Kudos to the Bristol/Warren school district for their early learning program, “Parents as Teachers”.  It’s a great program that’s free to toddlers under three in the area.  Once a month an expert will come into your home to work with and assess your little one to make sure he/she is developing all of the skills of an average baby.  

Charlie had his first home visit yesterday.  Nancy worked around my work schedule and Charlie’s nap schedule to maximize our time together.  She gave me some great ideas on encouraging Charlie to crawl (he only wants to walk) and some new developmental games to play.  She also left me with a sizeable packet of information on skills to look for at his age, foods to try, sleeping habits, etc.  It was great, and I’m looking forward to next month’s visit.

Looking Cute

I’ve had enough of the “Boil Water Advisory” in effect for Bristol County, RI residents.  Like my neighbors, I’m dealing with the inconvenience of not being able to safely use the tap water (3days and counting).  A year ago it probably wouldn’t have impacted me too much… but with an infant at home who is putting EVERYTHING into his mouth, the threat of E.Coli bacteria in our water is stressing me out!! 

From mixing his cereal and bottles…to washing his hands… to sanitizing his toys… to cleaning his veggies, his high chair,  his clothing… we are going through bottled water like crazy!  Not to mention, I haven’t even attempted to give him a bath.  I’m terrified that my boiled water will be too hot, the bottled water too cold and a sponge bath too unenjoyable for all of us!!  But, if this advisory really does continue through the weekend, we’re going to have to figure something out. 

It’s not just the inconvience, it’s also the added worry that he’ll get sick from the tap water.  I guess it’s just another remind that the worries never end when your a parent.

On another note–Go Steelers!

Go Steelers!

Look who’s on the move and talking!! 

Our little man began crawling (a bit) over the weekend.  He also said his first “word”… Dadda!  He’s a mini-version of his dad, so it’s only fitting.  As for crawling, he’s still doing it begrudgingly… He hasn’t figured out yet that his new skill makes him mobile, and would much prefer standing up and walking around the room–with mommy’s help of course!  My prediction–he’ll be walking solo by Thanksgiving (10months old).

I keep watching my 7-month old son rock on his hands and knees and wondering how much longer I have before I’m chasing him around the room.  Not only is he desperately trying to crawl (he gets so frustrated!), but he also loves standing up and walking around the room.  Here’s a picture my hubby sent to me this morning:

I am getting close....

Can you see the drop of drool about to fall off of his chin?  This kid is a drooling machine.  He soaks bibs like it’s his job.  It’s been going on since he was about 3 months old and is showing no signs of easing up.  I can’t wait to put the bibs away and finally be able to see  him in his adorable wardrobe!!

The title to this post could fit a number of things in my life as a new mom— like how quickly Charlie is growing….how fast the days/weeks/months are flying by…. or how he is learning new skills at a lightning pace…. but today it’s about how accidents can happen in the blink of an eye.

For me it was a valuable lesson that, thankfully, did not come with any serious injuries to my little guy. 

We were getting ready to leave the house this weekend and I was cleaning up.  There was a pile of toys in front of the couch that I wanted to put away, so I sat Charlie in the back corner of the couch, then stood right in front of him while I straightened up.  In an instant, Charlie was face first on the floor screaming.  He had rolled off the couch and his precious face had broken his fall.  It happened so quickly, and even though he was only inches away from me, I wasn’t able to prevent it.   After a few tears and a little rugburn on his cheek, he was fine.  I, however, would remain upset and worried through the rest of the weekend.

I should have known better than to put him on the couch like that.  It was a valuable lesson that you have to stay one step ahead of their abilities and, thus, potential dangers…. it was only a few days ago that Charlie couldn’t get himself from a lounging position to his hands and knees, but, obviously, now he can do it.  And while he’s not mobile yet… he’s pretty close.  I need to get my house babyproofed BEFORE he sticks something in the sockets, or gets into the cleaning supplies and I need to lower the crib BEFORE he pulls up on his own and falls out of it. 

My mom gave (as always) sound advice… that it’s these little errors in judgement that can help us prevent big ones.  Take it and learn from it.  Of course, it didn’t help me feel any less like a terrible mom.

A new study released yesterday shows that women who breastfeed their babies could significantly reduce their risk of developing breast cancer… especially if an immediate relative has had it.  The numbers are pretty staggering–women who breastfed their babies had a 59% lower risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer. 

The study was authored by an associate professor at my alma mater–the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and used information from more than 60,000 women.  More research is needed to confirm the results, but it suggests that breastfeeding can do as much good for a mother at risk of developing breast cancer as the often-prescribed Tamoxifen drug can.

The human body continues to amaze me!!  I succeeded in my goal of nursing Charlie exclusively for 6months.  While we had a rocky start, it’s been well-worth the effort and something that I truly believe has been both good for his growing body and mine.  That said, it was one of the biggest challenges early on as a mother, so I understand why some make the switch to formula.  I am just glad I stuck with it.  Right now, he gets formula in the mornings when I am at work, then I nurse him in the afternoon, evenings and middle of the night. (yes–he’s still waking up!)

I’m back to work today after enjoying the annual “Muscatello Family Beach Vacation”.  It arrived at the perfect time for Pete and me…. We were rundown, I had a nasty cold and Charlie was teething.  We spent the week along the North Carolina coast, a trip I’ve taken almost every summer since I was a baby. Now it was my time to show up with the little one, and boy did he make an entrance…. he was fiercely cutting his first teeth–2 of them!!  The first few days were… hmmm…. interesting.  Charlie was super cranky, had a rash, diarrhea, wouldn’t eat and wouldn’t sleep more than 2 hours at a time.  Luckily by Tuesday his second tooth had cut through the gum, and my happy baby boy returned for the end of the trip.  Whew.   

At the beach in North Carolina

Charlie also found a new octave in his vocal range.  I fondly call it “the pterodactyl”.  He shared his new screech with all of the passengers on our 2 1/2 hour plane ride home.  At one point I thought of opening up the emergency exit and jumping out.  I was “that person” with the screaming kid that everyone groans about as they try to relax on the flight.  Sigh.  Just another first in parenthood. 

Charlie the Pterodactyl

His first tooth and a sippy cup?!?!  Is Charlie really old enough for this?  I’m not ready!!

For whatever reason, the fact that his first tooth is trying to poke through his bottom gum and that it’s time to introduce him to a sippy cup is completely throwing me off.  He just seems too little.  Wasn’t it yesterday that I brought my 7lb, 10oz baby home from the hospital?  That his newborn clothing hung loosely from his body, that he layed like a lump in my arms for hours?

Everybody warns you that time flies by… and it’s moments like this that make me realize how right they are.  My little guy turns 6months old next week, is sitting up on his own, and laughs so hard at times that his shoulders shake. I… just…cannot… believe  it. 

Charlie, so far, (trust me I am knocking on wood) has handled teething okay.  He’s been rubbing his face alot, chewing on his fingers and anything else he can manage to put into his mouth, and, of course, drooling.   He also has an inflamed, white bump in his lower gums that his babysitter informed me is his first tooth making it’s way out.  Is it weird that my reaction was to scream, “NOOOOO!!!”  

Luckily,  he hasn’t been overly fussy and he’s been sleeping even more than usual. 

As for the sippy cup, after reading for the last few weeks that 6months is around the time to introduce them to babies, I finally broke down and bought some yesterday.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  They “guarantee” that they are spill-proof, but my mommy friends tell me that’s a bunch of you-know-what.

While his little discoveries each day may bring much surprise and delight to his mom and dad, it appears my Charlie is hitting developmental milestones and funny quirks by the book.  For example, I was reading in my What to Expect the First Year book–a great resource for a first time mom–about the life of a 6-month old when the subject of fear of baths showed up.  “Funny,” I thought, “Charlie loves the bath.  It’s one of our favorite evening activities.” 

I’m not kidding when I say that literally 2 nights later I was putting Charlie in the bathtub when all of a sudden he started screaming.     It was a terrified, hysterical screech like I’ve only heard out of him a few times (Mainly when we’ve had some unpleasant medical tests done).  I thought it was a freak event because we were in a strange place and I had him in the “big boy tub”.  But, alas, last night we were back home, and I tried to give him a bath in his comfy infant tub, and it was the same hysterical screaming event.  All I can figure is that Charlie was watching me wash down the hotel bathtub before I bathed him and was freaked out by seeing the water going down the drain. Perhaps, he fears the same thing will happen to him when he gets into the bath?  As irrational as it seems to adults, apparently babies have no size perception yet, so they can’t rationalize that there’s no way they’d squeeze down the drain. 

Now, our challenge will be to show Charlie in the coming months that baths are not scary.  The experts say it’s unwise to force a frightened baby into the tub.  Instead they suggest giving them as much time as necessary to get over the fear—by playing with bath toys outside of the tub, taking baths with mommy or daddy, and until he’s comfortable, going back to giving him sponge baths (Ugh!). 

Charlie’s other noticeable development in recent days is to sleep on his belly.  He’s been sleeping with his knees tucked underneath him and his little bottom up in the air.  It’s adorable (after I got over my fear of SIDS).   I’ve tried forcing him onto his back, but he rolls right back over, so once again I’ve had to surrender control.

What a glorious weekend. It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do for your spirits.  We had a fantastic first 4th of July weekend with little Charlie.  We took in the sites and sounds of Bristol, Narragansett Bay and even took him to the beach in Newport for the first time. 

Loving the Beach!

Charlie loved dipping his toes in the water… it was too cute.

  The recent crazy weather has kept me from finding time to post recently, too.  Needless to say, I–like everyone else– am enjoying the reprieve from the storminess.