Tag Archives: shopping

How to Piss Off Your Baby

02/17/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Our Sunday was off to a great start, Avery slept the longest ever in her crib and then slept a little longer with us. We even slept in an extra hour!

She woke up pretty happy and flashing us smiles, so we were hopeful for a good day ahead. Wrong.

First off, I proceeded to try and feed her a bottle. This is a no-no when mom is home because, being the smart baby she is, knows there’s a much better source of food hanging around. Pun intended, sorry Kelley.

Being one who doesn’t take no easily, I was a little too persistent in trying to feed her the bottle until she just got upset. After trying to hold her in several positions to see if that would help, Kelley finally just gave her the good stuff. We only try to use the bottles since that’s the main food source when Kelley is not here, and we have so many bottles in the fridge that can’t go to waste. We’re backlogged with breast milk!

Once enough time passed, we put Avery down for her morning nap which she didn’t resist too much. She had a couple crying sessions within two hours that Kelley was able to go and soothe her back to sleep. Overall, she had maybe one and half hours of sleep; the most she’d get this day.

After making breakfast for Kelley and myself, we decided to get our shopping out of the way. So, we packed the diaper bag, put Avery in her car seat and we were off.

Instant fussiness and crying followed as we began our trip, but that didn’t stop us from going to Starbucks first. I got a black coffee and Kelley had the same, but decaf. Back on the road with Avery still protesting, our first stop was Babies “R” Us to return some items and look at bouncers. Avery had calmed down, so I just carried her in the car seat.

The whole time inside, she didn’t fuss at all, but once she was back in the car, the crying ensued. Next stop, Costco. But first, another Starbucks run. I have a member card which allows for free refills, so I always go back at least 3 times to help get my money’s worth of the other black gold.

I wore Avery in the Baby Bjorn as usual in Costco, and she was pretty good while inside here too. Maybe a little whine, but then she just chewed on the carrier and stared at the big warehouse lights. She finally fell asleep……as we were going to check out. So, ten minutes later, she was rudely awakened by dad putting her back in the car once more. But, in dad’s defense, it didn’t help that Kelley tried to strap her in the wrong way which made it uncomfortable until we fixed it. Sorry, Avery.

Almost done, we only had one more grocery trip to Sprouts! But, can you guess? Another stop at Starbucks on the way! Poor Kelley sat in the back trying to feed Avery a bottle, but she was not having it. Again, she’s thinking “Why would mom feed me a bottle?” So, she just cried. All the while, several hours had passed and no substantial nap has occurred.

Inside Sprouts with Avery in the Baby Bjorn, she pretty much just cried and kicked her legs as much as possible. I felt pretty cool perusing each aisle as if nothing was wrong while a baby was screaming in my face. Staring, although very, very annoying, was understandable.

Thirty minutes later, Avery still crying, we packed ourselves in the Outback (big Subaru fans here!) and eagerly headed home. Kelley sat in the back and tried once more to offer Avery the bottle. Maybe she was just finally hungry enough, or too tired to fight it, or maybe the sun shining in her eyes didn’t allow her to know who was feeding her, but she took the bottle. Then she fell asleep with it in her mouth on minutes later.

Milk-covered face and asleep in car seat.

This is the down side of living close to most places, the drives are not that long. Yeah, of course we LOVED this before becoming parents, and still love it overall, but when you have a sleeping baby, you want the ride to last a while. Once home, I carried Avery still in the car seat and set her in her nursery hoping to make the nap last. Nope, five minutes later and the eyes were open.

Again, I insisted on feeding her the bottle, which she refused, multiple times. And again, we finally caved and Kelley offered what I can never give. I’m okay with this, by the way; that would be weird.

We decided to go for a little family run together after this. Kelley has been wanting to get back into running, and I wanted to come along while pushing Avery in the B.O.B. stroller. I also wore a 20lb vest since I have a problem of going too much ahead of Kelley. At first, there was no crying, but it wasn’t long and Avery was back at it letting the neighborhood know her lungs are pretty well developed.

I am fairly sure that going faster helps Avery settle down, so I eventually just went ahead and let Kelley enjoy a quiet run. Avery fell asleep within minutes after picking up the pace, so I passed our house and told Kelley to meet me down the road while I went down and back up a hill just torture myself.

We walked together enjoying the peace of a sleeping baby (finally) for maybe 30 minutes before she woke up again. I tried running a little more but she just cried. Then, back at home, I tried giving her a bottle again. When will I learn? Never, I’m just too stubborn.

As you’d expect she fussed and cried until mom gave in and made her peace offering via boob. The rest of the night went on with mostly fussing, but she did give us a lot of “talking” and smiles too. Between taking out the trash, making dinner for Kelley and myself, and bathing Avery, she was whining the majority of the time. Finally, after her bath (and crying), Kelley held her and got her to sleep for the night.

Phew! If you’re still reading, thank you! Basically, just don’t provide your baby any time for a good nap during the day and you’re sure to have one pissed off baby. Add repeated attempts at bottle feeding when mommy is around, and you should watch your back when baby can walk/crawl!

Sure, it wasn’t the most pleasant Sunday, but it was still our little family being together, so that was the silver lining. Plus, Kelley is off work tomorrow so we get another day together! This time, we are not going anywhere and will make sure Avery gets some good naps in. Maybe we’ll take a few with her…

Ever have “one of those days” with your baby?
Any good tips on how to make several store trips and keep baby happy or is it a futile attempt?

Parenting

Do You Clip Your Baby’s Nails?

02/11/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

We have been avoiding trimming Avery’s ~~pterodactyl claws~~ nails for quite a while now and I thought I’d give it a shot this morning. Bad choice.

It's there, but luckily not very noticeable! — It’s there, but luckily not very noticeable!

The baby clippers I used has a nice light to help see the nails, but attempting while Avery was awake and squirmy is not the best time. I knew this, it’s obvious, but I tried anyway after being scratched so much. Plus, she scratches herself!

Trying to trim her nails in her sleep is pretty useless too since she’s swaddled every time she’s sleeping. So, I figured this was my only shot while she wasn’t too fussy.

I was doing just fine and finished within minutes with a sense of accomplishment. I picked her up and we went back to the kitchen to talk and do whatever else she wanted to avoid crying. Mostly I just stared out the window with her and cursed the cold weather we’re having.

As I looked down on her clothes, there were blood spots across her leg. At first I thought is was from my dry, cracked hands, which is pretty common, but after a quick assessment, there were no open wounds on me. I checked Avery’s hands and sure enough, there was a little spot on her right index finger; right where daddy trimmed her nail!

It didn’t seem to stop since she kept moving her hands everywhere like a baby does, so I put a mitten on there to hopefully let the bleeding stop.

Seems to be acceptable.....for now — Seems to be acceptable…..for now

Do they even have Band-Aids for babies? I figure she’d just put it in her mouth which could be a choking hazard. All of here other scratches clot pretty fast and I’m hoping, given the chance, her finger will too. Avery, when you’re reading this someday, daddy’s sorry. Please don’t take it out on me if you have to care for me in my old age. : )

Yesterday we made our rounds to two stores and a vacuum shop to get ours repaired. Avery was pretty good the whole time but really missed out on her naps. I try to plan as much as possible so the entire trip will allow me to avoid feeding in a cold car and just do it when we get home. This worked, for the most part, but getting a good nap was futile and we just waited for her bedtime.

I still have some figuring out to do regarding store trips, but I guess I have time for this being a stay-at-home parent!

Have you ever trimmed more than your baby’s nail? Any advice?

How do you plan store trips with your baby?

Uncategorized

Today We Made No Income and Went Shopping

01/29/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Since yesterday was my last working day and Kelley took one last day before returning to work to be with Avery and me, we both earned nothing. Ironically, we decided to make our rounds for grocery shopping today. But first, we “had” to go to Starbucks. Priorities, right?

I proudly wore Avery in Central Market and Costco and she was pretty good for the most part. A little fussing, a little sleeping, and a lot of just wide-eyed staring at everything. Coupled with flailing arms and legs along with her constantly turning head. Yeah, those limbs and that head are going full throttle most of the day. I suppose that’s a good thing though!

Despite our new tight budget, we splurged on a nice bottle of Kirkland brand red wine (the really big bottle) to enjoy with some friends who are coming to visit. And, I’ve been thinking about the fresh Brussels sprouts Costco had on my last visit and made sure to grab two bags of those suckers this time. Next to mushrooms, steamed Brussels are my favorite produce.

Like popcorn, only green.... — Like popcorn, only green….

After the store trips and another stop for a refill at Starbucks (hey, it’s free with the card!), we hurried home to feed Avery and put her down for a well overdue nap. After she ate, she started getting pretty cranky and we knew a nap was imminent! I swaddled her and sang random made up songs in a deep voice until she fell asleep, then I sat in our recliner for a little while to make sure she was settled. Kelley put a heating pad and one of her milk-stained shirts in the crib and I attempted to lay her down.

We watch this monitor like it's playing "Breaking Bad" — We watch this monitor like it’s playing “Breaking Bad”

This is a huge thing for us as it seems the second she is put down, the eyes shoot open and pretty much have fire in her whites. Basically, we’ve been unsuccessful. But not this time; she slept 3 hours and we (yes, we) had to wake her up! Then it was feeding time and a cold walk after.

The day went by fast as usual, and tomorrow I’ll officially start my life as a stay-at-home dad. It will be weird with Kelley going to work and me staying home, but I know it will make a better quality of life for us all. I already started to miss her today, when she was still here! We make a great team together, and I never feel whole when she’s away, so I bet I’m as nervous as she is.

Hopefully I’ll have a great update on my first day “on the job” with Avery. I’m counting on a repeat nap in the crib to allow me to get a workout in and do things around the house.

Any other stay-at-home parents have tips for fitting it all in while answering their baby’s constant needs? Maybe I can just start doing lunges while wearing Avery, but I’m pretty sure pushups would be ill-advised…..