halloween

Atticus had just awoken from a nap prematurely and instead of soothing him back to sleep, I stuffed him into a way-too-hot-for-Tucson lion suit and took him next door to visit Miles, who donned a monkey suit and thought Atticus's mane was good enough to eat.


Neither Atticus nor Miles look thrilled about their costumes, but their parents enjoyed them.

nursery

We've had a few requests for some photos of the recent updates to Atticus's room. Here's his new book/toy shelf, already loaded with stuff.


Pictured here is our new rocker/recliner, and Atticus working at mastering crawling. He's getting so close!


Not updates to the room--just Atticus and Bean hanging out.

sleep training

First, I want to announce that the ear infection is now gone. Yay! There is, however, still fluid in his left ear, so the pediatrician joked that I should make sure Atticus doesn't get another cold. hmm

Also, for the first time in my recollection, Atticus made himself laugh in the backseat of the car, no one back there to entertain him. Sure, he laughs when I tickle him or hold him up in the air or show him pictures of babies, etc. But I don't think I've ever heard him crack himself up before. It was delightful.

Now, the sleep training part. Tuesday morning at 3am, Atticus woke up, seemingly ready to start the day. I slept terribly that night. I felt feverish, achey, etc. Chris left early Monday morning to work in Hawaii for the week (he doesn't return until Saturday evening!). So, I felt I was faced with no choice but to put Atticus into his crib, so that I could get some more sleep. What, you may wonder, is so shocking about putting him into his crib to fend for himself? sigh. Not only has Atticus been sleeping in the bed with me all this time, but I even wait for him to fall asleep before I leave him in our bed alone in the evenings while I finish up my work. And yes, I know that "they" say it's not safe for a baby to sleep alone in an adult bed, especially if they're able to roll around. sigh. What can I say except that I'm a mama who works a 40-hour week, and I'm too exhausted to take my chances trying things I'm not 100% sure will work. Until now, that is. So, Tuesday morning, as you may imagine, Atticus was not pleased when I deposited him into his crib and left the room. Despite that I felt shredded, I got out of bed about four times in approximately 50 minutes to go comfort him. After the fourth time, I decided that if I didn't get some more sleep, not only would I be unable to go to work that day, but I'd be utterly incapable of caring for my baby; so I turned down the volume on the monitor, and I passed out. When I awoke at 6:30 that morning, the monitor was silent. I actually had to wake Atticus at 7:10 to feed him and change him and take him to daycare. He didn't seem the least bit pissed at me, thank goodness. It bothered me not knowing how long he cried for, how long it took him to fall asleep, but desperate times call for desperate actions.

So, since I had inadvertently begun Atticus's transition to crib AND to falling asleep on his own, I figured, what the heck, I might as well stick with it and do this thing. I've been reading a fair amount about infant sleep these last few weeks; I've been worried about the prospect of Atticus rolling out of our bed when I'm not in it; we spent a pretty penny this month for a rocking chair/recliner so that I might be able to start putting his crib to use (and not have to sit on the floor if I need to nurse him before bed, etc.); we bought a white noise machine for his nursery last week; and I've been anxious about the fact that I can't ask anyone to babysit him in the evening without warning them that not only is he unlikely to fall asleep on his own, but once he does fall asleep, transferring him to our bed without waking him is a delicate operation. And it occurred to me this week that the fact that Chris is out of town is probably good. If you think it's difficult for one parent to restrain herself from quitting because she can't stomach her baby crying, try two parents.

Tuesday night Atticus cried for 59 minutes before falling asleep. I went to him every 10-12 minutes, and stayed a lot longer than I probably should have--as much as 7-8 minutes. It wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be though. Not as heartbreaking. Not easy by any means, but not devastating either. Perhaps I was just too exhausted to be devastated. He didn't wake up until 1:30, at which point I took him into bed with me. I've decided he can still sleep with me the second half of the night. I enjoy it, he enjoys it, so whatever.

The worst was yesterday's nap. I debated whether to put him in the crib for naps too. Too much at once? But then again, why be inconsistent? I worried not putting him in the crib for naps too would only confuse him. It took me an hour and a half to get him to sleep at his nap time. :( Then he slept for only about 50 minutes. Then we both fell asleep in the recliner. Last night, however, he cried for only 19 minutes before falling asleep. I only had to go to him once. (Again, he awoke later at 1:30.)

Tonight he cried for a mere 7 minutes. I didn't have to go to him at all. I feel pretty proud of us both.

If you had told me 7 months ago that I would try this crying it out thing in any form, I probably would have scoffed. I still think the cold turkey approach is fairly cruel, but to each his own. But I also think Atticus benefits from learning to soothe himself to sleep, and that I benefit from not having to spend so much time getting him to sleep each night or worrying about him alone in our bed and about asking other people to put him to bed, etc.

damn ear infection

We spent Saturday evening at the ER because Atticus's fever was 103.4 (rectal thermometer) by 4pm. We figured he was just fighting off a cold, but wanted to be on the safe side. We found out that he did just seem to have a cold; however, the bad news was he still had an ear infection (this time in the left ear). We were there for five hours. My poor baby had a rough day--fever, no energy, and then kept up way past his bed time (he did sleep most of our time at the ER, but in fits) and given antibiotic shots that we warned several times are "very painful." The shot was divided into two, by the way--one in each leg. Poor Atticus was too dazed to cry much on the way home.

He was much better yesterday though, except that our shopping trip interfered with his second nap, so he was overtired by the end of the day, and it took me nearly an hour to get him to sleep last night. I've learned so, so much about A's sleep these last few months--when he needs to nap, how long for, and what happens if he doesn't get the sleep he needs. etc. It's amazing what a difference a missed nap makes. I try so hard to make sure nothing interferes with his naps, but once in a while, things are unavoidable. Okay, so the shopping trip wasn't exactly unavoidable, except that Chris really really needed a replacement nano before he took off to work in Hawaii this week (because surely he'd be bored without it, right?)

Today I took A to his pediatrician for a follow-up, and that damn ear infection still isn't gone. So he had to endure antibiotic shots yet again. And this time, because there was only one nurse to give them to him, he had to receive them one at a time. She was crazy apologetic about having to give him the shots, and like the other nurses, went on and on about how painful they are, etc. However, Atticus was tough. He cried less than he does when he gets vaccines (and when he gets oral antibiotics--hence the injections).

In other news, I discovered yesterday that a paper towel roll does not a good infant toy make when Atticus swallowed a piece of it when I turned my head for a minute. Today I discovered that the body does not digest paper towel rolls when I found the missing piece intact in Atticus's diaper.

Atticus tried to pull a fast one on me again today by pulling off one of his Band-Aids and stowing it away in his mouth right before I started feeding him his green beans. When he coughed over a bite of green beans I became suspicious, and discovered the bandage on his tongue.

first fever

Atticus started showing signs of a cold yesterday, and then by this morning he became feverish. He's a little out of sorts, but nothing worrisome--just fighting off the cold. One some level, it seems annoying that these things seem to always happen over the weekends. On the other hand, I'd rather he be sick when it's easy for us to stay with him and care for him.

Sounds of Atticus (video)

Sounds of Atticus

language

In the last two weeks or so Atticus has signed "milk" a few times. I don't think he's quite doing it with the intent to solicit milk yet, but it's good to see him practicing signing. The first time he did it (that I saw anyhow) was in response to me signing it.

Although he can't make the sign for "jump" yet, it's pretty clear he understands what it means. He gets excited when I do it, and this is before I show him the jumper or set it up.

Then a few days ago, Chris and Grandma Ginny discovered that he knows the word "dance." As soon as Chris said it, he started shaking his head and grinning. He did it again for me the next day.

He's also begun to mimic people more. Besides the "milk" sign, he mimics some of the goofy sounds we make; and now that I've had a nasty cough all week, he's doing fake coughs.

not conjunctivitis, but

he's got the beginnings of an ear infection. Fun fact I just learned from the pediatrician: babies' sinuses sometimes leak out their eyes, as well as their noses. So Atticus caught a cold, which made his eyes all gooey and pink, and which is now resulting in an ear infection. I thought my magical breastmilk was supposed to ward off evil ear infections. hmm. So far he's still feeling good, but the doctor said he will probably start feeling cranky by this evening. He prescribed amoxycillin, and that should kick in in about a day and a half. The good news is he's not contagious, so I no longer have to wash my hands 200 times a day and avoid my eyes like the plague; and he can go back to daycare tomorrow.

I have to give my pediatrician props for how efficient he is. There's no waiting in his office, not even when you have a sick baby. We were in and out in no time.

Recent pictures.

It's been a few weeks for pictures.  Life is busy.  Also, in response to Michelle, I have a paranoia about names and dates.  I am very bad with both of them.  It's to the point that even if I know the answer I still question myself.   I know Atticus was born March 10 but I had a safety blanket so I used it.

 Jean and Dad came to visit and build shelves in September

 Grandma Jean and Atticus spent a day shopping together

 Everyone worked really hard to get these shelve built

 Kelly Hansan had a weekend trip to Tucson and stopped by.

  Grandpa Ross came to visit in early October

conjunctivitis

well, Atticus did look good this morning, but then his eye started having discharge again later in the day, then both eyes, and now he's got some pink under his eyes and his cheeks are abnormally rosy; it's clear he has conjunctivitis. What a way to celebrate his seven-month birthday :(

The triage nurse called in a prescription for eye drops tonight, and Chris picked them up. Atticus didn't like receiving the drops, as you might imagine. After I got a drop into one eye, he squeezed both eyes shut so tight, it took a lot of effort to pry the second one open. :( Hopefully he'll be better soon. And hopefully we won't catch it. My hands are already dry from overwashing them, and I've been careful not to touch my eyes whatsoever. Maybe it's lucky my corneas are wrecked. Not being able to wear contacts makes it a lot easier to avoid the eyes.

Atticus seems to be feeling pretty good for the most part. I took him to the Reid Park Zoo this morning, and to run a few errands after, and he was his usual cheerful, cooperative self.

sleep, food, etc.

Atticus's sleep has been so inconsistent lately. Some nights he sleeps pretty fabulously; then nights like last night, he wakes to nurse a trillion times. Luckily, he goes back to sleep easily most of the time, but still, it was kind of a long night.

On Friday, his second nap was shortened by a visit to the pediatrician's office for a flu vaccine and then a visit to my office. The result was one very overtired baby. When rocking and patting and singing and lots of other things didn't work, I started kissing him incessantly on the cheek. He calmed down immediately, eventually falling asleep early for the night. I kissed that baby over 500 times for sure.

Since this blog has become my baby book for now (some day I will update the hard copy again), I should document how the solids have been going. About two weeks ago, Atticus shifted from being mostly distinterested in solid food to adoring it. Now he's like a little baby bird, leaning forward and opening wide for each new bite. A week ago I started feeding him solids twice a day instead of just once. He now eats some kind of cereal mixed with fruit (mango, pear, or peach) at around 11am, and then some kind of vegetable (avocado, sweet potato, or butternut squash) at around 5pm, sometimes with some fruit too.

Atticus gave us a little scare yesterday. His eye was all goopey, and when he woke from his afternoon nap, it looked swollen shut, but it turned out the goop had just glued his eye like that. When I washed off his eye, he looked pretty normal. We called the doctor, and they told us what symptoms to watch out for (that would mean the ER). I hoped it was just some reaction to his flu vaccine. He looks normal this morning, so I guess that was all it was. thank goodness

btw, when Chris was on the phone with the hotline nurse yesterday, he paused to ask me Atticus's birthday. :(

reading and pancakes

reading:

I was reading the book Tickle Monster (highly recommend it) to Atticus this afternoon, and he laughed at the picture of Tickle Monster, or so it appeared--this was well before Tickle Monster prompted me to do any tickling. His usual reaction to my reading him a story is to grab at the book and try to chew on it. This time he really seemed to be studying the picture, and if he wasn't laughing at Tickle Monster's appearance, I don't know what the heck he was laughing at. I certainly don't think he was anticipating tickling since I hadn't read this one in a little while.

Later, when the story prompts us to make silly faces, Atticus cried. Apparently, my silly faces are more scary than goofy.

He babbled along with me for most of the story. He's been doing that lately when I read to him, as if he's reading along too.


pancakes:

No, I have certainly not fed Atticus any pancakes, but the cook at his daycare sure wants to cram pancakes down his throat. She told him yesterday that as soon as he got a few more teeth, she'd "hook him up with some pancakes." Nowhere in any of my baby food resources are pancakes mentioned as a good early food. I can't imagine why--sugar, white flour, and all those other nutrients. sheesh. (I'm not saying there's no way he'll have pancakes before the age of two. Maybe, but only if I make them myself using ingredients like buckwheat.) I spoke to the director of the daycare today to make sure they wouldn't ever feed him something I wasn't consulted about. She assured me they wouldn't. However, I learned that when he transitions to the one-year-old room, he would be expected to eat whatever meals the daycare serves. While she mentioned that I can make substitutions (bringing in say fruit in lieu of pancakes), she also stressed that they are trying to cut back on what foods they allow parents to bring, yada yada. My impression was that if I keep him in this daycare, he's going to be the only kid in the one-year-olds room eating the homemade organic food I pack him, while all the other kids chow down on waffles and canned peaches, which means I'd be the pain-in-the-ass parent everyone talks about behind her back, and that I'd constantly be wondering whether they are giving him stuff I didn't approve of or whether poor Atticus was confused about his special meals or being teased about them, etc. So, I'm going to start looking for a new place to transfer him to before he turns one.

p.s. we have loads of pictures to upload from the last several weekends--this weekend, I promise

teeth make a photographic debut

We have loads of catching up to do on the blog since multiple grandparents have visited in recent weeks, but until then, we'll leave you with this: a photo of Atticus showing off his two teeth. He's had them for about a month now, but we've been slow to capture them on photograph. But here they are, folks--framed by remnants of butternut squash.

Atticus Blow Bubbles (video)

Atticus blows bubbles