January 27, 2012
Baby Babble
Here’s what I’m talking about on Baby’s First Year this week:
1. How important is a father’s role in childbirth? Did your own partner help or hinder your labor? Mom’s weighed in with their personal experiences here.
2. I’ve shared before my struggle with losing too much weight since Arlo was born. I went to the doctor this week and learned I weigh 116 pounds (well below my normal weight). At 5’ 7” that is really concerning as I haven’t been that small since my sophomore year of highschool. They took blood samples to ensure it’s not a thyroid issue (common in women who have recently given birth) but most likely, I’m just not eating enough calories to sustain both my weight and Arlo’s breastmilk needs. I’ve started to try to eat a lot of healthy fats & proteins like avocados and eggs to up my calorie intake. I sharedmy concerns and hear from others who have experienced a similar occurance in this post.
3. One formula bottle a day, that’s all I need to stay on top of Arlo’s milk consumption. Even with the endless pumping, I’m just barely keeping up… the problem, Arlo refuses to drink formula! I asked for help and heard from lots of moms on what worked to introduce formula to their little ones.
4. Have you heard about this amazing IVF success story? A couple was able to have a healthy baby girl after only one viable sperm was found in the father’s biopsy sample. Talk about a miracle baby!
5. The low down on teething - the average age for baby’s first teeth, when to expect molars, and more.
6. Yesterday we were taken aback by some unexpected news from Arlo’s cardiologist. He is going to require a heart procedure to fix his heart much sooner than we anticipated. Details on what’s going on are here. We would really appreciate if you would lift our little boy (and his surgeon) up in prayer.
Love,
Melissa
Played 1,178 times [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] Songs to be Alive To.
Morningbird by Forest Sun.
And this… this is Arlo’s song. I put it on my birth playlist along with a couple dozen other beautiful songs, but when I met him, this one resonated most with me. It feels like it was written from my heart to his. We dance to this together around our living room. And I have every intention of taking that spin with him as often as I possibly can before he decides one day he’s too cool to do so. A song for Arlo. My darling boy. My Morningbird.
Love,
M
Played 6,362 times [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] Songs to be Alive to.
Sweetness by Pearl and The Beard.
I thought tonight I’d share the two songs that represent my children best. One of the raddest girls out there, Kirby, sent us this record for Everly in the early spring of last year. Her darling little Georgiah liked rocking out to it, and she thought Everly might too. She was on to something because this song IS Everly. We put this album on and her little hips start to sway and she stops whatever she is doing to dance along. She knows all of the key changes and when the music stops or changes melody. It’s inside her, this song… and it may officially be called Sweetness, but in this house, this is the Everly song through and through. Sweetness, indeed.
Love,
M
January 26, 2012
A Brief But Worthy Moment.
The very best thing about work from home days is that instead of taking a break by walking down the hall to grab a snack from the break room, I get to take a break by laying in the grass with my eight month old and husband.
They’re only small moments in my day, but a welcome respite from hour long conference calls and writing email after email. Nothing relieves the stress of a busy work day like taking a little time to examine the treasures of our front yard, up close, with my favorite little boy.
Love,
M
January 25, 2012
The Rundown: 8 months & 2 years
(Arlo fresh from a bath & Everly having just been caught attempting to give her balloon puppy a “baf”.)
Stats:
Everly: You are riding that 25 percentile curve all the way through your second year of life. At your 2 year check up, you were 24 lbs 8 ounces and 34 3/4 inches tall. You’ve got a closet full of size 5 shoes and you’ve got a serious opinion on the ones you like best. Your crazy, wispy hair is starting to grow in thicker and you still sport the most radical bedhead the world has ever seen most days (despite my attempts to tame it).
Arlo: My long and lean boy continues the same growth pattern too - 17.9 pounds and 28 1/2 inches long. You are wearing 9month clothes like a champ although some of the pants can be a little baggy in the waist. You are wearing a 2.5 shoe (when you wear shoes).
Teeth:
Everly: Your pediatrician confirmed that all of your second year molars are in! Now that all your major teeth are in, can I just tell you that you have always handled teething like a champ. From the first tooth to the last molar, it never seemed like a big deal to you.
Arlo: After months of sporting two little bunny teeth, you’re about to get some new ones! Your 4 front teeth are just beginning to break through the surface of your gums. You’ve done really well with teething, fussing only here and there. You love chomping on a cold teether when they really bother you.
Feeding:
Everly: Your appetite rocks! It hasn’t always been this way, but you are turning into a great little eater! While you’re still not a huge fan of some green veggies, you’ll pretty much try everything and when you love something, you’ll clean your plate and ask for seconds! Among your favorites right now: shrimp, cheese tortellini, peas, pizza (of course), blackberries, chicken legs, & baked sweet potato fries.
Arlo: You were 6.5 months old when we introduced you to solids and it’s been a slow climb as we introduced each new food to you. I’ve been a little more cautious in giving you new foods since you’ve had some bad reactions to dairy and soy in the past. The good news is that you’ve done great with everything so far and we’ve even had success re-introducing dairy to your diet! You went from loving purees to hating them pretty quickly, so now you mainly eat small pieces of soft foods that you can pick up and feed to yourself. Among your favorites: nitrate free deli turkey, avocado (your favorite!), blue berries, cheese slices, banana, & little pieces of whole grain bread. You still love to nurse and we’re just going to keep going with that as long as you’d like!
Talking:
Everly: Uh, little lady, you pretty much say it all. Like full on complete thoughts, sentences, ideas. It’s incredible to be able to openly communicate with such a tiny individual. You tell us when you are happy, sad, and tired. You ask us if we are happy, sad or tired. You say things like “Look mama, I made something!” or “You got a booboo? You need to go see Dr. ‘Nan?” (your pediatrician’s name). You tell me about your days at preschool “Sadie Wren was sad. Sadie Wren’s mommy gone” “I play on slide!” and you come home singing songs like The Farmer in the Dell but change the words to things like “Arlo takes the cheese!” (Oh, it makes us laugh!) We are astounded by what you know and what you observe and how well you articulate your wants and needs to us.
Arlo: One day, out of the blue, you just decided you were going to start making real, serious vocal sounds. You went from baby goo goos to “da da” “bop bop” and “ma ma” now you say them all the time. You’re not quite old enough yet to really associate those words as our names, but you sure do love saying them.
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I Forgot to Post This Last Week…
Look how cute Mylah and Everly were in the invite we sent out before their party. My favorite is the second shot where we asked them how many fingers was “2”. Such sweet munchkins!
Love,
M
January 24, 2012
Played 1,053 times [Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] Songs to Be Alive To.
Good Friday by Elvis Perkins
Do you ever put your earphones in at public places and pretend that the music is your own soundtrack? I used to do that on the mornings I took the train from San Francisco to Mountain View. This song always reminds me of those moments, pretending to live in a slow motion long shot of my own morning commute. I put it on my birth playlist because there’s a calming memory associated with this song. It fills me up every time.
Love,
M
A little Something Something…
It’s fun to online window shop, isn’t it? I think I currently have 10 or more “virtual” shopping carts loaded down with things I wish I could buy. Sometimes it feels really therapeutic to fill them up and then close out the screen - all the fun of shopping without the buyers remorse! But sometimes I happen upon a good deal that’s hard to pass up if the price is right - Here are a few I’ve been eye-ballin’ on the world wide web today:
Something for Baby Girl:
A Jelly & The Pug sundress on Zulily today for $21.99! I love this playful print and Everly has several pieces from this line in her wardrobe.
Something for Baby Boy:
A playful Naked Decor wall mount Rhino on Joss & Main for his bedroom wall for $29.99. Too cool!!
Something for Daddy:
A gorgeous pair of wingtips on sale at Urban Outfitters for $59.99 + Free Shipping. There is just something about a man in a nice pair of shoes - even though Brent isn’t much for dressing up fancy, he’s always game for throwing on a pair of brogues with his favorite grandpa sweater and jeans for a night out. Instantly dapper!
Something for Mama:
I love this chevron striped dress in a pretty rust and cream combo. It’s already on the way to my front door and I plan to pair it with a bright blue cardigan, a braided waist belt & some fun wedge heels. You can snag it for $30.80 when you use promo code: JORDAN at check-out (or 30% off any single, regular priced item on the Francesca’s Collections website)
Are you Oooohing over anything oh-so-pretty on the internet this morning? Anyone else out there guilty of pretend-shopping?
Love,
M
January 23, 2012
A Progression of Dear Baby Headers.
It’s kind of fun to see them all lined up next to one another. One of these days, when I get my act together, I’m determined to give this entire blog a facelift- but in the meantime, a fresh new header will cure my itch. A special thank you to Jess of I Rock So What for designing this for me!
Love,
M
Letters to Arlo.
Dear Arlo,
I was reading a beautiful story by another blogger last week when I was stopped abruptly by these words:
“God makes children so specifically for us, each of them.” ~Arianna Segerman
It called on me to sit down and write this to you. Before you were born, I carried some assumptions about parenting. For one, that going through it once already meant I knew what I was doing. I took a lot for granted. My babies would be completely healthy. My babies would eat and sleep and do what all the best babies do.
And you were ten days old when I realized that I was completely wrong. We spent the next six months of your life being told that things weren’t right. We didn’t sleep. You cried and I cried. You were diagnosed with five different conditions, some minor some major. We learned pretty quickly that we needed to make big adjustments to our attitude and our way of life. During all of this, I spent a lot of time rationalizing things with God. I asked him why my son had to deal with these things. What had I done to cause this? I found one thousand different ways to blame myself for your troubles.
One day, as I sometimes do, I scrolled back through my blog and landed on a letter I had written to you before you were born. These were my words:
“Sometimes I sit quietly with my hands on either side of my belly and feel you move. I feel the hardness of your little hands and feet as you push against me and I am overcome with peace. Your presence there inside me, envelops me head to toe with the deepest of faiths. In the same way in which I have learned to follow God, In the way I have learned to make a life with your father, In the way I have learned to care for your sister - with that same faith I will trust you to come into this world in your own individual way.
And I will keep brushing away the preconceived notions of who you will be - those unfounded comments on what I should expect - because I feel you speaking to me already. And with every roll of my belly, you say to me “I am here, becoming. And I will be the exact boy you need in your life, mama. No more or no less”
Without knowing it at the time, I was writing to my future self, sending words that she would find when her baby boy was 5 months old. They were written, somewhat naively, but with conviction and when I found them again, they settled down on me like a thick sweater. I read them over and over, getting comfortable with the realization that you are the exact boy, the only boy, that could grow my soul and teach my heart. From your unexpected addition to our family, to your beautiful birth and the ups and downs of the months since- I am constantly reminded that God handpicked you as my son. He chose perfectly, but then again, He always does.
God knew I could use a little humility. God knew our family could use a little magic. And so he created a son for us who could give both. While I wish you never had to deal with any of these physical challenges for even a day, I have learned to marvel at your ability to be slowed by nothing. You are a force, little boy!
I was right, you know, when I wrote those words to you. I knew it then and you’ve proven it now. You will always be the exact boy I need in my life. No more and no less.
Love,
Mama
