Man of Steel

We were all on the couch; Levi on one end, Rob in the middle, and me on the other end. Rob nudged me and said, "Hey, look at Superman over here." I looked, laughed, and ran to get the camera:

Lynda

He Who Laughs Last...

Levi must have been disappointed that I thwarted his attempt to 'get' me the second time around. He was laying on my chest after a feeding just an hour ago when I heard him fire a shot. Of course, I remembered the strategy and waited...

I waited and waited, and during the wait, I became aware of a cold, wet feeling on my arm...and on my shirt...and on my stomach. It wasn't pee.

That's right. Levi is no respecter of strategies. He had the last laugh, and he definitely laughed best.

Lynda

A Public Service Announcement

When the parents of boys learn that you're expecting a baby boy, especially as the baby's birth nears, they issue a standard warning: "Be careful when you change his diaper! He's likely to pee on you!" These words have continually echoed in our ears at each diaper change, and thankfully, we've avoided Levi's sprays.

Most parents also think to warn you about holding a baby in the air over your face. Some have been the unfortunate targets of ill-timed spit-up, and they wish to save you the horror of that experience.

Not one person in nine months warned me about projectile poop! I didn't know it was possible, and I might not have believed it, had I not been the unfortunate target of Levi's three times over the last month.

The first time, we were at Mary's Lake Lodge, a nice restaurant and hotel near the ranch. It was Levi's first outing to restaurant, and near the end of the meal, he needed a change. He returned to the table with a fresh, clean diaper, and I returned with dirty jeans.

I knew about projectile poop then, so Rob and I developed a strategy: Don't change a diaper after the first shot. Rather, wait several minutes to see if he fires again. Levi rarely fires just one shot.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard Levi fire a shot. I waited for further rounds, and hearing none, I proceeded with caution. I put him on the changing table and opened up his diaper. Then, Levi threw a curveball: diaper rash. Distracted, I dropped the protective diaper wall I usually maintain, and grabbed the Desitin cream. I leaned over, carefully applying cream to the entire area, when it happened: he fired an 18-inch stream of poop that would have hit me in the eye, had my lightning-fast reflexes not saved me.

Pale and shaking, I called out to Rob for backup. He came and helped me clean up the mess, which included several previously clean diapers in the basket at the end of the changing pad. We laughed, hardly believing what had just happened.

Last night, Levi woke me up, announcing that he had a wet diaper. Again, I carried him to the changing table, expecting an easy change. I was sliding the new diaper under his little body when I heard a faint rumble. This time, I maintained the diaper wall and avoided another disaster.

Let this post serve as a warning to all of you who were previously unaware of projectile poop. It is real, and it is nasty. Constant vigilance is your only defense.

Lynda

Genes

He got Pop Luttrull's face, Pop Howell's hands, and his daddy's feet. And from his mother...

Did you hear him snoring? It could have been worse...he could have gotten my oily, acne-prone skin. Oh, wait, he got that, too. Poor thing.

Lynda

Sweet, Sweet Internet

The ranch's tech support guy made it out to the ranch today, and I am able to access the 'world wide interweb' (recognize the movie quote?) from the house again! I've been online most of the day taking care of business that's been waiting for weeks. I'm so happy!

I'm also happy because Levi has taken two naps in his crib for the first time today! He'll be four weeks old tomorrow, and I decided to heed the napping advice in the book I'm reading. The book says that infants can't handle more than two hours of wakefulness without becoming overtired, and they should be put down alone in their crib to sleep with no lights and no sounds. I soothed him to sleep, tiptoed to his nursery and put him down, not expecting much. After all, he's refused over the last two days to nap at all unless he was held. I tiptoed back out of the room carrying the monitor, and held my breath. After five minutes of sleep, I heard some whimpering, but he stayed down for 25 minutes! He stayed down for 45 minutes a couple of hours later. We're getting close to another naptime, and I'm hopeful instead of skeptical this time.

We also had a good night last night - at least two hours between most feedings, and not much waking in between. I heard that the Tallowood BC Single Adults were praying for us all to get more sleep - thank you all for praying! Thank you, God, for answering!

Lynda