The Lund's: January 2015

1/27/15

6 months!

I seriously can't believe my baby is half a year old. Makes me soo sad but sooo happy at the same time.
This is such a fun stage!! He is learning new things every day. He's one smart little boy.

Weight: 18 lbs (61 %)

Length: 27 inches (72%)

Head: 18 inches (96%) -Big head!

~He can now sit up by himself.

~His LOVES chasing Rorie around in his walker

~Is learning how to use a sippy cup

~Rolls across the room in seconds

~Still loves being swaddled, which seriously is so surprising to me!

~Sleeps from 730pm to 530am. eats then go back to sleep until 8ish

~He loves cords. Daddy's laptop cord, the TV cord, the Comp. mouse cord, etc... He gets away with chewing on them now because he still doesn't have any teeth. But once the teeth come we're going to have to cut him off!

~His new obsession has been tags! With other his stuff toys the first thing is does is finds the tag and starts sucking on it. If he sees the tag on the dish towel I'm using he will go crazy! It's hilarious!

~He laughs anytime Rorie walks past him or barks.

He still kicks his legs like crazy 24/7! Especially when he knows it is bathtime and can hear the water running. It's his way of showing his excitement!

~He is getting so much harder to hold because he is so wriggly and just wants to look at EVERYTHING!

~I've started to wean him and he is eating formula like a champ!
And

~He holds his own bottle... when he wants to.

The past few days I've been realizing how soon he will be crawling. I'm so excited for him to reach that milestone but honestly I'm also dreading it! It's going to be a game changer for sure! I already have a hard time control him because he wants to get into everything and he's not even mobile! I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when I have to start chasing him around the house. I literally won't get ANYTHING done! I'm soaking in every ounce I possibly can of my Lil immobile babe ;)

I love you so much Jenson! Happy half birthday! :)

1/17/15

Confession about breastfeeding and formula

When I was pregnant, I never really thought twice about breast feeding. It was just something that moms did. When people asked me, Of course I was going to breast feed. That was the only option. Or so I thought...

Jenson was born and right after we tried to start nursing. At first he did AWESOME! Latched right on. For about 2 minutes. I was feeling proud. "See this is easy!" I told myself. Then he seemed to start struggling. Just when he started getting the hang of it, it was like he would give up and start getting fussy. Plus... no one told me just how bad it hurt! ugh!!! I would sit there and curl my toes and squeeze Al's hand. The nurses kept telling me it was just because my milk hadn't come in yet. They also promised to send a lactation lady in to help me. But, she left early that day and never showed up. Plus Al was ready to leave the hospital as soon as they gave us the "okay." So, I never saw the lactation specialist.

My original plan was to nurse and pump and get Jenson used to breast and bottle. It worked for the first... oh I dunno... MAYBE two months. We still never got the hang of nursing. It seemed like way too much work! So, I always resorted back to just pumping. After he was two months old, I was just exclusively pumping and feeding him breast milk out of a bottle.

In my eyes it was WAY easier, and faster. I didn't have to worry about flipping my boob out it public. Kudos to every other women out there who can handle it. It was just too awkward for me. Also, I could freeze the extra milk and save it for later. Plus, other people got a chance go feed Jenson. :)

The hard thing was that I never really felt support. Al had my back 100% which was super nice. But, I swear everyone else thought I was a total lunatic. I got questions like.... Do you ever nurse him? Does nursing in public scare you? Aren't you worried Jenson will miss out on the connection all the other babies get when they nurse? You know, it's twice as much work to pump and then feed, why not just nurse and skip a step?

Seriously, I've heard it all. It still makes me feel like a failure as a mother. I wish nursing came natural to me. HONEST!

Well 6 months down the road and I'm still keep on keepin' on.... Pumping pumping pumping. I feel like we have a good routine down. Jenson eats and eats. I know exactly how much he is eating. I can plan for babysitters when I'm going to be gone. Seriously we have worked out a good system.

Here comes the hard part of this post.... every once in awhile the past 6 months that dirty "F" word would come into my head. Yes, that's right. FORMULA. Dun, dun, dun..... At first it was thoughts like, "Oh I could NEVER give Jenson formula, I would be such a bad mom." But, then slowly started shifting to things like, "What's so bad about formula?" Days when I would sit in the bathroom at the dance studio, pumping because practice had been way too long. Or all those long car rides when I would have to pump because I had already gone way to long and my boobs were throbbing. Those are the days when my mind would slowly start to think about formula. "Dang! Jenson is sleeping through the night but I still have to set an alarm at 3am and pump every single night! I wouldn't have to worry about it if he was eating formula."

Yes, I'm human and I worry too much about what other people think about me. It makes it even worse when it's people that are SUPER close to me. When I hear comments like "look how tiny that baby is, oh it's probably because that mom is feeding him formula." or "People who feed their baby formula are so selfish." Every time I would hear one of those comments I would cringe and hate myself for even considering giving Jenson the "F" word.

Then I found this on pinterest...

I started doing research and found testimonials and blog posts of other moms that felt the same way I did.

I finally talked to my mom and told her I was considering weening Jenson and giving him formula. Guess what? Turns out I was fed formula! HA! I survived and am healthy..... must not be too harmful.

I finally made up my mind. I was going to ween my sweet little Jenson. How selfish huh?

At his 6 month app. I told his pediatrician how I planned on starting him on formula. I was expecting him to lecture me about why that is not a good idea and how bad formula is just like EVERY ONE else. But, he didn't! He said, "Great! Good job for making it as long as you did!" Then I realized, you're right! I am pretty awesome for making it 6 months exclusively pumping! :)

That night I gave Jenson his first bottle of formula. I might have shed a tear or two. But, it also was like a big weight being lifted off my chest. Whew.... And Jenson chugged that Formula down like it didn't phase him at all.

The sad thing is... There are still judgmental people out there that I'm having a hard time telling. I wish I didn't have to worry... I wish I didn't have to feel guilty about packing my container of formula in my diaper bag....but like I said, I'm human. I want people to think good things about me.

But... Here I go. I'm am now opening up to the world and letting everyone know. My sweet baby boy is 6 months old and I am started to ween him and have started feeding him the big nasty "F" word.

Last but not least, all those mom's out there who make it the full year breastfeeding, HATS OFF TO YOU! You are amazing.

1/5/15

5 months!

~Jenson loves laughing at our dog, Rorie!
~He can walk around in his walker like a CHAMP!
~He loves his Oatmeal cereal and has started saying "mmmm" after every bite. We have completely given up on his rice cereal.
~He beat his old record and slept 11 hours one night! I was so confused when I woke up by myself and Jenson was still sleeping!
~He still can't quite figure out how to roll from his back to his bellie. I blame it on his chubby tummy ;) It's just simply too much work.
~He has started sucking on his tongue.
~He has started to teeth. Haven't seen any teeth poke through yet but he's constantly drooling and wanted to bite down on my fingers.
~He has finally found his voice and is talking so much! He use to only grunt.
~My favorite: He now reaches for me when someone else is holding him. He recognizes who I am!

~He is so close to being able to sit up. I give it two weeks!

~His favorite thing to do is kick his legs. He can kick SO fast. I swear he's going to be the world's fastest runner one day.

~He has gotten SOOO much better at taking naps! (knock on some serious wood) He now sleeps 45mins. - two hours every nap, 4-5 times a day. wheww! Before is was a constant fight to get him to sleep and he would only sleep 20 minutes.

~He still fights he sleep when we are away and his crib is not available. For some reason he NEEDS his crib or else he will not sleep. Talk about high maintenance...

1/3/15

BFF

Do you remember when you were a kid/teen and you honestly could not imagine life with out your friends? You swore that NO MATTER WHAT you would always be BFFs? I remember feeling this way, and I also remember hearing from parents/leaders that "believe it or not you will lose touch with your best friends" or "I only talk to one of my friends from highschool every few months" and "You'll find other friends."

I remember thinking that that was ABSOLUTELY CRAZY and there was NO WAY that would happened to me and my friends. We needed each other! and would ALWAYS be there for each other. Bestie's for life!

Well believe it or not, I now understand what my parents were trying to tell me. They were right! I rarely talk to my friends from high school. Don't get me wrong, when I DO talk to them, I LOVE catching up and seeing them. They are all great. and I really do have the bestest of friends. But... I hate to say these relationships are no longer starting to feel like BFFs but more just like acquaintances. Or, (yes I have to say this) "Someone that I use to know."

I loved high school! I loved/still love ALL of my friends! We made great, unforgettable memories.

I'm in a different stage of life than most of my friends. To be bold... I'm at a better stage. I'm married and have a family.

I hate HATE that people look at me and feel bad for me. "Her life is over." "No more fun for her!" PURE CRAZINESS! I could NOT be happier. I'm married. I have a son. Seriously my life is just starting. It's just getting fun. I don't have to play the stupid awkward dating game. I don't have to worry about who I'm going to hang out with on Friday night.

I have my family. Ya, I don't stay up late anymore. Big deal. I get to hang out with my BFFs every single day. How lucky am I??

BFF
Best. Friends. FOREVER.

I didn't understand what exactly "forever" really was until I made a promise with Alek in the temple that I would be his... forever.

Yep. I really do have my family forever. <3

Friends come and go. But, how truly blessed am I that I have my BFFs and they're not going anywhere :)