life with a new baby
Posts tagged milestones
Having boat legs doesn’t just happen on boats
Jun 2nd
So Nathan has really been practicing his new walking skillz lately. A few days ago, he started taking the initiative to walk… so he no longer waits for me to prompt him or play our usual psychological warfare games in which I attempt to manipulate him into thinking that something he is hellbent on not doing is actually fun and worthwhile. Remember the whole saltine crackers episode? That is just one example of me having to convince him that it was his own idea to do something. For the longest time, he wouldn’t eat anything but pureed foods… if I DARED to put something solid on his tongue, he would open his mouth and scream so loud that I swear it could have woken the dead. But I sat down and happily devoured handfuls of saltine crackers, and once he saw how good I thought they were, he decided to give them a try himself. And we just went from there. I introduced a new food here and there, and each time, I would eat it first in front of him, pretending it was The Best Thing I Have Ever Eaten. Without fail, Nathan would be straining to grab it out of my hands with his slobbery little fingers. Because it is so not fair that Mommy gets to enjoy all these delicious foods while he doesn’t. According to Nathan, anyways.
So with the whole walking thing, I think I have finally convinced him that walking is the Most Awesome Activity Ever. And by golly, he is starting to love it! I tell Nathan to walk to Mommy, and he does this little dance where he jumps up and down without actually jumping, then he’ll smile a big toothy grin, and then he will walk his Little Drunken Sailor saunter. Sometimes he looks like he’s trying to walk on a small boat caught in a storm in the middle of the ocean, but hey, practice makes perfect. He’ll take a few steps, wobble around precariously while flapping his hands in an effort to maintain his balance, then will right himself and take a few more steps. He’s taking between 5-10 steps at a time now, and I even encouraged him to walk halfway across his room just the other day! In order to get him to take those wobbly steps, I used to have to sit on the floor, hold my arms out, and say “Come here, Nathan! Walk to Mama!” But now? Now, he does it on his own, wobbly legs and all.
It’s bittersweet so see him gain his independence. On one hand, it’s great because it means less bending over to pick him up and carry him, which means LESS BACK PAIN. On the other hand, however, MY BABY IS GAINING HIS INDEPENDENCE. He no longer needs me to do everything for him. He’s growing up, and these moments where he is so little are quickly passing us by.
Who knew crawling could be so loud?
May 24th
Nathan is up to taking five whole steps at a time now! He doesn’t take that many steps very often, maybe once or twice a day, because he still prefers to crawl around. I don’t blame him. That kid can really zip around all over the place! His little hands and knees slam down into the floor, sounding more like a herd of elephants than a lone little boy. And he’s fast, too. As fast as a cat being chased with a water sprayer. A lot of times when he’s not sure if he wants to crawl or attempt to walk somewhere, he’ll raise his hands high in the air then will slowly squat down then will bring his hands down on the ground with a resounding thud.
Yeah, he likes seeing just how loud he can be!
In other news, my mom and I were finally able to get together, and I gave her one of her Mother’s Day gifts I ordered. It was a glass rose, and I got it from an online store called Crab Apples. It was lovely and she really liked it. So instead of me describing how pretty it was, here’s a couple pictures:
Another chapter has come to a close
May 17th
Breastfeeding. It’s been hard from the beginning. We dealt with latching problems, nursing strikes, and even weight-gain issues. Then, supplementing with formula brought its own set of problems, and Nathan developed an allergy to the cow’s milk protein found in all brands of infant formula, so we had to switch to soy. It’s been such a long, and at times tedious but all-in-all rewarding process, but that process has finally come to a close.
Paul and I are both avid supporters of child-led weaning, which is what it sounds like; the child pretty much lets the mom know when he or she is ready to quit nursing, and Nathan has decided he was ready to stop nursing. We lasted 14 months! That is a heck of a lot longer than I anticipated. I had always said I would try to make it for at least a year, which is what the American Academy of Pediatrics urges. Even though I was determined to go at least the minimum recommended time, there were many times where I thought we wouldn’t be able to hold out.
But I refused to just give up. And Paul was such a stong, loving supporter who wouldn’t let me just quit. Breastfeeding was too important, too vital to Nathan’s development for me to just give up at the first sign of hardship.
It was a struggle to work through some of the problems we had, and I think the worst of all was when Nathan wasn’t gaining enough weight. We switched pediatricians to one who was more knowledgeable about breastfeeding, and I even met with two different lactation consultants. Fortunately, the last lactation consultant I met with was able to help me tremendously, resolving most of the problems we were having.
Nathan was not an easy baby to nurse, but patience and perseverance saw us through, and I am so glad and even grateful to have had to opportunity to provide him with the best possible nourishment he could have. I have given him a jump-start in life with the building blocks for a healthy and strong immune system, given him proteins and antibodies not found in formula, reduced his risk of developing childhood obesity, and it also helped his eye and brain development, to name just a few of the many benefits.
We cut our nursing sessions down gradually. When Nathan started showing a lack of interest during the afternoon feeding, for instance, I stopped that particular nursing session. This went on until we were down to just once a day, and when he started losing interest in that last feeding, that was it. That was the end of our breastfeeding relationship.
Weaning is very bittersweet. On the one hand, I will really miss the bond that we shared and having that time together. But on the other hand, it feels great to not be on-demand anymore.
I am so glad to have had this experience.
For more information on breastfeeding, visit:
Kelly Mom which was my go-to site when I had questions
La Leche League
Breastfeeding.com
Stepping forward
May 11th
Well, I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day this weekend! Mine was perfect… I seriously couldn’t have asked for anything better. Paul got up with Nathan in the morning, got him dressed, did all his feedings, cleaned up his messes, vacuumed, washed Nathan’s dirty dishes, and even changed every single dirty diaper… even all the poopy ones! I didn’t have to lift a finger all day, and it was wonderful! He also got me a bouquet of flowers and a card. I felt so loved and so appreciated… and I admit, sleeping in was probably one of the best parts of the day! Then, he even watched Nathan for a while so I could get out of the house and hang out with my mom for a few hours.
In other news, NATHAN TOOK HIS FIRST STEP yesterday! His first Big Boy step. The first step that he did on his own, without holding onto nearby furniture for assistance. Nathan was holding onto the coffee table and Paul was standing a few feet behind him. Nathan let go of the coffee table and took a giant, unassisted step towards his daddy!
It won’t be long before he’s mastered this new skill and those little feet will be pitter-pattering all over the place.
One of his first times outside for Spring
Apr 29th
This video was taken the same day I took these pictures, and I somehow never got this posted. So, this was when Spring first arrived here in East Tennessee… the weather was breathtakingly gorgeous, so I took Nathan outside and let him “explore.” His version of exploration meant to basically sit there and make cute little noises, poke at the crunchy leaves leftover from fall, and maybe wave around a twig or two.
His first word!
Apr 27th
Nathan said his first word! Well, his first articulate word, that is. He says “more” only it comes out “MA!” He’s also been saying Mama, Mom, Dad, Dada, Dadday (which is really cute because he invariably drools a waterfall all over himself when he says that one). So his first word was “cat!” He said it about three or four times in a row, and I haven’t been able to get him to repeat it since. Whenever I prompt him to say “cat!” again, he looks at me like I’m some interesting specimen to take into consideration but nothing more.
In other news, he also stood ALL BY HIMSELF for about 20 seconds! He usually holds onto something with one hand to keep his balance. But this time, this time he was a good eight inches away from the furniture, and he was so completely engrossed with examining one of his toys that he wasn’t paying any attention to the fact that he was doing a total Act of Independence.
It won’t be long before his footsteps are pitter-pattering all over the house.
Because civilized people use silverware
Apr 20th
Eating with silverware. It’s one of the many things that separate us from from the animal kingdom. We eat using silverware rather than with our hands and faces.
Well, ok. For the most part. Some things are MEANT to be eaten with fingers… like FRIED DRUMSTICKS.
I’ve been working with Nathan on learning to eat with a spoon. He’s getting the hang of it… and although sometimes he tries to eat the spoon itself, he so far, doesn’t make too much of a mess.
And the best part? I don’t have to stand in front of him saying “YUM YUM! So very GOOD!” just to convince him IT’S NOT POISON and it’s ok to eat… like I had to do with his crackers. So instead of mimicking me and saying “MMMmmm” while he eats, he eats in silence.
Silence!
Recent Comments
Yes! A personal maid would be perfect! Oh, that would free up SO much of my time!!
I'll take a double-layer chocolate one!!
He is SO not happy about it. I feel so bad for him... if only he would groom himself then ...
Don't you just love it? sometimes, I used to think my kids should have come equipped with their own maids ...