Christmas 2012

I keep thinking that I need to write a blog for Swen's first Christmas. The problem is it would be a blog that never ended. I will try to sum it up fast. We started off with our first little family Christmas. For Matt not liking Christmas very much, he was sure excited to run Swen out to the tree so he could open the little presents we got for him. We then had Christmas with my family in the day and Matt's family at night. Overall, it was a wonderful day. All three of us got way too many amazing gifts from our families. Swen, of course, liked the wrapping paper the best. I didn't know I could love Christmas any more than I had in the past. But sure enough, a Christmas with Swen made it a million times better.

This year, it seemed I was always on the verge of tears thinking about how grateful I am for all my blessings. I hate to write a blog where I brag and say how perfect my life is. It is definitely not perfect. I am often tired which leads to grumpy. I am impatient which sometimes leads to rude. I get overwhelmed (a direct result of lack of sleep) which leads to guilt because I'm home all day with a dirty house and dirty laundry and no food cooked for dinner. Yet, overall I am happier than I have ever been in my life for all the simple things: a healthy baby; Matt's good job; families who love us; and most importantly, the knowledge of the gospel.

Constantly going through my mind this season is how grateful I am for our Savior. He made it possible for us to be with our families for eternity.

Here's the usual picture overload!

Goodbye Baby Books

This past week has been rough with Swen's sleeping. Two weeks ago was great. We just started putting him in his crib, and he was doing awesome. He had several stretches of 5, 6, and even a 7-hour stretch of sleep. I thought to myself, "Go me! I was able to teach my baby how to sleep through the night without all those baby training books or letting him cry it out." Sure enough my pride got the best of me because then it got worse. I think after those few nights, he figured out that he wasn't with me anymore but all alone in a cold, dark, baby jail (his really nice comfortable crib). This past week he has been waking up at least every hour.

I have one book that I have LOVED reading from the start. It is by the Sears family (all pediatricians and nurses) who teach attachment parenting. The three main things they are famous for are carrying your baby in a sling at home and while running errands, breastfeeding, and co-sleeping at night. I was planning to do all of these things before I read their book, so when I read it and found doctors that support these things, I was thrilled! I go to their book for everything. The other thing they emphasize is a mother's intuition. The fact that if one listens and respond to a baby's cues, a mother will know exactly what that baby needs. I have always thought this was true until this last week.

Sleep deprivation definitely took over. I was doubting everything I've done for the past 6 months. I kept thinking that it's my fault he isn't sleeping. As I rocked Swen, I resorted to buying a couple cheap baby training books on my nook. I read two different ones that day. They didn't sound too bad. They were both "no cry it out" methods because that method is not an option for me. Lots of AMAZING moms I know swear by it, but personally, I don't like the idea. As I was reading these books, I just got more down on myself. One of them has a list of these things called "accidental parenting" strategies. Supposedly all of them make it so your baby doesn't have a schedule and doesn't sleep. Ha, sure enough, I do ALL of them. They are things like feeding your baby anytime he is hungry instead of waiting every four hours, rocking/walking your baby to sleep, feeding your baby to sleep in the middle of the night when he awakes, and  taking your baby out of the house during his nap time. The list goes on and on. I decided I wasn't going to completely change the way I've parented when he has grown so happy and healthy.

The other one has a pick up/put down method of teaching babies to sleep. Pretty much for naps and night time, you lay your baby down awake. When he cries pick him up, the second he stops, you lay him back down. You do this over and over again. I guess it can take up to 100 times every time he needs to go to sleep for this to work. Plus it takes weeks for him to eventually be trained to the point that he doesn't cry anymore. Well I tried this maybe 10 times before I was done. Matt tried it about 10 times before he was done. This is exactly what the author warns against. "You can't give up after one try. It will work. You must keep doing it. It is in your baby's best interest!" Good thing she wasn't watching us.

After a week of bad sleep  I talked to my mom about how I have ruined Swen forever. She said, "Shulamith, stop reading these stupid books and parent support group suggestions  You are an amazing mom, and you know exactly what Swen needs. Stop taking other people's advice, and do what comes naturally to you and what you think is best for Swen." I love my mom because that is exactly what I needed to hear.

Let me finish by telling you about all the "accidental parenting" I did last night. First, I nursed Swen to sleep. Then I just rocked my sleeping angel while watching Barbra Walters'  "10 most fascinating people." I then laid him in his crib where he fell fast asleep. He woke up 10 minutes later. I got up, picked him up and took him to bed with me. He slept great. When he woke up I let him nurse quietly back to sleep. This morning he didn't want to be in bed anymore at like 5:45. We went out to the rocking chair where the two of us slept together until 8. What a wonderful night and morning we had. The main reason I wanted Swen to be in his crib is so Matt would be able to come sleep in bed with me. This last week  we learned that we both sleep better with all three of us in bed together. I know one day Swen will sleep in his crib, but not until he's ready. For now it makes a great play pen. He loves playing in there.

Here is my official goodbye to all baby training books. I will stick with the Sears family who trust my ability to know what's best for Swen. Look at how happy he is! I can't figure out how to make these pictures bigger. :(

He loves to pretend he's drinking out of my cups. This one was for pretzel bites... it's not dirty.

Look how cute I am in my PJ's and penguin hat.

I love this outfit my grandma got him. 

Christmas jammies!

Smiles!

So excited waiting to listen to Christmas music at the mall.

Mom Goals

I've heard people talk about how annoying it is to read others' blogs because they are all so happy and fake, almost as if they are writing them to brag about how great their lives are. I don't feel that way at all. Writing about the positives in life is just a way to be grateful for all the blessings we have. I love hearing how other people are doing and the many joys in their lives. I especially like to hear about other people's perfect little children. It makes me miss when Swen was tiny but also look forward to all the fun stages that are to come. So it isn't annoyance I'm feeling, more of a lack of "mom" skills. I have tried a few of these things with support from others, but never on my own. Here are four goals that I really want to accomplish all by myself sometime soon.

1. Make Homemade bread- I would love to have this! I have actually made bread before with some help; it was really hard. I eat bread for all three meals of the day (don't judge me). I love any kind of bread there is. I swear in every blog I read, the writer makes her own yummy bread. Every time I read about a new loaf of bread, I want some so badly. I keep thinking I will try and make some bread, but I never get brave enough to try.

2. Sew Something- I get on Pintrest and pin all these cute ideas of things I want to make. There are SO many cute things out there, and they don't look too hard. Look at this skirt. It is made from a men's dress shirt. Does it get any cuter?
 I think it is so adorable, and I want to make it. I really think I can do it.

3. Cook Good Food- My goal is to not ruin a dinner for an entire week. This goal may sound easy. It's not. I ruin food all the time. Matt says he is throwing my crock pot away because everything I make in it is gross. I find recipes that look so good. Then they are gross. To achieve this goal, I will probably make the two things I know are good over and over.

4. Read Scriptures to Swen- I swear everyone I know does some amazing scripture/prayer/song session with her babies every day. This is a good habit. I can read him a verse, pray with him, and then sing to him. I know he is little now, but I think it would great to get into the habit early.

While I may not be the typical "crafty, cooky, mom," I am very proud of myself because Swen is a healthy, happy, growing little angel. He...

Has tripled his weight in 6 months from breastfeeding exclusively.
Can talk and tell amazing stories.
Is able to roll over anywhere he wants.
Has yet to get sick even once.
Doesn't scream in his car seat anymore.
Falls asleep in his car seat or stroller quite often.
Has grown 4 teeth!
Smiles at everyone.
Doesn't like any baby food (video to follow).
Loves being held during his naps in the rocking chair.
Grabs everything he can. He even stole a nice tie from Sears for my brother who is on a mission.
Can sit up for quite a while before falling down.
Loves taking showers and baths.

Swen is the greatest blessing I've ever received. I truly didn't know how amazing life could be or how much I could possibly love someone until now. I am so grateful for him in every way. Here he is!

Sad

Growing up in Washington state, I never felt like an outsider when it came to politics. The majority of people there would consider themselves "liberal," but being a member of the LDS church, I was around a lot of people with conservative political beliefs. I may have been naive, but there never seemed to be a problem with different political beliefs among people in my church or with friends. It was more of a fun topic of conversation. I am sure my friends and I were just spitting out what our parents were telling us, and it never got in the way of our friendship. The last two elections I watched the debates and read about both candidates before voting. I proudly voted to elect and then re-elect President Obama. I didn't realize that I would feel personally attacked for doing so.

Throughout this entire election, people posted awful things about both of the presidential candidates, really awful. Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are great men, yet people were constantly making them out to be monsters. I really tried only to endorse Obama and not to attack Romney on my blog and on Facebook. I thought that when this election was over, it would all die down, but everything has just gotten worse. For the last four days, I have read posts and blogs written by friends and Facebook acquaintances (I can't claim that all 350 something people on Facebook are really my friends) that make me want to cry. These posts are making me defensive, angry, and really sad. As a result, I feel the strong need to defend myself and why I voted for President Obama. This is not to change anyone's mind, but for people to understand that I am not a free loading, baby killing, immoral person.

To start, I'd like to quote some things that I've read and what went through my mind as I read them:

"Way to go dems. I can't wait for Obama to ruin our country more so I can say I told you so." 
Really?? So you are so mad that Obama won that you want our country to fail just so you can rub it in my face? How patriotic of you.

"Anyone who votes for Obama must not be working or paying taxes."
You're totally right. I worked for 14 years but never paid a penny to taxes. Actually, I pay a higher percentage of taxes and social security than billionaire Mitt Romney. And no, I'm not "working" for money now, but I'm raising a child. Ann Romney had the luxury to do the same thing with all her children.

"Anyone who supports someone who supports a woman's right to chose can not be a true Mormon."
Wow. What gives you the right to judge who is a true Mormon? I am 100% active in the LDS faith, and it isn't someone else's place to tell me otherwise. I LOVE my religion and do my best to follow its teachings in my life. Do I like abortions? Absolutely not. I think they are awful in every way. Would I ever have one? Absolutely not. Do I think that women should have the right to choose? Absolutely. Sadly, it often seems that the only people conservatives care about are the unborn babies. But once these children are born, it is "fend for yourselves." So all these innocent babies that would be born to teenagers and drug users better step up and provide for themselves because if they need food stamps to live, they are free loaders. Then if they somehow make it to college, they better not need financial aid. I know adoption is supposedly the answer for teen moms or rape victims. However, after holding Swen for the first time, I know that I could never have been selfless enough to give him away, no matter what my circumstances were at the time.

"Obama is an immoral man."
You were lucky enough to meet and get to know him? I'm jealous! What did he do that makes you believe he is immoral? From what I can tell, he is a highly moral and honorable man.

"My marriage means less because gay marriage is legal."
How does gay marriage hurt you at all? I really don't get this one. If you don't like gay marriage, don't marry a gay person. That simple. I was sealed to the love of my life in the LDS temple for time and eternity, and NOTHING can change that.

People, whether LDS or not, should not have to feel afraid to express their political opinions. They should not have to fear being ostracized or rejected for their beliefs. I truly love and respect all my friends that voted for Romney. I hope that they can support me for who I voted for and stop all the attacks. This blog is my promise that the next time someone I didn't vote for wins, I will not say one mean thing about him (or her!). I will never choose my friends solely according to their politics. 

Tooth

As of today Swen has his first tooth. It is through his gums and everything. I'm sad. He's growing up WAY too fast. He also voted yesterday... and his candidate won! :)

Halloween at 5 Months Old

Will Swen remember his very first Halloween ever? Of course not. Will I? I sure hope so. I hear that as time goes by and more kids are born, holidays all seem to blend together. I would like to think that I will never forget Swen's first Halloween, but just in case, I will write about it.

Matt made up the nickname of  "little monster" for Swen quite a while ago. I can't quite pin down exactly when this name started, but my guess is it stems from Swen's screaming in the car seat, waking up in the middle of the night ready to play, wanting to be held constantly. Or maybe it's just because monsters are adorable and perfect just like Swen is.

I hadn't thought much about what I wanted him to be for Halloween, but it was October, so it was somewhere in the back of my mind. When we were on one of our mall outings, I happened to see this adorable little green monster outfit. I got so excited and showed it to Swen. I could tell he loved it right away. That is how he became the cutest, green monster ever for Halloween.

The Friday before Halloween was our church's Trunk-or-Treat. Matt and my dad were both working (like they do most nights), so my mom and I took my little brother Seth and Swen. There were a lot of cute costumes there, but I think Swen won. He only wore his costume for a little bit because it was too hot.

Look at his little tail!

My mom with Swen. He loved feeling his orange fur.

Then came Halloween night. Even though Matt really doesn't like celebrating any holidays, he was able to switch someone shifts at work so he could be with Swen for his first Halloween! There was a trick-or-treat at the mall near by, so we went there with Matt's parents, my mom, and my little brother Seth. We win the "worst parents" award because we didn't dress up. Matt would never consider it, but maybe next year I will do something fun with Swen. Swen had so much fun that he crashed within five minutes.



Swen with Matt's Parents



And he's out!



Not only did he sleep at the mall, but he slept rather well (for Swen) that night. I will be sad for him to not wear these jammies again. I love them!

After the mall we all went to get some delicious Cafe Rio. I planned on taking Swen to a couple doors to Trick-or-Treat, but he was so tired so we just came home and went to bed. I have always love Halloween, but it is SO much more fun with a little baby. I am excited for when he actually knows about the free candy.

And to change the subject of the blog... Swen is 5 months old (plus one week)! He is SO much fun. I love being with him all the time. I wouldn't change a thing. I think he gets cuter every day. I always think I'm biased, but guess what some lady just said to me today in line at the store? "Oh my, he is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. Really he is. I'm not just saying that. He is SO beautiful!" Of course I agree. Here are some pictures of him. Also, I am SO excited for then next two months. I love the holiday season.


This is his "please don't put me in the car seat" face.



Haha, his hands alwas get stuck down by his legs. He doesn't mind.



The best part about Fall... hats! He's not too sure about them yet.

Thunder Thighs

Since having Swen, my body looks totally different than it did before. I don't love it; I have thunder thighs. They aren't cute. But what is cute? Swen's thunder thighs! They are getting SO big. He is average weight for his age, but I think his thighs are a good 1/3 of his weight. They get stuck everywhere, in his pants, swing, johnny jump up, and Bumbo chair.  Here they are!

Some other things I wanter to remember about these days:

When he wakes up from naps, he looks so confused about life. He still has to be held while napping, and all of a sudden he will pop his head off my chest and be awake. His eyes get all big, and he turns his head around everywhere trying to figure out what's going on. Then he is really happy.

He is always happiest right when he wakes up. He giggles, talks, and kicks with joy.

Cutting his fingernails is the most annoying thing ever. They never get cut because when he sleeps, I want him to stay asleep!

Swen  gets super excited when he gets to go on walks in the front pack.

I'm still exhausted all the time, but it's totally worth it. Sometimes I feel guilty because I feel like I'm not working. I have been working since I was 12, starting with a paper route, then Round Table Pizza through high school, Macaroni Grill through college, and then teaching the last four years. My mom says this guilt is the most ridiculous thing she's ever heard. She consistently reminds me that I am working, that I am raising a baby, which is the most important job there is. I love being a stay-at-home mom. It is the best blessing I've ever had to be with Swen all day, and I plan on doing this job several more times. :)

Matt is adorable with Swen. He gets excited when he come up with new tricks that make Swen  happy or fall asleep. He can't wait til next summer when he can take him out rock climbing.

Swen loves to suck on his hands, and it's adorable. He can also now stand on his feet (with balance support) and hold all his body weight. He loves to do this and smiles as if to say, "I am such a big boy!"



I don't know why this picture turned out weird, but I'm too lazy to fix it. Look how proud he is!

 I love breastfeeding him more and more each day. It's all "love" when he he looks up and smiles at me. Does life get any better than this?

Swen cracks up giggling when my mom does "horsey" with him. I haven't been able to get laughs like that yet.

How grateful we are for Matt's and my parents. They are so helpful with anything we need. Swen loves them, and so do we.

Our life is simple and great. Here is more Swen in case you forgot when he looks like.



Bundled up at the dog park. I don't have a hat for him yet. Thanks Tia for the cute jammies!




Perfection.



A Lot Can Happen in a Year

It was just about this time last year that we found out I was pregnant. Matt was just about to leave for work, so we got excited/panicked together and then he was off! I didn't mind him leaving too much actually because I knew my mom would be a better shopping partner for the first baby shopping trip! Matt didn't want to shop for a baby outfit yet because he thought I was getting ahead of myself. Pregnancy tests are very accurate, so I was more than ready to go find something small and cute! After calling my dad who was at work and my grandma, my mom and I went and got a few things that were cute and gender neutral. Everything that could work for a boy or girl was yellow with ducks. Perfect! We got some duck onesies, and a duck gown. My mom always loved the gowns, so I believed her that I would like them too. Sure enough, she was right! The gowns are the best for changing diapers at night, and they are so adorable. For some reason (I think it was the only size left) we got these clothes in 6 month size, so he is just now wearing them.  Here is Swen wearing the little duck gown we bought him a year ago! He is SO cute right?

When Matt got home from work, he saw the little outfits and almost caught up to my excitement. I guess I couldn't except him to scream every time I pulled an item of clothing out the bag like I did. Then we drove over to his parents' house and told them the news. Of course they were thrilled! Our parents knew better than we did at the time how much pure love and joy a baby would bring into our lives.

So here we are a year later with the most perfect little four-month boy ever.  We went to the doctor which I always love. She was proud again of how big he was! She is one of the few besides family who has seen him triple his weight. She also kept saying that his skin is beautiful, so I must be taking good care of it. This made me laugh because all I do is bathe him. He hates lotion, so I rarely ever lotion him.  Here are his stats as well as another picture:

14 pounds, 15 ounces- 53rd percentile
24 inches long- 18th percentile
16 inch head circumference- 20th percentile

This is such a fun stage because he still smiles all the time. He giggles and talks. My favorite is when he tries to make noises as loud as he can over and over again. He still loves his toys and his books. My favorite is when he grabs pages and it looks like he's actually reading them. Swen has yet to roll over all the way; he only makes it to his side. He might do better from tummy to back, but he doesn't ever want to be on his tummy, so he doesn't get too much practice with that. I know I should be better about this whole "tummy time" thing, but I really don't like it when he's sad. All kids learn to roll over right? So why force him? One crazy thing happened this week. He took a nap by himself! It lasted about 30 minutes before he asked to be picked up, but in 30 minutes I was finally able to put all his baby pictures in an album. Then I snuggled and rocked him for the rest of his nap.




Napping ALONE!

A year ago I was working full time teaching kindergarten. Now I am working full time taking care of Swen, which is the best job ever by the way. Swen has gone from being in my tummy, and I have what feels like a whole new life. Poor Matt is still doing the same daily things, going to school and work. Except now he comes home to his perfect baby instead of just me. :)

Oh and if you were wondering Swen still HATES his carseat.




I love him.

Already teaching Swen how to play iphone games.

Does Swen want to be put down while I make cookies? Of course not. He likes to help. I also didn't know that his frontpack reflected until I saw this picture; how fancy.

 

No More Cows

Anyone who knows me knows that I am probably the pickiest eater ever. I don't like any fruits, vegetables, seafood, or condiments. I really mean it. You might say, "Not even strawberries or apples, etc?" I will answer no. I hate all of these things, and I always have. My parents tell me that I used to spit out fruits when I was a baby. I remember them trying to pay me money to eat  strawberries and raspberries several different times when I was younger, but I never got any money. Actually, I probably did because they felt so bad for making me pretty much throw up from sticking those gross things in my mouth. I won't even eat something that has fruit on the same plate. I'm convinced I'm deathly allergic and my tongue is protecting me.

Consequently, my diet is very limited. I like meat, cheese, bread, more bread, peanut butter, cereal, and of course anything that involves sugar (not whatever kind of sugar is in fruit though). And it is about to get even more restricted.

Swen has had a stuffy nose for his entire lifetime. I'm not making this up. At his two month appointment he had been getting over a cold, so I figured that's why his nose was stuffy and I didn't talk to the doctor too much about it. This cold has now been gone for two months, and his nose is STILL stuffy. It drives Swen, Matt, and me nuts. We are cleaning it out all the time; he hates it. He wakes up in the middle of the night because he isn't breathing well. I kept hoping that this would all go away, but it hasn't. After reading about this and talking to a lactation specialist,  it could possibly (hopefully) be an allergy to something I'm eating. The only way to figure this out is to completely eliminate certain foods from my diet and see if Swen's stuffy nose gets better over time. It usually takes a week to notice a difference.

The most common allergy babies react to while nursing is dairy. So starting today I am eating no dairy. Blah! It will be hard to forgo cheese and ice cream because those are two of my favorite things ever. But if it makes Swen's nose less stuffy, it will be more than worth it. His 4-month appointment is next week, so if it doesn't work, I will have given it a shot, and his pediatrician can give me another suggestion. Poor baby Swen is waking up all the time unable to breathe and getting his nose suctioned out several times a day. Then to top it off, he's grumpy in the day from not sleeping well at night. Poor Mommy and Daddy are exhausted from getting up all night and feel awful every time he screams while we clean his nose.  Let's hope this works! I will try eliminating every different food group if I have to see what works because I feel so bad for him.

It can't be one of my blogs with out an annoying number of pictures of Swen right? He's been playing the "I only smile when there's no camera game." Here is our perfect, fat, adorable, wonderful, amazing baby. We LOVE him so much.



Matt always comes home from work at night to the three of us hanging out in bed.



He loves facing out in the font pack.



I love his blue eyes!



Best Daddy ever.



Riding Kitty. I think she still hates him for replacing her.



Playing with the fun Subway paper.