Month: June 2011

These are tough for me. I (and we) are dealing with several at the moment. For starters, Rich (babysitter) up and quit on us last week with basically zero notice. In fact, it was the night before we needed childcare. He had a perfectly valid reason, citing the difficulty of having two newly mobile babies and blah, blah, blah. I completely get it. It is definitely much tougher now with Theo mobile. Not to mention eating three meals a day, nap schedules, etc. It’s a lot of work. I wouldn’t want to watch Theo and another child. Anyhow, it was the fact that he sent us a nonchalant email, like, by the way… I can’t watch Theo anymore even though you sent me an email 4 days ago asking if I could watch him tomorrow and the next day. I don’t think he was malicious (he was out of town before that) I just can’t help but think it was rude of him to minimize our need. Don’t leave us hanging like that! He would love to keep the kids in touch and was happy they were able to benefit from spending that time with one another. So, now we are at a crossroads trying to figure out our next child care move.

And, then, BOOM! Jay got a full-time job starting tomorrow through Sept (at least). We are now looking into a few day care centers in our neighborhood as this is the first time we have needed consistent care and it will cost less if we go this route as opposed to a nanny. Although we are still exploring that, as well. We both feel a bit conflicted about this decision. On the one hand, I think it will be great for Theo to be in a consistent, structured environment each day with other children. He LOVES watching other kids and also just watching everything around him. He is hungry to learn and before we know it he will be walking. I’m happy for him to get to have all that a good day care facility has to offer. It just breaks my heart a little. Because I’m not with him and because he is already getting so big. It’s a transition. These are very positive, good transitions. I just have to get used to them. Used to Jay not being around so much and with Theo so much. And, used to Theo being with other people more then either of us.

I’m also having changes at work and that’s tough. I’m sort of in a place where I need to decide if I want to go back to 5 days/week (I’ve been working 4 days since maternity leave ended) and if I want to step up and possibly manage the Program I have been working in for the past few years. Although, the agency is undergoing an organizational assessment (yikes!) and the budget is frozen right now so nothing is happening. So, lots to think about and lots to get used to.

We have a tour today of a great, potential place. We’ll see how it goes. I hope only wonderful things are on the horizon for us.

Untitled from Marci Lieber on Vimeo.

theo and the sippy cup

We went to LBI, NJ this past weekend with our friends Jennifer and Ian and their son, Sam (he just turned one). Her family has a lovely beach house there and we usually visit once per summer. This was Theo’s first trip to the beach! He got used to playing in the sand but I don’t think he was too keen on the ocean. He didn’t react the same as when he is in other water (pool, bath). He was a little clingy. When he was down there with Jay, he was calm and enjoyed watching the ocean. I presume he was just taking it all in. The big, wide Atlantic. I sat him in the surf (both on his own and on my lap) and let the water splash up on him. I tried swooping him down and up so his feet and legs dunked in the passing wave. We had a nice time and the weather was absolutely perfect. Lots of great food and sitting outdoors.

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He claps now!

click here for clapping

Untitled from Marci Lieber on Vimeo.

Theo and I walked to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum today. It was really great! We have to go back when he is a little bit older and can really enjoy all of the fun exploratory exhibits and activities. We explored a little bit but I mostly went with him to see the Storybook Movie Time. I figured Theo was still a bit young but he really enjoyed all of the songs sung by Sesame Street characters. He was really sweet. Flapping his arms and slapping the ground, standing and dancing a little (with my help), and just watching Elmo and Big Bird. We played in a faux sandbox, splashed in the stream, and watched turtles.

Theo is weighing in at 20 lbs 8 oz (51%) and his height is 29.5 in (86%). He has grown exactly 9 inches since birth. Wow! I guess an inch/month is normal but it seems like a lot to me. 9 whole inches… He has also almost exactly tripled his weight since birth (he was 7 lbs). Babies are supposed to triple their weight by their first birthday so he is right on target. Theo also had another round of the DTap, HIB, IPV (diptheria, tetanus, polio) and the Prevnar immunization (meningitis/ear infection vaccine). I can’t believe that our next doctor visit will his 1 year check-up. It’s all going so fast.

Theo is doing really well. He babbles a lot these days. Lots of “dadada, bababa, and mamama”. He doesn’t know what he is saying but it’s cute to watch him move his mouth after us and just babble away. He still isn’t formally crawling but he gets around just fine. He gets on all fours but then lays down on his belly and pulls himself across the room, commando style. He is really strong. He can hold himself up standing while holding onto furniture. He likes this a lot. I’ve started teaching him sign language and he likes to watch videos like this one (thanks to Diane!).

We talked to his doctor about our sleep and eating concerns. Sometimes it seems like Theo is a great eater and other times it’s a challenge. Our goal is to have him eating three solid meals per day, with a small snack in between. This sounds great in theory, but has been a bit of a challenge. Theo is getting better at feeding himself using the pincer grasp and that is helpful because he seems to want finger foods more then he wants his pureed food. This is okay with me we just need to get in a routine and broaden his food options. He LOVES rice cakes and hummus. That has been determined. As I mentioned before, he also loves avocado. I think he prefers it when he sees me spooning it directly out of the skin. I’m not kidding. He (sometimes) likes pieces of cheese and has tried some new vegetables and fruits like cauliflower, kiwi, and cantaloupe. He seems to eat more foods when he can put them in his mouth himself, or when we do it for him. Again, when all else fails, give him a rice cake. I just want him to be eating more and not turning away from it constantly.

Now, for sleep… he has been a pretty decent sleeper, but not good enough. We thought for awhile there that he was on the right track. Sleeping 11 hour stretches at night, napping twice per day for 1 – 2 hours each time. We seem to have regressed somewhere along the line. He still sleeps a good 11 hours per night, it’s just that he wakes up 1 or 2 times and needs help getting back to sleep. He goes back to sleep pretty quickly after being rocked, soothed in some way, or nursed – and then transferred back to his crib carefully. He doesn’t put himself back to sleep and that is the issue. Theo’s doctor says that he doesn’t need any of these aids during the night. He is old enough now where he doesn’t need to eat (this we already know) and he should be able to go to sleep (and back to sleep) on his own and stay in his crib until the morning. This is one of the best – and most important- lessons we can teach him. Sooo, now we are faced with the plan of some serious sleep training this weekend… and perhaps for the next couple of weeks to get him on track. Napping, and sleeping at night, completely in his crib, and going to sleep on his own. It’s not that I mind nursing him during the night, it’s just that I know what is best. I will miss the bonding time. I’m terrified but also know how important it is. I want this for Theo. I know he is a big boy and can handle it. I know he knows that we love him so much and that he feels safe and secure. It’s still going to be really tough for me to hear him cry.