Not in the plans, my dears November 26, 2009

Today was supposed to be a day of family and fun. A day for Andrew to spend time with grandparents and his aunt and uncle who have only met him once, when he looked like this.

The inlaws have been working and preparing this feast all week. My father in law is famous for his apple pie, which is the highlight of my holiday gorgefest.

Alas, it was not to be. Andrew woke up with a 103.1 fever at 5:30 this morning. This time around we know what to do, having survived FluFest 09. That doesn’t do much to lessen the sting of Thanksgiving lost. In place of the traditional bounty, here’s what we feasted on for lunch.

But the fever is under control and the little guy is playing in his Exersaucer. We still have so much to be thankful for.

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In the words of my father… November 22, 2009

There’s not enough Purell in the world to overcome this.

Dear Andrew November 19, 2009

My darling boy,

You are almost ten months old and you are so much fun right now. Our afternoon commute is a blast. You love to sing and watch me clap (at stoplights only), chew on toys then pull off your socks and chew on them, too. Today you added a new step: chewing on your actual foot.

I know why you’re so determined to gnaw on anything and everything, even your own appendages: two more shiny teeth are peeking through. That will put you in the double digits. Way to go!

You’re learning to chew actual food pretty well. You’ve had miniwaffles, which you liked. But you go absolutely CRAZY for grated cheese. I’ve never seen you inhale finger foods so rapidly. It was so adorable, and slightly frightening. I hope you are as passionate with vegetables. I’m sure you will be because they are your favorite purees. I tried giving you a steamed asparagus spear but you only used it as a weapon. After practicing with the finger foods you are always impatient excited to eat some purees. You’re such an adventurous eater and I hope that’s a trait you retain.

Now you’re sleeping, exhausted from a day of playing, learning, and loving. You apparently were fascinated with bubbles at daycare today, so we’ll have to try some out this weekend.

As for your Mommy, I’m pretty exhausted myself. Tomorrow we’re driving to Mayberry for a few days to visit family. I’m looking forward to showing off my gorgeous, gregarious boy. I’m not looking forward to packing all of your crap.

Love,

Mommy

 

 

Today I started poisoning my child. November 17, 2009

Well not really, but I did start adding formula to his bottles. The freezer stash is dwindling and his bottles were barely full enough. It would be negligent and foolhardy to ignore the truth just so I could wear my “exclusively breastfeeding ” badge a little longer. Plus once you start solids it’s not really EBF. Formula loses a little of its stigma once you start handing the kid pieces of fried chicken.

He did give it the side eye this morning but he drank it just fine. The bottle was only 3 oz and was half and half. He seemed a little gassier and he burped like a trucker so we’ll have to see how his little tummy handles what our pedi suggested (Similac Advance).  

It wasn’t nearly as traumatic as I thought it would be. I was remembering the first time he had formula, back when they thought he had a milk allergy. We were all scarred by the experience of him completely rejecting the bottle and the nasty formula they suggested. He was screaming and writhing, I was sobbing on the couch…you can see why I was hesitant to relive that experience.

This morning was completely different. He accepted his bottle happily and aside from hitting it repeatedly (“I think this one’s broken,  mom. It tastes different.”) he didn’t complain.

I’m going to call daycare in a minute to see how his morning bottle went. It was 4 oz breastmilk and 3 oz formula so the reaction should have been equally as favorable.

I fought the Germ and the Germ won November 13, 2009

Wheat germ can add many important nutrients to your baby’s diet, wholesomebabyfood.com told me.

The nutrients in wheat germ are nutrients baby needs to grow healthy and strong.

Wheat germ contains the nutrients that will also help with baby brain development.

The ways to add wheat germ to baby food recipes are endless.

Wheat germ-Tasty and Nutritious.

Special Thanks to Mr. Aggie for watching Pantalones de Stink while I edited the photos and wrote this post. He gets an extra gold star for de-Germing the kid in the bath while I worked.

Hola, interwebs. November 11, 2009

What’s shakin’?

It’s been almost a week since we talked last. Life has happened in the interim.

Andrew has started clapping and singing/grunting/gesticulating in the car during our commute. It’s hard to watch the road when there’s a be-boppin’ baby in the backseat whose dance moves become more frenzied when he hears his Mommy laugh.

In other developmental news, last night he waved and said “da da” when Mr. Aggie got home from work. He’s been saying it for a couple of weeks, but it’s exciting to see him attach meaning to the ‘word’.

Speaking of Mr. Aggie’s work, he switched jobs. As someone whose dad still works for the same company that hired him in 1978 (seriously) I was very nervous about the move. It was much needed for my husband’s sanity but it comes with sacrifices. The most challenging one will be adjusting to the new hours. You may remember me blogging recently about how the recession led to a decrease in his hours at work, which meant more time with us. That is no longer the case, as he will now be arriving home between 6:30-7:30 each night.

Andrew usually goes to bed around 7:00 (his choice) so this means I will often be the sole caretaker until bedtime. It means that Mr. Aggie will see very little of Andrew during the week. It means that I will be a harried mess by the time my husband gets home if I’m not careful. 

What a difficult choice to make. In the end, we agreed that because Mr. Aggie was MISERABLE at his company, there was little to no opportunity for advancement, and everyone who worked there was spending lunch hours on careerbuilder/monster/etc looking for a new job, that we should make the move.

My fervent hope is that the change will make him a happier person. That’s a reasonable expectation to have as a human being, I think. To be able to make changes in your life that lead to greater satisfaction, even if they come with unwanted consequences (within reason, of course.) I want him to enjoy the time he spends with us without working about his company folding. I want him to come to bed at a reasonable hour instead of staying up until 1 a.m. scouring the interwebs for jobs. I want him enjoy his day instead of watching the clock and plotting his escape.

Only time will tell if we made the right choice. All we can say at this point is that we carefully considered the pros and cons and made the best decision for our family that we could with the information we had.

This is getting old. November 5, 2009

I’m visiting anotheelementary school today and I just found a suitable place to pump after rejecting:

1. The bathroom in the clinic (nurse’s office) that is used by sick kids to barf and gosh knows what else.

2. A bathroom with no power outlet.

3. A bathroom shared by an entire hallway of teachers,  most of whom will only have a few seconds to take care of business while teaching.

What is it with people and expecting us to pump in bathrooms? That’s so incredibly disgusting. I get that milking is a bodily function, but don’t they realize my baby is going to drink this milk and I’d prefer not to express it in a place where people relieve themselves of last night’s greasy Mexican food?