All About Awesome Asher

peepee in the potty

2009-07-24T16:12:00.004-04:00

This is just to say YAY ASHER!! for his first pee in the potty chair!

We've introduced the potty chair, and he likes to sit on it and look at himself in the mirror that's currently sitting in the hallway outside the bathroom. But typically, he is up and out of it after sitting for about 2.2 seconds. That's fine, I'm not looking to do the potty training for real yet, this is just an orientation period.

Today I am home with him (I am off on Fridays all summer). He didn't give me much grief today about napping, which was a problem last week. He took a nice long nap after lunch, and when I went to change his diaper after he awoke, I noticed it was mostly dry. So I left the diaper off and walked him to the potty. I grabbed a book to keep him sitting. He was engaged in the book and about half-way through... I saw he had peed! I didn't even see or hear it when it happened, but there was a bowl full of yellow liquid. I stopped reading and cheered for him. He looked down and stuck his fingers in it (just a little). I grabbed some tp to take care of any drips and then had him wash up. After that, he watched as I poured the pee into the big potty and we said bye-bye as the flush went down.

I'm so happy, but I know this is a one-time deal for now. I don't have the time to be consistent and I don't expect my daycare provider to be just yet. As he gets older and his language continues to develop, I hope he will begin to communicate when he has the urge to go and we can be more consistent. But I'll take these moments as the come all the same!

it's pahty time!

2009-07-11T16:26:00.004-04:00

Asher's been developing in leaps and bounds, from more teeth (canines) to language (understanding and tons more expressive words) to his first haircut!! (See Brent's facebook for pics, I will post some here eventually.)

For a little while, he has been saying the word "poopy" and then we discover he indeed has a poopy in his diaper. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it, though, and he still has full diapers overnight. But then more recently, he's been saying the word "potty" and pointing to the toilet. However, he is deathly afraid if we try to sit him on the big potty. Yesterday, we went ahead and bought a potty chair, because it can't hurt to get him introduced to it. We got the Bjorn potty chair, which is super cute, looking like a real toilet in all white. There are some whacky potty chairs out there, ones that make sounds and even look like thrones... weird. I like that this is just functional and claims to be ergonomic, to boot.

We got home late from the store and dinner, so I didn't get to set up the potty yet. I am working today and Asher gets a Daddy day. I get a text message at work about some "news," but I am busy, so I said to email me. This is what I get:

"So we were watching noggin, and asher got off the couch and went to the bathroom and sat on the potty in his diaper. so I said to him, lets take the diaper off, I took it off and he sat for a moment, then he ran out of the bathroom into the living room and pee'd on the floor."

LOL!! I love it. This potty training thing should be a real blast, haha. I haven't read too much about it yet, so if anyone has any tips or advice, especially about training boys to pee sitting vs. standing, please chime in!

Dearest Grandma Ro,

2009-05-29T10:03:00.004-04:00

I know I won't remember much when I grow up, but I loved you and I know you loved me. I will miss you, but I will look at the pictures from when I was first born and see your loving face smiling upon me. I will watch the video of my bris ceremony and see you kvelling as you held me when I received my Hebrew name. I will listen to my mommy tell stories of how you loved to kiss my little toes and how you interpreted all of my baby babble because you understood me. I am thankful for your last visit in February when you babysat for me and gave me love, hugs, and kisses. I will cherish our matching Hanna outfits. I love you and know you will always be my guardian angel watching over me.

Your loving grandson,

Asher Isaac

It's Dancey Dance time!

2009-03-30T19:31:00.002-04:00

Things have been good. Asher is growing so big, and his receptive language is booming. Not a lot of expressive words, but a few. He like to walk and run, and he likes to climb up stairs (but not down). He can climb down from the couch, but doesn't climb up onto it. He went through some crazy growth spurt a couple weeks ago where he was hungry ALL the time, but that seems to have subsided since he now seems satisfied after eating. He might start teething again soon (oh joy). I always get good reports from his daycare, I think he likes going there. I can't wait for the weather to get nicer so he can really enjoy the playgrounds around Boston. We also hope to do weekend hikes this summer and we got the ergo carrier so we can carry him on our backs.

And now, here is Asher's 5 second debut of super awesome cuteness dancing!!

more teeth

2009-02-25T20:17:00.002-05:00

Asher is now cutting two bottom teeth, but I'm not totally sure if they are the canines or first molars. The top ones are molars for sure, so I would assume it would follow the same pattern on bottom, but who knows. I think it's kind of crazy when I really think about how humans grow teeth and then shed their teeth to grow new ones.

AND, I think we are almost totally weaning from breastfeeding! We'll see how the rest of the week goes. I am partly sad about ending the breastfeeding relationship, but my little boy is growing up!

Milk Teeth

2009-02-03T17:19:00.002-05:00

I meant to keep track on this blog of the dates when Asher's teeth come in, but I've not been precise about it. Asher has had all of his incisors (central and lateral) for a little while now, and I think it was last week that his first molars started coming in. I definitely felt the top left molar because he was teething hard. This morning I was making Asher laugh on the diaper table and he opened up wide and I saw that BOTH first molars on the top have cut through! It's kind of weird to see because you see the points coming through on the lingual and buccal (cheek) sides with gum still in the middle. I don't think the bottoms are in sight yet, but it's hard to get Asher to let me (or anyone) see in his mouth.

Apparently baby teeth are sometimes called milk teeth. Speaking of milk... we've gone two nights without nursing! Once we established bedtime snack, I removed the breastfeeding and he seems fine with it! We will still enjoy the morning feeding for a little while longer.

Now, my nose detects a stanky diaper across the house!!

Mommy Brain and Asher's 15 month b-day...

2009-01-23T16:53:00.006-05:00

How many moms out there started mixing up names of family members quickly after starting your own family? I find that I frequently start to call Asher Brent or Brent Asher. Does this happen more frequently when mothers have sons? Has anyone ever mixed up names for family members of different genders? I wonder if it happens more often when husbands and sons have names that start with the same letter/sound. It's a curious phenomenon.

Happy 15 month birthday today, Asher! We are not actually celebrating, but I've been thinking lately about weaning from breastfeeding. At first, I said I would breastfeed until he's one year old, as recommended by the AAP. It got hard when I went back to school in September and had to pump, and Asher would not accept formula supplement. Pumping sucked, even with a pretty good environment (a private space, understanding faculty). So when we cut down to just morning and evening feedings--no pumping--it was SO much more relaxing/less stressful/enjoyable! So then I said I wanted to keep nursing until he got his MMR shot, because you know, all the good immunity stuff in breast milk. Well, that happened last week. So now what?

Last weekend, I attempted to give Asher a sippy cup of cow's milk first thing in the morning, while sitting in the rocker where I usually nurse him. NUH-UH, MAMA! Asher was NOT having that, angrily hitting the sippy and kvetching/crying! After this rukus woke up Dad, I just went ahead and nursed him. My gut said it might be easier to cut the evening bed-time routine feeding before the morning feeding, even though you always hear the night feeding "should be" the last to go. But it just makes more sense to me to keep nursing him, and thereby cuddling him, when he is groggy in the morning, and try to adjust his night routine when he is up and about just before bed. On the other hand, breast feeding does tend to calm him down for bedtime, but then sometimes he also gets excited/excitable again when we brush teeth (which logically follows his last feeding).

But I haven't tried this adjustment to the night-time routine yet. Part of me wants to wean because I have this idea that it would be easier and I would be freer. But I don't know if that's true or not. I mean, I've been happy about nursing him since I cut out the pumping and went back to wearing non-nursing bras. The AAP also recommends breastfeeding as long as it is mutually desirable for mom and baby. Well, I can tell that Asher is still plenty contented to have the breast, and I do enjoy having that time with him--cuddling and kissing his feet. So maybe I'll just keep going a little while longer. Maybe a month, maybe 3? My only fear is that Asher will be too attached to want to self-wean, but I guess the bottom line is we'll just see how it goes.

Asher runs the internet

2009-01-10T19:14:00.001-05:00

Asher under glass

2009-01-09T09:42:00.002-05:00

I know this isn't supposed to be funny, but it is. He got stuck in the coffee table, and it was just too cute. Notice the toys are under the table, but he's trying to get them. Somehow, his plan didn't work out...

And here's Asher talking behind the glass (window, that is) to the snow we got right before Christmas:

All I want for Christmas...

2008-12-24T19:10:00.002-05:00

I said a few days ago that all I want for Christmas is for Asher to walk. And... he took his first for real steps today!! For Daddy, but I managed to come in and catch a few. He was reluctant to repeat the feat, but he did take some more steps, then he got tuckered out. I'm sure he'll soon get the idea that it's a lot faster to transport yourself on two feet than on all fours, and then we'll really be in trouble!

Also, (dunno if i posted about this) he cut one bottom lateral incisor a week or two ago, and today he is cutting the other bottom lateral incisor. That will make 8 teeth total! I think molars might come next, yikes!

Friday evening will be Asher's first airplane trip. It was supposed to be on Monday, but weather postponed our trip. I am hoping for an easy ride, we shall see.

Merry Christmas and Happy 4th night of Chanukkah!!

Stand Up!

2008-11-23T18:53:00.003-05:00

I know I am not keeping up this blog regularly, but I really can't. I'm back in school and I just don't have the time. But I will post every now and then when something exciting happens that I want to document. Like how this evening, Asher stood up without holding on to anything! All by himself in the hallway, he went from sitting to standing, with only some minor wobbling. Then the next couple times he tried again he didn't quite make it, falling on his bum. But then he did again and we clapped and cheered. I am taking this as a sign that walking independently is only a short "step" away :)

In other news, I am sad to say that we found out Asher has a peanut allergy. This is somewhat distressing, since Brent and I both love peanutbutter. And it's a pain in the arse to read every label and worry that he might somehow eat something with peanuts or trace amounts in it by accident for his whole childhood. But, I suppose it could be worse, it's just something we have to learn to live with.

Poo Monster strikes

2008-09-19T16:23:00.003-04:00

**WARNING: Explicit details about feces in this post**

Last week when I was on the phone with my cousin Susan, she shrieked and had to hang up. Her 17 month old son Jacob had pulled off his diaper in the crib and there was poop everywhere! I was not envious!! I figured that wasn't all too surprising for a baby Jacob's age. I never thought it would happen to me, let alone a week later...

Lo and behold, today was the day. I've been going to bed much later than I should (if I wanted to be well-rested), so this morning I didn't want to get up when Brent got up. I had already fed Asher at 5 am and we both went back to sleep, me in my bed, he in his crib. I don't know how long Asher was awake, but he started crying when he heard Brent in the shower. I couldn't bring myself to go to him, so he cried for a good 10 minutes or so. I thought to myself that he needs a diaper change, expecting it to be quite wet from overnight, but I was waiting for Brent to assume that duty (haha, doodie). Brent gets out of the shower and when he goes into Asher's room, I hear an exclamation that alarmed me. I yelled across the house, What's wrong?! Well, you get the idea, he pulled a Jacob.

We didn't know what to do at first, Brent holding him by the armpits, Asher wearing nothing but a t-shirt and crying. I tried to wipe off his leg, but the poo was already dried to his skin, even in his toes! So my brilliant mind came up with this: Let's put him in the shower! I also got in the shower with him, still wearing my t-shirt and underwear, and washed him with soap... bottom to top, heh heh. (We obviously removed Asher's t-shirt.) He was fine after that, and I was left to clean up the crib. Luckily, we use the ultimate crib sheet (I highly recommend!), so I just had to pull that off, along with his blanket and his Bashful Lamb "lovey" (that's what Babycenter.com always calls kids' favorite stuffed animals) that Alicia had given him. After picking up any chunks and flushing the main mass wrapped in the diaper liner, all went into the washing machine. I am happy to report all items came clean, and Bashful Lamb is looking better than ever.

Big Changes

2008-08-27T16:37:00.003-04:00

Next week I go back to school. I found a daycare for Asher, a nice Irish woman who's been running a home daycare for over 20 years. Today was his first day where I left him, for a half-day. I took the opportunity to do something for myself--I got a mani-pedi :)

Asher has been growing in leaps and bounds. He can get around like a pro, and he's "cruising"-- walking around the coffee table or along the couch while holding on. It won't be long before he's doing it hands-free, I'm sure! He's eating well, more variety of foods, and getting the hang of feeding himself finger foods (and he's not overly messy, which is a big plus). And just today, when we got back from daycare, I saw and felt that his first TOP tooth is cutting through! YAY! I've been able to see those top central teeth just under the gums for weeks already. I'm still breastfeeding, but I'm trying to get him to accept formula for the times he won't be with me. I'm still going to pump when I'm away from him, but I don't know if my output will be sufficient, hence the supplement. I did some research and decided on an organic formula called Baby's Only. It doesn't have the DHA & ARA added, but it does contain sufficient amounts of the precursor fatty acids that the body uses to produce DHA & ARA. Plus, Asher is still being breastfed, so I don't think it matters as much as for babies on formula alone. He's not a big fan of the formula, I haven't tasted it (although I DID taste some Nestle Good Start premixed liquid, and it was awful!!), but the smell is definitely different from the smell of breast milk, which doesn't have much smell at all. This will all be an adventure over the next couple of months!

This summer, Asher took a swim class at the BU FitRec gym. I will (one day) post pictures, I swear!! I haven't even touched the camera in weeks :( Next month, Asher will be in a Baby Gym class, so that should be FUN!

What else... I don't know, but I may not have much time to update as my semester gets into gear, so please don't bug me about posting ;)

Cloth Diaper Give-away!!

2008-07-28T08:54:00.002-04:00

I found this Bum Genius give-away through Elita's Blog (Thanks, Elita!) These are the exact diapers we use and love!! We already have enough, but it can't hurt to have more or perhaps gift them around town to some of my friends, you know, to get them hooked on cloth. Make sure you enter by August 6!

How to Make a Fruit Fly Trap

2008-07-18T13:36:00.004-04:00

Do you ever get annoying fruit flies in your house? I thought I would share this easy way to trap those pesky buggers. My friend Bonni taught me how to make this back when she worked with drosophila in a biology research lab.

Materials:

sheet of paper
scissors
tape
glass (or some sort of cylindrical container)
pieces of bread
red wine (I bet grape juice would work too)

Construction:

make a paper funnel by cutting a slit in the paper and shaping it into a cone. Tape the cone together and cut the tip off to make a SMALL hole.
put small pieces of bread into the bottom of the glass and pour some red wine in there. Just a little to let the bread soak it up, but don't drown the bread.
set the paper funnel into the mouth of the glass. It may help to tape the paper to the rim of the glass to make a seal.

The idea is that the flies will be attracted to the wine and bread, they'll find their way to it through the hole in the funnel, but then they won't know to get out back through that hole. They will try to get out at the top of the glass, so the seal is important. Hope this helps someone, I know it has helped me numerous times!

Red White and Blue

2008-07-10T20:02:00.002-04:00

July 4th was a fun evening. First we went to Vanessa's party, where Asher was a hit, of course. Here he is trying on Vanessa's hat:

Then we went to the roof of Brent's office building to watch the Boston fireworks show. Asher didn't know what was going on at first, but then he got the idea. He was very tired though.

The next day, we visited our friends Bill & Cara, who are expecting a baby boy in November. I don't know Cara very well (this was the second time meeting her), but she is super nice and easy to talk to, so I felt very comfortable sharing my birth story with her. I realized how incredibly crazy my stories sound when told all at once! Meanwhile, Asher had his first taste of watermelon

Asher chewed a little of it but then next thing I knew, the bits of melon were on his chin. He doesn't quite have the hang of chewing solids yet, so we are still mostly on puree. Today he did have his first Cheerios! He did a decent job of getting them to his mouth and he will chew/suck on them until they disintegrate in his mouth. They will be good to have in restaurants when Mommy and Daddy want to eat their own food!

uh-oh, here he comes!

2008-07-02T09:36:00.003-04:00

Asher crawled for real!! He's been rocking back and forth on his hands and knees for weeks, but now he's really done it. The rug in his room helps, because he doesn't manage so well on the hard wood, especially if we have him on a blanket on the wood, which just slides around. But check him out in all his glory:

another matching outfit

2008-06-27T10:11:00.003-04:00

Daddy & Asher in matching outfits, how cute!

good eater

2008-06-27T09:44:00.005-04:00

My Asher is a good eater. He doesn't usually refuse food, and the latest development is that he seems to voluntarily open his mouth for more. I am trying to build the variety of foods in his diet, and now that he's 8 months, we can add dairy and meats. Last night I gave him yogurt for the first time and he was OK with that. I mixed plain with some fruit. Maybe next time I will try the vanilla yogurt. Soon to try will be egg yolks. I'm not sure about chicken or beef yet, I would have to puree it and that just seems gross. Hopefully Asher will get more teeth soon! Meanwhile, we tried a teething biscuit, WHAT A MESS!!

I realized I never wrote about Jenn's wedding. It was a lot of fun and Asher looked super cute.

Now that I am using Flickr, when you click on the pics here and get to my flickr page, you can then look through my photostream to see lots more pictures. There is a "set" for Asher pics.

Daddy's Day

2008-06-16T08:44:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was Brent's first Father's Day and he told me he had a good one. I am glad, because we didn't have anything planned. In the morning, we went to a breakfast hosted by the newly married Jenn & Jason and hung out with some of my friends from college. (Note: wedding details to follow in separate post.)

It was raining in the morning, but after we left the hotel where the breakfast was, we walked over to the brand new Apple store. We all know an "apple" a day will keep Brent happy ;)

Then we walked to Crate & Barrel to say hello to our friend Bruce who works there. After that, I told Brent we could go anywhere he wanted, and he wanted to just take a drive so he headed north. I got an urge for Dairy Queen, but wanted a hamburger from them, not necessarily ice cream. However, it seems that the DQs in MA are all just ice cream-only huts, no "eats" just "treats." We ended up eating at Piccadilly Pub, which turned out to be good. The burger hit the spot for me, even without any tomatoes. The sweet potato fries were nice and cripsy too. We have pecan pie for dessert, Brent's favorite :) We still got dip cones from DQ after, haha! But in between we did digest a bit with a shopping trip in Marshalls. I almost got a little carried away in the shoe department, but then remembered it was Brent's day and I shouldn't be shopping for myself.

Asher has bee testing his high pitch range quite a bit lately. It's annoying, especially when we are out somewhere. Sometimes I'm not sure if he's complaining with his screams or just playing with his voice.

Backtrack

2008-06-10T12:23:00.004-04:00

I am going to start using Flickr for photos, but I'm still trying to figure it all out. I'm using it for my knitting photos too, but I just uploaded a set from Memorial weekend. Our friend Dawn visited from NYC and we took a day trip to southern Maine. The photo set is here.

Teeth!

2008-06-10T09:17:00.003-04:00

Asher cut the other central incisor already! Can you just imagine how cute he will be when his two front bottom teeth are showing in that beautiful smile?! :D

biting gremlin

2008-06-06T11:34:00.004-04:00

Exciting news! On Wednesday, I felt that Asher cut his first tooth!! You can barely see it and he doesn't really let you open his mouth to look, but it certainly is there. It's the bottom left central incisor. I think it has even emerged a fraction more in the past couple days. He will looks so cute with teeth :)

He's also been making some higher pitched sounds lately. He sounds like a Gremlin sometimes, lol. He is also getting up on his hands AND KNEES and rocking back and forth. I think he only gets on his knees when he has something to push his feet against, like when he's in the playpen or something is next to him.

He continues to be the best baby ever when we are out at restaurants and parties.

Growing fast

2008-05-30T16:44:00.005-04:00

I know it's been forever, and please don't kill me because this post isn't even going to contain pictures. But I just wanted to write a quick update.

Asher can rollover in a fraction of a second now. He can push up on his hands, but can't quite get on his knees yet... but I think any day now. While on his tummy and pushed up with his hands, he likes to scoot back. He can actually get around a good deal between rolling and scooting with his hands. I am soooo not ready for this mobility! The house needs cleaning and babyproofing!!

Also, the other day Asher started clapping on his own! He was sitting on Brent's lap [side note: Asher can sit up unsupported for short periods of time now before falling over], just hanging out, and he started clapping his hands together. He has been "clapping" or rather banging his hand on another person's hand or face or whatever for a little while, but this time he got the coordination to clap his own two hands together and it was SO cute :) It was even cuter when he would miss and his hands would pass each other every so often.

We also lowered Asher's crib mattress. We probably didn't have to yet, since he's not pulling up on things, but he spewed (to use Rozzy's word) on the bumper one evening, so we just decided to take it out and lower the mattress. His crib looks so bare now without the cute bumper, so I will have to hang the quilt from the crib set up on the wall to give some visual stimulation. The other annoying thing about no bumper--Asher's pacis keep falling through the rails on the side against the wall and then I have to fish them out with a yard stick.

Tonight, Daddy babysits while I go to opening night of the Sex and the City movie with my friend Jenn. Yay!

Busy, stressed mama

2008-04-17T20:43:00.002-04:00

I know I need to update, Asher has made lots of new friends this month (Carrie & Richard's visit, play time with Yosef, Marissa's visit) and has been out and about in the process. However, the sad day has come--Asher is sick for the first time. He's thrown up several times and has a low fever. I am worried about dehydration. We are going to see how the night goes and talk to the nurse in the morning, maybe take him in to the doctor. But, it's likely a viral infection, in which case nothing can be done but ride it out :(

Oh, and to top it off, I have a paper due on Tuesday. Thus, Passover seder is not going to happen. Oh well, maybe next year!

Real Men Have Pink Easter Bunnies

2008-03-24T16:15:00.014-04:00

Hi everyone! Yesterday was Easter, and even though I am a good Jewish boy, Mommy and Daddy decided to celebrate with bunnies, chocolates, and friends! We all went to visit my girlfriends, Vivi and Rozzy. I missed them lots. Here I am with Vivi:

Rozzy was being goofy, as usual.

Mommy took some video clips too. The second one is pretty funny! (Sorry Vivi!)

I got tired, so I fell asleep on mama... it was cozy in the sling.

I was still sleeping during the easter egg hunt! Oh well, maybe next year.

(Vivi watched from the sidelines)

Oh, and it was also my 5 month birthday! I am soooooo big :)

handmade gifts

2008-03-21T16:09:00.008-04:00

When Asher was born, my crafty internet friend Marissa (who I also went to middle and high school with!) made him a pair of Saartje's Bootees, which were way too big when he was newborn. I put them on his shelf in his room, along with stuffed animals and books and baby cowboy boots.

Suddenly, I remembered they were there, and I thought, I should see if those fit him now! And so they do.

That button has a cute little chick etched in it.

He likes to kick them off, however.

Today we also received a nice surprise from our friend Karina, who lives with her beautiful family out in WA state. She had this cute diaper/wipes case made especially for Asher:

I love the sock monkey fabric and the personalized label :)

Thank you to all of our friends for the lovely gifts, whether handmade or store-bought, it's the thought that counts and it's usually something useful!

smiley boo & Dad

2008-03-21T15:28:00.003-04:00

random thoughts

2008-03-19T17:14:00.007-04:00

A laughing baby is the best. When I picture Asher in my head, like if I'm not with him at that moment, I picture his big smile and cartoony half-moon eyes. The pout can be pretty gosh darn cute as well, but then you have to try not to laugh because he's upset. When he's laughing, you can just laugh with him and bask in the joy.

*********************************************************

Before I quit my job, laundry was the bane of my existence. Really, for as far back as I can remember. But for some reason, now that I am home all the time, laundry has become my chore of choice. I mean, having my own washer and dryer helps, of course. And I have to do the diaper laundry about every other day. But it just doesn't seem like such a big deal to me anymore. It's the chore I do to avoid other chores, like doing the dishes or cleaning any other part of the house!

Being a Mom means...

2008-03-18T23:57:00.002-04:00

Being a mom means letting poop dry on your arm so you can clean up the baby before you go wash it off of yourself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, etc.

2008-03-18T17:32:00.007-04:00

How about I write this post backwards in time?

Today there was a brief bout of fussiness, and I said to Asher, "Are you hungry? Are you tired? Are you misanthropic?" I don't even know why I said that, it just came out, LOL :)

Yesterday was St. Patty's Day, but we didn't do anything special. I dressed Asher in a shirt that Nana Carolyn bought for him that for some reason has shamrocks on it.

Sunday was a good day. First, I got to go to yoga because Brent didn't go to church in the morning. I haven't been going to the Saturday class because it's too early. The Sunday class is at 10 AM, which is much more managable, but I can only go if Brent is home. Then we took a family trip to the Raynham flea market. It was fun, and I spent $15 total on the following:

$2 for admission for Brent and me

$1 for two homemade cookies (one peanutbutter, one chocolate chocolate chip)

$7 for a little sterling and opal Jewish star pendant

$3 for a black leather belt

$2 for two dremel polishing bits

The cookies were yummy. I really like the star of David pendant because it's tiny and opal is Asher's birthstone. The dealer wasn't sure if the opal was real or not, but it looks firey blue. It didn't have a chain, so I put it on a black satin cord and I'm wearing it as a choker.

The belt is for the jeans I bought a couple of weeks ago, it has 2 spokes (?) and 2 rows of eyelet holes all the way around, and it turns out that the spokes scratched the wood of the top drawer on the changing table/dresser in Asher's room because that's where my waist hits when I change his diaper. That kind of sucks, but oh well. Things can't stay perfect forever when you have kids anyway!

Asher also enjoyed his new Switch-a-Roos toys. See:

Babies R Us is evil

2008-03-15T18:30:00.002-04:00

Yes, I already knew this, but I get reminded when I go there to spend $12.99 and end up spending $50.

When I was pregnant, I wasn't going to register at BRU because they are like "The Man" in new-parents-land. But alas, they were the only store to carry the stroller travel system we wanted. Thus began the registry there... which of course snowballed when I got their catalog with the thousand-and-one things you "need" for a new baby. So I went online and got registry happy. Look, it's a national chain, so anyone can order from them, they do have everything you need, and it just became convenient. Coupons and sales help too.

Last weekend, we were out and about in the rain (without the car), so I had to rig a receiving blanket over the canopy of the stroller so Asher didn't get wet. It worked OK (if you call a soaking wet receiving blanket OK), but I decided I definitely need a stroller rain cover. Notice how that link is for the "deluxe" version and costs $12.99. You might think they have the same stuff in the store. Well, not always. They had different brands, so the "deluxe" model I wanted was $17.99 (Graco brand). They had one for $12.99, but I decided to spend the extra $5 because it looked like the cheaper one had snaps instead of a zipper and this one has reflective binding (!) that I decided would be good to have in the traffic-laden city.

Then, what do they have right next to the rain covers? They have the Evenflo Switch-a-Roos! So we just had to get little Asher-boo some new toys for his exersaucer! We got crinkle bee and chewy fish. Brent wanted to get more, but I said Whoa now! We can always get more next month!

Then we are cruising around, let's take a peek at the clothes on clearance. Brent likes the super-preppy stuff. Like an argyle pattern sweater-vest. [insert putrid face here.] I maintain my stand that little girl clothes are cuter than little boy clothes. Maybe that's just me. Anyway, Brent then discovered baby poloshirt style onesies, striped just like the kind Daddy wears! So, had to get one. Also got one that was just a shirt (not onesie), and of course had to get the matching carpenter khaki pants! Stay tuned for Mini-Brent! I will have to knit a miniature cell phone to go in the side pocket, hahaha.

But yeah, all that little stuff adds up. BRU-is-eeeevil!

4 years of love

2008-03-15T12:28:00.010-04:00

Yesterday was Brent's and my four year wedding anniversary. I got a new outfit for the occasion, and I think it was the first time I put on make-up in close to a year!

I let Brent plan dinner at a nice restaurant in the North End, Boston's "little Italy" area. We went to Prezza and it was lovely. We shared 2 appetizers: crab cakes and crispy shrimp. Let me tell you these were the biggest shrimp I've ever seen in my life!! Had to be at least 8" long, and they had little legs or something by the tail that creeped Brent out. For dinner, Brent had the swordfish and I had the gnocchi bolognese (it was SUPER yum!). I couldn't finish it, so I have leftovers, yay! Then for dessert, I had delicious coconut profiteroles with chocolate sauce, they were soooo good. Brent had blood orange sorbet, of which I also had a few spoonfuls. Oh, and I had a glass of white zinfandel, which was the first glass of alcohol I've had since... I guess since before I was pregnant!! It was sweet and didn't affect me at all.

Asher stayed home while our friend Denise babysat. Having friends who are happy just to hang out with Asher is very cool and saves us lots of money on childcare. Of course, I did compensate Denise with homemade lasagna to take with her. We got a good report on Asher, as usual. He was being pretty cute before we went out, as you can see here.

sleepy boo

2008-03-13T22:49:00.003-04:00

Sling alterations

2008-03-12T16:20:00.003-04:00

Last night I tried the New Native baby sling a couple times with Asher, but it was late, he was tired, and he of course spit up on the sling and me. I wanted to wash the sling anyway, since the people who sold it to me have a dog, even though she told me she washed it already. It also came with an instructional DVD. This was pretty funny. The girl in the video was really weird, Brent and I kept making fun of her. The babies were cute though.

This morning (or was it early afternoon? who knows anymore!), I schlepped Asher to and fro, in and out of the sling to test it out. I decided it was, in fact, too big for me. I probably needed the size S. But the website gives instructions on shortening the length to make is smaller! Not that I couldn't have figured out how to do this on my own, but it's good to know that this is an approved method for using their product. So I pinned the sling at the shoulder and it fit so much better! For the hip carry, Asher was actually on my hip like when I hold him in my arms. I'm still working on the other positions, as I don't quite have the hang of it yet.

Last summer I bought a Singer sewing machine. I took a beginning sewing class at Spark Craft Studio, where I was supposed to make a tote bag... but I was having problems with the bobbin thread getting all crazy, so by the time I resolved this issue, I didn't have enough time to finish my bag, so I took everything home with me and then never finished the project because I really didn't like the fabric I picked out at the class anyway...

I busted out the sewing machine, practiced some on a scrap cloth to see if I could sew in a straight line, haha. Then I sewed the sling. I measured 2" from the shoulder fold, so that means it was taken up a total of 4". I drew a line, but I don't know that my stitching was exactly straight the whole time. But really, it doesn't matter. I tested it out after doing the one seam and decided it was OK where it was. I then went over the seam again to reinforce it (and they tell you to do that in the alteration instructions). I was debating on whether to then stitch down the flap that was created, because that seam would show on the outside of the carrier. I tested it out some more, and decided it would be best to have that flap stitched down. That seam really is not straight! But again, it doesn't really matter. The sling is now functional! Asher looks so cute sitting in it. I will get Brent to take a picture of us wearing it later :)

Baby Sling

2008-03-12T08:37:00.003-04:00

I got a baby sling yesterday, used from craigslist for less than half the retail price. It's the New Native organic cotton sling in khaki. It's kind of like a pouch for the baby, it's all one piece of cotton fabric, no buckles or ties. It's a size M, which may be a little big on me (it is sized since it doesn't adjust), but I need to practice more with Asher in it to see if I might need to sew a new seam at the shoulder to make it shorter for me.

Brent likes the Bjorn carrier, but when I tried it on yesterday with Asher facing out, it didn't feel comfortable on me. I don't know if I just couldn't get it adjusted properly because it had been set for Brent or what. So then I used the Moby wrap, also facing Asher out, and we took a walk like that. He seemed to like it, and the Moby can cover his legs and I can tuck his arms in so he stays warm and cozy. The Moby is very comfortable, but it's a whole production to put it on (and take it off) because it's a wrap of one huge long piece of fabric. I think I will let the Bjorn be for Brent, and I will stick with the Moby and the New Native.

One of the main reasons I wanted the sling carrier is because I wanted something simple that I could throw on when taking Asher downstairs before getting him in the stroller. Now that I'm not always using the car seat in the stroller system, it's very cumbersome and awkward to hold Asher (and his blankets) in one arm and have to lug the stroller down the front porch steps with the other hand. I am hoping that this sling will provide good hands-free support for this purpose, and the other great part is that it is small enough to just fold up flat into the diaper bag!

4 1/2 months!

2008-03-10T11:35:00.002-04:00

I just weighed myself (sans clothing) before my shower and I am 119.5 lb!! The goal I set in my head was 120, since I was about 117 pre-pregnancy. Although, can I really call it a "goal" if I didn't actively do anything to achieve it? Either way, I am happy and feel good. I still have a little tummy, so had to buy one size up in Old Navy jeans, but it's just nice to wear jeans again!
All in all, mother nature has been good to me :)

bathtime fun

2008-03-09T22:26:00.003-04:00

Asher seemed intent on eating the soapy bathwater, or the soap on my hand, or the washcloth full of soap... Oh, but how cute he is!!

Hello West Coast!

2008-03-04T14:05:00.004-05:00

Hi to all my family and friends out in Washington state!! Today Mommy dressed me in my Seattle Mariners onesie that Aunt Chelle got me. Here I am:

Asher's first trip

2008-02-29T09:44:00.011-05:00

Two weeks ago, Asher went on his first trip to the Big Apple! On Saturday, we drove through RI an CT to take the ferry across the Long Island Sound to eastern LI. Asher slept in the car, pretty much all the times we were driving the whole weekend. (He's such a good boy!)

On the ferry, Asher was up and alert, having a good time on Daddy's chest in the Bjorn (thanks Carrie!), and bouncing on Mommy's lap. He didn't seem all that interested in looking out the window at the water, but it was pretty.

We booked a hotel in Queens because it was cheap. There wasn't a whole lot of room, but it served its purpose. I have learned that travelling with a baby requires about 50 million more bags than pre-baby travel. It was very nice to have this L.L. Bean tote bag, monogrammed with Asher's name, a gift from Juliana. She has 2 kids and shared the wisdom of "you can never have too many bags."

That evening, we picked up my mom (aka Grandma Ro) and went to an authentic little Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. It was really small in there, yet other people managed to bring their infants that night too! Asher woke up just as I was finishing my meal and went to Grandma Ro's arms. He was being very cute, reaching out to touch Grandma's face. He was also flirting with the women at the table behind us, and of course my mom engaged them in conversation about how great Asher is, along with other tidbits about her own kids. The women were very nice and thought Asher was over 6 months old.

The next day was our trip back to LI to see Roy and the rest of the fam. Asher got to meet his cousins!! Harry seemed to really love Asher. He was so cute (4 years old!), trying to give Asher his old teething ring and other toys. And when Asher was drooling, Harry ran to get a napkin to wipe his face! He was very sweet.

Dana is getting so big (7 years old next month), and she performed a nice little magic show for us all.

Unfortunately, a bunch of group pictures are all burry (Graig, you need a better camera!), but here are some that you can make out:

We also got to introduce Asher to some of our friends who live in NYC. We saw Alicia on Sunday evening and she took us to a cute cafe in Woodside called Aubergine. Again, Asher slept the whole time we were out. But Alicia got to play with him for a bit when we were at her apartment, and she got lipstick on his forehead when she kissed him!

Monday morning, we met up with Dawn in the city, then in the afternoon we visited Geri, my brothers' grandmother. She is 90 and pretty funny. She loved Asher, but was afraid to hold him.

After that visit, we headed back. We had to make a few stops, but finally made it back to our little home. And thus concludes our first out of town trip with the baby boo!

Chicco Polly Highchair

2008-02-20T15:42:00.009-05:00

I assembled the highchair today, because even though Asher isn't eating solid foods yet, I thought he might like to sit up in it. Here's a phrase I never thought I would read (from the instruction manual):

"Fit the rigid crotch strap to the tray...The design of the crotch strap attachment only allows one type of assembly operation."

and then...

" ! WARNING - Always fit the rigid crotch strap to the tray before fitting the tray to the Highchair. Once the rigid crotch strap has been fitted, it must never be removed."

Anyway, it wasn't hard to assemble, and Asher seems to really enjoy being in it so far! Here are some pictures and video from my phone camera. The quality is crappier since the good digital camera is still in Brent's bag from the weekend.

Oh, and the highchair matches our stroller and car seat ;)

2008-02-15T11:53:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Mommy!!

Exersaucer!

2008-02-14T15:02:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Asher's new exersaucer arrived today! It was a bit annoying to put together, but not hard. I think Asher will need to get adjusted to all the new stimuli, but here is his very first encounter!

Self-reflection

2008-02-07T12:07:00.001-05:00

The past couple of days, I've taken Asher into the bathroom so he can see himself in the mirror. He looks and gets a HUGE smile, then turns his head into me like he's shy. It's the cutest thing!! If only we could all be that happy when we look at ourselves.

Like Father Like Son

2008-02-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

Check out this picture from 30 years ago:

I found this tiny little picture of Brent, like the size that would fit in a locket, in a box of jewelry stuff that my mother-in-law gave me a few years ago. Crazy resemblance to our cutie, huh?!

Superbowl Sunday

2008-02-04T11:33:00.000-05:00

Boo hoo hoo, the Patriots lost the superbowl :( I am not broken up about it, but Rudy was pretty upset. However, he could only be so sad in the company of Awesome Asher.

Asher donned his "Future Quarterback" PJs that Jim and Karina sent him:

I was caught with food in my mouth, but disguised it with a not too goofy smile:

And during the game Rudy had a fun time with Asher, trying to give him some competition in the fist-eating contest:

Despite the Patriots' loss, we all had a fun time. Everyone loved Asher in all his goodness and cuteness.

tummy time

2008-01-31T10:20:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a lot of tummy time with Asher lately because he usually spits up, but this morning I figured it was safe because it was right before feeding. I could tell a noticable difference in how much control he had over his head and neck since the last time we tried it, i.e. he could keep his face off the floor for a lot longer! He also likes to kick his legs, take a look...

2008-01-29T18:30:00.000-05:00

Mommy had class today and my babysitter, Vanessa, was sick, so I got to go to work with Daddy this morning. I was so tired that I slept the entire time Mommy was in class and Daddy was working. When Mom came to get me, she brought her schoolmate friend Tanya C. to visit. I liked her so I gave her big smiles. Mommy tried to feed me with that milk mumu, and it was so fun to look at I could barely concentrate on eating! I also got to say hello to all of Daddy's coworkers. Then Mommy took me home on the loud and shakey train, so I dozed in and out of sleep again.

Later in the day I was very fussy because I couldn't poop. I cried about it pretty bad. Finally I fell asleep and Mom got to nap. Then a little while after eating again, I made a big poopy! Mommy was so happy for me.

Asher contained

2008-01-27T17:23:00.001-05:00

Asher's Aunt Chelle got him a play yard for Christmas, and we just opened it today. We'll bring it when we visit NYC next month, so we are testing it out.

hmmm, where am I Daddy?

I am NOT a blockhead!

I like to roll with it

Mommy said to do that again, so I did it again

Just chillin'

Then there was the prize fight of Awesome Asher vs. Blanket Buddy:

Then he started to get a little fussy, so that concludes Asher's romp in the play yard.

Milk Mumu

2008-01-27T15:00:00.001-05:00

Friday I got to use my milk mumu nursing cover for the first time in public. Well, it was semi-public, I was in a lounge at Sargent (my school) and only a couple people passed through while I was in there. But it was very convenient not to worry about having too much exposed. When I first got the cover, a gift from Susan, I tried it out in the house. Asher just played with it, flailing his arms and exposing me despite the cover's purpose! But while we were out, I think he was too concerned with eating to play around. I still need to get the adjustment of the neck strap right, and it's kind of hard to do while it's on me and I'm nursing, so I need to adjust it at another time. The terry corner is cool, although I didn't actually use it because I had a diaper for a burp cloth; but I was thinking they should put a terry corner on each side so you can use one no matter which side the baby is on. Anyway, I like it and I think the pattern is cool. I think Marissa would like the funky Japanese pattern because it's got bright colors and lots going on. Brent says it looks like an apron, but so what?! I say, Thanks Susan!!

Milk bands

2008-01-27T14:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I ordered a milk band to help me keep track of which side I last fed Asher from and how long since the last feeding. Sometimes I really can't remember, so I am hoping this will be as handy as they advertise it to be. I ordered it from an ebay seller because the milkbands website was being funky with my credit card info. I ordered the lilac one. I'll update once I get it to review whether it was worth the $9.50 (price including shipping).

Orthodox church

2008-01-27T13:44:00.000-05:00

Today I went to church with Daddy for the first time. We got there about half an hour into the service, so Father Patrick was already into his sermon. I didn't really follow it, I was too busy looking around at the people and the stained glass windows and the candles by the icons. Once the chanting started, I got pretty sleepy. I slept through the whole rest of service and woke up just in time to leave. I was hungry, but I didn't cry about it. I waited patiently until we got home. Mommy was jealous that I got to sleep through service and she didn't, but those are the perks of being an infant.

Vaccines

2008-01-27T00:50:00.000-05:00

Just to exemplify how awesome Asher actually is, he did not cry or even kvetch one bit when he got 2 shots last week. The nurse, Dad and I were all shocked! Maybe it was because he was still sleepy from the nap he was taking in the waiting room, but I think it's because he's the best kid.

I think the AAP is crazy with the recommended vaccine schedule. They want you to give a 2 month old 5 shots at once! I knew I wanted to research this before Asher was born, but didn't get to it until he was about a month old. I wanted to talk to the pediatrician about it, and luckily we have a very cool doctor who doesn't mind doing an alternate vaccine schedule. I started my research online, and decided to buy The Vaccine Book, by Dr. Bob Sears. I know he's just one pediatrician who wrote a book, but I think a lot of what he says makes sense and he has references to the research in his book. I'm not following his schedule to the T either, but using his info as a guide and considering my pedi's opinions, I came up with something I am comfortable with, at least for his infant shots.

At 2, 4, and 6 months, we are doing the HIB and PC vaccines, and at 3, 5, and 7 months, we are doing the DTaP and Polio. I know polio isn't urgent because no one has it anymore, and Dr. Sears delays it, but it doesn't have any aluminum content, so I figured we would get it over with, and it doesn't usually have side effects. We aren't doing the rotavirus at all, because it is a live virus vaccine and my pedi doesn't even think it's worthwhile. I asked for a specific brand of the DTaP and I know it required some legwork from the doctor's office, but I was glad they accommodated my request. We are also delaying Hep B, since that is an STD and it's crazy that they recommend it for babies if the mom is known to be negative!

I think 2 shots at a time is plenty for such a tiny baby, and I can't imagine Asher's reaction if it had been 5 (plus the oral rotavirus, if we'd given that too). Aside from the pain of the shots, I just think such a young body is not equipped to handle that much. I know there are plenty of babies that get all the vaccines are are just fine, but there is always the chance of reaction. Asher had a low grade fever for about a day after his first shots at 2 months. Nothing at the 3-month series. But I feel good about my decision to spread them out, because I think even that month makes a difference in the maturity of his system and its ability to handle the injections. We'll still need to figure out some of the other stuff, like the MMR, later on. For now, I hope Asher continues to have no reactions from the 4 infant vaccines.

Yoga Baby

2008-01-26T23:32:00.000-05:00

I went back to yoga today for the first time since Asher was born. I went to prenatal yoga at Savin Hill Yoga studio every Saturday from the time I was about 7 weeks pregnant to the day I went into labor, and only skipped maybe 5 classes tops. I felt really good about doing yoga while I was pregnant, since I am not big on exercise otherwise. Even on mornings when I didn't feel like going, I would always feel better and be glad I went. The poses were supposed to help with birth, but that didn't end up making much difference since I had a c-section (unplanned), but the very best thing was the breathing techniques. I don't think I could have survived my THREE DAYS of labor without it!

I went to a regular yoga class this morning, and it definitely felt more rigorous than the gentle yoga I'd been doing for 9 months. But it was good, and I am excited to get back into practice. I always want to try to do more at home, but I am just bad at keeping a schedule. Going to class definitely keeps me with it, so I want to go at least once a week. If I start going twice a week, maybe I'll purchase the monthly membership, depending on what is the best deal.

The owner of the studio has Asher's picture up on the wall! I knew he had told me that in an email, because I sent some newborn pictures to him and my prenatal teachers after Asher was born. But it was about 15 minutes into class this morning when I realized I was looking at a print-out of a hospital photo of Asher, and handwritten on the paper it said his name, birthdate, weight, and "Another SAVIN HILL YOGA BABY." I smiled to myself and thought about how the other people in the class didn't even know that was a picture of my son.

Hello Blog world!

2008-01-26T19:16:00.000-05:00

Hi my name is Asher Isaac. I'm 3 months and 3 days old today. I've been meaning to start this blog for a while now, but couldn't think of a cool enough name for the site. I owe a shout out to my friend Rudy for coming up with the name for my blog, and my nickname, "Awesome Asher." When I post here, my text will be all in italics. When my mommy writes a post, her text will be plain, like this. Stay tuned for pictures, videos (as soon as I get a youtube account!) and details of my development.