Oh no

Baby Leroy, you are already 6 1/2 months old and you have changed so much since the little lump you started out as. I realized today that I've already forgotten a bunch of the adorable little quirks that you used to do and have now grown out of.

That said, your current favorite thing to do is stare at your dad or me while we shake your heads, then nod, then shake, then nod...quickly. It kind of makes us dizzy (and your dad want to throw up a little), but this makes you laugh so hard and it is too friggin cute for words. Half the time when we shake our heads and wait a minute, you'll shake your head too.

We have a lovely morning routine that you seem to like and I know I love. You wake up and I make your bottle and some coffee for me while you watch your under the sea soothie thing in your crib. Then when i come to change your diaper, you give me the biggest smiles ever and wave your hands and kick your feet. Even when i REALLY do not feel Ike getting up in the morning, this is so cute I'm always smiling by this point. You eat your bottle then it's time for cuddles. I may like this part more than you, but you put up with it so I'm going to continue it for as long as I can. After I've gotten as many cuddles as I can squeeze out of you, you get to watch your 'Your Babay Can Read' video and I get approximately 27 minutes and 30 seconds of free time to do whatever I want. Then I tuck you into the moby wrap and we take Roscoe for a walk around the neighborhood until you fall asleep, then into your swing for the first nap of the day, which is usually the longest one.

Your favorite sound to make is ridiculous fart noises while you blow spit bubbles. It is ridiculous.

Love you so much boo boo bear

Ugh

Last Friday I woke up with the worst neck pain I think I've ever had. I couldn't look right at all, driving was not a very safe endeavor, luckily for me I didnt need to drive anywhere with baby while I was like this, so now, my neck is juuuust about better, and I am sick. Runny nose, headache, sore throat, no voice, coughing up mucus (pretty picture, right?) sick. And alone since Jason is working today. Luckily there are no overtime shifts in the immediate future, so he'll be at home tomorrow, but this mothering thing is no fun when you have no energy and don't feel good. Because there is definitely still stuff that needs to get done-dishes (bottles at least), playing with the baby, which is very hands on when he can't really do that much stuff. It has been a very tiring day for sure.

However, in better news I have a fantastic wedding coming up that I get to go to. may 14th is going to be a great day, and this wedding has really given me a goal to work towards with my workouts since I haven't seen pretty much anyone that's going to be there since I've had the baby. But instead of kicking it into overdrive as it nears, I'm having to stop and try to get better, first my neck and now the rest of me. What a bummer...could an investment in some spans be in my future? Has anyone (anyone reading obviously anyone in the world has tried them) tried these? Do they do that annoying thing where they start to roll down and get all bunched up and just give you muffin tops in strange locations???

Cloth Diapers

I am cloth diapering. And no, not using a diaper service. The main reason I wanted to do this is the cost, which is WAY lower than disposable diapers, but it's also nice that I'm not throwing away bag after bag of dirty diapers each week--we used disposable for a couple of weeks until baby grew into the one-size diapers we have and I was amazed at how much trash this generated. I was also bummed about the diaper rash that developed in his poor little butt. This has also gone away since switching to cloth.

I chose BumGenius Elemental One Size All In Ones because I didn't want to mess with inserts and I definitely didn't want to have to buy a new set of diapers every time baby grew into a new size. I found them in a set of 18 that come along with a diaper sprayer that hooks up to the toilet, some little washcloths that can be used as reusable wipes, and some disposable liners for the diapers (think the same material as a dryer sheet, but obviously, without any dryer sheet chemicals/scent on them). The liners are really nice because they catch most of the mess of a poop diaper, but I will admit, there usually is still some on the sides of the diaper, and then it can just be thrown away. The mess that remains gets rinsed off into the toilet and flushed, and the diaper goes into the diaper pail, just like any diaper would.

I wash a load of diapers about every other day, not too bad I have to say. And I think the diapers themselves are really cute and you can order them in whatever colors you want.

And, no when baby goes to the bathroom, the diaper does not leak. From my experience with both kinds, it seems like the disposables had more accidents than the cloth ones do...

Anyway, I cannot recommend cloth diapers enough.

It's Official

I have now sent in my 2 week notice at my work so that I can be a stay at home mom. It's kind of a crazy feeling. No more getting up to leave the house to go to work. No more accounting/monthly deadlines/vague work requests that I have to try to interpret and get right.

Now I just have figuring out a baby/hourly deadlines (you know, for things like feeding, diaper changing, and napping)/vague occasional crying with seemingly no cause to try to interpret and get right. But I can't wait.

People always say that they didn't know they could love someone so much as their baby. And I really do love him, but I have to say I love him about as much as I thought I would. But e difference is the complete and total responsibility that goes along with it. I'm the one he relies on (most of the time) just to stay alive. He can't feed himself, or go to the bathroom, or even move from one spot without my help and I think that is what makes the difference between this relationship and every other. His complete reliance really does make you have a crazy bond with him that makes you super protective.

I can't wait to try to figure it all out.

Moving on

So the madness has now stopped. No more pumping four times a day with tiny results. No more beating myself up four times a day (at least) because there must have been something I was doing wrong. I have now officially moved on to formula only and I am finally fine with it.

Also telling me I've made the right decision: the weaning process, that is, weaning the pump of course. I've heard it can be a process that takes kind of a while. Slowly tapering off, decreasing slowly to avoid engorgement which can be really painful. Me? I just stopped. Completely. No issues at all. Yeah, I wasn't quite making the production one would hope for.

And now I have more time with baby Leroy, more happy hours in the day, more sanity. I am so relieved I finally made the decision.

Now what?

So I love my little baby Leroy. But goodness, do the days just stretch out in front of me like a never ending void to fill...I have a pretty good routine for the morning segment, get up, feed baby, change clothes, activity mat time, me workout, go for a run/walk with the baby & Roscoe, then it's time for lunch...then...more activity mat? Some assisted sitting? He just can't do that many things yet, but I feel like he must be bored with this stuff. Also I'm trying not to put him inn his bouncy chair or swing too much because the doctor pointed out that the back of his head is flat...but he gets so pissed after a little bit of tummy time. Is there're some magical 2 month old baby activity that I don't know about that will occupy his attention and not contribute to a mis-shapen head?

On my way

So I recently found a great workout website: toneitup.com these two girls make workout videos for you tube, and I love the cost of free :). I've done a couple of the workouts so far and they are great, my abs are already sore. Hopefully I'll be in some cute summer dresses (or just my old clothes) before too long...