I Swear I Will Turn This Car Around and Go Home!

this week robb has been home with henry and i've been working. poor guys. in addition to teething and having recently both started solid foods and been taken off his zantac, we're also trying to do some "sleep training" with henry to get him to sleep all night in his own bed, so robb's been up with him all night every night and then managing his grouchiness by day. it's been kind of rough.

some days this week i came home to robb wearing the same shell-shocked look i remember sporting after tough days when i was on maternity leave. now i've sort of been on both sides of the one-spouse -working/one-spouse-staying-home thing and i've got to say, they're both kind of rough in their own way. when you're home, you get all that juicy time with the baby, but you are isolated all day and have to deal w/ all the tedious minutia and frustrations that come with baby care. and if you're working, you have a long busy day and miss baby time, but then come home to a frazzled spouse who's punting the crying baby at you as soon as you walk in the door.

and this "sleep training" thing? argh! we really are trying to train henry to have good sleep habits that will go with him the rest of his life and ensure he is a well-adjusted, successful, fully functioning person in the world.

or, he might sleep with us until he's 25.

because, i gotta tell ya, at 2am when he's been up for an hour and you have to wake up at 5:30 to go to work...all your discipline is out the window. here! have a nipple! here, have half my pillow and all the blankets you want! here, have some whiskey! take my first born! just get some sleep!

that last one didn't really make any sense.

but i suspect these are the challenges of parenting. doing right by your kid is sometimes terribly exhausting and inconvenient to you. but you gotta do it. it's not fun listening to him scream, even if it's for his own good, like crying it out a little bit or getting shots. but ultimately it's going to help him be a better sleeper and keep him healthier and won't hurt him in the least. unpleasant for him, mis-er-ab-ble for us. or, later in life, it won't be fun to follow through on threats and have to leave a full cart of groceries in the store because you told him if he threw just one more can of beans at an old lady you'd leave. but it'll be the right thing to do.

for him and the old lady.

so we're having a few insights into the challenges ahead. how do you make a secure, happy, and well-disciplined person? you love on them hard and give them some structure, right? we owe it to him to override our own comfort for his well-being.

but other than the sleep thing, he's doing awesome. growing huge. laughing, playing with toys. rolling over and playing little games. scooting. so cute and fun. videos to follow.

Merry First Christmas from Henry Monkey!

henry has had a great Christmas. we were so fortunate that our relatives from all over were able to come to town and squeeze on him. he enjoyed Christmas Eve service with all the singing and bells and lights and candles (fire! fire!). and he got all kinds of loot. :) he's really starting to play with things now, so he gets excited over all the fun toys and books he got. and he got some fantastic winter boots and clothes, too.

he started rolling a lot this weekend and scooting himself backwards some. he will also hover on hands and knees briefly before collapsing. and he can pick up and manipulate small things with his paws now. it's fun to watch! he's just like a real person now. :)




did not appreciate the orange in his stocking. :)

Something About an Apple and a Tree?

robb is the one with the beard. and without the pacifier. in case it wasn't clear.

6 Months Peds Visit, Off the Charts on Cheek Size

weight= 19lbs 2 oz (80th%)
height= 27 1/2" (90th%)
head= 17 1/4" (50th%)


so chunkin munkin is doing great all around. we discussed encouraging solid food intake and sleeping through the night better. he's healthy and happy. has a little thrush in his mouth we're having to treat. we're backing off his zantac now that his reflux is improving as he's developed a stronger sphincter to keep the acid out. he has a snuffly nose, so i'm waiting on his vaccines just briefly until he's a wee little less snotty.

doc is happy with how he is doing. :)

Things "They" Were Not Kidding About

people always gave us advice when we were working on hatching a henry on the ways kids would change our lives. it's every bit as knock-you-over joyful and as pull-your-hair-out stressful as they described.

and here are specific things they were totally right about. some of these i thought were silly and i was 'better than them/wouldn't let them beat me down' or thought they were myths. i now know better.


-daycare centers are total germ farms. these kids are disgusting. rivers of snot in all the colors of the snot rainbow flows everywhere. everything goes in these little gremlins' mouths. including parts of each other. g-r-o-s-s.

-dogs who came into the family long before the babies showed up WILL act up once the baby is permanently established in the house. it's to be expected, as they will be big time ignored. my greyhound dog, mia, whom we've always called "saint mia" as she's about the most lazy, docile creature on the planet, is making me nuts. she used to be my little shadow, and i found it endearing. now, i find her under foot. also, she's taken to eating one of henry's toys every day. and she regularly besmirches the basement floor. sigh. we won't be those people who get rid of their dog once their kid shows up. and we still adore her. i just have less patience and tolerance for my 4 legged baby now that i have a 2 legged monster in the house.

-first grandbaby on both sides? good Lawd. he is spoilt rotten! 53" teddy bear from grandpa? what baby could live without one of those, right? need i say more?

-you will eventually cave and that child will be "sleeping" with you in your bed, probably partially on your person. tiny fists will fly and he will thrash around like animatronic chicken on your chest. but this "sleep" is still better than no sleep at all. (plus, come on, he's so freaking snuggly and warm and cute! we are weak, weak people).

-and that goes with "you will retract all of the I WILL NEVER..." statements you've ever made regarding having children. we've barely started and we're already suckers. every day. cute grin and pink cheeks go a long way to modifying our will power.

-you will spend a ridonculous amount of money on pics the first year. absurd, really. and at some point when you're looking around your house at the 11 x 14's and multi-pic frames filled to the brim with your first-born you will wonder what will happen to subsequent children. maybe a stick-figure drawing tucked somewhere in the back of a closet. but no worries, how could anything ever be as cute as this first tiny heiny, really?

-you swore SWORE you would not get so wrapped up in parenting garbage that you couldn't have a real conversation about anything else, but you find yourself waxing feeding schedules with your accountant and nipple butter with your boss. and...you just don't care.

because your priorities have been totally upended. and that's ok. in fact, it's really awesome.

A Very Merry Unbirthday to You (Yes, You)!!

henry monkey butt monster sir cheeks-a-lot is 6 months old today!

and we've definitely seen some changes recently.

for one thing, he's HUGE. we'll know on monday at his 6 month peds visit officially where he stands compared to other babies his age. but i'm thinking he'll be in a king kong category. the wii scale (we trust it -ish) told me he weighs just under 20 lbs now. for weeks i've been packing up his "baby stuff" and putting it upstairs into a giant pile i'm affectionately calling 'storage.' he's outgrown the majority of his clothes stock and is now in 9 mos/12 mos stuff. we had to get rid of his bouncy seat since his 'bulk' hit the floor, making it less bounce and more just, you know, seat. and we finally let go of the carrier/stroller/car base system because he was chunking out the front and sides of it and moved onto big kid car seats that take up the majority of our back seats and will hold him until he's something like 14 years old.

and now that he's sitting up reliably (w/ caution and much supervision as occasionally he still passionately pitches himself backwards or to the side, making every attempt to concuss himself). we've been having him sit in the seat in the front of shopping carts (where he immediately and disgustingly puts his little mouth on all the nasty hand germs of all the nasty people who have shopped their before us. nasty...ah, well. it'll build immunity. and character.). and he's sitting in highchairs at restaurants and at home.

and we gave him his first real food! sweet potatoes all blended down and whipped with marshmallows, brown sugar, butter, and pecans...or just with breast milk. he had to use his tiny imagination for the rest of that. he did great! we probably gave him 3 tbs total and i bet he got a good 1/8 tsp down his throat. not bad for his first time out!

he's still sleeping well, provided he's on his favorite bed= me. in his crib, not so much. we're working on the sleep thing. it's a challenge, but we're getting there. we find that we're very clear-headed and decided on it at 2pm when robb and i are chatting on the phone at work, debriefing about the night before and making our attack plan for the night ahead. at 2am?? not so much. the best laid plans...are lying down, with a baby sleeping on their chest(s).


but he's all around doing awesome.

in addition to sitting up and propping himself up by his fists like a small albino gorilla, he uses both hands for fine motor activities, also. he plays with toys and grabs anything and everything and tries to usher it to his mouth. he still isn't making any moves toward crawling and doesn't really roll over much, but he scoots a little. and...have you seen his cheeks? my theory is that they're just too heavy to haul around too much. so we'll get there.

he is still with the 2 teeth on the bottom. and he's forming more word-ish sounds and now he blows raspberries all the time. it's cute until he's supposed to be nursing and then he's a vicious motor-boating baby monster. :)

(he will totally thank me some day for these observations. i just know it.)

i'll post a video of him eating real food soon. both nights we've tried it, it's barely made it out of the fridge and it's already up his nose. :)

amazing.

Thank You, God.

went to the dedication (again, like baptism, but in our church babies get dedicated and adults choose to be baptized) of our good friends' little girl. she is almost a year old and is perfect and wonderful and miraculous and awesome.

i teared up in church for the blessings we've all experienced this past year. this time last year these friends were torn up, hurting after an adoption fell through in a most traumatic way. they were unsure if they would ever have the joy of being parents or heal from the hurt they had suffered. last year this time i was pregnant, but it was new and i'd been there before with no baby to show for it. Christmas was quiet, waiting, watchful, still mourning.

but this year!!!! their little girl arrived on the scene just several days after Christmas last year and we've now had henry monkey butt for almost 6 whole months. we have several other friends who also had experienced losses and fertility struggles in the past who now, thankfully, are parents or well on their way to being parents. wow. what a beautiful, blessed year this has been! i just want to tell everyone about how incredible God has been to us. and to give courage and hope to those who are still waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for their own answers. i pray that this next year is their year.

i thought of this little poem/song thing earlier today. for some reason, i always personify God's hands. it's a powerful image in my head.

God's Hands

when i was desperate and ashamed, afraid and empty
i clung onto His hands to keep me on my feet

when i was so angry at what i had lost
what i thought He had stolen
His hands held my shoulders while mine beat His chest

when i finally found some peace in His time, His will, His way
i held His hand and wept while driving alone in my car

and when we tried yet again and started a new life,
i imagined His powerful hands holding my womb
keeping its contents safe and whole

and His hands protected and then guided this flawless critter
into the world

and now as i dance and rock with my amazing! perfect! joyous! baby boy
i feel His hands and arms wrapped around us both, celebrating with us,
keeping us close in His warmth and love.

thank you, God.