So I just wrote a long post on how much my baby is changing. Case in point - I made dinner tonight (chicken Florentine!), and then decided to go and get the mail while hubby watched baby in the kitchen. Apparently, as soon as I walked out the door, in one smooth motion, Alistair went from his stomach, to sitting up, to pulling himself to a standing position on the kitchen chair. My baby is awesome. =) Neither of us had even seen him get into a sitting position before, so hubby was quite shocked! I guess now's a good time to further my baby proofing efforts.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Musings on Alistair
It's one of those mornings where the only thing that keeps me going is a constant infusion of coffee. My darling little baby has turned into a bad sleeper after all his teething, when he became accustomed to late night snacks and mommy cuddlies. I was planning on beginning sleep training after finals were finished, for the sake of my husband's sleep (well, that's the official story, but secretly, I really just want to have another person willing to help me at night or cover for me during the day so I can get some additional sleep). But, I've been having lots of trouble getting enough sleep as it is, so I'm semi-somewhat-mildly starting some training, and it's making me tiiiiiiired.
Anyway, in between the exhaustion and the artificially elevated heart rate, I've been spending lots of time thinking about how my little guy has changed since he was born. For the first four + months of his life, Alistair was entirely a "carried" baby. There was no putting him down for "tummy time" - which was apparently entirely unnecessary in his case, as his head is the pride of my pediatrician's office - no daytime napping anywhere other than on top of mommy, and often, no way to stop his crying other than walking around with him for hours on end. He was incredibly timid of loud noises, so that if you raised your voice enough to be heard by someone else in an adjoining room, he'd start wailing in terror. And, if he caught sight of another baby, or heard a baby on the television, he screamed.
There are some obvious changes - he can crawl, has put on 13 pounds, and has 8 teeth. Previously (actually, up to 7 months or so), the only way to put him to bed was already sound asleep, or he would not stop screaming. Now he goes down at the same time every night for bed, awake, and he takes two scheduled naps a day!
Before, he always cried to be carried. Now I've had to learn that sometime my little guy cries to be *put down.* He loves exploring, but like many (most? all?) babies, he has an innate sense of danger - meaning, he heads straight towards it. He's found all the little places where the grout is cracking in the tiles, and tries to eat it. If hubby and I are musing for the first time whether the lower parts of the oven become too hot to be touched during use, he charges straight for the oven as if he were volunteering to check it for us. He's been crawling for a few weeks now (still army crawling), and has recently had some success in sitting himself up.
As you can imagine from his love of exploration, his timidity has been greatly reduced. My brother and sister-in-law, as well as their two children, were recently visiting, and Alistair wanted to crawl straight towards their toddler and "play" with him. He grins and giggles when he sees little kids running around, though he is still scared of loud noises/screaming (baby and I keep a quiet household together).
Sometimes we watch TV together (bad! bad! I know, no screen until 2+) , and he claps his hands when his favorite TV show comes on which is (*gasp*) the Colbert Report. =) I won't exactly allow him to continue watching it past a month or so into the future, but the bright colors, funny facial expressions, and constant laughing crack him up.
He's become way more vocal all of a sudden. He makes so many different vowel and consonant sounds in succession, but he's also learned to hiss, almost razz (he's actually, really bad at it, but he doesn't know that), and smack his lips. Those are his "pay-attention-to-me" noises that he'll make, and then look at you and wait for you to repeat.
Most impressively to me, Alistair has been doing admirably with potty training. We've really cut down on diapers, and he's learned enough to associate my "potty sound" with needing to use the potty that he'll often make it when he needs to go.
Of course, I don't enjoy all the changes! One new obsession of Alistair's is crawling into the kitchen to desperately search out some num num on the floor. The problem, beyond him snacking on floor food, is that his palate is not particularly refined. The other day I picked him up and he had stiiinky breath. A moment's fishing around in his mouth revealed a highly masticated piece of garlic.
I'm really excited for his first word, whenever he says it. I'm hoping it's momma. =)
Anyway, in between the exhaustion and the artificially elevated heart rate, I've been spending lots of time thinking about how my little guy has changed since he was born. For the first four + months of his life, Alistair was entirely a "carried" baby. There was no putting him down for "tummy time" - which was apparently entirely unnecessary in his case, as his head is the pride of my pediatrician's office - no daytime napping anywhere other than on top of mommy, and often, no way to stop his crying other than walking around with him for hours on end. He was incredibly timid of loud noises, so that if you raised your voice enough to be heard by someone else in an adjoining room, he'd start wailing in terror. And, if he caught sight of another baby, or heard a baby on the television, he screamed.
There are some obvious changes - he can crawl, has put on 13 pounds, and has 8 teeth. Previously (actually, up to 7 months or so), the only way to put him to bed was already sound asleep, or he would not stop screaming. Now he goes down at the same time every night for bed, awake, and he takes two scheduled naps a day!
Before, he always cried to be carried. Now I've had to learn that sometime my little guy cries to be *put down.* He loves exploring, but like many (most? all?) babies, he has an innate sense of danger - meaning, he heads straight towards it. He's found all the little places where the grout is cracking in the tiles, and tries to eat it. If hubby and I are musing for the first time whether the lower parts of the oven become too hot to be touched during use, he charges straight for the oven as if he were volunteering to check it for us. He's been crawling for a few weeks now (still army crawling), and has recently had some success in sitting himself up.
As you can imagine from his love of exploration, his timidity has been greatly reduced. My brother and sister-in-law, as well as their two children, were recently visiting, and Alistair wanted to crawl straight towards their toddler and "play" with him. He grins and giggles when he sees little kids running around, though he is still scared of loud noises/screaming (baby and I keep a quiet household together).
Sometimes we watch TV together (bad! bad! I know, no screen until 2+) , and he claps his hands when his favorite TV show comes on which is (*gasp*) the Colbert Report. =) I won't exactly allow him to continue watching it past a month or so into the future, but the bright colors, funny facial expressions, and constant laughing crack him up.
He's become way more vocal all of a sudden. He makes so many different vowel and consonant sounds in succession, but he's also learned to hiss, almost razz (he's actually, really bad at it, but he doesn't know that), and smack his lips. Those are his "pay-attention-to-me" noises that he'll make, and then look at you and wait for you to repeat.
Most impressively to me, Alistair has been doing admirably with potty training. We've really cut down on diapers, and he's learned enough to associate my "potty sound" with needing to use the potty that he'll often make it when he needs to go.
Of course, I don't enjoy all the changes! One new obsession of Alistair's is crawling into the kitchen to desperately search out some num num on the floor. The problem, beyond him snacking on floor food, is that his palate is not particularly refined. The other day I picked him up and he had stiiinky breath. A moment's fishing around in his mouth revealed a highly masticated piece of garlic.
I'm really excited for his first word, whenever he says it. I'm hoping it's momma. =)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Grown Up Bolls
A quick follow up on my previous mentioned Korean Designed Chinese Made Freebie. At a friend's request, I decided to open the package and dump all these little bolls into water. I wasn't entirely sure how much 400G was, so I just gave them a hefty soaking. They started off incredibly tiny, and actually, remained that way for a good number of hours. Finally they absorbed enough water to be about the size of a marble.
Unfortunately, the smiling pears on the package were the last faces my freebie had to offer. I'm toying with acquiring some fresh cut flowers to see whether my little jelly balls are a suitable replacement for water.
In other, baby related news, I just have to mention how delighted I am yet again with my baby. At this point, any male or squeamish readers should stop reading.
I've begun potty training with Alistair, though that's hardly the term for it. It's much more of mommy-baby-bowel-awareness training. I believe the mainstream term is "elimination communication" - but that sounds way too fancy for guessing when your baby is going to poop. Again, stop reading if you're squeamish. I basically watch Alistair for any signs that he needs to go. In conjunction with a basic understanding of how long he goes in between pees and what time of day he poops, it's been quite effective. Plus, I think he's becoming much more accustomed to the idea of going on the potty. Today, I caught two poops and four pees - I only missed the three in-his-sleep pees. It will obviously take a number of months of mommy guessing what baby is up to and running him to his potty, but I'm very pleased with our beginning!
Unfortunately, the smiling pears on the package were the last faces my freebie had to offer. I'm toying with acquiring some fresh cut flowers to see whether my little jelly balls are a suitable replacement for water.
In other, baby related news, I just have to mention how delighted I am yet again with my baby. At this point, any male or squeamish readers should stop reading.
I've begun potty training with Alistair, though that's hardly the term for it. It's much more of mommy-baby-bowel-awareness training. I believe the mainstream term is "elimination communication" - but that sounds way too fancy for guessing when your baby is going to poop. Again, stop reading if you're squeamish. I basically watch Alistair for any signs that he needs to go. In conjunction with a basic understanding of how long he goes in between pees and what time of day he poops, it's been quite effective. Plus, I think he's becoming much more accustomed to the idea of going on the potty. Today, I caught two poops and four pees - I only missed the three in-his-sleep pees. It will obviously take a number of months of mommy guessing what baby is up to and running him to his potty, but I'm very pleased with our beginning!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter everyone!
It was a quiet day in the B household. We stayed around Ithaca so that hubby could get enough school work completed, but we still had some time for relaxing. For Easter Mass, we tried a new strategy to keep baby happy. In the past (when he was several months younger), he would nap through most of Mass - now he gets all squirmy and wants to crawl away. Usually we sit in the very back, but yesterday, we decided to sit in the front row so that Alistair could observe everything. And, for the first 45 minutes, baby was so delighted by all the smiles and attention he received from everyone around him that he was entirely occupied with smiling back and playing coy. Eventually, he got a little cranky when Mass ran into his lunchtime, but it was still the easiest time we've had with him in awhile. It was also a particularly happy day for me because I was able to wear some pre-baby pants for the first time!
I've been waiting awhile to make the official declaration, but I think it's safe to say that my baby is now a crawler. He's not a proper, tummy off the ground crawler, but he can actually move forward very quickly by dragging his body forward with his arms and pushing with his legs. Of course he still prefers to roll most of the time - unless you place something in front of him, like food, and then he shoots straight forward after it. My son is going to be like the tubby kid in Emile who was taught to run races when Rousseau bribed him with treats. At least in Alistair's eagerness to shove food into his mouth, he's rather indiscriminate. Broccoli? Yes please!
It was a quiet day in the B household. We stayed around Ithaca so that hubby could get enough school work completed, but we still had some time for relaxing. For Easter Mass, we tried a new strategy to keep baby happy. In the past (when he was several months younger), he would nap through most of Mass - now he gets all squirmy and wants to crawl away. Usually we sit in the very back, but yesterday, we decided to sit in the front row so that Alistair could observe everything. And, for the first 45 minutes, baby was so delighted by all the smiles and attention he received from everyone around him that he was entirely occupied with smiling back and playing coy. Eventually, he got a little cranky when Mass ran into his lunchtime, but it was still the easiest time we've had with him in awhile. It was also a particularly happy day for me because I was able to wear some pre-baby pants for the first time!
I've been waiting awhile to make the official declaration, but I think it's safe to say that my baby is now a crawler. He's not a proper, tummy off the ground crawler, but he can actually move forward very quickly by dragging his body forward with his arms and pushing with his legs. Of course he still prefers to roll most of the time - unless you place something in front of him, like food, and then he shoots straight forward after it. My son is going to be like the tubby kid in Emile who was taught to run races when Rousseau bribed him with treats. At least in Alistair's eagerness to shove food into his mouth, he's rather indiscriminate. Broccoli? Yes please!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Something I received in the mail...
A new hobby of mine lately has been to order as many free things to my house with free shipping as I can possibly use. Most of the free things I've received have been useful - free razors, tote bag, small packets of shampoo for traveling... One item I ordered was advertised as a packet of little balls that would expand in water. You could then place them in a vase for decorative purposes with fresh cut flowers, and they'd keep them hydrated. Anyway, here's a picture of the package that arrived.
"Product use information:
1. add water 400G on the product. about 4 hours it will grow up.
2. one clear beauty satiety face will grow up.
3. when the flower want to oxygen and nutrition, I will help you too much."
"Seven Color Crystal Boll
Designed by Korea"
"Product use information:
1. add water 400G on the product. about 4 hours it will grow up.
2. one clear beauty satiety face will grow up.
3. when the flower want to oxygen and nutrition, I will help you too much."
Monday, March 26, 2012
My Mobile Baby
It's been a busy number of weeks in the B household; and by busy, I pretty much mean horrible. You know your criteria for a successful day has been drastically altered when it shifts to simply avoiding personal harm to any of your immediate family. And before anyone is worried, no one has been hurt - but everything little, and no so little, has all seemed to go wrong at the same time
This past week was Cornell's Spring Break, which did at least gave us more time to deal with some of our problems. And it did have a very nice beginning with a visit from my parents! We also had more time to relax together with Alistair. Baby is much more mobile these days, and it seems, hellbent on destruction. As I began writing this post, he decided it was time to rip every book off the bookshelf. Thucydides barely survived being torn to shreds and subsequently digested. Yesterday he managed to get his hand into the side of the computer and pull out the cable for the power button, leaving us convinced he had magic computer-destroying capabilities, until we realized what had happened. He has also destroyed several of his own board books, some of my old school books, addressed envelopes, and left some good dents/scratched in the furniture with some of his many teeth. He now has (at least cut), all of his lateral incisors and 3 of his central incisors, and it reeeeaally looks like the canines are about to cut way ahead of schedule.
Oh, and for all his mobility, Alistair cannot crawl. I can't imagine what a terror he'll be then; for now, he gets along so well rolling and scooting he doesn't seem motivated to try.
He absolutely loves to eat, and he gets really upset if he doesn't get to share whatever mommy's having (I'm mostly a ninja diner now). Alistair is also very sensitive, and can't hold back the tears at the first few notes of a blues song (he totally lost it last night with "I'll be Home for Christmas.")
And even though this blog is mostly dedicated to baby ramblings, as a last little blurb, my hubby continues to surprise me. A few days ago I came out into the living room to see him light two candles in front of our TV (which doubles as our "computer monitor,") and then magically use a wii remote to control the mouse. Apparently he'd written some sort of script that allowed him to use the candles in place of a sensor bar.
In closing, here are two new pictures of Alistair from my parent's last visit. Both feature items knit by my mother.
This past week was Cornell's Spring Break, which did at least gave us more time to deal with some of our problems. And it did have a very nice beginning with a visit from my parents! We also had more time to relax together with Alistair. Baby is much more mobile these days, and it seems, hellbent on destruction. As I began writing this post, he decided it was time to rip every book off the bookshelf. Thucydides barely survived being torn to shreds and subsequently digested. Yesterday he managed to get his hand into the side of the computer and pull out the cable for the power button, leaving us convinced he had magic computer-destroying capabilities, until we realized what had happened. He has also destroyed several of his own board books, some of my old school books, addressed envelopes, and left some good dents/scratched in the furniture with some of his many teeth. He now has (at least cut), all of his lateral incisors and 3 of his central incisors, and it reeeeaally looks like the canines are about to cut way ahead of schedule.
Oh, and for all his mobility, Alistair cannot crawl. I can't imagine what a terror he'll be then; for now, he gets along so well rolling and scooting he doesn't seem motivated to try.
He absolutely loves to eat, and he gets really upset if he doesn't get to share whatever mommy's having (I'm mostly a ninja diner now). Alistair is also very sensitive, and can't hold back the tears at the first few notes of a blues song (he totally lost it last night with "I'll be Home for Christmas.")
And even though this blog is mostly dedicated to baby ramblings, as a last little blurb, my hubby continues to surprise me. A few days ago I came out into the living room to see him light two candles in front of our TV (which doubles as our "computer monitor,") and then magically use a wii remote to control the mouse. Apparently he'd written some sort of script that allowed him to use the candles in place of a sensor bar.
In closing, here are two new pictures of Alistair from my parent's last visit. Both feature items knit by my mother.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Our Three Day Weekend
This Friday all of hubby's classes were cancelled, which made it an ideal weekend to leave Ithaca. During the summer months the natural beauty of the area somewhat compensates for the otherwise dilapidated smears of human "civilization," but when everything is bleak and dreary during the winter, the rusty, paint-chipped town is even less appealing. So this weekend we packed up and off we went to visit our family in Philadelphia (T's sister, her husband, and three children). Unfortunately we had to be back in Ithaca for a school fundraising event on Saturday evening, which cut short our weekend; but by leaving Thursday afternoon we had a few hours that night, all of Friday, and Saturday morning to spend with family. It was very refreshing to spend time with them, and my nephews and niece are absolutely adorable. Alistair was not entirely certain of all the noise. He enjoyed looking at his cousins but was too timid to do much interacting (he started screaming whenever anyone raised their voice).
We also had a chance to look around Philly, which is a very beautiful, old city with lots of history. We had a good walking tour that was surprisingly easy, considering we had one child to each adult, all 5 or younger. Hopefully we'll make it back to visit again soon!
In other news, Alistair cut his 5th tooth yesterday. This one is on the bottom, immediately to the right of his two bottom teeth, so it looks less out of place. I can see 3-4 more about ready to pop out, poor guy.
We also had a chance to look around Philly, which is a very beautiful, old city with lots of history. We had a good walking tour that was surprisingly easy, considering we had one child to each adult, all 5 or younger. Hopefully we'll make it back to visit again soon!
In other news, Alistair cut his 5th tooth yesterday. This one is on the bottom, immediately to the right of his two bottom teeth, so it looks less out of place. I can see 3-4 more about ready to pop out, poor guy.
Monday, February 27, 2012
STTN!
What a wonderful day! After Alistair's wonky sleep schedule for the past number of weeks, he slept from 7pm-6am! He hasn't been sleeping through the night since before Christmas, so here's hoping he's getting back into a better routine. His cold is mostly over - just a little cough - so I have a much happier baby.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
When will you leave, RSV(P)??
Things have not been going well in the B household as of late. It all started sometime last week, as far as I can remember, when a naive little mommy thought her baby's sudden fussiness must be the emergence of separation anxiety. After all, he had just turned 6 months old, and that was the official starting date for "separation anxiety," according to "The Books." Said books suggested playing peek-a-boo was the perfect cure for this new affliction. If only a simple game could have improved my week!
The first sign that Alistair's fussiness had a deeper cause emerged along with two new pointy teeth. He had cut his first two bottom teeth at four and a half months of age, so I had been expected more teeth before too long. I had assumed the top two would be the next to follow (or maybe, even crazier, the two teeth on either side of his new bottoms ones). Nope, as a nurse at our pediatrician's office informed me "children establish their own teething patterns," and it seems like mine is going for the fangy/vampiric look. I'm not sure if they're the top lateral incisors or the cuspids, but they strike fear into me as a nursing mother.
Last time Alistair cut teeth, he was very, very upset! The only thing that brought him comfort was being carried around for hours on end while I sang the Elephant Song again and again. So I assumed I now had an explanation for my son's cranky fussiness.
The first sign that Alistair's fussiness had a deeper cause emerged along with two new pointy teeth. He had cut his first two bottom teeth at four and a half months of age, so I had been expected more teeth before too long. I had assumed the top two would be the next to follow (or maybe, even crazier, the two teeth on either side of his new bottoms ones). Nope, as a nurse at our pediatrician's office informed me "children establish their own teething patterns," and it seems like mine is going for the fangy/vampiric look. I'm not sure if they're the top lateral incisors or the cuspids, but they strike fear into me as a nursing mother.
Last time Alistair cut teeth, he was very, very upset! The only thing that brought him comfort was being carried around for hours on end while I sang the Elephant Song again and again. So I assumed I now had an explanation for my son's cranky fussiness.
But then, he started coughing and got a runny nose. Again, I made an assumption based upon "The Books." Maybe it was just caused by his new teeth! Or maybe... it was too dry, or maybe he had a squash allergy... But the coughing became too strong and was followed by wheezing, and we hauled him off to the pediatrician's office. Our diagnosis was RSV, or, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which we were told, he must have picked up at his last wellness visit, exactly a week before.
So for the last week, I've been trying to take care of a sick fussy baby, while my hubby tries to slog through the most difficult week of the semester (other than finals), writing a memo. Neither of us have been getting enough sleep or time to unwind. This would be *the* worst baby week I've had for a long time, except-!
I have an awesome, awesome family. Before Alistair came down with all his sickies, I realized that I was never going to keep the house clean unless I could do housework while carrying him around with me. I had a couple of carriers, but I could only use them to strap him to the front of my body, and my little 18 pound chunk of happiness is just too large and in my way for me to even get my hands into the sink anymore when I carry him like that. So I asked my sisters/other mommy about any back carriers they would recommend, and not only were they all super helpful, but one of my sisters mailed me an ErgoBaby!!
Since the Ergo my entered my house on Tuesday, my kitchen has magically been scrubbed from top to bottom (even the red stains on my kitchenaid from a certain red velvet cake are finally gone), the bathrooms cleaned, the baby's room meticulously organized, and the piles of laundry almost completely sorted and washed. To sum it up, hubby declared yesterday in awe "The Ergo was invented by God."
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day to all our family and friends!
Alistair and I are having a quiet day at home together, with hubby at school for most of the day. Well, I say quiet. but it's more squeaky than anything. Alistair has recently discovered how to make a whole range of high pitch squeaks and squeals that make him sound more like a budgie than a baby. He had his six month vaccinations yesterday, so I'm quiet happy to have chirps rather than screams. We've now made it to 17 pounds 10 ounces, from an initial birth weight of 7 pounds 5 ounces. At this rate I should take monthly measurements of my biceps as well, as my little man still likes to be carried everywhere.
We took him to Sears to have his picture taken a couple of days ago. I had several coupons for a free photo session and free 10x13 (and then I got another free 10x13 online with a code!). We ended up only paying a small amount to have some wallet sized photos made up, and got several nice poses. Alistair was very photogenic, smiling like crazy, and laughing at the flash from the camera. The one thing he wouldn't do was sit still! He wouldn't sit up, he wouldn't stay on his tummy, he just wanted to wriggle on his back and play with his feet. Here are a few shots taken of him in the few seconds he stayed put.
Alistair and I are having a quiet day at home together, with hubby at school for most of the day. Well, I say quiet. but it's more squeaky than anything. Alistair has recently discovered how to make a whole range of high pitch squeaks and squeals that make him sound more like a budgie than a baby. He had his six month vaccinations yesterday, so I'm quiet happy to have chirps rather than screams. We've now made it to 17 pounds 10 ounces, from an initial birth weight of 7 pounds 5 ounces. At this rate I should take monthly measurements of my biceps as well, as my little man still likes to be carried everywhere.
We took him to Sears to have his picture taken a couple of days ago. I had several coupons for a free photo session and free 10x13 (and then I got another free 10x13 online with a code!). We ended up only paying a small amount to have some wallet sized photos made up, and got several nice poses. Alistair was very photogenic, smiling like crazy, and laughing at the flash from the camera. The one thing he wouldn't do was sit still! He wouldn't sit up, he wouldn't stay on his tummy, he just wanted to wriggle on his back and play with his feet. Here are a few shots taken of him in the few seconds he stayed put.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Solids
Due to Alistair's reflux issues, our pedi recommended that we start rice cereal at 4 months. Since he was already having cereal earlier, we moved on to regular solids at 5 months. His first food was avocado, which I heard was one of those fruits babies either love or hate. Alistair absolutely loved it (he seems to love anything shoveled into his mouth, he even cries sometimes to have *more* of his medication); his only problem was that he couldn't stand the whole, spoonful, pause, another spoonful business. He wanted the spoon *in* his mouth, with a constant stream of food flowing in. So, while he would coo for the first bite, he would quickly throw a tantrum at having the spoon taken out of his mouth.
With some love and patience, he's gradually gotten better, and realizes that the spoon *will* come back - but he just looks so darn cute when he eats that he makes up for his fussiness.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Changes
For the first few months of Alistair's life, I was a little surprised. I knew babies didn't do much, but I thought you were supposed to do more *educational* things, right from the start. But he was this little lump of cuddly baby that just ate and slept and needed diaper changes. Since then, he has very slowly changed, and every little milestone along the way has seemed earth shattering. The first smile (sure made getting up for hours in the middle of the night easier, knowing this little being could do something other than scream), the first laugh, the first time he held something. But the developments, while wonderful, have seemed rather slow.
That is, until now. A few weeks ago, a very wonderful friend of the family gave us an exersaucer. Alistair loved to stand, but unless Grandma accommodated him by killing her back and bending over as he baby stepped around the house, he didn't spend that much time on his feet. So, a toy that helped him stand for as long as he wanted seemed amazing. In fact, he liked it so much that he went from the needy baby who had gone 5 months always needing to be held and cuddled (seriously, he would stay in his swing for 30 minutes in the morning, and then that was *it,* he had to be held and bounced all day), to the baby that could spend an hour playing in his exersaucer. And then as he figured out that all the things laid out in front of him were *toys,* he really wanted to play with them, or any toys at all, and within a couple of days he became a barely held, let-me-lay-on-the-floor-and-play baby. Within two days, he started rolling around (he had never rolled from his back onto his stomach before) and sitting up to play.
That is, until now. A few weeks ago, a very wonderful friend of the family gave us an exersaucer. Alistair loved to stand, but unless Grandma accommodated him by killing her back and bending over as he baby stepped around the house, he didn't spend that much time on his feet. So, a toy that helped him stand for as long as he wanted seemed amazing. In fact, he liked it so much that he went from the needy baby who had gone 5 months always needing to be held and cuddled (seriously, he would stay in his swing for 30 minutes in the morning, and then that was *it,* he had to be held and bounced all day), to the baby that could spend an hour playing in his exersaucer. And then as he figured out that all the things laid out in front of him were *toys,* he really wanted to play with them, or any toys at all, and within a couple of days he became a barely held, let-me-lay-on-the-floor-and-play baby. Within two days, he started rolling around (he had never rolled from his back onto his stomach before) and sitting up to play.
The Exersaucer
Sitting up.
And just happy!
A New Blog
Having a baby is the most amazing thing that ever happened to me - growing this little tiny human being inside of me, and then seeing him for the first time, watching him grow, and sharing in all of his firsts... Babies are awesome - but as the topic of status updates, they can be incredibly annoying. That's (mostly why) I decided to start this blog, so that I can write about all my special baby moments to my heart's content, without clogging other people status updates. And if anyone happens to wander over to pachyderm land, it's their choice to be inundated with baby-ness.
So for starters - why is this pachyderm land? Lots of people choose to decorate their children's areas, or the children themselves, with monkeys, hippos, whales...etc. My son likes elephants. Or at least, he likes to hear about elephants for hours on end. When he started teething at four and a half months, he was inconsolable. He cried and cried unless he was walked around and held and cuddled - and even then he was still upset. What ultimately brought him comfort was being held and sung to at the same time. I chose a song that could be infinitely repeated: "One elephant went out to play, upon a spider's web one day, he had such enormous fun, that he called for another elephant to come... Two elephants..." I would sing about elephants into the twenties and beyond, and Alistair would calm down, and sometimes fall asleep. Since then, the elephant song has been a huge source of comfort to him. We sing it in the car, in the grocery store, before bed... The elephants follow us everywhere. Including, onto this blog.
Anyway, if you're into baby firsts and cute pictures, check back on this blog. If not, you've been warned.
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