Trying so hard

Jacob has been trying sooo hard lately so form real words. His mouth makes the shape of the word he is trying to say but the sound that comes is just noise. You can semi make out the word he is trying to say but so far it is jumbled noise. It's so cute to watch him try. He really gives it his best effort. I have a feeling it will be any day now before he's forming real words/sentences. He can say.....Mama, Dada, Kila, Grandpa, Grandma, GG, Nene, ball, dunk it (muttled), cup, up, Moose, and milk. I think there are a few more but I can't quite remember off of the top of my head. He's just turning in to such a young little man.

Calling POISON CONTROL

Yes that's right you read the title correctly. This morning while Daddy was taking a shower and Mommy was making spinach and phyllo dough pockets Jacob decided to explore his environment and found something new.........it was a Bath and Body Works air freshener. He has been dieing to get to the one at the office and we had to put the ones up higher at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I should have taken my own advice and moved the ones at our house higher as well. Little Jacob comes strolling in to the kitchen holding the plug-in in one hand and the air freshener bottle in the other. His mouth was green (the color of the air freshener) and it was running down his mouth. I IMMEDIATELY grabbed the spare air freshener I have locked up and read the back for a warning. It stated if swallowed do not induce vomiting, contact Poison Control immediately. This is why Kaiser asks if you have the telephone number for Poison Control by the phone. I don't so I had Jay Google it. I called them and the pharmacist stated that if he wasn't choking on the fumes, then he was going to be ok. Apparently it's only dangerous if he ingested a large amount or if he managed to inhale it in to his lungs. She said to give him some juice to wash it out of his mouth and he would be fine. It gave me a heart attack. So needless to say all air fresheners are up and out of Jacob's reach.............for now.

I'm in love!

Jacob is such an amazing young man. He brightens my heart daily. He challenges me at times and yes it drives me up the freaking wall and makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs but then there are times when he runs up and gives me the biggest hug, pats me on the back, and looks at me with those big blue eyes and says "Momma". It's amazing to think that the decisions we make as parents can shape our children, for example.....I have spoken to various people about night night time. Some parents swear by the CIO (cry it out) approach to help their children go to sleep on their own. I tried that last weekend and I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN. The approach I take is to nurse him and while he's still awake, I lay him down in his crib and let him fall asleep on his own while I am still in the room. This is working and he feels safe and knows that Mommy is there but is still able to fall asleep on his own. Also when he wakes up in the middle of the night, I let him cry for a bit to see if he falls back asleep, if he doesn't I will go in , pat his butt and he falls back to sleep. I don't see anything wrong with the approach I am taking. I don't believe he is going to have issues down the road because I stay in the room while he falls asleep but I do believe that he will have issues if I leave him in the room and let him cry. I can't imagine what he was thinking when I didn't come back in to get him. How can they say to put your child in timeout a minute for how old they are but leave them in their room for 10 minutes to cry before going in. Makes no sense. I am going to follow what my body and heart tells me to do and that is make sure my son feels safe and secure.

Aaarrgggg he's driving me crazy!

Jacob is testing me all of the time. He yells, whines, and hits. I don't know what to do. I have been there for him from day one and he has no reason to take his frustration out on me. I know he has no way to vent his anger other than the above stated ways but I wish he was just a little nicer to me. If he hits my hand I don't want to hit his hand back to show him that it hurts because that's showing him that hitting is ok. How do I vocalize to him that it's not ok to hit Mommy? I hope I am not losing control of my son at 15 months and I hope that this isn't a peek in to the future. I have never written a blog other than happy experiences but I am hoping someone will read this and give me some input.

And the climbing and naughtiness continues......

Jacob is scaring me to death lately. He is climbing on EVERYTHING! He climbs on the ottoman to get on the chair, he climbs on his garage to get the pictures off of the cd cabinet, he climbs on the wipe box to get to anything. I feel like I am going to have a full head of grey hair before I'm 30. It doesn't matter if I am standing right next to him he will climb on to things and fall and I feel like I am watching him fall in slow motion and my hands are glued to my side. There are tears, laughs, boo boo's and scares but I love watching him when he gets in to his curious mode. You can see it in his face that he is trying to figure out what to climb on to get to what he wants.

Also, he is just getting to be so naughty. I feel like I am in the midst of the terrible 2's early. He tests me and stomps his feet on the utter of the "NO" word, he whines when he wants something, and will do what you just asked him not to do. I know he's still a baby and I know he doesn't know better but goodness he pushes my buttons sometimes. I am hearing "boys will be boys" a lot. Whew I am tired from keeping up with the naughty climber.

Oh the dare devil he is!

Today I was in the kitchen doing some dishes and I noticed that it was very very quiet in the living room where Jacob was. Well as any parent knows, quietness is not a good thing. It either means sleep which is unlikely or trouble. Well in today's case it was trouble. I go in to the living room to see what was going on with Jacob and I see him on top of his toy chest looking out the shutter of the sliding glass door. I didn't want to startle him in fear that he would fall so what does a Mommy do????? Grab the camera! Here is the picture and video I was able to take. Boy o' boy I see grey hair in my near future.

Teefies and sickness, oh my!

Well Jacob already has his two bottom teeth that managed to poke through at 11 months and 24 days; just in time for his 1st Birthday. Well today Jacob and I were rolling around on the floor and Mommy was blowing bubbles on his tummy and he was cracking up. I looked up at his little angel face and see some white poking through the top of his gums. The left tooth looks like it is coming through before the right. So poor bug on top of being sick he's also teething.
Oh yeah about the sickness. I took Jacob to Gymboree play gym last Friday and again for his make up class on the following Sunday. Sunday night Jacob had his first fever. It ranged from 99.3 to 101.1. I was a little nervous because we haven't had a fever scare yet. I gave him Tylenol every 4 hours and put him in warm baths throughout the day. Poor baby he was sooo irritable and not hungry except for Mommas milk. The fever lasted 3 days. On the third day I called Kaiser's Nurse Advice line and they stated not to bring him in unless his symptoms changed or worsened or fever reached 104! 104! yeah 104 (crazy)....Well as I said the fever finally broke but was IMMEDIATELY followed by a rash that covered his trunk area. I googled his symptoms and followed up with Kaiser's Nurse Advice line and it turns out he has/had Roseola. It's nicknamed "baby measles". The rash is not itchy but baby is irritable. Since he got it now, he won't likely get it late. His appetite is improving but he still has the rash and diarrhea. I called Gymboree and asked to speak to someone in Corporate. When children are enrolled in Gymboree the parents are given documents about Health Standards and they are NOT to bring their children in sick. Well Jacob could have only caught this at Gymboree because that's the only place he went and only caught it if the child was contagious with a fever or the rash. So poor baby has not left the house in a week, and neither has poor Mommy. He is super clingy and just wants to be held. Can you blame him? Mommy gave him sugar free popsicles to make him feel better.

It's been over a month

Well it's been about a month since my last post. Partially because I had no Internet access for about two weeks. Jacob is getting to be more mischievous, more adventurous, and more defiant daily. He knows he's not supposed to get in to the dishwasher as I am unloading it and will look at me and smile as he climbs in. He knows he's not supposed to climb the book shelf and will look my way as he puts his foot on the first bank of steps. It drives me crazy that he does this but I wouldn't change a thing about him. I love that he is so adventurous and that he challenges me. I just need to make sure that I am stern and repetitive with him so he knows that those things are a no-no. Jacob has also stopped napping frequently and for longer durations. He used to nap 2-3 times a day for at least an hour and a half each. Now there are 2 naps that run about and hour each. That means my cleaning, laundry, eating, and showering time has been cut but it's been a smooth transition because that means I get to spend more time with him. I have had to baby proof the house in every way imaginable. His wife Leyla and sister-in-law Evelyn came over while my parents were gone and Jacob watched Leyla open doors by the handle. Well as soon as she left, he began opening doors by the handle. Leyla also taught Jacob how to climb on to the coffee table. It scares me to death that he is learning these things but I stop and look at his face while he's doing it and see the wheels turning in his head and it's amazing to watch him. I love watching my child grow, not only physically but emotionally as well. He is getting taller and is in the 75th percentile for height and 50th for weight. I love that he is so independent but there are the moments when he comes running to Mommy to give her a big hug and kiss. He's a great baby- I mean big boy.

I have started a scrapbook for his first year. I intend on doing one for every year. It's great to stroll down memory lane and remember how teenie tiny he was. Well I hope to keep up with my blogs, after all this is an Internet scrapbook for Jacob to look at.

Jacob's swim class

Since I am a stay at home Mommy, I want Jacob to have the ability to socialize with other children. He is already enrolled in Gymboree and is flourishing! It has given him self confidence in his climbing, walking, running, and interaction with other children his age and older. This being a really hot month and Jacob loving the pool, I thought it would be a great idea to enroll him in swim lessons. RCC offers a summer course for Child and Parent and other age groups as well. It was a two week course, four days a week for twenty five minutes per day. Ms. Camille was the swim instructor and Jacob quickly made eyes with Megan, an 11 month old girl in his class. Two classes in they were high-fiving each other. Ms. Camille taught them to kick on their back, kick on the tummy, float on their back, and float on their tummy, go under water, and jump off of the edge of the pool to their Mommy/Daddy. Jacob was a little apprehensive about floating or kicking on his back because he DOES NOT like the sun in his face and it being 11:00am the sun was bright and right upon us. He quickly warmed up to the floating and kicking on his tummy. Mommy made it like she was a tug boat and blew bubbles at him and pulled him along while he was kicking away. Jacob's favorite part of the class was the jumping off of the wall. I think if it were up to him, the entire class would have been built around jumping in to the pool. The part of the class I was unsure of was dunking him in the water. I was afraid he would choke. Surprisingly enough he was ok with it. The trick was to blow in his face before he gets dunked. He really was a champ and Mommy couldn't be more proud. I am going to Rancho Physical Therapy because they offer year round swim lessons and it's indoors so Jacob won't have the sun in his face. We will for sure be returning next year to the RCC swim class. It was a great experience for Jacob and I.

Jacob's 1st Birthday

It's hard to believe that mama's little baby buggy is 1 but he is. I cried the entire week prior whenever he gave me a snuggly hug, or cuddled me, or just let me hold him. Those occurrences are so rare now a days that when they happened, I just wanted to cherish them. I did all of the grocery shopping a few days prior and the cart as loaded down. I'm sure I over shopped but our families eat big and takes left overs. I was up early Saturday morning to make cakes. I wanted to make Jacob a cake with the monkey from his invitation on it. That cake turned out super cute! I also bought a Wilton's monkey cake pan and that cake turned out cute but I was soo tired by the time it came to icing it, the whole monkey got brown fur with no distinction where the hands and feet were. I made two other cakes as well. So between making the cakes, making the butter cream icing, and dying all of the icing to color coordinate to the party, Mama was tired. Sunday came and I couldn't wait for Jacob to wake up so I could wish him a Happy Birthday. His wife and mistress came over early to help set up and he was in heaven. He chased them all around! More friends and family came; it was everything I wanted for his 1st birthday.

When it was present time, Kila decided to lay on one of the presents and refused to get off. Jacob helped in peeling some of the paper off but he really needed some Mommy assistance. Let's just say Jacob received some really cool presents. This boy got hooked up in the present department. He couldn't wait to ride his quad. He's already trying to do some tricks on it. After presents came the cake. I was fully expecting him to dive in to his cake and ravage through it, but nooooo not my child. He wanted to poke at it and did no ravaging of any sorts. I tried to stick his hand in the cake to get him started but all he did was freak out because his hands were dirty. We gave up on the cake ordeal and Daddy gave him a bath and the party started to wind down.

I really couldn't have asked for a better birthday for Jacob. He had all of his friends and family around to share his big day with him. Happy Birthday Doodle!

As I look back......

Well as I approach Jacob's first birthday, I am filled with mixed emotions. He has come a long way in a year. Born 6 weeks early and expected to be born with problems, but has done the exact opposite. I am so proud of the little man he has become. I could not have asked God for a better son. He is everything a parent could ask for. He is calm and quiet and mischievous and crazy all wrapped in this tiny little body.

July 23, 2008 I was playing with Kila and sat up quickly and felt a gush. I thought I just peed my pants. At 3am I woke up and noticed a lot of water in the bed and blood. Of course, I freaked out and went to Kaiser. I saw the mid wife who checked me and sent me home. I emailed my regular doctor out of concern and she urged me to come in and get re checked. I did so. By that time they confirmed that my water had broken and I had lost quite a bit of amniotic fluid. I was admitted to the hospital and was ordered to bed rest until delivery. We had the head of the NICU department come in and explain the complications Jacob would have due to his prematurity. Of course all of us were beyond frightened. I was checked hourly and given antibiotics for my fever, and placed on oxygen due to Jacob's heart rate going down. On Saturday, July 26th 2008 I pushed for an hour and five minutes and Jacob Ryan entered the world screaming. So he blew their opinion that he would come out not breathing and blue. Next, they said it would take a week for him to be able to eat 4 ounces. He was able to have his feedings increased every 3 hours because he was doing so well. After 5 days in the NICU Jacob was sent home with a clean bill of health.

At a week old he was able to hold his head up. At three months he was able to walk with someone holding both hands, at six months he was able to sit up and stand up, at 9 months he was crawling and at ten months he was walking. My son amazes me. He was able to say "mama", "dada", "up" and "hi" all by the time he was 9 months. If you ask Jacob where something is, he points to it. He is soooo smart.

I miss the days of us cuddling on the couch or in bed but I still get my cuddles and drooly open mouth kisses. He kisses everyone, even Kila.

Jacob's first birthday is this Sunday and I am approaching it with smiles as I try and hold back the tears when I think of how far my Jacob has come and how he has overcome the odds.

Here's a peak at Jacob's birthday invitation. I think they are super cute.

Jacob's 1st day at Gymboree

A lady that works next to my Mom has a grand daughter that is in classes at Gymboree. She thrives in the class and loves it. After hearing that, my Mom thought it would be a great idea to enroll Jacob in a type of class like that. I went on to Gymboree.com and got information about the types of classes they have, etc. You can preview a class for free and if you sign up on the day you preview you get $20.00 off of the one time membership fee. Today was the day we previewed the class. I have to say I was a little nervous because Jacob was having an exceptionally bad day today. He was crying and whining all day. I think he might be teething so I wasn't quite sure if he was going to be in a social mood. I gave him some Tylenol before we left and as soon as we got in the gym area he was off. He took my finger and led me around everywhere. There were times when we were circling the same area. He couldn't get over the colors, sounds, babies, mommies, and obstacles. Ms. Karla (his teacher) was very sweet and had a great voice. She is very patient with the babies and helpful with the mommies and daddies. There were activities that involved the parents and babies, and Jacob wasn't sure of those so we somewhat participated but mostly sat back and watched. For a majority of the time the gym area was laid out with obstacle courses for the kids to climb, crawl, bounce, push, and run without the fear of getting really hurt or being told "no". Jacob was climbing and looking at me like "Is my Mommy going to say no or should I keep going"? It was the greatest thing as a Mommy to watch your child's eyes light up with joy and to watch him interact with children at or around his age. Out of the 10+ children there, Jacob bonded with a little boy name Rylan. He followed him around everywhere. There were a few obstacle courses where they needed to go through the tunnels so you will see in the pictures that Jacob would go in but not crawl through the other end. It will take some time for him to get comfortable in his surroundings there.

I would have to say I would pay all of the money in the world to watch Jacob's face light up like that again. He is going the be great in this class and make friends. I can't wait to see how this changes him for the better and what he can learn from the classes and from the babies in the class. It was a great afternoon and he literally passed out in the car ride home. He pooped in his car seat and then passed out. This was a great day, thanks Grandma Sherry!

Jacob ate a booger today

These are the moments that would usually make someone gag but as a Mommy you see much worse. Jacob had a giant boogey in his nose that I was trying to get this entire morning. Well Jacob was getting really sleepy and when he's sleepy he nuzzles Mommy and rubs his eyes and nose. He was in mid-nuzzle when he looked up at me and there was that pesky defiant boogey right on the corner of his mouth. Before I could get to it, he licked his lips and in went the boogey. I tried to "fish hook" it out but my little monkey gobbled it all up. He looked up at me with the biggest grin and smiled. My son is a booger eater. I hope this was a one time thing because even though I love him regardless, I would really like this to not become a habit.

Jacob likes to water the grass

Jacob was outside with Grandpa watching him water the grass. He loves when Grandpa splashes his feet with water. Grandpa put the hose down to get something out of the garage and Jacob picked up the hose and started to water the grass like a big boy. As you can see from the pictures he also watered himself. It was the cutest thing and it's amazing how he is starting to mimic what the people around him do. Check out the video and the pictures.

Sooo proud of baby boy!

On Saturday I received a call from Kaiser saying I forgot to schedule Jacob's 9 month well baby visit. I didn't know he had a 9 month appointment so I scheduled it for today at 1:45pm. When we arrived to the doctor Jacob walked in and stood on the scale like a bog boy and weighs a whopping 21.6lbs and is 29 inches long. He has grown 5 inches from his 6 month visit!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything checks out great and he is progressing right along on the 50th percentile line.....except for his head with is in the 60th percentile. We can thank Jay for that. His doctor then explained that since Jacob is breastfed he would need to get blood drawn today to make sure he has sufficient iron levels and has no lead in his system. I thought it would be a foot prick like they did when he was tested out of the NICU....I was wrong. She informed me that they would draw the blood out of this little arm like a big person. My Mom was freaking out but I knew I had to stay calm for my Doodle. Oh and Jacob needed to get his third HIB shot. So the nurse comes in and I get to hold him like the previous visit. He took that shot like a champ. We got him dressed and went the 2nd floor to the lab. I sat with Jacob in the chair and had to hold his arm across his chest and then stretch his arm out on the cushion to feel for the vein. It took two ladies to hold his arm and find the vein. The nurse puts the rubber band around on his arm and was able to find the vein. He was so calm and I really couldn't be prouder. He didn't cry once! When she went to put the bandage on, then he cried a very wee bit. She gave him a sucker (his very first one) and he was very happy. Mommy gave him Tylenol and some milkie milk and he passed right out. I was so proud of him. He amazes me with courage and strength.

Yippy skippy!

Jacob has been sleeping great! It's almost like he was listening to the conversation with the nurse and understood what she said. He's is sleeping peacefully through the night with only two or so interruptions. I feel great and feel so rested. I'm sure Jacob feels better too. It dawned on me that I was tired from getting up so he must also be tired from getting up.
He is sooooo full of life and energy. He is literally bouncing off of the walls. He's getting in to everything..........plug ins, Kila's water/food bowls, magazines, let's just say anything he can reach. It's insane on how crazy he is.

Night #2 was a breeze!

I don't want to get my hopes up but this has not been as scary as I though it would be. Who knew all I had to do is tell Jacob it's time for nigh-night and nurse him to sleep and then just pat him on the butt when he wakes up and nurse after 6 hours of sleep if necessary. I have been literally sleep deprived for 10 almost 11 months. All of this information could have been helpful a long time ago. Jacob is adjusting to the new routine well. I am still pretty tired but I'm sure it will take some time getting used to the sleep. He is also walking like crazy and trying to run. It's amazing all of the hidden dangers you find lurking in your house once your child is mobile.

It's the cutest thing.....Jacob loves to give Kila her pee pee and poo poo treats. He gets them out of the bag, holds them in his hands, and decides when and if he's going to give them to her. He thinks it's hilarious to tease her with them. She's very gentle when getting the treats out of his hands. Normally she'd take an eye out if it meant getting her treats, but with him she is soft and sweet. Of course he is her new best friend because he is the keeper of the treat bowl.

Night #1 is a success!

Soooooo I was very nervous about Jacob waking up last night in fear that he would scream bloody murder for me to pick him up and nurse him. 11:45pm rolls around and I hear Jacob through the monitor and he's moaning and doing mini baby cries. I wait for him to full blown cry and I go in there. Jacob, for whatever reason, scooches himself to the top of his crib and he feels trapped. I moved him back down to the middle of the crib, patted his perfectly round diaper bootie, and shhhhhhshhhh'd him back to sleep. With victory in the bag I was able to crawl back in to bed and rest peacefully until I I hear the moans and groans start again. In fear that it has only been an hour, I look at the clock and it was 3:30am! I was elated to say the least. I waited for him to cry and I went in there, picked up my doodle and nurse him back to sleep. Yes! I have conquered two awakenings with no melt down. He finally woke up for good at 6:30am. I feel rested and relieved. I'm not going to get my hopes up that this is the trend he's going to follow but even one night of good sleep was worth it.

Cross your fingers and put your mouth to God's ears....

As my friends are well aware of Jacob's inability or unwillingness to sleep through the night or even half way through the night. Last night Jacob woke up 11 times.....yes folks I said 11 times. Ok so Mama can't take this anymore. It's really starting to get to me physically and mentally. I called his ped's doc and the nurse called me back and said this is what I have to do....

I have to nurse Jacob as I normally do after a bath and then put him in his crib to sleep. When he makes his moaning noises and starts to wake up, I have to wait until he full blown cries to go in there. I can't turn the lights on or talk to him. I have to place him back in his sleeping position and pat him on the bootie. If he cries I have to leave the room and then return in 10 minutes if the crying doesn't stop. **REPEAT IF NECESSARY**. I have a very hard time with this but she said I should have stopped nursing him in the middle of the night at 6 months. No one told me this but that's ok, I love the bonding time but now Jacob's taking advantage of it. SOOOO we'll see how it goes tonight. The nurse said it should take a couple of weeks to get him in the routine of it.

If he's not sleeping, he's moving!

Well Jacob is officially walking. He took quite a few steps with Daddy at the park a few weeks ago and then last week we were all sitting around and he pulls himself up to a standing position and then just goes. He walked across the living room to the other ottoman. We all sat stunned and amazed. It's like the light bulb went off in his head about how to walk and now that is all he's doing. If he is not napping, he is either crawling super fast all over the place or walking all over the place. He does laps around the living room and kitchen area. It's like unchartered territory that he has never been to, and he acts like that every time he goes around. He wants to let go but on the flip side gets very grumpy if he falls. So it's like "let me go but don't you dare let me fall". I thought I was busy before hand but now this is a whole new level. There is no more putting him in his bouncer and being content while I do laundry or clean. Now it's "Jacob is sleeping, let me get as much done as possible".
Even when I nurse him, his legs are going crazy; it's almost like he is too busy to eat or nurse. My kid is freaking insane and I am all sorts of tired. Not to mention he still gets up 4-6 times a night for either a cuddle or for a snack.

Oh and I forgot to mention (this ties in to my previous blog about being a genius)......if you ask Jacob, "where's the door"? He takes you over to the door and points to it. Here is a list of the things Jacob knows and takes you to: door, screen, Kila, glass, mirror, sink, faucet, handle, rug, vent, Grandma's coffee, Grandpa's coffee, cup, oh and Doodlebug. I really feel like my kid is a genius.
I have a video of Jacob walking that I will post when I figure out how to do it.

Jacob amazes me daily

Today was just another day that Jacob managed to amaze me. Just three weeks ago he was clapping, then the following week he was waving bye bye, and this week he is giving everyone high five. I have no idea where he picked it up but it is soooo stinkin cute.

This morning Jacob and I were having breakfast with my parents at Farmer Boys and I look to the left of me and I see my baby who is not such a baby anymore. There he was sitting there in his highchair, eating pancakes, and drinking out of his sippy cup. It made me think back to 9 months (almost 10 months) ago I was giving birth to my tiny little baby boy and now he is this tornado that destroys anything in his path.

I am proud to say that I have become "that" Mom who in every conversation she has manages to bring up her kids latest and greatest, thinks her child is a genius, can't imagine God creating a cuter child but I really believe that he is a genius and is the cutest ever created.

I just can't believe in this short amount of time he has gone from preemie to a big boy.