Look what I can do!

Jonathan has added a new skill to his repertoire. We were playing with him this weekend on the bed and he was lying on his tummy. He looked up and gave us a big grin, as if to say "Watch THIS!" He brought his legs up underneath him at what appeared to be an uncomfortable angle. Then he dropped his head down and started pushing up with his arms. And before you know it, he was sitting upright! Chris and I went crazy cheering him. Of course, we also immediately pushed him back over to see if he'd do it again. He complied and then smiled tolerantly at us while we danced around.

We were in Baltimore for Liz and Jim's wedding. Jonathan did very well at the rehearsal dinner but tended to fuss if I got out of sight for very long. We were having so much fun that we stayed until 11 pm; Jonathan was very patient and eventually conked out on a convenient shoulder. Tedra and Misha very kindly came up to Baltimore to babysit for the wedding. We nipped back to the hotel between the ceremony and the reception, and couldn't resist taking Jonathan by for cocktail hour. So he'll show up in some of the wedding pictures.

We keep introducing new foods every Monday and Thursday. Our nanny thought maybe he didn't like the green beans very much, but it was a false alarm. He ate half the jar for dinner and still wanted carrots for dessert.

The naptime battle.

I try to keep things light and fun on this blog. Nobody wants to hear about dirty diapers, or fussy spells, or the general crud detail that comes with having a baby in the house. Certainly, once those things are done with, I generally forget about them right away, while I remember the cute little moments forever.

However, this week has been really hard. Our nanny started work on Monday, to give Jonathan a chance to get used to the new routine. Right away, it was difficult, because every time I left the room, even for a moment, Jonathan would start to wail and reach out his arms for me. He wanted nothing to do with the nanny. I had warned her in advance that I haven't been very successful at getting Jonathan to nap in his crib. We talked over a strategy. He can fall asleep on his own without crying - he does it every night and has for months. So we decided to let him cry in his crib until he tired himself out.

I guess Jonathan hasn't read the same books as we have, because right from the start he seemed resolved to outlast us. I spent most of the mornings up in the office and the nanny would play with Jonathan and Cara until they got very sleepy. She'd carry Jonathan up to his crib, give him his napping bear and put him in his napping suit. And instantly, as soon as she laid him down, he'd start to wail. She'd check on him in five minutes or so and he'd just wail louder. We carefully followed the expert advice; she'd go back in to check on him and reassure him at longer and longer intervals. He'd cry for ninety straight minutes and then finally fall asleep for twenty. I spent most of the same time in the office, biting my fingernails and doing a fair amount of crying myself.

Still, except for the naps, things started to get a little easier. Jonathan got used to our nanny and started playing with (well, nibbling on) Cara. Yesterday afternoon, when I came back from the store, he was giving nanny a Jonathan special big wet face-eating kiss. He would look up when I left the room, but didn't fuss and kept on playing. He was so tired in the evenings, though! He'd be rubbing his eyes and trying to stay awake at 6pm, instead of his usual 7:30 bedtime. Last night he slept for eleven hours straight. I was worried I'd never see my little guy once I started working next week.

Today, with Cara on vacation, the nanny decided to try a new strategy. She and Jonathan played until he started rubbing his eyes. He fussed and lifted his arms for a cuddle. He gave her a few more kisses and then buried his head on her shoulder and fell asleep. She carefully eased him down onto the couch. And while I'm writing this, he's fast asleep there, with nanny sitting right next to him so he doesn't roll off. Tomorrow I will try putting him on a blanket on the floor, so I can move away for a little if needed. It may not be napping in a crib, but I think it's a pretty good compromise.

Aunt Liz weighs in

Received this email from Aunt Liz today after we all spent the weekend at Rock Point:

Hi there,
I didn't get a chance to tell you how cute Jonathan was being yesterday, and what idiots Jim and I are. As soon as you and Chris took off in the sailboat, Jonathan had enough of his swimming pool and started to fuss a bit. We picked him up and I seated him on my lap to dry him off, but he kept fussing. Mom said he probably didn't like his wet swim diaper (or the design AND leg ruffles on it) and told US to go change him. Well, she told me, and I told Jim he had to come give me a hand.
In the bedroom Jonathan got all happy again. Jim played horsey on his knee with him and Jonathan laughed a lot, and then he laughed when we laid him on his change mat and blew raspberries on his tummy. We took off his wet swim diaper first and started looking around for diapers to put on him. Then Jim said, Um, I think he's aiming at us! We just then remembered that this kid likes to pee on everyone and there he lay - naked and possibly ready to shoot. Very quickly we pulled out a dry diaper and panicked when we realized we had to figure out the front to back, and then further realized we had no idea if he needed to be powdered or not. Jim ran to ask mom while I held the diaper in front of Jonathan like a shield. Only Jonathan immediately grabbed the edge of it and pulled it to his face for a good chew, leaving his under regions and their deadly weapon exposed! A little tug-of-war ensued, with Jonathan laughing manically the whole time.
In the end we got the diaper on him and he did not pee on us, but we think he enjoyed freaking us out quite a bit.



Jonathan must really love his uncle and auntie, because he rarely passes up a chance to "water" someone. I wish we'd had one of those baby video monitors to catch all the action.

A day at the Baby Spa

I though Jonathan could do with a bath yesterday, rather urgently. Usually Chris and I work together, but things couldn't wait. So I got out our new inflatable tub, which sits inside the regular bathtub, stripped Jonathan down, and plopped him in.

He now has a great time splashing around, and isn't scared of the water at all. He was pretty content for a while to hit the water and I just leisurely soaped his back and arms. I put a wet washcloth on his back to keep him from getting cold, and he chewed on his duckie.

I've never quite gotten the hang of washing his hair now that we've had to move out of the kitchen sink, with its miniature sprayer. We have a big plastic UVA cup that we fill with water and pour on his head. Chris generally pours while I try to keep the water from running down Jonathan's face. But I was on my own this time, and not doing a very good job. Jonathan was getting a lot of water running over his nose and mouth, and he hates that.

Finally, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He laid back and rested his head on the inflatable edge, which is nice and soft. This actually made it a lot easier - it was like the setup at a salon when you get your hair washed in one of those sinks. I said "Good job, Jonathan!" and he looked at me like "Sheesh. Do I have to do everything around here?"

Then I washed his hair and rinsed it, while he amused himself by trying to see if he could pee over the side of the tub. He got pretty close - and his hair looks great, too.

The Bottomless Pit

How much food is a seven month old baby supposed to eat, anyway?

Dr. Ranney has always assured me that Jonathan, while chunky, is just fine. I don't need to worry about him being too fat. It's one of the benefits of breastfeeding. However, at our last visit, we discussed starting solids. She said, quite diplomatically, "Just two meals a day will be fine for him." I suspect the unvoiced part of that line went something like "or he'll be the size of a Yugo before the first grade."

So far, Jonathan has tried rice, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, oatmeal and peaches. We're holding off on further sweet potatoes for now, but everything else has been Hoovered down. Three weeks into feeding and I no longer need to make funny faces and wait for a smile before I slip a little taste into his mouth. Now, Jonathan gapes open as soon as the spoon comes into view. We serve up the food straight from the fridge - it makes no difference. Everything, except rice cereal, is met with a smile. I can't tell if he has any preferences.

More importantly, I have no idea how he acts when he's full. I just run out of food, and I'm scared to add any more. For lunch today, we started with two tablespoons of oatmeal and two of peas. Yummy! It was gone in five minutes. I offered a tablespoon of peaches. Nice! Then I mixed together some carrots and rice cereal for a bit thicker texture. Great idea! Then we had some more oatmeal. The mouth keeps popping open any time a spoon is near. Jonathan thinks this is just fantastic. I'm sure he'd tuck in to nurse if I offered.

Dear readers, may I suggest you all buy stock in Gerber? I think their sales will be going up.

I don't wanna take a nap!

This is our babyproofing weekend and the house is in an uproar. We are clearing out room in the kitchen for two high chairs (don't get too excited - one is for Cara, who will be spending her days here.) We've got a pile of stuff ready for a garage sale next weekend, and we're packing up all of our breakable vases and bowls for the next few years. Plus, we've got outlet covers, cabinet latches, and gates to install.

All this is just far too fascinating for Jonathan, who as of 3 pm today has been awake since 6 am. He fusses if we leave him too long in the playpen. He fusses if we put him on our shoulder, trying to get him to sleep. He seems to be happy only when we are gazing at him on our lap, our full attention directed only at him, while he gnaws down to the bone of our fingers.

Why hello there!

Jonathan had a great time at his Aunt Liz's bridal shower this weekend. He made the rounds several times and was happy to be held, jiggled, and entertained by all the ladies there. He especially liked Joanna, who was a great sport about getting her face gnawed on and slobbered all over.

The social butterfly continued today while we were doing the grocery shopping. Jonathan was hanging out in the seat on top of the shopping cart while I looked over the meat counter. An older lady approached him and said "hello." He looked at her for a few moments and uncertainly raised his right arm, then waved and gave a tiny smile. He waved hello! I couldn't believe it. The lady was thrilled when she learned she was the recipient of his first wave.

Fussiness, tummy upset and nonstop chewing for the past few days. All the rattles have gouges on them. Hopefully this will calm down soon as one top tooth cut through yesterday and the other appears to be very close. We have held off on giving any more solids for a day or two to give his tummy a chance to settle. I may have to side with my mom instead of our beloved pediatrician on this one - I think teething does cause some, shall we say, diaper issues.

This nature stuff is overrated

One of the newest parenting books is called - well, I forget what it's called, exactly. There's so many to keep up with. But the gist of it is that kids today don't get enough nature, since their yuppie hysterical parents keep them hermetically sealed inside. So I thought today, since I'm still kind of stuffed up from my cold and not up for a walk, that I would take Jonathan outside and let him sit on the grass.

Chris has done a nice job with our lawn, which is green and dense and pretty weed-free. It's easy to weed a yard that's only nine square feet. I brought out a stool for me and plopped Jonathan down on a particularly nice patch. He didn't seem to think much of it. His hands stretched out to touch a few blades, but he decided he didn't want to do that. He kept looking up at me, and looking around at the bushes. After a minute or so, he raised his arms and started whimpering for me to pick him up.

I held him for a few minutes to let him get his bearings. Then I offered to let him stand on the grass while I held him. I thought that was a sure bet since this kid has loved to stand up since he was two months old. I held him under his arms and leaned over the grass. I lowered him down and kept expecting his feet to hit. But he was so unhappy at the thought of touching this green stuff that he kept lifting his feet higher and higher in the air. The minute his toes brushed the grass he was fussing again. I picked him up and he clung to me for dear life. Nature, schmature. I should write a book.