Calvin/I had a very bad night. After Jaeger put him down to sleep for the night, he cried 1-2 times every hour until 1am. At one, he gave up crying and devolved into screaming. I gave him some more ibuprofen and then left him since, as I’ve mentioned before, if I stick around, he usually won’t fall back asleep. However, he continued screaming. He hadn’t eaten as much as usual during the day (also normal for teething) so I thought he might be hungry. I fixed him a 6oz bottle and fed it to him. He did stop screaming but was wide awake. After finishing the bottle I tried to convince him he was sleepy but he was having none of it. He burbled happily in my arms. I held him that way for about an hour because I didn’t have the emotional energy left to listen to him scream. Eventually, I transferred him back to his bed around 2:30am. He did cry for a little bit but thankfully settled down fairly quickly. He started making noises again around 6am but didn’t completely wake up (and stay awake) until 7:30. Not surprisingly, I have been exhausted all day.
Calvin was refusing to drink his bottle today. This is pretty typical when he teethes but it’s also frustrating as he’s usually crankier without calories.
Jaeger was trying to give Calvin his bath this evening but Calvin was really unhappy and again started crying. I think he was just tired but it’s so exhausting listening to him cry
Ups
Jaeger got up with Calvin this morning so I was able to stay in bed until almost 8:30 (which I really needed).
Jaeger also took Calvin in the afternoon so I could have a nap. I’m not sure I ever got to sleep but it was still good to try to relax in bed for a bit.
Cute Calvin Moment
We met a couple of other babies today that were right around Calvin’s age. I was impressed by how much more Calvin moved than the other babies. At least for one of the babies, I don’t think it was a skill issue, he was just happy to sit in his mom’s lap. Calvin, on the other hand, must explore as much of the world as possible and was always squirming around.
Simplification
Didn’t get around to working on this at all today.
Calvin was in a pretty good mood today. He didn’t take as much energy as usual. I also learned that Calvin likes pasta but does not like grapefruit.
Cute Calvin Moment
Calvin spent most of the church service flirting with the balcony ladies. I like sitting in the balcony because there’s a bit more room for him to move around so he doesn’t get too stifled during church. Plus, there are quite a few women with grown or almost grown children who miss having a baby so they spoil Calvin. First one lady would hold him and then another. He would shriek during the quietest parts of the service and they all just smile benignly at him.
Simplification
Started going through another kitchen storage box and put more containers an an old kitchen scale in the thrift store bin.
I have a tendency to find things to panic about. Unfortunately, this usually happens when I’m trying to fall asleep at night. Last night I went to bed at 9:30 but didn’t actually fall asleep until sometime after 11. Fortunately, Calvin only woke up once before 5 so I did get some sleep.
Ups
Today we went to a lawyer’s office to discuss official wills and guardianship documents! We had every intention of getting this stuff formalized before Calvin was born. However, I went into preterm labor before we managed to make an appointment with the lawyer. At long last, we’re finally dealing with it. We went and talked to a lawyer and received a form to fill out so they have an idea of the scope of the documents we need. The lawyer mentioned that if we can avoid dealing with a trust, the whole thing will be much cheaper but he needs a better feel for our situation to know whether or not that is feasible. Jaeger and I need to fill out the long form we were given and email it back to the office and then we’ll set up another appointment to talk details.
Since we went to visit the lawyer today, I didn’t have time to make supper so Jaeger got sushi takeout. The restaurant must not be use to sushi being an entire meal as they gave us dozens of soy sauce packs and at least 7 chopsticks. The sushi was pretty interesting. One of the variations had fried vegetable tempura in the roll. I’m not sure it’s my favorite but it’s definitely memorable. Another one had daikon sprouts which were tangy/spicy.
Cute Calvin Moment
During bath time today, Calvin and I played a variation of catch/fetch. Calvin would pick up one of his bath toys and throw it out of the tub. I would pick it up and drop it back into the tub where Calvin would carefully sit down, find it, and then repeat the process. Each time he threw an item out, he’d get this big grin on his face like he was so proud he could throw things. Is was a little repetitious until Calvin started throwing his sieve containers out still half-full with water. I’m afraid I inadvertently encouraged him by laughing each time he did this. By the end of bath time, the bathroom floor was quite wet.
I slept! I woke up at 3:30am and realized that Calvin wasn’t crying. He didn’t start making any noises until 5:30am. It was wonderful
Got the lower part of the house cleaned and vacuumed before I went to work at Erie. Calvin woke up before I started vacuuming. At first, I tried to carry him in the baby Bjorn while I vacuumed. However, it was stressing my back to vacuum and carry Calvin at the same time. Also, I wasn’t sure it was good for him to be so close to such a loud noise. Next, I tried putting him in the pack n’ play. However, he started crying immediately. I don’t know if it was because of the noise or because he wanted me to hold him. So, I ended up taking him to daycare and came back home and finished up. It’s annoying having to pay full-time for daycare when we only use part-time. However, it is pretty useful in situations like this.
Cute Calvin Moment
This was related to me by daycare. This afternoon, all the other babies were sleeping except for Calvin. Miss K sat Calvin in the little table and then sat down to talk to him. She said for at least 20 minutes they carried on a conversation with him trying to mimic the sounds she said to him. This sounds very Calvin-like. He loves making weird sounds with his mouth and tongue.
Simplification
Cleaned up the kitchen storage area in the basement a little bit.
Another bad night. This one was partly my fault. I heard him crying at 1am and got up to give him some more ibuprofen. However, I felt bad leaving him in misery until the medicine kicked in so I picked him up to rock him. Big mistake. This woke Calvin up completely. He burbled happily and patted my face and seemed to have no inclination to go back to sleep. I kept trying to have him lay his head down which he’d do for a minute but then would pop up burbling again. Once I realized my mistake, I put him back in his crib and went back to bed. He cried for the next hour. *sigh*
Ups
I got Calvin’s car seat checked out. Other than a few minor modifications, I had installed it correctly. Apparently they recommend that the versa tether strap be attached to the front car seat track.
Since I needed to get Calvin’s car seat checked out, I wasn’t sure when I was going to be able to do dinner. However, I ended up making it during Calvin’s morning nap and it worked out fairly well.
Cute Calvin Moment
Calvin really enjoys playing the piano. Before he started being able to crawl over and bang on the keys while standing, I would sit him in my lap and let him bang on the piano. Tonight, I decided to sit him on my lap again. He definitely gets more force behind his banging that way and can also hit the black keys. Calvin adored it. He banged from one end of the piano to the other and back again all the while bobbing his head fiercely and grinning like a maniac. He looked like a mad little composer.
Simplification
For lunch today, I used up one of the packaged dinners I had bought eons ago. Every so often I buy packaged dinners thinking they’d be good to have on hand in an emergency. However, Jaeger refuses to eat them and they just sit on the shelf taking up space. Now I have one less box cluttering my pantry.
Yet again, more teething fun. Last night the ibuprofen wore off at 1 which was 1 1/2 hrs before I could give Calvin another dose.
Ups
Calvin’s car seat arrived! Now I need to figure out if I’m smart enough to install it (the answer is probably “no” since some sources claim at least 85% of car seats are installed/used incorrectly). Fortunately, Longmont’s monthly drop-in car seat check is tomorrow.
Calvin took an early and long nap today so I was able to get money done today without rushing.
I also got a little car/walker for Calvin and put it together today. I was less than impressed with the assembly but finally managed to put it together (the instructions called for a wooden board that I can hammer things on top of it. I had no wooden board handy so used my old college physics textbook instead). I brought Calvin home from daycare and he seemed moderately excited by it.
Cute Calvin Moment
The new car seat is massive. One reason I got it is because it’ll fit children up to 65 lbs (this is important now that they recommend children be in car seats until at least 4 years of age). Before giving Calvin his bath, Jaeger and I sat him in the car seat and buckled him up so we wouldn’t have to worry about adjusting the straps later in the car. While Jaeger was situating Calvin in the seat, I noticed he had discarded some upholstered foam padding that looked like it was suppose to attach to the car seat. When I inquired as to the purpose of this foam, Jaeger informed me it was the adapter for newborns. Our massive car seat is suppose to be able to fit infants weighing a measly 5 lbs. Right on cue, Calvin chose that moment to start giggling. Yes, he really did.
Simplification
I’ve decided to forgo throwing out junk today in favor of pouring over the car seat installation guide.
More teething fun. The ibuprofen wears off around 2:30am and Calvin usually starts crying intermittently after that.
Ups
I had a pretty organized day. I got everything done that I planned to get done today. I’m amazed at how awake I felt given how little I slept last night.
We had our Science Fiction book club tonight. After work, I made supper and then packed it up for Jaeger and I to eat in the Erie staff room. After eating, we wandered to the “living room” section of the library for the book club. We had two other people show up which was a pretty good night. They had even mostly read the book, The Lies of Locke Lamora. I only got half-way through and Jaeger didn’t even start but it was still an amusing discussion. Next month we’re reading The Windup Girl.
Before leaving the library, I got Calvin into his thicker night diaper and jammies. To my surprise, once we got home, I managed to transfer him from car seat to crib without him waking significantly. I’m really going to miss that car seat. He has mostly outgrown it and his new car seat, which is not easily removable, is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. This also means we have to give up his frame stroller which was also wonderful.
Cute Calvin Moment
Yesterday, I made Holiday Bean Soup for dinner. Even though it has a bit of sodium in it, I figured it would still be a fairly healthy meal for Calvin so I set some aside and pureed it for him. This morning, I gave him his first taste and he seemed to enjoy it. I packed some up for daycare and dropped him off. When I went to pick him up, Ms. K said, “What did you give Calvin for lunch today!? He loved it!” She was feeding him and another kid at the same time and apparently Calvin would get very upset when she didn’t give him his next bite fast enough. Ms. K also said when she feeds him cheerios, Calvin looks like a baby bird with his mouth open and tongue sticking out waiting for a cheerio to land. I hadn’t thought of it that way before but it is a very apt description.
Simplification
Consigned some decorative soaps I’ll never use to the thrift store bin and old toothbrushes to the cleaning supply box.
Calvin was teething again last night. He woke up at 2:30 and cried for a bit before going back to sleep. (I don’t necessarily believe in the “cry-it-out” method but if I go in to his bedroom in the middle of the night, it always takes much longer for him to get back to sleep.) He woke up at 5 crying again and this time he didn’t go back to sleep. Jaeger takes care of Calvin on Sunday mornings so I can sleep in so he got up. I made a bottle for them and gave Calvin some ibuprofen and then went back to bed. Jaeger got him back to sleep eventually and crawled into bed again around 6. Calvin slept pretty well until 7:30.
Somehow my grocery list got corrupted and some of the items I needed to buy disappeared. I remembered a couple of the items that went missing but I didn’t remember to pick up the pears for the Pear-Almond Upside-Down Cake that I was planning to make tomorrow. Maybe I’ll make Cardamom Mexican Wedding Cakes instead.
Ups
Jaeger got up with Calvin so I was able to sleep in. I always look forward to Sunday mornings
We have new blinds for the living room! Cat5 mangled our old blinds so badly that I could no longer completely close them or pull them up. Last winter, I was hoping to replace all the mini-blinds on the bottom level with higher quality wooden blinds. However, I ended up in the hospital before managing to buy anything and life has been too hectic to deal with it ever since. Today Jaeger and I stopped by Lowe’s to look at blinds. After looking at all the options, we decided to buy a replacement set for $20. They definitely aren’t high quality. However, none of the more expensive options spoke to us so instead of upgrading all the window blinds, we decided to just get a replacement for the one window that needed it. Our old blinds were metal but we went with vinyl this times in hopes that it won’t bend quite as easily when 5 tries to nose her way to the window. Also, there’s a good chance we won’t be in this house in a couple more years so I was having trouble convincing myself it was worth spending too much money on the blinds.
Jaeger gave Calvin his bath again this night so once again I got to eat supper before 7.
Cute Calvin Moment
We took our weekly pilgrimage to Vitamin Cottage today. The clerks at Vitamin Cottage always coo over Calvin and he usually rewards them with a big grin. Today he was silently grinning at our clerk the entire time she was checking us out. As Jaeger was paying, she asked us, “is he always this quiet?” Jaeger and I responded with an emphatic “no” at the same time. Later, when we were at King Soopers, Calvin was happily babbling and Jaeger mentioned it was a shame the Vitamin Cottage lady wasn’t around. Without a doubt, Calvin is a people person. The more people that are around him, the happier he is. It’s almost like he puts on a “perfect baby” performance anytime he has an audience. I’m curious if this is his life-long disposition or if he will grow out of it. Apparently when I was in first grade, I would bounce up anytime a new person arrived in the classroom and happily introduce myself to them. I’m not exactly sure when this disappeared but it was definitely gone by high school.
Simplification
Delegated some odds and ends I had lying around the house to the thrift store bin.
Calvin was manageable at church today. I’ve taken to sitting up in the balcony and there are a group of women who fawn over Calvin and often can keep him occupied during church. By sitting up in the balcony, it’s fairly easy to sneak out if Calvin becomes too loud (he doesn’t usually cry but may ecstatically shriek which can be just as disrupting). The mother’s room isn’t really an option for Calvin when he’s loud as we have a couple of breastfeeding mothers who need pretty much complete silence for their babies to feed properly. I had enough grief with breastfeeding that I’m not willing to contribute to any complications for them.
Jaeger gave Calvin a bath and then fed him before putting him in the crib for the night. It was amazing to be able to eat while Calvin was still up This also gave me time to plan meals for next week and create my grocery list instead of working on it Sunday morning.
Cute Calvin Moment
After church I needed to talk to someone so I set Calvin down and he immediately crawled up on the platform (I was within arms reach). There was a little 3-year old girl who was enchanted with Calvin. She and Calvin spent at least 15 minutes chasing each other around. She’d run to one side of the platform and Calvin would eagerly paddle after her. Then when he came close, she’d run to the other side and Calvin would turn around and rapidly crawl the other direction. It was obvious they were both very taken with each other.
Simplification
Finally threw away an air mattress the cats had punctured in multiple places.
Calvin definitely has figured out how to eat cheerios and loves them. He still can’t feed himself but he sticks out his tongue hopefully whenever he wants another. However, he did boycott his normal pureed food.
I had a chance to exercise this morning. I didn’t get a huge amount of sleep last night so I originally thought I might take a nap instead. However, I was feeling perky enough by Calvin’s nap time so I decided to go ahead and exercise.
We had baked potato and tofu for supper which is a relative easy meal to put together so I didn’t have to rush around too much before picking Calvin up from daycare.
Cute Calvin Moment
Today Calvin learned he can play the piano. Calvin was crawling around on the floor and came to the piano bench. He pulled himself up and then tentatively touched one of the white keys. It made a noise. He looked at it carefully and then tried again and seemed surprised when it made more noise. Then he got a big grin on his face and started enthusiastically banging with one hand while holding onto the bench with his other. I got a couple of photos and perhaps managed to get several seconds of video. However, Calvin loves cameras so whenever he sees one, he stops whatever he is doing and crawls over to investigate the contraption.
Simplification
I got rid of a box of toiletries under the bathroom sink that were starting to look a little scary.
