I am really into exclusively breastfeeding my babies for at least the first 6 months, and then breastfeeding until my baby weans on his own. Really, I kind of just watch my baby for clues as to how he wants to eat. So far, Bug has only had solid foods a handful of times. He is usually just more interested in playing with the food...or the spoon. That's fine with me. But, I've made a rule that he is only allowed to have single ingredient foods for now, if he chooses to eat. He does great with banana! Of course, he does still choke on most stuff. That's why I'm OK with him just nursing!
Well, Christmas 'tis the season for sugar and sweets. And lots of junk left on the floor. My family went to my in-law's house on Christmas day, and Bug was sitting on the floor as we all opened our family gifts. My brother-in-law had left his stash of candy from that morning on the floor, just next to where Bug was sitting. Of course, Bug found a nice piece of butterscotch candy to mouth. I wasn't too worried about it. It was still in the wrapper, and Bug had a good hold of it. I kept my eye on him, to make sure that he didn't lose his grip. Eventually, we all thought that Bug might be enjoying the taste of that candy wrapper a little bit too much. Even though I had just checked a minute ago, and the wrapper was all intact, I checked again....
And what do you know, Bug had torn a little hole in the wrapper, and was sucking on that little piece of butterscotch candy!!!! I took it right away from him, and tried to give him something else to play with. He was not happy with that, at all! He screamed and screamed! I felt like a horrible mom, and a total hypocrite for allowing Bug to eat candy (especially because I gave MY mom a hard time just the other day about giving Bug some mashed potatoes that had butter and milk in them!) Luckily, I was able to laugh about the situation. And apparently, butterscotch is even better than mama's milk!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I could just spit!
Bug is a mouther. I have to rescue him from choking at least once a day.
Today, I was on the floor playing with Bug. We rolled his ball, crawled around and read through his little alphabet book. And, of course, he tried to put everything in his mouth. Because he puts everything in his mouth, he often has strings of saliva running from his mouth to whatever happens to be in his hands at the moment. After we read his alphabet book, Bug pulled his mouth away (I swear, if we had Braille books, he would read them with his tongue!) and his string of spit disconnected from the book, and was hanging down from his mouth about three inches. Bug happened to notice, for once, that there was something hanging there. He tried his hardest to grab the string. But he swayed and missed, because he was only supported with one hand. Then he tried again, and missed again. He happened to miss with every swipe, while I tried not to distract him with my muffled giggles. He eventually gave up, and put something else into his mouth. If he did manage to get a hold of that daggone spit strand, though, you bet he would have put it right into his mouth!
Today, I was on the floor playing with Bug. We rolled his ball, crawled around and read through his little alphabet book. And, of course, he tried to put everything in his mouth. Because he puts everything in his mouth, he often has strings of saliva running from his mouth to whatever happens to be in his hands at the moment. After we read his alphabet book, Bug pulled his mouth away (I swear, if we had Braille books, he would read them with his tongue!) and his string of spit disconnected from the book, and was hanging down from his mouth about three inches. Bug happened to notice, for once, that there was something hanging there. He tried his hardest to grab the string. But he swayed and missed, because he was only supported with one hand. Then he tried again, and missed again. He happened to miss with every swipe, while I tried not to distract him with my muffled giggles. He eventually gave up, and put something else into his mouth. If he did manage to get a hold of that daggone spit strand, though, you bet he would have put it right into his mouth!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Bad Mom Award
I KNOW a lot of people who read this edition are going to think really poorly of me. But, hey, that is why it's under the "Bad Mom Award" category. Maybe you can call Children's Protective Services on me, eh!?
So, my little family lives in a crappy apartment. Every day I spend here at home, I hate it even more. Just the other day, to brighten my mood, they turned the water off....for the eighth time in 4 months. Just perfect for a stay-at-home mom, you know!? I can't do the dishes, or laundry (Oh, the diapers!!!!), or use the restroom, or even cook for that matter! Luckily, my little sister was able to come and get me and Bug, and take us over to my parents' house.
We put the car seat in her little car, and drove away. [Just a side note: We use a convertible car seat, not an infant car seat.] When we were about halfway to my parents' house (it is only a 15 minute drive away, so it wasn't that long) I looked back at Bug....
I had to do a little scream, because Bug's car seat WAS LEANING PRACTICALLY SIDEWAYS!!!!! What the heck!?!?! I reached back and corrected it, and held it in place the rest of the way. I went over and over in my mind how I buckled it in and tightened everything, and made sure everything was in place. Why on earth would it lean over like that?!? And more than that, why didn't Bug alert me when he toppled over?!?!
Once we got to my parents' house, I checked the seat. It was still buckled in correctly. I'm not exactly sure why it DID lean over. But everyone was safe. And why didn't Bug let me know what was going on? Well, of course, because he was fast asleep!
So, my little family lives in a crappy apartment. Every day I spend here at home, I hate it even more. Just the other day, to brighten my mood, they turned the water off....for the eighth time in 4 months. Just perfect for a stay-at-home mom, you know!? I can't do the dishes, or laundry (Oh, the diapers!!!!), or use the restroom, or even cook for that matter! Luckily, my little sister was able to come and get me and Bug, and take us over to my parents' house.
We put the car seat in her little car, and drove away. [Just a side note: We use a convertible car seat, not an infant car seat.] When we were about halfway to my parents' house (it is only a 15 minute drive away, so it wasn't that long) I looked back at Bug....
I had to do a little scream, because Bug's car seat WAS LEANING PRACTICALLY SIDEWAYS!!!!! What the heck!?!?! I reached back and corrected it, and held it in place the rest of the way. I went over and over in my mind how I buckled it in and tightened everything, and made sure everything was in place. Why on earth would it lean over like that?!? And more than that, why didn't Bug alert me when he toppled over?!?!
Once we got to my parents' house, I checked the seat. It was still buckled in correctly. I'm not exactly sure why it DID lean over. But everyone was safe. And why didn't Bug let me know what was going on? Well, of course, because he was fast asleep!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
mamamamamamamama...
Recently, Bug has learned how to say "Mama". How sweet, right?! The only problem is that he thinks it is the only word in the whole universe. Well, other than "baba", which I'm hoping is "ball", but works for other things, too. And "Megan". That was just a fluke, I'm sure. Or he just really loves his aunt, and can't wait to see her again. Erm...sorry Megs, it was a fluke.
My mother-in-law is convinced that Bug knows what he means when he says "mama", because he said it while he was "distressed". I can't seem to agree, though. Maybe it's because I'm home with Bug all day, and I hear him calling me while he is crawling toward his ball. (I guess "baba" isn't even the word for "ball".) True, he does say it when he is upset. He will crawl up to me, crying and whining in his cute voice, "mama". But, he doesn't stop saying it after I've picked him up. And he continues saying it when he wants me to put him down.
I never thought my baby's first word (and I'm hesitant to even call it that), would make me want to pull my hair out! I have, more or less, come to the conclusion that "mama" means "nap time". For both of us!
My mother-in-law is convinced that Bug knows what he means when he says "mama", because he said it while he was "distressed". I can't seem to agree, though. Maybe it's because I'm home with Bug all day, and I hear him calling me while he is crawling toward his ball. (I guess "baba" isn't even the word for "ball".) True, he does say it when he is upset. He will crawl up to me, crying and whining in his cute voice, "mama". But, he doesn't stop saying it after I've picked him up. And he continues saying it when he wants me to put him down.
I never thought my baby's first word (and I'm hesitant to even call it that), would make me want to pull my hair out! I have, more or less, come to the conclusion that "mama" means "nap time". For both of us!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Onward, ever Onward
In my excitement over Bug's new talent of crawling forward, I posted only a single line of text. WHAT WAS I THINKING!?!? Bug crawling has a classic "Mother's Lament" story to go along with it. And the lament is more than just the fact that I now have to follow him around the house to make sure he doesn't chew on the Christmas light cords...or anything paper that he may find within reach...or our baseboards, which may or may not have lead in them.
Every day, I am home with Bug. All day, every day. I do get some breaks. Like when my husband watches Bug so I can take a shower all by myself! And we do get a date night about once a month, when we dump Bug off at one of his grandmothers' houses. But, more or less, I am with the kid 24/7. And I mostly love it. I get to know him better than anyone else. I see all facets of his personality. I get to teach him. I get to cuddle with him. I get to see all of his firsts....but apparently, I don't bring them out in him. That would be Papa's job.
I don't know how many times I got Bug down on his hands and knees and knelt down in front of him, encouraging him to "Come to Mama!" I guess that's when he learned how to crawl backward. He was stuck in reverse for several weeks. And still I trained and encouraged him to go forward. Then, one day when my husband got home from work, Bug was trying his hardest to crawl forward to him. He moved his hands. And he moved his little legs. He scooted. He went down onto his belly in his classic "Superman" pose. He got back up, and crawled just a little bit more to his Papa. Oh, how my heart nearly melted. It was very exciting! And I guess Bug gets just as happy for Daddy to be home as I do!
Every day, I am home with Bug. All day, every day. I do get some breaks. Like when my husband watches Bug so I can take a shower all by myself! And we do get a date night about once a month, when we dump Bug off at one of his grandmothers' houses. But, more or less, I am with the kid 24/7. And I mostly love it. I get to know him better than anyone else. I see all facets of his personality. I get to teach him. I get to cuddle with him. I get to see all of his firsts....but apparently, I don't bring them out in him. That would be Papa's job.
I don't know how many times I got Bug down on his hands and knees and knelt down in front of him, encouraging him to "Come to Mama!" I guess that's when he learned how to crawl backward. He was stuck in reverse for several weeks. And still I trained and encouraged him to go forward. Then, one day when my husband got home from work, Bug was trying his hardest to crawl forward to him. He moved his hands. And he moved his little legs. He scooted. He went down onto his belly in his classic "Superman" pose. He got back up, and crawled just a little bit more to his Papa. Oh, how my heart nearly melted. It was very exciting! And I guess Bug gets just as happy for Daddy to be home as I do!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Nursing is a funny game
Sometimes, when we are out and about, Bug misses his late afternoon nap. Then, he is super cranky in the evening, and I usually end up putting him down for an evening nap. But then he is waking up when the hubby and I are ready to go to sleep. We will stay up for a little bit longer, and we always try to wear Bug out so he will go back to sleep. Sometimes we will take advantage of Bug being happy and awake to get some "married couple" time to ourselves...because we all know, if we tried to get time to ourselves while Bug was sleeping, he would surely wake up right when it was most inconvenient!
Once we are completely exhausted, and totally ready for Bug to go to sleep, we all lay down in the bed. I prepare to nurse Bug into a blissful state of sleep. He has other plans....especially if he is in between mama and papa. He turns nursing into a game, and I must admit, it is pretty darn cute!
Here are the rules to the game: nurse for 5 seconds. Pull off, make sure to stretch mommy as far as she can go while doing it. Look over at daddy. Smile the biggest grin you can manage. Turn away from daddy quickly, pretending like you are Bashful, the dwarf. Remember to give a little giggle while you are turning! Latch back onto mommy. Bonus points for making a big slurping noise. Begin again, this time, nurse for only 4 seconds and laugh with even more cuteness. Each round, nurse for one second less, and amp up the adorable factor. When you run out of seconds to nurse, then you can nurse longer and finally go to sleep...but not until after you make mommy switch sides.
Luckily, the game hasn't yet added a biting rule, even though Bug got his two bottom teeth in about two weeks ago! Mommy will have to add a penalty if those pearly whites turn dangerous!
Once we are completely exhausted, and totally ready for Bug to go to sleep, we all lay down in the bed. I prepare to nurse Bug into a blissful state of sleep. He has other plans....especially if he is in between mama and papa. He turns nursing into a game, and I must admit, it is pretty darn cute!
Here are the rules to the game: nurse for 5 seconds. Pull off, make sure to stretch mommy as far as she can go while doing it. Look over at daddy. Smile the biggest grin you can manage. Turn away from daddy quickly, pretending like you are Bashful, the dwarf. Remember to give a little giggle while you are turning! Latch back onto mommy. Bonus points for making a big slurping noise. Begin again, this time, nurse for only 4 seconds and laugh with even more cuteness. Each round, nurse for one second less, and amp up the adorable factor. When you run out of seconds to nurse, then you can nurse longer and finally go to sleep...but not until after you make mommy switch sides.
Luckily, the game hasn't yet added a biting rule, even though Bug got his two bottom teeth in about two weeks ago! Mommy will have to add a penalty if those pearly whites turn dangerous!
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