Luke had his appointment with the eye specialist yesterday. At his four month appointment with the pediatrician the doctor commented on his eyes possible looking a little crossed and told us to keep on eye on if it looked like it was getting worse. After about a month we did think it looked worse so I scheduled an appointment with the doctor she recommended. My appointment was at 1:20 in the afternoon and after running late because I was waiting for a train and fighting traffic I called ahead to the sitter asking her to have Luke ready in his car seat because I’d be there in 5 minutes. When I got there, she told me he hadn’t eaten since 8:30 that morning because he had a long nap. Oh no! 3 ½ hours ago! I knew he’d be starving but luckily he fell back asleep until we got to the doctor’s office. The doctor was running late and he was hungry but they let me use an exam room so I could feed him in privacy. You’d think that after being fed and burped he’d be satiated and quiet, right? NO! He screamed. He snotted. He threw up. He peed. I changed him. I walked him. I rocked him. I bounced him. I made silly faces at him. I repeated the walking/rocking/silly faces and any other soothing thing I could think of for an hour. I finally went to see an assistant at 2:20. She gave him an exam and drops to dilate his eyes and told us we’d need to wait 30 minutes for them to dilate. He was fussy during the exam and just as fussy (if not more so because of the drops) afterwards. He finally exhausted himself enough to fall asleep for a whopping 10 minutes. And then we waited for the doctor and I rocked and walked and hummed and tried to soothe. We finally saw the doctor who gave me the wonderful news that no, he’s not cross-eyed but yes his tear ducts are blocked. I was instructed to put pressure in the ducts and drain them and irrigate them with saline drops 2-3 times a day. If he still has the blocked tear ducts at 10 months old he recommends doing a procedure to fix it. Luckily when we got back in the car he slept so there was no more screaming baby.
I think he has a slight cold. No fever but some coughing and sneezing and oh, the snot. The snot is so gross. I know I have years of snot ahead of me but it is seriously pretty disgusting.
Silly me thought that I’d have so much time after the doctor’s appointment to run errands, relax and maybe even take a nap. HA! That was a silly idea. I dropped Luke off with the sitter at 5:00 so I could take advantage of an hour and go look at a car I liked. Which was another waste of time. I finally got home at 6:30 and he was cranky – AGAIN. He wouldn’t eat his peas (and I don’t blame him. Have you smelled that stuff? EWWW!) so after more fussing, I put him to bed at 7:30 and he slept through the night. I’m thinking he must be fighting a cold because a) he slept SO much and b) he is such a cranky baby.
Here’s hoping he’s in a better mood this evening and that he eats dinner tonight. I’m going to see if he likes sweet potato. Yummy mashed up sweet potato!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Green beans
We ventured into the world of vegetables last night and let's just say Luke was less than impressed with the experience. I will try again tonight but the green bean puree was not a hit. He's definitely interested in food but I'm not sure what was more disturbing to him - the texture or the taste. He did eat some of it but he also spit out a lot. After I gave up I gave him some rice cereal and it's a lot easier to feed him rice cereal when it's thicker and not so soupy as I what I was previously feeding him.
He melts my heart when I hear him squeeling.
He melts my heart when I hear him squeeling.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
5 months
Little Baby Luke is now 5 months old. In some ways he is like a completely different baby than the little guy I met in the hospital – and in other ways he is exactly the same. He is becoming so vocal now and last night we had an impromptu concert with Mommy, Daddy and Baby. I’m surprised our dog, Samson, didn’t start howling and join in. Luke does his normal babbling but he really likes the “oooo” sounds. He will giggle just by hearing certain words like “Cookie” and “Poopie” and “Luke” so when we say things like “Cookie Monster” he loses it in a fit of giggles. Or when we ask him if he’s got “Poops in his pants” it is the funniest thing ever. He’s started trying to mimic those sounds and you can almost see his little brain working as he watches us and tries to move his lips and mouth in the same way. He figured it out last night and the three of us were singing/saying “ooooooooooo” in the midst of laughter. I love coming home and seeing him and his laughter is the sweetest sound in the world. I try to get video of him because I absolutely love to hear him.
He’s eating rice cereal and we’ll hopefully introduce him to some veggies soon. The main problem with him eating is by the time I get home from work, he’s usually in the middle of his 3rd nap of the day and when he wakes up he’s usually not very cooperative to eat. It’s kind of hit or miss if he eats at night. Grace has him eating during the day now so at least he will stay in the habit of eating every day. I’m still waiting for him to poop fewer times during the day. That’s one of the disadvantages of breastfeeding. He still poops between 3 – 6 times a day. Oh well.
Luke is a master at rolling now and he can’t stay in one spot in his crib. Thank goodness we have the breathable bumpers around 75% of the crib because he propels himself with such brute force. He also will put himself back to sleep when he wakes up at night unless he’s really really hungry. He usually wakes up around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. and fusses a little bit. I resist the urge to go get him and within minutes he’s quiet again. It never escalates to a full cry…just some whining.
He has a doctor’s appointment next week with an eye specialist because of amblyopia and strabismus – aka a lazy eye. So we’ll see what the doctor says. It may be easily treated with a patch or maybe eyeglasses or drops. Or maybe it’s so minor that it just needs to be monitored. I’m hoping that treatment now prevents any other issues later in life. My own eye issues (toxoplasmosis and optic neuritis) make me sensitive to any eye problems he may experience and I hope this is the worst of his eye worries.
He is quite the musician and bangs on his toy piano and creates tunes with his little octopus garden toy. I love playing music for him and he loves to be sung to.
He’s eating rice cereal and we’ll hopefully introduce him to some veggies soon. The main problem with him eating is by the time I get home from work, he’s usually in the middle of his 3rd nap of the day and when he wakes up he’s usually not very cooperative to eat. It’s kind of hit or miss if he eats at night. Grace has him eating during the day now so at least he will stay in the habit of eating every day. I’m still waiting for him to poop fewer times during the day. That’s one of the disadvantages of breastfeeding. He still poops between 3 – 6 times a day. Oh well.
Luke is a master at rolling now and he can’t stay in one spot in his crib. Thank goodness we have the breathable bumpers around 75% of the crib because he propels himself with such brute force. He also will put himself back to sleep when he wakes up at night unless he’s really really hungry. He usually wakes up around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. and fusses a little bit. I resist the urge to go get him and within minutes he’s quiet again. It never escalates to a full cry…just some whining.
He has a doctor’s appointment next week with an eye specialist because of amblyopia and strabismus – aka a lazy eye. So we’ll see what the doctor says. It may be easily treated with a patch or maybe eyeglasses or drops. Or maybe it’s so minor that it just needs to be monitored. I’m hoping that treatment now prevents any other issues later in life. My own eye issues (toxoplasmosis and optic neuritis) make me sensitive to any eye problems he may experience and I hope this is the worst of his eye worries.
He is quite the musician and bangs on his toy piano and creates tunes with his little octopus garden toy. I love playing music for him and he loves to be sung to.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Eating!
We started feeding Luke rice cereal on July 14. It's been kind of random because he was still pushing the cereal out with his tongue a lot. We tried a variety of things to make it work such as playing around with the consistency of the cereal, feeding him before, in the middle of or after his bottle and with different times. The end result was pretty consistent - he seemed to push out more food than he was eating and didn't seem to really enjoy this new eating thing. So when he fell asleep before we could feed him, no big deal. He was happy and it saved me a hassle of struggling with an uncooperative baby. Monday night was the worst when he was sleepy and I wanted to feed him before he fell asleep and he was angry messy baby and even though I had a firm grip on his bowl of cereal he somehow managed to spill it all over himself, the chair, the floor and me. (How did a few tablespoons of cereal make such a big mess???)But last night I think he FINALLY got it!!! He is actually letting me put the spoon in his mouth and sucking the cereal off the spoon and barely spitting anything out. He's still figuring out his tongue but this is major progress and I no longer dread feeding him. The winning formula seems to be nursing him, giving him a bath and letting him poop before we feed him.
The only downside to him eating the rice cereal is that for some odd reason when he successfully eats before he goes to sleep it has the opposite effect - he wakes up MORE than if he just has milk. For instance, last night he fell asleep at about 9:30 and then woke up at 11:30 to nurse and then again at 5:00 a.m. Normally (on non-rice cereal nights) he goes to bed between 9:00 - 10:00 and sleeps until 5:30 a.m. Oh well, I guess it's just another thing we're getting sued to and figuring out.
Everything is a learning experience for him and for me. And I make sure to congratulate both of us when we master something. Yay us!
I will continue the rice cereal at night for a week and then we'll add another serving of rice cereal during the day for a week. Then I think we'll be ready to try introducing him to actual food! It will be so exciting to see his reaction as he experiences new textures. Go, baby, go!
The only downside to him eating the rice cereal is that for some odd reason when he successfully eats before he goes to sleep it has the opposite effect - he wakes up MORE than if he just has milk. For instance, last night he fell asleep at about 9:30 and then woke up at 11:30 to nurse and then again at 5:00 a.m. Normally (on non-rice cereal nights) he goes to bed between 9:00 - 10:00 and sleeps until 5:30 a.m. Oh well, I guess it's just another thing we're getting sued to and figuring out.
Everything is a learning experience for him and for me. And I make sure to congratulate both of us when we master something. Yay us!
I will continue the rice cereal at night for a week and then we'll add another serving of rice cereal during the day for a week. Then I think we'll be ready to try introducing him to actual food! It will be so exciting to see his reaction as he experiences new textures. Go, baby, go!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Bad at updating
I’ve been bad about making updates. Luke is now 20 weeks old and he’s changing so much. At his 4 month appointment he was just shy of being 14 pounds (which is tiny compared to his buddy, Tommy, who is 3 days older than Luke but weighs in at 18 pounds!) He’s mastered rolling over. Well, he’s mastered rolling from his back to his tummy and whining when he’s stuck on his tummy and can’t roll back yet. The rolling is cute…and really annoying when we’re trying to change his diaper and he thinks it would be more fun to change a diaper while he’s rolling, Guess what? It’s not more fun to change a diaper on a wiggling rolling baby. I also find myself singing the Rawhide song to him all the time, “Rollin rollin rollin get that baby rollin rollin rollin rollin Rawhide!”
Other big changes in the last (wow, I haven’t written anything in over a month) weeks are:
* Drooly drooly baby who acted so fussy that we were sure he was teething was just a phase. No teeth are sprouting. He just went through a really drooly cranky phase.
* He’s sitting up better than before and holds his head like a rock star
* We’ve started feeding him rice cereal and I’m trying to be patient but he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of eating yet. He pushes it out with his tongue and it gets all over (of course) and he makes a huge mess. I’ve tried experimenting with the consistency. Trying it really soupy and a tiny bit thicker but he isn’t progressing much either way. I’ve tried when he’s full and when he’s hungry. So far the only thing I found that absolutely does not work is trying to feed him when he’s tired. He cried and whined and spilled the cereal all over so I tried to give him what he hadn’t spilled and called it a night. I know he’ll get there soon and I’ll look back fondly on the days when I only had to give him a bottle or nurse him to feed him and didn’t have to worry about bringing snacks wherever I go.
* He scooches on his tummy like a little lizard baby and makes little inch worm progress as he kicks his legs like crazy. But he won’t be making much headway until he builds that upper body strength a little more. He can do those mini baby push-ups but maybe I should add some of that weight lifter body bulker stuff to his bottle. Then I can have a pumped up baby.
* He’s much more interested and interactive with his toys now. His current favorites are his Caterpillar (with colors, numbers and music), his creepy Glo Worm doll, his steering wheel, telephone, piano and other miscellaneous baby toys (rattle, teething toys, etc.) He is so cute when he’s playing with the steering wheel because he pushes the buttons and he loves the sounds he makes. He also pounds on his piano like a little baby Mozart.
* He found his feet a few weeks ago and he can often be found lying on his back with both feet in his mouth rocking on his little behind. It’s so dang cute! Sometimes he prefers playing with his feet rather than with any baby toys. And he gets mad when I get him ready for bed and put him in his Sleep Sack which is basically a big baby bag that keeps his feet inside. He’s such a kicker that if I don’t put him in the Sleep Sack his tootsies are freezing.
* He keeps putting weight on his legs and likes to stand when supported
* He is really vocal and makes tons of coos and sweet little baby sounds. We have little conversations when I get home from work and ask him how his day was. He coos his response and giggles and sings. He is so adorable it makes my chest hurt.
Here’s his 4 month picture. I’ll be adding his 5 month picture soon enough!
Other big changes in the last (wow, I haven’t written anything in over a month) weeks are:
* Drooly drooly baby who acted so fussy that we were sure he was teething was just a phase. No teeth are sprouting. He just went through a really drooly cranky phase.
* He’s sitting up better than before and holds his head like a rock star
* We’ve started feeding him rice cereal and I’m trying to be patient but he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of eating yet. He pushes it out with his tongue and it gets all over (of course) and he makes a huge mess. I’ve tried experimenting with the consistency. Trying it really soupy and a tiny bit thicker but he isn’t progressing much either way. I’ve tried when he’s full and when he’s hungry. So far the only thing I found that absolutely does not work is trying to feed him when he’s tired. He cried and whined and spilled the cereal all over so I tried to give him what he hadn’t spilled and called it a night. I know he’ll get there soon and I’ll look back fondly on the days when I only had to give him a bottle or nurse him to feed him and didn’t have to worry about bringing snacks wherever I go.
* He scooches on his tummy like a little lizard baby and makes little inch worm progress as he kicks his legs like crazy. But he won’t be making much headway until he builds that upper body strength a little more. He can do those mini baby push-ups but maybe I should add some of that weight lifter body bulker stuff to his bottle. Then I can have a pumped up baby.
* He’s much more interested and interactive with his toys now. His current favorites are his Caterpillar (with colors, numbers and music), his creepy Glo Worm doll, his steering wheel, telephone, piano and other miscellaneous baby toys (rattle, teething toys, etc.) He is so cute when he’s playing with the steering wheel because he pushes the buttons and he loves the sounds he makes. He also pounds on his piano like a little baby Mozart.
* He found his feet a few weeks ago and he can often be found lying on his back with both feet in his mouth rocking on his little behind. It’s so dang cute! Sometimes he prefers playing with his feet rather than with any baby toys. And he gets mad when I get him ready for bed and put him in his Sleep Sack which is basically a big baby bag that keeps his feet inside. He’s such a kicker that if I don’t put him in the Sleep Sack his tootsies are freezing.
* He keeps putting weight on his legs and likes to stand when supported
* He is really vocal and makes tons of coos and sweet little baby sounds. We have little conversations when I get home from work and ask him how his day was. He coos his response and giggles and sings. He is so adorable it makes my chest hurt.
Here’s his 4 month picture. I’ll be adding his 5 month picture soon enough!
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