Show me your teeth

After a few rough nights Rohan's first tooth came through on his bottom gums!  It is so cute!  The only thing we have found to help is Tylenol and all-natural teething tablets (thank god for a friend who gave us some of theirs).  Unfortunately the tooth right next to this one is also coming through so we are in for a couople more rough nights and fussy moments.  Poor guy, it must really hurt -eek!  The pictures below are not fantastic but if you look close you can see a little white speck of tooth!  When we sing to him the lady gaga song "Show me your teeth", he giggles enough so you can see his tooth and a half. :) 

We are so blessed to have a giggly happy baby.  His fussy moments can be extreme, exhausting and frustrating, but when he flashes that smile it changes everything.  So by the text book we do not have an easy baby (got that question a lot when he was first born), but we don't have a difficult baby either.  And in between it all he laughs at our silly songs and silly voices and finds his environment funny.  I told Aaron I think he gets his laughing from me - he agreed.  I now know the love that people try to explain between a parent and a child that fills your heart, it is extraordinary. 

Rohan the food critic :)

Rohan started vegetables a week ago!  Like all other baby advice - everyone says something different.  So I went with the color veggie plan.  Start with orange or yellow veggies first, then green, then fruit.  What veggies are yellow?  Some may start with the everyday carrots, but since this is our first child I decided to start with Roasted Butternut Squash made by Sprout (Tyler Florence's Organic Baby Food Company).  Let me tell you - it smelled good.  And really that should be what babies eat, something we would eat too!  Being a naive parent I got one packet of this squash which was good for two sittings I found.  Well once my brainfart went away and I realized that we need to introduce one veggie at a time for one week and we were already out of it.  It was a Monday evening, Rohan was heading to daycare in the morning and I couldn't fathom giving him a new veggie the next day - what if he had reaction - we wouldn't know what veggie it was from and I would be a horrible mother.  All of us got in the car, because car rides are never a bad thing for a little one, and we headed to Ada's Whole Foods store where I purchased this wide variety of baby food.  Closed.  Shite.  I headed to Target knowing they didn't have the brand but hoping I would find other organic squash, and I did.  Mission accomplished.  I am not a bad mother! Quick recovery.  Rohan has done great with the squash - it is quite a trip to feed him.  I think we had one meal that I could say wasn't messy, even though it was all over his face.  Every time I end up laughing because he is just too cute.  He takes the spoon and tries to feed himself.  We have been giving him a sippy cup after to wash out his mouth, and to get used to the feel of a sippy cup - he's done well and likes to hold it. 

This week on the menu is Carrots!  What I hope for Rohan is that he tries lots of foods and enjoys all different kinds of foods, not just American food.  It is amazing the amount of great food out there that people are missing out on.  Hopefully Rohan will teach his daddy this too!  :)  Speaking of Aaron, he seemed interested in trying to make baby food at home - I told him he could take that on and would be awesome.  Baby Chef Aaron. 

Family Time

Monday we had lunch at Fort Myers Beach with Judy & Larry (my aunt and uncle).  They drove from Ft Lauderdale area.  The last time they saw Rohan he was almost 3 months old.  Besides the fact that he was being a pooper because he is teething now - it was fun to see how he interacts and grabs now.  Judy even got her hair tugged on.  We live so close to the beach but try to stay away during season because of all the traffic and lack of parking.  For a monday in May the beach was busy, but the traffic was not bad. 

Rohan loves seeing Judy & Larry because they have all the time in the world to devote to him (unlike his parents who have chores to do at home).  But Rohan was act shy for once and I could not tell if it was teething, tiredness, or just shy.  As soon as we got home and put him in his crib to chill he started doing raspberries which we all tried to get him to do on the spot at lunch.  Maybe it was overload and he just wanted us out of his faces. haha. 

We live so far away from our families that when we do get to see family down here we cherish it.  Aaron's aunt and uncle, Myrna & Miland, live in Bonita Springs (20 min south of Fort Myers), and we get to see them when they are down during the winter. 

A Breath of Fresh Air

It seems like forever since I have felt like I could breathe.  I say this because I have chosen to work full time, go to school online for my Masters in Nursing, while loving and nurturing a growing baby, trying to keep my marriage to my best friend new and fun, stay organized and keep a put together house.  This is not an easy feat, but I am working on it and it's getting better every six weeks that pass (the end of a class).  I never knew how students in my nursing program went to school with kids and all that comes along with them.  Because that was a very selfish time in my life and I needed every second I could get to study.  The response from the students would be "you just do it", and I never really understood that until NOW.  You do just do it.  Like Nike.  You figure out time to squeeze it all in.  Like they say, you never know until you have been there.  I have moments where I feel like quitting school, but I refocus and surge on. 

This past week off between classes has been fabulous. No I did not get a massage, or a mani/pedi - which I most desperately need, but I did get piles of papers put away, laundry done, thoughtful cards bought and sent, caught up on Oprah shows (which are dwindling, and I can not believe May 23rd will be the last week!) and Greys Anatomy that I've DVRd for the last month.  But I have a weight lifted and I am able to spend more time on the floor with our little man Rohan.  Just like everyone says, it goes by so fast. I did not believe the first 4 weeks - I really did not.  I was sucked down deep into the hole of sleepless days and nights of feedings and gassy crying spells.  I look at Rohan now and he is almost sitting up by himself and eating cereal (soon to start veggies this week).  He is 18.5 lbs and 28 inches long!  It keeps getting better, but it comes with challenges with every triumph.  Apparently that is the case until he is off to college?  I see emotional stories on television and I instantly become teary eyed thinking how Rohan will be that old one day.  I pull back from trying to imagine where we will be.  I did not imagine us to be where we are now. 

Rohan and I took a breath of fresh air together Thursday on a nice walk around the neighborhood.  I usually make the circle around the lake, but this time I decided to turn around before the road with construction because of all the dirt and dust in the air.  I should have kept walking.  When we turned around I eyed a black snake (hoping it was a Gardner snake) up in the air hissing with his tongue out.  I do have to say we were about 5 feet away - so it was a little startling.  I gasped and picked up my step, looking back to make sure it wasn't coming after us.  When it realized how close we were and my Pandora music blaring on my blackberry he dropped to the ground and slithered away.  Yes SLITHERED.... ewww gives me the chills just thinking about it.  So our walks might be detoured for a while. 

My week off ends Monday when we plan to have lunch with my Aunt Judy & Uncle Larry.  The last time they saw Rohan he was about 3 months, so it will be fun for them to see how Rohan is so much bigger! 

I'm ending this entry with Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. 

To Teethe or Not to Teethe.

Since Rohan has been 3 months old everyone has told me Rohan has been teething. I believe he really is finally teething.  He has always chomped on toys, but now he means business.  Monday he was fussier than usual,  not eating like he normally does and sleeping more during the day.  Veronica watched him for a couple hours so Aaron and I could run errands and have dinner together.  When we picked him up he finally took a bottle for her and she gave him teething beads to try and he loved them.  Insert it takes a village to raise a baby.  Thanks V! That night we took a good look at his gums and they are red, so tylenol and orajel will become Rohan's good friends.