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!

8 weeks

Krew's Measurements:
Head circumference: 41 cm (at birth, 34 cm)
Length: 59 cm (at birth, 53 cm)
Weight: 11 lbs 14 oz (at 4 weeks, 9 lbs 12 oz; at birth, 8 lbs 5 oz)

As you can see, he's been growing. A LOT. His eyes most definitely track moving objects now, though sometimes it seems laggy, and his most favourite object to stare at (besides me) are bright lights, either natural or artificial.

Krew dropped the midnight feeding a couple weeks ago and just recently dropped the 3 a.m. feeding as well. So this means that he lets me sleep until 4:30 or 5 a.m.! It's amazing how wide awake I feel when I go in to feed him. He also will sleep again after that feeding and wake up again around 7:30, but then wants to be up at that point. I hope this amazing change stays. It really messes with my system to wake up between 2 and 4 a.m. and then I just end up super cranky.

Krew also rolled over for the first/only time last week! I'm pretty sure it was accidental, but he did it in the little office cradle we have. Unfortunately, we both missed it, but Kevin did catch the movement out of the corner of his eye. The video below shows him attempting it (immediately after rolling over) but then he started to get frustrated.

In this next video you can see him smiling, as well as see how he focuses when he hears music.

The other day he was being super fussy, which was incredibly stressful for both me and him. He wouldn't eat more than an ounce at a time and then would screech horribly when I would try to feed him more. He finally settled down in the late afternoon and I was then able to feed him a full bottle. Just yesterday I noticed he did it again, but with a specific bottle. I poured his milk into a different bottle (one that I knew he liked) and he finished it. That means his issues were with his bottle and not him. While I'm happy that it's an issue that is fixable, I feel like a jerk for not catching on earlier since the bottle that Krew had finished was a different style from the ones he wouldn't drink out of.

When I was in the doctor's office, I asked her about my legs since they are still incredibly swollen, but also had developed rash-like markings near my ankles. She said they were broken blood vessels and that a woman's body is supposed to go back to normal after having a baby, not develop issues like swollen feet/ankles/legs. She said that I have good circulation in my feet, but I'm going to be getting some blood work done to rule out potential issues, with my thyroid for example. In the mean time I've (finally!) picked up some compression socks that should help keep the discomfort of the swelling to a minimum.

Good times.

7 weeks

Krew is growing so fast! At his 4 week appointment, he weighed in at 9 lbs 12 oz (up from his 8 lbs 5 oz birth weight). He has maxed out the length of his 3 month old sleepers and the shoulders have started to pull when he straightens his legs out. To give you an idea of how long he is, when he's standing up straight I can't put him against my chest or he'll bump the underside of my chin. His feet are the same size as the feet in the sleepers too. There is still some room in the tummy area, but I imagine that'll follow soon now that he has a double chin!

He is definitely smiling now and he also has a grin that lights up his face. He has learned to scrunch his eyes when he grins too and he always greets me with that particular grin in the mornings when I feed him. He has found his voice too (and not just to demand service). He sqwawks when he wants us to talk to him, and it is more of an "ah" noise that, because it rises in inflection at the end, sounds like he's asking a question.

Smiles

Grin

 He has started grasping voluntarily now (and not just when you put your finger in his hand), but I keep forgetting to tie back my hair. Luckily he hasn't started pulling yet. He hasn't quite figured out that his hands are attached to his arms so he gets angry when his own arm shoves his soother/bottle out of his mouth. He also has sharp baby nails that Kevin has dubbed "kitten claws." My description is a little more accurate: vampire claws. Those things hurt and Krew currently has a few scratches on his face from them.

He isn't a fan of tummy time and I can't really blame him since I think he's doing it the hard way. When he's on his belly he leans to one side so the opposite leg is lifted. If he didn't lean he would have the balance from both legs and both arms.

He definitely likes music. Whether it's the lame ABC sounds coming from his lounge rocker or actual songs, he stops to listen (at least briefly). He's started to actually focus on objects, instead of just staring off in the distance. He's a total moth too, lol. He loves to stare at light and will actually turn his head to follow it. So maybe he's more of a sunflower.

Speaking of his head...it's totally flatter on his right side behind his ear. It's his favourite side to sleep on and he's gotten used to it so now we have to train him to use both sides equally or he'll have an awkward shaped head when he's older. When he's in his lounge chair we place a folded receiving blanket behind his right shoulder to prevent him from sleeping on his right side. So far it seems to work, but when he's upset it just makes him even angrier.

Which brings me to his personality. Krew can be very mercurial when it comes to his emotions. Like I mentioned earlier, he gets upset easily, but he can calm down quite fast if you fix the problem sooner rather than later. The longer he's upset, the harder it is to calm him down, it's as simple as that. He also doesn't like to nap in a separate room, so he'll usually fall asleep in his lounge chair. Luckily he's still okay with his crib at night.

Blue Eyes

Fascinated with himself

Krew has beautiful blue eyes; they're dark with a lighter middle. I hope he keeps that shade, especially since they are similar in colour to Kevin's. He does, however, have MY hair colour! And yes, I'm totally smug about it! It's hard to photograph, but his hair is starting to come in blonde. His hair also looks like a dark auburn in darker light, and if you get it under direct sunlight, it looks golden. My hair colour is one of the few things I wanted to pass on, so I really hope he keeps it! (You can sort of see his hair colour in the above picture.)