When Aaron is teething (and he is currently working on all 4 canine teeth), he often bites his right wrist. Two days ago, he discovered he could make funny noises using his wrist. At first, he was just making an "uhhhhhhhhhh" sound with his wrist in his mouth. Then Thom patted his chest so that the sound reverberated. Aaron thought it was funny, and he improved upon the game.
29 June 2008
27 June 2008
Banana Banana
You've probably heard this horrible knock-knock joke, but it was new to Aaron and he thinks it is funny.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say Banana?
I told him this joke the other night while feeding him a banana. He obviously doesn't get the punchline, but after I repeated the first part a few times, he started laughing just when I said Knock, Knock. There's just something funny about saying banana twice.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana Banana.
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say Banana?
I told him this joke the other night while feeding him a banana. He obviously doesn't get the punchline, but after I repeated the first part a few times, he started laughing just when I said Knock, Knock. There's just something funny about saying banana twice.
25 June 2008
Physical Therapy IV
Last Friday Aaron had his assessment with our new physical therapist, Jan. She came out to the house around 8:30 in the morning. She asked us some questions about his development so far and then did some observation and exercises with him. One of the things she did was put Aaron on a giant bouncy ball. She held him on top and then moved him to the sides and then to the back, watching to see if he'd put his hands out to catch hiimself (when she went to the sides) and if he'd use his abs to right himself (all directions). He did really well on that test.
There was no question that he was delayed and we planned follow up visits once a week. Some of the things she did with him, that we were supposed to work on with him during the week, were getting him from a sitting position (on our legs or a low stool) to a stand at the coffee table, getting him to crawl over legs or pillows, just getting him crawling more in general, and working on getting him from his knees to his feet (when standing at the coffee table).
I have to say we didn't do very well on this for two reasons. One is that she came on Friday and again today - less than week which wasn't much time to get into the habit of doing his new therapy with him. But also, Thom strained a muscle in his lower back on Saturday and has been unable to help out with Aaron as much as he usually does. He can't pick Aaron up, so I can't leave him alone with Aaron for more than a few minutes, but he has been good about feeding Aaron - one of the few things he can do to help out. So it's been a rough few 4 days and physical therapy slipped to the bottom of our list. Thom can't get into the car so he hasn't been to the doctor, but he is taking Aleve and doing easy stretches and is slowly recovering.
When Jan came back today, she had a written assessment of Aaron with her. She broke down his gross motor skills assessment into two parts. One was on stationary skills (like on the ball) and for that, he was in the 11-13 month range. But for locomotive skills, he was at the level of an 8 month old, or in the 2nd percentile for his age.
She was here about 30 minutes while we sat on the floor with Aaron and worked at the coffee table with him. I'm supposed to focus on the sit to stand exercise this next week which should help strengthen his quads. We put his toys on the table and it's basically a game for him, not some form or torture. Not that he always cooperates. Not when there are CDs that need to be pulled off the shelf just a short crawl away.
Jan is really good with him. She is a new grandmother, too. I like her and like that she comes to our house. And I especially like that she used the adjective "adorable" several times in her report to describe Aaron. She comes back Tuesday. I'm sure I'll remember to spend more time on physical therapy this week. And hopefully Thom will be recovered soon and can help out.
More Father's Day photos
My sister Lia hosted lunch on Father's Day. She grilled up fish for fish tacos and then we roasted marshmallows over an open fire pit for dessert. Lia has a large backyard and there were a lot of activities going on. In addition to roasting marshmallows, there was badmittion, ladder ball (my dad's new game that some of his kids got him) and giant bubbles.
My nephew Alex was home from college, so all 9 of my parents' grandkids were together. They patiently grouped together while about 4 different cameras tried to get a good group photo. Some were more patient than others.
From left to right: Back row: Christopher, Alex, Elizabeth, Larissa (holding Aaron), Mattea
Front row: Grayson, Connor, Noah
Roasting marshmallows.
This is the ladder ball set we gave my dad.
Alex and Mattea playing badmitton.
Mattea making giant bubbles.
17 June 2008
Affordable diapers
Some of you might remember back in October that I posted the YouTube video of Anita Renfroe singing her Total Momsense song to the tune of the William Tell Overture.
Well, I just found out she did a new song (same tune, different lyrics) for a Luvs diaper promotion. You might also remember that I love Luvs diapers. I've been using them loyally since I received a free package to try out last year. Not only do Luvs perform for us, they are easy on our diaper budget. And now Luvs is offering a $5 off coupon to parents for visiting their site (www.luvs.com) on June 25th - but quantities are limited, so make sure you visit early. If your grocery bill is as high as ours is lately, that $5 is a nice incentive. They are going to post Anita's new video on their website on the 25th, but you can get a sneak peek here:
Well, I just found out she did a new song (same tune, different lyrics) for a Luvs diaper promotion. You might also remember that I love Luvs diapers. I've been using them loyally since I received a free package to try out last year. Not only do Luvs perform for us, they are easy on our diaper budget. And now Luvs is offering a $5 off coupon to parents for visiting their site (www.luvs.com) on June 25th - but quantities are limited, so make sure you visit early. If your grocery bill is as high as ours is lately, that $5 is a nice incentive. They are going to post Anita's new video on their website on the 25th, but you can get a sneak peek here:
Hanging out
This is where Aaron hangs out at home. In the dining room (because of the carpet). We have his toys stored on a bookcase. He likes to pull them all off the bookcase. It seems to be more important sometimes than actually playing with the toys. He also loves to pull the books off the bookcase and page through them.The brown box on the bottom shelf is a roll top case for storing 3.5" floppy disks. It was my Dad's. I saw it in his garage and realized he was getting rid of it. And I knew Aaron would like the roll top. When I brought it home, I discovered that his Brio blocks nest inside perfectly. There are two sides in the box (for storing two rows of floppy disks) and his blocks fit 3 across on each side, almost as if it was designed that way.
Part of my day consists of putting away all the toys - blocks back in the box, books back on the shelf, puzzle pieces back in the puzzle. Since he pulls out almost every toy that he has, there wouldn't be room to set him down in there again after a nap if I didn't pick up while he slept. It only takes 5 minutes, but some days I feel like that is all I do.
Here are a couple of videos showing Aaron just hanging out. The second one ends when I have to put the camera down to go get him.
Summer Fruit
I love this time of year. Between the cool spring and the hot summer. It is nice enough in the mornings to go out on the swing with Aaron and not yet to the point where it is too hot to go out midday (although it is quickly getting to that point). The days are long and we can go out in the yard together after Thom gets home after work.
But my favorite thing about this time of year is the fruit. The apricots and plums are starting to ripen and the little white nectarine tree Thom planted 2 years ago has even given us some fruit. (Last year it made a lot of little nectarines, but the birds got most of them.) And our peaches are not far behind. Oh, and the tomatoes in the garden are coming in, too. Yum! We have the most wonderful cherry tomatoes and the plants are prolific. Last night we made pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil. Add a little olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and that is our dinner 1-2 times a week until the tomatoes run out.
This is the first year we've been able to share our summer fruits with Aaron. And he loves it. We typically give him 2-3 apricots, plumns and nectarines - whatever is ripe - cut up into little pieces. He can't eat it fast enough. Sometimes he feeds himself pieces we put on his tray, but more often we feed it to him, as Thom was doing in the pictures below. I swear this kid has a separate compartment in his stomach for fruit and it is a bottomless compartment.
After we had lived here for about a year, I found I could no longer bring myself to buy most fruits that we grow. Even when they are out of season. For one thing, fruit in the store never tastes as good as what we grow so I was constantly disappointed by tasteless apricots, pithy nectarines and avocados full of brown spots. But also, it means buying fruit out of season (since we'd have the fruits when they are in season). And out of season fruit is expensive.
And then I started reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and started thinking a lot about where my food comes from. Not in terms of pesticides and that kind of thing, but in terms of energy (i.e. oil and gasoline) required to ship it to me out of season from other parts of the world. And how those fruits need to be bred to survive long trips from plant to grocery store - not ideal genetics for tasting good. Suddenly, eating locally, which involves eating fresh produce in season, made a lot of sense.
The upside is that I appreciate the apricots, peaches and tomatoes so much more than I ever did before because they are only available a short part of the year. Although this year, I am going to try to preserve some plums and apricots so we can enjoy them a little longer. Still, nothing beats the fresh-from-the-tree taste of summer fruits. Just ask Aaron.
But my favorite thing about this time of year is the fruit. The apricots and plums are starting to ripen and the little white nectarine tree Thom planted 2 years ago has even given us some fruit. (Last year it made a lot of little nectarines, but the birds got most of them.) And our peaches are not far behind. Oh, and the tomatoes in the garden are coming in, too. Yum! We have the most wonderful cherry tomatoes and the plants are prolific. Last night we made pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil. Add a little olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and that is our dinner 1-2 times a week until the tomatoes run out.
This is the first year we've been able to share our summer fruits with Aaron. And he loves it. We typically give him 2-3 apricots, plumns and nectarines - whatever is ripe - cut up into little pieces. He can't eat it fast enough. Sometimes he feeds himself pieces we put on his tray, but more often we feed it to him, as Thom was doing in the pictures below. I swear this kid has a separate compartment in his stomach for fruit and it is a bottomless compartment.
After we had lived here for about a year, I found I could no longer bring myself to buy most fruits that we grow. Even when they are out of season. For one thing, fruit in the store never tastes as good as what we grow so I was constantly disappointed by tasteless apricots, pithy nectarines and avocados full of brown spots. But also, it means buying fruit out of season (since we'd have the fruits when they are in season). And out of season fruit is expensive. And then I started reading Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and started thinking a lot about where my food comes from. Not in terms of pesticides and that kind of thing, but in terms of energy (i.e. oil and gasoline) required to ship it to me out of season from other parts of the world. And how those fruits need to be bred to survive long trips from plant to grocery store - not ideal genetics for tasting good. Suddenly, eating locally, which involves eating fresh produce in season, made a lot of sense.
The upside is that I appreciate the apricots, peaches and tomatoes so much more than I ever did before because they are only available a short part of the year. Although this year, I am going to try to preserve some plums and apricots so we can enjoy them a little longer. Still, nothing beats the fresh-from-the-tree taste of summer fruits. Just ask Aaron.
16 June 2008
Happy Father's Day
Here are a few photos of Thom and Aaron to celebrate Thom's 2nd Father's Day. The first two were taken in the back yard before we headed down to my sister Lia's house for lunch. The third one was taken on Lia's back patio.
Lia hosted a putluck lunch of grilled fish tacos. I took a lot more pictures at her place but will save them for another post. This post is for Thom, the father of my adorable, fun-loving and sweet little boy.
Oh, and in case you are wondering about the 0's and 1's on Thom's shirt...well it spells DAD in binary of course! Aaron has sadly outgrown his binary KID shirt which went with Thom's shirt - both of which I got him for Father's Day last year. (This year, he got a laser star projector.)
14 June 2008
Block Box
A couple of months ago, after watching Aaron play with his shape sorter, put junk mail cards into a shoe box with a slot cut in the top, and open and close doors on his locks and latches box, I had an idea for a toy for him. It was inspired especially by the fact that his shoe box was falling apart. At first I was just thinking of some kind of wood box with a slot in the top for him to put junk mail in, but watching him with the other toys made me think of something more multifunctional.
Then I remembered that my dad had a jigsaw in his garage and knew how to work with wood. So I told my dad my idea thinking this would be a fun project to do together. I gave him a very, very rough sketch and said I was thinking something the size of a bread box, whatever that is. I wanted one side of the roof to open and I wanted a door on the end so it could become a barn or a garage when he is older. And on the roof, I wanted an elongated opening on one side for mail and holes of various shapes on the other side that would fit the set of Brio blocks he already has.
The original drawings didn't have the hinges, the block openings and a few other details, but the first draft my dad sent looked very similar to these drawings that he updated for me after we made some changes to the final design. This is far from the simple sketch I would have been able to make, and I hadn't considered things like the angle cuts required where the roof pieces fit together, how the handle would actually attach, or the need for reinforcement behind the hinges. It's good to have a dad who is an engineer.
Once we had the first design, I headed over to my folks' house with Aaron who played with Mom while Dad and I worked on cutting out the wood. I had never used the jigsaw before, so Dad showed me how to do it.
So he continued to work on the pieces and assemble them, sending me pictures of his progress.
When it was done, he asked me whether I wanted it painted or finished. I told him I wanted to research non-toxic options for Aaron's sake, and before I had a chance, Dad found a safe gloss urethane finish which sounded good to me.
Within a few days of completion, my parents came up for lunch and brought Aaron his block box. We called it a block box since he can put his blocks through the cutouts on the sides.
Aaron took to it right away.
At first he put the cylindrical blocks in the round opening, but later he discovered that all the pieces fit in the square opening, so mostly he just uses that one.
Dad finally turned the box around for Aaron to check out the other side.
Aaron really likes his box. He has trouble getting the pieces of mail in the slot, but he just opens the roof and puts them in that way, or shoves the mail through the front door. And then pulls them out again. And of course he enjoys putting all the blocks through the square opening. I'm sure over the next few years he will finds all sorts of things to do with his block box. And I hope someday he'll share the box his grandpa made with his kids. And perhaps more importantly, I hope he will share it with his younger sibling (or siblings) should we be fortunate enough to have them.
Thanks, Dad, and Happy Father's Day!
Then I remembered that my dad had a jigsaw in his garage and knew how to work with wood. So I told my dad my idea thinking this would be a fun project to do together. I gave him a very, very rough sketch and said I was thinking something the size of a bread box, whatever that is. I wanted one side of the roof to open and I wanted a door on the end so it could become a barn or a garage when he is older. And on the roof, I wanted an elongated opening on one side for mail and holes of various shapes on the other side that would fit the set of Brio blocks he already has.
My dad, being an engineer, sketched up something in Visio for me.
The original drawings didn't have the hinges, the block openings and a few other details, but the first draft my dad sent looked very similar to these drawings that he updated for me after we made some changes to the final design. This is far from the simple sketch I would have been able to make, and I hadn't considered things like the angle cuts required where the roof pieces fit together, how the handle would actually attach, or the need for reinforcement behind the hinges. It's good to have a dad who is an engineer.Once we had the first design, I headed over to my folks' house with Aaron who played with Mom while Dad and I worked on cutting out the wood. I had never used the jigsaw before, so Dad showed me how to do it.
Dad did most of the cutting, including the inclined cuts needed for the roof.
After cutting out the plus sign opening (which fits the rectangular blocks in two directions) on the roof panel, Dad let me try doing the square opening. Unfortunately, I didn't have the hang of doing turns, so if you look closely at the finished pieces below, you might notice it is not quite square, but Dad did a great job of fixing it for me.
Before we were done, Aaron was getting pretty fussy and wouldn't nap in his stroller, so he and I had to head home. Dad managed to cut out most of the pieces before I left and I took them home in hopes of sanding them down prior to assembly. It was the weekend before Mother's Day, though, and I didn't get a chance to sand them down before Mother's Day, and my Dad, being retired and having more time on his hands than I did, took the pieces back from me so he could finish the project. I would have been happy to wait until I had time to sand them, but Dad explained that he hated to have an unfinished project and didn't mind doing it.
So he continued to work on the pieces and assemble them, sending me pictures of his progress.
When it was done, he asked me whether I wanted it painted or finished. I told him I wanted to research non-toxic options for Aaron's sake, and before I had a chance, Dad found a safe gloss urethane finish which sounded good to me.
Within a few days of completion, my parents came up for lunch and brought Aaron his block box. We called it a block box since he can put his blocks through the cutouts on the sides. Aaron took to it right away.
At first he put the cylindrical blocks in the round opening, but later he discovered that all the pieces fit in the square opening, so mostly he just uses that one. Dad finally turned the box around for Aaron to check out the other side.Aaron really likes his box. He has trouble getting the pieces of mail in the slot, but he just opens the roof and puts them in that way, or shoves the mail through the front door. And then pulls them out again. And of course he enjoys putting all the blocks through the square opening. I'm sure over the next few years he will finds all sorts of things to do with his block box. And I hope someday he'll share the box his grandpa made with his kids. And perhaps more importantly, I hope he will share it with his younger sibling (or siblings) should we be fortunate enough to have them.
Thanks, Dad, and Happy Father's Day!
12 June 2008
A day in the life..
Just one more post. I find I'm already having a hard time remembering what daily life with Aaron was like before he switched to 2 regular naps a day. I just wanted to remind myself of what life is like at (nearly) 14 months with Aaron.
We get up between 6 and 6:30am on most days. Thom gets Aaron up, changes his diaper and then takes him to get the newspaper at the end of the driveway. I drag myself out of bed, go turn on my computer, check e-mail, and then join Thom and Aaron in the dining room. Thom and I have coffee and try to read the paper while Aaron plays with his toys. We take turns going to our computers, checking e-mails, checking stock prices (Thom) and checking online forums (Liz). And we take turns getting on the floor with Aaron when he wants more attention.
Between 7 and 7:30 I make Aaron breakfast, usuallly banana oatmeal or toast and yogurt. We move into the kitchen and continue our coffee while we take turns feeding Aaron. Then we plop him in his playpen (near the kitchen) while we eat breakfast and clean up the kitchen. (I love the playpen - I put toys in there that he only gets to play with in the playpen and he is happy to sit in there for 20-30 minutes at a time while we eat or do chores in the kitchen.) Most days he will poop like clockwork after breakfast when we put him in the playpen. I know this is TMI for some of you, but as a new mom, this is great news for me. I like predicability when it comes to these things.
After that, Aaron goes down for a nap between 8 and 9am. Thom and I take showers and get dressed. I clean up Aaron's play area and start work, usually in the dining room so I don't disturb Aaron's nap. Thom leaves for work by 9:30am.
After Aaron's morning nap, we will either play at home if a sitter is coming, or we will go out. Either to run an errand, go to a playground (indoor or outdoor), or meet with friends for lunch. Playing at home consists of playing with his stacking rings (he can put them all on, but not in the correct order), playing with his Duplos (he can even stick them together sometimes - and then he claps for himself), playing with blocks, pulling all the books off his shelf and paging through them, putting junk mail in his new block box (I need to post about this wonderful box my dad made, but I need time to put the pictures and story together), and playing with his chunky farm animals puzzle. There is also usually some crawling around and trying to crawl off the steps into the living room (I'm still trying to figure out a gate solution there) and being chased and tickled by mommy. This produces shrieks and fits of giggles.
This morning, I am going to try to make it to a mom's group sing along at a park about 15 minutes from here if Aaron wakes up on time. I found a mom's group in my city on Meetup.com and joined, but so far have only made it to one meetup. They have a ton of activities, something almost every day of the week. But some are geared towards pre-schoolers and some conflicts with nap time or my work schedule. I have to admit that I had to force myself to make small talk with some moms last week because I'm not really in it to make friendships. I'm in it for Aaron. Despite the fact that his father and I were shy and introverted well into adult-hood, Aaron is the most gregarious toddler I've ever met. And although I do have friends with kids, most of them are not in the same city as we are and I like the mom's group because I don't have to make plans far in advance. When I know I am going to have free time, I can check their calendar and see if there is something to attend. With my other mom friends, I feel bad for always calling at the last minute to do something.
If I don't go out to lunch, I try to get home by lunchtime to feed Aaron here. Then he'll go down for a nap between 1 and 2pm. If I don't have a sitter, I need that nap to work. If I go out to lunch, I risk him falling asleep on the way home. He won't transfer to his crib without waking up. He may play quietly in his crib for an hour or so, but it is not the same for me. I have trouble concentrating as long as he is making noise. It usually takes him 20-30 minutes to fall asleep and I usually read up on blogs or read news online during that time. Speaking of naps, since his molars came in, he goes down so much easier for naps and at bedtime. He may take some time to get to sleep, but it doesn't escalate into tears like it often did just 6 weeks ago.
After his afternoon nap, if I have a sitter, she will watch him until 6 or 6:30pm while I work. If I don't have a sitter, I like to go out again. I think we both get bored playing in the same room with the same toys every day which is why I like to go out. On Tuesdays, we'll go to the farmer's market downtown. Today we might go for a walk at the park. When we get back, it is time for dinner.
Dinner is between 5 and 6pm. Aaron's favorites so far are lentils and rice, polenta lasagna (which for him is just two slices of polenta, pasta sauce and shredded cheese), and rice with salmon and broccoli (the latest thing I've tried). We also still do state 2 baby food, sometimes with some mixed grain cereal mixed in for texture. He likes the turkey dinners and chicken stews. He does not like stage 3 baby food with chunks. Dessert is usually 1/2 a banana, or lately, we've been able to give him pieces of apricots and white nectarines from our trees. He loves apricots!
After dinner, if there is time, we might play some more. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and usually one weekend night, we give him a bath (or the sitter does if she is here). Thom is usually home by 6:30 and we often will go outside, either in the yard, or just out to the swing. I love these long days and the warm weather we've been having. Then I nurse Aaron, Thom and I read him two stories, and then he goes down to bed between 6:45 and 7:15pm. He is generally asleep by 7:45pm.
Last night, he slept through the night! But most nights, since his molars came in (during which time he woke up 2-3 times a night) he wakes up once, sometimes before I go to bed, but sometimes at 12 or 1am. I nurse him and he is back to sleep within 10 minutes. I'm barely awake for 15 minutes, so it doesn't affect my sleep too much. But I'm still hoping that he will start sleeping through. All in all, though, I think he does pretty well with sleep, so I can't complain.
I have started to wean him, but since he's been turning his nose at cow's milk, it has been a challenge. After reading some advice from various mom's on Babycenter.com, I have started mixing whole milk with strawberry Kefir (drinkable yogurt). I looked at some other options, like drinkable YoBaby, but it has more sugar. Yesterday, he drank 4 oz of the mixture, although it was over a couple of hours. It was still a big improvement over his outright rejection of a sippy cup with milk. I'm not in a huge hurry to wean him since he still enjoys it, but I have to admit I feel some societal pressure. I think it is normal to nurse at this age and that it still provides health benefits to him, but most moms stop by 12 months, many much sooner, so I feel awkward nursing in public or even talking about it. And I do know I want to stop by the time he is 2, especially since I hope to have a little sibling for him not long after that. And I worry that the longer he nurses, the harder it will be for him to give up.
Well, he is still asleep. It is always good when he goes past the 45 minute mark. Tuesday he slept about 40 minutes in the morning and woke up crying and unhappy. Maybe it was a bad dream or he slept in a weird position, I don't know. But if he makes it past the end of the first sleep cycle without waking, he will usually go 1 1/2 hours or more and usually, but not always, wake up happy.
So I'd better work while I can. No sitter today.
We get up between 6 and 6:30am on most days. Thom gets Aaron up, changes his diaper and then takes him to get the newspaper at the end of the driveway. I drag myself out of bed, go turn on my computer, check e-mail, and then join Thom and Aaron in the dining room. Thom and I have coffee and try to read the paper while Aaron plays with his toys. We take turns going to our computers, checking e-mails, checking stock prices (Thom) and checking online forums (Liz). And we take turns getting on the floor with Aaron when he wants more attention.
Between 7 and 7:30 I make Aaron breakfast, usuallly banana oatmeal or toast and yogurt. We move into the kitchen and continue our coffee while we take turns feeding Aaron. Then we plop him in his playpen (near the kitchen) while we eat breakfast and clean up the kitchen. (I love the playpen - I put toys in there that he only gets to play with in the playpen and he is happy to sit in there for 20-30 minutes at a time while we eat or do chores in the kitchen.) Most days he will poop like clockwork after breakfast when we put him in the playpen. I know this is TMI for some of you, but as a new mom, this is great news for me. I like predicability when it comes to these things.
After that, Aaron goes down for a nap between 8 and 9am. Thom and I take showers and get dressed. I clean up Aaron's play area and start work, usually in the dining room so I don't disturb Aaron's nap. Thom leaves for work by 9:30am.
After Aaron's morning nap, we will either play at home if a sitter is coming, or we will go out. Either to run an errand, go to a playground (indoor or outdoor), or meet with friends for lunch. Playing at home consists of playing with his stacking rings (he can put them all on, but not in the correct order), playing with his Duplos (he can even stick them together sometimes - and then he claps for himself), playing with blocks, pulling all the books off his shelf and paging through them, putting junk mail in his new block box (I need to post about this wonderful box my dad made, but I need time to put the pictures and story together), and playing with his chunky farm animals puzzle. There is also usually some crawling around and trying to crawl off the steps into the living room (I'm still trying to figure out a gate solution there) and being chased and tickled by mommy. This produces shrieks and fits of giggles.
This morning, I am going to try to make it to a mom's group sing along at a park about 15 minutes from here if Aaron wakes up on time. I found a mom's group in my city on Meetup.com and joined, but so far have only made it to one meetup. They have a ton of activities, something almost every day of the week. But some are geared towards pre-schoolers and some conflicts with nap time or my work schedule. I have to admit that I had to force myself to make small talk with some moms last week because I'm not really in it to make friendships. I'm in it for Aaron. Despite the fact that his father and I were shy and introverted well into adult-hood, Aaron is the most gregarious toddler I've ever met. And although I do have friends with kids, most of them are not in the same city as we are and I like the mom's group because I don't have to make plans far in advance. When I know I am going to have free time, I can check their calendar and see if there is something to attend. With my other mom friends, I feel bad for always calling at the last minute to do something.
If I don't go out to lunch, I try to get home by lunchtime to feed Aaron here. Then he'll go down for a nap between 1 and 2pm. If I don't have a sitter, I need that nap to work. If I go out to lunch, I risk him falling asleep on the way home. He won't transfer to his crib without waking up. He may play quietly in his crib for an hour or so, but it is not the same for me. I have trouble concentrating as long as he is making noise. It usually takes him 20-30 minutes to fall asleep and I usually read up on blogs or read news online during that time. Speaking of naps, since his molars came in, he goes down so much easier for naps and at bedtime. He may take some time to get to sleep, but it doesn't escalate into tears like it often did just 6 weeks ago.
After his afternoon nap, if I have a sitter, she will watch him until 6 or 6:30pm while I work. If I don't have a sitter, I like to go out again. I think we both get bored playing in the same room with the same toys every day which is why I like to go out. On Tuesdays, we'll go to the farmer's market downtown. Today we might go for a walk at the park. When we get back, it is time for dinner.
Dinner is between 5 and 6pm. Aaron's favorites so far are lentils and rice, polenta lasagna (which for him is just two slices of polenta, pasta sauce and shredded cheese), and rice with salmon and broccoli (the latest thing I've tried). We also still do state 2 baby food, sometimes with some mixed grain cereal mixed in for texture. He likes the turkey dinners and chicken stews. He does not like stage 3 baby food with chunks. Dessert is usually 1/2 a banana, or lately, we've been able to give him pieces of apricots and white nectarines from our trees. He loves apricots!
After dinner, if there is time, we might play some more. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and usually one weekend night, we give him a bath (or the sitter does if she is here). Thom is usually home by 6:30 and we often will go outside, either in the yard, or just out to the swing. I love these long days and the warm weather we've been having. Then I nurse Aaron, Thom and I read him two stories, and then he goes down to bed between 6:45 and 7:15pm. He is generally asleep by 7:45pm.
Last night, he slept through the night! But most nights, since his molars came in (during which time he woke up 2-3 times a night) he wakes up once, sometimes before I go to bed, but sometimes at 12 or 1am. I nurse him and he is back to sleep within 10 minutes. I'm barely awake for 15 minutes, so it doesn't affect my sleep too much. But I'm still hoping that he will start sleeping through. All in all, though, I think he does pretty well with sleep, so I can't complain.
I have started to wean him, but since he's been turning his nose at cow's milk, it has been a challenge. After reading some advice from various mom's on Babycenter.com, I have started mixing whole milk with strawberry Kefir (drinkable yogurt). I looked at some other options, like drinkable YoBaby, but it has more sugar. Yesterday, he drank 4 oz of the mixture, although it was over a couple of hours. It was still a big improvement over his outright rejection of a sippy cup with milk. I'm not in a huge hurry to wean him since he still enjoys it, but I have to admit I feel some societal pressure. I think it is normal to nurse at this age and that it still provides health benefits to him, but most moms stop by 12 months, many much sooner, so I feel awkward nursing in public or even talking about it. And I do know I want to stop by the time he is 2, especially since I hope to have a little sibling for him not long after that. And I worry that the longer he nurses, the harder it will be for him to give up.
Well, he is still asleep. It is always good when he goes past the 45 minute mark. Tuesday he slept about 40 minutes in the morning and woke up crying and unhappy. Maybe it was a bad dream or he slept in a weird position, I don't know. But if he makes it past the end of the first sleep cycle without waking, he will usually go 1 1/2 hours or more and usually, but not always, wake up happy.
So I'd better work while I can. No sitter today.
Babysitter status
This entry and the last one are based on questions my mom asked on the phone the other day, so I thought I'd post updates for everyone else. I found a sitter named Madison that is graduating from high school today. She has been out to babysit 4 times and so far I love her. The first day she babysat, I didn't have anything for her to do while he was sleeping and she didn't have any school work with her. She apparently hates to be idle, so after talking about it for a few minutes, we decided she could bake cookies. We had all the ingredients for Snickerdoodles. Yum! I could smell the cinammon in my office and I got to eat some cookies fresh from the oven. That was when I was won over. To be fair, I haven't asked the other sitters to do anything more than fold Aaron's laundry while he is sleeping, but Madison is the first to insist on helping out while he naps.
Yesterday, she organized his clothes for me and swept and Swiffered the floor in the kitchen nook. I could get used to this! (She has also offered to help organize our office which is a filing nightmare.) But unfortunately, she is going away to college at the end of the summer. I'm hoping that Katrina will return after she is done with summer school, but I am looking for another sitter in the meantime. My new motto is "Always be looking". I cannot have enough backup babysitters I have discovered.
Yesterday, she organized his clothes for me and swept and Swiffered the floor in the kitchen nook. I could get used to this! (She has also offered to help organize our office which is a filing nightmare.) But unfortunately, she is going away to college at the end of the summer. I'm hoping that Katrina will return after she is done with summer school, but I am looking for another sitter in the meantime. My new motto is "Always be looking". I cannot have enough backup babysitters I have discovered.
Early Start - Individualized Family Service Plan
I went in on Monday to meet with our service coordinator to discuss our IFSP (see title). Basically, it provided a synopsis of his assessment and then "the plan" for action. I had to sign off on the first page after we went through everything. Everything is voluntary and I can change my mind at any time. But basically, the plan consists of meeting with my coordinator every 6 months - so in October and again in April for Aaron's birthday, and meeting with a physical therapist once a week for 11 weeks, after which we can renew for another 11 weeks (indefinitely) depending on what the PT recommends. Since she knew I was only concerned about his gross motor skills, that is all we talked about. She did mention they don't usually address delays in speech this early anyway. And the good news is that she found a physical therapist based in our city that does home visits who is available in 2 weeks. If I don't hear from her soon, I can call her to schedule our first visit.
By the way, the official assessment said that for cognitive development, he is at the 15.5-18 month range. For gross motor skills, he is at 7-8.5 months. Fine motor: 15.5-18 months. Receptive and Expressive Language: 10-11.5 months (because he isn't verbalizing words yet - although I think he communicates well with signs). Self-help: 10-13 months. Coping: 10-11.5 months (but this was because he doesn't have a lovey and not all kids do, so I discount this score). Social: 15.5-18 months (no surprise that he is ahead here!). Emotional: 13-18 months.
By the way, the official assessment said that for cognitive development, he is at the 15.5-18 month range. For gross motor skills, he is at 7-8.5 months. Fine motor: 15.5-18 months. Receptive and Expressive Language: 10-11.5 months (because he isn't verbalizing words yet - although I think he communicates well with signs). Self-help: 10-13 months. Coping: 10-11.5 months (but this was because he doesn't have a lovey and not all kids do, so I discount this score). Social: 15.5-18 months (no surprise that he is ahead here!). Emotional: 13-18 months.
03 June 2008
Early Start - The Assessment
Yesterday Aaron and I went in for his assessment. His appointment was at 8:30 at a location 30 minutes from here. It was a bit of a challenge getting out of the house with Aaron that early in the morning (I'm not a morning person), but by packing up the diaper bag the night before and with Thom's help in the morning, we made it on time.
It started off with a small orientation with another mom and her baby who appeared to be about 5 months old. We met in a small conference room with the woman in charge of Early Start and 3 service coordinators and a couple other people. Apparently that is not how the usually do things, but they had so many referrals recently they are trying to streamline the intake process by orienting multiple families at once (another mom and her baby were supposed to be there too).
After the 10 minute orientation, the other mom was taken to another room and we got to stay in the initial room. There were some toys there that Aaron had fun playing with, although he also just enjoyed exploring the room and crawling under and around the chairs. There were two outlets in the room - one that had a babyproof faceplate and one that didn't. Guess which outlet he was determined to put his fingers in?
Our service coordinator stayed with us and we filled out paperwork - releases for his medical and birth records, etc. Then a developmental specialist came in and the assessment began. They had a booklet with different age ranges and for each age range, there were about 8 categories - gross motor skills, fine motor skills, communication, self-help to name a few. There were check boxes of skills associated with each age range and category. Through a combination of questions and hands on activities with Aaron, they scored how he did in each of the categories.
To qualify for the Early Start program, he needed to be delayed in at least 2 categories. In gross motor skills, he was delayed 25-50%, meaning that he was about as developed as you'd expect for a 7-10 month old. They also said he was 25% delayed in fine motor skills which surprised me. She went through the checkboxes, and apparently he was deficient because he hadn't stacked the blocks she gave him to play with. She hadn't asked him to stack them - only to put them in a cup and bang them together (which he did). When I told her he stacked blocks at home, she got the blocks back out and tried again, this time stacking them and then asking him to stack them. He stacked them 4 blocks high. This was enough to adjust his fine motor skills score up, putting him on par with a 15.5 month old's development.
But he was still considered delayed in speech (for not using words) and self-help (for not using a spoon to feed himself) and I think another area because he doesn't have a transitional object (a blankey or a lovey to cuddle with). I'm only concerned about gross motor skills at this point, but I'm glad he was delayed enough for us to qualify for the program.
The whole process took 2 hours and all of this was during naptime. Despite being tired, he did so well. He was social and charming and everyone who saw him commented on his happiness and personality. He had been flirting with everyone in the initial orientation meeting, looking around and smiling at them. And during the assessment, the two women were so impressed with out well he responded to everything. But after 2 hours, he was getting fussy and wanted Mommy. So we decided to schedule a follow up visit to create our "individual family plan", which normally would have been done once eligibility was determined. So I go back Monday for that. It should only take an hour, but since it is during morning nap time again and Aaron's participation is not required, Thom volunteered to go into work late so I can leave Aaron at home.
Although I won't know for sure until we do the family plan, it did sound like we will be referred for physical therapy. And although they don't know if there is a PT who does home visits in our city, they said there is a good place they can send us that is much closer to us than the office we went to yesterday. If they suggest speech therapy or anything else, I will probably turn it down at this point. That is the nice thing about the program - all these services are available to us, but it is up to me to ultimately decide what I want to do. If he is still not talking once he is walking, we can consider doing something about that.
And the reason Aaron isn't feeding himself with a spoon? I didn't tell them, but it's probably because I don't give him a spoon! I still think it is more mess than it is worth at this point. I'm a mess-aphobe and prefer to spoon feed him myself. But he does self-feed finger foods, so I'm not worried about it.
Oh, and the good news is that Aaron is starting to successfully pull himself onto his knees - which I understand is a precursor to pulling to a stand. He's done it in his crib, in his playpen and yesterday with a child's chair. The developmental specialist recommended we get him a bench or a stool that is lower than the coffee table to give him a chance to pull to his knees. That will help him work on balancing with his hips and later to stand.
It started off with a small orientation with another mom and her baby who appeared to be about 5 months old. We met in a small conference room with the woman in charge of Early Start and 3 service coordinators and a couple other people. Apparently that is not how the usually do things, but they had so many referrals recently they are trying to streamline the intake process by orienting multiple families at once (another mom and her baby were supposed to be there too).
After the 10 minute orientation, the other mom was taken to another room and we got to stay in the initial room. There were some toys there that Aaron had fun playing with, although he also just enjoyed exploring the room and crawling under and around the chairs. There were two outlets in the room - one that had a babyproof faceplate and one that didn't. Guess which outlet he was determined to put his fingers in?
Our service coordinator stayed with us and we filled out paperwork - releases for his medical and birth records, etc. Then a developmental specialist came in and the assessment began. They had a booklet with different age ranges and for each age range, there were about 8 categories - gross motor skills, fine motor skills, communication, self-help to name a few. There were check boxes of skills associated with each age range and category. Through a combination of questions and hands on activities with Aaron, they scored how he did in each of the categories.
To qualify for the Early Start program, he needed to be delayed in at least 2 categories. In gross motor skills, he was delayed 25-50%, meaning that he was about as developed as you'd expect for a 7-10 month old. They also said he was 25% delayed in fine motor skills which surprised me. She went through the checkboxes, and apparently he was deficient because he hadn't stacked the blocks she gave him to play with. She hadn't asked him to stack them - only to put them in a cup and bang them together (which he did). When I told her he stacked blocks at home, she got the blocks back out and tried again, this time stacking them and then asking him to stack them. He stacked them 4 blocks high. This was enough to adjust his fine motor skills score up, putting him on par with a 15.5 month old's development.
But he was still considered delayed in speech (for not using words) and self-help (for not using a spoon to feed himself) and I think another area because he doesn't have a transitional object (a blankey or a lovey to cuddle with). I'm only concerned about gross motor skills at this point, but I'm glad he was delayed enough for us to qualify for the program.
The whole process took 2 hours and all of this was during naptime. Despite being tired, he did so well. He was social and charming and everyone who saw him commented on his happiness and personality. He had been flirting with everyone in the initial orientation meeting, looking around and smiling at them. And during the assessment, the two women were so impressed with out well he responded to everything. But after 2 hours, he was getting fussy and wanted Mommy. So we decided to schedule a follow up visit to create our "individual family plan", which normally would have been done once eligibility was determined. So I go back Monday for that. It should only take an hour, but since it is during morning nap time again and Aaron's participation is not required, Thom volunteered to go into work late so I can leave Aaron at home.
Although I won't know for sure until we do the family plan, it did sound like we will be referred for physical therapy. And although they don't know if there is a PT who does home visits in our city, they said there is a good place they can send us that is much closer to us than the office we went to yesterday. If they suggest speech therapy or anything else, I will probably turn it down at this point. That is the nice thing about the program - all these services are available to us, but it is up to me to ultimately decide what I want to do. If he is still not talking once he is walking, we can consider doing something about that.
And the reason Aaron isn't feeding himself with a spoon? I didn't tell them, but it's probably because I don't give him a spoon! I still think it is more mess than it is worth at this point. I'm a mess-aphobe and prefer to spoon feed him myself. But he does self-feed finger foods, so I'm not worried about it.
Oh, and the good news is that Aaron is starting to successfully pull himself onto his knees - which I understand is a precursor to pulling to a stand. He's done it in his crib, in his playpen and yesterday with a child's chair. The developmental specialist recommended we get him a bench or a stool that is lower than the coffee table to give him a chance to pull to his knees. That will help him work on balancing with his hips and later to stand.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)