Saturday, September 29, 2012

Making Time

     Time, it's like gold to me. There is never enough of it and I value it very highly. It seems like time just slips away and the day is gone before I even realize what has happened. Making time isn't easy, but it's important. Making time to spend with my family is something I think is incredibly important. Yes, I have a mountain of other things to do but my priority should be my family. I've been reflecting on time lately and this is what is floating around in my brain...


      Wives, make time to spend with your children. The dishes can wait, the laundry won't disappear (although I wish it would), and the dust bunnies probably won't attack tonight. What won't wait are the memories to be made with each other. Even if it's just making your baby giggle and laugh as you kiss their tummy.What won't wait are the moments spent together. Enjoy the time you get together, because with each minute that passes your little one grows up and those minutes will pass with frightening speed. Cherish every moment and commit it to memory, because it's those things you will look back on and remember. Not the dishes piled up or the layer of dust on the mantle. Time is a precious gift that is best not wasted on arbitrary tasks when a more valuable use can be found.
     Wives, make time to spend with your husbands. You are the foundation to your family, the relationship between you is what everything else is built on. If your foundation isn't strong nothing can be built on top of it. Remember to make time not only for your children but also for the man whom they call daddy. Your children will look to your relationship as a guide for their own lives. Show them a strong bond that is untouched by time. Take that time out to sit and talk about your day. Take the time to go out on a date every week, or every other week. Make that time for you to spend as just husband and wife again. Just because you became parents doesn't mean you stopped being lovers. Remember that giddy feeling of love? Don't lose that feeling, capture it and nurture it. Never let the love between you wan. It's important, this love. Without it you can't teach your children what love should be. Without it you can't build your family on top of a strong, unbreakable foundation. So, make the time. Even if it's just catching a movie, or having lunch, make the time and you won't regret it.

So there's some of my "words of wisdom" and feelings. Sometimes I get really wrapped up in all the things I "have" to do and forget about the things that I love to do. Time is a gift and I try not to waste it on foolish things. Speaking of wasting time, I should be studying for my exam on Monday. So with that I leave you to ponder.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

That Sinking Feeling

     Right now I have a rare moment, a moment all to myself. Roxas is in bed, the hubby is out having drinks with friends, my homework is finally done and Grey's Anatomy is on Hulu. These moments are few and far between. During most days I am consumed with either entertaining Roxas, doing homework or making a pathetic attempt at keeping my house clean and laundry done. It seems like a lifetime ago that I spent my days off cleaning the house, scrapbooking, crafting, baking and playing video games.  

     I've recently really gotten into watching Grey's Anatomy and I think I know why I like it so much; I can relate to the intern experience in so many ways, my head is constantly spinning with all of the information swirling in my head. Sometimes I feel like an intern myself. Sometimes I don't know which way is up and the days just fly by. If it doesn't relate to being a mom or a nurse I probably don't think about it. I rarely eat more than one meal a day just because I get to wrapped up in school and taking care of Roxas. I go to bed at night going over medications, procedures, test questions, and I wake up every morning to my smiling (or crying depending on the day) little boy. I read my textbook surrounded by baby toys and with Roxas in my lap...usually chewing or drooling on my book. Most of the time I have no idea what day it is, and I never thought I would say this but I miss high school. I miss the simplicity of life. I miss being lazy on my days off with nobody to entertain but myself. I loved going to work and then coming home and relaxing with my husband. I love being a mom of course and I love my son more than anything and I love being a nursing student...or rather I love what the end result will be but I'd have to be crazy not to miss the life we once had.

     Like I said, I feel like an intern some days. My homework pile is utterly insane and the amount of information I am trying to cram into my brain is far more than any human is meant to absorb. Somehow I'm keeping my head above water and we are almost halfway through our first semester. The one thing I really, truly, love about nursing school is the sense of family in our class. It's amazing and unique feeling how close we have all become as first semester students. When I am in class I feel as if I am home, and that is how I know I am in the right place and as much as it is driving me insane with work and stress...it will be worth it. I just need to hang in there and make it through. The workload of the program alone is insane but add in taking care of a 6 month old baby too and you have a recipe for insanity. It's a crazy life but it's our life and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

     Roxas and I have an appointment with the nutritionist at WIC since he is only in the 8th percentile for his height and weight. I'm really hoping she can help guide me on good nutrition for myself and Roxas too. I'm still a little worried about his weight and how much he dropped so quickly. I'm really stuffing him full of milk and food so hopefully that's all he needs to plump up and get to growing big and strong.

     Well, I am going to enjoy my nice relaxation time. The next time I will have this kind of moment might be a very long time from now. 

Friday, September 14, 2012

Time for a Check Up! {6 Months}

     We had our 6 month well baby check up today!


     Roxas had to get four pokes today, and it never gets easier for mom but he does great and takes it like a champ. The doctor said he is doing good with sitting up and he is very interested in the world around him. He has lost weight since his last visit though, which really gutted me. As his main source of food I feel completely responsible for his weight gain and feel a bit like a failure since he lost almost a full pound since his 4 month check up. His head is still off the chart for size and his height (27.5") is in the 95th percentile but his weight combined with his height put him below "below average" on the growth chart. We are going to really up the nursing sessions and feedings and try to plump up my lanky little man. I'm trying not to take it too hard but it's difficult not to feel like I did something wrong. 
      The doctor also recommended we start phasing out the binky, I almost fell on the floor. I think I might be more dependent on it than he is. We are going to start trying to let it just "die a natural death" like the doctor said but I'm not sure how this will play out. We are also going to start letting him drink out of a cup, which he loves trying to do anyways but it's nice to know now I can let him. 
     I got handed a ton of information and instructions today and it was all a little overwhelming to tell the truth. I feel so lost as a parent sometimes. I have no idea what I'm doing and it can feel very confusing sometimes. There are books galore and what one book tells you another one contradicts. Then you have the lovely internet which is a vast ocean of information but sorting through all of the crap to find the truth can be nearly impossible. It's all a learning process and it can be scary when you are responsible for this little human being. Every choice I make for him impacts his life in one way or another and it's a heady thing to think about really. I can only do the best I know how and raise our son together with my amazing husband and pray we do a good job. 
     Roxas got to try two new foods since the last post- carrots and squash. He wasn't convinced carrots were all that great at first but he likes them now and the squash was a huge hit. We are going to move on to peas or green beans next, I haven't quite decided yet. It's a ton of fun feeding him and seeing his reactions to all the different new flavors. Things are really beginning to change and although I'm scared and want to run and hide because change terrifies me, I'm excited to embrace the new future and watch Roxas grow up even more. 



Friday, September 7, 2012

6 Months Old! Oh My!


     Six months has come and gone and I am amazed at how quickly it happened. It's amazing to see how much a baby grows and learns in just 6 months. He has learned to roll over, hold his head up on his own, make vowel sounds, and sit up on his own. It's really quite fascinating.
     Roxas is about 17lbs now and he is a tall lanky baby just like daddy. He has so much personality and is a complete ham for the ladies. I love that he is more like a little person with his own wants and needs now rather than a lump of baby cuteness that, albeit cute, doesn't interact much. He is working on crawling, but he just can't figure out how to coordinate his legs and arms in order to move forward. He has figured out that he can roll to his back and scoot himself around that way though! He can move rather fast this way. One rather nice thing that has come with this new age milestone is sleep. For the past few nights putting Roxas to bed has been the most painless and enjoyable things. He gets pretty sleepy around 7:30-8:00 so I feed him and then just lay him down in his crib. Within minutes he rolls to his side and is fast asleep. I'm not sure what prompted such a drastic change but I'm not going to question it! He has also begun sleeping through the night consistently. I never intended to "night wean" him but he pretty much did it himself and I'm not going to argue. I like getting 8 hours of sleep!
     One of the best things about turning 6 months old is getting to eat "real food"! Roxas has been super interested in us eating for quite a while now and I really had to be careful that his little hands wouldn't snag some food. He has some serious ninja speed when he wants to try and get a french fry or chicken strip in his mouth. I will admit I've given him small tastes of things (just dipping my finger in and letting him taste) like yogurt, smushed banana, cottage cheese and yes we even let him taste ice cream. But they were just small tastes, he never really got to eat any real food...until now!
 He really wanted to feed himself
 He was pretty excited about food
 Daddy feeding Roxas
Mmmmmm

     Roxas got rice baby cereal as his first real food and he loved it! He was grabbing at the spoon and trying to feed himself the whole time. It was a lot of fun seeing him so excited. If I could guess what was going on in his head it was something like, "Finally! I've been wanting to try this! It looks so fun when mom and dad do it!" We are going to be introducing veggies in the weeks to come and I'm super excited to see how he likes those. I have to say I am so proud of myself for exclusively breastfeeding for 6 whole months. Sometimes it felt like I would never make it to this milestone. Next milestone: 1 year! 
     Things have been just short of insane around here. My house is a mess, laundry is piled up and the poor dogs have been cut down to one meal a day because I simply can't seem to remember to feed them twice! As he gets older Roxas demands a little bit more of me and it's time consuming but it's wonderful watching him laugh, play and grow. If I'm not taking care of Roxas I am usually doing school work but so far it has been a blast. I've already noticed our class becoming very close and I have a feeling we will all be like a little family for the next two years. I'm making new friends and learning all kinds of new things. Roxas is an excellent guinea pig for me too. I love listening to his heart and lung sounds, reminds me of the days spent listening to that galloping beat on the doppler. 
     In other news we recently decided to trade in our beloved Honda Element which we affectionately referred to as "Pinchy". If you're confused by that nickname go look up old Element commercials with Gil the Crab. Anyways pinchy just wasn't practical for us anymore since it was getting up there in miles, and in the long term it could only seat 4...so our possible offspring was kind of limited there. Then there was the gas mileage, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't the best either. We got a Toyota Corolla S and I am loving it. It's smaller than what I'm used to but it's an awesome car and gets great gas mileage. With me driving to Kingman all the time that's a huge thing. It was sad to see our first car go, but I'm totally in love with the shiny new one too.
     Well that's all for now, but I will try to keep up postings as often as I can. No promises though!