The bean turns 3/4!

Happy 9 month birthday my sweetie!
Can't believe you've been 'on the outside' as long as you were in my belly -time flies.

Nine Month Doc Appt.

This morning the bean and I made our way over to the pedi for his well baby check-up and here are his stats:

19 lbs 12 1/2 oz (40% percentile)
29 1/2 inches (80% percentile)

My little boy is much like his Daddy, long and lean. Let's hope he stays that course and doesn't take after me in the height department.

Charlie also has two more teeth getting ready to break through (his top two) and now he is officially too big for his Graco snugride fantabulous car seat. I knew that was coming when he would fight me every time I'd try to strap him in. I can't even get the poor guy in his seat with thicker clothing/coats. So now I have this lovely on it's way in the mail: That, my friends, is the Britax Marathon in cowmooflage :o) I did extensive research on car seats and would recommend this fantastic website for those looking for great info.

Finally, a shot with teeth!

yeah!

and a few others for good measure...

Happy Friday :o)

When all else fails...

Baby prison! I was so tired today, still getting over the tummy issues. After chasing Charlie around for hours I needed to contain him for just a few minutes to catch my breath...

I'm innocent, I swear!

It's a hard knock life...

Ah, it's not so bad.

Especially when I have my ab fab toy...

I have to thank Amanda for reminding me of how lovely a toy the cardboard box can be. It's magic can only be surpassed by the Trader Joe's *free* balloon. That balloon has been the bean's favorite plaything since last Friday when I took him to Traders.

We played our first game of catch with it yesterday. Charlie was giggling his adorable head off! He loved pinching the plastic of the balloon so it shot towards me and then I would toss it back to him.

Our seventh month

Sweetheart,

Your mother is getting extremely delinquent in posting her monthly updates. Your seven month letter is coming eight days before your nine month birthday, ack! What can I say, you keep me very busy ha, ha!

You became even more vocal. One day when I was feeding you in your high chair you decided to try out your voice and shouted at the top of your lungs. I jumped at your outburst and you thought my reaction was hilarious, so you decided to repeat it over and over, laughing in between shouts (your arms would come together too, Daddy thought you looked like one of those stuffed animals with the belly that squaeks when you push it). Now you enjoy doing it off and on for kicks. That and you've been practicing you "sss" noise a lot, like a little snake. We do it back and forth to each other. You've also been practicing your mamamas and dadadas much more.

You perfected rolling, if rolling were a sport you would be an Olympian my dear. The speed at which you flip your body around is quite impressive and reminiscent of a bowling ball. You started the building blocks for crawling with your tummy off the floor and lots of rocking. The one night you just decided to get up off your belly- it was magic and I was in awe.

We've gotten more adventurous with the foods we try out and its been so much fun seeing your reaction to it all, the faces you make are priceless.

Your first Christmas Eve was memorable. You did fantastic at the church service, flirting with every girl you could make eye contact with.

Then Christmas day you opened presents, played with your cousins, spent time with Mima and your aunts (aka fairy godmothers) & grandma and grandpa. By the end of the night you (and I) were pretty exhausted. Then on the 26th your gift for Mommy and Daddy came- your first tooth! You weathered it like a champ and thank goodness are now feeling much better.

My sweet boy, I can never say enough how blessed I feel to have you in my life. You bring meaning and joy to everything and everywhere we go, people see the beauty radiating in your little heart and sweet smile-strangers are always compelled to tell me so. You've already touched many lives and made so many people smile just by being you. Always know that you are a gift to this world; one of the Lord's children. Always know you are loved.

Your lucky Mama

Perfect Peepers

Charlie was such a trooper at the eye doctor's office. His doctor said he was the best little patient she's ever had! She had to put drops in his eyes to dilate them for tests; drops that sting. He took everything with the sweet and gentle disposition that is so Charlie.

The doctor said he has perfect vision, eyes are very healthy, and not to worry at all. Apparently many people (not just babies) have an inclination to have their eyes drift when they are drowsy and that it usually is not cause for concern. Now Mama can breath again...

Bugged...

Sunday afternoon I had the strangest feeling in my throat and stomach- like I was 9 weeks pregnant. I had that queasiness that lingers at the back of your throat. By the evening I felt like I had been hit by a truck, either I had food poisoning or a stomach bug. I won't drag you through the details, but I'm pretty sure I'm down a couple pounds...

Yesterday I attempted to send Joe off to work, thinking I could manage- notsomuch. I called him at, oh about 9am, and asked him to come home because I could barely crawl out of bed. Thank God for my husband, because he saved the day- took care of Charlie, washed clothes AND ran the dishwasher, woohoo!

I finally dragged my sorry self out of bed at about 3pm. Luckily I started feeling better soon after. Feeling sick does nothing more if not remind me of how blessed I am to have my health.

Today we are off to a specialist's appointment that again makes my tummy a little shaky. Charlie has been showing signs of a possible problem with his eyes. When he wakes up from a nap or is woozy, his eyes are not symmetrical- meaning one eye drifts off from where it 'should be.' I'm praying this is something he will grow out. We'll see what the doctor says, gotta run and get ready...

::Sigh:: If only...

...I could have eyelashes like Charlie.

PS~We're sleeping through more nights than we aren't! Yeah!

Oh what a beautiful morning...

Whoa, we had a rough day yesterday. My little guy was one seriously overtired and cranky bean. Towards the end of the night he was throwing temper tantrums if I looked at him wrong.

Last night Charlie went down fighting- hard. I felt like an awful mother and resorted to calling my own Mommy to get some support while on the Ferber front line. She gave me the strength and diversion so that Charlie could settle himself. And then my sweet Charlie slept through the night AGAIN!!!

The birds were singing 'good morning' to me, my little man was smiling a big cheese grin when I scooped him out of his crib and magically there was no headache buzzing in my noggin.

I am praying for a repeat performance tonight. We had a really good day, Charlie ate and napped great.

I tell you if this starts becoming more of a pattern I can understand why people are able to have more than one child. I might even contemplate it myself sooner than the two year time frame I tossed at Joe the last time we discussed it. But let us not count our chickens before they hatch....

Best laid plans...

I feel like death warmed over today. A magnificent headache is sitting on my temples like a two ton hippopotamus. An alcohol free hangover :o(

Charlie was up for hours last night. It started a little before 2am. He didn't really cry, just felt like whining/moaning/talking to himself. I knew there was nothing wrong with him or I would have rushed in (I even checked him quietly in the dark without him noticing).

Joe and I sat and listened to him for an hour and a half and then I cried uncle. "He must be hungry, he didn't eat as much as he normally does," I mumbled as I staggered to the kitchen for a bottle. Joe was telling me, pleading with me to ignore it and let Charlie ride it out. I couldn't take it anymore-I needed (and need) sleep.

Went in and fed Charlie and what did my little bean take? Not 7, 6.5, or 6 oz...3 oz of formula. "You've just been played by the master manipulator," is what my husband said as I collapsed back into be at 4am. He's right, and now I have to be twice as strong tonight. Consistency is the key to 'sleep training,' and I just screwed the whole thing up. Oh well, you live, you learn.

As I drifted off to sleep at 4:30 I sent a silent prayer out that Charlie would sleep late today- but he had other plans ;o)

How Malcolm's days are spent now...

Before the Malcolm spotting, just hanging out

Spotted!

Mussssst get to kitty!!

Come out, come out wherever you are!

Maybe if I try to sneak up stealthily he will hang around to play??

My plan - thwarted again- bummer. (notice Malcolm has sought higher ground).

Fingers, toes and ties crossed....

Dare I even whisper it...but I think that our new sleep strategy is working.

This weekend I heard back from the sleep specialist via email and I have to say I was more than a little disappointed by her response. I guess I shouldn't expect so much for a $35 email from an sleep expert residing on the 'gold coast' of CT. She hinted around a plan in her email response but gave me no concrete answers. Instead she wanted to hold a phone consultation with me for $250 to solve everything- whatever. Her abbreviated email response the next day sounded an awful lot like Ferberizing....

Friday night I had an epiphany of sorts. Charlie was having an awful day with his reflux flaring up and causing him a lot of pain. As I was holding him in my arms trying to comfort him to sleep, time dragged on and Charlie was beside himself. After the 40 minute mark, I realized that my 'being there' was doing nothing for him (a bit dense, aye?! You would be too if you hadn't gotten decent sleep in six months). So I did something I had never done before out of frustration, exhaustion. I put him down in his crib awake with his lovey, kissed him goodnight and left the room.

This weekend we started cry it out/Ferber because I was at my wits end with all of this. It was affecting the emotional and physical health of our whole family. Joe and I had been barking at each other too easily...our nerves felt like frayed wires, pulsing with uncontrollable outbursts...

And again I am afraid to admit that things are going remarkably well.

The night before last Charlie slept.through.the.night. As in 8:00pm to 8:00 am. Are you seriously kidding me? Is this what it feels like to be a human being again? I won't say he didn't make a few peeps, but there was zero crying and he was able to fall back asleep within seconds of stirring.

And then it happened again last night!?!

Joe and I looked at each other this morning dumbfounded. Could this all be coincidence? Could it be Charlie is just eating enough during the day now to make it through. Could this be a cruel joke and we will fall back into the cycle of endless night waking and look back on these two nights as an island paradise, an Atlantis, that we can't navigate our way back to?? To be continued...

Sleep- or lack of it

Forgive the lack of entires but I've been busy at nights updating my 'Charlie log' preparing for my call with the sleep specialist.

Last night as I was trying to get Charlie down for the night a familiar thing happened, he projectile vomited his whole 7 oz bottle all over us both. Poor thing was so upset and had be just centimeters away from sleep before it happened.

The rest of our night did not go well. He go up every hour from 7-11, several times shrieking from gas pain. Then at 1 am he was hungry so I went into fed him and as soon as he finished the bottle I tried to put him down. His reaction- screaming. Every time I tried to put him down after that resulted in screaming.

When he was in my arms he was relax and his eyes would literally roll back into his head. I'm being played. After four attempts to put him down I felt awful but I had to leave him in his crib. I am so spent physically from lack of sleep for months that I now have come to the realization that we are going to have to do some form of cry it out/ferberizing. I can't be a good mother to Charlie if I don't have some level of energy to keep up with him. I'll post back soon and how this all plays out....

Happy New Year :o)

I cannot believe that it's officially 2009. Joe and I rang in the new year by cooking dinner and late night appetizers together, watching TheTwilight Zone marathon on SciFi channel, reading and tending to our teething little man. Poor guy just had another bottom tooth pop through today. Teething seriously bites.

I've made a resolution to be more healthy this year and Joe and I are also going to attempt to make January complaint-free. Instead of being negative we want to focus on all the amazing things happening in our life together. We've also made a pact to say three things we are thankful for at dinnertime, in addition to grace.

Below are some random shots from bath time the other night, Charlie is currently enthralled with bubbles. Everything is magical in a baby's eyes :o)