sleep...on letting go

top by atsuyo et akiko
wool pants by lucysplace

we've been sleeping on the floor for nearly two months now. my back is killing me, but this is nothing new. leon still wakes up every 1-2 hours to nurse. he still hogs half of the mattress. i don't have it in me to do things differently. three weeks ago he slept a 4 hour stretch. i suspect it had something to do with being ill with the swine flu. rats.

but, he's actually turning out to be a happy happy baby. he chuckles and snorfles and tosses his head back laughing. his daytime naps are starting to settle into a pattern. usually 2 hours in the morning, 1-2 hours in the afternoon. he loves eating his jar food, and his crying jags are less frequent. he doesn't mind the car seat, in fact he falls asleep without too much of a peep. this is a huge change from early october. he is also getting better at being with the cats. he rakes their fur gently and only pulls once in awhile. he also yelps whenever he sees them. i wish i could record all these sounds and movements but whenever i turn on the camera, he stops what he's doing to crawl over and pull up on my leg.

it's taken me a long time, nearly 9 months, but i can now honestly say that i enjoy his company.

sweater, my brother's from 1977
padded overalls, jacadi
knee socks by nix (the only ones that stay up)

baby food, flying, and sucuumbing to pretty gadgets

1. flying with baby food
apparently it's ok to bring jars of baby food onto the plane. however, the TSA will probably use its fancy machinery to test the food. the sealed jars were given a quick exterior swabbing, which was then placed in a machine. for what? i have no idea. they also did a pH type test on the vapors of the opened jar of food. i was given a pat-down. oddly enough, neither matthew nor leon were subjected to similar treatment.

2. 5 teeth coming in all at once and baby-led weaning
i freaked out a few months ago when leon bit off a chunk of apple and gagged for longer than i would like. i wouldn't call it textbook 'choking', but it scared me half to death. now that there are more teeth, and i've gotten used to the gagging (thank you, tamiflu!), i think it's time to try more finger foods.

3. the expensive gadget dilemma
sure, i guess i could do everything without a $150 beaba babycook, but knowing my cooking-resistant ways, i probably wouldn't. just the thought of buying a steamer and using up all those pots and spoons and colanders (and washing them) makes me tired. there's a reason why i prefer one-pot recipes. so, i have a $50 gift card to williams sonoma, and am considering buying the beaba soon. as matthew pointed out, it wouldn't really save me much money in the long run. but it steams! purees! reheats! but will i use it? will i regret it?

crawling, standing, walking, running

leon has figured out how to fall on his behind, which has saved me a lot of worry.

the skin on his knees is no longer soft.

sometimes when he pulls up to stand he lets go with both hands.

when he stands up, he turns around and gestures with one hand so that someone will help him walk around the apartment.

sometimes he'll break into a gleeful sprint, especially if you pretend to tickle him.

swine flu, pt. 4

leon is pretty much all better. my mom, however, is not. she has respiratory issues, so she went on Tamiflu as soon as she got a fever. my dad and i have had GI issues, along with really awful fatigue, but otherwise, no real flu symptoms.

i can't tell if i actually had the flu virus or whether it was psychosomatic. i'll get the vaccine once we return to cambridge mid-november.

as for that Tamiflu--

the tutti-frutti flavor must taste something awful because leon makes the hugest face. the first 3 doses were really hard to give him. he screamed, wailed, fat tears rolling down his cheek. i now have to hide the bottle and syringe because just looking at them makes him purse his lips.

the only way to feed him is by spoon. and even this can be a 10 minute process as my mom or dad attempts to distract and amuse him so that that little mouth will open just a crack.

i'm just glad that he's doing better, and that i didn't really get sick. i'm not taking my chances and will get the vaccine. who knows how long this flu season will last and whether it will become more vicious in the winter. i've definitely turned into a paranoid hypochondriac, though. i should stop googling 'asymptomatic H1N1 symptoms,' 'chest pain,' and 'death.' sometimes the internet is not a good thing.

8 months

leon is nearly walking.

phew. i need to take a breather just thinking about it.

he pulls up to stand on pretty much everything, now. he's a fearless baby. if you don't help him walk, he'll start yelling at you. often he'll let go of your hands, turn to face outward, and start walking. if you don't follow along, more scolding from leon.

the slithering has definitely switched to proper crawling in the past three weeks. most of the time he's so anxious to get wherever it is he want to go that he will crawl with one foot flat on the ground. this guy is in a hurry.

lots of talking, babbling, communicating, too. where did my little baby go?

highlights of the past 8 months that i miss:
marionette dancing while on his back
sitting quietly in the bathtub
blowing raspberries

sleep is slowly improving. leon now will sleep a 2.5 hour chunk.

breastfeeding continues. lots of snacking every 2-3 hours during the day, and then guzzling from 6 to midnight. he also eats 3 meals a day. i wanted to try baby led weaning, but he nearly choked on a bit of apple that he managed to bite off with his tiny barely-there bottom teeth.

when he laughs (this happens all the time now), you can see those teeth nubbins. they're adorable, just as adorable as his gummy smile.

leon had his first hair-trim this week. his bangs kept getting in his eyes, so i snipped them. i didn't do a great job because i was afraid of cutting him. i hope they grow out ok. i really do want to grow his hair out, but my parents scolded me.

lots of scolding nowadays, plenty to go around. leon refuses to stay put while i change his diaper. the prefolds are really difficult to use. we may have to move on to pocket diapers or AIOs. i use the imse vimse flushable liner since he now eats food. you can wash the re-use them if it's only pee, because otherwise they're quite expensive.

i am still pining after the bugaboo cameleon. i don't know what's wrong with me, but every time i see one, my heart twinges. i wish i had just gone with my gut instinct and bought one in the first place, even though we have two strollers for half the price of a cameleon. the only way i can justify buying one now is by definitely having a second baby in the next 3-4 years. phew.

swine flu, pt. 3

so leon was prescribed Tamiflu even though he hasn't had a fever for more than 24 hours and it's been more than the 48 hours recommended since the onset of symptoms. i called his pediatrician for a second opinion, and they suggested we give him the anti-viral medication. if he starts vomiting--a side effect--we should stop.

but the main concern right now is whether he'll develop a secondary bacterial infection, which Tamiflu won't prevent at this point. apparently one-third of the infant/small child deaths have been from this, not from H1N1. so a new fever of 101 or higher means another trip to the doctors.

also, the virus remains active in his nasal secretions for up to one week after the fever has subsided. so that means there's a good chance we'll get infected with the flu. the vaccine still isn't available here, so we're going to have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

swine flu, pt. 2

leon's test came back POSITIVE. he doesn't have a fever, just nasal congestion as usual. he's playing with my wallet and having a grand time.

we're all going in to be tested this afternoon. i didn't feel too great on saturday, and i don't feel like i can't take super deep breaths, but hardly what you'd call 'labored breathing'. but that could just be a byproduct of my hypochondria. we'll see.