Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Playing at the park
Yesterday, since we both had the day off for MLK day, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather (mid 60's and sunny) and took a little stroll down to the park. It's less than a mile from our house and happens to be right across the street from where J and I got married back in 2009. Good memories...
Anyway, we knew that Andrew was a fan of the swings based on pictures that Andrea (daycare) has sent me during their weekly outing to the park. I needed to see it for myself.
He LOVES the swings.
"Higher daddy!"
"Hee hee hee!"
"Wheeeeeeee!!"
He got some good air
"But I don't wanna get out!"
He wasn't as big a fan of the slide. J held him all the way down, but he still wasn't thrilled.
"No more slide, daddy."
The bouncy just confused him
And then he tried to lick it
One more time on the swing and it was time to go home. I think we'll need to take more trips over to the park very soon.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Kitchen Fun
Yesterday J picked up the munchkin from daycare since he got out early and it gave me a chance to hit the gym and get in a nice run. When I walked in the house I saw J in the kitchen, but didn't notice Andrew. I peeked around the corner figuring he was in his highchair. Nope.
Then I heard a giggle.
I walked around the counter to see Andrew happily playing on the floor with the kitchen rug. He was apparently very amused by the non-skid mat that goes underneath it and kept picking it up and peering through the little holes.
J had some toys in there for him, but he was way more interested in the rug.
Then I heard a giggle.
I walked around the counter to see Andrew happily playing on the floor with the kitchen rug. He was apparently very amused by the non-skid mat that goes underneath it and kept picking it up and peering through the little holes.
J had some toys in there for him, but he was way more interested in the rug.
He thought this was hilarious
"What do you mean this isn't a toy?"
"Hmmm... What's this rubbery thing?"
"Would you like to have these, mommy?"
This little devilish grin is what tells me we are gonna be in so much trouble once he is up and in to everything!
Shortly after this he discovered something new - the drawers. Something tells me that in no time at all he will be pulling all of the kitchen towels out of that drawer. For now he is entertained just opening it and closing it.
Crazy little munchkin :)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Does the fear ever go away?
To say that I love being Andrew's mom is an understatement. He is such a joy and brings so much happiness to mine and J's lives. Yes, he can be frustrating sometimes - like when I am wrestling with him trying to get a clean diaper or a new outfit on him. Or when I am cleaning up yet more puke from him attempting to eat. But those are minor irritations that I get over in about 0.25 seconds - especially when he looks up at me and gives me that big goofy grin of his.
I love this kid more than I knew was humanly possible. To watch his eyes light up when he sees me walk in to daycare to pick him up makes my heart swell. Watching him and J play together in the evening between bathtime and bedtime never fails to bring a smile to my face. I hear his squealing giggles and my head starts to hurt because I am smiling so much.
He is a wonderful baby. He's very happy (unless he's hungry or tired), sweet as can be and about the cutest thing I have ever laid eyes on (though I might be slightly biased!). He's only been here for 9 1/2 months, but it feels like forever. Sometimes I can barely remember what life was like without this amazing little person in it. I think that former life just involved a little more sleep ;)
Anyway, the point of all this is that even with all this happiness and love and amazement on a daily basis, there is always this little nagging fear in the back of my head. The fear that something will go horribly wrong. That we have had it far too easy with him and that our life really is too good to be true. I don't dwell on it or let it put a damper on the fun that I have with the munchkin, but the fear is always there. Sometimes louder than others.
Like now. This week on the bump there was a family who lost their sweet 3 1/2 month old son to SIDS while at daycare on Monday. As I read about it I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I can't even let my mind go there. The thought of that happening with Andrew is too much to bear.
I know I will always be afraid of him getting hurt - falling down, breaking a bone, getting the bumps, bruises and scratches that are a part of every kid's life. But how do I get past the fear that a broken bone or a bump on the head isn't the worst that could happen?
On most days it doesn't cross my mind. I assume that everything is going to be ok because he is happy and healthy. But some nights when I watch him on the monitor and haven't seen him change positions for a while I still worry. I still go downstairs and peek into his nursery just to see the rising and falling of his chest. To hear him breathing. To know that he is still there and that he is fine.
Last night he woke up after only being down for 90 minutes. On some nights I might have dreaded this. Last night, after reading about the woman who lost her baby, I welcomed the chance to go to him and get a little more snuggle time before bed. I sat there rocking him while he nursed and I wiped away the tears in my eyes. When he was done I picked him up for a little hug and he snuggled down with his head buried in my neck. I wanted to stay like that forever - holding my little munchkin and feeling his warm little body clinging to me.
I love him so much. And I guess with the immense love comes the fear. I know the love will never go away, but when will the fear subside??
I love this kid more than I knew was humanly possible. To watch his eyes light up when he sees me walk in to daycare to pick him up makes my heart swell. Watching him and J play together in the evening between bathtime and bedtime never fails to bring a smile to my face. I hear his squealing giggles and my head starts to hurt because I am smiling so much.
He is a wonderful baby. He's very happy (unless he's hungry or tired), sweet as can be and about the cutest thing I have ever laid eyes on (though I might be slightly biased!). He's only been here for 9 1/2 months, but it feels like forever. Sometimes I can barely remember what life was like without this amazing little person in it. I think that former life just involved a little more sleep ;)
Anyway, the point of all this is that even with all this happiness and love and amazement on a daily basis, there is always this little nagging fear in the back of my head. The fear that something will go horribly wrong. That we have had it far too easy with him and that our life really is too good to be true. I don't dwell on it or let it put a damper on the fun that I have with the munchkin, but the fear is always there. Sometimes louder than others.
Like now. This week on the bump there was a family who lost their sweet 3 1/2 month old son to SIDS while at daycare on Monday. As I read about it I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I can't even let my mind go there. The thought of that happening with Andrew is too much to bear.
I know I will always be afraid of him getting hurt - falling down, breaking a bone, getting the bumps, bruises and scratches that are a part of every kid's life. But how do I get past the fear that a broken bone or a bump on the head isn't the worst that could happen?
On most days it doesn't cross my mind. I assume that everything is going to be ok because he is happy and healthy. But some nights when I watch him on the monitor and haven't seen him change positions for a while I still worry. I still go downstairs and peek into his nursery just to see the rising and falling of his chest. To hear him breathing. To know that he is still there and that he is fine.
Last night he woke up after only being down for 90 minutes. On some nights I might have dreaded this. Last night, after reading about the woman who lost her baby, I welcomed the chance to go to him and get a little more snuggle time before bed. I sat there rocking him while he nursed and I wiped away the tears in my eyes. When he was done I picked him up for a little hug and he snuggled down with his head buried in my neck. I wanted to stay like that forever - holding my little munchkin and feeling his warm little body clinging to me.
I love him so much. And I guess with the immense love comes the fear. I know the love will never go away, but when will the fear subside??
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wordless Wednesday ~ "Mmmmmmm.....pickles"
Almost wordless - he didn't throw up when he ate some! (this was his second pickle)
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
When will the puking stop?
No, the little munchkin isn't sick. In fact he is perfectly fine and happy and crazy as ever.
What he isn't doing is eating. I mean, he eats baby food purees like there is no tomorrow. He loves them. When I am trying to scrape some of it off of his face with the spoon he chases the spoon around with his mouth because he wants more. This kid is a big fan of eating.
It's when I give him "real" food that we run into a problem. That latest instance was on Saturday when I gave him a few chunks of banana. I figure it's soft and he can mash it in his mouth and eat it.
Wrong.
He did get some in his mouth, but as soon as it moved even a little bit towards the back of his mouth he gagged and proceeded to puke up what seemed like every little bit of the green bean puree he had devoured just a few minutes earlier. It wasn't pretty and I will spare you any pictures of the grossness.
Anyway, this is a normal occurrence for us. We've been trying different finger foods with him seemingly all in vain. While he does fantastic with the puffs and mum mums (since they melt) any other food that makes it into his mouth either instantly gets spit out or triggers another puke-a-palooza. Even mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, which for all intents and purposes was just thicker baby food puree.
I know we need to keep trying and we will. Eventually he'll "get" it. And when he does I have a feeling that we won't be able to keep food in front of him. But for right now I guess I have to resign myself to mopping the floor under his highchair on a regular basis and invest in some more of those bibs with the pocket at the bottom to catch more of the fallout.
What he isn't doing is eating. I mean, he eats baby food purees like there is no tomorrow. He loves them. When I am trying to scrape some of it off of his face with the spoon he chases the spoon around with his mouth because he wants more. This kid is a big fan of eating.
It's when I give him "real" food that we run into a problem. That latest instance was on Saturday when I gave him a few chunks of banana. I figure it's soft and he can mash it in his mouth and eat it.
Wrong.
He did get some in his mouth, but as soon as it moved even a little bit towards the back of his mouth he gagged and proceeded to puke up what seemed like every little bit of the green bean puree he had devoured just a few minutes earlier. It wasn't pretty and I will spare you any pictures of the grossness.
Anyway, this is a normal occurrence for us. We've been trying different finger foods with him seemingly all in vain. While he does fantastic with the puffs and mum mums (since they melt) any other food that makes it into his mouth either instantly gets spit out or triggers another puke-a-palooza. Even mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, which for all intents and purposes was just thicker baby food puree.
I know we need to keep trying and we will. Eventually he'll "get" it. And when he does I have a feeling that we won't be able to keep food in front of him. But for right now I guess I have to resign myself to mopping the floor under his highchair on a regular basis and invest in some more of those bibs with the pocket at the bottom to catch more of the fallout.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Ouch!
I discovered something new today. Actually, I discovered two new things today.
The first one is that Andrew loves to be tossed into the air and caught. Loves it. We're talking huge belly laughs and squeals of joy. He loved it so much that I did it over and over again. I started to worry that he might get sore under his arms from being caught like that (not that I was heaving him several feet into the air or anything). He didn't seem to mind so I gave him a few more tosses.
Fast forward a couple hours and I made my second discovery. Tossing my almost 20 lb munchkin into the air repeatedly and catching him has some pretty painful side effects. Namely that my back is now killing me. I thought my arms might be sore, but I stupidly wasn't thinking about my poor back.
Ouch.
So now I am lounging on the chaise with a heating pad on my aching back after downing some ibuprofen. Fingers crossed that I'm able to move tomorrow. At least it's the weekend, right?
The first one is that Andrew loves to be tossed into the air and caught. Loves it. We're talking huge belly laughs and squeals of joy. He loved it so much that I did it over and over again. I started to worry that he might get sore under his arms from being caught like that (not that I was heaving him several feet into the air or anything). He didn't seem to mind so I gave him a few more tosses.
Fast forward a couple hours and I made my second discovery. Tossing my almost 20 lb munchkin into the air repeatedly and catching him has some pretty painful side effects. Namely that my back is now killing me. I thought my arms might be sore, but I stupidly wasn't thinking about my poor back.
Ouch.
So now I am lounging on the chaise with a heating pad on my aching back after downing some ibuprofen. Fingers crossed that I'm able to move tomorrow. At least it's the weekend, right?
Friday, January 6, 2012
I guess it's time to start babyproofing
Last night while we were (finally) gathering up all of the Christmas decorations to put them away we had Andrew on the living room floor with some toys so we could keep an eye on him. He was content for about 10 seconds, and then he spied something he would rather play with and did this:
Oh boy! I know he's over 9 months old so it's not like this is to be unexpected, but man - I'm not ready for him to be mobile! Now it's gonna be even harder to get him to cuddle with me. Please stop growing so fast little munchkin.
Oh boy! I know he's over 9 months old so it's not like this is to be unexpected, but man - I'm not ready for him to be mobile! Now it's gonna be even harder to get him to cuddle with me. Please stop growing so fast little munchkin.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Andrew's 9 Month Well Check (300th Post!)
Yesterday we had Andrew's 9 month appt (at 9 months 10 days). My plan had been to work from home for the day but still take him to daycare. Well, at 6:17 AM I got a text from Andrea that their heat broke during the night and daycare would have to be closed. Luckily I already had my computer and everything at home so it wasn't that big a deal.
I emailed my boss to let him know I would get in whatever hours I could since I had the munchkin home with me. So glad my job is flexible!
Andrew decided to help me out and slept for 12 hours and 17 minutes before he woke up at 8:30. He nursed a little, I fed him some oatmeal and pears with cinnamon, and then plopped him down with some toys so he could play for a bit while I got a little work done. Shortly after I got back to work I heard paper rustling.
Obviously he would much rather play with newspapers and ads than with his toys :)
At 3:00 we headed to the doctor. We got him all weighed and measured and the nurse filled out his info in his little book.
Length - 29.4 inches (82nd percentile)
Weight - 19 lbs 5 oz (27th percentile)
Head - 18.1 (67th percentile)
When Dr. Graham came in for the rest of the check I asked him if I should be concerned that his weight percentile keeps dropping. He told me that it is perfectly normal for a baby to slow down with the weight gain as he grows. He had a big jump in the beginning (once we got him to start gaining) and has since slowed down. He told me that Andrew is absolutely perfect (something I already knew but it was nice to get validation ;) ).
We talked about how much he is eating and that he still isn't great with the finger foods. He assured me that is also very normal. Some babies just take longer to get the hang of it. He loved Andrew's curiosity, asked me if he is experiencing any separation anxiety (thankfully that's a 'no' so far), and he watched him play with all the toys. He again said that Andrew is perfect and that he would see us for the one year appointment in a few months.
Ugh - to think in less than 3 months my little munchkin will be a year old. Time is moving at warp speed and I can't seem to slow it down. I guess I'll just have to enjoy every second of it that I can.
I emailed my boss to let him know I would get in whatever hours I could since I had the munchkin home with me. So glad my job is flexible!
Andrew decided to help me out and slept for 12 hours and 17 minutes before he woke up at 8:30. He nursed a little, I fed him some oatmeal and pears with cinnamon, and then plopped him down with some toys so he could play for a bit while I got a little work done. Shortly after I got back to work I heard paper rustling.
At 3:00 we headed to the doctor. We got him all weighed and measured and the nurse filled out his info in his little book.
Length - 29.4 inches (82nd percentile)
Weight - 19 lbs 5 oz (27th percentile)
Head - 18.1 (67th percentile)
When Dr. Graham came in for the rest of the check I asked him if I should be concerned that his weight percentile keeps dropping. He told me that it is perfectly normal for a baby to slow down with the weight gain as he grows. He had a big jump in the beginning (once we got him to start gaining) and has since slowed down. He told me that Andrew is absolutely perfect (something I already knew but it was nice to get validation ;) ).
We talked about how much he is eating and that he still isn't great with the finger foods. He assured me that is also very normal. Some babies just take longer to get the hang of it. He loved Andrew's curiosity, asked me if he is experiencing any separation anxiety (thankfully that's a 'no' so far), and he watched him play with all the toys. He again said that Andrew is perfect and that he would see us for the one year appointment in a few months.
Ugh - to think in less than 3 months my little munchkin will be a year old. Time is moving at warp speed and I can't seem to slow it down. I guess I'll just have to enjoy every second of it that I can.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
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