Vacation

Hi readers! I am going to be taking a short vacation from this blog until July 1. I have some things that I would like to do for the blog which means that I need to take a break from publishing. Please check back in July to continue following the adventures of this Southern Mommy!

Mama v. Dada

Buckner's first word was "Dada." He loves that word. He says it all the time with great enthusiasm. In fact, he can have an entire conversation with that one word using various intonations, expressions, head shaking and hand gestures. But no "Mama" yet.

Sometimes when he is angry and screaming, I think I have heard some resemblance of the word "Mama" but I am not sure if that is a good thing. I would rather him say it when he is happy. Instead when I plead with him to please say "Mama" that little stinker smiles at me and replies, "Dada." My husband, of course, loves this and will immediately follow up with, "Who do you love?" in which Buckner replies, "Dada." Of course, I laugh. It is funny and I love hearing our little man talk but it will be so exciting the day he finally says "Mama!"

9 Months!

"Tiny but mighty" is our new phrase to describe Baby B. At his nine months check up, he weighed in at 18 lbs 13 oz and  was only in the 21st percentile for weight and 15th percentile for height. Doctor says we are like him and his wife because we make little people. However, he is growing each time and is very healthy. He may be tiny but he is strong! We call him little Hercules baby because of his strength even in his little fingers.

At 9 months, his favorite activity is crawling. He also got to experience splashing in a baby pool which he loved. Summer is going to be fun!  His favorite foods are the sweet potato puffs by Gerber that he seems to prefer over anything else.  My husband joked that the first processed foods we give him is his favorite even after all the work we have done to give him a healthy diet!  He loves to cuddle and loves to have his family right with him. We fall more and more in love with him every day!

Seperation Anxiety

Two out of three weekday mornings were successful no tears daycare drop off days! Monday was tough. I was running late and could not stay with Buckner for long. As I handed him to the teacher, he screamed reaching for me and the last thing I saw as I left the room was my red faced baby wailing for his mama. Needless to say Monday I watched the clock all day as I waited for five o'clock to rush back and pick him up. I wondered all day if he thought I wanted to leave him. I wondered all day if he wondered if mommy did not care that he wanted to stay with me. I wondered all day if not responding to his tears would make him toughen up in a way that I don't him to and ultimately affect his bond with me. Talk about working mama guilt!

He was just fine Monday afternoon. He was happy to see me after a long day of playing. But I could not go through that again so I had a strategy for Tuesday. I would get to daycare earlier so I could stay longer. On Tuesday I held him while I signed him in and put away his bottles and backpack. I didn't force him to go to a teacher but instead sat down with him on the floor. His teacher put several toys in front of him. He sat on my lap and sleepily stare at the toys. He finally tentatively crawled off my lap grabbed a toy and immediately sat back on me as if he was going to hold me there. He repeated that process several times grabbing more toys. I love how he loves me so much and wants to stay right with me. The doctor says it is a healthy time of his development so I am going to just love on him and not force him to go to others when he does not want to, however, I do have to go to work. So we played a little longer and he began to relax and smile. Then his teacher came over to put him in the high chair. He looked at me with a questioning look on his face wondering if he should cry but breakfast was a good distraction. I smiled big and waved bye with a happy and excited wave telling him I would be back soon to get him. No tears. Success!  We had the same morning routine today as well so for two mornings we have had a no tear morning....at least Buckner did not cry. Never can say the same for mama! Ha!

Changing Time!

I lost all my baby weight and then some. I wish I could say it was due to an impressive commitment to working out and healthy eating but I would be lying to at least some degree. However, I do get a lot of exercise these days, I just don't know if it counts as a traditional cardiovascular activity.

One of my more grueling work outs these days is diaper and clothes changing time. Buckner is small but mighty. He especially likes to show his strength and determination on the changing table making it the place we start the process but rarely where we finish. Diaper changing usually starts with a happy Buckner until I lay him down on the table. As soon as he back touches the pad, he immediately gives good meaning to his name as he begins to buck up his back and scream. He tries to inch his way off the table and has almost accomplished it several times but luckily I have mother superpower  fast reflexes these days. No matter what silly song I sing, how I try to trick him or what I use to distract him, if Buckner doesn't want to be on that table Buckner will not be on that table.

I have successfully distracted him a few times by asking him to "help" me by holding the bright yellow tube of Boudreaux Butt's Paste. Unfortunately, that had to stop when he stuck it in his mouth. While the tube never opened, there is just something that grosses this mama out about her son sucking on butt paste. I also tried the floor. He didn't scream. He loved being changed on the floor.  I should say not being changed because as soon as I got his diaper off, the little booger crawled away. Mamas of baby boys know that letting your baby boy crawl around with a bare baby booty can mean a wet disaster fast!

Therefore the changing routine has now become my quick calorie blasting activity. First it involves wrestling my unbelievably strong baby long enough to get his diaper off and put on a new one while on the table. This change instantly increases my heart rate because I have to move at a Kentucky Derby level speed. His cries make me break a sweat because no mama wants to hear her baby cry. In one minute, my body reacts as if I have already worked out for 30 minutes. Then the next phase is to lift my now 20 pound chunk up and over to the crib. This is the strength training portion of my work out. Next, my baby has to be convinced to let me put clothes on him which involves dancing around to make him happy all while wrestling him while in the crib. I am only 5'2" so this also involves some pretty impressive gymnastics while I lean over the crib which is now at the lowest setting to put his clothes. My flexibility and stretching portion of my workout is now complete.

So there you have it...cardio, strength training and stretching all in five minutes. It is what I like to call the new busy mama get your body back plan!  The best part? I have a happy baby to pick up and cuddle after it is all done which is better for the heart than any work out routine!

Mid workout!

Working on Working Mama Balance

Add caption

They said it will get easier and a lot of days dropping him off at daycare is just a normal part of the routine. Days where he is happy and playing as I leave are the easiest...if you can call any of them easy.  Today was not one of those days. After several days of trying to figure out how to get another baby to stop biting Buckner combined with an extremely difficult morning, leaving today was far from routine. I fought back tears as I looked back to see my little boy held by one of the teachers watching me with sad eyes as I walked out of the school. I pray my little sweetheart knows how much I miss him every day. I pray that he benefits from the socialization of playing with other babies and doesn't suffer any consequences of being in a daycare.

The morning of Buckner's nine month birthday he was very clingy and I ended up having to wear him in a baby sling to get my hair and make up done. In the last few weeks, he crawls after me crying when I leave him at school unless a teacher holds him. I never can leave him crying so I go back into the room multiple times making me late for work on a regular basis but I chalk up the lateness to trying to balance motherhood with career.  Despite the morning tears, he is a very happy baby. The crawling after me in the morning is a double edge sword because it makes me so happy to see how much he loves me but I don't want him to cry. The same crawling in the afternoon makes my entire day. When I walk in the room and I say his name, it is almost as if he runs on all fours instead of crawls as he gleefully makes his way over to me.

I am still working on the art of balancing it all and it appears most working mothers are working on balancing dividing time between baby and career. I have a feeling  we will always be working on balancing work with motherhood. Like any thing in life there are moments where we get it and moments where we struggle. Life is cyclical and some days are easier than others. However, every day I am committed to being a hands on mama that my child can count on being there even though I work full time. I have a lot of female role models that are already accomplishing the balance. They are successful at home and at work which takes a whole lot of planning, endless support from family and friends, and most importantly letting go of perfectionism to focus on the most important little creature...your baby.

He loves outside, splashing in baths, dropping toys for you to pick up and crawling.He can give you a high five.  He can pull up and say dada.  We are still working on mama but I think I have heard him say it when he is angry and screaming! And on day one of month nine, he tried picking up finger foods for the first time. Now he is crazy about his Gerber puffs!