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My turn at the ER.

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It started innocently enough, doing dishes. Well, I wasn’t even really washing dishes per se—like the knife wasn’t hiding in soapy water (my mom taught me that knives never go in the water—they sit to the side). I was just washing the one knife, with a scrubby, under water. It wasn’t even dirty, it was just new and needed a cursory 5-second wash. But I wasn’t paying too much attention and I was trying to do it really quickly—and suddenly I felt a ZING! and saw blood spurt into the sink. Egads.

And there was sooooooo much blood (it’s a good thing blood doesn’t really bother me). It hurt but not like I thought it would. I was actually more ticked because I couldn’t see the extent of the injury due to all the blood. When I finally got to look at it, I saw that I sliced my fingernail at the base along with about a 1/2″ gash in my finger.

Then…the Twitter and Facebook posts commenced. 🙂

2:16pm I just cut my finger with a new knife. More blood than I’d prefer. #thingsthatmakemeswear

2:30pm See? Not TOO bad. Right?

2:45pm It’s bandaged now (with a spray of pain reliever and a big band-aid).

I was pretty sure I didn’t need stitches, but after seeing the picture, friends told me it might warrant a few stitches, but…

  1. I didn’t feel it was worthy of having Tom come home from work so I could go.
  2. I’m not good at deciding, having only gotten stitches maybe twice in my life (I think five total, including childbirth!).
  3. I was actually waiting to examine it more closely—to pull apart the skin to see how deep the slice really was—but I had to wait until it was REALLY done bleeding.

When Tom came home I unwrapped it to show him and it started bleeding again, and he told me I should go to the ER. Ugh.

6:34pm At ER waiting for stitches—Tom convinced me to go. At least they’re fast (waiting for a PA).

7:11pm Up next: tetanus shot, since I can’t remember when I last had one.

7:20pm Well I thought this was going to be a super quick visit—I was triaged and waiting for the PA within 10 minutes. Then it was 30 minutes before they took me to the minor care center. I’ve been here 25 and have seen the PA but am waiting for my tetanus and then the stitches. Hopefully the rest goes more quickly as I didn’t eat dinner.

7:33pm I wish I knew why it took 30+ minutes to get a tetanus. At this rate I’ll be home at midnight. 🙁 Otherwise, I like this place.

7:44pm Harnessing the power of posting… How long does it take to get stitches? (I posted re: the tetanus and had it 5 min later.) #knockonwood

8:14pm I’m all numbed up. The PA was awesome. She said lacerations are her favorite thing and she loves doing stitches. Lucky me! It was neat watching her efficiency…and thinking that numbing agents are awesome, because I should really be able to feel that needle sewing me up! (I had warned her that I might need more than the normal amount of anesthetic—recounting my birth story—but I ended up only needing the usual amount.)

8:20pm Five stitches (which brings my current lifetime total to 10).

8:35pm I guess 2 hours round trip wasn’t bad (from my house back to my house), but it felt soooo much longer. The PA said that tonight was really busy, but you’d never know from how un-busy it looked.

The funny thing is, I’m all about doctors and medicine and having someone be able to fix something, but I really didn’t feel my injury necessitated a trip to the ER. I told the PA I didn’t want to take up valuable time and resources for what was essentially a CUT. She said an ER visit was definitely warranted. Especially if it cuts into the nail (had I cut more of it, she would have had to take the whole nail off!). Well, now I know.

I can’t believe all the normal day-to-stay stuff that is hindered by having this finger out of commission. Like using any silverware, unscrewing jars, putting in contacts (I use that specific finger), writing, picking up Owen, typing, etc.

I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.

Owen’s 2-year well-visit

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His current stats:
Height: 39″ (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 37.5″ at 21mo
Weight: 38# (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 35# 7oz at 21mo
Head Circumference: 50cm (between 75th and 90th percentile

Well, there’s nothing like a well-visit with the pediatrician to make you feel like a failure as a parent.

:**:

She’s not really worried about his speech (or lack thereof), but she IS worried about a) his weight and b) his lack of eating fruits and vegetables. He is 39″ and 38#—which is apparently off the chart (100+ percentile). She’s fine with his height, but she would like to see him weigh 33-34#. SERIOUSLY? He’s always been a big kid…but you’re telling me he needs to go on a diet? Of course she didn’t call it a diet but said he needs to be on skim milk (vs. 2%), I should limit the quantity he eats (especially the carbs), and he should get more exercise. Good lord. And she was amazed at what he won’t eat, saying that even though this is the age to be picky, if he’s still this picky in 6 months, she will recommend occupational therapy!! 😮

So I’m supposed to try and get more creative in giving him veggies…which sure sounds nice, but it’s kinda hard when his food options are already so limited. He won’t even let a veggie get near his plate and pushes your hand away (or hands it back to you if you sneak it on his plate)—how can I sneak it in? He loves yogurt and dips everything, but he won’t even eat veggies dunked in yogurt. We’ve tried raw, cooked, microwaved, roasted, etc., and nothing makes the cut. The kid doesn’t even really like french fries! So I’m supposed to give him a V8 or one of the fruit blends to see if he’ll drink that…and I’m supposed to make him yogurt/veggie smoothies and hope he’ll drink those. And I should let him help pick out foods and let him help prepare his food—um, yeah, I think he’s still a little young for that.

And of course, on top of all this, Owen was a screaming hot mess the entire time because he didn’t get his post-nap wake-up period (he took a 3-hour nap and woke up at the last possible minute before I was going to call to reschedule, which meant we had to fly to get out of the house on time). He bawled when we set him on the scale, he screamed when we tried to measure him, he refused to let the nurse or doctor listen to his lungs/heart…in short, it was a nightmare that Word World AND a sucker didn’t help. That’s what I get for forcing the issue and not wanting to reschedule. 😐

I just really hate feeling this way after each well visit, like I’ve failed at major things and now my kid is doomed. I know he’s not, but it sure feels that way after a visit.

🙁

Owen: 1 – Mommy: 0

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I do not want the Terrible Twos. DO NOT WANT. I really don’t have the patience…as today proved.

He has been good so far…but today, I took him to get his hair cut (which is never really FUN, but even with the crying and snotty nose it’s usually not THAT big of a deal) and he started crying and screeching before I could even get his coat off.

The sucker didn’t help.
He didn’t want to play in the water.
He didn’t want to watch Word World (which ALWAYS works).
He didn’t want to play with the comb.
He didn’t want to sit on my lap.
And you can’t hold him down.

Needless to say we left without him getting so much as his hair combed.

Owen: 1
Mommy: 0

I laughed it off at the salon, but I really just wanted to scream at him (which I know wouldn’t do any good, it was just my first reaction). And I never did scream at him but I did tell him sternly that mommy was NOT happy. I’m sure it didn’t register but I felt a little better.

I know in the grand scheme of things a haircut is not a big deal but its just so damn frustrating. And I know it’s only the beginning.

🙁

Toddler Differences 101

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I was really looking forward to seeing Owen with our friend’s son, Bodi, who is about six weeks younger. I was pretty sure Owen would tower over him and outweigh him (he did, by about 5” an 5#), but beyond that I wasn’t sure what the differences might be. And boy, were they interesting.

While Owen knows his letters, Bodi doesn’t have the first clue. On the other hand, Bodi completely understands commands like “Go put your cup on the shelf” while Owen’s comprehension isn’t quite that advanced. Bodi knows a variety of sounds (animal noises, car noises) but Owen knows some numbers.

Bodi NEVER sits still, has to touch everything (and hand you everything you’ve set down), and has to be strapped in his high chair. Pretty much as long as Owen has toys around, he doesn’t touch things he’s not supposed to and you don’t need to worry about him diving out of his high chair (my friend was amazed when I left Owen just sitting in the booster seat to grab his food from the kitchen, or that I left my expensive camera on the desk within toddler reach)—and he often just sits quietly and sucks his thumb. Owen doesn’t make much noise but Bodi is a big jibber jabberer and shrieker/shouter (something else Owen didn’t like). Bodi’s sleep schedule is about 7p-7a with an hour nap, while Owen’s is about 8p-6:30a with a 2+ hour nap (though they did manage to sleep together in the same room pretty well).

You can tell Bodi has been around other kids (day care) because he doesn’t mind other kids in his space—while Owen kind of freaked out…a lot…whether Bodi was touching him, taking a toy, handing him his sippy cup that he previously set down, or just walking by him. They did have some cute moments together, but for the most part, Owen tried to keep his distance. He was perfectly content to play by himself, while Bodi wanted whatever Owen was playing with. Needless to say there was a LOT of whining (mostly on Owen’s part) and we are seriously considering putting him in daycare for a few hours a week just so he gets more social interaction (since we no longer meet with my mom’s group) so he’s not as much of a crybaby. That said, I still think he did pretty well, considering this weekend was the first real one-on-one time he’s spent with another toddler. (He’s spent time with his six-month older cousin, but only for maybe a half day.)

We also learned that Owen isn’t quite the beastly eater we thought he was—Bodi blew him out of the water, so-to-speak. We know Owen doesn’t eat a great variety of foods, but he can make up for it in quantity. But Bodi, besides eating most anything (from what little we saw, he ate green beans, stuffing, black refried beans, oatmeal with apples, bananas, apples, nacho chips and salsa, and pizza)…eats a TON of everything. For dinner, we had pizza—something Owen loves so I thought he’d eat a lot. Well, he ate a piece plus some crackers. Bodi? Three pieces…plus a handful of carrots and dip and Owen’s leftover crackers and pizza. EEK! It’s impressive to watch.

Sweet hubby!

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Tom asked me to change my chiro appointment this afternoon because of the Tornado Watch. When I called to reschedule, I was going to lie and use Owen as an excuse…when she asked if I was canceling due to the storm. I said yes, then told her that my husband had actually called me and asked me not to go out with Owen and she said “Oh, that’s sweet.” 🙂 (She also said that they were getting a lot of cancellations.)

Sleeping in…today only!

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Every time Owen sleeps past 6-6:30 (which is quite rare), I get excited that it might mean his sleep schedule is changing and I’ll be able to sleep in… Then again, I also freak out thinking something might be wrong with him and I have to listen to him breathe via the video monitor. 😐

This morning he ended up sleeping in until almost 8! He might have been up REALLY early and fell back to sleep, but he was still sleeping when I first looked at the monitor at 6:30.

Stinker.

The disease called “Perfection”

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http://www.danoah.com/201…perfection.html

This is an article EVERYONE should read. Immediately.

As a warning, the following post was written in complete desperation. I have recently learned some very sobering truths from people that I love dearly. These truths have set in motion a quest within me to do whatever I can to make a change. Today is not geared at funny. Today is geared at something greater. Read it to the very end. I promise you will be affected in a way you have always needed to be. I spent more than twelve hours writing this post because its message is that important to me.

I wonder. Am I the only one aware that there is an infectious mental disease laying siege on us right now? There is a serious pandemic of “Perfection” spreading, and it needs to stop. Hear me out because this is something for which I am passionately and constantly hurting. It’s a sickness that I’ve been trying to put into words for years without much success. It’s a sickness that I have personally struggled with. It’s a sickness that at times has left me hiding in dark corners and hating myself.

And chances are it’s hit you too.

To keep reading and/or see the full post on the author’s blog, click the link above.

Owen, please stop growing!

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We just moved him into size 6 diapers. At 19 months. The 5s were just leaking way too much. We thought we’d at least use the Size 5 overnights for during the day—except he completely soaked through it and his pants in 2.5 hours. 😮

And I bought some clearance PJs today at Target—size 3T, thinking I was planning ahead—except I looked at the weight range listed on them: 32-35#! So they should fit him now! 😮

Owen and New Foods

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Talk about frustrating.

In addition to the like-something-one-day/week-but-not-the next, he sometimes (okay, most times) just FLAT OUT refuses to even try something. I put it on his tray, he takes it in his fingers, and holds it out to me—which is his obvious way of saying he doesn’t want it. It makes me nuts because it didn’t even get near his nose or touch his lips! How can he tell from just looking at it that he doesn’t want it? (Yeah, sometimes us adults can tell. But we’re adults.) So at this stage he apparently enjoys licking the ground or chewing on my shoes—but refuses to try fried zucchini, rice, or tilapia? :##

That said, while it’s frustrating as hell when he does it, it’s also kinda cute. I mean, he’s at least being good and handing it to me instead of dropping it on the floor (although he WILL drop it on the floor if I don’t take it).

The crying has changed a little…

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He now starts crying (well, whining) before we even get him upstairs! Like he knows what’s coming and doesn’t want to go! Even though we don’t like it (it still breaks our hearts), we can understand it because it means no more playing, no more Sesame Street, and no more mom and dad.

But that still doesn’t explain why he’s been waking up after a few hours and doing the same thing. Or crying worse. The two things may not even be related!

Thankfully, though, he still only cries for a few minutes (if that) before he stops and lays down.

What a kid.

Food Update

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We’ve been trucking along, trying new things and retrying old things…and things are getting somewhat better.

  • Tom said he ate TWO WHOLE PANCAKES one morning (the morning I was sick in bed after the stomach flu). The next morning he scarfed down a bunch of french toast and fried egg.
  • And he’s even been eating some small chicken pieces (which we gave him from our dinners of Pad Thai and chicken/spinach/alfredo pizza)!!
  • We tried avocado again—this time with some salt and lime juice (since he seems to like spices on his food)—and amazingly two small bites went down without any funny faces (way more than before) but then that was it.
  • He will chew on an almost-ripe pear and bite off pieces—but he won’t eat it.
  • He will eat Ritz crackers, although I don’t like to give him too many since I don’t want him to stop eating the less-flavorful snack crackers I have a ton of.
  • He now likes Cheerios (and will often stuff 3-4 in his mouth at once, which freaks me out but I’ve watched him a lot and he does just fine. He does the same with puffs, too.

I think the biggest thing, however, is that it has finally gotten through to my brain that he will NOT be eating as much as he used to, since weight gain at this age is supposed to slow waaaay down. Which means if he picks and nibbles and doesn’t seem to want the three things I’ve given him, then he gets a yogurt and that’s that. He will get his bottle (well, milk sippy cup) a bit after his meal and that will be good enough. Once I came to that conclusion, meal times have been better for me…although they can still be frustrating. 🙂

This is not my day.

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It started at 4:30am, when Tom’s alarm went off…which in and of itself is a necessity, I know. But he didn’t get up. EVEN THOUGH I SPECIFICALLY ASKED THE NIGHT BEFORE ABOUT IT AND OH, OF COURSE HE’S GETTING UP. 😐 So then of course he falls RIGHT back to sleep and I toss and turn, finally falling asleep until his second alarm went off about 5:15. Needless to say I was NOT happy. And he STILL didn’t get up and of course I had trouble falling asleep again. So just when I’m getting some sleep…*I* get a blocked call (had my phone on silent, but it still vibrates, which is enough to wake me up) at 6am.

>:XX

Then, after I put Owen down for his nap, I decided to get a bunch of stuff done around the house since I was feeling AMAZING (after a round of stomach flu this weekend) and was carrying laundry down from upstairs when I slipped and crashed on my ass. Luckily I didn’t hit my head or go down the entire staircase (or do any serious damage), but my butt, back, and wrists hurt immediately and I predicted in a few hours I wouldn’t be able to move (so I skipped the measly Advil and went straight to the prescription painkillers).

And just to round out my morning… I discovered that Maggie peed in the house. Again. I let her out this morning like I always do and tried to keep an eye on her (since she’s been peeing inside more often lately) and damn if she didn’t do it while I was in the shower. She just hates going outside in the cold/snow so if you don’t actually watch her outside I swear she fakes it…then pees in the house because you weren’t watching her at the exact moment she needed (wanted) to go outside. I think it might be time she goes back in her crate during the day.

GRRRR.

I know things could be worse (I could still have the flu, knock on wood, or god forbid Owen could have it, KNOCK ON WOOD) but this has not been a good day.

Owen and the Toybox

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Owen was so cute today, leaning over into his toybox reaching for something, with his feet dangling off the ground…so I reached for the Flip…and the next thing I hear is crying so I quick look around to see him IN the toybox with his legs in the air.

Is it wrong that my first thought was “DAMMIT! I MISSED GETTING IT ON CAMERA!” ❓ :>

To Owen on his 1st Birthday

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Dear Owen,

We can’t believe it’s already been a year since you were born. It seems like just yesterday we were headed to the hospital, completely unprepared to have a baby (you were three weeks early, after all!). We also can’t believe how much we love you—we never thought it was possible to love something or someone SO much. Your dad and I constantly tell each other (and you) how much we love you, and we hope you can tell, even if you can’t understand us yet.

We are very, very thankful for the great little boy you are. Your mommy wasn’t sure she’d have the patience for a baby…but you have really been so easy—such a wonderful baby—that we feel very lucky.

  1. You have pretty much been a happy baby since Day One.
  2. You rarely cried and were never colicky.
  3. Once you started sleeping through the night, you slept like an angel.
  4. You continue to nap well and sleep well.
  5. You never needed to be held or rocked to fall asleep.
  6. You have only been sick once, and even then you weren’t that cranky.
  7. You really didn’t care what brand bottle we tried with you.
  8. You liked the cheap formula from Costco.
  9. Once you started solids, you were a really good eater and ate most whatever we gave you, quickly and easily.
  10. You have never had any major potty accidents (“poopsplosions”), at home or in public.
  11. We have never had to change the sheets in the middle of the night.
  12. You have the best laugh, and you laugh easily.
  13. You can play by yourself and keep yourself amused.
  14. You love to cuddle and watch Sesame Street.
  15. You haven’t been terribly cranky while teething.
  16. You transferred from a bottle to a sippy cup without missing a beat.
  17. You transferred from formula to milk without missing a beat.
  18. You love water and love baths!
  19. You don’t mind getting water on your face or in your eyes.
  20. You don’t mind getting your teeth brushed.
  21. You have always traveled well.
  22. You have always liked other people and will let anyone hold you.
  23. You are amazingly cute and unbelievably photogenic.

Of course, there are some things about you that we’d wish you’d quickly outgrow (every one of your books has chewed corners and your crib looks like it was attacked by a beaver) but these things pale in comparison to the love and joy you bring into our lives on a daily basis.

We can’t wait to see you continue to grow and develop, and we hope the upcoming years go by a bit slower than the first year.

Love Always,

Mommy & Daddy

Scrambled eggs!

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So, Owen and I just ate some scrambled eggs with turkey and potatoes and cheese for breakfast. Well, he ate some jarred peach muselix for his main breakfast, but then I tried out the eggs…and he really liked them. (I was pretty sure he would, as he likes the eggs that I put in fried rice.)

The funny thing is, I tried just the plain turkey first. No way, out it came. I tried a plain potato. Not interested at all. But scrambled in eggs, with a little butter and seasoning? Nom nom nom.

Except that I’ve noticed (or at least it seems to me) that he isn’t so much chewing (gumming) but just swallowing. I know he can “chew” because I can hear him crunching puffs, but when I gave him a pretty big bite of egg/potato/cheese, I didn’t really see him chewing at all. I guess he could just be swallowing (the stuff is soft so it would go down easy) and he doesn’t seem any worse for the wear, but it just seems off/wrong to me that he’s not chewing.

I’m not terribly worried, because I know he does chew/gum things…but it just seems very odd to me.

Food issues

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I always say food issues would never bother me. But now that I’m having to deal with them….

Owen can drive me nuts. One day he will love pears and eat, I swear, half a pear. The next day, he won’t touch one piece. One day he loves real corn, the next day he won’t touch it. Or he will eagerly eat two spoonsful of a jarred food, but then refuse to eat any more.

He won’t eat ANY food I make, regardless of the consistency (he used to at least eat my sweet potato). He loves the dried strawberries, so I got fresh berries and he pretty much won’t touch them (although I did manage to get two pics and a short video).

He started eating chunkier food (and will pick up pieces) but doesn’t really like chunky stage 3 food. But he will still eat the hell out of stage 2 food, so I still give him that so he gets some veggies.

I think if he could live on YoBaby yogurt and puffs, he’d be thrilled.

So we just keep plugging along, knowing that every baby is different and this is all normal.

Sigh.

Somewhat Cranky Day

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The problem with having a really good [natured] baby is that when crankiness sets in for undetermined reasons, it gets frustrating REALLY fast. 🙁

The morning went well, and Owen took an nap from about 8:30-9:30. Then he ate a bit and we went on a few errands. He was cranky when we got home, and I just assumed he was hungry (it WAS lunch time). Halfway through the peas, he got really cranky and was pushing the spoon away and crying. I mean CRYING. Hmmm, okay. He obviously didn’t want that.

Turns out he was tired! Who knew? Especially since he had already had a nap that morning (and he’s been taking fewer and shorter naps). So he slept for about an hour. When he got up I tried food again.

Ha.

This time we finished the peas and barely started the peaches when he was instantly cranky again…and after some trial and error, it turned out he wanted milk. Hoo boy. 🙁

He didn’t eat much so we tried his favorite bouncy chair. Nope. Still cranky. Another nap? Oh no, screaming. Sitting and playing? Nothing doing. So we sat on the couch and watched Sesame Street and he was calm and quiet (well, sucking on his burp cloth and thumb) for quite some time. Then he “agreed” to sit and play for a bit…and now he’s getting cranky, but I think it’s tired…so nap time is coming soon.

What a day. He’s so good overall that I really just have to take a breath when we have these cranky times…because they are so very few and far between.

Well, no wonder!

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So I’ve just been amazed that the boy is really NOT fitting into his 6-month clothes well at all—so I’ve been buying 9- and 12-month sizes (some are even 18-month!). I haven’t really thought that much about it, though—I do know he’s a little big for his age, although it’s nothing to be concerned about.

So I just happened to be reading an article on Parents.com about “Baby’s Measurements” and holy wah. Yeah, he is about the size of an “average” 12-month old!! 88|

The “average” measurements for a 12-month old is 29″—and he measured 28.5″ at his 6-month checkup a week ago!

The “average” weight for a 12-month old is 22#—and he weighed 19.7 at his checkup! (The average for a 6-month old is 16#!)

And head circumference is above-average, too! The average for a 12-month old is 18″ and I think he measured at 19″!

HOLY WAH!

Hopefully he will stay about this same size for a few months—one of my friends said her baby was in 9-month clothes for like four months!

Pouts, Part 2

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After more contemplation, we think he just happened to learn how to pout so is consequently doing it all the time. Babies learn to smile, right? That’s a milestone. We like to think that you can learn to pout as well…because he’s been doing it ALL day off and on, regardless if he’s wearing the helmet (or not) at the time. And the pout is usually preceded and followed by smiles and/or laughter…so he’s just being a little stinker. 🙂

My Letter to Owen

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Dearest Owen,

You got your helmet today. It was a rough day for us—we know it’s the best thing for you and we know you won’t remember it AT ALL—but it still breaks our hearts knowing we have to put you through this. Your poor mommy is so emotional anyway, that just thinking about you having to wear a helmet for months brings tears to her eyes. We never knew how hard it would be to be a parent at times like this.

But you were a trooper, like always. You never cried or whined or anything like we thought and worried might happen. You’re such a good little boy. And you’re as cute as a bug in your helmet!

You just have to know that we want the very best for you. If we could make your life perfect with a snap of the fingers, we would do without hesitation…but unfortunately life doesn’t work that way.

But your dad and I will do our best to make this helmet a fun experience for you. We will only be positive about the helmet. We will try to educate people who might stare or point fingers. And heaven knows we will take a thousand cute pictures for you to have forever (and maybe, just maybe, to potentially embarrass you with when you bring home your first girlfriend!).

We love you, peanut. You are the very best thing that has ever happened to us. You are healthy and happy and we couldn’t ask for more. (Well, I might ask that you start sleeping through the night consistently because mommy is T-I-R-E-D, but that’s a letter for another day.) Soon enough this will all be over, and you will be even cuter than anyone ever thought possible. Trust me. I’m your mom—I know.

Love,
Mom

This sleep thing has got to change.

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He’s killing me! No matter what time he goes down, he’s up around 2.

Usually he’s asleep by 7:30 or 8—and up at 2. Last night he didn’t fall asleep until after 9—and was still up at 2.

Then, he used to sleep a second round—until 6:30 or so. Now, it’s until maybe 5. XX(

This morning I went in at 5 and gave him his pacifier and turned on the mobile…and then tried to get back to sleep myself. I was up again at 6 because—surprise!—he was up again.

So I fed him—and he didn’t even finish the four ounces! So my guess is that he wasn’t really hungry but didn’t want to sleep anymore…but he went back to sleep fairly quickly—so he must have still been tired, right? I kept my fingers crossed that maybe he would sleep until 9 or something.

Ha.

HA HA.

He was up at 7:15. Sigh.

I’m sooooo tired.

I thought things were supposed to get better as he got older?

Different hours, please.

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The hours Owen keeps are driving me insane.

Sure, he sleeps anywhere from 6-8 hours at a time on most nights—but the problem is that they start early and end early and still require me to get up to feed him once around 2am-4am.

Last night he napped much later than usual (from about 6-8:30) so he didn’t get his last bottle until about 9 and then didn’t go to bed (fall asleep) until about 9:30. So, we thought, maybe—JUST MAYBE—he will sleep later…or skip his early-morning feeding.

Ha.

HAHA.

Yeah, he was up at 4. He was back down by 4:20, but was up squawking and talking and cooing COMPLETELY WIDE AWAKE.

Of course, this is the time of day when I hate Tom the most, LOL (and I told him that, so it’s not a secret). His alarm goes of about 4:30, and he usually takes care of the boy in the morning so I can get a little more sleep. But does he get up when his alarm goes off? Noooooooo. Because at that moment, the boy is quiet, so Tom falls back asleep. But 15 seconds later Owen is noisy again, so of course I hear him and it keeps me up…and Tom is snoring away. 😐

After listening to Owen for about 30 minutes, hoping he will fall asleep again (so I can, too!) and realizing he’s NOT going to (so I can’t), I finally roll out of bed again and suddenly Tom pops up and says “Don’t worry, I’ll get him.”

Sorry, babe—too late. Where were you 30-45 minutes ago? |-|

So, going to better later does NOTHING to help the schedule. It’s almost better when he goes to bed WAY earlier—he seems to sleep a little longer (even though I am up at 2:30 or so to feed him) but then he falls back asleep for another hour or two—which means I get more sleep as well.

I can’t wait for this sleep thing to get better. Sure, I’m not up every hour or two all night anymore, but it still wears on me. And since I am not quite as exhausted in the middle of the night, it means I can’t fall back to sleep as quickly as I once could…which means I am usually up for at least an hour or more when I DO get up with him.

Sigh.

Buying diapers: The Thought Process

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So it took 8 days to go through the first pack of 48 diapers. So another 8 days (the second pack of 48 diapers) would be on/around July 3. I don’t think he’ll be more than 22# by then (the stated limit for size 2-3 diapers), so it looks like I need more in that size.

But do I need 152 more? (I ordered the current packs from diapers.com, but had a $10 off coupon so they were a better deal at the time. The current best deal right now is at Amazon, but it’s a pack of 152 (I can’t find this size locally).

So, 152/48 is about 3 packs, and 3 packs X 8 days per pack is 24 days + the 8 days I have left with the new pack = 32 days (or about a month).

So the questions are: Will he still fit in them then? Will I use all them before he outgrows them? (Lord I hope so on both accounts!)

I certainly don’t have to order them at the moment (since I have about 8 days worth left), so we’ll wait and see what dad thinks.

As an aside, I posted a shorter version to Facebook, and got this response:

Mary Wakeley at 1:34pm June 26
Inevitably if you order a month’s worth he wil outgrow them in two weeks. Or worse, he won’t technically outgrow them in pounds, he will just start having diaper blow-outs every other day and then you will know a bigger size is needed. This is how the little ones operate- I have learned the hard way. 🙂

I find it ironic that someone I used to BABYSIT FOR is giving me advice on diapers and kids! (And I posted that to her, as well!) But, I know she speaks the truth!

Scheduling Rant

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So, Owen has a flat head. Positional Plagiocephaly they call it.

plagiocephaly

Anyway.

So the pediatrician wanted us to see a physical therapist. Fine. She said it’s easier to treat the younger you start. Fine. So she wrote us a prescription and gave us a phone number. Fine.

Well, it might have been nice for the pediatrician to warn me that it might take up to a month to even SCHEDULE an appointment. Ugh.

Silly me, I thought it would be like any other appointment—I call, read them the prescription, and they make an appointment within a few days (like has happened a few times so far). So I waited about two weeks (my fault, but life happens, I lost the number, forgot about it completely—and besides, I didn’t think it was THAT big of a deal) and then finally called and oh, you have to bring us the prescription (not just give it over the phone like I’d done before). Fine. Then they said it would take 1-2 days for the paperwork and then someone would call to schedule an appointment. Fine.

Well, a week later with no phone call and I called back and she said oh, so and so hasn’t looked at it yet and it’s still going through the insurance process (or whatever) so it might take another 1-2 weeks until I call you back…to schedule the appointment. Schedule. Which means the appointment could still be WAY off.

>:XX

I guess I’ve just been spoiled with close-to-immediate scheduling before this. My bad. Lesson learned.

Another sleep-deprived night.

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This is getting old—fast. It’s amazing how quickly you get used to something…and let me tell you, I was VERY used to him sleeping 6-7 hours at a stretch. 😐

We tried the earlier-to-bed thing again last night…but again, it was only maybe 30 minutes earlier than normal. And he only slept until 12:30 (so maybe three hours for me), at which time he snarfed 6oz of formula. Then he was up at 5am, but he didn’t really want to eat (maybe 2oz) so I just put him back in the crib and put the mobile on…then listened to his jibber jabber for an hour or so. One or both of us must have fallen asleep for a bit, because I woke up at about 6:45 to him jabbering again.

I am thinking now, when he’s kinda sick, was not the best time to try the earlier-to-bed routine. Because we don’t know if his schedule disruption is due to a) being sick or b) the new routine. So I think we’ll go back to normal tonight and try again after he’s healthy.

Completely off schedule. Ugh.

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So I put him down in his crib (instead of the swing) about 7:30 because he looked tired—rubbing his eyes, etc. No dice. So I tried the swing, and that seemed to work for a bit—until I went up to check on him and turned the music off (but left him swinging—baby steps!). By the time I got out of the bathroom, his eyes were open. I let him be and by 8am he was screeching. I went up and he had pooped, ugh! So I changed him, and put him back down in the crib. More screeching. So I tried feeding him again, and he ate like 2oz. Put him back down and he’s wiggly and whatnot, NOT wanting to sleep, even though he REALLY needs to.

This is going to be a long day.

—time lapse—

I moved him to the swing and he finally fell asleep. I went up about 20 minutes later and turned off the swing and music. I haven’t heard a peep yet…so hopefully this is working.