Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Hey mom! Did you know...

...that there are puppies in the house?!?!?!?  And they are hillarious??

Rowan recently discovered that we have dogs.  Not sure why this is a recent discovery, but it is.  He's absolutely fascinated by them and watches them whenever they are in sight.  He'll also reach out to 'pet' them and loves when Church licks his hands. 

He also randomly started laughing at Bishop last night.  He did it again tonight, and I managed to capture a video of it.  Enjoy!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

5 months


 Rowan is 5 months old now!  I know babies grow and develop a lot in their first year, but man...I feel like this month has been huge for Rowan!  Where to begin...

Double ear infection, a cold, and a little smile
On the bad side of things, Rowan has had his first ear infections...and they've been back to back.  Well-I guess I can't say for sure that the ear infections have been back to back, it may have just been one long ear infection.  We took him to the doctor because he had a red spot on his eye and discovered he had an ear infection in his right ear.  Did amoxicillin for 10 days, and then had a follow up appointment a few days later.  At that follow up appointment Rowan had an ear infection in both ear.  So the pink-bubble gum medicine may not have done the trick OR he got a another ear infection.  Either way, we're on omnicef now.  Here's hoping it works.  His digestive track has been affected WAY more after 2 days of omnicef than all 10 days of amoxicillin, so I'm assuming this new antibiotic is doing more work.

Rowan is also fighting a cold.  He sounds so pathetically sweet when he's sick.  I feel bad for him now because it seems like he's hoarse.  We thought it may be croup or RSV or something, but the doctor didn't think so.  He's not coughing all that much, so that's good.  He's still liking to sleep a lot when he's not feeling so good, so that's amazing.  Sad though that the only time he takes good naps is when he's sick...

Ok, now onto the fun stuff!  Rowan. Loves. Food!  We've only tried cereal and avocados, but he loves them.  He's a little less enthralled by cereal now...but it's pretty bland so I can't say I blame him.  Avocados though...AMAZING!  We're venturing into the world of bananas, apples, and sweet potatoes shortly.  We're making baby food for him, which I have to say really isn't that hard.  Buy some fresh produce, cook it, blend it up with a little milk, and voila!  You've got 2 ingredient baby food.  It's fun to plan what we're going to feed him.  And boy does he love it. 

Tummy time isn't so bad now that I have control
Rowan's been moving around so much too.  Well...by so much I mean from back to front and front to back and in a circle.  He scoots along pretty well, but is not trying to crawl around yet.  He does love rolling from his back to tummy and back again.  There were a few days in there where he forgot how to roll from his tummy back to his back.  He remembered though, just took him a few days of fussing for a bit and then getting some assistance from Ian or I.

Tummy sleeper
Rowan is also no longer a back sleeper-officially.  When we put him in his crib, he stays on his back long enough for us to wrap him up...sometimes.  Sometimes he's rolled onto his side even before we have the blanket around him.  I was a little nervous about him sleeping on his tummy for a moment-especially when he forgot how to roll back over from his stomach to his back-but he's been doing just fine.  I figure if he put himself onto his stomach, he has the strength to either get him self back onto his back or let us know he needs to be moved.  Guess that's one thing he gets from his mama =)

Figuring out what this guy does
He continues to just be ever so happy and smiley-even when he's feeling sick.  His laughs are more frequent and a bit more predictable now.  We both love making our baby boy giggle.  Rowan does get fussy and frustrated at his toys sometimes when they aren't doing what he wants.  He's starting to realize some of them do things (like make music) and he wants to figure it out.  Sometimes they're a bit tricky for him and he doesn't like that.  But once he figures it out, he has a big happy smile on his face like he's so proud of himself.  It's great to watch him make some of these connections.

We won't have 'official' stats on his size until 6 months, but we know he's still growing.  He's still in 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers when we're using disposables.  At the last doctor's appointment (when we found the double ear infection) he was 15lbs with his clothes on.  So he's continuing to gain weight, which is good...he's just a little peanut though. 


His facial expressions are great too.  He's personality is shining through more and more each day.  I think we're going to have a little jokester and flirt on our hands...

Why so serious?

Oh...I know you!
Lemme smile for you



Friday, February 1, 2013

Nope...not in love

...with breastfeeding that is.

Now...before I go any further, I feel like I need to say that this is not a post about me whining or complaining.  This is just a place for me to express my feelings about my journey breastfeeding Rowan.  I know each mother is different and each child is different...this is just my story so far.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I am so not in love with breastfeeding.  I don't dislike it, in fact there are several things I enjoy about nursing.  I'm thankful for the medical benefits for both Rowan and I.  I'm thankful for the efficiency and convenience of not having to worry about bringing bottles and formula when we're out and about.  I'm thankful for all the smiles and looks Rowan gives me when we're nursing...I think that's my favorite part.  I mean...how can you not just feel amazing when you have a sweet baby face inches away from yours that just smiles so brightly. 

But...then there are the parts that aren't exactly my favorite.  I can honestly say I HATE that I'm either tied to a pump or Rowan every three hours of every day.  I don't mind being tied to Rowan, but I hate the fact that if I want to go and do something for more than a few hours without Rowan, I have to bring along my pump and make sure I'm pumping every three-ish hours.  I also hate the fact that I have to pump every morning.  Rowan does a good job of draining 1/2 the milk I make overnight, but he can't drain it all.  So that means I get to pump every morning on top of nursing.  Spending 30-45 minutes each morning draining my udders is not my ideal way to wake up. 

I'm also frustrated with some of the struggles I've had with nursing.  Rowan and I figured out the whole latching thing within the first month, so that was great.  But because I am a freak of nature I produce a lot of milk.  Producing way more milk than Rowan needs has its pros and cons.  It's nice to know we have a freezer full of milk in case I have a dip in production for some reason.  It's also nice to know that I can donate milk to a milk bank in Kansas City for premature babies that need breast milk and can't get it from their mamas for some reason.  The bad thing is it has led to many a blocked duct and two cases of mastitis in the almost 5 months I've been nursing.  And when mastitis hits, I. Feel. Like. Death.  Fever...chills...aches...lethargy...and pain.  Oh the pain I feel in my boob.  Thankfully my milk production has slowed a bit so I'm not waking up in pain due to engorgement every morning.  And here's hoping there's no more mastitis in my future...twice is more than enough.

So do I hate breastfeeding?  Absolutely not!  I am just looking forward to having control over my body.  I'm looking forward to eating and drinking what I want when I want.  I'm looking forward to being able to spend an afternoon away from Rowan having some precious me time without having to plan time to pump.  I don't regret a single second I've spent nursing or pumping.  I don't wish I had that time to do something else.  I'm just not a mother that loves breastfeeding so much I won't want to give it up.  Once Rowan's ready to wean, we're going to tackle that beast full force.  But until then, I have about 7 months of sweet smiles and tender moments to look forward to while nursing my baby boy.  Those are the things that's going to make it possible for me to nurse until Rowan's first birthday...or thereabouts.