State of Our Household [Month 8]

I’m going to make a bold statement.  Despite being a super fun age, month 8 did not fly by.  Not at all.

Obviously, I don’t mean this in a negative way, but the days certainly felt long.  I’m 99% positive this has to do with the gloomy weather and Kaiden having an intense cold since mid-January.  No bueno.

We have had some fun sprinkled throughout though – Valentine’s Day party at K’s school, a fun and unexpected night in with my sister, a great movie, and pizza, music class and a lunch date with a friend, etc.

With that, let’s see how each member of our household fared in month 8.

STATE OF KAIDEN

Despite having an epic cold, Kaiden remained our happy-go-lucky little baby.  I really hope this is signs of things to come!  The only time it truly impacted him from what we could see is at night.  The congestion really got the best of him (and us).

When I really think about it, the things that stand out to me this month are more so related to his personality.  For example, when he gets upset, it literally takes him five seconds to calm down and go back to jumping and smiling.  I think I need to take a page out his book!  He’s also the happiest in the morning (maybe all babies are?), and a tiny bit grouchier in the evenings.  I have no idea where he gets it from!  From what we can tell, Kaiden is also stubborn.  If he doesn’t want to do something, there is no way you’ll get him to do it.  Eating, smiling, talking – it’s all done on his terms.

Another fun recent development involves Kaiden randomly shaking his head no.  It’s the cutest thing ever.  I now have him shaking his head yes too.  And he does it on cue when we say ‘yes, yes, yes, yes, yes’ or ‘no, no, no, no, no.’  But again, only when he really wants to!

As far as food goes, Kaiden is drinking his normal amount of milk plus 3 meals a day.  We’re no where close to eating finger food, but we did graduate to thicker/chunkier purees.

Sleep, as I mentioned, is still a big miss.  It all starts out well, and then goes to hell around midnight and then again at 4 am.  Vishnu and I are waiting this cold out before taking any action.

In terms of physical developments, we are trying to encourage crawling as much as possible.  Spoiler alert – he’s no where close!  Lots of people have told us K will likely walk before he crawls.  We shall see!  And while he’s not eating finger foods yet (literally the only thing he won’t put in his mouth), he does have a better handle on the pincer grab.  Enough to help him throw his food on the floor.  Ha!  And one last thing – Kaiden started clapping all on his own this month!  You would’ve thought he found a solution to world peace with the way we reacted!  Ha!

And finally, daycare!  It’s still going well.  Honestly, the only downside we see is the sickness (and the cost!).  But from what we hear, it’s either now or later.  Kaiden still loves his teachers (and vice versa!)…so much so that he still doesn’t look back twice when I leave.  But thankfully, he greets us with an eager smile at the end of the day!

And that, in a nutshell, is my Mr. K!  On to month 9…

STATE OF MAMA

Just when I think I have a handle on life, something comes up and throws me off.  I really wish I wasn’t someone who thrives on routine and schedules, but I am, and I can’t help feeling overwhelmed when my routine gets thrown out the window.  It’s been 8 months, yet I’m still not as agile as I need to be.  Maybe one day!  For me, when things go crazy, and I need to dig deep and embrace the chaos, I also need to learn how to manage my energy more effectively.  I tend to be a go big or go home type of person, so I want to go my all to everything and everyone.  Basically, that’s a recipe for disaster, and I, in turn, am a hot mess!  Once I figure out this whole energy management thing, I’ll be sure to share my thoughts.  I feel like it’s a helpful topic for everyone, mama or not.

Something else I’m dealing with is a new kind of guilt.  The guilt that creeps up when you feel anxiety or sadness or anger because you know you still have it better than so many people.  The guilt that screams, “Who are you to complain?”  No solutions yet, except giving myself some grace and constantly saying thanks for all that I have and sending love to those who need it.

Other than that, I’m just trying to figure out the whole working mama thing.  Some days are great and I feel like superwoman, and some days are a mess where I feel like I can’t get it together.  That’s when I have to remind myself…one day at a time!

STATE OF DADDY

Vishnu is doing well.  I think the sleep deprivation hit him harder than it has in the past.  But of what he has going on the next day, he will jump up to get Kaiden or comfort him.  He really is our superman!

Vishnu and K’s bond really grew this past month.  You should see how Kaiden’s face lights up when he sees his daddy!  Dare I say it’s more so than when he sees mama.  Vishnu’s also having a lot of fun interacting with K now that he follows cues and is physically stronger.  I can see these two rough- housing in the future!

STATE OF PAR AND VISHNU

One of the biggest highlights of the month is the fact that we finally got our act together and created an P+V bucket list.  And we kind of sort of started one of our 10 things already – our book club for 2. Well, we picked out and ordered our book. Step 1 – check!

We did have one fail this month. Instead of a delicious date night at a new-to-us restaurant, we ended up cancelling because Kaiden vomited a few times as we were getting ready. My sister was over and ready to take over and everything! It still ended up being a fun night – like I said before, we watched a fun movie and enjoyed pizza and ice cream! We’ll try again soon.

Overall, something I’ve really noticed and appreciated is that we make a real effort to connect every day. We talk about our days, laugh about things Kaiden did, and try to spend quality time with each other technology free. Not that we didn’t connect before, but now it feel so much more intentional. It’s made all the difference – less annoyances and more fun, more getting stuff done, more like the good old days. Again, it’s not perfect, but it’s us!

And finally, we have a fun trip in the works for the end of March. We’re headed to Costa Rica with my sister, Adarsh (her husband) and Niel (Vishnu’s brother). No Kaiden though. He’ll stay with my parents in Atlanta while we’re away. Vishnu (and everyone else) sold me on this trip by reiterating how it would be good for our sanity and a much needed vacation. It took me a while to come around and agree to leave K behind, but I think it’ll be good for all of us. More to come soon!

And with that, we say good-bye to month 8 and hello to month 9!