wednesday, february 26 entry *update* here is an adorable story in pictures of our adventure into paint last night. lots of pictures of owen! why yes, that was my baby who slept 10 straight hours in his own crib last night. thanks for asking. thursday, february 20 entry i have excellent news today. when i picked owen up from the sitter's house yesterday, she informed me that he had not cried even once since keith left him. in fact, when i got there, he was napping - a miracle! she said he played with the other children, laughing and "talking" to them. he played in the floor for a while, and showed off his new passion in life, rolling over. she said she had never had a child adjust so quickly - spending the first day wailing in misery, and the second day laughing and playing. she said it may be a fluke. but when i went to get him today, she reported the same news. he let keith go peacefully, and while the other kids were napping, he and the sitter played one-on-one (which is great), and just had a good time. he spent time in the exersaucer, and also played in the floor for a while. so i couldn't be more relieved than i am. two good days in a row. i feel like a million pounds has been lifted off my shoulders. granted, he still won't nap for anyone but me. keith can't get him down when he watches owen in the morning, and owen doesn't really sleep at the sitter's, except for maybe 30 minute stretches. today he didn't nap all day long until i got him home around 415PM. he was asleep within 15 minutes, and slept for just over 3 hours. he woke up refreshed and ready to go! we're going to have to really work hard at getting him onto some sort of schedule. i think it would benefit all of us. i found out yesterday that my duties at work have now officially changed. i have been given my own portfolio of accounts to manage, which is definitely a step up from the paper pushing i was doing before. the odd part is, this comes just after the turmoil of last week. i don't feel too comfortable elaborating on the details, but i can pretty much say that the gauntlet was thrown. i gathered my belongings up twice to walk out the door, but never made it all the way out. the situation basically entailed a threat on my job for having to take off two days to watch my son. and, being me, i had to speak up. so - a little dose of drama at work. i just thought it strange that this new responsibility came so quickly after the big fight. perhaps my boss feels badly about her irrational decision? oi, i don't know. i shouldn't speculate, least of all in a public domain. but i'm glad for the change. i am so, so super busy, which keeps me from worrying about owen the entire time. in fact, today i worked right through my lunch break and never thought a thing about it. so it's a good change. looks like everything is going to start smoothing out and calming down a little. i feel like i can breathe a sigh of relief at the thought of time passing without drama. and finally, while i won't get into the whole war-drama, except to say that i am fiercely pro-Bush, i will invite you to check out this entry by a fellow blogger, athena, who i read regularly. it has sparked quite the debates online. very interesting points she makes. wednesday, february 19 entry yellow squash is a hit! i steamed a squash on monday night, then pureed it, and owen loves it. he likes it much better than the rice cereal. he is currently eating 2 teaspoons of solids twice a day. we’ll keep him on the yellow squash for another 3 or 4 days before we try something else. next is a green vegetable – spinach, zucchini, etc. i haven’t decided which one to try. i guess for now, since he is eating so little in the way of solids, that i will continue to make his food myself. at least i know it is pure and fresh, no salt or preservatives. and it’s not that hard, really. yesterday was day #1 at the sitter’s. keith took him around 115PM, then stayed with him until a little after 130PM, to help him get acclimated a little. i picked him up at 400PM. when i walked in, he was sitting quietly in an exersaucer (he has one at home, and loves it). but when i called his name, he looked up at me, and instantly he stuck out his bottom lip and just started wailing. it was the most awful thing i’ve ever seen. he just looked miserable. i grabbed him and started getting his things together, so i could get him out of there as quickly as possible. the sitter told me that he cried the entire first hour he was there. i could tell – his eyes were red and puffed up, and he had dried snot and tears all over his face. his cheeks were bright red. he napped for about 15 minutes, then started crying again when she put him down to change his diaper. i had figured he would cry, since he has never been without mom and dad, and didn’t really know her yet. but for an entire hour? i hate that so much. when we got home, he wouldn’t let me put him down, and he refused to close his eyes for a nap, or even for bed. i finally got him down about 11PM. he wasn’t acting sad or mopey, he was still laughing and playing, but he just wouldn’t leave my arms. daycare is tearing me up big time. i am so depressed thinking of him crying his heart out, wondering where his mom and dad are, scared of this new lady who is taking care of him. everyone tells me that the first day is the worst, that he will cry less today and even less tomorrow. i hope so. i have set a timeline – until friday – for him to get used to her, and to stop crying as much when we leave. i don’t expect him to not cry at all, but not for longer than a few minutes. if friday comes and he is still this upset when he’s there, well, then we will rethink the situation entirely. i was able to talk it over with betsy last night, and she made some very good points. first, i don’t want to socially cripple owen. i don’t want to be so overprotective that he never cries or meets new people or learns how to play with other children. i don’t want one of those toddlers who clings to mommy’s legs and never lets go. i want him to be social, and to know how to make friends and play with other kids. this will be a good way, and a good age, to get him used to other babies and toddlers. if he stayed home with me every day, he would never see other little kids. we don’t use the church nursery, and that would be about his only other avenue into social interaction. so being with other kids, and away from mom and dad for a few hours, will be good for him. second, it could be a lot worse. he stays with a sitter for two and a half hours a day. many children go to the sitter’s early in the morning and stay all day until evening. we are blessed with a situation where he spends the morning with daddy and the evening with mommy. he has bonded with each of us very well, and only spends a few hours a day without us. it’s not so bad, really. third, it’s just going to take time. he is in a new house, with new smells, new toys, new people. he can’t be expected to acclimate instantly. and it probably doesn’t help matters that i have been a weepy mess. i’m sure he senses that and wonders what’s up, which probably makes him even more clingy and unsure. all in all, the arrangement is a good one. not perfect (perfect would be me staying home with him), but good – if i can make it until the end of the week, it may just work. but if he doesn’t start to feel more comfortable, and get to the point where he cries only a few minutes or not at all, then we will reassess the situation. it can only get better! on a brighter note, owen and i watched american idol last night. what a great show. and no, i’m not afraid to admit that i called and voted for rickey "hercules" smith many, many times. monday, february 17 entry another round of vaccinations down. i took owen this morning for his four-month checkup and shots. he is 26 inches long, and weighs 18 pounds, 2 ounces. he is well at the top of his growth curve. in fact, our doctor told us that he is the size of the average seven month old. i figured as much. already some of his 3-6 month clothes are getting snug. the main problem with them is that they won't snap in the crotch, he is just too long. and his feet won't fit into 6-month socks. we bought new socks for him yesterday that are 12 months. hopefully they will last a while! he was weighed on january 15, and he weighed 16 pounds even. so in a month, he has gained 2 pounds, 2 ounces. i asked the doctor if he was gaining too much, or getting too big, and she said at this age, no way. he is just big in general, and because he is big, he eats more. she also said that as soon as he becomes mobile, his weight gain will drop to approximately a pound to a pound and a half per month. and of course, he had four shots. keith had to work this morning, so he didn't go - meaning i had to be the mean one who held owen down while the nurse injected him. i hate it! he screamed and turned red and screamed some more, and i cried and tried to talk soothing to him. after the shots were over, i tried to put his clothes back on, but he was so upset that i just left him in his onsie and we came on home. he's had a couple of doses of baby tylenol, and is sleeping soundly now. i hate shots. yesterday owen rolled completely over, all by himself, for the first time. he has been trying for some time now. he rolls from his back to his stomach, and only from his right side. he hasn't mastered rolling to the left yet. the first time he did it, he was playing in his room under one of his toy gyms, and i left for a minute. when i returned, he was on his stomach. that was early yesterday morning. since then, he has done it several more times. and once he gets over onto his stomach, he squeals and grins with pride. of course, then he remembers that he hates tummy time, and can't figure out how to get back over, so he gets angry. he is moving right along developmentally. besides rolling over, he is also working super hard on sitting up. he will not lean against us anymore, or lean back in his carseat or bouncy seat. he spends the entire time trying to pull himself into a sitting position, like doing crunches. he's almost got it, too. if i sit him up, he can sit there for a minute or so before he loses his balance and topples sideways, or just folds over like a taco. we've also moved him into size 3 diapers. finally, no more wet pajamas! now if we could get him to drop that 3AM feeding... in due time, i guess. and finally, it's time to start him on some solids. he's already had a little bit of cereal, and some smushed-up bananas. we will start with vegetables, then move to fruits, per our pediatrician's orders. i haven't decided whether or not i will try to make his food myself. i'd like to at least try. time is the main issue. when i'm home, i'd rather spend my time holding him and playing with him than steaming and smashing vegetables. i haven't decided yet. tomorrow is his first 2-hour stretch at the sitter's. he's usually such a good baby - i hope he is good for her! saturday, february 15 entry
my parents and brother just left to head home to arkansas. they arrived wednesday night. it was nice seeing them. i am sure they were surprised by the changes and growth in owen. he is getting so big, and he is so smart. i think they really enjoyed seeing him. the first night they were here, he was scared because he didn't know them, and he cried and screamed when they held him. but by the next morning, he was used to them, and doing just fine. they watched him part of thursday and a little bit on friday while keith and i both worked.
we met with a lady on wednesday who we may use as owen's sitter. he will need someone for about 2 hours a day. we decided that it is better for both keith and i to work for a little while, and for owen to go to a sitter for a minimal amount of time each day, than for me to quit my job. at least for a while. not forever, but for now. the lady is super nice, and her house is clean and full of toys. she only has three kids right now, a 3-year old boy, and two sisters who are 1 and 2 years old. she has a nice pack-n-play for him to sleep in, and she seemed to really take to him while we were there visiting. she has a grandbaby in illinois who is just a month younger than owen, so she was excited to see a baby that reminded her of her grandbaby, how big she would be, where she is developmentally, etc. i liked her. i am going to try to meet with a couple more ladies this weekend and monday, because i'm off work for president's day. i think we will find someone pretty quickly. if nothing else works out, i will use this first lady. i felt comfortable with her. it will definitely take owen some time to get used to someone else watching him. i never dreamed that he was old enough to be afraid of strangers, but it looks like he is. and i can't blame him, really. we don't know anybody in nashville, no family, and no friends as of yet. so no one holds him except keith and me; that's just all he's used to. it will work out, though. and he is intrigued by other babies, i saw that myself at church when i took him to the infant room during service. i was playing with him in the floor, and another baby was in there. owen just kept staring at him and reaching towards him. so he will probably enjoy the interaction with other children. i'm nervous, that's for sure. but it will be fine.
owen turned a whole four months old on wednesday! i cannot believe it. he is so big, and i remember not long ago when he was so tiny! then again, i don't really remember life before he came along. it must have been so boring. he is the center of our universe now!
we went to sears on tuesday to have his picture made. i received a coupon in the mail from one of the parenting magazines we subscribe to, and we only had to pay $7.99 for a complete package of pictures (1 pose). i wondered if he would be in a good mood, or even smile at the lady. i shouldn't have worried! as soon as we got him there, he started smiling and grinning. she didn't even have to get any toys out to show him, she would just say, "owen, are you good?" and he would grin really big, and she would snap the picture. she was totally impressed with him. you can see those shots here.
monday, february 10
entry
oh well, at least the waiting is over. i was able to speak to my boss today about cutting my hours down to stay with owen, and i got a definite no. so now what? don't ask, because i don't even know. i guess deep down inside i knew she would say no, but i kind of hoped that the company would value my contribution as an employee enough to work with me a little. i do know this - my child[ren] is, and will always be, my first priority. so we'll wait and see. i wonder what it would be like if both keith and i were employed at the same time. we haven't done that since 2000.
it snowed a ton last night. i almost didn't brave the interstates to get to work today, but given the current state of my job, i figured i better give it a try. i made it with relative ease. most of the snow melted off today. i just can't believe how much snow we've gotten this winter. when we were thinking of moving here last july, our realtor assured us that it rarely, if ever, snows in middle tennessee. ha. here are a few pictures of owen in the snow. i took a video, too, but can't get it to work.
keith had his first official day of work last saturday. he took a bunch of equipment down, and played nintendo. there was more, but i missed it.
speaking of keith, yesterday i cut his hair. all by myself. i used clippers, not scissors, but i'm not going to say it was perfect. there are a few *ahem* sparse places. but it looks decent. i'll get better at it. and an $8 pair of clippers is way cheaper than a $10 haircut every few weeks, which totally appeals to his cheap side. he'd take a bad haircut with bald patches rather than dish out the $10.
i caught owen trying to roll over today. i was relieved, because it seemed like he was getting a little behind as far as the whole not rolling over thing goes. i took his diaper off and he started flopping his legs over to his right side. he almost made it all the way over, except for that bottom arm. i had to get it on video, it was so cute (i never got his diaper on until much later, so - baby buns, extra cute!). also, he's started singing. every night when i'm rocking him, or for naps, i sing the ABC's to him. i figure if he's going to have one song that sticks with him, it might as well be an educational one. so i sing it softly to him at night. now when he's really tired, he will "unhhhhh" along with me, and stop when i stop. he pretty much sings himself to sleep. i love it.
and finally, somebody in bentonville give betsy a hug for me. she'll know why.
friday, february 07
entry
well - owen is finally down for a nap. his sleeping has no pattern, no rhyme or reason, and i can't for the life of me figure out how to get him onto a schedule. wednesday night he didn't go to sleep until 11PM, but then he slept the entire night through until 8AM! he napped well yesterday, but then wouldn't go to sleep again last night until 1030PM, and he was back up for his 3AM feeding. will this child never sleep through the night? i did manage to get him asleep for his morning nap around 10AM - we'll see how that goes.
keith is at his orientation this morning, hence why i'm home with owen. he should be home around 1PM, at which time i'll head into work for a half day. i was glad not to be up and about this morning. it snowed last night, and although it was only a dusting, the city of nashville loses all mental capacity when a few flakes fall. people start driving on the freeways about 20 MPH, and everyone starts abandoning their cars and driving into each other. it's ridiculous. it's still cold out, but most of the ice has melted already, so my trip into town won't be so bad.
last night i was changing owen, and as i pulled his old diaper off, he was peeing. so he sprayed me good, and as i jumped back, he started laughing. i mean, a real belly laugh. he hasn't ever done that before. i couldn't believe it, i just started laughing. this, in turn, made him laugh harder. i don't know if it was peeing on me that was funny, or my jumping back and hollering, but something cracked him up. keith came in and all three of us just sat there laughing until i had tears coming down my face. i hope he does that again soon. it was so cute.
we don't have any big plans for the weekend, although that is typical for us. we'll start the deep cleaning process on the house, since we'll be having visitors later this week. maybe we'll do a little grocery shopping. we spent time outside last weekend, when it was in the 60's and 70's, but this weekend we will definitely be inside. it's supposed to stay freezing and drizzly and basically yucky outside all weekend. i say, all the better for sleeping.
and one last thing - i finally got the elms' new release, truth, soul, rock & roll. my parents sent it to me for valentine's day. it is on my "highly recommend" list. well, officially i don't have an actual list - but if i did, that would be on it. buy it!
wednesday, february 05
entry
alright, what happened to the weather around here? it was 71 degrees on sunday. today it is in the twenties, and i actually slid on ice on the way to work! schizophrenic winter, for sure.
the week is halfway over! this has been a fast few days. we’ve been moving and renovating at work, and i am finally in my new cube with my new desk and my new computer. the new computer has made 100% difference in my work capabilities. i used to spend half my day in frustration with my old computer. now – much better. i spoke with my new manager yesterday about working less hours, and about being able to flex my hours some to work with keith’s schedule. she didn’t say no, so that’s a good sign, right? she has to talk it over with the “big boss,” and then i’ll know something. i hope it works out.
next wednesday is owen’s 4-month check-up. he will be getting four more shots. i think keith may be taking owen by himself, because i haven’t put in for the time off yet. i may still take some time off and go with him. i hate watching him get his shots and hearing him scream and cry in pain, but still – a boy needs his mama for shots.
and speaking of the boy, he slept from 930PM to almost 4AM last night! that’s a good stretch for owen. most of the online moms who have babies owen’s age have already reported a full night of sleep – i.e. 8PM to 7AM! i don’t know what’s up with owen, but he’s not into the sleeping thing like that. maybe it’s because he is still in our room. i am really trying to work up the guts to move him to his nursery, but i’m not there just yet. he will probably sleep more soundly once he can’t hear us in the room, and once he gets into his crib. he has fast outgrown both his bassinet and his pack-n-play, so he’ll like the extra roominess of his crib.
from talking to some other online moms and doing some research on my own, i have decided to cut back a little on the baby cereal. i know owen enjoys it, and the nutritionist at WIC told us that he will want the cereal because he’s big for his age, and formula won’t fill him up. but the point of baby cereal has always been to provide the baby with extra iron. and now the formula makers have started a new line of formula that is made special with iron. so owen doesn’t need the iron, and cereal is just extra calories for him. instead, i’ve heard from numerous sources, mothers, doctors, etc. that a great first solid for babies is smashed bananas with a bit of formula mixed in. so that’s what we’ve been giving him instead. the first time he tasted it, the look on his face was priceless. he looked like he was going to gag. but after a few bites, he got really into it and starting hollering if i didn’t feed him fast enough. so the bananas are pretty much a hit. he’ll stay on formula and bananas, and probably finish off the box of cereal that we already have, until he’s at least six months old, another two months from now. i can’t believe he’ll be half a year old in just two months! what happened to my skinny little newborn?!
saturday, february 01
entry
*update* here are the long-awaited pictures!
-a day at the mall, and a walk outside
i've also changed the page a little... it's late at night, and i'm not positive everything works. but here's to hoping! i'll fine-tune things tomorrow.
happy 16 weeks, owen!
the digital camera is working! i have uploaded scores of pictures, but i've only formatted a few. i will have to get to the rest later. but for now, here's a few to hold you over - owen's first bowl of cereal.
we had a really nice day today. we wanted to get out of the house, so we went to a local flea market, and then drove downtown to the farmer's market. it's outside, and there's a flea market and an international market, as well as the traditional produce. we ate tacos from a traveling taqueria - so good - and walked around the bicentennial mall. it was a beautiful day, and owen loves riding in his stroller, now that we've turned him around and he can face forward. after we left downtown, we stopped by kroger for a few groceries, then home. owen laid down around 530PM, and has been asleep for over 2 hours now. he slept wonderfully last night, from 930PM to 315AM. he was back down by 345AM, and woke up at 8AM. pretty good! he's taking an extra-long nap now because he missed his noon nap. he should be feeling pretty good when he wakes up!
tomorrow after church i will try to get the rest of the new pictures onto the page for your viewing pleasure. i've also made a few minor updates to the format, to keep it interesting until i find time to create an entirely new one. i'll get that up tomorrow, too. for now - i hear the boy! he's up, and i'm off!
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