outings

Quinn had a big day of firsts today-- Zach and I brought him along on a trip to Ikea this morning, and then to In-N-Out for lunch.  He slept in the Moby wrap for almost the entire Ikea venture, up until the end when he started squirming and waking up a bit as we were entering the lower-level warehouse area before the check-out stands.  Which led to another first, his first time to nurse in public.  He did pretty well, then promptly (and loudly) pooped his pants.  Aah, the life of a baby... ; )  He was a bit less content at In-N-Out, though I suspect that was partially b/c his mean parents wouldn't let him have any fries or chocolate shake.

Quinn's been getting a bit fussier lately, it varies by day but can be fairly inconsolable at times.  We're slowly figuring out what helps (and what doesn't) and taking it day by day.  At first anytime he was upset I'd nurse him, and often that helped but not always.  Lately we've been figuring out other ways to soothe him, and that sometimes he's mad bc he can't quite fall asleep and needs a bit of help.  One very nice revelation was last night when Zach gave my mei tai carrier a try.  Quinn kept crying for several minutes and I almost asked Zach to give him back to me to try to feed him, but then he settled down... and slept for a good 1.5-2hrs while Zach wore him.  Which was a relief for me (I'm not the only one who can soothe him!) and I think a good boost for Zach (he's not actually useless just because he lacks lactating boobs!).

I used some christmas money to buy (yet another) baby carrier, which arrived today.  It's now drying after being washed, but I'm looking forward to trying it out.  At Ikea today we bought a couple inexpensive children's area rugs for the living room and our bedroom, to expand the amount of semi-cushioned floor space available for baby play areas, and bought a play mat with the hanging toys and stuff.  Our home is quickly becoming engulfed in BABY stuff.  But, that's life, and I'm hoping that the carriers and floor spaces to set him down on and entertain him with, will help to make life with a toddler + baby a bit easier.  We shall see.  Most of the time I'm feeling fairly confident about being able to handle this (or at least survive past the initial settling-in-and-figuring-out-how-the-heck-to-do-this period), at times I feel utterly terrified by the thought of how to handle those times when both kids need me desperately, at the exact same time.  But, hey, we'll deal with it, and survive, and hopefully with only minimal emotional scarring.  ; )