Day One Hundred and Twelve

More Shots

Milo’s 4-month check-up was today, and I was dreading it because she was going to need more shots. Today, we didn’t have to wait long at all. We found out that Milo is now 15 pounds and has shown steady progress. She was quite playful on the table both as we waited and during the check-up, and she ended up shredding the table’s paper!

While on the table, she came very close to rolling over a couple of times. She really can turn herself to her side quite well. The doctor answered our questions: Milo’s head is a nice shape and doesn’t need any reshaping; her frenulum looks good and won’t need to be snipped again; the white patch on Milo’s tummy is nothing to be concerned about.

Since I hadn’t gotten my flu shot yet, I decided to get it today while we were there. Actually, I told the doctor I would get it later, and she mentioned that they could give me my shot on the spot. So, I kind of had to. I wasn’t happy about that, as I’ve been putting off that shot for a while. But, I’m a mom now, and the only way Milo will be protected against the flu is if I get the shot. So I got it, and it wasn’t bad at all.

Next, it was Milo’s turn. Chase was once again the pillar of strength and held Milo as she got her injections. Milo again screamed, and then I got to hold her and feed her, which made it all better in now time at all. She’s a trooper!

Tonight, Milo has been sleeping pretty soundly for about 75 minutes so far. She woke once and put herself right back to sleep, which Chase and I were quite excited about. Now we just have to see how long she lasts in the crib.

Notes:

• Milo sometimes talks in her sleep. I’ve witnessed it twice: she’s falling asleep, eyes closed, and she begins vocalizing. She keeps eyes closed and makes her cooing noises until, slowly, they stop and she is out.

• Regarding sleep, Milo is getting better and better at self soothing. During the night, when she wakes and fusses, we are trying to let her cry for just a bit before going in to comfort her. She sometimes calms herself and falls back to sleep; when we do go in to comfort her, she often just needs to be held for a moment and falls asleep almost instantly. We’re playing the slow game, but I think it’s going to work eventually.

• My arm is sore. I hate shots.

Day One Hundred and Eleven

Bus Rides

Nothing really notable today except that Milo continues to be the cutest baby in the world! We rode the bus to do some shopping at Trader Joe’s and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Milo was quiet and observant as usual on the way out. We encountered an incredibly annoying busybody on the first bus: he kept muttering under his breath (and often loud enough for his intended audience to hear him) about people not paying their fares. It was one of those situations that made me afraid a fight was going to break out. Luckily, nothing came of it except strong language.

Milo had a couple of naps while we were out, and I successfully fed her while she was in the Ergo today! It was kind of uncomfortable because of how I had to position her head to reach my nipple, but we succeeded, and hopefully I’ll get better at it in the future.

On the bus ride coming home, Milo was super talkative! She was just cooing and squealing so loudly! There were very few riders on that particular bus, so no one commented or seemed annoyed. I loved it, though!

Notes:

• Milo is getting stronger and stronger. She’s learned how to scoot herself down when sitting and does so very often when we’re sitting on the sofa together. She squirms right out of our arms now.

• Sleeping at night isn’t changing much. She falls asleep pretty easily but needs to be helped into a deeper sleep shortly thereafter. So, she’ll fall asleep at 8:30, then wake sometime before 9, and wake again a few more times. Eventually she falls into a deeper sleep and won’t wake again for a few hours. On average, she wakes 2-3 times in the night, and usually she falls back to sleep quickly.

• Things we’re trying to get her to sleep more: lavender oil (on the soles of her feet, diffused in the room); a space heater; a new swaddler; humidifier. Last night was the most successful (she slept in about 3-hour chunks), and it was the first night we tried lavender on her feet. We’ll see how it goes. We also bought Milo a couple of lovies to give her so that we can use those to help wean her from swaddling soon.

Day One Hundred and Ten

Day One Hundred and Nine

Business as Usual

Not much happening back home today. It was business as usual: Milo napped well during the day at the regular times, and she seemed well rested most of the day. We took a walk, and she looked around as usual. She seems to be trying to stay awake longer during our outings so that she can observe more and more. I love to look at her little face when we’re out: eyes wide open, serious expression, quiet as a mouse.

It’s pretty cold in the city today, so we didn’t go out for very long. I bundled Milo and me up, and I realized that we may be in need of warmer clothes if we’re going to continue to go out in the winter. Only 3 weeks until we leave for Charlotte for Christmas!

Day One Hundred and Eight

Coming Home

We were fortunate to have a lazy morning today. Milo woke a few times last night, as usual, and went right back to sleep each time. She still has the habit of squirming her way over to me during the night. Since we positioned her high on the bed, where her head was level with our heads, she squirmed her way over to my pillow and slept with her face planted there. It made me really nervous to have her face in my pillow, so I kept moving it away. She wouldn’t abide not having a pillow nearby, so she just kept on moving over. What could I do?

She ended up waking for good at around 7:15, and Chase was gracious enough to keep her occupied until 8am so that I could get a few more winks. After gathering our things and packing everything up, we all headed out to Rolling Hills Casino for their breakfast buffet. It was pretty tasty, but of course Milo needed to eat right in the middle of our feast.

In the car on the way to Davis, Milo fell asleep on her own and slept most of the way. We made it to the train station about 2 minutes before the train arrived, so we weren’t able to say a proper goodbye to Jeff and Kathy, who were the most generous and welcoming and patient hosts we could have asked for.

The train was great: Milo loved looking around and was all smiles and sweetness. She got a bit fussed on BART and eventually fell asleep in the Ergo. Then at home, she took another nap just before JP and Puja came by to drop off an exersaucer they’re letting us borrow.

Tonight, Chase and I cleaned up a bit and made a grocery run. I don’t want him to go back to work tomorrow, but I suppose he’s got to. We have quite a few things scheduled in the next couple of weeks, and we’ll be off to Denver and Rockport for the holiday break before I know it. So, there are plenty of things to look forward to.

Notes:

• Milo continues to be stimulated by her hands. She is getting better at grabbing things and sticking them in her mouth. I don’t think she’s teething yet, but possibly soon.

• She loves to sit up more than she likes to lay down these days. Often when she’s laying down, she will strain and strain trying to sit up on her own. She just doesn’t have the core strength yet.

• At some point on our trip, Milo managed to roll from her tummy to her back (with a little help from Chase). She loves turning to her side these days, and I’m sure she’ll be rolling over in no time.

• Chase is having more luck putting Milo to sleep lately, and she’s been better about sitting and playing with others the way she used to only sit and play with me.

Two men and a baby

On the way home from Oregon today, my uncle Jeff and aunt Kathy and Misty and Milo and I stopped at Costco, as per a long-standing Thompson family Thanksgiving tradition.

I carried Milo all over the store in the carrier, and after we checked out, we decided to get lunch. I was chowing down on a slice of pizza when we noticed that Milo had thoroughly soiled her outfit and the carrier, so before she soiled anything else, we decided to change her. I carried her to the restroom while Misty followed with the diaper bag.

We’re always looking for changing tables in men’s rooms, more out of curiosity about how common they are (hint: not very) than anything. Costco happened to have one, so I volunteered to do the dirty work. But Jeff was already there (he had gone earlier to use the facilities), so for what will likely be the only time in my entire parenthood, I had help changing a diaper in a public men’s room.

Jeff has a daughter, but she’s in med school, so it’s been a while. He folded down the changing table just fine and quickly figured out the right way to lay the changing pad, but when I laid down a very giggly, ecstatic, squirming Milo, it became clear he wasn’t sure how or whether to help. He tried to hold her in place, but of course he didn’t know whether a forceful grip would upset or hurt her, so she mostly still moved the way she wanted to.

Again, this was a diaper blowout, so there was poop on her back, and we were trying not to transfer it to the changing mat as we removed her clothes. We also tried to keep her hands and feet off the poopy clothes after we set them aside on the cramped table. We were about 95% successful.

Our Kodak moment was when we had the new diaper on her bum and it was time to dress her. Owing to our 5% failure with keeping the changing mat clean, we didn’t want to dress her lying down, so I actually asked Jeff to hold her up in the air while I wrapped and snapped her new onesie around her. It was dangerous, awkward, and inefficient.

And hey, it worked!

Day One Hundred and Seven

Lazy Trip

I think the hard car trips might be behind us. Thank goodness! Today’s trip was much better! Jeff and Kathy thought it would be good to break up the trip a bit, so they planned a couple of stops on the way back to Red Bluff.

First stop: Walmart. Chase and I forgot our charger at Sherry’s place, so we needed to buy a new one. While here, I bought Milo a couple of outfits. Just because. It was nice to walk around Walmart and look around for a while. I picked up about 10 outfits, but I only bought 3.

On the way to our next stop, Milo fell asleep without much fussing in the car. It was nice. We did some shushing and played some white noise, but she fell asleep on her own without screaming her head off. Again, it felt like a miracle.

Next stop: Costco in Medford. Here, I bought another couple of outfits just because (again I must have picked up at least 5 but only bought 2). Milo decided to poop all over her outfit while in the Ergo, so after eating some pizza, Chase headed to the bathroom to change her diaper and outfit. It’s so nice when the men’s room has a changing table!

On the way to our next stop, Milo again performed a miracle and fell asleep without much help from us. It provided a nice quiet trip for us all, which was nice after the couple of days we’ve had in the car.

Next stop: a brewery in Dunsmuir. A short stop to refill some bottles. I fed my girl, and she was a happy camper most of the rest of the way to Red Bluff.

The rest of the evening was pretty pleasant. Jeff hung Christmas lights, Kathy made dinner (a delicious chile relleno casserole), we watched an old movie (My Favorite Wife), and I went to bed a bit early. It felt like a lazy day, and I’m so glad that our girl has (hopefully) learned to self soothe in the car. Tomorrow is our final long car trip for a while.

Day One Hundred and Six

Oregon

The driving was hard today. Milo wasn’t much better in the car. Jeff and Kathy graciously offered to pull over whenever we thought necessary, but Chase and I felt that if we pulled over in the middle of one of Milo’s fits, she’d just resume her fit when we started driving again, causing her to cry longer. We did make a couple of stops so that Milo could have some milk, and that soothed her a bit. During the drive, Chase and I tried every trick we had to help soothe our girl: white noise, massaging head/hands/feet, shushing her verbally, giving her toys to play, talking to her soothingly, etc. She did play in the car for a short time, but there was also a lot of crying until she fell asleep.

Once we got to Cave Junction, Milo was great! She was smiley and happy, and everyone just loved her. We arrived in time to help Sherry with dinner, and soon Karen, Bones, and Steven showed up and we got to visit with everyone.

Highlights:

• Les feeds wild deer and turkeys on their property, so we were able to look out the windows and see them all roaming around.

• Milo sat on the couch in between Bones and Jeff and looked like the tiniest little baby.

• Milo had good naps even though there was a lot of commotion.

• Sherry’s dinner was delicious! She made roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and gravy. Not to mention pumpkin pies and apple pie. We were all in heaven and stuffed ourselves for a second day in a row!

• Sherry and Les sent us home with a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies.

• Both Sherry and Karen bought Milo some very sweet gifts! I can’t wait until she’s big enough to wear the cute outfits!

• We stayed in Grants Pass, and our room had a king sized bed. I’m not sure I’ve ever slept on a bed so large. Milo was good and went right back to sleep each time she woke up, and it was nice to be able to sleep next to Chase with so much room for Milo.

• Jeff bought chocolate stars from Ray’s, and I overindulged.

I really love Thanksgivings in Oregon, and I hope we’re able to make it back up there next year.

Day One Hundred and Five

Thanksgiving

Since we’re up in Colusa, headed up to Red Bluff, Jeff and Kathy treated us to Thanksgiving dinner at Cache Creek Casino. They have a deal that allows new members to receive $25 in free food after signing up for a member card there, so Chase and I stood in line to sign up. However, we were informed that since Milo is not 21 years old, we couldn’t enter the casino floor with her. That meant that we couldn’t even stand in the line. Even the security guard who informed us of the rule knew it was a silly rule, but he had to enforce it.

Needless to say, we didn’t get our $25 in free food. After that, we walked around the perimeter of the casino to reach the buffet. It was a spectacular feast, I must say. Milo wanted to eat as soon as we sat down (of course), so Chase got us some food as I fed her. Then, she slept the whole time we were eating! After sampling just about every dessert they had, we made our way back to the car and headed on to Red Bluff.

I should mention that the car trip from Colusa to Cache Creek was great! Milo decided to take the pacifier, which helped soothe her. However, the car trip to Red Bluff (~2hrs) was totally miserable. It was worse than last night’s trip. Last night’s trip involved about 20 minutes of crying. Tonight’s trip involved around 1 hour of crying, broken up into two segments. First, she cried for about 20 minutes until she finally fell asleep. Then she slept for about 40 minutes, woke up, and then cried for about 40 more minutes. It was a harrowing experience that makes me want to cancel our trip up to Oregon tomorrow.

On the other hand, part of me thinks that this crying it out is going to help her learn to self-soothe in the future, so maybe we should suffer through it. Jeff, who has been the driver on these difficult trips, has remained incredibly calm and comforting to us, which is much appreciated.

Once we got to the house in Red Bluff, Milo was totally cool and happy - after she got out of the carseat, that is. She fell asleep at around 9pm, as usual, like nothing bad had happened today.

Tomorrow’s trip is around 4 hours of driving, so we’ll see how that goes. It will be totally worth it to see Karen, Bones, Sherry, and Les. I only hope that Milo can handle being in the car that long and will recover just as she did tonight.

Day One Hundred and Four

Trek to Colusa

This morning was good, and time passed quickly. Milo had good naps, and before we knew it, it was time for Chase to be home before our trek to Colusa to visit Jeff and Kathy for the holiday. I spent Milo’s quiet time packing and organizing. Chase and I have made a concerted effort to travel light, but I swear for this trip I nearly packed every baby item we own. I’m so nervous about how Milo’s going to do in the car.

The plan is that we’re taking BART to Richmond, then Amtrak to Davis. In Davis, Jeff is going to pick us up and drive us to Colusa. We should be in Colusa by 8pm, which is 30 minutes before Milo’s bed time. So we’ll be cutting it close. But hopefully we won’t have to disrupt Milo’s routine too much.

Edit: Travel updates

A bit of good news first: while we were waiting for our train to arrive (it was 35 minutes late), Milo drank a bottle! I had freshly pumped some milk just before we left the apartment, so as we sat out in the cold, Chase decided to see if she’d drink some. She didn’t fuss, didn’t chew on the nipple, didn’t refuse to drink. She just opened up and gulped the milk down! It felt like a miracle.

Now for the bad news: Amtrak was a fiasco. Our train was headed northbound, and apparently a man’s truck stalled out on the tracks and the driver called 911 to alert the conductors. Our conductor got the news in time and stopped just before reaching the truck. However, the southbound train wasn’t able to stop in time and ended up striking the truck (there was no driver in it) and dragging it along for a little way, scraping it along the side of our train. So we were stuck on the tracks for just a bit over 2 hours, which of course delayed our arrival in Davis.

Milo was great in the train most of the time. She fell asleep at 8:30, but she kept waking when the conductor blew the whistle and the announcer came over the PA to announce stops and whatnot. So, she was a bit restless until we reached Davis.

Then, in the car, we had the worst car trip to date. Milo screamed and screamed for a solid 20 minutes until she wore herself out and fell asleep. We eventually got to Colusa and got her into bed. It was miserable, listening to her scream like that with nothing that would comfort her. Normally, I try to get her to suck on my finger for comfort, but tonight she wouldn’t have it. I guess this is what it’s like to have a baby cry it out. I didn’t want to do it this way, especially when my girl is slightly under the weather, but that’s how it goes, I guess. Maybe she’ll do better on the car trips to come.

Day One Hundred and Three

Random Notes

Notes:

• Milo seems fussed today; she has developed a habit of not waking calmly anymore. Instead, she wakes up super fussy and it takes a few minutes of cuddling/walking/holding to get her to calm down. I hope this is a short-lived phase.

• Today, Michelle dropped off some lavender oil that I can use to help Milo sleep at night. I read that if you use it in a carrier oil and massage babies’ feet with it, it should help them sleep longer and more soundly. It’s also good in an essential oil diffuser, which I ordered today. I also ordered an essential oil book to read up on how to use it on baby’s skin, so I won’t be trying it in the massage oil just yet. But hopefully next week I’ll be able to diffuse some oil for Milo’s nighttime routine.

• It was difficult to get our girl to sleep tonight. She kept waking and needing to be bounced back to sleep. Eventually, we just put her in the bed with us instead of the crib.

• Milo still seems a little bit sick, though it’s hard to tell how sick she is; it’s probably only a drainage issue - it seems like it’s difficult for her to get the snot/mucus out. I’ve heard a little bit of coughing today followed by swallowing, so it seems like she is doing a good job of breaking up the nasty stuff. Hopefully this will work itself out soon, since I can’t give her anything to help.

• I bought Adele’s new album. It’s divine.

Day One Hundred and Two

Good Day

This morning was amazing and wonderful: We woke early and played with Milo in bed; Chase heated some leftover biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and we had Milo down for her first nap by 8am. Then, Chase and Milo and I laid together until it was time for Chase to get ready for work. I fell asleep and woke to Chase saying goodbye and heading out. It felt like a perfect morning.

As for the rest of the day, Milo seems to be back on track with napping, and she didn’t have much snot when I used the NoseFrida, so that’s a plus. Altogether, the day went by pretty quickly and Chase was home before I knew it.

Notes:

• Milo is enjoying the new toys we bought her over the weekend. They hang low on her play gym, and she turns to get to them and can easily get them to her mouth, which is probably why they’re so popular.

• Milo seems to know when I’m around these days and, more importantly, when I’m not. Sometimes I’ll lay her on the floor mat and go to the restroom or leave the room for one reason or another, and when I do this, she always starts fussing when I’m out of her vision. I hope that this is just a phase and she is able to play by herself soon.

• I got a lot done today: organized donations, went to Goodwill, stopped by Whole Foods, cleaned up a bit around the house. It felt good to get things done.

• Tonight we went to visit with JP and Puja, and we stayed for dinner at their place. It is always nice to see them and play with Avani! She’s getting bigger and it’s exciting to see her grow and learn. She’s such a smart girl!

Day One Hundred and One

Rearranging

We decided to move our apartment around to better fit all of our stuff and give Milo more room. We have a very small one bedroom apartment - technically it’s called a “junior” one bedroom, which means that the bedroom is actually a very large closet that fits a queen bed and side table and not much else. We’ve had our bed in there since we moved in, and we thought it’d be fine to keep Milo’s crib in the living room. We even made a little corner for her. But, now that we’re going to try to sleep train her, we figured it’d be better for her to have the room instead of sleeping in the living room. This way, Milo will have a closed off space and Chase and I won’t be kicked out of the living room at 8pm.

So, we did some purging; I got rid of a lot of clothes, Chase decided it was ok to part with his desk, and we moved our bed into the living room. Then, we moved all of Milo’s various things (crib, dresser, carriers, etc.) into the bedroom. It took quite some time to get this all done, but we’re pretty happy with the results so far. It actually feels like we have more space, somehow. Things seem to fit better in both places.

Other than moving and purging, we made it out to Devil’s Teeth Baking Company this morning for some breakfast sandwiches and sweet treats, then we walked along the beach for a while. I thought it might be better to walk on a paved path so that Chase could keep a steady rhythm and Milo might fall asleep more easily. It didn’t work. She was mildly fussed much of the time we walked around and didn’t fall asleep until we got back to the apartment.

So, there wasn’t much napping today again; Milo had less snot and sneezing, though we did use the NoseFrida a lot to clear out what snot she did have. Milo still hates it.

All together, a very productive and good day today.

Day One Hundred