I Want to Crawl! Eeeeeee!

He wants it so bad. He can get his knees under and his butt up in the air, OR his arms under his sholders and his head up, but not both at once, and getting his tummy off the ground will take a bit more practice. He'll get there soon though. Already he can scootch forward teensy bit by teensy bit. It's very cute, although he finds it very frustrating.

Conan and Chloe

We got to visit with Conan's older cousin Chloe yesterday, she and Nadege and my mom came over for my cousin Jessica's baby shower. Naturally we had to put both babies on the floor and watch them interact. They are a lot more interested in each other now than when they first met! Conan shared his new favorite teether with Chloe, and she agreed that it was an excellent chewy. Chloe actually has broken through one tooth, and the second is coming soon. Conan still hasn't cut any teeth yet, but I don't think it will be long. Neither of them can crawl yet, they are both still working on it. Chloe gets around really well by rolling, however. It's very cute!

Parenting Skillz

Some of the things I can do that I couldn't before:

I can sing "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" for more than 30 minutes without repeating any animals or noises. While driving.

I can fill a 5 gallon water jug and wrestle it into & out of the shopping cart at the coop with Conan strapped to my chest, without dropping it, squishing Conan, or breaking my back.

I can eat ANYTHING with one hand. Or, to put it another way, anything that can't be eaten with one hand just isn't on the menu.

I can tell when Conan is sleeping without looking to see if his eyes are closed. Even when I'm not holding him.

I can tell the difference between pooping and farting by sound alone, from across the room.

I can spot a dropped baby sock or shoe in tall grass at 50 paces.

I can open and close the bedroom doors silently. Which isn't easy, we have very clicky doorknobs.

I can sit and have a conversation while simultaneously corralling, bouncing, and entertaining a very squirelly baby who is really, really determined to pull my hair.

I can rock a rocking chair like nobody's business.

I can tell you exactly what time he's woken up at every night for the last week, how long he was up for and how much he ate each time. Ditto pooping. I will TRY not to tell you all this, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

I can sleep fully clothed, sitting up, pretty much anywhere, anytime.

I can calm Conan when he's crying, I can feed him when he's hungry, and I can put him to sleep when he's tired. Best of all, I can make him smile and laugh, and watch him grow.

Slounge Chair

Some time ago I won a Pottery Barn gift card in a trivia contest, but then I couldn't find anything that I really wanted to buy that didn't cost way more than the card was for. So the card had just been sitting in a drawer for a couple years. I rediscovered it recently, went to their website, and found this cute little baby arm chair for Conan which it just covered. Yay for "free" baby stuff!
Conan can't yet sit by himself, but he does pretty well propped up in a chair like this. Doesn't he look like a big boy? I can't get over it, compared to the new babies (Chloe, Cohen) he seems so grown up.He seems to really like his chair, it's soft and bouncy, a perfect spot for sloungin' and chewing on his fingers or toes. And it tastes pretty good too!

He slept through the Night!

Conan slept from 9:30pm Saturday night until 5:00 am this morning. It's absolutely amazing how good I feel today. :)
Today we set up his new big crib. He was really getting too large for the co-sleeper, it is 32" long (outside) and he is 27" long. I had to be very careful putting him down in it or else his feet would hit the end. Most mornings we'd wake up to the sound of him thumping against the ends & sides. Our neighbors the McDonnells generously loaned us the crib itself, and yesterday we went to Sears and got a mattress and the linens. It's a very cute set, with appliqued dinosaurs and multicolored stripes. He looks so little in the crib - he used to look huge in the co-sleeper!

Here's hoping he sleeps even better in the crib than he did in the co-sleeper! I'd love more nights like last night. Oh, would I ever...

UPDATE - He woke up only once last night, which is great. This morning he happily played in his crib for quite a while (before breakfast, even) while we got up and got ready for the day. I think he likes it! :)

Here Kitty Kitty

Conan has recently become interested in the cats. He watches them intently, talks to them, and of course grabs for them if they come within range. We often put Conan in his exersaucer by the cats' food bowl so he can watch them wait for food. On the couch today I propped him up on a cylindrical pillow and he rocked back and forth trying to reach Iggy. It was very entertaining. Iggy, however, was not thrilled. It's tough to be a lazy, long-haired, three-legged cat in a house with a baby.
It's only going to get worse for him as Conan gets more mobile, and from the look on his face he knows it.

Mirror Mirror

Mom, are you sure about this guy? He seems strangely familiar but I can't quite place him...

Hey buddy, how'd you get behind that glass, anyhow?

Good times!

Are teeth on the way?

Conan was a perfect angel all day for Mother's day. Then at 1 am this morning - the day after mother's day - all hell broke loose. He hasn't slept more than 40 minutes at a stretch since then. He won't eat, and offering him food makes him angry. He doesn't have a fever, and he doesn't seem gassy. We've changed his diaper. We've given him baby tylenol and gas medicine and colic tablets. Nothing is helping - he's obviously miserable - poor little guy. He chews on my finger for a minute or two, but what he really wants is sleep. He falls asleep in my arms, but wakes up if I stop bouncing or rocking him, don't even think about putting him down. Right now he is sleeping in the stroller. We have been taking turns pushing it around the living room and kitchen. As long as we keep it moving, he can sleep. It's easier than carrying him around in my arms, at least.

We both have to go to work in about an hour. Oy...

It's not the Swine Flu*

But there's sickness at our house. It's been a pretty miserable couple of weeks, with one after the other of us getting sick, including Conan. He had his first ever fever, cough, and runny nose last week, and he didn't like it very much. We had a couple very bad nights. It's scary enough to have a sick baby without Swine Flu hysteria sweeping the nation, but luckily he got over it pretty quickly. Hurrah for breastmilk and the transference of antibodies! He does still have a lingering cough, but he seems to feel good and not be bothered by it too much. Us adults have fared much worse, probably because we are also trying to work, keep house, and care for baby between coughing fits. I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

*Seriously, it's not. We got tested - it's a virus, not an influenza virus but one that causes "influenza-like symptoms" which are just plain awesome.