Thankful

Like I do every year, I decided to make a list of things I'm thankful for. I've been extremely blessed throughout my life, but this year in particular has been very special.

• My son. I've wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember and I am so happy that dream has finally come true! He is the greatest joy of my life and I absolutely adore him. Aside from his craptastic sleep, he is such a wonderful, easy baby, and he's always smiling and happy. 
• My husband. Jeff has been such an amazing support for me, especially as I gave birth to Landon (I think he did every push right along with me for those 2.5 hours) and the first few horribly difficult weeks of breastfeeding afterwards. If it wasn't for him, I'm almost positive I would have quit breastfeeding and I would have missed out on such an amazing bonding experience (not to mention the ridiculously fast weight loss) because I didn't have the support I needed. I've never seen Jeff research something so in depth and he ran out to the store several times to get things I needed. He also sat with me through every feeding at first, making sure L was latched properly, that I was relaxed, etc. He's also an amazing father and Landon just loves him so much, as do I.
• Being able to stay home with Landon. I am so thankful and lucky that my husband has a job that allows us to still live comfortably and for me to stay home with our son. Being a stay at home mom is another thing I've always wanted to do, and I'm very happy that I can. Leaving L to go to work would be really hard for me.
• Our health- the 3 of us and our extended families are healthy and that's such a blessing.
• Our home. We do need a bigger space and will be getting this house ready to sell in early 2012, but I do love our little home. It's the first place Jeff and I lived in together, I helped him house hunt, decorate, pick furniture, etc. It's also the place we brought L to when we left the hospital and it will always have a special place in my heart. 
• My friends, both new and old. I am not someone who has a ton of friends. I prefer to have a few really close friends than a bunch of acquaintances. I have branched out to make some more mom friends, and I am so glad I did because I was getting lonely and it's hard to only have friends in different stages of life than you. Having the support of other moms is huge, as is having girlfriends I can hang out with and have adult conversations.
• Our families. Yes, they drive us nuts sometimes, but we are very lucky to have amazing family on both sides. Especially with a new baby, everyone has been willing to help if I needed it (I usually refuse though. Control freak and I like to do it myself.), and it's nice to see how much everyone loves Landon (and us of course haha).
• Our church. We've been absolutely awful about going since I had Landon, but every time we actually manage to get there, everyone is so welcoming and sweet to our little family.

There are also some frivolous things I am thankful for: 

• My iphone. It's gotten me through every night feeding and times where Landon has fallen asleep on me and I couldn't move to get my laptop. It's amazing how far cell phones have come from the first one I got at age 16.
• Target. I'm kind of obsessed with going there lately. It's hard not to spend hundreds every time. Same with Old Navy, another store I'm thankful to have near me.
• Starbucks- I can't drink caffeine without shaking, but I love their drinks made decaf. I also love the festive red holiday cups. They make me happy every year.
• Buffalo Wild Wings and Chili's- I just love going to both of these places. They have delicious food!
• Landon's nap times. I love them because I can get some housework done, screw around on the internet and/or relax and watch some TV. It's so important and nice to get a little "me time" during the day.
• My car. I drive a bright blue Nissan Rogue that I leased the day after Jeff and I got engaged. We just bought the car outright when my lease was up in October. I love this car so much, it was the first one I ever bought/leased myself. When the time came to either give it back and buy something new or keep it, Jeff said he hated the idea of giving it up and I agreed. Eventually we will need a bigger SUV, especially before baby #2, but for now it works. Jeff will take the Rogue down the line and I will get a new tank to drive :)

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving! 

My First Born :)

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Very much so

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Even though we were trying, seeing those 2 lines on a pregnancy test was very shocking!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? We were trying to get pregnant, but even if we weren't, abortion is not an option for us. Not saying that's the right decision for every woman, but I would never do it.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 25 when I found out, 26 when I delivered

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I didn't get my period the day it was due, so I took a test when I got home from work and it turned positive almost immediately!

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? The cat lol! Jeff wasn't home from work yet, but he was the first human to find out.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Absolutely. Not finding out was never considered. I'm a planner and wanted to know who was in there! It also helped it seem more real to me and it was nice to be able to say "he" instead of "it."

9. DUE DATE? June 8, 2011

10. Did you have morning sickness? Yes. I puked once a day from weeks 7-16 and felt nauseous all the time. I also had lots of food aversions to stuff I used to love and certain smells bothered me and made me gag.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? My husband called my cravings "the circle diet." I wanted cookies (Oreos or Chips Ahoy), chocolate frosted donuts, Spaghetti-O's, Eggo Waffles, Chocolate Cheerios, and later on pizza rolls and ice chips. Cookies and donuts were the 2 things I craved the entire pregnancy.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Nothing really irritated me. I wasn't a fan of getting sick, but it was worth it!

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? A boy! :)

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No. I was convinced I was having a girl, but I truly didn't care either way. Jeff really wanted a boy. I love having a son!

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 32

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yup!

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew. I picked the date and told my mom and MIL what color scheme I wanted and the location. I also said I wanted a candy bar and pom-pom decorations. I let them do the rest :)

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Nope. I had a really easy pregnancy

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Greenwich Hospital

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? My water broke at 7:00pm on June 2nd, I was in active labor by around 2:00am on June 3rd, and had Landon at 10:05am June 3rd.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Jeff, both times. They sent me home the first time insisting my water did not break even though I knew it did. I knew I'd be back, and a few hours later, I was back and 4 cm dilated having contractions lasting for a minute and coming 2 minutes apart hahaha

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? My husband, the nurse, and the Dr.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yea! As soon as I got to labor and delivery and they told me I was 4 cm I said, "Oooooh! That means I can have an epidural now!"

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 9lbs. 10oz.

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? June 3, 2011. 5 days early.

29. What did you name him/her? Landon James

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 5 months, 12 days

Landon's Birth Announcement- Better Late Than Never!

I'm actually really embarrassed that Landon is 5 months old and I just ordered his birth announcements! I just never got around to it, and time slipped away! I ordered them from Tiny Prints and I'm thrilled with how they came out! During Landon's nap I will be addressing envelopes and finally sending these out! Sorry for the crappy iphone pic, but here's the announcement!

Fun In The Jumperoo!

Landon LOVES his jumperoo! Best toy ever!

Landon Is 5 Months Old!

Dear Landon,

Today you are 5 months old! You are getting so big and I really can't believe you've been here 5 months already! You've done lots of exciting things this month!

The Dr. said you can start solid foods, so we gave you some rice cereal. It took you a few days to understand what to do with the spoon, but you figured it out and now you LOVE your cereal! You lunge at the spoon when Daddy is trying to feed you. It's so funny! You've had green beans so far, which you aren't a huge fan of, but will tolerate, and peas which you LOVE! You devoured them so fast and never made a "yuck" face like you did the the green beans!

You have been rolling both ways for awhile now, and I knew it was only a matter of time before you decided you wanted to sleep on your belly. You roll over to your belly the second anyone puts you down on your back! This scared us at first, but you can hold your head up really well and you sleep so much better on your belly. I definitely lost a few nights worth of sleep worrying you'd suffocate, but you are just fine!

You are very curious and are always watching what Mommy and Daddy are doing. I let you play with an empty water bottle because you were eyeing it up as I finished drinking it, and you loved it! It's so much fun to watch you experience new things and see the world through your eyes.

Daddy also put together your jumperoo! You loved it from the start and now you can really jump and play in it! It's definitely one of your favorite toys and we love watching you have a blast in it!

We took you to the pumpkin patch for the first time on what was probably the hottest October day I can remember in CT! We got you a pumpkin and it was a nice time! I think it will definitely be a tradition we do as a family each year.

You had your first Halloween and we dressed you up in 2 different costumes: a skeleton and a yellow duck. We were supposed to have a Halloween party, but we had to cancel due to a snow storm! I never thought I would write that you experienced your first snowstorm on October 29, 2011. You got to model your costumes just for mommy and daddy. It will be really fun to take you trick or treating in a few years, I can't wait for that!

Your sleep has gotten better (usually. We do still have a few rough nights here and there)! You did a 7 hour stretch one night, but usually you're going 3-5 hour stretches before needing to eat, and after each feeding at night, you go an hour or so longer than the pervious stretch. You're starting to go to sleep earlier at night too. Napping is still not your favorite, and lately you only really want to nap on Mommy. You will nap in your crib sometimes, but you won't sleep there at night yet. You're still eating every 1-2 hours during the day, even with some solid food in your diet now. You just love your milk!

Stats

You were just about 18 lbs at your 4 month visit, so my guess is you're close to 19 lbs now.

You were 26.5 inches long at your last well visit.

You're wearing size 3 diapers (Pampers Cruisers).

You're wearing 9 month or 6-12 month clothing, it all depends on the store.

Landon, you are at such a fun age now! Daddy and I love watching your personality come out and seeing who you will become. The big holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up soon and we cannot wait to share them with you for the first time! You have brought such joy into our lives and made everything so much more interesting and amazing! We love you very much!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Solid Foods For Babies

When the Dr. gave us the green light to try solids with Landon anywhere from 4-6 months, I was a bit nervous, and my husband was all for it. We started with rice cereal, and at first we made it super duper watery with my breastmilk. As he got used to it, we made it much thicker and once he was able to handle a good amount of thick cereal, we decided to move on to pureed food.

So far, Landon has had green beans, which he's not a huge fan of but will eat, and peas. He LOVES peas and devoured them! It's been a lot of fun introducing foods to him, and while it does nothing to make him nurse less (which is fine since he's supposed to still be getting his nutrients from my breastmilk), he seems to be enjoying the food. Right now we give him a veggie in the afternoon and rice cereal at night. The only reason we still give him the rice cereal is because he likes it. Once we introduce fruit (can't do that until all veggies have been introduced) we will probably mix some in with his cereal.

When you start solids with a baby, you have several options: puree the foods yourself, buy store bought purees, or do baby led weaning. For us, the best decision was to buy pureed Gerber food from the store. We get the organic stuff and so far, so good. I've noticed on Twitter and various forums I've visited that a lot of moms make the food themselves. I'm awful about making dinners for Jeff and I (when Landon is eating table food with us, I will absolutely make healthy meals every night), and I didn't want to take on the responsibility of pureeing a ton of food for Landon when I have a house, husband, child, and cat to take care of already. Ridiculous as it sounds, I am starting to feel really guilty that I don't make my son's food myself. I worry that people are judging me because I choose to give him Gerber food instead of freshly pureed stuff. Please tell me I'm not alone in buying the pre-made stuff to make life a little easier?

The mom guilt never stops, no matter what decisions you make! I try to remember not to compare myself, my child, or what decisions we make to others, but it's hard sometimes. I know I'm a good mom, and I have my son's best interest at heart, so why do I beat myself up over such silly things?