Cooper rode in a grocery cart seat for the first time ever on Tuesday. His cute little legs stuck through the holes and he clung to the bar for dear life. He totally loved it- his eyes were all big with excitement, and he sat upright, happy and perky for the whole shopping trip. He is still side-to-side tippy, so I kept one hand on his shoulder pretty much at all time for fear he'd flop over and whack his noggin on the side of the cart. But he was really quite stable and very, very happy. This is great, as he is getting sooooo heavy in that darn car seat, so having him ride in the cart without the seat should be a huge improvement.
Also, about a week ago, I was chilling with Cooper and I happened to look behind his earlobes. I have NO idea why, perhaps I was checking him for ticks or something. Anyway, I found what appeared to be what happens to a baby's skin if it goes unwashed for 4 1/2 months. Yicky and somewhat irritated. So I foolishly asked Matt, "Honey, have you ever washed behind Cooper's ears?" "Of course!" "How about behind his ear lobes?" "Well, no, I guess not."
And clearly, neither had I.
Eeeeewwwwwwww...
Now we are in an intensive rear-earlobe skin rehabilitation program. We gently wash the area, rinse well, and try not to irritate it. Because it is NOT GOOD to not wash a moist crevice of baby skin for 4 1/2 months. Not dangerously not good, not like he got an infection or something, but really quite yucky and irritated. And it takes a while to get that skin healthy again.
Ah, first time parenting. So many things to remember.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sitting and chatting
Cooper's sitting ability took a sudden and decisive turn yesterday- he can now do it by himself. Up until Monday, he needed side-to-side support and frequently flopped forward uncomfortably onto his own lap. But amazingly, on Monday, he totally was capable of sitting on his own. We can now sit him on a level surface, firm but slightly soft (something like a carpeted floor) and he just sits there, upright, playing with his toes or looking around. It is shocking how this really seemed to happen overnight.
Of course sometimes he still keels over, and on Monday he banged his head twice. With more skills, more hazards!
He also has gotten chattier lately. He's always been a chatty baby, making noise nearly constantly when he's in the chatty mode, but now it is a nearly unstoppable flow of chatter. It isn't really "babble" which would be more like real syllables of words, I think, but instead this is just Cooper quasi-singing to himself. It seems he is almost always directing this towards something, like me or a friend, his mobile, the dog, or even just a paint splotch on my teeshirt. He also likes to softly murmur to the ferns on the print of his crib guard as he falls asleep, which I think is really cute.
Oh, and lastly, it is day 9 of Pox Watch 2008. Two Sundays ago Cooper hung out with a baby-friend of his, and two days later this baby came down with chickenpox. As many people know, chickenpox is most contagious in the few days before the rash shows up. Thus, we are 90% likely to get a poxy baby in the 14 days following exposure. So far, no spots and no fever, so we are pretty optimistic that we'll be that 1 of 10 babies that don't get it after an exposure.
Only 5 more days before we are considered pox-free! Wish us luck.
Of course sometimes he still keels over, and on Monday he banged his head twice. With more skills, more hazards!
He also has gotten chattier lately. He's always been a chatty baby, making noise nearly constantly when he's in the chatty mode, but now it is a nearly unstoppable flow of chatter. It isn't really "babble" which would be more like real syllables of words, I think, but instead this is just Cooper quasi-singing to himself. It seems he is almost always directing this towards something, like me or a friend, his mobile, the dog, or even just a paint splotch on my teeshirt. He also likes to softly murmur to the ferns on the print of his crib guard as he falls asleep, which I think is really cute.
Oh, and lastly, it is day 9 of Pox Watch 2008. Two Sundays ago Cooper hung out with a baby-friend of his, and two days later this baby came down with chickenpox. As many people know, chickenpox is most contagious in the few days before the rash shows up. Thus, we are 90% likely to get a poxy baby in the 14 days following exposure. So far, no spots and no fever, so we are pretty optimistic that we'll be that 1 of 10 babies that don't get it after an exposure.
Only 5 more days before we are considered pox-free! Wish us luck.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Friends havin' babies!
Our friend who is also our neighbor had her baby (their second child)! A cute little boy, 7 lbs 12 oz. I think the final decision on the name was Harlan, but it was still slightly up in the air when I last visited. The baby looks great, she is doing very well (she tried for a VBAC but ended with a "CAC"...) and her 2 year old daughter is adjusting really well. The dad, of course, is thrilled.
Another couple that we are acquaintances with either had their second child in the last two days, or is still waiting to get the show on the road. Baby #2 is being more cooperative then baby #1 was, as baby #1 was footling breech and had to be a scheduled C section. Baby #2 is in the right position for a successful vaginal delivery, so that is good. When Matt and I saw them at the Farmer's Market, she looked really healthy and only slightly pissed off. I was amazed that it was her due date and she didn't have a big scowl on her face (not that she is a negative person, just that being overdue with a second baby is annoying and uncomfortable as I imagine it).
Last but not least, another friend has almost made it to the 12 week mark with her pregnancy. She and her husband are so excited that it is comical. You gotta love the enthusiasm. And, perhaps most excitedly for me, she wanted ALL my maternity clothing to borrow. Awesome! One less box in our tiny house! And she's exactly my size, so it will all go to good use.
Another couple that we are acquaintances with either had their second child in the last two days, or is still waiting to get the show on the road. Baby #2 is being more cooperative then baby #1 was, as baby #1 was footling breech and had to be a scheduled C section. Baby #2 is in the right position for a successful vaginal delivery, so that is good. When Matt and I saw them at the Farmer's Market, she looked really healthy and only slightly pissed off. I was amazed that it was her due date and she didn't have a big scowl on her face (not that she is a negative person, just that being overdue with a second baby is annoying and uncomfortable as I imagine it).
Last but not least, another friend has almost made it to the 12 week mark with her pregnancy. She and her husband are so excited that it is comical. You gotta love the enthusiasm. And, perhaps most excitedly for me, she wanted ALL my maternity clothing to borrow. Awesome! One less box in our tiny house! And she's exactly my size, so it will all go to good use.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Fur baby, number 2
Some people call their dog or cat a "fur baby."
Obviously they have never met my son.
He was born with newborn fuzz all over (very standard) and then lost all that. But now he has re-grown a full array of body hair. Legs, arms, back, forehead, you name it. He has hair on the tops of his feet and hands, and the first two knuckles of each finger and toe (ok, not the thumbs, but you knew that) just like his mom. He has hair on his ears, just like his dad.
The only thing he is missing is facial hair like dad. We'll expect that to show up in the form of a pencil thin, embarrassingly patchy mustache at the age of 17.
Perhaps most adorably, he has retained a very small percentage of his fetal head hair. These are in the form of extremely long, wispy pale brown hairs that sprout from his scalp just behind his ears. We saw this hair in the 20 week ultrasound (shocking! he had hair all the way back then AND we could see it!) and it was the longest hair he had when he was born. While it is falling out now, he still has a couple left on each side. These hairs are 2.75 inches long (yes, I'm nuts and I measured them while he was sleeping for my own edification) as opposed to all the other hair on his head, which is more like 1/2 inch long on average.
Obviously they have never met my son.
He was born with newborn fuzz all over (very standard) and then lost all that. But now he has re-grown a full array of body hair. Legs, arms, back, forehead, you name it. He has hair on the tops of his feet and hands, and the first two knuckles of each finger and toe (ok, not the thumbs, but you knew that) just like his mom. He has hair on his ears, just like his dad.
The only thing he is missing is facial hair like dad. We'll expect that to show up in the form of a pencil thin, embarrassingly patchy mustache at the age of 17.
Perhaps most adorably, he has retained a very small percentage of his fetal head hair. These are in the form of extremely long, wispy pale brown hairs that sprout from his scalp just behind his ears. We saw this hair in the 20 week ultrasound (shocking! he had hair all the way back then AND we could see it!) and it was the longest hair he had when he was born. While it is falling out now, he still has a couple left on each side. These hairs are 2.75 inches long (yes, I'm nuts and I measured them while he was sleeping for my own edification) as opposed to all the other hair on his head, which is more like 1/2 inch long on average.
Berry pickin' good
I organized a girls and babies berry picking trip on Sunday- three girls, two babies. My non-mommy friend took a ton of photos of the two mommies and babies.
See cute photos here; http://atasteoftheearth.blogspot.com/2008/07/berries-and-babies.html
Dare I say it, the Cooper close-ups are the best shots. Nice work!
Have a good Monday, everyone!
See cute photos here; http://atasteoftheearth.blogspot.com/2008/07/berries-and-babies.html
Dare I say it, the Cooper close-ups are the best shots. Nice work!
Have a good Monday, everyone!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Cooper loves to be tickled
The first ever Cooper video featured him being silently tickled. At the time, he was too little to laugh out loud, so that was no loss.
Now, he has a great laugh, giggle, squeal and coo. So I made another video (with sound!) of me being the tickle monster. It is short, but fun, and shows off his impressive foot-grabbing skills at the beginning.
Now, he has a great laugh, giggle, squeal and coo. So I made another video (with sound!) of me being the tickle monster. It is short, but fun, and shows off his impressive foot-grabbing skills at the beginning.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
And what about me?
I'm doing very well, thanks.
My hair is still falling out in gobs. It is gross. I can't believe how long this has been going on. I really thought the post-partum hair loss phenomenon wouldn't last for months. Luckily, my thick hair doesn't show it cosmetically, but the ickiness of having my hair truly all over everything is really unpleasant. The shower drain is only part of the problem- I also find it in clumps in our carpets, on my clothing, on Matt, you name it. Yuck.
My belly button has some seriously weird residual distortion. It is not flattering. The rest of my belly is passable- the stretch marks are fading fast enough that they are not bugging me, the skin is getting less saggy, and in general my whole body is coming back to a more normal place. I'm pretty sure some things, especially in the belly area, will never be "the same" but I didn't sign up for this expecting that, if you know what I mean.
Oh, and my bust is still stupidly, aggravatingly, huge. I could really do without the giant hooters. The one and only thing I look forward to about weaning is a return to boob normalcy. I have been warned they will be saggy, but I DON'T CARE. I just want to wear a sports bra and have it actually work.
My hair is still falling out in gobs. It is gross. I can't believe how long this has been going on. I really thought the post-partum hair loss phenomenon wouldn't last for months. Luckily, my thick hair doesn't show it cosmetically, but the ickiness of having my hair truly all over everything is really unpleasant. The shower drain is only part of the problem- I also find it in clumps in our carpets, on my clothing, on Matt, you name it. Yuck.
My belly button has some seriously weird residual distortion. It is not flattering. The rest of my belly is passable- the stretch marks are fading fast enough that they are not bugging me, the skin is getting less saggy, and in general my whole body is coming back to a more normal place. I'm pretty sure some things, especially in the belly area, will never be "the same" but I didn't sign up for this expecting that, if you know what I mean.
Oh, and my bust is still stupidly, aggravatingly, huge. I could really do without the giant hooters. The one and only thing I look forward to about weaning is a return to boob normalcy. I have been warned they will be saggy, but I DON'T CARE. I just want to wear a sports bra and have it actually work.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
4 month appointment
We had our 4 month checkup yesterday. I loooove checkups because they are a total brag-fest for us. And because Cooper is really quick at getting over the shock and insult of vaccines, so I don't dread that part at all. He's typically in sniffle and snuggle mode within about two minutes of the incident.
The nurse and doctor both said that Cooper is about as developed both physically and socially as the average 6 month old. That is pretty amazing, considering he is 4 months old. His standing, sitting, quasi-crawling, head control, grabbing, eye contact, giggling, verbal skills, and toy use are all well above average. The doctor even gave us the go-ahead to use a framepack carrier for him (usually no-go until 6 months 'cause it can give them whiplash) because his neck and back muscles are so strong. Matt is very excited about that.
He has ceased being shockingly huge and is now more like "big." He is in the 75% for everything- height, weight, and head size. That is a good place to be for a kid, and it is reassuring to see him kind of evening out, growth wise. While I'm all for a tall, healthy boy, my visions of Cooper following suit with his incredibly tall uncle (6'5"?) and second cousins (6'3" and 6'4", I think) are intimidating. I would rather avoid having to special order all the shoes for a teenager, frankly.
Because he broke out in a minor rash after the first set of shots, the doctor was very nice and obliged my request to only do one shot at a time from now on. I want to know what shot is causing the reactions, and if the reactions get worse, that way we can just eliminate one shot instead of fearing or avoiding a whole group of them.
I am sad that my pediatrician of choice is leaving her practice in a month. She was very sweet and I really liked her. I hope that I can develop as good of a relationship with her replacement- but of course her replacement didn't get to meet Cooper as a three day old bundle of cuteness. Oh well. We'll see at the 6 month checkup. My other hope is that the nurse stays the same. I like her a lot, and she is a very, very efficient baby-shot professional! It is about 5 seconds from shot to band-aid to back up in my arms. You could almost miss the whole thing if you blinked.
Stats;
Height- 25"
Weight- 15 lbs, 6 oz
Head- 75% for his age, I forget the actual number
Eyes- bright blue
Hair- tending towards sandy brown
Personality- bubbly, chatty, and adorable!
The nurse and doctor both said that Cooper is about as developed both physically and socially as the average 6 month old. That is pretty amazing, considering he is 4 months old. His standing, sitting, quasi-crawling, head control, grabbing, eye contact, giggling, verbal skills, and toy use are all well above average. The doctor even gave us the go-ahead to use a framepack carrier for him (usually no-go until 6 months 'cause it can give them whiplash) because his neck and back muscles are so strong. Matt is very excited about that.
He has ceased being shockingly huge and is now more like "big." He is in the 75% for everything- height, weight, and head size. That is a good place to be for a kid, and it is reassuring to see him kind of evening out, growth wise. While I'm all for a tall, healthy boy, my visions of Cooper following suit with his incredibly tall uncle (6'5"?) and second cousins (6'3" and 6'4", I think) are intimidating. I would rather avoid having to special order all the shoes for a teenager, frankly.
Because he broke out in a minor rash after the first set of shots, the doctor was very nice and obliged my request to only do one shot at a time from now on. I want to know what shot is causing the reactions, and if the reactions get worse, that way we can just eliminate one shot instead of fearing or avoiding a whole group of them.
I am sad that my pediatrician of choice is leaving her practice in a month. She was very sweet and I really liked her. I hope that I can develop as good of a relationship with her replacement- but of course her replacement didn't get to meet Cooper as a three day old bundle of cuteness. Oh well. We'll see at the 6 month checkup. My other hope is that the nurse stays the same. I like her a lot, and she is a very, very efficient baby-shot professional! It is about 5 seconds from shot to band-aid to back up in my arms. You could almost miss the whole thing if you blinked.
Stats;
Height- 25"
Weight- 15 lbs, 6 oz
Head- 75% for his age, I forget the actual number
Eyes- bright blue
Hair- tending towards sandy brown
Personality- bubbly, chatty, and adorable!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Somewhere between proud and scared
Yesterday I set Cooper in the middle of our bed (queen size) on his belly with a few toys. I was standing about 10 feet away, folding laundry and chatting with him. A few minutes passed (I was only paying marginal attention to him, honestly, as he was talking to himself happily and I was making serious progress on the laundry). I looked up because he was squealing excitedly and I saw a minor accident in progress. Cooper was 2/3 off the bed, flailing his arms vigorously in the air, and on the way down. I took about one step forward, far too late, and he scunched his butt up, legs underneath him, and launched himself full force off the bed.
THUMP!
Waaaaaaah!!!
I was alarmed, of course, but also pretty proud of him. He was very clearly not hurt (our bed is quite low, and the floor is carpeted in the bedroom) despite his screeching. Within less than one minute he was just sniffling and snuggling up to me, which meant that he was totally fine.
I can't believe how fast he scrunched his way across the bed, nor can I believe the force with which he hurled himself off the side. The kid seems to be on the brink of full fledged crawling- he now is almost always not where I left him. If I put him on one side of the crib with a toy on the other end, he is over on the other side so quickly it amazes me.
We are not at all ready for a crawler. We have an open stairwell, a huge home renovation project in motion, unsecured bookshelves, and a lot of other baby threats.
People say you are never ready to have a kid. I disagree. We were ready to have a kid. We are NOT ready to have a mobile kid. But here we go!
THUMP!
Waaaaaaah!!!
I was alarmed, of course, but also pretty proud of him. He was very clearly not hurt (our bed is quite low, and the floor is carpeted in the bedroom) despite his screeching. Within less than one minute he was just sniffling and snuggling up to me, which meant that he was totally fine.
I can't believe how fast he scrunched his way across the bed, nor can I believe the force with which he hurled himself off the side. The kid seems to be on the brink of full fledged crawling- he now is almost always not where I left him. If I put him on one side of the crib with a toy on the other end, he is over on the other side so quickly it amazes me.
We are not at all ready for a crawler. We have an open stairwell, a huge home renovation project in motion, unsecured bookshelves, and a lot of other baby threats.
People say you are never ready to have a kid. I disagree. We were ready to have a kid. We are NOT ready to have a mobile kid. But here we go!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Baby skills exploding
In the last week or two, Cooper's baby skills have gone through the roof. Here in Kansas for my cousin's wedding, Cooper became a master of grabbing. He can grab just about anything. He likes rags, wax paper, and toys the best. Giving him regular (non-waxed) paper is a bad idea because anything that he grabs goes directly into his mouth. Or so we learned...
Yesterday, Cooper was hanging out on the hotel bed while Matt and I kept an eye on him from a distance. He was happily making a piece of paper crinkle and cooing at it- we thought nothing of this. About 5 minutes later I checked on him and to my amused horror, he had eaten almost the entire wedding schedule. Not swallowed, but wet, torn, and gummed it into bits. I fished a large wad of spitty paper goo out of his mouth and counted myself lucky that he didn't think to swallow them.
Cooper has now had his first meal of "solids" - in the form of computer paper.
Just in the last few days, he also has learned that he can grab his toes. This is AWESOME. Nothing is better than toes! Always available, always visible, toes rule.
Last but not least, he has started using body language to ask/try to grab things. If he wants something, he leans towards it, extends his arms, and makes grabbing motions. From my perspective, this is great. I am happy to know what he wants- even if he can't have it, at least I know he wants something. He loves to grab napkins, spoons, cups, toys, his shirt, towels, anything made of textured cloth (he especially loves terry cloth), flowers, grass, twigs, and lets face it, anything else in reach. Necklaces, bracelets and earrings are a huge temptation here in wedding-land, so I've spent a fair amount of time unwinding his sticky little fingers out of my necklaces in the last 48 hours.
Let's hear it for hand-eye skills! Wheeeeeeee!
Yesterday, Cooper was hanging out on the hotel bed while Matt and I kept an eye on him from a distance. He was happily making a piece of paper crinkle and cooing at it- we thought nothing of this. About 5 minutes later I checked on him and to my amused horror, he had eaten almost the entire wedding schedule. Not swallowed, but wet, torn, and gummed it into bits. I fished a large wad of spitty paper goo out of his mouth and counted myself lucky that he didn't think to swallow them.
Cooper has now had his first meal of "solids" - in the form of computer paper.
Just in the last few days, he also has learned that he can grab his toes. This is AWESOME. Nothing is better than toes! Always available, always visible, toes rule.
Last but not least, he has started using body language to ask/try to grab things. If he wants something, he leans towards it, extends his arms, and makes grabbing motions. From my perspective, this is great. I am happy to know what he wants- even if he can't have it, at least I know he wants something. He loves to grab napkins, spoons, cups, toys, his shirt, towels, anything made of textured cloth (he especially loves terry cloth), flowers, grass, twigs, and lets face it, anything else in reach. Necklaces, bracelets and earrings are a huge temptation here in wedding-land, so I've spent a fair amount of time unwinding his sticky little fingers out of my necklaces in the last 48 hours.
Let's hear it for hand-eye skills! Wheeeeeeee!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)