Miller Week 36

Just a warning, you are getting ready to see a bunch of pictures of Miller in the pool over the next few months. He is just too darn cute in his suit.

Since we were going to Houston and I knew we would be swimming in my aunt and uncle's pool, I wanted Ben to be there for Miller's first time. So even though it was a bit chilly that day, we headed to our new neighborhood pool. 

Miller swimming with mommy. 

And he tried to swim away from me. If he could get the floating part down, he would totally swim. He is moving his arms and legs like crazy.



Miller and daddy lounging on the stairs.

 

We decided to make it a whole evening of summer filled activities and went to get some frozen custard. This is a bad food to feed a baby because as soon as the spoon has left his mouth, he has swallowed and wants more.

  

 After we were back from Houston, we had a busy week. My friend Lindsey's shower was that weekend and I was co-hosting. It was also the week before Father's Day and I had to get on the ball to get Ben's present done. We actually bought him something but also wanted to make something too. There is only so much you can do with an 8 month old but I decided to try finger paints. I had to actually make the finger paints so that they were baby safe. Aren't they pretty?!?!

 

He did not actually get that you had to paint on the canvas and just wanted to spread the paint around on his high chair and eat it. He had fun either way.

On Wednesdays, I take a weekly picture of him. Now that this kid is mobile, that is getting harder and harder. This is an outtake from this weeks, but it was just too adorable not to share. 

Friday night, we had very little sleep because someone was restless all night. Ben actually took him on a walk at 6:30 so I could get a little sleep. We had to get up early anyways to setup for the shower and of course he was good and slept through that. He came out and visited while Lindsey opened the presents and was pretty good while we cleaned up. We hoped he would come home and take his afternoon nap, thus mommy and daddy taking a nap but he refused to. We laid on the floor in his room as he played instead.

That evening we went to our friends David and Julie's house for a cookout and pool party. Of course Miller had a great time. 

Him and Isla were having a very intense conversation. I have it on video and it is hilarious. 

 

Sunday, Father's Day. I made breakfast while Ben spent time with Miller. We had bacon waffles, bacon, eggs and fruit. Mine is the waffle with chocolate chips on it. Yes bacon, and chocolate chips.

Miller's presents to his daddy.

We decided to try out another one of our neighborhood pools. We were only there for 45 minutes because Miller lost his patience but that was good for us because we did not feel like staying very long anyways.

We came home, showered and went to Old Navy where we got a few things for Miller on sale plus the guy at the register gave us another 30% off (not exactly sure why but I am not complaining). We went out to eat at Marlows were we had a coupon for a free soup, then we ordered an appetizer and they had run out of an ingredient for it, so they gave us another one on the house. We only had to pay for our entree. It was a night of great deals which is right up Ben's alley.

I hope all the fathers out there had a great day!

We are still dealing with a teething baby who will not sleep very long segments and loves to wake up in the middle of the night and whine, cry and climb all over  us. We are so tired and beyond frustrated! Hope these two new teeth pop up soon.

Rant: Post Baby Body

Deep breaths.....

Okay, I want to post this but I was so scared to put this on the internet. I feel like I need to because it is something I have been struggling with a lot lately.

I loved being pregnant but was so scared of what it would do to my body. I have struggled with my weight for a long time and had just recently got it under control when I got pregnant. As I watched the scale go up with each appointment, I cursed it because I knew I would have to deal with it afterward. I actually only gained 38 lbs which is still within the range of a healthy pregnancy and I swear that I was not overeating. During my first trimester I only gained a few pounds, in my second it came piling on and in my third I stopped gaining, all of that without changing my eating habits.

After Miller was born, I  quickly dropped 20lbs but the last 18lbs, would not go away. I can not diet since I am breastfeeding and do not want it to affect my supply. I try to work out but with wrangling the baby most of  the day, my only workout I get is a nice walk in some days. I actually stopped weighing myself back in January so I have no idea where I am at. I am hoping that once Miller weans, which I have no idea when we will do that, I can lose the rest of the weight.


.....deep breaths....be brave.....

Here is me 1 week postpartum with Miller and then 6 months postpartum. I feel like Miller is faring better than I am. 

This is me at 7 weeks pregnant (my skinniest pregnancy picture) and then 6 months postpartum. I actually did a layover of the pictures and there is not much difference, which I think is my big problem. I feel like the pounds I can justify to a little excess in my belly and chest but in general everything is different and those changes make a world of difference in my clothes.

Here is the big comparison shot. 7 weeks pregnant, last belly shot at 40weeks1 day, 1 week postpartum and 6 months postpartum. 

I am not sure why I am posting this but I think it is interesting to see the difference. I know I should love my body for what it did, creating and carrying a healthy baby and now nourishing him still, but I am having a hard time. I feel like I do not belong in my skin and this is the first time I feel like I can not do anything about it. I am not sure how long Miller will be nursing but I would really like to try to lose this weight as soon as he is done. I do not want to be one of those people where weight keeps compounding on top of each other with each pregnancy. I struggled long enough with my weight that I want to keep it under control.

*Update*- I actually wrote this post back in early May but kept delaying hitting the Publish button. Recently, we took Miller to the pool so I had to try on my bathing suits, and they did not look horrible. While I was digging those out, I came across my skinny jeans. Now I have tried those darn things on twice already since having Miller and they were tight. I pretty much stared them down and decided to try them on and see how I was doing. They fit! They were snug but they actually fit.

I had a crazy moment and decided to bite the bullet and weigh myself. My plan was to not weigh myself until Miller was weaning so I could start dieting. I actually feared that I would step on the scale and weigh more than the 18 lbs post pregnancy that I had hanging around. I was shocked to see that I was actually down 9 lbs from that, which means only 9 lbs from my goal weight. Nothing has changed except maybe being a little more active chasing around a crawling baby. I am still not planning on dieting until later on but this was so encouraging to see.

Miller: Month Eight

 

 

We have been a traveling family. When we started out on all of these trips, Miller was so cranky when he was getting adjusted. After being in 4 different places in a month, he would get adjusted so well and warm up to people so much faster. In the four plane rides he had, people always told us how impressed they were with his behavior on the plane. He grew into quite the big boy this month.

Weight: 20lbs 10oz (+ 12lbs 8oz)

 Height: 29" (+ 7.5")

Head: 19" (+ 4")

Sleep: It is hard to talk about consistency in his sleep when he has been all over the place in the past month. In Oklahoma, he would not sleep in the crib and had to sleep with me. In Knoxville he would only make it about 4 hours in the pack and play before he would sleep with me. In Memphis, he was horrible and a few nights we were up rocking him just so he would not be screaming (we think it was teething). In Houston, it seems like he finally got the hang of sleeping while traveling and would sleep in the pack and play for all his naps and most of the night. He has been more consistent when we are home so we are going to start working on soothing him when he wakes in the middle of the night so he can start sleeping the full night in his own bed.

Eating: Honestly, I am still getting the hang of how to feed a baby that is still nursing but working on solids. In Houston, he was eating so much more solids and seemed so much happier. Now that we are home a bit more, I am going to be better about feeding him more and a variety of solids during the day.

Best Moment:I love these spurts where he crawls all over the house and plays by himself. One night. Ben was on the floor and I was on the couch and we both pretended to ignore him. He crawled back and forth between the foyer and living room, talking to himself and laughing for about 45 minutes.

Milestones: This kid is full on crawling and pulls up to everything. Where did my baby go?!?!

Monthly Wisdom: I honestly have no one thing for this. This kid teaches me so much all the time. Continually, I am learning more and more about cherishing everything the way they are now and not wanting to rush time forward.

Goals for the Upcoming Month:
- Feeding Miller more solids on a regular daily basis.
- Having a routine when we are home (now that we are for a stretch).
- Trying to get Miller to sleep all night in his crib

Things Miller is doing:
- Waves at people about 60% of the time when we try to get him to.
- Bounces up and down dancing when music plays.
- Drinks really well from a straw, whether it is a sippy cup or my cup.
- Feeds himself most of the food you give him in his high chair

Wedding #3- Memphis Part 2

Saturday, we got up a hung around Ben's parents house for a bit while we showered and gathered things up. Mid-day we went and picked up Ben's jacket for his tux and then drove to Dave and Liz's house. The boys left right away and Liz and I hung out. We eventually got ready and headed to the wedding. Miller slept through the wedding and woke up while we were waiting on Ben to finish up with pictures.

The reception was a bit a ways but it was at a very pretty country club overlooking a golf course. 

 Miller with his grandmommy. That is not his coke, or wine.

Miller and mommy.

 

We managed to get an alright family picture.

However, I think the outtake is pretty funny. 

Miller and his aunt Lizzy. 

Trying to entertain him so he would be quiet during the dances and announcements.

Love that face!

We eventually changed him into a onesie because it was really hot. This was at the end of the night and we were all exhausted.

The next morning we went to brunch at Brother Juniper's with Ben's parents, Liz and Dave. It was really good.

After brunch, we went over to see Ben's grandmother. She has been really sick for a while and we were so glad we could take Miller over to meet her.

4 generations 

 

Miller played for a bit while daddy visited.

It was heartbreaking to watch Ben just sit with his grandmother. 

Ben's parents have hardwood and tile through out their house so Miller played in the hallway a lot on the rare bits of carpet. At one point, Ben was in the office (the room behind Miller) playing with his dad's computer and I was in the bedroom (the one of the left there). Ben skyped me and Miller was so confused that he could see me on the computer in one room and sitting on the bed in another and vice versa with Ben.

Sunday night we went to a hole in the wall with Dave and Liz. They had Shrimp Creole, Ben had a burger and I had tamales and it was all really good. 

We got up to leave on Monday morning and Ben's mom fixed breakfast. Liz come over to visit while we were packing up. She was talking about how her and Dave were going to go pick up some ducks that day. For months, Dave has talked about getting chickens and ducks and he knew I was so excited to come and play with them. Of course, he picked the day we were leaving to go get the ducks. Conveniently, the farm they were going to was kind of on our way out of town so we went with them. We saw all sorts of animals but here are the two ducks they got. We also got some ducks eggs to take home.

Driving through Nashville, we managed to coordinate with my friend Elizabeth to meetup for dinner. It has been forever since we had seen her and I was so glad she got to meet Miller. We saw her twice last year while I was pregnant but the last 7-8 months have been kind of hectic for us all. It was short but a good visit.

We got home sort of late but Miller was very good for the whole trip. I was hoping he would sleep most of the time but even though he did not, he still a good boy. We had 10 days at home before we left for our last trip for a bit.

Wedding #3- Memphis Part 1

Tuesday afternoon we got into Memphis. Miller did really well with the drive. He slept a good portion of both legs, with us stopping in Nashville for lunch. As soon as we got to Ben's parents house, and unpacked, we got right back in the car. First we went and picked up Scruggs, the groom, at his moms house and visited for a few minutes. Then the 4 of us drove to Ben's sister's new house. Liz and her husband have lived in Virginia since we met and they just moved back to Memphis last fall. We were so excited that we got to hang out with them as well as Ben's parents.

We went out to eat that night with them and Scruggs' mom, Judith and his fiancee, Lisa.

The next day, Ben had to work from his parents house, so his dad and I hung out with Miller. Miller is normally so impatient when someone reads to him but sat there for a bit while his grandaddy read to him. 

That night we went to eat dinner at my favorite burger place with Ben's parents. Then we went downtown to meet some friends. They were eating dinner a bit late so we were just going to  hang out for as long as Miller could last (which was about 15 minutes). We took some pictures while we were down there though.

I love this one because he is talking and his face is hilarious. 

We were dealing with a cranky, teething baby the whole time we were in Memphis. He was running a fever every night. We were just trying to cool him down so Ben went to get something from the freezer. He found this mask and we laughed our butts off watching Miller trying to figure it out. 

Thursday was the bachelor and bachelorette party. Ben left for the bachelor party around 11AM so I hung out with Ben's parents and Miller. Around 5, I left to go meet Liz at her house. Here we are before we left.

I was nervous about leaving Miller since he was teething, and I was not sure how adjusted he was to Ben's parents at that point. After a couple of hours, they started calling saying he was crying. He went through some lulls but ultimately we decided to leave around 10, after dinner, because he was screaming incessantly. When we walked in, he screamed until I held him, then looked at me and smiled then smiled at Ben's mom. He just wanted mommy. It is nice to feel loved but so not a relaxing, fun evening like I was hoping.

Friday afternoon, we joined Dave and Liz downtown. We went to Mud Island where they have a scaled replica of the Mississippi River. It was so much fun to walk around and put our feet in. Miller loved it!

Dave and Liz with the Mississippi.

After that, we went to Rendezvous for some BBQ for lunch. 

"Uncle Dave, let me show you how to do it". (He really did figure out how to do something Dave did not know his phone could do).

We rushed back to Dave and Liz's house, where the boys changed clothes and immediately left for the rehearsal since they were both groomsmen. We took our time getting ready and met them at the church.

Miller had not napped all day but fell asleep on our way to the rehearsal, which he slept through. He continued to sleep through part of the rehearsal dinner as well. 

Yes we were all matching in green. Someone asked Ben if Miller was his kid and one of the other groomsmen said, "Duh! They are all color coded in green and khaki". 

It was a great dinner. Ben gave a speech and Miller helped. He also decided he wanted to speak while Scruggs did but we quieted him down. Here he is giving the bride and groom a dose of birth control before the big day.

To be continued with the wedding and last day in Memphis..........