It's just to hard to watch him suffer. . .

Teagan is a very happy baby. He is so good-natured and doesn't cry often. When he does cry, I end up with a headache that lasts about 3 hours! I guess I can just be grateful it doesn't happen often.

At his 2 month checkup, his pediatrician told me that by 4 months, he should be reaching for objects and be able to turn over. He suggested that I give him plenty of time on his tummy to practice rolling over and to avoid the flat head syndrome that babies can get.

Teagan is 3 months old now and loves reaching for objects and grabbing things. (like my hair, my shirt, and any jewelry that I might be wearing, and his latest favorite is my lip!) The rolling over hasn't improved though. I lay him on his tummy and he immediately starts crying. I know I need to leave him there, but it's so hard to just let him scream. I can't stand to see him so upset. I know it's the best thing for him and I make sure to put him on his tummy everyday. He throws a complete fit and bangs his head on the floor and kicks his legs but can't quite turn over yet. The poor kid doesn't like the tough love. Oh well, it will make a man out of him.

What's in a name?

My uncle Lynn (pictured here) associates things together in order to remember them. For example, to this day, when asked what color something is, he says "sky blue" or "grass green" or "blood red." He had a yellow bicycle which means that yellow to him is "bicycle yellow." My grandpa had a brown pick-up truck, and "pick-up brown" is how Lynn sees brown. Well, this goes for some names as well. He couldn't remember my son, Teagan's name and kept calling him Peyton. I finally told him just to call him Mr. T. He doesn't have trouble remembering it anymore, now he just keeps telling me that I need to let him have a mohawk and wear jewelry. He even calls him Teagan now and not Mr. T.

Well, my sister married a guy named Joe Ray. (for those of you who don't know him, that's his first and last name. It's not like a Billy Bob kinda thing.) Lynn couldn't remember Joe's name. Someone (I admit it. It was me) told him it was Joe, like Joe Dirt. (a David Spade movie that Lynn loves) It stuck with Lynn like glue, and that's all he called him for a long time. Stephanie and Joe have been married for almost two years and Lynn now just calls him Joe. The association helps him learn and eventually (except for his colors) he uses the word without naming the association.

A few days ago, Lynn was talking about last names and was telling me that he was a Larsen and I was a Pearson. I told him that he was right and asked him if he knew a few other family member's last names. He did. When I asked him what Stephanie's last name was . . . you guessed it, he thought it was DIRT! He literally thought that her name was Stephanie Dirt! I laughed pretty hard and then told him he was right.

I later felt guilty for encouraging him to think that her name was dirt, so I taught him her real last name. Now he knows her as Stephanie Sting Ray. Hey, anything's better than dirt!

Sleep deprivation

Sleep has never seemed more important to me than when I can't get any. Many people take sleep for granted. I used to be one of those people. Now I cherish every blessed moment that I get to spend sleeping. I found out from my son's pediatrician that he should be sleeping longer at night than he is. I am now trying to figure out how I can get him to sleep for a solid 4-6 hours without waking up. He consistently wakes up 3 times at night. (from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) So I go to bed around ten and he wakes up at midnight. I feed him and get him settled down again and I end up back in bed around one. He then wakes up at about two or three. I feed him, and put him back to bed and he wakes up again at 4 or 5 a.m. Then at about 6 a.m. he is wide awake and wants to play. It is really starting to get to me.

Sleep deprivation can do strange things to people. I feel so distracted all the time. I also laugh at the most ridiculous things. I was laughing until there were actual tears streaming down my face over the stupidest thing. My husband was trying to sleep and I kept him up because I could not stop laughing. It had something to do with a muffin, but I don't even remember. That's the other thing, I can't remember anything anymore! I think when you are so focused on taking care of a baby your mind uses up all it's got doing that and your memory, and common sense fly out the window. Thank goodness for the weekends. That's Darryl's turn to be up with the baby!

St. Patrick's Day!

This holiday has been my favorite since I was about five years old. Many people find this strange. They always ask me why. Well, I found leprechauns fascinating as a child. I wished I could be one. You get to wear green everyday, play tricks on people, have lots of gold, and you also have magical abilities. Who wouldn't want that? I found a picture of me as a child wearing a leprechaun mask that I made out of paper. My mom told me that I refused to take it off. Though I now realize that leprechauns are not real and my dreams of becoming one have been shattered, I still love the holiday. My main reason now is that St. Patrick's Day is the easiest holiday to celebrate. All you have to do is wear green and all of the sudden you are so festive. It's also the only day you can justify eating corned beef and cabbage. Looking back, it seems as though I have had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day every year. This year was no exception. I dressed my baby up in as much green as I could find. I wore a nausiatingly bright green shirt, and ran some errands. Nothing special, but that's the best part of the holiday. It doesn't have to be.

Lynn

As most of you know, I have a mentally handicapped uncle who lives with my grandmother in the basement apartment at my parents house. (My husband and I live with my parents also. We have 8 people, 2 poodles and a sugar glider in a 5 bedroom house. It gets a little crazy sometimes.) Well, my uncle Lynn is one of my favorite people. This is a good thing; especially because I am his favorite person. He likes the dogs better than any person, but it's good to know that I am at least his favorite human. He has a sense of humor that is unlike anything I can describe. He mental level ranges from about a 3 year old to about a 6 year old, depending on the task being performed. He can't tie his shoes, but he can tell you almost anything you want to know about any one of the hundreds of movies he owns.

Today he came upstairs once he got bored of my grandmother's company and decided to visit me. My son, Teagan has been sick, so he saw a thermometer sitting in it's plastic case on the table next to where I was sitting with the baby. He asked, "that's Teagan's monitor?" I told him that it was in fact Teagan's thermometer to check his temperature to make sure he didn't have a fever. He then asked if Teagan put it in his mouth. I told him that babies can't hold thermometers in their mouths. Before I could say another word, he stood up, started running toward the basement and said, "I don't even wanna know where you stick that thing!" I laughed pretty hard, and asked him if he wanted me to show him how it worked by taking his temperature, and he said, "Forget it!" and slammed the basement door as though he couldn't escape fast enough.

Sometimes, I really wonder what gets into him. He is hilarious. If I continue this blogging business, you will definitely hear more about Lynn. He is always good for a laugh. It never fails to amaze me that someone with a disability like his can come up with that many clever things to say. I am just glad he finally stopped calling Darryl (my hubby) my ex-boyfriend's name. Now I just need to get him to quit asking me when Andrea is going to have a baby. He thinks that since I have one, she should too. After all, we have always done practically everything together. Andrea, I am going to give him your phone number so he can pester you about it. (Not that he knows how to dial)