Ashton was becoming a little piggy when it came to formula consumption, at upwards of 40 ounces a day.  He wanted little to do with solid food and meal-times were becoming an ordeal as we’d try to cajole him into eating something besides milk. So, I’ve cut way back on the amount of milk we give him, and offering him water and solid food snacks more frequently. Now he gets about 24 ounces per day. He does still whine a lot, esp in the afternoons when he wants more milk than I’ll give him, but the result is a baby that is eating a lot better (though still highly finicky).

His absolute favorite is scrambled eggs. Occasionally he likes grilled cheese sandwiches, or cheese quesadillas, but this is hit and miss. Sourdough bread or toast is always a winner, as is string cheese and waffles. Pancakes and muffins suffice on occasion. And today he voluntarily ate turkey lunch meat and really liked it (previously I’ve had to sneak meat into grilled cheese sandwiches). He also likes rice, but still not pasta or potatoes. And he’ll eat almost any type of babyfood fruit or orange vegetable (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes), but will accept only bananas in solid form and spits out anything green.  And of course there’s still all the snacky stuff like crackers, rice cakes, cheerios, veggie puffs, dehydrated fruits.

He seems to be tolerating cows milk just fine as an ingredient in baked goods and in cheese. But I’m holding off switching him over to it for drinking until he’s taking in a more balanced diet – since formula is fortified with all the vitamins he needs and regular milk is not. Though I guess I could put him on a vitamin supplement… something to ask the doctor.

The reign of bah bah bah bah bah bah…. etc. has ended. Ashton has finally moved on to some different sounds. Now we have a mixture of ma, ja, gay, ya,  yay, da, and still some bah thrown in. There’s also something that sounds like “hi ya” and a certain British swear word, although nobody in our family uses it. Honest. The chatter is constant and sounds very conversational, though still unintelligible.

In other news, Ashton is now getting into trash cans and toilets, so baby latches had to be added there too. Especially since one of his favorite new pastimes is putting things inside other things. We are certainly happy when he picks up toys and puts them in his toy box or picks up the puzzle pieces off the patio and puts them in his portacrib. Unfortunately, he puts toys, clothes (both clean and dirty),  and shoes into the diaper pail in his bedroom, so I’m guessing it would only be a matter of time before we’d find these things in the trash or toilet as well.

Though not Ashton’s first trip to the Boardwalk (see February Chowder Cookoff), this was his first Boardwalk Spring Break experience (crowds!). Mainly we went to hang out with Cara and her clan, not expecting to go on any rides. Well, it turns out that little tikes under 36″ high can ride about 8 different rides with an adult chaperone, and they only charge for one rider. Cool. We went on some kind of flying dragons, some Pepsi trucks connected together like a train going around a track, and the Cave Train. I think mommy was more excited than Ashton was about the rides, but he enjoyed the people watching and behaved remarkably well for a long afternoon.

This week

– is signing something that we think is “milk”

– makes a new sound that we think is mimicking a roar

– tries to help me buckle the car seat

Last week

– opened door to patio and fell flat on his face

– fell into his toy box (turns out he’s just the right length to lay horizontally in it)

– showed systematic problem solving, as he tried each cabinet door in consecutive order until he found one without a baby lock

I never thought I’d be the kind of mom that used television to pacify my kid. Of course I also never thought I’d be a stay at home mom for this long either. As cute and fun as Ashton is, I get bored and want to work on projects, job search, etc. during the day. Or just be able to lay down and shut my eyes.

Anyhow, I first discovered BabyTV during a free preview weekend. I recorded several shows, which Ashton took an immediate interest in. No harm, right? Well then I found out that it only cost $5 per month to subscribe. Cool.

At first we’d just watch shows at bed time. They were guaranteed to put him to sleep in a half hour or so. Well, as the shows became more familiar, they became more stimulating. They no longer put him to sleep, but are useful for getting him to sit still and wind down. I often find myself using this prior to naps, as well as bed time.

I think we’re now averaging 60-90 minutes a day of kid TV, and the repertoire has expanded to include Sesame Street.

On the one had I feel very guilty about this. All the parenting guides advise NO television for children under 2. The claims are that it makes kids ADD. I personally believe that most cases of “ADD” are really just kids whose personalities/learning styles don’t conform to societal norms – in fact the kids are often gifted and just bored. Still, no parent wants to do something that might cause harm. On the other hand, the television keeps me sane, he loves it, and I realize that my kid is going to grow up in a media obsessed generation whether I like it or not. Ashton still enjoys playing with toys, reading books, and flirting with anyone and everyone, so I don’t feel like it’s interfering with his attention or sociability.

I guess all I can do is keep some level of balance. And I’m sure he’ll continue to throw tantrums when I turn the TV off, but maybe in time he’ll learn that there are limits to all things.

Another playdate with Anderson and mom-Estrella at Highlands Park. The boys played on the swings, then explored a nice patch of lawn near the pool. Ashton got his first grass stains!

Ashton has already grown out of numerous hats – his new one is a Toddler size 4! The doctor’s were right all along that this kid was coming out with a big head. Still 99th percentile at last doctor’s appointment.

Unfortunately, Ashton doesn’t much like hat’s anymore. It’s going to be a constant battle to keep the sun off him.

On February 23rd, Ashton started day care. I had signed him up a while back for Mon, Weds, and Fri full days, with the hopes that I’d soon have a job. Mys sister would cover Tues and Thurs. It’s kind of hard to figure out your childcare needs though, when you don’t know when or where you will be working.  So, I figured this place was a good temporary solution that would allow me to get started working, and I could adjust the arrangement later to a home daycare or private nanny (or even keep him in commercial daycare if it worked out). I had a few misgivings about this childcare center from the beginning – mainly because the space was small, and felt claustrophobic. But everyone seemed nice and professional, and I’d heard good things – so I ignored my intuition and enrolled him anyway.

Well, Ashton didn’t like it. It turns out he is not as adaptable to new situations as he used to be and has become very clingy to Daniel and I. He cried everytime we left. At the end of the day when we’d pick him up, he looked as if he’d either been crying a lot during the day, or was not napping. Either way, he was not a happy guy. I found out part of the problem was that they had 5 or 6 different caregivers in and out of the room all day long. Ashton would just get used to one person, they’d leave, he’d cry, and have to start the process all over again.  I had not realized that there was so many different people he’d have to learn to trust.

I also noticed that the caregivers were fairly hands off. There was little interaction, unless a child was clearly upset (crying) and even then, the hugs were few and didn’t appear very warm/genuine. I would have expected more effort to engage the kids, rather than letting them just drift around like little zombies.

Anyhow, it only took me a week to realize that this was not the right environment for Ashton at the present time. So, I gave the required two weeks notice, deciding that I would just have to rush to find a nanny once I got a job offer. I looked at a couple home day cares as another option, but was dissatisfied with the levels of cleanliness.

I had intended to still take him to day care a few more times, since we we’re paid up. But he got sick.

Week one of sickness included diarrhea, and then a cough that seemed to worsen at night. The second week, things got worse. Ashton ran a moderately high fever for several days, was not eating, had the chills, some mild vomiting, and was generally lethargic. We paid a visit to the doctor after a few days, but she declared it a virus.

Then Daniel got a variation of the virus that put him out of commission for nearly a week. If this is the kind of germs that are picked up from day care, then I’m glad we’re out of there! I mean we’ve all had numerous colds in the past year, but none like this.

It took several weeks to get us all back to normal. Since then I’ve been something of a germophobe and have avoided indoor playdates where more sharing of toys tends to occur.

Uncle Tom got Daniel a flashing Elvis sign for Christmas. Ashton, has practically stolen it from Daddy and adopted it as his own. Over time, Ashton has learned how to push the button on the front that makes the sign play “Don’t Be Cruel”. Now if he’d just learn that it doesn’t work when it’s not plugged in ….

Today Daniel, Ashton, and I went to the Boardwalk for the annual clam chowder cookoff. This being Ashton’s first time to the boardwalk, he was fascinated by all the activity – tall, colorful, noisy, spinning rides and lots of people. Unfortunately his tummy is still too immature to handle the heavy cream typically found in the soups, but he happily knoshed on free sourdough bread and enjoyed the view from atop Daddy’s shoulders.