Mixed Feelings

I haven't been very proactive in finding a job. I am betting on getting a job with a skilled nursing facility in Everett. Though I am not too thrilled in commuting to Everett, a former co-worker of mine works there and enjoys it. Also, the hours are pretty flexible and they are looking for part-time as well as per diem help. I'm tempted to stay on per diem and work three times a week, two days during the week and a Saturday. Although, I am thinking of working part-time for job security and be guaranteed the hours. I am also going to call Career Staff and tell them I can be available for some Sundays.

I'm hoping, financially, I can start working just three times a week with a few four times a week thrown in the mix. Ideally, I'd work two days during the week in which my dad can come up from Olympia to babysit and then on Saturday, Chuck would be home to tend to Cooper. I don't mind working some Sundays or an extra day during the week to bring in extra income, but don't want to give up family time, on Sundays, or be a burden to my dad during the week as he has to come from Olympia to take care of Cooper.

As he grows older and I feel more comfortable leaving him with non-family members as well as socially interact with other infants/toddlers, I wouldn't mind working more. I definitely miss working and can't imagine not working. I love being home with Cooper, but I also love being a physical therapist. I couldn't completely give up my professional self. There's room for both work as a mom and as a professional.

Babies R Us Can Be Ridiculously Priced

We went to Babies R Us to purchase a Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo since we received a gift card. Now, I really wanted this particular entertainer because it got really great reviews, it's absolutely adorable and wanted a stationary entertainer that Cooper could bounce as he loves to move his legs up and down. Unfortunately, the Babies R Us store doesn't sell it and I didn't realize that it was selling online only.

Thinking maybe I could find a better price elsewhere, I started looking at Amazon and couldn't believe that they were selling it for $54 less than the asking price at Babies R Us! I even looked at Walmart's site as well and they were selling it for around the same price as Amazon. The jumperoo at Babies R Us and Amazon were exactly the same.

So, I ended up buying the jumperoo at Amazon and buying other baby stuff at Babies R Us with the gift card. Thank you Charlie and Michelle for the gift card! We were able to buy feeding essentials when he starts on solids, a warm wintery blanket now that were back in Seattle, a cute baby's first sounds book and some fun toys.

My Review of BornFree 4-Pack 9-oz New Vented Glass Bottles

Originally submitted at Toys R Us

Complete with a new, innovative air vent which helps reduce colic symptoms, each bottle in this 4-pack of 9oz. BornFree Glass Bottles is free of Bisphenol-A. A level 1 nipple and a cover are included for each bottle.

BornFree 4-Pack 9-oz New Vented Glass Bottles

Great Product!

By Val from Seattle on 9/6/2010

 

5out of 5

Pros: Durable, Washes Easily, Seals Well, Easy to use, BPA Free

Best Uses: Heating Milk, Feeding, At Home

Describe Yourself: Medical Professional, First Time Parent

I love these glass bottles. They are very durable, leakproof and my baby loves it.

(legalese)

Videos

Sorry for the videos, but his head is cut off a little bit!  The original ones were fine, but when I downloaded them here, his head was cut off.  And I don't feel like fiddling with it...

Cooper usually doesn't like his swing, though he is getting used to it more and more.  He has finally discovered the swing's mobile and lights above his head.  Here he is looking intently upwards towards the mobile and lights.  Even so, he is getting quite fussy...mostly because he was a hungry boy.

Cooper playing on his activity mat.  I was trying to get him to roll from back to left side as he did it twice before I started videotaping him.  He's playing quite contently on his mat.  For the past couple of weeks, he has been grabbing for the toys and swatting at them.  He really likes the toy that plays music and has flashy lights.

He finally did it for me to catch it on tape!  He rolled again from his back to his left side.  Later, we tried putting him on his tummy to see if he would roll from tummy to back; but he didn't.  He hasn't done that in awhile.  We have attributed it to his cloth diapers as they are a bit bulkier than disposable ones.  In this video, he was wearing disposable diapers.

I'm Two Months Old

What Cooper is doing at 2 months old:

Hold his head up with less and less support.

Raise his chest off the floor using his arms while lying on his tummy.

Smiles at people.

Smiles at himself when looking in a mirror.

Cooing.

Squealing out loud.

Discovering his hands which he puts in his mouth and sucks on them and his fingers.

Thanks grandpa John and grandma Patty for the changing dresser. It'll look great in his room when it is all ready.

Cooper is finally not crying when in his Bumbo. He is having better head control in a supported sitting position.

Chuck spending some quality time with Cooper, all the while acting silly!

Cooper's Nursery

Cooper doesn't have his room yet, but that doesn't mean I haven't been getting it ready. We did put together his crib thinking he'd like sleeping in it better than his bassinet, but not so. We can get him to sleep, but once you put him down in the crib, he starts to cry. So, Cooper has been sleeping with us....yes, we've broken down and for the past two days, he's been taking up a third of the bed. For safe measure, he sleeps on his changing pad which he loves anyways. The changing pad is contoured so he doesn't move out of it and it's a few inches off the bed, so we feel pretty safe we're not going to roll over on him. He sleeps great when he's sleeping with us. Last night he slept for almost six hours.

Once Auntie Jennifer moves, Chuck and I will be moving into the "green" room and Cooper will stay where we've been sleeping since it's already a boy-friendly color of blue. A few years back I started stripping the white paint of the trim, thinking we'd restore it to a "wood"-like state. But it's going to be a big job, one I don't feel like tackling and I think the white trim looks good with the blue. So we have a few things we have to do with the room (paint the trim and "walk-in" closet) before I start decorating it with trains, planes and automobiles!

Yup, he's a boy and so it's all about decorating his room with plane, trains and automobiles! I didn't want pastel-ish colors, so we're going for bold reds, blues, greens and oranges. A lot of his accents are reds and oranges than blues and greens.

Here are a few finds that I got for his room:

Blik's Race Ya Wall Decal

Flensted's Aeromobile Click-A-Mobile

Play Time

On Saturday morning Cooper woke up really early at 3 a.m. and didn't fall back asleep until 5 a.m. Since he was wide awake, I laid him down to play on his mat. We do both back and tummy time under his play mat.