my baum shelter

So, I have been totally MIA from blogging as our world has been consumed with big life decisions.

Fred has accepted a new job in Oklahoma City, so we’re moving back there after four years away. It’s been a roller coaster ride over the past month. My plans have gone from spending the summer stuck in bar review class every day (I was scheduled to take the Texas Bar Exam at the end of July), to spending my days researching neighborhoods and packing up boxes.

This was a really difficult decision for us since Fred loves a lot about his current job, especially his colleagues and staff. But, in the end, it came down to family time. Fred’s current job just can’t give him the hours needed to have time for anything else. This morning, he calculated that the hours with the new job plus the extra vacation offered at the new job would give him over 75 extra days a year. That’s over two months! When we think about the hours, we are downright giddy. I can’t even wrap my mind around the thought of Fred getting home consistently before 9pm, let alone home by 5:30pm every night!

 But, there were a lot of downsides to this decision, too. Namely, we’re moving further away from all our family and are leaving some very special friends here in Fort Worth. Also, words cannot even begin to express how much we’ll miss our church here. We are pretty certain there is not another one out there that is as perfect a fit and the friendships we’ve made there will be really hard to leave.

We are so thankful that since a move was the best choice for our family that we are moving back to a city we know and love. It will be great to reconnect with old friends in OKC and easier on so many fronts – like, I’m licensed in Oklahoma, so no bar exam! Another good thing is we won’t move until September, which gives us plenty of time to get our house on the market, look for a new house, pack, and most importantly, say good-bye to friends here.

And while we’ve been in the throes of big decision-making, babyBaum has found his independence streak and the word “no” seems to be a challenge he just can’t resist. His face is constantly marred by a bruise or cut because he believes he can climb any structure regardless of its height or ability to hold him. Constant bruises and cuts do not seem to dissuade him. I haven’t quite decided if that’s a good sign (he’s persistent and determined) or a bad sign (he’s a little slow on the uptake when it comes to cause and effect).

For those of you going through babyBaum withdrawal, here’s a recent pic of him on the swings at the local park ~

While we were in Little Rock, babyBaum decided it was time to start walking more than two steps at a time. Brace yourselves for this exciting update: he now walks about 10-15 steps at a time! I unsuccessfully tried several times to capture his walking on video. While we were picnicking at the Little Rock Zoo, he became enamored with all the sticks and tree branches on the ground. Armed with all the tree branches they could hold, his two cousins and his Aunt Anna encouraged him to walk, while I cheered him on with video camera in hand. Finally, what you’ve all been waiting for - a successful video of some of his first steps:

Fast Tube by Casper

This second video is from the same day. Oftentimes, Fred will hoist babyBaum onto his shoulders when we’re out walking. Lately, babyBaum has taken to grabbing two fistfuls of Fred’s hair and using these tufts of hair as his reins to hang on and pull Fred in the direction he wants to go. So cute but so glad it’s Fred’s hair he’s doing this to and not mine!

Fast Tube by Casper

After spending half the day yesterday at the ENT’s office, we learned some things ~ 1) babyBaum was suffering from hearing loss in both ears as a result of his chronic ear infections and 2) this last infection was still ablaze in both ears despite the latest injections of antibiotics. So, it took me and the doctor about .003 seconds to agree to have tubes put in babyBaum’s ears.

Now, ordinarily I would admit this next part with some modicum of shame, but not this time – I’m not ashamed to admit that I asked the ENT (who works regularly with Fred) if he would do us a favor and squeeze us onto his surgery schedule for the next day. I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been watching my son in pain with raging fever for over two weeks now. I’m sleep deprived. Fred’s on call this week and I couldn’t bear the thought of waiting another week or two to get those suckers put in. Luckily, everyone who has ever worked with Fred loves him and the wonderful ENT was more than happy to add us onto today’s schedule.

So, I’m happy to report that as I write this post:

my baby has two tiny tubes in each of his ears,

he is asleep in his crib (hopefully, for the night),

I’m in my pj’s in bed ready to watch television and crash for the night,

I’ve already called Fred and asked him nicely (after telling him how much I love him and will surely miss him) to sleep in the guest room tonight so he doesn’t wake me when he returns from the hospital in the wee hours,

and I see a bright, happy future for us ~ one that involves sleeping and sleeping and sleeping.

Hello, sleep, my long lost friend – I’ve missed you.

Grandparents really are a wonderful commodity.

We’ve had a rough few days. Friday night brought a mild fever for babyBaum, which we initially attributed to teething. After all, he was taking antibiotics for his ear infection, so it couldn’t be that, right? Riiiight.

So, we lost a little sleep Friday night, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We even managed to host a pancake breakfast/cheer party for our neighbors and friends as we watched the Cowtown Marathoners (our house is directly on the marathon route, near the halfway point). It was a really fun time cheering the runners on.

Then, immediately after the Marathon, babyBaum’s temperature skyrocketed to around 104°, where it has hovered ever since. Saturday night, I got exactly two hours of sleep. Fred had to go into work on Sunday, so first thing, I called my mom.

“Would it be possible for you to cancel any plans you guys have for today and let me bring babyBaum over so you can watch him while I sleep in the guest room?”

And without any hesitation, my wonderful mother says, “Sure!” Because that’s what grandparents do. They drop everything to love on their child and grandchild. In my case, the grandchild gets a little more loving than the child, but I’m okay with that.

So, off we went to Nana and Grandpa’s house. They rocked, comforted, and played with my feverish baby while I slept. Grandparents really are a treasure. When your baby is sick, you can just hand him over and trust that they are going to love him and watch over him with as much love and concern as you do. Which means you can sleep. And sleep means you don’t pull all your hairs out one by one at 3am. Getting that time in to nap and have someone else take over for the day was just what both me and babyBaum needed. Especially, since last night was another one filled with feverish wakings.

This morning the pediatrician found that the one ear infection from last week had morphed into two: the original one had developed into “the worst ear infection I’ve ever seen in all my career,” and the second one was just, you know, your run of the mill ear infection. Oh, both of which were apparently immune to the very strong anitbiotic babyBaum was taking. So, we’re now on a stronger antibiotic – we may have a ruptured ear drum in our future – babyBaum may have to get a shot on Wednesday if this one doesn’t work – and I’m thinking, that whole “we may have to get ear tubes” issue has moved solidly into the Certainly Will Happen category. The appointment with the ENT to discuss ear tubes isn’t for another week.

I will confess that I have a sink full of dirty dishes and about six (yes, SIX!) loads of dirty clothes that need washing. There’s dried up oatmeal on my kitchen floor from when babyBaum tried to tell me he was “All Done!” this morning at breakfast and it will probably stay there for several more hours at least. And, I’ve worn the same pullover and jeans going on three days now. We probably shouldn’t even discuss when I last washed my hair. So, if you run into me later today at the store, a believable, “Hi, Dionna, you look so great!” would very much be appreciated.

At some point during each night, babyBaum kicks his feet in his sleep. Sometimes, he looks like he’s doing bicycle exercises in the air. Other times, he’s at the side of the crib and kicks the slats of the crib while somehow not managing to wake himself.

Tonight, about 30 minutes after going to bed, babyBaum screamed out in pain. I ran into his room and found him with one leg stuck very firmly between two of the slats. Now, just to give you an idea of the acrobats needed to achieve such a feat in one’s sleep, it took me several minutes of twisting and turning at exactly the right angles to get the leg free. Luckily, a few minutes with Mama in the rocking chair was all it took for him to slip back into slumberland.

I’m too exhausted to post much right now. babyBaum was diagnosed with an ear infection today – this makes four infections in the last six months. And, that means we must go see an ear specialist and discuss the possibility of getting tubes put into his ears. I would rather my little baby boy not have to undergo surgery, but we will just have to see what the ENT recommends.

In the meantime, here is my precious baby. I swear he is cuter when he is sick.

For awhile, he played along with me as I took pictures of him. I’m still trying to figure everything out on my new camera.

Did I mention that babyBaum is also cutting some new teeth (hence the inordinate amount of drool)? Poor baby, he just can’t catch a break.

I love the fact that a 103° fever doesn’t keep my baby from dancing his little heart out.

I then turned the Auto setting off and played around – I really like how these turned out. Not that I understand exactly what I did, mind you.

These last pictures remind me of a line from a song I sing to babyBaum ~ little sack of sugar, gonna eat you up

So, now that our dear babyBaum is ONE YEAR OLD, he has gained some attitude. It seems someone wants us to know that he is not a baby anymore.

In the days leading up to his birthday, he developed a penchant for greeting people with a scrunched up nose and a scowl  — that usually is quickly followed by a grin and a laugh. But, it’s like he wants to show he has a tough side, too, and isn’t just another pretty baby face. I’ve yet to successfully catch this face on camera, but I continue trying.

Today, though, he started doing something completely new and baffling to us and we caught it on video. I present for your viewing pleasure our little Incredible Hulk ~

Fast Tube by Casper

He will grab a piece of food or toy and try to squeeze the life out of it while shaking his entire body furiously. It’s hysterical. Everytime he does it, Fred and I crack up laughing which only causes him to do it over and over again.

I’m not sure whether this is an omen of things to come, but it sure is entertaining!

For babyBaum’s birthday, we decided to have a family-only birthday celebration. With just family, we had 14 adults and 6 children and our house is not that large so it would have been difficult to include any more than we already had.

One of my favorite parts of the birthday bash was our photo booth. I bought a couple of yards of red and white striped fabric and hung it on the wall with thumbtacks as our backdrop. I then purchased a couple dozen foam clown noses here.  We tried to get a picture of babyBaum with all our guests – tried being the operative word. He was cooperative for the first two photos; however, he decided he’d had enough of the clown nose after that. Somehow, we managed to not get a photo with me and Fred, so we’ll have to try and get one with the three of us the next time we have someone here. All the photos from our “photo booth” are at the end of the post.

The clown noses ended up being quite entertaining for the young ones. I was very impressed with their creativity . . . 

 babyBaum’s cousins even made him a headband made of clown noses!

 Since I had no idea we could get by with a few foam clown noses as entertainment, we also had a genuine Bozo the Clown Bucket Bonanza game (that I got on clearance for $9.99) and we gave all the kids circus tattoos.

 This niece requested and received the most tats of all – on her hands, arms, legs, and feet. Maybe she’ll grow up to be a biker girl? I’m pretty sure her parents are hoping not.

All in all, it was a very fun get-together and worth all the effort that went into its planning. It was even worth the jokes from my brother Chad who constantly tells me that I have too much free time on my hands and need to go back to working full time. I then gloated and told him the cost of this birthday bash was 1/5 of the amount of money he forked over at the bouncy ball place for my nephew’s last birthday party. Sometimes, being crafty pays off!

Below are all our photos from the “photo booth” -

As you can see, I’ve decided to change the design of the blog. I like the cleaner, simpler format – hopefully, you will, too.

The biggest change is our little babyBaum turned ONE YEAR OLD this Saturday. I’m working on getting up all the pictures from his birthday party. Until then, this obligatory laden-with-frosting picture will have to tide you over.

And, in the middle of eating his cake, while all eyes were on him, he stood up on his own without holding onto anyone or anything. Just like he’d been doing it forever. And, I really thought he was going to take his first step right then while all eyes were on him. But, then, after a moment, he decided it was better to be closer to the cake, so back down to the floor he went. And, ever since his party, about once every ten minutes he stands up without any assistance, looks at me with a smile, picks up one foot, leans slightly forward, then collapses back down to the ground with an even bigger smile. He knows we’re waiting and he’s just messing with us now.

The biggest change (and one we dreaded the most) was the taking away of the bottle and switching to milk. We received so many good pieces of advice on this and I felt like we were armed with many ideas to try if things got difficult. In the end, we decided to put all the bottles out of sight and just go for it. And you know what? Miraculously, the world kept spinning on its axis. Seriously, though, it was a whole lot of angst over nothing. So far, anyway. I mean, it’s only been three days since the switch, so it may be a bit premature to claim success.

We started offering him a sippy cup with milk at meal times and he takes it, no questions asked. Bedtime was our biggest fear, but he’s gone down with just as much ease as he normally does. Not that he’s ever gone down with a whole lot of ease, but we’ve stayed at status quo and to us that screams, VICTORY! Several friends and family members told me that one-year was not a magical date and it was okay if I wanted to hold onto the bottle a little longer. And, I know moms are supposed to miss the feeding time and giving their baby a bottle, but if I’m completely honest, I’m just not one of those moms. I cannot tell you how glad I am to finally have bottles and formula out of our lives. Now, I can still cuddle and snuggle with my little one but I don’t have to take apart and wash bottles every evening. That’s a win-win in my book.

We also decided to give him goat’s milk made by our friends Michael and Sarah at their farm, Homestead Farms in Keller. Goat’s milk is closer to human milk than cow’s milk and much easier to digest but the more compelling reasons for going with goat’s milk is we know exactly where the milk comes from, how well the animals are treated (babyBaum has even met a few of the goats), and we get the chance to support independent farming and good friends. And, most importantly, babyBaum loves it!

Hopefully, I’ll have the party post up later tonight or tomorrow.

I don’t think parents talk much about the downsides to parenting. And believe me, there are some doozies. So, in an attempt to keep it real, let me share with you our little adventure last night.

This week has been much crazier than usual. It’s Fred’s call week, which basically translates into single-mother week at the Bierbaum household. And, I had a funeral to attend in Oklahoma on Tuesday. So, Fred traded call for Tuesday so that he wasn’t faced with the prospect of having to take Walt in with him should he get called to evaluate a kidney for transplantation. Such a call actually took place Monday evening (well, technically Tuesday morning at 3:00am) just hours before I left. So, Fred was pretty tired from his lack of sleep and he was on his own Tuesday evening. Naturally, that is when babyBaum came down with a stomach bug. I received a call from Fred early Tuesday evening ~

Fred: Are you coming back tonight or early tomorrow morning?

Me: Probably tonight.

Fred: Well, our son has projectile vomited on me three times in the last hour and we’ve taken three baths and, well, if you wanted to come home this evening, I wouldn’t have any objections to that.

So, I got back to Fort Worth around 12:30am and found both my boys passed out, sleeping from pure exhaustion. I really have a pretty sweet husband. Wednesday began just five and a half hours later with babyBaum cycling through a pattern of vomiting, diarrhea, and sleeping. Fred cut out to work at the first sign of daylight. Who could blame him, really? Cut to last night – babyBaum has been in bed sleeping for a few hours. I decide before we turn out the lights to go check on him one last time. I open his door and am overwhelmed by the stench. I run back to our room and tell Fred that we have a problem – I think our baby has actually exploded his insides all over the nursery.

We go back to the nursery for further investigation. At first, we keep the lights off. babyBaum is still sleeping soundly, oblivious to our presence. I reach to pat his bottom and feel gooey grossness. I tell Fred that I think we are dealing with some sort of diarrhea catastrophe. I roll babyBaum onto his back and feel sticky wetness all over the front of him. I tell Fred that I was wrong and that it appears to have been a vomiting catastrophe since it’s covering him from neck to toes. At that point we turned the lights on and all I can say is it looked like our son had rolled around in a pile of manure. Really soupy, gooey, DISGUSTING manure. Someone had to pick him up and as I already had made contact with that which made me want to vomit, it was up to me. So, I scooped him up, covering myself in his waste in the process. And that is when the shit really hit the fan. Really, you had to know that pun would be worked in here at some point, right?

Keep in mind that Fred and I were operating on little sleep at this point. Words were exchanged in heated tones while babyBaum kept cocking his head back and forth between the two of us with an amused smile as if we were putting on some sort of show for him. I suppose it was better for him to see it as a performance rather than the reality that his parents were on the verge of killing one another. I don’t remember all the details but I do remember Fred drawing a bath and wanting me to plop babyBaum into it and me (still covered in fecal matter, let’s remember) suggesting a shower would be more hygienic.

Fred: It’s not unhygienic to put him in a bath.

Me: I don’t want my son taking a bath in fecal water. I don’t see how that helps our situation.

I then remember him launching into a scientific discussion of fecal matter being parts per million of the water content, blah, blah, blah . . . me indicating that I was under the misguided impression that you were supposed to avoid fecal matter . . . he might have reminded me that he was the one with the medical degree . . . I might have reminded him more than once that he wasn’t the one holding the shit-covered baby . . . then,

Fred: Fine, I’ll drain the bath and YOU can give him a shower!

And then at precisely the same moment, two things occurred – my eyes narrowed with a glint that said, I dare you to leave me covered in yellow, runny, DISGUSTING poo to deal with this alone and his eyes widened with instant recognition that perhaps he should’ve uttered different words.

Fred: Um, or I’ll help you give him a shower. Or, I’ll give him a shower. All by myself!

I mean, really, it’s amazing that marriages survive having children. In the end, science triumphed over irrational fecal-related fears and babyBaum was bathed rather than showered. And, yes, I had to hear the parts per million explanation in detail again and yes, he was clean without any visible signs of contamination afterward. (Though, I still had my doubts as to non-visible contamination, but I’m not the one with the medical degree, so what do I know?)

I know at this point, some would say things like, but then babyBaum smiled at me right as I laid him back down on freshly changed sheets and it made me realize that it was all worth it. But, I’m not going to lie to you. It was horrifyingly disgusting and no amount of cute smiles or giggles or angelic faces made it anything but. So, if you’re ever in need of an effective birth control method, you could always bookmark this post. If only I had pictures or video, or better yet, scratch and sniff capabilities then I really would have an effective means of birth control to offer you.