2 cents

Rowan's 2 cents on hot topics of the moment:

Iraq war: Booo shhhh


Katrina: Attthhhh atthhhhh


Winter Olymics, Torino: Dadee de de de de


Brad-Jen split: Abajejebaba


Dad's new practice: Ta ta ta ta ta


Mongo Max: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!


Dubya: Bwaabwaaaboo


U2's Grammy win: Nya nya nya ah naa

Teeth!

Rowan's been in teething hell since August ( 4 months old). Finally, we could see the outline of his two bottom teeth around 8 months. At last, right before his nine-month birthday, around January 20, they came in. At first we could see just the tops for the longest time. Now, 3 weeks into it, they look so adorable. I can't believe how excited I am about his new teeth. It's just so cool that he's growing up. Just when we think we've got the baby thing down, he turns around and surprises us with something new.

Never before would I have described TEETH as adorable. Ha ha. How things change!

Of course, the poor kid doesn't get a break. His top teeth are coming in now. We can see the swollen gums and the outline of the teeth. It must be pretty painful. Imagine a tooth erupting from under your gums. Yikes.

But as Kedar likes to remind me, we all went through this as babies... and here we are.

Rowan's First Word

It's official. Rowan said his first word in the English language this morning.
"Daddy"
Kedar missed it because he was in the bathroom.
It sounded soooooo cute.
Still waiting for "Mommy". He's taking his time with that one.
Come on, Rowe. Mom-mmy. Momm-eee.
Try it. It's not that hard. Momm-mee. Mommmm - meee.
See? Two easy syllables. Mo-mee.

Rowan, as of today:

Claps hands

Screeches loudly

Flails arms about

Giggles

Laughs loudly

Throws things on the floor

Opens doors

Nuzzles my neck

Kisses

Bounces up and down

Cruises wildly

Climbs stairs

Scratches his ear

Yanks my hair

Eats bagels

Bangs things together

Makes my day

Daycare

Rowan's second week at Loving Touch draws to a close today. Already, he seems to be getting into an adjustment mode. He doesn't cry as much, and now he's found Lisa! She's his surrogate Mom at daycare. Lisa told me he likes to sit in the swing and look around, likes looking out the window, the sound of the vacuum cleaner! I also found out he like pizza! He had it today for lunch for the first time. And yesterday he ate french toast. That's too cool. Little Boo Boo eating french toast for breakfast. He also likes mashed potatoes. We went to Friendly's for lunch on Wednesday, and he had his first french fry there.

All this would have sounded so incredibly dull to me in my pre-parenthood days. Now, it makes my entire week if he makes a new sound or eats a new food.
I never knew it would be like this. Never imagined the extreme highs and lows you experience with a baby. And how little it takes to feel those highs and lows. If he throws up his milk or is sick, my whole life seems wrong. And when he claps or giggles loudly at the lamps in the dining room or tries to climb on to the couch, my joy is boundless.

I'm sure life gets back on an even keel at some point. Every thing is still very intense. Intense excitement, intense worry, intense sleep deprivation, intense exhaustion.

Intense happiness.

Another tummy bug

The weekend had a familiar theme - vomiting, loss of appetite, then diarrhea.
Poor Rowan.
If I could take his troubles onto me, I would.
We noticed his hair's thinned quite a lot. Is it nutritional? January has been tough on the poor kid. Plus, he started daycare. He hates it, obviously. Cries and cries. Doesn't eat.
He fell off the charts... but he's in the 10th %tile for length. That's something.

On the other hand, now he's learned some neat baby tricks! We've taught him to clap his little hands together. And he jabbers to himself quite a bit. " Eeeffeeebee ffefefef ebeththethe". It's beyond adorable.
This just in: when I stretch out my hand and say "Give", he hands me his toy! Isn't that something? To think of how far he has come. Time was the only way he expressed excitement and joy was to kick his little legs like crazy. Now he screeches, laughs, giggles, waves his arms, claps and bounces!
He's also trying to squirm out of his high chair quite desperately.
And what's up with those Cheerios? He eats them like he's addicted.
But wait! Yesterday, he ate some spinach! I took Dr. Sears' advice. Served up some for myself and made exaggerated faces and "Mmmmm's" while eating it. Right on cue, he demanded some immediately! Hope he doesn't catch on to the trick anytime soon, because I have peas, green beans and broccoli on the menu next.
Sorry, Boo boo, but it's got to be done.

Manic mornings

2/7/06

Today was a crazy morning, and I need a plan to simplify the process. I had intended to wake up at 6-30 and get myself ready but Rowan woke up 3 times during the night, and I was up with him from 3 to 4-30. I brought him into our bed and that kept me up for a while. I'm always scared I'll jab him with my elbow or something. So Kedar woke up and they showered, then I showered, we got Rowan ready, AND fed him and washed his bottles out... it was crazy.
So here's my plan to simplify:
- Give Rowan a bath in the evening around 6-30, after a solid feeding. Then, he'll play a bit, hopefully take a bottle and go to bed.
- Dress him in his daycare outfit the night before.
- Prepare his bottles for the next day.
- Mornings, all that's left is for us to get ready and go.

I'm going to try it out this week.
Incidentally, this is the hardest I've EVER worked in my life. I had no idea of the sheer physical labor of raising a child. Nobody tells you. ( Even if they did, you'd never believe it.)
I found myself thinking this morning about how I used to spend my time before Rowan. Sheer indulgence! Waking up at 11 AM! Watching movies in the afternoon!

Now I need a clone, 6 extra hours in the day, and a self-cleaning house.

Rowan to daycare, Rowan to daycare

Hi! I'm Rowan and I'm 9 months old. I want to tell you a little bit about myself so it will easier for you to take care of me. I'm a really good baby, although I'm starting to get a little opinionated. I'm always smiling, as you'll notice. I love being held and rocked to sleep. I absolutely adore the sound of running water and often, that's how I'll fall asleep during the day. The sound of water really soothes me.
I love to play and crawl around. I've been crawling since I was 6.5 months old. I'm a real pro at it. I don't like napping much, but since I'm so energetic, I need about 3 naps a day. I also still wake up at 3 a.m. for a feed.
I'm on the smaller side and a little skinny. You see, I have reflux, and am on Prevacid. I also recently had a nasty bout of rotavirus, so I got skinnier. My Mommy and Daddy really want to see me get plump and have these things called fat rolls. So please feed me high-calorie foods often.
I'm starting to catch up. I'm drinking around 6 oz. of thickened Alimentum every few hours. I also love sweet potatoes, bananas, and pears. Not a big fan of peas and beans... but who is! My bottom 2 teeth are almost out. Teething is no picnic, let me tell you. It hurts! But I can't wait to get all my teeth because then I’ll get to finally eat some real food - i.e. what my Mommy and Daddy eat. They've been giving me cheerios, soft cheese, and little bits of mashed up table food… and I love it! I find Alimentum kinda boring. Can you blame me - I 've been drinking that stuff for months now!
Sorry about my stinky diapers. I poop about 2-3 times a day, and occasionally get constipated (it's probably all that rice cereal in my formula). Then my Mom gives me a little prune juice mixed in with the formula. Works like a charm.
I'm happy to be here so I can play with other babies and learn all kinds of cool things. But I might cry at first - after all, I'm just a little baby. If I do, I hope you’ll hold me and walk me around. I love those snuggles and cuddles. Since I'm so utterly cute, I'm sure you won't mind.
That's all for now. Hope this helps. If you have any questions, please give my Mommy or Daddy a call anytime!

- Rowan