9 Months: Curiosity, Determination and a Big Attitude!

I often look through pictures and watch videos from when Nixon was first born up to the most recent to see how much he has grown and changed.  However, it wasn’t until a couple of days ago, when I compared old videos to the little man he has recently turned into, that I noticed the biggest changes of all. At 9 months old (3/4ths of the way to 1 year!!), Nixon has become the funniest little person with a big attitude and so much understanding and curiosity for the world around him.

A large part of his developing personality is his curiosity. When he is playing on his own, he will turn his big toys over to see what is underneath or how the wheels turn, or pick up a small toy and turn it around and around in his hands as he stares intently at every side.  He is always on his tummy looking under furniture and finding toys that I didn’t even realize were missing, and opening every drawer in the kitchen to see what is inside. Not only is he starting to really understand how things work, he is also showing a clear understanding of things that Matt and I say to him.  He will sit on his bum when we ask him to, he will get down from the stairs when I say “down” and even understands that, if I am not looking he can climb back up them again.  He has learned that he is not allowed to chew on his foam mats, so he thinks it is fun to tear them apart, slowly bring a piece to his mouth while staring at us out of the corner of his eye until we tell him to take it out of his mouth (he actually listens to Matt a lot better with this one).  When he sees Charlie he says “ca” for cat, he calls ALL of his plastic shapes “ga?” for Green (I don’t think he realizes Green is a colour not the object), and he will call me “Dada” unless his is crying/whining, then he says “Momom”.  He is beginning to catch on to the sign language I have been using: although, “all done” has become slamming his hands on his tray and “more” and clapping have become the same action so its hard to know what he is trying to say.  He loves food so much that I can’t say the word “eat” until his food is prepared, otherwise I have a whining baby at my feet impatiently waiting for his food.  Along with whining, are full on melt downs that are a result of a newfound attitude now that Nixon understands when he really wants something and what the word “no” means; it is amazing how upset a little person can get when he discovers a pen and it gets taken away, or when you try to bring him inside after a walk (he LOVES being outside).

As I watch him begin to truly play, learn, and develop his likes and dislikes, I am amazed at the individual personality he has developed.  It is so fun to see what his favourite toys are, what games he loves and which ones he hates (hide and seek is great until Mom disappears for too long, then its just scary), and watching his face light up when he sees his Dad walk through the door after work; he can’t crawl fast enough to get to him. He even has favourite commercials; when he hears them come on the TV he will stop whatever he is doing to watch it, even if he is in another room (My TV watching is being greatly limited because of this). And he absolutely adores Charlie, although the feelings are not mutual, he will talk to him and “pat” him (“gentle” is another word that is finally being understood) for as long as he will allow, then Nixon chases him until I let Charlie outside.  He is such a happy, goofy little man who is always making silly faces to make us laugh and joining in on our laughter pretending like he knows what is funny.

Other new developments: He is cutting his top two teeth, he finally started clapping, he is sleeping through the night (waking at 5 or 5:30 to eat and back to sleep for an hour or two), and falling asleep on his own at bedtime. He walks easily around furniture and can stand for a few seconds without support.

With us heading back to the daycare in just a month, I have been trying to enjoy every minute I get to spend with just Nixon and to give him as many experiences as I can.  Although we are having so much fun and fully enjoying our relaxed schedule, I am looking forward to our next adventure and I know Nixon will love having lots of little friends to play with every day.

xoxo

Challenges of Parenting

I believe that, in order to consider yourself to be doing your very best as a parent, you need to struggle with challenges. Challenges of conflicting instincts, self-doubt and constant questioning; challenges testing your strength and patience. After all, when we are challenged, we are pushed to do better.

Which brings me to challenge number 1: teething. I read somewhere that, if adults were to experience teething, it would drive us to insanity and possibly suicide. Whether or not there is truth to this statement I am not sure, but experiencing it second hand makes the insanity part not so unbelievable.
Ok, that’s a bit extreme, but I have to admit the few days it took for Nixons first tooth to cut through were some of the hardest yet. Some moms are lucky enough to have babies that do not notice when a razor sharp object is cutting its way through their gums; Nixon is not one of them. He had made it perfectly clear that he was not ok with going to sleep anymore since he would only be woken an hour or two later by this annoyingly painful, jagged object. These protests were made through hysterical screaming that makes me almost think he was afraid to go to sleep. However, let him get up and play and, despite his red, puffy eyes, he was perfectly happy. Although the lack of sleep was difficult, the hardest part was knowing that he just does not understand and, besides Tylenol, not being able to help him. So I was left constantly questioning what I could do, or what I SHOULD be doing, to help him through this. I wondered if there was something else – does he have an ear infection? Is he simply changing his sleep habits? Eventually his two (yes, two!) teeth came through and I understood a little bit better. However, he still stands strong with the sleep fighting!

Which brings me to challenge number 2: sleep training. I have mentioned this dreaded term before but, the big baby that I am, I never did follow all the way through with it. Listening to your own baby cry and force yourself not to go to him is, by far, the hardest thing in the world (something I never understood before experiencing it). And since we managed to be getting sleep at night (finally!), I did not see the need in putting either of us through that…until now. Trying to rock (aka fight) a 23 pound baby, who might be almost as strong as I am when he wants to be, to sleep brings frustration levels very high very quickly and I decided that a 40 pound 2 year old would only be worse; he needs to learn how to put himself to sleep. With this being such a controversial issue, and way too much information available on google, I had doubt from the beginning whether or not I was doing the right thing. Nonetheless, I decided it needed to be done. Night one was torture for both of us and ended with me giving in and nursing him to sleep after 2.5 hrs of intermittent crying. The next night, after reluctantly deciding to try again, took 2 hrs of crying but ended with Nixon falling asleep on his own. So, battling through my conflicting instincts of what I want to do (snuggle my baby) vs. what I feel I need to do, and because of my stubborn nature that I clearly passed on to my child, I tried a third night; after all, he fell asleep the previous night so it could only get better, right? Wrong. It took Nixon 3 hrs to finally fall asleep! Of course this was not 3 hrs of straight crying, I would never put him through that, but it still made me question if I was doing the right thing. So now I am challenged with the decision of continuing or not. I know that all I want to do is what is best for Nixon; the hard part is figuring out what exactly that is.

Of course, a big part of why I face these challenges is the fact that I am a first time mom; I am also naturally doubtful of my decisions so I don’t think my personality helps me much. But, I also know that, these are only challenges because I love and care about him more than anything and just want the absolute best for him and, in the end, that is really all that matters.

Nixon at 7 months

Last post, I wrote that one of my new favorite developments was how Nixon was beginning to really show his love for me. Well, since then he has taken it to the next level – separation anxiety! Luckily, his easy-going and social nature keep the total meltdowns away but, nonetheless, I am rarely allowed to leave his sight unless he is distracted by something or someone. This means dishes, laundry and other households chores are being replaced with stories, songs and snuggles (darn!) and dinner is made with my little helper crawling around my feet and pulling tupperware out of the drawer. If this is separation anxiety, I think I will be able to manage.

This passed month has been so busy trying to keep up with Nixon and his new found curiosity for everything. Now that he is crawling, his toys are no longer interesting and he would rather search for wires, dirty shoes and little clumps of cat hair (or other random items that seem to appear out of nowhere) to chew on. He is just learning how to pull himself up on things like the couch, and mommy, which causes a lot of frustration when he can’t quite get his legs to cooperate properly. Along with all his physical developments, Nixon is also learning a little bit of sign language to help him communicate his needs. He is mostly learning signs when he is eating, since that is when he is most motivated, like eat, more, please and all done; he has yet to make any of the signs and often looks at me like I am crazy, but I think he is starting to understand.  Thankfully he had gone back to his long naps allowing me a couple of breaks during the day…until yesterday (December 2nd).  I could not figure out why he kept waking up screaming after 15 minutes of sleep, especially since he was his normal, happy self otherwise.  After he did not sleep great that night, I discovered the top of a sharp little tooth poking through his bottom gums! After 5 months of teething (and my first-time-mom mistake of expecting a tooth right away), this tooth is a very exciting discovery.

Now that December 1st has finally arrived, Christmas gets to start; of course this meant pictures with Santa ASAP.  On December 2nd, we dressed Nixon up and took him to the mall unsure of the reaction we would get once we got there.  Surprisingly he did really well; at first he just looked skeptically at Santa and his beard, then at the crazy elf lady with the bells behind the camera. After about 5 minutes and some tentative smiles, Santa said “ho ho ho” and scared Nixon which ended the photo shoot. Nixon has also been practicing his gift opening skills with his giant advent calendar covered in small gifts that his Grammy and Grandpa made him.  He loves getting the present but gets hung up on chewing the paper and doesn’t understand that there is something inside.  Today he tried to eat a small piece of the wrapping paper so I think most of his Christmas presents are going to be in bags this year.  Next weekend we are going to cut down our tree, set it up and decorate which I am sure will bring more curiosity. I have a feeling we wont be spending much time at home for the next month.

xoxo

Where does the time go?

As promised, I have finally found a few moments to sit down and write…*insert baby crying here*

Ok, time to try this again.

Sunday, October 28th, Nixon turned 6 months old. Every parent warns you about how quickly the time will pass and to cherish every moment, but you can never truly prepare yourself for how incredibly fast it actually goes; so I started thinking about why. Although some days are very busy, most of them are just Nixon and I hanging out at home, running some errands or visiting with friends, so it doesn’t ever feel like “there aren’t enough hours in the day”. The days/weeks are not so stressful that I am hurrying them to end; instead, I am actively trying to slow them down because I know that next week I will have a whole “new” baby. My conclusion is that it is not the hours in a day that are going by so quickly, it is the rate at which my baby is growing and changing. You are not quite finished snuggling your tiny, sleepy new born baby when they suddenly become more interested in being on the floor exploring their toys (or fingers); and before you are finished taking in the fact they can lift their head or roll over, they are sitting up, crawling and more interested in the exciting new things they can reach than being in your arms. Each amazing stage is entirely too short. In just half a year, I have been a part of the most incredible journey and have fallen more in love than I ever expected. Ironically, after months of unsuccessfully trying to get Nixon to fall asleep on his own, snuggling him to sleep has become my favourite time of the day. As I watch him drift off to sleep, I realize how these moments, just like all the others, are going to pass far to quickly and, instead of hurrying them to end, I should be enjoying them while I can.

Third attempt at this post!

My favourite thing about the stage we are in now is, by far, that Nixon knows who his mommy is and shows me every single day. The middle-of-the-night feedings and 24/7 hours are quickly forgotten when I walk into the room and his little face lights up with the biggest smile and his arms and legs flail with excitement. These, too, are moments that I need to cherish because, while I may be his favourite person right now, I know that there will be many many years when I am his LEAST favourite person! In 6 very quick months, Nixon has brought a continuing learning experience for both Matt and myself, changing our world completely and bringing a whole new meaning of love to our lives. I am sure that the next 6 will be filled with many more lessons, mistakes and surprises that will come and go all too quickly.
Now, since naps have become Nixons least favourite activity and this post has taken me a week and four attempts to write, I am going to give up and end here!
xoxo

Fall Fun

Well, we have survived our first illness…finally! With the beautiful fall leaves and fun-filled holidays comes cold, wet, gross weather which means inevitable runny noses and coughs.  And yes, I said we because, even though it was only Nixon who came down with the cold, I think it was harder on me than him. The humidifier and baby vicks saved our naps and nights allowing Nixon to sleep soundly (thank God!!!) and, during the waking hours, he continued to play happily with his constant snotty nose. However, despite all my efforts, it took a full week for him to recover from this not-so-invasive sickness and, even though he was generally himself, I felt terrible that I could not get rid of it for him. But, the bug finally decided to leave us alone, so now the toys are being scrubbed (again) and bedding washed (again) so we can hopefully stay healthy…at least until next month.

Because of this cold, we have been quarantined at home which hasn’t allowed for any exciting new stories. We did, however, get to have a long overdue visit and sleepover with Dennis, Crystal and Charlie where Nixon picked up some new tricks from his older, more experienced friend. He has been rolling around the living room for awhile now, often using his face to try and worm his way closer to toys, but yesterday he kept his head up, used his arms and army crawled towards a block; today he looks like he has been doing this for months! While it is very exciting to watch him learn how to do new things, I am quickly losing my ability to do things around the house without having to worry about which piece of furniture I will find him under, or which body part of the cat he will have a grip on. It is a big adjustment having to remember that I can’t turn my back for very long.  Needless to say, I am not eagerly awaiting the crawling days! Having said that, it is incredible to see the process through which they go to learn some of the most basic skills. We also managed to get to the pumpkin patch on Sunday since the weather decided to change from rain to sun at the last minute. I had hoped to do Nixons 6 month photos in all the pumpkins but when we seen that the half-green pumpkins were sitting in mud it was not how I had envisioned it, so we grabbed a couple and went for a tractor ride instead. Matt was hesitant since he did not think Nixon would be old enough to enjoy it, and he was probably right, but I still get to use the “its his first…” excuse, so we went :).

Now that Nixon is feeling better, I am hoping we can do some more activities this week like play dates, swimming and, of course, shopping (Christmas is not that far away now!). He is 6 months old on Sunday which also means more shots and doctor check ups. I am very interested to see what he weighs now! It is completely unbelievable that it has already been half a year since he first came into this world…I feel like Sunday is going to be an extremely sappy 6 month post.

xoxo

Let the holidays begin!

On October 7th, Nixon celebrated his first holiday – Thanksgiving! After declaring this as his first and dressing him up for his special day, Matt pointed out that Nixon has already celebrated Canada Day, Labour Day, Victoria Day and Civic Holiday; but I decided that obviously none of those count. Regardless, Nixon was very excited to have two of his grandparents, Uncle Cam and his favourite dog, Kobi, come spend the weekend.

I am not sure if it was the company, the big meal at the table, his own squash and pears dinner, or just pure coincidence, but Nixon seemed to love Thanksgiving.  He was in such a goofy mood squealing and playing through dinner and even more so after dinner; then when bedtime came around he did not want to go to sleep and woke up a couple extra times through the night. He just did not want the day to end.  The next day we had a last minute visit from Ash and Jer, which Nixon decided was too much fun to sleep though…so he didn’t. Totalling an hour of sleep for the entire day, Nixon set a record for himself for naps.

I have never been as excited for Thanksgiving as I was this year, and this was only the start to a very busy holiday season. We are really looking forward to Halloween, pumpkin picking and showing Nixon off in his adorable costume; but we are even more excited for Christmas and the ridiculous decorating and shopping I will allow myself to do this year! Nixon is bringing a whole new meaning to each of these days and I can’t wait to celebrate them in a completely new way.

xoxo

Nixon at 5 Months

 

Wow, once again the days have gotten away from me and we are already 4 days overdue for this post! Nixon turned 5 months old on Friday, September 28th; coincidentally, he shared this birthday with his Grammy who also celebrated hers (although hers was a real one hehe). Nixon celebrated this day by spending the morning with Dad while I ventured out on my first baby-free shopping trip! (This may have been more of a gift for me instead of Nixon). The fact that he can be left with someone for a couple of hours, even though we never did master the skill of the bottle, is definitely one of my favourite things that 5 months has brought us.

 

 

 

Along with a great new nursing schedule, Nixon has also began developing some other fun tricks.  He loves eating his new foods and has yet to refuse anything. Although we have tried avocado, sweet potatoes and peas, his favourite by far is prunes; I have resorted to mixing it in with his cereal every night just to get him to eat every last bite.  During meal time, he is also practicing using a sippy cup which he treats more like a toy to chew on than a drink, but he is slowly discovering that there is actually milk inside.

 

 

 

Nixon is becoming quite the socialized little man between swimming and all the play dates he has been having lately.  He seems to be becoming more and more interested in babies the more we surround him with them; although I don’t know how many friends he is going to make if he continues to chew on them all. Anderson was not a fan of being slobbered on but Hannah decided to help him with her fingers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No post about Nixon is complete without an update on his ever-changing sleep patterns.  The past couple weeks have been unpredictable but still better than they ever were. I find myself getting frustrated on the occasional night when I have to get up for a second time and have to remind myself of the past and not to complain! Most nights we are up once after he conks out around 9 (yes the crazy bedtime routine is the one thing that has not changed) and I usually get a good 6 or 7 hour stretch which is amazing.  Also, just as I was beginning to see a pattern in naps, those got cut back to 45 minutes max which was producing a very tired baby (but the little trooper fought through it and continued with all his smiles).  However, I blame teething because, today, as the drooling seems to have subsided and he woke up talking instead of crying, we slept in until 10:30 (!) and he is currently an hour and a half into a nap and still going strong.

Finally, Nixon’s most recent developmental work-in-progress is sitting! He is upgrading from the slouched tripod to sitting up straight but wobbly. His only deterrence is his feet since sitting offers him the best position to chew on them resulting in him forgetting about trying to sit up straight.  He is also moving around the room more, even though he cannot roll both ways or crawl, since he learned that he can use his arms to push himself backwards or around in circles. It is definitely time to start baby-proofing!

xoxo

 

 

 

 

Life at Home

From writing a blog every day to going nearly two weeks without an update is a pretty clear indicator of how our daily lives have drastically changed since settling back in at home. Nixon and I have had something going on every day and, as soon as I think things are going to slow down a little bit, something else comes up and we are on the go again; of course, I am absolutely loving this change of pace and Nixon, such a relaxed baby to begin with, is learning to go with flow.

We have been busy catching up with family and friends over dinner and play dates, making up for lost shopping trips, getting the house organized and ready to put up for sale, and, of course, swimming. We also made a trip to the cabin for one last weekend of summer. Even though our summer weather seemed to have left a bit early, we had a great time visiting, boating and relaxing. After Nixon achieved his greatest milestone yet (in my eyes anyways), sleeping through the night, I was a little bit apprehensive about leaving his beloved crib behind only to experience the dreaded “playpen” nights again; but I was not going to pass up a weekend at the lake. We headed out Friday morning just in time for Nixon’s first nap which he happily took in his car seat (successful new purchase!!), but, even with a quiet cabin that afternoon, Nixon predictably struggled with his naps and bedtime. However, perhaps as a result of all the fresh air and activity he slept great that night and the rest of the weekend despite all the noise (including a 4 hour nap Saturday afternoon!). On top of great sleeping, Nixon impressed everyone with his relaxed, easy-going self as he smiled and cooed his way through the weekend without one squawk. Nixon also was able to experience his very first boat ride thanks to an awesome gift from Dave and Amber Lewis – a life jacket! After getting used to the bulky jacket and squished cheeks, he seemed to enjoy it; although Grammy and Mom may have been a little nervous when Grampa let 5-year-old Karter take over.

I think Nixon would have preferred to stay at the lake since, once we got back home late Sunday afternoon, my smiley, sleeping baby was replaced with a fussy cat-napper (possibly a tooth soon?). The family visiting continued into Monday when Nixon got to spend the day with his Nanny; first visiting Pepere, Aunty Chris and cousin Patrick in the afternoon then dinner with Aunty Donna, Aunty Shannon and cousin William. Finally, today (Tuesday) did not bring any rest either since it was filled with swimming and visiting the daycare where I used to work and Nixon decided naps did not need to be any longer than 30 minutes. Needless to say, Nixon has been smothered with hugs, kisses and lots of love since we have been back and is thoroughly enjoying every bit of it. We are so lucky to have so many amazing people in our lives to keep us busy and would not want it any other way; although, we may be taking the next few days off to catch up on snuggles and love from Daddy (and hopefully some sleep!) before our full October schedule begins.

Nixon turns 5 months old in 3 days, so another update will not be far behind! xoxo

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

We have successfully made it through our first week of swimming lessons and I am convinced it is one of the best decisions I have made for Nixon so far. That may sound a little bit silly considering I am talking about a 4 month old taking swimming lessons, but he is loving the time in the water and getting the opportunity to socialize with other babies. We will also be learning water safety, what to do if they are choking, how to properly put on a lifejacket, and dunking their heads under (!); so even though Nixon is technically not learning how to swim, it is a great introduction to the water.

I am also convinced that my little fishy is going to be swimming on his own before he is one years old! Ok, that may be a slight exaggeration but, unlike some of the other babies, Nixon loves to float around the river on his belly and kick his feet like a frog while I hold him under his arms. One of his other favourite swim time games is when we sit or stand them on the ledge, sing a song and then make them jump into the water (while holding them, of course!); I am not sure if its being up high and looking down on me, the singing, or the jumping but he always has a huge grin. The rest of the 30 minute class is singing other songs while standing in a circle and getting them used to splashing and kicking; it is about this time that Nixon tunes us all out and stares at the lights and chews on his hands, but I think he finds it relaxing to just hang out in the water. The only downfall of these lessons is that they take place right in the middle of Nixon’s morning nap, so by the time we are in the change room getting dressed I have a screeching animal I have to fight with. I am hoping that he will adjust his schedule to better accommodate these lessons because I do think that they are worth it; besides, he can always sleep after!

Because I do not have anyone to take pictures of us swimming, here is a picture of Nixon passed out after todays swim.

xoxo

First Bites

As we get settled back into our life at home, a 4 month doctor check-up is high on the to-do list but has yet to happen.  I kept saying that after this appointment, once Nixon was declared happy and healthy, I would start him on his journey into solids.  In preparation, I bought him a cute little fishy bowl, some spoons and a couple packs of rice cereal; all that was left was the “ok” from our doctor. Then I thought, my baby is outgrowing his clothes on a weekly basis, weighs about 50 pounds (at least the aches in my arms say so) and he is one of the happiest babies I know…do I need a doctor to tell me this? I was also eager to see the effects it had on his night sleep, so I decided to stop being so neurotic and go for it; it certainly was not going to hurt him.

So, last night, for dinner, Nixon has a whole tablespoon full of rice cereal! With Aunty Haellie taking place of a high chair and Aunty Annie documenting every bite, Nixon managed to get about half in his tummy and the rest everywhere else. He was a little bit unsure what to do with it once it was in his mouth, but when he discovered he could suck on the spoon we had a bit more success. Bedtime did not seem to go any differently; Nixon still fell asleep while nursing at 7:00, woke up 15 minutes after being put to bed and decided it was play time in his crib until about 9:30. 4 hours later (not amazing, but pretty good for him), I heard him yelling for me (yes, yelling. He no longer cries, but knows how to get my attention). Half asleep, I go in and start my routine diaper change with him still in his crib, got his pants back on, about to pick him up to feed him, only to look up and he is fast asleep. My Nixon, who only falls asleep while nursing or in my arms at least, fell asleep in the middle of a diaper change. Needless to say, we will be having rice cereal for dinner every night!

It is hard to believe that we have come to this milestone already, but I have a feeling I will be saying that about every milestone. Although it is going by way too fast, it is amazing to watch as Nixon discovers new things and I am always looking forward to the next one.

Tuesday we start swimming lessons!

xoxo