Sunday, December 09, 2007

First babysitting experience...

Well, I am back from leaving Matthew with a sitter for the first time. I can safely say we all survived.

My house smells like burnt popcorn (I don't want to know...) and it cost me a fortune (the hourly rate has gone way up since I was a babysitter!!) but all in all I'd say it went well. I didn't have to bail on the evening and come home, so I'd consider that a success. She did call once to say he had woken up and was crying, and I said give it 10 minutes and call me back - at which point he had fallen asleep and all was well. Phew!!

I was sooooo nervous... but thank goodness, it went well. I think we have found our regular babysitter (she lives next door) - if she'll come back that is!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Dadadadadadada

Yes that's right... he is talking up a storm... and what is he saying? DADA of course! I'll have to get it on video, it's really very cute. We think right now "Dada" means Sean/Dad, Maverick, food, lights, various toys, I'm happy, I'm hungry, and hello. :)

Monday, December 03, 2007

Getting more mobile!

Matthew is getting more and more mobile these days - I guess it's time to start thinking about baby-proofing!

He can now turn himself in a circle while lying down, and does this quite often in his crib at night - we'll go in to find his feet where his head was. One time I even found him like that but with the blanket over the top half of his body, his legs sticking out the top. I have no idea how he managed that :) He will also scoot around, so I will put him down in one spot and go back to find him a foot away, kicking and smiling like nothing happened...

And now, in addition to rolling front-to-back (to get out of dreaded tummy time), he has also rolled back-to-front, much to his - and my - surprise! I was getting dressed the other day when he woke up, and I could hear him playing in his crib. Suddenly he started crying like he'd hurt himself, so I went in thinking he'd bonked his head on the rails - but no, there he was, lying on his tummy and flailing about. I think it surprised him more than me! When I flipped him over I said, "Wow, how'd you do that??" and he just looked at me with this huge grin that said, "I dunno!!" haha

Monday, November 26, 2007

6 months old and bittersweet

Matthew is 6 months old today.

I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Wasn't it last week that we got our positive pregnancy test? And now we are Mom and Dad to a 6-month-old boy? Wow...

It's so bitter sweet. I love watching Matthew grow and learn new things every day. But it's hard to say goodbye to our little helpless newborn, and hello to our increasingly independent, lovable, joyful, brilliant infant.

It's also bitter sweet because 6 months marks the half-way point of my year at home with Matthew. I am so grateful that I have this opportunity to stay home with him and provide for and teach him, learn and grow along with him, every day... But sad at the same time because soon it will end, I will return to work and won't be with him all day long. I miss him already!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

New favourite thing to do

This is Matthew's new favourite thing to do - blow raspberries! It's hilarious, albeit a bit messy :) Thanks to Aunt Dominica for teaching him this new trick :) haha




Sunday, November 18, 2007

How he sleeps...

Lately Matthew needs his blankie before he'll go to sleep. We have a little routine before naptime, at the end of which I put him in his crib, he grabs his blankie (or I give it to him), and I tuck him in. He will put the blankie right over his head, get his thumb in his mouth (while still holding onto the blankie), and go to sleep. That by itself is incredibly cute...

But today he wasn't quite ready to sleep when I put him down, so instead he played with his toys and moved around the crib a bit before he settled. When he was finally ready to sleep, his blankie was out of reach... so what does he do? Grabs the blanket that I had draped over the side (to block light) pulls that over his head, and off to sleep he goes!

I know... it's not the safest thing to do, but what can I do? He does it himself and it's how he sleeps best... I don't want to mess with that!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Mmmm, sweet (sweet) potato!

Well, we definitely have a foodie on our hands. What can I say, the boy loves to eat! So far he has had a few kinds of cereal which he loves, banana - also a winner - and tonight he had sweet potato for the first time. Suffice to say it was a big hit - I've never seen him open his mouth so wide! ha ha

First taste... "Hmm... I'm not sure about this. But I like my stylin new bib!"

"I think I like this... But that camera is pretty distracting."

"Uuuhmmmm I LOVE this! Is that all you can fit on that spoon??"

"You're way too slow... here let me help."

Oh and, this is the face that we get when there's no more food :(

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Just a couple of pics

I got Matt a new sweater and couldn't resist doing a little photo shoot... hope you like em! These were taken Oct 30 :)



Saturday, October 27, 2007

An update re: napping

I just went back to read the post about how awful naps were going, and just wanted to say they are now going really well!! It took us about 10 days to get Matthew used to the nap 'routine' and not having to nurse in order to sleep. I definitely think the key was transitioning him from play to sleep with a routine (diaper change, sing a song, read books, say goodnight to the things in his room, and put him down in his crib). Now, I think he knows what to expect at the end of all that - so when we put him down, it's sleepy time, and more often than not he goes to sleep with hardly a peep. It's great - he now takes two or three naps a day, and they are gradually getting longer too: 45 mins - 1.5 hours. Yayyyy Matthew!!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

First time eating cereal

Well, we finally took Matthew's cues that he was ready to try some solid food, and gave him a bit of cereal tonight. For a while now he's been pretty fascinated watching us eat, and recently even started moving his mouth when he saw us take a bite. Based on the Dr's advice that we could start anytime that we felt he was ready, we gave it a go.

The pictures and videos say it all - he loved it! He was eating from the spoon as though he's been doing it for months, I could hardly believe it.
"Yummmmmm, this is good whatever it is."

"Here, just let me do it."





Happy (early) Halloween!

I couldn't resist... :)

Happy Halloween!
and, Happy Birthday Nonna!!




Thursday, October 18, 2007

Adventures in Baby Food

We haven't started Matthew on solid foods yet, but the time is near. In order to prepare, I've started buying organic veggies from the local Farmer's Market to puree and freeze. So far I've done sweet potatoes and squash - yumm!

It only took three days (off and on) to process 6 large taters and 1 squash. Hmmmmm. I guess it's a good thing I've started early - I will need the next month just to have some things for the kid to eat. Yes, I could just buy prepared food. Bah! They don't call me Suzy Homemaker for nothing!

Okay, nobody calls me that. But I digress...

Here are a couple of photos of my efforts. I made sure to take lots, in case I never do it again. I can say I tried it, at least once :)



5 Month pics

Just a few pictures of Matthew at nearly 5 months (in a week!)

Mmmm yummy fingers!

Love those kissable cheeks... :)

Friday, October 12, 2007

Kick that Duckie

Check out these videos of Matthew making a big splash during bath time... (excuse the nudity ;) )



Monday, October 01, 2007

4 month update

Matthew had his 4-month appointment on Sept. 26 (his 4 month birthday!) and it went great! He did have to get a few more shots :( But he was a champ and very brave and only cried a little. The Dr said he is doing great (except with naps, and his head control is a bit behind but we're working on it). He has grown a lot too - mostly in length - he now weighs 6.42 kg (14lb 2oz) and is 67.5cm long (26.6") - long and lean!!

So basically the Dr said we need to do a lot more tummy time - which he hates - and naps in his crib - ditto. Who knew turning 4 months old would be so rough?

Won't nap!

Since Matt's 4-month appt we've been trying to get him to nap in his crib, per Dr's orders. Also I've been trying to break him of the habit of nursing to sleep.

So far it's going miserably. He's gone a couple of days without napping except to fall asleep at 5pm completely exhausted, only to wake up again an hour later. And only after nursing him to sleep.

I'm pretty much at my wit's end. I don't know what to do... He's been getting up earlier lately, around 7:00 am, and I've been bringing him into our bed to nurse and sleep more. I think that's totally screwing up his day.

We're going to try imposing a routine/schedule starting tomorrow that looks like this:
7:00 am - wake & feed, play
9:00 am - down for nap (riiiiight)
10:30ish - wake & feed, go for walk
12:30ish - down for nap #2 (ha)
2:30ish - wake & feed, play
5:00 pm - nap
6:30ish - wake & feed, play
7:30 - start bedtime routine (bath, massage, feed, stories, lights out, say goodnight)
8:30pm - asleep (hahahaha)

All this hinges on getting him to sleep at all, which is a big joke. I seriously do not know what to do - he is just refusing to sleep during the day no matter what I do. And then at night we go through the whole routine only to cave and nurse him or rock him to sleep. This has got to end! I am tearing out my hair!!!

I just have no clue how to get him to sleep during the day without rocking, walking, or otherwise lulling him to sleep... even then it rarely works. UGH.

Found his feet

Well little superstar has found his feet and won't let go! He loves to grab his toes and play with his feet, and even uses them to hoist toys up to his hands when they are out of reach. I can't wait until he realizes he can stick them in his mouth, hee hee.



Monday, September 24, 2007

Rollin rollin rollin...

... keep that baby rollin!

Matthew learned to roll over a few days ago, and I've been trying to get it on video ever since :) He's still not too pleased when I put him on his tummy, but at least now he has a way to get out of it (some of the time anyway - when his arms don't get stuck underneath him)...


Monday, September 17, 2007

A few more pics

A couple of recent pictures of the boy!

Just back from a walk:



Hanging out with Daddy (possibly watching football?)


And here's a little video of Matthew playing with his giraffe, Sophie:

Monday, September 10, 2007

Genius child

Our genius child is reading already, I can hardly believe it! I caught him reading to his moose while I wasn't looking.



After reading to Mortimer (the moose), he gave him a little cuddle just like Mom and Dad do with him. Isn't he sweet? :)

Friday, September 07, 2007

First big laugh!

I finally got a real genuine laugh out of Matthew yesterday! It was so awesome!!! Up until now I've gotten tons of smiles, lots of big 'full face' wide-open-mouth smiles (but no sound) and a couple of hearty "HEH"s...

But yesterday he was in his bassinet and was supposed to be napping but was wide awake. I went over to chat with him and started doing the "Mommy's eating your hands! Uhmmm um um um" and put his fingers in my mouth... and didn't he let out the biggest most wonderful laugh I've ever heard. A real belly laugh - oh I could have died!! :D

Of course I have since tried to replicate it but to no avail. The "Mommy's eating your hands!" just gets a blank stare and maybe a grin, I guess I need something new! :) hee

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Growing up...

Our little man is growing up! We made the switch from bassinet to full-on stroller seat today. I think he likes it... what do you think??




And to go with his new view of the world, sunglasses! Here he is modeling them for Daddy this afternoon:

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

2 Month Pictures

Here's a little collage of Matthew at 2 months. Such a cutie!! (But I am not biased ;) )

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Two month checkup

Well our little man is two whole months old already. We took Matthew to the doctor for his two-month checkup yesterday, and he did great! He is now 13lb 5oz and nearly 24 inches tall - wow! He did have to get a couple of shots which were NO FUN. His poor little legs were sore yesterday but he slept pretty much non-stop all day. Until around 10pm which was playtime apparently :) But he went down for the night at midnight and slept until 8:00. I'd say this is turning into a trend! Go Matthew!!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Hooray!

I can hardly believe it... our little super star slept for 10 hours last night!!

I fed him at 8:30 pm and he went down at 9:00 pm. When I opened my eyes at 6:30 this morning, I nearly fell out of bed. I laid there for a minute thinking, "Did I get up with him last night?... I don't think so!" Of course then I thought something was horribly wrong and got up to poke my head in his room. Heard him squirming around in there so I went back to bed for another 30 minutes.

When he finally did wake up, he just made a few 'squawks' so I went to get him and there he is, laying in his crib wide awake, and gives me the BIGGEST smile in the world.

What a nice way to start his 2 month birthday!!! :)

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Another update - 7.5 weeks

I had a final appointment at the OB office today, and when she saw Matthew her comment was "He's big - a real bruiser!" and "He looks solid, like a football player!" Ha, who knew we had a linebacker in our midst?

So I tried weighing him on our scale when we got home. If my math is correct, he is weighing in at 13.2 pounds today. Wow! I guess since I see him every day, he doesn't seem to be getting so big...!

Here are a couple of pictures to keep you all satisfied! :) (remember you can click on each picture to see a larger version)
Asleep in the big chair in his nursery - he fell asleep during his photo shoot!


Having a little chat with Daddy:


Bath time at Nonna and Bopa's:


Ahhh... bed time! :)

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

6 week update!

Hi everyone! Well Matthew is 6 1/2 weeks old now, and an absolute doll. Here's an update of everything he's been doing lately...

We just got back from a trip to Halifax, and Matthew loved it. He was a champ on the plane, only complaining a couple of times, but generally it was really easy traveling. And he really loved being at Nonna & Bopa's house :) He told me he really wanted to stay but I reminded him that he wouldn't have anything to eat, so he agreed to come back to Toronto...

He started smiling ("social" smiles, versus the sleepy ones he has been doing since he was a week old) on July 4th. Well, okay... he really started on July 3rd for his Aunt Dominica and Nonna. But, because I didn't see it, it doesn't count. He REALLY started the next day, for me. :) :) Ever since I've gotten one or two big smiles a day from him and I just love it. He really knows how to make his mommy cry. Of course I haven't been able to catch any of these real smiles on camera, but Nonna got a couple of great shots while we were in Halifax.

He's really starting to hold his head up, especially when he's slung over a shoulder trying to burp (which he has also learned to do much better, thankfully). I've tried to give him some 'tummy time' every day to help with strengthening his neck muscles, but he really hates it so that lasts about 1 minute before we call it quits. He is getting really strong regardless - definitely not the floppy little newborn that he was before. When he's lying on my lap, he can just about launch himself across the room with his legs!

Matthew also really likes to watch his mobiles now. We have one over his crib that he likes to watch go around and around, and a fish one over his change table that he just stares at. He'll also follow objects with his head and has even started batting at the toys on his bouncy chair (maybe that was incidental contact from flailing his arms :) but I think he is learning none-the-less). He's also starting to find his hands which is a lot of fun to watch. 9 times out of 10 he hits himself in the face or misses completely, but the one time his fist goes in his mouth is worth it :) The best is when he just sits there looking at his hands. I really wish I knew what he was thinking!

Finally, he's started cooing and 'talking' which is so much fun. Sometimes we will talk to him and he'll open his mouth really wide, head moving back and forth, but nothing comes out. I can tell he's trying really hard to say something! Other times he will startle himself when he lets out a big "Oooh!", hee hee. We've had entire conversations with Sean or I doing most of the talking but he has plenty to say himself :)

We go back to the doctor in a couple of weeks when Matthew is 8 weeks old, for a checkup and a round of shots. Not looking forward to that part!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

4 weeks old

Well, the peanut is 4 weeks old already... I can hardly believe it. If I thought pregnancy went fast, time seems to go at lightning speed with a newborn!

I took Matthew to the breastfeeding clinic today to get weighed and measured. Well, I knew he was getting bigger... but I had no idea HOW big! He's a whopping 10 pounds, 8 ounces, and he's grown a whole inch in length to 22 inches!! Wow! I guess all that waking up to feed is really doing something :) :) I'm so proud!

Here are a couple of recent pictures of the little - er... BIG - guy...

Asleep in his swing (he loves the swing), taken June 21:


All clean after his bath:


The shirt says it all :)