Teething Hell (part II)

Why does teething have to cause a disruption to our regularly scheduled program? Preston had a good thing going there. Wake up at 7:30am, nap from 12pm-4pm, and bedtime at 8pm. I mean, we could practically set our watches to this routine. But a vacation in Florida and two molars have f***ed this flow up. Why? I want to scream from the rooftop. Why? Our schedule, if you can call it that now looks like this: bedtime at 8pm, won't fall asleep until 10pm and during those lovely hours cries if you leave the room. Then wake up at 3am. If you have the energy to insist that he stays in his crib, it takes him 1-2 hours to fall back asleep (with you in the room) and if we bring him in to our room, he falls asleep instantly. So as I said, depending on our energy level and our desire not to reinforce this new need for dependence, midnight awakening can either be short or long. If it's short, he wakes up around 7:30am usual. If not, then we are looking at 9am/10am. This then pushes nap time back about 30 minutes but also extends it anywhere from 4pm-5:30pm which then affects bedtime. It's a vicious cycle I tell you. (SN: I started writing this entry in his room while waiting for him to fall asleep).

So why the rant? I think deep down I need some reassurance that we will eventually go back to our regularly scheduled program. I'm not opposed to change, but I also don't like the fact that he is not sleeping through the night anymore or that it's taking him so long to fall asleep. Does his nap during the day need to be shorter? Isn't there a cardinal rule that says never wake a sleeping baby?

The confusing thing is that he doesn't foster dependence at nap time. I lay him in his crib, read a book, kiss him and tell him it's nap time and that I'll see him when he wakes up and leave the room. He lays there, chit chats to himself and then falls asleep. No whining, no tears, no insistence on having us in the room. So what's different about bedtime?

Please someone in blogland, reassure me that this too shall pass?

Teething Hell

I paid a $20 copay to be told that my son is teething. Aggrrr, I jumped the gun again. However, I'd rather pay the $20 and find out it's only that than to either worry not knowing if he's truly sick or find out that he is sick and needs meds. At any rate, we cancelled our DC trip and decided that it would probably be best for him to rest up over the holiday weekend which also allows me a chance to rest as well. If you remember, we just got back from Florida midweek, I work nights...enough said.

So we are in teething hell, which has led to snot hell, fever hell, and I won't fall asleep at night unless I'm in the same room as you hell (I use the word hell very lightly because honestly, it's really not that bad). He continues to remain rather pleasant given the circumstances but periodically gets very whiny. We are on day #3 of a fever that breaks for only a few hours if we are lucky and then returns. Consequently, we are also on day #3 of sleeping in our bedroom. I have a periodic moment of worry that he will not return to his bedroom but I think overall, he just wants to be close by. Through his misery, he continues to be a sweet boy and will seek out tight hugs from us in between play, naps, and having his nose wiped. Have I mentioned how much snot this boy has?

His upper molars have sprouted and the doctor said she can feel his lower ones pushing through. He hasn't teethed in almost 8 months. He has absolutely no use for Sophie because I think he's forgotten her purpose and yet I think she would help if he would give her a try. He loved her when he was younger.

On another note, nursing is starting to dwindle down. I think we are both ready although I'm allowing Preston to lead the way. While we were in Florida there were two mornings that he didn't nurse because my parents got him up and gave him milk and breakfast while I slept in. I've also noticed over the past week or so he's been asking for it less and less during the day. The only sucky thing about all if this is that I'm starting to gain some weight back (sigh).

Anyway, my little guy will be turning 17 months next week. Until then...

It just gets better

There are days that I think "oh this is a fun age" and then a few weeks pass and I think the same thing. It seems like each new day brings about a new skill, word, or action that makes us laugh (see pics of him trying on a pair of glasses that were left at our house). Yesterday, he realized it was fun to walk backwards. So as he would walk forward, he would just randomly stop and walk backwards. He's also learned how to ride backwards in his truck which makes him laugh a lot. New words this weekend include: doggie and night night. He also perfected the words nana and diaper. He's still working on perfecting Gracie. He can say mommy and mama but won't call us by either name. When will that start?

I also noticed that he imitates others, especially Danielle. This is pretty funny when she acts silly and he mimics her. He's very focused at times and will work on something until he gets it right(i.e. fastening a clip). I love his determination and love watching him hard at work.

At the end of May, beginning of June, we bought him two pairs of sandals hoping that they would last him the entire summer. One pair were Tevas to play in and the other, a pair from Stride Rite for when he goes out. I think the Tevas are a size 6 and the others a 6.5. Well last week we noticed that he's completely outgrown them (think toe hanging over and marks left from the others being fastened). So we went to buy him another pair and ended up with Keens in a size, brace yourself, a size 9!!!!!!!!! I know 2 year olds who wear a size 7. In Preston's defense, he's truly a size 8.5 but the salesman who fitted him recommended a 9 to give him room to grow stating if we bought the 8.5, we would be back next week for the next size up. At this rate, this child is going to be in adult shoes by the time he's 5- lol.

We are heading to Florida at the end of the week to visit his grandparents. It's a much needed trip. Why? Because my parents dote all over us by making out favorite food, driving us around, taking Preston in the morning while I sleep in. It's great. It a week of no cleaning, being annoyed because the house or laundry isn't done, or cooking. It's just lovely. We are also taking Preston to Disney for the day. What's better than that? The only downside is there's a potential hurricane and I don't want our flight to be delayed or cancelled getting there.

Anyway until next week, here are some pics of my silly bean.










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16 Months

Preston is a few days shy of turning 16 months. At this point in his life he's gained a few more words which includes "banana (a-naa-na) and eye." I'm sure there's more but I can't think right now. He's really in to giving hugs, like really good tight squeezes, I wanna show you much I love you hugs. He loves to climb and this past month, he's learned how to run which for some reason cracks him up. He loves being chased and chasing others, including the dog and cat.

Last week he went on his first camping trip with me, my best friend and her girlfriend. Being outdoors is so refreshing and I loved that Preston had a chance to get down and dirty. We had a lovely stream that ran steps behind our tent. It was wonderfully cold and refreshing after hiking and playing hard.

Being home with Preston during the day is still working out well. We have tons of fun and still have time to get in a good nap. Preston still naps from 12p-4p. However, the other afternoon he swung his leg over the front of his crib and climbed out. I'm so not ready to convert his crib. Luckily, he only tried it one more time but Danielle caught him in the act and he hasn't tried it again. Someone suggested the crib tent. I think my other option is to put him in the pack and play if things progress or see if I can remove the platform that holds his mattress and put his mattress on the floor inside of his crib (granted there are no gaps for him to get stuck in). I just worry that if I convert his crib, nap time and bed time will become a nightmare. Not to mention that I don't think he's developmentally ready to go in a toddler bed yet. When did you guys convert?

I'm working on maintaining patience while Preston tests limits. I know the situation could be worse so I won't complain but he will purposely look at me while he's doing something I told him not to do (i.e. play in the dog's water bowl, unplug things, go after the cat). I'm trying to avoid giving a huge reaction so not to reinforce it but sometimes it's hard.

Food consistency continues to be an issue. He prefers that his food is pureed somewhat (similar to stage 3 jarred food). However, he will eat fruit, crackers, etc in whole form. He refuses things like cheese, pasta, rice, etc. I'll look forward to the day he eats what we eat. I mean, he will, as long as it's pureed. He's mastered using a spoon and fork for self feeding. My newest favorite baby item is the Baby Bjorn bib. It's catches everything and wipes down nicely.

We are heading to Nana's and Granddad's at the end of the month. My 8 year old cousin is visiting them for the summer and we are going to tag along on their annual Disney World trip. It should be fun.

13 months

My baby boy is totally awesome. Even after a year, I fall deeper and deeper in love with him each and every day. He's just a funny, energetic, and delightful child. He amazes me with his new skills and antics. I tease that he's "all boy" at times because of his antics.

A few weeks ago, he discovered his penis. And let me tell you that this child doesn't miss an opportunity to touch it. Naked heiny time is now one of his favorite times of the day as well as any diaper change.

Preston has been walking full time for over 4 weeks now. He's great at signing "more", "milk" (which he uses interchangeably for milk, breastmilk, and water), and "all done." We will add a few more over the next week or two. Words include "hi" (which sounds more like "eyeeee", "up", "mama" (which he doesn't use all that much), "dadda" (which he uses a lot-lol), and "oh uh." There are some other unidentifiable words that he uses as well.

With the mention of breastmilk, we are still nursing. I feel like once you pass the 12 month mark, there's some shame attached to nursing. People expect you to stop all together. However, the truth is, we both still enjoy nursing, especially in the morning. It's a relaxing way to start the day. During the day, he nurses here and there but he generally gets water or cow's milk. We've opted not to give him juice because at this point, I see no reason for it. He gets fresh fruit at every meal and I'm not sure there's anything juice can provide that fresh fruit can't.

My little guy loves to play. He especially loves water. So bathtime, washing his hands, and playing with his water table are all at the top of his list. He really enjoys cars, or using things to push around like a car. Everything turns in to a phone for him to talk in to such as remotes, tiles, books, etc. He's learning how to throw, which is both good (balls) and bad (throwing a rock at my glass).

He continues to study things to figure out their function and how it works. I find it incredibly adorable when he tries things for himself like after I cut his fingernails, he'll take the closed clipper and puts it to his nail and then moves to the next one. He loves to try to put our shoes on. When we brush our teeth in the morning, I'll make a noise like "ahhhhhhhh" as I'm brushing and he does it too.

Well enough of me going on and on. I'm not on here that much but when I am, I want to highlight where he's at in his development.

Birthday Weekend

A coworker teases that Preston is a celebrity because he is so loved and adored by so many people. God, writing that sounds so narcessistic but it's true, he's loved by so many of my friends and family. So much that my friend flew in from NY for his first birthday and another friend drove in from DC.

We decided to have his 1st birthday party at Gymboree Play and Music. He attends classes there and it's just the perfect indoor place for a 1st birthday party. They do everything. All I had to do was show up with cupcakes and bottled water. A lot of thought went in to the cupcakes. Yea, I could have bought some from the bakery but I really wanted to feel like I contributed something to this party since they do everything for you. A first I made lemon raspberry but found them way too sweet and a little harsh for little mouths and then I found a lovely chocolate cake with mocha frosting. The mocha frosting is to die for but obviously I omitted the coffee part of it. They were a hit, topped off with a fresh raspberry.

The only thing with being a baby celebrity is that my house ends up looking like Toys R Us!!! He received a lot of cool toys and books. Ideally, I'd like to put some toys away and rotate them in a few weeks but I have to find somewhere to store them. I also have to part with some of his older toys. Half of his large sized toys are geared for outdoor play which helps a lot. We are definitely going to have a fun summer.

The following day we went to our first Pittsburgh baseball game. The Pirates have a pretty bad rep but it was fun to get out in the sun. My friend's husband works for the team and gave us really nice tickets. I would definitely go again. I had no idea what was going on but it was nice to be outside and amongst fans.

And for Preston's actual birthday which was on Monday, Danielle took the day off from work and we went to The Children's Museum.

Happy Birthday

My beautiful baby turned 1 a few days ago. These past few days I've sat back and relived my pregnancy, his birth and the past year being his mother. To say that this past year has been the best ever would be an understatement. Being a first time mother and working through the challenges most experience the first year has been pretty awesome. I can say that now that we are past some of those challenges but even in the moment, I had a lot of support and knew it was par for the course. Preston is just a pleasant, sweet and incredibly funny baby. There's not a day that goes by that I don't fall more and more in love with him or a day that passes where he doesn't amaze me with one of his antics or small feats. I've said this before and I'll say it again that I truly feel incredibly lucky. Getting pregnant was a challenge and so I never and hope I'll never take him for granted.

So here's to Danielle and I for getting through the first year parenting this awesome little boy and here's to Preston for being that awesome little boy.