29 weeks

Or at least I think he's at 29 weeks. Regardless, he's in the 6 month bracket and he's taking up way more of my time than he did before. I've been meaning to write this post for a couple weeks but I have less energy. He doesn't sleep as much as he did, but apparently that's normal since 2 other moms from my dance studio with babies his age have been missing out on sleep too. Misery loves company, right?

He got his shots on October 3rd, the day after he hit 6 months. He really shot up the charts in length and weight from his 4 month shots! He's now about 20 lbs and 28 inches long. Dr. Fredeen said that he was about the size of an 8-9 month old. He passed the 97th percentile in length and he's in the 85-97 percentile for weight. However, he's still in the 50-85 percentile for his height to length ratio. He did well getting his shots, but seemed more out of it than usual for the week following his shots. He was warmer and seemed more dozy. We had also started him on solids a couple weeks prior and he wasn't interested in eating food (but was still taking a bottle at least). It took him about a week to get back to normal and he's 100% improved now. Except for his stuffy nose.

Somewhere along the road he became nasally congested (is that a word?) so we've been using a saline spray to clear him out. It was pretty bad at first and he still hates the spray but he calms down a lot quicker now. I think he just doesn't like objects stuffed up his nose. To be honest, I think he picked it up from the health clinic (ironic) because they gave him a toy to play with and it immediately went into his mouth. I doubt they sanitize their toys between kids and I honestly didn't think anything of it at the time. Neither Kevin nor I have been sick, so unless Kevin brought something home from work, he got it from the clinic.

Speaking of the health clinic, when a baby goes in for their 6 month shots the parent is given a questionnaire to fill out on the baby's development. Which is fine, unless the baby isn't as far along as the baby "should" be. That part really pissed me off and I think it has to do entirely with the way the nurse worded what she said. For those of you that have already heard this rant, feel free to skip over it. Krew scored normal for a few things, borderline in problem solving, and below average for fine motor skills. The fine motor skills tests how well a baby can grab things using their fingers versus their whole hand. When you are doing the questionnaire, you are supposed to test all of these things on your baby before answering (unless you know for a fact that they can already do the task). However, I didn't have anything small (the size of a cheerio) with me so I just marked down "Not Yet" on the tasks. When it came time to discuss his score, the nurse asked if I had tried any of these things and I said no. When asked why, I said that he wasn't eating cheerios yet (for the questions that actually involved cheerios) and also that I didn't have anything that I wanted him to choke on. She then suggested that he see an infant development specialist and that's when I got angry. It's very possible that I took it the wrong way, but I said that it wasn't necessary since he had just turned 6 months, was 3 weeks early, and had torticollis (which has set him back for things like sitting). She did admit that the questionnaire was for kids between the ages of 6-8 months, but if I wanted she could refer him to a specialist. There's nothing wrong with him! She started out the interview by saying that all kids develop at different points, but now she wants him to see a specialist?!? I denied, again, and she had me take home an 8 month questionnaire with essentially the same questions. I'm supposed to call her when he hits 8 months and tell her how he scored. Even in the 3 weeks since his shots his development has changed drastically. At the time of his shots he wasn't putting his feet in his mouth and now he does it every time his toes are exposed. He has started sitting a little more independently. He isn't quite picking things up with his thumb and forefinger yet, but soon.

Other fun facts?

Krew gained another tooth about a month ago, and one of his top ones are on the way! I wasn't able to see the other side properly but I may have seen some white. He also LOOOOVES his jolly jumper and has really good form while jumping. He eats so well and loves sweet potatoes mixed with apples/pears (so good). He also loves squash, but isn't a fan of turkey, lol. I can't blame him though, it smells nasty. I've actually taken to making his baby food, something that I never was really sure I would do. In fact, I was never sure I liked sweet potato or squash until I tried his and now it's something I plan on eating regularly.

Krew sleeps less during the day and will typically have 1 hour naps when he does go down. I'm finding it easier to interact with him and he's such a little stinker. He purposefully does things to make me laugh and so we laugh A LOT together.

Isis is totally in love with him and comes within reaching distance so he can pet her. Even on the couple times when he's grabbed her fur she hasn't hissed or ran away. Link likes to sit and watch him (it's mutual) but won't come within arm's reach yet. Smart cat.

Krew is still unpredictable with people. He loves people who smile at him and talk to him, but he shuts right up when they're talking to me. However, I had a cashier chat him up and he was loving it until she went to touch his face, then apparently he froze and looked panicked. I missed that part and the cashier told me (maybe in case he started screeching?).

He reaches for everything now, his favourites being the remote and my cell phone. If he's on my lap at my computer he will also reach for the keyboard. Luckily I have a large wrist thingie so he can touch that without touching the keys.

He makes a lot more noise now, and sometimes it sounds like he's saying "hi" or "hey." There have even been a couple "mom" noises in there and last night his squawk sounded like a "what?" He hasn't been making the traditional ba, ga, ka noises as indicated on his questionnaire but I'm sure that won't be too far off.

I think Krew is a content baby. And by content, I mean unmotivated to move. Despite being able to roll over and even sit, he has NO motivation to actually do any of these things on his own. I'd be worried, except I'm kind of that way so I can see where he's coming from, lol.

I'm not sure what else to say at the moment. I had planned on this being a quick note (so I could stop feeling guilty) but it ended up being longer than originally anticipated. (PS sorry for any typos!) Unfortunately, I also did it on my lap top so I can't upload any pictures, but if you're on my facebook, you've probably seen then already anyway.