Dominic - 10 Months Old

10 Months old. Wow. My precious boy... You're much less baby, much more toddler lately. I was playing Rock-a-bye baby with you the other day and I couldn't believe how huge you got! When did this happen?! In 6 months you're going to be a big brother and I'll have another tiny human to snuggle <3.

If you zoom in or look really closely you can see my two little chompers!! I am such a happy boy!

Weight: 23.6 lb. (35th percentile) I feel like he is so chunky, but I guess just his head is massive! Haha. He doesn't have any crazy rolls, but he is definitely healthy! 
Height: 28.6 inches (50th percentile)

Looks like he's continuing the chunky trend this month. Even though he's crawling and constantly moving around. Love his big round cheeks and bald head!

Likes:

• Bath time. Still loves it, as he almost always has! It's a surefire way to cheer him up. Except he also really likes standing up in the bathtub lately, which we're much less fond of.
• Sharing his food with us... and the dog. I'm sure it's just in hopes we will reciprocate, but the dog will just sit beside his high chair and wait, knowing Dom's little hand with meat or cheerios or veggies will come popping down.
• Favorite foods: smoothies, cheese & crackers, meat of any kind, shepherd's pie, cheerios, berries, grapes, grilled cheese, PB&J sandwiches, yogurt, whatever we're eating, tuna, pouches (which he's had a ton of during my first trimester), applesauce, and many more things I can't think of right now!
• Reading books, especially peek-a-boo books. He will sit and flip the pages on his books for a long time keeping himself busy. Close to bed time he starts getting fussy, so we grab a blanket and sit on the couch with a pile of books and he just flips through them rapid fire while cuddling the blankie. Super sweet moments. 

Dislikes:

• Getting his nails cut. I have to bite them most of the time, which is kind of gross, but whatever. They grow so fast and then he slices his face all the time! We often go out with battle scars on his face. 
• Pasta. I have tried a number of times to get him to eat pasta because it's easy, cheap, and relatively nutritious. It's a no-go. He is literally offended by it. 
• Diaper changes. He just hates being restricted to his back, even for 30 seconds. If it's close to bed or nap time he will snuggle his blanket or his bear during the diaper change which helps, but during play time it's really hard to wrangle him! He's rolling and flipping and crawling away constantly! Sometimes I give him my phone to chew on just to keep him in one spot for more than 5 seconds... 

Notes:

• Lots of changes this month! I feel like the developmental leap from 9 to 10 months was huge for Dom. 
• Two days after Dom turned 9 months he started crawling, and hasn't stopped since! He is such a maniac. He will crawl all around the main floor, and speed up when he sees you coming to pull him away from somethign he shouldn't have. 
• On October 5 Dom's first tooth popped through. He now has his two bottom teeth! Pretty cute little grin I think. 
• Wearing all 12-18 month clothing.
• He has very fine, light hair, but it's starting to come in!
• He is going to be a big brother in 6 months! Yikes...
• He is making lots of noises now. Da da, ma ma, nay nay, ba ba, boo, bmmooo (like a cow), and so many more. I am 90% sure they don't have meaning yet and it's just fun to make noise, but still pretty cute. 
• He climbed the stairs for the first time on Oct 17, and had his first little stair tumble on Oct 23. I was on the landing packing up his exersaucer and before I know it he's on the steps behind me and then falls and splats on his face. Luckily it was only two steps, but how he got up there so quickly will never cease to amaze me. He's totally okay, but we now have a big piece of furniture blocking the staircase until we can get another proper gate. 
• He thinks he's pretty hilarious. For example, when eating he will reach for his water, take a HUGE gulp, and then stare at you and smile as he lets it all fall out of his mouth. If I'm not watching him drink he will drink just fine, but he thinks it's so funny. I have to chuckle every time. Dave says I'm just encouraging him. 
• Sometimes he will crawl over to the nook and pull out his old toys from when he was smaller. For example, the exersaucer I've now packed away. He wanted to play with it, but he's way too big! Pretty funny seeing him bounce around in it like a maniac though. 
• He is noticing little details like a spot on the floor or a small hole in clothing. He picks away at it with his little pointer finger. Pretty cute. 
• He's starting to wave good-bye which is SUPER precious. He did it once really well, with finger waving and everything. Now it's more of a salute than anything, but I still love it. 
• We are completely done nursing now. It happened very smoothly and naturally, and I think I'm really ready to be done. I was hesitant for a while, but my body decided we're done! He drinks about 24-30oz of formula each day from his 4 bottles. 
• We spent our first night away from Dominic this month. I don't think he even noticed. We have him on a good routine, and he's well sleep-trained so he still slept through the night. Whew!!! We should do this more often while we still can... 

Typical Daily Schedule:
630am - wake up
645am - bottle
730am - oatmeal
930am - Nap 1
1045am - wake up
1050am - bottle
1200pm - lunch
145pm - Nap 2
300pm - wake up
310pm - bottle
500pm - dinner
700pm - bed time

 

I hope he grows up and continues to love books this much. 

Yummmm... peanut butter sandwich.

Crawling can get you into some predicaments...

Dom seems to share his father's affinity for Natalie Portman. This page often has more time spent on it than the others. Oh Dom...

Giving himself kisses in the glass... So many smears all over it now.

We love the play pen! Only way to keep this beast contained. He is just happily reading his book. 

Thankful Thursday - 106

This week I'm grateful for...

1. I'm starting to feel a bit more lively. I am able to go through my day with one short nap, if that. I can help out more around the house again, and hopefully can start getting things back in order! I got out for a nice long walk on the sunny days this week. Today it was a trip to Starbucks to treat myself! 

I felt like a total boss with my Starbucks, stroller, happy baby and dog. That is... until I tried crossing the street and my coffee spilled all over my hand and dribbled all down my chin in front of the busy traffic. There's the real Renee! 

2. I think we've mostly figured out Daycare!! I'll post for real when all the details are hammered out, but we're super excited about the potential opportunity. Still looking to fill the Fridays though, unless David uses his day off towards that :). This is such an incredible weight off my shoulders.

3. The ham-bone. Dominic is developing such a personality. He loves to be "chased" when he's crawling somewhere he knows he shouldn't be (like towards the dog's food and water bowl). He LOVES to make noise by smashing his hands or objects on other objects. I'll post more about him tomorrow when he's 10 months old (insert ugly cry face). 

This boy is so vain. Kissing his reflection in the fireplace glass. (It's an electric fireplace, so the actual glass never gets hot)

Side note:
David and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary on November 10! Our original plan was to try go away (like Mexico or something), but then I got pregnant, and who has money for that anyway! We also just had a night away from Dom, so not sure we need to do that (although it would be awesome... just expensive). 
Does anyone have any suggestions for fun, affordable things to do? Pretty open to suggestions! 

Lately

Our life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately, and I haven't really kept up with the blogging. This is what we have been up to the last week or so!

We made a trip to another pumpkin patch! Our realtors we bought our house through, Greg & Liz Holmes, have an event at Hazelmere Pumpkin patch every October. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for it!

Checking out the llama and goats!

Too bright for selfies Mom!

We announced our second pregnancy!!! 

We walked through the neighborhood to see some of the early Halloween decorations.

 

I hosted my first Sweetlegs Pop Up & Shop through Amy and my friends spent all their money and I got (almost) 4 free pairs!!! I now am the proud owner of 10 pairs of sweetlegs. No shame haha!

Sherlock and I entered in an agility trial last weekend. Our first "real" trial in a year. It went... horribly. He was stressed and excitable, and I'm sure I was stressed too. Not worth sharing the videos from this weekend! We did have a couple "good" moments in a couple runs, but 90% of the weekend was just me chasing him around and trying to prevent him from running out of the ring. 

It's too bad, because in class he is amazing. We can do Master's courses in class, but can't even do more than 6 Starters course obstacles in a row at the trial. We will have to keep working on that!

I'm sure there is more even, but this is what my phone has pictures of over the last week! Haha I can't remember what happens unless I have photo evidence!

11 Weeks (POKER CHIP) - 2.0: Oct 17-Oct 23

Pretty sure my "belly" shrunk this week. Likely due to my not being able to eat :(

I am 11 weeks along already. This pregnancy is going MUCH quicker than my first one. Much busier this time around too!

This was what 11 weeks looked like with Dom. Pretty similar... I just look a lot more tired now! Haha

• I'm feeling a little bit less fatigued, but still feeling really nauseous. Only close calls so far though...
• I have to say, one major bonus about having your kids super close together is not having to go to work during the first trimester. I mean sure being here with Dom is work too, but at least I get to nap! Twice if I really want to!
• It is hard for me to eat anything. I have no appetite. It's even harder to feed Dominic. He doesn't eat strictly purees anymore which is a nice change, but the peanut butter sandwiches followed by water equals soggy bread equals Mom who just can't!
• I know nutrition is really important right now, so I'm trying really hard to have a smoothie every day. I have lots of berries, banana, spinach, flax seed, milk, and orange juice in there. Packed full of good things! (Dom likes it too!)
• I had my first massage since before Dominic this week. My back is all sorts of messed up! I came out bruising and sore, but it is so worth it! Can't wait for another. 
• We had a midwife appointment this week to check up on things since the ultrasound last week. David couldn't make it to the appointment, so I filmed the doppler and the heartbeat for him. I'm so glad I did. That sound is so incredible. I told the midwife about my moment of "panic" before our ultrasound thinking I was making everything up. After we listened to the baby she reassured me, "There. Now it's officially official. There is a baby in there!" Indescribable. 
• My weight: 118lb. This is down a pound and a half from last time. The midwife wasn't concerned. She figures once my appetite comes back I'll start packing them on. I have to agree!
• My Blood Pressure: 110/60
• Baby Heart Rate: 160BPM
• Nargess, the Midwife, said my iron levels are actually okay. I thought they were low and that's why I was so tired. Turns out that's just pregnancy and having a 9 month old. 
• Baby is about 2 inches long this week and is starting to look more human and less "alien marsupial"... cute.
• By the end of my 11th week, I'm feeling much better. My energy is is almost back to normal, and I can start helping Dave out around the house more! 
• 11 Weeks Pregnant with Dominic
• I like the pictures they post on the "Huggies" website for pregnancy. It's a nice little visual of what a "lime-sized baby" looks like compared to your body. 

First Trimester (2-10 Weeks!)

I can't believe I'm writing another one of these blogs already! Dave and I are so excited to be bringing another Baby-K into this world. I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to do my weekly posts this time around. It seems kind of silly to include all the developmental milestones of baby again, since I just did this for Dom. We will see what comes out when I start writing! I think I'll try find different size comparisons, as I wasn't a fan of the ones from the last pregnancy. How does a baby go from a cantaloupe to a green onion, and what even is a kumquat anyway?! 

Photo of the cuteness just so the picture people see on Facebook isn't a pee-stick Haha.

Here is what my first trimester has looked like so far!

2 Weeks (ovulation/conception):

• My cycle hasn't returned after Dominic yet, and I'm still breast-feeding 3-4 times per day, but I start noticing some signs of ovulation. Sure enough, I pee on some ovulation sticks and the lines get darker and darker. Well... why not give this a good ole college try eh!
• I am increasingly grateful for the body-awareness I learned when trying to get pregnant with Dom. It took us 18 months, but I learned more about my body than most people ever do, and I am able to notice the subtle changes and pinpoint my first ovulation since we got pregnant with Dom. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm super proud of that!
• David and I don't really expect to get pregnant this cycle. We aren't even positive that I actually ovulated. 

3 Weeks (implantation):

• Dom starts refusing to breastfeed, and my milk supply starts drying up. Remember in Dominic's 8 month post I was writing about this? Now we know why! My hormones were changing and decreasing my supply and changing the taste of my milk. 
• I have some light cramping, but nothing to write home about. 
• I notice some light spotting for a day and a half. I figure this is my period starting and I tell people (only the ones who care... not the whole world...) that I think my cycle is returning for the first time since Dom. 
• I am feeling fatigued and a little emotional, but sleep deprivation does this to me too!
• I am feeling bloated and gassy. 
• I have a "gut" feeling that maybe this is actually happening, but I don't share that feeling with anyone, even David. My main tip-off is that the spotting only lasted a day and a half. I figure it was my period starting, but start wondering if maybe it was implantation bleeding... I never had that with Dom. 
• First pregnancy 3-5 Weeks

4 Weeks (CONFIRMED!) - (POPPY SEED):

First positive test... You can barely see the second line

A few days later... yup. No denying that one! :O

• On a fateful Tuesday evening, August 29, 2017, we are packing to go to the cabin in a couple days. I'm upstairs packing toiletries and come across my pregnancy tests. I think to myself, "Ahh... I should probably take a test just in case since we're going to the cabin and plan on drinking lots!" I pee on the stick and continue packing. I come back to it and notice a VERY faint line. So faint I'm sure I'm imagining it. I quickly send a picture to Amy to see if she sees what I see. Yup... it's there! I cannot believe it. How is this even possible?! I mean I know how it happened, but this is amazing! It took us 18 months for Dominic... this is a shock!
  David is downstairs with Scott, so I have to pretend everything is normal. Eventually Scott leaves and I try to come up with some clever way to tell David the news. The best I could come up with at the time (since he and Scott had just finished working out), was to pour a big bowl of chips and set them in front of him. I say, "Here. Eat some chips." He politely declines, and I say, "No really, you should eat some." He asks why? I say, "Well... if I'm getting fat, SO ARE YOU!" It took him a second, but the look on his face afterwards was priceless. We are in shock.
  I have to be honest, our first reaction was excitement, which quickly turned into, "Oh my... what have we done..."
  We go to the cabin as expected, and nobody seems to notice or care that I'm declining drinks, or walking around with the same glass of wine for 6 hours. Whew! That's a relief! I was excited to have one last trip to the cabin without anyone knowing. One more "normal" trip. It was fun having a little secret between the two of us.
  Over the next few days/weeks our excitement grows. We slowly start sharing the news with family and some close friends. Some people think we're crazy, but most seem even more thrilled than we are! (Just because they won't have two babies under 16 months old I guess!)
• Okay on to the symptoms around this time... I am exhausted. Beyond just regular tiredness from having an 8 month old to care for. 
• I start getting acne. I forgot about this part of the hormonal changes with pregnancy. 
• I am bloating and have light, sporadic cramping.
• I find myself (particularly at the cabin) treasuring the little moments with Dom that much more. I know now that our time with just him are limited, and I want to cherish every little thing about it. 

5 Weeks (BLACK PEPPERCORN):

• Oh the fatigue!! I am so exhausted I can hardly get off the couch! 
• I get some headaches, but think I can't take Tylenol, so I suffer through. Turns out I was wrong... I CAN take Tylenol. 
• Random, sharp cramping that lasts anywhere from 3-10 seconds. I remember this from my first pregnancy, so I'm not alarmed by it. Just the little bean burrowing in there I guess!
• Frequent urination. It is much worse this time around. That increased blood volume is definitely taking an effect!
• Reading up on some pregnancy rules again. It is so easy to forget. I find it funny how I was on the internet every day looking things up the first time. This time around it's probably once every couple weeks, if that.
• Nausea and queasiness begins. No vomiting, but it feels much worse than my first pregnancy. I can't tell whether this is because I'm home making nasty purees half the day, or if it's actually worse.  

6 Weeks (CHOCOLATE CHIP):

• Acne. I feel like a teenager again!
• Dry heaving at dirty dishes and food and smells. I carry a scentsy dryer bar around in my pocket and shove it under my nose when I have to go in the kitchen or think something smells bad. This bloodhound nose may be the death of me. 
• I start getting out of breath already on our regular morning walk and at dog agility. Whew! I feel out of shape!
• Dom has been waking up at 5 every day which as just been adding to my exhaustion. I have to nap throughout the day. Good thing David has been SUCH a champ, helping me out. 
• I am not sleeping well at night either. I am restless and up to pee already 2-3x per night. I feel like I'm checking the time every half hour. 
• Still having the sporadic light cramping. 
• First Pregnancy 6 Weeks

7 Weeks (PLAYING DICE):

• Feeling a little less nauseous this week. Hooray! Maybe that's the end of it!
• Exhausted. Dom was really sick this week with his first chest cold, and we have not been having restful nights or days. Just BEAT!
• I am craving fruit like apples and oranges. This is the same with Dom around this time. Nothing weird, but always good to have some fruit on hand!
• We had our first midwife appointment this week. It was fun and weird to be back there again. I feel like we JUST did this! Even the midwife asked, "So... this was on purpose?" Haha. I mean we weren't NOT trying! We were definitely hoping, but didn't expect it to happen so fast this time. We're very grateful and happy!
• My weight: 119.5lb (less than my starting weight with Dom! Amazing what breastfeeding will do!)
• Dominic weight 21lb, and the midwife absolutely loved him. She couldn't get over how easy-going he was, and how round his cheeks are. 
• Because there was no way to guarantee how far along I am, Nargiss tried to find the heartbeat on the doppler. No such luck. That's good, because I am 99% sure I'm 7 weeks, and you can't hear it that early!
• First Pregnancy 7 Weeks

8 Weeks (2X2 LEGO BRICK):

• I start noticing my bellybutton getting shallow already. I'm pretty sure this happened at like 16 or 17 weeks last time. Yeesh!
• Morning sickness? Oh no... ALL DAY SICKNESS! I had some time off from it last week, but it's back with a vengeance. I hate it. I am so unproductive and I am just a lump on the couch. I can't even walk into the kitchen or feed Dom without heaving. I have no problems eating, but cooking, cleaning, prepping, being around food is enough to send me gagging. Still no actual vomiting, but sometimes I wonder if that would make me feel better. 
• Still up 2-3 times every night to pee. 
• First Pregnancy 8 Weeks

9 Weeks (PECAN):

We took these photos with my phone just to see if it would work, since it's much easier than the camera, but I don't like them as much. from now on we will use the camera for our photo shoots :)

Oh that post-partum hair...It is horrible! So many baby hair fly-aways and horns!

• Realize we haven't taken any belly photos yet! I think my "belly" before this point was existent, but I didn't think it should be. No sense documenting my leftovers from Dom!
• My poor face has so much acne on it. I try to take good care of my skin, and stop wearing makeup most of the time. Oh well... maybe by second trimester it will get better. 
• I feel so much better this week. My energy is back in a big way. I wake up one day and get into nesting mode (this early?!) and decide to repaint our master ensuite. 
• Much less nauseous this week as well. YAY!
• On October 6 I woke up with a strange red itchy rash all over my body. I assume it is hives, but I've never had an allergic reaction to anything before, and didn't have anything new. No new food, detergent, clothes, lotions, soaps... nothing! I call the midwife pager and Ina(?) was SO helpful. She took me seriously, but recommended I try some Benadryl, and if that doesn't work to go to the doctor. It took two days for the rash to fully clear, but I hope it doesn't happen again! Pretty uncomfortable. 
• We find out this week that there isn't a space for us in the Daycare I've been on the waitlist for since May 2016... That was our fall-back plan...NOW WHAT?! Cue panic.
• I think I feel my first flutter this week. Hard to say as it could be (and maybe most likely is) gas, but it feels different. I have phantom flutters and kicks all the time though. Feels a little early for that, but I can't wait!
• At the very end of 9 weeks we had our dating ultrasound at the Guildford imaging clinic. The night before I got almost no sleep because I all of a sudden realized that I was the only person who "knew" I was pregnant. The midwives never confirmed it, they just trusted me. Nobody asked to see my tests, they just believed me. I suddenly freaked out thinking I was just making it all up in my head. Totally irrational!
  Needless to say, when the tech started the ultrasound, I got to see the little bean right away! Whew! Relief! She showed us the heart, face, hands, legs, everything!
  She asked how far along I was, and I said I was GUESSING almost 10 weeks, but I wasn't 100% positive because I didn't have my cycle return. She just said, "Wow... good guess! I'm getting 9 weeks, 6 days!" Nice... I love that! That is exactly what I would have guessed. That puts my estimated due date at May 9, 2018.
• 9W6D (as of October 10, 2017)
• Placenta appears to be on the back wall of my uterus. With Dom it was up front. This means I'll probably be able to feel baby sooner. Maybe that flutter earlier this week was real? 
• Baby HR: 153BPM, and measured at roughly 1.26 inches! 
• First Pregnancy 9 Weeks

10 Weeks (LEGO MAN):

• Again with the nausea... It's like 1 week on, 1 week off or something!
• I told the managers at work since our vacation selections are due soon. They have granted me vacation 1 day per week while I'm back to care for Dom. That helps! I still have lots of vacation to use though, and I plan to start maternity leave again when I'm 36 weeks pregnant! Wow! I can't believe I'm going back for such a short time. This timing could not be more perfect. It is exactly what our "dream plan" was. 
• How am I already halfway to finding out the gender? This is going too fast... Time flies when you're chasing a 9 month old around! 
• I am totally showing now. I have to wear big sweaters and jackets or else my belly looks like more than just leftover Thanksgiving dinner. .
• Dave and I have our first night away since Dom was born; first night away since our Baby-Moon in Whistler last October! So nice to have some freedom. 
• First Pregnancy 10 Weeks