The Calm After The Storm

So after we (Patrick) expounded below about how nothing was happning and we had slid into what had more or less become a sort of routine, all hoo-hah broke loose. I won't get into all the gory details, but Colin was stricken with two simultaneous illnesses - yuck - and began teething. After an extremely challenging week, we've come out on the other side with a baby who has his first of what we're told could be many ear infections, two very sharp bottom teeth and Patrick and I are pretty much no longer the slightest bit phased by baby diarrhea....even massve amounts of it.

So, now Colin just plays quietly in his crib...



and I cautiuosly say that things are more or less back to "normal". I must be some kind of idiot.

Quick Update

I never thought I would ever have to do this, but I just typed in the following search on Google -

baby+teething+diarrhea

So, that's what's going on here....What's everyone else up to?

They call him Flipper

Colin doesn't want to be on his tummy.

MILESTONE (3/9/05, 12:10 pm): Shortly after his 5-month birthday, Colin turned over from his tummy to his back. I know I'm a few days late in reporting this, but, hey, it's been a whirlwind of excitement.

For a few weeks now, he's really been moving around well, and we figured he would turn over very soon. Well, Heidi called me at work with the good news, and he certainly didn't stop at one turn. He flipped over a total of 5 times his first day. It's his new little trick, and we like to show it off.

Also, we needed to make sure we got everything with the digicam and on video. (Once I figure out [1] how to edit and [2] where to host the video, I'll post it. Any suggestions, tech-savvy readers?)

...so he turned over to his back!

The troubling part is that now that he's turned over, crawling is right around the corner, and we'll have to bold, tie or strap down anything in his path. Also, we won't be able to leave him one place and assume he'll be stay there. Exploring his independence from us is his God-given right, but could make for some interesting scenarios. I can see it now: Colin feeding his cereal to the VCR, or trying to eat out of Frankie's dish - or *ugh*, the litter box. Definitely not a time for weak-kneed mamby-pambies.

Anyway, we're just excited for our little guy. He's such a pleasure, and has brought so much fun and light into our home. It's hard to imagine what it would be like without him.

A Day of No Importance

It’s times like this that I think we’ve written ourselves into a corner with this blog. We’ve created a virtual log of firsts and accomplishments for Colin (mixed in with cute photos), and when there’s nothing to report, it goes stale.

I mean, it’s a regular ole Tuesday in his life – in all of our lives – nothing special about it.

Sure, Colin turned 5 months old on Saturday and celebrated by not napping and being generally cranky all day long. However, that night, he slept extremely well into Sunday morning and we all woke up happy and refreshed. He’s always such fun after he’s slept REALLLLLY well.

Sure, he appears to be teething – he’s drooling to beat the band – and shoving his fingers and anything else not tied down into his mouth in an attempt to gum it for a bit. And he’s continuing to eat his cereal like a champ. In fact, whenever I sit down with a plate or bowl of food for me, he looks a little bit upset that it’s not cereal time.

Sure, he’s trying to sit and roll all the time now, but can’t quite get the hang of it. And he sometimes gets frustrated because we keep plopping him down on his tummy and pleading with him to turn over – just so he can keep up with development charts written in books or dictated by doctors. Don’t they realize that parents in the trenches strive every day for their child’s perceived normalcy? All the while we proclaim Colin to be unique, when secretly we hope he doesn’t fall behind the Joneses, just as all parents seek relative sameness for their children to their peers.

As snapped by Uncle Scott.

Sure, he continues to grow and learn each day. And every so often when we’re trying to teach him who he is and who we are and the other small fragments of knowledge in this big confusing world – every so often, you catch a light behind his eyes of potential comprehension, maybe a giggle or just a longing stare – a connection, perhaps – and it can keep you going the rest of the day. All we need is to continue to spark his desire for understanding.

Sure, all these things are going on at once around us. But truly, these activities no longer feel as earth-shattering or unusual to Heidi and me as some of our very first experiences with Colin – some of those original days when we were aliens to each other – when we struggled just to keep on top of a forever changing baby and his constant challenges.

No – instead, it’s a random Tuesday in his life. Just like any Tuesday, nothing terribly momentous about it. Except perhaps that’s how to perceive it, as a special moment in time –
not as exciting as First Tooth! or High School Graduation! -
but perhaps a moment not unlike the one where mountaineers set up a basecamp while scaling a mountain.

No, really, allow me the analogy for a second.

At the basecamp, the climbers have time to rest and regroup upon their larger journey, while reflecting on how far they’ve already come. Maybe this is a moment, like setting up a basecamp, where we can reflect upon Colin and how his newness seems to have worn off and – without really noticing it – we’ve truly transformed into a family. And having nothing to report only means that perhaps we're getting more comfortable with the whole arrangement.

Yes, it’s your average Tuesday and Heidi and I are busy and work is crazy and nothing new is happening and the baby is fine – but now, for a fraction of a second, we pause on the side of this mountain to take in the view.