Ooooh that smell!!

It all started Thursday. Oliver and I went to his favorite place in the entire world, the Sprinkler Park. For those of you who don't know what this grand place is, it is like a mini-Schliterbahn for toddlers with no lines and none of the women's bodies make you feel suicidal. Oliver was playing and running around filling buckets up with water, as is his way, when all of a sudden he started shivering and staring. NOT a good sign. We stopped to have some orange slices and dry off and then, because the shivering and staring didn't stop, we left for home.

Fast-forward to when I found both the lube and the butt-mometer and finally took my baby's temperature. It was a raging 103.5. He was hot to the touch. CT called the doctor and we rushed there after giving him some tylenol. When we arrived at the Dr. his temperature had dropped to 101.3, still not great! So, after a very painful and betraying gag reflex test, the results were in: my son has strep throat. Great! Not only did I give him my eyes, but also my strep throat tendencies.

No biggie right, we can just give him some antibiotics and in 10 short (long) days, it will be gone! Not so fast, you see, antibiotics kills all the good bacteria in your tummy, causing diarrhea, thrush and other beasty yeasties to grow. So, feed him yogurt you say! Nope, kid hates yogurt. So, we have been trying to counter the antibiotics with probiotic powder we mix in his drinks. Which would be great, IF IT WORKED. Some friends suggested making a frozen yogurt pop for him to eat. I wish he wasn't so picky!

We have had three blow out diapers TODAY alone. Luckily, with the cloth all the poop was contained, but you know his tummy had to hurt SO bad! He crashed out as soon as we got home from my grandmother's house today, which according to my last blog post is VERY unlike him. So, the nightweaning is on hold until his poopiness is over, the kid needs any and all fluids he can get. This also means that I will be a zombie for the next couple of days.

Adventures in Night Weaning

From what I can tell, I am the slowest, most gentle nightweaner out there. Everything I have read says to do it cold turkey, just give the kiddo to the dad and do not go back into the room. Ever. That sounds AWESOME...for those kids who actually WILL go to sleep after 20 minutes. My child is not one of these babies. So, we are starting slow.

Step One: Eliminating nursing to sleep at night. To be honest, Oliver hasn't been nursing to sleep at night in two or three weeks now. He just goes from breast to breast and will not fall to sleep. It was taking me 1-2 and sometimes 3 hours to put him to sleep where as before he was down and out in 20 minutes or less.
The Plan: CT and I BOTH lay down with Oliver after his bath and quiet play, in our room. I nurse Oliver while CT reads a chapter or two in a book (Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl), then we sing some songs quietly. CT pats while I nurse, then when Oliver is drowsy but not asleep, I leave the room and though Oliver cried out, was patted back to sleep by his daddy.

Step Two: Eliminating night nursing. Oliver wakes consistently at the same times each night. Also, he never takes an entire feed, it is more of a snack and then back to sleep. This says to me that he is waking out of habit and not out of hunger.
The Plan: This step could have been called "getting Oliver to like CT at night". CT and I sleep in a separate bedroom until the first waking. I was getting up alone to nurse all night, but now, CT gets up with me. He pats, I nurse. Soon, I will nurse less and less and he will pat more and more. Eventually, I will only get up with him during certain times of the night, and then those times will become less and less until I am no longer the one getting up, CT is.

Step Three: Moving Oliver to a "big boy bedroom" Oliver has slept with us on and off since birth. We recently bought a king sized bed, which Oliver sleeps in fulltime and we sleep in part time. If we want to have another baby, we need Oliver out of the King sized and into a room of his very own. Cribs make him scream.
The Plan: We have to clean out what used to be known as the office and change it into a little boy room. This starts with organization and cleaning, and a very expensive trip to IKEA. CT and I have more papers and keepsakes than should be legal. Once the room is ready (and catbox free!) CT and I will start putting him to bed there instead of our room.

I am sort of nervous about night weaning, because the only time he nurses anymore is at naptime and at night. I offer all through out the day and he downright refuses. So I fear it could throw him into weaning completely. On the other hand, it could gently encourage him to nurse more during the day. Either way, I think I will be fine with whatever happens.

ASL the baby way

My son now knows the following words in sign language!! Video to follow, I promise!!

I do apologize if the video has my boob in it, he is smartest right after he nurses! Brain juice!



Please
Thank you
Eat
Drink
More
Milk
Hat
Brush Teeth
Eye
Cereal
Poop

He is freakin' brilliant people. FREAKIN' BRAZZILLIANT!!

My son, the bully

My sweet, innocent baby, my dear hearted gentle lover of animals has turned into the bad seed. He pushes kids down. Like, not in a nice, lets-hug-but-I-don't-know-my-own-strength way. More of a, you-are-in-my-way-and-I-am-bigger-than-you-so-MOVE way. The first time this happened, I thought it was a fluke. We were at my friend Lisa's house who has a daughter a bit younger than Oliver. I kept thinking maybe it was cause she had a toy he wanted or because she was eating something he wanted. Nope, turns out he just likes asserting his authority. By the end of the play date, Rylee (the little girl) was flinching visibly each time Oliver went past her. A few times she sat down before she could get pushed. I felt like a horrible mom. As if I modeled the behavior to bank tellers, waiters and the bagger at the HEB. "I said meat in a SEPARATE bag!" PUSH!

The second time it happened, it got real. It was at the pool, and while the other kids were floating around or jumping from the sides into their mothers' waiting arms, my son was creeping up behind them and pushing them down on the concrete. See picture, you can see that Oliver is looking at the kid with malice in his eyes, burning a hole into that poor new walker! The sad part is that the kid just got right back up and thought nothing of it, like a puppy who kept getting kicked. Redirection didn't help, it is too soon for time out and I won't spank especially as the problem is violence.

If I know Oliver, this is like a week long phase, and then he will be back to sharing and being sweet! I just fear for the toddlers that get in his way in the meantime!

Rear-facing til Two!

This is some serious, serious stuff people. Please keep your babies rear-facing as long as you can. It is a matter of life and death. I don't care if they cry, I don't care if they scream, it is your job to keep them safe no matter what. This isn't a suggestion, this isn't a matter of one philosophy being equal to another like stroller v. baby wearing. This is a scientifically proven way to keep your child from dying in a car accident. Rear-facing children are FIVE TIMES more likely to survive a crash.

The AAP has changed their recommendation of rear-facing from 1 year and 20 pounds, to at LEAST 2 years old. The best is to rear-face until your child out-grows the rear-facing limits of your carseat, around 35-40lbs depending on the carseat.

My Easy Going Baby

He wakes up cranky...but forgets when he starts to smile
He hates to stop playing so we can shower...but plays peek-a-boo in the mirror
He pretends to eat his oatmeal...but dumps it out when I turn around
He drinks all of his cows milk...but begs to nurse afterwards
He loves to sweep...but only with the big boy broom
He cries when he is made to sit in his highchair...but he loves to help cook
He cries when it is changing time...but he doesn't stop pooping
He cries when the music is too loud...but he can't help but dance
He goes to other moms when we are in public...but only wants mommy at home
He cries when he is put in his carseat...but waves at the cute boy in the mirror
He screams when I vacuum...but then laughs when I chase him with it
He fights naps...but is so grateful that I force him to take one
He loves to be read to...but wishes I could read more than one book at once
He cries when it is bath time...but loves to pee on the floor afterwards
He cries when I do laundry...but helps me put it away
He goes to sleep with no tears...but wakes up with them
He runs from me during the day...but clings to me at night

He is fearless...because he knows I am there to heal him
He is independant...because he knows I am there to run to
He is precious...because he is mine.