Week 40

Hayden turned 9 months old on February 20th. It's weird to think that he is now older than the duration of my pregnancy (40 weeks). How is it that time has been on fast forward?!

Here are his official 9-month stats:

Weight: 21 lbs, 14 oz. (75th percentile - down from 95th last time, probably due to 3 weeks of diarrhea)
Height: 31" (97th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 3/4" (95th percentile)

Teeth: 8
Hair Color: Reddish Blonde? - the verdict is still out...
Eye Color: Bluish-Gray (Just like Mommy!)

Likes: Books, balls, Cheerios, bananas, music: especially "Baby Beluga", "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and "Five Green and Speckled Frogs", cell phones, cameras, remote controls, bathtime, his stuffed doggie, ceiling fans, jumping, swinging at the park, peek-a-boo, brushing his teeth, knocking over block towers, tearing paper, looking out the window - especially waving to Daddy in the window when he leaves for work in the morning and comes home from work in the evening, putting everything into his mouth except for teething rings.

Dislikes: Washing up after eating, getting dressed (shirts over his head), Mommy picking his nose.

Abilities: Commando crawling, pulling up to standing position on furniture, standing while holding on to furniture, going from laying/crawling to sitting position and vice versa, self-feeding Cheerios, drinking from sippy-cup unassisted, bringing spoon of food to mouth, clapping, waving Bye-Bye, saying "Ba-Ba-Ba" and "Ma-Ma-Ma".

Sleep Habits (approximately): Bedtime at 7pm, Wake up at 3am, 6:15am, and 7:30am. Two Naps from about 9:30 - 11am and 1:30pm - 3:30pm

Eating (approximately): Nursing at 3am, 6:15am, breakfast (solid foods) at 8:30am, nursing at 9:15am, 12:15pm, 3:30pm, dinner (solid foods) at 5pm, Bedtime bottle at 6:45pm.


On Feb 19th, Phil and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary of our first date. We went snowboarding at Snoqualmie Pass while Grandma Doris watched Hayden. We had a lot of fun on a beautiful clear day! It was the longest I've left Hayden, but I tried not to worry about him too much. He of course did great! Grandma had fun taking him to the park.


On Wednesday our PEPS group went swimming. It was Hayden's first time in a pool and he really seemed to like it. He was smiling, kicking, and splashing! Yay! I can't wait for the summer!





Hayden's diarrhea finally ceased on Tuesday and we had about 4 non-sick days until Hayden started getting another nasty cough. This one is not very frequent, but sounds awful. Especially when he wakes up in the night. Lots of mucous! Yuck! Poor guy.

Week 39

This week went by too fast. I can't even remember what we did, really. On Valentine's Day, Hayden and I surprised Phil at his office with a balloon, a heart-shaped photo valentine, and a Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. This is our Valentine card:


Phil brought the balloon home and it was Hayden's favorite thing all night!


On Friday night, my Aunt Teri and her 12-year-old daughter Nicole babysat Hayden so Phil and I could go on our Valentine's Date.


(I can't believe I can fit into this dress again!)
It was really nice to get out and Hayden did really well for them. The bedtime routine works really well and I have it all typed up so anyone can do it. Which is a good thing, because Hayden will need a babysitter while Phil and I attend 2 lectures by world-renowned marriage and family expert Dr. John Gottman:

“Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child”
Wednesday March 5, 2008 – 7-9pm (my sister Nicki volunteered already for this one)

“Making Marriage Work”
Tuesday May 20, 2008 – 7-9 pm

Check it out: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/24602

That 2nd one is actually on Hayden's 1st birthday, but we'll probably do his party on the 18th anyway since the 20th is a Tuesday. And besides, I think strengthening our marraige is one of the best gifts we can give our child!

On Saturday, Phil attended a special Stroller Strides for Couples Valentine's Event with me and Hayden, and he got to see first-hand what a workout it is! He was even sore right along with me the next day! It seriously is like Boot Camp!

And speaking of Boot Camp, here is video of Hayden's latest "crawling" attempt... Commando style! My dad described it: "He looks like a wounded soldier crawling to safety, then like an alien looking into the camera!!!"


Not very graceful, but it does the job.

Still dealing with diarrhea. It's not as bad, but still having 3-5 watery, green diapers per day. :(

Week 38

And I thought last week was bad. Wow. Well, now on top of the diarrhea, which he still has, he also has this horrible mucous-filled cough and stuffy nose. The coughing is really terrible at night and he gags on the mucous and then even has vomited a few times from it. On Tuesday night he vomited twice, the 2nd time all in my hair and down my back at 1 am. Welcome to the joys of parenting. Funny thing, it didn't bother me as much as that kind of thing would have bothered the child-less me. I was so worried about Hayden's health and so sad that he was feeling so rotten, that I didn't even care. Phil helped clean everything up and Hayden spent the rest of the night in our bed, either coughing or pooping every hour or so.

It has crossed my mind this week how horrifying and exhausting it must be for parents who care for a chronically or terminally ill child. I just can't imagine. It makes me feel so terrible to see Hayden suffering just these past couple weeks. And just thinking about those families helps put things into perspective for me when I start feeling worn out over caring for a sick child. Speaking of which, the One Big Kiss for Kids fundraising event for Children's Hospital is happening soon. Phil and I have been part of the KISS for Kids Club for about 5 years. I encourage all Seattle area parents out there to think about it: https://secure.seattlechildrens.org/radiothondonation.asp?referrer=KISS Children's Hospital is amazing, though I pray we never have any first-hand experiences.

I took him to our pediatrician on Thursday and she said it's unfortunately just one of those 15 or so viruses with these symptoms, and there is nothing we can do except keep him hydrated and as well-rested as possible. He had the Rotavirus vaccine, which is the most common cause of serious diarrhea in infants, so at least we can rule that one out. We are giving him Pedialyte although he doesn't seem to like the taste. He is down to 21.5 lbs (from a little over 22) so dehydration is a bit of an issue, but he is still having plenty of normal wet diapers, wet mouth, and no decrease in activity.

In fact, Hayden is SO CLOSE to crawling. I know I keep saying that, and I am getting a bit anxious about when he will finally just do it. He is crawling backwards easily, and "commando-style" crawls forward (with his belly still on the ground, pulling with his right arm and pushing with his knees and toes). I have to admit, I am starting to look at the other babies around Hayden's age who are already crawling and find myself comparing. I know it's not a competition. I know he'll eventually crawl. I think the hardest part is that he has seemed on the verge for a couple months now, and the "any day now" mental state is getting old. And when people ask, "Is he crawling yet?" and I have to say "Not yet." I feel like somehow I am failing.

At least I'm not like the jerk I met at the new coffee shop that just opened across the street the other day. Hayden and I were checking the place out, and of course the baristas were all cooing at Hayden and admiring his dimples, when this construction worker guy says, "Sure he's cute now, but you're going to hate him when he's two." I was like, "I don't think I could ever HATE my son." And he torted back something like, "Well I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old, and trust me, you'll HATE them when they're two." Nice. Someone please call CPS. Or at least Supernanny!

We did have a few rays of sunshine in this gloomy week. Grandma Judi sent Hayden a really awesome 4-in-1 Car Toy that Hayden really loves.



He is so captivated by buttons. Always studying them. He loves the remote and my cell phone too. I've also taught him how to flip the light switches on and off, so now when we enter and leave a room, he knows that's his job!

The other excellent perk this week is that we did our taxes and are getting a really nice fat return. Apparently Phil didn't fill out the W-4 form correctly after we had Hayden and has been over-paying taxes, plus with the child-tax credit and mortgage interest and all that stuff, we are getting back a lot more than expected. And I had even been setting aside about a third of my freelance income, knowing that I'd need to pay taxes on that, and even with that in consideration we are getting a lot back, so that is extra money in savings too. What a relief! Things were honestly starting to feel really tight.

Week 37

Holy moly, what a poopy week! Literally! Hayden's had diarrhea all week, with about 8-10 poopy, messy diapers every day. The good news is that he never seemed dehydrated (still having wet diapers, still drooling all over, still pretty cheerful and active, and no fever). So basically, just changing poopy diapers every couple hours and trying to minimize the diaper rash it has been causing. And of course he isn't sleeping as well (I knew I was going to jinx it when I said that last week!) and changing poopy diapers in the middle of the night doesn't help. I have no idea what caused it, but he's been on his version of the BRATY diet (bananas, rice cereal, apple sauce -- but not toast or yogurt yet) and breastmilk all week, so I hope that helps clear it up.

I'm not sure if it's related to the diarrhea, but my milk supply seemed to drop this week. I only have a couple back-up bags of frozen milk in the freezer, so when I could only pump a couple ounces, as opposed to the 7-8 I can normally pump, I got pretty worried. For the past couple days, I have been trying to pump at least 3 times a day, rather than just the one at night. This seems to be helping. I could also start taking fenugreek again, since I noticed that helped so much back when Hayden was a newborn and I was having problems getting my milk to come in. I know it's common for the milk supply to decrease when the baby starts eating more solid foods, and this a normal, healthy weaning process. But I hate feeling like I might not have enough milk to meet Hayden's needs, especially when it is so critical that he stays hydrated!

How is it already February?! But at the same time, I can't wait for Spring! Hayden and I are already missing San Diego. The park is just too cold right now. :(