Atlanta Adventures: Flying Solo Edition

So two weeks ago, Ethan and I prepared to head to Atlanta, my first time flying with Ethan by myself. It got off to a rocky start since we ended up leaving Saturday morning instead of Friday evening after my flight was delayed 4 hours, which would have gotten us in 3 hours after Ethan's bedtime. But we finally made it, and Ethan did great on the flight down, nursing and sleeping the whole time.

On Saturday, we just enjoyed spending time with Grandmama and Grandpapa:





On Sunday, a college friend, Mary Helen, came over to play with her son, Damian. You can read all about them at her blog, Pup and Tot. No, seriously, click on over there. I'll wait. Damian is quite the cutie, and Ethan enjoyed flirting with Mary Helen:






On Monday, we were supposed to get together with a friend of mine from elementary school and her daughter, but my friend woke up feeling poorly and didn't want to expose Ethan. It all worked out, though, because instead we got to have lunch with a friend from jr. high/high school and her boyfriend. She's expecting her first baby in November, so it was a lot of fun to catch up and talk babies!

That afternoon, we headed over to my cousin's house to play with her daughter, who is only 3.5 weeks younger than Ethan. She's not really mobile yet, so my cousin hasn't really babyproofed. Ethan tried to explore every inch of her house, so now my cousin knows what she has to look forward to, at least =)







On Tuesday, we headed to Newnan to have lunch with my dad's mother. Ethan was in a bit of an odd mood so he did a lot of glaring, and we didn't get very great pictures as a result. That evening, after a struggle of a nap, we had dinner with my mom's mother, who had come to town for a dr.'s appointment. It was so wonderful to see the great-grandparents, though I wish we had more time to visit and got better pictures!



On Wednesday, we had our final meals and prepared to head back home. After some anxiety due to seat-switching, everything got worked out, and Ethan spent the flight playing, nursing, and eating dinner. As we began our descent, he spied a man a few rows back who began playing peek-a-boo with him. I held him firmly in my lap as he peered over the seat and ducked back down, grinning and giggling away. Then, out of nowhere, the flight attendant sprang out of her jump seat and began yelling at me to put my seatbelt around Ethan! I explained to her that wasn't possible (no way would the belt fit around both of us), but she kept shouting at me and insisting. I told her I couldn't, and she sat back down, shaking her head at me and glaring. I tried to get Ethan to sit down in my lap, but he burst into tears and began screaming since he wanted to keep playing. After about 15 seconds of screaming, I relented, and he joyfully sprang back up to resume his game. The flight attendant continued to glare and shake her head. I tried to talk to her as we got off the plane, but she ignored me. Needless to say, this put a bit of a damper on the flight home, but I felt a bit better a few days later after sending Delta a complaint (no final word back, yet, but they did give me an extra 3500 SkyMiles as an apology).

All in all, it was a great trip, and I was sorry to return to class. However, Ethan was thrilled to get back to his daddy, as was I! Thanks again to Grandmama and Grandpapa for making our visit so wonderful!

Ethan Oliver's busy, busy house!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, thus the blogging silence. Between a trip to Atlanta with just Ethan and me (more on that in an upcoming post) and a lot going on at school, I just haven't had time to sit down and write about all we've been up to. So here's a brief catch-up.

Classes are going well. We're rapidly approaching midterm, but since I have no midterms, that doesn't mean much. However, it does mean that I don't have to go to class at all next week due to mid-semester reading week. So yay! The past couple of weeks have involved a lot of work, though. From papers to exegetical questions to a presentation, all on top of seemingly endless reading, I've been staying up late and working through naps trying to get it all done. And so far I have, though I'm ashamed to say cleaning the house sometimes gets left behind, hopefully to be made up on weekends. I've done well with cooking dinner, still, so that's something at least, and the crock pot and I have become BFFs. I know this will all be worth it when I have that degree in my hand, but it seems like such a long road to get there. And that's partially literal since the commute is probably the worst part, mainly because it feels like pointless time away from Ethan.

So how is Ethan adjusting to the change now? First of all, he LOVES his sitter. Like, to the point that he will reach for her when I'm holding him. Clara has finally gotten the diapering down for the most part, and she accepted the challenge of getting him down for his afternoon nap on Wednesdays with gusto. Speaking of the afternoon nap, things have finally gotten closer to normal. He still cries when he's put down, but it's down to just a minute or two on most days. So I think he's finally adjusting. I hope.

In more general terms, Ethan is just awesome. For the past week or so, he's been sleeping late in the mornings, once even till 8:15! I figured this would mean a decrease in naps, but he's still taking a 1.25 hour nap in the morning and takes at least a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon, though lately it's been closer to 2.5 hours! He's also been extremely cuddly since we got back from Atlanta and gives kisses AND hugs on demand now. The kitties have been subject to this extra-cuddliness, too, and his favorite new thing to do is run up to them, wrap his arms around them, and bury his head in their fur. He also waves anytime someone says "Say bye-bye/night-night!," waves at animals he sees on our walks, and even waved at a neighbor who waved from her passing car! He has now said "bye-bye" in front of both Grandmama and Clara, but he's yet to say it within earshot of his mommy and daddy. The little mischief!

Before this turns into one of my usual novels, I'll wrap this up with promises of a picture-filled post about our Atlanta trip, plus the next installment of "Mommy Must Haves." If I can ever find the time!

Twelve month appointment

Well, it's that time again! I went into this appointment with some apprehension because I knew it would be the first finger prick, and I knew how much I hated having that done when I was little. Plus, while it provides important information about his health, finger pricks don't provide the same benefits as vaccinations do to compensate for the pain. Anyway, let's start with his stats:

Length - 31" (90th percentile)
Weight - 20 lbs. 10 oz (20th-25th percentile)
Head Circumference - 47 cm (60th percentile)

So I guess his length measurement at his 9 month appointment was right after all! We've got a long and lean little boy, and the doctor said he looks perfect! We did the developmental assessment again, and Ethan scored slightly above average for communication, above average for social skills and problem solving, and well above average (the highest possible) for gross motor skills and fine motor skills. In short, my son is just awesome!

Now on to the dreaded finger prick. I held Ethan in my lap to keep him still (no easy task!) and comfort him. I reassured him that it would just be a quick stick and prepared for the inevitable screaming. She stabbed his finger (twice!) and Ethan just sat there. No crying. No whimpering. Not even one of his patented glares. However, once the lab tech began holding onto his finger to squeeze the blood into the vial, he got pissed off. I think he thought he was getting his nails trimmed because he acted about the same as he does then! =) All in all, much better than I expected it to go!

So then it was time for the shots. He was only getting two today, but they're never fun. As expected, he let out a bitter wail shortly after the first shot, let out another cry for the second one, and was back to normal (albeit rather perturbed) as soon as I got him back in my arms. After a short nursing session, we were off!

He was a bit more cuddly than usual today, and he nursed an awful lot, but other than that, he hasn't shown any ill effects. We're not in the clear yet, though, since the fever often shows up the next day, and I'm especially nervous about how he'll react to the MMR vaccine. I just don't know that I could leave him if he does end up with a fever and feeling crummy, so I may be emailing my professor at the last minute tomorrow. Hopefully though he'll just be his healthy, well-proportioned, above average self!

Ethan's First Birthday Party

This past weekend we had Ethan's first birthday party! It was a Milk and Cookies theme, and we had a lot of fun! I designed and made the invitations, baked all the cookies, iced and decorated Ethan's little cake, and made the banner and table decorations, but I left the big cake up to the pros! My parents came up for the weekend (my in-laws decided not to come), and we invited a couple of neighbors, Ethan's babysitter, and our pastors. Unfortunately, Ethan's babysitter had to cancel at the last minute due to a prison ministry she's involved in, and our pastors were just no-shows (despite telling me on Tuesday they'd be coming, so that was weird), but our small crowd was still just perfect! This post will be very picture-heavy, but first a few of my favorite moments that weren't quite captured on film:

- Ethan's two neighborhood friends came, and the one who is just 10 days younger than Ethan was put into Ethan's little wagon. Ethan walked over and began pulling him around in it! Too cute!!!
- Ethan's older friend (who will be 3 on Tuesday) wasn't guarding his cookies carefully enough, so Ethan walked over to him and began trying to bite the cookies out of his hand!
- When we put Ethan on the dining room table amidst his treats, he discovered the cake behind him, reached back, and pulled off a cookie!

Those are just a few of the moments I want to make sure I don't forget! Between the sugar and all the people, Ethan seemed a bit overwhelmed afterwards, and he nursed for a good long while to settle back down before we went out to dinner. All in all, I'm really happy with how it all turned out! And now on to the pictures!

The Invitations:



The Set-up:


The Milk:



The Cookies:


The Cake:



The Banner:



The Birthday Boy:






The Attendees:






Ethan's Cake:







Birthday Gifts:






Final Poses:

One Year

Dear Ethan,

The day I anticipated with both dread and excitement is now upon us. You are one year old today! For months, I just knew I would cry over it (since I already cried on certain month milestones), but so far I'm just in awe of how far you and we have come. A year ago today, the doctor laid a screaming, wiggling newborn on my chest, and my life will never be the same. You have changed my views on so many things, big and small. You have made me an entirely new creature: a mother. I love you more than I ever thought possible.

You are quite a busy little boy, now! You run around the house, getting into everything. If we say "no," you just look at us and grin. You run up to us and hug our legs. You give us kisses on demand. If you wake up extra early and Daddy takes you downstairs to play while I rest, you excitedly climb the stairs, burst into our bedroom, and run around to my side of the bed, giggling and calling "Mama!" You are the most precious mischief I've ever met. You love being the center of attention, and any clapping just HAS to be for you. In fact, when playing with your new motorcycle rocker from Grandmama and Grandpapa this morning, you discovered a button that made the sound of a cheering crowd. And you pressed it about a dozen times in a row, grinning from ear to ear before joining in to clap for yourself.

After turning back to bottles after a brief stomach virus episode, today marks the return to sippy cups and the end of formula supplementing. You took your first sippy of milk like it was no big deal, even though it took an hour for you to drink the whole thing since you kept pushing it away to play. You eat a decent amount at each of your meals, and you're still nursing 6-8 times most days. I am so proud of us for making it to the one-year mark for nursing, and I hope we continue for months and even years to come!

Bedtime is still full of smiles, and you often play in your crib for a few minutes before you decide to go to sleep. It's so much fun to listen to you play with the aquarium and talk to your stuffed animals when it seems like only yesterday you had to nurse to sleep or else! You've been waking up a bit earlier lately, usually between 6:30 and 7, but that just means more playtime and cuddles. You still take your morning nap in the wrap, and thankfully some of your panic over the afternoon nap has eased the past couple of days, making it easier on both of us. Hopefully you'll adjust fully soon!

This next month holds only one planned first as it will be Mommy's first time to fly solo with you as we head down to Atlanta for a visit while Daddy's away for work. We also have your first birthday party on Saturday, which will be lots of fun!

So here we are, sweetie. A year from the day you came into our lives and took over our hearts. And even though you're now officially a toddler, you'll always be my baby.

Love,
Mommy

The Mommy Guilt Is Strong with This One

It was a rough weekend. It was stressful and frustrating. And it's completely my fault.

Ever since I went back to class, Ethan has been fighting his afternoon nap. It makes complete sense. Sometimes when he wakes up, Mommy has disappeared, so if he just doesn't go to sleep, Mommy can't leave, right? I hated that he's having a hard time, but I had faith that it would get better in time. Except that it's getting worse.

Now, Ethan has never gone down for his nap quite as easily as he goes to bed at night, but pre-school, it was only a few seconds of fussing after I closed the door, almost never more than a minute. My second day of class, it took about 10 minutes. By the third day, 20. For the next week, regardless of whether or not I was actually leaving, it was taking him 20-30 minutes to get to sleep, often full of cries of "Mama! Nah nah nah (no no no)!"

Then on Friday, it took 2 hours. I checked on him every couple of minutes to make sure his diaper was fine and to reassure him. I changed him 4 times. I picked him up and rocked him several times, but he kept crying. He would fall silent for 10 or so minutes and I'd think he was finally asleep. Then I'd hear babbling. Then after a few minutes of babbling, he's start fussing so I'd go back in. Rinse and repeat. It was awful. But surely it was just a fluke, right?

On Saturday, I anxiously rocked him, reassuring him that I'd be there when he woke up. I placed him in his crib, he looked up at me, and he howled. Over the next hour, I rocked, I changed diapers, I patted, I kissed, he screamed. Finally he was quiet so I started on my school work. After about 15 minutes of working, I went downstairs to clean. And then I heard it. Babbling. And sure enough, it quickly turned into crying. More rocking, more changing, more cuddling, more crying. Two hours after I first put him down, he finally went to sleep. And now it was my turn to cry.

How could I be doing this to him? Is it really worth putting him through this? Maybe I should just go ahead and give up before I invest too much time into the semester and do too much damage to my son. He is the most important thing in my life, and here I am causing him such pain and anxiety. What the hell should I do?

Today was a bit better. I tried staying in the nursery, but that only made him cry harder, so once I left it only took about 10-15 minutes for him to go to sleep. I won't be leaving again until Wednesday and since I have to leave at the time I usually put him down for a nap, I'm going to let Clara try her hand at getting him down. That way, Ethan will see me leaving so it won't be a surprise, and maybe he'll go down better for her. Or maybe he won't nap at all. We'll see.

To add to the anxiety, I haven't been able to pump more than a couple of drops the past few nights, which has never happened twice in a row before so now I'm worried about my supply. I've noticed I haven't been getting as much when I pump the past couple of weeks. Just when I thought supply anxieties were behind me. ::sigh::

Despite all of this, I'm determined to savor tomorrow. The last day of his first year. The last day of bottles. The last day of formula. The last day of infanthood. It's been the most amazing year of my life.

Thank God We're Not Vegetarians

I have disappeared from the blogosphere lately, mostly thanks to my classes starting back, but I haven't forgotten about it! I have many posts forming in my head, but the paper I turned in this afternoon took up my usual blogging time after Ethan goes to bed. There's plenty to say about the transition this time in going back to school and how getting Ethan down for his afternoon nap without tears has become impossible, but for now we'll stick with the always fun subject of table foods.

Ethan must just sense that he's about to turn one, because lately he has been displaying a toddler's pickiness. Foods that he once ate readily he now pushes away with disgust. If he does decide to try one of these foods (or even occasionally agree to try a new food!), he chews once before sticking his tongue out with the food on the tip and shaking his head until the offending bite falls to the tray. Very frustrating. There are a few exceptions though: meat and carbs. This boy loves him some meat. Turkey, chicken, pork, it doesn't matter. He double fists it as he shoves bite after bite into his mouth, sometimes to the point that slivers of meat stick out from his lips at funny angles. He's also a big fan of bread, cereal, bagels, and even a bit of muffin I gave him in an attempt to get him to eat some blueberries.

Which brings me to my concern with his pickiness. Ethan is refusing to eat any fruits or vegetables in finger food form. However, if I mash it up or give him a puree, he has no problem with it. So thankfully, I'm able to still give him a nutritious meal with all the food groups represented, but it's frustrating that he's being so stubborn about this. I guess it's normal. I've heard of kids who go weeks only eating Goldfish crackers. And at least the meat he so loves is nutritious and a good source of protein and iron.

::sigh:: Just when I think I have my kid figured out, he goes and changes on me. And if he's already this stubborn as an almost-toddler, I'm afraid of what teenage-Ethan might look like!