What's new with me and Boo Boo?

Let's see, what's new with Ethan?

He is still super cute in the morning.  I love it when he greets me with a nice big toothless grin as he's squirming in his crib.  He still can't roll quite yet, but if he's on his stomach he can (eventually) roll onto his back.  When he is already on his back, he lifts his legs straight up into the air and they fall to either side.  He sleeps this way now, and rarely will we find him on his back after putting him down.

He has more upper body strength.  Tummy time meltdowns occur less frequently though he can only tolerate so much, but it is clear that propping up and looking around is much easier.  Now, he's even crinkling the textured flaps of the play mat.  His head control is pretty good.  He likes being propped up in the sling, and on a lap.

He can grab things (sorta).  Before, if I held a toy in front of him, he would look at it.  Now, he looks at it and makes a Frankenstein grab at it, then immediately tries to put it in his mouth.  We've tried a bunch of different toys, but the moose is STILL the clear winner.

Ugh.

I just remembered that he threw up all over it during dinner last night and I was supposed to put that, plus the liner for the high chair into the washing machine...but forgot.  :(

He drools quite a bit.  There's been a noticeable increase in the last month.  And by noticeable, that means leaving clean (and dirty) bibs all over the house and possibly several changes of clothing in a day depending on how drenched he gets.

He poops almost every day thanks to Udo's probiotic.

He still vocalizes but not coherently.

He likes music and calms down when we play the CDs from Music Together in the car.

He will watch TV for a little bit provided there are a lot of colors.  This works for 10 minutes at best, but that's plenty of time to shower and get dressed.

He is wearing 12 months clothing now.  Good lord!  Shoving him into 6 mos is just...mean.  9 mos is questionable, so 12 it is.

He is still seeing a pediatric chiropractor.  Helmet goes on this Tuesday.  Physical therapy starts next week as well.

What's new with me?

I'm 12 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight.  I am now able to fit into my "fat" clothes which are the items I got and wore around 16 weeks when I was still hiding my pregnancy.  Does it feel good to be in fat clothes?  YES.  Why yes it does.  Because it certainly beats maternity clothes in terms of marketing.   (But not necessarily comfort!!)  While it's nice to lose weight without obsessing over it, it is still very hard to get dressed because I don't have a capsule wardrobe at least for this awkward phase.  As a result, it takes me a long time to get ready in the morning.  A typical morning goes like this:

(in my head)

Ok, ok...pants.  White pants?  I wore these on Monday but they're still good I think.  Sniff.  Look at creasing.  Yup.  Okay, now a top.  Nursing tank for ease of pumping?  Or, t-shirt.  Or, nicer tank?  Nursing tank doesn't give good cleavage coverage, not for these NatGeo boobs anyway...where's my nursing bra?  Okay good.  Nursing bra under normal tank top.  I'm going to be cold at work though.  I need a cardigan or a hoodie or something.  What goes with this gray tank top?  That black cardigan is too heavy and long.  The light long one is cream colored.  That does not go with gray.  Do I have one that works at all?  Maybe this gray hoodie?  But, the tank and pants are a notch up from that casual hoodie...

Yes.  This is my every single morning.  I'll try to get organized this weekend.  It would be so nice to wake up and get to work you know, not THREE hours later!  I'll have to itemize my morning routine some other time.

Therapy is going well I think, but I am still ungodly tired.

I am still pumping through the night though more relaxed as to the time interval, but I think my supply (as meager as it was to begin with) has taken a hit.  That in itself is depressing.  I have almost reached the 5 month mark.  I'm not sure how much longer I can do this.  It's hard to do it.  It's hard to quit.  Breastfeeding is hard too.  There are a lot of ups and downs.  When I can calm Ethan with the Power of the Boobie, it's fantastic, but this applies to comfort nursing only, since I don't produce what he needs to well, um, not starve to death.

I am still working part time.  It has been just too much to adjust to the baby, pumping, working, all the doctors appointments, seeking therapy...  I think it sounds nice to "just work part time", but I assure you, I am not laid out on the couch eating dark chocolate and binge watching reruns of The Bachelorette.  Part time right now means that I can take time out of my day to pump at work.  It means that I can leave early and pick up Ethan.  Or, I can leave early and go home to nap for an hour.  Or what happens more often is clean up a little.  It hasn't resulted much in more time for me for self care, like, get a pedi, or see friends.  That happens on the weekend if it happens at all.  It doesn't mean more time for my marriage.  It just means a slightly more relaxed pace of getting through the day.

I hear Ethan stirring.  He is barricaded in the twin bed by pillows while I am pumping, typing and watching the baby monitor.  I need to prep a bottle and sneak back in to keep an eye on him.  More later!