Happy Baby = Happy Mummy

So this was a big accomplishment for myself and Reid. We went to the mall yesterday! This is not an adventure that I undertake lightly, cause Reid hates his car seat, hates his stroller and hates the car. Making outings hard on us. However, yesterday I was planning on going to Market Mall, and a little snow storm wasn't going to stop us. Not sure if it was cause of the snow coming down, but he seemed a lot calmer in the car. I got all the way from my place to Edmonton Trail on McKnight before I even heard a peep out of him. I thought that I was in for a full blown melt down, as is the norm, but he peeped and then calmed down. No screaming or crying. And no falling asleep. We made it all the way to the mall like that. He was so good at the mall too. He wasn't overly happy about being in his car seat in the stroller while I stood in line at The Gap, so I just picked him up and he was totally content looking around. It also makes for a nice conversation piece cause he's right in everyone's face when I'm holding him. LOL. "Oh, what a cute baby. How old is he?" and on and on like that. He's very strong with his head, so it's funny to see people's reactions when I tell them that he's only 10 weeks. I always say "yeah, he's a big boy". To which a lady commented yesterday that it's better to be big and strong then small and sick. Amen to that.

So we managed to get dad a new shirt yesterday, and Reid got a larger Halo swaddler (that I am so excited about), and mum even got a round of soaps from Bath and Body works. No freak out. By the end of it, I was getting hot and sweaty so I can only imagine how he was feeling. He's a very hot baby on the best of days. I don't know what we are going to do in the summer. No pants all summer long, that's for sure. Had a bit of a freak out in the car when we left the mall, but he was asleep before we even left the parking lot. Amazing!

To add to that, last night he actually had a great sleep. Was it the new Halo sack? I'm not sure, but he slept for four and a half hours, then back again for another two and a half, then for another hour after that. Then I just brought him into bed to snuggle with me until 9!!! Amazing. A happy baby makes my days wonderful!!! I even got him to have two of his four naps in his own crib yesterday. A bit of a fight, but it usually is when it comes to him having a rest. Successful all around. Gotta love that little booger.

And He's Off..

Another two weeks down. They just seem to go by so quickly when Christien is home and then drag along when he's gone. Although I told him this as I was driving him to the airport and he seems to think that the two weeks that he is home does not go by all that quickly and that when he's at work the time flies by. Hmmm.. I think that doing nothing but errands and hanging out for two weeks makes him feel like he's not really getting anything accomplished. Although he did have his buddy Jamie over this weekend, and they sorted out the front lawn, and redid the rotted stairs out front. That's an accomplishment. For me, accomplishments now come in the form of getting Reid to have a decent nap, or making it out to the mall with only a minor meltdown. Also, visiting friends is high on my list of accomplishments, cause I've, unfortunately had to cancel on some "play dates" on account of a screaming, non sleeping baby. Who ever heard of a baby who hates to sleep? Yeesh.

Day Trip

So yesterday Christien, Reid and I decided to just get out and go for a drive. We weren't really sure where we were going or what we wanted to do, we just hit Deerfoot, decided we were going to head South and then just followed whatever signs we thought were funniest. With that being said, we ended up in Vulcan. Ah man, what a funny little town. We stopped in at the visitor center and did find out that Leonard Nemoy is going to be there next weekend. Sucks that we didn't know that ahead of time, or else we would have planned our trip a bit better. I mean, seriously.. meet Leonard Nemoy? That would have been pretty cool. Here are a few shots from our day adventure.

Anyways, it was a funny day. It was cold and snowy out there, which is weird, cause Vulcan is South of Calgary and it was a beautiful day in Calgary yesterday.

We've got company coming in from Victoria tonite. My aunt, Tania and cousin Nicole! Very excited to have them come to visit. Uncle Manfred couldn't make it, cause they have been in Bali for a month, and he had loads of work to catch up on. Too bad, but we'll get to see him when we do out trip out to BC this summer. It is sure shaping up to be a nice weekend too. It's almost warmer outside on the deck then it is in the house right now. We should probably be thinking about getting the lawn chairs washed off so that we can take in some of that sunshine this weekend. I was under the impression that we were going to have rain and possibly snow. Just goes to show you what Calgary weather is all about and how quickly it can change..

Happy Sunny weekend to all!!

My Birthday Wish

I didn't have a cake this year to blow out the candles and make a wish, but I have a wish none the less. I wish for more patience and understanding. Maybe a little less frustration. Not just with baby, but in my life in general. I think that I'm a pretty patient person, maybe. It's unfortunate that I get too caught up in making lists and getting so many things done in the day. It seems like I'm always rushed. Even when I'm having some good down time, my mind is racing about what needs to be done next, and how to accomplish a million things on the way. I want the lists that I make to be there just to remind me to do things (cause right now I need all the reminding that is possible). Like, if I don't get something done on the list, then really, it's not the end of the world. I need the lists to help me remember not to dictate my day.

I need to understand that Reid is 7 weeks old. And I can't expect too much from him. He's still a baby. It's good to have my friends around. Not just the friends who have kids but all of them. When I'm panicking about Reid freaking out and the friends that don't have kids aren't panicking then it just helps me to know that it's normal. Yeah, he might be a bit more of a screamer then other babies, but he's just trying to tell me something. I have to keep remembering that. I know that but sometimes it's hard to comprehend when you have a baby screaming in your face.

We had a bit of a rough day today. I just think that there is something up with Reid. Maybe he's sick? Maybe it's cause of the crazy, wild, wind and snow storm that we had today. He just didn't want to be put down. All his naps today had to be in my arms. I tried everything. Over and over and over again. Nothing worked. The little guy is sleeping on his own right now, but it took all day for this to happen. So we napped together all day today and then at 4:45 he finally woke up. I got him all ready and then tried to get ready for having people over. Thank goodness he was good about napping yesterday and it let me do a bit of cleaning around the house. Just as I was starting to get things ready the power started to flicker, and then proceed to totally go out. For about an hour. When I had something in the oven. And other things that I wanted to put in the oven. People started showing up, soaked from the craziness out there, and we had to basically sit in the semi dark. I managed to find a flashlight and some candles. Amber was in and out of the kitchen when the power would flicker on and off checking on things in the oven. What a gong show. I wish that I was going to Australia with my mother in law this weekend...

All in all, the power eventually did come back on. And we had snacks to eat and the company is always super great. The extra hands and arms to hold baby are always more then welcome. Charlie has always been so great with Reid. Always wanting to kiss and hug him. And Davis is walking now.. So crazy. Baby Cash and Reid just chilled on the blanket together. They are going to grow up to be besties. I hope!! Two of the cutest babies, that's for sure. So thankful to be going through the same thing with somebody. It doesn't make me think that I'm as crazy as I feel.

All in all, it was a nice birthday. Got to spend it with my lovely son, and then my great and wonderful friends. The only thing that was missing was my sweet husband. I'll give up my birthday with Christien knowing that he'll be here for Christmas any day.

Love to you all. Keep warm on this miserable day in April.

Spoke Too Soon

Well, yesterday I thought that I would try another outing seeing as going to Chapters was so successful. This one was not a success. He was pretty good getting into the car seat and stroller again. Except he refused to leave the house with a hat on. HATES hats. We got into Superstore, and even managed to walk around a bit and then the melt down started. It would be much easier to take him out of his stroller and carry him around if he had more control of that darn neck. So it was a huge fit, no controlling it, but I really needed diapers so I just stuck with the screaming baby and walking around, and around and around Superstore till he finally fell asleep. Then I made a be-line for the check out and made it out without another melt down. Got him home, and voila happy baby again. Good lord.

I started reading a book called The Baby Whisperer. At first it made me feel like a horrible mum. Like everything I've been doing was wrong and that we're going to have so much trouble once he gets a bit bigger, trying to break all the "accidental parenting" that we've done. But the more I read, the more I understand. I'm trying a few of the tricks out. First nap that I tried this afternoon with techniques from the book did not go well. He went down. For all of 15 minutes. So I, in frustration, got him up, changed him, fed him and played with him again. Then when I started to see the "cues" I went to put him down for another nap, and there you go.. put himself to sleep and he's been down for about an hour an a half. Go figure that we've actually got somewhere to go tonite and I want him to wake up. Not enough to actually wake him up (never wake a sleeping baby, right), but that would be how it goes hey? Sleeping baby when there is something to do, awake baby when we're just hanging out around the house. Although there is always something to do. With his nap this afternoon I cleaned the bathrooms, swept and tidied up. Yay me!!

Success!

It's funny how all the little things are such major accomplishments in my life now. Reid and I made it safe and sound to and from Edmonton together this weekend. He slept until we hit Edmonton city limits and then just in and out till we got to Ty's place. My heart was beating for the whole three hours. It's scary doing this by yourself. He was great all weekend. Got to meet lots of new people and hang out with uncle Ty, auntie Stacey, grandma and grandpa. Mum and dad hung onto him all day on Friday so that Stacey and I could cook a fabulous Easter dinner. The ride home was great too. He slept till we pulled up in front of the house. Pulling over to nurse him on the side of the road will be much easier when a) Christien is with me and b) we have the new car so that I have the back seat to do that in.

Yesterday was a successful outing too. Small trip to Chapters, but doing that with a guy who hates his car seat, and his stroller, and it's all that fond of the car.. well, it's a big deal. He got into his car seat in the house fine, no fits. I buckled him up, and we were all good still. I put a blanket over him and he even smiled at me. Awake the whole way in the car, but good. No screaming or crying. Had a bit of a melt down once we were in Chapters for about five minutes, but picking him up helped calm him down, then it was back into the stroller, canopies closed and lights out for the little guy. This is nothing short of a small miracle for us. I'm hoping to get some groceries today too. He had a major melt down last week when I did it. Another clerk had to come over and pack up my groceries for me, cause he was screaming his fool head off.

Road Trip

Car is all packed up, just sitting here debating what to do about the finally sleeping baby before heading off to Edmonton, just the two of us. It's already one o'clock and Reid has finally decided to have a nap. I don't want to wake him up, but I also don't want him being wide awake and screaming in the car for the next three hours. I guess that's just what happens when you travel with a baby, or at least when you travel by yourself with a baby. You wait it out until it's going to be a good trip for both of you. That's when you actually have the luxury. We can leave whenever we want to. I'm still a bit nervous about doing this by myself, but I don't have any other choice. Well, I guess my other choice would be to stay here and spend Easter by myself. Either way, we are going to attempt this at some point this afternoon.

Packing for a weekend trip with a baby is crazy too. I don't have any room in the trunk cause of the stroller. And I need to bring that seeing as it's going to be really nice in Edmonton this weekend. Might as well get some vitamin D in this baby, and some fresh air. Maybe that'll help him with his lack of sleep habits. I can't wait for the new car. With a ton of trunk space. And an actual backseat. If I have to feed this guy between Calgary and Edmonton, I have no idea where we are going to do it. The backseat and the front seat are full of our gear. Oh this is going to be an adventure. Maybe I'll head down for a nap too so that I can fully enjoy it.