Night Night Mommy

Tuesdays and Thursdays are Dan's days with Kippy. Just the boys. All day.

Every night, I get home from work after Kip is in bed so I don't get to see him awake until the next morning. Dan has gotten into the habit of sending me a photo when he puts Kippy down with the text "Night Night Mommy."

Just keeping these sweet pics here for memory's sake. 

Weekending it

I had big plans for this weekend. A mom's night out with church friends for Friday night and a play date on Saturday with a new friend. Within ten minutes on Friday night, both had been canceled and I was extremely disappointed. As a consolation, Mandy said she would hang out on with us on Saturday. Dan ordered dinner for us all and we watched a movie.

On Saturday we all got around while Kip napped then we all headed to the diner for brunch. I'm trying to branch out of my comfort zone and do things with Kip, like take him to restaurants. I worry about how he will behave and if we will meet judgements. But, I realize early exposure is key. And you know, he did so well! He got a little antsy after his pouch was gone and was tired of the toy we brought but once we gave him a bit of pancake he perked right up!

After breakfast, Dan took Kip home for a nap and Mandy and I went out to get pedicures. After we got back, Dan got a haircut. Then we all headed out together for a long walk in the nice weather. FINALLY!!

We took Kippy to the park and he tried out the swings and slide. He was pretty indifferent to the experience.

I've come to the hard realization that I need to get up earlier on the weekends (well, probably every day but let's stick with baby steps). As much as I would love to sleep-in or lounge around like we used to, pre-Kip, it just makes for a better and less stressful weekend when we get up and get going. So, on Sunday, I went to the grocery store at 8 am. Ugh. But it wasn't crowded and I was back right after Dan finished getting Kippy ready and feeding him breakfast. We tag teamed and grabbed coffee and a donut before heading to church instead of scrambling out the door. I drove to church for the first time. Trying to get used to the car and used to Brooklyn traffic. Kip had terrible naps at church so we skipped brunch and I ran through Trader Joes to get the rest of our grocery list. Kip fell asleep in the car so Dan drove around and we did errands while Kip napped. It was a pleasant evening since he had a solid afternoon nap. I need to remind myself that a little bit of work ahead of time makes for a less stressful and enjoyable weekend.

Today the weather is lovely and Kip is napping without struggle so it's going to be a great day! Happy Monday!!

Peeks from the Week

Sorry I don't have much to share about our week as my soul is slowly withering from the lack of spring weather. I am still wearing my winter coat and even a scarf and mittens aren't enough for 30 degree wind chills we have on April 20th. Please share your warm weather with this weary northeast. Appreciated.

For now, Kip pics.

Kip is very hard at work so please contact his secretary for photo requests and to schedule diaper changes. He is FAR too busy to be bothered by any of that. Ok, thanks.

Weekending it

Time just keeps slipping away and I'm surprised by how difficult it is to find time to write blog posts now. It's still a priority for us and so I'll try my best to keep up.

Weekend recap - coming up!

Last week Kippy learned to crawl!! 8 months and one day and it finally clicked as he was able to coordinate his hands and his knees to move forward. Dan and I both witnessed it on Wednesday morning before we left for work and then Auntie Mandy caught it on film later that day.

So now we are baby proofing and initiating operation baby jail - or rather, fun corral. Your choice.

Then, along with the crawling skills came sleep regression. I guess it's common, according to Google, but his naps have been short and sporadic and he even started waking up in the night again. Ugh.

Friday Kippy had his first fever. Mandy texted me while I was at work that the thermometer said 102 but then stopped working and none of our other thermometers were working either. I felt so guilty being away from him but I knew Mandy was taking good care of him. I ended up coming home a little early from work as Dan and I had a date planned that night and Mandy requested some help. He was SO HOT. It was shocking and sad how fussy and unsettled he was. We gave him more Motrin, he was eating and drinking fine, and went to bed like usual.

Despite some hesitations, Dan and I decided to go ahead with our date. If we had just planned dinner out we probably would have just canceled but Dan had bought us tickets to see Once on This Island on Broadway and they were not cheap. It was a great show and very unique in a smaller circular shaped theater so the acting was much closer and intimate. We loved it. The stage was a sandy beach and the costumes and staging were all very unique. The show was only 90 minutes with no intermission which worked perfectly so we were able to get home relatively quickly. Kippy was just fine with Mandy the whole time.

Friday night I slept in Kip's room to keep an eye on him. He woke up every half hour between midnight and 2 am. Just couldn't settle. Eventually he fell into a deep sleep and woke up fever free and his usual self on Saturday morning. Thank goodness!! He is definitely teething but likely had some virus or maybe the cold running through the apartment.

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day. We finally had some spring weather so we made sure to get outside after we did some baby proofing at the apartment. We went for a long walk, shopping, and more walking.

 

On Sunday, the weather returned to the winter doldrums with clouds, wind, and cold. We had to get to church early since I was on brunch team. Kip had a hard day napping and was really fussy. Sundays are hard. As much as we love our church, the travel time and naps just don't work well. I miss being able to just walk home quickly if needed. We ended up with an overtired and fussy Kippy for most of the day. Sometimes he will nap well in his stroller but other times he won't.

Kippy's little friend coming to check on him. So sweet how curious babies are of other babies. 

There was karaoke and a photo booth during brunch at church to celebrate the one year anniversary. These were our attempts.

That's life right now people, no one knows what they are doing. Ha!

Other notable things from this weekend, we found a candy bar Dan will eat!! Ok, so it isn't technically chocolate but it's Hershey so I'll take that as a win!

And Auntie Jessy sent Kippy a spring gift and he loved tearing into it.

Happy nearly hump day!!!

Weekending it

This week has been pretty crazy busy. I had a two-day workshop in the city on Monday and Tuesday and between the extra commute, stress of pumping in a weird place and weird time, and general stress about the workshop, I've had no time to do my regular blogging.

But, we had special weekend visitors and I didn't want to miss recapping their time with us.

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came on Friday!! They arrived early evening and Dan and his Dad headed into the city to see the Knicks. Dan ask for tickets to a game for Christmas and my uncle got him pretty great seats. Initially he was going to find a friend to go with him but then Terri Mom and Allen Dad scheduled a trip out over that date and it worked perfectly! They were pretty pleased with the seats and the win.

While they were at the game, Terri Mom and I ordered dinner and watched a couple of episodes of The Keepers on Netflix.

We decided to have Kip sleep in our room in the pack-n-play so that our guests could have the privacy of his room and sleep on the more comfortable futon. I was nervous about how that would work and if Kip would wake in the night. Fortunately it went really well and he only woke up early one day! And secretly, I liked having him close-by again.

On Saturday we just hung around the apartment and played with Kip. His naps got off so we didn't get out until the afternoon for a late lunch and trip to Buy Buy Baby. Kippy sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time and it was pretty cute.

On Sunday we went to church and spent the afternoon playing. Naps were off again and he was so cranky and fussy that we ended up putting him to bed early.

Terri Mom and Allen Dad babysat sleeping Kippy for a tiny bit both nights so that Dan and I could go on walks. It was such a simple but special treat. The ability to just get up and go out for a quick walk vanished once Kip was born and I've really missed that freedom. It felt great to get that little outing.

I had to leave early Monday morning to head into the city for the workshop and I missed my Kippy day. It pretty much messed my whole week up. But Kippy got some extra time with Dan and Grandma and Grandpa so it wasn't all bad!

Kippy || 8 Months Old

Today, Kippy turns 8 months old!!

I just feel like 8 months is the beginning of the end of the babyhood. He is closer to a toddler now and with actual mobility not far away, it just seems like we are speeding our way through the end of his first year of life. WHY GOD WHY???

Kipling at Eight Months 

Weight ??? no well check this month (17 lbs. 4.8 oz. last month)

Height ??? no well check this month (26.97 inches last month)

Personality: Curious and a maybe a tiny bit shy.

Likes:
FOOD!
Being held and carried around. If he is fussy, walking him around usually does the trick.
The TV remote.
Any opportunity he can get to put a cell phone in his mouth.
Putting every single thing in front of his face into his mouth.
He just wants to be FREE!

Dislikes:
Diaper changes. It's a huge inconvenience for him and he cries pretty much every time.
Being taken out of the bath. It's his favorite so he makes sure you know he wants to stay in the water.
Being strapped into the stroller. He stiffens his legs and arches his back.
Not being able to sit up. He hates when you try to force him down.
Being put in the crib for a nap.
Pretty much any time you try to contain him somewhere.

Wearing:
Size 3 diapers. Probably need to bump up soon due to the leg chunk.
9 month clothes
Still fits in some 6 month pjs
Mandy is loading up his summer wardrobe so I'm getting excited for that!

Things I want to remember about Kippy at 8 months old:
- A few times this month you were beyond exhausted by the end of the day and actually fell asleep while nursing. Since you don't like to snuggle, I loved those quiet moments with you.
- How sad, but sweet, it was that one night you woke up crying and wouldn't settle with the paci, you let me rock you for a little while before going back to sleep.
- The way you chew on your pacifier.
- When you started "boppin" along with music.
- When you first pushed up onto your knees and started rocking back and forth. You work SO hard to try and crawl and you are SO close to getting it.
- That little squeal laugh you had the afternoon Aunt Jessy was visiting and Mandy was acting like a monkey. Dan caught it on film and it is hilarious.
- The itty bitty goosebumps you sometimes get.
- How you are still an absolute maniac in the bath and how much you LOVE to splash in the water.
- The way you eat toast.
- Your squishy rolls.
- The day you had to wear a sock on your hand because I clipped your fingernail too short.
- How you love to look out your bedroom window, especially at the snow.

 

 

This month Kippy seemed to become a little boy. He has started babbling a ton and stringing together different sounds. He says "yayayaya" most of the time but does say "dada" and "mama." None of his babbles have any real meaning just yet but it's cute to hear. He is super active and working so hard to crawl and explore and he will be big trouble as soon as he figures it out because he definitely prefers things he shouldn't have (tv remote and phones). This month he got a visit from Auntie Jessy and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came for a visit this past weekend. Kippy had his first St. Patrick's Day and his first Easter. He got to see snow a few more times and had a play date with a little friend. He had his first experience being left with a babysitter and did pretty well but has started showing some separation anxiety in other instances. This month he figured out how to make raspberries and learned that smacking things repeatedly is great fun. His smiles are more generous and his giggles are more joyous. Everything just keeps getting better!

Sleep:
Still great at night time. Still terrible at nap time. Continues to fall asleep around 6 pm and wake-up around 6:30 am. He generally goes back to sleep within an hour after he first wakes up, and for the most part will nap two more times during the day. He typically takes only 45-60 minute naps. It's a million dollar day when he naps for an hour and a half. I was getting really frustrated by other moms talking about their babies taking 3 hour naps (!!!) but I've just decided Kip prefers night sleep and I prefer that too, so we can just learn to deal with sporadic and short naps.

Eat:
We've started moving beyond baby purees. Mandy had made some baby food and froze them in little ice cube trays. We did sweet potato, squash, peas, peach, mango, broccoli, and apple sauce. We finished up all of that stash last week and now we are doing mainly baby yogurt, toast, oatmeal, rice cereal, pouches, and have started feeding him some of "our" food. I did some riced vegetables last week that went well. He's tried Dan's waffles and corn muffins. We did the inside of a fish nugget. Just testing the waters, seeing what is soft enough for him to mash, chew, or swallow whole (his preference). We do those mum mum teether crackers and some puffs too. He is just now getting the hang of picking things up with his pincer grasp and can sometimes get it all the way into his mouth! This weekend we saw him grab a whole fist full and try to get it in. Self feeding isn't far off!

I'm pretty overwhelmed in the food department. I don't want him exclusively on pouches but I also don't think he is ready to necessary eat what we have for dinner. And I kind of don't have a desire to make more baby purees. Then there is the fact that three different people are feeding him. How to I make enough food for the week? Should we be really boring and just have a standard rotation? When can we start giving him pretty much anything? So many questions, we'll just leave it there.

Play:
Oh my goodness. Kip is INTO everything. He is insanely active now and wants to touch and eat and discover all that is in front of him. He is getting super close to crawling but is currently in this in-between phase where he gets frustrated when he can't seem to get to what he wants or is overwhelmed by all the choices in front of him. I also think he gets flustered when he can't fit something into his mouth, oh you know, like a chair! Ha! He wants to be up and exploring and gets mad when you set him down or God forbid, try to change his diaper. He is so active that it's pretty hard to get him to settle down for a nap. He will push up onto his knees in the crib and just roll and play. Last week he did this for 70 minutes before finally falling asleep. I feel like he is going through some major mental development and just trying to take it all in. It's so fun to watch.

Kippy, you are a wild man. You have goals! And you are determined to reach them. What will it be like when those goals are bigger than getting a toy into your mouth?? How much of who you are is displaying itself at just 8 months old? I'm so excited to see where you go and what you do. But, stay little just a tiny bit longer for me, okay?