Daddy Love

Despite his crazy schedule of working and going to school, Wade is a devoted father.  The man lights up when he sees his baby girl.  After ditching his oil stained clothes, the first thing he does when he comes home is hold Harper.  He will do anything for a smile from her.

LOVE this one!

 

Be still my heart!

It's amazing to watch him with her.  And I have fallen in love with him all over again because of her.

I'm Starting Her Early.

 

A requirement for my Thursday night class is to read James Joyce's Ulysses.  Instead of Dr. Seuss I read this to Harper.  It's a way for me to read to her and to get my homework accomplished.  Please don't think that I'm one of those parents who's thinks that reading this type of literature to a baby will make them a genius.  I'm not.  She prefers the actual book over me reading it to her.  I can't say that I blame her.  Thankfully I'm on the last chapter!  Now we can move on to more interesting topics...like Mary Shelley and Frankenstein.  

We have crawling!

Yes, as of last week Harper fully entered the crawling world.  (Didn't I just give birth to her, like, yesterday?!?)  Of course, in true Harper fashion, crawling just isn't enough.  She wants to climb! and walk! and run!  But first she must find balance.  Until then she will continue to stick out her tummy or bottom while we walk her around (so flippin' cute, by the way).  Of course, this means that my otherwise clean house must stay SPOTLESS because, let's face it, mobile children EAT EVERYTHING THEY FIND.  There can be blocks and books and other toys strewn about, but she goes for the microscopic piece of lint that the vacuum didn't pick up.  Because, apparently, that is so much more interesting and tasty than a book.  Yesterday I rearranged the upstairs living room furniture so I could see her while she plays on the rug.  Next up, putting in a new stair railing so my heart doesn't explode when she gets within 12 feet of the stairs.  Who said parenting was easy?

Don't mind the hair on the floor.  I promise I'm clean.  We just have two hairy dogs.

Just Now

Just now, my baby girl woke up crying.  It's almost 10:00 at night and she's had a long day.

Just now, I went to her, gathered her up in my arms, wrapped a blanket around her, and rocked her back to her dreams.

Just now, I glided back and forth in that rocker and felt my heart growing.  A small moment that I will try to remember always.

Just now, I held onto my baby long after she had fallen asleep.  I found it difficult to leave her laying there.

Just now, I felt the happiest I have ever been on such an ordinary day. 

7 Months

My Sweet Baby Harper,
    Last Friday you turned 7 months.  Instead of feeling sad and wondering how in the world these past 7 months have flown by so quickly, I felt elated.  This past month has really brought out your personality.  You're moving more than ever, babbling more than ever, and you are almost always happy.

The day you turned 7 months. Love the sweater!

You are starting to crawl, though only a little bit at a time.  Mostly you maneuver yourself around until you can pull yourself up on a piece of furniture (ever heard of a heart attack?!).  What you really want to do is walk.  You're happiest when someone is walking you around.  I can now put you in the pack n' play where you hold onto the sides and stand for extended periods of time.  You babble and coo and chew on the sides.  And this makes you ridiculously happy.  You will now sit and play by yourself.  Granted, this doesn't last for very long, maybe 5 or 10 minutes at a time, but I can eat or go to the bathroom during these times.  I'm enjoying it now because soon I won't be able to leave you alone.
You are in the process of getting your top four front teeth (eek!).  So far, so good, though I feel so sorry for you.  Mouth pain is the worst! You've been good during nursing by sparing Momma's nipples and I thank you!

Everyday you change.  Everyday I love you more.  What I really wanted to tell you was just how much I love you and hope for you.  I know I will make mistakes and I will piss you off and we won't always agree on everything.  I get that.  But I have been thinking a lot about being a mom, both now and in the future, and I really, truly hope that I can help you grow into a well-rounded, healthy (both body and mind), mature, happy adult.  I have moments where I freeze up at the thought of helping you grow up in this world.  Will I be able to equip you with the tools you will need to be successful, but also with the tools necessary to pick yourself back up when you fail?  Will I be able to show you the world, both good and bad, and prepare you for it?  Will the knowledge that I have be enough for you?  Will I be able to impart to you the values and morals that were instilled in me?  How can I protect you from all the ills of the world, but let you know enough of it so that you don't go down some life-damaging path?  What I mean to say, my love, is that I worry for and about you.  CONSTANTLY.  And you're only SEVEN MONTHS OLD.  (Imagine how the next 20 or 40 years will be!)  I worry now about the arguments we will have later and whether or not we will have the beautiful relationship that my mother and I have.  You will make mistakes.  You will fail at times.  You will learn the ugly truth about the world and people.  I can't hide you from the bad, as much as I would like to shove you into that plastic bubble.  I know that's not even plausible because you need to be aware in order to persevere.  And while these things I worry about are in the future, they're very close on my mind.  I love you my little one more than anything.  I hope that you will always know that.  I hope that I forever continue to show you the love that I feel right now.  Keep blossoming my love!  I'll be right here to watch every minute and to cheer you on!

Things I Wish I'd Been Told...

about breastfeeding a six-month-old.

1. She will try to twist your boob back and forth, as if it were a bottle, while nursing.

2. She will want to inspect your nipple after feeding.

3. She will want to talk/sing/coo at your boob after feeding.  Her way of thanking it for her nourishment, I suppose.

4. She will come to think that everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, is a boob or nipple.  Freckles. Elbows. Pumpkin stems. Tops of cookie jars. Dog noses.

5. She will try to nurse off of anyone, especially her shirtless father.  (You say ouch; I say, oh well cause he didn't learn his lesson the first dozen times it happened.)

6. No matter what anyone tells you, she will try to nip/bite you more than once, despite having tried all the "tricks" to get her to stop.  If her gums hurt from teething, you're gonna know about it!

7. If you get out of the shower and, heaven forbid don't put a towel or rub around yourself, she will gawk at your breasts like a 13 year-old boy who's never seen boobies before.

8. If she does see you shirtless and braless, she will stare at them with the widest eyes that seem to say, "Wait!  There are TWO of those?!"

9. You will experience engorgement every couple of months when she goes through a growth spurt and her appetite changes and then slows down after the growth spurt.  This is a good time to stock up on milk!

10. You will have made one of THE. BEST. decisions as a mother for your daughter (and yourself, honestly!).  And, hey, it's okay to pat yourself on the back for making it to your first breastfeeding goal of six months (and counting)!

Six Month Photo Shoot