5 Months old Madsyn

Wow, where has the time gone!!! Madsyn is already five months old.
Last month Madsyn received his second set of vaccines, and since that fateful day he has stopped sleeping through the night...dang it!
'sigh'.......... and then his first teeth started coming in and that has once again made my bed and me strangers...

On a brighter note, here are some of Mad-diggity's pictures!  It has only been a month since my last post, but he has grown like crazy!!



Lots of firsts this month! Madsyn can now sit in the shopping cart without being in his car seat. YAY!
I hated hated hated taking car seats with me everywhere. I mean... he is just getting SO MASSIVE and my little arms get too tired. I'm pretty sure he and the car seat weigh at least 60lbs now......
I try to work out hard at the gym just to keep up with being able to carry him. Speaking of getting so big, Madsyn was born a month early as a tiny "premie" and over the last 4 months he grew so much that he went over the 100th percentile curve.  I'm not sure how over 100% is possible, but he did it.  YAY!! And now he wears 9 months clothes.





We also took Madsyn to the movies for the first time. It was an interesting experience.  He cried because he got too tired and it was too loud. My husband had to stand up and hold him half of the time while trying to watch the movie. (By the way, the name of the movie was Jack Reacher 2 and it was such a great movie. It is now on my must recommend to everyone list!)

Madsyn LOVES to chew on my bag, his blanket, our fingers (ouch)... pretty much anything he can grab. He now has 2 VERY sharp bottom teeth!

A couple of days ago I swear he said "mom!" He was crying for food and when I went to carry him he said "엄마" in his crying voice. People tell me that was just a cry and I misheard it but who knows. I was too excited but yet couldn't be proved because he hasn't said it again since then. But it was one of the happiest times of my parenting moment to hear the word mom from MY little boy! haha.

When I look back, it seems like the last month has been really long and hard with him waking up every hour screaming from teething pains but I have to say that it really is worth it. Being a mom has been a huge blessing in my life. While I try my best to teach him, at the same time he teaches me important life lessons everyday.  One example...

Last week I was at a store with Madsyn and there was an old "scrubby" looking guy (as my husband would say) standing in line behind us. I was holding Madsyn and with a motherly instinct I thought to myself... 'He looks a little weird and scary.. please....don't come too close to my son.' The next thing I saw was Madsyn smiling so innocently at the old man and babbling at him. I looked at the old man and his face lit up as he smiled back at Madsyn. I was so humbled and touched by their little smile exchanges and realized how prideful I was to judge him by the way he looked. Children are just so innocent and full of love, they don't care in the least about what people look like. I always like to remind myself to "become as little children" and this is one of the most Christlike qualities they have that we can learn from. I looked at the old man again and he didn't seem so scary anymore. I was happy to see them smiling at each other and I thought.. maybe he was lonely and I think Madsyn's smile might have made his day. How great is it that I get to hold this little man who came straight from Heaven. Just a few months ago, he was living with his Heavenly Father. How lucky am I to be his mom! It really is the best job in the world!

4 Months

Our little Madsyn turned 4months old last Friday. It's crazy how fast time is flying and how fast he is growing. My goal was to write every week but it turned into every month and now... I just try to write whenever I have the time and energy.

A lot has happened since my last post.

First and the best! Madsyn started sleeping through the night!!! A couple of weeks ago, he slept almost 12hours. Whoa, it was super nice to get a good uninterrupted sleep for once. And then..... about a week later, he got sick and started waking up during the night... and then he had his 4 months shots which made him super cranky and he woke up every hour screaming bloody murder. We will see what happens in the next few weeks.

Madsyn can also now roll over from back to front.

Which is good and bad at the same time.

It means he is progressing and learning new skills but I have to be really care with where to put him and always make sure he's not suffocating himself especially in his crib. So we bought a camera to watch him all night long. I'm sure he will be fine most of the time so I guess it's mostly for me to save myself getting out of my bed every hour to check on him to make sure he's ok and sleeping well.

  

Luckily, he hasn't rolled in his crib yet...

Lastly, Madsyn started his solids last Friday. I was so eager to start him on solids because he's been throwing up for the last three months and it has been brutal for all of us. Even with mixing rice cereal he still throws up. Also, in the book "Bringing Up Bebe", she talks about how French kids eat EVERYTHING including all the vegetables that most American kids don't even look at. So I wanted to follow their strategy and get him started on solids early enough to introduce and get his taste buds used to all of the different vegetables there is.

 

This is Madsyn's first day on solids. Mashed avocados!! 

He's not used to being spoon fed so I couldn't tell but I think he liked it..

All things aside, being a mom is such a fun and exciting and also at the same time it is very humbling experience. Every day I face different and new challenges. Today I found this quote on facebook, which I totally agree with.

I used to wonder why there are so many talks and quotes on uplifting discouraged mothers who try so hard. I was a perfect parent until I had a baby of my own. It definitely is the hardest thing I've ever done.

A couple of days ago, Madsyn was crying for over an hour at night and I lost patience with him and got mad. I had hurt his feelings and it has been haunting me every day ever since.  

More than anything, I have realized that parenting requires much more than just knowing. I have read almost all the best selling parenting and baby books there is but the most important skill I need is "mother's intuition" which I think comes by revelation from God and I think this is how you can become a "real" parent.

Julie B. Beck said "Revelation can come hour by hour and moment by moment as we do the right things. When women nurture as Christ nurtured, a power and peace can descend to guide when help is needed. For instance, mothers can feel help from the Spirit even when tired, noisy children are clamoring for attention, but they can be distanced from the Spirit if they lose their temper with children.. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly."

Every single day I realize I have so much to learn and to improve. Indeed it can be very discouraging at times but I try to always remember that it was no coincidence that Madsyn came into my life and that he knew, and heavenly father knew that I would be the best mom for him and he would the best for me and we could help each other grow to become who we need to become. And I'm so glad that being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever done because the best things in life comes with a price to pay.

Like Elder Holland said, "Excellence does not come easily or quickly. It is simply a truism that nothing very valuable can come without significant sacrifice, effort, and patience on our part."