Two Months - Olivia, Emma, and Sloan

They all have similar features, but you can tell they are each their own person. I'm not sure Sloan will look like either one of them anymore. 

Sloan - Two Months

Height: 23.5 inches
Weight: 12 pounds 5 ounces

Overall, she's about 80% for height and weight. Not the linebacker that she used to be - but still pretty big.

Sleep: Sloan is by far our best sleeper. I guess if I had to have two horrible and one good sleeper, I'd have the third be the good sleeper. She is down to one night wake up to eat, eats quickly and goes right back down. Incredible!

Naps are not great. She is still napping swaddled in that LeachCo Podster - but mostly only gets her morning nap in it. I will take night sleep over naps though!

Eating: Not much to say here - except, yes she's eating. We haven't done the bottle much. Too much work with everything else going on. Daycare will probably be the ones to teach her, and I'm sure it'll be an adjustment the first week.

Milestones: Not much to say here either. She talks and coos and it is the sweetest thing ever. She smiles so big that she looks like she is laughing but no sound comes out. She is definitely the smiliest baby. It's hard to put her down at night or for naps because she just looks up at you and smiles. I could listen to her sweet sounds and coos all day. Not much progress in head control / rolling over. We don't do tummy time nearly enough for her - but she will get there, I know it. And she uses her hands - very clumsily, but you can tell she's trying to touch things. 

Clothes / Diapers: She's pretty much moved into 6 month. Some 3 month stuff still fits - but most of it is too short. 

Best Moment of the Month: We've had a million great moments. Sloan slept through the night randomly twice this month - so that was great. Olivia learned to ride without training wheels and wanted Sloan to see her do it. Olivia learned to swim - completely swim - tread water - swim in any depths - dive to the bottom - no floatie needed ever - swim - and she can't wait until Sloan can come watch her next year. Emma draws pictures for Sloan and makes sure she is included in everything: "we go to Target? and my baby sister swoney come too?" We are settling into life as a family of 5, and it feels like Sloan has been with us for forever. 

Parent of the Month: I'm going to go back to last month for this one - but it was too funny not to share. For Sloan's first doctor appointment, the big girls were in school and Dan and I both went. We got in the car, headed to the doctor and realized we didn't bring a thing! No burp cloth, no diaper bag, no wipes. We dug through Dans huge car and the only thing we could find was a giant, slightly damp beach towel. We brought it. We made a joke about her being a big spitter - and went with it. And then had to ask for a new diaper and some wipes when she needed them. You'd think we were rookies - not packing a single thing for the baby. Whoops!

Favorites: Loving the Love to Dream swaddle - maybe that is why Sloan is a good sleeper? She likes to comfort herself with her hands by her face. A bouncy seat has been very necessary - and the swing keeps her from crying in the evening, and sometimes she will take a cat nap in it! Overall, we don't use a whole lot for her - just tons and tons of burp cloths.

This month we have gotten into a really good routine. Emma is down to less tantrums - I think she's growing up and things are stabilizing into a 'new normal' for her. Sloan is slightly less fussy, which is always helpful. And I am getting sleep - which is key for a more stable environment - haha. 

Sloan is just the best baby. She's so sweet. Mostly just cries when she is overtired. I love her so, so much and she just loves her big sisters. They are her biggest cheerleaders and clap for her when she does little things like holding her head up, or moving her hand intentionally. I love seeing this sister trio together! 

One Month - Olivia, Emma, & Sloan

Just a quick comparison of all 3. I think she's favoring Olivia more these days. But she is definitely her own person. And definitely got a smaller bow :)

Sloan - One Month

Height: 23.5 inches (98%)

Weight: 10lbs 13 ounces (98%)

Sleep: She is not a bad sleeper. We found out very early that Sloan can't tolerate dairy. It only took a few days for us to see a new baby! She had started refusing to eat - but also wouldn't sleep because of the pain - the same road we went down with Emma. Glad to get that cleared up. We are following Mom's on Call - so that calls for a paci 3 times before feeding to make sure they are hungry and not just in between sleep cycles. Dan has been sleeping in a different room the first few hours - so that I wont hear her wake up and can sleep a solid few hours in a row. Then he comes back to our room and I'm on deck. Very recently she has been making it to 2am and then 6am for feedings (with a few paci's in between). It is hit or miss whether it is easy to get her back down after the 2am. She sleeps in her crib from 9-6. I feel like she's making a lot of progress in the sleep department for a one month old.  

Naps are a different story. The morning we can usually get a 45 min nap in. And she gets a nap while in her car seat when picking up the big girls. My parents have been here a lot (+ Dan's paternity leave) to help and that has allowed Sloan to get a nap in someones arms for the afternoon - but I'm not sure how we will handle that one now that they are all gone. Naps were always hard for the big girls too. 

Eating: She eats every 3 hours during the day with an additional random feeding in the late afternoon or evening when extra fussy. When she has taken a bottle, she took 3 ounces. She spits up SO MUCH though. Around 10 times per feeding. Its a miracle any of it stays down. But you can tell by her growth, she's doing fine in height and weight. She soaks burp cloths, her outfit, my outfit, her crib sheets. We just started zantac which will hopefully keep her more comfortable.

Milestones: I'm not sure what milestones they are supposed to hit. #thirdkid. She's smiling a lot more, which is so fun. Trying to hold her head up some. She's not as strong as Emma was, but probably comparable to Olivia. 

Clothes / Diapers: She never fit into anything newborn. The big girls were 8 pounds and were in newborn for a month. Sloan couldn't even fit into her going home outfit. I had to come home and put all the sweet newborn outfits away - even the few that were brand new. She's getting tight on her 0-3 month clothes, but still in them. I have a feeling we will move to 3-6 here soon. She just started wearing size 2 diapers - which is just crazy to me. We have a giant baby.

Best Moment of the Month: All of the interactions with Olivia, Emma, and Sloan. I knew Olivia was excited, and she loves babies so I knew she would be so sweet and helpful. I wasn't sure Emma really knew what she was getting into. She LOVES her sister. She is so sweet. Always wants to hold her, kiss her, play with her hands and feet. She gives her a paci, wipes her spit up, gets diapers and onesies and wipes and helps change her. She has become the sweetest big sister - and Sloan is so lucky to have such sweet helpers that love her so much.

Parent of the Month: I'm just going to go with my temporary insanity caused by sleep deprivation. I handed Dan a pillow and told him to help me get the swaddle off of her so I could feed her. I also told Dan to "watch the baby in our bed, while I go feed Sloan." Good thing we figured out new sleeping arrangements, or Dan might have had me committed. 

Favorites: We love the leachco podster - its just a little pillow that you can put places - including their crib - for them to lounge or sleep in. It has been helpful for getting a little bit longer naps in the crib where we can still use the breathing monitor. We give Sloan a lot of gas drops, and I read the Mom's on Call book every few days - but other than that, we don't use a lot of new things this time.

We are trying the Love to Dream swaddle that allows their arms near their face. I'm not sure it makes any difference in her sleep, but it is easier to change diapers in the middle of the night - so we have been sticking with it. 

Sloan likes pacis - another Olivia (not Emma) similarity. 

Overall, the first month has been chaos, but with Dan's paternity leave, his parents visiting, and help from my parents, we have survived the first month with 3 kids! We are learning Sloan, and what works for her - and also juggling the needs of the big kids. Once Sloan gets into a good nap pattern - it wont be hard to have all 3. But trying to tend to the big kids, and spend 20 minutes rocking Sloan to sleep - and putting the paci back in every 5 - is just hard. However - once she gets into a good nap pattern, she'll no longer be a newborn and I'll miss all of the curled legs, stretching faces, teeny tiny cheeks, newborn sleepy noises, and full body snuggles on my chest. So we are soaking in the chaos, knowing its short lived. 

Shared Girl's Closet

We always knew we wanted them to share a room. We weren't quite sure we could fit all of their clothes in one room. They have a lot clothes and accessories - way more than necessary.

First, the dresser in their room holds all of their accessories, jewelry, chapstick, etc. Plus PJs and Olivia's shorts / pants.

Bows are hanging on both doors. And we actually need to make new longer ribbons because they barely fit. The little cups on the left drawer hold ponytails and clips. 

The closet is divided in half. Its hard to see, but theres a red hanging thing that the girls decorated with their names on it. The "shoe organizers" on each side actually hold 10 outfits. I pick out outfits for them to wear - and they use the stool to pick one of them in the morning. Then, when their clock is green they come running out with their clothes for the day. Either on (Olivia) or in hand (Emma). It also makes it really easy for Dan to get them dressed. 

The bins on the bottom hold their swimsuits, Emma shorts, their underwear, socks, and their hair brushes. The bin on the top holds extra lovies. And the rest are all open. Those will come in handy for winter accessories, etc.

Lastly, the sides beyond the shoe organizers hold clothes that don't fit them yet, or items I purchase for next season. And the 4 drawer plastic thing on Emma's side holds clothes they have outgrown before I need to pull down the big bin from the attic and put away everything of that size or season. 

Shoes are in our laundry room because its right by the door. And outgrown shoes are in organizers under Olivia's bed. 

This has been working really well. BUT having less clothes and accessories might work even better ;)

Big Girls Room

This definitely isn't the "end state" of their shared room. But I still wanted to share pictures. Ideally Olivia would be in a twin bed, so the room would have more floor space. And Emma's bed would have one of the black pillows that matches the curtains. But Olivia didn't want to trade her bed, and we were going through a renovation, moving Emma into her room, and bringing home a baby - so we figured that was enough change for her. 

We had to replace Olivia's monogram on the door, so I went with these O and E letters. I would love a mini ampersand between them. 

The monogram that was above their cribs was moved above their beds. I think its my favorite part of the room. We have their traffic light clock that turns green when they can get up in the morning. 

The art that Olivia did on her second birthday was moved over to her wall because Emma can't be trusted. 

And, as pretty as a bookshelf would be - the pile of books in the corner is the most practical for keeping all of them put away. Emma has been known to get a book (and put it back!) in the middle of the night when she can't sleep. 

It is definitely a tight space - but they only sleep in there. So it works perfectly for now! Tomorrow I'll share their closet and how we fit all of their stuff in here :). 

At Home Teeth Whitening: Does it work? (& Giveaway!)

I have to share with you guys the coolest company.

After I got my braces off in highschool, my parents splurged for dentist whitening trays. I loved the results, but definitely had very sensitive teeth for awhile. I used those trays for touch ups (and more sensitive teeth) every few years. Eventually my teeth shifted and the trays no longer fit. But it was way too expensive to get new ones.

I tried the crest white strips and they didn't form to my teeth so left splotchy whitening and more sensitivity.

When smile brilliant reached out, I loved the idea and the price, but was a little skeptical. They send you a kit and fool proof instructions where you make a mold of your teeth and mail it in. Your custom trays arrive a few days later. The custom trays and whitening gels are right around $150, with a few different packages.

The trays fit perfectly! You whiten for 45min - 3hours for anywhere from 7-14 days. It's super easy to do while cooking dinner, getting the kids ready for bed, or watching TV at night.

The best part? There is a desensitizing gel. I was skeptical here too. After whitening, you fill the trays with the gel and leave it on another 15-20 min. It sounded like an unnecessary step, but let me tell you, I have had zero sensitivity through this whole process! It really takes the worst part out of the whitening process.

I can order more whitening tubes for touch ups, with custom trays that fit! And now, for a super up-close picture. 

For 15% off your purchase, use coupon code: lovelikecrazy15 They are being incredibly generous and giving away one $149 kit to a reader. To enter, click here! Giveaway is open to USA, Canada, UK and Australia.