* tears out hair * *edit*

So. I’m thinking that Noah must be going through his 6 week growth spurt just a tad bit early.

That’s the only explanation for the way he’s been acting that makes any sense.

Eating every hour or so, when he was perfectly content to go three hours between feedings before.

Fussing for NO reason whatsoever. He’ll be fed, have a clean diaper, not too hot or cold, no scratchy tags on his clothes or anything….and he’ll just be fussy. He’s not running a temp or anything. A little gassy, but no more than usual really.

If this is indeed another growth spurt, he should be back to his happy self tomorrow or Friday. Pray that he is, because Jake and I just don’t know what to do anymore.

I love my son to pieces, but my nerves can only take so much.

Ok, little man is finally sleeping….for a little bit, at least.

I did this while I was pregnant, but felt like doing it again.

Pregnancy Precautions:  Obviously, you should take any all precautions you feel are necessary to keep you and the little one safe and healthy. It’s not possible or even practical to try to avoid EVERYTHING that could potentially pose a hazard, but you gotta do whatever you feel comfortable with.

Medicated vs Natural Birth: I have nothing but respect and admiration for mommas who manage to go drug free. Since my water broke before I started really having contractions, I had to have Pitocin to try and speed things up since I wasn’t progressing and since there is a risk of infection if you don’t give birth within about 24 hours of your water breaking. And then my contractions started coming so fast together, I wasn’t catching a break in between them, not to mention I was having back labor, so I was EXTREMELY happy to have an epidural. Total lifesaver for me.  

Home birth vs Hospital birth: If a home birth works for you, great. But I’m so glad that I was in the hospital, for the obvious reasons. Who knows what would have happened to little man if we hadn’t been in the hospital where they were able to get him out fairly quickly.

Non-Medically Necessary C-Sections: INow that I’ve had a c-section…I honestly can’t figure out why someone would CHOOSE to have one. Maybe I just had a really crappy experience, but I wouldn’t want to go through that again unless I HAVE to. When/if we have another child, I will definitely be looking into a VBAC, that’s for sure.

Circumcision: I understand the argument from both sides. I almost don’t want to circumcise Noah now. But, having Noah circumcised is something that’s important to Jake, for a variety of reasons that I don’t need to explain to anyone, and it’s something we agreed on long before I even got pregnant. That’s just the choice we’re making for our family.

Infant Ear Piercing: A personal choice that I don’t have strong feelings on one way or the other. When/if we have a girl, I’ll probably wait till she’s a little older and let her make that choice for herself, just as I was able to choose it for myself. But I certainly don’t look down upon mommas who choose to have it done at an early age.  

Breastfeeding: I am SO glad that I am able to breastfeed, and I feel so bad for women that physically just can’t do it. I love knowing that my body continues to provide nourishment for my son, and I love the bond it creates between us. I love cuddling him close and I love to watch him nurse. And I mean no offense to anyone, but I honestly can’t understand why some women don’t even TRY breastfeeding. It’s one of the best things you can ever do for your child; even if you only do it ONCE, you’re still giving your child some very valuable nutrients and antibodies. And I feel so sad for the moms that run into some problems and just give up because they don’t realize that there are SO many resources out there to help them. I know this is another very personal thing, and everyone’s got their reasons for choosing to either breastfeed or formula feed….and I’m just happy that the babies are getting fed at all, but being fortunate enough myself to breastfeed succesfully, any other way is foreign to me.

Co-Sleeping: My views here have changed somewhat. I prefer to have little man in his own bassinet, but I’m not nearly as against bringing him into bed with me as I thought. He slept right next to me while we were at mom’s, and I rather enjoyed being able to just turn over and touch him and know that he was safe and breathing, and loved waking up and just staring at him as he stared right back at me. It’s not something I want to make a habit out of, and won’t be able to very often once Jake comes back to sleep in our room again (our bed just isn’t big enough for him to feel comfortable with it), but I can definitely see why so many mommas are for it.

Discipline/Spanking: I don’t agree with spanking as the first/only means of discipline, but I can see when it might be necesary.

TV/Video Games: I don’t have a problem with either as long as the parents are monitoring what their kids are watching/playing, it’s done in moderation, and it’s balanced out with plenty of outdoors time and time spent in other fun yet constructive activities.

Stay at home moms vs Working moms: I love being able to stay home with Noah. But I understand that some moms just can’t stay home, whether that be for financial reasons or not. I say: Go with whatever works best for your family.

Religion: Jake and I are both agnostic right now, so religion doesn’t play a very important role in our lives, though it may someday. However, we won’t be forcing our children to practice any religions unless they want to (though, until they’re old enough to actually make that decision, they’ll be attending church with us if we do get involved with any religion), and they won’t be forced to follow whichever religion(s) we may choose. We’ll encourage them to find a religion that best suits THEM and THEIR spiritual needs.

And….it took me like, two hours to finish that. Many interruptions. Yeesh.

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