Connor- ONE year!

    Weight/Height-  22.11 lbs and 29 1/2 in. long     Sleep-  Still goes to sleep about 7:30 and he sleeps until 5:30ish.  Up until about a month ago I would go feed him and he may or may not go back to sleep for 30-45 min.  But at the beginning of May when I started weaning, I also started sleep training to get rid of that feeding.   So, now when he wakes up he usually just fusses for 10-15 min then will go back to sleep until 6:30 or 7.  Still taking 2 naps a day.  One around 9:30  and another one around 3.     Diet-   We started weaning on May 1st and are down to only one feeding a day (at bedtime for about 15 minutes).  So during the day he eats EVERYTHING.....he loves hot dogs, cucumbers, cheese, salmon, strawberries, grapes...you name it.  And he snacks on goldfish.  He gets so excited when he sees me get the box and his snack cup out :)  He is also drinking whole milk at every meal.    Clothing/Diapers-  Size 4 diapers, mostly 18 mo in clothes, but some 12 months.    Favorite Equipment-  Anything that has wheels.  We have quite a few big cars that he pushes and rides all over the house.  He also loves puzzles, balls and his most favorite....anything in my kitchen.  Pots, pans, Tupperware, his sippy cups, my cookbooks, measuring cups, etc...  Who needs toys when you have all that fun stuff! He also loves his water table outside and his new wagon.  Anything that he can sit (or stand) in and be pushed around...he loves.   We have started packing away all the "baby" toys and the exersaucers and bouncers. It is crazy how many toys we have accumulated over the past year!     Teeth-   8 teeth in and 3 more coming soon.      Milestones & Memories-  Gosh...since I never blog anymore there are too many to keep track of.  But here are some that stand out... -  He says Uh Oh and Da Da.  I think he has started to say bye bye and even Thank You...but it is in his own language. - He walks every once in awhile but only a few steps at a time -He LOVES climbing up and down the stairs over and over again. - Started swim lessons around 9 months and he loves it -Loves opening and closing doors.  I think he could sit and do that for hours     My sweet Connor, I don't know how it is possible that you are one year old already.  It seems like just yesterday I was heading to the hospital to have you.  Now you are so full of personality, silliness and energy.....you are into everything and keep us on our toes.  You make me laugh all day, every day and you melt my heart every time you reach for me, lay your head on my shoulder or give kisses.  The day you were born changed my life forever and I am so thankful to be your Mommy.  You have made this past year the best year of my life and I can't wait to make so many more memories with you... Love you so much, baby!         I hate that I haven't kept up with these monthly posts and just blogging in general but life got busy and my priorities changed.....so, oh well. I know I am forgetting SO many special moments and memories that I had planed on documenting here.....  I keep thinking that I am just going to close down my blog or make it private but now I sit here typing and it makes me want to do it again.  So, for now I will keep it active and maybe try to start doing it a little again... :)          

The end of our breastfeeding journey.....

Well.....we made it!  I made it to my goal of EBF Connor for one year. I had planned on doing an update at 6 months but never got around to it.  You can read more about the first 3 months here.   I started weaning him May 1 in hopes of being done by the first week of June and it looks like that is going to happen.  I am only nursing him 1x a day now (at night before bed) and only for about 15 minutes.  Now my ONE year old (whaaaaaa) eats anything and everything and drinks whole milk all day long.   Part of me is sad that it is coming to an end but the other part of me is happy.   I was one of the lucky moms who LOVED breastfeeding. I looked forward to every feeding (especially the one right before bedtime).   Don't get me wrong....the first 6 weeks were awful....lots of tears, lots of pain, mastitis and I had to talk myself out of giving up every single day.  But then, it got better and better and easier and easier.  And now I am so so so thankful I stuck with it.  The bonding you experience is real and so special and I will forever treasure the hundreds of hours I spent just sitting there nursing my baby.       I am pretty sure I have lost all the followers I had since I NEVER blog anymore...haha...but if anyone happens to read this that is struggling with BF and has any questions or just needs some encouragement, send me a message!  I would LOVE to help!  It is something that I have become very passionate about and hope that I can help some other mama's out there in their journey.        

Hello, hello!!

  I'm back!! At least for today.... I can't believe I have not blogged since the week before Thanksgiving.  But honestly, it has been a nice break.  The holidays were so busy, Connor was (and still is) keeping me busy and I just lost my motivation to do it.   I have considered shutting down my blog completely, or making it private but every once in awhile (like today) I get the urge to do it again.  So, here I am.    SOOOOO much has happened in the past 2 1/2 months! I know I am going to leave out a lot but I am going to attempt to tell you about the most important parts.  And I apologize now for the randomness and babbling that you are about to read :)   -  The last time I posted was when Connor was turning 7 months.  Now he is a week away from being 9 mo.  9 MONTHS people.  This is crazy....and exciting....and sad.    - Thanksgiving was a lot of fun.  Connor got to meet his great grandma (my Granny) for the first time and his great grandpa (my husband's PeePa).  We spent time with my family for a few days then went to Oklahoma City to see some of Chris's family.  We drove to OKC....so it was Connor's longest trip in the car (8ish hours) and he did great!    - Mama and Daddy had their first overnight trip away from Connor, at the end of November.  My parents watched Connor for us and we headed into Houston for a friend's wedding, then a night of celebrating my husband's 32nd birthday.  We had a hotel and had dinner at Seasons 52 (one of my favorite restaurants ever).  The next morning we had brunch at our old favorite spot, Backstreet Café.  I missed my little man so much but it was fun having 24 hours to ourselves.    - December was filled with play dates, holiday parties and get togethers and lots of sickness.  Connor and I were both sick off and on all month long.  We flew for the first time with Connor at the end of the month.....we went to NC for my step-dad's surprise 70th birthday party and to celebrate Christmas with family there.  Connor did so great on the plane coming and going! Christmas was a blast with him too....he got so many fun, new gifts!   - January was filled with more play dates and lots of other things to keep us  busy.  We started construction on our outdoor kitchen, I joined the MOPS group at my church, we celebrated our friend's Casey and Morgan's wedding and my husband spent a lot of time during the weeks traveling for work.    -  Now it is February 11th.  Holy cow.   This year is flying by!  We had our 5th annual Super Bowl party at our house and had 70 people here.  YIKES!!! We made it a kid-friendly party this year so there were about 25 kids and babies running wild in our house.  Pure craziness but so much fun!  Connor had his first trip to the ER a little over a week ago.  He woke up around 4 AM coughing and gagging and it scared me so my husband and I took him in.  He was gasping for air and his cough was just awful. :(  After some tests and chest xrays they determined that it was just croup and bronchitis.  So, we have to do a breathing treatment on him a few times a day now.    And more on Connor and what he has been up to.....   * He is crawling!  Everywhere.  He is all over the place and into everything these days.  He loves to play in the pantry and in the fridge.  If he sees me in the kitchen and the door to either of those are open, he is there in 2 seconds.  He also loves door stops, daddy's shoes, the basket of diapers and pretty much anything else that isn't a toy.  And he pulls up on everything, without any help.  Baby proofing is in the works!     * He said his first word a few weeks ago!! " Uh-Oh" is officially his first word and it is adorable when he says it.  Once he said "mama" but never has done it again.   We are working on it though ;)     * We are still 100% breastfeeding! A little over 3 months until we hit our goal and the weaning process starts.  But, I have to be honest, I have moments where I think I am done.  For no certain reason.  But then I always change my mind.  I don't think that I am emotionally ready to be done.  Whenever I think about quitting I get all sad and can't imagine that part of his life being over.  Plus, our other major problem is that he won't take a bottle.  He hasn't taken one in about 2 months, until this week.  I have managed to get him to take a couple....praise the Lord!!  So, now that I am making progress, I am going to make sure to keep giving him 1-2 bottles a day so that he stays familiar with them.      *  He is not really a fan of food.  Purees or table food.  90% of the time he wants nothing to do with purees....he cries, turns his head, swats at the spoon or grabs it and throws it on the floor.  So, I have pretty much given up on those.  A few weeks ago we started going more of the Baby Led Weaning route (BLW) and he does much better.  Not great, but much better than purees.  We will give him "sticks" of our food....carrots, squash,  peppers and other foods, and he will usually gnaw on them or suck on them.  He usually doesn't have much interest in Puffs or Mum-Mums.  For awhile he seemed to like them ok, but now he wants nothing to do with them.  Ughh..  I always joke that he isn't even a year old and already has eating issues like a grown woman does :)   * He is in size 4 diapers, and 9 or 12 months in clothes.  But he LOVES just playing in his diaper.  He is happiest when he is practically naked :)   * Sleep-  Still going to sleep between 7:30-8 and usually will sleep until 4-5, wake up to nurse then go back to sleep for an hour.  But the past week he has been waking up 3-5x a night and not napping very well.    * He has 4 teeth!  The 2 on the top are just poking out of his gums.....and they definitely were way worse when they came thru, than the bottom ones.  Whew....it was a rough few days around here! But things are starting to get back to normal for our little guy :)     And that is a really short version of what life has been like the past couple of months. I will leave you with some pictures :)  

 

 

     

Connor- 6 Months!

Weight/Height-  On 11/5 he was 18.6 lbs.  Not sure of his height but we will find out in a few weeks at his next appt.  I am pretty sure he is well over 19 lbs now.  He is growing so fast :(   Sleep-  Still waking up 1-2x a night.  He has nights where he will wake up at midnight and again around 5.  Then other nights it's around 2 and 5.  Then other times it's just around 4-5.  I am still getting up and nursing him back to sleep but I know I really need to stop doing that and maybe start some sleep training.  He is only sleeping on his tummy now, so sometimes when he wakes up he is rolling onto his back, then he fusses and cries and never goes back to sleep.  As far as naps go....he is taking 2-3 good naps a day, most days.  He is usually up for the day between 6-7, then will go back down for a nap about 8 and sleep for 1- 1/2 hours.  Then he will go back down a couple hours later and sleep 2-3 hours.  Then late in the afternoon he will take a short nap.  And he is still going to sleep between 7:30-8 at night.    Diet-   We made it to my original goal of breastfeeding 6 months!!! Whohoooo! Things are still going great so I am still hoping to make it to 1 year now.  We are still feeding him homemade puree's 5-6x a week.  He has had avocado, carrots, prunes, sweet potato, oatmeal, peas, banana and a couple of the Ella's mixes.  He LOVES banana and HATED peas. I read the BLW book recently and think I am going to do a little bit of that along with the purees as well.   Clothing/Diapers-  Size 3 diapers, clothes 9-12 months depending on brand, PJ's 9 months  Favorite Equipment-  Same as last month....he loves the exersaucer, activity mat, jogging stroller and all his toys.  He doesn't lay under the activity mat much anymore because he likes sitting up so much better.  We are getting him a walker and bouncer for Christmas so I am sure those will quickly become favorites.  His favorite toys are anything he can easily put in his mouth and anything that plays music and has lights.     Milestones & Memories-  - Sitting up on his own - Has 2 teeth - Lifts his chest off the ground and tries to get up on his knees - Took 2 road trips...one to Dallas for a friend's wedding and one to College Station for the A&M vs Vanderbilt game.  He stayed in a hotel with a babysitter for the first time and went to his first football game - Had his first cold - Laughs all the time and has the loudest high pitch squeal he ALWAYS does -Sits in the cart now at the store (instead of car seat) and in a high chair at restaurants  

1st A&M football game!  Go Johnny Football!

1st Halloween

1st hotel room....The Fairmont Dallas

He loves his friend, Ella :)

Favorite toy!

He LOVES LOVES to swing!

    Connor- I can not believe you are already 6 months.  In some ways I feel like I was just giant and pregnant with you still in my belly and in other ways I feel like you have been in our world for much longer than 6 months.   You are the light and joy of my life and I can't imagine life without you.  Your smile, squeals, laughs and those sweet looks you give me when I am nursing you melt my heart every time.  Your personality is starting to really come out and your Daddy and I think you are going to be quite funny and very inquisitive (just like your dad).   My favorite part of every day is after your bath when your Daddy hands you to me to nurse you in your dark, quiet room before you go to bed.  You play with my hair and put your hand in my mouth, or stroke my cheek.  You nurse yourself to sleep then I let you sleep on my chest for a little while before I put your in your crib.  You make our world a better place by being in it and we are so thankful that God chose us to be your Mommy and Daddy.  We love you to the moon and back, sweet boy! PS....please stop growing up so fast ;)   Love, Mom