The cow has retired

I think I officially am done with providing Trey with breast milk.  I wanted to say I am officially done with breastfeeding or nursing, but that happened a few weeks ago when Trey refused to nurse.  Since then I have been dropping pump sessions, and today is the first day that I haven't pumped.  I think the cow has officially retired.

I am feeling a little more melancholy about this than I anticipated.  I think it is partly because Trey is no longer a wee baby relying on me for nourishment and partly because he is moving out of his infant stage.   We haven't decided yet whether we will have a second baby, so this makes Trey leaving the baby stage even harder.

I am also feeling a little neurotic about Trey's eating (I am blaming any current neurosis or emotional instability on my weaning and changing hormones).  Today he has hardly eaten anything.  I feel like I'm in a food slump and can't figure out what to feed him.  Then when I do feed him something new, he often has a nasty diaper soon after so I am paranoid that he is having reactions to the food.  My poor sister, a stellar registered dietitian, is probably very sick of my phone calls and questions.

And then there's his legs.  Although today I found out it is his arms and trunk too.  Trey apparently has low muscle tone which has caused him to have some delays in his gross motor skills.  We have been keeping an eye on this for almost four months (a long time for an anxious special educator mother if I do say so myself) and today I took him to his first physical therapy appointment.  I thought I was just supposed to be worried about him not using his legs to bear weight, but now I find that he has all sorts of other muscles he isn't using either.  She gave us a list of activities to do to help and we go back in two weeks.  I am sure lucky to have Randy to help with these exercises because this is not a strength of mine (causing my child any discomfort OR exercising - ha!).

On Monday we went to visit Kjersten and Nolan at the park.  It was one of those Oregon spring days where the sky was blue so it seemed like it should be warm, but it was really quite chilly.   So chilly, in fact, that we left and went to Kjersten's house instead.

On Wednesday Trey got to ride in a grocery cart for the first time.  I thought he would be super fussy because he had a crappy nap day at daycare, but he was thrilled!  Smiled and was enthralled with everything around him for the whole trip.  And he was pretty cute to boot!

My sister Julie is having a pretty awesome spring.  Currently, she and her husband, Tim, are in Maui for a surprise birthday trip.  Tim kept the trip a secret for three months and they flew out yesterday morning for Julie's 32nd birthday.  What a guy!  Also, Julie and Tim are expecting their first baby in October!!!!  So so so excited to have a niece or nephew and can't wait for Trey to have a cousin!

Loving our bobblehead

We have had a busy few weeks at the Clark house.  Randy and I are figuring out how to do this two working parent gig and managing pretty well overall if I do say so myself.  The days feel really long and there is no rest for the weary, but we are working hard at raising our son, maintaining our household, and keeping our sanity.  It is exhausting, but it is a lot of fun!

Trey recently had his nine month well visit.  His current stats are 11th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for height, and 73rd percentile for head circumference.  Randy said we have ourselves a little bobblehead.  Trey and I love our pediatrician so much that we decided to make a second visit the following week.  Thanks to daycare and I also think the OMSI infant area, Trey was sick off and on for two weeks.  After a weekend of fever, I decided to call the doctor and we went in for a visit.  We got my favorite answer: "I don't know what's wrong with him."  I think maybe Trey just wanted to spend a few more days at home and not go to daycare.  Luckily, he is on the mend now, but I expect after another week or two at daycare we will be back for round two.  Oh well...

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks with a little commentary:

Trey and his buddy Camille (Mindy's daughter)

Camille was born 10 days after Trey and they have been getting to know each other since they were just a few months old.

Trey getting some love from Tango

Our friends Jen and Steve moved away from Portland in December.  It is still hard to believe that they are really gone.  Steve came back for a visit in the middle of March, and it was really good to catch up.  One night we went to dinner with him and the Kopplins at Hopworks.

 Trey just waking up from a quick nap in the car 

Neil and Steve 

Sarah and Kai

Randy's parents, Doug and Carmen, came to visit us at the end of March.  I was super excited about Trey spending some time with his grandparents.  They live in Riverside, California, so we only see them a few times a year which is just not enough.  We had a great time with them and also got to enjoy our Saturday with Randy's brother, Bob, and his family.  Bob and Lisa drove down from Seattle for the day with their kids, Sara, Caleb, and Amy.  It was Lisa, Sara, and Amy's first time meeting Trey and we were so happy to have them here.  I love family so much and it was heartwarming to have them all in our house together for the first time.  

Grandpa Doug and Trey chillin' out

On Friday we took Doug and Carmen to OMSI to see the Egypt exhibit.  This was right up Doug's alley, and he enjoyed seeing how the artifacts were exhibited and was able to get some ideas for his own work. 

Randy showing Trey some pyramid blocks

Trey playing in the infant area.  I suspect that the little pile of spit up I found in this ball area right at Trey's feet is what gave him the stomach bug. Yuck.

Trey got a kick out of ringing the bells.

 

Grandma Carmen and Trey looking at something at OMSI

 Trey with his grandparents

 Sweetness personified

Trey and Cousin Caleb.  I told Trey that someday Caleb will show him the ways of the world.  We will be lucky if Trey turns out like Caleb because Caleb is an awesome kid.   

Trey with Cousin Sara - too bad she doesn't live closer because I bet she would be a fabulous babysitter!

Trey in the midst of teething and chewing on his finger.  He now has two teeth on the bottom and two chompers on the top - but not the two middle top teeth...the two teeth on the sides of those.  He's going to look pretty awesome once they come down more.  My pediatrician actually laughed out loud when she saw them. 

Trey with Aunt Lisa and Cousin Amy

Amy getting her turn too

Amy was very helpful in watching over Trey while he ate his lunch

Doug and Carmen's grandkids!
Caleb was torturing Amy a little bit hence the fists.

The whole Clark family!
Randy, Kristin, Trey (9 months), Sara (almost 15), Lisa, Amy (almost 6),
Bob, Caleb (8), Doug, and Carmen

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa before they leave for CA.

Playing with new toys from the cousins.  We hit the jackpot!

Randy and I have tried hard over the last 9 months to keep up some semblance of our normal lives.  I think we've done a decent job even though we are home by 630-7 most nights and have to coordinate our schedules for the first time ever.  While on one hand I am a little sad that Trey is moving out of the baby stage, on the other I am super excited about all of the adventures to come.  

Happy hour at Breakside - both my boys have their treats.

Lunch with Aunt Nyree

Trey spent last weekend fighting a fever, having the runs, and teething all at the same time.  It was awesome.  I went to get some frozen yogurt and get some baby supplies at Target and came back to this. Randy said that Trey was doing fine but every time Randy tried to move closer to him, Trey would start to cry.  This picture cracked me up.  

Sunday was just as painful.  The only way we could get Trey to not whine or cry was to either stand up and hold him or bring him outside.   

I introduced Trey to the tupperware drawer this week.  What I discovered is that it's just another thing to guard from Tango.  I left the drawer slightly open one day when we were gone, so, of course, Tango decided to eat some of the bowls.  #$%$#$##&&*^%!!!!!!

Trey's first time in the swing at our neighborhood park.

Randy said he thought this was a cute picture, but I look at it and for the first time see myself aging.  

Another first!  This morning I made Trey scrambled eggs for breakfast and he seemed to enjoy them. He even fed himself little pieces of egg.

A few final thoughts:
Just got a card in the mail from my dad's sister, Eda.  She said that she has renamed Trey as "Little Gerts" because Trey reminds her of my dad when he was little.  Eda is the last family member we have from my dad's side, and I value her memories of the past so much.

I notice from looking at these pictures that Trey wears a lot of stripes.

Also, Trey has decided that he is done with nursing.  Glad that it was his choice but wasn't quite ready to stop.  Just marks another milestone and shows us that our boy is becoming less and less of a baby and more of a little boy.  REALLY liking not having to pump at work anymore though...

Some live action

I know some of you who read this are far away and may not even have met Trey yet.  That's one of the reasons I am posting these silly videos that don't show much.

Here's another short video of Trey at the Children's Museum today.  I love how when watching it back it almost sounds as if we are having a conversation.

Randy's parents come tomorrow and I'm sure I will have lots of pictures to post after their visit.  Stay tuned...

The inevitable has occurred

Here is our budding rockstar playing his xylophone for the first time.  His mad skills have improved since this video, but you can see that he has natural talent!

Well, the inevitable has happened.  Trey was in daycare for a grand total of two weeks before getting sick. We have been spending the last several days trying to help him feel better, but there's not much we can do for his bad cough and runny nose.  It is heartbreaking to listen to him at night coughing in his crib.

I got a lot of tips from my friends on Facebook on how to help him and right now my favorites are the Vicks Baby Rub on the bottom of the feet, chest, and back; the baby Tylenol and ibuprofen; the humidifier; the Snot Sucker; and the Boogie Wipes.  I have tried the steamy bathroom and the California Baby bubble bath, but I don't think those did much for him.  I elevated his mattress too much at first and the poor guy kept sliding down to the bottom.  We adjusted that so now it's better.  I have the saline drops but haven't used those yet.  I think what is sucking the most right now is that I am sick and I think Randy is on his way.   I was wondering if there is any way to train your son from an early age to not fall victim to the man cold...

Trey has been using his walker to get around the house and I am realizing that babyproofing (or at least getting things out of his reach) is in the near future. (Look closely at this picture.)

Also, we often put Trey in his Bumbo seat in front of the aquarium for a few minutes at a time, especially when we are getting ready to leave the house and need to have two free hands.  I learned last week that leaving Trey unsupervised in his seat is no longer an option unless I move Randy's basket of fishing goodies to a different spot on the table.  

Last week we went up to the Firehouse for happy hour.  It is such fun to be able to put Trey in a high chair and give him something to eat while we eat.  I can't believe how fast he's growing!  

On Monday, Trey reverted to his status of Nap Resister.  He was sick and so very very tired, so I went to my last resort and drove.  I drove down to Salem to see my dad and Sandy for lunch.  When Trey is tired, he usually falls asleep within 10 minutes of being in the car.  He was a top notch Nap Resister on Monday because he made it all the way to Salem and through lunch without falling asleep.  Granted, on the way home, he was asleep before we even hit the freeway.  Thank God.  

Last but not least, I got my garden started last weekend.  Randy helped me get the soil ready, and I planted pea seeds, lettuce, and kale.  I have actually never eaten kale before, but I was so excited to get things in the ground that I thought I would give it a shot.  

Filled with love

8 1/2 months old

Highlights of the past few weeks:

- Trey's first two teeth have arrived!  They have finally broken through and are so cute!

- Trey has started sitting in high chairs in restaurants

and in the stroller facing forward. 

These two events make him seem like such a big boy!

- Trey really likes fish.  Go figure.  He loves sitting in front of the aquarium at our house, and last weekend we took him to the Wet Spot where he was thrilled with all of the fish in the aquariums.

- Trey (and I) survived the first week of daycare.  Over the three days he was in daycare, his napping increased and my crying decreased, so I think it was a success overall.  I like having him around other kids during the day and they are exposing him to new foods expanding our repertoire at home.  On Thursday night after three days in daycare, he slept for 13 hours and took two naps on Friday totaling 3.5 hours which meant 16.5 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period - a personal best for Trey.

Here he is super happy after all of his sleep!

- I think that now that Randy and I are both working we are enjoying and appreciating our time together as a family even more than before.  On Saturday we went to Bridgeport with Kris for lunch.  (Sidenote:  If I had a quarter for every time I have heard the same old sob story from Kris and Randy about the devastation of the Bridgeport remodel and how it is just not the same, I would be rich.)  Lunch followed my morning with Julie that included donuts and pedicures and preceded our dinner at Breakside with Jason and Stefanie.  Overall, it was a really great Saturday!

This picture of Kris with Sophie just cracks me up...

- Now that I am getting into the swing of working parttime and being home Friday to Monday, I am trying to get back to my playdates.  Here is Trey with Oliver, Dyer's son.  Oliver was born two weeks after Trey (actually, on Trey's due date of 7/1) but is much bigger than him.  We met at a local cafe that is kid friendly called Posie's Cafe.  They have the most delicious chocolate chip cookies ever, and I can't stop thinking about them.  Actually, when I met Dyer there last week, I chose the place primarily for the cookies and I was super disappointed when they were all gone.  

- Overall, I am just loving Trey's personality.  I love his babbling, I love his smiles, and I love his curiosity.  I love cuddling with him, playing with him on the bed, and reading stories in the recliner or rocking chair.  I love watching him in the high chair amusing himself while I prepare his meals, and I love watching him on the changing table trying his hardest to twist and turn and get anything that is just out of reach.  I love his little hand resting on my forearm or my hand, and I love when he cuddles up on my shoulder when I am holding him.  I love watching him watch his father, and I love the expressions on his face when he is entertained by or engaged with Randy.   I never thought I would enjoy my time with a baby so much, but I just love spending time with him.  Maybe this will change, but right now I don't even miss my old life.  I just love being Trey's mom so much and LOVE my time with him.