My brother was an accident prone kid. He had stitches more times than anyone else I know and broke a few bones, too. He was in the hospital to the point that it became fairly routine. We tell the story about the time he got stitches in his head, and his only concern was that they be purple. The nurse was rather surprised by this.
Most of his injuries make good stories now. None of them caused permanent damage, and a lot of them were just so weird. A kid at camp throws a rock in the air and it comes down right on his head. He catches a football that snaps his thumb back and breaks it. He stands up after getting a vaccination and faints, knocking his head on a metal table. It's all just so absurd.
And it looks like Gavin is on track for the same kind of life. What we thought was Nursemaid's elbow was not Nursemaid's elbow. On Wednesday morning it was clear that Gavin's arm was still hurting him. He'd barely moved it at all since Monday evening and was becoming surprisingly adept at doing things one-handed. We decided to take him to the pediatrician for a second look.
She referred us to orthopedic pediatrician and was able to get us an appointment for later the same day. By the time we got there, he was beginning to use his arm again, and we were thinking that maybe it was unnecessary after all. But they took some x-rays and did an examination, and it was clear that the elbow was still bothering him.
The x-ray didn't turn up much, because toddler joints are still mostly cartilage. But combined with the exam, the doctor decided he had either a fracture or a bruise on the cartilage. It'll heal quickly, but as he gets more comfortable with it, there's a bigger risk of re-injury. So the doctor recommended we put him in a cast for a week to give his arm a chance to heal.
It's unfortunate that this lines up with his and Kevin's trip to the beach. With a cast on he can't get in the water and he can barely play in the sand. But it's not like Gavin knows the difference. Kevin is much more disappointed than he is.
Gavin didn't like having the cast put on, but once it was there he cheered right up. Now that his arm is being held immobile I think it's hurting him less. And he's a bit too oblivious to really be bothered by the cast. Every now and then he asks what it is, but then he goes back to whatever he was doing.
I'm still not sure how he got hurt so badly. It seems like that he whacked his elbow in addition to what we saw on Monday. But who knows? Maybe he'll end up being just as accident prone as his uncle. Or maybe this will just be a blip and he'll go on to have a normal childhood with a minimum of extra doctor's visits. Either way, this story will quickly become part of Gavin's personal legend, trotted out for new friends and girlfriends for the rest of his life.
Showing posts with label Gavin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gavin. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Urgent Care
We got another first out of the way last night: our first after hour's visit to urgent care.
Everything was going well. Gavin was being an exceptionally cute toddler, and I was enjoying a glass of wine and looking forward to reading once he was in bed. Gavin has this new favorite game where he lays down on the floor and I cover him with a blanket and then he figures out how to get out from under the blanket. It's amazing, and I like it almost as much as he does, because I just have to sit on the couch. (As opposed to the run-down-the-driveway game, which involves running up and down the driveway over and over.)
So, it was a pretty great birthday. And then we were getting ready to put Gavin in his bath and Kevin picked him up and Gavin just started crying. And crying and crying. Clearly whatever had hurt him was not getting better.
We got on the phone to his pediatrician who said it sounded like nursemaid's elbow - a pretty common occurrence among toddlers who are still more bendy than firm. The ligament gets trapped between the bones of the elbow joint. It definitely sounds painful.
The doctor said it often fixes itself, or we could come in in the morning or we could take him to an urgent care. Well, when your kid's crying and there's something you can do to make it better, you do it. So we hopped in the car and headed to urgent care. By now, Gavin was a lot calmer, even smiling and laughing with me in the backseat. Though he still wasn't moving his left arm.
The urgent care doctor was great. She let me hold Gavin while she examined his shoulder and elbow. She held up his Elmo doll to make sure he could move it. And she sent us on our way with instructions to give him some Tylenol and alternate warm and cold compresses (for pain and swelling, respectively).
Gavin fell asleep pretty soon after we got home, but Kevin and I were all keyed up and stayed up for a while longer. And then, of course, as soon as the pain medication wore off, Gavin was up and crying again. This was about half an hour before my alarm went off, so we just pulled him into bed with us. Cuddling was enough to get him to sleep for a while longer.
He still wasn't really using his arm this morning, though I think that's just soreness. If it's still bugging him tonight or tomorrow morning, we'll take him in to his regular pediatrician. The urgent care doctor gave him a pretty thorough examination, so I'm pretty sure nothing is broken or still dislocated. It'll probably just take some time to heal completely.
Everything was going well. Gavin was being an exceptionally cute toddler, and I was enjoying a glass of wine and looking forward to reading once he was in bed. Gavin has this new favorite game where he lays down on the floor and I cover him with a blanket and then he figures out how to get out from under the blanket. It's amazing, and I like it almost as much as he does, because I just have to sit on the couch. (As opposed to the run-down-the-driveway game, which involves running up and down the driveway over and over.)
So, it was a pretty great birthday. And then we were getting ready to put Gavin in his bath and Kevin picked him up and Gavin just started crying. And crying and crying. Clearly whatever had hurt him was not getting better.
We got on the phone to his pediatrician who said it sounded like nursemaid's elbow - a pretty common occurrence among toddlers who are still more bendy than firm. The ligament gets trapped between the bones of the elbow joint. It definitely sounds painful.
The doctor said it often fixes itself, or we could come in in the morning or we could take him to an urgent care. Well, when your kid's crying and there's something you can do to make it better, you do it. So we hopped in the car and headed to urgent care. By now, Gavin was a lot calmer, even smiling and laughing with me in the backseat. Though he still wasn't moving his left arm.
The urgent care doctor was great. She let me hold Gavin while she examined his shoulder and elbow. She held up his Elmo doll to make sure he could move it. And she sent us on our way with instructions to give him some Tylenol and alternate warm and cold compresses (for pain and swelling, respectively).
Gavin fell asleep pretty soon after we got home, but Kevin and I were all keyed up and stayed up for a while longer. And then, of course, as soon as the pain medication wore off, Gavin was up and crying again. This was about half an hour before my alarm went off, so we just pulled him into bed with us. Cuddling was enough to get him to sleep for a while longer.
He still wasn't really using his arm this morning, though I think that's just soreness. If it's still bugging him tonight or tomorrow morning, we'll take him in to his regular pediatrician. The urgent care doctor gave him a pretty thorough examination, so I'm pretty sure nothing is broken or still dislocated. It'll probably just take some time to heal completely.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Outings
Gavin is at a slightly awkward age. He's beginning to get interested in the world around him. He's curious about everything he sees and is always eager to see more. But he's not quite old enough for proper outings yet. I want to take him to things, to start showing him the world. But he can't really appreciate a museum or a play. He doesn't really have the attention span or the bodily control for some of the things I want to do.
Usually we don't end up going much of anywhere. Maybe the store if I need to run errands. Maybe the park if the weather is perfect and his nap schedule is cooperating. But when it's just me and him, we tend to stay at home. Not that there's anything wrong with reading and exploring the backyard and watching some Sesame Street. It's just that it gets tedious and boring fast. For both of us.
Enter Kevin. When it comes to this sort of thing, he's the better parent than I am. He's willing to just pack up and go, though I think I'm better at remembering that Gavin does still need to eat and sleep when we're out and about. Naps are sacred. Without them, Gavin is cranky and irritable. With them he's fun and curious. I just wish there was some rhyme or reason to when he needed a nap. When it's just the two of us, I tend to plan the day around the nap, to the best of my ability. It's the only time I get for myself right now. When Kevin's around, I'm more willing to let him sleep in the car, because I can grab that adult time later.
I digress. The point of this is that we actually did a lot of stuff this weekend. And Gavin did amazing with it all.
On Saturday we woke up and were out the door by 9 am. We went down to Gravelly Point to watch the planes take off from National. Gavin was a bit scared of the first one, but his excitement quickly overcame it. For a while he'd bury his face in my shoulder when the plane was right overhead, trying to get away from the noise. But he'd immediately look up and grin and point once it was just past us. It wasn't long before he wasn't even scared of the noise.
After watching planes for a bit, we went to the Folk Life Festival, which is featuring Armenia this year. We got an early lunch, but the main festival wasn't open yet. So we went to the American History Museum, which was the closest and also has a kid's play area on the lowest level. We played for a bit, then wandered through an exhibit on advertising before heading back up to the folk life festival for a few minutes. This was all more about herding Gavin than paying attention to any of the information around us. But we survived. And then we got some ice cream and went home and Gavin took a frustratingly short nap in the car.
The next day, we were up and out again. First to brunch with friends, then Kevin and his mom took Gavin to the baseball game while I went home to enjoy a few hours of adult time. Gavin reportedly had fun at the baseball game, and even sat and watched it for several innings. That evening at home, he was actually telling me a bit about it. Well, all he said was "daddy", "baseball", "fun", "game", "daddy's mommy", and "woo!" But even without the complete sentences, it was pretty clear that he remembered going to the game and enjoyed himself. This is the first time he's ever talked about something in the past, and it's cool that this dimension of memory is starting to turn up.
It'll still be a while before I can take him to the local children's museums or a concert or something. But I also need to just suck it up and take him sometime. We have plans to do some of these things later this summer, and I'm starting to feel confident that he won't be entirely too young for them. Even as I sometimes feel bad about existing in public with a toddler. At least the understanding people outnumber the judgmental ones..
Usually we don't end up going much of anywhere. Maybe the store if I need to run errands. Maybe the park if the weather is perfect and his nap schedule is cooperating. But when it's just me and him, we tend to stay at home. Not that there's anything wrong with reading and exploring the backyard and watching some Sesame Street. It's just that it gets tedious and boring fast. For both of us.
Enter Kevin. When it comes to this sort of thing, he's the better parent than I am. He's willing to just pack up and go, though I think I'm better at remembering that Gavin does still need to eat and sleep when we're out and about. Naps are sacred. Without them, Gavin is cranky and irritable. With them he's fun and curious. I just wish there was some rhyme or reason to when he needed a nap. When it's just the two of us, I tend to plan the day around the nap, to the best of my ability. It's the only time I get for myself right now. When Kevin's around, I'm more willing to let him sleep in the car, because I can grab that adult time later.
I digress. The point of this is that we actually did a lot of stuff this weekend. And Gavin did amazing with it all.
On Saturday we woke up and were out the door by 9 am. We went down to Gravelly Point to watch the planes take off from National. Gavin was a bit scared of the first one, but his excitement quickly overcame it. For a while he'd bury his face in my shoulder when the plane was right overhead, trying to get away from the noise. But he'd immediately look up and grin and point once it was just past us. It wasn't long before he wasn't even scared of the noise.
After watching planes for a bit, we went to the Folk Life Festival, which is featuring Armenia this year. We got an early lunch, but the main festival wasn't open yet. So we went to the American History Museum, which was the closest and also has a kid's play area on the lowest level. We played for a bit, then wandered through an exhibit on advertising before heading back up to the folk life festival for a few minutes. This was all more about herding Gavin than paying attention to any of the information around us. But we survived. And then we got some ice cream and went home and Gavin took a frustratingly short nap in the car.
The next day, we were up and out again. First to brunch with friends, then Kevin and his mom took Gavin to the baseball game while I went home to enjoy a few hours of adult time. Gavin reportedly had fun at the baseball game, and even sat and watched it for several innings. That evening at home, he was actually telling me a bit about it. Well, all he said was "daddy", "baseball", "fun", "game", "daddy's mommy", and "woo!" But even without the complete sentences, it was pretty clear that he remembered going to the game and enjoyed himself. This is the first time he's ever talked about something in the past, and it's cool that this dimension of memory is starting to turn up.
It'll still be a while before I can take him to the local children's museums or a concert or something. But I also need to just suck it up and take him sometime. We have plans to do some of these things later this summer, and I'm starting to feel confident that he won't be entirely too young for them. Even as I sometimes feel bad about existing in public with a toddler. At least the understanding people outnumber the judgmental ones..
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Discovering Gender
Lately Gavin has been labeling everything around the house as either "mama" or "daddy". Or, occasionally, "Kina". I know enough cognitive psychology to know that humans tend to categorize things and this is the beginning of that. It's a fun stage to watch, and it's interesting to see Gavin start to sort the world according to the rules he's learned so far.
It's also a bit disconcerting, getting my gender roles thrown in my face like this. As egalitarian as our relationship is, Kevin and I do subscribe to some classic gender roles. Sure, we both work outside the home. But I'm definitely the primary caregiver. And I take care of most of the inside chores while Kevin tackles all the yard work. I've always known this and it works for us. But now that Gavin's becoming aware of it, my awareness of it has increased and become more present in my day to day life.
The things that Gavin has thus far labeled as "mama" include: the laundry basket, chap stick, hand lotion, any mug, and most books. Items labeled "daddy" include: beer bottles, bottle caps, the bottle opener, the grill, and ketchup. The leash and dog treats are both "Kina".
While I'm pretty sure Gavin isn't yet aware of gender as a concept, it's pretty clear that this is a precursor to that. He's sorting things, and it won't be long before he lands on things as being either male or female. It's one of the basic structures of our society, so it's going to be one of the first things he learns. But what's really interesting is that, at the moment, I really don't believe he has any concept of being a boy. And I'm excited to see how that process works.
Right now, Gavin emulates both Kevin and I pretty equally. He likes hanging out when I'm washing dishes and loading or unloading the dishwasher. He follows Kevin around the yard picking up sticks. He tromps around the house in my shoes and loves carrying around empty beer bottles. At some point I expect this to shift so that he's trying to be more like one of us than the other.
At some point "mama" and "daddy" will become "female" and "male" and he'll apply a label to himself, too. I don't know when that will happen. But the fact that I know it's coming has me trying to drink in every moment where he is, essentially, genderless. At least in his own head. I'm positively fascinated by the fact that this isn't really a concept for him, and I'm trying to use that awareness to make myself more comfortable with gender fluidity. After all, who wouldn't want to inhabit a world where a third possible gender is "dog"?
It's also a bit disconcerting, getting my gender roles thrown in my face like this. As egalitarian as our relationship is, Kevin and I do subscribe to some classic gender roles. Sure, we both work outside the home. But I'm definitely the primary caregiver. And I take care of most of the inside chores while Kevin tackles all the yard work. I've always known this and it works for us. But now that Gavin's becoming aware of it, my awareness of it has increased and become more present in my day to day life.
The things that Gavin has thus far labeled as "mama" include: the laundry basket, chap stick, hand lotion, any mug, and most books. Items labeled "daddy" include: beer bottles, bottle caps, the bottle opener, the grill, and ketchup. The leash and dog treats are both "Kina".
While I'm pretty sure Gavin isn't yet aware of gender as a concept, it's pretty clear that this is a precursor to that. He's sorting things, and it won't be long before he lands on things as being either male or female. It's one of the basic structures of our society, so it's going to be one of the first things he learns. But what's really interesting is that, at the moment, I really don't believe he has any concept of being a boy. And I'm excited to see how that process works.
Right now, Gavin emulates both Kevin and I pretty equally. He likes hanging out when I'm washing dishes and loading or unloading the dishwasher. He follows Kevin around the yard picking up sticks. He tromps around the house in my shoes and loves carrying around empty beer bottles. At some point I expect this to shift so that he's trying to be more like one of us than the other.
At some point "mama" and "daddy" will become "female" and "male" and he'll apply a label to himself, too. I don't know when that will happen. But the fact that I know it's coming has me trying to drink in every moment where he is, essentially, genderless. At least in his own head. I'm positively fascinated by the fact that this isn't really a concept for him, and I'm trying to use that awareness to make myself more comfortable with gender fluidity. After all, who wouldn't want to inhabit a world where a third possible gender is "dog"?
Friday, July 6, 2018
Double Your Future
People like to say that once you have kids your life is over. Kids age you. They cramp your style and box you in and just destroy your life.
People who say things like that should probably never have kids. These aren't things I ever really believed, except possibly the bit about kids aging you. They grow so quickly that you can't help but be aware that time is passing.
What I didn't expect, and what I have come to discover, is that not only are these statements lies. They are very nearly the opposite of the truth. Gavin makes me feel like I have twice as much future to look forward to. He has broadened my horizons, and that makes me feel younger than ever before.
Part of this is certainly just natural aging. People always tell you that life keeps getting better. That happiness increases with age. That high school and college are so far from the best times of your life that it's laughable. And I always believed it enough to pay lip service to. But the truth is that I didn't believe it whole-heartedly until recently. But here I am, embarking on my thirties, and I've never been happier. At least in my personal life. Politically is an entirely different story, but we won't talk about that here.
So yes, my life right now is exactly what I want it to be. And that gives me confidence that I'll be able to continue to make it what I want it. That I will eventually find a way to write the book that's been sitting in my head for the past three years. That I might even get it published. And that I'll find a way to do all the other little things I want to do.
I have a lot to look forward to, is my point.
And then enter the child. He's really turning into a person, and I look at him now with so much hope and nostalgia. I can't wait for him to start school and make friends. I'm looking forward to guiding him through all the ups and downs of growing up. To his first kiss and his first love. To seeing what sparks his interest and helping him pursue that.
To borrow from Pat Rothfuss, his future adds to mine and makes an alloy of sorts.
This is the part where it gets sappy, but I'm grateful every day for my kid, and for the future that's waiting for him. There's a lot of scary stuff out there. But there are also a lot of good things to look forward to. I have to keep believing that it mostly gets better. And he helps me with that.
People who say things like that should probably never have kids. These aren't things I ever really believed, except possibly the bit about kids aging you. They grow so quickly that you can't help but be aware that time is passing.
What I didn't expect, and what I have come to discover, is that not only are these statements lies. They are very nearly the opposite of the truth. Gavin makes me feel like I have twice as much future to look forward to. He has broadened my horizons, and that makes me feel younger than ever before.
Part of this is certainly just natural aging. People always tell you that life keeps getting better. That happiness increases with age. That high school and college are so far from the best times of your life that it's laughable. And I always believed it enough to pay lip service to. But the truth is that I didn't believe it whole-heartedly until recently. But here I am, embarking on my thirties, and I've never been happier. At least in my personal life. Politically is an entirely different story, but we won't talk about that here.
So yes, my life right now is exactly what I want it to be. And that gives me confidence that I'll be able to continue to make it what I want it. That I will eventually find a way to write the book that's been sitting in my head for the past three years. That I might even get it published. And that I'll find a way to do all the other little things I want to do.
I have a lot to look forward to, is my point.
And then enter the child. He's really turning into a person, and I look at him now with so much hope and nostalgia. I can't wait for him to start school and make friends. I'm looking forward to guiding him through all the ups and downs of growing up. To his first kiss and his first love. To seeing what sparks his interest and helping him pursue that.
To borrow from Pat Rothfuss, his future adds to mine and makes an alloy of sorts.
This is the part where it gets sappy, but I'm grateful every day for my kid, and for the future that's waiting for him. There's a lot of scary stuff out there. But there are also a lot of good things to look forward to. I have to keep believing that it mostly gets better. And he helps me with that.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Sick
Do you know what's worse than throwing up in the shower? Throwing up in the shower shortly before your toddler wakes up while your husband is out of town. Oh and it's also the first day of your period.
Gavin got this bug on Sunday. He woke up and proceeded to vomit three times in under an hour. During that time he also pooped more than his diaper could hold, causing a slightly more contained, but no less gross, mess. I comforted him. I did laundry. I mopped and scrubbed and somehow also managed to eat and drink my tea, because problems like these loom so much larger when I have no food in my belly and no caffeine in my blood. By 8:00 we were chilling on the couch with a pile of books, and it was like nothing had happened.
I should have been expecting it to hit me, because every time Gavin gets sick, I get it, too. And I often get it worse. Or maybe it's that it's just that he's got this combination of stoicism and cheerfulness that makes it hard to determine how sick he actually is. The only time Gavin truly seemed out of it was when he had a fever that brought that glazed look to his eyes. But even that barely lasted for twelve hours.
So of course I got his stomach bug. And of course I got it worse than him. Or at least it took me longer to recover. I finished rinsing the conditioner out of my hair while sitting in the shower. Then got out, got dressed, and slowly and deliberately went about my morning routine. Gavin was only sick for an hour, and I was already feeling better, so I was actually planning to go to work. I ate a single bite of my buttered toast and drank two sips of water before I started to worry about my ability to keep food down.
But the thing about parenthood is that you just keep going. You find these reserves of strength that you never knew you had before. I'm sure if Kevin had been around I would have collapsed right back into bed for another hour. But Gavin was waking up and Kina was whining to go outside and even if I felt comfortable calling someone at 6 in the morning it's not like they'd get to my house quickly enough to actually help me.
I got Gavin up and dressed and gave him his cheerios. I fed Kina and let her into the backyard. And then I realized that I didn't have the wherewithal to walk Kina. So I put on some Sesame Street and hoped Kina would pee before I had to bring her back in.
Twenty minutes later, Gavin and I were in the car. I had my tea and my lunch, still planning to go to work. I was teetering on that knife's edge between wanting to collapse on the couch and being sure that I'd feel fine in another hour. Also, my Fitbit was nearly out of battery and I'd left my charger at work. Then again, Kina may very well poop in the house since she didn't get her morning walk.
I finally decided to just go home. I couldn't stomach the thought of my tea, nothing at work was pressing, and I knew I'd need all my energy for our weekend trip to Boston. Plus I had thrown up in the shower not two hours earlier. What kind of idiot even contemplates going to work after a morning like that? (No, seriously, I cannot figure out what was going through my brain.)
Kina got to spend all day in the backyard, and I got to watch six straight hours of television. By the time I had to pick up Gavin from daycare, I was feeling almost entirely better. We had a fun evening together, and I ended up feeling like a good and successful mom when all was said and done.
Kevin's going to be out of town for another month, and I'm sure it'll be a long month (Gavin asks "where's daddy? five-ten times a day). But after this mini-crisis I feel like I can get through anything. Though I do wish I'd stop getting sick so often.
Gavin got this bug on Sunday. He woke up and proceeded to vomit three times in under an hour. During that time he also pooped more than his diaper could hold, causing a slightly more contained, but no less gross, mess. I comforted him. I did laundry. I mopped and scrubbed and somehow also managed to eat and drink my tea, because problems like these loom so much larger when I have no food in my belly and no caffeine in my blood. By 8:00 we were chilling on the couch with a pile of books, and it was like nothing had happened.
I should have been expecting it to hit me, because every time Gavin gets sick, I get it, too. And I often get it worse. Or maybe it's that it's just that he's got this combination of stoicism and cheerfulness that makes it hard to determine how sick he actually is. The only time Gavin truly seemed out of it was when he had a fever that brought that glazed look to his eyes. But even that barely lasted for twelve hours.
So of course I got his stomach bug. And of course I got it worse than him. Or at least it took me longer to recover. I finished rinsing the conditioner out of my hair while sitting in the shower. Then got out, got dressed, and slowly and deliberately went about my morning routine. Gavin was only sick for an hour, and I was already feeling better, so I was actually planning to go to work. I ate a single bite of my buttered toast and drank two sips of water before I started to worry about my ability to keep food down.
But the thing about parenthood is that you just keep going. You find these reserves of strength that you never knew you had before. I'm sure if Kevin had been around I would have collapsed right back into bed for another hour. But Gavin was waking up and Kina was whining to go outside and even if I felt comfortable calling someone at 6 in the morning it's not like they'd get to my house quickly enough to actually help me.
I got Gavin up and dressed and gave him his cheerios. I fed Kina and let her into the backyard. And then I realized that I didn't have the wherewithal to walk Kina. So I put on some Sesame Street and hoped Kina would pee before I had to bring her back in.
Twenty minutes later, Gavin and I were in the car. I had my tea and my lunch, still planning to go to work. I was teetering on that knife's edge between wanting to collapse on the couch and being sure that I'd feel fine in another hour. Also, my Fitbit was nearly out of battery and I'd left my charger at work. Then again, Kina may very well poop in the house since she didn't get her morning walk.
I finally decided to just go home. I couldn't stomach the thought of my tea, nothing at work was pressing, and I knew I'd need all my energy for our weekend trip to Boston. Plus I had thrown up in the shower not two hours earlier. What kind of idiot even contemplates going to work after a morning like that? (No, seriously, I cannot figure out what was going through my brain.)
Kina got to spend all day in the backyard, and I got to watch six straight hours of television. By the time I had to pick up Gavin from daycare, I was feeling almost entirely better. We had a fun evening together, and I ended up feeling like a good and successful mom when all was said and done.
Kevin's going to be out of town for another month, and I'm sure it'll be a long month (Gavin asks "where's daddy? five-ten times a day). But after this mini-crisis I feel like I can get through anything. Though I do wish I'd stop getting sick so often.
Monday, May 7, 2018
18 Months
Eighteen months is proving to be a very fun age. I think it's my favorite age since ten months, which is the last time Gavin made a big leap forward in his ability to interact with us. Then it was all giggles and play. Now it's a positive explosion of words. Gavin talks all the time. He learns new words every day, and he's starting to figure out sentences. He can ask for what he wants now, and he can definitely understand most of what I say.
It's so much fun to watch him turn into a person and start to discover his likes and dislikes. He has recently become obsessed with Elmo. He often requests that we play the theme song to Elmo's World and then dances and sings along to it (sort of). If the song comes on unexpectedly he stops whatever he's doing and gets excited for Elmo.
We ended up buying him a stuffed Elmo, and he's been sleeping with it every night. This is actually something of a relief to me. Up to now he hasn't shown any interest in stuffed animals or blankets. He doesn't insist on carrying them around or sleeping with them or anything. He likes books and has his favorite toys, but he hasn't gotten particularly attached to anything long-term. He still forgets about Elmo half the time and is content to leave him behind when he wants to do something else, but it's nice to see him snuggling a stuffed animal.
He also getting better at a whole slew of physical activities. He's learning how to use a fork (which often results in a lot of frustration, but he's getting better). He can almost go down stairs on his own now, so long as he doesn't get distracted by anything. He can climb up on our couches and continues to love jumping and anything that involves him being upside down.
But he balances all this physicality really well. He's still a very observant and deliberate baby, who will often watch for a while before jumping in on his own. And he still loves to read and will happily hang out in my lap with a stack of books for as long as I'll let him.
It is so much fun watching him grow up and start to be more independent. I have to rein it in a little here and there - Gavin is pretty upset that I don't let him walk the dog on his own. But it's mostly exciting to see what he can do and how much he's willing to try.
It's so much fun to watch him turn into a person and start to discover his likes and dislikes. He has recently become obsessed with Elmo. He often requests that we play the theme song to Elmo's World and then dances and sings along to it (sort of). If the song comes on unexpectedly he stops whatever he's doing and gets excited for Elmo.
We ended up buying him a stuffed Elmo, and he's been sleeping with it every night. This is actually something of a relief to me. Up to now he hasn't shown any interest in stuffed animals or blankets. He doesn't insist on carrying them around or sleeping with them or anything. He likes books and has his favorite toys, but he hasn't gotten particularly attached to anything long-term. He still forgets about Elmo half the time and is content to leave him behind when he wants to do something else, but it's nice to see him snuggling a stuffed animal.
He also getting better at a whole slew of physical activities. He's learning how to use a fork (which often results in a lot of frustration, but he's getting better). He can almost go down stairs on his own now, so long as he doesn't get distracted by anything. He can climb up on our couches and continues to love jumping and anything that involves him being upside down.
But he balances all this physicality really well. He's still a very observant and deliberate baby, who will often watch for a while before jumping in on his own. And he still loves to read and will happily hang out in my lap with a stack of books for as long as I'll let him.
It is so much fun watching him grow up and start to be more independent. I have to rein it in a little here and there - Gavin is pretty upset that I don't let him walk the dog on his own. But it's mostly exciting to see what he can do and how much he's willing to try.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Words
Gavin is currently going through a bit of a language explosion, and it's a ton of fun.
A few weeks back, the only world he really solidly knew was "no". He said it to everything. He would shout "mama" if he was very upset, but he wouldn't say it on command. Everything was just no, no, no.
But now he's picking up words like it's his job. And the best part (to me) is that it's so tied to books. He's not reading yet, but this is certainly a sign of early literacy. So here are a few of the words Gavin knows and the circumstances he says them under.
A few weeks back, the only world he really solidly knew was "no". He said it to everything. He would shout "mama" if he was very upset, but he wouldn't say it on command. Everything was just no, no, no.
But now he's picking up words like it's his job. And the best part (to me) is that it's so tied to books. He's not reading yet, but this is certainly a sign of early literacy. So here are a few of the words Gavin knows and the circumstances he says them under.
- Runs into the kitchen saying "nanana" and pointing towards the fruit bowl. This means he wants a banana.
- In the kitchen, points to the island and says "ma ma", which means a teething biscuit (the brand we get is mum mums"
- Points to the fridge and says "ma ma". This means milk. The pointing is the key distinction.
- Opens a book to a picture of a cow and says "moo". This works with two or three different books that I know of, so it definitely recognizes cows.
- In Jimmy Fallon's "Mama" book, Gavin recognizes and says "ball" on the page with the soccer ball. He also identifies his own soccer ball as ball. It's unclear if this extend to other types of balls yet.
- In the same book, Gavin will point to the picture of the owls and say "whoo".
- In "Go Dog, Go", Gavin knows to say "dog" on the first page. He loves dogs. He knows that Kina is a dog, and he can almost always identify dogs and call them such
- I think he may also know "duck", but it sounds exactly the same as "dog" at the moment. But he will point to pictures of ducks, say "duck", and laugh when I quack. The goal is clearly to make me quack, so I think he knows the difference between the two words. He just can't quite articulate it.
- I can't transcribe this next one. It's about five or six syllables long, has lots of p's and t's in it and means "blow bubbles". He may also be able to say "bubble", but it sounds a lot like ball and he'll only say it about half the time. I don't know where this came from or why this phrase is three times as long as it needs to be, but it is very clear what he means.
This is all I can think of for now. It's so exciting to watch my kid figure out language. He still has trouble communicating sometimes, and more often than not it seems like his tears are because of his frustration about this. But he's getting there, and it won't be long now before he can express himself. He definitely understands almost everything Kevin and I say, and now it's just about figuring out how to do that himself.
Friday, February 2, 2018
Tumbling Class
At fifteen months old, Gavin is now enrolled in his first class. We've got him attending a weekly tumbling class at a local gym. Part of me still thinks he's a bit too young for structure like this. But another part of me wishes we'd done this months ago.
Gavin is growing into an incredibly active kid. Ever since he started walking, he's been unstoppable. He runs and bounces, and worst of all he climbs. He can get up on most couches and chairs at this point, and he loves climbing up and then jumping. Or just standing close to the edge. He's completely fearless, so I'm carrying around double my share to make up for it.
We enrolled him in the class in the hopes that it would give him a safe space to burn off some of this energy and start providing structure so he's less likely to injure himself. It's been somewhat successful, though I probably shouldn't hope for results after only two weeks.
The class is a good mix of structure and free play. Gavin absolutely hates the structured parts, and he often goes running off to climb on the mats when he's supposed to be walking in a circle or singing a song. But that's to be expected with toddlers, and even if he's the worst at paying attention the instructor never seems too put out by it. I hope that in a few more weeks he'll get more into the rhythm of the class and have fun doing things with the other kids.
He loves the free play part. There are mats to climb on, rings to hang from, and a whole big room to run around in. The instructor brings out balls or bubbles or other things for a few minutes at a time. Last week Gavin loved running around under the parachute, which brought me right back to my elementary school days.
Gavin also loves the various flips and rolls we're learning to do. And even better, some of them are safe to do at home. It's a nice ace to have up my sleeve when he's on the verge of melting down.
We're only a couple of weeks into the class, but so far it seems like a success. I don't know how long this will last - if Gavin will ultimately become interested in gymnastics or not. But it's nice to have a thing to do with him and a place where I'm lass worried about him cracking his head open every time the urge to climb takes him.
Gavin is growing into an incredibly active kid. Ever since he started walking, he's been unstoppable. He runs and bounces, and worst of all he climbs. He can get up on most couches and chairs at this point, and he loves climbing up and then jumping. Or just standing close to the edge. He's completely fearless, so I'm carrying around double my share to make up for it.
We enrolled him in the class in the hopes that it would give him a safe space to burn off some of this energy and start providing structure so he's less likely to injure himself. It's been somewhat successful, though I probably shouldn't hope for results after only two weeks.
The class is a good mix of structure and free play. Gavin absolutely hates the structured parts, and he often goes running off to climb on the mats when he's supposed to be walking in a circle or singing a song. But that's to be expected with toddlers, and even if he's the worst at paying attention the instructor never seems too put out by it. I hope that in a few more weeks he'll get more into the rhythm of the class and have fun doing things with the other kids.
He loves the free play part. There are mats to climb on, rings to hang from, and a whole big room to run around in. The instructor brings out balls or bubbles or other things for a few minutes at a time. Last week Gavin loved running around under the parachute, which brought me right back to my elementary school days.
Gavin also loves the various flips and rolls we're learning to do. And even better, some of them are safe to do at home. It's a nice ace to have up my sleeve when he's on the verge of melting down.
We're only a couple of weeks into the class, but so far it seems like a success. I don't know how long this will last - if Gavin will ultimately become interested in gymnastics or not. But it's nice to have a thing to do with him and a place where I'm lass worried about him cracking his head open every time the urge to climb takes him.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Love of Books
Last night, I spent the entire evening reading books to Gavin. I picked him up from daycare, and he was reading books with the provider. They told me he'd been doing so all day. When we got home and I put him down, he immediately grabbed The Biggest Cookie in the World and crawled into my lap. We read it five times before Kevin came up for dinner. Well, we read it twice. The rest of the time he flipped through willy-nilly, stopping on the pictures he liked and stroking Cookie Monster's fur. (There is no fur to stroke, it's just a picture book. He does this with pictures of cats, too.)
After dinner we moved on to his current favorite, Llama Llama, Red Pajama. Then he grabbed Quantum Physics for Babies from the couch and we read that one, too. When he'd exhausted his appetite for those books (and the cookie one again) he ran to his room and came back with another book.
I have to say, it gets a bit tedious reading the same book over and over and over again. We cycled through five or six books. Each of them takes less than five minutes to read. But we sat on that couch for nearly an hour, working our way through them again and again.
Sometimes Kevin took a turn reading. Sometimes Gavin grabbed a book and flipped quietly through it by himself for a while, until he decided he wanted one of us to read to him again. It was an evening full of books.
This feels like my biggest success as a parent so far: Gavin's love of books. I'm not entirely sure how I managed to instill it in him. Some combination of reading to him all the time and reading in front of him the rest of the time. I hope it continues for the rest of his life. I'm looking forward to telling him that he's always been a reader, right from the beginning.
After dinner we moved on to his current favorite, Llama Llama, Red Pajama. Then he grabbed Quantum Physics for Babies from the couch and we read that one, too. When he'd exhausted his appetite for those books (and the cookie one again) he ran to his room and came back with another book.
I have to say, it gets a bit tedious reading the same book over and over and over again. We cycled through five or six books. Each of them takes less than five minutes to read. But we sat on that couch for nearly an hour, working our way through them again and again.
Sometimes Kevin took a turn reading. Sometimes Gavin grabbed a book and flipped quietly through it by himself for a while, until he decided he wanted one of us to read to him again. It was an evening full of books.
This feels like my biggest success as a parent so far: Gavin's love of books. I'm not entirely sure how I managed to instill it in him. Some combination of reading to him all the time and reading in front of him the rest of the time. I hope it continues for the rest of his life. I'm looking forward to telling him that he's always been a reader, right from the beginning.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
When I Was One, I Had Just Begun
Gavin turns a year old today, so it seems like a good time to look back and gather some thoughts about this past year and where he is now.
He has six teeth, and I think he's got at least one more coming in right now. It was crazy, because for the longest time he didn't have any teeth even though it seemed like he was teething. Then, around nine months, he got all six within a couple of weeks of each other.
He loves making noise, and I'm basically encouraging it at this point. But it mostly doesn't bother me. He likes throwing things around on the hardwood floor and watching them bounce and spin, and I play with him and do those same things. He likes making high-pitched squeaks and then I'll try to match him and we'll go back and forth until he gets out of my range and I have to concede the contest to him. It's cute and fun, even if it drives other people crazy and is possibly destroying my floors.
He's so close to walking. He can stand. He doesn't even need to pull up on anything anymore - he just stands. And he can balance for a while and hold things and even lean over to pick stuff up and stand back up. He's taken one step and then fallen a handful of times, but nothing that I'd actually call his first steps yet. He also loves bouncing, whether in his crib or while hanging on to a railing or table.
I have taken a shower every single damn day since he was born. I'm entirely too proud of this fact. But showers are my lifeline in a way, and it was important to me not to miss a single one. So even on the day after he was born and I could barely stand, I took a shower in the hospital bathroom. On the day I got a stomach bug and a few months later when I got food poisoning and didn't even get out of bed (except to feed Gavin) until the afternoon, I still took a shower. When he was cranky and refusing to nap, I plopped him in his play pen and turned on Sesame Street and let him scream for 10 minutes. But, damnit, I got my shower every single day. These are the sorts of victories I celebrate now.
I have lost count of how many colds Gavin's gotten and passed around to me and Kevin. There was one fever, but it wasn't bad. And he got a stomach thing, but it was over quick. It sucks when he's sick, because I want him to feel better. On the other hand, he sleeps so much when he's sick, and that's a nice break. Once he was fussy and refusing to be put down, so I ended up laying on the couch and holding him for three hours while he slept and I watched Star Trek. Later that day I complained about how difficult he'd been, and Kevin pointed out that I'd just spent the entire afternoon cuddling with him. So, perspective. In the end nothing's been so terrible.
Gavin has been a fantastic sleeper. He's not a great napper, at least at home. Daycare has never complained, but at home he isn't consistent. Still, I'd rather he sleep through the night and he's great at that. I keep worrying I'm going to jinx it by talking about it, and there have been a few rough patches. He was still waking up a couple of times a night as he approached nine months, and it was getting frustrating. But when I stopped breast-feeding, he started sleeping through the night with very few issues. There was a hiccup when Kevin went out of town for a week and Gavin started waking up with nightmares multiple times a night. That was awful because there was nothing I could do about it, just sit and rock him and try to comfort him. The mental and emotional drain was even worse than the physical fatigue I felt the first couple of weeks he was here. But Kevin came home, and we haven't had an issue since.
I've gotten incredibly organized over the last year. I've always been pretty good at time management, and my time at Harvey Mudd honed that skill. But with a whole other person to keep track of, I couldn't just keep everything in my head anymore. I started writing everything down using the bullet journal system. It basically turned into a series of daily to-do lists, but using a blank notebook for a few months helped me figure out what I wanted in a planner. The physical planner only lasted a couple of months. It was just too heavy to carry around everywhere. And then I finally found a an app that worked for me. It has a good widget on my phone and an easy interface. It connects seamlessly to a desktop version that I can access when I'm at work (where I don't have my phone). It lets me make grocery lists and recurring tasks and set alarms, and it even integrates into my google calendar so I can see everything for the week or month at a glance. I also hung up a color-coded calendar in the kitchen to keep track of the family's schedule. We aren't super busy yet, but it'll be good to have this system in place when things get hectic in a few years.
I have been surprised more than once this year by what I'm capable of doing. Taking care of Gavin on my own while Kevin travels has gotten steadily easier. Asking for help has gotten easier. I've gotten better and figuring out what's important and letting the housework slip sometimes. I've surprised myself by becoming more social. The most surprising thing about parenthood as an introvert is the realization that going out with friends is less exhausting than staying home alone with a baby. It's a hassle to cart around three extra bags of stuff, but it's pretty much always worth it.
So that's where we are, a year in. Brace yourself, because here come the cliches. Parenting is the most exhausting thing I've ever done. I have never in my life been as tired as I was this year, even during college. The thing is, in college, the semester always ended. And while I know childhood ends too, right now it's too far away to register. Parenting is also the easiest, most natural responsibility I've ever taken on. Yes, it's tedious and it can get isolating (especially when you're the first of your friends and family to have kids). But I'm not one of those people who's constantly worried that I'm messing my kid up. I'm perhaps a little lackadaisical (lately other people seem much more concerned about Gavin's proximity to chairs and table corners than I do). But I'm confident that my kid's going to be fine. He has plenty of food and clothes, an abundance of love and attention, a house full of books and toys, and a bunch of really smart people who care about him. That's way more than most people get, and the biggest challenge is just going to be making him appreciate how lucky he is.
I'm so excited for him to start walking and talking. For him to develop interests and opinions. As the poem says, Gavin's only just begun. In this next year I'm looking forward to seeing who he's going to be. I've come to determine that parenthood is really just mastering the art of letting go. Do it too quickly and your kid gets hurt, too slowly and they never grow up. But there's a lot of room for error in there, and all I can do is my best. I can't wait to see what the next year brings.
He has six teeth, and I think he's got at least one more coming in right now. It was crazy, because for the longest time he didn't have any teeth even though it seemed like he was teething. Then, around nine months, he got all six within a couple of weeks of each other.
He loves making noise, and I'm basically encouraging it at this point. But it mostly doesn't bother me. He likes throwing things around on the hardwood floor and watching them bounce and spin, and I play with him and do those same things. He likes making high-pitched squeaks and then I'll try to match him and we'll go back and forth until he gets out of my range and I have to concede the contest to him. It's cute and fun, even if it drives other people crazy and is possibly destroying my floors.
He's so close to walking. He can stand. He doesn't even need to pull up on anything anymore - he just stands. And he can balance for a while and hold things and even lean over to pick stuff up and stand back up. He's taken one step and then fallen a handful of times, but nothing that I'd actually call his first steps yet. He also loves bouncing, whether in his crib or while hanging on to a railing or table.
I have taken a shower every single damn day since he was born. I'm entirely too proud of this fact. But showers are my lifeline in a way, and it was important to me not to miss a single one. So even on the day after he was born and I could barely stand, I took a shower in the hospital bathroom. On the day I got a stomach bug and a few months later when I got food poisoning and didn't even get out of bed (except to feed Gavin) until the afternoon, I still took a shower. When he was cranky and refusing to nap, I plopped him in his play pen and turned on Sesame Street and let him scream for 10 minutes. But, damnit, I got my shower every single day. These are the sorts of victories I celebrate now.
I have lost count of how many colds Gavin's gotten and passed around to me and Kevin. There was one fever, but it wasn't bad. And he got a stomach thing, but it was over quick. It sucks when he's sick, because I want him to feel better. On the other hand, he sleeps so much when he's sick, and that's a nice break. Once he was fussy and refusing to be put down, so I ended up laying on the couch and holding him for three hours while he slept and I watched Star Trek. Later that day I complained about how difficult he'd been, and Kevin pointed out that I'd just spent the entire afternoon cuddling with him. So, perspective. In the end nothing's been so terrible.
Gavin has been a fantastic sleeper. He's not a great napper, at least at home. Daycare has never complained, but at home he isn't consistent. Still, I'd rather he sleep through the night and he's great at that. I keep worrying I'm going to jinx it by talking about it, and there have been a few rough patches. He was still waking up a couple of times a night as he approached nine months, and it was getting frustrating. But when I stopped breast-feeding, he started sleeping through the night with very few issues. There was a hiccup when Kevin went out of town for a week and Gavin started waking up with nightmares multiple times a night. That was awful because there was nothing I could do about it, just sit and rock him and try to comfort him. The mental and emotional drain was even worse than the physical fatigue I felt the first couple of weeks he was here. But Kevin came home, and we haven't had an issue since.
I've gotten incredibly organized over the last year. I've always been pretty good at time management, and my time at Harvey Mudd honed that skill. But with a whole other person to keep track of, I couldn't just keep everything in my head anymore. I started writing everything down using the bullet journal system. It basically turned into a series of daily to-do lists, but using a blank notebook for a few months helped me figure out what I wanted in a planner. The physical planner only lasted a couple of months. It was just too heavy to carry around everywhere. And then I finally found a an app that worked for me. It has a good widget on my phone and an easy interface. It connects seamlessly to a desktop version that I can access when I'm at work (where I don't have my phone). It lets me make grocery lists and recurring tasks and set alarms, and it even integrates into my google calendar so I can see everything for the week or month at a glance. I also hung up a color-coded calendar in the kitchen to keep track of the family's schedule. We aren't super busy yet, but it'll be good to have this system in place when things get hectic in a few years.
I have been surprised more than once this year by what I'm capable of doing. Taking care of Gavin on my own while Kevin travels has gotten steadily easier. Asking for help has gotten easier. I've gotten better and figuring out what's important and letting the housework slip sometimes. I've surprised myself by becoming more social. The most surprising thing about parenthood as an introvert is the realization that going out with friends is less exhausting than staying home alone with a baby. It's a hassle to cart around three extra bags of stuff, but it's pretty much always worth it.
So that's where we are, a year in. Brace yourself, because here come the cliches. Parenting is the most exhausting thing I've ever done. I have never in my life been as tired as I was this year, even during college. The thing is, in college, the semester always ended. And while I know childhood ends too, right now it's too far away to register. Parenting is also the easiest, most natural responsibility I've ever taken on. Yes, it's tedious and it can get isolating (especially when you're the first of your friends and family to have kids). But I'm not one of those people who's constantly worried that I'm messing my kid up. I'm perhaps a little lackadaisical (lately other people seem much more concerned about Gavin's proximity to chairs and table corners than I do). But I'm confident that my kid's going to be fine. He has plenty of food and clothes, an abundance of love and attention, a house full of books and toys, and a bunch of really smart people who care about him. That's way more than most people get, and the biggest challenge is just going to be making him appreciate how lucky he is.
I'm so excited for him to start walking and talking. For him to develop interests and opinions. As the poem says, Gavin's only just begun. In this next year I'm looking forward to seeing who he's going to be. I've come to determine that parenthood is really just mastering the art of letting go. Do it too quickly and your kid gets hurt, too slowly and they never grow up. But there's a lot of room for error in there, and all I can do is my best. I can't wait to see what the next year brings.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Giggles
Gavin is at a wonderful age where he laughs all the time. Getting him to giggle is the easiest thing in the world, so our evenings are now filled with the joyous sound. I think this is definitely my favorite age so far. Here's a list of the things that make him laugh:
- Playing catch. He's not great at it yet, but he does love passing the dog bone or one of his balls back and forth.
- Animal noises. His current favorite book is (Your Child's First Word Will Be) Dada, by Jimmy Fallon. It's just a series of animals saying "dada" and their babies responding with the animal nosie. Gavin particularly loves the dog and the pig. And he always tries to mimic the bee's buzzing. He also can say dada now, but it appears to just be a catch-all word, referring to everything from Kevin to this book to his bottle.
- Spinning things. We don't have any tops, but Gavin does have a set of brightly colored spinning cups that spin pretty well. He chases them across the floor then brings them back to be spun again.
- Clapping. He's got this motion down now, and he loves when you clap with him. He's also figuring out high-fives.
- Dog kisses. Kina doesn't really lick, which is one of my favorite things about her. But Gavin has discovered that if he covers his hand in food she will come up and lick it off. It's one of his favorite things, and a behavior we probably ought to put a stop to. But it's nice that they're friends.
- Peek-a-boo. It is essential that you say "boo", though
- Getting tossed and swung around. This kid is going to love roller coasters and other thrill rides when he's older
- Jump scares. I don't know why he loves being scared so much. But if you sneak up behind him and say "boo" he always jumps and then dissolves into giggles
The world sucks right now, and I'm glad I can always rely on baby giggles. There is no greater balm for the soul.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Work-cation
Back in June, Gavin and I were able to join Kevin on a week-long work trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. Kevin has to work for three days (which sort of stretched into four days), but we took the whole week so we'd have some time to enjoy the scenery as a family.
We went right after the solstice, and Fairbanks is just a couple hundred miles south of the Arctic Circle, so there was a lot of sunlight. Technically, the sun set for a little over two hours every night, but it never dipped far enough below the horizon for the sky to actually get dark. Instead it was a kind of twilight that was really surreal the couple of times I glimpsed it. Despite the lack of night, or maybe because of it, since the hotel room had blackout curtains, Gavin slept like a champ for the entire trip. He took two solid naps every day, which gave me plenty of time to read and watch mindless TV while Kevin was working. The flip side of that is that I spent a lot of time confined to a hotel room with a sleeping baby, but that's not such a bad way to spend a vacation.
That frame of mind is helped by the fact that there isn't a ton to do in Fairbanks, especially without a car. The downtown area is small. Even with my limited time I managed to visit every shop and museum and almost every restaurant. We spent a morning at the children's museum, which had a play area for toddlers. Gavin was a little too young for it, but it was a nice change of pace.
With Kevin along we ventured a little farther out. We took a riverboat cruise and learned about the history of the area. We visited a park that had a number of museums and attractions in addition to the playgrounds and grassy areas. Gavin even got to go on his first train ride around the park. We also went on a short hike around a lake and stopped off at the North Pole. Gavin was sleeping, so we didn't get a picture of him with Santa, but we'll get one this Christmas.
It was a nice, relaxing vacation, and it was fun to see Alaska. I was surprised by how much it reminded me of Colorado, except without the mountains. The climate and wildlife were so similar to what I grew up with that I wasn't as awed as I probably ought to have been. I was surprised at how warm it was, and was especially weirded out that it kept getting warmer late into the day. When the sun doesn't set until after midnight, the temperature is still rising at dinner-time. I'm used to it cooling off by then.
With this trip, Gavin has completed his tour of the non contiguous United States, traveling as far north and west as Kevin and I have ever been. Too bad he won't remember any of it. I guess we'll just have to go back when he's older.
We went right after the solstice, and Fairbanks is just a couple hundred miles south of the Arctic Circle, so there was a lot of sunlight. Technically, the sun set for a little over two hours every night, but it never dipped far enough below the horizon for the sky to actually get dark. Instead it was a kind of twilight that was really surreal the couple of times I glimpsed it. Despite the lack of night, or maybe because of it, since the hotel room had blackout curtains, Gavin slept like a champ for the entire trip. He took two solid naps every day, which gave me plenty of time to read and watch mindless TV while Kevin was working. The flip side of that is that I spent a lot of time confined to a hotel room with a sleeping baby, but that's not such a bad way to spend a vacation.
That frame of mind is helped by the fact that there isn't a ton to do in Fairbanks, especially without a car. The downtown area is small. Even with my limited time I managed to visit every shop and museum and almost every restaurant. We spent a morning at the children's museum, which had a play area for toddlers. Gavin was a little too young for it, but it was a nice change of pace.
With Kevin along we ventured a little farther out. We took a riverboat cruise and learned about the history of the area. We visited a park that had a number of museums and attractions in addition to the playgrounds and grassy areas. Gavin even got to go on his first train ride around the park. We also went on a short hike around a lake and stopped off at the North Pole. Gavin was sleeping, so we didn't get a picture of him with Santa, but we'll get one this Christmas.
It was a nice, relaxing vacation, and it was fun to see Alaska. I was surprised by how much it reminded me of Colorado, except without the mountains. The climate and wildlife were so similar to what I grew up with that I wasn't as awed as I probably ought to have been. I was surprised at how warm it was, and was especially weirded out that it kept getting warmer late into the day. When the sun doesn't set until after midnight, the temperature is still rising at dinner-time. I'm used to it cooling off by then.
With this trip, Gavin has completed his tour of the non contiguous United States, traveling as far north and west as Kevin and I have ever been. Too bad he won't remember any of it. I guess we'll just have to go back when he's older.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Milestones
In the past couple of weeks Gavin has hit a bunch of milestones that are pushing him closer to toddler territory. He's still definitely a baby. But sometimes I get glimpses of the kid he's going to be. These days are slipping by, and it's all happening too fast.
He finally cut his first tooth and is working on the second one. Granted, this isn't a sign of impending toddler-dom. If anything, he started teething much later than most babies. But it means that he's eating more solid foods now. More often than not we give him a little bit of whatever we're eating for dinner. He seems to like it more than the pre-packaged Gerber meals. He doesn't get a lot of his nutrients this way - the dog probably eats more of his dinner than he does. It's fun to watch him try new flavors, though, and to learn about new foods.
He's also a lot better at balancing now, which means he can sit for longer periods of time. We can finally put him in high chairs at restaurants and in the shopping cart. It makes grocery shopping and Target runs a lot easier (I don't have to limit myself to a basket).
Finally, Gavin has gotten disconcertingly good at pulling himself up. Considering how long it took him to crawl, I wasn't expecting this to happen so quickly. I blame it partially on the flight to Alaska. While stuck in his car seat for 6 hours, Gavin discovered the third dimension and started climbing all over the place out of boredom. A few days later he was pulling up on the couch in the hotel, and now he can pretty much climb onto the couch in our basement. It doesn't help my nerves that he's fearless. He's determined to stand up without hanging onto to a couch or bed. So he'll often turn and let go, only to sit down suddenly. I've also seen him attempting to stand without the aid of furniture, but his balance isn't quite there yet. I know it's only a matter of time before he's walking, and it looks like that might happen sooner than I was expecting.
It's fun watching him grow and learn new things. It's also exhausting, chasing him around constantly. I have to keep a much closer eye on him than ever before. At least the animals are both being patient with him. It helps that they can still get out of his range when he gets to be too much. I wonder how patient they'll be when he can keep up with them.
He finally cut his first tooth and is working on the second one. Granted, this isn't a sign of impending toddler-dom. If anything, he started teething much later than most babies. But it means that he's eating more solid foods now. More often than not we give him a little bit of whatever we're eating for dinner. He seems to like it more than the pre-packaged Gerber meals. He doesn't get a lot of his nutrients this way - the dog probably eats more of his dinner than he does. It's fun to watch him try new flavors, though, and to learn about new foods.
He's also a lot better at balancing now, which means he can sit for longer periods of time. We can finally put him in high chairs at restaurants and in the shopping cart. It makes grocery shopping and Target runs a lot easier (I don't have to limit myself to a basket).
Finally, Gavin has gotten disconcertingly good at pulling himself up. Considering how long it took him to crawl, I wasn't expecting this to happen so quickly. I blame it partially on the flight to Alaska. While stuck in his car seat for 6 hours, Gavin discovered the third dimension and started climbing all over the place out of boredom. A few days later he was pulling up on the couch in the hotel, and now he can pretty much climb onto the couch in our basement. It doesn't help my nerves that he's fearless. He's determined to stand up without hanging onto to a couch or bed. So he'll often turn and let go, only to sit down suddenly. I've also seen him attempting to stand without the aid of furniture, but his balance isn't quite there yet. I know it's only a matter of time before he's walking, and it looks like that might happen sooner than I was expecting.
It's fun watching him grow and learn new things. It's also exhausting, chasing him around constantly. I have to keep a much closer eye on him than ever before. At least the animals are both being patient with him. It helps that they can still get out of his range when he gets to be too much. I wonder how patient they'll be when he can keep up with them.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
The Hardest Thing
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is that I have to take Kina on both of her walks every day. I can't leave Gavin behind while I do this, so I have to load him into the stroller. I have to carve out extra time from my morning routine on the days I go to work and fit it around naps on the other days. I have to take them out, rain or shine, hot or cold. I have to control Kina with one hand while I maneuver the stroller with the other hand and hope that the hyperactive dogs across the cul-de-sac aren't being walked at the same time.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is that I can never uite get enough sleep. Gavin's pretty good about sleeping at night. He's mostly asleep by 7:30, up at 5, and up once overnight to eat. But I can only go to bed so early. I end up getting 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night. It's not enough to leave me exhausted and needing a nap. Or even tired enough to take a nap. But it keeps me on edge, slowly wears me down until I'm making stupid mistakes at work and trying not to snap at people. The night finally comes when I could fall asleep at 8, and Gavin inevitably picks that night to be up until 9 or 9:30.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is how much planning I have to do. In the evenings after I pick up Gavin from daycare I have two hours to feed him, feed myself, walk the dog, bathe Gavin, feed him again and get him to bed. I can make it work, but it's tight. I have to take care of the million little things that usually fall on Kevin's plate: taking out the trash, replacing burnt out bulbs, clearing off the driveway, etc. On the bright side, he makes me appreciate him more when he is here.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is how much he's missing. Gavin can feed himself now. He's starting to understand language and make his wishes known. He's sitting in his stroller like a big boy and can get pretty much anywhere he wants to go. I'm getting to know him better each day, and I'm trying to keep track of all the things I need to make sure Kevin knows when he gets back. How to tell when he's hungry or tired or just wants to be held.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is when he gets back. Gavin and I have established our routine and anything Kevin does disrupts it. We have to accommodate another person, and it takes a few days to adjust. The burden doesn't quite get lifted in the ways I expect it to, and it leaves me cranky while I remember how to take a step back.
Just two more days and then I can (hopefully) catch up on sleep.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is that I can never uite get enough sleep. Gavin's pretty good about sleeping at night. He's mostly asleep by 7:30, up at 5, and up once overnight to eat. But I can only go to bed so early. I end up getting 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night. It's not enough to leave me exhausted and needing a nap. Or even tired enough to take a nap. But it keeps me on edge, slowly wears me down until I'm making stupid mistakes at work and trying not to snap at people. The night finally comes when I could fall asleep at 8, and Gavin inevitably picks that night to be up until 9 or 9:30.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is how much planning I have to do. In the evenings after I pick up Gavin from daycare I have two hours to feed him, feed myself, walk the dog, bathe Gavin, feed him again and get him to bed. I can make it work, but it's tight. I have to take care of the million little things that usually fall on Kevin's plate: taking out the trash, replacing burnt out bulbs, clearing off the driveway, etc. On the bright side, he makes me appreciate him more when he is here.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is how much he's missing. Gavin can feed himself now. He's starting to understand language and make his wishes known. He's sitting in his stroller like a big boy and can get pretty much anywhere he wants to go. I'm getting to know him better each day, and I'm trying to keep track of all the things I need to make sure Kevin knows when he gets back. How to tell when he's hungry or tired or just wants to be held.
The hardest thing about Kevin being gone for an extended period of time is when he gets back. Gavin and I have established our routine and anything Kevin does disrupts it. We have to accommodate another person, and it takes a few days to adjust. The burden doesn't quite get lifted in the ways I expect it to, and it leaves me cranky while I remember how to take a step back.
Just two more days and then I can (hopefully) catch up on sleep.
Friday, June 9, 2017
A Not-So Good Day
Just as the good day hinges on the baby sleeping a bunch, the not so good day happens when he doesn't sleep. It starts with an almost sleepless night, one where he's decided that eating is more important. He's up less than an hour after I go to bed and continues to wake up every couple of hours. And it's not just that he's waking up and crying. I actually don't have much problem with that. Sometimes he'll have a nightmare or wake himself up coughing. But after a minute or two of fussing, he's back to sleep and I've only woken up enough to roll over and register the disturbance to my sleep.
It's different when he's hungry. He can't get back to sleep on his own. So I have to wake up and feed him, which can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. And it tends to take longer on these hollow nights when his stomach won't stay full. Eventually he wakes up for the final time, half an hour before my alarm goes off. There's a special kind of despair at that moment, when you know you won't be getting back to sleep.
Despite waking up so much earlier than usual, I fumble through the morning and end up leaving the house late. Which means I hit traffic (I usually skirt the very beginning of rush hour). Leaving the house five minutes later than normal means I get to work more than twenty minutes later then normal.
At least I can load up on caffeine at work, zone out without putting someone's life in danger. Yesterday nothing was going right, but at least none of it was my fault. And waiting on responses from five different people on three different tasks meant that I had a decent amount of time to just zone out in front of my computer screen. Not ideal but not the worst thing ever, either.
After work I had a dentist appointment. My third in a month. On the bright side, this one should be the last until my next cleaning. Still, going to the dentist is never fun, and now it breaks up my only free time. I had just enough time to go home and pump before I had to go pick up Gavin from daycare.
I brought home a cranky kid and fed him again. Fed him so much and for so long that I was starting to worry about walking Kina. There were a few minutes when I was sure that Gavin was just going to nod off early, meaning that I'd have to deprive Kina of her walk and hope that she took it upon herself to poop in the backyard instead of waiting until midnight to poop in my office, Luckily, Gavin finished eating and woke up, so we were able to walk the dog.
The worst part of days like this (other than the lack of sleep) is that I still have to be on. If I'm grumpy or testy it just makes everything worse for everyone. (And maybe I lashed out at Kevin a bit, because these days are an order of magnitude harder when he's on the other side of the world). But with Gavin, I still need to be cheerful and silly, make faces while he's eating and talk to him and play with him. In the olden days, before I had kids, a day like this would end with a bottle of wine and a Buffy marathon. This time I got Gavin to bed just in time to have a glass of wine and read a chapter in my book.
But it could have been worse, as I kept telling myself. The kid is happy, the dog is walked, even the kitchen got cleaned when bedtime came and went with a wide-awake baby.
The hardest part is that the light at the end of the tunnel is so far away. Kevin won't be home for more than a week, and I likely won't have a good night's sleep until then. But my baby is one of the easy ones. There are at least as many good days as there are bad days. And I do have resources to call on if it ever gets worse than this. Skirting up to the edge of what I can handle sucks, but I can still handle it.
It's different when he's hungry. He can't get back to sleep on his own. So I have to wake up and feed him, which can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. And it tends to take longer on these hollow nights when his stomach won't stay full. Eventually he wakes up for the final time, half an hour before my alarm goes off. There's a special kind of despair at that moment, when you know you won't be getting back to sleep.
Despite waking up so much earlier than usual, I fumble through the morning and end up leaving the house late. Which means I hit traffic (I usually skirt the very beginning of rush hour). Leaving the house five minutes later than normal means I get to work more than twenty minutes later then normal.
At least I can load up on caffeine at work, zone out without putting someone's life in danger. Yesterday nothing was going right, but at least none of it was my fault. And waiting on responses from five different people on three different tasks meant that I had a decent amount of time to just zone out in front of my computer screen. Not ideal but not the worst thing ever, either.
After work I had a dentist appointment. My third in a month. On the bright side, this one should be the last until my next cleaning. Still, going to the dentist is never fun, and now it breaks up my only free time. I had just enough time to go home and pump before I had to go pick up Gavin from daycare.
I brought home a cranky kid and fed him again. Fed him so much and for so long that I was starting to worry about walking Kina. There were a few minutes when I was sure that Gavin was just going to nod off early, meaning that I'd have to deprive Kina of her walk and hope that she took it upon herself to poop in the backyard instead of waiting until midnight to poop in my office, Luckily, Gavin finished eating and woke up, so we were able to walk the dog.
The worst part of days like this (other than the lack of sleep) is that I still have to be on. If I'm grumpy or testy it just makes everything worse for everyone. (And maybe I lashed out at Kevin a bit, because these days are an order of magnitude harder when he's on the other side of the world). But with Gavin, I still need to be cheerful and silly, make faces while he's eating and talk to him and play with him. In the olden days, before I had kids, a day like this would end with a bottle of wine and a Buffy marathon. This time I got Gavin to bed just in time to have a glass of wine and read a chapter in my book.
But it could have been worse, as I kept telling myself. The kid is happy, the dog is walked, even the kitchen got cleaned when bedtime came and went with a wide-awake baby.
The hardest part is that the light at the end of the tunnel is so far away. Kevin won't be home for more than a week, and I likely won't have a good night's sleep until then. But my baby is one of the easy ones. There are at least as many good days as there are bad days. And I do have resources to call on if it ever gets worse than this. Skirting up to the edge of what I can handle sucks, but I can still handle it.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
A Good Day
I haven't tried very hard to get Gavin on a schedule. He's managed to get on something resembling a set schedule, at least at night. I don't know how much of this is tapping in to his own natural rhythms and how much is imposed by daycare. They definitely have him on a stricter napping/feeding schedule than I do, and getting up in the morning has imposed some semblance of order on our lives. Gavin is a pretty consistent sleeper at night. But on the days when he's home with me, anything goes.
Part of this is that I try not to force anything on him. When it's just the two of us, he eats and sleeps when he wants. I'm pretty much content to follow his lead. Except on the days when I have things scheduled, and then he inevitably wants to eat just as I'm getting ready to go out, or I have to wake him from a nap if I'm going to keep an appointment.
It's possible that these busy days would be easier if I could predict Gavin's wants more accurately. But I'm not really busy enough to force it. And trying to make him sleep when he's not tired or making him eat at scheduled times just sounds like it would result in a lot more tears for both of us. He's a pretty easy-going baby, and I think that at least part of that is because I try to go with his flow as much as I can. Like that song, Smooth.
The point is that when it's just Gavin and me, there's no schedule. He might nap three times. He might not nap at all. He might go down for three hours in the middle of the day. Sometimes this results in a day when I just can't seem to get anything done. Sometimes (especially when Kevin is out of town) it leads to days that drag on and on. And sometimes, like yesterday, I am gifted with a perfect day.
Everything came together yesterday. Gavin woke up at 6, and even though I hadn't quite gotten eight hours of sleep in, I woke up feeling refreshed because Gavin hadn't woken up to eat overnight. It's amazing what uninterrupted sleep can do for you. I fed him and ate my own breakfast, and then he was ready to eat again and go down for a nap at 7.
Since I didn't need a nap at this point, I dove into my to-do list. By 8:30, I had done all of the cleaning I wanted to for the day. Then Gavin woke up, and we took Kina for a nice, long walk. We got home, Gavin ate some cereal and we played for a bit. Then he went down for another nap. I was able to eat lunch and watch some TV without wrangling him. We played a bit in the early afternoon, and then he took another nap, which let me sit on the couch and finish my book on a nice, rainy afternoon.
The key here is lots of sleep from Gavin. Naps that are long enough for me to get things done while also being space well enough for me to eat without having to worry about entertaining him at the same time. We got to play, but he was never overly fussy or hyperactive. And he still went to bed at 7:30.
If I really wanted to get him on a schedule, this is the one I'd probably aim for. But if every day were like this, I wouldn't appreciate it properly. Plus I'd have a hard time running errands, with Gavin sleeping all the time. Its worthless anyway. Part of the reason that he isn't on a schedule is that every time I thought I had him on one, something would change (he'd get sick or hit a growth spurt) and the whole thing would get thrown out the window. So I'll just appreciate these days as they come, relish in the relatively rare feeling of being well-rested, and be grateful that my kid is so easy.
Part of this is that I try not to force anything on him. When it's just the two of us, he eats and sleeps when he wants. I'm pretty much content to follow his lead. Except on the days when I have things scheduled, and then he inevitably wants to eat just as I'm getting ready to go out, or I have to wake him from a nap if I'm going to keep an appointment.
It's possible that these busy days would be easier if I could predict Gavin's wants more accurately. But I'm not really busy enough to force it. And trying to make him sleep when he's not tired or making him eat at scheduled times just sounds like it would result in a lot more tears for both of us. He's a pretty easy-going baby, and I think that at least part of that is because I try to go with his flow as much as I can. Like that song, Smooth.
The point is that when it's just Gavin and me, there's no schedule. He might nap three times. He might not nap at all. He might go down for three hours in the middle of the day. Sometimes this results in a day when I just can't seem to get anything done. Sometimes (especially when Kevin is out of town) it leads to days that drag on and on. And sometimes, like yesterday, I am gifted with a perfect day.
Everything came together yesterday. Gavin woke up at 6, and even though I hadn't quite gotten eight hours of sleep in, I woke up feeling refreshed because Gavin hadn't woken up to eat overnight. It's amazing what uninterrupted sleep can do for you. I fed him and ate my own breakfast, and then he was ready to eat again and go down for a nap at 7.
Since I didn't need a nap at this point, I dove into my to-do list. By 8:30, I had done all of the cleaning I wanted to for the day. Then Gavin woke up, and we took Kina for a nice, long walk. We got home, Gavin ate some cereal and we played for a bit. Then he went down for another nap. I was able to eat lunch and watch some TV without wrangling him. We played a bit in the early afternoon, and then he took another nap, which let me sit on the couch and finish my book on a nice, rainy afternoon.
The key here is lots of sleep from Gavin. Naps that are long enough for me to get things done while also being space well enough for me to eat without having to worry about entertaining him at the same time. We got to play, but he was never overly fussy or hyperactive. And he still went to bed at 7:30.
If I really wanted to get him on a schedule, this is the one I'd probably aim for. But if every day were like this, I wouldn't appreciate it properly. Plus I'd have a hard time running errands, with Gavin sleeping all the time. Its worthless anyway. Part of the reason that he isn't on a schedule is that every time I thought I had him on one, something would change (he'd get sick or hit a growth spurt) and the whole thing would get thrown out the window. So I'll just appreciate these days as they come, relish in the relatively rare feeling of being well-rested, and be grateful that my kid is so easy.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Baby Yoga
As Gavin becomes more mobile and gains control of his body, it's been fun to watch him master various yoga poses.
At three months, he started sleeping on his stomach, in child's pose.
At four months he found his feet, and it wasn't long before he was giggling away in happy baby.
Then came upward dog (which a friend had to point out, because I didn't recognize).
Most surprising was that when he was trying to push himself up to crawl, he ended up in plank.
At three months, he started sleeping on his stomach, in child's pose.
At four months he found his feet, and it wasn't long before he was giggling away in happy baby.
Then came upward dog (which a friend had to point out, because I didn't recognize).
Most surprising was that when he was trying to push himself up to crawl, he ended up in plank.
He can get up on his hands and knees now. He's even pushed up into downward dog a few times, though it's nearly impossible to get a picture of that. We're still waiting for him to start crawling. Who knew how much coordination was involved in mobility.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Six Months (Or Not)
I've been meaning to do a Six Month post for Gavin. Just like I was meaning to do a Two Month post. But I'm not terribly interested in writing one. I know that someday I'm going to want to look back at all these milestones. My memory will become hazy, and it will be nice to have an artifact to remind me of what life is like. Well, future-me will just have to curse present-me (past-me?) for never getting around to it.
Gavin is still changing on an almost daily basis, but sometimes it seems like he's not making progress. Which isn't true, it's just that some of that progress is slower or more subtle than I can discern. Combine that with a tendency to think he's more advanced than he is (one I'm trying to fight back against so as not to place undue expectations on him), and I feel like I've been repeating myself for weeks. Gavin is close to crawling. (He has been close to crawling for a month now.) Gavin is teething. (He has been teething for ever.) Gavin comes up with a new sound every few days and repeats it over and over until he stumbles across another new sound. (Gavin has been doing this for months.)
The interesting bits are in the details. The day he managed to do a full push-up (or full upward dog). The fact that he's incorporating his lips in the sounds now. It's hard to capture in a blog post. Hard to distill it down to a snapshot of a person. It doesn't come close to painting the whole picture anyway.
So I'm looking for stories to tell. Trying to come up with anecdotes and vignettes that give a feeling for what life is like, even if they shed some of the details. And maybe this blog will end up being no better than my own memory. At least it will be me.
Gavin is still changing on an almost daily basis, but sometimes it seems like he's not making progress. Which isn't true, it's just that some of that progress is slower or more subtle than I can discern. Combine that with a tendency to think he's more advanced than he is (one I'm trying to fight back against so as not to place undue expectations on him), and I feel like I've been repeating myself for weeks. Gavin is close to crawling. (He has been close to crawling for a month now.) Gavin is teething. (He has been teething for ever.) Gavin comes up with a new sound every few days and repeats it over and over until he stumbles across another new sound. (Gavin has been doing this for months.)
The interesting bits are in the details. The day he managed to do a full push-up (or full upward dog). The fact that he's incorporating his lips in the sounds now. It's hard to capture in a blog post. Hard to distill it down to a snapshot of a person. It doesn't come close to painting the whole picture anyway.
So I'm looking for stories to tell. Trying to come up with anecdotes and vignettes that give a feeling for what life is like, even if they shed some of the details. And maybe this blog will end up being no better than my own memory. At least it will be me.
Friday, January 13, 2017
First Christmas
Before Gavin was born, I was told that it's easiest to travel with kids when they're just a few months old. So we decided to take him home for Christmas, when he was just 2 months old, to introduce him to my extended family. The trip ended up being more of a whirlwind than it usually is, as we tried to cram in the entire family in very little time. But Gavin did great, and I'm so glad we were able to get out and introduce him to everyone.
I was worried about the flight, and had read a bunch of tips. We brought my nurxing pillow on the plane so he wouldn't just be sitting in my lap. We brought bottles of milk so he could be sucking on something during takeoff and landing. And then Gavin slept for almost the entire flight. It was magical, and I got to feel smug because the crying baby on that plane wasn't mine.
We went down to my aunt's house for her annual Christmas Eve party. Gavin was quickly overwhelmed by the noise and being the center of attention. But my aunt had set aside my cousin's old bedroom for us so we could escape to somewhere quiet. Kevin and I spent a lot of the first half of the party taking turns sitting with Gavin in there. But after dinner he calmed down enough to come out and meet people.
Christmas day at my mom's was a smaller crowd, and Gavin did much better. He got passed around to everyone who wanted to hold him, ate a ton, and got a bunch of clothes and books.
The next day we went down to my dad's for the third feast in a row and another side of the family. Gavin was a bit grumpier that day; I think all the traveling was getting to him. And he slept terribly that night. Which is to say that he only really slept from midnight to 2:30. But the next day was calmer and he caught up on sleep some.
That evening we flew to Phoenix on what was the longest flight of my life. Even though it's less than 2 hours. It was so bumpy that the fasten seatbelt sign never turned off and the flight attendants didn't even do a drink service. Then Gavin pooped about half an hour in, forcefully enough that it got all over his onesie and blanket and Boppy. Then when we finally landed we had to sit on the runway for a while before we could taxi to the gate. It was awful, and just about all I could do to keep Gavin from screaming the whole time.
Our time in Phoenix was pretty low-key. It helped that we stayed in a hotel there rather than with my family. We went over to my aunt's to visit in the mornings, then to my grandmother's in the evenings, and back to the hotel after dinner. We also managed to get dinner with one of Kevin's oldest friends who's lived there since college.
I was worried about flying home, but it ended up going very smoothly. On the first leg, the plane was empty enough that we were alowed to bring Gavin's carseat on and put him in his own seat, which made a huge difference. And on the second leg he once again slept almost the entire flight. He did get cranky during our layover, and I gave him a bottle in the airport. Which led to me having to pump on the plane. But at least we had carried the pump on so we could do that.
The trip was fast, but it was nice to have the opportunity to show Gavin off to everyone. And he did great on 3 of the 4 plane rides, which isn't too bad. Next up I get to take him on a much longer plane ride all by myself. But I think I can handle it.
I was worried about the flight, and had read a bunch of tips. We brought my nurxing pillow on the plane so he wouldn't just be sitting in my lap. We brought bottles of milk so he could be sucking on something during takeoff and landing. And then Gavin slept for almost the entire flight. It was magical, and I got to feel smug because the crying baby on that plane wasn't mine.
We went down to my aunt's house for her annual Christmas Eve party. Gavin was quickly overwhelmed by the noise and being the center of attention. But my aunt had set aside my cousin's old bedroom for us so we could escape to somewhere quiet. Kevin and I spent a lot of the first half of the party taking turns sitting with Gavin in there. But after dinner he calmed down enough to come out and meet people.
Christmas day at my mom's was a smaller crowd, and Gavin did much better. He got passed around to everyone who wanted to hold him, ate a ton, and got a bunch of clothes and books.
The next day we went down to my dad's for the third feast in a row and another side of the family. Gavin was a bit grumpier that day; I think all the traveling was getting to him. And he slept terribly that night. Which is to say that he only really slept from midnight to 2:30. But the next day was calmer and he caught up on sleep some.
That evening we flew to Phoenix on what was the longest flight of my life. Even though it's less than 2 hours. It was so bumpy that the fasten seatbelt sign never turned off and the flight attendants didn't even do a drink service. Then Gavin pooped about half an hour in, forcefully enough that it got all over his onesie and blanket and Boppy. Then when we finally landed we had to sit on the runway for a while before we could taxi to the gate. It was awful, and just about all I could do to keep Gavin from screaming the whole time.
Our time in Phoenix was pretty low-key. It helped that we stayed in a hotel there rather than with my family. We went over to my aunt's to visit in the mornings, then to my grandmother's in the evenings, and back to the hotel after dinner. We also managed to get dinner with one of Kevin's oldest friends who's lived there since college.
I was worried about flying home, but it ended up going very smoothly. On the first leg, the plane was empty enough that we were alowed to bring Gavin's carseat on and put him in his own seat, which made a huge difference. And on the second leg he once again slept almost the entire flight. He did get cranky during our layover, and I gave him a bottle in the airport. Which led to me having to pump on the plane. But at least we had carried the pump on so we could do that.
The trip was fast, but it was nice to have the opportunity to show Gavin off to everyone. And he did great on 3 of the 4 plane rides, which isn't too bad. Next up I get to take him on a much longer plane ride all by myself. But I think I can handle it.
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