Walking!

Tuesday evening (Nov. 30) Ivan decided it was about time to walk. He took about 4 steps over to his dad, then 4 more from his dad to me. This happened at about 7pm. As tends to happen, this wore out our little adventurer and he climbed up on his dad's chest and fell quickly asleep at about 8pm.

As the saying goes, early to bed, early to rise. Ivan got up at 2am to explore again. Being as worn out as I could be, I sat in the rocker as Ivan proceeded to pick items out of his toy box, stand from seated on the floor, and walk them to me. I was impressed with his ability to walk, but overwhelmed with my desire to rest. I'm hoping this doesn't become a trend. 2am is not my best hour.

We officially have a Toddler NOW! :)

For your enjoyment, here is a list of Ivan's words:

1. Thank You (Det-too) : Ivan's first word, though he used it randomly for a very long time, I think he's starting to understand what it means... maybe.

2. Dog (Dug) : Ivan uses this for any animal, including seagulls.

3. Dexter (Det-ur) : He associates this with his dogs. I think he learned this one because I'm always calling that little Dexter down for something.

4. Diaper (Diaper) : He is really good at saying diaper. go figure.

5. Mom (momomomomom) : I'm not sure about this one. He says it a lot though.

6. Dad (dud) : Sometimes it's dudu or dude but he really loves his dud.

7. More (Mur): Another recent development.

8. Poo (Boo) : The first time he said this I was wondering when we had said boo to him... very soon after, I smelled that it meant poo. You live you learn.

9. Eat (eeeeee) : This is usually said with a very nasal twang.

10. Grandma (gama) : He said this one yesterday, and I'm still trying to decide what he really said. It was definitely in reference to grandma.

AND YES:

11. No (No) : Everyone's favorite. Yes, Ivan has learned to say no... and says it very randomly.

First Step

Ivan took his first unassisted step on Oct. 25, 2010. He was between the chair and the coffee table and let go of the chair that he was holding. He took a step, then realized he wasn't holding anything and quickly grabbed the coffee table. I'm confident that it won't be long until he is walking on his own. On Friday, Oct. 22 he stood in the front yard on his own for quite a while on his own. He was very proud of himself.

Growing Ever more independent

Ivan is a cruising, crawling, independently eating little man. Every day I'm surprised and impressed by his tenacious desire to be self sufficient. He still wants and needs Mommy and Dad, but really LOVES to eat finger foods, push his stroller, and try to drink from a cup all on his own. Most of these tasks, he still struggles with, but it's such a beautiful thing to see him lifting a cup to his own mouth. He has even figured out a straw (with a little help from Dad).

He has managed to say "Thank you," (which ususally sounds like "Tadoo") "Dog," (Sometimes very clearly) "Dada," and "Momma"(I'm convinced it actually means food to him, but at least he says it, right?)

EC (Elimination Communication) is going well. Ivan is pretty regular with his schedule. He gets up and says, "Boo" (I'm guessing he means Poo) and after a short trip to the potty, he is done with his business (except for pee) for the day. It's really wonderful to not have to slide tons of "boo" off his bum. Some days he protests the pot, but they are now pretty rare. I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to go and experience potty ready babies in China.

Ivan is a joy in our lives. I know I'm speaking for Cullen, but you can see it when he holds his little man. He loves Ivan just as much as I do. And Cullen is a wonderful and amazing father to his little boy. He carries him on his shoulders with a huge smile, and he loves to mow the lawn with him. Ivan drags around the coiled cord Cullen gave him all day. He's a happy little man.

I am excited to watch him grow ever bigger, stronger, and smarter. It does scare me to know this stage is only a very short part of his life, but I am so happy to be able to spend this part of his life with him. Ivan is a wonderful baby.

8 1/2 months

At 8 1/2 months, Ivan has gone from a lump in constant need of attention and assistance to now an active crawling curious little man with a will of his own. He has 6 teeth 4 upper and 2 lower. He can crawl and almost stand unassisted. He is crusing anything and everything he can pull up on. Though Ivan won't sleep through the night, he is such a happy and active baby, I think I can handle it.

Ivan loves slip-n-slides, and baths. Water seems to be one of his favorite things to explore right now. He can pick up foods and feed himself. He has been eating solids since he was 4 months. He really has it down. He can't quite get the hang of a straw yet, but sippy cups and even regular cups he can drink from. Sippy cups he can drink from unassisted now. I'm amazed at his progress every day. He started clapping this week, and he makes tons of noises that resemble words. I'm not quite convinced that he has said momma or dada yet, though he has made the noises. I can't figure out if he is associating them with the people yet or not.

Our little boy is enough to entertain us for hours. Before I had him, I must admit some frustration with people who could talk about nothing but their babies... now I know why.

Cullen is a wonderful dad, and Ivan loves to kiss and hug on both of us. He's such a happy baby, I have no idea what we are doing right, but whatever it is, I hope we can continue to make him happy.

Birth Story

Ok, this will be the blog now. I am going to try and keep up with this. For now, here is Ivan's birth story. It's been about 7 months now, so we have some catching up to do. :)

Ivan's Birth Story

I believe I woke at about 8am, ready to go. I was pretty awake, considering the amount of sleepless nights I had been having. Ivan was due on Wednesday, Dec. 23. It was Saturday, Dec. 19, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was ready to have my little man out, it was taxing my body to carry his ever growing little self around. I got up and made Cullen some coffee as I always did. At about 9am my contractions started. They were pretty erratic until about 9:30, when I told Cullen. I had to get on my hands and knees to deal with the pain, and breath through the contractions. It was a high, sharp pain. He then called the doctor, asking what the timing should be. 1 minute contractions 5 minutes apart for about an hour. When he told me she said it would be an hour of these intense contractions, my reaction was anything but jovial,"You're joking, right?" No response. "Seriously?"After calling Dr. Dimino, he started his spread sheet. The humor of his completely scientific approach was completely lost on me. The contractions stayed pretty constant, varying by about a min either way. After a very long hour, and the making of 2 sandwiches, we decided to head into the hospital. "Do I have a few minutes?" Cullen asked me. I had been counting the seconds since he told me the trip to the hospital was an hour away, and he seriously asked if he had a few minutes... Instead of screaming," NO WAY!" like I was actually thinking, I said, "Sure." My mistake. When Cullen says a minute he means about ten. It probably took me about three to get to the car, but then I waited as Cullen collected himself and got everything ready. I refrained from honking the horn, and waited through the contractions in the car. Thank goodness it was December.We were fortunate enough that my doctor was on call at the Women's Hospital of Texas in Houston this weekend before Christmas. It was doubly fortunate that I went in when I did.
We got settled into the room at about 11:45am. They wanted me to change into the gown, and then I felt the need to go to the bathroom again. When I got out, they put an IV in, and attached the baby monitor to find Ivan. He was low and easy to find. Dr. Dimino checked my dilation. I can't remember how dialed I was, but she said she would be back to check again in about an hour. That hour was painful, but went by very quickly. Cullen was in and out of the room, calling people. I was trying not to tear the arm off the bed, and breathing through the contractions. I couldn't take the pain any longer, and asked for the epidural. They quickly got the anesthesiologist and Cullen had to leave while they put the needle in my spine. It hurt for only a moment, then, though I could still feel my feet and move, I could no longer feel the contractions. Everything was just fine and dandy.
Dr. Domino came and checked me again and said I would be having the baby in about an hour. My first child, and it's only going to take another hour? How odd and delightful. I felt relaxed, now that the pain had abated. When Dr. Domino returned, we started to get Ivan into the world. With the first set of pushing, Ivan's heart rate started to drop during the contractions. She got worried and insisted that we hurry through the delivery. We knew he had a 2 vessel umbilical cord, so she didn't want him to have any oxygen issues. The next push still didn't get him out, and so she said she would give me one more go, and then would get the vacuum tool. I didn't want her to use the vacuum tool, I hadn't wanted the epidural before I got to the hospital either, but I knew if it was down to it, I would do whatever it took to get Ivan into the world safely. With this final push, an episiotomy and a great doctor, Ivan was out of me, and into the great big world. It's wonderful.
He didn't cry as they suctioned all the goo out of his lungs and nose. He only made a few peeps as they weighed him, suctioned him some more, and took a small blood sample. Then, immediately after delivery, I was permitted to attempt to breastfeed Ivan. He was ready. Super-latch boy has been a fast learner from the start. His little body felt so warm and content in my arms, all 8 pounds 1oz and 21 inches of him. He was the most beautiful thing I had seen in my life. His little pink hands were fuzzed with white and wrinkled skin. He was ready to come into the world. He was fully cooked and seemed happy from the start.
What an experience.