Month 5

Three posts in one week.  I'm apparently going for a record or something.

Anyway, exactly one year ago today we were released from our RE at 8 weeks and today my baby boy is 5 months old.  I have no idea how time has passed us so quickly!  I missed a four month post, so I decided to be sure to write a five month post.

I am not 100% positive how much Hudson currently weighs, but I do know that he was 16 pounds at his four month appointment and he has grown quite a bit since then.  If I had to guess, I'd say he is between 18 and 19 at this point.  He's got rolls fo' days!

He is currently transitioning out of 6 month clothes and into 9 month clothes.  He has about 2 pairs of 6 month pants he can fit into as well as a couple of long sleeve t-shirts.. everything else in the 6 month department is a no bueno.  

Food.  This kid LOVES to eat.  We got the go ahead at his four month appointment to start giving him purees.  We started with fruits - he likes bananas, pears, and homemade peaches and applesauce.  He isn't having any of those tart baby food peaches.  He was still hungry.  So, we added in veggies.  So far he likes carrots, squash and his all time favorite is sweet potatoes - gross.  For breakfast he is currently having rice cereal and an 8 ounce bottle.  For lunch he has a fruit and an 8 ounce bottle.  He has about 2 ounces of juice in the afternoon.  At dinner he has a veggie, fruit, and 8 ounce bottle.  And one last 8 ounce bottle at bedtime.  Like I said, he loves to eat.

Bath time is also a favorite.  He is so much fun in the bathtub.  He loves to splash and chomp on his bath toys.  He finds it quite comical when he straightens his body out completely so he slides off of his "prop".  It becomes a game of how-many-times-do-we-have-to-reset-Hudson's-position.  And he loves it.

Hudson is still a rock-star sleeper.  He goes to bed around 8:30 and sleeps until 6:30 on weekday mornings (when I have to get him up) and sometimes even later on the weekends.  He has a rough night here and there, but nothing to complain about.  He naps well both for us and the babysitter.  He is very content laying in his crib talking to himself for a good ten minutes or so once he does wake up.  I love laying in bed listening to him coo and talk to himself.  It's awesome.

We have a babe on the move.  No crawling over here yet, but he is a rolling fool.  Back to belly, belly to back.  It's pretty cool to see.  He starts in one direction and ten minutes later he is facing a totally different direction.  He also loves Sophie and Rooney.  Rooney is much more interactive with him, so he is especially intrigued by our yellow guy.  He has literally started to pet him and grab his hair.  Good thing we have dogs with awesome personalities.

Hudson is also becoming a flirt.  He will look at a girl, then smile and turn and hide his face in my chest.  It is so, so funny!  He knows me, Matt, my mom, and his babysitter by voice and face now and smiles every time he sees are hears each one of us.  It's the best!

These five months have been the best.  I love every second I get to spend with my little guy and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.  He never ceases to amaze me with his learning and achievements each and every day.  I love you, baby boy!

What I learned

about childbirth.. and the weeks/months after.

I know there are a ton of posts out there written about this exact topic, but this is my take on my experience based on what I've been through.  You get the point.

Before giving birth to Hudson I didn't quite know what to expect.  I talked - in great length - to family members and friends who already had children of their own.  I forced Matt to sign up for and attend six three-hour childbirth classes.. all of which would prove to be a total waste of time (I didn't have a natural birth and breast feeding didn't work).  I researched.  I researched some more.  And yet I still didn't have a clue when the time finally arrived.

Now, you must know that I did not go into labor on my own.  While I was having contractions on my own, they were not strong enough to do anything.  Instead, I was induced with Pitocin due to gestational hypertension.. in other words, my blood pressure skyrocketed at 38+5 so it was time to evict Hudson.  I never lost my mucus plug, my water never broke on it's own, I never had to labor in a car on the way to the hospital.. but it was still a surprise that day as I had no idea my blood pressure was that high.  I went to my weekly appointment and they sent me to labor and delivery immediately.  And what felt like a bazillion hours later, Hudson was born.

1. Any modesty you had left will disappear very quickly.  Now, after three rounds of in-vitro, I had virtually no modesty left going into the delivery room.  But any little smidgen that was there?  GONE!  There are literally 15 people passing in and out of the delivery room at any given time.  This does not include the people you have designated to accompany you throughout labor.  There are nurses all up in your business, there are various doctors all up in your business, there are residents all up in there, there are lactation consultants after the birth.. you get the point.  A lot of people are going to see your who-ha.  And there are going to be a lot of things going on that you literally have no idea are going on.. especially if you get an epidural.  Accept that fact going into it, and it will be much easier for you!  

2.  C-sections (if you have one.. and I did.. thus the reason 4 of my 6 birthing classes were a total waste of time) are weird.  Now, I was out of it for most of mine, but there are some distinct things that I will never forget.  They put that nice curtain up in front of you so that you can't see what's going on.  Well, if you look straight up into the lights, you can see what's going on.  And at one point.. I literally saw the doctor up on the table yanking.. what I am assuming was Hudson, out.  The amount of pressure you feel is intense, and so difficult to describe.  Then when they are stitching you up.. you are literally bouncing up and down - like a trampoline - on the table.  It.is.weird.  

3.  Mesh undies.  These little stretchy pieces of heaven are going to be your best friends.  At first I thought they were weird.  Then, after my first shower, I put them on.  And I instantly wanted to scour the internet and purchase a lifetime supply.  But, I refrained.  Sigh.  Anyway, I scarfed up every pair I could from the hospital and even had an additional four pairs from my beautiful friend, Kristen.  I was legitimately sad the day I used the last pair.  
**Update: My friend Kelly says that these things have a good 12 or so wash/spin cycles in them. Do you know what that means?  If you grab your entire hospital stash, you can make them last for months!  My day has just been made!

4.  Your maxi pads will resemble landing strips.  They are that.big.  And you will need them.  It doesn't matter how you give birth (natural or c-section) there is still an abundance of "stuff" that needs to vacate your body.  I mean, I heard them sucking nasty stuff out of me for what felt like 20 minutes and I still had to use the landing strips for a good two weeks.  Now don't get me wrong, I knew that there was a heavy flow post par tum, but I never imagined it was THAT much.  And now that I've grossed you out, we shall move along.

5.  There is no perfect answer.  Remember all of those books you read before baby?  All of the apps that you followed?  Yeah.  While they have great ideas and some things may hold true, most of it is total crap.  I mean really, who has the most perfect life that follows the strict schedule and blah blah blah.  No one that I know, that's for sure. (Granted, they may think that they do, but rest assured, they do not.)  You have to do you.  You do what's best for you and what's best for your baby.  Use the books as a quick reference, but otherwise toss them.  Same thing for some of those stupid apps.  I spent like $2.99 on the Wonder Weeks app or whatever it is.. and I watched that thing daily. Oh, Hudson should be starting a leap!  While he has exhibited a few of the behaviors/signs, I would say that overall the app is a total waste of my $2.99.  I could have gotten two songs off of Taylor Swift's new album for that money!  I would watch for these things to happen.  It was like I was waiting for him to scream all night long, in turn keeping myself up all night long for no reason.  So I decided to toss it.  Not worth my time.. or money.  Trust your instinct.  Don't second guess yourself.  You will know what to do.

6.  The first poop is scary as all hell.  It doesn't matter how you give birth, that first post par tum poo is one of the scariest things ever.  You basically just have to fart to be able to leave the hospital.. the rest all takes place AFTER you are home.  Now, they will feed you like 47 stool softeners a day while in the hospital, but let me tell you, it does not help.  You will get the feeling.. and it will scare you.  You will go to the bathroom and you will sit there forever.. feeling like your insides are going to come spilling out if you squeeze.  And then after what feels like an eternity later, it will happen.  And you will feel some relief.  And then each time it will get a little easier and a little less scary.  And eventually you will feel normal again.

7.  You are still going to look pregnant.  I had it in my head that all of my baby weight would magically disappear once Hudson was born.. and that I could wear my regular leggings home.  Well, I laughed at myself over and over and over for this one.  I left the hospital looking like I did when I was six months pregnant.  And I couldn't wear my own leggings - only because they fell right over my incision - I could have stretched them over me if I didn't have that issue.  And my swelling was 10 times worse than it was when I was pregnant.. and I was majorly swollen when I was pregnant.  Now, my stomach and swelling did slowly go down, but I'm still rocking a 4 month-ish pregnant belly.  This losing baby weight thing is hard.  I walk and I have recently started Weight Watchers.  I am happy to report that I have lost 2.5 pounds in 2 weeks.  I still have 10 more to go, but I'm slowly getting there.

8.  Most of your friends will disappear.  This one makes me sad.  Before you have your baby, your friends are around.  They are so excited for you and they make time to hang out with you.  Then you have your baby.  One, maybe two if you are lucky, of your friends come to visit you in the hospital.  Then you go home.  Again, one, maybe two additional (or same) friends come to visit you.  They may bring a meal, a little gift for you and/or baby, and they stay for an hour.  Then they leave.  And it is weeks, sometimes months, before you hear from them again.  And chances are, you are the one making the communication - not them.  It's as if they have written you off because you are a "boring mom" now.  Now, I live away from most of my friends, so it is much more difficult for them to come visit.  However, I have gotten texts from ONE of my IRL (in real life - I'll explain) friends.  One.  And she recently had a baby, so she gets it.  We talk mom stuff, baby stuff, family stuff, life stuff.  She gets it.  And I am beyond thankful for her.  Then I have my good friend that lives locally and I work with - who also has three kids.  She gets it.  We chat, we hang out when possible, and we check in on each other.  I am also thankful for her.  I also have my TTC friends - those girls who have been there through the thick and thin of this infertility battle.  They gave me advice, ears (texts) to listen, shoulders to virtually cry on, and they are still there because they get it.  I have three awesome girls that I text on a regular basis.  Without them, I would be lost.  Seriously.  The rest of my friends.. do I even call them friends anymore?  Not a single one has EVER sent even a text message or email to ask how Hudson was.  To congratulate us.  To ask how I was.  To see if I wanted to get together or have some away time.  Nothing.  And that just makes me sad.  Which leads me to..

9.  You will need to make some time for yourself.  Don't get me wrong.  I want to be with Hudson 24/7.. and 99% of the time I am (except when I am working).  But once a week, it's nice to get out and go to Target or something like that alone so I can have some time to myself.  I am lucky enough to have a husband that supports this and gives me that time on a weekly basis.  And we are lucky enough to have family that is willing to watch Hudson so we can still do things as a couple - for example our weekend away for a friend's wedding.  We missed Hudson like crazy, but we knew he was in good hands and it was good for our marriage to get out and be us for a weekend.  And then we went home and get in plenty of snuggle time.  

10.  Your family will become incredibly important.  I live two hours from my family.  Now that I have Hudson, that is indescribably difficult for me.  I miss my mom.  I wish I had her around to help me when I need it and to visit or go to dinner with once a week.  It sucks living away from them - even though it's only two hours.  I wish we could move closer, I really do.  But the current job and housing market doesn't permit that at this time, so we will do our best and make the best out of our time together.  I just wish that she, and my dad, siblings and grandparents, were closer to us while Hudson is growing up.  And this is me whining.  Wahh.

Just a few things that I have learned first hand. Everyone is different and handles everything differently.  Every birth, baby, parenting style, etc. is different.  I'm just sharing my thoughts and opinions.. and a few pictures of my baby bear on this blistery cold day :)

He will hate me for this someday.

Hiatus

It's November 14th.  I guess you could say I've been on a bit of a blogging hiatus for the last few weeks.  Hudson turned four months (almost five) and I never got the chance to blog about that.  Maybe this weekend, maybe not.  I decorated the inside of my house for Christmas - except the tree.  Maybe I'll get around to posting pictures.. once the tree is up.  We had some flurries yesterday - like enough to coat my yard, but that's the norm in the north-east so I probably won't be posting about that.  Until we get a good one.  Then you will see pictures.  I got a pretty horrible pp period.  I'll spare you the details on that.

I have found that life is keeping me pretty darn busy.  And when I do have a break, I just don't quite know what to blog about these days.  I love to post about Hudson, but I also don't want to "over do" it and make some of my dear friends who are fighting the infertility battle sad.  Oh hey, speaking of, I am infertile again.  And I'm sure I'll be posting more about that as time progresses.  Hudson and I are headed on a "girls vacation" in a week or so.  I'm sure I'll post some pictures from that.  I bashed mom wars a few weeks ago and got quite an array of responses from that one - mostly a lot of "hell-yeahs", but still the few snotty know it all comments.  To those people, I have said, "Bye Felicia" (insert cocky princess wave with a giant smile on my face).  And it felt pretty darn good.

I promise I will try to be more diligent about posting.  But, then again, basketball season starts on Monday and I become a "basketball widow" for a few months - aka - night time single mom.  So, time will tell.

Today I decided to get some inspiration from a couple of my fellow blogger girl friends and post a few of my current favorite things.  They are nothing special; just things that I am loving right now.. in no particular order.

Number 1. Carter's Christmas outfits for boy. As a "boy mom", I find the lack of fashionable boy clothing to be very frustrating.  That's where Carter's comes in.  If you don't have one near you, I feel bad for you, son.  They have the most adorable AND affordable boy clothes.  And I am so in love with all of their holiday lines!  I am counting down the days until I can put Hudson in his Christmas outfit.  Or rather, outfits.  I just can't help myself.  These stores are so dangerous.  And they always have super awesome sales.  So, kudos to you, Carter's, for being fashion forward with itty bitty boy clothes and making them incredibly affordable.

Number 2. Christmas decorations.  (Disclaimer - this is not my tree.  It would be awesome if it was.)  No, I did not say holiday.  I said Christmas.  Nothing pisses me off like someone saying "happy holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas".  Remember the reason for the season, people.  Anyway, I have gone ahead and become "that person" and decorated the interior of my house for Christmas.  On November 8th.  Judge me.  I'm already over it.  There is just something about the holiday season that makes things extra special and joyful.. and this year trumps them all - to date.  And I'm not going to lie, I think my house looks so much prettier with Christmas decorations out on display.  I am so beyond excited to spend Christmas with Hudson that I just cannot contain myself.  I may or may not have already started wrapping some gifts.  Yes.  I'm that excited.  The only thing we do not have up (inside) yet it our tree.  We do get a real tree and that will be coming the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Prepare yourself for pictures at that point.

Number 3.  Winter is upon us in the North-East, folks.  It's cold.  There's frost.  We even had a dusting of snow already.  My car is parked i

n our garage, but our garage is not heated.  So, cold temps call for heated seats!  I love mine - seriously love.  They heat up faster than the car and my butt is all nice and happy on my drive to and from work.. and wherever else I may go.  Totally worth the extra bucks if you live in a region that suffers cold winters.  Your bum will thank you.

 Number 4.  New, warm, stylish coats.  We traveled out of town for a wedding a couple of weeks ago.  I had a dress that was appropriate for the forecast and was ready to go.  Then it got windy.  And it rained.  And I didn't have a coat.  So, off to the closest store I could find.  Old Navy.  And it was perfect timing!  While I didn't want to spend a fortune on a coat (I'm still trying to lose all of my baby weight and have faith - haha - that one day I'll be able to fit all of my old coats.), I still wanted something that I would be able to use more than once and that would go with more dressy attire.  Just my luck!  Old Navy had all of their wool coats on sale for $25.00 until 1:00 pm that day.  Good thing I made my decision early enough in the day!  This $25.00 coat is not only cute, but also very warm.  I give it two thumbs up.

Number 5.  Aden and Anis sleep sacks.  It has happened.  Hudson has learned to break free from his (armpit down) swaddle.  And right now, everything he gets in his hands goes into his mouth.  So, after looking into the video monitor and seeing the blanket in the mouth on more than one occasion, I decided that he was trying to tell me that he is officially done with being swaddled. (Insert ugly cry here.)  Hudson wears the one piece sleepers to bed, but it is still too cold to not have a 'blanket' of some sort.  That's where these awesome sleep sacks come into play.  This weekend we will be trying our first sleep sack.  It seems a bit big, but judging from pictures I've seen, it's ok.  He fits the weight requirements for the size I bought, but is at the very bottom end of the height.  So, we will see how this works.  Either way, I'm glad they have something else out there that we can use to keep the little guy warm while he is sleeping.  Oh, and they are just as soft as the swaddle blankets.  And they really make me want to get the dream blanket not only for Hudson, but the adult version for myself.  Just sayin', Santa.

Number 6.  Making my son look like a teddy bear.  Just kidding.  A little.  Carter's has this cute little snowsuit? (I don't know what else to call it), one piece thing that is light-weight enough to wear over his clothes, but still have a tight fit in his car seat.  (Cue the car seat wars here.)  And let's face it, anything that has a hood complete with ears, is cute in my book.  And the softness.  Again, I want one for myself.  Sorry, Hudson.  There will be pictures of you wearing this.. and they will be shown to your significant other in 18 years.  Anyway, this is perfect for the cold days that are now upon us.

Number 7.  Last, but certainly not least, are the infamous Starbucks "red" holiday cups.  I got my first one this week and could not be more excited!  Again, just something about this season that is just so darn magical.  I hope to enjoy a few more warm drinks from these festive cups before the season comes to an end.  I hope you do, too.

So, there you have it.  Some of my current favorite things.  I hope you all have exciting things planned for this weekend.  Maybe even a little decorating?  Happy Friday!

Oh, and no post would be complete without a picture of this guy.  I just love him to pieces.  XOXO

Feature

I am beyond honored to share this with all of you! I was contacted by my friend Jenna who works with www.fertilethoughts.com. They were looking for guest bloggers and she asked if I would prepare a post. I was beyond excited and did just that. I am the featured blogger of the month for November.

Check out my post at  http://www.fertilethoughts.com/fertile-thoughts-blogger-month-allison

Happy November, all!  I may or may not begin decorating for Christmas this weekend.. haha