Turkey Day

Here are some shots of the little man with Nana on Turkey day! He seemed to love being the center of attention all day long. And, boy did it exhaust him as he took a few long naps! We are decided we were most thankful for him, of course!
And, we cannot wait until next year when he will be throwing mashed potatoes all over my nice dining room!
In other news, the cry it out at night seemed to work - the only thing is he still wakes up, generally once in the middle of the night, and cries for 5-10 minutes. Does this go away? We ignore it as per the cry it out rules, but I am thinking I am sick of this... Any thoughts?
He is loving his cereal, and we are quickly going through our frozen milk supply. I am down to only pumping twice a day and can see giving it up altogether within the next few weeks. I will still lug the damn thing down to Florida, but at least I do not have to pump in the airport. Gross.
This week there is lots of prep for our Florida trip. I am still nervous about traveling, but will do it. We are renting a car seat down there, and needed to buy another stroller so he will have something to sit in at the airport. What a nightmare with the stroller! I am against having more than one, and just wanted an umbrella stroller - but our munchkin is too young for one of those, so we had to get a Maclaren (with recalled changes). Our Uppababy is too big for us to take to gate check. Any advice? I am thinking we will use it for the weekend, and then try to return it... Don't tell R'us.

Yummy

The little man had his first food, if you can call it that, on Wednesday. I really wanted him to get a "meal" on Thanksgiving day, but we also thought it might be a bad idea to try new things on a major holiday just in the unlikely event of a reaction... So, we did a dress rehearsal on Wednesday.
His bib says "This is what handsome looks like." The latest gift from Grammie and Grumpy. As you can see, it is well-used and he loves it! He enjoyed the rice cereal a ton. It took a while for him to get used to it, but by the end of the dish he was opening big for the spoon! He is certainly a Hall, he likes to eat!
We had it again on Thanksgiving, and today. And, he is getting to be a pro! We have to give it to him at night now, because the past two days we tried daytime meals and then he would not eat in the evenings. So, now we figure stuff him full at night and have some extra bedtime security (knock on wood). Though "cry it out" seemed to work pretty well (knock on wood too).

A few more days of rice cereal, then we will try oatmeal. How exciting!

Santa!

Yesterday Grammie Hedy, LJ and I went to visit Santa. His first time! As you can see below, he enjoyed it about as much as he could. He wore his train holiday sweater!

The Santa was quite authentic looking! Or, as I keep saying, what do you mean, it WAS Santa! I wonder what LJ asked for for Christmas.
As you can also see, although he is growing fast, he still looks like a blueberry in his favorite coat! At least it keeps him warm!

NH Activities

Today we went Christmas Tree tagging. This was my first time doing so, and I think it is a quintessential NH activity. Must be done! I have been begging to go since we moved here, but now that we have a little one I think it is a must on our family tradition schedule.
We went with the Muench family, who are new NH residents, and had a great time. It was the first time I stuck LJ facing out in the Bjorn, and he loved it. Hardly cried the whole time and really enjoyed watching people, trees, fresh air, you name it! He is getting into the holiday spirit!
Of course by the time we got back home, the kiddo was pooped. Joel is still locking me away in the man room while we are doing cry it out, but he says that last night was a ton better than the night before. I am hoping tonight it will be it, that is what all the books, other parents and Doctors say - by night three they give up. Please, please say it is so!

Rollin' Sleepin' and Eatin'

This guy has done a lot this week! He turned four months yesterday, and in anticipation of that, and as a result of that - we have a lot of things going on.

First of all, he has had formula. Yes, the little man is off the boobie officially as of Monday, and since Mom is loosing her mind pumping, we introduced formula on Thursday to help supplement my supply. Knock on wood, the little man could care less. Which makes me think, why did I not do this sooner? Oh yeah, I know why - because I am crazy and brainwashed by the no bottle police into thinking that I will get cancer and my kid will die young if I do not boobie feed him until he is 1 year old. I am still pumping and watching as my supply is dwindling on its own, and we still have a few hundred frozen ounces in the freezer, so he will get some until Christmas at least I hope. But, the important thing, as LJ's doctor says, "make the decision, move on and know you are doing a great job." I love him by the way.

So, formula down - next stop food! We had the all-clear to start on rice cereal. Once he gets that down, we can go to oats, then barley. Then - fruits and veggies! I can't wait. We are hoping rice cereal will work this week. This feeding thing is like a whole new language. It is just as I remember when first trying to register for all of the baby items. I had no idea what half the stuff was, what he needed and what I would like. I was overwhelmed and exhausted at the notion I needed to learn all these things. The food is the same way for me. I had no idea rice cereal even existed. Nor how to make it. His doctor told us matter-of-factly, mix this amount of formula with that amount of cereal and try for one day then this amount the next day - all while I was nervously searching for a pen. He laughed and said the baby will give me cues. Ah! What, I am relying on this little guy to guide me through this important stage?

Later that day I have friends over and one of them has a 6 month old. Both me, and another Mom of a 5 month old were grilling her for about 1/2 hour about when her baby eats, how much and what. She, too said - "you just watch the baby's cues." Ah!

Anyway, so rice cereal is about to start! His rash continues and so his Dr. is wondering if it has something to do with dairy (back to that again). So, we may be experimenting with some sort of lactose free formula. But, I will not be experimenting with a lactose-free diet... So not sure how much good that will do anyway.

In other news, he rolled over! Yes! On Wednesday he was on the mat in the bathroom while I was getting some stuff done. I heard a funny giggle so I poked in just in time, to see his first roll over! He rolls to his left, onto his tummy and then lifts his head up very strong. He giggles in delight at his accomplishment and then proceeds to freak out. Remember, my child HATES tummy time. So, now he rolls onto his tummy and cannot move from there. It is pretty funny. Now, big Joel and I spend a lot of time trying to teach him how to roll back.

Other milestones this week, full on play with toys. He picks them up, knows what they are, and chews on them acknowledges them and smiles at them. It is adorable! He fits both hands in his mouth and stares at them a lot now too.

The sleeping is a whole different story. After many nights of waking mommy up at least 3 or 4 times, my first question to our Dr. at the recent visit was "is it medically necessary for him to be waking up at night?" Again, I wanted to kiss the doctor because he said: "absolutely not!" He should not need to wake up at all anymore. The Dr. coached us, and last night we tried "cry it out." I cried in anticipation of this torture. But, as big Joel kept mentioning, three nights of torture for a lifetime of a happier, healthier mommy and baby is not so bad. Joel sensed my hesitancy though and made me sleep in the man room - at the other end of the house, with the tv on and with noise canceling headphones nearby. It was the first time I had slept in more than a 4 hour stretch in weeks, and more than 6 hours in months so I went for it. LJ apparently cried for an hour straight but then that was it. This morning I had to go in and open the shades, and he woke up smiling and happy. Let's see how tonight works out!

Ummmm... Formula

Yes kids you read it correctly, formula. The day is upon us. Tomorrow is F-day! It has been 4 months (or will be on Friday). Friday morning he has a Drs appointment, so I figure if we try it tomorrow and anything happens, we are going to the Dr right away, no problem.

Monday night he stopped latching altogether. I had been planning on introducing formula the end of this week, so I think of it as like his final OK. He stopped latching during the day 8 weeks ago, but would latch when he woke up for midnight feedings. But now, no more. Also, my days of sneaking in only 3 or 4 pumpings have caught up with me and I am now only pumping about 20 ounces a day, while the little one is up to eating 30. So, I am ready (and my freezer supply is ready) for some supplementation! I still feel guilty, for sure. But, I am trying to feel proud that I made it this far, especially with my tough guy. Though, you can't blame him - would you want to go suck on your mom's boob right now? The new plan is to try to give him some boobie juice until he is 6 months old.

Today we had a great day visiting Newburyport with Declan and Declan's mom. Lots of shopping, and those expensive Trumpette socks got me again. They make them in 1 year old size... They look like sneakers and even have ribbon shoelaces, but they are socks. LJ had to have them, and he also had to have the hat pictured above. Declan got the hat too - so they are twins.

Newburyport is a hub for the SAHM. Big hub. And, a flashy stroller place too. They all seem to converge outside the Starbucks, where they park their uppababy and bugaboo strollers outside and run in to grab a latte. This, followed by some walking around, and then purchasing expensive socks and hats. I sadly fit in a little too well.

It was a great fall afternoon, though I can't wait until our photos are no longer involving the car seat! In other news, I found a job - a good one to apply to, that I am sure I could snag (the confidence is frightening, eh?). It is a part-time Director of Development position for a very deserving non-profit that sadly has nothing to do with my main passions of arts, conservation or puppies. It is 15 hours a week, work from home. This I figure would still keep me in the field at a manageable time table.

After further scrutiny of the job description I have come to realize that it is 15 hours a week - because that is all they can pay for - but the job would require probably about 40 hours of work. It was work from home, because they can't afford an office - but I would inevitably need to leave to meet with donors at least twice a week. I would clearly loose money on the low pay, and the need to put LJ in day care. I always kind of figured this, but looking into day care costs this week confirmed it for me. I actually feel relief. Like I am doing the best thing for me and my family at this time. So, I am very thankful that this came along to teach me this. It took me visualizing going back to work to realize I really am not ready yet. Nor is it really feasible for us.
But, on the flip side... how will I get back into it a few years from now? Maybe when it is time for me to re-enter I will pick a new profession. It would be like starting over anyway, right? What do you think, dentistry? teaching? real estate? massage therapist? I am partial to interior decorating.

$20 Giraffe

We spent $20 on a plastic giraffe (oh, actually rubber, sorry). We had to have it because every other "cool" baby has it... I was keeping it in the Christmas pile, but as he is a droolin' foolin' lately, I thought he might like it. So, we brought it out. And, what a hit!
It squeaks too - which is actually a bad thing, Angus has his eye on it!

Three posts in one day, wow!

Writing it Down

In my last post I remarked how fast time is flying, and how I haven't written many blogs in a while. Then I talked about almost nothing. I miss the days where I would chronicle what we did, and although a play by play may bore you - I think it is important to write them down so I can remember that we did not just do nothing when I stayed home with him, but we did a lot!
So, just remarking on last week alone I can tell you we did do a lot. Nothing seems too eventful right now, but we did have some fun. On Monday, LJ's friend Max joined us at Gymboree. I met Max's Mom in my "preggos in the pool" class this past winter. Max is her first as well, so it is fun to get together and learn more about eachother at the same time we learn more about our children. Sharing "war stories" such as feeding and sleeping trials has also been helpful. After Gymboree we met another "pool preggos" friend and her daughter Laurel. Laurel's Mom happens to be a close neighbor and also has a 2 year old, Bryce. Big Joel LOVES Bryce, of course as do I! I think our special love of Bryce is because we look at him and think, oh boy - LJ will be there soon, walking, talking, saying really cute things... (Bryce asked to be a Lemur for Halloween, who does that?). Anyway, it was a fun day. This week Bryce is going to come over and help me childproof. Don't worry, we will pay good attention!
And, that was just Monday! Tuesday I went to Baby-Toddler Storytime at the town Library. I was told I should try it at least to meet other Moms. Upon arriving I realized when they said Baby they meant Baby over 1 year... But we had fun anyway and we did meet a Mom or two, though it was clear they didn't want to really meet me for the long-term, as my child was not in their child's age group. Bummer. I did meet one mom who announced she was pregnant, and not happy about it. Then she proceeded to tell me that "It gets harder, not easier." I am choosing to believe she was just having a bad day and didn't really mean that. Her 2-year old daughter seemed delightful at storytime. We also took out a few books - Runaway Bunny and 123 ABC. The librarian's thought I was nuts taking out books for a three month old. They really thought I was nuts when I made them look for Grover's "There is a Monster at the end of this Book." That was one of my favs when I was a kid. Sadly, my dinky town library does not have this book. Christmas present for LJ it is! Yes, I read him books, and show him the pictures, and have since he was 1 week old. Green Eggs and Ham is our favorite so far, he loves the repetition. Mom gets to revisit her theater days as well.
Wednesday was a tough one for LJ, and eventually an excellent one for Mommy! He was a screaming man all morning. Lots of friends arrived for a planned day out, and he seemed to tuck his crankiness away, for a short while. A few mommies, and a soon-to-be Daddy took the day and visited some local NH places, including the Apple Tree Farm down the street and two wineries! Yes, we went wine tasting, on a week day, with our children. It was fantastic. LJ freaked out at stop one - and I decided he was not going to ruin my fun day out - so I bundled him like crazy, pumped him full of food and turned him away from the group. We sat and ate cider donuts and drank hot fresh cider while he screamed, and eventually fell asleep. I was embarassed, and believe I said "does anyone want a child?" I tried to convince my friend who had a perfectly angelic sleeping baby, that we should trade. Who does that? After a few minutes LJ fell asleep and was a perfect angel the remainder of the day. I guess Mom just needs to keep her cool during these times. But the three hours of crying that morning had really gotten to me. Two minutes after LJ fell asleep the Dad to be decided to go over to him and poke him and say "Are you sleeping?" I screamed at him! He will learn... soon enough... By the way, NH wineries are actually really nice! We will all be planning a visit in the spring, join us!
Both Thursday and Friday were get stuff done around the house days. We are painting a few rooms in the house now, so I am taking this opportunity to reorganize some of our knick-knacks. I know it is early, but I am starting to child proof. I am very protective of my decorating and my fancy living room and antiques, that I cannot imagine suddenly getting rid of everything and putting up gates. So, I figure slowly getting things ready for crawling, then walking - will be better than rubberizing the entire house at once. Joel and I have already talked about it, and we are going to do sensible things, like remove the heavy ceramic antique steins that are within little-hands reach, and remove the doilies from book shelves, dressers and night stands that can easily be pulled down. We will put those plastic things in all the unused plugs. But, we are not going to be those parents that lock the toilet seats (sorry if you are one of those), put stuff on the corners of all the furniture, and lock every single cabinet in the kitchen. Yes, lock the one with the chemicals. But all of them? I am just going to have to pay attention and I am hoping a child is as trainable as a dog. Otter does not chew on things, and Angus eventually learned to go outside... If we can teach Angus... Who knows, I could be eating my words. Keeping our coffee table is our big thing we would like. Even I hurt myself on the coffee table when I was younger, what kid didn't? Do I want to deprive my child from this momentous rite of passage? Just like the stitches all kids need under their chin from the first big bike accident?

Ah, this is a better post. I did not even get into yesterday, a rainy day in with our friends Cristel and Doug. I made awesome beef stew and apple cake. They brought delicious cheese. There was lots of wine, and Up! (the movie). LJ was a delight. Until we started to sing him the Sesame Street song. For some reason, he really does not like that.

Ok, off to new adventures today!

Update

I must be getting into a groove, because I am finding it harder and harder to write posts these days. It is actually sort of scary, if you think about it. Time is starting to fly way too fast - is Thanksgiving really coming up so soon? And days are melting into one another. We have our routines, and we have our playdates, and the weekends are even quicker. The days themselves seem to fly by as well!

In terms of milestones, he is holding steady to me - but when people see him for the first time in a few weeks they are amazed at his changes. He is full out laughing now, he tried to sit up on his own in his chair (see above), and he has started to "use" his toys. He grabs onto the things hanging from his gym, and he holds his rattle - or that incredibly expensive Sophie the Giraffe (which every baby has to have!). He will swing it around and chew on these things. And, every once in a while he catches these objects in his eye and he seems just as surprised as Mommy that he is holding and using them! So, we are not up to full on play yet, but we are getting there.

The 9 hour sleep night was a fluke. He now wakes up three times a night. I gave him bottles last night so I can see just actually how much he is eating, and even if he is eating - and boy is he. Last night alone in two feedings he ate 7 ounces. Which I think is a lot for the middle of the night! He still has about 24 ounces during the day, so I am not sure how we can pump him full anymore. Trust me, we try!
His 4 month Dr's appointment is on Friday. This is also his 4 month birthday. I made it 4 months exclusively "breastfeeding." Yes, the lactation consultant guilted me to keep on going even though I said 3 months was enough for us. But, 4 months, of pumping. I am proud. I really hope he will be over 14 pounds, 6 ounces at the appointment - because I can then also say he will be double the weight from when we brought him home from the hospital. I already bought a few types of formula, and I would like to make sure he is all set with that before we go to Florida in early December, so here we are. Does anyone have any suggestions for traveling with boobie juice? The problem is although we will be flying down there with him, we will not be with him once there - my mom is taking him. So, how would we get boobie juice down there for him for four days? I am afraid to check it, and I am also thinking now that my supply is dwindling, there is no way I can pump enough fresh for four days...

Well, again I talked about the boob juice. Looking forward to his four month appointment though. And, hopefully real food. I am hoping we can also try some mushed up vegetable of some sort at Thanksgiving this year.

Sleeping Or Not Sleeping

We have been having a sleep battle the past few days. The books say that starting at 3 months, they can form sleep habits. So, I thought that his falling asleep on the couch at 10, and not really going to the crib until 12:30 was a bad plan. We have slowly been moving his bedtime back, and with the help of daylight savings - I am proud to say we now have an 8:00 bedtime. I am happy to do 8, and maybe could be convinced 7:30 but that is it. Joel needs to have his time with him when he gets home from work - plus, it may allow us to go out to eat once in a while with the little buddy.

Anywho, success, getting the munchkin in bed by 8! Now without too much screaming too. Good times. But, you knew this had to come out bad somewhere. For about a week in a row the little guy would start waking up around midnight, and then wake up every hour and a half from that point forward until 7:30am. Mommy was loosing it. Since Dad works, Mom is on night duty but one week in a row of this was too much and I did almost loose it this weekend. We had a big talk about this yesterday and I let the little guy know that if he did this one more night, no more Gymboree. He loves Gymboree. (it was my first threat).
Success! (Well, can you call it a success if it was just one night?). Last night he slept 9 hours straight! He woke up, ate a but then went back to bed until 7:30 am. It was beautiful. The only problem was, I couldn't get to bed until midnight because I was so fixated on worrying about the bad night I was certain would lie ahead. So, I missed out on getting at least 5 hours in a row. But hey, maybe I will go to bed early tonight and try again. Can we get the little guy to do it again? Please?
Otherwise all is getting better. Besides the sleeping, last week was rough because of his cradle crap. It was so bad that we needed to go to the Doctor's office and get antibiotics. They figured it was infected, as it was all over his head and face - on his arms, back and starting on his legs. Not pretty, and not looking like the normal cradle crap - instead it was red and puffy. With a few days of antibiotics and some hydrocortisone cream, and he is back to new. I am worried though, because I think it is the cold weather that really brings it out in him (and the last few days it has been warm). Not to mention, he slept terrible when it was really bad. So If a then b then c - what happens if this winter he is a cradle crap, non-sleeping mess? Here's hoping it is the medicine that is fixing it.
And, sorry about the R rated photo. But this had to be posted. I tried to take some cute photos of the naked guy - he loves to be naked and giggles like crazy. I thought I could get one of him while pulling his legs up to cover the R rated parts. But, then this happened. Nice buddy.

Bubbles

I was the first person to make fun of Gymboree. Who would pay all that money to bring their kid to someplace where Moms are inevitably competitive? How much does bouncing on big orange balls and sitting under a parachute really help with development?
But I am a SAHM, and this is part of my job description. I have to try these places out. So, we have been going to Gymboree-- and I have to say Little Joel LOVES it. The first two times it was sort of lost on him, but the third time was certainly a charm. Giggling, smiling, and "tracking." He started to like tummy time, he started to try to roll over, and this week - he could not take his eyes off of the parachute. The bubbles are also his personal fav.
So, I am sure Mom's across America probably figured these things out years ago, and it would only cost them 50 cents for a jar of bubbles at the corner store. But I had no idea that I could be doing these things with him. It is like a whole new interaction we are having, and we are loving it. Now, if I can just get them to have Gymbucks work at the Gymboree outlets, then I would be a complete fan.
Above, a photo of Declan, Joel's BFF, with Joel at Gymboree class. The little guy was worn out after his first class! Also above, Joel's colorful hat which is very good at hiding the cradle crap!

Great - Family Part 2

Some more photos. Scroll down to see the full story.