Deep breath...

Hi, everyone. Sorry for the long lapse.

We've been incredibly busy. I want to at least get something posted to get this ball rolling again.

The rate of change in Theo's abilities is still astonishing to me. Every week he has small changes and at least every month we get a total baby upgrade.

Our latest delight is Theo's sudden grasp of language. About 3 weeks ago it became apparent that he understands nearly everything that I usually say. When I say "Let's go upstairs for a diaper change" he rattles the stair gate. When I say "What do you want for a snack?" he yells and gestures towards the part of the counter that he knows has the bananas. When I say "It's time to feed the bunnies" he grins and runs for the refrigerator, waiting for me to open it so he can pull the lettuce out of the crisper. The real clue that he was up on his vocabulary was when I'd say things conversationally to Greg and Theo would react. "I need to sweep up in here" sends Theo to the closet for the broom, and "I left the box outside" leads to Theo demanding a walk at the front door. You don't need to speak slowly or put strong inflection on key words.

He's also begun to talk. Most of his "words" sound the same to the untrained ear - variations on "gah". I can recognize many different specific words that he uses every time he sees specific objects.

Theo's nap is over - more later.

Walking.

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. We ran through a whirlwind of family gatherings and ate our share of traditional fare. Even Theo tried out his two teeth on turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. He was already familiar with sweet potatoes.

The people we've seen lately gasp in surprise when Theo walks on his own, turns corners, bends down to pick things up and then carries them while maintaining his drunken balance. When asked how long he's been at it, it's hard to say, and I get more shock and surprise that I hadn't announced anything. Truth is, his progress has been gradual and steady for at least 2 months now.

It would be hard to say when he started walking, as he's been doing some form of standing since he was a couple months old and started moving his legs soon after. Theo never liked sitting very much and in fact, it took some direct teaching to get him to learn how to sit. Instead, he'd lock his knees, allowing you to balance him but supporting all his weight on his tree trunk legs.

He also never wanted to crawl. It was only in the past couple of weeks, after he could be said to walk on his own, that he grudgingly adopted an army crawl, or what I call the zombie crawl, pulling himself flat on the floor and moaning, then grabbing for my ankles.

He definitely put the cart before the horse. From standing on our lap with help to standing on the floor with help then to walking with help, keeping your body bent double so you can hold his tiny hands as he does eternal laps around the house. He had no idea how to pull himself up on furniture, and if you put him near furniture he wouldn't even know to grab on, but he was off and running anyway.

His balance steadily improved and soon he was waving off one helpful hand so he could carry a favorite item around with him. So encumbered, he'd travel half the speed and with a quarter the balance, but with the bonus of being able to tap his red cyclindrical building block on every surface he encountered. His squeals of delight were ear-piercing. From there it was only a matter of time before he pushed us away altogether, if only to carry larger items.

At this point he's able to walk around the entire house without touching my hand and without falling. That is, if he doesn't step on anything or get too excited. He still doesn't understand that objects on the floor will trip him up, so these days I run defense for him, removing items from his path as if he were a royal dignitary.

Here's the thing about walking a baby around - it is very, very hard to get video of it. You obviously can't carry the camera yourself until they are walking independently, so you have to tripod the camera in a place the baby will supposedly want to walk through and let it run. However, Theo loves the camera so much that as soon as he sees it, my naturalistic fly-on-the-wall shot is over. Even if he doesn't attack the camera, it seems that any time you have the forethought to have the camera recording, he gives the least energetic performance. The big squeals and bursts of laughter usually go unrecorded (though etched in my memory). When you do get some usable footage it requires editing...which, yeah, I haven't gotten around to.

So, no big announcement, partially because of the steady progress and partially due to lack of visual evidence. This will be rectified...but I can't say when.

Happy Holidays!

Halloween!

Hope everyone has a very happy Halloween.

I decided to go for the Halloween Mom badge and make Theo's costume. As usual, I didn't sew a stitch, just used hot glue and felt.





I can't help but include this one:



Rest assured, he did have a good time at the pumpkin patch.





Check out the latest videos here.

For Halloween itself, we'll hang out at home, carve some pumpkins, and give out candy.

There is, of course, lots of news that I haven't had a second to pass on. Theo is working on standing and walking. He can take a few steps by himself and just today he actually changed direction. It makes him very excited when he does well at it. He's also at the babbling stage, but no words yet. When he sees something he likes, he blows gurgley raspberries, and makes high-pitched squeals.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Portrait time

I guess I'll never keep up on this like I wish I could. In any case, check out Theo's studio portraits. It was hard to not buy an 8x10 of every one of them.

If you haven't been in a while, check out the newest videos.


Briefly - Theo sits up on his own, eats very well, and sleeps through the night nearly all the time. He's a very easy to please baby most of the time, though his inconsistent schedule makes his evenings a wild card. Looks like he'll skip crawling all together as he prefers being walked around.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Sitting!

New things all the time

Ack, the time, she flies.

Theo is sitting on his own, mostly. He usually falls safely, just gotta make sure there aren't any hard objects around. He rolls back and forth but hasn't figured out that he could get around with this talent. Crawling is still a ways away, as he can't seem to put that together either.

He does love to walk...that is, while you're holding him up. If we had level floors I'd consider getting him a walker, but with our rugs it really would be a tipping hazard. I've played walker for him all over the living room and his bedroom, and I'm already finding out what we need to baby proof.

For instance, we thought he loved the bunnies; actually, he loves the cage. When he gets close to it he gets very excited, and if he is allowed to he grabs the mesh and tries to suck on it. Yeah, there are some sharp edges. I've figured out how to cover some of the angles but it's still going to need some work.

Theo has adopted a squeal that is so loud and high-pitched it's stunning. Adorable, of course, but you don't want your eardrums too near it for too long. Thankfully he isn't so chirpy all the time, only when he's very excited. So far it seems he is quiet in public but squealy at home.

We started him on veggies this week. Our pediatrician recommended high iron foods, like spinach and beets. However, you can't get those in jars as first foods, so instead we tried peas. Not a fan. After getting him through that jar I made my own jar of spinach - just cooked in water then pureed in the Cuisinart. The homemade spinach was much more tolerable, though the rice cereal is still his favorite.

New videos will be up soon.

Everyone keeps asking how I'm holding up. It sounds silly but after 6 months I think I've finally hit my stride. I know how long it takes for us too get ready for to go places and it doesn't (usually) stress me out. We've been inside for so long that having to face leaving seems more attractive. I'm now trying to get us out of the house once every day for a bit. Lately there have been lots of things going on to keep us busy - out-of-towners visiting, etc.

Theo's been swimming a few times and while he doesn't love it he does have fun moments. Jumping up and down is always fun, whether in or out of the water. I'm surprised there are any times of the day that we can use our complex's pool without anyone in there, but before noon is a good bet. In the past I've never been one to go swimming unless it's blazing hot and the water is nice and warm, but I'm overcoming my picky nature to make sure Theo begins to get used to the water.

Ooh, and we've stepped up the babysitting! My sis-in-law was kind enough to come down last minute to babysit so we could see Toy Story 3 (we're Pixar fans) and my parents actually stayed over at our house so we could attend a large birthday party for a friend. The more we go out, the more we want to go out.

July 4th

Ok, yes, dropped the ball, failed to blog. I better get past this intro or I'll never get an actual post done.

Theo actually watched fireworks on the 4th. It was not in our original plan, for multiple reasons. Theo's bedtime is about 7pm and the fireworks didn't start until 9. If he fell asleep by showtime, there would be no way for him to sleep through it, since my family likes to sit as close to the launch point as possible. Waking during explosions doesn't sound like fun. If he stayed awake late enough, he'd be a disaster anyway and there would be no way he'd enjoy it.

Turned out, Theo had other ideas. He stayed awake all afternoon while we visited family, hours past his naptime. When we drove to the fireworks spot at the park he fell into a deep sleep and slept for 2 solid hours. We had to wake him at 7pm so we could feed him dinner before it got dark (he's at the rice cereal stage now). By 9pm he was doing just fine and we figured we'd give the show a shot. If he freaked out we could always carry him away from the action - historically he's done just fine as long as we are holding him.

So we clamped our hands over his ears and he watched the whole show. For perhaps the first half he was entranced by it. I've seen the same expression when we show him things like screensavers. During one section a long sequence of extremely bright fireworks went off one after the other and Theo blinked quite a bit, finally turning his head away and only looking back after those bright ones went away. After that I'm pretty sure he wasn't too happy but he's not the type to cry in those circumstances - he just waited it out with his big eyes wide.

I know, we're crazy. No one else would expect a 6 month old to watch fireworks. I guess we err on the side of giving him a chance to rise to the occasion, and 95% of the time he does. I only try these things because I know he's usually calm, and because I know I can deal with whatever the worst case scenario would be.

Ok, I'm posting this so it gets done. More soon. Make sure to check the Flip Share Video site. There's a permanent link on the side of my website, or if you want to get emails every time I post a new video there, email me at jenniesloan77@gmail.com and I'll add you to that list.

Relaxing outside. (Testing video upload.)

Easy

Told me it'd be hard
the nights long and the days full
talking to a mute
wishing for a shower
when not bored, stressed
when not feeding, asleep

Is he hungry?
Diaper need changing?
You think he's sensitive to wet
But really he's just bored
been sitting in the kitchen too long

He's so serene
in front of the TV
but never laughs
turn off the screen

Kiss his belly, he lights up
as if you pushed a button
Sing a song, he sings along
soft, throaty accompaniment
Show him his favorite burp cloth
throws back his head and chuckles
Take him out into the sun
that's when he really shines

Yeah, not sleeping through the night.
Yup, going out is always iffy.
There was that one week
where every time he filled a diaper
his outfit needed changing too.
Uh-huh, spent a party with
spit up on my pants
and probably in my hair
and I didn't notice.

But it's easy.
It's easy to start the day at 5 am
kiss his forehead
hold him close to me
bundle ourselves against the morning chill
reading Dr Seuss by the early light

It's easy to spend all morning preparing
to go out that afternoon
diaper bag armed to the teeth
feeding and changing marks hit on time
the countdown starts to come naturally

It's easy to let him scream when he tries to nap
his whimpers are the saddest sound on earth
soon enough he's dreaming
such a tiny person on the monitor
breathing softly, all curled up

Easy to nap when it's time to nap
Easy to get things done whenever I can
Only time to wash one pan and a bowl
Well hey, I got that much done

Hard? Of course it's hard
It's hard until you remember why
Then the choices are clear and simple
and the rest is easy

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!

Pure happiness

At this point, Theo stays awake for about 2 hours at a time, and during those periods he always has a good long session of happiness. It sounds strange but it's easy to delineate the difference between a 3 week old baby and a 3 month old baby in terms of the emotions they put on display. At this point, you can count on him to smile broadly, twist his whole body, and let out a loud, throaty laugh in response to all kinds of things. We sing, tickle, and play games with him to elicit his happiness as much as we can. Even just looking at something with lots of contrast, like a striped dishtowel, can make him chuckle.



His grins are so big, so genuine, and so easy to create. It was definitely tough to keep a smiling face when dealing with a newborn that wouldn't smile back, but now, acting silly is the easiest thing in the world. I've danced soft shoe tap while wearing slippers, flapped laundry at him like I'm tempting a bull, and copied his nonsense sounds as best I can. His laugh is the only reward necessary.



While enjoying his new personality, it struck me that one day he won't think hitting a rattle is all that hilarious, and that there will be days when little Theo will grumble, resentful of an unfair world. I had my share of bad days as a child and remembering how jaded I could be, even then, it's tough to think about Theo feeling the same way. Fast-forward to the tween and teen years and I can see how parents despair over their babies becoming cold and confrontational. It might be hard to not blame oneself. "He was so open to love and joy - how did I screw him up?" Just as bad, one could end up blaming the child. Can one really believe that the child is mean at heart while the memory of such emphatic joy is still etched in memory?



I look into Theo's beaming happy face and see something there worth preserving. Sure, his current joys won't keep his attention in 6 months. The point is that at every stage, I want to teach him that remaining lighthearted and open is vital to enjoying the everyday. That we all create our own happiness, and that it's well within his means.

While I may have had such a thought before, it has now solidified into something real. Remembering lessons like these will not be easy. In fact, I know that I violate this all the time. Already I can see that this is something Theo is teaching me, and that I'm excited to learn it as well as teach it. It makes me happy just thinking about it.

For now though, I think I'll just stick out my tongue and make fart noises until I can get him to laugh.