Oops, I’m already breaking the expectations set by the title by writing….sorry.
There are times when I simply don’t have a lot to say or post about on the blog, but I feel compelled to post something. This, being one of those times, seems like a great opportunity for a “Wordless Wednesday” post.
I’ve seen many other bloggers do this, so why not me too? Today, the theme is Avery with a beach ball. You don’t need expensive gizmos and gadgets to keep kids entertained, and Avery proves it with this beach ball.
As a matter of fact, the ball blew into our yard one day so I took it in, washed it, and gave it to Avery. Going Mom and I have followed her around the house as she plays a form of soccer with the ball and loves every minute. We’re thinking the ball will be a great tool for G-ma while she watches her this weekend when Going Mom and I are gone for two nights.
Yep, a little scary but exciting to leave our daughter for two whole days, but we know (i.e. hope) G-Ma and Avery will be fine. A couple should still enjoy their anniversary, right? 7 years married on the 17th of this month! More on that later, but now, lets get to that baby with the beach ball!
Not sure what I’m trying to accomplish here, but I’ll act like I know what I’m doing.
Yeah, that’s a lot of baby-ball pics, huh? I’d say it was a great front yard find and is here to stay!
Do you have any “free” things that your kids absolutely enjoy?
If you don’t remember or never read Weekend at G-Ma’s Part 1, we started our second day at G-Ma’s with this…
Sharing a room with your baby is rarely, if ever, an enjoyable experience, and Avery made sure to keep reminding us. We try to let her cry at night if we know her needs are met and it doesn’t go on for over 20 minutes, but things sure are different when you’re right there with the cries!
Avery slept surprisingly well through the booming fireworks, but still woke up for a feeding around 4 in the morning. Thankfully, Going Mom was there to save the day as usual. I have a feeling those boobs can be thought of as a blessing and a curse.
Once we were up, my mom/G-Ma made all of us coffee. Even though she has a Keurig brewer, Kelley and I have been working on reducing our use of plastics (k-cups can be hazardous to our health)so she ground coffee beans to make French Press for us. She also has one of those stainless steel reusable coffee pods and used that as well. Phew, I’m a coffee lover, but don’t want to contribute to growing waste from all of those pods!
As we enjoyed our coffee, we sat in the game room to let Avery play while we watched old home videos of me as a baby. My mom had her VHS cassettes transferred to DVD, and she had been waiting to watch them with us. Meanwhile, Avery must of had a rough night because she went for a little foam rolling session.
G-Ma made sure to get a lot of playtime in with Avery now that she moves more, and I think Avery enjoyed having all of the attention. What do you think?
With the home videos still playing, that’s actually all we watched all day, Avery tried to make a move for the open cabinets. She’s a quick and sneaky baby!
But, G-Ma to the rescue! She found Uncle Preston’s recorder from elementary school and attempted to entertain Avery with her beautiful tunes. By beautiful tunes, I mean random noise, but Avery didn’t mind.
Then it was Avery’s turn to make some noise.
But she decided to just eat it instead…
Once the recorder became a bore (see what I did there?), it was story time with G-Ma. The chose book was an old Barney and Friends book from Uncle Preston’s childhood.
One minute later, and I think Avery was happy to be done with it. Phew, I don’t want to get stuck watching that show over and over again. Is it even on anymore?
Our day mostly comprised home videos and G-Ma playing with Avery. I went for a run on Renfro Street, (literally) my old stomping ground, with nothing but coffee as fuel. After the run, I completed 31 burpees, push-ups, and squats like I’ve been doing every day since turning 30 and then ran to jump in Tim and Melissa’s pool. Ahhhh, refreshing!
When we all needed a break from baby, we found a battery operated cat toy to be the perfect solution. Turns out, this toy with a “mouse tail” that randomly revolved around was great entertainment for Avery and Abby as well as us watching.
Luckily, we capture it on video. Here’s my shortened version with the best parts that I uploaded on YouTube.
Avery actually had a nap late in the day, and she fell asleep with Going Mom rather quickly at night. But, once again, she woke up several times crying. Kelley tried forever to console her with “the boob”, but even that didn’t work.
I fed her the one tiny bottle we brought along and that helped. I think she was finally exhausted enough to give in and sleep. But she still let out her random cries throughout the night. Ahhh, this two night stay has been exhausting for all of us!
We’re convinced it might have something to do with the fact that we weren’t feeding her solids while at G-Ma’s. At home, we’ve been sitting down and feeding her broccoli, carrots, squash, etc. right before bed, and those must work to keep her satisfied over night.
Shame on us, I think we’ll be more consistent with that now! The next day we enjoyed more coffee together and gathered our things to head home.
Ughhh, unpacking is definitely no fun, and we were at it non-stop most of the day upon returning. Such is the life as parents, huh?
Do you have a pet toy meant for a certain animal but another animal (or human) plays with it?
Yep, today I’m a stay-at-home dad and husband. Well, technically I’m always those things, but work with me here.
Poor Going Mom, she came home on Monday and seemed fine, but she was suddenly overwhelmed with body aches and a fever. She had just changed and started a workout when her body just didn’t feel up to par.
Kelley had quickly turned so weak it took all she had just to stand, and I wanted to help however possible, but there’s not much I can do for fevers. Of course, I still bugged her and asked if there was anything I could do about 10 times.
With Kelley so weak, I figured I’d need to be the one waking up to feed Avery as her beckoning wails of hunger rang through monitor, but Kelley was still adamant on breastfeeding. And rightly so; breastfeeding when you are sick is actually one of the best things you can do for your baby!
Actually, not breastfeeding while ill increases your baby’s chance of getting sick! I found this excerpt from Kellymom.com and recommend reading the full post here.
The best thing you can do for your baby when you’re sick is to continue to breastfeed. When you have a contagious illness such as a cold, flu, or other mild virus, your baby was exposed to the illness before you even knew you were sick. Your milk will not transmit your illness to baby, but it does have antibodies in it that are specific to your illness (plus anything else you or baby have been exposed to) – they’ll help prevent baby from getting sick, or if he does get sick, he’ll probably not be as sick as you.
And that’s what we did, only I brought Avery to Kelley in our room instead of her going to the nursery like usual. I’m already so grateful that Going Mom is willing to continue strictly breastfeeding Avery since it is the best thing for a baby and obviously free, but to continue when so ill is outstanding!
I just want to say way to go to my dear wife and all other women who are able and willing to breast feed; it’s the best nutrition you can give.
We will be starting to give Avery food in a few weeks since she’ll be 6 months, and then I’ll puree the food with breast milk to ensure good nutrition. Fun times ahead there! I hope she likes pureed Brussels sprouts with breast milk!
On Tuesday morning, Kelley started feeling nauseous so I gave her a Zevia Ginger Ale which helped settle her stomach.
With the intention of working even though she was sick, Kelley needed her laptop. I planned on making a trip to the store anyway, so, with Avery along for the ride, we made a little pit stop at her work and we were on the way to the store.
Back home, Going Mom fed Avery and put her down for a nap while I unloaded groceries and went to the garage for a workout. Afterward, I was starving so I made something for myself and Kelley as a late lunch. Not long after, Avery decided to wake up, so she hung out with me in the kitchen.
Together, Avery and I did what all babies dream of; put together sandwiches for mom! Yep, I make several at a time so I always have one ready for my hardworking wife!
Hmm, so it takes eight slices of bread for one sandwich? I’d rather have boob…
Meanwhile, my sick wife diligently worked on the couch in the living room. Or at least tried since I kept talking and Avery kept blowing raspberries which doesn’t make for the best work environment.
She probably didn’t appreciate that I had the TV on either. Sorry, Kelley. To give her some peace, I took Avery for a long walk in the Ergobaby Ventus while she finished work for the day.
After a rather windy, but otherwise nice weather walk, we returned home to see how Going Mom was doing. Surprisingly, her fever had gone down and no more body aches, but she did have a bad headache. Boo headaches, yay reduced fever!
With her slightly improved condition and work done for the day, we took advantage of our happy daughter and enjoyed playtime together.
She’s been getting more interested in her colored rings and we’ve been working on her sitting up without help. You can see me in the background helping to hold her a little. I tried letting her sit up unassisted, but that only resulted in this..
Oops.
No worries though, playtime was still a go!
How long does that “put anything I can in my mouth” phase last? Or maybe I don’t want to know.
What I do know, is that we’re finding out Avery is a very ticklish baby. Her upper thigh is the most sensitive if the squeeze both sides, it’s my weak spot too, and when I “attack” her legs and stomach.
Poor girl, she’s probably wondering when the annoying “mom and dad tickle everything” phase will end. Well, Avery, I’m here to say it will never end! Even after you’re grown and out of our house, we’ll still tickle attack you like the baby you currently are. Sorry, it’s just love!
Although Going Mom had to get sick, it ended up being a good day just spending time together and playing with our constantly growing baby. We know she’ll be sitting up on her own soon and face planting will be a thing of the past.
If you’re a mom, have you ever had to breastfeed while sick? Dads, same question but for your significant other.
Any thoughts on the importance of breastfeeding over any other kind of feeding? Please share.
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
