Weights and Dims

Well stinky is still very high on the growth chart.

He is:
20lbs (90%)
28 3/4 in (97%)
45.5cm (90%)

He is down 3 percent from his 4.5 month visit, but still very high on the charts.

The doctor was mad I hadn't started him on the iron drops or rice ceral. Whatever. He checked his hemogloban levels, and it was 10.5. Which apparently is normal, but low on the normal scale. I will do the vitiman drops, but no rice cereal. I will try solids again in a few weeks.

Speaking of solids. I made a batch of sweet potateos and a batch of bananas! Yeah me!

K, gotta work.

I guess for now I am going to leave my journal open.

I don't really put anything on here that might be incriminating. LOL.

So it's a free for all!

6 Months

Gage turned 6 months on Friday.

He loves baths.
He scoots around.
He rolls EVERYWHERE.
He blows rasberries. It makes his face all wet.
He smiles in the mornings when we wake up.
He loves the sling.
He knows his name.
He still loves nursing.
He is not eating solids, and is not intersted. (We tried some a couple nights ago.)
He loves his daddy, and of coarse me.
He *kinda* sits up, but only with help.
He loves his new cell phone.

That is all for now.

Thursday

Not much is really going on. My friend is coming over tonight. I am excited because I haven't seen her in MONTHS and she has only seen pictures of Gage since I saw her last.

AJ and I were talking about another baby. I don't really know if I want another. I'd like Gage to have a sibling, but I don't know. I am part of a journal and there was a community with women who were all due in Aug 06. Well would believe there are some who are pregnant AGAIN! One is due in Aug 07! Irish Twins! Holy crap.

I always told him I would only have another baby if I didn't have to go back to work. It was really hard going back to work after Gage, and I refuse to do it again. He said I could get pregnant work through it and just not return. I thought that might be a good idea. But that would have to be soon as once I stop working, we wont have cheap insurance. So I don't know. We'll see.

The weather has been sooo soo nice here. I dressed Gage in shorts and a long sleeve. The long sleeve is actually too small, it's 6-9 months, but I am not buying any new long sleeves because spring will be here next month and it will get warmer and I will just get some more onsies. I love babies in onsies. They are so cute!

Today it is supposed to be 65-70 today, I think!

I love this time. I should get my jogging stroller out now,and go for a run. I still have about 5lbs to loose...well were I would like to be.

I am scared when I stop breastfeeding I will have to eat less and gain weight if I don't. But I will cross that bridge when I get there!

One other Picture...

Here is a semi-decent picture of me...and my sisters from the wedding.

Baby Food

I totally just tried out my food processor and steamer.
It was so cool. I steamed apples. Put them in the food processor with a bit of breastmilk.

It stunk, but it was actually decent tasting. We made AJ taste it first. We all tried it, J*, my mom, M*, and myself.

LOL, they all had my milk. hehehehe.

OMG that was so easy though!

However, when I start actually making food for him, I will have to use milk I haven't frozen to make food, so I can freeze it.

I wont be starting Gage on food soon though. Not till he is ready. There are a few thing I want him to do before.

Breasfreeding: One of my passions

I don't understand why mothers don't BF if they can.

Which studies show only 5% can't. It's Mother Nature...simple as that.

A note from Dr. Sears:
To be fair, formula companies have produced milk for babies which, at least on paper, seems to resemble the real thing. Formula is definitely better than it used to be. But on close inspection, what the factories make doesn't quite measure up to what mom makes.

It is nearly impossible for artificial baby milk manufacturers to make a milk with nutrients even close to what mothers' bodies can make. And these companies' primary goal is to make a profit, so marketing and manufacturing issues influence what finally gets into the can.

The good news is that formula companies are constantly updating their recipe in order to keep up with new research into infant nutrition. The bad news is that each change in formula is really just a new experiment.

In America, the average BF mother is over 30, white, and college educated. The least likely to BF is under 30, African American, and only a HS diploma.

I read a quote the other day that said "Breastfeeding should not be considered a benefit, but a risk if you don't."

In Sweeden, 99% of mother BF.

The stats for mothers who actually BF till 6 months is very low, and of that percentage, only 17% make it to a year.

I just don't understand.

I am no where near a boob nazi as I am just here to encourage it. If I can do it.....seriously...anyone can. It's a matter of dedication.

I would be rude in America to call Formula "Crap in a Can". In most other countries...I would be praised to say that.

But I will not apologize for calling it that.

Picture Post

Here are a few pictures of my family. I am not in but a few. The pictures of me from my sisters wedding,well I look horrible. So those wont be posted. Enjoy! Click on them to enlarge.


R*, my sister, and T*, my nephew

T*, my newphew, and M*

J* and M*

Can we say Sugar high?

C*, Ma, J*, and M* (J*'s husband)...And TEXAS SUCKS!!

Disneyland, Christmas '06

V-Day

We went to dinner last night, On the Border actually.

We had planned on going there when his sister called to ask us to dinner with them to OTB. We said sure. J* had a gift certificate to anything with Brinker, so OTB it was. They called back and changed their mind and said they wanted Macaronni Grill. We showed up and the wait was 2 1/2 freakin' hours. Um, no.

So on to OTB. We spent all the $75 he had!!! I really didn't think it would cost that much.

I gave Adrean a card. It sang "Wild Thing". He liked it. He didn't actually get me anything, and I am still working on that. He did however LOOK for flowers, but didn't want to spend $40 or more on flowers. I know this because I sent him and email and telling him to send flowers to my work address should he feel like doing so. He did send me flower...via email. A for effort and creativity.

AJ's gifts are interesting gifts. They are practical and gifts that he can use as well. I've been given a digital camera, a palm pilot, TiVo, etc. Gadgets. Don't get me wrong...I love these gifts...but romantic? No. He does make up for the romantic factor because he is a cuddler. He loves to hug, kiss, and cuddle. He is very affectionate in that aspect. The great thing is I am too!!

Well I best get back to work.

A little about me and my family

I am the middle of 2 sisters. R* is 27 and J* is 23. My dad is remarried to MA and she has 2 daughters, Ma who is almost 22 and C* who is 18.

My mom lives here in DFW and my dad and MA live in Oklahoma.

My mom is an art teacher, and my sister J* graduates in May with the same degree.

My dad is in politics, and has been since I was small. He has his theology degree in baptist ministry, but got into politics somehow through church.

R* is not married (and has never been) and has a 6 1/2 yo son, T*. His dad has custody of him in Oklahoma, she lives here in Dallas. She is a mess but somehow keeps her head above water.

J* is 23 and just married in December. It was beautiful and I was the matron of honor.

Ma is in college in OK, and C* is a high school senior.

Now about me.

I have had a hand full of jobs since graduating HS. Some have been good...others I hated. So far, my job right now is the best I have had, and I make more money than I ever have. Which helps because AJ just quit his job to be a Real Estate Agent. I am the International Coordinator for a Welding Parts company. I hope some day to be a SAHM, but who knows. For now I am content.

BTW AJ and I met at the job he is quitting at. I was laid off April 1,2005. Yes, april fools day! Mean right?

I grew up in the Baptist church, but if I went to church now I would probably go to Methodist. My husbands family is Mormon. I will never be a Mormon. He is the middle of 10!!!!!

I don't really know what else to say about myself. If anyone is reading...haha...you can ask me questions. I love questions!!!

Here is a picture from this weekend. I liked this one, and I loath having my picture taken.

Gage is half smiling and it's cute.

I am feeling better since today. One of my favorite shows is coming on in about 15 mins. :D

Gage went to sleep about 45 mins ago. It took me about 20-30 mins to get him to sleep. It wasn't that hard tonight. However, I need sleep myself.

Anywho..

Oh, and I keep forgetting to say this, but Amy thanks for the compliment about Gage. :D

Monday, Monday

Gage slept for the first part of last night in his own bed. This isn't really something I want, but my lovely husband likes his way. He doesn't want Gage in the bed when he is 20.

I am supposed to look at the "big picture". Whatever.

I have barely any sleep under me. On top of that I just got yelled someone WE pay to do a job for us. I, of coarse, cried afterards because of the adrenaline rush. My supervisor is working in our room right now and heard me having to tell him to not yell at me. She said she was seconds away from hanging the phone up on him. UH!

My boobs suffered from having Gage not in bed. He slept from 10:30 - 3 in his crib, and both my boobs were engorged. My bra was soaked.

Speaking of boobs, I need to go and pump...then it will be time to go...yeah!

AJ, my husband

For starters AJ is only his nickname. I call him by his given name, but I choose to keep that a secret. It is a semi common name but spelled unique. I don't want to risk his name being "googled" and this blog coming up.

He will be 27 on March 22nd.

We met June of 2004. He had just bought a home, which now I own too, and invited me to a house warming party. We were both in long term relationships at the time, so basicly didn't think much of anything.....well I didn't. I would later find out he had a crush on me. I didn't go to his party which ended up being good because his ex girlfriend and him had a HUGE fight and I would have witnessed it.

Anyways, I saw him at school. We both had a night class the same night at the same CC. I didn't actually talk to him till September, when I asked for him to take me for a ride on his sport bike. And right then and there our relationship started...and so did the trouble. We both had ended our relationships a bit before so we were actually rebounding on each other. Not Good. We dated till the end of January 05. In a sense, that relationship was not going anywhere. He moved on to a girl we'll call DW. They dated till the end of August. I didn't do anything during that spring and summer but be single and have the time of my life.

I went on a family vacation to Mexico the end of August. (I had not spoken to AJ since April. I still cared deeply for him, but pushed all my feeling for him deep down because I just knew we could never be together again.) I came back to Texas with an email from him. He expressed to me how much he loved me and needed me. How he wanted to have our babybirds in our mouse on the praire. My nickname is BabyBird and we called his house the "mouse on the praire" since it was small.

I didn't think much of it because I took it as him rebounding from DW.

A couple weeks later I realized I was still very angry at him and wanted to forgive him. I called him up and said just that. We chatted for a bit and it was SO good to talk to him. He used to be my best friend.

Most of my feelings for him came rushing back. I knew I was in trouble.

I finally got the courage to see him again. But this was not till the end of September 05. OMG when I saw him....I wanted to hug him, hold him, be held by him...all of that. But I was very cautious.

We stayed in touch. Then the end of October, I came over for a small party his roomates and him were having....and well, I haven't left since.

We found out we were having a baby December 27,2005. We married March 17,2006 in Hill Country.

Now, there was a lot more drama and trust issues and all that good stuff...which we worked out with counseling (his idea I might add) but that could be a novel.

So here we are......married, a baby, and the dawn of a wonderful life together.

Okay, my hands hurt....I need to go...bye.

La ti da

I guess I could write more about Gage, myself and my husband. We are kinda boring homebodies though.

Gage is a really good baby. He has only cried unconsolably once. And it was because he had an ear infection. He wakes up about 2 times a night, and usually nurses right back to sleep. I usually get enough sleep unless I am awake on my own. I slept like crap when I was pregnant though. He smiles and talks all the time. We are trying him on a sippy cup. He likes to hold on to it, but I don't think he understands how to suck.

We are working on sign language, sitting up and crawling. He loves the sign for milk.

Well I'll write more about me later...I have to go and tend to Gage.

Very First Post

Hi, I am Michelle. I am 25 and live in North Texas. I have been here 4.5 years. I moved from O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma, OK.

I am married to AJ, who is almost 27. He is a Real Estate Agent. We have a son named Gage, he is 5.5 months old. Born August 23, 2006.

He weighed 9lbs 7oz and was 21 inches at birth. As of his appt on January 11th, he weighed 18lbs and was 27 3/4 inches. He is in the 100% for height, and 93% for weight. He is a big boy!

He is exclusively breastfed. We wont start solids until he is ready.. And we are skipping rice cereal, it's only carbs. It has no nutritional value.

I work full time and pump while at work. I pump anywhere from 25-29 oz of milk in a 10 hour period.

He is uncircumsized. We have co-slept since day one. I also sling him.

I sould like a very crunchy liberal mom. However, I am just very pationate about these things. I would consider myself old fashioned and a conservative republican who is pro-life.

That is me, well, some of me. :D