Mama

On friday, big guy was sitting on the couch while I packed his bag for the day. I was at the other end of the couch and he was starting to get whiny. I continued to do what I was doing until he let out a "mama!" And then hubs said I moved so swiftly to pick him up. Truthfully, the fastest way for me to pick him up is to say mama. I just love it!

Almost crawling

Last week, big guy started really attempting to figure out this whole crawling thing. He was sleeping pretty crappily and really wanted to only be on his belly. so much so that on friday he was spitting up after eating b/c he didn't want to do anything else besides be on his belly!

On saturday he really put a lot of effort in. He figured out how to apply counter pressure on his hands so he could push his butt into the air and balance on his knees. Then he would rock back and forth and launch himself forward onto his belly, like a little goldfish. And when he's not pushing himself up this way, he is on his belly army-crawling in every direction. He is untrustworthy alone and on any surface.

I'm fairly certain that he's got a couple more days of non-crawling. THen the hubs and I will be in trouble b/c our house isn't baby proofed. And the kitty cat will definitely be in trouble. I'm also positive that his first moving target will be her. I would feel bad for her, but she's been howling and waking us all up at 4:30 for a few weeks. Jerk cat.

Fever?

The big guy's cold has morphed into a low grade fever. The nanny let me know that he was feeling a bit warm. When we got home, we took his temperature. 99.3 Not bad. We decided to go for a walk before dinner, as it has been chilly at night. While on our walk, I had a huge panic attack. What if there was something I was supposed to be doing? Am I a horrible mother b/c I didn't think to call the Dr about this? Ahhh!

When we got home we took his temp again. 99.9 OK, now I decided to call the after hours nurse and ask about it. She said it was low grade and there wasn't anything we could do. Well, duh. That's what I thought. I called my sister in law as well, Aunt K. And of course she was working-damn! I left a message anyway.

Big guy ate a great before dinner meal and slept great. 7pm-5am. Solid! When he got up, it was 98.2 Excellent work! When Aunt K finally called back, I told her about the fever and she said she agreed with the after hours nurse. Apparently, there isn't much you can do for colds/fevers until they get serious. I'm just glad it wasn't that serious!

Sleepy weekend

Big guy is still dealing with his cold. And since I woke up with the cold on saturday, big guy and I napped all weekend. It was glorious. Saturday we took an hour nap in the morning, got up and ate and then took another 2 1/2 hour nap. Big guy and I both looked an felt better after that. We went to the BF group for working moms and since we are still contagious, we just stopped to chat. Yes, we can start a sippy cup. Yes, I can take vitamin C. We can start puffs or cheerios. (Side note- we attempted puffs and big guy swallowed it whole, so much for melting on his tongue!).

Following this, we went and got milkshakes- I at least was trying to soothe my sore throat. We then went home and relaxed the rest of the day. Sunday was more naps and a trip to the supermarket. Big guy and I did a full shop without hubs for the first time. He was loving the supermarket and all the pretty girls that were smiling at him. Big guy actually started screeching at a woman in the milk section until she turned around. Funny stuff.

Finally, Grandma C, Grandpa J, and Uncle I came to visit in the afternoon and got us just tired enough to take a nap.

Mom

Vengeance! Um, wait, that sounds bad. Justice! Sunday morning, big guy was practicing his MMMMM's. And then came out, Mom. Yay! He said it two more times during the day. That's right, I'm Mom! And now big guy can say dada and mom.

My baby has a cold!

Wednesday brought with it a cold. My baby is sick! All night I could hear him snorting like a little piglet. He slept fine, but was just noisy. When I got him up on wednesday morning, he was ok, but still snorty. By the time I got him at noon, he was full out dripping snot. It was pretty gross. But he was still in good spirits. We went home and napped and ate. I had to work at night, so hubs had to get him to bed. Apparently it didn't go too well, b/c by the time I got home, they were both asleep in our bed. I was so tired, I didn't care!

Thursday morning brought more snot and lots of sneezing. I had called the doctor on wednesday afternoon, knowing I couldn't do anything for him, besides just try to make him comfortable. The nurse confirmed this. He really hates having his nose wiped. Such a quintessential kid! And then the snot started being streaked with blood. Oh, his nose is so irritated.

But, he was sleeping great at night and totally cheerful and napping great during the day. It really is just snottiness when he's awake. The nanny was telling me how he was such a champ during the day. And of course, I woke up with the cold on saturday!

Another milestone?

For about five days big guy was not sleeping well. He kept waking up during the night and having a really hard time falling back to sleep. Which meant that I was not sleeping well either. Oh, so tired! My sister-in-law, Aunt K, told me that whenever her son would have funky sleep, it usually meant he was on the verge of another milestone. I'm beginning to think big guy might be the same way. When I look back at his sleeping, I can see that he started to say dada around the time of the funky sleep. Ah-ha!

Sunbeams

Big guy has discovered sunbeams. It's so dreamy and sweet. He will notice them on the bed, floor, and walls and just reach for them. The most frustrating parts are when the show up on his hands and when he rakes his fingers across them to pick them up. Have you ever heard of anything more precious than trying to pick up a sunbeam?

Peas! Peas!

We started peas today! The first bite was a bit surprising. Going from squash to peas is a big leap. But then big guy realized he really liked it and was opening up his mouth like a little birdy. Too fun! Of course, the next day brought with it a huge poo that looked and smelled exactly like peas. That was a fun one to clean up!

On the third day of peas, I noticed that big guy had a bunch of eczema patches all over his legs and arms. I don't know if it is due to the change in weather- hot and humid to cool and dry or the peas. However, I halted the eating of the peas, just to make sure. The eczema is gone, but I think I'll move on to green beans and then fruit, finally!

And then we ate out...

Hubs and I have been out to eat with big guy, but we finally felt comfortable putting him in a high chair. We went to the Ruby Tuesday's before a shopping trip on sunday and plopped big guy down. Luckily, it was time for big guy to eat his oatmeal. He loved being there and seeing all the wait staff smiling at him. The salad bar was also pretty fascinating.

He did such a great job and it was really cool that he is old enough to sit in a high chair and "eat" with us. I'm excited for when he can eat what we are eating- as he is constantly trying to eat whatever is on my plate. My little hungry man.

Farmer's Market

Saturday brought with it really nice weather and a chunk of time to do some fun outdoor activity. Big guy and I decided to walk to the local farmer's market. Taking entirely back ways to avoid the big roads, we made it to the farmer's market a little after ten. We did a brief pass through to check out the places we would stop at. Then we took off our sweatshirts and settled down for some oatmeal for breakfast.

We happened to see a lot of weird parenting. LIke a guy walking his kid into a sign that said no parking here. Uh, the kid barely noticed being slammed into a pole. So sad. Following oatmeal and a nice burp, we walked to the first stand and bought a butternut squash. Big guy tried to steal some ladies lettuce- he was getting a little handsy with the lettuce! We then went to an apple stand and big guy and I picked out five apples. Lastly, big guy chose for hubs 3 tomatoes. Overall, a very productive shopping trip!

7 Months today!

Today my big guy turned seven months old. I can't believe it. He is so old. Now he is closer to being a year old than being a newborn. I'm so glad he's seven months- he just gets better and better! Happy seven months love bug!

Music class

Big guy started music class today with the nanny and pips. Apparently he was a hit. This was the same day as the Dada excitement. So, big guy was yelling dada all day! Since nanny had two kids, big guy sat with someone else and they proceeded to sing, dance, clap, and generally have a good time. They learned all about Cuba and Cuban music today. Big guy had a great time and napped afterwards. I even got a cd of all the music for the class with the teacher J singing. The first song has lots of clapping- a very good skill!

Dada

Big guy started to say dada this week. One morning I got a call from hubs who said, he's saying dada! Then I hear through the phone, dada, dada! Harumph! He's supposed to love me more! I got defensive. Obviously. I said, first, you don't know if he is talking about you- only big guy knows. Hubs didn't like that. But then hubs went and told the nanny how he was saying dada. So, everyone she met that day- of music class- she told and then he would start saying dada. which is actually really cute. But when you say where's dada, he doesn't look at hubs. Say where's mama, and eyes go right to me. Ha!

Week two with nanny

Well, as you can tell by lack of posts, this was our first week of all nanny all the time. The week started off very rocky. We had a great weekend and big guy was extra sleepy. Of course, that meant that monday and tuesday he was refusing to nap. Hubs said the nanny looked rough when he picked up big guy. Usually when he approached the house, he could hear sobbing and then when he walked in, the big crocodile tears. So sad.

Wednesday saw a turn, big guy actually took a nap, on schedule! I think he was also really exhausted b/c they went to the local daycare, which has a drop-in play group. Big guy loves a crowd of babies to smile, play with, and talk to. Thursday was the beginning of a really cute music class called BABIES! They are learning all about music of the Caribbean this fall. Again, napped on time all day. He was still exhausted by the time he got to me, but at least he was sleeping and having fun! On thursday, he actually woke up at five pm and we were able to go out and eat!

Friday, I left early for Yom Kippur (while I drove I thought about what I wanted to change for the year- being less quick to yell at the hubs) and got to pick up big guy from the nanny. Don't know what hubs is talking about- big guy had a huge smile and no tears when I got there. Must have known I was coming! Talked to the nanny for a bit and then we went home, ate, and napped.

Those toes again

There is something about baby toes. They are just adorable and tasty. I noticed this week that sometimes when big guy is BFing, he moves his feet around. Nothing obnoxious, just kind of swirling his feet around and flexing his toes. It really was precious. Reminds me of hubs, who is always moving some part of his body.

Also, when big guy is sitting in his high chair- he rests his feet on the tray or the table. You gotta be comfy when you eat, right? I think he likes having a surface to push his feet against. Like he needs to know he can get up and walk away at any point. It really is precious.

Folding socks

In an attempt to get our home semi-in order, hubs, big guy and I actually folded and put away all clean laundry. Surprising since I think I stopped doing this even when I was pregnant. It was just too much effort. One of the biggest challenges was folding and pairing up all the socks. Hubs owns an immense amount of socks. All in various shades of argyle, all from the jcrew. It was quite a task. I hate folding socks- hubs thinks it's fun. We are a match made in heaven! So, hubs plunked big guy down on the bed next to him and they folded socks together. It was really cute! Big guy kept getting socks dumped on him and he would just squeal and start grabbing and swinging them around. Then hubs grabbed a handful and put them on his head. Big guy was confused and I think the look on his face is classic! He's so cute!

OMG, it was so stinky

Sunday proved to be a rough day. Not much got accomplished. Big guy took a great morning nap and then was disgruntled the rest of the day. He ate his oatmeal fine and was really exhausted. I went upstairs to change his diaper and put him to second nap for the day. Instead, he screamed and cried for an hour! No joke. An hour of hysterical crying. Finally, hubs yelled for me and I took him for a forty-five minute walk. Finally, about ten minutes from home, he passed out and slept in his stroller are a good forty minutes before waking up. Then I fed him and he fell asleep for another forty minutes. He woke up and smiled, but I knew he was still exhausted.

I made the executive decision to go to the supermarket. I had about fifty minutes. Big guy was sitting on the couch grunting. Uh-oh. As a side note, big guy really likes squash. Not only does it taste good, it keeps him really regular. Friday there was a poop with the nanny. Saturday there were several small ones. I pick him up from the couch and he has gone again! I race upstairs, as time is ticking to get back to eat lunch. Then I open up the diaper...

OMG, it was so stinky. Really, the stinkiest one I have ever smelled. I almost puked. Now, I think I have a pretty strong stomach. I can take pretty much any stinky poo and be fine. Hubs is another story. The great thing about eating solids is that the poo changes immediately. big guy's poos are now think- like clay, stinky, and change in color. I held my breath and cleaned as fast as I could. Funnily enough, it got all over his onesie, but not his long sleeve/pant outfit he was wearing on top.

Even in the trash can, it was unbearable to be in the room. I had hubs throw the bag out, even though it was the only diaper in there. Whew, maybe that is why he was in a bad mood. We did make it to the supermarket and another nap ensued after eating lunch. We took a lovely post-dinner stroll and the weather was so nice and crisp.

Saturday, in the park...

I love that song. This Saturday we went to the Elmwood Park Zoo. Hubs has never been before. It was the second trip for big guy and I. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Eighty degrees and sunny. This time we loved the bison- they were really close to the fence and as they were eating they were stirring up dust that was hitting us. It was really cool! We also really liked the cougars pacing back and forth. Must have reminded him of his favorite kitty cat. BIg guy also thought the wolf running by was really cool. The goats were very fun as well. We ate some oatmeal in front of the cougars. We attempted to see the prairie dogs and the jerks were still in their burrows. Then he passed out on the way home.

Glasses

Big guy broke hubs's glasses this week at the duck pond. Hubs put big guy up on his shoulders and big guy reached down grabbed them off his face and proceeded to whip them around until they broke. It was hilarious! Now hubs has been superglueing them for a week. It's rather pathetic and cheap. You can actually see the glue. And they are crooked on his face. But I have finally convinced him to buy new glasses. I think big guy will really like the glasses store. He might be slightly upset that he can't rip them off the wall and swing them around though.

Adams Family Values

This is the quote that gets me through my guilt of being a working mommy. The movie Adams Family Values, possibly the funniest movie ever, holds a very special place in my heart. My sister and I can quote almost the entire thing. One of my favorite quotes is when Gomez is speaking to Fester.
Gomez: I hope you can one day know the joy of having your own children.
One beat goes by.
Gomez: And paying someone else to raise them.
Ah, that was good. It's like my mantra.

The Nanny

This week started big guy going to the nanny. Tuesday went well. Big guy was mostly confused about what was going on, so he wasn't too resistant. He barely napped. The nanny gave him way too much food- apparently my directions weren't too clear. And then he wasn't hungry at all the rest of the night. He came home and napped for 2 hours and had a great evening.

I anticipated that the second day was going to be worse. I always find the second day of anything is was tougher- like exercising or a diet. Big guy didn't fall asleep on the way to the nanny, so he was extra grouchy. He wouldn't let the nanny pick him up. He cried a lot. Then to top it off, the nanny lost his afternoon meal. Needless to say, it wasn't a good day. He came home and ate like a champ and napped until dinner time.

Thursday was the Jewish New Year, so big guy and I were home together. It was awesome! We ate, we napped, we had bagels with grandma dino. and we took a huge afternoon nap. Hubs had to work late, so it was just us all day. And I think we both needed it. We also made baked ziti. Mmmm!

Today was much better. Nanny S told me that he took two little naps, went for a long stroller ride, lots of belly time, and ate great. So good to hear. And I think they both needed a good day. Hubs picked big guy up early and they napped all afternoon. When I got home, we ate and napped some more. We took a family stroller ride and then a bath.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor day weekend turned out to be great! I had off Friday so big guy and I hung out and relaxed. Saturday we went into he city and enjoyed he nice weather. Sunday big guy and I took a walk and then we all went to the supermarket. Big guy loves it in there. We took Monday to go to the staples and buy supplies for big guy's days with the nanny. Every night we took a walk to the duck pond and jus enjoyed being together. I enjoyed I so much. Big guy also broke hubs's glasses out of sheer joy. I feel like his made it harder to return to work and leave him. But I now have he memories from it.

Squash

Sunday began squash time. Big guy actually really liked it. Or he tolerated it more than the carrots, which he hated and the sweet potatoes that binder him up. He ate it calmly and has been fine for the past few days.

Into the city

Saturday brought with it beautiful weather! There was a hurricane that passed us by and took with it all of the heat and humidity. We decided to spend as much time outside as possible! We took an early morning walk to the bagel place and then decided we should go into the city and visit independence mall. Big guy had taken a tiny morning nap and was due for a other one but fought it the entire ride. We got there a little before eleven. We parked in a big parking garage and then set out to see some historic sites.

We walked to the liberty bell and looked through the window at it. Nothing too exciting, but there was a guy selling umbrella hats. Hubs said when big guy is a bit older and we visit that he'll buy tri-cornered hats for us all. That'll be fun!

We then saw independence hall and the statue of commodore Barry- yes, like the bridge. We ate some oatmeal on a bench and big guy lived being outside and enjoying the weather. Finally, we sat in Ben franklin's garden for a bit and decided to go home, as I had left big guy's hat in the car and he was exhausted. I think he would have slept, but it was just too new.

Bye bye being held

Over the past few days, big guy has made it abundantly clear that he no longer wants to be held to help him fall asleep. His includes naps and at bedtime. Naptime he now takes in our bed (safely) without much help. Though it is hard to resist napping with him sometimes! Two nights this week he has been semi-awake when I put him down to sleep. And he would squirm and move around. Then miraculously he would fall asleep and stay that way! Yes!

But then I went back to work and that got who to hell. So, I've been laying him down with me and thinking that I'll wait til he's asleep and then move him. Except I usually end up falling asleep too. Oops. But with the long weekend, I think I'll work on getting him back in his crib at night. We'll figure it out!

First day back

Today was my first day back at work and I'll admit, it was ok. I think because big guy was with hubs, I felt fine with leaving him. The day went very quickly, especially b/c I have to pump twice a day- it really chops up my day. When I came home I got a huge smile! Then he ate one side and then freaked out. Esentiaooy he cried for an hour and a half straight. I think he was telling me that he was tired and hungry. So, after taking him downstairs and playing with him, I was going to give eating one more try before dinner. And with a bit of fussing and frustration, I finally got him to eat and take a half hour nap before dinner. Good work mamabear!