Mr. Giggles

While we would completely inundate You Tube and bore the heck out of anyone and everyone who reads our blog if we posted every single video that we take of Julian, there are definitely a few that are blogworthy. This video is definitely one of them. He laughed for the first time at 10 weeks and we have been trying to capture it on video ever since (OK - so we really haven't been trying that hard). Here is Brian getting some good laughs from Julian at 14 weeks. He has a pretty serious case of the crummies in this video although you'd never know it. What a sport:)

The Old-Timer Comes to Vegas!

Brian's Grandpa, the cribbage master, is road tripping with his partner Lori and stopped in to visit on their way to Arizona. They met Julian for the first time and were inevitably charmed by the little cutie. It was so nice to see them and catch up at bit. We couldn't convince them to stay another day though. They had places to go and people to see! They hit the road the following afternoon. Bon voyage!

Here are a few pix from our visit:

It's All About Communication

Those of you who have looked at our recent pictures may be wondering why there are pictures of Julian sitting on a potty. Are they trying to potty train him? What the heck?

Well, it is not about training but it is all about communication. It's called Elimination Communication (EC) to be precise. Some people refer to EC as Infant Potty Training but I like to refrain from using the word "training" and "infant" in the same sentence. In a nutshell, babies are born with an innate elimination awareness. In other words, they are very aware of an impending need to eliminate, much like adults. If a baby eliminates in a diaper every time they need to go for the first few months of their life and their elimination signals are never addressed, they stop paying attention to the signals and eventually become used to peeing and pooping in their diaper. These babies eventually stop trying to communicate about their needs and then have relearn how to listen to their bodes and signal the need to eliminate.

When you EC with your baby, you respond to the signs and signals they give when they have to pee and poop and communicate with them by providing cues (i.e. noises, place associations) that they associate with eliminating. Not only is it neat to be able to communicate with your baby and become more responsive to their needs, but babies get used to "going" without their diapers on which is more natural, comfortable, sanitary, and also more gentle on the environment (even if you cloth diaper). For more reasons to EC, check out 75 benefits of ECing on Diaper Free Baby.

From the start, I noticed that Julian gave certain cues when he was about to go. For example, he would have a certain look or squirm and kick while he was feeding. When he was about 3.5 weeks old I began to make a "psssssssss" noise whenever he peed and mimicked his little grunting noise whenever he pooped. After doing this for a few weeks, one day I took his diaper off, walked him over to the sink, made the "pssssss" noise, and he peed. Then I began to offer him the sink more regularly and more so at times when I knew he would have to go, such as after waking up from a nap or a few minutes after a feeding. We were "catching" lots of pees and I knew it was more than coincidence. It was awesome!

Poops were a little less straightforward. The cues were harder for me to tease apart from pee signals and when I did perceive a poop cue, it was usually only seconds before the poop followed. Since, in the beginning, we spent most of our time on the couch nursing, I got a Ziploc container and used that as our potty so I could respond to his cues more quickly. When he gave me the wide-eyed, sideways, "I'm about to have a poop explosion"- face, I would startle him just a little. This distracted him just long enough for me to set him down on the ottoman in front of me, take off his diaper, and hold him over the "potty". This technique was very effective for us. Lately, I have been keeping him diaper-free for the majority of the day which also makes ECing much easier and Julian becomes accustomed to not wearing a diaper. We have also swapped the tupperware for a Baby Bjorn Little Potty (in the picture above) and still use the tupperware container at night in bed. In addition, we cloth diaper. Cloth diapering is very compatible with ECing since most disposable diapers are designed to wick moisture away from the skin to make sitting in your pee more comfortable. The cloth becomes saturated, is much less comfortable, and more likely to be changed quickly. Cloth babies rarely sit in wet or soiled diapers for very long.

Now Julian is almost 3 months to the day. When he has to "go" he sometimes looks right at me as if to say, " Hey mom, hurry up - I have to go!" His signals seem to be forever evolving. At the moment, he looks up during nursing, widens his eyes, kicks, coos or makes some other cute noise, or arches his back (poop only). Sometimes if he is really into the boobie (which is often), I will let him just pee in his diaper and after or during the pee, he usually looks up at me with he cutest devilish grin. Of course, I still always make the "psssst" noise to reinforce the association. We have noticed that most often he doesn't like to go in his diaper anymore and sometimes gets upset if he has to.

These days, he rarely ever poops in his diaper. When we are having tummy troubles or food intolerance issues, all bets are pretty much off as he sometimes doesn't have much warning when he has to go. However, when he's feeling good, he has a pretty predictable pooping schedule (~ 8am, ~ 2pm, ~ 6pm) which makes catching poops more straightforward. Being out and about adds a new level of complexity so we carry a tupperware container and do the best we can. For example, the other day we were at an REI and I was nursing him in the car before we went home. While he was nursing, he started to give me signals and I realized that we had forgotten the potty. I was only expecting pee so I took him over to a little patch of dirt and plants under a tree in the middle of the parking lot. He started peeing and then all of a sudden a really loud SPLAT! Brian and I could hardly contain ourselves. It's not really the kind of poop you can pick up either. Oops! So - if you live in the Las Vegas valley, don't eat the rosemary under the tree in the parking lot behind the REI.

For those of you interested in ECing with your little ones or for those of you that are just plain interested, there are lots of internet resources out there. Diaper Free Baby and kellymom.com are a great place to start. For our family, ECing has been a rewarding experience thus far and much like anything else involving a baby, ECing is a journey.


Catching the first pee of the morning outside our tent in Zion National Park.

My Mom, My Superhero!

Let me tell you a little about my mom. My dad and mom got married pretty young and had 3 kids under 3 by the age of about 24. Apparently some of us were a handful to boot. With just Julian to take care of, I can not fathom how on earth she did it. A few years later, my parents had a forth, my brother Timmy. My dad was the breadwinner, the best of teachers, and coach extraordinaire of many teams. My mom raised the four of us full time for our first years, then worked full time, kept the house immaculate, did 99% of the cooking, paid all the bills, and did more laundry in one month than many do in a lifetime. She was an AWESOME mom on top of it all. In the years to come, we were so busy with life between school, dance, twirling, baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, outdoor pursuits, art, piano, etc., etc. etc. It makes my head spin just thinking about it. She held it all together. She was the glue so-to-speak. My mom worked as an overworked and underappreciated employee in exporting at a plastics company that should have paid their employees much more than they did. She wasn't really happy there but she stayed for us. My parents made concessions and sacrifices our whole lives so the four of us could go to college debt-free, which was invaluable really.

Aside from all that, my mom is the sweetest and most selfless person I know. Looking back, she may actually be superwoman. Now my parents are retired. My father is in the process of publishing his third poetry book and has finally become the writer he always knew he was and has always wanted to be. My mom spends A LOT of time at the beach, loves to cook....and oh yeah, at the age of 55, has just run her first marathon! We couldn't really be more proud of her. Retirement is so becoming.

Given her recent feat, little does she know that I am planning a short backpacking trip for her that will take us to the highest point in the lower 48 - to the top of majestic Mount Whitney along the John Muir Trail (JMT). The JMT was just coined "America's Most Beautiful Trail" by Backpacker Magazine. Brian and I have already done it twice and are planning a third assault.

My mom is my superhero. I know she can do it and I know she will love it because she is thirsty for more.....because she has the bug.....because some of us nuts think you really haven't lived until you have said, "My feet hurt too bad to stop".

Below: My dad (grey sweatshirt) supports my mom (pink tank) by joining her at mile 25 for about 1/2 mile.....in his flip flops. Man I love my family.

My mom, brother Tim, and his better half, Lisa, after the Marine Corps Marathon, Washington DC, 10-28-2007. Here is the link to more pictures. Scroll down for the album with the marathon pics.

Extreme Elimination Challenge

No, I am not referring to that funny show with the unathletic, uncoordinated, masochistic Japanese folks who willingly subject themselves to all sorts of strange challenges that usually result in some sort of pummeling or face plant. I am referring to my diet and Julian's continual food intolerance issues.

After about two weeks of improvement we had a recurrence just in time for Brian to take off for a few days on business and leave me alone with Mr. Fussy Pants. Julian only slept for a few fragmented hours each night, which means that I barely slept at all. In a moment of weakness, I convinced myself that the Pecorino Romano in our fridge would be OK to eat since it was made from sheep's milk and not cow's milk. That was probably not a wise move on my part. So, in an effort to pinpoint the offenders based on what I ate in the days before Julian's tummy issues, I have now added tree nuts, peanuts, raw onions, and corn to the list of off-limits foods. After yet another trip to the grocery store and a few days on this new elimination diet, things seem to be looking up again. Too bad food elimination can't alleviate teething discomfort.

Eliminated foods:
Dairy
Eggs
Tree Nuts
Peanuts
Corn
Raw Onion

We'll see how it goes. If after 2 weeks things are OK, I can start to add back foods to see how he reacts. Of course, there is always the chance that I will have to eliminate more. Check out the picture below to see Julian's super grumpy, pissed off face (7 weeks). He may be small, but he means business.

The Unhappiest Lobster

Here is a picture of Julian looking pretty ticked off in his Halloween costume. Can you blame him?

The Fam Goes to Zion

We desperately needed to get out of town. The last night we spent in our tent was the day before we marched across the US/Canada border on the Pacific Crest Trail. That was over a year ago. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about and miss the trail. Life at present day could not be more different. So we made a spur of the moment decision to get the heck out of dodge. We asked our awesome neighbors to watch and feed the animals, we got the wee one a fleece outfit from REI, dug out our gear, and hit the road.

Driving north on I 15 was liberating. Wow - a real vacation. Just us (and the new addition of course). I spent a considerable amount of time in the backseat keeping Julian sane but it didn't matter because that is just how it is now. Neither of us had ever been to Zion before. The increasingly unique landscape as we approached Zion hinted at how beautiful it would be. And it was. It was absolutely awesome.

When we got there, we paid our fee and went to the visitor's center like good little tourons. I had already researched the camping situation and we knew that we wanted to stay in the backcountry. Still traumatized from the chaos that was Yosemite in 2004 when we hiked the John Muir Trail, we wanted to be as far away from the masses as we could possibly be. I found a backcountry campground on the fringe of the park boundary. Elevation ~ 8000ft. Six tent camping sites. Pit toilets and no showers (a good way to weed out most folks). Perfect.

The campground was about an hour away from the park entrance. The drive was awesome. When we got there, it was clear that it was going to be a smidge colder than the weather forecast had predicted. We were a little concerned about Julian, but after he had dinner, he slept more solid than he ever had before. I slaughtered Eagleye at a game of Gin Rummy 500 while he slept. He is normally a pretty squirmy baby but he didn't make a peep or move an inch for hours and hours. In fact, he had his best night sleep yet. We zipped our bags together and he slept between us with plenty of wiggle room. What did that mean for us? We had the worst night sleep ever. We were both squished up against either wall of the tent. Even if we hadn't been so squished, our senses were so heightened for fear that he would suffocate in the down, that neither of us could drift off too soundly. I think he slept for almost 13 hours (with a few feedings of course), which was (and still is) his all time personal best.

We finally started to stir when the sun hit the tent. The low was easily in the mid 30's so we stayed in until it warmed up a bit. Julian, at a mere 7 weeks, was a champion camper. He'll make a fine thru hiker. As for us, we'll be fine as long as we get a wider tent. We leisurely packed up and hit the road. After a short but fun hike (technically Julian's second), it was time to head home. It was certainly a memorable weekend.

As usual, check out the pix on our shutterfly page.

I Heart Boobie!

Behold the boobie monster! This pic was taken a few days before Halloween (~ 9 weeks). Sadly, this onesie was destroyed in a poop explosion in the car seat on the way to a Halloween potluck. Julian's actual costume was a lobster suit, claws and all. Naturally, this polyester get-up was hot and uncomfortable. He lasted about 5 minutes each of the two times we tortured him with it. Check out our shutterfly page for pix today or tomorrow.