Times they are a-changin

It seems like just yesterday I was wondering aloud when Baby J would start pulling himself up on things...

Wait. That WAS yesterday. Literally. This is today:


What's up, Mommy. No, I'm just hangin' out, there's nothing to worry about.


Just pretend you can't see this...


BAM! I'm kneeling, yes, and I realize that is dangerous...but can I distract you with my cuteness?


You know what? The thrill of that last trick was fleeting...


There's the money shot. For my next trick: a double front handspring with a twist.
[Editor's note: that didn't actually happen, but I could see the intent in his eyes]
Now, I'm what I consider a "non alarmist" mommy, but even I know that crib's gotta be lowered like yesterday. My pediatrician warned me things like this would change overnight, but literally? Overnight? This is craziness.

Yesterday: baby with no interest in climbing or pulling up whatsoever.

Today: me considering buying a baby leash, 50 yards of baby gate, and upholstering the entire apartment (floors included) in soft downy pillow.

Yikes, y'all. Yikes.

A vacation after vacation

This past weekend, 6 gals drove a little ways north to a lovely little rental house near the beach.

It was delightful.

(And in case you're counting, yes, that makes 2 vacations in a row for me.)

Before we left, I was rushing to pack and finish up some work and then something occurred to me. I called Mike at work and asked, "Do I need to write out the baby's schedule for you?"

To which he replied, "No! I'm fine!"

Now. I will be the first one to say that Mike is COMPLETELY competent when it comes to Flurg-sitting, and I never worry leaving him with the baby when I run errands, etc. but 2 whole days? That's a different story.

Not really knowing if I should trust him, I gave him a quiz. And it sounded a little something like this:

"How much does he eat with each bottle?"
"How many times a day does he eat solids?"
"What do you do with the leftover jar of baby food?"
"How often do you change his diaper?"
"How many naps a day does he take?"
"How do you know he's ready for a nap?"
"What kind of diaper does he wear at night?"
"When is bedtime?"

And as he answered each question, he became more and more giddy because he knew he was passing.

WITH FLYING COLORS.

And so, I decided not to write a list, a schedule, or any notes for my very capable hubby. And I was proud.

And then, just to prove to me that schedules maybe aren't always TOTALLY necessary, Mike texted me Friday night, 3o MINUTES PAST BEDTIME:

me and flurg are at lowes. it was his idea and he's loving it.

And since there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING I could do about it, I went back to the girl gabfest, and stayed up past MY bedtime.

And guess what. We were both just fine.

YES way, Jose

California.
What can I [san jo]SAY?
Great friends, great weather, great fun.
In short ('cause the long version would be too long and rambling) there was picnicking, swimming, crafting (!), sleeping, general lounging.
The boys had their ups and down, but mostly ups. I think it was a great practice run for little "O" soon having a little bro around.

So yeah. Good times. Seriously good times.

Why do we have to have all that country in the middle?

How I traveled with my baby, and why I recommend it

I am no expert by any means, but I do think I learned some things to and fro San Jose that may prove helpful to other readers slash mommies slash travelers.

What I learned along the way...

Tip #1 GET A DIRECT FLIGHT
I don't know if my mind will change on this when I have older kids, but in this case, direct was DEFINITELY the way to go

Tip #2 AT NIGHT
I mean, if it's a really long one, I think this helps. Babyflurg is at the point when, during the day, he prefers to be on the go, on the floor, moving about, etc. But at night? He sleeps.

Tip #3 STRAP 'IM ON
You can go through security with the baby in a carrier, so DO IT! Even if you are bringing a stroller and/or car seat. Strap your baby in so you have your arms free to load everything on the conveyor belt without absolutely needing help from someone else (because sometimes, no matter how desperate you look, you won't get it.)

Tip #4 BRING PLENTY OF TOYS, FOOD, DIAPERS, CHANGE OF CLOTHES
Just be prepared for anything. The first time my baby ever blew out an outfit was on a plane. Luckily, I was prepared.

Tip #5 TAKE YOUR TIME DEPLANING
This might be a no-brainer, but what's the use trying to rush out of the plane when everyone is going to have to wait for you anyway? No use. No use at all.

A very long yesterday

Well, we returned home yesterday from our lovely trip to San Jose (and though you may not believe me, pictures are to come).

And it was lovely.

Monday night me and the babe got on a plane in San Jose at 9pm and arrived in Boston at 6am. So as you can imagine, the remainder of the day was spent trying desperately to catch up on some sleep. And I think we kind of succeeded.

Baby J was great on the flight, and I'm glad, despite my own fatigue, that we did the red-eye because he was only awake for about an hour the entire time. We lucked out on flights both ways and had an empty seat next to us, and he slept there part of the time. I might have slept for half an hour, but I'm realizing my plane sleeping days are a thing of the past.

Daddy was over the moon to see us again, and may never let me leave the house with Baby J again, ever. I can't even imagine going a week without seeing him.

But they'll have lots of time to reconnect, because this weekend some friends and I are going on a little mini-retreat at a rental house on the north shore. Two whole nights away from my baby! Is it possible? Not sure. It's not SO far away that I couldn't sneak home, but I'm going to try not to. I know people have different opinions about this, but I think it's actually important to spend a little time away from my baby and reconnect with other sides of myself that get neglected 90% of the time. I've been able to spend just about every second with the Flurg for the past week, so my wells are filled; I think I'll be just fine this weekend. And I think it's absolutely necessary for all the daddies out there to spend solid amounts of time seeing what it's like to do all the things we do on a daily basis.

So we're back. And so happy to be with Mike. And slightly reluctant, but excited about the weekend.

And that's our life today.

Come on.

I mean, seriously. COME. ON.

Frenemies

Cutest moment so far

"O" (Bridge's 2 1/2 yr old) has been told many times recently that he is about to get a little brother (which he is).

The other day, O said this (after placing his hand on Baby J's head):

This is my LITTLE brother. I take him to the PARK, and give him a BATH, and put him NIGHT NIGHT...

(apparently I haven't been doing anything)

Saddest moment so far

After O had his hair pulled viciously by Baby J (this is his newest "thing"), I peeked into the room where the 2 of them were playing and saw a little hand creep over to J's head,

grab a fistful of soft baby hair,

and pull upward.


Yep, this could definitely be the beginning of a long friendship.

Yep. I know the way.

Well, we made it (in one piece!) to San Jose laaaaate last night. Special thanks to Mark for being distracted by a big shiny object, missing the turnoff, and arriving an hour late to pick me up at the airport.

Ah Mark. It's like Mike's right here with me.

The little Flurg did pretty great on the SIX! HOUR! flight. He slept probably half the time, and flirted the rest. I had an interesting "shoe's on the other foot" experience when the flight attendant gave me the water bottle intended for our aisle mate, clearly distracted/ enchanted by the wee one. The woman who actually asked for the water said, "I guess she likes that baby more than she likes me," and it struck me.

Not all flight attendents are dog people. Thankfully, some of them are BABY PEOPLE. I'd like to take a moment to totally acknowledge the fringe benefits of toting around an adorable infant. It's a real phenomenon.

Still haven't really "slept" per se, but the thrill of the San Jose air and almost unnatural blue sky are enough to keep me alert and happy. And I finally got to meet this guy. Ooooo little sweet cheeks.

P.S. There has also been talk of crafting, people.
We'll see. ..we'll see.

Easter, trip, other

My plan last night kind of worked. Lately, my problem has not been so much in the falling asleep. Instead, it seems, just as my baby is gaining the ability to sleep through the night, I'm losing that same ability.

It's ironic. In the strictest, Alanis Morissette, not-actual-irony kind of way. And? It sucks.

So I though if I took a little sleep aid, it would help to keep me asleep. Alas, it did not. BUT I got a decent night's sleep; as decent as I ever get these days.

Tonight is the big trip that you've heard SO much about, you are considering stopping reading right now so you don't have to hear another word about it. I still have much to do in preparation, so the rest of the day will be crazy, no doubt (did I mention I need to squeeze in 5 hours' work?) but guess what. We'll survive.

On to Easter.

I will post pics in the future, but embarrassingly, I don't know which cord to use to do that with our camera, so I always wait for Mike to load them and who knows when that'll be. The cute little sweater vest Mike's mom sent baby J for Easter looked more like a sweater dress on him, so we had to forgo that. The Easter bunny did visit him with some bath toys and books, though, all of which he has been chewing vigorously since Sunday.

Mike gave a lovely talk at church about redemption. He had the standard nervous breakdown for 24 hours prior to speaking, and like always, pulled it off flawlessly, made people laugh, told a fantastic story that I'd never heard before, and was generally a smashing success. It was a beautiful meeting overall.

We had dinner and an egg hunt with some friends (this is where I would be inserting pics if I had any technical knowledge whatsoever), and we dressed the Flurg in his seersucker sportcoat he got from an older woman at church. He looked quite dapper.

In short, a wonderful day. I love Easter.

This one's for you, Emily

I'm taking your advice so seriously that I actually took a sleeping pill this evening to ensure a great night's sleep before the big trip.

Should be kicking in any mmolmmszzzzzzzzzzzz

Baby updates. (You've been warned)

Just wanted to record a little log of what Flurg's been up to lately:

Scooting. If he wants to get somewhere, by golly he'll get there. It used to be by rolling front to back, back to front until he reached his destination. Now he can rock back and forth on his hands and knees, but mostly just drags his legs while moving forward with sheer arm strength. Life as it once was is over.

Eating. I now feed him solids twice a day. So far he seems to like bananas, pears, applesauce. Not so much on peaches, and a definite HATE on avocado, which is good for me financially (that sucker cost $1.50), but may cause him to be banished from my family at some point. We will be moving on to veggies today. (I introduce one new food every week or so, in case you were wondering. You totally were, right?)

Being fussy. I don't know if it's teething, separation anxiety, or a combination of the two, but this boy has had some really grumpy days lately. I'd say I'm about due for some bad behavior, seven months in. I really can't complain, since he's been such a happy baby thus far.

Still snorting. No explanation yet.

Sleeping. Out of respect for sleepless mommies out there, I won't elaborate, but I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood hoping we've really turned a corner this time.

Beco-ing. When all else fails, I can strap him on and know that he'll be happy for at least a half hour or so. Ahhh, I love that thing.

Being sensitive. I think the Flurg might have some minor sensory issues, as some noises seem to disturb him to the very core, sometimes causing him to tremble and scream. Do I see another trip to the bookstore in my future? Yes. Yes, I do.

Growing. He's now 95th for height. Zoinks!

Being adorable. As if I needed to say that.

Life lessons, courtesy of The Hills

It's amazing--truly amazing to me the way people behave on this show.

I get that many people lie, make stuff up, blame stuff on other people, and generally act like jerks. All the time. And just hope that they don't get caught.

But how in heaven's name do they do that stuff IN FRONT OF CAMERAS and STILL not expect to get caught?! Are they all morons??

Don't answer that.

There's this phenomenon in human nature that causes people to want to please whomever they are with at the moment, which leads them to tell half truths, not take responsibility, and paint things in ways that will be most acceptable to whomever is in front of you at the moment.

For example:
Stephanie, to Heidi:
It's Lauren's birthday party and I think you should come! It would be TOTALLY fine (even though you weren't invited and Lauren has made it clear she doesn't want to be friends with you). Yeah, in fact it would be HORRIBLE if you DIDN'T come!

Stephanie, to Lauren:
I don't know who invited Heidi, maybe it was Lo. Actually, Heidi invited herself, and there was no stopping her, and she forced herself into my car and came with me.

All said...ON CAMERA!!

Last night's (pathetic) episode afforded many, many examples of this kind of double-talking, backstabbing, lie telling. The bartender, for one. Heidi, for another. Brody, who strangely, I expect more from. Stephanie, as always. Spencer, I mean come on.

AND YES, I KNOW THIS IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE WORST SHOW EVER AND MAY ACTUALLY BRING ABOUT THE DEMISE OF SOCIETY AS WE KNOW IT. I'm fully aware.

Anywho, what I was thinking is that these people are lying, covering up their own mistakes, totally unaccountable, untrustworthy, and....

I've totally done the same thing myself.

Many, many times.

Any one who is a "pleaser" and who is honest with you will agree, they have done it too. It's lame, and weak, and under the guise of wanting to make people happy, you're really just making yourself happy by not facing up to reality.

It sucks. And I'm lucky there isn't a camera following me. And I'm gonna try to stop doing it. Thanks Hills stars, I always knew watching you would do me good at some point.

Something happy for a change

Alright, I know maybe one or two of you are wondering what I decided after writing this post.

Well, I took all your suggestions (thankyouVERYmuch), did a little research...OK a LOT of research, and one name kept popping up, kinda like this:

BECO (beco...beco..beco)

Everywhere I turned, this is what I kept hearing:

"I bought an X, but I WANT a Beco."
"The Beco wasn't out when I had little kids, but I TOTALLY would have wanted one."
"The Beco cost too much money, so I didn't get it, but MAN I wanted to."

Yeah. I hear ya on that last one. So I know it's like, none of your business how I spend my money, but I have this thing that makes me HAVE to justify myself even to perfect strangers when I splurge on something ("really, waitress, I NEVER order the filet mignon, but I just got a raise and my dog died and my doctor told me I'm anemic..."). So here's my justification.

I cheap out on just about everything. The only things we've bought new for this baby were some of his clothes. OK, and his carseat. Really, I'm wracking my brain here and...I'm pretty sure that's an accurate statement. OH! and a $20 high chair. And I would have bought one of these used but such a thing does not exist. They are really new, and if you have one, you aren't selling it. Also, I have a bad back. Really, ask my chiropractor. I'll get you signed note if you want. And I'm totally going to get a ton of use out of this thing, since I love carrying my baby. And I'll have more babies that will use it. I'll have a dozen more if it will help me justify this! Really! I NEEDED IT! AND.....

I TOTALLY BOUGHT A BECO!! There. I said it.

Now. Deciding to buy a Beco is only the first step, because they have about one gazillion different designs. I'm not even exaggerating. So the key for us was finding one that was cute, and that neither one of us would be embarrassed wearing. Well that narrowed Mike's options by about 93%.

And I know one reader in particular may actually hate me when she reads this, but.... this is the one we got:
I know. I know! When it came down to it, it really was the cutest, gender-neutral option.

So Flurg and I went for a little stroll around the block this evening to try it out. While walking, we discussed the ergonomic shape, the back support and straps, the distribution of weight, ease of use, ability to switch from front to back, etc. and etc. and we came to a consensus, me and Flurg: we totally love it.

I'm feeling much more relaxed about traveling now that I have a kick-A baby carrier. Still a little worried about what position he'll be able to sleep in (and briefly considered buying a doggie bed, but it was a bit too large for my lap), but a lot less stressed about the whole thing.

Thank you all for your suggestions. You're totally judging me right now, aren't you. I KNEW it!

A doctor a day

Seriously people.

What is wrong with my baby.

A list of who my baby has seen in an effort to determine the root of his breathing issues (in particular order):

Pediatrician
Otolaryngologist (ENT)
Pediatrician
Gastroenterologist (GI)
Pediatrician
Allergist

And now, they tell me, the gastroenterologist again, and then a different ENT. A better one, presumably. Today I got phone calls from the pediatrician, gastroenterologist, and the new ENT office. Everyone wants in.

He's had a nasal scope, a blood draw, countless physicals already, and the future most likely holds x-rays, a barium swallow, and more scopes.

No answers yet, only theories.

I am soooo sick of doctor offices, doctor phone calls, doctor speculations... Luckily, my sweet little baby doesn't seem to mind too much. He had a shot and a blood draw this week alone and cried for about 4 seconds both times.

The status now is this.
He may or may not have reflux.
He may or may not have a food allergy.
He may or may not have a rare, non-threatening genetic condition.
He may or may not have a laryngeal cleft, which he may have inherited from me, which I may have inherited from my mother.

But we won't know any of those things for at least another month. A MONTH.

For such a calm, quiet baby, this kid's life has been pretty much drama from the beginning... Acknowledging that it could be infinitely worse, I would reeeeally love to have this medical mystery solved already. Drama is really not my thing. Especially when it comes to my baby. :(