A Boy and His Sack

"Back to sleep" is the slogan used these days to remind parents to lay their baby on their back when they go to sleep.  It is often embroidered on the front of sleep sacks - fleece, usually arm-less, bags for baby to sleep in.

Like any good parents, when TT was small, Husband and I invested in many, many sleep sacks.  We had blue ones, white ones, yellow ones.  As he got older and bigger we bought bigger and bigger sleep sacks.

The last sleep sack we ever bought him, around his first birthday; was a size XL or 18 months.  It is designed for children 35 to 40 inches and up to 36 lbs.  These days TT is around 44 inches and 50 lbs.

As TT grew, this sleep sack grew with him. Walking around in it he stretched it.

Then one day it got a small hole in the bottom corner.  He would fiddle with it while falling asleep.

And so, the hole got bigger and bigger.

Then one day I hole was so big he could fit a leg in it.  This made walking around in "sack" much easier.

Then one day, the hole was so big, both legs fit through it.

Now when he wakes-up, sack is bunched up around his stomach.  It looks like a deranged vest. A dingy, despite nearly being washed every other day, deranged vest.

But he loves it.

Just like his older brother loves his blanket.

Icon

The other day RR said to me "Mom, I figured out a new way to save my Word files. You don't need to do a file-save-as.  You can just click on this little square box."

So I replied "Yeah, the floppy disk icon."

RR, then asks "What's a floppy disk?"

Now I know people have written about obsolete items "captured in time" as icons for years now, so this phenomena is not new.

What's new is how old he made me feel.  Kids have a way of doing this, without even trying.

1 Week Old

ERP is now a week old.

One week already.  Time is flying.

At one week -

~ he is nursing like a champ; still having a hard time latching initially, but does great once on, he prefers to nurse on the right side
~ he is wearing preemie diapers, size small (did you know they also come in extra-small)
~ he is almost back to his birth weight - he has gained 5.5 ounces in 5 days
~ he is eating and sleeping all the time, some naps are short but he has gone 4 and 5 hour stretches as well
~ he is wearing size newborn clothes, but that's because we don't own any preemie size clothes
~ he is the apple of both of his brother's eyes
~ his bouncy seat is his favorite place to be, aside from curled up with mom or dad
~ at exactly one week in age he realized that he doesn't need to keep his legs all squished up high and has started stretching out more
~ I call him my Pocket Baby and Squishy Peanut
~ he had his first sponge bathes at home
~ his cord fell off at age 5 days

Things from this week I don't want to forget -
~ how the hair in the back of his head is the longest and you can curl it around your finger
~ how downy soft his hair is
~ the look of his eyelashes as they started to grow in
~ the soft baby hair on his upper arms
~ how long his fingers and toes are and how big his hands and feet are, they seem out of place when compared to how small the rest of him is
~ how his feet look so funny in socks that are way too big
~ how skinny his legs are, I tease him I've eaten frog legs with more meat on them
~ how he keeps poking himself in his eyes and mouth with his hands
~ how when I see him move and hold his butt all of his movements in my womb make sense

Firsts, Expectations and Bibs

Turkey and Monkey had due dates within days of each other, so when it was time for Monkey to be born I had expected him to be early like his brother.  Everyone told me the second one usually comes "before" your first, and seeing that by this time last year I was walking around already 3cm dilated I assumed Monkey would be here before Valentine's Day.

I was so sure Valentine's Day was going to be his first holiday that I went out and got him a "First Valentine's Day" bib and tucked it into my hospital bag.

Valentine's Day came and went, and no Monkey.  The bib did travel to and from the hospital with us, and eventually got tucked into his dresser.  Over the year it's be accompanied by 1st Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and so-on bibs.

Today he finally got a chance to wear the bib I bought him over a year ago.

Today he celebrated his last 1st holiday.

I know a lot of parent's that commiserate over the end of the first year, the end of firsts if you will.

But I have learned over the years (many thanks to Turkey for this lesson) that firsts don't end after your baby turns one.  In fact, some of the most exciting firsts happen after year one, two, or even after the first five years. I know I have many, many firsts to look forward for both of my boys.

We had a lot of expectations for Monkey in his first year, and some of them we have seen happen; and others we are still waiting on... like teeth.  When is he going to get that first tooth?

I guess that's the other lesson my boys have taught me - expect to be amazed and expect the unexpected; because sometimes what you are expecting doesn't happen.

Oh and by the way, this bib is still so big on him, he would have looked totally ridiculous on him last year. 

The Best Of (Part 4 of 10)

I've been thinking long and hard about the next thing on my list of the Top 10 Baby Items, and then today it came to me as Monkey was screaming his head off and I was searching for Baby Dee.  Baby Dee is #4.

So.... drum roll please.... #4 on the list is.....

The Hasbro/Playskool Glow Worm, or as we call it around our house Baby Dee.

Monkey, around age 3 months with Baby Dee.

Baby Dee got his name from my, now, 16 year old cousin and Goddaughter V.  When V was a baby she needed her Baby Dee, all the time.  Over the years she had several Baby Dees.  My aunt would just keep buying them and replacing them, saying that Baby Dee had gone to get cleaned up or to the doll hospital... you get the idea.

Back then Baby Dee only came in green, and was much longer - now they are short and study and come in blue or pink (isn't that special).  But they still do the same thing, you squeeze their belly and their face lights up and they play music for about 30 seconds (That's my only complaint, why of why, for the love of.... can't they play and light up for like 10 minutes.  Oh heck, I would be happy with 5 minutes.  Who am I kidding?  3 minutes and I would be good.)


When Monkey is crying and nothing soothes him; not the boob, the pacifier, or daddy cuddles; we know it's "Baby Dee Time".  We grab that silly little glow worm, put it right up to his face and squeeze... and then the calm come.  Red eyed Monkey stops crying and looks, stares really, at Baby Dee.  And then Baby Dee turns off, he starts to whimper, so we squeeze again.  A few more rounds of this, and Monkey is happy, chewing on his baby's ear.

We've even had car trips where we have paid Turkey $2 to squeeze and hold Baby Dee to his brother's face over and over again.

We love Baby Dee in this house.  We all do, even the 7 year old has been known to yell "It's Baby Dee time."

Full Disclosure: We didn't pay for our Baby Dee, we had Kohl's Cash and got it for free; but I was not paid for this review and would gladly buy a Baby Dee should we ever need a second one.


You can find items 1, 2 and 3 on my list here.