At Home with the O

The Mega Post

2010-12-10T14:14:00.000-05:00

If you are a follower of this blog, you know that I haven’t posted anything in a while. Here’s the reason: I went back to work. And there’s just not enough time. Unfortunately, I am no longer “at home with the O.”

I never really believed that whole saying “there’s not enough hours in the day,” but it really is true. Bear with me as I try to catch you up on the last three months of little O’s life (it’s sad, but that is almost half of his life).

First Foods (Yummmmm….)

We started Oliver on solids a little after his 4 month birthday. After his 4 month doctor appointment, when the doctor sparked the concern for Oliver’s “excessive” weight gain, he suggested that we start giving him some real food to lower his caloric intake each day. Oliver’s first meal of rice cereal was a hit. There was no delay in his desire to move forward with the foods. I started by making his food for him, but that got old pretty quick (mostly for Oliver). It wasn’t that it was too much work—it was actually really easy—it just made way too much of each food. I made a butternut squash, and Oliver ate nothing but squash for three weeks before we finally decided to toss it all out. The boy was going to turn orange if we let him eat the rest of the squash. We’ve since gone to organic only pre-made baby foods. This gives him quite a variety of tastes without overfilling the freezer with pureed food (we have enough of Oliver’s food in the freezer, if you know what I mean).

Zoo Trip

In September, our wonderful babysitter went out of town, leaving Oliver without anyone to watch him during the day. Kevin and I took the opportunity to take the day off and spend some quality time with the little man. We took him to the zoo for the first time where he experienced all of the animals he could imagine. We even took him into the petting zoo so that he could interact with the goats. The goats seemed more interested in him than he was in them, but I think they all had fun. Kevin and I even joined the zoo so that we can take Oliver all the time. I can’t wait to take him to see all of the Christmas lights during Festival of Lights!

Infectious

In the three month hiatus that I’ve taken from blogging, Oliver has had not one, but two ear infections. At his last doctor visit, the nurse practitioner that saw him said that he had “furry” ears. I guess he gets that from his dad. The chronic ear infections he gets from me, though. He is such a trooper and makes it through the days just fine, but the nights are a completely different story. The poor little boy can’t sleep for more than a few hours at a time when his ears are bothering him. Hopefully this will not last too long, and he’ll be healthy for a long stretch.

Boo Baby

There is not much to tell about Halloween, but there are some really cute pictures to share. It's a shame that he'll really only get to wear these things once!

Moving on…

The biggest news in the last three months is that Oliver has started moving around. He’s not exactly crawling yet, but he manages to get around pretty well without it. He does a combination of army-crawling, rolling, scooting, and a move that I like to call the Oliver Twist. He spins in little circles that are just slightly off from one another until he moves to wherever he wants to be. We realized that we were going to be in trouble with Oliver’s new skills when we were getting ready for church one Sunday morning. Kevin and I were in the bathroom and Oliver was sitting on the floor at the end of our bed. When we came out of the bathroom, I couldn’t see Oliver. He had moved himself around our bed, around the dresser, and was laying on his belly in front of the closet door with my shoe in his mouth. My son acts like a dog. What a funny little boy!

Thanks for sticking through with the long post. Hopefully, I won't wait three months to post again :-)

4 Month Stats

2010-09-01T17:49:00.000-04:00

It's official: We have a BIG baby! The doctor was concerned that Oliver was eating too much because he has gained 6 pounds in the last two months. When he found out that Oliver only eats about 24 ounces of breastmilk a day, he called him a Prius. He doesn't burn all of his fuel...

Length: 24 inches (25th percentile)
Weight: 17 pounds (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 42 cm
Developmental Milestones: rolling all the time, pushing chest off of the ground, babbling (we had to take him to the church nursery because he would talk through communion), chewing on everything, laughing, making faces, smiling, drooling, manipulating toys, switching toys from one had to the other, sitting like a gorilla

Back to School

2010-08-28T12:35:00.000-04:00

This week was the first week back to work for me, and Oliver's first week with the babysitter. Things have gone wonderfully! He loves hanging out with his friend Jonathan and he doesn't seem to mind being away from me and Kevin. Even if he doesn't seem to miss me, I certainly have missed my little man. This morning I didn't want to put him in his crib for his nap because I wanted to make up for lost time this week and snuggle with him. In the end, I'm sure that me going back to work is what is best for our family and my students. At least I have this picture to remind me of the little O's sweet smiles (and the reason why I leave him each day).

Like Father, Like Son

2010-08-18T09:15:00.000-04:00

Kevin is training Oliver to take over for him at work. He sure could use the break.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

2010-08-15T13:04:00.000-04:00

Oliver went to his first Reds game on Saturday night. It was hot, but he was a trooper. An adorable trooper in his Reds outfit and baseball hat.

That's Hot

2010-08-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

It has been unbelievably hot around here lately, and Oliver is starting to feel it. We went to the park for a family reunion on Saturday, and the poor little boy could hardly make it through lunch. We spent most of the time sitting in front of a fan generously shared by some family member. When we weren't in front of the fan, Oliver wore this, compliments of Uncle Danny:

We put his burp rag in the cooler so that it would feel nice and cold, then Uncle Danny wrapped it on his head. Kevin called it his "do rag" :-)

What am I supposed to do with this?

2010-08-09T09:56:00.001-04:00

Oliver is constantly moving his legs, so Kevin and I thought he would like a jumper. He has a froggy jumper, but unfortunately he inherited his mother's short legs. He doesn't even get close to the ground in it, so he can't jump at all. We went out this weekend and bought him a jumper that hangs from the door frame because it is adjustable for his short little legs. I put it up this morning and put Oliver in it. I'm not sure he knew what to do. Half of the time, he did this:

He just leaned to the side and stared at me. Occasionally, he would move his legs and walk around in circles. The other half of the time, he did this:

I think that he thought it was a jumping chew toy. Everything is a chew toy to him. Oh well. He seemed to have fun and it really wore him out!

On a Roll...

2010-08-03T13:30:00.007-04:00

For the last few days, Oliver has been really trying hard to roll from his back to his belly. Most of the time when I lay him down on his back, he quickly rolls to his side. His legs can get all the way over, but he just can't seem to get his head over (which is the opposite of the problem he has with rolling from belly to back). While I was making lunch today, I put Oliver on his back in his play gym. When I came back to check on him, he was completely on his belly. I had to stop and think for a second whether I put him on his belly to begin with or not. I didn't. He rolled.

Later this afternoon, he did it again, and I caught most of it on video:

3 Month Stats

2010-08-02T09:10:00.004-04:00

Friday was Oliver's 3-month birthday, so here are some new stats.

Weight: about 13 1/2 lbs. (we didn't go to the doctor this month, so this is an estimate based on weighing him with me on our bathroom scale)

Length: 24 inches? (I used the tape measure from the garage)

Devlopmental Milestones: starting to sit up (with some help!), lots of smiles, almost doing the "mini push-up", picking toys up, grasping everything, cooing, babbling...

Hair Color: still red

Eye Color: still blue

Nighttime Feedings: ZERO!!! For the last 4 nights, Oliver has slept from 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. with no feedings and no screaming!

We Have a Sleeper!

2010-07-30T08:55:00.002-04:00

I'm probably going to jinx myself by sharing this, but Oliver slept through the night last night (and I'm not talking the technical 5 hour definition)! And, no sleep screaming!

He went to bed last night at 10 p.m. like normal after eating at 9:30. He started fussing a little bit at around 2:30, and I decided to just give him his pacifier because he wasn't really awake. At one point, we had him sleeping until 3:30 or 4 before wanting to eat. I was hoping to get him back to that, but I got even better!

At about 4:30 he started fussing again and Kevin woke up to get him. He apparently thought that I had already fed Oliver, so he just gave him a pacifier, too. Oliver fell asleep. Kevin and I didn't, though, and we decided to wake him up at 5 to see how he would do on the schedule that he will be on when I go back to work (in less than a month, now).

We woke Oliver up at 5 to eat. I fed him and he immediately fell back asleep, so I put him back in his crib and was able to get a shower, eat breakfast, start laundry, and take a little nap before he woke up for the day at 8. I'm hoping that this new process will work for Oliver and he will do it more often.

There were no sleep screams during this process either, so Kevin and I think we may have figured out what caused it. We may have been overfeeding Oliver at night causing his belly to get upset. When he would start stirring at 2, I just assumed that he was hungry, but it may just have been his normal sleep rhythm. So, I think that we will try to soothe with the pacifier first, and if he continues to fuss, then we'll feed him. Hopefully that will work.

Creative Parenting

2010-07-29T09:20:00.003-04:00

I had a meeting at the school yesterday, so I dropped Oliver off at Kevin's office to hang out for a few hours while I was away (we don't really have a babysitter yet). This is the picture message that I received:

In case it is hard for you to see, I'll describe. Oliver is laying on a blanket under a rolling chair. Oliver's pacifier clip is attached to the chair with his rings hanging off of the clip. I guess Kevin had to be like MacGyver Dad because I forgot to bring the play gym with me :-)

Night Terrors?

2010-07-26T08:47:00.011-04:00

For the past 4 or 5 mornings, Kevin and I have been awakened by this:

You may say, "oh a crying baby, that's totally normal." The difference is that this baby is still sleeping while screaming. At first, we thought it was gas because it was accompanied by some manly baby farts. But, the last few mornings there have been no toots. Then, we thought he may be starting to teethe because we had a terrible day yesterday that involved crying, drooling, chewing, and a possible low fever. But, there are no bumps on his gums. Finally, we thought that he may just be hungry because the only thing that would soothe him was his pacifier. But, when I wake him to feed him he eats a little and then falls asleep and the screeches begin again.

Ultimately, we have no idea why he is doing this. Any ideas?

First Boo Boo

2010-07-21T09:13:00.003-04:00

This morning, I was clipping Oliver's fingernails. Suddenly he jerked his hand away, and I slipped. I cut a little piece of skin on the end of his fingernail, and he started crying right away! The poor guy has his very first boo boo! I even had to put a little BandAid on his thumb in an effort to keep his saliva out of the cut (he has recently discovered that he can put his hands in his mouth).

He seems fine now, but I don't think that the BandAid is deterring him from putting his hand in his mouth. Hopefully the cut won't get infected from his spit-up...

Just Had to Share

2010-07-21T08:59:00.002-04:00

Kevin took the most amazing picture during bath time last night. I know I'm bragging on my own baby, but he is the most adorable little guy ever! I'll let you be the judge:

Isn't he just adorable??? I love my little Yoda!

Flying Solo

2010-07-19T09:32:00.003-04:00

Kevin was out of town last week for work, which meant that I was flying solo with the Little O. It wasn't nearly as bad for me as I had imagined, but I think that Kevin really missed his little man. We did a few Skype conversations while he was away, and I sent Kevin daily pictures. I also made a few videos that I sent to Kevin to show what Oliver was up to during the week. Here is one of the "amazing" videos that I sent Kevin.

In this one, Oliver has learned how to grasp his toys on his playmat. This is a new skill that he just picked up while Kevin was away, and now he loves doing it all the time! In fact, he's doing it right now as I write this.

Bedtime

2010-07-19T09:14:00.003-04:00

Kevin and I have started a nighttime routine with Oliver in an attempt to get a good night's sleep. Our routine starts with bath time (thank you Johnson's Bedtime Bath!), then we head upstairs for lotion and jammies. Last night, it was so hot, Oliver went to bed in nothing but his diaper! After jammies, we read a story. I know that he is only 2 1/2 months old and doesn't really get the stories, but I think he enjoys them! Last night, the story was apparently the threshold for sleepiness:

Usually after story time it is time for a final feeding. Last night, I had to wake him back up to eat. Then, it's time for swaddling and goodnight kisses. Having this routine has done wonderful things for Oliver's sleeping habits! We are down to just one nighttime feeding at around 3:00-4:00 a.m. Hopefully by the time I go back to work (just 5 weeks away!), Oliver will be getting up around 5 a.m. to eat before I have to leave for the school.

O, Liver

2010-07-07T15:15:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I walked into Oliver's room to discover this:

Look closely... there's something not quite right in the photo. Who can see what's wrong? (It's like a game of "Where's Waldo?")

...

No, we did not change his name, or go to an unorthodox shorter version. The O has lost his "O". It is currently somewhere behind his crib--I haven't attempted to hunt it down. So, for now, Oliver will just have to sleep under "LIVER".

2 Month Stats

2010-07-06T16:41:00.005-04:00

Kevin, Oliver, and I just got back from the doctor's office, and here are the new stats:

Weight: 11 lbs. 3 oz. (that's almost a 3 lbs. gain in the last month)

Length: 22 in. (the nurse had to check it twice because he had grown so much!)

Head Circumference: 38 cm. (no wonder Aunt Amanda's hat is too small)

Shots: 4 (he was very good, though)

Nighttime feedings: just 1! :-)

Developmental Milestones: social smiles!, still holding head up high, starting to reach for toys, trying to sit up, trying to crawl, standing up strong on both legs, repeating/responding to sounds

And... his eyes are still blue and his hair is still red!

They Grow Up So Fast

2010-06-25T16:08:00.004-04:00

It's such an old cliche, and I've heard it a million times since Oliver was born: "Cherish them now because they grow up so fast." My typical non-believing response to this was, "I know" with a smile as I looked at my infinitely tiny little bean of a baby. I was less than patient in waiting for him to catch up to my friends' babies who all seemed to dwarf the little O. Oliver's small stature was never more apparent to me than when my mother and I went to visit Oliver's birthday buddy. A family friend had her baby (a little girl) on the same day as me, in the same hospital, and in the room right next door! Oliver, at 6 weeks old, only weighed about 8.5-9 lbs. Addison, at exactly the same age, was over 11 lbs. already! At birth, the two only differed by about a half a pound. Now, Addison is lapping Oliver in weight!

While my little man is still pretty little by my standards, I have to admit that he has grown a lot. It seems like in the last week he has accelerated his growth, and as I write this post, I am in the process of boxing up all of his newborn clothes and pulling out the 0-3 month sizes. I'm sad to see some of those outfits go!

At the request of the wonderful hat-maker, Aunt Amanda, here are some pictures to compare.

This is Oliver on the blanket that my mother made for him at just 8 days old. He was so little, and still liked to be scrunched up. He wouldn't stretch his legs out for the picture!

This is Oliver on that same blanket (it hasn't been washed, so it hasn't shrunk at all) at 8 weeks old. Sorry that it is so blurry; the little bug wouldn't stop moving while I was trying to take the picture. While he's not a huge baby, he certainly has grown!

The Search for a Hat

2010-06-09T16:02:00.003-04:00

Kevin and I are being brave parents, and are taking our 6 week old baby on a car trip to South Carolina and Florida to visit family. Oliver's skin is so fair, and I worry that he will burn in the sun, so I wanted to get a hat to help shade him. Did you know that they don't make hats small enough for a newborn? I've been everywhere-- Carter's, Target, Kohl's, Gymboree, Old Navy, Gap...

My new task is to find a hat that will fit Oliver. We do have one hat that kinda fits. It was from an outfit that we received as a gift from someone (sorry, I can't remember who). But, even that hat is pretty big on him.

Luckily, Oliver has an awesome Aunt Amanda who can sew and is working to create a custom-fitted hat for his sweet little head!

Pictures (as promised)

2010-06-03T16:08:00.005-04:00

I promised some one-month pictures yesterday, so here are a few that I took today.

First, we played. Oliver likes his rattle and he loves to kick his legs and wave his arms. Every once in a while he will roll from his belly to his back. I think he's super advanced, the doctor says that the weight of his head just pulls him over and that it's not on purpose. What do doctors know?

After we play, we take naps. I try to put Oliver in his crib during his daytime naps, but he doesn't like it for very long. I think he wakes up and doesn't see anyone and gets scared. Today's nap lasted about a half hour in the crib. Then, we moved to the boppy pillow, which he absolutely adores! Isn't he so stinking cute!?

One Month Stats

2010-06-02T17:52:00.002-04:00

Baby O went to the doctor yesterday and got his first shot in front of Mom & Dad. Very traumatic! He's a super-healthy baby, though!

Weight: 8 lbs, 6 oz.

Length: 20.5 in.

Head Circumference: 36.5 cm

Developmental Milestones: lifts head (really high), coos, follows objects that he sees, rolls from belly to back

The best news is that we seem to have him on a schedule now! He only eats every 4 hours, and is much more predictable, which makes for a happy baby and happy parents!

I don't have time at the moment, but I'll post some new one month pictures soon.

The First Three Weeks

2010-05-27T09:43:00.001-04:00

Week One: We spent 2 ½ days at the hospital because Oliver was having trouble figuring out how to eat. I was committed to breastfeeding, but Oliver wouldn’t stay awake, then he wouldn’t open his mouth correctly. We finally got him eating, and headed home on Sunday afternoon. On Tuesday, Oliver went on his first outing. He had to get his check-up at the doctor—which he did wonderfully at! He weighed in at just 7 lbs, though. He lost almost half a pound in the few days that he had been home. We worked with the nurse some more on feeding, and things seemed much better! Oliver was the perfect baby for his first week home, and we managed to get about 3-4 hours of sleep at a time. Kevin stayed home this week, so it was nice to have the help! The perfect ending to the week was being able to spend my first official Mother’s Day with my little man.

Oliver's first night at home

Week Two: Just me and Oliver this week. Kevin returned to work slowly by staying home in the mornings and coming home early most days. Oliver went back to the doctor on Wednesday for his weight check. He did an amazing job packing on the pounds! He now weighs 7 lbs, 11.5 oz!The doctors were quite impressed! And, he was such a good baby, even as the doctor had to cauterize his belly button. Oliver started to become more and more alert this week, spending a few hours at a time awake and curious. He is able to hold his head up during tummy time and turn it from side to side. He’s also tried rolling a bit with some success and really looks like he’s trying to crawl away. Kevin is convinced that the boy will be crawling by the time he is two months old. I’m not so overzealous, although the boy is quite advanced!

He's so strong!

Week Three: Oliver took his first trip to high school this week. I took him into work to see my students in the Sophomore Debate Finals (they lost, but did an amazing job!). He was such a good boy, and got to meet my coworkers and my students. Oliver’s feeding and sleeping schedule is anything but regular right now. How long until he gets a routine? One night, he will wake up to eat every hour or two, but one night he’ll sleep for six hours straight… it’s unsettling!Oliver’s also been having some problems with his tummy this week. On Monday, for 30-45 minutes of every hour he would do nothing but scream. The poor guy just couldn’t get the gas out of his belly. We discovered the power of a warm bath, though, and things seem to be getting better. We’ll see what next week brings!

One of my favorite students and Oliver

Happy Birth Day!

2010-05-25T14:05:00.001-04:00

In honor of the birth of "At Home with the O", I thought it would be fitting to tell the story of the birth that inspired it.

Friday, April 30 was Oliver’s due date. I did not expect him to come on that day; I didn’t think that babies ever came on their due dates. I had been dilating for weeks and had tons of Braxton Hicks contractions, but had not started labor yet.That week, the midwife had scheduled me for an induction for May 5, “just in case.” Turns out we didn’t need the induction.

The day started early. At 2 a.m., I woke up with intense cramps. I honestly did not think that I was going into labor at the time…and really not until it was almost too late did I realize what was actually happening. I started to pace around the bedroom, trying not to wake Kevin up because I had a tendency to wake during the night and rouse him. I tried to go to the bathroom several times, lay down, stand up, soak in the bathtub… nothing was relieving the cramping feeling. Finally, Kevin woke up and suggested that we call the doctor. He didn’t want to rush into anything because we had a false alarm earlier that week.

By 4 a.m., I was on the phone with the doctor. At 5, we left for the hospital as I was feeling the urge to push. When we arrived at the hospital, I was in severe pain. The poor nurse doing the registration was a little concerned. I’m not sure, but I think that when the registration nurse picks up the phone and calls back to the triage nurses saying that someone is “uncomfortable” is code for “get your butt over here right now, this woman’s giving birth!”

The registration nurse took me back to the triage room, and Kevin had to stay in the waiting room. I think that was the worst part of the entire process—being separated from Kevin while I was in so much pain and had no idea what was really going on. The labor that I was having was nothing like what we learned about in our childbirth classes! Once I was in the triage room, I was alone. I started to change into the gown, but I could not make it through the process. I had to pull the emergency call cord to get a nurse in the room immediately because I could feel that the little guy was ready to make his appearance.

When the nurse came in, she checked me and said that I was “complete.” She put me in the bed, called to Labor and Delivery, and started wheeling me down the hall. Kevin was still in the waiting room. I “gently requested” that they get my husband. As the nurse was taking me into the L&D room, she asked if I had planned to go through labor unmedicated. I responded that I had not planned to go natural, and she chuckled a little and said “well, you are.” Apparently, I was too far along to get an epidural.

Kevin met me in the Labor and Delivery room, and the nurses started getting things ready.There was so much chaos in the room, and all I wanted to do was push. I was pushing as the nurses put the IV in, as they were putting my legs in the stirrups, as they were administering the antibiotic that I had to tell them I needed (they didn’t even have time to check my chart!).Finally, the doctor arrived, coffee cup in hand. He looked at me, put down his cup, and said “You didn’t sound this uncomfortable on the phone—get me some gloves.” Apparently Oliver was coming and very quickly!

The rest of the process was very quick. I think that I pushed a half dozen times and Oliver was here.

Looking back on the day, I realized that giving birth was definitely a learning experience for me.I learned that babies do come on their due dates. I learned that first time labors can go very quickly. And, I learned that no matter the pain, it truly is worth it in the end.

Quick Facts:

Full Name: Oliver Zachary Ghantous

Birth Date: April 30, 2010, 6:01 a.m.

Weight: 7 lbs, 7 oz.

Length: 19.5 inches

Hair Color: Strawberry Blonde!

Eye Color: Blue (for now)