Good Housekeeping

I need someone to clean my house.  Dust bunnies hop past me on a regular basis.  I'm not sure what color the grout in the tile floor really is in my bathroom.  I wouldn't say that we live in filth, but I wouldn't spread out a blanket on my kitchen floor and have a picnic either.

If you have hired, or would consider hiring someone to clean your home, would you go with an established company or an individual and why?  Mungee is going to be on the move sooner than later and while rabbit is a delicacy in many places, I don't think dust bunnies are too palatable.

This made me giggle

I'm transferring some old blog posts over here and the pregnancy ticker I had on my first blog was still counting down ... imagine how huge/uncomfortable/scary I would be if I was really this far along!

I Did It!

Prior to Mungee's birth, I decided that I would breastfeed her for at least 6 months.  I knew it would be of great benefit to her and help us bond.  It also made sense from a financial standpoint since I had quit my job to stay at home with her.  (That was a very secondary reason).  

Breastfeeding was very rough at first ... my milk took almost a whole week to come in since Mungee was in the NICU for four days and was receiving formula.  She was born on Monday and my milk didn't come in until Friday.  I had a very hard time trying to figure out how to get her to latch on.   It didn't help that she was hooked up to several monitors/wires that we had to try and keep untangled while I nursed her.  It was hard to find a comfortable position for both of us. I consulted with two lactation experts at the hospital, but their advice went in one ear and out the other because I was exhausted!

Once we were home, I experienced a lot of pain and sleepless days and nights trying to balance nursing and pumping so Mungee's Pa could give her a bottle and give me a break every once in a while.  I finally decided to stop supplementing with formula when Mungee threw up like a fountain after breastfeeding following a formula feeding.  Things got easier from there.  As I was able to relax, so was Mungee and she latched on more easily.  Breastfeeding also got easier when I realized that I no longer had to keep my hands over my chest when I showered.  It didn't hurt anymore!

I am proud to say that with the exception of formula supplementation for the first few weeks, and the introduction of rice cereal and yesterday's sweet potatoes, Mungee has been exclusively breastfed for 6 months now! 

Feeding Mungee by my own body has been our way of life for so long that I don't see myself discontinuing because I hit an arbitrary number that I had set out for us.  My decision is to continue breastfeeding as long as it works for both of us and Mungee's nutritional needs continue to be met in this manner.

Did you decide to breastfeed your little one?  How did it go?  Please share your story.

Foray into purees

2.21.10

We begin with sweet potatoes

What have you got there Mama?

I'm not sure I'm going to like that.

Um, this is just weird.

I am done, thank you.

Wearing sweet potatoes is more fun than eating them.

Do I have something on my face?

That was SWEET!

6 Month Checkup

Weight: 16 lb, 9 oz, 90th %ile

Height: 27 1/4 inches, 75th %ile

Head circumference: 16 1/4 inches 25th %ile

Mungee received a round of booster shots as well as the flu shot.  She was cleared to start solids, ride in the jogging stroller and have a little blanket with her for naps.  She is also allowed to start experimenting with a sippy cup and water.  She needs a 2nd flu shot next month, provided the doctor's office does not run out (apparently it is common during this time of year).  Other than that, she will not go back to the doctor until she is 9 months old (unless she gets sick or Mama gets paranoid - the latter will probably happen first).

6 Month Letter

Dear Mungee,

You are 6 months old!  It's hard to fathom that half a year has gone by since you entered this world.

You are sleeping through the night, most nights, from around 8 p.m. to anywhere between 6:30 - 8 a.m.  You still have a hard time settling down for naps in your crib (it's pretty much impossible to get you to nap there) - you would much rather nap on Mama, in your swing or in your carseat.  You're in a much better mood after you take the naps that you need.

You can now sit with assistance for a few minutes at a time.  Sometimes you keep your torso steady, other times you use your hands and arms to keep you stable.

You have more than doubled your birth weight, thanks to Mama's milk for the most part.  You've had rice cereal for a few weeks and you definitely like it, however the last few times you had it, it made you sick :(

I'm not sure about this stuff ...

 

Okay, it's pretty good.

You've been rolling from your back to your stomach for just about a month.  You flopped from your stomach to your back once.  You're doing huge pushups and working really hard to get your knees up under your butt to try and propel yourself forward.  I'm sure it will happen soon.

You visited the playground for your first ride in the swing and went down the slide.

You love to grab your feet and you are so close to getting them in your mouth.

 

You took a class at Gymboree.  You were pretty tired though so you didn't thoroughly enjoy it.  We are going to check out some other baby gyms this month so you can find your favorite.

You recently began saying "Buh buh buh", mostly at the end of a crying spell.  I heard you say "Guh guh" a few times as well.  Daddy thinks it would be really funny if you said "Buh guh".

We celebrated Uncle S's birthday in January and Nanny's birthday in February as well as the 1st birthday of your friends H and J.

 

It's hard to believe you've gone from this ...

... to this

in just six months!

Mommy and Daddy love you with all our hearts and we cannot wait to see what the next six months will bring!

This Baby Doesn't Need a Gym Membership

Mungee gets her workouts by doing pushups.  She can now push up on her arms and raise her entire chest.  She can also get her knees up under her butt, just not at the same time as she does the pushups.  Once she's able to coordinate these two feats, she'll be rocking on her hands and knees.  Which leads to crawling.  Which leads to paying someone to baby proof our house!