From Belly to Butt

Quick update on the N front — he's learned how to get from lying on his tummy to sitting up. Yay! He's also working on some new teeth; from the looks of it, we may end up with two front teeth and an incisor soon. That means he's been pretty miserable the last few days. Even climbing Mount Mom (he's desperate to get at my hair, which is usually pulled back, so he's trying to climb over my shoulder to get at it) doesn't make him as happy as it usually does.

He's still trying to figure out how to stand up. Right now, he ends up in Downward Facing Dog a lot, on tip-toe, no less!

Waiting for Words

Yes, I know, it's entirely too early for him to be talking yet. But I so wish that he would! I would love it if he could say, "Mommy, I had a bad dream" or "Mommy, my ear aches" or "I just wanted you to come here, Mommy."

I want to know what's going on. Just when I feel as if I've gotten a hang of this whole motherhood thing, he throws me for another loop. Tonight, for example, he went to sleep early because he missed his morning nap and it showed. About 30 minutes after he went down, however, he woke up. And he didn't just wake up, he woke up squealing.

We've struggled with sleeping for a while, but this seemed different than normal. So I went in to check on him. Was he warm from crying or was he running a fever? D brought the thermometer. Of course, the battery was dying. It took a good two minutes to get up to 98 degrees, and then it stuck there. So we're assuming that he doesn't have a fever. We had a little more bottle and then put him back to bed. He went straight to sleep and hasn't woken up since (even when I went in to check on him).

It's probably nothing. Or if it is something, it's an ear infection and we'll have to go back to the doctor. But it's so frustrating not knowing if I'm supposed to be worrying or not. My default setting is, of course, worrying, and I have a tendency to worry myself into a neurotic mess (just ask D).

I want an owner's manual for my baby! At the very least, I want instructions, even if they're shouted at the top of his baby lungs (which are quite capable, thank you very much).

So I'm waiting for words. I guess, as a parent, you're always waiting for something (sleep, words, walking, potty training, curfew…)!

Easter and a Few Extras

What a month it's been! I'm starting with the most recent and progressing backward. I'm also going to try to upload a video (here's hoping!).

So the big news in N Land, he's cruising! Yes, he's learned to pull himself up on the hearth without banging his chin (Mommy tacking down the child-proof bumper helped!), and now he's walking along it in a desperate attempt to get to the tiny rocks in the actual fireplace. As you can see from the videos, we've got a ton of stuff piled up in front of that as we try to keep him out. I think it's a losing battle. (Side note on the videos: the first one is just funny, because he is fascinated by the camera! The second one has no narration from me because I didn't want him chasing the camera again!)

I think he learned this new skills from WS, with whom we had our first play date recently. I say first, because this is the first time he's been old enough to interact with his play mate! Granted, most of the interaction consisted of taking toys away from each other, but still! The boys had fun, and WS's mommy and I had fun catching up.

I'm also uploading a few Easter photos. He looked very cute in his outfit, and although he was TIRED by the end of the day, he was such a good baby all day long. And bonus! A photo of Grandpa with N and one of N's first attempt at finger foods (potatoes). Still working on the hand-to-mouth thing.

To-Do Lists

I'm a list nerd. I have work to-dos, household to-dos, home improvement to-dos, personal professional to-dos… they help keep me on track. Sadly, lists are a double-edged sword. They remind me of all the things I need to do, and all the things I can't manage to get done in a given day. I'm trying to determine if their usefulness outweighs the depressing nature of the carry-over to-dos. I'll let you know what I decide…

The Write Time

I'm a little nervous about this month. My mom usually comes up Mondays & Tuesdays each week to keep an eye on N while I get some work (ie, paycheck work, not household work) done. This month, however, she's going to be gone for two weeks. I can't begrudge her time away. For one thing, I'm not paying her! For another, one of those weeks away she and Daddy will be in Europe. I can be insanely jealous, but I can't begrudge her.

However, that's two whole weeks that I'm going to have to find time to write around N. And now that he's mobile, that's even more challenging than it used to be! We had some friends over Saturday night, and I spent all day cleaning up and chasing him. He was either getting into something he shouldn't or making a mess in the room I'd just cleaned up. I know, I know: shades of things to come.

It wouldn't be that bad, except that N thinks Mommy's computer is a big, cool toy. I've tried sitting in the floor with him, me on the laptop, him with his blocks (music thing-y, books, rattles, car thing-y, etc.), but that's not lasting very long these days.

In the hopes of trying to get as much done as humanly possible, I've mapped out my month. I will definitely be taking advantage of the Mommy's Morning Out offered at my gym. I plan on being very productive on Thursday mornings! How is it possible that the days get shorter the longer they get?

Switching Hats

I've been playing around on Twitter, a micro-blogging site (140 characters or less; when I say micro, I mean micro!). But I can't seem to decide if I'm going to post my professional or personal blog in my Twitter profile. My indecision is probably a reflection of trying to figure out how I really identify myself now. Am I a stay-at-home mom who also happens to write for a living, or am I a writer who also happens to be a stay-at-home mom?

Right now, I guess I'm leaning toward a stay-at-home mom who's also a writer, since I've linked to this blog on my site. So in the spirit of being mom and a writer, I'm so excited with how things went today.

First, N finally slept through the night again (yay!). That's two nights in a row that I've gotten a decent amount of uninterrupted sleep. I feel moderately human again.

Second, N has started crawling. It's an army crawl, but he has no problems getting where he wants to go. I would upload my video, but it takes FOREVER.

Third, N is trying to go straight from crawling to standing. He keeps planting his feet and trying to push up with his hands. (I didn't say he was going about it the right way, but he is trying).

And lastly, I finally took advantage of the mommy's morning out at the gym — three whole hours of uninterrupted mommy time! I used it to interview Stephanie Henderson at Me Salon and Day Spa. I'm doing an article on if/how the recession is affecting small businesses in Simpsonville that I'm going to post on a friend's blog: upstatestories.wordpress.com. It was a good day!