No Prize for the Biggest Head

What a miserable baby boy we've had on our hands the last couple days. He started running fever on Monday morning, and it was holding steady at about 102 for about 24 hours. Pitiful. We spent most of our time in the chair in his room... rocking. You know he didn't feel good if he let me rock him. Luckily, the chair in his room is the Best Chair. Seriously, it is. If you are in the market for a new chair... this chair is the best. Anyway, he woke up this morning, and thankfully no fever. Here is a picture from breakfast. So, nice to see a smile on my little boy's face.

I took him to the doctor anyway to rule out anything major. Ears were good. Throat was clear. Doctor seems to think it was/is an upper respiratory infection. While we were there, the doctor went ahead and did his 9 month checkup. It is hard to beleive he will be 9 months next week. He is steadily growing. He was in the 25th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for height, and 5th percentile for head circumference. Before I could even comment on the head circumference, the doctor said, "remember, they don't give a prize for having the biggest head." So true.

Our Trip to Charleston

In April of last year, my old roommate from college, Carla got married. I was supposed to be a bridesmaid but was way too pregnant and way too big to fly out to Charleston. Sorry to have missed the wedding, Dean and I decided to plan a trip to visit Carla and her new husband Claude. We flew out to Charleston on Thursday night after Dean got off of work, and since Noah has such an early bedtime, I had really high hopes of him sleeping through the whole 2 1/2 hour flight. Well, let's just say, this was my first experience with overtired, crazy Noah, and WOW! He was awake the entire flight laughing and babbling nonstop. It took a whole day for him to catch up on sleep. But eventually, he did. Check out the super fun pack 'n play he slept in.

We stayed on Folly Beach at Carla's parent’s beach house. Here is a picture of Carla's parents, Tom and Sandy. They were such great hosts that we didn't have the heart to tell them that the war is over and the South lost. Just kidding. They were on their way to a costume party.

Our first day there was rainy and cold, but that was ok because Carla and I got to do a lot of catching up. Dean thought Friday was "Shacktacular" (hee, hee) on account of the oysters from the Crab Shack on Folley Beach. Friday night Carla's parents offered to baby-sit Noah, so we kids could go out to dinner. We had a fun and yummy time out. Margaritas and Mexican food... what's not fun and yummy about that? I put Noah to bed before we left, but he woke up about 15 minutes after we were gone. We weren't out late, and I think Noah enjoyed catching up on Friday night TV with Mr. Tom.

Saturday was a beautiful day! So, our guides, Carla and Claude, took us on a tour of downtown Charleston. Charleston is really gorgeous and has so much character. Claude took a turn at strolling Noah through the streets. Apparently, Claude had the touch because Noah laughed the whole time.

The stroll was cut short, however since Noah got showered by the local wildlife (aka pooped on by a bird). As expected, Daddy quickly decontaminated Noah, changed his clothes, and cut off the afflicted piece of the stroller. Thank goodness for Daddy's vast knowledge of all the rare diseases transmitted by bird poop. Sigh. Luckily, I remembered to bring along the carrier.

Sunday we took Noah to the beach. It was technically his second trip to the beach. We were in Florida over the summer, but he was only 8 weeks old. First thing we did was plop him down. He immediately started trying to pick up the sand, and he was getting very frustrated that it was slipping through his fingers. Dean held him up to the water, which was pretty chilly, but he didn't seem to mind. Oh look, someone wrote Noah's name in the sand.

Check out Daddy's beach attire. Does this scream "ready for Miami" or what?

We had such a great trip to South Carolina. Dean has been so busy studying that he really enjoyed spending some one on one time with Noah. I surely appreciated it. He was the nap master this trip.

I really loved catching up, reminiscing, and laughing like crazy with Carla. It was such a fun break from my day to day routine. I feel like I took some "me" time, and I am back home refreshed and ready to be a great mom to Noah.

Noah was such a sweet boy on this trip. He was in a great mood most of the days, and I feel like he has really started to open up and get some personality. He was such a chatterbox and smiled and laughed at all his new friends. He also worked on his scooting and well, we shall see what our first day home has in store for me.

Thanks so much to Carla, Claude, Mrs. Sandy, and Mr. Tom. We had an awesome time visiting "the edge of America." We can't wait until you come visit us in Miami.

Look Who's Scooting!

Noah has been flirting with crawling for about a week now. With every scoot on his belly, he has protested loud and clear, "I am not happy about crawling." Well, this morning Noah decided that maybe it wasn't so bad and off he went. He is officially scooting. I guess it is time to childproof the house. Check out the clip below. It is not really fast action footage, so to enhance your viewing experience; I went ahead and added some music. Enjoy!

A Snapshot of Our Day

This morning, Noah and I headed over to a park near our house to meet up with some other moms and kiddos for a playdate. It was a beautiful day, and Noah and I both enjoyed the outing. I could leave it at that. A cute picture of Noah on a swing enjoying the beautiful day. But, this picture sure has a lot more to say. Just look a little closer.

Notice the big scratch on Noah's nose. Oh yes. I was "that mom" who didn't cut her child's nails and let him scratch himself. In my defense, they grow like weeds, and I just cut them on Thursday. Sigh. He did not go to bed last night with a scratch on his nose, so I can only assume that the incident occured somewhere between the hours of 7:00 PM and 5:30 AM. Most likely around 5:25 AM while I was lying in bed with my eyes shut, hoping the cries coming out of the montior next to my bed would stop. They didn't. So, begins our day.

Check out Noah's shoes. It was in the 60s this morning, and I didn't want to be "that mom." You know, the one who doesn't cut her babies nails and whose child is always shoeless with cold feet. Noah never wears shoes or even socks for that matter, but today, we tried them out. He thought they were great. On the drive over to the park, he kept trying to eat them. Don't they make his feet look HUGE. He definitely takes after his mother in the monster feet department.

See the wet spot on Noah's pants. I was "that mom" who didn't bring a bottle or sippy cup, so I gave him a little sip of water out of a water bottle. We do this all the time at home, but today it was a fresh water bottle. Full to the top. And, Noah got a little bit to big of a sip, and he started to choke. So, I had to lay him over my arm and hit him on the back. Maybe we should keep our tricks at home.

Maybe no one noticed the runny nose. Remnants of last weeks cold. Snot was pouring out of Noah this morning. Oh yes, I was "that mom" who didn't bring a tissue, so I wiped his nose on my shirt. Stay tuned. The snot came into play later in the the picture.

Do you spot the brown stain on Noah's sleeve? This takes a little explaining. So, a few of the moms with babies were sitting around on blankets. We had brought one from home along with a few of our favorite toys. Noah found the pebbles on the ground much more interesting than his toys. He was trying to eat them, so I tried to distract him by giving him my necklace to play with. So, off he goes. Not playing with his toys, and playing with my necklace, a strand of brown wooden beads that apparently were cheaply painted. I tried to play off the brown glob of snot on our blanket as breakfast spit up, but one of the moms pointed out Noah's sleeve to me. Game over. This is when we decided to move over the the swings.

Isn't the joy on Noah's face adorable? Noah loved the swings. He really had so much fun. As you can tell from the angle of the picture, I am sitting directly in front of the swing. Noah is laughing and smiling, but not at me. He's looking to the left. At the other mom who apparently is much more fun than I am.

All and all, we had a really fun time at the park... and I'll leave it at that.

Hush Little Baby

Don't you just love the picture? Sleeping baby. So sweet. This was so not the case on Thursday night. It turns out that grouchy Noah had a reason to be a not so happy baby. Runny nose. Cough. Yuck. Bad cold. Thursday night was very rough. I think lack of sleep made it difficult to make appropriate parenting decisions. Noah ended up sleeping, I mean, staying in our bed, and I believe he nursed about 80% of the night. Or tried to at least, since he had so much trouble breathing because of all the snot. And, when I say night... I mean from about 1:00 AM to 5:30 AM. The other 20% he cried. Lucky for Momma (and Daddy), Grammy was visiting and took over the morning shift. Thanks Grammy for the extra 2 hours of sleep Friday morning. It definitely brought me back to the land of the living. Friday night, I approached bed time refreshed and ready with a game plan that involved lots of TLC. Bath time included vapor bubbles. Aaahhh, relief. Then, saline and suction. AAAHHH, torture. I started running the cool mist humidifer in his room during bath time, so his bedroom was cool and moist. He went down pretty easily and only woke up once during the night. He seems to be feeling better today and is already down for the night. Hoping this is the start of us getting back to status quo sleep wise.

In the Mood For Love

Noah sure isn't, but he still wanted to send out some hugs and kisses on Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day from our little grouch.

What Do You Think?

Noah popped out the spittin' image of his Daddy, everybody said so. But as babies tend to do, he has changed so much since he was born. And, I can't say definitely, but I think he is starting to look a little bit like his Momma too. I took this picture on Thursday, and I thought to myself, maybe he is starting to resemble me more than Daddy.

But then, I took this picture today. And aside from being totally adorable, he looks exactly like his Daddy.

I figured it was about time I polled the audience. What do you think? Does Noah still look just like Daddy or is he starting to look like his Momma's boy? Here are a couple baby pictures to help you decide.

Daddy. Age 7 1/2 months.



Momma. Age 9 months.

Update (March 1, 2007) -- After a week long poll, 11 friends have weighed in. The results are: 4 votes for Daddy, 4 votes for Momma, and 5 votes for "too close to call." I think the only reason Momma got 4 votes was because I picked the only baby picture that could possibly look like Noah. Thanks for all the Momma votes.

The Problem With Hating Tummy Time

4 months old

From day one, Noah has hated tummy time. And, as any good first-time mother would do, when your 4 month old doesn't want to be on his tummy. He doesn't have to do it. But then, that 4 month old turns 6 months old, and he still hates tummy time. So, I try to encourage him by propping him on the boppy or lying next to him, but he still hates tummy time. So, most of the time, he doesn't have to do it. Besides, he is starting to sit, and isn't that much better than being on your belly. But then that 6 month old turns 8 months old, and he still hates tummy time. But now, he wants to start moving around. And, that means crawling on hands and knees. On his tummy. As previously mentioned, he hates tummy time. I have no fear that one day soon he will overcome his hatred of being on his belly and crawl when he is good and ready, but in the meantime, we have a small problem.

Noah is a side sleeper. It is the cutest thig ever. I put him in bed, and he immediately rolls over to his right side. All snuggled up with his tiger and Elmo. So cute. Down for the night. Until, his need for mobility somehow carries over to sleeping too. In his sleep, he manages to roll himself over to his tummy. Of course, it wakes him up because he hates being on his tummy, and of course, he is not good at rolling from belly to back because he hates tummy time, and he doesn't get much practice, so he is stuck. In his crib. On his belly. Crying out for help. Hating tummy time. Which brings us back to yesterday's post. See my problem.

So, I have decided to designate this weekend, "teach my 8 month old to roll from belly to back again" training weekend. Or maybe I should call it, "tummy time, all the time" weekend workshop. Wish me luck. Tips are welcome.

Noah 1, Momma 0

Remember when I totally thought I had it all together. Two naps a day. Check. Sleeping in his own room. Check. Regular bed time. Falling asleep on his own. Check. Check. Well, things happened. A bad cold, faux teething, (Oh yes, still no teeth, but it counts as a thing because it makes me very sympathetic), lots of traveling, etc. Now, he is still taking two naps a day and has a pretty regular bedtime, but unless he is in the car, he only goes to sleep nursing. I keep telling myself that it is not really that big of a deal. I mean, eventually he will go to sleep on his own. And, I really don't mind, but tonight... well, I needed a break. So, I decided I was going to let him cry it out... again. Crying it out. It is such a painful thing. Why couldn't I have just had to do this once. I know what you are thinking, Mom? Why not rock him to sleep? Well, he hates to rock. He pretty much gets sleepy and his mind thinks boob. So, back to tonight. Long day, so I wanted to feed him and put him down. He was having no part of it. He didn't even feel like nursing, so I decided I would just put him down. So, I did. The tears started. Actually, it was more like hysterical crying, sort of muffled since he had rolled over to his stomach and scooted in the corner, but that is a totally different post. I waited 15 minutes. Thinking he must be about to stop. Nope. Still going. I go in to check. Find him in the said corner. I have to pick him up and roll him over. He hates being on his tummy. Hates it. So, I comfort him for a few minutes and then put him back down. More sobbing. I sit listening to the monitor. I figure that if he is going to cry and be upset, I might as well listen and suffer too. I waited another 10 minutes. I know you are supposed to wait longer each time, but I just couldn't bear it. So, I pick him up, and I just go ahead and nurse him. I have already been trying to get him down for an hour. He still doesn't fall asleep. So, now I have a choice. Do I keep him up for a little while? Or do I try to put him down again? I am unsure because I know he won't like it, and he is so going to cry. Choice made. Wide awake. Down he goes. Wouldn't you know it? He rolls onto his side. No crying. And, goes to sleep. Sigh. That little boy... he totally has my number.

We Love Our Girl Cousins

Because sometimes they are like boy cousins. Noah got a surprise visit from Brooke and Katie. They passed through town on their way back home from hunting in West Texas. Noah loved hanging out with the girls... maybe they can teach him to hunt one day.

Crazy, huh? Last week, they were singing and dancing at the Hannah Montana concert, and this week they are shooting animals with big guns.

Hello Good Buy

It's been a long time since Daddy has had a Saturday off, and Noah and I were totally pysched to have him around today. A whole day of Daddy. Awesome! Even better was his suggestion that we head to Target for some toy shopping. Woo Hoo! Daddy and shopping. What's better than that?

"Hey Daddy, what are you doing pushing this cart? You love Target too?"

"Hmmm... decisions, decisions. I pick that one."

"Cha-ching. Let's get outta here. I've got some playing to do."

The loot.

The Story of the Mom's Group

The weather during the month of January has been pretty yucky. The days of sunshine and warmth are few and far between, so when it happens, Noah and I are out of the house in a flash. About two weeks ago, on one of these nice days, we randomly decided to take a long walk to the park. We've gone to the park before, and just like last time, Noah is still a little too small for most things there.

When we got to the park, it was packed. moms and kiddies galore. Using my fine tuned eavesdropping skills, I started to get the idea that it was an organized event. So, I asked around. It was scheduled playdate for a local mom's group. Someone pointed out the organizer to me, and I went and introduced myself. She said the group was still open to new members and she told me about the website meetup.com. As soon as I got home, I searched for the group, set-up my account and requested membership. So, now I am a member of a mommy and me group.

This week I was all geared up to get Noah around other babies and to get some adult interaction for me. I went to two events, and Noah had a really great time. It was very obvious from the super long naps he took after both events. It is amazing, but it already seems like he is coming out of his shell a bit. Talking more. Moving more. Here are a couple pictures from our first baby playdate. The little boy zooming in and out of the pictures is Noah's new buddy, Aidan. He lives down our street and is exactly one month older than Noah. I am thinking that if Noah starts hanging around with Aidan, he might be motivated to start moving soon.