May 31, 2007

Today began like every other day, I picked Jude up from the babysitters at 11:30 am. I typically find Jude being held by Alice in her recliner with two to three toddlers surrounding them. Childish squeals of "Jude's dad is here" chime throughout the home based nursery as I let myself in. A couple of three to five year old girls rush over to me. They each take a hand in effort to guide me to my son while explaining how they've been watching their own babies. Their gestures suggest that the naked baby dolls lying discarded near the toy box may be their "babies".

Alice, on the otherhand, doesn't give up Jude so easily. On a good day, I get to watch our babysitter kiss and hug Jude for three minutes before I get to take him home. I have to admit that more tramatic things could happen to Jude, I'm just being a jealous dad. So, after a ten minute goodbye we made our way home.

Jude and I played with some toys, checked out the electronic entertainment. Then we had big lunch. Jude ate a biter biscut, 2 oz. elebow macaronni, 1/4 chopped pear, 1/3 bottle of greenbeans w/rice, 1/3 cup of cereal, and 1/3 bottle of bananas and apples. Then, we played with the dinosaur toy, read some books. He helped me clean up the kitchen and fold some laundry. Then, nap time came rather easily. I laid him down. He protested for almost 10 seconds after I left the room.

Luck runs out..sort of

Jude woke up at 4 a.m. this morning. Matt brought him to bed, as is the usual fare.

After I fed him, he was restless. He kept rolling over and crawling all over us. He would not sleep.

I had to sleep, so I took him upstairs and put him in his crib, and turned his music on. He fussed a little, but then went right to sleep! The little bugger slept until 6:45!

I think this is a turning point. He will no longer nap or sleep peacefully in our bed, so maybe he isn't going to be a toddler co-sleeper like I thought.

Matt & I decided to stop bringing him to bed in the middle of the night, should he wake up. We're going to try to give him water, then formula, then put him back in bed. Maybe I'll have to nurse him in his room. Maybe he wants Mommy. Hard to tell.

Either way, we're going to try and keep him in his room. He needs to learn to entertain himself and to soothe himself back to sleep. If he does take formula instead of breast milk, this will be a good step towards weaning from the breast.

Sleeping Like a Baby

For the 2nd night in a row, Jude truly slept like a baby. He went to bed at 7:45 pm, and didn't wake up again until 6:15 am. He slept well Saturday night, too, so really it was only Sunday night that he was having trouble.

I hope the good nights continue. I think he really likes his routine, and doesn't want it to deviate much. Plus, I've been giving him Tylenol b4 he goes to bed for his teething.

I've also been giving him more table food, and I wonder if that helps - more complex things to digest. Yesterday for dinner, I fed him:

a biter biscuit
a few spoonfuls of turkey/wild rice baby food, which he did not care for
1/3 jar of 3rd foods squash
1/2 rice cake
chopped up cooked pasta
Wagon wheel gerber treat thing
2 oz formula


That was at 5, and then I nursed him at 7:30. Oh, and he also wanted me to nurse him at about 6:30 - that's sorta unusual.

He did really well, and loves feeding himself the pasta and biscuits. I told daycare they could go ahead and start giving him little bits of what they give the big kids, and it sounds like he did great.

Another change is that I started putting him in "overnight" diapers. I don't know if it makes a difference as far as him sleeping, but I can tell that they hold a heck of a lot more and seem less heavy in the morning.

I also need to start thinking about weaning him from nursing in the next few months. By 1 year old (August 12), I'd like him to be completely breast and bottle free. I'm not sure if the breast-free thing will be harder for him or for me!

Baby Jude Recaps the Weekend

I had a fun-filled, action-packed weekend.

Friday, Mommy dropped me off at Nana & Papa's so she could go shopping all day. I know she felt guilty about that, but I don't know why. She had not been shopping in a couple of years! I LOVE going to Nana & Papa's! They give me tons of attention and they play with me all day long. Nana also loves to hold me and cuddle, which I love. Even if I wanted to go shopping with Mommy, I forgot about her once I was at Nana's. Mommy bought me a bunch of new clothes, too, which I don't really care about other than taking them out of the laundry basket and throwing them on the floor. That is lots of fun, and that is my "thing" right now. I have to concentrate really hard and breathe heavy when performing this task.

Saturday, Mommy ran around like a mad woman trying to get everything ready for our trip to Grandma Chris's. She took Doggy Ballou to Nana's for the weekend, but honestly, it's all out of sight, out of mind for me.

I had to sit in the blasted car seat for over 2 hours. I hate that thing. It keeps me in so tight to keep me safe, but I like to lean forward, and I can't do it in the car seat. Plus, I'm turned around backwards so I can't see Mommy & Daddy. Mommy needs to put up that mirror for me, but I heard her say she can't find it. Way to go Mommy.

Luckily, I slept most of the way and forgot about my discomfort. I woke up a couple of times and protested, but Daddy put the cry stopper back in my mouth.

Mommy first took Daddy to the church because he was in a wedding on Saturday. Mommy took me in to meet everyone, but everyone was only sorta interested b/c they were too busy getting ready. Everyone seemed flustered, so Mommy went ahead and took me to Grandma Chris's. That was fine by me, b/c there were too many strange people there, and I was hungry.

It was fun to see Grandma Chris again. I looked at her funny at first, because I almost forgot who she was, and you never know about strangers, but the memories quickly returned. Mommy fed me and Grandma Chris finished feeding me while Mommy got ready to go to the wedding.

While Mommy was at the wedding, Grandma Chris played with me, and that was fun. Then we sat on the porch to wait for Mommy & Daddy, and I observed the children playing across the street. Little kids intrigue me very much.

Then, Mommy & Daddy drove right by the house while we were sitting outside! Silly! Mommy was spacing out listening to Daddy, ha ha!

Grandma Chris drove Mommy & Daddy to the reception, b/c they are responsible parents. I got to go along for the ride. I stared at Mommy as we drove away. I wondered how we were driving away if Mommy was not behind the wheel. I wondered why I wasn't with Mommy. And then I forgot all about her. Mommy looked like she didn't want to leave me [note from Mommy: Jude is right! It broke my heart! But, I also quickly forgot. Well, sort of.]

While Mommy & Daddy were at the reception, Grandma Chris played more with me, read me books, fed me, and gave me a bath in the kitchen sink. Mommy & Daddy called once to check on me, and I got to talk to them on the phone. I don't know how they get inside that phone, and there is only one way to find out: by tasting the phone. That didn't really tell me much though.

When Grandma Chris put me in the crib the first time, I cried and cried, so she took me back out. Later on I was so tired I could no longer fight it, so when she put me down again, I went right to sleep. I slept all night until 6 a.m. the next morning!

Sunday, Grandma Chris took me for another walk in the stroller (like she did yesterday and I forgot to mention it), and like yesterday, I fell asleep. Then Mommy & Daddy put me back in that dreaded car seat again, and it was another 1.5 hour drive to see Cousin Reid at his 1st birthday party.

It was fun seeing more people and Cousin Reid, along with his cousin, Dillon. Lots of people held me. I got to play with Cousin Reid's toys, which kept me entertained for some time.

Mommy put me in the grass with the other 2 babies, and we all played. Reid & I were particularly happy to see each other. We crawled right towards each other with big smiles on our faces. Everyone thought we were so cute!

Reid then started loving on me like I was a baby or a cat. He was also paying me back for me kicking his butt last time (in October). He kicked my butt this time, but he didn't hurt me. However, I started to get concerned. So they picked me up and put me on top of Reid instead. I can't wait 'til Reid and I can actually talk and play together.

When Reid opened his gifts, I was right there in all the action. The first time I tried to crawl over to inspect Reid's new clothes & toys, Mommy pulled me back to be polite. But Cousin Walt (Reid's dad) said it was perfectly fine for me to be there, and Reid didn't care, so I got to play with all of Reid's new toys. I was sort of oblivious to the fact that this was Reid's big day! I thought the toys were for me!

I was so tired and wanted to take a nap, but I could not miss any action, so I forced myself to stay awake. That all made me a little fussy. That's okay though - Mom can handle it.

Then it was time for the drive back home - another 1.5 hours. As soon as I was put in the car seat, I passed out. When we got home, I was very happy to see my home and my toys, and especially to see the kitties and the doggy again. The kitties ran away from me as usual, but the doggy came up to me and wagged her tail (after Mommy picked her up from Nana's).

That night, I had lots of trouble going to sleep. My schedule was all disrupted. In addition, my 2 front teeth are breaking through, and OWIE!! So when Mommy put me in my crib at 8, my eyes popped right open. I cried and cried and cried until she came back. She tried for an hour and a half to get me to sleep, but I would have none of that. The last time she came back up, I was laying face down crying as pathetically as I could muster. Mommy felt sorry for me and took me to bed to sleep with her. Yay!!! That's a point for me! As soon as she lay me down next to her, I fell asleep.

Monday, I spent the Memorial Day Holiday with Mommy & Daddy at home. We played and had fun. I got to eat little pieces of big people food, and to feed myself. I did really well. I ate A LOT, and I didn't choke at all. I am getting to be a big boy. I'm still trying to master this eating thing though. 75% of it fell into my lap, but Mommy still said I did a good job and she clapped for me.

I've almost got that clapping thing, and that waving thing, figured out, by the way. I just get so mesmerized when I see other people doing it, that I sometimes forget to do it myself!

That night, I know Mommy was worried I wouldn't go to sleep again, but I was feeling pretty good being back at home and back on schedule. Plus, Mommy gave me some Tylenol before I went to bed. I went right to sleep at 7 pm.

I did wake up at 11:15 and wouldn't go back to sleep at first. Mommy rocked me, and that felt good, but I wasn't going to sleep that way either. So she put me back in my crib. I protested at first, until I saw that Mommy lay down on the floor right beside me to sleep with me for a while. I'd close my eyes, but then opened them quickly and lifted my head to make sure she was still there. I did this several times, and she was always there. It looked like she was asleep, too, so I just went ahead and closed my eyes for the night. I slept all the way until 6:30 a.m.! I am such a good boy.

Mommy found blood on the bed sheets this morning, and she is worried. I have a little eczema on my face, and I scratch it in my sleep. That is where Mommy thinks the blood is from. I think Mommy might need to cut my nails. I know she is worried and wishes she could find a cure-all for this.

Today, it was business as usual. It was off to daycare this morning, and Mommy is off to work. As much as I like new things, I also like our routine and it makes me feel safe.

My Mommy & Daddy love me, and I am glad I have an extended family who loves me, too. I plan on being a very well-rounded individual when I grow up.

Two front teeth

I think Jude is teething again. He has his bottom 2 teeth in already. I think the top 2 are on the way.

He is drooling like a mental patient, for one thing. He's generally fussy, as well.

Also, when he teethes, he wakes up more in the middle of the night. Last night, he got up at 3 a.m. Matt brought him in to me, I fed him, and then the little bugger was wide awake. He was rolling around, crawling all over me, babbling, the works. So I took him back out to Matt who was still awake.

Matt brings him back in at around 4:30 so Matt can go to bed, and Jude is still awake. So I feed him. Again. That is a lot of feedings for this age. This time, he went to sleep.

He wasn't really crying though. Just awake. So it might be because he took a 2.5 hour nap yesterday, and that may be too long. I even woke him up from it. I think we will limit his naps to 1 hour and see how that goes.

His other issue right now is eczema. It comes and goes, but we just cannot totally subdue it, esp. on his cheeks. The doctor says there is not much we can do but keep using Aquaphor or lotion. I'm going to Google research it. You always find reliable things on the internet, right?

The good news is that he's "talking" a lot more these days. He wasn't really saying much before, but he has suddenly picked up. A lot of general babbling, and ba ba ba ba, da da da da, ma ma ma ma.

His other cool things of the moment are:
pulling himself up
cruising
opening and closing doors
helping me turn of/on light switches

Of course, he already scoots/crawls. He has also figured out how to get some of his blocks and balls into the toys designed to take the blocks and balls. That's quite an achievement.

9 months old

Jude is at a frustrating stage. Not frustrating for me, but for him.

He clearly knows what's what and is understanding concepts, yet, he does not know how to express himself, neither verbally nor with body language.

I can tell this irritates him. When he gets tired, he cannot tell me so. Instead, he arches his back and cries when I'm holding him. I think he wants down, so I put him down, wherein he crawls up to me, pulls himself up on my leg, and complains. I pick him up, and he arches his back again. Heh.

I know it means he's tired now. Usually if I rock him or feed him at this point, he's good for a nap or to bed for the night. He sometimes resists this, too. He'll eat a little, sit up and look around, eat, sit up, repeat. It's like he does not want to be tired. Not when he could crawl around and explore.

I have to put him in his crib, he cries and cries, I pick him up once to soothe him/and or finish him off feeding wise, and then he is down for the nap or for the night.

He's asleep right now. What a cutie. I think any day now he will start waving and clapping his hands. He's close. He already scoots/crawls really fast, and pulls himself up and cruises. He is also uttering noises quite close to dadadada and mamamama. He "talked" a lot today. He's getting quite verbal.

And he loves his books. What a cool kid.

An Introduction

I should have started this nine months ago. This blog is all about my baby Jude. It will take me some time to catch up, and then I will continue in the present. Jude will be adding his own posts, as well, because he is a genius baby.