Week 36

Hayden is settling back into 'normal' life back from vacation really well. He has been sleeping really well. Two naps a day for around 2 hours each and 12 hours at night with just one wake-up for a quick feeding around 3am. We lowered his crib because he was already starting to pull up a little on it and it's just a matter of time before he is doing it successfully!

He's up on his knees, rocking back and forth, and scoots backward, but still no forward motion crawling yet! We haven't finished baby-proofing yet so I'm just fine with that for now.

He is now eating Cheerios (well, an all-natural organic version of "O"-shaped cereal). The first time I gave him one, he held his mouth open with the Cheerio on his tongue, just staring at me like, "Ummm. Help. Something is on my tongue." Now he loves them. I have found them to be a very helpful distraction when the line at Costco is taking too long.

His rapid growth rate seems to have finally slowed down. He weighs 22 lbs, which is not much more than last month. He wears 12-18 month sized clothes, though, so he's still a BIG boy!

I started Stroller Strides on Friday. Boy was that a wake-up call to how out-of-shape I am. The class is from 9 - 10 am and meets at the Issaquah Community center in the winters and in the Issaquah Highlands (about 2 blocks away!) in the summers. The babies just sit in their strollers the whole time, but Hayden seemed thoroughly entertained. For one of the drills, we lined our babies up on the end line of the gym and ran lines (just like in P.E. class!) and as we ran back to our babies each time, we'd tickle their toes or something. It was so motivating to be running toward Hayden from across the gym seeing his huge smile on his face, clapping, in anticipation of his "gotcha" tickle. In another drill, we'd run a lap around the upper-level track, then run down the stairs, kiss our baby on the cheek, and then run back up the stairs and do another lap, 3 times! (The instructor stays down with all the babies and they're always in sight.) We also did arm toning with tubing, and abs and stretches at the end. I was SUPER sore Saturday and today. Wow. What a workout! I'm really looking forward to this program and know it's the healthy thing to do, even if it is hard to get out of the house at 9am! I was also worried how Hayden would do, because he normally takes a nap at around 9:15 am, and he did start to get a little cranky toward the end, but when we got home, he went right down for a 1.5 hour nap!

Later on Friday night, I went out with the PEPS moms for Mommy's Night Out #2 to Lucky Strike Bowling Lanes in Bellevue. This is NOT your typical bowling alley. It is a totally upscale bar (complete with $7-$11 drinks!) and by the end of the night, the place was packed. We had a great time and I'm so blessed to have such an awesome group of mommy friends. We actually managed to talk about plenty of things other than babies and parenting that night too, which was very refreshing!

Week 35

Our San Diego vacation has come to an end. You can see our Shutterfly Photo Slideshow by clicking here.

On Monday Hayden and I took a Ferry boat ride to Coronado Island. I wasn't impressed with Coronado, at least all the little shops right off the ferry landing were tourist traps, but the view of San Diego was incredible. I ate lunch at a little Greek restaurant right on the bay, and then we took the Ferry back. This was Hayden's first time on a boat and he really loved it. He was clapping the whole time!



On Tuesday we went to the San Diego Zoo with Great Grandma Ruth and Great Grandpa Doug while Phil had one final day at the Fancy Food Show. The weather was perfect and Hayden even napped in his stroller for a little bit. He seemed to like the birds, monkeys, and koalas the best.


Tuesday evening we ate dinner in a restaurant in the Little Italy district of San Diego. It was pretty challenging to find an Italian dish that didn't have cheese involved. I was definitely jealous watching my family eat their mozzerella-smothered pasta dishes, while I had plain spaghetti with meat sauce. Hayden also got way over-tired at the restaurant so it wasn't a peaceful meal for us or the neighboring tables. What can you expect from an 8-month old who only had 2 short naps that day? Back at the hotel, he went right to sleep and we were able to watch some tv on low. My grandparents were appalled at American Idol. It was funny!

On Wednesday we all went to Sea World. Again, perfect weather until later in the afternoon when it got pretty chilly. Hayden REALLY loved the aquariums and put his hands and nose right up against the glass and loved watching colorful fish swim around.


He didn't seem to be very interested in the Shamu show, except when people clapped. I think it was a little too far for him to see what was going on. Plus, he had only taken a brief morning nap in his stroller so he was tired. Luckily, he napped for over an hour after the show. Unfortunately, that meant missing the beluga whales, polar bears, penguins and shark exhibits. I was really disappointed with Sea World's unfriendly stroller policy. Although every exhibit is equipped for the disabled, they do not allow strollers inside most exhibits. This was fine when Hayden was awake. I wore the Moby and he enjoyed that vantage point better anyway, but when he was asleep, we had to take turns going in or one person would stay out with the stroller and miss out.

Wednesday after Sea World we drove 80+ miles to my grandparent's home in San Jacinto (which took about 3 hours with all the traffic!). Hayden stayed awake the entire trip and I had to sing him every song I could think of to keep him from fussing. My throat was getting a little sore by the end!

That night, my grandpa slipped on the ladder into the camper and cut his hand pretty badly. He went to the doctor on Thursday morning and had to get 5 stitches. Worst of all, he won't be able to golf for at least 3 weeks, which will probably drive him crazy.

We took it easy on Thursday and I got Hayden to take 2 long naps. What a relief! That night, Phil and I went to a movie and my grandparents babysat Hayden. They really enjoyed that! Hayden fell asleep in my Grandma Ruth's arms as she sang him "Three Blind Mice" over and over in the rocking chair.



On Friday Phil played golf with my grandma (taking the place of my grandpa) and they tied! Phil is getting pretty good! Hayden, Grandpa Doug and I went on a walk to the Starbucks and enjoyed yet another day of beautiful weather. I had hoped to get Hayden into the pool at their community, but no children under 4 yrs old are allowed. I guess they're afraid of a potty incident and I don't blame them, but it sure would have been fun to see Hayden's reaction to a swimming pool.

Saturday we left San Jacinto just after Hayden's morning nap and drove to Palm Springs to catch our departing flight at 3:30pm. We enjoyed driving around Palm Springs a bit, having lunch there and going to a nice park with an infant swing and slide. Hayden hasn't been swinging for a few months since the weather has been so cold and rainy, and he got a huge smile on his face when I put him in the swing. He also really enjoyed the slide (I lightly held onto him the whole way down).


All in all, it was a really nice vacation with a good mix of activity and relaxation. It was so wonderful to see my grandparents. They plan on coming back up to Washington in May for the summer, so the next time they see Hayden will be right around his first birthday. I bet he will have changed a ton by then! Might even be walking!

The worst part of the trip was our flight home. After walking Hayden in his stroller around the airport for about a half hour, he finally fell asleep, only to wake up about 20 minutes later to noisy people. We tried to get him back to sleep. It was about 2pm and his morning nap was only from about 9-10am, so he had to have been really sleepy. Our flight was about a half hour delayed and by the time it took off around 4pm, Hayden was getting loopy. We tried EVERYTHING to get him to sleep. Everytime I would even lay him down on the seat between me and Phil (which thankfully was empty!) he started SCREAMING. It was so unlike Hayden to be that fussy. People around us were definitely giving us dirty looks. One lady in the seat across the aisle from us even had her fingers over her ears. We tried his favorite toys, reading, nursing, walking, everything! He'd calm down for a little while and then rub his eyes and get all squirmy so we'd try to lay him down again and that would set off another screaming session. It was unbelievable. Basically, my worst nightmare of how flying with an infant would be. He just got way too overtired and then refused to fall asleep. It was painful to watch.


Even after we landed in Seattle around 6:30pm, he stayed awake all through baggage claim, all through the car ride to my dad's (who picked us up), and only finally fell asleep in the car about 10 minutes from home. What a day! I am so sad that the trip had to end on such a horrible experience. I guess the bright side is that we made it home safely and Hayden slept really well today.

One final note: Hayden now has 7 teeth - 4 on bottom and 3 on top. And I think a 4th on the top is just about to pop through. Poor guy.

Week 34

Well we made it to San Diego! Right this moment, Hayden is FINALLY asleep on the hotel bed and I am sitting in the dark, quiet hotel room on the computer while Phil finishes up some vendor meetings and networking at the Fancy Foods Show.

We had an easy time through the airport yesterday, and the flight down here wasn't as bad as I had mentally prepared for it to be. We even got 3 seats across the row to ourselves thanks to a nice passenger who offered to move (in his best interest, really!).


Hayden had not taken an afternoon nap yet, and so for half the 2-hour flight Phil and I worked to get him to sleep. His cheeks were rosy from being so tired but he wasn't crying except just before he finally fell asleep. His nap only lasted about 40 minutes, because the pilot came over the loud speaker to announce the descent and that woke him up. When we landed there was quite a bit of fog in San Diego and we learned today that ours was the last flight out of Sea-Tac to San Diego, and all others were diverted to LAX. Boy, did we luck out!

We knew that it was important to get a baby to swallow during take-off and landing to help their ears pop, but one lesson we learned is to try to wait until the last minute before take-off for giving the bottle. We started the bottle as we were taxiing to the runway, and unfortunately we didn't take off right away, and he finished it just as we were taking off! Then I had to nurse him (luckily it was a small bottle so he was still hungry), and that was pretty challenging because Hayden just wanted to look around and didn't want the Hooter Hiders over his head (which is why we brought the bottle!).

OK, so let me just say, don't ever stay at The Hampton Inn by Hilton in San Diego unless you like the sound of trains every hour or so. All through the night. Right outside our window is the train track, and a major intersection where the train blows the horn. Hayden and I were tossing and turning all night last night every time the trains would go by. You'd think they might not do that at midnight, especially with all these hotels all over this street! UGH! I never thought I'd curse a train so much in my life! Other than that, though, the hotel is very nice and our room is quite comfortable. Hayden likes to roll around on the bed.


Today while Phil was at the convention, Hayden and I visited Seaport Village (the touristy shopping area right on the waterfront), the Gaslamp District (kind of like Seattle's Pioneer Square district), Horton Plaza (a 6-story outdoor shopping mall that was a total maze and not stroller-friendly), and the Maritime Museum (just from the outside - we looked at these ships that looked like pirate ships!) all by foot (well, ok, Hayden rode in the stroller!). The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Sunny clear blue sky, about 72 degrees. Not too hot or cold. Hayden has started clapping now so he really enjoyed the musical performers in Seaport Village and all the people. The walkways were kind of a bumpy cobblestone brick, so it didn't make for a smooth stroller ride. I certainly got my exercise in, though!




Hayden refused to take an afternoon nap. I went into this trip hoping that he might just do it if he got tired enough, but today proved he just won't or can't nap in his stroller. I even walked down a smooth, quiet street with the sun shade pulled over and his stroller laid back as far as possible. I peeked in on him after about 20 minutes and his eyes were still wide as saucers! It didn't help that every once in a while a car would honk their horn cheering over the Charger's victory today! Oh well. He took a good 2-hour nap this morning in the hotel room, so I decided not to walk back to the hotel for a 2nd nap. Hayden never got fussy while we were out, so I guess he didn't need that afternoon nap. Once we got to the hotel room about 6pm, it took him over an hour of tossing and rolling and moaning to finally fall asleep.

And just so I don't end this posting on that negative note, here is a photo of the beautiful sun and blue sky, in case anyone is forgetting what that looks like! ;)

Week 33

Happy New Year! Phil and I rang out 2007 with a group of our other Newlyparent friends and their babies at our Early Party - we counted down from 10 (something all the babies were pretty mesmerized by!) at around 7:30pm, and everyone went home by around 8:30pm. Something about staying up until midnight just didn't sound all that appealing to us! Besides, somewhere (Bermuda, I think) it was New Year's already! Ahhh, yes. All my non-parent friends now must think I am so lame! Just wait, when you're a parent, you'll be throwing The Early Party too! ;)

Well Hayden has 5 teeth in now. His 2 bottom teeth have been in since he was about 4 months old or so. His top left tooth came in just before Christmas and his top right and bottom side right popped through this week (the 4th bottom tooth on the left is probably not far behind). Needless to say, Hayden's been a bit crabbier than normal. OK, make that a LOT crabbier. He is normally such an easy-going, fun-loving baby, but this week he's been acting like he hasn't had a nap in 5 hours. Ugh!

We leave for San Diego on Saturday! Woo hoo! I am SO ready for a vacation. I sure hope Hayden does well on the flight and isn't Mr. Crabbysaurus. I have lists of what I need to remember to pack, and I'm kind of stressing about how much stuff we need to bring for Hayden! We'll be in a hotel for 4 nights and at my grandparent's for 3 nights, so I'm trying to think through all we might need at both places. I'm also worried about how well Hayden will nap and sleep. He has never napped well in his stroller, so we'll see how Sea World and the Zoo goes...

Here are some of the foods Hayden has been trying lately:

• Pears - YUM! MORE!
• Avocado - Pflth! What is this?!
• Tofu - Hmmm... depends on what it's mixed with...
  
• Banana - OH YEAH! (Especially in his little Baby Safe Feeder)
• Acorn Squash - mixed reactions
• Butternut Squash - mixed reactions
• Peas - Yum (Except for the time I made them too thick to see how he dealt with the texture and it made him gag and then vomit. Not fun.)
• Sweet Potato - Always a winner
• Rice cereal, Oatmeal and Multi-Grain Cereals - Good 'til the last drop

I've been making all his food except for the cereals. I really enjoy it and I think he does too. A jar of peas looks so brown and yucky compared to the fresh pureed peas I make. And the ice cube trays are perfect portions. He usually eats 2 thawed cubes in a sitting and is eating 2 "meals" a day (morning and early evening) and nursing 5-6 times (approximately: 4am, 7:30am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 7:30pm). I'm curious what he weighs now. I haven't weighed him for over a month, but he continues to outgrow his clothes at an astonishing pace!

We finally purchased our jogger stroller: The BOB Revolution! (As a baby shower gift from our church we got a Gift Certificate for one!) We were hoping they'd go on sale during the winter/After Christmas sales but no such luck. We were dabating between the BOB and the Zooper. Phil enjoyed thoroughly researching each stroller... you'd think he was Car Shopping. It was cute how excited he was about it. I can't wait to take Hayden in it. We decided not to take it with us to San Diego because it's bigger (though it folds pretty flat) and I don't totally trust the whole "gate check" situation.

I want to start up with Stroller Strides when we get back from San Diego. I hope that will help with my sleep issues, and just overall I need to exercise for better health. Even though I'm actually BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight now (one of the many Pro's of breastfeeding and also thanks to this dairy-free diet!), I still know that exercise is important and I'm not really getting any right now. Sound like a familiar New Year's Resolution? I guess some things don't change when you have a baby! :)