Levi Matthew

19lbs 6oz (81%)

28in (95%)

Head Circumference: 17.7in (92%)

Diapers: size 3

Clothing: 12-18month

This precious little guy lights up our house. He is so happy all the time and just goes with the flow.

He is still exclusively breastfed and being that we're never apart, he's never tried a bottle (minus the little bit of supplementing that we had to do in the hospital after he was born since his blood sugar was low). We started giving him pureed fruits and vegetables last week and he's not really a fan. He clamps his mouth down and when he gets some food in his mouth, he usually gags. We're taking it slow and know he'll get there!

Levi can sit up on his own and can roll from tummy to back. He has found his voice and every once in awhile will give us a mama and dada. The first time he said mama and dada was in the middle of the night when we were trying to sleep train and lets just say that he got wanted because daddy couldn't resist his cute little voice calling out for us! : )

Here's the other kids' 6 month posts...

Mia

Naomi

Maxwell

 

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Levi Matthew

Weight: 16lbs 11oz (76%)

Length: 26 inches (87%)

Head circumference: 17 inches (92%)

6 month clothing

Size 4 diapers

Just when I don't think this little guy can get any cuter, he does! Levi is seriously SO happy and smiley (almost) all of the time. He loves his family and being talked to and will flash a smile anytime someone talks to him. Enjoy these pictures of Levi from the last month...

 

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Levi Matthew

Size 6 month clothes

Size 2 diapers (but ready to move to size 3)

This little guy gets sweeter and sweeter everyday. He is still so smiley, loves being talked to, loves bath time, and walks in the stroller. He is still nursing like a champ and no longer enjoys his paci. His head is getting so strong and he is so close to rolling over. We all love him so much!

I missed his 2 month post so here are some pictures from the past month with his 2 month stats at the end. It's crazy how much he's changed in such a short amount of time.

Levi's 2 month stats

Weight: 13.11lbs(85%)

Height: 24.4in (96%)

Head circumference: 15.8 inches (83%)

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Dear sweet baby boy,

Tomorrow is the day that we get to meet you! I was really hoping that labor would start on it’s own (and still hoping it might tonight) but my doctor doesn’t feel comfortable with you staying inside any longer so we have an induction planned for 7am. A lot of people are praying for us and are so excited to hear of your birth. Baby boy, tomorrow is a big day but also a little bittersweet as I will miss carrying you inside me and feeling your kicks. I can’t wait to kiss you, hold you, nurse you, and learn all about you. 

See you tomorrow!

Love always,

Mommy 

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Dear baby boy,

We are in the home stretch and I am just so excited to see your sweet little face. What color hair will you have? How much will you weigh? Will you look like your siblings? So many questions that I can't wait to get the answers to. I think we finally have everything ready and are just waiting for your arrival which will hopefully be this week! I'm sure you're used to all of the noise from your siblings but I just want to warn you that our house is loud but it's also a lot of fun. You are going to love watching your siblings play and you will get plenty of attention because there will always be someone who wants to hold you, kiss you, and play with you. We all love you so much and are so excited to see you very soon! It would be fun if you come on your due date (June 3rd) but you come when you're ready!

Love always,

Mommy

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Dear baby boy,

Mommy's body is getting really tired and I'm sure you're getting a little crammed inside. This past week, I got all of your clothes and blankets washed and put your tiny little diapers in a cute basket. My hospital bag is almost packed and daddy did a Target run today to get the last few things mommy will need after you're born. Naomi would like you to wait until after her birthday on Tuesday before you make your big arrival. : )

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night with a few mild contractions, I was up for about 2 hours wondering if you were going to break the trend and be my first baby to come early but the contractions stopped. I'm still anticipating you'll be close to your due date which is June 3rd but I love that none of us know for sure and every day we get to wait with anticipation. We love you little guy and are SO excited to meet you! See you in about a week and half!

Love always,

Mommy

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Dear baby boy,

You must be growing well because mommy's belly is getting huge! We are getting so close to meeting you, I can't believe how fast the time is going by. On Saturday I got to spend the day celebrating you with some of the wonderful ladies in our neighborhood and with some close friends and family. We had a social distancing baby shower outside with the neighbor ladies which was mommy's first time with a group of people in a long time. Because of the pandemic, it was important that we met outside and stayed 6ft apart. Mommy used lots of sanitizer while opening gifts and even though I really wanted to, I didn't hug or touch anyone. The second baby shower mommy had was a virtual shower which was really special since my good friends planned it and since it was virtual, they included close friends and family from all over the US. You are already so loved little guy and a lot of people are excited to meet you! Keep moving around in there (even though I know it's getting squishy), feeling your movement is one of my favorite things. I love you so much!

Love always,

Mommy

Baby shower with the world's best neighbors

My friend Abby took these screen shots at my virtual shower:

Me with all the Amazon boxes/shower gifts

We probably should have told everyone to smile for the picture but that's okay.

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Dear baby boy,

We have been in quarantine for over 7 weeks! Even though we've been home, the time has gone by really fast which means the next month will probably go super fast too. 1 more month and we get to see your sweet face, 1 more month and we get to kiss you, 1 more month and I get to hold you in my arms. Since your siblings are home all day, you're probably getting used to all the noise. You're not entering a quiet house but I can promise you, you are entering a house with lots of love. It'll be noisy and messy but there will always be someone that wants to hold you and lots of people to entertain you. Baby boy you will be entering the world during crazy times but I can assure you that you will be very comfortable and have everything you need in our house. We are ALL so excited to meet you!

See you in about month!

Love always,

Mommy

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32 Weeks 

33 Weeks

Dear baby boy,

You are growing so much! I can tell because my belly is getting much bigger and your movement inside is getting more intense. Your siblings even got to see my whole belly shake and move while you were moving around the other day. Daddy and I are just so excited to see what you're going to look like. Will you look similar to your big brother or will you have dark hair like Naomi did when she was born? Even though we are so excited to kiss you and cuddle you, we want you to stay inside for about 7 more weeks. We will be ready for you whenever you make your appearance but we do still need to figure out one thing...your name! We have a couple favorites but are having a hard time making a final decision. We just want to be sure we choose the perfect name for you. Until you're born, you'll probably hear us referring to you as baby boy, baby brother or little guy. : )

I love you so much and can't wait to see you in about 7 weeks!

Love,
Mommy

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Dear baby boy,

I can't believe another week has already gone by. Some days it feels like time is going by so fast and other days, it feels so slow. I can tell you one thing, how things currently are is not all what I envisioned for the last trimester of this pregnancy. Little guy, there's a really bad virus affecting the whole world and things are very different now than they were a month ago. A month ago, your siblings all went to school, we spent a lot of time in the car driving Maxwell to school, baby M to visit her birth mom, going to moms group, going to doctor appointments, and running errands. A month ago you probably heard me talking with the neighbors every afternoon at school pickup. A month ago, evenings were filled with swim lessons, dance, and meetings with friends. But now, we only go outside to hang out in our yard or go on a walk. The rule is for everyone to stay at home unless you need something essential. Daddy is in charge of getting groceries as we need them. We both decided that I shouldn't go out unless absolutely necessary because we want me to stay healthy so I can continue to take care of you. You and I haven't left our house/neighborhood in 2.5 weeks and I have a feeling it's going to be that way for a while. It's amazing how much I love you and want the best for you and we haven't even officially met. You are so loved and I can't wait to see you, kiss you, and hold you in about 9 weeks!

Love always,
Mommy

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The blog is back up and running! I decided that I should probably keep things fair and document baby #4 just as I did with the other 3. In case you didn't know, we're having a baby! And, it's a boy! To answer a few questions: Yes, this baby was prayed for and planned (even though he and Maxwell will have a 5.5 year age gap). We are still doing foster care and currently have our 2nd placement, a sweet baby girl that is almost 3 months old. We're not sure how long we'll have her and she might still be with us when our little guy comes (especially being that most things are at a standstill with COVID-19). I'll do a longer update soon, so stay tuned. For now, I wanted to post my first letter to our sweet baby since as of Wednesday, I'm 30 weeks pregnant.

Dear baby boy,

  We are already so in love with you! My favorite part of the day is when I sit down at the end of the day and feel you moving all around. You seem like an active little guy and I can't believe in 10 weeks I get to see your beautiful face and learn more about your personality. You have a lot of people counting down the days to meet you. Your two big sisters will probably fight over whose turn it is to hold you and play with you and I''m not sure how your big brother will react to your arrival but even if he isn't overly affectionate, I know he's super excited to have a brother and even out the family. He even told me that he wants to share a room with you when you turn 3. Your daddy also loves feeling your kicks throughout the day. He keeps his hand on my belly whenever we're sitting down together so he can feel you moving around. You may have also noticed a little baby crying or pressing on my belly, that's our foster baby who has been with us for 2 months. I'm not sure if you'll get to meet her or not but either way, we will be ready for your arrival. Keep growing and kicking little guy and mommy will keep praying for you. See you in about 10 weeks!

Love,
Mommy

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Maxwell turned 3 months on Wednesday. 

I love him so much.  I really can't contain it.  I'm pretty much convinced that he'll never do anything wrong, never make me mad, he's just perfect.

Okay, I'm not that naive but I am thoroughly enjoying have a little boy.

Max is growing so fast, he's already wearing 6 month clothing and will probably go to size 3 diapers as soon as I run out of size 2.

He is so social and loves having conversations.  His cooing is my favorite.

So are his smiles, and his chubby cheeks, and the way he lights up when I get him in the morning.

Max did decide to stop sleeping through the night last week, which is a bummer, but I kind of knew it was coming.  Joe and I love his little voice when he wakes up, it sounds like he's calling for me rather than crying.

Maxwell loves bath time, watching his sisters play, and listening to people talk to him.

He doesn't really like riding in the stroller, being left alone, or when his sisters scream (but who would like that?!)

How did I get so lucky to have the most perfect little boy for my son?

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