Easter Saturday

We took an easy morning of naps to let Jonah recover from his shots before heading up to visit his grandparents and cousins. Cailin has been talking about HER cousin (and best friend) Jonah for so long now, I don't think she knew what to do! She must have built him up in her head to some idealized version of what a baby cousin should be. Then he came to visit and she stayed far, far away!

At one point, I tried to sit next to Cailin and slide her over on the couch so she would be between me and Jonah. It was like pushing two like charges together. She somehow mustered enough 3-yr old strength to keep a gap. It took most of the day before they touched and posed for cute pictures together.

"Good" Friday

Jonah had his 6mo. check-up this morning! I spent almost the entire week stressing over whether we should try to get an appointment earlier to check that his cold hasn't turned into another ear infection, or worse, gotten into his lungs. He's had a pretty tough week, but has been showing daily improvement, so I resisted. I'm trying so hard not to be a crazy parent!

Jonah now weighs in at 17lbs 5oz, at 27in long and 17.5in head circumference. The doctor reported everything is great! No infections and he is hitting all his milestones. In fact, he was quite impressed by Jonah's sitting, which only half of his 6mo babies can do! On the other hand, Mommy failed the questionnaire. The nurse asked whether he could "pull up to sitting". No, he can't get himself up to a sitting position. But that's not what they meant. They wanted to know if he "helps" sit up if I pull him by the hands. I'd never tried!

His immunizations went as expected. Smiles turned into screams as a look of betrayal came across his face. Fortunately, they ended promptly after I picked him up! Poor guy seemed to react poorly to the shots this time. He was okay through lunch with Grandpa, but grew more and more cranky throughout the day. By the time his cousins arrived at Grandmama and Pop-Pop's house, he was crying and running a fever so we had to head home.

Sick... again.

Poor Jonah got sick again!  This is by far the thing I enjoy least about school.  Not only is it terrible to watch Jonah suffering, but Mommy and Daddy inevitably get sick, too.

Last week, all the kids at school were coughing.  On Friday, I found Jonah in a sea of dried mucus flakes in his crib in the morning.  On Saturday, he became the star producer in Daddy's lucrative (and imaginary) mucus-export business - out of every orifice: his eyes, nose and mouth.  On Sunday morning, his eyes were sealed shut with dried goo.  He didn't so much like that Mommy was constantly attacking his face with a washcloth to remove excess secretions, and would play defense, batting his hands to protect his face or offence, stealing the washcloth from Mommy.

Jonah also ran a bit of fever Friday and Saturday nights.  I never understood how my mother knew when we had a fever just by touch, but lo, an behold!  It was rather obvious by his flushed cheeks and warm forehead that Jonah was more than 98.6deg.  This lead to an amusing bout of "new-parentness" in which Dr. Daddy tried to administer acetaminophen.  We were well stocked, thanks to Jonah's prepared and thoughtful Aunt Pamela, who gave us a pharmacy of baby remedies.  However, that left Daddy with a few too many choices of measuring implements (do you use a dropper, cup, or one of the three differently-sized syringes?) and vague directions "for dosage under 2yrs, ask a doctor."  Naturally, in this time of crisis, Mommy couldn't be expected to remember what the pediatrician instructed two months ago!  Fortunately Daddy is a doctor and was able to get a conservatively small dose in.  It wasn't until the second night and a little research that Mommy figured out how to get the suspension out and dosed properly.

As Jonah's cold ran its course, Daddy and Mommy each took a turn in their own way.  Daddy with a head cold lasting several days, and Mommy with a fever that came and went in a night.  Poor Jonah had both.

iBaby

Jonah has taken great interest in the iPad.  After all, Mommy and Daddy spend a lot of time touching the tablets!  I turned on the Google Maps app so that Jonah could touch the screen and see what happened.  He cruised from our home to a wider view, up to Canada (Hi, Aunt Ashley!) and down to South Africa (Hi, Cousin Mandy!).  Amazing.  While it's tough to say he had the zooming and navigation mastered, he certainly had the sense that he could manipulate the screen with his fingers.  And in case you are thinking that he hit these two spots only because we toured the entire Earth, the only other places he stopped were New Brunswick and Greenland.

Raising the What (Diaper) Flag

Much to the relief of Daddy (and all the teachers at daycare) we have switched to disposable diapers at school.  They were doing a miserable job of fitting, and I'd always find the diapers unsnapped to the largest setting, recommended for 23lb+.  Hence, every day Jonah would leak and go through 2-3 outfits.  And now that Jonah is eating foods, his messes are getting... well, messier.  We started using liners at home, but it seems like a good time to let the school off the hook.  I can't help feel a sense of failure, but it doesn't seem worth fighting for something they clearly regret agreeing to.

Our record at home has been much better (i.e. fewer than 2 leaks every day) but certainly not perfect.  After 6 months, I think we've about broken even on cost of the cloth vs. disposables, so long as I can keep myself from buying too many more!   I'm a little addicted to shopping for new brands and cute prints.  At this point, at least I know which diapers need to retire for leakiness and which are reliable.  I refuse to give up yet!

6 Month Update

Physical Development:

We have our check-up next week, when I'll have the official measurement and weigh-in.  We are packing up his 6-month clothes, and 9-month fit him beautifully.  Jonah's eyes have maintained a shade of blue that matches his Daddy's eyes perfectly.  We suspect the grey-blue is here to stay.  His hair has lightened to a sandy blonde.  Both birthmarks (below his nose and on the back of his neck) have faded away, but he still has a bright red patch on the inside of his lower lip.  His two bottom teeth have emerged, but still have some growing to do to be any more than stubs.

Activities/Play:

Jonah loves raspberries on his tummy!  Even when he is really upset with Mommy, it can coax a temporary smile or laugh before the screaming resumes.  Jonah outgrew interest in the swing and bouncer last month, though we still occasionally use the swing to put Jonah down in the kitchen.  His all-time favorite toy is the Jumperoo.  Daddy calls it "the best non-essential baby purchase".  Jonah has figured out the jumping, turning and all the toys!  When Jonah is happy of excited, he makes a jumping motion with his legs, whether he is lying down, sitting in a lap or standing (with assistance).  His favorite game is using Mommy or Daddy as a Jumperoo, where he can get a lot more height by having us lift him into the air.

Food:

Jonah is eating solid foods!  He sits with us at the table in his high chair for a late breakfast or dinner.  So far, he's tried rice cereal, oatmeal, squash, sweet potato and sweet peas.  He hated oatmeal.  Daddy received some looks of disgust at breakfast a couple days in a row before he gave up.  On the other hand, he gulped down the sweet potato and sweet peas, using both hands to "help"!  Think he has a sweet tooth?

Sleep:

Jonah is still a great sleeper (knock on wood).  He sleeps 7:30pm-6:30am give or take 30min. on each end.  He still takes 2-3 naps throughout the day of random length 30min - 2hrs.  He uses a sleepsack and often rolls to his left side.  A couple times I've found him sleeping on his tummy, face planted on the bed!

Motor Skills:

Jonah has (pretty much) stopped throwing his head backwards all the time.  He can sit unassisted for short periods with supervision (though I prefer to have a Boppy behind him in case of falls, and Jonah will place a hand on it for balance).   He also enjoys standing - and can push himself up to a stand from a lap!  Jonah is rolling over front to back and back to front, but always over the left shoulder.  He still sometimes gets upset on his tummy and forgets that he knows how to fix the situation.  Usually, he will spend 15min. or more on his tummy before screaming for assistance.  He pushes up into cobra, reaches for toys, and can spin himself around 180deg, but only when I'm not looking.  ;-)

First Foods, Revisited

After telling a couple people about Jonah's food experiences, I received quite a few laughs.  Apparently, when the pediatrician and others suggest "rice cereal" and "oat cereal" they are not referring to Rice Krispies and simply avoiding the trademark name.  There is a whole baby food section in the supermarket devoted to baby versions of cereal!  Who knew?
Turns out, Jonah likes the baby oats much better than our quick oats anyway.  And they are pre-cooked, which is much easier for Mommy to prepare.  :-)

First Tooth!

I had the random thought the other day to check if any of Jonah's teeth are coming in.  Sure enough, his bottom gum was quite sharp!  The little points of the left tooth are just at the gumline.  Mommy was so proud, as if my little boy did something amazing!  He is growing up!

Faceplant

A couple times I have gone into Jonah's room to find him face-planted in his crib! Terrifying. He's great at rolling onto his tummy and still a little slow in remembering how to roll back. Still, one would think that if he landed on his tummy and couldn't roll back over, he would turn his head to the side. Nope. He puts his face straight down into the mattress, hands by his sides. I spent a couple nights waking often to check the baby monitor by the bed (much to Daddy's discomfort - he even pulled out a blindfold!). My only defense is 1.) making Jonah do lots of tummy time and not helping him roll over so he will practice on his own and 2.) putting him along the left rail of the crib so there is no room to roll over in that direction, which is the only way he seems to roll. I wonder how long I can manage to not be a super-paranoid Mommy with my kid strapped down to a heart monitor?

Big-Boy Highchair

Now that Jonah is a much better sitter, we finally deemed it time to assemble the high chair!  Well, actually Daddy somehow found time after work last week to put it together after picking Jonah up from school, while making dinner, and before Mommy got home from her conference in Boston.  Whew!  Busy guy!  Jonah wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first and seemed to protest as Daddy was feeding him cereal.  It took us a couple days to learn that putting Jonah in the seat after he finishes breast feeding, he is much calmer and happier to sit and try solid foods!  By the end of the week, he was gobbling oatmeal and squash like a champ, though in tiny quantities before getting bored and trying to swan-dive off the high chair backwards.  I quite enjoy that he can join us at the dinner table now!  (We had been banishing him to his play gym or Jumperoo while we ate.)  This weekend, Jonah had a huge proud smile on his face while we all ate lunch together.

In remembrance of Great-Grandma Germaine

We attended a memorial Mass at Assumption with the family.  Everyone was so impressed by how good Jonah was during the service!  I think he made a bad impression on folks at his Baptism, and at a Mass a few weeks ago with his Grandparents.  Cousin Nathan was even better behaved, though he seemed to be sleeping.  I can't even say what Jonah was up to!  He was sitting with Pop-pop in the pew right behind us, and every time we turned they had moved a seat farther away, until he was with Uncle Kevin two rows back.  I'm pretty sure they would have taken him home with them if we hadn't intervened.  ;-)

Snow Day = Sleepy Day

We were pretty sure the weathermen were lying when they forecast up to 10" of snow in March!  The storm wasn't named and all that nonsense, so how bad could it be?  I had been asked to go into the office this morning for a project interview.  I woke up at 5:45: +/-4".  No problem.  I'll drive over it.  I got ready.  6:45: 6".  Darn, now I have to shovel.  7:30: another inch covering my newly shoveled driveway, I'm sweaty and tired, plow hasn't done our street since 4am, news is interviewing people who spent an hour on a 10mi commute, and Jonah (finally!) woke up for breakfast.  7:35: call the office to surrender.  No chance of getting in by 9.  We ended up with around 20".
Instead, Jonah and I enjoyed a long afternoon nap.  I'm not sure what it is about snow days that make us both so drowsy!  Jonah napped again at 5:30 and fell asleep during dinner at 6:30.  He was out so deep, I completed my first diaper change without waking him up!  Well, at least he didn't open his eyes.  By the gymnastics of his legs shooting into the air, stretching out straight, and fending off the wipe, one might think he was somewhat conscious of the process.

The "Captain Morgan" Stance

Most babies are easy to carry with one arm.  Not Jonah!  He was a two-handed baby until about 5 months, when I could finally rely on him to not throw his head back at any moment.  And it sure is nice to have a free hand!
Except Jonah is now very mobile and squirmy, so he doesn't like to just sit still on my hip.  This means I now have one hand on him and the other occupied while he is working very hard to maneuver himself anywhere he isn't.  Thus I discovered the purpose behind the Captain Morgan stance.  I don't have a photo, so you can just use your imagination to picture me preparing Jonah's lunch with him on my left hip, standing on one leg with my left knee up in the air to keep Jonah from falling.  What a sight we must be!

First Food!

We gave Jonah his first taste of "solid" food for dinner on Sunday.  He had Rice Krispies mashed in breastmilk - yum!  It was quite a production.  We hadn't yet assembled his high chair, so we spread out a blanket on the living room floor, put him in the Bumbo, strapped on a bib and started spooning the soft mash.  Jonah didn't quite know what to make of it.  He seemed to get the spoon concept quickly, and would open and close him mouth appropriately to remove food from the utensil.   That's not to say that most of the cereal ended or stayed in his mouth!  He tried to help it, by sticking his fingers in his mouth, which inevitably caused more cereal to exit than he swallowed.  But then his fingers were covered, so they became increasingly more interesting to suck, at the expense of the new spoonfuls.  It's hard to say that Jonah was happy of excited about the whole thing.  He looked more confused, but interested.  After several attempts, the distraction of the newness wore off and Jonah realized he was still hungry and hadn't had what he recognizes as dinner.  So we aborted and finished dinner the old-fashion way.  Practice!