Tales from the Crib

Baby steps

Now that Nolan’s in daycare full-time, I don’t always get to be there when he does something new for the first time.
But he still manages to save a few accomplishments for the weekends.
This time, it was at the playground.
As any parent learns, when things get a bit unruly inside the home, it’s time to pack up the kids and head somewhere else to burn off some energy.
It was still an hour before dinner, and I had run out of other ideas, so I popped him into the stroller and we went for a short walk to the park.
He’s a typical boy there. He loves digging in the sand and going down the slide. He’s not really one to enjoy the swings, which as I remember as a young girl was my favourite thing.
So I’m accustomed to lifting him up onto the top of the slide itself, so he can go immediately down.
On this particular day, he decided it was time to climb up the ladder himself. He’s still a bit unsteady on the stairs, so I was fully prepared to give him a boost.
But to my surprise – and disappointment for losing another baby 'dependency' trait – he did it all by himself.
One small step for Nolan, another night of teary eyes for mommy as I watch him grow into a toddler.

Lesson learned

Aha, I’ve figured out what parenting is all about. It’s about who is smarter.

Yesterday morning, I lost that battle.

As my son gets older, it’s taking more to entertain him. Right now, he seems to like pushing buttons. He turns the radio on and off, pushes the buttons on the remote control and when we’re near the microwave.

When we go for a walk to get the mail from the mailbox, I also let him play with the car keys.

He likes to press the lock button, which makes my car beep if all doors are locked.

As I rushed to get him ready for day-care, I buckled him into his child seat and gave him my car keys for amusement.

Remembering I had to run into the house for one more thing, I shut the door and went inside.

Just as I stepped in, I could hear the quiet click of the car door’s locking. Then the car beeped.

I could feel a slight twinge of panic as I realized I had just given my son the keys to the car, and he was now locked inside of it. If I tried to tell him to push the unlock button, he wouldn’t understand.

Thank goodness the spare key was tucked away inside the house, instead of in my purse, which is where I kept it before baby came along.

I unlocked him and took the keys away, almost feeling embarrassed that I was outsmarted by a one year old.

But at least I learned my lesson.

No immunity

Since babies don't come with a manual, it's hard to know exactly what's happening when something new or unexpected pops up.

Last week, Nolan came down with what was either a cold, or the symptoms of teething.

I've asked him which it was, but he's not saying.

At first I thought it was a cold because he seems to have my weakened immune system. And it is the back-to-school cold season, after all.

It hit last Wednesday morning without a warning. As I picked him up from day-care that night, his nose had turned into a faucet. And he doesn't like it when mommy tries to wipe it.

The day-care provider also told me he had what she thought was diarrhea, and said maybe it was from teething.

I sent him back the next day, with the same results. After two days like that, I decided if he wasn't feeling well, I'd stay home with him.

While he napped, I'd get all my work done, I told myself.

That never happened.

He skipped his morning nap and continued to play, while I made a few quick phone calls to my contacts.

Exhausted by the end of the day, I could no longer deny what my scratchy throat was telling me. I was getting sick.

Must be a cold.

On Saturday, I stocked up on cold medication, and slept as much as I could. Nolan was still the same.

As Sunday approached, I thought I'd maybe take a feel around his mouth.

He just got two molars, and as I was sweeping my finger carefully around, I felt another coming through.
Eureka! It wasn't a cold, but teething pains, right?

Who really knows. If it wasn't, I'm going to have to be more careful about taking time off. Calling in sick ended up not being good for my health.