10 weeks
So my little Swiss Miss is already 10 weeks old and I haven't really posted a thing about her.
Let's see. About her:
She was born with a ton of hair. It continues to grow at an alarming rate.
She does not like to be disturbed while resting.
She is neater than her brother: she doesn't spit up and her poop stays in her diaper. That said, she burps and farts like a drunken frat boy.
She took to nursing immediately. As in, she was born, literally, making a sucking motion. She just recently found her thumb and is in complete heaven.
Her eyes, for now, are blue.
Her skin, unfortunately, is very dry and she has eczema and cradle cap something fierce.
It seems that she may have food allergies as well as reflux.
She doesn't really mind tummy time.
She loves to smile.
She loves to coo.
*******
Let's see. About me:
Having two kids is logistically as much of a pain in the ass as I thought it would be. That said, it's not as hard in other ways I thought it would be.
I'm on a restricted diet as a result of the aforementioned food allergies. No milk, eggs or soy ingredients for me. As an aside, I'd like to point out that with Rolo I pumped exclusively for over six months and now with this one, I've given up eating most foods that are delicious. I deserve some sort of mothering award, no?
I enjoy walking around the city with Swiss Miss.
I have no desire to return to work. This confuses me.
Having the benefit of experience, it seems having a newborn this time is infinitely easier. Not nearly as much frustration or depression. I attribute this to both the experience factor and that I had simply less to lose this time.
I love nursing her.
In the afternoons, she and I take naps on my bed. We look at each other as we drift off to sleep. It is my favorite time of day and I am very sad it will come to an end.
I am completely in love.
Labels: baby, parenting, Rolo, Swiss Miss
Missing The Person You Fell In Love With
I saw this
article on CNN and I knew before reading it what it was about. That made me a little sad. But this story, or some similiar verison of it, is what happens when you have children. I have a good marriage, and in many ways I am closer to my husband now than I was two years ago. There's much good, but I'd be lying if I told you something didn't catch in the back of my throat a little bit when I've looked at him and thought "He must miss the person he married."
Labels: baby, Living, parenting, random
A Year Ago
I look at the baby sleeping in the crib. He seems pretty long to me now, taking up about two-thirds of the length of the mattress.
One year ago tonight, just a few hours from now, my water would break and Ron and I would head to the hospital. I still would not know, not even then, how much my life would change.
It's been a good ride, though, little man.
Labels: baby, i like stories, Rolo
The Latest Addition to the Family
I've given birth!
Well, figuratively. I've got a new site up and running called
Philadelphia Moms. I've been posting for a few weeks now, but there's lots more I need to do with it.
For one thing, I can't for the life of me figure out how to get widgets or buttons on the site, including a site meter. Granted, I haven't spent more than two minutes at a pop trying to figure it out either. I'd like to increase the readership, maybe get involved with BlogHer, advertising. Who knows? Maybe I won't have time for any of that and it'll just stay as it is.
But what I realized is there's no good site for moms in the city. No real resource on what do to with yourself on maternity leave. Most of us city moms are stroller bound and when you've got a newborn it's overwhelming to figure out which places are stroller friendly. My goal (which may be unattainable, depending on how much time I dedicate to developing the site) is to create place where moms in Philly can come, get information or ideas and maybe even have exchanges. I'm open to any and all suggestions. There's people out there who are a lot better at this than I am. Feel free to link to this new site if you're reading.
Who knows where it's all going? But check it out.
Labels: baby, baby style, hippie-dippy, parenting
More Than Just A Little Strange
Randomly, over the last few weeks, a recurring thought has popped into my brain: "If I ever have another baby, maybe I'll use cloth diapers."
I've read up on it a little bit and it definitely doesn't seem to be anything like our mothers' version of cloth diapers anymore. I'm sure there is a learning curve, but it doesn't seem very difficult. Plus the
diaper covers are so cute.
The big question is whether day care and cloth diapers go hand in hand. They do not, methinks. But I suppose I could conceivably do it while on maternity leave. And no, I'm not pregnant by the way.
Labels: baby, hippie-dippy
And It's Any Wonder Why We Have An Obesity Problem?
This morning when I dropped Rolo off at daycare, the teachers were feeding the kids Fruit Loops, instead of the regular Cheerios. I should note that Rolo is in an infant transition room for kids from 10 months to about 15 months old. So you know, they are basically babies.
Babies do not need Fruit Loops.
I am outraged. I know I've become an organic food hippie. I operate under the working assumption that there will be plenty of years when my kid will know what McDonald's is, what Fruit Loops are, what soda is. I don't need to be the one to introduce him to any of these things. Most parents allow their infants to gnaw on french fries and then wonder why their kids want to stop at every Mickey D's they pass in the car later on.
As Rolo shows interest in junk food, my aim is to teach him about balance, moderation and eating healthy. I won't be one of those psychos that never lets him eat any junk, but I don't need to start him on bad eating habits early either.
And again, I must say: babies do not need Fruit Loops.
Labels: baby, parenting, winter of my discontent
Turn That Frown Upside Down
Yesterday was the kind of day I rarely have, where I wanted to walk out of my office in the middle of the day, go home directly to bed, ball my eyes out and possibly stay that way for a few days. I've got an employee resigning at the worst possible time, I'm in impossible arguments with my family and although I was going to meet up with a friend for drinks, we canceled because of work and torrential downpours. It's all made me one walking ball of stress.
The good thing about my particular personality type is that I rarely stay down and out for long. Usually by the next morning, I'm better, more positive, looking at the impossible tasks before me with a new energy. This time, though, it didn't even take until the next morning.
I underestimated the powerful magic of the baby giggle. Baby giggles make everything better.
Labels: baby, random
T-Minus One Month
Rolo turns 11 months old today. And it reminds me of turning 29 years old. If you're 29, you may as well be 30. Twenty nine is like the year that is desperately clinging to a bygone era. I suspect I'll feel the same way about 39. So Rolo is 11 months old, but in my mind he may as well be a year old.
As I forecasted
a month ago, Rolo had apparently been revving up for big advances. He started crawling and now crawls everywhere. Simultaneously, he started pulling up and cruising and within the last two weeks has gotten pretty good about getting from one piece of furniture to another. Last night, he actually stood for about 2 seconds on his own without holding onto anything. While he's still unstable, it's amazing to see how much stronger he's gotten in just a few weeks. The funniest thing is to see him get down from a standing position. He sticks his butt way out behind him and then just plops down.
I had taken him to the physical therapy evaluation, even though he was already crawling by the time the appointment rolled around. They spent a good hour and a half with Rolo, asking me questions and testing Rolo. I could tell as soon as they started testing that he was fine. He, of course, turned on the charm and performed every single trick they could possibly have wanted to see. All in the first 5 minutes. So, no future PT is needed and they probably thought I was crazy.
Rolo will occasionally say Mama now, although I don't think he associates it withme. I don't think he associates any of his spoken words with their meaning. But he is beginning to understand and associate words that are spoken
to him. If you ask him to "share" he will promptly give you whatever he has in his hands. If you say "no" now, he'll stop what he's doing (usually only to start it right back up again 5 seconds later). He still won't clap or play "so big" but he plays ball. Really. He'll pass a ball back and forth with you for a long period of time. He really "gets" that it's a game. I think that's incredibly advanced, but I may be biased.
He's started eating more and more table food. Last night he had cut up chicken and sweet potato fries. I think I'm having a problem determining how much food is a serving for him (it's so easy with the jarred stuff--one jar = one serving). But Rolo seems to enjoy eating and practicing his chewing. Which is great because he has 6 teeth now; two on the bottom and 4 on the top.
Over the weekend, we went to the beach for the first time with Rolo and while he loved the sand, he wasn't digging the water. Although it was a little rough and cold and it didn't help that he was overdue to eat. I think we may go to the trailer down by the river soon and I bet he'll like calm bay water better.
Ron and I have already been arguing about a first birthday party. I fall into the catergory that believes that immediate family should be invited over for cake and other treats. Ron thinks it's an event that should involve no fewer than 100 people. Who do you think will be accountable if this child winds up totally spoiled?
We're at an impasse.
I think there's a good chance that Rolo will start walking before he hits the one year mark. Maybe, maybe not. He's learned so much in the last 11 months. I can't believe it's almost a year since he was born. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've been to a gym. In so many ways my life is the same as before I had a baby, but I swear nothing on earth can prepare you for how different it will be either.
Labels: baby, Rolo
9 Months
The little dude is nine months old today. His father is working tonight and I (and Little Dude) spent the night with the girls at El Vez.
Honestly, I didn't have that much to drink. Over the course of a couple of hours, maybe 3 margaritas, but they were mostly ice. They didn't cause me, or stop me from, crying like a baby when I got home.
It's not that he's nine months old. The age doesn't bother me. Hell, he'll already in some 12 month clothes and that doesn't bother me either.
I got the notice today that daycare is moving him out of the infant room in two weeks, to the "young toddler" room.
Young toddler room. This, for a child who cannot yet crawl.
I knew it was coming. It usually happens at 8 or 9 months; they tell you that. Although there was one baby still there at 10 months old. I would see all the younger babies, the 6 or 10 or 12 week ones come in, starting after Rolo. I would smile at them and remember when he was that little. He started at daycare at 12 weeks. I've realized he's one of the older kids in that room now. I can't explain why it upsets me. Maybe it's because I love his teachers in the infant room. Maybe it's because I don't like changes to routine. Maybe it's because he's too old to be in the infant room. Yeah, I think it's all of those, but that last one especially.
He's just a baby. My baby.
I'm well aware of the fact that I sound like one of those deranged lunatic mothers who refuse to let their children grow up. I won't be that, I promise. But I will allow myself moments of lunancy. Moments to grieve that which I did not think I would miss: the littleness of a baby. Of an infant. When a baby is only a couple of weeks or months old, there are no expectations. Just eating, and sleeping and pooping. Awe in just those things. But now, at nine months, I've already entered the world of competitive child rearing. I worry that he's not rolling over easily enough, that he's not crawling, that he doesn't say mama. There are expectations now; people start to ask you what your child can and cannot do. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of Rolo. He's doing just fine. But already, it's not the pure innocence of having a newborn.
He's gotten better at rollng over from his stomach to his back, but he still gets stuck. It's harder to hide the remote control from him because he knows were to look for it. He's started to push backwards when on his stomach, almost like a backwards creep. He's started to refuse food, as I've mentioned, but overall, he's still a very good baby.
He has this "ducktail" hairline at the nape of his neck. See?
And yes, he is watching the Weather Channel, which he finds fascinating. Is that hereditary?
Sometimes he falls asleep on me:
Sometimes on Daddy-O:
And he gives sloppy, open-mouthed kisses:
Lastly, here's his first and only time on a real swing (thanks to
Deidre). He loved it.
Happy nine months, Little Dude.
Labels: baby, parenting, Rolo
Walking
Thank you to those who donated to the March of Dimes walk. The rain held out, and although it's heavily debated whether the walk was, in fact, five miles, we all felt like we got a work out. Among the team walkers were my best friend and Ron's best friend and I think that speaks to the kind of people we are lucky to have around us.
Going back to June 2006....they didn't have a private room for us, so when Matthew was taken off life support, the nurses closed the curtains around his crib for privacy and clipped a picture of a white flower on a black background to the curtains so we wouldn't be disturbed. Or rather, so those who were entering the area would
know and would employ Sensitivity and Compassion.
One of his doctors, the one I regularly mocked because he used long pauses when he spoke and it drove me crazy and also, I mocked him because we needed something to laugh at, he came into our area that morning and he said to my sister-in-law, slowly, "It was a privilege taking care of Matthew." And I loved him in that moment because you could tell he
did think it was a privilege and that sounded so much more sincere than the usual "I'm sorry for your loss."
It was a privilege walking on Saturday.
Labels: baby, friends, Living
An Open Letter
Dear Pampers,
I've been using your products since my son was born and just recently started buying him size 3 diapers. He's not yet nine months old. However, I couldn't help but notice that instead of
baby versions of Sesame Street characters (which are cute) that were on size 1 and size 2, size 3 has the
regular characters. Is this to indicate that he is now a big boy? Considering he will be in diapers for at least the next year and a half, I don't think it's too much to ask to leave baby characters on the diapers just a little bit freaking longer.
Screw you,
DJ Heavy
P.S. Regular Elmo is ugly.
Labels: baby, not the mama
The Perceptiveness of Children
One other thing just popped into my head from that period of time when Matthew was alive. I can't believe I didn't think to put it in my previous post, because I'm sure it's one of those moments that will always stay with me.
We stayed over Ron's other sister's house the night before Matthew's funeral. Ron's one niece, who is my favorite even though you're not supposed to have favorites, was two and a half at the time. We all woke up early and she was esctatic to see me, there in her house so early in the day. She jumped into my arms, as she tended to do. I spoke with her and her mother, Ron's sister, for a few minutes. Then I explained to my niece that I needed to put her down, because I had to take a shower so I could leave soon. And she said, in her little baby voice, "You're going to the hospital?" It struck me that she already comprehended how often just about everyone she knew was going to the hospital. I wasn't sure what to say, and I wasn't sure how much her mother had told her about death, so I just said, "No, baby, I'm not going to the hospital." She looked at me, very seriously, and I swear that child has the biggest brown eyes you ever saw. And she said, with more understanding than I would have credited a child of not even three years with, "Because Baby Matthew is in heaven now?"
I told her she was right, hugged her and cried into her hair.
Labels: baby
Mighty Matt
As most of you reading know, Ron's sister had a baby in June 2006 who was born prematurely and with significant birth defects. He passed away two weeks later. His name was Matthew, but his nickname was Mighty Matt. You can read about him
here and
here. I still think of Matthew regularly. Lately though, because of the March for Babies walk that I'm participating in, and also because I've gotten to reading some
blogs of women who have lost babies, I've been thinking about him more often.
There are some images and moments I don't think I'll ever forget. My friend
Christy knit Matthew two teeny, tiny hats, one blue and one red. They were the only articles of clothing he ever had. He was buried with the blue one; the other he never got to wear. He passed away the morning that he did because his mother made the decision to take him off of life support. Even if you know your child is going to die, I can only imagine how heart-wrenching it is to have to decide when to do that. I knew then how awful it was, what my sister-in-law was going through, but I have a whole new perspective on it now.
The thing about Matthew is that he started to unravel the last bit of protection that I had inadvertently built around my heart. After he passed away, I knew, albeit blind faith, that I was capable of loving a child beyond measure. Because of Matthew, I think Rolo has a better mother. No matter how frustrating having a child can be at times, I am constantly reminded of, and thankful for, how lucky I am. Having Rolo has resulted my heart being totally worn upon my sleeve. I can empathize and feel things I wasn't capable of before. The downside is that this sometimes means I'm a weepy mess. The plus side is that I've developed into a fuller human being. And I think Matthew really started that. He wedged himself into a place in my heart and he's lived there ever since. Sometimes when I'm playing with Rolo, I hope he's watching over us.
So this weekend, I'm going to
March for Babies, sponsored by the March of Dimes. My sister-in-law put together a team called "Mighty Matt". It's going to be a good day.
Labels: baby
Feeling Accomplished
This morning, I stopped my kid from eating his own snot. Seriously, am I AWESOME at this parenting thing or what?
Labels: baby, i like stories
So Far
Random bits of baby stuff I've learned so far:
1. Diapers leak more when babies sleep on their stomachs (sigh, mandatory note: I know babies are not supposed to sleep on their stomachs, until they are able to roll their themselves, which mine does).
2. Baby clothes sizes, much like women's clothes, vary greatly depending on the brand. For many, you will see 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, 9-12 months, and then it moves to 6 month increments from there for a year, until "2T" when 1 year increments start up. However, GAP and Old Navy move to 6 month increments at 6 months, so it goes from 3-6months to 6-12 months. Carter's only labels theirs: NB, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months. The important thing to note with Carter's sizing is that the size indicates the older end of the range, so 6 months is really 3-6 months, 9 months is really 6-9 months. Old Navy sizes run really small and everything shrinks. Just to give you perspective, Rolo, who is 8 months old, wears a 12-18 month size in Old Navy.
3. Always, always pack an extra baby outfit, including an undershirt.
4. Surprisingly, men are particularly intrigued by the Bugaboo.
5. The moment you give birth, people will start asking when you're going to have another one and it's totally acceptable to whip an M16 and shoot them.
6.Formula is pretty gross.
7. Breastfeeding + no allergies = not true
8. Have the food ready
before putting the baby in the highchair.
9. Unless it's leather, stain protectant on your upholstered furniture is an excellent investment.
10. Fasten all bibs before washing them. Most are velcro and rip apart everything else in the wash.
Labels: baby
Slow Going
So awhile back, I
posted that I was taking my body back and starting an exercise routine. Remember that? HA! That didn't happen.
Yesterday, I went for my first jog (and I use the word "jog" loosely) in, well, Lord only knows how long. Over a year, easily. But it was the first time I "worked out" since July. It went better than I would have expected, given nearly 9 months of inactivity, and it felt good. You know, in sort of a painful, wheezing sort of way.
Jogging isn't really my thing, I don't enjoy it, but I am hoping that I can do it three times a week. If I can somehow commit to that, then I'll consider joining a gym, allowing me the opportunity to do the bikes, elipticals and take classes.
Anyway, by the time I get home from picking Rolo up at daycare after work, it's 6pm and he's more than ready for dinner. Ron gets home somewhere between 6pm and 8pm, depending on the day (not including the nights he's on call and not home at all). Rolo is ready for him nightime bottle and bed around 7:30pm. And we do like to spend some time playing with him since we don't see him all day. Between all that and then things like laundry, grocery shopping, making dinner, bathing Rolo and some required reading Ron has do, it doesn't always leave time to go for a run. Honestly. I think the longer days and warmer temperatures will at least make it a possibility these next few months.
Anyway, so my jog yesterday was at least a first step.
Labels: baby, fitness
Coveting
I've seen
this on several website and I've decided that not only is it brilliant, but also, I should own one.
Labels: baby, style
HEALED
The child, he does not have a burst ear drum! The ear drum lives! In fact, his ears look much, much better and for now, we have escaped the ear tube scenario.
Much rejoicing.
Labels: baby, Rolo
Ear Drum
I've mentioned here before that Rolo has had some persistent ear infections. In fact, I'm not sure, and his doctor isn't either that any of the infections have actually gone away. His last round of antibiotics was a couple of weeks ago and since then Rolo has continued to pull at his ear. Which could be just something he does. But I'm inclined to think his ears are still bothering him.
He's been rubbing his cheeks and ears a lot since Thursday, and I thought his gums might be bothering him, but I also suspected his ears too. He has an appointment scheduled with his doctor for tomorrow anyway, so I didn't think much of it.
This morning, however, I noticed Rolo's left ear was caked in dried blood. Upon further inspection, so were the fingers on his left hand. I cleaned the ear out the best I could, without actually going into the ear canal, but the dried blood is in the ear canal too. It's possible that he scratched his ear, and because he was sleeping with his head to one side, the blood ran into his ear canal.
But my guess is that the blood ran
from the ear canal because the poor little guy's ear drum burst. I feel terrible.
Labels: baby, Rolo
Stuff I've Learned
I've recently been compiling a list in my head of all the products I love and don't love since Rolo's been born, and I thought I'd post it:
Stuff I Could Live Without-the
Dr. Brown's microwave sterilizer=total waste of money. Yeah, it makes things easier when you first sterilize the bottles when the baby comes home. But then you never really use it again.
-the beloved
Vera Bradley diaper bag. I have two of these and I thought it was what I wanted. In practice, it's an awkward diaper bag. It's lightweight, which is a pro, but I've found that I need a bag that goes across my chest.
-things with hoods. It can be seriously difficult to find baby jackets that don't come with hoods. Hell, even many sweaters and some shirts come with hoods. Totally annoying. Here are the instances in which your child may need a hood: 1.) if the seasons are changing and it's warm, you're not bringing a hat, but if it gets breezy, you'd like your baby to have some protection or 2.) it's the middle of the winter and your kid is going to be outside for a long period of time (i.e. a parade or...something), wearing the hood over a hat. Other than that, no need for a hood. I think one coat or snowsuit and one sweater with hoods are plenty. If the child is not yet sitting up on his own, it means the hood either has to be up when the child is in a car seat or stroller, or if the hood is down, he's laying on it uncomfortably.
-the
Boppy pillow. While I'm a big fan of a couple of the other Boppy products (see below), this one was kind of a waste. I've used it occasionally to prop Rolo up on the floor or on a bed, particularly for tummy time. But as a breastfeeding aid, it didn't work for me (for the short time I was actually nursing). It would always slip away from me as Rolo nursed and would require constant readjustment. And since I was trying to actually get Rolo to successfully latch on, this distraction was annoying beyond belief. I've heard that a similiar pillow, My Breast Friend, (sorry I can't type that without gagging from the cheesiness) is better because it straps to you, preventing the slipping.
Stuff I LOVE:-
Britax Diplomat. It's one of the safest car seats out there, and Rolo really likes it (well, other than getting strapped into it). It's almost the same seat as the Britax Boulevard, just a smaller version. The Boulevard is HUGE, and when rear-facing, almost always requires moving your front seats up. My plan is the use the Diplomat, and possibly, if we ever have another kid, to get the Boulevard for Rolo (who would be forward facing by then) and use the Diplomat for kid #2. Anyway, they are pricey, but of all the things parents plunk down hundreds of dollars on, I think something like a car seat is a much better value than, say, fancy bedding. The car seat could save your kid's life. Know what's going to happen to that fancy bedding? Your kid is going to urinate on it.
-
Born Free bottles. I finally broke down and got Rolo BPA-free bottles. Although I'm still using the Dr. Brown's for day care right now, the Born Free seem to work really well. Plus the parts are easier to clean than the Dr. Brown's.
-
Stuck On You labels. Seriously, these things stay on the bottles, no matter how many times you wash them (although admittedly, we hand-wash bottles, no dishwasher) and they are much cuter than having to write your kid's name in permanent marker on bottles and sippy cups for day care.
-the
Zoomby blanket. We got this as a gift and we used it instead of one of those
infant carrier muffs. It kept little Rolo super toasty warm.
-
side-snap shirts. Gerber's and Carter's both make these and some have cute little designs on them. For a summer baby, I thought these were great. Rolo wore one of these and a diaper to bed many a night.
-
sneaker socks. Need I say more?
-The Boppy
swing and
activity mat. We're still using both of these, although, the swing's days are numbered as Rolo is just getting too big for it. I've heard people complain that the swing isn't "bright enough", as if I suppose, babies only like swings that scream colors at them. I happened to love the muted tones. Rolo spent many a morning deep in conversation with "his bees" (which hang from the swing). More importantly, he took many a long nap in that thing. The activity mat we used from the time he was about 4 weeks old and he's still entralled with it.
-pacifier tethers, like
this one. Not only good for holding a pacifier, but also for attaching lightweight toys (like toy keys) to the kid so they don't wind up on the floor when out in public.
I'm going to try to post periodically about kids' products I use. Not that my reading audience, all 3 of you, is interested in that. But, whatever, this site is about me. No, seriously, keep reading.
Labels: baby, baby style, parenting, Rolo
