I was so blessed to have you, Connor, because you were SUCH an easy baby. Most people, especially your MeMe, couldn’t believe that a rotten kid like me would grow up and give birth to a happy, easy-going child. Like a “textbook” baby (according to The Baby Whisperer), you only cried when you were hungry or hurt. Everyone who met you was amazed by your laidback nature. You never experienced stranger anxiety (everyone was your buddy!) and you always took everything in stride.
So imagine my surprise when you turned 1 and all of a sudden you were becoming whiny, fussy, and strong-willed! (Ah, so maybe you’re the child my mother said I deserved after all!) I couldn’t figure out if it was the pain from your molars (they started coming in around that time), ear trouble, or just pure frustration on your part. We tried to help you learn sign language to ease the communication barrier. But even during a June 2007 visit from your MeMe and Grandaddy, they noticed that you seemed to be entering the “Terrible Twos” a little early!
With the transition to your sippy cup, you seemed to get pretty ticked off easily. One of your favorite toys was the computer mouse, and we often had to take it away from you because you would bang it so hard that it might break. But as soon as we admonished you or took something away from you, you were a mad little boy!
One of the funniest things to see was “precious, laidback Connor” throwing his little temper tantrums! You started doing this soon after you turned 1. When you got mad, you would throw yourself down on your butt and whip your head forward towards the floor as you cried and screamed. Every once in a while you would throw your head forward so forcefully that you would actually hit your head on the floor! One day I got a call from the daycare that you had thrown your temper tantrum and gotten a carpet burn on your head – ha! I hope one of these days that I’m lucky enough to catch it on video!
Through all of this, the phrase “Terrible Twos” struck me as odd when in reality, the “Terrible Twos” start so much sooner than age 2. But a co-worker of mine made it all clear for me when he said, “No, the phrase ‘Terrible Twos’ really refers to a terrible two year period that begins at age 1 and continues until age 3.” Ah-ha! Now THAT makes sense!
Friday, June 15, 2007
No More Bah-Bah
Dr. Pope told us at your 1-year checkup that you needed to be off your bottles and formula by 15 months. Well, by that time, you LOVED your bottles and you were a pro at saying “bah bah” as soon as you spotted your bottle or if you ever wanted one.
My first task was to switch you from formula to whole milk. I did this gradually by mixing them in your bottles. After a few weeks, maybe a month, you were on 100% whole milk and you even drank it straight from the fridge.
In mid-June (you were approx. 14 months old) we decided to attempt the switch to the sippy cup. By then, you were drinking other liquids out of the sippy cup, but not your milk. Dr. Pope had warned us that you would probably resist but that we should go “cold turkey” and you would drink it when you got thirsty enough.
So we sent you to daycare without your bottles and started the process. Sure enough, you refused to drink your milk. By the time I picked you up that evening, you were MAD about the whole thing! When I tried to give you the sippy cup of milk that night before bedtime, you lost it. You screamed and cried, the whole time saying “Bah Bah!” with a pitiful look on your face. But we wouldn’t give in.
Over the next couple of days, you started taking your sippy cup every once in a while. But each time, you wanted to let us know that you mad about it! Many times you would take the sippy cup and forcefully throw it down, but eventually you would yank it back and start drinking. It’s almost like I could hear your thoughts, “Fine! I’ll take the sippy cup, but I am NOT happy about it!”
It took you a good 2-3 weeks before you were willing to consistently take your milk in a sippy cup. Even 1-2 weeks after we first made the switch, you were still crying and whining about it. Poor little guy, you just hate change so much.
My first task was to switch you from formula to whole milk. I did this gradually by mixing them in your bottles. After a few weeks, maybe a month, you were on 100% whole milk and you even drank it straight from the fridge.
In mid-June (you were approx. 14 months old) we decided to attempt the switch to the sippy cup. By then, you were drinking other liquids out of the sippy cup, but not your milk. Dr. Pope had warned us that you would probably resist but that we should go “cold turkey” and you would drink it when you got thirsty enough.
So we sent you to daycare without your bottles and started the process. Sure enough, you refused to drink your milk. By the time I picked you up that evening, you were MAD about the whole thing! When I tried to give you the sippy cup of milk that night before bedtime, you lost it. You screamed and cried, the whole time saying “Bah Bah!” with a pitiful look on your face. But we wouldn’t give in.
Over the next couple of days, you started taking your sippy cup every once in a while. But each time, you wanted to let us know that you mad about it! Many times you would take the sippy cup and forcefully throw it down, but eventually you would yank it back and start drinking. It’s almost like I could hear your thoughts, “Fine! I’ll take the sippy cup, but I am NOT happy about it!”
It took you a good 2-3 weeks before you were willing to consistently take your milk in a sippy cup. Even 1-2 weeks after we first made the switch, you were still crying and whining about it. Poor little guy, you just hate change so much.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Itsy Bitsy Spider
With all your signing, it was sometimes hard to keep up with the signs you knew (as well as your “interpretation” of the signs!) Around May or June, we started noticing that you would make an unfamiliar sign with both your hands, where one hand was forming the letter “L” and your other arm was outstretched and pointing in the opposite direction. We had no idea what you were saying.
Then one day I visited you during lunch at daycare and I noticed the DVD that was playing on the monitor. It was a video of kids singing and signing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” song. I finally realized that the unfamiliar sign you’d been doing was your version of trying to make the spider crawl up the waterspout!
But the funniest thing about it is that you truly LOVE that song. You started getting more temperamental around age 13 months where you would whine and throw temper tantrums, but all we had to do (which is still true) is start singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider song and immediately you become quiet and start doing the signs. I was actually visiting you at daycare on another instance, and the DVD was playing at a different point where they show pictures of animals. When I tried to leave, you got upset and started crying loudly on the floor. But before I walked away, I noticed that the DVD had switched to the Itsy Bitsy Spider song. Sure enough, you bounced right up and walked to the computer screen and joined in with the song! It was like you had completely forgotten that I was there!
Then one day I visited you during lunch at daycare and I noticed the DVD that was playing on the monitor. It was a video of kids singing and signing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” song. I finally realized that the unfamiliar sign you’d been doing was your version of trying to make the spider crawl up the waterspout!
But the funniest thing about it is that you truly LOVE that song. You started getting more temperamental around age 13 months where you would whine and throw temper tantrums, but all we had to do (which is still true) is start singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider song and immediately you become quiet and start doing the signs. I was actually visiting you at daycare on another instance, and the DVD was playing at a different point where they show pictures of animals. When I tried to leave, you got upset and started crying loudly on the floor. But before I walked away, I noticed that the DVD had switched to the Itsy Bitsy Spider song. Sure enough, you bounced right up and walked to the computer screen and joined in with the song! It was like you had completely forgotten that I was there!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Connor's First Steps
Dad got tickets for us to the Astros game in the Diamond section (with the private clubhouse and indoor buffet area) about a week after you turned 1. By this time, you were walking well as long as we held both your hands. During the game, I was walking with you in the clubhouse, and I noticed that I let go of your hands and you kept going another few steps! I thought it was a fluke, so I tried it again and again. By the third time, I realized that you were officially taking your first steps!
I went outside to our seats and exclaimed to your Dad that you were taking your first steps. He promptly followed us back inside where you started stepping back and forth between us. It was so exciting for all of us, and of course, you were enjoying all of the attention and cheering! And wouldn’t you know, it was the one time we didn’t have either our camera OR camcorder for the event!
The next day we captured some video of you walking to Collin and Kevin at home. From that point forward, you took walking at your own pace. Until about a month later, you would still switch between crawling and walking at will (unlike your cousin Makenna who took her first steps and never looked back!) You were still pretty wobbly and didn’t become a great walker until around 14 months.
I went outside to our seats and exclaimed to your Dad that you were taking your first steps. He promptly followed us back inside where you started stepping back and forth between us. It was so exciting for all of us, and of course, you were enjoying all of the attention and cheering! And wouldn’t you know, it was the one time we didn’t have either our camera OR camcorder for the event!
The next day we captured some video of you walking to Collin and Kevin at home. From that point forward, you took walking at your own pace. Until about a month later, you would still switch between crawling and walking at will (unlike your cousin Makenna who took her first steps and never looked back!) You were still pretty wobbly and didn’t become a great walker until around 14 months.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Signing Times
We started teaching you sign language early on to see if it would help you communicate better with us. It was amazing to me how quickly you picked it up. Your first sign that I can remember clearly was “airplane”. We’d take you outside and you would hear the airplane, but it was hard for you to spot them at first. When Dad would show you the airplane sign, he would also make the noise “Sshhh”, so soon thereafter you were making the sign while saying “Sshhh” when you would spot an airplane in the sky.
Another one of your first signs was “Dog” (the “dog” sign is patting your thigh and sometimes snapping after you pat.) We would see dogs in the neighborhood or at friends’ homes and you loved them! One day I noticed that you saw a dog and started patting your belly and saying “Daw”. It was so cute! No matter how much we tried to get you to pat your thigh, you always patted your belly instead. Soon thereafter, you were so good at saying “Daw” (for dog) that you stopped signing it altogether.
Another sign you learned was “Bird” but it took you several weeks to get that one down since you didn’t quite have your pinchers working yet! Around age 1, you also learned “milk”, “eat”, “more”, “all done”, “fish”, and “banana”.
You learned “banana” almost instantaneously when we were in the grocery store one evening. Of course, bananas were one of your favorite foods. So I stopped in the produce section and picked up some bananas while showing you the “banana” sign. Right then and there you started doing the sign back to me! I was so impressed with your signing skills.
Around 14 months, I noticed that you started putting 2 signs together. You would sign “more banana”, “eat milk”, or “eat banana”. Very impressive.
Another one of your first signs was “Dog” (the “dog” sign is patting your thigh and sometimes snapping after you pat.) We would see dogs in the neighborhood or at friends’ homes and you loved them! One day I noticed that you saw a dog and started patting your belly and saying “Daw”. It was so cute! No matter how much we tried to get you to pat your thigh, you always patted your belly instead. Soon thereafter, you were so good at saying “Daw” (for dog) that you stopped signing it altogether.
Another sign you learned was “Bird” but it took you several weeks to get that one down since you didn’t quite have your pinchers working yet! Around age 1, you also learned “milk”, “eat”, “more”, “all done”, “fish”, and “banana”.
You learned “banana” almost instantaneously when we were in the grocery store one evening. Of course, bananas were one of your favorite foods. So I stopped in the produce section and picked up some bananas while showing you the “banana” sign. Right then and there you started doing the sign back to me! I was so impressed with your signing skills.
Around 14 months, I noticed that you started putting 2 signs together. You would sign “more banana”, “eat milk”, or “eat banana”. Very impressive.
Big Scare
Soon after you turned 1, there was a time that we were both sick (you had an ear infection and pink eye, and I had a sinus infection and pink eye) and had to stay at home for a few days. On the 1st sick day, I was feeling miserable but Dad wasn’t able to miss work due to a deadline. So I tried my best to keep up with you (even though you were sick, you were still active and busy) even though I was far less than 100%.
At one point in the early afternoon, I was sitting on the couch surfing the Internet while you were playing with your toiletry bag (where I kept your diaper cream, medicines, comb, and all other little items to keep you groomed and healthy). I noticed you playing with a 2-3 ounce liquid bottle of Tylenol with Codeine (it was prescribed for you a few months earlier for the long plane ride to Hawaii in case you experienced ear trouble). I didn’t think twice about it because the cap was childproof and you enjoyed shaking the bottle for the noise effect.
After a few minutes, I looked up again and saw that you were sucking on the cap of the medicine bottle. Something about this struck me as odd, so I got up to look at the bottle. When I pulled it out of your mouth, I noticed that, OH MY GOSH, the cap was OFF and the bottle was completely EMPTY! I paused for a moment as the realization sunk in that you could have drank the entire contents of the bottle (it was previously near full). How could this happen – the cap was childproof!
Immediately I began to panic. I think I screamed “Oh my God!” It scared you to see my reaction, like you did something wrong, and you started crying. I was freaking out but also trying to console you. In my head I was thinking, “This is it. This is the moment I have dreaded – when Connor’s life is at risk. This is what it feels like to be one of those parents with a child whose life is in danger.”
Without a doubt, I knew I needed to make a phone call. My first instinct was to dial 911. I hit the numbers in the phone, 9-1-1, but then I paused and wondered if I should really do that (will they question my abilities as a mother?). Instead I dialed Jeff at work. Fortunately he answered right away. At this point, I was near hyperventilating. But I still had some wits about me, because I was searching the rug for stains of medicine that may have spilled. I also noticed that you had some spots on your clothes, but not enough to account for 2-3 ounces, and the rug was patterned which made it hard to spot spills.
Between loud breaths, I told Jeff that I thought you drank the entire bottle of Tylenol with Codeine. He was very calm and asked how much spilled versus was swallowed. I still couldn’t find any spill spots on the rug, so Jeff stated that we should call the doctor. The doctor referred us to Poison Control. We called Poison Control and a nice man started asking all the right questions (how old/big you were, how much was in the bottle, how much was spilled on the floor, etc.). By this time, I was very unsettled because the man told us that Codeine was very dangerous for little kids. I started balling, and you were upset to see me crying, so you would come to me and give me hugs and kisses (my sweet Conman!).
Somewhere around this time, I finally noticed two distinct areas on the rug where the medicine had spilled. It was 2 spots, each about the size of a baseball in diameter. When I told Jeff and the Poison Control man this, they both breathed a huge sigh of relief. The spots were big enough to indicate that you had not consumed much of the medicine and therefore you would be fine.
This was one of the scarier moments of being a Mom so far. The thought of something happening to you, especially when it could’ve been prevented (by me), made me feel incredibly irresponsible and guilty. I told all my friends with kids about my lesson learned: Childproof is not necessarily childproof!
At one point in the early afternoon, I was sitting on the couch surfing the Internet while you were playing with your toiletry bag (where I kept your diaper cream, medicines, comb, and all other little items to keep you groomed and healthy). I noticed you playing with a 2-3 ounce liquid bottle of Tylenol with Codeine (it was prescribed for you a few months earlier for the long plane ride to Hawaii in case you experienced ear trouble). I didn’t think twice about it because the cap was childproof and you enjoyed shaking the bottle for the noise effect.
After a few minutes, I looked up again and saw that you were sucking on the cap of the medicine bottle. Something about this struck me as odd, so I got up to look at the bottle. When I pulled it out of your mouth, I noticed that, OH MY GOSH, the cap was OFF and the bottle was completely EMPTY! I paused for a moment as the realization sunk in that you could have drank the entire contents of the bottle (it was previously near full). How could this happen – the cap was childproof!
Immediately I began to panic. I think I screamed “Oh my God!” It scared you to see my reaction, like you did something wrong, and you started crying. I was freaking out but also trying to console you. In my head I was thinking, “This is it. This is the moment I have dreaded – when Connor’s life is at risk. This is what it feels like to be one of those parents with a child whose life is in danger.”
Without a doubt, I knew I needed to make a phone call. My first instinct was to dial 911. I hit the numbers in the phone, 9-1-1, but then I paused and wondered if I should really do that (will they question my abilities as a mother?). Instead I dialed Jeff at work. Fortunately he answered right away. At this point, I was near hyperventilating. But I still had some wits about me, because I was searching the rug for stains of medicine that may have spilled. I also noticed that you had some spots on your clothes, but not enough to account for 2-3 ounces, and the rug was patterned which made it hard to spot spills.
Between loud breaths, I told Jeff that I thought you drank the entire bottle of Tylenol with Codeine. He was very calm and asked how much spilled versus was swallowed. I still couldn’t find any spill spots on the rug, so Jeff stated that we should call the doctor. The doctor referred us to Poison Control. We called Poison Control and a nice man started asking all the right questions (how old/big you were, how much was in the bottle, how much was spilled on the floor, etc.). By this time, I was very unsettled because the man told us that Codeine was very dangerous for little kids. I started balling, and you were upset to see me crying, so you would come to me and give me hugs and kisses (my sweet Conman!).
Somewhere around this time, I finally noticed two distinct areas on the rug where the medicine had spilled. It was 2 spots, each about the size of a baseball in diameter. When I told Jeff and the Poison Control man this, they both breathed a huge sigh of relief. The spots were big enough to indicate that you had not consumed much of the medicine and therefore you would be fine.
This was one of the scarier moments of being a Mom so far. The thought of something happening to you, especially when it could’ve been prevented (by me), made me feel incredibly irresponsible and guilty. I told all my friends with kids about my lesson learned: Childproof is not necessarily childproof!
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
No More Mommy's Milk
When you were born, I was convinced that I wanted to try breastfeeding you but knew that I might have a hard time because I had heard so many horror stories about how hard and painful it is. It turned out that you were quite the powerful “sucker” so nursing you was definitely a challenge. But my lifesaver was the breast pump. Even when I was too sore to nurse you, I maintained a steady supply of breast milk by pumping often. It became a joke in our house that our freezer was stocked full of frozen breast milk, and I even made your Dad purchase a generator in case our electricity ever went out (which it was prone to do at the time).
My goal from the beginning had always been to breastfeed you for 6 months. I felt that was a long enough time to give you the nutrients you needed. By that point, I was back to work and it was more difficult to take the necessary time to pump during the day. I convinced myself that at 6 months, I was ready to slowly wean off the pumping. Besides, I had quite a supply built up in the freezer.
I remember a particular day that fall when I was in Dallas visiting friends and I was trying to reduce my pump sessions from 5 per day to 4 per day. At one point during that day, I had to excuse myself from my friends to conduct an emergency pump session because my breasts were SO full and sore from going too long between pump sessions. At that one sitting, I pumped 18 ounces of milk! That was an incredible amount, but apparently my body got the message and very soon thereafter stopped producing as much milk. Within a week or two, I also started getting my monthly cycles again.
So from there, I just gradually reduced the number of times per day that I pumped, and very soon I wasn’t pumping at all. After going an entire week without pumping, I began to feel some regret about my decision, so I actually began pumping again everyday. But by that point, I really didn’t produce enough to make it worthwhile. I was surprised by the fact that I became depressed when I realized that my body had stopped producing milk.
Another surprise was how quickly you went through all the breast milk in the freezer. In order to switch you to formula, we had to mix breast milk with formula to gradually get you used to the taste. You did fine, but internally I was so disappointed in my decision to stop pumping. Looking back, I wish I had continued pumping through the winter season. Most people would say it was just a coincidence (although you won’t convince me otherwise), but as soon as you were drinking 100% formula, you began coming down with illness after illness from the daycare, mostly ear infections. I blamed myself because the breast milk could’ve given you the extra nutrition you needed to withstand the germs going around.
My goal from the beginning had always been to breastfeed you for 6 months. I felt that was a long enough time to give you the nutrients you needed. By that point, I was back to work and it was more difficult to take the necessary time to pump during the day. I convinced myself that at 6 months, I was ready to slowly wean off the pumping. Besides, I had quite a supply built up in the freezer.
I remember a particular day that fall when I was in Dallas visiting friends and I was trying to reduce my pump sessions from 5 per day to 4 per day. At one point during that day, I had to excuse myself from my friends to conduct an emergency pump session because my breasts were SO full and sore from going too long between pump sessions. At that one sitting, I pumped 18 ounces of milk! That was an incredible amount, but apparently my body got the message and very soon thereafter stopped producing as much milk. Within a week or two, I also started getting my monthly cycles again.
So from there, I just gradually reduced the number of times per day that I pumped, and very soon I wasn’t pumping at all. After going an entire week without pumping, I began to feel some regret about my decision, so I actually began pumping again everyday. But by that point, I really didn’t produce enough to make it worthwhile. I was surprised by the fact that I became depressed when I realized that my body had stopped producing milk.
Another surprise was how quickly you went through all the breast milk in the freezer. In order to switch you to formula, we had to mix breast milk with formula to gradually get you used to the taste. You did fine, but internally I was so disappointed in my decision to stop pumping. Looking back, I wish I had continued pumping through the winter season. Most people would say it was just a coincidence (although you won’t convince me otherwise), but as soon as you were drinking 100% formula, you began coming down with illness after illness from the daycare, mostly ear infections. I blamed myself because the breast milk could’ve given you the extra nutrition you needed to withstand the germs going around.
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