Everything--2

This was originally written on Sunday, July 12, 2009:

In my last post I explained that I will be taking a "blog break" in a week-and-a-half. But first, here are our final updates. The last post was about our events, this one is Logan's changes/developments.
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There has been no more turning purple since Logan turned 14 months old a month ago. (Did You Know)

There's been no more biting since Logan and the girl at Jaxson's party, whew. (Finally)

Logan, who has always been predictable in his sleep patterns since he was 4 months old, has had some changes the past month. Since his 12-month birthday he's had the same schedule every single day: Bedtime at 8 pm, Wake up at 6:30 am, Nap from 12:30-3:30.

But, when he came home from staying with my parents on Monday, June 8, he slept until 9:30 am the next day! That was 13.5 hours - the most he's ever slept straight thru. I actually called his babysitter (where he goes 8 hrs a week) when he was still sleeping at 8 am to tell her he wasn't going to be coming on Tuesday because I didn't want to wake him up on this rare occasion! (He had only slept until 8 am during months 10 & 11)

The rest of the week he slept until 8 am, then he went back to his usual waking up time of 6:30 am until the last weekend in June after we came back from our trip to Iowa. The next day he slept until 8:30 am and woke up at 8 the rest of the week. He also started going to bed at 7 pm, which continued through last week, except he started getting up at 6:30-7 am again. Three of the days he took a 4 hour nap (the longest he ever has - until now the longest had been 3 hrs)!

THEN, my parents called me this past Friday at 7 pm because they were worried - my mom had put Logan down for a nap at 1 pm and he was still sleeping! They didn't know if they should wake him up, and I was thrown for a loop because that had never happened to me. My mom said she kept opening the door and even went into the closet to hang stuff up and he never stirred - he was so sound! I was like, well it's up to you. His body must really want to sleep so I'd hate to force him to stop, but I would think he's going to be messed up during the night.

My parents have never had to get up with him in the night and must have decided they didn't want to start, haha, because they decided a few minutes later to go in and whisper to him and apparently he sat up and smiled and was wide awake. He went to bed again with no problems at 9:50 pm and slept until 7 am, so he just must have really needed that 6 hr nap! Then, yesterday took a 4 hour nap. He must be going through a growth spurt because usually he only sleeps the recommended 13-14 hrs a day for his age group. Hopefully his sleep schedule will go back to being predictable soon. I'm glad he's so comfortable there. . .Joe said maybe he needed a break, too, this weekend and thinks this is his vacation, haha!

Of course my parents always have a blast with him. My mom said that she told him she loved him and he began throwing her kisses! We do this to him from time to time but have never seen him do it on his own - I hope he does it to me, too, how cute!

They also took him to a parade yesterday and the lady next to them kept remarking about what a well-behaved little boy he was, she'd never seen such a calm, content 14-15 month old.

However, like I said in my last post, month 14 was exhausting for me. Month 13 was excellent - he was easy and happy. There were only two days that month when he was fussy and that was when his molars came in. The first day (Tuesday, June 2) was the worst he'd ever been in his entire life because he was BAD for the first time - as in, purposely disobeying and naughty! Before I realized what was going on I was worried it was going to be his new behavior! (This was also the week I was sick.)

Until month 13 he had always immediately obeyed when I said no, which I knew wasn't going to last but it really changed overnight to the extreme. That day he continued doing whatever I said "no" to every single time, even giving me an evil grin during! He tried to knock over our lamps, bash things against glass, dig out the trash, and go ONLY for what he knew were the "no-nos." He threw himself against the pantry and the refrigerator when he wanted to eat. It was one thing after another. . .I had never experienced this behavior before and was like ohmygosh I'm sick, why are you being like this of all days? (And Tuesdays are when Joe doesn't get home until 9 pm.) Then he opened his mouth and I saw his molars had popped up! I was relieved to have a reason and, sure enough, he was well-behaved the rest of the month. Whew.

A funny story, though: I called Joe at work to tell him Logan's behavior that day and that I was trying to stay sane. He called me back later and asked how things were going. I said, "Better because I put him down."

Joe didn't say anything for a moment and then in a nervous voice said, "What do you mean you put him down?"

"For his nap!!!"

OMG - thanks hubby! Do I really seem capable of more than that?!?!

Anyway. . .

The only one that has continued is that now he doesn't always obey "no" anymore. For example, he knows not to get into the dog food and yet he purposely does it anyway. Sometimes if I don't see him right away he will hold his hand close by the dish and make a noise so that I'll see what he's doing, and then he will reach for it. The little stinker.

He also had several temper tantrums in month 14 (there hadn't been any since 12.5 months old) - but the thing I've noticed is that he gives up pretty easily, lol. I credit this to not having done the cry it out method with him until now (I think around 15 months it's fine to do because most likely they are throwing a temper tantrum). It's like, he doesn't realize that he can cry for a long time so he stops after just one minute because it doesn't feel natural to cry for more than that. He knows that if I'm going to come to his side, I will in that first minute. So, all I really have to do is leave the room or focus my attention on something else - and he abruptly stops and then happily plays or starts laughing at the dogs. 9 times out of 10 it becomes apparent his cries were fake! I hope he doesn't become like I was (I wrote about my rebellious childhood in The Truth About Spanking). But, actually being like that myself might work to my advantage - I can be a step ahead of him :)

Joe said that so far Logan doesn't appear to be like him in any way whatsoever. I had to agree. Even though he's not ALL ME (there are differences to me, too, probably because he's a boy), he does seem to be taking much more after me than Joe. I can't say I'm terribly disappointed. I think it'll be fun for me to have someone like me in the family, for once! :) Who knows, though, it could change the older he gets - kind of like how he morphs between the two of us when it comes to his looks. One day he's a spitting image of me, the other day Joe. 

I do hope he's better in math & science than I was. I told Joe I'm worried because I don't think Joe's going to have any tolerance for Logan not being a wizz at math. But my brain just never caught on to math. . .I'm assuming that's genetic. Joe was like, "Oh no - he's going to be good at math. You're right, there's no tolerance for that."

Joe, don't be one of those fathers.

Logan will have his 15 month check up on Jul 20. I don't think he's gained anything in 4 months! This is surprising because one of the reasons why month 14 has been so exhausting is because he's eating me out of house and home. Hmm, I have a son. . .this might never end! :( He took his grazing to a whole new level - the past two weeks he has been eating every hour. I told Joe I'm going to have to figure out a new meal plan because it is wearing me out feeding him so often. If you read my post De Ja Vu then you know I thought the continuing to eat every two hours (what he'd always done his whole life) was better for his sleep because when he first began eating all adult food and regular milk (and stopped eating every two hours), he woke up at 5:30 am a couple of mornings. However, the next week he did the 5:30 thing a few days again (even after going back to eating every two hours during the day). I didn't know what to do then - but (knock on wood) it stopped as abruptly as it'd started; he hasn't woken up that early since April.

I feed him until he's full so it's not like I can feed him more, less often. I'm also not going to force-feed him nor am I going to refuse to let him eat when he's hungry. I'm hoping that this change in eating, combined with the recent change in sleep, indicates that he's going through a growth spurt and so it will stop as soon as the spurt is over.

He drinks more than the 4 oz of water each day (more like 8-10 oz of purified water) but that doesn't seem to make a difference, either.

At 13 months old all of his straw cups were in the wash one day and so I gave him one of the sippy cups (since we had bought 3 before we knew that straw cups were better Straw Cups - Not Sippy Cups) and he had no problem with it - he carried it around and drank from it like he'd been doing it all along. It became obvious to me that kids do it when they're ready - it's not something that should be pushed on them because they'll get it when they're capable. I'm glad I was educated right at the time Logan was weaning from bottles. I still only give Logan the sippy cups when I'm behind on wash - hopefully the rare occasions that he gets sippy cups won't be harmful to him. 99% of the time he carries around his straw cup or goes and gets it when he's thirsty, it's so cute. (And sometimes we give him a regular cup, but even though he's always been able to drink well with or without a straw in it, he spills the cup if he carries it around.)

We finally finished all of his baby food at 14 months old (you might remember that when he weaned himself at 11.5 months I still had a cabinet full, so I've been sneaking in bites with his finger food). At 13 months he began taking the spoon from me because he wanted to feed himself, but it was still slow and awkward and messy, however since 14 months old he's had no problem feeding himself with a spoon or fork! (He also lately has started wanting to brush his own teeth.)

One way that Logan has been easier the past two months is that his clingy phase only lasted a couple of weeks during month twelve. He's been back to acting independent which makes life easier for me because I think I'd be the worst clingy mom if I had a son who was like that, too! The funny thing, though, is that I got out the baby bjorn in May (13 months old) because the limit weight is 24 lbs - and he liked it! I've tried it off & on since birth and Logan has never liked baby wearing. I've only worn it a couple of times since May because obviously he's mobile now, but it's sweet that he doesn't mind these days because he's always been affectionate and so he thinks it's cuddle time. :)

I love that he comes up to me on his own several times a day for hugs and kisses. I told him to promise me he won't ever stop that!!!!!!

He has been playing by himself a little more lately, like finding household items and making stacks and organizing - it's so adorable! He'll find our shoes and one by one walk to another room and put them in the same pile. Or, he'll put a bunch of things over the baby gate like he has a plan, a goal. . .I love it!

The only thing is that I have my first pet peeve with him. He likes to take things out of my cabinet and drawers and hide them! So one day I couldn't find my toothpaste, another day my big tooth comb, another day my acne cream. . .:p

Logan's 12th tooth popped through recently and now I think his 13th tooth might be trying. He's been drooling A LOT and chewing on his shirt (what has been his pattern with other teeth). I guess that would be another reason why month 14 has been exhausting! In my post, Logan's First Day I mentioned that the first day I felt frustrated with Logan since becoming a mother was in February. Well the second time happened this month. I told him I was going to leave the room until he stopped whining. He just kept whining but I'd already done everything under the sun and couldn't figure out what more he wanted. So I shut the door on him and breathed. . and breathed. . .and breathed. And then he stopped, so a few seconds later I came out and said, "Okay now let's have a good day."

Overall, he's still really well-behaved, though. But even though month 11 was the best ever of his life and I had hope that it would continue through the summer, I have to have energy to feel that way. :/ Although plenty of fun and special moments occurred in months 12 & 14, the months still wiped me out. Aside from the 0-6 month phase which was a breeze for me, I think ages 3 & up will be my best. I clicked with the two kids who I babysat in HS when they were three, as I did my brother and two cousins (I fondly remember them at that age). When they're 3 & up they just seem easier. But until then. . .oh how funny, I sighed out loud just now. . .I think that says it all!

I break up the long days by renting DVDs (Blockbuster has an excellent rewards program, I get so many for free!) I watched four seasons of Lost in, like, one month. (I had never seen the show before but hope season 5 comes out soon so that I can watch the final season, 6, live this fall.) Most recently I rented The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and Revolutionary Road, both had thought-provoking messages.

In my post, The Weaner, I wrote about when my friend Melissa had her baby. I forgot to mention later that she found out Axton was truly a miracle child. When her placenta was expelled the doctor got a strange look on her face. The cord is supposed to be attached to the placenta. This is how the baby gets his nutrients and survives. Instead, her cord was hardly attached to the placenta - it was mainly attached to the amniotic sac! (Not normal.) Because the placenta was also attached to the sac (which is is normal), nutrients were transferred between the two which sustained the pregnancy!!!!! For being late, Axton was small (6 lbs) - this is probably why.

It is amazing that she didn't miscarry - and also her doctor said there was an incredibly high percentage that during labor the cord would have put trauma/pressure on the sac and tore it, which would have caused immediate death to the baby and they wouldn't have known in time to save him. The doctor said that judging by how Melissa's labor should have gone, i.e. she hadn't been dilated yet when she went into labor and things progressed very slow, so typically a woman in her situation would be looking at the longest of labors, which would have guaranteed the tearing of the sac. Instead, her total labor time was 7 hrs because she went from 5-10 cm dilated all in the last hour!

Axton has continued to be a healthy baby boy. (He's now over 3 months old.) Melissa had to stop breastfeeding when he reached 8 weeks because he had always been very sensitive to her food. She was hardly able to eat anything those two months because he would get colicky/fussy gassy, and constipated. She was not enjoying those first two months. He wasn't sleeping well (still waking up every 2 hrs) and so at 6 weeks she supplemented formula for the first time and he slept 9 hrs. He also pooped and seemed happier, so she began to wean him from breastfeeding and since then she has actually felt closer to him and like she's a better mother since she stopped breastfeeding. So, it's different for everyone.

At around 13 months old Logan stopped being scared of the vacuum. (I had written in my post Logan's First Day that he had begun crying when I turned it on at 8 months old.)

At around 12 months old he stopped putting things in his mouth when he found stuff on the floor - now he immediately gives them to me which is a lot better!

I had to laugh with the difference from when he first became mobile at 7 months (crawling) to now. Back then when he put a piece of old food or dirt from the floor in his mouth I'd fly across the room and dig it out of his mouth in a panic. Now if I'm on the other side of the room I'm just like, "That's gross, Logan" and I keep doing whatever it is I was doing. I guess that's why they say the more kids you have the more relaxed you become. Over time you decide that if it doesn't kill them, then whatever.

Logan doesn't do the "err" anymore (Catch Up Time), but as I said in Boys Will Be Boys, he does "grr" instead when he's playing which is still cute :)

He still crosses his ankles when he sits. :)

At 13.5 months he began to get scared of bathtime like he had at 0-2 months. This was surprising because ever since two months old, taking a bath was one of his favorite things to do. We discovered that he is fine if we don't submerge him in the water. This has put an end to playtime but at least he doesn't cry. Hopefully some day he'll want to take a normal bath again!

As I said in Lots Of Firsts, he started walking up and down the steps on his own at 14 months.

Also updating since that post, Logan can now say all words on demand. . .except talking has become like mimicking - he only does it when he wants to. So even though he's capable, most often he won't do it. Therefore I'm still waiting for "mommy!" He still says "oh shoot" a lot, though, haha!

At 13 months we moved Logan's pack n play (play pen) to the basement. He just wasn't playing in it anymore. I thought I wouldn't like not having a changing table downstairs but it hasn't bothered me. He doesn't seem to need as many diaper changes anymore (that's a good sign for potty training!), he goes through about 6 in 24 hours so I just do it when I'm upstairs (since we still have his normal changing table in his room).

By the way, I'm 100% sure I'm doing cloth with my next baby!!! I might get a couple for Logan to try out now (I wrote about the best kind in my post, My Recommendations-Part One) but I don't want it to throw off his potty training since we will be starting the process in a few months. I wasn't ready to do the cloth diapers before because I knew nothing about changing babies' diapers and it was too overwhelming. Now I'm more confident so I think I can do it with baby #2! :)

At 11 months old Logan stopped playing in the bathtub when I took a shower - apparently it was too confining. Since then I've let him run around the bathroom which he enjoys, although he's learned how to open the shower, so he does that occasionally while I'm in there :p

Sometimes water gets on our floor and at first this made him slip and fall, poor guy. Now he's so smart - if he sees water on the floor, he gets down on his hands and knees and crawls around it!

I can't believe how much he is picking up nowadays. The other day he grabbed the nail clippers and put them against his toes as if to try and cut his toenails! I was shocked (they were ours) because I didn't even know he'd seen us do that so I didn't realize he knew what they were!

Since 13 months old he has tried to put his socks and shoes on whenever he sees them. . .since 11.5 months old he has combed his own hair when finding a brush or comb. . .since 12 months old he's tried to plug correct things in the outlets (so it's a good thing we have the outlets covered). . .and since 13 months old when he picks up his toy cell phone he put it to his ear and then says to the mouthpiece "blah blah blah!" haha.

Fortunately, the head banging stopped around 12 months old.

In my post Catch Up Time, I mentioned that Logan had begun eating meat at 10.5 months old for the first time (because prior to then he didn't like it). Well this stopped a month later until 14.5 months old! Now he seems to be giving it another try. Anything with cheese seems to be his favorite food.

In that same post I talked about my friend's experience with infertility. Unfortunately, they haven't had the funds to find out more about her husband's azoospermia or to figure out their options. She wanted me to blog about this really interesting topic: honey - a cheap boost to fertility! At first when she told me about it I was skeptical. But then I did research and was amazed - this is not an unusual way for couples to get pregnant. In fact, it's what couples did before there were fertility treatments and the technology we have today. There is a huge success rate! I couldn't find any expert to disagree that there really is "something about honey." Couples should definitely try this first if they are having trouble conceiving, before any of the more expensive options. Heck, I might even do it next time I want to get pregnant to see if it happens on our first try (rather than 6). There's something in it that rejuvinates both male & female reproductive organs!

For my friend, "Honey could provide lasting remedy for people with low sperm count problem since it could boost the sperm count from level zero to fertility level of over 60 million sperm count. Regular intake of honey increases the production of sperm cells and also the quality and motility of the sperm cells." For more on this subject, go to babyworld.com.

For my updates. . .the past couple of months I've read three novels, which has been nice.

I've also been taking Logan for an hour walk or doing a half an hour on the elliptical every single day. Thankfully once I felt my hormones return to normal in April (after getting out of whack when I stopped breastfeeding the end of January/first of February and gained 15 lbs), I stopped gaining weight and was stable for two months. Since June I've lost 3 lbs. . .I'm hoping the rest will come off before our weekend getaway to Lake Rathbun (I mentioned we are going there in my last post).

Logan would stay outside all day if he could so I've gotten lots of fresh air the past month. . .no issues with depression like in February.

Guess what? Two of my friends have de quervain's. Chris developed it three months after her son was born (three months post partum is when mine was at its worst) and Brooke (who had her baby girl the end of April) developed it about a month before her baby was born. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that anymore, it was the craziest thing how my wrist hurt so bad and then suddenly stopped. (De Quervain's Posts)

I've decided my goal for decorating this year will just be the downstairs. So I have three rooms left by the end of December. Then next year I can do the upstairs.

A couple of months ago Logan peed for the third time since he was two months old without a diaper - I guess Joe was changing his diaper and then went to get his clothes and said he felt his pant leg become warm :p When he turned around, Logan was spraying him. This made Logan really upset, though, and he burst out crying! Poor thing. He hasn't done it since. He also hasn't wet the bed since March - yeay!

Unfortunately, his nightmares & night terrors returned at around 11 months old and have been off & on since then. (Prior to that they had only been in month 9 and then 0-5 months. We learned when he was 9 months old that they are his brain's way of developing.) They either wake him up in the middle of his nap (so then he has a shorter nap that day) or he screams out at 11 pm but then quiets on his own after a minute or two of crying in his sleep.