Little Man turned 9 months old on May 14th and the weekend before—on Mother's Day, actually—he started crawling. It started off slow... he'd crawl a bit, stop, then sit and look at me or Dude. But by mid-week he was crawling quickly! Here's a video of him in my office.
Besides crawling, he's started clapping. He claps and looks around for approval. If you say "Yay!" he claps some more and laughs! It's very fun. So far, nine months has been quite fun! Since I'm sharing videos, here's one of him clapping, taken the same day at my office.
Last week was somewhat hectic for me, so I didn't really update my blog. But tomorrow, when I have a chance, I'll share some photos from my first Mother's Day. I'm still somewhat in shock about that—I'm a mom! I'm not sure when it will fully sink in, but after 9 months it really hasn't yet. I guess I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact that I turned 40 last month.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Trying to Crawl and Pulling Up
Little Man is TRYING but he's not getting anywhere yet. He crawls backwards quite well, actually. On his hands and knees, belly off the floor, but try as he may he isn't getting where he wants to go. Because of that, he's been quite frustrated and he expresses that with sounds of anger. My happy baby is pissed off because his body isn't doing what he wants. I hope he gets there soon, though if he does we're in trouble because our apartment is poorly babyproofed. Dude and I need to get our acts together.
He is also trying to pull up. He does this on the crib slats and on my legs. He somewhat lifts himself up but not quite. It's amazing how fast the changes come. A few weeks ago he wasn't even trying to crawl and then—BAM—it's like something clicked and he knew what to try. Before I know it, he'll be a year old and walking and talking!
As for talking, he's still only babbling. But his babbles are recognizable. He'll say dada and mama and baba. He also enjoys saying rara and blah and la. I don't think he'll be speaking as early as I was (9 months) but he seems quite verbal. Little Man will be 9 months old next week. He still only has two teeth and while he's definitely teething, nothing is breaking through.
Big changes are coming. I just know it.
He is also trying to pull up. He does this on the crib slats and on my legs. He somewhat lifts himself up but not quite. It's amazing how fast the changes come. A few weeks ago he wasn't even trying to crawl and then—BAM—it's like something clicked and he knew what to try. Before I know it, he'll be a year old and walking and talking!
As for talking, he's still only babbling. But his babbles are recognizable. He'll say dada and mama and baba. He also enjoys saying rara and blah and la. I don't think he'll be speaking as early as I was (9 months) but he seems quite verbal. Little Man will be 9 months old next week. He still only has two teeth and while he's definitely teething, nothing is breaking through.
Big changes are coming. I just know it.
Monday, May 3, 2010
If you know messageboards... I got flamed
Majorly so. I post on the Bump. I mostly stick to a few quieter boards and that's it. But when Dude was away for a few days and I got a taste of single motherhood, I wanted to let the moms on the Single Parents board there know how much I admired them for juggling baby, work, life and doing it all on their own. I found it exceptionally difficult for just a few days so I can't imagine doing it daily. At one point in my life, I had grandiose plans on finding a sperm donor if I didn't meet someone by the time I was 40. It was SO unrealistic of me. So I truly meant to be complimentary.
Big. Fat. Fail.
In my post, I mentioned how I left Little Man in his crib while I walked the dog. The women there took my "walk the dog" comment to mean I took a long stroll around the block with the dog while my child was unattended and in danger in his crib. The part that I'm trying to wrap my thoughts around is that many of these women sincerely feel that I endangered the welfare of my child. They feel that leaving him alone in the crib is tantamount to child abuse.
So my question is: what do you do when you are alone with your child and you have to pee. What if you have diarrhea? Do you bring your child into the bathroom while you do your business? Do you just plop them on the floor while you relieve yourself? The women there were saying they strap their children in bouncy seats. Well, I'm SO glad that their children are small enough to safely sit in one. My son is nearly at the weight limit and he's figured out how to fling himself—and the bouncy seat—forward. So I've since packed it away.
I thought having Little Man in his crib while I shower is the safest place for him. It's not like I'm taking 20 minute steam baths. But for 5-10 minutes I like to shower and shave my legs before I go to work. If I go into the laundry room, I leave Little Man in his crib. What else should I do?
But the main issue was that I took the dog outside to relieve himself and left the baby in his crib in the condo. They all feel that child protective services should be called and that I endangered his welfare. I asked mothers I know about this, and most concur that they have left their child in his/her crib while they a) went to the basement (if they have a house) or went to the laundry room (in an apartment complex) that is down the hall. My mom said that when I was a baby, she left me in my crib while she walked our standard poodle in the front yard.
So this is actually weighing on me. Those women got what they wanted. Their flames burned me.
Big. Fat. Fail.
In my post, I mentioned how I left Little Man in his crib while I walked the dog. The women there took my "walk the dog" comment to mean I took a long stroll around the block with the dog while my child was unattended and in danger in his crib. The part that I'm trying to wrap my thoughts around is that many of these women sincerely feel that I endangered the welfare of my child. They feel that leaving him alone in the crib is tantamount to child abuse.
So my question is: what do you do when you are alone with your child and you have to pee. What if you have diarrhea? Do you bring your child into the bathroom while you do your business? Do you just plop them on the floor while you relieve yourself? The women there were saying they strap their children in bouncy seats. Well, I'm SO glad that their children are small enough to safely sit in one. My son is nearly at the weight limit and he's figured out how to fling himself—and the bouncy seat—forward. So I've since packed it away.
I thought having Little Man in his crib while I shower is the safest place for him. It's not like I'm taking 20 minute steam baths. But for 5-10 minutes I like to shower and shave my legs before I go to work. If I go into the laundry room, I leave Little Man in his crib. What else should I do?
But the main issue was that I took the dog outside to relieve himself and left the baby in his crib in the condo. They all feel that child protective services should be called and that I endangered his welfare. I asked mothers I know about this, and most concur that they have left their child in his/her crib while they a) went to the basement (if they have a house) or went to the laundry room (in an apartment complex) that is down the hall. My mom said that when I was a baby, she left me in my crib while she walked our standard poodle in the front yard.
So this is actually weighing on me. Those women got what they wanted. Their flames burned me.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Little Man is a DOC Band Graduate!
Little Man outgrew his DOC Band last Sunday and had his "graduation" at Cranial Technologies in Paramus, NJ on Friday April 30, 2010. He wore two helmets, each for 8 weeks, and his cephalic index went from 100% to 86%. That was from a +5.3 standard deviation to a 1.2! Amazing results. Here are the final photos.
Little Man was NOT happy. He's 8.5 months old now and is going through stranger anxiety a bit late (or possibly separation anxiety?). In any event, he was SOBBING throughout all the photos and measurements, but I really wanted to know where he ended up. I think many plagio/brachy parents do.
He also had mild plagiocephaly on his left side, starting out with cranial vault asymmetry of 6mm. When he finished, it was down to 2mm. I barely notice anything any longer. And while his head isn't at the "mean" it's definitely normal looking.
For anyone contemplating banding your baby, I think Little Man is proof that it works. He started at 4.25 months and finished at 8.5 months, with an 11 day lapse between helmets. I think it was worth every penny and if you are lucky enough to have health insurance that will pay for a cranial remolding orthotic, do not hesitate!
Little Man was NOT happy. He's 8.5 months old now and is going through stranger anxiety a bit late (or possibly separation anxiety?). In any event, he was SOBBING throughout all the photos and measurements, but I really wanted to know where he ended up. I think many plagio/brachy parents do.
He also had mild plagiocephaly on his left side, starting out with cranial vault asymmetry of 6mm. When he finished, it was down to 2mm. I barely notice anything any longer. And while his head isn't at the "mean" it's definitely normal looking.
For anyone contemplating banding your baby, I think Little Man is proof that it works. He started at 4.25 months and finished at 8.5 months, with an 11 day lapse between helmets. I think it was worth every penny and if you are lucky enough to have health insurance that will pay for a cranial remolding orthotic, do not hesitate!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Finally Done with the DOC Band!
After 16 weeks and 2 helmets, Little Man is done with his DOC Band(s). This past Sunday, he developed red marks that did not fade after an hour. So Dude and I decided to remove the helmet and be done with it. I called Cranial Technologies on Monday morning and scheduled Little Man's exit appointment for Friday. Once I have the final photo study and measurements, I'll share here for my fellow plagio & brachy parents. But here are photos I took today of his head from top, right and left angles. I think he looks pretty darn good!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Family Vacation
Last Tuesday after Little Man's follow-up visit at the burn unit (did fabulously and is healing nicely and does not need to go back) we headed up to Newport, Rhode Island for our first family vacation to celebrate my 40th birthday. Dude's car was jam-packed with suitcases, baby gear, etc. It is NOT easy to travel with a baby in a Volkswagen Jetta!
But the trip was fun. Rhode Island was the only state on the East Coast that I had not been to, so that's why we chose it. The weather was GORGEOUS. Sunny and in the 70's for much of our trip. Very rare for the first week of April. Heck, it's even snowed on my birthday in the past. But not this year. Yay for me.
Little Man did very well on the trip. He slept in the car for most of the drive and was fine when he was awake. The main issue we had was sleeping at night—and it's continued since our return. The hotels provide a "port-a-crib" (a pack-n-play/playard) and Little Man does NOT sleep well in them. But we managed to put him down each night but then he'd wake up SCREAMING and would not go back to sleep. Finally, out of exhaustion, I put him in bed between Dude and I. That happened each night.
Of course when we got home on Saturday night, he would not sleep.
Dude, out of frustration, said to me: "That's what you get for letting a baby sleep with you!"
I sobbed. I was so hurt and upset and tired. I didn't know what to do and letting Little Man sleep with us allowed ME to sleep for a bit. I cannot function without at least SOME sleep.
The last 3 nights have not been much better. He keeps waking and it's not easy to get him back down. I'm not sure if it's the travel, teething or if he's having nightmares from being burned. But what I do know is that I'm seriously tired and am getting worried about commuting to work now. I'm finding it hard to stay awake in the afternoon.
But, overall, we had a fun vacation and I'm so glad we went away. Little Man was just so good and friendly at all the restaurants—he charmed everyone he met. And he loved the fish and the sea lions at the Mystic Aquarium—we stayed in Mystic on Friday night, yet another place I hadn't been. Plus he adored swimming in the hotel pool in Newport. I can't wait to start swim lessons with him.
Here's the one and only family photo from our trip (there are pics of Dude with Little Man and me with him, but just the one of the 3 of us) that was taken at night by the lighthouse on Goat Island, where we stayed. Self-timers are great things!
But the trip was fun. Rhode Island was the only state on the East Coast that I had not been to, so that's why we chose it. The weather was GORGEOUS. Sunny and in the 70's for much of our trip. Very rare for the first week of April. Heck, it's even snowed on my birthday in the past. But not this year. Yay for me.
Little Man did very well on the trip. He slept in the car for most of the drive and was fine when he was awake. The main issue we had was sleeping at night—and it's continued since our return. The hotels provide a "port-a-crib" (a pack-n-play/playard) and Little Man does NOT sleep well in them. But we managed to put him down each night but then he'd wake up SCREAMING and would not go back to sleep. Finally, out of exhaustion, I put him in bed between Dude and I. That happened each night.
Of course when we got home on Saturday night, he would not sleep.
Dude, out of frustration, said to me: "That's what you get for letting a baby sleep with you!"
I sobbed. I was so hurt and upset and tired. I didn't know what to do and letting Little Man sleep with us allowed ME to sleep for a bit. I cannot function without at least SOME sleep.
The last 3 nights have not been much better. He keeps waking and it's not easy to get him back down. I'm not sure if it's the travel, teething or if he's having nightmares from being burned. But what I do know is that I'm seriously tired and am getting worried about commuting to work now. I'm finding it hard to stay awake in the afternoon.
But, overall, we had a fun vacation and I'm so glad we went away. Little Man was just so good and friendly at all the restaurants—he charmed everyone he met. And he loved the fish and the sea lions at the Mystic Aquarium—we stayed in Mystic on Friday night, yet another place I hadn't been. Plus he adored swimming in the hotel pool in Newport. I can't wait to start swim lessons with him.
Here's the one and only family photo from our trip (there are pics of Dude with Little Man and me with him, but just the one of the 3 of us) that was taken at night by the lighthouse on Goat Island, where we stayed. Self-timers are great things!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Little Man Got Burned
I haven't been feeling up to blogging about this before now. Plus Dude asked me NOT to put this on Facebook—so if you know me IRL and are a FB friend, please do not post about this. Thank you.
First off, Little Man is doing OK and should completely recover. He has a 2nd degree burn on his left foot. Here's how it happened.
Monday night we were at my MIL's home for Passover. The Seder was nice (too long for us, however) and after dinner the family brought out a cake for my birthday, which is next Wednesday. After we had cake (Kosher for Passover, by the way), my MIL was holding Little Man as Dude and I were packing up the diaper bag and gathering items to put in the car.
Then I heard the most AWFUL shrieking. At first I couldn't understand why he was crying so.
Apparently when my MIL wasn't looking, my SIL (Aunt S) put a cup of hot coffee in front of her at the table and Little Man pulled the tablecloth and scalding hot, black coffee poured on his left leg and foot. He was not wearing socks but was wearing pants. My SIL got the pants off and ran him to the kitchen and began to run his leg under cold water.
I took over while SIL called our pediatrician (we go to the same one). As I splashed cold water over his leg and foot, he screamed even louder and was in hysterics. Then his foot began to blister and I asked my MIL to call 911. They arrived within minutes, but it seemed like forever.
The EMTs agreed he needed to go to the hospital (a 2nd degree burn) so Dude loaded Little Man's carseat in the ambulance and I went with him—DH followed. We got to the local hospital (no burn unit) because it was contained to his foot. Little Man was hysterical crying the entire time. It was so awful The EMT kept the oxygen near him (from the tube, the mask scared him) and that helped a bit.
I actually knew one of the medical techs (from his day job) and the ER pedi was so good. But they basically just dressed the burn—put a cream on it and wrapped his foot (2nd degree burn) and leg (bad 1st degree) and gave me a sleeve to cover it. We were given the number of the Burn Center at another hospital and were told to make an appointment for Tuesday.
Before we left the ER, they gave Little Man Motrin and Tylenol with Codeine. He slept for the ride home and when we got into our apt. he was actually awake and pretty cheerful. He slept OK, only waking up once when his pacifier came out and I didn't have to give him more painkillers.
I slept terribly, of course.
On Tuesday morning, I called the burn unit at the other hospital and made an appointment for 2:45 pm. Dude stayed home from work to go with us. The doctor who saw Little Man said the burn was mostly concerning due to Little Man's young age otherwise it would be a minor 2nd degree burn. She basically told us to keep it clean (he can have baths) and to dress the burn daily. The cream that was prescribed is Silvadene Cream (Silver sulfadiazine) and in an odd twist of fate, I may be allergic to it so I have to wear gloves when handling it.
We didn't change the bandage on Tuesday, since the nurse at the burn unit had, but we did the last two nights and Little Man is NOT happy when we do so. It's so pitiful listening to him cry in pain—even more so because he seldom did before. When he cried it was hunger or "pick me up" but never a pained cry. But overall he is doing well and seems to be his normal, cheerful self. Only with a large bandage on his left foot/leg.
We go back for a follow-up visit on Tuesday before we leave for our family vacation (to celebrate my 40th birthday) and the doctor said it would take 2-3 weeks to heal and then 2-3 months for the new skin to lose its redness. She did not think he'd have a raised scar but he may have skin discoloration.
It's been a very stressful week. Beyond our fear for our son, we now have medical bills (ambulance ride, ER visit and burn doctor, even though we're filing a claim) and a baby who is not comfortable. The last week of my 30s aren't ending as I had hoped. But I am so grateful that it wasn't worse.
First off, Little Man is doing OK and should completely recover. He has a 2nd degree burn on his left foot. Here's how it happened.
Monday night we were at my MIL's home for Passover. The Seder was nice (too long for us, however) and after dinner the family brought out a cake for my birthday, which is next Wednesday. After we had cake (Kosher for Passover, by the way), my MIL was holding Little Man as Dude and I were packing up the diaper bag and gathering items to put in the car.
Then I heard the most AWFUL shrieking. At first I couldn't understand why he was crying so.
Apparently when my MIL wasn't looking, my SIL (Aunt S) put a cup of hot coffee in front of her at the table and Little Man pulled the tablecloth and scalding hot, black coffee poured on his left leg and foot. He was not wearing socks but was wearing pants. My SIL got the pants off and ran him to the kitchen and began to run his leg under cold water.
I took over while SIL called our pediatrician (we go to the same one). As I splashed cold water over his leg and foot, he screamed even louder and was in hysterics. Then his foot began to blister and I asked my MIL to call 911. They arrived within minutes, but it seemed like forever.
The EMTs agreed he needed to go to the hospital (a 2nd degree burn) so Dude loaded Little Man's carseat in the ambulance and I went with him—DH followed. We got to the local hospital (no burn unit) because it was contained to his foot. Little Man was hysterical crying the entire time. It was so awful The EMT kept the oxygen near him (from the tube, the mask scared him) and that helped a bit.
I actually knew one of the medical techs (from his day job) and the ER pedi was so good. But they basically just dressed the burn—put a cream on it and wrapped his foot (2nd degree burn) and leg (bad 1st degree) and gave me a sleeve to cover it. We were given the number of the Burn Center at another hospital and were told to make an appointment for Tuesday.
Before we left the ER, they gave Little Man Motrin and Tylenol with Codeine. He slept for the ride home and when we got into our apt. he was actually awake and pretty cheerful. He slept OK, only waking up once when his pacifier came out and I didn't have to give him more painkillers.
I slept terribly, of course.
On Tuesday morning, I called the burn unit at the other hospital and made an appointment for 2:45 pm. Dude stayed home from work to go with us. The doctor who saw Little Man said the burn was mostly concerning due to Little Man's young age otherwise it would be a minor 2nd degree burn. She basically told us to keep it clean (he can have baths) and to dress the burn daily. The cream that was prescribed is Silvadene Cream (Silver sulfadiazine) and in an odd twist of fate, I may be allergic to it so I have to wear gloves when handling it.
We didn't change the bandage on Tuesday, since the nurse at the burn unit had, but we did the last two nights and Little Man is NOT happy when we do so. It's so pitiful listening to him cry in pain—even more so because he seldom did before. When he cried it was hunger or "pick me up" but never a pained cry. But overall he is doing well and seems to be his normal, cheerful self. Only with a large bandage on his left foot/leg.
We go back for a follow-up visit on Tuesday before we leave for our family vacation (to celebrate my 40th birthday) and the doctor said it would take 2-3 weeks to heal and then 2-3 months for the new skin to lose its redness. She did not think he'd have a raised scar but he may have skin discoloration.
It's been a very stressful week. Beyond our fear for our son, we now have medical bills (ambulance ride, ER visit and burn doctor, even though we're filing a claim) and a baby who is not comfortable. The last week of my 30s aren't ending as I had hoped. But I am so grateful that it wasn't worse.
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