Tag Archives: babies

Thor’s Second Birthday

25 Saturday Oct 2014

Posted by in Fun Stuff, Taterbug

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Thor just turned 2 years old today, and it seems like it all has gone by way too fast. He has so much energy, and such a big personality. He is sweet and playful, and already quite creative in his own way. Everything is an adventure for him, whether it is running away with daddy’s drumsticks, or reading the same picture book for the tenth time that day. He loves owls and cats, but his favorite thing in the world always has been and still seems to be music. He is my little ray of sunshine.

Ugga-mugga little man, stay this sweet and little just a little while longer, please.

Where does time go?

A mommy question

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Daily Drivel, Taterbug

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I don’t usually go asking for “mommy advice.” This being my 4th child, I am usually not surprised by much, but as he’s gotten older, and now toward the toddler stage, Thor seems to be determined to be a horse of a different color, even more so than he has been all along.

To clarify, my son is very much a creature of habit, he has never, since birth, been a big fan of change. This extends not only to his routine, but other things like his toys, what music he finds comforting, and other things. Maybe you get the picture.

When things upset his “routine” or he is feeling insecure it’s not a happy time around here until he is secure again. Usually the thing that upsets him the most in that regard, are his immunizations. Usually those can throw him for a loop, and it seems we get him settled down, only for it to soon be time for the next set.

Eating is where we are having a lot of the problems I haven’t run into before. He doesn’t seem to want to transition to table food, even though he has been plenty old enough for awhile now. The texture of table food seems to bother him. He absolutely refuses to eat anything that isn’t the consistency of “baby food. If something is thicker, or the least big chunky, he will flatly refuse to eat it. Not even mashed potatoes please him.

John and I always offer him bites of what we are eating, but it is rare that he will try one bite, if at all, even if he otherwise seems to be hungry. I know part of the issue may be that he still only has only his four front teeth, and even biting is a new thing for him.

The only table foods he doesn’t seem to mind so far are vanilla yogurt, plain hummus, pita bread and pita chips. I have no idea how to get him to eat a wider variety beyond what he is already eating table food wise, except offering him tastes of our dinner as we already are. Meanwhile we are still making sure he gets the baby foods he will eat, and making sure he gets a bit of formula every day along with the whole milk until he is eating enough to make sure he doesn’t get anemic. He’s not quite capable of chewing meat yet with just 4 teeth I think.

He’s not picky about food, except when it comes to texture. He eats almost anything jarred we sit in front of him, and so far only has one mild food allergy. (apples)

I am kind of stumped as to how to approach this. All of my older kids were off baby food and eating table food just fine by the first birthday. I have no idea what the hangup may be here, other than he seems to have far less teeth than they did at the same age.

The smallest always lose the most

03 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by in Complaint Department, Rants

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I have a lot of worries on my mind the last couple of days, but also a lot of frustration and anger, when it comes to the current state of American politics. I could give two hoots less about the national parks, or the fact that Joe office worker with a nice cushy government job might get a few days or weeks of staying at home and twiddling his thumbs. What has me angry, scared and ready to pull my hair out for their astounding sheer idiocy the most?

The government shutdown is shutting down the WIC program. Talk about hitting our most vulnerable citizens where it hurts the most.

For those of you unfamiliar with WIC let me summarize: Wic is a federally funded program that provides infant formula and basic nutritious foods to low income children age 5 and under, and expectant mothers. Unlike food stamps, only approved foods in set amounts can be purchased with WIC vouchers. Not all people who receive WIC get food stamps, as the income guidelines to qualify are very different. The help WIC provides can make a tremendous difference to struggling families. Unlike foods provided by food pantries, the foods WIC provides are perishable staple foods such as infant formula, baby food (fruits and veggies)cows milk, cheese, cereal, eggs, juice and a small amount of fresh vegetables every month.

The children WIC provides help to are too small to qualify for free school lunches, and do not have that option. Food pantries usually do not stock infant formula, because the WIC program is usually able to provide it. If the shutdown goes on, older children will be able to adapt much easier than infants, who depend on formula and are not old enough to be table fed exclusively. In the present situation infants will be the most vulnerable citizens of all, when there is absolutely no reason it should come to this.

It frustrates me how the news media is decrying the closure of the national parks more than this valuable and life changing program being stripped of its funding. Bears will crap in the woods whether a few tourists are there to watch them or not, and the memorials will be there when the crisis is over.

I hope that those of you who have the means to, would consider donating some infant formula to food banks and other charities that feed the hungry right here at home, where we need it the most at this time, until the idiocy in Washington resolves itself. Many families are presently hanging by the thread trying to stay above water, and provide for their children, and programs like WIC make all the difference. I should know, my family is one of them.

Kids are going hungry right here in this country…

Kids go to bed every night that way more than you think…

As a nation, we should be ashamed of that!

Mister MiracleGro

20 Monday May 2013

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Today was Thor’s 6 month checkup, which came a couple of weeks late because we had to reschedule it. The doctor seemed rather pleased with him, and even joked that we must be feeding him MiracleGro instead of formula. She swears he grows by leaps and bounds every time she sees him. I can completely see why she says that. Thor is 30 inches tall and 18 1/2 pounds now at 6 1/2 months old, which is off the charts on their growth chart. Most babies don’t grow as big has he has until they are at least a year old.

She also seemed happy with his development so far, she gave him some tummy time and watched him roll around and reach for everything. She said to help him practice sitting up a little more, and to give him lots of time on the floor on a blanket so he could start working on scooting and crawling.

On a side note, she’s referring us to a genetics doctor, not because she thinks anything is wrong with him presently, but because we have discovered that the cause of my husband’s deafness may be a congenital defect. As Thor gets a little bigger he will have to be screened for the same inner ear defect, for which sadly there is no treatment or cure. Thankfully it’s only at most a 50/50 shot of him having it at most, and if he does it just means he will likely slowly lose his hearing as he gets older, when it will happen, or to what extent, there’s no way to tell.

This condition can also be aggravated by head trauma, so sadly no contact sports for our little tough guy until we know for sure what we are dealing with. Unfortunately at the present time he is still far too young to even be properly screened for the condition. His hearing for now is extremely good, so the doctor can’t see doing the tests until he is old enough to understand what is happening, not to mention he is still small enough that he may still be far too little for the scans to see clearly.

So far so good though, now we just have to get through the post-immunization grumpiness. Thankfully he won’t need any more shots until he is a year old. That enough is reason to celebrate in my opinion.

Hearing myself think

17 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Complaint Department, Rants, Taterbug

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The after shot crabbiness is still in full swing. The swelling on his leg from the shot is going down, and all the other symptoms seem to have vanished but this fussiness. He was like this for awhile after last time, and I can’t remember how long it took to clear up then. I just hope it goes away soon. My nerves are frazzled.

It seems any little thing can send him into a crying spell, putting him down for even a second, walking out of the room, me trying to eat anything, all of them seem to induce tantrums. It’s all John and I can do to keep him in a good mood even for a few minutes at a time. We can’t even have a conversation when he is fussing because John’s hearing is too bad for him to hear anything over him.cartoon_baby

I know as much as we parents love our kids to pieces, it’s days like these last few days that really put our patience and sanity to the test. Sometimes nothing you do seems to work, or only works for a minute and you are back to square one all over again. His diaper is clean and dry, he’s been fed, he’s being held, what more could he want? We seem to keep going in the same circles over and over again trying to figure it out.

I can’t even come close to pretending I am one of those people with those perfect looking lives you see on a lot of parenting blogs, I won’t even pretend to be. I get frustrated and frazzled with the best of people with motherhood on days like today. But I also love my son more than anything, and that alone, is what makes all this worth it.

I know better days are coming…please come soon…

Tomorrow would be nice…

Unhappy Campers

12 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by in In Hindsight, Taterbug

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It’s been a very long day today. The day started off nice enough, the weather was somewhat warm, and it was nice and dry at least the first half of the day. Unfortunately today happened to be Thor’s four month checkup at the doctor’s, and that means, you guessed it, more shots.

He did ok with them at the time, he cried a bit in the office afterward, but promptly fell asleep as soon as we put him back into the stoller to leave. He seemed mostly okay until mid evening just about the time the tylenol was starting to wear off, and then he started getting really grumpy. I am not sure if it’s the shots, or just his usual evening fussiness with the not feeling well from shots on top of it. I am thinking both.

I think getting him his shots is almost as rough on me as it is on him. I know they are necessary, but I always feel so awful having to put him through things that I know hurt and are scary for him. I worry, my husband says, far too much. Maybe I do. All I want is a healthy happy baby. I just really hate to see him cry that way. You’d think it would get easier with him being the fourth baby, but it doesn’t. It’s still hard.

Thor is going to grow up in a completely different world than my older kids did. There are family members my older kids loved that he will never get to see. Sometimes it’s sad to think about it, but he is never going to know what it is like to have a grandpa. He won’t have siblings or even cousins close to his age to grow up with. Sometimes I worry things will be too lonely for him. Part of me doesn’t know if I want any more children, but there’s a small part of me that doesn’t want Thor to grow up all by himself. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have another baby, but the thought of going through yet another pregnancy in my forties really scares me.

I know I can’t always fix everything for him. I can’t shield him from every hurt and disappointment he will face in life, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t some small part of me that wants to. I think all parents have that desire inside them. I just hope that I can balance my need to protect him, with giving him the room he is going to need to grow. I want to be loving and not smothering. I want to help him grow strong and not hold him back from the hard things he will need to do for himself, on his own, to help him grow.

You’d think I’d have the answers by now but I don’t. My past mistakes have taught me more of what not to do, than what I should do now. There’s not magic book of instructions to give us all the answers. I guess we all just have to do the best we can, and hope in the end it’s enough.

Four Months Old

24 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Taterbug

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It seems like only yesterday he arrived sometimes, but most days it feels like he’s been here forever. All I know is I fall more and more in love with this stinker every single day. I am blessed more than words can say to have him.

Thor is fifteen pounds and twenty-seven inches tall already. It amazes me how fast he grows and changes. He already looks almost nothing like his newborn pictures. It’s amazing just how fast he’s turned into his own little person, with so much personality, and a smile and laugh that could light up anything.

Now if only I could get him to smile for the camera…

Baby super glue

15 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Daily Drivel, Evil Wizard, Random Thoughts, Taterbug, Technical Difficulties

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The men in my life are not morning people

It’s another lazy winter day around here today. Thor still seems to be well into the clingy phase, which isn’t making getting housework done easy. He insists on having John and I both where he can see us at all times, or at least one of us.

John has noticed and pointed out something to me, that I never considered before. Thor tends to get upset if he sees you leave, but seems to take being separated better if you leave without him seeing you do it. We have no idea why this is so, or why he doesn’t seem to be dealing well with being left in a safe place like his crib or bassinet while we are working on housework across the room or just the next room over. One of us almost has to be holding him for the other to get anything done.

My older two children never really had this issue that I am aware of, but my youngest daughter did to a degree. Doing housework with her usually involved putting her in a snugli, or doing it while her father was available to keep her distracted.

We are hoping that this is just a phase that will pass as he gets a little older. Sometimes we don’t know whether it is better to let him cry it out or appease him. I know the parenting classes we took before he was born say that it is impossible to spoil a child at his age, but at the same time we don’t want him to become so overly attached to us that he doesn’t learn to calm himself at all.

Mostly I don’t understand the separation anxiety, other than the fact that he’s still too little to know that when we step away a moment that we are going to come back. He’s never been left alone even in his crib more than a few moments unless he’s been sound asleep, and even while he sleeps we are there in the same room with him in our own bed.

Sometimes I wonder if I should have been able to figure all this out by now, with him being the youngest of four. All I have learned is that every child is different. Sure, some things are a little easier, and I have quite a bit more patience than when my older children were small. They are all now grown, except for one teen that doesn’t live at home. It’s been strange to be suddenly starting all over again, just when the nest was emptying, but truth be told I’m really enjoying it.

I have my moment where I’m stressed out, and he’s crying, and nothing seems to be working, but I still wouldn’t trade anything for those baby smiles, and those little giggles he’s just started giving. I’m tired and worn out but every morning I still can’t wait to see those beautiful dark blue eyes, and those chubby cheeks.

For now the house is clean, but the clutter remains, toys, blankets and a host of other things we can’t seem to find a place for. Our basement is getting fuller, our closets runneth over…

Can we talk?

12 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by in Boredom, Daily Drivel, Evil Wizard, Random Thoughts, Taterbug

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I really really hate having a cold. I’m trying so hard not to get the baby sick, but it’s going to be difficult to take care of him and not pass this cold along. It seems this is the second time I’ve taken him to the doctor for a checkup and drug a cold home with me. It doesn’t seem to matter how careful I am not to sit too close to people, or to wash my hands when we get home, I still seem to always pick up some sort of bug while we are there. Ah the joys of parenthood.

Sometimes I think I would blog more if I thought much interesting happened. Now that it’s winter and we don’t get out much, not much of anything does happen everyday. My son is still so little that life seems to get lost in a blur of bottles, diaper changes and snuggling a baby that never seems to want to be put down. If John weren’t helping out with this “I must be held” stage I would be pulling my hair out.

Most days I feel like I don’t accomplish much of anything now. I take care of my son, and I may get a bit of cleaning done. I spend way too much time online, mostly reading, because there isn’t much else to do right now. Thor is still far too small to take him much of anywhere. With the coldest part of winter still to come around here, I doubt we will be going much of anywhere until it warms up this spring. It wouldn’t be so bad if we could afford a car, and trips outside didn’t involve pushing a stroller through the snow, which isn’t an easy feat considering the hilly terrain around here. Then again after Christmas is over, the rest of winter usually does blow monkey cheese.

Sometimes I wonder how John and I will make it through this winter without driving each other absolutely crazy. Money is so tight right now we are really limited on doing much of anything other couples might take for granted. We have no cable tv, have only been out to a movie once since we’ve been together, and going out to eat is a rare treat for the moment, unless he grabs sandwiches to go and brings them home for us to eat. (even that may happen only a couple of times a month right now) Spending over a hundred dollars a month at the laundromat is killing us, but everyone knows that babies go through some serious clothes.

For now there is more housework to be done, and I am being paged to come and help with it. John looks like he is fixing to curl up in the chair and go to sleep from boredom if I don’t get up to come and help him soon. I’d better get moving before he gets sucked into the universe of angry birds and nothing else gets accomplished today…