Baby's First: Crawling and Talking

Yep, my little nine month old boy is crawling. It's so cute because he pushes his bum up in the air to get on his knees and then 'inches' like an inchworm. What makes it especially hilarious is that he can only go backwards! The look of puzzlement when he finds himself backed up into a corner gets me giggling every time. He can also scoot forwards on his belly and while sitting up if he has something to grab onto. His latest trick is to attempt to pull himself up using the furniture. This has resulted in a few tumbles and bonked noggins, but that doesn't deter my intrepid little man.

He's also so very proud of his ability to talk. His extensive vocabulary includes lengthy words like Mamamamamamama and Dadadadadada and AAAAHHHHHHHHH! The latest addition to V's word bank is Uck or Ucka (as in Yuck) and he will proudly proclaim "Uck" before wrinkling his nose and snorting. It's his latest trick and he does it to make Mommy laugh. Seriously though, since most of his babble is still just babble, I've been working on baby sign language with him in hopes that some of it will stick. He sees me sign Milk when I give him a bottle (open and close one hand into a fist as if milking a cow) but it's like working with Pavlov's dogs... I sign Milk and he starts smacking his lips...

The Fourth Go-Round

Seven weeks ago, I was eight weeks pregnant.

Six weeks ago, I wasn’t.

Yes, I have had another miscarriage. Labs, an ultrasound, and talking to the doctor revealed that it was a ‘false pregnancy’. It started out normally but something happened and the pregnancy just stopped developing. There’s no way to tell what went wrong but the doctor is confident that I will have a normal one the next time round though she recommended I go back on the progesterone pills.

In the recent weeks, as a way to keep my mind occupied, I’ve researched possible causes of progesterone deficiency in hopes of finding a way to fix it. I discovered that I am severely deficient in zinc and iodine. Along with my struggle to lose weight and three prior miscarriages, this points to a possible thyroid problem which is a leading cause of hormone imbalances. I am currently working with a nutritionist and my doctor to see if a diet change and the addition of some new multi-vitamins will correct the problem. So far, I am seeing positive results after only a month. I feel more energetic, I’m eating better, I’ve lost weight, and I sleep better at night. I feel hopeful that we found the cause of my hormone issues. It’s encouraging to me and I can only hope that this keeps up.

For the moment, I am focusing on me and getting healthy, figuring out a lifestyle that works best, and drawing up plans for our house addition. It’s enough for now.

Baby's First: Creeping

Yep, my little man is scooting around now. He can't quite get to his hands and knees but V still manages to move around the house. Time to baby-proof the bookshelves and sweeping the floor multiple times a day. Time to figure out how to keep V away from the door and the bathroom and from under the bed. Time to wonder where the last eight months have disappeared. He is no longer content to stay in one place. All too soon, he'll be walking. 'Dada' is his favorite person at the moment (unless Mom has a bottle in her hand) and the dog is a really interesting animal that he can watch for hours. He loves his oatmeal and banana for breakfast, eats more than I do some days, and is already what's on Mom and Dad's plates tastes better than his own food. Today he's creeping and scooting and almost, but not quite crawling. I just hope he's not walking tomorrow.

P.S. For those who are interested, his last doctor's visit showed that he is following his growth curves for height and head circumference but had a VERY large jump in weight. Doctor was quite pleased.

Out of the loop

Sorry for not posting in ages but our computer is so virus laden that it takes five minutes to load pages and I just don't have that kind of time. So, until our new modem arrives (the old one was fried, again, during a thunderstorm) and our computer is virus-free, I will be on sporadically when I am at the library.

Quick update on everything else:
-V is 7 months old! Yikes, where did that time go? Summer is nearly over, Fall Freshening is fast approaching, and I am the mother of a little boy who can roll over, sit up, and babble.

-I started my first canning project. 8 pints of bread-and-butter pickles are now in the cupboard and I own my very first canning pot. I still have one more batch of pickles to put up and tons of other garden produce to finish putting up.

-Green beans (2 gallons so far) are in the freezer and carrots are next. My garden is doing awesome this year! I have so much produce and we did better on the weeds than we have ever done. I am loving this. Nothing like sweet corn fresh from the garden for supper.