life with a new baby
All About Nathan
He’s not so little anymore
Aug 31st
So Nathan had his 18-month well-check today, and he’s doing great! He’s growing so fast. He’s in the 70th percentile for his height and the 80th for his weight. I remember this time last year, how we were struggling with his weight-gain issues because I wasn’t producing enough milk, and then once we started supplimenting with formula to help him gain weight, we had to deal with the allergy he developed to the cow’s milk protein found in all infant formulas (with the exception of soy and hypoallergenic formulas). Nathan was so little and so thin that I wondered if he would ever gain enough weight. And now look. He’s such a big guy!
So the only thing he’s really behind on is talking. By now, he should be using at least 4-10 words regularly. He doesn’t. He’s said numerous words… like cat, dump truck, car, what’s that, truck, dog, book, six, seven, ten (and a few other numbers)… but he’s only said them a handful of times and then he just stops saying them. He doesn’t use any word regularly. The pediatrician says it’s very common with stubborn kids, which was established when Nathan was nine months old and stubbornly holding in his poop, making himself constipated.
I also didn’t talk much when I was his age. My mom said that I said my first sentence when I was 19-months old, and she was completely shocked because it came out of the clear blue. She said she had a habit of tripping on the stairs, and as she was going down them, I said “Be careful, Mommy.” Then, I didn’t say anything else until I was about two-years old, and when I did, it was as if the flood gates had been opened.
But to be on the safe side, if his vocabulary hasn’t increased in a month or two, his pediatrician would like to refer him to a speech therapist to have him evaluated.
So, other than that, the little man is doing great! He’s happy, healthy, and totally Nathan.
Mean Ole Mommy
Aug 21st
So here lately, whenever Nathan gets in trouble for something, he stretches out his arms, toddles up to me, and gives me kisses and hugs. Even with little tears streaming down his face.
It doesn’t matter if I say a simple “No, not for Nathan” or “Don’t touch that, little guy.” His eyes well up with sparkling tears, his chin quivers, and he starts wailing a broken ambulance siren. Then he throws his little arms around my neck and kisses me.
That’s why I can never be mad at the little guy. He’s such a sensitive, precious sweetheart, and it breaks my heart when I have to hurt his little feelings and not let him do something that could cause him to get hurt, such as playing with electrical cords or grabbing the scissors the millisecond that I have my head turned. (How DO their little hands move SO quickly?). The way he acts when I have to tell him no, you’d think I’m the meanest mom in the world and that I callously crushed his heart!
This isn’t going to get any easier as he gets older… is it?
Nathan and Pez candy dispensers have more in common than you’d think
Aug 20th
Watching Nathan run is hilarious! The little guy has this big ole head, so when he runs, his head kind of tilts backwards.
Like the top of a Pez candy dispenser when it’s opened.
And I cant help but laugh. Every single time.
Sir Reads-a-Lot
Aug 3rd
As we all know, Nathan loves to read his books. The poor kid will go through great lengths to sneak behind the rocking chair in his room to he can get into his stash of books on the bookcase. Then he will sit quietly and “read” each of his books multiple times. He doesn’t touch anything else on the shelves. Just his books.
So sometimes I’ll let Nathan play with his books when I can supervise him. (If I let him play with them unsupervised, he totally mauls them into lumps of chewed up, spineless shreds of cardboard, mere remnants of their former glorious selves.)
Notice Turbo on the other side of the gate. On any given day, whenever I have Nathan in his room, you can count on Turbo sitting patiently in that spot, diligently trying to look as disinterested and unconcerned as feline-ly possible. But that cat, for some crazy ass reason, loves Nathan. And he sits there, biding his time until the fur-yanking and tail-pulling can commence. YOU NEVER LEARN, DO YOU, TURBO? You never learn.
Mr. Monkey Feet… Part 2
Jul 14th
I’ve talked about Nathan and his monkey feet here… and guess what? He is STILL Mr. Monkey Feet. This is how Nathan typically has his feet when he’s sitting in his highchair. He can never just sit still; his little feet are constantly tapping the underside of the tray, looking for something to latch onto. Being the little monkey feet that they are, I am not surprised.
And when his feet aren’t latched onto the tray, they’re politely crossed at the ankles, resting for a moment. I still kiss those little baby feet. I can’t help myself. Because it won’t be long before I won’t be able to anymore.
Food flinger
Jul 14th
Nathan had his 15-month well-check yesterday! (I know, it was a month late, but the pediatrician’s office we go to stays booked.) His weight and height are both in the 73rd percentile, which is wonderful because this time last year, we were having severe weight-gain issues with Nathan as my milk supply suddenly started to diminish. It took a change of pediatricians (to the one we currently have), a lot of pumping (using a hospital-grade pump) taking an herb called Fenugreek to help increase my supply, and supplementing with formula. And it took months of intensely hard work and perseverance to get Nathan out of that 1st percentile. (Yes, he became that skinny.) But now? Now, he’s a little Chub Monster with dimpled, meaty thighs, totally nomable cheeks, and a rotund belly that jiggles when he laughs.
He’s doing great. He’s meeting all his milestones. Well, with the exception of feeding himself with a spoon. We’re having issues with that one because he still wants me to feed him. A few months ago, he was starting to spoon-feed himself and was doing well, but somewhere along the way, he decided that the food on spoons is meant to be flung.
He became a food flinger.
And then he would just play with his food and bang his spoon on his highchair. It drove me batty. When I saw the amount of food in his lap, on the floor, and even on the walls, I started worrying that he wasn’t getting enough and that he would lose weight and become a Thin Man again. I didn’t want that. So I just kept feeding him myself.
And it looks like I’m not going to have to worry about him being too thin. So hey, Nathan. You’re going to have to start feeding yourself with your spoon, buddy. Even if it means half of your food ends up everywhere but your mouth and you have to go hungry for a meal or two before you figure it out. Trust me. When you’re around other kids, you don’t want to be the only kid in the room who can’t do something.
Recent Comments
Yes! A personal maid would be perfect! Oh, that would free up SO much of my time!!
I'll take a double-layer chocolate one!!
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Don't you just love it? sometimes, I used to think my kids should have come equipped with their own maids ...