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Justin discovered his toes about a week and a half ago. Now, if he isn’t wearing socks, those toes are firmly planted in his mouth (or very near). If he’s wearing socks, those socks are being pulled on at the toe until they are removed and his toes are exposed for Justin’s chewing pleasure. Yes, it is as though it’s a moral imperative to have toes in his mouth at all times.
- Back to business!
As you might imagine, this voracious toe munching has made it about as easy to get Justin dressed as putting pajamas on a flailing octopus.
Also related to putting things in his mouth, I have a question to pose to my readers:
Justin has been fascinated by watching us eat for a few weeks now. This week he actually got angry that I wasn’t sharing my breakfast cereal with him… more than once. I give in and let him take a “bite” off my empty spoon, and that pacifies him once or twice, then he realizes that there’s nothing on the spoon when he gets his “bite” and there is when I take mine. I don’t want to hide in a closet to eat my breakfast, but our pediatrician recommended waiting until Justin is 5 months old to start any solids. It’s pretty obvious that he’s interested, and he even opens his mouth wide when a spoon is brought to his mouth and then bites down on the spoon. According to the books I’ve read, these would be signs that he’s ready to start some limited solids (like rice cereal). I know he doesn’t need solids for the nutrition at this point, especially since he’s getting plenty of breastmilk as it is. I’m not sure what to do. What do you think?
Comment and let me know your thoughts!
Hi everyone! So, Matt has been home with Justin for almost a month now and things are going pretty darn well. The boys had a few days to adjust and things are settling down for the two of them. Hopefully soon, Justin will decide that it’s okay to take naps in the afternoon (“can’t sleep, sleep monster will eat me…”) and Matt will get to do some of his art during the day too. Below, you’ll find a video giving us a glimpse of one of Matt’s recent days home with Justin. Please note that Matt has the tendency to exaggerate some of Justin’s drama (ie ”screaming” generally = fussing) and that Matt does know how to handle an emergency situation should one arise.
In other news: Today we took Justin to the doctor for his 4-month checkup. Some exciting news: Justin is huge! Note the following official numbers:
Weight: 17lbs 3oz (that’s about 85th percentile)
here’s the kicker -
Height: 27 1/4 inches – holy crap! that’s well above the 98th percentile. On the chart, he’s well off the map. We might have a tall boy on our hands!
Other than being startlingly big, our little boy has a perfect bill of health and is (obviously) growing and developing well! The doctor was excited to hear about all the things he’s doing: rolling over both ways, trying to crawl, able to sit up propped up on his own hands, etc. All in all, a good visit!
On Tuesday, Matt and I took Justin to Cornwall Park for the first time. Aside from the sun being in our eyes, we had a really good time. Justin liked swinging on Momma’s lap, and LOVED sliding down the slide. Here are some pictures from our short little trip:
On the swing with Momma!
On the slide!
The first time Justin went down the slide he just sorta looked bewildered but not unhappy. Then we went a few more times. After maybe 3 times, I’d put him back at the top of the slide, he’d look at me and kick his feet on the slide (signaling to me that it was time to slide) and I’d slide him down. Once at the bottom, he’d smile with delight – so awesome. We’ll definitely be going back soon!
So I was downloading pictures from the camera today and I noticed a few things. Like, how much our little boy has grown. Each month on (or very near) his birthday, I’ve been taking pictures of Justin:
One month old
Two months old
Three months old
Four months old
Our little bundle has grown into a squawking, squealing, squirming, jumping, sitting-almost-on-his-own, rolling over, constantly-attempting-to-crawl, putting-everything-he-can-grab-in-his-mouth little firecracker! (and that’s not just the gas!) He was born 9lbs 2oz, and we weighed him at my work this week to find that he now weighs just shy of 18 lbs!
In light of his new accomplishments, I decided it was time for him to start helping out: I thought we’d start by getting him to help me clip coupons from the Sunday paper:
Master Coupon Clipper!
Oh! And despite appearances, Justin didn’t help us with the wine.
It was a big weekend: Friday was me and Matt’s 4th wedding anniversary (we went to see the new Batman movie – AWESOME), Justin turned 4 months old on Saturday, and my parents came up from Edmonds on Saturday to visit! My dinner was sort of a flop, but a good time was had by all. We walked all over Fairhaven, looking in all the little shops, and laughing at little Justin being his silly little self (his new game is being “shy” of everyone).
- Lots of cuddles from Nanna!
And look! It looks like Justin might be getting his mom and dad’s green eyes after all!
Make sure your sound is on, then hit “play”.
UPDATE: Since this, um, “event”, I’ve bestowed upon my son a superhero name: “THUNDARR”!
It suits him well since not only does he, as Jessica put it, “[have] the volume of a grown man” but has recently mastered the poopy blowout, where not only does the aforementioned poo end up in his clothes, but dripping out and onto whom ever is holding him… yes, it’s disgusting – though admittedly funny to watch happen to someone else.
Seeing he was about to roll over all by himself for the first time (from tummy to back), my quick-witted nanny grabbed the camera just in time to capture this first roll:
You’ll notice that as soon has he rolls one way, he’s got to try to roll back the other way to do it again. To roll from back to front he just needs something to hang on to/pull on though he’s needing less and less help. Very exciting!! I’m so excited that Helen caught Justin’s first roll!
Also on the 4th of July, I caught Matt and Justin “geekin’ out” watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back:
Yup. That’s a plush Yoda Justin’s got there (kinda over his age recommendation, but he’s being supervised). Justin likes his happy little face and very grab-able ears.
In other news:
The 4th was also our awesome nanny, Helen’s last day. I ended up going full-time sooner than expected at work, and the cost of childcare was just more than we could afford with both of us full-time; so starting Monday, Matt will be staying home with Justin. We’re hoping that in the near future Matt will be able to do some art from home that we could sell online or in town (he’s been watching some of the art that’s selling on eBay and has some good ideas for projects he could do without a full studio while Justin is napping during the day).
On the feeding-front: I’m very proud to announce that I have successfully weaned Justin back to the breast. He now only gets a bottle when he’s home alone with Matt or the babysitter. I’m delighted that breastfeeding doesn’t make me cry (from all the infections) anymore, and Justin actually seems to have learned to open his mouth a little better so he’s sucking more than “chewing” like he once was. I am still using the nipple shield, but I’m hoping to get off of that too in the next month or two. We’re all so much happier – Justin doesn’t have to wait for a bottle to be warmed, or for me to finish pumping to play with him, and I don’t have to deal with doing pump-dishes 5-6 times a day. Not to mention the convenience of just being able to feed Justin anywhere without worrying about where I’ll be able to warm a bottle. Now I pump at work and sometimes late at night if Justin doesn’t empty me enough for me to get back to sleep. Plus, I still have enough milk just from that to keep him fed while I’m gone at work during the day without dipping into my massive frozen milk stores (which is almost disappointing – I’d like some freezer space back. I have about twice as much in there now as I did in my first week back at work post). I keep meaning to call a milk bank that takes breastmilk donations so that it can be used to help premature and post-operative babies to see if I qualify as a donor. I have much more than the 100 oz donation minimum in my freezer, and if it can be used to help others, I figure, why not?
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