It's Not Easy Being Baby

What's up at 5 Months for Liam

2012-07-28T09:03:00.002-07:00

Happy as a clam!

Five months old now! I wish the time would not go so fast! Liam is adorable and still very easy to take care of.

For daytime naps though he can easily sleep in his bassinet if I am able to place him there at the right "window of nap opportunity". He can also nap in his crib but I don't think he thinks of it as a place to sleep, since it has been used mostly as a diaper changing station. I've moved all the diapering stuff off the crib now and will try to place him there to nap more often. He is a bit more fussier now closer to bedtime. He sleeps in bed with me, I rarely place him into the bassinet for the night.

Liam cannot quite sit up by himself yet, but he can hold the pose for a minute or more without support.

Other milestones reached: he can hold/grasp items such as his toys. Yesterday he grabbed my dinner knife as I held him next to the table! Have to keep an eye on him, he is fast! Often he will gnaw on his toys or a cloth or a bib - he is likely teething (but it may be a month or more before the teeth will show). He often plays with his hands and feet. Definitely shows signs of separation anxiety from his momma. Here is a list of milestones: http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-1-to-6-months_1496585.bc

Asleep in mommy's bed, not a care in the world.

Sitting up for the camera!

Sound asleep in his bassinet.

Connor's Tattoo

2012-07-28T08:33:00.001-07:00

Check out Connor's tough guy tattoo! He was gifted a sheet of temporary tattoos for his birthday - Cars and Spiderman. The one he's got on his arm is Sarge from Cars. He picked the spot on his arm - the same spot that Daddy has his tattoo!

Learning to Save

2012-07-24T06:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I took Connor and Liam to the bank and finally set up an Ontario bank account, and set up the two kids with accounts as well. Everyone needed identification; a passport was sufficient (I have passports for both kids). To my surprise, the bank account representative asked Connor to sign his name on the application form! Here is a photo of his very first self-signed official document!

Connor still doesn't really understand the concept of money and saving, other than the fact that it does require money to buy toys. We deposited all his birthday money into his account, and afterwards went to Toys R Us and he picked out a Thomas Toy Train, named "Diesel Ten".

The event took a lot longer than expected and Connor ended up eating 3 mint candies, half a box of Pocky chocolate sticks, one pack Baby Mum Mums, and all the Vegetable Thin crackers I had brought in a very small container.

Attached is also a goofy photo that Linds took of Liam with a silly little toy hat on his head. The hat is from a large German soldier doll that we picked up at a garage sale on Sunday.

Toes

2012-07-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Yumyumyum! Toes sure are yummy, especially with a dash of beach sand!

Liam's First Time Sitting by Himself

2012-07-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

Liam sat up by himself for the first time on July 13! He was sitting in my lap and squirmed to get down so I tried to sit him on the floor... and here he is, the moment captured... of course Connor wanted a picture taken with Liam too!

Liam sitting up in his big red bouncy car.

Connor Turns 4

2012-07-17T07:18:00.001-07:00

We had Connor's birthday party on Saturday. The theme was "Connor City 4" - a take on "Lego City", a Lego product line.

I spent lot of time over the past few weeks preparing for this party.I guess this is what happens when a focused achiever like me gets into doing something - I was obsessed! I learned how to make sugar cookies and ice them so that I could make Lego cookies. I searched and tested for the best and easiest cake to make, and the icing too, so that I could make a Lego cake. Made a "Connor City 4" T-shirt for Connor. There was also a themed goodie bag for the little ones. We also planned a few games and prizes for the "big kids".

The day was super hot. We started the party at 2pm and by the time we cut the cake around 6:30pm (yeah kind of late, we don't know where the time went!), Connor was very tired and didn't have any cake. Although right before that, he got a tiny boo-boo - a minor fat lip after he tipped out of his new wagon (a friend was pulling Connor and Megan around in it). Plus he hardly ate all day. Poor little guy. He did have fun opening all his presents of course!


Grandma Jackie helped keep Connor occupied in the morning while Mom and Dad set up the party.

The party animals.

Birthday boy was all possessive about his play structure.

Liam was cool as a cucumber.

GF Megan helped Connor with his presents. Overwhelmed with generous gifts! Lots of Lego, including a 748-piece Lego Mining set, and a 211-piece Alien Conquest.

Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Brian gifted this wagon, which the two kids loved! It can hold up to 300 lbs!

The Lego cake that I spent tons of time planning and executing. The recipes used (for my own future reference) were the Busy-Day Chocolate Cake and Sturdy Whipped Cream Frosting.

A thank-you hug to Megan for her gifts. They gave Connor a racing set, a car garage, and a 'Disgusting Science' set.

Still guarding his play structure.

Party in full swing. Some Lego-playing happening too.

The goodie bag had funny sunglasses, a Lego character, Lego crayons and a colouring book, a plastic cup, Lego-shaped candy, gold coins, a rolling ball maze, and marbles.

School!

2012-07-12T08:38:00.001-07:00

We just received our notice from the school board. Connor will be in the morning classes. We get a PT meeting on Sept 4 and Connor gets orientation on Thursday morning Sept 6, and school starts officially on the 10th. Exciting!

Liam Rollover and Kicks

2012-06-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Liam can roll over already. First he was able to roll from his front onto his back. Then a couple of days later, I had left him on his back in his crib and when I came back he was on his tummy! The first time he did it was around June 3rd. This is on the early side for a baby to be turning over - typically it occurs between 4-6 months. Here's a video of one of his early turnovers from front to back.

These days when we place Liam in his bouncy chair, he really kicks up a storm! Check out this video - it's like he's boxing with his cute little feet!

Connor and Megan

2012-06-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Connor has a girl friend, Megan. She is the lovely child of a friend of Linds'. She is very kind and very friendly. Connor and Megan can play together for HOURS without needing adult intervention; they almost never fight over anything!

A couple of weeks ago Megan's brother Clark was baptised and we were invited. Here are a couple of photos from the church. I asked them to hold hands - Connor usually will not hold hands with any other kids - and they did! They look soooo sweet!

Megan's mom is currently on maternity leave, too, so that's how the two kids got to playing with each other. Most times Connor will visit Megan at her house. They've also been to the Science Center and the Toronto Zoo together. For a couple of months they took the same art class together.

There was only one time that we know of where there was a problem. Megan had come to our house and Connor wanted very much for Megan to play specific toys with him. But Megan was more interested in other toys that Connor had... and Connor wasn't happy with that. It was his way or the highway! Well, he'll soon have to learn that it's in his best interest for the girl to have to her way!

At the Church. Megan's all dressed up for his brother's baptism.

A sweet moment between the two. Sorry I am no great shutterbug and
it's a bit blurry... but still sweet!

In Connor's room, the day he got all upset. That's why he's not looking too happy here.

Happily fingerpainting at Megan's house.

Just a cute video... Liam sleeping, kicking, sucking his fingers

2012-06-04T21:11:00.002-07:00

I think these videos are adorable and sure made me smile. But then, I'm his Mom so I'm biased. Hope you enjoy the two videos!

(Remember to view on the website if you received this via email)

Post-Partum Discomfort Update

2012-05-28T21:45:00.002-07:00

I saw a chiropractor last Wednesday and she determined the problem source to be a weak core. She tested this by having me contract my transverse abdominis muscles (the lower abdomen) and then try to move my leg in the manner which I was having problems (ie I have pain when lifting the right knee to swing the leg out of the car). Sure enough, when I did this I was able to move my leg with much less pain.

The weak core led to the problem muscles working much harder than required. Additionally this meant my back was doing more work as well. So the chiropractor did some 'adjustment' to my upper spine. She also adjusted my sacroiliac joint, which she said appeared quite stable already.

This in addition to some simple exercises that strengthen the transverse abdominis appears to be doing the trick. On Thursday we were out walking for several hours and the whole time we walked I kept the transverse abdominis contracted. This made it easier to walk without pain. Today, I am better, I can walk with only slight pain but still getting sharp twisting pain in the thigh when going up and down the stairs. Hopefully this will all be a memory by next week. I have another chiropractic appointment on Wednesday.

Enjoy the pics on this post. They were taken with my iPhone and template photo effects were applied using the free app 'Instagram'. You can view all of my Instagram photos at http://instagrid.me/lulubabyobaby

Liam's 3 Months - Milestones

2012-05-28T21:17:00.001-07:00

Liam is now three months young, and weighs 15 lbs. It's been exciting to observe that he's reached a few of the three-month milestones:

While on his tummy, he can keep his head off the floor for quite a while.
He is now using his hands and his feet to swat at his toys on his bouncy chair.
He is now grasping objects.
He has laughed out loud on occasion. This is such a joy to watch!

The new fascination with his toys means that we can leave him in his bouncy chair and it appears he is very entertained. He kicks at the toys more that uses his hands. Below are two videos, one of Liam's first time swatting at the toys in his chair. The other video shows Liam holding his head up during tummy time - and Connor being a bit naughty and I subsequently had to place him in a time-out!

Note, if you are receiving this by email, you will need to go to the website to view the video.

Post-Partum Discomforts

2012-05-17T12:31:00.001-07:00

Liam is almost 3 months old - no longer a newborn. He is much more aware and he 'talks', 'coos' and smiles a lot more. He has also started to laugh out loud, which is so wonderful when he does it.

My friend Amie visited last week and brought back my baby scale for me from Vancouver. So now I can weigh Liam anytime I want. Liam now weighs 14 lbs. What a heavyweight! It's great but also adds to my health issues.

My right leg/hip hurts when I walk, especially if I am carrying extra weight or going up or down stairs. My physiotherapist says it is instability at the sacroiliac joint (side effect of pregnancy, the joint relaxes or is sprained during delivery). Because the joint has too much movement, other muscles are trying to take up the slack. I've had this problem since a week after giving birth to Liam. So I cannot run or easily go up or down stairs or do any exercise.

I've also got carpal tunnel in both hands, and also plantar fasciitis in both feet - I had both these conditions with Connor as well. Plantar fasciitis causes pain in both feet when walking, especially upon waking in the morning. I'm just falling apart!

I need to try harder to do all the prescribed physio exercises to get better. I've been doing them but I also seem to keep aggravating the SI joint every other week.

Connor loves being a big brother!
He loves Liam's soft hair and skin.

With my friend Amie, visiting from Vancouver

The Textbook Baby

2012-04-25T18:52:00.002-07:00

What luck! Liam is so far a textbook baby. Textbook in all the good ways!

He is now 2 months young and his poopys have reduced so that there is none through the night. He also has slept through the night 3 or 4 times - from midnight to 6:30-7:00AM. And after a feeding at that time, he usually sleeps until 9:00AM. When he cries, it is always one of three things: needs food, needs a diaper change, or needs sleep. He can be put down in his bassinet or bouncy chair and he will sleep. He can also self-sooth at times (sucking on his hands/fingers). Basically everything I had read about what babies should do, but Connor never did!

Lucky for Connor because it means we can still focus on this needy boy. :)

Liam is a little bit more interactive now. If you move an object from left to right he will follow it with his eyes. He will "coo" or "agoo" at you - sometimes I feel like we are having a conversation! I think he's a cool little guy.

Oh, and his hair is growing in now!

Connor's Drawings - Little Picaso?

2012-04-24T10:58:00.001-07:00

I am amazed at Connor's drawing and colouring abilities. His control of a pen is much better now, and thus he can draw with a lot more detail. His drawings are very deliberate and structured. His colouring is also much improved - he can colour within the lines very well.

Connor drew this yesterday. He started with the object on the right. He said it was something that needed to go to the hospital. The object on the left is supposed to be a road.

This was last week. See the detail in his drawings!

See how Connor holds the pen?

Connor appears to be ambidextrous, although there is a bit more right-hand use. It's cool when he picks up one pen in each hand and tries to draw or colour at the same time!

Connor's Latest Weigh-in

2012-04-21T13:11:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update on Connor. He finally got weighed at the doctor on March 30 and he's now 15.5 kg (34 lbs) and 37 inches (94 cm) tall. Here his is a few weeks ago looking cool and posing for me.

I found an easy play dough recipe too. Connor loved it and played for 3 hours with the dough! Recipe below, which I found at http://www.craftbits.com/project/baking-angel.

Dough Recipe

3 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of water

Mix the flour and salt. Slowly add the water to the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula until you get a stickier batter. Once the batter is stickier, use your hands to knead the mixture until it becomes dough. Recipe makes quite a large lump of dough. The picture of Connor shows half the amount the recipe makes.

You are supposed to use the dough to create things and then bake it. I didn't do this, but the instructions are to place it on a baking tray and into the oven at 200 deg Celsius for around 20 minutes or until firm and hollow sounding.

Liam, Week 6 Pics

2012-04-19T19:30:00.001-07:00

Week 6 !!

Here are some pics from last week - Liam's week 6. Liam is plumping up very nicely, I think! He feels heavier, looking chunkier, and is fitting into size 3 month clothes too!

In his first few weeks of life, Liam had baby acne. That has finally pretty much cleared up. For the past couple of weeks he appeared to have cradle cap on his eyebrows only (there is a picture of it below). That is also clearing up this week, yay! I don't know if it is a coincidence but both problems started to go away after I applied some coconut oil to his face and his eyebrows (just a little bit, and left it for a while, then wiped it off so that his face isn't all oily). I recently found out that Coconut oil is supposed to have a lot of benefits, including being anti-bacterial.

Last week my friend Helen also visited us. Connor was spoiled once again with lots of books from Helen, and Liam received a nice outfit. Thanks Helen! There's a photo of them below.

Liam has been sleeping GREAT. The last two nights, he slept for more than 6 hours! From midnight to 6:30AM, and midnight to 7:30AM. I was shocked! And a little worried about my milk supply possibly dwindling, if he's not feeding for so long. I'll try not to worry too much about it for now, since Liam seems to be thriving. :D

The two brothers side by side. Do they look alike?

Liam with Helen

Cradle cap on the eyebrows.

Our chunky little dragon baby!

Easter 2012

2012-04-10T16:15:00.001-07:00

Easter is now FUN since Connor can work on simple craft projects. Connor and I made Easter eggs (the last time I've ever made them, if I ever did, was in elementary school). Connor had fun dipping the eggs into the different colours and then adding the Easter stickers that came with the package. Linds and I were pleasantly surprised at how nicely Connor had nicely spaced the stickers on the eggs!

On Sunday we had a turkey brunch at Grandpa Brian's house. Grandma Jackie gifted Connor with goodies, including a chocolate Lindt bunny, a stick of Easter candies, and a couple of Easter toy animals. The Easter egg nests there, I put together myself using oatmeal, peanut butter, honey, almonds, and flaked coconut. As you can see by Connor's huge grin, he was very happy with it all!

Hope you all enjoyed your Easter weekend!

Visit from Grandma Debbie

2012-04-06T13:03:00.002-07:00

We were lucky to have Grandma Debbie visit us last week. She brought Connor new PJs, Spider-man stickers, and a fun CARS toothbrush set. Then they went to the LEGO store to buy a new, huge LEGO set (soooo spoiled that boy is!). Connor picked one that has a two-story building, a police car and more!

Connor and Grandma spent lots of time together in the backyard playing tag, blowing bubbles, having a picnic, and playing with sidewalk chalk. Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy got to leave the house with Liam for a while :D.

First contact...

Sweet hugs


Grandma Debbie made this colourful bib for Liam

Relaxing

Liam's Moon Yuet - One Month Old

2012-03-27T09:33:00.002-07:00

March 24th marked Liam's one-month of life! In Chinese this is "Moon Yuet" which means "Full Month" and traditionally Chinese parents will celebrate this milestone by inviting friends and family for a grand meal.

Here in Toronto we don't have any Chinese relatives, so we just had a quiet celebration at a Chinese restaurant with Grandpa Brian and Grandma Jackie. Well, it wasn't that quiet because there's no such thing as a "quiet" Chinese restaurant! The grandparents did their 'homework' and gifted us a couple of red "licee" lucky money envelopes for Liam. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!


Liam poses for a one-month photo at home to commemorate the occasion. :)

Photoshoot at CA Talent

2012-03-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

I purchased a photoshoot 'deal'. For $99, we get two photoshoots where we'd receive a disk of all the shots. This sounded like a super deal, considering that most photographers will not give you the digital files at all. The company is CA Talent - a talent agency and not a photo studio, but they do some photography. We went for the photoshoot the previous Monday (about 2 weeks ago).

Overall we were not that happy with the shots. Out of about 250 shots, Linds thinks only one or two of them or good as far as lighting conditions go. Many of the shots are blurry and some shots had questionable backgrounds or composition, for example he had us stand in front of a mirror which you can see the photography lights (you can see in some of the shots here) - why would you do that? I was also hoping to get good shots of Liam for his 'announcement' card, and we didn't even get that many shots of just Liam.

Below are a few shots which I found to be OK to show you all. They are definitely better photos than I could take, but I don't think I will take this deal again. We still have one more photoshoot, which Linds says doesn't want to bother with.

Liam, Week 3

2012-03-22T20:04:00.001-07:00

Liam had his third doctor's visit today and he weighed in at 10lbs 8oz! He is in the 85th percentile for boys - this means that 85 percent of 4-week old baby boys in Canada weigh the same as or less than Liam, and 15 percent weigh more. He also gained 1.5cm, his length is now 54.5cm.

I was surprised he is already over 10lbs - no wonder he seems SO heavy to me now (weakling that I am...). He doesn't seem to feed more than what I might think is a lot - it is still changing quite a bit, it ranges from every hour, 2 hours or 3 hours. But he doesn't feed for more than 10-15 minutes usually. He is a good sleeper most of the time. He will actually sleep on his own in his bassinet or in his bouncy chair. He's in Size 1 diapers and no longer fits the Newborn size for about a week now. The NB size sleepers no longer fit him either. He is noticeably chubbier too!

Here are a number of random photos, as I have not posted any for a while here on the blog. The first one, in the car seat, is from today. There is also with Uncle Andrew, who visited us last Friday.

Smile Baby

2012-03-11T13:32:00.001-07:00

Liam is still too young to really smile, but he does crack one every so often. Here I caught a few on camera, while he was sleeping...(dreaming of milk?) :D

According to a Baby Milestone chart from BabyCenter.com, smiling is an 'advanced' skill for a one-month-old baby.

Happy Birthday Kolton!

2012-03-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

My cousin Kolton is 3 years old today! I hope he enjoyed his birthday cupcake from school - his Mom sent me a video to watch.

Cousin Kolton, here is my video birthday greeting for you!!

Sleepyhead Liam

2012-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

Liam had his second weigh-in at the doctor yesterday and he is doing well. Last weigh-in he was 7lb 12oz, and yesterday he was 8lb 3oz which according to the doctor is right on track - she even predicted that, if he gained accordingly (1oz a day, I think she said).

Here is a video from March 4th of Liam being very sleepy and I'm trying to wake him up. This little guy is a GOOD sleeper. No complaints there, but I do have to wake him up to feed every 2-3 hours to keep the milk supply up (the body produces as much as is needed). Note how his legs are crossed and one arm is again near his head. I think this must have been his regular position when he was inside me, as every ultrasound I saw did have one hand near his face and it would make sense that his legs are crossed when he was all curled up inside me.