Well, it has finally happened. Connor is now a very proud big brother! See his brother's blog for details or go to the shared flickr page for lots of pictures!!!!!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Tooth Trouble
Well, Connor being Connor, it was bound to happen. We took him to the park near our house to play yesterday morning. The first thing he did was head for the ladder and about halfway up he slipped and fell down a rung. I thought he bumped his mouth, but he didn't really cry or carry on. He mostly sputtered like he had sand in his mouth and then moved on. Later at lunch I was watching him eat and that's when I noticed the chip missing out of the incisal edge of his upper left central incisor.
It actually didn't look to bad, but it was sharp. As often as Connor bangs his mouth I didn't think he needed a sharp tooth in there to help cut things up. So off we went to Dr. Drigger's office today. Now, we had only seen Dr. Drigger's when she was visiting the office I used to work for on Daniel Island. This is the first time we have ever been to HER office. OH MY GOD!!!! Connor loved it there and so did I! They have a whole section of the waiting room built into a giant sand castle. It has a loft built into it and a play area with tables and chairs. Then there are tv's over every patient chair that were showing Toy Story. I can't even begin to talk about all of the murals. The entire office was one big mural. It was amazing! Dr. Tori also sang the alphabet song to Connor to help distract him while she smoothed the chip out of his tooth. As she was smoothing I could see the chip had gone up the back side of his tooth. She says there isn't any mobility in the tooth and we should just watch it fo signs of discoloration or abcesses.
It actually didn't look to bad, but it was sharp. As often as Connor bangs his mouth I didn't think he needed a sharp tooth in there to help cut things up. So off we went to Dr. Drigger's office today. Now, we had only seen Dr. Drigger's when she was visiting the office I used to work for on Daniel Island. This is the first time we have ever been to HER office. OH MY GOD!!!! Connor loved it there and so did I! They have a whole section of the waiting room built into a giant sand castle. It has a loft built into it and a play area with tables and chairs. Then there are tv's over every patient chair that were showing Toy Story. I can't even begin to talk about all of the murals. The entire office was one big mural. It was amazing! Dr. Tori also sang the alphabet song to Connor to help distract him while she smoothed the chip out of his tooth. As she was smoothing I could see the chip had gone up the back side of his tooth. She says there isn't any mobility in the tooth and we should just watch it fo signs of discoloration or abcesses.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
A 3 "Egg" Day
Poor Connor seemed to be having one of "those" days all day long. I can't tell you how many bumps and bruises he got today. I remember he fell off the ottoman this morning. Then there was a run in with the fridge door. He tripped on a stick and fell and scraped his palms while we were out on a walk. I think he walked into each of the supports under the counter at different times today. He was playing with one of his trucks and it flipped up and whacked him in the mouth and he got a little bloody lip. We went to a playground and while he was on a platform near the slide he got distracted by the UPS truck driving by and fell face first into a railing (two of the three eggs and a bruise on his cheek under his left eye.) Then after dinner he was coloring at the kitchen table and leaned over to get something and the chair slid out from under him and he got his third egg and a long shallow gash on the back of his head.
I asked him the other day if I was a lousy Mommy and he shook his head "no." After a day like today though, I have to wonder. I feel like I'm doing my best to protect him without trying to hover to closely. I feel like he has to have some freedom to run without holding his hand and constantly saying "be careful" over and over. I've gotten in the mindset that he will get hurt, I can't save him every bump and lump, I can only watch and try keep him safe while allowing him to learn.
Some cute stories about Connor:
The other night I was putting his puppy jammies on him and it sounded like he said dog - then he started making high pitched woofing sounds. So now we have
Connor, are you a monster? Grrrrrrrrr
Connor, what does the polar bear say? Grrrrrrrrr
Connor, what does the doggy say? OUooof!
When we were starting out on our walk today we had to pass the rental house four houses away where a very obnoxious yappy dog lives. It had been barking all morning and was barking at us as we went by. Connor stopped and started barking back.
The playground we went to tonight had a few neat things to play on, but it was a sort of shabby place. There was a little Fisher Price kitchen up on the play structure. It was missing some doors and other cubbies were full of leaves and mulch. Connor was excited about the microwave though. He kept opening and closing the door and pushing the buttons. He would shake his head in disgust and push the buttons some more. I finally said "Connor, you really should check that and see if it's ready." AND HE DID! He opened the door and reached in and asked like he was picking something up and he tasted it. Then he offered some to me. He's pretty good at playing pretend. He'll get my pans out and a whisk and cook on the floor in front of the stove. I've asked him to "feed" Bob, his stuffed bunny, and he did (this was a couple of months ago.) He cooks in the bathtub, too. He has a whole bunch of empty bottles and a floating drum he uses as a bowl and adds some of this and a little that and stirs it and offers samples.
Tonight in the car on the way home from the park I was talking to Tom on my cell phone. Just when I hung up I heard one of Connor's toy phones ringing. "Connor! Quick! You have a phone call, say Hello!" He proceeds to dig around in his car seat to find the phone and then holds it up, hits a button and proceeds to say "Yes....yes.... yes...(shaking his head no) grumble grumble...Yes!"
I asked him the other day if I was a lousy Mommy and he shook his head "no." After a day like today though, I have to wonder. I feel like I'm doing my best to protect him without trying to hover to closely. I feel like he has to have some freedom to run without holding his hand and constantly saying "be careful" over and over. I've gotten in the mindset that he will get hurt, I can't save him every bump and lump, I can only watch and try keep him safe while allowing him to learn.
Some cute stories about Connor:
The other night I was putting his puppy jammies on him and it sounded like he said dog - then he started making high pitched woofing sounds. So now we have
Connor, are you a monster? Grrrrrrrrr
Connor, what does the polar bear say? Grrrrrrrrr
Connor, what does the doggy say? OUooof!
When we were starting out on our walk today we had to pass the rental house four houses away where a very obnoxious yappy dog lives. It had been barking all morning and was barking at us as we went by. Connor stopped and started barking back.
The playground we went to tonight had a few neat things to play on, but it was a sort of shabby place. There was a little Fisher Price kitchen up on the play structure. It was missing some doors and other cubbies were full of leaves and mulch. Connor was excited about the microwave though. He kept opening and closing the door and pushing the buttons. He would shake his head in disgust and push the buttons some more. I finally said "Connor, you really should check that and see if it's ready." AND HE DID! He opened the door and reached in and asked like he was picking something up and he tasted it. Then he offered some to me. He's pretty good at playing pretend. He'll get my pans out and a whisk and cook on the floor in front of the stove. I've asked him to "feed" Bob, his stuffed bunny, and he did (this was a couple of months ago.) He cooks in the bathtub, too. He has a whole bunch of empty bottles and a floating drum he uses as a bowl and adds some of this and a little that and stirs it and offers samples.
Tonight in the car on the way home from the park I was talking to Tom on my cell phone. Just when I hung up I heard one of Connor's toy phones ringing. "Connor! Quick! You have a phone call, say Hello!" He proceeds to dig around in his car seat to find the phone and then holds it up, hits a button and proceeds to say "Yes....yes.... yes...(shaking his head no) grumble grumble...Yes!"
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
More on Connor
I just reread my last post from August of last year. Sorry it's been quite so long. I have to sit here and laugh. The whole thing on weaning. He probably weaned easily because you were already pregnant you twit! Anyway...
Connor Connor Connor... where to begin. He has all of his teeth except his last four molars now. He's had them since September. He has been sleeping through the night really well. Usually at least 10 hours and sometimes closer to 12. Generally he's up around 8:30am and down to bed sometime between 9 and 10pm with a 2 hour nap in between. He is very active and a very good eater. We went though a phase a few weeks ago where he was spitting things out a lot. That really got to me and I had to just leave the room and have someone else feed him. I hate that my happiness hinges so highly on how well he eats. I try not to push him, but I hate to see food wasted and I hate to think about him being hungry. Connor still hasn't met a cheese that he doesn't like. Costco around Christmas was great, they kept having all of these cheese samples and Connor couldn't get enough. Connor can open the doors on the fridge now and will help himself to whatever he can reach. I just had to baby lock the pantry door because he was getting it open and bringing me boxes of snacks. He can play the harmonica like a first time felon - I have to say it's actually not bad to listen to in the car and it keeps him happy.
Tom gave Connor a q-tip to play with in the bathroom the other night. He promptly went to work cleaning his right ear. When I told him to do his left ear, he looked at me slightly confused and proceeded to slowly turn circles in an effort to get to his left ear (much as a dog chases his tail). Then I told him to switch hands and that worked for a minute, but then he went back to the right ear until he evidently poked his eardrum and the fun was over. No damage seems to be done, but memo to self - don't let almost 20 month old play with a q-tip.
Connor seems to be advanced in all ways but one. Verbally. He knows what we're saying and follows instructions very well (unless he's overtired of course). He says "yes" and growls when you ask him what the polar bears do OR when you ask him to "be a monster." Tonight when I was putting on his jammy bottoms which are covered in dogs, I think he said "dog" and there was some definite high pitched woofing sounds. He has his own word for squirrels which sounds kind of like dirls - but only sort of. Same with birds, it sort of sounds like dirds. Boots the cat is more of a Doots - or when we call her he imitates the pitch of my "Kitty Kitty Kitty" but it does sound my titty-ish though not that distinct. He does say Dada and Mama, but not reliably. He sort of says bus and truck (more of a tuck.) He's working on it...
The other night I pulled his socks off since it was almost bath time. He grabbed them and headed for the front door where his shoes are. I said "Connor, go put them in the laundry" several times and then gave up. It was late and he was in his evening wild stage. Later when I was picking up I went to go and get the socks. The weren't just tossed near his shoes - each sneaker had a sock neatly tucked into it. We would do this during the summer when we came home and took his shoes off but knew we would need them for going out later.
Tonight at Costco while I was loading the car, Connor watched another woman push her cart over and leave it near one of the planted areas instead of returning it to the store. He also watched the guys collecting carts for the night. Well he rode in our cart when we returned it and the minute I set him down to walk him back to the car he made a b-line for that woman's cart and we had to return that one, too. I don't mind. He's very conscious of things like that. He always wants to pick up little bits of trash and is very bothered by messes. I only mind when it's something really gross or messy and feel bad when I just can't bring myself to pick somethings up. I feel like that isn't a very good example. I try to get past it and lead by example when I can.
Connor really is the little supervisor. If you're cleaning up a mess, he's there to lend support and show you what you missed. Drops of water on the floor from my wet hands turning the garbage disposal on and off? He'll go grab the rag from next to the dog water to clean it up. He doesn't bend down to do it though - he uses his foot to move the rag around the floor just like I do. If a toilet needs flushing, he's your man. He puked on his bedroom carpet the other night and I have some baking soda spread on his rug to see if I can get most of the smell that way instead of calling in Stanley Steamer. This is driving him crazy! He walks into his room and he has this arm wave that he does. He holds his arm out strait usually with an index finger pointing and low grunting growly sound as he swings his arm in a disgusted circle. This is a Connor thing. My mom is right. There can be toys from here to kingdom come - that's okay. But let there be a mess of some kind and Connor is bothered. You should see him at the beach. He'll pick up some shells, but I think he does it more as a public service. I think all the shells on the beach are "a mess" in Connors eyes.
Connor is very sharp and catches onto things very quickly. You have to be careful what you say sometimes because he'll hear it and fixate on it. When my mom was visiting she was keeping some cans of soda in the lowest part of my fridge door for herself and Tom. She asked Connor one day if he could get her one and he did, no problem. A few days later she showed him which were hers (diet Pepsi) and which were Tom's (Diet Cherry Coke). That night at dinner she asked Connor for a soda and when he brought it to her she asked Tom if he would like one. Without missing a beat Connor went and got one of Tom's, even though he said he'd rather have a glass of water, but it was the right can. When you're cooking and you cay something about onion Connor goes to the pantry - even if you have last nights left over half onion in the fridge. You have to get him back and show it to him to break the mindset.
A few weeks ago we had him at the Children's Museum and they have a water room. There was a group of older boys forcing a lock to stay closed and overfilling it with water so they could release a massive wave of water. Two boys would force the lock while a third was using a watering can to overfill it. Connor watched this for a minute and then went and got this itty bitty watering can and scooped up the tiniest bit of water and walked over and stretched for all he could to pour his water in, too. Mostly he poured it on himself, but the effort was so sweet and so smart that it made me tear up.
I often find myself watching Connor and getting choked up at how smart or sweet he is. He is such a joy. He has his moments that drive me crazy - like when I'm trying to pick up before bed and he's running around making a bigger mess then what I just picked up. Then there are the sweet hugs and sloppy kisses. He is the love of my life.
Connor Connor Connor... where to begin. He has all of his teeth except his last four molars now. He's had them since September. He has been sleeping through the night really well. Usually at least 10 hours and sometimes closer to 12. Generally he's up around 8:30am and down to bed sometime between 9 and 10pm with a 2 hour nap in between. He is very active and a very good eater. We went though a phase a few weeks ago where he was spitting things out a lot. That really got to me and I had to just leave the room and have someone else feed him. I hate that my happiness hinges so highly on how well he eats. I try not to push him, but I hate to see food wasted and I hate to think about him being hungry. Connor still hasn't met a cheese that he doesn't like. Costco around Christmas was great, they kept having all of these cheese samples and Connor couldn't get enough. Connor can open the doors on the fridge now and will help himself to whatever he can reach. I just had to baby lock the pantry door because he was getting it open and bringing me boxes of snacks. He can play the harmonica like a first time felon - I have to say it's actually not bad to listen to in the car and it keeps him happy.
Tom gave Connor a q-tip to play with in the bathroom the other night. He promptly went to work cleaning his right ear. When I told him to do his left ear, he looked at me slightly confused and proceeded to slowly turn circles in an effort to get to his left ear (much as a dog chases his tail). Then I told him to switch hands and that worked for a minute, but then he went back to the right ear until he evidently poked his eardrum and the fun was over. No damage seems to be done, but memo to self - don't let almost 20 month old play with a q-tip.
Connor seems to be advanced in all ways but one. Verbally. He knows what we're saying and follows instructions very well (unless he's overtired of course). He says "yes" and growls when you ask him what the polar bears do OR when you ask him to "be a monster." Tonight when I was putting on his jammy bottoms which are covered in dogs, I think he said "dog" and there was some definite high pitched woofing sounds. He has his own word for squirrels which sounds kind of like dirls - but only sort of. Same with birds, it sort of sounds like dirds. Boots the cat is more of a Doots - or when we call her he imitates the pitch of my "Kitty Kitty Kitty" but it does sound my titty-ish though not that distinct. He does say Dada and Mama, but not reliably. He sort of says bus and truck (more of a tuck.) He's working on it...
The other night I pulled his socks off since it was almost bath time. He grabbed them and headed for the front door where his shoes are. I said "Connor, go put them in the laundry" several times and then gave up. It was late and he was in his evening wild stage. Later when I was picking up I went to go and get the socks. The weren't just tossed near his shoes - each sneaker had a sock neatly tucked into it. We would do this during the summer when we came home and took his shoes off but knew we would need them for going out later.
Tonight at Costco while I was loading the car, Connor watched another woman push her cart over and leave it near one of the planted areas instead of returning it to the store. He also watched the guys collecting carts for the night. Well he rode in our cart when we returned it and the minute I set him down to walk him back to the car he made a b-line for that woman's cart and we had to return that one, too. I don't mind. He's very conscious of things like that. He always wants to pick up little bits of trash and is very bothered by messes. I only mind when it's something really gross or messy and feel bad when I just can't bring myself to pick somethings up. I feel like that isn't a very good example. I try to get past it and lead by example when I can.
Connor really is the little supervisor. If you're cleaning up a mess, he's there to lend support and show you what you missed. Drops of water on the floor from my wet hands turning the garbage disposal on and off? He'll go grab the rag from next to the dog water to clean it up. He doesn't bend down to do it though - he uses his foot to move the rag around the floor just like I do. If a toilet needs flushing, he's your man. He puked on his bedroom carpet the other night and I have some baking soda spread on his rug to see if I can get most of the smell that way instead of calling in Stanley Steamer. This is driving him crazy! He walks into his room and he has this arm wave that he does. He holds his arm out strait usually with an index finger pointing and low grunting growly sound as he swings his arm in a disgusted circle. This is a Connor thing. My mom is right. There can be toys from here to kingdom come - that's okay. But let there be a mess of some kind and Connor is bothered. You should see him at the beach. He'll pick up some shells, but I think he does it more as a public service. I think all the shells on the beach are "a mess" in Connors eyes.
Connor is very sharp and catches onto things very quickly. You have to be careful what you say sometimes because he'll hear it and fixate on it. When my mom was visiting she was keeping some cans of soda in the lowest part of my fridge door for herself and Tom. She asked Connor one day if he could get her one and he did, no problem. A few days later she showed him which were hers (diet Pepsi) and which were Tom's (Diet Cherry Coke). That night at dinner she asked Connor for a soda and when he brought it to her she asked Tom if he would like one. Without missing a beat Connor went and got one of Tom's, even though he said he'd rather have a glass of water, but it was the right can. When you're cooking and you cay something about onion Connor goes to the pantry - even if you have last nights left over half onion in the fridge. You have to get him back and show it to him to break the mindset.
A few weeks ago we had him at the Children's Museum and they have a water room. There was a group of older boys forcing a lock to stay closed and overfilling it with water so they could release a massive wave of water. Two boys would force the lock while a third was using a watering can to overfill it. Connor watched this for a minute and then went and got this itty bitty watering can and scooped up the tiniest bit of water and walked over and stretched for all he could to pour his water in, too. Mostly he poured it on himself, but the effort was so sweet and so smart that it made me tear up.
I often find myself watching Connor and getting choked up at how smart or sweet he is. He is such a joy. He has his moments that drive me crazy - like when I'm trying to pick up before bed and he's running around making a bigger mess then what I just picked up. Then there are the sweet hugs and sloppy kisses. He is the love of my life.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Changes, changes, and more changes
Time flies so fast with Connor around. We just love him to pieces and everyday is something new. He has 9 teeth now and two that will pop through any day now and 5 more that are on their way. These teeth are a good thing since Connor REALLY loves his food! The only fruit I've tried that he hasn't liked is watermelon. He loves tomatoes, but he wouldn't be mine if he didn't. We finally found that he will take a cup if it has a straw. We also found that we can stay sane if said straw can't be removed from the cup. I got him these grippy cups with a built in straw from Munchkin and he loves them. It was so frustrating trying to get him extra fluid and having him not be able to work the sippy cups. He just never got the hang of tipping them up to get the fluid where it needed to be. Now with the new cups I can just hand it to him and let him go. Now if we could actually get him to swallow his spit, he might stay hydrated!
Connor is definitely the outdoorsy type. Unfortunately he does seem to have my sensitivity to bug bites, though I haven't seen him itching them. He loves to go out and walk the neighborhood. He loves to ride his buggy and his tricycle (that we push and steer.) He loves to just go out and see people doing things in their yards and garages. He likes to look for critters, too, including "Boots" the cat. She/he doesn't really belong to us, but she will often take walks with us and comes around for food several nights a week. If you tell Connor "We're going in to get Boots some food," that had better be exactly what you're doing - and he wants to help. He helps pour the hard food into a bowl and he carries that bowl to the front door, takes it out and knows just where to put it. He is quite the little helper. Pretty often I encourage him to do what I want by asking him to "help Mommy."
Connor is fascinated with cooking. He will stand at my feet craning to see what I'm doing until I say "Connor, go get your chair so you can watch." Off he goes to get a kitchen chair to stand on so he can watch and help. I let him pour things into bowls and stir things (with help of course) and he loves it! Of course he could reach the knobs on my stove so I had to take them all off and just put them back on to cook. I can't even leave them on then because he goes over and adjusts the heat on me. He loves the sizzle of things hitting a hot pan. He also gets very excited by the dishwasher and happily climbs in every time the door is open. I have to get creative when it is time to unload and load it or he is into everything. Oh who am I kidding - HE IS INTO EVERYTHING!
Connor has been fully weaned for a whole week now. I didn't push the issue. He just didn't seem as interested anymore. It wasn't really putting him to sleep reliably at night anymore. So we just slowly started eliminating different nursing sessions, waiting a week before stopping another. First went the naps, then the morning and finally, last Sunday night was our last time nursing. I think it was harder on me then him. That was our special thing, just Connor and Mommy. At the same time we started including reading into our nap and bedtime routines. We still get to cuddle and as one thing was lost, another was found. He really doesn't seem to be missing the nursing. There hasn't been any shirt pulling or lifting and he puts himself to sleep with a lot of jabbering and minimal fussing. All in all I'm a little sad but proud of my smart easygoing kid.
He has also weaned himself to one 2-2.5 hour nap a day. I don't really miss the two nap thing. It made it really hard to plan a day and get anything done. It was especially had because Connor was one or those kids who couldn't/wouldn't nap unless the car was moving or he was in his own bed. Now we can get up and actually accomplish something before his nap which can happen anywhere from 12:30 - 2pm. I have been trying to keep it around 1pm so he can have a good nap but still be up plenty of time to be tired for bed.
Connor has also started falling asleep more easily in odd places. I can only guess it's because he doesn't need to nurse to fall asleep anymore. He has fallen asleep while eating twice. He fell asleep in the jogging stroller on my jog this morning and once in his bike seat on our way home from getting the Sunday paper. When he starts to fall asleep now there really isn't any deterring him. A lot of times I'm trying so hard to get home to feed him lunch before his nap and he falls asleep in the 5 minutes between Home Depot and Home. I tap his feet, talk to him, make funny noises - but it's all no good. The nice thing is that more often then not I can get him from wherever it is he has fallen asleep to his bed without him waking up - I never could before.
My drooly kid slimed a little girl at Barnes & Noble the other day during the story time free-for-all. I'm not exactly sure how how he did it. All I saw is that she was holding this little bug house and Connor ran over to see it and knocked it out of her hand (and ended up on the floor in the process.) The next thing I know she was holding up her arm with saliva dripping from it and whining for her Mom. I felt sort of bad and managed to hold off laughing until I was a ways away.
Connor is definitely the outdoorsy type. Unfortunately he does seem to have my sensitivity to bug bites, though I haven't seen him itching them. He loves to go out and walk the neighborhood. He loves to ride his buggy and his tricycle (that we push and steer.) He loves to just go out and see people doing things in their yards and garages. He likes to look for critters, too, including "Boots" the cat. She/he doesn't really belong to us, but she will often take walks with us and comes around for food several nights a week. If you tell Connor "We're going in to get Boots some food," that had better be exactly what you're doing - and he wants to help. He helps pour the hard food into a bowl and he carries that bowl to the front door, takes it out and knows just where to put it. He is quite the little helper. Pretty often I encourage him to do what I want by asking him to "help Mommy."
Connor is fascinated with cooking. He will stand at my feet craning to see what I'm doing until I say "Connor, go get your chair so you can watch." Off he goes to get a kitchen chair to stand on so he can watch and help. I let him pour things into bowls and stir things (with help of course) and he loves it! Of course he could reach the knobs on my stove so I had to take them all off and just put them back on to cook. I can't even leave them on then because he goes over and adjusts the heat on me. He loves the sizzle of things hitting a hot pan. He also gets very excited by the dishwasher and happily climbs in every time the door is open. I have to get creative when it is time to unload and load it or he is into everything. Oh who am I kidding - HE IS INTO EVERYTHING!
Connor has been fully weaned for a whole week now. I didn't push the issue. He just didn't seem as interested anymore. It wasn't really putting him to sleep reliably at night anymore. So we just slowly started eliminating different nursing sessions, waiting a week before stopping another. First went the naps, then the morning and finally, last Sunday night was our last time nursing. I think it was harder on me then him. That was our special thing, just Connor and Mommy. At the same time we started including reading into our nap and bedtime routines. We still get to cuddle and as one thing was lost, another was found. He really doesn't seem to be missing the nursing. There hasn't been any shirt pulling or lifting and he puts himself to sleep with a lot of jabbering and minimal fussing. All in all I'm a little sad but proud of my smart easygoing kid.
He has also weaned himself to one 2-2.5 hour nap a day. I don't really miss the two nap thing. It made it really hard to plan a day and get anything done. It was especially had because Connor was one or those kids who couldn't/wouldn't nap unless the car was moving or he was in his own bed. Now we can get up and actually accomplish something before his nap which can happen anywhere from 12:30 - 2pm. I have been trying to keep it around 1pm so he can have a good nap but still be up plenty of time to be tired for bed.
Connor has also started falling asleep more easily in odd places. I can only guess it's because he doesn't need to nurse to fall asleep anymore. He has fallen asleep while eating twice. He fell asleep in the jogging stroller on my jog this morning and once in his bike seat on our way home from getting the Sunday paper. When he starts to fall asleep now there really isn't any deterring him. A lot of times I'm trying so hard to get home to feed him lunch before his nap and he falls asleep in the 5 minutes between Home Depot and Home. I tap his feet, talk to him, make funny noises - but it's all no good. The nice thing is that more often then not I can get him from wherever it is he has fallen asleep to his bed without him waking up - I never could before.
My drooly kid slimed a little girl at Barnes & Noble the other day during the story time free-for-all. I'm not exactly sure how how he did it. All I saw is that she was holding this little bug house and Connor ran over to see it and knocked it out of her hand (and ended up on the floor in the process.) The next thing I know she was holding up her arm with saliva dripping from it and whining for her Mom. I felt sort of bad and managed to hold off laughing until I was a ways away.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Our Baby turned 1!
It is so hard to believe that a whole year has come and gone since our beautiful boy came into our life. It has been the most exciting, stressful, exhausting, and wonderful years of my life. There were times when it seemed to be moving entirely to slow, but looking back I don't know where large chunks of it went.
At one year old Connor is walking, running, climbing, pretty exclusively eating solid food, the majority of the time he is sleeping through the night, and tearing though my cabinets. He loves to be Mommy's little helper and helps throw his dirty diapers away, puts his baby monitor back on the charger, turns off light switches, starts the washer and dryer, pushes the button for the garage door, let's the dogs in and out, and wants to helps with the dishwasher and the vacuum. He has 6 teeth lets me floss and brush them. His newest and best skill is drinking from a straw (he gets way more fluid then he did with the sippy cup.) He loves to go shopping and he likes to eat out (but don't put baby in a corner! He wants to see what everyone is doing!)
For Connor's Birthday Grandma and Grandpa Person came out from Truckee and Ousia and Beeba (Jenn's parents) came down from Tennessee. We had a nice long visit with everyone. On the big day we went to a small splash park on Daniel Island. I thought there would be more kids there, but it was pretty deserted. Luckily Miss Nancy and Evan and Mariessa (our neighbors) came to have fun with us. There was a little wadding pond and some fountains and a fake shrimping boat to play on and in. I think everyone had fun. We played until the birthday boy got tired and then went home. While he was down for a nap we made Carrot Cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and homemade slaw to have with burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner. He got up and played with several of his new toys, and then we played in the sandbox while everyone else napped. We had dinner and cupcakes and opened more presents. Then it was time for a bath and bed. Partying and company and new toys will tire you out pretty quickly!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Where to Start?
Well, I think first of all I need to thank everyone who has been so very generous to Connor. We have been very fortunate to have neighbors who have given us baby cloths both used and new, and toys - we got a Little Tykes play structure today. To our families who have also been so generous with hand-me-downs. Most of all - we would like thank everyone who has been so generous with the greatest gift of all...time! We have had neighbors and friends and family all step forward and offer their time - time to help out and time to watch Connor - and both are greatly appreciated. I try not to take advantage and save those offers for times when I REALLY need them.
For example, today our friend and neighbor Nancy came over (to give us a 1st birthday outfit that she just HAD to buy) and mentioned that the lawn needed mowing - it did. So she offered to take Connor tomorrow so I could get it done. That right there is so huge to me. The lawn has to be mowed or I'll hear about it from the HOA, but it's very hard for me to find the time to do it. It is a large stress for me. Luckily Tom got home early and he got to spend some quality time with Connor while I got the mowing done - so I don't have to impose on Nancy tomorrow.
Now, Connor, what a kid! He is all over the place and into everything. He is walking (since about the 3rd week in March) but feels he needs to hold on. It's as though he's playing a game of tag. Walk walk walk to the couch, hold on and walk along the couch, walk walk walk to the side table, walk along the side table, walk walk walk to the bottom of the stairs, walk along the baby gate, walk walk walk to the front door and stand there watching the world outside. It's so funny to watch.
He has also discovered tippy toes and has a grand time going through my desk drawers. He has a million toys in the den, but all he wants to do is go through my drawers. Highlighters! Canned Air! Wires! Oh My!
He had a bad afternoon today though. After lunch we went in the living room and he went strait for the bookcase next to my chair. He lost his footing and went forehead first right into the corner of the bookcase. He had this perfect blue line and an egg formed within minutes. Then when Tom was watching him (during the lawn mowing) Connor did a face plant and got a fat lip! I told Tom I was almost glad that happened because it made me feel like all the bumps he gets in my care aren't entirely my fault. I feel so bad when he hurts himself, but I feel even worse when we go out and he's all covered in bruises. DCS will be stopping by any day now. On the upside he didn't lose any of his 6 teeth in the fall. He loves to use them, too. He's bitten us a few times, but I think we've gotten across that that is not ok. We're still breastfeeding, too. No problems there.
He had his first bike ride the other day - but I will not be posting the pictures. The way the bike seat is mounted and the size of my butt make them intensely embarrassing. I told Tom if we can't adjust the seat so he can actually see then we'll have to get a different seat. When I'm sitting on the seat his helmet is pinned between my butt and the back of his seat, the poor guy can't look side-to-side. It's plain to close to my seat even when I'm NOT on it. He says I have to ware bottoms with back pockets though. He likes to hold on.
He has also started to say little things here and there. He says Dada and loves to sing song that; I think he even knows it means Tom. Every once in a while I'll hear a Mama over the baby monitor, but I'm not certain that isn't an accident. We have heard Ut-oh, and I think he says WHOA! occasionally. By far the cutest is Hot Ow Burn. This is the most reliable thing he says. He is fascinated with the stove and opening the oven around him is always a worry. He loves to see us cook and hear things sizzle. So we've been trying to instill the stove is dangerous. When my nephew Colby was little the phase Hot! Ow! Burn! was coined for the same reason. Connor has heard it a lot. A few weeks ago I was making Chili and he was watching me stir it as it bubbled away. I held his hand in the steam rising off the pot and said Hot! Ow! Burn! After a few minutes I realized he was trying to say it back. It came out more like 'Ot Oooooo Bbbbbbr. I even called my mom and she could understand it. Now everything is Hot! Ow! Burn! The water running in the tub, the food we feed him and especially the stove. I'm not sure he is 100% sure what it means, but it's something to build on.
For example, today our friend and neighbor Nancy came over (to give us a 1st birthday outfit that she just HAD to buy) and mentioned that the lawn needed mowing - it did. So she offered to take Connor tomorrow so I could get it done. That right there is so huge to me. The lawn has to be mowed or I'll hear about it from the HOA, but it's very hard for me to find the time to do it. It is a large stress for me. Luckily Tom got home early and he got to spend some quality time with Connor while I got the mowing done - so I don't have to impose on Nancy tomorrow.
Now, Connor, what a kid! He is all over the place and into everything. He is walking (since about the 3rd week in March) but feels he needs to hold on. It's as though he's playing a game of tag. Walk walk walk to the couch, hold on and walk along the couch, walk walk walk to the side table, walk along the side table, walk walk walk to the bottom of the stairs, walk along the baby gate, walk walk walk to the front door and stand there watching the world outside. It's so funny to watch.
He has also discovered tippy toes and has a grand time going through my desk drawers. He has a million toys in the den, but all he wants to do is go through my drawers. Highlighters! Canned Air! Wires! Oh My!
He had a bad afternoon today though. After lunch we went in the living room and he went strait for the bookcase next to my chair. He lost his footing and went forehead first right into the corner of the bookcase. He had this perfect blue line and an egg formed within minutes. Then when Tom was watching him (during the lawn mowing) Connor did a face plant and got a fat lip! I told Tom I was almost glad that happened because it made me feel like all the bumps he gets in my care aren't entirely my fault. I feel so bad when he hurts himself, but I feel even worse when we go out and he's all covered in bruises. DCS will be stopping by any day now. On the upside he didn't lose any of his 6 teeth in the fall. He loves to use them, too. He's bitten us a few times, but I think we've gotten across that that is not ok. We're still breastfeeding, too. No problems there.
He had his first bike ride the other day - but I will not be posting the pictures. The way the bike seat is mounted and the size of my butt make them intensely embarrassing. I told Tom if we can't adjust the seat so he can actually see then we'll have to get a different seat. When I'm sitting on the seat his helmet is pinned between my butt and the back of his seat, the poor guy can't look side-to-side. It's plain to close to my seat even when I'm NOT on it. He says I have to ware bottoms with back pockets though. He likes to hold on.
He has also started to say little things here and there. He says Dada and loves to sing song that; I think he even knows it means Tom. Every once in a while I'll hear a Mama over the baby monitor, but I'm not certain that isn't an accident. We have heard Ut-oh, and I think he says WHOA! occasionally. By far the cutest is Hot Ow Burn. This is the most reliable thing he says. He is fascinated with the stove and opening the oven around him is always a worry. He loves to see us cook and hear things sizzle. So we've been trying to instill the stove is dangerous. When my nephew Colby was little the phase Hot! Ow! Burn! was coined for the same reason. Connor has heard it a lot. A few weeks ago I was making Chili and he was watching me stir it as it bubbled away. I held his hand in the steam rising off the pot and said Hot! Ow! Burn! After a few minutes I realized he was trying to say it back. It came out more like 'Ot Oooooo Bbbbbbr. I even called my mom and she could understand it. Now everything is Hot! Ow! Burn! The water running in the tub, the food we feed him and especially the stove. I'm not sure he is 100% sure what it means, but it's something to build on.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Places to go...
Connor is getting around so well and he is starting to climb on things. He walked about 3/4 of the way around our street while holding onto our hands the other night. Then he climbed the stairs all by himself on our way up to take a bath. He's in his bathroom right now figuring out how to open the cabinet doors. He climbed onto my dishwasher door yesterday when I was trying to finish loading it. Today he went in and puller the door down and was about to start rooting around inside. Tom laid on the floor to play with him last night - which means Tom was dozing next to Connor while he was playing. Connor decided to climb on Tom and discovered some untapped technology. He had Tom's pager off in a minute and then figured out how to get the belt clip off. Tom put the belt clip back on and it was off again in no time. Connor is sharp!
On the other hand, he seems to be constantly tired lately. He hasn't been sleeping well or napping well for the last several days. He woke me up 4 times last night before I finally gave in and nursed him about 4:15 this morning. Then he went back to sleep until a little after 8am. But he didn't get those long hours of good deep sleep that he needs. I can only guess that he has a tooth coming in. He had them coming in one after another, but now we haven't seen anything since the end of January and it looks as though there is a pressure point where the upper left lateral may be making an appearance. If he's having this much discomfort with the anterior teeth, I don't even want to know what the posterior teeth will be like!
I feel like he's been medicated more nights then not in his short little life and I hate feeling as though I'm medicating him for no reason. Of course I should note that Connor doesn't seem to care. He is a fan of both Tylenol and Motrin and takes both readily. He can be out and out screaming and the minute he sees the dropper or tastes the medicine he calms down instantly. We jokingly call him Our Little Resident Drug Addict.
On the other hand, he seems to be constantly tired lately. He hasn't been sleeping well or napping well for the last several days. He woke me up 4 times last night before I finally gave in and nursed him about 4:15 this morning. Then he went back to sleep until a little after 8am. But he didn't get those long hours of good deep sleep that he needs. I can only guess that he has a tooth coming in. He had them coming in one after another, but now we haven't seen anything since the end of January and it looks as though there is a pressure point where the upper left lateral may be making an appearance. If he's having this much discomfort with the anterior teeth, I don't even want to know what the posterior teeth will be like!
I feel like he's been medicated more nights then not in his short little life and I hate feeling as though I'm medicating him for no reason. Of course I should note that Connor doesn't seem to care. He is a fan of both Tylenol and Motrin and takes both readily. He can be out and out screaming and the minute he sees the dropper or tastes the medicine he calms down instantly. We jokingly call him Our Little Resident Drug Addict.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
This Is Some Funky Rain!
So Connor got to see his first Snow last night. We took him out for a walk in before his bath. We only took one loop around the Circle, and by about half way through, that was enough. The snow was a little icy and the wind was blowing it in Connor's face and eyes. He wasn't at all sure about that.
Then the power went out. I was right in the middle doing the dishes when it died. So I read in bed by candle light for a while. When I went to check on Connor, I took a candle with me. The first time he slept right through it. The 2nd time, I could see the flame of the candle in his eyes when I was still in the doorway. He was on his belly, laying on top of his blanket and though I didn't want to move him and wake him up more, I wanted him to be covered up because with the power out, there wasn't any heat. He was so mesmerized by the candle, I'm not sure he knew I was there. Our sweet little Pyro!
When we woke up this morning all of the neighborhood kids were out in force. Connor crawled over to the door to check out the snow and activities.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Changing so quickly!
I just can't get over how quickly Connor changes! I feel bad because I just don't get to update this blog often enough and I'm horrible about his baby book as well. I can never remember all of the little fill ins and when I go back to check for a milestone it's long gone by and I don't remember, say, when he smiled the first time. Thing are filled in rather vaguely.
Connor now has 5 teeth. The upper right lateral snuck in on us and was peeping out when Tom and I got home from Florida. The upper left lateral is taking it's time. It's there, you can see the hump, but I could see the hump when we found the right one a couple weeks ago. He is moving on to bigger things, namely cloaths. A lot of his 12m sizes are getting small and he fits in 18m pants pretty well. They are just a touch long. He fits into his 12-18M onsies REALLY well. Of course this isn't a surprise considering how well he eats. He really doesn't turn up his nose at anything and we try to add something new to his diet as often as we can. He likes every friut vegetable and meat we send his way. He gets REALLY excited when I go to the pantry and take the Cheerios out. He also makes the sweetest noises when he's eating something he finds really yummy. As he takes a bite he makes an Mmmmmmm sound, every bite.
Connor has started crawling some, he gets on his hands and knees a little more everyday. Before Tom and I left for Florida on Jan 21 he was mostly rolling and stretching to get places. Within a few days of coming home on Jan 25 he started "inch worming" a little way. he seriously looked like a little inch worm - he would stretch and the butt would come up a little way until he could push off on his knees. This graduated (in just a few days) to what looked very much like a parapoligic dragging himself around. The last few days he's been doing more of a commando crawl with intermittent hands and knees crawling. Either way - he gets around! Tom came home tonight (Thursday - he hadn't seen Connor since Sunday) and set Connor on the rug in front of the fridge. A few minutes latter he had to put him back there and said laughing "you don't stay where we put you anymore!" He loves our shoes, he found the basket of dog toys tonight, he can open the drawers he can reach (yes they are safe).
Last weekend Tom put gates up at the top and bottom of the stairs. Connor thinks it's great to stand there and hold onto the one at the top and then shake them to make them rattle. When he wakes up from a nap I let him hold onto it and help him walk it closed. This was okay the first couple times. Then one day he walked a few steps and then lifted his little feet up onto the gate and had a little ride. I've been telling Tom that Connor is his future amusement park buddy. I think he's gonna like all of the "good rides" (read "rides to scary for Mommy").
He pulled himself up to standing in the tub a few times in the last few weeks but those were short lived - we try to discourage standing in the tub as much as possible. We discourage kneeling in the tub, too. He is VERY good at kneeling. For a long time now, since about the time he started sitting up, he likes to sit with his right leg kicked back behind him. Tonight he pulled himself up to standing on his toy organizer all by himself (need to reach the toys in the top).
Swim Class ended Jan 28th. I need to get him signed up for a round of Kindermusic or "The Little Gym" next - and soon. We'll do swimming again in a few months, when it's warmer and he's had time to get excited about it again. I'm also trying to get involved with the Mom's Club of West Ashley so we can go to play groups and get him time with other kids.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Little Swimmer
Connor is starting to wiggle around a bit. He isn't crawling and I'm not sure he is technically scooting, but he'll be in one spot and a few minutes later he'll be two feet away and facing a different direction. Last Sunday I was cleaning and Tom came home while I was moping. I stopped to talk to him while Connor was playing with his magnets on the fridge. A few minutes later my mop handle was being tugged on. Connor had wiggled his way over and was mostly on my mop. It looked like he wanted to chew the handle. Not wanting to encourage that, I gave him a little ride and he just stared up at me with his mouth gaping open. He started to hang off the side, so I set him on more squarely and kept sliding the mop back and forth. He loved it!Connor started a Discovery Swim class on January 5th. He loved it. There are only two other kids (a 3 year old and a 6 month old) in the class. He still loves the water and loves to splash and wriggle and kick. I told Tom I'm worried he's a little to comfortable. One of the things they do is have you stand your little guy on the edge and let them jump in (you're in there to catch them, obviously.) Today we were the first to arrive and we were all changed and waiting. So I was letting Connor walk up and down the length of the pool (He loves to hold your hands and walk here and there - I must add how gorgeous he is in his little yellow bathing suit that is covered in fish, waddling barefoot along the pool.) He kept walking over to the edge and trying to slide in. I don't have any pictures of him in his class yet, since I'm in the water and can't take them, but I will hopefully get some in a few weeks.
Today in class he was kind of clingy. I think it mostly came down to him being tired. I think he's having a little separation anxiety and he hasn't been napping well. That and just all the moving in the class wears him out. He was falling apart in the changing room while I was trying to get him dressed to go home and we had hardly left the parking lot before he fell asleep. So I got him home and nursed him and laid him down for a nap. Well his hair must have still been a little damp. When I went in to wake him up he had this crazy hair happening and I just had to share! Look at that smile! Those Teeth!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Baby it's cold outside!
We went for a walk today when Daddy got home early. It's been really cold here (just like everywhere else) and Tom got Connor bundled up while I put my shoes and coat on. We were part way through walking the 1st dog out when I looked in the stroller and noticed Connor had nothing on his hands and they were tinged blue. He never made a peep - but I did! So to make up for it Tom put his already warm gloves (notice he covered his own hands) on Connor. In the second picture you can see Connor sacked out when we got home. We stopped by and got his mittens (socks) when we traded out pooches. He did get a pair of mittens in the mail this week courtesy of Aunt Angie and Uncle Eric. Thanks guys!Thursday, December 31, 2009
Our Sweet Boy
I get so behind and there is so much to write! You know how it is with babies. For the longest time he didn't do much. You know, he was cute and he nursed and every few weeks he would learn some new trick. Well, Now he seems to do something new every day! Sometimes it's hard to keep Tom abreast of all the changes. I do feel so bad for Tom because Connor loves him immensely and Tom is missing so much.
Currently, Connor is 7 months old and wearing 12 month sizes. He weighed 19lbs 12ozs when he had his flu shot on the 29th. He got his 1st tooth on 12/21/09 (LL central) and his 2nd on 12/29 (LR Central - Happy Birthday to both of us!)
Currently, Connor is 7 months old and wearing 12 month sizes. He weighed 19lbs 12ozs when he had his flu shot on the 29th. He got his 1st tooth on 12/21/09 (LL central) and his 2nd on 12/29 (LR Central - Happy Birthday to both of us!)
He is an old pro at sitting up now and has finally figured out how to roll from back to Belly. Of course this means he does it in his sleep and he still doesn't like it once he gets onto his belly and so he cries for me to come and rescue him. His latest nickname is Hans (because it's classier then Hands) because he is lightening quick and GRABBY! For the most part he is an exceptional eater. He Can do a sippy cup by himself (though I still help him tip it back far enough). He has no problem getting his own toys, he'll pull out the bins of his toy box and grab what he likes. If I'm Eeyore, then he's Tigger - because he loves to bounce bounce bounce! He loves shopping (people watching.) He hates long car rides (He's had to many in his short life.) He can hold himself on his hands and knees, but isn't sure what to do once he's there. He loves to screech (another nickname) and says mamama, Dada, baba... the usual. He says yard work is BORING and chilly. He loves to walk around while holding your hands. He likes his refrigerator magnets. He thinks the shower sprayer is pretty funny when we rinse him off at night. He most definitely has a bedtime routine and he falls asleep pretty quickly most nights. He loves the dogs and Hattie loves him (even more so now that he eats food - she has stolen a green beans from him and same was trolling for avocado chunks the other night.)He has also eaten quite an array of foods. He's even had my "Poop Soup" (so named because its got all the good stuff to aid flatuation) ground up for dinner one night. He hasn't shown any sings of reactions yet - Yeah!!! Kiwi, Apple, Cucumber, ham, turkey, chicken, spinach, sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, green pepper, prunes, pears, blueberries, avocado, peas, squash, banana, apricots, peaches, beef, whipped cream (I couldn't help it... I caved), and brussel sprouts are just a few of the foods he's tried.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Look! No Mommy Hands!
That's right folks! He didn't do it for long, maybe 25 or 30 seconds, but he sat all by himself!
Drooly, isn't he! Mmmmmmm fingers!Connor is showing more and more interest in the dogs each day, and Hattie and Sam are more sensitive to him being around, too. Kobe really could care less. He really tries to ignore Connor, even repeatedly walking in front of the stroller when we're out. Even Sam stays to the side of the stroller. Sam is to shifty to sit there and come close so Connor can touch him, but they both try. Hattie has to follow me around and go with me to check on Connor. There are some pictures of her babysitting on the Flickr page. I catch her trying to sneak kisses all the time.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Now THAT'S Entertainment!
Recently I wrote that Connor is rather stingy when it comes to laughs. He will give you plenty of big open mouth grins with his tongue tucked against the roof of his mouth. He'll laugh a little bit when you nibble his belly, but it's almost as though he isn't sure what a laugh is, like maybe it's wrong and he shouldn't do it. Well Mommy found a way to make Connor laugh.
I was doing a little housecleaning and the last several times I've vacuumed the back end has fallen off my canister vacuum. I finally got fed up and while Connor was in his Jolly Jumper in his bedroom doorway, I decided to cover the finer points of duct tape with him. I grabbed the roll and yanked off a strip, not thinking about the funky noise duct tape makes. Well considering the coffee grinder makes him cry Iexpected to look up and see a pouty lip and tears. OH NO! Connor seems to think there is nothing funnier then the sound of duct tape coming off the roll. There were giggles and squeals and out and out laughs. He laughed so hard he got hiccups!
For his 3 month birthday, I had gotten out all of his bath toys and decorated the big bath tub in our master bath. It was time for him to graduate from the baby tub I'd been given. He was out growing it lengthwise and he was soaking the kitchen every night with all of his splashing. Then on Sept 12th he got his own bedroom upstairs (1 year and a day since my first positive pregnancy test). The next logical step was getting him out of our bathroom and completely moved upstairs. So that was his 4 month birthday present. Connor got his own bathroom upstairs. He seems to like having the standard size tub. It will be really nice when he can sit up, but for now he likes sitting in his bath chair and putting his feet up on the side wall of the tub. Clever little monkey!
I was doing a little housecleaning and the last several times I've vacuumed the back end has fallen off my canister vacuum. I finally got fed up and while Connor was in his Jolly Jumper in his bedroom doorway, I decided to cover the finer points of duct tape with him. I grabbed the roll and yanked off a strip, not thinking about the funky noise duct tape makes. Well considering the coffee grinder makes him cry Iexpected to look up and see a pouty lip and tears. OH NO! Connor seems to think there is nothing funnier then the sound of duct tape coming off the roll. There were giggles and squeals and out and out laughs. He laughed so hard he got hiccups!
For his 3 month birthday, I had gotten out all of his bath toys and decorated the big bath tub in our master bath. It was time for him to graduate from the baby tub I'd been given. He was out growing it lengthwise and he was soaking the kitchen every night with all of his splashing. Then on Sept 12th he got his own bedroom upstairs (1 year and a day since my first positive pregnancy test). The next logical step was getting him out of our bathroom and completely moved upstairs. So that was his 4 month birthday present. Connor got his own bathroom upstairs. He seems to like having the standard size tub. It will be really nice when he can sit up, but for now he likes sitting in his bath chair and putting his feet up on the side wall of the tub. Clever little monkey!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
17 Pounds!
That's right folks! I weighed Connor the other day and he weighed 17 lbs! That means he has gained over 7 lbs in less then 4 months. He lost most of a pound the first week he was home. So he has gained back his deficit and then some. He is currently on the edge of outgrowing his 6-9 month sleepers. Don't misunderstand me. He's a big boy, but he isn't fat. He is very long. several of his cloths have plenty of room in the body, but they are just to short in the leg or the torso.
Yesterday I was going through the mail and there was a big festive envelope from the Disney movie club. Connor was being a little fussy, so I said "Here! Look! Mail for you!" and gave him the envelope and continued looking at the rest of the mail. Tom came walking over and I said absently "look, Tom, Connor got mail..." Tom said "Uhhhh, Jenn?" and took the envelope from Connor. The Ink on the front of the envelope was water soluble and his mouth, chin, tongue, cheeks, even the tip of his nose were all smeared in black. A baby wipe took it right off and I didn't get a picture, but Connor was thoroughly pleased with himself.
Yesterday I was going through the mail and there was a big festive envelope from the Disney movie club. Connor was being a little fussy, so I said "Here! Look! Mail for you!" and gave him the envelope and continued looking at the rest of the mail. Tom came walking over and I said absently "look, Tom, Connor got mail..." Tom said "Uhhhh, Jenn?" and took the envelope from Connor. The Ink on the front of the envelope was water soluble and his mouth, chin, tongue, cheeks, even the tip of his nose were all smeared in black. A baby wipe took it right off and I didn't get a picture, but Connor was thoroughly pleased with himself.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Some More About Connor
I've had friends do this and I have been wanting to post this for a while. We always get the question "who does he look like?" Well judge for yourself! This is Tom, Connor and Me. I know my vote! This isn't the best (or clearest!) photo of Connor, but I saw it and it reminded me of this photo of myself. To be fair I went and found one where he is in a similar position to Tom's baby photo.
I forgot to mention in my last post that Connor has already received his first international postcard (Thanks Jonathan & Ridley!) He has also had his first sets of bug bites (there are very persistent) on walks. He has been to the beach. He has been to the South Carolina Aquarium. He has gone swimming at a public pool.
We have also become frequent shoppers at a nearby kids consignment store called Once Upon a Child. I received his baby bathtub from my coworker Brittany and an Eddie Bauer play yard (and various other small gifts) from our neighbor Nancy and last week we were given a Baby bike seat from our other neighbor Ricky. We've been very lucky to get many items used. Even Connor's crib came all the way from California, it was used for all three of his Person Family cousins when they were little. The consignment shop has had some really nice deals on items I wanted and though they are used, they are by no means worn out. We got Connor a Bumbo w/tray for $20, a bath seat (looks like a little lawn chair) for $3.50, an Ultrasaucer for $25, a rocking worm (like a horse, but it's a worm) for $15 as well as various clothing for $1-3 each. It's great! We have started going there first when we want an item to see if they have one, then if they don't we go and get it new. They only thing that this hasn't worked for was our baby monitor which we bought at Target.
We have also become frequent shoppers at a nearby kids consignment store called Once Upon a Child. I received his baby bathtub from my coworker Brittany and an Eddie Bauer play yard (and various other small gifts) from our neighbor Nancy and last week we were given a Baby bike seat from our other neighbor Ricky. We've been very lucky to get many items used. Even Connor's crib came all the way from California, it was used for all three of his Person Family cousins when they were little. The consignment shop has had some really nice deals on items I wanted and though they are used, they are by no means worn out. We got Connor a Bumbo w/tray for $20, a bath seat (looks like a little lawn chair) for $3.50, an Ultrasaucer for $25, a rocking worm (like a horse, but it's a worm) for $15 as well as various clothing for $1-3 each. It's great! We have started going there first when we want an item to see if they have one, then if they don't we go and get it new. They only thing that this hasn't worked for was our baby monitor which we bought at Target.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Our Little Man
Here we are, Connor is almost 4 months old and I haven't had a chance to update Connor's blog. I only just wrote about his birth!First off he is fantastic and the absolute joy of my day (even if he doesn't nap so well.) All about Connor. Where to start. He absolutely loves his baths. He must have one every night and he gets all excited and starts banging his heels on the floor. He has already had dual ear infections with a ruptured right eardrum. He likes swimming in a pool even if it is colder then the bathtub (he likes that really warm). He has rolled from his belly to his back twice (but it was mostly an accident). He is only now warming up to tummy time. His nickname is booby boy, but I also call him Sugar because he's so dang sweet. He has the greatest smile. He clicks his tongue when he grins really big. He has just started blowing raspberries. He has been standing and pulling up with very little support from us for quite a while now. I think he's getting ready to cut his first tooth. He likes books and has helped to turn the pages. He likes the comics. He is very interested in the remote control and the portable phone. He is a tator tot and will actually cran his neck to watch TV when I'm changing his diaper (NO I don't use it as the electronic babysitter - usually it's just the local weather channel or toddler tunes) He has already been on his fist canoe ride (wasn't a huge hit but daddy is hoping he'll grow into it). He's had rice cereal but doesn't seem in love with it, so I've put that on the back burner for now. He gives smiles freely and frequently, but he is only now starting to laugh. He has wiggled his body 360 degrees around his play mat. Connor has also made the drive from Charleston to East Tennesse and from Tennesse to Massachusetts (20 hours!) and back again.
He is the gassiest baby you've ever met! I've actually had to defend myself because people thought it was me breaking wind - there is no hiding it when Connor is filling his diaper. He used to make the cutest face when he pood. He would crack me up so bad. I used to tell him to enjoy it now, no girl was ever going to find his bowel movements that funny again.He belches really loud, too! I told him he's a reincarnated Frat Boy. He farts and burps, shows a big interest in pizza and he's all about the boobs.
Connor slept in our bedroom from the day he came home until September 12th. It killed me to put him in his own room, but I think he is sleeping better (especially when Tom is on call) and I know Tom is. He doesn't really cry in the morning to tell you he's up, he more lays there getting louder and louder and sounding more and more urgent until you get to his crib and when he sees you he gives you a great big grin like "Oh good, you're up! Me too!" I've seen him roll from his side to his back and vice versa while sleeping. Several times I'll get up to get him and he has worked his way sideways across his crib.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
He's Here!!!
Well, Connor finally decided to make an appearance and we didn't need an induction after all!
We had the Induction scheduled for Friday evening but I went into labor on my own sometime Thursday. I can't honestly say when it all started. Pretty much all day I thought I was just having bowel trouble. I was crampy and gassy and my lower back was really uncomfortable. Sometime around 6pm I took a shower and then laid on the bed and called Tom, looking for some sort of advice. It wasn't really until after 9pm that I noticed the cramps were fairly regular. I've had so many "Is this it's!?!" that I didn't get to excited. I just waited a while to see what would happen.
Of course Tom was supposed to be on call on Friday, but switched it to Thursday so he could be with me for the induction. So just as I'm getting ready for bed around 1am, he gets a page and has to go back to the hospital and he isn't sure if he's coming home. He might just stay there and work through his shift the next day. He wanted to know why I was laughing while I was brushing my teeth. I thought it was pretty funny that I was pretty sure I was finally in labor and he had to leave. He just smiled and looked sceptical, gave me a kiss and told me to call if I needed him. Off he goes.
So I laid down and the contractions were pretty regular and uncomfortable but I tried to get some sleep. I only slept for an hour and a half before I couldn't really sleep through them anymore. I would doze in between and then wake up and check the clock when they came. Sometime around 3am I called Tom and told him they were pretty frequent and regular and he of course asked me to start timing them. Then I called my mom and told her that I didn't think she and Lisa should wait until 10am to start the 6+ hour trip. I timed the contractions for about 45 minutes to make sure I had an average for Tom and then called him back to let him know they 3.5-4.5 minutes apart. He told me he would have to call me back when he figured out if he was scrubbing on the morning case!?! So I laid in bed a bit longer and then around 6am I got up and let the dogs out and sat on my exercise ball, which oddly, started slowing things down.
Tom didn't scrub in, he was told to go home and home he came. I walked around, took a shower, packed (I had most everything ready to go in the suitcase) and finished up a few chores around the house. Since I had been scheduled for induction I had been cleaning for the last few days anyway. Around 10am I had Tom call and ask if I should head in. They were about every 2.5-3.5 minutes by then and riding in the car made them every 2 minutes apart. They nice thing was they were really evenly spaced, so I could really rest and then look at the watch and know to relax and be ready for the next one before it started.
When we got to the hospital, Tom unloaded me in the lobby and went to park. Of course I got numerous offers to be taken to L&D and would I like a wheelchair (I don't really think I looked as though I was going to drop him in the lobby, I was very calm) but I waited for Tom. When we were on our way to L&D and I got a contraction, I just stopped and squatted and breathed through it and we moved on. I had several contractions at the nurses station waiting for my bed. Then they got me a room and hooked me up to the monitors and checked me. 7CM! YEAH! I WAS SO PROUD! They hooked up my antibiotics and left me to do my thing. At this point I was still proclaiming my broken arm and the time I had Pleurisy to be more painful. I walked, I squatted, I breathed. Two hours later I was 8.5cm. A couple hours later I was 9+CM but my water was still intact and Mom, Lisa & Amanda had just gotten their. So they broke my water.
Now the pain was bad. The minute they broke my water I began to have excruciating back labor, that was continuous. There were no short rests and there was no getting any position that offered any relief, and my labor stalled. They checked me over and over and it was always the same. A couple hours later (after proclaiming I was dying and being told by the attending that "they hadn't lost anyone all week" to which I told him I would have laughed if I wasn't so sure I was dying) I finally asked for the epidural. Then the anesthesiologist disappeared. I swear she had to go make a fresh batch. Then she wouldn't do it until I signed a paper. I was so drained I was begging Tom to sign it.
Once I had the epidural they plugged in the pitocin. AND NOTHING HAPPENED. We waited that way for hours. We had to play with the epidural because my left side wasn't numb and then we pushed the button to much and my right side got so numb I couldn't move my leg. Finally around 11pm I reached down felt the head and told the nurse that I wanted to get this show on the road.
There was pushing and pulling and mineral oil and lots of "stop moving the mirror!" At 11:54 I looked at the clock and decided it was up to me if Connor was going to be born on the 29th or the 30th. So I pushed for all I was worth. But it was all worth it when I looked down and saw his head and the moment I watched Connor slide from my body. With Tom gowned up to help catch him and my sister holding my hand and supporting my back, my mom taking pictures and Amanda watching wide eyed from the corner Connor made his way into the world at 11:56pm. I got to cut the cord and everybody got to hold him and then because he was 10lbs they insisted he go to the nursery for 4 hours to have his blood sugar monitored. But he was/is just fantastic! We stayed in the hospital Saturday and then headed home about 2pm on Sunday.
We had the Induction scheduled for Friday evening but I went into labor on my own sometime Thursday. I can't honestly say when it all started. Pretty much all day I thought I was just having bowel trouble. I was crampy and gassy and my lower back was really uncomfortable. Sometime around 6pm I took a shower and then laid on the bed and called Tom, looking for some sort of advice. It wasn't really until after 9pm that I noticed the cramps were fairly regular. I've had so many "Is this it's!?!" that I didn't get to excited. I just waited a while to see what would happen.
Of course Tom was supposed to be on call on Friday, but switched it to Thursday so he could be with me for the induction. So just as I'm getting ready for bed around 1am, he gets a page and has to go back to the hospital and he isn't sure if he's coming home. He might just stay there and work through his shift the next day. He wanted to know why I was laughing while I was brushing my teeth. I thought it was pretty funny that I was pretty sure I was finally in labor and he had to leave. He just smiled and looked sceptical, gave me a kiss and told me to call if I needed him. Off he goes.
So I laid down and the contractions were pretty regular and uncomfortable but I tried to get some sleep. I only slept for an hour and a half before I couldn't really sleep through them anymore. I would doze in between and then wake up and check the clock when they came. Sometime around 3am I called Tom and told him they were pretty frequent and regular and he of course asked me to start timing them. Then I called my mom and told her that I didn't think she and Lisa should wait until 10am to start the 6+ hour trip. I timed the contractions for about 45 minutes to make sure I had an average for Tom and then called him back to let him know they 3.5-4.5 minutes apart. He told me he would have to call me back when he figured out if he was scrubbing on the morning case!?! So I laid in bed a bit longer and then around 6am I got up and let the dogs out and sat on my exercise ball, which oddly, started slowing things down.
Tom didn't scrub in, he was told to go home and home he came. I walked around, took a shower, packed (I had most everything ready to go in the suitcase) and finished up a few chores around the house. Since I had been scheduled for induction I had been cleaning for the last few days anyway. Around 10am I had Tom call and ask if I should head in. They were about every 2.5-3.5 minutes by then and riding in the car made them every 2 minutes apart. They nice thing was they were really evenly spaced, so I could really rest and then look at the watch and know to relax and be ready for the next one before it started.
When we got to the hospital, Tom unloaded me in the lobby and went to park. Of course I got numerous offers to be taken to L&D and would I like a wheelchair (I don't really think I looked as though I was going to drop him in the lobby, I was very calm) but I waited for Tom. When we were on our way to L&D and I got a contraction, I just stopped and squatted and breathed through it and we moved on. I had several contractions at the nurses station waiting for my bed. Then they got me a room and hooked me up to the monitors and checked me. 7CM! YEAH! I WAS SO PROUD! They hooked up my antibiotics and left me to do my thing. At this point I was still proclaiming my broken arm and the time I had Pleurisy to be more painful. I walked, I squatted, I breathed. Two hours later I was 8.5cm. A couple hours later I was 9+CM but my water was still intact and Mom, Lisa & Amanda had just gotten their. So they broke my water.
Now the pain was bad. The minute they broke my water I began to have excruciating back labor, that was continuous. There were no short rests and there was no getting any position that offered any relief, and my labor stalled. They checked me over and over and it was always the same. A couple hours later (after proclaiming I was dying and being told by the attending that "they hadn't lost anyone all week" to which I told him I would have laughed if I wasn't so sure I was dying) I finally asked for the epidural. Then the anesthesiologist disappeared. I swear she had to go make a fresh batch. Then she wouldn't do it until I signed a paper. I was so drained I was begging Tom to sign it.
Once I had the epidural they plugged in the pitocin. AND NOTHING HAPPENED. We waited that way for hours. We had to play with the epidural because my left side wasn't numb and then we pushed the button to much and my right side got so numb I couldn't move my leg. Finally around 11pm I reached down felt the head and told the nurse that I wanted to get this show on the road.
There was pushing and pulling and mineral oil and lots of "stop moving the mirror!" At 11:54 I looked at the clock and decided it was up to me if Connor was going to be born on the 29th or the 30th. So I pushed for all I was worth. But it was all worth it when I looked down and saw his head and the moment I watched Connor slide from my body. With Tom gowned up to help catch him and my sister holding my hand and supporting my back, my mom taking pictures and Amanda watching wide eyed from the corner Connor made his way into the world at 11:56pm. I got to cut the cord and everybody got to hold him and then because he was 10lbs they insisted he go to the nursery for 4 hours to have his blood sugar monitored. But he was/is just fantastic! We stayed in the hospital Saturday and then headed home about 2pm on Sunday.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Um...Still Waiting
So now we are 5 days past our due date and still no baby. (sigh) I was annoyed last week when I had to make another appointment but I'm not sure if I was more annoyed or disappointed today when I had to keep it. Peanut is just very happy and doesn't want to come out. Well... TO BAD! Peanut now has an appointment to be evicted!
During my appointment today everything looked really good, Peanuts heartbeat was very good, Dr. Dempsey did another ultrasound and the amniotic fluid levels were still good, the baby is still head down. I'm still 1.5cm dilated, but she did say it seemed as though my cervix was shorter. I did have Dr. Dempsey strip my membranes today, which basically separates the bag of waters from the cervix. It made me a little crampy, but I was already a little crampy. Then we scheduled an appointment for 6pm Friday to start my induction. We have to wait for the 41 week mark to give my body plenty of time to make "it" happen (which is Friday.) The current plan is that they will admit me Friday and start working on my cervix. Once that is ready they'll start the Pitocin and probably sometime Saturday, we'll have a baby.
I'm disappointed with having an induction, but I'm also worried about the size of the baby if we wait. So, I do feel like I've given Peanut a fair shake at making this happen at his/her own pace. I also keep hearing the warning from our birthing class, the more interventions you have the more interventions you need. We'll see...Stay tuned!
During my appointment today everything looked really good, Peanuts heartbeat was very good, Dr. Dempsey did another ultrasound and the amniotic fluid levels were still good, the baby is still head down. I'm still 1.5cm dilated, but she did say it seemed as though my cervix was shorter. I did have Dr. Dempsey strip my membranes today, which basically separates the bag of waters from the cervix. It made me a little crampy, but I was already a little crampy. Then we scheduled an appointment for 6pm Friday to start my induction. We have to wait for the 41 week mark to give my body plenty of time to make "it" happen (which is Friday.) The current plan is that they will admit me Friday and start working on my cervix. Once that is ready they'll start the Pitocin and probably sometime Saturday, we'll have a baby.
I'm disappointed with having an induction, but I'm also worried about the size of the baby if we wait. So, I do feel like I've given Peanut a fair shake at making this happen at his/her own pace. I also keep hearing the warning from our birthing class, the more interventions you have the more interventions you need. We'll see...Stay tuned!
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