Krew crawls properly now, and it isn't just his weird Army crawl. When he first started, he would crawl with one straight arm and lean on his right forearm, but that only lasted a few days before he realized that it was faster to crawl with 2 straight arms. He can get into the sitting position from both the crawling and standing position, and he has no problem getting down from standing. He can stand up when there is nothing to grab onto - such as the fridge and (closed) doors - and is now tall enough to reach the door knob. Lucky me. Krew falls less often now, which is a bonus, and just the other day he stood independently for a couple seconds before he sat down. I almost think that he sat down on purpose, so maybe he'll start standing on his own more often.
Krew has started chattering now and making word sounds, not just grunts. Although they sound identical, he repeats "kitty" and "get down." He will also try to repeat "cookie" and "good boy." He isn't too keen on trying to repeat anything else yet, but I guess we'll just work on improving the words that he will repeat.
He is utterly fascinated with the cats. Krew and Link have a game where Krew will chase Link down the hall, but Link will stop so Krew can catch up again. Isis likes being around Krew more, but hates being cornered by him, whereas Link will always stay out of reach.
I was super excited a couple weeks ago when Krew slept through the night until 7 a.m., but that only lasted 3 days before he went back to waking up a few times a night. He is definitely a once-per-day napper, but if he has a particularly rough night he'll go for 2 naps.
Krew has started playing shy, but I think it is worse when he is tired. It is also hit-or-miss when it comes to the person talking to him. Some people will make him cry and others won't. It doesn't take long for him to warm up to the person either.
Krew turns 1 in a month, and I'm uncertain about what to do. On one hand, I do want to throw him a party, but on the other hand I don't want to make a big thing out of it since 1st birthday parties seem to be more for the parents than for the actual kid. It isn't like he will actually understand the significance of the day. Maybe just have a late lunch at a restaurant? Looks like I have some thinking/planning to do.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
10 months
This past month has been fun as I've watched Krew gain more confidence in his abilities and learn new skills. Krew has mastered his army crawl and he moves super fast. He has been spending more time playing on his knees, so now he has started to crawl. I think he does it without thinking and then drops to his belly when he realizes what he's doing. He goes onto his knees so he can pull himself up to stand, which means that it takes him no time to stand. He is pretty stable now and he has balance even when holding on with just one hand. We've been teaching him to get down from standing (rather than just by falling), so now he does that. Sometimes. When he remembers. One of the side effects of learning to teach him to get down is that he is able to bend at the waist to pick things up while he is still standing. Krew still hasn't mastered how to get into the sitting position from his army crawl, but he'll figure it out. He's so close already, so I'm thinking it won't take long.
Another thing that Krew has learned? How to not nap. I don't understand this part, since most babies still have 2 naps a day for a few more months. However, Krew has decided that maybe 1 nap a day is fine. There are definitely perks to having Krew only nap once per day, the obvious being that he sleeps longer at night. He will still wake up once between midnight and 2 a.m., but will stay sleeping until 7 or 8. I've also noticed that if he has 2 naps that he will only sleep until 8, whereas if he has 1 nap that he will sleep in until around 9. I think the little stinker actually forces himself to stay awake and sometimes if you don't get him at the right time, he'll get his 2nd wind and keep on going!
Krew has definitely shown himself to be a determined (read: stubborn) little boy. He is also incredibly impatient. When he wants something, he wants it now. Even if it's something that he didn't even know he wanted yet. I usually put him in his high chair before I feed him and once he realizes that I'm getting his food ready, he demands it put in his mouth ASAP. Never mind the fact that he probably didn't even notice he was hungry yet. Also, if you take something away from him, he howls because he wants it. And if you remove him from something he shouldn't play with, he will go immediately back to it unless the door is shut on him. Even bath time has become more challenging since he insists on trying to climb out of the tub.
Oh, Kevin and I have also figured out that the mark that he sometimes has on his left cheek is actually the side effect of Krew scratching there. I've even witnessed it first hand. He doesn't scratch himself deep enough to draw blood or break the skin, but just enough to roughen it up and irritate the skin. The mark would usually clear up for a few days and then come back, so I think that we must have cut his nails short enough for his skin to heal before his nails were long enough to scratch again.
Overall, I'm really proud of Krew's progress and I can't wait to see what he learns this month!
Another thing that Krew has learned? How to not nap. I don't understand this part, since most babies still have 2 naps a day for a few more months. However, Krew has decided that maybe 1 nap a day is fine. There are definitely perks to having Krew only nap once per day, the obvious being that he sleeps longer at night. He will still wake up once between midnight and 2 a.m., but will stay sleeping until 7 or 8. I've also noticed that if he has 2 naps that he will only sleep until 8, whereas if he has 1 nap that he will sleep in until around 9. I think the little stinker actually forces himself to stay awake and sometimes if you don't get him at the right time, he'll get his 2nd wind and keep on going!
Krew has definitely shown himself to be a determined (read: stubborn) little boy. He is also incredibly impatient. When he wants something, he wants it now. Even if it's something that he didn't even know he wanted yet. I usually put him in his high chair before I feed him and once he realizes that I'm getting his food ready, he demands it put in his mouth ASAP. Never mind the fact that he probably didn't even notice he was hungry yet. Also, if you take something away from him, he howls because he wants it. And if you remove him from something he shouldn't play with, he will go immediately back to it unless the door is shut on him. Even bath time has become more challenging since he insists on trying to climb out of the tub.
Oh, Kevin and I have also figured out that the mark that he sometimes has on his left cheek is actually the side effect of Krew scratching there. I've even witnessed it first hand. He doesn't scratch himself deep enough to draw blood or break the skin, but just enough to roughen it up and irritate the skin. The mark would usually clear up for a few days and then come back, so I think that we must have cut his nails short enough for his skin to heal before his nails were long enough to scratch again.
Overall, I'm really proud of Krew's progress and I can't wait to see what he learns this month!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
9 months
I stopped keeping track of how old Krew was in weeks, so now I have no idea and we'll just go with 9 months.
This past month has been a real explosion of activity for Krew. I was worried that he was going to be 1 before he started sitting since he refused to sit independently or even roll on a regular basis. And then one day it all clicked into place for him.
It started with his babbling: he was starting to make sounds that could be mistaken for real words! And then he finally said mama. The next week he was choosing to stay upright. Later that week he started doing the Army crawl. He went from nothing to mobile in less than 2 weeks. It was insane! Now he says dad (although it sounds more like "mub") and he chases the cats. Literally. Link needs to stop being such a wimp.
He also went from possibly 4 teeth for Christmas to having 8. I took a few pictures the other day and I couldn't help but notice how much his face has changed.
We were originally going to headband him, since his head shape was twisted and we wanted to correct it. Ideally, you would have the consultation around 5-6 months and so then the headbanding is started when the kid is younger. And if we had done that, we would have gone on with the headbanding. However, when we had our consultation, the doctors noticed that the difference was only 8 mm. This size difference, had it only affected the back, would have been negligible. However, since it altered his ear position (really only visible from the top) and seemed to have affected his cheek, we wanted it fixed. We leared in that visit that there was no guarantee to having those areas fixed. The cheek was a direct result of the torticollis. So once his torticollis was under control and he aged a little more the cheek would normalize. Oh. And his ears? Well, they might go back into their normal position once his head filled out properly. Might. On top of that, Kevin's ears don't line up either.
Once I realized that his fixable areas really weren't that fixable with the helmet, I decided that we would just let nature take its course. His head has changed shape drastically in the past few months, to the point where you might notice that it's different, but not really know why. The doctors also said that kids that show rapid improvement will continue to improve rapidly. Headbanding would just speed up and go beyond what nature would do on its own.
If you check out the pictures below (finally!), you'll see that in a matter of 3 months that he's really grown up!
This past month has been a real explosion of activity for Krew. I was worried that he was going to be 1 before he started sitting since he refused to sit independently or even roll on a regular basis. And then one day it all clicked into place for him.
It started with his babbling: he was starting to make sounds that could be mistaken for real words! And then he finally said mama. The next week he was choosing to stay upright. Later that week he started doing the Army crawl. He went from nothing to mobile in less than 2 weeks. It was insane! Now he says dad (although it sounds more like "mub") and he chases the cats. Literally. Link needs to stop being such a wimp.
He also went from possibly 4 teeth for Christmas to having 8. I took a few pictures the other day and I couldn't help but notice how much his face has changed.
We were originally going to headband him, since his head shape was twisted and we wanted to correct it. Ideally, you would have the consultation around 5-6 months and so then the headbanding is started when the kid is younger. And if we had done that, we would have gone on with the headbanding. However, when we had our consultation, the doctors noticed that the difference was only 8 mm. This size difference, had it only affected the back, would have been negligible. However, since it altered his ear position (really only visible from the top) and seemed to have affected his cheek, we wanted it fixed. We leared in that visit that there was no guarantee to having those areas fixed. The cheek was a direct result of the torticollis. So once his torticollis was under control and he aged a little more the cheek would normalize. Oh. And his ears? Well, they might go back into their normal position once his head filled out properly. Might. On top of that, Kevin's ears don't line up either.
Once I realized that his fixable areas really weren't that fixable with the helmet, I decided that we would just let nature take its course. His head has changed shape drastically in the past few months, to the point where you might notice that it's different, but not really know why. The doctors also said that kids that show rapid improvement will continue to improve rapidly. Headbanding would just speed up and go beyond what nature would do on its own.
If you check out the pictures below (finally!), you'll see that in a matter of 3 months that he's really grown up!
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| 6 months |
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| First Halloween! 7 months |
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| 7 months |
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| First Christmas - 8 months (just before he started sitting independently) |
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| 9 months |
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| 9 months |
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| 9 months |
Monday, October 24, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
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.
Friday, August 12, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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 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?
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.
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.)
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| Mmm. Fist. |
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?
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| 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.
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| Loooong hair. |
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| Side view. |
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| After. |
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| Much shorter now! |
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