Sniffly Baby = tired parents

Wow.  We were doing SO good with our sleep schedule. It was like, well, clockwork. Daycare, home, nurse, nap, dinner (solids), bath, nurse, bed, badda-bing-badda-boom. Then...ohhhh but then...the sniffles set in. You wouldn't think something as simple as sniffles would mess up a schedule so horrifically, but yet, here we are, day 3 of ZERO sleep. I don't even know right now.

You try to stick with routine and just when you think he's asleep in the crib and you tiptoe out of the nursery he wails and flails. If he wasn't sick right now l, I possibly, maybe, might give crying it out a chance (can you tell I'm a softy?). But he doesn't feel well and those cries of wanting comfort tug at my heart strings. I can't let my sniffly little man cry it out when I know how bad I feel when I'm sick. And I also remember as a child, how comforting my mom was to me when I didn't feel good. I hope I can comfort him in that same way. 

As tired as I am, I'm more concerned that he gets rest, so he can get better, so we can all get some rest! ***yawn*** 

5 Month Update

Landry turned 5 Months Old on August 28, 2014

He's in the 75th percentile for his weight and height.  Last time he was measured at 4 and 1/2 months old he was 17.2 lbs and 26 1/4 inches long.  In the past month he has tried sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and peas.  He has loved every one of them! 

He loves to jump in his jumper still and is rolling over from his back to his stomach any time we lay him down, which makes diaper changes fun yet challenging! 

He loves Mickey Mouse Club House and you can tell Mickey is his favorite character.  Anytime he sees him pop up on the television he gets a huge smile and wide eyes. 

He's been the biggest joy to watch grow and develop.  I wish I could stay in this moment forever with him.  He's seriously heaven sent, no doubt.  And I thank God for this gift, every single day and night.

I like to caption this picture as "5 Months Old, No Big Deal!"

 

Nothing prepares you for "Mom Guilt"

     I actually felt guilty for giving my little Landry green beans.  He LOVES them.  The very first time he tried them, he gobbled them up.  However, a few hours later, he got gassy.  I didn't contribute his gassiness to just greenbeans, I mean come on, if you have a baby, or even just been around a baby, you know how much they toot.  It could have been the formula he is supplemented with, or it could have even been something I ate and then he ingested while nursing, I do eat my fair share of raw broccoli ya know?.  So...whatever...**shrugs it off**.  We tried green beans again the next week.  Welp, we know for sure now, the green beans are probably giving him gas.  And because I hand fed him the toot producing puree, I felt like crap.  It's my fault he's uncomfortable, how could I not feel like crap. 
  
     What I want every mother to hear that is reading this, and yes I need to re-read this and take this advice myself, is seriously stop blaming yourself.   First of all, do you know how good green beans are for you?  Let's see, green beans rank very low on the list of foods that prompt any type of allergic reaction and they aren't on the "dirty dozen" list of foods highly contaminated with pesticides.  The many nutrients in green beans can help you prevent a number of different conditions, including Alzheimer's, atherosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, colon cancer, asthma, arthritis, acne, ear infections, and maybe even colds and flu’s.  But even with all that positive information I laid out, his couple of farts made me feel like *gasp* a bad mother.
   
     I'm an awesome mom, if not for anything other than feeling like a bad mother for giving their child nutricious food.  I need to remember that, dammit!  Learning these things, like what food gives your baby gas, allergic reactions, or tummy aches is part of the deal in trying out new foods.  What can ya do?  It's not like your baby is going to eat breastmilk/formula for the rest of his life. 

     Don't get me started on how guilty I feel for having my son in daycare while I go to work.  Do you have any idea how much I miss him during the day?  I think of him, literally every single second that I'm not with him.  So when my son cries in the middle of the night, more than once, do I let him cry it out?  Hell no I don't!  He doesn't get me at all during the day, why would I let him cry for me at night time when I'm readily available to him?  Tired? Yes, I'm exhausted, but I'm available to him, and if he wants me, he gets me. 

     Breast milk vs Formula....aye yai yai.  The list could go on of things us mothers feel guilt over.  I felt guilty when my milk supply started to dwindle.  He's still getting breast milk, which is more than I could say for what I thought he was going to get.  When I was pregnant, I said to myself, if I can breast feed with no issues on my end, and no issues on his, then I will do it, no matter how tired it makes me or how demanding his feeding schedule is.  And I'm still doing it, so why do I feel bad if my body is just producing less, when I haven't done anything to make myself produce less?  It is what it is.  Landry is 5 months old and he's gotten breast milk every single day since he was born.  I need to be grateful that I am able to still nurse him and stop dwelling on the fact that I might be producing less than I was the day before.  All good things come to an end eventually.

    I swear, one day I will pat myself on the back and say, "You're doing great."  Until I can do that for myself, I think it's really important to encourage other mothers in the same way, tell your best friend, your sister, your aunt, your co-worker, and especially your own mother, that she is an amazing mother and efforts are noticed. 
    

Lots of Laughs

Landry already makes me laugh so much, but I truly think he enjoys making me laugh. Today while I was nursing him, he would pop off, but his hand on my lips or nose and squeeze and wait for my response. I would either say "honk!" or blow on his little hand and each time he would giggle from it, I'd giggle to.  He is seriously just pure joy. God, I just love him so much. 

Slept through the night!!!

July 31st into August 1st, 2014, my baby slept through the night!!! He slept from 7pm until 10pm and I nursed him. Then at midnight he woke up, hungry, and I tried to nurse him but he wanted nothing to do with my boobs. So, I had Cris heat the bottle that was in the fridge, and he ended up heating it to the point where it was too hot. So, by this time Landry had stopped crying but was wide awake. Finally the bottle was cool enough and he ended up taking 6 ounces.  Welp that's the last thing that happened. I woke up and Landry was STILL sleeping. I can't believe it! I actually had to wake him up before my boobs exploded! I don't expect for it to happen again, it could have been a growth spurt or a fluke, but I'm so happy that I actually got 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep for the first time in over a year. It's pretty amazing.