Will it really matter to Liam?

As many of you know I am an avid reader of all things baby, whether is be "What to Expect..." or random posts on BabyCenter.com--yesterday I was reading a post on a community I belong to on Baby Center. The mother was upset that she had to switch to formula, from breast feeding...other mom's even were  so extreme to tell her she was a bad mom for quitting, and gave her tips to continue. I know that there are proven benefits from breast feeding, but will any of these little things ever matter to our children, in about five years?

When Liam goes to Kindergarten will he care whether or not I quit breast feeding after one week, or will he remember he always had formula, a fully belly and continued to thrive. He will know it didn't work for his mom, and she quit to be the best mom she could be to him. 

Will ANYONE care whether or not I circumcised him? If they do care, why? Breck was there to show him love and to comfort him during the procedure. Also, it's Liam's penis, he has to deal with it the rest of his life, and for now, we are responsible for cleaning it. Who cares!?

When Liam grows up, will it ever matter WHERE he slept? (Crib, bassinet, with us, in my arms in the recliner..)  No. He will care that he had a warm, comfortable, safe place to sleep. 

In his life, it will never matter whether he wore cloth diapers or disposable diapers. He had a clean behind, and he was always changed when needed. 

No one will care that he was vaccinated at two months. Breck & I are confident in our decision to vaccinate him. YES, we have read that he could become autistic, but I would rather deal with autism than LOSE my son to a horrible disease that could be avoided. 

Recently we switched Liam to generic formula...guess what? The FDA regulates formula, so it turns out that everything that is in Enfamil, Similac, Gerber, etc is in fact in his Target formula. Once again, in five years, no one will care about what Liam ate, as long as he was being fed.

Before I had Liam, I often said, "Oh, I will NEVER do that." In most cases, I HAVE. A person I am close with, a mother of two brilliant, thriving children shared with me that you have to do what will make YOU be the best mom you can be to your child. If Liam needs to sleep on me because he is fussy, then he will. It turns out we both need sleep to function. This is so true across the board. 

Rolling, teething & man'pris!

On July 13th, we were playing with Liam on floor, while watching TV. Liam was on his tummy just chattering away, when he started swaying back & forth. Breck had turned to watch something on TV, so I got his attention (without Liam noticing). About 30 seconds later he just ROLLED OVER! We clapped and celebrated and of course, Liam looked at me like I was crazy! Its such a bittersweet moment for us, we're so excited he's growing up, but sad he's not our little baby anymore!

Teething...ahhh! I've worked in a day care center since I was about fourteen, mostly with infants through one year olds. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now! (Teething that is..) I feel so bad for Liam, it seems like he just can't find relief. He's constantly chewing on his first, blanket, burp cloth & toys! Did I mention he's drooling..? All.the.time. Recently I've been giving him cold/damp wash cloths & teethers that have been in the fridge. He seems to like it, but makes a funny face the whole time! He's also been sleeping & eating a lot! I just want one to pop through for him, and then hopefully he'll get a break for awhile! 

Yesterday I put Liam in an outfit he's never worn before, a one piece 3 month outfit...The top part looks great, the bottom, not so much. My poor guy's bottom half must have suddenly grown! He used to be short, but the outfit was way too short. Liam sadly had man capris! All I could do was laugh...What's even more sad is that I let him wear it, we weren't going anywhere & I wanted Breck to see! At least I can say he wore it once...right??

A Happy Heart!

At Liam's two month ped appointment, she found a heart murmur. We were referred to a pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Becker.

Yesterday we went to our appointment. I was very impressed with the nurses, but Liam was not. After getting undressed & getting measured, they took him to do a chest x-ray. One of the nurses picked him up to take him, L looked at her and immediately started bawling. I could not go with him during the x-ray, so I had to listen to him bawl. It was awful, I've never, ever heard him cry like that, not even during his shots. (I'm beginning to think Liam is getting stranger anxiety.) 

After the x-ray, I had to hold his arms down so they could perform an EKG! It took about one minute! 

Then we were off to our room to wait for Dr. Becker!

Dr. Becker explained that the x-ray & EKG looked great, and he could not find anything to be concerned about. Then he listened to Liam's heart with his stethoscope, in different areas for about fifteen minutes. 

He said the heart murmur was a low sound, and he could hear it, but it was not extremely audible. He explained it is a functioning heart murmur, which means his heart is functioning like it should, the blood is moving through the heart like it should. THANK YOU GOD!

He also said we don't need to pay any extra attention to it, that it probably isn't always audible, it just depends on the position of Liam and/or the stethoscope! Liam can do every activity as usual, and doesn't need any special extra attention! He said if his pediatrician was still concerned at his fifteen month check up to come back, and he would take another look!

We are so relieved & extremely thankful that Liam is just as healthy as we thought he was! 

He already weighs a whopping 15 lbs even and measures 25.5in long! 

Recently I have been researching how to make homemade baby food. It seems very healthy and definitely more cost efficient than buying jarred baby food. I'm extremely excited to try it out, but sad, because it also means that L is growing up--way too fast! 

I am so curious as to what he will like, and what he won't like. I'm also a little nervous about food allergies!

Liam is SO funny! He loves to smile & laugh! Recently he has been splashing in his bath tub, it's hiliarious! (Will post video later!) He's also been trying to roll over, from back to tummy, and tummy to back! He's SO close, but he gets so mad when he cannot do it! He loves sitting in his Bumbo, and is sitting without a floppy neck! He just sits there, turning his head from side to side checking out everything around him. We also read a lot in the Bumbo!

This Friday I am taking Liam to his first singing & signing class at the library! :) I am SO excited. I can't even begin to explain how important I believe signing is for babies and toddlers. I know a lot, but I think Liam will like the singing part & being entertained by someone other than Mommy!

Have a great week!

3 Months, "Talking," & Laughing

We've been super busy lately! 

Last week Liam got to meet his Great Aunts (Breck's aunts). We enjoyed spending time with them at the GG's! 

For Liam's first Fourth of July we spent the day with our friends Tom & Jenni, going out to eat & just hanging out at their house. I made sure Liam was all rested up for the fireworks, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday & I did not want Liam to miss out! We went to Norwalk and eventually found the perfect spot to enjoy them! Liam seemed to like them, he starred at them the whole time, he did get a little fussy though! I am glad the weather was nice for us! Not to mention, L did look adorable in his First 4th of July onesie! 

Liam has been doing so many things lately...my favorites: laughing & "talking!" He loves when Breck & I talk to him, or sing to him. Liam seems to laugh at anything that is repetitive and also seems to laugh more for Daddy than Mommy! 

Every morning I wake up to Liam talking! The boy loves to jabber! I wish I knew what he was saying! I really enjoy talking to him and having him "talk" back! Just today, I was changing him on his changing table talking to him, and he gave me the most serious face ever! So cute!

I am estimating Liam weighs about 15 lbs, and is probably about 24 inches long! He is wearing Size 2 Huggies diapers, and they're still a little big! He wears mostly 3 month shirts & onesies, but is still wearing 0-3 month pants/shorts! 

Liam is still sleeping through the night, most nights. Sometimes he thinks bedtime is playtime. He will smile & jabber to me, and sometimes even through huge fits before giving in. I recently read that "hyperness" really means that a baby is tired...who knew!? 

He is eating 4 ounces during the day & 5 ounces before bedtime! Last week we also moved him up to a medium flow nipple! This works alot better for us! We've cut a feeding down from 25-30 minutes to about 15! I also tried giving him a slow flow nipple the other day, and he was very angry! :)

L still enjoys playing under his activity gym, he grabs toys & immediately shoves them in his mouth! He has also been super drooly lately. I am beginning to think he is working on getting his bottom front teeth! So yesterday, I introduced him to the teether, at first he put it in his mouth & gave me the dirtiest look. After awhile he seemed to like it!

Today he actually took a nap for the very first time in his crib! He's only been in his crib a few times while I've picked up his room, or made a bottle, etc. The nap only last about 20 minutes, I'm not sure if it was because he wasn't that tired, or if he just didn't like the crib! We'll keep trying! My goal is to have him out of our room & sleeping in his crib by about five months. (I have to give myself a deadline or I will never make it happen.) I am so afraid something will happen, or I won't hear him. I'm just really anxious about the whole thing!

Last night I made some homemade wipes! They seems to work very well. They're EXTREMELY inexpensive to make, and I know exactly what is in them! 

Tonight we will celebrate Liam's 3 months with out usual trip to El Azteca! Three month pictures tomorrow! 

Have a good weekend!