Months 7 & 8 Thanks for the Mammaries

At 8 months, Will:

• Is about one step away from crawling. He gets on all fours and rocks all the time. He's taken the first steps of hand and knee forward together but that's as far as it's gone. I am in no hurry what so ever for him to start crawling! We haven't even started baby proofing yet...
• Is completely weaned from nursing. Thankfully he took to the formula just fine. We started him on formula right after he turned six months and I took 6 or 7 weeks to wean him. During that time I managed to suffer from a milk blister and a plugged duct. Thank God that didn't happen when we were just starting out, otherwise I really think I would've given up on BF'ing right then and there. It was awful. The pain from the plugged duct was excruciating, and let me say there is nothing more terrifying than watching your breast swell like a balloon. After seeing me in a full on panic over it Bill was a lifesaver. This poor man bathed me and cleaned my incision after my c section, had to deal with the many hormonal days that come postpartum, saw and heard things no man ever wants to know about, and then, just when he thought it was safe, has this grossness to help me with. Thank God one of my friends in my moms group had it happen to her and she recommended soaking in hot water and Epsom salt, (tit dip as Bill affectionately called it); so between that and Bill pressing on my chest as hard as he could several minutes everyday for about three days (worst pain ever; way worse than any childbirth-related pain), voila. So after all that I was more than ready to call it quits. Will handled it great. I think it helped that he's still relatively young and he's been bottle fed since day 1.  
• Is still loving eating solid foods and we're slowly working on the transition now to finger foods. He's started grabbing the spoon more and more so I've started giving him things like those teething biscuits and tiny banana pieces. Last night was actually the first time he didn't gag every time he swallowed it so he's starting to get used to the sensation. I'm very nervous about choking though. I never took an infant CPR class. I know, shame on me. So I really don't know what I would do if he started choking. I just break the food up into the tiniest pieces I can manage. My mom tells the story of when it happened to my little brother. He had terrible reflux and was only a couple weeks old when he choked, like turned blue and everything. She grabbed him by both feet and flipped him upside down and that forced the vomit out and thankfully all was well. I pray I'd have the same resolve should we find ourselves in that situation. 
• Loves being around people, being in public, mimicking facial expressions, talking, singing, laughing, animals. We found he likes the pool. Of course he likes the water; he's a water dragon. He's just a happy, easy to please baby. I say it all the time but we really are lucky. We are  blessed beyond measure. Everyone loves to be around Will. I could go on and on but if you're reading this you've probably been around our baby, so you already know ;-p

Being free of breast feeding has allowed me some time to focus a little more on myself again. And that mainly entails getting back into shape, (and hopefully losing a couple pounds in the process). I've started working out every day on my lunch break and this week I'll start working out before work too. I have a lot of work to do so I have to fit it in when I can, without missing out on my time with Will. It's felt great to be back into it again. It's hard to believe it now, but I used to work out 10 - 12 hours/week. While I probably won't be in that kind of shape again any time soon, I'm enjoying that old feeling I get from routine exercise and I know how great it'll feel to fit into more of my pre-pregnancy clothes again. And the best part is that Bill is doing it with me! We're doing the same training program. It brings us closer in a whole new way.

So here's to a beautiful Fall! We're excited to celebrate our birthdays (Bill's is in Oct.), take our first family trip to the State Fair, a tradition Bill and I have had together the past 9 years, celebrate Bill's favorite holiday, Halloween. It makes my heart burst when I see Bill's face light up at every baby costume, toy, book, pumpkin, etc., because I know how excited he is to share it with Will this year. It's a dream come true. For both of us.

Loves the pool!

LOVES riding in shopping carts!

High chair = mess!

Floor time

How good is Nalani to put up with that?

Month Six

We made it to 6 months! It feels great! We got through those challenging first months of no sleep, round the clock feedings, total upheaval of life as we knew it. Will has become such a light in our lives and so much fun. At 6 months old Will is now...

• Sitting up, completely unsupported! This is the newest development and oh so exciting.
• Babbles, makes hand gestures (none with meaning but fun to watch nonetheless), loves to throw things on the floor and watch us pick them up, wants to touch and grab e-ve-ry-thing. He loves Tid Bit and Nalani and my mom's puppy who he sees everyday, and he loves little kids and other babies. He smiles at them all.
• Sleeps through the night! This has been a trend for a month now, so I guess that makes it no longer just a trend! Since he was born I slept in the same room with Will. He started out in our room and he and I moved into the nursery after a couple weeks. All this time I figured he needed me to be in the room with him in order to sleep. After 5 long months Bill finally convinced me to try sleeping in our room and leaving Will alone to sleep in his room. Needless to say those first few nights were sleepless for me but not for Will! It turns out me being in the room with him was actually what was keeping him awake at night! Gah! I now feel like a new woman, like a real person again, thanks to 7+ hours of uninterrupted sleep most every night. We had to go through crying it out at the beginning of his 5th month. It was the worst. Mostly for me. But CIO works. It was worth it. Naps have also greatly improved,. thanks to consistency and my mom being so great about keeping him on a rigorous schedule. We've made so much progress this past month.
• Eats solids! We started with rice cereal at 5 1/2 months, after realizing he was just so damn hungry all the time, and he gobbled it up. The kid absolutely loves to eat. He's since tried applesauce, carrots (a huge hit), and pears (maybe not so much). The list of foods is expanding every week and it's a lot of fun to watch him enjoy this new phase. And he's actually not a very messy eater. For now. He;s still a little guy, 14 lbs, 3 oz at Friday's 6 month check up, but he eats like a champ.

Those are the major changes, and it seems they're coming fast and furious now. I keep waiting for his first tooth to break. It seems like he's been teething forever and some days are hard on him. The teething toys are all too big for his little mouth so I've found the teething tablets seem to work best right now. But otherwise he's such a happy, content baby. Every where we go people stop us to comment on how cute he is, how observant he is, and good-natured. It makes a momma proud. 

The first 6 months have really flown; they're sort of a blur really. I'm glad I write this blog so that I remember it all for years to come. But I will say it's easier now. Bill and I would ask each other over and over, when does this get easier? I think the answer is around 6 months. For us, anyway. These past 6 months I've felt like I lived in a bubble. I have an incredible husband, wonderful family and supportive friends, and of course this little cherub of a baby, but the baby blues lingered after the newborn stage. I'm just now feeling more like myself again (thanks to sleep, I'm sure), and less like a drone. I've been able to start letting go of feelings like I'm constantly being judged by others around me (with the exception of Bill, our family, and a few close, wonderful friends). I've embraced this new life, both my own and the one that was given to me, and it finally feels natural. It feels incredible, really. I think I fall more in love with Will, more in love with Bill as a daddy, more in love with God for blessing me with this life, each passing day. There's nothing else in this world that could give me that. There's nothing else that could give me these experiences, these tales and memories I will carry with me all the rest of my life. When Will reaches for me, when I see him search for me in a crowded room, when he "hugs" me, smiles at me, I know he trusts me and loves me. To say it warms my heart is an understatement. It goes so much deeper than that, to depths I don't think I have words for.

Will's 6 months photos, taken in Port Huron, the very spot Bill and I used to sit under the stars together as teenagers and talk and dream about what life would be like one day when we could be together. We fell in love there and here we are with our son, all these years later. If I didn't live to see another day I would look back and see how beautiful, how blessed, this life is and the people in it that God made just for me, and me for them.

  

First Family Trip

July was an eventful month! We spent the 4th with my mom and Dan at their lake house. It was wonderful. I love being with them b/c I can just be myself and relax. And their lake house setting is perfect for relaxation. Will loved being there and he went on his first boat ride!

We traveled to Michigan to have Will baptized. It was something I wanted to do before he was born, have him baptized in the church Bill grew up in. I knew it would be special for Bill and for his family. It would also be the perfect opportunity to introduce Will to all our family in Michigan. We named Carolyn and Chris god parents and shared a cottage rental with them and the kids. It was so much fun! We had never spent that much time together, just our two families, and I hope to do it again soon, and more often. We all get along so great, Will absolutely loves my nieces, and the girls are just a delight to be around. It was wonderful for me to be back in Michigan. I hadn't been in 4 long years but it was like I'd never left. I got to see a friend I met up there when I was a teenager that I hadn't seen in close to 10 years; Bill got to see friends from HS he hadn't seen in 10 years. It was a lot of fun to see Bill's family and get caught up with them. It definitely will not be 4 years before I am back again! They of course were delighted to finally get to meet Will and he lapped up all the attention. He really missed them after we left, I know. Traveling with an infant is no small feat but we did it and it was totally worth the effort!

With Grandma Thrash

Great Uncle Bruce and Great Aunt Kathy

Beautiful Michigan

Roger & Christine, Bill's friends from HS

Will's cousin Breonna

Absolutely fascinated with the water

Cousins Breonna and baby Nathan

Grandma and the cousins

Feet in the sand

Will wore a christening gown that's 94 years old, I believe. My grandma was christened in it, her brothers, all of my grandma's kids, her grandkids, and her great grandkids, have all been christened in it. The church is the church Bill was baptized in, his sister and sister's kids, his mother and her siblings and his grandma. 

God parents

Grandma & Grandpa Thrash

Guppy and Grandma

Oldenburg Family

Hogan Family

Thrash Family

Great Grandma Thrash

Big Boy!

Month Five

A short post b/c we are busy, busy, busy these days!

At 5 months, Will:

• Is probably teething! He's been especially drooley (Niagra Falls has nothing on this kid!), he's got to have something to naw on at all times, his cheeks have been redder, his nose a little runny, he's been a little fussier than usual and he's been sleeping less during the day. He's not miserable, he's just not himself the last few days. We just started trying the Hylands tablets and Tylenol at night and that seems to work wonders (he slept 8-5 last pm!).
• Can sit unsupported sometimes for up to 20 seconds!
• Is now interested in toys - anything musical or that shakes. A friend let me borrow her exersaucer and he loves it! We do too...
• Has gotten a touch of stranger anxiety. If someone he doesn't know holds him and he can't see me or Bill he cries.
• We think he may be favoring his left hand. Bill is a lefty so this too could be something he inherited from his daddy.
• No longer hates baths! I had to master what I like to call the 3 Minute Bath b/c he just couldn't handle it but now we're actually starting to play in the tub!
• Is still exclusively breast fed. We decided to just go with it until he's 6 months. What the hell, right? If I'm going to do it I may as well go all the way. Besides, makes me feel a little less guilty about early weaning...
• His Zantac dose has been cut by 1/3 of what it was last month with success! And I have been eating about 2 servings/day of dairy for the past couple weeks, also with success!
• Not only coos and gurgles but now he squeals, blows spit bubbles, and we swear, sometimes it sounds like he's saying, 'Hi.'
• Loves it when we take him out to eat with us, our Saturday ritual. We go places that have a booth and sit him in his Bumbo on top of the table. Believe it or not we can go through the entire meal without having to entertain or console him or anything b/c he's so busy studying all the people and surroundings. It's like one on one time for Bill and me which is def a bonus. 
• Is still so sweet and loving. My mom calls him a Lover Boy and she's totally right. We're so lucky to have such a sweet baby.

Summer days are here to stay

This thing is a life saver sometimes

Just another day at the office

Playing outside. We'll miss you Spring...

The water fountain at North Park was a hit!

                                                                    

Father's Day

I think Bill's Father's Day was as special as my Mother's Day. We celebrated the night before with a movie date, just the two of us. It was the first time we'd been to the movies since Will was born. It was great to be alone together but I had a hard time being away from Will this time. I've been away from him a handful of times while my mom baby sat, so I have never had to worry about him while we're apart, but now that I work full-time I have some serious mommy guilt about any time we don't spend together when I'm off. That and I just really miss him. Our time together is precious to me since we're apart so much. But like I said, it was nice to have alone time together for a bit. Then on Father's Day we had my dad and his partner Pat over, David and his gf Raine and my best friend Stephanie and her gf Kait for dinner. Bill made brisket (it's what he's famous for!) and I made Bill and Dad homemade candy bars. Bill & I renamed them Crack Bars b/c that's how ridiculously good they were.

So we had a wonderful time celebrating our family and the added joy that Will has brought to our lives. I celebrate my dad every year b/c he's a wonderful father and I cannot imagine life without him; he's truly one of the most wonderful people I know. He makes me so proud. Every one that meets him instantly likes him. I have friends and acquaintances that have only met him once, like years ago at our wedding, and they still ask me how he's doing. But this year I got to celebrate the second best dad that I know, none other than my own husband.

Top 10 Reasons Why Bill Is Such a Great Dad:

10. His favorite part of every day is getting to be there in the morning when Will wakes up. His words, not mine.
9. He is often Will's voice. He instinctively can read his son with what some times seems like telepathic ability. It's awesome.
8. He's mastered the art of administrating liquid medication to Will. He manages to do it without ever eliciting so much as a squirm. Skills.
7. He can make Will smile, coo and giggle through tears and fits. Will will even stop nursing to smile at Bill when he walks into the room.
6. Bill bought a speaker with an amp for his car and before I even had to say it he said, don't worry, I won't play it loud while Will is in the car.
5. The minute Bill sees I'm getting frustrated, impatient or stressed with Will he immediately jumps in to help out or even take over whatever it is I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to do. He's done this since Day 1. I joke that Bill would breast feed him if he could.
4. Will is always safe when he is with Bill. Bill is very conscientious about that stuff. I think it's natural that most men wouldn't have those protective instincts but Bill is different in that way. He likes being the protector and it's something I've always loved about him. It just complements his caring nature.
3. Bill wears a dozen different hats every day and he does it without ever complaining. He takes care of me. He takes care of the animals. He takes care of the house. He takes care of the lawn. He takes care of the important stuff like making sure bills are paid so that I don't have to worry about trying to keep up. And no, he's not a SAHD. You may be asking what exactly I do! I'm starting to feel like Bob in 'Office Space'...
2. The love and pride in his voice when he calls Will 'son' is undeniable. He loves taking him everywhere, showing him off to all his friends, coworkers and neighbors. He calls Will his little buddy.
1. There is nothing Bill wouldn't do for his son. He'll stay up with him every morning from 4-7 am and then work a full 8 hour day for 6 weeks solid. He'll sacrifice watching fights at Buffalo Wild Wings with his friends for QT with his family. He'll take conference calls in his car with a screaming baby all the way to my mom's house and he'll still tell me he's having a great morning. He started Will's college fund the day he was born. I hear him say to Will all the time, even when he thinks no one is listening, Daddy loves you.

So maybe that's more than 10 things, and I could still keep going on and on, but I think you get the picture.

Month Four

Four months already! Phew! Here's where we're at:

Will had his check up and he's now 12 lbs 11 oz, 23 3/4" long. He's in the 10th percentile for length and weight; his head circumference is in the 25th (he has Bill's head :)  So he's still a little guy! But his pedi says his growth is healthy and she had no concerns. We were able to check off all the milestones - smiling, talking, rolling, grasping, sitting with support, weight bearing legs with support, total head support and control.

At four months Will:

• Loves to talk! He wakes up talking most mornings now. He talks in the car. He talks to us and to my mom. He's just got a lot to say! It's really cute now because he makes trilling sounds and some of his babble sounds very close to words. He makes vowel-like sounds.
• Loves to sit up. He loves sitting in the Bumbo our neighbors let us borrow. When he's in a reclined position he strains to sit up right. Maybe he'll be sitting sooner than later...
• Doesn't cry when we take him grocery shopping anymore! He either sleeps through it now or is content to just watch what's going on around him. He loves being out in public places and people watching. And he loves all the attention he gets everywhere he goes.
• Is still waking up 1 - 2 times at night but he's back on his schedule after that weird week of no sleep. Maybe he was going through a growth spurt or something. But thankfully he's sleeping more predictably and peacefully (for now). Bill found an article about a recent research study that was just published about infant sleep. The conclusion of that study is that infant sleep patterns, especially nighttime sleep, is dictated by genetic factors rather than environment. It went to explain that their sleep patterns may not be manageable much before 18 months of age. Naps could still be more environmental influenced than genetic, but whether and when they start sleeping through the night is just something they're wired with. I would like to disclose that I entirely blame Bill for Will's not sleeping though the night. I was a perfect sleeper (still am!), but according to my MIL, Bill never slept through the night. And to this day he needs a pretty minimal amount to function (unlike me where I am a zombie with any less than 7 hours/night), and he goes through periods where he has a lot of night waking. Oh well, at least I know it's not something I am or am not doing!

Will is still exclusively breastfed so we talked about the transition to formula which will happen sooner than later. His appetite keeps increasing (my mom says he's taking up to 6 oz bottles now), so I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep up. During the work week I pump 5x/day to keep my supply and our stash up but both of those seem to be starting to dwindle. I think that's just par for the course when you can only nurse 3-4x/day. My plan has always been to nurse through six months and then start the weaning process. I know that's somewhat of an early wean but there are some things I had to consider in the way of future plans. So with two months and counting left of breast feeding I've considered starting him on rice cereal. For years and years four months was always the standard. Apparently the APA recently modified it to six months. That seems a little late to me. Most of my friends started rice, some even pureed baby food, at four months, but our pedi recommended six months. The issue is that in the evenings after work he's pretty hungry and there's only so much I can do after pumping all day. I've started giving him a little bottle of expressed milk but that's just less milk for him during the day. So I've started to consider trying cereal in the evenings. We'll probably start him on formula in July or August, unless my supply drops too much between now and then, since my plan is to start weaning in August. So that's one of my dilemmas - cereal or no cereal before six months? Is it really even that big of a deal?

My second dilemma comes from the pedi recommending we start weaning him off Zantac. AHH! This makes me nervous. Let me take you back to those two insufferable weeks before he went on it. He was pretty close to being colicky. He cried when we laid him down. He cried when I tried nursing him or when Bill tried to feed him a bottle. He cried when we burped him. He would wake up screaming. He didn't sleep for sometimes more than an hour, two at most. He cried. And cried. And cried. I cried! It was very stressful. But within days of starting him on Zantac he was a different baby. I understand that he shouldn't be on medicine any longer than he has to be, and I understand that being on it for too long could have some repercussions but I always thought we'd start weaning him off it closer to six months, when he starts on solids or maybe when he is able to sit up on his own. All of those things supposedly indicate more mature digestive systems and might mean the end of reflux. The pedi said his current dosage needs to be cut down by 2 mL/day, and I'm ok with trying that, but I just don't think he's ready to come off of it completely. He still has his bad days where he spits up a lot and seems uncomfortable. I've also been dairy free for 3 months now, since he went on Zantac, which has helped him I think, but I had planned to slowly start trying to reintroduce dairy into my diet this month and next to see how he does. The pedi thought he could have Similac Sensitive which is a dairy-based formula. So I thought it might be a good idea to start eating a little dairy again before he starts on formula since that'll be a pretty big change for his system. We'll see how that goes. The whole thing makes me nervous. We've gotten him over all those digestive issue humps, I just fear what formula and weaning, or even just tapering down, from his medicine will do.

So these next few months will be met with more transitions (an ongoing theme when you have babies/toddlers/little kids I guess), but we'll just roll with it like we always do. I feel very proud of us. We're keeping up despite a hectic schedule. Here's what our days entail:

5:30 am - Wake up for work, nurse.
6:00 am - Will goes back to sleep, I get ready for work.
7:00 am - Leave for work. Bill gets up at about 6:30 to help me get out the door on time. If it weren't for him who knows what time I'd roll in!
8:00 - 8:30 am - Will wakes up. Bill gives him his medicine, changes his diaper, gets him dressed and over to my mom's.
5:00 pm - Bill picks up Will from my moms.
6:15 pm - I am home from work. I nurse Will as soon as I get home and give him a little bottle. Bill makes dinner while I do this (if it weren't Bill I'd probably live off cereal and sandwiches!).
6:45 pm - Dinner
7:00 - 8:00 pm - Play time with Will, make lunches, wash pump parts, go for a family walk
8:00 - 8:30 pm - Bed time routine (bath, story, songs)
8:30 - 9:00 pm - Nurse
9:00 - Will is in bed. I finish getting my stuff together for the next work day before crashing myself.

And the week-ends aren't any slower. I wake up at 6 or 6:30 to nurse Will, then I start on my chores when he's back in bed so I can have the majority done when he's ready to start the day. That way if his naps are short I'm not too worried about not getting anything done. I try and stick to his nap schedule he's on at my mom's during the week because that really helps him (and us). Will is definitely a baby that needs a pretty rigid schedule. One of the hardest things about working full time is just having hardly any time to myself. If I'm lucky Will will take a long nap so I can do things like write this blog, or watch tv, read a magazine, catch up on some phone calls.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I feel more fulfilled and I'm very happy with everything I've ever prayed for, but life is a whirlwind! Time flies. Sometimes I just want to slow it down. I was around one of my sorority sisters over the holiday whose son is now 7 years old. It seems just yesterday he was a baby! And I'm not ready for Will to be a little boy. I'm perfectly ok with him taking his time to grow up, although I know that won't happen. If it's one thing I'm learning it's to not take a day for granted. Even the grueling, so tired I can't keep my eyes open, wanna curl up in a ball and sleep for 9 uninterrupted hours kind of days, I'm finding myself realizing how someday I will miss these days after Will is too big to hold, when he doesn't want us to smother him with kisses, when he doesn't want to cuddle anymore or light up every time he sees our faces. These are the days I will cherish my whole life through.