At least one!

I've become a bit lazy with the blogging in the past two months. Between contemplating quitting my job and all of the potential options that are not available, doctor's appointments, visits to Orlando and trying to get some sleep, I have placed writing on the back burner. I could not, however, let the entire month of November go by without posting at least something!

I say that like there has been nothing interesting happening. In reality, this has been the most exciting part of William's little adventure. On Halloween, William learned how to sit up and he started to crawl. Shortly after we mastered the crawling, we started working on the standing up.

Here are a few videos and pictures to share our progress.

Charlie doesn't really appreciate my new skills. This was early November. I'm so much better at crawling now... look out Charlie!

Sitting and playing with our "Spin, Spin a Letter". We'll know our letters and animal sounds in no time... except, the jellyfish sound has me puzzled...

Sitting and playing with our vtec zoo. Jerry and I get these songs stuck in our head and sing them uncontrollably. I've even caught Grandma singing the songs. This toy can get incredibly annoying. =)

We recognize our child's need to release his energy. As we don't have a large amount of space for a walker, we purchased a jumper. I'm glad we waited to invest in baby toys until we knew what William would want and use. He's a bit picky... SO unlike his mom. =)

Jumping in my Jumparoo!

Ah, just missed it! This was William's first attempt at standing by himself. He was standing but, he didn't stay up there long!

A multitude of milestones going on over here! Everyone says how wonderful he is and that he's "advanced" for his age, but I try not to let it go to my head. We work with him daily on his motor skills, talking, eating and even trying to get him to understand "no"... without much success on the latter. As for the baby proofing... I believe in baby proofing as much as I believe in pacifiers. I will bend on child proofing a bit though, only for safety reasons and the sake of our breakable possessions. My goal is to only purchase three baby proofing items - outlet covers, a baby gate for the top of the stairs and cabinet hooks for the cabinets that have cleaning supplies (only because he's already gotten into the cat food). Jerry and I are big on the whole "he'll learn if he bonks his head" method... hoping to encourage some quality problem solving skills early on. We'll see how we feel in a few months, maybe even weeks!

Advice, with a grain of salt.

The best advice I could ever give to a new mother is the same advice my dad gave me.

"It's your baby. If you want to feed him solid food, you can. If you want to put sunscreen on him, you can. You don't have to do what the books say... do what you think you should do."

Before anyone has a heart attack and takes this too far, please know that he also added... "You have to suffer any consequences that come along with your decisions, too... just keep that in mind."

Baby books and message boards are meant to be a good, but basic parenting guideline. It didn't take us more than a week of parenting to figure out that everyone, and I mean everyone, has a different opinion, method AND advice on raising children. Not opinion, method OR advice. Everyone has all three and they are all different. Very quickly, Jerry and I decided that we needed to do "what works for us" with William or we would have lost our marbles.

Recently, I've dropped out of message boards and parenting forums due to the absolute stupidity and ignorance of others. I am firm, and secure, in the belief that each parent should do what they think is best for their child. What happens on these message boards, however, is mothers get onto soap boxes and judge the methods and practices of other moms and it starts unnecessary tension and arguing. It is really sad to me. Most importantly, some of these people start giving out, what Dr. Lanthier would consider, really, really bad advice. So instead of asking doctors what your baby should be doing and should be eating and how they should be sleeping, moms are seeking help from any random person who has the free time on their hands to answer. BAD idea. But what do I know?

I know I chose to breastfeed my child.

This does not mean I am a breastfeeding Nazi. You know the type of person I am talking about. Would I recommend breastfeeding? Of course I would. Am I sad and disappointed when I see a new mom giving up on breastfeeding? Of course I am. Do I think a lot of moms give in to formula too easily? Oh yes. Do breastfeeding mothers need support? Definitely! Do they need places to breastfeed their children in public without feeling judged? Yes! Breastfeeding is a choice and a very conscience one. It takes a lot of work and a lot of patience and A LOT of time. Surprisingly, breastfeeding also takes a lot of courage. Few people can whip out their boob in public and be comfortable and it is shameful to expect a breastfeeding mother to use a public restroom to feed their child... ew, disgusting. It is not something that works for everyone though. Especially working mothers... and it is okay! It is unrealistic to ask every mother on planet Earth to nurse their child for a full year... just like it is unrealistic to ask everyone to eat six servings of vegetables everyday.

I know I was formula fed and I am healthy.

I will not nurse William until he can verbally ask for it. At some point, probably around 6 - 9 months, I may make the switch over to formula and I will not feel bad or guilty about doing so. I think it is inappropriate for anyone to make me feel bad or guilty about this decision. I was raised on formula and I hardly ever get sick, I'm not deformed and I do not have psychological problems. I'm also not overweight nor do I have any allergies or asthma. My child will be healthy too, mostly because I will make him play in the dirt and be outside instead of on a video game console.

I know I was put to sleep on my stomach and I am still alive to talk about it.

I let my child nap on his stomach. Since all the baby books say he can die from this, I make sure I am awake to keep my eye on him and I do not put him to sleep at night on his stomach. But where are the smarty pants people who can answer this question... what should I do if he flips himself onto his stomach in the middle of the night? If you think I'm waking up to make sure he's still on his back, you are CRAZY! If you think I'm flipping a sleeping baby over to appease the baby books, you are CRAZY! There are 4 million births in the United States each year and 2,500 SIDS deaths each year. That is 0.0625% of the children born in the United States.

I know babies cry and sometimes they cry a lot.

And it's okay. Sometimes they even cry themselves to sleep. The reason moms get so flustered over sleep methods has to be because they are jealous some moms are getting the sleep they so desire. I've seen too many people going bananas over letting children cry themselves to sleep. If the cry it out method or the Ferber method worked for one family... GREAT! If it doesn't work for you, don't use it. There is no need to judge a parents method of getting their baby to sleep or to tell them their child will be "psychologically damaged" because of how they put their child to sleep. You don't know that! And, it's not really your problem. What works for some people, may not work for you. I hope that's not a surprise because ignorance actually does psychologically damage children. I want to know what these crying Nazis do when their child is screaming their heads off in the car seat... do they (gasp!) take them out of the car seat to soothe them while the car is moving? There isn't always a place, or even time, to pull over...

I know I hate pacifiers.

With a passion. I HATE pacifiers. I almost, shamefully, gave into using them. Man, that first month was rough... crying, crying, crying! But William spit out the pacifiers that I (gasp!) attempted to give him... thankfully. We figured out a way to soothe him without the pacifier. I will never tell another parent how to pacify or soothe their child, nor how to wean them from it. I will, however, continue to quietly be disgusted by the toddlers who still walk around with a pacifier in their mouths.

I know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Being a professional who has seen close to 300 families, I can, without a single doubt in my mind, tell you that children are mirror images of their parents. If you want your child to behave a certain way, you need to model it for them. Will they make mistakes? Definitely. But how children learn from these mistakes will also be modeled and learned from their parents. You need to be the best person you can be around your children while showing them that you are also human. If you hit yourself in the head when you are upset, expect your child's teacher to ask "Have you noticed your child hitting himself when he is upset?" during parent conferences... and please don't act surprised.

I know I am not perfect.

This sentence was hard enough to write... please don't expect further explanation. Baby steps. =)

That being said and all joking aside... these are my own opinions. It may not match up to your opinion because that is the nature of opinions. All I ask is for moms everywhere to please stop judging each other. Please stop giving each other medical advice, if you think something is wrong with your baby, go to the doctor. Most importantly, if something doesn't work for you, don't do it. It's your baby, you are allowed to raise him however you please!

... but remember, you have to deal with the consequences!

Having a baby changes... everything.

Having a Baby Changes Everything Campaign

“Having a Baby Changes Everything” reinforces the values that people have come to expect of Johnson & Johnson -- our caring, our support of parents and families and our heritage of trust. The campaign presents a simple message: Before having a baby, you are the center of your universe. Everything you do is related to how things affect you. That changes dramatically when a baby comes into your life. Using real parents in real situations, a clear message is communicated: Johnson & Johnson understands how a parent’s universe changes and the Company is there to enhance the bond between parents and their babies.

This is not just a campaign from Johnson and Johnson. It's actually true. You may have seen the commercials on television, well... you HAVE seen the commercials on television, it's just a matter of whether you were paying attention or not. If having a baby wasn't on your mind or you have a DVR, you probably missed them. There hasn't been a time when I would see this commercial and I wouldn't cry. (I know, I know... lame. I cry over stupid, silly things and let the big important things roll off my back... Jerry makes fun of me daily for this, enough laughing.)

After searching high and low for an actual copy of the video, I found that many people are "offended" by this commercial because they think it makes parenting look "glamorous" and obviously Johnson and Johnson is trying to market the current theme of "have a baby, it's the cool thing to do". To those people, I say... you are an idiot. I bathe my baby every other day and it really is this much fun. And well, it is amazing how much your world changes when you have a baby. Trust me, I'm not going after "tall, dark and handsome types" anymore, I already have one and if I didn't, I'd be too busy to look for one! Ug! Cranky, cynical people!

Anyway... this campaign has been going on for a few years now, and I found another commercial that, I think, realistically depicts parenthood. (Again with the links, sorry, this stuff is apparently super, top secret, high class copyrighted.)

Steven Collins says it perfectly. You can't even begin to compare anything to taking care of your own child. Your life completely changes. And as you know, with change comes the good, the bad and the ugly. I'll start with...

The Good.

1. You have an excuse to talk to yourself anywhere. It is okay to be talking about what you are doing, what you are going to do and what you are thinking out loud in public. No one questions it or looks at you weird so long as your baby is within hearing range.

2. Your baby does not judge you, he thinks your are the best thing on the planet and will smile at you for any and all of your silly, and stupid, moments. This same smile is also disarming during your most manic moments.

3. You and your baby learn something new every day. It is absolutely the most awesome thing in the world to take your baby, who is a complete blank slate, and watch him learn before your eyes.

4. You get to relive your childhood. This allows for you to make his childhood even better than your own. It also helps you understand why your parents were so unbearably "mean".

The Bad.

1. You will not sleep ever again. No one will ever convince me that their baby "slept through the night from birth". They are just liars and will never be my friend. Even if Will does manage to sleep through the night, a la 4:00am, I'm sleeping a whole lot lighter than I used to in anticipation of the baby monitor going off.

2. You will feel guilty about not following the advice of doctors, friends and baby books. My child sleeps hours longer if he sleeps on his stomach. Does this mean William naps on his stomach even though every book says he'll die if he does? He sure does. Never fear, I check on him periodically to make sure he's still breathing.

3. You won't feel guilty about taking a few extra minutes to yourself, but lie about it. For example, when I tell Jerry to watch the baby while I go to the bathroom, I take my time. I also take my time in the grocery store and coming home from work. I need time to myself to ensure I am a calm, happy mommy. Have I lied about getting stuck in traffic because I called home and I heard a crying baby in the background?? You'll never know...

4. There are days when I think "What have I gotten myself into?" and I do not think enough parents are honest enough to admit they feel this way too. Being a parent is not easy and it can be isolating.

The Ugly.

1. Poop. Infant poop really doesn't smell, but it's still gross. Annnd, there are times it becomes an embarrassing inconvenience. See my post a few days ago about our trip to breakfast.

2. Spit-up. Everything I own, even things I don't own, have been splattered with spit-up.

3. The house. Chores go on the back burner for a while. There have been times when the laundry started to creep up the walls and there were science experiments in the refrigerator, but we tackle chores in order of importance... showers, meals, naptime...

4. The constant worrying about your child turning out okay. My goal is to never be asked to be a guest on Dr. Phil, or see my child as a guest on Jerry Springer or any other equally awful reality television show.

These lists are just a start and a small taste of how my life has changed. I could probably continue typing for days. I guess the most important question after all of this is... Is it worth it? And the answer is, absolutely.

Off to the Zoo!

My parents were in town the first week of September and it was time to take the plunge out into public for an extended period of time. We decided to try to head out to the Palm Beach Zoo. Jerry and I had been there back in January and it is actually a pretty nice little zoo. Even though we saw the storm looming in the distance, we decided that we would "be safe" since the sun was shining and the weather (according to Weatherman Jerry) was traveling away from the zoo.

Even though little Will was only three months old, we decided that sunscreen was better for his skin than a sunburn. We found an all natural sunscreen and slapped it on him. Against my begging, Jerry applied it on him everywhere... even his hands that are constantly in his mouth. Gross.

Then we were off into the zoo. This is in the reptile hut with snakes and turtles and frogs. I love the glass enclosures, very safe.

I have this little safari outfit. He looks soooooooo adorable in it. Unfortunately we had to squish him into it and we retired the outfit after this trip. I'm sure William is thankful he doesn't have to wear the hat again.

We didn't take many pictures of the actual animals in the zoo, but these two qualify. =)

At the bald eagle exhibit. Most of the animals they have at the zoo are injured or sick and cannot be rehabilitated to go back into the wild. These bald eagles don't actually fly any more, hence the lack of fence. I was reading to William about how Benjamin Franklin actually wanted the turkey to be the symbol for the United States because he thought the bald eagle was cowardly. (You can never start them too young!)

William paying absolutely no attention to my explanation of why flamingos are pink.
Family photo opportunity!

We, luckily, stopped to take a seat at the little cafe food hut to get a snack and sit for a minute. because...

... it started to thunderstorm. Like, a monsoon of a thunderstorm. Will was just thrilled about it, but he only cried for a few minutes. Gotta love babies. They get over things so quickly. I, on the other hand, will remember to never listen to Weatherman Jerry again.

You can see part of the monsoon behind Jerry. We were lucky. The rain started as we were under a large over hang with the snack bar, tables, chairs and restrooms. You couldn't ask for a better "first time stuck in the rain" experience.

Since the rain lasted for an hour and a half, we didn't get to see the second half of the zoo. We'll have to go back another day!

Been hangin' around...

We've been real busy the past few weekends just hangin' around and getting daddy prepared for his Sunday football routine. Which is, sadly, an all day event that involves him starring between his computer screen to see how his fantasy football team is doing and the seemingly endless football games on television. I have to remind him a few times that the people he is cursing at in the fantasy football league are my family members, besides that our Sundays are BORING.

William and I make the most of this by getting up early and going for our Saturday and Sunday morning "stroll" down to the intracoastal to sit and watch for boats and whatever else may come by our way. I really enjoy this time because (1) I am out of the house (2) you can't beat the temperature and coastal breeze in the morning and (3) William usually sings at some point during our stroll which entertains innocent bystanders along the way. After a few weekends of doing this, I noticed that the same people are always down at the boat ramp. I also noticed that some of these are the same people that are always begging for money on the street corners by the highway. You'd think that would make me nervous, but it strangely does not. We've made friends and William entertains with his wonderful singing from his stroller. The town of Lake Worth has ripped apart the super cool playground to fix the sea wall and our park keeps shrinking every time we go down there. I can't wait for February when they are done with construction and we can enjoy the park again. Until then, we'll continue to entertain the homeless at the boat ramp.

Yesterday I wanted to go one step beyond and go down to the beach for breakfast. There are two restaurants on the beach that are about a mile away and both have an awesome ocean view and an equally awesome breakfast. I invited Jerry to come because I didn't want to be rude and it was a good thing I did... take a look at this face... is this the face of a child who would make a mess of a perfectly good beach breakfast???

It sure is. This little mess maker decided to POOP all over our calm, peaceful, tasty, Saturday breakfast. I can handle a poopy diaper. Jerry can handle a poopy diaper. We can even handle it in public. However, William decided to put our parenting to the test. Mommy, in her infinite wisdom, dressed him up in a cute little surfer dude outfit which did not help to contain the poo problem. When I picked him up to take him to the bathroom, the poo was everywhere. Everywhere. It had somehow come out the top of his shorts, into the car seat, through the car seat, onto the restaurant chair then through the restaurant chair and onto the floor. To top it off, the bathroom was a typical beach bathroom with no changing station and there were people using the beach showers (and I really didn't want to gross anyone out). So I went on a quick search for a logical, unsandy place to clean up. Ug. The funniest part was when the waitress said "Oh, you had a little orange juice spill..." and brought us some napkins. We weren't laughing at the time, but it's pretty funny now. Next time I'll just dunk William into the ocean instead of searching for a patch of grass to change him on.

I have a three-day weekend this weekend due to Yom Kippur, maybe we'll try the beach again tomorrow...

Homework for Parents

Sometimes, I really hate being a teacher. I've considered other jobs, but I hate them even more. My ideal job would be to work for a company that would start at 10am and send me home at 2pm. With a lunch break, benefits and a decent salary. I'm fully aware that this occupation does not exist.

This morning, while watching Good Morning America, I hated being a teacher. Dr. Marie Savard was on the show giving her "Homework for Parents: 5 Things Your Kids Should Know"... let me share with you her list.

1. Have a plan for the flu.

2. Have an emergency health card.

3. Get immunized.

4. Get enough sleep.

5. Remember chronic conditions.

Oh, was I mad. The teaser and tag line was "Homework for Parents: 5 Things Your Kids Should Know", not "5 Ways to Protect Your Family from the Flu". These are not the things your kids should know. These are 5 things PARENTS should know and enforce at home. I could EASILY teach flu prevention in my classroom. I get aggravated because there are so many things parents do not teach that are essential for success in life that I am forced to add to my already jam packed schedule. Let me share with you my list of things your child should know before coming in to public school (parents, I'm begging you)...

1. Manners

2. Personal space

3. The difference between right and wrong

4. Problem solving skills

5. Common sense

I can argue that common sense is something that cannot be taught, the rest of the five can. I try the best I can to teach my students these things, most of the time to no avail. I'll see my students the next year making the same bad choices I tried so hard to break them of while they were with me. After six years of teaching and finally being a parent myself, I proudly state at any conference where a parent tries to play "my child is perfect" that parents are responsible for their child's behavior. I think people forget about that. You have to teach your child how to act and be a good role model... you can't wait until they are in public school to have some lady do it for you in ten months, only to have it ruined over the summer for the next lady who comes along.

Can anyone tell I had a great weekend with my family and baby and that I don't want to go back to school tomorrow? I hope I have a good day tomorrow anyway... pictures and stories about the grandparents visit coming soon.

Our New Trick!

William has a new trick! I noticed on Thursday that he was trying to help himself sit up a little bit. I got sooo excited and we started doing baby sit-ups right away! I would let him hold on to my fingers and he would pull himself up. I would, of course, give him a little boost to make it all the way up. He loooooved doing the baby sit-ups. Every time he got to "sitting" he would smile the biggest smile and squeak. Then! I lifted his hands up a little bit and he stood up! Woo hoo! So now we do our little baby sit-ups to standing every night. I can see him being able to sit on his own in no time! Here's a little video of William doing his exercise. Please excuse my obnoxious "baby voice", I was really proud. =)

Some 'splanin to do...

Back to work I go! And boy am I tired. There are reasons why maternity leave is so important and why most moms try not to go back to work. Taking care of a baby and working is exhausting! Pumping bottles at work is exhausting. And none the less... I'm up blogging and Jerry is sleeping on the couch as we speak. My body is actually used to getting four hours of sleep a night. It's sad.

Here's a picture of what Jerry and William looked like when I left for school on the first day. There were no tears, no "Mommy, please don't go" and overall it was a very uneventful day at Daddy Day Care. It was a very interesting day for me, as I am continuing to nurse baby Will and if you are a teacher, especially of little ones, you know that on those first few days I BARELY had a minute to get the bottle pumping done. I didn't have a break until 1:20 and, well, I'm lucky I didn't have an embarrassing leak. Things are under control now, I have a routine and I am a pro-pumper. But, it is quickly getting old... Hopefully I can hold out for a few more months. Luckily we will be trying to start on some solid food soon and hopefully that will curb some of the bottles needed.

A few people have asked why there is always a towel under my child. If you look at almost any picture taken, there really is a towel there. I only bib my child if there is a really important outfit or if we are going out in public. I should probably bib him more often, but it's almost a moot point. He always manages to spit up beyond the bib and usually doesn't even get a drop on it. Half of the time the bib turns into a baby super hero cape... it's just not worth my time and laundry detergent. Instead, as a solution that we conjured up on our first day home, we just put a towel under Will whenever we're playing, changing and basically letting him move around on his own. It has cut down on needing to steam clean almost every surface in our house. I apologize if anyone thinks it looks tacky, but I think spit up stains on the couch you sit on when you visit are tackier.

Tune in this weekend... I have a video of William's latest trick! I'm too tired to post it tonight!

What do I REALLY need?

Back in March, Jerry and I went to a "Baby Expo" in Ft. Lauderdale with the hopes of finding everything we needed for our little bun. While we were there, we walked into the Fisher-Price booth and found a wonderful lady who showed us all of the newest products. Being a "minimalist" after growing up with my parents who saved EVERYTHING, I asked her... "If you had to choose just ONE, which of these products do I REALLY need?" There were bouncers, jumpers, exersaucers and rockers everywhere in many different shapes, styles and themes. Needless to say, she didn't give me a straight answer.

While registering in Target and Babies 'r Us, they give you this "handy" list of baby supplies that you need in order to keep your baby alive. The list had well over 100 different items on it to register for. Really? Do I need ALL of this? I am here to tell you, you don't need all of these things. Here is my list of the essential 25 items...

1. car seat

2. stroller

3. crib / mattress

4. crib sheets

5. diapers

6. wipes

7. clothes (specific types are a personal preference)

8. feeding supplies… breast pump and bottles for breastfeeding, bottles and formula for formula feeding

9. burp cloths

10. receiving blankets

11. diaper bag

12. something to put baby down in… swing, or bouncer

13. high chair (if you get one that reclines, you can use it as an infant)

14. dresser or hangers for clothes

15. baby monitor

16. toys (rattle)

17. play area for tummy time

18. pack and play

19. wash cloths

20. baby towels

21. baby soap / shampoo

22. baby nail clippers

23. thermometer

24. butt cream (destin or other)

25. the bulb sucker thingie (the give this to you in the hospital, it's important you take it with you)

That's all you need? Really? Yes. There are other items, however, that are NICE to have but are not essential. They are...

a changing table, a humidifier, a baby bath tub, a bassinet, travel swing or bouncer, a bumbo seat, a baby sling or carrier, a mobile, sun shades, a rocking chair, bottle brushes, a toy box and a nursing pillow

Things you DO NOT need include, but are not limited to...

travel wipes, diaper stackers, stroller netting and rain gear, sleep positioners, wipe warmer, pretty expensive baskets to put stuff in, special laundry detergent, diaper genies

Like I said above, other moms may consider different items more or less important than I do. I've found that baby supplies are really about what makes you and your baby comfortable. I, personally, went google eyed when I first walked into the stores to register. And yes, I cried in the stroller aisle because of all of the different choices. If you are really economical, you can combine some items. Travel system strollers include the car seat, some dressers include a changing table, a pack and play can include a bassinet and changing table and a first aid kit will combine some health items.

Yes, I didn't include a pacifier anywhere. I'm strongly against using a pacifier. I may be the only mom in America that feels this way, but I refuse to put a pacifier in my child's mouth and I don't care if people call me crazy. =)

EAT MOR CHIKIN

Normally, I'm a stickler for organizations to have correct spelling and grammar when it comes to logos. For example, I will never eat at the "Aisan" restaurant that misspelled their name on the menus and I'll also never eat at the "Kissimmee Koffee Kup". Aside from the very, what I find to be, offensive and possibly intentional initals, I have an even greater disdain for companies that intentionally replace a "c" with a "k". It's just stupid and unnecessary. I can, however, forgive spelling and grammar for cleverness. Example... I saw a tow truck today and the company was called "Tows-R-Us", clever. One Sweet Whirled ice cream? Clever! And tasty...

Where is this all going? It's going to Chick-fil-a. My friends to the north may not know of Chick-fil-a unless you have traveled out of New York and happened to see one of their billboards or stop at a restaurant. On one of my first trips to Florida when I decided that I was going to move here, I noticed these highly clever and very funny advertisements. Again, I hate spelling mistakes when it comes to professional organizations and businesses, but Chick-fil-a fits into the category of clever. If you have never seen these billboards, let me share. Keep in mind cows are not human, do not attend school and therefore cannot be expected to have proper spelling.

Chick-fil-a has been a life saver for Jerry and I. This company is just awesome. Since William has been born, we have eaten there a handful of times and we have never had a problem. William actually seems to like going there, even though he most likely has no idea where he is. Even if he does get fussy, it is such a family establishment that we aren't the only baby in the place and we don't feel like we have to have that "emergency exit plan" I've so many times made up in my head.

The Chick-fil-a closest to us is just a dream. Not only do you see managers working the counters, sweeping floors and asking everyone in the store how they are doing, they also came to our table to offer to refill our drinks and had a conversation with us and our child! I really can't say enough about this company and especially our store. It seems to me, in a time where companies are looking for inexpensive ways to cut costs while still managing to impress customers and keep them around, Chick-fil-a has come up with the cheapest and most novel idea... excellent service and manners. News flash... it's free and it works every time. Jerry and I go past at least five other fast food places to get to them, with a 2 month old child. That says a lot.

Just one word of warning if you ever head down here and see a Chick-fil-a... they are not open on Sundays for the sake of their employees' families and it actually makes me like them more. I'm never annoyed that they aren't open on Sundays, sad, but not annoyed. One more thing this company does to promote and preserve what is really important in life.

Baby Talk

One of the cutest things Will does lately is "talk back". We will have a conversation even though neither of us knows what the other is saying. It's like he's my own little ESOL student! I managed to catch him "talking" on video today. I happen to think it's the cutest thing on the planet, soooo I'm gonna share. He isn't perfectly balanced yet, but his little fall backwards adds to the cuteness.

Isn't his hat just adorable!? I could watch this all day and I have the live show. Still haven't caught him smiling in a picture yet, but I promise he is a happy child... as hopefully you can see in the video!

Growing Up and Spitting Up on Camera

I try to make good use of my web cam by taking pictures of William and I to gage his growth and hopefully catch him in a smile. I can't really use these web cam photos for anything to hang on the wall since my web cam doesn't exactly take high quality photos... so this is mainly for my entertainment. So far, I've gotten a variety of pictures of him not looking at the camera, looking annoyed with me and even an action shot of him spitting up. But, it's fun for me and hopefully soon I'll get to catch a smile!

May 20th (2 days before being born!)

June 15th

July 10th

July 22nd (He's getting so chunky!)

July 27th

Spitting up on me... how sweet!

I love that I can watch him growing up almost right before my eyes... but sometimes I want him to stay this small. Then he starts crying and I change my mind. Boy he is cute when he is quiet or playing though!

We're rolling!

Little William has a new talent. It took us a few days to figure out if he was rolling over by accident, or if he was really rolling over intentionally. Turns out, pretty much every time we put William on his tummy, he tries to roll over. He can't quite roll over yet from his back so when he turns over, he's kind of like a turtle on his shell. The tears come very quickly after unless we flip him back onto his tummy... and he rolls over again. So cute! Here he is playing in his little play area watching his" light show" and flipping over... we do this all morning. I love how he is so easily entertained.

If you look closely you can see Charlie walk past William and the camera lady (me) like we don't exist. He'll come around soon I hope.

Happy Hour

It is not a big secret that I used to frequent happy hour on Friday afternoons. I say Friday afternoons because we would actually arrive before 5pm, and I consider anytime before that "afternoon". It didn't take much digging to find a picture of one of these happy hour adventures...

This is Tanya and I, circa 2005. I have about a hundred photos similar to this one of us out on several different occasions. I'm guessing this was a Friday night when we started out at Antigua for the fabulous 3 for 1 special and then headed to Latitudes for the completely unnecessary 2 for 1 special. I know all of this because we did it every Friday night in 2005, 2006 and parts of 2007. All of this fun would occur before 10pm and we would somehow find our way home before midnight. I'm sure it doesn't surprise anyone when I say that I can't remember this night except for what I have in photos.

I understood when mid-way through 2007 she wanted to start a family and couldn't continue to come out and have fun with me anymore. It was, at first, hard to understand why once the baby had come why we couldn't pick up where we left off. Needless to say, many of my photos since her 30th birthday party (the stories are still circulating from that adventure) are a lot more "family friendly".

I still sometimes miss going out to happy hour on Friday evenings, I can't lie about that. I can also tell you that I do NOT miss waking up on Saturday morning with headaches so bad I wished I was dead... but it was all a part of the fun. I was upstairs this Friday afternoon just getting out of the shower, because I didn't get the chance to get in there before 3pm. When I came downstairs, this is what I found... all three of my boys, napping.

As much as I wish that I could "just be normal" again, this sight will never give me a headache, make me wait uncomfortably in a restroom line, pay a cover charge or have the need clean up the back seat of someone's car. I think it is safe to say, this is a much happier happy hour. And I don't even have to pay extra for VIP status... what a deal!

Cheer up Charlie...

Walking around our house with slightly less pep in his step is our kitty, Charlie. Even before William was born, Jerry and I would joke about how he was going to pack his bag (bag and stick style... see below), tie it to his tail and escape from the house.

We always got a good laugh out of it, but I secretly hoped that Charlie would adjust to William positively. Cats get a reputation of being jealous and there are even old wives tales that tell of cats "stealing the breath" from babies. Charlie didn't adjust badly, but he didn't adjust willingly either. He spends a lot of time under the bed and isn't as snugglie as he was before baby... and he wasn't really all that snugglie.

We've tried to put the two of them together, you know, to get acquainted... it didn't go very well. For either of them.

Ever since we've gotten home, Charlie has been hiding his favorite toys more than usual. He loves these little mice that come in packs of 9... he has gone through two packs and I can't find one of them anywhere. We suspect he is packing them in his get away bag.

Today, while I was eating lunch, Jerry called me over to the doorway to get a look at Charlie's current progress in his escape plan. Here he is, with one paw in Jerry's shoe. Very sneaky... you can barely tell it is in there. They definitely don't fit him very well, but everyone needs a pair of shoes to walk the streets of West Palm Beach if they are going to survive. Who knows, maybe he is checking to see if he could fit inside the shoe to use as shelter. Either way, this is definitely part of his get away plan.

Poor Charlie. It used to be him I would take incessant pictures of, now he is forced to do even weirder things to get a photo. Hopefully Charlie sticks around, because he is starting to show telltale signs that he has had enough of this new little human that gets all of the attention. I guess this is my karma for chasing away my childhood kitty, Alabaster. If only I hadn't run over his tail with my walker all of those times...

6 Weeks...

... plus a few days. He's a cutie and a little chunker! We had a little photo session in his little Ralph Lauren polo jumper because he is just so cute in it, and it is probably the classiest thing he owns. Unfortunately, he's almost already grown out of it. I'm determined to have a quick laundry turn around and squish him in it again.

We are finally getting glimpses of William's personality and this week has been a huge milestone for getting out of the house... we've been to see fireworks, gone out shopping and even been out to lunch in a fancy country club (where we also had our first "nursing in public" session). We've also had some visitors... Jerry's friends wife and children, and Melissa is coming tomorrow!

This is also the point in which I would have had to return to work if I was still at school. They only allow 6 weeks maternity leave, but you can request up to 12 weeks if you had worked at least one year, which I had not since I transferred counties in August. I must say that asking new mommies to return to work after 6 weeks is no where near enough time. I can't imagine having to send little 6 week old Will off to a day care because unfortunately all available family and friends that could watch him are just too far away. Lucky us, I have the summer off and Jerry will be able to work from home when I have to return to work in August.

I have since learned that the United States is one of the only "well to do" countries that doesn't offer paid maternity leave. If I didn't already have enough reasons to move to Canada or Australia, they give their workers one year maternity leave with pay. This is supposed to help with post-partum depression, nursing, and keeping young babies healthy, among other benefits. At least according to the few people I've talked to. What a concept! I mean, come on... how can you expect me to leave this face and nurture other people's germy children?

Until then, I'm not going to think about returning to work and I'm going to enjoy every minute I have with my little crankypants.

4th of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July and it is probably my favorite holiday. I'll say the same thing about Christmas, but it is only because they are on opposite ends of the year and I change "favorites" on a weekly basis.

Being a new mommy and wanting to celebrate my favorite (summer) holiday, I went about researching where the fireworks would be held in West Palm Beach. As luck would have it, there is a park about 4 blocks or so from our house and the festivities were being held there. This was almost too good to be true! It is excruciatingly hot outside in Florida this time of year, and I didn't want to have to deal with parking, where to sit, getting home, and all of the other fun activities that single/babyless people do so easily and without much (if any) thought. All of these things seemed like very daunting tasks... not to mention the feeding, diapering, and crying that would come with bringing a baby along. We don't have to deal with that... YAY! Fireworks are at 9pm, so we get William ready (feed, change diaper, get him in the car seat, calm him down from being in the car seat, wait for daddy to get ready...) and walk over to the park at 8:30. We find a seat right away, sit down and 15 minutes later... fireworks! We couldn't have asked for a smoother experience... really.

While we were waiting, we took some fun "waiting for fireworks" pictures.

Ohhh... Ahhh... Fireworks!

William was pretty good. We tried to get him to watch, but I think he was mostly just confused as to what was going on around him and why we were at the park after dark. He started crying during the fireworks for a few seconds, but a little bouncing and mommy-talk got him quiet quickly and he eventually just fell asleep.

Overall, this was one of the best 4th of July experiences I've ever had. Usually there is a lot of parking stress and traffic stress and hours of sitting in a park sweating waiting for the fireworks, and I was sure that we would probably just stay in to avoid all of that fun. Our landlady wants us sooo badly to buy the townhouse from her, and we have thought about it, but always decide not to because it is missing a lot of the things I want from a house to raise children in. BUT, a fireworks experience that was this hasslefree... nah... I would still like to have a pool and a yard. My only wish is for next year, when William is walking, to have a similar experience and not have to go leaping into the intra-coastal after him!

One Month Old!

One month and one week old already! How time is flying. I can't believe that it has already been almost 6 weeks since William was born. A lot has happened with Mr. Will in that time. He is almost holding his head up without support, only waking up twice (sometimes once, if we're lucky) in the middle of the night and I think we are getting glimpses of his first smiles. It's hard to say about the smiles though, we can't tell if he is smiling at us or if he just has gas, which he has quite a bit of - for a little guy. The biggest accomplishment, in my opinion, so far is how easy it is for us to put him to bed at night. It's like a sigh of relief when he's finally down for the night and Jerry and I get an hour or two to ourselves to be adults and not fear screaming or getting spit up on. Even at night, I've got it down to a science... just at the first squeak of fussing, I get him up, feed, change and back to sleep... no tears, no playing... strictly business! Poor William though has a pretty bad rash on his face that he's had for almost a week. It's either a heat rash or baby acne, either way we just have to wait it out. Hopefully it's not a heat rash because, well, we live in Florida and it's only July 1st. The heat is just getting started!

Look at how cute he is holding his little head up! He looks like a little chunker when he's lying down, which is also cute. Hard to believe he weighs almost 10 pounds! Note that I've got him on the Boppy Pillow again... on the bed... another Boppy Pillow "no-no". Really, I need to read the directions a little closer before placing my child on these things.

Nothing new or exciting to report on the Mommy and Daddy front. We are still in survival mode, but we're getting more and more into a routine. Our days of choosing between a shower, food or sleep have turned into having the ability to accomplish two of those activities a day, and sometimes, if I'm really lucky... I get to sneak in laundry, dishes or cleaning, too. It's as unglamorous as it sounds, but I know the day will be bittersweet when William becomes more independent and doesn't need us as much. Funny, I would rather talk about poopy diapers and wipe away drool than anything else right now... and I never thought I would EVER say that!

Permanent damage done... already...

Experienced mothers may already know where this is going. I know this because when I Googled "Boppy Pillow images" a number of other parents have done the same permanent damage to their children.

The first day home from the hospital, I took William out of his car seat and was carrying him around. I came upon my laptop that I hadn't seen in 48 hours and needed to get my fix. So, I sat down and started to go through the usual routine... Facebook, e-mail, work e-mail, friends blogs... and of course needed to typity type type type to broadcast my newest addition and I just couldn't wait to upload photos. Well... Jerry and I hadn't completely figured out where we were going to put the bassinet and I needed a place to set little sleeping William... when I saw my Boppy pillow. This seemed like the logical place to set him down, after all, it is sold at Babies-r-Us and that means it's safe for babies. Awwww... look how cute he is... let's take a picture.

Two days later when I was using the pillow for it's intended purpose (nursing), I noticed this large warning label that says, really clearly of course, NO SLEEPING. Crap. I'm glad that I took the time to photograph the damage I am already doing to my child. Let this be a lesson... not everything sold at Babies-r-Us is safe for babies.

Exhibit B...

When my parents were visiting a few weeks ago, little William was having a hard time adjusting to life outside of the womb. Especially at "bed time". I put quotes around bed time, because it was pretty much whenever he decided he wanted to go there and time had nothing to do with it.

My mother was helping us calm him down one night and was successful in getting him to fall asleep on her chest while rocking him. I was upstairs getting ready for bed when she came upstairs and lay him down in the bassinet on his stomach - just like he had fallen asleep. I see this and first take a picture because he was so cute, then super freak because she put him to bed on his stomach! Her response? "You lived." I was shocked! MY mother put ME to sleep on my stomach? Apparently I also had toys in my crib, among other currently unheard of parenting practices. Maybe this could explain why I'm continuing the cycle of permanent damage" starting from birth?

After the baby is out...

It's been over 3 weeks since William was born and so far, everyone is still alive and thriving. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE. I'm sure you probably figured that Jerry and I would live through the first month, however, there were a few points where we didn't know if we would... even before William was born. You are told over and over again that the first few months are a big adjustment and different, but no one tells you just how big of an adjustment or just how different your life will be. See photo below... this picture was taken at 7PM, William had been crying for at least 2 hours.

A number of people have already approached me and asked "I know you'll be honest... how much did it hurt?" or "Does it hurt as much as everyone says?" and my answer is a resounding A LOT and YES. Even though I was only in the labor and delivery wing for about 8 hours because I didn't think that I actually WAS in labor, the last 4 hours were extremely painful. I did have an epidural for the last two, but it only worked on one side of my body and I felt everything anyway. I said to Jerry at least 30 times in the delivery room that I would never do that again. Three weeks later, I can hardly remember exactly how bad it felt. I just remember it being very painful... which is probably why women decide to have more than one child a few years down the road.

Most of us are well prepared for the delivery room. We read all of the books, watch "A Baby Story" and "Bringing Home Baby" on TLC, we've seen all of the latest baby movies (I must add that "Knocked Up" seems to have the most realistic pregnancy symptoms), and when we are pregnant we go to the obligatory pregnancy classes held at the hospital or elsewhere. When it comes to delivery time, we know "what to expect". What most of us, on the other hand, are NOT prepared for is for what you go through AFTER you deliver your baby. I'm not going to discourage anyone from getting pregnant and making a wonderful family with all of my disgusting details and candid facts about your body after birth... I'll let you ask me personally, I promise not to hold anything back. I do, however, want alllll future mommies out there to know that you will be VERY SORE after giving birth for at least a week. You will be very uncomfortable (yes, more uncomfortable than those last few days of pregnancy) and you will definitely need help from daddy and any friends and family that come. I have to give major kudos to any mother who goes through the first weeks single or home alone, for whatever reasons. I can't speak for anyone who has to have a c-section, I can only imagine that the recovery is a bit more lengthy and most likely more painful.

I don't want to sound like I'm not having any fun with William... he is an awesome addition to my life. I just want to put it out there - no one talks about it! I went 39 weeks worrying about how I was going to take care of this little baby, thinking that I would be fully ready to take on motherhood straight from the womb. I wish someone would have better prepared me for the fact that I would have to deal with a baby AND some major body recovery. At three weeks, I feel almost fully recovered and I'm sure that by the end of this week the only thing I'll have to battle with is the extra 5 pounds I'd like to magically be rid of. I also promise to have more upbeat posts from here on out... like I said before... I needed to get it out there for other unsuspecting future mothers. Just looking at your baby will make it all worth it though... =)