Tricks!

OMG! Where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday I had a baby!  When I look back at the last year, I cannot believe how quickly it went.  Porter grew from a little baby to a little boy.  He learned to hold his head up, to use his voice, to eat his hands and then his feet.  He learned to sit up, to stand up and to scream to get his way.  He discovered his doggie brothers and how to play peek-a-boo.  He learned to sleep through the night and to take off his own socks.  All of this happened right before my very eyes.  I am amazed at the amount he has changed in a year and cannot imagine what the next year will bring us!

In just the past few weeks he has learned a ton of new "big boy" tricks, as I call them. He can now communicate with us and is able to understand what we are telling him.  It's amazing how he has morphed from baby to little boy.  His new tricks in no particular order:

#1- His first word is "hi."   He says it every time anyone walks in to the room and always does with a huge smile on his face.

#2- Waving hi and bye.  Daniel taught him to do this in a mirror and now all we have to do is say, "wave hi" or "wave bye bye" and he flaps his little arm in the air.

#3- "Go and get your ball."  I asked him to do this the other day and he crawled right over to his ball and threw it at me.  Daniel asked him to get his water today and the same thing, crawled right over and took a swig.

#4- Pointing- He just started this while we were in Texas and pointed to a lake full of ducks. Tonight I asked him where the doggies were and he pointed to Ralphie.  Too cute.

#5- When we ask him, "what does a cow say" he oooooo's back.  The "m" doesn't make the moo, but it's so darn cute, I hope he always leaves it out. :) (The only videos I have of the actual "ooo" are all on my camera and are too big to load onto this page.  I promise to have my phone on and ask him 100 times tomorrow!)

#6- He can play peek-a-boo by himself.  We throw a blanket over his head and he will pull it down and cover himself back up over and over and over (and over) again!

#7- Playing with ball toys.  We sat with him for just a few days showing him how to put balls in this super annoying chicken toy.  One morning, I looked up when I heard the ball drop into the slot and was shocked that he had done it all himself. It's amazing how quick he picks up on new things.  On the airplane I showed him how to put the window shade up and down and it he did it over and over and over again.  Just tonight I showed him how to move the light switch up and down and he did it all by himself (over and over and over again).  :)

#8- He's just starting to copy noises I make and one day they will sound like words: doggie,  uh-oh, bye bye, mmmm and duckie.

#9- We're pretty sure he has our names figured out. He cries for Mama when he's sad and says, "Hi, dada" all the time.

#10- Using a spoon- He can't load it with food just yet but my days of spoon feeding him are over.  He can take it from my hand, shovel it into his mouth and happily  hands it back to me for more food.  He also loves to brush his teeth.  I brush first and then hand it over to him.  Who needs toys when you have a $1.25 stick with bristles on the end!  He gums that thing for 10 minutes after I hand it over.

Rock and Roll!!

It's been two weeks since the Rock and Roll half marathon and I'm so very proud with myself that I did something so amazing. 10 months and 2 days after having a baby, no less!!  I went on my first run yesterday since the race and although my hips are still a little painful, it was great to get out there and enjoy some "me" time again!

Twelve weeks ago I signed up with a Fit-For-Mom's running group and pledged to stick to a running schedule, to run with my fellow mama's on Saturday mornings at 8 AM and enjoy every second of it- right?!  98% of the time, I did enjoy every single second.  I ran with friends, gave Porter plenty of fresh air, got Eazy a lot of time out of the house and saw some beautiful new running trails during the time.  

The training was great and I started my first run by taking a picture of P and me.  I then decided to take a picture after every run and document my 12 weeks of training. 

I remember this week being so difficult- I had to run 3 miles and did not know how I would ever survive!  I also remember thinking that 4 days a week was A LOT of running.  It's amazing how quickly 3 miles felt like a drop in the bucket and how 4 days a week was nothing when something becomes a habit. 

That bottom one's for you, KVV! xx

I can't help but notice how little hair P has at the start of these pictures.  Three months is a long time in baby time- he started crawling and pulling up all during this time. He became an amazing eater and a good sleeper during this time.  He had a five week breastfeeding sabbatical, I started back to school, he started with his first nanny.  He began to love books and started to dance to music.  He figured out how to play in his crib and let Mama and Dada sleep in a bit longer.  He began to notice kids and be entertained by them.  He mastered sitting in a restaurant high chair and sprouted three new teeth during this time.  It's amazing how fast he changed from a little baby into a little boy.  

Here's a group shot of our running group before the race. Some of us have one kid, some have two. Some girls stay home, others work full time.  Some had run half-marathons in the past, others, this was their first race. Regardless, we all made a pact to run together and did it- what an amazingly hard thing for any mom to do!

There I am! So fast they could only get me
after I wizzed by!

My cheerleaders!

Finished at 2:17:25! (10:28 miles)

4482/8129 overall

473/949 in my age category

2457/5266 for all female racers

Irma

People are always asking me how things are going with the new nanny share and with Irma.  Things are great! Really, I couldn't be happier with the situation and feel so lucky with how things fell into place.

Back up...way up...

Meg and I met almost exactly 17 years ago.  It was bid day with our sorority and during a funny group picture of all the incoming freshman, Meg stuck her shoe in my face and kept it there as we posed for our round of pictures.  I was immediately annoyed by her.  Then, that night, we were headed out to our first fraternity party and I went to go tell Meg, the "annoying shoe girl," that we were ready to go.  I opened her door and there she was, sitting on a couch, surrounded by (what I remember) as 25 boys.  She told me that she would be right there, but first she had to curl her hair. The annoying shoe girl now became the annoying hair curling girl with way more guy friends than I had ever had.

It took plenty of cheap fraternity beer, but that night we bonded and have been best friends ever since. The annoying shoe/hair/boy girl became my travel buddy, roommate, shoulder to cry on, matron of honor, vacation friend, talk on the phone every day, share clothes with, laugh until you pee your pants, call at 3 am for anything, name your dog together, best friend.  I don't know what I would ever do with out her. Flash forward to today and now our kids are becoming best friends.  They get to spend every single day together, playing, eating, learning and laughing with Irma.

Sushi Zanmai was the only place were I used my fake ID.
Looks like it worked!

Later this night we hitchhiked home and were picked
up by Mike the cop who dropped us right at the front door
and then asked for our numbers!

This was taken the day that I faked being sick to get out of my shift
at the Lazy Dog and was fired the next day- worth it!

Freshman year

Drunken pen fight! (Please note the matching
tube top outfits)

Body shots didn't scare us!

Frat party #999

This was taken at about 3am during an all nighter. I don't think we
got any studying done all night. "Symmetrical!"

Sorority house randomness!

Irma works for us Monday thru Friday from 8-4.  She lives in Northglenn (near my school) and conveniently passes by our house on her way to Meg's.  On her way in, she stops by the house and picks up P.  This is super nice for Daniel and allows him to leave for work right from the house.  She then heads to Meg's and spends the day with the babies and Grayden joins them in the afternoons. We pick him up at her house at 4 and he is nothing but happy, well cared for and showered with kisses when we walk out the door. Irma is a Spanish speaker and on top of amazing child care, also speaks Spanish to the kids all day.  It's a perfect situation.

As a bonus, I get to see Meg, Grayden and Ashlyn many times a week.  Some times we stay late and go for walks, shop, have dinner or pop the babies onto the boobs and catch up on the week! I can't imagine my life with out her and feel so lucky that Porter will love her as much as I do.  <3 Love you dudie. (PS- Now I'll know if you actually read this blog or just tell me you do!)

Look who's standing!!

Pigs DO fly!!

I'm happy to announce that after a 5 week sabbatical, Porter has decided that he'd like to be breast feed again! 

Sunday morning, like so many mornings over the past 5 weeks, I offered the ole boob and was shocked when he actually latched on and decided to have a fresh breakfast and not one pumped from the dreaded udder machine. I was so shocked that I didn't even want to breath from fear that he would realize that it wasn't a bottle. But, he didn't and kept right on feeding. He did it again at 11, again at 3 and let me feed him before bed! The same today-- I fed him this morning and again before bed!!! Woo hoo! It's a miracle! I'm on cloud nine. 💙💙💙

Top 10 lists

It has officially been 4 weeks since Mr. Pie decided that nursing is no longer for him. (Boo) I've accepted the fact that he's finished and have made VERY good friends with my pump. I plan to pump for 3 more months, until Porter turns 1 (!) and then at that point, switch over to cows milk and let Bessie take it from there.  I'm sad and this is not how I would have seen my future but I'm trying to find the silver lining...

Top 10 reasons why I have to tell myself that it's okay that I'm no longer breastfeeding:

10. I can have P feed himself allowing me to have more time to do stuff around the house.
9. I can wear a real bra! I went to Nordstrom's and took care of this last weekend- hello support!
8. I am no longer scared of being bit by two very sharp little bottom teeth.
7. Friends can now snuggle with P while he takes a bottle.
6. No more hiding baby under the ole hooter hider in public.
5. I can still pump and get P the good stuff from the boobie juice.
4. If he's hungry, I can feed him in the stroller while on a run. Can't do that with boobs!
3. This gives a whole new meaning to multitasking:
     pump and put on makeup
     pump and empty dishwasher
     pump and give P a bath
     pump and fold laundry
2. Daniel can have some baby bonding time that I've been lucky enough to have all this time.
And the very best and most awesome reason...
1.  I can sleep in!!!!! Saturday's are my days on P duty, and Daddy takes Sunday. Woo hoo!

Top 10 reasons why I hate that I no longer breastfeed:

 10. I HATE washing pump parts
9. I HATE cleaning bottles
8. I have to remember a bottle wherever I go.
7. I pump and pump and pump again all day, 7 days a week. 
6. I have to heat up a bottle for 2:45- this is an eternity when you are holding a crying baby!
5. I am not certain I can pump all he needs and may have to supplement with formula.
4. This is a shit ton of pumping and I'm only a month in. #nippletrauma
3.No more mommy and baby bonding time.
2.No more mommy and baby bonding time.
1.No more mommy and baby bonding time. I'm still so sad about this. Sniff sniff.

Wahhhhh!

Phew!  What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been...some of the hardest of my life as a mommy so far. Things are officially better and I'm reaching the light at the end of my tunnel--thank heavens!!

Ah, the ole' boobs. The source of nourishment for Porter over the past 8 1/2 months and the cause of so many tears over the past 16 days...

Back up to last last Friday- my third official day of school.  Porter wakes up at 6 am, and like every single morning for the past 240 or so days, I pluck him out of his crib, take a seat in my rocker, and prepare to have some quality mommy/baby time.  Only this time, Porter pushes away and starts to cry and cry.  And cry.  He wants nothing to do with me or my boobs.  Flash forward to today--16 days later.  He still wants nothing to do with them.  I immediately started looking for answers.  I talked to three lactation consultants, one doula and several mommy friends.  I have read countless articles on the internet, posted to Facebook mommy groups, and discussed with friends who don't even have kids.  Initially I suspected he was on a "nursing strike."  Basically, for some unknown reason Porter is refusing to nurse and will (hopefully) come back one day soon and nurse again (or, at least that's what "they" say).  Now, I'm not so sure. I'm continuing to pump breast milk and continue to offer him the boob, but with no luck, he's still not interested.

I am completely devastated.  Breastfeeding is something that a mom puts so much effort into.  She struggles to get a perfect latch when her baby is a newborn, she struggles with engorgement, excruciating nipple pain, pumping in the car, in bathrooms, feeding in the car, in museums, at restaurants, pumping enough milk when she goes back to work, washing pump parts, packing ice packs to store her milk, pumping enough milk to feed her baby when she's on vacation and pumping every two hours while on vacation to keep up her milk supply. She pumps during 1/2 of her planning time and 1/2 of her lunch time during work.  She takes crazy herbs and oils to up her milk supply, yells out in pain when her baby bites her with his two new teeth, and sacrifices wearing "real bras" for months and months and months.  She worries about leaking through her shirts while in public and carries around a pump bag to weddings, to nights out with friends and to BBQs. She pumps when dead tired, while trying to play with her baby and sometimes even in the middle of the night. She drives over the speed limit to get home because she knows that her baby is hungry and she wants to be able to feed him.  And she knows that every single minute of all this makes being able to breastfeed her  baby 100% worth it.  I wouldn't trade this time for anything.  And now, I fear, it may be over...

I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel.  I still try to nurse him and I'm pumping my head off to make milk for him to drink from his *stupid* bottles.  I suppose one day, if this continues, that I'll have to come to terms and know that this amazingly wonderful phase has come to an end but until then, I'll continue to hope.

Porter is growing and changing like crazy these days! He has had so many "firsts" the last few months that I have trouble remembering to write them down in his baby book. He's had a ton of firsts foods: cauliflower, biscuit, spaghetti squash, edamame, Korean food, bbq chicken, bacon, brown rice, garbanzo beans, yogurt, feta cheese...the list goes on and on and on.  Fortunately, this kid loves to eat and he'll eat everything we offer. He's also started scooting in the past few days.  We call him our little sea turtle, because that's just what he looks like while he's making his way across the floor.

He has learned to drink from a sippy cup all by himself, he can shake his head no, click his tongue, and finally knows his name.  He can mimic us when we make certain sounds, hates having his diaper changed, and is just starting to show signs of pulling up onto the coffee table.  He can say all sorts of syllables: mama, dada, yaya, nana, baba, and still proves to be the happiest baby on the block.  He sits perfectly on the ground and hardly every topples over backward, he can ride in a grocery cart and makes friends with everyone that stops to say hi in the aisles. Just today we were watching him in the monitor and he went from lying down to sitting up, just like that!  He is changing and becoming more fun every day.  Remember when he was newborn and I never ever wanted him to get bigger?  Well, I take that back.  Now, I want him to stay like this forever: mobile but not too mobile, cuddly, warm, soft and squishy and mama's little sponge. xo

As always, some of my recent faves...

P and Grammy

Jack-o-lantern smile

Say cheese!

This is his newest favorite place to sit- smiles the whole time!

Get in my belly!

We've hit that wonderful milestone in Porter's life where his days aren't just eat, poop, pee and sleep.  Now we play peek-a-boo, dance, sing, sit, laugh at doggies, look at geese, play with friends, poop REAL poop, smile for pictures, practice drinking from cups, scoot, roll, chew on everything, drool, look out the window and EAT!

I have to say, when he was a lifeless blob, it was so easy to load him in his car seat and take him anywhere. Boy, have things changed. I now have to remember to pack toys, diaper liners (to catch the real poop- no more un-smelly, watery poop- boo) bibs, and food, when we head out for the day.

Babies receive enough iron from their mothers in the last trimester of pregnancy to last them their first 4-6 months. About two weeks before Porter turned 6 months we introduced rice cereal and oatmeal that contains iron to make up for this new deficiency.  His first feeding was rather uneventful- he loved every bite of it and understood the concept of opening his mouth and swallowing this strange tasting stuff.

Things went so well for the first few nights that I decided to add in some veggies.  Because I'm off for the summer, I decided that I could make all his food.  I received a book on baby food recipes and I began with the basics: apples, bananas, pears, zucchini, carrots and avocado.  Porter loved all of them.  Nothing was spit out (in disgust) and he gladly opened his mouth for whatever I put on his spoon. I have started calling him "Baby Bird" because that's just what he looks like-spoon, open, swallow, spoon, open, swallow. I don't see myself going as far as chewing and spitting- like a real mama bird, but I always think of the video of Alicia Silverstone I saw of her doing this for her baby.  It's called a blender, sister.  Try it, it works just like your own teeth!

My freezer is now filled with tiny ice cubes of the following: pears, apples, strawberry, peach, plum, blueberry, apricot, broccoli, beets, peas, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato and spinach. I can't believe how easy it is to make and how it offers Baby Bird with so much variety.  I usually mix combinations of a couple of the cubes with some rice cereal and viola- breakfast or dinner is ready! I also bought a pack of the reusable pouch food containers and have been filling these for when we're on the go.  He understands the concept and sucks the food right out with a little squeeze help from mama.  I feel like I'm doing my part, environmentally, with all this food stuff.  No part of any of his food has touched the landfill, I compost the scraps and re-use the baggies to store the frozen food.  Keeping up with my environmental stewardship hasn't been as hard as I thought!

Along with pureed foods, I have been giving him little pieces of "real food" and trying to show him to bring the food to his mouth.  For several nights this was an unsuccessful venture and we ended up feeding all the little pieces into his mouth ourselves.  The other night however, something changed and after Daniel shoveled little puff after little puff into his mouth, he finally started doing it himself! It's amazing to witness your baby do something for the first time and realize what a milestone it is.  He simply picked one up and put it in his mouth and then did it again and again!  The next morning I caught it on video: 

He has now mastered feeding himself puffs, black beans, peas and small pieces of raspberry.  A friend asked me the other day what foods were his favorites. My response was, "yes."  There isn't anything that this kid doesn't like!  My little baby is growing up so fast.  I can't believe it's been a half a year already! 

That's right folks, nothing but cubes and breast milk to fill a mini-freezer!

Until next time...

~Mama Jess