Thank You, Mom

Let's rewind 12 or so years back... I'm in the height of my teenage years and like most teenage girls, I fought with my mom. I remember this one in particular because of the guilt and shame afterward.

I made my mom cry.

We were getting out of the car after my mom had driven me home from one of the many activities she carted me to and from each day. I was angry because she was "always bragging about me." I still remember the harsh words as they came out of my teenage mouth. "Mom! The ONLY reason you brag about me is because you have no REAL accomplishments of your own!"

Ouch.

Here's a picture of my mom sleeping in the car around this same time period.
She probably had just dropped off one kid and was waiting for the next one to get in the car. 

Fast forward to now.

This week, I was sitting in a group of mommies with babies similar in age to Leah. We were all talking about what our babies were doing and the mommy problems we were having. I didn't realize it until after the mommy I was talking to moved over to talk to another mommy. She wasn't trying to be rude, but I realized pretty quickly that I probably had been talking too much... and probably even bragging. :/

My cheeks flushed red with embarrassment for a brief moment and I silently chided myself - Jen, you need to be a better listener. LISTEN, DON'T TALK! - (This self-talk happens frequently.) I played silently with Leah on the carpet and smiled listening to the other moms in conversation in the room... but I was embarrassed. Then the memory of the argument with my mom resurfaced. 

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I am now just starting to understand what I didn't all those years ago. Being a stay at home mom is a thankless task and your children are your accomplishments. There is no annual evaluation that comes with a shiny star and no raise. Your job fulfillment comes from seeing your child/children progress.

Yes, THEY are the ones scooting forward on their own, but gosh darn it... YOU were the one dangling the toy and changing the diapers and feeding them and bathing them and and...

YES, as a teenager, I was the one that practiced, that worked hard, that made good decisions, etc. BUT, my mom was the one on the sidelines. She stayed up late listening to me talk about my day. She made cookies for my friends. She carted me everywhere I needed to go. She made sure I was fed, clothed, sheltered...

I guess I just want to say, "Thank you, Mom."

...and I'm sorry for all the crappy things I said as a teenager. Leah will probably get me back.

I still need to work on the less bragging and MORE listening. Unfortunately, that's just my personality flaw and it's something that I'll probably have to actively work on for the rest of my life. 

It's just so dang hard when your daughter is as amazing as Leah. ;-) 

Lesson learned learning.

Potty Training Adventures

WARNING: Potty terms will be used in the blog post below. Read at your own risk!

What??

Yes, that's right. I'll start from the beginning...

Leah started sitting in her Bumbo at around 6 weeks. I noticed that each time, I put her in it in the morning she would go poo in it. I thought it was funny and we started calling it her "poopy seat." At the reunion in July, I showed my family Leah's "little trick" and my sister Heather said that it was great and it should be easy to potty train her.

About a month after the reunion, I was bored one day, so I decided to search for Bumbo potty training seats. One came up on Amazon and I read the reviews. In the reviews it mentioned that the Bumbo toilet seat was perfect for "infant" potty training. I posted a link to it on my sister's wall on Facebook and she said that it couldn't hurt to try. I still didn't act on it because the idea of potty training a baby seemed kind of ridiculous to be honest. About two weeks ago, I got bored once again and decided to just go for it and buy the seat. If she didn't use it, fine. She could just use it later when she was ready. No money wasted.

I bought it and it was shipped to me the next day. Love Amazon! I wasn't in a hurry and waited until the evening to even open the box. I put the little seat on the toilet, took off Leah's diaper, and just sat her on it. We read her favorite book, played with some toys, and nothing happened. She was comfy and just kind of hung out on it like she was sitting in her actual Bumbo. Oh well. No big loss. I put her diaper back on her and we went about our day.

The next morning, I put her on it and about a minute after she sat on it, she went pee. I was so excited that I started clapping and I actually scared her. :) I picked her up off the seat, praised her, hugged her, and then put a diaper back on her. I tried periodically throughout the day just randomly putting her on the seat. The next time she actually went poo. I never thought I could be so excited about a bowel movement. It is a sure sign that I have become a mommy. She went about four times that day with just randomly putting her on the toilet.

The next day didn't go as well, so I decided that I needed to study her to look for cues. We've now had the potty seat a week and some days are more successful than others. I never get upset if she has a wet or poopy diaper. It feels like an experiment at this stage. The good thing is that I rarely change poopy diapers. Maybe once every other day. When she poops in her diaper, she gets REALLY upset, like inconsolable, and I have to actually nurse her to calm her down. We haven't had this happen when we are out and about yet. I'm worried I might have to start carrying this seat around. She doesn't really have peeing in the toilet down. If we catch it, it's by luck. I'm trying to figure out what cues she gives before she wets her diaper. Poopy is easy because she usually has gas and I just walk her to the toilet.

Now I read somewhere that doctors say that babies under the age of one do not actually have control on their bowels. All I know is that I put Leah on the toilet and she goes... Most of the time right away. It's really quite unreal.

My main reasoning for doing this is purely financial. I've already cut down on the amount of diapers I've been using by about a third. It's mostly work for me because I'm the one that has to read her cues and put her on the toilet. I've heard of some pretty terrible potty training nightmare stories from parents and I'm just trying to get her used to the potty so maybe it won't be so foreign when it is time to "officially" potty train her. We'll see. This is just my latest adventure in mommyhood.

Leah 5 Months Old

Leah JoAnn, happy 5 months! You continue to surprise me on a daily basis with the new things that you can do. Right now you weigh 17 pounds and are 28 inches long. You are wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes and you just started wearing size 3 diapers.

Our big milestone this last month was trying solid food. You had been watching daddy and I eat during dinner time every night with complete fascination. One night about a week after you turned four months old, your daddy and I were sitting at the table and you were in your Bumbo watching us. We were discussing whether or not you were ready for solid food and then I said, "She probably doesn't even know what this spoon is for!" and I brought it near your mouth. You leaned forward, opened your mouth, and nearly bit the food off my spoon. We decided to start you the next night. :-)

  

I mashed up some avocado and mixed it in with some breast milk. I started with very small bites and you picked it up rather quickly. You loved solid food! It's been several weeks since then and you have tried rice cereal and oatmeal, sweet potato, butternut squash, acorn squash, green beans, bananas, and applesauce. I've been making your food and freezing it into ice cube sized portions, so it's pretty easy to get your dinner ready. I always taste test your food and have actually developed a taste for the different squashes. :-) Your daddy thinks I'm crazy! I'm not sure it's "recommended" but we give you a taste of our dinner each night if there is some sort of sauce. You loved the Indian curry we had last night! You are good at eating your food every night, but you LOVE to try mommy or daddy's food!

You started sitting up by yourself this month with support. I still have to keep a hand or a boppy behind you because you still fling yourself back and have bopped the back of your head more times than I would like to admit. Whenever you are laying on your back, you struggle and try to sit up. It looks like you are doing mini crunches!

We still do tummy time every day and you will lay on your tummy and play with toys for almost 10 minutes on a good day. I thought last month that you would be crawling by now, but you have not put together the different motions. (Whew!) You recently have started scooting backwards, but you do not have forward crawling motion down yet.

You surprised me this month by starting to stand while holding onto things. You've liked to push yourself to a standing position from a very young age, but you always needed help. We have a wooden toy with a bead roller coaster on top that a friend gave to us and you INSIST on standing up and playing with the beads. You always look so grown up when you do it.

You still love your Jenny Jump Up, but you aren't merely standing in it and moving around anymore. You are JUMPING! You have also become increasingly vocal. We call them your dinosaur noises because you're not really making any consonant sounds like mama or dada.  You just like to yell... and sometimes scream which is not the greatest, but I know that you are just experimenting with your voice (and giving daddy a headache).

In order to stay busy, we walk to our local library once a week for storytime and drive to a bigger one with more programs twice a week. We go to a Rhyme, Rhythm, and Tune time with your BFF Brooke which is pretty noisy, but you love to watch all of the excitement. We also do Babygarten classes. Those are nice because they are more developmentally appropriate for you and we get to hang out with babies the same age as you.

You FINALLY have become ticklish to the point where you laugh. I've been waiting for this moment for a while! You used to just squirm and look at me like, "Hey lady, that's uncomfortable!" but now I can get you to squeal and smile. It makes my heart melt!

Each day we try to read a story, and this month I decided to start giving you choices. I put 2-4 books in front of you and wait for you to grab at a book. I always just assumed that you were touching the book that was closest to you, but one day I switched them up and you reached for the SAME book in a different place! I couldn't believe it! Your favorite book is still Dr. Seuss' ABC's and you barely sit still for any other book. You like to help me flip the pages in the books we read. A couple Sundays ago, you grabbed at the hymn book and started turning the pages. Your daddy and I were pretty entertained.

A little over a week before you turned 5 months, we decided to move you into a highchair that hooks on the side of the table. It's nice because you can't break out of it like the Bumbo and I can prepare and cook most of dinner while you are entertaining yourself with toys on the table. Your favorite toy right now is this musical farm themed toy. You love to spin the wheels on it. You always turn your head and look excited when the opening musical sequence plays " Welcome to our learning farm..."

Grabbing things isn't so new anymore. You grab at EVERYTHING! You even like to grab at my face and hair.... and pull! Your accuracy is improving and you can pick something up or even grab at the hanging toys on your play gym and get them on the first try. You are still working on getting your pacifier into your mouth. Speaking of pacifiers, here is a picture of you using one your Aunt Morgan got for you.

We recently tried a sippy cup and you caught on pretty quickly. I let you chew on the tip and put some breast milk it. You got really excited and started grabbing and it and bringing it to your mouth. You usually hold onto it with just one handle which doesn't get it to your mouth so well. It's pretty hard to get much out of those sippy cups anyway with all the spill proofing!

On Sundays, I coordinate our dresses. You are my best accessory! ;-) I sure do love being your mommy! I can't wait to see what you will do this next month!