My son is 7 months old now. He crawls all over the place and stands himself up. He's eating more and more new, solid foods. He's 21 lbs. Yay. That's all good and wonderful but how do I entertain this kid!!!!???? He is so over his stuffed animals and the newborn toys he has. I haven't really bought him anything because I don't want to overload him with what I call ADD toys (toys that are not educational and just catch his attention for the time being). I need toys that are endless and promote creativity. Also, I've noticed that he plays with stuff that aren't his toys. Like our dogs collar, containers, books (um, yeah he eats books), pens, etc.

It helpswhen I have errands and appointments because he gets a kick out ofthtccczcccccccccccccccccch  <----- that was him on my laptop. A-hem. Anywhoo he gets a kick out of that. Dog parks are fun for him. Are there any places I can take him for no cost??

Help? Suggestions??

"This butterfly toy is lame MOM!!"

I guess I'll just eat this table then....

So last night we tried crying it out with our 7 month old son Nathan. We did our nightly routine and put him in his crib. He cried for 5 minutes before my husband went in to console him. Then he put Nathan back in his crib and let him cry for another 5 minutes. This time I went in to console him and shoosh him to sleep......and......he went to sleep. Just like that. I was smiling and jumping for joy in silence because I didn't want to wake him. I couldn't believe how well it worked. Throughout the night he woke up twice but easily went back to sleep when we shooshed him to sleep. He slept from 12:30am to 6am. He woke up for the day at 8am.

I feel like a new woman/mom/person. I feel like I can do anything now. Wooooo! Time to party!!!

Mom: +1
Stressful life: 0

This entry is about my labor and delivery. It's more for my records so that I can recall that moment....before the memory is so far away that I forget.

It was Monday the 17th and I had an appointment for my routine 37th week check-up. Justin, my husband, had just started his new job 2 weeks prior, but decided to come along with me to my appointment because he hadn't been for a while. We had our pup Lyric with us because I was going to take her around with me later in the day. The appointment was at 9:30am when we checked in. I provided a routine urine sample and we waited in the doctors office for what seemed like an eternity. What was taking so damn long? Finally my OB comes in and told me I had protein in my urine. Coupled with my high blood pressure and swelling, they were symptoms of toxemia. Ah-ha. For the past few weeks I had so much swelling all over my body - I'm talking hands, feet, legs, neck and face. Sometimes the swelling would flare up and I couldn't even put my hand in a fist. I even bought shoes that were a size larger than what I would normally wear and I couldn't even squeeze into those.

Our OB instructed us to go to the hospital immediately. She said that I would get further tests done to see if it was toxemia. She said "don't stop anywhere, don't go eat, just go straight to the hospital." I started to feel a sense of urgency and I know Justin was getting a little freaked out. We dropped Lyric off at my parents and went to the hospital.

I was admitted into the hospital and they continued to run some more tests. The only two outcomes were (1) delivery and (2) monitor me for the next few days. AAAAAAAAAAAAAgh!! I was not ready to give birth yet. I hadn't played the labor and delivery in my head yet to know how I wanted it to go. Wait, I wasn't even ready to be a parent yet! I was so scared, but trying to be calm at the same time. I was not even close to being dilated. It's ok - all my tests will turn out being normal and I won't have to deliver today. I called my mom just in case to let her know what was going on. Then about 3pm I get a call from my OB saying that my tests were still the same and they all pointed to toxemia. She said in good conscience she had to deliver the baby. Since, ya know, the baby possibly was not getting oxygen and it could get really serious. Ok, fine. I guess I'm having a baby! Since I was so closed, I was put on the first of three rounds of cytotec, and hopefully I would deliver the next morning. My mom arrived at the hospital and Justin left to get our overnight bags.

The nurses at our hospital were so nice. It was so comforting to be there, since to me I think of hospitals as sterile and cold. About every hour someone was coming in and checking on me, and sticking their hand up my vajayjay. I also had a catheter inserted which was not fun. I was given magnesium as well. My blood pressure continued to go through the roof but I felt fine. Fine enough to order three plates of dinner....plus dessert. Needless to say Justin and I did not get any sleep that night. The next morning around 7am, I was still pretty closed up. I don't think I was even dilated 1cm. My OB said that I might need a C-Section - which I was absolutely against. There is no wa I would want to get a C-Section and have to deal with the recovery! I was put on pitocin and a few hours later I was still closed. So finally my OB decided to break my water. After that, things went really quickly. I started to feel minor contractions and they became more intense quickly. One of the nurses said to Justin "you have a tough cookie here" and he said "oh I know." And looked at me and smiled. Fast forward an hour later and I'm screaming at the top of my lungs. Not too long after I was asking for the epidural. It could not come fast enough. I felt some relief after the epidural but that was short lived. I started to feel this weird pain in my anus. Kind of like I was being impaled by a house. Hmm. I notified the nurse about this peculiar feeling. She asked me what it felt like and I told her "it feels like someone is ripping my asshole apart. She asked me if I felt like pushing. If by pushing you mean pooping then yes. My son was coming out with a vengance. Poor Justin actually saw the poop come out of my butthole. And he still loves me. I think. After that they just told me to start pushing. Ahh, it felt so good to push! Pushing didn't hurt nearly as much as the contractions. I gave birth at 1:26pm to Nathan, who greeted us for the first time with a smile and the loudest scream. Justin started to cry, which made my heart melt even more. I was still in shock - my body was shaking uncontrollably. The nurse even commented that I looked a little freaked out. Hello! I just gave birth, yes I was freaked out.



Wow, I guess I still remember that day clearly. I also remember that I barely needed any recover time. I was going to the gym and hiking 2 weeks later. I also dropped the 30 lbs that I gained, 1 week after delivery. Joy. I can honestly say that, I hated being pregnant; I had morning sickness 24/7 well into my 5th month, I was moody, emotional, swollen and tired. I got shooting pains down "there" all the time. The labor and delivery was chaotic. Would I do it all over again? Of course. In fact, I think we will try for a 2nd child by the end of this year or early next year. Yes we are out of our minds.