I can’t believe it’s already time for another monthly update on Josie! I still need to take her monthly photo, but we we’re able to get these photos when we shot her nursery last month and I can’t wait to frame them! I shared a little video of some of our favorite moments over the last month here.

Josie’s Schedule

I was craving a little more predictability with my day so we attempted a “schedule” for a day and a half to see how a more formal schedule would go. Before then, Josie and I would sleep in until about 9-10 and I just found myself less rested and overall more “blah” during those days. Sleeping in later made it even harder to get anything done during the day and I would just go through the motions… waiting for her to wake up from a nap instead of being productive.

With the “schedule” we didn’t do anything strict or let her cry it out by any means. It was more so trying to get her to nap at a certain time and waking her up at certain times, but it didn’t feel right for us at this time. I didn’t like waking her up prematurely from naps and I like to fit in more feedings during the day because she sleeps through the night currently. I think a schedule will work down the road when her naps become a little more predictable.

Even though I didn’t stick with the schedule within the Huckleberry app I was using, I still find it very helpful and I have a better understanding of how to structure the days as far as how many naps to aim for (4-5/day right now) and when to start bedtime. Up until now, I had no idea when bedtime technically was because everything felt like a nap until I went to bed around 11-12. Josie does better with a shorter wake window than the app recommends, so I go off their timing but start getting her down for a nap usually 15-25 minutes earlier.

So basically that was a long way to say we’re not going off a strict schedule right now. I just watch her wake windows, which are shorter at the beginning of the day (60-75ish minutes) and get longer before bedtime (roughly 2 hours). I also watch the clock to feed her every 3 hours during the day so she gets in enough calories since she’s not feeding during the night.

Any helpful resources on sleep?

A few days ago I took the Taking Cara Babies newborn class and to be honest, I didn’t find it very helpful. I’m sure the helpfulness of this course is also dependent on how well your baby is currently sleeping or if you are having trouble soothing them. I think it’s a great resource earlier on if you’re currently pregnant, however. I also read through the navigating 3-4 month PDF and I found that more helpful as far as answering some of the questions I had. Her Instagram has a lot of helpful information that you can find inside the newborn course.

favorite newborn baby products

I should have a video up with my favorites this week, but here’s a quick roundup of some of our most used products during the newborn stage.

Sleep

Josie has still been a great sleeper during the night, sleeping about 10-11 hours (with a dreamfeed before I go to bed). Occasionally she will wake up between 5-6 recently and I’ll treat that like a middle of the night feeding and aim to have her wake up between 7:30-8:30 each morning. Her naps have become less predictable now that she has more consolidated sleep during the night. Right now, we’re working on weaning her out of the swaddle starting with one arm out and she slept great through the night last night (yay!). She is currently in leap 3, so I think that’s why her naps have been more challenging this week, requiring extra cuddles but I’m not really complaining 🙂 I know the 4 month sleep regression is right around the corner, so who knows how this will change in the next update.

Weaning from the swaddle

I’ve had some questions about this on Instagram so I wanted to answer it here, too! Josie has been showing signs of rolling from back to tummy (when she stretches she arches her back and rolls to her side, and she pushes with one leg) and I wanted to gradually wean from it instead of going cold turkey. You have to stop swaddling when baby rolls from back to tummy since this is a safety risk. She loves to have her hands in her mouth, so I thought this would be the biggest challenge with her no longer being swaddled. To wean her gradually, we’re starting with one arm out (we picked the arm that she has in her mouth less), then we will move to both arms out before transitioning to a sleep sack.

Josie’s Development

It’s so amazing to watch her change week to week. She’s rolling from tummy to back at times and loves to have her hands in her mouth. Just this week she discovered her hands for the first time and started reaching for the toy on her bouncer (not purposefully but more spastically lol – I have a video of it saved in my Josie highlight on Instagram!). She also loves to have “girl talk” with me and holds her head up pretty independently right now unless she’s sleepy.

Postpartum Update

Lately, I’ve found myself missing the phase of pregnancy. Not necessarily being pregnant.. but life during pregnancy I guess. I think it mostly stems from this lack or normalcy I feel right now. I just noticing little triggers of it at times. The other day I was folding laundry and got emotional seeing shorts I wore on our babymoon. I get emotional hearing a song that I remember sitting on the couch with Tim after dinner, thinking about who Baby J would look like. When I type it out, it seems silly, but I guess it’s just postpartum hormones or something because before becoming a Mom I never cried, let alone over folding workout shorts. But I think apart of that too is my bump seems more sentimental to me when I see it in photos now that I’ve met sweet little Josie 🙂

It’s so true when they say nothing will prepare you for motherhood. You can read all the books, get every inch of your home ready, but emotionally, there is nothing to prepare you for it. And I think a big part of that is not only the physical healing, but the mental as well. The life adjustment was more challenging than the physical for me, to be honest. You become a completely new version of yourself, and that’s where I’ve found myself more emotionally or just overwhelmed lately.

I also just feel extra heaviness because I’m just mentally drained from the sadness and negativity in the world. The pandemic, the division in our country, all of it has been weighing on my shoulders (as I’m sure it is on yours, too). And it’s always harder for me to navigate my job because I tend to want to step away and unplug. So I think all of this on top of postpartum has been extra challenging.

I need to follow up with primary care about my blood pressure, since I’m still on medication for it. I’d love to wean off is possible, but my blood pressure seems to be pretty stable with the medication for now. I don’t love the side effects (flushing redness in my skin and mild swelling) so I hope to get off it it soon. I’ve also gained weight since the beginning of postpartum which has been frustrating, but maybe it’s from the blood pressure medication. I’ve heard your thyroid can also be a factor postpartum, so I need to ask about it at my next visit.

Are you still taking prenatals?

I was up until last month when I realized the brand I used has a postnatal vitamin specifically formulated to help with lactation, so I just switched to those! They have a minty flavor, which I prefer to the lemon flavor the prenatals took during pregnancy. The flavor is pretty strong, but it doesn’t linger and I prefer it to the typical powdery vitamin taste.

How did you lose the baby weight?

I touched on this in my last update, but I haven’t done anything to address my body weight. The weight I’ve initially lost is just how my body has responded since giving birth and I’m sure breastfeeding helps with the initial shrinking of you stomach. I’ve always heard that, but I didn’t actually know why until postpartum when I had uterine contractions after every breastfeeding session in the hospital. Your body releases hormones during breastfeeding that helps your uterus contract and shrink back to normal size, which initially isn’t fun but hey.. at least it kinda helps in the weight loss department lol. I decided recently that I’m not going to worry about my weight until the new year (about 6 months postpartum). Right now I worry that any drastic change to my diet would affect my milk supply, which is my number one priority right now over my weight. That’s not to say I’m loving my postpartum body, I just try to set realistic expectations and give myself grace right now. I’m trying to get on the Peloton bike 3x a week starting this week for a stress relief. I also think I’m going to start looking into shape wear 🙂

How are you maintaining your milk supply?

I honestly don’t know how my milk supply is, but I assume it’s fine since Josie is happy, has been gaining weight, and produces enough wet diapers. I very rarely pump unless I’m leaving the house for an errand, and now that my supple has regulated I pump less per session than I did in the beginning. But I’ve read this is normal since you’re pumping extra milk in between feeds. I typically do a dream feed before going to bed to fit in about 6-7 feedings per day since Josie has been sleeping through the night. I don’t wake up to pump or anything like that but used the Haakaa as needed in the morning before feeding her and my body eventually adjusted to dropping the night feeds. So to answer the question I’m not really doing anything specific at this point to maintain my supply.

That’s all for this months update. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!

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