6 Wide Down the Mountain

The Martino family is now 6 wide down the mountain!

Giuliana and Marco both tried downhill skiing for the first time last week. They both took to skiing with ease and seemed to really enjoy it. I think the younger you start them - the better. The little kids don't seem to have any trouble with crossing their skis, etc. Marco earned himself a mid-day nap on my chest. And, Giuls fell asleep while eating her crackers in the lodge at the end of the day. They were happy & pooped!

Gabby and Rocco are both skiing like champs and ready for more challenging runs.

There is a lot more snow in Tahoe this year compared to last. So, we decided to buy season passes for the family. We were able to get them up the mountain 4 times over the holiday break which was nice. It's a hop, skip and a jump from our house so it's quite easy to cruise up for even half days of skiing after school or the kids weekend basketball games.

Now we just have to HOPE for more rain storms in northern California this winter, bringing even more snow to the mountains!

Oh, and check out this ADORABLE photo some guy took of Marco and Dan on the chair lift. Marco's face is SO CUTE! Their chair lift buddy had this tiny little digital polaroid camera... pretty cool.

Marco is 2.5 yrs old & skiing!!

Marco is quite the amazing little skier!

Today was his first day hitting the slopes up in the Sierra Mountains. He loved it! He watched his older siblings snap their skis on and he didn't fight it one bit...just wanted to keep up with the rest of the crew and do exactly what they were doing.


This, of course, normally being the case with this little guy.

Marco did SO great and really took to skiing much faster than I had imagined. Every time he'd get to the bottom of the hill, he'd throw both hands in the air as if he just crossed a finish line. So stink in' cute. This child wins me over constantly. Every time I think he can't get cuter, he goes and does something hilarious and charming like this.

It's safe to say he really liked it. By mid-day, the 'lil fella was even going up the chair lifts. He thought that was pretty cool too. Dan also said he heard Marco yell "rocket fast" several times when he was skiing down the hill.

This was also his first experience in the snow. I believe he has seen snow before--when we lived in WA. But, he was so little at the time that I never took him out to play in it before it had melted.

Here are two fun videos of Marco skiing:

Momma Get Rah-Rah, Nana, Gabba?

It's great to have the kids back in school. 

The house has moments of quiet. I can leave the kitchen for longer than 2 minutes. I'm not chasing after multiple children requesting they pick up after themselves. I'm not breaking up arguments or asking them to play nice together. I don't spend every waking moment prepping and serving food, followed by the cleanup. 

The only sad thing about the kids being back in school is that I have a VERY sad little almost 2.5 year old. 

Poor little Marco seems to be a bit lost without his older siblings around and it's breaking my heart. 

I think he would prefer the noise and chaos associated with all of his siblings being home.

This morning, Marco came to me with Rocco's sweatshirt in hand. He grabbed my hand, walked me to the garage door and said "Momma go get Rah-Rah, Nana, Gabba?". 

To say this broke my heart is...well... just a huge understatement.

Marco & Medicine Tricks

In my opinion, these are the big milestones that make things a bit easier for moms and dads everywhere. They include:

* sitting up

* child puts self to sleep

* walking 

* talking

* getting dressed by themselves

* toilet trained

* buckling themselves into a car seat

* taking medicine without issue

* the day you can start to reason with your child, or convince them to do something because it is good for them, even if they don’t like it. (keyword = start… because I know this is a lifelong issue!)

Well, Marco just crossed (sort of) another of these milestones… but he had to do it HIS way. I finally found a trick to giving him medicine without having to waste an entire bottle of medicine!

I would rank him *third worst medicine-taker* of my children. 

Giuliana was the worst. Matteo was the second worst medicine-taker. 

I literally had to try everything in the book with Giuliana. I even sought sneaky technique advice from my friends on F.acebook. We tried letting her do it in her own time, holding her down, sneaking it in while on the changing table, putting it in food, ice cream, chocolate syrup, sip it from a straw, take it from a spoon, etc. You name it - I tried it. The worst was when we wasted an entire bottle of medicine trying to get 4 mls in her mouth. The thick syrup was instead all over the floor, counter, in her hair, in my hair, it had painted our clothing and was disbursed across various desserts and beverages and yogurts. She would successfully spit every last drop out of her mouth. It was awful. Even the nurses tried to help. They agreed. She was a little H.oudini. Somehow we eventually tricked her into thinking medicine could be fun to take. And, never a problem since then. 

Matteo wasn’t nearly as bad a Giuliana. But, we did have a few instances where it seemed like medicine was everywhere BUT in his little mouth.  

Marco is a lot like Matteo was. But, he’s gotten smarter and better at spitting the medicine out… and he wont’ stop spitting until it is all out. Every last drop. 

He’s been on an antibiotic every month since January due to ear infections. In February, the medicine delivery had reached the point where I dreaded having to give it to him. I would be stressed he wasn’t getting a full dose, wondering how much he actually did consume, and already fearing the day’s second dose. Finally, I decided to just try and reason with him about his medicine, and also bribe him with a treat. 

Marco still doesn’t talk a whole lot. But, I do know that he understands most of what we are saying. I can tell him to go do something - and he will. Or, if I talk about someone or something, he will look around for them/it. 

So, one day I just sat him in my lap and told him it was medicine time and how important it was he takes his medicine so we could get rid of all the yucky sick germs that were making his ears hurt. I told him I would give him a treat if he took his medicine nice. Then, I put him down and filled up the medicine syringe and got a little caramel treat. I followed him around telling him it was time for him to take his medicine (5 minutes maybe), and all of a sudden, he opened his mouth up big and drank the medicine without any protest or spitting. I was so excited I started cheering and jumping and telling him what a good boy he was. He was SO PROUD of himself. And, he really enjoyed the caramel treat. Every day we did the same thing and it worked like a charm after that. 

Well, of course he got another ear infection right before our trip to Italy. And, of course it was a different antibiotic - one with a worse taste. He hated it. Back to the spitting. Again, I tried reasoning with him. It didn’t work. I tried hiding it in chocolate syrup. I tried bribing. A few times, I had to lay him down and try to stick it in the back corner of his mouth and hope he would swallow most of the dose. That wasn’t working so great. 

Finally, we decided to try making it a party. This worked great because we had the entire family home, as well as and my mom & dad and Maria (one of our wonderful au pairs, from Germany). I scooped Marco into my arms and told him it was medicine time. I put the medicine in a spoon dropper. We also started clapping our hands and singing, very rhythmically, “med-i-cine, med-i-cine…Marco’s gonna take his MED-I-CINE!” and we repeated that mantra over & over. He had a big smile on his face, he drank up his medicine in one go, and every single one of us high-rived him after that. He thought this was the coolest thing in the world and LOVED all the singing and attention. 

It was hilarious and fun and he TOOK HIS MEDICINE! YAY!

Now, let’s hope I’m not alone the next time he needs medicine. Because I’m quite certain I am much less of a party than a group of 9 people. :))

Marco skipped straight to the big boy toys

It seems my little baby is skipping straight to big boy toys. 

Sigh…

I thought surely the little guy would make use of the remaining baby and infant toys that one or more of his older siblings had used. But, it seems that when he hit 18 months… all that went out the window.

 He is MUCH more interested in whatever Rocco and Giuliana are playing with. So, now the little guy is obsessed with N.erf guns, transformers, hot wheel cars, legos and Giuliana’s little ponies. 

He’s also now frequently taking a toy to bed with him at night (which we remove once we know he’s down for the night). These toys often include N.erf guns, legos built into towers or guns, sometimes a sword, or a car or truck (or two!). 

When he wakes up, he’s been known to say “gun, gun gun??”, first thing. So, we’ll scoop him up and bring him on a journey to find his favorite toy gun. 

He sure is a funny little guy. All too eager to grown up! 

Marco... the artist!

I don't know how they do it...

The second you are not looking, they manage to find the ONE marker in your house, that of course is not washable, from a billion yrs ago that you either bought pre-children or someone who doesn't have *active* kids gifted you with.

This is Marco showing off his latest art skills.

Yup. He colored red, non-washable red marker all over the WHITE window trim. And, he also colored the window.

He spent most of the morning watching the people working on the pool and landscaping in the backyard. I had even scooted the bench over to the window so he could get a better view (unknowingly, also a better angle for his new art project).

He looks half guilty in this photo... and half *look what I just did mom - isn't it cool*?

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!

I often bring Marco to W.hole F.oods with me to pickup the delicious, thin wood fired crust pizzas. 

He KNOWS the pizza boxes. Right when he sees them, he’ll start yelling “Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!” 

I’ll tell him he can have pizza as soon as we get it home and sometimes this calms/distracts him a bit. Other times, he keeps yelling “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!”, so I’ll end up caving and give him a little slice of pizza when we get to the car so he can enjoy it on the ride home. 

Such a funny little rascal! And, he does this same pizza chant for Dan too!

Stepstools & Ladders

There it goes again... the sound of a small children's chair being pushed, slowly but surely, across the wood floor. It lasts about 45 seconds until it reaches the final destination. Then, little Marco slowly but surely climbs up onto the chair and reaches up to open the cabinet and pull out his goldfish crackers.

Not even 5 mintues later, he is pushing the chair over from the cabinet to the kitchen island where I am making sandwiches for the kids. He's reaching up onto the couter trying to grab at anything and everything possible and I'm telling him "no"... to which he replies back "NO!"

The smallest child has discovered the usefulness of a stepstool.

Oy!

We had a few contractors in and out last week, and they had ladders with them. Do I even need to write about how we found Marco attempting to climb the ladders on more than one occasion. He was enthralled by them.

Fast forward one week, and he's constantly dragging or pushing the little kiddie chairs around the main level of our home to get access to all the things he can't reach without the chair.

When I was cooking dinner, he was watching me turn on one of the ovens that is elevated and mounted in the wall. Not even 5 minutes later... the child has the chair sitting there and he's flipping the dials. Never mind the fact that he already flips all the dials on the ovens and stove that sit at his reach level just a few feet away. 

His daddy is going to go nuts when he sees him dragging and pushing those little chairs across the wood floors. I have tried to tell Marco not to do it. I've carried the chairs back to the table hundreds of times now, only resulting in a crying Marco and him running right over to the chairs to drag it back to the destination of choice. But honestly, when Dan is gone... I literally don't have time to fight this battle.

Such a little rascal!

Hopefully... when Dan arrives back home, he'll want to fight this battle and train Marco not to do this anymore.

House No Longer DREAMY

Marco tried climbing the girls' B.arbie D.reamhouse. You know... the giant 3 story house that clearly looks like something a 19 month old should try and scale like a superhero.

Well... this expedition did not end well for Marco or the D.reamhouse. Barbie's house is no longer dreamy. And, Marco got 3 nice little scrapes and bumps on his head. Ouch!

Poor little guy!

Giuliana was not pleased with what looked like a tornado hit the D.reamhouse.

I tried explaining to her that perhaps B.arbie should have invested in natural disaster insurance.

That didn't go over so well.

Marco & Choo Choos

Marco LOVES choo choo trains! I think his two favorite things might just be Rocco and choo choo trains.

He loves yelling "All ABOARD!".

So much in fact... that whenever he gets excited about something he'll yell "ALL ABOARD!!"

It's pretty funny.

This train excitement started with the show "D.inosaur Train". He loves the first 3 minutes of the show... then just wants you to rewind to the beginning again so he can hear the dinosaur train conductor yell "All Aboard!".

So, while we were in our old neighborhood for Thanksgiving... we decided to take him on our favorite train ride at the local park. He LOVED it. We practically had to rip him off the train when our ride was over. Needless to say... we rode it several times while their for the holiday. :)

Marco's 18 Month Update (stop the clock!)

I can not believe Marco is 18 months. It is unbelievable to me.

I find myself holding onto him at every opportunity... almost in disbelief that he has crossed this major milestone, and wanting to freeze time completely. 18 months has always been my favorite age with my babies... and Marco reinforces that every single day lately. He is communicating so much more, exploring every aspect of his world with every opportunity, and he is constantly showing his love for his family members. He melts my heart constantly and completely.

Marco's 18 month Growth Stats:
Height: 33 1/4 inches (75th %ile)
Weight: 22lbs 15 oz (30th %ile)
Head: 19 1/4 (85th %ile)

Eating: Marco loves to eat. LOVES to eat. Like, really... LOVES to eat. He is truly his father's son! This boy would eat from sun up to sun down if you let him. And, he'll eat anything and everything yo put in front of him. Some of his breakfast favorites are eggs, bsausage, lueberries, banana, oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, blueberry or poppyseed muffins, and bacon. Some of his other favorite foods for lunch or dinner include pizza, tomato soup, homemade butternut squash soup, chili, chicken, steak, salmon, hot dogs with ketchup, ham, turkey, avocadoes, LOVES edamame and peas, carrots, strawberries, raspberries, apples, kiwi. If you give him a corn dog... he will carefully remove the cornbread and just eat the hot dog. He is so stinkin' cute! He LOVES wild rice mixed with feta cheese and avocado (something I love to eat a lot of). He is always jumping into my lap to eat whatever is on my plate, or he'll hijack his brother or sisters plates that are sitting on the table and try a bit of whatever is sitting there. He will bust open the pantry to find his favorite Prin.gles chips, or the organic fruit & vegi packages that you can squeeze into your mouth (Dan calls them spaceman food packets), or dried fruit strips. For snacks he is loving string cheese, yogurt any sort of crackers or cookies, raisins...pretty much anything. There have not been too many foods he doesn't like... but if he is not hungry or doesn't like something he will most certainly spit it out immediately.  

Naps: On a perfect day, I am able to put Marco down for a nap between 11-11:30am, and he will sleep until 1:30pm. I love those days and so does he! He will sometimes even nap for 3 hours... it is rare, but it does happen. The perfect nap days are the best... but, as a mom of 4 kids with a husband who travels 2-4 days a week, that perfect day does not happen as much as I would like it to. There are various reasons why, including the fact that Marco is sometimes tired and ready for his nap in the 10am hour... which is great, except 3 days a week when I have to pick Giuliana up from preschool at 11:15am. Poor little Marco will fall asleep in the car if he's tired on those days, and on most occasions I am able to transfer him to the bed without waking him. But on the days the transfer doesn't work... his nap just gets cut short. Also, sometimes those pesky pediatrician apt's for one of the kids will completely mess with our morning schedule, amongst other things. And, sometimes... if he isn't tired in the 10 o'clock hour, I will put him and Giuliana in the stroller after I pick her up from preschool and let him nap while I run before picking the big kids up from school. Oh, and it is rare... but he has also gone down for late naps... which is always a bummer, because I have to leave our house around 1:55pm to pick the big kids up from school, which means I'll have to wake him up from his nap. Sometimes, it is SO HARD being the baby of the family.

Night Sleep: Marco's nightly bedtime is between 8-8:15pm. And, yes... he sleeps through the night most often. If he doesn't, it's because he wakes up crying with either teething pain or an ear infection... and if it's teething pain, I am able to put him back to sleep quite easily by just shushing him. Ear infection nights usually mean no sleep for him or I (thankfully, there haven't been too many!). After we put the big kids in bed, we'll put Marco's night time diaper and pajamas on, then brush his teeth. We'll get his favorite brown blanket and sometimes his water sippy cup or a stuffed animal and jump into my bed. Since we have had a crazy few months of transitions between homes, he is currently sleeping in our bed (lucky little fella!). He was doing SO great sleeping in the crib, and even putting himself to sleep, prior to us moving out of our house in WA mid-July. Moving out of the home meant messing with his routine and everything that was familiar...and spending almost 2 weeks in different residence inns and hotels, and then moving into a temporary apartment while waiting for our home to be completed, just added to his confusion. His comfort became sleeping in bed with me/us. So, that is where he remains for now. And, I admittedly LOVE it. But, I also have issue with it as well for various reasons.

 

Marco Updates:   

* He is giving gentle kisses. He has many tender moments throughout the day when he will lean in and give me a kiss. Or, he'll kiss his brother or sisters when they do something nice for him. It's the sweetest, gentlest little kiss. He leans in slowly... and presses those puckered little lips so softly against mine... I can feel it just thinking about it. He will sometimes even wake me up in the morning by doing this and it just melts my heart completely.

 

* 12 teeth in his mouth already! This makes me want to cry!

 

* Loves to run around with his siblings, and play chase inside the house and outside. Loves to go to the park. Is perfectly capable of climbing playground stairs and going down all the various slides. He loves riding on little cars that you push with your feet. He loves going in the stroller for walks and runs. But, if he sees his siblings out running or biking with his... he wants to be doing the same and will protest a bit if we try to buckle him in the stroller.

 

* He can put on his croc shoes all by himself. And, if he has a hard time, he will get really frustrated. When he wants to go outside... he will run and grab his shoes and carry them around or put them on. If a bunch of people leave the house without him... he will cry so hard (it makes me want to cry!).

 

 

* He loves to watch me get ready in the morning and will do whatever I do... so if I put deodorant on, he will try to do it, or will try to put it on me. If I comb my hair, he will do it to himself or me.

 

* He loves going to the potty chair with people and will sit on his chair and grunt as if he is pooping. He also loves to pull toilet paper out and try to help people wipe their bottoms... so we really have to regulate him with his bathroom appearances! :)

 

* Words: Mama, Dada, Uh oh!, Nana (for Giuliana), Babby (for Gabby), Occo (for Rocco), Woof Woof (for doggy), Wawa (for water), ore (for more), All Aboard! (which he will yell when his favorite show, Dino.saur Train, comes on), good job, hot dog, no, shhhhh (while putting finger to his lip), nigh nigh (for night night), indow (for window... he loves when we roll his car window down), hoppy birdu (for happy birthday... he loves singing Happy Birthday song with us!).

 

* Favorite treats: M.&M's, Ki.tKats (thanks Halloween)

 

* He has also discovered ketchup, thanks to Rocco. He loves it!

 

* He loves putting crackers between his toes when we are driving in the car. He's like a little monkey when he does it and he'll squeal with delight and cackle because we all laugh and giggle and ask him if he's a monkey.

 

* Body parts he can point to when asked where it is: Belly Button, ears, nose, feet, toes, eyes, hair, tummy.

 

* When he is angry with you or made about something, he will scream and either stomp his foot or throw his hand at you in a hitting motion... and then he'll look at you with squinted eyes and a grumpy face. Like a grumpy little old man!!

 

* He has discovered books... he LOVES books. He loves being read to and loves looking through picture books on his own as well. If he hears someone reading... he will run to them and jump into their lap to listen and see the story being read. It's sooo cute!

 

* He is in a stage of wanting to do everything by himself. He feeds himself ice cream, yogurt, soup. Will demand silverware by screaming and pointing at the drawer it is stored in. He loves to try and drink out of water bottles or big kid cups (which results in a spill 50% of the time). He will run and grab cups or plates or food from the pantry when/if he wants something. If you try and help him he will scream at you. Baby boy is growing up! [sniff sniff]

 

* He has a love for Rocco that I can not fully describe. He thinks Rocco is the coolest, best, most awesome person on the planet. And, Rocco is SO GOOD with him. Rocco is the best of the kids for warning me if he sees Marco with something he shouldn't have or shouldn't be doing. Rocco loves Marco so much too - it is just precious, the bond these two have already. They are often found wrestling playfully, playing cars together, transformers... Marco is constantly mimicking whatever type of play Rocco is doing. So, if Rocco is blowing up his army guys... Marco is doing the same thing. If Rocco is playing Legos or building stuff w/blocks, Marco is right there with him, sound effects and all. At night when we put Rocco to bed, Marco will get next to Rocco and pretend to go night-night with Rocco. And, they kiss and hug each other each night before bed. It's SO cute.

 

* Loves to swim! When we take him swimming, he is literally jumping out of our arms the entire time we're in the pool to go under water. He even is swimming up the surface a bit on his own now. He jumps under water and loves to look at his siblings under water with him. We are going to have to watch this guy like a hawk around water... he has no fear whatsoever. It's awesome... but scary. I will have to post a video of his swimming escapades!

 

* Loves playing in the sand. He has enjoyed every beach we've ever been on and is almost calmed w/the sounds and the constant distraction and curiosity he has for the sand.

 

* Nicknames: Bear, Boo Boo, Marco moo.

 

* Loves wearing baseball hats backwards on his head. Loves also trying on the girls hats and wearing them. He has also been known to try on Nana's play high heels. ha!

 

* Favorite toys: pretend vacuum, Legos, blocks, small animals, guns & swords that Rocco plays with, stuffed animals (tiger, bears and dogs are his favorite).

 

* LOVES the vacuum, and the blow dryer. If he sees the vacuum.... you might as well spend the whole day vacuuming because he is VERY upset each time you stop.

 

* Gabby is a great helper with Marco too. Marco LOVES when Gabby reads to her. If she picks up a book... Marco will run over to her and jump on her lap and listen so intently to the entire story. Often times, he will even bring Gabby a book. Gabby also loves to include Marco in some of the make-believe play that she organizes for the kids... like house, or horse farm. Marco loves being included... but he does botch things a lot which can also frustrate the 8 year old! :) Gabby's motherly nurturing insticts definitely kick in though... she loves holding him and carrying him around on her hip. He will often hug her and rest his head on her shoulder and take advantage of the extra love he's getting from his big sis. But, he also knows that I often ask her to grab something he has (if he shouldn't have it or whatever), so he is quick to yell "NO!" at her too... which makes us all laugh.

 

* He loves being Dan's apprentice when Dan is working with tools. He'll go find the pretend tools and work right along with Dan (literally getting between Dan's face and what he is trying to look at). It's hilarious!

 

* He is often pretending to be a doggy (or woof woof, as he calls it), or a kitty and will make woof sounds and cuddle up against your legs while on all 4's. So, we pick him up and kiss him and make the animal sounds right back and he loves that.

 

* He loves when I give Rocco his inhaler medicine. He will mimic Rocco's exaggerated, rhythmic breathing pattern while sort of bouncing up and down w/knees bent and straight so it coincides w/the breathing pattern. All the while, he has a big smile on his face and he's breathing loudly. Rocco finds this hilarious. Marco will even point to the cabinet where the medicine is up high and do that mimic sound and motion because he knows that's where the medicine is.

 

* Giuliana and Marco have a super cute relationship. It's either all love or frustration. One minute, they will be holding hands, snuggling, or petting each other's heads. The next second, they are pulling hair and/or one of them is screaming at the other for something they want to have or because the other child took something they had. It makes me laugh and it also can make me crazy! But, they totally love each other madly!

 

* Dino.saur Train is his favorite TV show so far. He just likes the start of it... the theme song, and loves yelling "All Aboard!" like they do at the start. He will dance to the theme song as it plays. When that is over, sometimes he'll watch the show, but most often, he just wants you to rewind it to the start again. When in the car, he LOVEs watching Li.ttle E.insteins and will even clap and dance to that as well.

 

* He LOVES his dada! Sometimes when Dan gets home from a trip though... he will not recognize him or be scared of him for a few hours and be very clingy with me. Or, he will run screaming to me when Dan comes in the door. Poor baby! But, once Dan is with us for a half hour... Marco is all over him again wanting hugs and wrestles.

 

* I just love my time to snuggle, cuddle and love on the little guy. I wish I could just hold time still for a while and enjoy him even more than I already do. There is just never enough time in the day! Love him SO, SO, INCREDIBLY MUCH. He had brought so much joy to our lives and I could not love anything more. xoxo

 

 

 

 

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Marco's 15 Month Update

Marco's 15 Month Growth Stats
Height: 32.5 inches (90th %ile)
Weight: 21lbs 4oz (10-25th %ile)
Head: 19 1/4 (90th %ile)

Naps: He is consistently napping once a day. If he naps a second time, it’s because his regular nap was short, and/or we’re driving in the car somewhere in the late afternoon. For naps, up until we moved out of our house in mid-July, I would sit with him in the rocking chair so his head could rest on my shoulder and I could snuggle my head against his. When I felt his body start to fall into a sleepy state, I would lay him in his crib and he’d maybe wiggle a little bit, but he would generally just fall right to sleep. Since we moved out of the house, we’ve been in 11 different hotels and now just moved into a temporary apartment until our house is finished being built. The inconsistency in the sleep environment, and not having a crib for a majority of this time was so confusing to Marco. So now for nap time, I lay him down on the bed next to me and put big pillows all around us, and wait for him to settle himself down to sleep on my bed. The one thing that is consistent is his brown blanket. He LOVES his brown blanket and won’t sleep without it. He’s napping every day around 10:30/11am and will sleep anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. 

Night Sleep: We usually put the big kids to bed first and then put Marco to sleep so we can focus our energy on him without distractions from the big kids. Typically, Marco’s bedtime is at 8:15pm. Again, since his the move, there has been no real consistency with the sleep environment or even having a crib. This has been hard on me, and possibly a little difficult for Marco too. But, as any child would… he much rather prefers to sleep next to mommy versus alone in his crib. I LOVE this… but it’s challenging in that I again have become a bit of a sleep crutch and I have to be more involved just for his safety, etc. Part of me is really trying to just soak this up since I know he is my last baby. I’ll put his PJ’s on, brush his teeth, get his blanket and milk sippy cup and lay him in the bed next to me. I then wait for him to settle himself and fall asleep. This new process seems to take awhile because he’s still so excited to be in MY bed. Versus our typical (and fabulous!) routine that we had created where I would rock him for 10-15 minutes or until he started to fall asleep, and then set him in his crib where he would sleep nicely. He’s a good little sleeper, except for the nights when his teething gets the best of him. Most nights he will sleep through the night. And about once every 6 weeks, I think we hit a developmental milestone and he’ll wake up around 3:30/4am’ish, and be ready to play. This will keep me awake for an hour, sometimes longer… just in time to fall asleep and then have to wake up to get the other kids ready for school, etc. Oy! When he does sleep through the night, he’ll wake up anywhere between 6:30-8:30am.  

Eating: He is such a great little eater. He will eat anything and everything we put in front of him. And, he loves the little fruit and vegetable food pouches. Dan calls them spaceman food. He loves trying new foods. If he doesn’t want to eat something, he will push it to the side or off his tray. His favorites are pizza, pastas, eggs, salmon, sausage, blueberries, strawberries, peas, beans of any kind. 

Marco Updates: 

• His brown blanket is his favorite possession. He LOVES his blankey.
• Most frequently used words are: Momma, dadda, hot dog, baby, sausage. But, he mostly just grunts or screams or points to what he wants or is drawing your attention to.
• He knows what *Happy* is… and when he’s happy, he’ll say “HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!” I swear it’s the cutest thing. EVER.
• Loves riding on airplanes. He is insistent on sitting in his own seat and will shove anyone out of the way to sit in the window seat
• He’ll scream at the kids until they give him what they’re holding or they give him what he wants
• Temper tantrums! He’s starting to know he can express his anger when he’s upset, and gets attention for it. His current method for expressing anger is laying on the floor and kicking his feet against the wall, while crying. His older siblings think this is hilarious and they’re highly entertained by it. I try to just talk calmly and tell him why he can’t do what he was doing because it will hurt him or whatever.
• Loves to be silly and put buckets over his head, then walks around trying not to bump into the walls. Again, his siblings find this hilarious. 
• Loves the lawn mower and vacuums. As soon as the gardener starts the lawn mower, Marco will want to stand by the windows watching. 
• He also loves vacuums. He practically tries to cuddle with it. He watches and follows us while vacuuming, and the second we turn the vacuum off, he’ll start to cry. It is the funniest, saddest thing. You can’t help but laugh… and feel so bad for the little guy at the same time. 
• Teething like a madman! 
• Feeds mommy: He really enjoys feeding me whatever he is eating. 
• Fascinated with bubbles. He’ll sit so quietly, watching and wondering, when we blow bubbles into the air. 
• Loves to swim. He can’t get enough of the water. He tries to jump out or our arms constantly when we’re in the water with him. I think he watches his siblings and wants to do exactly what they’re doing. Somehow, he holds his breath underwater and every time we pull him up… you can tell he’s just getting ready to jump back out of our arms again into the water.
• Fascinated by grass and dirt. Just loves to touch it, play with it, throw it, dig in it… and yes, he’s also tried to eat it. :)
• Swats at things SO fast. 
• He’s been known to whip french fries across the table while we’re dining out. Always resulting in lots of laughter from the older siblings. 
• He likes to mostly stand in our booth or at our table, while we’re dining out.
• If he knows his food is hot, he loves to blow on it. 
• Loves swords, guns and legos.
• Drinking out of regular cups. Not perfectly, but he can do it.
• He is a total beast in doctor offices. He opens drawers, he wants to touch everything, can’t sit still for 2 seconds, even tries to climb up to the reception TV’s to turn the stations, etc. I dread when I have to bring him to a doctor appt with me, in fear of the typical doctor office wait. It’s so hard trying to keep him out of trouble and occupied. 
• Loves eating with utensils. Does everything he can to be a big boy.

Marco is ONE!

My baby boy is one year old! ONE! Where does the time go? [sniff sniff]

His birthday was a flurry of activity! School drop-offs and pickups for the big kids, Giuliana had gymnastics, and Dan was supposed to arrive home from a business trip that afternoon. Then, of course I had a house showing that I had to quickly scramble and prep the house for, and a cake to bake for little Marco to eat and smash in celebration of being one! After I picked the kids up from school, I quickly fed them and we then took off for Rocco's baseball game. Dan arrived home sometime during the game. When we got home... I think I finally had the cake frosted and decorated by 7:30pm, and by that time... poor little Marco was just exhausted and ready for bed! Who could blame him?! So... we were able to take a few photos of him with his siblings and the cake, and a few with mommy & daddy and the cake. Then, we sang H.appy Bi.rthday... he LOVED everyone singing to him! He danced and wiggled back and forth, all while having a huge smile on his face and clapping along with us at the end. It was adorable! He loved the chance to explore his cake. He first tested it with his finger... and seemed to really like the frosting. After a few finger licks... it was almost like he realized "Hmmm... this is GOOD! And, they're not stopping me from touching it!" So, he quickly took advantage of that and started patting his hands on it and laughing. Before we knew it, he was smashing both hands into the cake, while smiling and laughing. Frosting and cake were flying everywhere! This child was definitely my most brave and carefree birthday baby... he made a very big mess, he was so proud of it and had a TON of fun doing it! Absolute birthday success!

Marco's 12 Month Growth Stats:
Height: 30.5 inches (75th %ile)
Weight: 20lbs 16 oz (25th %ile)
Head: 18.8 (75-90 %ile)

Eating: Marco has become much more comfortable and courageous with solid foods since he stopped breastfeeding a little over a month ago. He will sometimes eat 2-3 adult sized yogurts in one day. Also, now that he is one we can start giving him cow's milk. He doesn't seem to like straight whole milk... but is a bit more interested if I give him a sippy cup filled with half whole milk and half chocolate milk. Making sure he gets enough calcium has been a concern of mine since he stopped nursing and would not drink formula. But, the doctor assured me that if he's eating so much yogurt - he'll be fine. Some of his favorite foods include sausage, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, bacon, raviolis, hot dogs, scrambled eggs, pizza, rice, salmon, and here's the surprise... lamb sliders! He could NOT get enough of the lamb sliders we ate the other night!  

Naps: Marco is napping only once a day in his crib on most days. He's on the brink of giving up that second nap, which has both positives and negatives. Since he's sort of ready to give it up, but often still needs it... I feel less guilty on the evenings we have to drive to an activity and he falls asleep on the drive. He'll often steal an hour long nap in the car on those nights... but always has a tough time when waking up from those evening naps. Poor baby! On the plus side... when they move to one nap, you feel less tied to home for those two nap sessions. But, it also means they have much more time to be busy and active during the day and melt down a bit faster as bed time approaches. I think in a month or two he will most certainly be living with only one nap a day. He goes down for his naps so great. I grab his brown blanket and rock him in the rocking chair, while singing to him softly. His little face cuddles into my neck and he falls fast asleep. Sometimes, I'll sit there and let him sleep on me a for a while. Other times, I'll put him down in his crib a minute or two after he falls asleep. He sleeps so soundly and peacefully. Love this little man so much!

Night Sleep: Marco is sleep trained! Woot! Since he stopped nursing, it was time to properly sleep train him and it was easy to do since we had a relatively familiar nightly routine... even with the recent change of no more breastfeeding. After I put the big kids to bed, we get him in his PJ's and brush teeth. We sit in the rocking chair, with his fuzzy brown blanket, and I will sing softly to him and hold him so his head rests on my shoulder (brown blankey wrapped around his back. He usually falls asleep pretty quick... and then I lay him down in his crib. I can tell he loves this time.. and I love it too. He rarely wakes up when I lay him down in the crib, but if he does... he can put himself to sleep with minimal fussing/crying. He wakes up still between 11pm - 2 am, and then I just bring him in bed next to me and he falls asleep right away. He will wake up for the day around 6:30am. We've had an odd/random, middle-of-the night wakeup with Marco that seems to happen once every 1-3 weeks. He'll just wake up and start babbling, and doing his happy *talk*. He'll kick at me, or slap at me to try and get reaction, or get me to wake up. He'll be wide awake for at least an hour. None of my other kids ever did this, and if they ever did, it certainly didn't happen on a regular basis. I think this is the way his little brain and body are handling developmental milestones... it's almost like he's just ready to go for the day... bright and early at 3am (usually it is in the 3 o'clock hour when he'll surprise me w/this great wakeup). Thankfully, he'll usually fall back asleep after an hour or hour and a half. But wow... it is exhausting me and I can't wait until his little brain figures out a better way to held the developmental milestones and growth! 

 

Marco Updates:   

* 4 teeth in his mouth now!

* Loves to wave "Hi" and "bye"... but still not saying either of those words.

* Loves to pull hair... anyone and everyone's hair is game if you let him get a grab at it.

* When he hears the gardener start up the lawn mower... he runs to the window and will watch him as long as he can stand there and see the lawn mower and the guy pushing it. If we're not near the window, he'll point and grunt for us to go over to the window to watch.

* Crazy obsession with the vacuum. He LOVES it. If I am vacuuming and stop... he will start to cry SO hard. But, the second you turn the vacuum on again, he walks around you happily with a big smile on his face... perfectly content just watching every move you make with that vacuum. I have a very funny video of this... I need to post it!

* He loves toys he can push... like Giuliana's baby stroller, the kid's grocery cart, the ride on car (he prefers to push it and not ride on it so much).

* Loves feeding Dan and I. He will always want to sit on my lap while I am eating, and I can rarely keep him from grabbing food off my plate and stuffing it in my mouth. It is hilarious, but so annoying at the same time because I can't just sit there and eat without food being jammed against my lips and subsequently making a mess all over the floor.

* He LOVEs going on wagon rides... he is fascinated by everything outdoors right now and is so curious about the outdoor world. He loves putting his hands in the dirt and grass. He loves seeing bunnies and deer and birds and dogs. He gets SO excited when he sees an animal and will point and scream... which of course scares off the wild animals.

* He loves being outside so much in fact that he will often bring his shoes to us, and that is his way of telling us it's time to go outside and explore.

* He has been given the opportunity to color on numerous occasions (thanks to the ever present basket of markers and color crayons on the table)... and he LOVES it. He will climb up onto the kitchen chairs and color any of the papers that are sitting on the table, or the table itself. He has also colored the floors. Thank goodness for washable markers!

* He is fascinated by Rocco and all of Rocco's toys... especially the swords, guns, cars and transformers. He also tries to mimic humming the Trans.formers theme song that Rocco is always humming as he plays.

* He and Giuliana have a special little bond. And, he is constantly pulling her hair which really gets her upset. I find them stealing toys from each other on occasion... and other times, you'll find them snuggled up to each other on the sofa under a blanket. And, Giuliana will also baby him from time to time and put blankets over him or bring him his milk.

*He loves to play catch. He gets really excited whenever he sees a ball and will run over to it, pick it up with a big smile on his face, and quickly find someone to throw it to. Then he patiently waits for someone to throw it back.

 

 

 

 

Marco's Nursing Strike & The End of Breastfeeding

Have you ever heard of a *nursing strike*? As in, a breastfeeding nursing strike?

I have breastfed 5 babies, and had never heard of a nursing strike until recently, when my fifth child, Marco, decided to go on a nursing strike, six weeks shy of his first birthday.

Had this not been my fifth child, and had he not been so close to one year of age… this could have been very traumatizing. And, I’m sure there are so many women who have had a completely traumatizing experience when their infant starts a nursing strike, and my heart goes out to all of you.
Marco recently had R.oseola. In the first 24 hours of coming down with the fever, he went from nursing 10-12 times a day to not nursing at all. Not once! It was such a frustrating (and painful!) experience.

Prior to this illness, breastfeeding had not only been his main food source, but it was also his preferred method of being soothed, since birth. As any breastfeeding mom knows… breastfeeding wasn’t just a bonding experience, but it was my secret weapon to make him happy and calm him no matter what the situation.

Well… twenty-four hours into Marco having R.oseola and starting this nursing strike, I had to dig the breast pump equipment out of the garage because my breasts had become so engorged. I was also getting a little stressed because my motherly instinct wanted to help and soothe him while he was sick by nursing him, but he would get angry and cry harder and push away. It just wasn’t making sense to me and was so frustrating. I was also SO busy with a sick baby and three other kids (Dan was away on biz travel), that I didn’t have ten minutes to stop and try pumping that day to take care of my own body’s needs. So, I sent quick note to the Le L.eche League:

“Question regarding refusal to nurse at 10.5 mnths of age: My little guy is a good nursing baby. Brought him to doctor yesterday, thinking he might have ear infection because he didn't want to nurse right away yesterday morning like usual. Did not have ear infection - but fluid in ears, yes. Last night, I nursed him around 8:30pm before putting him down (like normal), and then he woke up at 11:20pm w/low-grade fever. I spent the entire night holding him, and trying to console him, all the while he refused to nurse. He finally fell asleep around 5am, and slept for 2 hours. When he woke up, still refusing to nurse. Brought him to MD first thing today since still presenting fever, still no ear infection. MD thinks just a virus. He's NEVER refused nursing. Matter-of-fact, it's usually a source of soothing for him when teething, upset or sick. He has now not nursed for 21 hours and he does not take a bottle either. He is drinking water and eating now. But, I don't understand why he's not nursing. Can you help me troubleshoot? Have you heard of similar experiences w/other nursing moms/babies his age? He's my 5th child, all of which have been breastfed babies and this is a new experience for me. Wondering if he is suddenly done w/nursing? I pumped this morning and noticed that my breastmilk is not very fatty at all. Could my milk be bad or not likable to him anymore?? Any help you or any of your fans can provide would be GREAT!”

They truly are such a great organization, and they quickly responded with:
“This is a nursing strike and one of the most stressful things a mama and baby can go through. They do sometimes happen with an illness. I'll give you some broad suggestions, but if you want specific support, I'd encourage you to call a leader for (free!) help. First, keep your milk moving. Human milk isn't very fatty. That's by design and totally normal. If you have access to a pump, pump as often as your nursling would typically nurse. You can offer milk in a sippy or straw cup. One thing to remember is baby's that don't nurse typically can't. This is just as frustrating for baby as it is for you. Try and offer the breast as Often as you can. Keep it low stress.”

In addition, they suggested taking a bath with the baby, and provided me with two local contacts to reach out to.  

I unfortunately didn’t have the option to take a bath with Marco because I didn’t have another adult here to manage the rest of the crew. I don’t know if he would have even done that anyway, he just wanted to be held and snuggled because he was so ill. And, by the time I tried to pump (24 hours later), I was so engorged it was basically unsuccessful. My boobs hurt so bad at this point that it hurt to even hold Marco against my chest.

I continued to offer Marco the boob through a second sleepless night, only to frustrate him and myself more. Dan finally arrived home almost 40 hours after Marco last nursed. I told him not to come home unless he walked in the door with cabbage. He arrived home around 2pm and once we were able to get Marco’s fever down again, I tried almost every trick in the book to get the milk moving out of me… a hot shower and massage, hand expression, and finally the pump. I STILL was not having much luck and was basically now in more pain (because of the massaging), and felt like there were bruises all over my chest. The pump did help a tiny bit though, so I didn’t go as far as trying the old *cabbage leaves on the boobs* trick to release the milk. But, I have to admit I was so desperate at one point that I almost wanted to volunteer to nurse another mother's child. I just needed a baby to suck on the boobs! AGH!!

Looking back, it’s almost comical that THIS is the way my last breastfeeding experience had to end. I guess I’ve been lucky to not have any problems breastfeeding until now… why not end with a bang, right?! Jeesh!

Eventually, I was able to pump/massage the milk out and get to a point of comfort. It was a painful, time-consuming experience that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

I shared my story/drama with a few mommy friends, and a couple told me that they too had experienced this *nursing strike* business. One little boy didn’t nurse for two days at 7 months old, and then he took to it again and has continued. Another friend’s little girl went on a nursing strike for two weeks at 9 months of age… the mom continued to pump, and then one morning while the baby was half-sleeping, she offered the breast and the baby started nursing regularly again until her mommy weaned her close to 14 months of age.

Hearing those stories made me think Marco *might* start nursing again, and to maybe not give up so easily. But, when he continued to not want anything to do with the boob after his fever was gone (five days later), it was clear to me he had decided he was finished. And, mentally, I was done.

Marco wasn’t nursing. He wasn’t even drinking any of the pumped milk – and I couldn’t blame him! It looked awful to me. It wasn’t the nice yellow color that *good* breast milk normally has. It almost had a blue tint to it, and there was barely a layer of fat on top.

I wasn’t about to try pushing the breastfeeding agenda on an almost 11 month old. Nor was I about to begin pumping consistently, on a regular basis at this stage of the game if he wasn’t interested in the milk.

Here we are 2.5 weeks later. I am down to pumping once every other day, and my last EVER pump will probably be tomorrow. I have tried offering Marco breast milk numerous times – he doesn’t want it. I have tried offering him formula numerous times, to which he still gauges and does not want a drop. The pediatrician tells me he shouldn’t have cow’s milk until he is 1 year old.

Now, you are probably asking “How is he getting the calcium he needs?”

Well, he eats at least 4 adult sized vanilla yogurts every single day. And, he has been eating massive amounts of anything and everything I offer him lately. It’s insane! While he was breastfeeding – he was still not super-interested in table foods. He was eating baby foods more frequently, but still loved to nurse whenever he wanted. Now, he is like a little wolf, and willing to try eating whatever is presented to him! He eats cous cous, rice, peas, green beans, avocado, strawberries, raspberries, chicken, turkey, ham, potatoes, French fries, mac & cheese, raviolis, tortellinis, waffles, pancakes, buttered toast, yogurt…and those are just his favorites. I’m so proud of him… it’s like he just took a leap of faith into the world of food!

And here’s the kicker – he is now either sleeping through the night or only waking up once during the night since quitting breast feeding! When he was breastfeeding, he was still nursing throughout the night… probably 2-5 times a night, which resulted in me never getting a good night’s sleep. It’s as if his little tummy is finally so happy to have lots of filling, fatty foods in it… and he can sleep for longer periods of time because of it! YAY!!

I guess I had envisioned a grand ending to my breastfeeding experience with Marco… especially since he is our last child. When he went on the nursing strike, I have to admit that the “Oh my gosh… I’m not going to have that last moment with him… with any baby again… EVER!” But, that seemed to pass quickly. Or, perhaps I just didn’t dwell on it because I was so glad when he finally finished the Ro.seola virus and was healthy again.

I think it was a WIN-WIN for both of us. He seems happier. He is sleeping better. He’s eating everything and truly loving food. And, I am sleeping better. I am enjoying my new-found freedom of not having to be constantly attached to a baby who needed to breastfeed every 3 hours. And, I am having so much fun introducing him to so many new foods.

It is truly the end of an era for me... no more breastfeeding babies! The boobies are done! (and now they look like they need to GET done! ha!)