Well, not really of course.
It's just, I can't count the number of times I've said to a warm little bundle in my arms, "Oh, I could just eat you up!" Or maybe I say Frederick's little toes are so "yummy."
One of my favorite things to do to make Charlotte laugh is pretend like I'm eating her arm or attacking her neck, "Nom, nom, nom, nom."
Really, where does this stuff come from? I know I am not the first to say such things. Fred thinks it's all pretty creepy. Creepy, as in Martha Stewart thought it would be fun to have Halloween show featuring babies in food costumes. Not so much cute as creepy, but the idea must come from somewhere, right?
I love my kids so much, sometimes it really feels like I want to consume them somehow. Not actually eat them, but hold them so close that they just become part of me. Is that because not so very long ago they actually were a part of me? Or maybe they are just so sweet and innocent I just wish that I could capture that somehow.
I am not alone in this, right? Treading this fine line between perfectly normal and creepy, I mean...
Please tell me if I am crazy so I can seek some professional help...you know, before I start nibbling on some of Frederick's toes.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
A Big Boy!
This afternoon Frederick visited the pediatrician. He was such a trooper even though he usually likes to nap the afternoon away (usually). The little man even cooed and smiled at the pediatrician as she was talking to me. It's almost as if he was saying, "Hey, Lady, the cuteness is right here! Talk to me!"
The nurse weighed and measured him - we have a big boy! In the last 7 weeks, since leaving the hospital, he has gained exactly 6 lbs and now weighs 13 lbs 2 oz, landing him in the 90th percentile. The resident who was there with our normal pedi said that I'm doing a good job feeding him. I think he's just doing a good job eating! He's also managed to lengthen out by 3 inches in the past 6 weeks and is now a full 23.5 inches, bumping him up to the 75th percentile. That all wouldn't be quite so crazy, except he started off just around the 25th for both. If he's anything like his sister, he'll end up back at that same percentile at some point, but for now he's my big boy!
Also, apparently the "baby acne" that I thought was just lasting forever is really just a raging case of cradle cap. I didn't know that could extend all over his little face, ears, and chest. She gave me a prescription that I can fill if I need to - it's just an oil with a little bit of steroid. Otherwise, I'm just going to purchase a little dandruff shampoo. Poor kid.
He took his shots like a champ - didn't even make a peep when they gave him the first one. We only did two this visit and will do two next month. He was extra fussy this evening, which for my laid back little boy simply meant that one of us had to hold him while he was awake. Now he's sleeping while we watch the Olympics.
Have I mentioned that Frederick loves to smile and coo? I never knew a 7 week old baby could smile and coo as much as this kiddo. Melts my heart every five minutes and I can hardly get anything done because he just smiles at me all of the time. Of course, I then drop whatever I'm doing to smile and talk to him. He totally has me wrapped around his pinky finger.
The nurse weighed and measured him - we have a big boy! In the last 7 weeks, since leaving the hospital, he has gained exactly 6 lbs and now weighs 13 lbs 2 oz, landing him in the 90th percentile. The resident who was there with our normal pedi said that I'm doing a good job feeding him. I think he's just doing a good job eating! He's also managed to lengthen out by 3 inches in the past 6 weeks and is now a full 23.5 inches, bumping him up to the 75th percentile. That all wouldn't be quite so crazy, except he started off just around the 25th for both. If he's anything like his sister, he'll end up back at that same percentile at some point, but for now he's my big boy!
Also, apparently the "baby acne" that I thought was just lasting forever is really just a raging case of cradle cap. I didn't know that could extend all over his little face, ears, and chest. She gave me a prescription that I can fill if I need to - it's just an oil with a little bit of steroid. Otherwise, I'm just going to purchase a little dandruff shampoo. Poor kid.
He took his shots like a champ - didn't even make a peep when they gave him the first one. We only did two this visit and will do two next month. He was extra fussy this evening, which for my laid back little boy simply meant that one of us had to hold him while he was awake. Now he's sleeping while we watch the Olympics.
Have I mentioned that Frederick loves to smile and coo? I never knew a 7 week old baby could smile and coo as much as this kiddo. Melts my heart every five minutes and I can hardly get anything done because he just smiles at me all of the time. Of course, I then drop whatever I'm doing to smile and talk to him. He totally has me wrapped around his pinky finger.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Missing Facebook
What you might see as my Facebook status updates if I hadn't given it up for Lent. I'm totally in withdrawal.
Elizabeth Sanchez Thanks for the early birthday gift, Frederick. By early, I mean the little impromptu party we had from 2 to 4 this morning.
Elizabeth Sanchez turns 29 today. Yipes!
Elizabeth Sanchez thanks everyone for the birthday wishes :-) and to Fred for being an awesome husband. Jewelry AND a nice dinner out. Yum.
Elizabeth Sanchez misses Facebook.
Elizabeth Sanchez It took MC 6 weeks to realize that baby brother is here to stay. Now, potty training regression. Crossing fingers that I don't have to put her back in diapers and try again later.
Elizabeth Sanchez loves that Frederick loves to smile and coo...even if it is at the ceiling fan...
Elizabeth Sanchez MC in the car, when Fred sneaked in a Norah Jones CD, "This is Charlotte's music!" Excellent, something other than Wee Sing Silly Songs or Veggie Tales in my CD player. I wonder what else I might enjoy that would also be considered "Charlotte's music." This is, of course, whenever I don't have the static on 87.7 blaring to keep Mr. Frederick happy...
Elizabeth Sanchez likes living in Houston because it's always warm here. Well it USED to be, anyway.
Elizabeth Sanchez Charlotte, laying face down on the floor, after I told her Daddy was on an airplane, "I miss my Daddy." I miss him too, baby girl, I miss him too.
The good news? An increase in blog posts :-)
Elizabeth Sanchez Thanks for the early birthday gift, Frederick. By early, I mean the little impromptu party we had from 2 to 4 this morning.
Elizabeth Sanchez turns 29 today. Yipes!
Elizabeth Sanchez thanks everyone for the birthday wishes :-) and to Fred for being an awesome husband. Jewelry AND a nice dinner out. Yum.
Elizabeth Sanchez misses Facebook.
Elizabeth Sanchez It took MC 6 weeks to realize that baby brother is here to stay. Now, potty training regression. Crossing fingers that I don't have to put her back in diapers and try again later.
Elizabeth Sanchez loves that Frederick loves to smile and coo...even if it is at the ceiling fan...
Elizabeth Sanchez MC in the car, when Fred sneaked in a Norah Jones CD, "This is Charlotte's music!" Excellent, something other than Wee Sing Silly Songs or Veggie Tales in my CD player. I wonder what else I might enjoy that would also be considered "Charlotte's music." This is, of course, whenever I don't have the static on 87.7 blaring to keep Mr. Frederick happy...
Elizabeth Sanchez likes living in Houston because it's always warm here. Well it USED to be, anyway.
Elizabeth Sanchez Charlotte, laying face down on the floor, after I told her Daddy was on an airplane, "I miss my Daddy." I miss him too, baby girl, I miss him too.
The good news? An increase in blog posts :-)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Little Picasso
Lately, to our excitement, she's started showing purpose in her drawing too. She loves making these curly cue lines that she calls "wiggles."
Charlotte has also started drawing people. You know, the kind that really look like aliens with multiple arms and legs coming out of a single head.
This one even has hair AND ears. Genius, don't you think?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Easy Baby Boy
Have I ever mentioned that Frederick is an easy baby, especially compared to his high maintenance sister? While she wasn't colicky, she always wanted to be held, and the milk protein allergy didn't help. Our Little Man, while he still has his moments, is easy. The other day I left him alone in his bouncy seat while I helped Charlotte with the potty and came back to find him sound asleep. What a lovely thing do to for his mama! Tonight while getting ready to go out for dinner he just hung out in the middle of our bed, watching the fan and cooing whenever we wandered over to visit him. (Which was often of course, because who doesn't want to visit with a smiling, cooing baby?)
I got a call from the pediatrician tonight. Perfectly normal hips mean that he's sticking to that easy streak.
God is good.
I got a call from the pediatrician tonight. Perfectly normal hips mean that he's sticking to that easy streak.
God is good.
Ultrasound Today
Actually, yesterday. Only because I am typing this at 4:20 in the morning. Driving me nuts. Which is why I'm bouncing his bouncy seat with my foot while I type up a blog post. Great start to my birthday, huh?
Frederick and I traveled down to Texas Children's today for an ultrasound of his hips. While there is no reason to believe that he actually has the same hip problems MC had, hip displaysia has a hereditary link so we are checking anyway. After all of my problems later in life I am not going to risk it. We'll find out sometime today how things look.
It was a quick and easy visit, even if we did walk in the door right on time instead of half an hour early like I'd wanted. It's amazing that an accident on 59 and one wrong turn in the medical center can put you behind by that much! Actually, due to the lack of time (and that they'd threatened to cancel my appointment if I showed up any later than 30 minutes before the appointment time), I didn't even bother hauling the stroller out of the car but instead slipped Freddy into my Hotsling. In a building where every kid under the age of three seems to be in a stroller, I felt a little out of place, but also so much less burdened. Plus, if I'd kept him in his car seat, I would have had to strap him in and unhook him several times. If anything, I love my Hotsling even more this time around.
We'd hoped to swing by and see Jeannette, who works at TCH, before our appointment but had to swing by afterwords. It was great to see her. While we were there she weighed the little man for me; 12 lbs 14 oz fully clothed with a dry diaper. Amazing, huh? Yet he still doesn't have the crazy tootsie rolls that MC had at this age. It will be interesting to see how long he is.
He finally fell asleep a few minutes ago, so I'm posting this and going back to sleep...but not for long :-(.
Frederick and I traveled down to Texas Children's today for an ultrasound of his hips. While there is no reason to believe that he actually has the same hip problems MC had, hip displaysia has a hereditary link so we are checking anyway. After all of my problems later in life I am not going to risk it. We'll find out sometime today how things look.
It was a quick and easy visit, even if we did walk in the door right on time instead of half an hour early like I'd wanted. It's amazing that an accident on 59 and one wrong turn in the medical center can put you behind by that much! Actually, due to the lack of time (and that they'd threatened to cancel my appointment if I showed up any later than 30 minutes before the appointment time), I didn't even bother hauling the stroller out of the car but instead slipped Freddy into my Hotsling. In a building where every kid under the age of three seems to be in a stroller, I felt a little out of place, but also so much less burdened. Plus, if I'd kept him in his car seat, I would have had to strap him in and unhook him several times. If anything, I love my Hotsling even more this time around.
We'd hoped to swing by and see Jeannette, who works at TCH, before our appointment but had to swing by afterwords. It was great to see her. While we were there she weighed the little man for me; 12 lbs 14 oz fully clothed with a dry diaper. Amazing, huh? Yet he still doesn't have the crazy tootsie rolls that MC had at this age. It will be interesting to see how long he is.
He finally fell asleep a few minutes ago, so I'm posting this and going back to sleep...but not for long :-(.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Randomess
It's official, we now have a smiling AND cooing baby. Love it!
Sleeping babies rock socks. Frederick often sleeps a 4-5 hours stretch at night...unfortunately, that stretch usually begins at 9 pm, not helping me out a whole lot. Just now he slept from 5-8:30 pm. Great for eating dinner in peace. Not so great for getting to bed early tonight. He did flash me some huge smiles when he woke up, though.
Our friend Connie directed us to a website that has little activities for each letter of the alphabet. Charlotte eats it up, which is great, because everything else we've tried with letters seems to bore her to death. Unfortunately, she hasn't yet mastered how to use a mouse (it's the first time we've given her one to use), so we have to play with her. Not a bad thing, but after an hour of looking at letters, my mind becomes mush. And "playing letters" is always at the top of her to do list.
Charlotte suddenly went from being amazingly potty trained to massive regression that includes a tantrum when given either the option of sitting on the potty or wearing a diaper instead of her precious panties. When she DOES finally sit on the potty, I find her panties are just slightly wet already. Freddy is 6 weeks old; I thought we were in the clear on that one. Totally baffled on how exactly to handle this one, folks.
Sleep deprivation makes me do crazy things like leave eggs out of my bread dinner roll recipe even though it is right in front of me, forget MC's nap mat for MDO, lose track of my cell phone for whole days at a time, go to Target and forget to buy 2 of the 3 items on my list yet somehow still spend $40, and much, much more. Will be so nice to feel clear headed again.
Charlotte has started drawing pictures that look like more than just scribble. She now draws "wiggles," smiley faces, and crazy people with arms and legs coming out of their heads. She'll also make a bunch of random dots on a page and then connect them all together. I will take a photo of some of her recent pieces and add it soon. It's the kind of artwork that only a parent can be proud of, but after 18 months of scribbles, I can't help but be excited!
The Olympics are awesome to watch, but always present a late night conflict of interest. I just now got excited because there are 3 pairs of figure skaters left to go in the competition...and then they cut away to everything else that's happened today and I'm still waiting for the skaters to finish. Really, I should be sleeping since Freddy just went down.
Sleeping babies rock socks. Frederick often sleeps a 4-5 hours stretch at night...unfortunately, that stretch usually begins at 9 pm, not helping me out a whole lot. Just now he slept from 5-8:30 pm. Great for eating dinner in peace. Not so great for getting to bed early tonight. He did flash me some huge smiles when he woke up, though.
Our friend Connie directed us to a website that has little activities for each letter of the alphabet. Charlotte eats it up, which is great, because everything else we've tried with letters seems to bore her to death. Unfortunately, she hasn't yet mastered how to use a mouse (it's the first time we've given her one to use), so we have to play with her. Not a bad thing, but after an hour of looking at letters, my mind becomes mush. And "playing letters" is always at the top of her to do list.
Charlotte suddenly went from being amazingly potty trained to massive regression that includes a tantrum when given either the option of sitting on the potty or wearing a diaper instead of her precious panties. When she DOES finally sit on the potty, I find her panties are just slightly wet already. Freddy is 6 weeks old; I thought we were in the clear on that one. Totally baffled on how exactly to handle this one, folks.
Sleep deprivation makes me do crazy things like leave eggs out of my bread dinner roll recipe even though it is right in front of me, forget MC's nap mat for MDO, lose track of my cell phone for whole days at a time, go to Target and forget to buy 2 of the 3 items on my list yet somehow still spend $40, and much, much more. Will be so nice to feel clear headed again.
Charlotte has started drawing pictures that look like more than just scribble. She now draws "wiggles," smiley faces, and crazy people with arms and legs coming out of their heads. She'll also make a bunch of random dots on a page and then connect them all together. I will take a photo of some of her recent pieces and add it soon. It's the kind of artwork that only a parent can be proud of, but after 18 months of scribbles, I can't help but be excited!
The Olympics are awesome to watch, but always present a late night conflict of interest. I just now got excited because there are 3 pairs of figure skaters left to go in the competition...and then they cut away to everything else that's happened today and I'm still waiting for the skaters to finish. Really, I should be sleeping since Freddy just went down.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Little Boy Smiles
Frederick is just about the cutest thing ever.
Don't you think?
This picture is from last week when he first started smiling, but this kid is busting at the seams with smiles (when he's not sleeping). You don't even have to smile first for him to flash one of his toothless grins. Sometimes he'll smile when I'm just talking to him, but my favorite smile comes after I touch his nose really quickly and say, "boop!" Somehow he finds that very amusing.
He's a pretty easy going kid. He's weaved himself into a predictable pattern that includes sleeping in until nearly 9 am, a short morning nap, sleeping most of the afternoon and early evening, awake for a little while, and then down again for 3-4 hours, then 2-3 hours, then he doesn't seem to want to STAY asleep, waking every 10-60 minutes, especially if Mommy was the one to lay him in his crib. Daddy can get him down on the first try though! Go figure that one out. He's pretty happy curled up next to Mommy, too, so he's been sleeping with me the last few hours before it's time to get up for the day.
It's hard to believe he's nearly 6 weeks old! Where has the time gone?
Don't you think?
This picture is from last week when he first started smiling, but this kid is busting at the seams with smiles (when he's not sleeping). You don't even have to smile first for him to flash one of his toothless grins. Sometimes he'll smile when I'm just talking to him, but my favorite smile comes after I touch his nose really quickly and say, "boop!" Somehow he finds that very amusing.
He's a pretty easy going kid. He's weaved himself into a predictable pattern that includes sleeping in until nearly 9 am, a short morning nap, sleeping most of the afternoon and early evening, awake for a little while, and then down again for 3-4 hours, then 2-3 hours, then he doesn't seem to want to STAY asleep, waking every 10-60 minutes, especially if Mommy was the one to lay him in his crib. Daddy can get him down on the first try though! Go figure that one out. He's pretty happy curled up next to Mommy, too, so he's been sleeping with me the last few hours before it's time to get up for the day.
It's hard to believe he's nearly 6 weeks old! Where has the time gone?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Big Sister
Friday the sun finally peaked out from behind the clouds, so Charlotte, Frederick, and I went outside to play. I took some awesome pictures of our Big Sister.
She's an awesome big sister, too. While there is some jealousy, no doubt, she definitely doesn't show any of it towards her baby brother. She wants to hold him all. of. the. time. Which, now that we've worked out a boppy/pillow support system, has worked out really great. It even frees up my hands so I can clean up a little or fold laundry while staying close by just in case MC starts to get fidgety.
The other day Fred was changing Frederick's diaper and I could hear them on the baby monitor. Frederick was crying and I could hear Charlotte saying, "It's o-kaay. It's o-kaay. I know. I know." over and over again in the sweetest consoling voice that never changed.
She jumps up and runs to see why Frederick is crying the instant he gets upset. She reached him ahead of me the other day and said, "Shhh, it's all right. I'm here."
She's awesome at giving the bouncy seat a little extra bounce when he's fussy and at helping me keep a pacifier in his mouth. Whenever he stops crying, she proclaims, "He stop cryin'! I make him feel better."
Do I have a keeper, or what?
What was Frederick doing while we played, you ask?
He looked at the trees a little, but mostly, he slept.
Meanwhile his sister bossed me around, slid down the slide,
and showed off her mad counting skills.
It was a good day.
She jumps up and runs to see why Frederick is crying the instant he gets upset. She reached him ahead of me the other day and said, "Shhh, it's all right. I'm here."
She's awesome at giving the bouncy seat a little extra bounce when he's fussy and at helping me keep a pacifier in his mouth. Whenever he stops crying, she proclaims, "He stop cryin'! I make him feel better."
Meanwhile his sister bossed me around, slid down the slide,
and showed off her mad counting skills.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
1 month
Our little man is a whole month old today.
Today I was going to take pictures, but my camera and it's battery (now charged) have been separated and that seems to cause major problems for me every time I've left the house the last couple of days.
I put him on the scale on Monday and he weighed just under 11 lbs. That's almost 4 lbs in a month. He still loves to nurse every 2 hours and if I'm lucky he'll give me a 4 hour stretch at night. I think I've been lucky twice. After that one 3-4 hour stretch, he's still up every 2 hours, so that explains my lack of posting. Then he guzzles so fast that he swallows air that he doesn't want to stay awake long enough to burp out. Then he wakes up crying 10 minutes later to be burped. I'm lucky if he's back down and out an hour after he woke up, only for him to wake up an hour later for that like-clockwork feeding. Honestly? I wake up with a little energy but am just beat at the end of the day.
It may sound crazy, but I usually get up and put on make up every morning. It makes me feel put together, somehow, even if I just throw on concealer, mascara, and lip balm. Yesterday I failed to put on any makeup, but I was just going to my mom's house. Of course, I saw one of her friends for the first time since Freddy was born and her comment was, "you really look tired." That's the first time I've had anyone say anything other than, "you look great!" But I am tired. Way much more so than I was with Charlotte.
Charlotte, by the way, is a great big sister and a big help to me, when she's not causing hurricane-like wreckage in another room. She's mostly potty trained (poor girl, that would have received a huge praise post before) but that can be hard as she declares that she needs to "tinkle" as soon as my hands are full of screaming or nursing baby. Lovely. I learned the hard way that I can't trust her to take herself to the restroom if I am busy with the baby. It's been quite the experience!
Frederick has started smiling big grins at just about everyone. I love those little baby smiles! He has smiling eyes too; they are precious. I'm so lucky that both of my babies started smiling early. It makes it easier to endure the long nights when I wake up to baby smiles.
Freddy already enjoys spending time on his play mat, so long as I can keep MC from climbing on top of him. Some days he'll be fussy and calm right down once I lay him down and give him some freedom. I've already caught him staring at a dangling toy as he knocks it with his hand. His arm movements look so spastic that it's hard to believe it's intentional, except that he hits it again and again as he looks so focused on it. MC didn't get to that until she was much older.
For all the lack of sleeping I'm getting, this kid actually likes to sleep during the day. After a daughter that would rarely nap more than half an hour at a time, a kiddo who take real naps totally makes my day. I hope it keeps up!
I'll post pictures soon. For now, I'm off to bed.
Today I was going to take pictures, but my camera and it's battery (now charged) have been separated and that seems to cause major problems for me every time I've left the house the last couple of days.
I put him on the scale on Monday and he weighed just under 11 lbs. That's almost 4 lbs in a month. He still loves to nurse every 2 hours and if I'm lucky he'll give me a 4 hour stretch at night. I think I've been lucky twice. After that one 3-4 hour stretch, he's still up every 2 hours, so that explains my lack of posting. Then he guzzles so fast that he swallows air that he doesn't want to stay awake long enough to burp out. Then he wakes up crying 10 minutes later to be burped. I'm lucky if he's back down and out an hour after he woke up, only for him to wake up an hour later for that like-clockwork feeding. Honestly? I wake up with a little energy but am just beat at the end of the day.
It may sound crazy, but I usually get up and put on make up every morning. It makes me feel put together, somehow, even if I just throw on concealer, mascara, and lip balm. Yesterday I failed to put on any makeup, but I was just going to my mom's house. Of course, I saw one of her friends for the first time since Freddy was born and her comment was, "you really look tired." That's the first time I've had anyone say anything other than, "you look great!" But I am tired. Way much more so than I was with Charlotte.
Charlotte, by the way, is a great big sister and a big help to me, when she's not causing hurricane-like wreckage in another room. She's mostly potty trained (poor girl, that would have received a huge praise post before) but that can be hard as she declares that she needs to "tinkle" as soon as my hands are full of screaming or nursing baby. Lovely. I learned the hard way that I can't trust her to take herself to the restroom if I am busy with the baby. It's been quite the experience!
Frederick has started smiling big grins at just about everyone. I love those little baby smiles! He has smiling eyes too; they are precious. I'm so lucky that both of my babies started smiling early. It makes it easier to endure the long nights when I wake up to baby smiles.
Freddy already enjoys spending time on his play mat, so long as I can keep MC from climbing on top of him. Some days he'll be fussy and calm right down once I lay him down and give him some freedom. I've already caught him staring at a dangling toy as he knocks it with his hand. His arm movements look so spastic that it's hard to believe it's intentional, except that he hits it again and again as he looks so focused on it. MC didn't get to that until she was much older.
For all the lack of sleeping I'm getting, this kid actually likes to sleep during the day. After a daughter that would rarely nap more than half an hour at a time, a kiddo who take real naps totally makes my day. I hope it keeps up!
I'll post pictures soon. For now, I'm off to bed.
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