Archive for June, 2007

4 Month Update

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Ian-mo04 Ian-mo03Ian had his four month check up today and he is now a total of 17lbs 1oz and is 25 inches long. That puts him in the 90 percentile for his weight and the 50 percentile for his height. His head has grown and is now 16-1/2 inches. He received a second round of vaccinations – Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Haemophilus Influenzae (type b HIB vaccine), Pneumococcal Conjugate, his second Hepatitis B, and Rotavirus. Yes, these are the same ones as last time. He took them rather well. He still cried as they were happening and for a bit afterwards, but by the time we were done checking out, he was fine again.

There was some good news today as well. The doctor gave us the go-ahead to start Ian on cereal. He’s allowed two servings a day, with no set amount he has to take. We’re to start off with a thin consistency at first and then gradually increase it as Ian starts to accept it. Jesse will be glad to know that we can finally start using the spoons we’ve been fishing through for the past couple of months. Ian is still on breast milk and formula, but we can increase the amount from 4oz to 6oz. The cereal is not to take the place of a feeding, but he’ll get a bite about an hour after nursing. The Doc said he can have two servings as day, preferably during the morning and early evening. After two weeks, if we want to, we can start to mix in either applesauce or bananas to add some flavor. Depending on how well he takes those (and probably another two weeks) we can start mixing in yellow vegetables – carrots, squash, etc. We are to continue to keep him out of the sun. He’s allowed some exposure, just not a lot. I’ve heard that babies can start teething as early as four months and Dr. Schnur said not to worry about it. We’ll know when he’ll starts when he has teeth. It seems that the early teeth are not as much of a problem as when he gets his molars in (around 12 months). I found out something good – even though Ian has been standing a lot and loves to stand, the doctor said that shoes really are not necessary. According to them, shoes hold no function other than keeping his feet warm. If he’s playing in the dirt, then we should put shoes on him, but he won’t be doing that for awhile and by then it’ll be cold out so he’ll have to have shoes. Also, after talking with a nurse, we should be able to put Ian in a walker or bouncer now. We’ll have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t bang his head or anything, but as long as he is holding it up fairly well (and he is), then a walker shouldn’t be a problem. I’m excited for the bouncer. I think Ian will really enjoy that.

In other news, it’s been a busy month for Ian and he has accomplished a lot of fun stuff. He is now sleeping through the night with only one wakening. There are times when he’ll get up twice a night, but that’s not very often. It’s still hit or miss, but I’m excited to say that he is doing really well sleeping at night. He has also starting trying to sit up. He is having a little problem with the balance act, but if you help support him, he’ll sit up for a bit before falling over. He is loving the idea of standing. There are times when he gets cranky that if help him stand up, he gets all happy again. Jesse and I have a fear that he’ll start walking before crawling. Speaking of which, he has the motions down, but he hasn’t put them all together yet. He’s holding his head up really well. He can get wobbly when he’s tired, but not as much as he used to. Also, he’s not rolling over completely yet, but he has been going from his back to his side and back again. It’s only 90 degrees, but it’s a start.

Ian had his first taste of swimming this past month. He wasn’t entirely sure what to think of it, but we’ve been taking him back to the pool at least once a week to get him accustomed to it. He also has started talking a lot more. Well, it’s actually screaming, but he’s happy when he does it and loves it when people listen to him. Ian joined the summer reading program at the public library this month and has already read 27 books. Most of you know how fast I read, so we’ve been going through books awfully quickly and I have slowed down a lot so Ian can pick up on my speech patterns. However, with my short attention span, we don’t normally read the books more than once, so if anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears – we’re always looking for more. At the same time, any books we like, I’ve been adding them to his Amazon wish list so I know what to buy when I am able to.

Review: “No Cry Sleep Solution”

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Here is my review and notes from reading the No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. I’ll give a status update later to see if it really worked with Ian or not.

So I said I would give a review of this book once I was done with it. Well, I never finished it, but I thought I would still let people know what I thought. Overall, I enjoyed this book. The first half gave a lot of useful information and I think that was why I never finished the book. I started incorporating a lot of the things Pantley was suggesting and it seemed to work. It’s been four months and Ian is finally sleeping though the night – only getting up once around 2am – 3am. Ian and I did things the simple way. We started giving him the same routine every night between 7:30pm and 8pm. First we gave him a bath, then we changed into his pajamas, and then he received a bottle. I know it’s not the biggest routine, but we started this when he was barely 2 months old and he really wouldn’t stay still long enough to include reading or singing or whatever. Either way, after a couple of weeks, Ian started getting really fussy if he didn’t have his bath by 8pm and then it became even more obvious that he was waiting for it when he wouldn’t go to bed until he had his bath. Now once he gets his bottle after his bath, Ian starts to get sleepy and is usually out before the end of the bottle. So while I never did try the “no cry sleep solution”, I did do a lot of the other suggestions in the first part of the book and it really helped. I’m not saying it would work for everybody, but I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

Naps

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My little man is growing up on me. Ian used to love falling asleep on me. He used to fall asleep while we were nursing and then complain if I tried to lay him down. Over the last week or so, I’ve begun noticing that he hasn’t been sleeping as long when he falls asleep nursing. The other day, I put him in his crib soon after he fell asleep and he slept for an hour. He doesn’t want to sleep on mama anymore. That’s fine, but now I’m having a hard time getting him to take decent naps. He starts rubbing his eyes and I know that’s a signal that he’s getting tired. So today, I am trying to get him to fall asleep for a nap in his crib. It’s not working yet. I’m also trying to get him to go to sleep without nursing.

Any ideas on how I can get him to take a nap without nursing (he nurses right before bed half the time too) or other hints that might help this transition?

New Books!

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So I’ve been raiding our local library for new books and I found a couple that I had to share. The first one is Mother Goose’s Songbook by Tom Glazer. Basically, it’s a bunch of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes with sheet music. Jesse is going to translate some of them into a guitar tabulare (if there isn’t already one someplace) and then the three of us can sing them together. It should be fun. The second book is Playtime Rhymes for Little People by Clare Beaton. It has a bunch of rhymes with suggestions on how to use the rhymes to play with Ian. It should be good especially since I’ve been at a lost on this aspect. Amazon has a sneak peek for this one.

I’ve been looking for some new books as we tend to go through them pretty fast. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Mr. Vocal

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Swimming in the Pool

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We went swimming today! Ian didn’t know what to make of the entire experience, but he seemed to enjoy it overall. We got him a little floater boat to help him kick, but he’s still a little too small for it. Either Jesse or I had to hold him up, but at least he was able to kick more than if we were holding him. Jesse and I thought the experiment was a success. We were only in the pool for about 15 minutes, but Ian got wet and had some fun in his boat. Here’s a couple of photos and a video.

Ian and Jesse Ian and Jesse

First Rock Concert

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You heard me correctly. Today, Ian and I went to his first rock concert. The library had Candy Band playing and it was a lot of fun. It was loud, but Ian didn’t have a problem with that at all. He was constantly looking around and seemed to enjoy himself. He started getting a little fussy during the last two songs, but he didn’t cry or anything. He was definitely tired afterwards. The band was actually pretty good. They add their own spin to children songs and it kept all of the kids really happy. I would definitely take Ian to see them again, and probably will since I heard this was a reoccurring event for the library. I was thinking of getting one of their CDs for Ian, but since they wouldn’t take my plastic, I didn’t. I’ll have to see if I can’t find their CDs elsewhere.

Sleep Update

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Just thought I would let everyone know how Ian was doing in the sleeping department. At the moment, it’s hit or miss. There are some nights where he’ll only get up once a night and then there are others where he gets up every 2 hours. There was even one night where he slept the whole night though (of course, he went to bed at 10pm and got up at 7am). Ian is definitely starting to understand that when he gets a bath and a bottle, it’s time for bed. He is going to sleep a lot easier and the first part of the night is easy. If he does get up, it’s usually between 1am and 3am. If he plans on only getting up once, then he’s usually up at 3am; if he plans on getting up more, he’ll get up closer to 1am. Either way, he is really getting better and sleeping through the night and I’m hopeful that he will by his 6 month checkup.

4th Month Milestones

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from Enfamil
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Playing with Toys
It’s time to take some more of those baby gifts off the shelf. Although your infant has shown little interest up to now in playing with toys, you can expect her to change her tune this month.

Kicking, grabbing, swatting, and rattling are evidence of your baby’s improving motor skills. She’s learning how toys work, too. Which requires memory and a longer attention span.

New visual skills also show up this month. Your four-month-old is learning that objects come in different colors, shapes, sizes, and even textures. Staring intensely at a toy gives her lots of pleasure. It’s as if she’s just discovering what a beautiful world she lives in.

Tummy Time
Some babies roll over as early as three months. Others wait until they begin to sit and crawl. Most babies roll over tummy to back first, then learn to roll the other way. Signs that your baby is about to roll: rocking back and forth on her stomach, kicking her legs, and “swimming” with her arms.

Once your baby discovers the joy of motion, she may turn into a rolling machine. Watch her carefully on the changing table and other high surfaces. She’s quicker than you think.

Clowning Around
Once your baby starts laughing, you won’t want her to stop. Get ready to make a fool of yourself this month. Babies usually start laughing at around four months. What gets the most giggles? Try funny faces, goofy grins, and “raspberries” on that adorable little belly.

Brain Teaser
Did you know…that your baby can make voluntary movements, like reaching for toys? That’s because she’s been practicing her hand and arm skills, which help promote new growth in her brain.

Sunshine and Books

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Today was so beautiful that the three of us went out. First went to the doctor’s office to do a weight check and guess what…..he is a tubby 15lbs and 14oz. Yes, my little man is definitely a porker and he loves his milk.

Next, we went to the library to check out some books. At the same time, Ian registered with the Sunshine Club. The library has a summer reading program and Ian is getting credit for every book we read to him. For every 25 books, he gets a prize that Jesse, I’m sure, will enjoy. Here is a list of books we have already read:

  • Black on White by Tana Hoban
    This author was recommended to us by Zsolt and Kristian. The book had a bunch of black objects on a white background, which definitely had Ian’s attention.
  • White on Black by Tana Hoban
    Another book that was recommended by Zsolt and Kristian. This one had white images on a black background, again, Ian was drawn to the pictures.
  • What Makes a Rainbow by Betty Schwartz
    This was a book that Trish (aka PJ) gave us. It may not sound like a boy’s book, but it has more meaning to mama since she met Trish at Rainbow (if you don’t know, don’t ask :)).
  • A Treasury of Curious George by Margret and HA Rey
    This has a bunch of stories in it, however, we’ve only gotten to the first two – Curious George Takes a Train and Curious George Visits a Toy Store. I’m sure we’ll finish the book tomorrow.
  • Aesop’s Fables
    We started reading this one to Ian while I was still pregnant. We haven’t finished it yet, but since it’s a bunch of smaller stories, it’s the easiest one to have in his diaper bag in case we need something while we’re on the road. We’ll probably finish it this summer.

The summer program has only started and we’ll probably start making weekly trips up to the library to find new books. So if you want to recommend anything good for Ian, please let me know. I’m always interested in finding new ones. Some of the books on our list to read are:

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing around with a couple new books. I was at Target last night and found these teether books. They are cloth books that have some hard parts too for Ian to munch on and the middle page even squeaks when squeezed. One of them has three languages on it – English, Spanish, and French. We also took the following video of Ian and Jesse playing around with a couple of rattles. You’ll notice that Ian is starting to grasp and shake items at random. I don’t think he realizes what he is doing yet, but he is noticing the noise he is making (I think). Ian is definitely getting better with his hand coordination, especially when it means putting something in his mouth. So far, he has only started chewing on his burp clothes and toys – thankfully he isn’t crawling yet.

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