wawa mama (John Harrison's title for this post)

Enjoying time with Great Grandmama

Here are some recent pictures compliments of my moma. My Dad's first cousin Richard (see pic above) came in town last weekend and we all enjoyed spending time with him. We are looking forward to spending time with Richard and his wife, as well as various other cousins and family members, at my sister's wedding in two weekends.

John Harrison is starting to pull up using ledges/window sills and his parents as leverage. David and I love seeing John Harrison's daily development!! John Harrison has been doing an excellent job of keeping his Halloween costume a secret :). We put his costume on him once just to try it on for size and he cried...hopefully, he'll like it better on Saturday.

Sitting Up

Happy and obviously well-nourished

chewing on pajamas (that had just been washed!)

Thoughts on baby clothes

"farmer" overalls

"non-farmer" overalls

Before John Harrison was born (even after I found out I was having a boy), I told David that I thought baby girl clothes were so much cuter than baby boy clothes. I thought of baby boy clothes as being boring and unvaried. I have since changed my mind and actually think now that many baby boy clothes may even be cuter than baby girl clothes. It's just so cute to see John Harrison dressed like a little version of his dad:). If you have a little girl and try to dress her like her mom, it probably wouldn't turn out so well---but it's a different story with a little boy. I buy John Harrison some clothes that look like ones David would wear and some that are more "baby-like"--I am not too big of a fan of "cutsie" clothes or of "cheesy" clothes such as onesies that say "mommy's little alarm clock." I am, however, a huge fan of almost all things Gymboree. Some Gymboree clothes border on being cheesy or cutsie, but most are super cute. Cute, but unbelievably expensive! While I can't stomach (or afford) paying $29.75 (or whatever the going rate is) for a baby sweater from Gymboree, I will definitely buy the same sweater when it is marked down to $10 and I have a 20% off coupon. Anyways . . . a few weeks ago, I dressed John Harrison in a pair of denim overalls that had an electric guitar embroidered on the front pocket and a matching striped long sleeved dress shirt (both of which I had recently purchased on clearance from my above mentioned favorite baby clothing store). I thought my son looked so cute in his outfit. David came in the room, looked at our son, and told me that he thought John Harrison looked like a farmer. I pointed out the cute embroidered guitar and fashionable dark wash denim---both very non-farmerlike. I brought David up to speed on baby fashion, informing him that it was really common for people (farmers and non-farmers alike) to dress their babies in overalls. He still insisted that John Harrison looked like a farmer. Ok, maybe he looks like a farmer...but any way you cut it, he's the cutest farmer out there! For those of you who are wondering if this outfit was one that was meant to look like David---yes, David does wear long sleeved dress shirts, but he doesn't wear overalls...not even ones with guitars embroidered on them).

Forbidden Pizza

John Harrison loves to crawl over to see Raleigh. At first, he crawled right into her room, but I knew that wasn't a good long-term option---I put a baby gate in the doorway between the hall and the laundry room (where Raleigh stays during the day). John Harrison cried the first time I put the baby gate up. He will crawl into the kitchen, look over at Raleigh and smile, and then crawl over beside the baby gate. John Harrison seems to be growing on Raleigh; she will try to get him to play with her when they are on the floor together---it is so cute to watch.

John Harrison is about 7 months, 1 week old in these pictures. Last week, I attempted his first "meal" in his high chair. We have been trying to introduce a few solids here and there and have been feeding him in his bouncy seat. The high chair feeding didn't last long . . . for that matter, none of the feedings do. John Harrison will take a few bites of solid food and then decide he is done. He won't spit out the food, but he will turn his head and refuse to open his mouth. Then, if we continue to try to get him to eat, he will start to start squirming around like a worm until we get him out of his seat. The foods we've tried giving him include--homemade butternut squash, homemade applessauce, chicken/veggie jar babyfood, and baby oatmeal. He probably likes the squash the best so far, but "like" may be too strong of a word. I don't want to force solids on him, so for now, he is diet is still almost 100% milk. It's funny because when he is away from me---or somewhere where there is a lot going on around him, he can easily go 4-5 hours between feedings. When we are at home, though, he wants to eat about every 2 1/2 hours. When his reflux was really bad about a month ago, he wanted to eat at least once an hour (sometimes more!) to help settle his stomach, so every 2 1/2 hours isn't so bad.

I've definitely learned that with a baby, things will always seem like a few steps forward and a few steps back---after I started the strict elimination diet over three weeks ago, he slept through the night for about a week and also only took two naps a day for about a week---those changes were short-lived and he quickly went back to waking up once a night (even two and three times a night the past few nights) and taking three naps a day. He is able to stay up for 2 1/2 hours at a time between naps consistently, though, which is better than two hours. Also, he has decided that he wants to get up around 6 am every morning---a change from the (much better) time of 7 to 7:45. John Harrison's decreased fussiness after I started the elimination diet was fairly short lived, unfortunately--there were about 5 or 6 fairly happy days followed by about two weeks of very fussy (and very trying!) days. I will say that his reflux has seemed to have improved a whole, whole lot, though, since I started the elimination diet--and overall, even on his fussy days, there is a slight improvement in overall fussiness from before. For some reason unknown to me, he has been acting happy (like a normal baby!!) the past two days, which has been wonderful. I've actually been able to put him down and let him play and crawl around (without him fussing and crying) while I get some work done. I am very thankful for days like today---they are a much-needed breath of fresh air:). I have not given up on the elimination diet and am still sticking to it--mostly because of the huge difference I have noticed in John Harrison's reflux. I have added the following foods: beef, garlic, and turnip greens. May not sound too exciting, but believe me, any additions to my daily meals of plain chicken, rice, and squash are greatly enjoyed. The food I want to eat most is a Papa John's veggie lovers pizza. I could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting....I'm not kidding! I will probably be feeding John Harrison for about five more months and he is a little over seven months old now, so I guess I am over half way to my pizza.

Test Drive Gone Bad.....Or Not....

We are in the market for a new (new to us, at least) car. David and I have about decided that, most likely, we will never again buy a new car. Yes, there is the thrill of having a brand new car that no one else has driven. You are protected by lemon laws, usually have a manufacturer's warranty (but on most reliable cars, what on earth is going to go wrong in the first 4yrs/50k miles???!!), and you don't have to worry about things that may be hidden in the vehicle's history. Also, there is the big sticker price....and the oh-so-quick depreciation in value. All of that said, we have sold our cars and are looking for a used car. We are most likely going to buy out of state where we can find a car with the best value, but before we go look at a car out of town, we wanted to test drive several models locally to get an idea of one we liked the best. So, yesterday evening, we headed over to test drive a used car at a local dealership. We went knowing that there was no way we would actually purchase the car we test drove and told the salesman up front that we needed to take time to research and price whatever model we ended up deciding on. We took John Harrison with us so we could see how he liked the car (you may be skeptical but seriously, John Harrison likes some cars much better than other ones) and whether or not his car seat would fit in the back seat with David driving. I have to first say that John Harrison is teething---he cut his front left upper tooth last Friday and now the front right upper tooth is coming in. I drove the first car and John Harrison was a bit fussy but not too bad. Next, David drove a different car. The salesman was in the front seat with David and I was in the back seat with John Harrison. Shortly into the (long) test drive, John Harrison starts screaming at the top of his lungs. Huge tears are streaming down his cheeks. His arms and legs are flailing. The salesman makes the brilliant comment "he really sounds mad" (thank you, Captain obvious). John Harrison continued to scream vigorously for the remainder of the test drive and still was not too happy when we got out of the car. I truly felt bad having my baby scream with Mr. Used Car Salesman (who was actually a nice guy) being a captive audience. I felt especially bad with my baby screaming knowing that there was not a chance we were going to buy the car. You know the akward feeling when you test drive a car and you know you aren't going to buy--you don't want to be rude to the salesman but you also don't want to be lured inside for a sit-down with the sales manager who "debriefs" you and tries to make you a "deal" if you "buy today." Well, there was none of that akwardness, none of the trying to get us into the office. That poor salesman knew there was no way we were going to buy. So, moral of the story, if you want a no or low pressure car sales environment, take your teething baby along. Maybe we can use that same approach to get out of a time share presentation in under 90 minutes......our best time yet to be out the door with gifts in hand is right around 90 minutes.....that was in the pre-child days.....I have a feeling that the best is yet to come:).

Almost Seven Months

I think that this picture is hilarious because Raleigh's tongue is licking her nose and John Harrison has chipmunk cheeks (as you can see in the other pics, his cheeks aren't as big as they may look)

watching Sunday afternoon football with Dad

John Harrison is almost SEVEN months old. His favorite toys include--the wipes box, rock-a-stacker rings (especially the one with the ball that rolls around inside!), his crab with claws that are teethers, and the Fisher Price "play station" (the device you attach to the crib that has gadgets to spin, push, etc.). John Harrison is a very active little boy and rarely stops moving. I will hold him standing up on my lap and he will frequently start bouncing up and down. We have had several major breakthroughs recently---first, this week, he started sleeping without his sleep sack on. As soon as he started rolling over from his back to his stomach, we stopped swaddling John Harrison and started putting him in a sleep sack for naps and nighttime sleep (I never could have imagined the importance of swaddling prior to having a baby!). He is now sleeping in footed sleepers without a sleep sack on---yeah!! Also, just today, I started putting John Harrison down for naps when he was getting cranky/sleepy and he went to sleep in the crib very quickly with no or little fussing. The third major breakthrough is that John Harrison is slowly transitioning to being able to stay awake for almost 3 hours between naps--today he only needed 2 naps instead of 3. Just recently, he had been only able to stay awake for two hours at a time without needing to take a nap. I am relishing in these little victories! Some of the changes have been a result of some rather extreme measures I have taken---John Harrison was doing some better when I was on a soy/dairy free diet, but he was still quite fussy and recently, his refulx has been getting worse and worse......much of the time, it is like having a colicky baby...but instead of the colic ending at the normal age of 3-4 months, it has continued to 6--almost 7-- months. Something had to give....plus, it is hard seeing my baby hurting! In addition to continuing the dariy, soy, and nut elimination, I also have cut out eggs, wheat, spices, all meat except poultry, all refined sweeteners, acidic/citrus foods, corn, and most anything else you can possibly think of. I eat squash, poultry, olive oil, salt, pepper, avacadoes, oats, rice (actual rice, rice pasta, rice flour, rice milk), no food additives, bland veggies such as lettuce, and bland fruits such as apples, pears, and grapes---and only drink water. How sad is it that I get excited about butternut squash?! After a few weeks, I will add back one possibly offending food item at a time and see how John Harrison responds. John Harrison has been doing MUCH better and hasn't been having the bad reflux and is fussing much, much less. I never imagined I would go to such extreme measures in order to have a happy baby:). I'll keep you posted....hopefully the happiness isn't temporary.