This morning, I heard Micah stirring and chatting around 8:00 am. I checked the monitor, saw he was relaxing on his back, chatting and trying to grab the mobile (which is too far above his head for that to ever work), so I decided to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before going in to get him and nurse him. A few minutes later, I walked down the hallway, opened the door to his room . . . and found him all snuggled in on his tummy with his thumb in his mouth! Micah finally rolled over to his belly. Just after I walked in closer to get a better view, Micah’s head popped up, he turned and looked at me, and he gave me a big, giant, heart-warming grin! I melted. I told him I was so proud of him for rolling onto his belly. He promptly showed off by rolling on to his back. Any chance he’ll be repeating this new skill?
Swimming, swimming, in the swimming pool!
On Saturday, we took Micah swimming for the first time! He LOVED it. We just took him into the baby pool. It was a bit cold, and Micah really does not like cold water. I initially held him on my lap for a few minutes to get used to the water, and then I transferred him into his own personal flotation station. He cried when he first got wet, but about 10 seconds later, he was happy and relaxing. We had him in a cute little bathing suit with a matching shirt. Unfortunately, we forgot his sunglasses, pool shoes and hat . . . better organization next time! Here are a few photos for you to enjoy:
Naturally, we took video, too:
On Sunday, we hung out at the park with his cousins Paige and Peyton. They had a great time – Micah even got to share a swing with Peyton!
Connections
I was going to call this post “Memorial Day BBQ” but I decided instead to post about connections. I’ll tack on the original post about the BBQ at the bottom of this post, so it will be a long one! Hope you can bear with me.
Today we hosted a Memorial Day BBQ, and what struck me most was how something unexpected causes a wild series of events. One of my best friends, Heather, and her husband Brad initially met at Elliot’s Memorial Day Weekend BBQ 4 years ago. Tonight, they came to celebrate the anniversary of the first time they met! At the end of the night, only Heather and Brad were still here, and my friend Laurie and her boyfriend Jeff stopped by to say hello on their way back into town from Ocean City. During their short stay, we started discussing how we were all connected, and the crazy series of events that brought us all together.
Back in 2001, I got a phone call from my mom. She ran into Jill, a neighbor who had a cousin, Suzanne, who was also an attorney and moving to DC. Jill wanted to know if she could give Suzanne my phone number to help her with her job search in the area. I agreed, and a week later, I got a phone call from Suzanne. She seemed nice enough, and when she moved here, we went to dinner to meet in person. We did not exactly click, but I made it a point to go out with her once a month. A few months later, Suzanne and I had plans to go see a movie. She asked me if I minded if she brought another friend with us. Naturally, I agreed, and that is how I met Heather. We bonded instantly. Over the next years, our friendship grew.
In 2003, Heather hosted a Pampered Chef Party. I really hate going to things like that, but I went to support her. Laurie and Heather had been roommmates freshman year in college, and recently reconnected by chance when Heather spotted Laurie after she ran the Marine Corps Marathon. While at the Pampered Chef Party, I ended up bonding with Laurie (we’d previously met once or twice in passing, but never really had a chance to talk before this party). Basically, Laurie and I were making fun of all the crazy people at the party who were SOOO excited about waking up early to chop chicken with their Pampered Chef products. We just laughed and laughed that night, and we exchanged numbers to hang out in the future. Laurie, Heather and I started spending time together, and a few months later, Laurie and I bonded again at a game party Heather threw. You see, we were being spoilsports – we did not want to play any of the games, so instead we mocked everyone. Our friendship was solidified! We went out together on New Year’s Eve, and we quickly became inseparable.
Laurie and I were constantly making bets. When she lost, I made her do things like go out on a date with a bald guy to prove to her that bald guys were dateable. When I lost, she dragged my butt to a singles event – like she did on Valentine’s Day 2004. That event was HORRIBLE. We walked into the room, and it felt like we were meat thrown into a lion’s den. Someday, I’ll have to rant about that night, but it was crazy awful. While we were at the event, a group of guys that Laurie recognized arrived (she had met most of them previously through Jdate). One of them was Dave . . . whom I *briefly* dated before we became friends. Through Dave, I met another friend, Jessica (he brought her to Heather’s birthday party – yet another funny story worth hearing sometime!). Through Jessica, I met Bill, and in 2005, Jessica and I went to Bill’s Superbowl party. . . . where I met Elliot. A few months later, Heather met her husband Brad at Elliot’s Memorial Day BBQ (Brad came with his girlfriend at the time), and although they did not start dating until they reconnected 3 months later through an online dating service, it was their initial meeting at the BBQ that brought them together. Through Dave, I also became friends with Niki (who happened to meet and marry a guy I graduated high school with) and her brother Sam. Through Niki and Sam, I met Sam’s best friend Jeff. I introduced Jeff and Laurie, and now they are dating, too. And, in case you are interested, I helped Dave find and win the heart of his wife, Jen, too! So . . . from a polite request from a family neighbor, I now have three amazing friends (Heather, Niki, and Laurie), and Heather, Dave and I met our spouses, and Laurie is now in a steady relationship. Funny how one little thing that does not seem so important can change an entire course of events, huh?
Memorial Day BBQ
Now . . . on to my original post about the BBQ. Let’s start with the backstory about how we finally decided to host a Memorial Day BBQ on Monday this year. You’ll have to tell me if all of you women have husbands as thickheaded and frustrating as mine!
Elliot has a tradition of hosting BBQs all summer/fall on the Friday evening of every holiday weekend . . . Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Columbus Day, etc. He usually hosts a few others in there, and does a few special BBQs for Sukkot in the Fall (a Jewish holiday that celebrates the harvest by building a sukkah – a shelter with an open top to eat outside under the sun and stars). For the past two years, DH has been unable to host most of his BBQs because we had moved into my condo and put everything into storage so that we could renovate his house. The renovations were supposed to be completed in time for Memorial Day last year so we could host a BBQ. And then we were promised July 4th. And then Labor Day. And then Columbus Day. And then Sukkot. As you know, the renovations are STILL not finished, but we moved in anyway in November. Unfortunately, we never got to host any BBQs last summer.
For Chanukah this year, I bought Elliot a brand new grill. His other grill had seen better days. . . and that is being kind. We got a beautiful fancy grill with 5 burners, a warming burning on the side, and an oven! I think it has some rapid heat infrared burners, but I glaze over every time Elliot starts to talk about it. All I know is it looks nice and he liked it! He has been itching to fire up the grill for months now. About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I started asking Elliot about the annual BBQ. I asked him if he was planning to do it, I suggested he send out invitations early (with a baby, I need much more time to plan and prepare now), and I stated that perhaps Friday night was no longer the best time to have a BBQ. I proposed that we host the BBQ on Saturday or Sunday late afternoon, because I figured that families with children could come early and get home in time for bed, and our other friends could hang out until all hours of the night. Elliot kept thinking we should do 2 BBQs – one on Friday night, and one on Monday. I felt that was a bad idea because I did not want to have to prepare, setup and cleanup twice. I told Elliot to think about it, make a decision, and let me know.
Fast forward to date night on Thursday (my mom came to babysit, and we went and saw Angels and Demons – we loved it!). Elliot looks at me and says “Are we still on for a BBQ tomorrow?” I about died on the spot, and I looked at him and told him it was too last minute to do it on Friday night, no one would come, and it did not give me enough time to prepare! I also said to him it would be a problem for all of our friends with children if we just did a BBQ on Friday night starting at 8. He looked at me like I just spoke Greek to him. I swear, sometimes he acts like the fact we now have a young child is supposed to have no impact on his life and how he does things!! We went through the whole conversation again, and then he told me it was my fault he had not invited anyone because I had been dragging my feet about the whole thing. Once I worked through my anger (and elicited an apology), he finally decided to invite everyone over for Monday evening. I voted for Sunday (and lost) because I thought that people would need to be back at work on Tuesday, but Elliot went with Monday. He sent out the invitation around 11:30 pm on Thursday night. Not surprisingly, I expected the turnout to be rather low.
We got about 13 responses (about 26 people), and we told them to come rain or shine. Naturally, it started to rain today right about 3:30. A few people decided not to come because of the rain, but we were getting nervous about moving the party inside. We had no idea whether the rain would bring more people or keep people from showing. In the end, we had about 40 or 50 people here!! It was quite crowded in our small house. Elliot cooked chicken, burgers, dogs, and grilled veggies. I made pasta salad and potato salad. People brought chips and salsa and fruit and cookies. We had a zillion children here! Three ladies from my playgroup showed up with their husbands and babies, and we had about 10 other older children here, ranging in age from 9 months to 7 years.
Micah was such a good boy. He hung out on the playmat with the other babies, and they practiced rolling and kicking and grabbing toys. He started to get fussy after 5:30 whenever I got out of sight, but he was just so good! Even the dog was behaving (there were so many babies to kiss!!) I nursed Micah at 6, and he took a nap. I went up and checked on him a bunch of times, and around 6:30, he was awake and crying. I brought him back downstairs, and he was still fussing a bit. A little after 7, we gave him his medicine and Elliot put him to bed . . . which was the same time all the other families with babies started disappearing. The witching hour hit, and the babies needed to go home!
On a side note . . . one of the kids was eating Cheerios at some point tonight, and apparently some fell on the floor under the chair in the living room. The dog is currently playing the role of a Hoover, and desperately trying to get ALL the Cheerios out from under the chair and into her belly.
All in all, it was a successful evening. We had a chance to catch up with some friends, eat good food, and show off our house. I am looking forward to our next bbq (but hope it doesn’t rain again). Poor Elliot barely got to speak to anyone – he was outside while everyone congregated inside. Luckily, the rain let up for most of the time he was grilling. Hopefully, next time we host a BBQ, we can hold it outside.
Just for good measure – here is a picture of Micah today in his outfit for the party. His hair was standing on end, but I decided to leave it because it made me laugh! What do you think?
I’m a big boy now!
Last night, I took Micah up to bed, put him in his pajamas, and sat with him in the glider to give him his medicine. We normally give him his medicine either in a special medicine pacifier or a thin 2 ounce tube bottle (the ones we were given in the hospital). The delivery method of choice last night was the tube bottle. Much to my amazement, Micah took the bottle from me . . . and gave it to himself. He held it the entire time, tipped it backwards and finished the entire thing without any assistance from me! He was clearly announcing that he is becoming a big boy. I was so proud of him . . . and sad at the same time. I love watching him grow, and it is so much easier to interact with him now that he can do more on his own and he has definite opinions and likes, and yet . . . I miss my little baby, and I’m flabbergasted by how quickly the time is flying. How is it possible he is almost 5 1/2 months old now?
Fire!
We had quite an adventure on Friday night. As you can tell from the title of this post, it involved fire. A small one. In the microwave.
As you know, we completely renovated our house last year. During that process, we purchased all new appliances, including a microwave. For the past few weeks, every time I used the microwave, I kept seeing some white steam/smoke coming out of the vent inside the microwave when I opened the door. Each and every time, there was no smell and the smoke quickly dissipated, so I assumed it was normal. Last night, however, DH decided to heat up his dinner in the microwave. I was sitting on the couch, and all of the sudden I heard DH exclaim “Oh, shit!!” As I always do, I assumed he did something dumb/absentminded . . . like turn on the wrong burner of the cooktop (remember Passover when he set fire to my beautiful apple charlotte?), or forgot to remove a paper label, or got distracted while the water pot boiled over. In my usual mocking tone, I turned and asked “What did you do this time?”
Much to my surprise, DH shouted that there was a fire in the microwave. I went running into the kitchen and there was smoke pouring out. We tried to look inside to figure out where the fire was and whether we could put it out ourselves or if we needed to dial 911 and go evacuate the baby quickly. I first assumed DH had just been cooking popcorn or his dinner too long and it caught fire. We quickly realized, however, that nothing INSIDE the microwave was on fire. Instead, the thick, white smoke was pouring out of the side vent of the microwave. We unplugged the microwave, and tried to touch the wall, unit, and cabinets to see if there was heat emanating from anywhere. The smoke slowly started to slow, and we were left with the rancid smell of an electrical fire. We turned on the exhaust vent, opened up the windows and doors, and decided we should call the non-emergency number at the local fire station.
About 5 minutes later, the fire squad showed up. All of them. We opened the front door, and they kept coming in . . . one after the other. I think there were ten guys who walked through the front door. For a non-emergency fire. It reminded me of a clown car, or one of those comedy routines where the person answering the door keeps trying to close it, and one more person suddenly appears, says hello, and enters. It must have been a slow night at the fire house!
They used a heat sensor to check out the walls and cabinets. There was a localized area of heat on the microwave, and they told us there were no active fires. They told us to keep an eye on it and make sure it continued to cool off, but that if we kept it unplugged it should be safe to leave where it is until a tech from GE comes out to replace it.
So, the good news is, we have a very responsive fire squad and there was no damage done to the walls or cabinets. We expect a tech from GE to come out on Thursday, and we’ll be asking for a new microwave! Good thing it is still under warranty.
Sinus Infection
Friday, I called the doctor for the results of the nasal culture the took from Micah on Wednesday. Naturally, they told me that I would have to wait until next week sometime. After I explained that I really wanted to get an answer because Micah’s cough was getting worse, the woman finally agreed to check into it and get back to me. Saturday morning, she called back and said the culture confirmed that Micah has a sinus infection. Additionally, they told me that with the type of infection he has, we do not “have” to treat it with antibiotics. I indicated that I would prefer to treat the infection (as he has already been sick for 2 months and it seems to be getting worse, not better). She consulted with the doctor on call, who wanted me to wait until Tuesday. She finally agreed to call in the prescription, so Micah is now on antibiotics. I hope I made the right decision! I certainly don’t want to over-medicate him, but I do not want him to end up with bronchitis, or a nasty ear infection, or even a chronic sinus infection that requires months of antibiotics instead of one week. Apparently, the doctor on call thought I should “just be patient.” I’m going to have to trust my instincts on this one.
Sitting and Playing
Can you believe it?? Micah is big enough to be sitting on his own AND playing with toys at the same time!! I’m amazed each and every day how much he is growing. He loves to sit and chat, too. He has the most wonderful laugh and smile, and I just love listening to him. I think Micah laughs might be the most beautiful sound in the world. Here – listen for yourself! (Don’t forget to push the triangle on the bottom left to play the video!)
Micah sitting and playing:
Micah talking (we think he speaks Wookie):
Micah laughing (the first one is a voice recording and I just added some photos of Micah to make it a video):
Call the authorities!
I think that if Micah could talk, today he would have been telling you to call the authorities on me. Apparently, I have been practicing the worst kind of torture and abuse on my little man. He shrieked and screamed bloody murder today to try and get someone to notice and put an end to my torture, but to no avail. Let me put this in context for you . . . .
Micah came down with his first cold when he was about 5 weeks old. As we were instructed, we sprayed some saline up his nose and used the blue squeegy thing from the hospital to suction out the mucous. I can’t say Micah enjoyed this, but he was usually fairly calm for the first few attempts to clear his nose. After 4 or 5 times, he would cry, and I would set it aside for another time.
A bit later (I think he was 3 months old?), Micah came down with another cold. This time, he was older, smarter, and stronger. He very quickly learned to recognize the blue squeegy . . . and hate it. He would begin to scream at the first glimpse of the squeegy, and if I brought it near his nose, he would hit and kick and shriek and turn his head away. I must say, he had gotten quite strong. I quickly realized that all the hysteria resulted in more mucous, and I made the decision that it was not worthwhile to even attempt to squeegy his nose. I did try using a squeegy that was not blue . . . but Micah was smart enough to quickly recognize that as well. I then began to just wipe his nose with a cloth. It is far less effective, but it seemed to create very little upset, and it was “good enough.”
Unfortunately, this cold did not seem to disappear. It persisted . . . and persisted . . . and persisted. Micah has been stuffy for over 2 months now. At his 4 month appointment, I discussed it with the doctor, and he did not seem concerned. I have been working very hard to not be concerned about it, either. Since I am tired of being that crazy mom who brings her son to the doctor for everything, I’ve just let it be. Until today.
Yesterday, Micah started to cough. His congestion intensified, and he just did not seem to be feeling well. Today, he woke up coughing, and the mucous had turned green. I called the doctor, and we went in for a sick appointment. I made sure all the nurses heard him coughing and sneezing (just in case he miraculously got better as the doctor walked in the room). All this time, I have been wiping his nose with a cloth, with very little upset. That is, until the past few weeks. Lately, each and every time, Micah shrieks bloody murder. Yes, ladies and gentleman, to hear it from Micah, I have been practicing the worst kind of abuse . . . nose wiping.
Micah gets mad when he even sees the cloth. I have to sneak attack him, and he kicks and hits and arches his back and turns his face away. He then sobs these loud uncontrollable pained sobs indicating how tortured he is. He makes sure to do this in very public places so that everyone can tell what a horrible mother I am. So, on behalf of my son, you may need to call the authorities and inform them that, indeed, I have been nose wiping him. Daily. Multiple times. And if I had it my way, I’d be using the squeegy, too.
In case you were wondering . . . they think he might have a sinus infection. They took a nose culture to find out (you should have seen what he did to that nurse who tried to stick a swab up his nose!) and we should have the results back either Friday or Monday. They confirmed he was running a low grade fever, his throat was red (probably from post-nasal drip) and he does not have strep throat. If he has a sinus infection, they’ll give us antibiotics. I did not get a very good answer about what they will do if it is not a sinus infection. Remember – they insist that babies do not get allergies. So, because colds do not persist this long, and babies do not have allergies, if it is not a sinus infection, we are SOL.
I did also ask a few other questions today . . . he told us we can use sunscreen on Micah now, that some water is fine when he gets hot, that I can be giving him up to about 3 tbs of cereal 2-3 times per day now and I SHOULD also start him on fruits/veggies (also 3-4 tbs 2-3 times per day). We tried oatmeal for the first time yesterday (and he seems to like it). Since that is a “new” food for him, we can start something else new later this week or next week. On our list to try is: green beans, squash, peas, carrots, apples, pears, peaches, avocados, and sweet potatoes. There will be more to follow!
Food, Glorious Food
We have been feeding Micah rice cereal since he turned 4 1/2 months old. We started out slowly . . . just 1/2 tbs of rice cereal mixed with 1 ounce of breast milk. Initially, Micah could only eat 1/2 of that at each feeding. We have now “graduated” to 2 tbs of rice cereal with 1 ounce of breast milk every day. I think he would be willing to take more, but we are trying to ease into solid food since it is not really necessary until babies are 6 months old.
As I wade into this world of babies and solid food, I realize how complicated it is. No one can agree on when to feed a baby. No one really knows exactly how much to feed them each time. Some people insist you start with veggies, and others insist you should start with fruits. My pediatrician said we could start food any time after 4 months, and since Micah was showing signs of increased hunger, he suggested we at least start with rice cereal, but start slowly. We called the pediatricians office another day to talk about the heat and dehydration, and the “on-call” pediatrician gave me a hard time about feeding Micah food so early. Pediatricians in the same office can’t even seem to agree!
I feel like starting rice cereal has been a good thing for Micah. It has resolved some of his hunger issues, and it has made it possible for me to continue breastfeeding. Now that Micah is 5 months old, we are trying to determine the “next steps” for feeding. At any time, we can increase his food intake. We can start adding vegetables/fruits. I have no idea what to do next! I think this week, we are going to try oatmeal, and see how Micah does. Next week, he will be 5 1/2 months, and I think perhaps we will start adding fruits/veggies. One new one every 3-5 days. That will take us until Micah is at least 6 months old. I know some people do not even start introducing food until then, but they are encouraged to do so at a far more aggressive pace at that point. I am not certain when we should increase to 2 meals a day. I’m thinking Micah is content with the quantity of food he is getting right now, and since breast milk (or formula) is supposed to be the primary source of nutrition for the entire first year, there is no rush to increase the number of times per day he is eating. Simply adding in the veggies/fruits will increase his intake. I’m thinking I’ll wait until after we introduce the other foods (or Micah shows signs of hunger) before we increase the number of feeds each day.
Does anyone else out there find the whole feeding thing confusing? I sure hope it gets easier! I think I am going to worry about Micah and whether he is eating enough for a very long time. Somewhere in here, I have to start thinking about when and how I am going to wean Micah, but that is a post for a different day.
Routines are bad
Just a few short weeks ago, I posted that routines and repetition were a good thing. This post isn’t exactly a retraction, but rather a discussion of the flip side of routines/repetition. Specifically, as I mentioned last week, Micah has been having some issues going to bed when it isn’t Mommy and Daddy putting him to sleep.
I thought, perhaps, Micah’s issue was limited to the circumstance last week . . . Heather and Brad were relatively new, and I thought that perhaps they missed his sleepy cues and gave him his medicine late. On Thursday, however, we went out for our “date night.” My mom has babysat Micah tons of times, and been with us to put him to bed and even done it alone without incident. Because of his recent outbursts, I was a bit concerned there would be an issue. My dad came early and spent about one hour with Micah before we left. I thought easing out the door would keep him calm and relaxed. My mom showed up about 1/2 hour after we left, and the two of them proceeded to put Micah to bed. My mom noticed Micah started to get sleepy and rub his eyes, so she took him and went up the stairs.
Apparently, as they hit the third step, Micah started to get upset. Everytime she came back down the stairs, he was fine, but that third step kept setting him off! They got him upstairs, gave him his medicine, got him ready for bed . . . mostly while he cried and fussed. My mom sang You are my Sunshine to him, but that did not seem to comfort him. Ultimately, Micah calmed down when my DAD started to sing to him. He was quite clear . . . his Goppy needed to sing, and his Grammy needed to hold him. He was quiet as long as Goppy sang You are my Sunshine over and over and over again. He finally fell asleep in Grammy’s arms and she quietly moved him into the crib.
It seems we have a new problem. Micah is great at bedtime, as long as Mommy and Daddy are there. Our normal “routine” is that Daddy takes Micah upstairs, puts him in his pajamas, gives him his medicine and reads him a book, and mommy comes upstairs to nurse him and sing to him. It has been two weeks since Elliot put Micah to bed alone, so we are going to test that out this week and see if Daddy has an issue when he is alone, too. My mom is planning to start coming by a bit more often to put him to bed, and I think at least 1 night every week Elliot should put Micah to bed alone. Hopefully, as we have more people putting him to bed, it will get easier for him. Ironically, I thought the change of locations on our trip to Philly this week would set him off, but he had no issues going to bed and staying asleep even in a new place. I guess as long as Mommy puts him to bed, all is right with the world. I sure hope we can nip this in the bud!
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