Sunday, July 30, 2006

A Visit From Aunt Jenny.

Rolling over in the crib (back to front)We had a busy weekend here at the Fickle Feline household. Max's Aunt Jenny arrived on Friday evening from Ottawa. We were so excited to see her as it had been a whole month since she had been to O-town to see her nephew. Aunt Jenny is extra special because she was actually in the room when Max was born. She saw the whole deal and she held my barf bucket while Scott who is barfphobic turned away. That is love folks. We have been looking forward to this visit for a while and even though the house was in shambles, we did have cold beer waiting for her.
Rolling over during tummy time (front to back)On Friday night we went and picked up Japanese food for dinner and just hung out and talked. Jennifer got Max to laugh heartily (first time!) at a story she was telling which involved pooping, barfing and passing out. He already likes poop jokes and he doesn't even know it. Saturday was much busier. We partook in some retail therapy and went to the mall and got some great deals on stylin' clothes and a purse that I not-so-secretly-covet for Jennifer. Max slept through the whole thing. Beautiful baby boy. Love that. Did I mention that Jennifer has a station wagon? Is it bad that after seeing how easy it was to get the stroller in and out of the back I was ready to trade her our Camry, even though her vehicle is green and we all know how I feel about green vehicles? I guess this means that I am getting old, eh? Scott says that a station wagon is much more acceptable than a minivan. True that.

Scott loving Max upSaturday night found us at Cathy and Alex's housewarming party (I brought a yummy pesto torte and french bread). They have a fab house out in East York. Did I mention the new hardwood and berber carpet that made me kind of jealous? Scott and I had a great time, though it was bit hot without A/C, and Max let us know that he was none too pleased. I stripped him down to his diaper to cool him off and took him out onto the porch to see if that would get him to stop crying. Wow, way to clear a room buddy. Luckily he quickly quieted down and took to the boob. It was only after the fact that I noticed Alex (pre-vert) had been spying on us through his front room window. I am guessing I gave him an eye full. Whatevs...I know they are spectacular.

Naked baby alert!Jennifer had to get back to Ottawa on Sunday, and Max and I already miss her. We hope that she comes back soon because Max likes it when she reads him stories and I like having someone to drink wine with and shop with. Nothing like an old friend, doesn't matter if it is good times or bad times, they are always the best company. Also, this kid keeps growing like a weed (15.8 pounds, 25.5 inches today) and I fear he will be enrolling in college by the next time she comes. Le sigh. Can't wait to see you again Jenny!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Maxwell Hunter: 3 months old.

My dearest baby Max,

It's 10:20pm and you are 3 months old today. You are wide awake in the papoose, perched on my lap. We were doing really well with the whole sleep thing a few weeks ago, we maybe even had a pattern going...but that is but a distant memory now. At least we know the reason. The reason my dear Max, is that you are teething. That's right, you heard me. You, my 3 month old son, are teething. You don't think much of this and I am mildly horrified. Your Aunt Jenny says that you are a baby on fast forward and I have to agree. You are now is size 3 diapers, 6 months clothes, and last week you rolled over. And you didn't just roll over from your belly to your back (what normal babies do first), you rolled from your back to your belly. See, you are one extraordinary baby.

So back to the teething. Most babies get their bottom centre teeth in first. Not you little Max, you are getting a tooth on the bottom, right side of your mouth. And you are none too happy about this. The first night, it took your dumb parents a while to figure out what was going on. You cried and cried, and sucked on your hands and drooled. At about 3am your mom clued in, and then in desperation, I rubbed some whisky (just a drop!) on your gums. And that did the trick. You finally fell asleep, and thank gawd for that because I was about to drop from exhaustion. I felt a little bad about the whisky thing but your Grandma tells me that people have done this since the beginning of time. After that I stuck to Tempra drops which also seem to help. I just can't believe you are already getting teeth! What happened to my little baby boy?

I got a baby email newsletter last week that said babies at 3 months weigh up to 14 pounds and are up to 24.5 inches in length. You are over 15 pounds and about 25.5 inches in length. This week I went and bought a 6 month sleeper in the same bunny fabric as one of your 0-3 month sleepers. Kind of a desperate ploy to remind myself that you are still a baby, even if you are growing in front of my very eyes. Your baby chubs are getting so deep, I swear there must be a family of four living in your leg chubs. You should charge them rent as we could use the extra cash for your diapers.This month you have become very attentive. You watch everything around you and are very interested when your dad is talking (he is very animated and you seem to dig this). You are also finally interested in your toys, and you like to grab at them and kick at them. One of your favourite toys is your mirror (this proves that you are your father's son without a doubt). You also like your crib mobile, whoozit toy and the little bird that hangs from your chair. One thing we are relieved about is that you seem to have taken to your swing. I like to bring it into the kitchen and put you in it while I make dinner. We chat (you are also very vocal) and like magic you fall asleep right as we serve dinner. About a half hour later you wake with a start and you always look so surprised to be awake, you make your dad and I laugh. Then it is into the bath with you - this is a family affair as you are all wet and wiggly, and I need your dad's help. Your feet now hang over the edge of the tub, and you lay back and smile at us as we clean you all up. Your Grandma bought you a bathrobe that we put on you after we towel you off. We also rub lavender calming lotion on you and have a special lotion for your face. Just like your dad, you are a metrosexual at the ripe old age of 3 months. It can only get worse from here!Your dad and I like to take you out to show you off to our friends. You seem to like meeting new people and are very agreeable with letting other people hold you as long as you can see me or your dad. Max, you show very well, which makes us laugh because people probably think that you never ever cry or fuss. But we know the truth little man - and you do sometimes cry and sometimes fuss. Your secret is safe with us though - we don't mind them thinking you are a perfectly behaved baby...more babysitters for us that way.When you are a teenager, the pictures I will bring out to embarrass you are the ones of you and your BGF (best girlfriend) Maya. You see her just about every week and even though she likes to suck on your toes and gnaw on your cheeks, you are really warming up to her. She is a sweet girl and it makes her mom Jen and me smile to see you two scope eachother out. It's fun to see you talk and smile at eachother too and I am so glad that we have friends with babies because not only do you have little buddies, I have someone to talk to about everything that is going on, whether it be about you, your dad, or just how I'm coping with having a wonderful not so little baby boy.This month we took you to Sick Kid's Hospital to get you checked out. Turns out your right kidney might need a bit of help as you have an extra tube going from your kidney to your bladder. You'll be okay, you are a sturdy little dude and I have no doubt that everything will be fine. It still makes me worry though because, well, I'm your mom and that is part of my job. The other part of my job is to love you, and I can guarantee I am fulfilling that part of my job with flying colours. In fact, even though I don't think it's possible, each morning I wake up and you have grown a bit more, and I love you just a little more too.

Love,
Mom

PS: I forgot to mention that one of the sweetest things you do now is that when your dad comes to bed, you reach out in your sleep so that you are touching him. That way you can feel both of us and then you smile contentedly. All those people who say that cosleeping is bad can kiss my butt. Seeing you so secure and happy, sleeping so peacefully is what keeps me going when I am exhausted. The other thing I forgot to mention is that your favourite game is the "boop beep-beep bonk ding" game where we touch your nose, cheeks, chin and forehead and they make sounds. Your ears also go "a-woo-ga" (Maya's dad Brad came up with "a-woo-ga") and your belly button goes "waka-waka-waka". We always get a big grin out of you from this game.

1 month | 2 months

Sunday, July 16, 2006

12 weeks already?

One big boy.Where does the time go? Seriously, I feel like I blinked and this 7lb baby I brought home from the hospital suddenly turned into a 15lb little boy that could hide a family of four in his leg chubs. My gawd this kid is huge. Good huge, I mean he is 100% breastfed and given the rough start we had in that department, I take a certain amount of pride in the fact that he is clearly thriving.



Near.........far!This week was a tough one for me emotionally. We took Max to Sick Kids Hospital to get him checked out as he has a few issues with his "plumbing". He is fine, but he may need some surgery on his right kidney as he has what appears to be a double system where a second ureter (you are only supposed to have one on each side) is going from the top part of his right kidney down to his bladder. This second ureter is blocked and swollen, so urine is backing up from his bladder into his kidney. Not good. So we are going back in a few weeks for some more tests. He has to be on antibiotics to keep him from getting a urinary tract infection. Sigh. I don't think I realized how stressed out I was about the whole thing until after we got home from the hospital. I had zero energy. We had popcorn and pogo sticks for dinner. I will say that the staff at Sick Kids are awesome. They know how to take care of babies there for sure and we are lucky to live so close to one of the best hospitals for kids in the world. I bought Max a Grover doll in the gift shop. I think it was probably more retail therapy for me than anything else, though he does think he is pretty interesting to look at.

Max likes the ladiesWe also had a very full social calendar this week. Another playdate with Max's BGF (best girlfriend) Maya, a visit from our friend Cathy, dinner at Scott's folks' place, and we dropped by the Nelmans in Burlington so that all the boys could pass Max around and marvel at what a little bruiser he is. Today we are just chilling out. Max is asleep in his little chair, looking like an angel baby. He is still sleeping 6-7 hours straight each night, though now that he has outgrown his bassinet he doesn't like sleeping in his Pack 'n Play. So, he is in bed with us which is fine. I mean, he's growing so fast, I don't want to miss a minute, even when we are sleeping.
Max power!

Sunday, July 09, 2006

The Goddess of Sleep.

One of my favourite paintingsMax slept for 7 hours straight last night in his bassinet. It would have been great, except I am not used to him sleeping for that long so I woke up every hour, and neither are my breasts which were bursting at the seams to feed the little Lumpkin. Not that I'm going to look a gift horse in the mouth, I mean, I am LOVING the fact that Max is starting to sleep longer. I just need to get used to it. I'm sure that will be no problem. I think that Max might have been inspired by the new Tamara de Lempicka print hanging above our bed. I have loved "Dormeuse" for years (even since I saw it hanging in the window of a store on King Street). When Scott asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year, this is what I asked for. We actually ordered the print while I was still preggo, so the frame shop owner was quite pleased to meet Max when we finally got off our butts to go pick it up on Friday.
Hey, where's my beer?In other Max news, he spent less than a week in size 2 diapers and has now graduated to size 3 diapers. Yes, this boy is a monster baby. I stupidly assumed that he would still be in size 2 diapers, say, next week, so I bought another bag on Friday. After a huge poo-cano that got all over me (gross!) last night it was determined that they no longer fit. Sigh. So off to Dominion I went on a Saturday night to buy diapers. Just diapers. And the kid at the cash register called me "Ma'am" and I couldn't even get mad about it. I mean shit, I was buying diapers. On a Saturday night. That is textbook "Ma'am" behaviour if you ask me.Rock and Roll baby listening to Mozart

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

A Week in Pictures.

Solitaire was saying that she hadn't seen a picture of Max smiling yet. It isn't that he doesn't smile, he smiles a lot, but he gets very serious when he sees the camera. I managed to snap this pic earlier in the week. It is a bit out of focus so we will keep trying.
Max had another playdate with his girlfriend Maya this week. Scott loves this pic because Max looks so suspicious of the proceedings. He's looking at Jen like "Lady, WHAT is going on here?".
Canada day started out with Scott and Max sleeping in and Mom taking advantage of this by sneaking out bed for some tea. I couldn't resist getting a pic of my two dudes in bed.
Later on Canada Day Max and I had a nap. Apparently Scott found us equally irrisistable. We were late to his folks' place because he couldn't bear to wake us up.
This is Max in his super cute Baby Gap outfit that his Uncle Dan bought him. See, it's a good thing Max has family and friends that will buy him all of these super cute clothes. His mom and dad are too cheap to spend that kind of cash on something he'll wear for a total of 2 months.








On Sunday we went out to Aurora to visit Stephanie, Shane and Charlotte. They hadn't seen Max since he was a week old and they could not believe how big he is now. Charlotte is pretty much the cutest little girl ever. She is very ladylike (crosses her legs, eats very delicately). She also has an eye for Scott which is super cute as she was very interested in keeping track of what he was up to at all times.
Last but not least, Max has finally taken to his swing. He didn't like it too much in previous weeks, but now he thinks it is okay. I love how he has his toes all spread out. We had to take him out after about twenty minutes because he got mad that he could not reach the bears so he could eat them.

Keep your eyes peeled for my first non-baby related blog in...forever. Rockstar Supernova starts tomorrow and you know I'm going to be watching that trainwreck.