6 Months- 6/30/12

To my sweet Hunter-

Today you are 6 months old! Half a year! It's gone by in the blink of an eye. I've been thinking a lot lately about the day you were born. I like to ask daddy about the details of that day that I missed because I was sleeping. I ask him about your first cry and how you looked and how he reacted. When I look at pictures of you from the early days I can't believe how much you've grown and how different you look. You look more and more like a little boy rather than a baby everyday. This is such a fun age. You love to interact and play and you make us laugh everyday. We are so lucky to have you! We love you buddy.

Weight/Length- You're next checkup is on the 5th so we'll find out then but when we took you to the doctors at 5 1/2 months you weighed 19lbs14ozs so you must be well over 20 pounds by now! You are definitely a chunk!

Eating- You get three 6oz bottles while at daycare and drink a 7-8oz bottle of formula before bed and nurse in the morning, at dinnertime and usually once during the night. You still get mainly breastmilk with one or two formula bottles a day to supplement. You are also now getting one meal of solids everyday at dinnertime. You LOVE eating and have been doing so much better with the spoon. You can usually eat a whole thing of baby food (approx. 2oz). So far you've liked everything I've given you including the veggies which is funny since I had a big aversion to veggies while pregnant. You've now had- avocado, sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, pears, apples, green beans and peas. Your favorites seem to be the bananas, apples and pears.

Sleep- The first half of the month was bad due to teething and an ear infection. There were some really rough nights during your ear infection where you would just scream and need to be held. For the past week or so you've slowly been doing better, only waking up 2 or 3 times early in the night between 8-12 and falling back asleep quickly. You typically are able to sleep from 12am-6am. We've tried a little bit of  crying it out. Sometimes you are able to put yourself back to sleep after a few minutes other times I need to come rock you back to sleep.

Clothes- You can barely fit into your 6 months clothes and are wearing more 9 month outfits and even a couple 12 month outfits. There are some fall/winter clothes that I know you won't get to wear because you are growing so darn fast, they won't fit by the time it gets cold again.

Diapers- Still in size 3 diapers and hopefully will be for a little while.

Appearance- Your hair is filling in more and more and you no longer have the old man haircut. It's still a very light brown/dark blonde and your eyes a still a pretty dark blue/grey. Your eczema cleared up when you were on the antibiotics for the ear infection, the medicine seemed to kill whatever was causing the skin issue. And your skin is still clear even now that you are no longer on the medicine. We do now have a prescription lotion for when you get flare ups but it's amazing how much better your skin looks, some of your daycare teachers didn't even recognize you. Now I love kissing your smooth cheeks even more.

Personality- You are still a really happy, smiley baby for most of the day. You are especially cheerful in the mornings. You love to play and interact with people. You are learning how to play independently and entertain yourself better and are getting more interested in toys. You only get fussy in the evenings around bedtime when you are getting tired or if you are really hungry.

Likes-

-You are really starting to enjoy playing with toys more, especially anything that you can bang or chew on.

-You still love your playmat though instead of laying under it you prefer to sit up and grab at the toys are even stand and it use it to balance on.

-You like sitting in your high chair and banging toys on the tray part.

-You still love bathtime and now when you get in you will kick your feet really fast and make the water go everywhere.

-You still LOVE your jumperoo chair, you go nuts bouncing up and down in that.

-You love daycare, every morning as soon as you realize where we are you start smiling and itching to get out of your carseat.

-You like to be tickled on the feet and belly and when daddy sings made up songs to you.

-You prefer to be on your tummy now and are desperately trying to crawl.

Milestones- Lots of big firsts!!

-You said your first word! Mama!! 6/1
-You had your first ear infection (diagnosed 6/11)

-You cut your first two teeth (bottom front teeth) on 6/22

-You took your first long road trip and first family vacation to PA on 6/13
-Celebrating your first Father's Day with daddy.

-You went to the community pool for the first time and got in a floatie for the first time.

-You can now grab your bottle from me, put it in your mouth and hold it

-You can sit up on your own for about 10 seconds

-You are able to turn around and scoot backwards when on your tummy. You are so close to crawling!

Nicknames

When Kristian and I were having the ever-so-fun "what should we name our kid" debate, one of my stipulations was that I didn't really want a name that could and would most likely be shortened into a nickname. Personally I'm not a big fan of nicknames, as in the shortened versions of names i.e. Kris instead of Kristian (actually most people call my husband Kris) or Mike for Michael or Liz for Elizabeth. I just prefer the full name...in most cases. There are some names where I don't mind or even prefer the shortened version. For instance I prefer Abby over Abigail and Tom over Thomas. There really is no rhyme or reason behind it. I'm weird.

So one of the things that I really liked about the name Hunter was that it's not a name that is easily shortened. Yeah I suppose you could call someone Hunt but that's not very common. Well Hunter's daycare teachers have come up with their own nickname for him --Hunt Hunt. Whenever I drop him off in the mornings the main teacher starts singing "Hey Hunt Hunt, Hey Hunt Hunt" and I've noticed the other teachers call him that too. At first it did annoy me a bit and I was worried it would confuse him in learning his name but now I think it's kinda cute and I view it as their term of endearment for him. Plus it's not a name that I think will stick as he gets older. I don't forsee his buddies calling him that when he's in high school.

In the almost 6 months that he's been with us Hunter has acquired quite a few nicknames, some of which include:

The Huntsman or just Huntsman (daddy)
Hunt Hunt (daycare)
Piglet (grandma *my mom*)
H-diggity (our friend Bryan)
Precious Angel (grandma *Kristian's mom*)
Chubbs McGee (mommy)
Lovebug (mommy)
Lizard Boy (daddy-- due to his eczema)
Le Hunt (mommy and daddy) **we also call the pets Le Mox and Le Pert (apparently we're now French)

I think it's almost impossible not to have some sort of nickname for your child even if it's not one that is used outside the home. I'm not even going to tell you what mine was growing up...I still want to know what drugs my mom was smoking when she came up with it.

What are your thoughts on nicknames? What nicknames do you or your kids have?

SWW

Another round of So What Wednesday!

This week I'm saying So What if:

-I've eaten cereal for dinner more times than I care to admit in the past week.
It's quick, easy and who doesn't like cereal?

-One of the many reasons I want to continue breastfeeding through the summer (other than the obvious reason of giving my child nutrients) is that I like being able to fill out my bikini top better.

-I'm partly dreading our impeding kitchen renovation. It seems so overwhelming and expensive and seeing my house torn apart is going to give me major anxiety.

-I'm also super pumped to have an updated kitchen and more counter space, hopefully by this fall.

-I immediately put my hair in a ponytail or bun when I get home, my child has entered the hair pulling stage. It's either that or get the dreaded "mom haircut".

-Our laundry has been sitting folded in the laundry basket since Sunday (and probably won't get hung up until this weekend.) At least the clothes are clean and folded which is a pretty big accomplishment in my world.

Weekend Wrap Up

Lots of happenings in our house this past weekend which include:

-Teeth! Hunter has sprouted teeth! Yes that's plural, TEETH, as in two, his bottom two to be specific. We noticed them Friday night. You can just barely see them but you can definitely feel them. This explains the ear infection which often goes hand in hand with getting a tooth and the craptastic sleep. Nursing is going to start getting real interesting...

-Kristian went to see the surgeon who operated on him 4 years ago and show him his MRI. Yeah his neck is all kinds of jacked up, fortunately he doesn't need surgery....yet. He went Friday afternoon to get an injection in his spine, similar to an epidural, to help relieve the pressure. He woke up Saturday feeling about 70% better. He's still in pain but at least he's able to function again and hopefully with meds and maybe some physical therapy he'll improve even more and not have to get surgery again down the road.

-We took Hunter to the pool on Saturday and let him hang out in the floatie my mom got him, he immediately wanted to lean forward in it and would instinctively kick his little legs. He's a natural and I suspect we'll be seeing him in the Summer Olympics 2032.

-We went over to my inlaws for dinner Saturday and walked in to see a table full of new toys for a certain spoiled little boy, I swear it looked like Christmas. I think his grandparents like him a little bit ;)

-Hunter actually slept through the night on Friday and Saturday but was back to shitastic sleep on Sunday night. Apparently he doesn't care that mommy and daddy have to work on Monday. He isn't hungry or wanting a diaper change, he just wants to be rocked and held. We've been doing a bit of sleep training and some minor "crying it out" primarily because I've been feeling so sick and miserable it's too hard to get up so often, BUT it does seem to be helping a bit, even if it breaks my hear to hear him cry.

-Yesterday while walking Moxie, some stupid little boy let his dog outside without a leash and it came charging at Moxie. I had to yank her up by her leash to keep her out of the other dogs reach  and then put myself between her and the other dog to get her into my arms. Seriously LEASH your dogs people, especially if they go nuts around other dogs. I was about go Kung Fu on that dog if he had hurt my fur-daughter. Unfortunately I don't remember which house the little boy lives in or I would go talk to his parents.

Over It

I'm done. Tired. Over It. 

This sickness I've had for the past month needs to GTFO!

What started as a cold a month ago (thank you daycare germs) progressed to a sinus infection.

I got some antibiotics which I VERY stupidly stopped taking when I started to feel better.

P.S. DON'T do that, it will come back to bite you. Trust.

A few days later I got sick again and of course my antibiotics no longer worked because I now had some super, antibiotic-immune virus, that has decided to turn into bronchitis. Fun times.

So now I can't breathe through my nose, my throat feels like it has razor blades in it and I'm coughing more than a pack a day smoker. And I can't sleep. Shoot me now.

Best part is the only medicine strong enough for me to take is not 100% cleared for nursing mothers and I don't want to stop nursing yet or risk giving my child a third arm. 

So I get to tough it out, take Sudafed and pray it doesn't turn into pneumonia. 

Oh and my child refused to sleep last night which only adds to the awesomeness. 

Lesson learned- don't be a moron like me; take all your meds that are prescribed so you don't end up with some super virus that makes you feel and look like dog crap. 

SWW

Time for another round of So What Wednesday

So what if:

-I've either had cereal or fast food for dinner this week. Kristian usually cooks while I take care of Hunter in the evenings and with his hurt back he hasn't been able to.

-I wanted to smack my husband last week when he accidentally left a not yet drunk 6oz bottle of breastmilk at daycare. It wouldn't have been a big deal except it was the day before we left on vacation and wouldn't be good by the time Hunter went back on Monday.

-After taking care of a sick baby and hurt husband all last week I was happy to come back to work this week, it seems much more relaxing in comparison.

-After using my mother-in-laws car for our trip last week I'm now obsessed with and want to buy a Volvo SUV. Soooo much nicer than my little Corolla.

-I'm excited about the new season of Bridezillas. Those bitches be crazy!

-The worst part of having my child in daycare is that I think I've been sick every other week since he started there.

Can I get a vacation from my vacation?

Last week we went on our first family vacation. We traveled 5 hours up to a resort in the mountains of central PA that my mom had booked through her timeshare. My mom, her best friend Susie and my brother and his girlfriend were also on the trip. I thought this would make a great first vacation since we would have some extra hands to not only help with the baby but allow Kristian and I to get a bit of a break.
Unfortunately the trip wasn't exactly as much fun or relaxing as I had hoped. As I mentioned last week Hunter was dealing with his first ear infection and while he was great during the daytime he refused to sleep at night. My mother, the saint, stayed up with him each night so that Kristian and I could get a little sleep.

In addition to that Kristian, who already suffers from chronic back and neck pain and has had two surgeries in the past, hurt his back even more in a near car accident (fortunately he just missed hitting the car that pulled out in front of him) but in the process he tensed up quickly and we think now has a pinched nerve. Since then he's been in a tremendous amount of pain that even his prescribed pain meds aren't helping with. He's going for an MRI today and depending on the outcome, may need another surgery.

So between my husband who was in constant pain and my son who wasn't feeling well it was a little rough but we tried to make the best of it. Hunter actually did great in the car which was one of my worries. He either slept or played the whole way up and on the way home was fine except for a 45 minute crying spell that finally knocked him out.

It was nice to be around family and to get away a bit and I know Hunter LOVED all the attention he got from Grandma and "Aunt" Susie so I'm glad we went. But the whole past week has drained me and I currently have a massive head cold and now I need another vacation, preferably alone, in the Caribbean, with a fruity drink and a comfy bed to I can spend hours asleep in.

Now for some pictures. I didn't do a great job at taking pictures unfortunately but I got a couple decent ones.

At dinner the first night.

There was a great view of the mountains from the restaurant.

Look at those cheeks!

Hunter with his Uncle Michael.

Uncle Michael and his gf Melissa getting some baby practice.

Hunter trying to get to second base with Melissa.

He's a boob man like his father.

Hunter and Aunt Susie at the indoor pool.

Grandma trying to teach Hunter how to swim.

I think he was getting flashbacks of the womb.

My little water baby!

Kristian and Michael making s'mores one night.

The boys fishing. They didn't have much luck though.

Kristian was able to lure in the squirrels and chipmunks with peanuts. A few got close enough for him to touch. He's our very own Dr. Doolittle.

This picture wasn't taken on vacation, it was taken on Father's Day at our friends pool but I love it and wanted to throw it in.

Another first

Happy First Fathers Day 

to the worlds best Husband and Daddy.

We love you. 

Mom fail

I had my first big mom fail. My poor little baby was diagnosed with his first ear infection today. Where was the failing on my part? Well I suspect he's had it for a while now and I didn't know it. He's been digging at and scratching his ears for a couple weeks now and yes I know that is a sign of an ear infection however he didn't have any other signs; no fever, no loss of appetite or pain when eating/swallowing, no extra fussiness (just the normal amount) and since he has eczema, even on his ears I just thought they itched from the dry skin.

Well over the weekend he developed a cough, yesterday he had swollen eyes and last night he screamed whenever I tried to lay him down and didn't even want to nurse (and my kid never turns down a bottle or a boob) so obviously I knew something was wrong. My MIL and I took him in today and the doc looked in his ears and knew immediately that was the problem. So he now has some antibiotics. The doc also finally prescribed some lotion to help with the eczema since everything else we've tried hasn't helped and the poor kid is constantly trying to scratch his face off.

Despite the fact that I'm sure he feels like shit he's actually been in pretty good spirits today which I'm thankful for. And in other good news he now weighs in at a whopping 19lbs14ozs, so basically after his next meal he'll be 20 pounds. Yep he's a porker. Also, the doctor saw him roll from his back to his belly on the table and was surprised and I said he's been doing that for about a month. The doc said that's pretty early and he thinks he'll be an early crawler and walker. Lord help me.

Here's my sick baby after we got home from the doctor. 

He has more rolls than a bakery.

Single Parenting

On a typical day Kristian gets up and leaves the house before I wake up. It's my job in the morning to get myself ready for work and also get Hunter fed, changed, dressed and both of us out the door by 7:45am all by myself. Fortunately we have a pretty good system down and Hunter is typically in good spirits in the morning so it's not too hard. Once he gets more mobile I suspect this will be much harder.

In the afternoons (which is typically Hunter's fussy period), Kristian picks him up from daycare between 3-4pm and then I get home at 6pm. Once I get home we tag team taking care of the baby and getting shit done around the house. Kristian usually makes dinner while I either nurse or play with Hunter. Most nights we have to take turns eating while the other entertains Hunter and then most nights Kristian will have to make his bedtime bottle while I do his bath and get him in his pj's. Even with another person it's exhausting and hard.

There have a been a handful of nights when Kristian has had to work late and not get home until 8:30-9pm (most of those nights Hunter is already in bed and Kristian will not have seen him all day). I dread those nights because it means I'm on solo mommy duty. I have to pick Hunter up from daycare (which I actually love) get him home, play with, feed, bathe and get him to bed by myself. Not to mention feed myself, clean bottles, pick up around the house oh and perhaps maybe change my clothes or pee if I get a chance. Fortunately every night I've done this so far Hunter has been awesome. Just a happy, easy, sweet baby. But I know he could just as easily be having one of his monster fuss nights where all he wants is to be held (while you stand up, no sitting allowed).

Anyways, the whole point of this is to say that I CANNOT imagine being a single parent and having to do all this shit by myself 24/7. I think working full time and parenting with a very helpful husband is exhausting enough.  I don't know how I would do it and I pray I never have to.

So for all of you single parents out there (including most especially my own mother) I give you a massive standing ovation and all the credit in the world. I can't think of a tougher job.

SWW

Another edition of Shannon's So What! Wednesday

This week I'm saying So What if:

-I'm counting the hours until Friday at 5pm. I'm on vacation next week and other than maternity leave (which isn't a vacation) I haven't take a week off of work since my honeymoon two years ago!

-Several days a week I'm late to work so I have can stop at Starbucks. If they want me to actually function while I'm there caffeine is a must.

-I think my kid has the cutest laugh because he totally does. Here's proof:

-There are nights I actually enjoy my hour commute, it's time when I can just listen to music and relax.

-I get physically angry looking at the ceiling fan in our bedroom. It's hideous and I hate it and we're currently trying to find a new one.

-When I was at the pool this weekend I was happy to see that I actually looked pretty good in my bikini when compared to the other moms there.

-After listening to the teenagers conversations at the pool I've decided that Hunter is never allowed to be a teenager. The stuff they talk about scares the crap out of me.

I win.

This past weekend one of the best moments of motherhood happened.

On Saturday night we went over to my inlaws to celebrate our nieces 16th birthday. We (all 9 of us) were out on the deck eating dinner. I was holding Hunter on my lap and our niece (the birthday girl) and I were talking to him and trying to get him to say mama. Well after a few minutes he said it! He said MAMA!! Of course only Carleigh and I heard it because everyone else was busy with their own conversations. We told everyone what had just happened and of course no one believed us so everyone got quiet and I held him and said "Say mama, say mama" and clear as day he looked right at me and goes "ma-ma"!! And cue the freaking out! I, of course, teared up and hugged and kissed all over him then proceeded to look at Kristian and say "I win!". After all everyone has been insisting he would say "dada" first. Hunter ain't no fool, he knows who to suck up to. The lady with the milk!

And yes I realize he was just mimicking the sounds I was making and wasn't really referring to me specifically as his mama but I'll take what I can get and since he hasn't done that with dada yet I'm counting it as his first word!

After the big moment. God I love this kid.