A Rant...Mostly...

As you're probably thinking, this blog is a total rant by yours truly. So, if you aren't in the mood to listen to me whine, then don't continue reading or at least skip about four paragraphs. Trust me, I understand. Christmas is in five days so I feel like I should be in such wonderful spirit. I'm not in a BAD MOOD necessarily. I'm just very moody. [CONTENT DELETED DUE TO SILLY DRAMA] I'm very excited for this break from work we're about to get! Ty and I are taking off on Friday and then we're closed Monday. Barrett's daycare is closed starting this Friday until January third so I'll be taking off a couple of days next week too. Ty's mom will be keeping him the other days, while day care is closed.

Another thing I've been having a problem with lately is people wanting to tell me what I'm doing wrong or what I SHOULD be doing with MY child. I've had one person that I see fairly often, make comments to Barrett about how "he needs shoes on" and "it's too cold outside for him to not have shoes on". For starters, my child HATES shoes. He's scared of them for some reason I have yet been able to figure out. I have made numerous attempts to put shoes on him and every time, he flops everywhere, screams and cries, shivers, and his face turns bright red. He'll continue to cry for a little while and can ruin a night. Obviously, he's going to have to wear shoes when he starts walking but right now, I don't want to fight that battle, when he's only crawling. I did buy some soft-sole shoes from Old Navy last weekend and he hasn't had as much of a problem wearing them, thank goodness. He pulls them off pretty often though.

I feel like I'm pretty laid-back about Barrett, which has made a few people comment on things I do. For example, he has recently started wanting to feed himself, refusing to let me feed him. He's still not good with a spoon or fork so if it's at all possible, I let him eat with his hands. My other choice is for me to shove food down his throat while he screams and flops around in his high chair. Yeah, I could "stand my ground" and make him let me feed him but then he just wouldn't eat. I feel like I did that for a month or so and that was also the same time that he stopped gaining weight. To the point of my story, tonight we went to T.G.I. Friday's with our best friends. I ordered Barrett macaroni and cheese and french fries. I cut the french fries into pieces, put them on the table, and also put a few spoonfuls of macaroni and cheese on the table. I put his spoon within his reach, in case he decided to try to use it. He started slinging cheese EVERYWHERE, which is when I decided to take the spoon from him. A waiter (not even ours) brought my food to the table and made the sarcastic comment of "it's a good thing it's not cold/flu season" and made a "yeah right" face. Seriously?! If he's so brave and opinionated, why didn't he just come out and say, "I can't believe you put your son's food on the table and let him eat with his hands, when he could catch a cold or the flu from the table"? Number one, he's gotten a flu shot so that's a minimal worry of mine. I know it's not sure-proof but it definitely helps. Number two, it's not the end of the world if he DOES indeed catch a cold. I'm not one of those parents that freaks out about germs. I've already got enough things to worry about. Ty worries enough about germs for the both of us, LOL! It's strange because I have slight O.C.D. but when it comes to stuff like that, I just don't care.

OK, I think I'm done ranting for the time being. On a totally different note, I am SO excited that my nephew, Austin will be born soon! Technically, he's my best friend's baby but he's a nephew in my eyes! She is due on January tenth but hit 37 weeks pregnant today, which is full-term, meaning if he was born today, he would most likely be healthy and completely normal. It's amazing how much changes in only a year with a baby. It's so hard for me to believe that this time last year, Barrett was a 13 pound itty-bitty thing that couldn't even hold his own head up. Now, he's a 25 pound professional crawler and soon-to-be walker. I'm so excited for my friend to be able to experience the miracle of motherhood! It's definitely a love that is indescribable and a magnificent one at that! And obviously, I'm excited to have a new baby around to love on but be able to give back to his mom and dad, LOL. I can't wait to meet him and hopefully it will be sooner than later!

In other news, Barrett's loving food right now. His favorite foods currently are bananas, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, green beans, Graduates Lil' Crunchies, and most any kind of pasta. He wakes up around 8:00 a.m. and gets infant mixed cereal combined with baby food fruit as well as eight ounces of whole milk in a bottle. He eats some kind of table food for lunch with whole milk in a sippy cup around 11:00 a.m. and then a snack, usually crackers or fruit, with water in a sippy cup, around 2:30 p.m.. He eats table food for dinner around 5:30 p.m. with water in a sippy cup. Then he gets infant mixed cereal again, combined with baby food fruit around 8:30 p.m. as well as eight ounces of whole milk in a bottle. His pediatrician said that baby/infant cereal and baby food are more nutritious anyways so as long as he'll eat it, continue feeding it to him. He's normally in bed (crib) by 9:45 p.m. lately, which has been WONDERFUL! He used to want to stay up until midnight, which took a toll on all three of us. Now, he's sleeping 10+ hours a night. He's been in a better mood, since getting more sleep. He goes to daycare Monday through Friday every week, except for Wednesdays, which is when Ty's mother gets to keep him at her house. He doesn't go to daycare until 11:00 a.m. every day and I pick him up between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., when I get off work. I LOVE getting an extra few hours with him in the mornings. I will say though, that it's a little difficult to get ready for work with him frequently hugging me and giving me sugar, while I'm flat-ironing my hair in the bedroom floor :). Trust me...I don't mind at all! He's such a sweet and loving baby and I just adore him.

I'm so extremely thankful for such a wonderful day care with teachers that I trust 100%, every time I drop him off. He has learned SO much since starting West Jackson Baptist Church's day care program. The last Mother's Day Out program he was in at a different church (not naming names) was of no benefit to him. Yes, it allowed me some free time and I was able to get some work done, but he learned NOTHING there. Keep in mind, he only went Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.. Almost every day that I picked him up, ALL of the babies were screaming and the teachers were sitting in the rockers by themselves and had a slight attitude. I thought this was normal because it was the only thing I had been exposed to. Barrett started West Jackson and it's NOTHING like that. Yes, the babies cry but the amount that I see at WJBC seems normal and the teachers always give the necessary attention to that child. They have gotten Barrett into a routine which I have so far been unable to successfully accomplish. He recently moved up classes and I was terrified because the teachers he had in his previous class weren't far from perfect. But I can now say, his new teachers are just as good as his last and I love them! I think he'll be in this class for at least 6 months if not a year longer.

Barrett's still in love with Mickey Mouse. He's his number one fan, I believe :). He's spanning out his vocabulary lately. He says, "ma-ma", "da-da", "hey", "hi-D", "bye", "yay", "I did it", and his most recent, "ball". He's even said "Doo-Dah" a few times, which is my stepfather's nickname. My stepfather, Steve, is known for getting my nephews donuts from Doo Dah's donuts, the mornings they stay with him and my mom, which is where the nickname comes from. Barrett can clap his hands, wave hello and bye, point, pull up, give five and give five "up high". He knows how to open and close Lilly's crate. He knows how to use a hair brush, toothbrush and toothpaste, television remote, and cell phone. If you ask him to point at some one's nose or a light, he will. He knows what his "cars" are. He has lots of toy cars that he loves. This morning, he decided to play with a wall outlet in mine and Ty's bedroom. I told him, "no" and pointed my finger at him. I was surprised when I got back a pointed finger at me. I couldn't help but laugh. Luckily, I had time to turn my face the other way so he didn't see me laughing. It was just too funny though, seeing that little bitty finger pointing back at me. He's definitely developed an attitude in his "old age". He still LOVES Lilly and she loves him. She has gotten a little distant from him lately though. She's learned that he's rougher with her than she cares for and knows when to steer clear. She's always under his high chair though, when it's dinner time!

Anyways, I've written more than any of you cared to read, I'm sure! Sorry! I haven't written in about three weeks though and this is a good outlet for me, even if no one was to read my blog. Everyone have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year if I don't post again or see any of you between now and then!

Barrett's 1 Year Checkup

Barrett had his 1 year checkup with Dr. Woods Tuesday afternoon. Everything went as expected. He weighs 24 pounds, 11 ounces and is 31 inches long. He's between the 50th and 75th percentile for his weight and 75th to 90th percentile for his height. His head is 18.5 inches around, which is also in the 75th to 90th percentile. I asked the doctor to look at his "infected" ear again. The antibiotic (Omnicef) was making him very sick so I wanted to see if he still had to take it or if he could to swap to a different one. Turns out, his ear isn't infected, really. He said it probably was slightly infected because it was still a little red but obviously, 2 days on the antibiotics helped it. So, we've stopped the medicine, thank goodness! He had so many "bad" diapers during the 2 days he was on the antibiotic and screamed like he was in pain. I'm thinking his stomach was just hurting that bad :(. Since he's quit, he's a completely different baby. He's back to sleeping normally and isn't as grumpy as he was.

He also got his 12 month shots Tuesday. I believe he got 4 vaccinations, one shot for each. He's always gotten 4 injections but they'll combine as much as they can. For example, his 6 month shots contained 7 or 8 vaccinations but they were able to put it all into 4 injections. I was hoping he'd only get 1 or 2 injections this time but I guess they couldn't combine these. One of the vaccinations was his flu shot. He has to go back in exactly a month and get a booster for it. Oddly enough, I can't even tell by the way he's acting, that he got shots. I did end up giving him Infant Tylenol last night because he was a tad bit fussy and I can imagine getting 2 shots in the same location in each thigh will leave you sore. He's a little trooper, though ;).

I have finally changed Barrett's meals completely, since he's turned a year old. He gets 8 ounces of lukewarm milk in the morning and at bedtime then eats 2-3 meals a day with 2-3 snacks in between. He's off of baby food for the most part. He does still get a fruit serving of baby food with his cereal at night but that's it. He drinks water during the day with his meals and snacks. We sometimes splurge and let him get some watered-down tea, juice, or soda but are only going to let that happen every now and then. Everything in moderation! We had a hard time in the beginning, getting him to eat ANY table food. It was almost overnight and he decided he liked table food. He moved up classes at daycare on Monday as well and I think that helped a ton. I think that him seeing the other babies eat table food and use a sippy cup, all while sitting in their highchairs, makes him more comfortable and accepting of the changes.

Well, that's all I have to say for now! Short, sweet, and to-the-point is always good! Everyone have a great week!