Posts Tagged ‘growth’

The Crib

Monday, February 1st, 2010

I had to lower baby’s crib tonight.  He’s getting so big, and is starting to be able to pull himself to a standing position.  I kept having nightmares of him pulling up, leaning over and plop!

I’ve got a feeling, the crib is going to be one of those items that will always be tied to my emotions.  I cried in the store when we bought it, because the model crib was so dingy with horrible Ikea blankets tossed over it, even though it was safer than all the gussied up cribs I’d seen at department stores or baby-centered stores.  And tonight, it is so poignant when I think of how quickly baby’s growing – these past 8 months have flown.

I imagine when we make it into the “bed” model, with the side taken down, I won’t be able to believe that it’s already time.

Before we get carried away, I’d like to state that at this very second, Maddox is snoozing next to me in his puppy dog pjs and is not really in any danger of going near a crib in any form.  And when he does sleep in his crib, some of the sentiment will be displaced by the knowledge we’ll have to lean over pretty darn far now to heft our 20 lbs of adorable baby butt out now.

But still.  How can something so wonderful just keep getting better and better?

8 1/2 Months – Some Baby Milestones

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Poor Maddox has been sick lately.  It’s scary and sad – he’s lost his voice from all the coughing, but we talked to a nurse today and hopefully will be able to give him some medicine to help him feel better. It’s the first time he’s really been sick other than a cold or sore muscles, and it makes me feel for all the parents who have had to face their children’s sicknesses before.

Even while sick, Maddox has still maintained his cheerful outlook and continues to delight us with his new skills.  Last night, before bed, he repeatedly lifted the sheet, hid underneath it, and snapped it down to play peek-a-boo.

Not only is Maddox engineering his own games, but he’s finally at the stage where he has wants as well as needs, and what he wants is to express his opinion about what he needs!  After peek-a-boo, we finished reading “Baby Animals” and he waved it in the air until I understood that he wanted to read it again.

Maddox has always clicked the light switches off while I’ve changed him.  It keeps him busy during this indignity, and is a good way to learn cause and effect.  Yesterday, he surprised me by turning the lights back on, which is a first!

Another wonderful milestone is Maddox’s speaking.  He now consistently says “dada” and “baba,” and I think it’s pretty clear that “dada” is the first word.  Lucky Dad!

We’re at 3 1/2 teeth now, with the 1/2 coming in quickly.  It went bottom right, bottom left, top right, and now top left.  And, the one next to his bottom right is making an appearance.

Maddox continues to laugh when others around him are laughing, and nothing delights him more than giggling madly with someone.

Finally, our days of sitting together and cuddling are numbered – Maddox has a Lion walker, and he’s been pulling himself up into a standing position.  He’s already mastered scooting around backwards, and I think he’s decided that this is an inefficient way to move compared to the way Mom and Dad get around.  If we think we are tired now, ask us how we feel in another 8 months, after chasing Maddox around the world for awhile.

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Having a baby is fascinating.  We are so lucky to have Maddox in our lives.

Four Months

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

4 month appointmentWednesday the 16th was Mad’s fourth birthday. To celebrate, we went to the doctor’s to get stuck with some needles! To be honest though, he cries more when we put him down to sleep than he does with an injection.

He weighed in at 16.7 lbs and is 26 inches tall, which puts him in the 86% and 81% percentile, respectively. So I guess that explains why he is nearly as tall as the one year olds at his daycare!

This was dad’s turn to take him for his appointment, and we had a good time. Mads had fun tearing up the paper on the doctor’s table.

This weekend, Leanne and I started our initial packing for our (hopeful) move to an actual house next month. Of course Mads likes being the center of attention, so we put his door jumped in the only central place we could find: the closet. Kind of odd to store your baby in a closet, but hey, whatever works!

Coat / Baby closet

This weekend, Maddox “ate” his first “solids”. The excessive use of quotations is due to the fact that he probably only actually ate about 10% of the food (the rest ended up on his clothes), and I’d question whether they were solids since the rice cereal was so watered down.

Overall it was more entertaining than it was nutritious, but it sure was fun seeing him attempt to actually eat some food.

Lastly, I have to say that I’m just endlessly amazed at how happy this baby is. I didn’t think it was actually possible for him to smile any more than he does, but this past week or two he’s proved me wrong.

Our Baby is Loved

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Today, I realized just how much our baby is loved.

Maddox went down for a nap around 10 this morning. It was good, because it gave me a chance to clean up the loft and vacuum up all the kitty litter that the cats have been strewing about in silent protest because they don’t get as much attention anymore. Jon was working on his computer, using technology to A) learn new things B) make us money or C) save the world. (He does this all the time.)

Around 11, Maddox woke up. Jon and I both got up. Then, we raced each other down the hall to Mads’ room because we missed the baby.

When it’s only been an hour, and you miss someone like crazy, you know it’s got to be love. Or obsession. Either way, Maddox is pretty much the center of our world.

Here he is playing with his new dangling teething toys – he is getting so great at grabbing things, which is cute when it’s a toy, and vastly entertaining (to me) when it’s Jon’s nose.

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My First Tooth

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Maddox has started teething. You can actually SEE tiny little tooth points on his lower and upper gums. It’s pretty early – he was just three months old on this past Sunday.

He’s not thrilled about it, but Jon explained to him about the delights of calzones and the larger world of noms in general. (We call his food “noms,” as in NomNomNom!). Since Maddox is a big fan of noms, he’s coming around.

He also seems to be adjusting to the discomfort. Sometimes he’s pretty unhappy, and our wonderful daycare provider (who spotted the fact he was teething in the first place) suggested using Orajel. At home, we usually soothe him and rub his gums, and I let him chomp on my fingers.

I’m a little concerned about what happens when he can actually chomp holes through things. Namely, things like me. Doing bottles full time would be so much less convenient, especially at night. I’m back at work now, so it wouldn’t be awful to switch, but I’d miss the bonding time – my pump is a whole lot less adorable to hold, and although I appreciate it, I’m not looking to spend more time with it.

I’m torn between being proud of Mads, being concerned about his discomfort and the possible change to bottles, and being just plain excited that he’s growing fast and is healthy. Overall, I’m savoring the experience – you never get to go through the same phase with the same kid twice, and Maddox is a constant source of amazement.