Words of Advice

Recently, I've come to discover a big mistake I made. I thought I'd share it, hoping nobody follows in my footsteps.

DON'T buy a dog just because you want a baby. About two years ago, I started thinking that I really wanted a baby. However, timing wasn't quite right, and babies don't just come "on demand" like TV shows. So what's the next best thing? A dog of course! I have always loved boxers, so I started looking into boxer breeders in Utah. I even contacted one asking about price and colors. She said her next litter should be coming in August and she would let me know when the puppies arrived. When I asked Matt about getting a dog, he kept saying, "You can decide. You'll make the right choice." I decided to wait a little bit, thinking that would help. Then, this breeder contacted me saying she had a puppy who was a little older than usual because the elderly woman who originally bought her couldn't take care of her (what 90 year old woman buys a boxer puppy??). She then started putting pictures of this adorable owner-less puppy all over my Facebook! I was in school meetings, and I started texting Matt right away. He was being his usual self and completely ignored anything to do with buying a dog. Since he didn't say no, I told the lady I wanted her! I was so excited. I  called Matt, and he said, "Are you serious?" He may or may not have said a swear word mixed in that sentence as well. I told him I needed to drive to Nephi to pick her up, and I had no idea where that was, but he said he wasn't coming with me.  (Needless to say, he didn't really want a dog). So I called my mom, and she was more than happy to drive with me. She loves boxers too! When we picked her up, she was the sweetest dog ever. I just loved her. See how excited I was?

The joy continued for a long time. Matt even grew to love her. She really was the best dog ever. We took her to Petco on shopping trips and walked her to various places. We even took her to restaurants that had outside eating, so she could come with us. It was wonderful. Then a few months later I was pregnant! How exciting! I dreamed of Kitty playing with our little baby. It was all going to be great. Then I got home from the hospital and when I saw Kitty, I cried. I couldn't believe I had to take care of this little person all on my own, and I sure didn't want a dog to take care of too. On top of that, Kitty started chewing up every thing in the house the day Swen came home. She also started climbing on the kitchen counters to find food, which never happened until Swen came home. Now that Swen is older, I actually love seeing them play together. He LOVES her, and she is amazing with him. She lets him pull, scratch, hit, and bite her. She is a great dog with kids, and I think as Swen gets older, the fun will grow. However, after she chews my shoes, clothes, Swen's books and toys, or eats an entire box of freshly baked fudge off the counter (don't worry, she's okay), I REALLY wish I didn't get her.

My advice: don't buy a dog just because you want a baby.

LIfe at 9 Months

Swen has been out in this world longer than he was inside of me now. Since he was five weeks early, this actually happened a while ago, but I didn't really think about it until just now. He has brought Matt and me more joy than we could have ever imagined. In addition to the pure and most unconditional love imaginable, he has brought stress and exhaustion this past month.

Let's start with all the great things. Swen has the best personality ever. He is always talking and laughing. Right now his vocabulary consists mostly of "ga" and "ba." He sometimes throws some other sounds in there, but those are definitely his most favorite words. He uses these two words to talk about whatever he is feeling. He will proudly say "ga" when he has stood up tall all by himself. Then will loudly yell "ga" when he is really mad about something. I love it.

Swen moves around everywhere. He crawls and cruises along the furniture to find dangerous things to play with. He really loves cords, cell phones, laptops, and most of all Kitty's food. I'm pretty sure I've had to change his clothes 4 times this week from him getting into Kitty's water. He also loves to follow me wherever I go and help with whatever I'm doing.

Swen is starting to love people food. He still hates all baby food (can you blame him?) but loves to eat what we are eating. His favorites right now are cheese and chicken. One thing that is a little troubling is that he despises fruits. Of course the one thing that I really didn't want to pass on to him was my disgust for those slimy things that grow on trees. However, I'm afraid this might be the case. He has not liked any of the fruits we have given him to try. Just this morning he took a banana and threw it on the ground before even trying it, and then went on to eat the cheese and toast on his tray. We will keep trying, but it isn't looking very promising. He also still LOVES to nurse. So do I.

At his 9 month appointment, we learned that we have one short, fat baby! He is in the 48 percentile for weight and the 11 percentile for height This didn't surprise us because all his clothes are way to long, yet tight around the waist. Some words people have used to describe him are round, fat, thick, chubby, and like a brick. We were so grateful to find out he is still perfectly healthy and developing great.

With all these great developments, Swen has decided that sleep is not something he wants to do anymore. I'm sure most of these blog posts mention his sleeping habits, probably for two different reasons. First,  I LOVE to sleep. Before he was born, I slept ten hours a night and napped every day. It was wonderful. So getting used to little sleep has been the hardest adjustment for me. Second, Swen is the absolute worst sleeper that has ever been born. He is sleeping worse than when we was a newborn. I feel wonderful when he gives me three hours in a row. Sadly, I haven't had three hours in a row in a while now. I think in February he had two "good" nights where he only woke up 3 or 4 times. Other nights he wakes up at least ever hour. I honestly don't know what to do. Our newest idea was to remove a side of Swen's crib and then connect the crib to our bed. To the left is how it worked last night.

Tonight will be night two, so maybe it will go better.

Along with this no sleep, I'm trying to keep him alive. Between head bonks, electrical sockets, bath tub gymnastics, potential fingers slammed in drawers, stairs, and choking hazards, I'm always saving him from something. It is very wearing, and I'm sure it's only going to get worse one he learns to walk.

Sometimes I get discouraged because all my days consist of preventing Swen from killing himself, as well as playing with him while trying to keep up with housework. At the end of the night, I'm exhausted from working SO hard but then feel like I have nothing to show for it. Then there are the endless questions like "When are you going back to teach?" and  "Isn't Matt still in school- don't you guys need money?" I know nobody is trying to stress me out, and I'm overly sensitive because of being tired, but these questions make me tear up. I often wish I never got my degree because then people wouldn't expect me to be teaching. I have a contract on my fridge for next year for a teaching job that would give us a salary again with great benefits, making it so we would not have to worry about money at all.

But then, just now, I read something that I've read before, but not since I've had Swen: "Mothers who have young children in the home should devote their primary energies to the companionship and training of their children and the care of their families, and should not seek employment outside the home unless there is no other way that the family's basic needs can be provided." - Dallin H. Oaks. In this economy there are so many women who would love to be able to stay home with their kids but have to work to help support the family. I am so grateful to be able to stay home and be a full time mom, and I'm blessed to have a college degree for emergencies. Instead of getting sad or defensive when people question what I'm doing with my life, I'm going to try and be proud and say, "I'm a mom! Matt and I choose to have 'less' so I can be a stay-at-home mom. It's the most important job in the world and I get to do it." 

I truly love being a mommy more than I can describe. I am so grateful to have Swen and the opportunity to take care of him.This was a long post, but I still feel it is missing something. Oh yes, Swen pictures.

I did not put him in a bowl. That would be his daddy.