Famous Last Words: "No Eating in the Car"

When Jen moved to Toronto she had to leave her beloved Ford Escort behind as it was not on the approved list of vehicles that could be imported.  For the first six months she was here we made due with the subway, taxis and rental cars.  Come winter we decided it was time to buy a vehicle.  

We had anticipated this and had banked enough to buy a Brand New Car.  I know people who say it's a stupid move to buy a new car, but it's what we decided and we were happy with our choice.  We bought a model right at the end of the year, and got a pretty good deal, but it was still a big investment. 

Those first few months we were SO good.  We never left trash in the car.  We used Armor All wipes on the dashboard and vacuumed the floor mats regularly.  And we didn't eat in the car.  

On our first road trip that changed.  But we were really careful. 

When Jen got pregnant with The Bean I said that there was no way we would ever let him eat in the car.  Well, before he was even born we were driving back to PA and Jen was having awful heartburn.  She bought chocolate milk as it seemed to be one of the few things that helped.  I, kind and thoughtful wife that I am, loosened the cap for her before placing it in the cup holder.  Jen picked it up when we got back on the road and gave it a good shake.  Chocolate milk everywhere.  

It's kind of funny now, but it wasn't at the time.

Anyway, we should have taken that as a foreshaddowing of what was to come.  

The Bean didn't eat in the car... for six months  (i.e. while he was nursing).  But that first big road trip after he had started solids, well, I couldn't pass the snacks back quickly enough.  We're pretty sure that he now thinks of any road trip as an all-you-can-eat buffet.  

Case in point:  Nachos.  With salsa.

Crying and Crying and (please, God) Quiet

Peaceful Sleep - Easier Said Than Done!

I’ve learned a lot since becoming a parent. Things like, no matter what you do, the baby will have a giant poo on the airplane.  Or no matter how long you wait to put him in his cute outfit, he will spit up on it as you are snapping the last snap.

One of the other things I’m learning is how much I delude myself. (see Famous Last Words ) I wasn’t going to have morning sickness.  (wrong!)  I wouldn’t eat anything that the books said I shouldn’t.  (wrong!) I wasn’t going to get the epidural. (oh, how very wrong!)

And, then there is “We aren’t going to do Cry It Out.” 

I’m sitting beside a timer counting down from 15 minutes.  

The Bean is in his room all sweaty and crying.  

(Why does he get so sweaty?  It’s like he does it to make me feel THAT much worse when I go in to check on him.)

We read books.  We gave him a lovey (one that he won't smother himself with).  We pumped him full of breast milk all day.  We implemented a bedtime routine.  We shoved him full of food/milk/cereal before bed. We read websites. We did “quiet” playtime. We rocked, bounced, swung, used key words, and sung.  We re-read the books. We put him down awake. We put him down asleep.  We put him down drowsy.

I threw the books across the room.  

The Bean is in his room screaming. The timer is under 10 minutes now.

We are not bad parents. We are not bad parents. We are not bad parents.

I has taken me a couple of weeks to get here, but I believe this is the best thing - The Bean needs to learn how to put himself to sleep.  Lots of other parents have told us they also tried the “gentle” methods to no avail.  Like us, a friend with a son The Bean’s age said the no-cry methods made her little guy sleep worse.

We are not bad parents. We are not bad parents. We are not bad parents.

The timer is under 5 minutes now and The Bean is quiet.  

Ah.  There.  This Cry It Out thing isn't so bad. (wrong!)

Famous Last Words (about chairs)

  "We're only going to get The Bean ONE nice chair."

Famous Last Words

"We're not going to give the baby a pacifier."