Big news!!! My little guy has popped his first tooth AND he's rolling like mad! The first realization came when I was feeding him a small crumb from a teething biscuit he was chomping on (talk about putting the cart before the horse), and as I put it in his mouth, I felt a small ridge on his lower gums. I went back for a second feel and immediately called Ryan over to feel for himself. Such a momentous occasion! As for the rolling, he did a whack of it while we were away this past weekend visiting friends. Maybe he was showing off. :)

Next on the list -- crawling!! I know moms say you should enjoy their immobility while it lasts, but I can't wait until he's bombing around the house. I've even bought him little legwarmers to wear so he doesn't hurt those chubby knees of his!

Ever notice that when you hear or think about something you've never really noticed before, how all of a sudden it's everywhere? Case in point, my new obsessive worry over vaccines and whether or not to give Oliver all the needles listed in the immunization schedule.

Before having my little guy, I never thought about vaccines. (To be honest, needles kinda freak me out so I try not to think about them in any way, shape or form.) Then, about a month after he arrived, I turned on Oprah and there sat Jenny McCarthy. The next hour changed everything. Between her horror stories of watching her son endure seizure after seizure to her linking the incredible increase in autism over the last 20 + years to the rise in vaccines babies receive (ten were administered in 1983; the number of vaccines currently given has jumped to 36), I've become a bundle of nerves. I've also become an internet research rat.

On the web site www.generationresue.com, they point out that fifty years ago when there were only four vaccines offered to babies (which treated smallpox, tetanus, pertussis and diphtheria), autism was unheard of and affected less than 1 in 10,000 kids. Now, one in 68 American families has a child with autism. And that doesn't begin to touch on the countless other less severe developmental disorders affecting kids today, which, again, were very rarely heard of before numerous vaccinations became so mainstream. Needless to say, this has left me very, very wary of vaccines, and at a bit of a loss regarding what to do when it comes to Oliver.

After much research, worry, and back-and-forthing on the matter, here's where I'm at. First, I've asked my pediatrician to break up the vaccinations so Oliver isn't being bombarded with so many at once. Second, I'm seriously considering not having him receive any more needles until he turns two. (He's received all his shots up until 6 months.) And lastly, I'll be trying to avoid any shots that contain mercury, which seems to be the worst ingredient of the bunch.

Ultimately I don't know if any or all of these steps will prevent issues in the future. That said, if I don't follow my gut now I'll always wonder what would have happened if I had and will regret not following my intuition down the road. In the meantime, I think I may have to look for a new "greener" pediatrician. Even just mentioning my thoughts to our current one during the last visit earned me a look of "disapproval". Not a good sign if you ask me!

Had any concerns of your own about vaccines? I'd love to know how you decided what to do!

Just a quick update before I hit the hay, and here it is: Oliver is the sweetness. He's so smiley and happy and all around lovely. He's also started to sit on his own (super cute!) and stick his bum in the air when he's on his belly -- I'm choosing to believe it's a start in his mission to crawl. Food is another new happening. He's eating three times a day on top of his bottles, and has taken a liking to sweet potatoes, creamed corn and mashed up bananas. He detests butternut squash, veggies mixed with spaghetti (the baby jar version, at least), and oatmeal/bran cereal that's not mixed with applesauce. (He tolerates the latter, but just barely.)

We've also developed a napping schedule which brings me to my mini dilemma. He's pretty consistent with waking 7 a.m. and goes down for two naps at 9 and again at 1. Normal, yes? But what I'm wondering is this -- whenever I look on websites to get tips on the sleeping patterns babies who are six months old should follow, I read that they should be taking two naps. Check and check. But does that mean that once the baby wakes up from their 1 p.m. nap that they should be awake until they go bed for the night (which in our case is 8 p.m.)? I don't think I could keep him awake that long if I wanted to, but if I should extend the time he's awake, then I'll do my best.
Any ideas or suggestions? I'm all ears!

I swear to you, I never used to be a shut in. If Ryan and I had a free night together we'd take in a movie, go to dinner, play poker with friends or try something different, like rock climbing or indoor racing (okay, we did that once but it still counts). But since having Oliver, I've been inside for days on end. I think I can count on one hand the days we've actually gone out for walks and the little guy is just a week and a half from hitting his half birthday. (I blame that on two things:  One, the HORRIBLE winter we've had in the Great White North which makes stroller pushing out of the question, and two, the fact that I was so tired for the first few months that showering and brushing my teeth ate up any energy I had. Forget making myself look decent. Waaay too much work.)

Anyway, I've managed to yank myself out of the abiss and am now looking forward to the spring. I opened the door yesterday to get the mail and was pleasantly surprised to find that the wind didn't take my breath away. A sure sign of good things to come, I'd say. Now I just have to prepare Oliver for outdoor living. Thankfully there's a park just a few blocks from our house so we won't have to trek too far for our daily outings. I just have to work on timing them right so we happen to run into other moms and babies. I realize he's not really at the stage yet that he cares much about other kids but I figure he should at least be exposed to more than one or two every few weeks (which is where we're at right now). I also think it might be good for me to congregate with more moms, but I worry that since I'm getting into the game so late, maybe they've filled their friend quota and I'll always be the creepy mom who watches everyone from afar while trying to make it look like she's not watching.

Does anyone have any advice on how to break into a mom circle without seeming like you're trying too hard?

I swear to you, I've never been so domestic in my life. Before having Oliver and spending my days at home, my husband and I would get home after work, search the freezer for whatever microwavable morsels we could find and settle in for a steaming hot -- and entirely unhealthy -- meal on front of the TV. Now if it's 4 o'clock and I haven't planned or started dinner, I get antsy.

I attribute this change in my culinary taste to my trainer Nicole. She lent me a book called "The Eat Clean Diet" and told me to read up. I did and have after trying a recipe for Summertime Risotto (that I made in the dead of winter), I was hooked. And my husband -- the original veggiephobe -- has been converted, too. The guy who wouldn't touch a vegetable with a ten-foot pole is now eating mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and ONIONS, the biggest feat of all.

So now my plan is to get Oliver on the right track when he can start eating food in a little over a month (which, btw, I AM SO EXCITED FOR!!). I figure if we're all on the same page as far as eating goes, it'll be second nature to him. I know junk food is going to enter the equation at some point but if we're on track most of the time, maybe it'll make keeping the bad stuff minimal easier... Or so I've convinced myself.

Anyone have any advice on how to make good eating habits stick? Holler at me if you do.

Liz :)

It's been a few weeks since I last wrote. I'd like to attribute my laziness to my being so incredibly busy that I haven't had time to log a blog, but in all honesty it's because I've been enjoying the downtime. (Oliver continues to nap like a dream and last night actually slept through the night from 9:30 until 6:45 this morning!) And actually, I have been busy...ish. I've been watching HBO, cooking healthy meals (this from a girl who used to break into a sweat at the thought of cooking for anyone other than me or my  strong palleted husband) and working out. A lot. In fact, I've been doing so much of the latter that I've lost -- weight for it (get it? weight? ha...ha...) -- 18 POUNDS!! I'm telling you, I've never worked so hard in my life. I'm working out six nights a week and am two pounds away from my pre-preggo weight. That said, as all you moms out there know, my body ain't what it used to be. But it's a small price to pay. And the way I look at it, if Kelly Ripa can get a rock hard body after three kids, it might be possible for me after one! :P

Okay, so you know how I was going on and on about the sleeping thing and how well everything was going? Apparently I spoke too soon. It seems L'il O has up and decided that he doesn't want to sleep at night anymore -- not for more than three hours, anyway -- and that the early hours of the a.m. are party time! Last night I awoke to feed him after only 3 hours of snoozing and as I scooped him out of his crib, I got the biggest "oooooooh", which is never a good sign at 1 in the morning. I kept my trap shut so as not to encourage his waking but it didn't seem to help much. His neck was working overtime, turning every which way to see what was happening (let me tell you -- it wasn't much) and it took a good 30 minutes of rocking and then swaying after he was finished eating to enter the land of slumber. Let's just say I'm sooo thankful for the daytime naps that allow me to catch up on some sleep. THANK GOD for them.

In exercise-related news, I've lost 14 pounds since I started working out!! Fourteen! I'm kind of in a state of shock. That said, I've been working my butt off in more ways than one. I go to a fitness class four nights a week for an hour and do two cardio sessions on the weekend. My trainer, Nicole, has also been great about guiding me in everything, especially nutrition (an area in which I admittedly SUCK at) and I owe my blubber loss to her. I'm just hoping now to keep the momentum I've got going and to drop the rest of the weight. Wish me luck (because Lord knows I need it)!

So I was in a grocery store the other day and while I was at the checkout, the cashier asked me if I'd like to donate $5 to a children's charity. I said I would and after she added it to my bill, she thanked me and asked if I was a mom. Sort of a random question I thought since you don't have to have kids to donate, but I answered her that yes, I was... and that's when it hit me. I'm a mom. Me. Liz.
It's not as though I don't know it and live it on a daily basis, but for some reason saying it out loud made it more real. I felt the same way the other night at my fitness class. It's full of moms who come to workout while their kids are in dance or theatre class (me being the exception -- Oliver is growing up fast but not that fast!) and when talk turned to kids and babies, I realized that I'm now part of the mom group. Maybe it's just me but it sorta hit me like a truck how you can be just you all your life and then all of a sudden you're mom and responsible for rearing a little person. (I'm just hoping I do a half decent job at the latter. Time will tell!)

In Oliver-related news, I'm so, so in love with him. He's the most gorgeous baby ever (I know, I'm partial) and his smile just kills me -- especially when I get him first thing in the morning and he does his shy grin, followed by lots of coos and gurgles. He's rolling over all the time from his belly to his back, is starting to give his Jolly Jumper a run for its money, and is honestly all around wonderful. He's even started napping for -- get this! -- TWO HOURS AT A TIME!! ON HIS OWN!! DURING THE DAY!! Suffice it to say I feel so blessed, fortunate and well rested!! :)

I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays. Love them because they really are the most wonderful time of the year, hate them because they're so exhausting, especially this year. Who knew packing -- not to mention traveling -- with a wee baby was so hard?

We started things off by going up to my family's place which is five hours north of us. From there we were back and forth to my sister's place, friends' places, not to mention the random jaunts to stores to pick up last-minute necessities. Like I said, exhausting...and we're not even halfway through making our rounds! After spending almost three days there, we were off to my in-laws almost eight hours away. Yes, you read that right. And can we just talk about traveling for five and then eight hours with a two-and-a-half month old? Dear Lord. I haven't shaken a rattle, played a musical book, or bopped around in a car so much in my life!

Once we arrived at the in-laws we, again, were back and forth between friends' and family homes. Four days later, we were back home for a day, then off again to another friend's house. And as for New Year's? We've been over going out for years but this December 31st was a little sad on account we were in bed by....wait for it...9:30! That said, even if we had gone out I would have likely been dead on my feet. (Oliver's been sleeping better at night for the past few weeks but not that much better.)

As for my diet, I did pretty well while we were away but once we got home it was a whole new ballgame. I guess running around for 10+ days really takes its toll on a girl. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) When hunger hit, rather than putting together a healthy salad which really takes not much time at all, pounding back a bulk bag of chocolate macaroons seemed like a good -- no, great -- idea. Upon reflection, maybe that wasn't the best choice for the size of my butt. ;P

So, it's Monday and the start of a new week -- a fat burning week, hopefully, because it appears Nicole was right -- she did hold the secret to my weight loss. Are you ready for this? It turns out I have to eat more. Yes, MORE. The catch? It's gotta be healthy stuff, which means Ben & Jerry's has been given the heave ho. (My heart broke a little as I typed that sentence.) It also means I'm going from three not-so-healthy meals a day (up until last week my breakfast and lunch consisted of a cookie or two and maybe a glass of water if I had a minute to pour it) to six smaller, all natural (read: veggies, protein and good-for-me carbs) ones. I'm into the swing of things now but let me tell you, eating so much for the first few days was hard work. Not only for my stomach, but for me to prepare. It's all good now, though. And guess what? The change is working because I've already lost three pounds!!! (Okay, it's more like two and a half but I've always been a glass half full kinda person.)

In Oliver-related news, he giggled yesterday!! My sister was holding him and starting tickling him on his upper inner thigh and he let out two big laughs! It was soooo adorable. Of course, then Ryan and I tried to get him to do it again but he withheld. He almost cried, actually. And, now that I think about it, I'm torn about the whole thing. I'm so happy he laughed, but let's be honest -- I'm not too pleased that he won't do it for me. I did, after all, birth him -- it's the least he can do for me! And I tried again this morning (more than a few times) to get one out of him, but nope, he's not giving them up. I then realized I'm jealous of my sister for getting my baby to laugh for the first time. Does that sound horrible?