Life at 20.5 Months

The food battles have mostly subsided…finally! Justin has rediscovered meat and veggies, and only throws his food on the floor when he’s super frustrated (such as when he’s in pain and impatient because we’re having a communication breakdown). Some days he eats like he’s preparing for hibernation. Other days, he barely eats 2 crackers. But, I hear that’s normal for toddlers. At least he’s getting more variety than the cheese, fruit, and carbs he survived on for a couple months. He recently wolfed down an entire hotdog/bun while we watched a football game! I’m also becoming more content with him being a little guy, knowing that his best buddy at daycare is 2 years old and is also in 12 month pants. I think I’m so focused on the grading schemes from school, and when I’m told my son is falling off the scale I feel that somehow I’ve failed him. But, I have to realize this is a curved scale. Many children these days struggle with childhood obesity, so maybe being not fitting the norms is actually a good thing. This is not to say that kids in the upper percentiles aren’t healthy! There are ton of factors affecting each child’s growth.

Speaking of growth, 20 months is such an amazing time for toddler mental growth! The vocabulary grows exponentially and the things that come out of his mouth never cease to entertain and shock me. It is so fun to watch Justin make connections…such as “What is in mommy’s belly?” “BABY!” and whenever I trip over one of his toys and say “ouch,” he says “Momma hurt? Owie? Sorry Momma!” and then comes over to give my foot a kiss. J He’s also become very affectionate, giving us lots of “hugs hugs”, “kisses”, and “I love you’s”. Sooooo wonderful!

In addition to the joys, we’ve had some unexpected frustrations in life lately, and I heard a wonderful story on the radio I wanted to share. Imagine you have 3 pots of boiling water and drop a piece of meat into the 1st, an egg into the 2nd, and coffee beans in the the 3rd. The meat starts out tough, but as the water boils it begins to breakdown, becoming weak and strainy. The egg starts out delicate, but the boiling water causes a hardened shell and thicker interior. The coffee beans don’t fight the boiling water…instead they embrace it and allow it to release their flavor into the rest of the water….turning the water to coffee. As we go through life’s pains/challenges/sufferings (boiling water), we should strive to be like the coffee beans. :-) Definitely not easy, but a beautiful goal!

Church, by Justin Osmun

This morning Justin woke up and I told him it was Sunday. His response was quite beautiful...a summary of church through a 20-month old's eyes:

"Church? Luia [Alleluia]? Jesus [pronounced more like "cheetahs"]? Amen? Peace?"

His favorite thing to do in church is give "peace" to everyone around him by shaking their hands after we say the Lord's Prayer. Today he shook everyone's hands he could get ahold of, and then ended the moment by shaking his own hand with the other one. Hilarious. :-)

Skinny Mini

Justin has always been a little guy. But, for the 1st 14 months of his life, he was a great eater! When we started solids, he ate any nasty pureed veggie I put on a spoon and, although he was small, he was consistantly on his 15th percentile curve at each appointment. Then, I stopped nursing him and he started getting sick a lot more often. He also decided he no longer liked veggies or meat. These things combined with teething hunger strikes have led to a weight gain of 1 ounce in 6 months and he's dropped to the 5th percentile (21 lbs. 13 oz. at 18 months old!). He's also slightly anemic. I try not to make meals a battle, but am heartbroken when he goes to bed with only 1 cracker in his belly. How can he possibly have all that energy when he barely eats anything? And how can he get all the nutrients his little body needs to be healthy when he's so picky? I've tried all the tricks…distraction, hiding foods, putting the vitamins he usually spits up in his food or milk (only to have him refuse those as well), trying a wider variety of foods and vitamin brands, looking at his milk intake, offering utensils, etc. So far nothing works, except the lady at daycare can get him to eat all sorts of foods (not always very healthy). I struggle with this too. Is eating something unhealthy better than eating nothing at all? Should I let him eat as much fruit and cheese as he desires and just keep putting the veggies and meat on the plate hoping one day he'll change his mind? Ah, the joys of toddlerhood. I love that he's growing in his independence, but when he throws every piece of food I offer him on the floor I need that time-out more than he does. :-)

Double Trouble

So now that the word is out, I figure I should make the official blog post. We're expecting Baby #2 in December! My actual due date is Christmas, believe it or not, but since we use NFP and I know dates of everything...my prediction is December 30th. In any case, the timing for us is exactly what we wanted. My company has a Holiday Shutdown from Dec. 24th - Jan. 3rd and Bill has Winter Break. This means I won't be working on my due date, like I was with Justin (miserable!), and Bill will be home to help me out. However, I'm sure as the baby grows up he/she won't appreciate having a birthday around the holidays. Maybe we'll celebrate the half birthday in July, so we can split up the presents. We're still trying to figure out a good code name for this one. Justin was "Minkus" from "Boy Meets World", a show we watched growing up. Maybe this one could be "Topanga"? Or maybe that's too girly.

I've been amazed at how much quicker I started showing this time around. Yep, I'm already working on quite the gut, even though I've only gained 2 lbs. in this 1st trimester. Guess Justin did a number on my stomach muscles. :-) I've also been a lot sicker, but that's fine. It's a "nice" reminder of the baby's presence. Justin has also noticed my growing belly and is constantly trying to lift up my shirt to touch my belly button. This doesn't go over so well in church. I am slightly concerned about how he will react to a sibling. I think he'll be incredibly jealous, but this will be good for him. I know how much he loves playing with the other kids at daycare, so I'm hoping he'll adjust well and enjoy the built-in playmate once the baby becomes interactive.

In any case, we're super excited and I know this pregnancy will go by MUCH faster now that I'm busy/distracted with my highly energetic toddler.

It's Possible!

I've been meaning to get this post together for a couple months now, but life's been busy. Basically, I wanted to offer support to all other moms/future moms out there who will be working but want to breastfeed their babies. It is possible!!! I was able to nurse Justin for 13.5 months...no formula. Yes, it was a lot of work, yes my supply was in constant flux, and yes I had no idea what I was getting into. However, it was soooo worth it! If you ever need advice or just an ally to complain to, I'm here for you. :-) I've been there. I've had to leave important meetings early for "medical reasons" to go pump because I was in so much pain. I've made grown men blush when they would stop me in the hallway carrying my pump asking why women carry such large purses. I've had fights with TSA agents that were telling me I couldn't bring my breastmilk on an airplane without my baby present. And I've found out through lactation consultants, friends, co-workers, the internet, etc. what to do when I run into the various problems that arise.

I fully believe this will make a lasting difference in Justin's life. He will hopefully have less allergies, be less prone to weight problems, etc. Plus, as a working mom I always feel guilty that I'm not doing enough for him. I felt like nursing him was the one thing I had control over (of course supply was a different issue), and was glad to be able to do it. I really missed it when we stopped! But, I definitely don't miss the pumping. :-)

Lion Towel

Baby Talk

It's so fun to watch Justin's knowledge of the world around him, and thus his vocabulary, grow. Here are his current words in their order of appearance.

1. Da Da/ Daddy
2. Hi (Justin loves waking Daddy up in the morning by swatting him and saying "HI, da-da, HI!!")
3. Uh-Oh (This started out as an "I accidentally dropped something" and has turned into an intentional throwing of things on the ground just for the opportunity to yell "uh-oh!". It was also funny when he first started using this word, since the emphasis was on the wrong syllable. Now he's got it right.)

4. Ma-Ma
5. Pretty (This started over Christmas when we would point to the Christmas lights calling them pretty. Now he points to anything that glows or is shiny and says "pretty." Bill is trying to get him to point at ladies instead. :-) )
6. Bye (Justin embarrassed a lady trying to sneak out of church early the other day. He softly said "bye" to her as she was slipping on her coat, and when she didn't say "bye" back he shouted it so the whole church could hear. Hilarious!)
7. Da (All animals right now are "da's")
8. Ba ("bath")
9. Buddy (Justin has started saying "Hi Buddy!" to Bill. SOOOOO adorable!)

10. Buh ("book")

11. Baw ("ball")