When I was pregnant with Roman I had read an article compiled by a bunch of moms discussing the most useless baby items they had either purchased or received as gifts. There were tons of items in the discussion: baby wipe warmers, bottle sterilizers, bottle warmers, travel systems, stroller netting, etc. Some items, such as the Diaper Genie, Moby Wrap, Boppy Pillow, and baby swings of all kinds, had big debates surrounding their usefulness/uselessness, and I read it all. I asked all the moms I knew, including just throwing up a posting or two on Facebook to get opinions about certain products, what they thought I needed and didn't need, and do you know what? Not a single mom ever said what a huge waste of money a crib bumper was. I guess that's because most don't necessarily think of it as baby gear, and it seems that when putting a nursery together, new parents get sucked in to buying a crib bumper because it just adds a little bit of softness to an otherwise empty hard crib. The first time I heard anyone say something about it was at a parenting class, and a soon-to-be-mom was asking about crib bumpers and SIDS. The doctor said that the bumper could stay as long as the baby was immobile, but that it could pose a potential threat as soon as the baby started to roll. Well, sure enough, one night I went in to check on Romey, and his face was smashed into the bumper, so I immediately removed it, which is really too bad because it's argyle, and it's adorable, and I love it. But the frustrating part is that a crib bumper is ONLY useful when the baby IS mobile. When Rome was too little to move about, the bumper was cute and all, but it definitely wasn't serving a purpose, except for maybe making people swoon when they saw our adorable nursery, but now that he's able to roll about the crib and hit his head on the crib railing, I can't have a bumper in the crib. What?? You mean there's an actual purpose to a bumper, but seeing as it is a potentially deadly threat, it can't be used for said purpose? What a piece of useless crap. In the last few weeks Rome has become super-mobile... not quite crawling, but close. And Marc and I keep finding him in different corners of the crib crying. He's crying because he keeps bashing his poor little head into the side of the crib when he rolls, or he gets a leg caught between the slats. Yes, even in his sleepsack; he's THAT talented. So I am just a bit annoyed today because I really want to put the dang thing back in the crib to see if that will keep Rome from hurting himself, but at the same time, I don't want him to, you know, die. And to break up my rambling here are a couple of cute little pictures of Romey sleeping... isn't he cute when he actually sleeps?
And being the great mother that I am, when Rome woke up from his nap this morning I grabbed my camera to document how upset he was... Then he got really really mad. Enjoy these pictures.
Okay, my second random thought today is that Rome has a couple of really really long hairs on the top if his head; I think these must have been the first little hairs that sprouted while I was pregnant with him. This will seem like a tangent, but bear with me: If Rome wakes up early in the morning and has a hard time going back to sleep, I will bring him into bed with me to get another hour/ hour and a half of sleep (I am so glad that I still have this little ace in the hole: he will go to sleep next to me 95% of the time), and I had to do this when Marc went to work this morning. So as we were lying down together, I kept breathing in these long hairs, which was funny and annoying all at the same time; the last thing I wanted to do was sneeze after I had just gotten him back to sleep. You don't really notice them when we have his hair combed, but if you're holding him or lying next to him they will end up in your nose or mouth nearly every time. We're not going to cut his hair until he's at least a year old or older, so I am curious to see how long they get before then. Unfortunately it's hard to get the little strands of hair to photograph well, so I am just going to throw in some cute randoms. By the way, every time I have taken Romey out in this blue and yellow bird onesie someone has told me how cute SHE is. Really? Just because he's not wearing a "Future Rockstar" or truck or baseball printed onesie people will automatically assume he's a she. Come on people... the birds are BLUE. Hello.
Do you know what I just absolutely hate? The smell of formula. I just cannot stand it, and I wonder if Rome can tell that I am a bit put off by it. I know, I know, "Breast is best," but for a number of reasons we are starting to wean Rome. #1: While Rome is really good about not biting me, his teeth are getting in the way, and it's getting a bit uncomfortable (sorry to anyone who is grossed out by the thought of my chafed nips). #2: I just can't seem to keep up with his demand. Now, this may sound crazy to those of you who know that Rome was practically drowning in breast milk for the first few months of his life, but now he's going through some kind of growth spurt, and he was waking up again all through the night to eat. Add a couple of bottles to the mix and BAM! he started sleeping again. And #3. Marc and I are seriously considering trying for baby number two at the end of the year, so I need to get myself back into baby-making condition. So Rome, if you have to go through years of therapy because you became a bottle baby at eight months (that's the goal), you may blame your sibling all you want, but don't blame me; that's super-cliche. I do think that this is the right time for him anyway. He is our super-eater. There's nothing Rome has refused to try. So far his food options have included avocado, mangoes, sweet potatoes, peaches, pears, nectarines, bananas, and oatmeal. And he's more and more interested in bottles and cups. Oh, and he absolutely LOVES to have fruit in one of those mesh-bag-feeders. LOVES IT. I purchased a few more and a few replacement bags because I have a feeling these are going to be one of the necessities in our house. So I think that I am making a good choice for us, but we'll see how it goes. Oh, that reminds me... do you know what I just absolutely hate? Changing the dirty diapers of a child who is now eating solid foods. Totally nasty. I will spare you those pictures.
And lastly, Rome's front teeth are on their way in. You can see them just under the gums, and the left front tooth is just days away from cutting through. Poor little guy. Whenever Romey is having a bad day I always apologize to him and tell him that being a baby is hard work. He's constantly trying to do things he can't quite do, which must be very frustrating, his mouth must be constantly sore by this point, and he has no ability to articulate all the things that are happening to him... If I were Rome I would cry, too. But the amazing thing is that he is in a good mood nearly all the time. Sure everyone gets a little jerky when he/she is tired, but with Rome even those moments are few and far between. When he was just a few weeks old we thought we were going to have a total grouch monster on our hands, but then we started realizing that his melt downs were becoming far less frequent than they had been, and he was just starting to figure out how to just chill and hang out. I remember the first time someone asked us if he was "always this happy" we were at Marc's office, and Marc and I both said no, but then he made liars out of us because he really is a very happy little man, which is why our friend Jaime always teases us. When Rome was just a couple weeks old she had asked us how things were going, and we told her that he was a pretty grumpy guy, but then one day he just wasn't, and now we look like jerks for saying how grouchy he was. I mean really, I guess he has to be a pretty easy going/fun/happy/amazing baby if we are even thinking about number two this soon... Hmmm... Now I am really hoping I haven't just jinxed us...
Oh, and this picture reminds me... I MUST get a new camera. I am SO over having some of the cutest pictures of Rome turn out so blurry!! Grrrr.