A Lot Happens in Nine Months

Last August, I posted some pictures with this same title. My body had done a lot of changing over the course of nine months. Well, today Denver is nine months old, and he has certainly changed quite a bit as well.

Denver, week 1

Denver, 9 months

Right now, if Denver had a Facebook page, his "Interests" would be...

escaping the house through Fable's doggie door, playing outside, taking baths, trying to eat grass and rocks, crawling all over the place, taking glasses off people's faces, being with mommy, waving at everyone he sees, nursing, daddy getting home from work, waving at himself in the mirror, and being the cutest baby in the world

Teething Necklace...Part 2

So a few months ago I introduced you all to the idea that my son would be wearing a necklace. He has worn his baltic amber teething necklace that we bought from Hip Green Baby on-and-off for a couple months now. I say "on-and-off" in order to be fair...I haven't been faithful about having him wear it all day every day, so that probably had an effect on his teething experience.

I told you that I would keep you updated on the progress with the necklace, and on our opinions on its effectiveness. I've actually had a number of people ask me how it has gone. So here are my thoughts:

• Denver currently has two teeth (the bottom middle ones)
• The week that those two teeth broke through the gums he was very moody. He constantly chewed on things and cried a lot. Some people have experienced almost no teething symptoms while thier child wears the necklace. This was not the case for Denver. However...
• He hasn't had any sleepless or restless nights during teething! Hooray!
• All in all, I think it is working. It is a difficult experiment to do correctly. Maybe Denver would've reacted the exact same without it. Who knows. But I choose to be a believer.
• Would I recommend you buy one for your baby? Yes. I think it was a good investment. They are pretty inexpensive (we spent $22 for ours), and there is no risk involved. It is an all-natural way to help soothe teething pain, unlike some other remedies that have proven to be much more risky.

Here are the best pictures I've seen of Denver "Chompers" Hines with his new teeth:

My Mummy Tummy

Please don't let the title of this post confuse you. I do not think I'm fat. Quite the opposite really. I currently weigh eight pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm probably in the best shape of my life. So why does my stomach still look like this?

Answer? Diastatis Recti. This is when the outermost abdominal muscles separate, causing a protruding belly and belly button, as well as back pain.

My chiropractor described it to me like this: there is a line all the way down the middle of my stomach where the muscles have separated. No matter how many crunches or ab exercises I do, the muscles won't just "go back together." My mummy tummy will remain FOREVER. Or not. I just have to do a very specific set of exercises and wear a special splint, and after some time, the muscles will eventually form back together, and I'll feel like a new woman. At least that's the goal.

After Denver was born, my midwife told me that I had diastasis recti. She said I would need to do some physical therapy and probably wear the splint. A combination of pride and ignorance made me pretty much ignore the advice. "I'm a hard worker," I thought. "I'll just work really hard, eat healthy foods, do some exercises, and this tummy will eventually go away." It turns out I was doing more harm than good. As I did more crunches, the separation actually grew. As the rest of my body shrank, my stomach was getting bigger! ARGG!!

So I have conceded defeat, and now I am willing to admit I need help. I will be following the Tupler Technique, which is a four step program to heal diastasis recti:

1. Tupler Technique® Exercises (Elevator, Contracting & Headlifts)
2. Splinting with the Diastasis Rehab Splint™
3. Using your abdominals correctly with activities of daily living
4. Getting up and down correctly

I have ordered the splint, and it should arrive in the mail any day now. I will be wearing it 24/7. I will also be doing her exercises five times a day (at least that's the goal).

I will update pictures of my belly every once in a while so that you can keep up with my progress. My goal is that by the end of the summer, I will no longer have the diastasis, which will hopefully help with some of my aches and pains.

Here we go...

I nursed my baby on Alcatraz

... and at Fisherman's Wharf, and at Golden Gate Park, and in Napa Valley....

If you watched enough Carmen Sandiego growing up, you know from the above clues that we just got back from San Francisco, California.

We went with my family and enjoyed four days in the City by the Bay. There are so many pictures I want to post, but I narrowed it down to a few of my favorites:

day trip to wine country in Napa Valley

Muir Woods to see the giant Redwoods

Lombard Street

at Alamo Square looking out over the "Painted Ladies," aka the Full House backdrop

at the Academy of Sciences... fascinated by the fish

sleeping through most of the Alcatraz adventure

wiped out... thank goodness for a wonderful aunt

My First Mother's Day

Well, my first Mother's Day as a mom, that is.

It was 95 degrees and sunny in Texas, so we enjoyed some time in our new backyard. A perfect Mother's Day afternoon for this new mommy.

Mama's Little Helper

Glad to know that while our family goes through many changes, some things stay the same...

Helping my mom pack up the old house

Helping my mom unpack at the new house

The Couch Connection

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of moving houses, please allow me to brag about my husband for a moment.

Austin and his close friends are in an improvisational comedy troupe called Curtis Needs a Ride. A few weekends ago, they participated in the Dallas 48 Hour Film Project, and they won BEST FILM. That's right, out of the 39 teams that entered the competition, theirs was the very best. They also won for "Best Use of Character" and "Best Writing."

They've already received some press:

http://www.examiner.com/film-industry-in-dallas/the-couch-connection-wins-best-film-for-48-hour-film-project-dallas-review

Here is the winning film. Enjoy!!