A whole bunch of acquaintances have had babies in the last month or so, and I have not been keeping up with my usual congratulations.
First off, congrats to my neighbor! Aspen Jennifer C, born in early November, weighing 8 lbs and 10(?)oz. The mom had one heck of a long and challenging labor but did manage to still have a vaginal delivery and is doing really well.
Second, congrats to a fellow mom at Cooper's daycare! Ruby Jane C, born right before Thanksgiving, weighing something petite along the lines of 6lbs. From what I heard, she had a very straightforward home birth. They use the same midwife as us, too. Yay!
I titled this post "Baby names" because Ruby and Aspen are both non-typical names. They aren't something that I would name my own kid (for a few reasons) but I don't find them objectionable, really. I think my attitude towards baby names is softening. But rest assured, our second child will have a name that is relatively easy to spell, say, and remember. It will also probably not be gender neutral, although I think we still have one on the list that works for both. We are down to 7 boy options and 10 girl options, so that's pretty good for about a month to go!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Santa's gonna eat me!
Cooper is a child with ample caution and he's often slow to warm up to a new thing, situation or place, but it seems like he only has a few real fears. Every once in a while, we run into something he's actually afraid of, and I must say it is quite amazing how strong his reaction is.
Regrettably, our neighbor just aided us in the discovery that Cooper is extremely petrified, to the point of shaking, shrieking, and attempting to claw his way through a closed door, of animatronic dwarf Santas that sing Christmas carols. Yes, the kind of horrible kitschy things that you normally smirk at in store windows. Well, our kind elderly neighbors who we really like have one of these things. Its about two feet tall, does a hurky-jerky dance, and has terrible sound quality. And bless her heart, Gladys (age 89) thought maybe Cooper would like to see it dance and sing. Up until that time, Cooper and I had been visiting with Gladys and Ray, chatting about the weather and what they had for Christmas dinner.
God no. Hell no. As we sat on her manicured couch, Cooper watched it with eyes the size of saucers for about 15 seconds, and then he started shrieking like I've never heard him scream before. It was hilarious and tragic all at the same time. The santa was pretty far from him- maybe 15 feet- but none the less he dove from sitting beside me, onto my lap, and then attempted to climb OVER me to the area behind the couch, seemingly to increase the distance between the horrible thing and him.
Of course I dragged his kicking and screaming body back onto my lap and told him it was ok, that it was just a toy. The high pitched death shriek continued and then he started shaking uncontrollably, crying hysterically, and kicking me to try to get free. Thinking it might help to set him down, I put him down on the floor. A screaming fit ensued as Cooper ran pell-mell to the front door and tried to get it open, clawing and pounding and violently kicking to try to escape. "DADA HOME DADA DADA NO NO NO HOME HOME HOME OUTSIDE PLEASE OUTSIDE PLEASE DADA NOOOOO MOMMAAA!"
Poor Gladys. She's old, and arthritic, and could simply not turn the damn thing off fast enough. Meanwhile, her husband Ray is sitting in an easy chair next to us, dying. Yes, you read that right, the man is dying. He probably has only a few weeks (days) left to live. You could claim it is heart failure, but that would be simply ignoring the fact that he's 91 and a train wreck, medically speaking. It is just that his heart is going to be what takes him down for good. If you ask me, it would be for the best if he died tonight- but I'm not his devoted and loving wife of 69 years, a woman that has outlived all her siblings, as well as two out of three of their kids, so take that as you may.
The reason I mention this is that Ray is staring at Cooper with this look somewhere between amusement and horror, and I could be wrong, but I think he was surpressing a laugh. I think this episode was probably the highlight of his day. If nothing else, because of his extreme hearing loss, Cooper's hysterical shrieking was probably the only thing he actually heard all day.
I'm not saying Ray is sadistic. I'm saying the man does nothing but sleep, be in pain, and watch TV all day, and then sleep and be in pain all night. It is no way to live. And he loves watching Cooper. I try to get Cooper to play in the places in the yard where I know that Ray and Gladys will "secretly" spy on us through the windows, so that they can see him. Of course, I know that Ray would have preferred that Cooper actually enjoy his time at the house, perhaps by eating cookies and reading Gladys' 72 year old high school yearbook that she keeps out (which I love). But, given the circumstance, I can see where Ray would have been amused by Cooper's total abject horror at the dancing Santa.
Not surprisingly, Cooper had a lot of trouble falling asleep tonight. As Matt and I sat upstairs writing holiday thank you notes, we listened to him whimper and cry and so forth. Then, he started screaming like he was dying. We looked at each other simultaneously, I sighed, and Matt said in a funny imitation of Cooper, "Mama! Santa's gonna eat me!" Which made both of us laugh, and then we walked downstairs to try to convince the little guy that in fact, evil animatronic Santa was not going to eat him in his sleep.
Regrettably, our neighbor just aided us in the discovery that Cooper is extremely petrified, to the point of shaking, shrieking, and attempting to claw his way through a closed door, of animatronic dwarf Santas that sing Christmas carols. Yes, the kind of horrible kitschy things that you normally smirk at in store windows. Well, our kind elderly neighbors who we really like have one of these things. Its about two feet tall, does a hurky-jerky dance, and has terrible sound quality. And bless her heart, Gladys (age 89) thought maybe Cooper would like to see it dance and sing. Up until that time, Cooper and I had been visiting with Gladys and Ray, chatting about the weather and what they had for Christmas dinner.
God no. Hell no. As we sat on her manicured couch, Cooper watched it with eyes the size of saucers for about 15 seconds, and then he started shrieking like I've never heard him scream before. It was hilarious and tragic all at the same time. The santa was pretty far from him- maybe 15 feet- but none the less he dove from sitting beside me, onto my lap, and then attempted to climb OVER me to the area behind the couch, seemingly to increase the distance between the horrible thing and him.
Of course I dragged his kicking and screaming body back onto my lap and told him it was ok, that it was just a toy. The high pitched death shriek continued and then he started shaking uncontrollably, crying hysterically, and kicking me to try to get free. Thinking it might help to set him down, I put him down on the floor. A screaming fit ensued as Cooper ran pell-mell to the front door and tried to get it open, clawing and pounding and violently kicking to try to escape. "DADA HOME DADA DADA NO NO NO HOME HOME HOME OUTSIDE PLEASE OUTSIDE PLEASE DADA NOOOOO MOMMAAA!"
Poor Gladys. She's old, and arthritic, and could simply not turn the damn thing off fast enough. Meanwhile, her husband Ray is sitting in an easy chair next to us, dying. Yes, you read that right, the man is dying. He probably has only a few weeks (days) left to live. You could claim it is heart failure, but that would be simply ignoring the fact that he's 91 and a train wreck, medically speaking. It is just that his heart is going to be what takes him down for good. If you ask me, it would be for the best if he died tonight- but I'm not his devoted and loving wife of 69 years, a woman that has outlived all her siblings, as well as two out of three of their kids, so take that as you may.
The reason I mention this is that Ray is staring at Cooper with this look somewhere between amusement and horror, and I could be wrong, but I think he was surpressing a laugh. I think this episode was probably the highlight of his day. If nothing else, because of his extreme hearing loss, Cooper's hysterical shrieking was probably the only thing he actually heard all day.
I'm not saying Ray is sadistic. I'm saying the man does nothing but sleep, be in pain, and watch TV all day, and then sleep and be in pain all night. It is no way to live. And he loves watching Cooper. I try to get Cooper to play in the places in the yard where I know that Ray and Gladys will "secretly" spy on us through the windows, so that they can see him. Of course, I know that Ray would have preferred that Cooper actually enjoy his time at the house, perhaps by eating cookies and reading Gladys' 72 year old high school yearbook that she keeps out (which I love). But, given the circumstance, I can see where Ray would have been amused by Cooper's total abject horror at the dancing Santa.
Not surprisingly, Cooper had a lot of trouble falling asleep tonight. As Matt and I sat upstairs writing holiday thank you notes, we listened to him whimper and cry and so forth. Then, he started screaming like he was dying. We looked at each other simultaneously, I sighed, and Matt said in a funny imitation of Cooper, "Mama! Santa's gonna eat me!" Which made both of us laugh, and then we walked downstairs to try to convince the little guy that in fact, evil animatronic Santa was not going to eat him in his sleep.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
NO Bucky!
I've been impatient with the dog lately. The weather has been tough, so he's gone for very few walks, which makes him whiney and clingy and that in turn makes me sort of batty. A lot of the time, I end up getting pretty short with him when he barks, or whines, or generally isn't a perfect dog.
I realized today that I might need to work on my communications skills with Lucky when he barked at a strange person that was walking by the house. It was one low quiet bark- quite appropriate given that he's a dog and all- and I wouldn't normally object to this sort of soft warning bark if it is indicating he sees a stranger, which it clearly was. But Cooper did object. And in a mean stern voice (for a toddler) he yelled right at the dog, while pointing at him.
"NO Bucky! Shhhhhhhhhhh! Down!"
You could have scraped my eyebrows off the ceiling. Cooper has no idea that the dog's name is Lucky. Truly. He thinks it is Big Doggie (pronounced Beet Daw-ghee) and that is how he always refers to the dog. So I think that really, this was a case of Cooper repeating me and Matt pretty much verbatim from the million times we've said this in Cooper's presence.
That's not good. We need to walk the dog more. Or we need to be nicer to Lucky. Or I should say, Bucky.
I realized today that I might need to work on my communications skills with Lucky when he barked at a strange person that was walking by the house. It was one low quiet bark- quite appropriate given that he's a dog and all- and I wouldn't normally object to this sort of soft warning bark if it is indicating he sees a stranger, which it clearly was. But Cooper did object. And in a mean stern voice (for a toddler) he yelled right at the dog, while pointing at him.
"NO Bucky! Shhhhhhhhhhh! Down!"
You could have scraped my eyebrows off the ceiling. Cooper has no idea that the dog's name is Lucky. Truly. He thinks it is Big Doggie (pronounced Beet Daw-ghee) and that is how he always refers to the dog. So I think that really, this was a case of Cooper repeating me and Matt pretty much verbatim from the million times we've said this in Cooper's presence.
That's not good. We need to walk the dog more. Or we need to be nicer to Lucky. Or I should say, Bucky.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Low pressure system
Cooper is a quirky eater. Matt and I try hard to get him to eat lots of things, and indeed he eats a wide scope of foods, but on any given day it is impossible to say what he might eat. Or what he won't eat. And of course we are constantly attempting to improve the variety of things he will eat.
Last night he ate a passable dinner of peas and rice, and then he refused to nibble on steak. But he wanted to eat the steak- we could see it in his eyes. But he only wanted to eat it on his terms. In the interest of getting him to eat something with protein in it, we placed the tiny steak nibbles on a plate, set that plate out of his reach, and ignored it.
He got down out of his chair and wanted to play with his car and truck collection "Boo boo down. Boo boo trucks." So that was fine. Then he took his truck bucket, set it upside down next to the dinner table, and climbed up onto it. He snagged a tiny nibble of steak delicately off the table, and then ran off with it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it in the living room.
This repeated itself about, oh 20 times. Until all his steak was gone. And then he came over to me and demanded to sit on my lap "Boo boo up! Boo boo chair!" and eat MY steak off MY plate. So I let him do that, too.
I think it is really interesting how he sometimes resists eating things until all the pressure is off, and it is completely on what he thinks are his terms. I'm guessing it is normal toddler development stuff. Control, decision making, power, etc. But as a parent, I am still a little amazed by the reality. Steak in front of your cool booster seat, eating like your parents, using your favorite fork? No. Steak 'secretly' snagged off a corner of the kitchen table while standing on an upside down bucket? Delicious.
For the record, sometimes he eats steak at the table like a normal child. It'll be a great day when I can replace 'sometimes' with 'nearly always.'
Last night he ate a passable dinner of peas and rice, and then he refused to nibble on steak. But he wanted to eat the steak- we could see it in his eyes. But he only wanted to eat it on his terms. In the interest of getting him to eat something with protein in it, we placed the tiny steak nibbles on a plate, set that plate out of his reach, and ignored it.
He got down out of his chair and wanted to play with his car and truck collection "Boo boo down. Boo boo trucks." So that was fine. Then he took his truck bucket, set it upside down next to the dinner table, and climbed up onto it. He snagged a tiny nibble of steak delicately off the table, and then ran off with it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it in the living room.
This repeated itself about, oh 20 times. Until all his steak was gone. And then he came over to me and demanded to sit on my lap "Boo boo up! Boo boo chair!" and eat MY steak off MY plate. So I let him do that, too.
I think it is really interesting how he sometimes resists eating things until all the pressure is off, and it is completely on what he thinks are his terms. I'm guessing it is normal toddler development stuff. Control, decision making, power, etc. But as a parent, I am still a little amazed by the reality. Steak in front of your cool booster seat, eating like your parents, using your favorite fork? No. Steak 'secretly' snagged off a corner of the kitchen table while standing on an upside down bucket? Delicious.
For the record, sometimes he eats steak at the table like a normal child. It'll be a great day when I can replace 'sometimes' with 'nearly always.'
Saturday, December 19, 2009
The odds
Cooper isn't at particularly high risk for any inherited diseases, that we know of. Matt and I have relatively healthy backgrounds with only the most classical of family characteristics- some cardiac problems, cancers, etc- but nothing that is a red flag for really high risk.
But one thing that I'm fixated on for no good reason is his risk for being colorblind. I don't know why I care so much. Really, it isn't even a disability. You can't tell someone is colorblind in an everyday setting. But he's quite high risk. Because he's a boy, and he has a colorblind great uncle, he had about a 1 in 16 chance of being colorblind. That's about three times the average chance for a caucasian boy.
If you want to know how I figured this out, it is not too hard if you remember your "wrinkly peas" from high school. His great uncle (my mom's brother) is red-green classically colorblind, but my mother is not. That means that my mom has a 50/50 chance of being a colorblind carrier. Which gives me a 1 in 4 chance of being a colorblind carrier. Which gives Cooper a 1 in 16 chance of being colorblind, or slightly higher, depending on some interesting new theories of gene expression that I won't get into.
Also, Cooper had a 50/50 chance of being the bright little towhead that he is. We seem to have won that coin toss (gosh he's cute!). I'm genetically half towhead, half dominant brown while Matt is double towheaded and was a sparkly bright white haired youngster. I do wonder if Baby Two will be a blondie or brown. It'll only be obvious around 4 to 6 months out, if Cooper's hair history of going brown- strawberry blonde- towhead is any indicator.
And then there is the fact that we could, potentially, get a redhead. That'd be awesome. Unlikely, but both Matt and I have redheaded relatives, so it is in there.
Fun stuff. Anyone want to flip a coin on Baby Two's hair color?
But one thing that I'm fixated on for no good reason is his risk for being colorblind. I don't know why I care so much. Really, it isn't even a disability. You can't tell someone is colorblind in an everyday setting. But he's quite high risk. Because he's a boy, and he has a colorblind great uncle, he had about a 1 in 16 chance of being colorblind. That's about three times the average chance for a caucasian boy.
If you want to know how I figured this out, it is not too hard if you remember your "wrinkly peas" from high school. His great uncle (my mom's brother) is red-green classically colorblind, but my mother is not. That means that my mom has a 50/50 chance of being a colorblind carrier. Which gives me a 1 in 4 chance of being a colorblind carrier. Which gives Cooper a 1 in 16 chance of being colorblind, or slightly higher, depending on some interesting new theories of gene expression that I won't get into.
Also, Cooper had a 50/50 chance of being the bright little towhead that he is. We seem to have won that coin toss (gosh he's cute!). I'm genetically half towhead, half dominant brown while Matt is double towheaded and was a sparkly bright white haired youngster. I do wonder if Baby Two will be a blondie or brown. It'll only be obvious around 4 to 6 months out, if Cooper's hair history of going brown- strawberry blonde- towhead is any indicator.
And then there is the fact that we could, potentially, get a redhead. That'd be awesome. Unlikely, but both Matt and I have redheaded relatives, so it is in there.
Fun stuff. Anyone want to flip a coin on Baby Two's hair color?
Friday, December 18, 2009
'Cause big boys wear pants and boots
The concrete pouring dudes all arrived at my house at 8:30 this morning, just as Cooper and I were settling in for breakfast. Of course, he was totally fascinated by the "bus" (his logical conclusion for what a concrete truck is, given his somewhat limited vocab) and all the "dadas" (the workers).
After a few minutes of watching, his little brain finally registered a very important detail, if you are toddler boy. All these cool, rugged, construction guys were wearing pants and boots. Not one of them was wearing fleece pajamas with bears on them. In order to be cool like them, he needed to be wearing pants and boots. Clearly.
So he ran into his bedroom and demanded to get dressed in his nice cargo pants, which I was happy to oblige. Then he ran into the entry way and put on his bright yellow rain boots (all by himself! socks not necessary!). Satisfied that he was now adequately dressed for the day, he got back up into his chair and ate some more cheerios. I think they taste better when you are wearing pants and boots.
After a few minutes of watching, his little brain finally registered a very important detail, if you are toddler boy. All these cool, rugged, construction guys were wearing pants and boots. Not one of them was wearing fleece pajamas with bears on them. In order to be cool like them, he needed to be wearing pants and boots. Clearly.
So he ran into his bedroom and demanded to get dressed in his nice cargo pants, which I was happy to oblige. Then he ran into the entry way and put on his bright yellow rain boots (all by himself! socks not necessary!). Satisfied that he was now adequately dressed for the day, he got back up into his chair and ate some more cheerios. I think they taste better when you are wearing pants and boots.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
How did you two meet?
People like to ask couples how they met. In general, I'm OK with that. It is not like it is intrusive or something. But even though it has been just about 7 (or is it 8?) years since Matt and I met, I still don't really know how to answer the question, and it makes me slightly uncomfortable.
All of these are true, valid, and fairly explanatory. But which should I say?
We met...
... through a mutual friend.
... at a dinner party.
... because Matt's housemate at the time was a talkative "ladies man" that sort of tried to pick me up in a coffee shop.
... because I was a single girl with no plans on a Friday night, so when a friend of a friend invited me over for dinner, I jumped on it.
I guess it doesn't really matter.
But, there is this other thing that bothers me about this question. The mutual friend- the precise and actual point of linkage, not the housemate (he functioned more as an intermediary)- is dead. So is his little boy. They were both killed just over two years ago by a drunk driver, in the middle of the day. His wife was not in the car when they were hit.
And I always have this weird urge to tell people that part of the story. I want to say, "We met through a mutual friend. He was a great guy. He and his toddler son were killed in 2007 by a drunk driver." But MY GOD what a horrible way to ruin a conversation at a casual holiday party, or someone's nice little potluck dinner. So I never say that.
But it is true. The person that was fated to be the one that linked Matt and I is now dead. He was a good guy that thought Matt should "finally meet a nice cute girl" and I somehow fit the bill. He was a loving father to a sweet little boy. And they were obliterated five years later by a drunken jerk in a big pickup truck.
All of these are true, valid, and fairly explanatory. But which should I say?
We met...
... through a mutual friend.
... at a dinner party.
... because Matt's housemate at the time was a talkative "ladies man" that sort of tried to pick me up in a coffee shop.
... because I was a single girl with no plans on a Friday night, so when a friend of a friend invited me over for dinner, I jumped on it.
I guess it doesn't really matter.
But, there is this other thing that bothers me about this question. The mutual friend- the precise and actual point of linkage, not the housemate (he functioned more as an intermediary)- is dead. So is his little boy. They were both killed just over two years ago by a drunk driver, in the middle of the day. His wife was not in the car when they were hit.
And I always have this weird urge to tell people that part of the story. I want to say, "We met through a mutual friend. He was a great guy. He and his toddler son were killed in 2007 by a drunk driver." But MY GOD what a horrible way to ruin a conversation at a casual holiday party, or someone's nice little potluck dinner. So I never say that.
But it is true. The person that was fated to be the one that linked Matt and I is now dead. He was a good guy that thought Matt should "finally meet a nice cute girl" and I somehow fit the bill. He was a loving father to a sweet little boy. And they were obliterated five years later by a drunken jerk in a big pickup truck.
Monday, December 14, 2009
This kid can sleeeeeep
Poor little Cooper was grumpy yesterday, and felt a tiny bit warm to the touch. Perhaps most tellingly, he took two naps instead of just one. That's a red flag around here. He also didn't eat well. It is unclear if he's still working on his last mild cold, or if he's got a new one. Either way, there is something up.
So we put him to bed a little early- 7:20- and hoped for the best.
It is now 7:56. He's been asleep close to 13 hours.
We are so spoiled.
UPDATE: He ended up sleeping until 8:45. That's just about 13.5 hours. He also woke up emphatically chanting "Horses! Horses!" which was quite charming.
So we put him to bed a little early- 7:20- and hoped for the best.
It is now 7:56. He's been asleep close to 13 hours.
We are so spoiled.
UPDATE: He ended up sleeping until 8:45. That's just about 13.5 hours. He also woke up emphatically chanting "Horses! Horses!" which was quite charming.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Turns out, I'm having a baby
That's right, people! I'm having a baby. Yup! Good chance it will happen late this January, but if not, then certainly in early February.
Several times in the last week, I've run into friends or acquaintances that I have not seen in many months. Pretty much universally, and also much to my amusement, my current state of abundantly obvious pregnancy leaves them slackjawed. And usually saying something mighty silly, like "how did this happen?" That was a funny one, because I was well rested and feeling spunky, so I snarkily replied, "When a mommy loves a daddy very much..."
Today a friend of mine threw a baby party for me. It was great. There were other people's babies (Matt hung out with Cooper so I could relax at the party) and lots of nice friends, and I got hardly any gifts (this was intentional) except a few nice tokens of friendship- a frozen lasagna, some flowers, a couple nice christmas ornaments, and a really cute and bright mini wall quilt.
Last night I was thinking about it, and I realized that baby time is coming up pretty soon. Winter does sort of drag time out, but the holidays make it move fast at times, so really... all of a sudden it seems very much closer. Well under the 2 month mark now- yikes!
Also, as a final note, the baby we know that is at the hospital is continuing to improve. She is finally nursing again (instead of having a feeding tube) and things are looking pretty good. I am sooooo thrilled for them. Even as someone who hardly knows the family, it has been really tough to think about what they must be going through. Hurray for further improvements!
Several times in the last week, I've run into friends or acquaintances that I have not seen in many months. Pretty much universally, and also much to my amusement, my current state of abundantly obvious pregnancy leaves them slackjawed. And usually saying something mighty silly, like "how did this happen?" That was a funny one, because I was well rested and feeling spunky, so I snarkily replied, "When a mommy loves a daddy very much..."
Today a friend of mine threw a baby party for me. It was great. There were other people's babies (Matt hung out with Cooper so I could relax at the party) and lots of nice friends, and I got hardly any gifts (this was intentional) except a few nice tokens of friendship- a frozen lasagna, some flowers, a couple nice christmas ornaments, and a really cute and bright mini wall quilt.
Last night I was thinking about it, and I realized that baby time is coming up pretty soon. Winter does sort of drag time out, but the holidays make it move fast at times, so really... all of a sudden it seems very much closer. Well under the 2 month mark now- yikes!
Also, as a final note, the baby we know that is at the hospital is continuing to improve. She is finally nursing again (instead of having a feeding tube) and things are looking pretty good. I am sooooo thrilled for them. Even as someone who hardly knows the family, it has been really tough to think about what they must be going through. Hurray for further improvements!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Let's face it, I am selfish
First of all, the baby we know in the hospital apparently had a much better night last night, and is no longer on oxygen. So that is a huge improvement and I am so relieved for the family!
As a result of this, I've done some searching around the internet about RSV, the virus that this little baby caught. My eyebrows went up to my hairline when I read that in many toddlers, RSV is a mild cold, sometimes with a fever, that then often progresses into 1 - 4 weeks of persistent coughing. Doesn't that sound familiar?
So it is fairly likely that Cooper just had this virus. Of course, we could have also deduced that Cooper has already had this virus because his buddy (the older sister of the hospitalized baby) goes to the same daycare as him, and RSV is extremely contagious, and the way that nearly all babies get this virus is from their older siblings, so it is hard to imagine that all the kids in our daycare didn't recently have this virus.
Anyway, my selfishness. I am glad that Cooper had this virus already, because it did him (and me) no lasting harm, and now he's probably developed full immunity to it. Therefore, it is very, very unlikely that he'd be able to get it again and spread it to our second baby when that kid is born. And so that is one fewer nightmarish scenario that I need to consider while getting up for the bazillionth time in the middle of the night to go pee.
As a result of this, I've done some searching around the internet about RSV, the virus that this little baby caught. My eyebrows went up to my hairline when I read that in many toddlers, RSV is a mild cold, sometimes with a fever, that then often progresses into 1 - 4 weeks of persistent coughing. Doesn't that sound familiar?
So it is fairly likely that Cooper just had this virus. Of course, we could have also deduced that Cooper has already had this virus because his buddy (the older sister of the hospitalized baby) goes to the same daycare as him, and RSV is extremely contagious, and the way that nearly all babies get this virus is from their older siblings, so it is hard to imagine that all the kids in our daycare didn't recently have this virus.
Anyway, my selfishness. I am glad that Cooper had this virus already, because it did him (and me) no lasting harm, and now he's probably developed full immunity to it. Therefore, it is very, very unlikely that he'd be able to get it again and spread it to our second baby when that kid is born. And so that is one fewer nightmarish scenario that I need to consider while getting up for the bazillionth time in the middle of the night to go pee.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What can you even do?
I made a phone call today that very much reminded me of how unfair life is.
A woman I kinda know had her second child about two weeks ago. I know her because her older daughter is Cooper's age, and they go to daycare together, and completely coincidentally, the mom has a cool blog that I read. Well, at just two weeks old, her new baby contracted RSV (a common virus in kids, but not one you want a newborn to have) and is not doing well. So now new baby has been in the hospital for several days with IVs, oxygen, feeding tubes, etc... the little girl is having a very rough time. She might have pneumonia at this point, which is very scary in a newborn, as if the rest of it wasn't scary enough.
Of course I want to be able to do something but I don't know the family very well (although Cooper and her older daughter are friends), and I don't know what to do. How could you know what to do? So I called up another friend (M). Her little boy is very close to Cooper's age, and when her little guy was about 3 or 4 months he got an extremely rare and difficult to diagnose bacterial infection that very nearly killed him. He did eventually make a complete recovery, but it took months. I figured, if anyone knows what this family needs, it is another family that has been through a similar ordeal.
So I had to pose the question to M; given the situation, what can I do that will actually help? I'm not a close friend, so it is hard for me to feel like I can help in a personal way without being intrusive.
And then I realized that I might be bringing up really hard memories for M, and that maybe she didn't even want to discuss her whole experience from her little boy's scary illness. And so as I was talking, I started to fear I had done the wrong thing to call her about this. Luckily, I was wrong. She said that as it turns out she had just been over to the hospital yesterday to visit this other woman and her baby (it is, after all, a small town) and that while it was really upsetting to re-enter the infant intensive care area, and to have all those memories flooding back of tubes and monitors and oxygen tents and everything, it was also good for her to be able to relate and help another mom and baby.
After some discussion, M actually pretty much decided for me what I should do, and it is a nice gesture that M says will be really helpful. I'm glad I talked it through with someone that has been there. So that makes me feel good.
But at the base of it all, I'd rather I had never made this call. I'd rather nobody ever when through this, and even that nobody I knew could even fathom what it was like- and frankly, I don't ever want to feel like I could or should help someone out again. Because I don't want to think about how fragile our little babies and kids really are. It is damn frightening how unfair and unpredictable life can be.
A woman I kinda know had her second child about two weeks ago. I know her because her older daughter is Cooper's age, and they go to daycare together, and completely coincidentally, the mom has a cool blog that I read. Well, at just two weeks old, her new baby contracted RSV (a common virus in kids, but not one you want a newborn to have) and is not doing well. So now new baby has been in the hospital for several days with IVs, oxygen, feeding tubes, etc... the little girl is having a very rough time. She might have pneumonia at this point, which is very scary in a newborn, as if the rest of it wasn't scary enough.
Of course I want to be able to do something but I don't know the family very well (although Cooper and her older daughter are friends), and I don't know what to do. How could you know what to do? So I called up another friend (M). Her little boy is very close to Cooper's age, and when her little guy was about 3 or 4 months he got an extremely rare and difficult to diagnose bacterial infection that very nearly killed him. He did eventually make a complete recovery, but it took months. I figured, if anyone knows what this family needs, it is another family that has been through a similar ordeal.
So I had to pose the question to M; given the situation, what can I do that will actually help? I'm not a close friend, so it is hard for me to feel like I can help in a personal way without being intrusive.
And then I realized that I might be bringing up really hard memories for M, and that maybe she didn't even want to discuss her whole experience from her little boy's scary illness. And so as I was talking, I started to fear I had done the wrong thing to call her about this. Luckily, I was wrong. She said that as it turns out she had just been over to the hospital yesterday to visit this other woman and her baby (it is, after all, a small town) and that while it was really upsetting to re-enter the infant intensive care area, and to have all those memories flooding back of tubes and monitors and oxygen tents and everything, it was also good for her to be able to relate and help another mom and baby.
After some discussion, M actually pretty much decided for me what I should do, and it is a nice gesture that M says will be really helpful. I'm glad I talked it through with someone that has been there. So that makes me feel good.
But at the base of it all, I'd rather I had never made this call. I'd rather nobody ever when through this, and even that nobody I knew could even fathom what it was like- and frankly, I don't ever want to feel like I could or should help someone out again. Because I don't want to think about how fragile our little babies and kids really are. It is damn frightening how unfair and unpredictable life can be.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Reading the directions
I can't believe it. I've owned this damn sewing machine for just shy of six years and I never read the last page of the directions. It comes with this little metal thing called a "scrolling foot" that I've never bothered to figure out how to use. Well, turns out with a little practice, a scrolling foot makes FLAWLESS hems, perfectly measured, on any thin flat fabric like flannel, broadcloth, muslin or probably even seersucker. Seems to work on anything relatively thin (i.e. I really doubt that fleece will fit through it properly, although... microfleece...) I am in total heaven with my latest baby blanket project. Farewell, endless ironing, pinning, and cursing. Hello, scrolling foot. Where have you been all my life? Oh, wait, in a little box titled "Sewing odds and ends."
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Almost forgot about hiccups
Baby #2 gets hiccups constantly. I had almost forgotten about this phenomenon. I can feel each little jolt quite clearly, and it is somewhere between cute and aggravating. One reassurance is that the baby's hiccups are a good indicator of where the baby's head is, which is down low, so at least that's kinda nice.
Hic. hic. hic.
Hic. hic. hic.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Down on the snot farm
The great coughing debacle of 2009 faded out just a short while ago. Today, Cooper woke up with a tiny bit of yucky stuff in the corner of his eye, and I noticed that his nose was slightly runny. Nothing out of the ordinary. I kissed the boys goodbye and went to work.
Matt reports that by mid-day, he had wiped the kid's nose about 5,000 times. Sadly, Cooper refused to eat lunch, and then woke up early from his nap "plastered in his own mucus." He sneezed throughout the evening after I got home, and he has sort of a glazed look.
Looks like we have another cold in the house. Let's just hope this one passes without too much trouble and doesn't create another evil lingering cough. Perversely, I'm glad that it started on a Friday, as this means we have all weekend to sit around, read books, talk about doggies, and not have to take any sick days to watch the little bugger sniffle.
Matt reports that by mid-day, he had wiped the kid's nose about 5,000 times. Sadly, Cooper refused to eat lunch, and then woke up early from his nap "plastered in his own mucus." He sneezed throughout the evening after I got home, and he has sort of a glazed look.
Looks like we have another cold in the house. Let's just hope this one passes without too much trouble and doesn't create another evil lingering cough. Perversely, I'm glad that it started on a Friday, as this means we have all weekend to sit around, read books, talk about doggies, and not have to take any sick days to watch the little bugger sniffle.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Our helper monkey
You know that episode of the Simpsons where Homer gets a "helper monkey" that feeds him donuts? We're almost there.
Cooper's deep, deep desire to emulate adults, plus his love for pattern and sequential activities, has started to reach adorable levels of absurdity. We don't consciously try to teach him hardly anything, but he is watching everything so closely lately...
- If I or Matt are feeling lazy and don't put away our shoes, he'll put them away by the front door. In neat pairs. Keep in mind Matt's shoes are the size of Cooper's torso, so each one needs to be transported separately, and with both hands.
- While preparing for bath time, he carefully places all his clothing in the washing machine, then closes the door, then fiddles with the knobs, and then tries to pee on the rug (the baby toilet is strangely intimidating lately, so the rug is getting very frequent washings), and then asks to get in the bath. If he fails to pee on the rug, he tells me "No bee! All gone! Water!"
- When I am using the toilet and he thinks I am done, he carefully hands me the edge of the toilet paper roll, waits for me to "finish up," and then pulls up my pants for me.
- He puts his used water cup in the sink when he's done drinking, despite the fact that he cannot see the sink, nor reach it. He just kinda knows where it is, and lobs the cup in the right direction. His accuracy is pretty impressive, and he has about a 9 out of 10 cup-in-sink rate.
- If the downstairs baby gate is open, and I ask him to close it, he'll walk over, close it carefully, and then beam at me with evident pride at his helpfulness.
Now if I could just teach him to make waffles, tie my shoelaces, and walk the dog, we'd be all set.
Cooper's deep, deep desire to emulate adults, plus his love for pattern and sequential activities, has started to reach adorable levels of absurdity. We don't consciously try to teach him hardly anything, but he is watching everything so closely lately...
- If I or Matt are feeling lazy and don't put away our shoes, he'll put them away by the front door. In neat pairs. Keep in mind Matt's shoes are the size of Cooper's torso, so each one needs to be transported separately, and with both hands.
- While preparing for bath time, he carefully places all his clothing in the washing machine, then closes the door, then fiddles with the knobs, and then tries to pee on the rug (the baby toilet is strangely intimidating lately, so the rug is getting very frequent washings), and then asks to get in the bath. If he fails to pee on the rug, he tells me "No bee! All gone! Water!"
- When I am using the toilet and he thinks I am done, he carefully hands me the edge of the toilet paper roll, waits for me to "finish up," and then pulls up my pants for me.
- He puts his used water cup in the sink when he's done drinking, despite the fact that he cannot see the sink, nor reach it. He just kinda knows where it is, and lobs the cup in the right direction. His accuracy is pretty impressive, and he has about a 9 out of 10 cup-in-sink rate.
- If the downstairs baby gate is open, and I ask him to close it, he'll walk over, close it carefully, and then beam at me with evident pride at his helpfulness.
Now if I could just teach him to make waffles, tie my shoelaces, and walk the dog, we'd be all set.
Monday, November 30, 2009
It is the shoes that kill me
I actually do not like shopping for baby/toddler clothing. Doing so bring up so many conflicting feelings that I get really overwhelmed and quit. It is probably two or three times a week that I make a "shopping cart" on some site and then close the browser before buying anything. I hate cheap clothing for myself, and I hate knowing that children barely older than my own son might be forced to work in the overseas factories that make the cheap stuff, but at the same time we are not rich and I can't afford only the finest, made in decent countries with labor laws, clothing. And then there is the waste of it all. He'll only wear them for 6 months, at best! The consumerism!
So this leaves me feeling like I should get everything from a consignment or thrift store. The only issue with that is that often, that stuff isn't cute, and it is a lot of time and effort to get what I truly need. And shopping with a toddler in tow can be hard. And most small stores in this town are closed on Mondays. Truly. People in other cities don't believe me, but I swear that most of the independently owned small stores in this town are not open on Mondays. And of course, Monday is my day to hang out with Cooper all day (except nap time, when I do some work). So that's a bummer in terms of time usage.
But the thing that kills me is the shoes. I love little boy shoes. Weirdly, I could shop for shoes for Cooper ALL DAY LONG. Little boy shoes are just the greatest things ever. They are tiny masterpieces. And you'd never know this from his actual selection of footwear, because I don't actually buy the shoes, you see. I just admire them and wish that I had less internal fortitude and could justify splurging on awesome shoes.
His current everyday shoes are a pair of leather sneakers that were exorbitantly priced but I got them on 75% off, making them quite reasonable. They are wonderful shoes and I get lots of compliments on how cute and stylish they are. His famously awesome red-flames shoes were also very pricey but found on super sale. These too drew many compliments.
Of course, he also has cute yellow rain boots (which he likes to wear around the house over his pajamas, which is adorable) and some nice suede boots (still a little too big, but handy in the cold when he's wearing two pairs of socks) and some cute moccasins (too big, but will be perfect in a few months) and some fleece slippers (too big, again, we are hoping they will fit soon).
But he's getting snug in his beautifully scuffed up, all leather, European style, extremely well crafted and attractive sneakers. So I want to find him his next pair of awesome shoes. But where? WHERE? and can I get them for cheap???
Sigh.
So this leaves me feeling like I should get everything from a consignment or thrift store. The only issue with that is that often, that stuff isn't cute, and it is a lot of time and effort to get what I truly need. And shopping with a toddler in tow can be hard. And most small stores in this town are closed on Mondays. Truly. People in other cities don't believe me, but I swear that most of the independently owned small stores in this town are not open on Mondays. And of course, Monday is my day to hang out with Cooper all day (except nap time, when I do some work). So that's a bummer in terms of time usage.
But the thing that kills me is the shoes. I love little boy shoes. Weirdly, I could shop for shoes for Cooper ALL DAY LONG. Little boy shoes are just the greatest things ever. They are tiny masterpieces. And you'd never know this from his actual selection of footwear, because I don't actually buy the shoes, you see. I just admire them and wish that I had less internal fortitude and could justify splurging on awesome shoes.
His current everyday shoes are a pair of leather sneakers that were exorbitantly priced but I got them on 75% off, making them quite reasonable. They are wonderful shoes and I get lots of compliments on how cute and stylish they are. His famously awesome red-flames shoes were also very pricey but found on super sale. These too drew many compliments.
Of course, he also has cute yellow rain boots (which he likes to wear around the house over his pajamas, which is adorable) and some nice suede boots (still a little too big, but handy in the cold when he's wearing two pairs of socks) and some cute moccasins (too big, but will be perfect in a few months) and some fleece slippers (too big, again, we are hoping they will fit soon).
But he's getting snug in his beautifully scuffed up, all leather, European style, extremely well crafted and attractive sneakers. So I want to find him his next pair of awesome shoes. But where? WHERE? and can I get them for cheap???
Sigh.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Just like brother
Baby #2 already reminds me of his/her brother. Kinda big? Sure seems like it. A highly active kicker and puncher? Indeed. And perhaps most importantly- enjoys flipping from head down to head up, periodically? Yup.
So here we are again. Just like with Cooper's pregnancy, this kid started off being head down and obedient, and then decided to get a little crazy and go head-up (breech). And just like last time, it hurts, it makes my back hurt, and makes it harder for me to breathe, eat, drive, and sleep. But also just like last time, these moves are temporary. Recently, baby only spent about a week breech before deciding to burrow back into the right position.
It is a relief to have the kiddo tucked back into where it belongs, but also I know it could be short lived. Cooper spent weeks going right side up, up side down, right side up...repeat... until finally deciding to stick with head-down. Let's just hope this kid does the same. I would rather not have to get someone to professionally smoosh the kid into the right spot, if possible.
So here we are again. Just like with Cooper's pregnancy, this kid started off being head down and obedient, and then decided to get a little crazy and go head-up (breech). And just like last time, it hurts, it makes my back hurt, and makes it harder for me to breathe, eat, drive, and sleep. But also just like last time, these moves are temporary. Recently, baby only spent about a week breech before deciding to burrow back into the right position.
It is a relief to have the kiddo tucked back into where it belongs, but also I know it could be short lived. Cooper spent weeks going right side up, up side down, right side up...repeat... until finally deciding to stick with head-down. Let's just hope this kid does the same. I would rather not have to get someone to professionally smoosh the kid into the right spot, if possible.
Friday, November 27, 2009
The cough
Cooper and I shared a cold about three weeks ago, and now we are sharing the dry hacking cough from hell. It affects both of us the same way- we cough when we are falling asleep, periodically through the night, and a lot early in the morning. Neither of us coughs much during the day.
For a while, Cooper was coughing hard enough to eventually dry heave, if we didn't somehow get him to stop before it got that bad. Getting the cough to stop isn't hard- a glass of water, an upright position, rubbing the back- and voila, no cough. But at 3am, this seems a little more complex somehow. Needless to say, we had a couple of pretty grumpy nights with one or two 30 minute coughing breaks which inevitably turned into groggy snuggle sessions on the couch. But that's over now, and Cooper's cough is pretty minimal at this point.
So luckily, the worst of it is over for both of us, and now we both pretty much only cough a little at falling asleep, and a little at waking up. Currently, my cough is worse than Cooper's, and it plagues me especially while attempting to fall asleep. Perversely, if I lie totally flat, the cough isn't as bad. But I can't lie totally flat normally, because then I get vicious intolerable indigestion. So I lie flat until the cough subsides, then I get indigestion, then I prop myself up on pillows to relieve the indigestion issue, and then I start to cough. Repeat.
Last night was great because I ate dinner at 3pm so I didn't have anything to make indigestion crop up. It was the fastest I've fallen asleep in about a week, because I could just lie on my side, barely cough, and not have to fear my own stomach acids trying to kill me.
Amazingly, Matt can sleep through all of this. I think that's mostly a good thing, because otherwise all three of us would be sleep deprived.
The other good thing is that this cough is it. There is nothing else. It is a ghost of illness past. No fever, no misery, no sniffles, no congestion, barely any coughing at all during the daytime, nothing, this is it. So while I sort of feel like going to a doctor and being like WHAT GIVES with the cough, at the same time, because I'm pregnant and because Cooper is so young, I guarantee I know what they will say, "Rest, fluids, hot showers, tea with honey, and it will go away soon." I know for a fact that neither of us can take a cough suppressant. So there goes that.
Hack. Blech. Excuse me....
For a while, Cooper was coughing hard enough to eventually dry heave, if we didn't somehow get him to stop before it got that bad. Getting the cough to stop isn't hard- a glass of water, an upright position, rubbing the back- and voila, no cough. But at 3am, this seems a little more complex somehow. Needless to say, we had a couple of pretty grumpy nights with one or two 30 minute coughing breaks which inevitably turned into groggy snuggle sessions on the couch. But that's over now, and Cooper's cough is pretty minimal at this point.
So luckily, the worst of it is over for both of us, and now we both pretty much only cough a little at falling asleep, and a little at waking up. Currently, my cough is worse than Cooper's, and it plagues me especially while attempting to fall asleep. Perversely, if I lie totally flat, the cough isn't as bad. But I can't lie totally flat normally, because then I get vicious intolerable indigestion. So I lie flat until the cough subsides, then I get indigestion, then I prop myself up on pillows to relieve the indigestion issue, and then I start to cough. Repeat.
Last night was great because I ate dinner at 3pm so I didn't have anything to make indigestion crop up. It was the fastest I've fallen asleep in about a week, because I could just lie on my side, barely cough, and not have to fear my own stomach acids trying to kill me.
Amazingly, Matt can sleep through all of this. I think that's mostly a good thing, because otherwise all three of us would be sleep deprived.
The other good thing is that this cough is it. There is nothing else. It is a ghost of illness past. No fever, no misery, no sniffles, no congestion, barely any coughing at all during the daytime, nothing, this is it. So while I sort of feel like going to a doctor and being like WHAT GIVES with the cough, at the same time, because I'm pregnant and because Cooper is so young, I guarantee I know what they will say, "Rest, fluids, hot showers, tea with honey, and it will go away soon." I know for a fact that neither of us can take a cough suppressant. So there goes that.
Hack. Blech. Excuse me....
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Important lesson
Cooper just learned this; You cannot clean dog hair off a raisin with a dishtowel. It simply doesn't work, and you are better off by starting over and asking for a clean raisin.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Just like us
Cooper is on a big toddler sized kick of being just like mom and dad. He loves to do the things that we do, even the things that we don't like to do, and sometimes he clearly doesn't understand why we are doing the things we do, but he does them anyway.
A few examples
- Cooper has figured out that I periodically pick up tiny fluffy wads of dog hair off the floor, or from beneath the couch, and throw them away in our cool hide-a-trash. He now (without any prompting or obvious reason) will occasionally go on a dog-hair cleaning binge, where he hunts around for dog hair, collects little pinches of it, opens the trash, throws the hair away, and then closes the trash. He'll often throw away three or four little wads of fur before losing interest. It is great.
- Nothing is more fun than helping put away laundry. Cooper relishes the opportunity to put away his own laundry. He loves diapers the best, but also greatly enjoys tee-shirts, pants, and socks. Sweaters confuse him and often end up with the pajamas. He waits as I fold each tiny item and then hand it to him, "Cooper's shirt!" Big smile. He responds "Booper's Tert, yeah, yeah, yeah..." as he excitedly talks to himself and runs off into the bedroom. I hear the thunk of the shirt bin being extracted. Then I hear him put it back. Then he runs back to me, "More? More?" "Here's a diaper. Put this with the diapers." "Booper's Diapah! Diapah. Yeah." Sometimes, things even make it into the right bin while still neatly folded. It is a small miracle, and extremely useful, that Cooper enjoys putting away his own laundry.
- Cooper has noticed that Matt and I almost never leave the house without a hat on. For a while, Cooper was violently anti-hat, and could not be coerced into wearing one under any circumstance. However, since the cold weather arrived, Cooper's been adamant that nobody (except the dog) is permitted to leave the house without wearing a hat. He gets to pick between his green hat or orange hat (current favorite is green, but it changes often) and then he insists that we wear one too. If we fail to put it on promptly, we get yelled at. "Mama! AAaaat! Aaatt!" as he points emphatically to the hat bin and looks deeply concerned for our safety and warmth. Yes, yes, you are right, let me find a hat....
- Guess who got a "dustbuster" for her birthday? Oh yes, the pregnant lady was getting sick of bending over to pick up dust and little dirt clods, so I bought myself a nice rechargeable mini vacuum. Only I don't ever get to use it. It is Cooper's now. He likes to vacuum under the stools in the kitchen, and behind the french door curtains. Lately, I have to wait until he is at daycare to actually use it for what it is meant for to avoid a tantrum. And he knows full well that it is not sucking up anything if it is not on, so I have to turn it on for him to make it really fun and worthwhile. Sometimes he lets me "drive" him towards the offending dirt zone, and I actually just make him do the work for me. But other times he's sure that the walls need dustbusting, and nothing I do can convince him otherwise.
A few examples
- Cooper has figured out that I periodically pick up tiny fluffy wads of dog hair off the floor, or from beneath the couch, and throw them away in our cool hide-a-trash. He now (without any prompting or obvious reason) will occasionally go on a dog-hair cleaning binge, where he hunts around for dog hair, collects little pinches of it, opens the trash, throws the hair away, and then closes the trash. He'll often throw away three or four little wads of fur before losing interest. It is great.
- Nothing is more fun than helping put away laundry. Cooper relishes the opportunity to put away his own laundry. He loves diapers the best, but also greatly enjoys tee-shirts, pants, and socks. Sweaters confuse him and often end up with the pajamas. He waits as I fold each tiny item and then hand it to him, "Cooper's shirt!" Big smile. He responds "Booper's Tert, yeah, yeah, yeah..." as he excitedly talks to himself and runs off into the bedroom. I hear the thunk of the shirt bin being extracted. Then I hear him put it back. Then he runs back to me, "More? More?" "Here's a diaper. Put this with the diapers." "Booper's Diapah! Diapah. Yeah." Sometimes, things even make it into the right bin while still neatly folded. It is a small miracle, and extremely useful, that Cooper enjoys putting away his own laundry.
- Cooper has noticed that Matt and I almost never leave the house without a hat on. For a while, Cooper was violently anti-hat, and could not be coerced into wearing one under any circumstance. However, since the cold weather arrived, Cooper's been adamant that nobody (except the dog) is permitted to leave the house without wearing a hat. He gets to pick between his green hat or orange hat (current favorite is green, but it changes often) and then he insists that we wear one too. If we fail to put it on promptly, we get yelled at. "Mama! AAaaat! Aaatt!" as he points emphatically to the hat bin and looks deeply concerned for our safety and warmth. Yes, yes, you are right, let me find a hat....
- Guess who got a "dustbuster" for her birthday? Oh yes, the pregnant lady was getting sick of bending over to pick up dust and little dirt clods, so I bought myself a nice rechargeable mini vacuum. Only I don't ever get to use it. It is Cooper's now. He likes to vacuum under the stools in the kitchen, and behind the french door curtains. Lately, I have to wait until he is at daycare to actually use it for what it is meant for to avoid a tantrum. And he knows full well that it is not sucking up anything if it is not on, so I have to turn it on for him to make it really fun and worthwhile. Sometimes he lets me "drive" him towards the offending dirt zone, and I actually just make him do the work for me. But other times he's sure that the walls need dustbusting, and nothing I do can convince him otherwise.
Monday, November 16, 2009
And then, we got results
Cooper is a bit prone to getting "blocked up" when he's sick. The combination of being a little dehydrated plus super picky about food when he's under the weather often leads to a situation that takes days to resolve itself, and makes him pretty uncomfortable.
So when Cooper woke up with a light fever on Friday and a runny nose, I figured I'd be all smart and proactive. Small cup of prune juice with breakfast! Prune juice with lunch! Prune juice with dinner! Snack! Yes!
I didn't really keep track of what I was giving him, I just sort of offered it whenever he requested juice. Which was pretty often. And he wasn't really eating anything else, actually, because he felt so crummy. Saturday was worse- he basically ate nothing all day but tiny nibbles of crackers or apples that would hardly support the metabolism of a mouse. But cold sugary prune juice! Oh THAT's a good idea! Let's drink more of that. Yum!
And then Sunday he went down for an early nap (he usually naps twice a day when fighting a cold) but couldn't get comfortable. I could hear him on the monitor whining and complaining to his puppy toy that he was unhappy. And then I heard him clearly, and panicky, "Boop! Boop! MAMA MAMA!" So after a minute of me thinking, "that's odd, I swear he's saying what he normally says when he needs a diaper change" I went in to check on him.
The smell as I opened his bedroom door nearly knocked me flat. He looked stunned (possibly low on atmospheric oxygen) and horrified. The prune juice, after essentially 48 hours of being the only real thing he consumed, had done its work. Standing in his crib, pointing to his diaper, he was stating the blatantly obvious. There was a serious situation in there.
We are now on day two of prune juice detox. Evidence suggests that I really, really overdid his dosage. Luckily, he's not suffering in any way, and it CERTAINLY took care of the problem, but oh my god was this not well thought through on my part. And today is a much, uh, tidier and better day than yesterday.
As a nice side note, he's increased his determination to inform me or Matt right away that he's pooped. He's super, ultra aware of what's going on down there and looks right at us, points to his diaper, and clearly says, "Boop!" As in... get me cleaned up NOW, people! This is GROSS!
So when Cooper woke up with a light fever on Friday and a runny nose, I figured I'd be all smart and proactive. Small cup of prune juice with breakfast! Prune juice with lunch! Prune juice with dinner! Snack! Yes!
I didn't really keep track of what I was giving him, I just sort of offered it whenever he requested juice. Which was pretty often. And he wasn't really eating anything else, actually, because he felt so crummy. Saturday was worse- he basically ate nothing all day but tiny nibbles of crackers or apples that would hardly support the metabolism of a mouse. But cold sugary prune juice! Oh THAT's a good idea! Let's drink more of that. Yum!
And then Sunday he went down for an early nap (he usually naps twice a day when fighting a cold) but couldn't get comfortable. I could hear him on the monitor whining and complaining to his puppy toy that he was unhappy. And then I heard him clearly, and panicky, "Boop! Boop! MAMA MAMA!" So after a minute of me thinking, "that's odd, I swear he's saying what he normally says when he needs a diaper change" I went in to check on him.
The smell as I opened his bedroom door nearly knocked me flat. He looked stunned (possibly low on atmospheric oxygen) and horrified. The prune juice, after essentially 48 hours of being the only real thing he consumed, had done its work. Standing in his crib, pointing to his diaper, he was stating the blatantly obvious. There was a serious situation in there.
We are now on day two of prune juice detox. Evidence suggests that I really, really overdid his dosage. Luckily, he's not suffering in any way, and it CERTAINLY took care of the problem, but oh my god was this not well thought through on my part. And today is a much, uh, tidier and better day than yesterday.
As a nice side note, he's increased his determination to inform me or Matt right away that he's pooped. He's super, ultra aware of what's going on down there and looks right at us, points to his diaper, and clearly says, "Boop!" As in... get me cleaned up NOW, people! This is GROSS!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
For best results
In case you ever need to do this yourself; for best results when attempting to use dental floss to get an extremely tiny wad of venison steak out from between your child's front teeth, use mint flavored floss. The flavorless floss creates a temper tantrum, while the mint flavored floss is treated with the kind of reverence normally only accorded to tiny nibbles of Mom or Dad's horded leftover halloween candy.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Wordsplosion
Cooper's vocab is going through a serious explosion. His mimicry is getting pretty good (dangerously so) and he now sometimes says two word phrases, like "big doggie" or "more blueberries."
His pronunciation of certain consonants leaves a lot to be desired, so he's hard for other people to understand with many words. His hard Cs and Ks are terrible, so the word Chicken, which he uses ALL THE TIME, is incomprehensible to anyone but me and Matt. I never knew how prevalent chicken imagery was in all our lives until I had a toddler that loves to say chicken. Next time you are in a grocery aisle, check it out. Cereal boxes? Chickens. Freezer aisle? Chickens. Book store? Chickens. Toy store? Chickens. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.
Besides his lingering problems with some consonants, his other major issue is transposition of sounds. For instance, it snowed last night. In the morning, Cooper and I were looking out the window and I said, "Look at all the snow!" to which Cooper excitedly said, "Nose! Nose!"
Precisely what I said... except not.
His trouble with the letter C also leads him to say his own name in very funny ways. For a few weeks he favored Boo-boo. Recently, he's moved towards something a little closer, which can be roughly written as "Boo-ber" or better yet, "Pooper."
I love the fact that he calls himself Pooper.
His pronunciation of certain consonants leaves a lot to be desired, so he's hard for other people to understand with many words. His hard Cs and Ks are terrible, so the word Chicken, which he uses ALL THE TIME, is incomprehensible to anyone but me and Matt. I never knew how prevalent chicken imagery was in all our lives until I had a toddler that loves to say chicken. Next time you are in a grocery aisle, check it out. Cereal boxes? Chickens. Freezer aisle? Chickens. Book store? Chickens. Toy store? Chickens. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.
Besides his lingering problems with some consonants, his other major issue is transposition of sounds. For instance, it snowed last night. In the morning, Cooper and I were looking out the window and I said, "Look at all the snow!" to which Cooper excitedly said, "Nose! Nose!"
Precisely what I said... except not.
His trouble with the letter C also leads him to say his own name in very funny ways. For a few weeks he favored Boo-boo. Recently, he's moved towards something a little closer, which can be roughly written as "Boo-ber" or better yet, "Pooper."
I love the fact that he calls himself Pooper.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Yesterday and today
I've had a very weird last two days. For starters, Matt is on a hunting trip, so I'm flying solo with my silly blonde co-pilot. That makes life a little more hectic, although certainly not unmanageable.
Yesterday I had my 27 week appointment and it went great. Baby decided to brace his/her leg against my spine and stick a tiny bony knee straight into the air during my measurements. This startled me and my midwife, but we had fun running the mini ultrasound on my belly and seeing the little body part right there. Needless to say, this kid is a trickster and dang strong.
But then, in a frustrating turn of events, the birth center administrator had to break it to me that they are having weird trouble with my insurance, and it seems like I'm going to fall into a black hole of non-coverage for certain elements of my maternity coverage. So annoying, and stressful. So I spent a lot of time today on the phone trying to verify this is the case (it is), figure out how to get around it (no easy way), alert the appropriate people to the issue (they don't give a shit, because our insurance system is so messed up here in the US of A), and think outside the box for how to avoid the two basic things I want to avoid. #1- I don't want to make important decisions on my medical care providers based on what arbitrary restrictions my insurance has, #2- I don't want to have to spend thousands and thousands of extra dollars.
At the end of the day, after a long sequence of phone calls and thinking and more phone calls, I did come up with a strange but likely effective solution. But I'm mad about the whole dang thing. Mad mad mad.
In other news, another thing that's been driving me crazy about the culture of medicalized birth seems to have been (nearly) resolved today! There's been this big quasi-political heavy handed b.s. in my town about non-traditional care providers (nurse midwives, professional midwives, and doulas) and today the hospital had a meeting and it seemed to go well. I'm really excited at this development, and in the unlikely event that I or baby #2 have an emergency and need to transfer to hospital care, I'm really glad that this means I will still be able to have the people I trust by my side. So that's a big relief.
Oh, and lastly, Cooper didn't cry when I dropped him off at daycare this morning. If that ain't a miracle, I don't know what is.
Yesterday I had my 27 week appointment and it went great. Baby decided to brace his/her leg against my spine and stick a tiny bony knee straight into the air during my measurements. This startled me and my midwife, but we had fun running the mini ultrasound on my belly and seeing the little body part right there. Needless to say, this kid is a trickster and dang strong.
But then, in a frustrating turn of events, the birth center administrator had to break it to me that they are having weird trouble with my insurance, and it seems like I'm going to fall into a black hole of non-coverage for certain elements of my maternity coverage. So annoying, and stressful. So I spent a lot of time today on the phone trying to verify this is the case (it is), figure out how to get around it (no easy way), alert the appropriate people to the issue (they don't give a shit, because our insurance system is so messed up here in the US of A), and think outside the box for how to avoid the two basic things I want to avoid. #1- I don't want to make important decisions on my medical care providers based on what arbitrary restrictions my insurance has, #2- I don't want to have to spend thousands and thousands of extra dollars.
At the end of the day, after a long sequence of phone calls and thinking and more phone calls, I did come up with a strange but likely effective solution. But I'm mad about the whole dang thing. Mad mad mad.
In other news, another thing that's been driving me crazy about the culture of medicalized birth seems to have been (nearly) resolved today! There's been this big quasi-political heavy handed b.s. in my town about non-traditional care providers (nurse midwives, professional midwives, and doulas) and today the hospital had a meeting and it seemed to go well. I'm really excited at this development, and in the unlikely event that I or baby #2 have an emergency and need to transfer to hospital care, I'm really glad that this means I will still be able to have the people I trust by my side. So that's a big relief.
Oh, and lastly, Cooper didn't cry when I dropped him off at daycare this morning. If that ain't a miracle, I don't know what is.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Our silly sleeper
Cooper's sleeping has been totally bizarre since I got home. Not in a bad way, but really odd. On Friday, he woke up at 5:45 totally WIRED CRAZY and then ended up acting so sleepy that I put him down for a nap at 8am. He proceeded to sleep until 11am, and then have a delightful day with no further napping needed. Yesterday he slept 12.5 hours (7:30pm to 8am) and then took a 4.5 hour nap (noon to 4:30). Lest you think that sleeping that much would keep him from going to bed at night, he was in bed at 7:30, got slightly perturbed at the trick or treaters that were mere feet from his crib as Matt doled out candy, and fast asleep at 8pm.
Then this morning, he was wide awake from 5am to 6am talking to himself. We could hear him on the monitor very clearly. Doggie! Mama! Dada! Dot dot dot water chicken hot hot hot raisins chickens baby Dada! Just endless blather, no sign of really wanted a parent to come get him, no edge of distress in his voice. And then he fell back asleep (so did we) and got up at... wait... 8:45 (well, 745 with the time change, but whatever) in the morning. Bright and shiny! This disrupted his morning quite a bit and we ended up try to get him to nap at 1 (didn't work) so ended up with a redo at 3pm (bingo!), which is where he is now. Sleeping. Again. God knows how long he'll nap.
He's not sick, so we figure that either he'll double his vocabulary in the next few days, or grow two inches. In the past, this sort of odd sleeping has always been associated with something groundbreaking like learning to walk, figuring out how to use his sign language, or similar. My best guess is that he's working on some kind of communication thing in his sleep. The funny soliloquy we enjoyed this morning is a pretty big giveaway that something is afoot in his little brain.
Chicken! Truck! Dot dot baby dot Boo-boo Mama Dada dada dada DOGGIE!
Then this morning, he was wide awake from 5am to 6am talking to himself. We could hear him on the monitor very clearly. Doggie! Mama! Dada! Dot dot dot water chicken hot hot hot raisins chickens baby Dada! Just endless blather, no sign of really wanted a parent to come get him, no edge of distress in his voice. And then he fell back asleep (so did we) and got up at... wait... 8:45 (well, 745 with the time change, but whatever) in the morning. Bright and shiny! This disrupted his morning quite a bit and we ended up try to get him to nap at 1 (didn't work) so ended up with a redo at 3pm (bingo!), which is where he is now. Sleeping. Again. God knows how long he'll nap.
He's not sick, so we figure that either he'll double his vocabulary in the next few days, or grow two inches. In the past, this sort of odd sleeping has always been associated with something groundbreaking like learning to walk, figuring out how to use his sign language, or similar. My best guess is that he's working on some kind of communication thing in his sleep. The funny soliloquy we enjoyed this morning is a pretty big giveaway that something is afoot in his little brain.
Chicken! Truck! Dot dot baby dot Boo-boo Mama Dada dada dada DOGGIE!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Left my ankles in San Francisco
My nearly week-long trip to San Francisco for work was a successful and not terribly stressful time for all, which is great. Cooper was well mannered and survived some extra long days at daycare as well as a few hours of babysitting with a friend, Matt held the fort down admirably and, in his words, "even managed to keep the laundry and dishes under control" (which I can attest to!), and I stayed focused on work as well as stayed healthy.
Really, a very good trip. The only complaint I have is that I seem to have left my ankles in California. They are totally gone- swallowed up by puffy fluid filled skin. In fact, they left a little goodbye note in the form of a dimple where the ankle used to exist.
Gross. Today the swelling is down a fair amount in comparison to Friday, and I'm optimistic that a weekend not sitting in meetings, and not in planes, will really help the situation. But in the meantime, I have a very puffy and unfortunate looking pair of legs-meeting-feet that seem to be entirely devoid of an ankle.
Really, a very good trip. The only complaint I have is that I seem to have left my ankles in California. They are totally gone- swallowed up by puffy fluid filled skin. In fact, they left a little goodbye note in the form of a dimple where the ankle used to exist.
Gross. Today the swelling is down a fair amount in comparison to Friday, and I'm optimistic that a weekend not sitting in meetings, and not in planes, will really help the situation. But in the meantime, I have a very puffy and unfortunate looking pair of legs-meeting-feet that seem to be entirely devoid of an ankle.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Bevy of pregnant ladies
I was at a gathering of pregnant women this morning, and I was totally amused by what I saw... namely, how many faces I knew but did not know that they were pregnant. The best score was a woman I knew from grad school- I think she's awesome, she got married last year, and I had no idea that she was even considering having kids (she's quite significantly older than me). I very nearly laughed out loud when I saw her. Not in a bad way, mind you, just in amused surprise. She's due right at the start of March, which I told her was a GREAT time to have a baby, from my past experience.
I also saw another woman I know from grad school who had a baby right when Cooper was born, so she's clearly on the same track as me for #2. And two friends from my new cohort of water aerobicizers, which was fun. And then a non-pregnant friend that was an administrator for the event, to top off the list.
Good times. I'll have to get in touch with some of these people more often. This sort of thing makes me slightly embarrassed that I don't keep up with my more distant friends more often.
As an added bonus, I got about a million compliments on how well behaved Cooper was, and how incredibly cute he is, and how blue his eyes are, etc etc. He made himself happy with four mini bran muffins and two folding chairs for about an hour. So well mannered!
I also saw another woman I know from grad school who had a baby right when Cooper was born, so she's clearly on the same track as me for #2. And two friends from my new cohort of water aerobicizers, which was fun. And then a non-pregnant friend that was an administrator for the event, to top off the list.
Good times. I'll have to get in touch with some of these people more often. This sort of thing makes me slightly embarrassed that I don't keep up with my more distant friends more often.
As an added bonus, I got about a million compliments on how well behaved Cooper was, and how incredibly cute he is, and how blue his eyes are, etc etc. He made himself happy with four mini bran muffins and two folding chairs for about an hour. So well mannered!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Add it to the list!
Someone here in Missoula fairly recently named their child a totally amazing moniker;
Huckleberry Graham (don't know last name)
I am making a mental note. I will not name my child something that sounds like it should be a flavor for a Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Huckleberry Graham Crunch! Huckleberry Graham Swirl! Or my favorite imaginary last name for this child, Huckleberry Graham Cracker Delight.
Huckleberry Graham (don't know last name)
I am making a mental note. I will not name my child something that sounds like it should be a flavor for a Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Huckleberry Graham Crunch! Huckleberry Graham Swirl! Or my favorite imaginary last name for this child, Huckleberry Graham Cracker Delight.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Boo-boo
Nope. He didn't get hurt. But Cooper has moved away from calling himself Baby in favor of calling himself Boo-boo. When you hear his inflection with Boo-boo, it is pretty clear he's making an attempt at saying Cooper but not really getting it yet. Sometimes he even calls himself Boo-coo, which is an advance in my mind. The best part is how dang cute it is when he calls himself Boo-boo. It melts me.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Decision
Here are my options;
- skip the doula this time
- pick a new doula
- have the same doula as last time
I see pluses and minuses of each. Dang.
- skip the doula this time
- pick a new doula
- have the same doula as last time
I see pluses and minuses of each. Dang.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The obese, elderly, terminally ill... and me
I'm trying to find a yoga class that suits my schedule and works for pregnancy. Yesterday I went to "Extra Gentle Yoga" at the local Women's gym to see if that would be a good fit. Obviously, it isn't prenatal, but for reasons of convenience it would be nice if it worked with my needs. I figured I'd skip moves on my back or my belly, and all would be fine.
What I didn't really think about is who goes to "Extra gentle yoga" in the middle of the afternoon. It is three basic categories of people- morbidly obese, elderly, and then this one other young woman. I'd be puzzled by this other young woman if, coincidentally, I didn't know her. But I do. She was just recently diagnosed (despite being around 30ish) with severe congestive heart failure and had to quit her job because of it and be very, very careful of her health.
Of course, I was by far the most clueless and needy person in the class. I'm out of practice, off balance, and shall we say "lumpy." It really was not a good fit for me. I think I need a legit prenatal class. One thing that I am particularly useless for is leg stretching- after years of high school track, many of my muscles became as tight as piano wire and simply do not stretch. So I can't do anything on my back, on my stomach, or that involves stretching my legs. Great.
Years ago, I went to a Yoga for Beginners class and after a few classes, the teacher came up to me afterwards. "I've noticed you really struggle with the calf and thigh stretches. I'm just curious- were you ever a competitive runner? That often causes the problems I see in your yoga."
Sigh. At least I'm not special.
What I didn't really think about is who goes to "Extra gentle yoga" in the middle of the afternoon. It is three basic categories of people- morbidly obese, elderly, and then this one other young woman. I'd be puzzled by this other young woman if, coincidentally, I didn't know her. But I do. She was just recently diagnosed (despite being around 30ish) with severe congestive heart failure and had to quit her job because of it and be very, very careful of her health.
Of course, I was by far the most clueless and needy person in the class. I'm out of practice, off balance, and shall we say "lumpy." It really was not a good fit for me. I think I need a legit prenatal class. One thing that I am particularly useless for is leg stretching- after years of high school track, many of my muscles became as tight as piano wire and simply do not stretch. So I can't do anything on my back, on my stomach, or that involves stretching my legs. Great.
Years ago, I went to a Yoga for Beginners class and after a few classes, the teacher came up to me afterwards. "I've noticed you really struggle with the calf and thigh stretches. I'm just curious- were you ever a competitive runner? That often causes the problems I see in your yoga."
Sigh. At least I'm not special.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
You must be almost due!
With Matt's work schedule finally back to a decent and manageable level, I've started up at my favorite pregnancy activity... pre-natal water aerobics! Yay!
I bought myself a new sporty bikini, dug up my old punch card (had three punches left from 2008, sweeeeet), showed up on time and gave the instructor a big hug. Janet! So good to see you! She was very excited and happy to see me, too. But the first thing she said was a bit of a show stopper- "Oh my goodness, look at you! You must be almost due! You must have wanted to space them really close!"
Uh, no. I just hit the 6 month mark. I wanted to space them by about 2 years, and they will be just shy of the two year goal. I do, however, look far more pregnant than 24 weeks would suggest.
But I was nice and didn't say anything snappy. I laughed and said that I was sure hoping to keep this kid in there until roughly my due date of February 1st. She looked a little embarassed, so I reminded her that with my first pregnancy, I also attained a rather startling shape pretty early on and then kept right on growing until I nearly fell over.
"Oh that's RIGHT! And you had a vaginal birth, right? Didn't your boy weighed nearly 9 pounds?"
Collective gasp from the pregnant ladies in the pool...
I think it's gonna be a long 16 weeks.
I bought myself a new sporty bikini, dug up my old punch card (had three punches left from 2008, sweeeeet), showed up on time and gave the instructor a big hug. Janet! So good to see you! She was very excited and happy to see me, too. But the first thing she said was a bit of a show stopper- "Oh my goodness, look at you! You must be almost due! You must have wanted to space them really close!"
Uh, no. I just hit the 6 month mark. I wanted to space them by about 2 years, and they will be just shy of the two year goal. I do, however, look far more pregnant than 24 weeks would suggest.
But I was nice and didn't say anything snappy. I laughed and said that I was sure hoping to keep this kid in there until roughly my due date of February 1st. She looked a little embarassed, so I reminded her that with my first pregnancy, I also attained a rather startling shape pretty early on and then kept right on growing until I nearly fell over.
"Oh that's RIGHT! And you had a vaginal birth, right? Didn't your boy weighed nearly 9 pounds?"
Collective gasp from the pregnant ladies in the pool...
I think it's gonna be a long 16 weeks.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Cooper the baby
We've been working hard lately to help Cooper figure out how to say and use his own name. He knows that Cooper is his name, but he never says it. If you ask him "Where's Cooper?" he proudly points to himself and smiles. He turns around when you say his name, he responds appropriately to "This is for Cooper" and so on. But he's never said it.
Yesterday, Matt and I were playing with him and we started asking him about his words, "What's this? Who's that?"
Dada!
Doggie!
Mama!
and then "Who's this?" pointing directly at Cooper...
Baby!
How interesting. We almost never call him a baby anymore- certainly not for months. We call him many things, but mostly just stick with Cooper. I think he must have figured out what a baby is from daycare- his daycare recently enrolled twins boys that look about 8 months old, and a 6 month old. So I bet it clicked that little boys are called Babies.
Today we tried it again and sure enough, he's convinced that he should call himself Baby. Funny.
Yesterday, Matt and I were playing with him and we started asking him about his words, "What's this? Who's that?"
Dada!
Doggie!
Mama!
and then "Who's this?" pointing directly at Cooper...
Baby!
How interesting. We almost never call him a baby anymore- certainly not for months. We call him many things, but mostly just stick with Cooper. I think he must have figured out what a baby is from daycare- his daycare recently enrolled twins boys that look about 8 months old, and a 6 month old. So I bet it clicked that little boys are called Babies.
Today we tried it again and sure enough, he's convinced that he should call himself Baby. Funny.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
A few words
Cooper is starting to mimic some words with startling accuracy, when he wants to. This morning he said "orange juice" so clearly that I whipped my head around like a scene in the exorcist. Juice in general is popular, so I frequently hear him piping up during breakfast "Boo-boos! More juice!" which translates into "Hand over those defrosted slightly smooshy organic blueberries and a tiny plastic cup of orange juice and you may avert my impending tantrum."
On the note of "Boo-boo" being his code name for blueberries, his mispronounciation of "ladybug" is particularly charming. He says "Baa-boo," which is a dead ringer for the Polish word for grandmother (written 'Babu' in that case). Anybody in Matt's family can tell you this is a very neat coincidence, because his family considers ladybugs a serious good luck charm as well as way to remember Matt's uncle who passed away from cancer at a young age. So it is very sweet that he points out all the ladybugs in books as Babu, and once when he found a real live ladybug in the garden he got incredibly excited about it.
And then I picked that ladybug up to show him how they can crawl on your hand and he cried like it was gonna eat me and ran away. Which totally ruined the moment. But hey, I tried.
On the note of "Boo-boo" being his code name for blueberries, his mispronounciation of "ladybug" is particularly charming. He says "Baa-boo," which is a dead ringer for the Polish word for grandmother (written 'Babu' in that case). Anybody in Matt's family can tell you this is a very neat coincidence, because his family considers ladybugs a serious good luck charm as well as way to remember Matt's uncle who passed away from cancer at a young age. So it is very sweet that he points out all the ladybugs in books as Babu, and once when he found a real live ladybug in the garden he got incredibly excited about it.
And then I picked that ladybug up to show him how they can crawl on your hand and he cried like it was gonna eat me and ran away. Which totally ruined the moment. But hey, I tried.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Head colds
Cooper and I have head colds. We both developed the full blown symptoms earlier this week, and for both of us those symptoms seem to be the worst today. Cooper has a mild cough, a very yucky runny nose, and is a bit whiny and needy. I have a sore throat, sinus congestion, and either a badly clogged ear duct or a very mild ear infection on one side.
Luckily for all involved, there have been no fevers, no real misery, and only very minor disruptions of sleeping patterns. Last night Matt and I decided to give Cooper some ibuprofen in case he had a really sore throat like mine has been (you can't exactly tell with a little guy if he has a sore throat or not), and that was a great call. He fell asleep without a peep at 7:15pm, slept like a rock until about 5am, coughed and whined half-heartedly for a few minutes, then fell back asleep until 7:20am.
Right now he's napping, the poor dear. His little nose is all chapped from being wiped all the time. I'm going to follow his lead and get in some shut-eye myself.
Luckily for all involved, there have been no fevers, no real misery, and only very minor disruptions of sleeping patterns. Last night Matt and I decided to give Cooper some ibuprofen in case he had a really sore throat like mine has been (you can't exactly tell with a little guy if he has a sore throat or not), and that was a great call. He fell asleep without a peep at 7:15pm, slept like a rock until about 5am, coughed and whined half-heartedly for a few minutes, then fell back asleep until 7:20am.
Right now he's napping, the poor dear. His little nose is all chapped from being wiped all the time. I'm going to follow his lead and get in some shut-eye myself.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Big steps
Cooper loves shoes, and he likes to pretend to put them on. Grandma G sent him a super cool pair of brilliant yellow rubber rain boots this week, and lo and behold- he can get them on! Turns out that all his pretend practice with his tiny sneakers and loafers paid off. With the rubber rain boots, the opening for his foot is big enough that he can get his feet in there pretty accurately. This morning, after mastering this new skill, he was stomping around the house in his pajamas, rain boots, and a little baseball cap that he's taken a liking to.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Vigorous child
I don't know how else to describe it- this second child is dang vigorous. I'm humbled by the things it can already do- kick me in two places at once, tent up my skin in a startling way, make me cough when I didn't need to cough. This baby already has great muscle strength and endurance. I'm impressed.
I bet Cooper was the same way at this age, but I think my muscles were so much tighter then that he probably encountered more resistance at first. By the end of my pregnancy with Cooper, he was so powerful he could wake MATT up from a dead sleep by kicking him- hard- through all my layers of muscles, skin, and PJs. I used to sleep on my side with Matt right against me, and Cooper would pop him in the ribs or lower back periodically. That's a strong baby. In utero.
I think we'll get there again. Maybe soon, at this rate. This kid is not shy about kicking around in there.
Oh, and I did I mention I'm not even 22 weeks pregnant? This child is about the size of a large banana. Weighs between 3/4 and 1 pound. So it is not like it is big yet. Just strong.
I bet Cooper was the same way at this age, but I think my muscles were so much tighter then that he probably encountered more resistance at first. By the end of my pregnancy with Cooper, he was so powerful he could wake MATT up from a dead sleep by kicking him- hard- through all my layers of muscles, skin, and PJs. I used to sleep on my side with Matt right against me, and Cooper would pop him in the ribs or lower back periodically. That's a strong baby. In utero.
I think we'll get there again. Maybe soon, at this rate. This kid is not shy about kicking around in there.
Oh, and I did I mention I'm not even 22 weeks pregnant? This child is about the size of a large banana. Weighs between 3/4 and 1 pound. So it is not like it is big yet. Just strong.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fun comparison, 20 weeks
I dug through my closet and was successful!
Behold... a photo at 20 weeks pregnant (with Cooper) from Fall 2007
And now, a photo at 20 weeks pregnant from Fall 2009. Should be within a day or two of "gestational age" from the Cooper photo. Pretty remarkable how much I look the same!
My belly is bigger, and I can already see my back curve and hip tilt are starting to suffer from the weight. But other than that I am reassured by how little things have changed, actually.
I took another photo, too, for comparison. I'll post it another time.
Behold... a photo at 20 weeks pregnant (with Cooper) from Fall 2007
And now, a photo at 20 weeks pregnant from Fall 2009. Should be within a day or two of "gestational age" from the Cooper photo. Pretty remarkable how much I look the same!
My belly is bigger, and I can already see my back curve and hip tilt are starting to suffer from the weight. But other than that I am reassured by how little things have changed, actually.
I took another photo, too, for comparison. I'll post it another time.
Easy peasy
Well, I must say I am pleased with my babysitting adventure. Cooper was relatively well mannered and Kit managed to hold it together despite not knowing me very well. It was Cooper's turf, after all, so I was expecting some possessiveness and acting out, but he really didn't do much. There was a very comical hair pulling incident that seemed mostly accidental, and then the fact that Kit is not used to eating in the presence of a large, crumb predatory, dog. But mostly they played nicely (apart) and we all stayed sane.
The only really funny thing to report is that Cooper got all excited about one of his new giant rubber balls (which he calls balloons) and did the balloon-joy-dance, which prompted Kit to try to emulate him. Kit's motor skills are a little behind Cooper's, so he couldn't really do the dance, but instead he compensated by spinning around and around until he made himself dizzy and fell over. That was awesome. Cooper was stomping and flailing his arms while screeching happily and periodically kicking his big rubber ball, and Kit was lying on the ground saying "whooooooaaaa..." while clinging fiercely to his red stuffed "Hop on Pop" doll.
Good times.
The only really funny thing to report is that Cooper got all excited about one of his new giant rubber balls (which he calls balloons) and did the balloon-joy-dance, which prompted Kit to try to emulate him. Kit's motor skills are a little behind Cooper's, so he couldn't really do the dance, but instead he compensated by spinning around and around until he made himself dizzy and fell over. That was awesome. Cooper was stomping and flailing his arms while screeching happily and periodically kicking his big rubber ball, and Kit was lying on the ground saying "whooooooaaaa..." while clinging fiercely to his red stuffed "Hop on Pop" doll.
Good times.
Monday, September 21, 2009
So far, so good
I am watching a friend's toddler this afternoon. He and Cooper are almost the same age, so they have similar interests (throwing objects, stacking blocks, reading picture books, eating).
I must say, so far it is easy. Because they are SIMULTANEOUSLY napping. Oh yeah, the coveted dual toddler nap.
This is great! GREAT! I should babysit all the time!
;)
Talk to me again at about 6pm when the other kid's dad comes by to pick him up (it is now 1pm). I may have another opinion at that time. Perhaps.
I must say, so far it is easy. Because they are SIMULTANEOUSLY napping. Oh yeah, the coveted dual toddler nap.
This is great! GREAT! I should babysit all the time!
;)
Talk to me again at about 6pm when the other kid's dad comes by to pick him up (it is now 1pm). I may have another opinion at that time. Perhaps.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Average? What?
I had my 20 week ultrasound today- fun fun. Baby was pretty obedient at showing all sorts of organs, cute little hands, swallowing, kicking, etc. And when all was said and done, the ultrasound tech said, "Well, you have a very average little baby in there! That's great!" to which Matt and I said, "What?"
Cooper was never average. He was always big- sometimes almost comically so- even as a 20 week old fetus. So I was quite surprised to read the summary screen of this ultrasound and see numbers like 52%, 49%, 55% instead of what I saw last time (95%, 89%, etc). This kid is apparently textbook average sized.
Huh. Did not expect that.
We'll see as time goes by, but perhaps this child will actually wear NB size clothing. Could even be a more, uh, shall we say, "manageable" birthweight. Now that sounds kinda nice.
Cooper was never average. He was always big- sometimes almost comically so- even as a 20 week old fetus. So I was quite surprised to read the summary screen of this ultrasound and see numbers like 52%, 49%, 55% instead of what I saw last time (95%, 89%, etc). This kid is apparently textbook average sized.
Huh. Did not expect that.
We'll see as time goes by, but perhaps this child will actually wear NB size clothing. Could even be a more, uh, shall we say, "manageable" birthweight. Now that sounds kinda nice.
Boo!
We are not sure how it started, but Cooper has started saying "Boo!" to cats. Instead of what he used to do (say "Kitty!" and point at the cat) he now bends down, stares at the cat, yells "Boooooo!" and then stands up and looks around proudly. See? I said Boo to the cat!
Matt and Cooper practice saying "Boo!" around the corner of the couch, or behind a door, etc to each other. My guess is that something about the way that cats lurk behind furniture reminds Cooper of this fun game that he plays with his Dad, and that started the Boooo to cats. Of course, the first couple of times Cooper tried it, we laughed at him, so that reinforced it.
Sometimes he giggles excitedly as he says Boo, at which time it sounds like Booheh booohehheh booooheh to the cat. The whole thing is pretty quirky. My friend Julie who has several very sedate and well mannered cats said that his Boo to cats was awfully cute, and her cats don't seem to care in the slightest, so I think it is a harmless thing.
Now, as a reminder, we don't have cats. My cat allergy has gotten worse as I've gotten older, so it isn't a possibility for us. This is sad for me, but considering I am not alone in having a cat allergy, it is good for our friends that are also allergic- as our house is a sort of cat-free safe zone to them.
Boo to cats!
Matt and Cooper practice saying "Boo!" around the corner of the couch, or behind a door, etc to each other. My guess is that something about the way that cats lurk behind furniture reminds Cooper of this fun game that he plays with his Dad, and that started the Boooo to cats. Of course, the first couple of times Cooper tried it, we laughed at him, so that reinforced it.
Sometimes he giggles excitedly as he says Boo, at which time it sounds like Booheh booohehheh booooheh to the cat. The whole thing is pretty quirky. My friend Julie who has several very sedate and well mannered cats said that his Boo to cats was awfully cute, and her cats don't seem to care in the slightest, so I think it is a harmless thing.
Now, as a reminder, we don't have cats. My cat allergy has gotten worse as I've gotten older, so it isn't a possibility for us. This is sad for me, but considering I am not alone in having a cat allergy, it is good for our friends that are also allergic- as our house is a sort of cat-free safe zone to them.
Boo to cats!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Cutest kid ever (of course)
Cooper is the cutest kid ever. Did you know that? He's the darn cutest thing you've ever seen.
I'm not biased.
His favorite book right now is "Ten Little Mice" which is a lovely bedtime story about some mice that scamper around the countryside and then all go to bed. He likes counting the mice by pointing at them as we count out loud, and identifying the birds as birds, and the badger as a badger. He also likes the ladybugs and butterflies. It is a very lovely illustrated book.
Last week Cooper was so tired at his last day of daycare for the week (Thursday) that he feel asleep at the lunch table. Our daycare director said it was adorable. And this is a man that works with toddlers ALL DAY and even HE said it was adorable.
Cooper's favorite inanimate objects are balloons. We keep a little bag of deflated balloons in the kitchen, and when we need Cooper to be very occupied, we blow one up and he FREAKS OUT with excitement. Dancing, shrieking, you name it. He even does his balloon-joy dance on command, sometimes. We have yet to get it on video, but are hoping to soon.
His favorite animate objects are sparrows and Lucky Dog, depending on his mood. He loves loves loves sparrows. I think I'm getting him a bird feeder for Xmas to hang in front of his window- one that will attract native birds instead of sparrows, of course. For my conscience.
His favorite foods are always changing, but this week it includes:
- bagels
- pancakes
- blueberries
- green beans
- cottage cheese
- spinach ravioli
- homemade chocolate pudding
and of course, crackers.
He has 18 teeth. That's a lot of teeth. He is 18 months old, so that is par for him.
The latest words to enter his everyday vocabulary are:
- Mama
- Boat
- No
I fear this last one.
I'm not biased.
His favorite book right now is "Ten Little Mice" which is a lovely bedtime story about some mice that scamper around the countryside and then all go to bed. He likes counting the mice by pointing at them as we count out loud, and identifying the birds as birds, and the badger as a badger. He also likes the ladybugs and butterflies. It is a very lovely illustrated book.
Last week Cooper was so tired at his last day of daycare for the week (Thursday) that he feel asleep at the lunch table. Our daycare director said it was adorable. And this is a man that works with toddlers ALL DAY and even HE said it was adorable.
Cooper's favorite inanimate objects are balloons. We keep a little bag of deflated balloons in the kitchen, and when we need Cooper to be very occupied, we blow one up and he FREAKS OUT with excitement. Dancing, shrieking, you name it. He even does his balloon-joy dance on command, sometimes. We have yet to get it on video, but are hoping to soon.
His favorite animate objects are sparrows and Lucky Dog, depending on his mood. He loves loves loves sparrows. I think I'm getting him a bird feeder for Xmas to hang in front of his window- one that will attract native birds instead of sparrows, of course. For my conscience.
His favorite foods are always changing, but this week it includes:
- bagels
- pancakes
- blueberries
- green beans
- cottage cheese
- spinach ravioli
- homemade chocolate pudding
and of course, crackers.
He has 18 teeth. That's a lot of teeth. He is 18 months old, so that is par for him.
The latest words to enter his everyday vocabulary are:
- Mama
- Boat
- No
I fear this last one.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Clearly, not instinctive
I bought a miniature toilet about two weeks ago. I say that because this is no "potty" - it is a battery operated, bells and whistles, flush arm with sound effects, sticker dispensing seven part mini toilet. It has an actual low voltage circuit built into the base of the toilet to determine if a liquid-like substance has entered the bowl.
Of course, I bought it because it was on clearance for $12. Right now I have no intention of ever loading the batteries or stickers into the appropriate spots. But if I get to a certain level, a point that I hope I will never get to that involves desperation and a stubborn kid that won't pee into his mini toilet, I know will load 'em under those circumstances.
Rest assured we are not starting to toilet train our child in earnest. Really, I'm just trying to get him to accept it as part of the bathroom landscape. But I noticed (shortly before buying the mini toilet) that Cooper nearly always pees onto the bath rug as part of his geting-ready-for-bath routine. This increased my laundry loads significantly, so I thought to myself- what if I got a mini toilet, and just held it in front of him so that instead of peeing on our bath rug, he peed in the toilet? That'd be smart, right?
And it works. In fact, it works great. He's peed in the mini toilet once a night for several nights now, right before his bath. The rug has been sprinkled, sure, but we are working towards a nice pattern of peeing in the mini toilet before bathtime as part of the routine.
Here's the problem- Cooper is REALLY REALLY curious about his pee. When he used to pee onto the rug, I didn't stop him from once touching the pee puddle on the rug to see what it was like (which he promptly declared "Hot!" and that made me giggle) and I also didn't stop him the time he decided he wanted to step in his pee. Step, step, step, step. Puzzled look. And that was the end of that. He never did either again. Mysteries of life solved, moving forward.
But back to the mini toilet. He pees into it mostly by accident as I position it strategically in front of him, and then he wants to learn more about the pee once it is in the toilet. But now we are in more challenging terrain. He sticks his hands in the toilet to touch the puddle of his pee, which elicits, "No Cooper, we don't touch that part of the toilet." He tries to get into the puddle, inside the toilet. Clearly not a good idea, "Toilets are not for standing in, Cooper." And then, tonight, he tried to drink it. Truly. "No Cooper, NO COOPER (whisking him abruptly up and away) that is not.. uh... safe."
What can you SAY when your curious kid does this?
So clearly, as indicated by the title of this short essay, the idea that pee should never ever be a evening nightcap is not instinctive. My hope is that he won't try this again. And if he does, well, at least I won't be nearly as surprised by it.
Of course, I bought it because it was on clearance for $12. Right now I have no intention of ever loading the batteries or stickers into the appropriate spots. But if I get to a certain level, a point that I hope I will never get to that involves desperation and a stubborn kid that won't pee into his mini toilet, I know will load 'em under those circumstances.
Rest assured we are not starting to toilet train our child in earnest. Really, I'm just trying to get him to accept it as part of the bathroom landscape. But I noticed (shortly before buying the mini toilet) that Cooper nearly always pees onto the bath rug as part of his geting-ready-for-bath routine. This increased my laundry loads significantly, so I thought to myself- what if I got a mini toilet, and just held it in front of him so that instead of peeing on our bath rug, he peed in the toilet? That'd be smart, right?
And it works. In fact, it works great. He's peed in the mini toilet once a night for several nights now, right before his bath. The rug has been sprinkled, sure, but we are working towards a nice pattern of peeing in the mini toilet before bathtime as part of the routine.
Here's the problem- Cooper is REALLY REALLY curious about his pee. When he used to pee onto the rug, I didn't stop him from once touching the pee puddle on the rug to see what it was like (which he promptly declared "Hot!" and that made me giggle) and I also didn't stop him the time he decided he wanted to step in his pee. Step, step, step, step. Puzzled look. And that was the end of that. He never did either again. Mysteries of life solved, moving forward.
But back to the mini toilet. He pees into it mostly by accident as I position it strategically in front of him, and then he wants to learn more about the pee once it is in the toilet. But now we are in more challenging terrain. He sticks his hands in the toilet to touch the puddle of his pee, which elicits, "No Cooper, we don't touch that part of the toilet." He tries to get into the puddle, inside the toilet. Clearly not a good idea, "Toilets are not for standing in, Cooper." And then, tonight, he tried to drink it. Truly. "No Cooper, NO COOPER (whisking him abruptly up and away) that is not.. uh... safe."
What can you SAY when your curious kid does this?
So clearly, as indicated by the title of this short essay, the idea that pee should never ever be a evening nightcap is not instinctive. My hope is that he won't try this again. And if he does, well, at least I won't be nearly as surprised by it.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Got things to do
We're expecting another kid in February, and I'm about 18 weeks into this pregnancy. Once again, I have an "anterior placenta" which just means that for whatever random reason, the placenta is attached to the front of my uterus (against my belly button) instead of the back (up against my spine). Technically, this should mean that I don't feel the baby kick very often, and that the start of feeling the baby kick would come later and be more subtle.
Technically. But apparently, this kid has got things to do. In fact, it already seems to spend a significant amount of time pummeling me. At 5 1/2 inches long, the little bugger's legs can't be longer than my thumbs, but goodness does it pack a nice little kick! Thwack, thwack... clearly an energetic baby in there.
It is nice to feel it goofing around. Cooper was the same way when he was just a tiny little thing. Always moving, adjusting, exercising, stretching. And as most people know, Cooper has grown to be a delightfully energetic and active kid. Not hyper by any means, but active and very capable of jumping, running, etc.
So it looks like I'm in for another five months of internal tumult. Something to look forward to, until it starts to really hurt, and then I look forward to the kid being on the outside instead.
Technically. But apparently, this kid has got things to do. In fact, it already seems to spend a significant amount of time pummeling me. At 5 1/2 inches long, the little bugger's legs can't be longer than my thumbs, but goodness does it pack a nice little kick! Thwack, thwack... clearly an energetic baby in there.
It is nice to feel it goofing around. Cooper was the same way when he was just a tiny little thing. Always moving, adjusting, exercising, stretching. And as most people know, Cooper has grown to be a delightfully energetic and active kid. Not hyper by any means, but active and very capable of jumping, running, etc.
So it looks like I'm in for another five months of internal tumult. Something to look forward to, until it starts to really hurt, and then I look forward to the kid being on the outside instead.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Word count
Matt and I made a gentleman's bet- I thought Cooper could understandably and contextually correctly say over 20 words, and Matt thought it was less (more like 15, he said). Well people, I am happy to report, I was closest to being correct. This is counting his animal sounds, which according to the stuff I've read, count as words for these kind of purposes.
1 - uh oh
2 - doggie
3 - kittie
4 - bird
5 - "moo"
6 - "woof"
7 - "bzzz" (for bees)
8 - moon
9 - balloon
10- dot
11- hot
12- hat
13- Dada
14- blanket
15- water
16- more
17- cheese
18- down
19- up
and, inexplicably, #20... badger! He has a book with a badger in it and he loves to point at the badger and say "Badger!" It is actually one of his best pronounced words of the whole lot.
You may notice that Mama is not on the list. He calls both of us Dada right now, although he does know full well that I am Mama when referred to (like "can you touch Mama's nose?").
So- 18 months old, 20 words he can say, and an impossibly large number of words that he understands. Pretty exciting!
1 - uh oh
2 - doggie
3 - kittie
4 - bird
5 - "moo"
6 - "woof"
7 - "bzzz" (for bees)
8 - moon
9 - balloon
10- dot
11- hot
12- hat
13- Dada
14- blanket
15- water
16- more
17- cheese
18- down
19- up
and, inexplicably, #20... badger! He has a book with a badger in it and he loves to point at the badger and say "Badger!" It is actually one of his best pronounced words of the whole lot.
You may notice that Mama is not on the list. He calls both of us Dada right now, although he does know full well that I am Mama when referred to (like "can you touch Mama's nose?").
So- 18 months old, 20 words he can say, and an impossibly large number of words that he understands. Pretty exciting!
Monday, August 31, 2009
The nap king
Sometimes Cooper takes a short afternoon nap- like 1.5 or two hours. Rarely, he makes it more like 3 hours. Today has reached the level of "personal best," with his nap reaching a whopping 3 hours and 45 minutes. He is still napping, although I suspect he's on the way to waking up. I mean, seriously- I bet the kid is hungry for his midafternoon snack!
I am very glad that he is such a good napper. While sometimes he drives me batty with his desire to wake up early from a nap and then snuggle on the couch for an additional hour, it is very endearing and a fairly rare occurrence. Much more frequently, he naps for about 2 hours and 45 minutes, wakes up grumpy and harrumphs around all whiny and clingy for 15 minutes, and then settles into a nice nutritious snack and some quality time playing in the backyard. What a good kid!
We are now at 3 hours and 48 minutes.
I am very glad that he is such a good napper. While sometimes he drives me batty with his desire to wake up early from a nap and then snuggle on the couch for an additional hour, it is very endearing and a fairly rare occurrence. Much more frequently, he naps for about 2 hours and 45 minutes, wakes up grumpy and harrumphs around all whiny and clingy for 15 minutes, and then settles into a nice nutritious snack and some quality time playing in the backyard. What a good kid!
We are now at 3 hours and 48 minutes.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A sibling for Max
I ran into an acquaintance today, and I am glad to finally be able to set my mind at ease on this one... yes, she is pregnant again. She was sort of looking pregnant the last two times I saw her, but I thought maybe it was just unflattering clothing and bad lighting or something, so I didn't want to say anything. But now, she's looking pretty darn plumped out. She's due in December, and her little boy Max will be 2 in either December or early January (I don't recall precisely), so that is exciting. I do recall that Max was a very challenging newborn; bad sleeper, textbook case of really dreadful colic, and he was born after a very tough labor followed by a C section. So I really hope that this one goes a little smoother for them. And I'm weirdly thrilled to see another person having their second kid in the same spacing as us. Always nice to have peers on these things.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wait a minute- scream again...
It is official. Cooper is getting his 2nd year molars. He's been having some weird problems with falling asleep at night, and he's even been waking up now and again at odd hours in the night to whimper sadly in his crib, so Matt and I were suspicious that he might be getting his last set of teeth. Then, two days ago, he was in a terribly hungry and clingy mood (but refusing to eat, of course) when he just started screaming at me for attention. A loud, wide mouthed, obnoxious hollering kinda scream. I was about to employ my usual method to make him stop, which entails grabbing a favorite book of his, sitting on the couch, and telling him that when he's done screaming we'll sit and read about doggies together, when I saw something glinting deep in his mouth.
So I said it. "Wait.. what the... ok, buddy, scream again for momma..." And sure enough, he already has one full molar in there. The other three are probably very sore. So now we are on our normal pattern of giving him some mild pain killers before naps and bedtimes to help him sleep, which has done wonders for his mood.
I reminded Matt last night, as I held a cranky sad little boy that didn't want to go to bed, that these are his last teeth. He's done now. We're done now. Congratulations to us!
So I said it. "Wait.. what the... ok, buddy, scream again for momma..." And sure enough, he already has one full molar in there. The other three are probably very sore. So now we are on our normal pattern of giving him some mild pain killers before naps and bedtimes to help him sleep, which has done wonders for his mood.
I reminded Matt last night, as I held a cranky sad little boy that didn't want to go to bed, that these are his last teeth. He's done now. We're done now. Congratulations to us!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Our neighborhood has something in the water
First off, belated congratulations to my neighbors, who had a beautiful baby girl a few weeks ago. The mom, who is a doula, was successful at having her baby at home like she wanted. This is pretty remarkable, because it was a VBAC! Sooo.... welcome Lucia! Her older brother Silas seems to be taking it pretty well (he's 4) and the family looks great.
The other thing that I've been procrastinating talking about on the blog is that Matt and I are expecting another kid in February! Exciting! So far I've had an extremely easy pregnancy. The only things that have plagued me are the first trimester itchies (same as last time) and first trimester sleepiness (much less acute than last time). Other than that, this has been an amazingly simple pregnancy. Oh, and I guess I've gotten a little weird about food again, but not nearly as quirky and picky as last time.
In the last few weeks I've started to really look pregnant, instead of just looking sort of bloated. I must say that in general, I did start to grow a belly far, far, before I did the first time. That's typical from what I've heard.
The kiddo's due date is February 1st, 2010, so the two of them will be just a bit under two years apart. Woo hoo!
The other thing that I've been procrastinating talking about on the blog is that Matt and I are expecting another kid in February! Exciting! So far I've had an extremely easy pregnancy. The only things that have plagued me are the first trimester itchies (same as last time) and first trimester sleepiness (much less acute than last time). Other than that, this has been an amazingly simple pregnancy. Oh, and I guess I've gotten a little weird about food again, but not nearly as quirky and picky as last time.
In the last few weeks I've started to really look pregnant, instead of just looking sort of bloated. I must say that in general, I did start to grow a belly far, far, before I did the first time. That's typical from what I've heard.
The kiddo's due date is February 1st, 2010, so the two of them will be just a bit under two years apart. Woo hoo!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
First ever no cry morning!
Cooper took a big step today. It was his first day since starting day care (5 weeks ago, I think) that he didn't cry when Matt dropped him off. Cooper has been getting noticeably more comfortable, and less stressed, during drop off times in the last two weeks. I'm really proud of him for finally adjusting to the point where the two of them can work together to arrive, get settled in, and then Matt can leave- all within a minute or two- and no tears need to be shed.
Good work little guy! And nice work on Matt's part, of course. Matt has been working really hard to establish a comfortable routine for Cooper's day care mornings, so most of the credit really goes out to him.
Good work little guy! And nice work on Matt's part, of course. Matt has been working really hard to establish a comfortable routine for Cooper's day care mornings, so most of the credit really goes out to him.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I knew that it wasn't normal
When I was pregnant with Cooper, one of my biggest complaints was that my belly button hurt. It hurt a lot, for weeks. I had to put hot compresses on it for relief- I mean, this really hurt. People thought I was nuts (although, to his credit, Matt did say that he believed me) and my OB at the time claimed it was normal and wasn't concerned.
Fast forward to post-partum, maybe 2 months out, so perhaps May or June of last year. The rest of me looked pretty dang normal for having a baby- some stretch marks, some extra body fat, but hey, that's the price of having a kid. But my belly button? Weird. Really weird. Nowhere near normal. And it never improved from then on. To this day, it is weird.
I'm not vain, and I've never had aspirations to be a bikini model, but I felt sort of betrayed by my belly button. I felt like it somehow had failed me- it was the only thing not to heal up on track, or at least act like I had expected it to. And all the websites, all the literature, everything said that basically your bellybutton would go back to normal- even if it had popped out like a freakin' turkey timer.
But not mine.
Today, at a routine checkup, my doctor was doing some routine doctor-y stuff when she stopped and said, "Has your belly button always looked like that?" To which I replied, "No, I think it is broken." And thus, with a very quick examination and some light poking, a nearly two year quasi-mystery has now been solved. I have a herniated umbilical region, combined with a fairly significant "Diastasis Recti" (stomach muscles distorted via pregnancy), which combines to make a very weird looking belly button. Which means I have a hernia. In my belly button.
It isn't something I need to worry about right now, but I do need to get it fixed sometime when it is convenient. Maybe next year. She said there is no rush.
And I feel better about the whole thing knowing the real story. I'm not crazy, there WAS something wrong with my belly button last winter, and in all probability it DID get damaged during pregnancy, and it IS weird looking, and I CAN get it fixed without feeling like I am crazy for getting cosmetic belly-button-plasty. So there. Take that.
Now go stick your finger in your own belly button and thank it for not looking or feeling like mine.
Fast forward to post-partum, maybe 2 months out, so perhaps May or June of last year. The rest of me looked pretty dang normal for having a baby- some stretch marks, some extra body fat, but hey, that's the price of having a kid. But my belly button? Weird. Really weird. Nowhere near normal. And it never improved from then on. To this day, it is weird.
I'm not vain, and I've never had aspirations to be a bikini model, but I felt sort of betrayed by my belly button. I felt like it somehow had failed me- it was the only thing not to heal up on track, or at least act like I had expected it to. And all the websites, all the literature, everything said that basically your bellybutton would go back to normal- even if it had popped out like a freakin' turkey timer.
But not mine.
Today, at a routine checkup, my doctor was doing some routine doctor-y stuff when she stopped and said, "Has your belly button always looked like that?" To which I replied, "No, I think it is broken." And thus, with a very quick examination and some light poking, a nearly two year quasi-mystery has now been solved. I have a herniated umbilical region, combined with a fairly significant "Diastasis Recti" (stomach muscles distorted via pregnancy), which combines to make a very weird looking belly button. Which means I have a hernia. In my belly button.
It isn't something I need to worry about right now, but I do need to get it fixed sometime when it is convenient. Maybe next year. She said there is no rush.
And I feel better about the whole thing knowing the real story. I'm not crazy, there WAS something wrong with my belly button last winter, and in all probability it DID get damaged during pregnancy, and it IS weird looking, and I CAN get it fixed without feeling like I am crazy for getting cosmetic belly-button-plasty. So there. Take that.
Now go stick your finger in your own belly button and thank it for not looking or feeling like mine.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Word count
Cooper's understanding of what we say, and willingness to do what we ask of him, is astounding. He can follow simple tasks very easily (can you give this book to Daddy?) as well as do basic baby tricks like point to about 10 different body parts on request. He knows most of the interesting objects in his books, which means he can identify (point to, when asked) a wide variety of animals, gardening tools, vegetables, and objects that reside in children's bedrooms. He also has picked up on what "you need a fresh diaper" means, and will obediently walk over to the changing table and wait to be lifted up for a diaper change. Sometimes he runs in the opposite direction instead, which I know is his way of saying "but mom, I'm having fun! don't disrupt me!" Either way, his understanding of what we say is great!
His spoken vocabulary is a little bit meager, but he's building it every day. His best words are doggie, dada, chicken, balloon, bird, down, water, hot, "woof" (for the noise a dog makes), and boat. You'll clearly notice from this list that he likes O's and D's, which I think is because he's good at saying them. He also can say a wide variety of things if he really, really wants to- like button, mama, more, head, hat, and dot. The only sign from all the sign language that we've worked on that he truly uses is "more," but he also invented his own sign that seems to signify either "I don't know" or "where did it go?" depending on context. He had invented his own sign for nursing, which he no longer uses now that he's weaned, but it sure was handy before that!
Interestingly, his sign for "more" started as only pertaining to food, i.e. more crackers, but now he's figured out the more global uses of "more" and has also requested more tickling, more blocks to stack, and more markers to play with. So he's figured out the deeper meaning of more, which is neat.
Matt has successfully taught him some very amusing things, like how to do a fist bump, and to stick his tongue waaaay out on command. Matt likes to teach him these things on the sly, and then impress me once Cooper has it down pat. The two of them are thick as thieves, I tell ya.
His spoken vocabulary is a little bit meager, but he's building it every day. His best words are doggie, dada, chicken, balloon, bird, down, water, hot, "woof" (for the noise a dog makes), and boat. You'll clearly notice from this list that he likes O's and D's, which I think is because he's good at saying them. He also can say a wide variety of things if he really, really wants to- like button, mama, more, head, hat, and dot. The only sign from all the sign language that we've worked on that he truly uses is "more," but he also invented his own sign that seems to signify either "I don't know" or "where did it go?" depending on context. He had invented his own sign for nursing, which he no longer uses now that he's weaned, but it sure was handy before that!
Interestingly, his sign for "more" started as only pertaining to food, i.e. more crackers, but now he's figured out the more global uses of "more" and has also requested more tickling, more blocks to stack, and more markers to play with. So he's figured out the deeper meaning of more, which is neat.
Matt has successfully taught him some very amusing things, like how to do a fist bump, and to stick his tongue waaaay out on command. Matt likes to teach him these things on the sly, and then impress me once Cooper has it down pat. The two of them are thick as thieves, I tell ya.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
How to create your own personal hell
I have an acquaintance with two lovely, apparently well behaved, children. They are 3 and 1. Neither child sleeps for more than 3 hours at a time, with wakeups, screaming fits, and hours of soothing happening with both kids, every night. To cope with this, the parents sleep in separate rooms, one with each child. This has been the case for 3 years, as with the first one they started by taking turns sleeping in the kids room or the adult room. That is 3 years without a decent night of sleep, a break, or a semblance of sanity. This family is approaching urban legend in my circle of friends, and we all know that they have really severe issues with their kids sleeping.
Today, I ran into them. We did the usual small talk about kids, etc and I mentioned that Cooper just finished his 3rd ever week of daycare, and it went pretty darn well. The mom said something like, "Have you had any problems with Cooper adjusting?" To which I replied (far, far before thinking it through) that the only thing we are adjusting to is having a child that now likes to sleep for 12 or more hours straight, because he is so tired from all the activity and stimulation of his big days at daycare, and how that is making our mornings so very different.
I think I saw tears forming in this woman's eyes, and she said, "What have I done? What did I do wrong? Why won't my kids sleep?"
Trying to be less stupid and insensitive, I said something like, "Well, it was hard, but with Cooper we did end up needing to just let him cry sometimes- even for up to an hour. And then he adjusted and started sleeping well."
And she said flatly, "Oh, I could never do that. I can't do that to them. They need us."
What do you say here? What can be said? I wanted to say right to her that what she has done wrong is place her child's very temporary frustrations above her family health and personal sanity, and that what she needs is to create boundaries around the sleeping experience, and that if she never lets her kids figure out how to sleep on their own, the whole family will suffer for many, many more years.
Instead I just said that maybe she should talk to her pediatrician, because that was what worked for us, so I didn't have any other ideas.
So now I am reminded how to create your own personal hell- fail to see that sometimes you must be strong and sacrifice a small thing (perhaps a week of kiddies screaming frustratedly in the night) for the greater good (years of sleeping well for an entire family).
Today, I ran into them. We did the usual small talk about kids, etc and I mentioned that Cooper just finished his 3rd ever week of daycare, and it went pretty darn well. The mom said something like, "Have you had any problems with Cooper adjusting?" To which I replied (far, far before thinking it through) that the only thing we are adjusting to is having a child that now likes to sleep for 12 or more hours straight, because he is so tired from all the activity and stimulation of his big days at daycare, and how that is making our mornings so very different.
I think I saw tears forming in this woman's eyes, and she said, "What have I done? What did I do wrong? Why won't my kids sleep?"
Trying to be less stupid and insensitive, I said something like, "Well, it was hard, but with Cooper we did end up needing to just let him cry sometimes- even for up to an hour. And then he adjusted and started sleeping well."
And she said flatly, "Oh, I could never do that. I can't do that to them. They need us."
What do you say here? What can be said? I wanted to say right to her that what she has done wrong is place her child's very temporary frustrations above her family health and personal sanity, and that what she needs is to create boundaries around the sleeping experience, and that if she never lets her kids figure out how to sleep on their own, the whole family will suffer for many, many more years.
Instead I just said that maybe she should talk to her pediatrician, because that was what worked for us, so I didn't have any other ideas.
So now I am reminded how to create your own personal hell- fail to see that sometimes you must be strong and sacrifice a small thing (perhaps a week of kiddies screaming frustratedly in the night) for the greater good (years of sleeping well for an entire family).
Friday, July 24, 2009
First full week
This was Cooper's first full week (3 days, really) at daycare. There were ups and downs, but he seems no worse for the wear and the people at daycare were very encouraging. When I picked him up on Thursday afternoon, he was using his special blanket to stand on as he carefully emptied out an entire drawer of plastic cups. He was happy to see me, but was so intent with the cups that he couldn't figure out what to do. Mom- cups- mom- cups... eeek! decisions!
The staff said Thursday was the worst start, but the best day. He apparently threw an utter fit when Matt left of screaming, sobbing and kicking. But after a few minutes, he calmed down, and had a great day. Ate his snacks, had some lunch, napped for two hours, and then had a good afternoon of playing in the kitchen with cups. He even laughed, which was a first at daycare for him, and the staff said he was "very cute today."
So I think it is going pretty darn well. I'm relieved that he does the things he needs to do- sleep, eat, staying calm. All the other stuff- making friends, having fun, etc- those things will come with time.
The staff said Thursday was the worst start, but the best day. He apparently threw an utter fit when Matt left of screaming, sobbing and kicking. But after a few minutes, he calmed down, and had a great day. Ate his snacks, had some lunch, napped for two hours, and then had a good afternoon of playing in the kitchen with cups. He even laughed, which was a first at daycare for him, and the staff said he was "very cute today."
So I think it is going pretty darn well. I'm relieved that he does the things he needs to do- sleep, eat, staying calm. All the other stuff- making friends, having fun, etc- those things will come with time.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Better, and a report from the field
I'm feeling a lot better then I did Thursday and Friday, but I'm still quite sick. The biggest improvement is that I slept pretty well last night, and was able to take an uninterrupted nap this afternoon. I've got high hopes for feeling nearly like myself tomorrow- we'll see how that goes.
The reports from NY have been very encouraging. Cooper has a runny nose and a sneezy cough, but isn't anywhere near as sick as I've been. He did really well on the flights, has slept well at night, and took a whopping 3 1/2 hour nap when Grandma R was watching him (while Matt was at a friend's wedding). Matt sounds like he's having a good time seeing friends and refereeing the play between Cooper and cousin Jacqueline. Today the family is over in Western NY for a family reunion of sorts, and last I heard Cooper was being fawned over by around 17 great aunts.
I've recently embarked on a quest for chemical free rubber ducky for the bath, and I've been really disappointed. I have a few more stores to check on, but frankly, (and this will really only make sense to Missoulians and my parents) if Rockin' Rudy's doesn't have the right kind of rubber ducky, who will???
The reports from NY have been very encouraging. Cooper has a runny nose and a sneezy cough, but isn't anywhere near as sick as I've been. He did really well on the flights, has slept well at night, and took a whopping 3 1/2 hour nap when Grandma R was watching him (while Matt was at a friend's wedding). Matt sounds like he's having a good time seeing friends and refereeing the play between Cooper and cousin Jacqueline. Today the family is over in Western NY for a family reunion of sorts, and last I heard Cooper was being fawned over by around 17 great aunts.
I've recently embarked on a quest for chemical free rubber ducky for the bath, and I've been really disappointed. I have a few more stores to check on, but frankly, (and this will really only make sense to Missoulians and my parents) if Rockin' Rudy's doesn't have the right kind of rubber ducky, who will???
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Two things
1) Of course, the first day I've had to myself, at home, in over 17 months... and I come down with a brutal head cold, complete with a very sore throat and extremely uncomfortable pressure in my left sinus.
2) In 2008, for the State of Montana, "Cooper" was the 26th most popular boy's name, with 35 newborns being named that... make that 36 newborns, if you count us. Actually, ff you did count us, Cooper would be upgraded to name rank 23, right behind Tyler, Gavin and Dylan.
Interesting!
2) In 2008, for the State of Montana, "Cooper" was the 26th most popular boy's name, with 35 newborns being named that... make that 36 newborns, if you count us. Actually, ff you did count us, Cooper would be upgraded to name rank 23, right behind Tyler, Gavin and Dylan.
Interesting!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Phew!
Apparently, Cooper's first day at daycare went pretty well. He refused to eat all morning, but he did play some, and did take a nap when it was naptime. He ended up waking up from his nap before the other kids, so the daycare owner and him just hung out- and then Cooper decided to wolf down a ton of food. He was very relieved to see me in the afternoon, but not horribly clingy or panicky.
When we got home, he was pretty much himself. We played with his new awesome toy dump truck in the mini gravel pit (his favorite spot in our yard) and had a nice snack. He ended up eating two full dinners, including spaghetti with sauce on it, which he normally eschews.
We did an early bedtime because he seemed really tired, and he ended up sleeping for 12 hours and 1 minute. Matt and I had a lovely breakfast all by ourselves as Cooper slept, which is the first time we've done that since Cooper was born! Amazing.
Matt reports that Cooper was nervous but not panicky when he got dropped off this morning. I think this transition is going to go pretty well. I'm really happy that Cooper's reaction to his first day seemed smooth and normal.
When we got home, he was pretty much himself. We played with his new awesome toy dump truck in the mini gravel pit (his favorite spot in our yard) and had a nice snack. He ended up eating two full dinners, including spaghetti with sauce on it, which he normally eschews.
We did an early bedtime because he seemed really tired, and he ended up sleeping for 12 hours and 1 minute. Matt and I had a lovely breakfast all by ourselves as Cooper slept, which is the first time we've done that since Cooper was born! Amazing.
Matt reports that Cooper was nervous but not panicky when he got dropped off this morning. I think this transition is going to go pretty well. I'm really happy that Cooper's reaction to his first day seemed smooth and normal.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Today is torture
Today is Cooper's first day at daycare. It is a lovely place with lots of slides, tricycles, organic food and nice kids. It always looks clean and tidy when I pop in to drop off a form, or let Cooper hang out in prep for his big day.
I'm sure he's fine. It is a gorgeously cool crisp post-thunderstorm summer day, so I know the kids are all out in the yard. I know he had a good dinner last night, and a good breakfast, and is appropriately dressed. But I'm totally useless.
I can't get anything done. I'm counting down the hours to 4pm when I can go pick him up. I'm thinking of him getting nervous with all the new people and new experiences. I'm worried he won't eat lunch, or won't nap, or won't be able to enjoy himself because he's so overwhelmed. Basically, I'm being a typical parent surviving the first day with her kid at daycare.
I'm glad, though, that we were able to wait this long. Cooper can be very independent lately, so even though he is rather shy I am convinced that he will enjoy his time with the other kids. And I remembered to pack his precious favorite blanket so he has it for naptime, which is probably the only thing he really needs from us today.
I'm sure he's fine. It is a gorgeously cool crisp post-thunderstorm summer day, so I know the kids are all out in the yard. I know he had a good dinner last night, and a good breakfast, and is appropriately dressed. But I'm totally useless.
I can't get anything done. I'm counting down the hours to 4pm when I can go pick him up. I'm thinking of him getting nervous with all the new people and new experiences. I'm worried he won't eat lunch, or won't nap, or won't be able to enjoy himself because he's so overwhelmed. Basically, I'm being a typical parent surviving the first day with her kid at daycare.
I'm glad, though, that we were able to wait this long. Cooper can be very independent lately, so even though he is rather shy I am convinced that he will enjoy his time with the other kids. And I remembered to pack his precious favorite blanket so he has it for naptime, which is probably the only thing he really needs from us today.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
He's also watching the dog
Cooper learns from what he sees. And he sees the dog doing a lot of things. Cooper has already tried to drink water from a puddle on top of an overturned canoe after watching Lucky do that, but today was even more impressive.
After throwing most of his lunch onto the floor in a fit of frustration, Cooper was demanding to get out the high chair. So, feeling defeated, I let Cooper out of the high chair and let Lucky in to clean up the macaroni elbows and cucumber slices blanketing our kitchen. Lucky, being a dog, started hoovering up the macaroni. Cooper, being a very funny kid, put some things together in his head for the first time ever- and got down on all fours, bent his head to the ground, and started sucking wet, dirty cucumber slices off the kitchen floor and eating them. There they were, together, cleaning up lunch. I have to admit that instead of making the two of them stop, I just laughed at them. At least I know Matt mopped pretty recently.
Cooper's vocabulary expanded in the last few days. His previous sum total of spoken words (Mama, Dada, Doggie, Water, and "That") now has nearly doubled. He's added Bird, Chicken, Kittie, Moon, Balloon, and "Mooo" (for his favorite picture of a cow). These words are not pronounced very well, so I could also rewrite them as Burr, Did-den, Did-eee, Ooon, Dah-ooon, and Mmmmm.
My favorite is Bird, because he says it with such certainty. He sees a sparrow and points to it, and declares "Burr!" in this soft, hushed, gentle way. It almost sounds like a cat purring. But he's sure of the bird, and so if you ask him what he sees, he'll repeat "Burr!" very surely, but quietly. I'm not sure how this became the right way to say Bird to him- I don't think that Matt and I sound quite hushed and reverent around birds, but maybe we do.
After throwing most of his lunch onto the floor in a fit of frustration, Cooper was demanding to get out the high chair. So, feeling defeated, I let Cooper out of the high chair and let Lucky in to clean up the macaroni elbows and cucumber slices blanketing our kitchen. Lucky, being a dog, started hoovering up the macaroni. Cooper, being a very funny kid, put some things together in his head for the first time ever- and got down on all fours, bent his head to the ground, and started sucking wet, dirty cucumber slices off the kitchen floor and eating them. There they were, together, cleaning up lunch. I have to admit that instead of making the two of them stop, I just laughed at them. At least I know Matt mopped pretty recently.
Cooper's vocabulary expanded in the last few days. His previous sum total of spoken words (Mama, Dada, Doggie, Water, and "That") now has nearly doubled. He's added Bird, Chicken, Kittie, Moon, Balloon, and "Mooo" (for his favorite picture of a cow). These words are not pronounced very well, so I could also rewrite them as Burr, Did-den, Did-eee, Ooon, Dah-ooon, and Mmmmm.
My favorite is Bird, because he says it with such certainty. He sees a sparrow and points to it, and declares "Burr!" in this soft, hushed, gentle way. It almost sounds like a cat purring. But he's sure of the bird, and so if you ask him what he sees, he'll repeat "Burr!" very surely, but quietly. I'm not sure how this became the right way to say Bird to him- I don't think that Matt and I sound quite hushed and reverent around birds, but maybe we do.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
He's watching you
A few days ago, I saw Cooper walking around with an outlet cover in his hand. This didn't really worry me, but I could see the empty outlet, so I took it and plunked it back into the outlet for safety. He walked over and pulled it right back out, like no big thing. Somewhat miffed (and rather surprised) I told Cooper that wasn't a good idea. So he did the next logical thing- he puzzled for a second at it, and then stuck it back into the socket. Perfectly. And then looked at my proudly, as if to say, "I'm pretty good at that!"
Sigh. Might have to get some of those fancy spring loaded covers for the outlets that are most likely to be a real hazard to him.
He's been watching us carefully lately, and doing things he has no business knowing how to do. This is only one example. He's also learned how to get the lid off his cheapo sippy cup (there goes the practicality of THAT), the tops open on dad's bike water bottles (thank god it is summertime), and my favorite for sheer amusement- how to drink from a Camelbak. This from a kid that steadfastly refused a bottle for six months! It took a single day of watching Matt and I use a camelbak on a day hike, and by the end of the day he was grabbing the hose, gently biting the nozzle, and drinking all the water he wanted.
These examples all involve drinking water, I know, but that isn't all. He also has figured out that Mom likes to pull the heads off of flowers (sort of) so now he wanders the garden, beheading the blooms. And Dad likes to move dirt, so Cooper scoops up dirt with his buckets, shovels, tiny trowel, and plastic spoon, and dumps it in random spots.
Most horrifyingly, I de-pooped the backyard in full view of my child. Guess who learned that picking up poop was something he should try? Ugh. Luckily, I've been able to dissuade him from trying this again (so far). And also luckily, it is very very dry here, so while it is gross, it isn't... shall we say... extremely gross.
Sigh. Might have to get some of those fancy spring loaded covers for the outlets that are most likely to be a real hazard to him.
He's been watching us carefully lately, and doing things he has no business knowing how to do. This is only one example. He's also learned how to get the lid off his cheapo sippy cup (there goes the practicality of THAT), the tops open on dad's bike water bottles (thank god it is summertime), and my favorite for sheer amusement- how to drink from a Camelbak. This from a kid that steadfastly refused a bottle for six months! It took a single day of watching Matt and I use a camelbak on a day hike, and by the end of the day he was grabbing the hose, gently biting the nozzle, and drinking all the water he wanted.
These examples all involve drinking water, I know, but that isn't all. He also has figured out that Mom likes to pull the heads off of flowers (sort of) so now he wanders the garden, beheading the blooms. And Dad likes to move dirt, so Cooper scoops up dirt with his buckets, shovels, tiny trowel, and plastic spoon, and dumps it in random spots.
Most horrifyingly, I de-pooped the backyard in full view of my child. Guess who learned that picking up poop was something he should try? Ugh. Luckily, I've been able to dissuade him from trying this again (so far). And also luckily, it is very very dry here, so while it is gross, it isn't... shall we say... extremely gross.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Belated friend baby announcement, and more
I just realized I forgot to mention that another friend of ours had a baby, about a month ago- a day or two before we left town. Baby Mattea (Mah-TAY-ah) Beatrice (last name starts with G) was born weighing 7lb, 6oz. Her name is in honor of her father's mom (her grandmother), who passed away a few months before Mattea was born. Her nickname is Tea, pronounced "TAY-ah." If I could make Google's blogger add an accent to the E in her name, it would make so much more sense!
While Tea is working hard to fool me into thinking she's an easy kid (by always, without fail, being asleep for the duration of the time that I visit my friend's house to help out), I know that is not the case. Tea isn't a good sleeper even by newborn standards, and my friend's three or four (or more?) visits to the lactation consultant have been helpful, but not an easy fix. However, the latest report is that Tea is starting to sleep a bit better, and her weight gain is really good so even though she's a troublesome little nurser, she's getting plenty in there somehow.
I also just found out that a friend of mine that had a baby earlier this year has been having some really serious mood issues, which is hard to hear. Balancing a new baby, work, family, stresses... it is so hard no matter what, but when you add severe and prolonged mood swings- that just sounds awful to me. Luckily for her, she is a very pragmatic and straightforward person, so she is getting therapy, acknowledging that this is not normal, and seeking lots of help. I'm really hoping she sees improvement with her state of mind soon, of course.
On the brighter side, Cooper's drippy yucky nose finally cleared up and, as hoped, his rather unphotogenic habit of leaving his tongue sticking out all the time also disappeared. I was very suspicious that the two were related! Now if only I could get rid of my extremely bad seasonal allergies this year, we'd all be congestion free!
While Tea is working hard to fool me into thinking she's an easy kid (by always, without fail, being asleep for the duration of the time that I visit my friend's house to help out), I know that is not the case. Tea isn't a good sleeper even by newborn standards, and my friend's three or four (or more?) visits to the lactation consultant have been helpful, but not an easy fix. However, the latest report is that Tea is starting to sleep a bit better, and her weight gain is really good so even though she's a troublesome little nurser, she's getting plenty in there somehow.
I also just found out that a friend of mine that had a baby earlier this year has been having some really serious mood issues, which is hard to hear. Balancing a new baby, work, family, stresses... it is so hard no matter what, but when you add severe and prolonged mood swings- that just sounds awful to me. Luckily for her, she is a very pragmatic and straightforward person, so she is getting therapy, acknowledging that this is not normal, and seeking lots of help. I'm really hoping she sees improvement with her state of mind soon, of course.
On the brighter side, Cooper's drippy yucky nose finally cleared up and, as hoped, his rather unphotogenic habit of leaving his tongue sticking out all the time also disappeared. I was very suspicious that the two were related! Now if only I could get rid of my extremely bad seasonal allergies this year, we'd all be congestion free!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tons of new skills
Cooper has been learning to do things so quickly lately, it makes my head hurt. He's recently learned the meanings of dozens of words, so each thing he learns is multiplied by his new words and quickly becomes impressive. For instance, he knows how to "pet" things, so you can ask him to pet the dog, pet daddy's hairy toes, or pet his favorite stuffed animals.
He's also learning his body parts. He knows head, belly, nose, and feet and will point to them when asked. When pointing to his belly, he also bends over to look at it, which is very charming. We are currently working on some other basics such as toes, knees, eyes, and ears. These seem to be a little bit harder, probably because they are not talked about as often. He also knows the meaning of shoes and socks, and will get his shoes (if he is in the right mood, and can quickly find them) if you ask him to get them.
Cooper has also determined a few ways to quickly get what he wants. Attempting to crawl into the stroller has become his way of requesting to go for a walk. Getting into his high chair is immediately met with a snack. Standing under the sink while pointing to the faucet gets him water. And standing by the back door while pounding on it does in fact lead to him being let out to play in the yard.
Unfortunately, very little of this has had any meaningful effect on his spoken language. He articulates the same number of words (about 5) as he did at 10 months old. It is clear he is understanding an amazing amount, and he makes a wide range of funny and charming imaginary words when you ask him to say something, but his ability to actually say anything isn't improving much. I'm not quite concerned yet, but it is something we've started to think about.
With that said, he occasionally does surprise me. Matt has been trying to teach him the names of his farm animal toys (horse, chicken, goat, etc) and yesterday, I asked him what this animal's (the goat) name is. Instead of the usual response (doggie!), Cooper clearly said "dote," a word I've never heard him say before, and one that is an obvious try at goat. And then he's never said "dote" since, despite my multiple tries to get him to say it again. But it makes me wonder- how much could he say if he wanted to? Does he just not feel like he needs to? It isn't clear.
He's also learning his body parts. He knows head, belly, nose, and feet and will point to them when asked. When pointing to his belly, he also bends over to look at it, which is very charming. We are currently working on some other basics such as toes, knees, eyes, and ears. These seem to be a little bit harder, probably because they are not talked about as often. He also knows the meaning of shoes and socks, and will get his shoes (if he is in the right mood, and can quickly find them) if you ask him to get them.
Cooper has also determined a few ways to quickly get what he wants. Attempting to crawl into the stroller has become his way of requesting to go for a walk. Getting into his high chair is immediately met with a snack. Standing under the sink while pointing to the faucet gets him water. And standing by the back door while pounding on it does in fact lead to him being let out to play in the yard.
Unfortunately, very little of this has had any meaningful effect on his spoken language. He articulates the same number of words (about 5) as he did at 10 months old. It is clear he is understanding an amazing amount, and he makes a wide range of funny and charming imaginary words when you ask him to say something, but his ability to actually say anything isn't improving much. I'm not quite concerned yet, but it is something we've started to think about.
With that said, he occasionally does surprise me. Matt has been trying to teach him the names of his farm animal toys (horse, chicken, goat, etc) and yesterday, I asked him what this animal's (the goat) name is. Instead of the usual response (doggie!), Cooper clearly said "dote," a word I've never heard him say before, and one that is an obvious try at goat. And then he's never said "dote" since, despite my multiple tries to get him to say it again. But it makes me wonder- how much could he say if he wanted to? Does he just not feel like he needs to? It isn't clear.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Packing
We are packing for our mega trip to the East, and Matt and I are the blind leading the blind. No, that implies that one of us might THINK we know what to wear... we are both the blind, sadly agreeing that neither of us knows which way to go.
Me: "Which shirt?"
Matt: "Uh... the one you like better."
Matt: "Which tie?"
Me: "That one is striped. I like stripes. Do that one."
Me, staring at my shoes. The options are- black strappy, black flats, black chunky heels, black flip flops and black sandal-ish heels.
Me: "They are all the same color."
Matt: "Pick the most comfortable ones?"
Me: "They are all uncomfortable."
Matt: "Are these shoes going to be OK?"
Me: "I sure hope so, because they are the only ones you own."
We'll look great. Fish out of water, for sure, but great. I have 6 separate events to dress for- for which I am planning one dress, two nice shirts, and two nice pairs of pants. Over, and over, and over again.
Me: "Which shirt?"
Matt: "Uh... the one you like better."
Matt: "Which tie?"
Me: "That one is striped. I like stripes. Do that one."
Me, staring at my shoes. The options are- black strappy, black flats, black chunky heels, black flip flops and black sandal-ish heels.
Me: "They are all the same color."
Matt: "Pick the most comfortable ones?"
Me: "They are all uncomfortable."
Matt: "Are these shoes going to be OK?"
Me: "I sure hope so, because they are the only ones you own."
We'll look great. Fish out of water, for sure, but great. I have 6 separate events to dress for- for which I am planning one dress, two nice shirts, and two nice pairs of pants. Over, and over, and over again.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
New nap schedule
Cooper's new nap schedule is awesome, but it is also killing me. He is firmly in the one nap realm now, and he naps for about 3 hours. This is GREAT. But here's the catch- he naps from 10:30 to 1:30. During lunch time! Because of the way that our house is oriented, I'm not able to make myself any sort of good lunch that requires the making of any noise whatsoever. He's most prone to waking up in the second half of his nap, so if it is... say... 12:45 and I am starving to death, I have to tiptoe down there, grab cheese and crackers, and retreat back upstairs to nibble. Upstairs I could sing opera if I wanted, but in the kitchen the noise travels. To make matters worse, we are having some painting done so the rugs are all up- which creates really loud echoes from our wood floors.
I shouldn't complain. It is a great schedule. I just need to remember to make more dinner leftovers that are good when unheated (the microwave's remarkably loud door spring freaks me out). And once he wakes up, I make me a post-lunch and him a regular lunch, so it ends up fine, but god I am so freaking hungry right now!
I shouldn't complain. It is a great schedule. I just need to remember to make more dinner leftovers that are good when unheated (the microwave's remarkably loud door spring freaks me out). And once he wakes up, I make me a post-lunch and him a regular lunch, so it ends up fine, but god I am so freaking hungry right now!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Fuzzy and cute?
Cooper is just a little guy, and I know it will take a while for him to learn certain lessons. However, I do wish he would hurry up and learn this one; just because bees are fuzzy, brightly colored, and make an interesting buzzing noise it doesn't mean you should try to pick one up.
He's gotten stung twice now. Both times on the tip of his fingers. Both times far enough away from me- perhaps 15 feet or so- that I have to re-create the incident from evidence at hand. Both times started with child sitting happily in the grass near some flowers. Then, child shrieking and rubbing hand frantically on pants. After some careful observation, tiny throbbing stinger removed from pad of chubby little finger. Lots of whimpering and tears, and a swollen finger.
Poor fellow. I hope he learns soon. And also- poor bees. They do not like this either!
He's gotten stung twice now. Both times on the tip of his fingers. Both times far enough away from me- perhaps 15 feet or so- that I have to re-create the incident from evidence at hand. Both times started with child sitting happily in the grass near some flowers. Then, child shrieking and rubbing hand frantically on pants. After some careful observation, tiny throbbing stinger removed from pad of chubby little finger. Lots of whimpering and tears, and a swollen finger.
Poor fellow. I hope he learns soon. And also- poor bees. They do not like this either!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Better now
Cooper has been suffering from an unknown mild illness since Wednesday morning. Mysteriously, it has only had a few symptoms, of which most are tightly related. He ran a fever, topping out at 104 at one point, on and off for 3 and a half days. As always happens when he's fevery, he also didn't really want to eat, slept poorly, and was crabby. I consider these things all one entity, because that is his pattern when he runs a fever.
On the day (yesterday) that was the first one without fevers, he broke out into a subtle pick spotty rash over much of his body. Today the rash is really faint and doesn't appear to bother him at all.
Around Christmas Cooper had a somewhat similar illness. Fever, weird rash, etc. When I called the doctor she asked me a bunch of questions and then concluded that he has one of the million unnamed viruses that babies get, and unless he got worse or I felt something was wrong and he deserved a really close inspection, we should just wait it out and try to keep him happy. This time I didn't even bother with the phone call- and now that he's happily running around, screaming Doggie, in the front yard while dappled with a light rash I figure it was the right decision.
It does make me wonder though- what are these little viruses he gets? Where do they come from? Are they from eating dirt? Licking the shopping cart handle at Costco? Chewing on muddy wood chips at the playground? I know that they probably make him healthier in the long run, but I'm still curious (and they still stink when you have a sad feverish kid on your hands).
On the day (yesterday) that was the first one without fevers, he broke out into a subtle pick spotty rash over much of his body. Today the rash is really faint and doesn't appear to bother him at all.
Around Christmas Cooper had a somewhat similar illness. Fever, weird rash, etc. When I called the doctor she asked me a bunch of questions and then concluded that he has one of the million unnamed viruses that babies get, and unless he got worse or I felt something was wrong and he deserved a really close inspection, we should just wait it out and try to keep him happy. This time I didn't even bother with the phone call- and now that he's happily running around, screaming Doggie, in the front yard while dappled with a light rash I figure it was the right decision.
It does make me wonder though- what are these little viruses he gets? Where do they come from? Are they from eating dirt? Licking the shopping cart handle at Costco? Chewing on muddy wood chips at the playground? I know that they probably make him healthier in the long run, but I'm still curious (and they still stink when you have a sad feverish kid on your hands).
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Welcome Vivian!
My sister had her second daughter on Friday morning. Vivian Rose R., 9lbs 12oz, healthy girl! It is so very exciting. I'm really thrilled for her.
I've already seen some pictures and I think that Vivian looks just like her older sister, Eleanor. Both are cute as can be, and look mostly like their dad.
On a totally unrelated note, I did a little math today after reading a tragic article in the New York Times. Did you know that just about 1500 women die EVERY DAY in childbirth or as a result of pregnancy? Half of those deaths are in Africa. 1500 a day. One of the women profiled in the article died from something very minor- that happened to me, exactly as described in the article. In her case, the untrained midwife failed to do the right thing to fix it, and this little thing killed her. In my case, it was such a minor occurrence that it was not considered at all life threatening to me or to my child. To fix it, no special equipment or medicine was needed, it didn't hurt, and it wasn't even recorded on my medical chart. In essence- this is trivial and unimportant if you are lucky, deadly if you are a poor woman in Africa. A sobering thought.
I've already seen some pictures and I think that Vivian looks just like her older sister, Eleanor. Both are cute as can be, and look mostly like their dad.
On a totally unrelated note, I did a little math today after reading a tragic article in the New York Times. Did you know that just about 1500 women die EVERY DAY in childbirth or as a result of pregnancy? Half of those deaths are in Africa. 1500 a day. One of the women profiled in the article died from something very minor- that happened to me, exactly as described in the article. In her case, the untrained midwife failed to do the right thing to fix it, and this little thing killed her. In my case, it was such a minor occurrence that it was not considered at all life threatening to me or to my child. To fix it, no special equipment or medicine was needed, it didn't hurt, and it wasn't even recorded on my medical chart. In essence- this is trivial and unimportant if you are lucky, deadly if you are a poor woman in Africa. A sobering thought.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Lesson learned
If your son sees you putting his treasured blanket into the washing machine, and you let him stand in front of the washer-window as it starts spinning and filling with soapy water, you will create a tantrum of seismic proportions. A tragic, horrible, screaming, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks, clawing at the window to rescue his blanket, tantrum. I'm pretty sure Cooper won't ever forgive me for washing his blanket while he was a witness. And really, I deserve it. To him, it was like I was drowning a puppy or something.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Slide!
Cooper loves the slides at our favorite playgrounds. At the playground nearest to our house, he can climb all seven stairs, get onto the nice wide platform on the top, turn himself around, and gently slide down. All by himself! He goes down the slide belly down, feet down and arches his back just a little so that his chin doesn't smear the slide on the way down. The bonus to that is you can see his wild grinning all the way down.
I am so proud of him for being able to climb up, get in the right position, and slide down all by himself. Not to mention that it makes my life really easy. All I do is keep a close eye on him while he's climbing the stairs. The slide platform is about four and a half feet up, so by the time he gets to the top step he's pretty well up there.
He also likes the giant big kid slide, which even I find a bit intimidating. This slide is probably a solid twenty feet tall, and I assure you it was built far, far before any sort of child safety measures existed for such things. It is all stainless steel, narrow, and steeper than most slides. The steps that go up the back are almost twice as high as they are deep, so it is more like climbing a poorly designed ladder than climbing stairs. It gets hotter than hell in the summer. Cooper loves to climb this slide, which he is only allowed to do under extremely close supervision. He gets all twenty feet up in the air, at which point Matt or I pick him up off the top step, get onto the platform, and then slide down with him on our lap. He then immediately runs over to the back of the slide and starts scaling it again. He's so fast that if I walk from the bottom of the slide, I catch up to him at about the fourth or fifth rung- when he's already at least 4 feet off the ground.
He is utterly fearless.
I am so proud of him for being able to climb up, get in the right position, and slide down all by himself. Not to mention that it makes my life really easy. All I do is keep a close eye on him while he's climbing the stairs. The slide platform is about four and a half feet up, so by the time he gets to the top step he's pretty well up there.
He also likes the giant big kid slide, which even I find a bit intimidating. This slide is probably a solid twenty feet tall, and I assure you it was built far, far before any sort of child safety measures existed for such things. It is all stainless steel, narrow, and steeper than most slides. The steps that go up the back are almost twice as high as they are deep, so it is more like climbing a poorly designed ladder than climbing stairs. It gets hotter than hell in the summer. Cooper loves to climb this slide, which he is only allowed to do under extremely close supervision. He gets all twenty feet up in the air, at which point Matt or I pick him up off the top step, get onto the platform, and then slide down with him on our lap. He then immediately runs over to the back of the slide and starts scaling it again. He's so fast that if I walk from the bottom of the slide, I catch up to him at about the fourth or fifth rung- when he's already at least 4 feet off the ground.
He is utterly fearless.
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