griffin! (Or as I often call you- Cutie Potootie)

Still around

2011-09-22T08:16:00.001-05:00

• I have been meaning to finish a post about Griffin being 2 months old all week...
• Work is crazy bc Beckys in fancy smanchy Europe. Whew!
• My dad is coming up all week to stay with Griffin. Looks like he is having a good time to me:

• Last night at church, however, he was not a smiles! Let's just say we had an off night.
• Encores and More consignment sale tomorrow night with my Sis. Woo hoo! This boy needs fall and winter clothing!
• On that note, it is sad the amount of clothing Griffin has in his closet that hr will not get to wear due to sizes and seasons. There are some really cute outfits that are totally for Summer that I am pretty sure he will be too big for by next summer, but he is too small for now. Sad times.
• I am digging fall weather. I love the change of seasons, it always refreshes people. Everyone seems happier when the season changes.
• Time to work! Happy Thursday people!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Woo hoo!!

2011-09-16T16:05:00.001-05:00

It's Friday afternoon!!! I have never looked so forward to the weekend before. Here's an update on us:

- Griffin spent his first full day with Daddy today, and they dud great(of course).
- We are walking in the MS walk tomorrow morning. If you are free (and live in BG) you should join us! It's at Preston Miller, there is no set registration fee (anything helps) and there is free Starbucks coffee! Registration is at 9am.
- Our babysitter is going to London next week, so my mom and dad are taking turns coming up and babysitting Griff. They are excited!
- we are starting community groups (small groups) at our church. And the first meeting is thus Sunday night. Super excited!!
- Today is gorgeous! Can't wait to get out and enjoy it!

Happy Fall Weekend!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

A little dust on the bottle

2011-09-15T18:36:00.001-05:00

Well I guess there actually may be some dust on our bottles bc my house is a wreck these days! Ha! Anyhow, now that I am back at work full time, Griffin has 3 feedings from a bottle each weekday. We thought this would be no problem. Everyone says if they take a bottle once they will always take a bottle. So Griffin started with bottles and did great with them. Then at three weeks old we stopped giving him a bottle and he didn't have one again until I went back to work at six weeks.

The first week I did part time he took the bottle great. He ate 3 & 1/2 oz and gobbled it down. Then week two he suddenly started fighting the bottle and crying during his feedings. She could barely get him to take an ounce or two. This has continued into this week. We have tried a different bottle to see if that was the issue, and we have done both fresh and frozen breastmilk. He has nursed great, just won't take the bottle well. He will occasionally not cry and just take 3 oz, but usually he fights her and barely gets 2 oz.

It's bizarre and frustrating. I want him to get enough food and I am sad that he is so distraught.

Anyone got any ideas??

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

The difference 8 weeks makes

2011-09-15T18:27:00.001-05:00

I haven't mentioned how nursing is going lately, so I thought I would take minute (while nursing actually) to reflect. If you read this blog then you know we have had a rough time with nursing.

Griffin was in the NICU for the first two weeks of his life, so the beginning was slow. He didn't get to eat period until day four of his life, and we did bottles of pumped milk and a little formula then. We got to nurse for the first time on day six or seven maybe? Griffin did great with it and latched on awesome right away. We of course had trouble keeping him awake during the feedings (like most moms do). We continued to do bottles as well during his hospital stay bc me going up at every feedings would have been nuts!

We got to "room in" with Griffin the weekend before he got discharged from the hospital (meaning we got to stay in a hospital room with him for all day and night). This was our first experience nursing exclusively, and it seemed to go really well. We continued to nurse exclusively when we took him home that Monday.

Then that Tuesday he suddenly had issues. He would scream his head off during nursing sessions, every session. He pulled off a ton and did not want to stay on and eat. But he was fine the rest if the day, so it wasnt colic or reflux. By that Wednesday night I was exhausted and discouraged. Justin made me pump and sleep and he took over Griffin. I so needed that! After that it got a little better but it was still a struggle every session. We ended up going back to pumping and bottle feeding at every other feeding, thinking he was just a lazy nurser maybe.

I went to a lactation consultation and they thought I probably had too much milk from pumping, so my letdown was probably too strong for Griffin. I had to nurse in only the side lying position for awhile, because it slowed the flow. Nursing improved a ton at that point!! Around this time though, he started throwing up more.

So from then until I started work nursing was ok, but still not great. He still screamed quite a bit. But when I went back to work something changed or clicked for Griff, because nursing has been great!! He is nursing faster and so much better. It's a sweet time and I LOVE it now!! It really is a special me and him time that I am really treasuring these days! So glad I didn't give up. I thought about quitting sooo many times during the hard times.

So that's our nursing story (more for my records than your amusement). Currently Griffin eats every 3 hours and usually sleeps eight hours at night, so we nurse 3 to 4 times a day and he gets 3 bottles. He actually is really struggling with the bottles, but that's another post.

What was your experience with breastfeeding or feeding in general? Or if you don't have kids, what are your questions about it?

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Here's to it...

2011-09-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

Heading into my first full day back. Pray for peace and a quick day and lots of energy left at the end of the day for my two favorite men! (and my fav doggie)

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Busy weekend & Griffin's week

2011-09-09T22:45:00.001-05:00

Whew, I am already exhausted and we have a crazy day coming up. Tomorrow I am throwing a baby shower for my dear friend Melanie and her soon to be arriving daughter Maeve. I am so excited to see all of my friends and celebrate with Mel and Jeff!

And then right after Mr.Pate and I (and Griffin) have to rush off to the wedding of soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy Broady! The wedding is on her family's land which overlooks the lake! I am sure it will be beautiful. I can't wait.

Then of course Sunday will be busy as always, and we are starting youth small groups back up too. We have yet to figure out how to make Sunday's not so crazy for Griffin. He gets pretty cranky by mid-afternoon because of all the going I guess. Poor guy!

So it's a packed weekend for us, and then I head back to work full time Monday. Please be praying for that transition! I am usually exhausted by 5pm, and I don't want to be exhausted during the only time we have as a family. Ugh!!

Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

Oh and some random pictures of the kid lately-

We have started sitting Griffin in his highchair after he eats (he needs to sit-up for awhile to help with the spitting up). He loves it and so do we! It's neat having him at the table with us.

This is Griff when you wake him from a good nap to eat! He just stays passed out, regardless of how you hold him. It was like I just threw a sack of potatoes over my shoulder, ha!

He decided to start riding the pony we got him... Haha!

I just like the striped shirt.

We re-tried our ring sling and it went much better.

We had a fussy night where he would only nap on someone. How cute is he?!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Cloth Diapering: Changing a Cloth Diaper

2011-09-06T18:45:00.000-05:00

*Warning: There is poop shown in this post.

So for some of you, you are wondering what exactly you do with a cloth diaper after you use it. I wanted to just show you. I could not actually change the diaper and video one handed, so I am picking up afterwards. Ha. Let me know if you have questions.

Cloth Diapering: Using Cloth Wipes

2011-09-06T18:29:00.000-05:00

We are using cloth wipes along with out cloth diapers, and I love them! They are soft, work great and are easy. For some reason, when I was preparing to cloth diaper I was most nervous about using the wipes. I am not really sure why, maybe because there are so many different ways to do them? So I am very glad it has worked out so well. Here is what I do for cloth wipes:

I store my wipes in a huggies disposables container. It works great. And I have a travel wipes container for the diaper bag ( I actually have two. I can only fit 4 wipes in one, so if you need more for a day away then pack two).

24ish baby washclothes

2 Cups Water

2 tablespoons baby shampoo

1 & 1/4 tablespoons baby oil

** Mix ingredients in a large bowl.

** Take a stack of baby washcloths (folded in half) and dunk in water.

** Remove them one by one and lightly ring out excess liquid (the first time I hardcore ringed them out and they dried out pretty fast).

** Place the wipe in the container.

Easy Peasy! If you are going to use cloth diapers then I say you just have to do wipes too! If you dont, then every diaper change you have to make sure you have a trash can near you to throw the disposable away. Or you have to put the disposable in the diaper and then it gets all weird in the wash. Because you see, with a disposable you put the wipe in the diaper, ball the whole thing up then take it to the trash. But with a cloth diaper, you ball the whole thing up and put it in a diaper pail or wet bag.

And thats how I use cloth wipes.

Working it Out

2011-09-05T17:59:00.001-05:00

I made it through week one of working part-time. I have one more week of part-time and then I am back to the full-time daily grind. So far I have been a hot mess! I cried everyday except Friday. In fact, I was so upset over all of it that my dad was worried I was dealing with PPD.

BUT I am doing much better I think. I have been thinking about it all a lot, and praying a bunch. And I am starting to feel ok with it all. Here are the things I have been struggling with:

- One of the biggest things I think I was struggling with was the fear that Griffin would like the babysitter better than me, or that we would not have as close of a bond as stay at home moms have with their kids. I just felt like I wouldn't know him best. And I want to know him better than anyone... But the thing is I am his momma. Only me. And he and I were literally inseparable for almost ten months. He likes me so much he wanted to stay in for two extra weeks! I just have to know and trust that the Lord made me Griffin's mom and Griffin will always know that. Apparently this is a normal fear?

- Many of my friends stay at home with their kids. I think I have really been struggling with feeling like I must not care as much for Griffin if I was not willing to quit my job to be home with him. So often people say that anyone can stay home if they are willing to sacrifice. But for us the only way I can stay home is for Mr.Pate to completely change jobs. 1. Getting a job that doubles your salary is not something you can do with a snap of the fingers. 2. We love our church and feel very called there. I need to quit comparing.

- I have also struggled with feeling like it is more godly for the woman to stay home, so I have felt mad that I can't stay home. But this is just dumb. Working isn't wrong and neither is staying home. The Lord directs our paths, and everyones journey is different. One is not more spiritual than the other. Now I do believe my main role from the Lord is to be a wife and mom, and those roles should be my top priorities. But for our journey right now, we need me to work to be a good wife and mother.

- I have just struggled with wanting to stay home but not being able to and feeling like it's not fair. Woe is me- I have a great job that is not hard or burdensome and is with great people. Some people cannot afford to feed their families, poor me for having to work. Basically I have been almost pouting because I can't have what I want. There are people who can't even have children, and they would be thrilled to have a few hours in the morning and at night with their own child.

It's all in our perspective. I would love to stay home, but since that is not feasible right now I need to choose to joy anyhow. Talking to my friend about this, she said "don't we have to choose to be happy sometimes?" And it's true. My husband deserves a wife that is rejoicing in this fun new season of our family, not one who is whining. The Lord knows the desire of my heart and will always lead me where I need to go. For now I am clinging to Paul's words in Phil 4:11-13

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Please continue praying that I will have a content heart in all aspects of my
Life!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Some other August Happenings

2011-09-03T09:38:00.000-05:00

Before I went back to work, we spent a day down in TN doing Doctors visits and meeting family. Here are some pics from Griffin meeting his Mema (my mom's mom).

And we have been spending time with Uncle Dustin...

And Daddy gave Griffin a beard like his! Looks good doesnt it? Ha!

Did you miss him?

2011-09-02T06:36:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted pics of my boy in a few days, did you miss him? Ha!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Day Two

2011-08-30T07:54:00.001-05:00

Well I just dropped the boy off for the 2nd time and I am walking into work (forgot how much I hate parking at wku, it's like a five minute walk to my building! Ugh). I cried a lot yesterday. It's not the actual being away from him, it's the knowing that I have to do this five days out of the seven in a week. Everyone says it gets easier. I only missed four hours yesterday and I felt like I missed most of his day! Ugh! Thankfully I have a good job with great people, but it's not the job I really want to be doing! I wish I had like four months of maternity leave!!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Motherhood Is Application

2011-08-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

Motherhood Is Application

Attention Working Moms!

2011-08-25T19:36:00.001-05:00

So I return to work on Monday. I get to do part time for two weeks, so that's a blessing. But I am bummed. I do not want to leave my boy.

Moms that work outside of the home, how do you make it through? Do you feel like you have no time with the kid? Do you feel like you spend all your time at night getting everything ready for the next day?

I am in need of lots of encouragement. I feel like everywhere I look people are stay at home moms. I feel like I am going to miss everything and he will barely know me! I feel like we will have no time with him because we won't get home until basically 5 and he will go to bed so early anyhow. Will it feel like that?? Ugh!!! And the thing is, I have been crunching numbers like crazy, but there is just no way.

I have got to get a better attitude about this and stat! Any advice?

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Follow up eval

2011-08-24T12:36:00.001-05:00

(written on Tuesday)

So today we had a follow up lactation evaluation to see how things are going and help prepare me to return to work. Griffin weighs 10 lb 3 oz now! Nursing has gotten so much better. Griffin still pulls off a lot and cries some, but typically we don't have screaming sessions anymore. The lactation consultant today thought he may he showing signs of reflux. He using spits up after every feeding, and she said his fussiness and fighting to go back on the breast might be indicators. So she suggested we go see the doctor for meds.

So we went back to see Dr. Fraser today. This is our third time to see him. I tried to tell him I am not a hypochondriac who will be in every week, haha! He does not think Griff has reflux and was annoyed that the lactation consultant worried me. He said the medicine really only helps with the burning in the esophagus and gives relief to babies who are very unhappy. Griffin is generally a very happy baby and does not fuss more than any normal baby. So he really advised me to just keep the nursing up, and to sit Griffin up for 20 minutes after eating. He said he will get better soon.

He has now spit up down my underwear and my bra, so I hope so! Haha! Motherhood is so glam.

And so the nursing saga continues...

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Cloth Diapers: The fit on a newborn

2011-08-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

We are mainly using One Size Pocket Diapers on Griffin. You can read more about what those are here. The good thing about them is that they should last us until he potty trains. The bad thing is they are quite bulky on a smaller baby. Oh well. So here are some shots on how they are fitting Griffin right now, while he is 10 lbs.

A BumGenius newborn diaper. He is almost too wide for these!

A view of what the diapers look like under a onesie...

A BumGenius 4.0. They are pretty trim One Size.

Side view of the BumGenius 4.0

The GoGreenPocket Champ. They are the trimmest One Size I have I think.

Side view of the Champ. Oh and sidenote- the insert does come out in the wash! Awesome!

The Kawaii One Size. They are my bulkiest ones I think.

Side View of the Kawaii.

My Alva. This is basically like the Kawaii. Cute print isnt it?

I have a few others to take a picture of and post still. But thats what we have so far.

They have all been really absorbent so far. I have mainly just used the bumgenius newborn insert in most of them and just one insert in the rest (only have so many newborn inserts). Thats plenty for now.

How the cloth adventure is going so far...

2011-08-23T21:35:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned the other day, we have started cloth diapering! Yay! (For those that haven't been reading my blog for very long, you can catch up with what cloth diapering is all about and why we chose to use them here.) So far it has been fabulous. I was actually nervous to start. As you may have realized, I felt pretty overwhelmed the first two weeks Griffin was home. So I was nervous to add something else to the mix. And since I had been so excited about cloth diapering, what if it didn't go well after all?? Then I had all these cloth diapers and no money in my budget to start buying disposables. I felt like there was a lot of pressure for this to work... Luckily it did!

My plan all along was to wait a few weeks and then begin. I, of course, assumed we would be home from the beginning and not two weeks into Griffin's life. So I still took three weeks once we were home to let things settle down. I think the fact that we had been using disposables for three weeks was what made me so nervous to switch. Anyhow, I had a whole stash from my friend Elizabeth to use until Griffin got big enough for our one size diapers (they are a bit bulky for a newborn), but because I ended up having a bigger baby and waiting so long they were not necessary. Griffin fits into majority of our one size diapers already! Wow! I mean, they are bulky on him, but not too bad.

So last Wednesday I got out a few diapers and just went for it. I was so nervous I was going to have a leak or something! Ha! But we have not had a single leak so far. Griffin seems very pleased, no more crying for a diaper change. I basically change him after every feeding and thats all. The pocket diapers wick away the wetness so he doesn't feel wet. Changing the diaper is super easy, just the same as a disposable except afterwards I do not throw it away but instead throw it into our diaper pail or wet bag (if we are out).

I have done the laundry twice now. I do one cold rinse first (to rinse out all the yuckies), then a wash cycle with detergent, then one more cold rinse afterwards. Then I line dry the pocket shells and put the inserts in the dryer. No biggie. I am a little worried about how I will dry them when I go back to work because I will have to do the laundry at night. Any suggestions cloth diapering people?

I am also using cloth wipes and loving them! They work so well and one cleans everything great (instead of two or three disposables). I am using baby washcloths from wal-mart and pre-moistening them then storing them in a disposable wipes container. My wipe solution is 1 cup water, 1 tbsp baby oil and 1 tbsp baby shampoo. It smells good! I did not use the cloth wipes the first day and everyone is right- using disposable wipes with a cloth diaper is annoying! You naturally throw the wipe in the diaper, but with disposable wipes you have to make an extra effort to throw it away and then put the diaper in the diaper pail. So using cloth wipes makes it so much easier.

Griffin has had diaper rash since birth because of the antibiotics he was on. After like two days in cloth with cloth wipes the boys rash was practically gone! Awesome! And so far in his lifetime we have only bought 1 thing of diapers. Yay for saving money!

I will post some pictures to show how the diapers fit right now soon. If any of you are interested in knowing more about cloth diapers, just let me know. I would really really recommend it! I do not feel like it is much more effort than using disposables, I promise. And I personally think the money savings make it so worth it!

Making progress and a busy day

2011-08-22T11:54:00.001-05:00

1. I am at the thyroid dr. Yay... Haha. Anyhow, just got weighed and I am now only ten lbs away from pre-pregnancy weight. Thank you breastfeeding. I hear the last ten is the hardest though.

2. I fit in some of my pre preggo pants! I am not sure my hips will ever fit back into my smallest jeans though, and that's ok.

3. My son is awesome. Yesterday I nurses twice at church using my cover with success! (using a nursing cover is not as easy as it looks!) And no fits! Yay!

4. Today we are having a marathon day in TN. Griffin will meet lots of people and I hope be in a good mood! We shall see.

5. My nieces love Griffin and they are so cute with him! My dad an nieces came up yesterday for a quick visit. My oldest niece is basically as tall as me now, seriously? She is growing up so fast!

And this was Griffins outfit at church yesterday. So cute!

Happy Monday!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Sleep

2011-08-21T18:31:00.001-05:00

Griffin's sleep tally last night:
- 3 1/2 hours
- 4 1/2 hours
- 3 1/2 hours

So Awesome buddy! Thanks!

He always sleeps pretty good at night. He goes right down after all feedings with no fussing and doesn't wake up in between usually. And he almost always does 3 hours at night and mostly one 4 hour stretch too. He has started stretching those out little by little and I am glad he is starting to stretch them out a little more! Yay!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Test

2011-08-21T18:26:00.001-05:00

Test

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Babies don't keep...

2011-08-20T15:56:00.001-05:00

Today some of my best friends came to visit and meet Griffin. I love fellowship with these ladies. It ministers straight to my soul. I needed today. These ladies are all moms or soon to be moms. It was really good to hear that my child is not the only one who spits up a lot, or takes a long time to nurse, or whatever etc. As a mom, I question everything and wonder if it's normal or if I am royally screwing up at this. It was comforting to feel like I am doing ok.

One of my friends has two girls (cuties), and as she left she told me something that I really needed to hear. She told me I was doing a good job, and that it gets easier. She said that after six weeks it gets much easier, until 3 months and then at six months it gets really really fun.

And you know what? I feel like each week it really is much easier. Each week I feel more confident, less emotionally unstable, and like I am enjoying him more and worrying less. If he is crying and I just can't console him, I won't traumatize him. If I give in and hold him thru his nap, I won't ruin him. He and I will both make it thru this new and uncertain beginning. In fact, we have made it thru a month and we are doing awesome!

And with that, I have to go. I am letting my son nap on me and it's almost feeding time again. Such sweet times, and I am trying to focus more on enjoying and savoring them instead of mastering how to schedule them etc.

Because I hear that babies don't keep...

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Out cold

2011-08-19T22:26:00.001-05:00

We are not the greatest at tummy time around here. Usually Griffin screams all during it. But today, the boy just fell out cold! Looks comfy! Haha!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Blessed

2011-08-19T22:24:00.001-05:00

::: I am one blessed girl. I have a husband...

... that is always willing to get up in the middle of the night and help me with Griffin. He would even let me stay asleep if he could, but I am the only one who can feed the kid!
...that takes his free time off and tells me he will watch the kid, and I should go get my hair cut.
... that cooks me dinner.
... that is willing to change diapers (even cloth ones) and help clean up spit up.
... that continually reminds me we are in this together.
... that is daily showing me the love of Christ through his servanthood. He is constantly putting our (Griff and I) needs before his wants.

I really am one blessed girl.

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

The Photo Shoot that My Son Hated

2011-08-18T12:47:00.000-05:00

So before Griffin was born, I got in the bad habit of looking at things on Etsy. Not a good idea for your budget. Anyhow, I purchased the cutest outfit for Griffin to wear during newborn pictures. Fast forward to our newborn pictures and things didn't quite go as planned. We had to do the pictures at almost 3 weeks old, instead of week one or two. So our baby was not a sleepy little newborn who would let you pose him however you wanted. Instead, he was an alert baby who wasn't having it. So the outfit didn't quite work out. Today, I decided he was in such a good mood that I would try again... bad idea. My poor son hates this thing! Sorry buddy, but you look so cute in it!

One Month!

2011-08-18T12:23:00.000-05:00

Griffin is 1 Month Old!

I cannot believe it! Happy One Month Buddy! Here is a picture from the day we brought him home from the hospital (so 2 weeks old):

And some from our photo session today:

One Month Stats:
- Griffin prob weighs in at ten lbs now, he was 9 lbs 10 oz a week ago.
- He is wearing newborn clothes and some 0-3 month clothes. The 0-3 month clothes fit lengthwise but are kinda big width wise.
- We are still nursing so far!
- Griffin is usually on a 3 hr schedule. So he wakes up and eats, then has "waketime" then takes usually two short naps with a waketime in between.
- He usually has one or two 4 hr stretches at night, then the rest are 3 hr. I am not going to complain about that! Hoping for a 5 hr stretch when I go back to work though.
- He has just started smiling and kinda laughing this week. It is the cutest thing ever! When you get close to his face so he can see you, he gets so excited. Precious!
- He always falls asleep in the car.
- Usually you can put Griffin in his crib or rock'n'play and he will go to sleep. Not always, but usually.
- He hates tummy time. But he is starting to like his playmat.

I cannot believe I have a one month old son. This has been one crazy month and I am just now starting to deal with how I feel about how everything played out at the beginning. And once we got home, I was definitely overwhelmed with having a newborn at first, but I am feeling much better now. The weepiness has gone away! Hurray! I know Mr.Pate is thrilled about that. I am growing and learning as a mom and feeling much better about the role. I still have lots of moments where I have no idea why he is crying or how to console him, and I hate those moments. But I guess I just need to get used to it. I think the hardest part for me has been giving up control. I am such a planner and control freak, so God is really using this to show me how not-in-control I am. Learning lessons is no fun.

I love my son and I am so glad to be on this journey! It is a hard one and sometimes I do wonder why we ever got ourselves into this, but he is such a blessing and i wouldnt trade him for the world!

Let the Cloth Begin

2011-08-17T08:49:00.002-05:00

We are starting cloth diapers today! Yay! I will keep you posted on how it goes.

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Teen Mom and other late night thoughts

2011-08-16T22:14:00.001-05:00

- I adore Tyler and Catelyn (sp?) on Teen Mom. They seem to be really good kids for the situations they have been in.
- I can't really stand the other moms on Teen Mom. Especially Amber. Drama. Why do I watch this show? I have no idea.
- Nursing has been going so much better, but then today we had two screaming nursing sessions. Ugh. Trying to feed your son when he is screaming bloody murder is the worst experience ever. It is so hard to tell if I should keep trying or of he wants to stop and all you want is to make him feel better. Blah.
- I got my hair cut the week before I had Griffin, so five weeks ago. The girl did not cut the back right and I have wanted to go back and get it fixed since then. Still haven't gone. One day right?
- loving this weather!
- Tonight I managed to cook dinner, pack it up, pack me and the boy up and deliver it to my hubby at Starbucks. Yep. Awesome.
- That was the first meal
I have cooked in over five weeks. Wow.
- I fit in one of my pre-pregnancy jeans. Yay!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone