98 posts tagged “baby”
Several months ago, a former coworker gave The Boy a bear wearing a Who T-shirt. Because of the shirt and the fact that I have no originality, we've named the bear "Tommy Bear".
This is the first stuffed animal he actually cuddled, and he has since taken to cuddling with Tommy Bear (and other stuffed animals) when the mood strikes. It doesn't strike very often (he's much more fond of balloons when he's lucky enough to have them, and of balls, which are his new favorite things to carry, toss, and roll), but when it does, it's quite endearing. The snuggling always includes a number of kisses to Tommy Bear's nose.
Tonight, when I put him down, he seemed to have trouble settling. I'm still letting him wean himself from the breast, but I'm no longer giving him a pacifier at night. This started last week, but it's only been a problem for the past couple of nights. Of course, he could also be perfectly fine without the pacifier; after all, he went to bed after 7:30 last night and tonight, so it could very well be a self-soothing issue. Either way, the past two nights haven't been easy on us.
Anyway, after I put him in his crib and finished our nighttime ritual (complete with Goodnight Moon and a song), I dimmed the lights and left the room. For a few minutes, he was fine. But then the crying began, and I knew it was because he was having trouble soothing himself. I waited a few more minutes, then came back into his room, softly hushing his cries, and offered Tommy Bear before one more goodnight, and I left the room.
The crying continued for another five minutes, then The Boy settled once more. I just went into his room to check on him, and he had turned himself around in the crib - but he was sound asleep and holding Tommy Bear's foot.
What interests me most is what tomorrow morning may bring. The Boy could very well be elated to have a friend in his crib, or he may dismiss Tommy Bear altogether and we'd jump right into our routine without a second glance.
I'm just hoping Tommy Bear will be enough to keep The Boy settled so he can soothe himself back to sleep in the event he awakes at 4:30 again.
The Boy had a mysterious redness around his right eye and on his red cheek this morning when I took him out of the car. Thankfully, his former Infant teachers let me bring him to their classroom and hang out with him for a while to see if the redness cleared (which it did). Lord knows I had no desire to schlep him back home and to the doctor for what would ultimately be no reason.
It's the strangest thing, and this isn't the first time this has happened. He had a healthy breakfast this morning of peaches, milk, and a bit of breastmilk. I didn't even offer any of the blueberry muffins he greedily devoured the previous morning. And when we left the house, he was perfectly fine - no redness, no rashes, nothing. But when I got him out of the car, half his face was just, well, really pink.
Anyway, I dropped him off in his classroom (one of the Directors even saw him and just remarked how adorable he is - no mention of the pinkness, thank God) and no one made any mention of it there, either.
I just don't know what could possibly trigger what is ultimately a temporary reaction.
Well, after my neighbor's glowing review of gDiapers, I was really excited to see one - not in action, but one that I could touch and manipulate, blah blah blah.
If I didn't already invest in BumGenius, I would definitely want to go this route. The whole system is very cool. (Check out Working Title and Anya's Mom for more info - they're gDiaper users and seem to love it!)
Anyway, the lady at the booth (we had a health fair at work today) was so happy to hear that I knew people who used (and liked!) gDiapers, and she let me take a small stack of coupons to pass along to all my eco-conscious Mommy friends. The coupons are for $2 off a starter kit.
I've already posted a offer on Freepeats but wanted to extend it to my fellow Voxers here. PM me if you're interested, and I'll gladly send you one (or three!).
Edit: The coupons are all gone now! I got some speedy responses from a few neighbors and will be dropping those coupons in the mail shortly! Thanks for the interest!
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Please share with us your expectations for giving birth if you are currently pregnant and how your expectations were or were not met if you are already a mother. And for those of you with multiple children or who may be pregnant with a second child, please share how your expectations have varied from pregnancy to pregnancy.
I think I was among the delusional when it came to childbirth. In fact, I'm certain of it.
First of all, my son arrived far earlier than I anticipated. Three weeks, to be precise. I went to the doctor for my routine 36-week check up, only to be told that I was four centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. When just the day before I carefully planned out my week to tidy up all my loose ends in the event the baby came the following week, I was suddenly on maternity leave and urged not to stray too far from my house.
Oh, bother. I would hardly consider this good use of my maternity leave!
The morning following my 36-week check up, I felt the pangs of early labor. Surely my son will come now, I thought. But, alas, no. He was just testing me. After returning home from my second trip to triage, I was disappointed that he was stalling.
Late that evening, my labor (finally) progressed further. I'd like to think it was the chocolate ice cream that spurred it along. At any rate, we went back to the hospital, and, once again, I lay in triage for what seemed like an eternity, ever so fearful they would send me home once again. But, they didn't - and once I was admitted, I thought the baby would come very soon afterwards.
Boy, was I wrong. But after reading others' birth stories, I think I was among the luckier ones. I just wasn't as lucky as I would have liked to be.
Because I made it to four centimeters and 80% without knowing it, I honestly thought labor couldn't possibly be all that bad. And when a nurse came to my bedside and asked me if I wanted something to ease the pain, I initially refused, caving only a moment later when another contraction assaulted me. I was adamant, though: I did not want an epidural. And, so, I didn't have one. I had Nubain instead, which sent me into an opium-induced state of delirium. Oddly, Nubain is given to lots of women in early labor and is often ineffective for women in advanced labor (as I was), but it did the trick. I only asked for one refill, and that was it.
Thirty hours after the onset of early labor, ten hours after arriving at the hospital, eight hours after being admitted, three contractions and six good pushes later, I heard my son for the first time... and was strangely disappointed at the anticlimax of childbirth. I've no idea what I was expecting to feel, but I knew I didn't feel it. I peered down at the miracle of my messy, still unnamed son and, though relieved to be done with labor and elated that he was perfectly made with all ten fingers and all ten toes, I was just so unbelievably tired. And when the nurses gave him to me to nurse right away and he didn't want to latch on, I felt awful - all my expectations of being a "good" mother were already fading away before my eyes. (Mind you, he didn't completely figure out business of latching on until the next morning, but I had far more calls to the nurses' station than I thought I might.)
I laugh now at my naivete, how I believed that watching my nieces grow, talking to all my mom friends, and reading everything I could about motherhood while I was pregnant would somehow prepare me for the onslaught of mothering. Nothing can prepare you for motherhood, I've discovered. And just when I think I've figured out what my son needs, wants, and expects of me, he immediately changes the rules and I'm back to square one.
And yet, I would do it all again, with no hesitation.
We took The Boy to the Magic Kingdom yesterday to get his hair cut. His birthday is on Saturday, and I really wanted his hair to look good (read: not in his face) on his birthday. After all, there will be lots of pictures taken!
As if he knew something exciting was in store for him, he awoke at 4:45 and didn't want to go back to sleep. Around 6, he woke up Chris (by crawling over his body and slapping his face), and after a healthy breakfast of bananas and yogurt, we left the house just before 8 o'clock and headed for the Happiest Place on Earth.
Michal, the barber, was cutting someone's hair when we arrived at the barber shop on Main Street, and there was one other gentleman in front of us. No worries, though: Horace the Horse and a cow (I can't remember her name, but it starts with a C) were outside the barber shop and The Boy was utterly fascinated.
After his hair cut (and a quick diaper change in the Baby Station - I love that place), we took him to see Mickey and Minnie, then made a beeline for It's A Small World. He was a trooper while we waited in line (he was watching all the kids around us), but he started falling asleep once we got on the ride! Somewhere between Europe and Asia, he fell fast asleep, and he stayed asleep long enough for Chris and me to enjoy a lovely overpriced theme park lunch.
When he awoke, we went on the People Mover in Tommorowland, then headed back toward Main Street because the skies were threatening to open and soak us. We walked around the Contemporary Resort, then made our way to the Polynesian. Two diaper changes and a minor meltdown later, we were on our way home by 4 o'clock. I fixed his bangs (they were a little crooked because he kept moving his head), and fed him a late afternoon snack. He took a quick 5-minute nap, had a bath around 6 o'clock, then decided to stay up with Chris and me until almost 8:30.
I think we'll be going back to Disney World (possibly more than just the Magic Kingdom) next weekend while my father-in-law is here, but there's no telling. I do know that I need to be a little better prepared this next visit, though. A single banana and a small container of Pirate Booty is not enough to keep a growing boy happy!
The Boy will have his first birthday in just eight incredibly short days. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year (just as it's hard to believe he's learned so much in just one year).
In February, we were forced to begin the weaning process much sooner than I had planned. In fact, it was always my plan to let him decide for himself when he was done breastfeeding (though he always had breastmilk while he was at school). I was away from the baby for six short days, but without the constant demand for more milk, my body started slowing milk production. Finally, about three weeks ago, I gave up on trying to (literally) squeeze out six ounces a day (we had to begin mixing his milk with formula while I was away because I only had a three-day supply in the freezer) and limited attempts at nursing to the moments right before bed time.
My supply is almost non-existant now, but The Boy doesn't understand that. All he knows, when he awakes in the middle of the night, is that Mommy is offering a sippy cup instead of her breast, and that when he lifts Mommy's shirt and finds said breast, he can't get anything out. So he gets frustrated.
And he cries. A lot.
I'm not really sure how to deal with this. Last night, I kept a sippy cup ready so that the second he detached, I could slip it into his mouth and let him drink - until he realized what was going on and would push away the cup. It seemed to work a little bit; he slept more soundly last night than he had all week. But I find myself hesitant to go to bed now, knowing that he might awake any moment, wanting to nurse, and, because he's so frustrated and wound up, won't fall asleep again for a good two hours.
One day we'll figure this out together. Today would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath!
I just placed an order to Cotton Babies and ordered a pack of three BumGenius 3.0 diapers, plus extra inserts and flushable liners. (If it's true that these liners make cleaning up poopy diapers a snap, then I will be kicking myself continuously for not doing this sooner.)
Plus I found a coupon for 5% off the order. Hey - every litle bit helps, right?
As I still have a lot of Size 3 Pampers to go through, I was in no rush and only opted for (free) regular shipping, not expedited or rushed. So, I should get it within two weeks, just in time for my sister's visit. We'll see how this whole cloth diapering thing goes. I so hope Cath is wrong and I don't get addicted. I have to keep this in check because, after all, it's only for home use. Provided all goes well, I'll still be using my Pampers coupons for "school supplies".
The Boy and I go through at least three diapers each morning. The first is the very wet diaper he has when he first wakes in the morning; the second is right after breakfast. Inevitably, there will be a third diaper to change either right before we leave the house or en route to school.
This morning, though, we only had two diapers. Why? Well, we had that first diaper before breakfast, and the second diaper, too. No surprise, the second diaper had only a tiny bit of poop in it, which is how I knew the third diaper would soon follow. Only, I didn't know how soon it would follow.
I place a pre-fold cloth diaper under The Boy's bottom when I change him. I've done this since he was a wee baby; he had an uncanny habit of pooping or peeing mid-change, and we discovered this was the best way to preserve his clothing. Well, this morning, he pooped mid-change, and, thankfully, I had the cloth diaper to, well, "catch" all of it.
But here's what I discovered: Toddler poop is much easier to clean up than baby poop! This morning, I simply needed to flush the solids and quickly wash the diaper with soap, which took about a minute or two. The smell that accosted my nostrils so sharply just moments earlier was suddenly gone, and the diaper was amazingly clean again. (Wet, but clean.)
For some time, I've been toying with the idea of switching The Boy over to cloth diapers, even if it's just for home use, and this recent experience has given me some hope. The thing is, though, I would still need disposables for school, but switching would mean that I'd only need to buy half the disposables I buy now.
It's certainly food for thought. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to wash out poopy diapers as quickly as I did this morning, but I really did like how quickly it all washed out - and the fact that there was no smell once it was all flushed/washed away!
But I'll need to think about it a little more.
I have to write this down or I know, at some point, I will forget this ever happened.
Friday night, I asked Chris to change The Boy's diaper and get him into his pajamas and ready for bed while I used the restroom myself. This isn't an unusal request; for some odd reason, my bladder is empty before I leave the office but somehow fills to capacity while en route. I don't understand it.
My bodily functions aside, as I was washing my hands, I heard a very familiar, "Boy, come back here!" from my husband. Chris changes The Boy on the ground, and The Boy likes to roll away from him at the most inopportune times. I walked into The Boy's room and, sure enough, he was crawling towards the door, clad only in his diaper.
I picked him up and placed him back onto the changing mat on the floor. Chris wrestled with The Boy's legs and successfully removed the diaper... only to have The Boy, now completely naked, roll off the mat, sit up, and heartily laugh at his father. Which made Chris laugh. And The Boy laughed even more.
We had never heard him laugh so much, which is what makes this story so much sweeter and that much more important to remember!
Plus, it's would be good blackmail material in another 14 years or so.
