Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Harper is nearing 6 months of age. Wow. She giggles...a lot. She smiles all the time, she "talks," eats well from a spoon and has outgrown her baby tub. Don't get me wrong -- she cries, too. She is very vocal. She has good nights where she is asleep by 8 and doesn't wake until 6. She also has nights where she wakes up at 2 and again at 5. Her naps are getting better, but her morning nap is the worst. It lasts 37 minutes -- almost exactly...everytime.
A good friend came to visit us last week. She brought her 6-week old son, Beckett. We had a chance to catch up. She is one of the few people who was absolutely real with me about having a baby. (Beckett is her second child.) We talked about motherhood. She told me that there are two things moms lie about: how their baby sleeps and how much weight they gained. Haha. Hysterical. As if either impacts the type of parent you are. It's crazy how moms (and dads, whether they mean to or not) make each other feel guilty about their parenting choices. It's the formula vs. breastfed babies, stomach sleepers vs. back sleepers, natural birth (no drugs) vs. vaginal vs. c-section, stay-at-home moms vs. back-to-work moms. It's just crazy. It's also sad. Instead of knocking each other down, we should be supporting each other.
Perhaps I am hyper-sensitive. When I hear people say "but we want to do it naturally," I can't help but take it as a little jab. I am sure most women start out wanting to do it naturally. I don't want to deter anyone from that. I can also say, my baby was 9 lbs 5 oz and 21.5 inches long. I didn't have a c-section....but you can be certain that I had an epidural. I didn't ask for one until the pain of the contractions was too much and there was not much time in between them. See, I went from 2cm dilated to 10cm in a matter of 2-3 hours. I was given pitocin because my water broke. Once your water breaks, they like to deliver the baby within 24 hours to prevent infection. Pitocin speeds up the process, but it also intensifies the contractions. Let's just say...it was a humbling experience. I have broken my arm twice, crushed a pinky and had a couple surgeries on it, fractured my tailbone, my tooth busted through my lip, and fractured my foot (twice). I thought I could handle pain.
My focus has remained unchanged...Harper is almost 6 months. She is an absolute angel who smiles when she sees me, tries to eat my face, holds her arms out to the dogs while she closes her eyes (she knows they will lick her), giggles when her daddy tickles her belly, loves being in the stroller, and doesn't judge us as parents. She doesn't care that I gained quite a bit of weight while pregnant (mostly me indulging, but also being a teacher on my feet all day didn't leave much energy for exercise), she doesn't care that I had an epidural, and she certainly doesn't judge me because I didn't go back to work. The only people who care about that are people who don't matter.
A good friend came to visit us last week. She brought her 6-week old son, Beckett. We had a chance to catch up. She is one of the few people who was absolutely real with me about having a baby. (Beckett is her second child.) We talked about motherhood. She told me that there are two things moms lie about: how their baby sleeps and how much weight they gained. Haha. Hysterical. As if either impacts the type of parent you are. It's crazy how moms (and dads, whether they mean to or not) make each other feel guilty about their parenting choices. It's the formula vs. breastfed babies, stomach sleepers vs. back sleepers, natural birth (no drugs) vs. vaginal vs. c-section, stay-at-home moms vs. back-to-work moms. It's just crazy. It's also sad. Instead of knocking each other down, we should be supporting each other.
Perhaps I am hyper-sensitive. When I hear people say "but we want to do it naturally," I can't help but take it as a little jab. I am sure most women start out wanting to do it naturally. I don't want to deter anyone from that. I can also say, my baby was 9 lbs 5 oz and 21.5 inches long. I didn't have a c-section....but you can be certain that I had an epidural. I didn't ask for one until the pain of the contractions was too much and there was not much time in between them. See, I went from 2cm dilated to 10cm in a matter of 2-3 hours. I was given pitocin because my water broke. Once your water breaks, they like to deliver the baby within 24 hours to prevent infection. Pitocin speeds up the process, but it also intensifies the contractions. Let's just say...it was a humbling experience. I have broken my arm twice, crushed a pinky and had a couple surgeries on it, fractured my tailbone, my tooth busted through my lip, and fractured my foot (twice). I thought I could handle pain.
My focus has remained unchanged...Harper is almost 6 months. She is an absolute angel who smiles when she sees me, tries to eat my face, holds her arms out to the dogs while she closes her eyes (she knows they will lick her), giggles when her daddy tickles her belly, loves being in the stroller, and doesn't judge us as parents. She doesn't care that I gained quite a bit of weight while pregnant (mostly me indulging, but also being a teacher on my feet all day didn't leave much energy for exercise), she doesn't care that I had an epidural, and she certainly doesn't judge me because I didn't go back to work. The only people who care about that are people who don't matter.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
5 months
5 months already?!? Harper feels the same way, just look at her face.
Now that Harper is 5 months, everything is beginning to work itself out. She is sleeping better, she is playing better on her own (not having to be held), and she rides in the car better. She still won't nap for very long, but I would prefer she sleep through the night than take long naps during the day (if I had a choice.)
Likes: Molly and Jackson, bath time, prunes, pears and sweet potatoes, swinging outside, daddy/mommy playing "harmonica" on her toes
Dislikes: peas, avocado, mommy leaving the room, having her nails clipped.
Likes: Molly and Jackson, bath time, prunes, pears and sweet potatoes, swinging outside, daddy/mommy playing "harmonica" on her toes
Dislikes: peas, avocado, mommy leaving the room, having her nails clipped.
Labor Day Weekend
Even though I don't teach anymore, long weekends are still as exciting as ever. Not only do you have 3 days off from work, you only have 4 work days when you get back. Having John around makes everything 100x better. Love it! John surprised me and took Friday off from work. His parents joined us Friday night. They recently moved back to Macon, and they have been working tirelessly on their new house. We had a great time with them, and Harper enjoyed spending time with her Grandmama and Grandaddy Clark. On Saturday, John's parents and aunt (Janice) joined the Perry clan for our weekly lunch get-together at Taco Mac. We took John and Donna to IKEA (they had never been). We stayed for 2 hours and Harper was an angel! We then went to a late dinner at a rather loud restaurant, and Harper was still an angel. The only time Harper really cried all weekend was at church. Thankfully, the only people who heard her were John and an usher. I spent the whole time in the "soothing room." With only a few minutes remaining in the service, Harper fell asleep.
We are so happy to have John's parents back in Georgia. His mom, Donna, recently retired and is now taking care of Meagin's (John's sister) baby, Madison. We hope to go visit them soon and see all the work they have done on their beautiful new house.
John's aunt, Janice Harrington, lives in Marietta. She located the grave of Harper's great great great grandfather (on his paternal grandmother's side), George Washington Hansard. On Sunday, we all drove there and took some pictures.
We are so happy to have John's parents back in Georgia. His mom, Donna, recently retired and is now taking care of Meagin's (John's sister) baby, Madison. We hope to go visit them soon and see all the work they have done on their beautiful new house.
John's aunt, Janice Harrington, lives in Marietta. She located the grave of Harper's great great great grandfather (on his paternal grandmother's side), George Washington Hansard. On Sunday, we all drove there and took some pictures.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Looking back
It struck me today -- I have had some wild summers over the past few years. Four summers ago, I went to China with three other ladies. Our school trip was cancelled due to the earthquake in Chengdu, but we decided to go anyways. 4 girls and one Lonely Planet travel book. We stayed in hostels and planned on the fly. It seems like a lifetime ago. I felt like, for lack of a better term, a total badass.
The following summer, John proposed...well, it was actually May 16. We went on a cruise to Alaska shortly thereafter. He also surprised me with a trip to Turkey (as an engagement present.)
We got married in January of 2010 in Marietta. Honeymooned in Playa del Carmen. That summer, we took it easy. We went to visit one of my best friends, Adam Schaefer, in Chicago.
Last summer, we traveled to St. Lucia. It was a wonderful trip. Our resort left a lot to be desired, but the island was gorgeous. John is the best travel buddy.
And this summer? Well, I think I am experiencing the greatest adventure of them all. I know, that sounds over-the-top cheesy. It is a little hard to write that knowing how many people will read it and sigh, thinking I am full of it. But in all honestly, having Harper around has opened my eyes to the things I overlook. Everything she sees and experiences -- it is for the first time. She is mesmerized by our dogs. I think about it -- these are animals who live in our house. The love us, chase tennis balls and bring them back to us, sleep in our bed and lick our face. That is pretty awesome. Every morning when she wakes up...she whimpers -- it borders on a cry. When I get to her crib, she lights up. And her smile...it is the biggest, sweetest smile I have ever seen. She shrieks. She is so excited. What if we all woke up like that? Recognizing that everyday is so special -- so excited to see our loved ones?
A few weeks ago, John joined some of my highschool guy friends in a weekend golf tournament. It was 72 holes of golf in three days. On the second day, Adam Schaefer's parents hosted a dinner at their house. I absolutely adore his parents and I really wanted them to meet Harper. So, I decided to join them. It was fun introducing Harper to my friends from highschool. One friend, Sam, kept commenting, "Alyson Perry...you have a baby!" It was an absolute delight. As usual, Adam and I delved into one of our deep conversations and this time Sam joined in. We were all talking about their plans for children, about children...just children in general. Sam said he was at a museum one day and saw parents with their children. They were at a dinosaur exhibit looking at the bones of a t-rex. The parents were busy on their phones, but proud of themselves because they took their kids to the museum. Meanwhile, their kids are bored out of their minds playing on their phones. Sam had a huge problem with this. How could the kids ever be excited if their parents weren't? He proceeded to tell me how he would handle the situation. "You see this -- this is a HUGE f-ing dinosaur. It lived millions of years ago. This actually lived on earth. Can you believe it?!?" He went on and on. Clearly, you would leave out the expletive, but hearing his passion motivated me to see all situations with Harper with the same enthusiasm.
So, the locations of my adventures have changed. I don't need a passport for my current one; but, I won't let the distance traveled gauge the magnitude of the adventure. Because this is one hell of an adventure.
 |
| L: Mendenhall Glacier. TR: horseback riding in Alaska. BR: lounging on the beach in Turkey |
 | |
| We are the threesome in the middle. |
Last summer, we traveled to St. Lucia. It was a wonderful trip. Our resort left a lot to be desired, but the island was gorgeous. John is the best travel buddy.
A few weeks ago, John joined some of my highschool guy friends in a weekend golf tournament. It was 72 holes of golf in three days. On the second day, Adam Schaefer's parents hosted a dinner at their house. I absolutely adore his parents and I really wanted them to meet Harper. So, I decided to join them. It was fun introducing Harper to my friends from highschool. One friend, Sam, kept commenting, "Alyson Perry...you have a baby!" It was an absolute delight. As usual, Adam and I delved into one of our deep conversations and this time Sam joined in. We were all talking about their plans for children, about children...just children in general. Sam said he was at a museum one day and saw parents with their children. They were at a dinosaur exhibit looking at the bones of a t-rex. The parents were busy on their phones, but proud of themselves because they took their kids to the museum. Meanwhile, their kids are bored out of their minds playing on their phones. Sam had a huge problem with this. How could the kids ever be excited if their parents weren't? He proceeded to tell me how he would handle the situation. "You see this -- this is a HUGE f-ing dinosaur. It lived millions of years ago. This actually lived on earth. Can you believe it?!?" He went on and on. Clearly, you would leave out the expletive, but hearing his passion motivated me to see all situations with Harper with the same enthusiasm.
So, the locations of my adventures have changed. I don't need a passport for my current one; but, I won't let the distance traveled gauge the magnitude of the adventure. Because this is one hell of an adventure.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Heading to Church
A Day in the Life
Before having Harper, I really didn't know what people did when they stayed at home with their child(ren). Since I am one of the first of my friends to have a child, I thought I would share what our everday looks like.
morning: if Harper wakes up before 6:00am, I can usually nurse her and get her back to sleep for a bit. If she wakes up after 6:00am (even 6:05), then she is up for the day. We go downstairs and start our day.
She will usually nurse between 6 and 7. She will play in her swing or in her exersaucer while I eat breakfast, take vitamins and WAKE UP!
8:30ish -- we start to get ready for leave for our morning walk. We go to the Mud Creek Soccer Complex. Harper is usually asleep by the first mile -- so I have some time after that to walk and clear my head. The morning air helps me to wake up and start my day.
After our walk, she will sleep a little in the car, so I drive around for about 10-15 minutes. Harper only naps for about 45 minutes. It is absolutely exhausting. She will sleep longer if I hold her, but she needs to sleep on her own.
10ish -- Harper is awake and it's time to nurse. She will eat some rice cereal about an hour after she nurses. She had been doing very well eating rice cereal, but that is not the case so much anymore. She is so distracted while she should be eating.
11ish -- it's play time. Harper loves our dogs -- I mean, she LOVES them. She squeals when she sees them. It is so fun for us to see. Lately, I have been taking her swing outside so that she can watch me throw the tennis ball for the dogs. She could stay out there forever.
12ish -- nap time. I change Harper and put her in our new Halo Sleep Sack (thanks for the tip, Evan!) After her typical chanting sounds, she falls asleep. I have to make sure the dogs are outside because they like to flap their ears and that wakes Harper. I turn on Harper's sleep sheep and she naps...for 30-45 minutes.
1ish -- it's playtime again! Harper will either go in her exersaucer or on her playmat. I have to stay close by when she is on the playmate because she likes to roll onto her stomach and SCREAM because she is stuck. Also, the dogs like to lick her -- a lot. I let them lick her feet/legs, not her face.
1:30-2:00 -- time to nurse Harper again. She will fall asleep while nursing. This is apparently a bad thing -- but this is the longest nap she takes all day. She will sleep for 1-2 hours if I hold her. So, I let her nap in my arms...for both my sake and hers. I need a little break and she needs to rest.
4:00 -- Harper will wake up and it's playtime/time to eat my first vegetable. I made a batch of sweet potato baby food. Yes, you read that correctly...I made it. OK -- all I did was steam the sweet potato and puree it. It just sounds like I did a lot. Harper is slowly getting the hang of this "solid food" thing. It's making it really hard for her to poop (TMI?), so she is very fussy. (sorry for the poor quality of the picture -- it was on my phone.)
5:30 - DAD COMES HOME FROM WORK! Hearing the garage door open is a welcome relief to the dogs (who are waiting to be fed), Harper (who wants a break from her mom), and me...who just needs a moment. This is when I will start dinner. John and I enjoy cooking together, although I sometimes like the kitchen to myself. He might put Harper in the Baby Bjorn or in the Bumbo so that she can watch us.
6ish -- time to nurse Harper again. She will fall asleep shortly after we eat dinner. This gives John and I a moment to talk about our day.
9ish -- it's time for Harper's bath. We now give her a bath every night. She loves it. After her bath, we lotion her up, read a book (sometimes...if we aren't too exhausted), put her in the sleep sack and give her a bottle. I just like giving her a bottle at night so that I know exactly how much milk she is getting. If she nurses, she will fall asleep fairly quickly which means she will make me up around midnight because she is hungry. So, I have to pump every morning so that I have milk for her at night. John and I alternate nights -- one of us will give her a bath while the other gives her a bottle and puts her to bed.
10ish -- Harper is in bed. We bring her monitor downstairs so that we can hear her. I like to clean the kitchen and get everything ready for the next day. John will work on HOA stuff (ugh!), relax or find a project to work on. Sometimes we get a chance to watch a movie or play with the dogs. Soon we are just too tired and must go to bed.
Harper has recently been waking up several times before midnight. We will alternate who goes in there to coax her back to sleep. After midnight, if she wakes up, I go in there and nurse her back to sleep. Sometimes she will wake up every two hours. Sometimes she will sleep through the night.
So -- you've read about our routine. Is it perfect? No. Am I doing everything that I should be doing the way I should be doing it? Definitely not. I guess we all do what works for us. Maybe if/when we have another child, I will have a better idea of how to do things. As for now, my daughter is awesome and such a good sport. She never makes me feel bad about being clueless. Add to that, I have such an amazing support system. This is just a wonderful adventure.
morning: if Harper wakes up before 6:00am, I can usually nurse her and get her back to sleep for a bit. If she wakes up after 6:00am (even 6:05), then she is up for the day. We go downstairs and start our day.
She will usually nurse between 6 and 7. She will play in her swing or in her exersaucer while I eat breakfast, take vitamins and WAKE UP!
8:30ish -- we start to get ready for leave for our morning walk. We go to the Mud Creek Soccer Complex. Harper is usually asleep by the first mile -- so I have some time after that to walk and clear my head. The morning air helps me to wake up and start my day.
After our walk, she will sleep a little in the car, so I drive around for about 10-15 minutes. Harper only naps for about 45 minutes. It is absolutely exhausting. She will sleep longer if I hold her, but she needs to sleep on her own.
10ish -- Harper is awake and it's time to nurse. She will eat some rice cereal about an hour after she nurses. She had been doing very well eating rice cereal, but that is not the case so much anymore. She is so distracted while she should be eating.
11ish -- it's play time. Harper loves our dogs -- I mean, she LOVES them. She squeals when she sees them. It is so fun for us to see. Lately, I have been taking her swing outside so that she can watch me throw the tennis ball for the dogs. She could stay out there forever.
12ish -- nap time. I change Harper and put her in our new Halo Sleep Sack (thanks for the tip, Evan!) After her typical chanting sounds, she falls asleep. I have to make sure the dogs are outside because they like to flap their ears and that wakes Harper. I turn on Harper's sleep sheep and she naps...for 30-45 minutes.
1ish -- it's playtime again! Harper will either go in her exersaucer or on her playmat. I have to stay close by when she is on the playmate because she likes to roll onto her stomach and SCREAM because she is stuck. Also, the dogs like to lick her -- a lot. I let them lick her feet/legs, not her face.
1:30-2:00 -- time to nurse Harper again. She will fall asleep while nursing. This is apparently a bad thing -- but this is the longest nap she takes all day. She will sleep for 1-2 hours if I hold her. So, I let her nap in my arms...for both my sake and hers. I need a little break and she needs to rest.
4:00 -- Harper will wake up and it's playtime/time to eat my first vegetable. I made a batch of sweet potato baby food. Yes, you read that correctly...I made it. OK -- all I did was steam the sweet potato and puree it. It just sounds like I did a lot. Harper is slowly getting the hang of this "solid food" thing. It's making it really hard for her to poop (TMI?), so she is very fussy. (sorry for the poor quality of the picture -- it was on my phone.)
5:30 - DAD COMES HOME FROM WORK! Hearing the garage door open is a welcome relief to the dogs (who are waiting to be fed), Harper (who wants a break from her mom), and me...who just needs a moment. This is when I will start dinner. John and I enjoy cooking together, although I sometimes like the kitchen to myself. He might put Harper in the Baby Bjorn or in the Bumbo so that she can watch us.
6ish -- time to nurse Harper again. She will fall asleep shortly after we eat dinner. This gives John and I a moment to talk about our day.
9ish -- it's time for Harper's bath. We now give her a bath every night. She loves it. After her bath, we lotion her up, read a book (sometimes...if we aren't too exhausted), put her in the sleep sack and give her a bottle. I just like giving her a bottle at night so that I know exactly how much milk she is getting. If she nurses, she will fall asleep fairly quickly which means she will make me up around midnight because she is hungry. So, I have to pump every morning so that I have milk for her at night. John and I alternate nights -- one of us will give her a bath while the other gives her a bottle and puts her to bed.
10ish -- Harper is in bed. We bring her monitor downstairs so that we can hear her. I like to clean the kitchen and get everything ready for the next day. John will work on HOA stuff (ugh!), relax or find a project to work on. Sometimes we get a chance to watch a movie or play with the dogs. Soon we are just too tired and must go to bed.
Harper has recently been waking up several times before midnight. We will alternate who goes in there to coax her back to sleep. After midnight, if she wakes up, I go in there and nurse her back to sleep. Sometimes she will wake up every two hours. Sometimes she will sleep through the night.
So -- you've read about our routine. Is it perfect? No. Am I doing everything that I should be doing the way I should be doing it? Definitely not. I guess we all do what works for us. Maybe if/when we have another child, I will have a better idea of how to do things. As for now, my daughter is awesome and such a good sport. She never makes me feel bad about being clueless. Add to that, I have such an amazing support system. This is just a wonderful adventure.
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