The month of May

Augh! The days keep rolling on and things change so fast...and the blog remains untouched. Quick, before the baby wakes up!

First, check the Flickr set to see the latest stuff if you haven't already.

Last week, Theo rolled over for the first time, from his back to his stomach. Made it look easy. We were incredibly lucky in that both Greg and I were home and watching him at the time. What an awesome moment! It was adorable, Theo had this "what just happened?" look on his face for a little bit. Since then I've kept the Flip cam close in case he looks like he's going to do it again. No action yet...

Elsewhere on the development front - he's enjoying peek-a-boo a lot more (need to get video of that), and he loves to grab fabric. He'll hold a rattle briefly but anything with a soft texture will be held for far longer, and probably drooled on. The drool is coming fast now, though there aren't any bumps on his gums just yet.

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May means Mother's Day and my and Greg's birthdays! We had a lovely time seeing family at a park potluck, where we were showered with thoughtful gifts and cards. Greg (er, I mean Theo) made me a lovely Mother's Day photo book, including clever chapters written by Theo to me. I got many messages from friends and family - cards in the mail, emails, Facebook posts, etc - and it was quite gratifying. We also got to see some friends that weekend, and with everyone holding the baby, I got some time to relax. All of you helped make my first Mother's Day extra special. (Don't worry, I won't expect anything like this next year.)

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It's no fun bringing the baby in for his 4 month checkup and shots. You know he's in for a painful day, but he dealt very well. The nurse lay him down on the exam bed and holds his legs, while I held his little arms. I think that was the worst part, when he's still happy and you feel awful about what's to come. As soon as the first shot went in his face went beet red. When he screams like that, instead of pulling away, my reaction is to move my face as close to his as possible. Poor little guy. The nurse was quick. I scooped him up, comforting for just a couple of seconds before buckling him in his seat so we could leave immediately. By the time I had picked up the carrier he had stopped crying and gone into turn-off mode. By the time we pulled out of the parking lot he was fast asleep. Babies are well equipped to deal with trauma.

The doc pointed out that he has a bit of a flat side to his head because he usually leans and looks to his right. Since then we've been getting him to look left whenever possible. Surprisingly, it's been easy, at least when he's awake. If he's napping in his carseat it's nearly impossible to make his head move the other way. Hopefully this will balance out by the next appointment.

Once again, he's at the bottom of the range for weight, at 11 lbs 9 oz (on May 10th, though he doesn't seem to have gained much since). He's still fitting into some stuff marked 0-3 months and much of the 3 months size is still way loose. He better do some growing before the 6 month appointment or the doc might give me some grief. To be honest, I think their figures are still mostly based on formula babies from the last few generations. Many of the moms I've been meeting have had the same "problem" with their breastfed babies.

I think the doctors tend to use scare tactics in order to get results. It may not be very likely that the issue will end in the worst case scenario, but a strong mention of said worst case will do the trick to get parents working on solutions. Seeing as how doctor advice is often ignored, it's not a bad tool to use.

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Speaking of other moms - I'm now fully involved in my local MOMS Club chapter. There are meets nearly every weekday at different locations, along with age-range playgroups, playgroups just for boys or girls, Mom's nights out, and other special gatherings. Theo and I have been attending at least one a week, usually at a park for a brisk powerwalk while pushing strollers. Already I am making new friends and absorbing good advice. To ensure my participation I nominated myself to publish the newsletter each month. That way I can't just vanish on this. Should be a fun creative project too, as I can pretty much do whatever I want with it.

Staying active in MOMS Club shouldn't be too tough anyway. The other members seem to be a lot like me - women who used to work and don't know any other people with kids.

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That's it for now. No promises of more frequent posts!