Adventures in B-Feeding

Having jinxed myself in saying that we had not yet seen any teeth from H in my post a few days ago, lo and behold, 2 bottom teeth have arrived... literally overnight.

My normally happy-go-lucky precious babe has been quite cranky and wants Mommy - 24/7 - this week. 

How did we find these teeth?  With a rather painful encounter.  I shall not go into details, but let's just say I haven't yelped that loudly in a good long while... say almost 6 months ago? 

It's a perfect time to remember the commitment to b-feeding, as I now grimace at the sight of H's cute little vampire mouth. 

So, Mr. Smith and I made the decision to b-feed H long before his arrival.  Having mommies ourselves who went down this path, we had long heard of it's magical powers. 

Why is it so rad?

It's convenient.  It's literally right there, ready to go, 24/7.  I think the definition is "on demand" and reads something like "the ability to feed your child whenever or wherever he may desire it."  This is what it really means "the ability to feed your child everywhere awkwardly imaginable: the parking lot of Publix, the parking lot of CVS, the handicap stall at the BJCC, the regular stall at Jim 'n Nicks...  really no place is too awkard for your precious babe to get his tummy full."

Also, let's discuss the "let down" process.  I think the definition for this is something along the lines of "when your baby needs your ladies, your milk will release..something about the psychological and physical aspects..."  This is what that really means: you "let down" or "the ladies gear up for action" when the following happens:

1.  Your baby cries
2.  Your baby smiles at you
3.  You are with a friend and start talking about your baby
4.  You see a baby on TV crying or smiling
5.  You are at Publix and hear a baby 3 aisles over crying
6.  You listen to the radio and get all sappy thinking of your precious babe
7.  You see a Fisher Price or Johnson & Johnson commercial on the TV
8.  You are in the shower and start thinking about everything you need to do the next day for the precious babe.
9.  You are brushing your teeth and start thinking about everything you need to do the next day for the precious babe.
10.  You are typing away on your blog and your baby starts cooing at you on his mat besides you....

On that note, I'll wrap things up here.

 

P.S.  Let's not forget it's free.  Hooray to The Big Guy in the Sky for giving us this precious yet economical gift!

 

Our goal is to b-feed H his first full year. By either straight from the source or pumping/bottles.  With the pains I've endured the past couple of days, that pump is looking better and better.

Side note:  Isn't it funny to use the terms "we" in this department?  Because that last time I checked, Mommy Smith was the slave to the H-Man when he's hungry.  Ah well, marriage and parenting is all about teamwork, right? 

Six Months!

Dear Harrison,

You are 6 Months Old! 

You are weighing in at around 15 lbs, 11 oz. and are approximately 27 inches in length. 

You are in Size 2 diapers, but as soon as we finish those in a couple of days, we're going to Size 3!  You are in Size 6 months clothing, and some 6-9 month outfits!  You are a chunk, and we love your rolls and multiple chins. 

Look at you sitting up so big and tall!  Such great posture, my little man!

You are such a happy baby, and rarely get upset.  The only times you're a stinker is when you're sleepy or has the gassies (and who doesn't get upset with either one of those?).

You've recently discovered your "Around the World" playset and are so intrigued by everything. 

Besides this, you love your Ella Elephant and Lovie, and are quite taken by your rattle now.

You're still LOVING bath time, and love giving us a good soakin' with your strong kicks. 

Up until this weekend, you were exclusively on Mommy Milk, but we decided to introduce some foods to you. 

This was your first reaction with carrots.

(I don't know where he gets these faces.)

As you can tell, we have a long way to go.  But Mommy is patient, and whipped up her own baby food this weekend with the help of her Cuisinart food processor.  You were slightly better with bananas, but we all know veggies are important, so we shall not be giving up on those any time soon! (Blog post coming soon on homemade baby food.)

You usually take 2 big naps (morning and afternoon) and a cat nap in the evening.  We've been trying to be diligent with getting you ready for bed between 8 and 8:30pm, but I think you're on to us.  I can hear you right now fussy at Daddy in the recliner because you are so sleepy but stubbornly refusing to go to sleep. 

No signs of teeth yet, but you are a Drooling Machine!  You're also rolling over and can sit up by yourself for a few seconds.  You love when we clap for you, so that's fast becoming your desired reaction by us anytime you do something. 

We love you Little Man!

Friday Funny

Three weeks ago, I returned to my posh salon to get my hair trimmed. 

My stylist from last time no longer worked there, so I was switched to a very trendy woman with a very trendy haircut, very trendy clothes, and very trendy make-up.

To say we were a bit different is a bit of an understatement, as I had my hair in a ponytail and was sporting an Old Navy pullover and my maternity jeans - don't judge, it was Laundry Day at the Smith House (and they are SO comfortable...)

I digress.

She snipped and snipped and snipped. 

And it looked good when she finished.

Besides the fact she had given me a middle part.  Are those in now?

However, Judgement Day came when I was left to fix it myself. 

I shampooed, I blow-dried, I straightened.

Then I looked up in the mirror, and saw this:

Yes, my friends, I had been Billy Ray'ed. 

It wasn't pretty. 

It still isn't pretty, but it's growing. 

You can remedy a Billy Ray situation with pulling it back as much as possible.

I bet you'll notice that in my pictures now, right?

Dang it. 

Happy Friday!

It's Fall, Y'all

This past weekend, we journeyed to the Pumpkin Patch. 

The whole family went. 

That's means Daddy, Mommy, Baby H, and The Pooper.

There were pumpkins.

A hayride to get to the pumpkins.

And a huge mass of small children with parents.

Know what happens when you take a hyper-active 80 lb. black lab to an event like that?

A.  Little girls scream in terror and cling to their mothers.

B.  Little boys run towards you, screaming in excitement, about the "PUPPY!"

C.  Mothers give you the Evil Eye.

D.  All of the above.

If you guessed "D".... congratulations.  You're the winner. 

However.... the memory is made.

The lesson is learned.

And we even got a sort-of-cute family picture.

Happy Homecoming!

Last weekend, we headed to T-Town to celebrate Homecoming Weekend at Bama.

We started off Friday celebrating Mr. Baker's 30th Birthday.

We wore our new Pumpkin smocked outfit and posed with Daddy...

We flirted with Kelly.

He is his father's child, after all.

And we loved on Aunt MK for all her hard work putting together a fabulous soiree...

The next day, we strolled Sorority Row and took in all the Pomping festivities.

The Phi Mu house looked great - probably because they started pomping on Bid Night. 

I kid, I kid.

... or am I?

We got some Quad time with T and Mimi...

And we continued our "Campaign for a Carroll Baby 2K11."

P.S. Special thanks to Aunt Sarah for my cute monogrammed houndstooth outfit!

Wordless Wednesday:Rebuilding at the Farm

Just in case you were wondering...

... or staying up at night wondering about this guy.

He's fine.

In fact, The Pooper is better than ever.

Still as spoiled rotten as ever.

Took him and H took to the Dog Park last week. 

Cue comedic footage of me, baby in stroller, and wild lab on leash getting down ramp to said Park. 

And then panning to watch my horrified face as he found every single mud puddle to roll around in. 

It was glorious, to say the least. 

Strike that pose, Cooper.

Flash your pearly whites.

See that mustache?

Don't think I don't all him Tom Selleck when he's been bad.

(Which is slightly weird for me, since I habor a crush for Mr. Selleck since his "Three Men and a Baby" days...)

Bama Baby

Baby H has been quite the busy little Bama Baby for his first football season...

Cheering on the Tide with Daddy.

Eating watching Mom eat delicious foods.

Napping with Nanny Suz...

...or really just napping anywhere, even the Quad.

Partying on the Quad pre-Game.

Some of these games have been nail-biters!

And his latest trick...

"Harrison, what do you think of Auburn?"