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I must say that I am one happy lady these days. Work is going really, really well. I am currently working with a group of people (old + new faces) that are so supportive. I am enjoying what I do professionally, and the program I coordinate is finally coming together. But, I did feel a sting of jealously when my friend told me she had decided not to return to work after her extended maternity leave. She had come to the decision to be a stay-at-home mom. From my brief experience, being a full-time mommy is the hardest, most physically exhausting job there is. It also happens to be the most joyful and rewarding. I am proud of my friend.
As far as life with Lawry, he is one on the go little boy. His mode of transportation is the scoot. He places both of his hands in front of him, then swings his legs forward. It seems like it is just as fast as crawling. The only things that stop him are rugs. His vocabulary consists of Mom, mama, Dad, dada, baba (pretty much the same). His favorite game is still pass and playing with his ball. He can catch his big ball mid-air after bouncing it. His eyes sparkle when he looks at me, and he can take my breath away in an instant.
Checkout Lawry scooting. He is faster at it now, but you get the idea. That is a small "rubber duckie" in his mouth:
Lawry is turning one next month. He will be off to college soon. Will I always be in this much awe of him? My guess is yes.
Most recent photo:
Sorry it has been forever since I last blogged about life with my little boy. I do have some exciting news. Lawry said his first word at 9 1/2 months. Drum roll please, Lawry's first word was Mama! He says it when he wants something and when he eats. He also uses it when I'm not in the room, like he is calling for me. One night I thought he was asleep next to me, so I rolled away from him to where my back was facing him. He started hitting my back with his hands and saying Mama. It was just the sweetest. He can now say Dada and baba. We aren't sure if he is referring to his bottle or his ball with baba. Maybe he means both. He likes both of those things a whole lot.
Lawry is also eating real solids like chicken and other table food. His favorite game is pass. He is really good at it. I think that he is a natural athlete and a pass genius.
Lawry and his friend Arnold:
Lawry eating Korean food for the first time:
I am mostly sad to report that I stopped breastfeeding this week. It turns out that one of the best "perks" of my job hurt nursing in the end. I am so so lucky to have on-site daycare at the YWCA. Lawry is cared for on the first floor of my building, and my office is on the second floor. At first, it made nursing so easy. I would take a break every few hours and go down to feed him. But, lately, Lawry has been too distracted to nurse. Or, my job has been so busy, that our schedule got off. Anyways, there were many days when I would try to nurse him 3 times in one day, but he never ate with me.There was not time to both try to nurse Lawry and then pump if he did not at work. This started to really affect my milk supply. I would have to supplement at night with formula and even on the weekends. It got to the point where Lawry would seem really frustrated with the breast, but happy to see the bottle coming his way.
So, last weekend, I decided to pump hardcore to see if I could build my milk supply back up. It just became really discouraging. One side pretty much had no milk supply. The other slightly more, but no nearly enough to feed Lawry. I then made a decision I am still questioning to stop. Many tears were shed. Nursing creates such an intense connection between mother and child. To me, one of my fundamental duties to Lawry as his mother is to provide him with milk. Somehow I feel like I am failing him by quiting.
On the other hand, Lawry and I have not been in sync for sometime now. Part of me is glad to let it go and move on. The constant internal struggle of my low milk supply was stressful. I truly know that I have done a great job with nursing him for 9 months. It was an amazing experience, not one I would trade for anything. Lawry is a happy, healthy baby, part of which is due to nursing. He and I still co-sleep and snuggle, so Lawry is getting the physical contact he needs. I also enjoyed a margarita for the first time in over 1.5 years. They are delicious!
Ignore the eczema on Lawry's cheek. You cannot not see them, but Lawry has his two front teeth too:
I just had the best weekend with Lawry and Andrew. Sometimes being a new mom is just craziness, but not this weekend. Lawry had been sick, but is feeling better now. He was loving life and his parents this weekend. Lots of smiles. We ran errands yesterday, which Lawry stayed awake for and seemed very pleased to be running. Today we went to the zoo for the second time. Lawry enjoyed the animals a lot more. He would see them, then smile, then do a whole body motion to show his excitement. Except for a crazy bird biting the shit out of my thumb, the zoo was a lot of fun.
He really likes looking at fish:
This is the crazy bird that bit me, right after it dropped the stick:
I was supermom today too. I straighten up the house, cooked dinner, did dishes, blogged, all while playing with my little man.
I just have to add that Lawry is so sweet. He loves to give and receive hugs and kisses. Lawry's kisses: he opens his mouth, then puts his mouth somewhere on your body (usually my cheek or shoulder during a hug), he holds his mouth there for a little bit, then takes his mouth away with a look of pride and adoration. I'm such a lucky mommy!
Another adorable picture for viewing:
Lawry's first Christmas came and went so fast. Overall, it was awesome. We went to eat dinner at my mother's Christmas Eve. She gave Lawry a rocking chair (to match my first Christmas gift). He just sat in it like a little prince. He is real grabby, grabby right now, so he grabbed the cushions and hand rails while rocking himself. He was quite pleased.
We woke up early Christmas morning. My dad was visiting and staying with us. He, my brother, and my very pregnant sister-in-law came over to celebrate Lawry's first with us. Lawry sat in his rocking chair and helped Andrew and I open all his gifts. The thing he reacted to the most was the big blue ribbon that was wrapped around one of his presents. In the mouth with it for the rest of the morning. Why did Andrew and I fret over his gifts and spend a bunch of money? Blue ribbons, plastic bags, and water bottles are the best!
Seriously though, we gave him a bunch of wooden toys and tried the best we could to avoid plastic toys from China. He really likes the texture of the wooden toys. He bangs them together and has a grand ole time. However, this weekend, we totally bought him two loud plastic toys made in China. He likes to push the buttons that make noises.
