On naps, poop, colds and other fun stuff ...

Elijah and his Nana

I've been trying to blog lately, and mostly starting but not finishing. So here is one huge post about a bunch of random things, combining all of my unfinished musings. =)

Baby, it's cold outside...
It's been pretty chilly here this week, so we have to get all bundled up anytime we go out. We got a few inches of snow here earlier this week, and some more today. And now it's freezing out. But we still have things to do - groceries, doctor appointments, the usual. Elijah has been pretty good about it, but the mittens are a trial. Here are a couple of pictures of his lovely hat hair this evening!


Napping ...
Elijah is a napper. He just sleeps a lot - most kids his age have made the move to one nap a day, but E loves his morning nap and so we stick with two. He's still sleeping 12 hours at night, about 2 hours in the morning and 1 or 1 1/2 in the afternoon. (Yes, I am very thankful!) He usually wakes up happy and ready to run in the morning, but in the afternoon he sometimes needs a little time. The other day he woke up in a funk (yes, a Post-Nap Funk, or PNF for those of you who didn't spend too much time with me in college). Crazy bed head, sleepy eyes, and fussy. (And I was not feeling well at all.) He was grumpy but wanted to be held, so we sat on the couch and watched a couple of minutes of Oprah. (No, we do not generally watch TV. E watches about 10 minutes a week of his very cool Classical Baby DVDs so that I can safely trim his fingernails, toenails and/or hair as necessary. I definitely don't let him watch Oprah normally - give me a break though, I'm sick!) Elijah sat very still on my lap (what!?) and clapped when they applauded on the show and when it was over, he waved and said "bye-bye." He is such a cutie, even (or especially!) with PNF.

Poop, diapers and feeling pukey...
I do not recommend using cloth diapers when you don't feel well. Elijah has been pooping 3-4 times a day (especially smelly and gross, too) since I've been feeling sick. A huge, smelly, poopy diaper is not a good way to kick off a day when you're trying to prevent being sick. It's a great way to trigger a day of feeling miserable. Who can blame me if I want to use disposables sometimes?

The common cold ...
We had a couple of rough nights this week. It reminded me of Elijah's ear infection earlier this year, so I took him to the doctor. No ear infection, thankfully, but he does have a cold - runny nose and all. So, we are to watch him for signs of things getting worse, and push fluids. Elijah loves water, and since he is sick, I've been giving him some juice as well. The kid just drinks and drinks and drinks, and I change a lot of diapers and sometimes wet clothes. Ah, joy! While we were at the doctor, they weighed EJ again. He now weighs 24 lbs 12 oz - another big gain! The doctor said it was great. We'll find out in January at his 18 month appointment how tall he is, and what his percentages are. Hooray, Elijah!

One big day...
Thursday we had a big day. We got up in the morning and rushed around to get to Elijah's appointment with the doctor, and then rushed home in time for his morning nap. When he got up, we ate lunch and ran to the grocery store. Unfortunately, my being sick has not been good for everyone else around here. I haven't felt much like cooking, and food generally grosses me out. Therefore, we were completely out of everything edible. But for the last few days, I've been feeling a little better, so I ambitiously made a list and Elijah and I went on a marathon grocery run. We got home, and while Elijah took his afternoon nap, I carried lots of groceries up three flights of stairs and did some chopping and measuring. Then when Patrick got home, I made an actual, no mixes or boxes involved, dinner. I was pretty tired! I went to bed at 8 pm. It was a big day!