Jesse Coulter

One more month and my last babies will be one year old! As I see them grow in to toddlers, I am making more of an effort to be present and aware of the baby stage. Smell their baby skin, kiss their soft cheeks and bald heads and soak up their baby giggles.

LIFE LATELY:

- I am dragging my feet in planning their birthday party for a couple of reasons. 1.) My life is INSANELY busy right now. 2.) Every time I start to plan in my head I get completely overwhelmed with all the things I want to do and shut down. Planning a birthday during Christmas is not fun. There are days when I think about going ALL out, and then other days when I think they'll be lucky if they get a cake.

- Last week Whitney and I took a quick overnight trip down south to visit my parents. When we got home Alex said "Do you want to see what the boys and I did this weekend?" He proceeded to show me pics of them at Catch Air (an indoor play park), which he took them to on Saturday night. Then Sunday he took them to breakfast, grocery shopping at HEB, and then to a kid's birthday at Mt. Playmore (another indoor play place). I couldn't believe it. Alex said they all had a great time, but he was definitely tired.

- I totaled my van (which I had bought a year 1/2 ago after totaling my last car, and replaced the transmission 6 months ago for $5,000 because we thought we would drive it forever...UGH!!!). All three kids were with me which was very scary, but thankfully everyone was OK. We bit the bullet and bought a new Toyota Sienna and I'm in LOVE!

To my little ding dongs...that's what I like to call them these days. What a month it's been! Their personalities are hilarious to watch. Whitney is stoic and doesn't crack a smile easily, but when she does it's the sweetest thing. Walt is my goofball and laughs at anything I do.

Life lately:

• STOP the sickness! I don't remember a day I haven't given one of them antibiotics in the past 6 weeks.

• I took a new job and life has been insane! I've doubled my commute, and I have much more work to do during the day. I leave work at 4, get home just in time to pick them up by 5 and it's a $%&# show till about 8pm. However, I love my job!

• Alex and I took a mini-vacation to Houston for my 30th and it was the best! Much needed time away from kiddos, where we could actually talk and eat in peace. My in-laws drove down from Dallas to watch all three!

Onesies: Gap. Moccasins: Freshly Picked.

9 Months! This month flew by and the babies didn't change much developmentally.

Life lately:

• I feel like we've had a crazy amount of appointments so I've had to take a lot of time off of work. Thankfully I have a lot saved up. 

• We took a road trip to Dallas last week for a family reunion (Turner side) and the babies were able to meet aunts, uncles, and cousins for the first time. I spent most of the road trip in the 3rd row of our van entertaining or feeding them (definitely not fun).

• Nights seem to have gotten crazier this past month for some reason. Both are super cranky and fussy from the moment I pick them up from school till bedtime. I usually take them for a walk to get at least 30 minutes of peace and quiet!

• We had family photos taken with Laura Morsman Photography, and I just love having photos of all 3 of my kids together! Know though that it was EXTREMELY hot, humid and there were hundreds of mosquitoes in the greenhouse. I was sweating like crazy and we only shot together for 15 minutes! 
  
  

We made it to 1 Month! It hasn't been as difficult as I thought, but it's all due to the help of my mom and other family. My in-laws took Turner during the first week, and that was a lifesaver. Turner has been one of the hardest parts of the transition, because he is constantly wanting attention and needing our help (putting on clothes, going to the bathroom, getting food, bathing, bedtime, etc). My mom helped me with the night shifts, and allowed Alex to sleep through the night, then my mom and I would try to take a good nap during the day while Turner was at daycare. After 3 weeks, my mom went home and we were on our own. That's when it really got hard. We've had a TON of support from friends as well, and have had a few meals a week brought over to the house.

Adorable organic outfits by Rainy Lain

Sleep:

• 2-3 hour stretches. Oh, I can't wait until they start sleeping longer!

• For the first 3 weeks they slept in a MamaRoo and RockaRoo, but now have transitioned to Rock n' Plays. I use a sound machine to play white noise.

• They both sleep in their room, and I don't use a monitor. I wait till I hear one of them crying before I get up. I'm such a light sleeper, so I wouldn't sleep a wink if I heard Walt grunting all night.

Eating:

• The first week I breastfed them, the second week they had pumped breast milk supplemented with formula and by week 3 were drinking formula only.

• We are feeding them Enfamil newborn formula, but have switched to Gentlease since they have been so gassy the past week. Whitney is much more gassy and can barely get comfortable eating, and has a very hard time sleeping due to gas pain.

Growth:

• Clothing - Newborn
• Diapers - Newborn

Likes:

• Sleeping and eating (sometimes). What do most babies like other than these at this stage? 
• Whitney takes a pacifier, Walt not so much.  
• Taking naps on my chest

Dislikes:

• The process of being swaddled. Walt usually grunts and tries to get out a few times during his naps, but I know that it ultimately helps him sleep better.
• Walt absolutely hates having his diaper changed, and has the highest pitched scream the second a wipe touches his bottom.

Fun Facts:

• Walt:
• My jumpy one. He reacts so easily to sounds, and throws his hands up constantly. He's also my grunter...constantly making noises.

• Might have torticollis, so we're watching him closely. I he has a hemangioma forming on the left side of his noise. I noticed it when he was 3 weeks old, which is about the same time Turner's began to form.

• Whitney: 
• She has the cutest double chin, and I'm OBSESSED with her strawberry blonde hair.

• Also has a hemangioma like her brothers, but hers is on the bicep of her right arm

• I love putting tiny bows on her. I currently have RosieOutlookTX and TinyTurban bows. I only have a small window to dress her how I want, so I'm taking full advantage.