Christmas

I'll write an official post on Charlie's first Christmas later this week. But for now, I just wanted to say that I'm posting this from MY NEW iPAD!!!! :) Love!

Charlie is ten months old!

Well, close to 10 1/2 at this point... :)

So much is changing with our little guy. He's crawling, pulling up on EVERYTHING, creeping, and talking up a storm. While I don't understand much of what he says, he certainly inherited his dad's gift of gab.

To flash back to October, this is how Charlie used to move:



Then he started officially crawling last month:



And now he loves to walk (with a little support):



He's come quite a long way from this little guy:

Charlie is nine months old!

Technically, it was yesterday, but I'm writing about it today. :) Charlie is celebrating his nine month birthday with a growth spurt. He woke at 3:00 this morning to eat (that NEVER happens) then woke for the day at 6:30. He nursed five times throughout the day and ate the following for solid meals:
Breakfast - YoBaby organic banana yogurt; half an organic blueberry waffle
Snack - half an organic kiwi cut into cubes; 1/4 cup of organic oatmeal mixed with breastmilk
Lunch - cubed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and organic green beans
Dinner - organic cheddar cheese on a slice of whole grain toast; half an organic banana

I am loving making Charlie's food, and I try to feed him organic as much as possible. He's doing so well with his finger foods too. I even got to witness an excellent example of the pincer grasp at dinner tonight. :) Here's our little man in all his nine-month glory!

Charlie is just 91 days shy of his first birthday. I can not even believe that! He is such a good baby and I am so proud to be his mom. Love this little boy!

A Day in the Life of Charlie's Mom

In the past I've done a few posts on what Charlie does throughout the day. Today I thought I'd do one from my perspective. Now that I'm back at work, much of Charlie's day is a mystery to me. I know he eats, sleeps, and plays at school, but I don't have the nitty gritty details. I do, however, know what my busy days are like... so here we go! :)

5 AM - wake to my alarm and pump the left side
5:30 - Charlie is starting to stir so I go in to nurse him. Sometimes he settles back down but since I'm awake I figure I might as well. :)
6:00 - Charlie is back asleep so I hop in the shower. I usually shower at night, but I'm presenting today so I hoped for a morning one - and Charlie cooperated quite nicely.
6:40 - Charlie is awake; I dress him and bring him downstairs. I finish packing his bag (milk and food for the day). Last night I put in his bibs, sippy cup, bowl, spoon, and clean clothes. He also has a bag with a bunch of clean diapers, wipes, and wipe solution for a couple of days.
7:00 - We're in the car and ready to go. The drive is only about five minutes, which is great.
7:10 - We drop Charlie off. He eats his yogurt with Miss Sandra while I unpack his bags. John and I kiss him goodbye.
7:20 - We stop at Dunkin for breakfast. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I don't like the Dunkin in my town. I feel like it's kind of dirty and they often mess up my order. Ugh!
7:30 - I drop John off at the train station and then drive to work.
7:55 - I arive at the high school (we have a professional development day today). I head to the nurse's office and pump.
8:30 - The presentation finally begins. It's actually pretty informative and entertaining, which is a nice surprise.
11:00 - I excuse myself a little early from the second presentation and pump again.
11:45 - I drive to the other elementary school and eat lunch with the other afternoon presenters (spinach salad and sun-dried tomato panini).
12:45 - 3:00 - My colleague and I do four presentations to teachers in grades 3-6 on reading workshop. They go very well, and I'm excited to be able to leave early to get Charlie from school.
3:30 - I arrive and Charlie is sleeping - boo! I pump while I'm there.
4:00 - Charlie wakes up and we head home. My neighbors are outside with their kiddos so we hang out and say hello (after letting the puppies out to go potty, of course).
4:30-5:00 - Charlie and I play together. He gets some tummy time, which these days means he rocks back and forth on hands and knees (I need to snag a photo of this!)
5:00 - We nurse, followed by a little oatmeal mixed with milk.
5:30 - It's play time again! Tonight's activity involves an empty tissue box (see video below). ;)
6:00 - We head upstairs for bath time, followed by massage, jammies, a quick nursing session and bedtime. Charlie is asleep by 6:30.
The rest of the night involves the following...

• emptying Charlie's bag from school; loading bottles into dishwasher and putting dirty clothes and diapers into the hamper/wash
• general tidying up around the house, including laundry if needed
• making and eating dinner (though my Peapod order isn't here yet, so I'm typing this instead and I'M STARVING!
• doing a little school work

If all goes well I'll be in bed and sleeping by 10 so I'm ready to do it all again tomorrow. Phew! And as a reward for making it through all that - here's Charlie!

Where is my brain??

On the way to work today I noticed that my left side felt a little full and I thought to myself, "It will feel good to pump when I get to work." And then I thought, "Which will be difficult since my pump is sitting in my bedroom at home." UGH! Where is my brain?? I lost it somewhere in the second trimester and it hasn't come back yet. I need it, especially now that I'm back at work, so if you see it, please let me know. Thanks!

(Incidentally, I turned around and went home to get my pump. Let's hope this was the last time I'll have to do that!)

Shopping Buddy

Guess who accompanied Mommy to Target today? He rode in the shopping cart for the first time like the big guy he is - way to go Charlie! Huge rave for his shopping cart cover too. I felt like he was comfortable and protected from any icky germs on the cart.

I don't just wear Superhero bibs... I'm an actual super baby!! :)

Charlie hung in there for the whole time (about an hour). He just looked around and stared at the people we passed. It was pretty funny. And I appreciated having full use of the cart space, which used to be occupied by his car seat. Win-win!

I'm Alive!!

It's been almost a month since my last post, and so much has happened since then. I started back at school which means that Charlie is at day care every week day. I'm pumping three times a day (four if you count the one I do in the morning on the side from which Charlie doesn't eat). So how's it going?? I'll break it down for you:

School - I'm teaching third grade again, which is good because I'm familiar with the material. I do however have 24 students, which is way more than I've had in the past (I usually have 19 or 20). My class consists of one student with autism, two with ADHD, two who regularly see the counselor, eight that are well-below grade level in language arts and two below in math. They are what I lovingly call "needy." That being said, I'm really enjoying being back at work. I love my school and my colleagues and while I'd rather be home with Charlie, this isn't so bad. I am, however, missing some brain cells. A few times a week I find myself making silly mistakes and it's so annoying! I'm hoping my brain comes back soon.

Day Care - Charlie is doing well at school too. In the past three weeks, he's only been crying once or twice when I've come to pick him up. Usually he's smiling at his friends or teachers and seems well cared for. He did get his first cold which turned into an ear infection - boo! But I guess it's now or in pre-school/kindergarten. The only tiny problem we've had is that Charlie sometimes comes home wearing someone else's clothes. I'm apparently the only mom who actually labels all her child's clothing. It's a little frustrating, but I don't mind too much. Charlie is also eating really well at school. We've tried lots of new foods over the past month. He's now had: peaches, mango, apples, avocado, plums, bananas, oatmeal, brown rice, yogurt, butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, green beans, peas, and sweet potatoes. I've also started giving him some finger foods to try including hard-cooked egg yolk, sweet potato cubes, pancakes, and waffles. So far, he loves everything!

Pumping - I was very nervous for this at first. My biggest concern was that my supply wouldn't hold out, and while it's still early, I'm happy to say this hasn't been an issue at all. My other concern was that I wouldn't find time. I'm pumping at 5:30 AM on the left side, then at 8, 11:30 and 3 on both sides. I get anywhere from 18-22 ounces a day, and Charlie takes about 17 so we're doing well. I'm pumping in the closet in my classroom. It's very glamorous! ;)

So, that's how our month has gone... and as a reward for your patience in reading all that... Here's Charlie!

PEAS!!!

Hard to believe he'll be wearing a shirt this size someday...

Six month photo shoot

At a photo shoot for a toy company - fun!

Charlie loves feeding himself; this time it was organic waffles - yum!

First Day of School (Sort Of)

First things first - I have decided to call Charlie's day care "school". For whatever reason, I like the way it sounds (probably because, as a teacher, I've been going to school for almost 30 years). Today Charlie and I went to his school and spent about an hour in his new classroom. I like the space where he'll be and he spent the entire time sitting on the play mat and playing with toys. I got to talk with two of the teachers in the room (there will be three when he officially starts next week) and got a feel for what his day will be like. The school seems great and I feel confident leaving him there; but to be honest, the whole concept just doesn't feel "right" to me. I'm really struggling with this right now, and I'm hoping it will get better in a couple of weeks once we've all fallen into this new routine. As I was driving today (I do some of my best thinking when I'm driving) I seriously started to resent the womens' liberation movement. If it weren't for this whole "equal rights" thing, I'd be sitting pretty at home with my baby while my dear husband went to work to provide for his family. I'm mostly joking, but I think there is something to be said for the 1950's nuclear family. I absolutely love my job, and I'm looking forward to teaching again, but I wish I could wait until Charlie was in Kindergarten. I feel like the best place for him is at home with family. He could socialize with friends in the neighborhood at play dates and Gymboree classes. I know this is our own fault. We live in a HCOL area about 20 miles outside of NYC. Le sigh... It will be OK.

In happier news, Charlie took his bath in the big bath tub today, rather than the sink. He's getting so big!

Baby and the City

What's this?? A post from yours truly two days in a row?? Well, lucky you. ;)

Charlie and I went to NYC today to visit JA at work. We drove to Hoboken, purchased our tickets for Pier 11 and boarded the ferry when it arrived. I called John when we got off in New York and told him we were waiting right by the adorable little duck pond with the waterfall and pretty flowers. Cue silence on John's end... then, "Umm, there is no duck pond at Pier 11." Uh oh! Somehow I had managed to get on the wrong ferry and was on the west side of Manhattan when I needed to be on the east side. This would ordinarily not be a problem since I could just hop in a cab, but Charlie doesn't exactly travel well in cabs without his carseat. He was riding in style in the Maclaren Spitfire, which we busted out for the first time today.

I really love this stroller! But, I digress. After asking three friendly officers of the NYPD, as well as an equally-friendly employee at the ferry station, it was determined that I was going to have to walk. So we got a wonderful tour of Battery Park and the surrounding areas and finally arrived at John's office about 25 minutes later (after one more check-in with a super-friendly Parks & Rec officer who actually exited his vehicle and showed me the path on his map!) Who says New Yorkers are mean? During the walk Charlie tried his best to avoid looking like a tourist, but he was pretty wide-eyed the whole time. But he wasn't wearing a fanny pack or anything, so we blended in pretty well, I think. ;)

After being scanned through security (which included a full-on airport X-ray system and metal detector, along with scanning my ID and printing out a visitor badge with my name and picture on it) we headed upstairs to visit JA's co-workers. Charlie was his typical charming self, though he did play it a little shy at times. I nursed him in the mothers' room they have on their floor (wish we had one of these) and then we headed to lunch. Charlie was a perfect companion throughout, though he kept opening his mouth everytime I picked up my fork or grabbed a fry off JA's plate. He's getting ready for finger foods, I think!

On the ferry ride home (John walked us to the pier and made sure we got on the right one) I started to nurse him again, but after a few minutes, he looked like this:

New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Charlie sure does! :)

Earthquake!

Yikes - today was one of the craziest days Charlie and I have had this summer. This morning we dropped off Daddy at the train, then continued on to my school to start working in my classroom. I brought Charlie's pack 'n' play, his Baby Bjorn bouncer, his Jump & Go, the Bumbo, and an assortment of toys. I also had a bunch of diapers, wipes, changes of clothing, bibs, and burp cloths. We were there from about 9 AM to 2 PM - and it was so hard to actually do work! I only managed to cover a couple of bulletin boards and unpack the closet. Charlie did his best to keep himself entertained, but he needed to see me at all times. He also (understandably) needed to move every twenty minutes or so to another activity. Plus, it was really hard to do work when my beautiful baby was there just begging me to play with him!

During one of our feedings today, I suddenly realized that the walls and floor were shaking. I immediately knew it was an earthquake. It only lasted a few seconds, but even Charlie picked his head up, looked around, and made a face as if to say, "What is that??" It was, in fact, baby's first earthquake. That's one for the baby book! :)

Charlie was not too pleased with napping in the pack 'n' play. He took two naps that were each only about 30 minutes. Poor guy. He then fell asleep for the last ten minutes of the ride home - FAIL! Since I knew he wouldn't be going back to sleep when we got home, I opted to make some food for Master Charles. In about 40 minutes time I was able to make brown rice cereal, pureed avocado, and baked butternut squash. Yummy! Charlie ate prunes for dinner, but I'm sure he'll be enjoying these other tasty treats soon.

While his bedtime is usually around 6:30, he was asleep in his crib before six o'clock. Sweet dreams buddy!

Charlie is six months old!

I wanted to take this time to recognize that our son is half way to a year! I can hardly believe that he is six months old. Charlie is such a good baby and I am so thankful that God gave him to us. Here's a little insight into what our day looks like at six months:

6:00/6:30 - wake up and nurse; diaper change; play

8:30 - nurse; diaper change; first nap

10:15 - wake up and nurse; diaper change; play

11:15 - eat oatmeal and fruit

12:15 - diaper change; second nap

1:00 - wake up and nurse; diaper change; play

3:00 - diaper change; third nap

4:00 - wake up and nurse; diaper change; play

5:00 - eat fruit or veggie

6:00 - nurse (from one side); naked time; bath

6:30/7:00 - nurse (from other side); bedtime

He seems to be a creature of habit, and I love how he's fallen into this little routine. And I am so incredibly appreciative of his 11-12 hours of straight sleep. Glorious! :)

Today I made some more food for Charlie. This morning I headed out to Whole Foods to purchase some organic sweet potatoes and pears. I couldn't find the pears so I bought Gala apples instead. When I got home I put the potatoes in the oven to bake for an hour and put the apples in a steamer basket in a saucepan to steam for 10-15 minutes. When they were done and cooled, I simply scraped the flesh into the blender. I mixed the apples with some of the water from the saucepan since I plan to mix them with oatmeal and breast milk. I mixed the sweet potatoes with breast milk. Both got pureed in the blender (separately, of course) and poured into trays for the freezer. Voila! Charlie enjoyed some homemade applesauce and oatmeal this afternoon and we'll try the sweet potatoes on Thursday (following the four-day-wait rule). He's currently eating two meals a day (fruit and oatmeal and another fruit or veggie) and seems to love everything so far. I really love that I know exactly what's going into his body too (and what isn't, namely pesticides and other chemicals). On my list for next week: sweet peas and zucchini. Mmmmm!

Just in time...

On Monday I welcomed this new beauty:

Our avocado green washer finally crossed the rainbow bridge into appliance heaven. And since Charlie started solids, he now has what I am calling "real person poop." This makes laundering our cloth diapers interesting. :) Charlie is loving his food, so I'm glad that we can continue onward. So far he's had oatmeal, avocado, and prunes. The prunes were because he went a week without pooping. Trust me when I say he made up for it today!

Thanks for the prunes Mom!

We have an eater!

It's official - Charlie got his first taste of "solids" this past week. While on vacation with my family in New Hampshire (baby's first trip to the mountains!), he ate oatmeal every day - and he loved it! I was admittedly nervous about this and wanted to wait until as close to six months as possible. I'm really glad I did too, because there was no doubt in my mind that he was ready. After the first bite or two he was already leaning forward and opening his mouth for more. Super cute! Here is the evidence... check out that little smile after he finishes his first bite.



In case you are wondering, we are using Earth's Best Organic Oatmeal mixed with breast milk. Tomorrow we're heading to the local farmers' market to see if they have any veggies and fruits for our next eating adventures. I'd like to try avocado, sweet potatoes, squash, banana, pears, and apples. Yum!

Charlie is funny

I'm going to try my best to describe this, since it wasn't possible for me to get a picture without risking Charlie's safety. Tonight during naked time we were practicing our sitting. I sit behind Charlie while he tripods. Tonight he decided to bend his arms so he could put his toes in his mouth for a bit, then pushed himself back up again. He did this a few times in a row - hysterical! I can't leave him sitting alone just yet, or I absolutely would have gotten a picture. Maybe I'll be better prepared tomorrow. :)

I also wanted to say that today was just an awesome day. My son is amazing! He's not even six months old yet, and I'm pretty sure he didn't even cry for a second today. Amazing, right? He is on quite the little schedule lately, with very predictable naps and eating times. He also accompanied me to the store this afternoon and was a perfect companion. I know not every day will be so perfect, but I am convinced that he is one remarkable kiddo!

Next week is the big week for starting solids!! I've got all our materials ready to go. The spoons are already in the drawer.

Today I also let Charlie practice with an empty sippy cup. At first, he just tried to eat the whole thing...

But then he got the hang of it once I showed him how. He was sucking on the spout like a pro!



Wait until next week and there's WATER in there! ;)

Yay!!!!!!!

Why the overuse of the exclamation point, you ask? Well, at Charlie's weight check today he gained seven ounces in the past week. This was after gaining only three ounces between four and five months. Silly little guy was not requesting more food after he ate from one side, and since I had an oversupply, I was only feeding from one side. But he needed more, and since I've been nursing from both sides, he's moving in the right direction. Phew! It's not that I was again using formula (the ladies in my play group jokingly call it the "f" word) but I felt confident that it wasn't the right choice just yet. After consulting with a lactation consultant last week, I knew we were on the right track to continue exclusively breastfeeding. Just in time to start thinking about solids. More on that to come... ;)

In more happy news, Charlie is just starting to discover his four-legged siblings. Today, Molly was practicing tummy time with a toy just like Charlie. She's such a good big sister. Charlie repayed her by grabbing a handful of hair on her head. We're still working on how to gently pet our puppies. :)

He looks innocent enough, but Cairn Terriers beware of Charlie and his grabby hands!

A Day in the Life of Charlie (5 months old)

It's been a little while since we've documented our day, so I thought it was time for an update. Here's what our day looked like today. It started with this handsome face greeting me. :)

5:00 - wake up to nurse, then back to sleep

7:00 - wake up for the day; change diaper and clothing; nurse; play

8:00 - bring Daddy to the train station

8:30 - nurse for a few minutes; 1st nap (Mommy does laundry, tidies up the house, and does some internet research on her new washing machine and first birthday party ideas - she's Ca-Raaaazy!)

10:00 - wake up; diaper change; nurse; play

11:45 - diaper change; nurse for a few minutes; 2nd nap (Mommy makes and eats lunch)

12:30 - wake up; nurse; diaper change; play

2:20 - 3rd nap (Mom naps too)

3:00 - wake up; nurse; kind of fall asleep again

4:00 - play

5:00 - nurse; play

5:30 - nurse from other side; play

6:00 - naked baby time (air out diaper area); bath; massage; jammies

6:30 - wind down; hum our bedtime song

6:45 - nurse for a few minutes; bed

That's it... hope you enjoyed some insight into our day!

I hope that one day...

... I'll be as great of a mom as my mom is to me. I had a bit of a rough week and she drove down from MA today just to check in and say hi. And then my dad surprised her by accompanying her on the trip. So Charlie and I got to see them both and hang out together all day. It was awesome! My favorite parts of the day were when my dad was making Charlie laugh during lunch and when my mom got to change Charlie's outfit three times. Love my happy spitter! ;)

Speaking of spitting, I tried out our new drooler bibs from Apple Tree Boutique today. Love them! Here is Charlie modeling the doggie version while he practices his sitting up skills.

Edit - I forgot to mention that my dad lowered the crib mattress today. Tear! Baby Charlie is growing so fast...

Changing Tables

I never really gave much thought to those changing tables in restaurant bathrooms. Until, of course, I became a mom. Today Charlie had a massive poopy diaper while we were out to lunch with friends. No problem, right? I have a beautifully stacked diaper bag ready to go. Unfortunately, the bathroom did not have one of those tables. Have you ever tried to change a poopy diaper on a five-month-old without a flat surface? I wouldn't recommend it. I'm surprised Charlie is still talking to me, frankly. ;)

Where were you at one o'clock this afternoon???

And because a few people have requested a new photo of Master Charles, here ya go... Don't worry, I didn't include any of today's diaper incident... Just pure, summer fun. :)

Raspberries

Here's a cute little video so you can hear Charlie's giggles. Quite possibly my favorite sound in the world! (Sorry for the crazy camera angles... I was recording it myself on my iPhone.)

Breastfeeding Goal #2...

...accomplished! You may remember that my first goal was to make it to six weeks (the time most experts say is the toughest to get through - so don't give up!) After making it to six weeks, I set my next goal to be the end of the school year, i.e., through the three weeks of pumping while Charlie stayed home with family. It was a rough start and I definitely felt a little overwhelmed at first, but we did it! Charlie took his bottles like a champ and I was able to replace the 20 oz. he consumed while I was at work. Phew! Along the way, I learned a few tricks that I think will help me immensely when I go back to school in September.

1. If possible, keep your pumping equipment set up so you don't have to waste time at each session. I will be pumping in the closet in my classroom and I'm going to set up a comfortable little station for myself. I'll keep a comfy chair in there next to a small table. I can keep the pump set up on the table with the tubing and power cord ready to go. This way, I'll just have to attach the tubes and switch on the power cord.
2. Probably the most time consuming maintenance part of pumping is washing the parts. Someone recommended keeping the parts in a Ziploc baggie in the fridge between sessions. Brilliant! I'm lucky enough to have a mini-fridge in my classroom so this will be very easy. At the end of the day I'll just bring the baggie home and wash them along with the bottles from day care.
3. Most people know that your supply is greatest in the morning. I pump once at home after Charlie's first feeding at 5 AM and get at least 5 oz. from one side. I also plan/hope to feed him again before we leave for the day. I'm not sure I could pump more than 15 oz. at work so this system works well for me. I could probably also pump before I go to bed since Charlie last eats at 7 PM, but sometimes I go to bed not long after him. :)

So that's it - the plan for back-to-school. I'm sure there will be some days when I'm going to want to quit, but I know I can do this. It's very important to me that Charlie get only breastmilk until he's a year old. I take those recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics very seriously!