Some news...

We are pregnant again!  Yep, Ira is going to be a big brother to a new little person due March 10, 2015.  Last time, I was due March 5 so the little folks will be almost exactly 2 years apart.  We were going to wait and try to have kiddos 3 years apart, but PB and I sort of decided all of a sudden that we both felt like 3 years is too long to wait.  We want them to be buddies (even though I know they'll give each other a few black eyes over the course of things).  Two years just seemed like a better time, so a few weeks later we found out we were having another little friend!  I'm seven weeks as of yesterday and haven't been to the OB yet, but I figure now is as good a time as any to start weekly pregnancy updates.  I so loved having these with Ira! 

What Fruit are you? Oh, the fun fruit question.  This week, baby is a blueberry!

Due date:  March 10, 2015 (Ira was due March 5 but I went into labor at 39 weeks and he was born February 27, so I'll be interested to see what happens this time around!)

How far along:  7 weeks

Gender:  No ideas at this point! 

Total weight gain/loss:  I've lost about a pound (though I'm still up 10 pound from my prepregnancy weight with Ira...such is life).

Stretch marks: No, and hoping I can avoid them again. Fingers crossed!

Swelling: None.

Maternity clothes: I'm not showing at all yet (just have residual baby weight from last time) so everything pretty much still fits.

Belly button: In for now.

Sleep: I've been having crazy dreams about twins and having babies in a sailboat and all manner of insanity.  And when I'm not dreaming, I can't sleep!

Food cravings:  The other day I had to go immediately to Jimmy John's for an Italian Nightclub sub and it was amazing.  And I'm already thinking about another one. Other than that, I've been eating a lot of fruit, just like last time.  Also I made PB go get me a witch doctor from What-a-Burger the other day, which I haven't had in years!

Symptoms:  I've been slightly more nauseous this time than last, and I find I wake up feeling a little gross but I get better as soon as I get some food.  I need to eat every few hours but otherwise I'm doing ok!  I've also been really tired, which I think is exacerbated by chasing a crazy toddler.

Movement: To be honest, I've been feeling some little strange flutters here and there.  But then I convince myself it's just gas and move along.

What I miss:  I do miss a nice cold beer every now and again.  And not feeling gross and exhausted!

What I’m loving:  Being home with Ira this summer! We have been to the beach, the lake, the splash pad, toddler story time at the library, and the park.  I absolutely love this age - he's so much fun to play with.

What I’m looking forward to:  Our first appointment next Thursday to hopefully see this peanut!

Best moment this week: Taking Ira to the park and watching him climb on the equipment and slide all by himself! 

Baby Wearing, Parte Dos - The Moby

The first carrier I ever used with Ira was the Moby. When I came home from the hospital, I knew I wanted to wear him, but I didn't yet have the baby wearing addiction that I do now.

Ira was 6 days old the first time I wore him, and it worked like a charm.  He slept the whole time, and he was nice and warm all zipped into my jacket.  

The Moby wrap is basically a really long piece of fabric that gets skinnier toward the ends that you wrap around yourself and then put your baby into.  You can carry them like I have Ira in the above photo, you can carry them facing you with legs out (with fabric between you or not), and you can do a hip carry when they're older.  Moby actually has really easy instructions here.  

The biggest complaint that I have heard from people about the Moby wrap is that they can't figure it out, or that it's hard to use because it's one long piece of fabric.  I can totally relate, especially if you're new to baby wearing.

Here's what I recommend: wait until your baby is full and happy, maybe even asleep if he's still teeny tiny and can be moved around without waking up.  If your baby starts screaming because he's otherwise mad about something, you're going to curse my name and all things baby wearing.  

Start when you're at home, either by yourself, or with just one other person to hold the baby or help you wrap.  Don't wait to bust it out in front of the in-laws, your cousins, or all of your friends from work who just came over to hang out.  You'll be stressed, you'll try to learn it too fast, and you will (again) curse my name for recommending this blankety-blank wrap.  

Also, when you're ready to put the baby in, stand in front of your bed so you won't be stressed about dropping the baby.  Of course you aren't going to drop the baby, but it's a lot easier to be relaxed if your baby is over a high bed rather than over an asphalt parking lot, or your kitchen tiles.  

If you wrap it and it doesn't feel right to you, take the baby out and try again.  As long as your baby will work with you, keep trying it.  It might take one or two tries to figure out how you're both comfortable in it.  

To wear a newborn in your Moby, you wrap it onto yourself and then put your baby's legs in the "froggy position" (like they want to be anyway) and pull all the fabric around them.  If your baby is older, you're basically doing the same thing, except you're letting their legs hang out.

If you have a brand new baby, this carrier is one of my favorites, because it keeps your baby warm no matter how chilly it is outside. Even if the weather is warm, if your baby is anything like mine, he likes to be a little hotbox.  

I also like it because it's a one-size carrier - no need to buy a bigger one if dad wants to use it.

It's a very secure carrier, and one of my first choices if I'll be doing chores, cooking, or wearing for a long time.  I feel like Ira is really comfy in it, and the fabric is soft and doesn't seem to aggravate his skin, even when I'm wearing for a long time.  It's also nice because it's a one-size carrier....I can wear it, PB can wear it, and Mimi can wear it.

The only drawbacks are that the tails are really long, so I don't like to use it if we're out and about too often.  Nobody wants their tails dragging in the Walmart parking lot. Barf. Also, now that I have a 15 pound chunky monkey, I have to tie it pretty tight or it feels like he's sliding down in it/stretching it out a lot.  Technically you can use it until baby is 35 pounds, but I can't imagine how much he'd stretch it at that point.

The Moby is still one of my favorite newborn options, and one of my favorite cold weather options!  Definitely deserves a place in your baby-wearing stash.

Happy 4 Months, Ira B!

Four Month Stats:
Height: 26 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 15 pounds, 12 ounces (75th percentile)
Clothing Size: We are still in mainly 6-9 month clothes - some 12 month things, depending on what it is!  Baby clothes sizing is just a bunch of hoo-ha, in my opinion.

Four Month Milestones, Highlights & General Happenings

You and Peggy Sue are starting to become buddies.  Mainly because Peggy won't let Brenda Lee near you because she thinks you're her baby.  Now that you know how to work those hands, you like touching the dogs (and grabbing big handfuls of weenie dog fur, but they don't mind!)

You and Peg hanging out on the couch at the lake.

Peggy likes to give you big morning licks after I feed you in bed in the morning!

You guys like to nap with each other.

Both of you hanging out in the tent on the dock at the lake.

Sometimes you're still a little unsure, like maybe I'm going to let you be attacked by a wild animal.

We've ben going to the lake a lot!  You love the dock and boat rides.

Hanging out with Daddy at the Badin Lake Family Restaurant.

You're still sleeping in the Rock 'n' Play, though you've had a few naps (and one full night!) in your crib.

You love grabbing at the toys on your play mat!

I can pretty much get you to smile on command these days, which I love!

This was your first real time in a pool - we went to hang out with girls from my Bradley class.  You absolutely LOVED floating in the water and being worn in the water wrap in the pool.  You were the happiest baby in the world!

Your cheeks get bigger every second.

You still love the bathtub and you let me put silly soap suds on your head! 

You're really getting the hang of the exersaucer and you can pretty much stand up in that thing for 20 minutes at a time and play.

We've gotten used to the Boba and we've started using it for longer carries or times when I need to get you in a carrier quickly.  

You rolled over for the first time on June 22!  I put you on the bed to pack for the lake, and you just flopped over effortlessly, despite your usual hate for tummy time.  I got you to do it one more time (hence the video)....and you have since to do it again.  I think you just let me get it on video so I can refer to that and you don't have to keep doing it.  Sigh.  Maybe one day you'll consistently roll over!

You still have no schedule or real routine.  That's probably my fault, because in that department, you might as well be raised by wolves.  You'll pass out at 8pm in the living room or you'll stay up til midnight with us.  You still get up after about a 4-5 hour stretch of sleep, and you love to nurse nurse nurse in the mornings.  Your feedings through the day are getting more consolidated though - you'll tell me pretty quick to put that mess up because you're not interested.  You nap a lot during the day, usually taking a few hour to two-hour naps if I don't bother you and drag you all over creation.

We love your little personality more and more.  You are such a frat boy - you think everything is funny.  Silly faces, noises, and raspberries all get a big sideways grin and a laugh.  Your number one goal in life is to blow a raspberry back at us and you're getting pretty good at it.  You love to snuggle with me while we nurse at night and in the morning, and you love to be held with a blanket touching your face while you fall asleep.  You are the sweetest boy I know!

Baby Wearing, Parte Uno - Why Do It?

I promised a baby wearing post, because it's something I do every day, and something I dearly love!  The issue is, I have a baby wearing problem.  I don't have just one carrier.  I have a lot.  Like I think I have more carriers than pants that fit me at the moment.  Do they have baby wearers anonymous?

Hi, my name is Meredith, and I am addicted to baby carriers.  I have just about every kind you can imagine that holds your baby close.  No "crotch danglers" or those infernal metal framed thing that look like you're going on an adventure up Mt. Everest on a yak with your baby.  But I'll get back to that.

So, why wear your baby in the first place?  When I wear Ira in Wal-Mart, people look at me as if I might actually be growing a baby outside of my body.  Or like I may have been invaded by some alien life form.  What I see are people with their babies in their car seats.  I see poor mamas lugging those 30 pound car seats with their arms stuck out at a right angle from their body.  I don't know how y'all do that!  I've had to do that to get Ira from Point A to Point B in the car seat and it makes me feel like I need to go to the chiropractor immediately.  Not to mention, unless the car is moving, he is NOT going to be happy in that thing for more than about 3 minutes.

Or even worse, I see those car seats perched on top of Wal-Mart shopping carts while mama browses.  I think maybe people just don't realize how dangerous that is.  You can damage the clip on your car seat so that it doesn't work properly in your car and it will be ejected from its base if you get into an accident.  Scary.  Also, carts aren't designed to hold the top heavy weight of car seats.  The whole cart can tip over or your car seat can be knocked off the cart, injuring or killing your baby.  I know, people do it every day and it doesn't happen, but what if we could avoid it EVER happening?  And have happier babies?  And mamas with backs that don't hurt?

Also, there is nothing better for getting things done around the house than wearing your baby.  Ira loves to snuggle with me while we hang out diapers, pick up random baby items that are constantly strewn everywhere, or just walk the weenie dogs. A lot of times he'll look around and take everything in, but he'll usually fall asleep and take a nap for as long as I'll wear him.

And if you think having a baby means you're chained to the house, you haven't worn your baby! Ira has been out to restaurants, friends' houses, and shopping more times than I can count since he was teeny tiny. As long as I put him in a carrier, he's good to go.  Also, depending on the kind of carrier you're using, you can nurse in it!  That's a win for everybody.

Have I convinced you yet?  Wondering what kind of devices you need to be a ballin' baby-wearer?  Well, I mentioned I have a problem.  I have (and love) a Moby, a k'tan, several ring slings, a mei tai, and a water wrap carrier.  I use them all on different occasions depending on my mood, Ira's mood, and what we're going to be doing.

You could be happy with any or all of the above...I'll get to the pros and cons of each in a few more posts!  So with that long list of baby carriers, are there any I wouldn't recommend?  Yes indeed, there are a few.

The first offenders are the so-called "crotch danglers" I mentioned, the most popular being the Baby Bjorn and the Snuggli.  They're awfully popular, but they aren't really good for you or your baby.

(Thanks to crunchyway.blogspot.com for the photo - I love the comparison!  And hate the crotch dangler!)

I feel like this is a popular dad carry, so you can be like what's-his-face from The Hangover, but come on dads, y'all can do better!

I know, he looks awesome.  But maybe just try the glasses and beard with a comfy carrier.

Why am I not into crotch danglers?  Well, you can see the picture, right?  You want me to put all kind of pressure on your junk like that?  But seriously, it isn't good for your baby's hips and spine.  You want to wear your baby in way similar to how you would hold him and in a natural position for him.  You ever seen many babies stick their legs out like that?

The only other kind I'm not into are the big metal-frame carriers because I really and truly can't think of a situation where that would be practical.  Even if I were a big hiker/camper (which I'm clearly not), I can't imagine wearing Ira in such a big, heavy apparatus. 

For the love of Pete, why do you need that much structure to carry your kid?  I really think I could just as easily put the car seat on my back with bungee straps.  I feel tired looking at this guy.  

But if you have the right carrier, it's magical.  Besides making your back hurt a lot less, it makes your baby cry a lot less.  Babies who are worn for 3 hours a day cry and fuss 43% less than those who aren't worn.  It also makes your baby smarter.  Because you're wearing your baby at adult conversation level, he hears more speech and is more involved in what you're doing.  (Fact check me here.) Still not convinced?  There's my personal favorite - less germy-pawed strangers reaching into your carrier to touch your baby.  Something about wearing a baby makes him more yours, less public property.  

Okay, I'll step off my soapbox now.  But I'm working on more posts about each carrier I have, how to use them, and what the benefits of each of them are!  I hope you'll think about wearing your baby if you have one (or are going to have one soon!)

Why boobs are awesome.

Since I wrote about cloth diapers, I feel like I would be remiss to leave out another of my hippie obsessions - breast feeding.  At least around here, I feel like it's something we don't talk about a lot.  Or if we do, we have to say it in a whisper, you know, in the same tone and volume you might say, "rectum," or "hemorrhoids."  I don't really know why that is, but it's sad.  I truly don't think I've ever seen anyone nursing in public except for one lady in Babies R Us, and is that really nursing in public?  I feel like that's more akin to bringing your dog to Petsmart - it's expected there.

When I was little, my mom was a lactation consultant, so I saw a lot of breast feeding.  Boobs to the left, boobs to the right, and you're the only kid in town....wait, those aren't the lyrics to that Jimmy Buffet song....but anywho.  Bottom line, I didn't know what else you did with a baby.  I was the only kid in my house, so I didn't have little brothers and sisters to watch, but I did see more breast feeding than the average kid.  I also had a tendency to walk around Walmart with my baby doll plastered to my bare chest because again, that's all I'd ever seen a baby do.  Babies also take bottles?  Wha?

I knew from the beginning that breast feeding was something I was going to do or die.  In fact, that's what inspired my hell-bent, worry-your-face-off obsession with trying to have a natural birth.  Besides feeling unholy amounts of pain and shaking and the psychological despair of being told you're only three centimeters, the other thing on my mind when I asked for the epidural was breast feeding.  When you start doing research about how to have a good breast feeding relationship, one of the first things you see is natural birth.  If you get an epidural, your baby will be sleepy from medication at best.  At worst, you'll have a c-section and then you'll never ever make milk and you'll start supplementing with formula and then the world will explode into 36 million tiny pieces.  Okay, maybe I made that last part up.  But that's what I felt would happen.

When they told me my baby was here, it was 2 in the morning and I was dog tired and just about delirious from being so exhausted, but I remember thinking I had to get that baby up on my chest.  And I did, and with a little help because a) I had no idea what I was doing and b) I was so tired I felt like I was made of cooked spaghetti noodles - we had our first little nursing session.

Honestly, I had it pretty easy during those first few days.  We had an appropriate number of wet and dirty diapers, I seemed to be making something, and Ira would nurse for about 10 or 15 minutes at a time, usually.  I was so grateful to have it easy those first few days, because I know that doesn't happen for a lot of people.  The word "formula" was never mentioned to me, but I know at some hospitals, your nurse is pushing you to give your baby formula so you can sleep, or at worst, telling you that you "have" to give your baby formula because you're basically starving him because he isn't getting enough to eat.  I can't imagine hearing that, and I'm so glad I didn't have to.

When we got home, things were still easy by pretty much anybody's standards.  Sure, I was a little sore, because nobody's used to having a little piranha attached to you for hours a day.  But for the most part, we were golden.  He was gaining weight, he seemed pretty happy, we were good to go.  But then when he was two weeks old, I went to bed feeling like I just couldn't get warm and feeling pretty achey.  I decided to take my temperature when I woke up feeling that way in the middle of the night.  Of course, I had a fever, and it turned out that I had endometritis.  

Y'all, that ain't no game show.  It hurts to lay the baby on your belly, your fever is so high it makes you feel like you have the diphtheria or something, and the last thing you want to do is sit up and nurse your baby.  Fast forward to 24 hours later, and I had a rock-hard, bright red and painful lump on my left side.  Helloooooo mastitis.  Insult, meet injury.  I don't know why though, it never occurred to me that I couldn't feed my baby.  Maybe it's some sort of evolutionary drive or something, but I felt like the world would end if somebody bought formula for him.  Honestly even giving him a pumped bottle at that age was out of the question because I was afraid pumping wouldn't be enough stimulation for my supply, or that he'd get the dreaded nipple confusion.  So we pushed on and we both survived that bump in the road.

And now, I can't imagine not nursing.  First, let me say that breast feeding is the lazy mama's dream.  Baby crying in the middle of the night?  Haul him into bed, lay down while feeding him, go back to sleep.  If I had to get up and heat up formula, I'd be totally awake and I'd never go back to sleep.  Then, you have to wash bottles.  You know what I hate?  Washing bottles.  What a pain in the butt.  If that has to be part of your daily life, I am sorry, friend, because that is terrible slave work.  And then, there's my favorite benefit.  Need to get away from somebody?  Pretend to be shy and go nurse.  Sometimes, you just need a break from 10,000 visitors or family dinner or whatever else.  "Sorry guys, baby's hungry."  Another benefit is that I can't forget my boobs.  I have forgotten everything else.  A pacifier, a blanket, another outfit, diapers, wipes, a sun hat, socks, you name it.  But at least I won't have a hungry baby who is loudly expressing his opinions!

For that last part to work, you sort of have to be ok with nursing out in the world.  Because again, that whole pumping and bottle washing?  That's for people who are much less lazy than me.  

The best way to do it?  Wear your baby.  My ring sling that Mom made works best.  Drop him down a little further, and bam, happy baby.

I'll have to talk about baby wearing more soon.  But that's my favorite part of baby wearing!

And also, just snuggling with a baby and having him look up at you and grin, or stroke you with his little fingers while he eats, or snuggle next to you at night is just amazing.  There's nothing I'd trade for that.  Sometimes when we nurse I just try to memorize every second because I know he won't be a baby long.

I just hate that so few people get to experience exclusively breast feeding their baby.  I hate that so many women are told that they don't make enough, that their body is broken, that they're starving their baby.  The solution is always to give your baby something else or something more, and that just perpetuates the issue - because if your baby is getting milk elsewhere, that's all the less milk you'll make for him.  I also hate that so many negative things are said about nursing. 

"He'll sleep more if you give him formula."  He'd sleep more if  I gave him Jack Daniels too, but you don't see me busting out the liquor. 

"You'll stop all that once he gets a few teeth!" Um, they basically stick their tongues out over their teeth (or where their teeth would be) to nurse.  They don't chew on you like corn on the cob.  Or if they do, you're doing something wrong.

"You should just give him bottles sometimes so you can sleep more/go out/do other things." But then I have to make bottles.  And then I have to pack bottles.  Wash bottles.  Go out and buy more things with which to feed my kid, none of which are as good what I already have.  That's also free.  Plus, who said I want to go out and do other things?  I like having my little monkey come along.  I think he's pretty cute.

"Nobody else ever gets to feed the baby!"  And nobody else got to carry the baby before he was born, nobody else got to birth the baby...it's sort of part of doing the whole "mom" thing.  You're not really designed to have somebody else feed the baby.

So if you're struggling with breast feeding, keep your chin up.  There are hard parts, but I promise it's so worth it.  I wouldn't trade it for anything, and it might just be my favorite part of baby wrangling.  

10 weeks!

Thoughts on the Weekly Photo: Well first, sorry that you have to see my naked belly. But in the interest of documentation, there it is.  And I am starting to think there might just be a little tiny bit more roundness than there was, and you couldn't tell at all when my sort-of baggy Target t-shirt was in front of it.

Marination Time: 10 weeks - though technically this is 10 weeks, 2 days, because weeks change on Mondays for our purposes.

Weight Gain: Back up to pre-pregnancy weight. It's just sort of a yo-yo effect these days depending on how much I feed my face vs. how many miles I manage to run.

Clothes: Based on my awful $10 stretchy capri pants, you might think Oh poor Meredith's clothes must already not be fitting! She is relegated to the horror that is Wal-Mart capri pants! You would be wrong. All pants still fit. I have no justification for the pants. It's couch time, that's all I can say.

Fruit of the Week: This week, it's the size of a prune.  This was accompanied by a quite ugly picture on thebump.com.  I'm ready to change to a cuter fruit next week!

Name: Ira? Frances? Time will tell...

Moving: Again, The Bump says the prune can move, but I can't feel anything yet.

Sleep: Not awesome. I tend to wake up and then not be able to go back to sleep for hours.  Hopefully some of that mess will resolve when I go back to work and have to stick to a real schedule and do something besides sit on the couch all day.

Cravings: I've been tearing up some peaches we bought on the way back home from a little beach weekend I took with my mom and grandma. Also, I ate a whole loaf of sourdough bread from this little place in Locust, NC called The Fresh House.  Oh my word, you have never ever had bread like this, I promise.  It's like a cloud.  And now I have no more, and it's all I can think about.

Annoyances: I feel bad even putting anything here because I feel like most folks are super sick at this point, but I have zero feelings like that.  In fact, most of the time I feel like I could run a marathon.  But if I had to pick something, I guess it's that I still have a huge aversion to most meat.  I don't want to smell it, I don't want to see it, and I sure don't want to eat it, yuck yuck yuck.  This is difficult when you live with a man who eats two hot dogs for breakfast and two more for lunch if he's at home.  I feel like my kitchen perpetually smells like hot dogs and I cannot stand the smell of hot dogs.  I may never eat another one.  

Highlights of the Week: I'm getting together with some of my teaching friends both tomorrow and Friday.  We're going to see a sweet new baby tomorrow, and then to hang out with another of my friends and her adorable baby and three year old on Friday.  Beats sitting on the couch and watching dressage and water polo all day!

In which I discuss baby names...

...and hope not to offend anyone.  Seriously, if I knock the name of your niece/cousin/best friend, I'm really sorry.  I might actually like the name on them, but I am REAL funny about baby names for my own particular chicos/chicas.  In ways that may not make sense to you.  See below.

So, as mentioned, I have a set of criteria regarding baby names, if you will.  

1.  We gotta call the baby what we name the baby.  No naming the baby Hortense Kelly and then saying, "But we're going to call her Kelly!" Also no naming the baby Katherine and dooming her to a life of "But I go by Katie."  The kid's name has to be the kid's name, end of story.

2.  On the note of Katie - I know a lot of them, and that name brings up an interesting point.  I never know how to spell your gosh darn name.  Or what it's short for.  Is it Katie? Katy? Caity? Caitie? Is that short for Catherine?  Katerina?  Katherine? Caitlin? Kathleen?  I can't.  No names with ambiguous spellings.

3.  Also, no names with spellings you make ambiguous yourself.  I don't need you to throw a "y" in there, an "ae" where it should just be an "a," and so forth and so on.  First of all, for girls, I think it makes your name way too frilly and precious and I need it work for you if you decide to be a brain surgeon.  For example, why does it need to be Alysyn instead of just Allison?  How many times will that poor girl have to spell her name?  

4.  Nothing, and I repeat, nothing in the Top 100.  Make that top 500, really.  Or anything rapidly on the rise.  I really do like a lot of the names in the top 100, especially for girls (I'm thinking of Emma, Aubrey, Lillian, Vivian)...but I can't do that to a kid.  I don't need her to be one of five girls named Ava in her class.

5.  Nothing for a boy that ends in "n."  Is it me or is every other little boy you meet these days named Aidan, Brayden, Hayden, Jayden, Austin, Colton, Grayson, Landon, Lawson, Logan, Rylan, Tristan, or Weston?  Maybe just here?  Because I feel like soon, we'll be able to write one long rhyming poem with all the boys' names of kids under the age of 5.  

So what do I like?  Well, with all these darn rules, I'll admit it's tough to come up with something!  I really like old names though.  But I get a LOT of snuffling laughs when I tell people our names.  

If it's a boy (which I'm convinced it is)....it's going to be:

Ira

And if it's a girl, it's going to be:

Frances

I know.  Not the usual.  Ira was PB's great-grandfather's name, and I just really like it.  And Frances was my great-grandmother's name.  Both of them are safely outside the top 500 (not that you're surprised about that).  So there you go  - I know most other people wouldn't pick them but that's sort of what I like about them.  

Now I have to wait until September to find out which one it's going to be....I may lose my mind before then.