Tristan rolled over but I missed the action

This morning during tummy time, Tristan rolled completely over for the first time. No worries, I had him on the camping mat on the floor :) No falls this time! I went to turn on some music on the computer and when I returned, he was on his back. Naturally, I went to grab the camera hoping he would do it again but nope. At this point, he was getting sick of tummy time and started fussing. We both got the feeling he was close to rolling actually. Last night, Jean-Louis and I both observed him on his side a lot in his crib. I saw the same thing when I changed his diaper this morning. Well, next time he does it again, I'll try to capture it on video.

Today, we also went to the doctor's for Tristan's 4th month shots. It was just 2 in the legs and he didn't cry as much as the first time. The next shot will be for his 6th month and it will only be 1 shot, which is nice. When we got home he had a huge nap. It was over 2 hours so I had to wake him up for feeding. I could see him sleeping much longer if I didn't wake him. I wanted to let him sleep or play or whatever he wanted to today since it was shot day. It's all part of the "babying him around shot day policy" I have in place.

At the doctor's we also found out that Tristan is now 14 pounds 7 ounces. Wow! For weight, he falls somewhere between the 50-75 percentile. That means he is feeding well so I'm happy :) I was a bit worried there because he spits up and vomits so much milk lately and I really didn't feel like I was producing much milk anymore.

Feels like a happy productive weekend

You know that feeling you get when things get done and you still have time to have fun? Well, that is how I feel about this past weekend. On Saturday, I put the finishing touches on our taxes and we went to Highgate Village to mail it. Phew! I have been working on those taxes for weeks on and off. At Save-Ons we purchased a few bargain items including 2 for 1 packs of croissant. I don't remember Save-On croissants being so good. Of course, they were just baked from the oven and we were super hungry when we got home. 12 croissants for $3.49 is so cheap! I always feel good about getting a great deal :)

We finally brought down the jumperoo for Tristan and am slowly increasing the amount of time he gets to spend in it. We took lots of pictures too of course! His exersaucer, once in the living room, is now in our office (Eeeks!). He enjoys that so much more than just being in his bouncy chair with toys. We're trying really hard not to spoil him so fast with these toys - else he will get bored really fast of everything!

Jean-Louis finished all his todos for our iPhone app Saturday so I know he had a productive time. Today, after I worked an hour for my work, I spent some time testing out the app and started compiling a new list of todos for him. Yeah, it seems like it never ends. Most of it was just about polishing it up though :)

Jean-Louis cleaned the house Saturday and I cooked for us. Today, the weather was beautiful so we decided to go out with the stroller with Tristan. It was a nice walk and I have to say I am totally out of shape. I'm starting to feel a big urge to run again. 15°C - I'm waiting for it to be 15°C first. As a treat for being so good and productive this weekend, we're about to watch Twilight. We just rented and downloaded it from the iTunes store.

A mommy's boy!

Man, I'm feeling like Tristan is becoming so attached to me. It's not enough that I'm present and he sees me. I actually have to hold him to please him. Arrggg! What the!!! All this clinginess will have to change or I'll go nuts. In fact, I'm holding him right now as I type - doh!

I was reading an article on CNN about wanting to get away from the kids. These days, I sure feel like I need a vacation away from Tristan. In this article, the father made a deal with his wife after the arrival of their first child. They split up night time duties and he chose the task of rocking the baby to sleep while his wife agreed to bathing. To his surprise, rocking the baby was the wrong choice and turned out not as pleasant as he imagined. His wife would finish her task in 10 minutes and he would spend 2 hours rocking the baby to sleep. While doing it, he would also "break every rule about putting babies to bed" - yeah, I laughed when I read that part :) It's so true though. Women, in general, are just so much better at care taking.

This article got me thinking, how come we don't do that? We should take turns or split the baby chores too, even if it's torturous for Jean-Louis. The father in this article wasn't let off so easily. Yes, we're going to try this!

A couple of days ago, Jean-Louis actually took over the task of bathing Tristan since he is not as fragile anymore. We decided long ago about the switch over once Tristan turns 4 months. I still help set things up for bath time. Putting the baby to sleep, however; is much harder so I have been the one doing it. Jean-Louis just can't do it - unless I allow Tristan to cry himself to sleep. This has been going on for as long as I remember. It usually doesn't take me long to put Tristan to sleep and he doesn't resist that much but when Jean-Louis tries, he freaks out. Some times, Jean-Louis is better off not even touching Tristan or he'll cry harder.

Bad, bad, bad. Just because I'm better at it, doesn't mean I should do it. In fact, I'm better at doing most things here but it's not fair that I do everything. When it comes to putting Tristan to sleep, he is associating me with that task so it just won't work with Jean-Louis. The more I do it, the worst it will get. He has to allow either of us to put him to sleep. Starting this weekend, Jean-Louis and I will take turns on alternating nights. We're definitely going to lose sleep over this but lately, we all haven't been sleeping very well at night. This week, Tristan decided to go on some weird sleeping cycle and wakes up almost every half hour to every hour after his mid- night feeding. We're going to need some good coffee this weekend!

Tristan fell off the stool and did a somersault

Tristan had his first accident today. In the office, we usually use the footstool for his morning tummy time exercise. Tristan was hanging forward so much that he tipped over and fell head first on the floor. I was looking at my email and starting up Skype when I heard a thump. I looked behind and saw him on the floor. I totally freaked out. He cried and I held him and I felt so guilty :( I fed him and then called Jean-Louis at work. Will a 4 month old be okay in a fall? He did land head first but we have carpet here. Jean-Louis did a bit of research and sent me the following links about babies who have fallen:

• Question for an expert about a fallen baby
• Forum about fallen babies

I still haven't gotten over the shock. I worried that there might be some neck injury or even worst, brain damage. It's a small fall but he is still small and fragile. With all the media attention these days on the "talk and die" syndrome since Natasha Richardson died from a head injury during skiing, I'm scared. I have done everything I could to keep Tristan healthy and safe. I can't believe this just happened.

Well, I've decided today not to do much and just baby Tristan around. I'm going to monitor him for unusual behavior. So far, nothing is out of the ordinary.

Tristan is 4 months old

Another month has gone by and Tristan is doing great. He is a pleasure to be with these days since he smiles and laughs easily. He can grab and stuff toys in his mouth. And drool - lots of drool! He practically wears a bib all day because of it. If it's not drool, it's spitting up milk. I must be overfeeding him or something. Compared to other babies, he isn't that big so I figured I should try and feed him more but at times, he simply just doesn't want it. He's also not as focused on feeding as before, now that he is more interested in what is going on around him. For instance, he loves looking at my computer screen saver. It rotates through a series of nature pattern photos and he just loves to stare. When I try to turn and feed him, he has his head lifted forward trying to view the screen. If it's not my computer, it's our shelf of books. Well, what else is there interesting to look at in the office? I really should bring him outside more.

Tristan definitely knows me. I sense that he is becoming more and more attached to me as the days go by. One time, I was holding him by the computer surfing away and then I looked down at him and saw him staring intensely at me. It was like he was looking at my soul. I now catch him doing that quite a few times. He just likes to be with me and I know he feels safe. When he cries his eyes out (usually with Jean-Louis in the evening) and he is shaking and sobbing, I just hold him and he curls up and slowly calms down. It's nice to have that kind of power and affect on someone. It makes me feel special.

At 4 months, he is a bit in between clothing size. We're still dressing him in 3 month clothes that fit him and also 6 month clothes. Most of the 6 months stuff is swimming in him but oh well. You don't really find clothes that are 4 or 5 month in size. I guess because a baby's growth really slows down between 3 and 6 months. Gymboree has clothing size 3-6 months, which is nice. If you ask me though, it fits more like a 6 month.

Hair. His hair is growing but there still isn't a lot of it compared to other babies I know. It's this really soft fuss and at the front it's starting to spike a bit. It's cute though and you just can't help but want to stroke it. Little hair means less maintenance for us so that's great!

When I think about it, 4 months is actually quite a long time to be caring for a baby. Can you imagine babysitting for that long? We have all survived each other, which I think is amazing. I think we're doing pretty good caring for Tristan and he isn't that difficult of a baby. Jean-Louis would probably disagree if you asked him. I mean compared to many others, things could have been much worst for us. So far so good anyways. It's still one big learning adventure.

Multitasking, working with distractions and interruptions, and lots of planning

Oh boy! Today, I was on the phone with the guy I'm working for and Tristan cried in my arms. Yes, this is what I have to deal with these days. Luckily, the guy knows about Tristan and is very understanding. He was like "anytime you want to go, just say so." So it started out bad and I actually called him to postpone the phone call but then in the end we talked for nearly 2 hours. Tristan fussed, cried, then fell asleep in my arms. I had the phone against my chin, I had to open files on my computer, browse sites, check emails, and take notes. It went alright but it wasn't the greatest. My mind wasn't as clear and my responses could have been better.

If you want to work at home while taking care of a baby, you need to learn how to work with distractions, interruptions, and be able to multitask. A task that would normally take you 30 minutes may take you a couple of hours as a result. Like posting a blog entry for instance :)

Planning also helps to save you time and make you more efficient. However, that didn't really pay off for me much today though. I had scheduled a phone meeting between 2 and 4PM since that is typically when Tristan takes his long afternoon nap. Today, for the first time at home, he decides not to sleep then. When I called at 4:30PM to postpone my phone call, Tristan was already getting cranky because he needed to nap but hadn't yet. Go figure.

As frustrating and stressful as it may be, I think this is just the reality of it. As time passes, I think I can get better at working under this environment. Of course, it helps to work for people who knows you and truly understands your situation. The guy I work for is really nice and is awesome!

Phone in one hand and Tristan in the other

Today, I had to call the tax people. I waited until Tristan was asleep but when I was put on hold for too long and Tristan woke up, I had to go get him. Trying to jungle Tristan while on the phone sucks when he is fussing. With the phone right there too, the tax guy heard him loud and clear. I tried to hurry to get the information I needed. "So the amount in Box 38 gets added to the Adjusted cost base of column 3?" Frantically, I tried using the pacifier on Tristan to try and mute him. And of course it falls onto the ground - doh! I had to apologize to the tax guy - what else could I have done? It wasn't a client phone call but it felt a little embarrassing.

In the afternoon, I was on the phone with Jean-Louis, trying to discuss taxes with him and then later giving him the grocery list. Tonight, I was on the phone again but with SFU. Yeah, it was a big phone day! The alumni people were trying to ask for money and Jean-Louis just had to pick up the phone. Tristan was fussing again. I promised to take him tonight so that Jean-Louis could work more on our app. The guy on the phone heard Tristan and I was actually hoping he would excuse me for it but nope. We get a lot of calls from telemarketers and that sort of felt like one. I find them annoying.

Tristan doesn't exactly have a sleep schedule so it's a bit difficult to schedule calls. He typically naps for 30-45 minutes 2 hours after he gets up in the morning. His afternoon nap is longer and is usually between 1:30-3PM and lasts for around 2 hours. Then in the evening, he naps again for about 30 minutes. That equates to around 4 hours of napping a day and he sleeps around 9 hours in the night. For his age, that is normal according to the chart on babycenter.