10 Months!

Ugh. How is it possible that Lincoln is 10 months old?!?! Well, 10 months and a week, now. He’s crazy and mobile and such a fun kid. And I’m on single parent duty while Josh is away hiking, so not a long post.

likes: carrots…and eating in general, anything electronic, swinging, crawling everywhere, waving at girls, standing
dislikes: changing clothes, waiting on food, gas (which he’s had a lot of), getting out of the bathtub
teeth: 5 with one more on the way…. and more drool than can possibly be necessary
hair: enough for the nurses to comment on it at his check up!
sleep habits: better…. except that he’s waking up at 5ish every morning. usually he goes back down til 6.30 ish, but while Josh had been gone he’s not tone back down easy, so I’m a little sleep deprived
clothing size: mostly 9-12, I’m still hanging on the some of the 9 month onesies because I really like them and he didn’t get to wear short sleeves much while they fit, so we’re stretching them on

2 months, 5 months, 7 months, 10 months

He looks like such a little kid here… not a baby :(

It’s blurry, but this is the best comparison shot we got for the rest…

I have no idea… maybe he was yawning?

This is the face he almost always makes when he squawks like a bird….

A Trip to the Pharmacy

So, Lincoln is drooling like CRAZY and it’s causing a nasty rash on his chin. When we got back in town today, we walked to the pharmacy to get some lotion to hopefully help the itchyness and make it better. Well, we’ve been to the pharmacy pretty frequently as of late… and we’re not pretty good friends with the gals that work there. So, I head straight for the girl who’s the skin expert. She’s super sweet and patient with us. The first thing she does is take Lincoln out of his stroller and start playing with him while we talk, which is awesome because he’s totally entertained. She looks at the description of every lotion on the baby wall and decides what she wants us to use isn’t there. She calls to order what we need from the storage facility and then we all play with Lincoln a bit more. Turns out it’s gonna be 30 minutes before it gets there, so we go to the park and swing for a while. When we finally get back, the lotion isn’t there yet, so again, they take Lincoln out and play with him. I drink some tea and he bounces from person to person. Then the crazy starts.

First, he’s drooling like a mad man, as I said, so the nice skin lady takes him in the back and comes back with 2 super nice bibs that are plastic backed and ties one around his neck.

Then, no less than 3 old ladies come in and give him a billion mashallah’s and then look at me and 3 times I have the no-I’m-not-his-sister-I’m-his-mom talk. Insert shocked faces. One of them even said, “Oh, wow, I really thought she was only 15 or 16.” Seriously lady?

Then, the lotion finally gets there (an hour after we did) and the nice skin lady is like, oh it’s 26 lira…. ok, just charge them 20. Sweet! I don’t mind discounts.

After our crazy pharmacy adventure we had to run by the grocery store to pick up a few things. I was running around like a mad woman trying to get everything as fast as possible because it was already time for Lincoln to be eating. But it’s really, really hard to push the stroller around the store so I kept running into things. Anyway, I turn down one aisle and there are 3 university girls start gawking at Lincoln. Then the look up and one of them says, “Oh, it must be his sister” I said, “No, I’m his mom.” She looked at me, looked at my wedding ring, looked back at me and was so completely unbelievable shocked. Possibly the best reaction ever! It took her a few minutes to even pass us and continue on with her business.

At least I got some good community time in today Gotta love the pharmacy.

Pictures from Mom and Dad’s visit

I fully intended to write more about when mom and dad came… but finding time to blog is hard.

So, here’s a quick run down. They flew in to the capital and arrived with one of their 4 bags… the others were still at JFK. So we left for Kapadokya without them. We took them to the valley that we love to hike, a cool monastery, a really old church, the underground city, an open air museum, and the fairy chimneys. On our last day there, their bags came…. and the guy at the hotel said, “What, did you bring your whole house?” So, we explained that most of it was just stuff for the baby, which seemed to make it all ok.

Then we came back to our city and went to the new mall. I know this sounds so silly, but you have no idea who exciting it is that we have a mall. A real one with more than 10 stores. They met one of my tutors on Tuesday and then my other tutor and her family on Thursday (and Lincoln got to play with their little girl, which is hilarious to watch). We did something on Wednesday, but I can’t remember? Maybe we just walked around town? Then on Friday we went to another city nearby with a cool castle and some really old churches. And they left super late that night.

It was a whirlwind trip. Soooo fast. But it was so nice to have them here again And now it’s only 10 weeks til we’ll be in the states to visit! I cannot wait. I’m not counting down yet… I only know the exact time because Morgan is counting down To her WEDDIN!! Yeah, I can’t wait!! I’m so excited. Not only is my best friend getting married, but the wedding is in Colorado and we get to go hiking and play in the mountains. Can July come any faster? Please?!?

Just note how wet the shoulder strap is…. this boy is teething like mad.

This is what Lincoln did the entire time we were in the underground city. I could not get him to put his head straight….

When the hotel said they had a baby bed, I was thinking a pack-n-play….

Yes, it was cold enough for the snow suit.

He would rather be in the shopping cart than the stroller… and yes, we got TONS of weird looks for this.

Mom and dad brought puffs and cheerios….. and Lincoln decided they worked well as false teeth.

I’m pretty sure he ends up with a fist full in his mouth before he swallows… he just keeps cramming them in.

Mom climbed the castle!!

I don’t think this picture really lets you see how tall it is…. add the extra weight on my back and I was feelin it.

And I have learned to be ok nursing pretty much anywhere…. like the top of the castle. I’m just glad there were no other tourists that day.

He LOVES to be outside.

He wants to share :)

My baby, the celebrity.

 

It has been a really long week.

Sunday was normal…. until Lincoln threw up his lunch at church. So, we came home early and he was ok for the rest of the day. He’s teething like crazy. Drool and snot EVERYWHERE. Insane. And then, he threw up again on Monday. And again on Wednesday. And again on Thursday. Ugh. He’s not even sick. It’s just the drainage! So, we’re learning about how important it is to clean out the poor kid’s nose every single time he’s going to eat. And he hates it. Seriously. He’s spent every meal yesterday and today crying because we have to keep cleaning it out. But that is preferable to vomit. 

Anyway. On top of Lincoln teething and being disgustingly drooly and snotty…. I started feeling rough on Sunday night, was ok on Monday and by Tuesday I spent the whole day laying around like an invalid. Finally, by Wednesday afternoon I couldn’t take it anymore so we went to the doctor. Really, the emergency room. Because that’s what  you do here. Well, I had taken tylenol, so my fever was gone and they wouldn’t treat me. Ha. But they did send me to this super old, but nice, ear/nose/throat doc upstairs and I had tonsillitis. Never had that before.

So, I’m all drugged up now and Lincoln is still working on his teeth. He ate better tonight and didn’t cry as much. Josh was gone allll day today and we survived. Barely. And Im exhausted. But, if you get him outside, he’s good to go. So… 

We went to the store to get some fruits and veggies. As soon as we pull up the girls who work there start talking to him and playing with him in the stroller. Then one asks if she can take him out. Sure, why not… and then he gets passed around to every person who works there or is shopping there for 25 minutes. And he just jabbers and smiles… and looks over his shoulder to make sure i’m still there… then goes back to flirting with the girls. 

This seriously happens everywhere we go. Poor blonde kid in asia. 

9 Months (and a week)

Ahhh, 3/4 of a year! And he’s so crazy! He’s crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything and is such a trip! He is the biggest people person ever! He can be so fussy and we go out and someone starts talking to him and he just giggles and flirts (it’s usually a girl). Hilarious.

He’s eating 3 meals a day now and eats soooo much! Maybe soon he’ll start gaining weight Carrots are definitely his favorite still. And he’s finally realizing if he doesn’t like something he doesn’t have to eat it… which means when peas or green beans are on the spoon, he takes them, then opens his mouth and just pushes them back out. Ha. So I just mix it with carrots.

He’s sleeping way better now, too! I think it took my parents being here and him getting totally thrown off. Now he’s got a schedule and he usually sticks to it (yesterday was an exception). He started waking up at 6.30, which I am NOT a fan of… but he just sits and plays in his crib til at least 6.45 usually. Doable. And he naps consistently now at 8.30 and 1 and usually for over an hour! Glorious. He’s so happy!! I love my well rested boy

likes: puffs/cheerios, standing, walking, cruising… anything on his feet, swinging
dislikes: having his nose wiped, green beans, peas, when I leave the room, the inevitable switching sides when nursing
teeth: 4!! And they are not my friends right now. The new 2 are taking forever. And I think there are a few more right behind them :-/ Yay for teeth, booooo for teething.
hair: Finally You can actually tell he has hair now.
sleep habits: Way better.
clothing size: most of his 9 month pants are too short, but we can still make the onesies work if he has on a disposable diaper…. with the cloth diapers they’re a bit tight. We’re moving into 12 month clothes. How is that possible?

He looks like such a little kid in this picture…. not a baby :(

He does crawl normally, but he also does the bear walk… it’s so funny to watch.

Clapping is a new favorite.

And this is why it was so hard to get a picture…. he does not stay still. Ever.

Poor dog.

And he’s still obsessed with electronics.

1. His tongue is almost always like this now. We think maybe the next teeth will be on the bottom again. 2. Check out that drool. All the time. Gross.

Look at that face!

No idea. That face just started one day and he does it a lot now.

5 seconds after the cameral snapped, he rolled over with a handful of my hair. Ouch.

Vampire baby.

Waving hello.

After 2 days of trying, we finally got a shot with Sherlock! Finally.

This is the new face he makes when he’s done nursing. It’s hilarious.

I love it.

This is how I found him one morning. Peek-a-boo :)

This is what happens when you keep a very schedule accustomed child up way past his bed time.

Well, hello there long lost blog.

It’s been a whole month since I’ve posted…. um, maybe more than a month. But a lot has happened and I’m still trying to catch up on sleep and play with the boy, so my days have been busy busy.

So, the month in review.

We went to the capital for Lincoln’s check up with the cardiologist. PRAISE THE LORD, his heart defect healed itself and we don’t have to go again until he’s 6 or 7. And even then, it’s just a routine check up. And, you should also know that while the doctor was doing the ultrasound of his heart, Lincoln was licking him. And the wand. And the cord. And anything else that was anywhere near his mouth. Oh, teething.

My parents came!!!! This time, they got here on time… but 3 of their 4 bags did not. Luckily, the one bag that made it is the only bag that had things they needed in it. The three lost bags were just things for us Lincoln. Mostly, anyway. My mom did score a new pair of shoes and rain jacket, though, since the airline said they’d replace anything she needed from the bags.

We went to Cappadocia for 4 days then came home for a weak-ish. Their time here went soooo fast. Lincoln warmed up to them really well and I was so relieved. He is doing the whole separation anxiety thing, but he’s such a people person it hasn’t been bad at all. I do plan to post pictures eventually… but on the way home he fell asleep holding on to my mom. It was so cute!

Josh got giardia. That’s no fun. At all. And, when Josh is that sick, he can’t really do anything but lay around and be sick. So I was extra busy.

This week has been insane, but good for the most part. Monday we spent almost the whole day with our friends to celebrate C’s birthday. They have a little girl who is 3 weeks younger than Lincoln, so it’s always great to spend time with them. We went to lunch thinking we could do that instead of a late dinner we’d been invited to, but we ended up doing both. I naively thought Lincoln would sleep at their place in his pack-n-play. Ha. After 30 minutes of crying, we gave up and he just stayed up and played. And did amazing. Seriously, I was shocked. He didn’t get fussy or whiney or cry AT ALL. And then, he just fell asleep in the car on the way home and slept til morning after we brought him in. He wasn’t even cranky the next day. Who is this kid?

Then Wednesday, we went to the doctor for Lincoln’s 9 month check up….. and found out that he hasn’t gained weight in 3 months. That’ll cause a mom to worry, right? Ugh. So, they asked what we fed him, which is a lot of food (but only fruits and veggies at this point). I got reprimanded for not feeding him beef yet, so we’ll be starting that today. We introduce things so slow because of his propensity for allergies and it’s taking forever. I’ve even shortened the time between from where we started. Anyway, they wanted to take blood and urine samples. Great. I’m already freaking out about Lincoln getting blood taken. Poor little guy! I hate it and he’s only 9 months old, he’s gonna scream and hate it and cry so much. Nope. Not a peep. Just looked at the needle sticking out of his hand like it was some new thing he had to figure out and played with the nurses afterward. Again, who is this kid? Seriously. So weird. And, all the results came back normal, so we’re just tracking his weight now and feeding him as much as he can eat.

Which leads me to Thursday. Wednesday night he ate so, so much. But he kept eating so we kept feeding. Well, we started dinner a bit late so it was closer to the time I usually nurse him when he finished, but I didn’t think anything of it. Until I went to nurse and he just screamed and refused to eat. This is the first time ever that he went to bed without getting some milk. I mean, I DO NOT nurse him to sleep… no way… but I still was so worried. He’s never not nursed! Then Thursday morning, he was normal, nursed, ate breakfast, went down for his nap….. and woke up in a puke covered crib. I cannot explain how disgusting that was. It was our first time. I know, I know. We’re still newbies. But yuck. So, we cleaned it up, cleaned him up and he slept in his pack-n-play until the mattress and cover were clean and dry. He was fine the rest of the day and hasn’t gotten sick again. We have no idea what that was about. Poor little guy.

This is the longest blog ever.

So, Friday we had to go back to the hospital for an ultrasound of his kidneys because they found blood in his urine. Everything was fine. BUT, he was hilarious. Not as hilarious as licking the cardiologist, but he was in suuuuuch a good mood. The girls that work there always take him around and he plays with everyone, but Friday was different. He was babbling and laughing and jumping like crazy! They’d take him somewhere then bring him back and as soon as he saw us he’d start laughing and bouncing until they gave him to me. The kid is a nut. He definitely has a fan base at the hospital

And now it’s Saturday….. I started writing this on Thursday. Oops. Pictures soon (I hope).

8 Months

That’s 2/3 of a year. And it’s going way too fast.

Not a terribly long post today…. just a quick update. Lincoln is crawling when he feels like it, but he can get around faster rolling and army crawling still, so he usually crawls for a bit, gets impatient, and chooses a faster mode of transportation. He talks a lot, but no real words yet. He says da-da-da-da pretty often, but I’m still not convinced he knows who that is. It’s just the most fun thing to say, I think. He’s sleeping better when we’re on a schedule. But on days when he misses his 12-ish nap, he gets a bit fussy by the evening. He LOVES to stand now, so we just bought him a play table thing. He’s taken his hands off a few times and balanced for a second or two, but nothing crazy We are not ready for that. He’s eating 2 meals a day….. and because he’s so likely to have allergies, we’re having to be super slow with adding in foods. So, he’s had: bananas, peas, carrots, avocado and pear. We’re hoping to start apples this week and maybe cheerios or something next week when MY PARENTS GET HERE and bring the crazy stash of American goodies. We’re still nursing 5 times a day and I can’t complain. Nursing has seriously not been the challenge I was worried it would be. Every once in a while I do wish I didn’t have something scheduled every 3 hours, but only on my most selfish days! For the most part, it’s the calmest part of the day and the only time he’s still….. sort of. He’s over his bronchitis (yay), but 3 times now, yes, 3 times, he has puked allllll over me after he nurses in the morning. Seriously. What is up with that? No fever, no fussiness, nothing. Just puke and then he plays like nothing is wrong. I mean, at least it’s not a whole day of puking.

This is indicative of his mood that day…. probably his worst day ever. We still don’t know what to do when he cries a lot because it’s so infrequent…

Let the baby-proofing commence.

Look at that face!

Mischief managed. That face is gonna get him out of lots of things, I’m sure.

I love that smile.

He’s practicing his “What’d I do?” face.

Hehe.

His newest toy. And maybe he’s waving?

likes: standing, remotes/cords/phones…. anything he can’t have, for some reason he thinks it’s hilarious when I say mama
dislikes: poopy diapers. seriously, as soon as it’s in the diaper he starts fussing til you change him. if he’s asleep, he wakes up and fusses. not that it’s a bad thing, just funny. and getting dressed, still.
teeth: 2!!! And we think maybe the two on top are coming in soon….. he’s started making funny faces again like he can feel them with his tongue.
hair: ha.
sleep habits: better. sleeping 7 to 7, and 2-3 naps a day (usually all 45 minutes to an hour or so)
clothing size: 6-9 month clothes still, but some of them are getting small… I’ve started putting short sleeved ones over long sleeves because I want him to wear them before they get too small!

Goodbye, Google Reader

Sad day. I really liked Google Reader and now I’m going to waste time getting things all organized on Bloglovin. At least it seems user friendly… 

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Mix it Yourself Meds

My poor baby is sick He started coughing on Friday, it got pretty bad by Sunday night and by the time we went to the doctor on Monday he almost had bronchitis. He’s coughing like a 60 year old smoker and his nose is pouring. It doesn’t help that the weather can’t decide what season it wants to be….. but anyway. Despite being sick, he’s still his happy, giggly self, which we’re thankful for! Although I did imagine being able to sit and cuddle with my baby when he was sick. Not happening. He had to sit through 3 nebulizer treatments at the hospital yesterday and he was soooo squirmy the whole time. He just wanted to play.

So, because of the sickness we had to get medicine for him and as much as I hate giving medicine to my (almost) 8 month old, I’m just glad he’s old enough now that there are some things he can take. I can’t imagine trying to get over this with just tylenol and steam. At some point yesterday afternoon I decided to just get the medicines out of the boxes and figure out the measurements so when we put him to bed it would be quick and easy. Well, I opened the first one and it was just a bottle of powder…. which prompted me to actually read the box. Shake it a lot, pour in exactly 37 mL of water, turn it over and shake right to left. Then let it sit for at least an hour before you give the first dose. Oops. So, we put him to bed a bit late so the mandatory hour could pass. ANNNNND he didn’t wake up at all. 7:30 last night until 7am. Not a peep. He’s growing up! I just hope he does it again tonight… and tomorrow night… and the night after that… and the night after that… and the night after that…

Then, this morning I had to give him the medicine again (duh). One of them is just a clear liquid (and it smells sugary, so it can’t taste that bad), but the one that we mixed is pretty thick. I finally got him to take it with the spoon that you’re supposed to use (whose idea was that for a baby, anyway? a big plastic spoon? really?) and he got most of it down then proceeded to vomit all the medicine and lots of drainage right back up. Joy. At least with how he was laying it only went on his clothes and the boppy cover, both of which can be washed. And it wasn’t really anything but medicine and snot/spit. I don’t know what I’m going to do when he actually throws up. Maybe that’ll be Josh’s job.

In other news… he’s almost outgrown the super cute 6-9 month onesies that a friend’s mom made for him and it’s not even spring yet! So we’re layering today (and for the next few weeks) to make sure he gets to wear them!!!

Randoms

Just a few things.

It’s freezing. Finally it feels like winter… and I miss our abnormally warm days. It was so nice to go for walks with Lincoln everyday! NOt so nice when it’s cold and rainy.

We managed to go to the capital and NOT go to Ikea. That’s huge. First time since we moved that we haven’t gone when we were in town! Pathetic, I know.

Lincoln is the best eater ever (so far). He’s not even made a this-is-not-my-favorite face for anything yet! I mean he’s only had a few things, but he made it through carrots and peas without a face or spitting it out!

Speaking of Lincoln, his poor little face is still not better When will it end?!?! The infection is gone; now it’s just a really bad rash from eczema. So, we have a new lotion that will hopefully clear it up soon.

He slept all night last night!! Not even a peep and I had to wake him up at 7 this morning! That is huge.

Lincoln has started doing a few new things lately and I love it. He waves bye Of course, it’s facing himself now, but it’s so cute! And he’s makes a kissy noise… I don’t know if he does it on purpose or if he’s just discovering new things, but after a lady at the store did the kissy noise he started doing it back. I can’t get enough.

I think little man is a homebody. He did fine when we were out of town this week (after the first night, anyway), but he got so excited when we got home. After I fed him I just let him play in his room for a few and he was so giggly and looked at all his toys like they’d been lost for years.

He’s starting to stand up (not pull up, just stand). This morning I stood him up by his toys and he kept pulling the drawers out and in…. until he bonked his head with the drawer. I know I shouldn’t have laughed, but it was funny.

And, finally, how bummed am I that I didn’t find these pajamas while I was still pregnant!!!

OH! My parents come in 27 days!!!!!! That’s crazy! I can’t wait