Light Flicker

Jack's new trick is standing up in the crib and flicking the closet light on and off. In fact right now he's refusing to sleep. I'll be heading up there soon to check his progress. Hopefully he won't be waking up at 10:30 again... with a big #2.

Umm... is my baby normal?

So I'm changing Jack today and he spots his stuffed puppy that sings songs... that he got from Grandma Sheep. He's staring intently at it so of course I give it to him. He immediately rolls over on top of the puppy and... get this... starts humping him! He kept doing it and doing it and biting Puppy's nose at the same time. He was pretty intent on humping the heck out of him.
So I ran downstairs to ask Aunt Donna and Grammy if this was normal or was my kid acting unusually? They assured me this was normal and that is was part of his learning how to crawl and walk??? Then at dinner he started doing it to Stephen. I just hope he doesn't go back to school and start humping the teachers... that could be a problem.
So I just looked it up on the internet. Other parents have asked the same question and the experts say it's just a new "move" he's learned... phew.

"Seriously, I'm supposed to brush his 2 teeth?"

Last night I brushed Jack's 2 tiny teeth for the first time. I read that as soon as the little teeth burst through the gums you should start brushing twice a day. Since I'm up for anything with Jack lately I thought I'd give it a try. So I went to CVS (amazingly got out without spending more than $50) got one of those finger brush/gum massagers.
After his bath it was time for our first foray into dental care. I sat him on my lap and started rubbing that plastic thingy all over his gums (made sure to get the molars and his tongue). Jack loved it. He was mesmerized by the whole thing. I bet it felt good since he's obviously still teething. The only issue was that he kept biting down on my finger... really hard. I think I could lose my fingernail if he keeps chomping on my pointer finger.
So now after Jack has breakfast this morning we'll try it again. We certainly don't want him to have stinky breath when he goes to visit people later today.
By the way, Stephen is starting a petition that all babies should be born with a full set of teeth... surmising that popping them through one at a time is cruel and unusual punishment.

Jack's very own Christmas Tree

Grammy put together Jack's very own Christmas tree. We got up to Glens Falls yesterday afternoon and he finally got to see the fruit of Grammy's hard work and creativity. Check out the tree:
Here is Jack reaching out to touch his tree... and you know how much he loves trees! Grammy researched all the different kinds of Jacks there are... like Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack Sprat, Jack and Jill, Jack-a-roo (a cowboy), Jack in the pulpit... and it's covered in Jack-in-the-boxes (or is it Jacks-in-the-box?). Very cute. What you can't make out in this picture are the little "jacks" all over the tree... actually I'll go right now and take a close-up:

Merry Christmas!

Jack's first Christmas is in the books. He started with a bright and early 6am wake-up call:
Then we started opening gifts:
Then we left the house just before noon an traveled... to Grandpa Tractor and Grandma Rose's house... Jack was awesome... he slept the whole way.


Nan came down to visit... Jack gave her a lot of really good smiles. And Nan made him laugh beeping his nose... he seemed to really like that.
Uncle Karl came over too... In case you were wondering, Jack was not afraid of the bushy beard!
I got a lot of great presents... I must have been really good this year. More details to come tomorrow. I'm exhausted.

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and Jack is soooooo excited... Well at least I like to think so. He still gets excited when he sees the tree all lit up. So tomorrow is the big day. I'm sure I'll blog about the results... and probably post a bunch of pictures.
Gotta run... I think I hear reindeer on the roof.

Jumping Jack

Stephen just had to lower Baby Man's crib mattress. He was concerned that Jack would jump out, fall our... or somehow just get out. I'm just not sure how I'm going to transfer him from my arms to the crib... if he falls asleep while I'm rocking him.
Mom and Ron are here visiting. We took them to Bass Pro... 2 floors of nothing but fishing, hunting and camping equipment. The place is actually pretty neat: it has an aquarium, shooting game and will soon have a bar. Great combination you're thinking: guns and beer... good plan. After spending about 90 minutes at the store we headed out to dinner. Jack fell asleep on the way to the restaurant, stayed asleep while we ordered... continued to snooze while we waiting for our dinners. And voila! He woke up as soon as my burger was put in front of me. Naturally I forgot to bring him a toy to play with so the top to his bottle had to suffice. It never fails: Jack will always wake up just as you're about to eat.

This is how you find Jack after a nap...

Sorry it's a little blue... I didn't white balance... Stephen will not be proud.

Formula Shortage

Nestle might deny it, but there's a formula shortage. The only stuff that Jack will drink, Nestle Good Start ARA/DHA, is in such short supply that the grocery stores are storing behind the customer service desk. I have to go up there and ask for it... and it's like they are rationing it. They almost question your need for the formula before handing it over. I've already written to the company asking what was up. They've denied any shortage exists... but if you go into any store in the area you'll see what I mean. There will be rows upon rows of of Enfamil, Similac... but no Nestle. I'm going to find out what's up...

Nose Picker-Haters Unite...

http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/18/magazines/fortune/stanleybing/broadcast_askbing.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007121814

Shhh... don't tell Jack

Take a look at one of Jack's Christmas presents...

I can't stand it. They're so cute. I don't think I can wait until Tuesday to try them on his tiny little feet. I think he'll really like wearing them... they will be really comfy and warm.
He still has that cough from Thanksgiving. Hopefully it will go away soon. I've laid off the Benadryl at night, thought he might start to get hooked. Don't need a baby-junkie on my hands.

Heavy Wet Snow

Over the last four days we've probably gotten about 15 inches of snow. And now that it's raining, it's wicked heavy.
Of course our snowblower wouldn't start the other night... (as discussed in an earlier blog entry) so Stephen was contemplating shoveling... again. Then... our doorbell rang. I was joking that it was going to be a neighborhood kid willing to do our driveway for 50 cents the way my Mom used to when she was just a wee-one. But it was our neighbor Tom who was concerned that Stephen was away and I was going to be house-bound. I explained that Stephen was home, but our snowblower was on the fritz. So he and our other neighbor Tim rolled their machinery over to the house and started working away at the huge pile of snow. Stephen headed out as well and entertained the troops as well as shovel a ton of snow. Now the driveway is clean... and Stephen didn't have a heart attack (as his mother fears) shoveling. Here are the three amigos working away at the snow...


Sometimes I'm so happy to be a girl. I would hate to go out and shovel. When Stephen travels I'll have to make sure I play the "helpless female" role to get a little help with the driveway. I have a feeling this is going to be a long winter!

Just Jack... in pictures

Jack has very ticklish feet...

If I pull his ear... he still sticks around.

But what about the neck?

What a profile.

Lots O' Snow

Boy did we get a lot of snow. Probably about 10 inches. So we got home last night around 9 after attempting to make it to my office Holiday party... but we didn't because of gridlock on the highways. So Stephen was all set to snowblow the driveway... and yes, it would not start! We bought this new snow blower last year (a Craftsman) never used it because it didn't really snow last year... and it won't start! Are you kidding me? So Sears tells us to bring it in to a repair shop. Easier said than done. Our Suburban is in the shop getting fixed from last week's rear-ending. But fortunately my Mom is here (came into town to watch Jack so I could go to the party) with her Suburban. So we load the thing into the car this morning and what do you know... yes... I locked her keys in the car. So then we had to call AAA to get us in. That took them 3 hours to get here. Now they just popped the lock for us and we're back in business. In the meantime, Mom took Jack out into the snow to let him play...
Here's a picture of the two of them:

Right after this picture was taken, Jack rolled off the snow pile and into the snow itself. He got snow all over his face and boy did he not like that! So now they are inside warming up, I'm working and I think Jack will be napping soon... yeah.

Trish is Mean

Yankee Swaps stink. My $25 gift card to Starbucks was stolen right out from under me. I would like the world to know that Trish is mean. Thank you.

One Giant Crawl for Baby-kind

Yes... that is Baby Man scooting along trying to get to his father, who was trying to catch the memorable moment on video (the flash is that beacon of light you see).
He only crawls for things he really wants, like a tablecloth, plant, dirty shoe, bottle of water, Chatiemac... he's very particular as you can see.
When we dropped him off at school this morning they didn't believe he could crawl. By the afternoon they were believers.
This crawling is really tiring him out too. He was full of energy after his dinner of mixed veggies and applesauce. I thought he might actually make it to 8pm tonight. I was wrong again. I put him on the floor to go through some crawling exercises and he was pooped by 7:15.

We're ready for Christmas

Today we decorated our tree and the rest of the house (even the shed). Again today Jack was just so happy that there is a real live tree IN his house.
Take a look:


Jack is no longer allowed to chew on my chin. It was cute when he had only gums, but now that he's become a Baby Shark... it's not fun nor pain-free anymore. But he has stopped grabbing Stephen's ear... now he bites it and he calls him Mike Tyson.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We got our Christmas tree today. We went to the place we went last year, where you can cut your own down. I thought it would be fun so I even invited some friends to come along. Well we got there and the pickings were more than slim... and the trees were $45. Then the place had some "freshly cut this morning trees" from Maine... but the price for those ranged for $65 to $150. A bit ridic if you ask me. So we left without getting one. We headed a kind of farm-supply store near our house because we knew they had trees for sale. Wow what a selection. Way better than the first place and way better prices. We only paid $34 and the tree is about 7 feet tall and as fat as me.

So we got home and Stephen put the tree in the tree stand and then brought it in. You had to see Jack's face when he saw a real live tree in his house. You know how he loves trees... this had to be a great day for him. He would just look at it and shiver. He loves it. Thankfully his crawling has not progressed much otherwise that tree (and the tree skirt with fringe) would be in serious danger. Tomorrow we are going to decorate the tree... and then I'll post a picture.

Jack's First Chair... oh yeah, and he's crawling.

So today Jack was sitting in his own little chair... I wish he could hold a book at the same time... would make for a funny picture. Even still... it's still pretty cute. Thanks Tory for the chair! It says "Jack" on the part that is being covered by his body...

Oh yeah... he also started to crawl forward today! He kind of leads with his right leg... and drags the other. Sort of like he was wounded in war and is trying to get himself out of the line of fire. Now he doesn't have to roll around the house like a crazy log anymore... though he still does. I guess we have to get a gate now. Don't need Baby Man falling down those stairs onto the hard ceramic tile. We'll keep practicing until we're really good at getting from one place to the other. I'll keep you posted on his progress.

A Painful Day

So we're on our way to the YMCA to drop Baby Man off, when the car in front of us pulled off to the side of the road. We couldn't get around him because there was a car coming from the other direction. So we had to stop. But the car behind us didn't. Yep... the lady slammed right into the back of our SUV at about 35 miles per hour. Boy was that jarring. Baby Man started to cry, I clawed my way back to him and Stephen got out of the car to find out what was going on. All in all, we're very lucky. If we had been in some smaller type of vehicle I'm sure we'd have been hurt. Fortunately no one involved was injured. The lady's car... didn't look too good. It actually looked like she slammed into a brick wall. Our car's bumper is mangled, but the car otherwise is just fine. Meanwhile Stephen and I are quite sore this evening and Baby Man wasn't phased at all. He bounces back from adversity quite quickly. Kind of like child birth. He came out all fine... it was me that took some time to recover.
Here's a picture of my little family from Thanksgiving. Note Jack's sharp duds.:
Yep, that's Burberry on my Baby Man. The shirt was a little big, but he'll fit into it soon... hopefully. Now if only he didn't have his hand in front of his face this might be a good picture of us all.
Now here's Jack hanging onto his Dad's ear. Whenever Stephen picks him up, Jack automatically grabs on. But he doesn't just hold on nicely... he twists, and pulls and it actually hurts!

Jack's First Snow!

Jack may be sick... but the snow really perked him up! He was so happy sitting out there in his too-big snowsuit. He was mesmerized by the snow flakes...

Don't worry. I let Chatiemac out after I took this picture... he loves the snow too!

Jack's First Birthday Party

Jack attended his first birthday party yesterday. It was for his friend Alyssa from school... she was turning 1 year old. Her parents threw her a party at Chuck E. Cheese's. I had to ask myself why you would have a 1 year old's party there... they can't even play any of the games. But anyway, Jack and I went to see what it was all about. First of all, I was the only non-family member there. Apparently the other families from daycare opted out. So there I was with Alyssa's family, at Chuck E. Cheese wondering how I got myself into this mess. The mother, whom I had never met before, was probably a little overwhelmed and neglected to introduce me to anyone there. So I put on my game face and started trying to make idle chit chat with strangers who had zero interest in talking with me. But then I had to remember, I wasn't there for me, I was there for Jack. He had a good time watching those animated animals dance and sing and truly loved trying to rip the table cloth off. He did grab for a slice of pizza which I denied him as any rotten mom would. Here's a picture of Jack and the birthday girl:


Yes, that is Jack reaching desperately for the table cloth. I think Alyssa has a little rosacea, but she's a good kid.... she's about the same weight as Jack and she is 5 months older! She did enjoy smashing the cake between her hands, but she ate none of it. Jack's first birthday party is now in the books.

A Day to Remember

Jack has a tooth! The bottom left finally broke through. Fortunately he didn't feel it because he is so hopped up on Benadryl for the wicked cold he has, he can't possibly be bothered by mere teething. I have a feeling the breastfeeding is going to come to a screeching halt. Let's just say he thinks it's humorous to chew while eating... not fun for mom.
Tomorrow Jack goes to his first birthday party. Alyssa at "school" is turning 1 and her parents are giving her a party at Chuck E. Cheese. Should be interesting. I'll take pictures.

Major Update!

Jack says Mom. But he only says it when he is in distress. Such as when his leg is stuck in the rails of the crib. He was great over Thanksgiving even with all the traveling he did. He really does enjoy spending time with his cousins. He just loves other kids. It's amazing how he is instantly attracted to them. Even in the grocery store, if he spots a kid... game on: he stares at them like they are his long lost best friend. It's actually quite sweet.
As for Thanksgiving, I was convinced he would like mashed potatoes since they are my single most favorite food. Wrong. I put some in his mouth, he let them liquify and then he let them dribble out. We tried to take his picture for our holiday card, but he wouldn't smile for the camera. He just sat there like a stiff as if we were torturing him. Well, we sort of were. I had him in his new Burberry outfit that is obviously too large for him. His hands were where his elbows should have been.
Now Jack has a cold. He is coughing, sneezing and has watery eyes and a runny nose. The doctor said to give him children's Benadryl. It knocked him out like he was on sleeping pills. And it didn't even help the coughing.
We have (okay I did) hung our stockings on the mantle. I ordered new green velvet ones with a red cuff... from Pottery Barn that say Jack, Mom and Dad. I already put a present in Dad's...

Good Times

Check out this link...

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9560836984

It's the Francomano Family... in a way you've never seen them before. Now I know this is through Office Max... which flies in the face of one of my biggest clients: Staples... but it's so funny I couldn't stand it.

T-minus 2 days 'til Turkey Day... woo hoo!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

And I don't mean Christmas. I am talking about Thanksgiving! By far, turkey and mashed potatoes is my most favorite dinner... and this Thursday I'm going to have my dinner dreams fulfilled. We plan on letting Baby Man try some mashed potatoes... it will be his first real non-baby food that he will eat. I hope he likes them. What if he doesn't? Then I'll know he was switched with another baby in the hospital. I figured he was too cute to be mine anyway.
But he must be Stephen's baby... because Jack resembles his grandfather, "Pooh."Maybe next summer Pooh will teach him the finer points of "hosing" As I began to think about this... Jack's family could really teach him a lot:

• Grammy will teach him how to read
  
• Allie & Olivia will make him a fine little cheerleader!
  
• Uncle Art might teach him how to ride a dirt bike (uhh... never)
  
• Aunt Donna could help him build a volcano
• Grandpa Tractor could give him rides on the tractor and the firetruck...
  
• Grandma Rose might like to show him how to ride a bike
• Uncle Bobby could could help him learn to catch a ball
• Grandmother (aka Grandma Sheep) will teach him how to be the dog whisperer
• Hunter & Drew might like to show him the finer points of playing with Legos

I know I'm not including everyone... this is just a sampling. What I'm trying to say is that your family is there for more than just the holidays. They're there to teach you things... and Jack has a lot to learn and he's very lucky.

Baby Man and the Bath

If there's one thing in this crazy world that Baby Man loves loves loves... it's his bath. No it's not sucking on his rubber ducky and his toes... but those are tied for second.And after the scrubbing and the soaping is done... and of course some mandatory play time... it's off to the bedroom to get put into his warm and fuzzy jammies...

And as you well know, dressing a baby is not always the easiest task. Recently Jack has taken it upon himself to turn himself into a human log and roll around the room... naked. This while I try to put a diaper on him while Stephen tries to brush his hair (aka The Uncle Fred).

Once we get the little man put him in pajamas... he's already rubbing his eyes... letting us know he's ready for bed... all of this by 7pm. Just in time for a good round of the "Andy Griffith" show, ba ba and some rocking... and it's off to dreamland for a decent 10 hours. Then at 5:30... it's time to start all over again... which is a good thing.

Gimme Your Ear!

Not to talk... but to hang onto! Whenever Stephen picks up Baby Man he invariably grabs a hold of his ear and hangs on... and it hurts. For me, he grabs the little hairs at the nape of my neck. That hurts too. I'm already losing enough hair everyday without Jack ripping the survivors out by the root.

Gimme Meat!

Jack is no longer a vegetarian. He's broken his 7-month stint with a healthy dinner of chicken and vegetables. I honestly couldn't get the food in his mouth fast enough... he really loved it. Guess he doesn't take after Grandma Sheep.

Whirlwind Tour

This past weekend I think Jack visited almost every relative he has... and he loved it. Baby experts always say to not expect your baby to act the same when you have him sleeping in different places on off his schedule. Not Baby Man. He took his naps, ate his food and fell asleep like he always does... no issue. We were in Queensbury, Glens Falls, Albany, Guilderland and North Chatham.
Our last stop: Grandpa Tractor's house... as you see here:
He was hugged, kissed and cuddled more than ever before in his entire life. I think he really likes it when we jazz up his routine. Life with Mom and Dada must be getting tiresome.
Right now we're watching "Run's House" on MTV. Do you ever watch it? It's entertaining and yet it teaches you somethings... like how to be a funny yet effective parent. Run is from Run DMC (the rappers) and he and his family are living the high life in Jersey. His kids are handed a lot for doing nothing, but all in all I think they are good kids... who have a heck of a lot of stuff.

Getting Flack

So I'm getting flack from some of my loyal readers since I haven't blogged for a few days. I've been busy working, mom-ing and doing whatever else comes up. Tonight we're in Queensbury visiting Stephen's parents. We're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. That's certainly an accomplishment I aspire to duplicate. Stephen and I have only been married for 7 years, so thinking about the next 38 (that's more years than I've been alive) is mind boggling.

Right now Baby Man is sleeping in his car seat. We went over to our friend the Maurer's today to visit. Jack got to watch Lindsay and Amanda play... he loves watching the big kids. In fact he's mesmerized by them like at "school." They also have a really big dog, Memphis... a Burmese Mountain dog. Baby Man enjoyed staring at him, grabbing his fur and then trying to eat it. We also picked up a high chair. They weren't using it anymore and it was used for barely a month. Finally I won't have to feed the little guy in his office.

S + M Baby?

Jack likes to be lightly bitten. If you chew on his hand (or his belly) he laughs hysterically. Do you think this is a problem? Probably not a problem now since he is only 7 months old, but as he gets older it might develop into an issue. I'm probably teaching him to bite. Great.

The Great Cheerio Caper

Tonight I was so excited. I was excited because I was going to finally feed Baby Man that quintessential baby food: Cheerios! (not to mention they are Grandpa Tractor's breakfast of choice for the last 50+ years) The doctor has said on our last visit that he was ready to eat them, despite having no teeth.
But before I gave Jack the little, round, whole-grain morsel I said to Stephen, "we know what to do if he chokes, right?" Stephen said yes and then acted out giving a baby the Heimlich. I felt confident. Jack was in a good mood. Stephen was ready to jump into action. Chatiemac was ready to clean up the remnants.
So first I put two Cheerios on Jack's tray. Didn't even phase him. He only stared at the little bowl of cereal I had in my hands. So then I put the bowl of cereal in front of him. Still zero interest. So I resorted to putting one directly in his mouth. At first he looked perplexed. Then he look inquisitive. Then he started choking.
I immediately whacked him (gently) on the back. Stephen came over and asked if the Cheerio was out yet. I started to get a bit frantic and I picked him up, leaned him forward and lightly pummeled his little back. Still nothing. I then stuck my hand in his mouth and felt every crevice of his little mouth for that damn Cheerio. But still nothing. By now he stopped choking. And started laughing. That little turkey. I then gave him a good long swig of the ol' ba-ba.
Crisis averted.
Situation over.
Cheerios are banned... at least until he gets a tooth.

Breezy Day Expected

Here is Jack's impression of Superbaby. He has a very strong core. That comes from the pilates that we are so addicted to!

They're talking about 50+ mile per hour winds tomorrow and up to 3 inches of rain. Crazy. So Jack and I went for a stroll today since we won't be able to get out of the house tomorrow. We went to the rec center where there is a swing set and slide. So I plopped him in the baby swing. He seemed to enjoy it... you make the call:

It was chilly, but I think he likes the cold weather since he is normally such a warm little man.

Chunk-alicious

That's my new name... not for the baby... but for myself. Listen, Jack is almost 7 months old and I still have the "flabdomen." It's time for action. No more putting it off. I was always told it takes 9 months to make the baby, give yourself 9 months to take the weight off. That means I have just 2 months left. I have about eight pounds to lose to get down to my pre-baby weight. But my pre-baby weight was not my ideal. So in reality, I'd like to lose about 15 pounds.
I'll have to do it by eating less. Exercise is just impossible. I already get up at 6am to start the day and we don't get home from work until 6pm (and it's already dark). I'd walk during lunch, but I've been so busy, so that's not possible. I'm lucky if I even get enough time to run up to Shaw's and buy an overpriced salad.
I'll let you know how I do... but first I have to go polish off that leftover Halloween candy.

Happy Halloween!

The big day is here. Today Jack officially became a Jack-o'-lantern! Check him out! He participated in the costume parade today at the Y. Linda (his teacher) said he wasn't that thrilled to put on the costume. But I made her promise not to tell Stephen that... knowing how much he detests dressing up for Halloween.

We probably got about 40 trick or treaters. My favorite was the princess who refused to wear her costume so her mother was forced to yell, "she was supposed to be a princess" to all the people handing out candy.
Our one neighbor was handing out those airplane bottles of liquor (not to the kids, but to the parents). I wanted to run over and get some Bailey's for my coffee.

Jack also took another trip to the ol' pediatrician today. We were concerned because he was refusing to eat. What! My child refusing to eat? Impossible but true. Over the last two days he probably had 25 ounces where he would normally have about 65. Every time you put the bottle in his mouth he would just let it sit there. Finally this afternoon I got myself worked up enough that I got him a quick appointment. So Stephen and I pick up the Jack-meister early, head over to the doctor's office, sit and wait, and wait and wait. When the doctor examined him all was well. The diagnosis - teething! Yet again I take my son in, fork over the co-pay, only to find out he's getting teeth. So I brought him home, gave him some Tylenol and within an hour he was happily sucking away on his bottle.

The Trophy

sox_parade_2007-32-2
Originally uploaded by DEM photography

Sorry Dad, here's the trophy.

Red Sox Parade

sox_parade_2007-103
Originally uploaded by DEM photography

Jack was waiting his whole life to see the Red Sox win a World Series and it finally happened! Today was the big Rolling Rally through the city. I went on behalf of Jack (he wasn't allowed to skip school). It was actually pretty easy since the parade went right past my office around 12:30. It was a lot of fun to be part of it all. It figures when Big Papi's duck boat went by he was on the other side. Otherwise I got a pretty good look at everyone. Here in the picture is Jonathan Papelbon, the crazy, Irish-dancing closer. Just as he passed us he stopped and did his much anticipated jig at Copley.

Revving Up

Jack now gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth...
We're in trouble now.

A Fall Day

A great Fall day here today in Foxboro. Stephen spent a fair amount of time outside raking leaves while I ran out to the outlets to get Jack his winter coat. I just couldn't resist putting him in a pile of leaves... check it out:

Halloween is Coming...

And Jack is getting ready. Right now he chews on his pumpkin costume every chance he can get. And every chance I get, I put at least one part of the costume on him, whether it's the little stemmed hat, the plump body or the bright orange slippers. Stephen is just mortified by the whole ordeal. He obviously had some "issues" with Halloween in his childhood.
On Wednesday, at school, they are going to have the Halloween parade. I'm hoping it's early enough that Stephen and I can figure out how to be there, I know it's important to Jack :) Actually I really just want to get a picture of the kiddie parade so I can post it here on the blog.
I bought about six bags of candy today. Hopefully there will be some left on Wednesday. I plan on answering the door with my little Jack 'O Lantern on my hip.

Good Morning!

Got Baby Man all dressed in his fleece today... chilly here in Foxboro. Notice he's sitting with no hands! Very talented..
I've got a lot on my plate today, hopefully he will cooperate. I think he's still feeling the effects of the flu shot.

Success!

Yes, it's true. Baby Man slept through the night without so much as a whimper! I of course got up a handful of times to make sure he was okay. Ever since he had his flu shot the other day, he'd been acting funny. He was fussy, not very hungry and just downright different. Plus he had a bit of a temperature. Now he's back to normal. Phew!
This morning was a bit rough. I had to be on a conference call at 8:30 am so Stephen and I were going to bring Jack to "school" after that. Well the call went a bit longer than expected and then when we got there, I realized I left his food in the fridge at home! So we quickly went to the CVS in town, I bought more food and then did the drop off. But of course on the way to the drugstore we were held up by a wide load trying to make a sharp turn. I normally don't mind waiting for construction vehicles to do their thing. But when you're in a rush, with a million and one things on your desk waiting to be done, it's exasperating! So then I get to the train station and miss the train by about 30 seconds. The next train? Yeah, not for a half hour. It felt like the never-ending trip into work today.
We've completed our remodel of the downstairs bathroom. Between Stephen and myself I think we did a pretty fine job. Stephen did all the hard work, I provided all the color commentary (not all of it was appreciated). Here are some pictures:

Now Stephen is down in NJ for the night, he'll be back tomorrow, so I'm on my own with Baby Man 'til then. I just hope he'll sleep through the night again... and I hope the Red Sox win again tonight!!!

One Year Ago...

One year ago today, Stephen and I signed our name a million times. Yes, you know what that means. On October 21st last year we closed on our house. I came to this realization this afternoon and it turned in the favorite part of my day. I love my house.
We've just started doing the home improvements we thought we'd get to as soon as we moved in. Little did we know how time would fly and then how whatever time we did have... would be completely sucked up by none other than Baby Man.
First on our list was the downstairs half bathroom. That's just about done and looks great. Next we're ripping out the the guest bathroom. And we may just end up with some professional help. A Boston-area cable tv station has asked for people to submit their requests for one day of help from an expert as part of one of their programs. The producer called me back to ask some questions, so Stephen and I are really hoping they send an expert down here to help us out. I'm hoping we just assist in the re-tiling of the bathroom. It looks easy, but I'm sure it's harderthan it looks. I'll let you know...
Tomorrow Jack is having his 6 month check-up. That means more shots. I hate when he gets shots, but I know they are for the best. I just hate to see him cry. I think he might also get the flu shot. He should be a real peach to deal with tomorrow.

My Little Pumpkin

I couldn't wait any longer, I just HAD to put Jack's Halloween costume on him.
Take a look:Now doesn't he look thrilled!
By the way I saved Chatiemac's life tonight. He started choking on piece of his food during dinner. So I reached down his throat, couldn't fix it... so I started to give him the Heimlich (sort of), that sort of worked, but what finally fixed him was me reaching back down his throat and dislodging the stuck food. He owes me.

The Working Mother

I'm a working mom. Three days a week I take the commuter rail into Boston and head to my office and enjoy a nice trip to Starbucks and adult conversation and uninterrupted conference calls. Two days a week I work from home, while my six month old son Jack watches my every move. I worry that Jack is going to cry during a conference call, I don't go to Starbucks and I sometimes don't even get dressed.
I do this for two reasons. One: I don't want my son in daycare five days a week, I just don't want to be away from him for that long. Two: it saves me enough money in commuting and daycare costs that I don't have to feel guilty about going to Starbucks and getting a mani/pedi at lunchtime.
There are positives and negatives to my situation and right now I'm trying to put into words the inner conflict I have with my current situation. In fact, I'm not really ready to talk about what they are right now, but I will as this blog goes on...

Bath Time

I gave Jack a bath tonight. But instead of leaning over the tub and washing his little buddha belly, I decided to make it a two-fer. I got in with him. At first I considered putting on a bathing suit, but then I thought, "heck I gave birth to this kid, he's only 6 months old, he won't remember seeing his fat mom nude in the tub with him." Or will he? Have I forever scarred my young fella?
Regardless we had a good time. I floated him on his back and he really liked it. I think he thought it was like being back in the womb.
The toughest part was getting out of the tub with the slippery little man and not falling! But we had success... he's clean, he's happy, he's fed... and he's now sleeping. Let's just hope he stays that way for at least a few hours...

Tomorrow is a big day for Jack

Tomorrow is school picture day! It's 9:15 and I still haven't decided what he will wear yet. I hope they take them before he eats the pureed carrots or that's one picture I don't think I'll want to pay for. I'll let you know tomorrow what he ends up wearing. I know you're all tingly with excitement.

The Red Sox are losing 0 to 4 right now in the top of the 6th inning against the Cleveland Indians. 2 men on, 1 out, Manny at the plate, full count.

Update:
Blogger was down. I wrote this post on Monday. Jack wore his cute navy rollneck sweater that says Jack. The Sox stink. They're down three games to one.

Jack Gone Wild

Well, we've reached that point: Jack now wants to feed himself. When I am busy spooning the various cereals, veggies and fruits into his mouth, he now grabs the spoon and wants to feed himself. The past few days I haven't been letting him actually feed himself, I've been fighting the inevitable. Tonight I gave him and let him take charge of the spoon. You'll see it was a messy affair:


But I must say he was a very voracious eater and jabbed that spoon into his mouth with a lot of gusto. Please note the rice cereal on his right eyebrow...

I'm A Half!

Today Jack is 6 months old, or as I like to say... he's a half! Check out the jammies, a little tight in the feet area. Figures they are sized for a 6 month old... yet he's already grown out of them! This would be a better picture if I didn't chop his head off... but he moves so much when I take out the camera that I can't get a good one. But I liked his smile in this one... so this is the one I'm posting :)

Where was I 6 months ago tonight?

I was home eating a dinner that I will regret forever: egg salad. It wasn't a good scene the next morning in labor & delivery!
Tomorrow Jack will be a "half."
Hopefully he won't be a "hand-full."

Another Day, Another Poll

Okay, the votes are in. I guess you blog readers feel I should keep my mouth shut next time a big man sitting really close to me on the train starts picking his nose. Really? I disagree. But whatever, I asked.

Deal or No Deal

I'm watching Deal or No Deal. This show drives me nuts. This woman with like 8 kids just turned down $73,000. Is she stupid? I'll let you know. She has to open one case out of the six left on the stage. She has the million dollars still in play. But everything else is wicked low.
Case #25... eliminated the $10. So far so good. One of the people she brought is her ex-husband. He's just being nice hoping she gets the big money. Now the banker is offering her $93,000. She says, "no deal." Oh lord.
Now she has to pick one more case, only four are left. The big reveal: $300. Wow, she's picking well. So now we have the case she chose initially and 3 other cases left: $50, $200, $25,000 and $1,000,000. The new offer is $133,000. What would you do? I wouldn't have even made it this far. I would have taken one of their first offers, but I'm a wimp like that. This lady again rejected this latest offer. Oh no.
Her ex-husband is saying take the money and run. Oh boy. No deal again. I might get an ulcer watching this show. The next case: #19... knocked out the million. You idiot. I told you to stop. Now she's going to end up with 25k if she's lucky. Nope, not even that. Now she's going to go home with $100.
She looks mad. I would be too. She just took the $100 deal and her case actually had $200 in it. So again she made another bad deal.
I could never be on this show.

Good Baby Man

He's back on track! Sleeping like the little log that he is. Last night he slept from 7pm to 6am with nary a whimper. Tonight, since Baby Daddy is out of town again, I hope he'll do it again. So far so good. He went down around 7 again... right now it's 8:54 and he's barely moved. I'll let you know how it goes.

Sleep Question

Here's the situation. Right now Jack basically goes to bed at 7:30 and generally gets up around 5:30 or 6 in the morning ready to rock and roll.
My question is: when we "fall" back on November 4th, will Jack want to go to sleep at 6:30 and get up at 4:30? If the answer is yes, how the heck do we get him acclimated to the new time? Is he going to have jet lag? Are we going to survive getting up that early? I think I know the answer to that one...

I'm losing all my hair

My hair started falling out in clumps a few weeks ago and it hasn't stopped. I'm starting to get nervous.. I'm not sure how much more hair I can lose. I seriously must lose 100 hairs a day. When will this stop?

Sleep Strike

Jack used to only sleep in forty-five minute spurts. Just enough to get you settled down and ready to take a nap and rest up. Then he started sleeping for about two hours at a time, which gave us a little more time to get some shut eye.
Then he started spoiling us. He'd sleep from 7pm to 3:30am or so, and then fall back to sleep for another two hours or so. Now, he's taken it all back. Either he no longer likes to sleep or he's not feeling so hot or that darned tooth is still trying to break through. Yesterday his naps were no longer than an hour long. By the time 7pm rolled around, he was rubbing his eyes and looking very sleepy. So Stephen put him down like usual. What wasn't usual is that he then woke up crying at 11, 2, 3:30 and 6:00. What a night. Finally at 6 I brought him down stairs and tried to entertain him for 2 hours. Right now he's been asleep for about 25 minutes. I hope he starts getting the rest he needs (so that his parents don't go insane!). I did give him Motrin at 3:30, but it didn't seem to help all that much.
He goes to the doctor on Tuesday for his six month check-up, I plan on peppering her with a billion questions. Such as: why is he always congested, is the "lip sucking" thing he does normal, why does he give out little coughs every once in a while, does he have allergies, is it too early to test him for allergies, when can I give him Stage 2 foods, how much should he be drinking each day, is his weight okay, does he need the flu shot, etc?

The Votes are In...

Guess I'm not getting the Bugaboo Bee. Thanks for being the voice of reason in my life. Too bad I still want it.

random thoughts

• baby man tried peaches for the first time today (see picture); loved 'em
• he went on a "sleep strike" and only napped for about 1.5 hours today instead of the regular 3 or 4
• no tooth yet, still waiting
• stephen's flying home right now
• i'm admittedly watching "kimora lee, life in the fab lane" and she's 4 hours late for the vanity fair shoot - she says she's just not good at keeping an exact schedule. what she is good at is... is keeping other people late to wait for her
• i've really been craving fruit lately, hope i'm not pregnant again (just kidding stephen!)
• hopefully we'll be able to paint the downstairs bathroom this weekend, the naked walls are wearing on me
• my grandmother had a gall stone removed today and will have the whole GB removed next week
• i got jack a halloween costume. he's going to be a pumpkin. get it: jack o'lantern
  

Stroller Envy - Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/articles/2007/10/04/coveting_thy_neighbors_stroller/

On the road again

Dad's on the road again. But before he left, I took this picture of Baby Man and Stephen together. Do you see a resemblance? I do sometimes. But others look at Jack and say he's the spitting image of his father. Kind of creepy. I gave birth to a baby Stephen! And check out the outfit. It has cars cool matching pants... and sneakers! Thanks Uncle Ed and Aunt Joanne!I know sometimes I can get a bit bold, especially with my comments. Today, on the commuter rail, a man got on the train and sat down next to me. No problem. He was a very large man and he was sitting quite close to me. That's not the problem either. The problem is that he started reading some odd-ball book and subconsciously picking his nose. Yes... picking his nose. And then he'd roll the boogie in between his fingers and drop it on the floor. Can you even believe this? I couldn't. I gave him the horse eye, trying to say, "I see you, stop doing this." But he didn't take the hint. After a few minutes of this, I couldn't take it any longer, so you know what I did? I told him to stop picking his nose! It just came out. He looked a bit embarrassed (not as much as you would think though) and did discontinue the picking. Can you even imagine a woman doing this on a train? Do you think I should have told him to stop... or just ignore him? Take the poll!

Lil' Artist

My budding artist continues to produce amazing pieces. First it was the tiny little hand prints. Then it was the adorable footprints. Now, Jack has graduated to painting with marbles. A Monet he's not. More like Pollock. I'm thinking of saving every piece of "art" and doing something crafty, like turning them into Christmas cards. But if I do this am I turning into one of those Moms? (you know what I mean...)

One more thing

Here's a picture of me and Squiggy at Camden Yards yesterday. He signed autographs for a ton of fans. Squiggy didn't think anyone would want it, but he was wrong. He's a funny guy.

I'm Home!

Finally, I got home this afternoon and all I wanted to do was smother Baby Man is kisses, and that's exactly what I did. It was pure heaven. He smelled so good. To be honest, he didn't look that thrilled to see me, but that doesn't matter, I was just happy to be home and to be able to squeeze him. I tried squeezing my pillow last night and pretending it was Jack. Umm...it didn't work. I was sad.
Mom and I then took him to the doctor thinking he had yet another ear infection. Well, we were wrong. He's getting a tooth! I took him to the doctor because he's teething. The physicians must just shake their head in the office when mothers like me come in.
He's sleeping now. He has his butt in the air. And like his father would say, "he's wavin' it around like he just don't care."

Today

Today was the day I could sleep late.
Today was the day I could wake up and not take care of someone else before me.
Today was the day I didn't have to change any diapers.
Today was the day I woke up at 5am looking for Baby Man and then wasn't able to fall back to sleep because I miss him so much.

Finally back

I just got back to my hotel room from dinner. Do you know what time it is? Yes, it's after midnight! I stayed up! Congratulations to me. I haven't stayed up this late in almost six months... at least not without a baby crying. I had a very nice dinner with a rep from Biogen and the NMSS, but I still miss Baby Man. I hope he's okay without his mama tonight. I actually hope his father is going to be okay when 5am rolls around and Jack thinks it's time to play "I'm gonna eat you." Stay tuned.

I've Arrived

When we pulled up to the hotel here in Baltimore, there was a huge crowd of people near the front doors. I thought... ooh... someone good is staying here. Wrong. It's the Yankees. There are little kids all dressed in pinstripes with baseballs in their hand just waiting for the team to walk through the lobby. I took out my camera just in case I saw Derek Jeter. I was going to take his picture for Rose... and maybe try to pinch his cute butt! Didn't see him yet, but I'm still on the lookout.

Live blogging from the terminal

• They just paged Jacques Cousteau to report to Gate A10... ha ha.
• A woman walked by me as I was logging onto the computer and stopped to say what a cute baby Jack is. I agreed.
• My plane isn't here yet. Wonderful.

That didn't take long

Right now I'm at the airport, waiting for my flight to Baltimore, and my eyes are already tearing up. I miss Baby Man.

Stroller Envy

Coming up in a few weeks, there will be a story in the Boston Globe about stroller envy. In that article there may be a quote from me. I do suffer from this. I have to admit it. I love my stroller. It works great. It is very handy because my car seat snaps right into it. The issue is, I didn't realize the stroller you have is a status symbol. Similar to an Audi vs a VW... that is what the Bugaboo is to the Graco. I know I'm shallow. I agree. But that doesn't mean I don't want it. But I'm not going to go out and spend $900 on a new stroller when the one I have is perfectly fine. What I am going to do is go out and buy the new Bugaboo Bee, which is the new umbrella stroller in the line.
Here's a link: http://www.bugaboostrollers.com/Bugaboo-Bee.pro?gclid=CJ_a3pq0544CFQhtFQodpFuVEA
Do you think I'm crazy? Please vote at the bottom of the page. I need help.

Take your infant to work day

Tomorrow I'm bringing Jack to work with me. He's really looking forward to seeing where I spend all my time... that I'm not with him. I have some things I need to get done in the office before I head to Baltimore for an event with Squiggy. I'm going to pass Jack around to my colleagues like a little football. And then I'm going to bring Jack's "hee-hee" for him to (hopefully) take a nap with in the stroller. What are the odds I'll get anything done? Place your bets...

For the love of trees

My son loves trees. He stares at them every chance he gets. His Aunt Donna says this might be a sign that he's the person put on Earth to save the trees. It's that or he just likes the trees.

While the Dad's away...

Okay, Dad's officially away on business. Fine. We'll deal with it. So far Baby Man has been perfect. He went down at 7:30 with no issues, I even sat and watched Andy Griffith with him the way Dad does. The bigger news here is that last night BM slept from 8pm to 5:30am without making a single peep! You'd think, well this means Mom & Dad finally got a full night of sleep. Wrong. We were up at 1:30, 3:30 and 5... just to make sure he was breathing! So the baby is sleeping through the night, but the parents aren't. What a cruel twist of fate.
Short posting tonight, going to bed. (yes, I know it's only 8:30)

Missing Dad

Not my dad (sorry)! Stephen goes away tomorrow until really late Friday night. That means Jack and I need to get it done on our own. That really stinks. Jack and I need him here to function. Who is going to wash all the bottles? Who is going to put him down to sleep? Who is going to watch Andy Griffith with Jack? Who is going to clean up our bath time mess? Who is going to "pat" Jack back to sleep when I would normally pick him up? I guess that would be me. And this isn't going to be just this week, this project runs for a month.
A baby needs his dad, and a mom needs the baby's dad too. I've decided Stephen can't go. I'll just write him a note that he's not allowed to leave. Remember when that's all you needed to get out school was a note from your doctor? Those were the good ol' days...

Creeping along

Yes, Jack is on the move. Today he officially did the "worm." For those of you that don't remember the worm, click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worm_(breakdance_move). So anyway, back to Jack. I had him on his belly in the living room and he was desperately trying to get closer to Chatiemac. Unfortunately Chat was in front of him, not behind, so the more Jack moved (backwards) the further he got from his goal. Needless to say this led to some serious frustration. So all I can think of now is that my little Baby Man will not be contained for much longer. When I was pregnant people always asked if I was anxious to give birth. I usually said no for two reasons: I imagined labor would hurt (I was right) and I could keep the baby contained where he was... in my womb. Well, I made it through labor and now he's close to becoming un-containable. I guess this will just be the first of many times where Jack starts doing his own thing.

Grand Canyon here we come...

next year. or maybe the next year... or maybe the year after. But that is the trip Stephen and I really want to take with Baby Man. But at what age will he be fun and be tolerable. I know already that he's not going to appreciate it. That's an impossibility. We're going to fly out to Arizona and rent an RV, not a huge one, but a big enough one. And then we're going to drive and drive and have fun (we hope). Everyone is invited. But everyone has to have their own RV. That's so I can be free to go to the bathroom when the need presents itself... if you know what I mean.
Did you check out the new picture of Baby Man enjoying his carrots? Unfortunately I think he snorted more than he swallowed!

Survivor is back

I enjoy Survivor. It makes me so happy to be sitting on my couch, all warm, fed and knowing I have a comfy bed to sleep in each night. I'm not sure what happens to people as soon as they get on this show. They lose all sense of modesty. People are falling out of their clothes and some people, who should be wearing a lot of clothes, just strip them off. It is almost impossible to look at them.
The only person I think looks cute naked... is Jack. And that's because he has the cutest Buddha belly in the whole wide world. He's in the 75th percentile for weight and head circumference and in the 50th percentile for length. Hope he doesn't take after his short and fat mommy!
And just a development note: Jack is now tripoding and laughing when you tickle his tummy.

Why do I keep singing...

Stephen pointed something out tonight... I apparently sing everything that I say to Baby Man. To be honest, I didn't even realize I was doing it. "Do you want some peas...," would come out in some sing songy voice. One of my favorites is, "Baby man oh baby man, you are the cutest little baby man..."And if you remember correctly, what comes out when I sing resembles screaming cats. I have to admit, I'm a rotten singer. I don't even sing in the shower or when I'm alone in the car because I know I sound so horrible.

But you know what? Tough luck. I'm going to sing anyway. Jack has never complained and I think he likes the sound of my voice... it's what he heard while he was in the womb, and it's what he'll hear outside the womb too. Whether he likes it or not...

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." -Maya Angelou

Let the renovations begin...

Now that Stephen and I have been in the new house for a year, we're just about ready to dive into our first real renovation. The victim: the downstairs powder room. We figure we should start small and work our way up. Even though this should be a relatively "easy" job, I'm sure it's going to turn into more than we think.
The plan is to take down the wallpaper, replace the vanity top, change out the light, scale back the big mirror, repaint the vanity and replace the toilet... and voila!
I'll tell you what is really going to happen. We'll end taking off some of the sheetrock during the wallpaper removal process, some random measurement that I took will be off and I see an issue with water at some point in the process.
Also, we're going to argue. It always happens. (Could that be because Stephen asks me for the "thing" over there and I don't know what "thing" he's talking about)
I'll post before and after pictures.
Now depending on how this first project goes, we may work our way up into the guest bathroom. Oh boy...

30%

A while back Stephen innocently asked how much of the "baby care" did I think he was doing. I thought about it for a bit and responded, "about 30 percent." I rue the day I gave that answer. Even though I truly feel that is the right answer on most occasions, but I guess I hurt his feelings.
Basically, as the mom, I get Jack up in the morning, change him, get him dressed, take care of him all day (Mondays & Fridays) or prep him for "school." Am I wrong? Don't get me wrong, Stephen does a lot more than a lot of other dads out there. He changes diapers, puts him to sleep every night and vacuums the house with Jack in the Baby Bjorn. But I feed him (breast, bottle and solids), do his laundry, pick out and buy his clothes, take care of him when I work from home 2 days a week...I think that equals 70% of the duties.
Now the other part I must confess, I do about 10% of the household chores. I basically do the grocery shopping and that's it. I don't even put them away, not because I don't want to, I just wouldn't put them in the right spot!
All right, gotta run, Jack just got up from his morning nap... and I had Stephen go get Baby Man, change his diaper... he's at about 11% so far today... only 19% more to go...

A Jack by any other name...

Even before Jack was born, we were calling him names. From project peppercorn to the m&m, that was before I was even out of my first trimester. Then he was born, we instantly called him the burrito, the little man and Jack the ripper (he had issues with gas). Now we've morphed into a whole new set of names: Baby Man, J.Bob, Jack-a-roo, Jack-a-pino, Jack attack, Jackmeister, Jackie, Jackson, Bub, Buddy and the Big Man. The name Jack gives you a lot of options for nick names... I just hope the rotten little kids he'll go to school with are kind.
Right now "Baby Man, J.Bob, Jack-a-roo, Jack-a-pino, Jack attack, Jackmeister, Jackie, Jackson, Bub, Buddy, the Big Man" seems to have his second ear infection in as many weeks. Every time we try to put him down to sleep he starts screaming at the top of his lungs. I can't stand it when he has tears. So as we speak, he is sleeping on his father's shoulder as we watch the Red Sox - Yankees game. Right now our game plan is to take turns holding him, should prove to be a long night.

Sad News

My family got some bad news today. My husband's great uncle Phil (and he was great!) died this afternoon. He was the sharpest person you would ever meet. He was 93 years old and still remembered our wedding anniversary, when others just let the day pass.
A few weeks ago when we were in Shelter Island we took the short trip to Southold to visit Stephen's cousin Elena (see picture). Her parents (Helen & Phil) made the trip out there. For some reason we all knew it would be the last time we were going to see him. He was so excited to meet Jack. Since he was a retired pediatrician, I was very nervous that he was going to tell me I was doing something wrong... he didn't. Phil had nothing but praise for baby man and looked at him so adoringly. Uncle Phil was a special man and will be missed.
-"God bless his soul." -Phil Castellano

Losing the Baby Weight

I'll admit it, I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant. Now keep in mind I did give birth to an eight pound one ounce bouncing baby boy. When I left the hospital I had lost 25 pounds. I decided giving birth was the best diet I'd ever been on. Then, as I continued to breastfeed, I dropped another 8 pounds. Now this leaves me with another pesky 7 pounds to lose... which I now really have to do. The baby is five months old today, my excuse of "just giving birth" is getting a little thin (pun intended). It's just so hard. I got used to eating (sort of) whatever I wanted. Gosh, I just love those cranberry orange muffins at Starbucks.
So how am I going to do it? First I should give up the muffins. How about exercise you say? But when the heck do I have time to exercise? I get up at 6 just to get the family out the door by 7:45 which gets me to work by 9... Then we're home by 6 or so, we take care of the baby, maybe give him a bath and feed him some carrots... and then it's 9 before you know it. Then we get up and do it all over again. I try to walk during lunch time, but I've been so busy lately I just haven't had the chance.
I'm full of excuses aren't I? The bottom line is I'm unhappy with this extra weight and I have to do this before it lingers too much longer. I'll let you know how I progress...

Surprise...

In my attempt to feed my child solids... I've begun trying a number of different foods. From peas, sweet potatoes, applesauce... to carrots. Guess which one he always spits out? Nope, not the peas or sweet potatoes... but the applesauce! Guess which one he can't get enough of and actually slurps it off the tiny rubber spoon? Yes... the carrots! I think he's part rabbit. Jack Rabbit.
(Happy Birthday Olivia!)

Feeling Guilty

I guess becoming a mother also increases your feelings of guilt, and this starts even before the baby is born. That well known Catholic guilt has got nothing on my self imposed Mom guilt.
Did I take Advil before I knew I was pregnant? Did I take my prenatal vitamin today even though it makes me sick to my stomach? Should I stop dying my hair while pregnant? Will an epidural really make the baby more drowsy after birth? Am I breastfeeding my baby enough? Should I send my baby to day care? You name it, I worry about it. And the guilt just piles on... and on... and on...
Until you realize, you can't be perfect and you can't do it all. You can just do the best with what God gave you. I think that's where I am today. We have a great baby so we must be doing something right. He doesn't have any birth defects (that we know of) from the Advil or the hair dye. And the breastfeeding is what the breastfeeding is...
Now if I could only find time to go get my hair dyed...

The Sleeping Situation...

When Jack was first born, I insisted he didn't like to sleep on his back... therefore trying to validate why I had Jack sleep on my chest for the first few weeks... okay months. Then something magical happened. He learned how to flip over. Ever since then, he's been able to sleep for a few hours, unlike the cat naps he had previously teased us with.
But all was not perfect yet. He still woke up in the middle of the night wanting a quick snack. To be quite honest, I didn't mind these early wake up calls. In fact I think I enjoyed them. Jack was just so snuggly and warm... and quiet that I loved this time we had, just the two of us. But at a certain point I came to the realization that sleeping "through the night" would be a good thing. I still didn't know how to do this, because I felt horrible when Jack would whimper and moan... and I felt like I was ignoring his need for love and possibly food (heaven forbid my five month old 17 pound baby would go hungry!). Well, Linda, his "teacher", said just try it one night. Let him be. He'll fall back to sleep. I thought no way. He needs his Mom... he needs me to come and get him... he wants to be with me. Um... I was wrong. He just needed to be left alone for a minute and he'd fall back to sleep on his own. Turns out I was the one who needed to be with him. Even now I still wake at 1:30, expecting him to be up waiting for me. He's not.

Another New Toy

Much to his father's dismay, a new toy has entered the house. It's bright, it's large and it's now Jack's favorite. He is truly just trying to find out how to stuff each of these toys in his mouth. Right now he is working his way around the circle, yelling at each of the toys. I love the animal sound maker, it gives Jack the Spanish pronunciation as well. Soon he'll know more Spanish than me.
I came home with this today from Babies R Us. I really shouldn't be trusted to go there by myself, or at least without another adult. Stephen wanted me to get the one that folds up and can be put away. Unfortunately they were out of that one and I had to get this one. Though I like this one better. The other had a circus theme. I hate clowns. I know I should be more tolerant, but clowns are freaky. Who ever grew up and wanted to be a clown? They would be that freak at your reunion that no one makes eye contact with.
Happy birthday Karen. Happy Anniversary Bob & Judy... and Donna & Jeff.

Car... Pooling the Votes

So let me know what you think I should do about a car. For about a year now, Stephen and I have been carpooling. It's been working out really well, except now with the baby, we that both of us have to rush to leave work to pick him up at daycare. If I got a car, then I could do the drop off and Stephen could do the pick up. So I agree I probably need to get a car, but there are so many to choose from. Let me know what you think, take the poll at the bottom of the page.
Thanks... preciate it.

Guess I'll start blogging...

It's never too late... right? I've been obsessively reading other people's blogs for so long now I finally realized maybe I should start my own. It's not like I'm busy or anything. Trying to work full time and take care of a five month old baby. Well, I'm not doing this alone. I do have a wonderful husband who, I've realized, does far more than a lot of other husband/fathers out there. Though it would be nice if he didn't come home from work every evening and immediately start picking up after me. I just need a chance to clean up and I'll do it... just not fast enough to ward off his agita.
Right now Jack is asleep and Stephen is watching some horrid show on IFC about pimps. Does he really think this is something I'd be interested in watching? I like stupid shows... I'll admit I now love Hannah Montana (thanks Lucie). I used to like to watch the news all the time. That's obvious considering my past career. But now, with the baby, I can't bear to watch. Whenever I hear something about a child or a soldier killed in Iraq all I can think of is their mother and what she must be going through. I couldn't bear to lose my baby Jack... what would I do? I think once you have a baby you think of every horrible thing that could ever happen. And boy do I. I'll sit and daydream about horrible situations that will (hopefully) never happen in my life and what I would do. Case in point, I'm driving down the road with Jack in his car seat. I imagine crashing into a body of water and how I would wriggle my way to the back seat, unhook Jack and get us both out before drowning. Is this normal?
Welcome...