Baby's Super Powers, or Adventures in Child-Proofing

What's that racing across the room? It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Mommy! Even in a baby-proofed room, it seems like your child is always getting into something. I love seeing how intelligent my son is growing with every day. However, that means he has figured out his way around numerous safety measures. So far, Alex has attempted to exhibit the following super powers:

• Electro-kinesis from covered electrical outlets

• Super speed towards the nearest pending disaster

• Flight through the air from whatever surface he has managed to reach (including the back of his rocking moose)

• Spider-like climbing for use on the stove (using the knob covers as hand holds) or onto other furniture to practice the afore-mentioned flight

• Super strength to lift up the free-standing play yard

• Flexible, stretchy arms, the better to reach in and disable cupboard and drawer latches

• Omniscience about every possible source of trouble in range

With my little guy attempting to acquire all of these capabilities, it seems like child-proofing is just not reasonable. So, I continue running around after him to find the latest thing he's found. Watching him grow and learn is a wonderful experience, even when he has learned new and terrifying ways to defeat my attempts at keeping him safe.

Daddy isn't lazy

Women have simply evolved to hear the sounds of a baby crying when men do not. There are two studies that I've found referenced online that confirm this topic. So, when you're dragging yourself out of bed to attend to a crying baby while your husband is snoring happily, just remember that it isn't his fault. Now, you may still want to smother him with a pillow or kick him until he does wake up. Having done both of those things, I won't blame you. I will, however, describe both studies I've found in the hopes that you'll feel better about it.

An Italian study (found on livescience.com) showed that women's brains became active when they heard a hungry baby crying. Men's minds continued to wander aimlessly.

One study was done in regards to a nighttime cold medicine company studying what noise wakes up men and women. The study was done by Mindlab in the UK. It ranked the top ten noises that disturbed the sleep of each gender.

Top 10 sounds most likely to wake men:

1. Car alarm

2. Howling wind
3. Buzzing fly
4. Snoring
5. Noise from drains
6. Crickets chirping
7. Sirens
8. Clock ticking
9. Drilling/workmen
10. Dripping tap

Waking women?

1. Baby crying

2. Dripping tap

3. Rowdiness outside
4. Snoring
5. Buzzing fly
6. Drilling/workmen
7. Sirens

8. Car alarm

9. Howling wind
10. Noise from drains

I pulled this list from the New York Times summation of the study. A screaming baby isn't even on the list for men. The study concluded that men were more likely to react to sounds that indicated threats rather than more domestic issues.

Day at the Office

Today was his (Daddy's) first day at the new office! Alex dressed his sharpest, with a collared shirt and a tie. Upon arrival, he inspected the work stations to make sure nothing was hiding under the glass tabletops. Also, he was responsible for improving morale and personalizing the office. Daddy's desk now sports a framed picture of the little man.
After helping everyone assemble furniture, he bought drinks for the guys (aka: delivered water bottles).
After his long minutes in the office, it was time for a lunch break with his girls (Mommy and Grandma). The boss/Mommy sure gave him the run around and kept him very busy. Sometimes it felt like she was just sending him around in circles (indoor playground with a carousel).
Luckily, he was able to carpool home. After such a long day of work, it was time to relax. Pants-less, of course.

****

As of Monday, Daddy is the Chief Technology Officer of a digital advertising company with his own office close to home populated by two of our friends. They were opening their office that day and didn't mind the visitor. Alex and I are very proud of my husband. Having him working from home for Alex's first year has been an amazing experience. We'll miss him being around during the day, but we'll find more fun things to do!

Foods for little tummies

Beans, beans: the musical fruit. They make your booty go root a toot tooty!
This charming rhyme from my childhood should have made me think twice before feeding beans to my son. However, we try to make a practice of letting him try what we eat (within reason). Now, my poor little boy ate Daddy's food and is suffering Daddy-sized bubbles in his tiny tummy. I feel so awful for him, but, on the other hand, he really liked the beans.

In my toddler class, we talk a lot about foods our developing little ones need. Two cups of milk only when my son loves it enough to want it by the ton instead. Gerber puffs are a favorite, but they just encourage the future of junk food like chips and crackers. There are so any do's and don't's with our little people. How much water is too much? Sippy cups, straws, bottles, or spoons? Of course, there's the dreaded versions of: are they eating enough vegetables? Eating healthy is a challenge for any age, which makes it so very important to take the time when he's little to start down that road. I'm still figuring out our way along this path, but I know that I want our healthy choices to be more than what my son eats. He's going to watch us and mimic our bad habits unless we're careful. Beyond that, we want to be around as our son grows, and that means taking care of our health, too.

B is for Bedtime

B is for Bedtime: In all of my classes and internet research, the best solution I've heard for getting your little one to sleep better is to develop a routine. Ours is working pretty well now. Deviation results in a very restless night.

Bath: splishing and a' splashing! We give Alex a nice warm bath before tucking him into his pajamas. He gets himself all tired out, and we get him cleaned off from whatever he's done that day.

Bottle: We're trying to wean Alex off of using bottles. However, a bottle of milk (or formula) after he's warm and cozy works wonders towards getting him to go to sleep. The other benefit is that he doesn't wake up hungry in the middle of the night quite so much.

Blanket: I'm afraid we're heading towards the security blanket phase. Peeling his fingers off of their firm grip on his blanket is near impossible. He hasn't seemed to select one blanket above all others; we have several of the same type of material which helps. Even on the hottest night, Alex still loves to curl up with his blanket even if he isn't using it as intended. I love cuddling up with him right before bed time in our glider chair.

Binkie: Also trying to wean Alex off of the pacifier. Again, there is a simple question of preferences: screaming child who won't sleep or a less stringent policy on weaning?

Bucket (car seat): When all of the above fails to send out little prince to dreamland, we go for a car ride. Luckily, he fits in the carrier still, so we can easily bring him inside when he's asleep. Moving him from the bucket to the bed is absolutely adorable because he clings to us when we move him. We've been able to phase this part out more as Alex has begun to recognize the routine.

Bed: With a heavy sigh of relief, we settle in our small munchkin. He flops promptly onto his stomach with no chance of sleeping on his back. Sometimes, he snores. I get a lovely symphony, as I periodically get to enjoy the melodious sounds of Adam, Ari (our dog), and Alex… all snoring.