No More School!

Long story short: school director is crazy and I didn't feel comfortable having Basti spend any more time there.  SO, we're all home together!  Well, except Poppy who is on a 10 day trip in Asia.  Awww...

On Father's day, we all went shopping..  yes, ALL.  The kids were so cute in the cart together.  And Basti started waving at people.  WAVING!  I have been trying to get a video of his waving...  soon, soon!

We're on week 2 of swimming classes.  This week he has been practicing floating on his back (he managed to float on his back for a few seconds all on his own today, with lots of complaining), closing his mouth and holding his breath in the water, and rolling in the water.  He is no longer trying to grab at his feet, but he keeps his legs and arms very stiff.  And of course he complains loudly.

A good side effect of the class is that Basti has settled in a somewhat more consistent schedule.  He even slept 8pm to 5am last night, wow!  And has been taking 3 naps a day: one early morning at 8:30ish, another at 1ish, and the last one on the car ride home from the pool.  Try not to let him nap past 5pm to make sure he goes to bed at a reasonable hour.    

I have included another activity during our bedtime routine, downloaded a Nighty Night App, which takes you to a farm and you get to say goodnight to all the animals.  I set it to German so we can learn the animal names...  after the narrator says good night to each animal, I repeat "Gute Nacht liebe _(animal)_."  Last night Basti was also "repeating" after me!  WOW!

The laxative has worked, even though Basti doesn't drink much of it.  Daily poops, and not painful!  YEY!  Will continue giving him a few sips of the "special" water and very slowly reduce the amount to see if his body does ok.

Basti's bathroom has been kid-proofed... but who said the toilet paper was off-limints?  Basti discovered how much fun it is to unroll the paper and then tear it up into tiny pieces.  He seemed so entertained I didn't stop him, no harm done.

Tia Hen found nice footie PJs size 12 months and up.  Yey!  Basti has been wearing the 9 month footies and they're getting tight, so finally got several new PJs for him.  And yes, had to get the bee striped ones.  Heehee.

Maja Party

Maja turns 2 next weekend!  Since Poppy will be traveling, we had her birthday party today.  Charlie, Takoda, and Puna made it to the party.  Maja's new friends Diesel and Blue were not able to come.  Four dogs was plenty chaotic and they had a great time running and exploring in the yard.  Basti also got a lot of attention from both humans and dogs.

This year I managed to get a bit more elaborate and made a bee shaped cake (not doggie friendly unfortunately, it was chocolate chip with chocolate frosting) and little take home treats (yes doggie friendly crunchy treats).  We had grilled kabobs and other random goodies for our meal.

Just Keep Swimming

 Basti has started his Infant Swim Rescue classes.  There were only 3 sessions this week, but we're both exhausted.  Me from getting him and all his gear ready, driving to the pool, standing around under the HOT sun, driving back home.  Basti from his new experience in the pool...  and crying.

As part of the ISR requirements, I have to record when and what Basti does 24 hours a day.  How long he slept, what he ate, when he had a wet diaper or a BM (bowel movement), and are his dialy activities and temperament normal.  On class days, he should not have apple or dairy in any shape or form (can affect his digestive system and performance in the pool).  One hour before class I have to take his temperature and slather his body with sunblock.  Once we arrive at the pool, I dress him in his swim diapers (not disposable diapers) and swim shirt.  

Each session is only 10 minutes long, to make sure baby isn't too cold or has swallowed water or is too tired.  In the first 3 sessions worked on back floating position, head orientation, and trying to get those legs down.  But Basti cries as soon as he is put on his back and brings his legs up and tries to suck on his toes.  Work in progress!

Maja had a play date this past week.  Diesel and Blue used to live in the guest house, we had a brief overlap before they moved to another home, so Maja got to know them and loves chasing the ball with Diesel.  So I asked them to come over to visit and play.  It was a hot day, and with all the running around both doggies were very tired.  I filled up Maja's pool and they both cooled off in it.

With Basti crawling all over the place, we try to keep him contained when necessary.  He can't climb much, so I put giant pillows in his doorway to keep him in his room, but after 2 days he figured out he could just push them out.  Dang.  Baby proofing the house in progress...

Had to take Basti to the doc on Thursday, his constipation hasn't improved much with the prune/pear mush and increased water intake.  He weighed in at 19 pounds 15 oz.  Doc prescribed laxative dissolved into his water...  but I haven't been able to get him to drink all the water, even sipping frequently through the day, so who knows how long this will take for some relief.

To Sleep or Not to Sleep

Oh, the never ending struggle of sleep.  For a while there Basti was passing out before 6pm.  WOW.  Sometimes he would wake up an hour later wailing, but I'd just nurse him back to sleep and all was good.  Usually he'd wake up at 3 am +/- 1 hour, and then again between 5 and 6 am.  When we moved we wondered if he would be affected by the change of environment, but it didn't seem to bother him at all.  It was Maja who kept me up that first night at our new home...  she kept jumping up at every sound and bark of neighborly dogs.  She was better the second night, and the third she slept right through it all.

But for the last week or so Basti has been complaining loudly at every nap and bedtime.  Even though he is yaaaawning and rubbing his eyes, he still wants to crawl around and play.  We go through the bedtime routine (diaper check, snuggle puppy book, sleep sack, Pink Floyd baby tunes CD, nursing).  But as soon as he is done nursing, he complains if kept horizontal or laid in bed.  And he cries if left alone.  Aiyah...  whatever happened to our little baby who would go to sleep on his own.  Several times we swaddled him and rocked him to sleep like we used to do what seems like forever ago.  And hey it worked!  The last few nights however...  It's all wwwhhhaaa...

Found out this morning there was a thunderstorm in the wee hours of the morning...  but I heard none of it and neither did Basti.  However, Maja was shaking in the morning and following us around the house.  That's when I realized what was happening.  Majita is scared of thunder.  So she sat on my lap while we ate breakfast, and I carried Basti and Maja around the house as we got ready for the day.  And when I did put Maja down, she went to hide in the water closet in my bathroom.  Aw.

 Poppy is on a short trip to Mexico, so I'm holding up the fort...  tonight after a messy fussy dinner (he barely swallowed anything), and letting him nurse plenty, and lots of books, songs, singing, attempts at rocking, etc, etc, etc...  I called it quits and left the room at 7:41 pm to his loud complaints and crying.  And suddenly...  quiet.  I checked the monitor, he was OUT.  I checked the clock, 7:45 pm.  WHAT?  He CIO in 4 minutes?  WOW.  Now I wonder what the rest of the night has in store for me...

Lately Poppy has taken over the early morning shift, that's the 5-6 am wake up.  They play and listen to German kid songs.  And then at 7 or so wake me up with coffee and a smile.  CUTE.  I'm grateful for the extra hour of sleep.  I just wish it would help cure my chronic fatigue.  It's been a while since Basti slept through the night...  please please pretty please?

10 Month Basti

Yikes, so behind on posting.  With the move and shorter days at school for Basti, I feel I barely have time to breathe.

Anyways, we moved!  YEY!  Poppy managed to pack the house and move all the boxes on his own.  The movers got all the furniture and some last minute boxes.  And still there was a carload of random stuff left behind!  Geez.  And with the contractors in between it took some juggling and coordination to get everything done.  And the garage is still full of stuff, and my list of random things I want to do around the house keeps growing...  I just don't know when I will get around to doing all these thing.

I tried updating the blog last weekend, and this is what I wrote:

Basti Baby turned 10 months old on Thursday (May 30)!  We celebrated a day late, with a nice big flourless chocolate cake.  And yes I gave Basti a taste.  Three tastes actually, first one seemed ok, second one not so sure, third he spit out.  WHAT?!?  How could MY son not like chocolate???  Maybe this was too intense for him.  If at first you don't succeed...  then try and try again.

Basti has been attempting to crawl for a couple of weeks...  usually one scoot forward and then a scoot backwards to sitting.  Today, however, he spotted Maja's yellow plastic ball...  and he went for it on all 4.  Ball kept rolling away from him as he tried to grab it, so he crawled after it!  How fun to see!  He has also been trying to stand up.  He grabs on to a "sturdy" object (his crib, his jumperoo, my legs), and rocks with his legs folded under him.  And what a smile when I pull him up by the arms and have him "walk" on my feet.

End of last week's blogging attempt.

So, now Basti is full speed ahead (sometimes sideways) crawling all over.  When I leave the room he will follow behind...  so sometimes I sit him in the farthest corner of his room and I run to go pee, knowing by the time I'm washing my hands Basti will have made it to the door.  Poppy calls him his "little snail" as he leaves a trail of drool when crawling around.  

Which brings me to teeth!  Basti's 5th tooth is coming out, already broke skin, bottom left lateral incisor.  How exciting.

And now he seems to swallow more food.  Still a lot of it ends up on the floor or smeared all over his face.  Sometimes he chews, sometimes he just swallows, sometimes he spits it out. You just never know.  

And then there's poop.  For the last...  1.5 months or so he has been constipated.  Would poop only on the weekends (he's private like that)..  and clearly painful for him.  He'd strain and yell, poor little guy.  I figured out ways of, um, helping him with his bowel movements.  Anyways, he's on a prune and pear mush regimen. He won't drink the pear juice (as recommended by doctor), so I make sure to offer him sips of water throughout the day.  He finally figured out the sippy cup, so it comes with us everywhere (but the one I have leaks, agh.  I got another one that is leak proof but requires too much suction power to get the water out and he hasn't figured it out).

Changing subjects, Basti's newfound mobility allows him to explore just about anything he can reach.  So today I went around the house plugging all outlets.  But need to find ways of obstructing the way to cords that are plugged in.  Seems we don't have enough furniture to fill the house at this point.  Ah, and he discovered the blinds in his room, the window opening is pretty low, so he can reach the sill and pull himself up to kneeling.  

On Wednesday last week Basti and I went on an adventure to the Discovery Museum.  He is too small for just about everything there, but I think he liked people watching.  They do have an infant room, but it was over run by toddlers and I was worried Basti would get squashed so we didn't stay very long.

Mommy Day

For my first Mommy Day, got the best gift ever: Basti was sitting on my lap facing me, he gave me a toothy grin, opened his arms and gave me a belly hug, resting his head on my chest.  <3 <3 <3

And how could I deny him bee PJs?!?

Stuffing an omelet into his mouth.

Maja watching Basti roll around.

Poppy is in South Africa for a trade show, 10 day trip.  I think this is the longest we have been on our own.  Poppy made a couple of videos of himself reading Basti's favorite books (more like our favorite books to read to him).   When I play them for Basti he smiles big and Maja comes into the room wondering where Poppy is.

Everybody look at the camera!

Maja as a foot rest.

Let's go!

Good morning!

I get some (ok, a lot) of anxiety going out with Basti.  I worry he is going to explode in public...  which I guess is silly because he hasn't done that once (did I just jinx myself?).  The expectation of him exploding?  Or me getting all flustered not knowing what to do?  Or worried others are judging my mommy skills?  AGH.  Who knows.  So my goal for this weekend was to go out to eat with Basti.  And so our first date was to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant (which I frequent once a week).  The owner lady was so happy to see Basti, she gave him a plate of orange and cucumber slices.  He also got to play with rice noodles.

Lunch outing.

Sometimes I let Basti roll around on the carpet...  and then I hear him giggle, and I catch Maja giving him kisses.  Tsk tsk. 

Dynamic Duo

This morning I took the kids to the nearby park for a short hike.  Later at home, I noticed Maja had something on her lip, I thought it was food stuck to her fur.  But on closer inspection, it was a tick!  AAAHHH!!!  I'd never dealt with one before so I panic for a moment (P is the in-house dog expert but it's night time in SA).  And then I checked online what to do with a tick.  Thank goodness for internet.  Simple instructions, I got tweezers, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and a little container with a lid.  Got the tick out and kept safe in the container, lesion seems ok and clean.  Will be monitoring the lesion to make sure it doesn't get infected.  Checked Maja all over for ticks just in case, didn't find any.

On our second date, I took Basti out to dinner to celebrate Mommy Day.  At the restaurant we saw Susana, baby from our Birthing Class Mommy group! Susana kept sneaking looks at Basti from her table, so her Mommy started calling him her boyfriend.  Hee hee.

Susana and Basti

Basti & Mommy

We had lamb chops and green beans, both of which Basti really enjoyed.  And for dessert Fuji apple sorbet, a tad too sweet for me.  I gave Basti a taste, after getting used to the unusual cold feeling, he was clamoring for more.  Oops.

Basti likes green beans.

We bought a house...  and we get the keys tomorrow!  There will be a few updates we will be doing to the house before we move in (at least I hope they're done before):

- Building a fence around the whole backyard to keep Maja safe

- Painting the whole interior of the house

- Changing floors to hardwood in the main living areas, carpet in the bedrooms

- Installing AC

With all this activity, me being the house project manager...  I have finally decided to take a sabbatical from work.  Took a lot of hemming and hawing, weighing pros and cons, etc etc etc.  But I need my sanity and Basti needs a sane Mommy.  For Summer months June/July, Basti will only be going to school 3 mornings a week.  The rest of the time we will be adventuring together!  YEY!

9 Month Basti

Basti turned 9 months old this week.  YEY!  And he had his 9 month well-baby check-up:
- Weight: 18 pounds 11.5 ounces
- Length: 27 inches, which is shorter than a few weeks ago.  Very unlikely he shrank.
- Head circumference: 45 cm

Basti's poop consistency changed about a month ago.  He doesn't get the bubbly explosions anymore.  Now his face turns red or he cries out as he produces little quenelles.  They are stinkier, but at least not explosive and runny.  Also, when he does poop he often gets a bit of diaper rash between his butt cheeks, irritation from the new foods going through his system.  Doc said to give Basti water with his meals to make sure his poop stays soft.  And definitely up the water intake a bit on hot days, of which we have had several.

Of course, we discussed ECZEMA.  I told the Doc I had been on the elimination diet for 3 weeks with no visible improvement on Basti's rash.  So Doc said, "Ok, you tried it, now you can eat normal again."  From his experience, Basti's eczema is very mild and doesn't seem to bother him much.  It doesn't bother me either, but it does drive me nuts when other people comment on the rash and feel sorry for him.

A week or so ago, I asked a doctor friend to send me medical articles on baby eczema.  After sifting through the many many articles he sent, I found that there have been studies done with breastfeeding moms doing elimination diets and resulting in insignificant improvement on baby eczema.

SO...  I ate TWO chocolate chip cookies today.  And WOW were they good.

Basti's top two front teeth are about to make their appearance...  can see the white just a bit.

Of course, as soon as we leave the doctor's office, Basti starts coughing.  At first I thought it was just random coughing.  But then it was more frequent and forceful by night time.  Oy.  Is it the dry heat?  Friday morning he was at school and I asked his teacher if she noticed any coughing but she said no.  Hmmm...  but he has been coughing quite a bit all day, and it sometimes wakes him from sleep.  Continue to monitor the situation.

This morning when I went to get Basti out of his crib from his nap, I was SHOCKed to see him sitting!  He has figured out how to sit up on his own.  WOW!  During the day he showed us his new skill several times.

And this afternoon, Poppy was playing with Basti and got him to stand up!  WHAT?!?  Basti stood up on his own holding on to Poppy's shirt.   So many new developments!

Signed up Basti for Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) class, starting second week of June.  Yey fun!  Already got his swim diapers on order too.

It's allergy season...  which means runny nose, itchy eyes, and crazy sneezing for me.  And this year I've had massive nose bleeds, sometimes at 4 am when Basti wakes up.  And my nose is very dry and irritated.  Got a saline nose spray but doesn't seem to be doing much.  Tomorrow the temps are expected to cool off, with potential rain on Monday...  keeping my fingers crossed!