Sleep & Raspberries

Another early morning! Gigi put him to sleep last night while I ran out to the gym. He was restless during the night. I heard him multiple times before I went to bed and then he woke up at 4:25am and wouldn't go back to sleep. I think he was hungry, but it's hard to tell. By 5am, I was pretty tired of it, so I went and got him and nursed him back to sleep. Tried to put him in his crib, but he wasn't having any of it. So I scooped him up and took him to bed with me. I laid down with him resting on my arm. We were face to face and when I saw his eyes were closed, I closed mine. That's when I heard "pptththhh, ppttthhhpth." I opened my eyes to find him half asleep, practicing his latest skill of blowing raspberries. They were the softest little raspberries I've ever seen.

We slept another half hour maybe before he decided he wanted to be up for the day. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted now.

Last night he was able to feed himself fruit puffs while Gigi and I ate dinner. We started him on these puffs last Saturday, I think, and within 5 days he has picked up the necessary skill. It was fun to watch the progression. He still doesn't really pinch the puffs in his fingers. He tends to get it in his palm and then shove half his hand into his mouth. Whatever works!

Song Bird

He was up early again this morning. I think it was 5:50am. By 7:45 he was ready to go back to sleep, so I bounced him using the yoga ball. He went to sleep, but only after singing himself to sleep. When he's fussy before a nap he usually stuffs something in his mouth, his clothes, my clothes, or a blanket, and hums as we bounce. It's hard not to laugh. "Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh *breath* Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh"

I lowered his crib mattress a level since he was starting to pull himself up on the sides. He especially likes to use his crib aquarium as an anchor. I noticed that if he stood up, the top bar of the crib just came up to his waist. I knew it wouldn't be long before he pitched over. It's tougher to get him in and out now, but before long, he'll be standing and waiting for me to get him out.

Early Riser

So the little guy was up extra early this morning. I heard him wake up around 5:20am and kept hoping he'd go back to sleep. He played until 5:40 and then I went in and got him. He was happy to see me, but didn't chew on my cheek like he normally does. Guess making him wait in the morning earns me a refusal of kisses. We watched a good chunk of Sesame Street and he was riveted. We won't be making TV part of our normal morning routine since he's still so young, but it's helping me while Daddy is out of town.

Last night we worked on crawling when I got home. I took off his socks and he's starting to plant his toes and push off. It was rough going and he wasn't making as much progress as he wanted, so he got frustrated. I helped by putting my hands behind his feet each time he bent his knees, then he could plant he entire foot and push off instead of just his big toe. After trying that for a little while he went back to spinning in place and rolling over. Once he gets what he's after in his mouth, he rolls over so that he can spend time chewing on it. It's like watching an otter feed.

I threw the football over his face for awhile which he finds hysterical. Nothing is funnier than a ball about to hit you in the face. It's been his favorite game for months now. Then we had dinner and he stuck with cereal, sweet potatoes, and fruit puffs. He was really into the puffs and wanted to focus on those more than anything else. They make him thirsty though, so he's also working on using his sippy cup. He's got the sucking down, but doesn't understand the need to tip the cup. Unfortunately, he keeps gagging on the puffs when he gets them to the back of his tongue before they've dissolved. It freaks me out every time. I'm not sure whether he's too young for them or if he needs the practice so that he will stop gagging.

Elmo!

Last night I came home to an enthusiastic kid. He'd been working on his crawling but was getting frustrated at how fast things got farther away as he pushed backwards across the floor. So even though the temps have been down, I took off his socks and encouraged him to push off his toes. He quickly got the hang of it and started scooting forward just slightly. Then a few minutes later I watched him tent with his butt up in the air, feet and hands on the floor. Crawling is probably less than 2 weeks away at this point. Once he's in shorts it shouldn't be a problem for him, but it's just too cold right now.

Dinner consisted of oat cereal, sweet potatoes, and Gerber fruit puffs. Hudson is working on his pincher skills, but doesn't quite have it yet. He grabbed a few of the star shaped fruit puffs, but even if he initially had them between his thumb and index finger, he worked them down into the palm of his hand by the time he had them to his mouth. So Gigi and I helped him get a few into his mouth and watched him gum them extremely tentatively. He liked them enough to eat a dozen of them or more. Half of them popped back out of his mouth as he used his tongue to push the way he would if he were taking a bottle. The stars would slide onto his chin and he would open his mouth wide and tuck his chin back into his chest thinking that he could find it again. Very cute to watch. Then it was bedtime and he settled down easily, waking a few times during the night to cry out, but going right back to sleep.

The alarm went off at 6:30 this morning and I still hadn't heard from him. I waited 10 minutes and then heard scratching. I went into his room and found him wide awake, playing with his crib bumper. So after we got through most of our morning routine, I put him in his jumperoo and turned on Sesame Street for him while I made my lunch. We caught the last 15 minutes of the show which, lucky for Hudson, was mostly Elmo's World. Every time Elmo came on the screen, Hudson called out to him. It's amazing that he'd react so strongly to a character on TV, but I know they've done their market research when it comes to Elmo. Hudson could have watched him all day. After Elmo's World we spent a few minutes playing on the mats until Gigi came upstairs for the day.

New morning routine

So with Daddy gone, I've got to adjust my morning routine a little. Luckily Hudson decided to help out this morning by getting up at 5:45am. I fed him and then dragged his exersaucer into the bathroom. Of course, it didn't fit horizontally, so I had to set Hudson down and wrestle the thing in sideways. Then I plunked him into it and made sure it was far enough away from the radiator. (Our heat is back on now that the weather has turned cold again.) He was pretty fascinated by my morning shower routine and I was grateful that we have a clear shower curtain. By the time I was out and dried off, I was starting to worry about how long he'd been craning his neck. He really didn't seem to mind. I'm sure by the end of the week it'll be old hat for him and he'll be back to chewing on all the toys on his exersaucer.

He's just started showing signs of separation anxiety. He called out a little bit this morning when I left for work and yesterday he didn't want to be left alone on his play mat. Yesterday we had our friends Isola and Reid over to play, so we sat behind the boys while they played and we chatted. Every few minutes Hudson turned around to give me a hug. He would then turn back to his toys. He was just spot checking to make sure I hadn't run off.

This week we're going to start using a bottle to put him to sleep. I'm sure he won't be thrilled, but the night time routine has been so easy that I'm most optimistic about eliminating that nursing session next. By the time Daddy gets back, I won't have to be the one putting him to bed anymore! Actually, Daddy has put him to bed more than a few times and it works, but it's easier for me and Hudson falls asleep faster.

Entertaining the crowd

Hudson was up a little early this morning because Daddy jumped in the shower at 6am. I wish Hudson's crib wasn't up against the same wall as the plumbing to the bathroom, but the only other place for his crib would give him a clear line of sight to our room and the hallway. Anyway, Hudson woke and had breakfast while Daddy got ready for his business trip to Europe. He's off to London first, then Lisbon and Oslo. Hudson and I will be on our own for a week. Luckily Gigi is close by.

In the meantime, we won't have any new pictures because Daddy took the camera. I'm going to take the opportunity to switch to my good 35mm Canon. Hoping to get some better shots of Hudson in the house. Most of the digital photos inside need the flash which tends to wash people out.

Yesterday Hudson started out strong. We had our friends from Boulder spending the night before going to a wedding. Hudson was at his cutest, but soon after they left he got cranky. (Guess he wanted to take them up on the offer of going back to Boulder with them.) I think he's getting irritated on the weekends when he wants to nap and I won't nurse him. Gigi took him for a long walk while Derek and I went to get haircuts. She said he slept the whole time they walked. Then I ran out with Han for a pedicure and we left the kids with the Dads. When we returned everyone was enjoying the Portsmouth soccer game on TV. Afterwards Hudson had his dinner of cereal and sweet potatoes, enjoyed a nice long bath, and went to bed quickly.

Hudson is doing well playing independently on his mats. He wants to get from a sitting position to a crawling one, but can't seem to go over his feet without face planting. If he goes over to the side a bit, he's more successful. The toughest part is that he often has soft cotton or fleece clothes on and can't get any traction. When I start him off on his hands and knees he usually pancakes out and starts rolling instead. We've baby proofed half the room with a fence around the electronics and a gate in front of the stairs. Daddy put them both up last weekend. When he actually starts crawling, we'll have to make another pass at it, I'm sure.

Exploring Medford and Somerville

Yesterday Gigi, Han, and King James walked to Davis Sq and back. It was a beautiful day here and they took full advantage of it. Hudson napped half the time and was awake for the rest of the trip. They hit the grocery store on the way back and Hudson made friends with a man that he wouldn't stop staring at. Gigi reports that he doesn't seem to have hit stranger fear yet. He flirted with the ladies at the mall and can't get enough of watching kids in the park.
This is how much Hudson enjoyed the swing. I took a bunch of pictures of him as he swung toward me. He just loved it. Unfortunately it's supposed to rain all weekend here so we probably won't be out on the swings again until next week. Derek leaves for a business trip to Portugal, London, and Norway on Sunday so we'll be spending tomorrow getting him packed and ready to go. Hudson won't know what to do without his morning and evening play times with Daddy. I'm going to have to pick up the slack and throw blocks, stuffed animals, and blankets at him.

Oh and he's started to enjoy his stacking cups. He has one set of five which make great sounds when he bangs them on the hardwood floor. His most recent new skill he picked up yesterday. Two cups banged together make a fantastic sound. He practiced with a ring and a cup this morning. When he kicks in with the yelling, I can see he's got the makings of a great one man band.

Signing Fun

Last night Hudson went to bed at 7:30pm. He's finally recalibrated from the daylight savings shift, but now he's getting up earlier. This morning I heard him at 5:15am, but he went back to sleep. Then I heard him again at 5:40 and he started playing with his crib aquarium. I knew he was up for good at that point, so I went in and got him. I changed him and he ate. Then Derek and I took turns playing with him while we got ready for work. By 7:30 he was tired, so I nursed him back to sleep and snuck out the door when Gigi came upstairs for the day.

Like his cousin Hudson is definitely starting to pick up on signs. He's completely familiar with the sign for milk and looks for the bottle each time we sign it. He also has the hang of 'food,' 'mommy,' and 'daddy' and breaks into a huge grin whenever he understands a sign. He just started signing milk a few days ago although he hasn't used it to ask for milk yet. He just signs it in response to our sign. Because of his new skill, we've ramped up the use of sign. I try to sign 'more' and 'finished' during dinner. I also try to sign his sign name when I say it. We made his sign name from a cross of the letter H and the sign for cute. Gigi and Hudson are starting a sign and song class at the end of April which should be a ton of fun and very helpful.

Volume Up!

Hudson had a generally good day today. He's waking up before me now and just playing in his crib until I get up anywhere between 6 and 6:30am. Then he chews on my cheek until I feed him. He may have hit a growth spurt because he seems to want to eat more often. I tried not to pump today at work but because I had an afternoon doctor appointment, I rushed home and nursed him at 4pm. Tomorrow I hope I make it longer.

He seems to have discovered his volume control. He's yelling a lot now. I bounced him on my knee this afternoon and he kept a steady yell going the whole time. Derek got home in time to play with him a bit and then put him to bed while I ran off to the gym. I met with one of my players who is going to be my personal trainer for awhile. She has a ton of great exercises and stretches that I hope to incorporate into next rugby season's practices.

Gigi took Hudson to the park today where he tried the swing again. She reported that he was more interested in all the other kids than the swing this time. It's April break here, so most kids are out of school right now.

Bedtime Breeze

Another cranky day for Hudson. He just didn't seem to want to nap as long as he usually does. Not sure if it's that I'm trying not to nurse him during the day. He's eating more solids, but gagged on the little Gerber fruit puffs we gave him today. Guess he's still a little young for them.

Luckily night time is getting to be a breeze. I nurse him to sleep and then set him down in the crib. He tends to wake up, but he waits for me to cover him with his blanket. When I do, he grabs hold of it, turns on his side, and is out like a light. I hope he continues doing this. It makes it easier for someone to give him a bottle and put him to bed as well.

Started baby proofing today. Bought a fence to either pen in his play area or keep him out of the electronics. We're debating which to do. In the meantime Derek put up a gate at the top of the stairs this afternoon which required using the power drill. Hudson was unsure about the sound from a distance, but he was positive that he hated it up close. It made him cry twice when we went to visit Daddy while he was working on it. I haven't seen him react to a noise that way before.

Here's another photo from Easter. Uncle Kevin and Claudia were fairly entertained by his antics, especially the silent spit up. Claudia never knew what hit her... twice. Note the shirt he's wearing. It says, "I TCP/IP but mostly IP." Bwah-ha-ha. I know, I know... the kid has no chance.

Easter

We celebrated Easter yesterday with one of Hudson's NY relatives. Uncle Kevin and his girlfriend Claudia came to town and watched Hudson show off his mad skills: rolling, sitting up, putting everything in his mouth. Hudson has added scooting on his butt to his methods of locomotion. He's doing everything but crawling. We're in no rush since we keep putting off baby proofing. Dan, Han, and King James came over as well. Gigi made a wonderful meal with traditional Easter lamb, Italian wedding soup, and cheese pie.

Today Hudson went on the swing for the very first time and loved it. It was a little chilly outside, but he didn't seem to mind. We took tons of photos and some video. He was fine for awhile, but got hungry so we walked home. I'm trying to avoid nursing him during the day to slow down my production which means he's on formula and solids most of the time. During the week that's not a problem, but when he's in my arms on the weekend and wants to nap, he looks to nurse. Unfortunately that's made him a little cranky today.

We had a video conference with one set of grandparents and Hudson promptly ripped the 'V' key off my laptop. Not sure how to explain that to IT this week.

Squirmy Child

Another successful night of sleep. He goes to bed between 7:45 and 8:00pm and sleeps until 6:30am when we get up. It's getting deceptively easy to put him down at night. I keep expecting the other shoe to drop. Or maybe he's making up for the first 6 months. Either way, I'm sleeping in this weekend!

It's staying light out until after Derek and I get home from work, so we were able to take a quick walk yesterday. Hudson loves it although he seems happiest when we take him out of the stroller so that he can look around in 360 degrees of wonderment. Seriously, it's like we have an excorcist child... happiest upside down and always, always, ALWAYS facing away from the person holding him. If you try to hold him facing you, he digs his feet into your stomach and pushes away (hard). I know, Mom and Dad, you're thinking I deserve this. ;)

Still figuring out the whole food thing...

Got home from work last night and nursed Hudson the way I always do. He fell asleep in my arms (just like usual), but this time he woke up 20 mintes later, sat up, a threw up all over both of us. Then he laughed and jumped. So Gigi changed him and I changed myself. Then he did it again. Another change and with the next 2 episodes the volume was low enough that it wasn't much of a problem. He started to get upset when he was gagging but his stomach was empty. Poor little guy. I think he just over ate as he fell asleep, but I pumped and dumped the other side just in case it was a reaction to whatever I had in my system. Adventures in mommyhood.


On a nicer note, his grandparents sent us nice pictures from Hudson's first time in a pool at their house in Florida. The air was a little chilly, but they heated the pool for us and it was bathtub warm. Hudson wasn't really sure about all of it, but Derek and I stayed nearby.

Rolling Rolling Rolling

Hudson is unbelievable in the way he rolls around the room now. He works his way off the mats and then explores the room. Last night he spent some time in front of the big wall mirror in the dining room (saying hello to the baby in the other dining room) and then rolled over to the radiator where he scratched at the metal grate covering. Next it was onto the wine fridge and then back to the mirror. We tried getting it on video but ran out of battery. No worries, I don't think we've seen the last of his rolling. I never thought I'd have a kid who did this although I had heard about it. It cracks me up.

Sharp little nails

When I picked Hudson up out of his crib this morning he had dried blood smeared from his cheek to his ear. I cut the nails on his left hand yesterday, but didn't get a chance to get his right hand. I thought, "eh, what's one more day." Lesson learned. Luckily, he didn't seem to care.

Looks like Hudson's going to start crawling soon. He's pushing himself backwards and loves rolling from the mat onto the hardwood floor. Once on the hardwood he slaps the floor and pushes himself around. I watched him spin around yesterday while trying to grab at the underside of the coffee table.

Peas!

Hudson had peas for the first time. It reminds me of his uncles. Oh, and me. I hate peas.

Yesterday we had a play date with Reid who is just a few days older than Hudson. It's the first time we've seen Hudson really interact with another baby. We sat them facing each other and then let them have at it.

Weighing in at 19 pounds in the blue t-shirt with traces of drool and applesauce is Hudson. Weighing in at 20 pounds in the baggy, green drawers is Reid. Across the room their eyes, glittering with anticipation, lock. They come out poking at the eyes. Both moms thwart the first round of attacks as the dads cheer them on. Then Hudson goes for Reid's shirt pocket, drawing him closer when Reid suddenly dives for Hudson's toes. Hudson reels and tries to get a handful of hair. They're holding each other up, so the moms step in and separate the two. They dive at each other again, but are no longer in poking range. They settle for grabbing hands and each try to pull the other off balance. It's like watching a game of seated Indian wrestling. The moms, exhausted from laughing, finally pull the two apart.

The boys settled for stealing each other's toys for the rest of the afternoon.

New cell phone!

Hudson has a new toy! Gigi took him to Toys R Us and picked up a toy phone. He nearly ripped it out of the packaging in the store and she had to wrestle it away from him to pay for it. Apparently, it was nice a soggy for the cashier. It plays a ton of tunes, counts, flashes different colored lights, etc. He loves it. Whenever I'm on the phone, I can now hand him the toy phone instead of playing a game of keep away with the real one. (It's right up there with his favorite game, "Ouch, that's mommy's hair.")

Hudson has two types of kisses. One I'm still convinced is his sign for "I'm hungry." The first time he sees me in the morning or when I get home from work, he greets me with a giant open mouth slobber on my cheek. If he's particularly hungry, I get them until half my face is wet. The other one he does over and over during the day. He presses his lips together until they're thin and then smacks. We all smack back at him.

He now recognizes a handful of songs. Every morning I greet him with Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. During the day we sing and sign the Itsy Bitsy Spider. At night I put him to bed with Hush Little Baby. Each time he hears one of the songs he breaks into a great big grin. Derek sings Weak and Powerless (by A Perfect Circle) at bedtime and he seems to know that one too. I've tried the Disney Sing Along video tapes with him, but he's not that interested yet. Soon though!

Poor Web Development

Big disappointment today. Gigi and Hudson were signed up for a singing and signing class at the local Isis Maternity store. It lasts for 10 weeks and Hudson's at the perfect age for it. I signed them up online last week and received a confirmation number. Today Gigi and Hudson braved this morning's spring snow only to be turned away because they weren't registered. I called the shop and they said that unless you receive a phone call or letter after you register online, you aren't actually registered. So my confirmation number wasn't really confirming anything then, right? It's such a shame since Hudson lights up when we sing and sign the itsy bitsy spider. We're all really disappointed, but we're going to look into the yoga class for them instead and get them into the next sign class in June.

Spring Forward

The time change has thrown us off a little. Hudson didn't go to sleep until 9pm last night and it was only after I nursed him, Derek rocked him, and then 10 minutes of crying by himself in his crib. He's still waking up early, but going to bed an hour later than normal. I think it's that the sun is still up at his normal bedtime. We should probably get some heavy curtains for his room since that's only going to get worse.

Luckily he's still chipper during the day. He's learned how to roll over and over to get something. He does it especially well when everyone leaves the room. We've come back a number of times to find him well off the mats and on the hardwood floor. I think he senses there's a remote control somewhere nearby and if he can just find it...

Sleeping through the night

The little guy is finally sleeping through the night. We let him cry it out the weekend before last. We started on Friday just in case he cried often during the night. I didn't want to have to work after a night like that. So I put him to bed normally and then the first time he woke up, we left him in there. He cried for 18 minutes, fell back asleep and then I didn't hear from him again until 3am. He whimpered a bit and fell back asleep. Same thing at 4am and 5am. Then I woke him up at 7am to start the day. Saturday night he cried for 12 minutes, slept for an hour, cried for 5 more minutes, then slept through the night. Sunday night he cried for 5 minutes and then vomited all over himself. Little setback. Derek rocked him back to sleep and he slept through the night.

As a result, he's been great all week. Gigi reports that he's less fussy during the day and napping more consistently. I've yet to see it since this weekend he was recovering from his six month shots. He had a fever on Saturday and felt generally crummy on Sunday. Today he seems to have recovered completely. He's been waking up somewhere between 5 and 6am, but I'm not complaining. I haven't had this much sleep since he was born. Derek and I even got in a nice bike ride through the Fells on Sunday while Gigi looked after him. The weather was beautiful this weekend and we wanted to take advantage of it.

Discovered that Hudson wasn't as big as we thought. His six month visit revealed that he's 18 pounds and 12 ounces. Guess we didn't have to run out and get that new car seat. *doh* He's 27 inches long and has a good size noggin. 50th percentile for length, 55th for weight, and 70th for head circumference.

His sleeping through the night allowed me to eliminate the night feeding last week. Today is the first day that I will only pump once instead if twice at work. So far, so good. Now that everything is settling into place, I'm sure he'll throw us a curve ball, but in the meantime, I'm pretty content.