Busy August!

Nick had an extremely busy August, hence the paucity of posts, but here are some of the high- and low-lights:

-Nick adjusted to daycare: It was rough at first, but after about a month now, he is comfortable going to daycare every day from about 8am to 3pm. We ultimately will extend these hours further, but this is a really good start, considering how upset he used to get when we left him. Now when I go to pick him up, he's usually contentedly playing with toys and I have to call his name to get his attention. This is a good thing!

-First real sickness: At the start of August, Nick got sick. Very sick. The poor kid was teething, but on top of that, he had a really sore throat and cough, and the doctor also diagnosed him with pink eye and two ear infections. This was probably a function of starting him in daycare and the related increased exposure to other kids and their germs. We expected it, but it was so very sad because he was miserable. Fortunately, after visiting the doctor, giving him medicine, and lots of TLC, Nick survived and is back to his happy self. Whew.

-Family visits: Nick spent the first two weeks of August with BOTH sets of grandparents (lucky kid). First, his dad's parents flew in to spend some time with us, joined shortly thereafter by his mom's (my) parents. It was crowded in our little house, but everyone stayed with us and it was a loud, busy, fun time. At this time, he was getting over being sick (see above), so it was great to have a few extra helping hands.

-Baptism: Because family was visiting us, we were (finally) able to get Nick baptized! It was a sweet ceremony at our church. Nick spent the majority of it chewing on his little cloth shoes. Very cute.

-Gaining weight: Although he is still very underweight, Nick is growing and putting on weight. This is a good thing. I had been going to the pediatrician to check his weight every two weeks, just to make sure, but now she says he's doing much better. We don't have to go in again until his one-year checkup now. I can't believe he's almost one year old...

Nick is still cruising on furniture, and is starting to get very good at climbing. He loves to be independent, preferring to pull himself up and push his walking toys on his own. He has six teeth now (two on bottom and four on top), which he uses to eat all sorts of solid foods. We mostly feed him whatever we are eating for meals, which makes life easier for us, and also expands his palate. He pretty much enjoys everything except for bananas, which he still hates.

For the past few months, Nick has been shaking his head "no." He wags his head from side to side when you ask him a question, or make eye contact, or shake your head at him in any direction. Even if you shake your head up and down ("Yes, Nicholas, yes...") he still shakes his head solemnly from side to side. We think that he thinks he's imitating us, but doesn't realize he's doing something different.

It's super cute. Until I think about toddler-Nick being old enough to actually say no.

Daycare

We made the decision to start baby Nick in daycare, which began this week. Even though I don't yet have a job outside the house, we thought it would be best to get him used to being in a daycare during the days so that I can hopefully start a law job soon. Also, now that he is more mobile, it is harder for me to even do my "work from home" work during the day. Anyway, it was a good idea for a number of reasons.

He has successfully survived three days of daycare - the first day I sent him for three hours, then four, and yesterday he was there for five days. He seems to be OK - of course, he cries when I leave, but he seems happy when I come back again at the end of the day. The first day, he came back home and was SO tired! He slept for several hours that day, lying on the floor of the play room.

I also think it is good for him to have the experience of playing with other kids his age. With the exception of his friend Ella, baby Nick doesn't have many other little ones to play with on a regular basis. Daycare will afford him the opportunity to learn how to share and play and handle other little ones who also have teeth and poky fingers and kicky legs.

TEETH

New developments in Baby Nick's life include the arrival of teeth. The two bottom teeth, which broke through the gums last month, are now both poking out and are about halfway grown in. Nick enjoys using his new teeth to experience the world, which unfortunately includes fingers and noses in addition to toys and food. We are working on encouraging Nick not to bite us.

The advent of teeth has encouraged the introduction of a wealth of new foods, including meats and pastas. Nick seems to enjoy everything we feed him with the exception of bananas. Peaches remain an all-time favorite. He is also experimenting with finger foods, which is fun. He is able to grab little cereal puffs between thumb and forefinger, and successfully maneuvers them into his mouth. He also now can throw puffs to the ground when he is frustrated or finished eating. The dog appreciates this new habit.

Toys

It's amazing what qualifies as a baby "toy." I was cleaning up Nick's play area last night after he had gone to sleep, and about half of his "toys" are repurposed household items. Included are empty Gatorade bottles, empty green tea bottles (plastic), a small plastic container that used to hold chocolate-covered fruit, brightly colored party salsa bowls, and most recently, small nesting Easter eggs. C and I realized that we can go to the super-duper on-sale section of the grocery store and find "toys" for usually under a dollar. Hooray!

We found that Nick doesn't care much for stuffed animal toys. We have a whole shelf of stuffed animals in his room that just sit there, watching him. He loves anything that is hard plastic that makes noise when you hit it with another toy. He likes to rub the plastic toys against the textured walls, probably because it makes a weird noise and feels cool. He loves toys with buttons, and is attracted to anything with a wire (whether he's supposed to be playing with it or not).

We have a babysitter who watches Nick part-time a few days a week. She observed that Nick is very analytical, even at 9 months. He is always turning his toys over to look at the back of them, or at their undersides, to see what's going on on the reverse. Once he knows where something is, he is determined to get it again, even if you "hide" it by putting it up high where he cannot reach it. This is particularly true for cell phones and TV remotes. I have a feeling that we will need to do a better babyproofing of the house in the very near future...

Texas round 2!

May has been a busy month for baby Nick. We took our second trip to Texas, which meant Nick took his third and fourth plane trips. I was a little nervous that Nick would be difficult on the plane, now that he's a little older and able to crawl. Additionally, he cut his very first tooth the day before we left (naturally). All things considered, the flight ended up being fine. Nick slept for half of it, then C and I took turns walking and bouncing the baby up and down the aisle of the plane.

As always, we spent as much time on the trip as possible visiting with Texas family and friends. Nick was able to spend time with his maternal great-grandparents, mom's family and dad's family, including his two paternal aunts and his newest baby cousin who is 7 weeks old. We drove out to the country to celebrate Mother's Day, and even made it to Houston to see some of our friends. The drive to Houston is very different with a baby in the car!

Now that he is eight months old, Nick has been eating a variety of solids - now we've added sweet potatoes, avocado, peas, squash, bananas (which he seems to hate), and he's even gotten to gum bread and celery sticks. His one tooth grew throughout the trip home, and now it is poking out over the gums. Nick likes to saw everything with his new tooth - especially plastic toys and our fingers.

One of his new favorite things to do is SPLASH in the bathtub. We're looking forward to bringing Nick to the beach for his first experience with the ocean and sand. Considering how much he loves the tub, we think that the ocean will be fun for him.

His other favorite thing is climbing - Nick can now pull up on boxes and tables and couches... anything within reach. At the end of May he started pulling up and 'cruising' from one side of the couch to the other. He also has gotten better at dropping from standing to a sitting position, and pulling back up again.

It gets better

Sorry for the radio silence - I've been crazy busy lately, between the working-from-home and the being-Nick's-mom, getting back into my running schedule, and working on he organization. I love being busy, but it certainly makes blogging more difficult.

Anyway, I'm writing because I had a proud mom-moment the other day. I was at my favorite coffee shop, picking up a boba tea. Another mom was sitting outside with a baby in a stroller. She flagged me over and asked me about my son - how old he was, what he was doing at the time, how big he is, etc. Turns out, she has a three week old boy, and this is her first trip out of the house. She was in the throes of overwhelmed first-time parenthood, and wanted to know how long it had taken before I felt "normal" again.

I ended up chatting with her for a while, telling her stories about my experience and assuring her that it does get better. Her baby will sleep, and he will figure out how to nurse. He will learn to entertain himself, and he will stop crying when he hears your voice. I promised her that she would start to feel human again in a week or two, and that it only gets better from there!

I love talking to new/expecting moms and giving advice. I know that all kids are different so my stories are only so helpful... however, I also know that it is extremely comforting to hear what other people are doing, even if only to fool yourself into thinking that your situation is normal. Every new challenge is scary. It is less scary if you know that every other parent has had the same fears, has made the same mistakes, and has experienced the same things.

I know that I have a lot to learn, but it is nice to compare notes with others. And it was fun the other day to be the smooth, confident, knowledgeable mom... at least for a few minutes!