It's been awhile since my last post, and of course there is plenty of news. But I'll get to that in another post. This weekend wasn't really anything special, it was just a weekend, but there were a few special little everyday moments I enjoyed with Daniel that I want to remember.
Yesterday morning I ran the Bold in the Cold 15k race in Grapevine. When I got home I was craving a nice relaxing soak in the tub. Alas, Kevin had a few errands to run so I decided to let Daniel get in the tub with me. It wasn't relaxing, or at least, not what I had had in mind, but it was nice. For a few minutes he just sat in my lap leaning back into me. Then he played, filling his play cups from the faucet. Then we read his bath books, over and over and over and whenever the book mentioned a body part he enthusiastically pointed to it (a game he's pretty good at now: head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, shoulders, hands, fingers, tummy, bottom, knees, feet, and toes!). Finally, he decided to use me as a human ladder to climb up onto the sides of the tub. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was nice to get a few minutes of one-on-one time with no distractions. And for Daniel it was a bonus to get 2 baths in one day!
Then, yesterday and this evening, we took advantage of the mild winter weather to go to the playground near the house. Yesterday we met a friend of mine and her 2 kids for a playdate, today Kevin, Daniel, and I went as a family. Both days Daniel loved it. He ran all around, looking back at me sometimes to see if I'd chase him (another game he enjoys now). He also had fun on the slides, and today he was able to walk over to the slide entrance, get himself into position with feet forward, and push off. He has always enjoyed the slide but today was the first time he didn't need our help to get set up and go. I know we'll probably be out there as often as possible as the weather allows this year. He was cranky from not napping this afternoon, but he was a happy boy after some playground time!
Here he is:
So, those were just a few fun little moments from our weekend. I hope Daniel enjoyed them, I know I did.
This past Sunday I crossed my first half-marathon off the bucket list when I ran the Dallas White Rock half. While it's still fresh in mind I want to take notes on how it went, what worked, and what I'd do differently next time.
And oh yes, there will be a next time. The yucky weather notwithstanding, the race was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again. In fact, I've already found a few local races in the next few months I'm eyeing. Not sure if I'll do all 3 or just one or two, but this is definitely a first with more to come.
Training
So how did we get here? It's been a goal of mine for a few years, at least since I did my first triathlon in 2008. The run was my least favorite leg of the tri, and I got a stress fracture in my hip from overtraining/poor form. Despite that, I was still determined that one day I would become a runner and complete a half-marathon.
This fall, hearing another friend talk about training for a half, I decided now was as good a time as any. I bought the Chi Running DVD and book and found that the running form they teach felt natural and easy. I used a Runner's World 9-week beginner's training plan and followed it pretty faithfully.
I remember the excitement of my first 5 mile run in years, when I realized I felt great at the end and could have gone even further. During the last 9 weeks I had several "longest run I've ever done" days, and I felt pretty good on all of them. And by the end, I could do a 6 mile run the day after a 10 mile run, both pushing Daniel in our BOB Ironman stroller. Given that before this fall I had never run 6 miles before, that felt like quite an accomplishment!
Some days it was like the stars were all aligned: I felt great, the weather was good, my energy level was high, and the miles disappeared effortlessly under my feet. But I think my best runs were the ones where I wasn't 100%, or I was pushing D in his stroller, or I was tired from all the overtime hours at work. My pace those days might not have been anything to write home about, but I think those "just show up" days were some of my best training.
Of course I was hoping my first race would be one of those ideal days with great weather and perfect health, but it wasn't. It was 45 degrees and rainy and I was still recovering from a sinus infection that had kept me in bed all day the previous Sunday. (Incidentally, it turns out running all-out in cold rainy weather for 2 hours isn't helpful when you're trying to get over a cough...I know, weird, right?) Despite the weather and the lingering cough though the day was great.
Race day
Sunday morning I woke up at 4:45 and dressed. I had done a dry run the day before and put all my clothes in a bag, so that I could just empty the bag the next morning. I layered cheap sweats and a long sleeve tee over my running shorts and tech tank, with a running cap and a fleece beanie and gloves. I put my car keys and phone, earbuds, and ID in a SPI belt and brought a cheap disposable poncho to wear pre-race. I ate a granola bar and drank a chia fresca before leaving the house. I grabbed a Red Bull and Power Bar for the drive/train ride to Fair Park, a Shot Bloc for closer to race time, and put 2 GUs on my SPI belt to eat during the race.
Having been advised to avoid the parking hassle, I opted to drive to a DART station close to downtown then take the green line train to Fair Park. I was a little nervous taking the DART at 6am on a Sunday but I needn't have worried. There were plenty of other runners there and it was a fun atmosphere. We got to Fair Park at 6:20 and I added my keys and ID to my drop bag I'd checked in the day before with a change of clothes, then went to the Coliseum to wait till the start.
Around 7:45 I headed for the start corrals and shed the sweats and poncho (all discarded clothes are donated to charity). I made a game-time decision to keep the long sleeve tee and gloves though. The first wave started around 8 and as each wave started, we moved closer and closer to the start line. Finally around 8:20 my wave reached the start and I was off.
It rained fairly heavily on the drive in, but had only drizzled since, so I was hopeful that we'd have a dry race. Alas, the drops started to fall as the race was starting. I kept the long sleeve tee and gloves on till about 5 miles in, when they became soaked and were just making me colder. My apprehension aside though, the rain and cold didn't really bother me except for the inevitable puddles that soaked my shoes.
My intention going in was to stick close to the 2:10 pacers (holding up a flag so they were easy to spot), and for the first 3 or 4 miles I did. However I discovered it was hard to stay close because of all the weaving required to dodge slower runners. So I got in front of them and decided to just hold a comfortable pace and keep close to the group. I stayed ahead of them till mile 7 when I decided to make a port-a-potty stop. I watched them pass then caught back up to them around mile 10, then passed them again. With the end in sight I decided to go for it and push as fast as I could, and I finished in 2:08:28, ahead of my 2:10 goal.
So, looking back at everything, here’s what I think I did right:
Clothes: This was a tough call for me.I had never run in cold or wet conditions and really considered wearing a windbreaker, even going so far as to buy one.But my veteran runner friends gave the good advice that it was better to just deal with the elements than to break in a new piece of gear on race day and be faced with the decision of whether to discard an expensive brand-new jacket or have to wear or carry it the whole race.The mantra of any athlete is to play it like you practiced and not try new things on the big day.So, by mile 5, I was down to shorts and tank.Now that it’s getting colder I’ll get some long sleeve compression tops to run in, and may use that on a later winter race day.For this time though, I was fine.Plus, I no doubt looked much tougher than the sissy runners who were all bundled up, right? ;) I know they must have all been thinking, “wow, what a bad-ass!”
DART: It was definitely nice not to have to stress about parking or wonder what time I would arrive, and it was fun hanging out with the other runners on the train.
Water: I carried my handheld 10oz water flask so I could skip the crowded water tables if I wanted to, and for the most part I did.I’d stop for Gatorade sometimes if I needed a quick break, and when my flask got low I topped it off at a water stop.This worked well and kept me hydrated.
Headphones: Not all races allow headphones but White Rock does.I didn’t really listen to music that much other than as background but it was nice to have the option.I also took advantage of the Siri voice command feature to dictate texts to Kevin to update him on my progress so he’d know when to look for me.
And, here are the things I might do differently next time:
Bathroom stop: I stopped once, around 7 miles, and ended up having to wait several minutes for a port-a-potty.The standing and waiting really made me feel cold and wet and it took me a few minutes to warm up again.And I didn’t have to go all that badly.I probably wasn’t going to make it the full 13 miles without a stop, but next time I’m going to hold out longer, and hopefully wait for one without a line.I could have finished several minutes faster without that delay.The silver lining though is that in my effort to catch up to the 2:10 pace group I probably made a faster pace through miles 7-10 than I would have otherwise.
Food: I didn’t really do anything wrong there, but I should have carried one or two extra GUs just in case.I wasn’t starving by the end but probably would have had another one if I’d had the option.Rookie error-bike events always have food at rest stops, but running races apparently don’t.
Corral: When I registered and had to estimate my finish time I guessed very conservatively at 3:15 and inadvertently sandbagged myself and got assigned to a slow corral.I got it changed to 2:15 at the expo but next time I’ll err on the slightly aggressive side when I estimate my finish time.Of course, having actually run a half now, I have a better idea how to predict my finish time.
Breathing:A few times I caught myself on the verge of hyperventilating because I had been taking too-shallow breaths.When I’d focus on taking deep lung breaths I felt find, but I’ll need to work on that focus for later races.
I’m sure I’ll think of a few other things, but really for a first race, I think I did pretty well, not just at running the actual race but with my preparation and logistics.I did a 9-week training plan calling for 4 runs a week, and I made nearly all of them while balancing mommy duty and having a work schedule that included late evenings and sometimes 7 day workweeks.Then I planned out my race day carefully, taking the advice of friends who’ve been there, done that.Despite the bad weather, I had a great time and even managed to beat my goal.Not bad for a first-timer!
Austin weekendIn keeping with a family tradition, Kevin and I rode in the Tour de Gruene recreational bike tour on November 5. It was our 4th straight year to ride and it's a great course. Last year we were leaving a 3 month old with my parents, so watching a 15 month old was a different experience. Mimi and Grandpa enjoyed their day with Daniel. He was fun last year but so much more interactive this year. He had fun walking all around their big back yard and loved playing on the playground across the street. And then to cap off a good day, he ate well and then napped for 3 hours that afternoon. They had a great day together.
In the meantime, Kevin and I met up with our friends Crystal and Carlos Lopez. Crystal and I met our sophomore year of college and have been friends ever since, even as our post-college lives have taken us to different cities. It was fun to catch up while logging some miles, even if the cold morning made for a rather uncomfortable ride. After the ride Kevin and I went to Wurstfest for some food, beer, and polka music.
The next day was "fall back" Sunday and my 33rd birthday, and also the two year anniversary of the day I learned I would be a mom. The thing about the daylight savings fall back is, that used to be like a minor holiday in my pre-baby life, the gift of an extra hour's sleep. I actually remember the fall of 2006 when we were working a crazy 7 days a week start at 6 am shift and how cheated I felt on my way in to work that day when I realized I had forgotten to "fall back" the hour. But now with a toddler, fall back day isn't a holiday so much as a hassle. This year we had planned to get on the road back to Dallas just in time for his afternoon nap. Alas, we failed to account for the extra hour and he was overtired and cranky so he cried much of the way back till I moved to the backseat to entertain him. It was the longest birthday of my life, and on a car trip with a cranky toddler, it felt like it. But all in all it was a nice weekend.
15-month checkup The next morning Daniel had his 15 month checkup. While he's still on the smaller side of the growth chart for his age, he seems to be a healthy size for him, and he's right on track developmentally. He walks quite well and has several words (some real, some not): mama, dada, um (said with the cutest smile), yes, baba, nana, vava, and his first word, cat. Cat is funny because he always says it in a very high voice...no idea why!
Our homework in the coming months is to wean Daniel from bottle-feeding. He only takes one a day anyway, before his afternoon nap, so it's not as though he's carting one around all day, but he drinks well from a sippy cup so we'll try to transition him to that.
Run, Mommy, run! Last weekend I ran my first 10k race, the Salute American Heroes 10k in The Colony, a northern suburb of Dallas. I'm training for the White Rock Half-Marathon in December so this was just a training race for me, but also my first stand-alone running race (e.g., not part of a triathlon). My goal was primarily to use this as a dry run for race day and try out my fueling, pre-race, and race strategy. I run 6 miles a few times a week in my training, but doing it in a race setting feels different.
One of the things I wanted to practice was running my own race and not getting sucked into someone else's pace or preparations. This was a good way to practice that. Beforehand most people were stretching and running warm-up laps. Not a bad thing, but not part of my normal routine. This may sound heretical, but to be honest, I don't stretch before I run. It would have been easy that day to follow everyone else and do it, but I decided to play it like I practiced and just go out cold like I normally do. So I sat in the car, relaxing, reading the news on my phone, and staying warm. And once the race started, I kept a close eye on my watch the first few minutes to make sure I didn't ride the adrenaline rush of the crowd to a too-hot start that would burn me out. My goal beforehand was to finish in less than an hour, so my time of 55:29 definitely made me happy.
Today I ran my longest run of the training program to date, and the longest run I've ever done: 10 miles. I deliberately kept an easy pace and didn't push it, and at the end I felt great and like I had more miles in me, even though I was pushing a stroller the whole time. Looking forward to race day...running a half-marathon has been a goal for several years, so I'm excited to finally do it!
Sorry for the delayed post. It's been a busy month for me because I've been working evening and weekend overtime and started training for the White Rock half marathon in December. Kevin's had a busy month at work too, preparing and then delivering training for coworkers who came in from around the world.
It's been a busy month for Daniel too, as we hit a major milestone. He's always been a very active little boy and lately has taken to climbing on anything and everything he can. So it was only a matter of time until this happened a few weeks ago:
From those first steps he has gotten steadier and faster, and now he walks almost everywhere inside the house, though he still does some crawling too. Needless to say we're all very excited about this new development, no one more so than Daniel himself. He's so proud of himself.
As for that other big milestone, talking, we've had some exciting developments there too. He says "mama" and "dada" a lot, and at least much of the time he seems to be saying it to us. He's been making a cute new noise the past few days that kind of sounds like a mix of "brr" and "go." He has a lot to say...I'm sure soon we'll be able to understand him!
No big developments on the eating and sleeping fronts. He sleeps about 10 hours a night and then naps 2-3 hours almost every afternoon. He seems happy and well-rested through the day, so this seems to be a good amount of sleep for him. He's still a voracious eater and has developed quite the Buddha belly as a result (though we'll see at his checkup in a few weeks whether that translates to much weight gain). He still nurses pretty enthusiastically. Funny, people warn you to watch our for biting (which he doesn't do), but no one tells you that your nursing toddler will kick you in the face, gouge your eyes, and pull your hair while he nurses. But worse than those are when he tickles me. Not on purpose, I don't think, but those little fingers manage to find their way to the underarms and it's all I can do not to laugh and squirm away. Those hazards aside though, nursing has been a nice way for us to reconnect and bond on the days I'm working so many hours.
Run Mommy run! After years of wanting to do it, I decided this was the year to tackle my first half-marathon, so I signed up for the Dallas White Rock half-marathon. I've always admired the people who do endurance events and looking around at my friends who've done it, I realized, they're not super-athletes, just normal people. I mean that in the best way-they were successful at it not because they are exceptionally strong, fast, or athletically gifted, but because they made up their minds to do it and then worked hard to make it happen. If they can do it, why can't I?
Certainly I am doing it for myself, as a chance to push myself and see what I can do and to feel the satisfaction of a challenge answered. But I'm also doing it for Daniel. Three of the most important virtues I hope to show him by example are the courage to try hard things, the perseverance to succeed at them, and the confidence to believe he can do them.
I read a quote recently by Mahatma Gandhi that I think sums it up well: “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
So with that in mind, 4 times a week I'm lacing up my shoes and hitting the trail. So far, so good. I won't be competitive, but I fully expect to cross that finish line in December. And someday I look forward to showing Daniel my finisher's medal and telling him about all the hard work that went into it. Better yet, I look forward to the day years from now when he joins me for a run or a bike ride and I can share those activities with him.
This post is a few weeks a month late, as seems to be par for the course for me these days. What an eventful few weeks it's been too: first birthday, first birthday party, first cold, and a few new achievements to boot. When I started writing this it was a 12 month update...I guess now we can call it the 13 month update!
Rolling over the odometer Hard as it is for me to believe, Daniel is now a year old. On the one hand it's hard to believe he's already been with us a full year, but at the same time, it feels like another lifetime ago that he wasn't here. It's been the most challenging and rewarding year of my life (and, I suppose, Daniel's too ;)).
Here's his 12 month picture.
That will be his last monthly picture with the infant carseat, as we've now graduated to the convertible seats in both cars. Althought the seat is rated up to 30lb, it is only rated up to 30in, so even though he hasn't even hit 20 lb yet he's already maxing out the height.
Party time! Kevin and I decided to celebrate his actual birthday by taking off from work to spend the day together as a family. I think we'll make July 21st an official family holiday and spend it together each year. In later years we'll go to waterparks or movies together, and vacations, and maybe when he's all grown up and out of the house he'll look forward to meeting up with Mom and Dad for a birthday lunch. But this year we weren't quite as ambitious. We stayed at home, relaxed, and played. It was nice to get some "just the three of us" time in before the weekend, when the birthday celebration went into high gear.
Kevin works at Microsoft and we're friends with many of his coworkers and their families. We decided to combine party-planning forces with another couple, Charlotte and Alden, whose son Justin turned 3 the week after Daniel's birthday. We did a joint birthday party at the Coppell Aquatic Center and it was great. We had close to 50 guests, including many of our friends and their little ones.
Here's Daniel in his birthday shirt. You can't see the back but it has "Williamson" and then the number 1 like it's a jersey.
Here are some pictures of the kiddos playing at the pool:
And here are birthday boys Justin and Daniel blowing out the candles on their cakes:
And here's Daniel digging into his cupcake with no restraint. You think he liked it?
12-month checkup
Daniel had his 12-month checkup a few weeks ago and everything looked great. He's still small and skinny, weighing in at only 18lb 4oz and standing 29.5" tall. The weight in particular is on the lower end of normal, but we and the pediatrician are not concerned about that. One, both Kevin and I were skinny kids, so odds are he will be too, and two, he's healthy and eats well.
An unhappy milestone It was bound to happen sooner or later. About a week after his birthday and the checkup, he got his first cold. Fortunately it was fairly mild but it was hard to see him in pain. He had a runny then stuffy nose and a few days of mid-grade fever, which translated to a few days of crankiness. His appetite was off but he slept really well, which helped him feel better. It was nice to see him get better and our usual boisterous happy little boy return!
Eating Some big changes this month. We've got him taking at least one cow's milk bottle during the day now and will transition to both daytime bottles being cow's milk in the next week or two. And now that his daytime milk is cow's milk, we're working on transitioning to taking those bottle feedings by straw cup. I didn't want to do that with breast milk because I didn't want to risk wasting any of that milk, but if he spills or wastes a cup of cow's milk, it's easy to get more. No particular target date on when we want to make the full switch from bottles to cups, but I thought now was a good time to start trying. He takes his straw cup well and can drink from it without assistance, so it might be an easy transition for him.
As far as solid foods go he's still the enthusiastic, voracious eater he's been. Everyone who sees him eat is amazed at how much food such a little boy can put away! And we're glad to see that he enjoys a lot of foods you don't typically think of as baby food: mushrooms (he's a big fan of sauteed shiitakes), kale, and fish to name a few. Maybe a picky phase will come later, but for now he loves his veggies! A typical dinner involves us feeding him meat and veggies off our plates plus some fresh fruit and sliced cheese or plain Greek yogurt.
Sleeping Not much to report this month. He's still doing well with a one hour "rest time" in his crib in the morning, when he usually just talks to himself, and a 2-3 hour afternoon nap at around 12:30. He's generally asleep by 8 or so and sleeps till 7 in the morning, though lately he's been waking up at night more, perhaps because of a diaper rash that's been hanging around.
New tricks Daniel has a few new tricks in his bag this month. One thing he likes to do is wiggle his hand over his open mouth while he's babbling to make an underwater effect. I'm pretty sure discovered it by accident but now he does it on purpose. On a related note, he's started making an "oh" noise which is pretty cute.
It's not new, but he's gotten more consistent about giving us kisses on the cheek and about shaking his head when we say "shake, shake, shake!" He looks like he's saying no, but he's really just playing a game. And when he's standing up holding onto something and we say "bouncy bouncy," he'll bounce his booty up and down. Which I haven't adequately captured on video yet but must for posterity.
His biggest new accomplishment this month is learning to crawl down the stairs. He's been going up them for months but now has learned how to get back down. He's got a very deliberate process we taught him-turn sideways, slide front leg down, then back leg, then front arm, then back arm. Here he is in action:
He has also learned how to close (but not open) doors but gets frustrated when the baby gates on the stairs don't close like he thinks they should. Here he is playing with the gate and just playing in general by the top of the stairs:
The latest, hot-off-the-presses development? Just yesterday Kevin saw him stand without support for the first time. He's done it several times now for several seconds at a time. Are first steps just around the corner? We shall see...
A few developments we're less fond of
Daniel is really an easy, happy, agreeable baby, but he has picked up a few less desirable habits of late. One, he likes to throw his food on the floor while he's eating. Two, when he's nursing he likes to announce that he's done on that side with a playful bite. And three, he has recently learned to headbutt Mommy and Daddy. Of course, the problem with any of these things is that the first time it happens it's kind of funny (well, not the biting part, but the big smile on his face when he does it) so it's hard not to laugh, then he feels encouraged. Headbutts, dropped food, playful bites and all though, we love our little boy so much and feel so very blessed that he's ours.
This past weekend marked a big milestone for us: our first vacation as a family of 3, and Daniel's first trip to South Padre Island. Naturally, I have tons of pictures to share :)
Family tradition
Padre Island's a special place for our family so it was an obvious choice for Daniel's first vacation. My dad grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and took day trips to the beach as a boy. Ironically, he missed a chance to own land there when my car dealer grandfather turned down a customer's offer to swap land on Padre for a new car...well, in fairness to DadDad, Padre wasn't developed then, and he wasn't in a position to speculate on land when the manufacturers needed to be paid right away. (Still, it would be nice to have a do-over on that one! ;))
My family took yearly vacations to the island when I was little too, and it might well have been my first vacation (in fact, next time I get ahold of my parents' photo albums, I might update this with a picture of baby Ellen at the beach). Kevin and I went together several times before Daniel and always enjoyed it, so practically from the moment we saw the plus sign on the pregnancy test we were looking forward to continuing the family tradition and taking our baby there.
Fun with friends
What made this trip even more special was that our dear friends Marko and Nicole and their son Alejandro joined us. We traveled to San Francisco with them 2 years ago before we had kids kids and it was fun to travel together again as families. After the boys went to bed for the night, the four of us spent several pleasant evenings hanging out on the balcony talking.
During the day it was great to see the boys playing together. They're too young to really play cooperatively but they seemed to enjoy each other's company.
Here they are playing in the condo. Alejandro is trying to "brush" Daniel's hair with that plastic lid and a tv remote:
And, here they are together on the beach. They were too young to really use the beach toys we so carefully picked out (yes Kevin, you told me so!), but they definitely enjoyed playing in the sand:
Finally, here they are in the pool, kissing! Yes, this picture is sure to embarrass them mightily when they get older. It sure is cute though!
First day
We flew from Dallas to Brownsville on Friday, July 8. It was a short, easy flight, made even easier because the plane wasn't full, so we were able to bring the carseats on and sit in 2 rows by ourselves in the back of the plane. They boys did pretty well but Daniel got a bit fussy at one point so I took him to an empty row behind us to nurse. He then fell asleep in my arms for about 30 minutes. After we landed we were just a short drive from our destination. We didn't do much that day except relax, make dinner, and enjoy this view from our balcony:
Every Friday night during the summer there are fireworks over the bay. We watched them from the walkway outside our front door:
Time to play at the beach!
Saturday morning Kevin and my dad went fishing in the bay and the rest of the group went down to the beach. As expected, Daniel loved playing around in the sand. He ate his fair share of the sand (which made for some interesting diaper changes) and would have eaten plenty of shells too, if mean mommy hadn't taken them away. (I know, what a spoilsport to take away those choking hazards!)
Mmmm, sand!
We went back down to the beach again that afternoon and Monday morning and afternoon. Daniel could have spent all day on the shore splashing around in shallow tide pools and crawling in the sand.
I love this picture. It looks like he's crawling out to sea!
He was less fond of the ocean itself. We carried him out in it and he seemed to enjoy looking around but would get antsy or a wave would hit him in the face and he'd be ready to go back to shore.
The pool was fun too:
Daniel had a great time in the pool. One thing that made him laugh was when he's push on my chin and I'd jerk my head back like he had knocked me backwards.
He also thought it was pretty funny to "kick" me while he was sitting on the side of the pool ready to "jump in":
Meals
As much fun as the beach and pool were, we did venture out on dry land from time to time. Kevin and my dad had quite the successful fishing trip so for two lunches, we took fresh fish into local restaurants and ate it for lunch. Here's the day two spread at the Padre Island Brewing Company. Impressive as this haul looks, the previous day's was even bigger. The fish was great. Fresh is the name of the game with seafood and it's not often you can eat fish that was swimming just hours earlier.
Sleepless in South Padre
Daniel generally sleeps soundly at night but has a harder time sleeping away from home. As the last story suggests, this was certainly the case on this trip. He woke up during the night two of the four nights, which he seldom does. These sleep problems did have a sweet silver lining though.
When Daniel woke up crying the first night, I fed him and Kevin soothed him, all to no avail. After an hour of crying (his, not mine, though I felt like joining in) I was out of ideas, so I brought him into our bed hoping to calm him. As it turned out, that was exactly what he needed. He nestled his head on my shoulder, let out a deep sigh, and was out like a light. He slept snugly and soundly in my arms the rest of the night.
For the rest of the trip, I held him in my arms and napped with him in the afternoons. It was nice to get that extra cuddle time. Nursing soothes him very well but it was good to be reminded that my presence alone could soothe him so well. Co-sleeping may become a special new travel tradition for us.
Here's a picture of us napping together. The camera settings were wrong so it came out black and white and grainy, but I still love it. Look at the total relaxation on his face!
Time to go home :(
Alas, after 4 wonderful days on the Island, Tuesday came and it was time to go home. This time our flight was full so we had to check the carseats and hold the boys in our laps. The flight time ran into the early afternoon nap time so I worried Daniel might get cranky, but he was in good spirits the whole time, thanks in part to the steady flow of water and puffs we sent his way.
Once we landed, I put Daniel in my Beco carrier to wear him till we got back to the car. To my surprise, he fell asleep while we were waiting for a shuttle bus back to the garage. He was sleeping so soundly that he didn't even wake up when I put him in his carseat. When we got home he woke, ate, and slept another 3 hours. Guess the trip really wore him out!
We all had a great time, and can't wait for next year's trip!
It's hard to believe, but in less than 30 days my little baby will celebrate his first birthday. He's beginning to look less like a baby and more like a toddler, especially in pictures. Here's his 11 month picture. It was with our video camera, so the quality's not the best, but you can see how big he's getting:
For comparison, here's his 1-month picture:
Compare where his head and feet are in the two pictures! He looked so little in that carseat as a newborn, now less than a year later he's just about outgrown it. In fact, in my car I've already been using the convertible seat for a month or so. But Kevin prefers the infant seat, so we'll keep using that in his car for as long as we can.
New developments
A few weeks ago we got him the Fisher-Price Stride-to-Ride Dino push toy. He seemed hesitant about it at first but recently learned how to stand up and walk while pushing it. He's got a similar push toy he plays with during the day at Grandma's.
Here he is pushing his dino:
This is obviously an encouraging step on the road to walking but it's hard to predict when he'll take those first independent steps. Could be tomorrow, could be another week, could be another month. I'm still predicting that he'll be walking by his birthday but we'll see.
He still babbles a lot and has been making the "mama" noise more. I still don't think he's referring to me when he says it but it's music to my ears nevertheless. The first word might be coming soon, it'll be fun to see what he has to say.
Eating
Daniel's appetite for solid food has really increased a lot in the past few weeks. He seems to enjoy just about everything, even foods you wouldn't consider "baby foods" like fish, kale, and shiitake mushrooms. Blueberries and "orange stuff" like sweet potatoes and carrots are probably the favorites, and Puffs snacks are a big hit in our house too. These days we generally eat meals together as a family. Daniel either gets bite-sized pieces of what we're eating or some variation on it. It's great that he can self-feed now so we can all eat at the same time instead of having to eat in shifts with one of us eating while the other feeds Daniel. It's a little messy, but he does a pretty good job.
He has learned an unfortunate new trick in the past few days though. The other night I was feeding him by myself and I put some cut-up pears and cauliflower on his tray, then went back to cutting up more. I looked up and saw that most of the pieces I'd put on his tray were gone so I thought, "wow, he's really eating well!" Then I happened to catch him dropping a piece on the floor and looked down to see a pile of dropped pieces on the floor! He started to do it again so I gave him a stern face and said "no,no!" He looked me in the eye, smiled, and proceeded to drop it anyway. Really, defiance already? I thought I had a little more time before we got there...
In other dining news, he's still as enthusiastic a nurser as he's ever been. In fact, when we sit down on the couch to nurse he'll sometimes crawl over and try to start before I even get settled! He drinks all the milk I send for him during the day and apparently wants more sometimes.
I set out with the goal of breastfeeding for at least a year and we're definitely on track to make it. I don't plan to pump much past the 12 month mark, assuming Daniel takes to cow's milk, but I'll continue to nurse him morning and night and on weekends for as long as he wants to. Maybe the day will come that I'm ready for that chapter in our relationship to close, but right now I still enjoy it and cherish those moments with him. I'm certainly doing it for him, but I get as much out of it as he does.
Sleeping
Not a ton to report here. He still sleeps well at night and naps quite well in the morning but less reliably in the afternoon. Any given day he's fine with just the one nap, but
missing the PM nap on a regular basis makes him cranky and overtired in the evening. So, to try to preserve that nap, we're trying the "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" approach of limiting the length of the morning nap and moving his bedtime earlier at night. So far we've had mixed results, but one day he slept 11.5 hours at night, napped 90 minutes in the morning, and napped 2+ hours in the afternoon. Then again, today he wouldn't nap in the morning but took a 3 hour afternoon nap. Maybe we're moving toward just a mid-day nap. I guess we'll know more in a few weeks once we see what's working and what's not.
Coming attractions
This next month will be a big one for us. First, we have our first vacation as a family of 3, a 4-day trip to South Padre Island with our good friends Marko and Nicole and their son Alejandro. Padre was an annual trip for my family when I was growing up and I hope it'll become a tradition for us too. It's the comfort food of vacations. It's not exotic and it won't likely be the trip of a lifetime, but it's as relaxing and comfortable as eating ice cream straight from the tub while lying on the couch in sweats. There's no ambitious agenda of sights to see or things to do, which makes it perfect with babies. We'll just get up, eat in the condo, go down to the water, nap, go out for lunch, then repeat in the afternoon. In the evenings after the boys fall asleep the adults can enjoy sitting out on the balcony looking out at the waves, refreshing drink in hand. It'll be a great trip and I've been looking forward to taking Daniel since before he was even born.
Then, in a few weeks we'll celebrate his first birthday with a swim party for his little friends. We're hosting a joint birthday party along with our friends Charlotte and Alden, whose son Justin turns 3 a week after Daniel turns 1. We have a lot of mutual friends, so we thought, why not combine forces to host one big party? It should be a great time and we're looking forward to it. We'll also have a small dinner party that night so Daniel can celebrate his birthday with his grandparents, godparents, and aunt and uncle.
We have two big milestones just around the corner, walking and first words. Wonder if either one will come this month?
