Acrobatics & Eggs

So Brooks discovered this new trick on Saturday.  He just about gave me a heart attack until I realized that the straps can hold him in and the chair won't tip over.  This boy has no fear!

Perhaps we've been watching too much of the Olympics.  Up next, the 540 rotation with a double inverted twist! (or something like that :)

We've also started giving Brooks more table food.  We started with the Gerber puffs and he LOVES feeding himself.  He'll even try to pick up a drop of baby food if it lands on the tray.  Here he is with some eggs on Saturday morning.

"All Done"

We've been trying to teach Brooks sign language over the past few months, mostly when he's eating.  We've showed him "Eat", "More", and "All Done".  We'll also sign "Daddy" when Chris walks in the room.  He's a smart little guy and I know he understands what I'm saying, but he hasn't really signed anything back to us ...

... until today!  This morning while feeding him pears and oatmeal for breakfast (yum) he started to refuse the spoon.  He'd turn his head and close his mouth.  (He had already eaten quite a bit, so he probably was full).  But I'm stubborn and persistent and kept offering it to him.  Then he held out his right hand and flipped it over two times, the sign for "all done"!!  I was so giddy I almost fogot what he was saying.  Then I said, ok we can be done.  I put away the bowl and spoon, cleaned him up and he was a happy guy.  He's so smart.  This gives me new encouragement for teaching him new signs now.  He totally gets it!

Rock 'em Sock 'em

Despite all the bright colored, noisy, flashy toys we have, our son would rather play with the TV remote, a piece of paper or yes ... his socks.  This is his new thing.  I even offered him a different sock the other day to chew on so he could keep his current socks on his feet, but to no avail.  He chewed on the extra sock AND the sock off his foot.  (sigh)  Whatever makes you happy :o)

Don't you just love the smug little smile on his face?  He gets a kick out of doing this.  To be honest it's pretty cute and I guess there could be worse things.  So for now, we have a sock monster on our hands!

creative cat

I had this odd realization the other day ... I used to be more creative.  I know that's a hard thing to measure, but I'm sure that I was.  In high school I crafted hand-made birthday cards, designed my own t-shirts, and choreographed my own dance routines.  In college I created costumes for classes (and for fun), organized and implemented big birthday celebrations and suprised Chris at work with all sorts of homemade stuff.  And whether it started to diminish when I started my first "real" job or when I got married or when I became a mother, I know I am not nearly as creative as I used to be.  Perhaps I'm just too busy to create things ... which is sad and not the way I want to live life.

So the other day when Chris was looking for something to do (and in an attempt to resurrect my creativity) I said "Let's bake a cake".  Yep, a cake.  I don't remember the last time I decorated a cake, but we both worked together on this one for the Superbowl party we hosted last night.  I think it turned out pretty great.  And it tasted good too. 

Chris set up the 3-4 defense. Quite clever if you ask me.

Eat Baby Eat - part 2

On Monday I went to see the lactation consultant to follow-up from the doctor's visit and make sure feeding was going ok.  I arrived and she weighed Brooks.  I'm pretty sure most of the babies they see are much smaller because Brooks' lower half was hanging off the edge of the scale!  It was pretty funny.  She weighed him and he was over 16lbs.  (He only weighed in at 15lb 9oz at the doc's office)  So he's already put on some weight.  That's good.  Then I started feeding him while she tested the calories in my milk.  I don't think I spent more than 30 minutes there and when it was all said and done, we discovered that my milk is, well,  normal.  Normal amount of calories, normal amount of ounces at a feeding ... normal everything! 

What I figured is that Brooks was going through this crazy growth spurt the last few weeks.  He ate all the time and was sometimes fussy even after feedings.  So that's what made me fear that I wasn't producing enough or good enough milk for him.  But we're coming out of that growth spurt and everything is balancing out.  The lactition also gave me some good tips on working through growth spurts, incorporating solids foods and other good stuff.

Whew.  So that put my new mommy fears at bay.  I felt kinda silly afterwards knowing it was all probably in my head, but I'm so glad to have that reassurance that everything is ok.  It was also refreshing talking to someone who understands breastfeeding.  There's not a calculated amount of ounces at each feeding.  And sometimes baby needs to nurse more, sometimes less.  But it's all ok.  I just need to remember that my body knows exactly what my little guy needs and everything will be ok.  Yep, it will all be ok.

Domestic Monday

Mondays are my day off and I always enjoy them because I accomplish a ton of stuff around the house.  So far today I put supper in the crock pot, stopped by Caribou for a cup of coffee and a chat with friends, went grocery shopping, visited the lactation consultant to find answers to our feeding issues (more on that later), baked cookies, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen and am now blogging.  Feels good to get so much accomplished.

My "meat and potatoes" man said he wanted a roast for supper.  So in almost 5 years of marriage, this is my first attemp at a roast.  Hopefully it turns out ok.

All my yummy chocolate chip cookies!  There would have been more but umm, well, I ate a bunch already.

Eat Baby Eat!

At Brooks' 6 months check-up in December, his doctor said that he dropped on the growth curve and wasn't gaining weight "like he should".  So she scheduled us to come in a month later to do a weight check.  Well, he looked fine to me but we obliged and came in anyway.  So we went in again a month later to check his weight ... that was last week.  The nurse weighed him again and said he only gained 1 oz.  Now the Dr. was really concerned.  He dropped from the 50th percentile to the 5th.  She grilled me on how often he ate, how much he ate, did he poop, sleep, etc?  Yep, got it all covered!  She asked about the quality of my breastmilk.  I think it's good.  He still drinks it! 

So she ordered up some blood tests to check his liver, his thyroid and who knows what else.  She assured me it was a simple finger prick and wouldn't take long.  We walked down to the lab where the tech pulled out these giant needles and huge vials!  Was MY  baby's blood going to be filling those??  Then she informed me it was way more than a little finger prick.

Alright this is where I draw the line.  I look at my baby and he is a healthy little guy.  He eats well, sleeps well and poops well.  He is active and content and an all around really happy baby.  So was it really necessary to stab him with all these needles, only to determine that he's fine and simply a tall skinny kid ... just like his dad??  So I said no.  The nurse looked puzzled.  I said no again, we're not going to do this.  She assured me it would be fine - she even offered to hold Brooks for me.  Umm, no, we're leaving.  By the looks on their faces, I don't think people refuse doctor's orders very often.  So they sent me back down to the doc's office where I talked to the nurse and again told her we weren't going to do the blood tests.  She tried to convince me of the necessity of it all, but sticking to my guns, I said no.  And we left.

So we avoided an unnecessary blood test, but it did make me think a little.  Is Brooks getting enough to eat?  Maybe my breastmilk isn't fatty enough for him?  He seems happy and content, but I want to make sure we're doing everything we can to feed him well.  So we've been working on feeding him baby food at every meal ... breakfast, lunch and supper in addition to nursing him 5 times a day.  I also called a lactation consultant who said that it's common for babies his age to be going through a growth spurt.  (well that would explain the crazy amount of food he's eating!)  So I scheduled an appointment to go in and have my breastmilk tested.  They apparently have a machine that measures the calories in your milk.  Cool!  I'll also feed him while I'm there so they can determine exactly how much he's getting at each feeding. 

It feels good to have a plan.  And it seems much more practical than poking him with a bunch of needles.  So for now, I have a baby who is 90th percentile for height and 5th percentile for weight.  He is the tallest skinniest baby I know.  Now for my other problem ... where am I gonna find pants that fit him???