The past six months

My baby is growing up. Fast. I mean, he’s already six months old! I cannot believe how fast it’s gone and how much has changed in six short months. He’s really lost that “baby” look. He looks like a little boy (which, I guess, is a good thing – I mean, I hope he wouldn’t look like a little girl!). He’s a wiggle worm! Not a snuggler – unless of course, he’s tired. Then he’ll cuddle with me. I love those moments and I wish I had treasured them more when he was little. He’s trying so hard to crawl. And sit up. And talk. He plays with toys now! He grabs and shakes, and yes, even throws! I can’t tell you how many times he’s thrown his paci onto the bed from his bassinet (yes, he still sleeps in his bassinet in our room. I know. I know. I can’t let go.) He’s trying out a sippy cup and, even though he has still has that toothless grin, he puts everything in his mouth. I can’t imagine where he’ll be in the next six month. Or heck, even the next month.


There’s so much going on over the next few weeks – Thanksgiving (where he’ll get his first big boy food – sweet potatoes!) and, of course, Christmas! He’s already been to see Santa and he was absolutely mesmerized by jolly old Saint Nick! Santa sang to him and it was so very sweet. The picture turned out great! Jack even smiled a little bit. It wasn’t his normal big smile, because he was sleepy, but his little smirk. The tree will be going up next weekend. I can’t wait to see what he thinks about it! All the lights and present! Of course, as Santa told us, we already got the best Christmas present ever, just a little early this year!

I'm a Scaredy Cat...and I'm okay with that.

One thing about me that has changed in a big way since being a mommy is what I watch. I’m much more timid now than I used to be before have Jackson. Things really upset me more, too. I’m also much more picky with my time. Normally, I look forward to the start of TV season, but this year, unless I loved the show, it was definitely off my radar. Sorry, Grey’s Anatomy. This means you.  Last year’s seriously messed up finale freaked me out for days, so, you’re off my TV watch list. Additionally, very few “new” shows make their way into my schedule and if they do, they’re normally DVR’ed and watched Saturday or Sunday morning between 6-8AM (because one can only take so much news and/or Phineas and Ferb). I’ve also stopped watching pretty much anything that’s based on real events, including Dateline and most Lifetime movies. They are all about bad things happening to people. I can’t watch that stuff anymore. It freaks me out. Even on the news, hearing about child abuse, or kidnappings, or things of that nature really affect me. It’s not that that those things didn’t bother me before; they just hit very close to home now. The kinds of movies I would have enjoyed a year or so ago have completely changed. Example: Paranormal Activity 2. Anyone who knows me knows I love scary movies, but this movie has a baby in it – a sweet little baby boy – so, nope, not happening. I even went so far as to mute the commercials. Recently, an episode of a TV show we watch opened on a mother hiding under the bed with her little baby while a man was walking through her house. Could. Not. Handle. It. Turned it off within the first 15 seconds.

I guess being a mother makes you more sensitive to the world around you. I’m definitely protective of Jackson and want to make sure he’s safe and secure. All of these things – whether it be a silly TV or a serious news story – make me realize the dangers in the world. I want to protect him from that. You know what? Maybe Phineas and Ferb isn’t so bad after all.

Crib? We don't need no stinking crib!

My son still sleeps in his pack and play next to our bed. Wait a second, let me back up. Before I had a baby, I swore I was going to be one of these bad ass moms who made a plan a stuck with it. One month - TOPS - in our bedroom. Breastfeeding for at least six months. Tummy Time everyday. The list goes on and on. Well, I learned very quickly that things always don’t turn out the way you thought they would. My boobs didn’t work as well as I wanted or needed them to and six months turned into eight weeks. Jackson’s screams quickly ending long Tummy Time sessions. And the crib, the beautiful crib that we took so long to pick out (and cost more than our bed), well, he hasn’t even napped in it.


I was totally freaked that we wouldn’t have the crib in time. We went to probably ten different baby stores looking at furniture. I called maybe 15-20 places to find the best deal once we found what we wanted. By the time we ordered it (in January), we were told it would arrive the first week in April. I was just sure that it would be late – or the baby would be early. I just knew we wouldn’t have the crib in time. But we did. Chris and Jeremy did a fantastic job putting it together. It looks amazing. The room is super cute.

That first night home, we put Jackson in his travel crib, which we eventually brought to Chad & Mandy’s to use while she watches the baby. Even thought that would have been the perfect time to move Baby Jack to his crib, I couldn’t do it. So I bought another pack and play and set it up right next to me in our room. That’s where that baby has been. And where he’ll stay – at least for now.
The problem is we’re coming up on the weight limit for the bassinet portion of the pack and play. I could just as easily put him on the base of the playpen, but I feel like it’s almost time to make the change. I know good and well that he can’t stay in our room forever (oh but I would love it!), and there is nothing in the world as wonderful to be woken up by giggles and look over and see your baby’s beautiful face smiling at you.

So, I told myself by 6 months, I would put him in his crib. Another problem: 6 months is Nov. 11. That is very close! Maybe we’ll try over Thanksgiving break. That way, I can sleep on the floor with him in case there’s a problem. Let me be very clear. I do not think there will be ANY problems with him. He’s the most laid back, easy going kid I know! I do think, however, that I will be emotional wreck, so it will just save me the trouble of having to go from our room to his room in the middle of the night. Good thing we have a blow up mattress! :)

Yum, yum, yum in his tum, tum, tum!

Yesterday was a big day in the Neighbours household. We tried rice cereal! Who knew that a runny, brown concoction could bring so many laughs? First things first, on Monday, Jackson had his 4 month check up. He is absolutely awesome, according to our pediatrician, Dr. Chastain. She said his growth is perfect and she was super happy with how he is holding his head, rolling over and all the other good baby things! He’s currently weighing in at 15 lbs, 3 oz, 25 inches long and is in the 50 percentile for weight, height and head size. She told us we were okay to start rice cereal to help him learn to eat with a spoon. It’s so funny to think about all the things you have to teach a baby. It seems like just yesterday I was teaching him to latch on for breastfeeding and now here we are with a spoon…time flies. ANYWAY, Dr. Chastain told us that we need to be consistent in feeding him the rice cereal and not to worry if he really doesn’t eat it because he’s getting everything he needs in formula right now. These early stages are for teaching and learning, not really nutrition. She said it’s best to wait and start it around bottle time, so he’ll be hungry and want to eat. There’s only one little problem with that…


When Jack is hungry, you know it. If he sleeps until it’s time for a bottle, you better have it ready when he wakes up. (The only time he isn’t like that is the morning, when he’s all sweet and cuddly. I love mornings!) Here we were at 9PM, about to wake the sleeping baby and there was no bottle to put in his mouth. First, we sat him in his Bumbo chair. You could instantly tell he was confused. He knew it was time for his bottle. He kept looking at me to Chris, almost like he was saying, “Which one of you has my bottle?” Then he started to cry. Chris gave him the first bite of cereal and you could tell he was intrigued, but not amused. Still crying. He took another bite, then another. He spit it out; he made faces; he gagged. Nope, not a fan of the rice cereal. But we kept trying for about ten minutes, just like the doctor said to do. When he started to get really frustrated, we stopped and gave him his precious bottle, which he happily sucked down while Mommy and Daddy had a good laugh looking at the video and pictures from Jackson’s first adventure in food.

I'm falling apart!

This isn’t so much a baby post, as it’s a mommy post, so I guess it still counts for my baby blog!  I turn 30 on Thursday.  I don’t really have a problem with it (anymore or at this current moment, which is subject to change), but what I do have a problem with is the way my body is reacting!  In the past three weeks, I have had some minor to I guess semi-serious health issues and I don’t like it!  Not one bit!

The minor one is that I had an infection in toe.  Gross, I know.  But it made it hard to walk sometimes because of the pressure.  So, after a week, I finally made a doctor’s appointment on a Friday for the next Monday.  Well, that Sunday, the day Jack was supposed to meet his future girlfriend Hadley, I start to come down with a horrible headache.  I haven’t had a real migraine in probably 18 months, so I guess it’s my fault I didn’t recognize the symptoms.  It got progressively worse and worse until I ended up passing out and throwing up!  I have never passed out with a migraine and of course I was freaked – more because I was at home with the baby than anything.  Thank God he was in his swing!  So I went to the doctor on Monday for my toe and for passing out.  They ran a series of labs, but said everything looked normal.  The doctor said it was probably a combination of not eating (which I hadn’t when all of this started about 1PM on a Sunday) and a migraine that caused me to pass out.  I got a refill on my migraine medicine (which expired in Nov. 09) and a lecture about the importance of eating three meals a day.

THEN, this past Friday, I’m playing with Jackson on the bed before leaving to have dinner with Tim and April, and when I get off the bed, I notice this pain in my hip.  When I climb into the car, it gets much worse.  As I sit at the dinner table, it increases a ton.  I take some Motrin, but nothing is helping.  When we get home, I go upstairs (which hurt like a mother to go up), and lay on the heating pad.  Nope, not really helping.  Every time I move it gets worse.  Finally, around 2AM, Chris gets me leftover pain pills from my c-section.  I take two and pass out.  I wake up with Jack around 6AM and the pain is still there, but I am able to make it down the stairs to feed the baby and at least walk around without sharp, stabbing pains.  I decide I’m going to the walk-in hours at my doctor (rather than ER because that would be no fun) and make my way to Alpharetta at 8AM.  Turns out, I have bursitis. (What is this?  A bursa is a closed fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between tissues of the body. The major bursae are located adjacent to the tendons near the large joints, such as the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. When the bursa becomes inflamed, the condition is known to as "bursitis.")   So, thankfully, nothing serious, but just very painful.  I end up getting steroid shot and some pain and anti-inflammatory medicine.  The medicine and shot have definitely helped this morning, but I can’t help but thinking…hip pain??? Really??? I’m 30 not 80! 

So that’s why I’ve decided that 30 will be my year of taking care of myself.  No more skipping meals, or sleep, or exercise, or even haircuts!  Taking care of myself will make me a better mom to Jackson and hopefully a better person all around!  So goodbye hip pain – you’re not welcome here anymore! 

The Great Diaper Debate

Pampers will give your baby a rash. Huggies don’t fit right. Luvs leaks. Diapers! Diapers! Diapers! Dear God in Heaven, what’s a girl to do? (Don’t say cloth diapers, because I’m not going there.)

Okay, here’s my verdict on diapers: they all suck in one way or another. I have tried all three of the major brands and my winner is....(drumroll please)....Pampers Sensitive!!! Why? Because they smell so good. You don’t want to sniff a diaper after it’s been used, but man, before I put a fresh diaper on my baby’s butt, you better believe I sniff that sucker. It just reminds me of something calm and peaceful. Regular Pampers and Huggies smell good, too (Luvs do not smell like anything), but that Pampers Sensitive is what I think a baby should smell like. And hey – anything to help cover up of the scent of what happens in the diaper is a plus in my book, too! :)

The first "first" of many more to come

There were a lot of firsts for our little family this past weekend. August 27th marked my and Chris’s five year wedding anniversary, but August 28th of this year was also a very special day, because my dear friends Anne Marie and Michael tied the knot! I was so honored to be a part of their wedding and so happy that Chris and Jackson were there to celebrate it, too! But let’s start at the beginning, which is also the not-so-good first:


Jack had his first cold. Poor little baby. He was coughing and wheezy. He just didn’t look happy. And oh my goodness, the snot. How can one little baby make so much mucus? So, of course, I had to take him to the pediatrician – man, they just love me! The doctor said it was just a cold and there’s not much to do for him. Poor little guy –he handled it well, though.

Now, on to the fun stuff!  Friday morning, we loaded up the car and headed to my favorite place in the world – Athens, GA – to begin the wedding festivities of Anne Marie and Michael! Jack’s first hotel stay was at the Gameday Suites and he looked right at home with all the UGA paraphernalia! He got to meet Aunt Morgan for the first time, too! He was so good at the rehearsal dinner that night – he just chilled in his car seat and would toss out a smile when people peeked in on him. Such a good baby!

The biggest first came later that night – Baby Jack rolled over! Chris woke up about 6AM Saturday morning and that little bugger was on his belly! Well, my first thought was that it was fluke. According to the baby books, rolling from back to belly is a 5-6 month skills, but wouldn’t you know it, my son is advanced! He did it a total of four times that morning and now he flips and flops just as easy as 1, 2, 3! (This is making for some sleepless nights for me because I keep waking up and flipping him back onto his back.) He also spent his first Saturday alone with his Nana! I know they had a great time – so much so that his Nana is coming back to watch Baby Jack for his first football game this weekend, while Mommy and Daddy go to watch it live!

I know there are many more “first” to look forward to, but this past weekend was a great one for many reasons! Baby Jack is just full of surprises and so much fun! We are so lucky to have this sweet little boy!