Sunday, October 17, 2010

Week 38 and Sleep Deprivation

Adam using the Jumperoo to stand and Mommy
playing with camera settings

We have yet to determine what is making Adam unable to sleep as well as he used to during the night. For weeks, he's been waking up between 1 and 2 am, crying and unable to stay asleep. We tried giving him Infant Acetaminophen, we tried teething tablets, taking blankets off of him, putting blankets on him, rocking him, putting him bed with us, putting him back in his bed, feeding him a bottle, giving him water, changing his diaper... Nothing seems to be a definitive solution. From that point on, he wakes up every so often until sunrise when we finally get him up for his breakfast bottle.

Worried that he might have an ear infection, I took him to the pediatrician on Thursday. His doctor found no signs of infection, but did find that Adam had a build up of wax in each ear. The doctor pulled out compact pieces of wax about the size of a sunflower seed from each ear. Adam's ears are healthy and he now has wax-free canals. We are very grateful.

Adam is teething, so that might be contributing to his fussiness. The doctor said that Adam will get his fangs in time for Halloween. He's also been refusing the bottle after drinking only portions of it. He loves eating solid foods, so we've been feeding him rice cereal with formula when he is especially fussy about the bottle. He also gets solid foods 2-3 times a day. It could be that he is getting all the food he needs right now and we're just paranoid.

Parental-controlled playing with the 360 controller


Earlier in the week, Adam caught his babysitter's cold. This is his first cold. He had a running nose for 3-4 days and was a little cuddly, but showed no other signs of being in discomfort. No fever. He did fight us and scream torture when we had to wipe or aspirate his nose. That is normal. I'm sure I'd react the same way if someone tried to wipe my nose!

Our baby boy is still determined to stand and walk. He now knows how to take steps and will motion for us to hold his hands so that he can walk around the house--usually in search of the cat. His increased mobility all-around (he can sit up from laying on his stomach and crawl when no other option is available) has challenged our nerves.

New things to make us cringe:
  • Adam try to push himself up to standing (using a book, a stuffed animal or any flimsy object on the floor)
  • Adam letting go while standing
  • Adam screaming at us to hurry up (when we are getting his solid food ready)
  • Finding Adam sitting in his co-sleeper, playing when we thought he was sleeping
  • Seeing Adam's nose run and join the drool on his chin
  • Copious amount of drool spilling onto the toys, the floor, us
We are still having a great time with Adam and we love him so much!

Adam Trivia
  • Favorite food is green beans.
  • Recognizes his name, "Up?", "Come here", kiss, piggies and cat.
  • Loves water.
  • Gags if fed banana or peaches.
  • Prefers vegetables to fruit.
  • Enjoys baths.
  • Slaps the palm of your hand when you say, "Give me five!"
  • Favorite toy is anything that helps him stand.
  • He likes when Daddy or Mommy show him counting to five with their fingers.
  • Favorite game is hardcore peek-a-boo, where Mommy or Daddy sit Adam on the middle of the bed and duck below the edge of the mattress, crawl around on the floor (unseen) and pop out in random places to get Adam. He screams with laughter and scrambles over pillows to get to the "safe" parent.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Baby Cruising

Yesterday was Adam's first official day of cruising. We placed him in his crib. He pulled himself up and after a few minutes took a awkward steps to his left while holding the front railing of the crib. A couple more times in the crib during the day... we'd see him in one spot, leave the room, return a moment later and see him in a new spot. Today, Adam learned to cruise to his right. Big boy!

Daddy and Mommy are still paranoid about leaving him for more than a minute or two in his crib unattended. He's bumped his head on the crib railing about 4 times since he learned to pull himself up. That just ruins his mood and it unnerves us to see him get hurt. We're trying to balance keeping him safe with giving him enough freedom to develop. No one ever told us parenting was emotional! Okay, everyone told us. =)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

We Just Couldn't Stay Indoors

Now that Adam is getting older, it's even more difficult to keep him entertained. He craves new experiences and staying in the house all week long with the same books and toys and people are just not enough for him. The weather is still too hot during the day to take Adam out but for a few minutes (still in the 100s), so we're trying to take him out with us when we need to run errands.


One afternoon, we took Adam with us to the chiropractor. He did so well at the chiropractor's office that we decided to try going to dinner. While we had dinner (don't worry, we fed Adam before we went to dinner), Adam people-watched. He was starting to get a bit antsy toward the end of dinner, so we hurried with the last bites and got him out of the restaurant before he got too fussy.

Before going home, we stopped by Babies R Us for the baby stuff to pick up a few necessities. Some of which included a couple of pants and new books for Adam. Adam was wide-eyed in the store. I think he could recognize toys. Matt and I picked out the things we needed then we picked out books for Adam. On the way out the door, we took Adam by the baby toys and let him pick out two. One was a stuffed elephant that plays a cricket sound and two different songs. The other toy was a wacky giraffe. Adam slapped his hands on his lap several times when I picked it up, so it was a definite pick.

Sorry for jumping around. I'm trying to get some of this written so that I can get back to Matt and Adam.

The day after we went Oktoberfest, we drove to Madera Canyon to get some more time outdoors. We walked around with Adam in the stroller and enjoyed our family time outdoors. As the weather cools, we will spend more and more time outside. We are looking forward to more family time outdoors.

In Madera Canyon

disclaimer: I'm so tired right now, I'm going to read and fix my errors some other time--maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, sorry for the mistakes.

Oktoberfest 2010


Last weekend, we took Adam to the ski area on Mt. Lemmon for Oktoberfest. It's a tiny festival that features German food (brats, sauerkraut and hot potato salad) and a polka band. Only a few people show up for the event which is essentially, sitting on the bottom of the grassy ski slope, eating (and/or drinking) and enjoying the cool weather. Thankfully, it is a very mellow get together and so it's family-friendly. (There is also is a fudge shop at Ski Valley--another reason to drive up the mountain!)

We were very excited that the trip with Adam went well. This is the farthest we've taken him from home. He loves being outdoors and he had a great time on the mountain. He'd had a rough week with teething and a new babysitter. She is working out wonderfully, by the way.



Once we got to the ski area and got out of the car, Adam was happy and excited to see where we were. He smiled, stuck his tongue between his lips and made a razzing sound that he does when he's amused. He smiled the entire time we were on the mountain and didn't fuss at all.


Matt and I love being outdoors, especially where it's nice and cool, so we had a great time, too.


Before making our way back down the mountain, we stopped in Summerhaven. The three of us walked along the stream that runs through town. Adam was intrigued with the water, so we wanted to give him plenty of time to enjoy it. Soon it was getting dark and we decided it was time to head home. Adam slept most of the way home.