To the beach! (or Adventures in Poopy Diapers)

Or could be alternatively titled "Oatmeal & Prunes are a bad idea for road trips".

This past weekend we went to the east coast to Southern Georgia to visit the Jekyll Island area.

On the way down I fed him his breakfast of oatmeal mixed with prunes and then proceeded to change 5 poopy diapers. Talk about slowing down a road trip! Note to self: no prunes away from home.

On Sunday morning we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go the beach and dip James' toes in the Atlantic (he's already been to the Gulf and Pacific). Instead of putting sunscreen on him I just shaded him with an umbrella.

He was quite fussy which I at first attributed solely to him being tired and in need of a nap, but then I remembered he had made an ominous noise while in his carseat on the way to the beach. So I checked his diaper and it was full of loose gooeyness- actually unexpected because since starting on solids everything has been pretty solid coming out too. This diaper, however, was up the front and up the back- and unfortunately I'd brought a pack of wipes with us onto the beach that only had 3 left in it...one short of a clean bottom. So I was in a quandary- do I put a clean diaper on a bottom that is only partially clean until we get back to the car and more wipes, or do I carry him diaperless to the car and risk getting peed on? Tim's suggestion "why don't you just go dunk his bottom in the ocean?". Now that was not a bad idea- but instead of subjecting him to the shock of being immersed of cool water I decided to hold him above the water and scoop it up onto the offending areas only. It worked PERFECTLY. And while he wasn't thrilled with the cool water I think he was more reacting out of need of napping more than bothered by the alternative cleaning method.

Now that was not a bad idea- but instead of subjecting him to the shock of being immersed of cool water I decided to hold him above the water and scoop it up onto the offending areas only. It worked PERFECTLY. And while he wasn't thrilled with the cool water I think he was more reacting out of need of napping more than bothered by the alternative cleaning method.

Since he was already down by the water I went ahead and let him stand on the sand- he decided that was too much for his tired little heart to handle.

Once up in my arms safe from the water he just stared and stared at the surf. Not sure if this was to keep an eye on what he didn't want coming any closer to him or if he was trying to figure out what was going on with the 'floor'.

He certainly had a puzzled look.

And his ability to hold on to me became quite competent- he was not going back down to the water if he could help it.
I thought he might enjoy standing on the driftwood (this beach is called Driftwood Beach- however it isn't really what I think of drift wood...like wood actually drifting onto the beach- rather it is that the island is being eroded and leaving behind trees on the beach that then die).

I was wrong.

Back in the arms and content staring at the water once more.

I think that he actually would have enjoyed the beach and water if we had timed it better so he wasn't ready to collapse with exhaustion. The water was a pleasant temperature- much warmer than either the Gulf or Pacific that he has tried before. Which reminds me- I still need to post his introduction to the Pacific in Hawaii...

A couple of firsts

- James received his first free kid's coloring book from our local grocery store, apparently they keep these by the registers and an elderly gentleman who was bagging groceries pulled one out for James- I guess he's looking more and more like a toddler than a baby these days!
- I received my first look of disdain from another woman regarding my parenting: I was holding James on my hip as I unloaded my cart b/c I had had him in the cart in one of those fabric cart protector things (though I suppose it is the baby you are protecting from the cart, not the cart from the baby) and it was too close to his naptime and he was melting down- flinging his head back and whacking it on the metal behind him- so I took pity and did the rest of the shopping with him in one arm. I thought I was unloading the cart plenty fast as I was getting items onto the belt faster than they were being scanned, but the lady behind me asked in kind of a miffed tone "Can someone help you?" I smiled and said that I was almost done but thanks for the offer. Really, I only had a few more items in my cart by that time and in order for someone to help me they would have had to pull my cart back out the line to get in front of it to reach the items. Then I said jokingly that I count holding him and doing things as exercise (really wouldn't anyone? I mean lugging a 20lb+ baby while doing anything is pretty taxing). She kind of gave me an exasperated look. I probably shouldn't have said anymore at this point...but then I said James was just too tired to be in the cart (since he doesn't sit up well it is still a lot of work for him to stay upright)- she sort of relented and said/asked if he'd fall asleep in the car...and I responded yes! I even had a book in the car so when I got home I could read while he slept...again her look of disgust which I interpreted to mean 'are you seriously going to wait in the car for your child to wake up? Just take him into the house! You spineless nitwit!' So I said 'oh, he only sleeps for a half hour anyway so it's not that long'...worse look this time, even a bit of rolling eyeballs meaning 'You really are poorly parenting if you can't get your child to sleep longer than 30 minutes'.
Of course, she could have been thinking something totally different - but her looks were quite unfriendly and exasperated.
- James has finally figured out that he can communicate with me via his car mirror. Last week I noticed him LOOKING at me in the mirror as if he couldn't figure out if it was really me- I think the mirrors distortion of my face was throwing him off- but today it clicked and he grinned at me every time I looked back at him.
- 2 out of the last 3 nights James has slept all night without nursing. Going to bed at 7:30 and waking up at 1:15 to cry briefly then going back to sleep until 6:15 at which point he is awake for the day. (Last night he didn't wake up until 2am and I went ahead and nursed him with the hope that he'd sleep a bit longer...and he did, until 7am...which causes me a dilemma- which is better/worse- getting up once at night or getting up really early?)

Piano with Aunt Krista

My Nana played piano and organ for church and when we'd go visit her she made sure to introduce us to playing (I actually took lessons for 6 months when I was little before I got too frustrated trying to coordinate my left and right hands). Below is me (with Nana) and above is James (with his Aunt Krista) at what I think is about the same age. I now wish I had continued with those lessons because growing up my mom used to play the piano after she had put us in bed and I distinctly remember loving hearing the music as I lay in bed- mostly because I was glued to my mother's side and the music let me know she was just around the corner. Hopefully James will have a bit more desire to be on his own (as I also used to sneak out of bed and lay down in the hall just out of my mom's view, but where I could still see her), but I do wish I had some kind of music to make for him- I'm thinking of picking the flute back up.

Maybe I will be able to teach James to knit!

Getting closer to being a Traveling Man

The newest skill of James' is to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. Sometimes he really gets those knees up under his belly and pushes off-landing on his chest and face a few inches forward. Mostly though he ends up going backwards- and can really travel this way but so far with no intention. Soon he is going to be my traveling man and I will need to actually make my house baby friendly.

Fun in the Square

This afternoon we met friends in Decatur Square to enjoy the live music there each Wednesday during the month of May.
James enjoyed lots of practice sitting up on his own- while indulging in his latest joy of chewing on straps.
I was hoping that if James saw his friend, Jude, crawling he might get inspired, but it didn't happen. However, he did thoroughly enjoy himself with the friends, food and music.
James can pretty much sit up on his own now- not necessarily for a long time- but I think I can officially say he is sitting.

Uncle Matt

What is that on your face?
Really, what is it?

Ah, my Uncle Matt...I remember him from Christmas!

I will impress him with my feat of strength and balance! (and drool!)

3 generations of Cordell men.

I decided that I like my Uncle Matt despite the strange hair he has on his face.

Sigh...Good thing I bought a spare.

Another one bites the dust.
Good thing I bought two to replace the first one Timber mauled. Unfortunately I don't think I can replace the elephant since it was given to James by his Aunt Tonya who bought it in Africa. However, I do think I can patch his trunk back together enough to make him safe to play with again (for James to play with that is, not Timber).
And I was just thinking to myself the other day "Wow, we've had James for 6 months now...Timber seems to have adjusted very well!"

James' Bookcase- phase 1

A few weekends ago we headed north of Atlanta to PeachState Lumber to get some cypress for a bookcase that Tim has designed for James. Our little guy has so many books that a basket just doesn't cut it. When James starts really getting around on his own I'd like him to be able to go and grab favorite books himself rather than waiting on me. And since I have a difficult time getting to the books at the bottom of the basket I can only imagine that it will be impossible for James too. So Tim is putting together a bookcase that is low to ground that will house all the treasured works.
Today we cut everything roughly to size and even as I type this - while sitting in the shed/workshop since James is ACTUALLY taking a LONG nap - Tim is busy handplaning the first pieces.

(soon to be) Traveling Man

If you get annoyed by repetitive baby talk I'd highly suggest muting these videos as I say the same words of encouragement to James OVER AND OVER.
Each clip seems at times to be of nothing other than cute baby James, but there is at least a nano-second on each of actual agility on James' part. I assume that what he does in the last video at the very end is the next step towards crawling.
I've included all 6 videos for the enjoyment of aunts and grandmas.


Some of the clips have poor James' head cut off since I had the camera on the floor trying to capture his belly NOT touching the floor. Though if you have to only see a baby's body- there is nothing cuter than one enclosed in a romper!

Getting closer

James is now (and has been for a while) our alarm clock. He gets up before we would if given the option. Downside- less sleep. Upside- a very cheerful boy to play with in bed for a few minutes before starting the day. Here is his practicing his sitting on Tim's chest (and wearing his new 18-month sized pajamas- he is officially in the 12-month size of Carter's, but I wanted them to last longer than a couple of months at the rate he is growing).
He is getting very close to sitting up on his own. He can tripod pretty well, but tends to straighten his right leg and then topples over that side.
Other happenings: James peed on the scale for the first time when he was naked and being weighed at the doctors; he had his first taste of formula a few days ago and sucked it all down (just wanted to make sure he'd take it so that when I go away on a girls weekend just before he is 10 months old I can rest assured that he won't get dehydrated if I can't pump enough milk before I leave); and he has taken two actual sips of water from his sippy cup (and it startled him I think he thought the cup was just another toy and was surprised to have a liquid come out of it- he still hasn't figured it out yet).

BIG boy

James had his 6-month check-up today.
He is right on track developmentally.
And he is BIG: 28.5 inches long (97%); 18 inch head circumference (90%); 20 lbs. 9 oz (95%).
No wonder I am tired at the end of the day!

Daddy's contribution to the blog

Sorry for the last bit!

Attempts as crawling

Rather long clip- just over 5.5 minutes. He actually achieves something at the very end- so skip ahead if you are time crunched.

Happy Mothers Day and Happy Half Birthday, too!

I suppose I became a mother the moment James began his life within me, so I had my first Mother's day last year. However, this year is my first with a darling baby in my arms-so it is my second first Mother's Day. Hard to fathom how just six months ago today James was so tiny (relatively) in my arms- waking me me up every 1/2 hour to perhaps a blissful 2 hours, already making funny faces, charming his daddy into changing poopy diaper after poopy diaper, and convincing me that a c-section is so worth having if it results in such a precious perfect gift from God.

The best good morning to see first thing on Mothers Day!

Now six months later James is laughing, anticipating getting nuzzled and smiling at the thought, eating solids (to date he has consumed: rice cereal, peas, turkey, cranberries, apples, banana, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, avocado, prunes, green beans, wheat, onions and pears). He really likes to eat and has over the past month graduated to 3 meals a day. He is still nursing 6-8 times daily.
His sleep has greatly improved from the above mentioned newborn 1/2 hours wakings to 2-3 naps a day 1-2 of which are his normal 30 minute power naps and one that I have forced into a longer nap by refusing to get him out of his crib until an hour has passed. He was waking up crabby from his afternoon naps so I took the advice of a friend and left him in one day for an hour and he fussed for a bit and went back to sleep for quite a long time. Now 70% of the time he'll take a longer nap in the afternoon- sometimes not waking at all for 1 hour and 40 minutes, other times waking up fussing and going back to sleep several times over the course of over 2 hours.
At night when he turned 5 months I instituted a rule that I wasn't going to go in and nurse him if it had been less than 4 hours and it seemed to work in reducing his nightly wakings. Then recently I read that a 6 month old baby could theoretically sleep through the night- that they don't need to be getting up in the night to eat. So about a week ago I decided I'm not getting up before 2am (which would mean I would only be getting up once a night to nurse James). Some nights he has gone right along with this plan, other nights he woken up at midnight and fussed and semi-cried for up to half an hour before falling back asleep. One night he woke right before midnight and I stole myself against going in to comfort him and he fell back asleep after only 5 or so minutes and then slept till 4am! Obviously he does not need to be getting up to eat so often at night if he can make it 8 hours! Unfortunately, the longer naps has resulted in shortened sleep at night- he is waking up early. This morning at 6:15! Not that early in some people's opinions, but I am not a morning person so it is early for me especially after already getting up once in the night.
He was a champ this last month gaining two bottom teeth with nary a side effect-there was some extreme drooling for a couple of days, but he didn't seem to get any of the standard low-grade fever, diarrhea or extra fussiness. Hopefully all his teething will go this smoothly!
He is getting ever more mobile- doing his first barrel rolls (back to front to back to front to back again in one fluid movement down the bed). He has the components of crawling down- first the front half and then the back half- but has yet to link the two into actual forward movement. He does have a rather unique way of creeping forward towards a desired object by placing his arms by his sides hands pointing towards his feet then pushing with his hands backwards, pushing off his toes forward and sliding on the side of his face and upper chest a centimeter at a time towards that desired object. (Tim and I are pretty sure this is why his eyelid/eyebrow were swollen one morning which necessitated me taking him to the doctor). He can pretty much navigate all over his 4 ft. x 3 ft. blanket on the floor. And today was the first time he made it up onto elbows and knees with his belly lifted completely off the floor- even managed to lunge a small ways forward!
He has just started holding up his arms to me if he knows I am about to pick him up. And he LOVES jumping in his johnny-jump-up. He can go forward a few feet towards a goal and can pretty much swing himself around in a circle to follow us or Timber.
His hair is definitely blond and getting longer by the day. So far it is stick straight.

First attempts at the traditional bathtime mohawk.

Still has a faint stork bite between his eyebrows and left eyelid and the Mongolian spots are still holding fast on his behind.
He has a while yet before he'll be sitting up on his own, but lately is folding over less quickly and can even hold himself up a bit- perhaps a 60% angle (but not yet tripoding).
His favorite activities are being sung to, chatted with and read to. Favorite songs are: Old MacDonald; Hickory Dickory Dock; The Ants Go Marching; This Old Man; Jesus Loves Me; This is the Day the Lord has Made; Row, Row, Row your Boat; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Favorite books are: Ten Little Ladybugs; Little Quack; Baby Animals touch&feel; 5 Little Monkeys.
His favorite places to be nuzzled are under his chin, his belly and his back between the shoulder blades- any of these places will send him into peals of laughter.
This past month he has also begun to show interest in Timber- watching her walk by him, turning to follow her around the room. Hopefully they will continue to grow to like each other. We are beginning sign language with James and Timber's dog sign is certainly an easy one to keep reinforcing.
One wonderful aspect of James maturing is that his toys keep his attention for longer. I remember the first time I was able to drive ALL THE WAY to the farmer's market without him fussing and bursting into tears- that was around 4 months old- and now I would be surprised to hear him complaining so quickly. Admittedly, part of this learning is on my part- I know now the signs of impending fussiness and often will begin singing his favorite songs before he realizes that he is bored. But I can't convey adequately how much easier every day is when I know I need to do some errands and I don't have to dread having him breaking down in the car after only 7 minutes.
As I posted before he has graduated to a larger baby tub and last week discovered that he has thighs and knees and boy parts. It was highly amusing to me to see him discover that he has more than just hands and feet.
We are going to the doctor tomorrow for a vaccine and a well-baby visit- so I'll post his stats after the appointment.
Overall James continues to be a very happy and easy baby. It is a true joy and privilege to see his personality manifesting itself more and more. I am so extremely blessed.

Good Morning!

Yesterday I lowered the mattress since James has been reaching up to the rail lately and I was concerned he'd figure out how to pull himself up and end up toppling over. I stood him up in it this morning to see if I'd lowered it enough. He seemed pretty thrilled to be "standing" up (highly supported by the side rail).

Thrilled but not stable!

Ooh! Still a good height for chewing!

Fun with Grandma

Last weekend Sharon came down to visit and to celebrate Tim's 33rd birthday with us. Saturday evening we went out to dinner with Jarret and Christi and James had his first real babysitter. In the end she didn't even let us pay her as James didn't wake up (Woohoo!) so she felt like she hadn't done anything to earn the cash.

James was his adorable self- wowing her with his new moves of rolling over and attempts to navigate towards toys.
In these pictures he was very tired since he didn't take his long nap, but I allowed him up early from his resting time to spend every last second with his grandma.
Look at that fuzzy head! He insists on scooting to the corners of his crib and rubbing/head-butting the bumper until he falls asleep-so he has started getting some cute bedhead hair.
Even tired this munchin looks so cute- I think his grandma would have packed him in her suitcase and taken him home if she could have.