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.

So, our little bundle of joy won’t eat real food, but will happily put everything else in his mouth. Last week, we went for a walk on West Cliff with Tamara and Dylan after a brief parking lot pow-wow. After the walk we stopped so the boys could play together on the lawn. Dylan was charming as always, but Ashton kept making a beeline for a nearby patch of dirt, which he happily shoveled into his mouth several times.

My how quickly things change in the life of a baby. Only one month ago, Ashton was eating 3 jars of baby food a day plus crackers/biscuits/cheerios. Over the past several weeks, however, Ashton has gone on strike. He refuses anything from a spoon. Even stuff he likes. Sometimes we can trick him to open his mouth by entertaining him with silly songs or games, but mostly he’s wised up.

So we’ve tried small chunks of many of his favorite baby foods (pears, bananas, apples, and peaches), figuring that he simply wants to self feed. He won’t touch the pears or peaches and will occasionally tolerate the bananas which he tends to suck on and spit back out. He’ll eat peeled raw apples but he still hasn’t mastered chewing, so there are frequent choking/gagging episodes with these and the occasional barf. Such fun. It’s been several weeks since I’ve successfully gotten a vegetable in him, though he previously loved carrots and sweet potatoes. Raw zucchini sticks caused a full body shudder, demonstrating a true aversion and not just stubbornness.

He is highly suspicious of new foods. We had to sneak string cheese into his mouth to get him to try it, but now he likes it. He won’t touch spaghetti noodles, which I thought were supposed to be a favorite of little kids.

He’s still drinking plenty of formula, though even his behavior there has changed. It used to be that when he had his fill, he’s simply spit out the nipple. Now, he squirms away, hollers very loudly, and won’t be silenced or stop struggling until you put a pacifier in his mouth.

So, needless to say, meals have become a bit of an ordeal and I’ve been avoiding taking him to restaurants. Hopefully this phase will pass soon.

Lately, Ashton has followed me every time I use the bathroom, though I keep the door closed when I’m not using it to keep him out. He loves to bang on the glass shower doors, and likes to crawl up my legs as I’m sitting on the toilet so that he can play with the noisy toilet paper holder. He unrolls the toilet paper too, so I’ve taken to leaving the roll on the tank. He’s also discovered that one of the knobs on the vanity is loose and is fun to spin around in circles. But the best part of the bathroom, is when I pick him up to remove him from there – because then he gets to see the baby in the mirror. On several occasions, he’s even thrown a small tantrum when I’ve turned out the light and closed the door before he could see his friend.

The weather has been unseasonably warm lately, so we spent some time out on our covered patio where I setup a foam play mat and the portacrib. Ashton also enjoyed riding in the big swing.