Photo Stream Friday

Super moon

Power to the people

Found his thumb 

World's Worst Sous-Chef

Happy weekend! xo

The Voice

He found it.

Our formerly mild-mannered baby is now mostly all about yelling (exhibit A) and raspberries (exhibit B).

Photo Stream Friday

So I thought I might try something...

I take a lot of pictures on my phone, but don't end up posting most of them here or to social media. It's more just capturing a funny moment or new things or being totally bored (and Mr. C likes to look at the back of my phone). So I thought maybe on Fridays I would just dump some of them here...because you really just come for the pics, right? My witty commentary is just a plus.

They'll just sort of show you what we're up to without me needing to build a whole post around something. And it's easy, because my phone pics show up in my computer automatically (thanks, Steve Jobs).

Or it might be really boring. We'll see.

(this is me)

Happy weekend. xoxo

Appetite for Destruction

You know all my carefully-curated toy and gear tips? You can forget about them. I picked up Which Wich for lunch and he would not stop staring at/yelling at my cup (in a way that was about the pattern on it, not wanting to drink out of it). So when I was finished, I rinsed it out and gave it to him. I'd like hundreds of dollars back, please.

June Citrus Lane

A new box came today--super exciting. To me, at least. Some days, the highlight is seeing what UPS brings.

(For background info on Citrus Lane, read this post.)

I think this was another decent haul. Looks like the theme is summertime/water play, which is A-OK by me. We love us some pool time.

iPlay Sun Protection Hat.
Stop it. So cute. A great item, and this is a trusted brand--I have a swim shirt from them. I already have a sun hat that I like, but I think it's good to have multiples for something so important. Poor bald babies don't have any hair to protect their little noggins.
Use code CITRUS50 for 20% off at iplaybabywear.com

Odd Duck from Boon
Perfect timing, as we just introduced a rubber duckie at bathtime (Andre Quackassi, the tennis-playing duck). Now that he is starting to reach and grab, it's fun to have a floating friend.

Happy Baby puree pouch
Mr. C has not started real food yet, but everyone I know likes these fruit and veggie pouches for on the go.

For mom: Foot Therapy Cream and samples
Let's be honest--probably not going to be spending a lot of time rubbing my own feet these days, but I'll let you know.
Use code SBBCL20 for 20% off at babyandmomgifts.com through 7/31/13

4-Month Checkup

We made it. Two shots (4 vaccines) and one oral vaccine. Three-hour nap down. Let the evil poops commence.

Four month post updated with stats.

Baby got a little hospital gown while we waited.

He's a growing boy!

Picture Me Rollin'

...because I can't quite do it on my own yet.

Outtakes

First of all, almost every single picture I took was blurry. So that should tell you a little something about what we're working with here. 

Also, I learned that the main purpose of baby shorts is to highlight the fact that babies don't actually have waists.

eh?

oh, just loungin'

as I sing a love ballad to Light Fixture, I shall play my chalkboard like a guitar

face eraser

don't worry, no babies were harmed in the...whatever is happening here

he's mad because I picked his booger.

Four Months

Hey, mister.

I thought that this hadn't really been a month of big changes (at least not compared to the 2-3 month leap), but now that I look back, I think there was more going on than I'd given us credit for.



I think you still eat pretty well, but have definitely gotten distractible as you become more and more aware of the world around you. It helps to stay in the nursery for feeding, where it's darker and quieter. Otherwise you're popping your little head up every 3 minutes and I can't tell when you're finished or not (giving rise to fears of starvation, but you seem ok). You're eating every 3 hours, but I think this is starting to extend, too. Basically you just need to decide whether you want shorter, more frequent feedings, or are moving to a more spread-out schedule with feedings for which you'll need to focus.

You are now sleeping in your own crib for naps and at night. Your daddy went out of town for a week at the end of May, and I just decided to make the switch then in case it involved lots of screaming (yours) in the dark. Then I wouldn't have to worry about keeping him up during a work week and such. I had this elaborate plan with gradual changes, but it was really fine. (I wrote it all up, but it ended up not being that interesting or illuminating, so I never posted it.)



We start the bedtime routine some time in the 8-9pm hour. I know, I know--everyone else's babies go to bed at 6pm, so we're not winning any Parent of the Year awards here, but we've played around with it and this is the timeline that works for our family right now. You now read books with daddy while I set up for bath and bed. I'm not sure I can say that you "like" books, but you generally tolerate being read to. I think you are actually usually looking over the book at Light Fixture, but we're sowing the seeds of Future Brilliance so book time stays.

After bath, we do lotion, jammies, and suit up. Generally we have to be pretty hilarious during this part of the sequence, because you know it means bedtime is coming and voice your displeasure. I just take this to mean we've done a good job of establishing a predictable routine. After you're suited up, we brush hair, turn out the lights, turn on Sleep Sheep, and you eat. Sometimes you fall asleep at this point, but not always. I think we do well enough following directions ("put him down drowsy, but not asleep!") most of the time, so I don't really worry about an eat-to-sleep association.

You typically sleep until 4-5am, at which point you eat and go back to sleep until 7:45. At this point, I stay in the nursery because your daddy gets up around 5 to start his day, and I want to be able to go back to sleep easily to get those extra hours. You eat again and sleep for another hour until you're up for the day at about 8:45 or 9. Then you chill in the swing while I have coffee and breakfast, which we follow up with Tummy Time.

am I doing this right?

You still go down for your first nap an hour after waking up. This limits our mornings, but I know it won't last forever and a rested baby is the key to the whole world. After each nap throughout the day, I can count on you being able to stay up for an hour and a half, and then it's time to go right back down again. So it's sort of the Groundhog Day of naps around here, but...again...it's working for now. Initially, each of your naps was only 30 minutes. I think you are starting to extend them a bit; I can now count on at least 45 minutes for each one, and sometimes the afternoon one stretches pretty long. I have to be pretty attentive at the end of a sleep cycle (around 45 min) and see whether you're really awake when the crying starts, or whether you just need a little help to sleep some more.

All in all, I think you're a really good sleeper. I try not to proclaim this too often or too loudly, and I've heard tell of a "four-month wakeful period" (let's just skip that, k? K.), so I am aware that this can change at any moment. And I know we owe more thanks to your temperament than anything awesome or brilliant we've done as parents. In fact, each day you end as happily as you began it makes us fear that any subsequent children will be nocturnal colic monsters spewing baby fire, but...we'll just focus on this for now.

Likes:

• lights & ceiling fans...still

diiiiidddd you know there's a lamp over there?

• mommy & daddy
• anyone else with a face
• squishy cheeks
• Light Show; talking to Light Show
• hair tickles
• Kick & Play piano
• bath time 
• singing "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me"
• barnyard animal noises
• your hands. In your mouth. All the time.

Dislikes:

• suiting up (putting on the Baby Merlin)

Milestones:

• good head control
• growing torso control
• pushes up on arms and looks around

• rolls front to back
• sleeping in crib
• good grasping but not quite reaching
• back arching and scooting--this is annoying/scary and has necessitated being strapped in to all toys at all times
• pulling to sit/sitting with assistance
• pretty chatty; making some early consonant sounds but not often
• you are starting to notice the dogs (uh-oh) and will track them across the room

Stats:

• Weight: 15 lbs, 3oz (51st %ile)
• Height: 26 inches (2 ft 2 in) (81st %ile). Tall boy.
• Head circumference: 41.2 (19th %ile)
• Diapers: size 3
• mostly 3-6 month clothing

All Suited Up, and Nowhere to Swim!

And it's a lot of suiting: swim trunks, swim diaper, and sun shirt...

Though it was a sunny day with no rain in sight, they cleared the pool due to thunder right when we dipped a little baby toe in.

Don't be sad...we waited it out. He chilled in his stroller, talked to the trees, and didn't even know he was missing anything--and got to swim in the end.

4 Month Faves

Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit

Advertised as a product for helping baby wean off the swaddle, it's probably worth the price just for the entertainment value. It's basically a suit made of fleece + a down comforter and is designed to keep baby warm (no blankies in the crib!) while muffling the startle reflex somewhat. I like that his hands are free and he can still get them to his face--this will be even better when he can replace the paci himself--and that the neck scoops down so there's no risk of it covering his face. I can't claim with 100% certainty that it is indeed magic, but I'll say this: a) the kid sleeps pretty well, both at night and for naps, and b) I've tried to put him down without it--usually as a result of him having fallen asleep without being suited up--and he wakes himself up in minutes flailing like he's trying to bring an aircraft in for a crib landing.

Buy the 2-pack so you always have a clean one. Trust.

Also, put it in the dryer inside-out or it will never dry.

Motorola video monitor

Now that he's in the crib full time, the video monitor is a must. This is the one we registered for (people also like the Summer Infant one), so I thought I'd do a little review.

Pros:

• seems to have the highest picture quality, especially with the night vision (the better to see his scary baby demon eyes)
• good range and beeps when out of range so you are aware you're not getting transmission
• you can pan/tilt the camera ("child unit") with buttons on the monitor ("parent unit"). Useful if your child is a migratory sleeper, like mine
• microphone option...like a one-way walkie-talkie?...lets you talk to baby from the parent unit. So I can reassure him that I'm on my way or whatever. 
• sensitive audio (but adjustable, in case you only want to hear the loudest cries and not every rustle & fart). Audio monitor is on even when video screen is off, and you can also see the audio with the colored lights across the top

Cons:

• Not cheap, but none of them really is
• I think the battery life is actually pretty reasonable (I keep it plugged in at night and probably use the video pretty heavily, which I'm sure is a battery drain), but my primary complaint is that the battery life icon is not super reliable. It will stay on 4 bars for a while, but then seems to go from 3 to red to dead really quickly. 
• Related: in an ideal world, I'd have a second charging cord for the parent unit so I have one upstairs and one down. 

One caveat...this is actually our second one. The monitor unit on the first one went out within a few months. I think this might have been because I kept it in the same room as the camera before I was really using it--this one makes like that "hot mic" noise if I move them too close together. But I can't be sure. Anyway, Motorola customer service was not helpful, but Amazon was. They sent me a return label for the defective one and will issue a refund when it's received (I'm actually toying with the idea of keeping it so that I have a second camera; it can support up to 4 cameras on one monitor). The main problem with this was that I needed one in the interim, so you have to go ahead and buy your replacement while waiting on your refund. Obviously this is standard business practice but worth knowing. I took the one from my parents' house so I wasn't monitor-less. I guess my bottom line is that I can't speak to whether it's a reliability issue with this model, but I would advise purchasing whatever monitor you choose from Amazon in case something similar happens to you. Stores won't take them back and, as I said, Motorola was not helpful. 

Kick & Play Piano

This was recommended in a Lucie's List email somewhere in the third month, and boy was she right. In Babyland, this is like SO FUN. Little man loves it. Not a ton to wax poetic about here, but I'm glad something re-captured his interest after the regular playmat got a little stale. Basically, he lies on his back and kicks the piano keys. They play the notes, and then a little ditty. The piano is now in kicky position (i.e., perpendicular to the floor) but also flips up to be parallel to the floor so that he can play it that way once he can sit. Also, the toy bar arches over the mat for when he's on his back, but switches easily to a position so that he can look in the mirror for tummy time. I get way better tummy time on this than other ways I've tried (that don't involve me holding him).

Precious Planet mobile

Or, as it's known around here, "Light Show." This was also recommended in a Lucie's List email. Fisher-Price makes several, but I ultimately got this one because of the light projection. Totally the right call. It's actually TOO exciting for him to use on the front end of sleep time (although you can turn off the projection and just do sounds/mobile), but I turn on Light Show at wakeup time to ease the transition. Sometimes I can get 20 extra minutes to sleep or get things done while he lies there and talks to it.

I also think we can use it for a while (a quality that is becoming increasingly important as I think about what I've spent on baby gear from Amazon in the last 3 months alone). The sound buttons are designed so that (an older) baby can press them on his own. He's actually hit one in his sleep before and turned on the mobile in the middle of the night, scaring the everliving daylights out of me. It has heartbeat, nature, and music options. Don't worry, helicopter parents, the music is labeled "Bach/Mozart/Beethoven" so you can feel like your little one is getting some culture while he lies there and looks at highly accurate representations of smiling cartoon animals that don't even come close to living near one another (e.g., lion and polar bear). Also, when baby starts pulling to stand in the crib--that is, when s/he can grab the mobile--it can be removed and the light show will project on to the ceiling.

Penguin says: "CRIB BUMPERS! NO!" 

Another great feature: it has a remote, so I can turn it on from the doorway to the nursery rather than going in and having him see me. You can see this feature illustrated by the smiling, peaceful mom in the Amazon photos, which is exactly like real life.

is her nursery outer space?

Just one note: It's really easy to attach, but I wanted to mount it on the far side of the crib so that I didn't have to lean around it to get to the baby. This means it's kind of backwards, and Light Show actually projects upside down. Fortunately, he's a baby and I don't think he cares. However, if he thinks all the world's hippopotamuses (hippopotami?) are upside down when he's 3, remind me of this.
Soothies pacifiers

Itzy Ritzy car seat cover

I got this as a shower gift, but just put it on the car seat. It definitely snazzes the ride up a bit, but I think the main thing it has going for it is that you can take it off and wash it. 

Pea in the Pod nursing tanks

This one doesn't have anything to do with the 4-month mark--I've had them since the beginning--but I figured they're worth mentioning at some point as they're in heavy rotation. 

You can get them on Amazon, or at the store. The store is almost always having some sort of promotion (e.g., buy 3 get 1 free). You'll need a bunch, especially in basic colors for layering. So go wild. 

-----

I think I probably have a few other faves right now, but those are the major ones. If I keep going, I'll never get this posted and then he'll be going to awkward middle school dances and driving.

So finally...

Peanut Butter M&Ms

(that's not a link. If you can't think of where to buy M&Ms, you have other problems)

I can't lose the last 10lbs of baby weight? Weird. 

You Guys. We Have to Talk about Spiders.

Specifically, the two scary spiders I saw in the house last week. I do not like spiders. Now, I realize nobody does. That's like saying, "Everyone, I've thought about it a lot, and I'm pretty against genocide." But I do not like them.

One crawled into my bathroom sink one night while I was brushing my teeth like it frickin' owned the place. I washed it down the drain with hot water and had to have BA reassure me that they can't crawl back out of the drain bigger and stronger than before with a burning desire for spider vengeance.

The second one crawled OUT OF A BABY OUTFIT when I picked it up to put it on him and evilly skittered across the changing table. I grabbed the baby so fast that he started crying and smashed the spider with a wipe or something and seriously I don't know what I did with it I think I blacked out for a second.

So clearly we were at full infestation level and I had to Google "brown recluse" (DON'T) to see if that's what they were. I'm still not sure, but I'm not risking it. I have since learned that I should have kept one in a jar for analysis. What the actual F.

I called the exterminator but in the meantime was on high alert, especially at night. Little man is on his own in the crib at night, and my list of Things That Keep Me Awake used to go like this:

SIDS









kidnappers.

Now it looks like this:

SPIDERS
SIDS









kidnappers
kidnapped by spiders

And here's a thing about motherhood: I don't even care anymore about the spiders crawling on me in my sleep. But thinking about them crawling on or near the baby makes me feel like I can't breathe and my skin is flying off my body.

The exterminator came yesterday and sprayed his magic spray that I'm sure is so toxic but these are just the choices we have to make in life. He said he wasn't going to do the full Brown Recluse Treatment that involves sprinkling powder in the walls without confirmation that that's what we had, because it would cost like $600. What--are they only repelled by gold bullion? Whatever. Apparently it's their mating season (spiders', not exterminators') so they're all over. But this general spray should take care of it.

He also saw one while he was spraying, but it was "just a house spider." This made me feel better, because maybe they aren't all brown recluses having a convention up in this joint. Until he said, "you know, brown recluses get kind of a bad rap." (Stop it, you crazy man).

Me: Because their bites aren't really that bad?
Crazy man: No, because they only bite if they're provoked.
[Oh. And how do you provoke a spider? Maybe by simply being 80,000 times bigger than it is?]
Crazy man: I mean, all spiders bite. That little house spider will bite. It's just that their venom is worse for certain people because of their immune systems. Like old people. And babies.
[OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD I HATE YOU]

But wait. There's more. He also warned me that, because he'd sprayed, it will drive the spiders out. Which might mean in. To the house. So we might see "increased activity over a day or two."

And that is the story of how I paid $100 to have my house filled with more spiders.

If you need me, I'll be in the levitating spider-proof bubble with the baby and a gin & tonic*.

*in this version of the cocktail, which I just made up, the gin is vodka and the tonic is Xanax. 

Listen Up, Light Show

I've got something to say to you.

Somebody's Ready

For Nantucket!!

Thanks for my lobster jams, Arlan and Brad!