Elbow update

Well, I got a follow-up appointment because my elbow wasn't (still isn't) 100%.  He moved my arm around some more and turns out that falling down, but not breaking or dislocating, means tennis elbow.  Not sure how that works, but that's what it is.  Fun stuff.  Hoping that it calms down within the next two weeks, or I'll end up needing physical therapy.  All this from tripping over a stupid toy.  Yeah, I'll be turning on the lights from now on....before I start walking through the house while it's still dark outside.

He BIT me!!!

I'm so sad.  I knew I'd eventually stop nursing and all, but I was actually enjoying it.  And he up and bit me!!!  TWICE!  I screamed from pain, scared him into crying, started crying myself, and then we settled.  (Oh, and Zach said, "Whoa!!!" when I screamed.  Poor guy had no clue why I was upset.)  And then he wouldn't finish.  I was really hoping to make it far enough to introduce cow's milk instead of more formula.  But you all knew that.  I have many reasons for that.  Not the least of which is that a gallon of milk is by far much less expensive than the same quantity of formula no matter how it's stored...including powdered (which is my preference since it is the cheapest way to get it).

Now, I guess we try to get him to take a bottle...or a sippy.  I don't really care which, but I do care that he gets enough to eat.

So much for the bottle...and other things

He doesn't seem to understand. Oh, well. I guess that's just the way it's going to be. I'm certainly not heart-broken, but I am frustrated. I have to take him into a quiet area or he won't nurse.

On a brighter note, Zach finally told me today when he had a poopy diaper. One step closer to using the potty. Woohoo!!!

He doesn't want to miss a thing!

Yeah, he's a busy little guy.  OK, not so little, but you all know what I mean.  I am still nursing Tom, but that after lunch thing just isn't for him, but he's still hungry.  So, we are trying something new today.  Not what I want, but what I think he needs.  Dan is going to attempt to give him a bottle.  I was hoping for two things on this really.  I wanted to avoid giving Tom a bottle, period.  I was hoping to go directly to sippy cups.  I wanted to avoid formula as much as possible...yes, I use it in his cereal, but I didn't want him to have very much.  I'm guilt-tripping myself now.

Listening to little boys

While in and of itself, it's ear-piercing and head-splitting, it's so nice to hear my boys laugh and scream and giggle together. It means they are having fun and I don't have to worry about what they are doing....so long as there is no snack sitting out where Zach can get it and attempt to feed it to Tom. We're still working on that one. I'm glad he wants to share, but I really wish he'd share his toys rather than his sippy of milk or peanut butter sandwich. Yeah, Tom can't have those yet, little man.

Making baby food

Who knew it was really so easy to make your own baby food. Yes, you have to be a little careful and make sure it's pureed smooth and whatnot....that's the hard part. I got an acorn squash at the store a few days ago (before the elbow incident) and today I baked it while Tom was down for his morning nap. It came out of the oven just a little bit ago and I scooped out the flesh into the container I used for pureeing it. I bought a stick blender (aka - an immersion blender) so that I'd be able to do this even easier and with less clean up than a regular blender. Wow! We are really going to save a bunch of money....time, well, that's another story. But, all in all, it's not any harder....I can spend time with the kids while things like the squash bake and it takes less time to puree and serve than it does to open a jar. How crazy is that?

As a side note, it appears that I didn't break my elbow...just jammed it very hard. Dan's bursitis is not just bursitis, but also an impinged nerve. I'll keep you all updated as we know more.

Note to self....make sure you can see where you are going before you start walking

Wow!  Who knew that toys meant for a 12-month old could be so dangerous.  This morning, I tripped over one of those learning to walk and can be ridden type things.  I fell....HARD.  On my left knee (it's got a pretty bruise) and on my left wrist.  The wrist, elbow, and shoulder all screamed at me for a good ten minutes...the wrist eventually popped and it feels just fine for now.  The shoulder calmed down.  The elbow...well....I'm glad the x-rays showed it wasn't dislocated.  Who knew you could actually dislocate an elbow?  But, it might be broken.  Those same x-rays were inconclusive due to all the swelling.  So, I'm told that if it doesn't get markedly better in the next few days, that I will probably need more x-rays and it's likely broken.  If so, that means it's got a chip floating around in there and I'll probably end up needing surgery.  Yuck!!!  If I'm lucky, then I just jammed it really, really hard.  No obvious bruising or swelling on the outside, so who knows?

I never knew that my left elbow was used so much.  I can hardly pick up Tom.  Zach, on the other hand, is actually not to difficult.  I guess that's because he can help get himself picked up.  Well, here's hoping I didn't do any major damage.  Oh, and as a side-note, Dan's got bursitis.  We are both gimpy.  *sigh*

Food...give me more food, mama!!!!

Well, after having been so resistant to solid food, Tom has decided that he can't get enough.  This evening, Dan and I decided that he really needed to have more than just the cereal and we didn't really have time to steam anything and then puree it...so, while I was spooning the cereal in as fast as I could, Dan washed a pear, pealed it, cut it into chunks, and pureed it.  Dan spooned a bit into the bowl I had used for the cereal, and Tom just devoured it.  (So much for not liking pears.)  So, he spooned some more into the bowl...more devouring.  Wow!!!  I thought Zach could eat, but he's got nothing on Tom.

I am so not looking forward to the grocery bills when these two are teenagers.

Whoa, there, little men...stop growing up so fast!

Tom, over the course of just a few days, has popped through 2 teeth and I can see two more already.  Here's to hoping he doesn't bite while nursing.

Zach picks up several new words every single day.  I'm glad he's getting more verbal, but can we slow down on that and start using the potty?  Please???

Too bad avocados are getting expensive again

Tom loved the avocado he got today at lunch.  I bought a small one a couple days ago that was almost ripe.  It was $.89!!!  But, this little guy of mine seems to prefer things that aren't as sweet as banana or pear.  Kind of strange, but I won't argue.  I guess that means that vegetables won't be as difficult with him as they were with Zach.  Man, oh, man I wish it was the season for them.  But, then again, maybe he'll like winter squash too and that's an easy thing for me to get very soon.

Mama isn't always the first one to get some love

This morning, while Zach was eating breakfast and Dan was getting ready to go to work, Dan got the first love from Zach. "'Ove 'ou, Da." Dan tried to get him to say it to me, but no such luck. I did, however, get a kiss from him.

Mama, food is actually yummy after all

As per the doctor's orders, I have been trying every day to give Tom food that is technically considered "solid."  Yeah, I know...liquidy, pureed fruit, rice cereal made with formula or water, or heck, even breastmilk counts as "solid" food in this case.  He didn't like the rice cereal.  He didn't like the bananas.  He didn't like the pears that were even sweeter than the bananas.  We tried cereal again because I was being lazy and didn't feel like mashing a banana or steaming and blending a pear into a puree.  (Yep, I'm doing my best to make his food.  Poor Zach had to subsist on Gerber and Earth's Best.)  First spoon was a no go....second spoon was a maybe this isn't so bad.  And after that, he was just trying to figure out how to get the stuff off the spoon faster!  Woohoo!!!!  I know there really wasn't anything to worry about with him being so resistant.  But I feel so much better now that he's actually interested in something other than "booby-juice."  Don't get me wrong, I love nursing...but there's only so much I can handle when the boy wants to put his foot in my armpit, then curl his toes and pinch the skin, and pull my fingers out of joint while eating.

It's a burp, right?

Zach doesn't like to lie still...ever, but especially not for diaper changes.  So, I usually give him a toy, or tickle him enough to let him know that I'll go as fast as he lets me.  Well, during one of the tickling episodes today, he farted.  I said to him, "You farted!" with a big smile on my face, because it was funny.  He looked so confused, so I then said, "You had a butt burp; your butt burped."  He thought about this for a very little bit, and then said to me, "butt burp."