Pearls of Wisdom

Today Kaleb had his 4 month check-up. Today also marked the first entire day I had spent away from him. I went to an ELA Assessment committee from 8:30 - 3:00. i was very proud of myself – i didn’t cry– but it was not an easy day. I had a pit in my stomach every time i thought about my little boy, especially when I had to pump at lunchtime. Luckily, he was with Keegan all day, so I wasn’t worried about him, just missing him. I ddn’t really realize until I was home asking questions how much I monitor him all day. I found that I NEEDED to know what color his poo was, how much he ate, how much he slept. I suppose that as his caretaker nowing all these things are crucial so that when something irregular occurs which could be an indicator of illness, you notice it.
As soon as I came home and held him, Kaleb wanted to nurse, which was perfectly fine with me. It was a lovely way to reconnect. Soon enough, however, it was time to go to the doctors. Kaleb weighed in at 10 lb 13 oz (under what i thought he would be, but thats because I have been weighing him at Isis), measured 22 3/4 inches in length, and had a head circumference of 15 1/2 inches. He is right up underneath the curve on all areas, and my guess, based on looking at his progress, is that he’ll make it onto the curve for next time. Dr. Evans said that he looks terrific and is strong, has good head control, and that everything is essentially as it should be. He’s right on track. Phew!!!
We had been wondering (because everyone else had told us so) whether Kaleb was teething, because he seemed to be displaying some of the signs: excessive drooling, chewing on things, increased fussiness, and greenish poo. The tiny white spot that was the only thing in his mouth that I could find that was remotely tooth-like is not a tooth but instead called an Epstein pearl (i think). No teeth, not yet. Kaleb can, however, start rice cereal in a few weeks!! That’s huge! We will start with once a day, and after a few weeks we can go to twice a day. The doctor said that after babies start solids, they catch up even quicker. I’ve also heard that they sleep through the night, which, while I will actually miss the middle of the night nursings, will be lovely for my brain power and energy level. It will also be great for Keegan to take more part in feeding him. I’m sure he will love that.
After all of our questions were answered came Kaleb’s least favorite part: shots. He needed one oral “shot” and three real ones again, same as last time. He didn’t hold his breath like last time, thank goodness, but he was so sad/mad and howled. I nursed him right away like I did last time, and he calmed down in no time at all.
Funny behavior once in his carseat: he kept trying to take off his bib. He’s never done that before, but now that his hands are exploring everything, I’m sure we’ll see a lot more tugging at everything he can get hus adorable, pudgy little fingers onto.
On the car ride home, after shots, he was Mr. Smiles! I was sitting in the backseat with him, and he grinned at me nearly the whole way home. He would look at me, grin until his eyes were crinkled all the way up, look away out the window, look back at me and grin all over again. He did this for at least 5 of the 10 minutes of the ride home. It was wonderful. He has Keegan’s eyes, but I don’t know…they crinkle up an awful lot like mine or my dad’s…maybe that is a learned facial expression rather than determined by feature. Who knows? It’s pretty damn cute though.
Last thing: yesterday Kaleb was batting at his beach ball and stroller chimes, and he is getting better and better with his links. It absolutely astounds me that on a Friday, say, he will learn to use his hands for the first time really, by batting at one particular toy, and then by Tuesday he bats at anything within his reach and is constantly doing things with his hands. What a sharp learning curve! If that was true as adults we would have 2 days of driving practice and then be good enough to take the test!
Kaleb has done several ither new things in the last day or so. One thing he is doing is wanting to sit up. If he lays on our legs, looking at us, and our knees are up, he will grab our hands and try to hoist himself up to sitting. Once there he locks his eyes onto his toes and leans forward until he is folded in half. He will do this again and again.
The other thing he does is stands up in our lap. His legs are getting so strong, and he is loving using them. He likes to stand up and then bend, then stand, then bend, over and over. Keegan said he actually stood in his lap, looking out at the street (on the front porch–his favorite spot) for a long time today. In general he LOVES to be outside. If he’s fussy that’s where we go, and he calms right down.
ok, that’s enough update for now. Hopefully he keeps truckin' along with all these new skills. It’s so very exciting to see a new behavior or skill emerge. I swear I get heart palpitations!