A memorable 2008 Christmas!

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What a memorable 2008 Christmas it's been here in Vancouver! Words can hardly express what a wonderful delight it has been to have baby Connor join the family this year. Christmas is now so much more special to Linds and me because of Connor.

We've had the most snow possibly ever this Christmas in Vancouver. On Christmas Day, we had a small family gathering with the Paus (Gung Gung's sister's family) at our place and enjoyed turkey, stuffing and lots of other goodies. Linds put on a roaring fire which made the place warm and cozy. After dinner we played games on the Wii and the elders gambled "Fish, Shrimp, Crab" - Linds learned how to play it too!

Also very special this Christmas, Andrew and Cindy are about 6 months along with their pregnancy now. And then at dinner Francis and Sally announced that they are 2 months pregnant! We are so very happy for them all! This means that next Christmas there will be 3 babies!

Playing "Fish, Shrimp, Crab"

With the end of 2008, and Connor almost 6 months old, I thought I would list some things I will love to remember about caring for Connor.

• Those first days in the hospital - how tiny he was! How soft his skin, with the downy lanugo (newborn hair) on his back! How totally dependent he was on us!


• The sweet scent of baby Connor's breath.


• Connor's silky skin: his soft chubby little fingers, the back of his neck.


• Connor babbling in the morning when he wakes up: aaaaeeeeeee oooooooh aaaaaaaeeeee


• One time Linds was holding a naked Connor, getting ready for a bath, and Connor started to wee wee all over the bathroom but Linds didn't know it.


• His first fever (from the 4 months shots)... he was so helpless... his feverish little body, sleeping in my arms.


• Connor sleeping in my arms with his mouth open.


• The first time that Connor pursed his lips together and blowing, trying to make a "b" sound (this started yesterday... we think that's what he's trying to do; I read that babies start making sounds with consonant at 6 months, like "bababababa" or "mamamamama").


• His beautiful down-like head of hair slowly growing in.


• Connor's long eyelashes.


• Nursing Connor in bed.
  
  
• He's brought the family closer.
  

Our little baby... getting bigger so fast!

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My First Christmas!

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It sure has been an exciting month! And it's almost over already!

On Christmas Eve we had dinner with Po Po and Gung Gung. Mom made Pork Wellington and they all drank Crown Royal and Red Wine (well, light on the Crown Royal and wine for Mommy since she is still nursing me). I can't wait to try some of that! We also had another family dinner on Christmas Day with Aunt Rose's family.

On Christmas Day, we opened presents! Here is a video of me opening the stocking from Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Brian (Yeh Yeh and Mah Mah). Check it out, I'm sitting in one of those Bumbo seats - the twins lent the chair to me (that's why it's lilac - yuchy girl colour!). It's neat, I can sit up by myself for a lot longer in this chair.

And in this video, Mommy and Daddy cheer me on
while I open this present myself...

I received lots of gifts: clothes, bibs, rattles, books, feeding dishes... but I think my favourite is the Baby Einstein play mat. It's got lots of rattles hanging from it as well as a mirror and a musical toy. Here's a video of me below enjoying the play mat.

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Connor at 5 months young

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Connor is becoming quite the chunky monkey! His thighs are 10" around - check out the photo below and look at his legs! We also started cloth diapering this week (not exclusively though, we are still using disposables through the night and as necessary. In the photo below he is wearing one of his cloth diapers). Connor can now be on his tummy without much fuss, and he will turn over from that position most of the time as well.

Connor's legs have always been a bit rough all over, but lately they started getting really dry and I think they were starting to chap as part of his thigh was getting reddish. It is strange why only his legs are like this, and I was worrying that it may be eczema. To try to address his skin problem I tried Aveeno Soothing Relief Moisture Cream, which claims it works for "infants or babies with extra dry, itchy skin, even dry skin from eczema." Amazingly, there appeared to be improvement the very next day, and now we are on day three and parts of his legs are feeling baby soft again!

Last week Connor sucked on his lower lip a lot - don't know why! He looks so cute doing that though, ha ha. Here he is doing that!

Connor has not been sleeping early anymore. Lately he won't fall asleep until 10:30 PM, and will sleep until about 8:30 AM (with a few feedings in between). He is still sleeping in our bed, so the feedings are not a problem for me. And Connor basically gets up when I get up. I wonder if his late sleeping is because we don't usually sleep until that time as well. I am still reading up on this matter of sleep - who knew that it would be such a big issue to deal with! At this point I want to continue co-sleeping with Connor because it is easier for me, but also according to "attachment parenting" advocates (a term coined by Dr. William Sears, a famous present-day pediatrician and author; very anti-Ferber), a much better bond and trust is formed with the baby. Attachment parenting stresses the importance of being with your baby through methods such as co-sleeping and baby wearing. Basically we have been "attachment parenting" without knowing it!

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I'm getting stronger

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I am now able to sit up for short durations all by myself! I've been doing so for a couple of weeks now.

Yesterday I finally was able to roll over by myself (from tummy to my back)! I've rolled over a few more times since. Mommy is so relieved, as I'm now practically 5 months old. She was getting worried, and even went researching this online before I finally turned over. Apparently there is a huge time frame of when turning over can happen - it could be at 3 months or even up to 7 months. If at 12 months a baby has not yet turned over then a doctor should definitely be consulted. The more tummy time though the better.

Here's me - one of the first times I've been sitting up by myself!

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Watch out for those socks!

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Last night from around 6pm onwards, Connor was fussy right up to bedtime (around 9pm). I couldn't figure out what was wrong... and then I noticed he still had his tight little blue socks around his chubby feet and ankles. As soon as I took them off he was all smiles and nursed blissfully to sleep!

I have a bunch of stuff I've been wanting to blog about but it's been hard to make time to do it with Christmas shopping, putting up the tree, and the family being sick. Topics include cloth diapering - which I just started trying out yesterday; increasing milk supply, plantar fasciitis, wrist pain, and the ongoing sleep training. Will try to blog these soon.

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Noteworthy Family Recalls of 2008/ 2007: Check your home for these recalled baby and kid products

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Here's a good list of recalls from Babyzone.com ... the list includes photos of each product.

Having kids means buying stuff—toys, furniture, clothing, medicine, and more. But sometimes that stuff is later deemed unsafe by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), the nation's resource for protecting families against unsafe pr

View >>

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It Happened to Me: Accident Survival Stories

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These stories are scary for Mommies !!

Spills, falls, and other accidents are all a part of parenting. Share your safety stories to help make other parents aware of what could happen so they can keep their children safe.

View >>

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My first cold!

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I've been sick... I think it was a cold... it started on Monday, I had a little cough, and at first Mommy didn't even think I was sick. By Thursday I felt horrible, I vomited a couple of times in the morning for three days straight, I had the sniffles and you could hear I was wheezing a bit.

Since I should not be having medication until after I'm 2 years old (or doctor's orders of course. like baby Tylenol for fevers), Mommy tried to relieve my congestion by running hot water in the bathroom and we hung out there for a few minutes. That helped a little. She also bought a warm mist humidifier and added the vapour stuff to it and I think that's helped too. By today I was better, I didn't vomit in the morning, I was not as stuffed up nor coughing as much. She also bought some saline drops today but since I was better we haven't needed to use it.

Now Mommy and Daddy and also Po Po are sick too! Ellie's Mommy Amy is also sick. I hope Ellie doesn't end up catching it!

Here are some neat photos Daddy took of us while we were spinning around the room... this was before we got sick.

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Modelling

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Check it out, Mom's trying to make me a model:

http://www.newfaces.com/connorallen

Visit me lots, it increases my searchability ranking...

Mom's been trying to find modelling places in Vancouver but has only found one that is accepting baby models. She says she can't find much information online at all about baby modelling. There are a few sites like the newfaces.com, so she might post me there too. She told me not to get my hopes up. Oh well I have my own fans already - Po Po, Gung Gung, Mah Mah, Yeh Yeh, etcetera, etcetera!!

Here are some more pics of me posing! I like this one with my tongue sticking out. :D

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