Now that Hayden is 1, I think this is an appropriate time to end the "Baby Lott" blog. Never fear, you can still keep up-to-date on all the newsworthy events of our lives on our new blog: http://lottfamilynews.blogspot.com
I won't be updating it on a regular basis--after a year of updating the babylott blog each week I realize sometimes that's just too much of a commitment. But you can still count on me to keep you updated on anything worth sharing. This way also the blog can be about our whole family, including when it continues to expand.
Thank you for following this amazing journey from when Hayden was just a nameless embryo to his first birthday. I hope you have enjoyed this blog. It has been a great way for me to share with friends and family what is happening in our life, as well as a therapeutic way of decompressing each week for me. Kind of like a diary that I let everyone read.
I am printing out the 52 weeks of entries to have a "Baby book" of Hayden's first year. Maybe one day he will enjoy reading it himself.
See you over on the new Lott Family News blog!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Week 52
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO HAYDEN!
1 Year Stats:
Weight - 23.2 lbs (50th percentile)
Height - 31.75" (95th percentile)
Head Circ. - 19" (75th percentile)
So he's down to "normal" for weight. All that crawling around and cruising the house with his lion walker has burned off all his fat! But he's still a tall, tall boy!
The pediatrician was impressed by his overall health and development. She said I can start re-introducing dairy back in my diet, slowly starting with yogurt every 3 days, and see if Hayden has outgrown his dairy allergy. Fingers crossed!! The formula we have to give Hayden that is for dairy-intolerant babies is very expensive and Hayden doesn't like the taste of it, so we usually do a 3:2 mix of pumped breast milk and formula. He only nurses in the morning now, so I'm pumping 2-3 times a day for his bottles/cups. Until we start introducing dairy directly to Hayden and he can have whole milk himself (hopefully around 15-18 months), I plan on continuing to pump to supplement the formula.
On Thursday last week we had our group PEPS birthday celebration for all the babies at the Seattle Children's Museum (free party for PEPS Plus Groups!). It was kind of nutty in the party room with 10 babies all trying to eat lunch, open gifts (we drew names) and have cupcakes, but then we all went out and played in the museum. Hayden loved it. Phil even took the day off work so he could join us in the fun. And I am so glad he did because it was great to have an extra set of hands and eyes to help out with all the activity.
Hayden's BIG birthday celebration was on Sunday May 18th. We really lucked out on the weather since Friday and Saturday had temps in the 90s and Monday it rained. Sunday was a perfect mid-70s day. We rented a "Block Party Wagon" from our neighborhood association that comes with folding tables, chairs canopy tent and umbrella shade. We also borrowed 2 other canopy tents from friends and set out a big party on the large lawn in front of our house. Including us, there were 27 people. ALL of Hayden's Grandmas and Grandpas came, most of his aunts and uncles, all his cousins, and even a set of great-grandparents. It was so wonderful to have such a nice celebration for Hayden's First Birthday. (And thankfully, it wasn't The Jerry Springer Show.)
Hayden was a little overwhelmed by all the festivities and people. He was very clingy to me and didn't like to be passed around much to people. We brought out his lion walker, which he loves, so that he could get around on his own and that made him happy.
He also really liked the huge mylar elmo balloon that sang Happy Birthday when you tap the balloon. (Obnoxious after about 1.5 times.) On the center of the gift table I put a bouquet of flowers mixed with a dozen photos of Hayden on sticks. Each stick had a photo on each side and represented a month of his life.
Hayden didn't really know what to make of the carrot cake cupcakes I made for him. He didn't seem to like the frosting on his fingers so that was preventing him from digging in.
He got tons of awesome presents including a portable DVD player for our trip to Michigan in July, a Ride-In Fire Engine car, lots of cute clothes, great books and toys, and a basketball hoop from Mommy & Daddy.
Just as we were opening the last gift, the sprinkler system on the lawn started going off. It was a mad scramble to get all the presents and food from getting soaked and everyone joked that it was my plan to get everyone to help clean up and leave in a hurry. Hey, the invitation did say 2 - 4pm and it was 4:30!! It was kind of infuriating at the moment, but I already look back on it with a smile. I'm sure it will be a part of Hayden's First Birthday lore forever. And my nephews Jude and Ethan thought it was all part of the fun! Oops, did I forget to put "bring a swimsuit" on the invitation?
You can view more birthday photos here. I wish I would have been able to get more photos. There isn't a single one of me, Phil and Hayden together. We also didn't get the "Happy Birthday" singing and cake on video since there was a mix-up with the record button on our camera. :( Luckily, we celebrated again on Hayden's ACTUAL birthday on May 20th, and made up for it.
Sorry this post was so late. I can't believe how busy I've been the past couple weeks. I really shouldn't have agreed to this freelance project during Hayden's First Birthday week festivities. Oh well. Live and learn.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Week 51
Happy Mother's Day to every Mom out there. I have written an entire Mother's Day Manifesto if you want to read more about my thoughts on my first year as a mom.
This week Stroller Strides began meeting up in our neighborhood for the duration of the summer, 2 blocks from our house. We went Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and I am feeling it! There are a lot of hills in our neighborhood! Hayden enjoys being outside more than in the Issaquah Community Center. And Monday was a gorgeous sunny day so that made it even better. Of course on Wednesday it rained so I was glad we bought the weather shield for our BOB jogger at the REI sale.
On Wednesday night I enjoyed PEPS Mommies Night Out #3. We went to a cool little martini bar in downtown Issaquah called Room 38. Fun time!! But the night ended too soon, if you ask me! ;)
From left to right: Anya, Christy, Sujata, Sheley, Jacqui, Leslie, Jodi, Annelise, and Rachel
Hayden had a minor little cough and congestion this week. Nothing really major enough to slow him down and I'm so thankful he has been pretty healthy ever since that rough period when he was 8 months old. The main thing we're struggling with lately are his naps. Just when I think we've gotten it all figured out! With Stroller Strides from 9:30am - 10:30 am, now, that puts Hayden's morning nap a little later than normal, and I think that might have messed him up more than anything. On Monday it took him until noon to actually fall asleep and then he woke up less than an hour later. And refused to take an afternoon nap. I even tried cuddling with him in my bed, but then he really just wanted to play. The good news is that he's still pretty much sleeping straight through all night from about 7:30 am until about 8:00 am. Only once did he wake up last week at 4:45 am briefly.
Friday night my sister "Auntie Nicki" babysat Hayden while Phil and I attended my cousin's play, "Noises Off" at PLU. A terrific, talented performance and a great excuse to have another date night with Phil! Hayden was super for Auntie Nicki and went right to sleep that night for her (Phil and I got home after midnight!).
On Saturday we had an early First Birthday celebration for 3 of the babies from our Newlyparents Group/Childbirth class. Hayden, Austin, and Abigail all turn one in just a little over a week. Hayden even got to have a TINY taste of the chocolate cake.
Happy Birthday to Abigail, Hayden, and Austin! (Note: Deanne is holding Hayden since I am holding the cake and Phil is taking the photo. Just in case you were wondering.)
Our Newlyparents Group (minus a few who couldn't make it). We have stopped meeting regularly since it's just so hard to get together with everyone's busy lives, but it was so great to have a little reunion and celebrate our babies' birthdays.
Austin totally wins the awesome hair contest. I wonder if Hayden will ever have that much?!
Mother's Day today was a busy day. I actually even wrote out a detailed schedule so that I wouldn't be as stressed and Phil could help keep things running smoothly. We enjoyed an afternoon at the KidsQuest museum with Phil's parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephews. Hayden, as usual, had a fantastic time.
Then we went out to dinner at Ipanema Grill, a Brazilian restaurant in downtown Seattle, with my dad, step-mom and step-siblings. Despite our best efforts to keep the day on schedule, we were still a half hour late to dinner. :( But the food was fantastic and Hayden really enjoyed watching footage of the Brazilian Carnival in Rio on the big-screen TV next to our table.
Now it's time for me to go to bed. Another busy week ahead of us and I've just accepted another new freelance job that is going to keep me working hard for the next month or so. Thank Goodness Grandma Doris is back from her trip!! :)
Mother's Day Manifesto
When I was pregnant, everyone couldn't help themselves in reminding me how much my life is going to change when I became a mother. I thought, 'of course it's going to change, I'm not stupid'. But WOW. EVERYTHING changes. As I reflect back on the past year, I can barely remember life before motherhood.
As a Mother, my entire perspective on the world changed. I can't watch the news without getting choked up about the latest casualty in Iraq. That was someone's son! And those nannies caught on hidden cameras abusing and neglecting a baby are so disturbing. Not that these things didn't bother me before, but now it's so much more gripping. Global warming, the world food crisis, impoverished children, the list goes on and on. I think being a mom has increased my compassion quotient almost to an unbearable degree. I rarely even watch the news anymore because it is all so heavy in my heart. Of course, ignoring the issues is not really showing compassion, but sometimes I just can't take the emotional toll it causes.
I have always been a scheduled—some might even say "controlling" person ;) —and having a baby is like a constant battle between schedules and flexibility. On the one hand, it's great to have a schedule. The experts all say that babies and kids need schedules and routine to help them feel secure and help establish healthy sleeping and eating patterns. The tricky part, though, is when the schedule or routine gets off track for one reason or another, to be able to go with the flow and not get too stressed about it. I'm working on that.
Another part about being a mom that has drastically changed my life is the amount of energy it takes, physically and mentally. When Hayden is awake, I'm usually interacting with him in some way. He plays great by himself, but I truly prefer interacting with him. On top of all the normal stuff like getting dressed, diaper changes, and feedings, we dance together, I sing him songs, I read him books (LOTS of books!), we play horsey, choo-choo train in the laundry basket, roll the ball, peek-a-boo, puppet shows; we chase each other around the living room; I talk to him about what I'm doing in the kitchen and around the house; we talk about letters, numbers, sounds, textures, opposites; we go for walks, play at the park, and even when I run errands I have him "help" me with things and talk to him about what we're doing. He is so much fun, and seeing the world fresh through his eyes is such an adventure. He even reminds me that carpet is fun to run your fingers through! He is such a sponge and so curious.
The downside to interacting so much with Hayden is that I don't have the energy to do much else. When Hayden's napping or after he goes to bed at night, I still have an endless list of things I need to do. I have to work on my freelance design projects (about 15 hours a week). Or I'm cleaning up from breakfast/lunch/dinner. Or preparing lunch or dinner or Hayden's pureed meals. Or doing laundry or cleaning the house (HA! If you've been to my house lately, you know that rarely happens!!). Or I'm reading parenting books and magazines and websites, filling my head with all the knowledge I feel I'm lacking. There are so many amazing resources it's hard to know where to stop! And I'm fascinated by all this stuff: Infant development, emotional intelligence, making baby/toddler food, healthy sleep habits. Or I'm cropping, retouching, and uploading photos to be printed or posted to the blog. Or uploading and editing video of Hayden to burn to DVD. Or even just getting caught up on email and correspondence with friends and family. Oh yeah, and occasionally I even get to take a shower :) It never ends! But all this takes energy on my part. I sometimes feel so drained, I don't even remember how to relax.
My relationship with Phil has certainly been affected by that, and also my relationship with God and my church. When I do find the time and remember to pray, I start out praising God for this awesome gift of a healthy, beautiful son, and for my wonderful, supportive husband and for providing for our needs. But soon into my prayer, my mind starts wandering about all the other things swirling on in my head and pretty soon I'm apologizing to God for rambling off about what I forgot to get at Target that day and what I'm making for dinner that night. I have neglected my relationship with Christ so much this past year, and I hope He truly is the merciful and compassionate God that I believe Him to be, or else I'm in Big Trouble! :) Thankfully, Phil is also a merciful and compassionate husband, and has put up with a lot of "not tonights" over the past year. (Though I think that also has a lot to do with the hormones in my system from nursing and it will get better when Hayden is weaned.) Phil has been so supportive of everything, and I know he deserves my energy and attention too. I am so in awe of how mothers of more than one child are able to handle it all. I guess I better learn how to balance things better since Phil and I are hoping to have another child in a year or two.
When I talk to people about this, most of them advise me to spend less energy on Hayden. But I'm sorry. I can't. He is growing so fast I don't want to miss out on a minute of it. I don't want to have any regrets about not spending enough time with him, not building a stronger bond, not showing him how much I love him. The energy I put into time with Hayden I don't regret and won't change. Sure, gradually over time, I'm sure he will want and need more independence, and I hope I'm ok with that! (I guess we can all place our bets at how hard it's going to be for me to see him off to college one day!)
I'm even sad about weaning Hayden. Despite the initial difficulties with my milk supply, with the dairy-free diet for the past 8 months, and the occasional biting I think I will really miss it. Because he's not much of a cuddler, I feel like nursing is a very special time between us. But he has already indicated that he's ready and I just have to accept that my little boy is growing up. I suppose I am really just continuing to put that same level of dedication and commitment into making him healthy meals and developing good eating habits. I just hope I don't gain 15 lbs once I am able to eat cheese and ice cream again, not to mention losing the awesome calorie-burning benefit of nursing! I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that I nursed Hayden for a full year.
Wow, that sounded kind of arrogant.
Sometimes I have to stop myself and examine my motives for things. Am I trying to win some kind of "Mother of the Year" award? Am I trying to be a better mother than the other mom's I know? Do I want people to look at me and see what a Great Mom I am? If I truly examine my heart, sometimes I am guilty of making it all about me. I need to remember that my ultimate job is to raise a healthy, good-natured, compassionate, intelligent, creative, happy son who will one day leave his Mommy & Daddy and be as wonderful of a husband, father, and member of society as his Daddy is.
So on this Mother's Day, I guess I need to remember 3 things:
1) relax
2) enjoy
3) love
As a Mother, my entire perspective on the world changed. I can't watch the news without getting choked up about the latest casualty in Iraq. That was someone's son! And those nannies caught on hidden cameras abusing and neglecting a baby are so disturbing. Not that these things didn't bother me before, but now it's so much more gripping. Global warming, the world food crisis, impoverished children, the list goes on and on. I think being a mom has increased my compassion quotient almost to an unbearable degree. I rarely even watch the news anymore because it is all so heavy in my heart. Of course, ignoring the issues is not really showing compassion, but sometimes I just can't take the emotional toll it causes.
I have always been a scheduled—some might even say "controlling" person ;) —and having a baby is like a constant battle between schedules and flexibility. On the one hand, it's great to have a schedule. The experts all say that babies and kids need schedules and routine to help them feel secure and help establish healthy sleeping and eating patterns. The tricky part, though, is when the schedule or routine gets off track for one reason or another, to be able to go with the flow and not get too stressed about it. I'm working on that.
Another part about being a mom that has drastically changed my life is the amount of energy it takes, physically and mentally. When Hayden is awake, I'm usually interacting with him in some way. He plays great by himself, but I truly prefer interacting with him. On top of all the normal stuff like getting dressed, diaper changes, and feedings, we dance together, I sing him songs, I read him books (LOTS of books!), we play horsey, choo-choo train in the laundry basket, roll the ball, peek-a-boo, puppet shows; we chase each other around the living room; I talk to him about what I'm doing in the kitchen and around the house; we talk about letters, numbers, sounds, textures, opposites; we go for walks, play at the park, and even when I run errands I have him "help" me with things and talk to him about what we're doing. He is so much fun, and seeing the world fresh through his eyes is such an adventure. He even reminds me that carpet is fun to run your fingers through! He is such a sponge and so curious.
The downside to interacting so much with Hayden is that I don't have the energy to do much else. When Hayden's napping or after he goes to bed at night, I still have an endless list of things I need to do. I have to work on my freelance design projects (about 15 hours a week). Or I'm cleaning up from breakfast/lunch/dinner. Or preparing lunch or dinner or Hayden's pureed meals. Or doing laundry or cleaning the house (HA! If you've been to my house lately, you know that rarely happens!!). Or I'm reading parenting books and magazines and websites, filling my head with all the knowledge I feel I'm lacking. There are so many amazing resources it's hard to know where to stop! And I'm fascinated by all this stuff: Infant development, emotional intelligence, making baby/toddler food, healthy sleep habits. Or I'm cropping, retouching, and uploading photos to be printed or posted to the blog. Or uploading and editing video of Hayden to burn to DVD. Or even just getting caught up on email and correspondence with friends and family. Oh yeah, and occasionally I even get to take a shower :) It never ends! But all this takes energy on my part. I sometimes feel so drained, I don't even remember how to relax.
My relationship with Phil has certainly been affected by that, and also my relationship with God and my church. When I do find the time and remember to pray, I start out praising God for this awesome gift of a healthy, beautiful son, and for my wonderful, supportive husband and for providing for our needs. But soon into my prayer, my mind starts wandering about all the other things swirling on in my head and pretty soon I'm apologizing to God for rambling off about what I forgot to get at Target that day and what I'm making for dinner that night. I have neglected my relationship with Christ so much this past year, and I hope He truly is the merciful and compassionate God that I believe Him to be, or else I'm in Big Trouble! :) Thankfully, Phil is also a merciful and compassionate husband, and has put up with a lot of "not tonights" over the past year. (Though I think that also has a lot to do with the hormones in my system from nursing and it will get better when Hayden is weaned.) Phil has been so supportive of everything, and I know he deserves my energy and attention too. I am so in awe of how mothers of more than one child are able to handle it all. I guess I better learn how to balance things better since Phil and I are hoping to have another child in a year or two.
When I talk to people about this, most of them advise me to spend less energy on Hayden. But I'm sorry. I can't. He is growing so fast I don't want to miss out on a minute of it. I don't want to have any regrets about not spending enough time with him, not building a stronger bond, not showing him how much I love him. The energy I put into time with Hayden I don't regret and won't change. Sure, gradually over time, I'm sure he will want and need more independence, and I hope I'm ok with that! (I guess we can all place our bets at how hard it's going to be for me to see him off to college one day!)
I'm even sad about weaning Hayden. Despite the initial difficulties with my milk supply, with the dairy-free diet for the past 8 months, and the occasional biting I think I will really miss it. Because he's not much of a cuddler, I feel like nursing is a very special time between us. But he has already indicated that he's ready and I just have to accept that my little boy is growing up. I suppose I am really just continuing to put that same level of dedication and commitment into making him healthy meals and developing good eating habits. I just hope I don't gain 15 lbs once I am able to eat cheese and ice cream again, not to mention losing the awesome calorie-burning benefit of nursing! I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that I nursed Hayden for a full year.
Wow, that sounded kind of arrogant.
Sometimes I have to stop myself and examine my motives for things. Am I trying to win some kind of "Mother of the Year" award? Am I trying to be a better mother than the other mom's I know? Do I want people to look at me and see what a Great Mom I am? If I truly examine my heart, sometimes I am guilty of making it all about me. I need to remember that my ultimate job is to raise a healthy, good-natured, compassionate, intelligent, creative, happy son who will one day leave his Mommy & Daddy and be as wonderful of a husband, father, and member of society as his Daddy is.
So on this Mother's Day, I guess I need to remember 3 things:
1) relax
2) enjoy
3) love
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Week 50
It just so happened that PEPS this week was an All Boys Club. Amazingly, we were able to get them to all sit still long enough for this once-in-a-blue-moon photo op:
From left to right: Avi, Marshall, Asher, Hayden, Carson.
Hayden had a lot of fun playing with the boys and Asher's cool toys.
He also had fun this week playing with his friend Taylor, who is about 7 weeks younger than Hayden.
Hayden's upper 2 molars have cut through completely and the bottom gums look swollen so I think they're not far behind. With all these teeth, you'd think he'd be a better eater, or rather "chewer" but he's still mostly on pureed foods. Even when I add in ground turkey meat, it takes him forever to chew it and swallow. He does ok with Cheerios and chrunchie things that kind of dissolve as he chews, but not with chewy things. He'll chew on a bit of dried apricot for 10 minutes before finally swallowing. Needless to say, mealtimes take a while! And he really hates getting washed up after eating, so that's another challenge.
"Excuse me, Are we done yet?"
Lately he's been making a funny face we call "The Popeye". He scrunches up his face and squints his eyes. I think he does it just to be funny.
He's been doing really well drinking out of a straw and also can drink directly from the glass if he's not in too much of a playful mood, in which case he dumps the glass out over his lap/tray/floor.
This afternoon Phil took Hayden on his first bike ride in the bike trailer. He seemed to like it, but his helmet was bothering him. It kept slipping down and he didn't like us messing with the strap under his chin. We'll hopefully be able to adjust it a little better so it fits more comfortably next time.
From left to right: Avi, Marshall, Asher, Hayden, Carson.Hayden had a lot of fun playing with the boys and Asher's cool toys.
He also had fun this week playing with his friend Taylor, who is about 7 weeks younger than Hayden.
Hayden's upper 2 molars have cut through completely and the bottom gums look swollen so I think they're not far behind. With all these teeth, you'd think he'd be a better eater, or rather "chewer" but he's still mostly on pureed foods. Even when I add in ground turkey meat, it takes him forever to chew it and swallow. He does ok with Cheerios and chrunchie things that kind of dissolve as he chews, but not with chewy things. He'll chew on a bit of dried apricot for 10 minutes before finally swallowing. Needless to say, mealtimes take a while! And he really hates getting washed up after eating, so that's another challenge.
"Excuse me, Are we done yet?"
Lately he's been making a funny face we call "The Popeye". He scrunches up his face and squints his eyes. I think he does it just to be funny.
He's been doing really well drinking out of a straw and also can drink directly from the glass if he's not in too much of a playful mood, in which case he dumps the glass out over his lap/tray/floor.
This afternoon Phil took Hayden on his first bike ride in the bike trailer. He seemed to like it, but his helmet was bothering him. It kept slipping down and he didn't like us messing with the strap under his chin. We'll hopefully be able to adjust it a little better so it fits more comfortably next time.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Week 49
This week we had a nice visit from Grandma Judi. She was here from Tuesday afternoon until Saturday morning and it was great for Hayden to get so much time with her. Even Mommy and Daddy got to go out on a date!
On Friday, Grandma Judi, Hayden, and I went to the Seattle Aquarium. Hayden really enjoyed the colorful fish, putting his hands in the cold tide pool, and watching the cute sea otters dive around in their tank.
My mom just couldn't get over how easy-going Hayden is. He rarely gets cranky and took good naps every day. He was on his best behavior for Grandma! Crazy thing is that my mom fractured a rib while playing with Hayden, so that's not such good news.
Zoom! Zoom! Hayden is on the go! He is crawling so fast and walking along all the walls and furniture and behind his lion walker toy. He can also stand for 2-3 seconds without holding on to anything!
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