The Ups and Downs: Six Months in the Making

Although it seems crazy for me to believe, Lily will be six months old this Tuesday!  One thing I keep hearing (even from an elderly lady at the grocery store yesterday) is "enjoy every moment.  They grow up fast.  It seems like just yesterday my little ones were this small."  I have occasionally rolled my eyes, nodded my head, and mumbled "yes, yes, of course," but it's finally now that I am beginning to embrace this.

As excited as I am, every time Lily meets a new milestone it also reminds me that she is growing up and becoming her own person.  She will no longer need me for everything, although, when it comes to diaper changing I can see some definite perks!  In truth, the fact she is growing up makes me feel a bit sad.  I finally understand why my mom cried when I left for school. Seeing my baby change; whether it's watching her first smile, figuring out her likes and dislikes, and hearing her babble nonsense, is amazingly rewarding!  It surprises me that my husband and I find such entertainment watching Lily play with her toys, squawk at a stuffed animal, or try SO hard to start crawling.  After all, only a year or more ago, I would have found this boring. 

You may have caught on from my previous blog that I love lists.  Therefore, since I'm being a bit melancholy about Lily changing, I thought I would attempt to show you I can also embrace it.  So here are my TOP TEN REASONS IT'S GREAT YOUR BABY IS NOW SIX MONTHS OLD. 

1. Poopy diapers are less frequent.  Not only is this great for the environment and your sanity, but also your wallet.  On calculation, a newborn baby uses at least 10 diapers a day.  Let's say you are buying a diaper for approximately 25 cents each.  That is at least 75 dollars a month.  Compare that to changing your older baby only 6 times a day, because they are sleeping a solid stretch at night.  That is 45 dollars a month.  Yay for savings! 

2.  Your baby is sleeping longer than 3 hours at a time.  (If not, you should be napping, not reading this blog).  Hopefully your baby is also sleeping through the night at this point and you are once again feeling human.

3.  Baby is now smiling.  And don't forget the laughter.  Need I say more! 

4.  Because of your baby's increased interaction and attention span, you finally get to connect more.  This is especially true for hands-on-Dad's that can now see how interested their baby really is with them. 

5.  There's less "is my baby hungry, tired, or bored?" questions, because your little one is now much better at communicating.  Baby has become increasingly adept at letting you know exactly his or her needs.  Whether it's a high pitched squawk for milk, and a whine when tired, there will be little question in your mind. 

6.  Feeding demands (whether breastfeeding or bottle) have decreased.  Except for the occasional growth spurt, your baby can now go for longer stretches before feeling hungry.  This is especially true because you have likely started some pureed foods at this point.  This is great for actually being able to leave the house and not be so tied down to the bed or couch. 

7.  Your baby is not growing quite as quickly anymore, so clothing can fit for longer.  This means you don't have to feel so guilty about buying a cute outfit as you can always rationalize that they will still fit it in a month.  If nothing else, the selection has increased at this age range- it's not just sleepers anymore!

8.  You likely have more of a routine now.  Perhaps your baby naps 3 times a day and goes down to bed at 7 pm.  Or maybe he or she never naps and goes to bed at midnight.  Either way, (whether you are lucky or cursed) a routine is nice because you both know what is normal.  Plus, leaving your baby with a babysitter has just become that much easier. 


9.  It's been six months since your baby was born and your hormones are finally back at their 'relatively quiet' state.  No more crying sessions in public places or while your spouse holds you looking confused. 

10.  If you always had a secret desire to be a nudist, your six month old baby is likely to help you towards this path.  When you breastfeed your baby in public (attempting to be discreet by covering yourself with a nursing blanket) your baby wants none of this and is becoming very capable of throwing the blanket off.   Therefore, if you are really lucky, your baby will choose to quickly unlatch to look at all the exciting things around them.  This means your breast is now exposed for all to see.  Thank you for pretending not to stare creepy man. 
   -Okay, this last one may be a joke, but it's so true!  Lily does this ALL the time and I'm just thankful my friends and family can handle a little 'booby buffet' now and then.

Note: The four pictures shown are as follows: Lily 1 day old in the hospital; Lily 1 week old with Daddy (courtesy of Jan Stolee); Lily 5 months old with Daddy and her kitty, and one of my most recent pictures of Lily, almost 6 months old "helping" mom in the kitchen. 

Hope you enjoyed!  Question for today:  What is your favorite milestone that your baby has reached, and why? 

At the beginning of a new blog, I feel you should have the opportunity to get to know me.  So I'm going to attempt to share a few things about myself, keeping the boringness to a mild level. 

First of all, I had my baby, Lily Muriel Wright about six months ago.  She was born on Christmas Day, the poor thing, and is now destined to share her birthday with the most well known figure on Earth.  Who knows if she will hate her birthday being on a major holiday, but I for one will embrace the ease of only having to buy one present for two occasions!

Ok, I'm joking!  I think that is the most common thing I keep hearing from people with Birthdays near Christmas... that they only ever recieved one gift.  How cruel!  So, I am thinking we might celebrate it on Christmas Eve, but once Lily is old enough, she can choose for herself. 

I might end up sharing more of my birth story later, because if most mom's, pregnant ladies, and the general public are ANYTHING like me, they loved reading labor stories and its mixture of gore and "oh my goodness, it was love at first sight" lovey details.  I will say this, I managed to have my baby 'oh natural'.  No epidural, no pain meds, no nothing!  Would I recommend this?  Well, it was very empowering and I did get to tell my epidural-pushing-Doctor "I told you so"... but you also have to have a certain love of searing pain to want to do it again.

I have been married four years to a wonderful man, Dana Wright, who can make me laugh and works hard for our little family!  I am also a Registered Nurse who chose to work in Home Care.  None of this hard-core Emergency Room nonsense for me!  Some of my friends just like craziness and shift work, I guess.  Haha, actually I really admire my family and friends who work in ER or general acute care, but it's just not for me.  I plan on going back to work in November, but only one day a week so I don't have to send Lily to daycare.  I'm just thankful Dana is happy with me being primarily a stay-at-home mom, since that's always been my dream.  I'm also thankful that here in Canada we get maternity leave for a whole year! 

I'm 25 years old, blah blah blah, and do not intend on making you read one more boring fact about myself.  Instead, I am going to share with you ten completely random things about me and I hope you are easily amused (the fact you are even reading this has me convinced!)

1. The messiest room in my house is hands-down my basement!  I don't even know everything that's down there, but if I had to guess I would query spiders, monsters, and dirt.  Actually, it really is a dirt floor because this house we are currently living in (which used to be my grandparents) was built in the 1950's.  Anyone who has ever bought a fixer-upper and actually fixed it up from this era or earlier, I bow to you in extreme admiration.  The only thing I ever go into the basement for is potatoes since it has a root cellar.

 

2.  I love to read.  I love Harry Potter and the Sword of Truth series.  I realize this makes me extremely nerdy, but I can also say I enjoy a variety of time-tested literature and classics as well.  My mom used to read to me every evening as a kid, and therefore I became a certified bookworm.

3.   If I had to spend ten thousand dollars in a week for completely selfish reasons I would buy myself a new DSLR camera, preferably Canon (none of this Sony nonsense that I currently own), a King sized bed, and then go back to Hawaii with my family.

4.  I have got out of more traffic tickets then should be allowed.  My husband is disgusted with this fact, and blames it on the fact that I cry when angry.  I am ashamed to say that I have squirmed out of a speeding ticket this way, but I really seem to have no control of crying in front of people that frustrate me.  I have even cried at a Wal-Mart customer service desk, which made me feel like a complete idiot.  If it makes you feel reassured, my last speeding ticket was over a year ago and I've slowed down ever since I was pregnant. 

5.  I am a slight germaphobe.  I try to remember that my kitchen sink is statistically more dirty then a public washroom toilet, but then that just freaks me out further.  I don't let this run my life, but in public places I always feel a bit grimy.  It's funny though that out here in the country I don't even feel like dirt is that dirty.  Ha! 

6.  I'm a nice person.  I try not to be judgemental, and I've had a fair amount of people call me naïve since I try to see the best in everyone.  That's fine by me.  The only thing I have no tolerance for is cruel people.  Know-it-all's bug me too.

7. My husband works away from home often, so when he is gone I sleep with a dagger under his pillow.  Since my house is old, the locks do not work properly and therefore I get a bit jumpy.  A hammer also sits on my dresser drawer just in case.  Does this make me crazy?  Probably... but I do not plan on being an easy victim.  Did I mention I also have an overactive imagination? 

8.  I'm probably the only person my age who has almost completed her whole family tree.  Thanks to my lovely grandparents who did a lot of the work, I now know most of my family back to five generations or further.  I now realize why it's easier to say "I'm Canadian" (or American) instead of "Well I'm 31.25% English, 25% Norweigan, 6.25% Irish, etc... Ok really I'm 100% mutt".  And interestingly enough I believe I am related to Lord Frederick North who was the Prime Minister infamous for helping lose the American War of Independence and imposing a tax on tea. 

9.  I apparently sound like a walrus when I laugh, and if that isn't bad enough I also snort.  (See? My husband is making fun of me!)

10.  I'm proud to be a Christian!  I am blessed to have a Heavenly Father that loves me despite my imperfection, and has helped me better understand what love truly is.

Well, my blogs won't normally be this long, but I wanted to get the mundane stuff out of the way!  Hopefully my next post will be more exciting.  Thanks for reading.

My question for today is something I'd like to know.  Would you want to be friends with a paranoid, walrus-sounding, cry baby even if she was a nice, loving mom, and related to some dead famous guy?

Okay, don't answer that!  Of course the answer is yes.  Instead, let me know what you'd like to hear about next post :)

Minority Mommy?

Welcome to my first post!

Minority Mommy?  Isn't any blog with the word Mommy probably a majority? ... Ummm, yup, most definitely! And good question, I'll explain.

Last night as I was washing my dishes (that's right... by hand... two hip hip hoorays for me!) my mind was wandering elsewhere.  I was thinking of a post my friend shared about fakebooking.  That is, Facebook or other social media posts in where we obviously pick the best, brightest, and least boring moments of our lives to share.  You know the type.  The pictures of impeccably groomed kids with smiling impeccably dressed family members.  Pictures of couples kissing on their vacation to Hawaii.  Posts about taking just freshly made muffins out of the oven, or plans to make that new healthy quinoa salad with probably 20 odd ingredients that I do not have in my fridge. 

Do I have an onion, feta, and quinoa?  Yes!  Do I have eggplant, zucchini, white balsamic vinegar, and fresh parsley?  No, sadly my fridge is not a grocery store.  I do not live near one and my husband would eye the dish with question even if I did travel the 30 minutes to a grocery store that carries these ingredients.   He's more of a tried and tested kinda recipe guy, in case you were wondering.  He's also like a small child, only in the sense that I have to try and hide the healthy ingredients so he doesn't get all pre-judgey about the food before I serve it.

So back to this fakebooking!  Do I do it?  I sure do have!  However, the reason I was thinking about this topic is because I've wanted to start a blog for a long time now, and for the life of me I can't think about anything that I am really qualified at or that would fit into the major blog topics that people seem to like reading about.  My house is old and I don't have the money to renovate or the energy since it's a rental.  Therefore my DIY ideas are sadly more of a contemplative nature.  I'm not an overally qualified mom- this is my first child and she's only 6 months old.  Therefore I can't tell you how to raise your child.  I don't have a perfect marriage, but I sure do love my man!  I enjoy gardening, but the pictures I took yesterday of it look like something more out of a redneck magazine then Martha Stewart. And my moral compass and interests wouldn't exactly win a majority vote.  (I'll explain some of this later, but don't write me off yet, I promise I'm not a serial killer!)

It got me thinking though, that maybe the majority of things I see online aren't actually the majority at all!  I think that if I were instead to look inside your homes and heads perhaps I would see something all together different.  And don't get me wrong! Nothing is wrong with fakebooking at times because the sugar-coated kids are much more fun to hear about than your kids that have been screaming all day with food smeared all over their faces.  And of course, no one wants to become that person who constantly only posts or blogs negative "woe is me" material.  That just gets depressing!  But maybe we can compromise and start to share a little more of our real selves, and not just the nicely-put-together version either.  When I look online, whether it's blogging, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, I want to do more than just dream.  Sometimes I want to identify.

Therefore I've decided to stop "fakebooking" and instead create a blog where I  try to be authentic.  Maybe it's a minority but I'm me... a sometimes average, sometimes unaverage, 25 year old wife, mom, and friend.

Thanks for reading and I hope you join me in my future post about my most average and least average attributes, as well as a few pictures, I promise! 

I plan on asking you a lot of questions- whether it's for help or just something I've been pondering.  So here is my question of the day: 
Do you see a lot of "fakebooking", and does it annoy you?

And note, here is the recipe I was referring to http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.ca/2012/06/grilled-veggie-quinoa-salad.html#more... I really wasn't making it up!  Looks excellent actually, does anyone want to come over and make it for me, and then make my husband some mac-and-cheese while they're at it?  :)