Very happy birthday boy!

Reed celebrated his birthday in Chicago. We spent almost a week there, visiting with his Nonna and Poppop, his aunt Riki and his cousins Maddy and Max. Reed had a lot of fun with all of them, though the trip was marred by a nasty ear infection that made him pretty crabby most of the time. One highlight from the trip was when Reed met a dog (a Labrador retriever) up close and got licked on his face. Reed got an obscene number of new toys for his birthday, so he’s been in hog heaven ever since.

The week after we got home from Chicago, Reed suddenly must have gotten it into his head that he wanted walking to be his primary mode of transportation. Within the course of three days, he went from walking maybe 10 steps before falling down to walking pretty much everywhere. At this point, Reed almost never crawls anymore, and though he still falls down from time to time, he can pick himself up and start walking again. It’s really cool to watch! He’s also said some more words since “dog.” He’s said “yeah”, “no”, “up”, “apple”, “bye bye”, “uh oh”, and some other things that I’m not remembering right now (note to self: write this stuff down when he does it!). He’s also eating a huge variety of foods now. He’s doing really well with feeding himself finger foods and even eats things like smoked salmon and zucchini, which I wouldn’t have touched with a 10-foot pole at that age. His favorites right now seem to be cream cheese sandwiches, grilled cheese, bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and peanut butter on Ritz crackers. It’s fun to be able to have him eat the same dinner as us many nights and to share things with him. Tonight, we ate a peach together!

Towards the end of this month, Reed is finally going to have to get surgery on his ears. He had another ear infection and has had a lot of fluid

Future President

behind his ears pretty much continuously for months on end. It’s made him uncomfortable and irritable at times and has impacted his balance and probably his hearing. It’s difficult to know how much his hearing is impacted, but it’s likely that not dealing with this now could lead to speech delays. It’s an amazingly quick procedure (it’s done in minutes) and is very routine, but I’m still nervous about it. He has to go under general anesthesia, so anything with that is a pretty big deal. I’ll be very glad when it’s over.

Other than his ears, Reed has been doing great. He laughs all the time and loves to play. He even makes up games — his favorite is this funny version of hide-and-seek involving him closing the door to a room and Adam and me hiding somewhere before he opens it again. He’s starting to have some “toddler moments” where he gets obstinate or cries when we don’t let him do something he wants to do, but we’re determined not to give in to that stuff and he usually gives up pretty quickly. He’s really grown up a lot over just the past few weeks and every day he manages to do something new that makes me even more proud of him.

Tomorrow, we’re visiting Shelburne Farm to see the sheep, cows, chickens and more. Should be fun!

It is hard to believe that Meredith and I have been together that long.

But looking back, we’ve been through a great deal together in that time, both personally and professionally –
We got married; Meredith switched careers and wrote a book; my company moved into fields that were totally unanticipated (and lots more fun); we had a wonderful baby; and we moved across the country, to beautiful (frigid) Vermont. I feel like I’ve led a charmed life this past 7 years.

This morning when driving alone after dropping Reed off at day care, I did something exceptionally pin-headed. The mountain road that I usually take to get home looked clear, and I was driving above the speed limit, and not paying much attention to what I was doing.

As I crested the hill and started to descend, I realized that the road was actually not clear, and that there was instead blowing snow and black ice beneath.

Picking up speed with no way to slow down I was at the completely at the mercy of physics to get me through in one piece.

For those few brief seconds, all I could think about was Meredith. At first I could hear her voice in my head (”Idiot! I can’t believe you’re going to die this way!) And then I thought how sad i’d be to leave her behind. And how much i’d miss her.

Fortunately, as I made it to the bottom of the hill and up the other side, I was able to get control of the car with only minor tail-wagging. Crisis averted, and lesson learned.

But the incident this morning just reinforced in my own mind that Meredith is truly the most important person in my life, and I love her to bits. I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without her there.

Happy Anniversary, hon.

Meredith’s brother Scott and his fiance Miriam came up to visit. It was great seeing Scott again and nice to finally meet Miriam.

They make a cute couple, and boy, Reed went nuts over them. He immediately jumped into their arms and started playing with them like they were long, lost friends. It was fun to watch.

OMG.. More people to Jump on!

We all had a blast and I hope that we can schedule some time in NYC to see them this summer.

Their visit was a nice change of pace for Reed, who the past two weeks has been socked with RSV and a double-ear infection (his 4th so far since December.) While all of that was happening, he also cut his first two teeth.

They are sharper than they look

He’s getting back to his usual happy self now, so it seems like the RSV is behind him and the otitis media is improving.

If the infections keep recurring, he’s probably on his way to getting tubes. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that he grows out of it.

Since the last time meredith updated this blog, Reed has crossed a whole bunch of milestones.

He’s learned to crawl properly, a skill he’s using to maximal effect.

He’s also learned to then stand up well (with help), and pull up on just about any object in the house. Which has led to cruising, something he learned in a matter of a week or two. And he’s become ridiculously strong — he can easily move the chairs in the dining room on his own, and pick up his baby bath, which he loves to fling on the hardwood floors. The loud CRASH is intoxicating to him… Mommy and Daddy can live without it.

Remorseless Eating Machine

His energy level is off the charts, and we have no idea where this comes from. According to my mother, i was more of a sit-around-and-stuff-my-face kind of baby, and Meredith was also a rather low-action infant as well. So he is truly his own man.

Just this past week, he’s gotten much better about feeding himself finger-food, and we’ve started to let him eat some adult food with us at dinner. He is gastronomically brave, and will eat just about anything placed in front of him (except prunes). A proper trencherman, he’s ballooned to 19+ pounds, and has the cutest beer belly i’ve ever seen.

Finally, he’s gotten really chatty this month. His favorite word so far (much to Meredith’s horror) is “dada”, but I’m certain he has no idea what it means — everything and everyone is “dada”. Sometimes he’ll just sit in his crib and carry on a conversation with himself for a half-hour or more, and dada will figure prominently in the monologue.

Meredith’s brother Scott is coming to visit with his fiance Miriam in the next couple of weeks, and I think he’s going to be shocked when he sees Reed. The last time he visited (over the summer), Reed was more like a doll. He would just sort of sit there in your arms and not do too much. Now he’s a full-fledged little boy who is more likely to flash you a devilish grin & jump on top of you than sit still and be cradled.

Through it all he remains incredibly lovable and adorable. His mother and I are very fortunate to have him in our lives!

Our little guy has definitely become a lot more mobile since my last post. There is literally no chance that if you leave him for a minute he will be where you left him. Changing and dressing him has become especially challenging as he wants to roll over and hop away as soon as he’s put on the changing table. Toys often help to distract him long enough to get a diaper on, but I still get a lot of bare Reed booty staring me in the face. He gets a very mischievous smile when he does it, so I think he knows exactly what he’s doing.

the daily stander

Reed is not exactly crawling, but at this point, I think he’s decided that his lunging is good enough for his purposes. He sort of leaps like a frog to get from point A to point B. He can get across a room to whatever he needs, so why bother learning to crawl? I suspect he will go straight from what he’s doing now to walking. Reed’s already standing up for long periods of time when holding onto things and can pull himself up pretty nicely as well. He’s obsessed with pulling himself up on Adam and me, and we’re starting to feel like glorified pieces of furniture. He’s done a little cruising, though he’s still pretty clumsy at that. He has a toy that allows him to walk around in circles (it’s a huge hit here), so I think that’s helping him to understand the mechanics of walking.

On the illness front, I finally ended up being the well one while both of my boys got sick (that didn’t last very long since I spent all-day yesterday throwing up from some unknown illness/toxin — fun). Last week, we learned that Reed had an ear infection (which wasn’t even what we’d taken him to the doctor for; he’d just been very congested and coughing). They put Reed on amoxicillin for a 10-day course. The morning after we gave him his first dose, I noticed a little spot of eczema on his cheek. The next day, I noticed a little more under his eye. The following night, he was covered in a red rash, and we had to bring him to the ER. They diagnosed him as having had an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin, gave us another antibiotic, and told us to watch his breathing (instead of letting us give him Benadryl — I suspect the ER doc just didn’t want to be responsible for suggesting a dose for such a little guy). Reed’s doing fine now — he’s still a bit itchy, but the rash is nearly gone. Adam and I both don’t have any drug allergies, so it was a little scary seeing Reed have such a response. He seems to be doing well though on the new antibiotic.

Reed has become an absolute pig recently — he’s often eating two four-ounce jars of baby food in a single sitting. He’s particularly obsessed with yogurt and will sit with his mouth wide open before I even get the container open! He actually knows what the container looks like! We still haven’t found anything that he won’t eat, though there are certainly things he likes better than others. Green beans, pears and raspberries, apples and apricots, and winter squash are definitely favorites. He’s eaten chicken and turkey too, but we haven’t tried him on beef or fish yet. I feel very fortunate that he’s not picky about foods — already he’s eaten things that I didn’t try until I was an adult!

One of Reed’s favorite things these days — and a surefire way to “de-crank” him when he’s in a bad mood — is taking a bath. Now that Reed can sit up in the

Bath buddies

bath, he loves being in there, and could probably spend hours playing in the water if it wouldn’t get cold. He has some bath toys that he plays with, but he likes to see and touch his little boy parts (which he’s become extremely curious about since he doesn’t get to see them much during the day). I usually only bathe him every other day, but if he’s in a bad mood, I’ll put him in the tub on off-days and just won’t soap him up. It makes him so happy to be there, and it immediately calms him down. He doesn’t tend to be a moody baby, but sometimes he gets a little overstimulated and this tends to help him chill out. Calgon take me away!

We have no plans for the winter break (I get a week off) other than baby-proofing, since I don’t fool myself that Reed is going to stay in his little “playzone” area forever. It should be a relaxing end of the year with my two favorite guys in the world.

Happy holidays to all of my friends and family reading this! We’re grateful to have you in our lives!

Sweet little thumb sucker

Reed, Adam and I had gotten to Chicago a few hours earlier. It was a combo-visit: we got to see Adam’s family and I got to attend ALA (with a very limited schedule so I could be with my little man). We were walking down Lake Shore Drive on the way to Lincoln Park. I had Reed in the Ergo Carrier on my front and I tripped over badly uneven pavement. I tried to regain my balance, but couldn’t with the extra weight on my front. So we fell. All I could think of in that moment was Reed. It was truly the scariest moment of my life. Luckily, I had just enough time to turn my body to the right as I was falling so my arm bore the brunt of the fall. Reed got a tiny bump on his forehead (which was gone within an hour) and got a small scratch on his forehead (which was healed before we even got back to VT). Still, we took him to the hospital and got him x-rayed to make sure everything was hunky dory. And it was.

I didn’t fare quite as well. I ended up with a badly sprained shoulder, a banged up knee and lots of road rash on my arm and leg. More than a week later and I still can’t carry Reed or change his diaper. Thank goodness we already had bottles and a breast pump, since there is no way I can nurse him now. It really sucks — I miss bouncing him and being able to just grab him and take him from place to place. It’s also incredibly inconvenient. Adam has had to pick up a lot of the slack. Thank goodness my parents had been planning a three-week visit that started on Friday (they’re renting a house locally), so Adam doesn’t have to do everything around here. For a few days, Adam even had to do my hair, which made me grateful that we had a son! I went to physical therapy on Friday and the exercises they recommended seem to be helping bit by bit. But I still can’t do a lot of motions with my right (dominant) arm and carrying any weight in that hand is impossible.

In spite of the pain I was feeling, all that mattered to me was that Reed was ok, and I couldn’t think about my own injuries until I knew that he was. And I felt so proud of myself for having that mother instinct to put myself into harm’s way to protect him. It was just a few seconds, hardly enough time to think, but I did the right thing for Reed. It made me feel like a real mom (even if I was one before).

Reed and his cousins Maddy and Max

Other than that, the Chicago trip was a lot of fun! Reed met his cousins for the first time, spent time with his grandparents, and met a whole bunch of my librarian friends at ALA. He started rolling from his back onto his side while we were there and has nearly gotten all the way over to his stomach. He is SO determined! While I’d never want to live in a city, I wish we had a wonderful park like Lincoln Park to take Reed to around here. It’s such a great, kid-friendly, beautiful space. Reed did a fantastic job on his first big trip! He behaved really well on the plane and was a perfect gentleman at O’Hare in spite of flight delays. We are amazingly lucky to have such a mellow little guy — he’s a gem!

I’d sprain my shoulder a thousand times over to keep him happy and healthy. It’s an awful injury to have, but he’s worth it.

Sleep Tight...

Reed just had his 3 month birthday, I can’t believe how quickly time is passing.  It is a cliche, but I really am having a hard time remembering what life was like before him! (Though that may have something to do with sleep deprivation.)

Meredith and I are lucky; not only is he healthy, but Reed is also an incredibly well-behaved baby.  Unlike his father, he communicates his needs with clarity —  he only cries when he wants to make a point (Hungry! Tired!), not just for the sake of crying.

He’s also a champ in the car and was even better behaved than his mother and myself when we were stuck at O’Hare for 6 hours the other day.

All told, having him come into our lives has been an incredible experience that’s been pretty much what I had expected.  The only real surprise to me is how deeply I love him.   Just going away for a couple of days at a time on business trips has been a total killer.   I miss seeing his smile and having him pass out in a floppy heap on top of me after feeding.

I hope  to cut down on travel for the next several months;  I know that he won’t be small forever and I don’t want to miss out on watching him grow.

Reed turned two months old today! We celebrated with his first hike in the woods, which he mostly slept through in his Ergo carrier. Part of me can’t believe he is already this old while another part feels like I’ve known him forever. The past month has been a whirlwind of visitors, but we have the house to ourselves for the rest of the summer. While it’s nice to have company and help, it’s also be nice when it’s just the three of us. My parents were so crazy about Reed that they’re renting a house nearby for three weeks to spend more time with him.

Reed has been growing like a weed. Two weeks ago, we learned that he was in the 75th percentile for height

Adam circa 1971

– which is impressive when you have two shorties for parents. He’s grown 4 inches since he was born
so is 23 and 1/4 inches now. While he eats like crazy, he’s still a pretty lean guy. I’m sure he’ll fill out
soon, though I was never particularly chubby as a baby. I’ve recently seen pics of Adam at this age and he is a chubby version of Reed; it’s really uncanny!

Tummy time or snack time?

Reed’s accomplished so many things this month. Four weeks ago he cracked his first smile and since then he’s been smiling all the time when he’s in a social mood. He’s been cooing a lot and we’re much more clued in to what his various vocalizations mean. He’s started playing with toys — batting at and clutching toys that dangle over him. He’s a whiz at tummy time and has a very strong neck. On Sunday morning he managed to roll himself from his belly onto his back!!! It was a big weekend of firsts since Saturday he also was able to consistently get his thumb in his mouth. He’s still not quite as crazy about it as the pacifier, but he seems to use it more and more each day. He’d been getting it into his mouth on and off for 2 weeks, but he was never able to consistently repeat the feat until now. Good work Reed!!!

I started back at work last week. I’m only working two days per week until mid-August (when Reed is 4 months old) and Adam will be watching him on days that I’m away. It’s difficult to be away from him, but at
least for now he’s with Adam who is so great with him. They have so much fun together and Adam is a really supportive, hands-on dad (and husband). The idea of sending him to daycare really freaks me out, but there really isn’t another good choice for our family.

Lots more to update, but my buddy here seems to want to play, so play we shall.

I know Adam’s taken other movies with our video camera, and hopefully he’ll upload them soon as well. And, as always, lots of photos of the Reedster can be found on our Flickr site.