Another Thursday means Peter has aged another week, making him 8 weeks old today. As I’ve mentioned before the perception of time pre- and post-Peter is radically different. Before he was born 8 weeks would seem like a fairly long stretch, but now it feels like nothing. Not that it doesn’t feel like a long period of time, more like it doesn’t feel like anything at all. It’s Orwellian in a way (we have always had Peter…). Anyway…
He slept for 6 ½ hours straight the other night. He didn’t sleep much at all during the day, so by the time evening came around he was tired enough, but he didn’t really feel like going down. He wasn’t too terrible for being in a condition like that - he was more flaky than cranky. But his mom got him to fall asleep, though, around 8:45, and he was out like a light until a little after 3:00. Unfortunately, that was a freak event, as he was back on his regular schedule after that. Normally he’ll sleep in 3-4 hour chunks at night, with feedings in between.
I’ve found that I can get more giggly responses out of Peter if I speak to him in a higher-pitched voice. Normally my voice is on the lower end of the scale, and babies hear treble better than bass (which can be a good thing when those junkers with sub-woofers drive past our house, but I digress). The problem is that I sound like a Muppet that lasted one try-out before being sent back for further character design. Also, if I do talk like that I wind up stressing my larynx out, so I can’t do it again later on. But my kid likes it, so every other day I sound like Elmo’s neglected cousin Aloysius.
Peter has also started grabbing on to things more frequently now. Fingers, pacifiers, the towel covering his pee-sprayer while he gets his diaper changed, you name it. He seems to do it more often with his left hand, and he flails his left arm more than his right, so we think he’s a southpaw. We’ll see, though.
His mom has been carrying him in the Bjorn now, too, after having to wait a while due to recovery from the c-section. Peter likes it just as much as when his dad carries him around like that. But he’s also staying awake during walks more now. He even went a full 20 minute walk with his eyes open, until we got close to the house and he got bored. He definitely knows when he’s close to home. It’s like he has a little GPS in his head, and when he gets to within 50 feet of home he knows the walk is over and it’s time to complain. At least we can quickly get him to his changing table and distract him with a diaper switcheroo (which is becoming a favorite activity of his now).
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
That growth spurt...
A week ago Peter was demanding to be fed once an hour for at least 3 days straight. We now know what came of that. He's bulked up to 12 pounds 1 ounce (that would be a gain of 3 pounds 2 ounces from a month before) and now measures 23 inches. Mr. 50th Percentile can no longer call himself that, as he's now in the 75th percentile in length and weight (but his head is in the 50th percentile, which, according to his pediatrician, is a difference of only a itsy bitsy teensy weency bit). Behold a large lad.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Dies L (that's Latin, by the way...)
Peter is 50 days old today. In honor of this august occasion we’re taking him to the doctor. He’s going to love it, I’m sure.
Yesterday afternoon I had Peter in the Bjorn for a while. But when I put him in I noticed that his head sticks out of the top a lot more than it used to. I’m curious what his measurements will be at the doctor’s, because it seemed to me that he grew at least an inch in the past week. I could be wrong about that, but how he looked in the Bjorn leads me to that conclusion. He also feels a lot heavier than he used to. And he’s working on that second chin, too. Honestly, it’s as if he’s been given some of those “supplements” baseball players “used to” take 5-10 years ago (except he still has a visible neck).
However, I wouldn’t call him “big” yet. Not like some of those kids who double their birth weight in 2 months. He’s a nice, well proprtioned baby.
Peter’s Mom says that when he starts doing a new developmental trick he actually does it in his sleep before he does it while awake. His smiles started while asleep, and now he does it while awake. Giggling started as a sleeping event and is now an awake thing. Now he’s starting to do more of a full laugh while asleep. However, if he starts walking while asleep we may have issues.
Peter also spent the evening with his Grammy last night while Mom & Dad were at a meeting. Grammy said he was a good boy, but that he gets vocal when hungry, which is pretty much how he is at home. Grammy has a kitty, OJ, who is about 15 years old. Whenever Peter has come over previously OJ pretty much ignored him. Last night, as we were leaving, OJ gave him a good look from a couple feet away. OJ didn’t really get it. Peter was asleep, so we don’t know what he thinks either.
Yesterday afternoon I had Peter in the Bjorn for a while. But when I put him in I noticed that his head sticks out of the top a lot more than it used to. I’m curious what his measurements will be at the doctor’s, because it seemed to me that he grew at least an inch in the past week. I could be wrong about that, but how he looked in the Bjorn leads me to that conclusion. He also feels a lot heavier than he used to. And he’s working on that second chin, too. Honestly, it’s as if he’s been given some of those “supplements” baseball players “used to” take 5-10 years ago (except he still has a visible neck).
However, I wouldn’t call him “big” yet. Not like some of those kids who double their birth weight in 2 months. He’s a nice, well proprtioned baby.
Peter’s Mom says that when he starts doing a new developmental trick he actually does it in his sleep before he does it while awake. His smiles started while asleep, and now he does it while awake. Giggling started as a sleeping event and is now an awake thing. Now he’s starting to do more of a full laugh while asleep. However, if he starts walking while asleep we may have issues.
Peter also spent the evening with his Grammy last night while Mom & Dad were at a meeting. Grammy said he was a good boy, but that he gets vocal when hungry, which is pretty much how he is at home. Grammy has a kitty, OJ, who is about 15 years old. Whenever Peter has come over previously OJ pretty much ignored him. Last night, as we were leaving, OJ gave him a good look from a couple feet away. OJ didn’t really get it. Peter was asleep, so we don’t know what he thinks either.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Summertime, And The Livin' Is Easy
Peter spent a good chunk of the past weekend away from home. On Saturday we went out to Madison to see his aunt, uncle and cousin one last time before his new cousin is born. It was a hot day and Peter got a little sweaty, but little did we know that he was going through a growth spurt at the time. We wound up having to feed him about once every hour for about 6-7 hours. His diaper stayed pretty clean throughout the day, but hour after hour he’d fill up the tank. His mom said he looked bigger in the evening compared to the morning. You hear that and you think “yeah, right” – but it’s true. He looks different, and he weighs more over the course of a day now.
Sunday (Fathers Day) saw us going to a baptism in the morning for one of the boys who was born around the same time as Peter. Peter slept through the whole thing, fortunately. We learned from another couple with a tot like Pete that the Miracle Blanket mentioned by Alicia in one of the comments below works (although it was announced something like “IT WORKS!!!!” as these parents had had some issues with the flailing arms of doom). We’ll be getting one now for sure.
We all went up to out to the boonies to see his Dad’s Dad in the afternoon. Peter had a pretty good time, except he again was on the one-hour feeding schedule. It’s can’t be fun having the perma-munchies like that.
Peter’s vocalizations are getting more sophisticated. Yesterday while I was yammering unintelligibly to him he spoke a 3 syllable word. Granted, it wasn’t proper English, but he did blurt out a sound with 3 distinct sounds and pitches. Unfortunately, it must have meant “I’m getting hungry” because after that he had a one-track mind. I guess his hour was up.
We'll be heading out to Madison again later this afternoon. Peter gets to meet his new cousin who was born this morning. A little girl named (if I was told right) Elena. I'm sure Pete will be quite the gentleman.
Sunday (Fathers Day) saw us going to a baptism in the morning for one of the boys who was born around the same time as Peter. Peter slept through the whole thing, fortunately. We learned from another couple with a tot like Pete that the Miracle Blanket mentioned by Alicia in one of the comments below works (although it was announced something like “IT WORKS!!!!” as these parents had had some issues with the flailing arms of doom). We’ll be getting one now for sure.
We all went up to out to the boonies to see his Dad’s Dad in the afternoon. Peter had a pretty good time, except he again was on the one-hour feeding schedule. It’s can’t be fun having the perma-munchies like that.
Peter’s vocalizations are getting more sophisticated. Yesterday while I was yammering unintelligibly to him he spoke a 3 syllable word. Granted, it wasn’t proper English, but he did blurt out a sound with 3 distinct sounds and pitches. Unfortunately, it must have meant “I’m getting hungry” because after that he had a one-track mind. I guess his hour was up.
We'll be heading out to Madison again later this afternoon. Peter gets to meet his new cousin who was born this morning. A little girl named (if I was told right) Elena. I'm sure Pete will be quite the gentleman.
Friday, June 15, 2007
How to start a day right
I changed Peter's diaper this morning.
It was messy to start with.
Unfortunately, he wasn't done unloading.
You know that scene in The Shining where the elevator door opens and blood comes pouring out? It was like that, except instead of blood it was runny poop.
Peter found it entertaining, at least.
It was messy to start with.
Unfortunately, he wasn't done unloading.
You know that scene in The Shining where the elevator door opens and blood comes pouring out? It was like that, except instead of blood it was runny poop.
Peter found it entertaining, at least.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Another Week Goes By
What? It’s been six weeks already? Jeez, where does the time go?
Let’s see, what’s new… Well, Peter’s developed boogers. I don’t know if that’s a major benchmark or what, but a couple days ago he woke up with a bit of a stuffy nose, and then yesterday there was this bright green thing that would peek out of his nose whenever he’d exhale. He got it out himself while he slept in the Bjorn while we were grocery shopping, otherwise his parents were ready and willing to try to clear it out on their own. It’s not like his nose has been totally clear up until yesterday, but he sneezed several times a day, and when we were in the hospital (waaaay back when) the nurses said that they do that to clear out the nose for breathing. Fortunately I haven’t had to deal with gobs of snot flying from his nose to my shirt from any of the sneezes, but something tells me I should be ready for it when (not if) it happens.
I’ve found something of a trick to get him to stop crying when he gets fussy. I lay him on the bed and grab him by the feet and move his legs around like he’s dancing. Rhythmically moving from left to right, up and down. I don’t know if I’m actually giving him something that’s enjoyable, or I’m confusing him to the point of silence, but it’s giving me some quiet so I don’t question it much at the time.
A new trick of his is doing push-ups. Granted, they’re the kinds of push-ups where your knees are resting on the floor, but still it’s pretty impressive to see him lift up his noggin like that. Especially three times in a row. I shouldn’t be surprised, though, as he’s done the “showing off the biceps” pose many times. Granted, I’ve felt those biceps and they’re about as hard as room-temperature butter, but obviously he’s working on them. Now his thighs, those are some developed muscles, what with all the incessant kicking he’s done.
Let’s see, what’s new… Well, Peter’s developed boogers. I don’t know if that’s a major benchmark or what, but a couple days ago he woke up with a bit of a stuffy nose, and then yesterday there was this bright green thing that would peek out of his nose whenever he’d exhale. He got it out himself while he slept in the Bjorn while we were grocery shopping, otherwise his parents were ready and willing to try to clear it out on their own. It’s not like his nose has been totally clear up until yesterday, but he sneezed several times a day, and when we were in the hospital (waaaay back when) the nurses said that they do that to clear out the nose for breathing. Fortunately I haven’t had to deal with gobs of snot flying from his nose to my shirt from any of the sneezes, but something tells me I should be ready for it when (not if) it happens.
I’ve found something of a trick to get him to stop crying when he gets fussy. I lay him on the bed and grab him by the feet and move his legs around like he’s dancing. Rhythmically moving from left to right, up and down. I don’t know if I’m actually giving him something that’s enjoyable, or I’m confusing him to the point of silence, but it’s giving me some quiet so I don’t question it much at the time.
A new trick of his is doing push-ups. Granted, they’re the kinds of push-ups where your knees are resting on the floor, but still it’s pretty impressive to see him lift up his noggin like that. Especially three times in a row. I shouldn’t be surprised, though, as he’s done the “showing off the biceps” pose many times. Granted, I’ve felt those biceps and they’re about as hard as room-temperature butter, but obviously he’s working on them. Now his thighs, those are some developed muscles, what with all the incessant kicking he’s done.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Upgraded Model
In the past couple days Peter has developed new traits. First, he’s a much more interactive tot. You can play with him now in the sense that you play with a friend/playmate, as opposed to playing with him like a toy. The range of vocalization has expanded from the original set of choices of silence, quiet cooing, crying, or screaming, to include louder cooing, proto-giggling, squeals, and short 2-3 note songs.
In addition to liking to have his diaper changed, last night he was even jovial as I changed his ensemble due to a significant spit-up. So radically different was this behavior that I had to grill his mom to make sure she had in fact been with him all day and that he wasn’t replaced by an impostor “baby”. She assured me it was still our Peter.
He reacts to his playseat. It has something of a console that goes over it, with lights and a mirror, and it plays music/makes noise. He used to sit in it and basically ignore the additional features, but now he gets into the sound and lightshow. Interestingly, there’s maybe 5-6 different selections of classical music that play – preceded by an announcement of the composer’s name (“WOLF-gang ama-DAY-oos MOT-zart!”)- and when the songs start to repeat Peter starts getting fidgetty. It’s like he wants something new. At a month old.
He’s also getting big. He hadn’t been in the bassinnette for the past week or so, and last night I put him in it for a while. He used to fit inside it quite easily, but last night it looked like a much tighter fit (relatively speaking). His wingspan easily reaches both sides of the bassinnette, and the wiggle room he has around his feet and head has shrunk dramatically. Considering the fact that he pushes himself around of his own will now, he’ll need all the extra space he can get.
And finally: he smiles a lot more now, and it ain’t gas. He used to do it in his sleep only, but now he smiles in the middle of the day when wide awake. And he does it when we talk about him, too, like he’s listening in and likes being the topic of discussion. We always thought he was a smart baby, but sometimes he does things that make it seem like we underestimate him. I don’t know how many times we’ve said “wait a minute, when is he supposed to be able to do X? Isn’t he early?” Aside from the being born part, he seems to be early on a lot of fronts.
In addition to liking to have his diaper changed, last night he was even jovial as I changed his ensemble due to a significant spit-up. So radically different was this behavior that I had to grill his mom to make sure she had in fact been with him all day and that he wasn’t replaced by an impostor “baby”. She assured me it was still our Peter.
He reacts to his playseat. It has something of a console that goes over it, with lights and a mirror, and it plays music/makes noise. He used to sit in it and basically ignore the additional features, but now he gets into the sound and lightshow. Interestingly, there’s maybe 5-6 different selections of classical music that play – preceded by an announcement of the composer’s name (“WOLF-gang ama-DAY-oos MOT-zart!”)- and when the songs start to repeat Peter starts getting fidgetty. It’s like he wants something new. At a month old.
He’s also getting big. He hadn’t been in the bassinnette for the past week or so, and last night I put him in it for a while. He used to fit inside it quite easily, but last night it looked like a much tighter fit (relatively speaking). His wingspan easily reaches both sides of the bassinnette, and the wiggle room he has around his feet and head has shrunk dramatically. Considering the fact that he pushes himself around of his own will now, he’ll need all the extra space he can get.
And finally: he smiles a lot more now, and it ain’t gas. He used to do it in his sleep only, but now he smiles in the middle of the day when wide awake. And he does it when we talk about him, too, like he’s listening in and likes being the topic of discussion. We always thought he was a smart baby, but sometimes he does things that make it seem like we underestimate him. I don’t know how many times we’ve said “wait a minute, when is he supposed to be able to do X? Isn’t he early?” Aside from the being born part, he seems to be early on a lot of fronts.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Maybe we can make bread...
Peter has had a persistent diaper rash for the past week that wasn’t going away with standard treatment. Peter’s mom called the pediatrician and got confirmation that it wasn’t just a diaper rash, it’s a yeast infection. Fortunately he doesn’t show signs of being irritated by it, and it’s contained to a small area. We got a prescription ointment, but mainly the treatment is to air out his butt every once in a while, and also expose it to light. Apparently yeast likes it dark and warm, and if he’s catching a sunny breeze down there it will help him out. Last night we didn’t have much access to sunlight so we had to use a flashlight, but the only flashlight I had available was an 18 inch maglite. So there I was, aiming the kind of flashlight cops use to beat up jaywalkers at my kid’s butt while he gurgles and coos on the changing table. To make matters worse, the next time I changed him was, oh, about 2 minutes too soon, if you know what I mean (#1 and #2). And he was loaded.
Another thing I’ve found about Peter (and I’m not sure if this is just him or it’s a universal baby thing) is that his arms cause us a lot of trouble. That is, sometimes he’ll fuss and grumble for a long stretch of time, with his arms flailing around like a wind up toy. But if you strap down the arms, he becomes a docile little sweetie. Case in point: 4:30 this morning Peter wakes up, announces he’s not sleepy anymore, and flaps his arms like a hummingbird. He’s not really hungry, and his diaper was clean. Flap flap flap. So eventually I grab him by the midsection and sit him in my lap on the bed, with his arms firmly (but gently) held to his side. In no time he’s quiet, calm, and falling back to sleep. I then hold him like that while lying down (trying to get whatever rest I could before having to get up and go to work) with him on my abdomen, rising up and down as I breathe – and arms held down. Swaddling him and keeping the arms restrained doesn’t always work - Peter is a junior Houdini when it comes to getting out of restraints. What I need to find is a nice little straitjacket, made out of soft cotton, preferably in a nice shade of blue. Anyone know where I can pick up such baby bondage gear?
In Milestones department, today sees Peter turning 5 weeks old. He’s also smiling more frequently now. He’s also outgrowing his clothes at a rapid clip. He should be about 10 pounds now, too.
Another thing I’ve found about Peter (and I’m not sure if this is just him or it’s a universal baby thing) is that his arms cause us a lot of trouble. That is, sometimes he’ll fuss and grumble for a long stretch of time, with his arms flailing around like a wind up toy. But if you strap down the arms, he becomes a docile little sweetie. Case in point: 4:30 this morning Peter wakes up, announces he’s not sleepy anymore, and flaps his arms like a hummingbird. He’s not really hungry, and his diaper was clean. Flap flap flap. So eventually I grab him by the midsection and sit him in my lap on the bed, with his arms firmly (but gently) held to his side. In no time he’s quiet, calm, and falling back to sleep. I then hold him like that while lying down (trying to get whatever rest I could before having to get up and go to work) with him on my abdomen, rising up and down as I breathe – and arms held down. Swaddling him and keeping the arms restrained doesn’t always work - Peter is a junior Houdini when it comes to getting out of restraints. What I need to find is a nice little straitjacket, made out of soft cotton, preferably in a nice shade of blue. Anyone know where I can pick up such baby bondage gear?
In Milestones department, today sees Peter turning 5 weeks old. He’s also smiling more frequently now. He’s also outgrowing his clothes at a rapid clip. He should be about 10 pounds now, too.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Starting Month 2
Yesterday was Peter’s first monthiversary. At 9:04 he was in the Bjorn, being walked around Lake Park. He went for three walks on Saturday, but due to the rain yesterday he only got out twice – the other time being in the stroller. Fortunately he doesn’t seem to have a preference between the Bjorn and the stroller when it comes to walks, both of them jostle him enough on a walk that he can relax (and why it is that he likes to be jostled so much is beyond me).
So after a month how has he changed? He’s bigger, that’s for sure. He’s starting to develop some baby fat chubbiness (not much, though, he still has a long & slim frame), and his weight should be about 9 ½ pounds now. He still has a hairy head, but it hasn’t grown very fast so he’s not looking at a haircut for a while (although his mom is tempted to let him grow a Fabio –esque mane). But he does look different every day. His features are no longer defined by how X looks like his mother’s X or father’s X, it’s just Peter’s X.
He’s getting stronger, too. The neck strength has been the most visible part of it, but the rest of his body is stout, too. Saturday his mom had him on his tummy on top of the boppy for a while. After 10 minutes he started pushing with his legs, and moved himself about a foot off the boppy and on to the pillow next to it. All while his mom’s eyes grew bigger and bigger as he kept going. He probably would have bonked his head against the bed’s headboard if she didn’t stop him. I don’t know if this means he’ll be an early crawler or walker, but when he gets going I think he’ll be zooming all over the place if he isn’t watched closely.
His mom told me that he’s laughed several times in the past week, but always when I’m not around. But last night I did hear what sounded a lot like a good chuckle when he was in a pretty good mood on the changing table. It sure didn’t sound like gas to these ears. I know what gas sounds like from him…
So after a month how has he changed? He’s bigger, that’s for sure. He’s starting to develop some baby fat chubbiness (not much, though, he still has a long & slim frame), and his weight should be about 9 ½ pounds now. He still has a hairy head, but it hasn’t grown very fast so he’s not looking at a haircut for a while (although his mom is tempted to let him grow a Fabio –esque mane). But he does look different every day. His features are no longer defined by how X looks like his mother’s X or father’s X, it’s just Peter’s X.
He’s getting stronger, too. The neck strength has been the most visible part of it, but the rest of his body is stout, too. Saturday his mom had him on his tummy on top of the boppy for a while. After 10 minutes he started pushing with his legs, and moved himself about a foot off the boppy and on to the pillow next to it. All while his mom’s eyes grew bigger and bigger as he kept going. He probably would have bonked his head against the bed’s headboard if she didn’t stop him. I don’t know if this means he’ll be an early crawler or walker, but when he gets going I think he’ll be zooming all over the place if he isn’t watched closely.
His mom told me that he’s laughed several times in the past week, but always when I’m not around. But last night I did hear what sounded a lot like a good chuckle when he was in a pretty good mood on the changing table. It sure didn’t sound like gas to these ears. I know what gas sounds like from him…
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Friday, June 1, 2007
B-A-B-Y
Yesterday, or I should say yester-DAY, Peter slept for the most part until early evening. Which, of course, meant that come bed time he had all the energy of a finals-cramming college student after 3 ½ cans of Red Bull. Getting him down for good took several hours of short feedings, walking around, and, ultimately, flying him around like a little airplane while making zooming noises. Remember the strong neck? It’s strong enough so that I can lift him up by the armpits while I’m flat on my back and he’ll stick out his head so he can look around. All while Daddy makes sounds that ultimately are just copies of the noise that a WWII dive bomber makes. But what can I do? I can’t do the sound of a Lear Jet. So years from now he’ll be watching Saving Private Ryan or something like that, carnage will be filling the screen, and he’ll think of Dad. Nice.
The Scripps Spelling Bee final was last night and Peter was up for most of it. He missed the early parts where the ABC-designated favorites, who had features about them at their homes shown before their time to spell, get eliminated immediately after the bio was shown. Ouch. But Peter was up for the last hour, even though he was getting pissed about all the commercials. Or maybe that was me. Anyway, I don’t know what kind of orthographer Peter will be, but I seriously doubt I’d be one of those spelling-coach parents they had in Spellbound. Then again, I don’t want him to be one of those text-messaging kids who couldn’t spell an actual word to save their life. So maybe I will send him to spelling camp, but only if he’s not already committed to cello practice, jai-alai practice, debate team meetings, and sculpting time.
The Scripps Spelling Bee final was last night and Peter was up for most of it. He missed the early parts where the ABC-designated favorites, who had features about them at their homes shown before their time to spell, get eliminated immediately after the bio was shown. Ouch. But Peter was up for the last hour, even though he was getting pissed about all the commercials. Or maybe that was me. Anyway, I don’t know what kind of orthographer Peter will be, but I seriously doubt I’d be one of those spelling-coach parents they had in Spellbound. Then again, I don’t want him to be one of those text-messaging kids who couldn’t spell an actual word to save their life. So maybe I will send him to spelling camp, but only if he’s not already committed to cello practice, jai-alai practice, debate team meetings, and sculpting time.
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