I suck! I haven't updated in so long!!! Things have been crazy, insane, psychotic busy. Once we (finally) got our orders, we've been in full gear trying to prep for our move to GA. Okay, that actually only accounts for 50% of my excuse. Another huge occurrence that kept me from updating was Game of Thrones Season 5 started up a couple weeks ago. That meant I not only had to catch up on season's 1, 2 and 4, but I had to finish reading book 5 so there were no spoilers. Priorities.
We move on FRIDAY!!! That's like... 4 days away. I cannot believe how quickly time is flying. Tomorrow, we have our final inspection of our unit on base so we have been cleaning, cleaning cleaning that thing. I wish I could say we were finished, but we aren't. We're waking up early to try to do final touches before our 10am inspection. Ay ay ay. We moved into temp housing yesterday (cleaning with dogs in the house is impossible) and although it's a little creepy, bland, long and creaks like a haunted house, it gives us plenty of room. Ry has his own bedroom, there are two bathrooms, a sitting room with a fridge and microwave and coffee maker, and our own bedroom. Not too bad. The pups freaked out yesterday- being in a new environment and whatnot, but today they've calmed down and they're being little angels.
Ry's been a little on the cranky side. And by little, I mean lot. Poor kid. Not only is his environment constantly changing, but my milk supply has been on the low side. I can't help it. We've been so busy that I have no time to pump/hydrate/eat "enriching" foods. This little boy uses his sweet little fingers to push my boob to try to squeeze out as much milk as he can, but my sensitive skin can barely handle it. I am mutilated. My poor lady parts are completely red and scabby. His tiny nails have even drawn blood. I'm even starting to dread having to feed him-it's like those first two weeks all over again. But I want to breast feed. I don't want to have to go to formula. I like the convenience and the bonding time and the fact that breast milk is in fact the best thing for him. I just need to figure out how to power through these next 4 months.
Ryan got the second part of his flu shot today. Surprisingly, he hasn't been nearly as grumpy as I thought he might be today. It still broke my heart. I cannot look him in the eyes until it's over, because the most devastating part is having him break out into his huge, gummy smile then immediately seeing his face drop like I allowed the pain to happen. But the second I pick his sweet little body up, he stops crying and I get to wipe the tears from his face. It's quick-thankfully.
I can't believe how fast this boy is growing! He grew again a few nights ago. I think his height is catching up. His face is looking so much less like a baby and he's thinning out (although, he's still such a chunk!) I love him. He's been in a new phase of sleep where he tends to wake up at 2am needing to be flipped cause he's stuck on his tummy. When Ry turned 3 months, he learned to roll from his tummy to his back, but after he learned to roll from back to tummy, he stopped rolling the other way. He just decided he was over it. So now, when he's on his tummy and doesn't want to be, instead of rolling over, he just fusses until someone gets him. And he's been taking 2am rolls lately. What a stinker! I love him.
There really haven't been too many updates over here other than us prepping to leave. I've been so busy attempting to just get through each and every day that I haven't had time to stop and enjoy things one last time. I really hate goodbyes, so I kind of want to just dip out and avoid it, but people aren't letting me! I had a friend tell me she wanted to get dinner with us on Friday-when I got there, ALL of my fellow base Zumba instructors were there to surprise me and say goodbye and got me gifts. It was so amazing. I got home and cried-lol! I'm such a lame-ass but I'm really going to miss them. And my wonderful students. This is the place that I got licensed to teach Zumba. This is where I quit my job and tried to go for my dream of teaching. I did Zumba with these people all throughout my pregnancy (I took my friend's Zumba class the day before my water broke). My students have bought presents for Ryan and were there for me when G deployed. They watched me get back into shape these past 7 months. This has been such a giant part of my life that I can't believe I'm leaving them all behind and having to start it all over again somewhere new with a whole new group of people. But that's our life. That's how it goes. And guess what? It just gives me the chance to meet some more amazing people to impact my life :)
Okay, as much as I need to update everyone on my life, I'm too tired to continue. I'm starting to get sick so I need to try to sleep whatever this is off before our road trip. If I don't get to update again this week, I'm going to throw it out there that we'll be driving through Canada for about a week and we'll have no internet or phone service. Don't try calling or texting me and don't get offended if I don't respond. ;) And if you never hear from me again, send the Canadians to look for us.
I may type as we road trip via Microsoft word and copy and paste into posts as we hit internet. We'll see if I have time. Next time I update, I may be in the lower 48 :) :) Here's to new experiences, adventures and a fresh start. Farewell, Alaska. This has been unforgettable. xoxoxo.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Friday, April 3, 2015
6 1/2 Month
This month has flown by!! I can't believe this boy is going to be 7 month old in a weeks. Ay caramba! That sounds so grown up. And he is grown up! He's now facing forwards in his stroller-and he LOVES it. My runs are so much easier now because 1. It's 40 degrees outside and beautiful! No more boring indoor tracks. 2. Ry stays so content watching the scenery change in front of him. It's really encouraged me to go even further with my runs.
Not only is he out of his car seat carrier for the stroller, but also for carts when we shop. I caved. I'm totally one of those obnoxious mom's who bought a cart cover. Not because I'm worried about cart germs, but because I wanted a little extra padding in the seat for when Ryan tips. And guess what? The cart cover I got came with a mini Boppy-looking pillow that smooshes in there and holds him up. It's awesome!!! And, like with running, it makes shopping SO much easier when I have a content baby who just looks around all happily. I don't care how uptight it makes me look as a mom. However, I do gets lots of comments from other shoppers. I've had grandma's ask me where I got it for their expecting daughters and I had another woman tell me, well, she told Ryan technically that he has a great mommy who treats him like a prince. Fact. Plus, so many people love talking to him while he sits up like a big boy and they constantly tell me how cute he is. What's not to love about that?
This boy has been doing so well eating solids. I feed him once a day towards the end of the day when my milk supply is lower. He's been devouring avocado, bananas and rice cereal like it's his job. He'll yell at me between bites until he gets the next one. As for my milk supply, it's having it's ups and downs. I've been baking lactation cookies right and left trying to up my supply, and I think they have been working. The only thing is I wish there was something a little healthier to stuff my face with-although I do switch out the butter for coconut oil and I use less sugar than the recipe calls for. Yesterday, I even threw some blueberries in them with a few chocolate chips. They were good! But more importantly, they're helping me continue to feed my boy.
We are now officially at the disgusting poop phase. His diapers stink! I can no longer throw dirty diapers away in the garbage without the whole house smelling. They've been banished to the outdoors with the dog poop. I've seriously gagged a few times changing diapers. Not to mention the fact that every time he poops, there seems to be dog fur in it... poor kid. He's going to be ingesting fur for the rest of his life.
This week, my mom has been in town visiting for her spring break. We've had such a fun time! Our original plan was to drive up to Denali on Monday after my class and camp over night and come home the next day. Then I had to teach Wed night and we were going to drive back up to Fairbanks and Chena for the last 3 days of her trip. We were going to use these drives as practice for when we drive down to Georgia. So we drove down to Denali and by the time we got there, it was 7pm. We didn't see any animals, and we were only a couple miles out from Fairbanks, so my mom suggested that we just keep driving and come home Wednesday. We did! We kept driving. I passed out in the car and my mom and G woke me up at 1am. We were parked in some random truck stop (creepy) but the northern lights were out and they were amazing!!! They were across the entire sky. I watched until my eyes could no longer stay awake. At about 4, the dogs started barking so we were on the road again. We went to Walmart and shut our eyes for another couple hours.
That actually worked out well because Walmart was the only thing really open at 6:30 in the morning. We were able to stock up on groceries, toiletries and get some apparel to wear in the hot springs, since we had only brought camping gear. In fact, the only other clothes I brought were fleece footie pajamas. Not cute. We drove the extra hour up to Chena and my mom got to see a moose in the middle of the road! So that was exciting. I think she was starting to believe that there were no animals in Alaska.
Chena was a blast! We called them a few days earlier and asked if they allow dogs. They said yes, but only 2, so when we checked in, we didn't mention how many dogs we had. It was SUCH a relief that we weren't given a hard time or turned away. We went of a dog sled ride which was pretty awesome. It wasn't a long course, but it was still quite an experience. We visited the ice museum they have there, and it was very impressive. We even got to drive martini's from ice martini glasses. By that point, Ryan was extremely unhappy since he refused to nap if there were things to see, so we went back to our room and tried to get him down to sleep. Finally, my mom watched him while G and I had a date night and stuffed our faces with calamari and king crab legs then headed into the hot springs. It was so beautiful!!! You can't beat a natural hot tub in the middle of the snowy mountains. That was probably one of my favorite things we did in Alaska. Then again, I'm also a girl who's all about relaxing and pampering versus camping and four-wheeling.
We drove home Wednesday morning. We left Chena at about 6am to make it in time for my night class. It was a long ride but we made it. And most importantly, the baby and the dogs made it. They all did AWESOME. The dogs were so good in the back of the truck. They had their dog beds and Cato was a little king sitting on top of all the blankets we stacked back there. Denali didn't whine like I thought he would and he didn't throw up or jump out the window next to a highway like he did on our previous road trip. And Ryan was mostly content playing in his seat with his toys and instead of stopping to feed him, we gave him bottles while we drove and I'd pump in between-making our stops less frequent and shorter. We still had to stop for diaper changes and to let the pups out/feed them, but I think for the most part, our trip down to GA should be better than expected.
Speaking of, we FINALLY got our orders last week. You know, less than a month away from our moving date. We leave Alaska on the 24th. I can't believe it! That's 3 weeks away now. I'm going to miss it up here so much. This is where we got married-twice. This is where we spent the majority of our relationship. This is where our son was born (and Cato's son). This is where I got my Zumba license and discovered that teaching is my dream job. We've had SO many experiences here that it's unbelievable when you string those memories all together. I've made a lot of friends-most of whom have already left, but still a handful that are not military and live out here. As much as I've complained about how far away we are (which we are, I'm sick of paying so much money to leave the state), I truly am going to miss living here. And now, I'm going to spend these next three weeks busting my butt trying to get everything packed, cleaned, settled, organized, and just plain old ready to go. It's going to be so insanely hectic.
No pictures today. Until next time. Hopefully I find more time next week to update. I rarely have time to just sit and not be bothered. But I wouldn't want it any other way :)
Not only is he out of his car seat carrier for the stroller, but also for carts when we shop. I caved. I'm totally one of those obnoxious mom's who bought a cart cover. Not because I'm worried about cart germs, but because I wanted a little extra padding in the seat for when Ryan tips. And guess what? The cart cover I got came with a mini Boppy-looking pillow that smooshes in there and holds him up. It's awesome!!! And, like with running, it makes shopping SO much easier when I have a content baby who just looks around all happily. I don't care how uptight it makes me look as a mom. However, I do gets lots of comments from other shoppers. I've had grandma's ask me where I got it for their expecting daughters and I had another woman tell me, well, she told Ryan technically that he has a great mommy who treats him like a prince. Fact. Plus, so many people love talking to him while he sits up like a big boy and they constantly tell me how cute he is. What's not to love about that?
This boy has been doing so well eating solids. I feed him once a day towards the end of the day when my milk supply is lower. He's been devouring avocado, bananas and rice cereal like it's his job. He'll yell at me between bites until he gets the next one. As for my milk supply, it's having it's ups and downs. I've been baking lactation cookies right and left trying to up my supply, and I think they have been working. The only thing is I wish there was something a little healthier to stuff my face with-although I do switch out the butter for coconut oil and I use less sugar than the recipe calls for. Yesterday, I even threw some blueberries in them with a few chocolate chips. They were good! But more importantly, they're helping me continue to feed my boy.
We are now officially at the disgusting poop phase. His diapers stink! I can no longer throw dirty diapers away in the garbage without the whole house smelling. They've been banished to the outdoors with the dog poop. I've seriously gagged a few times changing diapers. Not to mention the fact that every time he poops, there seems to be dog fur in it... poor kid. He's going to be ingesting fur for the rest of his life.
This week, my mom has been in town visiting for her spring break. We've had such a fun time! Our original plan was to drive up to Denali on Monday after my class and camp over night and come home the next day. Then I had to teach Wed night and we were going to drive back up to Fairbanks and Chena for the last 3 days of her trip. We were going to use these drives as practice for when we drive down to Georgia. So we drove down to Denali and by the time we got there, it was 7pm. We didn't see any animals, and we were only a couple miles out from Fairbanks, so my mom suggested that we just keep driving and come home Wednesday. We did! We kept driving. I passed out in the car and my mom and G woke me up at 1am. We were parked in some random truck stop (creepy) but the northern lights were out and they were amazing!!! They were across the entire sky. I watched until my eyes could no longer stay awake. At about 4, the dogs started barking so we were on the road again. We went to Walmart and shut our eyes for another couple hours.
That actually worked out well because Walmart was the only thing really open at 6:30 in the morning. We were able to stock up on groceries, toiletries and get some apparel to wear in the hot springs, since we had only brought camping gear. In fact, the only other clothes I brought were fleece footie pajamas. Not cute. We drove the extra hour up to Chena and my mom got to see a moose in the middle of the road! So that was exciting. I think she was starting to believe that there were no animals in Alaska.
Chena was a blast! We called them a few days earlier and asked if they allow dogs. They said yes, but only 2, so when we checked in, we didn't mention how many dogs we had. It was SUCH a relief that we weren't given a hard time or turned away. We went of a dog sled ride which was pretty awesome. It wasn't a long course, but it was still quite an experience. We visited the ice museum they have there, and it was very impressive. We even got to drive martini's from ice martini glasses. By that point, Ryan was extremely unhappy since he refused to nap if there were things to see, so we went back to our room and tried to get him down to sleep. Finally, my mom watched him while G and I had a date night and stuffed our faces with calamari and king crab legs then headed into the hot springs. It was so beautiful!!! You can't beat a natural hot tub in the middle of the snowy mountains. That was probably one of my favorite things we did in Alaska. Then again, I'm also a girl who's all about relaxing and pampering versus camping and four-wheeling.
We drove home Wednesday morning. We left Chena at about 6am to make it in time for my night class. It was a long ride but we made it. And most importantly, the baby and the dogs made it. They all did AWESOME. The dogs were so good in the back of the truck. They had their dog beds and Cato was a little king sitting on top of all the blankets we stacked back there. Denali didn't whine like I thought he would and he didn't throw up or jump out the window next to a highway like he did on our previous road trip. And Ryan was mostly content playing in his seat with his toys and instead of stopping to feed him, we gave him bottles while we drove and I'd pump in between-making our stops less frequent and shorter. We still had to stop for diaper changes and to let the pups out/feed them, but I think for the most part, our trip down to GA should be better than expected.
Speaking of, we FINALLY got our orders last week. You know, less than a month away from our moving date. We leave Alaska on the 24th. I can't believe it! That's 3 weeks away now. I'm going to miss it up here so much. This is where we got married-twice. This is where we spent the majority of our relationship. This is where our son was born (and Cato's son). This is where I got my Zumba license and discovered that teaching is my dream job. We've had SO many experiences here that it's unbelievable when you string those memories all together. I've made a lot of friends-most of whom have already left, but still a handful that are not military and live out here. As much as I've complained about how far away we are (which we are, I'm sick of paying so much money to leave the state), I truly am going to miss living here. And now, I'm going to spend these next three weeks busting my butt trying to get everything packed, cleaned, settled, organized, and just plain old ready to go. It's going to be so insanely hectic.
No pictures today. Until next time. Hopefully I find more time next week to update. I rarely have time to just sit and not be bothered. But I wouldn't want it any other way :)
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Baby's First... March?
O.M.G. I have so much to say! It's been so long. I've been looking for a day where I had a couple hours to just sit and focus and today is finally that day! FINALLLLLLY! Phew.
Let me start by saying that daylight savings is a little beeee-atch. It took Ryan a week and a half to get adjusted. Oh wait, that's false. Ryan managed to fall asleep about 5:30 and woke up between 4:30-5. I, on the other hand, could not fall asleep, and by the time I did, it'd be like waking up at 3:30 everyday to start my day. So basically, I missed out on 2 hours of sleep each night. But then Ryan's eating and napping throughout the day was off which made for a grumpy baby til bed time. We had a handful of rough days. I'd wake up in the morning wishing I had a 9-5 job because it'd be easier than taking care of a baby all day. But we're back on track and things are much better-well, more or less.
I switched from the progesterone only BC to regular BC with estrogen and it's been amazing and awful at the same time. I do not like the person I am without my dose of estrogen! The POP made me sooooo moody and axious and uptight!! I could not handle my emotions. I went over a week without making it to the gym-which is not like me at all, and my body felt so incredibly run down that I didn't even want to get up off the couch. It was worse than pregnancy! I even took a pregnancy test because all of the symptoms reminded me of my first trimester! It was not fun. It took a while for my hormones to regulate after I made the switch, but this new BC has made me a happier girl-I feel like myself again. That's the good news.
The bad news is once I switched, my milk supply went down. A lot. I used to pump 5 oz in 5 min on one side, and then I was barely able to pump 1 once between both sides. It was devastating. I noticed it was taking Ry a lot longer to eat and after I pumped, I found out why. I talked to our lactation specialist yesterday and she gave me some good ideas. She said to eat oatmeal, flaxseed, and barley and those not only boost my supply, but also the quality of my milk. I think I'm going to look up some recipes for lactation cookies (basically cookies with those ingredients) and start eating them. I've also been drinking Mother's Milk tea (which contains flaxseed and fenugreek) along with trying to pump throughout the day and feed Ryan more often to try to help out. I think it's working-I was able to pump 3 oz the other day!!!
It's seriously such a sad feeling when you think you can't supply your own child with milk. I felt so inadequate and wanted to cry at the thought that my breast feeding days might be over and I'd have to switch to formula. I feel it for the mama's that can't breast feed. Even though it isn't your fault, it still makes you feel like it is. I'm seriously going to try everything I can to prevent myself from completely drying up. And I can't sit here saying I didn't know. The doctor warned me that it could happen once I switched my BC over, but they also said if I felt my supply was strong, it'd probably be fine-and my supply was extremely strong! I guess I didn't think it'd actually happen. Oh well, I'm remedying it!
Ryan's becoming quite the little eater!!! At first he was not a fan of the bananas, but now he's a pro! We also introduced him to brown rice cereal. He's adorable! It took a while for him to get a hang of it. I had to do one bit for me, one for him. Once he saw what he was supposed to do, he did it! And I'd cheer after each bite which made him excited to keep eating. Now, as soon as he swallows his bite, he'll yell at me until I spoon the next one in his mouth. I originally wanted to try led weaning, where he feeds himself with small bites of food while exploring, but that didn't see to work out too well for us. Maybe I'll try again as he gets more familiar with his foods.
Now that Ry's older, he's napping less, which means going out and running errands includes a baby who's awake. It makes it so much harder to get things done. If he's grumpy, it makes my day that much more stressful. I might invest in one of those cart covers so he can ride around with me outside of his car seat-not because I'm worried about him being exposed to germs (I definitely think the more germs, the better for his immunity system) but because even though he sits up, he's still too little to sit in there without any cushion. But I do love hanging out with him! The other day, G asked me if I wanted to leave Ry home while I ran errands and I said no, because then I wouldn't have a shopping buddy. As frustrating as it is to get things done somethings, I still love the fact that he goes with me everywhere! BESTIES.
Now that he's sitting up on his own, we've transitioned bath time to a solo event. Last week was maybe the third time ever G got to be there for bath time and he watched as Ry sat up on his own in the tub. I threw in a few of his bath toys and it was adorable!! He would splash around in the water and watch the boat and turtle float around him. We skipped bath time last night because we had stuff going on, but I'm going to make up for it tonight and I can't wait. It's too cute to pass up. We only do the full-on bath time once a week and the other nights, we do sponge baths because trying to do that every night would be a nightmare.
He's such a big boy and so incredibly fun to hang out with. He's mostly all smiles and such an independent player. I can just sit and watch him play all day long. Most of the time, he doesn't even care if I'm there or not, which makes getting things done around the house a little easier. I love his face so much!!!!
I guess I don't have nearly as much to say as I thought I did-mostly because I can't remember half of the stuff I wanted to talk about. I guess I'll make a shout out to one of my amazingly beautiful friends. She's about to have a baby any day now!!! I'm so incredibly excited for her!!!! The thing is, I remember how terrified I was before having Ry. Everyone talked about the pain (which yes, that part was so true-but every situation is different) and everyone was so focused on, "oh, get sleep now while you can cause you'll never sleep" and people would keep saying, "just wait-it gets worse" or if their baby cries they'd say, "this is what you have to look forward to" and everything was so negative. Well I disagree.
You're going to be tired as %#*& but the fact of the matter is-it's so worth it! My favorite part was waking up at 3am to Ry trying to talk to me because for whatever reason, that's the time of the morning he liked to talk and it was so incredibly cute. Your baby cries because he needs something and he's trying to talk to you-not because he wants to make your life miserable. Hearing him cry breaks my heart-it doesn't annoy me (although I do have those days). I love every second I have with him and I hate when I pick him up in the morning and he's bigger than he was the day before. In fact, I hear him stirring right now and I'm soooo excited that I get to go run over and play with him because I've missed him the past two hours he's been sleeping (yes, we got up at 4 today and I am excited to still see him). The labor pain is unimaginable, but I would 100% go back and do that again just to start all over with this amazing bundle of joy that I get to claim as mine. Motherhood is amazing. And you know what else is unimaginable? The love you get from this child! It outweighs the pain more than you can ever guess until it happens. And even better? It's not something that only lasts for a few hours-the love is every day!
Okay, time to hang out with my little man :) :) :) xoxoxo to you all! Thanks for being a part of my life!
P.S. Mommy fail: I'm totally watching Frozen this morning. I hate when Ry watches the TV, but I know he likes the songs from Pandora so I'll allow it this time.
Let me start by saying that daylight savings is a little beeee-atch. It took Ryan a week and a half to get adjusted. Oh wait, that's false. Ryan managed to fall asleep about 5:30 and woke up between 4:30-5. I, on the other hand, could not fall asleep, and by the time I did, it'd be like waking up at 3:30 everyday to start my day. So basically, I missed out on 2 hours of sleep each night. But then Ryan's eating and napping throughout the day was off which made for a grumpy baby til bed time. We had a handful of rough days. I'd wake up in the morning wishing I had a 9-5 job because it'd be easier than taking care of a baby all day. But we're back on track and things are much better-well, more or less.
 |
| My little monkey |
The bad news is once I switched, my milk supply went down. A lot. I used to pump 5 oz in 5 min on one side, and then I was barely able to pump 1 once between both sides. It was devastating. I noticed it was taking Ry a lot longer to eat and after I pumped, I found out why. I talked to our lactation specialist yesterday and she gave me some good ideas. She said to eat oatmeal, flaxseed, and barley and those not only boost my supply, but also the quality of my milk. I think I'm going to look up some recipes for lactation cookies (basically cookies with those ingredients) and start eating them. I've also been drinking Mother's Milk tea (which contains flaxseed and fenugreek) along with trying to pump throughout the day and feed Ryan more often to try to help out. I think it's working-I was able to pump 3 oz the other day!!!
 |
| Just chilling on the couch like a big boy! I can't believe how grown up he is |
Ryan's becoming quite the little eater!!! At first he was not a fan of the bananas, but now he's a pro! We also introduced him to brown rice cereal. He's adorable! It took a while for him to get a hang of it. I had to do one bit for me, one for him. Once he saw what he was supposed to do, he did it! And I'd cheer after each bite which made him excited to keep eating. Now, as soon as he swallows his bite, he'll yell at me until I spoon the next one in his mouth. I originally wanted to try led weaning, where he feeds himself with small bites of food while exploring, but that didn't see to work out too well for us. Maybe I'll try again as he gets more familiar with his foods.
 |
| Ready for spring! |
Now that he's sitting up on his own, we've transitioned bath time to a solo event. Last week was maybe the third time ever G got to be there for bath time and he watched as Ry sat up on his own in the tub. I threw in a few of his bath toys and it was adorable!! He would splash around in the water and watch the boat and turtle float around him. We skipped bath time last night because we had stuff going on, but I'm going to make up for it tonight and I can't wait. It's too cute to pass up. We only do the full-on bath time once a week and the other nights, we do sponge baths because trying to do that every night would be a nightmare.
 |
| He loves his daddy!!! Playing together |
I guess I don't have nearly as much to say as I thought I did-mostly because I can't remember half of the stuff I wanted to talk about. I guess I'll make a shout out to one of my amazingly beautiful friends. She's about to have a baby any day now!!! I'm so incredibly excited for her!!!! The thing is, I remember how terrified I was before having Ry. Everyone talked about the pain (which yes, that part was so true-but every situation is different) and everyone was so focused on, "oh, get sleep now while you can cause you'll never sleep" and people would keep saying, "just wait-it gets worse" or if their baby cries they'd say, "this is what you have to look forward to" and everything was so negative. Well I disagree.
 |
| He toppled over while playing. He didn't cry or try to move, he just gave up on life and laid there. Lol! He cracks me up. |
Okay, time to hang out with my little man :) :) :) xoxoxo to you all! Thanks for being a part of my life!
P.S. Mommy fail: I'm totally watching Frozen this morning. I hate when Ry watches the TV, but I know he likes the songs from Pandora so I'll allow it this time.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
6 MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!
I CANNOT BELIEVE YESTERDAY WAS RYAN'S 6 MONTH MARK!! When I first started this whole motherhood thing, I just kept telling myself stuff like, "Oh, don't even worry about that until he's 6 months. That's so far down the road." Well, it's no longer so far down the road. It's here. I want to slam on the brakes. I absolutely LOVE having a baby. Maybe I should have put "baby" in caps. I have such baby fever now!!! I just want to sit and cuddle babies all day long. He is so precious, and loving, and sweet, and doesn't talk. He's like a puppy, and we all know how much I love puppies-I have three. I'm not at all ready for him to become a toddler. Or a kid. Oh my, thinking of living with a kid sounds awful ha! I'm not a kid person. But I also wasn't a baby person, so it'll be interesting to see how life continues to change me.
We had his six month check up yesterday!!! His pediatrician (Dr. McCaig for those of you here who need a good recommendation) is so amazing. I'm in love with him (not as a husband, but as my baby's doctor). I am devastated that this was our last appointment with him. After the 6 month check up, he informed us that babies don't need to be seen except every 3-6 months. He said if we are staying here, Ry is so healthy that he wouldn't need to see us until his 12 month (oy, I could collapse thinking how soon that is) mark. Whether we move next month or not, we're still due to be out of AK before his 12 month mark. I wish we could take Dr. McCaig with! :( :( :( Oh well, even if we stayed, he'd probably leave us. That's the beauty of military life.
Anyway, our appointment went well! The pediatrician was impressed with how well Ryan was sitting up. He weighed in at 18lbs 10 oz (he was 17lbs at his 4 month check up) in the 73%! Not nearly as tubby as he used to be but still a big, healthy boy! His height is 25 inches (last check up was 24) and he dropped from 46 to 11% lol. The doctor didn't really seem to care. He said all of his measurements are right on track and he is a very healthy boy! My short chunk! Oh, how I love him so much. I have a feeling this kid may be tall at some point, the size of his feet and hands are massive! He needs to grow into them.
One other update about our little man is he has what I thought is a little skin virus on his chin. It basically looks like a pimple, but it's been there for almost 2 months now (super tempting not to pop it). I brought it up to the pediatrician and he agreed that it's most likely a virus and to put some Neosporin on it and see if that helps reduce the redness at all. He also said it may take a while to go away. Nothing too crazy to worry about, but that's what that thing on his chin in every picture is. Our baby isn't a grease ball.
Now that he's six months, he's ready to start eating solids. We tried yesterday with a banana. It did not go well. He made faces of disgust every time the banana touched his mouth. The genius that our baby is... he already knows how to put a spoon in his mouth, so we put little mushy pieces on the spoon but he still managed to spit it out. We will try again these next few days and get him familiar with it and if not, we'll move on to a new food.
Mommy confession: I freaked out about feeding him solids. I have been SO excited all week to watch Ryan attempt to eat a banana but as soon as I put those teenie tiny mushy pieces in front of his hands, I regretted it. I had a minor panic attack which sounded something like this, "Omg, no G, I don't think we should do this. What if he chokes? What do we do? I regret this. Take the banana away. He's not ready for this. I'm not ready for this. He's going to choke. Those pieces are still too big. Mash them up more! I don't want him to eat. Get him out. What if he chokes???" I think all of that was said within approximately 3 seconds time. Well, he didn't choke. Mostly because he didn't want the banana anywhere near his mouth. I was secretly relieved that he didn't want to eat. But I know this is now a new part of our routine and feeding him solids is something we're going to attempt every day. Forever. And I know "choking" is a part of learning (not the kind that requires CPR) but I'm still a little skeptical. Oh well, I'll get over it. I can't let this kid live off of my boobies forever. Ain't nobody got time for that.
I had done some reading (all the time) last month and came across something that said around 6 months, Ry starts to get really impressionable and we need to start watching what we say because this is when his learning is going to start taking off (even though it'll be a while before he has conversations with us). I've already noticed this happening in the past month. When we was three months, I read another thing that said some babies will start recognizing their favorite nursery rhymes and books. When I read that, I thought, "How in the world am I supposed to know if he recognizes something. I can't read his brain.."Three months ago.. how stupid and naive I still was. I know my baby more than ever right now and I can tell you, he already has favorite songs. This kid can be screaming his head off and I'll start singing out a song with no response, but if I throw in a line of Happy and You Know It or 5 In the Bed, he will stop his crying and start smiling and laughing while I sing. (And I swear-ask G- yesterday, we were singing Happy and You Know It and Ry totally clapped his hands at the right part. Was it a fluke? Probably. But I'm going to stick with the notion that Ryan's the smartest baby ever.)
We've had a LOT of poop explosions lately. And let me tell you.. Target wipes are not the wipes for 6 month old explosions. It kind of sucks that we bought the giant sized box of them, so we still have maybe 4 full packages left. They are so flimsy and small. I end up with poop all over my fingers every time. So nasty. They worked really well when he was only a few months old and had little baby poops, and they do work fine for normal sized diaper changes, but when it comes to blow outs, I don't know if my cost-effective wipes are really worth it. Maybe when it comes to wipes, it's the same concept as make-up or Charmin: Less is more. (Not applying this to the price). I'd probably only need two brand name wipes whereas I'm tossing endless amounts of Target band into the poop mess. Not worth it to me.
Speaking of Target.. such a rip off! I was shopping yesterday for swim wear for Ry (!!!!!!) for the summer (I'm ready for ya, GA) and found an item that did not have the perforated bottom of the tag ripped off like all of the other clothes. Guess what it said on that one tag that I found? $10. Flip the tag over and there's a sticker that said $11.99. What a rip off! I know retailers bump up the price to make a profit, but when I see something that says it's $10 and then the Target price is $2 more, you better believe I'm taking it to the register to get the prices adjusted! And now, every time I shop at Target, I'm going to look through every item of clothes to see if there's just ONE that has the original price on there. Baby clothes is expensive, so I'll take what I can get.
Speaking of which, I'm also that crazy lady that shops sales now for clothes Ryan won't wear for another year. I found a really cute 18 month sweatshirt for $3 that I bought so he can wear next winter. A few months ago, I found a tee-shirt for $1 and a Zip up for $2 that he can hopefully wear this summer in GA. I'm not going to pay $15-20 for something he'll wear for maybe 3 months. That's crazy! (Unless it's something specific, like holiday or his 12 month bday item.) The ironic part is that I would never buy that kind of stuff for my kid, but I totally would pay $20 for a onesie for a friend's baby! And that's my theory too. Let's friends and family buy the expensive stuff. Why? Because they only need to do it once. I need to buy the whole closet full! And I'm only a Zumba instructor. Ha!
Zumba has been going so well!!! I'm finally getting my body back into the swing of things and back to the high energy levels I used to have! I'm not 100% there yet, but it's getting closer. But I'm very happy at where I'm at right now. I still have a lifetime to let myself recover. Unless we decide to have a second...
Oh goodness, this is a whole other topic. I don't know if it's the birth control or what, but I have been SUPER hormonal lately and more moody than when I was pregnant (I really wasn't moody when pregnant). My brain has been having a never ending debate about a second child. It's on my mind ALL the time. I sometimes can't sleep over it. I really don't know if I want a second child or not. Here's the deal-I already have 4 bodies to keep alive and a husband. I feel like I spend so much energy taking care of Ryan that the pups never get attention any more. Then when Ry goes to sleep, I finally get cuddle time with my babies and then G comes home and feels left out. I feel like no matter who I spend time with, there's always someone left out. I love my dogs so incredibly much and they already don't get the attention they deserve, that I imagine how it'll be with a 6 body added to my list. It seriously makes me want to cry thinking about them being neglected and ignored. Like I said, my puppies are my children and they forever have my heart.
Also, I love Ryan so unbelievably much that I don't ever want him to feel like he's being ignored or neglected. I don't want to miss a single thing that he does. I want to be there to see every step of him learning and growing up. I want to go to all of his games and school events and I want to be there with a smile on my face-not stressed out from juggling him and his little brother/sister or having to miss out on the school play because my baby is crying and I have to leave the room. Plus, G and I are huge travelers. We want to see the world. If we can, we'd like to have Ry see the world with us. Having a second only diminishes our budget of what we can do (don't even get me started on the price of having the dogs taken care of while we're gone for a week). I'd rather do more with Ry then less with two. Or would I?
I also don't want Ryan to have the "only child" blues. I know there's going to be a time where he tells us he wants a little brother or sister and I'll feel incredibly guilty. When G's mom passed away, I thought to myself I want another child so that Ry will never feel alone when he and I are gone, but I also realize that even though I have a sister, I still have my really close friends who are like sisters to me, and Ry will get that too, sibling or not so he won't actually be alone. And if we do go on vacations, Ry would probably have more fun going with someone closer to his own age... although he has cousins that we could bring with us (with maybe spending money from mom?) so they can play together. This is my brain. It's constantly going back and forth. I don't want to regret never having a second, but I don't want to be so stressed out that I stop appreciating the family that I have. It's not like I have to make this decision today, but I seriously can't shake these thoughts. EVER. It's torture. And welcome to my life.
Okay, I'll end with a mommy fail. This week has been so incredibly stressful. We're still dealing with stupid court stuff, and as I said, my hormones are all over the place. I yelled at Ryan when he was fussy. Yelled at him. As if he has any idea what the hell I was saying or what he was even doing "wrong". G came home and I told him I'm a terrible person. What kind of sick person yells at a 6 month old baby? I'm sure you all are going to say the same thing he told me. It's okay. He'd rather me yell than do other worse things people do to their kids and it's normal to get frustrated. I know, I know, it's not like it's something I do all the time, but I still feel so incredibly guilty and terrible. I don't ever want to yell at him again. He's my sweet angel baby who can do no wrong and I love him so much. I at least owe it to him to be the best mother I can be at all times. He deserves more than that. I wish I could give him the whole world and promise him a future of happiness and success. But I can't. So at least I will give him the things that I know I can control.
Well that's all for today. We'll see how the week of banana eating goes, and Sunday I start on a new birth control so hopefully moody momma doesn't turn into psycho bitch. That's probably the one thing I miss about pregnancy-the guarantee without hormones. You can't get pregnant cause you already are! Who knows, if the pill ends up not agreeing with me like it used to, maybe I will try one of those new technology IUDs or something :/ Happy weekend to all!!!
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| 6 month baby!!!! Nothing makes him happier than his daddy :) |
We had his six month check up yesterday!!! His pediatrician (Dr. McCaig for those of you here who need a good recommendation) is so amazing. I'm in love with him (not as a husband, but as my baby's doctor). I am devastated that this was our last appointment with him. After the 6 month check up, he informed us that babies don't need to be seen except every 3-6 months. He said if we are staying here, Ry is so healthy that he wouldn't need to see us until his 12 month (oy, I could collapse thinking how soon that is) mark. Whether we move next month or not, we're still due to be out of AK before his 12 month mark. I wish we could take Dr. McCaig with! :( :( :( Oh well, even if we stayed, he'd probably leave us. That's the beauty of military life.
Anyway, our appointment went well! The pediatrician was impressed with how well Ryan was sitting up. He weighed in at 18lbs 10 oz (he was 17lbs at his 4 month check up) in the 73%! Not nearly as tubby as he used to be but still a big, healthy boy! His height is 25 inches (last check up was 24) and he dropped from 46 to 11% lol. The doctor didn't really seem to care. He said all of his measurements are right on track and he is a very healthy boy! My short chunk! Oh, how I love him so much. I have a feeling this kid may be tall at some point, the size of his feet and hands are massive! He needs to grow into them.
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| Those cheeks make my heart melt. |
Now that he's six months, he's ready to start eating solids. We tried yesterday with a banana. It did not go well. He made faces of disgust every time the banana touched his mouth. The genius that our baby is... he already knows how to put a spoon in his mouth, so we put little mushy pieces on the spoon but he still managed to spit it out. We will try again these next few days and get him familiar with it and if not, we'll move on to a new food.
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| This face says it all. Banana is not his friend |
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| So grown up! I can't handle it. (P.S. I assembled this bad boy all by myself) |
We've had a LOT of poop explosions lately. And let me tell you.. Target wipes are not the wipes for 6 month old explosions. It kind of sucks that we bought the giant sized box of them, so we still have maybe 4 full packages left. They are so flimsy and small. I end up with poop all over my fingers every time. So nasty. They worked really well when he was only a few months old and had little baby poops, and they do work fine for normal sized diaper changes, but when it comes to blow outs, I don't know if my cost-effective wipes are really worth it. Maybe when it comes to wipes, it's the same concept as make-up or Charmin: Less is more. (Not applying this to the price). I'd probably only need two brand name wipes whereas I'm tossing endless amounts of Target band into the poop mess. Not worth it to me.
Speaking of Target.. such a rip off! I was shopping yesterday for swim wear for Ry (!!!!!!) for the summer (I'm ready for ya, GA) and found an item that did not have the perforated bottom of the tag ripped off like all of the other clothes. Guess what it said on that one tag that I found? $10. Flip the tag over and there's a sticker that said $11.99. What a rip off! I know retailers bump up the price to make a profit, but when I see something that says it's $10 and then the Target price is $2 more, you better believe I'm taking it to the register to get the prices adjusted! And now, every time I shop at Target, I'm going to look through every item of clothes to see if there's just ONE that has the original price on there. Baby clothes is expensive, so I'll take what I can get.
Speaking of which, I'm also that crazy lady that shops sales now for clothes Ryan won't wear for another year. I found a really cute 18 month sweatshirt for $3 that I bought so he can wear next winter. A few months ago, I found a tee-shirt for $1 and a Zip up for $2 that he can hopefully wear this summer in GA. I'm not going to pay $15-20 for something he'll wear for maybe 3 months. That's crazy! (Unless it's something specific, like holiday or his 12 month bday item.) The ironic part is that I would never buy that kind of stuff for my kid, but I totally would pay $20 for a onesie for a friend's baby! And that's my theory too. Let's friends and family buy the expensive stuff. Why? Because they only need to do it once. I need to buy the whole closet full! And I'm only a Zumba instructor. Ha!
Zumba has been going so well!!! I'm finally getting my body back into the swing of things and back to the high energy levels I used to have! I'm not 100% there yet, but it's getting closer. But I'm very happy at where I'm at right now. I still have a lifetime to let myself recover. Unless we decide to have a second...
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| 6 month progress! Girl look at that body (I work out) |
Also, I love Ryan so unbelievably much that I don't ever want him to feel like he's being ignored or neglected. I don't want to miss a single thing that he does. I want to be there to see every step of him learning and growing up. I want to go to all of his games and school events and I want to be there with a smile on my face-not stressed out from juggling him and his little brother/sister or having to miss out on the school play because my baby is crying and I have to leave the room. Plus, G and I are huge travelers. We want to see the world. If we can, we'd like to have Ry see the world with us. Having a second only diminishes our budget of what we can do (don't even get me started on the price of having the dogs taken care of while we're gone for a week). I'd rather do more with Ry then less with two. Or would I?
I also don't want Ryan to have the "only child" blues. I know there's going to be a time where he tells us he wants a little brother or sister and I'll feel incredibly guilty. When G's mom passed away, I thought to myself I want another child so that Ry will never feel alone when he and I are gone, but I also realize that even though I have a sister, I still have my really close friends who are like sisters to me, and Ry will get that too, sibling or not so he won't actually be alone. And if we do go on vacations, Ry would probably have more fun going with someone closer to his own age... although he has cousins that we could bring with us (with maybe spending money from mom?) so they can play together. This is my brain. It's constantly going back and forth. I don't want to regret never having a second, but I don't want to be so stressed out that I stop appreciating the family that I have. It's not like I have to make this decision today, but I seriously can't shake these thoughts. EVER. It's torture. And welcome to my life.
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| <3 |
Well that's all for today. We'll see how the week of banana eating goes, and Sunday I start on a new birth control so hopefully moody momma doesn't turn into psycho bitch. That's probably the one thing I miss about pregnancy-the guarantee without hormones. You can't get pregnant cause you already are! Who knows, if the pill ends up not agreeing with me like it used to, maybe I will try one of those new technology IUDs or something :/ Happy weekend to all!!!
Sunday, March 1, 2015
March Madness
It's a new month!!! Which obviously means I have a whole list of new goals. This is going to be an insane month all around. Ry turns 6 months on Friday!!! which means solids will be a part of his every day life. That's more work for me, more cleaning for me, more stress for me, new BC for me, and a whole lot of craziness. Not only do we have 2 more court dates this month, but we are still waiting on orders to find out if we're moving in LESS than two months. Which means there's a lot of prepping to get finalized. I'm reaching my final weeks in my couch to 10K program, I have a 5K on the books, lots of Zumba including a day-long training session, and goals of trying to keep my body from aching every second of the day (mostly includes a LOT of yoga and stretching). And of course, I really want to eat healthier, but I think I have that goal every week.
We had a giant day care success this week... RYAN DRANK 3 1/2 OZ FROM A BOTTLE!!! It doesn't sound like much, but that's the first time he's had more than an oz since the first 3 weeks of his life. Which means..... daddy can be the one to feed him at times AND I can trust him to be away from me for more than 2-3 hours. It's super stressful worrying whether or not he'll eat if I'm not there. Especially when court days come up and take up a good 5 hours of your day... ugh.
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| He's such a silly little boy!! |
Another goal I'm going to work on..... getting Ryan to sleep in! How do I do this, you ask? He usually wakes up anywhere from 4:30-5am. Which is fine. Like I said, I really don't mind waking up early. But there are going to be nights where we start going out and having date nights and will want to sleep in a bit the next day. So here's my plan: Every morning I'm going to try to delay feeding him 5 minutes past the usual time. As the days going on, I'll prolong feedings 10 mins, 15 mins, 20 mins etc. until we hit may 90 mins or so. That way, Ry won't wake up so early feeling like he needs to eat and I'm hoping it'll either get him to sleep in more or at least play quietly in his crib while I sleep. We will see how it goes.
This weekend is Fur Rondy weekend. I LOVE Fur Rondy (for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a giant festival in AK leading up to the Iditarod) because I am in love with the dog sled races! I fell in love our first year here. However, due to NO FREAKING SNOW in alaska (seriously, you can see grass on the ground now and the mountains haven't been completely covered once this winter), they were cancelled this year. And the Iditarod next week is pushed out to starting up in Fairbanks so I won't get to see any mush dogs this year. It's as if this state is telling me there's no reason for me to stay and it's time to move. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE living in Alaska, but I hate being so far away from family and G and I are travelers. I'm sick of paying $1,000 just to fly out of the state to go anywhere. Plus, education is not a huge value out here, and people are idiots. Seriously, if I have one more job out here that screws up my paycheck..... I'm dealing with ANOTHER pay check f*@% up and it's pissing me off. That's the 4th place now that I've had issues with. Like I said, people are just &*@%ing stupid out here. Maybe it's prepping me for when we go back to the south... Although that's a whole different breed of stupid... I hate people so much sometimes... I wish we could send certain people to a 3rd world nation for a week just so they can realize how lucky they are to live in this country and have basic things like plumbing and education. Okay, I'm getting off onto a rant. Let's switch back.
I have been testing out a lot of the Honest Co. products. This is Jessica Alba's line of all chemical free baby products. If you go to their site, you can get free samples sent to your home (however, you have to cancel the subscription so you don't get charged). I tested their diapers, along with lotion, body wash/shampoo, hand soap, cleaner, and healing ointment. At first, I loved their diapers. They are ADORABLE because they have little patterns on them, so I went to Target and bought a box of them. Yes, they are more expensive, but if it's better for my baby, I don't mind paying extra. I noticed that Ryan was more fussy overnight in them. It's really hard to tell when he's peed in them, so I don't think they absorb the moisture as well as our other brands (mostly Target) do. For me, I don't think it's worth it for my baby to be uncomfortable all the time and unable to sleep through the night. Plus, that's how rashes start-too much moisture. I think I'll take my chances (and save my money) and stick to the regular diaper brands.
As for the other products. The lotion... it's doesn't absorb into his skin. Every time I put it on his face, it gets smeared around like sunscreen. And I'm 80% sure it's made his cheeks break out into a rash. It could be coincidence with the fact that they were exposed to the outdoor weather and got cold and cracked, but I really don't think that's the case. We had no issues with the body wash/shampoo two in one combo. It was convenient to be able to use the same product for both. The cleaner... I like the idea that it's safe so I use it on his toys on occasion, however it doesn't clean my kitchen counters. It doesn't get food stains out. I keep it around for things that are just a little dusty that I know Ry will come into contact with-nothing that actually needs cleansing. The healing ointment I love!! I think the actual product is like... $11 or something, but I think I'll still pay for it. It healed his cracked cheeks quickly and is great when he scratches his face or has blemishes. I'm obsessed.
Now that I have a little sitter-upper, Ry is now back into fitting into his 3-6 month clothes. I think he lost a little weight using all the core strength to stay upright. That makes me happy. I don't want him to grow!!! Of course, there are a few of his onesies (the ones that seem to shrink down to 3 month sizes) that no longer fit-either because they aren't long enough near the snaps or his sleeves are too short. It's crazy... it seems like the bigger he gets, the smaller he gets. He's growing into such a big baby, but it only makes him more and more into a little person! Each day he's less baby and more grown up. I can't handle it! I know one day, he's going to be this teenage boy who is ready to leave the house, and I'm just going to sit and remember how incredibly adorable his tiny body was in his footie pajamas, in my arms while I fed him. *Sigh* He's practically going to college next week.
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| Such a big boy. Loving his ball pit. |
This reminds me, my mom is also coming to visit at the end of the month!! She had free airline miles so I told her to waste them on a trip out here. And she is :) I can't wait.
Okay, Ryan is fussing hard core now. Maybe because he was up since 4. Nap time..
Monday, February 23, 2015
5.5 Meses
We are TWO WEEKS away from Ry's 6 month check up. Which means we are TWO WEEKS away from him starting solids. I know, technically we could start solids now, but I really want his 6 month bday to be special and exciting. What better way to celebrate than eating a banana? Ha! I cannot wait Although, I totally can because I love the stage Ry's in. Poop isn't stinky-at least compared to how it's going to get-he still isn't moving around or talking back. He's just a cutie all around and easy peasy to take care of. Sigh, I'll miss this so much. Every second that passes, I miss. A few weeks ago, I was at a store carrying Ryan in his car seat and I passed a mother whose child started throwing a tantrum in the middle of the store. She looks at Ryan and goes, "I miss that stage." Poor lady. I really CAN WAIT for him to grow up. I'd rather a little fussy baby I can hold and soothe than a bratty kid who can't be consoled because he's stubborn. We'll get there one day. They all grow into bratty kids. I'm sure I was one at one point, and my mother loved me through it (I think..)
Okay you guys, I have a couple mommy fails to share. This first one is so bad, that I don't even want to admit to it because I'm worried someone will call child services. I knew the second it happened, it was a mistake. Here it goes: I left my baby with a stranger. It's not AS terrible as it sounds. I didn't leave him with some hobo on the corner to babysit or anything. It was in bldg 600 (the main army building where pretty much every thing you need to do, ever, is.) I was carrying my computer bag, the car seat, my diaper bag, and my child, who had a poop explosion all over his back. As I'm walking a woman offered to help carry my car seat. Actually, she insisted. She worked there (she had the official tag) and as we got to the doors, I told her she didn't have to carry it outside to my car because she had no coat on. She insisted. I said no no, really don't worry about it. She offered to hold him while I put everything in my car. LITTLE MISS STUPID here said yes. My car was parked right by the door and I knew the second that I gave him to her (I warned her about the poop) that I was committing a mommy crime. I still remember every detail of her face and the exact yellow short sleeve peasant top with mini flowers that she was wearing because I thought to myself, "if you aren't here in the next 90 sec when I get back, I will hunt you down and kill you." Luckily, I didn't have to murder anyone. She stood and played with Ryan even though he was a poop monster and all was happy again. And I will never do that again. Or if I do (which I won't), I will take a picture of them on my phone together before walking away. Come on Molly, Stranger Danger! I beat myself up over this all the time. Seriously, so stupid of me.
The next mommy fail isn't as intense. I gave up chocolate for so long because Ry reacted poorly to it. Well, with Valentine's Day, I fell off the wagon. Completely. I don't even really like M&M's, but that's all I've been eating for 2 weeks. I even ate M&Ms with tortilla chips (weird combo, but surprisingly good). Then, when Vday candy went on sale for half off, I bought a heart shaped box of candy. Not a small one, but the medium sized ones you expect to get on Valentine's Day. I ate THE WHOLE THING before my car even made it home from Walgreens. I turned into a chocoholic. And then I couldn't figure out why Ry kept waking up at 1, 2, 3am angry and not tired. Poor kid. I've finally decided it's time to avoid the chocolate again. It sucks. I'm going to miss it. But chocolate, we had some good times this month. Yes, we did.
This week's big baby accomplishment was sitting up!! He can't quite get over his big belly on is own yet. You'll see him clench his tummy and his fists while biting his lower lip trying to sit up, but he only just barely gets his shoulders off the ground. However, I sit him up with his boppy behind him and he just sits and plays as if his toys are totally new now that he can see them from up top. He's been working on his balance all week, and the first few days, I'd come over to him face planted into one of his toys, but I think he's pretty much got the hang of it. He's such a big boy!!! All sitting up and what not.
AND we've started moving him up into some of his 6-9/12 month clothes. Whenever I get close to the next size change, I start going through the next size up. Baby clothes sizes make NO sense. I grabbed a 12 month outfit of his because it looked tiny. I put it on him, and it fit. Then I put him in a 9 month outfit, and it was huge. So confusing. I start arranging his clothes now by what looks the smallest compared to his 6 month clothes to what looks the biggest. Why even bother putting a number on it? Those numbers mean nothing. And why do company's make baby clothes that shrinks? Really? I think we're at a stage of life where manufacturers should be able to pre-shrink the clothing and then sell it. That's what they do at Pink (VS). Not a hard concept...
Ryan created his first master piece this weekend. I put some paint on a canvas and sealed a baggie over it and let him smoosh the paints around (no mess!) It was perfect. He loved watching the colors move around and he got to explore what happened when he moved his hand over the paint area. And the result? We now have some new artwork for our wall :) It was fun! I also discovered this website that gives weekly games to do with your baby to help with development. Such good ideas! Here's the site for any of you mom's out there with infants: CLICK ME. I got him to take breast milk off a spoon to start prepping for actual eating. He ate it like a champ, although his face was all scrunched as if he had no idea why he was doing what I was making him do. OH MY GOODNESS I love watching my baby learn. He's the cutest.
I'm just going to throw this out there one more time. If you're a mom... READ A FREAKING BOOK ABOUT IT. Do your research! I just saw another mom post on Facebook not understanding why her baby isn't sleeping through the night. And then, someone commented with a suggestion that isn't advised without the go-ahead from your doctor. So frustrating! We live in the age of technology where information is at your fingertips in the click of a button. If you don't want to buy the book I keep suggesting (What to Expect the First Year... whaaaaaaat?) then go to the websites and look things up through valid sites rather than FB friends. Being a mom isn't just about being around your kid nonstop and making sure they're fed. It's an active, ever-changing job that requires you to put in a little extra effort to make sure your baby is on track for health. I hate that incompetency is now being passed down generation from generation. Seriously, people do nothing but evolve our species into one that's more stupid with each passing year. And no one seems to care. Well I do, and I'm telling you, it's not going to kill you to try to read something to provide for your child. If you have time for TV and Facebook, then you have time to read. UGH. Anyway....
On Friday, we got a new addition to our family. A new truck. We're supposed to be moving down to GA in the next 2 months (however, we're still waiting on orders... let's see how long they delay this process) so we've been doing a lot of research trying to figure out how the hell we're going to get 3 dogs and a baby from one corner of the country to the next.. including a drive through Canada. We figured a truck may be our only hope, as long as we can get a topper for the back so the pups will have some space for their cage and to roam with our luggage. My hubby found one he liked and we got it. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of trucks, but this one is pretty sexy. It has heated seats, lumbar support (which, for my billions of back issues, feels amazing), individual heating, a sun roof, and lots of space in the back seat, cause, let's face it.. we're going to need to pack for 6 creatures to survive for a month without our goods. We need the space.
Other than that, life hasn't been too thrilling. We've been dealing with a legal issue for the past 8 months now with our old landlord. We had our trial on Thursday, hoping to finally have this issue solved, however nothing got resolved, so we have to go back in two weeks. Such a stress. I'm ready for this to end. It's consumed me all week and caused so much stress. On top of every day stress.
Yesterday, I had maybe 15 mins to sit down all day. Every time I went to sit down, either Ryan had a poop explosion, or he woke up, or he had another poop explosion. I was so busy that by the end of the day, I was ready to just sit down and watch the Oscars. After watching about an hour of it, I realized how much of my precious time I wasted. Seriously, I don't even like the Oscars. I don't care who wins best costume design or the music editing of obscure movies. And it's like the same 5 movies that I haven't seen are nominated in every category. I don't want to listen to people who I've never heard of's speeches. I only wanted to see NPH but he only got little snippets of time every 5-10 mins. I was so upset that I even wasted my time watching. So many better things I could have done with my rare free don't-have-to-be-a-mommy time .
Ugh, and now it's Monday again. I know it's going to be another long week followed by another couple stressful weeks. My body is exhausted. My mind is exhausted. I know this weekend is Fur Rondy and I'm so excited for it, but I also feel like I don't want to go wasting energy by having fun. (I'm such a drag!) I hate that my husband has to work all the time and that he maybe comes home in time for Ryan to go to sleep. He's been gone for 4 months. Seeing him for tiny snippets at the end of the day doesn't really make up for the time we've lost. I'm just wiped and need a break. I'm hoping these next couple days give me just that so I can at least enjoy the weekend. I think I'd be a lot happier if I knew I could have chocolate. Ha! Oh well. Until next time my loves. xoxoxo.
Okay you guys, I have a couple mommy fails to share. This first one is so bad, that I don't even want to admit to it because I'm worried someone will call child services. I knew the second it happened, it was a mistake. Here it goes: I left my baby with a stranger. It's not AS terrible as it sounds. I didn't leave him with some hobo on the corner to babysit or anything. It was in bldg 600 (the main army building where pretty much every thing you need to do, ever, is.) I was carrying my computer bag, the car seat, my diaper bag, and my child, who had a poop explosion all over his back. As I'm walking a woman offered to help carry my car seat. Actually, she insisted. She worked there (she had the official tag) and as we got to the doors, I told her she didn't have to carry it outside to my car because she had no coat on. She insisted. I said no no, really don't worry about it. She offered to hold him while I put everything in my car. LITTLE MISS STUPID here said yes. My car was parked right by the door and I knew the second that I gave him to her (I warned her about the poop) that I was committing a mommy crime. I still remember every detail of her face and the exact yellow short sleeve peasant top with mini flowers that she was wearing because I thought to myself, "if you aren't here in the next 90 sec when I get back, I will hunt you down and kill you." Luckily, I didn't have to murder anyone. She stood and played with Ryan even though he was a poop monster and all was happy again. And I will never do that again. Or if I do (which I won't), I will take a picture of them on my phone together before walking away. Come on Molly, Stranger Danger! I beat myself up over this all the time. Seriously, so stupid of me.
The next mommy fail isn't as intense. I gave up chocolate for so long because Ry reacted poorly to it. Well, with Valentine's Day, I fell off the wagon. Completely. I don't even really like M&M's, but that's all I've been eating for 2 weeks. I even ate M&Ms with tortilla chips (weird combo, but surprisingly good). Then, when Vday candy went on sale for half off, I bought a heart shaped box of candy. Not a small one, but the medium sized ones you expect to get on Valentine's Day. I ate THE WHOLE THING before my car even made it home from Walgreens. I turned into a chocoholic. And then I couldn't figure out why Ry kept waking up at 1, 2, 3am angry and not tired. Poor kid. I've finally decided it's time to avoid the chocolate again. It sucks. I'm going to miss it. But chocolate, we had some good times this month. Yes, we did.
This week's big baby accomplishment was sitting up!! He can't quite get over his big belly on is own yet. You'll see him clench his tummy and his fists while biting his lower lip trying to sit up, but he only just barely gets his shoulders off the ground. However, I sit him up with his boppy behind him and he just sits and plays as if his toys are totally new now that he can see them from up top. He's been working on his balance all week, and the first few days, I'd come over to him face planted into one of his toys, but I think he's pretty much got the hang of it. He's such a big boy!!! All sitting up and what not.
AND we've started moving him up into some of his 6-9/12 month clothes. Whenever I get close to the next size change, I start going through the next size up. Baby clothes sizes make NO sense. I grabbed a 12 month outfit of his because it looked tiny. I put it on him, and it fit. Then I put him in a 9 month outfit, and it was huge. So confusing. I start arranging his clothes now by what looks the smallest compared to his 6 month clothes to what looks the biggest. Why even bother putting a number on it? Those numbers mean nothing. And why do company's make baby clothes that shrinks? Really? I think we're at a stage of life where manufacturers should be able to pre-shrink the clothing and then sell it. That's what they do at Pink (VS). Not a hard concept...
Ryan created his first master piece this weekend. I put some paint on a canvas and sealed a baggie over it and let him smoosh the paints around (no mess!) It was perfect. He loved watching the colors move around and he got to explore what happened when he moved his hand over the paint area. And the result? We now have some new artwork for our wall :) It was fun! I also discovered this website that gives weekly games to do with your baby to help with development. Such good ideas! Here's the site for any of you mom's out there with infants: CLICK ME. I got him to take breast milk off a spoon to start prepping for actual eating. He ate it like a champ, although his face was all scrunched as if he had no idea why he was doing what I was making him do. OH MY GOODNESS I love watching my baby learn. He's the cutest.
I'm just going to throw this out there one more time. If you're a mom... READ A FREAKING BOOK ABOUT IT. Do your research! I just saw another mom post on Facebook not understanding why her baby isn't sleeping through the night. And then, someone commented with a suggestion that isn't advised without the go-ahead from your doctor. So frustrating! We live in the age of technology where information is at your fingertips in the click of a button. If you don't want to buy the book I keep suggesting (What to Expect the First Year... whaaaaaaat?) then go to the websites and look things up through valid sites rather than FB friends. Being a mom isn't just about being around your kid nonstop and making sure they're fed. It's an active, ever-changing job that requires you to put in a little extra effort to make sure your baby is on track for health. I hate that incompetency is now being passed down generation from generation. Seriously, people do nothing but evolve our species into one that's more stupid with each passing year. And no one seems to care. Well I do, and I'm telling you, it's not going to kill you to try to read something to provide for your child. If you have time for TV and Facebook, then you have time to read. UGH. Anyway....
On Friday, we got a new addition to our family. A new truck. We're supposed to be moving down to GA in the next 2 months (however, we're still waiting on orders... let's see how long they delay this process) so we've been doing a lot of research trying to figure out how the hell we're going to get 3 dogs and a baby from one corner of the country to the next.. including a drive through Canada. We figured a truck may be our only hope, as long as we can get a topper for the back so the pups will have some space for their cage and to roam with our luggage. My hubby found one he liked and we got it. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of trucks, but this one is pretty sexy. It has heated seats, lumbar support (which, for my billions of back issues, feels amazing), individual heating, a sun roof, and lots of space in the back seat, cause, let's face it.. we're going to need to pack for 6 creatures to survive for a month without our goods. We need the space.
Other than that, life hasn't been too thrilling. We've been dealing with a legal issue for the past 8 months now with our old landlord. We had our trial on Thursday, hoping to finally have this issue solved, however nothing got resolved, so we have to go back in two weeks. Such a stress. I'm ready for this to end. It's consumed me all week and caused so much stress. On top of every day stress.
Yesterday, I had maybe 15 mins to sit down all day. Every time I went to sit down, either Ryan had a poop explosion, or he woke up, or he had another poop explosion. I was so busy that by the end of the day, I was ready to just sit down and watch the Oscars. After watching about an hour of it, I realized how much of my precious time I wasted. Seriously, I don't even like the Oscars. I don't care who wins best costume design or the music editing of obscure movies. And it's like the same 5 movies that I haven't seen are nominated in every category. I don't want to listen to people who I've never heard of's speeches. I only wanted to see NPH but he only got little snippets of time every 5-10 mins. I was so upset that I even wasted my time watching. So many better things I could have done with my rare free don't-have-to-be-a-mommy time .
Ugh, and now it's Monday again. I know it's going to be another long week followed by another couple stressful weeks. My body is exhausted. My mind is exhausted. I know this weekend is Fur Rondy and I'm so excited for it, but I also feel like I don't want to go wasting energy by having fun. (I'm such a drag!) I hate that my husband has to work all the time and that he maybe comes home in time for Ryan to go to sleep. He's been gone for 4 months. Seeing him for tiny snippets at the end of the day doesn't really make up for the time we've lost. I'm just wiped and need a break. I'm hoping these next couple days give me just that so I can at least enjoy the weekend. I think I'd be a lot happier if I knew I could have chocolate. Ha! Oh well. Until next time my loves. xoxoxo.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Ryan's First Valentine's Day
Yesterday was such an amazing Valentine's Day. I signed up for a 5K in the morning. With G home, I was able to leave Ry with him. It's amazing how much easier it is to run without a stroller!! I was so proud of myself-I ran it in 26 min and 55 seconds (okay, I tracked it on my watch.. it wasn't quite a 5K... we ran only 3.14 miles as opposed to 3.2) but that time is still so much better than my 5K times last year (when I was pregnant... maybe I shouldn't be as proud comparing myself to my pregnant self.) My score made it in the top 100 of everyone (I think in the 80s), and for females in my age group (20s!!! Keep in mind, this 27 year old girl was running in a group with 21 year olds without any babies) I made it at #11. 11! And no, it wasn't out of 12. It was out of 147. I've been doing this couch to 10K program every week. It makes me run 3x a week and I sometimes dread going. And I dread running. But when I finish. I feel amazing. And yesterday, I truly saw how much my hard work paid off. And that is such an amazing feeling.
I told G that this year, all I wanted for Valentine's Day was to get my ears double pierced (because I am in fact a 14 year old girl). After the 5K, we went to two different tattoo parlors, both of which said on Google that they were open, but when we got there, they were dark with their "Open" lights turned off. We settled for Claire's (technically, the Icing) which is where I got my ears pierced for the first time in third grade (okay, technically, Contempo). I know some parents pierce their daughters' ears when they are babies, however if I have a girl, I am going to make her confront the pain of needles whenever she's ready to get them pierced. I want her to learn to suck it up and be a woman.
That sounds terrible, but women go through so many pains that men don't. Think about it- we stick needles in our ears and young ages, we get waxed in multiple locations, we diet and work our buns off in an attempt to stay strong (whereas men are just naturally stronger and don't have to work as hard to lift heavy things), and then there's child birth. I don't think women realize just how strong of creatures we truly are. I think Alaska has turned me into a new breed- a nature feminist. When you come across bears or moose, yeah you can just assess the situation and slowly walk away, but when you come across a mama bear or moose with her children, that's when you should should start to worry-and everyone knows it. There is nothing more dangerous than a female protecting her young. And now, I completely understand women on a whole new level.
Okay, back to my story. I got my ears pierced, we came home and just played with Ryan. Grandma and grandpa got him a new book for his collection and Daddy and I got him a stuffed animal (which is totally against my policy as gifts to get our son, because he's going to accumulate too many over the years, but I really just wanted to get him one for his first Valentine's Day gift). The pups got their box of doggy treats to eat too. We watched the Grammy's that we recorded last week, made lasagna, took Ry's prints (cause I'm obsessed) and ate more chocolate and ice cream than I probably should have within a 24 hour period. OH! And even though I told him I only wanted my ears pierced, G got me a box of chocolates, a kit-kat bar (cause I was talking about how I wanted one a couple weeks ago) and he made me this amazing video of pictures of the two of us throughout the years. I cried. It was so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. He's truly the best. Probably one of my favorite Valentine's Days ever. I took too many pictures as a way to remember.
Other than Cupid's day of love, this week was a good week for us all. I finally got Ryan back on schedule to wake up at 5am (technically 4:50... EVERY DAY like clockwork) rather than 3:30. Huge success. I don't even care that I start my days early. I like it, I have time to plan my day and get things done. Now that Ry is getting closer to starting solids, I've been giving him utensils to play with so he will be familiar with them. He's been playing with spoons LIKE A BOSS. He will hold the spoon in his hand and just stick it in his mouth. I think he's going to be an amazing eater when we get there.
I've also been trying to get him to drink from a bottle. We haven't quiet done a full feeding just yet (although we have a sitter tonight, maybe I'll see if she can try before bed time), but I've got him to casually drink an ounce between feedings. Not that I want to fatten him up anymore than he already is, but I want him to get familiar with bottles as well. I started by giving him (like the spoons) empty bottles to play with, and once he got the hang of putting the nipple part in his mouth, I decided to put a little bit of milk in there to see how it goes (this was an idea given to me by What to Expect the First Year... seriously, they should just start paying me now for every time I mention this book). I didn't want to do it during a feeding because the book mentioned he might be too hungry and stressed to try to make an unfamiliar method work and to attempt giving him the bottle when he's not overly hungry and in a calm mood. Worked like a charm! He drank the milk in an exploratory manner and didn't freak out because he wasn't starving if he couldn't get it to work or dropped the bottle. Thanks, What to Expect!
Last Sunday, Ryan had me up at 1am. He fell back asleep, however I did not. Monday, my day was so incredibly confusing. I was a recovering Zombie and had no concept of what was going on. I had to teach Zumba class, and for some reason, I forgot that my class was at 10:30, not 10am. I got there at 10am. Which means I also dropped Ryan off at child care 30 mins early. I was wondering why they looked at me all crazy when I got there. Such a face palm day. At least I was early rather than late. Which reminds me... SO many people told me, "Forget about being on time, babies make you late." Umm.. I've been late TWICE since I've had this kid. And one of those times was 1 min late and the person I had the appointment with was even later, so it didn't even count. I hate when people use their kids as a constant excuse to be late. Yes, I understand that there are days when I'm about to leave and Ry decides to have a giant poop explosion just as I'm putting him in his car seat (that was the second time I was late, and by 2 mins). But that's a once in a while thing. Babies don't make mom's late. Mom's are late because they don't value being on time. It's really not that hard to figure out how long it takes you to leave the house with a baby and give yourself the time to get ready. It's really not. So here's my new advice to new mom's. If you want to be on time to places, then it's not impossible to be on time. A baby will not make you late. Will you have those days where something holds you up? Yes, we all do. But a baby will not make you a late person if you care enough. Which I do. I hate being late. And I hate mom's that CONSTANTLY use the line, "she has a baby, she'll be late." Stop using baby's an an excuse to justify a person's bad habits!! Just admit that you're a late and inconsiderate person! People...
Another vent (you can skip this paragraph if you're sick of my complaints). I mentioned I run 3 times a week trying to train to run a 10K. I run at Hangar 5, which is an old hangar on base that was turned into a 24hr workout facility that anyone can use. It has weights, machines, and a track. And best of all, you can take your kids there to just run around and do whatever while you work out. If I wanted to lift weights, I can take Ryan and just set his carseat down while I workout next to him. As an active mom, this is a HUGE deal to find a place that is child-friendly. I love love love that moms can bring their children. However, there are moms that bring their bratty, irresponsible children and it pisses me off. If you can't teach your children to not run in the middle of a track or even not to constantly cross the track without looking, then I'm sorry, your children DON'T belong there. This isn't a place for kids, it's kid-tolerant and I hate the parents that bring their crazy children and ruin it for everyone. What if it becomes such a problem (air force still uses this hangar for their PT tests every week-I've seen kids almost get in the way of that) that they start to ban mom's bringing their kids? I'm going to be livid. And the thing is, it's the same mom that I see every week with her two children that just run free. They run into the track (I've almost hit them a couple times, my stroller doesn't steer well and they just dart out from the hallway where you can't see them coming) and they don't even watch. And she doesn't do anything about it. I've been so tempted to go up to her and say, "The track is not for your $%*@ing children! There are people here to train, this isn't a play ground. If you can't keep them off, then you need to keep them home." So irritating!! And then the other mom's with the strollers... okay, the outer lane on the track is for walkers. If you're walking with your big ass stroller, don't walk in the middle. Don't walk in the inner lane. Stay in the designated walking lane! So many moms utilize and appreciate this place and I'm going to be so mad if these few people ruin it for everyone. This is why we can't have nice things...
Here's my mommy fail moment (other than forgetting the time of my class): When I breast feed Ryan, he tends to get distracted and pulls away and just smiles at me. I usually "hit" him in the face with my nipple making playful "boom" noises. Pew pew pew! *Push my nip into his cheek* He thinks it's hilarious. Only lately did I realize that this might be totally weird.
My computer is near death, so it's time to stop writing for the day. Plus, I have laundry and groceries calling my name. Until next time! xoxoxo
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| Valentine's Day 2015. Post race pic |
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| Check out those scores!! Woo! |
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| Love his sweet cheeks |
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| Kisses on the cheek |
I've also been trying to get him to drink from a bottle. We haven't quiet done a full feeding just yet (although we have a sitter tonight, maybe I'll see if she can try before bed time), but I've got him to casually drink an ounce between feedings. Not that I want to fatten him up anymore than he already is, but I want him to get familiar with bottles as well. I started by giving him (like the spoons) empty bottles to play with, and once he got the hang of putting the nipple part in his mouth, I decided to put a little bit of milk in there to see how it goes (this was an idea given to me by What to Expect the First Year... seriously, they should just start paying me now for every time I mention this book). I didn't want to do it during a feeding because the book mentioned he might be too hungry and stressed to try to make an unfamiliar method work and to attempt giving him the bottle when he's not overly hungry and in a calm mood. Worked like a charm! He drank the milk in an exploratory manner and didn't freak out because he wasn't starving if he couldn't get it to work or dropped the bottle. Thanks, What to Expect!
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| Valentine's day tiger |
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| Hand prints. Probably would have turned out a little better had I not had 2 glasses of wine beforehand |
Here's my mommy fail moment (other than forgetting the time of my class): When I breast feed Ryan, he tends to get distracted and pulls away and just smiles at me. I usually "hit" him in the face with my nipple making playful "boom" noises. Pew pew pew! *Push my nip into his cheek* He thinks it's hilarious. Only lately did I realize that this might be totally weird.
My computer is near death, so it's time to stop writing for the day. Plus, I have laundry and groceries calling my name. Until next time! xoxoxo
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