Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 1 No. 48

2006-09-05 24:19 (Kristen) After the lateness of last night's bedtime (11:45 before Jamie was asleep) we slept in until close to 10 this morning. We worried that Jamie wasn't going to nap today because of this, and we were right: no nap. So, alarms are being set, and we're going to try and adjust risings and to more reasonable settings. Tomorrow is a Hakobune day, so that should help.

A few weeks ago, I ordered some Brio trains and buffers from an American company, and asked our friends Sherrie and Gregg to forward them to us from their place in the States (the company doesn't ship to Canada--boo! Otherwise, great company). We're keeping the trains for Jamie's birthday, but decided to give hiim the buffers. He talks about buffers (and crashing into them) almost constantly, so he was very very happy to get them (see POTD). He played with them for a big, and then I got Jamie to walk with me to the local pharmacy for supplies. At that point I was going to take him to Browning, only to find that a local squirrel had pooed on Jamie's Zooper. Sheer hormonal rage helped me to finally figure out, after almost three years, how to get the seat cover off the Zooper, and I soaped it down from top to bottom after throwing the cover into the laundry and asking Gary to take Jamie to Browning for me. Grr! It was hard to get Jamie not to touch the stroller while I was cleaning it: he was, in fact, the one who discovered the poo. Much washing of hands ensued. Grr!

This complicated the question of how Jamie was to take his afternoon nap, as Ken was not available today to take him out and we didn't have the usual big stroller. We decided to go stroller shopping, and hope that Jamie fell asleep in the car. No such luck, and when we showed Jamie the Phil and Ted's stacked stroller that we were considering, he burst into tears and declared it (and others nearby) too high, or too this or too that. I think that he may be as attached to his stroller as I am...or he was just too tired to conceive of change. Either way, he didn't sleep today. Grr! We got home, John went to have a nap, and Jamie and I hung out with Liam, watching Classical Baby Dance. Then Jamie wanted to watch Kiki's Delivery Service, which, for some reason, I have never been able to get to play on our DVD player (which is cheap, let us admit). I tried to get it to play on the little portable player, while Jamie peppered me with repeated requests to watch said movie, despite my assurances that he could (Jamie believes in hammering his point home). Unfortunately, the portable player is on the fritz as well (thank goodness for warranties--this is the second Toshiba player that has fritzed on us), and ten minutes of cajoling didn't persuade it to work. Grr!

Then John came downstairs, and took Jamie out to play for a bit. When I came out a little later to get some ingredients for dinner, John took a look at me and said "I'll get takeout." Good husband! So, we ate takeout from Mocha Mocha, which was lovely, and I ran off to my late doctor's appointment to be told that I am healing nicely. This is good news for Jamie, who asks me most days if I am still broken, and if I am fixed yet. John and Jamie came to meet me coming home, then we met Gary, Ayami, Junko, and Maia. Gary got the Kiki DVD to work on the main DVD player (??!!--but I'm not complaining), and Jamie watched that while I got Liam into the bath with John, and then into bed. Liam threw up after nursing (a bit more than a spit up), but is otherwise fine: perhaps he ate too much? We'll keep an eye on it. The boys are both sleeping nicely, and have been since 10:20.

I should add that we got some lovely gifts today. Idelle Weinstock sent us gift certificates for Baby Gap for both Jamie and Liam; Junko sent over some toys (a set of nesting boxes, a flip-up alphabet toy, some Megablox, and a kaleidoscope); and Margaret, the manager/owner of the Taste of the Silk Road, dropped off a sweet little outfit for Liam on her way through the enighbourhood. Thank you all!!!

2006-09-06 24:10 (Kristen) I woke Jamie up at 9 this morning to get ready to go to Hakobune, after getting up with Liam at 8:15 to get everything together. It makes life easier if i do it this way. Jamie was sleepy but compliant, and ate most of his breakfast (and a good deal of John's). They made it out the door to go to Hakobune without a fuss, and I'm told that Jamie had a good day. He ate all his curry and ate his grapes on the way home in the car, which was good. He did have a runny nose this morning, and definitely is fighting a cold, which is altering his personality somewhat. Liam is fine, and hopefully sucking back antibodies with every nurse from me. Jamie has helpfully been drinking from my cup and eating my food, which will help the process, I am sure.

Liam slept for most of the day, and was his usual placid, helpful self in that regard. When Jamie came home from Hakobune, he and John left an our or so later for his walk. Jamie did finally fall asleep a little after three, and John came home to do some work for the Scrabble club tonight while I sat on the porch with Liam and read while watching Jamie. I woke him up a little after five, because I didn't want him sleeping longer (I had given him some cough medicine before they left, which may have helped him to sleep). We went to John's parents' place for dinner, and Jamie enjoyed reading Momotaro (a Japanese folk tale) with Sai. John left to go to Scrabble, and Jamie and I left a while later to go and find children to play with outside before bed. The weather didn't cooperate, however, and we ran the last half block home in the rapidly increasing rain. We made it inside before the deluge, thank goodness, and spent the rest of the evening talking, doing a puzzle, and watching a little television. I bathed Jamie but not Liam, and didn't get into the tub with Jamie as per usual, as my incision isn't entirely healthy yet. Jamie was very good with the change in routine, and Liam was kept happy by Ayami. I had Jamie in bed by 9:30, since he looked tired, but we didn't get the lights off until after 10, by which time John was home. Jamie had trouble settling, and so John took Liam, and I cuddled Jamie for twenty minutes before he finally fell asleep. Both boys are asleep now, and I'm ready for bed myself.

2006-09-07 23:30 (John) We were up late last night. I often am on Wednesday nights after the Scrabble club, when my mind is too abuzz to fall asleep quickly. It made for a train wreck of a day though, as we're not getting enough sleep as it is, and a few hours missed can make the difference between sanity and incoherence. With Kristen's help, I got Jamie to Hakobune only about half an hour late. Jamie's cold is worse today; his nose is dribbling and when he wakes up he puts in a few minutes of industrious effort with a Kleenex. Liam's still doing fine, either because we have actually been keeping our hands clean enough, or because he's getting enough of an immune system from nursing.

When I picked Jamie up, we shared his bento, then Jamie enthusiastically raced for the library, where we found the library committee passing around a printed copy of the blog. [Note to self: must make it look better in printed form.] To my horror, they offered him a mint Oreo cookie, which he sucked on until it was soggy, then daintily ate over a little plastic lid to avoid scattering crumbs in the library. We then read our books and headed home.

(Kristen) John was very tired when they got home, so I decided to take Jamie out myself, and let him rest. I put Liam in the sling, and Jamie into the stroller, and Jamie, despite his protests, was asleep by 2:15. I sat at the Second Cup with the two of them until John arrived at 4:00, and I took Liam home with me while John stayed with Jamie. Jamie woke up soon after I left, and John took him to the playground. When they got home, a little after 6:00, Jamie was still spinning about madly, and Liam and I went out to play with him while John made dinner. We lay on the grass, and watched Jamie hop, spin, and run around and around. I thought that he'd have lots of room for dinner, but he didn't. He looked very tired, however, so we tried to go to bed early. Jamie was in the bath at 9, but didn't fall asleep until after 10:30, probably because he wasn't comfortable with his cold. Hopefully he'll sleep well now that he's asleep, and we'll have a better day tomorrow.

2006-09-08 09:00 (John) I spoke too soon last night. Liam has caught the cold. He and Kristen were up much of the night, alternately pulling green mucus out of his nose with a suction bulb (thanks, Alison, we still have the one you gave us for Jamie) and nursing him to keep him hydrated. I'm off soon to take Jamie to Hakobune; Kristen is waiting for a call back from our family doctor's office.

2006-09-08 20:22 (Kristen) Jamie's cold is getting better, and Liam isn't getting worse, which is good news. Dr. Sarile (substituting for the vacationing Dr. Kennedy) told us that we can give Liam 0.5 ml of Tempra (or ten drops, but it's easier to remember as 0.5 ml), which is a relief as I didn't think that we could give him anything at all. He's snuffling and snorting beside me as he sleeps, but the cold doesn't seem to be bothering him as much as it did last night. All last night and for part of today, I couldn't put him down, but he's letting me do it now, which I'm taking as a good sign. With a little Tempra, we may have a better night (which would be nice!).

Ben, Sam, and Luke have moved back next door and Iain and Clare have moved across the street. We ended up having a huge free-for-all in the front yard, as the bigger kids (including Kyop and Chaerim) played a version of rugby and the smaller two (Jamie and Luke) spent their time pushing wagons and toy strollers up and down the sidewalk. It was a little wild at times, but fun to watch. John's mom came by and held Liam as I watched Jamie, and Ayami pitched into help look after Jamie when we came in by washing his hands and feet for him, and reading with him while I nursed Liam. Jamie is pretty wound up as I write, and I think he's pretty tired as well. John's exhausted, and I think that it's going to be an early night for us all.

2006-09-09 23:10 (Kristen) Jamie went to bed early last night--around 9:30--and fell asleep by 10:00. So did I, accidentally, and we all had a reasonable night's sleep. Jamie slept almost 11 hours, which may explain why he didn't fall asleep today, despite eating his way through the market, and running around through the same. John and Jamie had headed out around 11:30 to the market, and returned home around 4:00. I was surprised to hear that Jamie hadn't napped at all, as he was very bright and chipper (John was much more tired). I would have taken him out for a walk, despite the late napping hour, but Jamie had found Gary and was playing with him in the basement, and a squirrel had pooed on Jamie's nice clean stroller. Again. I'm developing a real hatred for squirrels.

Liam's cold is still there, but seems to be improving. He's not as uncomfortable as he was, and he's letting me put him down again. He's a riot right now: he just lies in his car bed, or on a lap or on the couch, and stares around, peacefully. His look is one of gentle toleration, like a parent for his children, when he isn't getting off on ceiling lights. It's hard to explain why a two-week-old baby is a riot, or why he's so much fun to talk with, or how his reactions to being gently touched or tickled are so wonderful, but please believe me: they are. He's really a little character.

John took Jamie and Liam out to play with the usual neighbourhood scrum of kids, and it sounds like they all tired each other out completely. John provided spinnies to at least four kids, which had to have helped. Jamie ate all his dinner (noodles with a veggie/chicken sauce, and a mountain of parmesan), and did some mazes and puzzles with me. I'm surprised that he had the energy and focus to do them; he even asked if he could do mazes. I need to ease up on getting him to hold his pencil properly, but he's pretty forgiving. He holds it well, but not strongly, and I keep forgetting how much hand strength is involved in that, and how long it takes to develop. Then it was time to go for ice cream, and to get into the bath and bed. He was awfully tired, and fell asleep in under a minute, which he hasn't done for a long time. It was only 10:20 when he did, and I'm thrilled.

2006-09-10 24:17 (Kristen) Jamie slept close to eleven hours last night, which was good as he was a pretty tired boy. We were up around nine, and so Jamie, Liam, and I headed downstairs for breakfast and adventure. We ate (or nursed, as the case may be), and then Jamie and I played by doing mazes and colouring while Liam gazed at a chain of brightly coloured plastic letters. He seems to like them, and I've taken to stringing them over him when he's in the car bed. He's so mellow that I often worry that he's not getting enough attention or stimulation. I imagine that this is a typical worry for parents when they have second children: the second will never have the "one-on-one" that the first did, but the second will always have the other to entertain him or her, so I think that it balances out. However, Liam is still being Angel Baby, and I'm appreciating it deeply each day that it lasts.

John took Jamie to the playground for an hour at noon to tire him out a little while I stayed home with Liam. My "post-op complications" are still being complicated, so it was nice to stay and rest while Liam nursed and slept, in turn. I made a simple but successful lunch for Jamie on their return at one, and John rested a little before taking Jamie out for his walk. Jamie slept for a little over an hour, and then came back for some mellow time with mom and Kiki's Delivery Service. We had dinner at Browning, and Jamie was a little tired, I think, because he wasn't all that hungry. John ended up following him around with food and getting it into him that way. Jamie had a good time, and Liam hung out with Tom and was happy doing that. Liam has been very hungry today, nursing more often and for longer than he has so far. He's getting close to three weeks old, and I remember the weekend that Jamie was three weeks old was very intense. He had a big growth spurt then, and I spent almost all my time feeding and changing him. Liam may be warming up for the same excitement. I hope that he gets it out of his system before the weekend, because, like last time, John will be busy with a Scrabble tournament. Some things change in life; some stay the same.

2006-09-11 23:52 (Kristen) Jamie woke up around 8:00 or so, but I managed to keep him in bed until around 8:30. Then it was time to go downstairs for breakfast, and other amusements. Jamie's cold is a little worse today--his nose is runny, and his cough is getting worse, although still productive. Liam's cold is getting much better, and while he's still snuffling a good deal, he's not coughing and it isn't interfering with his nursing (thank goodness). We did some mazes, and a little colouring, and played with this and that. I was pretty tired, however, and can't remember much else about what we did. I was going to take the boys to the playground, but Jamie got into a quiet groove of solo play, and I decided that it wasn't important enough to interrupt him. John took Jamie out for half an hour while he did some work in the back, and then I took Jamie and Liam to Browning for lunch.

John had given Jamie some raisin toast (at Jamie's request) around 11:20, so it wasn't too surprising that Jamie didn't eat a lot of lunch. John says that Jamie napped for almost two and a half hours, which makes sense since he didn't sleep for eleven hours the night before: just eight or nine. John took Jamie to Browning as it was time to make dinner there. I had slept (or tried to: the phone kept ringing) for a little over two hours in the afternoon with a sleepy and sweet Liam, and was a little groggy when I made it over to Browning myself. Liam was passed from person to person there, as Tami and Ken were staying for dinner as it was Ken and Gary's birthdays, and Gary and Ayami's fourth wedding anniversary. Liam was very calm and pacific, and Jamie had a great time playing with everyone, eating cake, and singing "Happy Birthday." We didn't get to bed until late, and Jamie had a hard time settling down. All three boys are asleep now, and I'm going to bed soon myself.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

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