Little P Found His Package!

Yes, that is how it sounds. Little Max Perry found his penis this week. Now when we change him, he has to check and make sure it is still there. I keep telling him it's all intact....including his foreskin. He's already holding himself like a football player in the locker room. That must be an exciting discovery for any boy!

He also found his ears. He keeps running his hand back there to pull on his ears and scratch his head. He's giving the Fonz from "Grease" a run for his money. All baby Max needs is a little more hair.

We've reached a pivotal point where we are ready to transition Max to his crib. We are all ready. Well, Marc and I are ready, but I'm not sure if Max is or not. But I am done with cosleeping. It served us well and attributed to a strong breast feeding relationship, but it suddenly became perfectly clear that we are ready for the next step.

It was a culmination of milestones that got us to this point. First of all, he is not teething. Both of his bottom teeth have come in, so I don't have to worry about him enduring excruciating pain all night. Secondly, we are not traveling. Nor do we plan to go anywhere before Thanksgiving. As I well know, it is impossible to adapt a solid schedule if you are going to leave and wreck it. Third, Max is finally eating lots of food. So I don't have to worry about his little tummy hurting because he is empty. These factors were all crucial before we could possibly attempt the transition.

I was just hoping for him to show some interest in food, but it is beyond that. Today he ate 1/3 of an avocado, a few beans, and some banana with brown rice cereal. I couldn't have asked for more in the food department.

Last time I fed him avocado, he gagged on it and spit it out. Today, he barked at me when I didn't feed it to him fast enough. Since I eat avocado almost every day, that will be a very easy food to give him. It's also nice that I don't have to puree it for him. I simply cut him a slice and he chews and swallows without a problem. This feels like a victory for me, but all I did was continue to offer it to him over and over.

The way we are transitioning Max into his crib is as usual a carefully thought out plan modeled by other peaceful parenting advocates and nonbelievers in crying it out. A breast fed baby's first love affair is with the boob. So naturally they look for the boob for comfort. And Max loves to look for that boob in the middle of the night!

So to switch it up, tonight daddy Marc will be there to comfort. Not me. Yes, that's right folks. Marc is taking over the nighttime feedings until Max is adjusted to his room. And since Marc doesn't have boobs, he will be there to comfort and soothe in a different way than me. Because at this point, it's about comfort more than hunger. I'm actually going to do the first feeding just to give my boobs some relief, and then it will be up to Marc to get Max through the rest of the night. I am going to sleep in another room after the first feeding so I can get a much needed break and some extra sleep. Wait. I lie. I'm not getting extra sleep. I'd have to sleep for a straight month for it to be considered extra. I am just aiming to get a good night's sleep is all.

So I got the boys all ready for their first night. We have the baby monitors all set up. Max has his turtle nightlight on so he can see where he is when he wakes up. Since he won't be smelling me and my milk, he will have the bunny that he sleeps with every night with our familiar scents. I moved the rocking chair from the living room into his bedroom. Basically, I've equipped them with everything they might need in hopes of being left alone. I'm really hoping for a successful night, but realize it usually takes a week to begin a new sleep association.

Let's hope Max finds his package is an adequate replacement for the boob. Because tonight it's up to him and Daddy! Wish us luck!

Reflecting...

Look at his first tooth in this picture!

I just went back and watched the videos of when Baby Max was born. Wow, things have changed!

I was especially surprised to watch the video of 1 week postpartum to see how pregnant I looked. My belly was hanging out of the bottom of my shirt. How funny! I was huge!

The most special memory I have with my son so far is breast feeding for the first time. Everyone kept saying that breast feeding was so hard. But I didn't understand why or how it could be so difficult. Max came out ready to suck and made my job easy.

I think the reason it was so special to breast feed him was because it made everything so real. We put him up to the boob and he knew exactly what to do. It was probably the most pure and natural moment after giving birth. I stared at him the whole time. It was so amazing to see how he opened his mouth and started sucking. He seemed very happy there and I loved having him on me.

At that point my milk hadn't come in yet and I knew he was getting colostrum that he needed to clean out his digestive tract. The funny thing about colostrum is that it is clear and watery so you don't feel like you are feeding your child. It was more of a time to be close and get to know each other. My heart goes out to mommies and babies who are unable to breast feed because the bonding is so special.

But now that I have breast fed Max for the past 6 months, I understand why people say it is hard. It has nothing to do with putting your boob in a baby's mouth. That's the easy part for most. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule when there are health disorders and latch problems. But the actual act of feeding is quite easy. Especially with all the special pillows such as the boppy and the breast friend.

The reason people say breast feeding is hard is because you don't get to retreat away from your child and there is almost no opportunity to be selfish. For most of us that have only had to worry about taking care of ourselves for the past 30+ years, it is a huge lifestyle change. Newborns have to eat every hour or two, and that is the breast feeding mother's job. Point blank. You are the only one there to do that job.

So you might not think that sounds like a big deal, but when it comes down to not being able to sleep more than 3 hours in a row or just run off to run a quick errand, you start to realize how hard it can be. That's why you really need to look to your "village" for help with things like cooking and cleaning.

When I think about being attached to my son for the first 3 months of his life, it sounds easy and natural. But when you're living it and haven't been able to skip off to a yoga class or a retreat to the movies or anywhere at all by yourself for several months, you can see why many people quickly give up on breast feeding.

But if you hang in there past the first 3 or 4 months when sleep deprivation is at its worst, breast feeding becomes a miracle. Any time your baby is sick or fussy, you can always soothe by nursing. I've heard that many mothers regret that they quit nursing as soon as their baby is sick. It's too bad that moms will quit nursing and let their milk dry up when all they needed was help. It's a good feeling to know that I was able to nurse Max half the night before he got his first tooth. He must have been in so much pain and it's nice to know that I was able to bring him some relief.

My favorite thing about breast feeding is that I don't have to pack formula and bottles everywhere I go. Babies need enough these days between diapers, wipes, carseats, change of outfits, etc. The last thing I want to have to do on top of that is make bottles. And since I am not making bottles, I am not cleaning bottles. And you know the last thing I want to deal with is cleaning anything I don't have to.

Now that Max has begun eating solid foods, I am not the only one capable of feeding him anymore. So a breast feeding mother is only 100% in charge of feedings for 6 months. Then it is possible to share that responsibility with others. Just because breast feeding is so consuming in the beginning doesn't mean it will stay that way. It just gets easier and easier.

I'm starting to sound like a lactation consultant, huh! I wish all mothers could share this bond with their babies. My most special moments with Max are revolved around nursing when we stare into each other's eyes. He knows I am nourishing him and always there to fill his needs. And I know I'm doing a good job because he's getting heavy!

We went to the pediatrician yesterday. Max weighs a little under 17 lbs. I think he actually lost a tiny bit of weight this past week. He is so active these days and always reaching out and scooting towards his toys. He's burning tons of calories with all this action. He went down to the 25th percentile in weight and is in the 75th percentile for height.

We just started giving him brown rice cereal yesterday, so he'll probably pack some weight back on really fast. I barely gave him any these past 2 days, but we'll increase that very soon. After hearing too many nightmare stories about babies being constipated, I've started slow with the food.

Going to the park is one of my favorite things to do with Max. We love being together and we love being outside. I love being his mom and it is so beautiful to reflect on our journey together, thus far.

Yummy

Max enjoyed what turned out to be almost a full week of eating banana. Ok, let's be real. I enjoyed my newfound time when he's busy sucking on his banana lollipop. Sweet!

After much deliberation and research, we have decided that his next food will be green beans. So Marc bought fresh green beans and boiled and pureed them. I was all prepared to make Max's food, but I was happy to let Marc take care of it. He's so good in the kitchen, and made Max's food for the next few days while I was putting Max to bed.

After Max fell asleep, I went in the kitchen to see how the process was going. And to my surprise, liquified green beans tasted delicious. I finger licked the blender clean. I think with a little salt and pepper it would be like any freshly made vegan soup I would order from A Votre Sante. Max's homemade baby food is delicious! Unbelievable, huh!

Only problem is that I shouldn't be eating so late at night. Green been mash after a huge Lizzy salad and sweet and salty mix from Trader Joe's for dessert. Who am I kidding. I do this every single night these days.

Sherrie is visiting from Dallas and we had a nice visit today. Our plan was to hike up temescal canyon with our babies. Her son Ethan weighs 10 lbs more than my little baby so I told her I would carry her son and she would carry mine. But she insisted that she had mom arms and was in great shape to carry the heavier baby. She even bragged to Marc that she was so strong and flexed her muscles for all to see.

That turned out to be a funny joke and we didn't even come close to the magnificent ocean view at the top of the loop. Nope, not this time. We had left salads and snacks in the car and she decided she would rather sit down at the beach and have a picnic than continue the forward march. We were hot and sweaty and tired.

In my opinion, it would have been easier to hike the rest of temescal. We didn't have any type of a blanket or towel to spread across the sand, so we improvised by sitting on our slings. I wish I had a picture of my awkward position. I spread my wet-with-sweat-moby wrap on the sand to sit on. As I attempted to snack on salad, I was holding Max with one hand and a little umbrella to keep us from getting a sunburn with the other hand.

We got sand in all our food and every crevice of our bodies, but it was a great time. Ethan has a funny love/hate relationship with the ocean. He's fascinated yet scared of the water that keeps coming back to get him. He was all boy running around and digging up sand.

Max was slightly less impressed. Nothing compares to milk bottle numbers one and two. He had his boobies so all was good. Yeah, imagine that. With everything else I was trying to balance, I had to whip out a sweaty boob for my boy. Kinda' yucky sounding, but what's a thirsty boy to do....

Sunday night we went to dinner at Sor Tino for Robert's birthday. I love this restaurant because it is walking distance from our house and the Italian food is delicious. It was such a nice, normal dinner, and then our little group of five (plus one sleeping baby) walked over to Yogurtland. We took the little sample cups and kept re-filling them over and over again. I couldn't stop laughing. Part of me was giddy happy at how long Max had slept without a peep and the other part of me couldn't believe this group (ages 33 - 42) was having so much fun eating free dessert. Gosh, we are so mature.

When I was little, I can remember thinking that being an adult meant you had to be a boring, predictable person. Now I think it means you can have more fun than ever. I can't believe no one at Yogurtland told us we needed to purchase a yogurt, or better yet to just leave.

Hey, I guess there are worse places to be than a yogurt bar on the weekends. At least we weren't at Cabo Cantina smoking cigs with the baby. Or better yet at home licking baby food off the counter.