World’s Strongest Baby, aka Mini Hercules

Uncategorized, by lauren, June 11, 2008, 4 Replies

I think we have found the Bum’s calling. Just think, in a mere 5 years, this could be Milo! Dave, this one’s for you.

Milo might need to work on the lower half a bit, though.

But enough of freakishly strong children and babies. We had a pretty good day. Thunderstorms cooled off Baltimore last night so today was a much more reasonable 89 degrees versus yesterday’s 98. We went to the park this morning while it was still cool, and Milo stayed up an hour later than his usual naptime while we enjoyed the weather. We also finally got to open our windows for the first time in three days, after we learned that it stayed pretty cool (thermostat registered 88 while it was 10 degrees hotter outside) if we closed up our house like a cave in the middle of the summer. Milo enjoyed looking at the passers-by while I enjoyed looking at how much he has grown. We also played a short game of peek-a-boo with the curtains before he attempted to escape.
I am loving this age. Milo’s favorite tasks include scaling the stairs, throwing recycleables onto the floor, chasing Proudie, “feeding” himself with a spoon, taking off his diaper, knocking down towers that Mom builds for him, and turning up the radio/cd player as loud as possible as soon as I walk away from it. I’m surprised he hasn’t blown a speaker or all of our eardrums. He also amused himself today for an hour just practicing sitting down and standing up, sitting down and standing up over and over and over. So funny to see him bend over, touch his toes, and so carefully ease himself onto the ground. It’s a skill that takes practice.

Stay tuned for more adventures from the fascinating world of Baby Bum….

Sweating My Bum Off

Uncategorized, by lauren, June 10, 2008, 2 Replies

Sweltering. That is the weather we have been blessed with for the past 4 days. Yesterday it was 85 degrees at 7am. Today the high was 98, and there was no breeze to speak of. Miserable, especially without central air, in a city full of brick rowhouses that just cook in the sun even on warm days.

Regardless of the disgusting heat, Andrew, Milo and I have found more than enough to do. We enjoyed the company of a good friend, Miguel, who visited us from Belgium for the weekend. We cooked out, ate ice cream on the stoop, and chatted with neighbors. On Sunday, we ventured to Cockeysville (just north of the city) to celebrate Ben’s first birthday… and play cornhole, of course. We got to meet the extended family and gorge ourselves on cake before heading home to go to bed early. We had a great time, as usual!

Milo and Ben in awe of the delicious birthday cake

Ol’ chocolate mouth, enjoying his first chocolate frosting

Yesterday was another ridiculously hot day. I jogged Milo down to the Inner Harbor where there is a great Barnes & Noble, equipped with huge aquarium, train set, cafe, and most important… air conditioning. We spent a good 3 hours there, no joke.
Milo enjoying all the pretty fish

Today was just as hot as ever, but you’d never know it based on how hard these guys play. Milo and Ben had a good time sweatin’ in our living room. Ben practiced walking, soccer, and music skills, while Milo attempted to bring down the house.

They also had a jam session, with Milo dancing to the sound of Ben’s monkey-cymbals. I’m telling you, he had some pretty sweet moves, mainly in the hip region. If you’ve never seen a baby dance, shame on you. It’s pretty fantastic.
Sorry I didn’t get this on video.

Good-bye, 8, Hello Dad

Uncategorized, by lauren, June 6, 2008, 1 Reply

For the past week or so, Milo has been trying out a lot of new sounds. He says “momma,” “nana,” “tuh-tuh,” “buh-buh,” and… “dada.” The only thing is, this last sound seems to have a real purpose. Milo says, “dada” and “da-dee” whenever he sees Andrew or a picture of Andrew. I was convinced it was just a coincidence, as it is a bit early to start naming things, I thought. But apparently I’m wrong. My low expectations of the intelligence of our baby has paid off! Just kidding. I, like any other new parent, think my baby is the smartest, coolest, cutest baby on Earth.

When Andrew leaves, Milo crawls over to the door and says, “dada.” When he sees Andrew after being away all day, he says, “dada,” while waving his hands and kicking his legs excitedly. He also says it when he looks at a picture of Andrew in a photo book we have. And when we go on walks, Milo says “dada” from his stroller when Andrew is walking ahead of us. It’s really cute. So, I guess it’s official. Milo’s first word is his favorite person in the whole world… DADDY!

Other new accomplishments include pulling up to stand, climbing the stairs, and waving hello and bye-bye (with an extremely stiff arm). Oh, and he has also started throwing things, also rather stiff-armed. This seems hilarious to Milo, as what he throws never seems to go the place he expects it to. He has turned into such a little ham. He does this fake cough sound for attention, then when you look at him, he laughs. For any Zoolander fans out there, it’s the exact same cough that Derek Zoolander does after he works in the coal mine for a day with his dad and two brothers… “I think I’ve got a case of the black lung, Pop.” Cough, cough.

On a sad note, we had to say our good-byes to the 8 until Milo stops biting things. This was decided after Milo bit off a small piece of the letter 6 and proceeded to vomit all over the floor three times because he couldn’t get this foam crumb out of his mouth. So here is a tribute to our great friend 8, who will be missed.

Pretty rockin’ jam, don’t you think?

Bum-boree

Uncategorized, by lauren, June 4, 2008, 3 Replies

First of all, yes, that’s the 8. The 8 is still in play, and even comes on stroller rides with us.

Moving on… Milo had a great time today with his best buddy Ben, who turns 1 tomorrow. We went to an activity playzone where you pay $5 to let your kid demolish the entire place in a couple of hours… moonbouncers, giant pirate ship with scary-fast slide, and giant dollhouse included. Although they were a little unsure at first, both were crawling and exploring within 10 minutes.

A favorite: little ride-ons of the bee and cow variety. Milo picked the longhorn…
…after reminiscing about his weekend in Kentucky
The giant doll house was also a hit. It was nicer than the house we live in (and probably bigger), with hardwood floors, tons of windows, and a castle tower… but who’s counting? Milo and Ben explored inside while I hung out peering in through the windows.
Look, Mom, these windows actually open and close!
Don’t ask me where this sudden rage came from…
Psycho baby trying to escape. I think he looks like a giant baby-monster about to devour anyone who gets in the way of his milkie

Mary and Ben after conquering the slide

So we had a great day today, again. Thanks, Mary, for donning socks, paying our way, and being just a great friend. You are the best, and Ben is lucky to have you for a mommy!

And we are definitely making progress in the weaning arena. We are down to three nursing sessions per day (5am, 8am, and 6:30pm), and though Milo is not happy at the 2-3am hour, he is making the transition well. I also got him to drink formula out of a sippy cup (after quite a fight). So no, I won’t be following Milo to college, or even kindergarten at this rate. And though the thought of no nursing kind of makes me sad, as it is such a special time that we share, I will be happy to have a bit more independence and we can plan for the next… bum!

Weaning Question…

Uncategorized, by lauren, June 3, 2008, 6 Replies

I’m not sure how many people actually read this blog, but I have a question. If you have an answer/opinion, please post a comment.

I am slowly weaning Milo off the breast, but he won’t take formula. If he is eating plenty of food and drinking water, how much breast milk does he still need? I am aware that I can start giving whole cow’s milk when he is a year old. I would like to wean him completely by 12 months.

He is obviously still nursing, but I’d like to cut back to just a few feedings a day, mainly keeping the morning and evening feeding, and maybe still one early morning feeding if necessary. Do you think 3 times/day is enough? I don’t want to dehydrate him, especially during the summer. I also don’t want him to miss out on nutrition, but since he eats whole milk yogurt I think he might be okay…

Thanks for any feedback!