9 Months In, 9 Months Out

Izzy has officially been in the outside world as long as she was on the inside. 

Here's Izzy at 9 months in:

 

And Izzy at 9 months out:  

Of course, this month was even more lively than last month with her.  She's learning new tricks daily!  She started crawling right when she turned 8 months old.  Now I would say she is run/crawling.  I don't know if that's a thing, but I just made it one.  Needless to say, she is moving across the house swiftly these days.  We have spent the month trying to get all things out of reach that aren't appropriate for little hands: the dogs water bowls, toilet water, and anything breakable sitting in places less than three feet off the ground.  We have also tried to figure out which pieces of furniture need to be strapped down since miss mover thinks she needs to be standing at all times.  I guess crawling and sitting really weren't cutting it for her anymore.  

I finally came to terms with the fact that she is growing and bought some vacuum bags to pack up the clothes she has outgrown.  For now, we are hanging onto them.  It remains to be decided if Izzy will be an only child.  Probably depends on the time of day you ask the question!  She still fits in a few of her 6-9 month clothes, but for the most part is in 9 month and 12 month outfits.  She has the curse of her mom and dad when it comes to shirts... they are all belly shirts.  Sorry kid... a long torso will do that to you. 

Turns out, I might have measured her wrong last month.  I blame Izzy; she was moving too much to get an accurate read.  She did have her 9 month check up at the doctors office this week and was measuring just shy of 30 inches.  She hasn't gained any weight over the last month, and remains at 22 lbs.  I'm guessing her weight gain will start to level off now.  Although, with the way she eats some days, I don't know.  The kid could probably throw back an entire carton of blueberries if I let her.  She also loves cheese and black olives.  This last month we introduced her to some fish, beans, turkey, and a little bit of hamburger.  Andrew thought it was pretty hysterical to watch her mow down some lentil curry.  She also went after some salmon pretty seriously, so that's good.  I have found we have to give her veggies and meats before fruit, or she will fill herself up on fruit.  It wasn't so much of an issue when she was first starting out on foods.  Probably because I didn't leave her much of a choice since I was feeding her.

We have enjoyed quite a bit of time outside this past month as the temperatures climbed.  We bought her a pool, which she loves to splash in and Maya likes to drink from.

 On days where we don't feel like getting completely wet, we still play in the water on the deck. 

Since you asked (if you didn't, pretend you did), that is her Harry Potter onesie we purchased while on vacation last year at Universal Studios.  We decided, even before we knew the gender, that our child was likely to be a Ravenclaw.  So far, she holds pretty true to that.  Time will tell; her personality is developing quickly.  

She also loves to splash in the bath.  After fighting to wash her hair for months, I finally broke down and got her one of those bath hat/visors.  Let me tell you, this thing has been a LIFE SAVER.

And here we are post bath when we are supposed to be going to sleep...

The question we always get asked is, "is she sleeping through the night".  With a few exceptions, yes, she is now sleeping through the night.  I have enjoyed several uninterrupted nights of sleep, and they have been the most glorious things ever.  It's been well over a year since I was able to sleep through the night.  Of course, gone are the days of sleeping in until 10 am on Saturday's. That was nice while it lasted.  I look forward to retirement when I can enjoy those days again.  I experienced my first real "mom" moment this past month.  I had to be gone a couple of hours for two nights in a row a few weeks ago for work, which meant Andrew was in charge of dinner and the nighttime routine.  On the first night, I came home to find Izzy sleeping on our bed with Andrew sitting next to her reading.  She had just fallen asleep when I got home shortly before 9. I knew it was going to be rough because I had only been away for two other nights.  I picked Izzy up to carry her into her room, and for a minute I couldn't even move.  I just held her close and let the tears run down my cheeks.  I missed that little girl more than I thought was possible.  Even in the moments when she has pushed me to my limit, I try to remind myself to enjoy those moments.  They will only last for a short period and in the blink of an eye they will be gone and I will be longing for the days when life was simple with her and I was worried only about her not eating veggies for dinner.  

Also, in case inquiring minds would like to know, we continue on with our nursing journey.  There are days when I really detest pumping.  Ok, that's most days actually.  However, I know I do it for her benefit.  We have officially made it 3/4 of the way to my goal of one year.  I may not be supplying all the milk she gets, but every little bit I can get her is a win.  These last three months are going to be a push.  Since mother nature reared her ugly head again (it was nice while those 16 months lasted), my supply has taken a pretty serious hit.  Again, another part of the nursing journey they don't tell you in the two hour breastfeeding class in the hospital... 

Now we look on to the next month. Izzy kicked it off with a real bang by coming down with hand, foot and mouth.  Andrew and I have been splitting duty this week since we have to keep Izzy home until her sores are scabbed over.  As difficult as it is to try and work and make sure someone is with her, it's kind of nice having her home for a few extra days; I do miss her when she is at daycare.  

We are also making the big change to the convertible car seats this coming weekend so we can have them checked next week at the car seat safety check they hold once a month at a local car dealership.  She's is seriously getting too big to lug around in the infant carrier, and most of the time we end of taking her out of it anyway.  More evidence that she is growing up way too fast. I started to look ahead to her first birthday; got seriously sad, and then put it out of my mind.  I'm going to have to force myself to think about it here before too long.  

As a final note, if you are wondering about the flooring project, I promise we are seriously almost done.  Really, it is mostly done.  The final piece of furniture came back up out of the basement a few weeks ago, and the final set of boxes is now sitting in the dining room waiting for me to unpack.  I can see the light at the end of the remodeling tunnel!

I leave you with a photo of Maya enjoying her birthday treat earlier this month.  Miss Maya celebrated her 5th birthday this year!  She keeps life in this house fun, and keep Buddy young. 

 

8 Months Old

Izzy has actually been eight months old now for a week, but it's been a busy week and I'm just getting a minute to sit down and collect my thoughts on her last month.  I think every month is busier and busier with her.  Every month we seem to reach a milestone with her.  At seven months, she popped her first two teeth.  At eight months, she started crawling.  Since she started crawling, we spent the last week baby proofing the house.  The gate is up in our upstairs hallway to keep her from falling down the stairs.  Every day she is getting a little quicker.  I feel bad for her poor knees; they are all red. Other than putting lotion on them at night, there isn't much else to do for her. 

 We started off the month with a haircut!  

 I celebrated my first Mother's Day with this cutie.  

Most of this past month was spent working up to crawling.  We discovered she was able to get quite far just by bouncing around on her tush.  We also discovered she was able to get herself upright when I looked in her monitor one night.  We also discovered that it's not easy to complete a home renovation project with a seven month old.  However, we are nearing completion on the flooring project.  We need to get a couple pieces of furniture back up on the main level and then I will take some photos to share.  I think the floor looks amazing!  It was a huge undertaking, but it was worth it.  Once again, credit goes to Andrew for his handy work!   

Motherhood lesson #12346489: soaking clothes with metallic lettering in oxiclean will take the metallic off.  This was the only time she got to wear this onesie before I jacked up the lettering.    

Izzy has been exploring more foods this past month.  I think blueberries might be her favorite.  It's hard to tell; she hasn't really come across any foods she doesn't like.  We are transitioning from pureed foods over to finger foods.  It's so much easier to get myself dinner while it's still warm when I can put food on her tray and let her go at it while I'm cooking dinner.  Cleanup is a little messier now.  Girl loves herself some chicken, cheese, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, peas, carrots, green beans.... 

Obviously, this girl loves her food since she has no concerns about being underweight.  She is solid at 22 lbs.  She has outpaced a few of her friends who are months older than she is.  To go with her weight though, she is 30 inches long and remains in the 99th percentile.  I have put all of her 6-9 month tops and onesies away.  She does still fit into 6 month and 6-9 month bottoms.  She has a few 9 month rompers, but I think her days in those are numbered.  I have pulled out most of her 12 month clothes from storage.  Fingers crossed she will be in those most of the summer since all the 18 month clothes I have collected for her are for fall and winter.  I have really had to be disciplined about not buying her any more clothes.  She seriously does not need anything else.  It's so hard though!   

I'm sure this next month is going to be full of even more adventures with her.  We bought a pool so she could play in the water this summer.  Her new obsession is pulling herself up on things; let's see how long it is before she is walking.  Then we are really in trouble! 

7 Months Old

We have crossed the half way point to Izzy's first year. The last month has been another eventful one for Izzy. We celebrated her first Ester. No, we didn't make her hunt for Easter eggs this year.  We figured that might be kind of cruel since she can't walk or crawl.  Don't worry, she still got a few things in her Easter basket. Her "basket" from mom and dad was more like a box at the front door delivered from Toys R Us.  She got a few new noise making toys, including a drum to teach her colors and numbers in English and Spanish!  

One of Izzy's noise makes from the Easter Bunny. 

We finally got Izzy in for her six month  check up about a week before she turned seven months old. Better late than never, right?  She weighed in at 20 lbs and 2.5 oz and measured 28 inches long. Again, she hit the 99th percentile for her height, and was up in the 94th percentile for her weight.  By all accounts, she is a very happy, healthy little girl, and for that we are beyond grateful! 

I have finally had to come to terms with her growth, and put the clothes she has outgrown away.  Reality sunk in when daycare told me I needed to put her in bigger pants because her pants were too tight.  So much for trying  to squeeze her into things! I was just telling a friend, I'm not sure why I cram her into things when she has adorable clothes in the next five sizes.  Denial.... that's why. We finally got through all our size 2 diapers and moved her up to size 3. Not a minute too soon either because she was really busting out of size 2's. I noticed daycare just moved her up to size 4 diapers... I can't seem to keep up.  

A few days before her seven month marker, our little lady decided to pop two teeth. She had a runny nose for a week prior to that, so I suspected it was coming.  She had been working on those darn things since Christmas! They are just busy working their way up now.  Now that she has her two bottom front teeth, I feel better about giving her some not so pureed foods. Speaking of foods, she hasn't encountered anything she doesn't like.  We have given her a few of the big allergy foods including peanut butter and eggs. We have done eggs a few times without issue.  She loves flinging them around more  than she loves eating them, but that's the story with pretty much every food right now.  She had a bit of peanut butter with some banana this past weekend, and really seemed to enjoy that.  We will try a little more peanut butter again here soon.  We have also introduced some chicken and turkey into her diet as well as some whole milk yogurt.  The dogs have both decided this screaming thing is alright since she throws food on the floor.  Anyone who gives Buddy food is instantly his best friend! 

While she isn't crawling yet, that doesn't mean she isn't mobile.  I'm amazed at just how far she can pull and scoot herself.  I have to keep a pretty close eye on her these days.  She is much more stable when she is sitting now.  She can twist around and look at something without toppling over!  She loves sticking anything and everything in her mouth except the frozen teething rings.  Luckily, she does seem to like sucking on ice cubes in the mesh feeders.  Although she has never been  a fan of the pacifier, she does like to chew on it, or put it in her mouth and pull it out to listen to the pop it makes.  She cracks me up daily!

Her latest love is attempting to pull herself up. She isn't strong enough just yet to actually pull herself up, but she likes to try!  She loves to stand and look around.  She's like her mama; always watching!  She has also already mastered the stink eye, so that's going to be a problem.  She is more of a morning person, again like her mama!  Although, she is not so much a fan of the mornings when I have to wake her up.  Then she's a little more like her dad.  She's also saying "dada" like a pro these days.  Hopefully I hear a mama sometime! 

In case you were wondering about our flooring project, it isn't done yet.  However, we are making progress.  Andrew took a weeks vacation and got all the flooring down.  It looks amazing and really changes the look of the house.  We also painted the living room.  It was finally time to say goodbye to the poop brown color we have been looking at since we moved in.  

This was my attempt to pick a color.  The funny thing is, I didn't 

end up going with any of these colors.  

Here is the newly painted living room before the flooring

went in.  Huge thanks to Andrew's mom because she did 

most of the painting while I was trying to wrestle with Izzy. 

The goal is to get the rest of the baseboard and the quarter round up this weekend so that we can put furniture back in the rooms.  Eating on a metal chair in the middle of the kitchen the last month has really lost its luster.  

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

We made it through our first half year of parenthood!  It's been a ride so far, and I know it's only going to get better from here.  We had a pretty exciting month; lots of developments.

Unfortunately, we kicked the month off with some sort of respiratory junk that was going around at daycare.  I seriously questioned if the kids at daycare are ever "healthy".  It seems there is always one kid with something.  After a trip to the doctor, we found ourselves with a five day dose of Prednisone.  Apparently, we weren't the only ones with that prescription.  It took three pharmacies to find the meds.  Luckily, whatever she had seemed to clear up pretty quick and she was back up and running in no time.  Unfortunately, she was sleeping in the rock and play to help with the congestion and we are still suffering from that bad habit...  

As of last check, our not quite so little lady was weighing in at 18 1/2 lbs and measuring about 27 1/2 inches.  Once again, I was trying to cram her into clothes for too long, and we almost missed the 6-9 month window.  She is still in six month pants; 9 month pants pretty much just fall off of her.  She actually still has a few pairs of 3-6 month pants that fit.  It's crazy how much the different brands of clothes vary in size.  I have been hitting the clearance racks and trying to stock up on clothes for next fall and winter.  I'm banking on her being in 18 and 24 month clothing, so let's hope she sticks with that, or I'm in trouble.  I also hit up a big consignment sale at the fairgrounds a few weekends ago and was able to score some good deals on summer clothes.

Onto the fun stuff... Izzy's latest trick; sitting up!   She can't pull herself up without help just yet, so she only sits up when we put her that way.  She is also still working on her core, so she topples over if she leans too far to one side.  In the last week, she has figured out how to turn her head to look at something behind her without falling over.

A few weeks ago, we finally saw Izzy roll over for the first time.  I figured she could do it, but she was being shy.  Now that she has figured out how to sit up on her own, she doesn't like to be flat on the ground, so she hasn't really been rolling over a lot since then.

My favorite development this past month was hearing her laugh.  We were outside chatting with our neighbors and their dog was barking at us all.  Izzy thought it was hilarious.  I think we were all laughing at her little laugh before too long!  It was pretty much the best sound ever; I might be bias though.

 

We have introduced a few more foods this last week.  She loves sweet potatoes (knows what's good for her), bananas, apples, and pears.  We will circle back to green beans here shortly and add in some carrots, peas, and pumpkin.  I'm working on making our own baby food; so much cheaper.  We bought a new blender for $32 from Target (thank you Cartwheel)!  Our current blender doesn't have the puree setting, and frankly I think the thing is kind of worthless (bad research prior to purchasing on my end).  So, we bought a little bit of an upgraded version with a few more bells and whistles.  Tonight, I whipped up some cinnamon apples for her.  She wasn't quite sure what to think initially, but she got into it after a few bites.  The faces she makes when she she tries new foods are quite hilarious!  We plan on doing a combination of purees and baby lead weaning.  She is still working on the same stinking teeth... man do I hope these things come through soon.  Since we hit six months, that also means we hit my second breastfeeding goal on our way to 1 year.  No, she isn't exclusively breastfed, but some is better than none as I like to remind myself. 

 This past weekend, we had a blast with Andrew family celebrating Izzy.  Luckily, she was in a good mood for us all and was quite the ham for everyone! 

In case you are all sick of baby updates and ready some of the "classic blog content", have no fear our annual project season is here!  This year we have decided to re-do the floors on our main level.  After watching Buddy chew at the carpet in the living room looking for treat crumbs, and then watching Izzy rub her face in the carpet, I decided the carpet had to go.  Andrew pulled up the carpet in our dining room today; I was seriously disgusted.  I know the living room is going to be ten times worse.  We will be putting down wood laminate, and I'm so looking forward to having something a little more sanitary on the floor.  Stay tuned for the post project update!

Five Months Old

It's been five quick months since we welcomed our baby girl into our lives.  A little over a year ago,  we found out we were expecting.  It was early March of last year when we heard our baby girls heartbeat for the first time; a sound I will not soon forget!  I knew in that moment our lives were changing, but I couldn't imagine just how much.  My heart is full as I watch our little girl grow every day and explore the world around her. 

This past month has been a full one for our little lady.  We had our first call from daycare to pick up our sick kiddo.  Whatever stomach bug she contracted quickly passed without much issue.  A few days of a low grade fever, and some fun diapers later, the incident was a distant memory.  Babies first fever of course had me worried out of my mind, but we made it through!

At her four month check up in January, we got the OK to start exploring solids.  After Izzy showed obvious interest in our eating habits, I decided to give it a go with her.  After much research, I started her off with oatmeal rather than rice cereal.  The first day went great; she couldn't get enough of it.  By the second and third day, she wasn't as interested.  By day four, I noticed she had broken out in a rash on her tummy and chest.  Needless to say, we were done with oatmeal.  I waited a week before trying again with vegetables.  We made it through three days each of butternut squash, green beans, and sweet potatoes.  My girl loved herself some sweet potatoes (gets that from her mama)! 

Luckily, none of those caused her to break out in a rash like the oatmeal did.  However, after battling with some diaper rash issues, I decided to pause with the solids.  While I think Izzy is ready to start on foods, I'm not 100% convinced her tummy is.  I think we will give her system another month to mature, and start back up with solids at six months. 

We are still on tooth watch.  Every morning I check to see if those little devils have busted through her gums.  So far, no sign of them, but the amount of drool such a small child is able to produce is astounding.  Everything goes in her mouth these days; Andrew likes to ask Izzy how her "hand sandwich" is since she is constantly cramming her hands in her mouth.  Her hands are certainly busy all day; same with her feet.  Shortly before she turned four months old, we put together the activity bouncer we were gifted at her baby shower in November.  The first few times she sat in it, she just sat there with her hands down by her sides.  Now, she grabs at all the toys and has figured out how to spin herself around.  We recently started the drop it, pick it up game.  I used to say "there is no way I'm indulging my child in that game".  Now, I find myself mindlessly picking up toys as she throws them on the floor for the tenth time.  I have seen a saying on Facebook to the effect of "parenting was a lot easier when I was talking about my hypothetical children".  I laugh every time I see this because the statement couldn't be more true!

We still aren't rolling over, but man we are getting dangerously close.  Daycare says she has rolled over a couple of times for them.  She does tend to get more tummy time at daycare, so I totally believe it.  I think she is the only one at daycare now who isn't rolling over, so I fully expect she will get on the bus with the other babes here shortly.  The baby closest in age to her at daycare was born about three weeks before she was, so I think they "hang out" together.  Perhaps she will give into peer pressure.  Just because she isn't rolling over doesn't mean she isn't mobile.  While she hasn't figured out how to get herself across a room just yet, she can kick her legs hard enough to pull her whole body a fair distance.  She has also mastered the full body rotation when she is down on the ground.  She is working on sitting up unsupported at the moment; still needs to work on some core muscles (who doesn't)!  I joked with Andrew this weekend that Izzy will probably skip crawling and go straight to walking; she always wants to stand.  If she is fussy, stand her up and she is content.  I can hold her by only her hands, and she will support her weight on her legs.  From time to time, she will even take a step or two.  Really this is all just too fast for me and time can go ahead and slow down.  While I enjoy all the fun changes, sometimes I long to return to the days when she was in the womb and I carried her with me wherever I went.  At least then I knew she was safe and protected.

I have my days where I struggle entrusting her care to others.  I haven't had a full on melt down while leaving daycare, but it's safe to say I spend most of the day with Izzy on my mind.  It's true what they say about your child being a piece of your heart walking around on the outside of your body.  Some days, my anxiety gets the best of me and I have to remind myself that everything is fine and she is safe.  Having Izzy has forced me to reflect on my own childhood.  While I might have been annoyed with my mom at times, I realize now she was trying to protect me the best she could.  Ahh, the mama bear instincts!

With the weather being so nice recently, we have been trying to get out on walks more (especially since I can't seem to find the time to get my butt back in the gym).  While I was still on maternity leave and the temps were still high enough, we would go on walks in the afternoon.  I tried putting her in her stroller and walking the dogs at the same time; that was a total cluster.  I have since found wearing her and walking the dogs is much simpler for all of us!  Luckily, she is pretty cooperative with me wearing her, and I have figured out how to get her strapped in without a second set of hands.  Her mood dictates if I wear her facing me or facing out, and I quickly know if we picked the wrong direction.  Have I mentioned this child has quite the attitude already (stop laughing, mom).  She has no problems letting you know what she does and doesn't like.    

This past month we have tried to master the art of a bedtime routine.  I finally got wise and realized by putting her to bed at 8 or 9:00, she was overly tired and I was just causing more drama for all involved.  I bumped her bedtime up to between 7 and 8:00 and we are all much happier as a result.  She usually goes down without a fight as long as I catch her at the right moment.  At the first sign of her rubbing her eyes, we are off to start our nighttime routine.  Some nights that means we are getting ready for bed at 6:30 and some nights we start our routine at 7:15.  It makes me sad when I only get to spend an hour or two at most with her at night, but I also don't want to suffer the wrath of an overly tired kiddo. 

Our current battle is getting her to sleep in her crib without her arms being swaddled.  We were making progress until she got sick with a cold.  Right now, we are just doing whatever we can to get her to sleep as well as possible, which means sleeping in her rock and play.  We don't want to make a habit of letting her sleep in her rock and play, but you gotta do what you gotta do to get a sick babe to sleep.  Once she gets past this hump, we will be back to working with her on sleeping in her crib with her arms free.

I'm amazed how fast our baby is growing both physically and emotionally.  She has darn near busted out the bottoms of her six month sleep and play outfits.  She has a few one piece outfits in 9 months, but we will probably just move straight to 12 month outfits.  Granted, she will be swimming in them for a while, but at least I knew she will get to wear some of them more than once.  She has some adorable outfits I have only been able to get her in one time before she outgrew them.  I was sad this weekend as I pulled the last of her three month pants out of her dresser.  But, I decided she shouldn't have to suffer through wearing high water pants when she has a slew of six month pants waiting to be worn.

We are five months in on our parenting adventure, and can't wait to see what's in store for us this next month!

Four Months Old

We made it to four months already.  I say it every month, but the time is seriously just flying by.  Izzy is so much fun right now because it seems like every day is something new with her.  She is "talking" to us all the time now.  Sometimes it's just screeching and sometimes it sounds a little more like actual words coming out of her mouth.  Either way, it's adorable (except when it's at 6 AM on Saturday).

 

This last month was eventful, for sure.  She had her first visit to the doctor for a non well baby visit.  Unfortunately she came out angry after the doctor checked her ears and discovered she had an infection on the right side.  After a forty minute wait at the pharmacy (lucky for them she was asleep during this time), we came away the proud owners of our first bottle of amoxicillin.

I was actually pretty upset that after only three and a half months she needed to be on antibiotics; the joys of daycare.  Luckily, there have been some other nastier bugs going around at daycare that we have so far been able to dodge.

In addition to talking, our little lady is really trying hard to roll over.  She can get onto her side, but she just needs that final oomph to push her over.  I have read most babies roll from their stomach to their back first.  This kid hates being on her stomach for more than five minutes, so I'm guessing she is going to roll from back to front first.  Of course, she might go from her stomach to her back first in protest of being put on her stomach.  She does already have a bit of a tude, so it's quite possible she would do such a thing.

All the ladies in her room at daycare think she is pretty hilarious and adorable.  Of course, that might be helped by the fact that there is only one other girl in her room right now and she is only there part time.  Most days, she is outnumbered by dudes.  I'm sure she makes the best of it!

These past few weeks, Izzy has really gotten into toys.  She grabs at them and of course puts them in her mouth.  Her feet and hands are constantly going.  She actually has spots on the outsides of both little toes right now where she has slammed them into things.  Andrew says she wouldn't be his daughter if she didn't constantly have some kind of injury; Lord help me!  We transitioned her out of the infant sling in her bathtub, so she gets to sit down in the water more now.  She loves splashing in the water!     

At her four month appointment, she weighed in at 16 lbs and 4 oz.  That puts her somewhere in the 80th percentile for her weight, which is perfect.  She measured at 26 1/4 inches, which puts her in the 99th percentile plus for her height.  This might explain why she isn't able to fit in a lot of one piece outfits.  She grew out of her 3 month one piece outfits shortly after turning three months old.  Depending on the brand, I was able to get a little more time out of her 3 month onesies, but have now had to pull them out of her wardrobe rotation.  That meant putting away the onesie she wore for her newborn photos in the hospital.  Yes, I might have cried a little when I did that.  I have pulled some of the tighter fitting 0-3 month pants out of her drawers as well.  She currently has a range of 3 month, 3-6 month and 6 month pants in her dresser (typical woman to have multiple pant sizes).  She fits in 6 month sleep and play outfits perfectly in terms of length, but is absolutely swimming in some of them everywhere else.  I told Andrew Izzy has more clothes than I do.  He just smiles and says, "she is your daughter, are you surprised".

While most of this post is all about the exciting things Izzy is up to, we also celebrated Buddy's 13th birthday this past week.  Most days, you wouldn't guess he was 13.  He may not keep up with Maya at a full sprint in the yard, but don't count him out.  He still chases after rabbits, squirrels and squeak toys like he isn't a day over five.  This past year with Buddy has been the hardest of all the years since we got him.  He reminded us of his age a few times.  We made the decision in the spring to put him on heart medication for his heart murmur.  We did a short trial, and found that he was quite a bit more active while on the medications.  Don't get me wrong, he still does his share of napping throughout the day.  We joke that he has a skill at finding soft, warm spots to sleep.

We, of course, celebrated Buddy's birthday with pupcakes and new chew toys! 

 

Cover Your Ears, Boys... Let's Talk About Breastfeeding

This has been a hot topic within the circle of my mommy friends for a while.  I joked with one of them last week that I was going to write a blog post about this very topic, so, here it is.  Fair warning, these are my thoughts, and the thoughts of a few of my above mentioned mommy friends.  These certainly aren't the experiences or thoughts of everyone. 

As soon as people find out you are expecting, this seems to be one of the topics that comes up.  Are you going to breastfeed?  You hear the phrase "breast is best" until you think you can't possibly hear it any more.  I, like many bright eyed (while you are newly pregnant and still have energy) pregnant ladies was beyond excited about breastfeeding.  I immediately signed up for the breastfeeding class offered through the hospital, called my health insurance company to confirm my eligibility for a breast pump, and began research on which one would be the best and which accessories I would need. 

We attended breastfeeding class shortly after Labor Day this year, so just a few weeks before miss Isabelle arrived.  I felt certain, after going to class, that I knew everything I needed to know to have a successful breastfeeding journey.  At our last meeting with our Doula, we talked about breastfeeding.  Again, I was sure I would have a wonderful breastfeeding experience; it was going to be beautiful just like they described in class. 

Certainly, there are moments when our breastfeeding journey has been beautiful.  I will even say the good moments outweigh the bad ones.  However, I do think it is a disservice to excited mamas to be to say it's all going to be sunshine and roses.  Not to burst any pregnant ladies bubbles, but it isn't going to be (this is the part where all the breastfeeding mamas out there can nod along in agreement with me).  Hear me out, ladies...

There are going to be times where you think why am I still doing this.  I felt that way in the beginning and I feel that way on at least a weekly basis as I look at the results of my pumping sessions and think seriously, all that work for this...

I know there are mams out there who have an oversupply.  To those mamas I say, I'm totally jealous.  I am not one of those moms.  I know I have said in previous posts that we made the decision early on to supplement formula with Isabelle.  I give her as much as I can, and I know anything I have to offer her is good; liquid gold as the say!  It's hard not to compare my little supply to that of the girls I see posting on mom boards with bottles overflowing from the milk they pumped at their morning session.  Yes, I am hard on myself when people post pictures of their overflowing freezer full of milk they have pumped for their little ones.  I had to pat myself on the back the first time I was able to put 3 oz in the freezer.  I currently have about 20 oz stored in the freezer, and I call that an accomplishment for me.  Every day when I put Izzy's milk in the fridge at daycare, I give myself a pep talk as I carefully place her 2 to4 oz bottles of breastmilk on the shelf next to the five bottles of milk with 4 oz each. 

Don't get me wrong, to the mamas who have a freezer full of milk, you rock!  You are a milk pumping rock star!  To the mamas who produce only enough to feed their little one the next day, you are rock stars too!  And, if you are like me and can't produce enough to keep up with your little one, but you are still working away at the pumping game, I feel your pain! 

Breastfeeding is a sacrifice.  Your attention to everything you are ingesting doesn't end the minute your baby is born.  You have to continue to monitor what you eat, drink, and the medications you take.  Yes, you can drink alcohol again (within reason).  Yes, you can eat sushi again (not that it was a huge loss for me when I couldn't).  But, if you get a cold, good luck!  No decongestants for you unless you want to watch your supply disappear overnight.  One of my mommy friends pointed out last week this was something they forgot to mention to her in her breastfeeding class and she had to learn the hard way.  Thankfully,  the neti pot and saline spray are my friends!  If you do happen to tank your supply because you took some meds you didn't know you shouldn't take or, just because you were sick, remember it will take more than a few days for your supply to come back.  Don't give up mama! 

Another sacrifice... work time.  If you are working, presumably your baby is at daycare, and you will have to pump milk for him/her to drink the next day.  Assuming you are a super fast pumping rock star and can knock it out in 15 minutes per session.  That's still 45 minutes out of your day that you have to make up somewhere.  You can go ahead and add that in to the time you think about getting a workout in or enjoying a peaceful lunch.  Lunch for many is enjoyed while attached to the milking machine.  Fear not, as a breastfeeding mama you become a master multi tasker.  I realize this is also a general mom trait.  Thank goodness for hands free pumping bras.  Hint to all pregnant ladies reading this who plan to breastfeed.. get yourself a hands free pumping bra.  It is worth every penny.

A sacrifice not mentioned in breastfeeding classes at the hospital?  Your relationship with your significant other... as you sit awake at 3 AM while your little one nurses for what feels like the 50th time that night, you try not to shoot daggers out your eyeballs at your partner while he blissfully snores away.  You can't be mad at him because it's not like there is anything he could be doing to help; he doesn't have the magic boob with the good stuff in it.  But, that doesn't mean you can't hate him for getting an uninterrupted nights sleep.  However, God help the man who wakes up the next morning complaining about being tired.  Those daggers we contained the night before might just be launched.

Other things they don't tell you in class, or perhaps don't emphasize enough.... the nipple pain involved.  Granted, it should only be for the first week or first few weeks while your nipples get used to having a tiny human attached to them at all times.  But, for those few weeks... torture.  Maybe it was just me, but I don't think so.  Nipple cream is your friend. A word of caution, it's greasy and will stain your clothes. Yes, I have a few nightshirts that now have grease circles on them.  It's really the least of my worries at this point.  Also, small round ice packs.  Yes, I walked around with them shoved down into my bra many nights those first few weeks.  If you haven't figured it out by now mams to be, your first few weeks as a mommy are anything less than glamorous.  There were a few times those first few weeks that I dug my toes into the carpet as Izzy latched on.  Those would be the moments I wondered how on earth I could continue with the torture.  Luckily, it got better and the nipple pain was a thing of the past.  Until... I cut the nipple shield out cold turkey this last week and forced Izzy to latch without.  Hello nipple pain all over again.  At least it isn't as bad as it was those first few weeks. 

They didn't talk about nipple shields in my breastfeeding class, but that thing was a life saver the first three months of our journey.  There are all kinds of reasons one might need to use one.  The primary reasons being flat or inverted nipples (any dudes still reading this, I gave you fair warning not to be).  I had a love/hate relationship with our nipple shields.  I don't know how many hours of my life I lost searching through blankets on the couch or crawling around looking under furniture to try and find the lost nipple shield.  It's clear, which makes it hard to find if it falls on the floor.  I also had to make sure to have it with me any time we were going to be out long enough that I was going to have to feed Izzy.  Then there were the times the positioning of it wasn't right and Izzy would unlatch and I would get a lap full of milk; those times were not so awesome.  Again, it was super helpful in getting our breastfeeding journey off to a good start, so I can't hate it too much.

We could get into a discussion about the panic that ensues when your baby needs to eat and you are out in public frantically trying to find a place to nurse, but I will leave that discussion for another day.  I will end by saying that while breastfeeding is beautiful and the bonding time is amazing, it doesn't come without struggle.  Just know in your moments of struggle that you are not alone.  Don't be afraid to reach out to other mamas who have been through the same struggles.  They should encourage you to continue on your journey!