SWW

Linking up again with Shannon for another round of So What Wednesday.

So What if:

-I got teary eyed packing up all the baby clothes Hunter has outgrown. I miss my teeny, squishy little newborn.

-I'm keeping all of Hunters clothes for now. If we ever have another boy (preferably in the winter again so the seasons/sizes match) we'll save so much money on clothes.

-There are certain outfits of his I will keep forever even if our next baby is a girl.

-At dinner Saturday night Kristian told me that he really hopes our next kid is a girl (hooray!) so that we have one of each and we even talked about baby girl names. **We are NOT planning on another baby anytime soon!!**

-I've been too scared to write about how Hunter is FINALLY sleeping through the night on a regular basis for fear of jinxing it (which I probably just did).

-If I wish I could work from home more often, when I did it on Monday it meant I was able to actually cook my husband dinner for a change and even have time for an after dinner stroll with the family since I didn't have my normal hour long commute to deal with.

-I have online shopping carts full of stuff I will probably never buy at multiple stores.



Weekend Recap in Pictures

We had a very nice weekend, due in large part to my mom visiting. She and Hunter got in quite a bit of bonding time and Kristian and I got in a bit of a baby break.

Here is a picture from Friday afternoon when Hunter found out via his onesie that he's not allowed to date...for a VERY long time if I have any say in the matter.

Saturday night we got a much needed date night and went out to a Mexican restaurant that we like while my mom and Hunter had a date night involving pureed carrots and lots of playtime. It's so nice to get to be just a couple again for a few hours rather than mom and dad. However we were home by 8:30pm in time for me to put Hunter to bed. Party animals we are not.

*please excuse all the junk on and below our entry table*

*The last time I wore this dress was on our honeymoon, glad I can fit into it again*

On Sunday my mom and I met one of her good friends (and one of the ladies that helped with my wedding) for brunch so that she could see Hunter.

*We all matched in blue*

*One of the best pictures of Hunter and Grandma*

This was the first time we put Hunter into an actual high chair at a restaurant as opposed to just keeping him in his carseat, which he hates while we're out to eat. He did SO well. He loved sitting right next to the table and grabbing at everything. I helped keep him occupied by giving him the baby Mum Mum's to chew on (which he LOVES) and putting some fruit in his mesh feeder which he also LOVES. Even after two hours he didn't really fuss until the very end when I had to give him a bottle.

*When did my baby get so big?!*

After brunch I put him in his stroller and we walked around the little shops. Even in the 90 degree heat he didn't fuss. Best baby ever.

Oh and I also went to Target (alone) on Saturday for some more diapers and formula and walked out $150 later. That damn store gets me everytime.

Big Brain

Yesterday I had to take Hunter back to the hospital where he was born (hello memories!) for an ultrasound of his head. As I mentioned on his 6 month stats post Hunters head is and always has been on the larger side. Not surprisingly considering all the men on my husbands side of the family have big heads. Despite this fact his pediatrician still wanted to get an ultrasound just to make sure there weren't any other issues causing his big headedness.

Hunter did amazing during the ultrasound. He smiled at everyone on the way in and got many "he's so cute" comments. Well duh! The ultrasound tech was a man in his 40's who told me he has 5 kids so he was very good with Hunter. He calmly laid on the bed and didn't seem to mind at all when the tech put globs of ultrasound gel on his head. He seemed fascinated by everything in the room and kept wanting to look at the screen. I gave him one of his stuffies to hold onto and that also seemed to help.

It was such an odd thing watching Hunter in such a similar setting as I was when I got to seem him in my belly. While we waited for the tech I showed him around the room and explained how I got to see him on a similar screen when he was in mommy's tummy.

It was neat seeing his brain on the screen. I tried my damnedest to see if anything looked odd or out of place (as if I would know). The tech never let on that anything was wrong but of course when I asked for confirmation he told me he wasn't allowed to tell me anything good or bad. He told me the radiologist would review the scans and send the results to Hunters pediatrician.

I just got a call from his doctors office and his head is perfect! No abnormalities and that he's obviously a genius (okay she didn't say that last part but we all know it's true right?)

I wasn't worried that anything would be wrong, I knew he would be fine, but it's still such a relief to get the positive phone call.

SWW

Linking up with Shannon again for So What Wednesday.
This week I'm saying So What if:

-Sometimes naptime and bedtime are my favorite times of the day. I love spending time with my kid but mommy needs a break every now and then.

-I've lost the little bit of a tan I had. It's been too damn hot to even go to the pool on the weekends. I just want to hang out inside with my AC.

-I've been letting Hunter cry it out during his EVERY NIGHT 10:30pm wakeup call. I know he's not hungry or needing a diaper change. He's just gotten into this weird habit of waking up then and we need to break it! We're both happier with a good nights sleep.

-I'm really excited for my mom to visit this weekend so my husband and I can get a much needed date night and good nights sleep (hopefully)

-I miss all breastmilk baby poops, now that Hunter is on solids his poops are no joke, they are like real human poops and STINK!

-I've become obsessed with shopping for new curtains and bedding, I'm tired of looking at the same old shit I've had for two years. I blame Pinterest.

Hunter's first 4th

Seeing how it's been almost a week since the 4th of July I figured it was about time to write a little post about how we celebrated Hunter's first 4th. This is going to be short and sweet since I'm running on 2 hours of sleep.

We headed to my inlaws beach house bright and early on Wednesday morning after Hunter decided to poop all over his new 4th of July onesie I had put him in 10 minutes early. But at least I got a few cute pictures of him first. Sprayed it with stain remover, washed it and was able to put him back in it later. I also had bought a backup onesie for him to wear just in case we had such an event.

The trip down was a bit rocky. Kristian had been complaining that his stomach hurt all morning and then proceeded to vomit all over himself, while driving. Lovely. I was able to help him pull over and used up most of my baby wipes cleaning up the car while he finished puking on the side of the road. Fortunately after he got it all out he felt much better and was fine the rest of the weekend.

We got to my inlaws house and spent all day Wednesday and Thursday morning with Kristian's parents and aunt and uncle who were visiting from GA. We spent a lot of time eating, playing with Hunter and the dogs and trying to stay cool in the ridiculous heat. Overall it was a really nice, relaxing time.

"Yay Mom we're at the beach!"

We're a very patriotic family.

Hunter tested out his new mesh feeder with a real GA peach inside. It was a hit.

My MIL bought everyone matching shirts. Cheesy? Absolutely.

Fireworks that Kristian setoff from his dad's stash.

More of our fireworks. There are no official fireworks down there all the neighbors just setoff their own. We put Hunter to bed at 8:30pm and he miraculously slept through them...then proceeded to wake up every 3 hours that night. Sigh.

Blueberry and Peach tarts using the peaches his aunt brought from GA.

My Yankee Doodle baby

After 2 1/2 days off last week I have a feeling this week is going to move VERY slowly.

6 Month Stats

I will post about our 4th of July later but I wanted to blog about Hunter's 6 month checkup and stats before I forget them. This blog is in large part a way to remember as much as I can about him growing up since I'm not so great about updating his baby book in a timely manner.

Weight- 20lbs 14ozs!! He's in the 90th percentile and gained exactly 1 pound since his visit for his ear infection on 6/11
Height- 26.5" He's in the 66% for height. So he's short and fat. HA!
Head Circumference- I can't remember but I know he's in the 97% (more on that later)

Hunters six month checkup went pretty well yesterday. In the past he's always been very smiley and happy during his exams however yesterday he was NOT in the mood for what was taking place. I don't know if he's starting to suffer from stranger danger or he was just pissed that he didn't get his full nap but he fussed and cried during the exam (which was not painful in anyway). Our doc is great, very calming and sweet and tried his damnedest to get a smile out of our dude to no avail. But the main thing is that he's healthy and developing right on schedule if not a little early.

His doctor said we can increase his intake of solids to 2-3 times a day if we want (he currently gets solids just for dinner) and he can eat pretty much anything other than fish, nuts or honey. When discussing his sleep habits and that he's still not regularly sleeping through the night his doc told us to just let him cry and after a few nights he should be better. I'm still on the fence about "crying it out" and have only done it in moderation a few times.

Time for shots! He did fine with the oral vaccine but then poor baby needed 3 shots in his chubby thighs. His face turned red and he did the silent scream before breaking out into heartbreaking cries. But once I picked him up he was fine and he took a nice little nap in the carseat and for about 30 minutes after we got him home. He was fussy last night but other than that was fine.

Now the one issue we did have was in regards to his ginormous head. His head measured large last time and the doctor said he would just keep his eye on the growth of it. Well it's still large, though he does seem to be slowly growing into it. The doctor knows that large heads run in my husbands side of the family (ALL the men have big heads) so he's not really worried but wants us to get an ultrasound of his head just to be on the safe side. I'm not worried at all, as I said it runs in the family and I expected him to have a big head but like the doctor said better safe than sorry. So we go next Wednesday to check out his big brain.

Next well check isn't until 9 months and he'll just need a flu shot, no more vaccines at that one!

Paying respect to my boobies

This weekend I not only celebrated Hunters half birthday but the fact that I've made it through 6 months of breastfeeding. As anyone whose had a baby (or researched having a baby) knows breastfeeding can be HARD. It's also exhausting and time consuming and a huge commitment. I knew from the the moment I saw that positive pregnancy test that I wanted to breastfeed however I also knew that for a lot of women it can be incredibly difficult and often even impossible to do for an extended period of time. As with my labor I tried to keep an open mind and not get my heart set on a specific timeline for fear of disappointment and mommy guilt if it didn't work out.

But I'm happy to say that for the past 6 months, every single day of Hunters life, he has received at least some breastmilk (or colostrum in the early days). And to me this is a HUGE accomplishment.

Fortunately for me Hunter has always been a great eater, he latched without any problems and never had issues going back and forth between the boob and the bottle, breastmilk or formula. Kid just loves to eat, he's not picky. I was lucky. Very lucky. A lot of women don't have it as easy.

Even though I had it easy, all things considered, it's still been a challenge, especially after I went back to work. I have to lug my pump to and from work everyday and make sure I take the time to pump 2-3 times a day. I'm lucky that I have my own office that I can pump in and I'm not forced to go into the bathroom or a closet like some women. I'm fortunate that I have very supportive coworkers that have never once given me a hard time about it. Again, not a lot of women are in that same position, which is sad.

It's also been a challenge to make sure that I either nurse or pump every few hours to not only keep up my supply but also keep from getting painfully engorged. As much as I love it when Hunter sleeps through the night, since I don't get up and pump, I wake up about 2 cup sizes bigger looking like a boob job gone wrong and not even able to sleep on my stomach it hurts so bad.

Whenever I make plans I always have to think ahead about when I will need to nurse or pump again and make sure that I'm never away from either Hunter or my pump for more than 5 hours or I will be in a decent amount of pain.

Has it been inconvenient at times? Sure. Has it been painful at times? Yep! Has it been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done? Absolutely! With the exception of one ear infection (most likely due to teething) he also hasn't really been sick. And I attribute that in large part to breastfeeding especially given that large number of daycare germs he's around all day. I know because I've been sick basically the entire time he's been in daycare.

My kid is huge. People always comment on how big he is for his age. And everytime I hear that I smile inside because I did that. I've provided the primary nourishment that has allowed my child to grow big and healthy. My itty bitties that I always hated growing up have helped nourish my child.

I must also point out that from day one Hunter has also been supplemented with formula since I can't always keep up with his demand and I've never had a problem with that. I'm am by no means anti-formula. I know babies can and do grow and thrive just as well if they are formula fed so I have no problem giving it to my child. And if for some reason I had to stop giving him breastmilk tomorrow I know he would be just fine on formula.

I don't know how much longer Hunter will continue to get breastmilk, right now I'm just taking it day by day. He may decide to wean himself next week or six months from now. I would love to make it a year but if it doesn't happen I won't beat myself up about it, I've already made it longer than I thought I would. For the time being I'm just going to enjoy those moments I have with my son because I really do love nursing him (pumping not so much). I love the way he grabs my hands and stares at me while he eats. It's a bonding moment that I know I will miss whenever it comes to an end.