Almost 9 months

Otto is almost 9 months old. He just 'celebrated' his first Christmas and New Year's and, we think, experienced his first cold (complete with sniffles and snotty nose). He didn't know these days were different than any other days other than the fact that there were a few more people around and there was ribbon to play with. For those of you keeping track, here are some big changes from over the past few months:

(1) Teeth. The bottom two teeth have come in. His new favorite activity is to take his fingernail and 'flick' at the teeth with it. It creates a lovely noise. One that doesn't set your teeth on edge at all.

(2) Crawling. He's a crawling machine. He can pretty much get anywhere he wants and, boy howdy, does he. His new favorite toy is, well, the toilet. He loves it! He can splash in it, he can stand up on it, it's fun to gnaw on, so, yeah, that's gross and fun (for Otto at least).

(3) Standing. He can pull himself up on almost anything. Well, except for our very light end tables. Those he attempts to pull up on only to have them (and everything on them) come crashing down on to his poor little noggin. He's gotten better over the past couple of weeks regarding slowly pulling himself up; however, that leads to a new issue (discovered this AM), smashing face into table. This morning he was pulling himself up slowly and lost his balance (he still hasn't figured out how close to be to stand) and went face first into the end table. Needless to say, he was not very happy.

(4) Baby foods (stage 2). He's eating solid'ish foods. Yay! Two meals a day, he gets oatmeal and fruit and another meal is pureed veggies, maybe some meat and some fruits. He's also taken to liking frozen banana pops. These things are disgusting to clean (as you place the frozen bananas in a mesh bag); however, he enjoys it and, during his short life, I've had to clean far worse (see Poo-cano).

(5) Comprehension. He understands his name. He, optionally, understands the word 'no'. He knows what 'no' means; however, at times he opts not to respond. He'll stop, look at you, smile cutely and the continue on his merry way.

(6) Dressing torture. Putting clothes on the little man is like running a marathon filled with lotion, distraction and closed doors. Post-bath, dressing the little man is an adventure. He, for some reason, hates being laid on his back. He scream and cries and kicks. So, the art of distraction becomes key. And closing the door to his room because then he can't escape to Toilet Nirvana.

(7) Nap Avoidance. His biggest nap avoidance technique is pooping. Yup, we lay him down for a nice nap and the next thing you know he's yelling, you walk in there and it smells like a truck-stop toilet. Then, we have to pick him up and change him and, if he's cute enough, we just might let him stay up a while longer. Other times he simply yells. So far, we've made it to the 45 minute mark. This is usually for 3rd nap as it's the one that happens in the afternoon.

(8) Growth. He's a monster. He's wearing 18-24 month clothes at 9 months. We no longer carry him in the pack (as it hurts) and we had to buy him a new car seat because he was, essentially, sticking out of his old one. Thank goodness for grandparents in that respect as it was a Christmas gift to the not-so-little man.

That's it for now. More to follow.

True Love

The other day I was talking with people who don't have kids and they asked me about the grossest experience I've had with Otto to date. I thought about it for a bit and then said 'When he threw up in my mouth. Amazingly, my first reaction was not 'Gross, get the heck away from me.' Instead I was like 'Oh man, I hope this little guy is ok'. Granted, still, quite possibly, the most disgusting thing I've ever experienced in my life; however, if it had been anyone else, I probably would have socked them one or at least been utterly disgusted. With Otto, I was not. I was simply overwhelmed with concern. That, my friends, is true love.

Poo-cano warning

The Poo-cano. The explosions of, yes, hot poo that erupts from their bums and escapes the confines of their diaper with such force that it actually shoots up their back or out their leg holes. Both, if you're lucky. Poo may be found in the infants hair. Yes, head hair. Like actual volcanoes, they come with no warning. There's no way to tell when the next Poo-cano will occur, but, rest assured, it will.

The format usually is as follows: Kapow! Waaaaa!! Crap. Everywhere. Someone get the bath. And the trash can (for the clothes, not the little one). As they get older, they can get quieter, i.e. the stealth poo-cano. There is no warning. Just a crappy back. Generally, this format is 'Look how cute!! Let me pick you...oh GROSS! Someone get the bath. And the trash can.'

You've been warned.

A mother's love...

Otto you smell like a dying dog whose innards are disintegrating and are coming out in gaseous form. Or he smells like if we drill far enough we'll hit oil. What? I don't know.

Happy 3 months Otto!!

I found this from a few months ago. I thought I would share.

Otto is six weeks old today. A few items of note:

(1) Exhausting: I never knew that I would covet 2-hours of uninterrupted sleep. I do now.
(2) Hard work: Keeping Otto content, fed, etc. is a constant struggle. Sometimes I'm emotionally equipped to handle it, other times I'm not. I don't know how single moms and dads do it because, generally, when I'm not equipped I can hand him off.
(3) Naps: Everyone and every book says to sleep when he's asleep. Initially, we were not very good at this as it gave us quiet time to hang out, do errands, chores, etc. Sleeping when he's asleep is necessary, especially as he gets older and his awake times are slightly longer.
(4) Breast feeding/pumping: If you're significant other is doing this, do NOT let them sleep for 8 hours straight thinking that you're being nice. I was being nice and letting her rest, but we paid for it later in the day when, due to stress of trying to keep up with him, her milk went dry. No good deed goes unpunished. My punishment was a cry-fest. Good times.
(5) Vocal: He's getting more vocal every day. Initially, it was just little grunts when he was unhappy. At about 4 weeks, he discovered his voice and his lungs. The result 3-2.5 hour screamfests over a 9-day span.
(6) Sometimes nothing is wrong. He just wants to cry. One of my books said it's his form of exercise. Check the holes, if there is no input or output, he seems comfortable (both closing and temp-wise) it could be nothing.
(7) It's not personal. The crying. The fussiness. Etc. Generally it has nothing to do with me. That's been a huge lesson to learn.
(8) It's not a competition. This was a harder lesson for me to learn. Cheryl and I play different roles in Otto's life. Sometimes he wants his mom and no matter what I do, it won't work. That's ok.

Crayola's new line...

Look at him. He's Mexican brown. Have you gotten a DNA test?
Uhhhh....what?! C [the mother] is right here. Beside me. She can hear you.
So anyway...
[later]
So Mexican brown, huh?!
Yeah. A color from the non-politically correct Crayola set.

Otto meet AC/DC...

Otto Rocks!!