Can a Baby Keep a Secret?

03/22/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Avery: Dad, why do you always have that thing in front of your face while making silly noises at me?

Me: I’m sorry, Avery, I didn’t know it bothered you so much. This thing is called a camera and it is used to take pictures of things. In my case, I love taking many pictures of you because you are just sooooo beautiful!

Avery: A camera, huh? How does it take pictures?

Me: Well, this is a DLSR camera and images it captures are saved to a memory card inside the camera. Here’s a quick description from the How It Works website:

“A DSLR (digital single-lens reﬂex) camera employs a mechanical mirror system that directs the light travelling through the attached lens upwards at a 90 degree angle allowing the photographer to compose the shot through the viewﬁnder. As the shutter button is pressed the exposure takes place: the mirror swings out of the way and the shutter opens allowing the lens to project the light on to the image sensor.”

Avery: I just pooped.

Me: Oh crap……ha ha, pun intended. Okay, bad joke, let me get you changed. How about that blue cloth diaper you seem to love so much in this picture?

Avery: Dad, you’re the one who likes that diaper so much. But sure, I’ll take it if it will make you happy.

Me: No, not really.

Avery: Oh…….

Me: Okay, all changed into a dry diaper! And about what I said, I was just kidding, you ALWAYS make me happy!

Avery: Really? Phew, I was getting a little sad. You and Mommy make me happy too. Except when you put me on my stomach…..I despise that.

Me: Yeah, Daddy just likes to joke around a lot. You may as well get used to it now because I’ll only get worse as you get older. But, you and I can work together to get mommy really good! Plus, Mommy is the one who always wants you on your tummy.

Avery: Hmmm, I don’t know if she’d like that. Oh, and I know it’s you always saying “It’s Tummy Time” right before bed when I’m already exhausted from crying and sitting in my chair. So don’t blame Mommy you meany. Are you sure it’s not bad for us to play jokes on Mom?

Me: Of course not! It’s all for fun and games and mommy loves games! But, you have to promise not to tell her when we have something planned. Can you keep a secret?

Avery: I won’t say a word.

Me: Okay, good, thank you. Also, there will be times when you do something for the first time while mommy is working, but we have to keep those a secret too. So, when mommy is home and you do that thing again, we will act like it’s the first time. Then, everyone is happy, okay?

Avery: Mmmmm, I don’t know. What’s in it for me?

Me: Well, maybe I’ll do less Tummy Time when you are already extremely tired.

Avery: Seriously, that’s all you have to offer? Weak.

Me: Okay, okay, I know that’s a lot of secrets…… How about Mommy and I extend bath time and I won’t wrap you in a swaddle where your arms can’t move anymore?

Avery: Yes, that is a lot of secrets, but okay, my lips are covered. Literally, see?

Me: Ha ha, I like your sense of humor. I wonder where you get that from? At least secrets aren’t lies though; lies are bad and we don’t tell lies in this house.

Avery: Yeah, no lies, not telling those to Mommy.

Me: Okay, thanks again sweetheart. Now hold on, I need to get something in the kitchen but I’ll be right back.

Avery: Hey Mom, guess what dad said!!

Parenting

A Walking Revelation, Darth Vader Sweat, and Avery in a Zippy

03/21/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

So, I had a revelation while walking with Avery and Abby. Since Avery never has much input and Abby is just looking for a place to poop, I’m usually alone with my thoughts during the 1+ hour long walk. Today, I thought of how much I used to dread work and couldn’t stand to be sitting (ha ha, that’s funny) inside. Poor Kelley, she had to listen to me complain about the same thing almost on a daily basis! Sorry, Kelley.

But now I’m here, raising our precious daughter and staying out of an office setting. Sure it’s hard work, but one look at Avery and I know it’s well worth it. Plus, I’m really hoping she’ll be nice and not put Kelley and me in a crappy nursing home one day.

Then, in thinking of the future, I realized I need to cherish each and every walk I take with Avery in the carrier and everything else we do together. Because one day, she’ll suddenly be fully grown and off doing her own thing. It’s the bittersweet fact all parents know is inevitable; our babies grow up.

Sometimes it takes deep thought before you realize the obvious, and today it just hit me. I know I’ll have to remind myself many more times, but as parents, we should make it a point to enjoy the time with our little ones as much as possible. That’s the best advice I’ve ever received and will ever give. I love our little family and will forever hold it dear to my heart!

Today’s walk was very warm with the high in the 80’s, and windy too. I sweat a lot, and poor Avery had to be right up against my stomach and chest. But, I made good use of the handy hood on the Onya Outback and she didn’t mind one bit. As a matter of fact, Avery slept almost the entire walk which lasted over an hour today.

Once we returned home, Avery was startled awake by splashing sound while I used the restroom. Hey, it’s a part of life, and I like to share it! I took my well rested but slightly damp with sweat daughter out of the Outback and went to the sink to splash my face with cool water. But, before I turned on the water, I was surprised to see my giant sweat mark from carrying Avery beared semblance to Darth Vader.

The force sweat is strong with this one. — The ~~force~~ sweat is strong with this one.

Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, just about as cool as my Dos Equis bike socks I wore for the walk….

Despite her mobile slumber, Avery didn’t last too long before getting cranky again. We just received a swaddle transition blanket called a Zippy from the very kind Stephanie at Zipadee-Zip. Stephanie sent us 2 beautiful Zippys to use for Avery and I will post a review in the near future.

Kelley has been pushing to stop swaddling Avery, but I’ve been reluctant since I worry her constant arm movement will disrupt sleep. But, Kelley is right to want to transition Avery out of the swaddle since she’s starting to roll over now.

Anyway, I decided to give a shot for a quick afternoon nap. I couldn’t help but do a photo session before trying to get her to sleep though. Isn’t she just even more adorable in this thing?

After rocking with Avery for about 20 minutes, she finally dozed off and I laid her in her crib.

30 minutes later and she was awake, but that’s how most of her afternoon naps are anyway. We aren’t using the Zippy for nighttime quite yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as we do.

Our neighborhood friend has one for his little girl and nicknamed her “Patrick” from the Sponge Bob cartoon. Now I get why, they look like starfish! I love it, and Kelley didn’t want to take it off of her when she got home.

I’m thankful the weekend is hear and my faithful companion, Going Mom, will be here with us for 2 full days. I’m looking forward to spending quality time with my two girls as usual, and I hope you enjoy your time as well!

Total time in the Onya Outback = 1.5 hours / ~4.5 miles

Onya Notes: today I used the chest clip instead of crossing the straps and am not sure how I feel about it. Crossing the straps feels more secure, but I do like putting Avery in the carrier better when the chest clip is used. I’ll have to test this more and report back.

Do you ever have to remind yourself of things more than once?

Have you tried the Zippy or another swaddle transition alternative?

Parenting

The 4 Month Checkup and Avery Might be Taller than Us

03/20/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Don’t you just love taking your baby to the doctor knowing full well they’re about to get poked with those monstrous needles? Yeah, me either….

Just so happens that’s what I did with Avery this morning! Her delayed visit became the present and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t happy. I could ramble on and on about her visit, but I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.

Feeling pretty good today and Daddy is just taking pictures of me in my car seat.

Wait a second……why am I in my car seat?

W-wh-what is this building? There’s no food here!

Noooo! I smell a doctor’s office and Daddy is looking at me with apologetic eyes!! Oh, I just pooped a little.

I’m not going to stop this until Daddy takes me back home now!! No, don’t take me in another room!

Hmm, my hand is pretty good and I’m quite flexible…

Oh, okay, Daddy just took me to hang out in this room while I work on my hand.

What the!?! That was the worst feeling ever! Daddy, you are now my arch nemesis!!

Seriously, where is Mommy? And why am I still crying with my thumb in my mouth? Self-soothing my diaper rash!

I feel a little tired now, maybe I’ll just rest my ey….

And that was our trip to the doctor’s office for Avery’s 4 month checkup. Luckily we are following the alternative vaccine schedule I mentioned before and she only got 2 shots. She’ll get more next month, but at least her body won’t be overwhelmed.

Avery weighed in at 13.9 lbs putting her in the 68th percentile for her age and she was 25 inches in height which is in the 86th percentile. This didn’t seem to be too concerning since she is on a strictly breast fed diet. Our doctor said after the 4 month mark, we should start seeing a boost in weight. So, we’ll see how she’s doing at the next checkup!

After a long 3 hour nap, I took Avery for our first walk in the Onya Baby Outback. I’ve been very anxious to test it out on a long walk and eagerly headed out the door with our dog, Abby in tow.

Heading out for our first of many "Outback" journey — Heading out for our first of many “Outback” journeys

We went our standard route which is a 1.5 mile loop that I do twice. I really like going up the big hill to make it more challenging. Yes, I’m weird like that. Wait until you see what I do with a Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower. I’ll go into detail in future posts.

Avery was fussy for a while, but ended up falling asleep. I was worried she wasn’t into the Onya, but after we got home, we found the culprit of her fussiness was a dirty diaper! Oops, sorry Avery!

Along the route, we ran into the neighborhood goose. He usually around the same area every day we go for a walk.

After we finished our hour of walking, which was close to 4 miles, Going Mom was home and we went for another 30 minute walk. So the total time in our Onya Outback was just over an hour and a half today and about 5.25 miles!

I’m thoroughly satisfied after our first long walk in the Outback and know Avery will enjoy it more when she is bigger. I did use the Baby Booster this time and it helped her temperament over how it was without. One thing I noticed it that I can move my arms to wipe sweat or bugs from my face without worrying about the carrier moving around while she sleeps. In the Baby Bjorn, since the tension is all on my shoulders, any arm movements usually disrupt her slumber.

I am seriously liking the Outback and look forward to another journey tomorrow. Hopefully Avery will be more accepting too!