I think Peter may be crawling within a few weeks... then again, I thought he was teething at three months and four months later we still have nothing! Let's hope he can hold off until we move in June, as it would be a pain to have to babyproof a month before we leave!
I can't believe Peter is almost seven months old, and my maternity leave is more than half over!
The last few weeks have been a lot of fun - so many new experiences. One of them is solid foods. So far he likes things that can be pureed very smooth - apples, pears, sweet potatoes and so on. He's got a sweet tooth like his mummy! He does not like squash, carrots or yams. I think he has something against orange.
Peter went to the beach this weekend for the first time, at least the first time that he could really take it in - that was a lot of fun. He was quite befuddled by the sand, picking it up and dropping it. Silly me let him lie on his back though and soon he had dumped a handful right into his mouth and eyes. Woops! It was a little chilly for an ocean dip, so we will postpone that experience.
He is sitting up quite solidly now. He does wobble a bit, so I try not to go too far from him, but at other times he can sit for a good five or six minutes straight. He is also starting, just in the past couple of days, to mobilize a little bit. He does this two ways - on his tummy, he is starting to do a little bit of an army crawl. Now Peter is an easily frustrated guy so he does start to cry a bit when he does this, particularly as he often manages to maneuver himself backwards rather than forwards. The other thing he has started doing is scooting a tiny bit on his hands. He can push himself a little bit while sitting and he moves a centimetre or too. He is experimenting a lot with balancing himself in a tripod position and wiggling around from there - leaning over to get things and so on.
He has some new mannerisms as well - he has discovered his ear, and he tends to tug on it when he's tired. He is also looking at his hands more these days - I am hoping that he may clap soon, or make some other sort of sign. That would be a lot of fun. I am still doing some sign language with him, and he does seem to understand some. When I sign "Up" or "All done" he will often lift his arms in preparation for being picked up.
Now this may be too much information for some, but there are some disadvantages to a baby who eats solids. As a result, I have been occasionally putting him on the potty when I notice he is pooping. I'd say he manages to go in the toilet about 50% of the time - and that's a win/win for everyone! I haven't tried with pees yet - I'm not quite that ambitious.
I'm telling you, this baby thing just keeps getting more and more fun! Five and a half months is very exciting. Peter is starting to recognise what's important in our world - for example, he loves to "talk" on the phone. He can be sitting in his exersaucer surrounded by brightly-coloured toys, but they are no comparison to a big black plastic phone. His face will light up if he sees it. If he hears Julian's voice on the speaker he smiles and reaches for it. Of course he also smiles when he hears the dial tone... but don't tell Daddy.
He definitely recognises voices now; the other day I was watching a short video I took the night before when Julian came home. Julian was saying "Hi Peter!" and Peter smiled and looked around expectantly. As well, I find that I can now calm him down a bit by saying "Peter, I'm right here!" Or "I'll be back in a moment" when he starts to fuss because I'm out of sight.
We have been taking Baby Sign for a while now and he is definitely starting to recognise some signs. For example, if I do the "up" sign he'll wiggle or even reach out if he wants up. And when I do the "breastfeeding" sign he gets quite excited if he is hungry, although that one's a bit more hit and miss, probably because I've been less consistent with it. I also use some signs and words to tell him what we are doing next, i.e. "diaper change" or "bath" and it seems to register. When I give him warning he doesn't seem as peeved when he is stripped from the waist down.
He continues to like animals. The other day we spent several hours in a house with a golden lab. That night he spent quite a while looking looking at a picture of an identical lab on his exersaucer and smiled when he first noticed it.
Another big development has been that he has taken milk from a sippy cup - that's exciting as it means I don't have to worry so much if I leave him for a couple of hours. He still needs help holding the cup up though he'd prefer to do it himself. At this rate he'll be feeding himself before long! What's next - making bacon and eggs for Mum and Dad?
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| What is this thing? | Hey, not bad! |
February has been a big month for us. Peter has developed so much personality and more sophisticated wants and desires. He will fuss when a toy is taken away now, whereas before it was very much out of sight, out of mind. He is fascinated by the "things" that we use in our lives. Few things bring him greater joy than chewing on the portable phone, or on a set of keys. (Mmmm...)
He absolutely loves his Dad and Grandma and gets very excited he sees them, giving them lots of smiles. If he is feeding, he will keep looking up to make sure they are still nearby. It makes for a rather prolonged feeding session! He reaches out to people and tries to touch them and grab their face or hair. He even reaches out to his own reflection. "Hmmm..." he must be thinking, "why is that baby so cold and hard?" When he wakes up from a nap fussy and at odds with the world, he will pause when he catches a glimpse of himself and he'll smile at his friend in the mirror. He also reaches out for the cat. Unfortunately "gentle" is not a concept he has mastered yet, so he likes to grab her fur and bring it towards his mouth.
He keeps me in view at all times - if I go out of sight for too long, he kicks up quite a fuss unless there is someone else around to entertain him. He is not one to play contentedly on his mat for very long. But part of that (I think) is because he is still not very good at being able to get what he wants on his own. He has been rolling for two months now, but he is still not a roll-y baby. He will go a week or more without rolling before he does it again. He does not really move around very much on his own and hasn't quite figured out that he could actually get closer to a toy if he just rolled a bit.
It's funny because he will roll on his change mat, reaching for the spray bottle or other items nearby. I have to strap him in now. Ah yes - roll when you're four feet off the floor, but not when lying on a padded surface designed for that very purpose. Who knows - maybe that big heavy diaper weighs him down.
Another big milestone is that he has started to sit unsupported. He has done it before for a second here or there, but today he did it for a prolonged time. He is certainly still at high risk for toppling, but I think that in another week or two he will be able to sit up nicely. I am hoping that once he gets the hang of sitting he will be more content as he will be able to reach for things that are nearby. I live in hope!
One of the best things that he does is laugh when you're laughing. He is not fooled by fake laughter either - I know, I've tried. But if someone is laughing, he will laugh as well - even looking at the same thing. He totally pretends that he gets the joke! It's so cute.
One area where we are still struggling is sleep. Peter naps quite well now, but he just cannot seem to stay down for a good stretch at night. All I can say is that I am thankful that I live in a country where I have time off - I can nap during the day. I cannot imagine trying to function in a full-time job given my current sleep schedule, which rarely involves more than a two or three hour stretch. Ouch. But I guess a little sleep deprivation is a small price to pay.
This was shot a week or so ago... he doesn't laugh very often yet, but I can't wait until he does.
It's official: dogs are the most hilarious thing on the planet. Peter has a sort of hoarse little "haw-haw" that he's been whipping out lately - mostly when being tossed in their air or kissed on his tummy. But today I was at someone's house and Peter saw a dog; the dog was 'talking', asking for food. Peter took one look at it and burst out in a full-on throaty chuckle!
Another thing he does lately is try to make people laugh. When Grandma started laughing at him as he did his funny little wiggle (he arches his back ramrod straight and tucks his chin down into his neck), he smiled, paused, then repeated it. The more she laughed, the more he did it, over and over.
So in the past few days Peter has discovered the cat! He seems to recognise that she is a real live creature and he smiles at her and reaches out to touch her fur. He even laughs a little. She is still giving him the death glare and muttering "usurper" under her breath. But today she actually came and sat next to him, so despite her sour look she may come around to his charms.
Another month... little boy's getting so big!
Just hanging:
"Hmm... how can I get these in my mouth?"
"Hey Mum? Dad says it's okay if I go out tonight..."
"Obama won Iowa? Cool!"
As for the rest, here's a summary of Peter's fourth month of life on video...
so their opinions matter!
Like a lot of women, I got a touch of baby blues after Peter was born. Mine manifested itself as extreme anxiety about him - everything in the house seemed like a potential hazard. Anything on a ledge might fall, every piece of furniture seemed unstable. One of my big fears was suffocation, maybe because it's drilled into you in so many baby books and websites. I even got freaked out about a t-shirt he had with a hood on it in case he choked on it. I never let a blanket near him. But after a little while the anxiety eased and we started swaddling him in a receiving blanket since it seemed to help him sleep. Lately he has gotten to be a bit of a Houdini in wriggling out of them but I've still been doing it. Needless to say, I am very relieved that the emotional person I was eight weeks ago never saw this:
In attending events where there are infants of a similar age, I've noticed that Peter is somewhat more vocal in expressing his discontent than some other babies. He is definitely not a colicky baby, but he is a rather opinionated guy and if something is bothering him at all, he will definitely let me know! However, to balance all that out, we've started to see lots of smiles! for Mum, Dad, Grandma and lately even the wooden caterpillar that hangs from the bouncy chair. Here's the story of how it all happened...
Wow - I finally get the baby napping in a place other than my lap, and what do I do? I log onto Facebook and watch a video I just recorded of him. Man, I am too lame. :-)
So my challenge this week is to try and write an entry that doesn't start with "Wow, I can't believe it's been _________."
Peter is now officially no longer a newborn - six weeks old and life is good. Here he is crashed out in his chair after coming home from a walk outside.
In the past couple of weeks he had the chance to meet his paternal grandmother and grandfather, and even graced the former with a smile! He also met his uncle Tony, who he was quite charmed with.
Other than that, life is pretty simple - Peter and I went to Movies for Mommies for the second time, where he was quite well-behaved, or maybe it's just that you don't notice when you're in a theatre full of crying babies. He still sleeps for the lion's share of the day and becomes quite cranky if he doesn't, but he fights sleep! As I speak, I have a very loud little boy being bounced on a ball by his Dad. He does occasionally fall asleep on his own, but he then wakes up as soon as he senses that we have strayed out of a six-foot radius. But night time is better; he is getting to bed a bit earlier at night and doesn't stay awake for very long when he feeds, so that's been a good development. At night he often sleeps four-hour stretches, which has meant a world of difference for me, because for a while he was up every two hours and neither of us back to sleep again right away. His weight gain continues apace and I weighed him on Thursday at a mum's group - he was 12 lb 3 oz.
Yesterday he smiled at both Julian and me; not just the sort of random smiles that babies get, but a genuine "Hey! How's it going?" smile. He has also started to coo a little bit. He is definitely very responsive to people. Today we had some photographers over to get some nice photos of him. Three women shook toys in his direction and smiled and clicked their cameras at him. He was soaking up the attention and remained wide-eyed and happy for almost two hours - an eternity in newborn time! He even showed off by holding his head up for a really long time, which is kind of funny since tummy time hasn't been too successful around here. Anyway, I will post some photos of him when we get them.
He is also starting to be able to entertain himself a little bit more as the video below demonstrates.
This entry took me about two hours to write because Peter woke up several times throughout (no, that's not hyperbole), so I'm off now to try and settle him for a good long stretch.
I can't believe that Peter will be one whole month old tomorrow. The time has flown by. I will say that I underestimated how involved it is taking care of a little one. I pictured myself lazing around, watching daytime television and occasionally rocking his bassinette. However, most of my morning is spent waiting for him to nod off long enough for me to dash into the shower, and cook some breakfast. He might have a bath, or maybe some tummy time, and before you know it, it's noon. Then we try and get out for a walk or to the store. I did manage to get somewhere by 10 one day, however I forewent my breakfast that day. He really prefers to be on me, which makes it kind of difficult to get much done.
He is thriving is already up to 10 lb 9 oz, which is weight gain of 1 lb a week in the past three weeks. It doesn't sound like that much, but when you consider that's around a 40% weight gain, well, I'd say that's pretty good! I think most of it has gone to his cheeks. He is definitely filling out and looking more baby-like.
He can be a bit of high-maintenance guy, but he is quite portable. He screams bloody murder as we exit the building, but once I get the car moving he nods off and we are able to get a few things done. He also does pretty well being wrapped up and carried in a sling or wrap, which means that I can go for walks.
He's pretty good at letting us know what he doesn't like. For example, here is he is telling Julian that water in the face = bad.
He's sure to turn on the charm for his visitors though. Here he is with his uncle Tony. His Nana and Grand-Dad are arriving in town tomorrow and I'm sure they'll be charmed by him.
I can't believe that it has been almost one week since Peter was born! Lots has happened so far. I had a lot of energy for the first two or three days, but after that the dropping hormone levels have meant I am a bit more tired.
Feeding is going very well. He is a hearty eater and is already just 3 ounces away from his birth weight (Babies lose weight after birth and are expected to regain it by 2 weeks of age.) His cord fell off today, which was rather momentous.
In his first week he also developed a bit of jaundice and a blocked tear duct, both rather worrisome to new parents, but the midwives were able to give us advice, help us monitor things and both are clearing up quickly. We were so grateful to be able to call the midwife at 11 at night when his eye got all goopy and to be told what to do.
Mostly he is a very easy little fellow, and just fusses when he is hungry or needs something. It usually does not take us too long to figure it out and then he relaxes again. However, he does NOT like having his diaper changed. You would think he would want to be changed out of a soaking wet diaper, but he would much rather keep it on!
Peter Alan has arrived! He was born at home after an eight-hour labour. I went into labour at 12:30 on Friday morning. I woke Julian at 2:30 to let him know things were happening. We went for a nice long walk around the neighbourhood. By the time we got back, I was very focussed on the contractions. I lay on the floor clutching the exercise ball. Julian called our doula and midwife. They arrived about an hour later and watched my contractions. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was a big relief to me, as I just wanted to know s/he was doing okay during that time.
After a while, the midwife offered an exam, which I accepted. I was hoping to be at least 5 centimetres as I didn't want to get in the bath before then, but I knew some hot water would offer a lot of pain relief. Much to my amazement, she said I was just shy of 10 centimetres dilated! None of us could believe it. I got in the bathtub and kept labouring.
I was still relatively coherent between contractions, though I was nauseous. The doula and Julian were extraordinary at that point. I even threw up on our doula! After a while I got out to sit for a while and labour some more. My water finally broke, as it had remained intact the entire time. At that point I really felt the urge to push, so I did. I could feel the baby's head, so I got back in the bath. One great push later and the head was fully out. His cord was wrapped loosely around his neck (I didn't see this, but Julian told me). The student midwife quickly unlooped him. I pushed again he was born!
He was passed through the water to me and I held him up to my chest. We did not know the gender, so I looked and saw that we'd had a little boy! I had to check again a few minutes later as I had been so sure it would be a girl. Nope, still there! After a little bonding, he was passed to Julian to hold him and get his cord taken care of.
I was helped to bed, and they brought the beautiful little baby to me. It took me a few moments, maybe even hours, to realise he was really ours but we both feel like the luckiest people in the world. He really is the sweetest baby, and every finger twitch or grimace inspires a fresh and overwhelming surge of love.
Peter Alan is named after his two grandpas. He was 7lb 7oz and almost 21 inches long.