Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
3 months old
Can't believe that little Eddie is already 3 months old! It is sort of a pivotal marking point, at least from a retailer's perspective - there are all these clothes out there for 0-3 mo. and just plain 3 mo. and then the ubiquitous 3-6 mo. It's sorta confusing for the first time Mom. And to make matters worse, all the relatively inexpensive clothes out there, which is all I really want anyway since he grows so fast, are all too short in the arms and the legs for him. I just don't get why they make these clothes with like 3/4 length arms! I guess Eddie has long arms or something. So right now he is fitting into none of the 0-3 mo. stuff (I have already packed a bin full of clothes he has grown out of), very few of the plain old 3 mo. labeled stuff and has a tad of growing room in the 3-6 mo. stuff. There are even some brands that he is fitting into the 6 mo. size! Ok, here's an update on him:
physical: still love to stand and now actually smile when you do it, whereas before you sorta had this bug-eyed freaked out look. Your neck control is getting better and better and you can raise you head now when we assist you to sit up, turning it in all directions. On soft surfaces, like the bed and chaise you are rolling over from back to stomach. You actively follow Mom and Dad with your eyes as we move throughout the house. You are grabbing more at objects, especially Mom's and Dad's clothes, certain toys, your own clothes and you love to grab at the flap of your bouncy seat - you actually scratch on it, which is something your Dad says he would have done. And still a lot of drool, so much so that you are getting a drool rash on your chin.
language: still making the same sounds and some new ones, like a drawn out/high pitched "uh-oh." Also really starting to try to laugh now.
expressions: you just started to have this new one where you turn your bottom lip in, almost like you are sucking or biting on it and it makes your mouth turn into a straight line. also your poop face is starting to change - it used to be where we could always tell you were pooping or trying to poop because the skin around your eyes would turn red and you would purse your lips. Now it is a lot harder for you to poop - sometimes it takes 15 minutes of pushing - and you moan and your eyes don't always get red. Your hands are always in your mouth now - that is your most frequent expression.
personality: you have your moments...of happy bliss, of playful bantering and of fussiness. There is very little consistency in your moods. There seems to be one night a week where the fussiness gets really bad and turns into full blown colic...it is scary and sometimes makes me cry, but we get through it together. You are getting better in the car - liking the movement more and maybe like just getting out of the house a bit - we are turning into hermits as the weather gets colder. You are well behaved in public...hope that never changes!
books we've read: the current favorites are "There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch," "Good Dog Carl" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See"
toys we play with: starting to grab onto toys now. Your favorites are a black and white cat from Nani which we call Mr. Bojangles, your Tiger from Grandma Bonnie and your new Haba gym which you bat at with your hands. You also like your Haba mobile from the Duchelles - the music seems to soothe you. You stare at the black and white animal cards from Nani - we have them in your crib and you seem entertained by them.
songs we sing: you love "There's a Hole in the Bucket," "She'll Be Comin Round the Mountain," and still smile for Wheels on the Bus and Old McDonald. We will soon start to introduce all the Christmas songs to your little ears!
physical: still love to stand and now actually smile when you do it, whereas before you sorta had this bug-eyed freaked out look. Your neck control is getting better and better and you can raise you head now when we assist you to sit up, turning it in all directions. On soft surfaces, like the bed and chaise you are rolling over from back to stomach. You actively follow Mom and Dad with your eyes as we move throughout the house. You are grabbing more at objects, especially Mom's and Dad's clothes, certain toys, your own clothes and you love to grab at the flap of your bouncy seat - you actually scratch on it, which is something your Dad says he would have done. And still a lot of drool, so much so that you are getting a drool rash on your chin.
language: still making the same sounds and some new ones, like a drawn out/high pitched "uh-oh." Also really starting to try to laugh now.
expressions: you just started to have this new one where you turn your bottom lip in, almost like you are sucking or biting on it and it makes your mouth turn into a straight line. also your poop face is starting to change - it used to be where we could always tell you were pooping or trying to poop because the skin around your eyes would turn red and you would purse your lips. Now it is a lot harder for you to poop - sometimes it takes 15 minutes of pushing - and you moan and your eyes don't always get red. Your hands are always in your mouth now - that is your most frequent expression.
personality: you have your moments...of happy bliss, of playful bantering and of fussiness. There is very little consistency in your moods. There seems to be one night a week where the fussiness gets really bad and turns into full blown colic...it is scary and sometimes makes me cry, but we get through it together. You are getting better in the car - liking the movement more and maybe like just getting out of the house a bit - we are turning into hermits as the weather gets colder. You are well behaved in public...hope that never changes!
books we've read: the current favorites are "There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch," "Good Dog Carl" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See"
toys we play with: starting to grab onto toys now. Your favorites are a black and white cat from Nani which we call Mr. Bojangles, your Tiger from Grandma Bonnie and your new Haba gym which you bat at with your hands. You also like your Haba mobile from the Duchelles - the music seems to soothe you. You stare at the black and white animal cards from Nani - we have them in your crib and you seem entertained by them.
songs we sing: you love "There's a Hole in the Bucket," "She'll Be Comin Round the Mountain," and still smile for Wheels on the Bus and Old McDonald. We will soon start to introduce all the Christmas songs to your little ears!
Friday, November 14, 2008
let me count the ways...
I feel like maybe I have been using the blog too much to bitch, to vent about my stresses of motherhood, and so I am going to take this opportunity (literally - Eddie is taking a nap!) to write about all the little things he does that make me smile with glee or get teared up with emotion because of how much I love him.
I love:
- the way he smells, like almond milk and clothes-hung dried laundry...I even love the way his stinky tooties (feet) smell - yes, it is amazing but his little baby feet sometimes smell!
- his toothless grin that gets wider every day and accentuates his chins...Daddy Eddie likes to say he has more chins than China
- the look only a mother sees: when he opens his cute lips to latch onto the nipple and has this expression as if to say "ahhh," like one would say when they are very relaxed
- his belly button: maybe all baby belly buttons are cute, but I swear his is the cutest! I love to kiss his belly when I change him because it smells so good
- his bug eyes: he has certain expressions that make him look like me, and people think the shape of his eyes are like mine - deeply penetrating
- they way he nuzzles into me and prefers to sleep somehow connected to me, like with his face in my armpit
- the way he sleeps: he has all these different cute positions, including when he is on his back and sprawled out across me with his arms up by his face. The funniest is one where he actually tries to get back into the womb and puts his head down by my crotch! Sometimes when he is sleeping to my side I just quietly stare at him and his dad asleep next to each other and they look alike.
- the way he gets so excited to hear me sing silly songs, flapping his arms and legs, smiling and even sometimes singing along
- our post-bath ritual: we have him all wrapped up in a towel and I nurse him...there's something very primitive and beautiful about him being naked and pressed against me
- when he smiles at his Dad and attempts to laugh at his jokes and movie quotes
I love:
- the way he smells, like almond milk and clothes-hung dried laundry...I even love the way his stinky tooties (feet) smell - yes, it is amazing but his little baby feet sometimes smell!
- his toothless grin that gets wider every day and accentuates his chins...Daddy Eddie likes to say he has more chins than China
- the look only a mother sees: when he opens his cute lips to latch onto the nipple and has this expression as if to say "ahhh," like one would say when they are very relaxed
- his belly button: maybe all baby belly buttons are cute, but I swear his is the cutest! I love to kiss his belly when I change him because it smells so good
- his bug eyes: he has certain expressions that make him look like me, and people think the shape of his eyes are like mine - deeply penetrating
- they way he nuzzles into me and prefers to sleep somehow connected to me, like with his face in my armpit
- the way he sleeps: he has all these different cute positions, including when he is on his back and sprawled out across me with his arms up by his face. The funniest is one where he actually tries to get back into the womb and puts his head down by my crotch! Sometimes when he is sleeping to my side I just quietly stare at him and his dad asleep next to each other and they look alike.
- the way he gets so excited to hear me sing silly songs, flapping his arms and legs, smiling and even sometimes singing along
- our post-bath ritual: we have him all wrapped up in a towel and I nurse him...there's something very primitive and beautiful about him being naked and pressed against me
- when he smiles at his Dad and attempts to laugh at his jokes and movie quotes
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
the S word
Sleep. I never realized how becoming a parent would make me so obsessed with this word. I remember a day back in July when my husband and I attended a lecture given by a pediatrician as part of our prenatal education. He spoke about selecting your pediatrician, general health issues and lastly about sleep. He said that 1 in 5 of us expecting parents would have a colicky or extremely fussy baby. And that all of us would wonder about sleep. I was thinking, literally, what is all the fuss about sleep? I mean, I knew that becoming a parent would mean that I would personally get less sleep but I guess I assumed that my baby would want to sleep and that we would simply have to work on transitioning him/her from the co-sleeper bassinet in our room (which I wanted since I knew that breastfeeding throughout the night would be easier if the baby was nearby) to the crib in his/her room. Twelve weeks into the life of Eddie IV and he isn't even sleeping in the bassinet - he is still sleeping with us in our bed - and now I understand why this pediatrician was so adamant about discussing sleep. At the time I didn't realize who he was - Dr. Marc Weissbluth - one of the nation's leading experts on pediatric sleep. I remember going up to him after the lecture and I asked him where I could read more about Circadian rhythms because I found his discussion of it fascinating and he said the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." Duh...he wrote the book!...and I have just finished reading it and feel ready to embark on what we call "sleep training."
There are tons of methods out there and various medical professionals and parents who have written books claiming that their solution is the best - whether its the "No Cry" solution, the "Gradual Extinction" method or "Let Cry" solution. Weissbluth's overall theory, which centers on the proven belief that sleep deprivation can lead to a host of problems in a child's temperament and ability to learn, is that sometimes the necessary solution is total "Extinction," which means 2-3 nights of putting your child to bed and letting him/her cry to sleep in order to build appropriate self-soothing skills. But he discusses a variety of techniques and sleep challenges, everything from nap issues to night terrors. He has also done research on the differences between what he calls "extreme fussy/colic" babies and those with normal or common fussiness, and he has shown that the extremely fussy/colicky babies are often very sleep deprived by 4 months of age. But he also recognizes that these babies are the ones who need sleep training the most because they lack proper organization of biological rhythms, which may be due to high levels of serotonin and low levels of melatonin - the high serotonin causes the stomach muscles to contract, making sleep more of a challenge. This seems very likely in little Eddie's case because when he fusses he often writhes in pain and brings his knees to his chest. Within the last week he fussing sounds have changed from an "err err" grunting that sounds like someone trying to get comfortable, to painful moans and high-pitched wails...it breaks your heart because he sounds like he's in so much pain. Anyway, for these babies you kind of do whatever it takes to get them to sleep during their first 3-4 months, which is what we are doing. Sometime between 12-16 weeks is when their melatonin is supposed to increase, aiding them in sleep organization, meaning the ability to take naps at the proper times (first nap around 9 in the morning, then one in the afternoon and sometimes an evening nap) and then fall asleep for nighttime around 6-7:30 p.m. So we have sort of been in a holding pattern deciding when we should intervene and start the official training, or let him cry it out. A few nights ago, after literally trying to soothe Eddie from 6:30 p.m. until he finally fell asleep at 11 p.m., my husband proclaimed, "that's it. We're going to see Dr. Weissbluth."
One of the first steps Weissbluth recommends is creating a sleep log to track patterns of sleep. So I started it today. And then our first step is to try to get little Eddie to go to sleep earlier, like at 6 or 7 instead of having him go to sleep when we go to sleep. This has been the biggest challenge for us because he prefers to sleep on me, as I've stated before. And there is no way I am going to go to bed with him at 6 p.m. (I think the earliest I have clocked in is at 7:45) especially since this is the hour of dinner. The other first step for us is to get Eddie to sleep on a bed, not on me...which we have already started doing and are successful 50% of the time. This past weekend in Wisconsin my mom got him to go down like 100% of the time, which was amazing, so we learned some techniques from her. Right now Eddie is fast asleep, has been since 12:15 (right now it's 2:30)...crazy. He is sleeping on our bed in what they call a "bed crib" which basically means that we build pillows around him so that he doesn't roll and fall off. Once he consistently can sleep this way then we will transition him to his bassinet, and then ultimately to his crib. And then we have to work on allowing him to self-soothe instead of always waiting until he is dead asleep before we put him down. It will be a long process, I think, and I will update you all on the progress of it!
There are tons of methods out there and various medical professionals and parents who have written books claiming that their solution is the best - whether its the "No Cry" solution, the "Gradual Extinction" method or "Let Cry" solution. Weissbluth's overall theory, which centers on the proven belief that sleep deprivation can lead to a host of problems in a child's temperament and ability to learn, is that sometimes the necessary solution is total "Extinction," which means 2-3 nights of putting your child to bed and letting him/her cry to sleep in order to build appropriate self-soothing skills. But he discusses a variety of techniques and sleep challenges, everything from nap issues to night terrors. He has also done research on the differences between what he calls "extreme fussy/colic" babies and those with normal or common fussiness, and he has shown that the extremely fussy/colicky babies are often very sleep deprived by 4 months of age. But he also recognizes that these babies are the ones who need sleep training the most because they lack proper organization of biological rhythms, which may be due to high levels of serotonin and low levels of melatonin - the high serotonin causes the stomach muscles to contract, making sleep more of a challenge. This seems very likely in little Eddie's case because when he fusses he often writhes in pain and brings his knees to his chest. Within the last week he fussing sounds have changed from an "err err" grunting that sounds like someone trying to get comfortable, to painful moans and high-pitched wails...it breaks your heart because he sounds like he's in so much pain. Anyway, for these babies you kind of do whatever it takes to get them to sleep during their first 3-4 months, which is what we are doing. Sometime between 12-16 weeks is when their melatonin is supposed to increase, aiding them in sleep organization, meaning the ability to take naps at the proper times (first nap around 9 in the morning, then one in the afternoon and sometimes an evening nap) and then fall asleep for nighttime around 6-7:30 p.m. So we have sort of been in a holding pattern deciding when we should intervene and start the official training, or let him cry it out. A few nights ago, after literally trying to soothe Eddie from 6:30 p.m. until he finally fell asleep at 11 p.m., my husband proclaimed, "that's it. We're going to see Dr. Weissbluth."
One of the first steps Weissbluth recommends is creating a sleep log to track patterns of sleep. So I started it today. And then our first step is to try to get little Eddie to go to sleep earlier, like at 6 or 7 instead of having him go to sleep when we go to sleep. This has been the biggest challenge for us because he prefers to sleep on me, as I've stated before. And there is no way I am going to go to bed with him at 6 p.m. (I think the earliest I have clocked in is at 7:45) especially since this is the hour of dinner. The other first step for us is to get Eddie to sleep on a bed, not on me...which we have already started doing and are successful 50% of the time. This past weekend in Wisconsin my mom got him to go down like 100% of the time, which was amazing, so we learned some techniques from her. Right now Eddie is fast asleep, has been since 12:15 (right now it's 2:30)...crazy. He is sleeping on our bed in what they call a "bed crib" which basically means that we build pillows around him so that he doesn't roll and fall off. Once he consistently can sleep this way then we will transition him to his bassinet, and then ultimately to his crib. And then we have to work on allowing him to self-soothe instead of always waiting until he is dead asleep before we put him down. It will be a long process, I think, and I will update you all on the progress of it!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Video of the Week
This is little Eddie in the evening as he is expressing his desire to go to bed...semi talking, semi fussing...before the real fussing begins
grandma
I guess I have some explaining to do as my sister just pointed out that in my overtired stupor I have been writing "Nanny," which means more of a babysitter, when I have been meaning to write the name that we have given Grandma Lauer, pronounced "nah-knee." Her mother, my grandmother, was known as "Nana" which is the Sicilian word for Grandma; the Italian is "Nonna." And so we came up with a modified version of these two. I guess from here on out I will write "Nani." On the Washuk side, little Eddie's Grandma will be known as Grandma Bonnie, since it is the same name that Eddie III and the rest of the family calls Grandma Bonnie Clark - a lot of history there as she has more grandchildren and great grandchildren than anyone I have ever met - we calculated it at 28 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren - Bonnie, is that right??. Little Eddie is very fortunate to have a Great Grandma Bonnie AND a Grandma Bonnie. Grandmothers are very special in the lives of babies...I have realized this more so in becoming a parent myself as I have relied on my mother and mother in law for support and advice, and they both have bonded with my son so well. My Nana was a special woman too - what I remember most about her were her delicate hands that could roll dough into perfect balls to make holiday cookies and could scratch and rub our backs so soothingly like no other person I have ever met. We cannot wait for little Eddie to spend more time with his grandparents!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
good baby...not easy
This was a rough week for Mommy...maybe I am just overtired and stressed or maybe Eddie is going through another growth spurt, but this week wore me out and so I proclaimed yesterday that we were heading to Wisconsin to visit Nanny so that I could get a break. Although I typically hate to display my emotional weaknesses to others, I must admit to our blog followers that I shed some tears this week. It started on Sunday night when little Eddie and I attended a friend's baby shower in the suburbs, about 50 miles away from our house. The drive there started off good, with Eddie sleeping as he typically does on the freeway when traffic is moving. But then we got off the exit and he woke up and starting wailing. And then Mommy got a tad lost and he started wailing even more. I just kept saying "we're almost there, we're almost there" even though I had no idea if I was close to this new house or not. We finally made it and I pulled Eddie out of his car seat right away to soothe him and he was all red in the face and sweaty, poor guy. During the party he was pretty well behaved but not as calm as the other two social outings we had taken him on. I think it was the fact that it was in the evening - which is typically his fussiest time day. Then the minute I got him in his car seat and in the car he started crying again and it didn't cease at all until I pulled into our garage. It broke my heart and I cried a bit, but I knew I had to keep it together while driving alone at night. The next night I was alone again at night because his Dad went to a hockey game. As I've stated numerous times before, I don't know what I would do if I were single parent because sometimes Mommy needs a break and then Daddy can take over with the soothing process, and unfortunately on Monday night I had a small taste of what single parenting would be like and it sucked.
Although Eddie is getting better with what we call "independent time" and really likes his bouncy seat, as you saw in the video clip, he still cannot not be held for only about 10-15 minutes before he clamors to be in your arms. And if he gets overtired, which is when the real fussing begins, he must have movement which entails either carrying him throughout the house for a walk or sitting on the exercise ball and bouncing him. The biggest change in his behavior now from when he was only a few weeks old is that he no longer can fall asleep anywhere - gone are the days when he would just sleep on us while we watched TV or used the computer and he longer sleeps in his Moses Basket or bassinet. He literally will only sleep on me in our bed in our dark bedroom with the white noise of a fan - which means that any time he needs to sleep, which is every 1-2 hours, then I have to lay down too. Ok, more on sleep later.
A few weeks ago my godmother Anna said after spending an afternoon with Eddie, "he really is a good baby, isn't he?" and Daddy Eddie and I just had to sort of half smile...it's true, he is a good baby, but he is not easy. I have spent the last week reading about temperament and extreme fussiness/colic and after going back and forth with how I would characterize Eddie (note, I am doing this is order to assess the most appropriate way to sleep train him which will be explained in a future blog entry), I have determined that he does fall into the category of extreme fussiness/colic but has an intermediate temperament. Extreme fussiness is categorized by having to spend at least 3 hours a day for at least 3 days a week for at least 3 weeks soothing your baby. Luckily he doesn't have official colic - we can always soothe him, but yes, it occupies the majority of my day, every day and has since he was born. His temperament, although intense and less adaptable, is not altogether bad. He is smiling and cooing a lot now...sorry it has been a challenge to capture his smiles in photographs because he moves so quickly. Other people use the terms "dream" babies vs. "high needs" babies...Eddie is a high needs baby...and probably always will be which is something I actually look forward to as he grows and develops because I think such a temperament can produce an active child with a sense of curiosity, intensity and persistence that is valuable throughout the learning process.
We are in Wisconsin now and Nanny is more successful at putting Eddie down, a.k.a. to sleep, than I am, so it is giving me a well-needed break. This morning Daddy Eddie and I went out for breakfast and tonight we are going on a "date" to the restaurant where we had our wedding. It feels weird to be away from little Eddie, to not have him always attached to me, but it also feels very refreshing and my back is thanking me. It took until now, week 11, for me to actually feel ready and willing to be away from my baby for a few hours. I know that it happens at different points for different people, some earlier and some maybe never, and it probably is dependant on what type of baby you have. You'd think that I would have reached my wits end a lot earlier and that having a "high needs" baby would have made me want to dish him off onto someone else sooner, but actually it is the exact opposite. Since he is a fussy baby I don't want to leave him with someone else because I don't want to burden them. There is no one who can soothe a baby like his/her own mother, and so I will plow forward through these months of fussiness and lack of sleep, hoping that some day we will look back upon this time and smile.
Although Eddie is getting better with what we call "independent time" and really likes his bouncy seat, as you saw in the video clip, he still cannot not be held for only about 10-15 minutes before he clamors to be in your arms. And if he gets overtired, which is when the real fussing begins, he must have movement which entails either carrying him throughout the house for a walk or sitting on the exercise ball and bouncing him. The biggest change in his behavior now from when he was only a few weeks old is that he no longer can fall asleep anywhere - gone are the days when he would just sleep on us while we watched TV or used the computer and he longer sleeps in his Moses Basket or bassinet. He literally will only sleep on me in our bed in our dark bedroom with the white noise of a fan - which means that any time he needs to sleep, which is every 1-2 hours, then I have to lay down too. Ok, more on sleep later.
A few weeks ago my godmother Anna said after spending an afternoon with Eddie, "he really is a good baby, isn't he?" and Daddy Eddie and I just had to sort of half smile...it's true, he is a good baby, but he is not easy. I have spent the last week reading about temperament and extreme fussiness/colic and after going back and forth with how I would characterize Eddie (note, I am doing this is order to assess the most appropriate way to sleep train him which will be explained in a future blog entry), I have determined that he does fall into the category of extreme fussiness/colic but has an intermediate temperament. Extreme fussiness is categorized by having to spend at least 3 hours a day for at least 3 days a week for at least 3 weeks soothing your baby. Luckily he doesn't have official colic - we can always soothe him, but yes, it occupies the majority of my day, every day and has since he was born. His temperament, although intense and less adaptable, is not altogether bad. He is smiling and cooing a lot now...sorry it has been a challenge to capture his smiles in photographs because he moves so quickly. Other people use the terms "dream" babies vs. "high needs" babies...Eddie is a high needs baby...and probably always will be which is something I actually look forward to as he grows and develops because I think such a temperament can produce an active child with a sense of curiosity, intensity and persistence that is valuable throughout the learning process.
We are in Wisconsin now and Nanny is more successful at putting Eddie down, a.k.a. to sleep, than I am, so it is giving me a well-needed break. This morning Daddy Eddie and I went out for breakfast and tonight we are going on a "date" to the restaurant where we had our wedding. It feels weird to be away from little Eddie, to not have him always attached to me, but it also feels very refreshing and my back is thanking me. It took until now, week 11, for me to actually feel ready and willing to be away from my baby for a few hours. I know that it happens at different points for different people, some earlier and some maybe never, and it probably is dependant on what type of baby you have. You'd think that I would have reached my wits end a lot earlier and that having a "high needs" baby would have made me want to dish him off onto someone else sooner, but actually it is the exact opposite. Since he is a fussy baby I don't want to leave him with someone else because I don't want to burden them. There is no one who can soothe a baby like his/her own mother, and so I will plow forward through these months of fussiness and lack of sleep, hoping that some day we will look back upon this time and smile.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
letter to my president
Dear Mr. Obama,
I am only 2 1/2 months old so I will never be able to vote for you so maybe my opinion doesn't matter to you, but there are a few things I have noticed in my short time here that need help. The first thing I think you need to focus on is fixing the bad e...it's a word that sounds like mommy. Please help the e-mommy so that my daddy comes home from work in a good mood and doesn't watch Bloomberg instead of playing with me. And what about our foreign dependence on oil? I know what dependence is. I am dependent on my mommy and her milk. I don't know what I would do without them so I understand that that one will be tough to solve. Maybe you can listen to that T. Boone Pickens guy I hear about. Mommy and daddy were going to dress me as him for Halloween. I was a lobster instead. Last but not least I think you need to address health care. Mommy and daddy said it cost a lot of money to have me in the hospital, but they have health insurance so it was covered. What about all those babies without health insurance? Even more important is preventative health care, meaning improving the lifestyles and diets of Americans. I am lucky. My parents shop at Whole Foods and farmers' markets to get me organic and locally grown foods (but if you don't help the e-mommy then maybe they won't be able to anymore). Other babies don't get fresh ingredients and then they get sick and then health care costs more. So addressing this nation's food system is really important - and it relates to all the other issues as well - the e-mommy, the environment, natural resources and health care. Michael Pollen wrote an article about it in the New York Times a few Sundays ago. I know because mommy read it to me. It was good. So is Goodnight Moon.
So, good luck Mr. President...there's a lot of pressure on you. It will probably keep you up at night. I am up at night a lot too, so if you need anything, just call. Eddie IV
I am only 2 1/2 months old so I will never be able to vote for you so maybe my opinion doesn't matter to you, but there are a few things I have noticed in my short time here that need help. The first thing I think you need to focus on is fixing the bad e...it's a word that sounds like mommy. Please help the e-mommy so that my daddy comes home from work in a good mood and doesn't watch Bloomberg instead of playing with me. And what about our foreign dependence on oil? I know what dependence is. I am dependent on my mommy and her milk. I don't know what I would do without them so I understand that that one will be tough to solve. Maybe you can listen to that T. Boone Pickens guy I hear about. Mommy and daddy were going to dress me as him for Halloween. I was a lobster instead. Last but not least I think you need to address health care. Mommy and daddy said it cost a lot of money to have me in the hospital, but they have health insurance so it was covered. What about all those babies without health insurance? Even more important is preventative health care, meaning improving the lifestyles and diets of Americans. I am lucky. My parents shop at Whole Foods and farmers' markets to get me organic and locally grown foods (but if you don't help the e-mommy then maybe they won't be able to anymore). Other babies don't get fresh ingredients and then they get sick and then health care costs more. So addressing this nation's food system is really important - and it relates to all the other issues as well - the e-mommy, the environment, natural resources and health care. Michael Pollen wrote an article about it in the New York Times a few Sundays ago. I know because mommy read it to me. It was good. So is Goodnight Moon.
So, good luck Mr. President...there's a lot of pressure on you. It will probably keep you up at night. I am up at night a lot too, so if you need anything, just call. Eddie IV
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
trick or treat
The day started off with a treat - or rather a trick: baby Eddie pooped in our bed! Well, it was more like a little leakage which soaked through his sleeper and onto our duvet cover. So the morning started with a stripping of the bedding and trip to the laundry room. I guess this is a good reason to start sleep training him so that he can sleep in his crib...we will officially begin trying to wean him off his dependency on Mom to fall asleep when he turns 3 months, so be sure that the blog will be littered with posts expressing our frustrations and comments on the process.
Overall Halloween was pretty uneventful. We carved a pumpkin and Eddie wore his "My First Halloween bib." He has started wearing bibs more because of his drool. We put him in his lobster costume around 6 p.m. and he quickly became a very tired lobster and wanted to eat and then sleep. And this was all before we had the chance to take some photos. He woke up after a quick sleep cycle and we luckily got him back into his costume to greet some trick or treaters and snap some shots. Here's a photo and we will post more in the slideshow tomorrow.
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