Weaning

Welp, we're well into week 2 of Operation Wean, and so far, mostly good! I say mostly because it took him a few days, but he realized that he was getting a bottle more often and BAM decided that wasn't gonna fly. I didn't expect him to have any problems b/c he has gone from bottle to breast to bottle with absolutely no problem whatsoever since we gave him his first bottle. But to my surprise, at the end of last week, he threw fits (I'm talking red faced-screeching-arched back-pushing bottle away FITS) when it came time for his bottle of formula. One day it took me almost an hour to finally get him to take the bottle! Whew! Who knew it would be so much work? Apparently, my mom did. When the same thing happened that weekend, mom informed me that me and my sister did the same thing, and it was much easier to have someone else give us our bottles for a little while. So-I handed him to her and wished her good luck! :) This week, I've dropped 2 feedings, and while he still fusses and gags for a few minutes at the beginning, he usually just lets out a sigh of defeat and takes the bottle. I hate it for him, but I am not giving in. I stuck with this much longer than I ever anticipated, and I am ready to be done! I'll be honest, though, it is harder than I thought it would be. I'm taking it nice and slow, dropping one feeding per week, and I hope that by the time the last week comes and it's time to drop his morning feeding, we will both be good to go!

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5 Months!

Wait...5 MONTHS already?!? It can't be! My little monkey is changing so much! I was looking at some older pictures earlier today and couldn't believe how different Hampton looks. He looks like such a little boy!

Hampton is:

-rolling from belly to back like it's his job (and wanting so badly to make it all the way over, but his dang shoulder keeps getting in the way)

-a huge fan of his feet :)

-"army crawling"

-grabbing at anything you put in front if him

-going to bed earlier and (usually) sleeping longer (YaY!)

-laughing and smiling at everyone. He is such a happy baby!

-constantly trying to push up on his legs to stand. Practicing sitting usually turns into standing and jumping b/c he refuses to bend at the waist!

Happy 5 months, sweet boy!

Girl Scout Cookies are of the devil...McFatty Monday!

It's that time of year. Our house has been taken over by girl scout cookies. All purchased by my dear sweet husband--who I both love and want to beat with a stick for filling my house with Thin Mints and Tagalongs and Trefoils! And that's only the beginning...Dad's birthday was Friday, and a friend of the family made her famous caramel cake for him. To.Die.For. As if one cake wasn't enough, mom decided she was going to make a Mississippi Mudslide Cake. This is a new, delicious, chocolaty treat that I'm sure will be gracing our dessert plates again! I asked Taylor to cut me a small piece of caramel cake on Sunday afternoon, and he said, "Are you going to blog about this tomorrow? It's McFatty Monday." Ha! And yes, little brother, I am confessing to all the j.u.n.k. I stuffed my face with this weekend. My new "exercise routine" this week has been squats, heel raises, twists--basically anything I can come up with that is safe to do while toting around a 15 pound baby. It may not be the ideal workout, but it works!

I think that the monkey might be trying to cut a tooth. He had a low grade fever for a couple of days last week and has been especially fussy and drooly. I still can't see anything coming through, though. I guess we just wait and see, with cold chew rings on hand!

Our church's baby dedication was last night. As Baptists, we don't do a christening or a baptism, but we do dedicate the baby to God in front of the church and friends/family. Hampton had lots of family come to see him, including 2 sets of great-grandparents, both sets of grandparents, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Katie (Jordan's brother and wife), Uncle Taylor (my bro) and his girlfriend Dakota, and Aunt Ashley (my sis) and her boyfriend Adam. How loved this amazing little boy is!! It was a nice little service, and a great reminder of what a gift from the Lord babies are! Jordan read this verse, and I wanted to share it: "For with God, nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37. So true, so true. God is so good!

Just Playin'

Rolling Over!
(Ignore the irritatingly loud noise of my dog walking across the floor!)

Jumping!

Valentine's Day Fun

Since Monday was a holiday, Jordan and his brothers decided to go for a weekend ski trip. Many may say, "Wait, your husband left you alone on Valentine's Day??!!" It didn't really bother me. We don't really get into that holiday so much, and besides, I had my newest little love to spend the day with! His shirt says "I love mommy's kisses." It's true! Check out that sweet face:

Hampton had quite the exciting 1st Valentine's Day! We (mom, dad, Hampton, and myself)decided to take the day and visit my sister and her boyfriend in Charleston, SC. We ate brunch at The Hominy Grill (Yum. If you're ever in Charleston, go there!). We then went to the aquarium, and Hampton LOVED it! He was mesmerized by all the fish. It was great! I told Jordan that we had to take him to the GA Aquarium this summer. Can't wait!


After seeing all there was to see at the aquarium, we headed to A&A's house. They are only 2 blocks from the beach, so we took a little walk. And of course, I had to capture his first trip to see the ocean. Too bad it was freezing cold!



We had a great day, and my little monkey was so good! He started getting fussy about 30 minutes from home. I don't blame him, it had been quite a long day! We can't wait to head back to the beach with Jordan when the weather gets warm. Come on spring and summer!!

Let's Try This Again...(McFatty Monday)

So, my weight loss this week wasn't nearly as significant as last. I'm down a little over half a pound-still nothing to complain about! Here's the thing. If I had to be completely honest, I've been very, VERY slacking on my exercising. I wrote before about how I couldn't find the time, and I'm still in that place. I know it will get there, but right now, I choose going to bed, or staying in bed before popping in an exercise dvd. This has to change! I'm going to start weaning Hampton in the next few days. I know that with this comes the fact that I am not going to just lose weight sitting on my butt. Oh how I'll miss these days!

In less weight loss and more I have lost all my muscle news: I have done something terrible to my back. I'm 99% sure it has to do with lugging around that heavy carseat and ever growing little boy. The lifting in and out of the car is killing me. The muscle next to my right shoulder blade feels like someone is grabbing it and squeezing the life out of it all the time, and it often starts twitching out of nowhere. So annoying and painful. :( I'm going to have to talk to someone about exercises I can do to strengthen my back muscles because my little monkey is only going to get heavier. Yikes!

White Fluffy Stuff!

I have really enjoyed seeing pictures on facebook of all of my northern friends' babies/toddlers playing in the snow this year. I was living vicariously through them and wishing that I could get a picture of Hampton in the snow. But I knew better. We don't get snow here. Ever. Last year I believe we had flurries for maybe 15 minutes. Other than the occasional flurries, I'd say it's been 8 or so years since we actually saw the white stuff stick around for longer than a minute. Until yesterday! We got 5-6 inches yesterday afternoon, and it was perfect!! We bundled up, we played, we took pictures, we made a (VERY ugly) snowman, and then we snuggled up inside and watched a movie. When we woke up this morning, our winter wonderland was quickly vanishing. But I got a few pictures of my little monkey in the snow, and that's all I wanted!! Who knows when he'll get to see it again!

blogger award

Because she thinks I'm awesome, t.bird gave me this award. Thanks, T! Go check her (and her adorable little Alex) out!

7 interesting things about myself. (I don't know how interesting they are, but here goes):
1. Jordan and I have lived in 4 houses since we have been married (under 5 years). One was my parents'.
2. I have the desire to write a book. I have no idea what about, but one day, I'm going to do it.

3. I used to have the clothes in my closet in alphabetical order by brand! OCD much??

4. In 8th grade, I was cheering on the sidelines and wound up at the bottom of a pile of football players. I came out with a torn rotator cuff and a bruised ego. ;)

5. My baby has 4 living grandparents and 8 living great-grandparents. No divorces or 2nd marriages for any. (Not so much about me but still interesting, and hard to find these days!

6. I'm still not sure what I want to be "when I grow up."

7. Before my major cleaning streak this past summer (to make room for baby stuff!), I had over 30 pairs of flip flops. That is just ridiculous!

The RULES:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.

2. Copy the award and paste it to your blog.

3. Tell us 7 interesting facts about yourself.

4. Nominate fellow bloggers that you love and link up to their blog: Ashely, Two of a Kind..., Hillary, Life in the White House, Stacey, Kelly, Bluebird

I Have Arrived!

If arriving means having random internet strangers post mean comments on your posts, that is... ::Rolls Eyes::

Dear Anonymous,

Clearly you haven't read any other posts on my blog. I AM a woman facing infertility. Yes, I have been blessed with my baby boy, but our family is hopefully not complete. The pain of infertility is not lost on me. The tears haven't just gone away since I had a baby. More than likely, I will be back in the trenches when we start trying for #2. This is a blog about my journey. Part of that journey is losing baby weight. So before you accuse me of not appreciating my child (I'm not even going to touch that asinine comment), take a look through my story. I hope you can find it encouraging and proof that miracles do happen. If not, well, I'm sorry, and I suggest you remove me from your reading list. That way you won't be bothered with any more of my "complaining."

Best of luck in your own journey.

A Nice Little Surprise! (McFatty Monday)

My brother came home over the weekend, and we had a little fun on the Wii. I haven't weighed in on the Wii Fit in a couple of weeks, so I figured, what the heck, I'll see where I stand. To my surprise, it said I had lost 5.7 pounds since my previous weigh in 13 days prior. I thought I might be down a pound or 2, but I was very excited to see that! GO ME!

BUT...

Even though I'm just below pre-pregnancy weight, I still don't fit into my goal jeans :(

I was warned that my body wouldn't be the same after having a baby--Things shift and weight disperses differently. I'm finding that to be so true! Even though I weigh less, some of my pants are still tight. Some are loose. Many shirts fit awkwardly or not at all (thanks mostly to my enormous chest). It's just the oddest thing. So, my goal is still to fit in those jeans, but if it doesn't work out for me, I guess I'll just have to go on a shopping spree and get new stuff!! Either way, I'm sure I'll be just fine. Poor, but just fine. :)

First Trip to After-Hour Peds Office-Check.

Oh, that pediatricians office. They're sly, I tell you! I called and left a message on Friday around lunch about a rash that Hampton had had for a couple of days on his tummy and chest. Of course, by the time I got a call back, the regular office hours were closed, and the nurse said they wanted to see him just to be safe. I get to the office, which by the way, is THE place to be on a Friday night, and sit to wait--slowly inching the carrier further and further away from all the hacking kids in the room. After a little wait, we went back and got the rash looked at. The doctor said it looks like a normal, sensitivity reaction to something. His guess--Johnson & Johnson bath products! The doctor said that he sees many babies get rashes from the J&J products. It's not sensitive enough for some little ones! What?? I never would have suspected that. So, we were sent off with some sample Aveeno products to try and see if that helps. And we wait for the bill...

Sleeping Woes

This week has been rough. I don't know if it is a growth spurt, or the 4-month wakeful period, or just a stubborn child, but since Sunday night, Hampton's sleeping has been all out of whack. With several 3:30 wake-up calls for a little snack, hour-long screaming sessions at midnight, shortened naps (after fighting him to sleep in the first place), and the sudden decision that waking up before 7 am is the only way it should be...this momma is tired! As the week went along, the stretches at night have improved a bit and naps have gotten back on track, but that little bump in the road threw me for a loop! So, I say with all the enthusiasm I can muster--T.G.I.F.!!

[look how sweet he is when he does sleep... My little monkey :)]

Never say "Never"

My current situation is a pretty good deal. I work (go into the office) about 3 days a week. Hampton comes with me 2 out of 3, and he stays home with Jordan the other day. It works, since I have to do something to bring in a paycheck. But oh how I long to be able to be at home every single day with this baby. We have a good routine on my days off. We have different activities around the house that we can do. It's not the same at the office. Yes, I am with him, but I think of what needs to be done at the house and how nice it would be to go for a walk with the little guy (obviously on not so frigid days!). Nap time on days "off" is a stressful time. I cram as much as I possibly can into that time because I know that I won't have the time to do it the next day. My house would be an absolute wreck if I was working full time, no doubt! But the biggest thing is I hate that I can't give my baby my undivided attention full time.

I've always said that I had no desire to be a stay at home mom. I could "never" do it! I would be bored. I would want to go out and spend money that I didn't have. I would need that time away from my child/children.

I was wrong.