Go You Chicken Fat Go!

For those of you unfamiliar with this flop of a national youth fitness program you can listen here. I remember my mom playing this record for me as a kid.*

Being able to work mostly on Fridays and weekends has been great in that one of us can almost always be home for David. But it's also difficult because it means a lot less time when we are both home together. When you factor in the time that Derek needs to spend studying for the CPA exam and that I need for paperwork along with just day-to-day cleaning, yard maintenance, etc. it's virtually impossible to find time for anything else. This is shocking I know because all the other parents of infants out there are scratching their heads wondering what to do with all the free time on their hands(yeah, right).

Pretty much all unnecessary tasks and even some necessary ones have fallen by the wayside for now which until recently have included exercising. Derek's been really frustrated by not having the time he used to for running and I'm pretty depressed over my post-baby body so we finally decided that we needed to somehow make time. For us the solution was to join our local community center. The fees are relatively low and not only do they have some fun family pools that David enjoys, there's some good exercise equipment and classes. They even have an indoor track. Best of all they have a fantastic daycare so we can go on our days off even if the other parent's not around. We've worked out a schedule that gives us both at least 3 days a week to work out and for the past few weeks at least it's worked well. So hopefully I will once again be able to wear my jeans of old.

*Note: Chicken Fat is not the workout routine we are using however.

Help Wanted

Wanted: Childcare on Mondays and sometimes Fridays from 7:30 am to whenever one of us gets home. That is usually between 5:00-6:00 pm but may be any time between 2:00-8:00pm so you need to be available just in case. Unfortunately we won't be able to let you know in advance which days we will be running late. This may look like an ad for a babysitter, but in actuality it is an ad for someone to find a babysitter for me so I don't have to.

Grrr. I hate having to find childcare so much that I'm almost considering quiting my job to not have to deal with the headache. The first time around I lucked out in that a coworker I trust recommended her neice with lots of experience and looking for part-time work. She's done a great job and I would love to keep her on, but unfortunately she starts back to school in the fall and won't be available anymore. Also in the fall comes a mini busy season for Derek so we will need at least part-time coverage for Fridays as well until mid-Oct (and of course from Feb-April for regular tax season too).

Finding someone you trust to take care of your baby is never simple, but when you factor in a part-time somewhat unpredictable schedule it's almost impossible. Most of the licensed providers I've spoken with either don't accept infants at all or won't let you pay on a part-time basis. I've seen a few stay-at-home moms advertise online looking to babysit part-time and I suppose I could place an ad myself for a part-time nanny. Either way that would mean interviewing perfect strangers who are unlicensed and unregulated to try and determine that they are not psychos and are capable of caring for an infant. Ugh!

The nanny would probably be my preference even though it will probably cost as much as full-time traditional daycare would (at least on weeks where we need 2 days covered) but our current sitter comes to the house which definitely has its advantages. For one thing instead of having to scramble to get myself and a baby ready to head out the door she comes a little early and occupies David giving me time to get myself ready. Also I like the extra one-on-one interaction it means for David and the fact that he's not exposed to a whole bunch of germs from other kids. Plus it forces me to give my house a thorough cleaning each week because somehow I'm convinced that if she sees I'm behind on my dusting she'll think I'm a bad mom (although maybe this is as much of a drawback as it is a plus because I typically am up past 1:00 am on Sunday nights cleaning and scrubbing). But of course setting a stranger loose in your home with your baby has it's risks too. She could steal from us, throw wild parties, or use our house for a love nest of sorts.

I know I need to start making calls and placing ads (I promise I'll start today). I'm just dreading the process so much and wish it would just go away.

The Weils In The Wild

Here's just a few pics of our 4th of July campout. It was David's first camping trip and while he enjoyed spending so much time outdoors I definitely don't plan to attempt it again until next year. Even at home he's been sleeping really poorly at night so we opted to stay in a tent to spare everyone else David's nighttime screaming (as opposed to my parents' trailer). There wasn't really room for us and the playpen in the tent so Derek and I got killer leg cramps from having to sleep so scrunched up. Then it wound up being so cold that we had to put David in our sleeping bag anyway. And yes he still was up every couple hours screaming which isn't too different to what he does at home now, but it's alot more miserable to have to deal with it somewhere else.

So for now I think we're going to plan more daytime outings and try to avoid overnighters. We still managed to have some fun though. We managed to go on a short hike together and enjoy some incredible scenery. Then later Grandma watched David while Derek and I managed to get out for dinner and a fireworks show. I hope everyone else had a great 4th of July.

Lucky Seven, Months That Is

I know I've been a blog slacker lately and I apologize. This past month David's been learning and growing at an amazing rate. A month ago he wanted nothing to do with the baby food I urged him to try. Now he devours any kind of pureed vegie or fruit, his favorite being the frozen mango, pineapple and coconut frozen sorbet I made. I have to admit though that he only got a couple feedings from that because Derek and I loved it so much too. He's started to dabble a little in table food too like fig newtons, crackers, biscuits, ect. He's even starting to get the hang of the pincer grasp so while theoretically he could feed himself, ironically food is the only thing he does not try to shove in his mouth. He would much rather mash food in his fist and throw the crumbs on the floor or smear food on his tray.

My favorite skill he's aquired recently are his "dancing" and "singing." If we play upbeat music he'll start bouncing his little diapered bottem and bopping his head for all he's worth. A few times he's even tried to sing along (I think) although his little concert of howls and squeals bears only the loosest resemblence to any type of melody.

Derek's Birthday Bonanza (sort of)

Derek's birthday was really on June 28th, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it. He turned 30 this year and we celebrated by firing up his new grill for some tasty brats and a family outing to the community pool. I made a banana cake and per Derek's request did NOT decorate it at all. That was pretty much all that either of us had energy for (David's sleeping TERRIBLY lately) although I think part of him still wished we'd had more of a celebration for the big 30th.

I felt a little bit bad about that until I remembered what MY birthday this year had been like. Let's just say that since my birthday falls right in the middle of tax season there really wasn't much opportunity for festivities. Unless you count having a fussing and screaming baby strapped to you at all times and your one and only meal of the day consisting of gas station hot dogs.

Birthdays now are really just reminders that life is now about something much smaller than either of us right now. Unfortunately my camera battery died after taking only a couple pictures so we don't have many photos to commemorate the day. My camera battery will stay charged for months at a time so it's even more ironic that the same thing happened last year at Derek's birthday. I guess I need to be more prepared for special events.

As an unrelated side I did decorate another cake for Fathers Day but since I already did a dad's day post I'm tacking said cake pic on the end of this one. Enjoy.

Finding a Doctor Part 1: The PCP (Primary Care Provider)

I figure that it's time again for a non-David related post. In recent weeks I've had a few conversations about finding a good doctor. There's a lot of great physicians out there, but even as a nurse I still have difficulties knowing where to look at times. Dealing with as many doctors and their offices as I have has taught me a thing or two over the years though and since this is my blog I thought I'd pass my great wisdom along. This is how I go about finding a regular family practice doctor or pediatrician.

1. For most people one of their top concerns is making sure that doctors are true experts in their field. Some people do an interviewing screening process in which they ask things such as where they went to school, their GPA, MCAT scores, etc. This is not a good way to assess a doctor's competence. Unfortunately there really are no questions you can ask a doctor in advance to get a sense of medical expertise. Accepting this upfront will save you the stress of trying.

2. Decide what other things are most important to you based on your prior experience with doctors offices. I hate being rushed out the door before I get a chance to ask any questions so for me the number one thing is a provider that will take time to explain things to me. I also appreciate shorter wait times, friendly office staff, and the ability to fit me in when I need an appointment. If I call with a medical concern I prefer there to be a nurse (RN or LPN) to take my call rather than a medical assistant and I expect all my calls to be returned in a timely manner.

Other considerations may be: Should medications be prescribed as a first or last resort? Is it important that alternative therapies be instead of or in conjunction with traditional medicine? Do I want to be able to play an active role in choosing my treatment options or would I rather leave my care to my doctor's discretion? These are important things to think about but these will be much harder to gauge in advance because most doctors will fall somewhere in the gray area between the extremes (which is a good thing in my opinion).

3. Ask around. Chances are you have a friend who is happy with their family doctor or pediatrician. Find out who and why. Ask your friends about your list of considerations from above. They probably can't answer all your questions, but they should be able to give you a good start.

4. Once you've got a satisfactory referral make an appointment. Bring your list of considerations and get answers to all of the questions your friends could not answer satisfactorily. If you feel like it's a good fit for you then keep going. If not don't.

5. If you ever hit a point where you feel that your concerns aren't being taken seriously or that your problems are not being appropriately addressed you should get a second opinion. If the doctor simply seems to be ignoring your concerns you should start looking for another primary provider. If you have a specific health problem that's not getting fixed you should consider a specialist. Of course they may not be able to offer any more help (unfortunately we still can't fix everything), but it's worth a try.

Where's the Pause Button?

David's pants fit him perfectly today. Last week they were too long. Yesterday he needed help to sit on his own, but not anymore. His feet didn't used to lop over the arms of the chair when I rocked him. He's had his last bath in his baby tub, the one we've used since bringing him home. I hated seeing his full head of newborn hair fall out, but now that I'm used my bald baby I spot fuzzy tufts of real big boy hair sprouting up.

It's so hard to imagine David as anything but my tiny baby that part of me can't envision that he'll ever grow up. But he will. Much, much too soon from now I will find myself staring at a little toddler and realize that his baby days are over. He's half-way there already and I'm crying my eyes out thinking about it.