Grapes of Baby Wrath

BB has two little white dots on his lower gums - IT'S OFFICIAL! He's TEETHING!
Oh the dreaded teething. I have feared this day for many reasons, the paramount of which is the fear of one day being bitten. In a very. sensitive. location. Well, two very. sensitive. locations.
But there is also the fear of going back to waking up all night and a very cranky baby, some of which we've already seen the last week, as poor BB has been the subject of his own personal Bermuda Triangle: a cold, a heinous diaper rash, and teething.
In an effort to recover our cheerful, well-rested baby from the Triangle, this weekend J and I decided to try out this little teether - it vibrates when BB gnaws on it, which weren't sure would feel good, but it seems to be alleviating some pain and therefore some of the teething wrath.

Close to Me

Several weeks ago I began to feel the chaos set in again - my daily pace was becoming frantic as the anxiety began to permeate. Even though I don't feel "sad", I have learned to recognize these feelings as harbingers of depression. I realized that when BB was napping, I was cleaning or doing laundry, and when I wasn't at home caring for BB and the house, I was working, trying to serve my patients lovingly while optimizing their health. Trying to find time to work out has been challenging and I was feeling discouraged about my body. I remembered the days when I could get up and get a glass of water anytime I wanted and wondered how I felt so busy then when I could do anything anytime I wanted.

That weekend, the Lord knew just what I needed - I spent the afternoon with my little family at an outdoor wedding reception in beautiful weather, socializing as a family and taking BB on the dance floor for the first time. A social event that might normally make me feel ready for a nap was actually revitalizing. That night was a girl's night out - I drove away from the house feeling free, windows down and music up, grateful that J was enjoying a boys night in with BB. He was safe at home with his daddy and I was free to...anything! I had dinner with friends and after dinner we walked around the outdoor mall, debating continuing the evening. I was excited by any suggestion, and laughed when I realized I was just so excited I had the option to do any of it. The next day, I felt peaceful inside again. The anxiety was gone.

Driving to Target alone the other evening, I felt that same lightness of being (to borrow a phrase), a freedom that felt satisfying only because it was temporary.

Speaking with my sister-in-law recently we discussed "me time" and how as a mommy, it can be hard to come by.

In the afternoon I danced in the living room with BB, tears sliding down my cheeks as I sang "Wildflower" and realized how much I meant the words for him.
"You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worry
You belong somewhere you feel free"

This hope and anticipation and delight is even harder to come by.
He belongs close to me, and it's so worth it.

Happy 5-Month Birthday BB!

BB was 5 months old on Halloween! Here's the dinosaur with his Cave-Parents!

You've already seen pictures of some of his 5-month changes, like his laughs, and his first time in his high chair. Some other changes are that he reached out for Mommy for the first time, which made Mommy feel important; He has played in his exersaucer lots and had his first taste of somethings other than mommy-milk: formula and rice cereal. He has formula mixed with breastmilk on the days that I work (as he was eating more than I was pumping when I work) and he had his first taste of rice cereal just days before his 5-month birthday. He was a little indifferent to his first tastes, but last night was the third time he had rice cereal, and he anxiously cried out for the spoon every time it was taken away to scoop up another bite - we have to move pretty quick to keep him satisfied. BB has also begun lots of high-pitched squeals when playing - he just gets more and more talky all the time and we love hearing all the emotion conveyed in his little sighs and squeals. BB is also slowly becoming mobile - he got his knees under himself and launched himself forward when lying in our bed one morning!
Time just keeps launching forward too - Happy 5 Months.

First Fall

It was a balmy 96 degrees out when we inaugurated the fall season with a visit to Buckelew Farms to pick a pumpkin. I intentionally picked this date because I thought it would be cooler! But we enjoyed ourselves despite the heat, and it only made BB a little extra cranky.

BB had hay stuck between his toes after taking these photos!

We took a tractor-drawn wagon out to the patch and searched for our perfect pumpkins, both for carving and for photo ops.


Our little pumpkin


This is when BB decided it was too hot to take any more pictures and also why are you forcing me to sit and stand on this hard, orange thing for so long?


This is now sans overalls, right before BB grabbed a leaf and aimed it straight at his mouth as J said "I think he wants to...!" You can see his plan developing.


And this is where they weighed our pumpkins to charge us - here's our 16-pounder!

J dropped our pumpkins off in the car and came back to check out the rest of the festival with us - he walked up as our nieces were picking marionette puppets and I was trying to cool BB off in front of a fan in the stand. Suddenly J shoved his forearms at me and yelped "Look at my arms!" I looked and saw a harvest of little red bumps, and nonchalantly said "Oh your arms are red". He said "LOOK at my ARMS!", and I said something like "What's that from?" and tried to discern some symptoms like is it was itchy? or burning? and all he replied was "LOOK AT MY ARMS!!" His mom, unaware of the flesh-mutilating outbreak, asked him for help with something and he squaked "I CAN'T DO ANTHING UNTIL I TAKE CARE OF THIS!! GIVE ME A WIPE!" He rummaged through the diaper bag and found a wipe and feverishly scrubbed to no avail, and I told him to find a bathroom and wash his arms. He left the stand and I saw him wandering the grounds in circles like he was deranged - I shouted to find an employee, and instead he stopped his father for directions. He finally found a bathroom and came back my rational, easygoing husband. On the drive home I mocked his panic and he told me that at the same time he noticed the rash developing, his asthma kicked up from being out in the fields and he thought "I can't breathe and I have this rash - I'M GOING TO DIE AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH! This is not how I wanted to go out!!" and I laughed the whole ride home.

A big thanks to Granacky for being our family photographer! I tried to return the favor with a shot of the grands

Laughs

BB has joined the cacophony in my life chanting "J is sooooo funny"

Mommy Must-Haves

Sling (or other babywearing device): look Mom, no hands! Sometimes your baby does NOT want to be put down. With a capital NOT. and sometimes you just need both your hands. Voila!

(This is a Taylor Made sling - a hand-me-down from my sis-in-law)

Paci-clip: no more digging around in the backseat desperately searching for the binky with one hand with your baby's sobs piercing your ears and inducing a slew of anxiety-provoking mommy-hormones, with the other hand on the steering wheel, trying to watch the road. While there are many warnings about strangulation hazards when attaching something to your baby with a strap, I think the dangers on the road not having a paci-clip far outweigh the remote potential of BB strangling himself with a 6 inch strap while in eye-shot (in the carseat mirror).


Happiest Baby on the Block: the 5 Ss (calming techniques) were my 5 best friends in the early days. While many of the points in this book come from an evolutionary worldview, I just replaced those ideas with "because God made it that way". A must read for mommies and daddies.


To Be Continued...

All dressed up

Here's BB all dressed up - we had a great time celebrating a friend's wedding at a beautiful outdoor reception. BB even took his first spins on a real dance floor with Mommy and Daddy!