Maddox Heller

Video Baby Monitor

February 7th, 2010

One of the many reasons I love Jon is because of his mad technological skillz.

I’ve been wanting a video monitor for awhile, since I worry about Maddox’s safety when he’s sleeping in his crib. The chance of anything happening is slim, even though (as you can see) Mads requires a fair amount of baggage before making the trip to dreamland. But I’d rather be safe.

Not wanting to spend $200+ on a video monitor that our child would probably use to sue us at age 10 for breach of privacy, Jon set up our old Dell laptop in the nursery and created an internal connection so we could watch our sleeping baby to our hearts’ content, but so none of the registered sex offenders in the area could tune in.

In any case, it’s wonderful to be able to check on Maddox while he’s napping, and it will make me feel a lot better at night. And it’s great to know that I should avoid Storey Avenue at all costs when taking neighborhood walks this summer. Two great advances at our house all in one weekend. Tremble, world.

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Snacks!

February 4th, 2010

Maddox has been really hungry lately. It might be a growth spurt, or he could just be getting bigger. In any case, here he is after having a bigger dinner and some Apple Cinnamon Graduate Puffs for the first time:

Tags: food
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The Crib

February 1st, 2010

I had to lower baby’s crib tonight. He’s getting so big, and is starting to be able to pull himself to a standing position. I kept having nightmares of him pulling up, leaning over and plop!

I’ve got a feeling, the crib is going to be one of those items that will always be tied to my emotions. I cried in the store when we bought it, because the model crib was so dingy with horrible Ikea blankets tossed over it, even though it was safer than all the gussied up cribs I’d seen at department stores or baby-centered stores. And tonight, it is so poignant when I think of how quickly baby’s growing – these past 8 months have flown.

I imagine when we make it into the “bed” model, with the side taken down, I won’t be able to believe that it’s already time.

Before we get carried away, I’d like to state that at this very second, Maddox is snoozing next to me in his puppy dog pjs and is not really in any danger of going near a crib in any form. And when he does sleep in his crib, some of the sentiment will be displaced by the knowledge we’ll have to lean over pretty darn far now to heft our 20 lbs of adorable baby butt out now.

But still. How can something so wonderful just keep getting better and better?

Tags: crib, growth
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8 1/2 Months – Some Baby Milestones

January 31st, 2010

Poor Maddox has been sick lately. It’s scary and sad – he’s lost his voice from all the coughing, but we talked to a nurse today and hopefully will be able to give him some medicine to help him feel better. It’s the first time he’s really been sick other than a cold or sore muscles, and it makes me feel for all the parents who have had to face their children’s sicknesses before.

Even while sick, Maddox has still maintained his cheerful outlook and continues to delight us with his new skills. Last night, before bed, he repeatedly lifted the sheet, hid underneath it, and snapped it down to play peek-a-boo.

Not only is Maddox engineering his own games, but he’s finally at the stage where he has wants as well as needs, and what he wants is to express his opinion about what he needs! After peek-a-boo, we finished reading “Baby Animals” and he waved it in the air until I understood that he wanted to read it again.

Maddox has always clicked the light switches off while I’ve changed him. It keeps him busy during this indignity, and is a good way to learn cause and effect. Yesterday, he surprised me by turning the lights back on, which is a first!

Another wonderful milestone is Maddox’s speaking. He now consistently says “dada” and “baba,” and I think it’s pretty clear that “dada” is the first word. Lucky Dad!

We’re at 3 1/2 teeth now, with the 1/2 coming in quickly. It went bottom right, bottom left, top right, and now top left. And, the one next to his bottom right is making an appearance.

Maddox continues to laugh when others around him are laughing, and nothing delights him more than giggling madly with someone.

Finally, our days of sitting together and cuddling are numbered – Maddox has a Lion walker, and he’s been pulling himself up into a standing position. He’s already mastered scooting around backwards, and I think he’s decided that this is an inefficient way to move compared to the way Mom and Dad get around. If we think we are tired now, ask us how we feel in another 8 months, after chasing Maddox around the world for awhile.