Thursday, July 30, 2009

10 months: Devon (July) Crawling, pulling himself up & standing.


Devon is nearly 1 and I can't take it anymore! It is so unfair that he is so big. I really tried to enjoy his newborn stage because I knew it wouldn't last, but I miss my tiny baby. I wouldn't want to go back to that time with the 2 hour feedings through the night, the crying and all the insecurity that comes with being a new mom, but I miss him being so little. He looks little when Joe is holding him so I guess that will have to do.

He finally figured out that crawling is more efficient than Army crawling and is cruising all over the house. He is making friends with Sampson, pats him, pulls his tail, climbs on top of him, takes out clumps of fur every few hours and chases him around the house. Sampson is the sweetest, most patient cat I have ever seen and just lets Devon do whatever he wants. He has swatted at Devon and has nipped at him a few deserved times, but has never hurt him or drawn his claws. Sampson is the greatest cat and I think he is starting to like having a shadow follow him around.

Joe and I decided that we want to start taking a yoga class together every week so we need a regular babysitter. We have been using Samantha since Devon was a few months old and we love her, but she isn't always available so I needed backup. I asked around, but no one really had any solid recommendations so I did something I never thought I'd do ... I put an add on an online babysitting website. To me that is like online dating and I still have a hard time with that even though that's how a lot of people date these days. But since no one I knew gave me recommendations I really had no other choice if I wanted to find a sitter. This website does finger printing, references, and background checks. I wrote up an ad indicating the hours I needed help and what I was looking for. Within 3 days I had 28 responses. Not all of them were great (or even good) and some of them were a little scary, but I got 7 solid leads and made appointments for them to come over, meet them and have them meet Devon. I got a few funny responses and my favorite was," I love the babies. I want to take my care of the babies. Thank you job. Bye-bye." Read that again out loud. It's funnier that way. I know that learning English I so difficult, and I don't speak any other language, but I couldn't resist sharing that one.

I found 2 girls that I really felt comfortable with and one of them babysat for us this weekend while we went out to dinner with some friends. She went to the UofA and got the same degree I did. She is currently going to school for acupuncture. We were only gone 2 1/2 hours plus I had her there an hour early to show her around and to be there while Devon interacted with her so he could get comfortable. I think that was a good trial with her for the first time. She said things went well and that he was really good. I get a really good vibe with her and I think under other circumstances that we could have been friends.

The other girl hasn't babysat yet, but will sometime this week when I have a doctor's appointment. She speaks Spanish and sign language, is CPR and 1st aid certified, lives 10 minutes from my house, has a college degree, loves to sing and play games AND she only charges $10 an hour. This online babysitter stuff isn't half bad.

Devon is very proficient at pulling himself up to stand and gets better at it everyday. He needs a little work on his dismount, but even that has improved over the last few days. It seems like he does something new on a daily basis .... amazing. We have started "walking" him around the house (holding him under his arm pits) and he thinks that is just hilarious. We are not encouraging him to walk, especially since crawling is so good for his motor skills, but he seems to really like it so we are having fun with that. He is down to one long nap midday for about 3 hours. I much prefer one long nap to 2 short ones. This allows me to get lots of things done around the house, "work" on the computer, eat lunch and even have time left over to sew. When he wakes up we both are recharged.

*That's Devon on the left .... not the tan kid on the right ;)
I started taking him to baby story time at the library every Wednesday afternoon. It is 30 minutes and they sing songs and read books. They get to use shakers (a.k.a. spice jars filled with rice or beans)and crawl around with other babies. They basically just smack each other in the face, but it's cute and he gets really worked up when we go. I have a good time too and I am getting more comfortable talking with other moms, something I am really trying to work on.

He does one real baby trick ... he high-5's. There are rules for getting this to work though .... you have to be holding him and apparently you have to be me because he won't do it for anyone else ;) Yeah for mama, I win!

Devon is very interested in everything and wants to touch it or taste it. He loves green beans, yogurt, bananas, top Ramen noodles and Cheerios and hates pears with a passion even though I try to feed them to him everyday. He definitely is starting to prefer solid food over milk and I have been enjoying giving him new foods to try. He is on a different schedule everyday which is a challenge for me since I thrive when I have a clear itinerary, but I am adjusting and just enjoying my baby. He still lets me carry him in the "pouch" (the Ergo carrier) and I relish the time when I can hold him close and he doesn't beg to be put down.

4 comments:

Kate said...

awe..cute mama and her not so baby story. You are so smart to document these times and love that we get to share it with you. maybe i will get my act together to put a 6 month thing for charlie.

Kim said...

It is sad that they grow up so fast. Just wait until baby #2 comes, it goes even faster. Devon is darling and you are such a good mom. Enjoy your yoga class!

Elizabeth Larson said...

Awwwww....what a cutie that little guy is. I totally relate to you as far as not missing some of the things that babies do (the crying, etc), but missing how little and innocent they are when they are babies. Thats cool that you found such a great babysitter!! And just remember, babies are little and don't remember a lot yet, so if he has an off night with a babysitter, once he sees you, he will forget all about it! ;)

findingbenjamin said...

Great post! I love everything about it. I miss you all and can't wait to see you! b