Babies Should Be Born With A Mouth Full of Teeth

Seriously, this teething thing is miserable.  I feel so bad for my poor baby.  I can tell he is in pain, but there is nothing I can do for him.  He hates his pacifier now I'm sure because it hurts his gums.  In turn, he won't go to sleep because he doesn't have his pacifier to calm him down.  It just stinks.  I was at my wits end yesterday trying to get him to take a nap.  He would scream every time I held him to cuddle him to sleep.  Plus, if I even got near his mouth with the pacifier, he cried harder and tried to clamp his mouth shut--at the same time.  I finally gave up and said I needed to take a shower, so in his bouncer he went while I took a shower.  He seemed content enough and didn't make much noise while I was in the shower.  When I opened the curtain when I was done, I figured out why...the little one was all tuckered out and fast asleep.

I thought the nap would last a while, but alas, it was only 15 minutes.  He woke up smiling, so I was happy.  That was pretty much how the day went...he refused to nap, so I found ways to make him sleep (yay for car ride!) and he woke up with a smile.  We did get to play for a bit and he laughed and laughed. 

Here is a good tip...don't call Daddy to let him hear baby laugh and leave a voicemail without saying something first.  Matt thought I was crying or dying or something because I didn't say anything and just was making baby laugh.  Well, on speakerphone at a foot away, it didn't sound as much like laughing as in person.  Matt was about to hang up on the voicemail and call when I finally said something and then he focused on hearing the laugh and not trying to figure out if we were both alive.  Lesson learned.

The Red Wings were in town playing the Sharks and we, of course, had tickets.  Colin has already attended 2 games and done great, so we hoped the same would happen last night.  No such luck.  He was fine and happy until he started to get sleepy.  No pacifier, no sleep.  I finally had to go out to the concourse and walk him around.  He passed out fairly quickly, so I thought it would be safe to return to my seat.  It was fine until the dumba*& behind us decided to start taunting the Red Wings' goalie.  So, Jerkface, he can't hear you, but my baby can!  All you did was wake my baby and make him start crying again.  Thankyouverymuch.  You can suck it!  We ended up leaving after the 2nd period.  I know, I took a baby to a hockey game and should expect loud noise.  Hey, he had noise-canceling headphones that do great, but when the guy behind us keeps screaming, they don't work forever.  Headphones only block out so much noise.  Oh, well...the Red Wings lost miserably, so it was better we left early anyway.

So, Little Man is miserable.  His teeth are right under the skin, but not popping out just yet.  I am sure it is torture for him because it sure is for me.  Please, please, please, teeth, just break through the skin!

Holy Sleep Deprevation, Batman!

This past week has probably been the most trying we have had since the first week Colin came home from the hospital.  Last Tuesday Matt took his temperature and it was 101.5.  We took him to the doctor and Dr. V said he had a little redness in his ear that was possibly an ear infection.  He gave us a prescription for antibiotics, but didn't say it was mandatory, but that he recommended it.  Matt and I both agreed not to give him the antibiotics unless he didn't get better in a couple of days.

We didn't want him far away at night, so Little Man got to sleep in bed with us.  Neither Matt nor I slept great, but we did better than if Little Man were in his crib in the other room.  Little Man really likes cuddles at night, so he sleeps pretty well when snuggled between Mommy & Daddy.


He couldn't go to daycare on Wednesday, so I ended up home with him Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I was ready to go back to work on Friday.  A sick baby and a tired mommy are not a good mix.  I needed the break of work.  I felt a bit like a bad mommy, but I was in need of a little baby-free time!  I also was in desperate need of a little sleep, but I would take what I could get.

After feeling really down about my mothering skills on Thursday, I decided I wanted a little fun time with Colin.  We both loves baths, so I got the tub ready and relaxed or a few minutes alone.  Then Matt brought baby boy in and we shared some bubbles.  Colin christened the tub before even getting in by peeing right into the tub in front of Mommy.  No matter, we were going to have fun anyway.

Colin got some hair on his head in the form of bubbles and looked adorable!  He has gotten into splashing, so he went crazy banging on the water.  I'm not sure if it is the water splashing or that he can't get to his feet that interests him, but he loves to do it!

It made me feel a lot better and we bonded as Mommy & son.  It is one of my favorite things to do with him because he always has so much fun.

I have the sweetest baby boy that makes me so happy!  By Friday morning I was feeling a lot better about my skills as a mother.

 Friday night Little Man seemed to be doing fine, but then after he had been in bed for a couple of hours he woke up fussing.  I usually let him go until he really starts crying, but I kept worrying.  Matt finally told me just to go check on him instead of worrying so much.  I went in and picked him up and he cried even more.  So, I changed his diaper and decided to check his temperature at the same time.  It kept going up and up until it was over 103.  A high fever.  So, I had Matt get the Tylenol and I got the antibiotics to get him started on them right away.  I am so grateful that I checked on him and we were able to get his fever down fairly quickly.  He got to share the bed with Mommy & Daddy another night and Mommy & Daddy didn't sleep all that well again.

So, it was a tiresome week.  Little Man didn't feel well, which led Mommy & Daddy to feeling pretty darn cranky & tired.  Now that he is on antibiotics, I hope he gets better quickly and the restful nights come again soon for all of us.

Fussy, Fussy, Fussy

Colin is my happy baby.  He smiles lots.  He loves people.  Since he turned 4-months (have I mentioned his age recently?) things have changed.  He cries more and fights naps and even eating.  I have no idea what is going on. I suspect some teething and a growth spurt.  Either way, it is making me crabby as well as him.
Today we went in to do a daycare visit.  It did not go well.  He screamed almost the entire time we were there.  I think we hit the double whammy of tired & hungry.  He doesn't know what to do, so he just cries.  I felt so bad for the daycare lady who tried to calm him down and even feed him a bottle.  He finally fell asleep at the bottle and we got him in his car seat.  Of course he woke up.  At least he started smiling at that point.  Talk about how to make a mommy even more nervous about going back to work.
We did have a nice visit with Chiara and Cayden at lunch, though.  Both boys did well and were pretty happy little guys.  I can't believe how much they are growing!

Cuties!

2 big boys!

Worst. Mommy. Ever.

Yesterday I was preparing to feed Munchikin (not munchkin--he munchies, he, he).  I propped him up on the couch facing me and not against the back of the couch.  I got up to get his bottle and on the way back I heard a loud thud.  As I rounded the corner, the pillow he was propped in was on the floor and so was he!  I go to him and he started to cry and so did I.  Oh my goodness it was the worst feeling ever!  I felt like a horrible mom who just didn't pay attention to what she was doing and let my child hurt himself.

I had to call Matt because I was so upset and afraid I had hurt the baby.  Matt could barely hear me because baby was crying so loud and I was bawling and trying to talk.  He finally understood what I was saying and asked if he should come home.  Yes, please. 

After a good five minutes of break-your-eardrums crying, Colin finally calmed down a bit.  I tried to feed him his bottle, but he started crying again.  I realized it was probably because the formula was too hot.  Great, not only did I let him fall off the couch and hit his head, I also tried to burn his mouth!  I cooled it down by adding another ounce of cold formula and then he started chugging away.  When Matt finally arrived home, Baby Boy was full and calm.  And then he smiled.  He was HAPPY.

Matt called the doctor's office (after I refused because I was so upset) and they said an advice nurse would call back quickly.  Quickly was about 45 minutes later.  She advised that we take him to urgent care to be checked just because of his young age (under 6 months).  This added to my shame as being the worst mom ever.

Urgent care wasn't too urgent as it took about an hour for us to be seen.  Baby Boy fell asleep for the first half hour and then we woke him up by having a thermometer shoved up his butt.  Yeah, still worst mom ever and feeling even more guilty.

The pediatrician proclaimed him perfectly fine after 5 minutes of checking him out.  Baby Boy was still smiling and happy--even while looking at the worst mom ever.  So, home we went.  I cried more and had a hard time sleeping thinking how terrible a mother I was.

This marks the milestone of the first time Colin was dropped.  Matt thanked me for being the first to do it.  I told him I would and I was right.  So, at least I get being right of of it.  Too bad I am the worst. mom. ever.

Day 2

We are on day 2 of Mommy at home alone with baby and puggy while Daddy goes to work. After yesterday's success, I expected today to be even better. I was so wrong! Colin started pooping around 3 am and it was nearly non-stop all day long. He was fussy all day because he was always in a dirty diaper, even though I kept changing it. It seems that as soon as I would change it he souls poop again. One time, right after a change, I had him sitting next to me on the couch when I heard the blowout...and it did blow out...on the couch and me! I didn't notice the poop on my pants until after I had finished cleaning it off the couch...it was all over my knees. I am still not sure how that happened--he was sitting next to me.

By about 4pm, I was calling Matt asking when he would be home.  I didn't get a nap and was exhausted.  Colin was cranky because he kept pooping his pants.  Matt needed to stay at work later because he is catching up with things from the last 3 weeks, so we were stuck with each other.  After hanging up with Matt, Colin and I both finally fell asleep on the couch.  It was a nice hour-long nap for both of us.

Matt arrived home around 6pm just as Colin was ready for another feeding.  Matt took over right away and I got a much needed break.

Matt was great about everything and just asked what he could do to help.  Thank you to all the other dads he knows that told him that there would be days like this and to just do whatever to help.

Today did come with one really good revelation...I had to go to the ATM, but didn't want to get Colin out of the car just for that.  I also didn't want to leave him in the car when it was over 90 degrees outside--even when the ATM was only about 10 feet away.  I started by rolling the windows down a little, but that seemed even worse because the a/c had cooled the car down more than the outside.  As I walked to the ATM, I had a revelation and thought that I could remote start the car and the a/c would keep running and the inside would stay cool, but the car was locked and I had the keys!  I did feel bad when I got back to the car and Colin was screaming.  Figured out later it was from a dirty diaper.

Here's to hoping tomorrow is a better day.