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Saturday, March 12, 2011

I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ribs

Josh loves rough housing with Scott and he will giggle like crazy when Scott tells him he's hungry for some "baby back ribs". They both seemed to enjoy "dinner" a few weeks ago.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Our furry friends

While most of our animals still aren't too sure what they think about Josh, he loves watching them and starts laughing pretty much if they just walk into the room. I'm sure once he starts dropping food, the dogs will gain a new appreciation but right now his biggest fan is our most reluctantly social pet, our cat Ella. She's definitely selfish and just wants attention so she loves the adoration from Josh. We've even found her sleeping in his crib with him before we put a baby gate in front of his door. While this probably was also a way of hiding from the dogs, she'll also cuddle with us in the rocking chair while we're going to sleep and loves to sit with Josh on the couch.

We took this video a few weeks ago of her tickling Josh's feet.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Month Eight

Nicknames: J, munchkin, little bit

Temperament: Inquisitive. Now that he can move around he wants into everything and loves grabbing onto handles, the IPad, stacks of paper and whatever else he can find. He's definitely getting a little more forceful with what he wants. He still loves getting out and seeing new things and meeting new people. He will babble and giggle with anyone who will stop to check him out. He doesn't seem to have any stranger anxiety and is a big hit at the nursery at the church and the YMCA for being such a happy guy.

Stats: No doctor's appointments this month but at the nurse visit for his Synagis shot he weighed 17.5 lbs and was 28 inches long.

Looks: We have a tooth! Or at least the very beginnings of one. Right now it's just a little nubbin on his lower gum line but after the last four months of people always telling us he had to be teething, he finally is. I'm sad that our gummy smiles are now limited but we think he'll make a pretty cute snaggle-tooth. The single toothed look isn't going to last too long though since two other bottom teeth are about to be poking through as well.

Accomplishments: Becoming mobile has been the biggest change this last month. He's still not crawling up on his hands and knees but he does this really cute inch-worm like scoot where he lunges forward then draws his knees and butt in and then lunges again. Between that, rolling and his army crawl he can pretty much get wherever he wants. Thankfully for us, he's not very fast yet so he's pretty easy to catch. He loves walking around still holding your hands and now he tries letting go. Usually this results in him falling but if he has a wide enough stance he can stay standing for 5 seconds on his own. His pincer grasp and coordination are getting better everyday and he was even able to lean over and steal a french fry off my plate the other day. His babbling continues and he loves making "b" and "m" sounds. No "mama" yet but we "practice" everyday. :)

Things he loved the most: Eating. It definitely took him a little while to warm up to the idea of solids and using a spoon but now that he has the hang of it he loves mealtime. He'll lean in towards you with his mouth wide open and he gets upset if you don't have a new bite ready when he's done with the last one. I'm losing track of all the foods we've tried but he's definitely had avocado, sweet potato, banana, spinach, corn, broccoli, peas, carrots, apples, pears, blueberries, strawberries, parsnips, pumpkin and squash. So far he loves them all (although he was less excited about the spinach) and is up to at least 2-3 ounces twice a day. We've tried some of the yogurt melts and other "dissolving" finger foods which he's able to get too his mouth but since they don't stay there the mess keeps us from doing them more often. We're starting to work on using a sippy cup too but the concept of tipping it up and sucking from it at the same time are a bit beyond us at this time.

Things we loved the most: Whatever sleeping problem we had last month appears to have resolved itself. We're trying not to get oo used to it but for about 98% of the last few weeks he's been taking 2 good naps a day and he's usually in his crib asleep by 7:30 or 8. He still wakes up around 4 or 5 and needs a diaper change and a bottle but then he goes back to sleep until 7:30 or 8 am and even then he's happy to lay in his crib and talk to himself for quite awhile.

Things he could do without: Getting dressed. Now that he likes being mobile, he is less than thrilled with being held down to get his clothes or jammies on.

Things we could do without: The alligator death roll he thinks he has to do everytime you lay him on the changing table. He'll roll and roll and roll which makes getting a clean diaper onto him a challenge.

Item/toy he loved the most: He loved anything that was interactive this month. His einstein activity table, crawl ball, and sprinkler duck were all used until the batteries had to be replaced. Scott's "I'ma gonna get you" game where he "sneaks" up on him to shake his belly is also a huge hit. His best buddy "G" (his giraffe wubanub) is still also ever present to make car rides, naps, bedtime, middle of the night wakings more comforting.

Items/toy we loved the most: Our high chair/booster seat and vinyl bibs have made our food adventures much easier to recover from :)

Item we all hated: Well the tooth hasn't been too popular yet. It makes it more painful for us when he tries and succeeds on chewing on our fingers or cheeks etc (It's like a small tack) and I'm sure given his insatiable need to chew on things it's not too fun for him yet either.

Surprises: It's been so fun to see him start to really interact with the world whether it's stealing french fries off of my plate or trying to use his "baby force" to draw his toys close enough where he can grab them but it still catches us by surprise almost every time. I guess we still need to adapt to him participating on his own instead of just being a recepticle that what's going on around him.








Momentous events of this month: Josh has loved the swimming lessons that he's been taking with Scott and he is getting really good at paddling to get closer to his toys. Since he sits up so well on his own now we also got rid of the infant bath seat and have been letting him take "big boy" baths complete with bubbles and rubber duckies which have been a big hit.


Things we're looking forward to: We're taking a family trip to Florida for a medical conference next week and we're all looking forward to some warmth and sunshine. We'll be in Orlando and may attempt a day visit to Epcot or Sea World. Obviously he's a bit too young for Disney World so we'll save that for when he can appreciate it more. Since he's been enjoying his swimming lessons so much we just hope it's warm enough for some pool time. We're also seeing his cardiologist next month and we're hoping that all the signs of heart strain are gone on his echo this time.

More favorite pictures from this month

Watching Sesame Street while Dad takes a shower





Bathtime









Hanging out, looking cute





Getting ready for the outdoors



Trying out our baby backpack



Testing out kayaks


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

At the Heart of it All

February 7th-14th is congenital heart disease awareness week. I have to admit even as a former obstetrician who knows that CHD is the most common birth defect affecting almost 1% of babies born in the United States, it wasn't something that I ever thought of when I was pregnant. I worried about miscarriage, preterm labor, and pre-eclampsia which seemed to effect just about every pregnancy I can recall from my time as a resident. While those things are certainly much more common, it's been amazing to me how many people we already knew and new people that we've met who have a baby with CHD. While it's not something that I've really talked about here since we brought Josh home from his surgery, it's something I think about every day. The shock of discovering that something was wrong with our precious baby, the fear over what would happen next, the guilt over not forcing the medical team to do the testing sooner even though something didn't seem right, the gratitude that he's now home safe with us. Most days, those first eight weeks seem like a dream but you only have to look down at his chest scar to see that it wasn't. Every night while I'm rocking him to sleep I think about the fact that he easily could not have survived everything that he's been through and that we're so lucky his defect was relatively simple to repair and I squeeze him a little tighter. Everytime I get up with him in the middle of the night I think of those heart parents out there who don't have a baby to wake them up anymore and those middle of the night bottles don't seem like such a big deal. I think about the babies who have more surgeries in their future and the young teenage parents who had the bed next to use in the PCTU and wonder how they cope.

Our next and hopefully last (at least for a while) echocardiogram is next month and we have no reason to suspect they'll find anything abnormal. In the meantime, we'll hug him as tight as he'll let us (rolling over these days is much more fun) and continue to say prayers for his continued health, those we've met on this journey, the doctors that have cared for them and that future babies and parents won't have these worries.

In honor of CHD week (and Valentines day) love on those around you a little harder.

Look how far we've come.....












Friday, January 21, 2011

Pool time

Scott and Josh are starting swim lessons tomorrow, so last week we introduced Josh to the pool for the first time. Our YMCA has a heated indoor pool that evidently is quite popular in the winter. At first, Josh wasn't too sure what he thought about all the commotion and splashing from the other kids but since he loves baths he settled in pretty quickly.




The kick boards were a big hit








The pool noodles were fun too



Pretty soon he had the back float down. We're sure he'll be the star "shrimp" of the class.


Of course there's always hanging out by the pool trying to meet the ladies with Dad as a wingman.



Month Seven

Nicknames: J, munchkin, little bit
Temperament: We had a few weeks this month of what for us was general crabbiness. The laughs weren't quite as often, the smiles took a lot more effort and he just seemed irritable. We thought we might be working on some teeth but our sunny mood has since returned without any signs of oral appendages. I guess everyone is entitled to some down time. While he still loves being out and about and "meeting" new people, we've discovered that evidently he does have a limit. We joined our local YMCA and the nursery workers there say he is just overwhelmed by everything that is going on and gets upset unless someone is holding him. I'm not so sure that him being overwhelmed by a room of 20 infants, toddlers and kids running around is a bad thing but now that we're finally caught up on our shots and he's able to be more active, hopefully he'll get used to being in bigger crowds.
Stats: Between 17 and 17.5 lbs and around 25.5 inches
Looks: His hair has continued to fill out and his widow's peak is maybe getting a little less prominent. The rosy cheeks are pretty much a fixture now despite the humidifier and lots of lotion. He's definitely growing but at his own pace. He's still wearing 3-6 and 6 month clothes for the most part but he needs 9 months in his footed jammies. We'll have to see how much longer it stays cold here but some of the things we bought prior to his arrival may not get worn because they are huge.

 
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Accomplishments: It's been a busy month this month. As I mentioned in my last post, we're now doing solid food twice a day and he loves trying new foods. He's also able to sit up on his own and only falls over when he gets really excited and can't keep his balance. He's started lunging forward trying to reach his toys or the animals as they come by. Sometimes he makes it but most often he topples over. He rolled over for the first time a few months ago but now he's figured out how to roll over and over and over again. If you leave him on the floor you can come back and find him in the next room over. Earlier in the month he had a lot of trouble figuring out how to go from his stomach back to his back and he would get quite upset over the self imposed tummy time but after a little frustration he has got it figured out. He still loves standing at his toys and we caught him letting go with one hand the other day. His balance still has a long way to go before he's standing on his own but if he's sitting on your leg or the boppy he will pull himself up. If you'll hold his hands though he loves to walk across the room.
Things he loved the most: In the last few days he's figured out how to blow "raspberries" and make "B" sounds with his lips and tongue and he finds it endlessly fascinating. No signs of any teeth yet but he still loves chewing on anything and everything he can get his hands on.
Things we loved the most: He'll reach up and touch your cheek while you feed him a bottle and it is so sweet. Of course in the next minute he'll try to pick your nose but just the fact that he deliberately snuggles up to you makes it amazing.
Things he could do without: Rolling over this month was quite the challenge and he would cry and cry when he couldn't figure out how to get back the other way. It caused multiple times of waking up everynight so we weren't fans either.
Things we could do without: The growth spurt, possible teething, rolling over issues or just general sleep regression that took us back to waking up every one to two hours to an upset baby. He started going to bed earlier around 7:30 or 8 but was up at least every two hours after that whimpering. He didn't seem to be sick but something was definitely upsetting him. Thankfully this last week has been better so we're cautiously optimistic that his sleep is improving.
Item/toy he loved the most: Even without teeth, he loved chewing on the frozen washcloths and teething rings. The light up balls that he got for Christmas and his activity table have all been big hits as well.
Items/toy we loved the most: The lullabye theme station on pandora has become a must for our bedtime routine as it mixes a lot of the kid classics with several "adult" songs that are definitely soothing. Often I end up dozing off in the chair as well while we rock which is probably not so good for our sleep habits but is great snuggle time.
Item we all hated: The dry winter air has definitely increased Josh's congestions and true to Dad's rule of "nothing should go up your nose" he absolutely hates the saline drops and the "booger sucker". You would think we were torturing him trying to clear him up and it is quite the struggle.

Surprises: Looking back at this month it is obvious that Josh is starting to become less of a baby and more of his own person which I suppose is fitting since he's closer now to being a toddler than being a newborn. Each month he's obviously changing and growing but the difference is so much more apparent this month.

















Momentous events of this month: We had a great first Christmas as a family and enjoyed starting some new traditions of our own. New Years Eve was pretty low key but perfect for us and we can a nice time celebrating with some new friends. We had a great 2010 but we're looking forward to a calmer 2011. In preparation for his swim lessons next month, Scott took Josh to the pool for the first time. Since he enjoys bathtime so much we thought he would love pool and once he got used to all the other kids splashing around he had a great time.


Things we're looking forward to: Well looking forward to it might be a bit strong but I bet by the end of next month we'll have a fully mobile baby. He's already pushing up on all fours when he rolls over and will roll across an entire room if you let him. Crawling, standing and crusing are soon to come. I see more baby proofing in our immediate future.


Other favorite pictures from this month
















Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bon Appetit

Since we came back from Houston, we've been much more focused on getting Josh to try some solid food. He's had a few tastes of things (mostly baby oatmeal and bananas before) but he was always horribly disinterested and quite uncoordinated in trying to eat them. Well waiting a bit made a huge difference. When we sat him down the week after Christmas to offer him some oatmeal and bananas he was all for it. He was Even leaning forward with his mouth open trying to get to the spoon.




His coordination at first wasn't much better with the whole concept of swallowing and any attempts at feeding him resulted in a huge mess. We even tried putting one of Scott's old T-shirts over his head to catch all of the drippings. Over the last few weeks he's gotten much better with swallowing and is always very excited to see what's for breakfast and dinner. I found it pretty easy to make the first round of baby food and spent an afternoon making some for the freezer. So far he's tried bananas, sweet potatoes, applesauce, broccoli, avocado and prunes. So far the avocado and bananas seem to be the favorites. It's fun now that he can recognize food and just this afternoon he leaned over and tried to take a bite of my banana while I sat eating it. Guess our days of dinner on the couch are just about over.

Now that he can sit up well, we've tried a high chair when we went out to eat with friends last weekend. He needed a bit of support but overall he really seemed to enjoy it. We haven't been brave enough to try to feed him while we're out and about yet. This is the results we get after just a few bites, so a whole outfit change is usually necessary by the time we're done. Maybe next month we'll be brave enough to eat out together.


 
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