Back in the Saddle
It seems without the commitment of posting every day, I’ve fallen back into my regular posting habits. I think I need to set a new goal for myself. I feel as if every day is perhaps too much, as I’m afraid I’ll just write a bunch of pointless drivel. Every three days however, is a much more realistic goal, I think. Unless the three of you reading enjoyed reading my silly posts every day, then perhaps I will go back to that.
As far as what I’ve been up to lately? Mostly banging my head against the wall. I decided to do a homemade Christmas this year, but on top of that I decided I’d make some Christmas cards. Unfortunately, the Christmas cards took too much time to make (I only got three of them done), and it has taken me away from the much more important task of making Christmas gifts. Aaaand doing all this while taking care of six month old? There are some days when I truly think I’m insane.
Alex is doing ok. Not great. Not bad. Just ok. The past few days have been difficult. He’s been very fussy, and last night he just wouldn’t sleep. Something was bugging him, and I can only imagine what the cause may be. Our best educated guess is that he’s teething again, since everything is being chewed on and he’s drooling like a mad man. I mean…the spit! It’s just pouring out of his mouth. On top of drooling and being fussy, he’s trying very hard to crawl. He’s started the backwards rock that I understand is one of the final stages to launching forward into the world of momentum. We are pretty much screwed. I’m only hoping he won’t truly master it until we move into our house, since I can completely baby-proof it. The in-laws house, where very nice, is not exactly the most baby-friendly of places. They own lots of pottery and furniture with sharp edges.
If you noticed the flickr feed on the right of the page, you’ll notice that Aaron uploaded the Santa pictures that were taken last week. 
New Sounds and New Foods
Alex has been exercising his voice quite a bit lately. Not in volume (thank goodness) but in sounds. A couple of days ago he said “da,” and the following day he said “ba” and “ga.” Since then he has been experimenting with consonants and vowels to the great delight of all those around him. It’s the closest thing to language I’ve heard come out of his mouth yet. Before it was mostly oooohs and aaaaahs, but this is much more advanced. It’s rather fun to listen too.
In the food department, he has tried two new foods. Sweet potatoes were a huge hit. So huge in fact, that the first day he had them he ate half the jar! Tonight we attempted peas. Peas did not go over so well. He didn’t refuse to eat them, he just made sour faces when they got into his mouth. His expressions were priceless and I’m sorry I didn’t have a camera on hand to capture the moments.
The most striking thing about feeding Alex is how proficient he is at it. When we started with bananas, we just smushed it and fed it to him with our fingers. With sweet potatoes, we obviously had to use a spoon. I expected most of the food to come out of his mouth, as I’ve seen most babies do, but Alex got it all in. He was messy, but not nearly messy as I thought he would be when we finished. He understood how the spoon worked, and how to keep the food in his mouth! This whole experience has been so much fun!
Christmas Pictures Tomorrow!
Tomorrow will be Alex’s first professional photos. He and his cousin Maeve will be getting some Christmas portraits done, and hopefully soon we’ll have cute images for the whole world to see. I just hope he’s cooperative, because he was pretty fussy today. I am actually curious to see how he’ll do. It really could go either way. Sometimes he’s so chill and relaxed with new things, and other times he freaks out. Wish us luck! 
High Chair Adventures!
Here’s a picture of Alex’s first time in a high chair.
Alex in a high chair.
Food?! What’s all this then?
For the last two weeks or so, Chrissey and I have been trying to figure out if it’s time to start Alex on “solid” (albeit mushy and runny) foods or not. He’s been grabbing at glasses and trying to drink from them and we’ve let him try water a few times to no ill effect. He’s been watching us eat and has tried to intervene many times and he loves sucking on a spoon. It seems to me that Alex is saying he wants to try out this whole food thing.
The AAP says that you shouldn’t feed your kid solid foods until he is 6 months old. Full stop. No questions asked. As if some magical thing happens to every child at exactly the same age regardless of any other factor. This seemed to me to be somewhat arbitrary and confusing since babies are inherently HUMAN. Humans aren’t exactly even close to the same. We usually agree with what they have to say, but this seems kind of crazy.
So. We read what the experts said and thought that it was crap or questionable at best. Then we checked out our favorite baby book which is handily called The Baby Book by the well regarded Dr. Sears. He is probably one of the most well read individuals on the planet and we’ve taken much advice from his books in the past. In the latest edition, he takes the AAP’s advice and adds the twist of actually listening to your baby.
This wasn’t a search for the answer we wanted, mind you. We want to do what’s right by Alex so that he doesn’t end up with some awful chonic stomach illness down the line. He’s been doing all the things they say to look for when it comes to eating. He’s obviously ready and we didn’t want to do something incredibly dumb if there really was a hard and fast good reason to not feed him solids. Turns out we don’t think there is.
Alex’s first solid food is BANANA! I sat him on my knee, put some squished up banana on my finger and let him suck it off. At first he was a bit confused and then the light turned on. It was a revelation. He loved it and wouldn’t stop eating. I had luckily only pulled off the very tip of the banana to eat, or he would have gone bonkers.
I’m so happy he’s eating food now for the simple reason that I can satiate a need that was so obviously, to us, being unanswered. I’m happy to watch him grow and learn new things and every little new trick in his arsenal is amazing.
Here’s a picture. There are more on the flickr stream.
Melted Heart
I was getting ready for bed while Aaron was holding Alex. As I approached the bed, Alex saw me and actually reached for me with a big grin on his face! He reached for me! It’s the first time he’s done it with such obvious intent, and now my heart is permanently melted. Well, at least until the next time he does something wonderfully cute or amazing.
I love my little man.
I don’t have much to say right now, except I’m happy. I really love this little guy who is sleeping on my shoulder and snoring lightly. Some days are tiring and difficult, but overall I’m blessed. Sometimes nothing makes me happier than simply watching him, and nothing lights up my day more than when he smiles at me.
I love my little man.
Are we teething again?!?
So, Alex has been chewing on everything in sight, and I thought maybe it was just because he wanted to try out his new two bottom teeth. Then yesterday, he started the screaming thing he did when those two showed up, so it’s got me wondering whether or not he may popping out a few more. Otherwise, I don’t know what’s going on with him. Cranky baby. Whatever it is, I hope it passes soon. I’d like to get some sleep sometime and relax a bit.
Oh, and that whole take a picture a day of Alex for the month of December thing? Yeah, that’s not happening. I keep forgetting to get the battery charger out of the car. I might still do it - just later than originally anticipated.
