Milestones and sleeping

Calder is getting to practice his sitting a lot these past few days - he seems to love it! Now whenever he is in his bouncy chair, he doesn't sit back and relax - no - he leans forward as far as he can - this way he can see the carpet and most often, the object of his attention - our dog, Finn. He just adores Finn - especially when Finn comes up and sniffs Calder's face.

Thank goodness Calder is always strapped in to his bouncy chair (of course) or else there would be a few cases of a baby toppling over in our house, he leans over so far.


Calder has also recently disovered the front of his beloved Discovery Tent. There's a picture of a monkey there, a sliding ladybug, a doorbell (sans battery - oops!) - but the thing that gives him most pleasure and also most practice for sitting, is the coloured cylinder on the door. Yesterday he sat there for a good 15 minutes, spinning it and watching the colours change.

He's doing very well at sitting on his own, although sometimes I make sure I place pillows around him, as his balance is still not perfect. :)

Yesterday we also attended our Babyville session and it was very informative. I found out that, sometimes, when a baby is going through developmental milestones, like rolling over (as Calder has) that sometimes sleep is interrupted. I sure hope that this is the reason, although I know it is most likely also teething. Come to think of it, it very well may be that he is also learning to sit!

It is still very difficult to get Calder to sleep - he not only fights it, but he screams at the top of his lungs about it, losing his breath and choking because of it. I am trying very hard to make sure that I don't let him fall asleep in my arms as he has been the past 2 weeks, because I want him to be able to again fall asleep on his own. As a result, it makes for a very unhappy baby when I know all he wants is to be held. All I can do is touch his face and keep my hand on his chest, and sometimes that works.

Right now he is down for his morning nap - and it took only 20 minutes to get him there! It may seem like a long time, but better than bed time last night, which took a half hour, then he was only asleep for 40 minutes, only to go through the screaming bed time again an hour later. Oh well - that's the life sometimes when you have a baby. I still wouldn't trade this experience in for any other (I just wish I could get more sleep).

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

Family

Just wanted to quickly post another photo montage - this time of all the pictures that I have of Calder and family - now that he is such an important part of ours. This montage will take you from when I was just newly pregnant to now - where he is the light of our lives.

Also wanted to add a quick post that Calder is now rolling over (for a couple of days now) from his stomach to his back! Yay Calder! This makes for much less stressful play times.... :)

Enjoy!

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The Past Week

Calder and I have been busy since the last post. Monday we went to our first Parent group meeting - a programme called 'Babyville' run by the Durham region health department. There were about 12 moms there with their babies, and it was nice to get out and meet some news moms like me. The first session was introductory, and next week we are delving into the topic of 'sleep and routines'. Should be exciting, I hope - as Calder is still not sleeping well. I feel like he's a newborn again - the most he will sleep at a time is 4 hours, and that is only for one block of sleep in the night. Most often he will sleep 1-2 hours first, eat, sleep for 4 hours, eat, sleep for 3 hours, then he is up for the day, with a few short naps thrown in. I don't think I bragged about him sleeping 8-9 hours at a time before, but next time I think I will just keep my mouth shut! Anyway, here is a picture I got recently of Calder sleeping on his side. Little munchkin that he is.



On Wednesday last week Calder and I visited his Great-Grandmother (my darling Grandma!) for lunch. An added bonus was that my Aunt Karen was there as well, so we all had a lovely lunch together. Grandma and Aunt Karen hadn't seen Calder since Christmas Day, so it was nice for them to see Calder - and Calder to seem them again! Hopefully Calder, his dad and myself will be going out to Dim Sum with my Grandma soon - I know she loves it!



On Friday Calder and I attended our third 'Active Moms 'n' Babes' fitness class. The last week it was all abdominal work, so Calder didn't participate much in that (it was only mom who was hurting for the next two days) but this Past Friday it was a hi/lo class so Calder, in his Snugli, got to go along for the ride as his Mom huffed and puffed her way through grapevines and v-steps. All in the name of the health! :) He seems to enjoy it most when I do push-ups over him - he gets a major kick out of it! I was hoping to bring my camera to the class, but maybe next time!

Calder does a lot of talking on the phone. He loves all the lights on the keypad and is sometimes confused by the voice coming out of nowhere, but he smiles and talks away at the voice on the other line. I know that for the Grandmas this is a highlight as sometimes they can't get to see Calder - so this is the next best thing, hearing his baby babble. And babble he does! I swear he's saying something, but I just can't figure it out!

Here he is talking to his Avo - she just loves hearing his voice!



Calder is starting to enjoy his baths more - so much that I am thinking of enrolling him in a swimming class. Well, as much as it can be called a class for infants. He seems to like it when we both get in the big soaker tub, so I wonder if he would like it in a big pool. At any rate, even if we don't take the class, I know we are waiting with anticipation for the summer when we can go to Gary's parent's place to their swimming pool for some fun in the water. By then he will be about 9 months old, and I am sure much more active!



Yesterday Gary was going to take Finn out for a walk, but I really needed some fresh air, after being indoors all day. We decided that if we bundled up Calder enough and put him in the snugli and covered him with a jacket of Gary's, that we could all go out for a walk. It wasn't a nice sunny day, but I think Calder enjoyed looking at all the new things that there was to see - the snow, the cars, the houses.



I know I can't wait till Spring and the warmer weather to go for much longer walks, where Calder can experience much more. Right now whenever we usually go on a walk he is in the stroller, all covered up - seeing nothing except Mommy sometimes peeking at him through the window in the stroller canopy.

Lastly, here is a picture of Calder playing today. I was trying to teach him how to bang the drum that he got for Christmas from his Uncle Walter, Aunt Cathy and cousins Peter and Olivia - but he doesn't quite get it - yet. He's trying to bang it - but it's not hard enough to make it light up and play music. But, it is a good support! Calder is getting stronger every week, and I know he wants to sit up so much - so much so that he often topples over. But he's trying - and with support like his drum - he's almost there!



Have a good week everyone!

Love Elizabeth :)

Sleep

Before I was pregnant, I needed my 7-8 hours of sleep and I would be good. I even hated naps, although I know a lot of adults love them. When I was pregnant, I looooved my sleep, still taking my 7-8 hours a night, but more often 8-9. I would also take as many naps as I could - they were delicious. When I first had Calder, I was deprived of sleep, as Calder would get up every 2-3 hours to eat. But pretty much as soon as he turned 2 months, he started sleeping longer, 4,5,6 and 7 hours a night. Now we are up to 8 hours a night straight...or so I thought.

Lately Calder has been fighting sleep with a passion - I used to be able to put him down, wide awake - when it was time for bed, and he would talk himself to sleep. Now Calder refuses to go to sleep that way, I have to make sure he falls asleep in my arms, and even then, he often wakes up as soon as I put him in the crib. Lately he's been sleeping not 8 hours, but around 4-5. Very tiring, to say the least.

Well last night, he went to bed as usual at 8:30 pm, and I was hoping he would have a good sleep. Well around 11:15 (I stayed up later than normal as I thought it would be a good night for Calder's sleep) I went in to check on him and he was sleeping on his side. Anyone who knows me knows that I am paranoid about everything, and so I wanted to place him on his back. I got Gary to help me, and we flipped him over. Well, bad move. Calder was awake. I fed him at 11:30 and he proceeded to stay up till 1:30 am, even though I tried many times to put him to sleep. he would not have any of it - he was wide awake and happy - although teething horribly - grinding his gums against my jaw. Finally at 1:30 I thought I would have at least a good 5-6 hours of sleep. Not so. Calder was up at 4:30 and wouldn't fall asleep till 5 - and that was in my arms. At 5 I put him down, he was up at 5:30 again. This time I took him into the bed with me, as it seemed as though the security of being held was the only thing helping him sleep. We slept like that for just 1 hour until 6:30 when he was up to eat. My total amount of sleep last night? 4 1/2. Needless to say I am tired and hoping that tonight goes better. Today we will be working on rolling over from his stomach to his back. Apparently, this is usually the first 'roll' that babies learn/do - but not Calder - he strays from the beaten path and did it the other way around first - from back to stomach. Problem is, he doesn't quite yet know how to get from his stomach to his back, and as a result is often found doing a face plant and heard crying while doing this. a number of times I or Gary have found him in a face plant in the middle of the night, and once I found him sleeping on his stomach. I guess he gave up trying to get back over and fell asleep.

Sweet dreams, everyone.

Elizabeth (aka Calder's Mommy)

A photo montage!!

It's Mommy Elizabeth again! This photo montage is all thanks to my friend Jules, who created one for her own daughter's blog (which is awesome, btw) - thanks for pointing me in this direction! Enjoy everyone (even though I know the grandparents have seen all of these photos)!

Make photo slide shows at onetruemedia.com

Mommy has something to say!

Well, you must be thinking this is your lucky day - to come on and check the blog and see not one, but two posts! It's too bad my husband showed me how to write a blog - this is kind of fun, and I might do it more often when Calder is napping!

I wanted to share with those of you that hadn't seen it, Calder's 4-month picture. I am trying to get them done every month and I was very happy at how it turned out last time (taken just before New Year's). What a change in Calder from his last set of photos, where it was difficult to get him to look at the camera, let alone smile. This time, he was all smiles. :) Watch the blog after January 31st when I will post his 5-month picture!

Before the holidays Calder and I also were lucky to be able to see my dear friend Joanna and her baby, Scott. Scott was only born one week earlier than Calder, and I know Joanna and I will make sure that they are close friends. It was certainly a special time to be able to go through every step of pregnancy with Joanna (although she was already a seasoned pro at pregnancy and parenting, already having twins!)
Anyway, I digress. Calder and I went for a visit with Joanna and Scott and we had a scrumptious lunch and time for the two boys to get acquainted. Here's a picture of the two of them together - aren't they adorable?

I also want to post a special First Birthday wish to Parker - the son of our friends and neighbours, Tracy and Kevin. I hope they won't mind me posting his pictures here, but it is so amazing to see how much he has grown in just one short year. He has faced so much this past year, but I know this year he will make even bigger strides! Happy First Birthday, Parker!






That's about all I have to post right now - but, I must say - I think I'll be back! :)

Happy New Year - finally

It's been a long time since I have updated this blog, and my wife has been asking to take over the reins in situations like this. So, being the typical guy that I am, even though I am home sick from work for the third time in a week, I dragged myself to the computer to do something before my wife takes over. For those of you in Canada, think about that marinade commercial where the dad comes home to find that the family started the BBQ because he was late and you'll get a taste of this feeling. Enough about me though, it's supposed to be about Calder. Oh wait, it's actually about life with Calder, so I guess that includes other people. And there has been plenty of other people in the last few weeks. Calder is a semi-tourist attraction. Before we had him, visitors were few and not often, now we see lots of people and he is bringing people together in a big way. How could anyone resist being away from this anyways? He's just so darn cute! He got this on New Year's Day when we went for breakfast with Denny, Alicia and Norah. This outfit was a gift from Alicia's parents Bonni and Bill, thank you! Breakfast was great and it was nice to see our friends again, and extra nice to see Norah and Calder interact. It'll be even more interesting when he begins to walk and speak. Our hands will be full!

My best man and his girlfriend came over later that week bearing gifts for Calder as well. No pictures of those yet! I had a laugh seeing Wai playing with Calder. He gets tons of practice with his own nieces and nephews, but I wonder if Ida was picturing him in the future with their children.

An update on Calder, he's been growing a whole lot, weighing well over 16 pounds now and so strong. His personality is starting to show up more and more. He fights his bedtime (at night and even for naps) so much that he ends up tiring himself out so much that he passes off to sleep in spite of himself. We also found out last night that he can roll over in his sleep to his stomach, much to the dismay of my wife who found him squirming in a faceplant in his crib. He was able to breathe, just frustrated that he contorted himself how he did; drifting from one end of the crib to the other, moving from feet to head to head to feet, and even using the siderails of his crib for leverage in flipping and flopping through the night. Maybe he's the re-incarnation of some gymnast. I guess this tent play area is his training ground. He loves his time in the tent.

The really adventure right now is that he has started eating rice cereal. We got him a high chair and he seems to really like being close to us while we eat, and especially loves his turn to eat. Over the weekend I got the privilege of feeding him like this for the first time. My wife feeds him the cereal just once a day right now until his stomach matures a bit more. Since she usually feeds him this cereal during his mid-morning meal, I tend to miss it because I am at work. This weekend though, I had a joyful time feeding him. The feeling is beyond words for me. Seeing his smiling face looking at me as I spooned up some cereal and then seeing the excitement in his body with his legs and arms flaying and his mouth opening up wide in anticipation, is just incredible. I love it! This picture was one my wife took of him after he ate his whole portion of cereal and seemed to want even more.

Goodnight Calder, Daddy loves you!