5 Months

Hudson,

You are 5 months old!

 You did not have a checkup this month, but according to my calculations you weigh about 19.5 pounds and are at least 27 inches long.

You are wearing a size 3 diaper and size 6-9 month clothes.

You drink an 8 ounce bottle every 4-4/2 hours (6:30a, 11a, 3p, 7:30p).  You eat cereal at 7:30 am and a veggie at 6:00 pm.

You take 3 naps a day when you are at home - 9-11am, 1-3 pm, and 5-6pm.  You are still adjusting at daycare and sometimes take multiple cat naps there.  

 This has been a CRAZY month.

You started daycare.  Not long after that, you were acting fussy and had a low grade fever, so I was worried you were getting sick...

but after watching you drool and chomp on your fingers around the clock,

and feeling those razor sharp white specks on your gums, I decided it was just part of teething.

You still LOVE to be outside.  You also love watching the dogs run and play.  You laugh when they bark as seen here...

You've been eating cereal since your 4 month checkup and you LOVE it.  You definitely prefer oatmeal over rice. You started out having cereal for dinner, but now we that we have started veggies, you get cereal for breakfast and a veggie for dinner.  You are such a great eater.  You have started to open your mouth really big, bang on your tray and talk and laugh while you eat.  Notice that death grip on Mommy's hand?  I sometimes have to pry the spoon out of your hand! I guess you just want to be a big boy and feed yourself.

You have started learning to use the sippy cup and you are getting the hang of it!

You adore your Johnny Jump and you usually hang out in it while Mommy and Daddy cook and clean at night so we can all hang out. 

You are still obsessed with TV.  If I think you've had enough, I will turn it off because turning you "away" doesn't work anymore.  You will almost break your neck to see it!

We are still convinced you are just the prettiest most handsome little boy ever.  Your monthly picture turned into a mini photo session thanks to your obsessed adoring Mommy.  Daddy gets all the credit for the smiles.  He is really good at making you laugh and he was very patient with all of Mommy's orders requests.

If you look really close, you can see your teeth! No wonder you felt so rough.  You cut the two bottom teeth at the exact same time! 

Look how much you have grown in just 5 months!

 WE LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK!!!

Parenthood

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~ Elizabeth Stone

I had always planned on going back to work, but I never DREAMED it would be this hard.  I think this quote best captures what it truly feels like to be a parent.  

 Since Hudson was exclusively breastfed for 3 months, I wasn't huge on pumping (wish I would have been), and I was off work for 4 1/2 months and at home with him all day every day, to say I am attached is an understatement.  I'd barely spent any amount of time away from him in 4 months.

It is so true that you can't imagine how much you can love something or someone until you have a child.  You love your family and your spouse, but the love for a child is so different.  

I thank God many times a day for this precious baby boy.  

What did I ever do before he came along??  ; )

"Crying It Out"

I'm going to make this as short as possible since I'm on my phone in bed. Yes, it's a Saturday night, it's 9pm and all 5 of us (Coop and Mace Girl, too) are in bed. It's been that kind of week.

First of all, if you would have asked me 2 months ago if I'd ever let my baby "cry it out" I would have told you no. But desperate times call for desperate measures and things were just getting worse not better.

Short story is CIO is working for us. I guess we are lucky compared to some stories because he does not cry long. His problem was never going to sleep, it was staying asleep. He would wake up CONSTANTLY starting at 11pm wanting someone to wake up, get up, and put his paci back in. Nothing we tried helped. Neither of us were resting well. He wasn't even napping well. So the hardest part for us was the first few nights when he woke up crying in the middle of the night and you just pray he goes back to sleep quickly. I will say that I think his age is just right. If you tried to do this with a 9 month old that can sit up, stand up, and has separation anxiety, see it being much worse. He seems to rest much better now that we've taken away the paci at nap time and bed time.

Hudson cries just a little when we lay him down at night but this is what it turns in to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjJu1ybH0sE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I just love to hear my baby talk!

Oh, and did I mention...

WE HAVE TEETH!!!

WHERE HAS MY BABY GONE?!?!

Oh, me. Another day, another post.

Night night!

First (1/2) Day

For those that care or that may also be struggling with going back to work after being on maternity leave...

I may have embarrassed my son for the first time today.

OK, so I didn't embarrass him.  But if he was old enough to realize that his Mommy started crying as soon as she started walking him towards his room, I'm pretty sure he would have buried his pudgy little head in pure humiliation. 

I started crying Friday.  OK, if we are going to be completely honest, I've cried about it several times over the past two months.  But Friday it hit me and I cried off and on all weekend.  I'm not sure why, but I just couldn't help it. I know he will be fine, and in some ways I'm actually looking forward to a new school year.  I guess when you are use to getting up, getting dressed (not sure I remember how to do this), going to work with other adults, and being outside the house, you kind of miss it sometimes.  But other times, I wish I could just turn back the hands of time and rock my newborn all day long. 

Anyways, the director and his "teachers" were all giving me the pity look - being moms themselves, they knew what I was going through.  Every mom does, even stay at home moms.  See, even though moms (or dads) that stay at home go through this pain eventually.  These little ones can't stay with you forever.  Eventually will come preschool, then "big school", and don't even get me started on moving off to college.  So every parent knows the feeling.  I imagined it when I was pregnant, but the feeling when actually experiencing it is indescribable.

I talked to the teachers for a minute (since I have already been to the daycare oooooh 3 other times before this...), gave him a teary kiss, and left.  I drove to work - which is thankfully just a few blocks away, sat in my car and let it out for a minute, then I was ok.  I got to work and stayed busy all day.  I want to say thanks for the NUMEROUS texts, emails, phone calls, and prayers that I received today.  It is great to have such sweet, understanding friends. 

I was swamped with so much to do and sweet friends at work to talk to that kept my mind occupied, at least enough to stay happy.

I wish I had a picture of when I picked up Hudson because he was in the BEST mood.  He is such a sweet boy.  He gave me huge, gummy grin and I hugged him tight. 

It was time for his afternoon nap, so when we got home I rocked that sweet baby boy and just cuddled for a little while. 

I thank God every day for this baby boy.  He blessed us with a healthy, happy, beautiful gift.  Being a parent is a hard job, but it is the best job.  I have a new respect for SAHMs.  By then end of the day, I'm just as exhausted as being "at work" all day.  I must admit that when you are with your baby round the clock, you do need a break every once in a while.

Not only has God blessed me with Hudson, but also with a job in this terrible economy when teaching jobs are hard to come by.  I really and truly feel like going back to work is the best decision for me right now, but that doesn't make it an easier to drop him off and not get to kiss on those cheeks all day.

Let's just say that we made the most of our afternoon together, which I plan to do every day.  He will still take about an hour nap late in the afternoons which will give me a chance to get dinner cooked and maybe some laundry done or some papers graded. But when he is up, he will be getting full attention from Mommy or Daddy.   

4 Months Old

Hudson,

You are 4 months old!

You weigh 17 pounds 11 ounces and you are 26 1/2 inches long.

(90th percentile)

You wear a size 3 diaper and mostly size 6 months clothes. 

 (These below were taken soon after you turned 3 months... you already look so different!)

During July you...

 

celebrated your first 4th of July at Uncle Brett and Aunt Lauren's Pool...

 celebrated Nana's 50th Birthday - all partied out!

You like sitting in your bumbo...

and we have introduced you to the Johnny Jump.  

You love to sleep on your side. You also rub your eyes when you get sleepy and it miiiiight be the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

You have started to enjoy tummy time, and you have really started to notice the dogs more. 

(Side note - I don't like to see babies only in diapers, even just around the house, but he had just spit up everywhere so he was chillin clothes-less for a little bit.)

You went to school with Mommy so she could try to get her room ready!
 

You love to kick your legs, squeal, be held up so you can look over someone's shoulder, and you LOVE TV.  It's kinda weird how much you like it.  Who knew babies liked TV? You are starting to grab stuff, including fingers, hair, toys, and your bottle.

Sleeping in your crib didn't last long.  You actually got WORSE at sleeping for a few weeks and (GASP!) you wound up in the bed with us on more that one occasion.  This wasn't going well either because you would get so close to me I couldn't sleep for trying to keep you away from my pillow.  It was just miserable and neither of us were getting good rest.  After much desperation and talking to the doctor, we were prepared to let you cry a little, but last night you were so sleepy it was all you could do to finish your bottle before you fell asleep.  We laid you down with your eyes still open and you just drifted off peacefully. Daddy had to get up twice during the night (dr recommended Daddy since you associate me with eating) but you went right back to sleep. Let's pray this stays this way because Mommy is about to go back to work! 

You are such a sweet, precious baby and it is so fun to watch you discover the world around you!

Working Moms

Are you a working mom?  If so, what are your best tricks to keep your household running smoothly while still being able to spend quality time with your baby, Hubby, friends, family, and oh yes, even your dear neglected pets?

Here are a few things that I have been planning on doing/changing so that our days run as smoothly as possible when I start back to work:

• Clothes: have our clothes picked out for the week and iron them if necessary Sunday night - hang in specific place in closet (this is mostly for me because I tend to make a mess and take lots of time if I don't already know what I am going to wear)
• Morning Routine: I will take my shower at night so that I can get ready quicker in the morning.  Rusty will start getting up when I do to go ahead and get completely ready so he can take care of the baby while I am getting ready.
• House: try not to get behind on laundry or if I do, do it on Saturday or Sunday when Hudson is taking a nap.  I've also toyed with someone coming to clean every other week... mop, do bathrooms, etc.  Still haven't decided yet. We will see on that one.  We are friends with another married couple that SWEAR it is worth every penny!! 
• Cooking: maybe make a casserole on Sunday, freeze it, and eat it sometime that week? I'm pretty sure we will be ordering pizza once a week.  A large is enough for dinner and then lunch the next day for both of us, so it is convenient, cheap, and good.  Use the crockpot more - anyone got any great recipes??

Please leave us tips, comments, recipes, etc down in the comment section below!