We'd better start a building fund

Jim's father is convinced that Jonathan is destined to be an engineer, since he is a baby that is very intent on figuring things out. When I got home yesterday, the nanny offered me further evidence that this may indeed be the case. The living room and dining room areas are the best baby-proofed in the house. That's where we all spend time together in the evening, and where Jonathan and Cara play for much of the day. I follow a policy of "limited destruction" for Jonathan. We've put away all the nice breakables, but I have left a few choice items on the lower shelves. Jonathan can pull out the napkin bowl and make a mound of paper shreds, or rearrange the cookbooks. He's happy because it looks like total chaos, but there's no real harm done, except that we do go through an awful lot of napkins.

The nanny was feeding Cara a bottle in the living room while Jonathan roamed freely yesterday. He rummaged through the toys, decimated some innocent napkins, and threw around the empty shoe boxes I've left for him to play with. However, when Cara was done eating and down for a nap, the nanny found Jonathan sitting quietly by the powder room door, intent on something in his hand. We are all learning that quiet and intent in Jonathan requires further investigation. She reached over to see what it was he was studying.

This ten month old baby had managed to pull the pin from the lowest hinge on the powder room door! We're talking about a three inch long rod of metal, topped with a door stopper, that threads through the hinges and acts as the central axis. To get it out, he had to pull firmly and apply force directly upwards, and the height of the hinge means he had to be kneeling to do it. I couldn't believe it - Jonathan was dismantling our house.

I'm still flabbergasted as I look around and wonder what else he can get into that I previously thought was safe. Suddenly anything that isn't secured with a locking deadbolt seems vulnerable. We need to channel this destructive energy into more useful endeavors! I wonder if Jonathan could change the oil in my car?

Jonathan tries to add more fiber to his diet.

Chris was working yesterday so Jonathan and I were home alone. Upstairs, we have managed to babyproof the nursery and the hallway. I had some laundry to sort (Jonathan's, of course. He's got more clothes than both Chris and I combined, and since we don't routinely pee or drool on ours, he generates most of the laundry) so I closed off the non-babyproofed rooms and let Jonathan roam. His separation anxiety seems to be intensifying a little, so I like to let him crawl away from me, then come back to check in. It's good for him to develop this independence.

Well, Jonathan hightailed it for the hallway immediately. He likes to bang on the plastic sheeting that covers the railing. I was getting the last of the clothes put away when he came crawling back into the nursery, chewing on something. I figured it was carpet fuzz, and thought about letting him finish it, but decided just on general prinicples that I should remove fuzz when I can. So I picked him up, put him in his crib, and started trying to get a look in his mouth.

He was having none of it! He started to cry and shake his head back and forth, all the while clearly chewing on something. Finally, I pinched his little nostrils shut. His mouth opened and I could see something white in there. I stuck my finger in, dodging the teeth, and pulled out - an industrial staple a half inch long! I looked in the hallway, and saw that Jonathan had managed to rip up the phone line that was tacked along the baseboards. There were three or four more staples scattered on the ground.

Jonathan was indignant and wailing and I was looking at the baseboard to see if the number of holes was equal to the number of staples I had in my hand. It was too hard to see, however, so I picked him up and checked his mouth for bleeding. He didn't seem to have any cuts inside, but all the fingers being poked in his mouth made him cough and gurgle a little. That was enough for me! I packed him up and had him in the UVA ER within fifteen minutes.

Everything turned out fine. They recognized me as a housestaff member and got me in right away. The doctor thought he probably wouldn't have swallowed such a big item but agreed that an X-ray would tell us for sure. I held Jonathan down while they shot the films and watched them come up on the computer almost instantly - no staples. We were back home in under ninety minutes. Chris came back late in the afternoon and we all went out for a late lunch/ early supper. Jonathan chewed on some bread - a much better source of fiber, I think.

Green baby crack

Note: The post title reads like it might be about some horrible new diaper rash - but it's not! Today I'm talking about food.

We continue having fun introducing new foods to Jonathan. I have become much more relaxed about ingredients, with only a few exceptions, so his diet has really broadened in the last few weeks. His reactions are priceless! Here are some of my favorites:

1) Gerber Macaroni and Beef: This is basically baby Spaghetti-O's, with less salt that the adult version. I have not been in the habit of heating Jonathan's foods, even the meat-containing ones, because I don't want him to come to expect it. But even I could not face feeding the poor little guy cold Spaghetti-O's. So I popped the bowl in the microwave for a bit. I am very paranoid about overheating foods and burning his mouth. After heating on "medium" for thirty seconds, I took the bowl out, and thought it felt a little too warm. I stirred it thoroughly to remove "hot spots." It still felt warm, so I put the bowl in an ice water bath for a little. Then I scooped up a spoonful and blew on it. Finally, after tasting it to make sure it was lukewarm, I gave Jonathan a taste. He is not used to warm food! He kept his mouth open with the O's on his tongue and panted like a dog on a hot day. Drama baby.

2) Fresh fruit: There have been some lovely peaches and cantaloupes at the market these days. I will carve out little chunks of fruit for Jonathan and place them on his high chair tray. He does not like to touch anything slimy or sticky! He will poke the offending bits with a finger but will not pick them up. Instead, he will pick up the Oatios scattered around them. Then, when all the Oatios are gone, he will furiously wave his hand over the tray, shoving all the fruit to the side. If I pick up a piece and offer it to him, he will clamp his mouth shut and whip his head from side to side. This strongly resembles his "dancing," as seen in the video on the home page. I have to bribe him with an Oatio before he will take a piece of fruit. The current rate is one O for one fruit piece.

3) Veggie Booty, aka Green Baby Crack: This is a health food snack that is quite popular with the toddler set these days. They are rice and corn puffs, flavored with spinach and kale. They are low salt and baked rather than fried. They taste and look, to my eyes, quite a bit like moldy Cheetos. But I thought Jonathan might like to try them. I gave him one and he used his front teeth to nibble on it. His initial reaction was a little muted - he didn't go crazy like he did for the YoBaby yogurt, but he seemed happy enough to swallow it down. I didn't realize how much he liked it until dinner, when I put a few pieces of Veggie Booty on the tray along with his usual appetizer of Oatios. The appetizer keeps him busy while I am getting his food ready. I turned to look and he was carefully picking up all the Booty and leaving the O's behind. Once the Booty was finished, the O's were left on the tray, looking quite forlorn. I asked him if he wanted them. He picked one up, contemplated it for a minute, then deliberately threw it over the side. I guess that's a "no."

Spotty but happy

Jonathan hasn't been feeling well the last few days. He had a low grade fever over the weekend and was fussy and clingy. And most astounding of all, he didn't want to eat much! So I took him to the doctor yesterday. They asked me if he had any rashes, and I said no. Then I stripped off his onesie so they could examine him and there was a sandpapery red rash all over his chest and belly. I'm not sure if I felt less competent as a mother or a doctor, but they assured me that these viral rashes pop up very quickly. Anyway, after a struggle, they pronounced his ears relatively clear, and since he had proven his energy level was adequate (it took two of us to hold him down) they sent me off with instructions to keep him hydrated.

The examination seems to have done him some good. He ate a HUGE supper and had a nice evening in the living room with us. He has taken to pulling up to standing at the coffee table, and then lifting one leg and waving it in the air. Previously, he's kept both feet firmly planted, so this is one more step towards walking. He fell asleep easily at 8:30, and slept until 5 am. Since he was sick, we let him come into bed with us, and he woke up happy and laughing at 6:30. While Chris showered, Jonathan and I were playing. He would crawl over to kiss me (no biting! Such an improvement!) and when he tickled me, I would laugh. Then he would look up and laugh, and then I would reach over to kiss and tickle him. Chris stuck his head into the room to find out what all the laughing was about. He ate a good breakfast and was happy to see Nanny. He greeted her by waving around the coaster he had taken off the coffee table. He still has the rash, but he's once again our happy little boy.

Hot time, summer in the city.

Our air conditioning broke!

Don't worry, we've already had it fixed. A low voltage transformer blew - I have no idea what that is, but I'm relieved to find out it only costs $100 to replace. But it was a steamy two days in the Kwon household until the repairmen came. Nanny moved Jonathan and Cara down into the basement on the first day, and they didn't do too badly. When Chris came home, he decided the whole Kwon family would be sleeping in the basement, since it was 85 degrees upstairs. Jonathan did pretty well in the playpen for the first half of the night, but he eventually realized Mom and Dad were sharing a room with him. Then he insisted on coming into bed with us. After a few hours I woke up to the baby thrashing around and wailing. Chris finally figured out that he was too hot. So at three in the morning, he had to strip Jonathan down to his diaper and hold him in front of the fan for about ten minutes. Nice daddy.

Jonathan's hated being too hot since he was only a few days old. Chris came back to our hospital room after getting some dinner to find me frantic and Jonathan screaming. I had been so busy trying to calm him that I hadn't noticed it was 80-plus degrees in the room. So Chris was my hero for opening a window and calming the baby within minutes.

After a full 24 hours without air conditioning, even the basement was a little warm. We told Nanny about Jonathan's inflatable tub, and that afternoon, she plopped both kids in the water. Cara went in first, and seemed a little tentative, but when Jonathan joined her, and showed her how to chew on the tub toys, she decided it was all good clean fun. And just like his daddy, Jonathan's wet hair dried in a most impressive series of cowlicks.

We've taught Jonathan how to clap! He caught on very quickly to this new noisemaking concept. Last night he was "dancing" to his latest toy, a walker/rider on wheels that plays music when you roll it. When the music stopped, his butt and head stopped wiggling, and he looked over at us. We gave him a big round of applause, and he broke into that wonderful Jonathan grin and started clapping right along with us.

Come Mr DJ won't you turn the music up?

We are trying to establish a better dinner routine now that we have a baby. For years, since living in our tiny apartment in New York, Chris and I have been in the habit of eating dinner at the coffee table in the living room. Even when I was nine months pregnant and couldn't sit on the floor, we had a hard time sitting down to dinner at the dining room table. However, I really want to change that habit before Jonathan is old enough to pick it up. So the other night, we cleared the dining room and sat down for a meal. Jonathan had already been fed, so we moved the gate to block the kitchen and let him crawl around under our feet.

My old stereo sits in the dining room on a low cabinet. The nanny uses it all the time to play music for the kids - she gets a big kick out of Jonathan grooving to Tony Bennett. Jonathan doesn't often get free range in the dining room, although it's relatively well baby-proofed, so he had a fantastic time. He spent a few minutes hitting the base of the floor lamp (shiny!) and flipping the handles on the chest of drawers (noisy!) Chris and I ate our pasta and enjoyed some conversation. Suddenly, from our stereo, comes some music - The Cars, singing "You Might Think." Classic 80's pop, which we do not have on CD. I look over at the stereo, and Jonathan has pulled himself up to kneeling and is happily pressing buttons. Somehow he managed to turn the power on, and then hit the "tuner" button so that the radio began to play. He was pretty satisifed with himself, and sat back to "dance" for a few moments. This involved shaking his head back and forth to the music. Chris and I were laughing pretty hard, and then we returned to our dinner.

Then the music got louder! Looking again, we saw that Jonathan had now discovered the volume knob, and was trying to make sure we could hear and appreciate his first turn as a DJ. We finished the song clapping and laughing for our clever little boy. He was kind of disconcerted when the song ended and the commericals began, so at that point we turned off the stereo. Chris and I finished our dinner, and Jonathan went back to the lamp.

Five, six, gnaw through sticks.

Jonathan goes through periods we call "chewing frenzies." They last about twenty minutes and they're quite scary at times! During a frenzy he becomes desperate to chew on things. If I am lying down on the floor playing with him, and a frenzy hits, he will come crawling over and launch himself onto my arm or face. I will start pushing away his head so I don't get a painful little nip, and he will grunt with frustration and push right back. I usually hand him a chew toy or pacifier. He sits upright and starts gnawing on the toy as though determined to reduce it to a pile of plastic shreds. He'll use both hands to cram it into his mouth. And he bites so hard that the toy usually pops right out of his mouth and goes flying! He really needs to settle in with a firm object for about fifteen minutes before he's calm.

We've had a fair number of chewing frenzies these days, and I finally figured out what's been going on. Jonathan was leaning back to smile at me, so I got a good view of his upper gum. Another tooth has poked through and the tooth on the opposite side is very close. More teething! I wasn't expecting teeth numbers five and six for some time. They got a good workout yesterday evening. Jonathan and I went to Wild Wings with some other nephrology fellows. Jonathan really enjoyed the little shreds of chicken I kept giving him. I managed to take most of the shreds from the inside of the wings, where the hot sauce doesn't reach, but he did get a little taste of barbecue. He made a funny face and then - of course - kept on chewing.

Mmmmm, yogurt!

We've been introducing more and more foods to Jonathan recently. The books are all over the map on what a baby his age should be eating and in what quantities. He seems happy with whatever we shovel in, as long as the serving sizes are large. So, in all, I think it's time to stop worrying so much about the "expert" advice and have some fun with his diet.

I bought some "Yobaby" yogurt this weekend. Three dollars for six tiny containers, but it's all organic and full fat, which is otherwise impossible to find. I chose the banana and vanilla flavors. Wow, this stuff is rich. When you open it up there's a layer of cream on top. I normally don't taste the baby food - that's Chris' department. However, I did have a little taste of the banana yogurt. Delicious! It's just like the nice yogurt that Mom and Dad enjoy in Belgium, with tons of fruit flavor and sooooo rich and creamy.

Anyway, after tasting it, I did consider eating the whole tiny carton, but Jonathan was sitting in his high chair, eyes tracking the spoon's every movement. I told him "This is yogurt!" and gave him a taste. His first reaction was to scrunch up his face because it was cold. He let it roll around on his tongue for a moment, like a wine connoisseur. Then his eyes lit up! This was far better than pears mixed with oatmeal! He managed to both grin and open his mouth wide for the next bite. Then he seemed to worry that even that might not convey enough enthusiasm, so he started giggling and bouncing up and down in his seat. As the next spoonful came towards him, he became absolutely still, just leaning forward to shorten the distance. The yogurt hit his tongue and he chortled some more. Finally, he decided not to even chance closing his mouth over the spoon, in case I might take away this delicious elixir. So I was left to wipe the yogurt off the spoon and onto his tongue, and as I looked away to get the next spoonful ready, Jonathan would take a quick and furtive swallow, so he could be ready to show me his tonsils again right away.

I think he likes it!

The toys must be used in their proper manner.

When we wanted Jonathan to show off his crawling in our latest video, we knew exactly how to motivate him. Chris held him at one end of the living room while I carefully set up his stacking rings. This is the classic Fisher Price toy that we all had as kids - the yellow pole with the rainbow plastic rings. Jonathan is very particular about his ring toy. He will not tolerate the rings being stacked out of order! Chris discovered this one day when he placed the smallest ring on the pole first, then balanced larger rings on top of it. Jonathan sprint-crawled across the room and knocked it over. The top three rings went flying, while the two small ones stayed on the pole. Jonathan whacked at it with his hands until they flew off as well. Chaos vanquished, Jonathan crawled away with a self-satisfied swagger. So when it came time to shoot the video, I set up the rings backwards. Jonathan was literally pawing the floor while Chris held him in place. He's like one of those toy cars you wind up until they are at maximum tension, then finally release to ZOOM away! You can see the end results in our crawling movie on the home page.

Sam, Jonathan's neighborhood friend, brought him a wonderful present at their last play date. It's a ball about ten inches in diameter! Jonathan hasn't learned yet that he can't open his mouth that wide. Every time he encounters the ball, he tries to bite it. Of course, the ball just rolls away a little. The end result is Jonathan crawling after the ball, slobbering on it, as ball and baby go around and around the living room in a circle.

Endless hours of entertainment, that's our baby.

We have started to post photos on smugmug.com. Follow the link at the right hand side of the page to see the latest photos. I think the picture quality is somewhat less, but updating photos used to take Chris three hours and now takes about three minutes. Let us know if the tradeoff is worth it.

Jonathan is a crawling expert! He can move really fast, especially when he sees a gap in our babyproofing efforts. I have no idea why we spend any money on toys for him, since he loves the non-toy items so much. Our DVD player recently bit the dust. Bad news for us, but great news for Jonathan! Chris took out the batteries and gave him the remote. Oh, he loves it so much. Still, he's wising up to the fact that the OTHER remote, and the cordless phone, are much more important to Mommy and Daddy, and therefore more desireable. So I periodically pick up the defunct DVD remote and click it at the TV. Then Jonathan thinks it's working and he rushes over to take it away.

We continue to eat dinner at the coffee table in the dining room. Jonathan sits on the floor beside me. It's getting harder to eat with all the distractions he provides. Sometimes, I choke on a bite because I feel little fingers on my side, where I'm ticklish! That's Jonathan, grabbing hold of my shirt so he can pull himself up to standing. Other times, he crawls right up to the table. He's learned that if he sits close enough, and stretches his neck upwards, he can gnaw on the edge of the table. So we are trying to eat our pasta and choking with laughter as the sight of this little half of a face, staring intently at our plates and making little dents in the wood with his teeth. I also take time to poke little bits of rice and meat into his mouth. Jonathan still gets a little offended when he has to chew food - he doesn't understand why he should bother when he can suck down half a cup of puree in under a minute. So he makes a bit of a face over his mouthful of rice, and rubs his hand over his mouth. Rice everywhere!