Still more Q and A...

Cindy and Beth had some baby questions:

Do you sling your little man with all of the "cuddly issues" he's had, and if so, what have you found to be the best sling?

I don't seem to sling this baby much. I do my "move around the house" stuff when he is napping, usually, or ask someone else to hold him. He's 20+ pounds at 6 months, and it's a lot for my 5'4" 115 lb frame. :) I have three carriers that I've made that I like - an unpadded ring sling, a mei tai (that is a little too wide for him right now, but we make do), and a pouch that works well to hold him on my hip. I bought a huge length of fabric to make a woven wrap, but I have yet to cut it/try it out. At the pace I'm doing projects these days, it will be a nice gift for my first grandchild. :) And lest you think he gets no cuddle time because I don't wear him, he spends much of the day on my lap or someone elses! :)

How is babyhood going, the fifth time around? I love reading other womens' experiences with their babies :-)

I'm LOVING having a boy! Probably in no small part because we are getting so much kudos from outsiders when I really expected WAY more insults for having a 5th. I know that's a dumb reason to be enjoying it, but I don't deal well with criticism from strangers (like EVERY TIME we go somewhere, ugh, this is not the greatest "large family friendly" area). To have people practically high five me wherever we go because we "finally had that boy" as they say, is just a nice little rush. Of course, for the record here, that is NOT why we had a fifth child!! Do you think after 4 girls we thought we even had a CHANCE of having a boy?? LOL! And while we are thrilled to have a son, another girl would have been just as loved. :)

After a very rocky first 3-4 months with colic, Jeffrey has settled in to be pretty content (as long as I keep my diet clean of the million and one foods that bother him). He has the greatest smile, with big cheeks and one dimple. It is too cute! We enjoy watching him learn new things - he is now sitting up for short periods of time, holding his head up very high when on his stomach, and starting to roll all over the floor. I love having something (someone!) we can all love and enjoy together - the girls can be quite antagonistic towards each other (and their parents!) but we all love talking to/playing with Jeffrey.

I am amazed at how fast the time has seemed to fly by this time around. I can't believe he is 6 months already. Knowing that he may be our last, I am trying my hardest (and really it is hard for me, personality wise) to enjoy every moment with him and remember them, even the hard ones.