Weight worries

Tomorrow Little Bear goes to the pediatrician for his 15 month wellness exam and I am worried.  I'm not actually worried about Little Bear - he is healthy, happy and hitting all of his developmental milestones (and more!) but I'm worried about what the doctor will say about his growth.

When he was born, Little Bear was perfectly average at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 19.5 in.  We actually considered this to be big since Papa Bear and I are both on the small side (and were both small babies).  Little Bear stayed around average growth until his 6 month wellness exam when he started to slide into the 30th percentiles.  By 9 months he was down to the teens and by 12 months his weight was in the single digits.

At the time, Little Bear's pediatrician attributed this minimal gain to his self weaning and therefore lack of fat in his diet.  She put him on whole cow's milk and encouraged me to continue nursing.  She told us that if he wasn't taking the milk, to come back in a month for a weight check; otherwise, he would be fine until his 15 month appointment.

Little Bear has increased his nursing and drinks some cow's milk (maybe a glass a day) so we did not have a weight check but he doesn't appear to have gained much.  Now granted, I won't have the official numbers until we see the pediatrician tomorrow but I'm just nervous for their reactions.  I know that I am doing everything I should be and I know that Little Bear is happy and healthy but still...  when they are disappointed in his growth, I feel like I am doing something wrong and hurting my baby.

I know, I know - Don't worry!  But that's so hard to do when it's your baby!

Wonder Wednesday Blog Hop

A special thank you to Lori from A Day in Motherhood and Heather from Living on Love and Cents for hosting!

Wordless Wednesday - Guess Little Bear's New Favorite Foods

Becoming Tech Savvy

Some new tech developments are going on here at Home Growing Happiness!  The networked blogs facebook app is up, we have a signature, we are now listed on the Picket Fence Blogs, you can sign up to get our email, we have started a blog roll tab and we have a button!  Whew!

Now I'm not really tech savvy, so I think that these things are up and running.  I will be pretty busy for the rest of the week but I'm going to play with them over the next few days (whenever Little Bear gives me a chance that is) and hopefully get any bugs worked out.

In the mean time, please try them out and let me know!  Thanks!!!

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The Car Seat Saga

You probably already know that the AAP recently published new recommendations for car seats (if not, you can check it out here) so unfortunately for Little Bear (at least it's unfortunate in his opinion) he will be studying the back seat of the car for awhile longer.

The first car seat ride!

We learned fairly early on that Little Bear hated his car seat.
Problem #1: His car seat was HOT!  Even dressed as minimally as possible with the air conditioning on full blast, he would be soaked in sweat. Now granted, he naturally is a little furnace, but still...
Problem #2: His car seat was BORING!  Really I can't blame him - to have nothing to do but stare at the back of the seat?  B-o-r-i-n-g!

So Papa Bear and I couldn't wait for Little Bear to turn one and turn around.  We new that the standard for switching to a front facing seat was 1 year and 20 lbs.  We also new that studies showed that staying rear facing until age 2 was safer.  This became a huge debate for us because we wanted to keep Little Bear safe, but he was miserable in his car seat and that made us miserable too.  We rarely traveled and when we did we had to listen to him scream the whole time.  Sleeping in his seat was not an option, according to Little Bear.

Getting ready for the last ride in the old car seat

As Little Bear got older and began to play with toys, things improved but the heat was still a problem.  My mom and I made a car seat cooler for him using ice packs and I would put that on his seat whenever we were getting ready to go out which helped a little.  With the onset of fall and cooler weather, Little Bear finally got comfortable traveling (of course Papa Bear and I were freezing since we couldn't turn the heat on!).

Many of our friends were turning their children's seats around at the one year mark (and some actually do so earlier - eek!), but since things were improving, Papa Bear and I decided that we would leave Little Bear rear facing until at least the end of winter and then re-evaluate.  As it turns out we made a good choice!

At his 1 year visit, Little Bear did not even make the 20 lb. turn around mark, so facing forward was not even an option for us.  We opted instead to get him a new convertible car seat in the hopes of making him more comfortable.  So far Little Bear loves the new seat!  It gave him a little more space and lifted him up higher so that he can see a little out of the windows.  While I obviously can't take his seat out of the car anymore (makes buckling him in a little harder), I love how much sturdier the seat seems.  It was a win win for everyone!

Preparing for the first ride in the new car seat

Now with the new recommendations, it is a definite that Little Bear will be rear facing until he is at least 2.  Chances are, he will be that way even longer since he's a little peanut.  Let's just hope that the new car seat love will last with the warm weather!

Fun Tuesday Hop

Thanks to Ourfamilyworld, The Professionally Insane M Blog, and One More Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest for hosting!

All Week Blog Hop

Thanks to The Mommy Chronicles, A Helicopter Mom, and Musings of a Modern Mom for hosting this great hop!

Dining Out

Lots of people go out to eat with babies and toddlers.  Not me!  I was terrified of taking Little Bear out to a restaurant (even a fast food one!) and having him meltdown.  Or figuring that even if he didn't meltdown I would be too busy taking care of him to even enjoy eating.

Well, I was WRONG!

Recently NanNan and Pap came for a visit and I decided that with their support we could risk a meal out, as long as it was either fast food or a buffet (I still wasn't ready to risk waiting to place an order and wait for our food to come).  I loaded up Little Bear's high chair cover and a bag full of food and toys.  I looked like I was moving in, but I was prepared for anything!

Turns out, Little Bear loves eating out!  Not that he actually loves eating out (since he ate the same things that he eats at home), but he loved watching all of the people.  I didn't even need the bagful of toys!  And I actually enjoyed a leisurely meal.

In my opinion, I did need the highchair cover since the one provided by the restaurant seemed kind of gross and cleaning the table in front of him was key.  Bringing his own food (of course) was essential (and a bib and a wipe) but really that was it.

Baby personalities are all different so  maybe it wouldn't always be so easy, but seriously - go for it!  If worst comes to worst, pack up your food and go.  Maybe next time, I'll even be brave enough to eat somewhere with a menu that doesn't hang on the wall!  :o)

My son has a mullet!

You may have noticed from Little Bear's pictures that his hair is getting quite long.  Even before he was born, we knew that Little Bear had lots of hair.  Not because I had heartburn, but because during my ultrasounds, the tech pointed out all of the hair that was swaying in the amniotic fluid.  Little Bear was born with a head full of dark hair and although it lightened in color, it never fell out and has continued to grow longer and longer.

It started getting noticeably long when Little Bear was about 10 months old but I wanted to wait until he had his first birthday to get it cut.  Although Papa Bear seemed okay with cutting it, I didn't want my little baby to grow up too soon!  When Little Bear's first birthday came, Papa Bear and I were both reluctant to cut it and decided to wait a little longer.  Around 13 months I started to get a little annoyed at the comments by random strangers about how cute my "little girl" was and decided that I was ready for the big cut.  But this time Papa Bear wasn't ready.  We compromised and decided that Little Bear would watch Papa Bear get his hair cut this time and next time, both of my boys would get their hair cut.

I need a hair cut!

The time has arrived but Papa Bear is still reluctant.  However today I pointed out that Little Bear's bangs were in his eyes and he was always itching his ears because his hair was in them and this did get Papa Bear to agree to a trim.

Snip!  Snip!  Snip!

How many people does it take to cut a 14 mont old's hair?

Aunt A did the cutting and you can see that the whole family helped out with entertaining him.  Little Bear did an amazing job!  He didn't cry, grab at the scissors, or try to escape.  The front looks great!

Short in the Front.  Long in the Back.

However, what I didn't think about was that he now has a nice trimmed front, and a long crazy back - essentially a baby mullet!  Here's to hoping that the mullet convinces Daddy that we need to finish what we started!

A Boy and His Dog

Happy Birthday Guard!

Today our puppy turns 2!

In May of 2009, Papa Bear and I found out that we were expecting.  Six weeks later we got a puppy.  Many people think that we were crazy to get a puppy while we knew that we would soon be adding a baby to the house, but we wanted our puppy and our baby to grow up as best friends.

We love animals and believe that they can bring happiness, love and all kinds of lessons into a home.  The bond between a little boy (or a little girl) and his dog is priceless.  

A Boy And His Dog

by Edgar Guest

A boy and his dog make a glorious pair

No better friendship is found anywhere

For they talk and they walk and they run and they play

And they have their deep secrets for many a day

And that boy has a comrade who thinks and who feels

Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels

He may go where he will and his dog will be there

May revel in mud and his dog will not care

Faithful he'll stay for the slightest command

And bark with delight at the touch of his hand

Oh, he owns a treasure which nobody steals

Who walks down the road with a dog at his heels

No other can lure him away from his side

He's proof against riches and station and pride

Fine dress does not charm him, and flattery's breath

Is lost on the dog, for he's faithful to death

He sees the great soul which the body conceals

Oh, it's great to be young with a dog at your heels!

Little Bear and Guard are already quite the pair!  They play together, pick at each other and team up against the adults.  And the lessons that Little Bear is learning about love, faithfulness, responsibility, sharing and caring will hopefully bring him great happiness in his life beyond Guard.  I hope that they can share a long happy future together!  

Smile With Me Saturday Blog Hop

Time to hop!  Special thanks to Peaches Reviews for hosting!

Glimpse: Where I call Home [I]

Lindsey at So Easy Being Green has started a new feature called Glimpse: Where I Call Home.  It is essentially a photo story of her daily life.  She has invited everyone to join in and I think that it is such a fun way to get to know everyone a little better.  So here is my first installment!

Tonight I'll welcome you with an outside tour of where Papa Bear, Little Bear and I call home...

(Disclaimer: These were all pictures that I had saved on the computer.  It's not sunny and green or snowy and white...  Right now its just dark outside with dead grass and no leaves yet - but we can dream of sunnier days!)

As you arrive...

Home Sweet Home!

Climbing up the backyard hill

Out back

Down by the Pond!

Come back and visit again soon!