Changing Child

Jackson is growing up. Everyday he changes a little more.  Yesterday he refused to nap, I guess he's getting to a point where he doesn't always need one. I could have used one :-)  but we survived. I did make him spend some time upstairs in his room "resting" though by the disaster that had swept through it by the time I went to get him, I don't think much resting was done.

We went for a walk yesterday after dinner.  He wanted to walk himself so I didn't bring the stroller, or my "backpack" for carrying him.  He's a big boy but he still fits in the Kinderpack Preschool sized carrier I have (and love love love).  He wanted to run in the grass, so we went down the bike path and he ran through the field, picking dandelions and watching out for "dirty poopies" from people who don't pick up after their dogs.  He loved it but he got a bit tired, so when we turned around I had to carry him a bit to explain that we had to go home now, and then he was ok.  For awhile.  I guess because of the lack of nap and all the running he was doing "are you running with me mommy?" He just wore himself out.  So when we were on the way back, and had reached the sidewalks again, he decided to throw himself on the ground, he wanted to walk the other way... umm no.  So I then had to carry him, and I missed my carrier then! 

Today he is napping, and his nose is running with great icky stuff coming out rather more than I'd like.  Not sure if it's some kind of cold or seasonal allergy happening, my own allergies have ramped up the past week or so, and I'm remembering to take my anti histamine most days.  I don't want to let him nap too much but if it is a cold, I do want him to kick it in the butt.

We also got his new big boy bed.  It's a twin mattress and box spring, no frame, just on the floor, but with DIGGERS!  He's very excited about it and loves it.  He can climb in and out himself, and I can lie down with him, though when I do he of course doesn't actually sleep. 

Big boy bed and the Big Boy

During his nap time yesterday I went up and lay down on his bed, hoping he'd lie down with me and rest.  He didn't but he did get me an extra blanket from his closet, cover me up, give me his bottle and his nunu (the white thing on his bed) and rub my arm.  It was very sweet. 

I  miss my little baby though.  I mean don't get me wrong, this toddler/preschooler is awesome and he's growing so fast and so amazing.  But I miss the little squishy baby I had, and the bigger baby learning to roll over and crawl and all that stuff.  So I am pretty sure I'll be going for number 2 this fall.  I plan to go to the doctor for a referral and check up in about a month, by then I should know about a promotion at work too. Once I have the referral, and I assume all the basic blood work and tests done, I should be in a good position to start figuring out sperm donors and all that good stuff. 

I remember being on mat leave and thinking how I wished time would slow down, how I reminded myself almost daily to enjoy these little moments.  Even now I have to remind myself to enjoy my boy, and to remember what it was like with a baby.  I know that the first month or so will be difficult, but the end result will be totally worth it. 

A lovely day

Today was a great day.  Jackson and I are having a great weekend together and I love it.  This morning we went shopping for groceries, not very exciting but it was pretty nice to get out.  We stopped for McDonald's on the way home, to pick up breakfast.  Jackson loves the breakfast burrito and the hash browns.  I don't give it to him everyday of course but we go about once a week or so.  We got home and ate our breakfast, he really enjoyed his, as did I. 

Then we went to the park, it's about a 20 minutes walk or so to the nice one.  And it was wet, the swings, the slide.  But I had brought an extra blanket in the stroller so I used that to dry things off a bit.  He had a lot of fun, using the swing, going down the slide, bouncy on the bouncy seat thingy.  Big smiles on his face.  Running in the sand, getting covered in sand.  Then we walked home and he had a snack of crackers and water.  He went down for his nap when we got home.

Three hour naps... ah how I will miss that someday!  I got some laundry done, while he slept, then had a bit of a nap myself :-)  When he got up it was snack time, then we played in the back yard for awhile.  Finally made dinner, burgers and potato salad.  Which he didn't eat any of lol.  We went for another walk after, carrying the baby in the Ergo.  It was also a nice walk. 

Finally a short a "movie" before the baby went to bed.  He loves to watch the singing dvd's, and then show off his signs.  Most look quite similar to each other, but he sure is enthusiastic about them!  He went to bed really easily too, fell asleep in record time. 

So it was a lovely day :-)

Tomorrow should also be pretty nice.  I have plans to go hiking in Gatineau Park with some other SMC's, I'll get a good workout carrying Jackson in my ergo... really need a toddler carrier soon lol.  I love my weekends with my baby, and now that the weather is nicer, it's really becoming fun to get out and enjoy the outdoors with him. 

Welcome

This is my story, my journey as a Mom.  I'm a single mom by choice, I have an amazing little boy who was born Dec 9, 09.  It has been an interesting time so far, he's almost 8 months old and I've learned a lot.  The main things I've learned all come down to following my own intuition, doing what feels right to me.  I've done a lot of things that you aren't supposed to do, and so far he's healthy and happy. 
One of the hardest things was during the first few weeks when he was colicy, he cried so much, and hardly slept, it was very difficult.  I finally one night flipped him onto his tummy to sleep, and he slept 5 hours straight!  He's been a tummy sleeper ever since.  Now that he can roll every which way he sleeps all over, on his side, back or tummy.  He really gets into it too, I've watched him throw himself around in that crib...so cute!
He's been a formula baby from the start, breastfeeding was not going to happen.  He has certainly thrived on it, and does love his "baba's"  He's a big eater too, holding steady at about 36 oz a day for the past 3 months or so, somedays he has an extra bottle in there.  We had to try a couple formulas to find one that works for us. 
At 5 months I started him on solids, I figured his having 2 or 3 teeth at that point meant he could eat...he did ok with the purees and cereals but it didn't feel right to me.  Then I read about baby led weaning, and man that just felt right!  Now he eats what I do, and loves it all.  He's got a varied diet and will have steamed veggies and turkey meat loaf for supper, fruits for breakfast, cheese and cucumbers for lunch...all kinds of things.  He even likes hummus!  Ice cream is a favourite, he doesn't get it that often though. 
About 2 months ago I started to really think about cloth diapers, and a month ago I did a trial.  I found a couple in the trial that I really liked, and off we went!  It's actually a lot of fun, and he looks so cute!!  I'm sure I've spent too much money on these things but oh well...I'll have to have another baby to make up the cost.  It was hard to find diapers that fit him in the rise.  So far we like the Flips, SweetPea Pockets, and I have a couple others we're going to try. 
I've carried him from the start, first in a stretchy wrap, then a pocket sling, tried a ring sling and eventually found the ergo and scootababy...love both of those!  I carry him in the stores on my hip, though he's starting to get big to carry, and is starting to grab at things as we go down the aisles...I'm sure we'll work it out.
So there it is, intro to me :)  I'm more of a crunchy mommy than I thought I would be. It's funny that everything I'm doing is labelled somewhere and written up, called attachment parenting, natural parenting, even the baby led weaning that is how I wanted to do things but didn't think I was allowed to.  So I'm trusting my instincts and learning to follow my intuition...and I'm sure we'll both be happy for it :)