Arthur's New Friend

Starting around 5 or 6 months, Eleanor started sleeping with this little bear all the time:

I named it "Osito" (little bear) and it quickly became her must have security blanket.  We figured out just how important he was one time when I washed Osito and left him in the dryer, went out one night, and Hunter put her to bed without Osito and didn't know where he was.  Oops.  Now we have two identical Ositos.  ;)

A friend gave this little bear to Eleanor and she has always enjoyed him too, but for some reason he just doesn't do the magic of getting her to sleep.  I named him "fauxcito."

 A few months before Arthur was born, I decided to order this little guy.  I went ahead and got 2, just in case Arthur really does get attached and they stop selling this same bear.  Well, it looks like that was a good idea, because Arthur really seems to calm down when he clutches this bear!  He also likes to sleep with it on his face, which makes me very thankful for our Angelcare monitor.

Hunter named this one - meet "Boycito."

 Boycito is loved already.

[And yes, he will probably get a new name one day.]

And, just for fun:

4 months!

Our baby boy is 4 months old today!  He is growing up so fast!  Arthur's latest accomplishments include sleeping 10-11 hours straight at night (most nights), sitting in the exersaucer and jumperoo, grabbing all kinds of toys and putting them in his mouth, and "talking" very loudly!  He loves being thrown up in the air (gently, of course), listening to us read, and watching his sister as much as possible.  His swing broke this week - pretty sure the boy weighs too much - and so he is finally learning to take naps in the crib.  That latest development hasn't been much fun for anybody, but we're getting there.  We go to the pediatrician next week so I don't know any of his stats for sure yet, but I tried weighing him myself and I keep getting somewhere between 16-17 lbs.  We'll see!

He's really good at jumping already!

We celebrated Arthur turning 4 months old with his first trip to the beach!

(This is the same beach where Ada's ashes are scattered.)

Family portrait

Contemplating the vastness of the ocean

Big sister playing in the sand

It was impossible to get either of them to look at me

Eleanor was so excited about getting her toes in the water...until it actually happened!

A tour of our yard...

...according to Eleanor.

"Eleanor's Meadow"

"Penny's Meadow"

"Penny's Garden"

(The big pile of brush off to the right - and no, it is by no means a garden!)

"Penny's fields"

Eleanor LOVES to play in her meadow!

Carrying a "fishing spear"

This kid sure does love the great outdoors!  It's a good thing we live somewhere warm!

Recent pictures

My future trumpet player?

Swinging on a cold day

Tummy time!

Who knew a box could provide so much entertainment?

It's all fun and games until Mama tries closing the box!

(I was just trying to be silly and let her pop out - I had no idea it would scare her like that!)

Going on a walk

Watching Daddy trim the branches

We went to visit Buela's house and Eleanor loved reading with her!

Walk softly and carry a big stick...or branch!

Ready for bed!

Arthur loves to suck his fingers!

I can't believe he's big enough for the Bumbo now

Arthur with his Aunt Pam and cousin Micah

(Micah is one day older than Arthur)

Such a big boy!

Arthur can't roll over yet, but he can climb over his Boppy!

Just had to include a picture of these cute frog overalls that my friend Kathy gave Arthur...so cute!

Silly Eleanor

Here are some of Eleanor's latest sayings...

• Me:  "Eleanor, it's time to go upstairs and take a nap."  Eleanor: "I am not pleased."
• Eleanor was saying something about Rudolph getting Christmas presents and Hunter told her that animals don't get Christmas presents.  Without a second's hesitation, she said, "But the warty pigs get Christmas presents."    She was thinking about our recent trip to the zoo when they gave the animals presents.  The kid had a point!
  
• Eleanor occasionally builds a "nest" on the living room floor out of pillows with a blanket spread over the top.  (See previous post.)  We always clean it up at the end of the day, but the other day we were lazy and didn't.  Well, the cat discovered the nest and slept there overnight; after all, it was a very cold night outside.  The next morning I told Eleanor that Penny had slept in her nest.  Her face fell and she said, "Nooo!! [near tears here]  Penny does not steal your nest!"  She is also adamantly against the cat ever getting on her bed.
• (Warning, this one gets a little gross.)  Hunter and Eleanor made biscuits together and there was one little tiny biscuit that they decided was "Arthur's biscuit."  Well of course Arthur can't eat it, so Hunter offered it to Eleanor multiple times but she didn't want it.  So, he ate it.  5 minutes later...  "I want to eat Arthur's biscuit."  H: "Well I ate it so it's gone."  Eleanor's face slowly fell, then...  "I want Daddy to spit it back out!"  "I can't spit it out.  It's down in my belly."  Near tears, "I want it to come up from the belly up to the spine and into Daddy's mouth and for Daddy to put it into Eleanor's mouth."  Disgusting, but hilarious!! 
• Recently we made pizzas.  Eleanor accidentally got some bell pepper on hers, and she made an awful face and she spit it out.  Okay, she really doesn't like bell peppers.  The other morning I fixed her oatmeal and said, "Do you want yogurt in your oatmeal?"  (I personally find this combo disgusting but Hunter and Eleanor both like it.)  "Yes!"  "Do you want walnuts in your oatmeal?"  "Yes!"  "Do you want bell pepper in your oatmeal?"  "NOOOOO!  No bell pepper!  Bell pepper is YUCK.  I do not like bell pepper."  Well, at least she can express her feelings clearly.  :)  Bell pepper and onion are about the only two foods I know of that she doesn't like at all.
• Hunter was reading to Eleanor while I made dinner and he was going to hold Arthur too.  Eleanor didn't want Hunter to hold him, so Hunter said, "But we can read the book, all three together."  Eleanor said, "No!  All TWO together."
• This one will make more sense if you watch this video, starting about 1 minute into it:
   
  Eleanor was talking about one time when she saw a generator outside that was loud and scared her.  She started singing "Who's afraid of the generator, the generator, the generator?  Who's afraid of the generator? Tra-la-la-la-la!"

How to build a nest

Step 1:  Take all of the pillows off the couches and line them up on the floor.

Step 2:  Get your mom or dad to lay a blanket on top of the pillows

Step 3:  Sit in the middle of the nest and read your favorite books.

Warning:  Soft, cozy nests might attract unwanted pests!

Tips on flying with a baby

No, we're not going anywhere with Arthur.  Yet.  ;)

A friend of mine just asked me for advice on flying with an infant.  This is not the first time I've been asked about this, so I thought I'd go ahead and write this all out in one place so I can refer people to this post in the future.  We flew with Eleanor to San Diego at 4 months old, to Cincinatti at 11 months old, to Puerto Rico at 14 months old, and I flew by myself with her to Greenville, SC at 19 months old.  This is what I've picked up from my experiences and from advice that others have given me.

Your carry on bag

Be sure to pack extra diapers, an extra outfit or two for the baby, and an extra outfit for yourself.  You never know when a nasty blowout can happen...  Thankfully this comes from a friend's experience, not my own!  ;)  Personally I always try to pack at least one outfit for myself in my carry-on anyway in case my luggage is lost.  And, if I can help it, I don't check any bags in the first place.  If you're traveling with an infant you really don't need much else; in fact that only other thing I would take is a blanket that I can use as a cover when nursing and to keep the baby warm.  If your child is older then of course bring whatever small toys or books keep them entertained.  Avoid anything with multiple pieces, and try to bring at least one brand new toy that will keep their interest.  And of course, if you fly on a plane that actually serves any kind of drink, you can ask for a cup of ice and let the kid play with one ice cube at a time on the pull down tray.  They will be thoroughly entertained!  Snacks can also keep toddlers occupied for a long time, and a favorite lovey or blanket is a must!

Arriving at the airport

Have a plan!  Also, allow about 30 minutes longer than you would before kids.  When we fly together, Hunter drops us off at the terminal with the car seat, stroller, and all of the luggage.  Then he parks the car in long term parking and takes the shuttle back to the airport.  Flying by yourself is much trickier though.  I've only done it once and thankfully I flew out of a small airport where I could walk from the long term parking to the terminal.  Believe it or not, that's much easier than carrying everything on and off of one of those airport shuttles with a baby/toddler in tow.  I had Eleanor (19 months old) in her umbrella stroller and I had one suitcase on wheels that I could pull.  I brought a bungee cord with me and tied her HEAVY car seat to the suitcase handle.  It was a slow walk pushing the stroller, pulling the suitcase behind me, and stopping every 2 seconds to adjust the car seat, but it worked.  Of course, if you're lucky enough to have somebody dropping you off at the airport then none of this matters!

Getting through the airport

Should you wear the baby or use a stroller?  Personally with an infant I like to have both options.  With a baby I like to check the car seat at the gate (I'll get to that) so I always bring along my stroller frame to get the car seat through the airport.  Sometimes baby wearing is more practical or soothing for the baby though, so it's nice to have that option.  When we went to San Diego I brought along my sling, which folds up and hardly takes up any space in a carry on.  On the flight out there we didn't end up with a seat for her, so I wore her in the sling on the plane.  I was very thankful for it when we went through some major turbulence! On the way back we flew San Diego-Los Angeles-Orlando and since we got seat for her on both flights I was able to leave her in the car seat the whole way.  It was a red eye and she slept the entire time, even during our layover in LA.  Plus she was safely strapped in when we had turbulence, and I was able to move around freely and even go to the bathroom on the long flight without a baby strapped to me.  It's the little things, folks.

What about the car seat?

Unless you're lucky enough to visit people who have a car seat waiting for you at the other end, you have to take yours with you.  With a baby, I like taking the infant car seat with me to the gate and not checking it because: A. You don't want your car seat to get lost; what will you do at your destination if you don't have a car seat?  B. If you're not checking any other luggage you don't want to have to wait 30 minutes at the baggage claim just to get your car seat, and C. If you end up with an empty seat beside you on the plane (I'll get to that) you can carry the car seat on and have a seat for your baby.  Just check with the worker at the gate right before you board to see if there are any empty seats around you so you know whether to carry the seat on or check it at the gate.  If you don't have any kind of stroller that takes the car seat you can just carry it through the airport (no fun), or of course if you have a stroller frame or other stroller that it fits into you can just check the stroller at the gate.  When Eleanor outgrew her infant car seat I did check her much heavier convertible seat.  I was by myself and no way was I going to drag that thing through the airport.

How to get a seat on the plane for the baby

The best advice anybody gave me on flying with an infant is how to try to get a seat for the baby, but you have to have 2 adults flying for this to work.  Of course, you can always buy the baby a ticket, but I've never done that.  Assuming your airline allows you, choose your seats on the plane when you buy your tickets or when you check in and select one seat on the aisle and one seat by a window.  The middle seats are always the last to go.  If somebody does end up sitting in that middle seat, they will probably be more than happy to trade with one of you because they probably didn't want that middle seat in the first place.  One time we had somebody in between us but there was an empty seat elsewhere on the plane, so the passenger kindly moved to the other empty seat and we had the row to ourselves.  This has worked for us at least half of the time, if not more.

Eleanor on her very first flight

Takeoff/descent

Be sure to give the baby something to suck on during takeoff and descent.  You can nurse, give them a bottle, give them a pacifier, or with a toddler get them to drink from a sippy cup.  This helps their ears to adjust to the change in altitude.

Feeding the baby

Flying with an infant (<6 months old or so) is easy because they're still young enough that they don't want to be up and moving around.  They probably will want to eat more than usual though - Eleanor nursed practically the whole way to San Deigo, which was very unusual for her - so make sure that you have lots of water and snacks for yourself!  I was extremely hungry and thirsty on that flight thanks to her nursing so much and we finally forked out $6 for a pack of peanuts or whatever it was.  It's a pain because you're not allowed to take bottled water for yourself past security.  They're completely fine with it if you have formula in your bag or if you're carrying on a sippy cup, but unfortunately they can make you throw away your water if you're "just" breastfeeding.  I've had security officers let me carry it on, but I've also had them make me throw it away.  It's ridiculous and unfair, but you can always just buy a bottle of water once you get past security.  Make sure you get a big one, drink up, and top it off at a water fountain before boarding your plane!

Flying by yourself

I've only done this once so I don't have too much to share here.  I normally try to carry on as much luggage as possible and avoid checking anything, but when I flew by myself I paid the extra $20 or so to check my suitcase.  (I was on one of those airlines that charges for every little thing.)  It was totally worth it because I was able to fit everything in ONE bag instead of trying to juggle multiple small bags by myself, and I didn't have to deal with a stroller and any big bags as I went around the airport.  I just took one backpack as my carry-on and that was it.  My flight was only about an hour long so I didn't have to deal with going to the bathroom, but I have friends who have even just left their kids with friendly grandmotherly type passengers while they went to the bathroom.  It's not like they can go anywhere with your kid!  Of course, babywearing would also help if you need to go to the bathroom in flight and have to take your baby with you.

Okay, that's about everything I know!  Most importantly, just remember:  you probably will never see any of your fellow passengers again!  If your baby cries, it will be okay!