Day 3 of the Nursing Strike

So, here we are at day 3 of the nursing strike. It started Tuesday morning after Travis bit me 3 times, and I told him no and put him on the floor to play. I didn't realize it was a strike until Tuesday evening when I thought back over how little he ate all day and the big fit he threw when I tried to feed him dinner. We've been using bottles because any time he thinks I'm trying to feed him, he starts screaming and crying like he's being tortured. So here we are...and my heart is breaking.

Sure, I know he still loves me; he follows me around the house like a puppy, and cries when I get too far ahead. He crawls towards me when I'm on the floor, and wants to be held while he plays with his toys. I know it's not a rejection of me. I know he's scared, teething, and in pain, and doesn't want to keep biting me. But there's a difference in knowing all that, and then listening to his screams, and watching his little lip pucker and the tears start when I try to cuddle him. I'm trying to be patient and upbeat, but surely he knows something is wrong, and my distress continues to keep him away.

I had planned to wean early, but I hadn't planned to wean at 8 months, and certainly not like this. He still can't drink regular milk, and I worked so hard to get him off of formula in his first few months that I refuse to put him back on it for 4 more months (until he's 12mos and can drink milk). Since I am an information gatherer, I've already done tons of research to discover what is going on and what I should do. Babies don't self-wean before a year, so I know it's not that. It's likely that he got scared after he bit me and I yelped. The prevailing suggestion is to have patience. Great, just what I'm good at, but meanwhile, my heart is breaking and my baby is crying.

Dear God, please let this end soon, and please don't let me give up...

Heigh ho, Silver, Away!

Travis has been on the move lately, happily playing in his room. Our neighbors gave us a rocking horse that their kids grew out of, and though T is still a little young for it, he did enjoy rocking on it this morning. Don't worry, he was supervised! These photos were taken with our new camera.

Heigh ho Silver, AWAY!!!

Today, we had a play date with a little boy born to one of Ken's co-workers. Noah is just 10 days younger than Travis, and his mom and I wanted to get the boys together to see how they got along. At first, Noah talked to Travis, and unfortunately, Travis thought he was being yelled at and started crying! Eventually, though, they learned to enjoy each other, and Travis realized that Noah was talking to him, and not yelling at him! We're hoping to get the boys together again in a few weeks. Once I get her permission, I'll upload some of the photos we took.

Travis and I have enjoyed staying home lately; it's been a nice change from running around. This weekend, we had family over, and had a really great time showing off T's new skills. He is such a happy boy, and loves company. I suspect he'll be spoiled rotten in no time! :-)

We hope you all have a wonderful and happy Easter, celebrating the triumph of our Lord!

Well, I won't be winning any mother of the year awards...

There comes a time in every blogging mother's life when she has to 'fess up and tell an unflattering adventure story. My time has come...

 Life would be so boring if there were only happy baby adventure stories, and our lives needed a little spice (apparently), so let me start out by saying that Travis is FINE! This morning we had a little bit of a scare: Travis fell out of a Wal-Mart shopping cart. I won't go into the particulars, but it had something to do with not being buckled into his car seat, and the car seat not being buckled into the shopping cart, and my back being turned... All of a sudden, I heard a loud bang, and turned to see Travis on the ground, crying for all he was worth. I picked him up and calmed him down, and he seemed quiet but subdued as we headed through the check-out counter. However, the friendly Wal-Mart employee's suggestion that I not let Travis fall asleep worried me a bit, so I decided to call the Dr. Now, I'm not one of those moms who call the Dr. for every little sniffle or cranky night, but I'm not messing around with a potential head injury.

Since I didn't see him fall and couldn't say if he hit his head (great, now I feel even worse), the nurse recommended I bring him in just to check. However, I forgot to ask if I could let Travis fall asleep, so I assumed that I couldn't, and I had to use mean mommy voice to keep Travis awake for the 40-minute trip to the Dr.'s office. As if he wasn't having a bad enough day already. At the Dr.'s office, I have to tell the story of my negligence yet again, this time to a Dr. we hadn't met before, and then again to another Dr., who was brought in to consult. They weren't taking any chances with a potential head injury either. Turns out, he's fine. He let them poke and prod his bruise, shine lights in his eyes, and look in his ears. They decided that, based on his behavior and how he looked, they didn't need an x-ray of his head. For not having eaten or had a nap in 4 hours, he was surprisingly happy.

So like I said, he's fine (though he will have quite a shiner), and I have learned a valuable lesson: NEVER, NEVER leave baby unbuckled in a car seat and turn your back.

Video Diary

I just transferred some videos from my Blackberry to my computer, and then, of course, I had to play a few to see this ridiculously cute child (since right now he's asleep and it wakes him up if I watch him too long--just  kidding! I don't watch him sleep; that's creepy). Watching them reminds me all over again why I decided to stay home with this little bundle of joy. I can't express how grateful and happy I am that we are able to live on one salary. Ken, being a whiz with budgets and money, is amazing, and I probably don't tell him enough how wonderful he is. Honey, you're wonderful, and I'm so thankful that you are happy to have me and Travis stay home together, but we miss you, so retire soon and play with us!

Here are some of the videos that made me smile:

This one is before T could crawl - taken in March before our trip to Arizona. I love that hat, but Nana and Papa agreed that it made him look like a girl.

Here's one where Ken teaches Travis to drum - taken last week (sans girlie hat).

Here is a sampling of our day - taken this week:

First, we wake up, eat, change the diaper, etc. T is a morning baby, and he loves to giggle, so here we are giggling together.

Then we play for awhile with T's toys. Sometimes T plays cheerfully by himself, and sometimes Mama likes to play with him (but always there is laughter at his crazy antics).

Now that T is mobile, a lot of our day is exploring the house. So sometimes we follow Mama, and sometimes Saige (and sometimes we like to go off and explore on our own, but that's another story). Look how good he's gotten at crawling!

Then Abbi comes over after school, and we just hang out and pretend we aren't anywhere near tired. (here, Mama was entertaining Travis while Abbi finished her homework).

Sometimes, we just like to sit and play with our toys. Here's one where T learned that he could bang things together and make lots of noise. I keep trying to teach him to clap, but it's not nearly as fun because it doesn't make much noise.

So there you have a sampling of our day; looks fun doesn't it? Sometimes we go shopping or to lunch with friends, but we enjoy our days at home, which are anything but quiet and boring! I'm constantly surprised at how busy we stay, and how the house can remain cluttered even though I'm continuously straightening up throughout the day. Oh well, I suppose life is meant to be lived, not cleaned. Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed our video diary of life at home with Travis.