Sweet Sixteen

Dear Sweet Boy,

I like you better and better everyday.  Of course, I love you and everything, but you are getting just so darn likeable, too.

For example, you grin at me when I pick you up from your naps.  You are so excited to see me that you quiver.  This is really endearing. You also smile and encourage your parents to sing to you.  You really are delighted by Christmas carols, especially Jingle Bells, Rudolph, and Away in a Manger.

Your physical development improves daily as you grow stronger.  You have very good head and neck control now, though you occasionally whip into my face and collide with my mouth, which causes my teeth to cut into my lips.  You don't cry when we hit, so it must not bother you too much! 

This week you've had some ... er... diaper filling issues.   Meaning, you didn't have any bowel movements.  For ELEVEN days.  You can bet that I was emailing the pediatrician about this, what I thought was some amazing record, and asking my friends with babies about this.  Fortunately, this isn't a big deal or anything, its just really weird for us as first time parents and probably for you, as a first time infant.  I spent a lot of time rubbing your belly and trying to activate your descending large intestine.

You also started to rock from side to side, which is the first step of rolling from back to belly.  You rock your legs to one side mostly when you want to kick a near by object, like the arms of the play gym or the slats of your crib.  You spend a lot of time looking at objects while resting on your side.

This week you got your first report card from Columbia Public Schools, in the form of a Parents as Teachers home visit.  I signed us up for this program because I have only a little knowledge of early childhood development.  Our parent educator's name is Kim.  She is very kind and can identify with a lot of my experiences, since she is also a high school teacher!  She has three daughters, too. 

Some important things from this meeting were that you are on pace and ahead of pace in regards to tracking objects with your eyes.  She was surprised by how well you could follow a toy with your eyes, because most babies your age cannot stay focused that long or cross the mid line of their bodies.  You can! You can follow an object up and down, left and right, and on both diagonals.  You aced that part!  You also surprised her when you reached for the elephant toys on your bouncy seat.  She said most babies just bump into items and then notice them.  You notice an item and reach for it.  I think its cool to know you are a bit advanced in hand and eye coordination. 

My homework was to let you explore the world more with your mouth.  This is a bit tricky for me, since I hate the idea of you putting germ-y things in your mouth.  So I started using more antibacterial wipes and cleaning your hands more often.  I also bought you two teething toys, but they seem too large for you to put in your small mouth.  You lick them and bang around with them, though.  So you will probably continue exploring your blankets, bibs, hands, and family by licking them and trying to mouth them.  That's okay!

Soon we'll have your 4 month well baby check up with the pediatrician. I am excited to see how much you weigh, because this week you certainly seemed to pack on the ounces.

Love
Your Mom