5 Months Old!

Mac turned 5 months old 2 days ago. And of course, I'm late with this post because I wanted to be able to post his photos, which were taken yesterday, and then things got busy. But it's here now!

Can you believe we got a photo with him sitting up straight? The block helped to support him, but he really is getting stronger at sitting. Sometimes he can balance sitting straight up with no hands! I can also tell he's trying really hard to do something during tummy time, but I can't tell exactly what. He's wiggling around with purpose and intent, and eventually gets frustrated. I suppose eventually he'll do it and be proud of himself, and that's when I'll know what it is he's trying to do...

We'll be starting solids soon, probably in a week or two. The pediatrician recommended that we start when he's taking 32-35 oz. per day, and that's right where he is. I have the high chair and the rice cereal ready to go.

I don't have any weight or other stats to give you, but I can tell you he won't be wearing many 6 month (or 3-6 month) clothes much longer. As it is, long pants and sleeves are getting to be too short. The short-sleeved onesies fit exactly right now. I've thought about bumping him up to 9 month sizes, but those seem a little too big for him. So he's in-between. I'm sure that won't last long!

Overheard...

Things we hear people say to Mac:

"Guess what! Since you've already had five diaper changes today, you get a free pajama change!" -The MacDaddy

"Your mommy is a lawyer and your daddy is a professor, so when you start talking, we expect you to speak in complete sentences." -Papa

"Pppppt" -The MacMommy (Hey, I'm trying to teach him to make the razz sound. He makes a sound more like "Ggggggh.")

A Chat With the Mac-Man

Recently, someone [whose name will remain Tiffer-schnoodle] asked me if Mac is talking yet. Well, yes. In his own way. Here's a sample of our conversations:

Friday Favorite

Unfortunately, I didn't get this one in time for the "Family and Friends" Christmas Recap post, but I have to share it.

Photo courtesy of Pappy Swindle

Karli and Kai showed Mac how much fun tummy time is! Is this not the cutest photo ever?!

Christmas Recap Part 2: Family and Friends!

While we were in Houston, Mac was very social. He got to see Gigi and Pappy again, which made him very happy. He also got to meet his cousins Karli and Kai, whom he loves very much!  I think they are two of his favorite people in the whole world! I think they had fun with Mac-a-doodle, too, even though he was much smaller than they were expecting. But they would sing his name to him, and he would laugh and laugh and laugh! He thought they were hilarious!

On Christmas Eve, Mac met Grandma, one of his two great-grandmothers. (What a lucky boy to have TWO great-grandmothers!) He also met his Great Aunt Dana and Corey. Oh, and Poquito, who is much smaller than the Doggie-wog at home!

Mac also got to meet, well, everyone else! He was very charming on Christmas day, despite the fact that he had caught his first cold on Christmas Eve.

In fact, he and Nana (his other great-grandmother) really hit it off. She pretty much held him most of the day. She almost didn't eat because she wanted to keep holding him. And she opened her presents while holding him -- until someone convinced her he might drown in all the wrapping paper.

Mac also got to meet Brian, who was Mark's best man in our wedding. As you can see, he's pretty much got the whole "Introduction" thing down.

 Being a social butterfly is so exhausting!

Christmas Recap, Part 1: Getting There

We spent Mac's first Christmas in Houston so that everyone there could have a chance to meet him. Of course, to spend Christmas there, first we had to get there. I don't have unlimited time off, and Mark tends to fall asleep if he drives for more than two hours at a time, so we opted to fly. 

That's right. We flew with our three-month-old baby boy. Luckily for us, Mac seems to like travel as much as we do. He might even be a better traveler than we are. (But we pack lighter than he does.)

I fed him a bottle at take-off, and made sure he sucked on a pacifier on landing, to help with ear-popping. Here's what he did on his first plane trip:

The trip started out with a little of this (smiling and laughing).

Then he moved on to this (binky-love).

By the way, the "binky leash" was critical for the airplane. He will eventually spit out his binky, and it usually goes right to the floor. At home, we can pick it up and wash it, or get him a new one. On the plane? Well, if we could reach the floor in the half-inch gap between our knees and the seat ahead of us, I don't think we'd want to put that binky anywhere near his mouth -- I don't care how much you clean it! The binky leash prevented this problem. I've been known to use it at home, too.

The last two hours (or so) ended with this: sound sleep

.

Babysitting...

Yup, the Mac-Man is officially sitting on his own!  We've been practicing for about a while now, and he could sit for about 1-2 seconds (on a good day).  Then, yesterday, I decided to try first thing in the morning, and all of a sudden, he was actually stable for several seconds! I think he's getting up to 30-60 seconds now.

"Look at me, MacMommy! I can sit!"

He still needs a spotter...

But he's so proud of himself!

Never Mind!

So after all my guilt for using the boppy and making him forget how to roll over, all my concern -- to the extent that I asked the pediatrician, turns out Mac can still roll over. He did it twice in a row yesterday in the morning. Then enjoyed some tummy time. It was almost like he was telling me he could still do it, but he just likes tummy time now!

4 Months Old!

(Well, 4 months and one day... But you know what I mean.)

 

His stats:

Weight: 14 pounds, 8 ounces, 50th percentile
Length: 25 inches, 50th percentile
Head circumference: 41 cm, just under 50th percentile

The pediatrician was very pleased with his growth curve, and said he's developing right on schedule, so that's great news! He also said we should start solids in the next few weeks, so that's very exciting!

I had to talk to the doctor about rolling over. If you'll recall, Mac first rolled over before he was a month old, and continued to do so for almost 2 more months. Because it was interfering with tummy time, I started putting him in the boppy for tummy time. He hasn't rolled over on his own since.In fact, he's been struggling to do it over the past few days. The doctor decided that the previous "rollovers" were really just an accident of anatomy -- his head was big enough for his body to follow -- rather than a result of his musculature. So it's completely normal that he's learning to roll over "the right way" now.

Meanwhile, Mac has really been developing a lot in other ways. His head control is fantastic, and he's working on his "sitting muscles," and sitting well supported. He's also getting really good at grabbing things. He really only reaches when he's lying down and it's dangling over his head, or when he's in the exersaucer. But he will grab just about anything his hand brushes against, and once he grabs, he aims for his mouth!

Oh, one other major development: the doctor confirmed that he is teething. It'll be a while before the teeth actually show, but the gums are definitely swollen. So that explains his uncharacteristic crankiness over the past few days. As of last night, he just started to appreciate the value of teething rings, and he's still getting used to the idea. Sometimes, the MacMommy's finger is just better.

We're Still Here!

Yes, we're still here. Yes, everyone is doing very well. Well, everyone except me. And even I'm doing okay. Basically, we came back from visiting Houston, I was sick, I went back to work full time (and I don't really have any sick days to spare), and we have a three-and-a-half-month-old baby. So not much time left to blog, really. Honestly, we only took down the tree last night. That's right. Our tree was up until January 11th. Aaaah, the joys of being a working mom.

Speaking of the joys of being a working mom, yesterday I came home from work and got the happiest, cutest, biggest smile from the Mac Man. It totally made my day.

And I was very selfish and didn't take any pictures-I just wanted to enjoy it all by myself and remember it in my heart forever.

And then he was awake for about ten more minutes for the rest of the night. It totally made me cry. Seriously, I cried last night because I only saw Mac awake for maybe twenty minutes the whole day. At least he was smiling for about 18 of them...

Anyway, now that we have finally taken down the tree, and now that we have a three-day weekend coming up, I hope to be able to post a little more regularly. After all, I've been taking a gazillion photos, and he's doing some really neat stuff lately. (I'll save that for his upcoming four-month update... Cliffhanger!)

In the mean time, how about some gratuitous cuteness?

Christmas Night: Can you believe this sleeper is already getting small on him?

Karli holding her cousin, "Mac-a-doodle," whom she loves very much, even if he is a boy.

Merry Christmas!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.

"Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!"

- Dr. Suess, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

An Early Christmas Gift: Gratuitous Cuteness!

Merry Christmas!

Cousins

Most of you probably know that Mac has four cousins, but one is very special. His cousin Avery was born one week after him. We are all excited to watch them grow up together. It will be such a unique experience for them to have a cousin so close in age!

At a Christmas Party on Saturday, they got to spend some time together. They are just starting to enjoy staring at other babies, so that was plenty of fun for them. We also sat them together to take a cute picture!

Unfortunately for Avery, we didn't take her bib off. But I think they're both pretty adorable.

I'm looking forward to many years of photos of these two together!

3 Months Old!

What a cutie-pants, if I do say so myself! Mac is three months old today. No doctor's appointment, so we have no idea how much he weighs, but it's probably more than 11 pounds (what he weighed a month ago).

Here's what he's been doing over the past month:

• Discovering his hands. He doesn't stare at them that much, but he's definitely learning to control and use them. He will swat at toys that are hanging in front of him, and if you hold an object up to his hands, he will usually grab it and hold it. And inspect it.  He also frequently puts his hands together (kind of like he's folding them in his lap). Supposedly that's a milestone.
• He's starting to use his mouth more. Those objects he holds? They often end up in his mouth. He also likes to suck on his hand or his arm if it's readily available. Yours will work, too, if it's within the vicinity.
• He's holding his head up really well. He's not always a huge fan of tummy time on the floor, but if you pick him up and hold him against you or sit him up on your lap, he has great posture and wants to look all around the room. He especially likes to stare at the Christmas tree!
• He's not talking as much as I expected, but he's very interested in it. He likes to watch people talk. A lot. He likes to stare at my while I say "ooooooh," and "ho, ho, ho!"  Rarely, he'll even say, "oooh" back. Once he said "ho!"
• He loves to smile at people. He smiles at anyone, now. You can make funny noises at him, talk to him, or even just smile at him, and he'll probably smile at you. 
• His vision is getting great. When I approach him in the swing, he'll smile when he sees me from about 6-8 feet away!
• Best yet, he is sleeping through the night! He's definitely a night person, and doesn't like to go to bed before 11. (He's like his mom, too. If he doesn't want to do something, it just doesn't happen.) But then he'll sleep until 8 or 9 in the morning. A couple of times, he has even slept until 9:30!

There are probably other milestones he's hit that I haven't even recognized yet. And soon, those of you in Houston will get to see for yourself! Only a few days until we get there!  I know he'll love to meet everyone. He's kind of a social butterfly.

Another First

Today is a day I've been anticipating, but not in a good way. Today is the first time that I travel overnight, for work, without Mac.

I'm not at all worried about him. I know the MacDaddy will take very good care of him. After all, he's been doing just that 3 days a week while I'm working. And we've gone over swaddling 101 for night time.

I'm just worried about me. Today is the first day in almost 3 months that I don't get to hold Mac. He'll still be sleeping when I leave, and I don't want to disturb him.

Hopefully, it'll get easier. Leaving at 5:30 am (barely conscious) helps, a little. And I'll be looking forward to seeing him when I get home tomorrow.

You Know You've Become a Mom When...

You think your baby smells like spit-up (a faint smell almost like sour milk), so you give him a bath and put him in clean clothes . . . only to smell the same smell, and realize it's YOU!

He's Got Hands...

And he knows how to use them!  Mac has been swatting at toys that are hanging above him for a few weeks now. But for the last week or so, he's been grabbing toys during tummy time.

As you can see, Freddie the Firefly requires some inspection! [You may have noticed that we modified tummy time. The boppy prevents him from rolling over.]

Ho Ho Ho!

Mac has been a very good boy this year!

Wordless Wednesday

The MacMommy: The Greatest Show on Earth!

 I took these while I was chatting with Mac one day while we were getting ready to go somewhere. As you can see, I was HI-larious!

Yes, he's in his carseat. What can I say? I work best with a captive audience!