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August 20, 2008

Potty Talk

Hey, I've got a 16 month old, you knew it had to happen sooner or later.

Liam has been showing vague signs of readiness for toilet training, so I decided to give it a go. Before he gets into his bath, I have him sit on the toilet, as he almost always starts out his bath by peeing in it.

So, I thought, hey we're not traveling anywhere for a few weeks, why not give it a whack. This morning, when we all got up, I set him on his potty. And he used it! I'll spare you the details of how ;-) But he did, so false start or no, it's a start. We'll see where it goes from here, but wow, would it be awesome not to be changing diapers for another two years.

July 10, 2008

Video Coming Soon

Liam has a photo of his Grannie Nannie (the one you gave us, Papa) that lives under his crib. He pulls it out from time to time.

He now kisses Grannie Nannie when he sees her picture.

How could I not become a globbing mess of goo when I see that?

Seriously.

June 29, 2008

More Videos: Liam's Been Busy

Sorry to barrage you with videos of Liam.

Err, no actually, I'm not. I want you all to look at them and then tell me how cute you think he is. Shameless, I know.

Anyhow, I posted two more videos of Liam over on You Tube. In one, he walks! Yes, he is finally walking. In the other, he is dancing and that video is definitely not to be missed!

So, just let your eyes (and your mouse) find their way over to the right hand side of the screen the the "My You Tube" link. Click. Enjoy.

Oh yeah, and then tell me how great it was. :-)

June 26, 2008

Yesterday

Holy cratcholy.

Yesterday was busy. We had friends over in the baby pool (Fun!).

Then we went to Chipotle for free burritos. The line was, not surprisingly, long, but then not only was it raining, but it started lightning and thundering. We went across the street and ate at Baja Fresh, heheheh.

Then we went to the Baha'i Nineteen Day Feast and Liam started walking! He'd taken some steps at our instigation, but last night he decided he'd start walking by himself for himself. Very sweet.

Then the storm started. The lightning and thunder were so loud and so bright I am convinced it was directly over our home. It was so loud that Liam literally jumped in his sleep! Then the tornado sirens started going off, so we headed to the basement. Fortunately, Liam slept through the whole event.

One heckuva day!

June 23, 2008

Videos

Okay, getting the videos up onto You Tube was enough work as it is, so I'm not going to re-post anything here, sorry.

But you can go to the handy link on your right (My You Tube) and see all of the latest videos.

June 15, 2008

This Past Week Was History in the Making

Yeah, no, seriously. I'll talk about this for decades. Our wee family went through the fire this week and are just coming out the other side. Just something that had to happen. Thankfully, our co-living partners were gone all this week.

On Sunday, Liam came down with a stomach virus. Sick, ick. Vomiting everything everywhere. It was in the 90s and I was very concerned about dehydration since he was vomiting so much. He started nursing every 2 (remember that TWO) hours. Usually, he nurses every 5 or 6 hours.

What does that mean? It means my body produced more milk to keep up with him.

Fast forward to Wednesday. He's finally gone 24 hours without vomiting. He's eating some crackers and rice.

And he decides he no longer wants to nurse. Ever. E - V - E - R. Ummm...try not peeing for two days, maybe you'll understand?

Well, in any case, we dealt with it. He is now officially weaned (as if I had anything to do with it!!). You should have seen him. I'd try to nurse him, and he simply looked at me as if I were an alien. He ended by literally pushing me (OW!) away. Took me 2 days to be totally convinced.

However, another nice side effect of Liam being weaned (are you sitting down?) is that ... drumroll please ... he is sleeping through the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There aren't enough exclamation points in the world for that.

Phew. Now we just have to get him to like his crib. But, hey, I'm liking life right now, so, we'll just wait on that one for a bit.

Oh! I can wear dresses now! Yippee!

Editor's Update: Liam's iron level is now normal! Double Yippee!

Truly, an auspicious week.

May 15, 2008

Advances

Well, Liam is 13 months old now. He's not walking yet, but he decided he knew how to climb two days ago.

I say decided because before that he'd sort of lift his leg, not succeed and go on with his life. Then, two days ago, I looked down and suddenly, presto! there was Liam on top of our trunk. Where is our trunk? Oh, right in front of the desk where the computer lives. So, if you see some random plus signs, numbers, etc. in my correspondence, you know why.

It also means he can climb onto furniture. Which means, basically, that a "childproof house" is now a joke. Seriously, try lighting your home or reading a book without it being destroyed by a toddler who can climb.

Some of our friends, who have a 2 and 5 year old themselves, upon learning that Liam can now climb, just laughed and said, "good luck. welcome to the end of the world." This was my mother's favorite time?

On the other hand, he is talking up a storm. It is somehow so much fun to have him 'talk' to me, others, and himself. It seems like he laughs a lot more now, too.

He's also become rather conscious of me moving away from him. Even if I don't leave the room, if I walk away he'll get upset about it. Phew - that means lots of crying. I don't like the crying, but I am not going to give in to him and have that be our frame of reference. I do things like sing as I leave the room so that he knows I still exist and can follow me if he wishes. Otherwise, he can just cry until I come back.

Hmm, maybe I shouldn't end on that note?

I hear they've placed the headstone on my mother's gravesite. My dad said it looks really nice. I look forward to seeing it. With that and the dogwood at her feet that my father planted it should look really nice.

April 15, 2008

Celebrating One

So, Liam is one.

First, Goompa came down to celebrate Liam's first birthday with us.
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Then we went out to a friend's farm for 2 days. Liam met horses.

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And went for a gorge walk.

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Oh! And we went back to Franklin Park Conservatory, where we got married, and 'recreated' wedding shots - with my eyes shut, of course!

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And finally, Liam had a 'proper' birthday party and got to eat his first chocolate cupcake. And he shared.

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Yesterday, Liam started opening kitchen cupboards (they already have magnetic closures, obviously now they have to get stronger.)

Today, Liam started clapping. Randomly. And very, very seriously.

March 30, 2008

Visitors

Our friends Liam and Amelia are visiting. Baby Liam loves Amelia. Like, first crush. He just lights up for her. He does all sorts of flirting with her. Stuff he's never done before and doesn't do with anyone else. More about that later.

Big Liam is the man who first got us considering Liam as a name for, uh, Liam. They are definitely enjoying each other, too. Big Liam is from Scotland, and his dear mother has sent him over to get to know his namesake. How sweet is that?

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So, that flirting. Check. Out. This. Smile. He started doing this for Amelia. It totally slays me.

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Oh! And my Uncle Christophe was in town this weekend, so we all went out to dinner (after he adjusted me, woohoo!) and fun was had by all.

March 23, 2008

Compelled

I feel compelled to write down my thoughts. It's been a while, and I find I get fixated on thoughts until I can share them. So, in a random order, often unrelated, here's a brief hit of my life, 'cause, you know, I know you care.

1. Liam has learned how to slide off of furniture. This is pretty cool. It means he's a lot less likely to fall off and hurt himself if I'm not watching. Besides, it's just so cute to watch him anticipating reaching the floor - and that second of panic before he gets there.

2. My mother is dead. And you know what? I will be a poorer human being, unable to live as good a life, to live up to a higher potential as I could have if she were around to continue to guide me. Sometimes I think "what would she say/do?" And I can't come up with it, because she always managed to provide me with knowledge I didn't have. This sucks. This sucks rocks. This sucks rocks hard. This sucks rocks unbelievably hard. This sucks rocks so unbelievably hard I cannot begin to describe it. This will continue to suck rocks unbelievably hard for the REST OF MY LIFE. This sucks.

3. umm. I sort of got derailed. Let me regroup.

4. Oh right. Liam had his IFEC (Interdisciplinary Feeding Evaluation Clinic) appointment. Guess what? HE'S FINE. Yes, I'm yelling. 'Cause you know what? I KNEW THAT. On the other hand, it is always nice as a parent to be told that your kid is fine and that you are doing everything fine, too. So, yeah, he's fine. He's developing normally, his iron level is almost back up to normal. In fact the hematologist told us he's her star patient - usually it takes parents' a year to get kids back up to normal from where he was.

Yeah, that's pretty much my world in a nutshell at the moment.

Oh yeah! Mark is playing camera stuff of late (spring break). Take a look!

March 9, 2008

Laughing at the Catapult

The other day, we were over at a friend's home for dinner. She has two young boys, ages 2 and 5. The elder boy had received a castle for Ayyam'i'ha. It included a catapult. After consulting his mother, he made a ball out of paper (the real ball was refused as a choking hazard).

The three boys then sat in the living room, catapulting the paper ball at the sofa.

I passed by, heading outside to get Liam's baby seat out of the car for dinner. The sun was setting, the lights were on in the house, snow on the ground outside. As I came back toward the home, I could hear the boys' peals of laughter from outside.

It was pure delight. Liam laughing with his friends.

March 5, 2008

First Word!

Well, Liam celebrated Leap Day by speaking his first intelligible, purposeful word!

We were lying in bed, and I asked Liam, "Shall we eat some breakfast?"

He replied, "okay", lied down next to me and pointed at my chest. Heheheh. I told him I actually meant another breakfast, but that was fine. :-)

We have this saying:

Liam Bear
Has no hair
And he wears no underwear

No longer true (the slippers are from Scotland!):

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Enjoying his new bathtub!

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February 20, 2008

Family Resemblence

Oh dear.

It appears that my son may be growing up to be just like his Uncle Nathan.

If you don't have Facebook, and aren't friends with Nathan on it, sorry.

But if you saw Nathan's recent photo of him, in his kitchen at his computer, than this is hilarious. You get the idea.

If you're feeling left out, enjoy this gobstopping image. You can see the video over at my You Tube site (site link at your right).

February 3, 2008

Crib Sheet

Aw yeah... I should have done this ages ago. Friday night, after Mark had completed his mid-terms, I prepared to go to bed with Liam at 7:30 as usual. Nurse him in bed and go to sleep - can't leave him in the bed alone as we already had an 'incident'. But, I thought, Mark is done with mid-terms, he could put the baby to bed and stay with him. And he did, sort of. After an hour and a half of crying (by Liam), I went back into the room, nursed him and went to sleep.

On Saturday, I told Mark I thought we should do that again. Heheheh. Mark decided it was time for Liam to sleep in the crib.

AND HE DID.

At 8:58 pm he woke up crying. Mark and I started discussing how he would know the difference between being abandoned and crying when he needs something. By 9:03, however, Liam was asleep. 5 minutes. It could be beginners luck, but he slept the entire night in his crib. He did wake up a few times, fussed for a few minutes and went back to sleep. He also had poopy diapers - nothing you can do about that but change him. And twice I got him out of the crib (when he was fussing) because I needed him to nurse. We'll have to wean me before we wean him!

Somehow, when he woke up this morning I expected him to look different. Bigger, walking, more mature, something, I don't know. I felt so changed, I guess I expected him to be, too.

December 13, 2007

Liam is asleep

Which is why I'm writing. I've had oodles of ideas of what to write on my blog. Of course, I can't think of any of them right now.

Anyone have experience getting iron drops into a baby who doesn't like them, won't eat spoon-fed food and refuses bottles and sippy cups? Basically, Liam's iron is crazy low, but it's okay because his body seems to handling it as if it's normal, except that brain development really does need iron, so we have to get him pumping iron, so to speak.

I will soon be 32. When did 32 get so young?

I don't think I'm going to have any more children. Ever.

If I take a virtual reality vacation (a la total recall), will I forget all of my real-life concerns while I'm on vacation?

Funnily enough, even though when I look at my life objectively I think it's pretty crazy and kind of crappy, I really do have to admit I'm pretty happy. Or numb. I might be numb. I mentioned to someone that I wanted to ask my mother whether she had a preferred charity for people to make memorial donations. The person's response was basically like, "wow, you're really dealing with some weighty stuff, Mara." I sat for a moment and tried to see what emotion I felt, I just shrugged. All I could think of was, "enh, whatever." Is this the new normal?

And now you know what I'm thinking ... scary, ain't it?

Update: I've uploaded 3 new videos of Liam - crawling, discovering a cupboard in the kitchen and playing with his new shelf space in the living room.

Here's the crawling one. For more, go to my You Tube link at your right.

November 25, 2007

Cocoon

We've been visiting my parents this week, what with Thanksgiving and all. One morning, Liam and I kept warm by having him crawl into my sweater. Peekaboo!

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Also, seeing as how most of us will not experience Liam's laugh firsthand, there's a clip up at my You Tube (see link to your right). It's with Grannie Nannie, of course. He thinks she's simply hysterical. No one else, however, is.


November 9, 2007

Umm, what was I going to say?

You know how it goes, you've got something brilliant to say at 2:00 a.m. when the baby is coughing and screaming in teething pain, but by the time you can get to the computer ... 3 days later, it's gone.

So, instead, I'll show you photos. You know that's what you want anyway.

We recently went out to LA for a wedding, and had the immeasurable joy of staying with our friend Violetta. I love this photo! Here, V is playing peekaboo with a very content Liam.

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We ate out on the porch every day. Liam joined us at the table. It's a long way down!

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Violetta took us to the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. It was gorgeous. Definitely proved to me that I am simply done with sun and hot weather. Finito. I love the composition of this photo - notice the feet!!

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Liam's namesake over in Scotland sent us some authentic attire for our little Scots boy - here's one of the outfits. :-)

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The wedding we attended was gorgeous, set in the inner garden of a restaurant on a hill in Hollywood. It is built to look like a Japanese temple. Liam was very good and loved by all.

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Finally, Liam's first box!! What fun!

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Liam now has at least two teeth. I think 2 more are coming in. He's over the worst of whatever this was - cold, bronchitis, whatever. He's got a bit of a cough and a rattle, but we went to the Peds GI for him today and the nurse checked his chest since we were there and said it's fine (i.e. hasn't developed into pneumonia or anything like that). Not that I was worried; he's clearly on the mend, but it was nice of her to do it.

November 5, 2007

Attn: Future Babysitters

This is, hands down, Liam's favorite video. Calm's him down - and we've played it enough that even just the music has a residual effect.


November 1, 2007

Halloween

For Halloween, Liam and I went with a bunch of other kids and parents to a nearby nursing home to visit with the residents, give them candy and wish them a happy Halloween. Not sure most people got our African/Caribbean theme, but I took off his socks and everyone loved up his toes (and hence not his hands and face!).

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On a feeding note, I finally broke down and bought some liquid formula to add to rice cereal - and it works! He eats it. I know, I know, I hate formula, but it works and it means he's getting some iron, since I am so not being good about getting him his supplements. I guess my parenting philosophy so far is "whatever's easiest".

p.s. new video up at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7wezM-m80g (or click the link on the right)

October 24, 2007

For the Photo Deprived

Last weekend, the Fojas clan celebrated the matriarch's 70th birthday party. Here's Liam with about 10 of his cousins:

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Also of note, Liam has started pulling himself up in his crib (if not sleeping in it...).

Can you see his pride?

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Truly happy with himself!

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October 15, 2007

Oy

Loads has happened since my last entry. Mark dropped calc 3, we went out to LA, returned, Liam can sit up by himself, we bought a crib and Liam has had his first successful nap in it, my parents visited and I have finally managed to get Liam a pediatrician.

That last one? A nightmare.

I've worked with children, teens and adults from low-income households. It's exhausting work. Some of them have got attitudes on them as big as the day is long.

I now count myself among them. The treatment I have received is totally, completely unnecessary. A pharmacist lost my Medicaid ID card (for all three of us), shrugged and said, "well, don't you just get a new one each month?"

Momentarily, I wanted to do her bodily harm. Hi - that's all of our access to medical, gone.

I called pediatricians who were listed as taking our insurance (because Medicaid farms us out to other providers). Each one asked, "what insurance do you have?" I replied, and the immediate answer, "No."

Wow. So, like, you'll take other kids, but not mine. Ouch. Finally, I was told to call the Children's Hospital line and get an appointment at one of their clinics.

So, my next question is how do I go about this process for my own doctor? It seems to me none of the doctors listed as taking my insurance actually will, but I have to find some low-end clinic that warehouses us lowlifes so that, you know, no one else has to acknowledge our existence.

Haha. And presidential candidates are talking about health care for all? How ironic.

It's exhausting, stressful, and demeaning.

It feels slightly wrong, too, knowing that if I could tear myself away from Liam, I am totally qualified to be on the other end of the phone, giving half-information to families in need. But then, part of me thinks, "no, darn it, I'm a mother, and every mother deserves to receive the assistance I'm seeking. Mothering IS my job."

September 25, 2007

A Fairer Comparison

Mara

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Mark

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Liam

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Oh my goodness. Now that I've done it, I can't believe there are people who don't see Mark in him. I kept searching - trying to find a photo that emphasizes his chin (for obvious reasons).

August 22, 2007

Liam's Pecs

You can see he is fairly impervious to us. He just rolled around and babbled away for about an hour this morning. He also does this thing where he arches his back, like he's showing off his pecs. It comes in handy when he doesn't want to get into his car-seat.

Liam Update

Heck, I might as well change the name of my blog to that, no? In any case, it's been a while. So, for the geographically challenged as my brother-in-law would say:

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My mother knit Liam a lovely kimono sweater, due to it fitting him in June/July, he only wore it once, unfortunately. I took pictures, and as you can see from the second photo, Liam got excited, and kicked himself right out of the frame of the photo! (yes, I think that's very adorable.)

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3 June, we participated in the Race for the Place, which is a race to raise funds for the Gathering Place, a cancer resource center here in the Cleveland area. Well, Liam needed his own participant t-shirt, no*?

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He was on his Grannie Nannie's team:

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We recently had a visit with Ms. Mel. Here she is in the midst of her study of one wee bairn:

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This shot cracks me up. "Hi, my name is Liam and this is me, just hangin' out with my legs in the air."

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Finally, the mushy lovey shot. Liam and his Goompa - awww!

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*I hereby recognize all of my family and friends who decorated onesies for Liam with fabric markers. That is no easy task - what patience and love you all have!!!

August 7, 2007

Don't Miss

We recently had my paternal grandmother's family reunion.

My mother posted photos, most of which - surprisingly enough - include Liam. :-)

Check out her photos. I especially like the series of Liam walking with Auntie Rae!

July 31, 2007

For the 8 Year Old in all of us

8 year old boy, that is.

With a little surprise, just for you.

And just for fun, this shows (briefly, I swear) some of Liam's vocal range:

July 26, 2007

Grandparents' Joy

It's a mutual thing. I wish you could hear what my father is saying better. He seems to have an endless supply of amusing things to say and do with Liam.

Liam will do a body curl in order to try to sit up. I'll have him grip my hands, he sits up and then pushes his feet against me in order to stand up - all one smooth movement. Of course, you can't really see all of that since I had to set up the camera myself.

And finally, this one. Of course, he started to crank once I finally got the camera and started filming, but before that he just prattled away for awhile talking to himself into my arm.

July 11, 2007

Stunned

We all froze. You could have heard a pin drop, even on the carpeted floor. We exchanged shocked expressions - did what I think just happened, just happen?

I thought, "holy crap! that's me!"

Then, my mother had the presence of mind to act. As she did, I thought, "of course! this is how we reinforce this behavior."

It was probably the most defining moment of motherhood for me thus far.

"What happened?", you ask?

Liam said "mama".

Twice.

July 10, 2007

Liam Went to the Beach

We went to Headlands Beach Park (that's Lake Erie of the Great Lakes) yesterday with my parents and my sister Rachael.

If you can't see this, you can search for my videos on YouTube under 'lafeministe24'.

I've loaded tons of photos from this past weekend on Flickr.

Here's a sample:

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July 6, 2007

Photos

I've got little bits in my arms, so just photos at the mo'.

Actually, I did earlier, but that totally didn't work out, so I'm doing it now while Liam talks away to his Papa.

I just couldn't resist this photo. My mother had put the socks on Liam so he didn't get cold ... it was not to be.

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How could you possibly resist this face?

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Everyone's 'home' for the weekend while Nathan and Ingrida visit from Scotland. Here's Aunt Lucy chatting Lilu up.

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Here's Uncle Mendon working his magic. Liam loves his Uncle Mendon!

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Liam also loves his Goompa. Here he's flying on Goompa's knees - and oh so happy!

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And here's proof I can photograph something other than my son. ;)

Nathan, Gramma, and Ingrida

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June 28, 2007

Who's Cooing?

June 21, 2007

Mr. Mylar

Sorry for the lack of update. Nothing much going on in my life, other than my mother recovering from surgery, Mark busy at school, me planning a friend's wedding party, generally preparing to move - oh yeah, and Liam. You know, nothing much.

Now that Liam is on Pepcid, as opposed to Zantac - which has alcohol in it!!! - he is doing much better. He's still not 100%, but compared to before he's a whole new baby. He's smiling, cooing - and he even laughed at my mother the other day. Oh, and sometimes, after he sneezes, he slips into a coo - "Achoo ... ooooooo." Very cute.

So, my mother was sent a Mylar balloon while in the hospital. My father brought it home and we quickly discovered Liam's favorite person: Mr. Mylar. He loves it. He once sat in his chair, alone, fascinated with Mr. Mylar for over 30 minutes. Which is like infinity in his world. I couldn't believe it.

For your viewing pleasure (or not):

June 5, 2007

Development

One thing about this parenthood thing - at least at this stage - is all the moments I spend just staring at Liam. In wonderment. As I struggle to take care of him on my own, his constant occupation is to become independent of me. Obviously, right now, it is all small and incremental, but it is true nevertheless.

On a side note, as he finishes nursing, he holds the last sip in his cheeks like a chipmunk for a few seconds before he swallows. It's so cute.

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May 31, 2007

Roll Over

Okay, the big developmental roll over is from your back to your belly (several months from now). Just so we know.

That in mind, we've started giving Liam 'belly time'. We lay him down on his belly and he lifts his legs, pushes himself up on his toes, lifts his head up, stuff like that.

And now - it's happened several days in a row now, so it's for real - he can roll himself over from his belly onto his back!

May 27, 2007

I Scoff[ed]

I did. I really did. Until today.

There are so many baby accessories, it's absurd. There are these velcro blankets that's they call swaddlers - to help you swaddle your baby. I thought it was pretty ridiculous. I mean, what does it take to swaddle your baby? Geesh.

And then I met baby thrasher, I mean, my son Liam. Liam, who hasn't slept in his bassinet for at least 3 weeks. At All. Which we thought was due to his acid-reflux.

Then my sister-in-law, Melissa, gave us her old swaddler blanket. Mark, lover of gadgets, figured out how to use it and put Liam in it. He looks like a bean burrito. But ya' know what?

He's asleep. And it's not on me. (do you see the heavens open, light streaming down and a chorus singing "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"? Or is that just me?)

I am duly repentant.

May 22, 2007

Recently

I have lots of time at night all to myself with not much else to do other than think about what to write about on the blog. But as witty as it seems at 4 a.m., it seems just as tedious now.

I'm on an elimination diet to figure out whether Liam has any food allergies that might cause him to be as cranky as he is. I sort of doubt it, though I've discovered I have a mild allergy to raspberries. Of course, Memorial Day weekend - full with a wedding, a graduation party, birthday party and the requisite BBQ - falls smack dab in the middle of this diet in which I can eat no wheat, dairy, sugar, etc.... I think the only place I feel truly weird is bringing my own food to Nadine's wedding. Can you picture whipping out Tupperware at a formal sit-down dinner banquet? Heheheheh.

Okay, the required photos, before my son dies of (supposed) malnutrition:

Asleep on Daddy
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Asleep (and adorable - look at that arm!) on Nannie
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Good with Goompah
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Cool Cucumber
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I love this shot - all cosy with Nannie.
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This looks so posed to me! (peaceful, though)
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And now you've seen just about every outfit he owns, too, heheheh. [No. That is NOT a plea for clothes. We have plenty, I assure you!]

May 11, 2007

Sling Thing

Mark (and Liam's) new favorite thing is our Baby Bjorn.

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As you can see, Liam doesn't technically fit in it yet, as it's still a slight stretch to get his arms out the armholes.

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See his face? That's where his arms will eventually go, but for now, he's quite content to snuggle up to Mark in it and go to sleep, which I find adorable. It also frees us both up. I hand Liam over to Mark and then the sling enables Mark to still go about whatever he wants to do since his hands are still free.

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May 9, 2007

Recent Developments

Last week, I think, we gave Liam his first in-the-tub bath. He did very well. He looks a bit surprised here, but there were no tears.

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However, you would have no idea, by this photo, that he just finished peeing all over me and the floor. My mother then wrapped him in a much more absorbent towel and held him - now that he was done peeing of course.

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He looks so sweet, so innocent here. Sigh. Liam was just diagnosed with acid reflux. What does that mean? That means this baby goes from Zero to Sixty in about a nanosecond, because if he's crying it's because he's in some serious pain. He doesn't fuss much otherwise. He's now on medication to neutralize all that acid coming back up. Hopefully, we'll be seeing more of the happy baby again soon.

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Here, Liam is posing to recreate the style in which his maman apparently slept when she was his age. No joke.

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April 30, 2007

SSN

I had no idea there was so much paperwork and bureaucracy to having a child.

We finally received Liam's social security card in the mail - woohoo! It is his first official, government-recognized document. It's also his first piece of mail addressed to him. I keep looking at it and saying ridiculous things like, "oooh, it's so cute!"

Mostly, though, I'm just relieved. I was afraid I was going to have to sit in a horrible office waiting hours on end to turn in a paper in order to request this card. Getting him on my insurance is still a bit of a catch-22, but this at least is one less thing to worry about. Catch-22? Yeah, I'm supposed to turn in the application within 30 days, however, I can't apply for his birth certificate until 30 days after his birth. Uh, whose idea was this?!!?

April 28, 2007

What's in a Name?

I'm realizing that one of the most surreal aspects about being a parent is that I (we) have named this unnamed being. We have put our preference upon him already. It feels ... unnatural, like in some way I'm sullying his being. It suddenly seems so bizarre to me that we give names to our children at birth. I mean, it isn't exactly necessary - he's got no clue that "Liam" refers to him right now*.

I think this is actually is a small aspect of something much larger - I wonder at every action, comment, etc. as to how that may shape who he becomes in the future. Are we scarring him already? Are we dooming his reality by doing - or not doing - X? Are we setting him on the right course by modelling some action - or not? Oh my goodness. I suppose I best get used to this new reality of mine....

*Don't get me wrong, I like his name. And, as a matter of fact, I like my own name, so either my parents got it right, I grew into it, or both.

April 26, 2007

To Prove Granny Nannie Wrong

Liam_awake.jpg

He's not always either crying or asleep!

April 16, 2007

Get Me Off That Train!

Whoa. They ain't joking when they talk about postpartum blues due to a serious hormonal roller coaster-esque drop. The medical staff talked about the 'first ten days' being susceptible to 'the blues'. Yah. It's now 12 days out and it really was yesterday that I started feeling the fog lift. Night feedings, with exhaustion and alone time added in, were harrowing. A couple of times I sat feeding Liam with tears streaming down my face. And no, they were not tears of joy. Tears shed for the life I've left behind, the dream job I'll never have again, the freedom I had, etc. The rest of the family talked about being over the moon, full of happiness and sheer amazement at the birth of our son. And I silently sat there wondering, "what the hell were we thinking?!?!"

I think the worst part of it was that surrounded by this joy and excitement, it is practically forbidden to speak up and say that I was not happy, I was not over the moon, and, umm... would someone like to take him off my hands, please (permanently)?

Fortunately for me, my entire family came in to town this past week for my grandfather's funeral (thank you, grandpa, for your thoughtful consideration), so we had a houseful of eager aunts and uncles wanting nothing better than to do exactly that - take Liam off my hands; not to mention affording me a reason to get out of the house. Furthermore, what with them being my siblings, there was enough noise and activity in my parents' relatively small home for me to silently fade into the background while I struggled to figure out what I was going to do.

Well, as I said, fortunately for me the fog has lifted; I can see his adorable cuteness, serene innocence and something other than a future in which he terrorizes me and everyone else's path he crosses.

To end on a happy note, here we are, with a very obviously ecstatic Auntie Rae:

Rae.jpg

Check out Nathan's blog for more photos of the happy relatives with Liam.