Double Digit Infant

Nicholas officially turned TEN months on the first!  I have to admit that this one snuck up on me.  I usually feel like I am calling him a month older for several days before he actually is that month.  Now I keep having to remind myself that he is NOT nine months old.

I really thought Nicholas would be walking by now, but he has proven time and again that he will do things on his own when he decides to do them. He has stood on his own only a handful of times, but mostly he gets scared and will grab onto something to keep his balance.   He has officially been crawling for five months, and he is so efficient with it that he may have decided he never needs to learn to walk.  He also can pull up to a stand on anything and cruises one-handed along furniture.  We have also noticed him getting his feet under him when he is playing and sort of bouncing in a squat.  I just have to remind myself to be patient.  He is not on a timeline.  But it is so hard when I am so excited to see him discover new things.

Christmas was lots of fun this year.  Nick loves to eat wrapping paper and gets extremely excited when he unwraps something and discovers there is a BOX underneath! How awesome is that?  And then when there is something inside of the box...oh man, he squeals and bounces and gets so animated.  He got tons of loot from both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and Santa.  We are still in Ohio, and we are not sure we will have room in our car for all of his stuff.  We may have to leave Scott and let him hitchhike home. ;-)

Snow was a fun experience as well.  Grandma K bought a little sled for him, and he had so much fun getting pulled around  and going down the hill in their backyard.  He didn't seem to mind the cold at all.  At least not until he thought it would be fun to try to eat the snow and discovered it was icy!!  The tears only lasted for a few seconds anyway and then he was back to playing.

The most amazing transition in the last month is how much Nicholas has started playing on his own.  It is so great to watch him play and discover new things.  He will drive his cars around and make a "zoom" sound.  He loves anything that has a door flap on it, and he will open and close any sort of door over and over and over again.  He got a barn for Christmas and plays with the barn door, "mooing" along with the cow.  He also has started "dancing" to all of his toys that make music.  He got a little sports center for Christmas from Grandma C and within minutes figured out to put the basketball in the basketball hoop.  This morning he put a bunch of cars in his ball popper (we think it's because it has what looks like a race track on it that the balls roll down). He also will play peekaboo by lifting a blanket over his face and lowering it and squealing.  Unfortunately, he also does this with his bib when he is eating and often ends up covered in food!

On Christmas Eve, just as he was drifting off to sleep, he started clapping his hands open palmed for the first time.  He now claps whenever he accomplishes anything, and it is soooo cute!  This morning he was sleeping and got this smile on his face and started clapping in his sleep.

"Mama" "Dada" and "Baba" have now become part of his language in the past month as well.  Unfortunately, he does not seem to associate them with anything.  I have noticed when he picks up something off the floor, he will hold it up and in this high pitched squeal, say "Wassaaat", which I interpret to be a precursor to "What's that?"

This blog post has no real purpose or point. It just kind of rambles on, but I am just in awe of this little miracle every day. It is so amazing just to watch him look a little older every day and discover new and wonderful things.

Peanut Butter and the Nine Month Old

As an overly-neurotic first-time mom, I do tons of research before deciding to do anything.  I researched car seats, strollers, cribs, diapers, diaper cream, bottles, toys... everything before putting it on my registry.  When we started solid foods, I made my own and researched recipes, food suggestions, puree combinations, and checked the sugar content on every package of baby snack.  When it came to food allergies, I made no exception.  I have read almost everywhere that things like egg white, honey**, cow's milk** and peanuts are bad before the first birthday.  But I wanted to know why, so I decided to research (in this case, Google).  I read the articles that talked about how delaying the introduction of potential allergens before the first birthday seemed to reduce the chances of a child developing an allergy.

 But then I came across various studies that stated that the first birthday rule was originally a recommendation for children with family histories of allergies.  Then I came across more studies that seemed to suggest that delaying the introduction of things like eggs may make children more likely to develop an allergy and that starting out with small amounts early may actually help build a tolerance.  There seemed to be two completely contradictory sets of advice (which, for parents, isn't really a new phenomenon). So, I had to make a decision.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that if a person is born with an allergy, then he or she will probably be allergic whether you delay introducing a food or not.  We have no family history of food allergies (except for my bizarre raw onion allergy), so it isn't a huge concern. So, I introduced Nicholas to boiled eggs (not such a fan) and (non-hydrogenated)peanut butter on toast (he ate an entire piece!!) on two separate days.  No allergy.  But I do have an official peanut butter lover in my house.  It is his very favorite lunch item.

**I do want to point out that I will not be giving him honey (infant botulism risk) or cow's milk (no nutritional value until he is weaned from formula) until after the first birthday.  Nor am I recommending everyone ignore the main-stream advice and give their children potential allergens, especially if there is a family history,  without consulting a pediatrician.  I am merely sharing what I have read and done based on my own personal experience

Nicholas-The Amazing Eight Month Old

Today Nicholas turns 8 months old!! Happy Month Birthday Nicholas!!

I cannot believe I have an 8 month old.  Shortly after Nicholas was born, we were in Target and saw another baby in a car seat.  This baby looked like a mutant baby, taking up almost the entire car seat, and I asked the mother how old he was.  She said he was 8 months. Looking at my own baby,  swimming in his Newborn size sleeper, I could not imagine having an 8 month old. That seemed so far away.  And now it has snuck up on me.

One thing I could not comprehend at the time, either, was that I would be one of those people whose child didn't sleep through the night.  The parenting books said that by three months most babies were sleeping through the night.  I did not know how I would make it three months without sleeping an entire night.  I am now entering my ninth month of interrupted sleep, and I somehow still function.  I also swore I would never be one of those parents who could let their child "cry it out" to get to sleep.  We are now three weeks into CIO, and he is finally starting to sleep on a regular schedule (and yes, the fact that he wakes twice a night is considered a victory!).  We all change and adapt.

This is such an amazing time in the life of a baby.  He is discovering new things every day!  The other day he actually stood by himself for the first time.  We have since gotten him to do it again quite a few times, but as soon as he realizes we are clapping and cheering, he drops to his knees.

Nicholas is also discovering new uses for his toys.  He has started crawling into the basket of his bouncy seat to play.  He has learned that if he pulls up on the playpen, he can walk up the side of it (I am terrified of the day he will fall out!).  He loves to turn the pages of his books.  He makes a clucking sound with his tongue that he thinks is hilarious for someone to do back to him.  He loves to stand inside his push wagon and get pushed through the house while he makes an "Ahhhhh" sound.

He is starting to make associations, and whenever he sees me pull out one of his food bowls, he starts crying and reaching for it.  He digs in the little snack tray (when it's empty) on his stroller until someone gives him puffs to eat.    He starts laughing when I turn on the bath water for his bath.  And last night at the Fall Festival he got excited when he saw the little ducks floating in the tub for one of the games(he loves his rubber ducky in his bath).  He also starts crying when he sees Daddy put on his hat because he knows that Daddy is leaving.

There are so many things he does that I could list all day, but I know that no one cares to read about my kid as much as I do.  I just can't believe how fast he is growing and how quickly the time is flying by.  I love my little guy so much!!

Separation Anxiety ( Or, really creepy horror movie...)

Maybe it is due to sleep training.  Now that he has been left alone to cry at night, he is afraid to have us out of his sight.

Maybe it is the fact that tooth number two poked through his swollen little gum yesterday, and he is in extra pain.

Maybe it is the age and the fact that he now realizes that Mommy and Daddy are just in another room.

Whatever it is, it is exhausting.

And creepy.

Toys have become the enemy.  Instruments of torture and distraction designed to trick him into not realizing Mommy and Daddy have set him down or left the room.  He has figured out their purpose, and they no longer work on him.

Now that he can crawl quickly from room to room, there is no need to ever be separated from anyone.  As soon as you set him down and head to the kitchen to get a bottle or check on dinner, you hear the tell tale slapping of his hands on the tile and the whimpering gets louder and closer.  Turn the whimpering into creepy horror movie music, and listen to the intensity build as the child turns the corner and spies his prey!  Watch in worried anticipation as he gets closer and closer to the unassuming mother, as he reaches out his chubby little hand and grabs her pant leg, as he pulls himself to a stand and wraps himself around her leg, looking at her with those big, needy eyes until she puts aside whatever she is working on and scoops him up, just like he planned all along.

Ok, so it's mostly cute and sad.  You learn that it is not impossible to do dishes and laundry while holding a 17 pound child in your dominant arm.  You learn that, while toys may be the enemy, empty water jugs on the floor are actually sources of entertainment and joy.  You learn that your house will not be spotless and dinner may be leftovers, but there is a bigger sense of fulfillment and accomplishment you get just from making your baby laugh.

Sleep Training- Day One

We have decided it is time for some sleep training for Mr. Nicholas.

I purchased Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, and it lays out a general schedule to get him to be more rested and sleep longer. ("Sleep Begets Sleep" is the motto).  It suggests watching him for cues of tiredness and putting him down before he is asleep so he can learn to soothe himself.  We are supposed to put him down earlier than we have been (between 6-8 P.M.), so I guess we have already started bad habits (oops)

Anyway, a typical day should look like this:

Awake- 6-8 a.m.. (I am so not a "before 8" kind of person.  Looks like I will be getting some training as well).

{Insert Sunshine into this period???? I guess that means go outside?}

1st Nap- 9 or 10 a.m.(I'm thinking 10 is a better time because we often have things that start at 9 during the week)

2nd Nap- 1 or 2 p.m.

Optional 3rd nap to be eliminated when other two naps are longer- around 5ish p.m.

Bedtime-6-8 p.m. (I'm thinking 7:30-8, with bedtime routine starting between 6:30 and 7)

There are various methods described. Apparently most children can do this with little to no "crying", but extremely fussy/post-colic babies respond best to letting them cry up to an hour (yikes!).

I tried letting him cry to sleep last night.  He stood in his crib (yep, he stands!) and cried so hard it made him cough.  I couldn't take it after 15 minutes and went in and gave him something to drink (his throat must have been so sore). It took him a long time to stop whimpering, but he immediately fell asleep upon finishing his bottle, and he woke only twice to eat and went right back to sleep throughout the night.  I think our biggest thing is going to be trying to get him out of the habit of being held and rocked until he is asleep.  His father is the one responsible for that!!!  

We also messed up already this morning.  The whole family has been sick and we all slept until 9:30!  It was good to get the rest though.  We have all been dragging this week, and although we are all still coughing and stuffy-nosed, I think things are finally starting to improve!

Nancy Drew I Am Not

At an antique show last weekend, I picked up "A First Russian Reader"  and inside the cover of the book was an envelope containing two letters from 1944-1945.  The lady who sold me the book was just a dealer and had no idea where the book came from.  I bought the book for the letters, and I have been extremely intrigued by them.

These are love letters written from a British woman to an American soldier during WWII.  Did I mention she was married and her husband was deployed with the British Army?  Yeah, it's pretty scandalous stuff.  The outside of the letter had been addressed to a W.S. Kowalski, so I was able to track him down through online obituaries and discover more about him.  Apparently, he married a German woman from Berlin seven years later, so this love story never had a happy ending.

The book itself has two names (Geo. W. James and Preston Barnes) and military information in the front cover.  Neither of the names is the same as the guy who the letter was written to, but both of the names are part of groups that were located in Berlin at the same time, so for some reason this book was passed around.

The letters themselves were signed by a woman named "Rosie" (nickname?), and she posted them from a Waggons and Horses Inn that I have traced to a pub that is still there in Somerset, England.

For all of these people (except Rosie), there are military ID numbers (one British, one American), but I don't know how to find out how these people are connected. Part of me wonders if one of the other men was her husband, but I doubt it.  I don't know if there is some archive where you can look up people by their numbers. As far as Rosie, I have no idea where to begin to find out more about her.  I have no last name, just an address.  I don't know how to find out more without contacting family members (who may not like to hear about an old affair).

It is kind of weird, but I always have searched through old books hoping to find this exact kind of thing, and now that I have, I want to know more about them.  Scott thinks I should just write a novel about it.  He would.

Postpartum Calorie Counting....for Baby?

I thought when I gained 50 pounds during pregnancy (I blame the Christmas holiday and MIL's cooking) that my weight would be the primary focus of my postpartum obsessions.  Not that I really knew what that entailed. I have never counted calories.  There have been times when a little counting would have served me well, but...I'm not really that disciplined.  Or that good at math.  When I wanted to lose weight, I would exercise(-ish) and cut out junk food (-ish).  Anyway, it is not a practice that ever interested me. And then I became a parent.

Nicholas had trouble gaining weight from the beginning.  For the first several weeks of his life, we took him to the doctor once a week to get weighed.  There were weeks when things would get better, and then his progress would stall.  He also vomited, sometimes violently, and he would take hours to finish one bottle. We went through all of the formulas, slowly increasing price per ounce, before settling on the most expensive one, Nutramigen. We had an Upper GI that came back normal.  The weight was still an issue, so we were sent to a GI specialist in Houston (two hours from where we live).  

In preparation for the visit, I recorded everything Nicholas ate.  He was topping out at 21 ounces per day.  Any more and he would vomit.  The GI tested samples of his poop, which came back normal. He sent us to a Nutritionist who determined Nicholas was getting ~70% of the calories he needed.  In order to increase his calorie intake, we were told to concentrate his formula to 24 calories per ounce and add some rice to his nighttime bottle to help him keep it down (he was four months old by this point, so I was comfortable doing so).  A Gastric Emptying Scan was ordered and scheduled.

I continued to chart his eating, which continued to top out at 21 ounces per day.  In every other way, Nicholas was way ahead of the curve.  He wanted to stand and jump by two months. He rolled from back to tummy on a regular basis from the time he was three months. He was alert and engaged and interactive. He figured out how to army crawl before he was four months old.  The slow weight gain did not seem to negatively effect him.  

We took him down for a Gastric Emptying Scan (in Houston again). He was not allowed food for four hours beforehand.  He was strapped down, given a bottle (as much as he would eat at the time) and then had to lie there in the machine for  90 minutes without any more food.  We were able to hold his hand, but he hated not being able to move.  He cried for the entire 90 minutes.  The test came back normal.

We went back to the GI (another two hour drive!). Nicholas still had not gained much weight.  Every test was normal.  We were told to concentrate the formula to 27 calories per ounce. No solids until six months. They took urine and blood samples.  The idea that maybe he is just a small person was introduced (not “dwarf” small but just petite).  

A few weeks ago, it occurred to me (while I was trying to feed him and he was turning his head away) that maybe the taste of Nutramigen just is awful.  I pulled out an unopened sample of regular Similac I’d received and gave it to him in a bottle.  He sucked a four ounce bottle down in twenty minutes (as opposed to two hours).  He didn’t dribble any of it out of the side of his mouth.  The next day I gave him nothing but Similac, and he ate 24 ounces!   I was worried it would hurt his tummy, but so far it doesn’t seem to.  He has been eating so much better each day, and he seems to have gained significant weight. I’m not a medical expert, and I am not saying that our issues are solved, but I am wondering now if maybe my kid just is stubborn enough to be a picky eater.