Feeling Jolly? November 4, 2009

The personalized name onesie’s we did back in May (can be seen here) have been a huge hit. I still get email orders for them and bloggers have posted here at The C of C and emailed me requesting other personalized name designs.  This month we are offering personalized names (see LACHLAN above – custom 2-color screenprinted design, no transfers!) on the garment of your choosing (lap short sleeve onesie, long sleeve onesie with shoulder snaps, infant short sleeve t-shirt, infant long sleeve t-shirt, toddler short sleeve t-shirt, toddler long sleeve t-shirt, youth and adult t-shirts).  The red and green design is Christmas lights wrapped around the name of your choice on a white garment.  I know for us, we can never find cute stuff with Lach’s name on it.  And definitely not Xmas stuff!! I’m very excited about this design! Now you can customize the garment you’d like with your child’s name! These make adorable gifts and a pretty cool keepsake. These will be available through the END OF NOVEMBER.  Don’t miss out! Info on ordering can be found below.  Feel free to email me with questions! LGRAEAPPAREL@HOTMAIL.COM

Sizes available for  LAP SHORT SLEEVE ONESIES:  6m, 12m, 18m, 24m

Sizes available for LONG SLEEVE ONESIE with SHOULDER SNAPS: 6m, 12m, 18m, 24m

Sizes available for SHORT SLEEVE INFANT TEE:  6m, 12m, 18m, 24m

Sizes available for LONG SLEEVE INFANT TEE: 6m, 12m, 18m, 24m

Sizes available for SHORT SLEEVE TODDLER TEE:  2T, 3T, 4T

Sizes available for LONG SLEEVE TODDLER TEE:  2T, 3T, 4T

Please email me if you are interested in YOUTH or ADULT T-SHIRTS OR LONG SLEEVE TEES.

Each item will be $25.00 with FREE SHIPPING (via UPS) within the US.  If you have a business address, that helps us out.  If not, we can still ship to residential addresses. If you are international, please email me to discuss shipping.

* Please email me at:  lgraeapparel@hotmail.com if you are interested and would like to place an order.
* Include the following information: your name, the item and size you’d like, and the address you’d like the item to be shipped to. Please let me know if the shipping address is residential or a business address.  Please make sure the name is spelled correctly. I will email you back with the address to send payment to (check only), or you can choose to pay through P.ayPal.  Please add $2 onto the cost if paying through PayPal.
* Once payment is received, you can expect to receive your product within 2 weeks via UPS.  I send an email out to let you know I have received your payment, as well as one when your item has shipped.

Still Alive November 3, 2009

I haven’t been meaning to neglect the blog so much lately, we’ve just been so busy it’s been hard to breathe.  Bullets!

• Lach turned 10 months old a few days ago – still no teeth, and still not sleeping through the night.  He’s trying to walk on his own, still not there yet though.  He really is starting to enjoy walking with his walker though.
• Operation protein power is still in place.  Some days are better than others.  I’m trying to just relax about it and follow his signals.  Nursing every 4 hours during the day……much more frequently through the night.
• I’m not ovulating.  I’ve charted 2 cycles recently, and POAS, never getting the line even close to being dark enough.  I’m reading this as my body needs a bit more time before trying for baby #2.  Still going to chart, still will POAS next cycle just to see.  Temping is just so darn hard when you’re up so many times in the night.  My charts look nothing like they did pre-Lachlan.  Again, trying to relax and know that this also will happen when it is MEANT to happen.  Will come back to it next month to re-evaluate.
• The reason for the lack of blogging: We’ve been house-hunting.  You remember we have been doing this for quite some time, right?? We found a place last year we really liked, but weren’t jazzed about the neighborhood.  Well, we found a superb home last weekend and we put an offer on it.  They countered and we accepted!  Inspection is Thursday morning. The house is beautiful! 3 bedroom, 2 bath, built in 1923.  So much character and charm.  It even has a bamboo forest in the back yard! (Seriously!) It needs some work though – so we’re just trying to put a dollar figure on that.  We want to put a new kitchen in, and replace the upstairs bath. New roof too. We’re crossing our fingers that the inspection doesn’t come back with too much $$$ in work to be done.  Did I mention we are just in love with it?? I can see it as our forever home.  Trying not to get too excited in case the inspection comes back with bad news.  Sigh…we’d be crushed.  Photos and more to come if it all works out.
• Working on the next LONG SLEEVE ONESIE OF THE MONTH.  Christmas-themed and personalized with your babe’s name.  Posting in the next few days.  I want to ship them all out mid to late November through UPS, so I can guarantee your wee one’s can wear them for a while before the holidays.  More to come on that though – so check back – and tell your friends.  They will make oh-so-cute pre-Xmas gifts too.
• Some recent photos:

Long-Sleeve Shirt of the Month: FISH! October 19, 2009

Like I said, doesn’t have the same “ring” to it….but here goes – presenting the LONG SLEEVE SHIRT OF THE MONTH:

Lachlan is modeling this on a lap LS shirt. We are offering this same design on regular LS infant and toddler shirts (non-lap style).  Complete with front design and back fish print.  These are great quality shirts, however are not available in organic at this time.  We are offering them for $20, including shipping within the USA via U.PS ground.  If you can provide me with a business address, that helps us….if not, we can still ship to you at a residential address.  This will print BLACK INK.

You can choose the color of your LS shirt.  Colors available are: Athletic Heather (grey), White, Red, Candy Pink and Blue (darker shade). Sizes: 6M, 12M, 18M, 24M, 2T, 3T, 4T.

PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR ORDER AT:  LGRAEAPPAREL@HOTMAIL.COM

Include the following information:  Your name, the item you want (size and color), shipping address.

I will email you back with the address to send payment to ($20 check by mail, or you can choose to pay $22 through P.ayPal).  Please feel free to email with any questions! Thanks!!

Pssst. If you’re still dying for this design on an organic onesie – just email me.

Protein Power October 14, 2009

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post, re: pediatrician, protein, my frustration, etc.  It was great to hear from you guys – regulars and lurkers.  I appreciated all of your input and am definitely taking your advice! You guys are good to have around! Operation PROTEIN POWER is now in place.  We have successfully gotten our little man to eat (and love) fried egg yolk.  Hurray!!! *Thoughts on egg whites before age 1? No history of allergies in the fam….but we were delaying to be on the safe side….* He has also eaten (plain) WHOLE FAT y.obaby yogurt 2 days in a row.  Last night, before bed, he ate (almost) the entire container of yogurt.  4g of protein, thank you very much.  Who cares that I had to *pretend* that it was “medicine” (it is white, and looks on awful lot like crushed up teething tablets). Goal for the upcoming days: tofu and hummus.  I’ll let you guys know how it goes.  Another random thing….I weighed our boy on the scale at work yesterday (which is very accurate) and he weighed in at 19lbs 4oz.  Maybe their scale was off?? He was wriggling around quite a bit, but the nurse didn’t seem to think that mattered. Hmmmm. I think it might.

2 more things.  One: AF returned a few days ago.  CD5 today and OPK’s are in the near future.  I’m itching to find out if I will ovulate this month.  Temping is still proving to be a difficult task.  Lach had been having some good nights…..but the last two he hasn’t gone to sleep easily and is up BRIGHT (ugh!) and EARLY (more ugh!).  Still, I think it’s teeth (where are they??).  Two, haven’t forgotten about onesies and whatnot.  Just had an extremely busy month last month and wasn’t able to post or take orders.  Now that the cool weather is finally here (I’m so happy!) I’m thinking of switching to long-sleeve tees.  Doesn’t have the same ring though.  “The Long Sleeve Tee Of The Month”.  Still.  Much more practical.  Again, thoughts welcome.

A few photos:

shhh mommy!!

the force is strong with this one:

giving me the middle finger (i’m sure he didn’t mean it….):

Hello, October. October 5, 2009

Hello, October! One of my favourite months! Surely the cool weather is coming….right?? We took Lachlan to the pumpkin patch yesterday with our parenting group – he loved it! We went on a hayride (he was SO excited to see the BIG wheels on the tractor) and then stopped to pick pumpkins.  This was Lach’s second time putting his bare feet on grass – seriously.  Since we live in a condo, and he comes into work with us every day, he doesn’t really get exposed to much grass.  I have tried once before to put him down on it (at the park) and see if he will crawl around.  No such luck.  He makes the craziest faces, and acts like the grass is hurting him (did I mention I put him on the softest patch of greenery?).  Well, at the pumpkin patch, we decided the boy has to start getting used to the stuff.  The pumpkins were an excellent distraction from the prickliness of the grass and straw.  He completely forgot that his feet were not on carpet, and sat there banging away on the pumpkins.  He ended up picking out a very cute baby pumpkin that has become the new teething toy! We decided to wait on picking out one of the big pumpkins, as we are going to a beagle event: BYOP & P party (Bring Your Own Pumpkin & Pups….. nerdy, I know) and want to wait on getting that one.

Last week we took Lachlan in for his 9 month Well-Baby check up.  I was a bit annoyed after leaving the appointment and kept bringing it up with K most of the week (I know she must have been like “enough already….”). I mean, he is doing great (except for not sleeping through the night of course…..he still comes into the bed with us and nurses a few times at night, then falls back to sleep). 9 mos stats are: 18lbs 7oz (he’s gone down to the 25% for weight), 29 3/4 long (95% for height). Our pedi said she was a bit concerned about his weight and that he is probably not getting enough protein…..first off…he doesn’t have any teeth! So he really can’t chew that much stuff.  Secondly, we are raising him vegetarian and he is picky picky when it comes to eating certain foods.  He will sometimes eat black beans and egg yolks….occasionally yogurt.  He eats lots of sweet potatoes and fruit.  I told her that he is eating about 2 jars of baby food a day (apple yogurt oatmeal, apricot sweet potatoes, etc) puffs, bread and noodles…and she kept saying “Yeah, that’s all carbs…..”. I explained HOW active he was too. He crawls around ALL day, climbs the stairs REPEATEDLY and pulls himself up on everything.  He honestly looks perfect…he is long and lean….with him being in the 95% for height, it would make sense that he would be leaner….I was just frustrated. Also, she pressured us to keep him in his crib and let him cry it out – she said it would take 3 days of HELL, but that it’s “worth it”. I explained that his teeth are clearly hurting him, as he has been teething for ages, and that I nurse him throughout the night, as it calms him quickly and he falls back asleep. She said that I really shouldn’t nurse him or put him in the bed with us, but let him cry for 20 mins, go back and make sure he is “OKAY” (how could you be “OKAY” if you were screaming for 20 mins!???) and then let him cry more till, from exhaustion, he falls asleep. 3 days of that???? I told her that we couldn’t let him cry…..and she said something about “When he is 16 and angry and wants the car keys, are you going to give them to him???” . After reviewing everything she said, I was just sort of ticked off. She also said that if he keeps “on this track” with his weight, that she will check him for diabetes and thyroid issues. Please. I thought that was rather dramatic. He would be perfectly fine if he was just on breastmilk for MONTHS. Not only that, but after telling her again that we are not doing any vaccines this visit, she said “Well, can I at least give him the FLU SHOT?” NOOOOOOOOOOO…..ARGGGGGHHH!!!  It was frustrating…..we really like this pediatrician and she is usually respectful of our decision to not vaccinate.   I guess it just left a bad taste in my mouth.  K didn’t really think it was a big deal….it maybe it wasn’t.  She said it didn’t really bother her, and that I just need to remember that our pedi has different parenting styles than we do….sort of let it go in one ear, out the other – I guess.

In TTC news, today is CD56.  Hmmmm….for those of you that were/are TTC #2….did this happen for you???  Thinking of starting TTC in 2 months….I’m just wondering if my cycles will get back to normal soon……Thoughts?

9 Months Looks Like This September 29, 2009

I’m 100% positive that upon turning 9 months old today, he is no longer a baby, but a KID.  Is it me, or did he grow overnight???

Notes from 8 1/2 Months September 15, 2009

I’m drinking a very strong cup of coffee this morning, hoping it will give me a much-needed energy boost.  Our Lachness is still teething like a madman, with still not a single tooth showing.  Not even the tip of one.  How much longer can this go on??? I’ve never felt more exhausted.  Last night may have been the toughest night since his birth.  We’ve gone the homeopathic route.  H.ylands teething tablets before bed.  Amber teething necklace.  H.ylands teething gel.  Nothing is working.  He doesn’t like to chew on cold stuff.  He doesn’t like to chew on hot stuff.  Teething rings, toys, etc aren’t his thing, apparently.  During the day he will only be seen with his Tooth Tunes Musical Toothbrush ( Now “The Bear Necessities” is very hard to get out of my head….).  The bristles vibrate when the music is playing, and this seems to help him.  Oh, and his toes.  He’s back on that kick now.  Last evening he went down early (7:30) with some t.ylenol.  Cut to 2 hours later…..he’s now in bed with us….waking crying every 20 minutes or so.  I’m nursing like crazy (at least I’ve finally perfected the art of nursing laying down…thank goodness).  The crying got worse and worse and the nursing didn’t seem to be helping him at this point.  I got up with him and gave him a dose of m.otrin (ugh…i hate giving him all this stuff!) and 3 more of his teething tablets.  He felt rotten and just wanted to be held for awhile.  I was rocking him back and forth in the bathroom as he was laying his head on my chest.  No fever or anything – but he obviously feels the majority of the pain in his ears.  I guess that is pretty common for teething babes.  He keeps putting his fingers in his ears, or pulling at them.  Sometimes he will even pick in his ear till he scratches it…..he has little scabs in there….poor thing.  I had the lights dim and occasionally he would lift up his head and look at himself in the mirror.  After 15 minutes or so of this, he saw himself in the mirror (I still think he may think it’s another baby) and giggled.  I was overcome with how much I love this little boy and how big he has gotten (seeing the reflection of me holding him).  He is so long now!  We went on to play with his truck for a little while….just to get his mind off the pain.  Normally, I don’t like to get him up and play….I feel like that could get him mixed up…I want him to know that nighttime is for sleeping, not playing.  But I just really felt like he needed a distraction.  After a little while of that, I put him back in bed with me and nursed him some more.  He finally drifted off and stayed asleep for a little while.  It didn’t last long though, with the waking and crying and falling back asleep routine lasting all through the night.  Sometimes I would be so close to falling back asleep, when he would wake up again.  It’s exhausting.  I’m hoping these nights will get better soon.  We’re worn out…..so I know he must be too.  I long for quality sleep again – for my whole family.

During the day his teething doesn’t seem to be as big of an issue.  I think he has so many things to do with toys, and people to see (up at work) that he doesn’t focus on the pain as much.  I never need to give him any pain medication during the day.  It’s strange! Another thing that has been difficult – the past 2 days or so, I’m noticing that breastfeeding is becoming painful near the end of nursing.  Any thoughts?? I wondered if it was because teeth were close to the surface….but I don’t know.  It’s not an infection or anything….the pain is just in my nipple!  Maybe from nursing so often at night?? Thoughts are appreciated!!

On a positive note, he is really learning so much and growing like crazy.  He can now sign “more”.  Everything is “more”! MORE books! MORE fan! MORE birds! It’s too cute.  He is really communicating with us…even though he can’t verbally.  He is babbling more too….and has started to scream (verrrry loud) when he gets excited about something (much to the disappointment of folks around us I’m sure).  We were in a store the other night, and they had a HUGE oversized vent (vents are one of his favourite things) on the ceiling.  He saw it and screeched so loudly I thought I might just be deaf in my right ear.  It’s hard to tell your child “no!” for something like that….I just look at people and say “it’s a happy scream”.  They must think I’m one of those moms who can’t control their child.  But, he’s 8 months old you know?? How can I justify telling him “no” when he is expressing himself?  I usually say “shhh” or “gentle”, so he will try to learn to be a little quieter…..not sure that’s worked at all!  Another thing he’s starting doing (sadly for our knees) is climbing the stairs repeatedly.  He is SO proud of himself too.  He can climb them all by himself (with us following behind him in case he fell of course).  When he gets to the top he has a big smile on his face, and then has his routine of crawling into the bathroom, standing up on the toilet, the tub, then going in the closet to get into everything.  He keeps us on our toes, that’s for sure.

Oh….got my hair cut yesterday.  Needed something low-maintenance (I really, seriously, didn’t have the time to blowdry my hair for that long) and I was able to donate it to L.ocks of Love. Yay! I felt really good about that.  Went from this (Lach was a wee 3 mos!):

To this:

TTC update……today is CD35.  Ovulation didn’t happen this month.  I was sort of disappointed….but have gotten over it now.  I peed on a few sticks too – always negative.  My chart is a mess of solid and open dots, dashes and disregarded temps.  My sleep is too funky to make the chart accurate right now.  I’m not sure if it is normal or not to have an anovulatory cycle for your first postpartum cycle….is it?  Either way, we have time.  I have Sept, Oct and Nov to chart and see if my body gets back to ovulating.  We’re not in a rush, as the little man is keeping us busy (and sleep deprived)……….video below of his love affair with his beloved “mocha” blankie (he’s had since he was born).  The child goes nuts over it…..it’s dangerous.  And also a HUGE congrats to the Reproducing Genius gals on the arrival of their beautiful big boy!!! So happy for you ladies!

Playroom September 6, 2009

K spends a lot of time up at work and we are with her 99.9% of the time (all this Labour Day weekend for example).  A few days ago we decided Lach’s playroom needed a little bit of sprucing up.  Soooo, we got him a little play house and a l.ittle t.ikes swing (not pictured). He adores the swing…… We packed up toys he’s “outgrown” too. We actually just put away his jumperoo (sadly, for me), as he has become bored with it. I think he feels restrained and just itches to be free to stand where he wants to, crawl to, etc. Here are photos as of last week:

Windshield Wipers! August 28, 2009

Video as promised!  I did my best to try to catch it on tape…he does the regular wipers first…then turns on the wiper fluid………

No Sleep: The Ongoing Saga August 26, 2009

I’ve been wanting to write a “real” post for days, but my sweet boy is teething, therefore up the majority of the night.  Apparently he is a terrible teether.  I’m sure you guys will understand the update in bullets:

• Teething.  Still not a single one has popped through.  He is back to the up-all-night-screaming-and-grabbing-his-ear deal…but it’s worse now.  No fever though.  I was worried again about the possibility of an ear infection.  We took him to the pedi this morning.  Diagnosis: Perfect ears and teeth close to popping through the surface.  Arrrgh! When will we see them already?? We got him an amber teething necklace…..it sounds hokey, but it’s supposed to help.  No such luck yet.  He is still going to be around 8ish, but instead of a 5 or 6 hour stretch of sleep, we’re down to about TWO.  He initially sleeps for 2 hours, then wakes up screaming.  At this point he comes into the bed with us and nurses about every 15mins-1 hour until he gets up at 5-something.  He’ll suck for 5 seconds or 20 minutes at a time….it’s crazy.  I’m exhausted.  The worst part of it all: He has REJECTED the binkie! For the last 3 days he wants nothing to do with the thing.  Normally I could give it to him at night when he woke up and he would fall back asleep with it in his mouth.  No more, friends.  I am now being used as a human pacifier.  My boobs hurt.  But it’s that or walk around rocking him all night…..this too shall pass, right?
• You guys saw that he learned how to turn on the water, well, the new thing is that he has figured out the windshield wipers in K’s vehicle.  It is hilarious….I’m going to try to get it on video if I can.  He stands in the drivers seat and squeels with delight as he turns the windshield wipers on and off.  Not just on and off, but wiper fluid as well.  The boy is hilarious.
• He hates his car seat more than ever.  We have to let him play with the wheel for awhile before he’ll even ATTEMPT to get in the car seat without throwing a fit (complete with back arching and high-pitched wails and big teardrops falling down his face).  I feel so mean strapping him in when he’s like that, but it’s not like we have a choice.  I sit in the backseat with him while K drives and I read him books to get him calmed down….it works MOST of the time.
• Solid food is still a challenge.  Some days he eats a bunch, others nothing.  He is still nursing about every 3.5 hrs during the day.  He refuses to eat vegetables – except for sweet potatoes and the occasional mixture with squash.  He loves anything with apricots and bananas in it and is now trying to eat everything off our plate.  Pizza is the new fascination…and even without teeth he is able to eat tiny pieces at a time.
• He will be 8 months on Saturday.  How crazy is that? The time is going by so quickly.
• We drove 3 hours to Baltimore a few weekends ago to meet up with Jessie & Greta from love + love = marriage.  They are awesome and Holland was so cute.  Lachlan (and the rest of us) had fun at the zoo too, despite the heat.  Definitely want to hang out with their little family again. Photo below of the cuties:

• I’ve upgraded my membership back to TTC on FF.  Feels kind of weird to be charting again.  I’ve forgotten several times already to take my temperature RIGHT AWAY.  Mornings usually go something like this:  Lachlan wakes up by talking in his own language (eyes still closed) and half-crying, I wake up….then put on my glasses and and then he opens his eyes and sees me.  Smiles.  Then he sits up and takes my glasses off my face while giggling…then squeezes my nose or starts standing up on us….and then I start talking to him and then realize “Oh crap! I was supposed to take my temp before moving, talking….etc.”  It’s much harder this go round….especially with waking up so many times at night.  I don’t know how accurate my temps are…but I’m doing it anyway.  CM/CF is different too postpartum….I don’t know if it’s because I’m still breastfeeding so much or what.  But I still haven’t seen the desired EWCM, and I’m *technically* supposed to ovulate in the next few days.  I may just crack open a pee stick.  Just for kicks.
• We got Lachlan a tunnel.  Two words: LOVES IT.