7 months old and already a frequent flyer

Sorry for being a bit behind on regular updates - for all of you two readers. We had a great last weekend in Atlanta - a quick jaunt that was quickly filled with a baby shower for a dear friend and other things pertaining to Zane's schedule. I mean, if I thought I was going to get to do things spur of the moment or get to see friends outside of baby realm I was wrong. All in all, it is great to head back to Atlanta and see the family but always feel bitter-sweet. I miss everyone so much and haven't really found my place here in Texas. I was incredibly blessed with a lot of wonderful friends in Atlanta and miss you all terribly so.

Who we did get to see is Ashlyn and her mom Radha (we went to UGA together) who live about 3 minutes away from where I was staying (my old place/where liz lives but not right now/mom and dad's atlanta base). In between naps and such we got the kiddos together - they were super cute and seemed to be interested in each other. Day 1 visit - Ash had just woken up and was a little grumpy, but by the last day she was all smiles and trying to pull him over on her quest to walk. (a friendly move, I say)

Another thing, we have been terrible at 'recording' those little moments - I have a baby book for Zane but have not made much progress. Ugh. Don't hold it against me Zane, your mom just isn't the scrapbooking type. I have one (ok 2) pictures with a pregnant belly, I need to print those out and yes, I did save the hospital bracelets and sonogram pictures. I just need to get my rear in gear and get them in the book.

Some recent bath pictures:

Zane is 7 months old as of yesterday!!!!

We love you little buddy.

It won't be long now!

Time to get serious about the baby proofing and put away all things smaller than CD - because it will all go straight in the mouth!

Zane pictures

He is losing that little baby look and getting such a little boy look to him so quickly!

sitting up all by myself guys!

still sitting!  He has kind of a weeble wooble to him but that is good, he can self correct and stay sitting. Of course, he does topple from time to time and acts shocked! 

Zane is eating all types of food and really enjoys just about everything - he even loves to lick lemons and pickles when we are out to eat (yes, we are 'those parents' but he likes it I promise!) 

WHAT IS THIS SQUASH BUSINESS??!!!!

it's an explosion!!!!  

On that random freak snow day - bundled up and looking a little unsure about it 

Easter pictures to come! 

Ahhhh sleep.

It is amazing what one night of sleep will do for a person. I was nearly at my wit's end (just ask Mark who was seriously worried about my sanity) and then a glorious 6 hours of minimally uninterrupted sleep later I am back among the living and feel like I have infinite patience. Even if the next night Zane again woke up every 3 hours - no matter, I was refueled and recharged and could roll with the punches.  We started giving him a bottle at 1030 to "top him off" and it seems to help. We even made it to church today!!

Rarely does Zane fall asleep on us anymore - he is a very busy little guy - but one night last week he did just that while we waited for his Dad to get home. What a sweet sight it is:

A cute post-bath photo - I think Zane resents the super cute doggie towel pictures because he wrestled that thing with all he could muster! 

Bootcamp starts tomorrow - yea for the burn!!!  

Sleeping through the night......or not

We are having a little bit of trouble with this whole "more than 6 consecutive hours of" sleep thing. In fact, for the past week I have not gotten more than 2 1/2-3 hours consecutive sleep. I don't know if he is starting the teething experience which I have heard can cause increased night awakening, the drooling is ever present and I can't quite feel a tooth but his gums seem harder on the bottom. I have heavily relied on the coffee in the am - thank goodness for coffee!!!  I am going to try something new tonight and given him some formula after I nurse him, around 11 pm. Fingers crossed.....

This is the sweetest little face that I see when daylight comes:

Ahhh what sleep deprivation again??

Stats

At Zane's 4 month old appointment (2/10/2010):

Height - 26 inches, 90th %

Weight - 14.4 lbs, ~40th % 

Height for Weight, ~ 10th % 

Head Circumference - 44 cm, between 90th and 95th % 

So, he is long and slender. (where does he get that from??!!! Aunt Liz perhaps??!!) 

Random model image off my computer of Liz - see what I mean??!!  

Back to the Zane-weight part,  I have anxiously worried about my milk supply (is it sufficient?? Is there enough for him? Why does he cry when he is 'finished'??!!) since he was born. BF didn't not come easy for us given the NICU stay and formula/artificial nipple first but I am so glad I stuck with it. There are days where things are easy-peasy and I feel like super BF mom. There are other days when he pulls off and cries, and gets latched back only to pull off again and cry. Oh, and they feel "empty" too. This is usually around 5-6 pm and anything after. I have given formula here or there all along the way, if he was especially hungry and not calming down, if he was at my wonderful Mother-in-Law's (I would pump if he was not here) so he is plenty fine with taking a bottle. I have also pumped a modest amount - but feel freakishly protective of it, like it is some huge accomplishment for me.  Like, I inwardly cringe when I depleat the 'stash' and defrost some to give to him. WHAT???  CRA-ZY. A little "Celine" if you will. (love the lady but she can come across as a bit whack-a-loo, again, crazy fantastic). 

Thanks to my wonderful friend Katy - she introduced me to the blog another chick about my age and stage of life who has an 8 month old. I was looking back at the previous posts from a time when her little dude was Zane's age and came across this. 

So, apparently it is not just me who gets a little weird with the milk. Thank goodness, I was beginning to wonder if this is how my crazy has manifested. 

Mark is so wonderfully supportive to my "I can't feed our CHILD!!" rants of anguish, feeling the world is ending when my supply doesn't meet demand. I drink a lot of tea, (3-4 cups a day, I have bought in bulk) have taken some other recommended herbal supplements and continue to do so. I have also come to terms with what is important is feeding and growing Zane (like, duh) and my ability to exclusively BF him does not correlate with my self worth. Oh, ok. 

I gave him an extra feeding/bottle this afternoon and for the past couple nights have been giving him a bottle before bed. He is super happy when his tummy is full (again, duh) and slept from 8:30pm-7:15 am last night with barely a peep. 

I am ok with this - we are cruising on 4 1/2 months old and I had set a personal goal of BF until he was at least 6 months old. There are some other things I can do, like pump after each feeding and possible ask the Dr for some other Rx assistance. Overall though, I am ok with the need to supplement what I can feed him - the #1 priority is getting him nourishment. I say that for my own benefit, as I know you all know this to be true. 

Some pictures from the recent Texas snow and cute ones post-bath 

My 'couch to 5K' program still going well and bootcamp to start March 15th. Haven't seen the scale budge much, maybe a lb or two,  but it has only been a little less than 2 weeks. I am ignoring the girl scout cookies calling my name right now too - my reminder. I love that when Mark called the other night when he was on his way home he says, "I have a good and bad surprise for you!!!" as I try to not have high calorie zero nutrition snacky foods in the house. He is too funny. 

4 Months old!

Zane is now 16 weeks into this wonderful crazy world and (seemingly) enjoying just about every minute! He loves to play, loves to be held and talked to, and LOVES to look at himself in the mirror! I kid you not, this is his absolute favorite thing to do! Have a grouchy Zane? Just walk him over to the hall or bathroom mirror and Volia! Happy Baby!!!

Zane checking himself out - What a handsome guy!!!

Here were are heading out on a walk - the first half went great, he loved it. The second half...not so great, he was getting the breezy (ie COLD) wind in his face and was none to happy about it!

I have started my "Couch to 5K in 30 days" program and am so happy to get this tush moving! We are very lucky to have a treadmill (thanks Paul and Nancy!!) and I am doing a bootcamp fitness next month. I have been a 'runner' off and on since college and love it when I am at it regularly. I have high aspirations of doing a half marathon with my sister Liz at some point.....

Wish me Luck!!!