Mish Mash

Some things that are on my mind today.

* I am being very nostalgic today and this week about our little man turning 1. He officially turns 1 on Wednesday. I think back to Monday one year ago and what I was doing. At this very minute, I was relaxing in my hospital bed knowing that I would have a baby within the next day.

* I am still dreading the crib transition. We have a plan, but doesn't have any official date tied to it. Here is the plan: Go to Jack's one year pediatrician appointment. Determine if he's ready for whole milk. If he is, start transitioning to him to whole milk and off formula in the hopes that he eats a little bit better and POSSIBLY starts sleeping through the night. If he does, great! I think the crib transition will be much easier. If he doesn't STTN, then, well, I am not sure what exactly we will do. I don't agree with cry it out and neither does my husband. We might have to do a modified version of sleep training with no crying.
* I lost another 1 pound this week! I consider this an accomplishment since we went out to dinner on Saturday night and I indulged in tasty barbeque and even dessert! Sunday night I had birthday cake as well. I still stayed within my Points for the week, so I am not feeling like I cheated or overdid it.

* We only have one birthday present for the little man. It's a Radio Flyer Vintage Bumper Car, complete with bumper car-ish sounds. It's super cute! He won't be able to use it quite yet, so I need to find him something else.

* On Saturday, Jack stayed over at my in-laws for his second sleep over of his life. He did okay. I think my in-laws feel like if he isn't in bed with me, he is going to miraculously sleep through the night. Well guess what? He proved them wrong again. Mama on the other hand got too much sleep. Yes, you read that right. TOO MUCH SLEEP. I woke up late after sleeping for 10 hours and felt hungover. It took me three cups of coffee to wake up. I spent my day cleaning, relaxing and just hanging out at home.

* Little man is walking, walking, walking. I have some cute videos of him, so I might be posting those later. Oh dear, he looks sort of drunk and sort of like a zombie, but so stinkin' cute! Pretty soon he is going to be running and I am not ready for that!

That's about it for now. Gah! My boy is turning 1 in two.days. TWO DAYS!

I Miss My Boy

It's funny how things work. I sometimes wish for a full night of sleep without having to tend to Jack, but when I have that full night, I miss him.

Last night, my in-laws took Jack overnight. Jason and I celebrated my birthday with dinner out and then a night at home. I chose to take a bath with a magazine and turn in. I went to bed late (for me at least) in the hopes that I would fall asleep and sleep through the night. I mostly did. I woke up at 2:00 and 6:00 feeling extremely refreshed! To take full advantage of my situation, I went back to sleep and woke up for good at 7:45. Hello almost 10 hours of sleep!

But I am in a predicament. I miss Jack. I will be picking him up a little early today so we can play and I can get my snuggles in.

I missed him last night. He might wake up several times a night, but that's fine. He is only going to be a baby for a short time and I need to enjoy what little time we have left. We plan on transitioning him to his crib soon, so being in the moment is definitely important. I miss how he snuggles into me at night. I miss how he puts his arm on my neck when we are sleeping. He can't sleep unless he is touching me in some way. Knowing that I am right next to him is comforting to him.

I pray that he had a good night last night, and I hope Nana got some rest too.

Ouch

Two days in a row, I thought my heart was being ripped out of my chest when I picked up Jack from childcare.

When I reached for him or picked him up, he cried and tried to get away from me. At one point, he even saw Karen and reached for her instead. Ouch!

He cried all the way to the car, the whole time I was buckling him in, and until I started the car and drove away.

I really hope this is because he likes to play at Karen's so much and not a reflection on me. He is always happy to see me, so I am thinking this is just a phase.

Some things are weighing heavy on my mind today. Baby related things, but I am not ready to talk to much about them yet. They are in relation to transitioning Jack to the crib and getting him weaned off the bottle. More to come on those things later, but I am definitely full of worry right now.

Jack is too Fussy

I am too sensitive. I already know this. It is something I need work on, but when I have had this trait since early childhood, it's hard to break. Here's an example of why I am too sensitive:

Yesterday I dropped Jack off at the church nursery like usual. When I left, he was happy and playing with the other baby. About 45 minutes later, I get paged. As I make my way down to the nursery, my only thought was "I bet he threw up".

When I got there, the coordinator said to me: "We just have too many babies and Jack is being too fussy and needy". Um what? Babies are needy. Babies can be fussy. I asked if they had fed him. They just had fed him and he had calmed down, but apparently I still needed to take him.

When I walked in to pick him up, he was fine. Not crying at all. As a matter of fact, there were other babies that WERE crying. Why was my son singled out?

If this is going to be a regular occurrence, I need to re-think my idea of going to this particular service. I can always watch the service from an adjacent room with Jack.

What bother me is this: Why was Jack singled out? I am sorry, but he is not too fussy. Yes, he CAN be fussy, but that's generally when he needs one of two things: Food or a nap. Maybe if they had just fed him like I instructed them when I dropped him off, he wouldn't have fussed.

It bothers me that Jack is always immediately labeled as fussy by others. *I* know he can be that way, but in all reality, is he any more fussy than other babies?

So tell me moms, would this bother you? Or am I being too sensitive?

Not Being Dumped

Just an update to my childcare provider post. Karen is not trying to dump Jack.

After a good conversation with my counselor (which involved the doormat topic, worrying about what others think of me and not wanting to insult others), she gave me some tools to bring up my concerns to Karen is a very non-offensive way.

Here is how the conversation with Karen went:

Me: I have been meaning to check in with you about how you feel everything is going. Do you think watching Jack is still a good fit for you? Do you need anything from me?

Karen: Yes, I think this is a good fit.

Pause. Pause. Pause.

Karen: Do YOU think this is a good fit?

Me: I do. Jack is really happy here. He's well taken care of and I know that he loves playing with your boys.

So there you have it. I think my question caught her off guard, hence the reason for the pause.

All is well and now I can stop worrying. I should post a whole topic about my Worry Box another time. It's an assignment from counseling. 'Nuff said.

Being Dumped

I don't mean from my husband (so dramatic), but possibly from our daycare provider. I just have this hunch.

Yesterday was Jack's first day back after a two week vacation. Karen seemed happy to see him. I warned her that he was teething, fussy and had a bad diaper rash. This is not something that she is unfamiliar with. She has three boys of her own and Jack has been with her since he was 4 months old.

When I picked him up, she seemed........well, off. She seemed tired, and I didn't get a full report of his day like I usually do. I asked if he was fussy and she said "Medium-ish". Maybe she has some stuff going on at home. Maybe she is just tired. I am not really sure.

This morning, I went to drop Jack off at his normal time. When I got there, she let me know that she thought she was coming down with a stomach bug and it was probably safter if I kept Jack home for the day. This is not a huge deal, but it did mean I needed to call in sick which I don't like to do.

Is this her way of telling me that my kiddo is being dumped? I sure hope not. I am probably being overdramatic but I just have this feeling. Let's hope I am wrong. More to come tomorrow.

Poop Issues

I wish I was writing this post about myself, because, let's face it, it would be funny to write a whole post about MY poop issues. Not that I have any. But no, this is about the boy's poop issues.

I thought his poop issues were from teething. This wouldn't be abnormal. When he first started teething, he got a diaper rash and was pooping a lot and it was watery. Not diarrhea, just watery. The next day, his first tooth popped through.

With all the drooling and sucking and chewing that the wee one is doing, I think he's teething. But, then there's the poop. He is pooping a lot. A whole lot. Like 7 or 8 times a day a lot. And because of this, he has an awful diaper rash. No amount of Aveeno Oatmeal bath and Desitin or any other butt paste is helping. And besides the large quantity of poop, there is the smell. It feels like a seafood restaurant sometimes. Fish. Fish in the diaper when we don't feed him fish.

And tonight, the final weird symptom: Snotty diaper. It looked like someone sneezed into his diaper. Uncle! I called the on-call doctor.

What gives? I thought this was teething but now I am thinking that it could be the new formula. Not totally and completely new, but new as in three weeks new. Wouldn't the poop issues have started occurring earlier if it was the formula?

It's not new food. He hasn't gotten any new solid food in the last few days.

I am hoping this poor child gets some relief soon because the screaming and asking for "Dada" during diaper changes is enough to break my heart. Added to the fact that he can't even sit down in the tub. It's pathetic to watch your kiddo playing with toys in the tub while on his knees.

It is now 8:18 and the on-call doctor was supposed to call me back by now.

Damn poop. Damn on-call doctor. Maybe tomorrow will bring some relief from the poop and rash ass. Poor baby.

Eleven Months Old

Buggy, in one month, you will be a whole year old. I can't believe it! You have had a rough month little dude. You are teething like crazy, and you are not one of those babies that teethes easily. You have been very fussy and want to be held a lot. Which is certainly not a problem for me.

This last month flew by like a blink of an eye. Christmas, New Years and a vacation for Mommy made our time really special. You have had a lot of firsts this month:

* You are taking lots of steps. You are still cruising around furniture, but also are taking unassisted steps.

* You went to OMSI for the first time.

* You said "Mama" for the first time, as well as "Nana".

* You waved bye-bye for the first time intentionally last week.

* You are starting to clap. Most babies have clapped by now, but you wanted to make sure the time was right.

* You are starting to recognize music and dance up and down when you hear it. It's too stinkin' cute!

I am pretty sure you have grown about 5 inches this last month. Most of your pants are getting too short. Time to go up to 18 months!

I can't believe that I now have a toddler! You make Daddy and I so proud. You are so energetic and active and constantly keep us laughing. Little Man, you are just so special. Every time I hold you while you fall asleep, I stroke your hair or the side of your face and just thank God for what a blessing you are.

We love you Jack Emmett!

Merry Christmas!

So? It's almost a week late.

Jack got a huge haul of gifts. Honestly, we could have gotten away with no buying him anything, but we did.

This picture pretty much sums up the day:

Jack fascinated with his new toys, especially the ones that make noise.

What did he get? Well, here's a list:

* The puppy above
* A V-Tech farm with animal and music sounds
* A walking/riding toy
* Tons of clothes
* A band in a box
* A baby piano
* Three trucks
* A huge moose stuffed animal
* Five wooden puzzles
* A baby cell phone
* Four wooden vintage toys (workbench, blocks, ball pounder, etc.)
* New bath toys
* Two stockings full of little things
* Tons of books
* A Little People plane
* Money (yes, seriously)

He cleaned up no? I am sure I forgot some things, but dang. The kid is spoiled.

Our day went well. Jack woke up at his normal time. Mommy was tired, but because it was Christmas, a cup of coffee and 6:00am wasn't so terrible. Jack opened his stocking. Well, mostly Mommy opened and Jack just tore paper to shreds.

We headed over to my in-laws in the later morning with a car full of presents, and my husband suddenly gasped and said this: "Oh my God, do you realize that we have about 13 years of assembling shit ahead of us?" Gee, thanks honey for reminding me!

Jack and the rest of us got utterly spoiled at the in-laws. Then it was off to my aunt and uncle's. The boy didn't nap great, but he did at least nap some. Unlike Thanksgiving which was a nightmare. We were all tired, but Christmas cookies made the day happy. Jack particularly liked the Peanut Butter Blossoms. That's my boy! He loves cookies.

Our first Christmas as a family was nice, but honestly, the kiddo isn't going to remember it. Next year will be an entirely different story, that's for sure.

Walking!

My big boy started taking steps about two weeks ago. He would take one step and then either fall on his butt, or he would get to his destination (usually between two pieces of furniture).

Today, I get a phone call from my mother-in-law.

He took three steps in a row.

THREE STEPS. Did you read that?

He is officially walking.

What's even funnier? He was very nonchalant about the whole thing. Like "What? So what? I am walking."

Did I mention that he's not even 11 months old yet? Next week, he will be going on his first date and possibly graduating college.

Not that I am biased.

I'm the Mama

Well, after weeks of saying "Dada" to Jason, Jack finally said "Mama" to me! I am so excited!

That makes two words that Jack says with purpose. I think he's working on a couple more: All done, and bottle. All done comes out as "ahduh" and bottle comes out as "bahbah".

My big boy is starting to talk!

Day of Play

Well, not a whole day, but a morning full of play.

I have been toying with the idea of taking Jack out to do some activities, but with the weather so gross, the activities need to be inside.

Jason came up with the genius idea of OMSI or the Children's Museum. Since OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) is closer to our house, I took Jack there. If he did well, then we would consider going to the Children's Museum another day.

We were out of the house by 9:00 so that we could arrive right when they opened. Armed with my coffee, a full and happy baby, off we went! My timing was great. We were some of the first people to arrive and boy was I impressed!

There is a huge room (almost the size of a gymnasium) just for little ones. There is an area specifically for babies up to 2 years. In that area was a ball pit, tubes full of all kinds of noisy things, big foam blocks and other toys and activities. Jack had a blast playing in the ball pit and watching the fish in the aquarium.

My first video ever posted!

How cute is he? Ignore my manly voice.

The rest of the play area was full of all kinds of fun stations. There was a station for pretend play, with a puppet theater, a toy kitchen and some dress up clothes. There was a sand station, a water station, a huge area with a pretend forest, a station for blocks, a jungle gym area and so many other things!

We timed our morning just right because Jack got to experience a live band playing. He really liked all the instruments.

There was a snack area, a nice room for nursing/feeding and two bathrooms with changing stations. Can we move in please?

Honestly, we could have spent hours and hours there, but after about 90 minutes, he was beat. As seen by this serious cute passed out baby.

The plans for tomorrow? The Children's Museum since he had such an awesome time at OMSI.

Three Weeks Really?

Has it really been almost three weeks since my last post? Sheesh, time is flying! I blame the fact that little man is so darn mobile and that it's Christmas. My free time (ha!) is spent shopping and wrapping.

I am going to keep this short, but I am on vacation this week and I have a goal: Update my blog at least every other day. I don't think that is too hard a proposition.

Here are some things that little man are up to:

* He took his first step on Friday. GULP! I don't think I am ready for this!

* He is eating really well. Trying new food, eating more at a sitting, etc.

* He is doing this screeching thing. It's really annoying when it's not cute.

* He amazingly, has taken to longer naps. If I catch him at the right time, he will sleep for an hour, or sometimes an hour-and-a-half! Praise God!

* He is coming to church with me. I haven't blogged a lot about my spiritual journey (it's taken place over several years), but it's important to me to raise Jack as a Christian. He is too little to understand church at this stage, but he's getting practice in the church nursery.

* I am trying hard not to go overboard with Christmas, but it's not working out so well. We bought him four wooden Melissa and Doug toys (which are awesome by the way), a set of musical instruments, a baby piano, two new books, and a huge stocking full of goodies. Honestly, I think our total spent was $100, but still. He is going to enjoy playing with the boxes more.

* Having a baby makes Christmas so much fun! My spirit is light, I am so full of joy, and giddy with excitement. I can't wait for Christmas morning. He won't remember it, but I certainly will. It's also one of the first Christmases in several years that Jason doesn't have to work! Our first Christmas as a family. What a blessing.

That's about it folks. I am trying to squeeze in some housework while the boy naps. My goal means that I will have until Wednesday to update my blog again. I hope I can come up with a good topic.

10 Months

Our little boy is 10 months old today! I can't believe it's time for double digits already.

I think I say this every month, but it's amazing to me to see how many changes Jack makes in just a few short weeks. I thought 9 months was really fun, but I think that 10 is going to turn out to be much more exciting! Jack has an amazing amount of independence and personality. He takes after my brother in many ways. It's a shame that they will never be able to meet since my brother died in 1986.

Jack, you are my biggest accomplishment, my biggest source of happiness, and at times, my biggest source of frustration. I think it's because we are both so strong-willed and we can butt heads. Even you being so little are very hard-headed and have quite the temper.

Some things that are "new" to you this month. I don't think they are necessarily related to your age, but I want to make sure to document them so I can look back and laugh (and maybe cry).

* You love to drink out of cups, but only if they don't have lids on them. You could care less about your sippy cup. It's really funny when you use your stacking cups as drinking vessels when you are in the bathtub. I can't imagine soapy, dirty water tastes very good, but you seem to think so! Every time Mommy or Daddy, or anyone for that matter, drinks from a cup, you want some too. Last night we shared a glass of apple juice together.

* Every day, you are eating better and getting more adventurous. We have given you almost every food we eat, with a few exceptions. Your absolute favorite meal is little pieces of bread smeared with peanut butter and your green beans. If this was your meal every day, you would be extremely happy. Throw in a few Cheerios, and you are golden. You have tried everything! Pizza wasn't your favorite, but you do love anything with carbs. We are alike in that respect.

* We have discovered that you sleep the best at night in bed with Mommy, but rather than Mommy holding you all night, you like to just lay next to her, usually on your tummy. A few weeks ago, you were waking 3 times a night, but these days, it seems like it's only 2. I can get used to this!

* You have recently discovered that you can stack items on top of each other to make yourself taller. I found you on top of your picture blocks the day before yesterday trying to reach my candle holder. Yikes! Slow down little dude!

* Although you only still babble and say "dadadada" or "bwabwabwa", you have started mimicing our intonations. I said "Hello" to you the other day in a very sing-songy voice and you copied my voice back. Both Daddy and I were shocked! It was the cutest thing ever and we were trying to get you to do it again for the rest of the day.

* You understand the word "no" but don't always listen to it. Most of the time you do, but if you are being strong-willed at that particular moment, you look, smile, and then keep doing whatever is naughty. I often have to pull you out of the pantry so you don't play in the cat's water bowl. Or out of the bathroom so you don't unroll the toilet paper.

* No walking yet, but boy can you climb and bounce and get around! Most of the time, if you are standing, you don't even hold on that carefully. Maybe with one hand, maybe with one finger. Pretty soon you will be cruising all around!

Jack, oh Jack. Yack Yack as Auntie Carrie calls you. I love that you are so curious and independent. Everyone who I talk to says you are going to be smart. I think so too!

We love you little man. Keep growing and becoming more "you".

Not Normal, But Okay!

So, sometimes Jack does things that make me go "hmmmmm". I wonder if he's normal, or not. But at the end of the day, it's all okay. He is smart, growing and overly curious.

Not normal:
* Drinking the dirty bathwater straight out of his stacking cups.

Not normal for a baby (in my humble opinion) of his age:
* Realizing that he can reach things on high shelves by stacking or standing on something else.

Not normal and certainly NOT funny of any human:

* Farting and then giggling.

Yep, that's my boy!

Go Big Eater!

I am so proud of my boy. For a child who doesn't seem to eat very much, he had a voracious appetite this weekend.

It started on Friday when he went to Nana's house (as usual). She always feeds him tons, and this week was no different. For breakfast, he polished off almost an entire large container of mixed fruit with yogurt. Midmorning snack he ate a handful of Cheerios. Lunch consisted of turkey with mixed veggies and some fruit. Midafternoon snack was two Mum Mums and some of Nana's roast beef sandwich (and she may have given him a couple of nibbles of Angel food cake as well). For dinner, he ate with us and had some beets (icky!), applesauce and some of our ravioli. Keep in mind, this was on top of all the formula that I sent along.

I was bound and determined to see if I could get him to eat for me on Saturday. He usually only tolerates being in the highchair for me for a few minutes and I am lucky if I can get three or four bites in him. On a good day, he will eat maybe one container of baby food all day.

Saturday, Jack sampled all kinds of yummy new foods! Besides an entire baby food container of fruit and granola, he had Cheerios, a whole container of green beans, roast beef, some cheese (this was new for him), and his favorite: Peanut butter! He couldn't shove the bread into his mouth fast enough.

Now before you freak out, I have read numerous articles that the AAP now recommends exposing babies to nuts as young as 6 months as long as they haven't shown any previous food allergies and no one in their immediate family has nut allergies. I figure at almost 10 months, with no food intolerance, Jack fits this bill.

Sunday was no different. Jack ate really well again. My biggest surprise was for snack. He ate an entire container of yogurt. That was a snack! Dinner consisted of green beans mixed with rice, and some whole wheat bread with a tiny bit of peanut butter.

Some foods that Jack doesn't like? So far, he isn't a fan of apple juice (I have given him 100% whole juice with no sugar added and diluted it), spaghetti, or meat in general. He has sampled some chicken, but I think the texture doesn't mesh well with him.

I am really, really proud of my boy. For a guy with reflux and gagging issues, he has done so great. In a span of just a month, he now goes from throwing up at almost every solid meal to eating like crazy. I can't believe how far he has come!

Thanksgiving will be really interesting. Since he has shown his love for carbs, I have a feeling he will love the stuffing. And since green beans are his favorite, green bean casserole will go over well.

My big boy is growing up!

My Trouble Maker

Well not truly a trouble maker. This child is just mischievous. He takes after my brother after all.

Those are the remains of my Yankee Candle catalog. Apparently, I don't feed my child well enough that he needs to eat paper.

What else does he do?

* Tries to play in the cat's water bowl
* Unrolls the toilet paper in the bathroom
* Pulls books off of shelves and rips pages out of them if we aren't fast enough to stop him
* Opens the refrigerator, cabinet doors, the washing machine and he is starting to try and turn doorknobs.
* He ate a piece of catfood for the first time today. I was unloading groceries from Costco and didn't notice the catfood bag had a tear in it. A few pieces spilled out, and Jack got a hold of one. He had to have been chewing for a while because when I got to him, it wasn't crunchy anymore.

My brother very much had a mischievous streak. This was the child who stuffed peppercorns up his nose, emptied the entire contents of the refrigerator, and most famously: Held his breath until his nose would bleed.
The first time he did this, my mother and father about had a heart attack. Charles was around two and we were all eating a steak dinner. As my mom was cutting my brother's steak, he insisted "I can do it!". He wanted to cut his steak with the sharp knife. My mom and dad told him "no" and apparently this pissed him off. He held his breath, started shaking and turned blue and then his nose started to bleed.

Yep, that was a pretty common occurrence when he was a toddler.

Jack is starting to show signs of these mischievous and temper issues.

Boy are we in trouble. Thank God he's cute.

Jack At Nine Months

Jack, you are 9 months and 1 day old today. I waited until today to post your monthly update because you had your 9 month pediatrician appointment and I wanted to add your height and weight to this post.

I was just saying to your Daddy yesterday that I love you so much and that I miss so many things about you. This isn't a bad thing buddy, it's only because you grow so fast that we can't keep up! I remember when you were a tiny baby. You had so much hair, long fingers, almost unusually large feet, and boy did you make the sweetest cooing sounds. You lost your hair when you were 3 weeks old and looked like a balding old man. I remember the first time you were able to hold your head up, grasp a toy by yourself, and of course, that first smile. Those are the things that I miss: Those first sweet milestones.

For now, I am going to thoroughly enjoy you and your fun personality.

Some things about you:

* Boy, do you have a temper! Your Daddy had quite the temper when he was a baby and so did your Uncle Charles. It must be in your genes! You take after your Uncle in many ways including his mischievous streak. If we tell you "no", you immediately turn, smile at us, and then turn back to whatever you were doing that got you in trouble! I have a feeling you will turn out to be extremely smart and strong-willed just like Charles too.

* You weigh 20 pounds (45th %) and are 29.5 inches long (80th %). You went down in weight percentiles, but Dr. D says that is normal when a baby starts getting more active.

* You still sleep with Mommy. Ssssssshhhh, don't tell anyone, but she secretly likes it! We both sleep better and it's our bonding and snuggling time. You average about 3 to 4 wakings a night.

* You wear 9 month clothing although you are so long that 12 month pants fit you better.

* You are in size 3 diapers still but I have a feeling we are going to need to switch you soon.

* Goodness gracious you are a mover! You are constantly crawling, climbing and getting into things. I can't turn my back for one second because you disappear so fast! You don't like sitting still and playing with toys. You would much rather be exploring. It saves us money on toys, that's for sure, but it makes it hard to "entertain" you. You especially love "adult" things like remote controls, cell phones, Daddy's computer, Mommy's books on the shelf, and any electronic you can get your hands on.

* You stand all the time. Pulling yourself up is a breeze and you are starting to stand on your tippy toes to reach things. You once in a while will talk a hesitant step. I have a feeling in another month, you will be trying to walk. I am not ready for that!

* Lately, some of that separation anxiety is creeping up. You love your Mommy and only want to be held by her if there are people around that you don't know. Even with Daddy in the room, you want Mom. You sometimes will cry even if it's Daddy holding you! That's okay. I know it won't last long and it's only once in a while. When you know everyone, you are more than happy to let them hold you.

* You are babbling up a storm. Mostly just "dahdahdahdahdah" or "babababababa", but once in a while, you will see "deh" or "meh". It cracks me up because you sometimes talk to yourself in the mirror or in a certain tone. When you first see me when I pick you up at Karen's, you have this high pitched "dehdehdeh" that you say. I think it means "I am so happy to see you!". I just wish I knew what everything else you say means.

Jack Jack, we love you, that is obvious. If someone told me a year ago that my heart would be this full, I don't think I would have believed them. I sometimes wonder if I have room in my heart for any more little ones just because I love YOU so much.

Keep growing up little man. You have so many more milestones coming and I am excited for them!

Small Updates

Wow, it's been a while. I honestly haven't had time to update these days.

Here is what is going on in our household:

* Jack has another cold, but he doesn't appear to have an ear infection. We are watching him closely just in case.

* My little man said "Dada" with intent the other day. I say with intent because Jason came into the room and Jack said it twice to him.

* I think I need an increase with my medication. Counseling is going well, but I am slipping back into a funk. I don't know why, but I am just not very happy right now. Jack is doing great, my family is great, work is stressful (what's new), but nothing out of the ordinary is going on. Oh well, time to call my doctor I guess.

* Jack is going to visit work this Friday. All the unit's kiddos are coming in to work dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Guess what Jack is going to be? You will need to check back for pictures. Trust me, he looks friggin' adorable.

* Sleep is the same. 3-4 times a night the little man is waking up to eat. Last night, it finally happened: He threw up in bed. He drank a bottle, coughed and then yakked. The coughing must have upset his stomach enough to throw up. He was fine. All the puke ended up on me. I changed him and myself all while Jason changed the sheets. After that, Jack thought it was play time and wouldn't stop babbling and jumping. We were awake until 3:30. Jack was fine this morning but this momma needed an extra cup of coffee.

* Jack still is a slow eater, but he takes after his momma and likes his carbs. He has tried pancake and bread and loves both.

* Last week, our regular child care provider (Karen) wasn't available so Jack went to a fill-in sitter. She was recommended to me by a friend and she was great! Jack did great and loved playing with the other kids. I will definitely keep her in mind if I ever need a fill-in again.

That's about it on our front. Not a whole lot other than being BUSY!

Full Disclosure

I took this idea from someone else's blog (thanks Kristal!). Although I consider myself a really good mom, I sometimes have a few "fail" moments. Here is my full disclosure post about some of my not-so-perfect moments.

* I still swaddle Jack for naps and for his first "put down" of the night. Ummmm, he's 8 months old. In my defense, I one-arm swaddle him and he's seriously like trying to tame a tazmanian devil. I might stop soon. Or not.

* We give Jack Costco brand formula. That stuff is way cheaper than the $20 a can elsewhere. His reflux is all but gone and he eats more consistently now.

* Sometimes, I just need to eat. I don't do it often, but I have put Sesame Street on and plunked Jack in front of the television so I can eat a meal. He loves Big Bird.

* I am really good about tuning out his fussing. He fusses all.the.time. You get good at ignoring it after a while. If I know he's not hungry and just fussing to be held or fussing to fuss, I will continue on with my folding laundry or dishes. He isn't going to die.

* Jack's new annoying thing is to crawl into our pantry and play in the cat's water bowl. I pull him out all the time. Today, I was just finishing up my morning coffee and I didn't stop him. What's the worst that could happen? He gets a little wet. I needed to finish my coffee. NEEDED to.

* If I change Jack a few minutes (or sometimes up to a half hour) before his bath and the diaper is still dry, I reuse it. What? Is that gross? He hasn't peed in it. Diapers are friggin' expensive.

* I don't wash his toys as often as I should. Immunities right?

* I don't make any secrets that I sleep with my child. He sleeps better that way. On the weekends, I take full advantage of this. I will often take naps with him on the couch. He sleeps for up to 2 hours that way instead of his regular 30 minutes. And Mommy gets some rest too.

Reading back over this, I don't sound as bad as I thought I would. 90% of the time, I am a good mom. But sometimes, I just need a break and end up slacking. There you have it. Not so awful right?