life with a new baby
Posts tagged love
Mean Ole Mommy
Aug 21st
So here lately, whenever Nathan gets in trouble for something, he stretches out his arms, toddles up to me, and gives me kisses and hugs. Even with little tears streaming down his face.
It doesn’t matter if I say a simple “No, not for Nathan” or “Don’t touch that, little guy.” His eyes well up with sparkling tears, his chin quivers, and he starts wailing a broken ambulance siren. Then he throws his little arms around my neck and kisses me.
That’s why I can never be mad at the little guy. He’s such a sensitive, precious sweetheart, and it breaks my heart when I have to hurt his little feelings and not let him do something that could cause him to get hurt, such as playing with electrical cords or grabbing the scissors the millisecond that I have my head turned. (How DO their little hands move SO quickly?). The way he acts when I have to tell him no, you’d think I’m the meanest mom in the world and that I callously crushed his heart!
This isn’t going to get any easier as he gets older… is it?
What I’ve learned from having a toddler
Jul 23rd
1. Sometimes it’s easier to just push toys around with a vacuum instead of picking them up. I am guilty of doing this quite often.
2. Toddler poo stinks. Oh yeah. And let’s not forget that poo will sometimes explode out of the diaper. When this happens, your toddler will more than likely roll around in it.
3. It takes you 50 minutes to do what people without kids can do in 15.
4. Everything in your house will be destroyed at one time or another.
5. Water gets everywhere when you bathe them.
6. Love hurts. I can’t even think about what life would be like if something happened to Nathan without turning myself into a blubbering, snot-dripping crybaby.
7. Choose your battles, and choose them wisely. Sometimes you have to lose a few battles to win the war and keep the peace.
8. When your toddler is unhappy, EVERYONE IS UNHAPPY.
9. Always keep a handful of toys out of circulation. That way, when your toddler has a meltdown, you can surprise him and keep him entertained for a while with a “new” toy.
10. You lose any and all privacy. Have to poo? Too bad. You have three options: hold it until nap time, poo with the door closed while your little one has a complete meltdown on the other side of the door, or let him in the bathroom and try to keep him from unraveling the toilet paper, emptying the trashcan, licking the floor, shredding the magazines, and going back in the “no kid zone” behind the toilet. All while trying to do your business.
11. You will be inundated with unsolicited advice. And the kicker? Most of this advice will be useless for you and your child.
12. You might lose some of your friends. Many people without kids just don’t get it. They don’t understand how you’re so busy, or why you can’t take 10 minutes out of your tantrum-evading, poo wiping, constantly-teaching-your-kid-how-to-behave, feeding, disciplining, emotionally and physically exhausting day to call or email them. They don’t understand that when you get a small break, you want to be alone with your thoughts so you can recharge, because these people are too busy being self-absorbed to notice that it’s not about them. However, there are other people without kids who DO understand, either because they have the power of empathy, they have been around many other parents with kids for long periods of time, or they have younger siblings. Hold these people close, for they are few and far between.
13. When all else fails, turn on Blue’s Clues, Sesame Street, or Dora.
14. Never underestimate the power of Mommy or Daddy’s kiss on a boo boo.
15. Your back will hurt. A lot. And then! Then, when your back doesn’t hurt, you will start to CREAK.
16. When eating, most of your toddler’s food may end up on his face, bib, lap, or on the floors. Or walls. Or your hair. Or the back of your neck.
17. You will find little bits of food squirreled away in the most random places.
18. There is nothing in the world comparable to your child kissing your cheek or wrapping his arms around your neck in a huge hug. It’s addictive.
19. Don’t be surprised if you try to breathe in your child while he sleeps.
20. Toddler toes are delicious. So are their fingers and hands.
21. Peas and corn do not digest completely. Neither do blueberries.
22. Feeding him too many carrots will turn him orange.
23. Do not smell sippy cups that have been left out. Or even open it up and look at it, for that matter. Just close your eyes really tightly, cover your nose, and dump that crap down the sink with hot water.
24. Prepare for WWIII if you have to skip or delay nap time, change his diaper, or tell him “no” for any reason whatsoever.
25. Smooth legs? Ain’t gonna happen. Just like you won’t win the lottery nor will you quickly and effortlessly lose that 60 lbs you packed on while you were pregnant. Also? YOU WILL NOT SLEEP.
Loveable little guy
Jul 8th
There is something so precious about Nathan putting his forehead, cheeks, arms, or hands on my mouth for a kiss. Especially when my kiss is rewarded with a huge smile and an impish giggle as he keeps his forehead (etc.) on my lips for more.
I love this age!! (Well, I’ve loved ALL of Nathan’s ages… and so far, this one is my favorite!)
Changing it up
Jul 6th
I hope you all had a wonderful July 4th!
We spent the day taking it easy and relaxing after a nice lunch with Paul’s grandparents. And even Nathan joined in on the chilling out by ONLY POOPING ONCE. He’s been pooping 3-4 times a day lately, and let me tell you, THAT GETS OLD. Who likes changing multiple poopy diapers a day? Certainly not many of us, me included.
We didn’t get to see the fireworks because we found out, once it was too late, that the fireworks in our town were going to be held on Saturday instead of Sunday. Saturday, however, we were watching the UFC fight, which was great, by the way. It was probably too late for Nathan anyways since they don’t start until around 10:00 at night, and Nathan is in bed by 9.
There’s always next year, though!
But today, our festivities are officially over. Paul has gone back to work after five whole days of being off. I always feel a twinge of sadness when he has to return to work, especially after a long weekend. I am lucky to have an amazing husband that loves to spend time with me and vice versa! I married a family man… exactly who I’ve been wanting my whole life.
So, in other news, I’m thinking about switching up my postings a little bit. Instead of writing at the same time Monday through Friday, I’m going to start posting whenever I have something to post about… whether it’s multiple times in one day or just once every two days or whatever. I’m still trying to find the right fit for me and what works best with my schedule with Nathan. We’ll see how this goes.
Becoming fast friends
Jun 23rd
Turbo, our Maine Coon kitty, has really developed a liking for Nathan, and will literally seek Nathan out. When Nathan’s in the living room, Turbo will sit near him, nonchalant as Nathan yanks his fur and is even tolerant of a tail pulling or two. He’ll sit on Nathan’s toys so that Nathan has to have contact with him. And when Nathan’s playing in his room, many times I will look over and see Turbo laying quietly at the baby gate that guards Nathan’s door, his eyes glimmering as he watches intently.
Sometimes Nathan will toddle over and squat down to Turbo’s level and engage in Baby Babble, complete with flying spit bubbles and intermittent excited jumping . Turbo will listen patiently while sniffing one of Nathan’s slobbery fingers that invariably finds its way through the openings of the baby gate.
I think Nathan may have a friend for life.
Another chapter has come to a close
May 17th
Breastfeeding. It’s been hard from the beginning. We dealt with latching problems, nursing strikes, and even weight-gain issues. Then, supplementing with formula brought its own set of problems, and Nathan developed an allergy to the cow’s milk protein found in all brands of infant formula, so we had to switch to soy. It’s been such a long, and at times tedious but all-in-all rewarding process, but that process has finally come to a close.
Paul and I are both avid supporters of child-led weaning, which is what it sounds like; the child pretty much lets the mom know when he or she is ready to quit nursing, and Nathan has decided he was ready to stop nursing. We lasted 14 months! That is a heck of a lot longer than I anticipated. I had always said I would try to make it for at least a year, which is what the American Academy of Pediatrics urges. Even though I was determined to go at least the minimum recommended time, there were many times where I thought we wouldn’t be able to hold out.
But I refused to just give up. And Paul was such a stong, loving supporter who wouldn’t let me just quit. Breastfeeding was too important, too vital to Nathan’s development for me to just give up at the first sign of hardship.
It was a struggle to work through some of the problems we had, and I think the worst of all was when Nathan wasn’t gaining enough weight. We switched pediatricians to one who was more knowledgeable about breastfeeding, and I even met with two different lactation consultants. Fortunately, the last lactation consultant I met with was able to help me tremendously, resolving most of the problems we were having.
Nathan was not an easy baby to nurse, but patience and perseverance saw us through, and I am so glad and even grateful to have had to opportunity to provide him with the best possible nourishment he could have. I have given him a jump-start in life with the building blocks for a healthy and strong immune system, given him proteins and antibodies not found in formula, reduced his risk of developing childhood obesity, and it also helped his eye and brain development, to name just a few of the many benefits.
We cut our nursing sessions down gradually. When Nathan started showing a lack of interest during the afternoon feeding, for instance, I stopped that particular nursing session. This went on until we were down to just once a day, and when he started losing interest in that last feeding, that was it. That was the end of our breastfeeding relationship.
Weaning is very bittersweet. On the one hand, I will really miss the bond that we shared and having that time together. But on the other hand, it feels great to not be on-demand anymore.
I am so glad to have had this experience.
For more information on breastfeeding, visit:
Kelly Mom which was my go-to site when I had questions
La Leche League
Breastfeeding.com
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