Lovely 23 Week Baby

Hello Sir,

You are 23 weeks - which seems so old! You are nearly half way through a year old, and you have officially out grown all of your three month clothing. 

Being an older baby has some advantages.  For starters, you follow predicatable patterns.  You eat every four hours and take perfect, textbook naps (at least, usually!).  Now that you are older, you can try new things such as playing with your toes and feet, using your voice to whine and get attention, and taste rice cereal. 

You spend most of your day smiling and enjoy all forms of play.  We often sing songs with you and make you dance.  Our favorite is Little Teapot, but you seem to have no preference to any of the dance moves or tunes.  I guess you don't care that much!

You had a PAT visit this week, and you charmed the teacher.  She was impressed by your coordination and your balance.  You are nearly sitting up unassisted!  She also was impressed by how you dove for her cloth books and began to investigate them.  You chewed on them and turned the pages.  She noticed how well you are improving in the area of cause and effect and how much attention you show to the person who is talking.  She again confirmed our suspicions - you are a very clever baby, indeed.

A few fun things happened to you this week.  First, you discovered Mirror Baby.  Mirror Baby is in Dad's bathroom.  He brought you into the room and your face instantly lit up.  You began to pat and kiss the baby in the mirror.  We like to bring you in front of the mirror to see you grin.  You look so happy when you see your reflection, but we aren't certain you know you are looking at yourself.  You seem to just think you are looking at a handsome and funny baby.  And you are right!

One night I was busy preparing a meal, so your father fed you a bottle of formula.  It was your first try of manufactured milk.  You didn't enjoy it at first.  In fact, you made a hysterical grimace and a gagging noise.  However, in less than a minute. you decided you were indeed hungry enough for the 4 ounces of formula and downed the bottle in ten minutes.  We were impressed by your theatrics.

You tried a bit of rice cereal this week mixed with breast milk.  You are now old enough to have some solids, though I want to follow the AAP recommendations for nursing only for the first since months.  You have been studying us so closely while we eat and have begun to start smacking your lips when we eat, too.  I took this as a sign you were ready to try something!  You had six or seven spoonfuls of the cereal and seemed to get more in your mouth than on your face.  I gave you the spoon to play with and you enjoyed gumming it.  We'll try more cereal next week so you can practice swallowing and sitting up to eat.

You were a lovely 23 week old baby and we loved you so much this week!
Love
Your Mama.

PS - Your Aunt Rachel bought you the jumper you are wearing.  It is waffleknit and has colorful elephants on it.  Its size 9 months, but it fits you nicely since you are so long!  You look so cute in this outfit!

PPS - It was really difficult to get these shots.  You were so intent on eating the sign!  Your dad and I both struggled to distract you long enough to shoot a few photos... and as you can see... you were more successful than we were!

He LOVES Grandpa Douglas!

My parents visited us this weekend and Daniel was again transfixed my by dad. Any time my dad spoke, Daniel searched for him and then fixed his gaze onto him. When my dad would buzz his lips or make silly noises, Daniel shrieked in delight. This was a good visit for Daniel, and I think it was also for my Dad.

Early Political Opinions

We feel the same way about the President's health care bill, baby.

Toothless Grin

This week we saw A LOT of smiles. Gummy smiles. We both commented about how lovely and sweet they are, and how much a tooth would change his appearance! We really needed the extra smiles this week because we were physically and emotionally drained. Daniel did not pick up on our stress and instead was relaxed and cozy. He enjoyed the extra snuggles and tickles we gave him.

What a joyful boy.

Overheard At Our House...

DHH:  Waaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Mom: Gosh, he sounds more like a ghost than a baby!
Dad: He sounds like a sad ghost.  I think the little ghost needs more than a pacifier, he needs to be picked up!

--------------------------------------------------
Dad: Bethany, look at what our kid did! I watched him solve a problem!  He had a key toy in his hands and tried to pick up another toy.  The other toy was too heavy for only one hand, so he put the keys in his mouth and used both hands to pick up the new toy.
Mom: Wow, that is a two step problem!  What a smart baby!

Half Birthday Boy!!

Today is January 27, which means DHH is 6 months old.



To celebrate, he wore his favorite Korean outfit, chewed on Sophie the Giraffe, and sat on the mat Aunt Jessica made for him.

Maybe the next six month celebration will be more exciting!

He Loves To Look At Himself In the Mirror...

But can we blame him? We love to look at him, too!

OH! How I Love My Baths.

Baths are the time to sing, splash, kick, and get rowdy! Without one, my evening routine doesn't make as much sense and I have a hard time falling asleep. Luckily, my dad loves to bathe me and get me smelling fresh and sweet.

Toy Dumper

Daniel hasn't mastered dumping the toys from the container yet. He plucks one out individually instead. He is supposed to learn cause and effect of knocking the toys out this month as a developmental milestone. I am actually glad he hasn't gotten this as a special talent, because it means our house is a little tidier than it could otherwise be!

Is He Reading the Tag?

I think he is trying to make sense of the pictures or text on the tag. I wonder what he is thinking!

Moose Toy

This moose toy is super interesting. The Lamaze Company calls it Mortimer Moose, but I call it genius! Daniel is so interested in it and loves to chew on the antlers. Its torso has a squeaker and the feet have chimes in them. With a variety of textures and colors, it is probably one of the most reliable baby-pleasing toys we have!

Entertainment

This crib soother aquarium was a gift from Great Grandma Charleen Haid. Up until this week, Daniel only looked at it occasionally. Now that he can sit unassisted, he is really much more interested in it! He could sit like this for five minutes solid, only moving to press the blue button to turn it on and off. (He usually pushes the button with his tongue or pacifier). I think it was an excellent gift!

5 Months Profile

His features are becoming quite distinct these days. His lips are fuller, his brow furrows at new experiences, and his eyebrows have darkened. He is such a handsome little boy!

Baby Playtime

Sitting up has totally changed Daniel's perception of his toys. He is again intranced by his play gym. He sits unsupported for about five minutes at a time now and keeps his balance until he reaches for a toy too far away.

Getting Some Hair....

But its easiest to see right after Dad puts lotion on his head right after bathtime! The hair is looking to be nearly the same color as his skin and slightly curly. Any guesses on what it will look like when he is older? Neither of his parents had much hair until 2 years old!

First Ball

So far, no throwing, passing, kicking, or punting though! He just practices gripping it and occasionally shakes it. I am not sure if he will inherit the Haid athletic side or my lack of coordination in all things sports! Neither one of us licks sporting goods, so I think that ability is all Daniel!

Silly Boy Eats Everything, Even Monsters

(Denim provided by Aunt Rachel!, Ugly Doll a gift from a friend of Grandma Becky's)

Sitting Safely On the Big Bed

Dan built a little fort of pillows for Daniel to play in while I got ready to leave the house. He looked so cute peeking up and over the top of them!

A Current Favorite Toy...

Our mini silicone coated wire whisk.
Its easy to grab and easy to chew!

Very Uncommon Expression

Is this somewhat grumpy face. It happens after a sneeze or when Dad starts to tease him... luckily he is normally a very pleasant baby!

Someone Is the Cutest Baby Ever.

And that someone is you, Daniel Henry!

Growing Stronger

DHH is growing stronger. He spends much of his blanket time on his belly and occasionally he pushes into a push up. Still no interest in crawling or rolling long distances, but much improvement in sitting!

Sleeping Arrangements of a Five Month Old

Swaddling is now his cue to settle down and prepare for sleep. With a proper swaddle, one short story, and one verse of a lullaby, he is well on his way to a deep sleep. Dan puts him down for bet at night between 6:30 and 7:45 PM, depending if he took a nap in the late afternoon or if we have to get up early in the morning, as is the case for the days I work.

Dan does his bath time nearly every night and is responsible for Daniel's lotion, jammies, and putting down to sleep. Its a really special time for both of them, and is sometimes their only one on one time for the day.

You'll notice two additions to his crib: a flannel receiving blanket, which serves to protect the sheets and absorb at least some of the baby spit that happens in when he is up and playing in the crib, and a bumper pad. In the last several weeks, we've found we needed a bumper pad. I had to fish out several pacifiers off the floor near the back corner of the crib, and that's really tricky and uncomfortable! I've also noticed Daniel gets wedged in to the corners of the crib sometimes. This makes him feel frustrated and leaves some indentations on his noggin! He doesn't really seem to interested in this bumper pad, but we decided we needed it mostly for our sanity!

He still doesn't sleep through the night, but we've cut back to only two feedings once he's put down. Usually this is one around 10 Pm and another around 4 AM. He does wake more often at night, sometimes two or three times. He has us trained to come in and comfort him! Hopefully we'll develop the skills to help him sleep through the whole night and he'll stop being so persistent with his cries for company.