6 Month Appointment

Weight: 16 lbs, 13 oz (25-50%)
Height: 27.5 in (90%)
Head circumference: 17.5 inches (90%)

Evan's appointment went really well today! The nurse who measured his head said it was 18 1/4 inches which was over 95% on the chart. However, I asked Dr. S about it (wondering if that was a concern!) and he said it wasn't unless it grew a lot really fast. So he decided to see his growth progression and then he measured it again. He said the nurse measured it wrong and that it was actually 17.5 inches. It's all normal! Evan just has a big head. :-)

I didn't have many questions for the doctor today. The only concerns I had were some remaining cradle cap covering Evan's soft spot. I've been afraid to scrub at it but the doctor said no worries about rubbing the soft spot. I was also concerned about a rash that has come and gone on Evan's face and chest, but the doctor said since it doesn't last long and doesn't occur at the same time or after eating or being exposed to the same things that it's probably just his skin being irritated by something. It could be anything, but it's nothing to worry about.

I also asked if it's okay that Evan isn't sitting up on his own yet. That's also not a problem. Dr. S said that some babies like to stand more and prefer to either stand or lay down so they can wiggle and move and that they hate to be constricted by sitting. Sounds JUST like Evan! He said he may not sit by himself until he's up to 8 months old. Matt wondered if that would mean he'll crawl late and Dr. S said maybe, but that he could very well find other ways to get himself off the ground to crawl.

Evan has more and more personality every day. I love it! And every day I have more and more fun. I know some people miss their babies being newborns, but I don't. I'm much more comfortable with Evan now than I was when he was small. I enjoy every stage he gets to more than the one before that. I think that's a good thing since he'll only keep growing! ;-)

Natural Childbirth Part 1: My Preparation and General Thoughts

So 6 months after giving birth I'm finally ready to talk more about it. And of course by now a lot of my thoughts and feelings have faded or changed. I wish I had wrote about it about 6 weeks after the fact. By then I'd had time to analyze my feelings but not so much time that I forgot those same feelings. However, I still felt...traumatized...then. I spent a lot of time thinking about labor and birth, but the last thing I wanted to do was actually write it all down. It somehow felt wrong to talk about it in depth or write about it at that point. It hasn't been until the past couple of weeks that I felt ready...but suddenly I didn't know what to say. Part of the reason I think I finally feel ready is that I'm already thinking about TTC baby #2. Yep, you heard me. But that's another topic for another post. However, I've been thinking about birth in another way and thinking about what another future birth may be like has made me more accepting about thoughts of Evan's birth.

So as most of you know, I had an all natural labor and delivery. I planned that before I got pregnant. My plans were even more solidified when my mom shared that she had gone all natural with the birth of her third child, my younger sister. I felt more confident with my decision after hearing that. I had her support and Matt's support. So many people were discouraging about my choice, but the 2 people who mattered the most to me encouraged me and that was important. I knew not to get my hopes completely up because birth can go so many ways, but I was confident in my choice and I knew I could do it when the time came.

I didn't spend much time thinking about my decision until towards the end of pregnancy. I wrote a birth plan and talked to my midwife about it a little. Things were a little crazy with me since I had gestational diabetes. There was a chance I'd have to be induced at 39 weeks and/or have a c-section since the ultrasound technician estimated he was very large for his gestational age. Before I got the GD, my placenta was partially covering my cervix, so once again, we thought there was a chance I'd have to have a c-section for much of the pregnancy. So I spent most of my pregnancy not getting attached to any particular method of birth. Probably a smart thing for all women to do! However, Evan ended up coming a little early and while my labor progressed slowly towards the end, it was going smoothly and I didn't have to worry about inductions or c-sections. Therefore I had the opportunity to go all natural.

I didn't take any birth classes and I read very little on the subject. Which is odd for me because usually I over analyze and want to be prepared for everything. But I'm so glad I didn't waste money on classes or waste time reading a lot of books on the subject. I did read half of the Bradley Method Workbook with Matt which I did find helpful. The best parts were the chapters on labor stages and the exercises to do during pregnancy. I read part of Husband Coached Childbirth and Matt read even less. I think it was good because it made me feel more confident about L&D. However, so much of it was ridiculous and after having birthed a baby using the relaxation techniques that Bradley teaches, much of it wasn't true (like the parts about being able to run around and do cartwheels after delivery...I could barely move the 2 days after delivery!!). Anyway, that was the extent of preparation I did and honestly, I think it worked in my favor not to do any more and I recommend other women who want to do natural childbirth do the same. I mean, everyone is different, but I just don't see the point in doing so much "preparation" when so little works!

Next post I'll write about my experience and then the post after that my feelings on the subject and plans for next time around (if there is a next time!).

New Experiences

Tomorrow I'm taking Evan to Sea.rs to have his 6 month portraits taken. I have never done professional portraits of him before!! We didn't even have the hospital photographer do pictures just after he was born because the first morning I was way too frazzled to think about that and then the second morning we were in the hospital the photographer didn't show up because she was sick or something. I was so upset about that and we talked about taking him to a studio to have newborn pictures done, but it was too much to think about with a new baby.

Twice before my dad has set up his camera and taken better quality pictures of Evan (1 month and 4 month pics), but this is the first time I've taken him anywhere and had a "real photographer" take his picture! As a matter of fact, this will be one of the first times I've been in a portrait studio since I can remember. So I'm a little intimidated about the experience.

Another new experience...Evan's new food is carrots. He's not impressed, but still likes them better than avocados. Just now he's eating them mixed with green beans for the first time because I hoped he might like them better that way. Matt is feeding him and it sounds like Evan is being a goofball...something he only does when he isn't impressed with food. ;-)

And another new experience...Matt and I going out and leaving Evan with my sister and her boyfriend. In November we left Evan with my mom for a few hours, but this is the first time we've gone out and left him for 2 feeding periods and left him with my sister. Matt and I went to a casino night party for his office. His office did the same thing last year and it was a big hit. This year was just as fun (maybe even more fun since I could drink. ;-) Last year I was pregnant). Also, we won a $50 gift card to Lo.we's with the raffle tickets we earned at the "casino." Yay! It's perfect because we're using our tax return to do home improvements and the gift card can go towards new windows.

We returned home much later than I had expected (we called Melissa to let her know we'd be late!) but all was well. He did great and I thought it was cute that my sister and her boyfriend were waiting on him to poop before changing his diaper and letting him to go sleep. They put him in his crib at 7:30 (his bedtime) but they stayed in there waiting on him to poop! lol I don't know why they thought that was going to happen...I didn't tell them to do that. I actually could have told them it wouldn't happen at all since he pooped 3 times during the day. Anyway, after 30 minutes of letting him sit in his crib in the dark with a light up music toy to keep him awake (while they watched him), they went ahead and changed his diaper and then put him back in his crib and let him go to sleep! He was probably sitting in his crib thinking, "why won't these people let me go to sleep!?"

Anyway, Evan still has his dreamfeed at 9:00 every night, but I told Melissa not to bother waking him up and feeding him then. So I was concerned that his last feeding was at 6:30. I expected him to wake up in the middle of the night. But he woke up at 6:30 am! He went 12 hours between feedings and he slept great all night! I'm excited....now I'm more ready to get rid of the dreamfeed since I know he can make it 12 hours.

Appointments

This is a record for me to keep of Evan's appointment stats.

Birth
Weight: 7 lbs, 2 oz
Height: 19.5 in

1 Month (1 month old)
Weight: 9 lbs, 6 oz (25-50%)
Height: 22 in (50%)
Head cir: 15 1/4 in (25-50%)

2 Month (2 months old)
Weight: 11 lbs, 12 oz (50%)
Height: 23.5 in (75%)

4 Month (4 months, 2 weeks old)
Weight: 14 lbs, 4 oz (25-50%)
Height: 26.5 in (90-95%)
Head cir: 17 1/4 (75-90%)

6 Month (6 months, 2 weeks old)

Weight: 16 lbs, 13 oz (25-50%)

Height: 27.5 in (90%)

Head cir: 17.5 inches (90%)

9 Month (9 months, 2 weeks old)

Weight: 18 lbs, 15 oz (25%)

Height: 29 in (75%)

Head cir: 18.5 in (90%)

12 Month (1 year old)

Weight: 20 lbs, 6 oz (10-25%)

Height: 29.5 in (50%)

Head cir: 18.5 in (50-75%)

18 Month (18 months, 1 week)

Weight: 24.8 lbs (25-50%)

Height: 33 1/4 inches (75%)

Head cir: 19 in (50-75%)

6 months old

I am amazed to announce that my son is 6 months old!

It's indescribable that time has gone by so quickly. It seems like it was just the other day that I was posting I was 6 months pregnant...and even then I couldn't believe that I was actually there. My pregnancy went by so quickly for me. I spent the first part of it expecting to lose my baby. Then even after the 12 week mark when I felt more confident, I still felt like something would go wrong. I didn't really believe that I'd be holding a baby someday.

And here I am, with a healthy, beautiful 6 month old son. He's standing (while I hold his hands for balance), rolling all over the place, pushing himself up, eating solids, and is full of energy. He has his own personality now. He's laid back, serious, and independent. He loves playing on the floor and in his Exersaucer. He likes to concentrate on "feeling skills" (I read the book The Wonder Weeks, can you tell?). He touches everything. I know it's a common trait in babies, but when I compare him to his friends, he definitely enjoys holding, grabbing, and handling things more than they do. They probably have other favorite ways of learning (one of his friends concentrates on watching skills, a couple of others concentrate on physical activities). Evan will happily stay in one place as long as he has things to fiddle with. He doesn't want to look at things, he only wants to touch (reading him books is an interesting experience because he only pays attention to the book if he can touch it, but when he grabs it he wants to shake it and eat it which makes it hard for me to keep reading!).

Yep, it's crazy to think that exactly 6 months ago I was pushing pushing pushing. :-) You can read my birth story HERE. It was worth every second. :-)Newborn

6 months

Better?

So what about this design? Let me know if you have problems commenting! I know that was an issue with the other template I had up. You can email me if you need to. christmasinmarch {at} gmail {dot} com

is this a dream?

I can't believe that this is real. That it isn't a dream or something out of a movie. I'm really a mom. That's really my baby right there playing so intently and pausing to look up and smile at me every couple of minutes.

It took me awhile to feel like I was really a mom. I felt like I was just playing mommy for a few weeks. It wasn't until someone was holding Evan and he started crying and they gave him to me and he stopped that I felt like a real mom. Suddenly it was like, "I'm the mommy. He knows that I am his mama." Then I knew I was a mama too. :-)