It has been so cold and gloomy lately, its depressing. I can't wait for some actual spring-like weather. Emmett wants to go outside so bad. He keeps grabbing my hand and leading me over to the door. But I just can't bring myself to take him out in the cold. He just got over a series of colds that ended in a nasty cough. He hasn't been coughing at all the last few days and I'm afraid the cold air will get him started again. Its supposed to be in the 60s this weekend, so we'll probably go to the park at some point.
So now that my metabolism has slowed down since I'm barely breastfeeding anymore, I've gained a couple of pounds back. And I know I said that I missed being a litte more curvy, but even so, I find myself getting antsy about gaining weight back. I really don't want to be at the weight I was before I got pregnant with Emmett. And I am close to being ready to start trying for baby number two, and its really important to me that I start this pregnancy at a more healthy weight and I plan to work really hard at not gaining as much weight next time. So I'm really trying to watch what I eat, especially trying to give up the little snacks that I was used to eating during the day that I really no longer need.
And as the weather gets better it will be easier to get out and take walks, which was one of the things that helped me lose the weight in the first place. Emmett still likes riding in his stroller just as long as I let him get out and play outside when we get back to the house. When he was a baby our daily walks were the only thing that kept me sane sometimes. We walked many laps around our little neighborhood. I even bundled him up when it was cold and we would take short walks, so long as the temperature was in the 40s or higher. I miss being able to carry him in the snuggli front carrier. He's so big now I'm sure I wouldn't even want to carry him on my back in one of those backpack carriers. I miss the baby days sometimes, but I don't miss the sleepless nights. I have to focus on the bad parts of the first year so that I don't miss it too much. I love this stage too, but every stage has its good and bad parts. Right now I love watching him learn and discover things. But its frustrating how every time I sit down on the couch he grabs my hand and wants to pull me somewhere, almost always to the front door. Its a good thing he sleeps through the night at this age, otherwise I wouldn't have the energy to keep up with him.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
I got my baby back baby back baby back!
Emmett seems to be back to his usual sweet self. Yesterday he was great, only fussing during the typical fussy times of the day (nap time, diaper changes, coming in from playing outside, bedtime.) But even during those times the fits he threw were minimal in comparison to the previous few days. Today has been even better. I think its a combination of having two really good nights of sleep and just feeling better in general. He's still coughing some, but not nearly as much as he was. I am relieved to find that it was due to the fact that he was sleepy and not feeling well, not that he was just entering a difficult phase.
He's really enjoying his ability to climb up on the couch or the chair and ottoman whenever he wants. Sometimes he has still has a little trouble getting up and he just screams in frustration. It makes me laugh because he gets so mad when he can't do something he wants to do. I can't help it, its just such a huge overreaction that its comical. But he's getting to the point where I can trust him again to leave him in the living room. He can climb down safely and I don't have to worry about him falling. I was able to get a bunch of cleaning done today while he watched Sesame Street. Chris's grandparents are coming this weekend so I needed to get things ready for them. They are staying through Tuesday so they can watch Emmett while I'm at work since Chris's mom and dad are going to be out of town. I'm sure Emmett is going to love having them here.
Lately Emmett doesn't like it when I cut his food into bite-size pieces. He wants the whole banana so he can take bites off of it just like big people do. Problem is he takes bites that are too big and I have to worry about him choking. Sometimes I have to stick a finger in his mouth and pull half the bite back out because he starts gagging on it. And sometimes I get bit in the process. We're working on using utensils, but I don't always have the patience necessary for that. I know I have to let him make a mess sometimes in order for him to learn, but I don't like it. And often times he plays with the utensils more than he eats with them. He does really well eating yogurt with a spoon because it sticks well and doesn't drip much. But sometimes he gets excited and starts waving the spoon and the yogurt goes everywhere. That's when spoon time is over for that particular meal. He's working on learning to stab bites with his fork and put them in his mouth, but that's pretty slow going for now. Its going to take a bit more practice. But he is well on his way to independent eating.
Well I think he may be waking up from him nap, finally. He has taken really long naps the last few days, but I still think he's catching up from losing sleep while he wasn't feeling well. Now to figure out what we're going to do to get out of the house this afternoon.
He's really enjoying his ability to climb up on the couch or the chair and ottoman whenever he wants. Sometimes he has still has a little trouble getting up and he just screams in frustration. It makes me laugh because he gets so mad when he can't do something he wants to do. I can't help it, its just such a huge overreaction that its comical. But he's getting to the point where I can trust him again to leave him in the living room. He can climb down safely and I don't have to worry about him falling. I was able to get a bunch of cleaning done today while he watched Sesame Street. Chris's grandparents are coming this weekend so I needed to get things ready for them. They are staying through Tuesday so they can watch Emmett while I'm at work since Chris's mom and dad are going to be out of town. I'm sure Emmett is going to love having them here.
Lately Emmett doesn't like it when I cut his food into bite-size pieces. He wants the whole banana so he can take bites off of it just like big people do. Problem is he takes bites that are too big and I have to worry about him choking. Sometimes I have to stick a finger in his mouth and pull half the bite back out because he starts gagging on it. And sometimes I get bit in the process. We're working on using utensils, but I don't always have the patience necessary for that. I know I have to let him make a mess sometimes in order for him to learn, but I don't like it. And often times he plays with the utensils more than he eats with them. He does really well eating yogurt with a spoon because it sticks well and doesn't drip much. But sometimes he gets excited and starts waving the spoon and the yogurt goes everywhere. That's when spoon time is over for that particular meal. He's working on learning to stab bites with his fork and put them in his mouth, but that's pretty slow going for now. Its going to take a bit more practice. But he is well on his way to independent eating.
Well I think he may be waking up from him nap, finally. He has taken really long naps the last few days, but I still think he's catching up from losing sleep while he wasn't feeling well. Now to figure out what we're going to do to get out of the house this afternoon.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Who is this child?
Because I'm not sure I know him anymore. For the last few days he has been in a rotten mood. In his defense he has had a cold for the better part of the month of March. Its about done, but he has this cough that keeps hanging on. It mostly bothers him at night when he's laying down. I can't elevate one end of his crib, because he rolls around so much he would just end up facing the wrong way and it would be counterproductive. We were giving him tylenol at bedtime to help him sleep, but it didn't seem to make much difference. So I got some ibuprofen to try instead. That seemed to really do the trick. I don't know if it just calmed the inflamation in his chest (since ibuprofen is an anti-inflamatory and tylenol isn't) or if it was somehow stronger and made him sleepier. We gave him the ibuprofen two nights in a row and although he slept like a rock both nights, his days were just awful. He still seemed so tired, he was reluctant to get up in the morning, and he was just really fussy all day. Of course I had to go to work while he was like that, which made it that much harder to leave him believe it or not. Even though he wasn't fun to be around, I just felt bad not being there for him when he was feeling bad. Chris and I discussed it at length and decided that maybe the ibuprofen, while knocking him out cold at night, was not allowing him to get a good restful sleep. Not that he was getting that before, when he was coughing up a lung every night. His cough did seem a bit better yesterday so we decided to try putting him to bed with no meds last night. He was a nightmare through the process of getting ready for bed, but then he nursed like a champ and went right to sleep. Much to my surprise, he slept through the night. Never heard a peep out of him, just occassional rustling as he moved to get comfortable. He slept all the way until 8:00. He woke up in a great mood this morning and wasn't fussy at all until after lunch when it was time for nap. So we're hoping that things are going to be better from here on out.
I was really beginning to worry that it had nothing to do with him being sick or tired, and that it was a phase he was entering where he was going to throw a fit every 5 minutes when he didn't get his way. He is getting frighteningly independent lately. He is absolutely fearless, and it scares me to death. His newest accomplishment is that he can now climb up on the couch. That eliminates the one little sacred island where I could put things he couldn't get to, an end table sandwiched between the couch and the chair and ottoman. So much for that! Now we have to pile everything up on the counter that separates the living room from the kitchen. I have to get up to go to the remote to change the channel. I have to get up to go get my phone whenever Chris and I email back and forth during the day. I can't even use the laptop when he's awake. We are probably going to have to rearrange the furniture as well. And the worst part is that I can't leave him alone in the living room anymore because I don't trust him to be on the couch by himself without trying to dive off the back onto his head or climb on the end table.
I am really not looking forward to entering the stage of parenting where discipline is necessary, and we are right on the cusp of it. But the rewards outweigh the costs. Although it is a pain for me that he can climb up on the couch, I was so proud of him the first time I saw him do it. After watching him throw his leg up time and time again just to slide back down on the floor and scream in frustration, it was a beautiful moment when he succeeded. The proud look on his face mirrored my own.
I was really beginning to worry that it had nothing to do with him being sick or tired, and that it was a phase he was entering where he was going to throw a fit every 5 minutes when he didn't get his way. He is getting frighteningly independent lately. He is absolutely fearless, and it scares me to death. His newest accomplishment is that he can now climb up on the couch. That eliminates the one little sacred island where I could put things he couldn't get to, an end table sandwiched between the couch and the chair and ottoman. So much for that! Now we have to pile everything up on the counter that separates the living room from the kitchen. I have to get up to go to the remote to change the channel. I have to get up to go get my phone whenever Chris and I email back and forth during the day. I can't even use the laptop when he's awake. We are probably going to have to rearrange the furniture as well. And the worst part is that I can't leave him alone in the living room anymore because I don't trust him to be on the couch by himself without trying to dive off the back onto his head or climb on the end table.
I am really not looking forward to entering the stage of parenting where discipline is necessary, and we are right on the cusp of it. But the rewards outweigh the costs. Although it is a pain for me that he can climb up on the couch, I was so proud of him the first time I saw him do it. After watching him throw his leg up time and time again just to slide back down on the floor and scream in frustration, it was a beautiful moment when he succeeded. The proud look on his face mirrored my own.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Posting from work...
During my 15 minute lunch break. Work is sucking out my will to live. That's all I can say without going into detail, which I don't have time for.
Finding parenting to be extremely challenging lately. There have been ups and downs along the way, and we are definitely in a down swing and have been for a few weeks. I think he is trying to show me that I am not ready for another child. He is certainly showing me that is not ready to be a big brother.
That's all for now. Back to work!
Finding parenting to be extremely challenging lately. There have been ups and downs along the way, and we are definitely in a down swing and have been for a few weeks. I think he is trying to show me that I am not ready for another child. He is certainly showing me that is not ready to be a big brother.
That's all for now. Back to work!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Winning!
I know, its being used so much its starting to get cliche. I don't know how to make an e with one of those little symbols over it like cliche should have. So I will just have to hope everyone can figure it out :)
Well Emmett is already over his cold. We only lost one night of sleep. Sunday night he was up almost every hour and I was up with him. No sooner would I get him rocked back to sleep and back in his crib and I would crawl back into my bed, and next thing you know, he'd be up again. But Monday night he slept through the night, and he has been sleeping well the rest of the week. His nose is almost cleared out, still a little snotty. He did cough some with this cold, which is a first, but he seems to be over that too. I just worry about coughing more because of all the lung issues he had when he was born. I know that when we took him home from the hospital 15 months ago he had a clean bill of health and they said none of that would affect him in the long term. But I am still just a little paranoid. But really, he got over this cold faster than the last one, I couldn't have asked for any better unless he just never got a cold at all.
My parents are coming to visit this weekend. I wish I had been able to ask off work tomorrow. Oh well, its only 9:00 to noon. But I'm excited! I love having them here and Emmett loves seeing Grandma and Grandpa. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice this weekend too, so that's good. Hopefully we can spend some time outdoors.
Well I hear Emmett waking up from his nap. That was almost 2 hours today, much better than yesterday when he woke up after just a little over an hour and was crabby afterwards. He sound like he's in a good mood today.
I'm making shrimp a la creole for dinner tonight. (Dang, another situation where I need an accent over a letter and I don't know to do it, this time the a.) This recipe actually requires me to cut fresh vegetables, which is something I am usually never willing to do. I am a lazy, reluctant cook. I've actually never cut up a green pepper before. I've seen it done, so I think I can handle it though. And I also have cut an onion, and I'm thinking you have to peel off the outside layers or something like that. Hmm...I better google that one. Yeah...wish me luck!
Well Emmett is already over his cold. We only lost one night of sleep. Sunday night he was up almost every hour and I was up with him. No sooner would I get him rocked back to sleep and back in his crib and I would crawl back into my bed, and next thing you know, he'd be up again. But Monday night he slept through the night, and he has been sleeping well the rest of the week. His nose is almost cleared out, still a little snotty. He did cough some with this cold, which is a first, but he seems to be over that too. I just worry about coughing more because of all the lung issues he had when he was born. I know that when we took him home from the hospital 15 months ago he had a clean bill of health and they said none of that would affect him in the long term. But I am still just a little paranoid. But really, he got over this cold faster than the last one, I couldn't have asked for any better unless he just never got a cold at all.
My parents are coming to visit this weekend. I wish I had been able to ask off work tomorrow. Oh well, its only 9:00 to noon. But I'm excited! I love having them here and Emmett loves seeing Grandma and Grandpa. The weather is supposed to be pretty nice this weekend too, so that's good. Hopefully we can spend some time outdoors.
Well I hear Emmett waking up from his nap. That was almost 2 hours today, much better than yesterday when he woke up after just a little over an hour and was crabby afterwards. He sound like he's in a good mood today.
I'm making shrimp a la creole for dinner tonight. (Dang, another situation where I need an accent over a letter and I don't know to do it, this time the a.) This recipe actually requires me to cut fresh vegetables, which is something I am usually never willing to do. I am a lazy, reluctant cook. I've actually never cut up a green pepper before. I've seen it done, so I think I can handle it though. And I also have cut an onion, and I'm thinking you have to peel off the outside layers or something like that. Hmm...I better google that one. Yeah...wish me luck!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Bugger
So I posted a lot more often this past week, even though I did not succeed at posting every day. Of course once the weekend arrived I totally forgot about the blog. We had a pretty good weekend, but I don't feel like getting into the details. Plus we didn't really do anything special. Just had plenty of good family time.
After being cold-free for the past week, Emmett is coming down with another cold. I knew something was up when he woke up crying after napping for just 45 minutes today. I managed to rock him back to sleep and he slept for maybe another 45 minutes before waking up crying again. I didn't bother trying to get him back to sleep again. Once he got up and started moving around he seemed fine so we didn't think anything of it. Then as the afternoon and evening progressed I noticed his nose running slightly. Again, I wasn't sure anything was wrong, but I began to wonder. He also seemd to be sneezing a bit more than usual. Then he started coughing every so often. By the time his bath was over and we were putting him in his pajamas I was sure he was coming down with a cold. He had trouble nursing at bedtime because he couldn't breathe through his nose. After his best attempt at nursing (I'm not sure how much milk he actually got) he fell asleep fast. But about 30 minutes after I put him down he woke up crying. I went up and gave him some tylenol (babies under 2 can't take any cold medicine, so I figure the best I can do for him is give him tylenol to help him sleep) and rocked him back to sleep. He's been down an hour now. I've heard him moving some, but he hasn't cried since the last time. Let's hope he stays asleep for the rest of the night now. Its amazing how quickly you become spoiled when they start sleeping through the night. When he was a newborn I called it a good night if he got up no more than three times. Now if he wakes up at all I know its because something's wrong. Well here's to hoping he gets over this one quickly. I just feel so bad for him when he's sick. I would gladly be sick in his place if I could.
After being cold-free for the past week, Emmett is coming down with another cold. I knew something was up when he woke up crying after napping for just 45 minutes today. I managed to rock him back to sleep and he slept for maybe another 45 minutes before waking up crying again. I didn't bother trying to get him back to sleep again. Once he got up and started moving around he seemed fine so we didn't think anything of it. Then as the afternoon and evening progressed I noticed his nose running slightly. Again, I wasn't sure anything was wrong, but I began to wonder. He also seemd to be sneezing a bit more than usual. Then he started coughing every so often. By the time his bath was over and we were putting him in his pajamas I was sure he was coming down with a cold. He had trouble nursing at bedtime because he couldn't breathe through his nose. After his best attempt at nursing (I'm not sure how much milk he actually got) he fell asleep fast. But about 30 minutes after I put him down he woke up crying. I went up and gave him some tylenol (babies under 2 can't take any cold medicine, so I figure the best I can do for him is give him tylenol to help him sleep) and rocked him back to sleep. He's been down an hour now. I've heard him moving some, but he hasn't cried since the last time. Let's hope he stays asleep for the rest of the night now. Its amazing how quickly you become spoiled when they start sleeping through the night. When he was a newborn I called it a good night if he got up no more than three times. Now if he wakes up at all I know its because something's wrong. Well here's to hoping he gets over this one quickly. I just feel so bad for him when he's sick. I would gladly be sick in his place if I could.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Pictures!
Ok, so last night I didn't post either. After putting Emmett to bed I came downstairs and immediately fell asleep on the couch, so I didn't get anything done. I'm not sure why I was so tired. I guess I overdid it with the cleaing yesterday. But I got right back to it this morning, cleaning the master bathroom and the kitchen floor. Emmett has his 15 month doctor's appointment this afternoon at 1:45. Unfortunately when I made it he was taking 2 naps and that time was perfectly in between the two. Now that's right in the middle of his usual one nap. So just like yesterday, I put him down for a morning nap today. I put him down a little later, around 11:00 so if he sleeps his usual hour and a half to 2 hours then he will be up in time to eat lunch and go. Since I'm posting so often, there's really nothing else to be said right now. But I am going to share some long overdue pictures!
This is Emmett and me all ready for the superbowl. Too bad it ended up being a very bad game. My Roethlisberger jersey did not bring me any luck that night.
Cheesing for the camera.
I love that furry jacket with the bear ears. Cutest thing ever.
He loves this stuffed caterpillar he got for Christmas from Chris's Grandma.
He likes to wear it as a scarf and he puts in around my neck too.
Sometimes he gest tired and collapses in a pile of toys.
He looks adorable in his peacoat. A gift from Dustin and Kristy.
Eating with his big boy fork.
Loving his penguin the balloon guy at Chili's made for him.
Drinking and driving.
One of the rare times Mommy let him play in the kitchen. You can see why these times are rare.
New Hokie T-shirt.
And this is his mischievous look. He makes this face when he's trying to see what trouble he can get into.
So those are the highlights of the last two months. We have pictures from the trip to the Children's Museum, but none of those pictures are very good because he was just moving so fast the whole time it was impossible to capture him. And most of the pictures are inside the house because I never remember to take pictures when we are out anywhere. But that's my boy! I can't really call him a baby anymore since he's so big. He really is a little boy now. Where did the time go?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
I will be thankful
So I failed to post last night. However, it wasn't my fault. The laptop was on the fritz and we couldn't get internet explorer to work. It kept shutting down. So maybe I will post twice today, this morning and this evening. We'll see! Oh the suspense!
Emmett needed a morning nap today. I guess he woke up earlier than I thought he did and didn't snooze back to sleep like he usually does. He was absolutely freaking out, so I had to put him down even though that throws the rest of today's schedule all out of wack. That bothers me, but there was no other alternative. The poor boy had tears strreaming down his face because he just couldn't handle his own sleepiness.
I'm making one of my favorite meals tonight, Tex-Mex Chicken in the crockpot. I'm excited! Yum!
I've been doing a lot of cleaning today. After working 2 days in a row you would think I would just want to relax. But no, on Wednesdays I get right to laundry and I just feel a need to start tidying up the house. I guess its like re-nesting after being out of the nest for a while. Oh how I miss the nest when I'm at work. I really would be happy just staying home, but the extra money I'm making is really necessary. I'm hoping to save as much as I can so that we can afford for me to have another baby and stay home again, hopefully a bit longer this time. Ideally, until both kids are in school, but that will require some major changes to happen.
I want to get Emmett a sandbox. We considered building one, but we think we want one that isn't so permanent in case we move in a few years. I've been checking Craigslist for a used one, but haven't found one yet. I have made a few good purchases off of Craigslist for things for Emmett and I've really saved a lot of money that way. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I set a personal goal for myself that I have to really work hard at every day. I am determined to live in the now. I have a major problem with thinking too much about what I want for the future. I want another baby, I want a bigger house with a nice yard, I want to be a stay-at-home mom again. These are not unreasonable things to want out of life. I don't want a mansion, I don't want diamonds, I don't want a fancy car, I don't want brand-name clothes. I would like to travel, but that can wait. Really everything I want revolves around family. But right now, lets take inventory of what I currently have. I have a wonderful husband who is supportive and a great father, I have a beautiful healthy baby boy who I just love to pieces, I have a nice warm house, I have a comfortable bed to sleep in every night, I have acceptable clothes, I have a reliable car that gets good gas mileage, and even though I don't want one, I have a job. And that's just a few of the things I have that I am very thankful for. I WILL be thankful for these things EVERY day. I WILL TRY not to worry about the things that I want and don't have.
Emmett needed a morning nap today. I guess he woke up earlier than I thought he did and didn't snooze back to sleep like he usually does. He was absolutely freaking out, so I had to put him down even though that throws the rest of today's schedule all out of wack. That bothers me, but there was no other alternative. The poor boy had tears strreaming down his face because he just couldn't handle his own sleepiness.
I'm making one of my favorite meals tonight, Tex-Mex Chicken in the crockpot. I'm excited! Yum!
I've been doing a lot of cleaning today. After working 2 days in a row you would think I would just want to relax. But no, on Wednesdays I get right to laundry and I just feel a need to start tidying up the house. I guess its like re-nesting after being out of the nest for a while. Oh how I miss the nest when I'm at work. I really would be happy just staying home, but the extra money I'm making is really necessary. I'm hoping to save as much as I can so that we can afford for me to have another baby and stay home again, hopefully a bit longer this time. Ideally, until both kids are in school, but that will require some major changes to happen.
I want to get Emmett a sandbox. We considered building one, but we think we want one that isn't so permanent in case we move in a few years. I've been checking Craigslist for a used one, but haven't found one yet. I have made a few good purchases off of Craigslist for things for Emmett and I've really saved a lot of money that way. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I set a personal goal for myself that I have to really work hard at every day. I am determined to live in the now. I have a major problem with thinking too much about what I want for the future. I want another baby, I want a bigger house with a nice yard, I want to be a stay-at-home mom again. These are not unreasonable things to want out of life. I don't want a mansion, I don't want diamonds, I don't want a fancy car, I don't want brand-name clothes. I would like to travel, but that can wait. Really everything I want revolves around family. But right now, lets take inventory of what I currently have. I have a wonderful husband who is supportive and a great father, I have a beautiful healthy baby boy who I just love to pieces, I have a nice warm house, I have a comfortable bed to sleep in every night, I have acceptable clothes, I have a reliable car that gets good gas mileage, and even though I don't want one, I have a job. And that's just a few of the things I have that I am very thankful for. I WILL be thankful for these things EVERY day. I WILL TRY not to worry about the things that I want and don't have.
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