Taking the little guy places

Today my husband and I took the baby to a place called Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. Now, it’s not the kind of place that he can enjoy or appreciate now of course (what place can be enjoyed and appreciated by a 4 month old?); but it’s definitely the kind of place that older kids and grown-ups can enjoy. There were all sorts of things there to explore and try out. It’s definitely a hands-on kind of thing. There was even a dinosaur exhibit and a Bob the builder exhibit. We took a few pictures of the baby on some baby dinosaurs and a couple of him on the Bob the builder vehicles. (I’ll put those up when we upload them.)

So that being said, I can’t wait until we can start taking the little guy on field trips and outings to places like this when he can really enjoy them and understand what’s going on. I can’t wait to be able to teach him about what things that he see really mean and to share with him some of the experiences that I’ve had with things in his environment. While this summer was spent mostly in the house, next summer I’m looking forward to being able to take him to swimming lessons (mommy and me ones of course), out to the park, for walks, doing arts and crafts with him. It’s going to be great.

Blogging Mothers Contest!

There will be a contest on Blogging Mothers starting Monday, September 1st. The rules are as follows: Write a blog about anything concerning parenting or motherhood. That’s it. No other rules. The winner is chosen based off of the most popular post written during the month. Posts can be written at any time during the month. Only Blogging Mothers members can vote on the posts. This contest is open to current Blogging Mothers members, as well as anyone who is interested in opening up a new account and blogging on our platform. The prize is $100. Winning posts must have a minimum of at least fifteen votes. Winner will be determined in the beginning of October.

Watch http://bloggingmothers.com for the official contest announcement and rules.

How Embarrasing!

So yesterday I was work subbing and I had my first experience pumping. It didn’t go so well. I pumped at recess which was at 10:40 am. The last time I had fed him was at 6:40, four hours earlier. Recess is 23 minutes from start to finish. After I got the kids out, I made sure the shades were drawn and the door was locked. I got hooked up and I turn around and see 3 kids looking through the shades. They couldn’t see me, but they kept looking. I pretended I didn’t see them and continued pumping. Well, they started knocking on the door. After about 3 minutes of this, I realized that they weren’t going to go away and I turned the machine off and fixed myself. They wanted to use the phone! Sheesh, all that hassle and that’s what they wanted. Needless to say, I couldn’t concentrate on pumping after that. A total of 10 minutes I pumped and got a whopping 1 1/2 ounces.

Fast forward to lunch time. Door was locked and shades were drawn. I’m having an easier time relaxing now and pumping is going easier. All of a sudden, I hear someone unlocking the door! The janitor had come to let some kid in who had forgotten his lunch. I turned around real fast, put my shirt down and pretended I hadn’t heard them come in. I waited for them to leave, but pumping didn’t work as well after they left because I was paranoid that the janitor had left the door unlocked and another person might come in at any time. After a total of 15 minutes, I got 6 ounces this time for a grand total of 7.5 ounces. Just about what he had eaten during day care that day. Adventures in pumping, I think I’ll call this new chapter in my life.

First day at the babysitter’s!

So my little guy had his first day at the babysitter’s today. He did great! She told us that he was easier than any of her 3 kids ever were. What a nice compliment. It’s just cuz my baby is wonderful though. I’m thoroughly convinced of that. They did all sorts of fun activities–playing in the exersaucer, reading, swinging on the swing, going for a walk and tummy time. Supposedly the only time he cried was during tummy time. He sure didn’t eat very much though–only 8 oz the whole day. From 730 to 1245 he had eaten 5 oz and from 1245 to 4 he ate 3 oz. I guess I’m glad he didn’t eat much because I didn’t pump much at work today (only 7.5 oz), but I think he’ll be one of those babies who easts more when he’s with mommy than when he’s not. He took two naps–from 845 to 1045 and then another half hour nap later on in the day. Pretty typical. He’s such a great baby! Daddy and I sure did good!

Tomorrow’s the big day! (and Day 1 of no dairy allowed)

Well, tomorrow’s the big day. I’m going back to work. JJ will be staying with Judy-our landlord’s wife while I’m gone. I’ll be dropping him off around 7:45 and picking him up between 3:30 and 4. I have a feeding dilemma though. I have made a decision to stop dairy for the next 3-4 weeks to see if the little guy’s tummy troubles get any better. Well, here’s the thing. I have a bunch of milk stored up. However, it comes from the days when I was eating dairy products and if I give them to him, I’ll never know if me stopping dairy is working. I have a can of Neocate formula which is not milk or soy based and is used for babies with allergies. I think what I’ll do is give him milk I pump during the day (which won’t be enough to last him through the day probably), and then just supplement with the Neocate formula. That way his tummy should feel better. I don’t really want to resort to formula, but I think it will probably be best.

I have officially been on a no-dairy diet for the past 22 hours. It hasn’t been that bad. I picked up my first carton of Rice Milk today. Tomorrow I’ll be giving it a try for the first time. Here’s how my meals went on my first non-dairy day.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar

Lunch: Pinto Beans and a Fig

Dinner: Chicken with garlic and olive oil; spaghetti with olive oil, tomatoes, and garlic; yellow squash

Four month check-up

JJ’s four month checkup was very eventful. It was in some senses a normal checkup, but in other senses, it wasn’t normal. As far as normal goes, they did a weight and height check (14 lbs even and 25 1/2 inches). Two weeks ago, he was 13 lbs 13 oz which means he hardly gained anything. I had also measured him at 26 inches on two separate ocassions last week, but as we all know, the measurement of a baby is not a very precise science. Also, as far as normal goes, he had his 2nd set of vaccinations. He only cried about a minute or less and didn’t get a fever this time. The doctor checked his legs and listened to him breathe and all the normal doctor stuff. No infections or anything.

But, that’s where normal ends….

I previously spoke to another pediatrician about this lump on his back that looked like his spine was towards the right. She thought it was just scoliosis. However, I decided to have this ped look at it. He did a thorough examination of it–looking at him while he was on his tummy, standing up, and in my arms. He couldn’t conclude what it was or if it was made of bone or tissue–so he decided to sign us up for a CT scan. That will be next week. The baby hated this and cried hysterically the whole time.

Also, I decided to talk to the ped about possible allergies–his chronic congestion, rubbing his eyes while nursing, and mucousy, watery, frequent, green bowel movements. Doc wasn’t so concerned about the possibility of an allergy, but rather that there may be something going on in his GI tract, so he got a swab which he sent to the lab. Baby also hated this and cried uncontrollably.

All in all, we were in the doc’s office for about 40 minutes, 30 of which he was actually in the room with us. On the advice of a friend, I may consult a geneticist to see if any of these issues are related to my pregnancy because GI and urinary issues are often associated with two vessel cords and hydramnios.

Mooo!!!

So I noticed something really cute and funny the other day. When I feed my little guy, sometimes we use the side lying position on the bed. Occasionally my husband will use this time to lay down with us and talk or bond in other ways. The other day, he said “Mooo” while the little guy was eating. JJ stopped eating, turned his head, and looked at my husband. After a couple of seconds, he continued eating. However, each time my husband said, “Moo,” our little guy always stopped eating and looked at my husband. It even works when I do it. I can say it and he’ll stop eating and look up at me. He’s fascinated by that sound for some reason. I can’t wait to take him to a farm or a zoo and have him hear it for real just to see if he has the same reaction. What a cutie!

Date Night with Daddy

So Mommy and Daddy had their first real date since I was born. Well, meaning they went out and did something fun without me. Grandma got to babysit me until late at night while mommy and daddy went to watch the Pirates dinner show out in Buena Park near Mideval Times. For some reason I wasn’t in a good mood when I was at grandma’s that night and I cried for about 2 hours after eating, resting and playing a bit earlier in the evening. I must’ve worn out myself with all that crying because I slept the whole night through which mommy and daddy thoroughly appreciated.

The Pirates dinner show had some great hors d’oeurves. Mommy and daddy got to munch on spinach and cheese ravioli, pasta salad, veggie sticks, shrimp, and fruit. Well, they didn’t get all of them because they didn’t get there early enough and some of the stations were closing, but they got a lot of them and they sure were yummy. Then they got to go into the show. The green pirate was theirs and he ended up with the wench. The show was kinda funny, but the meal wasn’t all that great. The chicken was kind of dry and daddy’s seafood was too soft. The desert was yummy though.

(Now it’s mommy talking.) It was fun to have a night out without the baby. I think it’s something every couple should do once in a while. It was a nice surprise by my husband who thought we needed to get out and do something fun.

More Recent Pics

These pictures are all pretty recent and show baby JJ doing some of his most favorite activities–eating, sleeping, playing, and hanging out!

Exersaucer and Jumperoo Pictures