Road Trip!

Oliver went on his first long road trip and stayed in his first hotel last weekend. My mom and I took him up to Midland to visit my grandmother. The last time she saw him he was one month old so I was looking forward to showing her how much he’s changed!

We left Austin Thursday morning and headed northwest towards Midland - I’m not even going to talk about how much stuff we brought with us (it looked like we were planning to move to Midland). We decided to take the backroads because, even though it would add time to our trip, there would be more towns to stop in should the need arise (and it arose). We were so lucky with the weather on Thursday - it was cool and overcast for our whole trip (perfect road trip weather). Oliver did really well in the car on the way out there. We had to stop more times than we otherwise would have (but not too many more times) so that I could feed him and we could stretch out a little bit. We ate lunch at a barbeque joint in Brady and Oliver hung out in his Bumbo on the table while we ate. Then we were back in the car. Oliver had some fussy moments but nothing too terrible. We got into Midland around 4:00 in the afternoon (after seven hours in the car) and went to the hotel to check in and change Oliver so that he would look cute and refreshed for his great-grandmother and then headed over to my grandmother’s house. My grandmother was so excited to see him! And it was great to finally introduce him to his Great Uncle Ken. We spent some time watching Oliver (one of the best forms of entertainment there is), ate some dinner and then Mom and I headed back to the hotel. 

As a side note, I discovered what I find to be the secret to a successful hotel stay with a baby - nesting. As soon as we got into the room Thursday evening, I unpacked all of our stuff and set up Oliver’s sleeping area, changing area, etc. The hotel room was great and had lots of room for all of our stuff. I changed Oliver, swaddled him up, fed him and put him down (still awake!)  in the pack and play that the hotel provided. He chattered for a few minutes and then went to sleep and slept for seven hours (that’s a LONG time for Oliver)! The car ride must have worn him out. I was grateful for the sleep and surprised at how well he slept in a room with my mom and I (we even stayed up for a few hours after he went to bed and it didn’t bother him one bit).

We woke upon Friday morning around 8:30 - we were all shocked that Oliver let us sleep in that late - and then headed over to my grandmother’s house. Oliver played for a little while and then took a long morning nap. When he woke up we went to eat at a nice cafe inside a plant nursery. The food was great and the setting was beautiful - the restaurant was inside the greenhouse so we were surrounded by lots of pretty plants. Friday afternoon/evening we took my grandmother back to our hotel so that we could take a swim. Oliver had a good time in the pool despite the fact that it was really really cold. After the swim, my mom took my grandmother back home while I tried to get Oliver to bed. Oliver slept pretty well again on Friday night.

On Saturday we spent some time hanging out at my grandmother’s house and then went to visit some other family that lives in Midland. My grandmother’s cousin, Audrey, and some of her kids and grandkids and great-grandkids all live really close to each other in Midland. We went over to Audrey’s house and visited with her and her great-grandson, Wesley, and Audrey’s daughter, Debbie, and Debbie’s daughters, Jennifer and Kim and their five kids. It was a full house and Oliver seemed a little overwhelmed but he stayed pretty calm and let everyone hold him and love on him. That evening we went to eat at On The Border and Oliver made my mom and I carry him around throughout the meal (he’s not much for sitting in his carseat for long periods of time anymore). Then we went back to the hotel, went for a swim and put the knucklehead to bed (he fought me a little on bedtime but finally caved).

On Sunday morning we went to church with Grandmommy so that she could show off Oliver to all of her church friends. Oliver was very well-behaved in church (he only fussed for a little bit but then I took him out of the sanctuary and nursed him until he fell asleep... he stayed asleep in my arms for the rest of the time... he’s gotten really heavy). 

Mom and I had to leave after church on Sunday so that I could be home for work on Monday morning so we loaded into the car around 1:00, said our good-byes and hit the road. We decided to take I-10 home since Oliver had done so well in the car on the way out there. We started out pretty well but then Oliver started to cry (okay, he started to scream). We would get about an hour of quiet out of him and then he would start screaming. We would pull over, I would nurse him until he calmed down and then we’d start the whole thing over again. We finally got to the point where we just had to drive through the screaming (it seemed like he screamed for the whole six hour trip but I know it wasn’t really that bad). It’s a little stressful to drive with your kid screaming his head off in the backseat but after we knew that he was fed and had a clean diaper there really wasn’t anything we could do for him. I figured he was just sick of the car so we soldiered on to Austin. We finally arrived at our house and Mom unpacked all of my stuff as I tried to nurse Oliver. Mom headed on to San Antonio and I was left alone (Brian was at his book group) with a baby who was still crying. That’s when it became obvious that the screaming wasn’t just from being in the car. Poor baby was teething. I got him something to chew on (my finger) and took him into the bathtub to calm him down. We finally got him into bed around 10:00 that night and I crashed shortly after.

Despite the nightmare car trip home, though, we had an awesome time in Midland. It was great to let Oliver hang out with his great-grandmother. She lives too far away and we miss her! But we will see her again in October when she comes down to San Antonio to visit and, in the meantime, we’ll send her lots of photos and videos!

Sundays With Oliver - Week Fifteen

This installment of Sundays With Oliver comes to you from Midland where we spent the weekend visiting Oliver’s great-grandmother (more on our visit later). Oliver had a great week hanging out with Dad while Mom worked and an even better weekend visiting family in Midland. He rolled over from tummy to back for the first time this weekend (that’s good!) and started full-on cranky-pants teething (that’s bad). 

I love this outfit that Nicole got him!

  

Sundays With Oliver - Week Fourteen

I know, I know... I’m late. Sorry. We’ve had a rough week sleepwise and I haven’t had the energy to post. Despite our sleep battles (which I’m sure I’ll write about later) we had a pretty good week. Oliver started taking a bottle again! So I’ve been able to go to work for more than two or three hours at a time while Brian watches him. I’ve gotten tons done. Mostly we hung around the house this week except on Saturday when we ran Oliver all over town - to Dan’s for breakfast, to Old Navy, to a car dealership and then to Deep Eddy. He was a little worn out by the end of all that (although he still didn’t sleep well that night).

Also of note this week, it is the first week of Oliver’s life that the Sundays With Oliver pictures are the only pictures that were taken of him. We’re slacking apparently. We’re trying to do better this week.

  

Jumperoo

Oliver really likes to stand up (he’s never been much for sitting in our laps, preferring to stand and get a better view of the room), so we thought he might like a jumper to play in. My mom and I found one at a resale shop in San Antonio that was barely used and Oliver has been checking it out this week. He’s still a bit small for it (hence the phone book) but is starting to enjoy playing with the toys and is pretty close to figuring out that he controls the music and lights with his jumping. 

Sundays With Oliver - Week Thirteen

Today is both Oliver’s thirteen week and his three month birthday! I can’t believe he’s already three months old. It seems like he was born just yesterday. He’s getting so big.

Oliver had a great week. He spent tons of time with me at the store (he even hung out while I met with a few reps). I spent my days with him so that I could breastfeed all day and get a little more sleep at night. On Friday, Oliver and I went down to San Antonio to hang out with my mom. We took him over to Peggy’s house and let him swim in his first big pool. He went under the water few times with no complaints and floated around in the pool for over an hour. He is definitely a water baby. And, the best thing about swimming... he slept for seven hours in a row on Friday night! That’s the longest stretch of sleep he has ever done. He slept from ten to five fifteen, got up to eat for about ten minutes and then went back to sleep for another two hours. I got six hours of sleep in a row. It was amazing. Saturday, we went to eat at Alamo Cafe and then hit a few resale shop where we found a jumperoo for Oliver (I’ll post a video of him using it later).

On Saturday I headed back up to Austin and Oliver stayed with his Grandmama in San Antonio so that Brian and I could go to Dauphin’s 30th birthday party. So, I had yet another night away from baby. And Oliver was a good baby for my mom... he took bottles all night and everything. Mom’s a little exhausted now but everything went well. My mom’s here for the next few days to help out while I have my last crazy week of the buying season. I can’t wait to be done with appointments at least for a few weeks (and then it starts all over again).

For some reason, Oliver has started sticking his tongue out for every picture:

   

Bottle Strike - Part Two

Despite his successful overnight stay with my parents the night of inventory, Oliver has decided to extend his bottle strike another two weeks. He hasn’t taken a full bottle from anyone since then. I am getting really frustrated by the whole thing (we’ve thrown away so much milk) and the lack of options to help us overcome this particular obstacle. I’ve spent hours poring over websites and books looking for information or useful suggestions on bottle strikes and have found nothing that works. Some sites say to try patience and the child will eventually get over it (we’ve given it over three weeks), others suggest trying another method of feeding (like sippy cups which Oliver is too young for), others suggest that maybe the milk has gone bad before the baby can get to it (I tried pumping milk and giving it to him right away - no go) and, finally, others say that perhaps the child is just “reverse cycling” and to just get used to it. The last is, by far, my least favorite piece of advice.

Reverse cycling is when a baby decides not to eat during the day when his mother is away and to get most of his nutrition and “Mommy” time during the evening and nighttime hours. This means lots of nursing when the mother gets home from work and lots of waking up in the middle of the night to nurse. This is what was happening last week when Oliver was refusing a bottle during the day and then getting up two or three times a night to eat. There are no suggestions anywhere on how to correct reverse cycling - all the sites and books just name reverse cycling as an explanation of why a baby would start refusing a bottle and then offer some platitude like: “Just feel lucky that your child so prefers to spend time with you that they would go without food during the day.” I find that so annoying. Basically these people are telling me that I can try to do my job in two or three hour increments during the day so that I can breastfeed all day and avoid waking up all night or I can try to do my job on little or no sleep. Neither of these options appeals to me. I can’t do my job well in either scenario.

The worst part of all of this is that I don’t know where to turn to get some help with this. If Oliver had decided to stop nursing (and, yes, I feel very fortunate that’s not what’s happening) I would turn to a lactation consultant but the “professional” breastfeeding community doesn’t seem to think that bottle refusal is a problem or something that deserves their attention. It’s as though my freedom and ability to do my job on a full night’s sleep aren’t important. I know I’m lucky in that Oliver is such a great baby and that breastfeeding is working out so well for us (there are lots of women who would love to nurse but can’t make it work) but I’m so frustrated and feel so tied down being the only source of food my son will accept. I worry that Oliver is becoming too attached to me and that he won’t be soothed by anyone else. I feel bad for my mother and Brian for having to listen to him scream while I’m away at work. And I feel guilty for feeling so frustrated by the whole thing or for being so “selfish” as to want a full night’s sleep or for how angry I get about all the ounces of breast milk we’ve wasted. It’s been a rough couple of weeks. 

Bumbo

Oliver’s getting pretty good at sitting in his Bumbo which has made dinner time so much better for us. We had been holding Oliver in our laps while we ate since he seemed to want to be with us during dinner but now we can set him up on the table and talk to him while we eat (using both hands!). He still leans a little to the side but it doesn’t seem to bother him much.

Sundays With Oliver - Week Twelve

We had lots of help from my mom again this week. She came up on Wednesday and took care of Oliver Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the day while I went to work and Brian went to class. She also cooked up some great dinners Wednesday and Thursday night. Oliver did a mediocre job at taking a bottle this week. He managed to get down at least an ounce everyday while I was at work but still hasn’t started accepting every bottle offered to him. He seems to prefer nursing. And, as my mom well knows, Oliver does not politely refuse a bottle when it is offered but instead makes his displeasure known by screaming his head off. So, Grandmama had a rough week with her little guy. Adding to the screaming to express his hate of the bottle (and possibly even contributing to the bottle strike itself), I am pretty sure Oliver has started teething. He is drooling like crazy and chews on everything he can get his hands on (once he finally gets it into his mouth). We got a few teething toys this week and some teething tablets so we’ll see if those things help. 

Since Oliver was not always eating enough during the day, he has been pretty lousy at sleeping through the night this week. It’s partly because he’s hungry but also seems to be due to the fact that he’s become a little Houdini and has worked his way out of every swaddle we’ve put him in this week. He wiggles around in his crib until he gets an arm out and then starts crying because he doesn’t like having his arm out. Go figure. I’ve tried explaining to him that if he just wouldn’t wiggle he wouldn’t end up crying but that sort of logic seems to be beyond his twelve week old brain. He got up at least twice every night this week but last night. He’s not up for long when he gets up but it still makes me pretty tired having to get up so many times each night.

  

Happy Fourth of July!

We had a great Fourth of July here in the Contine household. We got up early on Saturday morning after a not-so-restful night (Oliver was up three times on Friday night because he kept escaping his swaddle and because since he still doesn’t really take bottles while I’m at work, he does a lot of eating at night... No fun). We went to Dan’s for breakfast where Oliver flirted with the waitresses and other customers (he is very generous with his smiles these days). We got back home and Oliver went down for a two hour nap while I straightened up the house and Brian tackled the front lawn. Even if he’s not a great nighttime sleeper at least he’s a good napper so that we can get things done during the day.

Around 3:00, Laurie, Robin and Lydia came over to hang out and have some yummy veggie and chicken fajitas that Brian was grilling up. We all had a great time visiting, eating and being entertained by the babies (although for most of the time Oliver was napping again so he wasn’t that entertaining).

I can’t believe how grown up they look! What happened to our tiny babies? Laurie, Robin and Lydia headed home around 7:00 (my, how our lives have changed... our big Saturday fun started at 3:00 and was over by 7:00) and they just missed Oliver’s nuclear level meltdown. I guess he missed Lydia because as soon as they left he started screaming like I haven’t heard him scream in a long time. He refused to eat (although he seemed hungry) but we finally got him settled down (the meltdown lasted only about five minutes but that seems like forever when your kid’s screaming) by swaddling him and holding him tight. Guess he was a little overstimulated. 

Once he was relaxed Brian filled up the pool in the backyard and we all took a quick dip. Then we came inside, got dried off and Brian read us The Wind in the Willows until it was time to put Oliver to bed. I was dreading bedtime both because of the disastrous sleeping attempts of the night before and because people were starting to shoot off fireworks in our neighborhood. (We did discover an added bonus to our new windows - the sounds of the fireworks weren’t nearly as loud this year as they have been in the past). But we got him swaddled nice and tight (his eyes were bugging out it was so tight) and put him down around nine. He slept until 3:00!!! I had to get up a couple of times and check on him because he seriously did not make even a squeak in those six hours (he will usually chatter in his sleep a little bit). He woke up at 3:00, ate a quick snack and was back to sleep by 3:20 and slept until 6:30. How I wish he would do that for me every night. 

Here are some photos of Oliver and Lydia. It’s pretty difficult to get pictures where both of them are still - usually at least one of them is a little blurry - but they’re still cute!