Shane is trying to put Johnny to bed. It’s 11 p.m. He’s crying his little heart out. It’s really awful.

Johnny is definitely “high needs” when it comes to sleep. I really hope that eventually, he’ll grow out of whatever the problem is, and he’ll be a good sleeper. I’m a horrible sleeper and it stinks.

I don’t want to talk about cry-it-out. Trust me, it won’t work for this kid.

Oh, silence now. Maybe he finally surrendered to sleep? Hard saying. He’ll be up again in less than an hour anyway.

Ok I don’t want to talk about his sleep anymore.

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We’re going to the pediatrician on the 21st for his checkup. It’ll be fun to see what he weighs and how tall he is. I’m going to guess he’s around 20.5 pounds and 28 inches long.

People remark that he’s big, or that they think he’s destined to be really tall. I don’t know if it’s based on the fact that his parents are tall, or that he’s just a big lookin’ guy.

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At 8 months, he was crawling, and now he’s a skilled crawler and is able to put himself in a sitting position any time he wants. Helpful indeed. He pulls himself to a standing position any time he can, and sometimes walks along objects.

Now that he’s really mobile, he’s also suffering more injuries :(. If he loses his balance and topples over, he bonks his head. Painful, since there’s a concrete floor under our carpet. He’s getting better about raising his head if he’s falling and putting his arms out to slow the fall.

I wasn’t watching him closely enough in the kitchen, and he was fiddling with a cabinet door and got his finger pinched. Broke our hearts! He was easily soothed and there was no broken skin or bruising.

The kitchen cabinets are in such a way that those baby-resistant locks won’t work. We’d have to drill holes into the cabinets to do the latch-release thing, and I’m not sure if that’s approved by our rental company. We’ll probably just put the baby gate up when we want him to stay out of the kitchen, and keep a closer eye on when he’s in there with us.

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He got his first cold last week. He’s still fighting it, but it’s not that bad of a cold thankfully. Just a runny, crusty nose. I suspect he got it in the church nursery last week. He passed it on to me and Shane. Our first colds in a long time.

This week, we brought him into the church service with us and sat out in the narthex when he started to make noise.

We *thought* we liked this church, but that was with one of the associate pastors preaching. The main guy isn’t our favorite. I think we’ll visit another church next Sunday and see what they’re all about. And the search for a church home continues… .

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Least favorite parenting duty? Trimming baby nails. Johnny’s finger and toenails are the sharpest little things, and he pinches hard! It’s so difficult to trim or file them. He’s a squirmy guy (aren’t they all?) and if I try to do it while he’s nursing or asleep, he just moves/wakes up. Blah.

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We went to the park the other day and Johnny seemed to enjoy the swings, as usual. He’s still not a fan of the slides. I don’t know if he’s scared, or if he doesn’t like the static or what. I hope he’ll like them eventually!

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Overall, Johnny is a happy, content baby. He enjoys being held and loves being worn in a sling. He’s always looking around him and taking in the world. Lately, he’s super busy exploring everything he can get his hands on. He’s rarely still if he’s on the floor. He likes when I sing to him (the “ABC song” is great for distracting him during a diaper change!). He’s a cuddlebug and we love him dearly!

- Once Johnny figured out the concept of “move hand, move leg, move other hand, move other leg” he really has been crawling up a storm! It didn’t take much time once he got going. He saw another baby crawl, and I did some demonstrations and sorta helped him with the movements. The kicker was enticing him with toys and baby no-nos. Heh.

- He now crawls to me and tries to climb up my leg. If I’m across the room (or in another room even) and he wants me, he comes and finds me. It’s really sweet!

- Whenever we go to an unfamiliar place, he gets really quiet. I don’t know if he’s afraid or if he’s just doing a lot of quiet observation. He likes to stay close to me, and doesn’t explore much until he’s comfortable. I don’t know if this is a developmental thing or a temperament thing.

- I have no problem nursing wherever, whenever, but apparently Johnny does. As I mentioned in my previous post, he’s extremely distractable and will only really nurse if we’re in a dark, quiet room and both lying down. We were at the mall recently and there was a mom nursing in the mother’s room attached to the bathroom. I thought, hey neat! I’ll nurse too and we’ll chat. Though I was sure Johnny was hungry, he just wouldn’t nurse. Ugh!

- I am so irritated at people who have problems with women breastfeeding in public — covered or not. Grow up, people! This isn’t about you and your insecurity. The mom isn’t trying to be indecent. She hopes she won’t flash you. But if you are STARING AT HER CHEST (shame on you for doing that, no matter if she’s nursing or not!) then you might see a little bit of flesh. Are you really trying to tell me that a small amount of skin exposed TO FEED AND COMFORT A CHILD is a horrible thing that should be done in private?

Is it really worse than some people you see at a beach or swimming pool? Or someone whose clothes are way too small and their belly or butt crack is hanging out? Do you tell Pumber Butt to cover it up? Maybe not, because you wouldn’t want to humiliate them. Instead, you just look away. Right? RIGHT?

Oh, and don’t tell her to just pump and feed her kid with a bottle, or give formula. For one, some babies (like mine) don’t take bottles! And for two, that’s way harder on the mom.

And to men who have problems with moms nursing — I’m getting the vibe that these are the same kinda guys who go to strip clubs and look at porn. So, boobies for your own enjoyment are ok, but for babies it’s bad?

So look somewhere else if you think you might be offended. Let the mom nurse in peace. Don’t be a jerkhead. It’s just a boob!

- I saw a woman walking around the grocery store with a blanket over her chest and a small little baby head peeking out. She was nursin’ and walkin’! The baby was quite young. I caught the mama’s eye and gave her a big ol’ smile, and she smiled back. I didn’t have Johnny with me, but hopefully she got the message that I was happy for her. I remember the days when I could walk and nurse. Heck, I remember the time when I was at my 6-week postpartum checkup and nursed while taking off my shoes and pants, then put them back on without breaking his latch!

Johnny is pretty durn big now. Don’t think I could nurse and walk for long, even if he would let me.

- Michelle Duggar is expecting her 19th child. Her 18th was born just two days before Johnny. That’s pretty impressive! People on teh internet seem to be giving her family a hard time. Leave them alone! They’re great parents and based on their TV show, the kids are polite, intelligent members of society. They’re doing a better job with their 18+ than a lot of families do with just one or two.

Some criticise their views that children are gifts from God, and that using birth control is sinful. You might disagree. But what does the Bible say? What if the Duggars are right?