Happy Halloween!

Matthew's first Halloween! He won't be trick-or-treating (the kid can't eat candy, afterall), but he did dress up in his lion costume and get his picture taken with our jack-o-lanterns over the weekend. Too cute! And my husband brought him in to visit me and my coworkers about an hour ago. It was great to hear everyone say how cute he is - just confirms what I already know ;oP Anyway, he's 22 weeks old today (5 months old yesterday!) and here is what the newsletter says:

Your baby boy, Matthew, is 22 weeks (Approximately 5.1 months) old now.
At five months old, babies usually range from 23.5 inches long and 12.25 pounds (10th percentile) to 26.5 inches long and 17 pounds (90th percentile).
Many babies at this age begin to show an interest in solid foods. Your baby may watch you intently while you eat and try to reach for some of what you have. This is one indication that he or she may be ready to try some solid foods. Other signs include sitting well while supported, holding his or her head steady, and losing the "extrusion reflex," which causes him or her to push food out of his or her mouth.
Your baby is probably conducting some new experiments such as dropping his or her toys on the ground to find out what sounds they make when they land. To help sharpen his or her auditory skills and encourage his or her interest in the world around him or her, try pointing out a plane flying overhead, or an ambulance speeding down the street.
If you place a small object on the floor, your baby might be able to rake it towards him or her with his or her hands. Just make sure you stick close to your baby to make sure that the item doesn't end up in his or her mouth or that the object doesn't pose a choking hazard.
Is your baby still not sleeping through the night? Believe it or not this is normal. Even as adults we awaken several times a night, but we learned at some point to put ourselves back to sleep. Until your baby learns how to put themselves back to sleep, you will, unfortunately, be awakened to lend a hand.
Babies around this age also love faces - even their own. Try placing an unbreakable baby mirror in the crib; or if you don't have a baby mirror, trying putting your baby on the floor in front of a mirror. For a few minutes at a time your baby may be his or her own entertainment. He or she has no idea that he or she is looking at his or her own reflection - that revelation will come much later. For now it's just a new adorable baby face that's fun to look at.

Matthew has liked to look at himself in the mirror since he was about a month old - he actually smiled at his reflection before he smiled at mommy or daddy. And we started him on solids over a week ago (forgot to mention it last week)! He does not care for cereal. Bananas, however, are OK. We'll stick with those for a while - I didn't want to give him anything but cereal for a few weeks, but he seems to hate it so much that I wanted to make sure he wasn't objecting to solids in general. Nope, just cereal. So I'm trying to mix the bananas in with the cereal to make it more appealing. Some would say this is the wrong thing to do (because if babies don't get used to bland things they will only want to eat sweet things and we know where that will lead), but I want him to eat the cereal because it's healthy for him. So bananas it is. I'm such a pushover :oP

Go To Sleep!

Here is what the newsletter says this week!

Your baby boy, Matthew, is 21 weeks (Approximately 4.9 months) old now.
Your baby is on the go! He or she likes to creep around the floor and can turn his or her body to see something behind him or her. When he or she is on his or her back, he or she can push his or her chest and part of his or her stomach off the floor to get a better look around.
Your baby is probably strong enough to sit in an upright position and can now face forward as you carry him or her around with the support of your baby sling. Also try moving your baby to your hip; you'll have greater freedom of movement and your back, shoulders and arms will thank you as your hip supports most of his or her weight.
You may notice your baby making obvious, conscious decisions as he or she plays - he or she may reach beyond one toy just to get at a more attractive one. Her or his greater strength and coordination will also allow him or her to squeeze toys to make them squeak. He or she may also be able to hold a bottle all by themselves now.
He or she will closely observe the movements your mouth makes when you speak and may attempt to imitate the sounds and the inflection in your voice. He or she will babble specific sounds in an attempt to get attention and will "talk" back when spoken to. He or she will also mimic your facial expressions, which can be a source of endless entertainment for you!

Well, Matthew isn't quite to where the newsletter thinks he is this week. He cannot "creep," although you can tell he tries to move around - he'll get there before too long. I also haven't noticed him mimicking any facial expressions or a whole lot of sounds. He'll blow raspberries sometimes if you do it to him, or squeal if you squeal. But most of the time when you make noises at him, he'll just make whatever noise he feels like making back at you. He DOES push his chest up off the ground when he's on his back, though, and he is reaching out and taking toys that he wants. And he can almost hold his own bottle. Growing so much :o)

As the title of this post says, Matthew is starting the manipulation that I knew would come but hoped it wouldn't :oP I've been nursing him to sleep for months, which used to put him out so much that he wouldn't wake up when I laid him in his crib. Now, though, as soon as he hits the crib he wakes up and cries. What does he want? Why, to be put in Mommy's and Daddy's bed of course! He'll sleep wonderfully there, but in his own crib he'll wake up a couple times a night and not want to go back to sleep. I've let him cry it out before at bedtime, but I just don't have the willpower to do it in the middle of the night. It's not me feeling bad for him (although I do) that makes me put him in bed with my husband and me. It's just that he's so stubborn that he could cry for 15-20 minutes or longer before he'll finally give in and go back to sleep. And I have to get up at 6:15am for work! So I just give in and go get him. Got to stop that, though, because it will only get worse as he gets older. Silly kid ;oP

20 Weeks and Still Growing!

Another week has flown by...Matthew is fine, by the way. He had a fever for a couple of days and then it just went away. In other news, my cats have herpes. It's a long story, but the most important things - 1) humans cannot catch the feline strain of herpes and 2) they are not going to die. So we're good :oP

Matthew is 20 weeks old today! Here is what the newsletter says about my big boy:

Your baby boy, Matthew, is 20 weeks (Approximately 4.7 months) old now.
Your baby, the little grabber, is working feverishly at improving his or her grasp by latching onto anything and everything that he or she can get his or her little hands around. Your baby will want to touch, hold, turn, shake, and put in his or her mouth everything within his or her reach. If one object isn't interesting enough, it's likely to be pitched in favor of another.
Your baby may be beginning to display some distinct personality traits - is he or she quiet or a nonstop babbler? Is he or she outgoing or shy? He or she may also start to protest when it's time to put his or her favorite toys away as he or she is able to retain the memory of an object even after it's gone.
To encourage your baby to make choices and practice crawling, try placing a toy just out of your baby's reach so he or she has to move to reach it. He or she may also start pushing objects out of reach, either because he or she doesn't like the item, as a game to reach for it again, or so that he or she can get YOU to pick it up for him or her.
Although some friends and family may advocate feeding your baby solids early to encourage him or her to sleep longer at night, you should feel confident if you decide to wait a little longer and continue nursing exclusively. Studies show that introducing solids before six months of age may cause your baby discomfort because his or her still-immature digestive system isn't quite ready for solid food. The end result is often less sleep, not more. Your little one will not be harmed by your decision to wait, and you'll both enjoy the final weeks of exclusive nursing.

Matthew definitely is a "little grabber." In fact, I have a nice little scratch on my chin because of his newfound love of grabbing and squeezing mommy's face! Those little fingernails grow so fast...hard to keep them trimmed. Especially since you can only do it when he's asleep. Well, unless you want to cut off a fingertip. Which would be bad. He also likes to pull out his pacifier, but he can't figure out how to get it back in his mouth. He still doesn't like "tummy-time" and does not roll over consistently, but he is starting to kick his legs and try to get them under him - a precursor to crawling. He can move around in circles when he's on his tummy. Just not forwards or backwards. He can stand for a long time as long as you hold his arms to keep him balanced, and he's not too far away from sitting on his own, from the looks of things. I can't believe how fast they grow in just a few weeks. And everybody keeps saying "you haven't seen anything yet."

Poor Baby :o(

Well, Matthew is sick :o( I use that term loosely, because I don't know exactly what it is he has, but he had a fever of 101 this morning. No other symptoms, though. He's not congested, no coughing, sneezing, diarrhea, loss of appetite, throwing up, etc. Just the fever. And, of course, trouble sleeping :oP I got maybe 4-5 hours of sleep last night because he was up fussing quite a bit. This morning I gave him some tylenol around 6am and he felt much cooler before I left to go to work at 7:30. I almost hated to give him anything, because I know that fevers can be a good thing in that they are the body's way of fighting off infection, but he just seemed so uncomfortable. I told my husband to call me later today and let me know how he's doing. We'll probably end up calling the doctor if he's no better tomorrow. I hate to panic about a fever when he seems fine otherwise - I know that fevers are common in children. But it's scary since this is the first fever he's had that we can't link to his vaccinations. We'll just keep an eye on it.

Well, with all the drama I almost forgot. Matthew is 19 weeks old today :o)

Your baby boy, Matthew, is 19 weeks (Approximately 4.4 months) old now.
Although your baby is sleeping longer at night, it may be a while before he or she stops waking at 6 in the morning; but don't bother trying to keep him or her up later at night in the hopes he or she will sleep later in the morning - that generally doesn't work at this stage of development and you'll just wind up with a tired, cranky baby. He or she might be able to entertain themselves for a few minutes in his or her crib after waking, but for the most part, he or she will be anxious to get everyone in the household up and started on a busy day of playing. Sometimes the best way to allow other family members to sleep longer in the morning is to move your baby farther away from the other sleeping members of the family.
Are your baby's naps getting shorter and less frequent? At this age many babies begin to sleep less and play more during the day and are happy to take three or four naps of about an hour a piece. However, some babies will take several shorter naps, while others will take two longer naps. The number and length of naps your baby takes isn't as important at this stage as the total amount of sleep your baby is getting in a 24 hour period. Your baby should be getting approximately 14 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. If you don't think your baby is getting enough rest, check with your doctor.
Your baby is figuring out who's who in the world and likes Mom a lot more than most others, and may start to feel insecure in the company of strangers. As a result, you may notice your baby is becoming more selective with his or her smiles - strangers are not welcomed as readily as they once were. Your baby is also starting to develop preferences. Your little one may reach out for his or her favorite toys and turn from those he or she doesn't like. He or she may also become attached to one toy more than others and rely on it for security.
Matthew does like to hold onto toys and his burp cloths all the time...especially when he's going to sleep. And he has been insecure with strangers for quite a while. Just his personality, I guess, since he wasn't really supposed to start that behavior till right about now. He just takes a while to warm up to people - once he's been around them for an hour or two they can hold him and play with him without too much trouble. If a "stranger" (i.e. anyone other than mom or dad) picks him up or starts talking to him right off the bat, though, he'll scream. Won't have to teach that kid not to talk to strangers! :o)

Well, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll have some more pictures later this week or early next week. Everyone please send prayers and positive thoughts that Matthew will be feeling better very soon!

Week 18

What, Matthew is ANOTHER week older?! Here we go again:

Your baby boy, Matthew, is 18 weeks (Approximately 4.2 months) old now.
Your baby may be able to play alone with his or her toys for up to 15 minutes. The ability to entertain themselves for longer and longer periods is a big milestone - and one for which you'll no doubt rejoice! You'll also begin hearing him or her happily cooing away with different toys in an attempt to copy the voice inflection and rhythm that he or she hears from you and others. Sometimes your baby may hold a sound while running it through an array of different pitches and volumes. In my house we called this "singing." My mother called it "screeching," but it's easier to appreciate if you call it "singing." It also makes it easier to call it that in the grocery store line when he or she belts one out loudly. If you say something like, "Are you going to sing for everyone in the supermarket?" people will generally laugh and forgive the ear-splitting outburst.
Your little one has come a long way in four short months. He or she is able to hold his or her head steady when he or she's in an upright position; and while he or she is probably not able to sit unassisted, he or she will love the view offered by being perched in a highchair if he or she's firmly supported by pillows, rolled towels or blankets. Your lap will be another wonderful place to sit and view the world.
your baby has probably discovered a new favorite toy: his or her feet! Your little contortionist will easily stick his or her feet in his or her mouth when on his or her back and will play with his or her toes. Games like "This Little Piggy Went to Market" will amuse you both.

Matthew has never stuck his feet in his mouth on his own, but he does like to look at them. He also loves "This Little Piggy" and to play "Pat-a-Cake" with his feet. Better than with his hands, actually. And, yes, he is getting louder all the time. My favorite is when he starts babbling away with his paci in his mouth. He can make some pretty interesting noises - sounds like he might actually be saying words :o) Without it, though, he still usually just makes vowel sounds. At various pitches and durations. So cute...gosh I love the little guy ;oP

Matthew's Exersaucer

Here is my little goofball over the weekend!