B is for Babywearing and Breastfeeding

Ah, the letter B. There were a lot of things I considered doing for the letter B but these two made the most sense to me.
First, the nice little controversial topic of breastfeeding. It’s amazing how much one little topic can create controversy. There are countless medical studies about the benefits of breastfeeding and countless opinion pieces about how much it’s “not a big deal.”
I won’t lie. It was tough at first. So very, very tough. I cried every day for probably two weeks. I’m sure hormones had something to do with it. Then for the first month when he wanted to feed every hour and a half, I kept thinking about how nice it would be to kick my husband out of bed with the baby and a bottle so I could get some sleep.
Now? I really love it. I love having him cuddled up next to me and I love how happy he is when he’s nursing. I love how excited he gets when I grab the boppy because he knows he’s going to be able to nurse. I love the relaxed feeling I get from all the nice hormones that come along with it. I love the cuddle time. I love how relaxed it makes him.
Strangely, I even miss the middle of the night feeding sessions right now. I’ve never been a great sleeper and I didn’t realize just how much those nursing hormones had been helping me get rested. Now that he’s sleeping in five hour stretches, I’m getting less sleep because I don’t get relaxed and doze back off.
I didn’t think I’d ever miss those 2 am sessions, but I do.
Weird.
I guess I’m just trying to say how much I enjoy it now. How much I treasure our nursing time and how short it really is. I’m going to miss it when it’s gone.
The other B? Babywearing. This one I kind of fell into by necessity.
Wiggles does not care to be left by himself to play. This is especially true if he’s overtired or teething or not feeling well for some reason. Tara loaned me a moby wrap and I loved that thing when he was little. He’d cuddle in and generally doze right off.
Since he’s gotten heavier, the stretchy wrap really isn’t supportive enough for him. These days I either tend towards either a woven wrap or a ringsling.


Neither of these is a really great picture of him in the ringsling. His bum should be in a deeper pocket and his knees much higher up. The picture of me was taken when I was first trying to learn to use it and didn’t quite have it down yet.
Phillip said that someone he knows is interested in sewing one so here’s all the information on it:
The material is a twill fabric that I bought from hobby lobby when it was on sale.
The rings are from slingsings.com . Don’t try and use craft rings or purse rings or anything like that. You really need something that is weight tested to keep the little one safe.
The instructions I used are found for free here at http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/sling.html and I used the pleating directions that are linked on that page.
It makes my life so much easier because while I can’t do dishes or cook, I can pick up around the house, transfer laundry into and out of the dryer and it makes wiggles happy to see what’s going on.
Hope that helps someone!

A is for Asher

Constant surprise, this business for being a Mommy.

And it goes so fast.

And there are so many things that I hope I never forget.

How it feels to wake up snuggled up to a little bundle contentedly sleeping away.

First smiles.

First kisses.

The way he helps me with the laundry by unfolded all that I've just folded.



The way his baby cry moved into a big boy cry that moved into a very verbal babble.

The way I cuddled with him the other night and he started babbling "mamamamamamamama" in a very upset manner.

The day that toes suddenly became exciting.

The day that the taste of toes became exciting.

Smiles during diaper changes.

Faces made when he doesn't like the food he's offered.


Faces made when he does.

Cuteness beyond belief.


The way I discovered it was possible to fall completely in love with someone the first moment you saw them.


The way he peeks around Daddy to try and find me.

The way he peeks around me to find Daddy.

The excited look he gets on his face when he realizes that someone is going to pick him up out of his car seat.

The way he wiggles to get where he wants even though he can't quite crawl yet.


How excited his face gets when he discovers that he can do something new.


The way his eyebrows turn bright red when he's tired.

The way he lays his head down and relaxes into me when he's getting sleepy but not quite willing to admit defeat.


yeah, this mommy business is some pretty good stuff.

Snapshot Sunday: Sitting and rolling and relaxing, oh my!

It's actually been a very interesting week around here. Asher is getting to that point where he is hitting a lot of milestones.

I don't have any pictures of this but he's finally rolling over! Yesterday he rolled from his tummy to his back about five times and actually obligingly rolled over for Daddy when he got home from work so he could see it too. He first rolled over around Christmas but it was obviously accidental. He's done it a few times since then but this is the first time where it's been really intentional. He still only rolls from back to tummy in his sleep but I'm sure that will come soon enough.

The next piece of excitement I do have pictures of!
Sitting...


uh-oh!


TIMBER!!!


It helps that he thinks that falling over is hilarious! Give him about three tumbles over and he gets so excited that he's laughing hysterically and his whole body stiffens up and he can't sit anymore because he's too excited about it. It's really cute.

This one last shot I took this morning. I like to title this one "Soft books: good for reading, better for relaxing."



He got too tired to keep looking and needed a break.

Snapshot sunday: Real Men Wear Pink

It's been another interesting week here. We've decided that nursing is not quite enough for bedtime anymore so we must make going to bed from a half hour process to a hour and a half to three hour process. We've got a good bedtime routine going but it's not really helping at this point.

Highlights of the week:
St. Patrick's day was on Thursday and Phillip decided he needed an outfit. We are calling this is Irish Farmer look



His bumbo has become just about his favorite place in the world. His exersaucer is still high on the list though!

It's amazing to watch him try to reach for things. Like the basket of toys under the end table.

I was almost afraid he was going to fall out!

I also feel the need to post this one:

'Cause you know his Daddy is going to be horrified that people know he wears pink!

In happy news, I'm dreaming again which means I"m actually getting into a deep enough sleep to actually dream. I think this week is the first time since he's been born that that's happened. I also don't feel like I need to go to bed with him at 7 every night. Some nights, yes but not every night anymore. He's still up a couple of times a night but it's settling into a good amount and I think we are all getting more sleep.

He's still not rolling over on any sort of regular basis. He gets up to his side and that's about it. We asked the doctor about it at the well baby visit but he wasn't worried. He said that his muscle tone is good and he'll get there when he gets there. Also, Asher is now at 17 pounds and 25 7/8 inches. He's not quite so high on the charts for height anymore but still growing at a good weight. Thankfully this slow down might mean that we do have a bit more time before needing to replace his car seat. He's growing out of it fast!

Baby Weight

Yup, I'm here to talk about weight. Specifically, baby weight. Not his, mine!

His weight is fine, he's gaining like a champ. Mine however seems to have come to a screeching halt as far as loss. It's driving me nuts. The problem is that I'm not even sure when I'd add any "real" exercise into my schedule. I'm currently 14 pounds up from my pre-baby weight and I'd like to at least have some sort of a plan. I've never been good at dieting or sticking to an exercise program because I've never really needed to.

My current plan of attack is to try and food diary for a week and add at least a half hour walk in the afternoon as the weather allows.

I'm open to any suggestions on how to fit in exercise in with a high needs baby!