If Ethan could talk, I swear he would say this at least once a day. He's growing and developing at an amazing rate. He's now over 14 lbs, almost to doubling his birth weight! And he seems to learn a new skill daily.
For example, let's take his grabbing skills. A few days after Christmas, he reached out and grabbed something for the first time, and it just happened to be my grandmother's finger upon his first time meeting her. A couple of weeks later, I'll never forget that moment of shock when I stood him up in front of me, only to have him reach out and grab my teething necklace and bring it to his mouth to chew on it. Now, less than a month after reaching for the first time, he's grabbing everything in sight, bringing it up to his mouth and passing objects between hands with ease.
He's more and more mobile. He's been steady standing for quite a while now, but he's also gaining some balance. We're working specifically on sitting up, but when he's on his tummy, he brings his knees beneath him and tries to crawl. At this point, he's only succeeding in turning himself in circles, but he's getting there!
As far as sleep, after 3 weeks of the 4-Month Wakeful, he's finally back to sleeping 10.5-11.5 hour stretches in the crib, which is quite a relief! He's still throwing fits at bedtime, but hopefully that, too, will get better with time.
There are two big milestones that I'm waiting on now. I'm excited for when he can sit by himself so that he can more easily entertain himself while I do schoolwork. I'm also excited to start experimenting with solids. I know that technically we could start trying now, but there have been so many studies linking obesity, diabetes, and allergies with the introduction of solids before 6 months that I'm not going to risk it. Plus, I'm dreading having to deal with solids-poop (which is no longer water soluble, so it has to be dumped in the toilet before washing).
There's more to write, but nap time is apparently over so it's time to eat again before heading off to Daddy's office for lunch with his coworkers so it'll have to wait.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Baptism and a Surprise
Ethan was baptized on Sunday, and it was quite a special day! He was dressed in a baptismal outfit from my parents (a very boy-ish and adorable fancy shirt and romper), and we all headed off to the church together, for once with plenty of time to spare. Ethan usually is great in church, but he also usually sleeps in the Moby most of the service, so I was a bit nervous about how he'd do when the Moby wasn't an option. He spent the first half of the service gnawing on a teething rattle and hiccuping so loudly that people were laughing about it. While he yawned a fair bit, he still wasn't fussy-tired, so thankfully he was still happy when we finally got to the baptism.
Ethan had a lot of fun holding on to Donald's stole, and when Donald gave him back to me, he had to detach him first!
Standing at the front with Helen and Donald
He was very interested in the font and water
He let out a couple of fusses when the water poured over him. In his defense, it was fairly cool water and there was a lot of it! The two weak cries led to a lot of laughter from the congregation.
Donald remarked that this was the first time his hair ever laid flat. That also brought laughter.
Ethan had a lot of fun holding on to Donald's stole, and when Donald gave him back to me, he had to detach him first!
With our parents' help, we got several good pictures, plus two videos of the baptism, and the church's sound tech also gave us a CD of the audio of the entire service. This was especially nice since the baptism was just the beginning of our involvement (though it remains the most important part to me).
After Ethan's baptism, we remained at the front and were joined by another individual as the three of us joined the church. It's been a long time coming (OK, only a few months, but it seems like longer), and it means I will be transferring my candidacy from the SC Conference to the NC Conference.
After this we sat back down, but we still had one more surprise in store for everyone. The prayers were said, the scripture was read, and to everyone's shock, I got up and approached the pulpit. Donald began by thanking me for my work this past summer, including a remark that I was "greatly pregnant," and then I had the privilege of preaching on the day my son was baptized and we joined the congregation. We'd kept it a secret from everyone except Donald and his wife so neither of our parents knew, nor did anyone else at the church, including the associate pastor. ((FYI, this was the project I kept alluding to in earlier posts. It's quite hard to write a sermon during nap times!)) Ethan made it through about a third of the sermon before he started to get antsy so my MIL took him out and almost got him to sleep before the final hymn began.
After the service, we of course were speaking to everyone, and Ethan started to cry in earnest so we went ahead and strapped him in the car seat, and he promptly fell asleep! All in all, it was an amazing service, and Ethan handled it beautifully!
After Ethan's baptism, we remained at the front and were joined by another individual as the three of us joined the church. It's been a long time coming (OK, only a few months, but it seems like longer), and it means I will be transferring my candidacy from the SC Conference to the NC Conference.
After this we sat back down, but we still had one more surprise in store for everyone. The prayers were said, the scripture was read, and to everyone's shock, I got up and approached the pulpit. Donald began by thanking me for my work this past summer, including a remark that I was "greatly pregnant," and then I had the privilege of preaching on the day my son was baptized and we joined the congregation. We'd kept it a secret from everyone except Donald and his wife so neither of our parents knew, nor did anyone else at the church, including the associate pastor. ((FYI, this was the project I kept alluding to in earlier posts. It's quite hard to write a sermon during nap times!)) Ethan made it through about a third of the sermon before he started to get antsy so my MIL took him out and almost got him to sleep before the final hymn began.
After the service, we of course were speaking to everyone, and Ethan started to cry in earnest so we went ahead and strapped him in the car seat, and he promptly fell asleep! All in all, it was an amazing service, and Ethan handled it beautifully!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Christmas in Pictures
I'm almost a month late on this post, but better late than never! I will be able to explain my lack of blogging better after tomorrow. Now on to the pictures!
Not quite sleepy, but still not quite awake on Christmas morning.
Not quite sleepy, but still not quite awake on Christmas morning.
These are all for me? What are they?
Hmmmm... well, this does look tasty.
What are you looking at, colorful box?
Now this is more like it!!!
Even though I'm still too little for it, and my feet don't touch the ground.
Cuddling with Mallie, the owner of O-CHA tea bar, when we stopped in Greenville, SC on the way down to Atlanta. Still a little too young for bubble tea!
With Mommy's family for Christmas dinner (on the 26th)
All dressed up for Christmas in "Montgomery" (held this year in Atlanta) and meeting my maternal great-grandmother for the first time.
Mommy's cousin's baby is 3.5 weeks younger. She thought I was cute and kept smiling at me. I was oblivious.
Posing with Uncle Madison, Mommy's brother
Posing with Uncle William, Mommy's brother
Posing with Uncle Nathan, Mommy's brother
Posing with Aunt Martha, Daddy's youngest sister
Four month appointment
Ethan is thriving! That feels so good to type! He has lost some weight this week due to his cold, so he's not quite as awesome as I'd hoped, but he's still doing fantastically! Here are the stats:
Length - 24" (still at the 25th percentile)
Weight - 12 lbs. 12 oz.* (moved up from 5th percentile to 10th-25th percentile)
Head Circumference - 42.5 cm. (moved up from 25th percentile to 50th-75th percentile)
* He's been weighing 13 lbs. 2-5 oz. post-feeding at home, so I'm chalking this difference up to different scales and possibly the cold making him lose some weight
He was all smiles when we got there, flirting with all of the staff and other patients and parents. When we were waiting for the doctor in the exam room, I was playing with him and he began laughing a lot, complete with squeals, belly laughs, giggles, the full gamut. A nurse even peeked her head in to see what in the world was making him so excited! He remained happy during the exam, flirting with the doctor and showing off his new skills. He got a little fussy while we were waiting for the nurse with his shots because by this point he was ready for a nap. And oh did he scream with the vaccines! Again, I don't get why parents cry over it, but you do feel bad for the little guy. I nursed him afterwards until he seemed like he was going to try to go to sleep nursing, and then he got upset at having the boob taken away, but he was back to smiles once we got back around other people to flirt with in the waiting room. He fussed briefly at home but went to sleep pretty quickly and has been napping for almost an hour so far. All in all, it was a great visit, and hopefully he won't be too bothered by the shots this time.
I still have one more project to finish before I can get to some belated blog posts, but as a reminder to myself, look for upcoming posts about Christmas (complete with pictures!), developmental milestones (he's got busy hands), and going back to school.
Length - 24" (still at the 25th percentile)
Weight - 12 lbs. 12 oz.* (moved up from 5th percentile to 10th-25th percentile)
Head Circumference - 42.5 cm. (moved up from 25th percentile to 50th-75th percentile)
* He's been weighing 13 lbs. 2-5 oz. post-feeding at home, so I'm chalking this difference up to different scales and possibly the cold making him lose some weight
He was all smiles when we got there, flirting with all of the staff and other patients and parents. When we were waiting for the doctor in the exam room, I was playing with him and he began laughing a lot, complete with squeals, belly laughs, giggles, the full gamut. A nurse even peeked her head in to see what in the world was making him so excited! He remained happy during the exam, flirting with the doctor and showing off his new skills. He got a little fussy while we were waiting for the nurse with his shots because by this point he was ready for a nap. And oh did he scream with the vaccines! Again, I don't get why parents cry over it, but you do feel bad for the little guy. I nursed him afterwards until he seemed like he was going to try to go to sleep nursing, and then he got upset at having the boob taken away, but he was back to smiles once we got back around other people to flirt with in the waiting room. He fussed briefly at home but went to sleep pretty quickly and has been napping for almost an hour so far. All in all, it was a great visit, and hopefully he won't be too bothered by the shots this time.
I still have one more project to finish before I can get to some belated blog posts, but as a reminder to myself, look for upcoming posts about Christmas (complete with pictures!), developmental milestones (he's got busy hands), and going back to school.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Four Months
Dear Ethan,
Well, this month is getting off to a bit of a rough start, but you're just as precious and lovable as ever. You came down with Daddy's cold at the beginning of the week, and it hasn't been fun for anyone. After teasing us with only waking up once on Tuesday night, you were back to waking almost every hour last night, and Mommy finally couldn't fight off the cold any longer, all in time for Mommy's first day back at school today.
In happier news, your babbles and raspberries are almost constant, and you smile at the slightest provocation (and sometimes without any). You're laughing more often, and twice now you've greeted me from your crib in the morning with a smile, something I never thought would happen. You're so strong, preferring standing to sitting and working on sitting on your own. You just need a bit more balance and you'll have it down!
You're fully transitioned to the crib now, though the four-month-wakeful and this cold have thrown a wrench in that at times, and I know it'll just be a matter of time before you're putting yourself to sleep and happily calling for us in the morning. You're growing so fast, both mentally and physically. You've already grown out of 3 month clothing, and I was so sad folding all those little outfits up and storing them yesterday. You've also grown out of all of your newborn cloth diaper stash, so this weekend I'll be prepping those for storage for your future little brother or sister. Don't worry; it won't be any time soon!
You're our little angel baby, and you've proved just how amazing your disposition is by continuing to smile and coo, despite a fever, stuffy nose, and congested chest. I hope you feel better soon (though with your four-month immunizations tomorrow, it might take a few more days), and I hope you know that, despite these days of no sleep and illness, your mommy and daddy wouldn't trade it for the world!
Love,
Mommy
Well, this month is getting off to a bit of a rough start, but you're just as precious and lovable as ever. You came down with Daddy's cold at the beginning of the week, and it hasn't been fun for anyone. After teasing us with only waking up once on Tuesday night, you were back to waking almost every hour last night, and Mommy finally couldn't fight off the cold any longer, all in time for Mommy's first day back at school today.
In happier news, your babbles and raspberries are almost constant, and you smile at the slightest provocation (and sometimes without any). You're laughing more often, and twice now you've greeted me from your crib in the morning with a smile, something I never thought would happen. You're so strong, preferring standing to sitting and working on sitting on your own. You just need a bit more balance and you'll have it down!
You're fully transitioned to the crib now, though the four-month-wakeful and this cold have thrown a wrench in that at times, and I know it'll just be a matter of time before you're putting yourself to sleep and happily calling for us in the morning. You're growing so fast, both mentally and physically. You've already grown out of 3 month clothing, and I was so sad folding all those little outfits up and storing them yesterday. You've also grown out of all of your newborn cloth diaper stash, so this weekend I'll be prepping those for storage for your future little brother or sister. Don't worry; it won't be any time soon!
You're our little angel baby, and you've proved just how amazing your disposition is by continuing to smile and coo, despite a fever, stuffy nose, and congested chest. I hope you feel better soon (though with your four-month immunizations tomorrow, it might take a few more days), and I hope you know that, despite these days of no sleep and illness, your mommy and daddy wouldn't trade it for the world!
Love,
Mommy
Friday, January 7, 2011
The 4-Month Wakeful
aka the 4-Month Sleep Regression aka the bane of my existence since we got back from Atlanta
Ethan had been doing amazingly in the crib! After a few transition days of waking up twice during the night (once around midnight and once around 4 AM) right when we got to Atlanta, he soon was up to 7-hour stretches and then 10.5-, 9-, and 10-hour stretches the last 3 nights in town, which is the best he ever did in the swing. When he was back to waking up more frequently the first night at home, I assumed it was just the same transition. Then the next night he was up once an hour. Then the same thing the night after that. By the fourth night of repeated wakings, I knew something was up. In addition, while it's never been easy to get him down in the crib, it had gotten much easier, both at the beginning of the night and when he woke up, and all of a sudden it became impossible! As soon as you put him down, no matter how long he'd been asleep, he was up and screaming. That's the other thing: it wasn't that he is waking up happy and wanting to play; he's screaming his head off. But, if you get there quickly enough, he'll go back to sleep immediately after you pick him up, so that's good at least.
ANYWAY (my apologies for the rambling, but, as alluded to above, I've gotten very little sleep this week), something was definitely going on with him to make my STTN baby suddenly sleep worse than when he was a newborn. Could it be teething? Perhaps, but he's been teething for a while now. Maybe a growth spurt? Yes, he's definitely more hungry this week and gaining weight expediently, but when he wakes up during the night, he doesn't want to nurse, and most growth spurts don't last this long. Surely it couldn't be the four-month wakeful already! He's only 16 weeks. Oh wait, that's when it typically starts? And changing sleep cycles (the cause behind his waking up as soon as he's put in the crib) are a part of it? Damn.
So hopefully, Ethan will be a typical baby in that this will last about 2 weeks. And hopefully, there will be more nights like last night where he only woke up 3 times during the night, was fairly easy to get back in the crib, and remained in the crib the whole night. In the meantime, everything I've read says there's nothing you can do and no changes you can make to help it. It's just a developmental stage where he's learning so much and growing so much emotionally, mentally, and physically that he wakes up more frequently during the night.
It's also affected things slightly during the day, though. In addition to my not getting as much done as I'd planned due to exhaustion, there have also been slight changes in his eating and napping. For starters, I've spaced out his feedings more since I was having to feed him when he wasn't hungry in order to fit them all in to the day. Now, if he's hungry, of course I go ahead and feed him, and all bets are off at night, but as far as the supplementing goes, I've upped the quantity and eliminated one bottle, and so far it seems to suit him better. As a result, he's down to just 2-3 naps, which seems OK since he'd been fighting at least one nap a day for a while. In addition, I've been letting him nap in the Moby again instead of putting him in the crib or swing. I know some people (non-APers at least) recommend against this at this age, but my reasoning is threefold: 1) He's not getting as much sleep at night so I want to make sure he gets adequate sleep during the day so he's not overtired, and he sleeps better in the Moby. 2) My productivity is already down due to sleep deprivation, and this way I can get more done than when I'm just sitting rocking him in the nursery in an attempt to get him down in the crib. 3) Perhaps most importantly, with the way the nights are going, I need to see that I can have a happily sleeping baby, and, since I have to hear him scream so much at night now, for my own sanity, I just can't listen to him crying during the day. Yes, this last one is wholly selfish, but do you really blame me? Napping in the Moby makes him happier; therefore it makes me happier, and since it's just a temporary thing until the wakeful period is over, I don't see it as a problem.
A post full of pictures from Christmas is forthcoming, but I have a couple more pressing matters to attend to before then (all will be revealed in time). I start classes back a week from yesterday, so this wakeful stuff certainly could have chosen a more convenient time... but maybe he'll continue his streak of being an amazing baby and fly through this sleep regression in just a week! I can dream (figuratively speaking at least), can't I?
Ethan had been doing amazingly in the crib! After a few transition days of waking up twice during the night (once around midnight and once around 4 AM) right when we got to Atlanta, he soon was up to 7-hour stretches and then 10.5-, 9-, and 10-hour stretches the last 3 nights in town, which is the best he ever did in the swing. When he was back to waking up more frequently the first night at home, I assumed it was just the same transition. Then the next night he was up once an hour. Then the same thing the night after that. By the fourth night of repeated wakings, I knew something was up. In addition, while it's never been easy to get him down in the crib, it had gotten much easier, both at the beginning of the night and when he woke up, and all of a sudden it became impossible! As soon as you put him down, no matter how long he'd been asleep, he was up and screaming. That's the other thing: it wasn't that he is waking up happy and wanting to play; he's screaming his head off. But, if you get there quickly enough, he'll go back to sleep immediately after you pick him up, so that's good at least.
ANYWAY (my apologies for the rambling, but, as alluded to above, I've gotten very little sleep this week), something was definitely going on with him to make my STTN baby suddenly sleep worse than when he was a newborn. Could it be teething? Perhaps, but he's been teething for a while now. Maybe a growth spurt? Yes, he's definitely more hungry this week and gaining weight expediently, but when he wakes up during the night, he doesn't want to nurse, and most growth spurts don't last this long. Surely it couldn't be the four-month wakeful already! He's only 16 weeks. Oh wait, that's when it typically starts? And changing sleep cycles (the cause behind his waking up as soon as he's put in the crib) are a part of it? Damn.
So hopefully, Ethan will be a typical baby in that this will last about 2 weeks. And hopefully, there will be more nights like last night where he only woke up 3 times during the night, was fairly easy to get back in the crib, and remained in the crib the whole night. In the meantime, everything I've read says there's nothing you can do and no changes you can make to help it. It's just a developmental stage where he's learning so much and growing so much emotionally, mentally, and physically that he wakes up more frequently during the night.
It's also affected things slightly during the day, though. In addition to my not getting as much done as I'd planned due to exhaustion, there have also been slight changes in his eating and napping. For starters, I've spaced out his feedings more since I was having to feed him when he wasn't hungry in order to fit them all in to the day. Now, if he's hungry, of course I go ahead and feed him, and all bets are off at night, but as far as the supplementing goes, I've upped the quantity and eliminated one bottle, and so far it seems to suit him better. As a result, he's down to just 2-3 naps, which seems OK since he'd been fighting at least one nap a day for a while. In addition, I've been letting him nap in the Moby again instead of putting him in the crib or swing. I know some people (non-APers at least) recommend against this at this age, but my reasoning is threefold: 1) He's not getting as much sleep at night so I want to make sure he gets adequate sleep during the day so he's not overtired, and he sleeps better in the Moby. 2) My productivity is already down due to sleep deprivation, and this way I can get more done than when I'm just sitting rocking him in the nursery in an attempt to get him down in the crib. 3) Perhaps most importantly, with the way the nights are going, I need to see that I can have a happily sleeping baby, and, since I have to hear him scream so much at night now, for my own sanity, I just can't listen to him crying during the day. Yes, this last one is wholly selfish, but do you really blame me? Napping in the Moby makes him happier; therefore it makes me happier, and since it's just a temporary thing until the wakeful period is over, I don't see it as a problem.
A post full of pictures from Christmas is forthcoming, but I have a couple more pressing matters to attend to before then (all will be revealed in time). I start classes back a week from yesterday, so this wakeful stuff certainly could have chosen a more convenient time... but maybe he'll continue his streak of being an amazing baby and fly through this sleep regression in just a week! I can dream (figuratively speaking at least), can't I?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Laughing Baby
I have a couple of posts to write. One full of pictures from the holidays. One full of venting about the way Ethan's been sleeping since we got back home. However, due to the latter, I don't have the energy to do more than post the following. He may hate me some day for posting a video of him in just a diaper on the interwebz, but it's just payback for my not getting any sleep for the past few days after he teased us with 10+ hour stretches in the crib while in Atlanta. At least he's a happy baby!
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