Pippin @ 2 Months

Howdy Humble Readers...

We're melting here.  No joke.  The coolest spot in our condo is in our back hall and according to the thermostat, it's 30C.  I can't imagine what the temp is in our living room and kitchen.  Ugh. 

Rockin' the cool wet washcloth

Here's how our wee little mister is coping...  Actually this was yesterday.  Today, he's just in a diaper, but looking basically the same.

Blowin' bubbles!

As strange as it is to say, it's been two months since Master Pippin arrived in our lives.  He's growing like a weed, and he is a complete joy. 

Cuddling with Gramma

Developmentally, the big milestone this month has been the smiles.  He smiles for all of us now (is it wrong for me to rejoice in the fact that he smiled at me first?), and his smiles for Ginny are different than the smiles he bestows on my Beloved.  Of course, I have yet to capture them with the camera.

We're still working on getting Pip to sleep on his side.   The flat spot on the back of his head doesn't seem to be as pronounced as it was when we went and saw Dr. B a couple of weeks ago, but it still needs work.  He sleeps well at night most of the time, usually giving me a 4-5 hour stretch between 11pm and 4am.  After that he's usually awake and hungry every 2 hours or so throughout the day.  He sleeps a fair bit in the evening, normally from 7ish until 10:30. 

In the stroller

Like Ginny when she was this age, he hates, Hates, HATES tummy time.  When I hold him on my chest, or lay him on something softer (like the couch) he does well at lifting his head for a second or two and moving it around to see different things.  On the floor... well, if he would stop screaming for a minute or two, then maybe he would have the energy to give the baby push ups a try.

Hating the carseat almost as much as tummy time

Tomorrow night Pip goes for his 2 month vaccinations.  Hopefully his reactions, if any, will be minimal.  Ginny has always handled them well, so I'm crossing my fingers.  And on Thursday he gets to go on his first real road trip.  He will also be experiencing his first swimming pool and getting to discover the wonders of air conditioning!

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Be watching for a very groovy giveaway, coming soon to a hobbit-hole near you! 

Of Allergies & Antihistamines

Hey Humble Readers...

Remember how we all went to the wildlife park last weekend?  And how my Beloved, Ginny, and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes? 

Of course she got bit more than 25 times.  And the bites weren't going away for her.  They were getting worse instead of better.  The welts currently range in size from a dime to a toonie (about an inch).  On her wee little arms, legs, and back.  Please forgive the poor quality of the photos.  They were taken on my cell.

I spent some time online yesterday looking for examples of bug bites, thinking that maybe she got bit by something other than mosquitoes (ticks were foremost in my thoughts... along with the scary diseases that they carry).  Yesterday, some of them looked almost like bed-bug bites, which made absolutely no sense, and by this morning several of them looked like tick bites (the bulls-eye shape).  But what was throwing me was that Ginny was acting completely normal, not ill by any means, and this was now more than a week after she had been bitten.  She didn't even seem to be scratching at the bites all that much.

So, this afternoon we went to a walk-in clinic.  It turns out my wee girl is seriously allergic to mosquito bites, and potentially other bug bites.  She's now on oral bena.dryl and topical bena.dryl four times a day, in hopes of bringing the welts under control.  The doc mentioned that her eczema may predispose her to reactions like this.

Can I tell you, I feel like a big time Mummy-fail.  This is the first time I've had to seek out medical attention for her for anything other than a check up or a routine vaccination.  I know it's ridiculous, but I feel like I should have been able to protect her from this.

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: A Glorious Summer Evening

Hey Humble Readers...

Here on the flatland we have been subjected to some wild weather for the last several days.  Ranging between scorching hot, to 100km/hr winds, to hail and torrential rains.  It's been extreme.  But tonight, it seems to have passed, and it is a beautiful summer's eve.  And it's quiet... so refreshing.  Tomorrow is set to bring on a new heat wave, although nothing like that which some of my friends to the south and east have been dealing with. 

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This week has been a bit challenging, energy-wise, as Pippin has hit his 8 week growth spurt.  Last night was certainly no exception.  I wasn't able to fall asleep until after 1am, and of course the wee little mister was awake and starving at 2:10am.  And then he was awake again at 3:30, at 4:42, and at 6am.  Thank the good Lord that Ginny went down for a nap early this morning, so I was able to get about an hour and a half of sleep. 

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I am happy to say that after two and a half days of serious discomfort, followed by two days of just feeling slightly icky and tender, my milk has dried up sufficiently for me to go without nursing pads.  No more pumping for me.  Other than the pain, I've had a couple of headaches and dizzy spells... I wonder if this process affected my blood pressure negatively or if it just made me a little 'off'.  I'm feeling fine now, and I'm sooooo amazingly excited to be able to sleep without a bra tonight!  BTW, the whole cabbage thing really does work... wrapping your bo.obs in cabbage leaves to relieve pain and engorgement.  It's amazing.  So the wee little mister got 7 and a half weeks of almost 50% breast milk.  I'm okay with that. 

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Because of my lack of energy, and the pain in my bo.obs for the last few days, I haven't done anything in the way of exercise.  I MUST get back in gear. 

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As a result of the crazy weather over the last few days, I think my tomato plant has bit the big one.  It had all kinds of flowers on it, and now they're all gone.  The leaves are all battered and looking pathetic.  Oddly, my two pots of herbs that live on either side of the tomato plant have survived just fine.  Go figure. 

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While we all enjoyed our outing to the wildlife park on the weekend, but sadly, my Beloved, Ginny, and I are all covered in mosquito bites.  Pippin managed to avoid them by being in the back of the stroller and being almost completely covered from head to toe most of the morning.  Even so, it was so worth it to see her face when we first saw the tigers. 

On the schedule for this weekend is to go to a local historic farm... Ginny will go nuts seeing a real cow close up. 

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An update on my parents:  While we (my sister and I) were marginally hopeful that things may work out, it appears that is not in the cards.  Every day brings a new and astounding level of frustration, hurt, and outright anger.  Our 'family vacation' in K-town this month is sure to be a barrel of laughs.  My sister and I are planning on drowing our sorrows in some spiked iced tea, as we are sure to be facing some pretty ugly moments out there.  Ugh.  I hate this. 

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Hoping that all my friends in the US had a fun and safe Independance Day!

PAIL: Memorable Moment Mondays

Hey Humble Readers... 

The wonderful ladies over at PAIL Bloggers have begun a fun little weekly blog-hop type of thing and I've decided to join in. 

Last week, Ginny and I conducted an experiment.  Ok, it wasn't a real experiment.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a lesson in cause and effect. 

Using a pan filled with a thin layer of baking soda, vinegar tinted with a bit of food colouring, and an eye dropper, we spent a half-hour engrossed in fizzy fun.  Yes, she did try to eat the baking soda and the vinegar, resulting in some pretty hilarious facial expressions.
I did most of the eye-dropper-ing, just to save her cute little white skirt that she was rocking that day.  But I look forward to doing this again in the future, with a whole rainbow of colours to inspire her.

A Patriotic Hobbit

Hey Humble Readers!

Happy Canada Day! 

The Great White North is celebrating 145 years of being a sovereign nation, and I'm so proud to be a Canadian. 

We are known to be a quirky bunch up here.  I know that I'm no exception.

Yes, I say 'eh', and no, most Americans don't use it in the right context, even when they're mocking us.  No, I don't say 'aboot', I say about.  Some Canadians do have funny accents (but hey, have you ever talked to someone from Maine?  Their accent is just as funny!), and we tend to laugh at ourselves a little bit easier than other countries... in my experience anyway. 

Answers to other rather ridiculous questions that I have gotten over the years about my beautiful country...

• No, we don't live in igloos.
• Yes, we do have indoor plumbing and electricity. 
• Yes, it gets hot here.  It can easily break 100F in July and August.
• No, our national bird is not the mosquito.
• No, polar bears and moose don't wander down the streets of our cities and towns on a regular basis.  At least, not in most towns.
• Yes, we have a standing army and navy.  They have played key roles in almost all international conflicts that have taken place over the last 145 years. 
• Yes, we get summer.  And the only place you can ski in July is on a glacier on top of a mountain.  But you'll likely need a helicopter to get there. 
• Yes, our money is colourful.  We like it that way.  (And it in no way resembles Monopoly money)
• Yes we tend to say 'sorry' a lot.  We're a polite bunch, mostly.  Except for when someone refers to our country as cute, adorable, or quaint.  Then we get cranky.

And as a nation we most certainly love our beer.  Personally, I'm not a big beer drinker.  I prefer wine or coolers, but I do know a good beer when I taste it, and most brands of Canadian beer are far better than any of the mainstream American beers.  (Kokanee is the exception that proves the rule... blech!) 

The guys in this video have come up with a way to show their patriotism along with their love for beer. 

I give you 'The Canadian National Canthem'!  Enjoy!