Follow me...

This is the last post to this blog. The purpose of this blog was to record the journey to motherhood and I did that. It's not really about my son, he should have a say in how much of his life is exposed for the world to see. So I thought I'd offer another perspective, my life as a working mother. It has been an interesting journey so far. It has been full of difficulties but then again it has had great rewards. So I hope you will follow along and go with me on this new journey I've been on for the last six months or so.

3 Months and counting

I have now been breastfeeding successfully for 3 months. I must say, I'm quite pleased with myself for this accomplishment since it hasn't been easy. I have gotten great support from my HR director at work when I went back and pumping has not been an issue. Other than that, I have learned how to breastfeed my son and he has learned how to drink breast milk from me. So we have passed the 3 month milestone together.
We just got CMC a Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumperroo. CMC loves it. I am still trying to get a video of him to post to the blog. So far, everything is progressing very well. He just recently started to pull his legs up and even managed to pull himself up higher than usual before toppling over. He can sit up with help and holds his head up very well. His legs are getting stronger everyday. So for anyone who asks me again how my son is doing...HE'S GROWING!
Time has flown so quickly. He has changed right before our eyes. I miss the little one who was born only 3 months ago already. But I wouldn't have missed the last year for anything.

Almost 3 months!

Finally I've got a picture with my son that I like!

So today when I got home, we tried out the booster seat. Some would say CMC is too young but you should have seen him sitting up in his father's arm. He looked so cute, like a mini big boy, eyes wide (for all of five second) watching the toys and just taking in the fact that he was sitting up. Can't believe I have a son that's nearly 3 months old.

Seeing the world through CMC's eyes

Probably one of the most amazing things so far is watching my son discover something as mundane as his feet and hands. He learned how to finally reach out and grab with his hands. I was so pleased. How simple and silly it all really is, yet it's so much more.

Today we had a late lunch with some good friends of ours. I think they are probably as much in love with my son as we are. But then if you ever met CMC you'll know that he's pretty easy to love. He's a really good baby. After lunch we took CMC and went grocery shopping. I love my Baby Bajorn carrier and finally got to use it for the second time. My son has put on weight. He's probably 2 feet by now and weighs over 12 lbs. I figure, carrying him around on the Baby Bajorn will be good exercise and I love the fact that my hands are free. It's the closest I'll come to what it was like carrying him around inside of me.

What amazed me is how when I walked down the aisle of sodas his eyes just got wide and he was staring so intently at all the colorful bottles. He finds the most boring and mundane things interesting. But then to him the world is brand new. It's an interesting experience, seeing the world through his eyes, full of wonder and fascination. Somewhere along the way I got old and the world around me lost its enchantment and now watching my son grow has brought some of that magic back.

So life does change with a baby but I think we get to decide how that change will affect us. Perhaps that's the real lesson in all this I think. Well, enough said, he's stirring and I'm ready to collapse from lack of sleep. If I don't go to bed soon, I might not make it church tomorrow at all.

The nursing mularky

It's amazing how pregnancy presents all these changes not only to your body but your life as well. Let's not forget that after it's over, you're presented with a really cute little human who comes with a whole lot of hidden ammunition to make you lose your mind! If you've never babysat or played with children (like me) or don't really like them much (again like me) suddenly you find yourself lost in this strange land where you smell like sweet sticky white liquid that spurts out of your otherwise useless boobs. And here you always thought they were ornamental things that are generally meant to attract men. Sure, in some part of your brain you knew they are meant to nurse a child or two, but that was never the one thing you really thought about much.

The pregnancy may have enhanced your meagre endowments or super sized your endowments. In my case, I was afraid I'd grow too large but thankfully I have my mother's DNA so I didn't really change size at all. Though now I've discovered that I have gone from a 36C to a 38D. This I find frightening. I think I liked being the size I was. Someone, I think the lactation consultant that I spoke with after giving birth (who also happened to be one of my birthing assistants) said that I could expect them to feel like hot, swollen melons. That is the most unpleasant feeling to wake up to specially when you're sleep deprived and your nipples hurt at the same time because the baby is crying.

But see that's where the whole random creation vs intelligent design again comes into play. You're sleep deprived, slowly getting cranky because you don't want to wake up and feed this howling infant. But you have no choice because your nipples hurt like hell and your breasts feel as if they are about to explode. Then you take the howling infant in your arms and watching him root and cry at the same time. He sees those huge things in range (when he does learn to focus and take in his surroundings) and then he spends a few seconds looking like an cross between a bird and a pterodactyl about to ravage you. If you're me, you start laughing despite being irritated, sleep deprived, and in pain. Then he starts to eat and you just don't care about all the complications.

Then he discovers the whole spitting up thing and most of that yucky sticky liquid ends up on his face, your clothes, skin, and everywhere else. It wasn't enough that he pooped and peed on you but now he must initiate you into this world of mothers where you smell like him, baby and breast milk. I'm still of the opinion that stuff is gross even if I'm the one who's making it. But it's better than formula and free. So go me! Now that my son is a month old, I've discovered that I really need to get some nursing clothes. So much for avoiding having to buy any clothes for this pregnancy. I nearly got away without having to buy a thing.

In conclusion, babies are expensive but they are too cute to return to the sender...not to mention that doing so is considered homicide by society. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself fortunate that I am able to breastfeed my son but I never said I had to like all the complications that come with it. Speaking of which, this daisy needs to go milk herself before I explode!

From Baby oh Baby!

4 Weeks! Done!

So CMC is now 4 weeks old. In another day, he'll be a month old and soon we'll start counting his age in months. Out of curiosity I measured him last week and it seems he's nearly 22 inches. I'm pretty sure he's about the same weight as Cooper. Then I started looking through all his pictures. Originally I meant to post pictures of his nursery but then in between feeding him and looking at his pictures, I realized how much my little boy has changed.

Today he started noticing his toys for the first time. I put him in his bouncer and he noticed the little rattling monkey the music playing lion. So we tried out his little tummy time gym. He's changing so fast, much faster than Cooper. I probably shouldn't compare my cat to my son but they are the only babies that I raised/am raising so that's my only point of reference. Just made me a little sad since I have only another month and a half with him before I have to go back to work.

A friend referred me to Babycenter.com where you can get week by week update of your baby's progress, rather what the progress should be. It seems that week five should be a real smile. My camera will be waiting to capture that first smile. Until then, enjoy this compilation of photos from his first month.