So Much Fun

After dinner I took Evan down to the basement to crawl around and expel his energy before bedtime. He was happily exploring when I started “chasing” him on my hands and knees. He got a big kick out of this. When I stopped and crawled away from him he started to chase me… I swear! When he got to me I picked him up and turned him upside down and he loved every minute of it. Then I sat him back down and he started crawling away from me again. I started chasing him again and this time I said, “I’m going to get you”. Well he let out a squeal and a giggle like he knew exactly what I said to him. He started to crawl faster, but I got him. I did the same thing as before, I picked him up, turned him around and plopped him back down on the floor. Guess what he did next? He started quickly crawling away from me. I said, “I’m going to get you” and he squealed again. Amazing! He really knew what was going on. We were really playing with one another. As I was putting him to bed just moments ago, I looked at him in my arms and realized just how much fun the two of us are going to have together... Feeling very fortunate in this moment to have been given such a gift.

I just want to kiss his little face off!

Ummm, thanks mom...

Okay mom, that's good...

Mom, that's good! Stooooooop!

Up The Stairs We Go

Last night Evan CLIMBED THE ENTIRE FLIGHT OF STAIRS! It was like a miracle was happening right before my eyes! This little guy of mine is amazing. I was playing with him in our living room when he started crawling towards our front door. He stopped at the mat in our front hallway and admired the texture of it by patting it repeatedly. Then he saw the stairs and went for them. He started pulling himself up and I thought he was just going to stand there, but he actually pulled himself onto the next step, and then the next step, and the next one. I started squealing like a little school girl. I was there ready to catch him if he missed a step, but he didn't. He climbed the entire flight as if it was no big deal. When he got to the top he turned around and shot me the biggest grin! I don't know when or where he learned this. Just a couple of weeks ago I was trying to teach him how to climb the stairs and he wasn’t quite getting it. He’s developing so quickly it’s blowing my mind. I can hardly wait to get home from work today to watch him do it again!

Mom, there's someone at the door...


Okay, time to tackle these stairs!


This is a piece of cake mom...

How Quickly Things Change... From Desperate to Elated!

EVAN SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT LAST NIGHT!

After writing my last "desperate" post I continued to up Evan's formula for the rest of the day. In the end I guess that's what he needed because last night he slept through the night. HE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Maybe it wasn't just the increased formula, it might have had something to do with the fact that he hardly slept through the day yesterday. That first nap I put him down for only lasted 20 minutes, and it was the same for his second. So he was obviously exhausted when bed time rolled around. I'm preparing myself for the fact that he may be up 5 times tonight... But I'm also trying to enjoy this moment!

I ended up calling my mom yesterday afternoon because I was so distraught. A chat with her was exactly what I needed. She more or less told me to stop sweating the sleep thing. She said that if I could just shift my way of thinking that things might get better. I’ve been so concerned with his sleep schedule and trying to plan my day around when I might be able to get him down… Mom told me to stop all that! She said, if he stays up for four hours straight so be it. As long as he’s happy, he’ll fall asleep when he’s ready. She also said something that really resonated with me. She reminded me that Evan is a baby. She said that sometimes he’ll need me for no apparent reason and because he’s a baby all I need to do is love him and be there for him. So that’s it, I’m going to stop my fussing! If he’s wakes up after 20 minutes and he’s crying for me, I’m going to him. It’s not going to damage him for life, and I have to get it out of my head that he’s never going to sleep well because I don’t have him on a schedule at 8 months. My new belief is that it’s going to work itself out in time. I already feel the stress leaving my shoulders.

Energizer Evan

Evan oh Evan, why do you hate sleep so much? Why is it that you can be up for 4 hours straight and still not want to go down for your nap?! Why, when you finally do act tired and I put you down to sleep do you all of a sudden get your second wind and start playing in your crib like it's a jungle gym?

HELP! What can I do differently to get this baby of mine to sleep well? After talking to my wonderful girlfriend Hayley yesterday I decided that I might not be feeding him enough. Today I increased the amount of formula we give him before trying to put him down for his first nap. Unfortunately it didn't make a difference. Evan (even though he was yawning and rubbing his eyes) still protested when I tried to put him down. He cried while standing in his crib for 10 minutes. At that point I went back into his room, gave him his soother, and rubbed his back. He finally went down, but I want it to be easier than that, I mean shouldn't it be easier than that? I want him to go to sleep happily... Is there any chance he'll change? I've read sleep books and talked to friends and I'm really starting to wonder if Evan is "special" in a sense that he doesn't need the same amount of sleep as other babies? That sounds like a desperate mom talking doesn't it? I know in my heart of hearts he needs the sleep. I just don't know what I can do to help him get it. Even if I do get him down for his nap he hardly ever sleeps more than an hour. In fact, half hour naps are common around here. According to what I've read his first nap of the day should be two hours. Again, what am I doing wrong? I'm not even going to write about the horror that is his night time sleep. I'll just say that he's basically up every two hours.

I know, I wrote a post not that long ago talking about how much his sleeping had improved. Well it looks like the travelling we did over Christmas and our trip to Cuba officially messed that up... And this week we've hit rock bottom.

Desperate Mom - Out.

He only looks innocent...

Boo-Boo

Now that Evan is crawling like a mad man and pulling himself up on everything within his reach he’s getting some boo-boo’s. I follow him everywhere of course and always have one hand on him while he’s practicing his standing, but my reflexes aren’t always quick enough when he loses his balance. He’s already had a few good head bumps. Poor, poor baby. The worst is his cry when he hurts himself. You know the one where there’s silence for 5 seconds followed by a blood curdling shriek?! Ouch! Oh, and I haven’t even told you about the boo-boo of all boo-boo’s. It happened over Christmas. We were visiting our friends in Toronto and Evan was on my lap at the dining room table. I was trying to do something with my right hand so I didn’t have both hands around him when he squirmed. He ended up falling over to my right and hitting his mouth hard on the table. I instantly felt sick to my stomach. I’ve never heard him cry the way he did after that happened. I took him in my arms and held him tight and told him I was sorry. Over and over again I said it, “I’m sorry baby, I’m sorry!” Oh my gosh I felt so guilty. I ran upstairs into my friend’s son’s room and whipped out my boob in the hopes of soothing him. When I pulled him from my tight hold to put him on my breast I saw blood. Bright red blood was coming from Evan’s mouth. That’s when I freaked. I yelled for John and he came bolting up the stairs three steps at a time. There was blood all over my shoulder, and all around his mouth. John was calm, thank goodness because I was not. What happened was he cut his lip when he hit the table. A bit of booby juice and some ice and he was fine, thankfully.

You know I always thought I would be calm in the wake of a traumatic event (let's face it, all scrapes and bruises are traumatic when it’s your baby), but it’s something I have to work on apparently. I know freaking out doesn’t help the situation and I know there will be more boo-boo’s to come, after all, I have a boy on my hands! An active boy at that. I better toughen up.

If You're Dealing With Baby Diarrhea...

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Evan's New Friend!

My bestie, Emily had her second child on Thursday. She and her husband Brad decided they would not find out the sex, so it was an honest to goodness surprise when they found out it was a BOY! Griffin Patrick Weir is an absolute cutie. I went to visit Emily and meet the new addition to our friendmily last night. He is really too sweet. Congratulations Emily, Brad and Clementine!

Here's Clementine giving her new brother little kisses...