Not much, but it's something

Busy, but busy is good.  Work is challenging, but also quite gratifying in overcoming those challenges.

So even though the pics were already posted, this is about all I have for an update.  A couple more scrap pages.  Hopefully more to come this weekend.

His "firsts" make me remember my "lasts"

Last night Chicken enjoyed his first restaurant meal. Can you identify the restaurant from the little logo from the placemat?


We used the $20 giftcard one of Brian's clients gave him for Christmas, and took the baby to Hoss's! I laughed my ass off preparing for the trip: Daddy was so worried Hoss's would be jam-packed on a Friday night, that his dinner plans had us rivalling the blue-hairs in their let's-beat-the-crowd early arrival. He actually -- get this -- went into the nursery at 5:30 to wake the soundly napping baby so that we could leave for the restaurant. Which, by the way, is about five miles down the road. But this Daddy of ours had to beat all the other cars there by passing irrationally and tromping the gas. He was convinced every single car on 322, going east and west, was heading toward Hoss's and would beat us there, thereby creating a Godforsaken LINE we'd have to stand in forever with what he was sure by then would be a screaming, head-spinning, scene making devil-child.

So we arrived at dinner at 5:45 and ordered within three minutes of walking in the door. No line, no worries. I do get a kick out of people who have no reason to be familiar with babies and their complete unfamiliarity with babies. Our host, the 18-year old manager, first asked if Cayden would color with crayons or eat them (we passed on the crayons), then asked if we wanted to order a milk for him to drink with his dinner. I was so that oblivious, yet intending-to-be-helpful person a year ago! I mean how was this kid supposed to know that first of all, my baby is too young for cow's milk, and secondly, if you put a regular cup -- one without a leakproof lid, handles and a rubber straw or sip-top -- the bus boys would have a big milky mess to clean up from the table, booth and floor. Because Cayde LOVES TO THROW THINGS TO THE GROUND. Kind of a new thing for him, but he gets a kick out of it.

So anyway, last night he and I enjoyed the salad bar. For him: ham cubes, green peas, noodles and carrots from the chicken noodle soup, beans from the ham and bean soup, an egg yolk, peaches, pears and cottage cheese (hey, he stays quiet and entertained, as long as he's stuffing his face). And it reminded me of the last time I ate at Hoss's more than a year ago, and using last year's gift card from the same clients of Brian's. It had to have been in early March, because it was the weekend of the state wrestling championship. I remember wearning my new maternity jeans, which kept sliding down, and completely pigging out at the salad bar, enjoying the best meal I'd eaten in a long time since the first trimester was over and veggies were appealing again.

Then tonight Chicken shared my Mazza platter from Shab's: hommous, baba ghannouj, tabbooli, falafel and fatoosh. (Grandpa Bill calls it rabbit food and makes funny faces whenever he hears about my favorite Greek treat) Cayden loved it. Although it became very clear tonight that Mama can no longer feed baby finger foods. Food on a spoon? That's OK from Mama. But if it's a finger food, like a pita bite with some eggplant goo on it, Cayden's fingers have to put it in his mouth; no one else's. Which makes dinner a little messier, but a whole lot more fun.

Anyway, our shared dinner made me think back to the last time I had a Mazza platter (and incidentally, the last time I saw that skeeved out look from my father-in-law): the day after Chicken was born. Brian got me a Mazza platter from Shab's and brought it to me in the hospital for dinner on July 29. I totally savored it for dinner, but then I spent the rest of that tortured, trying first night guessing hopelessly at what would make my newborn stop crying. And I vividly remember the parsley smell of Cayden's cries and worrying he was reacting to my dinner.

Turns out he just has parsley cries every now and then; I smelled one last week, in fact.

Anyway, the last two dinners have inspired nice trips down memory lane for me, comparing Cayden's "firsts" to my last similar experience.

Oh, and here's on of the Chicken sleeping a few nights ago. My dad says I used to sleep like this, too. We now get at least one of these poses every day or so, at the end of a nap or at the end of a nighttime sleep cycle. Crack. Me. Up.

9-month well visit

30 inches tall, 23 1/2 pounds, and a head that's 19 inches around. That puts Chicken in the 90-95th growth percentiles.

The bumps we were worried could be chickenpox are not; instead, they are coxsackievirus. Cayden doesn't seem bothered by them, and we don't see any in his mouth, so Doc Baker advised we just wait them out, airing the bumps out as much as possible and taking giving Cayden a couple of bleach baths a week (two caps of bleach in the baby tub), to dry them more. Like father like son: I'd never heard of this virus, but Dad had it as a kid.

We also got the greenlight to add some fish into Chicken's diet, although he can't have shellfish until he's two years old. So tonight we'll make some tuna salad with ricotta for dinner. Mmmm!

(Sidebar.) It's funny to me, remembering how nervous Brian was about introducing new foods into Cayden's diet at first -- for choking and allergy fears. Well, he was always hesitant about the fresh, homemade foods I offered, although he was totally comfortable with jarred baby food, even though the jars combined new ingredients Chicken hadn't yet tried. Anyway, this Daddy who was so nervous about overfeeding and offering too many things is now insistent on regular doses of meat. If Brian had it his way, Cayden would have meat at lunch and dinner, every day. In reality, we make meats happen for dinner at least every other day. (End sidebar.)

A few other questions the Doc answered:

Fat baby feet are normal, even at nine months old. Normal, but challenging for shoe fitting.

But we learned Chicken only needs shoes for fashion and protection (i.e., from hot pavements, snowy streets, pebble-y paths). Dr. Baker says the societies with the least foot problems are barefoot societies, so he's not concerned about structured, supportive shoes for early walkers. Not that we expect walking anytime soon. I just like to be prepared.

Although I'm hoping we've settled into a new, comfortable, lower-output pumping routine (I just had to get used to the fact that 10 - 13 oz. is plenty for his daytime bottles, so long as I nurse him in the morning and night as much as he wants), I did ask about supplementing with formula to make sure Cayden is getting enough milk nutrition. Doc says to keep doing what we're doing (90+ percentile tells him it's working) and not to worry about supplementing with formula if we make it close, but not all the way to the end with breastmilk. He said that if we run low on milk getting toward 11 months old (I think my freezer stash could last to then), to go straight to cow's milk, rather than try formula. Again, I'm probably overthinking things and the boobs will continue to provide just fine through the finish line, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared with a backup plan.

Doc Baker is a proponent of whole milk after a year, rather than 2 percent. But two days of 2 percent a week at daycare is "splitting hairs" and not worth my effort to stock the daycare fridge with Cayden's own personal supply of whole milk beginning in August. Notice a theme so far? I'm so planned and prepared, I should have been a boy scout.

Chicken's eye boogers (big and green, still daily) aren't quite yet reason for concern, but if they're still as gross and frequent in three months, we'll get an opthalmologist in the mix to talk about tear duct opening.

And finally, when Dr. Baker heard Cayden's one-year check up is the day before his First Birthday Bash (this is absolutely our most exciting holiday this year, and since all holidays are capitalized, the First Birthday Bash shall be from here on out, as well), the good doctor suggested scheduling a nurse-only visit for his booster shots the next week, rather than potentially ruin the First Birthday Bash for him.

OK, so I just realized most of my questions for the doctor could have been answered at or just before his one-year check up. Mental note: be sure not to sacrifice today's joy and beauty in an effort to plan for tomorrow.

Gourmet FAIL

So there's still one parfait in the fridge, because Cayden was more interested in playing with his, than eating it. He got a few bites down, but Mama ate most of this one after scraping it off the tray and highchair.




But he really enjoyed all the other new recipes from this weekend!

8 Months Old

Happy 8-month birthday, buddy.

Eight months old brings with it a handful of milestones:

- downward-facing dog. "Wait a minute," Daddy says. "So my son still can't crawl, but now he can do yoga? Great." Still trying to get a picture of it, but over the past few days Cayden picked up a new move, and the best way to describe it is downward-facing dog. Really, he looks just like this when he does it. OK, maybe his form isn't quite what I'd try for in a class, but he plants his feet and sticks his butt up in the air, nonetheless.

- even more grabby-hands and new foods. So Dad starts making dinner (by the way, I realize I forgot to post a Facebook status here, from a few days ago. Check it out, since Daddy deserves all the credit in the world for being a wonderful partner and awesome Papa), and I offer to slice the radishes for our amazing Asian slaw, while I watch Chicken in the living room. So I get through a few and realize I need to carry my little cutting board and my razor-thin radish slices into the kitchen to make more room for more slicing. And I return to the living room to find this.















So chicken had some radishes tonight, and he liked them. A lot.

- grunting and thrusting. I think he's starting to get frustrated with communication. Because over the past few weeks this kid's grunting has increased ten-fold. He grunt-yells, and thrusts both arms forward as hard as he can, obviously trying to get some point across. Usually that point is "I'm still HUNGRY." But occasionally it's "Gimme a DIFFERENT toy," "No, I WANT to kick the bulletin board you worked so hard to create off the wall and onto the changing table,"GIMME the kitty-cat's tail" or "GIMME A BOOB," (which, I guess, is kind of like "I'm still HUNGRY).

- toys in the crib. I don't remember how I realized it, but somewhere over the last week or so it struck me that maybe if Chicken had some toys to entertain himself with in the early morning he would be content to play quietly for a little while before waking us (read: me) for his morning nosh. And I'll be darned if a teddy bear or Taggies elephant (thanks, Erica) in each corner of the crib doesn't give him enough options to keep him quiet for an extra 15 minutes in the morning. Which is the equivalent of hours in pre-baby, repeated-snooze-hitting, mid-morning sleeping days.

- spinning. As in spinning in circles, on his belly, on the floor. Remember the sit-n-spins we used to have as kids? Yeah, he doesn't need to sit, and he doesn't need a steering wheel to power himself. He's content to just keep spinning around, stopping every now and then to dryhump or throw a leg in the air.

- 18-month clothes. Yeah, we had to retire the 12-month stuff and make another trip to Once-Upon-A-Child (and Costco, and the Carters outlet, and the Gymboree outlet, and the Children's Place store, and the Children's place outlet and Babies'R'Us; but all that running around is a different story -- just stay tuned for the Easter photos next week -- they'll be so totally worth the extra 50 miles I put on the car) for a Spring/Summer wardrobe. And swim suits. Little boy swim suits are the BOMB.

Sigh, if only the next four months could drag on like the first four months did. But seeing as how the last four months whipped right by us with all their smiles, giggles, wonder and real, actual personality -- I'm afraid I'll be looking back longingly at my baby boy's first year before too much longer.

Here's to enjoying the moment we're in and savoring it as. long. as. humanly. possible.

(Sorry if the stream-of-consiousness is hard to follow. It's been a long weekend -- for no particular reason, I realize -- and this Mama is enjoying her last glass of wine before bed. Bed at 9:30 p.m., that is.)

A good, old-fashioned eating update

At around 7.5 months we expanded the daily food consumption to include breakfast, bigger lunches and a little meat. Or should I say grandparents had already started introducing breakfasts (you can't keep this kid happy while you're eating, unless he's eating, too), and my daily recaps from Daddy include repeated requests from babysitters for MORE FOOD.

So now Cayden has a breakfast of regular-'ol-instant-oatmeal microwaved with water. Probably about two ounces, but I don't measure.

And lunch has gone from three ounces to four. Always two foods, some combo of veggie and veggie or fruit and veggie.

And dinner remains three to four ounces of baby cereal mixed with pureed prunes or apricots. You know, to keep things moving.

Chicken still has yet to ever refuse any food or additional quantities. I'm beginning to think he's missing that self-regulating-appetite thing all the books say babies have. He'd rather eat until he's exploding and vom up all the milk I work so hard to make, pump, measure and prepare, than turn away when he's had enough.

We also introduced ground turkey and beef earlier this week, and some chicken tonight. All wolfed down, although it is sad and entertaining at the same time to see the little guy excitedly rake at the food on his high chair tray, whip his fist up to his mouth, then open the fist and drop all the food down into his lap, rather than get any in his yapper. He's definitely practicing feeding himself, but he's got a-ways to go, until this pincer grasp develops to get the food where he wants it.

This week also saw the introduction of Cheerios (who am I kidding; they're the Walmart-brand toasted oatie-ohs or something, which are about half the price for the same ingredients), and grapes. However, the grapes are a choking hazard (apparently for quite a while to come, as I learned when I made the mistake of offering 15-month old Rylie grapes on Friday, only to have her mom intercept, biting each one in half for the little girl who was conVINCED the fruit would taste better if it was whole, the way I offered it originally; uugghh, I have so much to learn about how not to kill or maim or piss off a child). So Chicken's grapes get cut in half, then put into a mesh teether. The first time he tried them, he reduced five grapes to nothing but skins in less than 10 minutes.

And for what it's worth, I was worried Cayden would start filling up on food and not want to nurse or drink as much during the day. I've never read about or heard of the 7.75 month growth spurt, but I swear he had it the past few days. He was nursing like crazy -- on top of the increased food -- and he didn't yam nearly as much as he was a few weeks ago (I recycled outfits TWO DAYS this weekend; that's, like, some kind of anti-laundry victory).

We're still nursing five to seven times a day, so I guess he's getting all the milk he needs.

The start of a six-day weekend

Snowed in today, and Monday is a holiday, so Mama is looking at a six-day weekend! Looking forward to spending time with Cayden, maybe skiiing, maybe seeing friends and updating photo and video files!

Here's Shorty this morning, playing with Hercules.

And here's proof for all the grandparents who continue to marvel at what a "neat eater" Cayden is that dinner time is a little different than lunch time. That's prunes and whole grain cereal all over his face, clothes, hands and even in his hair.

Six-month Check-up

This morning we visited Dr. Baker for Cayden's six-month check-up. Chicken Wing was playful and happy through most of the visit, until the wait for the nurses to return with the shots got a little long.

The stats:
Weight: 21 pounds, 5 ounces (95th percentile)
Length: 28 inches (90th percentile)
Head Circ.: 17.5 inches (70th percentile)

At four months his head was measured at 18 inches, but the doc thinks it was probably just a generous measurement. It's doubtful his head shrank.

We asked a couple of questions about eye boogers and food.

Turns out Cayden's life-long crusty eye condition is normal, and sometimes it takes 9 to 12 months for a baby's tear ducts to regulate themselves to not produce nasty yellow and green eye snot. If his eyes are still full of boogers at a year, then we can explore a minor surgery to open up the tear ducts. They like to wait that long, because the baby has to be VERY still for the procedure, and they like to avoid general anesthesia.

As for food, Doc Baker says we're doing the right thing in continually trying to find a balance between satisfying the kid's seemingly insatiable appetite and not overfeeding him. Doc predicts Cayden's appetite will begin to self-regulate over the next six months, so that he's not gorging himself at the boob to the point of spitting up, and fussing everytime we reach the bottom of the food dish.

Oh, and when to introduce meat is up to us: if we want to puree cooked lamb or turkey now, we can; if we want to wait until he can handle texture in foods (avoiding the puree step), that's fine too. Early introduction of meats doesn't pose an allergy risk, but he doesn't need the meat from a nutritional standpoint. I may just wait until his pincer grasp develops --keeping Cayden on grains, fruits and veggies at mealtime -- and introduce meats when he can handle the bigger chunks. Saves some work.

We also got a prescription for flouride and a recommendation to take kiddo to the dentist somewhere between one and two years old. Hmmm, decidedly different advice from what my dentist told me -- that he should get his first check up as soon as the first tooth pops up.

Oh, and Dr. Baker had to pick a cat hair of Cayden's twink again at this visit. **blush**

Then came the shots. Yes, plural. Our schedule had him ready for Pentacel this time, but it turns out that since today is more than four weeks from his last dose of Prevnar, he could have that, too. He didn't have a reaction to either shot before, so I figured, heck, why not do both, to avoid a separate nurse visit for the second shot in February. So he ended up getting both shots, at the same time, from two different nurses, one in each thigh. And he DID. NOT. LIKE. THAT. And he let us know. Even after he nursed (with tears in his eyes), he started crying again as soon as I pulled him off the boob.

I don't know if his first really unhappy reaction to shots is because he's older and more aware, because he got two shots rather than one or some other reason. But I think I'm going back to avoiding multiple shots in one visit in the future. Not only was he upset, but then I got home I realized he got 455 mcg of aluminum at one time by combining the shots. But oh well; what's done is done, and millions of other babies survive multiple doses of aluminum (admittedly still a very small amount) at once.

Shopping with Shorty

Much of today was spent running around, and while I was sure I'd have to eliminate one or more errands, to get Shorty home when he got fussy, I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong.

He sat through my 1/2 hour meeting with Susan from U-Gro perfectly well, occasionally cooing or raspberrying to himself in his carseat. (By the way, we're officially enrolled!)

He snoozed for 30 or 40 minutes while I ran to pick up Spike's food at the vet's office, then drove to Costco and gassed up. He woke up when I put him in the cart at Costco, so I thought that was a perfect opportunity to change his dipe. And sure enough, two of the five women we saw in the ladies room commented on his cloth diapers and said they were familiar with them. It's kind of like a little-known sisterhood, and all the CD moms are excited to find another member of the club. :)

Got through Costco in a half-hour, and Cayden started giggling in his car seat toward the end.

Then on to Walmart, for some cheap produce and groceries (dill carrots and cauliflower are setting up in the freezer for Chicken Wing). I thought he'd sleep through Walmart (it was, afterall, about time for his long afternoon nap), so I moved to the back seat of the car to nurse him before going in. But as he filled up, he became more awake and distracted. And he was already out of his car seat, so I figured, "eh, what the heck, we'll go without the carseat for this trip." I had the sling on me, but then I remembered seeing a baby smaller than Cayden riding in the shopping cart at Costco.

So in the cart he went (after I disinfected every surface I could imagine he'd touch, using five alcohol wipes), and he LOVED it! He giggled, cooed and raspberried the whole way through the store. And boy did this kid attract attention! Four or five people stopped us to ask his name or how old he was, or to comment on what a happy baby he was. I didn't have the camera on me, so the best I could do was take a snapshot with my phone. But I don't do text messages (personal pet peeve), so I think the photo is stuck on my phone, forever. EDIT: Brian and Jeff figured out how to get the picture to my e-mail, so here you go:
When we got home (trunk filled to the brink), I told Dad we should go on a shopping excursion this weekend just for the heck of it, so he could see how happy this kid is in the front of the shopping cart.

Only one minor kink in our afternoon of errands: in the check out at Walmart, Cayden let go of his hand-holds on the shopping cart and tipped over to the side. I caught him before he really hit the side of the cart, but the tip-over scared him a little and big elephant tears rolled down his cheeks. But a quick hug, some kisses and whispers in his ear, and he was just fine.

So what lesson did we learn today? Suddenly, this kid is an attention magnet at stores!

Cayden is five months, three weeks and three days old. And tossing his head, side to side like Stevie Wonder, for a week now.

New noises and more food

Yesterday Cayden started making a noise like he's clearing his throat or choking. Wow, does that new noise sure entertain him!

Oh, and we had what we think was our first temper-tantrum late last week. After his wheat cereal supper -- while still in his high chair -- Chicken Wing suddenly started screaming bloody murder -- a scream we've never heard before, and he had real tears, red face and all. Brian thought he hurt himself and came running from the kitchen, then we both just kind of stared at him wide-eyed for a few seconds, trying to figure out who the hell had taken over the body of our agreeable little boy. I don't know if he just wasn't satisfied with his two tablespoons of cereal or what, but something seriously pissed the kid off.

Speaking of small amounts of food, we did up Shorty's lunch portions a couple of days ago, after Mary the LC assured me he's ready for more if he's letting us know he's ready for more. I was nervous about filling him up with too much food so he wouldn't be as hungry for the milk that supposed to sustaining him almost entirely for another month or so. But Mary put my concerns to rest; he's still nursing and drinking as much as he was before, so the "meals" are just extra calories, not replacement nutrition.

This kid has yet to ever turn away from a spoon or boob.

The past couple of days he's had an ounce of yams or sweet potatoes AND a third of a banana for lunch. Then two tablespoons of cereal at dinner.

Cayden is five months, two weeks and one day old.

Yay for veggies!

While rice cereal and oatmeal turned Cayden's poops into messes the consistency of peanut butter (YUCK), it seems adding a little veggie (sweet potato) to his diet firmed things up into nice, ploppable poops!

That's right, no scraping needed, these poops just fall right off the dipeys, into the toilet.

Since Christmas, Cayden has had sweet potatoes a handful of times, and we tried a bit of avocado on New Year's day. Not a big fan of the avocado, so we'll try again later.

Then today, Shorty reached for my banana, so I gave him a little taste, in a mesh teether. He seemed to like it. And I know we're breaking all the rules (introducing more than one food every few days), but when he reached for the spoon I was using to clean the last of his pear puree from the bowl, I just had to give him a taste. He's a big fan of pears.

This afternoon I began making baby food purees, which we'll probably use for the next three months, until he's better able to "gum" or mash soft foods up in his mouth himself. Peas and pears are already setting up in the freezer, and sweet potatoes and butternut squash are in the fridge, awaiting room in the baby food ice cube trays. Tomorrow I hope to finish up the weekend's baby cooking with zucchini and apple purees.

And thanks to Lauren and Jeff, we now have a stand-alone freezer for all the breast milk baggies and baby food cubes that are starting to take over both our kitchen and garage freezers.

Cayden is five months and five days old.

Baby's First Christmas

What a fantastic long weekend with Cayden.

He was a near-perfect baby during the children's Christmas Eve service. He was very tired though, so eventually I gave him a little snack to help him calm down his minor bruitzing. Which really freaked Brian out, since I didn't pack a hooter hider. But one of Cayden's blankets worked perfectly to cover everything discretely, and Mama just sang along to the hymns seated, while everyone else stood with their candles. It was a really special moment for me, actually. Nursing my love in church on Christmas Eve while singing to him by candlelight. And boy oh boy did my boys look handsome.

Went for dinner and presents to Grandma and Grandpa's house, and baby will surely love his activity table. He was a little too tired for it on Christmas Eve, but the sounds, lights and colors will entertain him in the coming weeks and months.

And while Mama will appreciate the baby food cookbook and Beaba cooker more than Cayden will, he'll certainly enjoy the fruits (but first veggies) of the machine's labor. :) (Thanks for the suggestion, Molly -- we can't wait to spend a weekend steaming and pureeing baby food!)

Christmas morning was spent at Grammy and Grand-dude's house, and Cayden much preferred eating bows to actually playing with his new toys. But he's starting to get a kick out of his new jumperoo, and we know he'll love having his own train set next Christmas season. Mama was particularly thankful for the new bedtime stories; now our collection is big enough that I shoudln't get too sick of reading any stories too often.

Christmas dinner for baby included homemade sweet potatoes, his first non-cereal food, for the first time. He wasn't so sure about the first bite (what an adorable look of confusion when he realized this stuff wasn't rice cereal or oatmeal), but he decided he likes sweet potatoes and ate all 2 TBSP. mixed with milk.

Then a little naked baby for desert. What a hoot.

And then we hit the road to East Hanover, to spend the evening with the Fasnacht crew. It never ceases to entertain me how all our family members continue to proclaim how advanced and intelligent their grandson, great-grandson, cousin and nephew Cayden is. What a proud, doting, loving family -- although probably a little biased and presumptuous. In any case, Cayden waved bye-bye to everyone at bedtime, whether he did it knowingly or coincidentally.

And Mama and Daddy got to spend some relaxing one-one-one time the day after Christmas, getting massages and enjoying a romantic dinner.

A great holiday, all around.

Poopoo in the Potty

No, Cayden hasn't started potty training. But oh how the poop landscape changed with the introduction of rice cereal!

This morning we got the first post-rice cereal poop, and unlike his very liquid poops to date, this one was much thicker, like peanut butter. And it stuck to his buns, requiring more than just a gentle wipe to clean him off.

I decided I didn't want to let the peanut-butter-poop dry out in the diaper pail until I do diaper laundry later this week, so this morning I began our poop-scraping journey, which I read will be quite interesting over the next couple of years.

Used way too much toilet paper to get the poo in the toilet, so now I'm on the hunt for a poop-scraping aparatus. Plastic knives, spoons and putty knives have been recommended to me, so far.

Since he's only pooping about once every 8 days now, I guess I have a week to pick my poop scraper.

Sleeping through the night

That's right, folks -- we have a baby who has been sleeping through the night for a week!! Not the "sleeping through the night" adults are used to, but ever since last Friday, his first stretch of sleep has gotten longer and longer after bedtime.

Last Friday he slept almost five hours before waking up -- a heck of a lot different than the up-every-hour crap he was doing not to long ago -- and last night he slept from 8:15 to 4:40 a.m. before waking for a snack!

And the icing on the cake? Now it only takes me 15 minutes to put him to bed, before he's completely out for HOURS.

Sooooo, is it coincidence that we started rice cereal last Friday night, and he's been sleeping like a champ ever since that same night? DOUBTFUL.

I know the docs don't necessarily agree that rice cereal makes babies sleep better, and I've heard from a few moms whose kids definitely did NOT sleep better after rice cereal.

But my baby? Yeah, rice cereal helps him sleep much more deeply and peacefully. Still glad we waited until we got the go-ahead from the pediatrician, but boy am I loving those magic little sparkly flakes now.

And I'm also really glad we don't have to revisit the CIO discussion, at least for a while. Brian is just thrilled that Cayden goes to sleep so fast and stays asleep so long, so we're OK with the fact that he nurses pretty much to sleep at bedtime and at his (now only!!) nighttime feeding.

And I'm sure now that I've committed this to writing he'll return to his horrible sleep patterns forthwith.

Haven't posted any photos in a while, so here's my handsome boy last Sunday, rolling around on the floor.


And here's what I came back out of the kitchen to find, after grabbing a glass of juice. Chicken Wing watching NFL countdown.


And one more. Cayden making out with his gifaffe, Sophie. Mmmmm, sloppy giraffe action.

Rice Cereal!!

Four-Month Well Visit

Well, Cayden is thinning out and becoming more proportional, although he's still at the top of the growth charts. His stats are as follows:

Head Circumference: 18 inches (97th percentile)
Length: 26.5 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds, 3 ounces (97th percentile)

Dr. Baker gave us the green light to start solid foods, so I brought the high chair up from the garage this morning, and as soon as Chicken Wing wakes up, I'll start putting it together while he plays.

We may try some rice cereal tonight -- about a tablespoon mixed with breastmilk and fed to him using a baby spoon (rather than bottle, because of choking hazard), all as the doc recommended.

Doc Baker says he approaches sleep and BF kind of in the middle of the two extremes. While he thinks Cayden is a little young at four months for hard-core Ferberizing, he does think we can encourage him to learn self-soothing and putting himself to sleep by repeatedly presenting him opportunities to do so. He says to keep putting him in the crib, but if he screams and cries, we can certainly pick him up and soothe him, but then put him back down in the crib. His theory? After 8, 10, 12... tries, Cayden will start to learn it's just easier to fall asleep than fight it and go through the up-down, up-down routine.

The doc is also confident Cayden is eating more at night following the days I'm away from him, because he simply couldn't grow like this if his intake all day long was comparable to the 13 ounces he has during the 10 hours away from me. So he's not concerned about night feedings or feeding on demand at this point. He said that if multiple night feedings are still interrupting sleep around 9 months, then we'll explore whether or not he's looking for food or something else.

In short, Dr. Baker says we shouldn't worry about developing bad habits at this point. He says we're still in "survival mode" -- very common with a four month-old breastfed baby -- and that he wouldn't worry about bad habits until somewhere between 9 and 12 months.

Kind of reassuring, but also kinda not, since he basically said to keep doing what we've been doing (even trying the bedtime CIO we did for the past two nights with questionable results) and keep looking for opportunities to help him learn to self-soothe and go to sleep on his own.

About the past two nights' bedtime CIO routines: they were tough on us (we were both ready to quit at varying points each night), but both nights he did fall asleep on his own within an hour, and he slept until 2 or 2:30 each time. 40 minutes of crying Wed. night and 50 minutes of crying last night. Heartbreaking. But the progressive waiting approach did allow him reassurance every so often that we were still around, and he had eaten shortly before, so we knew he wasn't hungry. Just unhappy. It's tough stuff bein' a baby.

And bedtime CIO, whether it becomes regular or occasional, it about all we can take at this point. Doc Baker did say he doesn't recommend pushing it to nighttime wakings at this point, which is A-OK by us. His little I-cried-for-almost-an-hour-last-night puffy eyes this morning -- although he was all smiles and giggles when he woke -- were enough to convince me that taking small steps forward is plenty progress for now.

Oh, and Dad's biggest concern was put to rest. Before bathtime and after naked tummy time, Shorty's "shortie" usually shrinks back so that you can barely see it. But "disappearing penis" is actually a medically recognized and completely normal condition in infants. It looks funny, but it's nothing for Dad to worry about.