Finally

I am going to try and not over-hype this, but for the first time in our son's seven months (as of the 1st) of life, he FINALLY slept through the night! Recently he has only woken up once a night, around 1AM, taken a feeding, then slept until either he woke up at his usual time or we actually had to go in and wake him. But last night he went down around 7:15PM and nary a peep was heard until 6AM-ish, when my wife went in to soothe him and he went back to sleep for at least another 45 minutes. Again, I don't want to jinx it, but it is a pretty exciting development.

Speaking of developments, the boy has gone through a few of note. He cut his two bottom front teeth at the same time. He is eating his first solids (mush), and seems to like veggies more than fruit, so far. To my dismay, for reasons I won't recount now, my wife gives him little pieces of graham cracker or other crackers and kid "puffs" for him to munch on. He is drinking water from a cup, though not yet holding the cup or his bottle. His hair is finally coming in, for the most part, and so far it is blonde. His eyes are still somewhat blue, but sometimes look green, and we can't tell if they will stay that way or not. He can sit up really well now, and stays up, for the most part, without a lot of supervision. And while our son can get up on his hands and knees he still is not crawling. We're not too dismayed about that; maybe he'll be one of those kids who goes right to walking and skips crawl altogether. I'm not sure which is worse...

We seem to like his daycare, though we still scratch our heads about what actually goes on there. The new daycare he's in is a big step up from the original one, but I guess they all have their quirks. At least the energy level is much higher at the new one. And the staff/owners are pretty receptive to our needs, which isn't bad.

So we're having a grand time with the boy these days. We have a schedule and routine down for him. He looks at the correct person when we say "where's mommy" or "where's daddy" (the first time he looked at me after getting that question was a huge highlight for me). He loves to play with us and really enjoys laughing at the silly stuff we do to/with him. I guess this is what people mean by the "reward" of having a child. It's nice to finally reap! At least until the next monkey wrench gets thrown our way...

To NJ and Back

On June 29th we left for a week-long adventure in New Jersey to visit with my family and introduce them properly to our son for the first time. We were mainly excited to have our son meet my dad, who is going to be 87 in September, since J is the first grandchild in our family since 1971 (my sister's son, who is only 14 months younger than me...). The trip went really well, with only a few downs compared to the many ups we shared.

The plane ride out went well. We opted for daytime flights instead of our typical red-eye flights to help give us extra time out there. We didn't want to risk keeping the plane cabin awake with a potentially screaming child while people are trying to sleep, so the non-stop day flight was a good move for everyone. There was really only one meltdown, but a good rocking and bottle quelled it before the Air Marshals had to step in! The flight back home was even easier, minus a plane problem that made the airline switch terminals and the size of the plane. We almost got bumped (again) but my wife deftly played the "baby card" which may have helped us get a seat on the new plane. We thought we were safe until they realized a baby would be in an exit row (not allowed) and that he was check in as an infant without a seat though we paid the money to get his own seat so we wouldn't have to hold him for 5.5 hours. It all worked out in the end and J slept through a lot of the flight.

His demeanor while in NJ was up and down, with a melt down here and there to keep up in check. One happened in the car on the second night, and some later-night road work caused a traffic jam that only made his screaming bout longer and more frustrating. The kid just doesn't know how to cry, only yell! He was really overtired, apparently, so much so that he slept for EIGHT HOURS STRAIGHT that night, from 10PM to 6AM, the longest such stretch to date. We actually thought he might have died, honestly and morbidly as it sounds, because he was in the same position the whole night. My wife touched him to see if he was okay and he felt really cold so she got paranoid. I went to check him and felt his head, which was warm, thankfully, then moved his hand and he stretched his fingers out. We let out a sigh of relief...

My father and my siblings really enjoyed spending time with our son, and that was the whole point of the trip. Everyone got to hold him and J seemed to take well to all of them. He like grabbing my dad's ear and nose, and also gave him many slobbery kisses that my dad promptly wiped off with nearby tissues. It was really great to see our family all together for such an occasion.

Straight Leg

We've moved into our new place, just emptying boxes now. It will take a couple weeks to be able to re-learn everything, like where the plates or glasses are now. But we have more room, and hopefully we won't feel the urgent need to FILL those spaces too quickly.

Our son seems to have gone through the transition pretty smoothly. He's finally over his cold and latest ear infection, and it has brought out more of his personality (just as I had hoped). He loves laughing at funny noises and has started to mimic our silly mouth sounds, like the "raspberry." It makes him spit and drool everywhere, but it's a riot to see/hear.

Also, lately he has even started sleeping better, maybe from finally being over all that sickness. Instead of waking up four or more times after putting him down around 7PM, last night he only woke three times. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's far better than him waking every hour after midnight like he has done in the past. He's beginning to eat more, which also could be attributed to him sleeping better. Where we used to give him four ounces at a time, we now start with at least five ounces in the bottle. He might not finish the entire bottle every time but at the end of the day he's still taking in more altogether.

Saturday night, however, our son started really screaming in pain when he was put down on his back, and he stopped kicking or grabbing his left leg/foot. We were at a loss trying to figure out what could be the cause. We had a babysitter over that day, a young girl that was recommended to us, and he was fussy most of the day with her, too, but not screaming in agony at any time. He did fall asleep that night but woke up often and uncomfortable. We were sure his leg could be fractured or his something happened to his hip. He could move the leg and his foot, so I didn't think that was the issue. But I felt his quad muscle, however, and it was really tight/hard compared to the other leg's muscle.

The next day he still wouldn't bend the leg even though he wasn't crying when laid down. My wife decided to take him to Urgent Care at a local hospital and find out what was the matter. The helpful pediatrician there felt the problem could be a fractured femur or a sterile abscess. Earlier in the week he had gotten four shots of vaccinations (two in each leg) at his four-month doctor visit, one of which may have caused the abscess. At that time my wife decided against X-rays because of the risk of radiation to our son's testes, so no more definitive answers could be given.

On Monday my wife took the boy to our regular pediatrician and he recommended the X-ray to be sure what was going on. My wife did allow it, as the doctor said X-rays aren't as harsh as they used to be and his "daddy sac" would be covered (see photo). The doctor analyzed the pictures and deduced it was not a fracture, thankfully, nor any other bone separation. It was figured that one of the shots given had nicked a blood vessel causing some internal bleeding that feels like a deep tissue bruise. He should hopefully be over it in a few days...

A couple days later and he still won't bend his left leg at the knee, keeping it stiff when we try to bend it for him. He doesn't seem to mind weight on the leg, like when we hold him standing up, but he still won't kick the it like he usually enjoys. Some ice and perhaps massage should help out. In any case, he isn't too upset about it anymore, and has been a pleasure lately, making us laugh and smile even more than we do to him. Hopefully soon we will get a few days with him being "normal" (no illness or injury), if that even exists.

More of the Same

The past several weeks have been a test in same-ness, at least when it comes to the well-being of our son (and us). Last week he was diagnosed with his THIRD ear infection, riding fast on the heels of a very snotty cold (which he lent to me for a week). He has received antibiotic shots and grape-flavored medicine to relieve the ear infections, but it just keeps recurring. He has had some sort of sickness for the past six weeks, though the past couple of days have shown some improvement. We go in today for his four-month check up with the pediatrician, and I'm hoping he has some decent news on the state of our kid's health.

Besides the stop/start sleeping, the unwillingness to eat and some crabbiness, our son has a pretty good demeanor and has shown he is putting up either a good front or he's giving it the good fight. Most times during the day he is quick to smile and the past few days has gotten his laugh back (he had sore throats that seemed to have made him clam up -- and not eat). He loves silly sounds and laughs easily to them. He's also gotten really good at reaching for things, including his feet which he can limberly put into his mouth (drives me nuts...). Drooling is non-stop now, as well as sucking on his fingers/hands, as well as the aforementioned feet.

What I'm trying to say is, "I wonder what his personality would really be like if he wasn't sick for so long." Would he sleep better? Would he be even more developed than he already appears to be? There have been times during the past one-plus months that were very frustrating because I knew the situation probably would be different had he not been ill. I am really looking forward to enjoy the "real" him when finally/hopefully gets over these ailments.

As much as I'd like to see it differently, we are blaming his entry into daycare for the sicknesses. Almost immediately after starting the daycare, even part-time, did he start feeling the effects of being around about a dozen kids. We've witnessed more than a few runny noses in the place, which obviously leads to being contagious. This could have happened anywhere, but we (as new parents) are a bit paranoid that the day care might not be as hygenic as it could/should be. We even have taken steps to get on a waiting list or two at other facilities, mainly because they appear cleaner (among other things).

To add to our "misery" we are also moving out of our apartment into a duplex, which will afford us more space and other perks (in-home washer/dryer, garage, lots more storage). Plus, at the end of the month we travel back East to visit my family. We have been thinking of doing some "Ferber-izing" with our son to get him to sleep longer, but the move and travel may put that goal off a few weeks.

Suffice it to say, it has been a long few weeks. The wife started work full-time last week, too, and likes to get home early to be with the boy. That is nice but because of that she often has to do some work after he goes to bed. Apparently this is life... I'm not complaining, seriously, but I am still waiting for all those "rewards" I heard that come with having a child. I admit I am easily won over by my son's smile, even when he breaks it out while in his crib when he should be sleeping. Again, I am very excited to meet my real son when he gets over his illnesses and finally reap those rewards!

A Couple of Firsts

This week marked a few milestones in our 14-week-old son. This past Saturday he spent the night with his aunt, uncle and cousins as his parents took a short road trip north to get away for some "alone time." Admittedly we spent most of our time talking about the boy and/or getting updates about his status. Not sure which of the three of us fared the best: we missed him, couldn't get any spa treatments and drank too much wine, while he had a big poop and slept pretty well for being away from us for so long. At the end of it he seemed pretty upset and wanted mommy, and she/we really wanted to see him. We spent our first Mother's Day together and vowed not to do that to him again (until the next time, of course).

He got back into our care with another first: his first cold. He could have gotten it anywhere, be it the day care, from either of his parents or at his family's. In any case he got it and is still getting over it. My wife is doing a lot of siphoning to get out the nastiness from his nose, much to the boy's chagrin. He has a cough and sneezes often, but apparently does not have strep throat or anything worse than his first common cold. Surprisingly the day care will take him with a cold (but not high fever), though we did keep him out yesterday.

Keeping him home on a day care day led to another first: Daddy's first real alone time with the boy. For an hour and a half the other weekend I watched him and for an hour of it (or so it seemed) he screamed and cried as loud as he could. He was probably overtired, but I could not soothe him until I started carrying him around in the football hold. He actually fell asleep on my arm, finally, and I was able to put him down until mommy came home to save the day. With this experience in mind I dreaded being alone with him, and this time it would be for at least 4-5 hours.

Not to toot my own horn but I think I did everything right, and the boy responded really well! I fed him ahead of him getting really upset and hungry and put him down for naps when I saw the sleepy cues. He played in his new (used) Exersaucer, had some good tummy time, and we even went out for a walk together. He only cried a little but I managed to figure out he was still hungry and not yet ready to sleep. Even his bit of fussiness before his first nap was easily quelled by some rocking and singing in his ear. It was like night and day, my tow alone experiences. I had nothing but good things to report when mommy got home. Sadly all this didn't help him sleep last night -- he was up at least four times after we put him to bed. It could be the sickness, but the night prior wasn't as bad.

Other recent milestones include the boy being able to reach out for things and grab them, like his toys and his mommy's dinner plate. His cooing vocabulary is getting more extensive and his "talking" bouts more lengthy. He can grab his feet with both hands, and I think this morning he was grabbing his right foot with his left hand. And he's also getting stronger lifting his head during tummy time. I know, not surprising to veteran parents, but this is all new/exciting to me!

First Trip Down (Up)

This past weekend we took our first airplane trip with the boy. It was to introduce him to our friends in Portland and celebrate their son's (our god son) 2nd birthday. At just under three months old, I was pretty nervous at how our son would react to all the stimuli of flying. As it turns out, I was the only one with frayed nerves.

Packing for a weekend trip was usually a chore in figuring out what to wear, how many shoes to bring and hoping the suitcase was under 50 pounds (it has not been a couple times). But adding another human into the fold posed logistical situations previously un-dealt with. We had to really pare down what we might normally bring and create room in bags for diapers, breast pump and pacifiers. That meant only bringing what was needed, not what might be needed, like exercise gear, or a separate pair of shoes for each outfit (we are both guilty of that). We used a big suitcase for our stuff, but left room for some of his stuff and the pump. We also brought a carry-on bag for more of the baby's needs, and the airline lets you bring on a diaper bag in addition to the carry-on when traveling with a child (very helpful). Magically, it all fit and we didn't forget anything!

We left on Saturday morning, which helped reduce traffic. This also allowed us to have the entire three-seat row to ourselves, so we could bring on the car seat instead of holding the boy the whole 1.5-hour trip (same coming back, too!). We brought the Snap & Go for a stroller and I wanted to bring the car seat base instead of using the seat alone in the rental car, and that was a wise decision (in my opinion). Going through security was interesting since we had to take the boy out of the seat, break down the stroller, then put it and the car seat through the X-ray, along with our shoes, of course (groan). Going out it was a smooth-ish process because the terminal was fairly quiet; coming back at PDX was a bit more worrisome for me since we had people breathing down our necks behind us, but everyone stayed human and didn't complain. The formula had to be set aside and checked, which the wife thought was pretty cool, as the TSA guy tested the vapors from the formula to make sure it was legit. Oddly/scarily enough, this check did not happen at the Portland airport...

I really like that we can board the plane earlier because we're traveling with a child. I don't necessarily enjoy sitting around on a plane longer, but it's nice to have a couple extra minutes to get situated (not to mention some actual overhead space). I guess there is a flip-flopping rule about the placement of the car seat in the row because we originally put it in between us so we both could hang out with the boy, in plain sight of a flight attendant. A different attendant came and told us he had to be by the window because my wife wouldn't be able to get out of the row in case of emergency. It made sense to us, but it would have been nice not to have to go through the (admittedly not difficult) strap-in process again.

We knew to either feed him or use a pacifier to help ear popping, but our son got hungry before take-off and ate most of his formula before we even got to the runway. The by-product of this was him falling asleep and that made it all the more easier. He didn't wake up during the ascent and wasn't bothered when he did wake during flight. He was in/out of sleep again for the long descent or did a lot of yawning on his own, again with not complaints. (I forgot to mention that we were a bit worried about all this because earlier in the week he was diagnosed (early) with his first ear infection.) On the way home he fed on the ascent and sucked on his pacifier on the way down, with success both ways. He was a little fussy on the way home due to the flight being near his bedtime, but overall it would have been difficult to know that he was the youngest person on the plane (and the only baby on the plane for the ride home).

In June/July we have a bigger test for him since we will be flying coast to coast. To insure comfort we had to buy a seat for him, but that should let us have our own row again, depending on the plane. I can only hope the staff of this airline will be as helpful and accommodating as the one we used to go North. After seeing their fee schedule and the red tape we had to cut through to use our "free" vouchers earned from being unceremoniously bumped (again) from a flight last year, I am not so confident. But if this short trip was any indication of our son's capacity for travel, he will be the least of my worries!

Same Old, Same Old

I've been shying away from writing posts recently because I feel they will be redundant in nature. Also, I don't want to seem like I'm complaining. But the issues we've been going through the past two months with our little guy are only getting incrementally better. He's growing, he's really cute and sweet, but he still isn't maturing in some ways where I thought he might be given that he is closing in on three months old.

The good stuff first. Last week he was weighed in at 13 pounds, 8 ounces, which I correctly guessed prior to the doctor visit. I did change that original guess to six ounces after a little thought, because I couldn't imagine him growing at the rate he had been the prior two months. His weight is pretty average for his age, which was 10 weeks on Easter Sunday. His height, however, which I can't remember right now, is still in the 90th percentile, meaning he has the height of a 3.5-month-old child. So our boy is long and lean -- lucky him. Don't worry, he still has the requisite rolls and folds all babies get as they fatten up.

Also, we're getting some great smiles and a lot of cooing from him. His vocabulary of sounds seems to be growing by the day, with some high-pitched squeals thrown in here and there. It's really fun getting him to match our tones and smile when we beam at him. It is the reward of having a child, or so it is said.

On to the not so good... Our son is either normal in this regard, or we don't know what we're doing, but we still cannot get him to sleep for long(er) stretches at night. We have a routine of bathing him and/or reading to him prior to putting him down in his crib, and this is usually around 8PM. Often he will sleep to past 11 o'clock and sometimes until midnight, but then he is crying and seems hungry. He will get a feeding then goes back to sleep fairly easily, only to wake most of the time within an hour. Last week he would sleep for a couple hours at a time after that midnight feeding, then wake for good around 6AM. This felt normal and manageable. Recently, however, he'd sleep for the 3-4 hours initial stretch, but now he would wake every hour after that. This seems like a major step backwards...

He gets naps during the daytime, but I don't think they are for more than an hour at a time. Yesterday he did get a 1.5 hour nap before I got home from work, but mostly his naps are more like catnaps here and there. Because I don't see him during the weekdays, I could be mischaracterizing this. I don't even want to mention the major screaming attacks he has when he fights going to sleep! Since we're often on the go on the weekends he catches some z's in the car seat during our various errands. So I feel he's either not sleeping enough during the day, which messes up his night sleep, or he is overstimulated from a lot of activity during his waking hours. My wife thinks his room is too cold, though we do keep him swaddled with a blanket partially covering him and wearing a hat. So who knows?

We are attending a sleep class/seminar this Saturday so hopefully some light can be shed on what might be happening. Is his behavior normal? Are we trying to do too much with him, thus overstimulating him? It's very frustrating, though I probably have set my expectations too high. You tell me, please!