Today, Moses went for his 15-month check up. Dave was off from work today and offered to take Moses to the doctor and PDO so I could sleep in a little! I took him up on the offer but made sure to get all the details from Moses' visit to the doctor.
As usual, Moses is doing well and growing properly. He's 32.5 inches tall (90th percentile), 23 pounds 9 ounces (45th percentile), and 49.3 centimeters in head circumference (95th percentile).
He's got three teeth now, which he won't let us photograph--his two bottom ones are very visible and his top right tooth just broke the surface a couple days ago. We're to schedule his first dentist appointment for the summer. That'll be interesting...
Dr. Gray again suggested that we give him his immunizations, but we are postponing his 1-year and subsequent immunizations until after his 4th birthday or until we learn some definitive answers regarding the possibility of an Autism/MMR vaccine link. As for the other vaccines, I just think his immune system should be more mature before receiving so many live vaccines at once. In my opinion, that's asking a lot of anyone's body, let alone a one-year-old child. These are, of course, our own personal decisions on the matter, and we respect the choices our family and friends make for their own children regarding immunizations. I've just ordered a neutrally-written book on the subject that will help educate us more on the matter and inform our decision making process. Who knows? Maybe we'll make some revisions to our current schedule.
I also realized that I forgot to post his one-year check up information. The post was still in draft form so I just published it this morning but kept my original composition date. You can read it here.
-Lindsey
Friday, February 29, 2008
No Diego, No!
A teacher at Moses' PDO was sweet enough to give Moses a pair of size 5 shoes (more like hiking boots) with Diego on them that her son never wore. Compared to his Pedipeds, the new shoes are enormously heavy and bulky, but I think they'll be great for his treks outdoors since he's really rough on his shoes. I was excited for him to try on the new shoes to see what he'd think of the different style, but I wasn't prepared for the hilarity and freak out that ensued.
Moses wasn't sure what to think of the different shoes and was between crying and laughing the whole time. He walked around, awkwardly stepping, and would start to whine, but then I'd start laughing from the awkwardness of his gait, and he'd start a half whine/giggle. I couldn't help but think of this Monty Python skit while watching him walk.
We'll keep trying the shoes out and see if he can't learn to love them. They really would be excellent for his outdoor explorations!
-Lindsey
Moses wasn't sure what to think of the different shoes and was between crying and laughing the whole time. He walked around, awkwardly stepping, and would start to whine, but then I'd start laughing from the awkwardness of his gait, and he'd start a half whine/giggle. I couldn't help but think of this Monty Python skit while watching him walk.
We'll keep trying the shoes out and see if he can't learn to love them. They really would be excellent for his outdoor explorations!
-Lindsey
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Straw! Cups!
To complement my previous post about weaning, I thought I'd talk about Moses' new cups! We've been trying to ditch the bottles for sippy cups, but Moses hasn't been a fan of that idea. He'll occasionally drink water or juice from a sippy cup but not enough to constitute change. And, the idea of drinking milk from anything but a bottle, puh-lease!
The only "in" we have is that Moses loves drinking from our cups, especially when a straw is involved. I even bought Dave and myself some neon, bendy straws to encourage Moses to drink from cups more, but that creates a fair amount of drink-hogging on Moses' part. So, yesterday I went on the hunt for some straw cups for Moses and found some great ones from the Take N' Toss line.
When we got home, I filled one with water and gave it to Moses. He smiled so big, as if saying, "This. cup. is. mine?" I wish I had captured that first meeting on camera--he could have been the new poster boy for all things strawed. He hasn't completely mastered the cup and attempts to hold it up like a bottle from time to time, but luckily, it doesn't spill and he's learning that he can't drink with it elevated like that.
The cutest thing about yesterday's meet and greet is that he kept putting the straw cup on his favorite toy, a miniature wooden chair, and pushing it around the house. If he's already introducing the straw cup to THE green chair, he's smitten.
Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a beautiful relationship and we can soon move beyond bottles.
-Lindsey
The only "in" we have is that Moses loves drinking from our cups, especially when a straw is involved. I even bought Dave and myself some neon, bendy straws to encourage Moses to drink from cups more, but that creates a fair amount of drink-hogging on Moses' part. So, yesterday I went on the hunt for some straw cups for Moses and found some great ones from the Take N' Toss line.
When we got home, I filled one with water and gave it to Moses. He smiled so big, as if saying, "This. cup. is. mine?" I wish I had captured that first meeting on camera--he could have been the new poster boy for all things strawed. He hasn't completely mastered the cup and attempts to hold it up like a bottle from time to time, but luckily, it doesn't spill and he's learning that he can't drink with it elevated like that.
The cutest thing about yesterday's meet and greet is that he kept putting the straw cup on his favorite toy, a miniature wooden chair, and pushing it around the house. If he's already introducing the straw cup to THE green chair, he's smitten.
Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a beautiful relationship and we can soon move beyond bottles.
-Lindsey
Officially Weaned
This post is a little bittersweet for me. After nearly 15 months of breastfeeding, I can now say that we are done. It was mutual choice for both of us. Moses no longer has the attention span to breastfeed during the day and prefers to carry a bottle around and "do" stuff rather than sit still and nurse in my lap. I probably could have pumped, but I'm a lazy breastfeeder and pumping is a huge time commitment.
The only time he enjoyed breastfeeding was at his 4 a.m. wake up, which was more about soothing him back to sleep than it was about hunger. That habit was physically exhausting for me so I wanted to nip that practice in the bud.
We'd been making strides at weaning until his recent sickness when he reverted back to being an über-momma's boy and wanted to nurse around the clock. At that point in the weaning process, I could no longer keep up with his feeding demands, but I'd try my best at solace.
It's now been over a week since our last feeding and I don't anticipate a need for it soon. I'll miss that special time with my boy. His excitement about nursing was so adorable--he'd start cooing and breathing fast when he knew food was coming. It was such a beautiful experience.
I've got 23 weeks to rest up before I'll start again. I'm not sure the new baby and I will make it as long as Moses and I did, but it's well worth the try. I can't help but think these two bouts of ear infections and colds coincided with the beginning of the end of breastfeeding. He really had a healthy first year in comparison to other kiddos and I commend breast milk for that accomplishment.
-Lindsey
The only time he enjoyed breastfeeding was at his 4 a.m. wake up, which was more about soothing him back to sleep than it was about hunger. That habit was physically exhausting for me so I wanted to nip that practice in the bud.
We'd been making strides at weaning until his recent sickness when he reverted back to being an über-momma's boy and wanted to nurse around the clock. At that point in the weaning process, I could no longer keep up with his feeding demands, but I'd try my best at solace.
It's now been over a week since our last feeding and I don't anticipate a need for it soon. I'll miss that special time with my boy. His excitement about nursing was so adorable--he'd start cooing and breathing fast when he knew food was coming. It was such a beautiful experience.
I've got 23 weeks to rest up before I'll start again. I'm not sure the new baby and I will make it as long as Moses and I did, but it's well worth the try. I can't help but think these two bouts of ear infections and colds coincided with the beginning of the end of breastfeeding. He really had a healthy first year in comparison to other kiddos and I commend breast milk for that accomplishment.
-Lindsey
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
His morning 'do
I just love Moses' hair, and some mornings, today being one of them, it makes me smile so much.
I think his hair had a party last night. One of my favorite children's groups, Trout Fishing in America, sings about it best:
-Lindsey
I think his hair had a party last night. One of my favorite children's groups, Trout Fishing in America, sings about it best:
-Lindsey
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Father and Son Fun
Yesterday, Dave and Moses went out into the blustery weather for some good ol' fun. Rain or shine, Moses would prefer to be outside rather than inside, and luckily for me, Dave would too.
Worn out, Moses came inside and took a cat nap on the couch. He seems so grown up now, especially when he snores.
Later, they danced to the theme song for The Boondocks. We both love to watch Moses move--those arms, those legs...
(my lens cap didn't open completely)
-Lindsey
Worn out, Moses came inside and took a cat nap on the couch. He seems so grown up now, especially when he snores.
Later, they danced to the theme song for The Boondocks. We both love to watch Moses move--those arms, those legs...
(my lens cap didn't open completely)
-Lindsey
Monday, February 25, 2008
Today
This morning, Moses picked up his dad's hat and asked (gestured) to wear it. I was surprised since he usually asks me to wear it instead because he's learned that if we have hats or sunglasses on we'll go outside.
Smart kid.
Also, I thought I'd show everyone my growing baby belly. Here I am at 16 weeks 1 day.
-Lindsey
Smart kid.
Also, I thought I'd show everyone my growing baby belly. Here I am at 16 weeks 1 day.
-Lindsey
Just a little rouge
Over the weekend, I broke out the blueberries again. It'd been awhile since Moses had had them, and as you can see, they were sorely missed. He did well making up for lost time though.
-Lindsey
-Lindsey
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuckered Out
For the last three days, Moses has put himself down for a nap--something I've long dreamt about.
His naps at home are great (one nap, 3 hours long) but still usually involve a bottle of milk , and recently, the PDO naps inexplicably shortened to only 15 minutes a day so we'd have a very cranky toddler on our hands from 6 p.m. until bed time.
This all changed last Wednesday. In the early evening, Moses decided to lie down on a couch pillow that had fallen on the floor and Dave rubbed his back for a little bit. Well, Moses conked out for 3 hours! I was tempted to wake him since I thought it would mess with his sleep schedule but decided to let him sleep since he'd just gotten over a cold and he probably needed the sleep. When he woke, he had dinner, a bath, and then went to bed at 10. Not bad. Not bad at all.
He's since repeated this twice but earlier in the day and without a back rub. Hooray, little man!
-Lindsey
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
How to identify a sick child
I know my boy is sick when the simple act of eating is too strenuous to warrant staying awake, not to mention the fact that he'd prefer his bottle over peaches and weenies.
-Lindsey
-Lindsey
Sick sick sick
Last Saturday, Moses woke up with 102.8° fever and it didn't fall below 102 even after we alternated fever reducers. I was certain he had the flu and braced myself for an upset stomach, but that never happened. Instead, his developed chartreuse-green eye discharge and slept all but 2 hours the entire day (night sleep was an entirely different story).
His fever dropped on Sunday, but it was still low grade, and his eye discharge only worsened. He was absolutely miserable on top of that--nothing would console him except the outdoors. I felt bad taking my sick kid outside in 50° weather, but he was happy as a lark out there with all the distractions. We played for nearly 2 hours before he tired and went down for a nap. After his bath that night, his matted, swollen eyelids started pinking and his fever still wasn't any better.
Monday morning, Dave was sweet enough to stay home so that I could get some school work done since we couldn't take Moses to Parent's Day Out. Even though Moses was in a better mood, he still had a fever and looked terrible. Our usual pediatrician was out of the office, but after a crazy string of phone transfers, we got an appointment with Dr. Alkul (which sounded like Dr. Cool on the phone and left us completed puzzled when we were looking for his office). The nice stand-in doctor let us know that Moses had a cold, a terrible double-ear infection (he grimaced when looking in the ears), and pinkeye. I was surprised that Moses had an ear infection since he hadn't tugged at his ears at all, but I should have known better though since his fever and behavior was identical to that first ear infection in November. Dr. Alkul prescribed some not-so-fun meds for Moses and let us on our way with a sucker.
Moses really enjoyed that sucker. And, we enjoyed the quiet time we received from Moses' enjoyment of the sucker.
Today, Moses is doing better. He's still a bit cranky but a good sport and I think he'll be back to himself in no time.
-Lindsey
His fever dropped on Sunday, but it was still low grade, and his eye discharge only worsened. He was absolutely miserable on top of that--nothing would console him except the outdoors. I felt bad taking my sick kid outside in 50° weather, but he was happy as a lark out there with all the distractions. We played for nearly 2 hours before he tired and went down for a nap. After his bath that night, his matted, swollen eyelids started pinking and his fever still wasn't any better.
Monday morning, Dave was sweet enough to stay home so that I could get some school work done since we couldn't take Moses to Parent's Day Out. Even though Moses was in a better mood, he still had a fever and looked terrible. Our usual pediatrician was out of the office, but after a crazy string of phone transfers, we got an appointment with Dr. Alkul (which sounded like Dr. Cool on the phone and left us completed puzzled when we were looking for his office). The nice stand-in doctor let us know that Moses had a cold, a terrible double-ear infection (he grimaced when looking in the ears), and pinkeye. I was surprised that Moses had an ear infection since he hadn't tugged at his ears at all, but I should have known better though since his fever and behavior was identical to that first ear infection in November. Dr. Alkul prescribed some not-so-fun meds for Moses and let us on our way with a sucker.
Moses really enjoyed that sucker. And, we enjoyed the quiet time we received from Moses' enjoyment of the sucker.
Today, Moses is doing better. He's still a bit cranky but a good sport and I think he'll be back to himself in no time.
-Lindsey
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Crafts with Moses
Today we got out some paints that Gran (Sally) gave Moses. He's done fingerpainting at school, but his teachers say he's not a fan of the paint sticking to his fingers (I'm beginning to see a theme here). He's still a little young to paint with brushes, but he does really well manipulating objects so I thought I'd give it a try with these special "Smarty Paints" brushes--they allow me to load the watercolor paint on them and then he can squeeze the brush to let the paint and water out at once.
He had a good time painting two pictures...and a mess.
-Lindsey
He had a good time painting two pictures...and a mess.-Lindsey
Time for a Change
Over the last day or two, my morning sickness (read: all-day nausea) waned and I realize I also have more energy than I have in months so I decided to make some long-planned changes to Moses' blog. I created a custom header, divided the content among 3 columns to help with readability, and added some more widgets (like the Flickr link) for fun.
Expect more changes to come as I become better versed in HTML and Photoshop. I will also try to write some of the posts I promised regarding the past two months very soon!
-Lindsey
Expect more changes to come as I become better versed in HTML and Photoshop. I will also try to write some of the posts I promised regarding the past two months very soon!
-Lindsey
Please, sir, can I have some more!
We take a lot of pictures around here--way more than I could ever post without maxing out my blog's storage limit--so today I added a Flickr widget that allows you to view our family pictures. If you click on the Flickr montage on the left, you'll be taken to our Flickr account and can view any pictures we upload to that account. The biggest perk of our new Flickr account is that you can download and save to your computer any pictures you'd like to have and/or print.
I'm in the process of uploading previous pictures now. I'm not sure how far back I'll go, but I'll try to include a little bit of everything. As we take new pictures, I'll upload them so you all can be a part of our daily lives.
-Lindsey
I'm in the process of uploading previous pictures now. I'm not sure how far back I'll go, but I'll try to include a little bit of everything. As we take new pictures, I'll upload them so you all can be a part of our daily lives.
-Lindsey
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
A Christmas Fortune
When Dave and I found out we were expecting again, I immediately set out to come up with a creative way of telling our parents about their soon-to-be grandchild. I tossed around a lot of clichéd ideas but didn't love any idea. Finally, while battling pregnancy-induced insomnia one night, I came up with the winning idea--a fortune cookie!
For each family, I removed the generic, pre-installed fortune from a fortune cookie (thank you, Pei Wei) with a pen knife and carefully inserted my own, which read, "You will have another grandchild" on one side and "08-11-08 (my then due-date)" on the other side. I placed each fortune cookie in a miniature take out box, tied the box with a bow, and inserted the box into a larger Christmas tin. I then placed some ornament-shaped paper cutouts that said, "A Christmas Fortune" on top of the tin so it'd be the first thing our parents would see as they open the gift. I tied a bow onto the tin and waited patiently for Christmas time--talk about a long wait!
Unfortunately, I didn't save the individual pictures I took of the pregnancy announcement steps and the completed product. The only thing I have to show you is this poorly made picture collage, but I think you can get the idea!
-Lindsey
For each family, I removed the generic, pre-installed fortune from a fortune cookie (thank you, Pei Wei) with a pen knife and carefully inserted my own, which read, "You will have another grandchild" on one side and "08-11-08 (my then due-date)" on the other side. I placed each fortune cookie in a miniature take out box, tied the box with a bow, and inserted the box into a larger Christmas tin. I then placed some ornament-shaped paper cutouts that said, "A Christmas Fortune" on top of the tin so it'd be the first thing our parents would see as they open the gift. I tied a bow onto the tin and waited patiently for Christmas time--talk about a long wait!
Unfortunately, I didn't save the individual pictures I took of the pregnancy announcement steps and the completed product. The only thing I have to show you is this poorly made picture collage, but I think you can get the idea!
-Lindsey
Friday, February 1, 2008
His first birthday party!
We celebrated Moses' first birthday party with a handful of friends and family on December 1st. It was important for us to keep the gathering small since a) our house is tiny and it gets awkward with more than 8 people b) Moses is leery of large groups of people, even if he's familiar with them.
I chose to do an origami theme for his first party since Moses could have cared less about the theme, and I'm sure the next few years will be full of super heroes and Disney characters that I have no say in. This party was more for us anyhow--a "hooray, we survived a year of little sleep and stinky diapers" celebration. In keeping with the origami theme, I served Asian cuisine: egg rolls, rice, and sushi. Originally, I planned to make an origami cake, but Duncan Hines was not on my side that day, and we opted for a simple store-bought, vanilla-on-vanilla cake. Someday, I'll make it up to you, kid!
Overall, I think Moses had a good time. He wasn't familiar with the concept of unwrapping gifts, and if I had my wits about me, we would have practiced beforehand. He enjoyed parallel playing with Kylar, who was born a week after Moses. He had some cake, but wasn't keen to touch the icing since it stuck to his fingers. In fact, he had quite the little melt down when the icing wouldn't shake off his hands.
Our friends and family were very generous to our little man and he finished the day with an amazing pile of toys, which, oddly enough, were nearly all farm-related. He's enjoyed his tractors, barns, puzzles, pull-toys, and blocks immensely. Everyday he's learning more and more how to properly use the toys--it's so cute to watch his little brain at work.
Thanks to everyone who made his birthday special!
-Lindsey
I chose to do an origami theme for his first party since Moses could have cared less about the theme, and I'm sure the next few years will be full of super heroes and Disney characters that I have no say in. This party was more for us anyhow--a "hooray, we survived a year of little sleep and stinky diapers" celebration. In keeping with the origami theme, I served Asian cuisine: egg rolls, rice, and sushi. Originally, I planned to make an origami cake, but Duncan Hines was not on my side that day, and we opted for a simple store-bought, vanilla-on-vanilla cake. Someday, I'll make it up to you, kid!
Overall, I think Moses had a good time. He wasn't familiar with the concept of unwrapping gifts, and if I had my wits about me, we would have practiced beforehand. He enjoyed parallel playing with Kylar, who was born a week after Moses. He had some cake, but wasn't keen to touch the icing since it stuck to his fingers. In fact, he had quite the little melt down when the icing wouldn't shake off his hands.
Our friends and family were very generous to our little man and he finished the day with an amazing pile of toys, which, oddly enough, were nearly all farm-related. He's enjoyed his tractors, barns, puzzles, pull-toys, and blocks immensely. Everyday he's learning more and more how to properly use the toys--it's so cute to watch his little brain at work.
Thanks to everyone who made his birthday special!
-Lindsey
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