9 months

This week The Tot became an official 9 month old.  It has been an amazing couple of months... Our wonderful sleeper has become a Not-So-Perfect Sleeper.  The little Spud wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, which is so new to us.  Thankfully it isn't every night and seems to kind of come and go.  

My little pensive child has also finally really discovered Noodles.  He watches her from afar, and giggles at most everything she does.  He LOVES when she sneezes.  Noodles has spent the last 9 months delivering toys to the Tot in hopes of a playmate, and she finally succeeded!  When she drops a toy by him, he will now grab it and they play tug of war.  He loves it and Noodles can't get enough.  

We are in the "crawling" stage.  Although I have explained that he is officially crawling since he "rolls" "scoots" and generally gets himself from point A to point B... the husband wants to see a classic "crawl"  Not sure if we will ever get there since he seems to get around just fine!  

We still have to work really hard to get a smile... but staring deep into our eyes trying to figure us out, he's got that down!  He loves to watch you talk and Mommy singing seems to be his favorite thing.

The whole pack is doing great.  Noodles' health isn't 100% yet, but she is making serious improvements.  We are just enjoying the summer and looking forward to some summer travel soon.  I hope to be able to check in a little bit more on this blog.... wish me luck!

Dear Downstairs Neighbors

So, you might not have gotten the memo, but I am sure you are aware that we have a dog and a new small human.  You might have been aware of the dog, but I am sure the new human has just recently made his presence known.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize.  Seriously, I would have hated to live below me, in fact I have spent the last 15 years angry at my neighbors who lived above me in various apartments.  They have been loud, foot stomping, guitar playing, late night partying, perfectly normal neighbors.

So again, I would like to apologize for the pitter patter of paws running to chase a ball, the stomping of new feet jump-jumping in his crazy jumper contraption, the thud of a plastic toy hitting the floor, repetitively... at all hours of the day and night.  The barking at nothing, the crying at nothing, and all the various noises you must endure.

I can't promise this will improve, in fact I have a funny feeling it is going to get worse.  So I am sorry. I hope you don't approach me in the elevator... I seriously hate conflict, so I will avoid you at all cost, and I know that sucks, but well, I'm tired.....

Oh, and apologies to our next door neighbors too.... you may suffer as well, and I have to run into you a lot more often, so you hear my verbal apologies daily.

Gotta go... the UPS guy is coming, so this house is gonna get loud!

Eatin

We have been working on introducing solid food....  We wanted to wait until the Tot was well into his sixth month, especially since he was a preemie baby (and in fact at about 4 months old, when our doctor said to start with rice cereal, a new study came out saying that parents should wait).... we also read a lot about solids and got a lot of great advice on how to introduce solids... puree vs. chunks of food.  This has not been as easy as everyone says.  We are taking tips from all methods, so the Tot gets some pureed food and some solid chunks and we let him kinda decide.  

A Mom I trust told me about Baby Led Weaning and after reading everything I could get my hands on, decided that I wanted to try that.  I am not opposed to pureed foods, it just didn't make much sense to me.  I also did a lot of research on Rice Cereal and realized I had no interest in that stuff.  So, just like everything else in parenting, there are a lot of opinions, and I am learning that people get quite angry if you don't do it "their" way.... So, we plod along doing some pureed food and give the Tot chunks of food to suck on and we laugh and try to make it fun.  The Mom I trust gave me great advice months ago... she said don't worry so much about it.  Babies get all the nutrition they need from milk for the first year and that solid food is just for fun.  So, we try to make it fun.  

Noodles thinks it is awesome.  She has decided that Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato are DELISH!  So although the Tot doesn't get much food in the mouth, Noodles certainly does.

Eight months old!

This little Spud is 8 months old.  I don't even know what to think about that.  He has started teething and has sprouted two teeth on the bottom as of this week.  He was very uncomfortable, but didn't get very grouchy, so that was great.  

Our sleeping patterns seem to have changed too.... Our amazing sleeper has had a few issues of late.  He no longer wants to go to bed and wakes up a couple of times a night.  It isn't terrible, especially since month 3 he has slept like a champ, I can't really complain.  I know it is just teething and growth and whatnot.  

He really loves Noodles, and Noodles loves the Tot too... from a bit of a distance.  The Tot loves when Noodles sneezes, that's his favorite thing she does.  Noodles loves when the Tot is still and she can get close enough to sniff without fear of grabbing.  

The Husband and I are great, short of being a bit sleep deprived over the past week or so.  We have stories of solid food issues, and that will come in a new post shortly!  Gotta go make baby food..... 

Central Park

This little guy is 8 months old.  I can't even believe it.  He is growing up so fast.  He loves to watch Noodles when she chews on her 'chew-chews' and he especially loves it when she sneezes. He finds that hysterical. The weather is finally nice outside, so we spend time during the weekends in Central Park.  

I am finding blogging to be difficult... working 40 hours a week and then trying to spend every waking second with this little spud has left less time for my writing.   But I am going to plan more posts soon! 

In the meantime, here is a great shot of Noodles and The Tot. 

A True Story Transcribed by The Mommy

Scene: 3:30 am. A darkened bedroom in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan.  A 6 month old baby appears to be sleeping across the room from a mother and father.  The family dog, Noodles, is curled up at their feet.  The baby stirs and looks over at his parents. 

Baby: Hey, Mommy.... you awake?

Mommy: grumbles

Baby: HEY!  Mommy?  Hey Mommy, I'm awake... you?

Mommy: Oh no....

Baby: Mommy, I have an idea... let's get up and party!  Yeah!  Come one, let's get up.... Mommy? a pause while the baby looks across the room.  I can see you...

Mommy: Little baby... go to sleep.

Baby: NOOOOOO, let's get up!

The Mommy gets up and goes across the room and picks up the baby.  She lays baby on changing table to change the diaper. 

Baby: YES!  I knew you were game.  Ok, I'll kick and scream and giggle, you can sing to me, right?  Sounds awesome!

The Mommy puts baby back in crib and gets back in bed. 

Baby: NOOOO, this is not what I want... come on, let's party!! Get out of bed Mommy! AHHHHHHH!!!

Mommy: Sweetheart, it is late, Mommy has to go to work tomorrow...let's go to sleep.

Baby: I. SAID. NO.

This scene goes on from 3:30 am to 7:30 am.... At some point Mommy becomes delirious and unable to transcribe the events*.

The End. 

*There might have been fewer words than transcribed.  

Six Months Old

I can not believe that my little Tater Tot is already six months old.  It is nuts.  He had his check-up with the doctor this week and all went great.  He is such a trouper.... when he gets his shots, he is all smiles, then frowny face, then a scream, then right back to smiles.  

He is still on the small side, topping out in the 14th percentile, but he is doing great.  He is working on a whole host of new skills that make me laugh on a daily basis.  He is rolling to his stomach and in fact can roll back over to his back, but he'd rather scream and kick than roll back over.  He is also tucking his knees up under himself when on his stomach, which makes me think he is attempting to move forward instead of back over! 

He is still very "talkative".  He likes to make a lot of noises and is trying to mimic us all the time. He still hums when he eats, which makes me laugh.  He has done that since he was born.... but now it is louder and he realizes it gets a reaction out of me, so he does it louder.  Hysterical. 

We are just about to start solid food... I have put this off for numerous reasons, but feel like it is just about time.  The doctor told us at our 4 month old appointment that we could start with the Rice Cereal at anytime, but that just didn't seem right to me.  I did a lot of research and decided that the cereal option just didn't really make sense.  So we are skipping it.  

We have also waited because The Tot just didn't seem ready.  He wasn't interested in our food, couldn't sit up on his own at all, and just seemed like he was too little.  But in the past week, that has changed, and I feel like we are both ready.  Interestingly an article came out this past week that solidified my thoughts on waiting.  I was also waiting while I did some research.... I have looked into Baby Led Weaning and have decided that we are going to do a bit of BLW and pureed food.  I will do a post as soon as we attempt this and let you know how it goes.  

The Tater Tot has had a great month.  He met his cousins in Pennsylvania and has spent quality time with his Pop Pop and Grandma who have both come to visit recently.  The weather is FINALLY getting nice here in NYC so we anticipate getting out and about more often.  I am very much looking forward to that!    

More Love

When I was pregnant, I had a lot of concerns.... being an older mother, the health of the baby, my health, living in New York, having a small apartment, where would everything go, etc.  One of my biggest concerns was Noodles.  People said that she would get neglected, less love, she would act out, some even said we would eventually give her away.  These things concerned me.  Not that we would actually give her away, since that is insane, but that there wouldn't be enough love for her.  I gave her extra love during my pregnancy, and I could tell she knew something was up.  She was overly interested in my belly and seemed to know what was going on with me even before I did.

She has been amazing over the past 6 months getting to know the Tater Tot.  She is very curious about him with a good dose of caution.  She has been kicked enough to know to keep her distance from the bottom half, but is allowed to kiss to top part.  It has been fun to watch the little Tot go from not knowing Noodles was there, to being fascinated with the furry being walking by.

The Husband and I feel an overwhelming amount of love for Noodles.  She was our first baby, our fur baby, and our love for her only seems to grow with each passing day.  She is not lacking in love, she seems to get more of it.  She is not being neglected since we now carve out special time for her, especially the Husband.  She hasn't acted out and seems even more interested in pleasing us.

So I am learning that having a baby is an amazing journey for me, it has taught me that there is so much love  that I am capable of, and that will always include Noodles.

Noodles has an important story

Noodles has been blogging, click here to see the new post.

Hurdle for Mommy

An amazing thing happened yesterday.  My sweet boy, my miracle, The Champion,
The Tater Tot rolled over to his stomach by himself for the first time.  It
started out like any other normal attempt... feet kicking, smiling in
anticipation, swinging the right foot and getting into position, then screeching
in delight with the final push off and boom, on his stomach!  Then full fledged
screaming since the understanding of how to get back on his back still eludes
him.  But success none the less!  At least that is how I heard the story when I
dropped him off at daycare, because this wonderful milestone happened yesterday,
while I was a work.

Leap

Noodles loves The Tot.... and she loves having her picture taken... and she loves leaping.  Soooo, this is the result of those loves.  Mid picture, Noodles decided to join. 

What a difference....

This little guy has grown so much.  In the top picture, he was just four weeks old.  In the second picture, he is 20 weeks old.  Both The Tot and Noodles are doing well.  Noodles has put on some pounds since her anti-seizure medicine increases her appetite, and the Tot is growing at a steady pace.  He is in the 90th percentile for a preemie and 20th percentile for a full term baby.  So, we are happy with both of them.

Our little pack is going through a bit of a transition since I have gone back to work and the Tater is in day-care.  More on that later.....

I fit!

There are times during the day that I get busy with the Spud and a period of time will go by and then I will realize that I haven't seen Noodles in a bit.  So, I start walking around the apartment, which is not big, looking for her.  Lately, this is where I find her.  She can leap from the couch to the stroller and there is usually a comfy blanket in there.... she knows she isn't supposed to do this, for numerous reasons, so this is the look I get.  She knows she isn't supposed to go in there because, well its the baby's, but mainly because she could hurt herself, and her health has been compromised as is.... But when I find her, I usually just laugh and give her kisses.  Love this little dog.  

16 Weeks old!

Hello Tater Tot,

You are crossing over into the fourth month of your life.  You have your 4 month old appointment next week with the Pediatrician where you will get another round of immunizations.  I don't think anyone is looking forward to that.... But more than anything it means that you are growing up!

You have changed a lot in the past four weeks.  You are a smiley guy and you talk a lot.  Your favorite word is "Owwww".  We sing and talk and you giggle when Mommy sings to you.  In fact, I used to sing to you when you ate, but now I can't do that because it makes you smile, which stops you from eating.  So we wait until after you have finished to break out into song.

It is toward the end of January, and we have had a pretty active month.  We traveled to Northern California to meet your Grandpa and visit with your Aunts.  We had a great time!  Once we got home, we continue to take our daily walks in Central Park, no matter how cold it is.  Noodles loves our walks outside and slowly but surely she is feeling better.

I am going back to work this week little Spud, and I am not thrilled to be leaving you.  Your Daddy is going to stay home with you for two weeks and then you will enter the world of Day Care beginning in February. More on that later little guy.

We love you so much little Tot... Everyday is an adventure and we love being on this journey with you.

xo,

Mommy

* This post is seriously late... might have something to do with the fact that I went back to work.  More on that later. 

Embarrassed

These two are both embarrassed by their behavior last night.  One wouldn't stop crying and then proceeded to pee on Mommy's face (don't ask).  The other one barked all night at nothing.  Both feel bad this morning and are embarrassed to look at each other.... 

Traveling with a 12 week old baby! Part 1

On December 26th, the Tot and I flew, just the two of us to California to celebrate the holidays with my family!  Since we live in NYC, that meant a 3000 mile flight across this fine country....

So, I am no expert, obviously, but here is my advice when traveling with a baby.  First off, I am a planner, and I try to think of best case and worst case scenarios when doing anything.  So, I spent weeks planning.

We have a limited budget, so I was not able to purchase The Tater Tot his own seat, so I was anticipating him being on my lap the whole 5 1/2 hour flight from NYC to CA.  I knew this could also be dangerous if there was turbulence so I wanted to find the safest way to do it.   With a three month old, there are not a lot of options, so I figured we would use a carrier/wrap during the flight and hope he would be ok strapped to me the whole time.... hahahaha.....  I figured that I would also need to feed him and there would be some time where he would need to be out of the carrier.  So after a lot of research and trials at home, here is what I brought and planned to use.

A Travel Boppy:
     I saw this advice on someone else's travel blog (can't remember who... sorry).  It is smaller than a normal boppy and zips up easily for travel.  I really love it.  I figured I would need this to feed him comfortably and also to give both of us a short time off - out of the carrier.

Baby K'Tan Carrier: 

I have the Moby Wrap as well, and LOVE the Moby Wrap, but here is the problem with it.  Once I take the Tot out of it, it is not easy to get him back in and I have to unwrap myself from it and re-wrap.  Well there is A LOT of material, and I couldn't imagine myself doing that in a plane.  So the Baby K'Tan was purchased for this flight.  I really love the K'Tan as well... so I do think both would work, just a personal preference.  You could easily use the Ergo or any other carrier that you and baby are used to. 

Diaper Bag:  

Here is a shot of the diaper bag being packed.  This isn't all that was packed, but I took a picture mid gather.  We are formula feeding instead of breast feeding, so I had to figure out how to pack bottles, formula, water etc.  I will post a bit about that later. This picture is the beginning stages of packing.   I will post a list of what was packed in the bag as well. 

So, to the advice.... and again, I am no expert, this is just what worked for me. 

• Bring baby in a car seat with snap and go stroller.  I needed the car seat once in California and it is easier to get around the airport with the stroller.  Once you get to the gate, you can gate check it so it is waiting for you right when you get off the plane.  I would choose the car seat/stroller situation since the hope is to take your baby onto the plane with you IN the car seat, and gate check the snap and go.  If you bring a regular stroller without a car seat, you loose the option of taking the baby onto the plane in the car seat with you.  TIP: Take off the cup holder thing at the top, mine popped off somewhere during transit but a nice airport worked found it and gave it to me.  So, just take those off for the trip. 

• Get to the airport early. You want plenty of time to check in and go through security and head to the gate.  

• Security:  Think this through.  Wear slip on/off shoes, and take your time. Everyone will avoid you and the line you get in, so don't stress about it.  People are very helpful when they see you are traveling alone with a baby, don't stress!  Here is a breakdown of what I did.  
• Take off your shoes, jacket, put in the first bin.  
• Take Diaper bag off the stroller, put in the next bin, taking out the formula and setting in the bin with the diaper bag.  
• Put your carry on in the next bin. 
•  Unsnap the car seat and set it on the floor for a second while you break down the snap and go, put that on conveyor belt.  (This is when security stepped in to help me, the nice lady helped me put the snap and go on the conveyor belt, but I wouldn't always count on this help)
• Take baby out of car seat and put car seat on conveyor belt.  TIP: they are going to flip the car seat upside down, so take everything out of car seat, including the little back support, head support thingy if it isn't velcroed to the seat.  It will fall out and get munched. 
• You and baby walk through the machine thing. 

• Now once you get to the other side, here is what I did.
• Remember your shoes and jacket went through first, so while holding baby, grab shoes, toss them on the ground and slip 'em on.  If you've worn slip on's you are good to go! Use the end of the conveyor belt as a staging area, if there is a nearby chair that will do to, but again, TAKE YOUR TIME. You won't be in the way, people can grab their stuff and move along....
• Leave your diaper bag and carry on in the bins, and look for the Snap and Go.  Grab that and open it, then grab the car seat and put that onto the stroller.  This is tricky while holding the baby.  So a second option is to put baby into the Baby K'Tan carrier before you walk through security.  I didn't end up doing this since the security people were so helpful and put together my stroller for me. 
• Put baby back in stroller and then repack diaper bag with formula and attach to stroller.  Grab your carry on and put on your jacket.  Grab your travel boppy too...that can live in the basket under the stroller.  Tip: On most airlines, you get your carry on and a personal item.  Baby gets a diaper bag.  So that is three items.  I had a carry on, travel boppy and the diaper bag.  They never counted my items, so don't stress too much.  BUT ask for help getting this all down the aisle of the plane.  Seriously, ask for help. Story to follow in Part 2. 
• STOP and LOOK AROUND.  Look at your stroller, is baby inside buckled in? Is Diaper Bag attached?  Is your Travel Boppy under the stroller? Do you have your carry on?  Do you have your boarding passes? Remember to take your time, you've arrived early so you don't have to rush, so look around and make sure you have all your items.  
• Take a breath, smile at baby and celebrate your success of getting through security by yourself!!  Don't forget to profusely thank the people who helped you!

• Stop and get a bottle of water and a snack for yourself.  I always carry food in my diaper bag, but grab something easy to eat, you don't know how long you might have to wait.  When I flew, there was a snow storm, so we were delayed and I wanted to have food on me in case The Tot was fussy I would have something to eat and not have to wander around airport.  If you are traveling with formula, you need the bottled water.  Ask for room temperature if you only see water in the coolers, they usually have it. I traveled with bottles pre-portioned with powder, so I would just need the water to add to it.  I also traveled with a few empty bottles and some travel pre-made formula.  I HIGHLY recommend these, it was so easy to shake them and put them in the bottle, easy peasy. 

• TIP: the water in the airplane is not potable (safe to drink), so you can't wash your bottles in the plane, so bring enough empty bottles if you are using these one shot pre-made formulas. Or buy the nipples that attach right to the pre-made travel formulas.  The Tot doesn't like those nipples, so we bring our own bottles and transfer the liquid.  

• Go to the Gate.  One of the reasons you've arrived early is so you can make friends with the gate agent.  Go to the gate agent with a smile and ask if there are any empty seats on your flight and if there is a possibility of taking your car seat on with you.  If there are seats, they will give it to you!  They are most likely going to move you to the last row of the plane by the bathrooms, but that is great, you get a seat for your car-seat and the plane is LOUD back there, so no one will hear baby crying and in fact the noise of the plane will put baby to sleep.  If you don't get a seat right away, don't worry, they will keep you in mind (sit near them so they can see you with baby and remind them) and if they have a seat, they will call you up and give it to you.  TIP: Even if you don't get a seat, head to the gate agent anyway, they will want to put a tag on your stroller for the gate check.  Do it early so you don't hold up the line as you board. 

So, that is all the advice for now.  In Part 2 I will go over what was actually in my diaper bag and also go through advice for the flight itself!

Let me know if you have any advice to add in the comments section. 

This is a shot of the stroller while sitting at the gate, I was just about to give The Tot a bottle and relax for a bit. 

Pants

"What are these 'jeans' you have put on me....?"

12 weeks

Dear Tater Tot,

Seriously, you are 12 weeks old today.  I am in shock.  You are doing wonderful and we couldn't be happier with our little spud.  You seem to be growing at a good pace (just hit 11lbs!) and you've finally given us some consistent smiles.... It is amazing to watch you watch us and react!  Just amazing.

You seem to really enjoy Noodles, and she enjoys you. She insists on being wherever you are and desperately wants to lick your whole body, especially your face.  You enjoy the body licks, but once she goes for the face, you aren't pleased (neither is Mommy quite frankly).  She especially loves bath time, and you do too.  She leaps around the bathroom while you are in the tub, trying to get a good look at you in there, but her favorite time is cuddle time after the bath.  We all head into the bedroom and wrap you in towels while she tries to cuddle up to keep you warm, and lick you.  You giggle the whole time.

Christmas is in two days, your first.  I really wanted to take you to see Santa, but quite frankly the idea standing in line at the Macy's on 34th Street with 10,000 tourists to sit on Santa's lap gives Mommy an aneurysm.  So, we will do a Santa picture next year!

We are headed to California to meet your Grandpa right after Christmas.  This will be the first Christmas since Mommy moved to New York 14 years ago that I haven't made it home for Christmas day... but life with a new baby made that harder than normal, but no big woop, we will be there right after and Grandpa and your Aunts are going to recreate Christmas so we can celebrate together.  Speaking of.... we are going to take a plane 3000 miles to get there and that has Mommy a  little nervous.  I think we are prepared, but we shall see how it all goes!

In the past few weeks we have also started a "routine".  I didn't really know we needed to do this, but all of the books said it was important, so we are giving it a shot.  We are working on a solid bedtime routine to help get you down for longer periods of time (you can sleep from 4 to 5 hours at night, which I hear is good).  We are also working on a bit of a day time routine that is supposed to help when you go to daycare next month... that routine has less structure, but we are working on it!

You are the light of our lives little spud, we can't wait to see what happens in the next month.

xo,
Mommy

The Pack is not complete without the Fur Baby.

The last few days have been difficult.  Noodles, the light of my life, my first baby, started having seizures two days ago.  She is such a little lover that when she would have them, she would stumble over to me or The Husband and try to crawl onto our laps, while her legs were giving out under her.

The Husband took her to the Vet yesterday and they ran some tests which came back normal.  This morning, she had a really bad seizure and couldn't walk.  I gathered the Tot, still in his jammies, and put him in the stroller.  Noodles couldn't walk, so I pulled out her travel crate, put her in there and then ran out the door.  While running up Broadway with Noodles in her crate, I had to steer one handed along the bumpy sidewalk.  I must have looked like a crazy woman crying, without a jacket on (its cold, as I quickly found out) driving a screaming baby in the stroller with a seizing pup in her carrier.

So, Noodles has been admitted to the Pet Hospital for observation overnight.  I am beside myself.  She truly is the sweetest dog I have ever known, and she is my little fur baby.  She wouldn't hurt a fly... well, unless it was flying near her head and then she might try to catch it, but that's it. When she is having a seizure, which we are so shocked by, she looks at us with her big trusting eyes and just wants love.

I am home with The Tot, and the pack just isn't complete with Noodles at the Hospital....

Wanna play?

When The Tot hangs out on his little activity mat... Noodles gets very excited.  She runs to her crate, where all of her toys are stored and roots around to find her favorite... then she runs back to the mat and drops the toy next to The Tot and waits.  When she gets no reaction, she runs back to her crate, gets a new toy, leaps back to the mat and drops it near the baby again.... after no reaction she repeats until a huge pile of toys is near the baby.  It is hysterical to watch... I think she wants him to play with her.  Here she is above with her favorite toy, the giraffe.... the game has begun!

...... A half an hour later.....

Here is a picture after she has given up... her toys left, waiting to be thrown. Poor Noodles, if only she realized that once the Tot figures out she is there, she is only going to get her ears pulled...