Into the 5th month and Holiday Time!
I've been up since 5:00AM with the usual pumping/feeding schedule and am just sitting around watching Maddie in the swing, hoping she'll fall asleep soon. In the meantime, I figured I should just go ahead and drink some coffee since I most likely won't be getting any good sleep right now. What better time than to write a long overdue blog post!
So Maddie's 5th month birthday has passed and we're inching closer to six months. So fast :(. She isn't sitting up yet, but we're getting there. She has started some solids, like avocado and banana, but after some constipation I decided to hold off until six months when we'll start solids for real. We both feel like there is no rush on the solid food. I'm still producing and supplement with formula when needed, and she seems to be happy with that.
She is the happiest baby ever (no, it's true! Even strangers notice when we're out and about!) and absolutely loves riding in the car and going places; does not matter where, as long as she gets to see stuff in action! She does get fussy when she is tired. She hates going to sleep--but it's usually short-lived and she's out like a light before long. We are so lucky that we did not experience a colicky baby. I hear that the first child is the easiest, though :(
Violin wise, I haven't been playing really. I was supposed to play some concerts this Fall, but had to cancel due to tendonitis (more specifically, DeQuervain's, which affects the thumb) that developed most likely from pumping and holding the bottles. I've tried so hard to shake this thing, but there is only so much I can do. I can't NOT hold Maddie, and of course she is getting heavier. And I still want to pump as long as I can, but perhaps I'll have to make some compromises soon in that department for the sake of my own health.
I am supposed to play a church Christmas gig next weekend, but I'm playing second violin and the music shouldn't be too challenging, so I agreed to do it despite the pain in my left hand. As long as I don't have to play past 3rd position, I feel like it's feasible. Plus, I just miss playing so much.
We traveled to my parents' house for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. It was fun, albeit, a little more stressful with a baby. Actually, Maddie was fine, but just everything revolving around traveling with a baby is what stresses me out: making sure we have everything we need, bringing the pump machine and all its equipment (most annoying of all!), staying on schedule when you don't feel like it, and just not being able to be in your own home overall. And we are going to have to do it again for Christmas, but this time we are going to my in-laws. I am sort of dreading it, but I keep telling myself that it's important we visit since Ryan's grandmother is 95 and this is her only great-grand daughter (all boys in the family!). There are also some other family members who still haven't seen Maddie, so that will be fun for them to get to meet her when she is at such a fun age right now. I cannot believe that almost one year ago, Ryan and I were surprising his whole family with the news that we were expecting, and now we will have an almost-six month old with us this time around!
I recently read something on Facebook by a dad who wrote about how wrong he was to originally assume his wife--who is a stay at home mom-- had it easy staying home with the kids. He'd come home to a messy house and accuse her of not doing anything, but after a lengthy argument came to the realization that for a mom, it's about choosing what's more important: cleaning the house or spending precious time with the children and helping them develop. I never realized how true and difficult being a mom was until it happened to me. I used to quietly judge my friends who already had kids over how messy their homes would be when I'd visit. "Can't they just take 10-15 minutes here and there to clean up? How hard is that?! Don't they know I'm coming over?!". Ha! Now, when I try to start some cleaning task or chore, literally the baby will start crying or wake up RIGHT at that moment, and I'm off to pick her up or do a little dance to entertain her. That is my work day--entertaining, feeding, nurturing, changing dirty diapers...and if I'm LUCKY barely getting dinner on the table just in time for Ryan when he arrives home from a long day at work. The laundry piles up, there's dust on the furniture, and I can't vacuum as often as I'd like. But I know I'll never get these days back. I still struggle to remember what she looked like as a newborn. So these days, I let the dishes in the sink pile up and you'll find me, instead, on the couch snuggling, kissing, and "talking" to Maddie; playing the piano or violin for her (she is NOT impressed, by the way--she likes the ABC song over Bach or Brahms any day, lol) or just getting in the car and going for a drive to Target or anywhere where she can see the world.
So that's life lately. Trying to savor each second.
Will post updated pictures soon...just too lazy to transfer photos to my tablet right now. Oh, and the baby finally fell asleep as I wrap this post up, so I should probably try to snag some Z's myself while I can!
So Maddie's 5th month birthday has passed and we're inching closer to six months. So fast :(. She isn't sitting up yet, but we're getting there. She has started some solids, like avocado and banana, but after some constipation I decided to hold off until six months when we'll start solids for real. We both feel like there is no rush on the solid food. I'm still producing and supplement with formula when needed, and she seems to be happy with that.
She is the happiest baby ever (no, it's true! Even strangers notice when we're out and about!) and absolutely loves riding in the car and going places; does not matter where, as long as she gets to see stuff in action! She does get fussy when she is tired. She hates going to sleep--but it's usually short-lived and she's out like a light before long. We are so lucky that we did not experience a colicky baby. I hear that the first child is the easiest, though :(
Violin wise, I haven't been playing really. I was supposed to play some concerts this Fall, but had to cancel due to tendonitis (more specifically, DeQuervain's, which affects the thumb) that developed most likely from pumping and holding the bottles. I've tried so hard to shake this thing, but there is only so much I can do. I can't NOT hold Maddie, and of course she is getting heavier. And I still want to pump as long as I can, but perhaps I'll have to make some compromises soon in that department for the sake of my own health.
I am supposed to play a church Christmas gig next weekend, but I'm playing second violin and the music shouldn't be too challenging, so I agreed to do it despite the pain in my left hand. As long as I don't have to play past 3rd position, I feel like it's feasible. Plus, I just miss playing so much.
We traveled to my parents' house for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. It was fun, albeit, a little more stressful with a baby. Actually, Maddie was fine, but just everything revolving around traveling with a baby is what stresses me out: making sure we have everything we need, bringing the pump machine and all its equipment (most annoying of all!), staying on schedule when you don't feel like it, and just not being able to be in your own home overall. And we are going to have to do it again for Christmas, but this time we are going to my in-laws. I am sort of dreading it, but I keep telling myself that it's important we visit since Ryan's grandmother is 95 and this is her only great-grand daughter (all boys in the family!). There are also some other family members who still haven't seen Maddie, so that will be fun for them to get to meet her when she is at such a fun age right now. I cannot believe that almost one year ago, Ryan and I were surprising his whole family with the news that we were expecting, and now we will have an almost-six month old with us this time around!
I recently read something on Facebook by a dad who wrote about how wrong he was to originally assume his wife--who is a stay at home mom-- had it easy staying home with the kids. He'd come home to a messy house and accuse her of not doing anything, but after a lengthy argument came to the realization that for a mom, it's about choosing what's more important: cleaning the house or spending precious time with the children and helping them develop. I never realized how true and difficult being a mom was until it happened to me. I used to quietly judge my friends who already had kids over how messy their homes would be when I'd visit. "Can't they just take 10-15 minutes here and there to clean up? How hard is that?! Don't they know I'm coming over?!". Ha! Now, when I try to start some cleaning task or chore, literally the baby will start crying or wake up RIGHT at that moment, and I'm off to pick her up or do a little dance to entertain her. That is my work day--entertaining, feeding, nurturing, changing dirty diapers...and if I'm LUCKY barely getting dinner on the table just in time for Ryan when he arrives home from a long day at work. The laundry piles up, there's dust on the furniture, and I can't vacuum as often as I'd like. But I know I'll never get these days back. I still struggle to remember what she looked like as a newborn. So these days, I let the dishes in the sink pile up and you'll find me, instead, on the couch snuggling, kissing, and "talking" to Maddie; playing the piano or violin for her (she is NOT impressed, by the way--she likes the ABC song over Bach or Brahms any day, lol) or just getting in the car and going for a drive to Target or anywhere where she can see the world.
So that's life lately. Trying to savor each second.
Will post updated pictures soon...just too lazy to transfer photos to my tablet right now. Oh, and the baby finally fell asleep as I wrap this post up, so I should probably try to snag some Z's myself while I can!
Comments
Oh, and LOL for days on her preferring the ABC song over Bach!!