by Rachel | Motherhood
This weekend, Parker will turn 6 months old. And it kind of blows my mind to think about the fact that I have provided every last drop of nourishment for his entire life thus far. I knew before Parker was born that I wanted to try breastfeeding, but I had no idea how much I would enjoy it and how important it would become to me.
I also had no idea what a huge commitment it would be, and that there would be bumps along the road. I was extremely lucky that Parker latched on right away and the first few days went so smoothly, but I’ve dealt with quite a few plugged ducts (even as recently as this week) and supply issues before I realized I was exercising too much and not eating enough. Those were easy fixes, to say the least!
Being a nursing mom is a full-time job, or at least it feels that way at times. I feed Parker every 2-3 hours throughout the day, and on top of that I pump at least twice so that he has bottles when I’m working. As soon as I finish work at night, we do bath time and then I nurse Parker to sleep, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.
And I’ve excused myself from parties, family gatherings, and dinners on countless occasions — not because I’m opposed to nursing in front of other people, but because Parker is SUCH a distracted eater. If there are other people around, a TV or music playing, or even bright lights on, I can forget about a successful feeding.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way; I never take for granted the fact that I’ve been able to breastfeed this long. I’ve been a little reluctant to start solid foods just because breastfeeding is so convenient (no preparation or cleanup involved!), but I’m pretty sure Parker will love exploring new foods. Not to mention that it will be super cute, messes and all.
The older Parker gets, the more busy and wiggly he becomes. Our daytime nursing sessions are getting shorter and shorter, but I look forward to cuddling him at night and nursing him to sleep. I know I’m going to miss it so much when it’s all over, and I can only hope to make it at least another six months.
by Rachel | Family Life
This week brought a BIG first in Parker’s life: baby’s first Thanksgiving! I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again — having a baby in our lives makes everything more exciting and joyful, especially holidays.
Thanksgiving is always a pretty low key day in our family. Parker slept through the night and didn’t wake up until around 8 that morning, which was a nice treat for mommy and daddy! We lazed around the house in our pajamas (not surprisingly, Parker had multiple pairs of themed jammies for the occasion) and then Parker hung out with Zach while I baked cookies to bring to dinner.
We headed to our first dinner with my family, hosted by my mom and Joe, where Parker got to hang out with my cousin Steph and my aunt Julie. After that, we made a quick stop at my uncle and aunt’s, and Parker spent some quality time with grandpa Alan.
Our last meal of the day was with Zach’s family at his cousin John’s house. All of the Rambach cousins were there, so Parker had lots of playmates. It was an awesome day filled with family, and as much fun as we had, it felt so nice to come home and relax as a little family of three.
by Rachel | Family Life
From the time he was just one month old, Parker has been a huge fan of his kick ‘n play piano. He’s spent countless hours on that mat, kicking away at the keys to the point where I have every single tune completely memorized. It’s where he first learned to grab at toys, and he perfected his rolls on that mat as well.
Add another skill to that list: he’s working on sitting up on his own with the help of his little piano. He hasn’t mastered it yet, but when I place his boppy pillow behind him, he does a pretty great job staying upright and tickling those ivories at the same time.
It’s so exciting to watch Parker discover all the things he’s capable of, especially when they are musically related! Everyone always comments on his long “piano-playing” fingers; this is just the beginning step on his journey to becoming a little pianist. Hopefully he’ll be a more diligent piano student than I was as a child ;)
by Rachel | Family Life
I almost can’t handle the cuteness that is Parker’s 23-week photo. The thigh rolls, his little hand waving, and that almost smile…kills me. Sometimes I just can’t comprehend how lucky we are to have this adorable boy in our lives.
We’re also lucky that Parker is a wonderful traveler! He proved that this past week during our trip to Florida, which is actually the second time he’s been so far in his short life. We turned my music therapy conference into an opportunity for a little family getaway, with my mom there half the week, and Zach there for the other half.
Parker did AMAZING being away from home for almost a week; he flew like a champ, put up with us keeping him up way past his bedtime almost every night, and slept well in the hotel room. He was a good sport about meeting all my friends, too, which is a good thing because I had lots of friends who wanted to meet him! The funny thing is that Parker actually got recognized when he was with my mom and Zach, thanks to Facebook. My celebrity baby :)
While I was busy doing conference things, Zach and Parker went on several adventures. They visited Neptune Beach, where Zach took this amazing photo of Parker in his happy place: next to the ocean. We realized back in August during our trip to Naples that he LOVES the water, and that definitely has not changed.
These two got to explore Jacksonville and enjoy the warm weather while I enjoyed the inside of the conference hotel, but I did have a chance to soak up some sun when we went to Orlando on the last day of our trip. I was SO happy we had the chance to meet up with my friend Vanessa, her husband Luis, and their sweet baby Kennedy while we were there.
After breakfast with them, we met up with our friends Wade and Jenni and their little girl, Caroline, at Downtown Disney. We made the most of our day in Orlando, to the point where we just about missed our flight home!
We literally arrived at our gate just as the doors were closing, and were the very last people to board the plane. Luckily the flight wasn’t completely full, so we had a row to ourselves.
We had a rude awakening when we landed in St. Louis; it was FREEZING outside. Zach still had on shorts and I only had a light jacket, since it had been 85 degrees in Orlando. That’s always the hardest part of returning from vacation, but luckily we’ll be heading back to Florida right after the holidays.
Living in the Midwest is good for a few things, though; you can’t get photos like this in Florida.
by Rachel | Family Life
This might be my favorite weekly photo yet. I know I’m 100% biased, but this baby is quite possibly the cutest creature I’ve ever laid eyes on. My heart seriously leaps every morning when I pick him up out of his crib.
Not a bad way to start my day. Occasionally Parker will wake up crying, but most mornings he’ll entertain himself for quite a while…babbling, blowing bubbles, rolling around. I love watching and listening to him on the monitor, but it’s that smile on his face when I walk in that gets me every. single. time.
Morning playtime is the best, because now that he is sleeping so well, he is always in such a good mood. We usually lay on a blanket and play with toys, though now that he is rolling so much, he’s off the blanket in a matter of minutes.
I made a bigger effort to get out and about this week, mostly because it’s easy to go stir crazy spending so much time cooped up at home. Last weekend was gorgeous, so we made two trips to Washington Park. The first one was on Saturday, when we met up with Grandpa Alan and Grandma Jill.
On Sunday, we went on a walk with my friend Jen and her baby Ellie — Parker and I are going to miss those walks now that it’s getting so cold. Speaking of cold, it legitimately snowed on Monday. SNOWED. In November. Not cool, Mother Nature, not cool. I keep it nice and toasty inside so Parker can be comfortable in just a onesie, but we bundle the heck up to leave the house.
We found a few reasons to get out and brave the elements this week: shopping at Target, baby group (as always), getting my oil changed, and other random errands. Grandma Betsy came to babysit on Thursday morning while I visited a kindergarten classroom for a singalong, which ended up being lots of fun. I did a lot more of that kind of thing pre-baby, so it’s extra special when I have the chance nowadays.
As great as it is to get out, I think Parker is happiest when we’re just hanging out together at home. He usually chills in his swing while I vacuum the house, but he is enjoying it less and less now that he prefers being upright all the time. Can’t you tell by the look he’s giving me? The jumperoo is his apparatus of choice these days.
This is all probably very mundane to read, but I’m learning that I have to find joy and excitement in the routine. Next week we are off to Florida for my music therapy conference, so that will provide some much-needed adventure! No matter what is happening in our lives, it’s all good because, this.
