conversations with invisible pigs and sheep

How to kick start a “lose-the-baby-weight” diet? Get a stomach bug! The pain I felt on Sunday from my stomach shrinking after throwing up and not being able to eat — that was pretty bad. I went on a 36-hour pedialyte diet, and now that I’m moving up to BRAT, I’m hardly hungry. BTW, pedialyte is great for adults, instead of gatorade. I must have lost electrolytes so fast, I was getting foot cramps. The pedialyte tasted awful, but I could keep it down, and the foot cramps went away fast.

So, on top of my illness, Jim is coming off a cold, and is now moving onto my stomach bug. He’s on his second day of missed school, and looks like he’ll miss tomorrow too.

And Colin picked up on Jim’s cold. We took him to the doctor yesterday, and the cold is just in his nose so far. But I’ve been sleeping with him because he’s so congested, so I can help him out when he needs it. Luckily I was sickest on Sunday, when Dad could pick up some of my slack and give him some bottles, so I could sleep and re-energize.

The little chunk has gained another 1.5 pounds in the last two weeks, and is now 16 pounds.

Colin is having a rough week, which means less sleep for me. And less time to do stuff around the house.

He got FIVE vaccines at the doctors on Monday — one he had to “drink”, and that upset his stomach all day Monday. Tuesday was OK. Wednesday he would not sleep during the day, and ending up melting down around 2.30. He slept on me or Dad for the rest of the evening, and then went to the crib OK, and then woke up at three. He didn’t want to eat or sleep, so finally I got him to sleep on me again.

He woke up happy, but wigged again when it was time to nap this morning. I’ve got him in the sling, and after he gets used to it, he’s asleep.

So, the stats from the doctor’s — 14 pounds, 5 ounces and 24 inches. Both are 90-95%. The papers are upstairs, so I’ll try to fill them in later.

Today Colin is two months old. He’s smiling regularly. If he’s unhappy, it’s because he’s tired or hungry. He’s huge. Today I bought him size 3 diapers, and they fit. A little roomy in the “seat”, but perfect around the waist. I don’t think I had to buy him any size 2’s, they were all leftover from Jim. I did buy a big box of 2’s, but I’m taking them back to get 3’s.

The crib sleeping is going well. We had one night of four-plus hours, which has been his best. Tonight he went down at 10.30, which is technically earlier than any other night so far. We’re working on way to napping in his crib as well. The pack and play works sometimes, but most often he’s still napping on me.

Today was also a milestone in that Dad took the cradle out of our room, so now we have floorspace again, and I’ll get my nightstand back when I’m not so tired and I can move it. It will be great to have a lamp again.

I tried taking both boys to the park today, but I had to wake Colin up to get him dressed, and that just set him off on a crying jag that I couldn’t turn off. So I couldn’t “play” with Jim, so it was a mess. But the weather supposed to hold for the rest of the week, so hopefully we’ll get back there again.

New car + two weeks to get Colin sleeping in the crib = Dad has a new job!

I actually originally included this in the last post, but Dad hadn’t officially quit yet, so I took it out.

Of course, it’s fits our biggest requirement of being a day job. His commute is longer, hence the need for the new car with nicer amenities.

From top to bottom — Jim helps out Momma in Colin’s room; new sweater (for a gift); Colin models the new sweater; Dad’s new ride.

The news: Dad got a new car! He needs a better (more comfortable) car than the Scion for the commute — cruise control, more room overall, etc. I figured out what we could afford, and this was his first choice. It’s a sweet ride, a Civic Si Sedan, 6-speed, 197 hp. And the kids still fit in the back, even better than they did in the Scion.

I finished a sweater for a baby shower gift, details in the photo gallery. Colin was kind enough to model it. It’s a 0-6 month size, a little big on him, so I’d say it’s about a six month size. I’m going to make him one in cotton, with a few size adjustments to get him through the spring with it.

In other Colin news, he slept in his room in the crib all of last night. I only had two weeks to get him doing this, and he and I both did well. My weakness has been my exhaustion = taking the easy route. But cleaning up Colin’s room has made it easier and more comfortable to feed him there.

Jim has started back with tumblers at the Y, and he got moved up to the older kids class. It’s more challenging for him, so we’ll have to keep him practicing and trying.