First Tooth! (AKA 3 Weeks of Teething Hell)



Krew has his first tooth!

Getting that tooth, however, proved to be nearly more than I could bear. His teething started with extra drooling and fist chewing, which was cute even if it did soak through his bib to his shirt underneath. He started waking up more often at night, to the point where he was getting up nearly every 2 hours. He was fussier during the day. When he was napping he would sleep for shorter periods of time and have fewer naps.

Because of his age, he lacks the coordination required to use a teething ring (that can be chilled), and he has only just figured out how to get the links in his mouth without hitting his eye on the way. Actually, when he chews on his links, he reminds me of this:

To help him (us) cope with his teething, we've been using a combination of Orajel (or Anbesol) and gripe water. We also had heard about how amber bracelets help with teething and so I went out and bought one. The amber in the bracelet (supposedly) helps with pain relief and calms the baby. While he has improved since we bought it, it's hard to say if it was the bracelet itself or just his tooth  making an arrival that has calmed him. Regardless, we have not removed it!

The only bad thing about Krew's tooth arriving is that it came alone. Meaning that the other one will soon be turning him into a crank again.

19 weeks

Or rather, 2 days shy of 19 weeks.

Unfortunately, no pictures this post, but I figure that if I always wait until I have pictures then that means that I have to take the pictures, then upload them...and then you get a post 1 month later!

Krew had his 4 month shots this past Monday on the 8th, and it was kind of funny. Well, not the crying that came out of him receiving the shots, but rather the stink eye he gave the nurse. Seriously. He had the pouty lip going on and he was watching her with this pissed off expression that was pointed directly at her. Sometimes I'm really surprised by the sheer amount of expressions he can produce. And then I'm glad that they aren't aimed at me.

The after effects of Krew's shots sucked. The next day he was warm to the touch, and it definitely didn't help that our summer decided to return, so his room (and the house) was warm. On top of that, he's definitely teething, so it was pretty much the best day ever. His next set of shots will be in the beginning of October, and it will only be a single shot, so that shouldn't be too bad.

I loooove having Krew measured though. I'm always amazed by how much he's grown in such a short period of time! So, here are his measurements:

Weight = 17 lbs 2.5 oz (2 mos = 12 lbs 10 oz; birth = 8 lbs 5 oz)
Length = 26.25 inches (2 mos = 22.5 inches; birth = 21 inches)
Head Circumference = 42.5 cm (2 mos = 39.2 cm; birth = 34 cm)

According to the chart, his length is in the 85-95th percentile, his weight is in the 50-85th percentile, his head circumference is in the 50-85th percentile, and his length-to-weight ratio is right at 50%. That means that he's tall (long?) for his age, but otherwise he is average to slightly-bigger-than-average. However, the length-to-weight ratio shows that he is the right size (not over- or underweight). Apparently, "they" are starting to track babies to see if a baby that is "overweight" stays overweight as they grow. Oh, and these measurements aren't corrected for his age; otherwise, I think he'd be in the next size bracket, and he's big enough already. As it is I'm already putting aside onesies that are in the 6 month range because they are too small. If he doesn't stop growing he's going to be in toddler sizes before he starts walking.

So, Krew has been tripping me out lately. Well, mostly today. So, I was talking to him and the great thing about talking to babies is that you don't have to make sense. Or make sentences. I just say hi to him and he thinks I'm the greatest conversationalist ever. And you can tell that he thinks that because he smiles this really wide smile and his face lights up. Either that or he's just humouring me. Anyway, so I was saying hi to him and then I looked away. And heard a sound that was pretty much bang on to what I had just said, intonation included. That was pretty creepy. And then later I was saying "hello-allo-allo-allo-allo" (really fast). Like I said, the conversation doesn't have to actually make sense. And it kind of sounded like he said hello back.

Obviously, he didn't because he's only 4 months old and they don't start "talking" till much later. And those sounds are super easy to mimic, so even if he did mimic me it wasn't like he was consciously saying hi back. Nonetheless, he kind of creeped me the fuck out. It's bad enough that sometimes I hear the tenants talking through the baby monitor at night (not actual words, but the murmur of voices), but now he's making more noises that sound like talking? Babies are creepy.

Other than that? I just discovered today that he likes sparkly jewelry and that he likes to watch So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Which would sound impressive until you remembered who his mom was. Seriously though, I would be talking to him and he would be making eye contact and smiling...until he got distracted by my necklace. And just to prove it, I moved it back and forth and he tracked it with his eyes. And with SYTYCDC he was lying on the floor playing on his mat, but once the show started he wiggled himself around and arched his head back so he could watch. Until the commercials came on. He also loves Glee! I was driving back from the in-laws' place on the weekend with Kevin, my teenage niece, and Krew when my niece mentioned she had a Glee song stuck in her head. Krew was being fussy, so I figured I'd play the music and it would distract him, so I did. And he stopped fussing immediately. And didn't fuss for the rest of the way back (we were probably 45 mins out of town still). My niece said that he was smiling the entire time, and that just proved my theory that Krew DID like the Glee music when I was pregnant!

Anyway, this is a really long post, especially when you consider the fact that I haven't even included any pictures. Oh well, next time!

17.5 weeks

I'm a horrible blogger!

Krew is now 4 calendar months (but 17.5 weeks). Yeah, the discrepancy between a calendar month and a lunar month is super annoying.

I took Krew in to the clinic for his 4ish month checkup. As of last Wednesday (July 27) he weighed 16 pounds 2 oz (birth weight 8 lbs 5 oz) and was 25 inches long (birth length 21 inches). So that means that he has nearly doubled his birth weight and that he has grown 4 inches in 4 months! He is still wearing a size 6 month sleeper, but some of the smaller ones are nearly too small for his big feet and long torso.

The physiotherapist (Jaclyn) has been super awesome with him. She has been showing me neck stretches and exercises to help him strengthen his left neck muscle. And best of it, it has been working! He now moves his head to the left side more easily and he also sits more centered instead of to the right. We still need to work on keeping his left ear away from his left shoulder, as well as helping him roll to his left side. Since working with Jaclyn, Krew has stopped rolling over, but considering the fact that he was only rolling over because he was so lopsided during tummy time this is a good thing. He kicks with his legs more often and he nearly "swims" on his tummy. That boy wants to motor!

So, remember the cute cooing noises Krew would make (posted on my last entry)? Well, he still makes a version of that noise. Except now the noise is much higher pitched and resembles that of a shriek:

He's a pretty funny kid too, and I think he knows it. He recognizes words like "bottle" and "bath" and maybe even "walk" and gets super excited. He starts kicking his legs and his eyes open really wide.

I think he might be teething. His fist chewing and drooling would indicate a yes, but looking in his mouth I don't see inflamed gums. In the below picture he actually looks like he has teeth visible through his gums though, so maybe? (Click picture below to enlarge.)

Mmm. Fist.

He loves the feel of a fleece blanket, so he always pulls it up to (and sometimes over) his face when he is in his crib, car seat, or chair. Mix the soggy fist with a fleece blanket and he always has lint between his fingers and clutched in his little hands. He also loves to chew/suck on his bibs, but I think sometimes the bib just happened to be between his fist and his mouth at the time.

He's just a happy kid, just look at this face!

He's also super strong. When he is lying down I grab his fists and he will stiffen his shoulders and neck so he can be pulled into the sitting position. Unfortunately, we used to play a game with him where he would push back with his feet and he would fall back onto a pillow, so now he keeps doing that and won't stay sitting upright, lol. He also likes to sit in a sprawl, just like most males, and prefers to be reclining versus sitting upright. Jaclyn lent us a Bumbo chair to help him improve his sitting and keeping his body in midline, but he just sits back (instead of forward) and leans to one side.

His sleeping habits are both better and worse than they were. When he goes to sleep in the evening (usually between 7:30 and 9) he is out for the night. But! There are times now where I have to get up in the middle of the night because he is crying for his soother. And by crying, I mean shrieking. So, getting up for the soother is easier than getting up to feed him, but it still isn't sleeping all the way through the night. He still wakes up at either 4:30 or 5:30 a.m. for feeding, but he will go back to sleep again after, so that's good. There are times when he seems to sleep all day and other times when he just will not sleep at all. We use a music and motion soother (below) that plays music, both with or without lights and motion to help put him to sleep. If that doesn't work, we use a mobile. For some reason the mobile will calm him down better, but maybe that's because we don't use it all the time?

Best investment ever.

Krew is still easygoing, he still goes with the flow, but he does seem to be getting a little leery of new faces. He warms up to the new person fairly quickly, but will still look for me or Kevin to make sure we're around. He smiles easily and has a laugh that sounds more like a wheeze, but it's hilarious. Unfortunately I can't seem to make him laugh when I have my camera out!

Oh, I also gave him a hair cut a couple days ago.

Loooong hair.

Side view.

After.

Much shorter now!