watching noah

This was the last week we regularly watched Noah Wilson during the day. For the past eight weeks we had the pleasure of babysitting my nephew twice a week for a couple hours as my sister had regular appointments. Next week my sister goes back to work, at first part-time and then full-time in November and little Noah will be at daycare. It was a great experience for both Eddie and I, to have another baby and see what it would be like if I had two of my own. There were moments when it felt very natural and I was proud of my guy's ability to play independently. I was conscious of his need for attention and would often sing songs - it seemed to soothe Noah and make Eddie smile. Eddie smiles at Noah. He wants to touch him, pat his head. One time he actually hit Noah's head and Noah made such a sour puss face at him...perhaps an indication of future battles to come. I hope they don't pick on each other. My sister and I won't know how to handle that since our fights were always verbal exchanges of "you poop!" Eddie likes to play with Noah's car seat. And he has enjoyed having his bouncy seat back out of storage - he crawls into it and plays, mostly trying to figure out how to clasp the harness straps.

The most difficult moments came during feedings and naptime. When I was feeding Noah a bottle, Eddie would clamor to be fed too and start to climb in my lap, or at least attempt to. I often had to walk away or leave the room so that Eddie wouldn't see me feeding Noah and get jealous. The other challenge would occur during nap time - when I had to put Eddie down and simultaneously Noah was nearing the sleep stage too. Noah would get cranky and would not want to be put down, and yet Eddie would need his bedtime ritual of a feeding...so I was stuck. Sometimes it felt like dueling banjos, with both of them crying as I would try to set Noah down and he wanted nothing of the sort and yet Eddie would be whining to be picked up too. Noah reminds me a lot of Eddie as a newborn - he is a fairly high needs baby. He is not colicky like Eddie, but he does not go to sleep unassisted. Here I am back on the ball, bouncing a baby to sleep. It feels good to do it again, in a way. To know that I can soothe another baby to sleep. Noah also does not like to be put down for naps, he likes to be held and sleep in your arms. It is that same tricky eggshell battle of trying to put the closed eye baby down onto a bed, with hands still on him to make him feel as though you are still there, and then carefully removing them so as to not wake him...and then Eddie starts babbling and his voice wakes Noah. Ugh. This process continues at least four times before I succeed. Yes. I still have the touch.

a nice sunday

You turned 14 months on Sunday. It was a beautiful day - finally - a nice autumn day with sunshine and temperatures in the 60s. We spent a lot of the day outside, finishing up the fall yard work. I pulled the tomato plants out, a little saddened as unconsumed green bulbs fell to the ground. We planted way too many seedlings - 8. But it was our first attempt and we learned so much. How those little pants grow so quickly from mere seedlings to bushy fruit bearing structures that tower some 6 ft. high is quite amazing. And as I pulled them from the earth I was marveled at how comparatively small their root system is. And I thought about you, about how much you have grown too. I watched as you played on the deck with your balls and truck, taking in the day, the briskness in the air. I wondered if you are aware of seasons, changes in our environment. Of course we talk about the leaves and the flowers and the weather, but naturally I question your comprehension. Maybe you just recognize that the days are cooler because you are no longer wearing sandals and there is a new hat on your head, a new puffy coat on your arms and a blanket over you on our walks.

You are starting to babble a lot now. More consonants and more syllables but nothing that really translates into a real word. You also communicate a lot by pointing, reaching and whining for things you want. You seem taller these days. Your visual scope is widening as you see something you want high above on the counter or table top and then reach and whine for it when it is out of your reach. When you want to go play in the basement you go over by the door and reach for the doorknob. You are in to regular household objects: any kitchen tools, straws, food in the pantry, any type of bottle or glass, the Swiffer, the humidifier and of course the remote controls and our cell phones. Recently the Swiffer has become your new obsession. You push it around the house, as if you are cleaning, for up to 30 minutes with intense focus. You have figured out how to take the humidifier apart. You can flush the toilet. You are still fascinated by opening any drawer or cabinet. If you are in the bathroom when I open a drawer you will grab a bottle of lotion or hair product and run away with it, laughing. You even reached up to the sink and grabbed the liquid soap the other day. Yesterday you ate a piece of a leaf.

Teeth just keep coming and coming. You have 12 totally in and one incisor that is poking through. So you are still chewing on everything and anything.

Sleep is still sporadically bad...as in, you are waking 3-4 times a night. I am talking to a few different sleep consultants to figure out what to do beyond letting you cry it out. We tried this method one night and after 45 minutes I broke down and retrieved you. It is too hard to let you get it all worked up, stressed and full of snot, especially during flu season, when it feels like I am being selfish - your pain is our gain. I keep thinking that there has to be a reason, a genuine developmental/medical reason why you don't sleep through the night. I keep thinking that it has to be more than just you wanting to be nursed. Are you cold? Do your teeth hurt? Do you have bad dreams? Does your skin itch? Does your tummy hurt? If we only knew.

dancing machine

Uncle Will stopped in for a visit and taught Eddie how to boggie!

my bookworm

Eddie has really been into his books lately. When he wakes up from a nap and is set on the floor he often will go straight for his books, pulling them from the ottoman one by one and opening them on the floor, creating a literary mosaic. He pages through them all by himself, as if he is actually reading them. Just like everything, he wants to do it by himself. When you read a book to him he will often push it away and grab another one. This goes on book after book, like a sort of game, until he ultimately climbs out of the chair and onto the floor where he can "read" his books by himself.

a lull

There's a feeling of a lull here right now. The weather is grey and cold. Grandma Bonnie has left. Uncle Will already dropped in. We are back to our regular routines and feeling a bit down. Marty missed Bonnie's cookies and walks; she has been sort of off and got sick with the gurgy guts and runs this morning - I think she is depressed. Eddie is still showing off his new trick that his Grandma taught him - blowing bubbles. Bonnie did it one night while Eddie was in the bath and since then he has repeated the skill every time he drinks his water out of his cup. It is hilariously cute but makes for a big wet mess. Lulls are okay though...a lull translates to a stress-free existence, and for me right now that is probably exactly what I need since I am recovering from a bad head cold. Once again it seems like I have gotten sick in order to protect my son; I keep thinking that one day he is going to awaken with the same stuffiness that I have and instead, thankfully, he arises bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to play play play. He seems oblivious to the change of seasons - still wants to play outside all the time. We bundle him up in his new puffy coat - so cute. Can't wait to post some photos on the blog and share his new cuteness with you.

swimmy

We have been taking Aquababies swimming class for a month now...check out some photos:


and footage

the flow

Some days things just flow, everything goes according to plan and the day feels somewhat effortless. I have learned to appreciate these days because they are so rare, happening maybe once every couple of weeks. Life with a toddler is constant adaptation, a lesson in patience, flexibility and moment to moment decisiveness. Not to mention life with a corky dog that gets what we call "gurgy guts" in the morning, sometimes won't eat her food and will only go to the bathroom if I accompany her in the yard. So when I found out I had a last minute meeting for a project I am working on at 9 a.m. this morning at my neighbor's house plus plans to do lunch with friends, I was a bit worried that scheduling two things in a matter of hours would backfire and I would have to cancel on at least one of them. But everything went according to plan. Eddie woke up around 7 a.m. and went back down for his morning nap at quarter to 9. Evie came over to babysit while I went to the meeting. I returned around 10:45 and Eddie woke up shortly thereafter. Then after changing his poop (right on schedule) and having a quick lunch, we went to pick up lunch for our friends Hilary and Lauren who both recently had babies. We visited with little Mack and Grace and their mommies and then returned home for our 2 p.m. nap. For the past several days Eddie hasn't been sleeping during his second nap, he just plays in his crib, but today he slept for 45 minutes, allowing me to rest too. And then the rest of the evening just fell into place too with a nice family walk, dinner and bath. Just put Eddie down for bed and hoping he sleeps as well as he did last night - finally, a break from his recent bad habit of waking up so much - last night he only woke up around 10 p.m. for a feeding and then slept through the night. We aren't sure whether it was the addition of his monkey Dangles in his crib, the lightweight tight fitting pjs or the sippy cup with water that aided in his sleep...probably none of the above, just a lucky timing thing. But we repeated these elements tonight and are hoping for the same results. What a difference good sleep makes. I know this and know that the flow of today was no coincidence.

spilt milk

I started giving Eddie whole milk on his 13 month bday, now almost a month ago. He drinks it from his silver cup with his meals. He doesn't chug it as ferociously as he does his water, he sips it slowly, still trying to figure out what this white stuff that isn't from mommy is. But he does drink small amounts of it. The most annoying part about having him drink milk instead of water all the time is that when it spills, it has to be cleaned up thoroughly otherwise it will smell. We had a dishtowel in the laundry room that reeked like puke and we figured out it must have been used to clean up spilt milk. I was hesitant to give Eddie milk, thinking, why does he need it if he is still breastfeeding? We are the only creature to drink another species' milk. And over 70% of Americans have some form of lactose intolerance. But since he is so lightweight, only in the 25% for his age, I decided that maybe the whole milk instead of water would bulk him up...and help him sleep through the night. Well, he seems like he weighs a tad more but he is still not sleeping through the night. More teeth are exploding in the mouth - so many that I cannot even keep track of which ones they are. So I am hoping that the night waking will get better soon.