Forever Changed

March 23, 2010 is the day my life was forever changed. It's the day I met my son. Before Knox my life was probably like most 25 year olds without kids. I worked, played, and played even harder on the weekends. Bills to pay was my biggest responsiblity. My relationship with God varied from month to month, even week to week sometimes. My social status was down right amazing. I had many different groups of friends I had met throughout life so Scottie and I always had something planned. Whether it was a birthday party, a huge event, or just a cookout to watch the latest football game. . we were always going going going. Scottie and I would be married soon, which made my life even more complete. It was the icing on the cake. Life really couldn't get much better. Then, 2 months before our wedding date I found out I was pregnant. That's right. I was a pregnant bride :) Shocked is an understatement when it came to how I felt. But shocked in a good way. I always pictured myself having kids by the time I was 25. It's just that 25 came up pretty quickly on me (sooner than I expected) and I wasn't ready to be a mother yet. My life was pretty awesome as it was. After the intial shock subsided, I couldn't believe I was about to have a child. Ever since that morning I found out we were pregnant, my life has forever changed. Something clicked and I was different from there on out. I like to think I quickly grew up, but do we ever really grow up? :) Anyways, my relationship with God was never a question from there on out. He had chosen me to be Knox's mother and for that I am eternally thankful. I often wondered and questioned, why me? Why was I chosen to be his mom? I wasn't living my life for the Lord each and every day, so why on earth would He choose me? I now, have no doubt in my mind that He knows exactly what He is doing. Period. 9 months of pregnancy really wasn't that bad. Of course at the time, it couldn't go by fast enough. But now I really miss it. I miss feeling his tiny little kicks. I miss the comfort of knowing that he is warm, and happy inside my belly. I miss the entire process. It's ridiculous what our bodies go through. . it works overtime to create a new life which is simply amazing to me. Amazing. 9 months of pregnancy is plenty of time to mentally prepare yourself for your precious little angel. . yeah right. I don't think you can ever really be prepared for that feeling of meeting your child for the first time. The feeling is truly something you can't describe. I'm not even going to try. . . 

3.23.2010 at 5:26 p.m. weighing 7.2 lbs, 19 inches long Brody Knox Shumsky entered the world via c section. I labored for 16 hours with him. I dilated to a 5 and stopped. I was stuck at a 5 for about 10 hours without any progress at all. After a long talk with Scottie ( he was more apprehensive than I was which was really sweet) we opted for a c section. I was ready to meet my son, and I was completely exhausted. And thats our labor story. That day in March I was forever changed. Since then, my life is now my son. Instead of reading gossip magazines I read books. Instead of staying up until 12 with friends, I stay up and stare at my son while he sleeps. Heels are no longer part of my wardrobe. I only wear makeup on the days I venture out of the house. My son is my life and I have a hard time remembering what life was like without him. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for blessing me with this wonderful gift, the gift of being a mom. 

A letter to my son. . (5 months) 

Knox,

You have changed my entire outlook on life. Thank you for making me a better person. You challenge me each and every day, for that I am thankful..it keeps life interesting :) Your smiles turn any bad day into a good one. Raising you is the hardest but most rewarding job I have ever done. God chose me to be your mother so I hope to be the best mother I can be. I am so proud of the accomplishements you have achieved thus far, I can only imagine how proud you will make me throughout your entire life. God will always be a priority in your life, I pray that every day. I count my blessings each and every day. . you are healthy, beautiful, active, and growing by the day. I love to watch your mind expand as you discover life around you. Throughout life, I want you to know. . . You don't always have to be tough. It's okay to cry, you will not be looked at as being weak. Daddy and I will always support you no matter what. We want you to be able to dream big and accomplish those dreams. Anything is possible. You can come to us with any problems or questions and we will do our best to teach you and help you with anything you need. Trust God in everything you do. He is our savior and our reason for living. You will make mistakes, but take those mistakes and learn from them. Life will bring things to you at a certain time, for a certian reason. . go with those reasons because that is where the best memories are made. Have fun, laugh each day, and remember that you are very much loved. 

to dreamfeed or not to dreamfeed?

That is the question. As I queitly creep into my sons room each night, waking him for his final feeding, I ask myself should I even be doing this? I have read somewhere around 4 months your child can go down to 5 feedings a day. Right now we are at 6. That final feeding of the night is what "they" call the dreamfeed. You wake your child, feed him, and put him right back to bed. They are pretty much asleep the entire time, at least Knox is. I have been going back and forth, back and forth with this for about 2 weeks now. Should I drop it or not drop it? I love my sleep. Let me repeat, I love my sleep. This is why I am afraid to drop this final feeding. I have been getting some much needed sleep for a few months now. Ah sleep. It is amazing after not having it for 2 months straight. . . welp tonight I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. So far so good. But it's only 11 o'clock. We shall see. . . so for now, I will get you updated on Knox's progress. . 
We had our 4 month check up last week, which means little man had to get shots. Oy, shots. I hate shot day. The only fun thing about well child check ups is getting to see how much he has grown. I am happy to report he gained another 4 lbs and grew another 2 inches! Brody Knox Shumsky now weighs 15lbs 2 oz and is 26 inches long! He's a growing fool. He is also a rolling machine. As soon as you put him on his back he rolls over on to his stomach. Cute, at first, until it became a problem during his naps. He would roll over onto his stomach, then get mad because he couldn't get back over. We fought this for about 3 days. Finally, he figured out that it was okay to be on his stomach. He is now sleeping on his stomach for a majority of the time, all on his terms. He loves it. In fact, he took a 3 hour nap for me today. . perfect. He loves to suck on the corners of blankets, or burp cloths. . whichever I get to him the fastest. It's adorable. My mom said I use to suck on the corner of my blanket when I was little. This made me smile. He may look exactly like his daddy, but he's starting to develope some of my habits. This could be good, or bad :)


"always kiss your children goodnight, even if they are asleep."- H. Jackson Brown


Knox rolling over in his crib. . . 

a day off

Stay at home Mom's never get a break, let me rephrase that, MOM'S never get a break. There's always laundry to do, dishes to wash, toys to pick up, not to mention you are doing all of this while trying to figure out how to raise your precious little angel. It doesn't matter how exhausted we moms are, somehow we find the "superwoman" inside of us and we continue on. . day after day. After days of complaining, my sweet husband decided to give me a day off to go do whatever I wanted. An entire day to do whatever I please?! Pool time was the first thing that came to mind. . .mother hood has definitely taken a toll on this ol' bod. After putting on 49 pounds and gaining a few stretch marks my body no longer looks familiar, but I figured a day in the sun would make me feel better. . getting a tan always does a body good. So off to the pool I went. There was not a soul in sight at the pool, no screaming kids running around doing cannon balls, no annoying teens gossiping about the latest celebrity news. . nobody. Listening to Coldplay on my ipod and roasting in the sun. . can't get much better than this I kept thinking. Then my phone rang. 

"Knox rolled over!" -Scott

What! My son rolled over and I wasn't there to witness it?! Go figure. I have been working on rolling over with him since he was about 3 months. Tummy time and time on his back are two things I focus on during the day. I always make sure he gets plenty of chances to roll over for me, yet he decided to reach this huge milestone on my day off! I couldn't believe it. I shed a tear, packed up my bag and headed home. My day off was over after 2 hours. . . . needless to say, I won't be taking another day off until my kid is packed up and off to college :) I do want to give a shout out to my sister who thankfully reminded me that I will be there to witness "the next first." Thanks Sis! 

Knox is 18 weeks! Obviously you know he rolled over for the first time this week! He still loves to yell, or sing as I like to call it. His new favorite thing is making spit bubbles (thats all he wanted to do today!) He loves grabbing and playing with his feet as well. Laughing is becoming a daily experience. There's nothing better than hearing my little man giggle. . it's music to my ears! 

"Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life." -Sophocles

Grabbing his Feet while blowing bubbles :)

"singing"

4 months, already?

In true Shannon style I, of course, had a good cry today. I know what you are thinking, I cried because my little man is 4 months. Where did the time go? Well. . . I cried not because I came to the realization that my little angel is 4 months, but because I packed away some of his clothes. . . there, I said it. It's true. I cry every single time I pack away his clothes. Does this ever stop? Will I ever be able to do this task with a big smile on my face? Why is it so hard to pack away clothes my little man wore just a few weeks ago? So I sat and thought. The only logical conclusion I came up with was simply because he is growing up too fast. I'm not ready for this. How can my little bean already be 4 months. *Tear. . . . 


Enough about my tear fest today, on to what my little man has accomplished. He is changing EVERY SINGLE DAY now. It is so fun to watch him explore and really focus in on stuff. He is amazed with his hands and wants nothing more than to keep them in his mouth every chance he gets. He has such a fun personality. All he wants to do is talk, talk, and talk some more. (I even caught him talking to Sandra Bullock tonight while I was feeding him! Uh oh. He already has an eye for the ladies.) He loves it when I play peek-a-boo with him and I can always get a smile when I kiss his little piggies. He even decided to swallow his cereal last night, finishing the entire bowl! Life with a 4 month old is simply fantastic. I can only imagine what the next four months will bring.

what has gotten in to me?

I have now joined the 2010 world! I joined twitter last night (ShannyShum11) and now I created a blog this morning. . what has gotten in to me? Perhaps it's wanting to be part of what everyone else is doing, maybe it's the caffeine, or maybe it's the fact that I am now a stay at home Mom with some time on my hands. .  either way, here I am. I am excited to begin this journey of blogging. I hope to keep you updated on the happenings in the Shumsky household. Knox is now almost 4 months old and I haven't even laid my hands on his baby book. I know, I know what kind of mother am I to not document his every move, smile, activity and so on. . . truth is I am sure most of you mothers out there can relate. Who wants to work on a baby book when you can snooze while the little one is napping? When you can sit in a moment of silence, even if it only lasts 10 minutes? Well instead of a baby book, I will blog about his accomplishments. . . oh technology :) bye bye baby book, hello blog! To catch you up on what he is doing here is a recap of the last 4 months:

month 1: 

-Can't really recall anything about the first month. Maybe it's because I was a walking zombie. . a breast feeding machine, doing everything I could to "survive." 

-I can tell you that I miss him sleeping on my chest and the pure innocence of a newborn. . . and the smell of him, and the feeling that you can never really explain, the feeling of being a mother for the first time. 

-Knox weighed 7lbs 2 oz and was 19 inches when he was born. 

Month 2:

-I can remember more about this month. . sleep was starting to become part of my vocabulary again. 

-Knox smiled for the first time this month. . maybe it was gas, but I like to think it was an intentional smile at his momma :)

-A bottle was introduced (finally Daddy can help feed!) and the little man enjoyed it thoroughly. He enjoyed it so much, by the end of this month he demanded a #2 nipple (which usually aren't introduced until 3 months) He likes his food, and he likes to eat it fast!

-Knox started sleeping 5-6 hours at night for me, which was like heaven! 5 hours of sleep made me feel like a brand new woman! He also started sleeping in his crib!

-He started "talking" this month. Making "goo" noises. . . 

-His favorite toy this month was Mr. Star. . . Mr. Star was magical to him. For those of you who don't know, Mr. Star is a star that attaches to his play gym. It lights up and plays songs. . for those of you who spent time with us this month, you can probably hum the tunes in your sleep :) 

-the boy is active! he likes to run, run, run. . this explains all the kicking he was doing while inside my belly!

-Knox went for his first swim at 2 1/2 months! He hated it at first, but then enjoyed it after he warmed up. . 

-Who could forget about George. George was Knox's best friend this month. We couldn't do anything or go anywhere without George. George is Knox's pacifier, in case you were wondering. 

-He weighed 11.7 and measured 24 inches at his check up this month which landed him in the 50% of his weight and 75% of his height. 

Month 3:

-Knox started sleeping through the night this month. . thank you baby wise! There were times I felt tired because I was getting too much sleep. . WOW! 

-We also got rid of the swaddle this month!

-like I said before, he loves his food and I can't supply enough for him so we started supplementing with formula this month. At first, I was sad and disappointed I couldn't make enough milk for him.. . I kind of felt like I was giving him poison the first time I fed him formula! I know, I know. . babies drink formula all the time, but my baby didn't! I wanted to be one of those moms who exclusively breast fed until solids were introduced. . . this proves that you can make all the plans you want before your child is born, but after your little bambino is here you suddenly realize he has a mind of his own :) A #3 nipple was introduced at the end of this month as well (which usually aren't supposed to be introduced until 6 months!) He really loves his food. . the end. 

-Cereal was introduced this month. He hated it. 

-He accomplished holding his head up this month. . no more bobble head :)

-He definitely found his voice. I think he is going to be an entertainer when he grows up. All he wants to do is talk, talk, talk, and scream! Yes, he loves to hear himself scream. It's cute. 

-He loves to explore, with his mouth. 

-He also started laughing this month :) Nothing better than hearing baby giggles!

-George is a thing of the past. He only wants it if he is in his car seat. He found his fingers to comfort him instead. .

And here we are 1 day away from being 4 months! I'm sure there were a lot more milestones and things he accomplished in the first 3 months, but like I said. . I haven't gone near his baby book or even remembered to write anything down. Horrible mother? I think not. I am a mother in the year 2010 with a lot on my plate, or maybe I am just lazy. But here's to "writing" all of my son's accomplishments down now. Cheers :)

As I play around with my new blog (which means trying to figure it out bc I am, after all, computer retarded) I leave you with this:

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." ~ Tenneva Jordan