Nolin and Benson
18 months…550 Days?! I can’t even grasp where the time has gone?
I figured with how quickly Nolin is growing up, it was a good time to start a new chapter in our story because I have a feeling (or a slight warning from his pediatrician) that things are just getting ready to become interesting.
Nolin continues to grow and food continues to be one of his most favorite things. I am not sure which is more interesting, the foods that Nolin is attracted to, or the concoctions that Jenn is coming up with.
Fruit and vegetables seem to be the go to staple. We are getting nervous because we are slowly running out of our 22 lb. blueberry reserve. I am afraid to imagine how Nolin will react to a day without endless blueberries. It could play out like a scene from 28 Days Later. Read more…
Nolin, I have to say that you are lucky that you are not just relying on me as a single parent to take care of you. And I am also very lucky that I don’t have to count on me as a single working parent.
It started when Teresa’s spring break vacation got extended due to a little problem with Southwest Airlines. I don’t see why the top of the plane ripping off should cause them to cancel several flights, but none-the-less, they went with the safety first approach over any concerns for our daycare needs. Therefore we had to find someone to watch Nolin on Monday while Jenn & I went to work.
Our friend Kelly stepped up to the plate and took great care of Nolin, but I quickly learned the careful orchestration that goes into working parents having to get their kids ready for day care and get to work. I think we take for granted exactly how good we have it.
It started as I had to wake Nolin up in the morning to head over to Kelly’s house. He wasn’t too happy about being woken up, but he got over it pretty quickly. As I rushed around like a chicken with its head cut off, dropping things in the street and running back and forth, Nolin just kept talking/singing. I think he was just letting me know all of the things that I was forgetting to do. Luckily I did have the sense to buckle Nolin in, score one in the good parenting department for me.
I dropped Nolin off with Kelly ran through a quick list of things to do and headed to work. I was only 30 minutes late. Kelly had an appointment in the afternoon, which worked out perfectly because after a conference call I would pick up Nolin and take him to the doctor to get some medicine for his cold. One problem…Jenn had my wallet in her purse which meant at lunch I had to run across town and pick it up. With an extra hour out of my day, we got that taken care of.
When I got to the doctor’s office we didn’t have to wait too long to go back and see the doctor. It was nothing serious, just a cold and she gave us some low dose medicine to use for the next 3 days. When the poor doctor went to check his ears, Nolin quickly turned into Linda Blair from The Exorcist. He freaked out, and didn’t stop screaming until we left the room. It’s really hard to look like a good father when you can’t even quiet your son down.
With slightly frayed nerves we got back in the car, Nolin had a bottle and I made my way to the drugstore to pick up his prescription. When I got there Nolin was dead asleep. Now the dilema…do I wake Nolin up to get the prescription, leave him asleep in the car and make the 6 o’clock news, or do I just count this as a wasted trip and come back later? I decided to just come back once he woke up.
We got home and I let Nolin continue sleeping, but then realized I couldn’t leave while he was sleeping to walk the dog. Poor Pancake’s eyes were floating at this point and there was nothing I could do. Finally Nolin woke up, we went for a quick walk and then jumped back in the car to the pharmacist and then to the store to pick up stuff to make Jenn & her mom for dinner.
I got home and needed to quickly start dinner. I realized at this point though that Nolin had not eaten much solid food during the day and he was starving (and therefore not too happy). So I pulled his high chair over towards the oven and with one hand I was feeding him and the other hand I was preparing dinner.
My back started hurting from the back and forth and I just wished that someone had been filming the situation because I know it would have been a pretty comical scene. At one point I had baby food all over me in addition to chicken marinade, the TV was blaring but the remote control was not within arms reach, and Pancake was barking to be fed too. Luckily as I was about to just sit down and quit, Jenn and her mom walked in the front door and everything was easier.
For any parents out there who are single working parents, or even just have to be a single parent a lot because your spouse travels for work…you have my full respect! I barely lasted 12 hours and I can’t imagine always having to be on point like that and still keeping your sanity. Hats off to you all!
Shortly after writing A Lesson in Nursery Games & Development, Jenn shared a small tidbit of information with me, that I figured should be shared to complete the story.
It seems that Nolin did a little last minute test cramming before the doctor’s appointment. Jenn’s father Don, was over hanging out with Nolin in the morning and cut up a couple pieces of string to see if Nolin could pass the test. Don apologized because they were only able to get 10 practice runs in before he had to quit.
Turns out that Nolin can chase a string like a cat and pick it up with his forefinger and thumb. Well at least seven out of ten times…so the real question is did they consider 70% a yes or just a sometimes.
Either way I guess it would be…chases a piece of string like a cat…check.
Yesterday was Nolin’s six month doctor visit. It was a routine check-up and time for a few more shots. Did I ever mention that Nolin never cries…well if I did, then I was lying because yesterday he let it all out.
It started off innocently enough. Teresa and I were back in a room waiting for the nurse to come in. Meanwhile Nolin sat eagerly on the table pulling up all of the tissue paper, putting it in his mouth and then laughing. The nurse asked me a few questions and then took Nolin’s measurements. 75-25-50…nope not a lyric in a new Sir Mix-A-Lot song, but Nolin’s percentages. He moved up to the 25% in height which was very exciting! He is holding strong at the 75% for head circumference and 50% for weight (looks like all of those sweet potatoes and avocados are paying off)…all in all, our boy is doing pretty darn good.
After the nurse left, we waited for a few minutes until the doctor arrived. She went over some charts and seemed to be very happy with his growth and weight gain so far. Nolin is growing like a weed.
After that, it was time for her to check his heart beat, ears, etc., pretty routine stuff and nothing too exciting. As soon as she pulled out her stethoscope Nolin started crying…awesome. I think he suddenly remembered where he had seen her before…during the big cut and his previous round of shots. Needless to say he realized this outcome probably wasn’t going to be good. She finished, Nolin relaxed and the nurse came back to administer the shots (they really give the nurses the short end of the stick…who wants that job?)…I tried to prepare myself because he had already been upset once, so I knew this was going to get interesting real quick.
The nurse gave Nolin an oral shot…just some liquid for him to drink…and the hysterics ensued. Really?! It was just a little liquid, how can that be worthy of tears? So out comes needle #1. Nolin calmed down and took the shot like a man…he just sort of looked at me like is that all you’ve got? Then I had to open my big mouth and said, “Nolin, how in the world could you get so upset with a liquid shot and be fine for a real one?” Apparently I forgot that he was only six months old and thought that by reasoning with him it would make what was happening that much easier.
Then came the blood curdling scream…which didn’t stop for shot #2 or #3.
After the torture session was over, Nolin clung to my neck and wouldn’t let go. I have to admit although it was awful to hear him cry like that it was kind of nice to know that he needed me and I was the one he felt safe with.
The crying continued until the moment we stepped out of the room. Then Nolin put on his brave face and began flirting with the nurses again…yep, that’s my boy.
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