Maybe he's singing along? I like to think so!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
holiday madness
This holiday season is hectic. With an almost 3-month old, packing, selling some of our stuff before the move, coordinating the move, plus all the holiday festivities, it's a bit crazy. Not to mention Christmas shopping and wrapping. I'm more behind than ever and needless to say, many of you will be getting gift cards because there is just no time! But, we're trying our best to get through it all and have some fun while we're at it.
On Friday, we went to Brian's work holiday kiddie gathering. They have it every year but this is the first year we've gone. Didn't interest us before having Camden. There are a TON of office babies now, kids running all over the place! Camden was totally chill and subdued through it all. He got fussy just when we leaving but that's it. He went to Santa, no problem and really could care less about it all. What a good boy. :)
On Sunday, it was our 3rd annual cookie day! The girls bake, the boys hang out and it's always a blast. Unfortunately, I forgot how much work it is. I usually make a holiday cocktail for the girls to enjoy while baking and I like to have a nice set up with a holiday feel. But this year, none of that really came together. With Camden, things were more haphazard. I was only able to make 2 out of my 4 planned cookies (Kainoa helped to get a 3rd one done -- thanks, Kainoa!), my cocktail took FOREVER to make cause I didn't read the directions close enough, plus it needed more bubbly which I didn't have. The punch turned out just okay.
The entire time, I felt so disorganized and pulled in too many directions. I wanted to bake my cookies, be a good host and have a good time like I have years prior, but I had one eye and ear on Camden the whole time. Even if Brian was "manning" the baby, I felt the need to make sure he was okay. Part of that is just mommy guilt, another part was of course wanting to be with Camden, and yet another part was mommy wanting daddy to do things the way mommy does it. This is a constant struggle! I need to let Brian parent his way, but it's so hard sometimes. Brian's a great dad, but men in general let babies cry longer and don't anticipate as much as women, I think. So, I end up trying to think a step ahead -- he's gonna be hungry soon, or need a nap, etc -- trying to meet Cam's needs before he becomes OVER tired and has a fit.
So, I had a mini meltdown with Brian upstairs and then had to have a couple cocktails to take the edge off. But even with that, it's impossible for me to let myself loose with Cam around. I just can't do it. I made an effort though and did have some champagne punch to try and retrieve some part of holiday cheer. I'd say I was somewhat successful.
In the end, cookie day turned out alright. Everyone seemed to have a good time, although it's hard to tell what the boys thought through their cloud of drunkeness! I'm still not quite clear on how cookie day became "drinking day" for the boys. Haha.
Anyway, here's some pics from the festivities:
the beginning of the end...lol
bake, bake, bake!
daddy duty
the final products
I'm gonna miss cookie day with you girls!
On Friday, we went to Brian's work holiday kiddie gathering. They have it every year but this is the first year we've gone. Didn't interest us before having Camden. There are a TON of office babies now, kids running all over the place! Camden was totally chill and subdued through it all. He got fussy just when we leaving but that's it. He went to Santa, no problem and really could care less about it all. What a good boy. :)
On Sunday, it was our 3rd annual cookie day! The girls bake, the boys hang out and it's always a blast. Unfortunately, I forgot how much work it is. I usually make a holiday cocktail for the girls to enjoy while baking and I like to have a nice set up with a holiday feel. But this year, none of that really came together. With Camden, things were more haphazard. I was only able to make 2 out of my 4 planned cookies (Kainoa helped to get a 3rd one done -- thanks, Kainoa!), my cocktail took FOREVER to make cause I didn't read the directions close enough, plus it needed more bubbly which I didn't have. The punch turned out just okay.
The entire time, I felt so disorganized and pulled in too many directions. I wanted to bake my cookies, be a good host and have a good time like I have years prior, but I had one eye and ear on Camden the whole time. Even if Brian was "manning" the baby, I felt the need to make sure he was okay. Part of that is just mommy guilt, another part was of course wanting to be with Camden, and yet another part was mommy wanting daddy to do things the way mommy does it. This is a constant struggle! I need to let Brian parent his way, but it's so hard sometimes. Brian's a great dad, but men in general let babies cry longer and don't anticipate as much as women, I think. So, I end up trying to think a step ahead -- he's gonna be hungry soon, or need a nap, etc -- trying to meet Cam's needs before he becomes OVER tired and has a fit.
So, I had a mini meltdown with Brian upstairs and then had to have a couple cocktails to take the edge off. But even with that, it's impossible for me to let myself loose with Cam around. I just can't do it. I made an effort though and did have some champagne punch to try and retrieve some part of holiday cheer. I'd say I was somewhat successful.
In the end, cookie day turned out alright. Everyone seemed to have a good time, although it's hard to tell what the boys thought through their cloud of drunkeness! I'm still not quite clear on how cookie day became "drinking day" for the boys. Haha.
Anyway, here's some pics from the festivities:
the beginning of the end...lol
bake, bake, bake!
daddy duty
the final products
I'm gonna miss cookie day with you girls!
Friday, December 11, 2009
stroller vs. the mall
I've taken Cam to the mall twice now. The first time I tried out this light "snap-and-go" stroller a friend let me borrow. It seemed so easy and convenient in theory. It's basically just a frame that you snap your car seat in. I thought it would be heaven! Not so much. I decided against switching out our Chicco car seat and instead just used the Graco seat just as a stroller infant seat. Bad move and admittedly, not the stroller's fault. Cam frequently falls asleep in the car so waking him during transfer from car seat to infant seat aint so smart. That was the day he had his crying fit partly due to being overtired. Lesson learned!But while this stroller is light, my big qualm about it is that there's no other convenience factor other than it being light. Once the infant seat is in, it's difficult to fit anything in the basket underneath, i.e. your diaper bag, shopping bags, jackets, blankets etc. Not a great design for mall shopping. Stroller vs. mall fight #1, mall wins.
The second trip, I stuck with my Chicco stroller. I've been resisting the urge to snap the car seat into the stroller (which you can do) for fear that Cam will get a flat head. "They" say that these new convenient snap-the-car-seat-in strollers contribute to the increase in babies with flat heads cause basically the baby doesn't leave the seat, sometimes for hours. Brian and I are constantly worried about flat head! All the time Camden spends sleeping on his back plus any time we put him down...we feel like we're just asking for flat head syndrome! That's why I try to carry Cam during naps until he has better head control and can sit up more. But I digress.
I've realized that if I ever want to go out and have somewhat of a normal life, snapping that car seat in is inevitable. So, I did just that and he slept through my shopping! Just two hours there and back so he wasn't in there too long. The other upside of the snap-in method is that the baby faces you. Good for baby if he's awake and good for mommy to know what baby's up to at all times. The Chicco stroller is bigger, which is both good and bad. Bigger means more convenient features -- a cup holder, adjustable handle, easy access basket underneath. But it's also heavier and my biggest complaint about it is that it doesn't turn easily. The front wheels get stuck and you have to tilt the stroller up a bit to make a sharp turn.
Then there are two other things I noticed about being at the mall with a stroller:
1) Opening and getting through doors is extremely challenging. The major department stores have handicap doors where you push a button and it opens. That rocks. But all the other doors (at Alderwood there's an outside part of the mall with doors to every store) you have to hold open, then figure out how to use your butt or your leg or something to hold it open and then pull/push/wish your stroller through the door. Point for the mall.
2) Why oh why do department stores insist on putting their children's sections on the 2nd floor? How much sense does this make? I had to search for an elevator at Macy's to get up there with my stroller along with two other moms and their strollers. How annoying! Another point for the mall.
But, with the Chicco stroller I did successfully get some Christmas shopping done. So all in all, the stroller held up well against the mall. Stroller vs. mall fight #2, stroller wins!
Monday, December 7, 2009
where did the itsy bitsy spider go? UP!
Weeks ago I started singing Itsy Bitsy Spider to Camden. (I'm on a constant search for new songs and nursery rhymes to sing. Ideas are welcome). He always seemed to like the song, probably because there are hand motions that go along with it. But the other day, he started tracking my hands up during certain parts! Unbelievably cute, in my unbiased opinion, of course. My boy is growing and learning so fast! He's a genius, I tell you. Genius. ;)
Saturday, December 5, 2009
i want that bear!
Camden's new thing for this week is holding his head up! Until now, tummy time has been him lifting his head for a few seconds, getting frustrated and that's about it. But all of sudden yesterday he did this! Boy, does he want to get to that bear. :)
Friday, December 4, 2009
oh. my. goodness.
I just had my first experience with baby screaming his head off in public. And I mean SCREAMING. In my effort to take Cam out more often, I met my friend Rae and her daughter Addy at Alderwood mall this morning. I fed Camden at about 9:45am and got him ready to get to the mall by about 10:30. He usually naps somewhere between 9am and 11am, but with all the moving around (from house to car seat to the stroller I borrowed and wanted to try out) he ended up finally falling asleep around 11 or so at the mall. He slept while we shopped and got up around 12:20ish when we got to Claimjumper.
But that's okay. He was up through our lunch at Pike's and was just fine. Uh, not so much this time.
He didn't want to stay in the stroller so I took him out and held him in my lap. He liked that. I got his bottle out cause I figured he'd be hungry soon. He usually eats every 2-3 hours in the daytime. He looked around at all the people, Rae held him. I took him to the bathroom to change his diaper (first time for that too!). All was okay.
We order and the food comes. Time to eat so I see if Cam will sit back in the stroller while I eat. He sat there and was fine for the first 10 minutes. Rae and I chatted, I started my salad, then Cam started fussing so I figured he wanted out and wanted to eat.
Took him out and tried to feed him his bottle. OH MY!! He started to suck, made a weird face and then began to scream his head off! He's been doing that recently sometimes, but only with breastmilk. It's weird. Sometimes the milk is too cold so we warm it and then he takes it down. So, Rae helps out and asks the waiter to bring me a cup of hot water. In the meantime, Cam is crying. REALLY crying. Tears streaming down his face crying! I walk him around the restaurant, trying to calm him down. No such luck! He's reached a point of no return, apparently.
Maybe he needs another diaper change? Worth a shot. So I grab my diaper bag and head to bathroom again. Baby still screaming, arching his back, red-faced with tears pouring down his little face. Oh, not to mention everyone in the restaurant is staring at me with my baby whom I can't seem to calm down. Nice.
Get to the bathroom and once I lay him down on the changing table he stops crying. I change him and he's a little wet but nothing major. He's sat calmly through much worse diapers than that.
But then right after I put his pants back on, he starts crying again! WTH is wrong?
I walk him back to the table (again...people staring, baby screaming) and take his bottle to the back of the restaurant where there are less people and it's a bit queiter. He still aint having it. I try holding him outwards. Nada. Cradling him. Oh, that's worse. So, I have him with his head over my shoulder, patting his back walking around the restaurant. Movement usually helps to calm him but he was long gone at this point.
I take him to the entrance of the restaurant where there's a little enclosed sitting area. As I pass by a huge table of people, who do I run into but Kau`i, my hula sister! She gets up to talk to me and see Camden (she hadn't met him yet) but I have to tell her I'll come back cause he's gonna have a fit. Kind of rude, I know. But that's the life of mommy! I continue on my way to the front of the restaurant. It's much quieter there and cooler. He calms down for a bit as I pace back and forth in this small boxed in section. People are walking in and out. They have to pass through what I've now designated the "baby crying" section to enter and exit the restaurant, and here I am pacing with Camden. This is getting comical, really.
When he's somewhat calm, I try to feed him again. He takes the bottle and starts sucking. He swallows about half an ounce and starts crying again. Huh?? Back to pacing. I open the door to the outside hoping the shock of cool air will calm him. That works wonders! Back inside and try again. He takes down maybe another ounce, then boom! Scream!! Okay, maybe you're NOT hungry. But I swear, you are. I think the breastmilk must taste funny or something cause this isn't the first time he's reacted like this to breastmilk. Not sure what the problem is though. Maybe it's the nipple? He gets breastmilk in a different bottle than his formula now. Or maybe it IS the temperature of the milk? Or maybe it's just what I eat sometimes that makes it taste different? Who knows, but he wasn't having it!
Finally, after he takes down about 2 ounces, I give up. I pace with him and he's calm. Kau`i comes through as she's leaving and talks with me. I'm so consumed with thinking about whether or not he'll scream again and how to get him home with the least amount of drama that I barely recall what we talked about. Sorry, Kau`i!
Get back to the table and Rae's gone. She's miraculously taken Addy, her stroller, her diaper bag, my stroller, my diaper bag and even my leftover salad to the back of the restaurant and is sitting breastfeeding Addy. She has got this down!
At this point, Cam is tuckered out. I think he cried him self sleepy. I cradle him and he falls asleep. Put him back in the stroller, he sleeps through the walk from Claimjumper to car and I get him home in one piece.
When we get home, he's still fussy so I feed him the last 2 oz from THE SAME BOTTLE and he takes it down, no problem. He even wants more. Crazy child. Here's Cam after I fed him at home just happy as a clam!
Still not sure what his problem was. Combination of overstimulation, overtired, breastmilk not to his liking? Who knows. Rae says after a few outings like this though, you just get used to people looking at you and don't care. Boy, I sure hope so! But, I just need to keep taking him out and hopefully these kinds of fits will be few and far between.
But that's okay. He was up through our lunch at Pike's and was just fine. Uh, not so much this time.
He didn't want to stay in the stroller so I took him out and held him in my lap. He liked that. I got his bottle out cause I figured he'd be hungry soon. He usually eats every 2-3 hours in the daytime. He looked around at all the people, Rae held him. I took him to the bathroom to change his diaper (first time for that too!). All was okay.
We order and the food comes. Time to eat so I see if Cam will sit back in the stroller while I eat. He sat there and was fine for the first 10 minutes. Rae and I chatted, I started my salad, then Cam started fussing so I figured he wanted out and wanted to eat.
Took him out and tried to feed him his bottle. OH MY!! He started to suck, made a weird face and then began to scream his head off! He's been doing that recently sometimes, but only with breastmilk. It's weird. Sometimes the milk is too cold so we warm it and then he takes it down. So, Rae helps out and asks the waiter to bring me a cup of hot water. In the meantime, Cam is crying. REALLY crying. Tears streaming down his face crying! I walk him around the restaurant, trying to calm him down. No such luck! He's reached a point of no return, apparently.
Maybe he needs another diaper change? Worth a shot. So I grab my diaper bag and head to bathroom again. Baby still screaming, arching his back, red-faced with tears pouring down his little face. Oh, not to mention everyone in the restaurant is staring at me with my baby whom I can't seem to calm down. Nice.
Get to the bathroom and once I lay him down on the changing table he stops crying. I change him and he's a little wet but nothing major. He's sat calmly through much worse diapers than that.
But then right after I put his pants back on, he starts crying again! WTH is wrong?
I walk him back to the table (again...people staring, baby screaming) and take his bottle to the back of the restaurant where there are less people and it's a bit queiter. He still aint having it. I try holding him outwards. Nada. Cradling him. Oh, that's worse. So, I have him with his head over my shoulder, patting his back walking around the restaurant. Movement usually helps to calm him but he was long gone at this point.
I take him to the entrance of the restaurant where there's a little enclosed sitting area. As I pass by a huge table of people, who do I run into but Kau`i, my hula sister! She gets up to talk to me and see Camden (she hadn't met him yet) but I have to tell her I'll come back cause he's gonna have a fit. Kind of rude, I know. But that's the life of mommy! I continue on my way to the front of the restaurant. It's much quieter there and cooler. He calms down for a bit as I pace back and forth in this small boxed in section. People are walking in and out. They have to pass through what I've now designated the "baby crying" section to enter and exit the restaurant, and here I am pacing with Camden. This is getting comical, really.
When he's somewhat calm, I try to feed him again. He takes the bottle and starts sucking. He swallows about half an ounce and starts crying again. Huh?? Back to pacing. I open the door to the outside hoping the shock of cool air will calm him. That works wonders! Back inside and try again. He takes down maybe another ounce, then boom! Scream!! Okay, maybe you're NOT hungry. But I swear, you are. I think the breastmilk must taste funny or something cause this isn't the first time he's reacted like this to breastmilk. Not sure what the problem is though. Maybe it's the nipple? He gets breastmilk in a different bottle than his formula now. Or maybe it IS the temperature of the milk? Or maybe it's just what I eat sometimes that makes it taste different? Who knows, but he wasn't having it!
Finally, after he takes down about 2 ounces, I give up. I pace with him and he's calm. Kau`i comes through as she's leaving and talks with me. I'm so consumed with thinking about whether or not he'll scream again and how to get him home with the least amount of drama that I barely recall what we talked about. Sorry, Kau`i!
Get back to the table and Rae's gone. She's miraculously taken Addy, her stroller, her diaper bag, my stroller, my diaper bag and even my leftover salad to the back of the restaurant and is sitting breastfeeding Addy. She has got this down!
At this point, Cam is tuckered out. I think he cried him self sleepy. I cradle him and he falls asleep. Put him back in the stroller, he sleeps through the walk from Claimjumper to car and I get him home in one piece.
When we get home, he's still fussy so I feed him the last 2 oz from THE SAME BOTTLE and he takes it down, no problem. He even wants more. Crazy child. Here's Cam after I fed him at home just happy as a clam!
Still not sure what his problem was. Combination of overstimulation, overtired, breastmilk not to his liking? Who knows. Rae says after a few outings like this though, you just get used to people looking at you and don't care. Boy, I sure hope so! But, I just need to keep taking him out and hopefully these kinds of fits will be few and far between.
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