Sick Mama

Greyson is napping, thank god. I'm sick. I told Mike this was my first true test of motherhood, but I guess labor was probably worse. I was up half the night trying to breathe, trying not to drown in my own snot, shivering or sweating, wondering if I was feverish. Greyson slept through it all, in his own room. He has spent the past two nights in his crib!

He is also working on mastering the roll-over. He almost exclusively goes from his tummy to his back. Because he's much better at tummy time, but he still doesn't like it. So he uses his new trick to avoid playing on his belly. He's also laughing now, although it sounds more like a grunt sometimes. Mom got him laughing good when she visited last weekend, just by poking his cheek with her nose. Grandma's are good at that, I guess!

We took Greyson out for a German food experience on Friday, unfortunately we were seated in the room with the band so it was a bit loud. He did pretty good, sleeping through half of the evening. But with a party of 20, dinner takes a long time. He was grouchy by the time I finished my meal, so we spent the rest of the evening outside. Then he screamed bloody murder for the 20 minute car ride home. Sometimes we think we should just stay home.

Mike has been struggling with giving Greyson a bottle. We have to get him used to it, he'll be getting bottles when I go back to work. But Mike and Greyson both end up frustrated and crying after a few attempts, and common wisdom says I should have nothing to do with offering the bottle so as not to confuse the little one. This weekend we had a breakthrough, I tried feeding him in his high chair. That seemed to do the trick! We'll keep practicing.

This weekend coming up, we're going to visit my family to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Maybe Greyson really will get to dip his toes in the ocean this time!

OK, we're off to get my oil changed. That's my only chore today while I'm feeling crappy.

Double trouble

It's a big day for Greyson. This afternoon I rolled him onto his tummy and he hung out for a minute then rolled over onto his back! Look ma, I can roll both ways!

Rollover maneuver complete

We have achieved roll over! This morning I put Greyson down on the guest bed to hang out while Daddy got ready for work. The first thing he did was roll over onto his tummy! Yipee! Or should I say... yipee? I have to consider him mobile now. No more setting him on the couch while I run into the kitchen for a glass of water. No more assuming he can't get away from me. What a booger.

Terrific Tummy Time

Greyson had a breakthrough this week with his tummy time. He used to last about 30 seconds before giving up, crying, and drooling onto whatever surface he was lying on. Now I help him roll over, and he seems to think that he's responsible for getting onto his tummy. And he's getting stronger, able to hold his head and shoulders up for a while. I took some video today (posted on youtube) of him holding his head up, and using his back legs to kick and shimmy. Once he gets his hands under control, he'll practically be crawling. He's got the back half of the crawl down pat! Not that I think we'll have a crawling 4 month old. We're not ready for that! He seems like he's ready to roll over from his back to his front, but he might just get upset when he ends up on his tummy!

We also spent some time in the jumperoo today, and that's getting more entertaining for little Greyson. It's easier to keep him entertained during the day, and he's been more consistent with his long afternoon nap. I'm getting more serious about figuring out our back-to-work situation, but it's still a few months off. So I can't complain today, I'm a happy mama.

Ol' faithful

Mothers of boys know all about "the fountain" - that possible geyser whenever the diaper is off, right? Well, I think I've been really really lucky. In three months I can only remember three times when Greyson has peed while I changed his diaper. And it really was never a fountain, just a little garden hose that soaked the ground - no height to it at all. I wondered if it was due to his anatomy, or if he was just a very respectful baby who would never spray his mother like that. Whatever the case, I'm thankful.

Sunday was bath day and as soon as Grey hit the water, we got to see the real fountain for the first time. Dad was so proud! He shot a little stream right up and out of his baby bathtub - thankfully it was contained within the bigger tub. Nice to see he's a normal baby boy, but worrisome to know it could happen again anytime! The next day we had another little squirt on the changing pad, but thankfully a diaper was available to contain things. Did I challenge fate by bragging that he never squirts me?! We shall see...

We also spent some time outside on Sunday doing a black and white film photo shoot with Mike's "real" camera. Got those developed on Monday and boy are they beautiful! If only he hadn't had a giant whitehead on his chin, but Mike has promised to photoshop that out. Here's my beautiful boy...

sitting tall

This was a big week for Greyson. He got his first high chair, and his Bumbo baby sitter. So he's been doing a lot more sitting. He can't sit on his own, but he likes to be one of us. So we got a high chair that straps to one of our dining room chairs, now he can sit at our height. We have a tall dining room table, so we were worried even a high chair would be too low for him. The seat reclines and he has joined us at dinner a few times already! The bumbo is a little chair made for babies who can hold their heads up but can't sit by themselves yet. It supports them and it is so cute to see him in it. I'll post pictures soon - we've had a rechargeable battery crisis in the house and haven't taken a lot of photos in the past few days.

Grey also does some new tricks. We put him down in his pack and play to sleep and he wakes up turned 90 degrees, and if he started with socks he's gotten those off too. He also has developed his own form of locomotion when getting his diaper changed. He kicks with his legs and moves up the changing pad on his back. I think he'll skip crawling (since he hates his tummy time so much) and just scoot around on his back for a while! He almost looks like he'll kick himself over onto his tummy, but that would probably just make him mad. I try to get him on his belly for some exercise every day, but it just makes him scream and drool. So sometimes I let him lay on my chest, sometimes I fly him around like superman in the hopes of building up some neck muscles.

Today we went shoe shopping and everyone in the store probably thought I was crazy, showing my 3 month old every pair of shoes I liked. But it kept him interested and entertained. Hopefully he won't grow up with an obsession for ladies shoes. After shopping we walked around Crane's Roost park, a nice walking loop around a lake next to the mall. It was a nice alternative to the bumpy sidewalks in our neighborhood. As long as the weather's nice, we might start walking there often.

Lots of folks are asking about when I'm going back to work. I could go back anytime, but child care is an issue! Mike and I don't want him in full time day care at this point. We're hoping to work out some alternative scheduling so we can keep him home with us as long as possible. But that alternative scheduling will have to come from my job. Mike can't exactly remodel your bathroom at 10pm. Theoretically, I have to be back at work full time in May - that means we've hit the half-way mark in my parental leave. Time to start figuring things out!

fuss fuss fuss

Not to complain, but Grey is a major fussbudget this week. (or fusspot if you will - I had to look up fussbudget and see if it was a real word!) I wonder if he's hit his 3 month growth spurt and is just hungry all the time. He has been sleeping sporadically during the day (short quick naps instead of a few nice long ones) and fussing the rest of the time. It has gotten hot again (83 today) so our walks are limited by where the sun is in the sky and how hot it is. I'm sure the heat doesn't help a baby's mood either.

This weekend we had our first bad outing. Grey fussed through lunch and Dad had to eat with a baby on his knee. He's gotten really good at that, even at home at the dining room table. Thankfully we were seated outside when it happened this weekend. Then we went to Babies R Us and forgot our super coupons so we didn't buy anything. At least Dad was able to get his hair cut while I nursed Greyson in the car. Things weren't much better on Superbowl Sunday, except I was able to get lots done while baby napped in the afternoon - his one long nap for the past week I think. So... I'm doing a lot of baby holding, swaying, singing, swinging, pacing, and walking. I'm sure it's good for me, I just hope this phase passes soon!

Enough whining, I did manage to get a few good video clips in between crying jags. I am posting them on YouTube for now. Here is our family's channel: http://www.youtube.com/raymulvy

Another thing I got done this week was my letter to our labor and delivery nurses. We were there for a while so we had four nurses during our stay. I have been meaning to write and express my gratitude for their helpfulness, but kept putting it off. I doubt they will remember us by now, but I included lots of photos and I'm sure they will appreciate the sentiment anyways. Now I just have to mail it...