Getting Close to Three and Fun

Mothering Harrison is an absolute joy. I wish I could bottle-up his tender heart and take whiffs of it when I need it down the road. And even though it may sound like I'm bragging (I am), I am so thankful that his teachers tell me how great he is frequently. They tell me that he listens well, is a great helper, and they wish all of the kids were as sweet as him. I mean, seriously, that makes a mom so proud. Don't get me wrong...he has his moments. He has had more of them recently since his brother moved in to our home. But on the whole, he is a GREAT kid. We pray that he would be a blessing to others and I believe that he is so far. I know that our work has just begun though.
As we approach three, he really has turned into this little man, saying and doing things that only adults would. Yesterday, when I took these pictures of him jumping on the trampoline, I told him that it was time for monkey to have a bath to which he replied, "Come on, Mom. Monkey is not THAT dirty!" I can't believe that my little boy just said that. And when I ask him if he can help me with Fisher's diapers, he says, "Um...no mom. Those are too stinky for me." I remember about a year ago when he went for his two year check-up, I was a little concerned that he wasn't putting two words together very well, and this is what we get now. He remembers things that I don't even remember. He can give someone directions to our house from Highway 17. He knows most of the members of our immediate family's birthdays. Actually, he remembers Chewy's really well since they share a birthday. He even knows how to bargain with me (which is frustrating and hilarious at the same time because I know that I used to do that to my parents). I try to be so thankful for all of the words that Harrison expresses to me even when I am totally exhausted by them.

Funny To Me...

Check out this video of Fisher from this week. I really thought he was going to talk to me. I guess I was seriously mistaken.

Bieber Fever

Please don't judge me: I downloaded Justin Beiber's "Baby" on to my iPad a few days ago. I know, slightly ridiculous. I'm a grown woman with two kids. I decided to do it because I found myself singing the chorus to Fisher while trying to entertain him. Then, Harrison heard me sing it, so now he does. Then, I watched Ellen while feeding Fisher and Justin Beiber was on. After watching him on Ellen, I was really impressed with that kid. So, I decided to download that song. I may have a little bit of Bieber Fever. In fact, I'd be lying if I didn't want to see the movie. But since I'm not a tween, I'll have to wait until it comes on-demand. And at least three times a day, I ask Harrison if he has Beiber Fever and he replies, "Yes!" followed by a dance party to "Baby."

Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day to my three favorite boys!

Fashion Sense

This morning, Adam sent him upstairs to get dressed and this is what he came back with: Clemson jersey, plaid shorts, and rain boots. I had to beg him to wear pants and then he picked wind pants. I'm feeling confident that he won't be getting a "best dressed" superlative in school like his dad did. Adam says that he must get his fashion sense from me. I was offended and then realized that maybe he was saying that Harrison isn't going to care what people think about him and won't dress for others...I'm sure that was the underlying message.

Where We Are

the moments that I live for
they look so different sitting-up

prune juice laden spit-up...

I’m writing this post because I want to remember where I am right now with Fisher. I’m 90% sure that this will pass, as does everything in life. Right now, we are struggling with some serious tummy issues. Let me start by giving a brief history. I didn’t breastfeed Harrison. He wouldn’t latch on. So, I pumped for three weeks and then when I thought I was going to jump the roof from pumping, feeding, cleaning pump supplies, repeat, and getting over guilt (which is a whole different story) I decided it was time to switch him to formula. It was great. I’m so glad I did it. It worked really well for us. I never had an ounce of breast milk, and I turned out okay…for the most part. When I was pregnant with Fisher, I committed to doing the same for him, with hopes that I could breast feed normally. Well, he did latch on…to one side. This meant I still had to pump. This time around it seemed less tedious, which I think was due to me being prepared for it. So, Fisher got about three and a half weeks of just breast milk, and we still have some in our freezer. I actually quit, because I realized that something in my diet was making him beyond miserable every now and then. This stressed me out to no end, and the fact that I looked like Dolly Parton and didn’t want to be seen in public, made it pretty easy to quit (and I knew that formula is really not that big of a deal…I mean Harrison is pretty amazing). Well, his first day on formula, he struggled all day. Same with the next day. And the next. So we switched him to a gentle formula. Pretty much no change. At his 4 week appt, I explained to the doctor that he was uncomfortable 85% of the day. She told me to give the gentle formula a week and then try soy formula if it doesn’t get better. We also got him on a little baby Zantac. Because at this point, we aren’t sure if it is reflux, severe gas, milk allergy, or all/none of the above. I don’t want y’all to think we have jumped to any conclusions. We literally tried everything: feeding him less, more often; Mylicon and gripe water galore; burping more frequently and differently. You name it, I’m confident we tried it. But this is all new to me. I could’ve given Harrison anything in a bottle and he would’ve tolerated it well. So, we are at the tail end of the week trial of Soy Formula and Zantac. I’m not sure that he has gotten better. He got constipated just after trying Soy, so we had to give him prune juice. Bad gas and struggling to poo look pretty similar, and I’m pretty confident that gas is still an issue. He still spends 95% of his wake time in pain. And a lot of his bed and nap time he is struggling too. Not to mention if you read potential side effects in boys that are on soy formula, you want to run in the opposite direction of it. We are giving it our due diligence though. We may be onto a different formula tomorrow. We really just want to know if he has a milk allergy or has lactose intolerance. Here is what I do know…this is heartbreaking for me right now. For moms of newborns, you live for those moments when your child is awake and you get to interact with him and get the occasional smile or coo. And right now, Fisher spends pretty much all of that time in pain. Truth is… he handles it like a champ. He doesn’t cry at all…not unless it is piercing and then it goes away immediately. It really isn’t interfering with his sleep too much (I can just hear him groan all night). But there is nothing I want more than to take this pain away from him…and right now, I can’t do anything. And to feel like we have taken two steps back this past week and a half, is a little discouraging. When Harrison gets sick, we identify what it is and it takes it course…you know there is an end. And what this has made me realize is that parents who have kids that are ill…and I mean ill…cancer, serious defects, etc, are super-heroes. I have hope that this will pass…after all, we are talking about a tummy-ache. Clearly it isn’t life threatening. At this point, I think worst case scenario, my son has a milk allergy and I have to pay out the wazzoo for special formula. But for a lot of parents out there, their child’s condition won’t pass. I’m sure their hearts are just broken for their kids and not being able to take their pain away. I guess they get to a point where they cling to the hope that they have in the Lord. And move on. I don’t know how people who aren’t believers get through such trying circumstances. And as I put on the back of his birth announcement from 1 Samuel 1, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So, now I give him over to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” This morning, I prayed over my little man’s belly and gave it to the Lord. He is the great Healer, after all. But I also threw my hands up and asked for direction. I’m sure many of you are thinking, “Mandy, get a hold of yourself, it is just gas.” Well, for me, it is tough. And this is where I am. So, when you ask me how things are going…this is how they are going. If you feel so inclined, please say a little prayer for my son’s belly. And on a totally related yet unrelated note, the sweet smelling poos that newborns allegedly grace you with are not present in our house. Apparently during the tummy troubles, his go through an extra fermenting process…gag.

It's a Funny Thing...

Recently, I've been fortunate to get to hang out with my best friend, Allison, more regularly. Her husband has temporarily relocated to Myrtle Beach (which I count as divine intervention) thus, giving us more time to see each other. We've lived in different cities since college and since have lamented that we will probably never live in the same city again. It usually would just make me sad, but also thankful that our friendship has grown with the distance. Alas, we are within 30 minutes of each other every now and then.
But now when we hang out, it is different. When we go to dinner with our husbands and each other, it is different. Why? Because we have four kids between us. We each have two kids. What the? I mean, when did all of this happen? Just last week, she was coming over to hang out with her kids, when I had to make an emergency trip to dislodge the raisin that was stuck in my two year-old's nose. She still came over, but I never got to the pot of coffee that I wanted to consume while catching up with her. Actually, we did have 30 minutes during the day where all four kids were tucked away in their beds...maybe not asleep, but tucked away.
All of this got me thinking about my friends/time during college. I realized that some of my closest girl friends from college all have two kids now. And I really cannot believe all of it has happened. It seems like just yesterday we were all hanging out just watching a Baby Story on TLC (and me gagging, thinking that I could never do it). Now Leah has two boys, Ashley has two girls, Kristin and Allison each have a boy and a girl, and I have two boys. What in the world? None of us are even 30! I was sure that I was just going to be getting married by 30. It is like we all made a pregnancy pact. By the way, we didn't. Life is much more different than I imagined or planned. But I'm so thankful for it. I'm starting to realize that not until you give up yourself for someone else (husband and kids), that you have fully experienced life. Sure, I miss the times of sitting on the couch just hanging out with my friends; those were great times and really rich times too. But what we are experiencing now is much richer.

Found It

So, I really thought I was losing my mind about the stats sheet that I received from the doctor. Fear not, I found it this morning. It was in the washing machine. Why didn't I think to look there? Harrison is really into being a "big helper" and he likes to put things in the washing machine. He must have seen it sitting on top of the dryer and thought it needed to go in the washer. So, there it was this morning when I went to do laundry.
PS...these are my boys this morning. Harrison continues to beg me to let Fisher sit in his lap. I love this picture because Harrison is holding Fisher's hand, which he did for about five minutes. I'm so thankful that he still loves being a big brother.

Whew...4 Weeks Down...

I can't believe our little bear is four weeks now. We are having a great time with him. He went for his month check-up yesterday and I know that this comes as a shocker, but I have misplaced his information/stats. I know that I have it some where as I was looking at it today. As Allison reminded me today, we are just distracted these days. I do know that he is 10 lbs 4 or 6 ounces, and he is 22 1/4 inches long. I also know that his head circumference is in the 90th percentile, but I cannot remember anything else. He is pretty much exactly where Harrison was at one month. Fisher's measurements were taken probably about a week before Harrison's were, which does make a big difference. But I think Harrison was 1/4 inch longer and a few ounces heavier. I guess Harrison grew faster than Fisher is. Either way, they are both big boys.
Today, we celebrated Fisher's four weeks in the world with an emergency trip to the doctor because Harrison got a raisin stuck up his nose. Up until this point, I haven't taken the boys anywhere together by myself, other than school for pick-up or drop-off. And this morning, when Adam called me and told me that H stuck a raisin up his nose on the way to the school, I pretty much had to fly out the door (very much in my pjs and no brushed teeth) to meet Adam as he had a very important meeting. My diaper bag was a little lacking too...praise the Lord that Allison was already on her way to my house and could save the day and bring me necessities (which include the iPad for the waiting room at the doctor). So, we get to the dr office in the peak of the stomach virus and flu season, so there are literally no parking spots left. Once I talked to the lady at the front desk, and trying not to laugh at the fact that my son had a raisin up his nose, we headed off the well room as quickly as possible to avoid the cesspool of germs. Two hours later and five minutes with the doctor, the raisin was out. How, you ask? Once the doctor showed Harrison the tool he was going to have to use to get it out, he cried so hard, that it came out on it's own! If I had known it would have been that easy, I would've made him cry much earlier. So, now we are just crossing out fingers that we were able to get out of there without contracting the flu or stomach virus. Oh, and when I put Harrison down for a nap this afternoon, he told me that he wanted the raisin that was in his nose so he could eat it...gross.