Here are the stats that probably only my grandmother and my in-laws are interested in seeing: At Soren's four-month wellness visit, he weighs 13 pounds, 5 ounces (25th percentile) and is 24 3/4 inches long (50th percentile). Other than his poor little nose being stuffed up from a cold, the doctor says he looks great and is healthy.
He had a lineup of vaccinations, which caused him to scream, but otherwise, I'm amazed at how calm Soren is during appointments since Oliver screamed through all his visits to the doctor. With a snack cup full of Cheerios in hand, Oliver was in a congenial mood this time around since he wasn't the one seeing the doctor, and I laughed when the nurse told Oliver it was nice to see him smiling. I guess they recognize us!
Soren being my second kid and a healthy one, I didn't have any concerns or questions, except for one. I wanted to know at what age eye color is determined. I'm still holding out for a blue-eyed kid. And maybe that will be the case. If he's going to have brown eyes, the doctor said they would have turned brown by now.
Kiera, Matteo, Oliver and Soren
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Elusive sleep
I would not classify Soren as a bad sleeper, but gosh I wish he were sleeping through the night by now. Earlier this month I thought we were making progress because he was only getting up once or twice a night. But then once or twice became always twice and before I knew it, I couldn't keep track of how much I was up at night with him. We were a long ways away from those tiring nights during weeks two through six of Soren's life when he was up every one to two hours and I often didn't fall asleep between feedings. It hadn't been bad like that, but when his multiple waking started developing a schedule, (when has yet to have a daytime nap schedule) I had visions of Soren being eight, nine, ten months old and still waking up multiple times a night. The parents of those kids want to pull their hair out.
A few weeks ago I told Chris, "Soren has until President's Day weekend to start sleeping through the night, or..."
Before I could finish, Chris jumped in. "Or you're gonna give him back?" he asked.
"Of course not!" I cried.
No, I meant it'd be time for an intervention. Presidents' Day weekend seemed logical because there was an extra night to the weekend and seasoned parents always recommend staging interventions that are going to cause loss of sleep on weekends when you have less to loose with sleep-deprivation. Two days later, it was in the middle of the week and 1:50 a.m., and my impatience had peaked. The intervention was starting right then. I was already sleep-deprived, so it couldn't get that much worse, I reasoned. Besides, I didn't think I'd make it to Presidents' Day.
Although I strongly believe that kids need to learn to soothe themselves, I'm honest that it's not easy. Soren cried a lot that first night, and then even more the third night, (he only woke up once that second night and I naively thought we were past the worst) and I think being so tired was all that kept me from leaping out of bed as I lay there thinking I was a bad mother and wondering whether Soren was going to grow up hating me. (Sleep deprivation does crazy things to the mind.)
Despite the restless nights, Soren woke up smiling each morning and excited to see me. And I was happy we'd staged the intervention, because other than a two-night set-back a week later, Soren's been consistenly going to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. and sleeping until around 4:30 a.m. I feed him and then we both go back to sleep.
I still long for the time when I'll really get to sleep through the night, but for now, at least we've got a maneagable routine going. Now I've just gotta brace myself for whatever the next sleep transition is.
A few weeks ago I told Chris, "Soren has until President's Day weekend to start sleeping through the night, or..."
Before I could finish, Chris jumped in. "Or you're gonna give him back?" he asked.
"Of course not!" I cried.
No, I meant it'd be time for an intervention. Presidents' Day weekend seemed logical because there was an extra night to the weekend and seasoned parents always recommend staging interventions that are going to cause loss of sleep on weekends when you have less to loose with sleep-deprivation. Two days later, it was in the middle of the week and 1:50 a.m., and my impatience had peaked. The intervention was starting right then. I was already sleep-deprived, so it couldn't get that much worse, I reasoned. Besides, I didn't think I'd make it to Presidents' Day.
Although I strongly believe that kids need to learn to soothe themselves, I'm honest that it's not easy. Soren cried a lot that first night, and then even more the third night, (he only woke up once that second night and I naively thought we were past the worst) and I think being so tired was all that kept me from leaping out of bed as I lay there thinking I was a bad mother and wondering whether Soren was going to grow up hating me. (Sleep deprivation does crazy things to the mind.)
Despite the restless nights, Soren woke up smiling each morning and excited to see me. And I was happy we'd staged the intervention, because other than a two-night set-back a week later, Soren's been consistenly going to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. and sleeping until around 4:30 a.m. I feed him and then we both go back to sleep.
I still long for the time when I'll really get to sleep through the night, but for now, at least we've got a maneagable routine going. Now I've just gotta brace myself for whatever the next sleep transition is.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Soren update: 4 months
My grandmother asked excitedly what Soren likes doing. Lots of fun things, I answered, for a four-month-old. Listed in order of importance, Soren's top interests at four months of age appear to be:
When I started my new job, Oliver, Soren and I had to bow out of our Tuesday morning ECFE class, but we luckily got into the same Monday evening class Oliver and I participated in last year. When you're new to a class, you're asked to answer a couple questions about the likes and dislikes and personality of your child so their teachers can get to know them better. I probably wrote multiple paragraphs for Oliver when we first started participating in ECFE, but this time around, when asked how I would describe Soren, I just wrote one word: chill.
Just recently Soren has become a thumb-sucker! I just knew he was going to be. From birth he's liked having his fists up by his face when he sleeps and as soon as he developed the coordination to get his little thumb into his mouth, he's been sucking away. I'm sure I'll think it's gross as he gets older, but until he starts crawling and getting into things, his hands stay relatively clean and I think he's adorable sucking his thumb.
Soren can put a lot of weight on his legs and can even "walk," meaning we support him under his armpits and push his body forward so that the momentum causes him to left his legs and bend is knees and propel himself forward. Some have commented they think he's going to be an early crawler because he's already trying to scoot a little. He can't cover much ground, but if you place him on the floor and go into another room, he's not necessarily going to be in the exact same spot when you come back.
I mentioned earlier that Soren likes to chatter. When he's in a really good mood, he screeches and sings his happiness. Some babies wake up screaming, but recently Soren hasn't been crying immediately when he wakes up. He'll lie in his crib and screech/sing to himself.
For a kid his age, Soren has the patience for sitting and looking at a book. It's funny to observe how engrossed he appears to be in a book. He stares intently at the pages and because he's too young to grab at the pages and doesn't care yet what's being read to him, you can older kids books (i.e., more interesting books) to him. The cutest is when I read to both Oliver and Soren in Oliver's bed. I prop Soren against a pillow next to Oliver and tuck them both under the covers. Talk about looking like two peas in a pod.
I think we've got Soren onto three naps a day, it's just the problem is that he still has no predictable schedule. He'll easily take a nap in his crib first thing in the morning, but given that he's not sleeping through the night yet, his wake-up time varies, and so, then, does that first nap. Plus, the nanny has one routine for them during the week, while Chris and I have another on the weekends, and then trying to juggle the needs of two kids means that it's just more difficult to be a stickler with schedules. But for now, I guess the best we can do is try to get him down for a nap three times and call it good.
Soren's four-month wellness check-up is next week and as always, we're curious how much he weighs now. Even without a weigh-in, I know he's growing, so no concerns there. He's growing out of his 0-3 month clothes and he no longer needs the infant insert with the Ergo. He's definitely out of the newborn stage!
- stuffing his fists in his mouth
- watching his big brother play
- smiling and laughing for Mommy, or anyone who will make dramatic facial expressions for him
- "chatting" it up - the kid's a chatterbox!
When I started my new job, Oliver, Soren and I had to bow out of our Tuesday morning ECFE class, but we luckily got into the same Monday evening class Oliver and I participated in last year. When you're new to a class, you're asked to answer a couple questions about the likes and dislikes and personality of your child so their teachers can get to know them better. I probably wrote multiple paragraphs for Oliver when we first started participating in ECFE, but this time around, when asked how I would describe Soren, I just wrote one word: chill.
Just recently Soren has become a thumb-sucker! I just knew he was going to be. From birth he's liked having his fists up by his face when he sleeps and as soon as he developed the coordination to get his little thumb into his mouth, he's been sucking away. I'm sure I'll think it's gross as he gets older, but until he starts crawling and getting into things, his hands stay relatively clean and I think he's adorable sucking his thumb.
Soren can put a lot of weight on his legs and can even "walk," meaning we support him under his armpits and push his body forward so that the momentum causes him to left his legs and bend is knees and propel himself forward. Some have commented they think he's going to be an early crawler because he's already trying to scoot a little. He can't cover much ground, but if you place him on the floor and go into another room, he's not necessarily going to be in the exact same spot when you come back.
I mentioned earlier that Soren likes to chatter. When he's in a really good mood, he screeches and sings his happiness. Some babies wake up screaming, but recently Soren hasn't been crying immediately when he wakes up. He'll lie in his crib and screech/sing to himself.
For a kid his age, Soren has the patience for sitting and looking at a book. It's funny to observe how engrossed he appears to be in a book. He stares intently at the pages and because he's too young to grab at the pages and doesn't care yet what's being read to him, you can older kids books (i.e., more interesting books) to him. The cutest is when I read to both Oliver and Soren in Oliver's bed. I prop Soren against a pillow next to Oliver and tuck them both under the covers. Talk about looking like two peas in a pod.
I think we've got Soren onto three naps a day, it's just the problem is that he still has no predictable schedule. He'll easily take a nap in his crib first thing in the morning, but given that he's not sleeping through the night yet, his wake-up time varies, and so, then, does that first nap. Plus, the nanny has one routine for them during the week, while Chris and I have another on the weekends, and then trying to juggle the needs of two kids means that it's just more difficult to be a stickler with schedules. But for now, I guess the best we can do is try to get him down for a nap three times and call it good.
Soren's four-month wellness check-up is next week and as always, we're curious how much he weighs now. Even without a weigh-in, I know he's growing, so no concerns there. He's growing out of his 0-3 month clothes and he no longer needs the infant insert with the Ergo. He's definitely out of the newborn stage!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Trying for a boy
Soren is only a few months old and for, well, a few months now, I've been asked by tons of people if we want another kid. In fact, on my first day on the new job, I had three people ask me this, one right in front of one of the managers who interviewed me. Most of the inquiries are unprovoked, but given how open I am talking about my kids in general, maybe I get more of these questions than most. People so openly ask me if I want more kids and then act shocked when I answer yes. To try to rationalize why I would want more than two kids, they hone in on the fact that I have two boys, and the next comment I often hear is, "Oh, you're going to try for a girl!"
No I'm not trying for a girl! I don't get this trying for a certain sex. I get hoping for one sex or another. If you want to have three kids and the first two are one sex, I get hoping to the third is the other sex. But to decide as a couple that you want only two kids, end up with two of the same sex, and then change your mind and decide to "try for a _____" by having a third is just crazy to me. Kids are a lot of work. I'm planning my family size based on how many kids we want, can afford and can handle, not based on how many kids of one sex or another we end up with. So then what happens when you end up with a third child the same sex as the first two? Be disappointed the third wasn't the "right" sex? Try for a fourth?
I love shocking people by telling them that, no, in fact we're actually trying for another boy. As ludicrous as I think their line of thinking is, it's just as unfathomable to them that I'd want another boy. As much as I say that for the shock factor, I'd really be very happy with another boy. I think Oliver and Soren are the best sons a mom could ask for, so why wouldn't I want a third awesome boy? Which one would I trade in for a girl to achieve the "perfect" family of mom, dad, two kids, one of each? Nope, I love my boys, I'll love my future boys (or girls), and think I've got the perfect family just the way it is.
No I'm not trying for a girl! I don't get this trying for a certain sex. I get hoping for one sex or another. If you want to have three kids and the first two are one sex, I get hoping to the third is the other sex. But to decide as a couple that you want only two kids, end up with two of the same sex, and then change your mind and decide to "try for a _____" by having a third is just crazy to me. Kids are a lot of work. I'm planning my family size based on how many kids we want, can afford and can handle, not based on how many kids of one sex or another we end up with. So then what happens when you end up with a third child the same sex as the first two? Be disappointed the third wasn't the "right" sex? Try for a fourth?
I love shocking people by telling them that, no, in fact we're actually trying for another boy. As ludicrous as I think their line of thinking is, it's just as unfathomable to them that I'd want another boy. As much as I say that for the shock factor, I'd really be very happy with another boy. I think Oliver and Soren are the best sons a mom could ask for, so why wouldn't I want a third awesome boy? Which one would I trade in for a girl to achieve the "perfect" family of mom, dad, two kids, one of each? Nope, I love my boys, I'll love my future boys (or girls), and think I've got the perfect family just the way it is.
Boxes
I already have two boxes of size newborn and 0-3 month clothes Soren has outgrown that are ready to be resealed and find their place back on the storage shelves in the basement. As Oliver grew out of each size of clothing, I'd sort and pack away the clothes and miscellaneous baby gear in clearly labeled boxes and haul them to the basement. I know it's a cliche, but it feels like yesterday that I was doing this and now I'm already packing away outgrown clothes for another baby.
Just like I felt over the past two plus years when I looked at the storage racks full of boxes, I'll most likely feel silly for out much space we're devoting to storing outgrown baby stuff. Because they're waiting for a baby we think we'd like to have someday, but can never guarantee. Life is unpredictable and desires for "one more" can fade over time. But at this point, Chris and I know we want a third, so back on the basement shelves will go the boxes of what was once just Oliver's stuff, but is now Oliver/Soren's stuff, and will one day be Oliver/Soren/future baby's stuff.
Just like I felt over the past two plus years when I looked at the storage racks full of boxes, I'll most likely feel silly for out much space we're devoting to storing outgrown baby stuff. Because they're waiting for a baby we think we'd like to have someday, but can never guarantee. Life is unpredictable and desires for "one more" can fade over time. But at this point, Chris and I know we want a third, so back on the basement shelves will go the boxes of what was once just Oliver's stuff, but is now Oliver/Soren's stuff, and will one day be Oliver/Soren/future baby's stuff.
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