Sunday, September 13, 2009

and I almost forgot!

Dax said MaMa tonight - and then pointed to me! :)
This is funny - because he used to say it when he was itty-bitty... but then stopped saying it...
I'll have to admit he signed and said "daddy" right after that, then said "Honey" (just this past weekend - it's really cute, too - like "onyee"), and then finally said "ma-ma" today - and KNOWS what each of those means.
He's been able to point at people when WE say them for a while now, though... he could point at Ba-Pa first, truly...
So actually - the timeline is more like - signed "daddy"; said "ba-pa"; pointed at "daddy" and "ba-pa"; pointed at daddy, Ba-Pa, Honey, Moo-Ma, mommy; pointed at all of them, including Popi; and finally SAID "ma-ma" AND pointed AT ME tonight (not just a picture)! Anooj just said Dax signed "Grandpa" today when he asked Dax where Ba-Pa was! wow.
Geez. He's signed "daddy" forever, it seems like... so that feels pretty good to be a verbal word now, for me. I think it might be absence (saturday school) that makes the vocabulary grow (fonder).
:)
xoxo kiddo - you're pretty great - you didn't even have to sign and point to me to make me say that.
:)
-mommy.

Wow. I suck at posting! Here goes....

Ok - so in just the last week alone, Dax has learned to say "Honey," has learned to slide down a slide without holding my hand, and has begun to feed himself brekky without ANY assistance - meaning, I have left him to his own devices to eat his OATMEAL while I get dressed (I have posted pictures of this in the past)... and he did GREAT! :) That's a HUGE step for us.
Not only that, but he's now absolutely fine with childcare at the church - we were doing pretty good there for a while, but we digressed about a month ago, when Dax bonked his head on a ping pong table, and he threw up because he was so distressed about it (he actually didn't even get a bruise - so thankful!), so the next day he threw up in childcare when I left him there for Building Blocks... but the sweet angels there didn't come get me when it happened. They swiftly packed up the room, got all the babies out, and kept on plugging away! I can't even tell you how much I owe the lovely ladies of Watermark childcare on Wednesdays and Thursdays/Fridays...! They're saints.

Also - in July, Dax started being able to eat peanut butter! *whew!* what a great and awesome thing peanut butter is... I can't even tell you. It's fabulous for snack times, on crackers, with bananas, by the spoonful... and we've now even worked in an ENTIRE (1/2 of a) peanut butter and jelly sandwich to our mealtimes! That's SO great!
Dax will happily eat just about whatever's in front of him - but I have noticed that he's not completely happy with the same thing twice in a row - unless I've skipped a snack, or he's slept through a snack. Otherwise, I try to keep it mixed up.
He's always loved his veggies - so I can often stick with peas for lunches and dinners for a while (until I get sick of serving them, really - and then we'll switch to broccoli or something else). But peas are quite easy - so who'd argue??

We're just floored with the kid he's turning out to be. After church today, we were all at lunch, and Dax leaned over to Anooj and went "uhh-uhh-uhh" with his mouth ready for a kiss - he just wanted to kiss his daddy! After Anooj gave him a kiss, he leaned over for one from me! What a sweet, sweet feeling that is! I can't even tell you.
He's just a bundle of love bug. And I just want to eat him up all day.
:)

He knows a ton of signs now, too - which makes our days SO interesting, and so much more worthwhile - he can tell me what he's thinking, what he wants, and what he sees - it's just amazing! I've been meaning to get a list of the signs he knows... but it'd probably be too boring for anyone to read... but the ones that seem the most important to us are: careful!, eat, hat, airplane, cracker, more, water, milk, PLEASE, HELP, shoes, frog (ribbit!) - which can be any reptile right now, other than a crocodile, crocodile!, monkey, duck, horse, bug, stars/socks (they're really similar!), mouse (from Goodnight Moon!), bear (teddy-bear), and of course, ball! Our day would be so much more difficult if we didn't have them...

And he says: Hi! (he's said that for a while now, but it's worth mentioning again -it's so cute when he does it!); boo-boo (he says bo-bo); corn; gone (all-gone; it's SO funny when he says it); *shooooossh* for airplane; FIRE truck, truck, truck, truck, truck, AWWWW truck, truck, truck (this could be Dump Truck, Garbage Truck, Fire Truck - although that one's pretty unmistakably loud, or just plain old Truck); moo-moo movie (he says mo-mo, or wo-wo-wo for movie); HOT - oo! hot!; woo-woo (dog); baaabaaa (sheep/goat); owwwowww! (cat)... and I'm probably forgetting so many more...


I'm so grateful that I've finally learned when he's tired, when he's hungry, and when he needs to go play outside and get some energy out. Those are cues I missed for quite a long time - and any normal person would question why that might happen, but I can honestly tell you that I was too busy trying to SEE them... I was too busy trying to survive, and trying to find out what was going on - that I didn't notice when the time was right to make things happen... like naps...
These are tough for every mom...
Some days I spend nearly the ENTIRE day trying to get Dax to nap... And the problem with this, is that our babies are just LEARNING MACHINES. And once they've learned that one action begets another, they'll keep doing whatever it is that got them what they wanted... to test it, yes - but to LEARN it BETTER... And on those days, Dax seems to learn that if he stays awake for one more song, or gets one more book read to him, then he can do it longer the next time... And those can be bad days...
For both of us...
But I've gotten SO much better at reading his cues - and a little fuss (when he realizes that he's about to lose the nap-battle with himself and just cannot stay awake any longer) can be SO worth it, if it nets us more than an hour of naptime.
:)
Anyway - we seem to be in a nice ebb-and-flow right now for our family.

Besides that I'm in school, and working, and trying to keep the house clean (what??), and being a full-time mommy, full-time wife, and a business owner...
It's been a little chaotic lately, to say the least - but I feel like we're all adapting pretty well for the effort so far.
:)
I'm proud of us in the Thakker household.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Protein Conundrum

So, Dax has basically decided that he doesn't like meat right now. This isn't horrible - but the fact that he cannot eat eggs or milk, means that I need to figure out some way to give him a little more protein.
(Dax shoveled down a ton of chicken the other day at a friend's house, which was a miracle - he never wants meat, so I kept giving it to him, only for me to realize in a really DUH moment - stuck in afternoon traffic on the way home, that it was CHICKEN SALAD! covered in mayo... Dax spewed all of the chicken, and an entire 9 oz. bottle of "milk" all over himself in the car... He has the very same reaction to real milk, too.) :(

I'd love other people's opinions about this too... but here's my thinking right now:

We're giving him soy milk, which has protein - but I'm not sure that's enough to give him what he needs daily. (We're also adding 2 oz. of milk-based toddler formula right now, but that will slowly be cut out in the next few months - we're really only using it for MY peace of mind, for the nutrients it contains).

I'm considering adding a protein powder to his soy bottles, and possibly to his morning bowl of cereal.
I've been researching protein powders, and the facts are that too much protein can make a person's kidney's not function very well and can lead to excretion of calcium (which means kidney stones). That doesn't sound very good. But I'm not thinking of using the recommended "serving sizes" on most protein powder packages, either (but he IS a tiny little person, too - so I should probably work on the actual serving size I'd be giving him). But the rest of the stuff I read about them has to do with weight lifting - and that's not my goal (apparently don't actually help, if you're in the market for protein powders to bulk your body up, anyway).

It seems, though, that Hemp protein powder may, in fact, be safest (it's only 50% protein at most), and also contains the wonderful fatty acids that babies need - Omegas 3, 6 and 9, and GLAs.
(some sources: All About Protein Powders, Feeding the Picky Eater excerpt, Nutiva product information)

Does this sound like I would be doing the right thing?
Should I supplement his protein slightly by adding a teaspoon of Hemp protein to his morning cereal, and to his 3 bottles of soy milk that he has a day?
Maybe I should just use it in his milk? Or just in his cereal?
Does anyone know if Sprouts sells this...? :) I know I could just trot my own fanny in there to see - but Dax is napping right now! :)

Anyway - I'll keep posting about how this goes - if we decide to do it.
:)
(and thanks for your comments and suggestions, in advance!)

-L.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Updates

So - Dax is finally getting some more teeth! We're up to 8 now - four on top and four on bottom. But not the middle four; the right side four (pretty funny).
Yeesh - poor kiddo just hasn't been able to eat a whole lot of things because of the no-teeth factor, but we're on our way!
We've been using a Latvian/Bavarian (I can't remember where it came from now) Baltic amber "teething necklace" for about 3 weeks. I honestly can't say that it's helped, though I have a friend who says hers is helping her baby. Dax still wakes up about 2 times a night, most likely from the pain in his mouth - it looks like all his teeth are going to pop out in the next couple of weeks. Poor baby.

We're just about to hit 15 months too!

He's officially a "toddler" - he walks just about everywhere now. He can't really pull himself up from sitting to standing unless he's near something to grab and pull up on, but I'm sure that's just right around the corner.

He's very proficient with his sign language now - although "shoes", "more" and "help" all kind of look the same... :) It's still pretty cute.
The other day, he spied the can of Lysol on his bookshelf that I keep in his room to spray the diaper-trash pail, and he used the sign "please"! I nearly gave it to him JUST because he said PLEASE! hehehehe!
:)
I signed "thank you" to him in the car yesterday, and he looked at me like he was about to sign it back to me... and then he just said it instead. Too funny. :)
This kid cracks me up.
I am just LOVING every day with this baby. He's just the coolest, sweetest little guy. I still can't believe his little body came from mine... it's just amazing.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Secret Weapons...

I was reading this post tonight : "I keep a secret weapon in my pantry", and realized that she might be on to something...
Since we've diagnosed Dax's milk allergy (or whatever it is... I'll call it an allergy - spewing 3 times a day can probably be called an allergy) - we've been trying to get something in him that resembles milk, with some fat, some protein and some brain stimulating goodness... So we've been using (very) expensive toddler formula, which is milk-based, but the proteins have been broken down for easier digestibility... And it works for us! No puke = works!
:)
But... this got me thinking... if I can throw a scoop of powdered milk into something... would it make him vomit? Would it be the same as if he drank a big tummy-full of milk?
I'm excited to try it out and see what happens...

We'll have to wait til we get home from the weekend in Mansfield, and also make sure that we have lots of preparations made, in case he DOES throw everything back up again...
;)

Also - a good friend of mine said she might be able to get me a teaching gig at her school - how cool would that be? I'm hoping that they need me to start ASAP - right in time for SUMMER!
Woohoooo!
:)
Well... I can hope, right?
:)

Night!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Been a while!

Ok - so since the last post, we've had a couple of birthdays... Dax has gotten more teeth (we didn't get as many as Dax's baby book says we have, because I thought he got one, and then he didn't actually get it - weird, but true), we've gotten a huge allergy, a couple of illnesses, lost some weight and gained some weight!
Woohoo!
So Dax turned ONE on the 25th of March! You go, cowboy!


What a great day, hanging out with family and friends, and FISH! :) It couldn't have been a more perfect day.

We've personally diagnosed Dax with a full-fledged milk allergy. We couldn't put our finger on what was causing him to throw up so much... but hindsight is 20/20 (of course), and now that I look back on it, I mean... my last post WAS "We're weaned!" We were putting milk in his bottle... and he started throwing up at least once a day. Then it was twice a day. And then it was three to four times a day... It was scary. He lost a couple pounds... and we didn't have insurance... I'm just glad that we held it together, persevered, and freaking figured it out before we had a hospitalized munchkin!
And don't get me wrong - we'd go into a million miles of debt for our baby, without insurance! We just didn't want to rush to the ER for every little spew - and I'll have to make it clear that until about two weeks ago, it wasn't ALARMING... but when he started throwing up three times a day, it was VERY alarming. That was right after his 1-year checkup with the doctor (the week after his birthday), and she said something about his weight. I began to notice that he wasn't just throwing up when I left him in childcare at the church (and he was missing me)... he was throwing up a LOT. At night. After lunch. After every meal!
We've now cut out all whole-milk products, we use Nestle's milk-based formula (which is milk-protein broken down for easier digestion, and he seems to be capable of handling that), and he has low-fat/non-fat yogurts and cheeses. And that's it for milk. And we'd been using PediaSure to beef up his bottles, so we're about to switch to soy milk (vanilla flavored for now) after the PediaSure is used up (I used it tonight for his before-bed bottle, and he seemed to like it just fine). Hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, we'll get off the formula too, and just be using soy milk.
Every day is a new day.

Anooj also had a birthday!


My Mom and Dad both had birthdays too! And so did my niece Molly!
Hippo Birdies Two Ewes!
We walked in the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure the Saturday before Easter, and really had a good time!
I'll post pictures later.
Have to go to bed now!
:)

Monday, March 23, 2009

We're weaned!

It's official - it's been a week since Dax has had any breastmilk! I know - it's not a fantastic milestone - I feel sort of guilty, since he's been so sick since we stopped (I could have been pumping this whole time and giving that to him).
But here's how it happened...
We'd gone down to three nursings a day: one at 9-ish, one at 3-ish, and one for bedtime. Those also coincided with naps afterward - probably something we'll still have to tackle...
At any rate, I stopped nursing at night-time, and Anooj would give him a bottle of very warm milk and toddler formula. Worked like a charm.
We just slowly moved the bottle into each of the feedings - and Dax really didn't fuss about it.
I had also noticed that I was not engorging like I used to, and I also wasn't saving much pumped milk a few weeks ago, when I was still pumping... so it seemed to be nature telling us it was time.
And we haven't looked back!
Bottles with milk and formula now continue the "snack-time" feedings, and the evening before-bed feeding.
I feel sad, sometimes, in the night, when he cries, and I know he's just thirsty - we used to bring him to bed with us, and I'd cuddle with him and nurse him... He's a big boy now, though!

And speaking of other milestones! Yesterday, Dax completely stood up without holding on to anything at all! And, he drew with a crayon yesterday too! BEFORE he ate the crayon! (that's a biggee, usually, he just eats the crayon and bangs it on whatever's nearby - this time, he actually watched himself softly draw on the paper... and then ate the crayon).
He was watching a "movie" with me yesterday too (Baby Signing Time) - and the teacher had a police hat on, and Dax tapped his head - the sign for "hat" - and then pointed at her! Very cool.
He's fully on the signing train.
:)
His other big thing is "pointing" his whole hand in the direction of something - everything - and asking "whasthat!" Too cute. He's such a sweet sweet baby.
I hope his snoggy nose and head cold are gone before the weekend...
:)

Friday, March 20, 2009

Again, with the naptime drama!

Ok - so it looks like I only post on here when I'm frustrated... and I am - again.
I'm sitting here listening to Dax play in his crib for his afternoon nap.
And I guess this can only mean one thing - he's ready to move to one nap a day, I guess... but he takes that one in the morning, from 8 or 8:30 to 10... Today it was 8:30-ish to nearly 11-ish... which is a great nap, but then I get just enough done that I look forward to his afternoon nap when I can finish everything I started...
No dice today.
Sweet.
I have been trying for nearly 30 minutes.
He's even on cold medication!
I can't believe he's not going down...

We did get a haircut in today between his nap and lunch - we left the house at 11, and came home at 11:20! not bad!
Here are some pics:






Tuesday, March 10, 2009

My Review of Bathtime Shower

One Step Ahead

More than a fun bath toy, our press-and-pump showerhead prepares kids for taking real showers! Little ones love pressing the big, chunky button (and what an intriguing coordination builder!). With a pivoting head so kids can direct the spray and suction cup base that secures to the tub wall. For ag...


Pretty spiffy!

LisaT Flower Mound, Texas 3/10/2009

 

4 5

Pros: Water-squirting fun

Cons: Hard to operate

Best Uses: Bathing, Bathroom, Washing

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

I loved this toy, because there just aren't enough water-play toys out there to interact with in the tub, other than regular squirt toys... And it definitely does that.
However, my baby's just a little too young for it (recommended age is 18 months) - he doesn't get that the button makes the water go yet, and the button is a little hard to press (because it's sucking up the water from the tub - so it makes sense, it's just a little hard for my kiddo).
So that said - if you have a toddler over 14 months, they'd probably love this. My guys is nearly 12 months, and it's just a little over his head yet. But it'll be great when he figures it out, I'm sure!
:)

()

My Review of Ulti-Mat Bath Mat

One Step Ahead

Our giant bath mat is L-O-N-G on safety. Most non-skid bath mats cover only part of the tub...that's just not safe enough for us! The solution? Our giant 391/2"L x 16"W tub mat! It covers nearly the entire tub bottom, eliminating those sneaky slippery spots. 200 suction...


Wonderbar!

LisaT Flower Mound, Tx 3/10/2009

 

5 5

Gift: No

Pros: Safety Features

Best Uses: Bathroom Safety, Washing, Infants, Bathing, Toddlers

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

LOVE this bathmat - when it's time for you to transition to the "big tubby", then it's time for you to get a bathmat like this one - it truly does cover the entire bottom of our tub, and I'm SO grateful for that. Our nearly-one-year-old loves to try to stand up, and he'll try it anywhere I don't have my body leaning over the side of the tub - and when he does, this mat keeps his feet secure and non-slippy, so he doesn't whack his face on the side of the tub before I can grab him and sit him back down!
I would highly recommend this.
(Also, for favorite pre-big-tubby tubby, I love the Primo Baby EuroBath - great for brand new babies up to 12 months!)

()

Friday, March 6, 2009

Naptime drama...

Well Dax has now finished up with his first of many "childhood illnesses" - he had Roseola last week and over the weekend. SO glad that's overwith. He got the rash, which generally signifies that the virus has been fought and your child is no longer communicable, on Sunday/Monday, but still had a slight rash on Wednesday - but it was gone by bathtime Wednesday night! He topped out at 103.5 on Saturday morning - but it was amazing how fast Motrin cooled him off - by 8:30 when we hit the doctor's office, he was back to normal! (less than an hour, probably, from that first temperature reading)

Now I'm having naptime drama... And I think I'm writing this because I'm feeling guilty for MAKING him stay in his crib while he should be napping, but he's not... He's only had ONE half-hour "nap" today, and I tried to get him down earlier, but no dice. We went for a long walk this afternoon, and I nursed him for his afternoon "snack", and he crashed out, but promptly woke up about 30 minutes later in his crib...
And I'm going to leave him there. He HAS to have a nap. Even though he's not napping... at least he's having quiet time. Right? Am I crazy?
What am I supposed to do with a baby who won't nap?
Muh.
I hate this.
:(

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Completely sitting up now!

Dax just started sitting up by himself, at the park on Friday afternoon during our walk... and it was sudden... from his tummy, he simply rolled a bit to his side, and SAT UP.
What a couple of weeks this has been...!
I wanted to chronicle this before I forgot to...
:)
But I'm SO proud of my little boy - so big now.
:)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sign Language...

Anyone who has taught their child to sign would probably tell you that it's pretty incredible... But I had NO idea how FAST my kid would pick it up!
Today Dax signed "thank you" to his church daycare ladies when I picked him up.
He's fully signing Cheerios.
But he also started signing "All Gone" - I do it for "All done" too - it basically means the same thing - and he obviously gets the idea: he was mad that I put him on the changing table once this afternoon, and he kept signing (flapping his hands around) until I figured out that he was trying to sign something - so I said it, "All done?" and he smiled. I WAS all done, so he clapped when I said "ok - up".
I'm floored.
Next week Dax will be 11 months.
And he can talk to me already!
How cool is that??
:)

If you haven't decided to do this with your kid, or you think you can't, or you think it might hinder their verbal abilities - think again. You CAN do this (if I did!). And why not save yourself months of frustration (and probably nasty tantrums) by giving your child the tools to tell you what he means as soon as he's ABLE to?
:)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

More Updates!

So - our heater went out AGAIN on Saturday night, and we decided to pack what we could and head to Honey and Popi's for a day or three...
But magic always happens there...
And this is what new stuff Dax started doing:
He SIGNED the word for "Cereal/Cheerios"!
He started saying "thank you"!
He stood without holding onto something!
His crawl got WAY better - no more foot-pushing-body-drag... it's hand/foot action now!
He's now totally waving for "bye" AND "hi" - he's been saying "hi" for a while... but now they really are coinciding, and a wave and a "hi" go together, and a wave and a "bye" go together.
It's funny how there don't seem to be so many milestones hit for a while, and then suddenly, it all happens. It felt like that this weekend.
:)
Dax is such a big boy!
:)

Friday, February 13, 2009

Updates

Wow - I've been meaning to write for a while, but just haven't had a chance...
Currently, Dax is supposed to be napping - but he's calling out to me instead... I know he's not sleeping, but this is supposed to be naptime... so he'll be ok in his crib for a minute while I do this.. :)
It seems like I'm spending a lot of time TRYING to get Dax to take a nap during the day... so he's either napping, eating, or in his crib NOT napping... I wish I had a nap schedule better planned out - but everyday is a crapshoot with him and naps.

Anyway, what I really wanted to update was that Dax seems to have finally figured out that food is for swallowing (not mushing around in your mouth and spitting out) - and that food swallowed=not hungry... it's still not his favorite thing to do... but he's working on it.
Once he has a few more than three teeth, I'm sure it'll be more fun for him to tear into a chicken nugget.

He's also waving a lot now (and he's been clapping for a few weeks) - but now he's waving when he actually HEARS "hello" or "hi", or "bye" or "goodbye". Sometimes he flaps his whole hand, sometimes he crinkles his fingers toward himself... but he gets it.

Now I'm trying hard to work signs in to our everyday stuff... but it seems like when I remember to use signs, I forget what the sign is for the thing I'm talking about...
like "dinosaur"... I mean - NOW I remember what the sign is, but I have no idea when we'll see one again in the future, and if I'll actually remember it then.
:)
Anyway.
Updates.
I have to go save the little man from his no-nap-taking-ness now.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

We loved you, Charlie.

We had to put our crazy dog Charlie down today...
It was the most horrible thing I've had to do...
She was a sweet, sweet dog.
Albeit, a mess. She ate everything I loved. She ate baby toys.
She even ate plastic.
But we loved her.
She was so soft. And really just wanted love.
And a bath.
I can't fault her for that at all.

We loved you Charlie Bear.




Sunday, January 25, 2009

And it continues!

I have to say - sleep has been good.
Dax slept in til nearly 9 today!
So we're ready to move night-night to 8pm.
We did that tonight...
He fell asleep eating from the bottle tonight, so when he woke up about five minutes ago, I went in, and patted his back, and put him back down with the "it's time for night-night", told him I loved him, turned the light off and closed his door...
He's not happy...
But we'll see how long it lasts tonight... I feel bad because he went to sleep while he was eating, and woke up in bed... (that would freak me out) - but it's also nearly two hours earlier than he's been falling asleep...
We did make his day fun and long - so hopefully, it won't be long before he crashes out...
But I'd say that I'm proud that we made the decision to let him cry it out - especially since he hasn't ever cried longer than the one-hour limit, and I'd say the whole family is happier during the day.
:)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Thank you, Anne.

You empowered me!
And we've done it.
Last night, we had friends over for dinner, so it wasn't feasible to really make them listen to Dax "not want to go to sleep yet".
But tonight was the night.
Albeit, we started at 9, instead of 8 - it was a late night for Anooj and me - we hadn't connected and gotten dinner started on time - the machine was out of sync...
But, even so - when 9 came around, and Dax was LITERALLY hitting himself to stay asleep while he nursed! - I took him to his room, put his favorite blankie over my shoulder so he could snuffle it on my shoulder, and I rocked him while I sang a few songs to him. And then I said "It's time for bed, baby." And I put him in his bed.
He played for about 15 minutes.
And then he realized he was staying there... and he started calling for us... But it was about 5 or 10 minutes before he really started to yell and scream...
And Anooj and I were good. We held our ground.
It seemed like an eternity...
He was so sad... and almost sounded like he'd throw up any minute (he does that when he gets really worked up), but as suddenly as we heard the first scream, he stopped... His room was silent.
And he's asleep!
Like a baby!
In his own crib!
And in total, it was 45 minutes - from put-down to silence.
Pretty hard, but not nearly as hard as I thought it might be...
And now I can go to bed!!
:)
Woohooo!

Anne, I'll call you tomorrow!! I'm sorry I didn't get to call you back today (crazy day - I actually got out of the house for MOST of the day - I know - amazing)!
:)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Spoke too soon.

Yep - last night was another nightmare... Dax woke up every single hour... I'm about at my wits' end with no sleep...
And Dax doesn't wake up very happy in the morning.
This has to stop.
I'm trying bottles again today, and we'll see what happens.

Monday, January 19, 2009

I think I've been beaten...

There haven't been a whole lot of things in my life that I've done and have just sucked at... except for a few video games... my first marriage... I don't draw very well... (I'm sure my friends can think of a few other things I've done and sucked at - so I'll leave that for the comments section) :)
But parenting has left me completely baffled...
I mean, save from the easy aspects - clothing, diapering, general feeding - those have been fairly easy. So if I leave it at that, I could say I haven't totally sucked at this - my kid's still breathing, has grown quite a bit, and he's got clothes...
But the rest has just kicked my a$$.
Like, I don't know why Dax isn't sleeping at night... he was up every hour last night, but finally got about 2 hours straight between 5 and 7... We've tried a bedtime routine - a bath, then reading, singing, rocking, etc... no dice. And it's not that it just started to not work - it's NEVER worked. He's only slept more than 2 hours straight as many nights as I can count on my fingers... flukes, really.
He's pretty easy to get back to sleep - I rock him and pat his back, and he usually crashes out within 5-10 minutes, but sometimes even that doesn't work, and he just gets frenzied.
Breastfeeding has just served to give me more guilt - everyone says that he must not be eating enough in the day to sleep well at night... But I feed this kid every three hours, for at least 30 minutes, and I've even incorporated three solid food meals into the day on top of those feedings...
My mother in law saw him yawn the other day, and told ME that he was tired - but honest to God, when I try to put him down for a nap when I see him yawn, he rolls around and plays and screams in his crib for 20 minutes before I pull him out...
He'll take a quick catnap after he's dome nursing, but if I lay him in his crib, he instantly wakes up (or WILL wake up within 15 minutes).

So I'm trying something new.
Today I'm pumping only, and feeding by bottle, so I can get a measurement of exactly how much he IS eating during the day. I missed this morning already (I was so tired at 8, I laid down with him this morning, and he ate for nearly an hour because I was too tired to get out of bed once one half-hour had gone by).
But he took a bottle today at lunch, and I measured that he had 7.5 ounces...
and he still won't take a nap - I hear him playing in his crib, which is now turning to whining...
I better go get him.
Anyway - if anyone has any good advice for measuring feedings, how much a 10 month old SHOULD be eating at this point - I'd be grateful. Also - tell me what kind of nap routines seemed to have worked for you so far... I'm at a total loss.

I'm just hoping that the sleep will come as a byproduct of eating more than enough during the day... but I'm pretty skeptical at this point.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

To First American Home Warranty

First, I'll tell everyone that we woke up this morning about 3am to our baby screaming. The house was a chilly 60 degrees... and dropping. The forecast for the night had been for temperatures in the 20s.
So I called First American Home Warranty to place a new claim, complete with a screaming baby in the background. The agent told me that our claim was placed in "emergency" status.
I should also mention that I had put a call in to First American Home Warranty the week before Christmas, saying that our heater had started making loud banging noises; that claim was denied.
So, Anooj called to check on our repair man for our newest claim, who had yet to call us by 1pm - AND THEY TOLD ANOOJ THAT OUR CLAIM HAD BEEN CANCELED.
Sweet.
Now THAT's the kind of service I would recommend to my friends.
So here's my recommendation...
DO NOT EVER CHOOSE FIRST AMERICAN HOME WARRANTY when you buy a house. I WOULD suggest you take a Home Warranty service for the first year - the seller usually pays for it, so you might as well take it - but I understand that they're all basically as helpful as First American Home Warranty. BUT, perhaps their service people are smarter... perhaps they don't errantly change order statuses from EMERGENCY to CANCELED.

FIRST AMERICAN HOME WARRANTY SUCKS.
Do not choose them.
Ever.

Just some friendly advice.
I mean, if you value your family and all.
:)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

That's right! I deserve a standing ovation! ...or a sitting one...

Dax has started clapping!
It began simply on Thursday (at mom's house, did I even have to say that?) - he brought his hands together twice, but clasped them together. And he's been working on it ever since!
Mooma (Anooj's mom) was trying to get him to blow her a kiss from his hand (but he doesn't know how to kiss yet, much less kiss his hand, and even less, blow one) - and I mentally giggled at how hard she was working with him.
But lo and behold - this morning at 5:30am, I not only got an ovation from my baby after I pulled his diaper off, I got blown kisses!
Get out of town!
Just when you think you may never be appreciated...
:)

Friday, January 2, 2009

Goodness.

Dax is finally feeling better, but he's coughing now, which is still better than throwing up and blowing green snot out his cute little nose. :)
His fever broke on Wednesday night, and I was lying with him - I could feel it when he actually got cooler and a little sweaty at the same time. What a relief.
Also, I forgot to report his stats from the doctor's office!
He's nearly 31 inches tall, weighs 21 pounds, and has a 46 centimeter head! Holy cow - he's 75 percentile across the board!
(I was worried about his little head, but not so much any more - the last time we were there, his head only measure like 1 centimeter more than the time before... so much for that!) hehehehe

Here are some pictures/video from the day today:







This last one's for Jill - thank you for Dax's Christmas blankie - it's his new favorite (he only eats the ones he loves)! :)