Warning!

Pookie had a small procedure done last week.  He's doing well, and no, I am not going into details.  Mainly because I am somewhat upset over it, and I feel very stupid for being upset.  Also, there are some things that really don't need to be broadcasted to the world.  There are some general details that I don't mind sharing however.  Pookie had to go under general anesthesia to have this procedure done.  Of course I have to sign my life away before anything can be done.  It's astounding how many doctors and nurses you come into contact with.  I was talking to a doctor that I thought was an anesthesiologist, but he was actually assisting Pookie's doctor.  Go figure.  I got sent back to the waiting room while the procedure took place.  Luckily for me, a friend and her little girl came with me to help keep me occupied. 

After the procedure was finished and Pookie was waking up, I was brought back to the recovery area.  One of the lovely nurses was going over all the information that I needed to know.  I had a few questions, and to help answer them, the nurse pulled out an envelope.  Before taking out the contents, the nurse warned me that the images were of a graphic nature.  Now, not for nothing, I have a fairly strong stomach.  The visual doesn't do me in.  It's the smell.  In fact, I have no idea how I got through high school Biology, because I was dry-heaving every couple of minutes.  I was really good at dissecting things though!  By the end of the year, my lab partner was just laughing at me!  In addition to having a fairly strong stomach, I happen to be going home with a baby that has just had this procedure done.  I will be having to look at something of "a graphic nature" for the next couple of weeks while it heals up.  Not only am I going to have to be looking at it, I'm the one who's taking care of it!  People crack me up! 

Pookie has been healing well.  It has been fun times in our household, between Pookie's teeth coming in and the after effects of the procedure.  Tylenol has been my friend!  Luckily Pookie is really good about taking medication!  Pookie is going back to see the doctor in a week to get everything check out.  We are going to have to go into Boston for this appointment, so this should be interesting!

Ooh, somthing shiny!

I have no attention span.  I used to have one, then I became pregnant with Pookie.  Everything flew out the window at that point.  I used to be able to multitask.  At my old job at the bookstore, I needed to be able to do several things at once, and do them all well.  If I do say so myself, I was rather good at my job.  Outside of work I tried to keep the multitasking to a minimum.  I was so fried from doing it at work, I needed a break at home. But I still had an attention span.  Then I got knocked up.  By the time that it got rather bad, I was obviously pregnant, and I couldn't go three sentences without talking about food.  I still was good at my job, but not quite as good as I used to be.  I didn't care too much, because I knew I wasn't coming back after my maternity leave.  It also helps that people give pregnant ladies a lot of extra slack.


Then I had Pookie.  Any bit of brain I still had left, decided to take a vacation.  I can't seem to keep a straight thought in my head.  If someone is talking to me, I have to stop everything that I'm doing to pay attention to what they are saying.  Otherwise, forget it.  Rob makes fun of me because I will pause the TV if he is talking to me.  I keep telling him that I am trying to pay attention to what he has to say, and the TV is too much of a distraction.  It drives me nuts when I am trying to get Pookie to latch on and Rob is telling me something important.  I can only do one thing at a time.  Otherwise, if I have to prioritize, Pookie is coming first.


To top it all off, I'm forgetting things.  I know I'm sleep deprived.  I get very cranky when I don't get enough sleep, and I haven't gotten enough sleep in over 8 months.  The sleep deprivation is a component, but I'm blaming a lot of this on Mommy Brain.  There is a constant stream of: Where's Pookie, is he okay, does he need to be feed, when is the last time he ate, is his diaper wet, what is he getting into, is he bothering the dog, is he getting into the ant traps, is he getting into the trash, are his teeth bothering him, does he need a nap, what is he pulling him self up on, what is he grabbing for, what trouble is he getting into now?  That is a lot of things to think about all at the same time.  I know it crowds out some of the other thoughts in my head.  I like it when he's asleep, because it narrows the thoughts down to, is he asleep yet and is he awake yet?


Speaking of things forgotten.  We went out to dinner tonight.  Pookie had a long day and his nap schedule was completely off.  We sat in a booth at the restaurant and the had this booster seat contraption instead of a regular high chair.  Pookie spent most of the night rummaging through my bag.  We get home, and wouldn't you know it, Sophie the giraffe is missing.  Luckily the restaurant found it, so we just need to pick it up.  But to top it off, while we were at dinner, I was looking though my bag for the snack container.  I couldn't find it.  When we got home, I went searching, and I have yet to be able to find it at home.  Good lord only knows were it is.  Hopefully it will turn up soon.  It's a rather cute snack container.

Tactical Errors

Things have been a little crazy in our household.  Pookie's teeth are coming in.  Seeing as Pookie likes to do several milestones all at once.  Both the top two and the bottom two teeth are coming in.  All at the same time.  Ugh.  One night he woke up 6 times.  I ended up bringing him into my bed, just so I could get a little sleep.  I think all together I got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep that night.  The next morning I realized that I had made a tactical error.  Pookie was waking up because his nose was so clogged, he couldn't breath.  I pulled out the humidifier and put a pillow under Pookie's mattress and Pookie was good to go.  He's slept beautifully sense I have done that! 

When I went grocery shopping last week, I thought it was a good idea to buy teething biscuits.  I couldn't remember the brand that my mom used, so I got Earth's Best teething biscuits.  Which was tactical error number two.  When Rob, Pookie and I sat down for dinner that night, I gave him a biscuit to chew on while Rob and I were eating.  After chewing on it for a few minutes, Pookie proceeded to take a chunk off.  I got part of the chunk, but he swallowed the other half.  Then proceeded to choke on it.  I know how to do the Heimlich maneuver on babies, and luckily I didn't have to use that skill.  I went on to give him a Mum-Mum, which is a rice cracker that melts in your mouth.  Pookie proceeded to choke on that as well.  Then for dinner I gave him a stage 3 meal.  Which has chunks of food in it and was tactical error number three.  Pookie is used to inhaling the pureed baby food.  He was rather thrown off by the larger pieces of food, and proceeded to choke his way through his dinner.  I gave up about half way through and gave him regular sweet potatoes.  The funny thing is I give him small bites of food off my plate and he never has a problem with that.  Oh well.  I'm chalking it up to a texture thing.  After dinner was over, I decided to try one of the teething biscuits.  They were actually quite yummy.  I think they would be great with a cup of tea or coffee to dunk them in.  I don't think anyone would realize what they are if they were artfully arranged on a nice plate! 

Visitors

The other day I looked out my window to see a visitor in my back yard. 

A rather cute groundhog.

And a bunny.

At least now I know what's eating my plants.  I have decided to name the groundhog Larry.  I think he looks a lot like a Larry, but that's just my opinion.  In addition to Larry and the multiple bunnies, we also have a turkey and her three babies.  The momma turkey walks with a limp, but she seems to do okay for herself.  I get a chuckle out of the wildlife that traipse through my back yard.  I live in a rather suburban area, but there is some open space behind our yard.  We get quite the variety of wildlife. 

In other happenings, I visited the store that I used to work.  I needed to return a book that I borrowed from a co-worker of mine.  She had lent it to me while I was still pregnant.  Seeing as Pookie will be 8 months on Sunday, the book really needed to get back to it's owner.  I completely lucked out, because as I was getting out of my car, I ran into N.  Excellent, that meant I didn't have to go into the store.  However, because I hadn't visited in a while, I decided to go in.  There is no such thing as a quick in and out.  Over an hour later Pookie and I finally made it out of there.  The funny part comes in when my friend decided to take Pookie and tease another co-worker with him.  As they departed I was looking at the paperbacks.  About a minute later I could hear this high-pitched screaming.  Holy Mackerel, it's my child.  I go booking it for the breakroom and L comes rushing out with Pookie, who is not only crying but has tears running down his face.  What happened?  Did you pinch the baby?  Nope, apparently Pookie was fine until L handed Pookie over to the other co-worker.  Then Pookie lost it.  Yep, that's my child.  Happy as a clam as long as he can see me.  As soon as I go missing, forget it. 

It was really nice being back at the store for a visit.  In a way, I really miss working there.  I miss seeing new people on a daily basis.  Hearing my co-workers stories.  Having that comradery of having to deal with crappy customers.  On the other hand, I don't miss having to deal with those same crappy customers.  Or having to meet various goals.  Or trying to juggle three things at once.  I will say that with the juggling, I could always call someone else to help out.  While now, I'm juggling and back-up isn't always there. 

Speaking of back-up, Rob was having issues today.  We went out to dinner tonight.  As I was getting Pookie's stuff together, Rob was being helpful and changed Pookie's diaper.  Well, considering that Pookie is now 8 months old, and is a very active little boy, diaper changes have turned into a sport.  How quickly can Pookie's diaper get changed with the minimal amount of damage?  He tries to roll one way, he grabs for the curtains, he decides to have an itch where the sun doesn't shine and, oh, don't start on the leg kicks.  Add a poopy diaper on top of that, and you can have quite the mess on your hands.  I'm in the kitchen and all of a sudden I hear Rob yelling followed by Pookie crying.  So I go down to investigate.  Calm Pookie down.  Calm Rob down.  Dispose of the poopy diaper remains and return to the kitchen.  Not a minute later, I hear Pookie crying again.  Go back down to investigate.  Now Rob is trying to snap Pookie back up.  I calm Pookie down, then calm Rob down and everything gets soothed over.  We finally make it to the car and as we are driving to the restaurant, Rob is explaining that he is cranky.  I reminded him that he is the adult and Pookie is the baby.  Unfortunately that means that as the adult, we need to remain calm so the baby remains calm.  I also reminded him that Pookie is teething and is more cranky than usual.  I gave him some tips to make diaper changing easier and he apologized that he yelled at Pookie.  The important thing is that Pookie had a clean diaper, regardless of how it got there!  I have to give Rob a lot of credit.  He works some crazy hours and doesn't get to spend as much time with Pookie as he would like.  The time that the do spend together is generally play time.  Rob doesn't get a lot of the day to day practice with things like bottles, diapers and clothing changes. 

Pearly whites

Pookie is working on his first tooth!  Now in addition to getting into everything, he can start to leave his mark where ever he goes.  Last week was a rough week all around.  Rob is self employed.  That has a lot of perks as well as some headaches.  Last week was quite a headache for Rob.  Generally when one person is cranky, the crankiness spreads it's self around. Needless to say, there was a lot of crankiness going around our house last week.  Normally Pookie goes to bed sometime between 9 - 10 pm.  I aim for 9, but some days it's a little later.  This past week, there were some nights I would put him down and the crying would escalate.  I would feed him again and put him back down.  At this point it would be closer to 10:30.  Pookie then would wake up at 11:20, which is fairly normal for him.  But to top it all of he would wake up sometime between 3 - 5 am.  At first I thought that Pookie was just picking up on that crankiness, then he started chewing on my finger.  I soon realized that his crankiness was from a tooth trying to come in.

All in all, Pookie hasn't been too bad so far.  There have been a couple of episodes that he was really irked.  But on the whole, we've been lucky.  Now, of course because I said the above statements out loud, things should start rolling downhill shortly.  Generally once you say something about your child, they go and prove you wrong. Hopefully Pookie won't try too hard to prove me wrong.

Earlier today Pookie had a rough time waking up from his nap.  Rob came in with me to get him.  As I was opening the curtains up he grabbed Pookie.  Because Pookie seemed more irked than usual, I decided to give him some baby Tylenol.  As I was giving the Tylenol to Pookie, Rob said, "why are you still giving that to Pookie?"  "What are you talking about?" I replied.  Apparently Rob thought that the Tylenol was another medication that we had been giving to Pookie and was completely confused as to why I would be giving it to Pookie now.  Nope, I'm just trying to make Pookie feel better, and maybe not be quite so cranky.  Here's hoping anyways!

All by myself!

Everyone needs a little time to themselves every so often.  As an introvert, I crave it.  Good thing I'm a night owl.  After the guys go to bed, I have some time to myself.  This is great for catching up on Facebook and emails.  The challenge comes when I need to get out of the house by myself.  Rob works generally 6 days a week and has erratic hours.  My MIL is great and can help out here and there.  It's just trying to mesh schedules together.  I've found that sometimes it's just easier to bring Pookie with me rather than trying to find someone to watch him.  It's gotten to the point where in my dreams I'm toting him along and I get worried if he's not there.  This has lead to some crazy dreams!

Today I got lucky.  I went out of the house, by myself, and got a mani and a pedi!  Rob and I are going to a wedding on Saturday, so I got the shellac on my nails.  Shellac freaks me out.  But it lasts for two weeks, which is wonderful.  Especially considering that I generally mess up my mani about 5 minutes after I have left the salon.  It felt so wonderful to get out of the house all by myself.  To only carry my cell phone, wristlet and keys.  Pure heaven.  Normally I have Pookie on one side, the diaper bag on the other.  Maybe a stroller to boot.  Oh, and don't forget trying to get ready to leave the house.  How is the diaper supply?  Do I need to bring some form of solids for Pookie?  Do I need a bottle?  Do I have appropriate toys to keep him occupied?  It can be an ordeal to get out of the house. 

Part of being a good mom is being a happy mom.  As one of my aunts likes to tell me, it's very important to take time for one's self.  She's 100% right.  How can I properly take care of another person, if I'm not taking at least a little time for myself.  Everyone needs a break, especially from something that is 24/7.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love Pookie with all my heart.  It's astounding how much you can love another person.  I think one of the best things about getting out of the house by myself is when I come home.  To see the joy and happiness on Pookie's face, it makes everything worthwhile. 

Magnet Baby?

It never ceases to amaze me the kind of attention that Pookie receives.  I think that he's adorable, but I'm his mom.  Of course I think that he is the most beautiful and wonderful baby out there.  For some reason I find it almost odd the amount of attention that he receives.  Not only from adults, but from other kids.  The kids like to check Pookie out.  The adults like to comment on how cute and well behaved Pookie is.  I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that he's a baby.  Every body loves babies.  Well, not everyone, but most people. 

As it was a holiday weekend, we were out and about.  There was a cookout on Saturday that we went to.  As I found out, Pookie does not seem to like grass that much.  I don't think he knows what to make of it.  Whenever we've been out side I've always put him on a blanket.  This time I figured that because Pookie's on the move, he wouldn't stay on the blanket.  Silly me.  Beach blankets were brought out and they saved the day!  There was a little girl that decided that Pookie was adorable, and came over and played with him.  Her little sister made her way over too.  The two girls were adorable!  Their mom came over and told them to be gentle with Pookie.  She told me to send the girls back over to her if they were too disruptive.  I told her not to worry, seeing as Pookie is a rough and tumble kid.  He'll be fine.  The younger of the two girls wandered back and forth, but the older one had a ball with Pookie and his toys!  She was a little sad when I had to pack up.  I'm not sure if it was because Pookie was leaving or Pookie's toys were going.

Today we went for a drive to Gloucester.  We then went to Essex and had dinner at Woodman's.  I had a very yummy lobster roll.  Pookie being his usual charming self, ended up holding hands with a guy standing next to out table.  Luckily the gentleman was a good sport about it!  As we were eating dinner, there was a little boy that came over and wanted to say 'hi' to Pookie.  He proceeded to get into the booth and stare at Pookie with a smile on his face.  After a minute his mom came over to retrieve him.  Apparently the little boy had been eyeballing Pookie for a little while.  Rob was impressed that it took him that long before coming over.  Things like this definitely keep going out to dinner entertaining! 

The ants go marching...

We have had a small infestation of ants going on.  This drives me nuts.  When my family was living in Wisconsin, we had an infestation of carpenter ants.  The Orkin man came on a regular basis, but they were never able to find where the nest was located.  After a rather long period of time, the ants decided to find a new home.  This experience really made me hate bugs in the house.  I don't think it helped that the Orkin man told me how carpenter ants can bite, and he mentioned how in one case they got into a babies crib and bit the baby.  Ugh!  I am prone to nightmares as it is, and this sent me over the edge.  I had nightmares of ants invading my bed and carrying me off. 

All homes have ants from time to time.  Apparently, they find my house rather enjoyable starting in July and going into September.  We have a few different kinds of ants.  They come in various sizes.  I'm not worried that we have carpenter ants.  But they are beyond annoying.  We have sprayed around the house and set up ant traps where we find them the most.  But I generally end up having to kill several during the day.  Pookie has gotten in on the act.  The other day he was scooting around.  Well, he sat on one and squished it.  Score one for Pookie! 

The danger comes in the ant traps themselves.  The other night I was chatting with Rob in the living room.  Pookie had scooted into the kitchen and I could hear him playing with his bowl and wooden spoon.  Then things got quiet.  You know what quiet means.  The child is getting into trouble.  Well, Pookie had an ant trap in each hand and had decided to try to gnaw on one.  I grabbed Pookie, popped the ant traps out of his hands and rushed him to the bathroom to hose him down.  While I was doing that Rob cleaned up the mess.  Don't worry, Pookie didn't ingest any poison.  Or at least there haven't been any side effects.  Hopefully he didn't eat any ants, but as my mom said in an attempt to reassure me, "it's just a little extra protein."  Yep, thanks mom.  I know that there are much worse things that Pookie could eat, other than ants.  Hopefully he won't get any bright ideas!