Stats

Yesterday we had a WIC appointment so I got some deets on Liam's growth.

At 4.5 months, Liam is weighing in at:

Length: 26 inches

Weight: 16 pounds.

He is in the 80th percentile for weight, and 90th percentile for height!

(For those who don't understand percentile, 80th percentile means that only 20% of babies his age weigh more than him, and only 10% of babies his age are taller than him.)

In the last 2 months, he has gained 4 pounds and grew 3 inches! He's practically a grown ass man.

Shots 1, Liam 0

Yesterday we got Liam's 4-month shots. This round of vaccines have sure kicked Liam right in the butt. His 2 month shots didn't really affect him. He got a low grade fever for a night that was cured by one dose of Tylenol. This round is a totally different story...

First off, the lady that administered them was a complete psycho and was completely stressed out and acted like she had never administered a shot before in her life, even though that is what she does every day from 7am-4pm. She made the already awful experience, that much more worse. Liam pretty much hated her guts as well. She got irritated with me because I wanted to hold Liam during the shots, and she was getting stressed out because he was wiggling his legs after she stabbed one chubby thigh. What the hell do you expect lady?! For him to sit there with a smile and say, " That felt great. Please stab my other thigh, I promise to sit here all calm."

Anyway, Liam screamed and cried, I shed a few tears and we were out the door. One leg bandaged up with Bugs Bunny, the other bandaged with Daffy Duck.

The first several hours after the shots, Liam was totally fine. A little lethargic, but nothing too notable. Around 12pm everything changed. He started to get super achy and even more lethargic. Anytime I would pick him up to move him he would wine in pain and he started to run a temp. We spent the afternoon napping and watching, " It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown."

By bedtime, Liam was running a 101.1 temp and had chills.

Time for Tylenol.

The entire night is a blur. Liam was waking up every 20 minutes just wanting a boob, or to be held. I gave him Tylenol every 4 hours. His temp was reaching 102.8, and the Tylenol would only bring it back down to 100. I spent the entire night checking on him and comforting him. He was miserable.

Today he is a little better. Still running a temp and still clingy as ever. It's okay though. It gives me an excuse to have a lazy, movie-filled day with my favorite boy.

Wordless Wednesday

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Applesauce Raisin Bread

So, since I have been trying to eat healthier, I needed to think of healthier snack foods to keep around the house instead of cookies.

I stumbled across this recipe and it is so yummy!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45min-1hr

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons (I used WAY more) ground cinnamon

1 cup dry oatmeal

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup raisins

1 1/4 cup applesauce

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup apple juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 8.5x4.5 inch loaf pan.

2. Soak raisins in apple juice.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, oats and brown sugar.

4. Add applesauce, oil, eggs and milk.

5. Stir until just combined. Mix in the raisins (not the apple juice)

6. Spread evenly into loaf pan. Bake 55-60 minutes, or until knife comes out clean.

7. Cut yourself a big ol' slice and enjoy! After all, it is low-fat :)

Big boy food!

Today was a big day for me...well, and Liam.

We decided it was time to start him on solids. I have to admit, it has been something that I was trying to put off. Liam is still exclusively breastfed, so giving him rice cereal almost feels like I am being cheated on! That, and it means Liam is growing up, which I am in denial about.

We decided to give rice cereal a try because he was acting like he was starving after every feeding. Also, anytime I eat while holding him, he tries to steal my food out of my hand, and whacks my silverware, water bottle or whatever I may be holding at the time. He is always very interested in what Kyle and I are eating.

So we gave it a shot earlier this evening, and here are the results:

HE DID NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT!

He was sooo hungry when I sat him down to feed him, that he was thrashing around in excitement. Every time I would come in toward his mouth with the spoon (cue the obnoxious airplane noise parents make when feeding their infants) he would thrash around, arms and legs flailing everywhere knocking the rice cereal off the spoon and all over my arms, his legs, and his outfit (notice the blob on his left sleeve.) We both were a hot mess. Once I got some in his mouth he made the most disgusted face I have ever seen.

I couldn't help but laugh.

I have to admit, I was highly entertained by this feeding. We didn't give him much. I only mixed a tablespoon of rice cereal with 4 tablespoons of breast milk.

About halfway through his "meal" he started to get pissed. Most of the cereal was making its way onto his festive bib, and not in his mouth. He was having a hard time figuring out how to move the food from the front of his mouth, to the back of his throat. He did manage to get a few bites in, but not much. We will try this solid food shenanigans another time.

After he made a mess of him and I, I gave him the boob and all was good in his little world.

Then it was off to the bathtub for a scrub a dub.

Our little boy is growing up so fast!

The little things...

It's the little things in life that make being a Mommy that much more wonderful.

The other day Kyle walked into Liam's room to check on him while he napped, and we found him like this:

All I saw was his little bald-y head bobbin' around. He loves hangin' out on his belly! He was totally content just hanging out in his crib, talking to his friends (his stuffed animals.)

I sure love this little boy!

For all you Mommies!

What makes a good mother anyway?

Is it patience? Compassion? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you see your child disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m., to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? To make sure they are still breathing?

The need to flee from wherever you are and hug

your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies–and for all the mothers who wanted to, but just couldn’t.

This is for reading “Goodnight, Moon” twice a night for a year. And then reading it again, “Just one more time.

”

This is for all the mothers who mess up.
Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired two-year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed–when their 14-year-olds dye their hair green.

Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won’t stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook

and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls “Mom?” in a crowd, even though they know their own are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy be

ars on their children’s graves.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who gave life to their babies,

only to give up their babies in the hopes of a better life.

This is for all the mothers who couldn’t bare children of their own and who love the children given to them as if they were their own.

This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomachaches, assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up–right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diap

er changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Birth mothers and adoptive mothers. Mothers with money. Mothers without.

This is for you all. Hang in there!

- Author Unknown

It may be hard..... But isn't it sooo beyond worth it?

Thoughts from our Thursday

It feels like there has been so much going on this week! So many random stories to share:

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On Monday, I had my car towed away to be "junked." Basically, to get my car re-registered cost more than it was worth, and we needed a bigger car anyway so we junked it. Kyle and I have been car shopping for awhile now, since having two, 2-door cars wasn't working anymore with his car seat. We finally found a Nissan Cube that I loved and decided to go with it. Life has been so much easier with a bigger car! I was looking for reasons to drive around base today in my new set of wheels. So, the boy and I went to meet Kyle for lunch, and it was a blasty blast.

***

I have lost 3 pounds so far this week! I know, it's not much, but it feels like a lot considering I can't diet while I am breastfeeding. I have started attending a Zumba class here at the gym on base with a friend of mine from Ramstein. It is soooo much fun, but sooo hard at the same time. I am sweating my behind off before the first song is even over. I am watching what I eat to some extent. I have cut out soda, fast food, limited my candy intake (I can't rid myself of all my guilty pleasures..come on now hah.) I drink only water, and I walk with the boy every morning. So, over time, the pounds are finally starting to fall off! 6 pounds to go before I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight!

***

Liam is rolling all over the place! He literally rolls across the floor. I have to constantly keep an eye on him or he will roll off his play mat and onto the hard tile. He is working on being able to sit up on his own. He has just learned to make "farting" noises with his mouth and he does it all day. His hair is still falling out. It has thinned out so much, it looks like we gave him a little buzz cut.

Well, this entry needs to be wrapped up for now. Liam is demanding some attention after his 10 minute nap. Today has been a long day!

We Now Have a 4-Month Old!

By golly, I can hardly believe that our little Liam is already 4 months old! Where in tarnations have the last 4 months gone?!

This 4 month has already been a busy month full of milestones for Liam.

Our 4-month old can:

*Roll from his back to his belly, and back onto his back again.

*Follow anything with his eyes. The other day he was watching each individual car pass by.

*Laughs at any silly noise or face you make.

*Reaches for your food when you are eating.

*Focuses on small objects.

*He started "scooting." When I place him on his belly he gets up on his toes and tries to launch himself forward.

*EVERYTHING you hand him goes right into his mouth.

*He is on 6 mo. clothing. He only wore 3-6mo for about 3 weeks.

*His hair is falling out EVERYWHERE!

*He is making a ton of new noises.

And last but not least, we have finally hit the point where I can no longer leave Liam unsupervised. Since he is rolling everywhere, I have to watch him like crazy. He will roll off his play mat, and he will roll OUT of his swing and bouncy! I have to keep him strapped in at all times. Baby-proofing the house is in our near future...