A couple nights ago when Matthew decided he was not ready for bed until 10pm (read: awesome), we spent more time reading to him. We followed the reading with some singing (jealous you weren't there to hear us sing? We know). We started with the ABC's and The Wheels on the Bus, and then moved to Eight Little Monkeys. By the time six monkeys were jumping on the bed, Matthew stood up and walked to his book bin. He grabbed the book Eight Little Monkeys, came back and handed us the book! The fact that he connected the song and the book took us to a state of total awe.
And then this morning, Matthew went to his book bin and grabbed a book we really don't read that often, Hop on Pop. He brought it to me saying "Pop Pop."
While probably boring to most of you, we have been amazed at the learning and growth of our little boy. Just incredible to observe cognitive development as it was not too long ago that he was laying on his activity mat just starring at the toys above with no real awareness of his environment.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Trip to NY
Last weekend, we went to NY to visit with my family. A swell time was had by one and all. My dad, brother and I went to a football game at West Point; I have wanted to do so for years but never had the chance. It is a truly amazing experience, right up until the point they start playing football, at which point it is a less enjoyable experience. It is a bit surreal to watch individuals get beaten to a proverbial pulp on the gridiron when, if challenged by the same opponents to a game of, say, paintball or hand-to-hand combat, would beat them to a literal pulp. While we watched the great historic football power that is Temple University thoroughly disrespect the kids who will keep them free, my mom and E had girl time with my mom's friends. Matthew served as the conversation piece.
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Family Dinner at Hudson's
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At 2:00 on Monday, I sent the wife and kid home. To Glenview. There was basketball to be watched. Billy and I headed to Brooklyn to see Indiana play Georgia. In spite of shooting terribly for a half, we obviously won. Take that, Uncle Mark and all other Georgia alums.
On Tuesday, Billy and I grabbed breakfast at a greasy spoon (CORNED BEEF HASH NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM), visited many historical sites in NYC I've been wanting to see for years (see below), went to Shake Shack for lunch (AS AWESOME AS IT SOUNDS NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM), The Strip House for dinner (a dignified nom nom nom nom nom for the restaurant that is rated one of the best steakhouses in the city), and then another IU basketball game, where we beat Georgetown in overtime. Let the record show that during my time in NYC, I also bought a hot dog off a street vendor, ate two slices of pizza from holes in the wall, and had a falafel and hummus sandwich from an Israeli restaurant. That said, I did not get a potato knish from a street vendor and I will never forgive myself.
Central Park
The Dakota. John Lennon was shot behind those gates.
John Lennon Memorial in Central Park
9/11 Firefighters' Memorial
New World Trade Center
9/11 World Trade Center Memorial - Truly incredible; monumental yet understated
Occupy Wall Street. I mean, the New York Stock Exchange.
For those inquiring, I did not wear my candy stripe pants to the games. I have been told by a number of people that I am 31. I've also been reminded when I wear my hat backwards that I am 31. I fail to see the connection.
Friday, November 23, 2012
hi im matthew and im walking
it took me a few weeks but now im really good
look mom no pants
i like to walk but sometimes i get tired and like a stand and tv watch
Weaning Matthew
Matthew has been fully weaned from breastfeeding since November 9th. We made it a full
year which was something I had a strong desire to do because of its medical, emotional,
nutritional, and developmental benefits including reducing the risk of cancer, providing
the child with better eye sight, and giving the child a higher IQ.
I had mixed feelings about weaning. I knew it was an important developemental step for Matthew in gaining independence and research has not suggested that there are medical benefits to nursing beyond a year (not that breastfeeding beyond a year is not of value, it just hasn't been shown to be as important as feeding in the first year). People often mentioned that Matthew would eventually "feel" too old or that I would want to stop for my own freedom, however, I never experienced these thoughts or feelings. Eating is eating and people get freaked out by nursing an "older" baby and I just didn't see feeding Matthew that way. And as far as my own independence, I was only nursing Matthew 3 times a day so it was far from a burden and because he was a year of age, he could always get whole milk if I was not present. This is no so much the case with a 3 week old baby. In conclusion, I could have kept nursing Matthew, but knew that it was time and it would always be hard to stop because of the connections made while breastfeeding.
I didn't expect for Matthew to have any of the problems with weaning that some do because he's always adapted to new things so well (a bottle, sippy cup, food). That said, I'm a boy scout; "always prepared," so I read a lot about weaning (how to, potential problems). The first feeding that we dropped was the daytime feeding. He took to drinking the whole milk from the sippy cup wonderfully, but...he started waking up during the night (the one night Mike was out of town, Matthew was up for 3 hours and sobbed every time I tried to put him down), he was very clingy during the day, and was more fussy. There was another night when Matthew woke up crying with a face wet with tears. I went and got Matthew but after a few minutes I handed Mattthew to Mike so that I could go the bathroom. The entire time, Matthew was hysterically crying and lunging towards my side of the bed longing for me. He stopped crying immediately when I took him back, fell asleep in my arms and was back in bed 30 minutes later.
At our one year appointment, our pediatrician said that we did not need to stop breastfeeding, which was invaluable feedback because it allowed us to feel as though we could move forward at that pace which both Matthew and I were comfortable, rather than completing the task in a set number of days because it was "time." Accordingly, we didn't drop another feeding for two weeks.
I was really nervous about dropping the next feeding because the morning and night feedings seemed to be the ones that he needed most for connecting with me. We decided to drop the night feeding, which most people save for last because it is a special time. However, I felt as though the morning feeding was most important to Matthew, so we saved that one for last. With complete trepidation, I sat down in the nursing chair with Matthew in my lap and placed the sippy cup down. There is just something about going from cuddling with your precious son to handing him a cup. And then, there was God. As always. Matthew picked up the cup himself and went to town. Then, per usual, he got down from the chair and began to play. Went to sleep shortly thereafter and slept through the night.
Matthew did great with dropping the night feeding so, when I was physically comfortable a week later, we dropped the last feeding. The morning feeding was the one that he longed for most from a nutritional perspective, for obvious reasons. That first morning, when handed his cup of milk, he refused to drink it and just hugged me for 10 minutes and gave me a kiss (1 of 2 that he has ever given me) when tears fell down my cheeks. He didn't drink anything until about noon but he ate his Raisin Bran. He didn't drink anything, milk or water, the next day until about noon as well, but the third day he did. And the whole time, he seemed to be getting enough fluids during the day and was not clingy and not waking up at night, so we were finished with breastfeeding and all was well.
Below are a couple of websites that I came across in my preparation phase that I loved:
http://www.letthebabydrive.com/letthebabydrive/THE_BOOTIES_PRINCIPLES.html
http://www.lalecheleague.org/nb/nbjanfeb04p4.html#.UJCJ4CKJH7Y.mailto
year which was something I had a strong desire to do because of its medical, emotional,
nutritional, and developmental benefits including reducing the risk of cancer, providing
the child with better eye sight, and giving the child a higher IQ.
I had mixed feelings about weaning. I knew it was an important developemental step for Matthew in gaining independence and research has not suggested that there are medical benefits to nursing beyond a year (not that breastfeeding beyond a year is not of value, it just hasn't been shown to be as important as feeding in the first year). People often mentioned that Matthew would eventually "feel" too old or that I would want to stop for my own freedom, however, I never experienced these thoughts or feelings. Eating is eating and people get freaked out by nursing an "older" baby and I just didn't see feeding Matthew that way. And as far as my own independence, I was only nursing Matthew 3 times a day so it was far from a burden and because he was a year of age, he could always get whole milk if I was not present. This is no so much the case with a 3 week old baby. In conclusion, I could have kept nursing Matthew, but knew that it was time and it would always be hard to stop because of the connections made while breastfeeding.
I didn't expect for Matthew to have any of the problems with weaning that some do because he's always adapted to new things so well (a bottle, sippy cup, food). That said, I'm a boy scout; "always prepared," so I read a lot about weaning (how to, potential problems). The first feeding that we dropped was the daytime feeding. He took to drinking the whole milk from the sippy cup wonderfully, but...he started waking up during the night (the one night Mike was out of town, Matthew was up for 3 hours and sobbed every time I tried to put him down), he was very clingy during the day, and was more fussy. There was another night when Matthew woke up crying with a face wet with tears. I went and got Matthew but after a few minutes I handed Mattthew to Mike so that I could go the bathroom. The entire time, Matthew was hysterically crying and lunging towards my side of the bed longing for me. He stopped crying immediately when I took him back, fell asleep in my arms and was back in bed 30 minutes later.
At our one year appointment, our pediatrician said that we did not need to stop breastfeeding, which was invaluable feedback because it allowed us to feel as though we could move forward at that pace which both Matthew and I were comfortable, rather than completing the task in a set number of days because it was "time." Accordingly, we didn't drop another feeding for two weeks.
I was really nervous about dropping the next feeding because the morning and night feedings seemed to be the ones that he needed most for connecting with me. We decided to drop the night feeding, which most people save for last because it is a special time. However, I felt as though the morning feeding was most important to Matthew, so we saved that one for last. With complete trepidation, I sat down in the nursing chair with Matthew in my lap and placed the sippy cup down. There is just something about going from cuddling with your precious son to handing him a cup. And then, there was God. As always. Matthew picked up the cup himself and went to town. Then, per usual, he got down from the chair and began to play. Went to sleep shortly thereafter and slept through the night.
Matthew did great with dropping the night feeding so, when I was physically comfortable a week later, we dropped the last feeding. The morning feeding was the one that he longed for most from a nutritional perspective, for obvious reasons. That first morning, when handed his cup of milk, he refused to drink it and just hugged me for 10 minutes and gave me a kiss (1 of 2 that he has ever given me) when tears fell down my cheeks. He didn't drink anything until about noon but he ate his Raisin Bran. He didn't drink anything, milk or water, the next day until about noon as well, but the third day he did. And the whole time, he seemed to be getting enough fluids during the day and was not clingy and not waking up at night, so we were finished with breastfeeding and all was well.
Below are a couple of websites that I came across in my preparation phase that I loved:
http://www.letthebabydrive.com/letthebabydrive/THE_BOOTIES_PRINCIPLES.html
http://www.lalecheleague.org/nb/nbjanfeb04p4.html#.UJCJ4CKJH7Y.mailto
Monday, November 12, 2012
A Revealing: The Name of Our Second Child
It's Deuce.*
And an update on Mr./Ms. Deuce... baby's heart rate was 145 which is great and growth and health are right on track. Lots to be grateful for.
Next appointment is in two weeks when we go in for our ultrasound at 21 weeks where we will not be finding out the gender of Deuce. Unless we "by accident" do find out in which case we will have no choice but to retaliate by burning every last Dr. Seuss book. Starting with those at the doctor's office. EVERY. LAST. ONE.
*Note: If you didn't know this already, Matthew was nicknamed "Stink" and "Stinker" while in the hospital right after he was born. Apparently, we're into poop.
And an update on Mr./Ms. Deuce... baby's heart rate was 145 which is great and growth and health are right on track. Lots to be grateful for.
Next appointment is in two weeks when we go in for our ultrasound at 21 weeks where we will not be finding out the gender of Deuce. Unless we "by accident" do find out in which case we will have no choice but to retaliate by burning every last Dr. Seuss book. Starting with those at the doctor's office. EVERY. LAST. ONE.
*Note: If you didn't know this already, Matthew was nicknamed "Stink" and "Stinker" while in the hospital right after he was born. Apparently, we're into poop.
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