I love our babysitter/nanny/aupair/whatever. She is so cool. Cooper loves her, and she seems to genuinely really like him. She's friendly, calm, flexible with her schedule, and patient.
I didn't realize how much I missed her over winter break until she came back. Cooper, who is very stranger-averse right now, immediately remembered her despite 5 weeks of not seeing her. Matt and I are so relieved.
I (heart) Nicole!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
All cuts are not equal
Like many things in life, episiotomies are not all created equal. I've had many a conversation about childbirth after Cooper was born where people act very, very shocked about the fact that I had an episiotomy! At the Birth Center! How can that BEEEEEE?
Dude, the kid was huge for my frame, and I was kinda tired after 4 hours of pushing, OK?
So I feel like venting.
First off, the Birth Center's episiotomy rate is about 1 in 100 births. So you can rest assured that it was medically necessary, and not a routine operation. The US national average is 1 in 3, if that tells you anything.
There are four classes of episiotomy. I had a First or Second, depending on whether you ask my midwife or my doula. Regardless, this means it was conservative incision that involved no significant connective tissues (no muscle tissue was cut).
A First degree episiotomy barely requires stitches at all, while a second degree does but not too many, and the recovery time is minimal. Very little blood is lost in either case. Either way, we are not talking a huge deal. Uncomfortable, sure.
For reference, a Third degree is usually what women have if they have a vaccuum or forceps delivery, or if they are unable to effectively push. A Fourth degree is what people have if there is a serious emergency at the very, very end of vaginal delivery with the baby or mom- it is basically a C section from below. Both of these involve significant loss of blood.
Third and Fourth degree episiotomies are very unpleasant and take a long time to recover from. The stitches often tear, infections are common, and they are associated with bad side effects like everyone's favorite... fecal incontinence. Ugh.
I know one person very well who had a third degree episiotomy. She describes it as being cut in half. She was unable to walk for two days, and it took months for her to feel at all normal. She still has some side effects. So I know that it is no fun.
But please, when you hear about episiotomies, remember; they are not all the same. Some are very minor, others are very serious. You can't assume either way.
Dude, the kid was huge for my frame, and I was kinda tired after 4 hours of pushing, OK?
So I feel like venting.
First off, the Birth Center's episiotomy rate is about 1 in 100 births. So you can rest assured that it was medically necessary, and not a routine operation. The US national average is 1 in 3, if that tells you anything.
There are four classes of episiotomy. I had a First or Second, depending on whether you ask my midwife or my doula. Regardless, this means it was conservative incision that involved no significant connective tissues (no muscle tissue was cut).
A First degree episiotomy barely requires stitches at all, while a second degree does but not too many, and the recovery time is minimal. Very little blood is lost in either case. Either way, we are not talking a huge deal. Uncomfortable, sure.
For reference, a Third degree is usually what women have if they have a vaccuum or forceps delivery, or if they are unable to effectively push. A Fourth degree is what people have if there is a serious emergency at the very, very end of vaginal delivery with the baby or mom- it is basically a C section from below. Both of these involve significant loss of blood.
Third and Fourth degree episiotomies are very unpleasant and take a long time to recover from. The stitches often tear, infections are common, and they are associated with bad side effects like everyone's favorite... fecal incontinence. Ugh.
I know one person very well who had a third degree episiotomy. She describes it as being cut in half. She was unable to walk for two days, and it took months for her to feel at all normal. She still has some side effects. So I know that it is no fun.
But please, when you hear about episiotomies, remember; they are not all the same. Some are very minor, others are very serious. You can't assume either way.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Do a little dance
Cooper has started dancing when he is extremely happy, or when he is in a good mood and hears music that he likes. It is very charming. His dances is a funny little side to side motion that involves sort of weaving his head back and forth. As a result of him starting to dance, we've discovered his favorite music is bluegrass, and his ultimate favorite food in the whole world is blueberries. If he's standing when he dances, he also stomps his feet.
He's also finally started using his toy cars like toy cars. He rolls them across the floor, chases them, and "drives" them as he crawls along the floor. Today he was particularly excited about a green one we call the PT Cruiser. Yesterday he was all about the red convertible, which Matt claims is a Volkswagon Cabriolet.
Most interestingly, Cooper now fully can feed himself with a spoon. I guess he's been watching us very carefully, because we have never attempted to teach him this. He's always liked holding his own spoon, but it was quite a surprise when on Thursday he started deliberately dipping the spoon into his yogurt, putting it into his mouth, sucking the yogurt off, and then dipping it in again. It actually took me a while to realize he was doing this, as I was distractedly feeding him while eating my own lunch. Today (Sunday) I gave him 4oz of applesauce and he managed to eat about 2oz all by himself before it seemed like he was getting frustrated. Pretty cool!
He's also finally started using his toy cars like toy cars. He rolls them across the floor, chases them, and "drives" them as he crawls along the floor. Today he was particularly excited about a green one we call the PT Cruiser. Yesterday he was all about the red convertible, which Matt claims is a Volkswagon Cabriolet.
Most interestingly, Cooper now fully can feed himself with a spoon. I guess he's been watching us very carefully, because we have never attempted to teach him this. He's always liked holding his own spoon, but it was quite a surprise when on Thursday he started deliberately dipping the spoon into his yogurt, putting it into his mouth, sucking the yogurt off, and then dipping it in again. It actually took me a while to realize he was doing this, as I was distractedly feeding him while eating my own lunch. Today (Sunday) I gave him 4oz of applesauce and he managed to eat about 2oz all by himself before it seemed like he was getting frustrated. Pretty cool!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Mr. Grumpy reveals his secret
We have had to nickname Cooper Mr. Grumpy for the last week or so, because ever since we got back from NY he's been just generally pissed off. Bad sleeping, frequent bad moods, lots of crying, eating poorly, and short fitful naps. He even vomited one night (which is very, very unlike him).
I have been saying to Matt that we'll know what it was when it is over. And this afternoon, when Cooper was actually in a good mood for a while, that came true. I was tickling him upside down, and as he laughed hysterically with his mouth flopped wide open I saw it. Or should I say "them." And I gasped and said, "No WAY!"
The kid has molars. Two of them. They probably crossed the gum line yesterday, or maybe the day before that. They are big and pointy and the gum around them is really red and sore looking. They look like they huuuuuuurt.
Now, I'm not an idiot. We've been suspecting a tooth issue for a while. But teeth are supposed to come in bottom first, then top. And also, they shouldn't get molars until they are at least one year old. So I suppose I didn't dig too far into the kid's mouth the few times I looked in there. But in retrospect... I should have. 'Cause I would have been giving him some pain killers so he could sleep better, and some frozen wash cloths to gum, and that kinda thing. But no, he had to tough it out. Poor Mr. Grumpy.
Oh well. Now we know. 10 months old, 10 teeth. Discuss.
I have been saying to Matt that we'll know what it was when it is over. And this afternoon, when Cooper was actually in a good mood for a while, that came true. I was tickling him upside down, and as he laughed hysterically with his mouth flopped wide open I saw it. Or should I say "them." And I gasped and said, "No WAY!"
The kid has molars. Two of them. They probably crossed the gum line yesterday, or maybe the day before that. They are big and pointy and the gum around them is really red and sore looking. They look like they huuuuuuurt.
Now, I'm not an idiot. We've been suspecting a tooth issue for a while. But teeth are supposed to come in bottom first, then top. And also, they shouldn't get molars until they are at least one year old. So I suppose I didn't dig too far into the kid's mouth the few times I looked in there. But in retrospect... I should have. 'Cause I would have been giving him some pain killers so he could sleep better, and some frozen wash cloths to gum, and that kinda thing. But no, he had to tough it out. Poor Mr. Grumpy.
Oh well. Now we know. 10 months old, 10 teeth. Discuss.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Things to eat
Cooper is a funny eater. He seems to prefer things that fall into a few categories. For my own amusement, I will list them with examples.
Dairy
- yogurt
- grated cheese
- cottage cheese
Pick-up-able
- blueberries
- pear mini-cubes
- peas
- corn off the cob
- tiny broccoli florets
Crunchy
- saltines
- graham crackers
- toast
- cheerios (also belongs in "pick-up-able" category)
I need to diversify his diet a bit, which to make my life easy basically means I need to make new foods fall into these same categories. For instance, he really is anti-pumpkin puree lately. However, I recently tried mixing pumpkin puree with yogurt about 50/50 with good results. Voila! Dairy category!
I think what his diet is mostly missing right now is meats. We just don't really have a lot of meats in the house, so it is kind of a challenge. I think I just need to start buying them more regularly so that they are around, and then they'll naturally end up on the plate with Cooper somehow.
His water drinking skills have progressed amazingly in the last few weeks. He now can drink at least half of his little plastic cup of water, with no help from us aside from a watchful eye, without spilling. He's obviously very proud of himself and smiles between each gulp. It is a relief that he is so good at this- come this summer, his anti-sippy cup crusade plus high temperatures and low humidity could be very bad. With good cup drinking skills, this will be less of an issue.
Dairy
- yogurt
- grated cheese
- cottage cheese
Pick-up-able
- blueberries
- pear mini-cubes
- peas
- corn off the cob
- tiny broccoli florets
Crunchy
- saltines
- graham crackers
- toast
- cheerios (also belongs in "pick-up-able" category)
I need to diversify his diet a bit, which to make my life easy basically means I need to make new foods fall into these same categories. For instance, he really is anti-pumpkin puree lately. However, I recently tried mixing pumpkin puree with yogurt about 50/50 with good results. Voila! Dairy category!
I think what his diet is mostly missing right now is meats. We just don't really have a lot of meats in the house, so it is kind of a challenge. I think I just need to start buying them more regularly so that they are around, and then they'll naturally end up on the plate with Cooper somehow.
His water drinking skills have progressed amazingly in the last few weeks. He now can drink at least half of his little plastic cup of water, with no help from us aside from a watchful eye, without spilling. He's obviously very proud of himself and smiles between each gulp. It is a relief that he is so good at this- come this summer, his anti-sippy cup crusade plus high temperatures and low humidity could be very bad. With good cup drinking skills, this will be less of an issue.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Walking and talking
Oh boy!
Cooper's walking blossomed really fast on our most recent trip to NY. In the airport on the way there, he was going 5-7 feet at a time between benches and suitcases. By the time we left NY (and after watching cousin J.S., who is almost two years old, for almost a week) he was walking across the kitchen, living room, etc. He can also pick up toys, stand back upright, and keep walking.
He's still nervous and falls down a lot, but it is amazing to watch him.
Oddly, he's mostly stopped saying Doggie. Instead, he's started just saying "Dah!" for the dog. I don't know why. He's also saying Da-da and Ma-ma more often, and he responds fairly well to prompting. Maybe 50% of the time if you say, "Cooper, can you say 'Da-da'?" he'll pause, think, and then say it. He's less responsive for saying Mama, but he says it fairly often when walking towards me, so I think he understands the meaning of the word.
The biggest new thing is that he is doing a point-like gesture. He doesn't actually make a pointing shape with his hand, but he very obviously points with his whole arm towards things that he is interested in. I know this sounds like "reaching" for something, but trust me, he's reached for things for months now. This is different- it is far more like pointing. It is fun to try to figure out what he is pointing at. A sunny window, a beer bottle, the dog, the chickens, blocks, my hat... lots of stuff deserves pointing.
Also fun is his new skill of playing "Where's Cooper?" under various items of clothing, laundry, etc. He has always loved to play peekaboo, but now he has mastered doing it on his own power. On the changing table especially, he likes to pull things over his head, giggle, and then suddenly pull them off. He's all proud of this and gets extremely excited if you play along. "Where's Cooper? THERE he is!" I think I've said it a thousand times today.
Cooper's walking blossomed really fast on our most recent trip to NY. In the airport on the way there, he was going 5-7 feet at a time between benches and suitcases. By the time we left NY (and after watching cousin J.S., who is almost two years old, for almost a week) he was walking across the kitchen, living room, etc. He can also pick up toys, stand back upright, and keep walking.
He's still nervous and falls down a lot, but it is amazing to watch him.
Oddly, he's mostly stopped saying Doggie. Instead, he's started just saying "Dah!" for the dog. I don't know why. He's also saying Da-da and Ma-ma more often, and he responds fairly well to prompting. Maybe 50% of the time if you say, "Cooper, can you say 'Da-da'?" he'll pause, think, and then say it. He's less responsive for saying Mama, but he says it fairly often when walking towards me, so I think he understands the meaning of the word.
The biggest new thing is that he is doing a point-like gesture. He doesn't actually make a pointing shape with his hand, but he very obviously points with his whole arm towards things that he is interested in. I know this sounds like "reaching" for something, but trust me, he's reached for things for months now. This is different- it is far more like pointing. It is fun to try to figure out what he is pointing at. A sunny window, a beer bottle, the dog, the chickens, blocks, my hat... lots of stuff deserves pointing.
Also fun is his new skill of playing "Where's Cooper?" under various items of clothing, laundry, etc. He has always loved to play peekaboo, but now he has mastered doing it on his own power. On the changing table especially, he likes to pull things over his head, giggle, and then suddenly pull them off. He's all proud of this and gets extremely excited if you play along. "Where's Cooper? THERE he is!" I think I've said it a thousand times today.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy Holidays to us
We've been reveling in the joys of the winter lately.
Cooper surprised us on Christmas by finally breaking through with his eighth tooth, and also learning to walk. Oh yes, after months of using the furniture to help him stay up, on the 25th he started taking two or three independent steps. As of today, he can walk by himself for at least six or seven little steps, maybe going about a yard and a half, before he loses his balance and plops onto his butt.
His horrible sleep regression that he developed after we got home from NY has finally gone away, too. Weeks of mommy torture reminiscent of having a newborn baby finally drove me to extreme measures- basically, I told Matt that I refused to nurse Cooper in time segments less than four fours apart, and that Matt would have to help me for a few nights. After about three nights of unpleasantry, Cooper snapped out of his odd pattern and went back to his previous sleep-eat schedule. Thank god. The best sleep he's ever gotten was a few days ago. He slept from 8pm to 4am, and then 4:15 to 8:15. It was so great! Usually we are closer to 8 to 2, 2:30 to 5, and 5:15 to 7:30, but that's fine with me.
Of all the great gifts we got, the best one is the ring stacking toy. Cooper is positively obsessed with it. His new game is to hide the rings in interesting places. So far I've watched him quietly stuff a ring in my boots, my slippers, Matt's jacket, my ski boots, underneath the somewhat mortified dog, in between the couch cushions, and under the rug. He also sometimes stacks them, which is refreshing. He has yet to make a full stack, but he's gotten two on at a time, which is a great start.
Cooper surprised us on Christmas by finally breaking through with his eighth tooth, and also learning to walk. Oh yes, after months of using the furniture to help him stay up, on the 25th he started taking two or three independent steps. As of today, he can walk by himself for at least six or seven little steps, maybe going about a yard and a half, before he loses his balance and plops onto his butt.
His horrible sleep regression that he developed after we got home from NY has finally gone away, too. Weeks of mommy torture reminiscent of having a newborn baby finally drove me to extreme measures- basically, I told Matt that I refused to nurse Cooper in time segments less than four fours apart, and that Matt would have to help me for a few nights. After about three nights of unpleasantry, Cooper snapped out of his odd pattern and went back to his previous sleep-eat schedule. Thank god. The best sleep he's ever gotten was a few days ago. He slept from 8pm to 4am, and then 4:15 to 8:15. It was so great! Usually we are closer to 8 to 2, 2:30 to 5, and 5:15 to 7:30, but that's fine with me.
Of all the great gifts we got, the best one is the ring stacking toy. Cooper is positively obsessed with it. His new game is to hide the rings in interesting places. So far I've watched him quietly stuff a ring in my boots, my slippers, Matt's jacket, my ski boots, underneath the somewhat mortified dog, in between the couch cushions, and under the rug. He also sometimes stacks them, which is refreshing. He has yet to make a full stack, but he's gotten two on at a time, which is a great start.
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