Mother's Day

I feel like I've really earned this first Mother's Day, even if Chou-chou is only eight months old! I got a few well-wishers last Mother's Day, since my baby bump was visible to the world at that point, but BOY I sure didn't earn that one. Equally, though, this Mother's Day I've reaped the reward of a beautiful boy to call my own. For all the work that goes into rearing Chou-chou, what I "get" out of being his mother is immeasurable. Mushy mush!


How about a Chou-chou update... it's been awhile. Chou-chou has been on zantac for his reflux for about a week and a half now, in addition to the probiotics and other naturopathic helpers, and his tummy seems to be much more settled. It was a hard decision to put him back on the zantac, but it seems to be worth it so far. He's been less fussy during the day and easier to settle in the middle of the night. He's also recently gotten over another ear infection, but we were able to treat it with numbing drops and tylenol instead of antibiotics this time, so we'll just call it a good challenge for his immune system:) Then, this weekend, he saw it fit to cut a new tooth! Well, he didn't exactly choose to get the tooth, I just thought it was ironic since he's been running a fever and super cranky til this afternoon, Mother's Day, when the tooth finally surfaced. Now he's doing this super cute chewing/biting thing over and over, just testing out his new chompers. I keep thinking he's got something in his mouth, but no...

Chou-chou is a master yogi, it would seem. He's perfected the "downward dog", butt up in the air and on his tippy toes, head hanging. Other mamas seem to think he's really strong (maybe because they know how heavy he is too- 20lbs!- that's a lot of weight to push up!). I like watching how all the babies go about learning to crawl. Some do more with their arms than legs, some do a combo of rolling, reaching, and scooting. And still others learn to perfect the military-style elbow crawl! Chou-chou, though, is content as a yogi! Over the last week he's braved a hand out here and there, usually in an attempt to grab a nearby cat. I keep thinking he's just a couple days from crawling, but I see now how it really is a long process.

It is very clear that Chou-chou is far more aware of his surroundings and the people in them than he was just a month or two ago. He doesn't throw smiles out to just whomever anymore, and he wails from his crib when he sees me walk out the door (so sad:(). Daddy and I have had to change our bedtime goodbye just over the last week, too, since Chou-chou has recently decided he's ready for playtime after books and nursing. He used to just go to sleep fine in his crib- what happened?! So last night, Jarod and I camped out in his room and read books to ourselves after we put Chou-chou in his crib, and waited for him to go to sleep. We're not fans of unnecessary crying, and since the poor guy doesn't understand object permanence, we figure sitting in his room gives him the message that we are "here", but it's time to sleep. We had a hard time keeping straight faces, though, since he kept pulling up on his bumper in an all-exaggerated "you guys are so mean" way, huffin' and puffin' and whinin' as he made his way down his crib. I say his crib because we've got it on a slant to help his reflux. He always ends up at the bottom, and since it took him awhile to settle we had to put him back at the top several times... it's a funny sight. Anyway, it took about 30 minutes, and then today for naps he went down like a champ! I got a 1.5 hour nap out of him and then another 2 hour nap! The zantac seems to have helped his sleep a bit so far, and we're hoping it just keeps on making it better! Chou-chou is in between 2 and 3 naps a day. Most babies (something like 85%) are down to two naps at this age, but I think because Chou-chou's nights have always been rough he really depends on his naps. If he takes three, they're shorter (about 50-60 minutes each).

Back to the separation stuff!! We're working on easing him into being comfortable with a few key individuals. He's always done fine for my mom until just recently, so I'm trying to make an effort to "pop in" with her more so he thinks of her as an everyday part of his life. He's fine with my friend Megan, but she's also my neighbor so he sees her at least 3 times a week, I'd say ("baby time" is so different). Then just yesterday I left Chou-chou for an hour at the club I go to so I could take a much-needed mama break (I just sat in the whirlpool and read... SO nice), but he didn't take to that too well. He's done fine previously, but we haven't been on a consistent basis, so making him comfortable with a couple girls there is a goal of mine (cause mama breaks are important). The ladies that work at the childcare there suggested bringing him for 2-3 days in a row, so I took him back today for just 30 minutes. He did better! Just a "little whiny". We're making progress... what can I say, he's just a mama's boy:)

What else to add... Chou-chou is 8 months old and I can hardly believe it. His looks have really evovled from the honey-brown haired, tan babe I birthed. His hair is really coming in now, having replaced all but the nape area birth hair, and it seems to be pretty blond with a hint of red. His eyes are a dark blue and his skin is lighter than it appeared early on... I'm just hoping it turns out to be darker than mine! He is "sturdy", as we assumed he would be, and my back hurts just a little more each day:) The ways through which Chou-chou communicates have really advanced, too. I already blogged about his "fini" sign, but other ways he gets his message across are: whimper-and-wait-to-see-mom's-reaction, super-adorable-squeals, whining, crying, and certain looks.

One new thing today to add: Chou-chou gets the cause-and-effect of knocking a tower down! I've tried this before but he never really seemed to get it. Today I stacked his three oatmeal canisters on top of each other and enjoyed knocking them over, over-and-over (which is, by the way, a great situation in which to teach the encore/again sign)! He's also really loving peekaboo now!

Okay, this mama's gotta go night-night.