Hudson | LIFT

First Tooth

Posted by ngreene on May 2, 2012 in Family

After 10 months, Hudson’s first tooth has started to poke through! We found it this morning while playing and, boy, is it ever sharp!

It’s at the front of his mouth on the bottom. I can’t really get a good look at it because he sticks his tongue out as soon as I open his mouth, but it might even be two teeth side-by-side.

We’re most definitely more excited about it than he is, but I’m sure he’ll come around when he realized all the delicious things that he can eat with teeth!

Baby Swing / Cradle

Posted by ngreene on Apr 13, 2012 in Featured, Gear

Our friends and family were incredibly generous at Susie’s baby shower. We received an unbelievable amount of gifts and clothing that we continue to use on a daily basis, even while Hudson is nine months old.

My plan, is to share my thoughts and insights into which of these items turned out to be absolute live without pieces and which we wouldn’t recommend for other families in the future.

I thought I’d kick things off withThe Fisher Price Love U Zoo Cradle and Swing. This particular item was a shower gift from my Aunt and cousins and was actually one of the very first gifts that we received because it was shipped to the house before the shower.

This is truly one of those items that we could not have lived without at certain phases during Hudsons life to this point.

We don’t consider Hudson to have been a difficult infant. Many parents experience a child that is absolutely inconsolable for hours and hours at a time, but Hudson always had a way to be soothed. Holding an infant and rocking with infant, while those tasks don’t sound all that difficult, become exhausting when required for hours and hours on end.

This swing, with its various speed settings, and multiple swing angle options, made for the perfect resting place for Hudson to fall asleep. Since Hudson was a preemie, he was a little small for the swing at first and we substituted with a bouncer, which I will review on a different date.

Around his actual due date he settled in with the swing beautifully. It was great, it was like having a set it and forget it machine to care for your baby. We could strap him in and do housework, prepare meals, vacuum the floors, whatever and he would simply look on and eventually fall sleep.

As he got a little older, the toy tray came into play. This accessory is great because it not only allows you to add toys on a flat surface, but it comes with a few toys of its own which he can’t grab and fling to the far corners of the room.

This item would definitely be a repurchase if we were to go to the beginning and do this whole thing again.

From a size perspective, Hudson still fits in the swing. But, one of the other measurements as to whether or not your child can use this toy is their ability to get out of it. Hudson can no longer be left alone unsupervised with this toy because, as wriggly as he is, I’ve caught him having gotten most of the way out of the seat several times.

It’s had a great run and it looks great in our living room, but sadly I feel our time with this toy/tool has almost come to an end. From a workmanship standpoint, I believe that a single purchase of the swing will last a family planning to have as many kids as they like. For us, as we’ve always said, it’s one and done.

Weird Day Yesterday

Posted by ngreene on Apr 12, 2012 in Family

Yesterday was a weird day.

It didn’t have to do with Hudson, he was actually about as normal as he’s ever been.

We got out of the house and we got a few things done in the morning, which was great. Later in the morning, we drove our friends to the airport. That’s when it seemed to go downhill for me.

Traffic on the way back downtown was heavy, I was hungry, Hudson was miserable having been in the car for 45 minutes or so. I was just trying to keep Hudson quiet and drive home but nothing seemed to satisfy him so he just wailed and wailed. I grab some drive-through to satisfy my hunger and they gave Hudson a few french fries to play with. He wasn’t really able to eat them but to have something to hold was enough to quiet him for more for part of the time.

The whole rest of the day I was in a sort of funk. I was exhausted, I was lethargic, I spent most of the day lying on Hudson’s play mat’s and playing with him.

I had absolutely no motivation to tidy up, or gets all the housework I’ve been procrastinating with done. Nothing.

I just played on a mat like a suck who hadn’t gotten his way.

When Susie came home she could tell that I just wasn’t feeling it that day. She asked me what was wrong and, of course, I said nothing.

She proceeded to explain to me how she felt on some of the days that she was stuck at home while on maternity leave. At the time, I found even that to be annoying but, in retrospect, she pretty much summed up exactly how I was feeling that afternoon.

She made a number of suggestions to get up, out of the house, go outside, walk around, and just be somewhere that wasn’t in the living room and I simply wouldn’t have it.

I realize now that she was probably right. I need to give her more credit for the experience that she’s had to date. After all, she does have a ton more experience at this than I do.

Our boy, the Model

Posted by ngreene on Apr 11, 2012 in Family, Featured

I’m not exactly sure how this whole process started. Susie came to me one day and just said “he’s in … our son is going to be a model!”.

She showed me the portfolio of pictures that had been chosen and sent in with her preliminary application and the email that indicated Hudson had been selected for an in person information session.

We were told that the information session would be held with a number of the candidates they were considering bringing on as young talent and that some, if not many, of the kids would be sent home without a contract based on who they thought to get the most work.

Since Susie is back at work and has full days Monday to Friday 9 to 5, it was up to me to take Hudson to this session. It was a little surreal. We walked into a room with about 30 people representing about 20 kids andl take our seats around the outside edges of the room. First, our formal information kits were collected which included our signed application as well as a short photo portfolio of pictures for our children.

Next those information kits were taken to another room by other agents to be reviewed while we attended the information session. At the end of the session, which lasted 45 minutes, the main agent once again came into the room with two piles. She told us the first pile would be the children that, for whatever reason, they would not be offering modeling contracts to.

This announcement stirred up quite a bit of commotion in the room as parents prepared to hear the destiny of their children. As we waited to see who made it and who didn’t make it, some the parents began to chitchat. The mother on my right mentioned how this experience was so exciting, while the father on my left explained how he felt this felt just like being in gym class and hoping to be picked on the cool team.

Unfortunately, both the mother and the father were handed back the application kits for their children. In fact, I would guess that about half of the second-round picks all got cut that day.

At the end of the meeting, Hudson was offered a contract to be represented as a model by Kamera Kids, a division of Sutherland Models.

Here is the shot that they kept for his file:

What’s in the Box?

Posted by ngreene on Apr 10, 2012 in Family

Being home with a little boy means that you’re constantly in each others companionship. For the few times during the day that we must be separated out of necessity there has to be a strategy for coping with that separation.

I mostly lean on distraction to keep him happy while I run off to do simple tasks, such as go to the washroom.

He is usually happy enough for about 3 to 5 minutes and then I need to brush off whatever I was doing and hurry back to him.

Today, however, was a different story I dropped him in his crib as I usually would. Then I busy myself with the tasks that were at hand and he didn’t become upset for a full 15 minutes.

This time, instead of handing him a toy or two as a distraction I picked up the entire box of toys and put the whole box in his crib. This is the scene that I came back to:

By the time I had returned he had managed to take every single toy out of that box and throw 80% of them on the floor. It was giggling like a maniac what I wanted to check on him because he’d himself climbed into the box.

First Blood

Posted by ngreene on Apr 9, 2012 in Family

The first year of a young man’s life is all about firsts, most of which are things to celebrate, such as: first step, first word, first wave.

Last night, unfortunately, Hudson had to experience one of the firsts that really suck. He experienced first blood.

I never really thought about what that could mean or how that could make him or me feel, but I think I was more traumatized from it than he was.

Hudson was very early wanting to stand on his own. The adjuncts
to that was a sort of shimmying that would see him making his way around the living room fairly quickly while holding onto the couches and coffee table. He’s fallen on his butt a number of times but always managed to land relatively soft.

Last night, was not unlike any other, But somehow he managed to smack his chin or upper gums on the coffee table. Our coffee table is wrapped in a nice soft cushioning leather, but it was enough to open a small cut on his gums.

Seeing my little boy with a mouthful of blood just broke my heart. Susie and I consoled him and held him and soon enough he stopped crying but was still bleeding in his mouth. Once the bleeding stopped, we gave him a popsicle and he went about having a great night.

At least first blood is out of the way.

So Refreshing

Posted by ngreene on Apr 6, 2012 in Philosophy

While picking up some takeout from Fresh yesterday I ended up in a conversation with another patron while waiting for our food.

He addressed me first with a question about Hudson’s car seat. Hudson was fast asleep. We talked car seats and strollers and, after learning that his wife was expecting, I gave him some advice as a new father.

Towards the end of the conversation a woman came up to us and interrupted. She was really impressed with our chat, enough so that she felt she needed to let us know about it: “I’m sorry to interrupt, but it is so refreshing to hear two men talking about this stuff. You guys are really a breath of fresh air”

The Three Stroller System

Posted by ngreene on Apr 5, 2012 in Gear

If someone would’ve said to me before Hudson was born that I would see a need for three strollers, I would’ve called them crazy.

I’ve done I’ll lots of research when it comes to strollers. I know the different brands, I know the different styles, and I know the different uses for which a stroller is beneficial.

The good news, for us, is that we haven’t had to pay full price for any of our strollers. Susie’s father very generously gave us the gift of our travel system, which includes a stroller bassinet, car seat, and travel bag. The other two strollers I was fortunate enough to find on Kijiji for significant savings.

The components of our system are:

1) The Orbit Baby G2 Travel System

2) The Maclaren Volo Umbrella Stroller

3) The Mountain Buggy Urban Running Stroller

The travel system is incredibly important because it is comprised of a car seat that can easily be placed on the stroller base from the car while the baby is sleeping. Orbit Baby is an awesome system, specifically because of the unique locking mechanism that allows you to rotate the seat both in the car (for easy loading and unloading) and in the stroller (to use as an Ad hoc high chair anywhere).

The umbrella stroller is a must-have anytime you will be having your baby in tight situations, such as department stores or tradeshows. We chose the Volo because of its incredible light weight and compact design. Also, it doesn’t hurt that it’s a pretty snappy looking little outfit!

The running stroller is dual purpose. First, as you would expect, it’s great for running! It is very maneuverable and the perfect weight with a side of just the right kinds of adjustments available to customize the experience. Second, because of the large wheels, this is the perfect stroller to take off road. Whether its in the park or on the hiking trail, Hudson gets a nice smooth ride.

Warm Weather Makes all the Difference

Posted by ngreene on Apr 4, 2012 in Family

Today is 11° and sunny. I never thought I would describe 11° and sunny as a perfect day, but today, I’m considering it.

We got up and went through our usual morning routine. It’s been so crappy out lately that it hasn’t really been an option for us to go outside of the house just to walk around, but today all of that changed.

I forgot how easily Hudson falls asleep when out on a long walk. The walk didn’t even need to be that long today. He fell asleep within the first kilometer. Usually, I need to keep moving in order for him to stay asleep, but today I had the luxury of sitting in the sun to write this while he slept.

Once he does wake up, it’ll be time to play for little while, then I’ll take him back outside and go for a run in the running stroller.

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