Question for the Mommies

How do (did) you manage to take a shower when you are (were) home alone with your firstborn and newly mobile child? If I wait for him to go to sleep, I'll never be clean again! RJ has outgrown the seatbelt on the bouncy seat. I used to strap him in, give him a toy, and enjoy my shower. Now that he's able to get around, I'm worried about leaving him alone. Yesterday, I stuck him in the crib with some toys. I heard screaming while still in the shower, and rushed out to find him screaming with joy. (the shower muffles the difference between the good and bad screaming)

I think this problem is only going to get worse, the more mobile he gets.

Today, I have not bathed yet. I'll do a night shower when the changing of the guard takes place in about an hour. 

Babyproofing WAR

Yes, our little man is mobile. You have to watch very closely to see it, but there is movement. I consider it a rolling, wriggling type of movement. I purchased the appropriate items from the terrible store of Babies R Us last week. Today, I was installing soft corners on the kitchen table (these might save me more pain than the child at this point) and noticed this warning: "Discontinue use when child becomes old enough to defeat it." HA! I did not know that my son would be declaring WAR on the babyproofing paraphenila. How does one defeat a soft plastic table corner? What weapon is appropriate? My mind jumps to my chubby cheeked, toothless son, hanging by his mouth from the corner of the table in an effort to defeat the plastic so he can, when he is tall enough, bang his head into that corner.

Big boys need milk too!

RJ has been drinking breastmilk for his entire life. While in the NICU, they added formula to it for more calories per ounce, which we continued for a couple of weeks after bringing him home. But once he learned to nurse, that's been it.  I had a LARGE stockpile of frozen milk due to his slow start, at one time we borrowed a chest freezer to store it all. Gradually, we have been using that milk at daycare once a week and during his Daddy Fridays.  This last Thursday, I was shocked, saddened, and strangely proud as I pulled the last two bags of frozen milk from the freezer to take to daycare.  I'm still nursing him when we're together, and pumping once a day while at work. I restocked the freezer for next week's daycare, so it isn't the end of things, but the end is in sight and I haven't decided how I feel about it yet. 

RJ doesn't have any teeth yet, we don't know when they will show up! But he has started some bad nursing habits such as pulling, biting, and snacking. So it's nice to know I have formula to fill in when I've had enough abuse. We use formula in the evenings to make him eat enough that we can all get some sleep. For the most part, this works well.  I am proud of myself for giving him the best stuff possible for as long as I can. I don't know when our last nursing session will be, but I know I will miss it.

I'm feeling a little conflicted about my baby growing up. He's been sitting up for a while now, and today I showed him how to pull himself up in the crib. His legs aren't strong enough for him to do it alone, but he got into a weird yoga-type frog-leg pose by pulling up right after I helped him out. This little guy is smart! We're lowering his mattress tonight!

Blogging Doldrums

I haven't had anything too exciting to mention to the world lately. I'm lurking on other's blogs and enjoying their tall tales. 

Perhaps after our impending Midwest Invasion for my brother's wedding there will be something to report. 

My faithful readers will keep wondering,...will she ever post again? 

Stay tuned..

Camping with a baby

A challenge for anyone, right? We were invited to join a group of friends for camping on the 4th. This trip was a bit of a gauntlet thrown at our feet, as the friend extending the invitation has a 3 year old AND a 5 month old.  We could not be outdone! Plus, we had just purchased a MASSIVE 10' square tent for our new family to try out. 

We jumped at the opportunity to get away from our house for the night, as my neighbor is some sort of pyro who insists on making it sound like we are being bombed out on the 4th. I have resolved to either a) go away every 4th or b) request to be heavily sedated by prescription drugs and vodka. So we went on the trip. 

RJ is allegedly teething, although we have yet to see any evidence. He may also be in a growth spurt, (also up to be proven). He commenced to keep us and everyone camping on Whidbey Island up all freaking night! He screamed his head off every 2 hours from dusk to dawn. The only way to appease him was to stick my boob in his mouth! We struggled through and survived the night, but we will be traveling with a lot more back up formula from now on. 

In other news, he can sit up!! See photo proof. Also, new images on Flickr. The above photo is the only one of our child on the trip. Too bad I didn't whip out the camera at 2 AM!

Random Question

My sleep deprived mind has come up with this:  Why is exercising called working out? There is nothing that I know of called working in.  Discuss.

This picture is included b/c it is funny and I need some humor and to remember that my child is a lovely being on the inside. He's just a hellbeast right now.