After Effects

Last night I was feeding Austin his dinner of green beans and mango's at 10:00 pm, and wondering when the last time he had a bath was. Life with him is so different than it was when we just had Ellie. Sweet baby Ellie, our first baby. The differences between having baby #1 and having baby #3 are pretty significant! Some things are the same, but most are quite different, and rather blogworthy!

Here are some of my observations:

Bathing and Personal Hygiene:

Baby #1: Was bathed (at the least) every other day, hair scrubbed (even though there wasn't much there!) toe jam cleaned out, ears swabbed, teeth (or gums) brushed. She always smelled sweet and clean.

Ellie looking sweet!

Baby #2: Was bathed approximately every 3rd day, occasionally stretched out to 4 days. Hair scrubbed, toe jam cleaned out, I rarely got to the ears, and the teeth (gums) got brushed about once a week. She usually smelled sweet and clean.

Baby #3: Gets his bath every 7-9 days with a few '"baby wipe baths" in between, hair scrubbed (when he has a bath), no ears, no teeth (gums). He usually smells like spit-up or baby wipes.

Nutrition:

Baby#1: At 10 months old, she ate 3 meals a day with the proper number of servings of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and protein. She was still nursing and had never had formula. Nothing "questionable" went into her mouth, at least not long enough to be swallowed.

Baby#2: At 10 months old, she ate 1 - 2 good meals a day, mostly veggies or fruits, and a lot of cheerios. She was still nursing, but was occasionally supplemented with formula so we could have a night away. She didn't pick stuff up and try to eat it much, so nothing "questionable" went into her mouth long enough to be swallowed. Oh, except that summer that she might have eaten goose poop.

Annie with breakfast! (compliments of Ellie)

Baby #3: At (almost) 10 months old he eats when we eat, if he's awake. So far his favorite foods have been BBQ pork and french fries. He does occasionally eat baby food. He eats LOTS of Gerber baby snacks and cheerios, and also lots of frozen peas. He still nurses, but has a bottle of formula about once a day for convenience sake. He eats "questionable" things off the floor quite often, and I'm constantly digging stuff out of his mouth.

Austin looking cute on the floor
(where he will most likely find something to eat)

Dressing and Diapering:

Baby #1: We changed her diaper when it was slightly wet, or at the first sign of poop. She was always dressed Super Cute, and we changed her outfit at the first sign of a spot.

Ellie's first Christmas, looking Super Cute!

Baby #2: We changed her when she was fairly soggy, or at the first sign of poop. She was usually dressed Super Cute, but if she got something on her outfit she just wore it anyway.

Annie's first Christmas, looking Super Cute!

Baby #3: We change him when he's leaking, or when the poop smell gets too bad to take. He has lots of cute outfits, but he's usually dressed in a onesie of some kind, so that it can be used for pj's too. He usually has several spots on him, but that's ok, he's still Super Cute!


Austin looking Super Cute!

One thing that has stayed the same is their baby books. I am obsessed with fully completing each of their baby books. Everyone told me that I wouldn't keep them up, and the rebellious side of me has to prove them all wrong.

So, there you have it, proof that life changes significantly with each child. That's ok though, they're all doing pretty well, even if they're not always "perfect" looking! I'm letting go of the expectations that I used to have of how my life should "look", and trying to embrace the reality of what it actually is. :-)