Naughty Boy!

I looked at the monitor this morning when I woke up to see William quietly playing with something in his crib. We don't leave anything in his crib and I couldn't see what was in his hands. Walk in and look what Big Willie Style managed to do! Pulled his airplane mobile down for a little morning activity! Time to drop the crib down a notch.

100 Ways to Encourage a New Mom

A new mom friend recently shared this with me and I thought this is too good to not continue forwarding. The post can be found here - Encourage a new mom - but I thought I'd copy and paste in the event the post disappears. So much of this is true and I am happy I had friends and family who knew some of these ideas without ever seeing these "encouragements" when I had William. Help and support is invaluable when you have a newborn. Happy reading!

1. Fold her laundry – especially all the socks
2. Leave immediately when the baby falls asleep so she can nap
3. Bring chocolate
4. Don’t tell her to call if she needs anything, just drop by and help with everything
5. Take the big kids out for a play date
6. Tell her she’s a hero
7. Bring her food in disposable dishes so she doesn’t have to deal with washing or returning them
8. Don’t tell her to carpe diem
9. Cry with her
10. Laugh with her
11. Share details of what you love about her baby
12. Watch Up All Night with her
13. Don’t tidy your house before she comes over to visit – it doesn’t help her to think you have it all together
14. Tell her a day will come when she will sleep again
15. Make her a 2am nursing station on Pandora
16. Email her a bunch of fun deals links she can surf while nursing
17. Make sure she’s actually in 1 out of every 1,000 photos she’s taking {thanks Natalie for being that person for me!}
18. Take candid pictures of her in the new daily routine
19. Bring diapers when you visit
20. Offer to drive her on errands and stay in the car with the baby
21. Be honest about how hard motherhood can be
22. Text her encouraging messages throughout the day
23. Come over and hold the baby so she can have her arms back for a while to do chores or cook or catch up on anything that’s driving her crazy
24. Tell her to keep her phone on vibrate so you can call without being “that person who woke the baby.”
25. Don’t let her become isolated in the baby cocoon – invite her and the baby out so she can reconnect with friends
26. Never expect her to show up anywhere on time
27. Bring her lip gloss
28. Massage her neck and shoulders
29. Run her a hot bath
30. Don’t imply that breast feeding should be a breezy walk in the park; let her know it’s normal to struggle sometimes getting the hang of it
31. If she chooses to go the bottle route, please let her do so guilt free
32. She is just discovering the hard world of mother guilt – please don’t do or say anything to add to that burden
33. Don’t share any horror stories related to motherhood
34. Protect her from turning on the news in her first few weeks of being home
35. Vacuum
36. Bring fresh flowers
37. Take out any dried up bouquets
38. Paint her toe nails
39. Tell her she’s beautiful
40. Don’t tell her by now your kids were all sleeping through the night
41. Especially if by “sleeping through the night” you mean from 1am to 5am.
42. Remember that your memories of new motherhood have the romantic haze of distance
43. Wash her dishes without being asked
44. If you come over for a meal, please bring the meal and then clean it all up afterwards
45. Let her know it’s normal to stand hunched over a sleeping baby just listening to them breathe
46. Anytime she is disappointed by her new figure remind her that she grew a human being – that’s a miracle and turns out miracles need room to grow
47. Don’t bring over any magazines that feature celebrities in swimsuits 6 weeks after giving birth
48. Ask her what the one chore is around the house she wishes she could get to and do it for her
49. Always bring your camera when you visit
50. Print and frame one of the zillion photos she emails of the baby; include baby’s name and birth date {it blew me away when my friends did this for me!}
51. Bring toys/games over for the older kids when you visit
52. Tell her it’s OK to feel like you want to quit motherhood some days
53. But tell her that Trace Adkins is right and she’s gonna miss this one day
54. Don’t just make a hand print of the baby – make one of mom and/or dad’s too for a fun comparison keepsake
55. Bring her a Memory Keeper Box for that hospital bracelet, first lock, or even those first few pairs of shoes or favorite toys
56. If she has to go back to work, assure her God will be watching over that precious baby. She is brave if she gets up while it is still dark to provide for her family
57. Tell her pizza covers all the food groups
58. Hold the baby so she can get a shower
59. Bring over the Pride and Prejudice (BBC Series) boxed set for all those dinner {for the baby} and a movie {for her} months
60. Ask her which baby items she still needs – get her those instead of the cute clothes you have your eye on
61. Assure her you understand that while she might know that she’s walking on holy ground, that doesn’t mean she won’t still feel irritated how often that ground is strewn with cracker crumbs and yesterday’s socks
62. Admit motherhood is one of the hardest things you’ve ever done
63. Go ahead and quote that goodie-but-oldie, “It’s not brave if you’re not scared.” {Thank you Ben Affleck}
64. Warn her everyone will have an opinion on how she mothers but at the end of the day, hers is the only one that matters
65. Assure her motherhood is not graded; some days just surviving is victory enough
66. Tell her that drive-throughs are the best friends of mothers-with-sleeping-babies everywhere
67. Keep a pack of Thank You Cards handy in case she freaks out late one night that she hasn’t thanked anyone for all the meals
68. Never expect a thank you card from a sleep deprived new mom
69. Tell her there is no such thing as “doing it all.” And especially no such thing as “doing it all perfectly.”
70. Reassure her that sometimes the love and happiness in a home is directly proportional to the mess.
71. Send a special prayer, encouragement or blessing addressed to the baby via snail mail
72. Turn the music up and dance with her and the baby
73. Suggest that the greatest Pandora station for soothing baby music that mama can also love has to be “Winter Song” by Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles
74. Take her (and the baby) for a walk
75. Stock her fridge with necessities anytime you come over – like milk, bread, eggs, yogurt, ice cream etc – in case she isn’t up for grocery shopping
76. Watch the baby for her while she goes grocery shopping
77. Suggest she spend 15 extra minutes just reading in the magazine aisle
78. Tell her it’s normal to be be smitten with newborn love one minute and weeping with tired the next
79. Encourage her that a content household is rarely ever a perfect one
80. Remember to always be kind to the mom on your flight
81. Bring a goodie bag over for the new mom and not just the baby when you come to visit
82. If you’re too far to bring over a meal, tell her dinner from her favorite delivery place is on you
83. Tell her there’s no shame in cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner
84. Make up midnight snacks for her to grab when she’s up feeding the baby
85. Tell her not every photo needs to be perfect – sometimes the closer to real life, the better
86. Give her the The Girlfriends’ Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood for when she needs to laugh
87. Give her Devotions for Sacred Parenting: A Year of Weekly Devotions for Parents for when she needs to be inspired
88. Tell her matching socks are highly overrated
89. Wash the baby bottles for her
90. Tell her not to sweat store bought baby food, disposable diapers or pacifiers
    - whatever works, works
91. Reassure her that perfect is merely a street sign at the intersection of impossible and frustration in Never Never land
92. Tell her motherhood should come with a super hero cape, a really cute one with sparkles
93. Buy her sparkly nail polish
94. Tell her not to sweat everything Pinterest tells her she should be doing, baking, making and crafting for the baby
95. Encourage her to embrace PJ days – even if they last for weeks
96. Encourage her also to go spend two glorious hours at the hair dresser while you watch the baby
97. Tell her about all the women who did all these things for you
98. Assure her that just passing along the encouragement one day is thank you enough
99. Remind her it’s the ordinary days that make the extraordinary memories
100. Promise her it will just keep getting betterDelivered

6 months old

William is half a year old! FREEZE! I love this moment and wish I could stop time right now. He reminds me of a little boy more and more each day. He's accomplished so much this past month and this post could probably be several pages long. He's a very happy boy and wakes up every morning with the brightest smile on his face. The only time he's cranky is when you know he's ready for a nap or bedtime. He loves being part of the conversation whether we're out to dinner, visiting friends or sitting at home. All he wants to do is sit on my lap and face out. I love when he's sitting there very content watching all the activity going on and looks up every so often at me just to double check I'm still the one holding him. Gives me a big smile and goes back to watching whatever is happening. Well the monthly updates... here we go!

• Working on sitting up unsupported. It's a balancing act right now. He holds it for a few seconds and falls to his stomach -- he likes to roll around.
• Beginning to sit in a highchair at restaurants if his highchair cover is inserted. The cover seems to make him more comfortable instead of just the hard wooden chair. 
• Rolling is a breeze. He twirls all over the place on his stomach and manages to get around without crawling. He's such a rolly polly.
• Starting to bounce on all fours and holds his head up very high... crawling soon maybe?
• Loves his walker. The only bad part is he doesn't have enough wood floor to really cruise, so he usually hits a "roadblock" and gets upset that he can't go any further.
• Loves the jumper and even when he isn't in his jumper he wants to jump! If you hold him up on your knees he jumps up and down, up and down. I can't believe how strong those skinny little legs are getting. He can stand up so long as you provide support under his arms.
• Started swinging. We walk to the park in Baldwin and he swings back and forth in the tiny baby swing.
• His playmat bores him. The days of sitting underneath it staring at the animals for hours on end are gone. He can stand it for a little, but he's much more interested in lights and sounds. We picked up a few new toys to entertain him. 

 

Thanks for helping me stand, Aunt Sonni!

Swinging at the brown park!

This is a new interesting view! Dinner at Jimmy Hula's in the highchair

 

• Full time formula baby now! And he loves it. The smile that spreads across his face when I'm making a bottle is hysterical! I can't believe we made it this long nursing, but like my friend Erin said - just make little milestones for yourself and you can do it. I'm thrilled with 6 months. 
• Wants to hold his own bottle, but it's still a little heavy for him. Once he's halfway through the bottle he can hold it. 
• Swallowing food now. The first handful of times the food ended up on his bib, but now he's actually taking it all in. Last week he would swallow if I got the food in his mouth, but this week he leans forward and opens his mouth. No more shuddering as he eats. We have still only tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and applesauce once. I've started making his food with my babycook and I love it!

Bottoms up!

• Daytime naps: check! He's taking 2 solid naps a day and then sometimes a 3rd nap in the late afternoon. His first nap is around 9:30-10a and the second is around 1:30-2p. Making it from 3:30p to bedtime at 7:30-8p seems a little difficult and that is when the short 3rd nap comes into play.  
• Still sleeping at night! Praise the Lord! 7:30-8p and waking up around 8a.
• Sleeps with his little bum in the air now. So cute and I can't believe he finds that comfortable!

What a cute tushie!

And right before his 6 month birthday I had my first weekend getaway since William was born. Daddy had full-time duty! I was in Boston for a couple days and spent the day at the beach in Newport, RI on my final day. Catching up with my friends was so much fun... lots of shopping, eating, champagne drinking and sun. It wasn't that long ago that we enjoyed summers in Newport before husbands and kids... Then here we are now -- a few kiddies later! We head back to Newport in a few weeks for a long beach weekend - William's first trip to New England! It's been a great month with William and I know it only gets better. Happy 6 month, William!

Summer 2012 girls weekend in Boston and Newport






Summer 2003 - sailing lessons in Newport, RI

6 Month Wellness

William had his 6 month appointment yesterday morning on his 6 month birthday. It's always fun to get his newest measurements. Here they are!

Weight: 16 lbs 5.5 oz. / 30th percentile
Height: 28" / 93rd percentile

He's doing really well and checked out great. Fortunately, we haven't had any sick issues to date. Knock on wood! We have only gone into the doctor once because he had dry skin (eczema) behind his knees. A little dab of steroid cream if it comes back. 

William got the clear to continue with new foods and to remember to wait a few days between introducing new foods. We were also told to start trying out sippy cups with water for practice. I just talked about this with my friend Sara! I can't believe the little guy is getting ready for all these new big boy adventures!

A couple shots. He cried as he got the shots and stopped immediately. What a champ.

We don't go back until he's 9 months old. Time is flying by. Halfway to his 1st birthday.  

The Big Cousin!

The Orosz family has some big news to share...
William is going to be the BIG COUSIN in January 2013!


Uncle Andrew and Aunt Sonni got me a "Big Cousin" onesie!

To not only one new cousin... but TWO new cousins!

His Aunt Helen is due January 5, 2013 and his Aunt Sonni is due January 17, 2013! Two babies coming in January! We can't wait to watch the two aunties over the next several months and can't wait to welcome our new cousins to the world!

Surprise!

Big Cousin!

Checking out Steve and Helen's ultrasound picture

Two mamas-to-be!

First Vegetable

William tried sweet potatoes last week and his reaction was really no different from the rice cereal tasting! We tried rice cereal a few more times and he just hasn't been into it. I thought sweet potatoes might be more enticing, but still a "eh" reaction to the whole eating experience. As soon as he spots his bottle he's ready to grab on though. We'll keep at it!

1st 4th

I mentioned in my last post that we spent the 4th of July in North Carolina and so this was William's 1st 4th of July! We had a relaxing day... William played on his mat, while Matt and I went for a little hike. Later in the afternoon we enjoyed the party up on the mountain. No actual fireworks this year though. We headed home and got the little man down at his usual bedtime. It will be fun to see his reaction to fireworks when he's a little older :)

4th of July playtime

4th hike

All American baby

Like I said... that mountain air will get you!

Mountain Baby

We celebrated the 4th of July in North Carolina at Grandma and Grandpa Orosz's mountain house. We are still here enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather. Matt and I decided for William's first trip to Mountain Air we should take an extended trip to really soak in the mountain time. And let me tell you... I'm not sure we're ever coming back! William is definitely embracing "mountain time" and hasn't had any problem adapting. We always joke that the mountain air helps you sleep and William is taking that very seriously. At night he's sleeping 13+ hours (it's 9:30a and he's still snoozing when he usually wakes at 8a) and taking marathon napping sessions. Maybe it's the elevation change?