Easter 2013

Easter was exceptionally fun this year! In the past Honey and I have attended church in the morning and then gathered with family and friends to have a big home-cooked meal in the afternoon.

Now of course with Parker Bear Easter is quite different in the best possible way! From dying Easter eggs, to playing Easter Bunny, to preparing my own home cooked meal for my family! Here is our Easter in pictures:

We took Parker to see the Easter Bunny. And Parker LOVED him!

I donned my official and favorite cooking apron to prepare an Easter feast (which we ate on Saturday night AND on Sunday afternoon since it was just the three of us we needed to maximize this meal!)

Our Easter menu: Honey Glazed Ham, Field Peas, Collard Greens, Macaroni & Cheese, Sweet Potato Souffle with brownies and ice cream along with Blue "Birds Nests" for dessert.

Oh Yum!

Dying Easter eggs. Note for next year: buy white eggs (oops!).

Parker Bear in his Easter outfit. We had to get the baby Sperry's!

Checking out his first Easter Basket

Happy Easter!!

The Tubes

Parker got tubes in his ears last week two weeks ago. (It's just taken me that long to blog about it...)

Our poor baby has had one ear infection after another this year. So many that when I asked our pediatrician to help me count how many infections he had she told me that it was difficult to say because they just seemed to string along all winter long.

Our pediatrician referred us to a fabulous ENT who confirmed that our Parker Bear was a candidate for tubes and as luck would have it, the surgery was scheduled for the very next day!

Honey was out of town for work and my mom was visiting Parker and I that week so I was *very happy* not to be alone for my baby's surgery. My emotions were all over the place - thankful to have an answer that was going to help Parker Bear in the long run and scared out of my mind to hand my ten month old over for surgery.

We had to arrive at the surgical center by 6:45 AM for our 7:45 AM surgery appointment. The worst part? Parker could not have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before. That meant I could not nurse him upon waking the morning of his surgery. Worst. News. Ever. For both he and I.

The night the before the surgery I hardly slept. I kept waking up and couldn't go back to sleep. When the hour to rise finally came I was shaking and felt like I was going to throw up... How I managed to get dressed that morning I'll never know.

I scooped Parker from his crib and took him straight to the car without even changing his diaper. (Hooray cloth diapers!) We drove the 20 minute drive in complete silence. I was afraid that with too much interaction from me Parker would cry wanting to nurse.

When we got to the center, I went inside to fill out paperwork and my mom stayed in the car with Parker. I thought he may go back to sleep but he decided he wanted Twinkle (my mom) to play with him! So they played while I was inside. Sweet baby.

When it was time I ran to the car to get Parker and bring him in. I changed him into the surgical gown and also changed his diaper. 

By the way, if you ever see infant surgical gowns, bring a tissue. I wasn't prepared for that. Babies just shouldn't be in surgical/hospital gowns.

I held Parker while the doctor and nurses went over everything one final time. Then it was time for the worst part.

There was a hospital bed in the small pre-op room where we were waiting and I asked the nurse if they were going to wheel Parker back to the OR in that bed. Fortunately she said - No, Honey, I'm going to carry him! 

I was so thankful! Watching him get wheeled away in that bed would have broken my heart to the point where I would have likely needed a sedative!

Instead the nurse had a warm fluffy blanket that she wrapped around Parker to carry him in. He looked up at the nurse and gave her a huge Parker Bear smile and away they walked to the OR. Seeing him go happily helped to ease my fears.

Then we waited. For a whole seven minutes. The doctor came out. Parker did great! We could go see him!

Coming out of surgery Parker was not happy. He was disoriented, tired, and hungry. I held him immediately. We nursed as soon as possible. Parker was happy to be with me but still a bit fussy. Understandably!! He fell asleep the moment I placed him in his carseat.

He woke up when we got him home just as happy as can be! The rest of the day was surprisingly normal. Parker nursed and napped on his usual schedule. 

We gave Parker antibiotic drops in each ear every morning and night for one week. He has to wear ear plugs during his bath to keep water out. Aside from that there have been no changes to our day-to-day with the exception of me fearing the next ear infection coming on!

We had our post-op check up one week later and the doctor was very pleased! Parker should continue to wear ear plugs until the tubes fall out. No problem! He doesn't mind wearing them and that is certainly a small price to pay.

This experience only reminds me even more of how very blessed we are to live in a time when we can get the medical care we need when we need it to improve our lives.

Thanks for reading and caring about our boy! I loved hearing from so many other mommy's on IG and Facebook that they had been through the same experience. Love it when the world feels smaller and I can connect with other moms like that!

Parker Lately: 10 Month Post

I cannot believe I used the TEN MONTH sticker to take Parker Bear’s monthly picture. In the words of  our nanny, Nanny M, he’s in the double digits! In less than two months my baby is turning one year old. So. Hard. To. Believe. I realize that all mommy’s say that, and I’m no different!

Here is our boy, Parker, Lately:

Like the rest of the world we have had quite a run of sickness in our house this winter. From one cold after another to ear infections it has seemed endless. This is unusual because Baby Parker is not in day care and Honey and I aren't usually this sick but somehow this year it has been rough!

Parker just got tubes in his ears last week - more to come on that in a separate post.

Sleeping - Parker is still sleeping 12 hours every night from 9 am to 9 pm and I hope he continues to do this until he is at least eighteen years old! He takes two naps every day. His morning nap is one hour from 11 am to noon and then his afternoon nap is an hour and a half from 4 pm to 5:30 pm. This is his schedule like clockwork! I love it! Having such a consistent routine makes it so easy to plan our days.

Eating - Eating "real" food is going really well! Parker continues to expand his little palette and now enjoys foods that have more substance like baby coucous, baby muesli, and baby oatmeal. He loves "happy puffs" which are like small, soft cherrios but he let us know recently he did not like the spinach flavor. That was the first time he did not like something! I eat a lot of spinach so it's funny to me that he didn't like the spinach puffs! His "pincher" grasp is improving all the time and we love watching him learn how to use his fine motor skills.

Nursing - Parker is still nursing five times a day and like his naps are very consistent! He nurses at 9 am upon waking, at noon immediately after his morning nap, at 3 ish, at 5:30 upon waking from his afternoon nap and at 8:45 just before bed. He doesn't try to nurse any other time and the schedule works so well for both of us since we both know exactly what to expect.

Bath - Parker has graduated a little bit and we no longer have the infant insert in his whale tub! Since he is sitting on his own so well now he can just sit in the whale tub without the additional support of the infant insert. I am hoping to move him to a regular bath soon but am concerned about him slipping on the slippery bath tub bottom!

Motor Skills - Parker's fine motor skills are amazing us every day! He LOVES to make "music" with his toys by finding one that rattles when he shakes it or by hitting two toys together. He can pick up small puffs with his pincher grasp and put them straight into his mouth. We have enjoyed watching him improve his skills every day! Recently Parker got a little maraca toy and he absolutely loves to shake it to hear it make "music". He also loves an audience and gets super excited when he sees that we are watching him and cheering for his music!

Social - Parker Bear is such a social little guy! He smiles at everyone who speaks to him or smiles at him! I had an opportunity to see just how social Parker is when we went to a KinderMuzik class a couple of weeks ago. While the other babies were already crawling and pulling up, they didn't smile or "talk" to anyone who spoke to them. Parker was quite the opposite. While he isn't trying to move and is totally content to sit where I place him, he smiled and even attempted to talk to the other babies and mommies! His peditracian was right! I was so pleased to have a chance to experience just how social our little baby boy is. He might not be crawling around the floor but he is one social baby!

Milestones - As I mentioned above, our little one is not crawling or pulling up but he facinates us with how fast he is learning and changing and growing! He is so alert and observant. He does not miss a thing! We are always laughing at how we can't get anything by him. Something he is doing now that we love is looking around whatever may be in his way to see something. He will get a curious look on his face and lean so far to one side to try and see whatever he hears. It is too cute! He continues to impress us with how he holds things and turns things. He will turn something in his hands over and over again. He loves to touch everything he can and it is so sweet to watch his little face study new things. 

Parker Bear continues to bring such joy and light into our lives every day! He is quick to laugh, loves to cuddle, and finds such a profound happiness in every part of his life. We are loving every minute with our precious baby boy and look forward to what each day with him with bring!

Happy Spring oh and Merry Christmas

Remember the time I forgot to blog about Parker's first Christmas? About our first Christmas as a family of three? As I was getting geared up to to share about Easter I remembered that Christmas was still waiting it's turn. Well no time like April for a post-Easter Christmas update!

We were so excited to spend our first family Christmas at our home in front of our tree with Santa coming down our chimney! Of course we wanted to see our families and celebrate with them too so we ended up having a mid-December pre-Christmas "Christmas" with both sides of the family. 

We headed to my parents and to Honey's parents for a few days at each house celebrating, exchanging gifts, eating good food and making memories of Parker's First Christmas. (Somehow I managed to get pictures of Parker with only one cousin on each side although he has two cousins on each side!)

Reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas"

On the way home from visiting with our families we stopped at the North Pole to sit on Santa's lap!

Then we returned home to begin our celebration! The day before Christmas Eve I spent the day Parker's nap times in the kitchen prepping a feast for us to eat on Christmas Eve. (Since I don't believe in spending Christmas Day in the kitchen, we enjoyed our family feast on Christmas Eve and leftovers on Christmas Day. I highly recommend this approach!)

Christmas Eve was so much fun! I got my dishes in the oven and my pots on the stove that morning while we enjoyed our day at home as a family. I even cooked a turkey. Yes. A Turkey. In my oven. Both Honey and I were surprised at how good it turned out since it was my first time. And I learned that cooking a turkey is sorta fun. Never EVER thought I'd say that! 

Also on the menu were Cornbread & Biscuit Dressing, Field Peas, Carrot Souffle, Brussels Sprouts with Hollandaise, Cheddar Bay Biscuits and of course the Turkey. Dessert was "Christmas Wreaths" and Campfire Pie. We loved every finger-licking minute of that meal and I have never felt more like a domestic wife + mommy!

Not long after Parker Bear went to bed on Christmas Eve, Honey and I placed some milk and homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies by the fire and went to bed ourselves. Sometime that night Santa Claus arrived and filled our stockings and placed our presents beneath the tree. We were so excited!! Our first Christmas with a baby for us to begin to share the wonders of Christmas with!!

Christmas was so much fun! Parker woke up at his usual time (9 am) and after he nursed we brought him down to let him begin to explore what Santa Claus brought. 

It was so much fun! Of course the gifts with their shiny paper and bright bows were often times more exciting to him that the actual gifts but it made such a fun morning opening presents together. 

Here is what our Christmas morning looked like:

During Parker's nap, Honey and I exchanged our presents and then after Parker woke up we all had lunch together. We spent the afternoon playing, playing, playing!! 

It was such a wonderfully fun Christmas and I never, ever want to forget it. I already can't wait for next Christmas when Parker will be nineteen months old. The fun continues...

So Merry Christmas, er, Happy Spring!