Stop growing up, little boy!
I don't know how you do it, but you keep stealing more and more of my heart daily. You have changed so much and month 4 has definitely been my favorite so far.
It's been a very big month for you! You made your maiden voyage to the Frio River and got "baptized" in that sacred swimming hole. You love to swim! We stayed with cousins Franklin and Kathleene and you had a big time with your other cousins Victoria, Isabelle, and Whit. The car ride was, um, rocky, and wore us all out, but I think we broke you of your aversion to car seats, because the next long drive we took went just fine. We had also traveled down to South Texas to celebrate the 100th birthday of your great-great Aunt Jency Runnels. She is my grandmother's sister and looks incredible for her age. Also at that party was another little baby named Coleman that was born on your birthday. He is Cousin Jeff's cousin, so we're not really related, but it was still neat!
We took a DFA trip to the yearly YC meeting down on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. You were a trooper and got Mommy out of most of the boring meetings. We showed you the Alamo, but you were more interested in the water, the ducks, and all of the lights, sounds, and people. You were a perfect kiddo in the car ride there and back- I couldn't have been more proud of you!
G-mama came to visit, but had to cut it short because Mommy and Daddy got sick, and then a few days later we gave it to you (so sorry!). It was great to have her here to take care of you and you played and read books and told her all of your secrets. We managed to go shopping and got some great stuff for your room, though! Sorry your nursery isn't quite finished, but it's coming along great and I will have it done by the end of the month [if Daddy will help me :)]
You started back to daycare near the end of the month to give Nana a break before school started. You seem to really like it there and are getting back into the swing of things pretty well. I'm not sure you nap all that well, because you don't sleep as well as before, but I know that you are well taken care of!
My favorite thing about you right now, though, by far, is your hair.
It defies gravity. It is soft and white. It's getting thicker every day. A-mazing.
You look more and more like your Daddy every day and I was struggling to find something that resembles me. I think your eyes are more like mine than his. But then I noticed you have cellulite in your little thighs- yep, definately got that from me!
Your new accomplishments include:
- intentionally reaching for and grabbing things
- sitting up for longer amounts of time, although you still prefer to be held
- sleeping longer stretches (that is, until we went on vacation)
- going to sleep without nursing
- talking, singing, and laughing more and more
And, the most exciting thing for Mommy is.... (drumroll please)..... you will take a pacifier!!!!!!
Your stats:
-14 pounds, 9 ounces (on the cat scale at the clinic)
-Size 2 diapers
-Wearing 3-6 month clothes that are starting to get too short but still have plenty of room
-Sleeping anywhere from 4-6 (once or twice 9 hours) at a time at night
-Still eating at least once at night
-Drink 3 4.5 oz bottles during the day at daycare and nurse for breakfast, dinner, and a 2 am snack
Other exciting things:
-You are teething and love to gum your teething keys, teething beads, the ring that goes in the freezer, and Mommy's knuckles
- I think you try to kiss me on the cheek like I do to you, but you end up just kind of giving me a very slobbery, open mouth fish kiss.
- You still love to be held, but will lean over to see things, especially Ali, and will try to grab anything I am holding
- You are starting to figure out that you can play in the water at bath time. You stare at your hand underwater and splash a little and then try to decide what just happened.
We love you soooooo much Coleman and are honored to get to be your parents!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Poor sick baby!
Co-mingling: To blend, mix, merge, or integrate.
In vet med, we use this term to refer to a load of mixed calves that have been brought from different ranches and combined into a new herd, sharing all kinds of germs and disease. These cattle often become sick due to stress and being exposed to different illnesses.
And so it is at daycare. Ugh.
The first time he was at daycare in May, he got a wicked cold that proceeded to cause a conjunctivitis. Mommy got a horrible cold and a soar throat and was prescribed antibiotics from a bonehead MD that wouldn't listen to me when I told him I was nursing. Before I got a clear answer on if I could even take them, I felt better. So now I have a back up Z-pack, just in case.
This time, he ended up with a nasty viral enteritis. And disgusting, green, ropey nasal discharge. I normally only have to change a dirty diaper every 3-5 days, which is normal for a breast fed baby (milk is highly digestible). I changed 6-8 dirty diapers every day for 5 days. It's hard to tell if he was vomiting, but there was defiantly an increase in spit-up. I'm fairly certain he got dehydrated; there was no way I was keeping his ins and outs balanced. Each time I called his pediatrician I got conflicting or different instructions. First just feed him as regular, then don't feed him until the diarrhea stops, then add culturelle, now just pedialyte, Benadryl for his nose. *sigh*
He missed daycare Friday and Monday, and we kept him home from church Sunday. But we made it through, he's starting to have more regular diapers, acting like he feels better and sleeping for 3-4 hour stretches, instead of waking me up 5 or 6 times a night. And yeah, I feed him each time he wakes, just because I'm worried that he still needs fluids, so all of our sleep training is flying out the window.
Oh, and did I mention that he gave it to everyone at the clinic? They dropped like flies each day. We have decided to start keeping track of all of his illnesses by giving them their own alphanumeric system and see how many sicknesses we get this year. This will be the first and we're calling it C1H1. Super glad he goes to daycare (extreme sarcasm here).
In vet med, we use this term to refer to a load of mixed calves that have been brought from different ranches and combined into a new herd, sharing all kinds of germs and disease. These cattle often become sick due to stress and being exposed to different illnesses.
And so it is at daycare. Ugh.
The first time he was at daycare in May, he got a wicked cold that proceeded to cause a conjunctivitis. Mommy got a horrible cold and a soar throat and was prescribed antibiotics from a bonehead MD that wouldn't listen to me when I told him I was nursing. Before I got a clear answer on if I could even take them, I felt better. So now I have a back up Z-pack, just in case.
This time, he ended up with a nasty viral enteritis. And disgusting, green, ropey nasal discharge. I normally only have to change a dirty diaper every 3-5 days, which is normal for a breast fed baby (milk is highly digestible). I changed 6-8 dirty diapers every day for 5 days. It's hard to tell if he was vomiting, but there was defiantly an increase in spit-up. I'm fairly certain he got dehydrated; there was no way I was keeping his ins and outs balanced. Each time I called his pediatrician I got conflicting or different instructions. First just feed him as regular, then don't feed him until the diarrhea stops, then add culturelle, now just pedialyte, Benadryl for his nose. *sigh*
He missed daycare Friday and Monday, and we kept him home from church Sunday. But we made it through, he's starting to have more regular diapers, acting like he feels better and sleeping for 3-4 hour stretches, instead of waking me up 5 or 6 times a night. And yeah, I feed him each time he wakes, just because I'm worried that he still needs fluids, so all of our sleep training is flying out the window.
Oh, and did I mention that he gave it to everyone at the clinic? They dropped like flies each day. We have decided to start keeping track of all of his illnesses by giving them their own alphanumeric system and see how many sicknesses we get this year. This will be the first and we're calling it C1H1. Super glad he goes to daycare (extreme sarcasm here).
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
NIP
It is National Public Display of Breastfeeding Day. Nursing in public, or NIP.
Call me conservative, but I think this is a bit ridiculous. Yes, it is great that it is legal for a woman to breastfeed her child any time, any where. Babies need to eat, regularly, and if they are all like my sweet one, they want to eat now. So it is nice that, should the situation arise, I have the legal right to take care of business.
And the campaign to "normalize breastfeeding" is a noble one. For years, it was such taboo, no one talked about it, did it, even considered it. So there is a lot of misinformation out there. Breastfed and formula babies gain weight differently, feed differently, sleep differently, even poop differently. There are extra challenges associated with breastfeeding- getting latch on figured out, timing of feedings, pain, supply issues, demand on a mother- that formula feeders don't face. And don't get me started about trying to work full time and have an exclusively breast fed baby (via bottle). I'm sitting in a hot office in a horse barn pumping between appointments as I type. But there are soooo many awesome reasons to nurse: mother-baby bond, antibodies, jaw development, convenience (most of the time), hormonal effects for mom, helping my body get back to normal (sort of).
So it is great that women a raising awareness, but I think we may have taken it a tad too far. Personally, I feel uncomfortable nursing in front of most people. Scott, my MIL, my SIL, and my mother are the only ones I routinely nurse in front of. Oh yeah, and my pediatrician, LC, and the nurses at the hospital, but they are medical professionals. I have nursed, with a cover, at family gatherings (some distance away) and at church in the nursery or cry room. If I'm out in public, I usually hop in the back of the truck with the a/c on and park at the far end of the parking lot, still covered.
You can call me a prude or old fashioned if you want, but you can also take a look at my closet and see all kinds of modest clothes. No barely there triangle bikinis or see through tops for me. In fact, I had to buy shirts that were more boob accessible so that I could nurse. The reason has a lot to do with my morals and beliefs that my body is meant to be seen and appreciated by Scott only. Additionally, I am aware of how visually stimulated men are, and even if on accident, a peep show will not edify my brothers in Christ. And, I don't appreciate it when other people do things that make me uncomfortable, why should I put them in a position that makes them feel awkward.
So yes, I support and will be a proponent of breast feeding. Is breast feeding in public for me? Absolutely not. Will I judge those that do? Absolutely not. I simply don't feel that busting out in front of a lot of strangers is the best way to get the point across (puns intended). As with anything, religion included, shoving something in someone's face is not a pleasant way to make them change their mind. Unless they happen to be a pervert.
Call me conservative, but I think this is a bit ridiculous. Yes, it is great that it is legal for a woman to breastfeed her child any time, any where. Babies need to eat, regularly, and if they are all like my sweet one, they want to eat now. So it is nice that, should the situation arise, I have the legal right to take care of business.
And the campaign to "normalize breastfeeding" is a noble one. For years, it was such taboo, no one talked about it, did it, even considered it. So there is a lot of misinformation out there. Breastfed and formula babies gain weight differently, feed differently, sleep differently, even poop differently. There are extra challenges associated with breastfeeding- getting latch on figured out, timing of feedings, pain, supply issues, demand on a mother- that formula feeders don't face. And don't get me started about trying to work full time and have an exclusively breast fed baby (via bottle). I'm sitting in a hot office in a horse barn pumping between appointments as I type. But there are soooo many awesome reasons to nurse: mother-baby bond, antibodies, jaw development, convenience (most of the time), hormonal effects for mom, helping my body get back to normal (sort of).
So it is great that women a raising awareness, but I think we may have taken it a tad too far. Personally, I feel uncomfortable nursing in front of most people. Scott, my MIL, my SIL, and my mother are the only ones I routinely nurse in front of. Oh yeah, and my pediatrician, LC, and the nurses at the hospital, but they are medical professionals. I have nursed, with a cover, at family gatherings (some distance away) and at church in the nursery or cry room. If I'm out in public, I usually hop in the back of the truck with the a/c on and park at the far end of the parking lot, still covered.
You can call me a prude or old fashioned if you want, but you can also take a look at my closet and see all kinds of modest clothes. No barely there triangle bikinis or see through tops for me. In fact, I had to buy shirts that were more boob accessible so that I could nurse. The reason has a lot to do with my morals and beliefs that my body is meant to be seen and appreciated by Scott only. Additionally, I am aware of how visually stimulated men are, and even if on accident, a peep show will not edify my brothers in Christ. And, I don't appreciate it when other people do things that make me uncomfortable, why should I put them in a position that makes them feel awkward.
So yes, I support and will be a proponent of breast feeding. Is breast feeding in public for me? Absolutely not. Will I judge those that do? Absolutely not. I simply don't feel that busting out in front of a lot of strangers is the best way to get the point across (puns intended). As with anything, religion included, shoving something in someone's face is not a pleasant way to make them change their mind. Unless they happen to be a pervert.
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