Beck trying to master self-feeding

alright....who took my last yogurt bite???

7 month check up...

Beck went in for his 7 month check up last Friday. He lost another pound, which I think is crazy. The doctor isn't worried at all, seeing as he's eating the right amount. He thinks Beck is just super active, which I totally agree with. The wiggle worm won't sit still and is always moving, always trying to find something to tug at or pull on. So, at 17.5 lbs. he has dropped from what was once the 95% to the 25%. Kylie never lost weight, but then again, she was a chunk until she turned two. Beck seems to have so much more of me in him, and seeing as my mom says I was always a skinny baby, I'm thinking this is just my genes doings. Anyways, its nice because I haven't had to buy him any new clothes, not so nice b/c even though he's two months older, all his pics are him in the same clothes he had before. (His scrap book looks like he only owns 5 shirts). Oh well, now that we're buying formula again (not cheap) I think I'll ride this train as long as I can...His height was 28.5 inches (75-90%) and of course his head was over the 95%, It's true, he does has Jason's big noggin. He's getting so fidgety these days, not wanting anything to do with his jumper or exersaucer. I keep telling him that he needs to figure out this crawling thing because I'm getting a little tired of lugging his butt around everywhere, but every time he gets his knees under him, he can't seem to figure out the arms part, and he just falls over. He's doing great eating from a bottle, but is totally over eating the baby food that I make him (I guess he realizes the neat combos Gerber makes are much more yummy than mine). His hair can't decide if it wants to be curly or not. I tried to take a pic, but I'm not sure you can see, if you look closely, his hair is super straight except for this weird curl on top, which forms a sort of Mohawk. If I flatten it down right after the bath, it usually stays down, if not, its pretty funny looking.

Kylie moved up to PreK B at school yesterday. She was very excited about it! Most of her class moved up, so she got new teachers, a new classroom, and most exciting, gets to play on the BIG playground at school now! (how fun!) She was so excited to go on Monday that she was up and in my room before 6 am, and the first thing out of her mouth was 'PreK B Today'! I was like, honey, GO TO BED!!!!! I can't be mad, I'm just glad she's excited. She's grown so much. The old Kylie would have been scared out of her mind at the thought of having to do something new. She has her last soccer class next week, and told me that she doesn't want me to sign her up for it again (Jason and I already knew she probably won't be the athlete in the family), but she has shown an interest in maybe trying gymnastics, so we'll see.

We took our first trip to the pool this past weekend, and the water was FREEZING still. Ky jumped right in, became an ice cube, and wanted to go home only 20 minutes in. Beck actually did surprisingly well, splashing in the water and hanging with dad. (This gives me hope for the summer).

Only a couple more weeks and then she's out of school for summer and will only be going twice a week. I'm really nervous about how this will go...me home with both of them. I really hope she doesn't get bored, or start watching t.v. again (something she hasn't been interested in at all the last three months or so). Jason's friend Gary is coming in town to see the kids this weekend, and then his parents are here the next weekend. Going to be busy! But I know a fun time is guaranteed! Here are a couple pics of the fam over the last week or so.

Whistle Stop Station Open House...

Tonight Kylie's school had their annual open house/graduation, complete with ponies, balloon clowns, bounce houses, and more. The whole fam made it out to help ky celebrate moving from pre-k A to pre-k B, a move that will happen next week. She spent most of the time bouncing and hanging out with her friend Paris. She couldn't care less about the petting zoo or the pony rides (she said they stink, I laughed, she's so my kid). I can't begin to explain how much I LOVE Kylie's school. Who knows where she would be if it wasn't for all the hard work all the teachers put in there! Her year book was a magazine theme (too cute) and there's a pic of ky proudly showing all the things she learned this year in her class. Here are a couple shots of the two kiddos from the event.

Mother's Day Weekend...

Where to begin! What an amazing weekend our family had! Jason made french toast from scratch saturday morning, I got to go shopping and I found two new, more 'age appropriate' swimsuits (yes, i believe the bikinis have finally been retired for this girl!), and we spent Saturday evening eating steaks and playing at Hayley and Michael's house. Here are a couple of pics of the kiddos hanging out in the backyard. Kylie and Gabe had a blast running around together. Sunday morning we went to church and then my family came over to the house for lunch to celebrate mother's day. Jason took care of peyton and kylie outside while my parents and sister and I just hung out, caught up, and took a trip down memory lane (telling them some of the things we got away with as children that they never knew about at the time) which as you can imagine, was pretty funny!

This week I'm celebrating (albeit in pain) Beck last nursed Thursday evening, and I have been slowly reducing my milk supply since then. Yesterday afternoon was the last time I pumped, so currently I am in that OUCH stage and trying to do anything not to think about it. So (fingers crossed) All weening will be officially over in the next 2-3 days and although I'm excited to return the pump back to my friend Stephanie (Who graciously let me borrow it), I remember how much I hate cleaning bottles. But hey, guess you can't get it all. Beck was a stubborn little boy, taking almost 5 full days of crying and barely eating before surrendering and being alright with the idea that mom was done. I nursed him at night for a couple nights and then just realized that after the initial shock, it didn't seem to be too traumatic for him , and I didn't want him getting use to nursing at night, so I cut that one out as well before he could really know what happened. and other than being in major pain currently, I'm satisfied where I'm at. I'm glad I tried the nursing thing, even more glad that it worked out. And although I'm an emotional wreck right now (darn hormones) I believe now was the right time to ween him.

He turns 7 months at the end of this week, I truly can't believe how fast he is growing up. We took apart and stored away the bassinet that Papap made him and he slept him up until 4 months in our bedroom. It was nice to get a little space back, but as I was wrapping up all the parts, I couldn't help but think...it will be a long time before this gets used again (freaking hormones...)

I have started working out again, nothing too serious, but it is nice to find an outlet to let off a little steam now and then. Jason and I are going to do P90X, and after doing just one video, I can say I'm scared...it was tough!!! Makes me realize that I'm not the athlete I use to be, which shouldn't be surprising given the fact that our 10 yr. high school reunion is just around the corner...

Some girls are just born with glitter in their veins...

And that, of course, would be my daughter. Once Kylie mastered all her letters and writing them, I knew it was time for some sight words, but all the game-type items I found were a little too advanced and a little too pricey. So, I thought to myself, hey...I can do that! I went to work on the computer. The whole thing took only 20 minutes or so. I downloaded the pre-primer dolche sight words and then used power point to make a bingo game. Then came the fun part. Ky and I took a trip to Michael's where she picked out wooden hearts for her chips and a whole bunch of bling to put on them. She spent the rest of that afternoon painting and blinging her game, from stickers to gems, to paint, and she even colored most of the cards also. She's played the game everyday since we put the finishing touches on it. Of course, her favorite part is picking out which heart she wants to put on her board when she actually has one of the sight words. I'm just glad she's found a fun way to learn...

Beck has been all over the board lately. We finally found a bottle that he doesn't mind taking (The First Years Breastflow), but we can still only get him to take no more than 3 ounces at a time. He's nursing at night once, and in the morning once, and for the time being I'm pumping once in the afternoon just to slow down my supply so I can begin the stopping process all together. The only problem is, this isn't really enough to satisfy him during the day so he's become a little fussy, and he's def. more clingy than usual too, starting to whine the minute I set him down. I'm trying really hard to be patient, because I know we'll figure it out soon. I did get him to take some milk this morning out of his sippy, which he seemed to enjoy a little more than a bottle, but it truly seems like each day he prefers something else.

This weekend, we had a bunch of my friends over from high school, ate hot dogs and hamburgers, and just enjoyed catching up since its been so long and we're getting so old. It was so wonderful to see everyone and a huge THANK YOU goes out to my wonderful hubby who 'catered the event' so to speak...cooking everything and watching both the kids most the night. On Sunday, we went to church, and then I headed to Canton with my parents and Kylie. We had a blast having some mommy and daughter time and we def. enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Update on Beck

Well, the good news is that since Beck started this reflux medicine, things have been going much better. He's now napping normally and sleeping through the night, except getting up once to eat and then falling back to sleep. Somehow, he's managed to get in the habit of pooping between 2 am and 3 am EVERY night! So, I'm not sure if he gets up because he's hungry, or just because he's dirty. But the questionable news is that he usually isn't so 'regular' in his bowel movements, so now i'm not sure if its the medicine making him feel better or if he was just a little blocked up to begin with. But, do you ever really know? The prescription we filled is for a month, so I think I'm planning on giving it to him for at least that long and then maybe we'll reassess. Whatever they put him on, he only takes 1 ml twice a day, but the stuff is awful, and he hates it, poor guy. Now he starts making nasty faces before I even get the dropper in his mouth.

I'm starting to feel that itch again...haha, no, not for another baby, but to ween the one I have now. Beck has decided to boycott one side altogether, so he's made me quite lopsided, not to mention that now I'm pumping at least twice a day on the side he refuses to nurse on! What fun! And its so close to swimming time, and I know I'm not going to like nursing in this Texas heat. We talked to the doc about it at Beck's last appointment, and he reassured me that the boy isn't going to starve, and that its going to be tough, but I just need to get over it. I'm thinking maybe next weekend, but we'll see. Anytime I start to think about it, I remember how frustrated I got five weeks ago when I tried....and it makes me want to not ever go down that path again.

The pic I posted, doesn't do the moment justice. But I came out of my bedroom on one of the early mornings when both kids were up by 6:30. And I saw Ky and Beck just chilling on the couch, watching cartoons and holding hands. It was one of the few moments Beck isn't all over the place. He was very still, and very content. They stayed in this position long enough for me to grab my camera and snap a couple shots, and then some. AMAZING moments like these make me feel so blessed to have two babies. I know they will always have each other to look out for.

praying for an answer...

It has been one of those weeks. You know, where you wake up and think to yourself..."just make it to bedtime". Beck has not been sleeping well all week. Going to bed, only to wake up a half hour later screaming. When he wasn't getting up at night (which he was doing 5-6 times), I was laying in bed WAITING for him to get up, because I knew it was only a matter of time.

We had his doctor appointment today, so we went in with a lot of questions, hoping the pediatrician could find what the E.R. doctor couldn't last weekend. After a long Q&A session, the doc is thinking reflux. I am weary of this for many reasons, the most important one being that this means daily medicine for who knows how long. But, the truth is, he has lost almost a pound since his last month check up (due to no interest in eating solids, and probably a decreased interest in nursing), and we need to try SOMETHING! So with that in mind, he had his first dose tonight, and I'm curious to see how it goes. Fingers crossed that this is the answer.

On a side note, I have come to the realization (at least for me) that it doesn't matter how many children you have, you always feel uncertain about the choices you make. Do you take him to the ER? Do you put him on medicine? Do you let him cry himself to sleep? Beck is such a different child than Kylie was. I had no problem letting Ky cry, because that's what she did...almost all day, every day. But Beck is so laid back that I almost can't stand to hear him in there screaming like he does. Who know how much of this is the fact that in the back of my head, I know he's my last one, and therefore the need to comfort might be just a little bit more intense. Not to mention the fact that I stay home now. THIS is what I do. All this being said...I believe (with a little forethought) that the baby stage is the easiest. I dread having to make decisions when it comes to my babies later down the road. Babies are easy: you feed them, you protect them, you love them. But later.....When to let Ky date? What to do if I disapprove of Beck's choice in friends? Just to name a few....the thought alone is enough to make me whimper. But, like everything else, we'll take it one day at a time, one step at a time. It's just sometimes the amount of responsibility I have as a parent really slaps me in the face and says, "Yes, you have the power to truly impact what kind of person this little child will be."