Our favorite little childcare kid, Sam, is having a blast with his mom and new brother Jack. We were so sad our time with him ended and I really thought there was no way I’d ever find another single kid who only needed care for a few days a week. And then God landed 2 potential jobs in my lap.
Someone posted on Chambana moms that they were looking for part-time care and people were posting suggestions for lots of centers. I put my info out there saying if they were looking for in-home care, I’d love to chat. Rachel emailed me quickly as did another family who saw the post. We met with the other family who needed care for a 1 year old, 3 days a week. While he was adorable and the mom and I had very similar styles of parenting, I was pretty nervous about his age. And I really would prefer the majority of the school week be with my kids (3 days vs 2). So I was thrilled that Rachel and her husband, Dane wanted to meet.
They came over and Weston played with the kids and we all chatted about every issue under the sun. Then on Thursday, Weston came over for a “trial run” while his mom worked in her classroom. It couldn’t have gone better. He played so well with Owen and Ellison and is such a sweetie. 
He loves a good art project like my kids.
And who doesn’t love some outside play time?
And the kid sleeps. Hallelujah.
All in all, it was a great first day. We’ll be getting to hang out with this sweet little guy on Tuesdays and Fridays. I’m so thankful I’ll be able to help add to our budget while still just hanging at home with my kiddos.
At the first table, they poured what looked like salt into a cup. Owen got to dump in water and it turned into “snow.” They go to play with it in pans and bury animals and such. Then, we build snowman (Olafs) with glitter playdoh.
We cut out some snowflakes and hung them up on the little stage area. Of course, we had to belt out some Frozen tunes while on the stage!
They were so awesome that when Owen asked for a treat while we were leaving, I had to oblige. :)
It was a fun way to ruin our dinner. :)
After the doctor, we headed right to the pool. Avery once again was a huge help holding Miles while we played!
And a cute someone got a hold of my phone during snack break.
The next weekend William’s co-worker Whitney got married. William’s parents were in town so we were able to enjoy the whole wedding without the bigger kids and without having to pay a babysitter. I wasn’t expecting to have a good time with not really knowing the crowd, but we ended up having a really nice evening!
Miles just got passed around and we had a very nice dinner at Silvercreek. The cheesecake was probably the most amazing cheesecake I’ve had. Seriously.
This kid is one month old (ok, 6 weeks upon this posting but who’s really counting besides me). I was wanting an “official” weight before posting and got it this morning. We don’t have his official appointment until next week, but Miles is a part of a U of I study called 
Eating: He’s a great nurser and is getting on a good eat, play, sleep pattern. He takes a bit longer to eat than my first two did and definitely has to eat from both sides. He is an awesome burper when he’s done. Thankfully, his little body is dealing just fine with the copious amounts of caffeine I’ve been drinking. :)
Sleeping: Knock on wood, he seems to be a better sleeper than my first two. But he HAS to be swaddled. If he so much gets a fingertip out of the swaddle, all bets are off and he’s screaming. We even use the swaddle blankets in the car seat to make those rides more enjoyable for all of us. Having firm pressure also is the best way to calm him as opposed to bouncing or rocking. Day naps are falling into a 5 nap “routine” and his bedtime is slowly moving up. He usually goes down between 8-9 and sleeps until about 1 (twice he made it until 2:30!). But from them until the morning, he’s usually awake every hour or two. Because Owen and Ellie still get up in the night (ugh) William is in change of those two and I focus on Miles.
Random info: He has an adorable dimple on his left cheek (just like his sister). His first 3 weeks, he HATED diaper changes but I think that’s starting to get better. He loves his pacifier. His eyes are blue/gray and definitely lighter than the other kid’s. Still not sure if they’ll go brown like there’s though or stay in the blue family like mine.
How we’re all doing: Well, in general I’d say really well. I think I was a bit worried about the transition to 3 from everyone who keeps saying “you’ll be outnumbered.” “You’re going from man-to-man defense to zone defense, etc.” But so far, it’s felt pretty doable! Yes, you just need to plan an extra 45 minutes or so to get out the door. That means packing up the extra stuff and fitting in a feeding. But I’ve gotten out by myself quite a bit with all 3. Just not grocery shopping. That’s happening in the evenings now with just Miles in the Ergo carrier. For me 1 to 2 kids was harder than 2 to 3. I also like that Owen and Ellie can play (and fight) together while I’m occupied nursing.
So in general, I love it. I love that while before, William and I each could have a “kid.” But now we’re a whole team. And yes, everyone asks if we’re done. And I don’t have an answer on that quite yet. But I will say that if I had to answer today, I want 4 and William’s fine with 3.
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