My First Mother's Day

Now that I'm a mum, all I can say to my own mum is THANK YOU for everything you've done and continue to do. Being a parent is HARD WORK but it doesn't REALLY hit you until you become one.

Owen gave me a cute card with a gift certificate for a mani/pedi and Adam took us out for breakfast crepes around the corner from our new digs. We enjoyed a quiet family morning.

The following day, Owen and I had a visit with Auntie Alice, Grandma, Pep Pep, and Uncle Joel. Adam ran the Sun Run on Mother's Day and did really well! After a long walk for coffee, Pep Pep and Uncle Joel prepared a Mother's Day brunch for us gals and Owen. It was delicious! Both Owen and I were spoiled for our first Mother's Day: Thoughtful gifts from people who aren't my children and lots of quality family time. You can't ask for much more than that!

Hiatus

Still in the process of moving. What a lot of work. The last time I moved, I moved from my bedroom to an apartment with Adam. Needless to say, this move was very different. Owen has handled it all much better than his mother. We just got the internet back after many days. I had to learn about Sandra Bullock's adoption from the TELEVISION!!!!

Losing It

I think parents who tell other parents that their baby "slept through the night at 6 weeks old and has never had any problem sleeping through the night since then" are full of shit.

This whole "STTN" myth is making me nutso. Owen has yet to sleep more than 3.5 hours straight for about...oh, almost 12 weeks? We are going crazy over here. We've tried no solids, some solids, tanking up before bedtime, scheduled feedings, soothers, shushing, letting him fuss a bit before we tend to him, letting him fuss a lot (10 minutes seems like a lot to me) before tending to him...Nothing makes a difference. He has no teeth and isn't teething. He isn't sick. He doesn't have a fever. He's not wet. He's not cold. He's not hot.

I KNOW every baby is different. I'm not expecting some miracle baby that is put to bed at 7pm and wakes up refreshed at 7am. I don't MIND nursing once or even twice during the night. I expect to be woken up during the night, but this constant up and at 'em behaviour he exhibits is just too much at 0230. He's not a newborn anymore, either. Those books lied to me!

Adam puts him down around 7pm without any big problems but has to shush him back to sleep at least twice between 7pm and 11pm. From 11pm to 7am, it's anybody's guess what Owen will do. What is definite is that he will wake up. And whine. Oh, the whining. I don't think a bedroom of his own will make any difference anymore. On Sunday night he was up at 830, 10, 0115, 0430, 0530, 0630. Last night I fell asleep at 730pm and woke up at 1130pm to feed him, and then he decided to stay up from 0230 to 0430. I apologize for the rant. I'm just feeling so defeated today. Blah.

95th Percentile

Odie's stats for his six-month checkup:

20 lbs 15 oz

70 cm long

Healthy and strong

Talk about delayed response, he didn't cry until after the needle had been given, but a quick kiss and hug made it all better. While the doctor and I were speaking, he sat on the exam table and played with the paper cover. He must have wasted a good 10 feet of paper in the 15 minutes we were there, but it was highly exciting for him - paper makes a good sound and is light enough to pick up and scrunch up into tiny little hands.

Six Months

Owen is half a year old! Waaah! Where is our baby boy?

• He is such a little charmer, full of personality and happiness.


• He is sitting up on his own (when placed into position) and is constantly scooting around in his crib on his back, digging in his pudgy little heels and scaring himself when he gets to the other end of his crib.


• Still grabbing his feet and sucking on his toes.


• There is no food that we have introduced that he doesn't like, and he's still nursing like a champ.


• He's getting better and better each day at holding his sippy cup.


• He babbles and smiles, laughs and holds hands.


• He loves to rub his left ear when he's nursing.


• He pulls the blanket up over his face to fall asleep.


• He loves music and watching daddy act silly.


• His favourite song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider."


• He has learned the power of "drop it, watch them pick it up."

It feels a bit like coming out of a fog. The first few months are TOUGH, and it seems like one very long day and night. Now everything is going at warp speed. He's learning so much every single day. I feel so lucky to be able to stay at home with him for this year.

Quiet Time

My little button has been sleeping since 9 a.m. It is now 11:33 a.m. and I don't know what to do with myself. Last night was particularly challenging, up at 10, midnight, 1, 3, 5:30...I don't even know anymore. He awoke at 10 absolutely screaming. Bad dream? Pain? Who knows. Something was wrong, poor kiddo. He's catching up on some much needed sleep, as I should have done, but I haven't been able to put down this book and wanted to start this book.

That's one thing that I really miss since becoming a mum: Reading. I quickly learned that trying to read a book while nursing was difficult, unless it was a trade paperback, and I don't read trade paperbacks very often. I am looking forward to our move to the 2BR, where I can once again read in bed before I go to sleep.

Bath Time!