I am about to have my first real taste of single parenting.
My husband is off to OFSAA, the track and field provincial finals. He is going to be gone for four full days, from early Wednesday morning to late Saturday night. He is going to be 7 hours away. For four full days.
I'm not thrilled.
We have had entire days where Justin was never around when Noah was awake, not even for half an hour. We've also had days where Justin wasn't around at all while I was awake. But we have never had four days in a row of it.
It's not like I can't handle it. I am a stay at home mom, and I do 95% of Noah's caregiving, anyway. But there are things I am definitely going to miss while Justin is gone:
-Usually in a 4 day period Justin will have time on 1 or 2 of those days to take Noah outside or downstairs to play, just the two of them, for about an hour. During that time I sometimes get to lie on my bed, completely relaxed, and watch TV. Uninterrupted.
-When Justin is home and not busy coaching or training clients, I can get him to play with Noah while I do things like cook dinner, clean up from dinner, fold laundry, or vacuum the house. I can do these things with Noah around, but its a heck of a lot easier when he is happily occupied playing with his Dad.
-I'll miss the structure of dinnertime. I will probably have a hard time finding the motivation to cook a real dinner when its just me and Noah. I will probably gather healthy good together for Noah, and end up eating Kraft Dinner myself.
-Bathtime is not always Noah's favourite time of the day. Today, for example, he had his Selsun stuff on for 15 minutes, and right before we needed to rinse it off and give him a bath, he decided to have a complete meltdown. Screaming. Neither of us had any clue why. We hadn't even done anything. I ended up having to get in the tub with him clinging to me like a baby monkey, while Justin did crazy antics, like making bath toys balance on his head and then fall off, complete with sound effects, in order to make Noah laugh. Neither of those tactics would have been successful by themselves. But obviously I can't be in the tub with him holding him and be outside the tub doing silly stunts. Since Noah seems to be in a I-Hate-Bathtime phase, and we are currently in the middle of a 35 degree heat wave (read: mid 90s) and he needs a bath to cool him down and wash off his sweat and sunscreen, plus we're doing the Selsun therapy which needs to be washed off every night, I will really miss my husband's help during that time.
-I am going to miss hanging out with my husband in the evenings after Noah goes to bed! Justin is almost always home during bedtime and afterward, these days. I'll miss him in the evenings. Hanging out alone isn't as much fun.
I'm hoping that things will be good. I'm hoping we will find things to do to keep us busy so we won't miss Justin's presence so much. I'm hoping bathtime will go smoothly. I'm hoping Justin being gone will actually give me freedom to go into town a couple of times, since I normally need to avoid doing that so that we're home when Justin is home (otherwise how will Noah see his Dad?). I'm hoping I will go to bed earlier, since there won't be anyone to hang out with in the evening.
I'm hoping the next four days will be a positive experience, and that I won't be frazzled and ticked off.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Tinea Versicolor
For a really long time now Noah has had dry red patches on his body. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a few, but they're always there. It started back when he was maybe 6 or 7 months old. I thought they were just random dry patches, because I'll occasionally get a random dry patch on my face or something in the wintertime. I have tried to pay extra attention to the dry spots, and moisturize him a couple of times a day (as opposed to just once after bathtime). I even sometimes make a point of applying vaseline to these spots daily. This seemed to help the patches clear up, or at least stay under control.
However, it's been a long time now, and the spots have been getting bigger and spreading. Last Sunday my Mom and Dad thought it looked like ringworm. Later that afternoon I was hanging out with my friend/neighbour Erin and her Mom, Hazel, who is a doctor. I showed the spots to Hazel and asked her if it looks like ringworm to her. She said no, but immediately diagnosed it as tinea versicolor, and told me to use Selsun Blue on it. Tinea versicolor is this really common skin condition caused by a fungus that lives on all adults' skin. It's not contagious or anything. It's just that some people end up with tinea versicolor from it, and some people don't.
Tinea versicolor can look like Noah's dry red patches, or they can be brownish, and sometimes white. I remember being aware of the white patches when I worked at a tanning salon. People would sometimes ask why they had white spots that wouldn't tan, and we employees were educated on it. We told them to use some selsun blue shampoo on the spots, and they would go away eventually.
Well, apparently this is what Noah has. Since we found that out a week ago I stopped moisturizing him several times a day and went back down to just once. We also are no longer making a point of putting vaseline on his spots. I was waiting until I made it to the nearby city, 25 minutes away, to pick up the selsun at Walmart, where it would be cheaper. But in the past week his spots have grown and multiplied at an amazing rate. Finally today I sucked it up and went to the only drugstore in our little town and paid a whopping $18 for a tiny bottle of selsun. We have to put it all over his body for 10-15 minutes a day, 7 days in a row.
Tonight was the first night. Noah has patches on his bum, so we had to have him completely naked. His whole body was smeared with the Selsun. We had him locked in the bathroom with us so he wouldn't get Selsun all over the house. About 2 minutes after it was applied he squatted down, peed - without us realizing thats what he was doing, since he was playing with something else at the time - and then started playing in his pee, smacking his hands in it. We couldn't help but laugh, especially since two nights ago after his bath, but before getting his diaper on, he was walking in the hallway and suddenly wiped out, out of nowhere. We both were like, "What the heck kid..." and then realized that he wiped out in a puddle of his own pee. Kind of hilarious.
Anyway, after we were done with the bath, all his patches looked really obvious, and I couldn't believe how bad its gotten. Seriously, it used to be just a few smallish patches on each arm and leg. Now its everywhere, covering his arms and legs and body. The poor kid. I hope its not uncomfortable for him (it doesn't seem to be), and I hope it goes away soon! It really annoys me that this is taking over his skin.
However, it's been a long time now, and the spots have been getting bigger and spreading. Last Sunday my Mom and Dad thought it looked like ringworm. Later that afternoon I was hanging out with my friend/neighbour Erin and her Mom, Hazel, who is a doctor. I showed the spots to Hazel and asked her if it looks like ringworm to her. She said no, but immediately diagnosed it as tinea versicolor, and told me to use Selsun Blue on it. Tinea versicolor is this really common skin condition caused by a fungus that lives on all adults' skin. It's not contagious or anything. It's just that some people end up with tinea versicolor from it, and some people don't.
Tinea versicolor can look like Noah's dry red patches, or they can be brownish, and sometimes white. I remember being aware of the white patches when I worked at a tanning salon. People would sometimes ask why they had white spots that wouldn't tan, and we employees were educated on it. We told them to use some selsun blue shampoo on the spots, and they would go away eventually.
Well, apparently this is what Noah has. Since we found that out a week ago I stopped moisturizing him several times a day and went back down to just once. We also are no longer making a point of putting vaseline on his spots. I was waiting until I made it to the nearby city, 25 minutes away, to pick up the selsun at Walmart, where it would be cheaper. But in the past week his spots have grown and multiplied at an amazing rate. Finally today I sucked it up and went to the only drugstore in our little town and paid a whopping $18 for a tiny bottle of selsun. We have to put it all over his body for 10-15 minutes a day, 7 days in a row.
Tonight was the first night. Noah has patches on his bum, so we had to have him completely naked. His whole body was smeared with the Selsun. We had him locked in the bathroom with us so he wouldn't get Selsun all over the house. About 2 minutes after it was applied he squatted down, peed - without us realizing thats what he was doing, since he was playing with something else at the time - and then started playing in his pee, smacking his hands in it. We couldn't help but laugh, especially since two nights ago after his bath, but before getting his diaper on, he was walking in the hallway and suddenly wiped out, out of nowhere. We both were like, "What the heck kid..." and then realized that he wiped out in a puddle of his own pee. Kind of hilarious.
Anyway, after we were done with the bath, all his patches looked really obvious, and I couldn't believe how bad its gotten. Seriously, it used to be just a few smallish patches on each arm and leg. Now its everywhere, covering his arms and legs and body. The poor kid. I hope its not uncomfortable for him (it doesn't seem to be), and I hope it goes away soon! It really annoys me that this is taking over his skin.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
14 Months Old
Better late than never, right?
At 14 months old, here is where Noah is at:
-He weighs about 21.5lbs. He was 22lbs even with his clothes and shoes on, carrying my big pile of keys (I wasn't about to pry them out of his fingers and have a tantrum on my hands in the middle of the doctor's office). This is just under 50th percentile, according to WHO chart for breastfed babies.
-He is about 32.5 inches tall, 98th percentile, according to WHO chart for breastfed babies.
-He's between the 10th and 25th percentile for weight-for-length, according to the WHO chart for breastfed babies.
-His head measures 19.9 inches around. Over 100th percentile, according to the WHO chart for breastfed babies. Massive. But it's not wide, it's deep, so it doesn't actually look like he has a giant noggin.
-He is just about to move into size 4 diapers 100% of the time. He still fits size 3 Pampers Cruisers really well, but he is too tall for other size 3 diapers (even though they fit his waist well).
-He still breastfeeds on demand, which is usually around 10 times a day.
-75% of his nutrition still comes from breastfeeding. He is beginning to want to eat more solids more often. I let him lead the way.
-He will still eat purees if there are no "solid" solids in sight. I have a whole bunch of jarred baby food to use up, so I'm still going for it.
-He loves meat and fruit. They are his favourite. He also really likes peanut butter sandwiches. He does not like vegetables anymore. Sad:(
-He still enjoys a balance of being fed and feeding himself.
-He wears 18 and 24 month clothing, depending on what it is. Except shorts. He wears 9 month shorts. The little skinny-minny.
-He wears size 4 shoes.
-He has 10 teeth. The front 8 (4 top and 4 bottom), which have been in since he was 8 months old, and now his one year molars on top are poking through his gums a fair bit. On the bottom his gums are swollen, like he has two marbles under his gums.
-He's been down to one nap for a month. This nap is about an hour long, give or take a few minutes.
-He sleeps 11-11.5 hours at night, getting up to nurse once. I have no idea when he will drop that overnight nursing.
-Did you do the math? He only sleeps 12-12.5 hours a day.
-Bedtime is still about 8-8:30pm, despite the one nap. I prefer to start my morning sometime past 7, and if I put him to bed earlier he does wake up earlier.
-He signs to nurse (the sign for milk), for water (waves his hand up and down), and to eat (sticks his finger in his mouth). Those are the only signs I'm consistent with, otherwise I'm sure he'd sign more.
-He still doesn't say much verbally. Just Dad, a little bit of Mama, uh oh, that, this... He just started doing two animal sounds, though. He says, "Woof woof" when he hears a dog or we ask what a dog says, and he says "Ca Ca" for what a bird says. He totally started doing both of those on his own, though, imitating the dogs and birds that live around us. He really is not into copying us verbally, except for those two noises now.
-I am always surprised by how much he understands. He can follow so many instructions, even multi-step instructions like "Get your shoes so we can go outside!" He'll run and get his shoes and then go to the door and try to go outside.
Here are some other examples (by no means a comprehensive list):
*"Do you want to listen to music?" He'll nod, smile, point to the iPod dock, and start dancing.
*"Do you want to go downstairs?" He'll run to the top of the stairs gate.
*"Are you hungry?" He signs to eat. "Go get in your high chair!" He'll run over to his high chair and reach up to try and get into it.
*"Can you get Mommy's brush for her?" He will literally go to the bathroom, open the drawer, get out my brush, and bring it to me.
*"No hitting! Gentle, Noah, gentle..." He will start gently patting whatever he was being too rough with, be it the cats or my face or his own head.
*He also can answer "Where's Mommy's nose?" and "Where's Mommy's belly button?" by pointing the the appropriate body part. He'll even lift up my shirt to find my belly button. He doesn't point to those things on himself, though.
*On his own body he points out his ears, feet, and hands when asked.
*If we tell him not to do something when we're somewhere other than home, he looks at us very seriously, nods his head, and stops what he's doing. He also shakes his head no, when appropriate.
-He's a very sweet boy, and very cuddly and kissy. He loves to hug other babies, our cats, and pictures of animals.
-He loves to get out our swiffers and swiffer all over our floors. He'll swiffer the carpets, couches, and coffee tables too. He also imitates me cleaning by rubbing cloths on the floor and tables.
-He loves to play outside. A little over a month ago he was still not a big fan of it, but now he loves it. He would spend most of his day outside if he could. The weather hasn't been very conducive to this, though.
-He got comfortable walking on the grass just before 14 months. I've mentioned that he is a very careful little guy, so before this it felt too unsteady for him and he would just stand still if we put him on the grass.
-He can open closet doors now, as well as regular doors. Unwelcome development.
-I can leave the stair gates open without worrying that he will fall down the stairs. I only use them to confine him to one floor or another, but sometimes I leave them open and he just goes up and down the stairs (without me there) to his heart's content. He's very careful, and very quick.
-He is a lot more comfortable around strangers, now. He sticks close to me for a little while, but then gets more adventurous. He still doesn't smile much at strangers, but he is a lot less scared of them than he used to be.
A typical day in our house is very relaxed. Noah wakes up between 7 and 8 (usually more like between 7:15 and 7:45). I get up with him, immediately nurse him (he's usually hungry and disgruntled, so this is the reset button), then change his bum. Then we go out into the rest of the house and play. I make myself breakfast at some point. Sometimes Noah wants some, sometimes he waits until later. After we have breakfast that's usually when I unload and reload the dishwasher. Then I get in the shower and get ready for the day.
Sometimes after my shower we'll have time to go outside before Justin gets home for lunch. Sometimes not, and sometimes it's just not nice enough weather. Actually, often it's not nice enough weather. Sometimes this is when I throw laundry in or do some other chores.
Justin comes home for lunch from 11:00-11:30, and we hang around with him. Noah often gets little bites to eat during this time. Justine leaves, and we play more. Noah goes down for his nap sometime after 12:30. He generally stays awake for about 5 hours in the morning. He always nurses before his nap - always. (He also nurses whenever he asks for it all day long, but these nursing sessions are not at the same times everyday, which is why I only mention the nursings before or after he wakes up). He sleeps for an hour, and during this time I try to take time to myself to relax. I make myself lunch and watch something from the PVR. The hour goes by quickly. Noah is always awake before I know it. He almost always nurses immediately when he wakes up, because he's usually pretty ticked off. It's just his personality - he's rarely happy right when he wakes up. After nursing he's good to go.
If we are going to go do anything out of the house, like running errands, this is typically when we do it. Occasionally I can fit errands in before nap, but I rarely have the motivation to rush around to shower and eat and get ready in time to do errands and then be home for when Justin gets home at 11. I don't have to be there, but I think it's nice that we can all spend a little bit of time together in the middle of the day, especially since we don't see him in the morning before he goes to work.
For the rest of the afternoon it's always different. Sometimes chores, sometimes hanging out with Justin if he gets home from work early, sometimes visiting with my Mom or Dad or a friend. Sometimes just hanging out and doing nothing in particular. Of course, I make dinner in the evening and clean up the kitchen and dishes immeidately afterward.
I tend to have the most motivation to do chores in the hour before I am supposed to start bedtime routine (I aim to start that at 7:30). That's when I'll suddenly decide to catch up on laundry, vacuum the entire house, and give Noah a haircut. And those overly ambitious nights are the nights that Noah doesn't get into bed until 8:30. I generally aim for 8:00, but I'm often a bit later.
I almost always have my house cleaned up and tidied before I start bathing Noah. I also wash my own face and brush my teeth before I bathe Noah. It's just this thing I have. I need to be ready for bed and need everything to be in its place before Noah goes to bed. I nurse Noah to sleep every night. I usually cuddle and nurse him for about 20 minutes... I love holding my sleeping little baby. I really cherish these times with him, especially since he's already 14 months. Before I know it he won't be sleeping in my arms again - ever.
(I want to clarify that although I do nurse Noah to sleep, he can put himself to sleep, and he does that on a regular basis. If he doesn't show signs of falling asleep in the first 10-15 minutes of nursing, he goes in his crib awake, and is usually asleep within about 5 minutes).
After I put him in his crib, I do whatever little things need to be done, like finishing cleaning up the bathroom after his bath, or put away the things he threw around the house as I was wrangling him into the bathtub. Then I collapse on my bed and watch TV. Justin is usually around by then, with no more clients to train, so we hang out and watch TV until I feel tired enough to sleep.
So that's my day! Sounds nice, doesn't it? I love spending all my time with Noah, cooking, cleaning, and playing. It's not amazing every single day, but it's pretty darn close:)
At 14 months old, here is where Noah is at:
-He weighs about 21.5lbs. He was 22lbs even with his clothes and shoes on, carrying my big pile of keys (I wasn't about to pry them out of his fingers and have a tantrum on my hands in the middle of the doctor's office). This is just under 50th percentile, according to WHO chart for breastfed babies.
-He is about 32.5 inches tall, 98th percentile, according to WHO chart for breastfed babies.
-He's between the 10th and 25th percentile for weight-for-length, according to the WHO chart for breastfed babies.
-His head measures 19.9 inches around. Over 100th percentile, according to the WHO chart for breastfed babies. Massive. But it's not wide, it's deep, so it doesn't actually look like he has a giant noggin.
-He is just about to move into size 4 diapers 100% of the time. He still fits size 3 Pampers Cruisers really well, but he is too tall for other size 3 diapers (even though they fit his waist well).
-He still breastfeeds on demand, which is usually around 10 times a day.
-75% of his nutrition still comes from breastfeeding. He is beginning to want to eat more solids more often. I let him lead the way.
-He will still eat purees if there are no "solid" solids in sight. I have a whole bunch of jarred baby food to use up, so I'm still going for it.
-He loves meat and fruit. They are his favourite. He also really likes peanut butter sandwiches. He does not like vegetables anymore. Sad:(
-He still enjoys a balance of being fed and feeding himself.
-He wears 18 and 24 month clothing, depending on what it is. Except shorts. He wears 9 month shorts. The little skinny-minny.
-He wears size 4 shoes.
-He has 10 teeth. The front 8 (4 top and 4 bottom), which have been in since he was 8 months old, and now his one year molars on top are poking through his gums a fair bit. On the bottom his gums are swollen, like he has two marbles under his gums.
-He's been down to one nap for a month. This nap is about an hour long, give or take a few minutes.
-He sleeps 11-11.5 hours at night, getting up to nurse once. I have no idea when he will drop that overnight nursing.
-Did you do the math? He only sleeps 12-12.5 hours a day.
-Bedtime is still about 8-8:30pm, despite the one nap. I prefer to start my morning sometime past 7, and if I put him to bed earlier he does wake up earlier.
-He signs to nurse (the sign for milk), for water (waves his hand up and down), and to eat (sticks his finger in his mouth). Those are the only signs I'm consistent with, otherwise I'm sure he'd sign more.
-He still doesn't say much verbally. Just Dad, a little bit of Mama, uh oh, that, this... He just started doing two animal sounds, though. He says, "Woof woof" when he hears a dog or we ask what a dog says, and he says "Ca Ca" for what a bird says. He totally started doing both of those on his own, though, imitating the dogs and birds that live around us. He really is not into copying us verbally, except for those two noises now.
-I am always surprised by how much he understands. He can follow so many instructions, even multi-step instructions like "Get your shoes so we can go outside!" He'll run and get his shoes and then go to the door and try to go outside.
Here are some other examples (by no means a comprehensive list):
*"Do you want to listen to music?" He'll nod, smile, point to the iPod dock, and start dancing.
*"Do you want to go downstairs?" He'll run to the top of the stairs gate.
*"Are you hungry?" He signs to eat. "Go get in your high chair!" He'll run over to his high chair and reach up to try and get into it.
*"Can you get Mommy's brush for her?" He will literally go to the bathroom, open the drawer, get out my brush, and bring it to me.
*"No hitting! Gentle, Noah, gentle..." He will start gently patting whatever he was being too rough with, be it the cats or my face or his own head.
*He also can answer "Where's Mommy's nose?" and "Where's Mommy's belly button?" by pointing the the appropriate body part. He'll even lift up my shirt to find my belly button. He doesn't point to those things on himself, though.
*On his own body he points out his ears, feet, and hands when asked.
*If we tell him not to do something when we're somewhere other than home, he looks at us very seriously, nods his head, and stops what he's doing. He also shakes his head no, when appropriate.
-He's a very sweet boy, and very cuddly and kissy. He loves to hug other babies, our cats, and pictures of animals.
-He loves to get out our swiffers and swiffer all over our floors. He'll swiffer the carpets, couches, and coffee tables too. He also imitates me cleaning by rubbing cloths on the floor and tables.
-He loves to play outside. A little over a month ago he was still not a big fan of it, but now he loves it. He would spend most of his day outside if he could. The weather hasn't been very conducive to this, though.
-He got comfortable walking on the grass just before 14 months. I've mentioned that he is a very careful little guy, so before this it felt too unsteady for him and he would just stand still if we put him on the grass.
-He can open closet doors now, as well as regular doors. Unwelcome development.
-I can leave the stair gates open without worrying that he will fall down the stairs. I only use them to confine him to one floor or another, but sometimes I leave them open and he just goes up and down the stairs (without me there) to his heart's content. He's very careful, and very quick.
-He is a lot more comfortable around strangers, now. He sticks close to me for a little while, but then gets more adventurous. He still doesn't smile much at strangers, but he is a lot less scared of them than he used to be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A typical day in our house is very relaxed. Noah wakes up between 7 and 8 (usually more like between 7:15 and 7:45). I get up with him, immediately nurse him (he's usually hungry and disgruntled, so this is the reset button), then change his bum. Then we go out into the rest of the house and play. I make myself breakfast at some point. Sometimes Noah wants some, sometimes he waits until later. After we have breakfast that's usually when I unload and reload the dishwasher. Then I get in the shower and get ready for the day.
Sometimes after my shower we'll have time to go outside before Justin gets home for lunch. Sometimes not, and sometimes it's just not nice enough weather. Actually, often it's not nice enough weather. Sometimes this is when I throw laundry in or do some other chores.
Justin comes home for lunch from 11:00-11:30, and we hang around with him. Noah often gets little bites to eat during this time. Justine leaves, and we play more. Noah goes down for his nap sometime after 12:30. He generally stays awake for about 5 hours in the morning. He always nurses before his nap - always. (He also nurses whenever he asks for it all day long, but these nursing sessions are not at the same times everyday, which is why I only mention the nursings before or after he wakes up). He sleeps for an hour, and during this time I try to take time to myself to relax. I make myself lunch and watch something from the PVR. The hour goes by quickly. Noah is always awake before I know it. He almost always nurses immediately when he wakes up, because he's usually pretty ticked off. It's just his personality - he's rarely happy right when he wakes up. After nursing he's good to go.
If we are going to go do anything out of the house, like running errands, this is typically when we do it. Occasionally I can fit errands in before nap, but I rarely have the motivation to rush around to shower and eat and get ready in time to do errands and then be home for when Justin gets home at 11. I don't have to be there, but I think it's nice that we can all spend a little bit of time together in the middle of the day, especially since we don't see him in the morning before he goes to work.
For the rest of the afternoon it's always different. Sometimes chores, sometimes hanging out with Justin if he gets home from work early, sometimes visiting with my Mom or Dad or a friend. Sometimes just hanging out and doing nothing in particular. Of course, I make dinner in the evening and clean up the kitchen and dishes immeidately afterward.
I tend to have the most motivation to do chores in the hour before I am supposed to start bedtime routine (I aim to start that at 7:30). That's when I'll suddenly decide to catch up on laundry, vacuum the entire house, and give Noah a haircut. And those overly ambitious nights are the nights that Noah doesn't get into bed until 8:30. I generally aim for 8:00, but I'm often a bit later.
I almost always have my house cleaned up and tidied before I start bathing Noah. I also wash my own face and brush my teeth before I bathe Noah. It's just this thing I have. I need to be ready for bed and need everything to be in its place before Noah goes to bed. I nurse Noah to sleep every night. I usually cuddle and nurse him for about 20 minutes... I love holding my sleeping little baby. I really cherish these times with him, especially since he's already 14 months. Before I know it he won't be sleeping in my arms again - ever.
(I want to clarify that although I do nurse Noah to sleep, he can put himself to sleep, and he does that on a regular basis. If he doesn't show signs of falling asleep in the first 10-15 minutes of nursing, he goes in his crib awake, and is usually asleep within about 5 minutes).
After I put him in his crib, I do whatever little things need to be done, like finishing cleaning up the bathroom after his bath, or put away the things he threw around the house as I was wrangling him into the bathtub. Then I collapse on my bed and watch TV. Justin is usually around by then, with no more clients to train, so we hang out and watch TV until I feel tired enough to sleep.
So that's my day! Sounds nice, doesn't it? I love spending all my time with Noah, cooking, cleaning, and playing. It's not amazing every single day, but it's pretty darn close:)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
May Long Weekend
This past weekend was May Two-Four here in Canada, which means my lovely husband had Monday off of work. We had a great, busy weekend.
On Friday when Justin got home from work we immediately started with the process of patching and seeding holes in the lawn (leftover from picking weeds). Then we started completely overseeding the back lawn. For whatever reason the grass back there has gotten really patchy, even though the grass in the front is great.
The overseeding had to carry over into Saturday morning. We used over 40 bags of top soil, which shocked me because we don't have an enormous backyard.
Then after Noah's nap we went into town to buy lumber, since we are finishing off our backyard fence in the next month. We spent over $800 on lumber and supplies, which also shocked me because we are only putting up 50 feet of fence, plus two gates. I never would have thought it would cost that much. Including the cost to get the posts put in for us, we will be spending about $1100 on this project. Which only saves us about $700 from the cost to get someone to do it for us. I really thought we would be saving more than that.
Then on Sunday we went to church in the morning. Our third Sunday in a row. The one nap thing means we can finally make it back to church again. Our attendance has been so hit and miss for the past year and a half. We used to go every Sunday. Then I wrecked my pelvis at 30 weeks pregnant. Then I had a baby. Then my baby got not so portable because he wouldn't sleep just anywhere. Then his nap was right during church. Now, finally, we can go again.
Shockingly, Noah fell asleep nursing during the service. Seriously, I was shocked. He has only slept in church one other time, and that was during the service when he was baptized. I never ever thought he could fall asleep in church at 14 months old. Especially not after only 2.5 hours of awake time. He slept for a little over half an hour. Right through the main prayer, the sermon, the organ playing and singing... He woke up right when the sermon ended.
Since he had a catnap during church, we threw away our original plan of heading straight home to put him down for a nap. First we went to visit one of Justin's Nonna's, who we hadn't seen for a few months (his parents never ever invite either of them over, so we always have to go see them on our own, which really annoys me). We weren't there for very long, but while we were there she asked me if I feed Noah, since he's so lean. No, woman, I starve my child. Freakin Italians thinking every baby needs to be big and fat. And she told me to call her sometime. Umm, that doesn't sound like a great idea. She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Italian. Visiting her for 15 minutes totally drains me of all my energy because I can't understand a word that comes out of her mouth. Its very exhausting trying to figure out what she's saying, since she talks non stop. On Sunday I actually thought she was talking about a "sexy professor" when she was talking about "six prophecies."
After that visit we went to my parents' house. My mom was sitting in church with us, but my dad wasn't. He got his shoulder replaced last Wednesday, so he was still at home. He is pretty much Noah's biggest fan besides Justin and I, and he always appreciates any time he gets to spend with him. We had steak and salad for lunch.
Then we had to rush home because Justin's parents were coming over at 2:30. Noah decided to shock me again and fall asleep in the car 5 minutes from home. Since he woke up from his church nap at 11, I knew I shouldn't wake him up when we got home. Instead, Justin got out of the van to visit with his parents, and I drove around for 40 minutes. Noah woke up at 3:10, and we went home to visit with his other set of grandparents.
The highlight of that visit was when we went outside. It went something like this:
MIL: Doesn't he have a hat?
Me: No, I haven't been able to find one that fits on his head, which is apparently the size of a 3-4 year old, and has a chin strap, and he rips every hat off his head as soon as I put it on. I just put sunscreen all over his face and in his hair.
Lauren rubs SPF 50 baby sunscreen all over her kid, including on his face and in his hair.
2 minutes later...
MIL: I really wish he had a hat.
Me: I do too. But I haven't been able to find one that fits on his head and has a chin strap, and he rips every hat off his head as soon as I put it on. I tried an age 2-3 one on yesterday when we were out shopping, but it was too small. And it had no strap.
3 minutes later...
MIL: He really should be wearing a hat.
Me: I know. But like I said, I haven't been able to find one that fits his head and has a chin strap. And he rips everything off his head.
1 minute later...
MIL: What about Justin's old ball caps I gave you guys?
Justin: You didn't.
4 minutes later...
MIL: Really, he should be wearing a hat.
Me: We don't have one. And he's covered in sunscreen. He'll be fine.
1 minute later...
MIL: He would probably keep a hat on if he realized it keeps the sun out of his eyes.
Me: Yes, all 14 month olds are logical like that.
2 minutes later...
MIL: I really wish he had a hat.
Me: silence
Honestly, sometimes I wonder if she just likes to hear herself talk. Or does she really not listen to me? Or is she just trying to make conversation? Does she not realize how annoying that all was?
(Edited to add: The next day when we went into the front yard to play, my friend Erin, who lives across the street and heard about 3 of MIL's comments about his hat, ran across the street to present Noah with a brand new hat that fit his head and had a chin strap. Problem solved. Although when MIL makes such a big deal about something, it really makes me not want her to get her way. So I may just leave him hatless when he's around her. Which is hardly ever.)
On Friday when Justin got home from work we immediately started with the process of patching and seeding holes in the lawn (leftover from picking weeds). Then we started completely overseeding the back lawn. For whatever reason the grass back there has gotten really patchy, even though the grass in the front is great.
The overseeding had to carry over into Saturday morning. We used over 40 bags of top soil, which shocked me because we don't have an enormous backyard.
Then after Noah's nap we went into town to buy lumber, since we are finishing off our backyard fence in the next month. We spent over $800 on lumber and supplies, which also shocked me because we are only putting up 50 feet of fence, plus two gates. I never would have thought it would cost that much. Including the cost to get the posts put in for us, we will be spending about $1100 on this project. Which only saves us about $700 from the cost to get someone to do it for us. I really thought we would be saving more than that.
Then on Sunday we went to church in the morning. Our third Sunday in a row. The one nap thing means we can finally make it back to church again. Our attendance has been so hit and miss for the past year and a half. We used to go every Sunday. Then I wrecked my pelvis at 30 weeks pregnant. Then I had a baby. Then my baby got not so portable because he wouldn't sleep just anywhere. Then his nap was right during church. Now, finally, we can go again.
Shockingly, Noah fell asleep nursing during the service. Seriously, I was shocked. He has only slept in church one other time, and that was during the service when he was baptized. I never ever thought he could fall asleep in church at 14 months old. Especially not after only 2.5 hours of awake time. He slept for a little over half an hour. Right through the main prayer, the sermon, the organ playing and singing... He woke up right when the sermon ended.
Since he had a catnap during church, we threw away our original plan of heading straight home to put him down for a nap. First we went to visit one of Justin's Nonna's, who we hadn't seen for a few months (his parents never ever invite either of them over, so we always have to go see them on our own, which really annoys me). We weren't there for very long, but while we were there she asked me if I feed Noah, since he's so lean. No, woman, I starve my child. Freakin Italians thinking every baby needs to be big and fat. And she told me to call her sometime. Umm, that doesn't sound like a great idea. She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Italian. Visiting her for 15 minutes totally drains me of all my energy because I can't understand a word that comes out of her mouth. Its very exhausting trying to figure out what she's saying, since she talks non stop. On Sunday I actually thought she was talking about a "sexy professor" when she was talking about "six prophecies."
After that visit we went to my parents' house. My mom was sitting in church with us, but my dad wasn't. He got his shoulder replaced last Wednesday, so he was still at home. He is pretty much Noah's biggest fan besides Justin and I, and he always appreciates any time he gets to spend with him. We had steak and salad for lunch.
Then we had to rush home because Justin's parents were coming over at 2:30. Noah decided to shock me again and fall asleep in the car 5 minutes from home. Since he woke up from his church nap at 11, I knew I shouldn't wake him up when we got home. Instead, Justin got out of the van to visit with his parents, and I drove around for 40 minutes. Noah woke up at 3:10, and we went home to visit with his other set of grandparents.
The highlight of that visit was when we went outside. It went something like this:
MIL: Doesn't he have a hat?
Me: No, I haven't been able to find one that fits on his head, which is apparently the size of a 3-4 year old, and has a chin strap, and he rips every hat off his head as soon as I put it on. I just put sunscreen all over his face and in his hair.
Lauren rubs SPF 50 baby sunscreen all over her kid, including on his face and in his hair.
2 minutes later...
MIL: I really wish he had a hat.
Me: I do too. But I haven't been able to find one that fits on his head and has a chin strap, and he rips every hat off his head as soon as I put it on. I tried an age 2-3 one on yesterday when we were out shopping, but it was too small. And it had no strap.
3 minutes later...
MIL: He really should be wearing a hat.
Me: I know. But like I said, I haven't been able to find one that fits his head and has a chin strap. And he rips everything off his head.
1 minute later...
MIL: What about Justin's old ball caps I gave you guys?
Justin: You didn't.
4 minutes later...
MIL: Really, he should be wearing a hat.
Me: We don't have one. And he's covered in sunscreen. He'll be fine.
1 minute later...
MIL: He would probably keep a hat on if he realized it keeps the sun out of his eyes.
Me: Yes, all 14 month olds are logical like that.
2 minutes later...
MIL: I really wish he had a hat.
Me: silence
Honestly, sometimes I wonder if she just likes to hear herself talk. Or does she really not listen to me? Or is she just trying to make conversation? Does she not realize how annoying that all was?
(Edited to add: The next day when we went into the front yard to play, my friend Erin, who lives across the street and heard about 3 of MIL's comments about his hat, ran across the street to present Noah with a brand new hat that fit his head and had a chin strap. Problem solved. Although when MIL makes such a big deal about something, it really makes me not want her to get her way. So I may just leave him hatless when he's around her. Which is hardly ever.)
Monday, May 16, 2011
A Newborn's Conversation With God
A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"
God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."
The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you.
And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."
Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."
"Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."
"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
God said, "You will simply call her, 'Mom.'"
God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."
The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."
God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you.
And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."
Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"
God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."
"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"
God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."
"Who will protect me?"
God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."
"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."
God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."
At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."
God said, "You will simply call her, 'Mom.'"
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Just So Thankful
After going through infertility, I feel like I am more thankful for my child than some other people I know who can take their fertility for granted. Yes, I have my frustrations with parenthood sometimes. Because let's face it - it's not always easy. But I am by far the happiest I have ever been in my entire life, and there's really nothing I would want to change.
If going through infertility weren't enough to keep me thankful for my wonderful, healthy son, there are so many situations that occur in my circle of friendships that help renew my thankfulness:
-When a friend experiences a miscarriage.
-When friends continue to try to conceive their miracle baby, but can't. I remember all too well how devastating it is to go through that, not knowing if you will ever be pregnant or have any child at all, through any means.
-When a friend is hospitalized in early pregnancy because of complications, even though she has a 5 year old and 10 month old at home.
-When a friend has a premature baby who needs to spend time in the NICU.
-When a friend makes it to 36 weeks, and discovers that her baby has died. She has to go through an induction, labour, and birth of a stillborn son who they'd been dreaming of and waiting for. And even though they knew he had died, they kept thinking during the whole labour that when he was born, it would all be a mistake and he would be alive.
And of course, little Bronson. Tonight he will get his third dose of chemo, the last one until the next round in 3 weeks. It has caused his tiny body to swell up and bloat and has not improved his situation so far. I know he is too little to actually understand anything, but I really pray that he is too little to even have any concept of what is going on around him. I pray he doesn't feel any pain or discomfort, or loneliness. This poor little boy should not be alone in a bed, unable to breathe on his own, unable to be held by his loving parents, hooked up to so many wires and tubes, with his body ravaged by cancer. I pray that God is just taking away any sense of fear, confusion, and pain from that tiny baby. I know he can't take it all away from his parents, his family, and their friends. But I hope and pray he can spare Bronson from those feelings.
My heart is so heavy for my friend. My tears fall for her often, and I know I'm not the only one. I don't think I make it through an hour without stopping to pray for that 6 day old boy, and for strength for his parents to make it through this impossible situation.
And there hasn't been a second that I've stopped thinking about how blessed we are to have our little boy, healthy and safe, at home in our loving arms.
If going through infertility weren't enough to keep me thankful for my wonderful, healthy son, there are so many situations that occur in my circle of friendships that help renew my thankfulness:
-When a friend experiences a miscarriage.
-When friends continue to try to conceive their miracle baby, but can't. I remember all too well how devastating it is to go through that, not knowing if you will ever be pregnant or have any child at all, through any means.
-When a friend is hospitalized in early pregnancy because of complications, even though she has a 5 year old and 10 month old at home.
-When a friend has a premature baby who needs to spend time in the NICU.
-When a friend makes it to 36 weeks, and discovers that her baby has died. She has to go through an induction, labour, and birth of a stillborn son who they'd been dreaming of and waiting for. And even though they knew he had died, they kept thinking during the whole labour that when he was born, it would all be a mistake and he would be alive.
And of course, little Bronson. Tonight he will get his third dose of chemo, the last one until the next round in 3 weeks. It has caused his tiny body to swell up and bloat and has not improved his situation so far. I know he is too little to actually understand anything, but I really pray that he is too little to even have any concept of what is going on around him. I pray he doesn't feel any pain or discomfort, or loneliness. This poor little boy should not be alone in a bed, unable to breathe on his own, unable to be held by his loving parents, hooked up to so many wires and tubes, with his body ravaged by cancer. I pray that God is just taking away any sense of fear, confusion, and pain from that tiny baby. I know he can't take it all away from his parents, his family, and their friends. But I hope and pray he can spare Bronson from those feelings.
My heart is so heavy for my friend. My tears fall for her often, and I know I'm not the only one. I don't think I make it through an hour without stopping to pray for that 6 day old boy, and for strength for his parents to make it through this impossible situation.
And there hasn't been a second that I've stopped thinking about how blessed we are to have our little boy, healthy and safe, at home in our loving arms.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Baby Bronson
A friend of mine, Angela, had a baby boy early this past week. She has a little girl, Kallie, who is just 3 weeks older than Noah, and then had a surprise pregnancy shortly after she was born. The kids were born less than 15 months apart.
Baby Bronson was born 2.5 weeks early, and was almost immediately air lifted to Sick Kids hospital in Toronto. Angela and Jon couldn't even hold him until he was a couple of days old. They had no idea what was wrong with him, but foremost among his problems was a liver 4x the normal size, and not functioning properly. He has been on and off the vent, and has had the top doctors in the country on his case, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. For a few days no one could fit his symptoms with a diagnosis.
Yesterday morning he had a bone marrow biopsy, and while the tests came back inconclusive, the top children's oncologist in Canada is almost certain he has bilateral neuroblastoma, a cancer. Apparently there are only 45 such cases in the entire world. They started him on chemotherapy last night.
My heart breaks for Angela and Jon, and for little baby Bronson. This should not be happening. No baby should be born with cancer, forced to live hooked up to machines to who knows how long, and be started on chemo at 4 days old. Everytime I think of them my stomach aches and my eyes tear.
Please keep them in your prayers. Here is a link to a note about Bronson that is frequently updated. And here is a link to a facebook group dedicated to Bronson. This family needs a lot of prayer. Many of you know what it is like to have your baby in the NICU, and obviously this is not your usual NICU case.
I can only imagine how hard it is for them to be going through this. My heart was breaking for them even before Bronson's cancer diagnosis came. I just can't imagine giving birth to what I thought was going to be a completely healthy baby, and then not even get to hold him for days. I can't imagine having my little boy living in the NICU hooked up to machines, and all I can do is touch his hand. I can't imagine not being able to constantly cuddle and nurse my newborn baby.
This situation has made me so nervous to have more children. We were so blessed with Noah, to have a perfectly healthy and happy delivery with no complications. I never had to let my baby out of my arms or my sight. And Noah has been perfectly healthy ever since (11 illnesses in 10 months notwithstanding... they were nothing compared to this). To think of having another baby, and the chances of things not going as smoothly as they did with Noah... it scares me. I never want to watch my child be in pain, confused by what's happening around him, wondering why he's not in his warm womb and not having the replacement of his Mommy's loving, warm arms instead. I honestly can't imagine what kind of strength it takes to get through that.
I know far more babies are born healthy than not. But it still makes me nervous to test it.
Please, please keep baby Bronson and his parents in your prayers.
Baby Bronson was born 2.5 weeks early, and was almost immediately air lifted to Sick Kids hospital in Toronto. Angela and Jon couldn't even hold him until he was a couple of days old. They had no idea what was wrong with him, but foremost among his problems was a liver 4x the normal size, and not functioning properly. He has been on and off the vent, and has had the top doctors in the country on his case, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. For a few days no one could fit his symptoms with a diagnosis.
Yesterday morning he had a bone marrow biopsy, and while the tests came back inconclusive, the top children's oncologist in Canada is almost certain he has bilateral neuroblastoma, a cancer. Apparently there are only 45 such cases in the entire world. They started him on chemotherapy last night.
My heart breaks for Angela and Jon, and for little baby Bronson. This should not be happening. No baby should be born with cancer, forced to live hooked up to machines to who knows how long, and be started on chemo at 4 days old. Everytime I think of them my stomach aches and my eyes tear.
Please keep them in your prayers. Here is a link to a note about Bronson that is frequently updated. And here is a link to a facebook group dedicated to Bronson. This family needs a lot of prayer. Many of you know what it is like to have your baby in the NICU, and obviously this is not your usual NICU case.
I can only imagine how hard it is for them to be going through this. My heart was breaking for them even before Bronson's cancer diagnosis came. I just can't imagine giving birth to what I thought was going to be a completely healthy baby, and then not even get to hold him for days. I can't imagine having my little boy living in the NICU hooked up to machines, and all I can do is touch his hand. I can't imagine not being able to constantly cuddle and nurse my newborn baby.
This situation has made me so nervous to have more children. We were so blessed with Noah, to have a perfectly healthy and happy delivery with no complications. I never had to let my baby out of my arms or my sight. And Noah has been perfectly healthy ever since (11 illnesses in 10 months notwithstanding... they were nothing compared to this). To think of having another baby, and the chances of things not going as smoothly as they did with Noah... it scares me. I never want to watch my child be in pain, confused by what's happening around him, wondering why he's not in his warm womb and not having the replacement of his Mommy's loving, warm arms instead. I honestly can't imagine what kind of strength it takes to get through that.
I know far more babies are born healthy than not. But it still makes me nervous to test it.
Please, please keep baby Bronson and his parents in your prayers.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Worst Bathtime EVER (and 1 year appointment)
oh. my. gosh.
That was, without a doubt, the worst bathtime EVER.
Noah was screaming like he was possessed by demons. Like he was being tortured. He was clinging to me so tight, wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my body, burying his head into my neck. It was AWFUL.
I felt terrible, but he really needed a bath. He didn't have one yesterday, and he had sunscreen all over his face, arms, legs, and in his hair. He really needed a bath. After we got him out Justin had to moisturize him as best he could as his clung to me like a little monkey, crying his head off.
Getting his diaper on was also awful. He would not let go of my neck. It was hard enough to get him on the change table because he was trying so hard to wrap his legs around my body. I laid him down and leaned over top of him so he could keep hugging me tight, and Justin desitined his bum and tried to diaper him. A few times Noah pushed me away so he could desperately sign to nurse, and then he'd pull me back in. If I could have I would have nursed him while he was lying on the table, but he still needed his pajamas on, and they and his sleepsack were lying on our bed, where I always nurse him at bedtime.
It was awful. I hope that never happens again. He did conk out while I was nursing him, though. Maybe he was really overtired, leftover from yesterday.
Today was also Noah's 12 month doctor's appointment. What's that you say? He's almost 14 months old?
I know. But Noah was sick 3 times in the month after he turned 1, and I didn't want to take him to the doctor and to get shots when he was sick. Then today was the soonest I could get in.
My doctor's office opens back up after lunch at 2pm, but I couldn't get an appointment until 2:30 (if I wanted a 2pm appointment I couldn't get in until a full week later). Since they should only be booking 2 people every 15 minutes, it'd be ridiculous if they were already running very behind at 2:30, right? Well, I waited in the waiting room for 45 minutes, and then again in the exam room for 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, Noah was in a crappy mood before we even left our house. He did fine while we waited in the waiting room, since there were a bunch of old people paying attention to him. But once we got into the exam room Noah was pissed off, and all he wanted to do was leave. He kept trying to get out the door. He cried when the nurse tried to measure his height, and cried when she measured his head. Then when the doctor came in Noah was all "Get the heck away from me," and cried with everything he did. Listening to his chest, checking his ears... forget the shots. He has never cried like that.
Noah is not a crybaby. He often doesn't cry at all when he gets hurt. If he does cry, it's not normally for very long. But he was so upset about these shots. I held him while he got them, and he would occasionally look at the doctor accusingly, with giant tears running down his face, but the rest of the time he spent clinging to me, head buried in my neck, crying his eyes out.
He was so upset that I nursed him afterward. It was the first time he needed it after shots. All his other shots he cried for about 30 seconds after just the second shot, but not at all after the first one. Not this time. He was still kind of crying while I was nursing him afterward. And he didn't show any signs of popping off the boob. The doctor had been gone a couple of minutes, and finally I said, "Noah, do you want to go home?" He grunted while he was nursing, to mean yes, and so I said "Well, if you stop nursing we can go home and see Daddy." So he popped off and pointed to the door, and we were out of there. It was our worst doctor's appointment ever.
Today has not been a wonderful day for that poor little guy. Hopefully tomorrow is better.
That was, without a doubt, the worst bathtime EVER.
Noah was screaming like he was possessed by demons. Like he was being tortured. He was clinging to me so tight, wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my body, burying his head into my neck. It was AWFUL.
I felt terrible, but he really needed a bath. He didn't have one yesterday, and he had sunscreen all over his face, arms, legs, and in his hair. He really needed a bath. After we got him out Justin had to moisturize him as best he could as his clung to me like a little monkey, crying his head off.
Getting his diaper on was also awful. He would not let go of my neck. It was hard enough to get him on the change table because he was trying so hard to wrap his legs around my body. I laid him down and leaned over top of him so he could keep hugging me tight, and Justin desitined his bum and tried to diaper him. A few times Noah pushed me away so he could desperately sign to nurse, and then he'd pull me back in. If I could have I would have nursed him while he was lying on the table, but he still needed his pajamas on, and they and his sleepsack were lying on our bed, where I always nurse him at bedtime.
It was awful. I hope that never happens again. He did conk out while I was nursing him, though. Maybe he was really overtired, leftover from yesterday.
~~~~~~~~~
Today was also Noah's 12 month doctor's appointment. What's that you say? He's almost 14 months old?
I know. But Noah was sick 3 times in the month after he turned 1, and I didn't want to take him to the doctor and to get shots when he was sick. Then today was the soonest I could get in.
My doctor's office opens back up after lunch at 2pm, but I couldn't get an appointment until 2:30 (if I wanted a 2pm appointment I couldn't get in until a full week later). Since they should only be booking 2 people every 15 minutes, it'd be ridiculous if they were already running very behind at 2:30, right? Well, I waited in the waiting room for 45 minutes, and then again in the exam room for 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, Noah was in a crappy mood before we even left our house. He did fine while we waited in the waiting room, since there were a bunch of old people paying attention to him. But once we got into the exam room Noah was pissed off, and all he wanted to do was leave. He kept trying to get out the door. He cried when the nurse tried to measure his height, and cried when she measured his head. Then when the doctor came in Noah was all "Get the heck away from me," and cried with everything he did. Listening to his chest, checking his ears... forget the shots. He has never cried like that.
Noah is not a crybaby. He often doesn't cry at all when he gets hurt. If he does cry, it's not normally for very long. But he was so upset about these shots. I held him while he got them, and he would occasionally look at the doctor accusingly, with giant tears running down his face, but the rest of the time he spent clinging to me, head buried in my neck, crying his eyes out.
He was so upset that I nursed him afterward. It was the first time he needed it after shots. All his other shots he cried for about 30 seconds after just the second shot, but not at all after the first one. Not this time. He was still kind of crying while I was nursing him afterward. And he didn't show any signs of popping off the boob. The doctor had been gone a couple of minutes, and finally I said, "Noah, do you want to go home?" He grunted while he was nursing, to mean yes, and so I said "Well, if you stop nursing we can go home and see Daddy." So he popped off and pointed to the door, and we were out of there. It was our worst doctor's appointment ever.
Today has not been a wonderful day for that poor little guy. Hopefully tomorrow is better.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Mother's Day, 2011
I love Mother's Day. And I love that I love Mother's Day, now. After experiencing infertility, and the awful dread of this day in May, it is wonderful to be able to participate in a day in which everybody celebrates Mothers.
I love being a Mom. I feel like nobody could love being a mom more than me. Logically I know this is probably not true, but I just love it that much that it feels like it could be true. I don't need one day to celebrate being a mom, but this one day sure does feel special to me.
On the morning of Mother's Day 2011, my 13.5 month old Noah handed me a Mother's Day card. Adorable:) My gift, a personalized Noah necklace from The Vintage Pearl, is en route. After hurrying to get ready, we went to church, then spent the day at my parents' house with all of my siblings. Noah had a fantastic day, despite only having one half hour nap all day long.
I don't often write about details of my days. I think since my readership has "grown" I am more guarded about what I write about. There are a lot of boring details (not boring to me, but probably boring to others) I would like to remember that I don't blog about, because I feel like every blog post needs to be an "event" now, instead of just my life. This makes it so that I write less, which I don't like. I am going to try and get over this. And I'm starting here, since Mother's Day is a big deal in my little world, and I'd like to remember the details.
So the nap thing. Noah woke up at 7:45am, and finally at 1:15pm we had to leave my parents for a bit to go for a drive so he would hopefully fall asleep. Elijah and Josiah were using both cribs, so there wasn't even a chance of that happening (although it's very unlikely he would sleep in someone else's crib), and Noah wouldn't fall asleep when I tried to nurse him. He'd been awake for 5.5 hours. He fell asleep on the drive, but only slept half an hour. So he only had one half hour nap the whole day.
He was really good though. Everyone was impressed with him in church. I nursed him a couple of times and fed him mum mums, so he was good. He was at the end of his patience by the end of the 25 minute sermon, but then it was over, thankfully. Our services are a minimum of 75 minutes long. I wish it was just an hour. But Noah did well anyway.
He was especially so good compared to Elijah and Josiah (my nephews). They were SO whiney and shrieky all day. Noah was a total angel. And he just wanted to keep hugging and kissing Josiah, who's 7 months old. Like I said a couple of days ago, he is just so sweet. Unfortunately, Josiah was FREAKING OUT like Noah was trying to kill him. But anytime I touched Noah's arms to check his hold, it was clear that Noah was being soooo gentle. He wasn't squeezing him or anything. At one point Noah cried because Josiah was screaming so much and he just wanted to hug and kiss him. It was so cute and sad. And Noah cried/pouted a couple of times when Elijah hurt him by slamming his fingers in toys. But he had a really good day.
We put him in his pajamas before we left and he fell asleep 5 minutes from home. I could have just taken him out of his carseat and put him in his bed. When I took him out and laid him on his sleepsack and put his arms through and zipped him up he stayed compeltely asleep. When I picked him up to nurse him he kind of grimaced and made a small pouting noise, but didn't wake up. I easily could have just put him in the crib, but I didn't want to be too full overnight, so I wanted him to nurse from at least the one side. He did, and was in bed after about 5 minutes.
I love being a Mom. I feel like nobody could love being a mom more than me. Logically I know this is probably not true, but I just love it that much that it feels like it could be true. I don't need one day to celebrate being a mom, but this one day sure does feel special to me.
On the morning of Mother's Day 2011, my 13.5 month old Noah handed me a Mother's Day card. Adorable:) My gift, a personalized Noah necklace from The Vintage Pearl, is en route. After hurrying to get ready, we went to church, then spent the day at my parents' house with all of my siblings. Noah had a fantastic day, despite only having one half hour nap all day long.
I don't often write about details of my days. I think since my readership has "grown" I am more guarded about what I write about. There are a lot of boring details (not boring to me, but probably boring to others) I would like to remember that I don't blog about, because I feel like every blog post needs to be an "event" now, instead of just my life. This makes it so that I write less, which I don't like. I am going to try and get over this. And I'm starting here, since Mother's Day is a big deal in my little world, and I'd like to remember the details.
So the nap thing. Noah woke up at 7:45am, and finally at 1:15pm we had to leave my parents for a bit to go for a drive so he would hopefully fall asleep. Elijah and Josiah were using both cribs, so there wasn't even a chance of that happening (although it's very unlikely he would sleep in someone else's crib), and Noah wouldn't fall asleep when I tried to nurse him. He'd been awake for 5.5 hours. He fell asleep on the drive, but only slept half an hour. So he only had one half hour nap the whole day.
He was really good though. Everyone was impressed with him in church. I nursed him a couple of times and fed him mum mums, so he was good. He was at the end of his patience by the end of the 25 minute sermon, but then it was over, thankfully. Our services are a minimum of 75 minutes long. I wish it was just an hour. But Noah did well anyway.
He was especially so good compared to Elijah and Josiah (my nephews). They were SO whiney and shrieky all day. Noah was a total angel. And he just wanted to keep hugging and kissing Josiah, who's 7 months old. Like I said a couple of days ago, he is just so sweet. Unfortunately, Josiah was FREAKING OUT like Noah was trying to kill him. But anytime I touched Noah's arms to check his hold, it was clear that Noah was being soooo gentle. He wasn't squeezing him or anything. At one point Noah cried because Josiah was screaming so much and he just wanted to hug and kiss him. It was so cute and sad. And Noah cried/pouted a couple of times when Elijah hurt him by slamming his fingers in toys. But he had a really good day.
We put him in his pajamas before we left and he fell asleep 5 minutes from home. I could have just taken him out of his carseat and put him in his bed. When I took him out and laid him on his sleepsack and put his arms through and zipped him up he stayed compeltely asleep. When I picked him up to nurse him he kind of grimaced and made a small pouting noise, but didn't wake up. I easily could have just put him in the crib, but I didn't want to be too full overnight, so I wanted him to nurse from at least the one side. He did, and was in bed after about 5 minutes.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Before I Was a Mom
Before I was a Mom:
I made and ate hot meals;
I had unstained clothing;
I wore makeup every day;
I had quiet conversations on the phone;
I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.
Before I was a Mom:
My house was always clean and tidy;
I never tripped over toys or sang lullabies;
I didn't worry whether or not my floor cleaner was poisonous;
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.
Before I was a Mom:
I never looked into teary eyes and cried;
I had never so badly wished I could take another person's pain;
I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt;
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
Before I was a Mom:
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down;
I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep;
I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay;
I didn't know how special it could feel to nurse a hungry baby.
Before I was a Mom:
I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body;
I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so important;
I didn't know the weight and the pure joy of being the most significant person in a tiny being's life;
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.
Before I was a Mom:
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much;
I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child;
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much;
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body;
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
Before I was a Mom:
I never understood that you could love someone so much you would truly give your life for them, without even a second thought.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mommy's out there!
And to all those who have yet to become Moms in the way that society recognizes, my heart truly does ache for you. I pray that all your dreams will come true soon. And in my eyes you are all mothers, waiting for your children.
I made and ate hot meals;
I had unstained clothing;
I wore makeup every day;
I had quiet conversations on the phone;
I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.
Before I was a Mom:
My house was always clean and tidy;
I never tripped over toys or sang lullabies;
I didn't worry whether or not my floor cleaner was poisonous;
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.
Before I was a Mom:
I never looked into teary eyes and cried;
I had never so badly wished I could take another person's pain;
I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt;
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
Before I was a Mom:
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down;
I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep;
I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay;
I didn't know how special it could feel to nurse a hungry baby.
Before I was a Mom:
I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body;
I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel so important;
I didn't know the weight and the pure joy of being the most significant person in a tiny being's life;
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.
Before I was a Mom:
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much;
I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child;
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much;
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body;
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
Before I was a Mom:
I never understood that you could love someone so much you would truly give your life for them, without even a second thought.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mommy's out there!
And to all those who have yet to become Moms in the way that society recognizes, my heart truly does ache for you. I pray that all your dreams will come true soon. And in my eyes you are all mothers, waiting for your children.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Such a Sweet Boy
Noah is such a sweet little boy. I know this, but when we spend time around other kids it often becomes even more glaringly obvious. On Monday we were at a playdate with my good friend Trista and her son Colton. Noah and Colton are opposites in almost every way they could possibly be opposites, including their personalities. Colton is a nice boy, but Noah and Colton are at opposite ends of the spectrum of sweet and gentle to crazy and wild. Colton was running around, being rough, smacking Noah on the head over and over (BAM BAM BAM BAM!)... Noah just kept looking at him like, "Why in the world are you doing this...?"
Here are just a few examples of Noah's sweetness:
-He hugs now. Like really hugs. Gripping my shoulders, burying his head into my neck, and just loving all over me. I love how his hugs are grippy and tight now:)
-Right now we have this random picture of Justin and I from when we were dating floating around in our kitchen. When we let Noah hold it, he smiles and then "hugs" the picture by bringing it up to his cheek.
-When he sees kittens in any of his books, he "hugs" the picture (by laying his cheek on it).
-He has this touch and feel book with big pictures of animals in it that have fuzzy patches. He especially likes to "hug" the picture of the bunny, and will lay his whole upper body on it if the book is on the ground.
-A couple of weeks ago I was working in the kitchen and he accidentally slammed a pot he was playing with on top of my bare foot. I yelped in pain and then was crouched down holding my foot and saying "Ouch! You really hurt Mommy!" He stood in front of me looking all concerned, and then over and over he would put his hands on my shoulders and lean his forehead on my forehead, or give me a hug. So cute!
-He thinks it's hilarious when Justin and I hug and/or kiss, and he always wants in on the action. He'll walk over and reach to be picked up so he can get hugs too. Either that, or he pushes Justin away so he gets Mommy to himself. So funny!
-Everytime he is around a baby or toddler, he wants to hug and kiss him or her.
I love having such a sweet, gentle little boy. I just to smush his little face.
Here are just a few examples of Noah's sweetness:
-He hugs now. Like really hugs. Gripping my shoulders, burying his head into my neck, and just loving all over me. I love how his hugs are grippy and tight now:)
-Right now we have this random picture of Justin and I from when we were dating floating around in our kitchen. When we let Noah hold it, he smiles and then "hugs" the picture by bringing it up to his cheek.
-When he sees kittens in any of his books, he "hugs" the picture (by laying his cheek on it).
-He has this touch and feel book with big pictures of animals in it that have fuzzy patches. He especially likes to "hug" the picture of the bunny, and will lay his whole upper body on it if the book is on the ground.
-A couple of weeks ago I was working in the kitchen and he accidentally slammed a pot he was playing with on top of my bare foot. I yelped in pain and then was crouched down holding my foot and saying "Ouch! You really hurt Mommy!" He stood in front of me looking all concerned, and then over and over he would put his hands on my shoulders and lean his forehead on my forehead, or give me a hug. So cute!
-He thinks it's hilarious when Justin and I hug and/or kiss, and he always wants in on the action. He'll walk over and reach to be picked up so he can get hugs too. Either that, or he pushes Justin away so he gets Mommy to himself. So funny!
-Everytime he is around a baby or toddler, he wants to hug and kiss him or her.
I love having such a sweet, gentle little boy. I just to smush his little face.
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