Well, Nathaniel officially gets the concept of "two," as of today. This morning when he got up and went downstairs, he counted his steps all the way down: "One! Two! One! Two! One! Two!"
He counted his baby Crocs a bunch of times (there are two of them!).
He counted bugs.
He counted whatever he could find.
When he ate all his fruit snacks except for one, he held the one up and said, "MOMMY! ONE!!!" over and over again, elated to understand and articulate that he only had one fruit snack.
I'm pretty happy with him!
He's doing well with his pre-reading, too. He loves his Dr. Seuss ABC book (Big A, little a--what begins with A?), and he loves to point at all the letters and say their sounds. On every page, he points to the word BIG and says "B! I! G!" He really enjoys that.
He turns 2 in about three weeks. Pretty crazy!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
attachment parenting 23 months in
Well! Nathaniel is now 23 months old. I figured it's a good time to check in with you all about our attachment parenting ways, since I haven't been that good at updating about them, and we have another kid on the way. Baby #2 is due in late August, so Carl and I have been talking about what we liked and didn't like about our parenting experiences so far.
Mostly, we've liked them.
As a reminder, there are Seven B's of attachment parenting: birth bonding, breastfeeding, babywearing, bedding close to baby, belief in language value of baby's cry, beware of baby trainers, and balance.
1. Birth Bonding. Did our best with that one, but that went horribly with Nathaniel because of my [unwanted] pitocin induction and epidural, and then the fact that he was so late and so big--he ended up in the NICU for the first day or so after birth. We will do better with this kid because I know now to really work hard at going into labor at 39 weeks (no more 43-week pregnancies, thanks), and we're having Kid #2 at home. So we will bond with this one.
2. Breastfeeding. I still nurse Nathaniel and I am not ashamed. He is allergic to lots of things, and nursing is one way I can be sure he's getting nutrients he needs even though his diet can be... uh, imbalanced due to his dietary restrictions. He only really nurses once or maaaaybe twice a day now--at night right before sleeping, and then before a nap if he bothers to take a nap these days. Mostly he is too busy for breastfeeding. On the pro side, I feel like nursing strengthens our relationship. On the other hand, I'm a little tired of my nursing wardrobe. It's not terrible, but I miss wearing other clothes. On the plus side, as a pregnant person, now it doesn't matter what I want to wear, because everything will be uncomfortable and look weird and I just have to deal with it for another three months. AUGUST!
3. Babywearing. Babywearing is AWESOME and I way recommend it. Nathaniel and I have always been very close--literally and emotionally. When he was just little little, I would wear him as I did my chores. I always wore him to the grocery store and on walks. And on airplanes--SO convenient on airplanes. Now that he's bigger and I'm pregnant, I don't wear him as much, but I still do a little bit. Well, not this month. But last month I did wear him! I fully plan to wear the second one a ton. It will be very convenient while I have to chase Nathaniel around to have both hands free and my little one right next to my body. Best babywearing tool: the ring sling. I got mine on Amazon for like $29.99. So worth it, so much better and more comfortable and convenient and cheaper than anything else I've tried.
4. Bedsharing. We still bedshare. My grandma was like, scandalized by it. And yeah, at this point, it's getting a little bit old. Nathaniel's getting big. But since we have been travelling and still have more travelling to do before the summer is over, we've decided not to move him to a toddler bed just yet. It would be bad to move him over and then have him sleep with us again while we're on the road, and have to have all the battles over again.
Bedsharing has been awesome for us. We've all slept very well, overall--I can count on two hands the times Nathaniel has woken us up with crying in the night. Every time it's been teething or illness, and we were right there to comfort him--no need to get out of bed. It's been amazingly convenient and very cuddly. Also it's been nice because a lot of times Carl doesn't get to see Nathaniel for more than an hour a day--but they can cuddle at night and it's nice. Also, Carl never lost sleep having to leave the room to bring me a screaming baby in the night. We will most likely bedshare with #2 as well. REMEMBER if you bedshare to follow all the rules for safe bedsharing. Look 'em up if you're interested.
5. Belief in language value of cries. I have always felt like Nathaniel's cries were important communication. Babies, at least as far as I can tell, don't cry because it's fun. They cry because they're scared, or tired, or lonely, or hurting, etc. All of those feelings are valid and crying is the only way a baby can express them. We have been very, very responsive to his cries and we do not let him cry it out. As a result, I believe, he's been a very chill dude, and he trusts us a lot. We will definitely work to be as responsive to #2 as we were to #1.
6. Beware of baby trainers. Eh, I was already doing this one. We'll keep being wary of baby training.
7. Balance. Been working on this one. I feel like life is pretty imbalanced right now, thanks to my pregnancy and travelling and weddings and Nathaniel's allergies and everything. Who knows. But we're trying. And we'll keep trying with the next one!
In other news, I'm excited to cloth diaper #2. Our cloth diapers have been fantastic and I way recommend them. They have saved us so much money. And now that Nathaniel's approaching potty-training age, he's really aware of everything going on down there, because cloth diapers are less comfortable than disposables. I think it will make potty training him a lot easier.
Anything else I'm missing? Anyway, attachment parenting isn't for everybody, but so far, it's been great for us.
Mostly, we've liked them.
As a reminder, there are Seven B's of attachment parenting: birth bonding, breastfeeding, babywearing, bedding close to baby, belief in language value of baby's cry, beware of baby trainers, and balance.
1. Birth Bonding. Did our best with that one, but that went horribly with Nathaniel because of my [unwanted] pitocin induction and epidural, and then the fact that he was so late and so big--he ended up in the NICU for the first day or so after birth. We will do better with this kid because I know now to really work hard at going into labor at 39 weeks (no more 43-week pregnancies, thanks), and we're having Kid #2 at home. So we will bond with this one.
2. Breastfeeding. I still nurse Nathaniel and I am not ashamed. He is allergic to lots of things, and nursing is one way I can be sure he's getting nutrients he needs even though his diet can be... uh, imbalanced due to his dietary restrictions. He only really nurses once or maaaaybe twice a day now--at night right before sleeping, and then before a nap if he bothers to take a nap these days. Mostly he is too busy for breastfeeding. On the pro side, I feel like nursing strengthens our relationship. On the other hand, I'm a little tired of my nursing wardrobe. It's not terrible, but I miss wearing other clothes. On the plus side, as a pregnant person, now it doesn't matter what I want to wear, because everything will be uncomfortable and look weird and I just have to deal with it for another three months. AUGUST!
3. Babywearing. Babywearing is AWESOME and I way recommend it. Nathaniel and I have always been very close--literally and emotionally. When he was just little little, I would wear him as I did my chores. I always wore him to the grocery store and on walks. And on airplanes--SO convenient on airplanes. Now that he's bigger and I'm pregnant, I don't wear him as much, but I still do a little bit. Well, not this month. But last month I did wear him! I fully plan to wear the second one a ton. It will be very convenient while I have to chase Nathaniel around to have both hands free and my little one right next to my body. Best babywearing tool: the ring sling. I got mine on Amazon for like $29.99. So worth it, so much better and more comfortable and convenient and cheaper than anything else I've tried.
4. Bedsharing. We still bedshare. My grandma was like, scandalized by it. And yeah, at this point, it's getting a little bit old. Nathaniel's getting big. But since we have been travelling and still have more travelling to do before the summer is over, we've decided not to move him to a toddler bed just yet. It would be bad to move him over and then have him sleep with us again while we're on the road, and have to have all the battles over again.
Bedsharing has been awesome for us. We've all slept very well, overall--I can count on two hands the times Nathaniel has woken us up with crying in the night. Every time it's been teething or illness, and we were right there to comfort him--no need to get out of bed. It's been amazingly convenient and very cuddly. Also it's been nice because a lot of times Carl doesn't get to see Nathaniel for more than an hour a day--but they can cuddle at night and it's nice. Also, Carl never lost sleep having to leave the room to bring me a screaming baby in the night. We will most likely bedshare with #2 as well. REMEMBER if you bedshare to follow all the rules for safe bedsharing. Look 'em up if you're interested.
5. Belief in language value of cries. I have always felt like Nathaniel's cries were important communication. Babies, at least as far as I can tell, don't cry because it's fun. They cry because they're scared, or tired, or lonely, or hurting, etc. All of those feelings are valid and crying is the only way a baby can express them. We have been very, very responsive to his cries and we do not let him cry it out. As a result, I believe, he's been a very chill dude, and he trusts us a lot. We will definitely work to be as responsive to #2 as we were to #1.
6. Beware of baby trainers. Eh, I was already doing this one. We'll keep being wary of baby training.
7. Balance. Been working on this one. I feel like life is pretty imbalanced right now, thanks to my pregnancy and travelling and weddings and Nathaniel's allergies and everything. Who knows. But we're trying. And we'll keep trying with the next one!
In other news, I'm excited to cloth diaper #2. Our cloth diapers have been fantastic and I way recommend them. They have saved us so much money. And now that Nathaniel's approaching potty-training age, he's really aware of everything going on down there, because cloth diapers are less comfortable than disposables. I think it will make potty training him a lot easier.
Anything else I'm missing? Anyway, attachment parenting isn't for everybody, but so far, it's been great for us.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Tuck.
Nathaniel has a NEW favorite word, and it is "Tuck." As in, "stuck." I never realized how many things are stuck in this world until my toddler started pointing out every single time anything is stuck.
He lets me know when he is properly buckled into his carseat: "Tuck! Tuck!"
He lets me know when his toys are stuck inside each other: "Tuck! Tuck!"
He likes to have me and Carl grab him and not let go: "Tuck! Tuck!"
His first sentence, if you can call it that, was "More tuck!" He wanted me to keep grabbing him over and over and not let him go.
He's a silly one!
He lets me know when he is properly buckled into his carseat: "Tuck! Tuck!"
He lets me know when his toys are stuck inside each other: "Tuck! Tuck!"
He likes to have me and Carl grab him and not let go: "Tuck! Tuck!"
His first sentence, if you can call it that, was "More tuck!" He wanted me to keep grabbing him over and over and not let him go.
He's a silly one!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Buck.
Nathaniel has a favorite word. Unfortunately, no one has any idea what it means.
The word is "buck." No, it does not mean "book." Here's how a typical buck-conversation goes:
Nathaniel, coming up to me and getting my attention: Buck.
Me: You want a book?
Nathaniel: *shakes head* Buck.
Me: You want to read a book?
Nathaniel: *shakes head, looks around the room for ideas of how to explain what he wants* Bu-u-u-u-ck. Buck. Buck. *with hand gestures*
Me: You want... to eat food?
[insert him saying "Buck" 25 times while I make random guesses and he shakes his head like I'm an idiot, over and over again]
Nathaniel: Buck! Buck!
Me: You... want to go to Mamie's house?
Nathaniel: *nods like I'm the stupidest person he knows and why did it take me so long, anyway??*
~~
Unfortunately, it doesn't always mean "take me to Mamie's house." This morning he came down for breakfast, and sat in his seat, and pointed out the door saying "Buck! Buck!" Who knows??
Two days ago, my sister and her fiance took Nathaniel out on a walk. As it turned out, the fiance was wearing a shirt with an actual buck on it--like a male deer. They were teaching Nathaniel words as they walked, and they pointed to Elliot's shirt and said, "Buck!"
And he got SO excited--"Buck! Buck!"
But I'm pretty sure that's not what he means when he says the word.
The word is "buck." No, it does not mean "book." Here's how a typical buck-conversation goes:
Nathaniel, coming up to me and getting my attention: Buck.
Me: You want a book?
Nathaniel: *shakes head* Buck.
Me: You want to read a book?
Nathaniel: *shakes head, looks around the room for ideas of how to explain what he wants* Bu-u-u-u-ck. Buck. Buck. *with hand gestures*
Me: You want... to eat food?
[insert him saying "Buck" 25 times while I make random guesses and he shakes his head like I'm an idiot, over and over again]
Nathaniel: Buck! Buck!
Me: You... want to go to Mamie's house?
Nathaniel: *nods like I'm the stupidest person he knows and why did it take me so long, anyway??*
~~
Unfortunately, it doesn't always mean "take me to Mamie's house." This morning he came down for breakfast, and sat in his seat, and pointed out the door saying "Buck! Buck!" Who knows??
Two days ago, my sister and her fiance took Nathaniel out on a walk. As it turned out, the fiance was wearing a shirt with an actual buck on it--like a male deer. They were teaching Nathaniel words as they walked, and they pointed to Elliot's shirt and said, "Buck!"
And he got SO excited--"Buck! Buck!"
But I'm pretty sure that's not what he means when he says the word.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Chocolate isn't hats!
Nathaniel has been learning words like crazy! Some weeks it feels like he picks up a new word every day.
He loves to make pretend phone calls to his dad; anything rectangular suffices as a phone, and if he doesn't have anything that fits the bill, he'll just use his hand. He mostly spends his fake phone conversations talking about balls and trucks (or, as he says, "bahs" and "gucks"), his two favorite things. He'll just sit there with his fake phone, saying, "Dad. Bah. Bah. Bah. Guck." And then hang up. It's pretty funny.
He's developed an obsession with cooking utensils, especially spatulas, which he likes to use as sort of makeshift golf clubs. He is still very obsessed with hats, and uses anything he can find to make a hat out of. He wears pots, pot lids, bowls of all sizes and materials, and iPad cases, as well as baskets and anything else that looks vaguely hat-like.
For Valentine's Day, Carl's mom sent us some amazing chocolates (Thanks, Ann!), and a whole row of them were filled with coffee. As Latter-day Saints, we don't eat/drink coffee. So I gave them to a student I tutor, on a plate. Well, Nathaniel saw the plate, and freaked out because each little chocolate looked like a tiny hat and in the moment there was nothing he wanted more than to wear those little hats. I ended up having to send my student home early so I could put Nathaniel to bed because the hat tantrum was so out of control. Sorry, kid! Chocolates are not hats and no, you cannot wear them!
Carl's been working hard and writing in the evenings. He likes his job and his coworkers and he is working on a very interesting story right now--it utilizes a lot of rhythm in the storytelling. I'm interested to see how it turns out.
I've been sick a lot lately, and my house/life have suffered for it, but yesterday I was feeling well enough to actually clean the kitchen (...sort of) and straighten up our bedroom, which had really fallen apart. Now it is mostly clean. I need to vacuum today. I've been trying to write on my novel, but I've been feeling so sick and spacey it's been hard to be coherent at all, so it's been slow in coming. Normally I'd be at least halfway done with the draft by now, but right now, I'm barely at 9000 words.
I did sign a contract for the second book in my Body Electric series, though, so that's good, and that'll be coming out sometime this fall. Excited to start editing it! And hopefully I can finish the rough draft I'm currently working on so I can just get this series over with. I really want to work on Spidermaiden now.
I've not been super good at updating this blog, but I have been all right at updating my writing blog. You can check that out here.
He loves to make pretend phone calls to his dad; anything rectangular suffices as a phone, and if he doesn't have anything that fits the bill, he'll just use his hand. He mostly spends his fake phone conversations talking about balls and trucks (or, as he says, "bahs" and "gucks"), his two favorite things. He'll just sit there with his fake phone, saying, "Dad. Bah. Bah. Bah. Guck." And then hang up. It's pretty funny.
He's developed an obsession with cooking utensils, especially spatulas, which he likes to use as sort of makeshift golf clubs. He is still very obsessed with hats, and uses anything he can find to make a hat out of. He wears pots, pot lids, bowls of all sizes and materials, and iPad cases, as well as baskets and anything else that looks vaguely hat-like.
For Valentine's Day, Carl's mom sent us some amazing chocolates (Thanks, Ann!), and a whole row of them were filled with coffee. As Latter-day Saints, we don't eat/drink coffee. So I gave them to a student I tutor, on a plate. Well, Nathaniel saw the plate, and freaked out because each little chocolate looked like a tiny hat and in the moment there was nothing he wanted more than to wear those little hats. I ended up having to send my student home early so I could put Nathaniel to bed because the hat tantrum was so out of control. Sorry, kid! Chocolates are not hats and no, you cannot wear them!
Carl's been working hard and writing in the evenings. He likes his job and his coworkers and he is working on a very interesting story right now--it utilizes a lot of rhythm in the storytelling. I'm interested to see how it turns out.
I've been sick a lot lately, and my house/life have suffered for it, but yesterday I was feeling well enough to actually clean the kitchen (...sort of) and straighten up our bedroom, which had really fallen apart. Now it is mostly clean. I need to vacuum today. I've been trying to write on my novel, but I've been feeling so sick and spacey it's been hard to be coherent at all, so it's been slow in coming. Normally I'd be at least halfway done with the draft by now, but right now, I'm barely at 9000 words.
I did sign a contract for the second book in my Body Electric series, though, so that's good, and that'll be coming out sometime this fall. Excited to start editing it! And hopefully I can finish the rough draft I'm currently working on so I can just get this series over with. I really want to work on Spidermaiden now.
I've not been super good at updating this blog, but I have been all right at updating my writing blog. You can check that out here.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
cast iron, stainless steel, broken toe, new word
1. I just ordered my first cast iron skillet! It was preseasoned and cost only $18, with free shipping. Now I feel stupid for waiting so long to buy it--in my head, a good cast iron skillet would have to cost at least $50, because they are so versatile and last so long. Um, yeah. No. Apparently you can get them cheap. Mine was even made in the USA. I'm really excited to use it.
2. Also just ordered a bunch of stainless steel cups to try. My plastic cups are starting to make our water taste plasticky, which is disgusting on so many levels and probably also carcinogenic. So, stainless steel it was. I'm pretty pleased with the cups I ordered, and just went ahead and ordered a few more. Yay!
3. Broke my toe last night, I think. I tripped in the dark and heard a crack, and my toe has been swollen up like a sausage ever since. Yow.
4. Nathaniel learned a new word today: Truck. He says it "guck." And to him, it refers to anything with wheels. Trains, cars, and trucks alike. He's been very pleased with himself and he likes to bring me pictures of wheeled things and tell me "Guck! Guck!"
2. Also just ordered a bunch of stainless steel cups to try. My plastic cups are starting to make our water taste plasticky, which is disgusting on so many levels and probably also carcinogenic. So, stainless steel it was. I'm pretty pleased with the cups I ordered, and just went ahead and ordered a few more. Yay!
3. Broke my toe last night, I think. I tripped in the dark and heard a crack, and my toe has been swollen up like a sausage ever since. Yow.
4. Nathaniel learned a new word today: Truck. He says it "guck." And to him, it refers to anything with wheels. Trains, cars, and trucks alike. He's been very pleased with himself and he likes to bring me pictures of wheeled things and tell me "Guck! Guck!"
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
baby is a sickie
Nathaniel has been sick. It's been a real pain for everyone, especially him. For the past several nights he's just coughed all night. Sometimes he sleeps through it, but I sure don't! Ha! I've been napping with him during the day to make up for it, though. He won't accept any medicine except for raspberry flavored Dimetapp children's decongestant, so I give him that when I can. He loves it and always asks for more.
Last night I made some incredible pork chops--I breaded them, then baked them at 350 for an hour. After the hour was up, I covered them with a mixture of cream of mushroom soup and milk, covered that with foil, and baked for another half hour. The chops were SO TENDER. It was incredible. Usually I am not a huge fan of pork chops because I think they're tough and hard to eat. But I like to think that it was that amazing recipe I tried last night that made the difference with those pork chops.
Last night I made some incredible pork chops--I breaded them, then baked them at 350 for an hour. After the hour was up, I covered them with a mixture of cream of mushroom soup and milk, covered that with foil, and baked for another half hour. The chops were SO TENDER. It was incredible. Usually I am not a huge fan of pork chops because I think they're tough and hard to eat. But I like to think that it was that amazing recipe I tried last night that made the difference with those pork chops.
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