Unspoken Words

Tomorrow Colin will be 15-months old! My how time flies. Wes and I look at baby pictures now and don't even recognize our precious angel. How is that possible? It's only been a little over a year? I can remember certain periods of time - first solid foods, sleeping through the night, standing on his own - but for the most part everything blurs together. I know this is normal but why can't we be different? Why can't we slow time and enjoy each and every minute? We do enjoy every minute, there just aren't enough of them!

Today was our well-visit with the doctor. I'm always anxious to go because it seems there are always unanswered questions. We always leave feeling better, until the next day when a new question arises! No one ever warned me how ambiguous raising a child would be. Why hasn't someone written a "if this happens, do this" book? I'll add that to the list of books for Wes to write. Seriously, for most scenarios, there are only 1 or 2 options for solutions, remedies, etc. So why can't someone write "The Answers to All Your Questions"?

In the beginning, Colin had what we self-diagnosed as colic. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of dealing with a child with colic, it's essentially a non-treatable pain in the neck (for both child and parent) that also has no official diagnosis. The symptoms vary so that makes it even more challenging to diagnose and deal with. In the simplest form of a definition, it's basically stomach issues that result in prolonged periods of inconsolable crying. So here you are new to this whole parenting thing, with a baby that won't stop crying. You feel like a terrible parent because you can't make your child happy or make the pain go away. My point is, no one ever talks about these things. Sure you might hear ways to lose that last bit of baby weight, or how to effectively potty train your toddler, or how to wean from the bottle, but why doesn't anyone tell you that colic or the like is a possibility, or better yet how to deal with it? And here I am talking about it (that's at least a baby step) but I have no solutions. Unfortunately, there are no solutions, you just learn to deal.

That brings us to today (well not really but I don't have all day). Today's issue to discuss with the doctor was Colin's eating habits. Don't get me wrong, he's the best eater in terms of variety, but he still has other issues. The most annoying habit is grunting loudly between every bite. Imagine trying to take a bite while your child is grunting/yelling at you for another bite. It makes eating a little challenging. Wes and I have adapted and eat at lightning speed. The real issue is whether or not Colin is every truly full. He rarely, if ever, stops eating on his own free will. As long as we keep putting the food in front of him, he keeps opening his mouth for another bite. There comes a point when we feel like we should stop. I mean this little being's stomach capacity is surely only about 1/4 of ours, right? Who would know with him? Well because Colin hadn't gained much weight since our last visit, the doctor gave me the go ahead to feed him more. He said keep feeding him until he stops eating. So if I start that tonight, I'll see you tomorrow because he won't stop until he physically can't hold his head up! Maybe I'll be proven wrong. Again, why can't there be some kind of guideline that tells you to feed "x" age child "x" amount? I know all kids are different but we as adults are supposed to follow the food pyramid, why can't babies/toddlers have a similar guideline? We get a range and they could too. I'll add that to my list too.

As if the doctor's visit today wasn't enough torture for Colin, he's also getting his first professional haircut today. I thought I was doing just fine but somehow the hippy look is getting lost on Wes. I like the disheveled look but his hair grows so fast, I'll allow a little trim. I have my camera in tow so I'll post soon.