codegoat - Family

13 Months - And the Beat Goes On.

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:02:19 -0400

Here are some pictures from Elias' 13th month!

This has been a quick whirlwind month. Trav and the boys made it safely to and from Josh's stag in Vegas where it sounds like they had a successful weekend. While the boys were playing, Eli and I took the opportunity to visit with Michael, Jill and Isabella. I didn't carry my camera with me cause I was so loaded with other gear so for a few photos hop over to Jill's Blog. Here is Post 1 and Post 2 of our visit. It was a super short visit but it was great to meet Baby Bella and see the new pad! Eli was fairly well behaved on the flights. I've realized that, when travelling alone, it doesn't matter how many toys, snacks and other diversions you bring, the only thing that matters in the end is who is sitting around you. Because once I got boring, Eli looked for other people to entertain him. On the way there, I was sitting beside friendly people who were comfortable around babies and the flight seemed so short. But on the way home I got stuck next to people with no interest in making baby faces or even holding a conversation so I had to hold on for a looooong flight. We had a few screams that turned heads three rows ahead. But, I'd do it again in a second.

Josh and Davannah's wedding and all of the festivities surrounding it were beautiful and a lot of fun. It was pouring rain for the ceremony but everyone was cool with that. After all, it is Victoria! Although, that was the first wedding I have attended here in the POURING rain. For the wedding weekend, we booked a hotel room at Bear Mountain and had fun playing tourist in our own town. Trav played a round of golf at one of the Bear Mountain courses and keeps talking about how much he enjoys golf. Uh oh. How can I stop that train? Hahaha, I like golf; When I am at the range and don't have to actually chase my horrible shots.

Other than being fairly busy, we have been sick. Or at least I have been. Eli and I were just getting over colds at our last month's post and then we both came home from Cupertino with colds. Travis managed to catch that one too. To top it all off, yesterday I got a touch of the 24hr flu that has been rampantly running through our family since the wedding. I was down and out for the whole day yesterday which is why this post is a day late. However, I am feeling a lot better today. Last night I made Travis promise to get me pizza when I was feeling better so tonight we went to the park then dropped by Prima Strada Pizzeria in Cook St. Village on the way home. Mmmmm, funghi!

Elias is doing really well. Still not walking but working on some serious cute every day! Travis walked at 14 months so Eli has one month left to beat his Dad! Go Eli! I'm honestly looking forward to the day when I don't have to bend over so far to pick him up.

11 Months - Figuring it all out

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:44:06 -0400

Here are the pictures from Elias' 11th Month. Eli's world is expanding and this month he is certainly figuring everything out.

We've figured out how to open cupboards and drawers. Even the magnetic cabinet under the TV has been no match for Eli this month. The toilet paper roll is a lot of fun to unravel and fishing around in the toilet bowl is a good idea. Eli is amazingly good at turning the pages of the little cardboard books when you read to him and he actually seems to understand the words "turn the page". He has also learned that closing doors can be fun. He shut the glass door to the kitchen on Oscar and I and then stood up and leaned on the door so I couldn't open it. It's great fun trying to coax a little boy who has no idea what you are saying. In desperation, I sat down on the floor with hopes he would copy me but I just got a sly little smile in return. Some days I think it would be hilarious to be a fly on the wall in this house.

Elias doesn't really have any repeatable words yet. Still a lot of babble and mama dada. Might be time to get some flash cards out! hehe... nah, I'm not that crazy. He is showing early signs of a potential preacher or politician though. He has started putting a hand in the air and just shouting out babble to his hand. He is very spirited about it. When he is in the mood, he'll do it for long periods of time. One day when we were shopping and we got to the checkout the clerk said to Eli "Oh, you were the one making all that noise". Let's say he likes to be noticed. But he's also extremely shy in groups which is an odd combination. I realized this week that I might have to work on some jealousy problems because as soon as I am holding another baby, Eli becomes the most clingy snuggly thing ever. However, I secretly loved it since he seems to be turning into more of a go-boy instead of a cuddle-boy.

I think that is about it from this house. I'm starting to feel a little more stable as I exit the first trimester and I have a lot more energy. We're loving the warmer weather (I think its here now) and looking forward to a fun summer with an awesome little boy.

Congrats to our friends Michael and Jill Maysmith who had a baby girl Isabella on April 12. Head over to Jill's Blog to see some adorable pictures!

Version 2.0

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:04:18 -0400

Spring is here and it's not only the bunnies at UVic that are reproducing. Travis and I are expecting another baby! The due date is November 3rd-ish. To save you from doing the math, that will put Elias and his little bro or sis about 18 months apart. It is going to be a challenge for a few months to have two so close together but we have always wanted our kids to be close in age so here we are fulfilling our plan.

The picture shows Eli and I wearing the t-shirts we used to announce our good news to the family. Eli's shirt has Version 1.0 printed on it and my shirt has Version 2.0 over my soon-to-be-large-again belly. We thought the theme was cute but a few family members needed a little help to get the message.

I have been feeling a more ill than I remember with Eli. Maybe that's because of the selective memory I have of my first pregnancy. I've also been incredibly exhausted and generally uninspired. I think it is much harder that I have been off work because I am not hesitating to take advantage of afternoon naps. I also have more time to think about how unstable I am. I'm really looking forward to the second trimester.

10 Months - Gone Vertical

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 21:35:34 -0400

Here are the pictures from Elias' 10th Month. I'm running a few days late this month because when I looked at our photo library last week, I realized that we had only taken 6 pictures! Instead of posting 6 pics I decided to hold off until the end of the weekend so we could get a few more pictures.

I don't know where this month has gone. It feels like just last week that we were waiting and waiting for Eli's first tooth. Well, now he has 6! 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. He has been generally a little more grumpy but I think that is mostly due to the teeth arriving so quickly.

The biggest change this month has been the switch to standing. He learned to pull himself up into a standing position early in the month. Transitioning back down onto his bum was a harder feat learned almost two weeks later. We had a lot of fun times, picking up Eli and putting him back down only to have him stand up again because... well he could. Nap time was a complete nightmare. He would stand in his crib, get angry because he was stuck, but when I came in to put him back down he would get really angry at me because then he had to stand up again. Luckily, the novelty of standing at nap time has worn off and he is back to going to sleep sans big fuss.

We're looking forward to the venture of walking however there is a small part of me that really misses that little infant that remained in the exact position you left him when you ran into another room for a few minutes.

9 Months - The Menagerie

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:39:52 -0500

Here are the pictures from Elias' 9th Month. We've put in a fair bit of time on the couch in the last week watching the Olympics. GO Canada! Eli usually doesn't get much time in front of the tube but this week he has had no other option. At times he's pretty captivated by what's on the TV but usually he is happier getting into trouble.

Lately, our living room feels like it has been transformed into a circus ring. Eli is the Seal because he still spends most of his time pulling himself along on his belly, clapping blocks together and yelping. He sure is moving fast now! Oscar is the lion who likes to sleep a lot but occasionally wants to play. When he is in a playful mood he eats everything in sight and bowls over the poor little seal. Trav and I are occasionally the ring leaders keeping things in order but most of the time we're the crazy clowns running around keeping the menagerie entertained and out of trouble. This is what our lives have become and every day is more fun than the last.

Every time we put Eli down in the living room, there are two places that he always gravitates towards. He either does a quick crawl to tug on the phone cord that is nicely dangling down the back of the table. Or, he sprints to the metal fireplace grate and tugs that around the room. During the Canada and Norway Hockey Game, Trav and I were discussing ways we could baby proof these two hot spots. When a great "a ha" moment came to us. Why baby proof the house when we can house proof the baby! This is the background story behind the laundry basket turned into turtle protective shell for babies. I think we could market this!

Here's a quick update on what's going on...
Continue reading "9 Months - The Menagerie"

Happy Valentines Day!

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:13:27 -0500

We had a busy day!

The day started with some cottage cheese and oatmeal pancakes. Eli was very suspicious of these healthy pancakes (top left).

Then we hit up the pool at the downtown YMCA (top right).

It was such a beautiful day we hit up fisherman's wharf and introduced Eli to the seals (bottom left).

For dinner we chilled with some fresh Salt Spring Island mussels on shallots, herbs and white wine (bottom right).

Dessert was somethin' sweet. Matcha Angel Food Cake with Lime Icing (very centre). For those of you who ask "Why green?" I ask you "Why not green?". I tried hard but couldn't crave anything pink or red. I was just dreaming in green I guess. The idea for this cake has been a long time brewing in my head. It was fun to see my dream come to fruition and it is tasty. I have lots left so if you're in the neighbourhood, stop by for a taste.

Oh yea, and....

This morning Eli woke up with a tooth poking through the gums! Houston we have a tooth! You can't see it well in the picture, but it's there!

Old Jeans Bring New Comfort!

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:26:01 -0500

So today I did it! I am officially 2/5 of a pound LESS than my pre-pregnancy weight. As soon as I discovered this, I jumped off the scale, ran to the garage to rummage through my old clothes for my old jeans. They fit! Yessssss!

8 Months - Almost Mobile

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:00:53 -0500

Here are some pics from Elias' eighth month. He is getting so close to being mobile but isn't crawling yet. Right now he can get up on his hands and knees but he just sits there and does a little jig and never moves very far. He also, amazingly, does not have a single tooth! There have been times when we have really thought he was teething but there's nothing to show for it yet. Eli is keeping us in line and every moment with him is a real blessing. His cuteness has reduced me to tears too many times to count! We have purchased a new lens for the camera so we can bring you baby action shots without motion blur effects!

Continue reading "8 Months - Almost Mobile"

7 Months - Our Growing Family

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:20:20 -0500

Before anyone gets excited. No, I am not pregnant... Everything around us appears to be getting smaller but in actuality, Elias and Oscar are just getting bigger! Imagine that!

Here are some pictures from Elias' 7th month.

First, since Oscar has grown into his new crate, our little Subaru Impreza has become quite tight. In fact, Elias, Oscar, Mom, Dad and the stroller no longer fit into our car at the same time! So, the time has come to think about vehicular upsizing. We have looked at two possibilities so far: the VW Golf Wagon TDI Clean Diesel and the Toyota Highlander. I like the Golf because it isn't a big departure from the familiar form factor and Travis likes the Highlander because it can sit up to 7 people and will grow with us. So, we're likely going to have to find a compromise. We have just started looking so if anyone has any ideas for the perfect car for us, we'd love to hear them!

Second, and I really have to eat my shoe on this one, our house is also starting to feel a little tight. There is no nook nor cranny left uncovered by baby paraphernalia. Storage with the dog stuff and baby stuff is starting to become scarce. I know I have spouted my mantra a million times that: I don't want a big house because I don't want to have to clean and care for a big house. And that is why I am eating my shoe. It turns out this little house is pretty hard to care for anyway! So... We love our location and would love to do a renovation to add a few rooms but it feels a lot easier to just pick up and move. We'll keep you posted.
Continue reading "7 Months - Our Growing Family"

6 Months - When it Rains it Pours

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:59:18 -0500

Elias is officially 6 months old today! Hooray! Here are some pictures of our family from the last month.

Eli is currently weighing in at around 18 pounds and is becoming a real sweetheart. He likes to flirt with the ladies by flashing his awesome widow's peak. He is not crawling yet but does manage to occasionally gain some ground by rolling back and forth. We have tried baby cereal a few times and Eli really doesn't like it. I hope this changes soon since it is a personal goal of mine to raise him to enjoy food. If we get stuck on rice cereal, I think my goal is in serious peril. Maybe the baby cereal is too simple for him and I need to try the Indian Dahl leftovers. hah!

I am not normally an emotional wreck with a drama filled life but I have sure had a healthy dose of both in the last week.

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Happy Halloween

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:27:03 -0400

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from our little monkey and a big welcome to the Olympics in Canada!

5 Months - Boy Meets Dog

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:10:21 -0400

Some pictures of Elias' fifth month.

This month Eli has learned to roll from his back to his front and back again. He can sit on his own for very short periods of time but is learning to use his core to control himself and prevent falling over. He has also found a new octave in his voice and is starting to do an occasional squeal of delight. Yesterday he even did an awesome giggle for us. Every time we look away for a second Eli has a new surprise for us. Like in yoga class when I turned to the diaper bag to get a blanket and he rolled off the pillow and did a face plant on the hardwood. Or... Like today when his cousin Makenna, who is two years old, snuck upstairs and climbed into the playpen with him when he was having a nap. When Travis went up to get Eli because he had started crying and saw Makenna in the crib with him, she promptly wanted to show that she had everything under control by putting the blanket over the crying baby and patting him on the face.

Our first month with Oscar has been a great success...
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Oscar the Pooch

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:48:30 -0400

Last week our family was extended again. We have a new puppy! Oscar is a Golden Retriever cross. We don't like to talk about the other side of the cross but I'll give in for now and let you in on the secret that he is half poodle! I know, I know. A GOLDEN DOODLE! Lame, actually horrible name for a dog. Its quite embarrassing to say that we have fallen prey to the designer dog era. The long story is that we had been searching and researching dog breeds for about 2 years now. After going through and disqualifying a ton of breeds shortly after reading their wikipedia entries, we had come to the conclusion that we wanted a sporting breed of dog. We wanted a dog that would be interested in hikes through the woods and days of swimming at the beach. However, a pure bred lab or golden retriever is just too big for our little house. Oscar's father was a man-poodle of small stature so Oscar will be probably around 45-50 pounds full grown instead of the 70 pound pure bred golden. This was the most attractive feature of this breed. To be honest, neither of us are very keen on Poodles. They are snobby and don't really like to play much but they are smart so we're hoping that maybe some of the brains will transfer. Poodles are also "hypo allergenic non-shedding dogs". Whatever that means. Dogs are supposed to shed! But I suppose if Oscar sheds a bit less because of his poodle ancestry, it will be a bonus. But non-sheding wasn't a huge selling feature for us. It just means we have to bath him more and pay some silly groomer lots of money for haircuts.

So far,
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4 Months - Go Away Ick!

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:13:13 -0400

Here are some pics from Elias' fourth month... He is getting big! Last I weighed him he was 15 lbs 3 oz and that was over a week ago so I guess he is close to 16 lbs now. He is starting to get more active. He has rolled over a few times now and is unfortunately getting WAY more mobile in his crib. Time to get those bumper pads out.

Along with Fall, we are welcoming our first family cold. Ick! We have all had a bit of a sore throat and runny nose. It isn't a horrible cold to us, but poor little Eli's world is crashing down. He doesn't understand that we can't take away his sore throat and he has had a couple inconsolable bouts of crying in the last week. We hadn't really experienced him being inconsolable and I would have been fine if we never had to experience it. But I suppose with every problem, you become more knowledgeable and educated parents. hah! He also hasn't been sleeping well and hasn't slept longer than 3-4 hours in the last three days. That is really hard on Mom and Dad when we know he can darn well sleep through the night.

This cold has sparked a great Tylenol debate. A couple of times, a dose of Tylenol did the trick and Eli stopped crying and fell asleep. I'm pretty sure that it worked because it soothed his sore throat but others believe that it may also help relieve stuffiness. The bottle reads... "For releif of fever and pain due to teething, immunizations, earache, colds or flue." I don't remember reading specifics about medicating babies in any books so I really have no idea when to use medication. Personally, I tend to be the kind of person who only turns to medication in complete desperation. I won't take something for a headache unless it is really really bad. I don't think that strategy is very good for a baby so I am trying to be a little more open to medication. I don't want to wait too long before giving my baby medication but I also don't want to overmedicate. Do you have any baby/child medication strategies? When do you decide its time to turn to the medicine cabinet? If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them so leave a comment!

Besides being sick, we also recently made the looooooooooooooooong trek in the car to Smithers for Great Uncle Dave's Funeral. That's one o in long for every hour we were in the car, all 17 of them! I know the trip isn't usually 17 hours but with a 3.5 month baby, we had to stop to feed and give him a break from car seat jail. If we learned anything from that trip about traveling with a baby we learned to travel either very late at night or early in the morning. That way you don't have to stop very often because the baby sleeps through most of the trip. Any more road trips we do will surely be done throughout the night. Once we were in Smithers we had some great visits with family and had a good time celebrating the life of such a wonderful man.

Trav is enjoying two weeks of vacation at the moment. He has this week and the next week off and we have been in Powell River for a couple of days. Tomorrow we head back to Victoria and on our way stop to pick up Oscar our new puppy! More to come on that chapter...

3 Months - Life is good

nospam@example.com (Chrissy Simpson) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:06:42 -0400

Eli is now three months old! I can't believe it. He is doing wonderfully. He is sleeping from about 9 or 10 pm and won't wake until somewhere between 5 and 7:30. mmmmm, sleep...

I figured now that I am such a seasoned pro cough cough at this baby stuff, that I would attempt to write a top ten list of things that I am so happy to have either read in a book, been told by someone or discovered painfully on my own. I also want to document them down so I can look back and remember the "old days" when number 2 comes along!

Breastfeeding... Argh! Breastfeeding... Some people have it easy, I most definitely did not. I don't know why, and I don't think we'll ever know why, but for some reason Elias was not born a latcher. We had a very difficult time getting him to feed and for the first few days it would take us 20 mins to an hour to even get him to latch to feed. So we spent most of our days and nights, just feeding. We had a lactation consultant help us and she was very helpful but we still struggled. When the public health nurse came to visit us at home she gave us this contraption called a nipple shield to help Elias latch. Well that worked like a charm. He was on and eating in no time. What she didn't tell us was that the babies can become quite dependent on the shield. So after two days of blissfully using the shield, when we tried without, it was even worse. We tried everything to get rid of using the shield but finally just accepted it and rolled with it. Every feeding I'd try without it but as soon as he fussed, on it went. At 6 weeks, I don't know what happened. Eli just decided that he wasn't going to use the shield anymore. And it was gone. So, I guess my point here is just go with the flow. Find something that works and use it and eventually it will straighten itself out. However still useful is any resource from Nancy Mohrbacher or Jack Newman. I highly reccommend reading Nancy Mohrbacher's book "Breastfeeding Made Simple". Forget what everyone else tells you about breastfeeding and don't let the nurses freak you out, a baby can go a few days after birth without anything. Take it slow and just try to enjoy it.

You may have read a million books and have a million-and-one preconceptions about what your new life with a baby will be like. For the first six to eight weeks I think you should just forget it all and enjoy the baby. Let him decide what he wants to do and really just observe and learn what your baby likes and dislikes. I think I spent a few tiring days in the first six weeks trying to fit Eli into what a book told me he should be like but once I stopped and just enjoyed him and observed him I learned more from him than I ever learned from a book. And I have read just about every book out there.

After 6 weeks, I was able to start directing sleeping schedules. Feed->Wake->Sleep, Feed->Wake->Sleep, rinse repeat. Except at night time obviously do everything to avoid the wake. Before I was pregnant I always assumed that a baby would sleep after a feeding but apparently its better for them to have a period of wakefulness and this really works for Eli. Actually it seems to have just naturally progressed to this and I now know exactly what he does when he's tired so I know when to start rocking or playing some sleepy music.

A babies' Moro (Startle) Reflex is activated more frequently when a baby lies on their back. Eli has a crazy Moro reflex and he wakes himself up with it all the time especially when he is napping during the day. To prevent this from happening I always put him down in his crib on his side first then slowly roll him to his back. But, sometimes I'll just let him sleep on his side because he seems to really like that. Having a baby sleep on their backs is supposed to lower the probability of SIDS but I think that some babies just don't sleep as well on their backs.

FOR YOUR SANITY USE AN ANGEL CARE MONITOR! This baby monitor comes with a mat that you place under the crib mattress. It senses that the baby is breathing and will set of a horrible alarm if the baby is not breathing or sometimes it likes to give you fake alarms too. This just gave us a lot of comfort and really keeps us sane when the door is shut and the baby is being really quiet on the monitor.

You really don't have to be quiet for a sleeping baby. Of course if you took a hammer and started banging on the wall near the crib, they might have problems sleeping but a normal amount of living noise doesn't seem to bother mine!

Swaddle Swaddle Swaddle. Wow did Eli ever need the Swaddle at night.

Sleep, when the baby sleeps. This is the biggest crock ever. Well for me anyway. A newborn sleeps something like 17 hours in a 24 hr period! You most definitely don't need 17 hours of sleep. I think you need to use those hours for doing something you enjoy. Read books, take baths, clean your house! I have read so many baby books that say forget about the housework... This only compounds stress for me and was NOT the answer. When my house is a mess I am a wreck. When you have a crying baby in your arms you might get some relief by looking up and seeing a clean kitchen.

Have lots of food prepared in the freezer. My wonderful mother made a bunch of freezer meals for us right before Elias was born. It was simply amazing to pull an already made meatloaf out of the freezer, pop it in the oven and prepare some veggies and eat it an hour later. This saved us from calling the pizza guy a few times.

Go with the flow for the first two months and enjoy and love your new family. Just today I was looking back on video of the first few days of Eli's life. He is so different now and things have completely changed since that day and I feel like I am already forgetting things. So, just enjoy and write down everything you can.

Here are some pictures from the last month. Elias 3 Months