4 Month Wellness NIGHTMARE.

Today was Jaden's four month checkup and round two of vaccinations. Mike was really sick today, so he unfortunately could not come to help. Wait, it gets better.

When we arrive, Jaden is in a good mood. We're escorted to a very small, very hot exam room where his measurements are taken:

Height: 25 1/2 inches (55 - 60%)
Weight: 17.9 lbs. (75 - 80%)
Head Circumference: 43 1/2 cm (75 - 80%)

The percentages show how Jaden's size compares with that of children the same age. The nurse had to take his height and head circumference measurements twice because she didn't believe the numbers. He basically grew 2 1/2 inches in length and his head grew 3 cm around in two months! He also gained 3 1/2 lbs. since his two-month checkup.

After his measurements were taken, the doctor came in and checked his developmental milestones. Some examples are rolling 180 degrees, following mommy and daddy's voice, etc. He easily met all of them!

Next up was the physical exam. She checked his eyes and ears, and then used a tongue depressor to check his throat. He did NOT enjoy this. It all went downhill from here, with him screaming at her repeated attempts at checking his mouth and throat. After this point, he associated laying down on the examination table with unpleasant things, so every time I tried, he'd scream bloody murder. After she left, we were expecting the nurse to administer the shots. During this time, I was still rocking him around this tiny, hot room in heels, trying to calm him down. Then I felt the explosion in his diaper. "GREAT," I thought, because I knew he would not cooperate when I layed him down on the table. I knew I had to do it quickly because every poopie diaper this week has ended up all over him and his clothes. As soon as I put him down to change him, the screaming intensified. He was squirming, and then I discovered that it happened again: poop was all over his back side and onesie. I tried quickly to clean him up before the nurse arrived but he would NOT cooperate. Poop was getting everywhere - all over the table, all over his body, all over my work clothes and hands. I was trying to juggle him to put the diaper on and clean him up, but it just kept getting worse. The screaming got louder and my frustration through the roof. I finally managed to get his outfit off of him, his body cleaned and his diaper on.

I went to the sink to wash the shit off my hands, which is challenging when you have a screaming baby on one hip. I got water and soap all over myself, and Jaden decided he wanted to wash his hands too, which I guess is a good thing considering he was just covered in his own feces pretty much from head to toe.

Then I went to look for a new outfit in the diaper bag. Nothing. No outfit, only a small newborn sized jacket. He was naked save for the diaper, and I was going to have to strap him into his car seat in it. My strategy was to put him in an outfit so once his shots were over I could quickly strap him in and wheel him out of there, but considering it was boiling hot in that tiny exam room, I knew it was not the best idea to struggle to put on a tiny jacket before his shots. So, the nurse arrived with four needles, and Jaden is still screaming bloody murder.

I told the nurse that there was no way my kid was going back up on the table, so she agreed that I could hold him during his shots. This is usually the time when I need Mike. I don't fare well with hearing the screams of pain from my son, and was bummed that Mike couldn't be the daddy there to hold him down and comfort him (and me). So me and the nurse struggled with this four month old (he was winning) to pin him down to administer the shots, and we somehow got through all four, but just barely. Jaden was out of breath, red, screaming at the top of his lungs after the shots, to the point where he almost passed out. He actually almost passed out from the drama of it all, poor guy. I decided to stay a little longer to calm him down by nursing him, and that fortunately did the trick. I somehow managed to get his jacket on him while he was sleeping in my lap. When I strapped him into his car seat, I moved his sore leg, which woke him up and pissed him off. After he calmed down, I decided to take a picture of my defeated, exhausted little boy:

He slept until we got home. When he woke up, he smiled at us. Don't worry - he's gonna be OK. :)

Shits and Giggles

Yesterday was really cold, which is surprising due to the fact that it was 80 degrees last week. I took this picture of Jaden in the park with his "Meemee" and oversized Elmo hat:

We got home and I decided to layer the boy with a onesie underneath his cozy outfit. We stuck to our normal routine, with a feeding and then playtime in his Exersaucer (the contraption that looks like a walker). That'll usually keep him preoccupied for a good half hour which leaves me time to start dinner (or blog, which I'm doing now).

Mike got home earlier than expected last night which was a pleasant surprise. He greeted the baby and then asked if I was cooking something. I told him I was cutting up some peppers, to which he replied, "That doesn't smell like peppers..." I asked him if it was the baby, and he pretty much implied that it had to have been because it smelled like shit. I sent him upstairs to change the baby while I started sauteing the peppers. One thing to note: Mike very reluctantly changes poopy diapers. Rarely does he do it, and when he does it's not usually of the explosion type.

The next thing I heard was, "Babe! BABE! BAAAAABE!" At this point, I knew it was bad. He screamed for help and leaving the peppers I ran upstairs to check out the scene. He had a half naked baby with a diaper hanging off his butt dangling mid air, above our bed, covered in that nasty, dark green formula poo. It was obvious at this point that he needed a shower. BAD.

He handed the boy off to me and I inspected him for poo in areas other than his hiney. When Mike was attempting to take off his clothes, he dragged the poo all up his back, on his shoulders, on his feet (how does that happen?) and legs. Since I layered him, the onesie underneath started out white and ended up a green/brown hue. Needless to say, washing it was a lost cause so it ended up in the trash. By this point, the poo was semi-dry and sticky to the touch.

We gave Jaden a good scrubbing in the shower, which he seemed to enjoy. After all the poo drama, I was able to go downstairs and finish dinner after our thirty minute ordeal. It's amazing how time-consuming poo can be...

Bye, Bye Bassinet...

Sadly for me, the boy has outgrown his bassinet. No longer do we have the ability to use its wonderful rocking capability to calm our ornery, hungry baby at two in the morning. We've replaced it with our play yard that can convert to a bassinet with larger sleeping space. It does not rock, per se, but I have figured out that you can mimic a slight rock by somewhat swinging the suspended bassinet. Hey, it's subtly effective. It sounds ridiculous, I know, but whatever works, right?

So, last night was our first night test-driving this new sleeping arrangement. Mike re-assembled it next to our bed (it was our downstairs changing station); he was of the opinion that we should just transition him to the crib and skip this play yard nonsense but I felt that we had to first master putting him to sleep without the assistance of rocking (BIG hurdle, trust me on this). I'm also not ashamed to admit that I am not quite ready for him to leave my side - I do still check often if he is breathing. It would be inconvenient for me to have to walk to the next room to do this, afterall...

Anyhow, last night was considered a success! (Don't get your hopes up, though, as every night is different.) I laid the boy down, semi-conscious, but he awoke and sort of looked around, with an "where the hell am I?" expression on his face. He was slightly cranky for a bit but eventually tuckered out and fell asleep on his own. Mike was pretty impressed. He woke up at midnight and I promptly threw him in the bed with me. He woke up again at 3 and I lay him back in his play yard with no resistance. By 6AM, he was back in our bed. Our night life has resorted to musical beds! Speaking of which, the boy is waking up from his nap now.

Rolls

The boy has managed to roll on his stomach all by himself. His persistence finally paid off! After many attempts and the arm hindering his full 180 degree completion, he somehow figured out to lay with arms outstretched like Superman in order to successfully roll to grab his toy. I praised him loudly and repeatedly, and he beamed with pride. He kinda looked like this:

Jaden has also finally grown comfortable with showers. Preparing baths are time-consuming, and his patience only allows us a few minutes to get in, get him clean, and get him out. Efficiency is key in this area! Daddy is the shower-giver; I am too nervous about holding a slippery, squirmy baby. Instead, I am the cleaner, cleaning the smelly, milk-curdled crevices. After he's dressed and fed, he's quite the contented baby!

The boy's hungry, gotta go...

Poo Haiku

The smell, so awful.

Formula poo is the worst.

Please, no more green poo.

Monchichi

17 weeks.

Dad (Lolo), Jaden and I went to breakfast this morning at Beachgrass Cafe in Solana Beach. It was a cool 70-something degrees - we were definitely overdressed. Jaden was really good and allowed us to eat in peace.

There has been a lot of questions lately about who gave Jaden his ears. As I'm sure you've noticed, they are hard to overlook. The way they flank his head reminds me of an old doll that my grandmother (Meemaw) saved for Christy and I. I think it was my cousin Elisa's doll from the early 80's. The nickname, "Monkey" seems too generic. Instead, we will call him, "Monchichi."




See the resemblance?!

Lolo (Grandpa) is in Town...

Lolo (Grandpa Goins) arrived in town last night. They got some brief playtime in early this morning, and luckily he was in a good mood. Dad says he's much bigger now, with more neck strength to keep that head upright! I'll post some pictures with dad and Jaden this weekend as we take them.

Lori (our daycare provider) said today that he's almost the perfect baby. I didn't ask what didn't make him perfect, but I speculate it's his volume. It's hard on the eardrums at times. The weather here is so nice - Santa Ana (meaning, DRY) and about 80 degrees, so Jaden was able to take a nap in an outdoor swing at Lori's. Boy, the life!

Dad cooked for us - time to eat!

Cruel and Unusual

Last night, Jaden woke up every hour after midnight until 6am. Needless to say, I'm the walking dead today. I also found out that I am responsible for even MORE stuff at work, which require more brain cells that I feel like I don't have.

At 3am, I told Jaden that this is cruel and unusual punishment, to which he replied with a huge grin.


Gotta go wash a million bottles now.

New 'Do

After all the postpartum hair loss that continues to ravage my head, I have decided to do what only made sense - get a mom haircut. I had a whole foot of hair chopped off; it would've been more had Mike not convinced me to take baby steps with it. He didn't want to hear me complaining about it being too short. We are still amazed at how much hair amasses in our Dyson and on the boy. I've often found hairs hidden beneath his neck rolls. You have to be careful to inspect his fingers and toes as coiled hairs can cut off circulation. Hair is dangerous!

If you didn't know, the hair loss is a normal thing that occurs due to the shift in hormone levels. During pregnancy, you don't lose the hair you're naturally supposed to, which is why our hair is so thick and supple. It all goes downhill after that. I must say I don't miss the hair; once Jaden learned how to grab things it became quite a pain to manage.

Jaden has recently discovered his feet. He is grabbing them often these days as you can even see in this picture. He does have lovely feet, just like Mike's. He laughs when we try to eat them. Nom nom nom nom....

Jaden did well in daycare today, sleeping four hours straight for one nap! He's catching up from the lack of sleep during the night (lucky him). Lori had them in a quad stroller when I pulled up today, Jaden riding in the back. He loves walks and I was sorry to cut it short.

OK the boy is up from a brief nap and needs to eat now.

Big Trouble, Little Jaden

Jaden and I went to a baby shower today for my friend, Leanne, who is expecting a baby girl. It took an hour to get up the mountain but luckily he slept the whole way. Mike wasn't invited since this was a females-only shower so I didn't have another set of hands to help.

There's a certain etiquette that, surprisingly, a lot of people don't understand when it comes to babies and people who don't know you. It's as if they don't see the need to ask permission for such things as holding your baby. "Hey cutie pie, I'm gonna hold you now...yes I am! Mommy's gonna give you to me and I'm going to hold you!" Someone actually said that to Jaden, without even asking me if she could hold him. I had no idea who she was, but surmised she was white trash with an ugly child. I'm just being honest! :)

Anyhow, Jaden was a crowd pleaser, but a handful. He missed two naps during our outting so when we got home he went ape shit. I've captured it on film:

Last night, I mixed cereal with Jaden's nighttime bottle hoping that it would earn us a few extra hours of sleep. It did us no good. Maybe I didn't put enough cereal in it...I'll try again tomorrow night. Cross your fingers...

On a side note, let me know if this font is too small. I've been trying to increase the text size with no luck, but maybe it's my monitor? Anyhow, let me know if there are issues with reading due to size and I'll try to fix it.

I'm exhausted. Goodnight...

First Week at Daycare...

16 Weeks.

I'm pleased to inform you that Jaden has easily transitioned to daycare and actually seems to look forward to it. We really lucked out and found a wonderfully relaxed woman named Lori who has all the qualities we wanted in a provider - someone who values education, stimulation and nutrition, and who would love him as her own. She works out of her home and is a very short drive from our house.

The first day, Mike and I dropped him off and left as quickly to avoid the fallout that would've ruined my day, for sure. When I arrived at Lori's house at the end of my workday, I was greeted by a bouncing (literally), smiley boy and it made it all worth going back to work full-time. Every day thereafter, he smiles big when we buckle him into his car seat in the mornings.

Lori reports that he is certainly the loudest baby she's ever had in her care (surprised?) in her 15 YEARS of caring for children. However, she does think he is advanced for his age as far as his awareness and interaction with toys. She props him up in front of a play center and off he goes, pushing buttons and such. He also has an appreciation for music (daddy had him watching Coldplay Live in Concert on the TV this morning). I hope that was my influence - I listened to music constantly throughout my pregnancy.

Lately, we've been noticing Jaden drooling excessively and gnawing at his fists, the first warning signs of early teething. His sleeping pattern has also changed from sleeping an awesome 7-8 hours through the night to waking every two hours, cranky and ready to eat. Needless to say my first week back at work was hazy due to my lack of sleep. In order to function during the day, I had to do what was necessary at the time and threw him in the bed with us, which he appreciated. Maybe that was his plan all along, because he's been sleeping with us ever since!

The past couple of weeks have been pretty difficult with his crankiness and lack of sleep due to apparent teething. When I went to pick him up on Thursday, Lori told me that she thinks he wasn't getting enough to eat and that she had gone through the breast milk reserve, after which he was very mellow and content. He was also wasn't chewing on his fists as much. She suggested to start supplementing with formula, which would help with his sleep as well. It appears that he isn't teething, but is hungry! Feeling guilty, I tried to feed him a full bottle of formula that night and he hated it and refused. The next day, Lori fed him half formula, half breast milk and he ate a whopping 13 oz. in her care! We've been sticking to the half-and-half since then and he is a different baby - more mellow and happy. My only dislike about the formula? Nasty, smelly diapers (Mike says the pure breast milk diapers smell like Froot Loops cereal, which ain't so bad). YUCK. I'm disappointed that I am not producing as much milk to fill his tummy, but am glad that he's warmed up to formula and is content for longer periods. Soon we will introduce cereal (and the crib), which should be fun. I'm being facetious as far as the latter goes. I'll leave the crib ordeal for another post, another day...

Speaking of food, I gotta go...the boy's HUNGRY!

Welcome!

Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes words are invaluable when it comes to the idiosyncrasies of a newborn baby boy that pictures can't describe. So, with the idea suggested by a friend, I have decided to start a blog (which is apparently all the "rage" these days) about a day in the life of Jaden. Babies grow fast, and since we have little time for live conversation these days, I thought this was an ideal way to keep family and friends updated on his milestones and the like. It's also a way for us to capture his history for future reminiscing...

I'm new to this, so please be patient as I figure things out. Be sure to add yourself as a "follower" and check back often for new posts.

Enjoy!