November In the Rear View

November has been bonkers. I'm not sure why, but it seems like this month has taken me by the scruff of my neck and lobbed me across the room. Can't wait till December...

When people ask me how I am nowadays, my response usually describes how James is. But that's my life now: how James is is how I am. So if he's been cranky and worn out, so's Momma.

He is growing ever so quickly. (Should I be surprised??) He's grinning and flirting and yelling so much. And when I say yelling, I don't mean fussing. I mean like hollerin' at us from his play mat, saying, "HEY I'M OVER HERE PLAYING WITH MY TOYS AND I'VE JUST REALIZED THAT I CAN MAKE MY VOICE REALLY LOUD SO HERE I AM HEEEEEY!" It's really cute.

He also ONLY wants to stand up, with help of course. He can even do it just holding on to our hands! No sitting for this boy. Those little fat, sturdy legs are working so hard! My favorite is when he loses his balance and it makes his belly stick waaay out in front of him, trying to regain his center of gravity. I also love when he makes it to the upright position and he does his excited-fast-breathing. Like, "Yes! I made it! I knew there was more to this than laying around on my back!"

Anyway, that's about it. There isn't much new, just general mayhem and busyness. Those first perilous weeks of motherhood are becoming a fuzzy memory. James is starting to become more of an interactive little person and less like a "larva-stage-human" (for you, Dar :)

Eavesdropping on a Flix message to my mom:

I just had to share this little video I took with my phone. It was right before nap time and James' cranky cries are just so cute to me, especially how his face is at the very end.

Of course when those cranky cries turn into overtired banshee screams it's a completely different story.

Memory Monday (on Tuesday... whoops)

Genesis 2:18

The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

What Sister-In-Laws Are For:

In order to contribute to my new high-calorie diet, my sister-in-law Sarah sent me to this INCREDIBLE blog. Do NOT miss the Bacon Wrapped Pigs in Blankets Wrapped in Bacon or the Twinkie Casserole! Seriously.

Oh Well...

I've mentioned before of my bout with Crohn's disease. Not a terrible case, but enough to alter my diet and lifestyle slightly. During pregnancy, however, my hormones kicked the Crohn's symptoms to the curb and I was able to enjoy (within reason) many of the foods that I'd abandoned. Not to mention a pain-free abdomen... traded that for fetal kicks to the ribcage.

Well about two weeks ago, the symptoms returned. It started with that familiar, sharp pain in my upper belly (it's pretty much contained in my duodenum and ileum. That's the part that connects your stomach to your upper intestine). Nothing gut-wrenching and definitely not the 103 degree fevers that wracked my body in 2005 when I was diagnosed. Just little, annoying whispers that mocked, "Didja miss me??"

More than the pain, I've lost waaay too much weight. I know that mothers pine and work really hard to lose pregnancy weight, but please hear me when I say that this cost outweighs the benefits. Here I am with not even a pair of PRE-pregnancy pants that fit me. All too big. And I just feel ill.

I've been advised to stop nursing James. Obviously, nutrients go to him first and I'm left with the scant leftovers that my body has a hard time absorbing to begin with. I'm by no means against putting James on formula. I know he'd be fine and has gotten so many of the breast milk benefits in his early infancy. But before I took that step, I wanted to talk to my doctor.

He said to try an extremely high-calorie diet before I stopped nursing. We talked about what I eat day to day and, frankly, it's just not enough. Plus, the Crohn's is so weak right now that it probably isn't even the primary cause of my weight loss.

All that to say, I'm chugging Ensure drinks and adding lots of butter and olive oil to everything I eat. Flaxseed powder is going in my sauces and lots of peanut butter and cheese is on the menu. After a month, we'll re-evaluate and see if weaning is necessary. I'm praying it's not. Nursing is free and easy and readily available.

I know, it's weird to hear of a weight-gain diet... and while it might sound like fun, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are not on the menu.

A Newborn Chimp is STILL Smarter Than My Baby?

For a few days I've struggled with why in the world newborn babies in the Animal Kingdom are so much more agile, mobile, and physically capable at birth than my little one. Our supposed closest relative, the chimpanzee, can nimbly swing up and cling to his mother as she travels through the tree tops. Yet my "more advanced" species-boy is just now, at 4.5 months old, sitting up with assistance and topples over if left unattended. What in the world??

So I found this article that outlines the theory that because of our big brains, there's more developing to do outside of the womb. Essentially, if I'm understanding it correctly, humans are born early so that they can fit that huge noggin through the birth canal. But don't you think that consistent early delivery would be fatal to infants? I mean, just a hundred years ago we didn't have the technology to keep premature babies alive.

Anyway, if you have a minute, read it and let me know what you think. And yes, this means you, Mikey. :)

Memory Monday

Proverbs 4:23

"Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life."

My Beach Boy