April 2007
Elliott's First Birthday
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
Christmas 2006
December
November
October
September
NJ/Vermont Trip (Aug/Sept)
August
End of August
Family in Michigan - July
Family Visitors (in Virginia)
Visits with Friends (through July)
Bradley Baby Parties (5/20 and 7/22)
Earlier Photos
March 24 - Elliott's Birthday
Hospital Days
First Days at Home
Day 7
Days 8-12
Days 13-27
Late April
First week of May
May 8-14
More May Photos
Weeks 9 and 10
June Photos
July Photos
Links
June 3, 2007:
We have moved the blog to http://elliottjames.blogspot.com . However, I can't upoad any photos right now, so I thought I would post some here.
April 20, 2007
Since getting over his fever and cold, Elliott has picked up his pace crawling and has gotten more interested in food. He's also wanting to nurse a ton and finding it funnier than ever. So I think perhaps he is growing.
We're trying to get more iron in his diet, so I'm adding molasses to some of his foods and trying to add in more beans. He is eating lots of apple (well, chunks usually land on his bib or shirt, but he ingests some and never turns it down). I often put sunflower butter on his apple or celery or rice cake or a gluten-free waffle. He also enjoys eating raw carrot, which is perhaps not the safest thing but he only bites off little bits. We've added rice crackers into the repertoire, and he really likes the vegetable ones, with or without hummus. He's started to really enjoy peas, so I tend to thaw a few whenever I'm heating up something else in a pan. He also enjoys raisins and pear, and he's started really groovin' on banana. Today he had some leftover rice pasta with molasses and peas for breakfast. Oh, plus some of my chicken apple sausage, a tiny bit of zucchini, apple, banana. I just keep offering him things and he's happy to play and go back to trying something I put there a half-hour ago. This is how I eat, clean up and check email. I now take some apple, celery and carrot for both of us if we are going out for a few hours, plus some crispy brown rice cereal. If he's in our lap or our arms eating, he wants to feed us, which we still think is pretty cute, but his diapers attest to the fact that he's finally ingesting more solid food.
Elliott claps his hands a lot these days, whenever he's pleased with what's going on. And he's pleased quite a lot of the time! I usually nurse him before we get up in the morning (and often from naps), and when he lies back and looks up at the ceiling and claps, I know sleep is over. He is also nodding and shaking his head for no and waving or reaching out when he wants to greet people (more that than bye-bye), but we haven't seen any other sign language or oral language. Oh, except for making a happy but hyperventilating sound when he knows we're about to nurse. He babbles all day with lots of intonation, and it's clear he thinks he's having a conversation, but we can't follow it yet. He does play a game with us of signing two or three tones, and then we repeat, and then he does another pattern. He also seems to find the resting tones when we have music on and I swear sometimes sings along with the piano. He likes to beat at the keys, and I sing the notes he plays, if I can pick them out (there are usually several at once). Somehow tonight he kind of played a chord. We started the spring Music Togeter session this week, and he had a great time with the sticks and with the silences that the teacher added suddenly into songs. There are a lot of babies in our class this time around and fewer older kids. We also started a 6-week signing class. I had already taught myself a lot of signs but thought I could get more motivated to use them more regularly if I took a class, and I thought Elliott might enjoy watching. He did really like watching all the mommies sign along while singing "You Are My Sunshine." Most of the rest of the time he happily played with other kids and the toys the teacher had in her apartment. He laughs when I ask him where his nose and other body parts are, but he doesn't point to anything. He might have found my ear once, but I think that was just lucky.
Movement-wise, Elliott pulls up on the slightest thing, but he won't stand on his own. We've only seen a few seconds of that a few times. He still doesn't really squat or bend his legs so much. He just sits back on his butt when he's tired of standing. He cruises along without holding onto much and with his feet flat on the ground, but he doesn't show much interest in walking. A few times he's let me go backwards with his feet on mine, so it's like he's walking forward. But he doesn't really like to just hold our hands and try walking. He did more a month or two ago.
He is getting good at knocking over blocks, and he likes taking pieces out of wooden puzzles but doesn't put them back in their spots. He still likes his musical instruments and is often happy to play alone for a long time while I cook or straighten up. But we do have to watch out for his shoe fetish. And he loves magazine and books but today ripped the first page out of Wicked, which I've been reading. Before that I would have said he was getting gentler with regular books. He is also more & more interested in board books and often will just look thorough one for a while was I continue to read on the couch after nursing. But if he sees the phone, he'll still go for that. He is in love with our cell phones and gets very upset when we take them away. He still puts everything in his mouth - toys, phones, tiny bits of who knows what from the floor, shoelaces, shoes. Maybe books are one thing he doesn't eat. But he does like to pull them out of the bookcase. He still likes to play peek-a-boo, as both peeker and peeked-at. He also still resists diaper changes unless I assault him with belly kisses, give him clean diapers to play with, and sing the alphabet song or "Bushel and a Peck." Apparently without all of these factors, looking over the side of the table to the trash can is much more appealing. If I change him on the floor, he crawls away.
Sleep-wise, he's waking a little more often at night and being more annoying about it since the illness. I think it's partly hunger and also probably teething, since he is drooling a ton. But things haven't really changed much. He goes to bed a little easier if John puts him down, and they almost always do the bath together. I have been going out some evenings to tutor, and twice we've had a neighbor girl come over for an hour or so so John could do something those nights, too. Elliott had a few days of 9:00 a.m. waking with one midday or afternoon nap. Since then we've had earlier wakings and sometimes one nap, sometimes two. It's still pretty unpredicaable and I don't feel like getting hm up at the same time very day just to try for a set schedule. I want to sleep as long as he is willing. He is going to bed around 8:00 these days.
He enjoys our jogs in the baby jogger and still hangs out on my back at home if he's cranky or won't go in the pack n play and I need to keep him from wandering around. He has strated to absolutely hate the crib, so if I shower, I just go quickly and let him hang out in the hallway with a bunch of toys and of course the baby gate up at the top of the stairs and the toliet locked. He has discovered toilet paper and its magical rolling power. The empty cardboard tubes are pretty cool, too.
We are hoping to go down to the Polo fields on the Mall as a family on Saturday to watch John play Ultimate. Maybe I'll finally get some photos of that! Then I might try posting the photos to a blogspot account and perhaps switch to that site if it seems easier. This no text editor with delayed typing is driving me crazy. That site would be http://elliottjames.blogspot.com - you'll see we haven't done much with it!
April 9, 2007
For the moment, Elliott is sleeping soundly in bed, snoring away with a stuffy nose. His fever broke Saturday morning and his personality came back in its place. However, he has been a little clingier after so much cuddle time, and he's having a little more trouble separating from me when I first hand him over to John. For the most part he gets over it quickly, but there extra doses of whining sprinkled through our day and they have more of a kick to them than usual.
On Tuesday, he had a great time watching people near the Tidal Basin where we went to check out the cherry blossoms. He even did pretty well on my lap while I got a haircut afterward, until the hair dryer came on, that is. The hair dryer and vacuum used to be his friends, but no longer. Perhaps that was related to the ouchy ears. He was happy after a nap and shrieking with laughter when Maizy the dog was playing with him at Katie and Joey's house, where we visited for a little while halfway through a walk/jog.. An hour later I had him on my back in the Ergo waiting for some people to come buy some stuff we'd posted on Craigslist. I noticed after a while he was just laying his head on my shoulder, and when I took him off, we knew he had a fever. The next morning he decided not to nurse, and that lasted for 36 hours. He would only drink a little milk from a bottle or cup or syringe. It's so good to see him back enjoying life now, though he does seem a bit addicted to mama. We missed a visit with cousin Lucy and a birthday party for Julia this weekend, but it could have been a lot worse.
Oh, I think I forgot to say a while back that my friend Julie from K College (who was newly pregnant with her second baby when we visited her in July) had a baby boy in early March. His name is Graham and is doing well.
April 6, 2007
Elliott has had a fever for two days and appears to have an ear infection. He was totally listless almost all day yesteray and only wanted to sleep on our chests. It was like taking care of a newborn, except that he wouldn't even nurse. He is doing a little better now and is nursing again, but he has a very stuffy nose. We hope he will get better on his own so we don't have to give him antibiotics, but we will if he doesn't improve over the weekend.
March 25, 2007
Wow! It's been a busy couple of weeks! We had visitors, went to see family and visited with friends to celebrated Elliott's first birthday. I've gotten some photos up but additional text will have to wait. See The March page and Elliott's First Birthday page.
March 9, 2007
Last time I wanted to write again shortly after the Feb. 23 posting but didn't get the chance -- it seemed like so much changed in just a few days. Elliott had a few days having strong opinions! He was really annoyed if a toy was taken away or if anything else didn't go exactly as he'd planned. But then he'd go back to being a real charmer, so we knew nothing was really wrong. Check out the photos at the bottom of the February page for a good cry/smile contrast. There are also a few new photos on the March 07 page. Now it's two weeks later (almost) and I forgot all about those ornery days until I went to upload the photos.
Elliott got a cough and mild fever last night, so we stayed home today and won't be going to a playgroup family brunch tomorrow. Actually, at least three other babies or their family members are sick, so we're probably rescheduling the whole thing.
Elliott is still not saying anything that we understand, but he is acting like we should; he looks at us and speaks with conviction. I think he really thinks he's talking. I would say that "D" is his consonant of choice lately, but he also mimics sounds often. He has nodded at least four different times when I've asked him if he wants to take a nap, and he's gone down well those times. The two times he didn't nod, he didn't want to sleep. And he's not using signs yet himself, but he has nodded when asked if he wants milk.to nurse or more rice crispies. He is loving picking up the tiny pieces of cereal and eating them. After two or three nights in a row of voracious night nursing, I decided to try some goat yogurt, and I put the cereal on top of that so he just got a little. He seemed fine with it, but now that he's a little sick it's hard to tell what might be a food reaction and what might be part of the virus, so I'm not going to push a lot of the yogurt.
Elliott also loves using his pincer grasp to pick up any other little thing he finds on the floor, and pulling up carpets is one of his favorite activities. We've started letting him climb the stairs if we stand behind him, and he really seems to enjoy that. However, we hadn't yet put up the gate at the bottom of the stairs, and today he had both feet on the first step before I even realized he had left the living room. So there's one project for this weekend!
Elliott is more and more interested in trying different foods, and I try to get him into the high chair threee times a day. It's actually taking up a much bigger portion of the day because he will try one thing for a while and then get interested in another, and I don't want to cut him off as long as he's happy. But he may take after his slow-eating mother (and grandmother). I still don't think he's getting a ton of calories, but he is getting some. His favorite food is apple, and he now can bite off a decent chunk and suck on hit and chew it up without gagging. Sometimes I put sunflower seed butter on it, and he likes that. He really likes the crunch of celery and lettuce still as well as the crunch of the rice crispies. He's also interested in meat and savory things and has tried some rice pasta, rice pancakes and gluten-free waffle. But he probably still gnaws more on non-food items than food. Wednesday was our first time taking snacks to playgroup where a lot of the other kiids eat whole meals and all try to drink out of each other's sippy cups. Elliott is still more interested in chewing than drinking - I had given up on the sippy cup for a while and tried having him drink out of a regular cup (at home), which he liked for about a week. But now he just puts his hand in the water to play and then pushes the cup away.
John is usually in charge of bathing Elliott, getting him into his pajamas, reading him his bedttime story, and sometimes getting him into bed. They have a game where John tosses the rubber duck into the bathwater, and Elliott now closes his eyes, wincing in anticipation of the water splash to come. But he seems to love the game.
He is still a really, really happy kid except when dealing with transitions. He finally had a good session with the babysitter last time -- fell asleep with her and then they took a walk for almost two hour (and he didn't cry or act sad after I left). But she's out of town now, so I hope he remembers her when she returns. She is taking another job that limits her hours/flexibility with us, so I've been trying to find another situation so that I can get to some appointments. I've met one woman who is a mom of three and was a La Leche League leader for three years. She came over with her daughter and Elliott took to them well. He didn't cry when she held him and I went to the basement, and that is more than I can say for other moms he actually knows. This week we'll try one more visit (with just her) and then see how he does if I'm gone for about an hour and a half. I think there's something different about someone who has been a mom and has also been an attachment parenting mom. I was thinking of trying to find a sitaution with another stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) since I though another kid might be fun for Elliott, but everyone I've contacted does have the TV on sometimes or often. Maybe in a few months we'll just try babysit swapping with some friends if he has gotten to spend more time with them and the kids have gotten old enough to really play together. I just don't want to leave my friends with a crying boy, even if he might get to really like the situation after a time or two. Let's hope the separation anxiety will indeed continue to fade. At least he still really likes strangers to look at and interact with, as long as they're not going to hold him!
I've kind of gone back to being somewhat nocturnal, especially today. I really wanted him to sleep well to fight his illness, so, like a lot of days lately, I napped with him. Today that was 3.5 hours! Other days I don't intend to nap with him but I fall asleep before I know it. After a few days of him not napping in the morning, I found that spending a good 30 min or more lying down with him in the dark bedroom was somewhat restorative. Then he started falling asleep in the morning again. He's too active if we rock in the chair in the other room/nursery that doesn't yet have darkening shades, so I just lie down with him. And I have decided that since I enjoy the family bed, I am not up for making a real effort to get him to sleep in the crib. I love it when he wakes up and looks t me smiling. But if I do succeed at getting out of the room (and at night), we use our new video monitor, which was worth the investment.
Since I can't get anything done when I'm sleeping, I tend to rely on the crib and pack n play more than I would have expected (I can't see him in the living room if I'm in the kitchen, and he's just too active to leave alone without eyes on him!). Fortunately, he is good at self-entertaining in small spaces with lots of toys. If he's awake, he's happy to play in the crib while I shower or get dressed. I figure maybe someday he'll fall asleep there if he's ever going to be the kind of kid who can just fall asleep places. But right now he seems to want one of us there in the room even if he doesn't expect to be nursed to sleep at night. We only had a few weeks of me putting him down and him rolling over and falling asleep. Now he really likes to crawl around before he falls asleep, often falling asleep with his knees on the futon a few inches below his torso and head on the regular mattrees. Tonight he crawled onto my head and almost suffocated me, but he was actually falling asleep. When he wakes up he crawls on the mattresstoward the door, and that's often when we come to bed if he's been asleep for a good while. Tonight I don't know when I'll get to sleep. John went to bed over two hours ago, and I finally updated Elliott's little first year calendar of milestones - I hadn't even written in the dates (much less any details) for February and had to read the blog to figure out when he started pulling up. But it is fun to have a quick reference in the calendar; I think I'll get a calendar to dedicate to jotting down the second-year milestones. It's hard to believe we're already nearing the beginnning of that second year! It sure has been a wild ride!
February 23, 2007
After a week of stomach flu in this house, we're still not sure we're in the clear. Elliott has stayed happy the whole time, and today he was determined to munch on a stalk of celery (both ends! He kept coming back for more!) So I think his tummy isn't bothering him too much.
Elliott is pulling up on everything, including not very stable things, and he's doing much better at just sitting back on his bum if he senses a need (or has the diesire) to be more grounded. He dstill doesn't squat between positions, but he does maneuver between kneeling and standing some, and he cruises confidently with only one arm touching a surface. He is babbling up a storm, mostly still with B's but always lots of fun intonation, whatever the sound. "Bub Bob" is is favorite word. Always a wise Buddha, he says that means whatever you decide it means.
Elliott is really quite a happy kid, but he still does not want to leave his mom. He's fine to be left with John, and he did well at one playgroup two weeks ago when I left the room for a minute, but usually he cries a lot until I take him back in my arms, and then he's totally fine. The babysitter said this week, while I was at a doctor's appt., he did stop crying but was sad and just leaned his head on her shoulder a lot. He didn't want to play. When I came home and held him, he was all smiles including at her. We went to a lecture on separation anxeiety with a development expert a few weks ago, and she said that this behavior is now regarded as indicating a very secure attachment, and that we just have to move slowly for new transitions and make goodbyes quick once we are ready for them - and always with the same way of saying goodbye. She said babies with intense personalities are more likely to struggle with separation anxiety, and that's our boy!
Elliott is adept at lifting up my shirt to try to nibble my flabby belly ("no" is only source of giggles so far) or to nurse. It is pretty funny to see, especially when he then tosses his head back and laughs, and then smacks his lips. He is a riot. But sometimes I wish he would just take a nap instead of be so playful. He has discovered that clapping his hands is really fun to do in bed.
Last week we had a nice visit with Elizabeth and almost four-year-old daughter Emily (but Elliott kept grabbing for the camera, so I ddin't get any good photos). We also visited Kyle and 6-week-old Ben, who has way more hair than Elliott will see for a while! I tried to put some photos on the February page that show Elliott has grown some hair on the back and sides.We had a great snow day at home on Valentine's Day and tried to make some valentines using beets and homemade finger paint, but I think it will go better next year! After that I was sick for a few days and then John got the bug. At least we got a little babyproofing done in between. But we did have to cancel Grandma B's planned visit.
We have acquired a piano from Jerome and Charlote, and John and I both agree we can never go back to not having a piano in our home. The piano (a 1926 Steinway upright) needs work, but it is really fun to have, even if our living room is running out of space and our TV is in front of the fireplace. Really it's our basement that is running out of space as all the extra furniture keeps going there. The swing is the only safe place for Elliott to be in the basement, and even then he knows how to move the tray asideand often just hangs there, holding onto the side and pushing himself that way. Today he actually stood up in his high chair, so we're going to have to use the five-point harness and tighten the straps!
If Elliott were writing (and he does love the keybaord), he might start to wave goodbye now that it's time to close. But he might choose not to wave, too; he can be encouraged, but not coerced. When he's really happy, he bounces up and down with both hands in the air. So imagine me doing that. He'll be 11 months old tomorrow and I will have not been working for a year. Bub BOB, indeed!
February 8, 2007
I just thought I would add a few photos onto a new February page. Elliott has had a few fun experiences licking hummus off of lettuce. He is moving around so much it's tough to diaper him. Tonight he fed me for the first time - I know other kids have been doing it for months, but it was the sweetest thing I could ever imagine - so deliberate and kind. We've had a nice (though busy) week and some longer naps than in recent memory. Have I mentioned how much Elliott loves to brush his teeth? But we think he ate the remote to the Dish because we can't find it.
February 1, 2007
Elliott developed a cold on Monday with a low fever. He's stayed in very good spirits and even at the height of his fever finally had a real crawling session on his knees of more than just a few seconds. But most of the time spent on his knees is in the process of trying to pull up to standing. He really gets a kick out of standing! His fever is down now, but he still has a stuffy nose and a wet cough. I felt like I was getting the cold today, and John went up to help Elliott get to sleep tonight, and John hasn't come down now three hours later! I imagine he will emerge soon to get something to eat. I'm wide awake, having spent some four hours in bed with Elliott today (and yesterday). I really wanted him to rest well. But I think we'll have our fourth day of canceled activities tomorrow to be safe. Today at least we made it out to the grocery store.
Both babysitters canceled this week, so Elliott and I have spent lots of time with him on my back. I'm so glad he enjoys that so much because I can get a lot done that way, and he's just too mobile to leave for very long even though he is good at self-entertaining. Even once we get to the next level of babyproofing, this house just isn't big enough to let him play on his own the way he'd like.
I haven't tried to feed him any solids since I could tell he wasn't feeling well, but last week he was quite game for trying apple whenever I offered it to him (just a slice - no longer in the mesh feeder). He seems both interested in and a little frightened by having food in his mouth to chew. Each day I was trying some brown rice and maybe cooked carrot, a little of my egg yolk, sometimes potato or parsnip, zucchini and butternut squash, sweet potato, a few unsweetened rice crispies - whatever I could think of that he could possibly safely feed himself since he will not even consider anything on a spoon anymore. I also did a little pineapple in a mesh feeder, and he seemed a little interested in that, but he also is pretty quick to toss stuff on the floor. He did chew a little bit of a chicken burger, too, but I would still say he's not getting any real calories from solids. He doesn't seem to be reacting to anything in an obvious way, though there are some little things I wonder about - hard to tell what is because of the weather, colds, etc. I did start feeding him a little extra milk in a bottle before his bath (before bed), and John and I both think he's put on weight siince then! At the pediatrician's last week on Elliott's 10-month birthday, he weighed still just over 20 lbs., was 28.5 inches long and his head was 18.5 inches around. So he's now around 40th percentile, down from 60th. All his moving around hasn't thinned out his superchunk legs, but I think it did make him lose a little weight.
Well, time to either try going to bed or catch up on all the things I can't do during the day!
January 28, 2007 - New photos on the January page.
January 27, 2007
Ay ay ay ay ay! Those are Elliott's words, but they reflect how I feel. Elliott sure has developed a flair for the dramatic in the past few weeks. I might even use the word "tantrum;" he gets a really angry cry on when something is not going his way. This includes being laid down on the changing table (though he frequently laughs if I give him a toy to play with), being put into his carseat (though he is fine once the buckles are clicked and happy once I turn on the car), having a toy taken away from him, and a few other things we can't figure out. Oh, and having someone else hold him, even if I'm sitting right in front of him, is also on the no-no list. We haven't had a ton of success with the babysitting yet, though Andreea did twice get him to sleep rocking in the glider, and he enjoyed a walk in the stroller with her. He like playing with Cecilia's 18-month-old daughter, but I couldn't even wash dishes without him pitching a fit. We'll see if he gets any better after one more time with me staying home with Cecilia and daughter on Monday, and on Tuesday I'll take Andreea with us for me to get a haircut, so maybe Elliott will see her as a person who helps us out instead of a harbinger of mommy's departure.
Two weeks ago Elliott frreaked out when I went to the bathroom during a playdate at Monica's. The next day he had a blast at Itsy-Bitsy yoga (even with no nap). He seemed to love looking at the other older babies/toddlers and playing with the demo doll. He was pretty independent and didn't even notic when I went to the bathroom. Then the next day he wailed so hard when I went out of sight that one of the other moms had to pick him up, and that did no good. When people see him out, they think he's just such a happy kid with a ton of personality. And he is! He loved our new Music Together class that started this week, and he had a great time at the yoga class again. But he is really getting some strong opinions about what he does not like!
Elliott is still going to bed easily, even happily, after I set him down singing to him and just leave. Last night he even smiled as I was tucking him in (though when I checked on him later he was totally out from under any blankets.) Most nights he's waking between 11:30 and 1:00, then again around 3:00 or 4:00 and then for the day around 6:30. We did get one night of sleep from 6:30 to 3:30 a.m.! John and I had our first outing to see Who's A\fraid of Virginia Woolf with Kathleen Turner at the Kennedy Center. It was good, but I kept worrying that he would wake up and not calm down for Andreea. He didn't! It cost us a small fortune for the tickets and all the babysitting hours (even though dinner was from Chipotle!), but it was good for us to do. I think I will reconsider babysitting co-ops now.
Naps were better this week after a bit of refusing them unless we went driving. Last week he wouldn't even sleep in the car, so I took him to John's office, which is near our yoga class. That was fun. He actually appeared quite mellow - what a versatile actor! Verbally, he's got lots of consonants - D, P, L, N, and, of course, B. He also likes Y a lot. I haven't heard anything close to an M, though he thinks it's really funny when I demo the sound for him. He also still shrieks and squeals, and when he is really happy (usually with me holding him standing) he bounces up and down waving his hands. He is just sort of starting to wave hello. He definitely sticks out his arm with his hand open, sort of imperially. But sometimes he also waves it up and down. He still is not really interested in clapping. He loves to stand, and if I put him in his crib so I can shower, I can't even get him to sit down, or if I do he just pulls up right away. He just wantes to stand, cruise around the perimeter and look out into the hallway or the mirror. This seems to be amusing for him. I just yesterday bought a bumper so that we can think about getting him to sleep in the crib. They are a little controversial, but since he loves smooshing his head next to the regular mattress when he's on the futon, I think he's not going to sleep somewhere where the head pressure is ouchy.
more later - the nap is over!
January 14, 2007
There are new photos on a new January page. Well, if you count five hours as sleeping through the night, then we have arrived! After just two days of John going up to soothe Elliott if he woke before 11:00 p.m., Elliott slept for 7 hours and then for four hours after that. Since then we've had lots of four-hour stretches, some five-plus. And even if he does wake, he goes back to sleep pretty well with John. I'm still nursing him once or twice in the night, and for a few days I had to leave the room afterward for him to go back to sleep, but I hope we are past that or close to past that now.
The most exciting thing is that for the past two nights, Elliott has been smiling and happy holding his new doll as we walk from the rocking chair in to the bedroom. I've put him down after singing to him, kissing him and telling him how well he will sleep, and he's just stayed happy and gone to sleep! This is a huge deal for us since he hadn't let us set him down without crying since he awoke from his newborn stupor at 3 weeks old! It's also great that John is so soothing to him now; a few months ago Elliott to would just totally scream if he woke and John came in or I tried to just pat him down myself without nursing him. He is still in the futon next to the bed, and I think we'll keep that for nighttime for a while since it makes soothing and nursing quite easy (to just lie down next to him). But he's alone there most of the night now. If we decide to try to cut out all feedings or if he cuts out his midnightish feeding on his own, we might consider a move to the crib. I'd like to try the crib for naps, which are not so consisitent. The crib is still in our room; the nursery is tiny and I like us all in the same room anyway. If he starts to get more interested in being mobile during sleep or becomes loud or something, then we'll think about giving him is own room before he's able to ask for it.
Elliott is having a lot of fun babbling - still mostly B's but he imitated me saying "na na na" the other day and is generally making strings of fun sounds. He is pulling himself up and wanting to stand a whole lot. He will take a few steps with me holding his hands or with his hands on something like the couch. He's also kneeling, and that's new. Today at Tysons Corner mall play area, he leaned with one hand on a plastic bee bump-thing on the ground and held his other arm in the air - really nice balancing! I took him to see Nishanka for craniosaral therapy this week and also to an itsy-bitsy yoga class taught by an occupational therapist. Both saw him crawling (primarily commando crawling) and said he's gottten plenty of input of weight into his hands, so I should not worry if he doesn't spend much time regular crawling on his knees. He is up on his knees rocking more often and can crawl over objects, and I don't expect he'll have enough balance or coordination to actually walk for at least another month, but I was still glad to hear some professionals tell me to not worry if he is more interested in standing than regular crawling.
He is starting to bring two objects together. He has clapped my hand for a while now but is just starting to show signs of clapping his hands together. He is loving pulling books off of shelves, and he still likes chewing paper. He's ingested a tiny bit of potato and avocado this week, has rejected sweet potato, and has put bowls with applesauce/breastmilk mixture up to his mouth and made an expression like he had to toss back a shot of cheap vodka. However, he has nibbled on chunks of Fuji apple through one of those mesh bags. We've tried giving it to him straight, but he just gnaws of a chunk that is too big for him and makes himself gag to spit it out. He does mimic us when we model chewing, and he really seems to like the initial crunch on his teeth, but the follow-through is not so good. It's gotten so that I've let him play with my food on occasion just so he has positive experiences with food. This resulted in him ingesting a little bit of parsley from a rice dish from a restaurant and also licking a section of grapefruit. He winced but tried it a second time. The rule seems to be, if he can hold it - grasping it on his own, mind you - he's happy to give it a try. I can't get him to try anything on a spoon anymore unless he feeds himself, by which time most of the food has fallen off, and he still winces at the remaining few molecules.
I hope the food update doesn't detract from the message I really want to convey, which is that Elliott is a lot of fun. We especially enjoy all the new sounds (and his classic shrieks) and his continued flirting with people at the mall and grocery store. He is now more likely to literally reach out to others. I was surprised how easily he took the to Tysons playground, even with so many bigger kids running around. He really enjoyed practicing his balance and getting the attention of a 17-month-old girl. It is so much fun to see him having so much fun! The only problem is how much fun he's having sinking his teeth into our flesh, particularly the left side of my neck. And he sure has some teeth!
Quick update on Elliott's agemates and their parents: My friend Kyle had her baby, Ben, on December 30. He and mom are doing well, and he sure has a lot of hair! Courtney has returned to work and is doing great, as is baby Mack. Elliott's cousin Lucy, has her parents, Jerome and Charlotte, on their toes as she is full-on crawling at 7 months (and was even a few weeks before that). Wow! Doug (who joined us at Tysons Corner and is almost 11 months old) eats everything his parents offer him but doesn't want to feed himself. It's so funny how they're all so different!
January 7, 2007
Last night Elliott fell back asleep with John after only 10 minutes or so. Then he woke again at 11:00, and I nursed him for a short time. He fell back asleep hard and didn't wake again for four hours, so I got a nice stretch of sleep. Tonight he went to bed at 6:15 and woke at 8:20. John's been up there the whole time since then (sleeping some, I imagine), so I don't know yet how long Elliott fussed. He was quiet when I cheked the monitor a few times but there was some crying around 10:20. I'm staying out of the room until 11:00! It's sure a different feeling to not be on duty until 11 p.m.
January 6, 2007
As I type, we are making our first serious attempt to get Elliott to cut out or push back his first waking/feeding, sort of following the general idea we read about at http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/ap/sleep.asp and from others describing similar processes on emails discussion lists. John went up when Elliott woke, and I turned off the monitors. We agreed I wouldn't enter the bedroom until 10:30 p.m. Elliott would never settle down for John in the past or for me without nursing, so we just kept doing what worked for him. But now that he's older we need to help him learn to sleep for longer stretches without relying on his opiate hit of breastmilk, and we need to have a nighttime routine that works for all three of us. We're trying to get him to sleep until 11:00 p.m. so that we can entertain the idea of going out together or me ever going out of the house after 5:30 p.m.! We might later work on cutting out the post-midnight feedings if they don't naturally fall away as a result of this new pattern. Ha! We are still putting Elliott down to sleep in the futon on the floor next to our bed, but we did set up the crib in our room to have as an option.
Before Christmas, we had a great visit with Courtney and Brian and their baby, Mack, at Cournety's parents' house. He is super cute and much less bald than Elliott. He was just shy of 3 months when we met him. Elliott tried some pear while we were there and, though he still made a face, he seemed interested in gnawing on it (and smearing it on his shirt). When we got home, I decided to try feeding him some other foods he'd had before, especially the squash I'd had in the freezer for almost three months! He didn't want any squash and didn't eat much of the very cooked carrot spear, but he did happen to put his mouth to a bowl and tip it all the way up such that a bunch of crumbled hard-boiled egg yolk fell into his mouth. It was one of the funniest sights I've seen! He actually ate most of it, and we were pretty excited until he got sick later that night. He had tried all of those foods before, but hadn't really ingested much pear, so we're not sure what to think. Worried that he might have a tummy virus, we didn't go to Christmas Eve services the next day as I'd hoped to. I thought he'd really enjoy the music, and they were also dong a baby-dedication ceremony, so I was disappointed. I also worried we'd given something to Mack, but I decided not to worry Courtney unless the problem recurred, and it didn't. But Elliott was more sniffly, so we also figured we shouldn't take him to visit with nursing home residents on Christmas Day as we'd wanted to do. There's a local volunteer project called The Holiday Project that organizes these visits. Maybe Valentine's Day!
We did receive a nice surprise visit from Karey, Tyler and baby Henry, who brough over Christmas cookies, and we went over to neighbor Harry and Dawn's to see their Christmas tree and winter village. They seem to like Elliott a lot even though they have plenty of grandchildren and even great-grandchildren of their won. During the day, we just played with our baby as usual except that there were a bunch of new toys from his grandparents and from us. We got him a bunch of music things from Music is Elementary - egg shakers and maracas, a tambourine, egg chimes, castanets and jingle bells. It's pretty cool to see him shake a tambourine! He can do so much more with the instruments now and is enjoying them so much more than he was when music class ended in early December! I can't wait to start the new session. Elliott also started getting into more mischief - pulling books off shelves, commando crawling toward the front door and trying to eat our shoes. He still doesn't like to spend much time on his knees, which makes it all the more amazing to us that his younger cousin, Lucy, is already totally crawling!
The day after Christmas we spent mostly packing and preparing to leave for Indianpolis, which we did after dark. Elliott slept like a champ, did well in the hotel and did well the remaining four hours the next morning. It was sunny and bright and very mile for most of our stay at my sister's house which seemed so big to us! Those midwestern neighborhoods are really different than ours, and we found ourselves drooling over beautiful tudors and their low price tags. It was wild to have all seven cousins in one place - they all seemed to enjoy looking at Elliott, and he did pretty well with the all the excitement. He still had his moments when only I could calm him, but he did much better at hanging out with other people than he had a month earlier in Rochester. He enjoyed all of his new toys - gifts and hand-me-downs - and the extra floor space to crawl around between them. We also had fun at the great Indy Children's Museum, but I would still say that Elliott's favorite thing to look at was a person in a quiet corner of the busy building. That seemed to make him laugh and smile the most.
It was a fun, busy time visiting with everyone. The coolest thing was that Elliott rediscovered his B's while we were there, so everyone got to hear his new babbles. After a few months of just exploring his vowels, his favorite things to say now are "bop bop bop" and "ah ba wah." Occasionally a "g" will appear, but I don't hear anything like a "d" or "m." He grins a lot when I try to demonstrate for him how to make an "mmmm" sound or say "mama." Sometimes he seems to indulge us and repeat "pop-pop" when we point to John and say "papa." But mostly he says what he wants and just plays with his tongue in his mouth a lot. Oh, and he still shrieks and laughs a lot - loudly, and often on the inhale. It's nice to hear strangers, family, and friends comment on him being such a happy baby.
The ride home was a little longer with more daylight driving, and we had to stop to find a park to kill some of Elliott's awake time. We rode a merry-go-round, had him "climb" some playground stairs, and watched things float down a river. I had fun, but John was coming down with a flu, though, so the drive felt a lot longer than it did on the way out. And that winter sun is rough for those in a rear-facing car seat, even with shades on the windows.
Regarding development, Elliott is liking standing a lot now, frequently stiffening his legs when I try to set him down sitting or put him in the car seat. Is is clapping my hands more often and is almost about to clap his own together, I think. He is extremely good at maneuvering my shirt - lifting it up so that he can nurse, pulling on the neck so he can look down my shirt. And he still loves to grab hold of my glasses, the remote control and the phone. Paper is also of particular interest to him and still one of the only things he really wants to eat. He enjoyed the feeling of his teeth on an apple the other day but freaked out at the tiny bits in his mouth, and then he made himself gag to get some sweet potato puree off of his lips! But he did reach for banana at playgroup and tasted a little a few times before handing it to me.
We had our babysitter Andreea come over Tuesday for the first real time. I spent most of the time with them but disappeared for short periods. Next week I think I'll just leave for the full three hours. He seems to like her a lot and tolerated a stroller walk with the two of us and then just her when I ducked into the house. This next week we'll also try Cecilia, who will bring over her 18-month old daugher, Andrea. My hope is that Elliott will see that as a playdate. Right now I'm just having the sitters come during what should be his awake hours, but that of course is not totally predictable. I had to put him in the car a few times this week to get him to nap. Fortunately he stays alseep after I turn off the motor, so I can get some reading done. One day I quickly ran in to get my laptop and found out that our wireless signal does indeed work in our driveway, so I got some emails written.
Today we all took a nice walk, John pushing the stroller and me doing jumping jacks and other silly things to entertain Elliott. It was over 70 degrees. Then later, while Elliott napped, I went running for the furst time in a while. It smelled so springy outside! It's been a full day in a full week. And now John is back from the bedroom, so I need to get an update on how things went!
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January 5, 2007
I got some text on the Christmas page, but now Elliott is waking up so any more news will have to wait a bit longer!
January 1, 2007
After travels and amid sniffles, no time yet for text, but a few photos are up on the Christmas 2006 page. Happy New Year!
December 16:
The December page now has some new photos.
We've all had colds around here for the past week (along with every one else we know). John even took two days off work. Elliott mostly stayed in good spirits except for about 24 hrs as he was working up to and then dealing with a mild fever. He still has a little cough and runny nose but is otherwise himself (except for resisting naps a few days this week - ended up sleeping in the car twice and on my back in Target because he was too wound up and happy to settle down).
He is commando/infantry crawling all around, still using his arms straight out in front of him to pull himself along and not much getting on his knees. He is wanting to stand more and seems to wish he could do it on his own. His favorite "toys" these days are my watch, which he nimbly removes several times a day, the telephone and remote controls. He also loves chewing on snaps and buttons (yikes) on his clothing, clean Fuzzi Bunz diapers, my shirt and John's shirt. He is still a terror with his fingers, even drawing blood from John after hooking his finger in John's nostril and then yanking. He is also experimenting with his teeth - clicking them together and occasionally biting while nursing. That doesn't feel good, but t's the impish grin he gives me afterward that disturbs me most!
He is quite happy and giggly a lot of the time. He especially loves the funny faces John makes at him. In our daily routines, when Elliott is playing on his own and I am eating, we look over at each other and he squeals in delight and happily goes back to what he was doing. He's in the swing right now and we just exchanged glances and giggles. I was heartened that at my writing group yesterday he played on his own for a good long while when we got there (and enjoyed watching the older girls play) and also let Jamie, the host, hold him without protest while I went to the bathrooom. Maybe we have passed the worst wave of separation anxiety? He has only seen Jamie twice and not since August, so it's not as though she's terribly familair. Jamie has an article in the current issue of mothering magazine. It's nice to meet with other moms and share both our creativity and our parenting issues. In January we will try out two babysitters on Mondays and Tuesdays (both will come to our home). Last week Elliott met and seemed to really like both, including the one who came the day he later developed a fever. He was upset before she came but then really happy looking at her and even in her arms, so I'm cautiously hopeful.
What else can he do? Well, he likes to give me little kisses that turn into nibbles, especially on my neck, and a handful of times he has given John a kiss goodnight when prompted. He still is not interested in food, especially stuff that has to be spooned, and I have to really get motivated and have lots of time to even try anymore. I know it's important to keep giving him tastes, though not so important when he is sick. He happily takes his daily dropper with probiotic, vitamin C, zinc and cod liver oil in breastmilk. And he's clearly not hurting for calories. Everyone who asks his age then says "he's big!" I think my being small and him being bald (and so darn white!) add to the appearance of him being big. As we were seated at a bench in the mall, a man walking by pronounced Elliott "butterball." My tiny little baby is now getting called fat by strangers! Last night we looked at photos from the early days and realized he does look a lot different!
Oh, how could I forget? He has his seventh tooth - the third one on the top. And he's getting a little bit more hair, though it's such a light red it's easy to miss. If we can get our scanner working with this newish computer, I'll share his first photo with Santa.
December 4:
No time to write but take a look at some December photos with a little text.
November 26:
What a week! We took a nice family walk on Sunday after doing our leaf photo shoot. Monday Elliott tried out his new babysitter for the first time and seemed to do pretty well despite the fact that we are in the thick of separation anxiety. Parveen said he did cry some, but as we got ready to leave he was happily playing and smiling at her; sheseemed to adore him and said she'd miss him (we're trying again this Monday). He was giggling and happy on the way home and the rest of the day, although he didn't want to nap until pretty late in the afternoon, but that is getting to be more common anyway. Tuesday morning I was hoping we could leave a little after 9:00 to go to the nurse-in at Reagan National Airport to protest a woman being kicked off a Delta flight when she refused to cover her child's head with a blanket. Elliott cooperated by going down for an early nap, and he woke happy and giggling. I dressed him in a "got breastmilk?" t-shirt on top of his onesie, and I wore a mothering magazine t-shirt over a a long-sleeve shirt. We drove to Pentagon City mall, parked in the garage, and, with Elliott in the Ergo, made our way to the Metro. We took our first subway ride for just two stops to the airport. He took it all in, looking around and happy. Several cameras got shots of him right when we arrived, but within 15 minutes or so he had a weird spit-up of what looked to just be clear drool, and then later lots of yellow liquid. It was bizarre. He cried a little bit but mostly seemed okay. Still, after a little bit of nursing, I knew we needed to head home. I'm glad we live so close. But before that happened, it was a really great experience to be among so many friends - people I know through BirthCare, through the Attachment Parenting meetings, through playgroup that I got into via the Attachment Parenting email list. It felt great to be part of a community and to be out doing activism again. Although I was worried about Elliott's health, the experience did me a lot of good. There is a photo of me nursing Elliott from the local ABC newscast on the November page, and there are some video feeds that showslots of these new friends - I can send you the links if you want (too long to retype and I can't paste into this text box).
After Metroing back to the car, Elliott fell asleep on the way home, and now that he's in his bigger car seat that stays in the car, I had to carry him in. But I laid on the couch and he kept napping snuggled on my chest. Then he ate and lost a little of his lunch but an hour later, that all seemed to be over. I don't know if the spitting up was because of teething or the cold he'd had (which is now pretty much gone) or that he did some detox because of the appointment I had on Monday or what. But instead of going out to run errands and pack to prepare for a 6 p.m. departure to Rochester, I hung out with him at home to be safe in case he got sick again. John got home from work early, so I took care of a few things before putting Elliott to bed. Then we ate, looked for me on the news and finally decided (after Elliott woke to eat around 9:00 and there was no sign of sickness) that we should really try to get out of the city before the morning rush hour. So we hastily finished packing and plucked Elliott out of bed at 11 p.m. and whisked him through the cold night air into our toasty car. I stayed in the back seat with him to make sure he was okay, and John drove two hours to a Hampton Inn outside of Harrisburg, PA. It took a little while to get Elliott back to sleep in the hotel (he was so intrigued by our new surroundings!) but we all slept okay. The next morning we headed out after breakfast and Elliott slept well and entertained himself when he woke up for a good long while. Then we got some lunch, and he slept well again in the afternoon. So even though it is slower to drive during the day, and we kept having to adjust the shades because of the slanted sun, it went pretty well.
It was great to see little Max & Danny and Joan & Jim, Leslie & Matt and Jacob & Ruthilah, and Joel was a great host (who even gave us a baby jogger to take home!). Elliott enjoyed looking at everyone, watching us talk, and listening to Joel and me take turns reciting lines from Moo, Baa, La La La. He especially liked to tilt his head while smiling at Matthew, and he enjoyed his cousins a lot. Max generously gave Elliott a bear he had only recently built himself, and Elliott really got a kick out of it, squealing and patting it. But he wasn't much up for being held by others unless he was looking directly at me about 8 inches away from him. I indulged him by holding him a lot of the time, and he slept and napped pretty normally, which was a big relief. But in his awake hours, it was fun to see how much he responded to John while we were in this big group. Elliott would be on my back in the Ergo and John would make faces at him from across the room that sent Elliott into massive giggles. It takes different environments to really notice some things. Elliott loved flirting with people at Wegman's, the massive grocery store; a couple of times someone commented on his cuteness and, on cue, he smiled and sweetly laid his head on my shoulder.
On Friday, we took a wonderful afternoon walk on the Erie Canal - it was sunny and in the 50's. Elliott didn't take much of an afternoon nap after that, but I think the fresh air did him good because we set a sleep record on the way home. We left at 5:40 p.m., when it was already totally dark and Elliott was pretty well fed. He was asleep by 6:05, and he didn't wake up until we got home! We weren't planning to drive the whole way, or to drive without stopping at all, but we had a full tank (it's exactly one tank of gas to Rochester, getting 37.5 miles to the gallon on a 400-mile trip), and the trip went so quickly with no traffic. It took us only six and a half hours, so we were home by 12:15 a.m.! That's the longest Elliott has ever slept and certainly the longest I've even gone without nursing! He woke up happy in the driveway and after we all snacked, we all went to bed.
Saturday we had a nice family day. We had nothing in the fridge, so we went out to lunch with the intention of going grocery shopping after. I wish I had a picture of John and Elliott playing tug-of-war with plastic link rings across the table, with Elliott in the restaurant high chair (for a few minutes, anyway). They were having so much fun! Most of the time I just held him while I ate, and he promptly grabbed the piece of raddichio that had fallen off my salad plate. I offered him a little of my baked sweet potato, and he tried a little. While John was holding him, he grabbed a chunk of potato off John's breakfast burrito plate, put it to his mouth and bit off some. I've been pretty cautious about trying one food at a time, but the kid is so uninterested in eating food that we were kind of excited to see him try something on his own, even if it might have had oil and seasonings on it. He made a face and tried unsuccessfully to spit out the part that was already far back on his tongue, but then he tried a few more bites. So maybe I'll try cooking things and leaving them in big chunks instead of pureeing them. He also grabbed a green bean off my Thanksgiving plate, and that was a suprise (since he usually just touches food and then tries to shake it off, or just goes for the plate and not the actual food), but I wouldn't let him have that because it was a legume. Potato and lettuce, interestingly enough, are (according to one online source) at about the same level of allergen, which is not very high. Then we went grocery shopping, took a nap, took a walk, took a bath, and Elliott called it a day at 7:30. This morning he has been sleeping for over two hours with one snack break. But I'm probably about out of time and there's lots of laundry and more unpacking to do. Yep, there he is on the monitor making his non-consonant but intonation-heavy language. It's so cute to hear him question and comment on the world with his sounds, but we are wondering when he'll put the letters back in.
p.s. A few hours and a family walk and a solo jog for me later... Elliott often plays by himself after he wakes up for a while. We keep a little basket of toys next to the futon in a basket Courtney gave us. He might roll over to it on his own after a nap, or I sit him up in front of it in the morning so I can brush my teeth, get dressed (maybe even shower!) He enjoys stroking the soft woven texture, pulling on the liner she sewed and tipping the whole thing over to get at what he wants.
November 19:
There are a few new photos on the November page. Elliott has mostly recovered from his cold. He does a little snoring at times but is generally breathing much better and doing well. We did take him to the doctor to listen to his lungs and look in his ears, which were both clear. Elliott weighed in at 20 lbs., measured 27" and has a 17 3/4" head, all around the 60th percentile! Last we looked he was in the 40th.
Grandma B visited for a few days and watched Elliott several times. He really seemed to remember her, and they had several great walks in the stroller on lovely fall days. We've been interviewing some babysitters so I can find some time for appointments, errands, exercise, and maybe eventually some tutoring and writing. We also went to two playgroups and music class and on a walk on the bike trail this week, but I think his favorite thing was visiting a very crowded Whole Foods on Saturday. We usually go to low-key My Organic Market, and he hasn't been out in such a bustling markeplace in a while. It seems to be his element! Although he is having pretty bad separation anxiety, he seemed to warm up to one woman (who babysits out of her home) and her college-age daughter (who is sometimes home but also could come to our home). When she clapped her hands, Elliott patted his leg several times; this pattern was repeated enough that we all agreed he knew what he was doing. So we will try them out on Monday so I can go to a doctor's appointment. Keep your fingers crossed for us. I am wishing that we started having a sitter watch him a little bit when he was much younger, just so he would now be comfortable with someone else like he is with Barb.
Elliott is doing a good job commando crawling, or slithering on the floor on his belly, especially when he wants to get something like the phone or a remote control. He might do one scooch forward with his butt up in the air, and he'll rock a little up on his knees, but he certainly is not yet a crawler. He is also still not much of an eater. We do try food most every morning unless he wakes late and we need to hurry to get me fed before we put him down for his morning nap. He's doing better at being left alone to sleep once I get him down, but I still don't dare try it if I'm not prepared to nod off (and sometimes I'm so tired I want to anyway). I think now that the top teeth are well poked through, he's not currently in any discomfort. But he has rejected banana and apple - both solid and mushed, and he wouldn't even put a giant carrot stick in his mouth for fun. He puts everything in his mouth except food! But the important thing is that he is healthy and thriving. I do, however, think he prefers to get a large number of his calories at night when there are no distractions, and we might have an extended strategy session with the pediatrician to encourage him to sleep for longer periods. I think I need to make a more concerted effort to feed him in the day even when he's not acting hungry, because he will only nurse for a short time, preferring to look around or play.
We are looking forward to seeing Elliott's Lawther cousins in Rochester over Thanksgiving and hope that Elliott will sleep in the car like he has in the past. Now that it is dark by 6:00, his preferred bedtime lately, we hope to leave around then and get most of the drive done before midnight.
November 12:
Somewhere in our busy week, Elliott got sick. I resisted my impulses to take other kids' toys away from him at various fun gatherings - a Sunday brunch with other Arlington families, a Music Together info session, a book club meeting with other moms and babies, and playgroup. At least at Music together class there's a slobber bin, and the toys get washed! Anyway, after all this activity, he became congested and though he seemed happy Friday morning, he got a little whiny later that day and spiked a fever on Friday night. It was similar to his fever July; I went to bed with him early and then felt that he was hot at about 10:30 pm. His temp was 102.6. I just nursed him all night long. By 8:30 am, it was down to 100.2, and by noon Saturday it was gone - 98.7. I did give him some vitamins that morning, but I think his body just efficiently fought its main bug on its own. His nose is a little clearer now, but he's actually drooling a lot; it seems that there is some teething pain. He wouldn't nurse last night in the night or this morning, which was very troubling! He took a little milk from a bottle and a dropper, but we were worried. He is doing better now after some homeopathic remedies and a nap. He's still a little whiny at times (as has been true since he hit separation anxiety a few weeks ago) but also quite giggly and happy, especially when his father makes funny faces at him. This week he seemd to clap his hands on demand one day (but not since). Just now he sat up after being 75% reclined, so his abs are getting stronger. These days his language often sounds like there is a standing question mark hanging in his speech bubble. He is inquiring of the world around him just what it's about, as though asking "huh?" "eh?" and then deciding it's interesting: "hmmm... I'll be!"
And now, even though I let him play with his favorite toy, the telephone, he's rubbing his eyes, so it's time for our afternoon nap! Then Grandma B will be here for a few days.
November 4:
Don't have time to write, but I wanted to mention that there are a few more pics on the October page (i add them at the bottom so that we can keep chronological order. This blog has helped us keep track of things we thought we wouldn't forget!.
October 29:
Elliott has gotten his top two teeth, and he weighs almost 19 lbs! He is moving backward a little and doing some commando crawling but still only gets one hip up at a time when he's moving. If he's up on all fours he doesn't quite know what to do. There are a few new photos and explanation of above photos on the October page.
Elliott woke up last night and was wide awake for two hours. Then he didn't take an afternooon nap today but fell asleep at 4:45 (what used to be 5:45, just a little before his bedtime) and I don't know if he's down for the night or what. So I'll be brief. He is sittting well now, and I can't put him in the bouncy seat unless I'm right there because he wants to lean over to pick things. I once found him with both hands down on the floor, over to one side; hewas stuck!. So showering is more of a challenge. We moved our queen mattress and a double futon to the floor, so now he plays on his bed while I get dressed or shower quickly. He's not a huge fan of the pack n play. He's still waking every few hours in the night, which the lactation consultant tells me is perfectly normal. He snacks quickly and efficiently and usually just stays asleep when I unlatch him. But he still sleeps better next to me, and as a result I sleep better, so I find myself spending a good part of the night on the futon. I don't mind except that it's not as comfortable as the mattress. We've been doing lots of rearranging, purging, and babyproofing this week, and that feels good. John took Tuesday off to accompany us to a few appointments, and it was nice to have the day together. Elliott was a trooper and, as usual, a flirt. We've also added a bath to Elliott's evening routine (he really seesm to love it), and it's great when John is home from work in time to do that. But I fear the time change may put a crimp in that. And I think he might be waking, so I'll sign off for now!
October 18:
There are
