Unsolicited: Parenting Stories and Advice

The baby toy industry is the most insane of all the industries.  I mean, I guess it has to be because their competition is pretty steep.  And free.  1. Dirty Bathroom Rug Leo is obsessed with this rug (and the bathroom in general).  He spends so much time running his hands over it and trying to lick it that you would think it was a Porsche and ice cream cone all in one.  2.  Ancient Bathroom Toilet from 1983 Continuing on the bathroom theme, Leo has recently become incredibly enamored of the toilet.  He delights in standing and drumming on it for hours.  He vastly prefers it to the toy drum that we purchased for this purpose. 3. Crevice Behind Bedroom Door and Door Hinge Leo pushes the bedroom door closed and then burrows himself into this crevice, zeroing in on the door hinge which he then caresses fondly as one might handle a favorite fine wine.   4. Terrifically Dangerous Wood Rods Because we have cats that know how to open our sliding closet doors, we pu

Oh, sleep.  Our relationship has always been so close.  I was a great sleeper as a baby(I'm told), regularly slept 12 hours at night during high school, learned how to take naps at college, and routinely enjoyed being awake for no more than 14 hours a day.  Until...Leo.   ALERT. AN ARM HAS ESCAPED THE SWADDLE. ALERT. Most babies are TERRRRIBLE sleepers.  This means sometimes they: 1. Wake up several times a night (or don't sleep at all?!?) 2. Fall asleep at random times during the day when you don't expect it.  3. Can't put themselves to sleep. 4. Can't/won't nap. This is largely because they don't really know how to sleep and they spend the first 3 or so years (I'm told) learning how to catch some z's.  The real problem here, of course, is that a parent's sleep is tied to their child's sleep.  It's all rolled into one big 2 for 1 package.  Leo: ZZZZZZ Me: Developing a bladder infection(dontwakethebaby!!!!!). Leo wasn&

Ten months! The big double digits. Or, according to the label on the back of all of his clothes, "12-18 months". So, yeah, big guy. We are still working on the call and response of "How big is Leo??"; cue Leo raising his arms.  But, he's kind of right that he is "so big" just sitting there so why bother with all the theatrics?? Leo loves to explore the world around him. He knows that he has five senses to use at all times - there's no part of the world that he doesn't want to see, touch, smell, hear, or taste. He rightly points out that it is very outdated to assume that food is for tasting, and not squeezing, or that books are for seeing, not tasting. We love encouraging him to keep exploring, since he takes in all the world around him.   Stats: No new measurements, but he's a big guy - still the tallest at play group (note: now tall instead of long since he is standing up) Hair: Still a bit wispy on top, but definitely curli

It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's Leo!   What's over here?!? Okay, so he isn't exactly flying.  But, Leo is now an unstoppable force of movement and energy. He is constantly investigating the world around him via his hands, knees, and eyes. Not gonna lie, it's a little exhausting but we're loving mostly every minute of it.  He is a man on the move and with a mission.  Who are we to stop him?!?  Stats: 30.25 inches(98%) and 20 lbs 15 oz(71%)! Hair: Getting longer! We're not quite at mullet status, but he's no longer fit for military service. Eyes: Sometimes gray, sometimes brown. So the same. Light! Likes: Leo has discovered several new hobbies this month.  He's pulling up on literally everything he can get his hands on, even if the object in question is literally no more than 5 inches off the ground.  If it appears to be stable, it must be for pulling up!  He also seems to LOVE songs with hand movements(especially the &qu

This graphic or variations on it were not helpful at all for me.  It looks like an alien eating a stalagmite.  I totally advocate hiring an LC. When you are pregnant, you hear the phrase "Breastfeeding is hard." a lot. In my experience, however, you rarely hear the specifics of why it's hard(or you know, more intensely difficult than anything, ever).*  Maybe it's post-traumatic stress.  Maybe it's that nursing moms don't want to scare away other potential nursing moms. I don't know.  I do know that I was blissfully unaware of everything that can go wrong when you breastfeed. My attitude was sort of, maybe it won't be hard for me? Maybe they just mean you'll be up all night?  If I had been smart, I would have realized that any time there are consultants and support groups for something, it's obviously not going to be a case of "just staying up all night." So, I thought I'd write about the ways that breastfeeding sucked for

Leo continues to figure out new ways to explore his world as he has hit his eight month mark. He officially can never be left alone and unrestrained - what he does may not always meet all the requirements of "crawling", but he's gotten very good at setting destination goals and achieving them, even if those goals are not always on the same vertical plane that he begins on. On the downside, his first two teeth started coming in this month, which led to some of the toughest nights for him (and us) since the first couple of months at home.  Hair: Developing an undergrowth of hair for a layered look. Also seems to be stickier and clumpier, but that relates to the increase in hand-held foods.  Eyes: Maybe settling into a brownish gray? The tone seems to depend on the ambient light.  Likes: Leo continues to love to eat, listen to music, and tickles! He loves Remote, Octopus, and Phone. Still putting everything and anything into his mouth!  He's definitely en