Nine Month Check-up

Today Grant had his nine month check-up! He weighs 18 pounds 3 ounces and he's 28 inches long. And he despises having his ears looked at. I was looking forward to this appointment because he I knew he didn't have to have shots but with the way he carried on for the ear exams (she did it twice because I was concerned about another possible ear infection - all clear there!) you would think that he was having shots. But the doc said he's doing really well and that his eyes look like they're clearing up. Those eye drops suck, but at least they're working.

Grant's going to start on some stage 3 foods and she gave us ideas for other finger foods to try. I haven't really been pushy with other kinds of finger foods. He's loving the Gerber puffs but we haven't really gone beyond those (except for the one time we tried cut up banana but I don't think it counts if we're not positive he got any in his mouth). She also told us to start trying cups with straws! That should be entertaining.

She knew from one of our sick visits that Grant's been crawling so she asked how he's doing with that. I mentioned his walking toy and that he's taken some step on his own. "So you've baby proofed, right?" she said. To which I answered with a very confident yes even thought it should have been ummmm sorta. "And you've got his crib lowered, I'm sure" which we did do a while ago. "And there's no bumper or anything like that in there, right? Not even a thin one?" But I could not tell a lie. I know how people feel these days about bumpers and I know what's been written about them. But, honestly, I don't care. There are somethings that, for me, modern day over-protectiveness will not change. It has saved Grant's noggin from so many head bumps that we can't even count them. This kid has been moving since long before he was actually crawling and that bumper gave us all a little sense of security. But now, the thought of him using that bumper to hoist himself out of his crib (he does try to climb things in the living room - eek!) makes me a little sick to think about. So out it came. It really makes the crib look less cute and comfy and much more prison-like.

Before we left I had to make his ONE YEAR CHECK-UP! Hard to believe.

His eyes still look a little red underneath but are clearing up nicely.

The Eye Infection

I'm going to try to make this as quick as possible. Because I'm beyond exhausted and Grant is, for the moment, asleep. As I said in my previous post, on Saturday Grant's eyes started having this nasty, green gunk coming out of them. It literally looked like he was crying boogers. Husband said it was pink eye but the pharmacist I called thought it was allergies...bascially (what she said was that it sounded like his sinus' were backing up into his tear ducts - yum). Well, Husband sort of wins that one. While not technically pink eye, it is an eye infection. A contagious one. Good stuff. The pediatrician didn't even need to see him, she just called in some eye drops for us. Trying to get eye drops into Grant's eyes is a party and a half. He cries ("Mama!"), I cry, Husband misses his eye because Grant keeps turning his head and everyone ends up frustrated. Last night I lost it. Partly because I felt like Grant was mad at me but also because I'm so damn tired of this child being sick. I can remember more times in the last 9 months when he's been sick than well. It is always something: A virus that landed us in the ER, and upper respiratory thing around Christmas, repeat of the repiratory thing when we went to NY in February, countless colds and fevers, his first bloody nose, and now a nasty eye infection. I can handle a lot. I have handled a lot. I helped hold Grant down for blood work, I held him still for x-rays, I sat in the room while they gave him a spinal tap...but apparently I reached my limit at the eye drops. Maybe it's because of the new Mama cry. Maybe I'm just tired.


Day one of the eye drops (but day three of the infection). He looks pretty bad. Like he's
 been in some juice bar brawl or something. But he still managed a smile for us :)


Thankfully tonight was easier with the drops. I had planned to stay out of the room but guilt won that one. So I grabbed a toy and headed for Grants room/torture chamber. I managed to distract him quite well so Husband could get the drops in his eyes and they definitely went in well. Did I mention it's two drops per eye twice a day? I'll be glad when this crap is gone. However, day two of the drops did leave Grant looking much improved and more "himself". So we're all hoping that he keeps getting better. And Husband and I would really like some sleep (and our bed back).


I'm not entirely sure what's up with the face in the bottom
picture. He looks like he's been caught doing something wrong.



First Steps, First Word...and Some Green Gunk

It was a huge weekend for big firsts. Saturday Grant took his first steps! He is, by no means, full out walking. But he did take actual unassisted steps on Saturday. I thought I'd be sad when it happened but I have to say, I'm pretty excited. We've tried to get him to do it again but his walking toy is always nearby and he gets distracted by it. He's doing so well with that now! We've been playing a game where I sit at one side of the living room and husband goes to the other end and Grant walks between us with his toy. He just keeps going! Which ever one of us he walks to turns him around and he goes back the other way with the biggest grin.

That's probably the most fun that we had this weekend considering that, also on Saturday, Grants eyes started spewing thick, green eye boogers. Which it turns out is a highly contagious eye infection! He was supposed to start a new daycare this week (Can I get an amen?) but now he can't until the drops we have to give him are in his system for 24 hours. We are sooo looking forward to putting drops in his eyes considering he starts screaming bloody murder if you get near him with a tissue, washcloth, or *gasp* the booger snatcher snot sucker.

Which brings me to big first number two. We discovered this weekend that Grant can say a very clear "Mama". It surprised me that this was his first word. He really hasn't made any "M" sounds. Lots of "bababababa" (but never while looking at a bottle) and he's come very close to some things that sounds like "Dada". Unfortunately, the way we found out is because of several crying fits Grant had this weekend while we were trying to clean his eyes and nose. He would cry so hard and then say "Mama" while he was crying. Or he just wanted to be picked up and would stand up in his pack-n-play and cry "Mama". The worst, though, was while we were cleaning his eyes. It's hard to hear him cry my name when I'm the one who is causing him to cry. It made me cry! I guess he had to start somewhere and it will, at the very least, be a story to tell him later. Husband wasn't surprised at all that "Mama" came first...because he's been trying to get him to say it since he was about a month old!

Greased Lightning

Ha! Ok, so while he doesn't really qualify as greased lightning Grant is making some serious moves towards walking. For a while now he's been walking along the couch balancing himself with his hands. In the past couple weeks he's been standing unassisted for a second or two then losing his balance and ending up on his bum. But now he's getting much better at regaining his balance when standing and will even grab onto the couch (or ottoman, coffee table, chair, etc.) to keep from falling. We decided to try a walking toy with him and I'd say he did pretty well with it. (FYI: crappy picture quality due to still using my camera phone!)



So that first night when we were playing with the walking toy, Grant would start out walking but he had a hard time keeping up and would end up on his knees. But that didn't stop him...and neither did the living room full of toys.

Since he seemed to have such a good time with the walking toy, we played with it last night too. And he managed to stay on his feet for longer. It's not a super long video but you get the idea.

It's very exciting that he's close to walking but it makes me sad too. It doesn't seem so long ago that Grant was that tiny little guy that used to lay underneath his baby gym. Then almost overnight he was crawling and pulling up. And now he's almost walking. I knew when I was pregnant that he was going to keep us on our toes. It seemed like he was always moving. There was a doctor at one of our OB check-ups that told us to "get our running shoes ready" and she was soooo right. Grant has very much kept us on our toes. Lord help us when he starts walking for real!

Sugar and Spice

A very good friend of mine, Jen, is having a baby girl and I could not be more excited for her! Because she lives back home I won't be able to attend her baby shower. But I did get to make sugar cookie favors for the occasion! I adore sugar cookies as party favors and I love making them. Well, that's not quite right. As with any cake/cookie item I make it's truly the decorating that I love to do. I'd like to skip the baking and frosting making and get right to the decorating part of it. So, her shower is this Sunday and I hope she has a great time and gets lots of things she needs for her little princess that we are all so excited to meet! (By the way, these aren't great pictures because I had to take them with my phone. The batteries in our camera died last weekend and I can never remember to get more. To use the camera I'd have to steal batteries from baby toys and I haven't resorted to that yet.)


You have no idea (or maybe you do) how hard it is to decorate these cookies
while having to smell them the whole time. They smell so good!

 

I packaged them individually and even found "It's a Girl"
ribbon to tie them with :)





I made a special cookie just for the Mommy-to-be. Each
petal is a separate cookie attached with icing. It weighs a ton!

  This isn't the first time I've made cookies for Jen...but I didn't have to make as many this time! I also made wedding cake shaped cookie favors for her wedding in September of 2009. That time I had to make roughly 175 cookies. And to this day I have no idea how I managed to do that in my tiny kitchen. (Although my friend Elizabeth did sacrifice a weekend afternoon to come help me decorate!)

 

My dining room table turned cookie decorating workspace!



A few of cookies all packaged up

 

One of my cookies in action


By the way, I was forced to eat a few of my mistakes (I had to experiment with the "message" on the cookie). I like when I make tasty mistakes.