8.31.06 Random (Mommy)

Okay, this could sound really stupid. I have these little random thoughts that go through my head every once and a while pertaining to the joy of being 'Lijah's mom. One such thing today: little bitty shoes. No matter how many times you see them, they are always cute. On the floor, on his feet, tossed in his cradle, they always put a little smile on my face.
Two things that our boy is doing: standing while holding on to something for support, and pooping VERY regularly. Regarding the former, I have stood 'Lijah up with his hands on my knees or his hands on his crib rails, and he actually holds on and stays standing for 10 minutes or longer. Pretty soon he will figure out how to cruise and life as we know it will be over.
Regarding the latter: oh my word! Today it seemed like every time I would get 'Lijah into an activity he would start making the sign for "change". I kept thinking he was kidding, (which cracked him up) but when I checked him he indeed needed to be changed. I think I changed 12 or so diapers today. That's a whole lot, for those who don't have kids. It's all that darn solid food that his dad is making him. Now that he has the good stuff, he has a taste for it and wants nothing but solids. He is down to about 2 10oz bottles of milk a day as compared to 4 or 5 a day. Curiously he isn't signing for "milk" as much either. He seems to know that his solids are not milk and that if he uses the milk sign he won't get what he wants (which is the solid food). He is too darn smart. I won't even try to be humble or modest, my kid is genius.
The boy is getting into signing more and more. I have started teaching him the sign for "eat" (food) and "drink". He seems to understand the sign for "eat", but he is not signing it back quite yet. I'm betting that he will have that one down in a couple of weeks or so. He catches on quick and he stares intently at me when I tell him that I'm going to show him another sign. This is a very cool thing because it is actually working for him. He can communicate without knowing how to verbally form words yet.
I'm proud of him. He is so wonderfully perfect. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful child. I just know that he is the soul that was meant for me to mother all along. I tried for him for so long and I get the feeling that he was just waiting for the right daddy to come along. Don't ask me where I get this. I used to think that my other miscarriages were different souls, but for some reason I now feel that my 'Lijah wanted a certain dad and waited for him.
Okay, enough new-age hippie BS. I'm sure I'm freaking out most of our more conservative readers and I've now just outed myself as the liberal black sheep that I am. Sorry guys, back in the proverbial closet I go.
It's late here in Vegas. I'm riding that "it's after midnight" high and getting loopy. Told you this could sound stupid.
Off to bed.

8.30.06 Peeker (Mommy)

I put my son in his crib, he's smiling up at me angelically, I kiss him good night and walk away. Then I hear it: the rustling. As I look back I am greeted by the vision of the top of 'Lijah's little noodle peeking over the bumper of his crib. His eyes meet mine and he gives me a huge, playful grin before his head dips back down to his bed. The crib has now turned into his own little experimentation lab. He spends a good 15-30 minutes each night turning over, moving around his crib, and being a little peeker. He will then pass out face down for the rest of the night.
Tonight, though, I found him laying on his back, perpendicular in his crib with one food stuck over his bumper and through the rail. I made Andy take pictures and if they come out we will post them.
He's been needing more naps as a result of this crib activity.
I have not been blogging in a while due to my work schedule. August is a work month for me. Luckily, I am on track break for another 3 weeks, so I get some more time with my guys.
I have been out of it for so long that I don't even remember what has been updated about the little guy or not. For instance, does anyone know that Elijah has a new sign that he does consistently? Whenever he has poop he does the sign for change so that we will change his diaper. Note: this only happens after he has pooped- he won't do it if he is only wet, unless he is really really wet.
'Lijah definitely knows what he is doing with this signing business. The other night he was signing for a diaper change like crazy so I took him upstairs to do so. I opened his diaper to discover nothing at all except for a mischevious grin on the little boy's face. I'm telling you, he cracked the hugest grin the moment he saw that I knew he didn't need his diaper changed. Now, I realize that this could all be coincidental, but if it isn't, then we are so in for it.
He's 7 months old and already precocious as hell.

8.29.06 Year 2000 (Daddy)

Remember the scares, the warnings that xyz was going to happen and you needed to prepare? I am currently feeling like it is the year 2000 all over again, albeit without the press. Preparing to feed Elijah is like preparing a bomb shelter. Food, diapers, water, juice. Currently I'm preparing more food for this darling boy. What is he getting this time? Chicken breast baked in low sodium beef broth with a little olive oil, garlic and organic brown jasmine rice. He's also getting some steamed organic haricot vert green beans, wax beans and baby carrots. In the oven I also have some yams roasting in water and low sodium beef broth. What is next for the boy? Haven't a clue. . . I'm doing all this as I go along. He ate all the steamed pears I made him and polished off the black beans, corn and rice. I'm so proud to be this little tyke's personal chef. Anyone want to volunteer?

8.26.06 Lucky 7 (Daddy)

Well, it is Elijah's 7-month birthday today. Happy Birthday Elijah, or as you might understand more clearly, ppppppfffffffftttttttttttttttt. My Mom told me the other day that I was crawling at 7 months. You aren't quite there yet, but we can at least put you in position and you stay in position for a bit. Most babies don't crawl until about 9 months, so maybe you will fall in between. Mommy is going to have to stop leaving stuff on the floor before long because you are going to get into everything. From where I sit I can count 4 different pair of shoes. I'm sure you will be eating all of them before long. I'll have to stop leaving electrical cords on the floor, especially the ones that are plugged in. You are getting teeth now, so once you start crawling, those teeth can get you into additional trouble. Your hair is frizzy enough. Right now it is 2:36pm and you are napping. We went Costco today and bought some chicken, red wine, salmon, a razor and dog food. Pretty mainstream stuff. You hung out in your carseat in the cart and were pretty good until we were waiting in the checkout line. Mom and I had to hide our faces from you to make you stop yelling. You did, and as we were heading out the door your eyes were really heavy. That is where your nap began. So, I think you are having an okay 7 month birthday. You aren't laying in poop and you got some new clothes from Grandma Car. What did we get you for your birthday? Nothing really, but we promise to play with you once you wake up.

In other news, Dad forgot a liner for Elijah's cloth diaper the other day. Luckily I had a plastic Walmart bag. I fashioned a couple leg holes, pulled it up around his butt and tucked the loose parts inside the top of the diaper. Works like a champ. Mommy was a bit unnerved when Dad and Elijah came home and Elijah was crinkly, but you do what you gotta do.

8.24.06 Slightly Later (Daddy)

Okay, maybe this not wanting milk is a good thing. I just finished feeding 'Lijah pears, squash, peas and black beans. He took to them like all like a champ. I mentioned his previous behavior to mom and she said maybe he's starting to realize solid food is more satisfying and he's growing out of his milk stage. I don't know, but if that is the case I'm okay with it. He's getting really great solids, stuff we're making for him and most is completely organic. We're training his tongue early. Before long he'll be sipping chianti and tasting cheeses with the rest of us. Hopefully it won't be out of a sippy cup though, that would be a little weird.

8.24.06 I Don't Get It (Daddy)

My son is driving me bananas this morning. He has had barely 1oz of milk. I give him the milk and he picks it up and he starts to drink. I leave him to it and as soon as I walk away he drops it. He doesn't start yelling immediately, but about 2 minutes later he lets loose. I have gone back over to him about 10 times and given him his milk. He's doing the same thing over and over again. I'm done with it.
I've read that they begin doing things to experiment with cause and effect, but give me a break! He's got to be hungry, why is he doing this when he's only extending his own suffering? I don't get it.

On a hippie note, I made him a whole bunch of food last night. I hope he looks back on this and knows how good he had it. He has fresh:
steamed peas, roasted butternut squash, steamed pears and baked black beans with corn and brown rice. Screw Gerber. . . :-)

8.23.06 SOLD!! (Daddy)

I don't know what to think about Elijah sleeping as much as he is. We're actually not sure that he is sleeping very well at night now that he insists on turning himself over. He has been up for 1.5hours (out of his crib at least) and he is now sleeping in his high chair again. I put a new suction cup toy on his high chair so he could play with it while he was next to me. He loved that and now he's tuckered out. I don't really know what to do with the guy. He fusses a bit so I try to move him, that doesn't work so I check him for poop (yay!) and there is none. So, I put him back in his high chair with some milk. He ate some more and then fell asleep. Guess I get to get a little work done this way.

We'd like to announce the departure of a beloved item that once held Elijah. We have sold his swing. Yes, the calming, soothing, nurturing resting place of our upset child has left the house. It is now owned by a couple across town who is having their first baby, a baby boy. We know it will go through more batteries as it soothes another tortured soul to sleep (and eases the parent's minds). Let us take a moment to remember. . . ;-)

8.20.06 Styles(Daddy)

Could it be that Daddys and Mommys have different styles of nurturing? Could this be? I don't mean to sound sarcastic or mean spirited in this blog, I'm really just writing about something both Rebecca and I are realizing.

Picture this - It is nearing Elijah's bedtime and he is upset. Dad can't seem to figure out what is bothering him and Dad has little patience, as it has been a very long day. Elijah is yelling, making constant ungodly noises (or that is what is seems like to Dad). So, Dad squaks "Elijah, knock it off!!" Elijah continues, so Dad goes over to the boy, picks him up and takes him upstairs to play by himself. Dad leaves him upstairs in his room and Elijah doesn't quiet down even after 20 minutes. Elijah isn't crying, but he is definitely making unhappy noises.

Cut to Mom's and Dad's nerves being constantly ground by the sounds from upstairs. Mom tells Dad that she didn't think he should have put Elijah upstairs, as they didn't know what was going on with him and Dad reacted too quickly. Dad didn't really have an answer other than "If you want to go rescue him, go ahead." Mom doesn't go upstairs. Dad stays downstairs and finishes up dinner before going upstairs to see what is up with the boy. When Dad enters the room Elijah quiets down a little, but not for long. So, Dad moves some toys into Elijah's reach. Doesn't help. Sitting indian style (is that politically correct any more?), Dad ends up picking Elijah up and sitting him on his lap. Elijah is pressed up against Dad's chest and Dad's left arm is wrapped behind Elijah's head, and around to Elijah's left leg. Dad quietly mutters "Elijah, what is going on, there is nothing wrong, you really don't need to be yelling." These words still don't quiet Elijah down. Dad ends up taking the boy downstairs again and sitting him by himself on his chair. Elijah stopped yelling. Why? We still don't know.

Mom asked Dad a few minutes later what he did while upstairs. Dad told her. Mom asked Dad if he "hugged" Elijah. Dad said yes. Longer story short, there was a conversation about "hug" style and nurturing style and why couldn't Dad be more nurturing. Mom and Dad never got to a resolution, but Dad realized that Mom's "hug" style may be different from Dad's. Dad felt like his having Elijah close to his chest, arm around his son, talking to him, was a pretty good "hug" and was quite nurturing. Dad could still see his son's face so he could talk to him and kept Elijah close to help him feel comforted. Mom's "hug" would have been much more traditional. Not a bad thing at all, just different during a stressful situation.

There are differences in the male and female brains. Mom and Dad are pretty clear on that fact.

8.15.06 Apples and Peas(Daddy)

"They're young, not stupid". Those were the kind words of wisdom from Elijah's Granny Barb. The story is short, so here it is.

Today is the first day I've had alone with Elijah in a while. Rebecca has been on summer break, so she's been home, or around. August, however, is a training month, so she is at a training today. That leaves me home with the boy. Every morning Elijah gets up and we go downstairs. He gets plopped in his high chair and he starts yelling because he's hungry. Okay, okay, we get it. We start with milk, which he either finishes or plays with (this morning he finished it). Right after he finishes his milk he gets some solids. Mom usually does bananas and cereal, Dad wanted to mix things up a little (who likes the same thing over and over, right?). Dad fed the boy peas. At least I tried to feed him peas. We've been struggling with Elijah to get him to open his mouth to eat his solids. Both Becca and I have been required to hold his head still in order to get the spoon to his mouth. He doesn't open his mouth so we have to force feed him. Lately he hasn't been fussing when we force his mouth open and the food into his mouth. This morning was no different. I decided that rather than fight with him, he could just stay in his chair by himself. This was fine for about 15 minutes but then he got restless. So, I tried the peas again. I again had to force feed him. No fun, so I left him alone again. We went through this rigmarole a couple times until I decided he was just going to eat some and I force fed him 10 or so more spoonfulls. There were some cries, but for the most part he just sat there stoic. Near the end he started opening his mouth a little bit. I think he was just relaxing his lips, which made it easier at least. To reward this little twerp, I mixed up some of Grandma Car's applesauce and some cereal. Without a single moment's hesitation Elijah opened his mouth wide and every spoonful went in without a problem. Elijah likes applesauce and that is okay with him.

Guess that was a longer story than I thought.

8.13.06 Flipper (Daddy)

There comes a time in every man's life when you need to sleep in a different position, when you must turn yourself around and look at things from the opposite side. Now is that time. . . for Elijah.
Last night Rebecca and I walked upstairs to head to bed. We always walk in and check on our boy before hitting the sheets for the night. Last night we both gasped. Elijah was in his crib, feet at the head, head at the foot, and lying face down, fast asleep. Completely bassackward from the way we placed him in his crib. We left him that way, although it was kinda difficult to do so. The night before last (8/11) we went upstairs and he was face forward on his belly, pitched up, awake. I turned him over on his back and we left the room. Today, I went to get him up from his morning nap and he was again backward in his crib, sleeping on his belly. I guess there isn't going to be a fight here because there is nothing we can do about how he sleeps. If he wants to sleep on his belly then he will do so. Neither of us is about to get up every couple hours to check on his uprightness (is that a word?). The thing we both find incredibly funny is how much he hates being on his belly when we put him in that position. He'll cry and yell and cry and cry and scream. When he puts himself in that position he doesn't make a sound. He'll even fall asleep that way!! Seems our little Elijah is experimenting a little bit and finding himself in new positions and not being completely upset about it. So what does that mean to his parents? Well, we're ignoring his immediate upsetness (again, is that a word?) when we put him on his belly to play. We know he is okay with it on some level. Where that level is is up to his interpretation I guess. One of the craziest things though is the amount of time it takes him to completely turn himself around during the day. We have no idea how he is doing it in his crib without making any noise or getting himself upset. Is he hiding a little bit of crawling from us (not intentionally I'm sure). This riddle is making us scratch our heads a little. We're laughing too because he seems to enjoy sleeping on his belly. His Dad sleeps that way too. . .

8.9.06 Later that night...(Mommy)

I hate those flippin' sheets! Who ever made crib sheets is a sadist at best. I can not, for the life of me, get those things on with an ounce of grace. When I first put on all of 'Lijah's sheets I was big and pregnant and that thought that therein lay my difficulty. Oh no. Apparently you need to be a contortionist to get the sheets on a crib mattress or you need to take the whole mattress off and then do it. I, for one, am glad that I had put on 5 sets of sheets and waterproof mattress pads all at once, because this is the first time in 6 months that I have had to put sheets on. It is a pain.
Grrrrrrrr.

8.9.06 Cutting through (Mommy)

All I can say is thank God I'm not still nursing! I would be having problems right now if 'Lijah wasn't weaned. Yes, the much anticipated moment has arrived. 'Lijah has cut a tooth. A sharp one at that! (I've felt it.) Actually, he has two teeth. One is protruding more than the other, but they are both there. Two little neighboring front teeth on his lower gum.
Sigh.
My baby is growing up. Too darn fast. I thought I would be able to linger with him in his sweet babyhood, but alas, no. I blinked my eyes and now he has teeth. Before I know it he will be walking and telling me "No!".
We often curse time for making us age, but we rarely think about him making our children age as well. I used to kid my garndparents that the older I got, the older they got. I never realized that instead of promoting vanity I was nurturing their nostalgia.
Sigh.
Break out the finger food...... it's coming.

8.6.06 The Saddle (Daddy)

It has been too long since I've blogged. Actually it has been too hard to blog up until just a couple of days ago. That time is going away with a little help from ye ole' pharmaceutical. So, I'm back in the saddle again (for the most part anyway). It is amazing what life can deal you. I've written about some of those things during the course of this blog, and the pre-birth blog, but never really been 100% clear. This site, after all, is about Elijah and not me. I'm okay with that.
Rebecca has been keeping most everyone updated on Elijah's progress. He is beginning to amaze me a little bit. I really wonder where his little brain gets the ideas he already has. Are they actual ideas yet or just behaviors? It is at least fun trying to figure that out. We were told that the manipulation would be very apparent once he started trying it. I can't yet say he is trying it, but I know he's very close. How can Elijah be completely fine when we leave the room, playing with his Cheerios on his high chair, and the very next moment he sees us, he's crazy in pain and all hell has broken loose in his little brain. We leave again and all is well once more. Seems he's having a little bit of fun with us at times. Actually just 10 minutes ago our plump precious bundle was yelling and crying. I took him upstairs and sat him down on his changing table. Want to guess what this boy did? He started laughing at me!! Now I don't think he was actually laughing 'AT' me, but why then? Mom said he was probably just happy to know he was going to get his diaper changed. He wasn't very wet though, so I'm still a bit confuzzled. He went down for a nap immediately afterward.
We were just talking about how to deal with Elijah's screaming when we put him in his high chair. We think he starts screaming immediately because he knows he is in it to eat. No patience yet, not even 6 seconds worth. Now we're thinking about putting him in it randomly with some toys on the tray. This would make the chair into a place to play and eat, which doesn't quite sound like a good thing to me either. Anyhoo, we're currently pondering this. Thoughts from 'experienced' parents would be welcome.
The Object Permanence. Boy do they have a name for everything. Why not just call it 'loneliness'? Well they have a name for that too - autophobia. I kinda feel bad for Elijah when he starts making noise when one or the other of us leaves the room, but nothing is changing here. We're going to leave him alone in a room on occasion. We did just such a thing today. We sat him in his room, and left him surrounded by toys. He started out on his belly (which he still hates and I'm leaving for another blog), where he stayed for about 15 minutes. Again, he started out crying because he knew we were around and could rescue him. We left for 15 minutes and he quieted down soon thereafter. After 15 minutes we came back up to him and sat him upright (blanket behind him in case he fell back). He did fine after another couple minutes of being alone. We peeked in on him randomly and he lasted about 20 minutes. So, he isn't completely lonely yet. Give the boy a bunch of stuffed animals and a blanket and he will be happy as a clam for a time. If that only worked for 28yr olds. It is nice to be back. Talk to you all soon.

By the way, don't buy the Trader Joes Apple Watermelon juice - it tastes horrible. We like nearly all their other juices but the watermelon just turns the Apple juice rank. Now you've been warned.

8.6.06 It's because of the big head (Mommy)

Darn kid is getting smart... too smart. The other day he was fussing in his highchair, wanting god knows what, and Andy and I snuck away to go upstairs so that he wouldn't see us. Well, as soon as we were in the stairwell, hiding as parents do, he stopped yelling and turned his head around to look at us on the stairs! As soon as he saw us (we were slow in ducking) he started in again.
'Lijah has done many things of this nature as of late. His intellect is growing. His brain is like a giant 46cm sponge, just waiting to soak up new and interesting information. And once he has it, he will, as all children inevitably do, use it to confuse his parents. A support group is in order.
I have managed to trick him into eating some loathed vegetables and chicken, however. The new strategy is to put it in bananas. Apparently bananas are an ultimate good, the zenith of infant culinary cravings. He thinks he is getting his beloved "nanas", but I know that he is getting protein as well. HA! It's the little things, right?
How long do you suppose it will be before he figures this out as well and declares another mutiny?
In other recent news, I am no longer Mrs. Ryan, Ms, Ryan, or any other name that refers to my ex-marriage. I have officially changed my name to Rebecca Harrison. I have the driver's license to prove it too! It feels really strange to be another person yet again, and makes me renew my wish that I had never changed my name in the first place years ago, but oh well. The most important thing to me is that I have the same last name as my son, although I am just as happy, if not a little wary, to carry Andy's family name. (Kidding!)
So here we be.... pretty content at to moment, us Harrisons. We are working on painting and fixing so that we can put the house on the market. As soon as we do that the Portland house shopping will be in full swing. Please note: All donations to the Harrison House Down-Payment Fund are happily accepted through check, cash, or Pay-Pal ;-).
We can't wait to be in Oregon for good. I know it may seem like escapism, but I can't wait to be out of Vegas and into a better place for me and my family. Slowly but surely, the day is coming.