Skipping April Means He Won't Grow Up, Right?

Egad.

Did I really go a month without posting?  And was it really... The Month?  You know... the month he turned (gasp) one?  The holiest of holies in the momblogger blogosphere thingy?

Yep, sure did.  And it was his fault.  His fault for being so cute, because I have approximately a bazillion pictures of him being cute, and that means I have to get them off the camera(s) and into the hard drive and then uploaded for posting.  Do you know how long it takes to go through a bazillion pictures?  Me neither.  I usually give up after 30 or 40.

And it's his fault for boycotting sleep, which means my ADD-raddled brain is even more confused and punch-drunk than normal, especially because I'm still not medicated because he's still not ready to let go of me, so to speak, and I'm not sure what the best way to separate us is without causing lasting damage and years of therapy.

Besides my poor brain, my body has decided it's time to hand in its papers and remind me that I am indeed over 40, and unless I choose to make certain lifestyle changes, I can kiss goodbye to muscle tone, vitality, my waistline - oh, and pain-free existence.  I officially have osteoarthritis.  It officially blows.  Chunks.  Sleep deprivation makes it worse. 

So in order to avoid being a crippled, shuffling, brain-dead zombie (some of you will wonder if there is any other kind; I'm taking no chances on clarity.  If there are zombies with active brains, I am not amongst their ranks.), I am (shudder) working out and/or running (limping and gasping), and trying to get to bed before midnight.  This cuts greatly into the number of hours I have to do things that require The Boy to be sleeping or at Mother's Morning Out or somehow otherwise engaged, because if he is awake, he is exploring and I am chasing.

Sitting at the computer to do much of anything, let alone create engaging copy and add appropriate photos, has been beyond my scope and frankly, desire.  So, I'm sorry.  I promise to try to do better.  Can I bribe you with the stats?

Ivan is now 32.25" long.  This is in the 90th percentile - for a 15-month-old.  He towers over the kids I know who are his age.  And some two-year-olds.  He weighs 25.5 lbs, which is in the 50th percentile for his age.  So, long and lean.  Yes, I am trying not to worry about his weight.  His pediatrician doesn't.

He has ten teeth and is currently working on the bottom molars.  Teething is a sick joke played by an unfeeling, cold universe.  I should have bought stock in McNeil, I buy so much Motrin.

He has several words: dog, book, cat, car, truck, duck, di (for daddy), shiz (for shoes), socks sometmes, hi, and... still no Mommy. 

He climbs the steps without help or fear, and still throws himself off the bed or couch - but he's learned not to climb out of his crib, which is nice.  He launched himself INTO the tub when I was taking too long getting the water temperature just right.  Apparently he doesn't mind water in his nose. 

He's crawling like a mofo now, instead of inching.  Funny how that happened when I finally decided he could run around in just his T and nappy.  Yes, I feel foolish.

He is not walking by himself, but unless he's feeling underconfident, he is offended by the offer of two hands to hold, when all HE needs is one.  Cuz he's a boss.

And The Boss has learned the toddler game of "Guess what I hate eating that I loved yesterday?"  It is a source of stress and frustration for us both.  Items that are faithfully ingested are:  Pirate's Booty Veggie Puffs and hemp milk.  Everything else is subject to random disgust and spitting out.  He's getting better, but I can't help but worry that he's not eating enough or is properly nourished.  I know, I know... he'll be fine.

Otherwise, he is healthy with no new allergies (just the apples and dairy, with a mild soy intolerance), no new issues, and milestones all within reach.  And he is gorgeous and smart and funny and the best baby in the world.  Just ask me.

And he is awake.  Next post will have pictures, I swear!  But for now, I'm being demanded.  There's a special timbre to his yell that means, "Mommy, I love you - now come get me!"

It is music to my ears.

Misery, Party of Two

My poor kid.  And frankly, my poor sinuses.  And if The Boy has inherited my sinuses, my poor kid.  We are dealing with both teething and a sinus infection.  We both have the sinus infection.  I'm not teething.  He is.  He's cutting his upper molars, which will bring his toothsome mouthful total to ten.  Man, I love alliteration.

The month has flown, which is very upsetting considering it's his last official full of month of newbornness.  After this, he's "just" a baby.  Technically... a TODDLER.  *sniffle*

And while I can't say I'm sorry to put paid to a year which carried with it many interesting and exciting things, I am sad that so much of it's been spent trying to figure out how not to break The Boy and not enough on just enjoying him.  With that being said, I feel almost obligated to provide a State of the Boy speech here, since we're wrapping things up (so to speak).  So here we go!

Oh, the fun of banging on things that make noise.

He's recovered well from his surgeries - you'd never know to look at him that he ever spent time in the hospital.  Early on, we discovered that he is allergic to apples, just like his daddy.  Later on, we discovered he is allergic to milk proteins and possibly soy.  Oddly, I can drink soy milk without affecting him, but I don't think he can have it (and I'm not ready to sneak it back into his diet yet).  So now he is drinking hemp milk, but Dr. Hutchins (the successor to Dr. Rock Star Wilson) says that we can go ahead and try almond milk after he's back to healthy.  Yay!  It's cheaper and easier to find, although I love the omegas in hemp.  Maybe we'll alternate.

His first word that was used with consistency and purpose was "goc." This means "dog."  Why, yes - it is humbling that he verbalized the furry critters who consider him a conduit to contraband crunchies before his doting parents.  I try not to pout. 

His second word is "di," which stands for "daddy."  He uses "dub" and "buc" interchangeably for "duck" (as in bathroom toys) and "book" (as in things that are both good to eat and turn pages).  He does not say "mommy" in any distinguishable way, other than this one:

 Yep, that means, "Moooooommy!"  Warms my heart.  Okay, actually it sends prickles up my spine, but I'm keeping it positive today.

He is cruising, taking tentative steps between furniture and mom, and pulling up on the dogs (who are simultaneously alarmed and perplexed by this behavior, but handling it fairly gracefully).  They fascinate him as much as he fascinates them.  Fingers are amazing.  Blocks, books, videotapes, anything that stacks can be and will be.

 He is also climbing EVERYTHING.  He considers the recliner both his personal Everest and a throne.

Once the heights are achieved, he can rest before descent.

He has an awesome sense of humor.  It's a gas to shut Mommy out of the bathroom:

 He also thinks it is the height of funny to burp, cough, sneeze, or clear one's throat.  Lately he has been tickled by feeding me, sharing his sippy cup with me, and passing things back and forth between the two of us.  Oh, yes - we no longer use a bottle.  It was an incredibly easy transition, actually.  One day I decided that he didn't need it anymore, and he never noticed it was gone.  He's also started taking his medicines from a medicine cup, rather than a syringe.  I don't actually trust his milk to an open cup yet, but... baby steps.

 I'm sure there's more.  Oh!  He outgrew the Graco infant car seat by height loooong before weight was a consideration, so we bought the Britax:

 You can see the difference immediately.  The Graco actually fits inside the Britax.  But since this is going to be his car throne for the next 5 years or so, we went big to match our long boy, and got the safest seat we could find.  It will allow us to rear-face his seat until 40 pounds if we wish (although his height might mean we swap him around at 3 rather than 4), and will let him recline in the forward-facing position for long road trips.  He hated it at first, because it really is snug, but now loves it, because it's very well-designed for his comfort.  So we are happy.

His registry is updated for birthday goodies, and now also carries on it - training pants!  Yes.  He hates diaper changes so much that I am determined to start potty training as soon as his new chair and the first batch of pants and waterproof covers arrives (the potty I bought last week is now... too small.  Egad.).  We'll see how it goes.  And as always, will keep you, our loyal readers, up to date on all things Ivan.

New Germs Need Not Apply.

We've had enough of your sort running through this house in the past two weeks.  First, there was the stomach bug that decimated us.  Next, Ivan the Elder brought home a nasty little head cold from his Habitat for Humanity stint. 

The Boy is still having trouble breathing through his nose.  His ped prescribed Claritin but it's not half as effective as Benadryl, so today that's what he got, along with much saline drops and aspiration.  Both of which he enjoys not so much at all.

His acid reflux is back, so he's on Zantac and for now additionally a probiotic - he's been having a lot of trouble lately and his pediatrician thinks it's because the stomach bug wiped out all his good bacteria.  I think he might have trouble with the soy milk, so we're trying - don't giggle - hemp milk for a little bit.  It's more easily digested, so while his flora is rebuilding itself, it should make things a bit more normal.  It seems to be doing the trick, but that could also just be the probiotic.  Who knows?  He can't tell me, so I must guess.  And I guess we'll finish out the probiotics and hemp milk and gradually reintroduce soy for him and cheese for me.

What's new?  Putting lids on things:

Yes, that's a glass candle.  No, I carefully did not get excited.  But wait!  Not only does the lid fit that candle, it fits this one...

Sort of.  I'm sorry to say, the breakable candle no longer resides on the hearth.  My nerves just couldn't take it.

Also at risk for exploration are the AV components that remained unmolested for so long...

And you may notice his "reorganization" of our videocassette collection.  This is a daily activity.  I'm waiting to see when he figures out that the latter gets inserted in the former.  We've only watched a few things (Baby Einstein videos from Auntie Liz) and he wasn't paying attention to the procedure, so I'm good.  For now.  No, I won't take bets on for how long.

Developments...

In addition to his continued and increasingly more sophisticated need for parity - everything he does must include one item of identical or very similar persuasion in each hand (such as two cars, two crackers, two videocassettes, two candles) - he now is willing to negotiate.  He knows, "Drink some water first," "Drink your milk," "Fruit first, and then I'll give you the cracker," and responds to each.  Thank goodness; I'm not sure what I'd have done if he was prepared to out-stubborn me. 

He's switching between cruising platforms easily (table, sofa, me).  He's doing more crawling since we've been having races up and down the upstairs hallway.  He'd still rather do his inchworm thing; it's fast, it's efficient, and he's happy with it, so why change?  But every now and then he gets cross-locomotion.  Next year he will be in pre-school (Mother's Morning Out) with two other babies his age, so I'm hoping he'll learn as much from them as he has the toddlers with whom he currently plays on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

He's doing a LOT more babbling.  He still communicates with raspberries as much as with syllables, but he has several consonant sounds now - a few hard ones and a couple different sibilants - and he is clearly trying to develop language.  No Baby Signs yet, other than the one for milk (which he does on my chest, so I'm not sure that really counts?).  Sometimes he'll wave, sometimes he'll give high fives, but it's always on his terms and never with regularity.  He initiates games of peekaboo now, which he finds hilarious, and loves when all three of us get under the blanket.  He still hates to snuggle, because he'd rather be on the move, but every now and then I get hugs and kisses.  And do I live for those?  Indeed.

He's awake - I hear him muttering to himself in his crib.  When I go in, he'll be sitting up or kneeling with his hands on the top rail, smiling fit to burst.  I melt.

Even now.

Sick Family = No Posting.

And precious few pictures, which I've linked on Facebook.  There will be more as we get back into our groove.

Of course, I compounded that nasty stomach bug by losing my mind and having a healthy (heh) spray of Reddi-Whip on a dessert I'd made to celebrate being able to eat again... which poisoned The Boy.  Yep, finally got the memo - no liquid dairy of any sort, whatsoever.  I've also cut out butter unless it's cooked, and soft cheeses.  If I must give them up, I will, but they don't seem to do the damage the liquid stuff does.  So it's non-dairy creamer and Cool Whip for me.

This means he hasn't had much of an appetite, although we're getting back to good.  I am mortified to announce he prefers Tyler Florence's Sprout Baby Food pureed vegetables to mine.  He loves their fruit too, but at least he'll still eat mine.  Peas and green beans, no go.  I don't know if it's the texture, superior product, very nicely integrated herbs like mint (in the peas) and spices like cinnamon (in the squash and sweet potatoes), or just that my veg purees suck - but he loves the Sprout offerings, and doesn't want my pureed peas no mo'.

My banana bread is a different story, very much one of his favorite foods, so I don't feel too rejected.

We're doing more cruising and going back and forth between people and furniture, and although he's still inching instead of crawling, he's moving his legs independently more often.  This is good!  I'm trying to get down and crawl with him while we play so that he sees more crawling; since he's the only baby at his Mother's Morning Out program, he's with toddlers that are past the crawling stage and thus, doesn't see much of anyone else doing it.  I do what I must.

Hark, he awakens - after a day of no naps yesterday, and getting up once last night, I hope we can find our rhythm again today.  It feels like Spring outside, so I think we'll go celebrate.

Sick Baby = No Posting.

The Boy is sick.  Oh, and teething.  So I usually have a lap full of cranky baby.  He just has a cold - every time I swear he has an ear infection, and he never does - so nothing serious; but all is Not Right in his world and he wants to make sure I know it.  And he's rather indignant that I haven't yet fixed it.  So not much time for writing - naps are very short - but hopefully as he feels better I'll get some more pictures posted.

He's been doing some waving lately, and he's getting really good at cruising.  He wants to stand on his own a lot more, and pushes my hands away.  Sadly, he's not very good at it, so he plops on his butt a lot, which makes him even more indignant.  This, too, shall pass.


Coughing - sniffling - he's awake again.  Poor little guy.

Snow, again?

No, I have no pictures of it.  It's snow.  It falls everywhere and doesn't look any more particularly spectacular falling on our patch of earth than elsewhere.  So, think cold white stuff.

This, on the other hand, is worth viewing:

So this week we are boycotting texture.  Lumpy oatmeal, squash, anything gets spat out.  So does peas, unless they are carefully disguised with my lunch.

We are playing peekaboo more spontaneously now, and learning the word "No." I'm sure none of my gentle readers and Boy fans can imagine why we'd be using that word a lot.

He is quite the little scientist.  Currently gravity is the fascinating experiment.  We drop things.  Lots of things.  Any things.  All things.  We follow their descent with great intent.  Mom picks them up.  We repeat.  What do you know?  The same thing happens!  Amazing stuff.

We are very much into feeding ourselves.  So lately I've been giving him crinkle cut carrots, peanut butter crackers, fish sticks, and sweet potato fries.  He's not eating terribly much at the moment so it's hard to make sure his nutrition is balanced, but we do our best.  He loves his soy milk and would cheerfully drink that instead of eating, so I have to be firm and not break it out until the end of the meal.

Tentative steps are being made, with more exuberance than balance, and I predict the start of the horrible pictures that look like I've been beating him, with black eyes and knots on the forehead and scrapes and scabs from landing hard.  And then those glorious first assured unassisted steps.  How much fun we still have in our future!

Indeed.

Meet The Boy

Mooooom!

 

So expressive.  So very, very expressive.  He has the eyebrow quirk from his dad.  He wrinkles his nose like his mom.  His tongue is stuck out any time he's focused on something, which is almost always, like his sisters.

He is so active that his pediatrician noticed it and called him a "handful."  I think she meant it in a good way.  He is currently pulling himself up to standing and cruising around the furniture, although he still favors doing his inchworm impersonation over actually crawling.  He pulls up to standing from his stomach (the kid has a six-pack), but refuses to go from stomach to sitting up.  I'm hoping that as he gets more used to kneeling, he'll eventually figure out that he can go from kneeling to sitting, and then it's a short transition from tummy to sitting.

Favorite position: standing, one hand firmly on the table

He is experimenting with crossing the gap from the coffee table to wherever I am (usually on the couch, chair, or floor), which is all of three unassisted steps, but does not quite have the confidence to let go.  On the other hand, he will climb anything that holds still, and some things that don't.  He's climbed out of his crib, out of his exersaucer, over my shoulder, off the arm of the recliner, off my leg and onto the table, off the dog onto the couch, the list goes on.  He considers people to be launching platforms and will cheerfully dig his toes into your ribs to get a better vantage on something shiny.  He believes, with all his heart, that he can fly.

The stats!  He is 31" long, which is still off the charts for height, and 21.15 pounds heavy, which is 75th percentile for weight.  That's a percentile drop of 10 from his 6-month checkup.  I'm not starving him; his pediatrician says that since he is so very active, it's to be expected.

Another reason for him not gaining so much may be that we've discovered his second food allergy (he's allergic to unpasteurized apples, too, like his daddy).  Sadly, it's a doozy.  Whereas I thought he only had lactose intolerance, and therefore restricted dairy from his diet, it turns out that he has a milk protein allergy, which means I needed to cut out dairy from MY diet.  Sure enough, as soon as I cut the dairy, he stopped having diaper issues (the details of which you will thank me for not sharing) and he looks a little more filled out to me already.

He likes papaya and bananas, is okay with mango, and loves him some peaches.  Green peas are only okay if they're made by Sprout, Tyler Florence's company, and mixed with garden beans and a touch of mint.  Daily we do not know if we like kabocha, butternut, and sweet potato.  Most of his veggies get mixed with lentils so he has protein, because he's not fond of the stringiness of chicken meat and I don't do a lot of red meat.  Mushrooms are a no go.  I'm wanting to experiment with fish., but no shellfish until he's a year.  We did go ahead and test out peanut butter, which he's seriously convinced is manna.  Especially when delivered on a piece of graham cracker.

He loves chocolate, and chili colorado, and chorizo, and curry.  He doesn't digest them well so I have had to sit on excited family members to limit his intake.  Thankfully, he also loves Silk soy milk, which was recommended by his pediatrician.  He's still nursing and doesn't show any sign of weaning in the near future, but we're down to between 4 and 6 feedings a day.  I will be ready when he is.  Soy milk is a good supplement, and I will keep his diet high in lentils, beans, and oatmeal to ensure his folic acid, iron, and proteins are optimal.

He loves dog food, too, but I try really hard to limit his intake.

He has five and a half teeth; that sixth tooth simply refuses to break through.  There are four (three and a half) on top and two on bottom.  There might be two more coming in on bottom, but he's not fond of letting me stick my fingers in his mouth to check.  We have a deal; he doesn't bite me while nursing and I don't poke around his mouth too much.  I prefer to maintain that status quo.

He is a clown.  When he's tired, he's giggly.  Anything makes him laugh, especially if it's a noise that sounds like a body function.  A good snort will send him into hysterics.  He loves exaggerated facial expressions.

He plays peek-a-boo and gives high fives.  He will toss his arms over his head when we say, "Yay!" He doesn't clap yet and he doesn't wave bye-bye, but you can see him processing gestures.  He knows the signs for "milk" and "hungry" and "more" and "all done."  He knows who daddy is, sister, doggy.  I thought he was calling me "Mom Mom" and that he was fascinated with saying it, until it became apparent that he discovered the phrase was optimal for blowing spit bubbles.  Try it sometime - it really is.  Ivan says he still knows and says "Mom" but I don't want to get my hopes up.  We are currently working on blowing kisses.

In short, we have no bursts of genius, no physical virtuosity, no early talking or walking or reading.  But we do have a very expressive, agile, active baby who sees EVERYTHING and loves to explore his world.  And he gives the BEST hugs ever.

We are in love.