But the big news is we’ve made it to 6 months and no one has one lost their mind (me), gotten frustrated (him), or lost patience (her) with it all.  In fact, I have to say that the last few weeks (despite a few rough bits) have been exceedingly awesome.

Mia is just a doll right now.  She has become very cuddly and even publicly acknowledges that I’m her parent when I pick her up from daycare (even though I do not have the beard).  When she was tiny she hardly ever wanted to snuggle against me for more than a few minutes – now all of a sudden she must have some loving before naps or she will yelp to no end.  It’s such a strange contrast to how independent she was as an infant, but hey, I’ll take what I can get!  She is very active, flipping back and forth like some exotic legless creature and itching to start crawling.  Unfortunately she is not quite ready, so her version of this is a sad attempt to do the worm and flailing her arms about as she screeches.  Charming!

We also took a trip down to Orlando to visit with my family.  Mia was a trooper for the long car ride and did not implode upon contact with the humidity (the Mr., on the other hand, melted into a puddle immediately).  She had a great time at grandma’s and snuggling with her aunt and cousins, which also allowed for a lot of mommy time (wine + naps = AWESOME).  We even took her on her first trip to the beach.  She did so well, though she was certainly more interested in the sand than the water.

She has started solid foods, which is a lot of fun now.  In addition to breast milk, she gets oatmeal cereal and various new organic fruits and veggies.  It has been a lot of fun to try new things and combos with her.  So far she loves mango, banana + avocado, pears, and peas.  She is not a fan of carrot or yams.  I have kept up with my promise to taste everything that she eats, and I can definitely say I don’t blame her for a lot of her opinions.

Low points include us getting sick.  A lot.  Baby got a nasty cold, which then turned into a double ear infection.  I can now truly understand what it means to be a parent when you’re faced with an ill child and your every thought and emotion is consumed with worry and pray that she’ll just. get. better.  When she would stop crying from the pain and fall asleep, I would go lay down on the bed exhausted and instantly have the urge to call my mom and just say “Thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I had no idea.”   I just fretted over her fever and obsessed over her temps.  Poor thing got so used to a thermometer being up her butt she hardly noticed it.  The Mr. and I got bugs as well, including pink eye for myself.  Yeah, I could have done without that in my life fuckyouverymuch.  Mia is also teething and has all that comes with it, including drooling, rashes, pain, and sleeplessness.

But even with that, things are just … great?  Mia also has a new baby cousin, we celebrated the Mr.’s first Father’s Day, and love visiting with the grandparents.  We laugh and play and have adventures, then some days we just chill out at home and… well, I know it sounds stupid to write over and over again how wonderful things are, but I just can’t imagine us being happier.  And now I kind of think she feels the same way.

Sure, I’ll give it a try.

Gah! Wait, no no…

No, seriously. Do not want.

WOMAN, get that crap away from me!

Now THIS is what I’m talking about.

Awww yeahhh

Traveling around with a breastfed baby worked out pretty well early on, too.  I would plan ahead and make sure I had a bottle ready to bring with us because I thought it would be easier, but I soon found that prepping the bottle was difficult.  See, her highness likes the temperature to be *just so*.  I learned this the hard way when she was 4 weeks old in a Borders of all places.  There she was, PISSED because the bottle was too cold and it wasn’t heating up fast enough and clearly making sure everyone knew about it.  And despite me thinking that the children’s section of the bookstore wasn’t a “suitable” place to feed her, I threw my cover-up on and fed her right then and there, wary of suspicious eyes and hoping no one would mind.  And guess what?  Nothing happened except that my baby was happy and I quickly realized that there really isn’t an un-”suitable” place to feed her. DUH.

I often throw on the HH on out in public.  Not so much for me (you all obviously know I am not modest), but I know it makes other people uncomfortable (surprisingly not just men!).  When feeding the girl the other day at a friend’s home I had my HH on because there were a bunch of people there, and her daughter and a friend came up asking what I was doing.  I explained to them that I was feeding the baby, and they asked why she was covered up.  I was dumbfounded and had no good answer for them.  Why?  Because there isn’t one!  They asked why she was under there and if they could see me feed the baby, and I was just so touched by the whole situation.  These two adorable girls may just be moms one day, and I felt like I was setting such a shitty bad example covering up an obviously natural and normal situation.  I wasn’t in a crazy public place (not that it matters!) and had no reason to cover her up. Plain and simple.  DUH.  Again.

So here I am, reminded to take my own damn advice that there isn’t really a reason to bottle feed or cover up when it’s not necessary.  I never really thought I’d become such a breastfeeding advocate.  I always figured the crunchy-hippies were a little too gung-ho about it (I’m suspicious – so sue me) and I wasn’t planning to do it for too long, but now it’s become something incredibly important to me and I hope to continue it as long as needed.  I know it’s still fairly controversial right now (I know many of my generation were not breastfed as it was uncommon in the late ’70s), but maybe by the time those girls are moms it won’t be an issue at all.*

50 Reasons for Breastfeeding Anytime, Anywhere

* Non-Mom Bashing Disclaimer:  Please note that I personally know dear friends who are either unable to breastfeed or who have chosen to not breastfeed their babies, and this is by no means any judgment upon them or others.  It is one of the most personal choices you can make, and everyone’s situation and child is different, and I am just thankful for having the option to choose to do this for myself and child.

Yesterday I scanned the room and didn’t see her in any of the bouncers or swings, but the teacher pointed her out and I find her holding her head up (eee!) and playing in an exersaucer.  MY baby, this little tiny little lump of love, spinning around in an exersaucer already! It was as if it was just yesterday when she was completely immobile and dependent on me for everything, and now she just entertains herself.

I feel sort of like a crap mom for underestimating her skills, but I guess it’s sort of a protective reflex in a way, like still cradling her head even though I know she’s fully capable of holding it upright.  And yesterday I was just bemoaning the fact that she hates facing inward in all (5) of our baby carriers, and that I could not wait until she can hold her head up and face outward!  But instead, I guess I need to worry about her focusing on calculus.

The good:

• Push ups
• Rolling over
• Sitting up (assisted)
• First solid food
• First LOL – yes, literally

The not-so-good:

• Pinching & beard pulling
• First ear infection & croup
• Rolling over and getting appendages stuck in the crib slats

I don’t know what people were talking about (the loads and loads of laundry after having a baby).

All I’ve noticed is that we do a lot more dishes.

School?!

The Mr. and I both went to drop her off in the morning.  She is such a sweetheart during the morning anyway, so it was a breeze.  We got all her stuff situated in her cubby (too cute – remember those?) and the classroom’s storage closet and briefly spoke with her teachers.

Great First Day!

When I picked her up, she was a bit fussy (which is normal for her at that time).  They said she had a great first day.  We headed home and while stuck in traffic got to see one of Atlanta’s famous residents - Mr. Bicycle Pants Man.  Lucky us.

She did have a super long day for a little school girl, so she went right to sleep at bedtime without a fight and slept all night.  Then this morning she was raring to go once more.  Hope she keeps this up for the next 18 years!

The most stressful thing about coming back to work has been the pumping situation.  I work in a male-dominated department and in an industrial classroom & lab building built in the 1960’s, so understanding and the actual environment itself doesn’t lend itself to lactating, if you know what I mean.  I did manage to book the conference room for at least the first week I’m back, but that caused a ruckus (well of course).  However, it was quickly resolved and a little office was found downstairs next to one of the labs.  Whatever, I’ll take it.  The best thing about it is that I can keep working on my laptop while pumping (plus it only takes about 15 minutes) so it’s not really an inconvenience to anyone including myself.

So yeah, I’m here and fine.  Everyone keeps looking at me all weird since I don’t have a giant belly anymore, but it’s fine.  Fine until Thursday, at least.