Tough decision: Vaccinations

When I got pregnant, one of the first things I thought of was whooping cough. Isn't that weird? A little boy I watched at church had it and it was so upsetting to see him suffer (not to mention the fact that they brought him around others). He couldn't speak, he was always coughing, and I could hear him breathing from across the room. I never really questioned vaccinations. I had them. My siblings had them. We are all well! So why the outrage?

But, guys, seriously, how convincing is Jenny McCarthy? Okay, low blow, I know. To her credit, she did start college focusing on nursing. Honestly though, I started researching vaccinations like a lunatic. I read the pro's, the con's, the in-betweens. I read the stories of children suffering from the diseases vaccinations prevent. I read the heartbreaking story of sweet baby boy, too young to get vaccinated for whooping cough, pass away because another child did not have his shot. I read the stories of autism post-vaccinations. Getting these life saving vaccinations, falling ill, and waking up a different child. They all hurt my heart. But you know what? At the end of the day I have to do what is best for my baby and my family. I have to follow my mommy instinct.

Breastfeeding… from a person who didn't think she'd do it.

I never thought I'd nurse. I thought it was weird and a burden (WHOA. I KNOW). Modern technology and all those formulas boasting about how amazing they are conned me… until I became pregnant. The first time I really started to consider it, I was just like 'whatever. I will do it for a few weeks.' After that, I thought I'd reward myself for every month I did it. If I made it a month, I'd buy myself that handbag I have been wanting. Three months and those Loubs Kim Kardashian was wearing in People Magazine would be on these feet. Six months, you better believe Eric is buying me Chanel. Well, I didn't get myself any of those gifts for making it to those goals. I got something so much greater.

I am not going to lie. I absolutely, positively hated breastfeeding in the beginning. Did you know your nipples can crack? Or that you can get so full and a milk duct can clog that you have actual pain and have to massage it out? I didn't. Parker so did not want to nurse. He had a small mouth and that made it hard. He lost too much weight too quickly (despite nursing him like 18 hours of the day) and I had to supplement with formula. At that point, a week in, I was ready to call it quits. I am already giving him formula, why do both? Why sit for over an hour, uncomfortable, when I will be giving him formula at the end any way? Man, I had my eye on the prize though! New things for me.

Dear Parker (One Year)

Dear sweetest one year old,

A year! Seriously! I have spent a full year blessed beyond belief with you. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I loved you. I loved you with every fiber of my being. I anticipated this love being powerful because I watched my own mama and I saw how very much she loved all five of us. She forgave things others wouldn’t forgive, she sacrificed everything for us. It is so different when it happens to you. When you came into this world, I could do nothing but cry tears of joy and kiss your perfect little hands, feet, tummy, and head. I remember that moment so perfectly because it was the moment my world shifted. My everything, the reason I breathe, was a funny looking 6 pound 7 ounce, curious, purple baby with no name. Your head was so misshaped from dropping so early. You barely had any hair. You were so very tiny. You were the opposite of what my dreams had shown me. I thought you’d look just like me, but you looked just like daddy. It was better than my dreams.

You are a (almost) walking, (almost) talking man. During your 12^th month, you developed a deep love for the outdoors. Despite the cold, you will walk anywhere we let you go. You want to splash in the water and crunch all the leaves. You are the quickest crawler! I am jogging behind you all the time! I can almost always find you in the piano room when we are down stairs and the drum room when we are up! The stairs are not even an issue any more. You just go up or down as needed (don’t worry, folks, I am always right behind him).

We got to celebrate your first Christmas. It was just as amazing as I had hoped. You had the patience to open your own presents and, like most babies, you preferred the paper and boxes, but nothing got your attention more than tissue paper. You loved the tissue paper and pulling it out of the bags. We would stuff it right back in the bags for you. Much like Thanksgiving, you ate E V E R Y T H I N G in sight. People fed you things left and right and you would steal right from other’s plates. You aren’t too concerned with playing with your cousins yet, but that will change. Christmas will be so different once you all play together. I cannot wait! I know you are the only boy, but, be patient, let them put make up on you and play with babies with them. They will return the favor. You were kind of a booger with the Christmas tree, but it was brand new to you so it was very easy to be patient with. A good portion of my ornaments are broken, but you had fun so I do not mind.

A year with you has been more than I ever thought I deserved. I cannot believe that your tiny little spirit chose us. You chose me. You are all I ever prayed for. I have always wanted to be a mama, but being your mama has been beyond my wildest dreams. You are the easiest baby. I had to wake you up for feedings in the middle of the night. What baby does that? You aren’t a fit thrower. You are a cuddler and a kisser. You pet my face while you nurse. You giggle at everything and want to learn anything you can.

I love you forever, Parker Ericson. 

*Disclaimer: I swear this was written around his actual birthday! I just forgot to post it. 

Dear Parker (Our Eleventh Month)

Dear Padawan,

I cannot wait to sit and watch all the Star Wars movies with your to teach you what a Padawan is. Right now, you still look at me confused when I try to get your attention by calling you that instead of Parker. My baby, I cannot believe how old you are.

Your eleventh month was a month of zoos and exploring. You went to the Phoenix Zoo or Wildlife World Zoo every weekend and enjoyed it more and more each time. The monkeys were your biggest fans. How could they not be? You are their size and just stare and smile the whole time. They will walk right up to you and stare at you. It is a hilarious sight. You also got to play with so many animals! Giraffes, turtles, stingrays, camels, deer, and pigmy goats. The best part of every trip is the carousal ride at the end. You take it very serious. You hold on for dear life, but smile and wave. You are getting too big.

I wish I have more photos from Thanksgiving, but there are priorities and I cannot take photos and have a fork and knife in each hand. You sure did enjoy it though. You ate everything on your plate and managed to snag some dessert off of everyone’s plate. Those eyes and that goofy, five tooth smile can get people to give you anything. We went with the baby led weaning method for you, so you’ve been eating solids for about six months and the mushy food was never your thing. My point to this is, you’ve become a master eater. I occasionally get a look or two from other mothers at restaurants, or even your grandma and grandpa say something for my lack of cutting things up, but you handle your food. You do not stuff your face until you have no more room in your mouth. When I give you a small cube of cheese, you take perfectly portioned bites until it is gone. Thank you, love, for being responsible since birth. It is really quite cute to see you with a whole carrot (I mean the whole, nearly foot long carrot) and your little nibbles at the end.

You took your first real steps. Honestly, we thought you’d be walking at nine months, considering you were crawling at 3.5. You are a speed demon when it comes to crawling, so you just drop to your knees and crawl to where you need to be. I am always buying you jeans. That is the only reason I want you to walk. You’ve ruined your light grey skinnies, tan cords, and half a dozen denim jeans.  Other than that, please, please, take your time walking. It seems so much safer to have you so close to the ground.

We were able to take you to play with snow! You were a little hesitant, but, ultimately, you did enjoy it. It was daddy and I throwing little snowballs, and you trying hard to figure out what it was and then eat it. You got to do a lot of things you loved that day! You sat on daddy’s shoulders and he danced around, you slept during the boring stuff, and then you got to hang out with all of your cousins to put together grandma’s giant Christmas town.

 I can’t believe my next post will be rounding out my first year of being blessed with you. It is insane. This month you also loved wagon rides, sloppy kisses, spaghetti, your cousins, your puppies, walking with walkers, pots and pans, the rose garden, and anything that makes music. I love you to the moon and back, Parkman.

Dear Parker (Our Sixth Month)

Dear Baby Boogs, 

You have graced this earth for a lovely six months. The quickest six months in history. Each day with you is better than the last. You have such a personality and I am just so obsessed with every little thing you do.

You started this month with a growth spurt, but you are still skinny. I am going to blame it on all of the crawling you have been doing! You started crawling around shortly after you turned five months and have barely stopped. You love to crawl to your puppies and phones. You also sit up unassisted to play! It makes playing a lot more fun. One day, we sat you next to your baby piano and you started climbing OVER it. You actually got your little body up and over the piano and came out victorious on the other side (you barely even faceplanted!). I bet you were a little heavier prior to all this action, but you are so active you probably lost a few ounces. Just kidding, we stuff you full of all the time. You have a hollow belly. You don't say no to food; we have to limit you! You love peaches and bananas, but you love ice cream most of all. Yes, we know, babies shouldn't have ice cream. Let's be honest, we have all let them sample it a little! Parker, you just sit there and stare at each spoonful with a face like "guys! Why aren't you sharing!?" So you get the tiniest bite, then you scream at us for more! Or steal the spoon from our hands! Or you dive bomb it! We are going to have to watch out for you in the future. 

We were able to celebrate your Daddy's first father's day! We made him some delicious breakfast, went out to lunch and dinner. Mama can't cook, so we had to go out a lot. We got him some cool presents and made a pretty awesome card. You are very artsy and definitely enjoy expressing it some way. You have a great Dad. He loves you so much. He is only joking when he calls you "Bad Baby!" You are his little buddy and it is so amazing to watch you two.

Later that night, we had the whole family over to celebrate your Daddy and Grandpa and how absolutely awesome they are. You went four whole days without seeing Grandma and Grandpa, so I think Father's Day was just as happy a day for you as it was for them. You also go to see your cute cousins and they just smother you with love. I think you'll be like me when you're older… you will always be all about your family. Nothing can come between.   

Your little fishy skills have come to a stand still. You have learned every move possible in your swim lessons and it is time to move up to the 6 to 18 month lessons! I cannot believe you will be in the class where I will let you go! I don't know if I can! It'll be great for you; you are very bored in your small class. You love the ladies you swim with. Don't worry, you'll be the only boy in your next class so you'll get all the ladies' attention.

BOW DOWN.

  

You are so playful. You are obsessed with toys. Your favorites are the giraffe and the buzzing star. Both help with your little teeth that are popping through. You got to finger paint for the first time to make Grandma a present. I was worried you would try to eat the paint, but you knew exactly how to do it and loved every moment. It was awesome seeing you be shocked every time your little hand left the page with color behind. Every adventure that I take for granted, is brand new to you. I now fully comprehend when people say "through a child's eyes."

We went on our very first family vacation! We spent a week on Coronado Island taking in the good weather, small town fourth of July, and the beach. You were not a fan of that cold water, but you loved put those toesies in the sand. You traveled so well and you behaved like an angel when we went to SeaWorld all day. I never expected you to handle a six-hour car ride as well as you did. The most shocking thing was that your first tooth broke through and I barely even noticed! I've heard so many horror stories of teething, but you are not the norm. You took it like a champ! Your sleep schedule was a little off, but other than that, you acted just like normal. We celebrated your first Fourth of July (Mama's favorite holiday) with a small town feel. There were parades and fireworks and houses with decorations all over. You fell asleep for the parade that had fire trucks and airplanes, but oh well! The fireworks were the most amazing thing to you. You didn't get scared of the loud noises; you stared in absolute amazement. Your favorite part was just having uninterrupted Mommy and Daddy time. It was all us, all the time. We loved it too! No work, no grocery shopping, no housework, just Parker, Parker, Parker. Your next trip will be Pennsylvania! I think you’ll like that one even more.

You just don't like sleep. You are such a cat napper. You sleep through the night, but your day times are so silly. You usually take a morning nap, but your afternoons are never consistent. You will take a car ride nap, then stay awake until bed time. Maybe you will take a two hour afternoon nap, who knows! It changes every single day. You still love to smother your face and put your little booty in the air!

I just need to say… you are a ladies man. All ladies, all the time. I still get women coming up to me to tell me you are flirting with them! I thought it would end because you were entering a shy stage, but you are only shy toward men.

Oh my baby boogs! You are a snuggler and a kisser. We can barely go a minute without you trying to kiss us! When you play with your younger cousins, you just want to kiss them over and over again. We will take all the kisses you give baby boy, slobber and all. You are such a joy. You have changed me and your dad, and you still do every single day. Our hearts grow a little more every single day. Thank you, Booger, for the best half of a year ever. 

July 8th, 2013

14 pounds, 15 ounces

24.75 inches