Baby Bubbles

Toddlers get hurt. While it is sad to see your little one bump and scrape themselves, I think all parents know going into toddlerhood that there is likely going to be a bit of blood, a lot of mess and possibly some stitches.


What we don't expect as parents is to see our tiny new baby in any pain or through the clear plastic walls of an incubator. We aren't warned about the possibility of tubes up our newborns nose. No one provides us with any sort of buffer about this horrible place called a NICU. We go into the whole thing thinking the labor is going to be the hardest part and then poof! a baby is here and all’s well again.

I've made no secret of my history with the Hopkins NICU. I try not to dwell on it, but there is something about the NICU experience that stays with me- always. When I meet another mom who has gone through this hellish place, I instantly feel connected to her.

I have 3 friends who I have known for a very long time. These ladies were a part of the shelter I surrounded myself with, after P was born.

On Monday, one of them had her second son- he was 3 weeks early. Eighteen months ago, when she was delivering her first son the labor and delivery part was horrendous. I will spare the details, but the girl had an insanely difficult go of it. This time around, the delivery is what you see in movies- three pushes and POP out came the babe. Easy breezy.

As I was on the phone trying to coordinate a sitter for P, so I could go meet the newest little tyke, I got a call from my friend's husband. The baby was sent to the NICU. He had stopped breathing at some point through the night. I'm hearing this news and asking questions as P and a friend of his play in our melting blow up pool on the deck. They are splashing around and fighting over bubbles and sunglasses. I am fighting back tears.

In these moments of desperation and helplessness, I always try to observe what is going on around me. It's like I want to capture the moment in my head exactly the way it happened. I want to remember everything, which is ironic because when P was born, I just wanted to forget everything.

Parker and his friend were so busy in their toddler world, sliding around the pool and inhaling bubble solution because they sucked in instead of blowing out.

In the moment, they were delighted and I was devastated.

As I hung up the phone with my friend's husband with promises to pass the news onto our other friends, I saw something profound. Well profound in Parker's world.

After months of trying, Parker successfully blew his first set of bubbles. Once all the solution was out of the wand and P’s bubbles were floating all around the deck he looked at me with a, "DID YOU SEE THAT!?" expression.

It made his day. It made my day. Thanks buddy, I needed that.

**Baby update: It looks like major acid reflux is the culprit, but we will not know for sure until some more tests are done. The baby is doing better today, but will likely be in the NICU for about a week.

** Welcome to the new followers! I'm not always this much of a downer.

Good Thing He's a Happy Kid

Happy 4th of July! I have a brother who is a Marine and spent more than his fair share of time overseas fighting for our freedom and safety. I have an uncle who is a MIA POW from Vietnam. My grandfather, like most of our grandfathers, fought in WWII and liberated concentration camps, and my grandmother was an Army nurse and is honored in a museum in DC.


You are an inspiring, humbling lot and I love you.

Recently Josh and I heard that the Enchanted Forest is back up and running. Though J and I did not know each other when we were that wee of tikes, we both have fond memories of the Enchanted Forest. Yesterday we took our littleP to check it out. In full disclosure, we really wanted to go check it out for ourselves, we just happen to have a toddler with us who provided a great cover.

Here is a photo journal (of sorts) chronicling our day:

Oh the nostalgia!

If you don't know or don't remember, the Enchanted Forest is centered around Mother Goose Nursery Rhythms. Here you see Jack and Jill falling down the hill. That is their pail of water you see in the background. In the foreground you will see Parker, sitting on Jill’s face.

Then he got stung by a bee.  This is a first for him.  It ruined his world for about 10 minutes.

Then it was all feed the goats! Ride the horses!


There was an unfortunate run in with a very large black sheep. (God I wish I had a video of this!) As Pman approached the largest sheep I have ever seen, the wooly animal looked straight at him and bellowed out the loudest "BAAAA" I have ever heard. Without skipping the slightest hint of a beat, P screamed with terror, turned and ran in the other direction. He did not look back to see if J or I followed. He wanted out and quick! When P runs his shaggy blonde locks bounce about his head. When he is running in a fit of terror from a caged-in sheep it makes the hair bounce all the more pathetic and therefore hilarious.

We also enjoyed an uneventful hay ride and every sliding board the place had to offer. Then we went to visit some friends.  While there P leaned on a broken table and fell flat on his face.  Resulting in a fat bloody lip.
 

The day ended about 2 hours after his normal bedtime. I was trying to hard to get him to stay up for fireworks, but really the kid had a loooong day. As I dragged him out of the tub he said, "pee?"
I put him on the toilet and he did just that.
Talk about bounce back!

Defying Logic

1. We have a blow up kiddie pool. I had the idea to blow it up and leave it on the deck, (oh yeah, we got a deck and a fence- it was a nightmare, but it’s all over now) so Pman could go swimming whenever the mood strikes him. We came home today and the pool was....melted? The sides were all caved in and the water was trickling out. I searched and there are no holes. Melting is the only thing I can think of.


2. When Josh and I were picking out everything for our house we opted for standard carpet with upgraded padding. What we got was standard carpet and sub-par padding. The flooring people said they would replace all the padding. Meaning, they would pull up all the carpet- in our basement and all 4 upstairs bedrooms (and closets) and replace the padding.

Is it just me or does that NOT sound like a solution?

I told them I was ok with changing the padding in the basement because it is still fairly empty and their being in my basement will not disrupt my life as much and them being in our bedrooms. My other thought was the basement will, over time, get more foot traffic than our bedrooms. I told them I wanted to be reimbursed for the poor bedroom padding.

Within the next few days I should be getting a reimbursement check. When the guy called to find out exactly who to address the check to and where to send it, he ended to conversation by saying, in a surly tone I might add, “Are you happy now, Mrs. Phillips?”

Yes. I am. So there.

3. I have been running a lot and while the numbers on the scale aren't changing all that much, my clothes tell a different story. Things that used to fit are a bit too baggy after a couple hours of wear. Pants that were too tight, are no longer. This makes me happy, but my Pham is on a budget which does not allow for a new wardrobe for mommy. Unless...mommy wants to push back baby #2 by about 4 or 5 years, which she doesn't want to do.

I'm not the thinnest I've ever been, but I'm happy with how healthy I am and how I look and that self-contentment feels good, especially after my body took a bit of a hiatus after having Pman.

4. I officially am the mother of a 2 year old boy who will be starting school very soon, 2 days a week 9a -4p. He is ready. I am (mostly) ready. He has a Batman backpack that lights up and a lunchbox. I have little Tupperware containers that I will fill with lunch-like food stuffs and place in his lunchbox. He will sit with his new friends, not me, and eat his lunch. He will learn and grow and develop a world outside of Josh and me. I am (mostly) ready.

Josh and I are activity discussing baby #2. But how can that be when baby #1 is still a baby?

A friend, a mother of 2 boys who are two and a half years apart, told me today she can see that I am ready, but nervous. I think she was being kind.

Happy 2nd Birthday

Dear Parker,

I'm the luckiest mommy around because I get to watch you do your Pman thing everyday.  You are so amazing now, but I know it is just going to keep getting better.

When I was pregnant with you I used to always sing this Tom Petty song "Wildflowers."  Everything in the song is what I want for you and your life.  I swear you still respond to it when I play the song in the car.  It will forever remind me of when I found out I was pregnant and with a BOY!.  After you were born, I sang the song in my head when the silence in the room and the beeping of the machines at Hopkins became unbearable.  It is my soundtrack to all things you.

Happy 2nd Birthday Parker!

Love Love Love you
Mommy

OR
(click Happy Birthday to see video)
Happy Birthday

Simple

In Pman's world, all colors are blue, all numbers are two and every dog's name is Abby.


However, we are on the cusp of the threshold of something I've heard is very complicated.

Potty training.

He will tell me when he has to poop or that he just pooped, it's a toss-up really whether the declaration comes before or after the actual act. He will pat the -to be pooped in or already pooped in portion of his diaper enthusiastically as he informs me of the goings on in there.

Recently, he has taken to brushing his teeth, post bath, in the nude. Before this new development he would allow me to wrap a towel around him in an attempt to contain any errant Pman trickles while he brushes.

This is no longer acceptable to him. In the words of some of my guy friends in high school, Pman like to free ball it.

A few nights ago as P handed me his toothbrush, signaling he was done with the brushing business for the evening, he raced into the hall. This portion of our house overlooks the down stairs foyer. I usually use this feature of my house as a great way to drop things from the top floor to the bottom floor and vice versa, so that I do have to carry them- all- the- way- downstairs.

Well, Pman went over to the railing and tried to pee in between the rungs into the downstairs foyer. His aim is not quite what it could be, or rather it is not what he was hoping it would be. Instead of an arching stream, it was more of a trickle and puddle.

He looked at me. Pointed to his little puddle and said, "I PEEE!"

I'm taking this all to mean he is gearing up for potty training. My parents got him a potty as an early birthday present. So far he sat on it for 15 minutes while we read books. Nothing happened, so I put his diaper back on and he pooped. Like right away.

And then this happened:

You've heard of bird poop facials? Presenting Toddler Poo Pedicures! Coming to a pedicure spa near you! 

Also, the seat can be a fun hat.

This potty training thing may take a while...

Teaser: Parker's second Birthday is Thursday.  I have big things planned for my blog post that day!

Bliss (?)

Blink. Blink. Yaaaaawnn. Stretch. Yaaaawn.

Ahh it's 8:30a.m., not 7:30.

I did not wake up thinking, "I have 5 minutes to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before he gets up."

No one woke me up in the middle of the night with bad dreams frights, teething issues or just because they damn well felt like it.

I did not have to change anyone's pee soaked diaper and then wrestle that certain someone into an outfit for the day, or at least until he spilled his breakfast on it.

Inside, I allowed myself to lay in bed a bit and wake up slow. Then I went into the bathroom inspected my face, flossed and brushed my teeth. I headed into the closet to figure out what to wear for my morning run.

I ran outside. Without pushing a stroller full of bored, whining toddler. I did not have to stop because shoes needed to be removed, then out back on, then removed again. No one begged to be released from the grip of the stroller so they might be able to play in the sand or the water or the sand and water.

Today Josh and I will run errands, eat lunch and go to a 30th birthday party of one of my best friends without a second thought. No diapers to change. No nap to schedule around. No sitter to debrief before we depart.

Parker is lucky enough to have grandparents who love him TREMENDOUSLY.

He is at their house now, so Josh and I could get some stuff done around here and go to a party tonight. Pman has spent time at their house many times before. He does great when he is there. J and I enjoy the quiet, but we miss our Parker.

No Parker also means I did not wake up to the happy giggles from his crib that I usually hear as I open his door in the morning. I also missed hearing him say, "Mommy!" with sheer delight.

We did not sit on the couch together this morning with our standard issued milk (him) and coffee (me) and watch Blue Clue's.

I ate a Fiber One bar and drank a hurried glass of water, in silence, before my run. This replaced my normal routine of Fruit Loops (him) and Mini Wheats (me) at the table while we listen to Toddler Tunes on the TV.

The toys are put away nicely, not scattered around haphazardly.

This is nice, but tomorrow, when I am back with Parker in his world of laughter, chaos, crushed cookie and sticky lollipops, the world will be right again.


Until then, one last good sttttrrreeeetttch!

How Does Their Garden Grow?

Confession: I cannot and do not garden. I'm ok with it.  I have other talents like lounging on the beach with Pman, sitting quietly while getting a pedicure and laughing without abandon at all thing The Soup. In my fantasy life Joel McHale and I are BFF's.

I do have an aloe plant that has been in my family for a long time. I know that sounds weird. My dad had cancer for the first time when I was about 10.  One of his treatments involved radiation. My mom grew an aloe plant and when my dad would come home from the treatments, she would cut off a spiky stem, slice it long-ways and rub it on his chest, letting the soothing goo comfort him.

My sisters and I all have little off shoots of this plant.


Truth be told keeping an aloe plant alive is very easy. It's like a cactus. A little water, a lot of sun and you are good to go.

Other than that, I am terrible at keeping plants alive. I hear hydrangeas are easy, but I killed them. Pansies? Yep, dead too.

In our house Josh does the gardening. He has several potted plants in our front yard. Every day when he comes home from work, he grabs Pman and they go check the plants together. This is one of my favorite things and I have nothing to do with it.

Tonight, we will dine on green beans that my guys grew for us. THAT, is love.

                             

How does MY garden grow?

I'm not sure, but it is happening very fast.