1. Baby has his first official cold. Snotty, plugged up nose, inability to eat efficiently or sleep well (both courtesy of the aforementioned plugged up nose). If Child’s health history is any indication, I predict an ear infection for Baby in the next week or two. Oy. Overall though, I am pretty impressed that this is his first cold in 12 weeks, given the fact that his big brother brings all sorts of preschool germs home and is contantly giving him kisses.
2. Yesterday was Baby’s first snow outing. I have been begging for snow since that idyllic peaceful weekend in the mountains almost a year ago. I hate the cold weather, but I love the snow. I love everything that snow brings—sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, mittens, scarves, red cheeks, eyelashes wet with snowflakes, hot chocolate, hearty soups, cuddles under the warm blankets, school cancelations, snowball fights, the brightness of nights, the feeling of peace.
A snow fall in this area is a fairly rare occasion—and it is very fleeting. It is not unusual for winter temperatures to dip into the 20s, but for some reason, when it snows here, the temps always hover around 32-34 degrees, which makes the snow turn into slushy dirty mess pretty much as soon as it hits the ground. And this leaves a very limited window of opportunity to enjoy the snow. So right after preschool, Child, Baby and I got ready to enjoy the newly fallen snow. With Baby safely tucked in the Baby Bj.orn in his snow suit and Child squealing with delight in his sled, I felt so very happy (and got quite a workout, I tell ya).
Now the snow is melting, and I am melting down, too. Today is the last day of my maternity leave. I am so not ready.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Two-month checkup
At 23 ¾ inches and 13 lbs., Baby is growing like a champ and falling between 80th and 85th percentiles. He charmed the doctor with all sorts of coos and smiles, but then they had to ruin it all with four shots plus an oral vaccine. Baby’s reaction to shots, if I could put it into words, would go something like this:
Shot 1: “Whoa, that hurts. You better knock if off, lady.”
Shot 2: “I said I do not like this, lady. What did I ever do to you?”
Shot 3: “What part of KNOCK IT OFF do you not understand?”
Shot 4: “YOU MOTHER F***ER!!!!!”
With all the wonders of modern medicine, why can’t they figure out how to give several vaccines with just one needle stick? I mean seriously, four different sticks? I would be pissed, too.
Following the appointment, instead of drifting off into a stress-induced sleep coma for several hours, like Child used to do after all of his immunizations, Baby insisted on continually telling us how pissed he was about the whole ordeal for the next 48 hours. Poor guy, I really felt sad for him. And boy, I surely am not looking forward to the next round of shots at the four-month checkup.
He is developing right on track, and with his weight, we should be able to start solids at four months if we wanted to. His head and neck muscle control is great, although I have been pretty lax with giving him tummy time (because he hates it so), so I need to do better. Like all babies, he has the sweetest toothless smile, which he gave only to his dad for the first couple of weeks and then finally began doling them out freely to anyone (including me) (I can’t say I wasn’t a little jealous about that).
The best part is (and yes, I know you will hate me for this—and rightly so, I would too), beginning right before Christmas, he started sleeping through the night. From 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. With no sorts of sleep tricks on our part. Child began sleeping through the night at about 2 ½ months, but only with the help of dream feeds (courtesy of the Baby Whisperer book). But Baby actually slept worse when we tried the dream feeds, so we stopped those after a few failed attempts, thinking he was not ready, and lo and behold, he began sleeping all night long. Of course, there are some nights when he doesn’t sleep that well, but those are few and far between. You know, I am almost afraid to post about this, thinking that I will jinx myself. The thing is, he does not sleep during the day. A few 20-30 minute catnaps is all we get. Once in a great while, he can nap for an hour—and it feels like Christmas, I tell ya. Needless to say, I have not been showering much these days. But we do get out of the house a lot, especially with this gorgeous 60-degree weather we’ve been having the last couple of days. So I am stinky, but at least not as exhausted as I used to be. This should be a huge plus when I return to work on Jan. 22. (Once again, really hoping I am not jinxing it).
Shot 1: “Whoa, that hurts. You better knock if off, lady.”
Shot 2: “I said I do not like this, lady. What did I ever do to you?”
Shot 3: “What part of KNOCK IT OFF do you not understand?”
Shot 4: “YOU MOTHER F***ER!!!!!”
With all the wonders of modern medicine, why can’t they figure out how to give several vaccines with just one needle stick? I mean seriously, four different sticks? I would be pissed, too.
Following the appointment, instead of drifting off into a stress-induced sleep coma for several hours, like Child used to do after all of his immunizations, Baby insisted on continually telling us how pissed he was about the whole ordeal for the next 48 hours. Poor guy, I really felt sad for him. And boy, I surely am not looking forward to the next round of shots at the four-month checkup.
He is developing right on track, and with his weight, we should be able to start solids at four months if we wanted to. His head and neck muscle control is great, although I have been pretty lax with giving him tummy time (because he hates it so), so I need to do better. Like all babies, he has the sweetest toothless smile, which he gave only to his dad for the first couple of weeks and then finally began doling them out freely to anyone (including me) (I can’t say I wasn’t a little jealous about that).
The best part is (and yes, I know you will hate me for this—and rightly so, I would too), beginning right before Christmas, he started sleeping through the night. From 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. With no sorts of sleep tricks on our part. Child began sleeping through the night at about 2 ½ months, but only with the help of dream feeds (courtesy of the Baby Whisperer book). But Baby actually slept worse when we tried the dream feeds, so we stopped those after a few failed attempts, thinking he was not ready, and lo and behold, he began sleeping all night long. Of course, there are some nights when he doesn’t sleep that well, but those are few and far between. You know, I am almost afraid to post about this, thinking that I will jinx myself. The thing is, he does not sleep during the day. A few 20-30 minute catnaps is all we get. Once in a great while, he can nap for an hour—and it feels like Christmas, I tell ya. Needless to say, I have not been showering much these days. But we do get out of the house a lot, especially with this gorgeous 60-degree weather we’ve been having the last couple of days. So I am stinky, but at least not as exhausted as I used to be. This should be a huge plus when I return to work on Jan. 22. (Once again, really hoping I am not jinxing it).
No more silence (maybe)
Am I the only person in the blogosphere who finds it difficult to post any sorts of updates now that Baby is here? I mean, I don’t have a really good track record here, but in the past, my lack of posting had more to do with having nothing new to say (or some stupid excuses like too much work). Now, I have so much to say, so much that I want to talk about, so much that I need advice/support on, so much that I simply want to have as a written record so that I don’t forget… However, I find it nearly impossible to find a decent amount of time to write. Part of the reason is the fact that Husband doesn’t know about this blog, so when the kids are in bed at night and I actually have some free time, I feel like I am sneaking around if I were to post. And during the day… well, there just isn’t any free time during the day (which is definitely a topic for a post, as Baby appears very much against sleeping during the day).
I have composed so many posts in my head while nursing, but by the time I miraculously (like right now!) get a free block of time to write, the issue either becomes irrelevant or outdated. I think I need to let go of my perfectionism and just write what’s on my mind instead of finding the right way to say it. After all, that’s why I started to blog—to write down whatever was on my mind in hopes that writing would help me find an answer or at least get it off my chest. So please forgive me if my posts from now on will become poorly written, unedited and just plain boring. Then again, maybe that’s how they’ve been prior to now…in which case, there is lots more poor writing and boringness to come. Here’s what’s in store: my never-ending struggle with breastfeeding, the dreaded return to work, sleep—or lack thereof, parenting second time around, 2-month check up. Thanks for sticking with me.
I have composed so many posts in my head while nursing, but by the time I miraculously (like right now!) get a free block of time to write, the issue either becomes irrelevant or outdated. I think I need to let go of my perfectionism and just write what’s on my mind instead of finding the right way to say it. After all, that’s why I started to blog—to write down whatever was on my mind in hopes that writing would help me find an answer or at least get it off my chest. So please forgive me if my posts from now on will become poorly written, unedited and just plain boring. Then again, maybe that’s how they’ve been prior to now…in which case, there is lots more poor writing and boringness to come. Here’s what’s in store: my never-ending struggle with breastfeeding, the dreaded return to work, sleep—or lack thereof, parenting second time around, 2-month check up. Thanks for sticking with me.
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