Just Moving Forward

There are hundreds reasons why I have more or less given up on blogging these days. There is the one year old currently climbing my leg screeching at me to pick him up, water dripping from his nose down to his knees from a recent splash in the dog's water. He has dozens of small pieces of shredded toilet paper stuck to him, and upon a closer look I can see that tiny bits of TP make a trail down the hall from the bathroom. There is the four year old who has said "Mama?" approximately 127 times since waking up this morning, asking incessantly when she can watch tv, why she cannot watch tv right now and how long it will be before she can watch tv. And if she can't watch tv, then what else can she possibly do? There is the dog who waits until the exact moment I sit down at the computer to email a client to require a water refill, then whine at the door to go out, only to bark at the door to come in and then whine at his bowl for more water.

There are the snacks, so many snacks. And breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And the cleaning up of the snacks and the breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It's no wonder I find myself existing on leftovers and bananas: no prep or clean up required. And there is laundry, mountains of it, so much that Eloise recently saw the bottom of hamper for the first time and exclaimed, "wow, I never knew there was an end!" There is a sticky residue that dusts my white kitchen cabinets and I am constantly wiping splatters of smoothie from the walls and ceiling (seriously, how did that get THERE?). And even though the dog does an excellent job catching bits during meal time, there are crumbs everywhere. Where does all the dust come from? How can it be time to clean the bathroom again? How is it possible for the glass in the front door to be that dirty? Yet I still have this unrealistic dream that my house can be company ready at all times.

Then there is my work, so much work and so little time. My inbox is constantly clogged with flagged emails requiring immediate replies but I am learning that working from home while having a mobile baby and busy child is not compatible. When they are up, they are ON and Spencer especially requires 100% of my attention. Eloise is quite capable of playing by herself but it has to be her idea which it never is when I need to get something done. There are always many questions requiring answers and things that she needs help with, right this moment. I have resigned myself to working only during naps and when both kids are finally asleep, but by the end of the day I find myself pretty burnt out. Mostly from the preparation of food.

What's missing from this rant? Me. And Chris. And Chris and me. I know these are the days I will look back on with fondness, but in the throes of motherhood I feel like I'm just moving forward.

ONE

Dear Spencer,

Today you are one making this, hands down, the quickest year I have ever experienced. The days flew by, the weeks vanished and somehow in the last few months you have grown a little each day to become more boy than baby.

You arrived in this world on Mother's Day last year at 6:46pm and I will never forget the moment Daddy said, "It's a boy," and we both cried. I was scared for your birth but it was so joyful and as soon as I held you the only feelings I had were love and excitement at this opportunity to be your mama. This year was a hectic one for me as I learned what it was to be a mom and business owner at the same time and I can't help but feel that the universe delivered you to us for a reason. You are an angel baby. Your calm, easy going nature and happy disposition from day one made the transition to a family of four so much easier. You slept, you ate, you made life more joyful.

Spency, you have brought so much happiness to Daddy and I, but even more to your sister. Eloise wished for you long before you were born and every single day it makes me smile to see the love between you. Thank you for choosing our family, we love you very much, sweet boy.

xo Mama

Never Still

that is a look of determination.

To say Spencer is busy is an understatement, he is a maniac. He crawls wildly around the house, making a b-line for anything and everything he can: the fireplace, electrical cords, the dog's water, the contents of cupboards. I feel like I say no a hundred times a day and Spencer just looks at me, smiles and continues doing what I've asked him not to. I don't know if there is enough baby proofing to prevent Spencer from getting into things. He. Never. Stops. Moving.

As busy as he is, if Spencer had his way he would be held by me constantly. I do my best to keep him occupied on the ground (and out of danger!) but within minutes he will start whining, looking for me and climbing my legs as soon as I'm near. I spend much of my day carting Spencer around, and that means carrying a quarter of my body weight on one hip while trying to do things with the other arm. And then there is his long reach - he is grabby and curious and will nearly jump out of my arms to get something he wants. My reflexes have become pretty sharp these days. 

The only time Spencer is still is before he goes to sleep. He curls his long body around me, has a bottle and then nurses to sleep. We start our days this way too, when Chris brings Spencer into bed to nurse and snuggle for a few minutes before another crazy day begins. My milk supply may not be plentiful but Spencer still wants to breastfeed and I don't think either of us are ready to give it up yet. The quiet moments are something I cherish with my busy boy.

Eleven Months

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of mobile eleven month old boy? Nearly impossible. Spencer started crawling on April 23rd and hasn't stopped moving since. He is quick and determined and we are in big trouble.

Spencer loves to play with blocks, dismantle the play kitchen, pull his sister's hair and climb on the dog. He pulled himself up to standing on April 30th and likes sitting on his knees to reach for things. Spencer loves to clap, dance and keeps us endlessly entertained. 

Ten Months

Spencer is now ten months old, which is dangerously close to a year.

He has just cut a fifth tooth and is on the brink of crawling. He babbles constantly and his new favourite word to say is dog, which he says as "dagh," every time Granby is near.

Spencer never stops moving and wants to be held by me about 100% of the time, for which I can credit my trim arms. We call him "bam bam" for the way he bashes everything with his giant baby hands. If he can knock it over, pull it out or smash it, he will. We're in trouble.

I cherish the moments before Spencer goes to sleep, when he is still and snuggled into me. These are the only times he nurses and I love our quiet time together.

Nine Months

It's been pretty quiet around here. Work is busier, kids are busier and that makes for one tired mama who uses spare time for fun things like housework and meal prep. The joys!

Spency, you were officially nine months old 27 days ago so to say I'm a little late to the party is laughable, but that's just the kind of month it's been. Let's see, at nine months you:

• Figured out how to go from sitting to lying down and rolling front to back to grab whatever you can. No crawling yet, but you're not far from it.
• Cut your second top tooth. Finally.
• Started clapping!
• Give Eskimo kisses.
• Began babbling words - Lala for Eloise, Mama, Dada and Dog. Mama is often whined at me in desperation, so we know that one is for real.
• Really developed your personality. You are still the calmest, happiest baby, but we've also learned you are determined, goofy and just a little defiant. Biting is not nice buddy, even if you think it's hilarious when we tell you no!
• Haven't let us down in the love of food department. Your favourites are yogurt, yams, apples, toast and oatmeal. You do not like chicken or avocado.
• Never. Stop. Moving.

8 Months

Before the month is through I thought I should post Spencer's eighth month update. Only three weeks late. 

I know I keep saying this, but time feels like it's going so quickly with Spencer. He continues to be the happiest, calmest, most easy going little dude. He sits very sturdily now and loves playing with blocks and balls on his own (and Eloise's doll, Baby Emma, but shh, don't tell her!). He puts everything in his mouth and has finally cut a top tooth. He loves eating fruit and veggie purées, chicken, plain yogurt and buttered toast. 

Spencer gets excited when he sees me which makes me melt and gives big, sloppy kisses. He also does a little happy dance we call disco wrists where he makes his mouth into an 'o' or laughs hysterically while rolling his wrists excitedly. It's hilarious. 

I wish I could tell you definitively how much Spencer weighs but I can't. It's just a lot. Like probably more than Eloise, which my biceps both curse and thank him for.

Why Sleep?

Is there some seven month sleep regression I should know about? Because in the span of just a few nights Spencer has gone from rockstar sleeper to little terror.

Spencer is still going down without issue but for three nights in a row he has woken up less than 30 minutes later and requires an hour of bouncing to put him back to sleep. If he was just fussing I'd leave him, but his cries are the full-on, wailing-coughing cries that Eloise used to do right before she barfed. It's on nights like these that I dream of separate rooms.

It is not surprising that Spencer started waking up at exactly the same time that Eloise started sleeping. It would be silly of me to expect easy when it comes to sleep around here, right?

Spencer Sits!

 

Spencer sits! 

It's been a month in the making but Spencer can finally sit unassisted. It seems to me that many babies sit by about six months - Spencer is seven and a half months now - but he is also stabilizing a considerable amount of weight. He has even figured out how to catch himself before falling over!

Given his size I do wonder what Spencer's development we be like when it comes to crawling and walking. Will he bum schooch like Eloise or actually crawl? I don't see him as an early walker, which is a good thing, but I also don't want to be hauling all 30-ish pounds of him around until he is 17 months old. For now I'm good with sitting.

Best Christmas Ever

Our Christmas was all sorts of perfect. Eloise was full of Christmas delight and her sincere gratitude for each and every gift filled Chris and I with so much pride. She thanked the gift giver with a hug and a kiss and continuously proclaimed throughout the day, "This is the best Christmas ever!" And it was.

For months Eloise talked about the pink princess computer that she hoped Santa would bring. Her desire for this particular toy seemed to come from nowhere, then I pressed for why and it turned out she just wanted send emails like I do. Oh my little sponge! I was a bit reluctant to purchase a toy computer since cheap plastic, electronic, noise-making toys really aren't my jam, but Santa wishes trump parental objections. When Eloise saw her pink computer she did a little happy dance, clutched it to her chest, looked up to the ceiling (aka The North Pole) and said, "Oh Santa, thank you! It's my perfect pink computer!" I figured that the computer would have Eloise's undivided attention for the rest of the day but she opened up every gift with equal amounts of wonder and appreciation. Frozen was the other hit of the day and Eloise teetered around in light-up Elsa shoes from Unky T clutching her skating Elsa Barbie from my best friend, Di.

Christmas excitement proved to be too much for our youngest participant and Spencer didn't sleep for more than 30 minutes all day. But even without sleep he was his delightful self. Santa brought him a Manchester United ball (which, let's be honest, was also for Chris) and he was spoiled by our friends and family with awesome toys and adorable clothing (see navy polka dot bow tie above).

My parents - or Other Santas - surprised Spencer and Eloise with gorgeous wooden wagon that has big sturdy wheels and enough cargo space to cart two kids to and from the Papa park. We took the wagon for its inaugural journey to run errands, hauling a giant bag of dog food, diapers, baby supplies AND Eloise, no problem.

Our Christmas was lazy, fun and relaxing, filled with drinking, eating and playing with new toys. The kids were spoiled, we were spoiled and all of the prep required to get organized for the day was totally worth it. I can hardly wait for next year.

Santa Baby

I spent four hours at the mall with both kids one day last week so I could tackle some of my Christmas shopping. Four hours at the mall at Christmas time is bad enough, so I'm sure you can imagine how it was with a baby and three year old in a double wide stroller (which I love, for the record).

The stroller baskets were packed to the gills with snacks, toys to keep Spencer occupied, diapers & wipes, changes of clothing and on top of each hood I loaded our coats, shopping bags and an odd assortment of clothing items that Eloise insisted on peeling off. By hour three the kids were slightly cranky but I was so close to done that we had to push on. By hour four I was the cranky one and ready to go. But then Eloise noticed Santa, who we had walked past several times already, and insisted it was time to go see him.

I had planned to take Eloise and Spencer to see Santa, just not this day. I wanted them to be dressed in Christmas outfits, or at least have on clean clothing and clean faces, but opportunity knocked and Eloise decided that the time for Santa was now. I gave both kids a baby wipe wash, smoothed Spencer's hair, fixed Eloise's headband and that was that.

But, you know what, their Santa photo is absolutely perfect. Eloise was so excited to tell Santa her Christmas wish and introduce her little brother, and their faces say it all.

Seven Months

Spencer is seven months old and more joyful every day. He loves to eat, puts everything he can into his mouth and adores Eloise. Spencer gives sloppy, open mouthed kisses and giggles loudly when you kiss his nick or tickle his belly. He is pure happiness. 

Size 5

That's not your imagination, his toes reach the bouncer base.

Spencer is wearing a size 5 disposable diaper these days. At the drug store that is as big as our preferred brand comes and at the rate he is growing I'll have to start ordering my diapers online. He has recently outgrown his 6-12 month sleepers and pants and is on his way to filling out all the 12-18 month size clothing I had stashed away. He is such a big baby that sometimes I can't believe he is ours. When Spencer rests his head on my shoulder his legs hang down to the tops of my thighs and he can now push off the ground (gleefully) when he bounces in the Bjorn Babysitter. Spencer has gotten so heavy that my back aches and my arms fall asleep when I cart him around. Chris and I are not very big people and then there is slight little Eloise, so his size is surprising. Spencer will be surpassing her in weight by his first birthday for sure.

I suppose a solution to the diaper thing would be to go to cloth full time, but I just can't make the commitment. I also cannot seem to figure out how to get Spencer's cloth diapers not to leak at night, so there's that. We are currently a little short on cloth diapers too due to a 20-diaper-high pile that require new elastic casing and velcro replacements. I have all the supplies, I just don't have the time (or desire) to tackle this project. Can't I just wave magic wand and have the diapers repair themselves?

Despite his large stature and diaper difficulty, dressing Spencer has been more fun than I anticipated. Although he cannot wear jeans or pants due to super squishy thighs, sweats and leggings are thankfully cool right now. Zara has all sorts of adorable printed leggings for boys (sorry, Chris, I mean 'pants') and there are a ton of indie brands that do slouchy pants and harems. Big bottom babies can rock those! Spency also has the gift of our friend Jude's hand me downs - and he is the best dressed kid I know - so we have no shortage of great tops and sweaters to layer. Add a beanie, a pair of fringed mocs and a denim shirt and Spencer is basically a hipster baby. He just can't do the skinny jeans.

The Vacation that Wasn't

Imagine you're on a tropical beach. The sun is shining and warm, the white sand is the consistency of flour, the palm trees are rustling in the breeze, you've found the perfect lounge chairs under a palapa and unlimited drinks are being served to you as you read. Sounds pretty amazing, right?

Now add to this a three year old with a bad cold - the fever, sneezing, coughing, and vomiting kind - and a teething six month old who screams to nurse every two hours day and night. The three year old refuses to eat anything except for Mexican-brand frosted flakes and whines incessantly. When he is awake the six month old wants to be held and bounced. Now imagine doing this for seven straight days, this was the reality of our vacation.

Last week Chris and I took the kids to Cancun for a week to a beautiful resort on a beautiful beach. We saved up, planned our trip carefully and looked forward to our first holiday as a family of four. Our plan was to spend our days at the beach or poolside, head in around 4pm for the kids' baths and dinner. We'd put them into their jammies and pack them into the (new double) stroller with milk, then walk to one of the six restaurants where Chris and I would enjoy dinner while Eloise and Spencer slept. This plan worked exactly twice. 

For most of the week Eloise wouldn't eat anything - except of course Zucaritas. The options were basically unlimited and at any given time there were easily five meals she would have devoured at home. She would not even eat quesadillas, which I make for lunch at least twice a week, and apart from a few tomatoes she ate precisely no fruits or veggies for an entire week. Everything was "gross". I'm pretty sure she was messing with us on purpose.

Don't let that smile fool you. The Zucaritas were her 'meal' for the day.

I will admit it was bold of me to think that taking two young kids on holiday was going to be easy and even with the challenges of sickness and teething it wasn't all bad. Once Eloise recovered from her cold we were able to send her to the resort's Kids Club, which was a godsend. We dropped her off at 9:30 and checked in on her several times throughout the day, expecting her to be desperate to see us. Not in the slightest. Every time we poked our heads in she firmly said, "Please just go, Kids Club is not over yet". On the two days she was well enough to be at Kids Club (yup, just two) she was there until nearly five o'clock. We even managed to spend an awesome day at the mind blowingly, incredible Fairmont Mayakoba with my friend Robyn who was there on her honeymoon (she wanted us to come!). These were the good days. Spencer took his naps dutifully on lounge chairs in the shade while Chris and I basked in the sun. We both read a book. We got just a little bit of a tan. Chris went sailing. Eloise started eating again and the whining subsided. Everything was looking up, and then it started to rain.

At least the booze was unlimited.

Six Months

 

Happy half birthday to our little man! 

Simply put, Spencer is pure delight. He charms the pants off everyone he meets with his smiles, happy coos and sweet personality. He is 22lbs and 71cm of big baby goodness. 

Spencer is cutting two more teeth on the bottom and as a result, puts absolutely everything he can into his mouth. He loves to eat solids and breastfeeds like a champ, but has also given up the bottle temporarily. Spencer is still not much of a roller - he kinda gets stuck on his side - but is working on sitting up. He sleeps 12 hours at night, likes to puts his toes in his mouth and has just discovered a love for soccer balls. 

Spencer, you are a dream. 

The F Word and More

The thing about your second baby is that it is so much easier to see all of the things you did the first time around that didn't work. In our case we are still dealing with some of these things (ahem, sleep).

I am so much more confident as a second time mom and this has made Spencer's babyhood easier and go by more quickly. It helps that Spencer is easy to parent, but I attribute just a little of his 'angel baby' status to our relaxed attitude. There are also a few things I have learned to ease up on these past five months which have made all of our lives just a bit easier.

The F Word

F is for formula and I don't know why I insisted this was evil with Eloise. Actually, I do. The word out there is that 'breast is best' and this is basically forced down the throat of every new mom to the point where we are embarrassed to admit we give our babies formula. Or we make excuses as to why we do it. Even though I wholly believe in breastfeeding and plan to nurse Spencer for as long as I can, it is not such a bad thing for moms to give themselves a break. Sometimes you need a little help from your friends, and this friend is formula.

Tummy Time

Spencer has at least 13 hours of tummy time every day. When he was just a few weeks old I decided to see what would happen if I put him down to nap on his tummy and boom - he slept his first ever four hour long stretch! Since then I have put Spencer to bed on his tummy for naps and at night. He is able to move his head and there are no loose blankets or toys in the crib, so I don't worry about him. Spencer sleeps and we all sleep.

Self Soothing

I wish I had listened when people suggested that I let Eloise learn how to self soothe as an infant. What I confused this with was 'Crying it Out', something I am still not totally comfortable with, when really self soothing isn't about letting children cry themselves to sleep or making themselves sick, but allowing them to fuss and get comfortable in their own way. Another trick is that we put Spencer into his crib awake rather than nursed or rocked to sleep, and though he often fusses, whimper-cries a little, and snarffles a bunch, give him a few minutes and he will be sound asleep. This is his way of self soothing and it means that he can wake in the middle of the night and put himself back to sleep the same way, no boob required.

The Dirty D

I'll admit it, I was a hardcore cloth diaperer with Eloise. It was cloth time all the time, even on vacation. I refused to give up and made myself feel hella guilty when we did use disposable diapers. Spencer is a part-time cloth diapered baby, for a number of reasons. The first is that I have learned that boys wet differently than girls and there are only a select number of diapers in our stash that really work at keeping Spencer dry and we've had no success with cloth at night. The second is that I have a towering pile of around 20 cloth diapers that need to have either the elastic casing or velcro closures - or both - replaced and I have neither the time nor energy to take this project on. I even ordered replacement kits from bumGenius to make the process easier but everything is sitting stashed on a shelf. We have had good success with Earth's Best Tender Care Chlorine Free Diapers, which we can buy at the London Drugs down the street, and at least I feel slightly less guilty that we use a better diaper for both baby and the environment.

Five Months

Spencer was five months old three weeks ago, but I am just getting around to posting his monthly update now. To my second born, yet equally as important child, I am sorry, Mama is pretty behind these days. 

I haven't even cracked the cover of Spencer's baby book as I was counting on using my blog to track his development until I could properly document it. But based on my lack of posts it appears this plan is not going very well, so here is the condensed version of Spencer's recent milestones: 

• Spencer at five months is calm, happy and easygoing. He sleeps 10-12 hours a night and eats well. Always.
• On October 15th Spencer was 20lbs and 70cm long.
• Spencer started eating solid food on October 19th. We made him mashed yams and he dove right in, not surprising since he had been following and grabbing at our food for weeks.
• We took Spencer on his first flight on October 23rd, to Calgary for the weekend. 
• Our robust little boy finally rolled over on October 31st - in his Mickey Mouse costume! 
• After months of drooling, Spencer finally cut his first tooth, the bottom left, on October 23rd. His second bottom tooth popped through on November 2nd and this one has made him snotty, cranky and clingy.

 

rolls and rolls and rolls

evaluating the offerings

sitting cozy on a late flight

the moment he rolled over, mouse nose and all

Four Months

Spencer was four months old yesterday. How a quarter of his first year has already passed I have no idea. I've said it before, time is going way too fast with this little guy and I can't believe he is officially no longer a newborn.

Spencer is my dream baby. He has started sleeping 12 hours a night and is a babbling, cooing, laughing delight. He has his first tooth poking through on the bottom (without any fuss), holds his head up and is in the process of learning to roll over. At his check-up on Monday Spencer weighed in at 17 lbs 3oz and is up in the 95th percentile. In our doctor's words: "Spencer is certainly thriving." By the time he has his first birthday I'm going to have biceps of steel from carting this nugget around.

Three Months

Spencer officially reached three months on Monday. We are so in love with this little boy!

At three months Spencer is a big, happy baby who spends his waking hours smiling. He eats a ton, likes his routine and is officially sleeping through the night (!). Last week Spencer started laughing and now I can't even get him dressed without hearing baby chuckles. 

This is what it is to have an 'angel baby' and it is so good!

First Swim

We took a very quick trip up to the Okanagan to see our Curries last weekend and just like Eloise, Spencer had his first 'swim' in their pool. It is more of a photo opportunity than anything else and a cute to see photos from both trips.

The top photo is Eloise on July 9, 2011, she was four months old to the day. This is Spencer on July 26, 2014, he is two and a half months old. Bet you can't spot the size difference :)