Friday, December 31, 2004

Eli finds his screech!

Today, Elias discovered that he could make really loud screeching sounds, in particular when he found himself dissatisfied by something in the environment, but generally, within any context he desired! I really adore the sounds! However, out to dinner tonight, Brad made the point that maybe people did not come out to listen to a baby screeching, especially a cute one that they are unable to personally fully enjoy. I did wonder if people were annoyed, but to tell you the truth, I think it was great that Elias had something to contribute to the ambiance. I guess I will end up being one of those mothers that promotes disruption and chaos! You know, the kind whose child goes tearing down the aisle at the supermarket. Screech away, my boy!

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Eli discovers his toes!

As of yesterday, Elias officially demonstrated knowledge of the existence of his little toes! He grabbed his right foot with both hands and pulled his toes up to his mouth! Those slippery things slid out of his hands, however, but he was persistent. At the end of the day, though, he hadn't actually ended up with his toes inside of his mouth, but close, very close! His little discoveries are just so cool.

He is really becoming a distinct little person, too. I've been feeling like we have more of a mutual relationship these days. He is communicating with me all of the time and I am really getting better at reading his little signals. Like when he's hungry, or tired of playing, or just plain "in need" of me. He likes to watch me wash my hands from the bathroom floor. He also enjoys doorknobs and is very exicted by any one of our three cats. He likes to have his name spelled to him, and his doesn't mind having his diaper changed as long as I inquire in an animated fashion whether I will find "poo or pee?" He prefers to nap with me, which can extend a good two hours, where without me, we're lucky to get 45 minutes to an hour. And, sometimes, when he is eating, he will break away from the breast to look up at me, study my face and then give me a big smile before returning to his meal. Elias is just amazing, he really is. I love him so much, it hurts.

And, he also almost rolled to the right. He appears to be a left roller, so far. But, he's close to the right, I'll tell ya.

And, I can literally see his hair growing right from his head. Crazy. I swear that today, when I came home from work, he looked bigger all around. They (babies) grow, that's what the do, I guess.

Elias celebrated his first Christmas 4 days ago. It was pretty mellow. His great grandma and grandpa came over and we had a hodge podge meal and opened presents. Elias seemed to really get a big kick out of quite a few of his toys, especially this counting catepillar thing that plays around 2 billion different songs. He sang and laughed right along with the crazy thing. Brad says he likes Bach and Beethoven tunes best. That's our boy!

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Eli gets a new chair!

Yesterday, I finally purchased a high chair for Elias. It's not one of those stand alone types, but something that straps onto the chair and advertises that it "grows with your child" becoming a toddler booster seat and with different recline options. Very high tech. It was also the only one at Target with a cushy padded seat, although Brad is convinced that it just looks cushy to the parent but is secretly torturous to the child. Anyway, I excitedly conned Brad into assembling and installing the chair last night and first thing this morning, I plopped Mr. Eli into his new chair and let him have at it! He seemed quite comfortable, despite Brad's concerns, so much so that he barfed into the attaching tray! It was quite impressive, too, because he managed to miss all of his clothing and the tray managed to catch all of the barf. A purchase well made, I would say. The chair also gives Elias the illusion that he is bigger and joining us "big" people at the table. I'm always looking for new ways to boost the guy's self esteem!

Elias is now over 4 months old, which seems pretty old in my book. He has started injuring himself almost daily, which makes him seem even older and causes me heightened anxiety about what accident is to transpire with each passing day. I've been unable to detect any patterns, for example, of increasing severity in injuries. This is good news so far, but I am considering having him surgically replanted inside my belly, just until he reaches age 1, for extra protection. Being a mom is hard on the nerves and emotions. It's also very lovely on the emotions and easy on nerves, so I guess it all balances out.

Elias is locomoting like a mad man! There is certainly no slowing him down now! He's a fiesty little squirt! We sure are having a grand old time with our little bug-a-lug!

Monday, December 13, 2004

Adventures in Babyland

Ugh, time has been flying by. I've recovered from mastitis, but unfortunately, Elias is now in full-on teething mode: VERY CRANKY and it would seem somewhat tired of his mommy. We had a rough day with lots of crying into mommy's ear and dissatisfaction with just about everything. Ugh. Elias has had some great times though, in the past week, and some memorable moments.

His Nana came to visit Wednesday night. He was real taken with her right away. I guess I should say for the both of them it was love at first sight. On the ride home from the airport, Eli screamed like a banshee and was completely inconsolable. Another incident in support of NOT taking any long road trips with the little guy. I felt sick he cried so hard. When we pulled into the driveway, I swooped him up in my arms for a big squeeze and a hands-on attempt at consolation. It worked, and we went speedily to bed. It was past his bedtime anyway.

The next day, we had a grand time playing with Nana. She was so amazingly sweet and funny with Elias. He liked her smile and her sense of humor, I could tell. She liked his smile and his sweetness. It was a good match! That evening, we went to see Grandma Boe. Eli had his crank on and did a weird cry in dad's direction. I'm going to blame the bulk of this new crankiness on the teeth.

The following day, which was Friday, I became an official heiffer. Mom (Nana) babysat Elias while I went to Kaiser and learned how to milk myself with an electronic milking device (A.K.A. "Pump in style" Medela Breastpump). It's kinda cool, I guess. I mean I no longer have to literally pump myself like a well. It still takes up both hands, makes a distracting sound and causes me to feel somewhat silly.

Elias was again crabby. When I called to check in, Mom said that Eli was really having a good cry. When I got home, his face was all blotchy, sweaty and red and he was ready for milk. He had to drink the bottle because I had just pumped, but seemed to calm down after that. He went to bed early that night. Oh, did I mention he no longer sleeps through the night? Oh yeah, goodtimes!

After an awesome visit getting to know his Nana, Elias sadly said goodbye to her on Saturday morning. I was so moved by how much they both seemed to love each other and it really made me weary for being closer to home and to my family. I don't want him to miss out on spending time with his best "Nan."

That afternoon, Elias finally pooed after 3-4 days without, and boy was it a landslide! He seemed to feel less cranky after that, who can blame him?? We went to a birthing class reunion, where he promptly found his crank again. He's been having trouble eating, going to the breast like he is hungry, but not making the commitment to eat. I read somewhere that teething can really bother babies while eating because the sucking further irritates the already sore gums. Oh, on this day, he also practically crawled! He got up on all fours, it was amazing! He didn't stay up for long, but it is a start! He definitely can roll like a tootsie, push-up like an Olympian, and creep like a spider!

Sunday morning, we went for a blustery walk. Elias had such a good cuddle in the Bjorn. He was pretty cranky again when we got home, but we managed to have a sleepy day. We watched a sign language video for babies. I think Elias is really going to get into signing. He seemed very aware and interested in my hands today when I made some simple signs his way. I look forward to being able to communicate better with him so that I can better understand and respond to his needs.

Today, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, was a challenge. He was very cranky and screamy all day (on and off). I hate it, but there's not much I can do except try to distract and just be there. :-( He was actually feeling somewhat better this evening, just in time for Brad, and what I struggled to not define as him not liking and being fed-up me, was a smiley face and a giggle for the great guy he loves lots, his dad.


Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Eli takes care of mommy

Elias is asleep on the couch right now. We were going to go see the "Moms and Babies" movie at the Kennedy School today, but one thing lead to another and now he's sleeping on the couch. He's really helping me to slow down and recognize how much physical work it is to raise a little baby. Here's why: yesterday, when we returned from the doctor and I started my antibiotic, he laid down with me, no problem, and slept for 2.5 hours. Today, he started to get fussy just as I was about to get us ready to leave for the movie. He wouldn't eat sitting up, and when we laid down, fast asleep we both went. Me, only for 1 hour, he's still down for the count. I kinda think he, in his own very baby way, let me know that we needed to stay home and that I am still needing to get over my breast infection, which turns out to be pretty painful and sucky. This idea could totally be junk though, he might be coincidentally having a growth spurt just as I am recovering from my infection.

Amazing Mr. Eli is a rolling fool! Clothed, naked, back and forth, belly to back to belly, it's crazy! He's also lifting his chest and head very high once he rolls onto his belly. I bet he crawls in a month. That is totally nuts. Just 3.75 months ago, that little creature emerged from my body as helpless as they come. Now, he quickly on his way to independence! He can even make this little toy that hangs from his car seat sing now! That requires a hefty tug downwards, he's never been able to do it before, but the other day, when Brad was riding in the back seat with him, he yanked it down and made the toy sing! He can also chew, selectively, on the hard plastic part of his binky, which he really enjoys to sooth the ongoing pain in the teeth. I've been doing a little "T-E-E-T-H" cheer with him to encourage those darn things out. No luck so far. Anyway, I suppose he'll be off to college before I know it.

Eli has the greatest daddy. He really takes care of us when we are feeling bad and needing help. We love him alot!

Friday, December 03, 2004

Eli's a big show off, now.

Today, Elias rolled so many times, I lost count! And, he rolled in his clothes, too! I'm secretly relieved he has decided to develop despite the burden of clothing. Could you image how worrisome it would be if he had to be naked before he would, say, take his first step, ride a bike, go to school?

Elias was very smiley today, at least in the morning. Perhaps his grinning describes how pleased he is with himself for waking me up so many times last night. But, seriously, I think the days of sleeping through the night are OVER. Poor guy, though. It's those damn teeth coming in! His mouth hurts like a "mo fo" as they would say back in the day. A lot of cruel things happen to little babies. Horrible gas, consistent barfing, explosive diarrhea every day, teething, and not to mention having an itch and being unable to coordinate the hands and arms to scratch it.
Oh, and here's another thing, not knowing how to cough up phlegm. Maybe that's more painful for me to hear thab for him, though. I'd take away all of the yuckiness if I could. Since I can't though, I guess I get to experience it vicariously. It gives me a lot of respect for the little guy.

Last night, before his first wake up call, Eli was really gum-smacking away on his thumb! It is so loud, it's no wonder he woke up! I'm so tickled by hand and thumb sucking. At least he's got something good going for him, even if it does wake him up at night!

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

He really did it!

Ok, so back to Monday, Elias definitely rolled from back, to the right and onto his belly. He was like, "Now what?" once he conquered the feat. Does it count that he can only roll naked? My son loves to be naked. If he is crying and I can't seem to console him, last resort is striping down to his birthday suit, and he's like a pig in mud! Then, when it is time to get dressed again for leaving the house or bedtime purposes, he is not a force to be reasoned with. That's where the "binky" comes into play. I assure him gently, as I put the "bink" into his mouth that it will help help take the edge off of the re-dressing process. Am I creating an addict?? Anyway, back to the rolling. He was starting to look like he was considering trying out the other side yesterday, but no success yet. We'll see what we can do to encourage him. Perhaps a little nudity?

Yesterday, Elias barfed in my eye. We were doing the airplane trick, where he flies around above my head. I guess it was a long time coming, because we have had several near misses. He spewed out a big glob of coagulated milk right on my eye, a direct hit! It's funny how I don't mind getting barfed on, peed on or pooped on. To have any of those things happen is more surprising than gross. I don't mind. Is that true love or what?