Survival Test - Day 5 of 15

Oh... where to begin?  Lots of wake-ups.  A bit before midnight, he woke up and I changed his diaper (it was still pretty empty).  Nursed him, then decided that his nose really did need some nose drops.  Turned on the lights, wrestled him down to get in some nose drops, then nursed him a bit more and put him to bed.  After a little bit, he started screaming.  Not sure if anything was wrong (no limbs were stuck in the crib rails).  I picked him up, snuggled with him and let him lie down with me in bed for a little.  Put him back in his crib.  Quiet for a bit, then he starts getting upset again.  I shushed him and he stopped crying.  I vaguely recall this happening again at least one more time.  Then I'm finally asleep.  Roughly before 5:30am, the boy is standing in his crib asking for milk.  I look at the clock and tell him to go back to sleep.  He occasionally lies down, but moves around in his crib a lot.  The batteries die in his aquarium and he gets upset and keeps slapping at it trying to turn the thing on.  I get up and remove the aquarium from his crib and try to reassure him that I'll change the batteries after I get up.

6am, I give up and nurse him in bed.  We both fall asleep.  I wake up at 9am and leave the boy in bed.  He just woke up about 10 minutes after I got up.  Time to replace the Mr. Fishy's batteries.  I really don't think AA batteries are a good substitute for C batteries.  Mr. Fishy is working again and has relocated to the other side of his crib.  Time for breakfast.

Isaac had a bowl of oatmeal and a mandarin fruit cup.  He was very cooperative because I told him his friends were coming over to play soon so he should hurry up.  G got here just as Isaac finished breakfast.  I put the boy on the potty, and he was really good and quick.  He wanted to play with G.  J arrived shortly after, and I left them to pick up some milk from Save-On Foods.  Toys were scattered all over the place when I got back and everything was in full-swing.  The boys ate lunch then headed home (around 12:30pm).  I'm trying to get Isaac to have his lunch now.

Ack!  I think Isaac snorted a piece of spaghetti up his nasal cavity somewhere.  He was laughing at something then suddenly choked and started crying and pointing at his nose.  I didn't know what to do, so I put saline drops into his nose and nursed him.  He's still pointing at his nose and whining.  I'm not sure what else I can do.  It's the second time this has happened to him.  I hope it resolves itself soon or I'll have to take him to the doctors - though I don't really see what they can do about it either.

He seems back to normal again though he refused to nap at his normal time.  I gave up at 2pm and took him out of his crib.  We went out to vv and the mall.  I used part of my sprize points and bought him a new gap raincoat in size 4T. 3T fits, but I figure the 4T he can grow into.  Gap is ending Sprize in February.  It's too bad, since I think it did get me to buy more clothes from their store.  Snacked on an egg tart at the mall.

I feel like things are reverting back to normal - dirty dishes, no clue about what to eat, etc.  I picked up some Shanghai dumplings for Isaac, and a beef broccoli dish for myself.  I made some rice at lunch that I didn't get around to eating, so that's ready.  Time for me to do the dishes and eat before Isaac wakes up.  His nap started at 4:08pm.  I'll have to make sure he's up by 5:15pm or so.

Dishes washed, toys tidied, caught up on some news (yay Target coming to Canada).  Something about food always taste so much better when you're starving.  Mmm... beef broccoli.  I might need to make more rice.

I woke the boy up at 5:48pm.  He had a dinner/web chat with Daddy, had a bath, played some lego, then bedtime.  I don't think he fell asleep until sometime after 10pm.  I hope that he'll sleep alright tonight.

Survival Test - Day 4 of 15

I'm feeling a bit short-tempered this morning.  The boy won't let me eat my breakfast.  We also had a minor mishap in the washroom - Isaac was acting up and squirming around and ended up falling off the potty with his mouth hitting my knee.  His teeth are still intact, and I didn't see any bleeding so it's probably sore, but he should be ok.

Breakfast: bacon, oatmeal, mandarin fruit cup.  Me... I'm still looking at my toast and bacon...

We have our first class of creative movement class this morning.  Not sure if he can stay awake for it but we'll see.  I'm still deciding if I should walk or drive.  There's snow on the ground, but it's raining.

I drove.  It was good that I did since not all of the sidewalks were cleared and I would've been late otherwise.  We returned our library books, enjoyed the creative movements class, said hi to the volunteer at the art gallery, snacked on a mandarin, picked up a cheese & tomato roll from Cobbs, bought some veggies from Kins Market, and came home.

Now we're going to watch Word World while I feed the boy some strawberry motts and let him finish his Cobbs roll.  He finished at least 3/4 of the roll. Nap at 12:57pm.  Lunch time for Mommy - shephard's pie and 2 turkey hotdogs.

After a 1.5 hour nap, the boy wanted to get up and play.  If I sit here typing, he comes to me and pulls my hand, leading me away towards his lego.  I was thinking of doing a bunch of things this afternoon, but it looks like we might just play lego instead.

We played lego, I did laundry, we went to vv.  We had a web chat with Daddy during dinner.  Isaac had some avocado, chicken, yogurt, bites of bok choy, and bites of mixed grain.  After the web chat, he played around for a little in Daddy's office, then we started our bedtime routine.

He's currently talking in his crib and seems to be testing his squeals but doesn't sound upset.  I feel a bit tired out today.  On a positive note, Isaac's diaper has been completely dry since 4pm and it's now 8:35pm.  I took him to the potty after dinner and before bed.  Now he's calling for me, so I think I'll go see what he wants.

I told the boy I'm going to take a shower (he rubbed his hair and nodded yes), and I told him he should go to sleep.  After I dried my hair, I checked on him and he was snoring away.  I think I need to put in some nose drops tomorrow.  It's 10pm and I've packed away the leftovers, washed the dishes, and tidied up the toys.  Day 4 is done.

Survival Test - Day 3 of 15

Rough morning. The boy woke up at 5:44am with an upset gassy stomach. He wanted to go to the potty but when he was on it, he was so uncomfortable and upset. He kept hugging me and arched his back. I put him onto the floor potty.

We went back to bed and I snuggled with him and rubbed his tummy. He got up and wanted some mum-mum. I made him some toast. He asked to go to the potty again, repeat of last potty episode. After, I got some toast into him. He made more poop in his diaper and again wanted to go to the washroom. This time he just wanted to play with the stuff in his bath tub, so I gave his bum a wipe and changed his dirty diaper. I hope he feels better soon.

He still has a dental appointment this morning. At least he seems to be happier at the moment. I'm letting him watch some television.

The dental appointment went pretty well. The boy got his teeth flossed and got a fluoride treatment.  He only started getting upset at the end.  He was happy when he got to pick a sticker.  We don't see her again until April.

After our appointment, we went to vv, then picked up some dim sum for an early lunch (10:30am).  The boy is tired and I don't want to push his nap later today since he probably needs his rest.  Tried to get him to eat some congee, but he didn't want it.  He ate some beef rice noodle roll, scallop dumpling, and a quarter bowl of oatmeal.  He fell asleep at 11am.  Time for me to finish the rest of the dim sum.  I'll have to give him a snack when he wakes up.  I think we'll skip the citrus today since I don't want to upset his stomach more.

I've finished my lunch, disinfected (ie. scrubbed) his toilet and potty, and am ready to take a nap.  I hope he'll sleep for another 30-60min.

The boy woke up but I was able to get him back to sleep, so I managed to take a little nap also.  He played with his golf set, but is now on my glider messing with the contents on our dresser and the radio.  Time to snack then take the garbage out.

Snacks: yogurt, a few bites of a granola bar and a cereal bar.

Dinner: me - rice, chicken, broccoli and potatoes.  Isaac - butternut squash, avocado, some chicken, and some broccoli.  A friend came over this evening and played Lego with us for a bit.  I just put him to bed, but he's standing in his crib saying "up up up".

Survival Test - Day 2 of 15

Last night wasn't too bad.  I went to bed at 11pm.  The boy woke up at 12:30am, and then again at 6am. He didn't want to go back to sleep and insisted on going to the potty.  Afterwards, I went back to bed, and he proceeded to play with his vacuum and bowling pins.

I got up at 8am.  We made chicken noodle soup with celery and carrots for breakfast.  The boy also had a big bowl of oatmeal and one mandarin.  He rediscovered his shape sorter toy and ring toy so he wanted to play with that while he ate.

By around 10am, he looked like he wanted a nap, but I tried to keep him up a bit longer.  I took him out to vv and picked up a couple of books.  On the way back home, he fell asleep at 11:25am.  We got one parcel in the mail today.  I'm still expecting one additional delivery today.

Lunch hour: me - a couple of turkey hot dogs.  I also rearranged the living room / dining room area.  That should interest the boy for a little once he wakes from his nap.  I'm giving him one hot dog and left-over spaghetti and a motts peach fruit cup for lunch.

Oh, I'm so mad!  I missed the delivery today because I was helping the boy to the potty at the time. Arrgh! Now I'll have to wait for them to try again tomorrow.  That sucks, I was planning to go out tomorrow.

Went to Toys R Us and Zellers.  Couldn't find a good bag for our swimming stuff.  He came home and snacked on a couple slices of an orange.

For dinner, I made the boy some soup noodles with chicken balls, fish tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables.  We went over to a friend's house, and I fed Isaac dinner there, then ate his leftovers and had some rice and chicken.  He played for a little, and we came home for his bath.

I put him in bed at 9pm.  I think he's still kicking his crib rails or moving around, but he's not complaining or anything so I'll just leave him alone.

Survival Test - Day 1 of 15

DH is away on business for 2 weeks.  It's the first time I'm left on my own with the boy for an extended amount of time.  I'm sure most people would have no problems, but me?  We're about to find out.  I normally cook... for fun, once in a blue moon, for special events.  For the next two weeks, not only do I have to cook everyday... I have to do it two or three times a day.  Ah!  What will we eat?  I guess there's always take-out.

I just dropped DH off at the airport and got lost going back home.  I got nervous and exited one street too early.  Turned around but ended up on the bridge.  We had to take a detour back home over the other bridge.

It's only 9:14am and the boy is already down for a nap?  His nap is NORMALLY around 12:30pm or 1:30pm.  He's going to need another nap this afternoon and I have serious doubts that he'll sleep willingly.  I think it's going to be a rough day.

I don't know how single moms get by but I guess I will have to get better organized and figure things out.

10:45am, the boy woke and called for Da-Da several times.  I had to tell him that Dada is gone to stay with Yeh-yeh and Ma-ma.

Lunch: me - leftovers.  boy - a jar of sweet potatoes, leftover mushrooms and tofu.

He won't let me finish my lunch and insists that I play lego with him.  Any time I step away, he destroys the structures and gets upset.

Snacks: yogurt, strawberry sauce, bites of a tomato cheese roll.

We went to vv, watched a car go through the car wash, went to the library for a story time, and stopped by the mall.  I dropped by The Bay to look for a sports bag, but didn't find anything large enough.  We set off the store alarm with one of our library videos.  One of the sales clerks were nice enough to demagnetize it for me. :)  As we walked back, I asked the boy if he wanted to go home.  He nodded yes.  Shortly after (around 3:44pm) he fell asleep in the stroller.

Time to think about dinner and fix one of the buttons from his chinese vest.

Dinner: spaghetti, meatballs, mushrooms, and tomatoes.  Dessert: mandarins.  He woke up from his nap at 5:10pm, we had dinner, web chatted with Daddy, and cleaned up.

Potty Training: First morning wearing underwear.

Potty training has been going relatively well.  He likes sitting on the potty because he gets special (flap/activity) books and flyers to read.  We still have some misses, but it looks like he's starting to hold for short stretches.  He's had a few completely dry diapers some of the time, so I wanted to put him in underwear for a couple of hours at a time.

I picked up some packs of underwear over the holidays and let him pick one to wear this morning while he was sitting on the potty.

My expectation is that he'll probably wet the underwear, but I just wanted to try to see what happens.  Time to get breakfast ready.  We'll have another potty session after he eats.

Flushable wipes -> clogged toilet

We had a minor emergency on Saturday morning.  Our toilet was plugged up and started overflowing.  Kinda gross especially since the boy just pooped in it.

DH spent an unsuccessful half an hour trying to unclog it with our pathetic little plunger.  We called our landlord and he came by with a heavy-duty plunger and was able to fix our problem in a jiffy.  I think we should upgrade to a better plunger.

Anyhow, the cause of our clog was the flushable wipes I've been using... now DH has banned me from flushing them down the toilet.  My take-home message is that flushable wipes don't really disintegrate very well... so if you do flush them down the toilet, use sparingly.  We use regular toilet paper on him now, but he seems to prefer the wipes.