life with a new baby
Posts tagged parenting
The Swiveling Head
Feb 3rd
Well, guess what Nathan did today?
No, it wasn’t a Mega Poop. And no, he didn’t fall asleep standing up again.
Ok, since the possibilities are endless, I’ll just tell you.
He was on his belly, scooting around the living room floor. Drool was flying everywhere and his hands and feet were spinning and whacking the air so feverishly that they became a blur. I could practically hear the air whistle as his limbs sliced through it. All of a sudden, he stopped, raised himself up to all fours and after rocking back and forth a couple times, he pushed himself up into the sitting position!
For the first time in his life, my little boy didn’t need my assistance to go from laying down to sitting up!
I’m so happy right now!!
See, he’s not started actually crawling with his tummy off the floor just yet. He crawls backwards though. And he rolls around from front to back all over the place. He also does the Army Crawl, and recently, he started doing half Army Crawl, half Lurch. And he’ll get up on all fours and rock back and forth. But no crawling.
If you’re a parent, then I’m sure you can understand when I say that his lack of mobility had me worried. When he was nine months old and still not crawling, I started obsessing over it. After all, I thought ALL babies crawled by nine months.
So I got on the Internet and worried myself to death by researching what other nine-month-olds were doing. I watched You Tube Videos. I cried. I wrung my hands. I obsessed over why he wasn’t like other babies, and I worried ceaselessly.
I worried so much that I lost sleep at night.
But then his pediatrician said that some babies completely skip crawling and go straight to walking. But he thinks that Nathan is simply choosing not to crawl. Because, get this, he would rather Mommy pick him up and CARRY HIM AROUND. So I quit carrying him around whenever Nathan cried for me to. Now, Nathan plays on the floor and if he wants a toy that’s out of his reach, I gently encourage him to go get it himself. If he cries when I walk away, I tell him to come to me.
And he tries.
He may not be crawling yet, but he is zipping around all over the place.
And he loves to stand. He can’t stand on his own yet or pull himself up, but he can hold onto furniture and keep his balance. And it’s precious watching him because he just looks so proud of himself. He’s all smiles and his head swivels around like that of an owl, trying to take in every single new detail he can obtain from this new height.
Sometimes he looks around so much that it seems like his head is going to just SWIVEL RIGHT OFF.
But his head is still attached. Miraculously, considering the amount of swiveling it does on a daily basis…
Strong Willed and Mega Stubborn
Dec 18th
Nathan had his well-check with the pediatrician the other day. He’s doing wonderfully. Still a little on the thin side for a baby, but all babies are different. It always bothers me when doctors whip out that growth chart and start comparing babies to each other. All babies are individuals… some are fat, some are thin, some are tall, some are short. As long as they are healthy, why does it matter how they compare to other babies? His genes simply won’t let him get fat. We’ve been trying so hard to plump him up but it doesn’t matter how much or what I feed the little guy, he just won’t get fat.
Except for those DELICIOUS CHEEKS!
Oh how I wish my metabolism was still like that. Believe it or not, I used to be thin before I got pregnant. All those days of scarfing down chocolate kinda caught up to my backside and thighs, though. I’m doing yoga now to combat it. We’ll see how that goes.
So anyway, back to Nathan’s pediatrician appointment. I mentioned to the doctor that I was worried about Nathan’s constipation. After a slew of questions, his doctor (who also worked as a pediatric G.I. specialist for a number of years at a children’s hospital) was like, Nathan’s not really constipated… He’s just seriously hard-headed, a.k.a TOTALLY STUBBORN.
I was like, of course he’s stubborn… he totally takes after ME.
So yeah, Nathan is so stubborn that he holds in his poop. The doctor said he’s seen it time and time again with strong-willed babies. They have a painful poop once, then they get it in those stubborn little heads that all poops are painful. Therefore, when they have to go, they keep it in in an attempt to avoid the pain. Holding it in causes it to become hard, and the cycle repeats itself.
Can you believe that? I never knew babies could possibly be stubborn enough that they REFUSE TO POOP.
If he’s this strong-willed now, I’m really starting to wonder how he’s going to be a year from now. Two years. Three years. OHMYGOD Paul and I are going to have our hands full.
One Hundred Days
Dec 15th
When I first started this blog, I set a goal for myself. Because that’s the type of person I am… I like a challenge and am constantly setting goals specifically to challenge myself. I wanted to see if I could write for 100 or more consecutive days. Well, guess what? I have met that goal and even continued to write for more than 100 consecutive days!
Yes, I am patting myself on the back. With a huge, goofy grin plastered on my face.
And I’m going to make myself a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream (and not the low-fat kind), drizzled with Hershey’s chocolate syrup because I deserve some high-calorie goodness!
This blog started out as a record of Nathan as he grows up. Paul and I now have something we can read to reminisce about the good times, the not so good times, the sleepless times, and the mega-poop-filled times. Then, a couple weeks ago or so, we put some ads up to help offset the cost of keeping this site up and running. Any additional money earned from you guys clicking on the ads will be used for Nathan’s college tuition because Paul and I feel strongly about him getting an education. And I now have an outlet, a way for me to relieve stress and anxiety. I have something that I really enjoy doing… writing.
Since I have met my goal of writing for at least 100 consecutive days, I’m now going to take a deep breath, relax, and write a little less often. Don’t worry, I’ll still write often enough so that you don’t go into Nathan Withdrawals, but don’t be surprised when I take a day off here and there.
Thanks for reading, my friends, and I hope you continue to stay with me as Nathan grows from infanthood to toddlerdom, as my once-thick hair gets thinner with each handful that Nathan surreptitiously yanks out (yes, I keep believing his loving strokes of my hair will end in baby kisses rather than painful bald spots), and as Paul and I figure out how to be good parents.
Thanks for being there though it all, everyone!
Stay at Home Moms vs Working Moms
Nov 22nd
I think this continuous war between some stay-at-home moms (SAHM) vs working moms is completely asinine.
I have the DVR set up to record all the Dr. Phil shows… then when I have time to watch an episode or two, I’ll go through them and delete the ones that don’t seem interesting and I’ll watch the ones that catch my eye. Today I watched an episode about SAHM’s vs working moms and let me tell you… the debate got a bit intense.
Well, pretty intense for the Dr. Phil show…
SAHM’s were seated on one side of the audience, and working moms were seated on the other. Both sides were throwing words back and forth like invisible daggers. Admittedly, the worst were the SAHM’s… they were really attacking the working mom’s with a vengeance. There was this one lady in particular who was vocally opining about how ALL mothers should stay at home to raise their children, and if they have to go back to work, then they shouldn’t have had children in the first place. It was insulting and I could feel myself trying to melt into the couch from sheer embarrassment from just watching people behave so childishly.
I am a SAHM.
Because that’s what is right for me and my family.
But it certaintly doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. I know that I am not nearly perfect enough in my own life to have the audacity to shove my views on someone else, judging them when I have no idea what their life is like behind closed doors.
You can’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
And I don’t really want to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
I don’t get what the big deal is. I don’t understand why women engage in these Mommy Wars.
I don’t understand why moms try to EAT OTHER MOMS’ SOULS.
Why does it matter if one mom chooses to go to work? Who cares if another mom chooses to stay at home with her kids? Each mom is doing what she truly feels is the best for her and her family.
To moms who bicker about how other moms choose to raise thier kids, I say get a life. If you’re gong to EAT SOMEONE’S SOUL, eat one belonging to a rapist or a murderer. Leave all the well-meaning moms alone.
Ah, if only I could rule the world, right?
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