Happy Half Birthday Andrew!
Happy 6 months Andrew! I can not believe my baby is 6 months old. 6 months! Where does the time go. It's sad really, how fast he's growing up. He's my baby, and probably my only baby. This is the only time in my whole entire life that I'll get to snuggle with my little one and he's not staying little :( It's not fair. When you think how long I've wanted to be a mom and then add the 9 months that I had to tote my little one around without knowing him I don't even get to hold him a fraction of that time as my baby. Never again will I get to enjoy these days of sitting on the couch for hours just holding my little one while he gazes up at me. He's already crawling (his version of crawling) by the time he's 9 months old he will probably be up and running away from me. One thing that I do enjoy is that I am still nursing him. He still gets close snuggle time with me, he has no choice. I know sometime in the next 6 months he will probably decide he's had enough and wean himself but until he does that I'm not going to encourage it, besides who wants to pay for formula when they make better stuff for free! This is part of the problem with sleeping, I don't mind him snuggled next to be 5 out of the 7 nights a week but sometimes I would like it if he would just sleep alone so I could get a good nights sleep. My heart just breaks into a million pieces when I hear him cry for me though I can't leave him alone in his crib, I just can't. When in your life will someone want you and love you that much? It makes me feel so special, I don't think it's a bad thing to make myself feel good and my baby happy at the same time. There is just one problem, the other day I was out shopping when I looked down and realized that my sweater was inside out! And Drew didn't even tell me! I am that sleep deprived, frazzled mom that can't even dress herself! Someday you will see me in line at the bank with one blue shoe and one black shoe, hair disheveled, and stickers stuck on my butt. Please just smile and know while I may look like a mess I am loving every minute of being a mommy.
Dr. Update: Drew is 19lbs 7oz and 25 inches long. He's in the 75th percentile for weight, the 85th for head circumference, and only the 10th for height. My little guy.
11/8/09: Drew did his first sign! I asked him if he wanted milk and I did the sign for milk and then he did it back to me!! That's so exciting! I've been doing 3 signs with him since he was 4 months old, I am so excited that he's catching on. That will be cool if he can communicate with me before he can talk, but he is "talking" a lot.
Drew also held a ball in each hand today. He's been picking stuff up with both hands but he's had trouble with the little balls that go in the gumball machine. Today he had one in his right hand and then picked one up with his left. He's growing up so much every day.
Today Drew tried mashed potatoes. He had fun mashing them even more himself and he even ate some. He has so much fun eating food but he doesn't really like when mommy feeds him baby food.
11/9/09: Drew slept 4 hours in his crib. It's getting better, but still not what I imagined it would be 6 months ago. I can't do the cry it out anymore. I tried, I really really tried and after hours and hours of Drew crying I would go into his room to find his face and eyes puffy and tear streaked and his voice raspy from crying so much. It's not worth it. I would rather have a baby that sleeps with me that torture my child night after night. I tried for almost 20 days, I just don't like hearing my baby cry that much, it can't be good for him. I'll do it my way and eventually he will sleep on his own. You don't see too many high school boys crawling in their mom and dad's bed ;)
11/10/09: Drew reached for a bubble today! We went to lapsit at the library again today where we sang and read stories and played with bubbles. He has been looking at the bubbles but today was the first time he reached his hands up. Maybe he's enjoying all the activities that him and mommy are getting to do.
11/11/09: I know everyone thinks being a stay at home mom is easy but sometimes I would like a break. It's hard when Gary travels, I'm home all day with Drew and unless I call my mom I don't talk to anyone all day long. I get lonely and tired of dealing with clingy cranky baby. I take 5 minute showers because he screams the whole time I'm in there, I barely eat, I can't get any craft activities done and forget about cleaning. Drew doesn't nap without me, he doesn't sleep at night without me, he doesn't play without me. When you go to work and you do a good job you can at least feel like you accomplished something and feel like you are doing a good job in some aspect of your life. I'm just feeling like I'm not very good at this staying home thing. My house sure doesn't look like the houses in the magazines, my baby isn't on a schedule, doesn't nap, co-sleeps, can't soothe himself - he has to be attached to my boob to make himself feel better. You know it doesn't matter if you go to work or not housework still sucks. It's not like being stuck in the house everyday makes it any better. In fact it's worse, the house gets dirty faster when there are people in it all day every day. As soon as I feel accomplished that I did something around the house it's messed up again. How did the 1950's housewives do it? Maybe it's different when you're not all alone. I don't have any stay at home friends, I don't have family near me, and so many times I don't even have my husband home with me. I am just feeling down today and so lonely and Drew is in a funk today too. He didn't want to play at Gymboree, he wanted to sit in mommy's lap. At least it got me out of the house, even if Drew didn't play today. I love my little Drew bug but seriously the last 2 days he hasn't been out of my lap or off of my boob for more than 10 minutes, and then he was still in arms reach of me. He goes to bed when I go to bed and wakes up with me. I just need a few minutes for Alyssa. On a happy note today Drew initiated the sign for milk a few times today. What was I thinking? Why did I teach my baby to ask for milk? The problem is I'm nursing, so to Drew it's not always about the food. Most of the time I am his pacifier, not his food source. He did the milk sign twice when he had eaten just about 40 minutes earlier, he wasn't hungry he wanted comfort. So now he thinks the squeezing hand motion means mommy is going to whip her boob out - great, just great. I wish I knew someone who breastfed their baby this long, are babies always this clingy and wanting to use mommy for comfort this much? The minute he wakes up at night he starts rooting for me, he doesn't even eat when he finds me and latches on, he latches on and then falls back to sleep.
11/12/09: Today Drew got his 6 month pictures done at Walmart, they came out pretty good...check them out below.
He's getting a little red under his diaper, I guess it's diaper rash but I use the butt paste (that's what it's called, I'm not being funny) or I powder him up it's also up front, not his bum. Maybe he was in a wet diaper too long last night. I'll have to start changing him more in the middle of the night. I don't like to change him a lot over night because it wakes him right up. Maybe it's just his body adjusting to him eating food now and things are different pH. Does diaper cream sting red skin, he cried today when I lotioned him up. Maybe he isn't agreeing with the walmart brand wipes, this is the 1st time I've used walmart wipes. I've used pampers and target. Maybe I'll switch back to pampers and see if that helps too.
11/16/09: Drew might not be speaking English but he is trying to communicate in the African click language. Recently he discovered how to click his tongue and smack his lips, it's very funny to listen to. Yesterday Drew put a ball in the top of the gumball machine!!! It's the first time he's been able to hold the ball and lift his arm up high enough and get it in the top! He's so smart, except now he's decided that it's faster to just flip the gumball machine over to get the balls out rather than hit the lever. Silly Drew.
11/17/09: Drew discovered gravity :) Today he threw things on the floor from his highchair and bent over the side to look for them. Then we played the throw things and let mommy get them game for a while. I was feeding Ethan at the time so I knew to put the carrots out of reach from Drew, but I didn't think that I gave him a spatula and wooden spoons to play with. In one swoop he cleared the table, carrots and all. Now there are carrots on my white carpet. Oh well, it would have happened sooner or later. Drew also ate peas today, not baby food peas and not smashed up peas. I was eating lunch and had peas and Drew kept staring at them so I gave him one, he liked it. I continued to feed him peas one by one until he was full, it was so cute. He tried his sippy cup again today, he's getting better but not good enough to handle the cup alone, he still needs a hand.
(uploaded video, Ethan making noise in background)
11/18/09: Drew is starting to figure out the idea behind the shape sorter, he can't do it yet but he wants to. He tries to jam the wrong shape in the hole and he loves putting his pacifier in the holes so I can't find them :)
I uploaded 2 videos of Drew playing with Ethan, one he is playing nice and the other he is very upset. Poor baby.
11/19/09: Drew started jamming out to music :) When he hears music he sways side to side, so cute! He's getting so smart too; he tried to put the triangle in the triangle spot but couldn't get it lined up just right. He stayed with it for about 3 or 4 minutes before giving up and eating the block. It doesn't matter what shape they are they always fit in the mouth! He also is figuring out the nesting blocks. He is starting to put the little ones inside the big ones and he even put down one cup and grabbed another when the 1st one didn't fit. I'm so surprised at how much he's learned in 6 months.
11/22/09: I don't know what to do, my baby won't sleep. I'm not talking he wakes up a few times at night, I'm talking up all night long. I haven't slept more than 1-2 hours at a time in 6 months!!! I can not keep functioning like this. Please help me! Last night I put evil baby in his crib at 9pm, he protested a minute and fell asleep, at 10pm he cried for about 3 minutes and fell asleep, at 10:30 he cried, at 10:45 it got harder and harder and at 11pm I went in to see what I could do. I picked him up, patted his back, sang him a song and laid him back down. He cried and kicked and banged his head against the crib rails. I crawled into his crib with him and let him nurse in his crib, to try to show him that the crib is a nice place too. He settled a little so I sat up and sat at the end of the crib (in his crib). I didn't touch him or talk to him or make eye contact, I just waiting until he settled down....it just wasn't happening. he rolled over and figured out how to turn on his musical fish tank. He spent 30 minutes turning the fish tank on and off. I finally got out of the crib and sat on the floor, he was still playing with the fish tank. I walked into the hall and sat and waited. He started crying but not bad, just tired and annoying. Around 12:30 he fell asleep. At 1:15 he woke up crying hard again. I don't know what to do. I need sleep, I desperately need sleep. I can not take care of 2 babies all week and my baby all weekend and all evening without getting any rest. I put Drew in bed with me, he nursed at 1:30 and fell asleep about 2am, somewhere in the 3 o'clock hour he wanted to nurse again for about 15 minutes and then in the 5 o'clock hour he wanted to nurse again for about 30 minutes. I can't sleep with him, I don't get any sleep, he wants to be attached to me every minute and if I turn my back on him he just cries and wakes daddymonster up. He will not give in and sleep in his crib. I would have let him cried all night long in his crib but on top of the baby yelling at me to pick him up I have grumpy Gary telling me to go get him. I can't do this. Either help me or go get a hotel room while I figure this sleep thing out. It doesn't work to have 2 boys yelling at me all night. Besides Gary's gotten to get away when he's traveled for work several times these past 6 months, I haven't had that luxury. I'm at the end of my rope, I'm serious, I understand why bad things happen to babies. Now during the day I just don't even want to look at my baby let alone play with him, I just can't take it. I need someone to help me, I need someone on my side. Even the cats are against me. I finally got Drew settled down in bed with me last night and around 2am the stupid cat started meowing, he did the same thing at 7:30 this morning. Now I am going to go to jail for abandoning my baby and be charged with animal cruelty for taping my cat's mouth shut. There is a direct correlation between sleep and patience, the more sleep I get the more patience I have; the less sleep, the less patience and not only is that not good for my baby it's not good for the other baby that I watch during the day. I just can't do this. It is seriously getting to the point that I don't care. I don't care about my house, about my appearance, about what Drew is going. He has played on his own all morning today, I know I should be interacting with him and talking to him but I just can't do it. This is past the point of it's so funny your baby doesn't sleep, stop making comments to me and friggin help me!
11/23/09: Drew is getting the hang of the xylophone. He's finally realized that the mallet is for hitting not eating :) I'll try to get a video soon.
11/24/09: Uh Oh, Drew can stand...check out the picture.
11/25/09: Drew can Chew! Drew can eat gerber graduates puffs and melts (great stocking stuffers!!!) He's mashing up the pieces with his gums. My big boy, just in time to eat turkey and sweet potatoes with mommy tomorrow! Wow, babies really do grow up fast. I'm so so so so happy that I've gotten to stay home and see every single day of my babies life. Even though I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown from no sleep I wouldn't want to miss most of my babies first year by being at work 8 hours a day. If you figure it out you're missing 40 hours a week of your baby, 40 waking hours pretty much too (if you work days). In a year that's almost 2000 hours, that's 80 full days of their life that you didn't see...that's almost 3 months that you lose by going to work.
11/28/09: We got Andrew's 1st Christmas tree today! He had a great time riding in the baby bjorn around the Christmas store and then enjoyed watching the guys cut the Christmas trees. I'm so excited for the Holidays with him.
11/29/09: Drew is quite a pain to feed lately. He grabs the spoon, bites it, throws things. Pretty much he does everything but eat! I don't know what his problem is, maybe babies just do that. Today he drank out of a cup, a real cup not a sippy cup. He did good, he spilled a bunch down the front of him but he still did good for not even 7 months old! He also figured out how to play with his pop up toy, he just needs a little more hand strength. He's so smart :)
He's started crying about everything. Is this part of stranger anxiety, everything new anxiety? Loud noises, new noises, new textures, he cries over. Why do I have the cry baby clingy boy. He's not the jump right in and explore type of baby he is stuck to mommy.
11/30/09:
Drew is so funny, and smart! He was picking up cereal puffs when he pushed them too far to the left, he's not as good with his left hand. He could not get them so he put his mouth on the edge of the table and shoved all the cereal in, so so funny! What a good problem solver already.
12/1/09:
Drew saw Santa!
12/2/09:
Drew went to Gymboree again today. We've been half a dozen times and he's still not as into it as I thought he would be. He is so stuck on mommy. In fact right now he's crying with Daddy because I'm not holding him. The class is 45 minutes long. He does okay for about 30 minutes but the last 15 he won't participate, he needs to cuddle with mommy. I guess 30 minutes out of my lap is all he can handle. He is so clingy, SO CLINGY! Is it because I'm a SAHM? Is it because I'm breastfeeding? Is it just him? He is my little stick tight. I found this poem and it brought a tear to my eye thinking about when Drew doesn't need me anymore...
Wean Me Gently by Cathy Cardall
I know I look so big to you,
Maybe I seem too big for the needs I have.
But no matter how big we get,
We still have needs that are important to us.
I know that our relationship is growing and changing,
But I still need you. I need your warmth and closeness,
Especially at the end of the day
When we snuggle up in bed.
Please don't get too busy for us to nurse.
I know you think I can be patient,
Or find something to take the place of a nursing;
A book, a glass of something,
But nothing can take your place when I need you.
Sometimes just cuddling with you,
Having you near me is enough.
I guess I am growing and becoming independent,
But please be there.
This bond we have is so strong and so important to me,
Please don't break it abruptly.
Wean me gently,
Because I am your mother,
And my heart is tender.
12/3/09: My little man is so smart. He couldn't reach a toy when he was sitting on the floor so he took another toy and held that out to sweep the first toy into his reach. What a smartie! He is also starting to wave. He doesn't understand to just wave at people so he spent today waving at the Christmas Tree and the cat :) He ate snacks out of a bowl on his own for the first time today...check out the pictures. He loves snacks, he doesn't like baby food so much. I know he's a big boy but I don't really know what to say when people say wow he's a good eater...well, not really, unless you're talking about just eating boobies, he likes them. All of sudden he's back to wanting to nurse all night long. The last two nights even if he wasn't nursing he wanted to be pressed up against bare skin. If I moved and pulled my shirt down he woke up and cried. I don't know what's going on but it's a price I'm willing to pay to keep him off of formula. I'm so proud of myself that I've breastfed him for 7 months now. I'm awesome! I've also saved a lot of money, formula is $30 a can, and a can makes about 14 bottles, that's like 2 1/2 days. Oh and he drank out of a cup again today. He is getting really good at that. The first 2 sips he tipped it up too much but after that he understood how to wrap his lip around the top of the cup. I have to go now, my little man is crying for momma again. He's always crying for momma.
12/4/09: Drew pretends he's a girl today. That outfit was the one I wore on my first Christmas. He's a big boy, I was 10 months old, he's only 7! Check out the pictures....I know daddy will be mad :)
Drew is getting pretty good with a spoon. He knows to take the spoon and put it in the bowl and then put it in his mouth. The problem is spoons fit in your mouth better upside down, so he loads it up with food, turns it upside down and then puts it in his mouth. So this morning he was covered from head to toe with oatmeal.
He's also started to shiver when he's cold. It's very cute. I hadn't realized that babies don't really respond to the temperature until now. When a cold breeze hits him he shivers. When I pull him out of the tub he shivers. It's so cute, and very exaggerated.
Dr. Update: Drew is 19lbs 7oz and 25 inches long. He's in the 75th percentile for weight, the 85th for head circumference, and only the 10th for height. My little guy.
11/8/09: Drew did his first sign! I asked him if he wanted milk and I did the sign for milk and then he did it back to me!! That's so exciting! I've been doing 3 signs with him since he was 4 months old, I am so excited that he's catching on. That will be cool if he can communicate with me before he can talk, but he is "talking" a lot.
Drew also held a ball in each hand today. He's been picking stuff up with both hands but he's had trouble with the little balls that go in the gumball machine. Today he had one in his right hand and then picked one up with his left. He's growing up so much every day.
Today Drew tried mashed potatoes. He had fun mashing them even more himself and he even ate some. He has so much fun eating food but he doesn't really like when mommy feeds him baby food.
11/9/09: Drew slept 4 hours in his crib. It's getting better, but still not what I imagined it would be 6 months ago. I can't do the cry it out anymore. I tried, I really really tried and after hours and hours of Drew crying I would go into his room to find his face and eyes puffy and tear streaked and his voice raspy from crying so much. It's not worth it. I would rather have a baby that sleeps with me that torture my child night after night. I tried for almost 20 days, I just don't like hearing my baby cry that much, it can't be good for him. I'll do it my way and eventually he will sleep on his own. You don't see too many high school boys crawling in their mom and dad's bed ;)
11/10/09: Drew reached for a bubble today! We went to lapsit at the library again today where we sang and read stories and played with bubbles. He has been looking at the bubbles but today was the first time he reached his hands up. Maybe he's enjoying all the activities that him and mommy are getting to do.
11/11/09: I know everyone thinks being a stay at home mom is easy but sometimes I would like a break. It's hard when Gary travels, I'm home all day with Drew and unless I call my mom I don't talk to anyone all day long. I get lonely and tired of dealing with clingy cranky baby. I take 5 minute showers because he screams the whole time I'm in there, I barely eat, I can't get any craft activities done and forget about cleaning. Drew doesn't nap without me, he doesn't sleep at night without me, he doesn't play without me. When you go to work and you do a good job you can at least feel like you accomplished something and feel like you are doing a good job in some aspect of your life. I'm just feeling like I'm not very good at this staying home thing. My house sure doesn't look like the houses in the magazines, my baby isn't on a schedule, doesn't nap, co-sleeps, can't soothe himself - he has to be attached to my boob to make himself feel better. You know it doesn't matter if you go to work or not housework still sucks. It's not like being stuck in the house everyday makes it any better. In fact it's worse, the house gets dirty faster when there are people in it all day every day. As soon as I feel accomplished that I did something around the house it's messed up again. How did the 1950's housewives do it? Maybe it's different when you're not all alone. I don't have any stay at home friends, I don't have family near me, and so many times I don't even have my husband home with me. I am just feeling down today and so lonely and Drew is in a funk today too. He didn't want to play at Gymboree, he wanted to sit in mommy's lap. At least it got me out of the house, even if Drew didn't play today. I love my little Drew bug but seriously the last 2 days he hasn't been out of my lap or off of my boob for more than 10 minutes, and then he was still in arms reach of me. He goes to bed when I go to bed and wakes up with me. I just need a few minutes for Alyssa. On a happy note today Drew initiated the sign for milk a few times today. What was I thinking? Why did I teach my baby to ask for milk? The problem is I'm nursing, so to Drew it's not always about the food. Most of the time I am his pacifier, not his food source. He did the milk sign twice when he had eaten just about 40 minutes earlier, he wasn't hungry he wanted comfort. So now he thinks the squeezing hand motion means mommy is going to whip her boob out - great, just great. I wish I knew someone who breastfed their baby this long, are babies always this clingy and wanting to use mommy for comfort this much? The minute he wakes up at night he starts rooting for me, he doesn't even eat when he finds me and latches on, he latches on and then falls back to sleep.
11/12/09: Today Drew got his 6 month pictures done at Walmart, they came out pretty good...check them out below.
He's getting a little red under his diaper, I guess it's diaper rash but I use the butt paste (that's what it's called, I'm not being funny) or I powder him up it's also up front, not his bum. Maybe he was in a wet diaper too long last night. I'll have to start changing him more in the middle of the night. I don't like to change him a lot over night because it wakes him right up. Maybe it's just his body adjusting to him eating food now and things are different pH. Does diaper cream sting red skin, he cried today when I lotioned him up. Maybe he isn't agreeing with the walmart brand wipes, this is the 1st time I've used walmart wipes. I've used pampers and target. Maybe I'll switch back to pampers and see if that helps too.
11/16/09: Drew might not be speaking English but he is trying to communicate in the African click language. Recently he discovered how to click his tongue and smack his lips, it's very funny to listen to. Yesterday Drew put a ball in the top of the gumball machine!!! It's the first time he's been able to hold the ball and lift his arm up high enough and get it in the top! He's so smart, except now he's decided that it's faster to just flip the gumball machine over to get the balls out rather than hit the lever. Silly Drew.
11/17/09: Drew discovered gravity :) Today he threw things on the floor from his highchair and bent over the side to look for them. Then we played the throw things and let mommy get them game for a while. I was feeding Ethan at the time so I knew to put the carrots out of reach from Drew, but I didn't think that I gave him a spatula and wooden spoons to play with. In one swoop he cleared the table, carrots and all. Now there are carrots on my white carpet. Oh well, it would have happened sooner or later. Drew also ate peas today, not baby food peas and not smashed up peas. I was eating lunch and had peas and Drew kept staring at them so I gave him one, he liked it. I continued to feed him peas one by one until he was full, it was so cute. He tried his sippy cup again today, he's getting better but not good enough to handle the cup alone, he still needs a hand.
(uploaded video, Ethan making noise in background)
11/18/09: Drew is starting to figure out the idea behind the shape sorter, he can't do it yet but he wants to. He tries to jam the wrong shape in the hole and he loves putting his pacifier in the holes so I can't find them :)
I uploaded 2 videos of Drew playing with Ethan, one he is playing nice and the other he is very upset. Poor baby.
11/19/09: Drew started jamming out to music :) When he hears music he sways side to side, so cute! He's getting so smart too; he tried to put the triangle in the triangle spot but couldn't get it lined up just right. He stayed with it for about 3 or 4 minutes before giving up and eating the block. It doesn't matter what shape they are they always fit in the mouth! He also is figuring out the nesting blocks. He is starting to put the little ones inside the big ones and he even put down one cup and grabbed another when the 1st one didn't fit. I'm so surprised at how much he's learned in 6 months.
11/22/09: I don't know what to do, my baby won't sleep. I'm not talking he wakes up a few times at night, I'm talking up all night long. I haven't slept more than 1-2 hours at a time in 6 months!!! I can not keep functioning like this. Please help me! Last night I put evil baby in his crib at 9pm, he protested a minute and fell asleep, at 10pm he cried for about 3 minutes and fell asleep, at 10:30 he cried, at 10:45 it got harder and harder and at 11pm I went in to see what I could do. I picked him up, patted his back, sang him a song and laid him back down. He cried and kicked and banged his head against the crib rails. I crawled into his crib with him and let him nurse in his crib, to try to show him that the crib is a nice place too. He settled a little so I sat up and sat at the end of the crib (in his crib). I didn't touch him or talk to him or make eye contact, I just waiting until he settled down....it just wasn't happening. he rolled over and figured out how to turn on his musical fish tank. He spent 30 minutes turning the fish tank on and off. I finally got out of the crib and sat on the floor, he was still playing with the fish tank. I walked into the hall and sat and waited. He started crying but not bad, just tired and annoying. Around 12:30 he fell asleep. At 1:15 he woke up crying hard again. I don't know what to do. I need sleep, I desperately need sleep. I can not take care of 2 babies all week and my baby all weekend and all evening without getting any rest. I put Drew in bed with me, he nursed at 1:30 and fell asleep about 2am, somewhere in the 3 o'clock hour he wanted to nurse again for about 15 minutes and then in the 5 o'clock hour he wanted to nurse again for about 30 minutes. I can't sleep with him, I don't get any sleep, he wants to be attached to me every minute and if I turn my back on him he just cries and wakes daddymonster up. He will not give in and sleep in his crib. I would have let him cried all night long in his crib but on top of the baby yelling at me to pick him up I have grumpy Gary telling me to go get him. I can't do this. Either help me or go get a hotel room while I figure this sleep thing out. It doesn't work to have 2 boys yelling at me all night. Besides Gary's gotten to get away when he's traveled for work several times these past 6 months, I haven't had that luxury. I'm at the end of my rope, I'm serious, I understand why bad things happen to babies. Now during the day I just don't even want to look at my baby let alone play with him, I just can't take it. I need someone to help me, I need someone on my side. Even the cats are against me. I finally got Drew settled down in bed with me last night and around 2am the stupid cat started meowing, he did the same thing at 7:30 this morning. Now I am going to go to jail for abandoning my baby and be charged with animal cruelty for taping my cat's mouth shut. There is a direct correlation between sleep and patience, the more sleep I get the more patience I have; the less sleep, the less patience and not only is that not good for my baby it's not good for the other baby that I watch during the day. I just can't do this. It is seriously getting to the point that I don't care. I don't care about my house, about my appearance, about what Drew is going. He has played on his own all morning today, I know I should be interacting with him and talking to him but I just can't do it. This is past the point of it's so funny your baby doesn't sleep, stop making comments to me and friggin help me!
11/23/09: Drew is getting the hang of the xylophone. He's finally realized that the mallet is for hitting not eating :) I'll try to get a video soon.
11/24/09: Uh Oh, Drew can stand...check out the picture.
11/25/09: Drew can Chew! Drew can eat gerber graduates puffs and melts (great stocking stuffers!!!) He's mashing up the pieces with his gums. My big boy, just in time to eat turkey and sweet potatoes with mommy tomorrow! Wow, babies really do grow up fast. I'm so so so so happy that I've gotten to stay home and see every single day of my babies life. Even though I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown from no sleep I wouldn't want to miss most of my babies first year by being at work 8 hours a day. If you figure it out you're missing 40 hours a week of your baby, 40 waking hours pretty much too (if you work days). In a year that's almost 2000 hours, that's 80 full days of their life that you didn't see...that's almost 3 months that you lose by going to work.
11/28/09: We got Andrew's 1st Christmas tree today! He had a great time riding in the baby bjorn around the Christmas store and then enjoyed watching the guys cut the Christmas trees. I'm so excited for the Holidays with him.
11/29/09: Drew is quite a pain to feed lately. He grabs the spoon, bites it, throws things. Pretty much he does everything but eat! I don't know what his problem is, maybe babies just do that. Today he drank out of a cup, a real cup not a sippy cup. He did good, he spilled a bunch down the front of him but he still did good for not even 7 months old! He also figured out how to play with his pop up toy, he just needs a little more hand strength. He's so smart :)
He's started crying about everything. Is this part of stranger anxiety, everything new anxiety? Loud noises, new noises, new textures, he cries over. Why do I have the cry baby clingy boy. He's not the jump right in and explore type of baby he is stuck to mommy.
11/30/09:
Drew is so funny, and smart! He was picking up cereal puffs when he pushed them too far to the left, he's not as good with his left hand. He could not get them so he put his mouth on the edge of the table and shoved all the cereal in, so so funny! What a good problem solver already.
12/1/09:
Drew saw Santa!
12/2/09:
Drew went to Gymboree again today. We've been half a dozen times and he's still not as into it as I thought he would be. He is so stuck on mommy. In fact right now he's crying with Daddy because I'm not holding him. The class is 45 minutes long. He does okay for about 30 minutes but the last 15 he won't participate, he needs to cuddle with mommy. I guess 30 minutes out of my lap is all he can handle. He is so clingy, SO CLINGY! Is it because I'm a SAHM? Is it because I'm breastfeeding? Is it just him? He is my little stick tight. I found this poem and it brought a tear to my eye thinking about when Drew doesn't need me anymore...
Wean Me Gently by Cathy Cardall
I know I look so big to you,
Maybe I seem too big for the needs I have.
But no matter how big we get,
We still have needs that are important to us.
I know that our relationship is growing and changing,
But I still need you. I need your warmth and closeness,
Especially at the end of the day
When we snuggle up in bed.
Please don't get too busy for us to nurse.
I know you think I can be patient,
Or find something to take the place of a nursing;
A book, a glass of something,
But nothing can take your place when I need you.
Sometimes just cuddling with you,
Having you near me is enough.
I guess I am growing and becoming independent,
But please be there.
This bond we have is so strong and so important to me,
Please don't break it abruptly.
Wean me gently,
Because I am your mother,
And my heart is tender.
12/3/09: My little man is so smart. He couldn't reach a toy when he was sitting on the floor so he took another toy and held that out to sweep the first toy into his reach. What a smartie! He is also starting to wave. He doesn't understand to just wave at people so he spent today waving at the Christmas Tree and the cat :) He ate snacks out of a bowl on his own for the first time today...check out the pictures. He loves snacks, he doesn't like baby food so much. I know he's a big boy but I don't really know what to say when people say wow he's a good eater...well, not really, unless you're talking about just eating boobies, he likes them. All of sudden he's back to wanting to nurse all night long. The last two nights even if he wasn't nursing he wanted to be pressed up against bare skin. If I moved and pulled my shirt down he woke up and cried. I don't know what's going on but it's a price I'm willing to pay to keep him off of formula. I'm so proud of myself that I've breastfed him for 7 months now. I'm awesome! I've also saved a lot of money, formula is $30 a can, and a can makes about 14 bottles, that's like 2 1/2 days. Oh and he drank out of a cup again today. He is getting really good at that. The first 2 sips he tipped it up too much but after that he understood how to wrap his lip around the top of the cup. I have to go now, my little man is crying for momma again. He's always crying for momma.
12/4/09: Drew pretends he's a girl today. That outfit was the one I wore on my first Christmas. He's a big boy, I was 10 months old, he's only 7! Check out the pictures....I know daddy will be mad :)
Drew is getting pretty good with a spoon. He knows to take the spoon and put it in the bowl and then put it in his mouth. The problem is spoons fit in your mouth better upside down, so he loads it up with food, turns it upside down and then puts it in his mouth. So this morning he was covered from head to toe with oatmeal.
He's also started to shiver when he's cold. It's very cute. I hadn't realized that babies don't really respond to the temperature until now. When a cold breeze hits him he shivers. When I pull him out of the tub he shivers. It's so cute, and very exaggerated.
Pictures 11/5/09 - 11/19/09
11/7/09: Playing with the blankie...I'm so silly!
11/7/09: Swinging and playing in the leaves...I didn't really like the leaves
11/7/09: more shots with the leaves, heading home from the park, found something tickley along the way.
11/8/09: lost in my animals, all smiles, eating mashed potatoes, playing at Gymboree
11/9/09: Tea Party with cow & 11/12/09: 6 month pictures
11/12/09: 6 month pictures continued
11/15/09: Sleeping on mommy, playing with my gumball machin, quick bath in the sink...I pooped all over my back, 1st time feeling the water sprayer!
iPhone pictures: Look at my teeth!! Playing with light up toy. My first art work (mommy said it was Indian corn, I think it tastes like paper), playing with spoons
11/18/09: Oohh Look, I found my toes, they are even fun to play with while eating.
11/7/09: Swinging and playing in the leaves...I didn't really like the leaves
11/7/09: more shots with the leaves, heading home from the park, found something tickley along the way.
11/8/09: lost in my animals, all smiles, eating mashed potatoes, playing at Gymboree
11/9/09: Tea Party with cow & 11/12/09: 6 month pictures
11/12/09: 6 month pictures continued
11/15/09: Sleeping on mommy, playing with my gumball machin, quick bath in the sink...I pooped all over my back, 1st time feeling the water sprayer!
iPhone pictures: Look at my teeth!! Playing with light up toy. My first art work (mommy said it was Indian corn, I think it tastes like paper), playing with spoons
11/18/09: Oohh Look, I found my toes, they are even fun to play with while eating.
Pictures 11/20/09 - 12/4/09
11/24/09: Uh Oh...Look who learned how to hold themselves up. 11/26/09: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving outfit!
I'm stuffed :) tired of waiting for dinner, eating turkey
eating more food, my dinner plate, all done!
Oops, daddy blinked, playing, hanging out with mommy
checking out the adds, shopping for a better deal, my turkey...feathers are hands of the people that were at dinner with me.
doing my stretches, playing with my toy, sleeping on mommy...my favorite spot
sleeping, driving to grammy's house, my turkey farm
sleeping again, not feeling good :( Sleeping one more time...Mommy takes these pictures because she's so surprised I sleep!
My Christmas Tree, My Christmas Lights, My Wreath on the door
Eating my toes, I love my mommy, Tree shopping
11/28/09: Picking out just the right one, loaded up on mommy's car
Daddy setting up the tree
Me checking out the tree....My village
12/1/09: SANTA!!!! Sleeping one more time! Extreme close up
12/3/09: eating snack for the 1st time
12/3/09: Trying to steal presents
Thanksgiving outfit!
I'm stuffed :) tired of waiting for dinner, eating turkey
eating more food, my dinner plate, all done!
Oops, daddy blinked, playing, hanging out with mommy
checking out the adds, shopping for a better deal, my turkey...feathers are hands of the people that were at dinner with me.
doing my stretches, playing with my toy, sleeping on mommy...my favorite spot
sleeping, driving to grammy's house, my turkey farm
sleeping again, not feeling good :( Sleeping one more time...Mommy takes these pictures because she's so surprised I sleep!
My Christmas Tree, My Christmas Lights, My Wreath on the door
Eating my toes, I love my mommy, Tree shopping
11/28/09: Picking out just the right one, loaded up on mommy's car
Daddy setting up the tree
Me checking out the tree....My village
12/1/09: SANTA!!!! Sleeping one more time! Extreme close up
12/3/09: eating snack for the 1st time
12/3/09: Trying to steal presents
Mommy's 1st Christmas outfit on Drew
I have having fun and smiling until I realized I was in a dress, then the mood changed!
Mommy and Uncle Aaron - Christmas 1979, Mommy 3 month, Mommy 1 year
Grammy and Mommy 9 months, Mommy 6 months, Uncle Aaron 4 months, with mommy, Uncle Aaron 1 year, 10 months
Mommy 1 year
Grammy and Mommy 9 months, Mommy 6 months, Uncle Aaron 4 months, with mommy, Uncle Aaron 1 year, 10 months
Mommy 1 year
