Luke at 9 months old ❤️❤️❤️

Luke is my last baby. He makes me so incredibly happy. I adore the twins and love them just as much, but I now see even more how people say they love differently. The bond with each of my children is different. My bond with each of the twins is very similar, but I feel like my bond with Luke is different. I wonder if it is because I know he is my last baby?

He started clapping at 8.5 months! He claps all the time!

Luke wears size 9 months and 12 months clothing.

He is in size 4 Pampers Cruisers.

He is still breastfeeding. We made is 9 months!!! Yay!!! He started only taking 12 ounces while away from me at Sandy's during the day! He is eating more solids. He nurses in the morning, when we get home, and before bed. On the weekends he nurses 4-5 times a day.  

His hair has started to lay down. Some days more than others it lays down flatter.

At 8.5 months he started really walking up and down furniture with one hand. He has become much more confident with standing and holds on with one hand typically. 

Luke goes wherever the boys are in the house. You can tell he absolutely loves playing with them. They are so incredibly gentle with him.

He loves food and eats 2-3 meals a day. 

He is great at self feeding! He loves puffs, crunchies, Cheerios, mum mums, and avocado! 

Luke prefers to drink out of his brothers straw sippy cups!

When I lay him down to go to sleep he immediately flips on his belly with his butt in the air and his arms down by his sides.

Right after Luke turned 8 months I noticed some pain in my right nipple when nursing. I could tell it was different than a thrush pain, but didn't know what was wrong. It turned out to be a clogged duct that caused a bleb on my nipple. It has been the most painful issue we have had since starting this breastfeeding journey! I wish it hadn't taken me a week to realize what it was, so it was able to continue to get worse.

Luke constantly pushes on my chest while he nurses. I have no idea if it affects the flow, but even if I try to hold his hands he gets them out and does it. 

His little knees get so red from crawling around the house after the twins. 

Brandon made a comment that Luke eats so much better than the twins! He is less messy for Brandon. I think a lot of it has to do with how long I waited to do solids with Luke. The twins had cereal at 4 months, and homemade baby food at 6 months. Luke did not start homemade baby food until 7 months when he finally showed interest. 

He started shaking his head no-no the week he turned 9 months. 

At 8.5 months he got a flu shot and weighed 19 pounds 11 ounces. 

His 9 month appointment he weighed 19 pounds 15 ounces!

He is my quiet baby! He doesn't babble nearly as often as the twins! He says dada, and shrieks more than anything! I asked the pediatrician and she said it is most likely due to listening to the twins and taking everything in. Sure enough we've noticed when the twins are napping or with Meme and PawPaw he babbles a ton more! 

He still wakes up random nights. We snuggle in bed and nurse. He is very distracted when baring during the day. It is nice that before bed, any middle of the night, and his first nursing session he actually focuses on eating!

He still sleeps with a white noise machine on at night and nap times! It keeps him from waking when the twins are loud, and the twins don't wake to him when he gets up.

Luke takes a morning nap, an early afternoon nap, and sometimes a late afternoon nap.

He got his first ear infection this month from being sick for so long. He has had a head cold for 2 months. Snot pouring out his nose gets better then worse. We love humidifiers, boogie wipes, and amoxicillin! 

He celebrates his first Thanksgiving this month! He looked precious with a Camo and Minky brown onesie that said "My First Thanksgiving" We celebrated at Meme and PawPaw's first, then went to Aunt Kitty's house. My daddy, Luke's Grandpa got to come home from California to see us! It was a very blessed thanksgiving! 

Drake and Hunter 2.5 years old ❤️

The boys are growing so quickly! They are more little boys and less toddlers lately. They have a full vocabulary. They speak very clearly, and are rarely misunderstood.

Hunter is still stubborn and independent. He is so incredibly sweet though! He loves to say "I love you" and says it often. I think it is because of how often he hears us say I love you that he has picked it up as a habit. I love it ❤️ He has perfected his pout and crosses his arms when upset. 

Drake is still a major Momma's boy. He sits with me a lot. Asks to be held very often. "I want to hold you" is how he asks to be held. He gives the best puckered up kisses! A perfect pucker and just recently started holding my face when he kisses. He is incredibly loving to everyone. He adores Luke and plays with him often. He now says I love you as often and Hunt.

The twins share incredibly well. Hunt does have an issue with wanting whatever Drake is playing with. He at times cries until Drake gives it up and then he is fine. Other times, they share with absolutely no issue. 

They were Mickey Mouse for their 3rd Halloween this year! I asked them what they wanted to be and that is what they picked!

They are in a major Caillou stage. They LOVE this show so much. We watch it several times a day. We do not watch Barney often anymore. We still watch Mickey Mouse and they love it. They ask for Caillou more often though, I remind them we need to watch Mickey for Luke. They do not mind. They also watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Chuggington, a recent Sesame Street stage (really only Elmo).

Drake had a scary event in his life this month. They had been eating the small bags of m&m's and skittles from Halloween. There were no more in our candy, so I gave Drake a chewy candy the size of a quarter. He did not chew it and swallowed it whole, well tried. He choked. Literally. Tears, no noise, choked. Hunt was screaming at the top of his lungs "Drake! Drake!" I flipped him over and hit his back several times, then stuck my finger in his mouth and pulled the candy out. Hunt threw his candy on the counter. He was petrified. Drake was crying, Hunt was hysterical. Luke was crawling on the floor. I was crying, holding the twins trying to calm them down. Hunter took longer to calm down than Drake. It was traumatizing. He kept asking "Drake okay?" Drake would say "I choked!" 

Drake choked again a week later at a birthday party after he put several chicken nuggets in his mouth! I pulled them out of his mouth, and Hunter kept saying "Drake is ok." Drake was in tears, but not crying badly. He was scared. 

They often ask to sleep on the floor or in each other's bed. 

Sometimes naps are issues because they talk the entire time. 

Some quotes ... 

"Mommy you saved me" 

"I love you ... So much"

"I need my oculars"

"It's in the fridgafrater"

"maybe later" 

"I save the day"

"You are my bestfriend" 

"I want popplesauce" - Hunt

"I want to hold you"

"Santa" for Drake 

"Claus Claus" for Hunt

"I Wove You"

"I don't like chocolate in my waffles!" - Drake

"I want my deer blanket" 

"I want Caillou"

"____ not being nice"

"You're mean ____"

"Be nice _____"

"I want Mickey Mouse"

"I want toast" --any waffle, french toast sticks, etc for breakfast.

Every single bath they wipe their eyes with a wash cloth after you put water over their head. They hand it to each other while I pour the water!

They love to sleep together !!

They are in an Elmo and Cookie Monster phase ! They don't like the show that much, but love the characters! They call is Elmo Street!

Hunt especially loves to line any objects up and call it a train! 

They love to play catch!

Drake plays and wrestles with Luke often!  He shares really well with him. 

Hunt loves to get in Luke's crawl around car and fake drive! He will drive around stuffed animals.

They love bath time and writing with bath crayons! 

They both call me momma or mommy !

Brandon is daddy!

Luke is sometimes called Lukey by the twins, which I dislike. We are working on breaking this habit!

They absolutely love books! They read ALL the time! 

Drake refers to Hunter as Hunt often. This is because I often call him Hunt!

Drake is going through a picky eating stage! 

They do not like chocolate milk! 

They love sweets, applesauce, fruit snacks, oatmeal, yogurt, chicken nuggets, French fries, burgers, spaghetti, lasagna, bread, veggies, and chips to name a few 😜

They are not able to drink juice, so I use the flavor enhancers to spray in their water to give it flavor. 

They are very attached to their "deer blanket" from their crib bedding set! They did not become attached until they were a year old, but this blanket has magical powers! If they are hurt, upset, or tired they ask for their "deer blanket" This blanket can solve any problem! I bought them a Mickey Mouse blanket thinking they would move on to a different blanket, they absolutely did NOT work! 

They also sleep with their Barney pillow pet every night!

They must be dressed the same at ALL times! They throw a fit if they do not have the exact same outfit on! Hunt throws more of a fit than Drake.

They freak if they don't have a shirt on which makes me laugh since they were diaper babies for 18 months! 

They ask to have their pants, socks, and shoes taken off while at home. They are typically running around in a shirt and underwear. I think they should be comfortable while at home so it does not bother me at all. 

They do great wearing hats!

Their biggest fights are when one twin wants the other to play a certain game or with a certain toy and the other twin does not want to play at that moment.

We read a Jake and the Neverland Pirates book. One of the characters is "Smee" Hunter was firs told this name by Brandon. He thinks Brandon is saying this character is "me" So if you ask Hunt to say the characters name he says it is Daddy! We have gone over it no less than a hundred times and he does not realize we are saying Smee! 

When they sing "Jake and meeeeee" from the theme song of Jake and the Neverland Pirates it is precious!

Hunt's hemangioma on his butt is almost completely flesh colored!

Drake's is on his shoulder blade and doesn't seem to be going away nearly as quick. This surprises me since it is so much smaller.

They call their butt their "booty butt" 

They have become much more independent lately! They get themselves out of the car, and will tell me "Don't help me mommy, I can do it" 

They go to bed between 7 and 8 and sleep 12 hours. They still take a 2 hour nap around noon.

Drake was up until 10 the other night so he was overtired and emotional. I was rubbing his head and telling him "mommy is here, you are okay." He was almost asleep when he said "Mommy" I said ya baby, "I love you" I immediately had tears rolling down my cheeks. I feel that he truly understand what love is and the appropriate times to say it. I will never forget that night as long as I live.

These boys are such a blessing. I wish more people could experience how truly amazing they are to watch. Identical twins are fascinating, and I am loving every minute of raising my sweet boys. 

 

Luke is 8 months old ❤️

Luke is 8 months old and growing too quickly.

He got a flu shot at 8.5 months old and weighed 19 lbs 11 ounces fully clothed, so probably more like 19 lbs 6 ounces.

He started pulling up and pulls up on everything in sight. 

He will pat-a-cake with one hand open and one hand closed when he claps!

He is in size 4 Pampers Cruisers. 

His two middle bottom teeth broke through the week he turned 8 months. He was not fussy at all when they came through.

He crawls everywhere and chases the boys.

He is in size 9 months clothes. 

Luke giggles all the time! He laughs when I talk, laughs when he knows he is about to nurse, laughs at his brothers, literally anything is funny to him. It is heartwarming to hear that sweet sound!

He goes to bed around 7 pm and typically sleeps 11 hours. 

We are still successfully breastfeeding! I am so excited to be able to write that! He nurses once before we leave for Sandy's, and one to two times in the evenings. He typically takes 3 to 4 six ounce bottles while he is away from me for 9 hours a day. Nursing can calm him down if he is ever upset which is nice. If he does not want to nurse something is really wrong. 

Luke still randomly likes to sleep with me at night. He will fall asleep in my bed nursing, then when I go to take him to his room he bursts into tears. I give in because this is not often, so I know he must need some mommy time. Being a working mommy I miss so much, he is my last baby... I will take all the snuggles I can get. I never imagined myself co-sleeping in any way, but with breastfeeding it has become something that does occur with Luke and I. 

He eats solids two times a day. He loves avocado! We have yet to find something he does not like. 

Luke eats yogurt melts, puffs, and MumMums! He is good at self-feeding!

He will drink out of a straw sippy cup. He prefers the boys large ones to his smaller one. 

He learned how to climb on the twins Mickey Mouse couch, then climb on the coffee table! This is a daily occurrence! He has yet to hurt himself while on the couch, but loves to stand there and bang things on the table. 

He plays with all the toys in our home, the twins or his! 

Everything goes into his mouth right now!

He still sleeps with a pajama sleeper on, a blanket, and his white noise machine! 

Luke managed to pull his curtains into his crib the other day! So now I pull the curtains to the side where he can't reach them! 

Luke is SUCH a wiggly boy when he is awake and nursing! He is practically doing the alligator death roll half the time. When he is half asleep it is not an issue, but when awake it is comical. He will sit up and nurse, lay on his belly, lay flat, unlatch and talk, giggle, switch sides. He has a hard time staying focused when the twins are around so I typically take him into the bedroom to nurse.

We still think he looks just like mommy! He has my eyes for sure! His hair stands straight up, but not quite as much as Drake's did! 

He takes two naps a day. One around 9:30 and the other around 1/1:30. We start baths around 6:30 and he goes to bed at 7 after nursing. 

He loves bath time.

Luke scrunched his nose often! He quints his eyes when he does this! 

He is an incredibly happy baby. Rarely is he fussy unless it's bedtime or time to eat. He had a fussy week at the start of this month, but we think he may have been feeling bad.

Moments in time with my three boys ...

When I envisioned my three boys playing together I never imagined it would be so soon that they would really be able to play. The twins are exactly 2.5 years old and Luke is 7.5 months old.

Luke has been crawling for a month now, and as of a week ago pulls up on every single thing in sight. The twins chase him, and he crawls as fast as he can giggling the entire time. He crawls up onto their Mickey Mouse couch and sits with them. He stands and plays with them at the Lego block table. 

Tonight he crawled on their couch and managed to crawl from there onto the COFFEE TABLE while I was putting Christmas decor up with the twins. He is not even 8 months old?!? I was shocked and terrified when I saw him on his hands and feet on the edge of the table. I just knew he was going to topple backwards and I would not get there fast enough. Thankfully, I was to the table before he fell. 


Watching these three boys giggle together melts my heart. The twins adore their baby brother. I was going to leave Luke at Sandy's one afternoon and she was going to bring him to me after his nap. Hunter had a fit in the car saying "Mommy you forgot Luke, get Luke, Luke is my friend!" Talk about melting this mommy! 

Hunter also says I love you unprompted now. He always says momma first and waits for you to say what/yes, then says "I wove you mommy." It is one of the most amazing things I have ever heard in my entire life. The way he pronounces love sounds like he makes the l a w sound. After he says it Drake tells me "I love you too momma"


The horse on Caillou is named Lucky. Earlier this week I said I am a lucky mommy. Drake and Hunter kept repeating, "No mommy, you are not lucky" It would have been priceless on video.


Today I said sounds like a plan to the twins on the way home. Hunter immediately said "I don't like plans! No plans mommy, I don't like plans!"


The twins have been asking to sleep on the floor in their room or sleep with each other. Drake does not feel like his bed is big enough for them to sleep together. I was planning to redo their room for their 3rd birthday, but I am unsure if we will make it until then. Rooms to Go has the perfect bunk beds that are meant for toddlers. They are 4 foot tall with extra wide steps. This is the bed I am leaning towards.



Lately the twins have been waking up around 6 am which makes getting ready for work incredibly difficult. I am hoping they will go back to sleeping until 7 am.


The twins enjoy being able to feed Luke puffs. They play and are incredibly gentle with him. Luke is always right there with them playing anywhere in the house. The great thing is we do not have many toys that Luke cannot play with so he can go with them to play. 



I am blessed beyond words and enjoying these moments with my three boys!

First trip to the Barber Shop ...

Brandon's grandmother, Nanny, has cut the boys' hair for the past year and a half. She does an amazing job and the boys do well. We are having pumpkin patch pictures taken, so they needed a hair cut. She was busy, and the boys are older so I figured they would be fine at a barber. Drake was saying he did not want one, so I bribed him with a treat.

We went to Lynn's Barber Shop. They were incredibly patient and kind to my boys. The boys placed their John Deere hats on the hat rack and we waited until someone was available. Two different people cut their hair. I was having a total freak out the entire time thinking what if their hair does not match at the end of this. The boys sat still and talked the entire time. I held Luke and took photos. A woman cut Drake's and a man cut Hunter's. It turned out perfect, and the boys earned a green sucker! They asked to take photos of the boys with mustaches, so we had a small photo shoot at the end. They did not want to leave when all was said and done. They asked for another hair cut. 

Today is not my day ...

On a typical day I think my life is pretty easy. Raising 3 boys, teaching, keeping our home running, and being a wife is my every day life. 

Get myself rest for work, get Luke ready, dress the twins, buckle all 3 in their car seats, unload all 3 at Sandy's, tutor before school, teach 3 classes, pump for Luke, teach a class, eat lunch, 52 minute planning period, teach 2 more classes, pump for Luke, pick up and load all 3 boys from Sandy's, unload all 3 boys at home, cook dinner, play with the boys, feed all 3 dinner, bathe Luke, nurse Luke, put Luke to bed, play with the twins, bathe the twins, read a bedtime story, listen to them read a story to me, pick up the toys, clean the kitchen, clean my pump, and anything else that needs to be done to keep our house going. Normally, this comes easy to me.  Not. Today. 

I think lack of sleep and pure exhaustion has kicked in today. I am overwhelmed. I am tired. I am stressed. I miss sleep. I want a break. I adore my children, but oh my gosh do I want to sleep for an entire day. 

I want to have a spotless clean house again. I want Drake to not be overly dramatic. He has cried for 3 hours this evening. Over nothing. Over everything. I want Luke to sleep through the night again. I want the laundry to magically hang itself in my closet. I want work to not be so overwhelming. 

I. Need. A. Break. 

Whether I actually get one, that is another story. 

Luke at 7 months ...

Luke is officially 7 months old! I have decided on his birthday theme because it will be here before we know it! I wanted to be able to reuse some of the twins' birthday decor from their Dr. Seuss first birthday. I decided on a Carnival/Circus theme! I am going to add in some yellows to the red, white, and turquoise decor we already have :) 

He was able to sit himself up a week after he turned six months old!

A week later he was able to crawl, so around 6.5 months he was mobile. He was not fast until a week after learning how to crawl. He takes off quickly now! I have to keep my eyes on him or he will be gone and we will not realize which room he is in. 

Right now he is crawling normal with his knees on the ground. The twins started out this way as well, then switched to holding their knees up. He does crawl like them when on tile.

He has started to pull himself up. He gets on his knees often and plays, but does not stand to play often. He has done it a handful of times.

We are still in size 3 diapers due to trying to finish the opened box we have. It is amazing how many less diapers one baby goes through compared to the twins! 

He is in size 9 months clothing and can squeeze into some 6 months.

We are still breastfeeding, YAY! We nurse in the morning before work a couple times a week  if he wakes up and twice after work typically. The weekends we breastfeed for every feed. I am still absolutely loving breastfeeding. We lay in bed to nurse most of the time. I love looking at him knowing my body created all those rolls! I love knowing my body is providing the nourishment he needs for him to grow. The bond is one only a breastfeeding mother can understand. We are blessed to have made it 7 months!


He has been sick recently so he has been up several times at night. He cannot breathe out his nose at all. We are using a humidifier to try and help.

We introduced solids this month! He loves bananas! I break them into small pieces and feed him. He has also had avocado and carrots. He enjoys puffs and yogurt melts! Luke has started eating 18-20 ounces while I am at work. I am barely keeping up with him with pumping. I have added more Gatorade to my diet and this has helped. 

Luke crawls and plays with everything all around the house! There is not an area he can't be in, so he goes everywhere. He loves to play with the twins' toys! 

The twins and Luke were playing with the Fisher Price Ballapalooza this weekend. I purchased this gift for Christmas for the twins when I was pregnant last year. I envisioned all 3 boys playing with it one day. That day finally came, and it melted my heart! I love watching how kind they are to their brother. They love to play with him. They ask for him constantly. These boys are going to be so incredibly close, and it makes my heart overflow.

He gets a bath around 6:30, is nursing by 6:50, and in bed around 7! Luke sleeps through the night some nights, other nights he is awake once around 4/5ish. I don't mind the extra snuggles since I am working. 

He goes to sleep with a blanket, his glowing sea horse, and white noise playing in his room. 

He is an incredibly happy baby. Luke only fusses when he is hungry or tired. He goes to sleep very easily without crying when in his room. He struggles to fall asleep at other places except for Ms. Sandy's since that is his routine.

Luke typically takes a longer morning nap around 9:30 am. He takes an afternoon nap around 1 pm. Sometimes he needs a short nap when I get home around 4:30/5.

This months photos were by far the hardest to take! He wanted to grab his lamp and crawl off his shelf. 

Luke is my baby boy, and that means extra snuggles, extra kisses, and lots of love!

Luke's Growth in 6 months ...

Luke has gone from 8 lbs 7 ounces at birth to 17 lbs 10 ounces. 

He gained a total of 9 pounds 3 ounces! 

He was 19.5 inches at birth and 26.25 inches now. 

He grew a total of 6.75 inches! 

Way to go baby boy! Momma's milk is making him nice and chubby! 

Luke { 6 months }

Luke is 6 months old, and growing like a weed.

He is officially in 9 months clothing and sleepers. He can wear some of his 6 month and 6-9 month onesies. 

He has worn size 3 diapers all month, but they are very snug. We will be transitioning to 4's once we finish this package.

Luke is incredibly happy. He constantly smiles and his smile lights up his whole face. He has a very open smile like his big brother Drake.

He laughs at his brothers often and thinks they are funny when they are loud.

I tried feeding him homemade bananas at 5.5 months, but he was uninterested. He did not want to open his mouth for the spoon, so I took his cue and waited. I tried again this week and he was definitely ready. He would open his mouth for the spoon and ate two baby bullet containers!! 

He was exclusively breastfed until we started the bananas. Luke has done fantastic breast feeding and did not have a hard time transitioning to taking 3 bottles a day while I am at work. We typically nurse once right when I get him home, and once before bed. 

He was sleeping from 7-4ish, but he started waking 2 weeks ago at 12/1ish too. He has a cough and runny nose, so I figured that was playing a part in it as well as him being in the 5th developmental leap. I use the Wonder Weeks app and it has been spot on for Luke. The twins' sleep patterns never changed unless they were sick. Luke's gave gone along with every leap just like it says. He is now back to sleeping 7-6.

We transitioned out of the rock and play at 5.5 months and he did amazing. He naps and sleeps at night laying flat now at all times. 

He still sleeps with white noise or music on all night. 

Luke was officially able to sit up on August 19th, 6 days after he turned 5 months, and the day I returned to work! He absolutely loves sitting up and playing. His favorite toy is the Laugh and Learn Workbench. He sits up and plays with the twins often now.

Luke is able to go from sitting up to laying down on his belly. 

He is mobile by scooting in circles an backwards! 

He loves to push his butt up in the air like he's doing a push up, makes me wonder if he will crawl like the twins!

I got the twins' bath seat out for him to use, and he loves it. He chews on the foam letters while he bathes now.

Still no teeth, and the drool seems to have lessened! The twins had their first teeth appear at 7.5 months, so I am interested to see when Luke's appear. Especially since we are breastfeeding, I am fine with them taking their time!!

He still looks like mommy, but definitely favors his brothers too. He has my large open eyes! 

His hair went through a growth spurt and stands straight up just like the twins' did. 

Luke has a completely different nose than the twins, eye shape that resemble Drake's, blue eyes like the twins, same chin, very round face like Hunter and Daddy, and long eye lashes like all of us.  

Luke only cries when he is hungry or overtired. He hums when he is getting tired.

He still sleeps with a light blanket that he loves to put up around his face. A blanket can calm him down and help him go to sleep almost immediately. 

He fusses when being buckled into his car seat sometimes. I will be purchasing his big boy car seat soon. I am ready to transition out of his infant car seat since he is heavy. 

He often falls asleep in the car while driving. 

Luke adores Mrs. Sandy just like the twins do! He takes bottles easily for her and lights up when he sees her in the mornings!

He usually eats 15-18 ounces total while I work in three bottle feeds. He has taken as much as 9 ounces in one feed by bottle!! He is using the NUK bottle. 

I pump 3 times a day while at work and typically get around 12-15 ounces total, so I am barely keeping up! The 100 ounces I had in the freezer before work are helping to keep me 4-5 days ahead of him! 

He finally rolled again belly to back a couple times, and does it in the crib sometimes. He still does not do it often, but proved he has the ability. He will do it at night while in his crib most often.

Luke will sleep on his belly or his back in his crib. Sometimes he immediately rolls over to his belly, but most often he falls asleep on his back. 

He took another trip to the lake this month and loved it! His swim suit from Fourth of July definitely wouldn't fit, so I got out the twins' swimsuits from when they were 14 months, and it fit with a little room to grow. He is definitely going through sizes much quicker than they ever did. 

He loves sitting and playing with Bowen too!! Now that he is sitting and not laying down Bowen is able to really notice him and stop to play! I can't wait to watch their bond grow!

I love how much the twins adore him. They ask for him immediately when they wake up. They will bring him toys and tell him he's okay when he fusses. Hunter calls him "Lukey" often.

Luke is such a happy baby. I couldn't be more blessed with these three healthy, happy, beautiful Olive boys! 

Breastfeeding, Milk Supply, and Pumping Tips

• Gatorade helps my supply a TON! I am busy running after toddler twins and rarely have the time to drink the amount I should be to be successfully breastfeeding a baby in the 76th percentile for weight. I drink 1-2 a day.

• If you are pumping, these flanges are a MUST! This listing is for all the sizes, but if you know what size you would need you can order individually. They are slanted which makes pumping so much more enjoyable. I hated having to sit straight up before I purchased these. Also, having correctly fitting flanges will make a difference in the amount you are able to express.

• Absolutely purchase a hands-free bra to use while pumping. No one has time/desire to sit there and hold the flanges!

• Do not stress if the baby does not latch immediately. I wish someone had told me that before I had my baby. I was completely freaked out the first 24 hours when he had no interest in nursing. He wanted to sleep. Then a lactation consultant came to my room and told me this was perfectly normal. 

• REQUEST A LACTATION CONSULTANT! It makes such a huge difference to have support! While you are in the hospital see if they have lactation consultants and request them to come daily.

• The Medela shells are a GOD SEND! I wore these the first 6 weeks. My nipples never cracked, bled, hurt, etc. They keep anything from touching them during those weeks of toughening them up. I think they are one of the main reasons I was successful through the difficult first weeks.

• Have a nursing position you love! I love to nurse cross-cradle with my boppy. He is 5 months old and I still use my boppy!

• Side lying position was incredibly difficult for me when he was a newborn. I have a very large chest, and he was 8 lbs 7 oz at birth. It was still too far of a distance from his mouth to my nipple. After a couple months we were able to do this position at night, and we love it!

• Buy Lansinoh Lanolin cream before going to the hospital! This cream goes on your nipples and helps keep them from drying/cracking/bleeding. I used it when I was pumping for my twins. With the Medela shells this time around, I did not need it.

• I store my pumped milk in Lansinoh Milk Bags. I did not pump until he was 2 months old. I stored it in 3 ounce increments. I wish I had done 4 ounces. Freeze them laying flat, so they will take up less space. 

• At 3 weeks old I decided to try a pacifier. I knew you were supposed to wait longer, but I felt like he was using me as a pacifier. He used a pacifier for less than 24 hours. All of a sudden it was taking me 30 minutes to get him latched where as before it was immediate. The only way I can explain it is it felt like he was sucking too soft. It was awful. I thought I had ruined my chances at breastfeeding. I cried and cried. The next day we were back to normal and he never had a pacifier again!

• I did not introduce a bottle until he was 2.5 months old. I was worried about nipple confusion, especially after the pacifier incident. 

• We had Dr. Brown's bottles from our twins, so I tried those first. He would suck them, but it took FOREVER for him to drink a bottle. Nearly 30 minutes for 3-4 ounces. So, I tried the NUK bottle since it more resembles a breast. He does much better with this bottle.

Potty Trained at almost 28 months !

Hunt has officially figured out when he needs to poop! He now goes poop in the potty as of last week. That was the last thing we were waiting for between the two boys. 

So, I am happy to write while my boys are awake they are always in underwear and fully potty trained. They have no accidents at home. They have had a few accidents at Aunt Lacey's. They tell us when they need to go. We ask sometimes, but since they are able to tell us we do not have to ask often. 


We will continue to put them in diapers at nap time and bed time. Some days they wake up completely dry, other days they do not. Once they are consistently dry a couple weeks we will move to big boy underwear at sleeping times. Until then, I am completely happy with our progress! I am hoping it will go as well with Luke later down the road since he will have older brothers to watch!




Start Date: Friday June 28th   (26 months old)
Completed: Saturday August 10th  (27.5 months old)

Luke {5 months}

How is Luke 5 months?! Where did that time go? I am shocked that he is almost half a year old. 

He has discovered his tongue this month. He smiles with it out of his mouth constantly.

He is very expressive! Almost always smiling!

He is still exclusively breastfed! I am so excited we made it 5 months! We still love the cross cradle and side lying nursing positions. I still use my boppy and love it! 

We did a couple spoonfuls of oatmeal cereal for 2 nights, but I decided to stop. He caught a cold from his brothers, so I wanted him to have strictly breast milk.

I have decided to start solids at 6 months  with homemade baby food. 

He sits unassisted for a couple minutes at a time. He has stopped sitting like a tripod and is able to sit straight up. He can hold toys while sitting up and chew on them. I know it will not be long and he will officially be sitting up! 

He watches his brothers constantly, and starting laughing at them this month! It makes it difficult when nursing because he wants to look at them rather than eat.

He shows more interest in the television than the twins ever did! He will watch it with the twins! 

We are still up 1 to 2 times a night. Typically one time! He had a runny nose for a week which made it hard for him to sleep! When I get up with him around 4 I put him in bed with me to feed him. We typically fall asleep together for a couple hours. 

I had been putting him to bed around 8 or 8:30. He started getting up around 1 and 4/5 ish. He had not been getting up at 1 in over a month. I bumped his bedtime to 7 because he seemed tired then. He sleeps MUCH better. He sleeps 9 hours typically. I wish he would stay up later so when I return to work I will have more time with him, but for right now it is what he wants. 

He was able to fall asleep unswaddled in his crib and sleep 2.5 hrs. He rolled over to his belly and slept most of the time on his belly. He still refuses to roll belly to back consistently! Has no desire to do it! I let him cry when he woke up, but felt awful since he could not roll himself back over. I had to swaddle him to sleep the rest of the night. So, we are making progress with no swaddle. He doesn't have to be swaddled in his rock and play. Only laying flat in his crib.

Luke absolutely loves to sleep in his rock and play. He naps in it every day. He was staying up 1.5 hours before needing a nap. We lay him in it with a thin blanket and white noise machine on. He doesn't fuss and goes right to sleep. In the past 2 weeks he has been needing to go to sleep after an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. I am thinking it must be a growth spurt.

He stayed with my mom for several days while I had a training. He did great with his bottles! I was so proud of him!

His hair stands straight up just like mine did as an infant, and his brother's did as infants too. I love it! His hair has dramatically lightened up since birth. It is white blonde like his brothers' now. 

I have a little over 100 ounces frozen in our deep freeze for him. 

Luke loves his jumperoo. He also enjoys sitting in his bumbo on his activity mat. He has started arching back in the bumbo, so not sure how much longer we will use it. He loves his swing, but I don't use it as often as I did with the twins. I put him on his rock and play in how room for naps since the twins are up playing, and that's when they really used theirs.

He is scooting around the room now! He likes to go backwards which is exactly what the twins did! He scoots himself as far as he can go under the couch and it brings me right back to when the twins would do the exact same thing. 

He rolls back to belly constantly, but will not roll belly to back often at all. He has done it a handful of times, but not consistently.

Luke takes 3-5 ounces out of a bottle typically. He tends to take less from Brandon for some reason. He always takes at least 4 ounces with my mom or his mom.

He is in size 3 Pampers Cruisers.

Luke wears size 6 months in outfits. He can wear some of his 3 to 6 months outfits, but has outgrown a few.