Disney dumbed down...

5-month-old- Observations of my beautiful baby

1. He is so aware of the world around him!  He knows his name and his home.  He knows his routine and toys. He is brilliant!
2. He sat up all by himself for the first time yesterday.  He can hold his body weight up with his hands, then pushes off to sit alone, then forward to hands. I’m so proud of him.
3. We have our nighttime routine down. Solid food, bath or wipe down, baby lotion (California Baby Calming lotion), then nurse and bed.  For a month now he has gone right down with this routine. 
4. He positively hates lying on his back for more than 5 minutes.  He prefers to sit up in his swing with the tray over him filled with toys and teethers.
5. He poops every other day.
6. He only eats solids once a day, for dinner.  I am going to try to keep it like that until he is 6 months old.
7. His coos have gone to goo-gaaas and oh-yeahs.  I love making words up from the partial sounds he puts together.
8. Still no regular rolling over.
9. When he does roll over he can pull one hand out to prop up, but still has trouble pulling the other out.
10. He crawls backwards, scoots I should say.
11. He is still exclusively breastfed and can empty one breast in five minutes.  It makes nursing easy, cheap and bottle free.  All of the pain and bullshit the first three months trying to master the art breastfeeding was so worth it.
12. HE is a VERY smiley baby. 
13. If he is up more than 2 ½ hours then he gets cranky.  Still my little baby needing plenty of naps.
14. He sleeps normally for 4-5 hour stretches at night.  The 8 hours stretches are once in a while still.
15. Gas still plagues him, very sad.
16. He is teething away and refuses to use any of the proper teething toys I have bought for him. He shoves everything in his mouth except those.  He especially loves the plastic “links” that come in all different textures.
17. He is too fat for the Bumbo seat.  He got stuck in it last time, and that was the end of Bumbo.
18. He has nearly outgrown his infant seat.  We are trying to hold off until 6 months before buying him his new big boy “convertible” car seat. 
19. He is just a big chunk of squishy cuddly baby. With “tree trunks” for legs according to my family and friends.
20. He is the most wonderful, easygoing, happy baby. Our family is truly blessed.

Observations at five months Postpartum

5 Months Postpartum:

1. I still have quite the pregnancy pooch.

Reality- I’m sick and effing tired of the pregnancy pooch! Walking is just not cutting it.

2. My hair is falling out strand-by-strand, minute-by-minute.

Reality- I’m going to be cutting my hair in half! Oliver has a strand wrapped around him at all times.

3. My knees and back are constantly aching. 

Reality- I think I am carrying about 15 extra pounds still or 3 dress sizes bigger than before baby. My knees will tell you possibly a little more.

4. I still think I stink!  Like I am still oozing pregnancy hormones and gunk.

Reality-I’m showering sometimes twice a day and am still stinky and sweaty.

5. Since I am still nursing, my hormones are still WAY out of whack.

Reality- I’m kinda bitchy sometimes. "Sometimes" becomes a lot when I don’t sleep well. And I still have teenage acne!

6. I’m ravenous with a raging sweet tooth.

Reality-I still have the “I can have whatever I want” pregnancy mentality when it comes to food.  I can rationalize every bite that goes into my mouth! So bad…

7. I love being a mom so freaking much!

Reality- It is the true meaning of life!

This is my last "postpartum observations," because I am no longer "postpartum." I am a mom who delivered 5 months ago. I’ve been dragging that “postpartum” term around as a crutch to hold up my baby weight and poor eating choices. I’m dropping that postpartum mentality so I can get on with it!  I am a mom, a very blessed and proud mom, who has 15 pounds to loose, an attitude that needs to be adjusted, a mouth that needs to stop being filled with naughty goodies, I have joints that need to desperately be exercised and a mane of hair that needs to be tamed before it strangles my son. 

I positively Love Love Love being a mom!  It's time to shed the memories of pregnancy.  I'm moving forward with my son and not looking back to blame my pregnancy anymore.  I am holding myself accountable now for all of the things I have been blaming on being Postpartum. Tomorrow is a brand new day.

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Mommy Fail #7 I got peed on…TWICE!

Preface

I got peed on…TWICE!

The Story

Last night I slept like crap.  I just laid there staring at the ceiling praying for sleep.  I was able to keep the anxiety of not sleeping at baybecause it was my morning to sleep in.    I just kept thinking: I will sleep sooner or later, even if I have to wait until 6:30am!

I fell asleep around 3am, and then of course Ollie woke up at 3:30 to eat. I was able to fall back to sleep easily enough after nursing him, but when he woke up ready to eat and start his day at 6:30am, I was not at all ready to feed him.  I nearly woke up dad to just give him a bottle so I could sleep. I decided screw it, it’s only going to take 20 -30 minutes tops to nurse him, and then I can go back to sleep for 3 solid hours! 

I stumble out of bed, one eye open, the other eye still closed so I could half pretend I was still asleep. I walked into his nursery to the sound of coos and smiles. When Ollie saw me he gave me the biggest heart warming smile, instantly my other eye popped open and I was glad I got up.

I picked up little man, still full of coos and smiles, and took him right to the change table. I started with the diaper change since it was clear he was not starving.  I took off his diaper, reached down for a new one and the next thing I knew a fountain of pee was shooting right at the ceiling. I grabbed the new diaper and shoved it right over the fountain. In my sleepy haze of ding dong-ness I put the diaper down on him backwards, so the outside slippery side was deflecting the pee. Of course it just made it spray in every direction! Spraying the wall, the change table, me, his legs and then to my horror sprayed his face! So Gross.

Needless to say, the damage was WAY passed wet wipes.  I peeled the change table cover off, wrapped Ollie in it and off to the bath we went.  I laid him down on the rug and threw his rubber ducky baby tub in the bathtub, and started filling the tub.  While leaning over the tub testing the water, I felt a warm stream hitting my butt and the back of my legs.  I turn around and there he is peeing and smiling! Not again?! I couldn’t help but laugh, not “funny ha ha” laughter, but “eff me that just happened” laughter. This made him smile even bigger and give me a little coo of excitement. If only he knew...

Out of the tub comes the ducky, and into the tub go mommy and Ollie. I was now officially passed wet wipe cleaning too. I got us both cleaned up, dried off and redressed.  30 minutes later I FINALLY sat down to nurse Ollie.

Lesson learned?  NOTHING!  I already knew better than to change Ollie without a diaper ready. Heck, at this point I can even see the tell tale sign of, "watch out he is going to blow!"  Unfortunately, one eyed and barely functioning off of 3 hours of sleep, it was an unavoidable amateur mistake.  At least I did get to go back to sleep... squeaky clean no less! ^_^

Teething- GET IN MY MOUTH!

Ahhhh teething… Of course it all started with that first drop of drool.  That drop of drool then turned into the steady drip that soaked the neckline of the onesie, making a bib the new must have outfit necessity. That steady drip then turned into the flowing river of drool that soaked EVERYTHING, bib or not!  Now that everything is soaked the inevitable fussy whine starts, which means Oliver is teething in full force...  So, what does that really mean besides teeth are coming… EVERYTHING GETS SHOVED IN HIS MOUTH!

It’s actually a little scary how everything within reach gets shoved in Ollie’s mouth.  Nothing is too big, or too small, if he can grab it he can stuff it.  Things like my hand, my shirt, his toys of course, my iPhone, his blanket, the carpet, the couch cushion, and then the cats tail!  When Professor Dumbledore’s tail made its way into Oliver’s mouth, I knew it was time to keep teething toys within reach at all times!

A friend sent me an email a couple of weeks ago warning me to make sure when I change his diapers to make sure I keep the dirty one far from reach.  Her warning came with the admission that she learned the hard way!

Drooling, soaking wet bibs and clothes, and the cat’s tail aside, my poor little guy is in pain!  I feel so bad for him, he is clearly uncomfortable, his little gum is red and he is at times inconsolable.  It’s so hard for me to stand by with out much of a way to help him.  The hubs keeps reminding me that I went through it, he went through it and so did everyone else with teeth. He also made me admit that I don’t remember one bit of it.  I don’t even remember what it felt like to loose a baby tooth and have an adult tooth grow in it’s place.

I realize that teething is just part of life and that he will survive.  It’s just so hard for me as a mother to stand by and not be able to do much. I have decided that teething teaches, both the baby and the parents, the importance of developing a pain thresh hold. Oliver is developing a physical pain thresh hold, while dad and I are developing an emotional parent pain threshold.  It’s so hard as parent to stand by and see your baby in pain and not be able to fix it, safely and instantly.  It’s hard enough trying to save him from the big scary world,having to figure out how to save him from nature is too much!  I just keep reminding myself that he will forget the pain of teething, and hopefully so will I.

Anyone got any great tips for teething?

Mother= Full Time Job!

Siblings

When the hubs and I were childless we would get asked at least once a week, "when are you going to have children?"  I always answered with, "When God gives us one." This answer almost always ended the conversation.  You cannot question God, so we normally were able to fly right through the "baby making" conversation.  Now we get asked all of the time, "Are you going to have anymore?"  I answer with, "If God blesses us with a second, then absolutely!"

Truth be told, I always said if I had one child, I would definitely do everything I could to have a sibling for my child.  I really believe siblings are one of the greatest gifts a parent can give their child.  Here is why...

Siblings teach each other...

I totally did this to my brother.  And my sister to me.  

Siblings teach each other humility!

Did this too...

Siblings teach each other

sometimes life is just not fair!

perseverance!

Cohesiveness!

Don't believe everything you read!

To keep your mouth shut 

for the greater good of the family

Grow a tough skin

Sharing is caring!

Team dynamics

To fight for what's yours

To be honest about your feelings

Except the things you cannot change

Everyone is different
and special in their own way!

To voice your concerns

Pain thresh hold

There is always going to be someone bigger than you!

To take the high road

Over protectiveness

People will say mean things.

Just don't let it get to you.

submission is sometimes just easier

Every thing is negotiable

No matter how old you get

Your sibling will always be 

your sibling.

Creativity

How to deal with diversity

A sense of humor

Unconditional Love.

My siblings are a huge part of who I am today.  While I would have traded them for anything in our younger years, I couldn't live without them today.  

My husband and I are going to start trying again after Oliver's first birthday. I want to just get pregnancy out of the way and move on with my family.  Plus, I can put off weight loss until after number 2!

 But I will tell you right now, after we have a sibling for Oliver, we will stop there while we are ahead!