baby language

I'm getting to know my kid.

If he cries after a feeding, it is not because he didn't get it enough to eat. It is because he is overtired.

If he sucks his thumb, it does not mean he's hungry. It means he likes his thumb.

If he laughs while he is crying, then he's about to zonk out into a deep sleep.

If he laughs too much and is really thrilled about something, he gets the hiccups.

If he gets laid on the changing table in the middle of the night, he turns hungry- regardless of how long it has been since he last ate.

If he gets laid on his tummy and fusses, it does not mean he is upset. It means he is trying really hard to roll over and rolling over is hard work.

If he makes "the face" and tightens his lips, his tummy is completely full.

If he falls asleep to motion, then gets put in the crib, he wakes up.

If his cheeks get jiggled and you say "Hey lil cheekies!" in a high voice, he will laugh hysterically.

Other people's goofy faces are not funny. It just overstimulates him and makes him cranky.

If he takes a bath past the designated time, he does not want to splash.


Babies do communicate, just not in the ways that we adults do. Who would have thought?
I don't know it all, but its well enough for now. I know when my baby is hungry, I know when he's tired, and I know when he's bored. I am his mom, so is this surprising?

Sorry...I just had to vent a little.

Daddy Day

It has been one rad weekend. Reason number one: Jonathan had Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off. So Friday night went to the Nature Pond to feed the duckies...

I love ducks, but geese are obnoxious. Luckily we had only ducks come eat our bread this time :)

As you can see, my hair is short. That's because I cut it all off, and I actually really like it. It's SO much easier/quicker to take care of, plus I had to get the "mommy look" right? :) Actually, I mostly cut it because Talmage was starting to grip and tug...



Then on Saturday we woke up early to help clean the church. I haven't done that since I lived in Louisiana and would go with my family, so it was nice to serve in that way. Then, thanks to our friend Shae who was willing to babysit, we went to the temple and did some work for family members on my mom's side (dating back to the 1700s!). It was a beautiful experience and I felt the love that Heavenly Father has for his children waiting for their work to be done. That night, for a pre-Father's Day dinner, we went to Outback. Can I just say that I LOVE BBQ chicken and that I could never be a vegetarian.


Reason number two: our first *real* Father's Day! Jonathan was surprised with a collage of "daddy & son moments", a couple of Snickers bars (his fave), and his favorite no-bake cookies. The frame says "Oh, little one" because that's his number one phrase when he talks to Talmage. I think its pretty cute when he says it.

Taking a nice Sunday nap. He really loves sleeping on daddy's chest.


I am so grateful for my husband and for his sweet temperament with our little boy. It is the perfect time to celebrate his fatherhood, as he has well deserved it for all the help he's given me. It's not easy taking care of a baby, and I could not do it without him. Yay for fathers everywhere :)

Our baby boy is growing up! He is getting really good at holding up his head. Jonathan tries to do little exercises to help him...I guess its working!


And Talmage is learning that its okay to sleep in his crib. During the day he takes all his naps in his room. I'm still not brave enough to put him in there at night...but hopefully that will come sooner rather than later.


Jonathan also got a fun father's day present from Talmage. He shook his rattle for the first time! And better yet we have it on video :D

Memories

You know what's really wonderful? I can't even remember what it feels like to be pregnant anymore. :) just a random thought.

I want to thank all of you who left comments on my last post. You are all amazing girls and what you wrote was such a support to me. It turns out that the term "mastitis" literally means breast infection, so yeah...that's what I had. There are different kinds of mastitis, the most common being from a Staph infection. And when you get on the right antibiotic, it clears up within a few days :) Thank goodness for modern medicine!

Most of you probably already know that my family was here visiting last week, since they pretty much dominated testimony meeting :) Here are just a few of my favorite memories during their stay.

Talmge sitting in his great-great grandmother's lap. She turned 100 on the day he was born.


Seeing Dana be an aunt.


My dad mimicking the baby's facial expressions.


Talmage splashing in the pool and loving it.



Watching everyone admire Talmage in his cute home-made onesie from this special lady.


Being with my mom.


Capturing this smiling moment.


Jonathan blessing his first child.


All the support of the family!

BAHHHH

I will post later about my family's visit and put up the pictures from it...but right now I just wanna complain.

And just for the record, I'm gonna let it ALL out because I know that only girls read my blog.

From the very beginning breastfeeding was hard. At the hospital Talmage had trouble latching on because of his small mouth. And I have small, flat nipples. Not a great combination. Well they gave me a nipple shield to make things easier, and it did help. WHat they neglected to tell me is that babies have a REALLY tough time adjusting without it once it is introduced. So despite my efforts to take off the shield, Talmage still uses it at seven weeks old. When I try to slide it off halfway through a feeding, he opens his mouth real wide and moves his head back and forth like there is nothing there. Then he screams, VERY loudly. And I don't blame him, poor boy is hungry.

When I went for my six week check-up, the midwife seemed so shocked that he still used the shield. She acted like it was so horrible and made me feel like a bad mother. Perfect. I wear myself down emotionally every day because of it and she gives me no credit whatsoever.

So nipple shields are merely small pieces of "special" soft plastic that get old and stretchy really fast. At the hospital I was given two, one of which is too wide for Talmage to get his mouth around. I needed a new one, but stores don't sell them. No, scratch that. Target does- in the bigger size that is too wide. So when I want a new one I have to get it from the lactation consultant at the hospital, then pay way too much for it at the ER desk on the other side of the hospital. Very convenient, huh?

Truthfully the shield has not been that big of a deal, but it does make me stress. The bigger frustration is the constant clogged ducts in both of my breasts, which I have had from the beginning. It feels like hard rocks wedged in the flesh and they just throb and throb until they are drained. The only way to drain them is to nurse, which is very painful with clogged ducts. And if the baby is not hungry, then I have to pump to get them out. When I pump, my body produces more milk than is needed and I just end up with more rocks in my boobs.

When I went to the lactation consultant at around four weeks, she told me that I had a LOT of milk. More than I should. Fabulous.

Yesterday I decided that Talmage's mouth should be wide enough by now to take the shield off, so with every feeding I didn't put it on. He did great, and I was so proud of him. Except it did take about 40 minutes each time since he is unfamiliar with it. Being that patient was really, really hard. Especially since all my family that I haven't seen in a while was visiting.

Now let me tell you, it HURT. Like burning stinging needles. The shield sort of protects me from feeling the pull, so without it, it is a whole new experience. Within a few hours I noticed cracked and bleeding. I bled on my bra. It really freaked me out.

Today my right breast felt like someone had punched it to a pulp. It was swollen and seemed bruised. The pain was indescribable. Talmage knocked it with his elbow and it was all I could do to keep from screaming. Then came the fever- 101.1 degrees. ANd the migraine, and the fatigue. I was glad my family had all left by then, because I could hardly stand up. Since it is Sunday and evening, my doctor had to call in my prescription. He thinks I have an infection, possibly mastitis.

I love my son more than life itself but this is one of the biggest trials I have ever endured. I don't want to give up breastfeeding because I know it is best for him, so I am gonna keep on keeping on. I just hope it gets easier soon. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on.