Daily Cat Cuteness: sunning herself

Kiwi has discovered just another use of the Boppy pillow.

Well baby and other adventures

Cole had a fun well baby visit yesterday. I decided no booster shots right now because he's going through enough with the gas and reflux from the evil antibiotics I am on for this horrid sinus infection.
But the good news is that he is 17 pounds 8 ounces. That is an exact weight with no clothes on. The last time they weighed him it was with me on the scale and then they weighed just me, so it was a complete estimate and totally cheating. He is also 27 inches long. The doctor let us know what we already feared (or were excited by, whichever way you look at it) - that Cole would be an early walker and an early climber. He gave us tips on how to babyproof, most of which we knew already. But he did say something that I did not think of. He said that Cole will start to get into trouble when he is most quiet. So for the 30 seconds that we might think is safe to leave him alone, that's when he will quietly get himself into trouble and potentially get hurt.
So with that, as I stated previously, we've sent Cole to daycare (he just left with Keith) so we can start on our adventures in baby-proofing. We've already got some supplies from our next door neighbor, whose son is now 5, and who warned me that after her son finished his climbing phase he began to jump off of things. Something to look forward to!  We also ordered some stuff that she didn't have from diapers.com last night. For instance, we ordered these gadgets to tether bookcases to the wall, something else to tie the television to the hutch, some power strip covers, and of course a gate to keep him enclosed in the one room we KNOW will be a safe zone: the living room. Of course this means we had to buy the longest gate imaginable since the opening to the room is pretty damn wide.  We also got some cool teethers (a wooden one and a silicone one). If either of them are any good, I'll write about it (or them) on here.  I'll also let you know how today's adventures go in a future post. In the meantime, if you want to offer any other advice for baby proofing, I'm all ears!

This time last year: Finding out

Lately, in my head I've been doing a lot of "This time last year." So far it has involved the early part of my pregnancy, but as we get into January it will involve the second half of my pregnancy - the part when I feared for my child's life.

But today's is a special one.

So I thought I'd share it. On this day last year we learned we were having a boy. I'll be honest and say that before I became pregnant I had always wanted a little girl, but once I became pregnant, I had a strong feeling I was having a boy, and it didn't bother me one bit. After all, I just wanted a child, it didn't matter the gender. I still remember the look on Keith's face when the technician, Natalie, (we came to be on a first name basis) first looked at the ultrasound and said, "Yep, it's a boy."  It was a look of pure joy.

Words cannot describe how much I love this little being. Looking at him and imagining the boy and man he will become is so wonderful a feeling. Motherhood has to be the greatest ride of my life.

Cole's First Christmas: Part 2

So this Christmas Eve was the first Christmas Eve spent in our house. So naturally, Christmas Day was the first Christmas morning we've spent in our home. It was very nice to do that, especially with Cole.  I like the idea of continuing that tradition in the years to come.

Christmas Day we first stopped in Queens to visit Cousin Jeannie and Aunt Connie. Aunt Connie was in from Florida with my other cousin, Lauren and her husband Reese. Aunt Connie is my dad's aunt, so she's my great aunt, so she must be Cole's Great-Great Aunt.

 Cousin Jeannie with Cole.  All smiles!

Cole with Cousin Jeannie and Aunt Connie.

A nice family shot.

After Cousin Jeannie's house, off we went to my father's in Valley Stream. The drive was uneventful and quick (thank goodness!) and Cole napped until we got there. This is a picture of Cole with Buddy. As you can see  Buddy is still warming up to Cole. He's not sure he likes that someone smaller than him gets more attention. Plus, it means more competition for table scraps, what with Cole crawling and all.

Here he is sniffing his new baby brother. 

Cole and Daddy playing with his new stackable toy.

Having way too much fun.

Cole and Cousin Damien

If I could've caught the look on his face -- he loves being thrown up in the air!

Cole's First Christmas: Part 1

Cole's first Christmas was truly one for the record books. We went to four houses in two days, seeing relatives from both of our families. Cole was so excited from seeing so many relatives that he slept for the first time in a long time for four and five hours straight both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day night.
That was his Christmas gift to us, and to that we are thankful. Keith's Christmas gift to me was to have a DVD made of our wedding. This was a gift that was 4.5 years in the making. It was amazingly beautiful and hilarious thanks in part to all of our friends and their wedding footage using our video camera. (Peter & Shawn you are going to love it!!) Keith hired a co-worker who works in the media department at the Culinary and this guy did a great job. I couldn't be more thrilled. I also couldn't be more surprised. I was guessing all sorts of things (diamond earrings, gift certificate to Waddle n Swaddle, etc), but nothing prepared me for the DVD of our wedding. What a perfect gift.

Back to Cole's first Christmas. We started Christmas Eve by surprising Grandma at work. I wish I had a picture with the look on her face when we showed up, but unfortunately, I did not. The only thing we carried into the bank with us was Cole. So the following are pictures from Keith's father's house, where we went after visiting Grandma.

Three generations of Ferris'....

Our little family in front of the Christmas tree at the Ferris house.

Cole and Aunt Lauren investigate the tree.

How cute is this little baby?

And then off we went to Keith's Aunt Sue's house where Cole helped open tons of wonderful gifts for himself. He is now officially an LL Bean baby thanks to Grandma.  

Here's a gift bag full of Cole...

Cole and Grandma

Cole snuggled in Great Uncle George's arms.

 My handsome fella deserves a kiss...

A moratorium

All I want for Christmas is... a moratorium on questions about Cole's sleeping habits. He's going to sleep the way he's going to sleep until he decides to sleep differently, and there's nothing I can do to control it. But I still reserve the right to write about it.  Yes, it may make me tired and maybe I appear haggard or sleepy, but, really, why do people want to know about his sleeping habits? Before baby, no one ever asked me, "Hey, Bianca, are you sleeping through the night yet?" And if they had, I would've said: "No actually, only on rare occasions do I sleep through the night. I wake up for any number of reasons: to pee, drink some water, eat a snack, stare at the clock, worry about work, try to forget my bad dream... you get the picture. But thanks for asking." The only difference between Cole's and my night waking is that I don't cry.

I've heard and followed most of the well meaning advice followed by the question: "So, is he sleeping through the night, yet?" We've moved him to the crib so he doesn't "smell me."  We've given him formula and rice cereal. The only thing we haven't done and will not do is let him "cry it out." We let him fuss, but when I hear my baby in obvious distress with real tears and cries, I go to him. It means he needs something, it does NOT mean he's trying to manipulate me.

Let's face it. My son is different than other children. Lots of other children begin sleeping through the night at an early age. The age varies depending on the person telling me. I'm happy for their children, and I'm happy for them. But my child is wired differently. He wakes up every two hours like clockwork, and, although it may annoy, upset, or exhaust me, it is what it is. While I have appreciated the advice at the time it was given, none of it has worked. So it leaves me feeling frustrated and inadequate. But I refuse to let what others say have power over me. So I am taking the bull by the horns and declaring - here and now - the aforementioned moratorium.

Merry Christmas!

So I will be posting all about Cole's First Christmas in a day or two. We have tons of pictures.  It is a huge task to narrow down the photos for the blog. Plus there's a blizzard outside AND tomorrow Cole turns 7 months. Oh my! This adorable photo of Cole in front of Keith's father's Christmas tree is a little taste of what's to come....

On bonds

When our friend visited from Florida with her two girls in June, I got a unique perspective of breastfeeding and the relationship babies and toddlers have with their mommies and their boobies. The youngest was 2 and she came into the nursery while I was nursing Cole. He was maybe 4 weeks old. What she said exactly I can't remember, and I meant to write it down but never did. But the gist of what she said hit home.

She said that breastfeeding and being close to her mother made her happy. Even though she had stopped nursing months before that, the bond was still there. It was the sweetest thing a child could say, I thought. And I think of it often, especially during those late night feedings when it's just Cole and I. It helps put things into perspective, especially when things get tough.

And lately, nursing Cole has not been easy. During the day, in the evening or in the morning- basically, when Cole is more awake than sleepy- he is very distractible. Now I know I've mentioned this in posts before, but it is something that hurts, physically, and that is a struggle for me, to continue doing something for my son that sometimes causes me pain. I know I won't stop, so maybe it is pointless to write about it, but I felt it was important to acknowledge what we as mothers do for our children.

My reasoning for breastfeeding my son has evolved, as has our relationship, since he was born. First I did it because I knew that breastfeeding was the best thing for his health and well being. My friend Allison had done it and she and Juni were reaping the benefits of it by the time Cole was born. Juni was growing so well, and she and Allison shared a special bond fostered by their breastfeeding relationship.

Even though I saw evidence of it's benefits, I didn't have a true understanding until I was well into breastfeeding and I saw how well Cole had grown since birth (he went back to his birth weight in a matter of days). I can't tell you how good that made me feel - to know that my milk was so nourishing.

I continue to breastfeed him because I can't imagine not doing it. While it nourishes him, I know it also brings him comfort and security. It's amazing how quickly he falls asleep when he starts nursing in the middle of the night. It's like all he needs is my closeness, my warmth, and my love, and that is enough to make him feel safe and secure. So secure that he drifts back into baby dreamland the moment he reaches me.

Sent from my iPhone

To my biggest fan

I love you. (And I love this picture of you!) Thank you for doing everything you do for me. Thank you for being everything you are to me. You are my best friend, my confidante, my husband, my lover, my baby daddy, my soundboard, my shoulder to cry on, my warm hug in the evening, my electric blanket on a cold night.  This life we've made together is beautiful, and I am so thankful we chose each other and saw the goodness in one another. I am so blessed to be raising this amazing child with you. Merry Christmas my love.

Yours forever, Mama

Baby-proofing and other fun chores

So with the new development of Crawling Cole, comes the realization that we must create a zone for Cole that is free of hazards. As I look around the bedroom and the living room, I see all of the possibilities and ways that Cole can hurt himself.  He tends to push off from whatever is behind him and he grabs at or touches whatever is in his path. Most of those things go directly into his mouth. He also bangs his head into whatever is in his path (i.e. the couch, the container underneath the bed). I say "Thunk!" and he laughs. He likes sound words like "Thunk" and "Vroom" and "Buzzzzzz." Hearing those words makes him giggle with glee. It is the cutest thing. Back to baby-proofing though.  Keith and I have decided that during our Christmas vacation we are going to take a day and re-organize and babyproof the house.  We have lots of items (magazines, chachkes, candles) that just take up valuable space. Also we have the leaning tower of CDs and another tower of DVDs that I can see being a huge hazard to Curious Cole.

Also, Our house is only about 1,000 square feet, so we must maximize the space we have. Because Cole goes to day care full-time we won't get credit for the 7 weekdays I am off (Keith is off for 5). So, we figured we might as well use one of them so that we can make sure the house is safe for Cole. It's much easier to work together than to do things one person at a time.

In other news, we've started the process of making Cole's baby food. We really did not have our stuff together in terms of what we wanted to feed him when we first started on solids. We just decided to start him on jarred food (organic jarred food) and figure it out from there. This past weekend Keith - the resident chef here at Chez Ferris - made organic butternut squash puree and pear puree. We purchased, through Amazon, three different types of frozen storage units: Baby Cubes, silicone tray with cover, and a set similar to Baby Cubes but a round version. We'll get back to you on which one we like best. But in the meantime I'll tell you what Cole likes best - the butternut squash.

Bath time was a lot of fun for Keith and Cole about two weeks ago when Keith decided to take a bath with Cole. He was going snowboarding the following morning and bathing the night before is part of his get ready for snowboarding ritual. The two had a blast with Cole splashing around and Keith giving Cole fun hairstyles. Here are two of the pics....

If those don't make you laugh, then I don't know what will.

Milestone extravaganza

I was thinking the other morning of possible reasons why Cole is still waking up every 2 hours (sometimes 3 if we're lucky). It seems I'm always thinking of reasons why this is so. It probably just boils down to high metabolism. He's hungry a lot and it wakes him up. But of course my brain does not want as simple an answer as that, so it goes to his developmental milestones.
It dawned on me that Cole has been through a lot developmentally over the past 4 weeks. He's learned how to sit up on his own and then from there he began to practice crawling and then he learned how to crawl and now can cover a lot of territory in a short amount of time. From there he has started to pull himself up to a standing position. Just the other night I recorded on my iPhone Cole pulling himself up to a stand in his crib. Immediately after that Keith had to move the mattress down to the next level for Cole's safety.
Often when Cole wakes up in the middle of the night we find him crawling around the crib looking distressed. It makes me wonder, did he wake up and find himself crawling? I've read that babies will often practice their new skill at night in their sleep. And often this disrupts their sleep (which seems obvious anyway- I mean if I was moving around in my sleep, I'd probably wake up too.)
Emotionally he's also been experiencing more stranger and separation anxiety. The separation anxiety occurs in the morning when Keith drops him off at day care. Cole now understands that we leave him there. He's aware of Keith leaving and me picking him up. When Keith drops him off Cole loses it and starts to cry. This breaks poor Keith's heart. I am so thankful I don't have that job. I think it would be too hard to function if I saw the look on his face when he realized I was leaving. It would be heart wrenching and I'd probably be a total wreck by the time I arrived to work. So thankfully, my husband suffers in the morning for the both of us. Then when I get to daycare in the afternoon, he gets upset if he sees me and I put my milk in the fridge before I physically pick him up and give him a hug. He's also aware of time. According to his teacher, on his cranky days (which are few and far between) he cries if it's 4 pm and I am not there.
The separation anxiety also occurs when we put him to sleep at night and when we wake up to feed him in the middle of the night. He wakes up and we are not there, so he cries for us.
It's really hard to believe how much he is growing and how fast it is happening. This weekend he was in the hallway crawling and we were standing on either side of him, and I realized that soon he will be walking. And this little baby on his hands and knees will become a little boy padding across the floor on his bare feet.
.........
Here are the promised pictures.

Here is excited Cole crawling to Daddy.

Here is Cole tentatively touching the wall as he moves from the living room into the dining room.

Here is Cole crawling to the end table. It's like he's finally getting to look at everything close up.

Sent from my iPhone

Mobile accessibility

You can now comfortably (Read: without squinting) view my blog from a mobile device such as in iPhone or smartphone. Blogger made it so easy to make the blog accessible in this way, and I couldn't be more thrilled. The blog looks the same on the laptop or a desktop, it's just more paired down and simplified for viewing on the phone. Kind of like wordpress, but a bit more stylish. If you can check my blog out on your phone and see for yourself!
Sent from my iPhone

Disconnected

Lately I've been feeling disconnected. Our phone barely rings anymore. My email inbox is no longer brimming with interested and curious emails from friends. I find it hard to stay in touch with my friends just as much as they do, which means less contact and more disconnect. And it makes me feel sad. The part of me that used to call my friends on a regular basis has taken a back seat to the new mother in me, who would rather spend quality time with her baby than trying to juggle the friend on the phone in one ear and the baby babbling to me in the other. It doesn't seem fair to both the baby or the friend.
I know I have the blog and those who care check it out when they have time. But the blog is mostly one sided. You hear about me, but I don't hear about you. I don't hear about your ups and downs, nor do I hear about your happy days or your baby's milestones. And I'm dying to know. But unfortunately I don't until it's way after the fact. And I want to know sooner! After all, my friends are like my family. After all, at our wedding more of my friends came than my family.
What's weird about all this is that when we first had Cole we stayed connected with people. But since I've gone back to work we've had less and less time to stay in touch with friends.
So in the end this all leaves me feeling disconnected. I wish I could take an hour or two every weekend to call people, but our weekends go by so fast that at 3 am on Monday morning I'm rubbing my eyes trying to figure out how it became Monday morning so soon.
I used to be able to call friends while I was nursing Cole and that was my time to catch up. Unfortunately he is so distractible that if I so much as look at my phone he pops off me without releasing suction. And if you've ever breastfed you know how that feels.
If I'm not feeding him I'm playing with him and if he's sleeping I'm getting school work done or doing laundry or cleaning pump parts and bottles or making the next day's lunch.
I think that a solution is this: take time once every two weeks to call people and let them know that the conversation may be cut short if motherhood calls. At least then I would have made the effort and heard a little bit about what's going on in their lives, more than an email or Facebook can ever do.

Sent from my iPhone

Daily cuteness: daddy & baby bear

Just when you thought he couldn't get any cuter....and as usual my strong husband makes holding him look effortless.

At The Vet

For months Kiwi ( pictured at right) has had this gross clump of fur on her back. It started off as one small clump when the baby was born and slowly developed into 3. We took to calling her the Rastifarian cat and avoided petting her back there because her fur was also so dry. We brushed it to no avail and, finally, I said enough is enough. So off to the vet she and Clem went. They were due to have their rabies shots anyway. Keith took them last night and said that it only took the doctor one good stroke of a very good brush to remove the clumps along with the recommendation to give them cod liver oil and more wet food.

His new toy!

We purchased a walker and this is him in it for the first time this morning. This opens up a whole new world to him. For the cats as well. But they're not taking any chances. They're practicing their sprints, and by the time he can REALLY walk, they'll have a head start.

Long week

It's been a long week. To sum it up:

• Cole is now crawling. Not pre-crawling. But really crawling.
• He can also lean on something (i.e. one of our two ottomans) and stand unattended (well, with our arms several inches away) for seconds at a time.
• He most definitely, absolutely, positively has a tooth breaking through.
• Last weekend I went to my first yoga class in almost a year.
• Keith went snowboarding today for the first time this season.
• I have yet ANOTHER sinus infection.
• I began a poetry unit this past week and my students are loving it! I usually avoid poetry because it's not easy to teach and the kids moan and groan. Well, I underestimated them. They like it. So, I'm having fun.
• My last clogged duct was on Monday (when I had to go home sick because I was congested AND my boob was lumpy and as hard as a rock), which is great, considering that we've continued with Keith giving one bottle at night.
• My little baby likes oatmeal and peas. 
• He's been sleeping in the crib steadily since I wrote about it last.  Monday afternoon we took a nice long nap in my bed, and that was a nice treat.
• Cole still has a cold of sorts. I don't know if he has a sinus infection too, or it's just general congestion and snottiness.
• He's trying out his voice constantly. He does this unbearable screeching that is very painful, for him included. He ends up coughing after he's done.
• He's growing so much that he outgrew Size 2 diapers and is now wearing a size 3 (Pampers diapers).
• His next well baby visit is at the end of this month - a few days after my dreaded root canal. He'll be 7 months by then and I'll be sure to post his height and weight. I'm so dying to know.

Here is Cole in pictures. These were all taken with our Canon rebel over the past few weeks. 

Here is Cole watching himself in his crib mirror. He loves the mirror now more than ever. He thoroughly enjoys gazing at himself. It is the cutest thing.

 Cole standing against the ottoman with Daddy at his back.

Cole happily eats his avocados.

Cole playing in his crib.

Cole playing on the floor of our bedroom. No more co-sleeper equals lots more room for Cole to play. He loves that rubber duckie! This pic is taken with the new lens Keith bought for the Canon Rebel. It takes such nice pictures!

Daily Cuteness: Our little pumpkin

Look at that dimple!

Daily cuteness: Holding on to Daddy

My studio faves

We are so lucky to have a photographer in the family. Each time we go to the studio, the pictures are amazing.  Even though he's new at photographing babies, Keith is a pro at it. He gets right down on the floor with Cole and, like today, gets classic pictures. It helps of course that Cole is so cute and photogenic. My last post linked to Keith's blog and the pictures he liked best. Here are the pictures I also liked. There's a behind the scenes picture as well. Visit my husband's website to see more of his wedding and portrait photography.

I love this one because he's
looking at me - how sweet is that face?

Eating the giraffe (a.k.a. soothing his sore gums)

The cuteness just astounds me

Some behind the scenes action

Yeah- he'll be standing before we can say
"we really need to baby-proof the house"

6 Months - Keith's Studio Pics

We went to the studio today and Cole was sooooooooo cute. He can't get any cuter. Or, can he?
You decide, check out the pictures of Cole from Keith's blog.

Thanksgiving photos

Cole and Great-Grandma Joyce

Cole and Keith's cousin, Elisa

Cole and Grandpa Bill

Cole with Keith's Aunt Leslie and Grandpa Bill
Cole loved Leslie's shiny blouse

Cole with Aunt Lauren

Boobie Afflictions & other fun topics

Some women get recurrent bouts of mastitis. Others, thrush. Others, cracked nipples. Me, I get milk blisters. That's what was causing my duct to get clogged. This is not the first time. It happened about a month ago, but I didn't write about it, because I wasn't too keen on going into it, but now I realize it's something someone else could benefit from learning about. I didn't notice the blister at first, because like the last time, it was so faint. By this morning though, I could see the white spot on my nipple and I knew it had come back with a vengeance.  Using an epsom salt soak both in a bowl and on a washcloth, it finally opened up after a hot shower and lots of nursing and pumping. I have to keep soaking it for the next few weeks (yeah- good luck with finding the time to do that!), so that it doesn't reappear. Last time it took about two weeks to completely disappear.

In other news, we have a floor again! We put the co-sleeper away.  He has outgrown it, especially with being able to pull himself up into a sitting position. He's not there yet, but it's only a matter of time. He's been practicing the past few days and when that kid practices- geesh look out, because it's not long after that he gets accomplished what he has set out to do. He is one determined little boy. Look for pictures in the next few days of the cutie on the bedroom floor with his toys.

Today was a nice relaxing afternoon spent in New Paltz, My father came for a visit and we went to lunch at the Gilded Otter and used our high chair cover for the first time. It was a challenge at first, but we figured it out. We stopped a few shops and hit jackpot at Handmade and More. They have a great baby/kids section. We got a pair of mittens for Cole as well as the cutest little faux fur lined micro suede booties. So comfortable and toasty. He's napping in them right now. Also, we used the Peekaru vest I bought for the Beco Gemini. It was perfect. Cole was so toasty and comfortable, he actually napped completely upright as we walked.  It's funny because I almost returned it because the few times I tried it on him, he absolutely hated it and cried. I thought it was hopeless and didn't want to be stuck with this expensive vest I'd never use. But when I got there, the owner of Waddle n Swaddle (where I bought it) showed me how to make it work. I simply had to pull out Cole's arms from the inside and he no longer felt trapped or confined. It took a little manhandling outside of the Gilded Otter, but we got it to work and he was totally happy once we got him all comfortable. Totally keeping it and super excited to use it  again now that I've been successful with it.



Cole in his high chair at the Otter

My father and I at the Otter

Cole napping in the Beco Gemini covered
by the Peekaru vest

At the Mudd Puddle in New Paltz

Sick and sleep update

So that cold I wrote about on Monday came at me full force that night, and I've been fighting it all week, as has been Cole. But he's a strong little guy, so he's getting through it. I'm starting to feel a bit better, but the congestion worked its way into my chest (same with Cole) and you know how that goes (cough up evil mucus for days - maybe even weeks). Keith also caught the cold (such is the story of our lives), but he seems to be on the mend.  (Let's cross our fingers for the both of us to be better soon!)

The sleep session I mentioned on Monday's post was helpful. This is what we got from it - that we need to create a safe and centered environment for Cole. Since we have been very on edge lately because of lack of sleep, we promised to be kinder to each other so that Cole feels safe and calm enough to sleep. We have been working on that all week. It's hard to not snap at the other person when you're sick AND tired, but we've both been trying.  I do NOT want to jinx it, but since Tuesday night we've been working hard at getting him to sleep by himself in the crib. (Ironically Tuesday night was the worst because we got home later than usual after that meeting). Helping him to sleep in the crib has required a huge amount of patience, sacrifice and discipline. Meaning we've had to lose lots of sleep in order to help him fall asleep in his own bed. And we've had to discipline ourselves to not give up and just bring him in bed with us so we could get sleep. We've really had to rely on each other to help the other out if we were not successful. That's a lot of teamwork on our parts. He's still waking up every few hours in the crib, but his last two nights of sleep were spent only in the crib. He takes all of his naps now at day care in the crib, too, so this is a good time to transition him to the crib.  I give us both props for exercising patience and being loving during a time when we might be least likely to.

We also learned that we need to have realistic goals. Our first goal is to get him to sleep in the crib by himself, then when he's comfortable there, we can start to work on moving away from waking up every 2 hours and transition to every 3. Who knows though, it could come on its own naturally. I know Allison's daughter Juni (whose feeding habits seem to be very similar to Cole's) started sleeping a four hour stretch when she was a little over 7 months old. So I keep that in mind and that feels like a light at the end of the tunnel.

So I have ANOTHER clogged duct. And it hurts! Keith pointed out that my ducts always seem to clog up on Fridays. And thinking back to some of the other times when I've gotten a clogged duct, I've realized that he is right. But I don't know why. Maybe by Friday, I'm toast? Who knows. I know that I stayed after work yesterday to get work done and today I ran around trying to make sure a quiz was revised and copied for Monday. I know that you can get clogged ducts from doing too much (among other things) so that could be what caused it. I'm sure that starting solids may have something to do with it too. So what to do? I'm certainly not going to take back that one night feeding I've given to Keith. I need the sleep too much.  I'm just hoping that enough nursing this weekend will unclog it.

Daily cuteness: Cole's first shopping cart ride

'

These photos were from this afternoon on our first shopping cart ride. We actually did buy a shopping cart cover and got it in the mail yesterday, but I had never used it before so it was too much of a challenge to put it on one-handed (I was holding Cole with my other). But Cole was so enthralled by his surroundings (as you can see from the second picture) that I didn't have to worry at all, because he didn't suck or bite anything that wasn't ours. Just as we were checking out, he started to get fussy, so I gave him the handmade wallet I recently bought from Peg at the Pickle Fest. If you have Facebook, her handmade stuff has its own page called gimme sunshine.  Since it was made lovingly by her hands, I knew it was safe!