A Weekend of First Experiences

This weekend, we went to First Monday in Canton with my parents, my nephews, and my sister and BIL. This was Will's first time out there (except when we went this time last year and I was 5 weeks pregnant). It was hot and VERY crowded, but Will did great! He hardly fussed at all, and he even napped a little bit in his stroller. I think I was crankier than Will was.

Today, when we went to Target, we used our shopping cart cover for the first time and had Will sit up in the seat. He did fine, since he was strapped in by both the shopping cart's tether and the cover's seat belt. I think he liked being able to be up and see more than just the fluorescent lights going by. He got a little fussy, but that was because he was tired. Once I got him out of the seat, he fell asleep in my arms. We were able to lay him down sideways in the cart seat so he could nap (and I could rest my back).

Will has slept through the night since he was about 8 weeks old, but this past week he started a new trend. He wakes up several times in the night fussing. Rolf usually stumbles into his room, tucks his paci back in his mouth, and that works for about an hour or so. We believe that we have discovered the reason: Will is cutting a tooth. We armed ourselves with Baby Orajel today to see if that helps him any.

Also, as you can see above, Will has started to hold his bottle to feed himself. He doesn't have tons of coordination or strength yet, so it's easier for him once he's about halfway through, but he really likes to hold it when he can.

On my front, I have had a sore throat for a week and a half now. I got a shot for strep throat (yuck!) last Thursday, which took care of my feeling like a semi ran me down, but my sore throat has persisted. If it is still sore tomorrow (and I'm sure it will be), I'll be heading back to the doctor to try to kick it once and for all. I've been tearing up my stomach (and my liver) by living on ibuprofen and acetaminophen for the last 10 days. This means that for the last 6 weeks or so, someone in the house has not felt up to par. We're ready for that to end. Fortunately, Will seemed to escape the strep monster. So has Rolf. It was flying all around my school, and as susceptible as I am to the disease, it was inevitable that I get it. Grrr...

Women's World Cup

Slightly off topic, but...

I wish ESPN would re-broadcast the games at a more suitable time! They start at 7 AM here (some at 5 AM!), so we can usually watch about 15 minutes before we have to head out the door. Fortunately, the quarter final game between the US and England is on Saturday, and I know we'll be up at 7 because Will usually gets up at around 6.

The major negative - Will is fascinated by the television. I don't want him to watch it at all until he is two, but I swear the kid can turn his neck 270 degrees to catch a glimpse of the boob tube. I suppose I should be grateful that the major thing he watches is soccer. Honestly? I think he has a crush on Abby Wambach.

4 Month Checkup

Good grief, how is he already four months old?

Stats:
Length - 24.75" (around 50th percentile)
Weight - 14 lbs., 9.5 oz. (around 50th percentile)
Head - 17.5" (around 90th percentile)

I promise you, he is not a lollipop kid! He just has his daddy's huge noggin. Seriously, the older Will gets, the more he looks like Rolf.

The doctor said he had gotten over his ear infections beautifully, and that we were fine to start him on cereal. I admitted we already had because he was screaming every two hours for food. I didn't tell her that we had already been through nearly two boxes of rice cereal and had graduated to oatmeal and rice with bananas. We even tried sweet potatoes last week. He had a couple of blow-outs after that, but we don't know if it was the end of the amoxicillin or the sweet potatoes that caused that. We suspended the sweet potatoes, just in case. We are trying carrots this week. Will doesn't seem to like carrots too much. He will eat a few spoonfuls, but then he looks like he's nearly gagging trying to swallow them, so we'll stop for the night. They say to try new foods for 4-5 nights before giving up on it so the little tykes can get used to the taste. Will may end up like his mommy, though, and dislike cooked carrots. We'll see. I'm very conscientious about keeping my face happy or neutral so he doesn't get any bad vibes toward the carrots from me.

It's really fun to find new things to feed him. We'll try sweet potatoes or squash next week. Our doctor told us to start with the yellow veggies, then head to the green and THEN to fruits. My mom says there's nothing worse than green bean baby food. We may stick with peas, if that's the case. Who knows? My child may be strange enough to eschew carrots but love green beans. We'll see.

Say Cheese!

We took Will in to get his picture made professionally today. He did a great job. He didn't spit up on his shirt, and he didn't get fussy until the very last pose. We ordered some huge number of prints, and we got the CD, which gives us the right to copy and print any others we want. Fortunately, Rolf just installed a really nice version of PhotoShop, so we are really having fun playing with the pictures. Here are a couple of examples of the studio shots. I would have preferred fewer kitchy shots and more plain background (there are some of him surrounded by feathers, for godssake!), but the photographer did capture some cute faces.

Channeling Carol Burnett

Will took his cold to the next level over Labor Day weekend. By Monday, he started tugging at his right ear, so we knew that we'd need to take him in. Rolf stayed home with him on Tuesday and took him to the pedi. He weighs 13 1/2 lbs. now, so he's still a little on the small side for his age group. I wonder how small he'd be if we hadn't started him on cereal! But I digress...

Will is now about halfway through his prescription for amoxicillin - the bubble-gum pink stuff I took over and over again as a child to get me through my yearly bouts with strep throat. As soon as Rolf opened the bottle on Tuesday night, I had major flashbacks of being forced to swallow that stuff. Ugh. Fortunately, Will takes it like a champ. We just stick the syringe up in his mouth like it's a bottle, and he sucks happily on it until the entire dose is in his mouth.

The congestion is clearing up: his cough is much looser, and the gunk in his nose much thinner and clearer. He still seems to be rubbing at his ear, which troubles me a bit. I hope this Rx will get rid of this stuff once and for all. I hate to see my sweet boy in pain. The funny thing is, except when his ear hurts or his tummy gets upset from the medication, he is still happy little Will with the smile that makes your day. He's such a good-natured baby.

Poor Little Man

The "snot goblins" Rolf referred to in his earlier post seem to have exploded into a full-blown cold. Will's face is all puffy, his eyes are red, and he constantly rattles while breathing. He hasn't learned how to blow his nose, so the bulb syringe has become both his best friend and his worst enemy.

We are hoping that this is really just a sinus infection that will go away in a day or so. Poor little guy seems so miserable. All we can really do is bathe him in the Johnson's soothing bath for colds (has rosemary, eucalyptus, and menthol), and keep using the plug-in menthol vapor pads. He's too young for cold or allergy meds.

I know if he inherited my sinuses that this is just the first of many colds. I wish I could take it all from him.

Through it all, though, Will has kept his sense of humor and that sparkle in his demeanor. The lady at daycare said he laughed out loud on Friday, and he was grinning away at us this morning through his red and bleary eyes.