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From the Bible:
Mark
Exodus
Other reads:
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Calm My Anxious Heart
by Linda Dillow

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6 months+

June 23rd, 2009

Johnny-Johnny-WOO-WOO (sometimes I call him that…idk why) turned six months old on Saturday! We were moving to a new apartment that day so I didn’t have a chance to blog.

Stats

On the 19th, he had his six-month visit with the pediatrician. He’s 18 lbs. 2oz., 26.5 inches long, and doing well in every way! He has about 15 ounces to go (as of the 19th) to triple his birthweight of 6 lbs. 5 oz. He’s so cute and chubby now, and I can hardly recognize him from his early days.

Skills

At the beginning of June, he started sitting up without help. Well, I’d have to put him in the sitting position first, and then he’d hold his balance. He’s not yet able to pull himself into a sitting position, but soon probably! At first, he could only sit unassisted for a few seconds, but now he’s able to go for a minute or two.

He becomes distracted and topples to the side. I do my best to catch him, because if I don’t his face will hit the floor. Ow!

Just today, he started rolling from his back to his front. He’d been able to go the other way for quite some time. Now that he can do both, I imagine he’ll soon realize that he’s able to roll around the room and beyond now. Good thing I’m starting to baby-proof!

I know with “baby-proofing” I won’t be able to remove every possible danger. I’ll do my best to get rid of the obvious ones, but my main intention is to slow him down and buy myself some time if I need to run across the room to keep him out of harm’s way.

He’s giggly and more social. He’ll smile at strangers and when they smile back, he’ll lower his head as if he’s bashful.

Nom-nom

He loves chomping on anything he can get his hands on — including his hands, toes, me and inanimate objects. We’ll see his first teeth pop in soon I’m sure.

We’ve introduced solids and he just loves it! The applesauce I’ve given him was a bit tart, and he would make a face, shudder and then open his mouth for some more. Heh.

He’s still an avid nurser, but he goes longer between feedings now. Maybe he takes more in per feeding? I don’t know.

Sleep

Now that he’s six months, the risk of SIDS has gone way down. He’s usually waking just once per night or so, sometimes twice. I think we’re ready to start to move him out of our room and into his own. I expect this will be a gradual process. I’ll probably wait until we’re unpacked before we do, since his crib isn’t assembled and I don’t know where the hardware is.

Diapers

We’ll be trying cloth diapers to save money and be a little more friendly to the environment. Also, his disposables leak pretty frequently, and I’d like that to come to an end.

I had him in a Happy Heinys pocket diaper last night with just one insert (silly me) and he filled it up and leaked through it. Whoops.

He leaks through disposables overnight a lot, so it’s no real change. Next time, I’ll know to double up on the inserts.

I had him in a BumGenius pocket one-size diaper for a few hours tonight. He’s already on the largest rise setting but the waist has a lot of room to grow. I wonder how long he’ll fit in them. The velcro seems to dig into his belly when he’s sitting. I don’t know if I just had it on too snug or what.

I ordered a three-pack of Smartipants pocket dipes to test, and on Friday I’m meeting a mom at Panera who might sell me some diapers.

WARNING: This post is for pregnant ladies. It contains lots of TMI that’s “too much information,” Grandma, but I’m sharing it in the hopes that it’ll help someone. If you’re squeamish about childbirth things, don’t read it! Instead, go to this web site. Read more »

Winners!

June 8th, 2009

Thanks to all of you who entered my Little Debbie muffin giveaway. The randomly selected winners are Judy, Beth, and Julie. I have e-mailed the winners already and have heard back from them. Hope you get your package soon!

The folks of Little Debbie have sent me a box full of Little Debbie muffins to try. The flavors are: Cranberry & Orange, Double Chocolate, Blueberry, Lemon, and Chocolate Chip.

Unlike my last Little Debbie giveaway, these are not 100-calorie muffins. Cut one in half, share it with a friend and that’ll give you closer to those 100 calories ;-).

If you’d like a chance to win a box of your own, please leave a comment below telling me what you’re up to today.

Entries will be accepted until Saturday, June 6 at oh, how ’bout 10 a.m. EDT? I’ll randomly select a winner from valid entries. Good luck!

Oh, if your entry doesn’t show up right away, give me a chance to go through the comments held in the moderation queue.

I have a few friends who are having babies sometime this summer. This post is for y’all. 

In my Bradley Method childbirth class, we learned a variety of relaxation techniques. One of these I still use whenever I’m tense, preparing to have blood drawn, a dental procedure done, or the like. You simply concentrate on a few areas of the body, making sure those areas are as relaxed as possible.
For me, these areas are my face, fists and shoulders. More specifically, I make sure my jaw and forehead are totally relaxed. I find that if I concentrate on keeping these areas totally limp, the rest of my body follows suit.
As you prepare for childbirth, why not practice keeping those areas relaxed? Or, if you notice that another part of your body is routinely tense, add that to your list of areas to consciously relax.
Even if you plan on having an epidural, you’ll still be in active labor before the epi is administered (unless you’re being induced or whatever). It’ll be good to have some relaxation techniques to get you through it while you wait on the anesthesiologist. And, while you’re sitting impossibly still for the epi, you’ll want to be relaxed, no?
Another benefit of consciously relaxing certain areas of your body is it serves as a distraction from the pain. 
I found that when I was in labor and my body was mostly relaxed, my pain was much less than when I was tensed up.
Hope this tidbit can help you!