Happy 1st Birthday!!!!

Ummm...I've been a slacker. BAD.

A lot has happened since my last post. Waylon started crawling. Then he started standing. Then he started walking. Then he turned one. Time flies...and I want it to stop. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was welcoming him into this world, and now he's drinking from a sippy cup and walking/waddling all over the place.

Sigh...it's no lie when people tell you kids grow up fast. They really do. My little man is SO big already, and it's only going to get worse.

The last year has been one of the most amazing rides of my life. Being a mother to this amazing little guy has been even more incredible than I imagined. Watching Waylon grow up and develop and come into his own personality is something I will never forget. He's just a happy, chill little guy who smiles and laughs all the time. Have we had our cry fest moments? Sure! Who hasn't? Are there even more of them to come? There's not doubt in my mind. But there's not one moment of this that I would trade for anything. He has changed my life completely, and I love him so much it hurts.

You always hear about how great it is to be a mom. That's an understatement. Becoming a mother is by far one of the greatest things I've ever done in my life and I am so thankful for it.

I've had a few ideas running around in my head about the direction of this blog. Should I continue to use it to update the progress of Waylon? Will I even continue to write since I'm such a slacker? Does anyone even read this damn blog? Who knows. But if and when things change or move to a new page, the update will be here. Until then....

4 months!

Four months! I can't believe it! My little man is getting SO BIG! At his 4 month check up, Waylon weighed in at 15lbs 15oz!

Just when you think things couldn't get any better...they do. Last month, Waylon discovered his feet and hands. This month, he's able to grab things, play with his feet (constantly)and roll over! At first, it was only his bottom half that rolled over but after a couple of weeks, he was finally able to roll all the way over.

But the very best thing Waylon has learned to do? Laugh. Oh. My. God. His giggles are quite possibly the most incredible sound my ears have ever heard. It's the sweetest, cutest thing in the world! Every time he laughs, my heart explodes with happiness. No matter what a horrible day I've had, coming home to his smile and his laugh makes it all go away.

We've finally gotten into a good routine since I've returned to work. Waylon usually falls asleep between 7-8pm. I try to read him a book every night before I put him down. He sleeps all night (YES!) and wakes up between 6-7am. He's doing really well at daycare and his sitter LOVES him to pieces. Whenever I drop him off in the morning, the little girls scream, "Baby Waylon!" It's so cute.

Speaking of ladies...Waylon is quite the flirt. He loves the ladies! He smiles and coos at them, no matter what age. At my friend Jessica's going away party, my other friend, Angela, was holding Waylon. After a few minutes, she looked down and noticed that Waylon had somehow unbottoned her shirt. Go figure. He is his father's son.

*Mustache in the first photo courtesy of Gigi Buddendeck's first birthday party. :)

Welcome Fraylee Ann!

Snowblynd is having babies! In case you don't know, Snowblynd is my husband's band. You should check them out. They're the best band you've never heard. ;)

So now my hubby's not the only member of the band with a new baby. Congrats to Snowblynd's singer, Brad, and his wife, Crystal, on their beautiful new baby girl, Fraylee Ann! She was born August 10, 2011 and weighed 8lbs 7oz and was 21in long. Can you guess who they named her after???? Heeheehee....

Our kids will be going to the same sitter, so they'll grow up together! How cool is that?

12 Weeks!

Going back to work was awful. Other Moms tell you how terrible it will be but it's as bad as they tell you times a million. The night before I returned to work, I sat with my little man in his room and rocked to him to sleep...while I cried my eyeballs out.

We are incredibly lucky to have a friend who watches kids in her home (and she happens to be engaged to one of Columbus' best guitar players to boot!), so I know Waylon is in really good hands. But it was still incredibly difficult to leave him with her that Monday morning. After I kissed him about a hundred times, I got in my car and cried on my way to work. Ugh. Needless to say, the day dragged, and all I really did was delete about 800 emails and stare at pictures of Waylon. When 5pm finally creeped around, I couldn't get to Waylon fast enough. And I was rewarded with the biggest, sweetest toothless smile ever. :)

Waylon has recently discovered his hands and feet. He will stare at his little fists so intently, like they're the most amazing things he's ever seen. And he's reaching for his feet and staring at them, too. His coordination is getting better by the day. He purposefully swats at things and usually hits his target. Today I noticed that when his bink falls out of his mouth, he actually tries to put it back in. He'll grab it and clumsily aim for his mouth...and miss. But damn it, he tries! :)

July was a big month for Waylon. To our great delight, Waylon's Grandpa Mark was finally able to make it to see him for the first time! Yippee!!!!! He was finally on a break from touring with Bob Seger and made it a point to come see the little guy. We had a great time visiting with him.

Waylon also got to see his bearded uncles in Blackberry Smoke again last month. We drove up early to hang out for a little bit. While we were on the bus, Waylon got a little impromptu, personal concert from Charlie. Simply amazing.

The Shape of a Mother

Right after I put up my last post, I happened to stumble across a post on a message board on Baby Center from a lady who was feeling just like me: depressed over her post baby body.

Look, NO ONE tells you about the aftermath of childbirth and pregnancy. Yes, we all know about stretch marks, but there's SO much more that happens to your body than that. So it was great to find this post and know that there were so many other new Moms who felt the exact same way as me.

One woman who commented listed a fantastic website: The Shape of a Mother. It's a site that celebrates the post baby body and lets women tell their own post baby body stories. Whether these women love their bodies or hate them, they all have the guts to share their stories, their emotions and their pictures. Yup, they post pics of their post baby bodies. Even before I had a baby I wouldn't have had the balls to post pics of my body on a website, let alone after I had a baby.

The site just helps you feel less alone and makes you realize that your body may never be the same, but hopefully you will grow to accept it.

I Hate My Body/I Heart Pink

No matter what you do or what people tell you, there is no way to prepare yourself for what pregnancy and childbirth will do to your body.

Yes, I'm fully aware that I just gave birth to a child, but that doesn't mean I feel good about the way my body has transformed since that beautiful experience. I loved being pregnant, but I had a hard time adjusting to not being able to fit into my normal clothes. And I love being a Mom, but I'm having an even harder time not having my normal body and not being able to fit into my normal clothes. Although everyone I talk to tells me I look great (and I appreciate their compliments), I don't' feel great. I gained about 40lbs while I was pregnant and have lost about 30lbs so far (thank you, breastfeeding!). It's the last 10lbs that are killing me.

It didn't take too long for me to get tired of wearing maternity clothes after I gave birth, so I decided to go shopping for a couple of things while I was in my in between stage. Never in my life did I think it would be as horrifying as it was. Nothing fit. The actual size that I could fit into was devastating. I didn't think I looked that big, but apparently I was. And it's not just the extra weight that was causing my bigger size; it's also my larger hips. Good gawd...as if my hips weren't big enough already! Now they're even wider!

I know it took 10 months to put on this weight, so it'll take almost as long to take it off. I'm just impatient. ;) But I'm working on it, so hopefully I'll be back to normal sooner than later.

Speaking of after baby bodies...The media always shows beautiful models and actresses with their amazing post baby bodies. It's as if they lost all their pregnancy weight the day after they gave birth. In just four weeks, these ladies look totally stunning. It's so unfair! Of course, that certainly doesn't help with my insecurities. But I suppose if I had millions of dollars, a trainer and a personal chef, I'd look that great in four weeks, too.

Enter Pink. I'm a big fan of Pink. She's smart and sassy and hot. She doesn't give a f*ck what anyone thinks of her, and I truly appreciate that. So I was pretty stoked to find out she was pregnant at the same time I was pregnant. She gave birth about a month after me to a little girl. I wasn't expecting to see any pics of her until she was back to her awesome pre-baby body. But I was dead wrong! Check out Pink, out and about five days after giving birth and rocking her post baby body! Kudos to Pink! Thanks for being real! You look fantastic!

Photo: ivillage.com

8 Weeks!

It is absolutely stunning how much babies grow and evolve in a matter of a month. Waylon is 12lbs 14oz and changing every day. The most wonderful things he's started to do are smiling real smiles and cooing.

Oh my...his smiles and coos are heart melting. I can sit and have little conversations with him and he answers me back with the most adorable little ooo's and ahh's. It is completely amazing. Waylon will smile and coo at "Mr. Frog," his favorite toy, and when I read him his favorite book, Baby Panda (a soft book in red, black and white with lots of shapes). Waylon has also started to try and reach for and touch things. He still doesn't have complete control of his arms and legs, but it sure is cute to watch him swat at things. And he's been trying to roll over but hasn't succeeded quite yet.

This past weekend was one of our favorite times of the year: Goodguys Car Show. Hot rods from all over the country swarm into Columbus for the biggest car show of the year. We were so excited to take Waylon! He sat with his Daddy and his Great Grandma and watched all the cool cars roll in, and he loved it! Check out Daddy and Waylon next to our 1954 Belair!

The only major struggle I've had up until this point is breastfeeding. I stopped nursing him after about 2-3 weeks and just pumped. That transition went well until my milk supply couldn't keep up with Waylon's demand. I started supplementing with formula and that helped. But now...my milk supply is slowly but surely dwindling down to nothing. Sigh...at least I had a good 2 month run. Not being able to feed Waylon solely on breast milk made me feel like a failure. I know I'm not but I really wanted to go at least 6 months.

For any breastfeeding Moms out there, may I recommend the My Breast Friend breastfeeding pillow. Most people only know about the Boppy, but I think My Breast Friend is much better for breastfeeding. It's firmer. It wraps all the way around you and gives you much better support. The Boppy works, but feels a little more flimsy and doesn't give as much support. I love the Boppy for Waylon to lounge in and for his tummy time; we use it every day.