So I’ve been away visiting my Mum with the little guy. I’ve gotta say it’s so relaxing being away from the apartment and it’s many stresses. Not to mention the fact that I have an extra set of hands when the baby needs something. We managed to visit all Mum’s friends and show off Goober Monster to everyone. We even got out to London and visited with my Gran. It’s so cute, since my Mum is Gran to GM, my Gran decided she wanted the title of “Great” for him.
Upon returning I spent 4 hours in traffic to complete a usual 2 hour trek. Needless to say I was a weensie bit cranky when I finally got home. And of course I found that Retard was not exactly “normal”. He hasn’t had a drink since he was assessed and scared straight on August 28th, which is amazing. However to keep him from drinking he is taking Valium which gives him some of the same characteristics as when he’s drinking. Today though he was 100% unaltered (okay he had a couple of smokes – another thing he’s supposed to have quit) which was totally amazing. It was so nice to be able to trust him with the baby and just relax. I felt the knots in my stomach finally uncurl just that little bit. I really need this to continue and hopefully the fuss I made about how great it was to see him again will get the idea across.
Since I’m feeling slightly random (as is probably obvious from my disjointed entry above), why not do a random meme?

randomness…feed your mind and your blog
week of sept 23: do you prefer…

1. day or night? night
2. chocolate or vanilla? vanilla
3. coffee or tea? neither – iced or chinese tea
4. renting a movie and staying home or going out to the theater? staying home
5. regular books or audio books? regular
6. driving to a faroff destination or just taking an airplane? ROADTRIP!!
7. hamburger or hotdogs? burgers
8. listening to music or watching tv? tunes & computer
9. Desperate Housewives or Survivor? (both are tv shows)<– duh! Survivor
10. homecooked meal or fancy restaurant? not-so-fancy restaurant

I have either been attached to a very cranky baby, or else lying in a heap on the couch crying this past week. I don’t know if it’s post-partum, me ovulating, or my period making it’s way back. The only thing I know for sure is that I’m not pregnant. I’m almost sad about that. I’ve managed to pack on at least 10lbs, have a wicked sweet tooth and just feel … off. Two pregnancy tests later I guess I have to admit that there’s another reason I’ve porked up. I am supposed to be packing, but can’t seem to find the time (holding my cranky son doesn’t leave a lot of time) or the motivation to get much of anything done. This is definitely not the time to be having an emotional breakdown! My DS is having difficulties nursing, but my public health nurse says that it might be a case of my milk changing with the hormones and he’s just not used to it yet. Sounds feasible. His doctor’s appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday, so I’m really hoping that his weight is up considerably. He’s in something like the 10th percentile which I’m certainly not happy about, but besides this cranky week, he is a very happy laid-back kid. Today he turns 5 months old. Not sure where all the time went. Wow. If his weight isn’t better than we may have to start him on solids early. Not thrilled about it, but whatever helps the kid is best.

Sunday I ended up going to church by myself. Okay correction, without Retard. In usual form he started telling me the night before that he would not be going. Why does it have to be a constant struggle every week?! So of course I was running late, and when you’re running late of course that would be the time when it’s packed and tough to find a seat. Mostly it was an enjoyable service except that I felt I had to keep my little guy quiet (he’s really starting to babble these days) during the sermon. So I kept trying to put a pacifier in his mouth, something he’s definitely not used to since I basically refuse to use them. The lady next to us (who I didn’t know) kept trying to get him to hold her hand. Not sure exactly if I thought this was just nice or kind of creepy. Don’t people usually ask instead of presuming they can just put their hand in my son’s car seat and touch him? I’m sure I’m just over-reacting.
So after church I had to go bathing suit shopping. Nothing more interesting than buying a swim suit for a 4 month old. Once again our family motto of “everything happens for a reason” crops up. Saturday I had Goober Monster in the bath with me and decided to try on his suit for his upcoming very first swim lesson. The pool is very strict about the diaper being tight around his legs so it retains any foul things that might emerge from his backside. Thank goodness I tried it on him (I was sort of saving it for that day) ahead of time as it ended up being too big! I wouldn’t have imagined that it would be. It’s a size small from 10-16lbs and he’s skinny sure, but he still weighs over 11lbs. So I was all in a panic because according to the class guidelines I was to have either Kooshies or Little Swimmers. I figured the ones I bought were so cute because they were actual trunks instead of the diaper style. Plus I hadn’t been able to find Kooshies (though I didn’t look that hard) and Little Swimmers didn’t come that small. I did manage to find a place downtown and drove all the way out there only to be told that they didn’t carry small sizes. ARGH! Luckily (again) I had jotted down 1 other place that was said to carry the Kooshies and called them. They did in fact have small in stock and boys ones to boot. YAY! They really are cuter than I figured they’d be, so now I’m all set. The Kooshies fit 6-14lbs so there shouldn’t be any reason that they won’t fit. I haven’t tried them yet, and will before his lesson Friday, but it’s a diaper style so I can easily cinch the tummy smaller thus making the legs tighter too. I have been looking forward to getting the little boy in the water since he was born, so I’m definitely not going to miss this!
I managed to find my little guy a boy doll (Little Eddie) for when he gets a bit older and it just arrived.

I’m so impressed. I bought it off ebay and it’s nearly mint! You wouldn’t believe another kid ever played with it and it even has all it’s little parts. Um, not the way that sounded. He’s wearing a removable backpack that contains his friend the frog (don’t know his name) and a little comb, because apparently Little Eddie is a little vain. hahaha