Xboy with Legos

About three months ago (maybe more), I bought a box of Kellog's Cinnamon Swirlz cereal for myself. I opened it at breakfast, started pouring (yawn!), and the first thing to plop into the milk was a toy sealed in plastic (for sleepy folks like me who pour cereal blindly). When I read the cereal box, it said FREE XBOX GAME INSIDE! Like I need an XBOX. So I turned it on, poked the Mystic Castle a few times, and gave it to Karston. He loves the electronic boop sound it makes, and he still plays with it. He played with it this afternoon as a matter of fact! So Karston was just over a year old when he got his first XBOX, and he likes it. Hmm. I don't know about this trend.

However, he spent this evening getting frustrated but learning how to put QUATRO LEGO blocks together. He knows that the bottom of one block snaps onto the top of another block, and he knows that the blocks go together in parallel or perpendicular formations, but he was sometimes frustrated by the exact alignment. However, he kept trying, and I think LEGOs have clicked for him now; he understands that he can build shapes out of LEGOs. Cool!

Toddler

Fourteen

Well, he hit the 70% mark on baby teeth: tooth #14, the lower right canine, just started poking through today. I wonder if that's why Karston slept so poorly last night? Actually, I'm pretty sure his poor sleep was due to Christmas. We started with a quiet round of opening presents at home. Karston opened presents that weren't for him while we were wrapping presents Christmas Eve, so we thought he would enjoy opening his presents Christmas Day. (No. Too boring. He wanted to sit on lap and cuddle.) However, Daddy opened a present of mint chocolate grahams with Karston on his lap, and before anyone noticed anything, Karston punched through the plastic wrap, and had a large cookie in each hand! By the time we got the cookies away from him, he had eaten one-and-a-half cookies and had taken one bite each from four more. I don't know how he did that much cookie destruction that quickly, but for a little guy, he sure can move fast! Following up chocolate cookies with a large dose of family (everyone playing with him) kept him buzzing all Christmas. He had a 30-minute nap in the car, that was it. And he still stayed up late and caused baby commotion.

Toddler

Shoes

Karston got several pairs of shoes for Christmas because his first pair is just about worn out. Bad news on that front. He may be 25th percentile for head circumference, and 5th percentile for height, and below the chart for weight, but all of his new size 12-24 month shoes were too small for him. Rats! I never would have expected that given that he's not been large on any measurement before. I may end up making the Tacky Living pattern for soft-soled shoes (scaled up as needed) for him.

Still, we put a pair of lighted sneakers on him without socks figuring that he would enjoy the lights on his feet. He's never worn shoes with solid soles before, and he couldn't figure out how to walk! He would pull himself up on furniture, try a tentative step, then give us a pained look. And not move at all. I think this is the only thing I've ever seen to cause him to stand perfectly still for long periods of time! Of course he was pretty unhappy so I wouldn't want to do it, but it's interesting to note that he can stand still. I wonder how the adjustment to regular shoes will go later?

Toddler

Animated

We went to a sports bar this evening with friends to watch Carolina basketball. Karston got to play with Jeni's son Will who is seven weeks older, and he had a blast. Karston worked the room flirting with women, he clapped wildly when everyone cheered for Carolina, and he played with Will. Will (who seems to be perfectly sweet and normal, not that I know what that is) got tired once it was late. Despite Will's dropped head, Karston kept running up to him, crouching down to look up into Will's face, and then laughing like crazy. You could just feel the Play with me! vibe, and tired was no excuse. Jeni finally asked me, "Is he always this animated around so many people?" I thought about it for a second, trying to grasp what she meant about animated, and realizing that Karston wasn't acting out of the ordinary for any number of people. So I said simply, "He's always this animated." I think that explains Karston in a nutshell. He's always go-go-go, and no wonder he doesn't sleep well. There's too much to do! too many reasons to laugh and shriek! too many new things in the world! No time for sleep! Whew. Wears me out just thinking about it. To spare Will, I started Karston calisthenics, which involves slinging him upside down and around while he laughs; it's quite a workout and thank goodness Karston is still a lightweight who hasn't cracked 20 pounds.

Toddler

Towel Boy

For the past month or more, when Daddy gets out of the shower, Karston picks up his towel and hands it to him. Last week, while Karston was playing in the living room, Daddy called Oh towel boy! and Karston came running down the hall to give Daddy his towel. Well, this morning I had my first turn! Daddy suggested to Karston that he hand me my towel. Karston thought about it (playing with Daddy is so fun), then he went to the towels, selected my green towel hiding behind Daddy's burgundy towel, handed it to me, and ran back to Daddy for praise and more playing. But I had my first Towel Boy service! He even knew that I use a different towel!

Toddler

The Terrible Twos

I think we just had a whole weekend preview of The Terrible Twos! Gack! A little sooner than expected, but it was bound to happen. Karston was racing around, trying to get into everything. He had a shorter attention span than usual, but he just had to get inside whatever was in front of him within his attention span without any help, or he would scream in frustration. If we helped him, he screamed because he wanted to do it himself. If we took him away from something dangerous, he screamed because he wanted to figure it out. Run, shred, scream, repeat. Very tiring.

Now what's interesting is that he mellowed out to the kid his parents recognize after ... drum roll please ... a really good night's sleep. So he was a royal terror when he was overtired. Hmm!

Technorati Tags: Toddler

KarstonBuff StrongPants

Karston quit doing this just as soon as I touched the camcorder, so this will not be recorded for posterity. He came walking down the hall to me, shoulders arched, elbows slightly flexed, hands in fists, looking like a strong man poster. That was pretty funny, and then he started to growl while still posing! Grr ... rrr ... grr ... with a huge grin. Karston's very funny!

Yes, he's feeling better. He has a very minor rash, but he's playing.

Funny, Toddler

Rosy Ola

Aha! The promised rash of roseola is just starting to appear. Karston has rosy pink splotches around the edge of his face and on his chest. So that's the start of the rash, and should be the end of the fever (or else we're going back to the doctor). He didn't have this rash when we got home from work, and he does now. At least the fever stage is done because Karston didn't feel well with the fever. The rash isn't supposed to itch (I'm not sure anything called a rash can be anything but itchy, but we'll see), so if he has no itchiness and no fever I'm hoping he'll feel fine and start eating food again.

Seeing his rash made me feel itchy on my forehead and my back; hopefully that's just psychosomatic so that it goes away quickly, and Karston and I don't have something else.

Toddler

Roseola

Oh my, that was a scare! But this morning the doctor said Karston probably just has roseola. Karston didn't quite make it to 17 months old before his first sickness.

Karston was lethargic on Friday, then had a fever starting on Saturday sometimes up to 100 degrees (ear, oral adjusted), and was fussy. It didn't help that we were under a "boil water" alert all this weekend that thankfully turned out to be a false alarm, right as we ran out of bottled water. Tylenol didn't do anything for his fussing (it's been very effective for new teeth), but Motrin really did the trick. He would stop fussing about half an hour later, and would usually be playing an hour after Motrin! Last night, Karston was burning up (Motrin first!) and the ear thermometer went beep-crazy, so we brought out the rectal thermometer for the first time. It said 103.5 °F, and we called the pediatrician's Nurse Line right away! We got directions on what to do at different temperatures, and he didn't have any other danger signs like troubled breathing, so we pushed through the night on Motrin before going to see the pediatrician this morning. As a side note, he weighed 19 pounds 3.4 ounces! And that's after a weekend of eating only (at best) about half his normal amounts.

Anyway, we have a diagnosis of he'll be fine, and guidelines, and we're ready to take a nap with him.

Toddler

Kitchen Haircut

We haven't used Roomba in the kitchen much because our kitchen has several fringed rugs for Roomba to choke on. But then we realized we didn't buy those rugs (they came with the house) and we don't care what they look like. So today, I gave the kitchen carpets a "haircut" and then let Roomba loose. I don't think our kitchen has been this clean since Karston started to try to feed himself, and drop food everywhere!


Plus Roomba is an excellent babysitter. Karston loves to watch Roomba; he always has. Roomba was an excellent baby purchase for us! Daddy got the gift of time since he doesn't have to vacuum as often when Roomba does the basic pickup, Baby loves to watch Roomba, and I love multi-purpose appliances. Our cat Linus is also a good babysitter because Karston and Linus love each other. In the current game, Karston screams and chases, and Linus stays just ahead of him. The adults know exactly where both child and cat are, and can do upright two-handed activities. If Karston gets distracted from this game or if he's sad in general, Linus cries for us to take care of Karston.


Speaking of what Karston likes, he likes the hearth broom from our fireplace tools that is his size. The regular broom frustrates him because he can't carry it easily because it's so long for him, but. And he also likes watching Roomba. Maybe this is a good trend for his future cleanliness? OK folks, don't laugh yourselves silly.


Today I learned that Karston knows more Sherry Bobbins than Mary Poppins. After I cut fringes from carpets, I swept up the fringes with a brush and dustpan. Karston was fascinated with the brush since it's like a small broom, and he likes those. However, he kept sweeping the fringes under the carpet. He did carry some fringes to the trash can cabinet, but he wanted to sweep fringes under the carpet. And that's more Sherry Bobbins than Mary Poppins for cleaning!

Toddler

Growth Charts

Ah ... I should have been looking at these growth charts (also here) last year! Karston isn't falling below the ranges, although he was still on the low side, when I plot his first year data on these charts. So he was a normal breastfed baby, hardly surprising.

Baby

Father's Little Helper

Karston has been Daddy's boy lately. He wants Daddy to carry him everywhere and to play with him. This evening he helped Daddy do laundry. When he saw Daddy put clothes from the closet floor into the laundry basket, he walked over several times, grabbed clothes, and walked back to put them in the basket. (Taller folks, like Daddy, just had to lean, not walk, for this operation.) When all of the clothes were in the basket, Karston started pushing it. Keep in mind, the laundry basket was quite full, and Karston hasn't hit 20 pounds yet! He was at a 45-degree angle to the floor, pushing with all his might, and his feet slipped frequently. (Daddy helped by pulling the basket discretely.) Karston was just determined to help, and he put everything into it. Such a sweet boy!

Toddler

Lunch

Karston has decided that baby food is a lot less interesting than whatever we're eating. So far, he'll eat anything that we eat: nothing is too spicy for him! Today I think he really proved that his taste in food is not that discriminating. Daddy said all he would eat for lunch today is fried okra and raisins. Yeah sure, those go together! He'll eat raisins with anything, just about any time of day. Sometimes he doesn't eat the skins, and he'll spit the raisin skeletons out on you a while later. (He also really goes through yogurt when it comes from my bowl or my mother's.) He wouldn't eat pizza for lunch today though, but he eagerly helped me eat pizza for lunch on Wednesday. I'm still trying to get over fried okra and raisins for lunch ... bleah! (I don't like okra.)

Toddler

So Sad and Snuggly

After Karston's nap after his pediatrician's appoinment on Monday, he woke up very sad. No setting down the baby! In fact, he only walked ten feet total that afternoon; mostly he sat and gently rubbed his leg where he got his shots. (Yes, I felt very guilty. But countries with strict vaccination programs have excellent childhood survival rates, while countries with more lax vaccination programs, like the US, have an increase in preventable childhood diseases. So he's getting vaccinated, and these shots were the last in the series. No mercury, no live viruses.) Monday night wasn't too bad, but maybe he needed more snuggles than usual. Tuesday was another sad snuggly day. Tuesday night, he was Cuddles the Kid, and he needed Daddy to hug him to sleep. Wednesday, we were going to go back to the pediatrician if he weren't feeling better. He asked to nurse much more than usual, but he was much closer to normal. Whew! (Yes, he asks to nurse. He climbs in my lap, stares, lifts my shirt, and then gives me a cute hopeful look.)

Toddler

Molars Redux

Trying to cheer Karston up after his pediatrician vaccinations, I held him upside down and made a silly face. He laughed (yay!), and I got a good view of his mouth. Guess what? I spotted tooth #11, an upper molar peeking through. Right now, his pair of molars is a left-right pair; molars will be so much more useful in top-bottom pairs!

Toddler

Pediatrician: Fifteen Months

We went to the pediatrician this morning, and the appointment was delightfully short! We were on the road 30 minutes after our appointment time. Yeah! Vitals are 18 pounds 3.5 ounces (Karston usually weighs more, but he didn't eat much for breakfast this morning, and he had a huge poopy just before we left) and 29 inches tall. The doctor looked at his chart, noted that his height is still around the 5th percentile but that his weight increase is much flatter than the standard curve (meaning the 5th percentile line is going up faster than Karston's weight below that percentile), and asked if he were still breastfeeding, and yes he is. Apparently that's what the flatter weight curve means, and he'll catch up once he gives up nursing. Then we finished with the last round of standard vaccines (crying, of course, more I think about lying down and not standing than about the shots), and went out the door.

Toddler

Stairs

We let Karston run around the basement this evening while I put laundry in the dryer and Daddy told me about his day. After the laundry transfer, we walked over to stairs, and looked to see which parent he wanted to carry him up the steps. He came to the first step, put both hands and one foot on it, and looked at me (I was sitting on the bottom step to take off my shoes). I put a hand on his bottom for support, and he crawled up one step. OK, that's cool, wait for it ... yes! he made an attempt on the second step! By the fifth step, he could clamber up without a supporting hand, although I was right behind him to make sure he didn't tumble down. By the tenth step, he was moving rather quickly for someone who had never gone up stairs on his own before, from one step to the next in about 1.5 seconds. Speedy child! He just did fifteen steps, and went upstairs on his own steam!

I'm grateful for the door at the top of the stairs. It has a lock that only adults can reach, too.

Toddler

Panty Raid

Laundry happens: my mother was getting ready to do laundry today when Karston started going through her laundry basket. He was making very happy sounds, playing with soft stuff, and that's a good time to get your own projects done quickly. Then he pulled out the Victoria's Secret panties with a victory crow! This boy pulls hats off his head as soon as the hat touches his head, but he ran around her house making happy sounds and pulling panties over his head! So I figure Karston has had his first panty raid, and is even farther along his frat boy path. I had no idea that my son would be showing so much of his own personality (and such a boy personality) this young (trust me, he didn't learn about panty raids at home!), but I learn new things from Karston all the time.

Toddler

Speed Dial

Trust me, you do not want to be on my speed dial list. Karston thinks the telephone is the coolest toy ever (touch tones! lighted screen! Mommy uses it! Karston doesn't get to touch it often!). His toy phones (the Parents one from Target and the Ambi/Brio one) are pretty good, but not as good as The Real Thing. I try not to forbid much (just watch him very closely), so he was holding the phone today after my conference call. He enjoys pushing the keys, and every once in a while he hit the button to dial out. (Then I would leap into action, snag the phone, and hang up. I'm sure the phone company loves me.)

So if you know parents of toddlers, you don't want to be on their speed dial list! There's no telling when you might get some weird phone call.

Toddler

Oh, Daddy!

This evening, we got home just a little before Karston, so Daddy checked on the garden, and picked a ripe tomato while he was there. When Karston showed up, Daddy put the tomato in his shirt pocket and came out of the garden to greet his little boy. And that's when we all saw the funniest thing! Karston gave his usual big grin, happy to see Daddy, and reached for him. Daddy picked him up. Karston, arms up in happiness, noticed the shirt pocket bulge. Or should I say he noticed the breast pocket bulge? The look on Karston's face was a combination of joy and awe! Oh Daddy, you finally grew those breasts I wanted! He was happy to see Daddy before, even more thrilled when ... oh yes, he touched the pocket, that's the right combination of firm and soft!

Karston stroked the pocket. Daddy didn't want a tomato squished in his pocket, so they went in to the kitchen where Daddy emptied that pocket. Oh, it's just a tomato. Karston looked absolutely crestfallen that Daddy didn't grow breasts after all. We laughed when we figured out what he must've been thinking.

Toddler

No Bike Helmet

Bike helmets (for Karston) came up twice yesterday.

First I read that 75% of all fatal head injuries to children under 5 could have been prevented with bike helmets. That makes bike helmets sound pretty good, although I have to admit, when I saw a kid on a Big Wheels with a bike helmet, it looked pretty silly. Let's see, her butt was two inches off the ground (so her head was lower than standing!), and she could run faster. Yeah, that Big Wheels really needs a bike helmet; she was probably safer on the Big Wheels than on her own feet!

So I looked at "infant bike helmets" at Amazon ... ... and discovered that none of the helmets fit him. He has an 18" head circumference, or just under 46 cm. The smallest helmets start at 47 cm. A helmet that doesn't fit also doesn't protect!

And the second time yesterday was when some neighbors walked over. Brian looked in our garage and said, You have a tandem bike? Why haven't I seen you out on it? The answer is that we don't have a helmet for Karston (and until recently, he wasn't over the recommended one year of age before being a bike passenger), so one of us carries him, so no tandem.

Toddler

Sleep!!!

He did it! Karston slept through the night last night! We are desperately trying to figure out what did it. He didn't eat much after 5 PM yesterday, but that seems like a good reason to wake up hungry in the middle of the night, as he usually does. He also didn't eat much this morning either, so I hope that's not a trend. He walked all day yesterday and wore himself out, but he did that all weekend too. He went to bed with us, which should be very late for a toddler, but he also did that all weekend. He took a full three hour nap yesterday, but he's done that before. So I don't know what went right last night, but I hope it happens regularly! I could get used to sleeping at night; it was weird last night.

Toddler

More Walking!

Karston has only done short walks this week ... until this evening! He really needed to walk, instead of getting ready for bed. He's been walking, sitting down easily, pushing up, and walking some more. Today he walked back and forth, made U-turns, and walked some more. We thought he was tired (because he walked to his Daddy and curled up in his lap), but the next time we looked, he was walking to Daddy again!

Karston's been a terror in the kitchen this week. He keeps himself amused, opening the cabinets or trying to get me to acknowledge that some of these cabinets don't open (hmm, the child-proofing kit strikes!). He really loves the cabinet with plastic storage containers! He'll happily pull out all sorts of clean containers and stew them around the floor. The other fun cabinet has an olive oil sprayer; Karston pulls the lid off, puts it on, pulls it off, and tosses it away. He loves to cruise along the cabinets. So the kitchen is a mess after Karston cruises the cabinets. On the other hand, this is the first time since Karston was born that Daddy and I have been able to cook dinner at the same time. Usually one of us holds Karston while the other cooks.

Toddler

Molars

Karston seemed like he was chewing on his fingers more than usual at lunch this afternoon. He also seemed a little out of sorts, although mostly his happy self. So I felt in his mouth, and discovered a four-pronged sharp little hint of a molar on his lower left jaw! I'm not sure if its pal on the lower right has poked through ... my finger was in danger and had to abandon the mission abruptly.

Getting him to sleep tonight was a chore. Not that it's ever been easy, but with his new molars bothering him and his little legs wanting to walk ... his squirming said that he just couldn't get comfortable.

Oh, and we crossed another line, nineteen pounds! Monday evening after changing a poopy (but dressed in a onesie, unlike at the doctor's office weigh-in), Karston weighed nineteen pounds! He hung around 18.4 pounds for so many months it seemed like he had stalled! But the accurate scale said he weighed 19.0 pounds, so he's gaining weight again! He also looks taller. My mother says walking puts pressure on the (leg) bone plates and that causes the bones to grow (at his age), so that fits. He's growing all around!

Toddler

Walking

Daddy called me at work, 5:00 PM on Friday, to tell me that my little man walked for the first time! (Talk about motivating me to leave work on time, not that 5 PM on Friday needs further encouragement!) He walked 10 feet to Grammy! (I think he was showing off for Opa and Grammy.) Karston was so tired from walking that his knees started to shake, so I had to wait until Saturday to see him walk for myself. He's still faster with his crab crawl, but he can walk! Walk walk walk!

Toddler

Whistle

This morning, we heard a person whistle at breakfast. I didn't do it, and Daddy didn't do it. We looked at the only other person in the room, Karston, who went from pursing his lips to a huge smile!

This afternoon, after one of our neighbors called her dog by whistling, Karston whistled again! He spends a lot of time blowing, and every once in a while has his lips pursed just right for a whistle. He usually can't do more than one whistle at a time because he starts grinning so much! But he's very pleased with his new whistling skill.

Toddler

Change Me

Daddy was reading naptime stories to Karston after lunch today. The routine is that he asks Karston what book he wants to hear next, and Karston points to the next book. Well, this afternoon, Karston reached for the bear mobile on his Pack-n-Play that we use as a changing station. And he was insistent. So Daddy changed him, and sure enough, that was what he wanted!

Here's hoping that potty training is easy!

Toddler

Just Like A Lab

I think everyone has a version of this story, but it's required background for the next story, so you'll just have to sit through my version. My father-in-law had black labs for years, and he said the dogs always knew when you hid something in the dog food. He tried to hide pills that his dogs needed to take, and he tried peas to prove the point. Whatever he added to the food, the dog would eat the dog food rapidly, but leave peas or pills in the bottom of the bowl. Food in, foreign out, really fast.

So a couple days ago, I fed Karston some chicken lasagna baby food. The problem with Stage 3 baby food is that some of the food chunks are larger than Karston likes. He likes his food with that smooth baby food texture! I would put a spoon full of chicken lasagna in his mouth, and he would quickly spit out the noodle chunk on his chin and then eat the rest. Just like a lab! This meal was quite a mess with noodle chunks coming out, but the rest staying in. (I ran the rest of the jar through the food processor, but he still remembered that it had had texture. Ick!)

Toddler

The Problem with Mobility

Karston has figured out how to crawl between cruising spots. He has this odd crawl on carpet where he won't put his right knee down. So both hands, left knee, and right foot are on the floor, and off to the races he goes! Yesterday I got him to crawl around the kitchen chasing a toy. He's also been chasing Linus the cat who is significantly freaked out by this development. So you'll set him down with his toys, he'll be playing happily, and the next thing you know, he's come to find you with the biggest grin. He knows he has accomplished something! Surprisingly enough, he can manage going down one step safely without bonking his head. We haven't seen how he does this, but we haven't heard cries to the contrary. He can't quite manage to go up one step yet.

Of course, the problem with mobility is that he can be anywhere! Yesterday while I was in the shower, Karston cruised over to the toilet. That's not surprising since the toilet is an excellent drum. But then he went around one side to play with the toilet brush (I don't care how soapy the grab from the shower, he doesn't get to play with that!). So he went around the other side to empty the trash can. sigh If I thought he took a lot of attention before mobility, it's even more now! At least I used to get to take a shower!

Toddler

I'm Hungry

Last week (starting at 2 AM on Sunday when I came home after working over 12 hours in a very chilly machine room; even The Big Guy was standing behind the server rack to warm up), Karston woke up to fuss for two hours in the middle of the night ... every night! On the fourth night in a row, desperate to try anything, we decided to put him in his high chair and feed him a regular meal. And he really put away the food! So although Daddy has trouble falling asleep again, we've been feeding Karston in the middle of the night for the past five nights since then. Daddy's getting wiped out (I haven't slept through the night, or even close to it, since the third trimester). Last night, Daddy said Karston had to make it obvious and rolled over to fall back to sleep (I heard him snore; he wasn't faking). So when Karston squirmed too much and I knew he was hungry, we got up. Karston nursed for quite a while with his super suction. He wouldn't fall asleep again when we got back in bed. Finally he crawled out of my arms, sat up to look right at his father, and said Da Da! Seriously, he leaned over and was very emphatic about Da Da! Daddy got the message (it's hard to miss when it's your child right in your face with a strong declarative Da Da!), and Karston put away a full meal in his high chair again.


On the third night of feeding him meals in the middle of the night, Karston did not cuddle much with me. Each time he climbed away from me, and on top of Daddy. He prefers to touch the person who feeds him at night! I thought I was the designated night-time snuggler, even when he's been Daddy's Boy during the day, but he was really snuggling with me for other reasons.


We're still laughing about Karston getting right in his father's face and telling him, Da Da! I'm hungry, you fix it!

Toddler

Tickling: Not Just For Kids

Karston's Grammy called this evening, so I tickled him to make him giggle into the phone. I know his tickle spots now! When we went back to the sunroom to play some more before bed, he started to climb off my lap, but for some reason he took a detour to suck and bite my knee (both simultaneously, and no, he didn't each much for dinner even after this!). As you can guess, that feels weird on a knee, so I twiched, squeaked, and laughed. Then Karston started giggling about it! He went back to suck my knee again, so I made the same sounds again, and oh was that funny! And again and again and again, until I went for the camcorder and he wouldn't do it again.

I think he just learned that tickling works on other people, not just him!

Toddler

He Ate The Whole Jar!

Last night before bed, Karston ate an entire 6 ounce jar of sweet potatoes! The whole jar, empty! He's never eaten that much in one sitting before! Now it makes sense to have jars of baby food that size. (He strongly prefers fruits for breakfast, but otherwise sweet potatoes seem to be his favorite food.) He usually doesn't eat that much, but he seems to eat more when we travel, after he gets used to it. And he nurses more too.

Daddy offered him some sweet potatoes for lunch today, but Karston made a cute face Get real Daddy, shook his head, and pushed the spoon away until it came back with different food.

Toddler

Crawling

Karston can crawl! We thought he was going to skip crawling, especially since he's been cruising the furniture and walking when you hold his hands for a while now. Sunday when we arrived in Madison, Daddy set Karston on the hotel bed next to me, and he crawled the rest of the way to me! I had to see if he could duplicate this feat, and the answer is that he will crawl on the bed, but not on the floor. I guess the floor is too hard on his knees; I know I feel that way about crawling! He didn't crawl any more on Sunday, but he did it again today! For short distances on a bed, Karston crawls. Especially if he knows he gets to nurse when he gets there! He prefers butt skooching and cruising, but he can crawl now.

Toddler

Frat Boy in Training

While I was juggling Karston to keep him fairly quiet and amused on an interminable flight today, I looked in his open mouth. Tooth #8 is just starting to peek through! For a child with a new tooth on boring flights, he's doing really well! He's not napping today, but he's not that fussy either.

Update: This evening I discovered another angle to that story. I thought he seemed to like being upside down a lot, but he was quiet on a plane that sat on the tarmac for forty-five minutes, so I considered quiet to be lucky. I thought he was looking at Daddy in the seat behind us, in the very last row. Ah, but no! Daddy told me he was looking up the flight attendant's dress. She was in the rumble seat between the two back rows, right next to Daddy. If I had known, I would have tried another game other than upside-down child juggling. So, let me get this straight ... Karston loves beer, and has a fit if you drink from a beer bottle that you don't share with him. He puts his hand down my shirt, or lifts up my shirt, and giggles fairly often. And he looks up skirts when he gets the chance. He only looks like a baby: he's really a frat boy in training!

Toddler

Star Wars: The Baby Edition

Karston has added "butt walking" to his locomotion repertoire. He cruises, he walks if can hold on to two of your fingers, and now he butt walks to skooch from one place to another. When he skooches, I call him Luke Buttwalker, and his father says Gravity is strong with this one when he drops toys from his high chair.

Toddler

Kitty Cat

Lately Karston has been making sounds awfully close to "kitty cat" when he sees our cat Linus. We encourage this, and tell him, Yes, Linus is a kitty cat. This evening, Karston walked into his room holding Daddy's hand of course where he has two old pictures from his father's childhood, one of a cat and one of a rabbit. Karston distinctly said Kitty cat (well, as distinctly as a one-year-old can!). To clinch the deal, he then walked up to the old picture, and started patting the felt cat on it. Yes, he said what he meant! So now it starts ...

Toddler

Third Time for a Whistle

Maybe a month ago, my mother showed Karston a whistle. She blew in the whistle, and then she blew on him. Then she gave it to him to try. Karston put the whistle to his mouth, and growled (he made noise instead of letting the whistle make noise). My mother laughed very hard, and startled him. Later that day, she put the whistle in his stack of toys. He got a disgusted look on his face, picked it up, held it at arm's length, and dropped it behind the couch. Guess he didn't like being laughed at!


Yesterday evening, we tried the whistle again at my mother's house. She blew in the whistle, and on him. I blew in the whistle, and on him. Then we gave it to Karston, and he blew in the whistle! He got so excited, he clapped! So the third time was the charm, when Karston learned how to use a whistle.


This morning, I noticed he was blowing on the square green block that he loves to gnaw. He definitely remembers how to work a whistle.

Toddler

Pediatrician: One Year

We went back to the pediatrician again this morning. Karston's vital statistics are 17 pounds 14.8 ounces, 28.25 inches long, and 18 inch head circumference. He's only gained 1.5 pounds since his 9-month visit! Really, he's hit 18.4 pounds on our scale, but he did poop just before we left for the doctor's office. His weight-to-length ratio is about 10%; as ever, he's around the 25th percentile for head size. His height nudged just above the 5th percentile, but his weight is even farther below the 5th percentile now. But Karston still hasn't been sick yet, so I won't complain that he's a lightweight.


This was the first pediatrician visit where we had to wait a significant time for the doctor. Karston didn't like the waiting; he wanted to pry out the electric outlet covers or walk over to the sick kids. We didn't like playing with electricity, and we weren't too sure about sick kids, but we did wear a path to the nurses' station. Karston would head for the nurses, walk in until one of them acknowledged him whereupon he would get bashful and toddle back to our exam (waiting) room. The worst part was having to lie down for three vaccination shots, because lying down is the farthest from walking.

Toddler

Mo'!

For background, I knew it was about Karston's lunchtime today since he was up from his morning nap. When he reached for my water cup, I knew it was time. I put him on the kitchen counter and gave him some of my water to drink several times, just like usual. Then I set aside my water so I could fix his lunch. He looked me directly in the eyes and said MO very loudly! Hunh? I offered him more water, even though he had had as much as he usually wants, and sure enough, he wanted more water! And he said so. Whoa.


About 6 months ago, he said Hello and Hungry when he woke up. Although both of those words were appropriate at the time, I don't think he knew what he was saying. This time, he knew what he wanted, he knew what he was saying, and he got more water. That's a win!

Toddler

The Birthday Party

We had an impromtu birthday party for Karston this evening. Family called, and we said Sure, come on over. I served pork roast with tomatillos, tossed together a quick red beans and rice, chopped a fresh salad (well, Daddy's the chopper), and an egg-free sugar-free velvet crumb cake with banana glaze (fat-free but not sugar-free and not fed to Karston) and one candle. I can't estimate how much food to prepare for more than about four people, so ten people was out of my league, but the food worked out just right. I noticed something about the people who showed up ... these are the people who came to meet Karston in the hospital when he was born, one year ago! Karston's grandparents, my local grandparents, and Daddy's sister's family. We were touched.

All three of us had a great time! Karston thinks it's wonderful to be allowed to stand on the dining table and have everyone sing to him! He doesn't think I should blow out the candle on his birthday cake, though.

Baby, Toddler

The Big ONE

Hey, it's Karston's first birthday! Karston was born this time last year right about ... now! All the others have been monthly milestones, but this is the first real birthday! On the one hand, I can't believe it's been a year already because I clearly remember feeling like I would always have the smallest baby when he was so tiny and his hair was so dark!





I saw a small red baby (premature?) at the doctor's ten days ago, and other than the redness, I recognized the newborn fist shaking and the yawn with shut eyes with such clarity! Then we had a fabulous fun year of blur and sunshine, his hair lighted (a whole lot), he gained some weight (not a lot), and he's been happy and healthy. Some time in there we slipped past the delicate newborn stage. So he is officially a toddler now, and not a baby, and certainly not a newborn.


I've reviewed the other months, so I'll review this one too.


Speaking of toddler, Karston thinks nothing could be better than cruising. Yes, C ! R ! U ! I ! S ! I ! N ! G ! Prepare to hand over your fingers until your back is stiff, because this child needs to cruise! He also babbles more (or else he is fluent in Tibetan and we're not), and he definitely understands a lot of what we're saying. Karston waves to people now, and sometimes claps his hands. He also learned to turn all the way around with his butt, just like the Bill Cosby routine about the dentist (we saw Cosby last month, and he was delightful!).


All that cruising requires calories! Karston eats baby food meat now, which he wouldn't do before. He especially likes sweet potatoes and turkey (and still just plain sweet potatoes, but why not nudge up the calories and protein?) as well as meat from his parents' sandwiches (but not his own lunch meat). He's also very serious about nursing, so he's an eating machine in all ways. But with all the cruising, he's not gaining weight. He has a distinctive cry when he's hungry, and a distinctive laugh when he wants to nurse. If only we were doing so well on sleeping (he'd rather cuddle).


The big spot this past month: We went to Key West for a week just before his birthday! Everyone except "I get a darker tan" Daddy got a sunburn, which is not what I wanted for my sweet little almost-one-year-old, but it happens. Now we know that Karston gets his skin tone from his Daddy, because he has a nice dark tan now. I really enjoyed taking a nap with Karston every day in Key West. Yesterday, for the first time in fifteen months, I felt well rested! Of course that means I had trouble falling asleep last night because I'm not used to being in bed when I'm not exhausted. I think I've forgotten how to fall asleep!


Happy one year, Karston! May you enjoy the coming years as much as I've enjoyed this one!

Baby, Toddler

Running Man

For Father's Day, Karston decided to add to a good thing, and he added speed to his cruising lexicon. He grabbed my fingers and went around as fast as I could go backwards. In fact, I think we need to work on cruising where Karston and I face the same direction but I don't step on his feet. High speed backwards cruising is tricky!

Baby

Eleven

Yep, this baby goes to eleven! Can you believe it?

This month, he's cruising up to six feet so he can learn to walk. He's also big on jumping, while walking or when he's in his jumperoo. He didn't eat or sleep much this month, possibly because that's not nearly as interesting as playing or cruising.

We learned that he likes balloons, oh my goodness! Karston saw balloons in a store and started hyperventilating. He didn't care if he actually held a balloon, but looking at them was wonderful! He also likes balls, especially ones that fit in his hand.

We tried two baby backpacks this month, one from Kelty and a larger one from Gerry. There's no competition: we like the Gerry best! The Kelty weighs 5 pounds; the Gerry weighs 1.5 pounds. The Kelty holds Karston several inches away ("back ventilation for parent"), increasing the lever arm of his squirming; the Gerry has him close. We get tired wearing the Kelty in no time at all, but we can wear the Gerry for much longer. And guess what? The Gerry is cheaper too.

We went to the beach this month, in preparation for next month. Karston likes surf and sand; he doesn't like his sunglasses (or squinting in the bright sun). In fact, he doesn't like adults wearing mirrored sunglasses at all, and he's iffy about adults wearing sunglasses in general. Hats are fun to take off (off his head in a hurry, and off someone else's head when he notices he can reach).

Baby

Karston the Cruiser

This weekend, Karston decided cruising is fun. Yes, he'd like to do more of that. Luckily this was a holiday weekend so that we had time to walk around with him, and to enjoy his new skill! His cousin Dana was in town and got to see the little cruiser do his thing.

Baby

Swimming with Teeth

Karston has been chewing on his fingers recently, but since it looks a lot like sucking on his thumb, we haven't thought anything about it. Early this afternoon I took a peek in his mouth, and saw a new tooth on top. I know that baby teeth tend to come in pairs, meaning another one on the bottom, so I looked there ... and yes, saw a new tooth on bottom. So today he has two new teeth, numbers six and seven, both just starting to peek through at the same time. That might explain all the drool yesterday! Kurtis thought it was raining in the parking lot yesterday after dinner with friends ... but it was just baby drool!

Later this afternoon, we met Daddy's family for a swim in the pool before dinner. Karston says being in a pool is fine, pool toys are interesting, but that he still needs holding all the time. He didn't want to be in his baby float, and he certainly wasn't ready to try on his life preserver. Karston says all hugs, all the time. If that's in a pool, sure, whatever.

Baby

He Started It!

This evening while we were getting Karston ready for bed, he grabbed onto my shirt near my shoulders and hauled himself upright. Great, that's what I want, the kid who wants to play when I want to put him to bed! Of course, that happens most nights. He peeked over my right shoulder at Daddy, and started giggling. Then he hid his face in my chest. Then he leaned way, way over to look around my left arm for Daddy, and started giggling loudly again. And he repeated it again and again: he started a game of peek-a-boo with Daddy! He does sometimes enjoy a good game of peek-a-boo (with variations, like peek-a-boo with a stuffed animal), but when he started it and Daddy ran with it ... Oh wow was that fun!

Baby

Gnawing

Karston was chewing on his foot today. A baby with his foot in his mouth isn't surprising (quick check on flickr, this especially), so I didn't pay much attention because he looked pretty happy. By this afternoon, he had gnawed a hole in his romper! I tickled his feet while changing his diaper, and noticed that I didn't feel foot on the side with a new hole bitten in the romper! (I can attest, those teeth are sharp!) Turns out there was a clean diaper wipe in the bottom! At first I thought it was a dryer sheet, but it had a cute imprint like a diaper wipe. So Karston was chewing his clothes off to get the diaper wipe out! Whoops. We have no idea how or when that got in there.

Karston hasn't eaten well for a week. He didn't eat well last Thursday, but it's been really bad since Friday. He said no to spoon all week! This kid used to love eating whatever Daddy presented on a spoon. I guess that means he wants to start feeding himself finger food, but he doesn't know what to do with most of the AlphaBits we give him. However, this evening he gnawed off a piece of bread! Most of the bread he shredded into tiny crumbs, but one corner went in his mouth, bite, twist, mash, swallow. I really hope he's got the hang of it because I want him to eat and thrive. Plus his only serious nutrition right now is from nursing, and I did mention those new teeth are sharp. I'm glad he's still breastfeeding, so I know he's getting something good in his stomach, but I'll be happy when he's eating in his high chair again too.

Of course, if Karston isn't eating well, he's hungry. And if he's hungry, and his only calories come from nursing, he's waking up a lot at night. So we're pretty tired after a week of this. And I suppose that's how Karston got a clean diaper wipe down in the foot of his romper that he tried to chew out.

Baby

Ten Months

Wow, we hit double digits (for months)! This was the month for cruising, drinking from a cup, two more teeth, and babbling. Eating still goes in phases, some weeks he eats more than others. Some weeks he eats a lot less, so I think he's dropped below the 5th percentile for weight. He's still proportional, but for an average 6-month-old. He nursed a lot this month when he wasn't eating or when his new teeth bothered him, painfully so. He's very good at laughing, and he finds many things funny (the cat, the dog, being carried up stairs). The next milestone I want to see is the one where he sleeps through the night most nights because I'm really starting to drag ...

Baby

Faster than Superman

What's faster than a speeding bullet? Apparently tooth #5 (that might explain why we got so little sleep this week)! This morning, Karston had four teeth. Late this afternoon when his grandparents came to visit, he had half of tooth number five showing. By the time I saw him this evening after work (and truly wretched traffic), he had five full teeth showing! For nursing at night, especially as much and as ferociously as he's been nursing at night this week, I miss the toothless days. But at least we didn't have to suffer through a slow tooth this time!

Baby

Last of 2s

This morning, we took off the last size 2 diaper, and put on a clean size 3 diaper. Since both of us were still in the weight range for size 3 when we turned 2 years old, I expect that we will be buying a lot of this size. Other than travel and emergencies, I figure we should probably buy this size at Sam's Club. But Karston wore size 2 diapers for so long that it really seems like the end of era!

Baby

Jumperoo Control

Karston used to jump wildly in his Jumperoo, with his arms flapping loosely. Also, his jump angles would vary, so his head and body would wobble all around. Well, no more: Karston has learned Jumperoo control! He holds on to the sides of the bucket so that his arms don't flap, and most of his jumps follow the same trajectory. This means that he stares at you with an enormous smile, eyes not wavering (because his head isn't moving in many different directions over different jumps), and gets down to the serious business of jumping. I tell him to go to work and get his job done: more jumping!

I do miss laughing at him flopping around, but I'm glad he still enjoys Jumperoo and burns lots of energy.

Baby

Four to Remember

I know I'll remember the evening that Karston's fourth tooth came in, but not because number four was such a tooth to remember. (This tooth probably explains why we haven't had much sleep this week, which makes Daddy snore, which means I sleep even less. My trick is to fall asleep very quickly. Sometimes I can.)

Karston nursed a little before bed, but said he'd really like to cuddle. Often he'll go to sleep on his own, but particularly with a new tooth, he wants to snuggle. (And he has wanted to cuddle all night this week!) Anyway, he had just gone to the Land of Nod when I heard very loud knocking at the front door. I thought Daddy might have locked himself outside, so I stood up very carefully so as not to wake the baby. Knocking again (now I'm thinking it's less likely to be Daddy), I answer the door (Karston is sleeping soundly), and it's Jim our next-door-neighbor to the north. And Jim says, "Do you have a fire extinguisher? Your neighbor's house is on fire." I quickly gave him the kitchen fire extinguisher and he was off. Then I noticed the half-finished projects around our house and started wondering where the blank is Daddy. Shoes, white shirt for night visibility, flashlight, baby monitor, and I went off to find him for my peace of mind. The first volunteer fireman I encountered was very nice, and pointed me to a clump of people who had been working on the fire before the firemen. And sure enough, there he was. Whew!

What happened is that, two houses north, something shorted in the main electrical box. (And no one could find the main breaker. Ours are right above the two main electrical boxes serving the house.) Randy and Allie were watching a movie when the lights went out with a loud ZAP. The in-between neighbors had their lights flicker, they heard buzzing, and they went outside to check on their air conditioner only to see flames. My husband was on the porch, heard buzzing, looked, saw flames. No lights flickered here, so I didn't know anything until Jim told me. But anyway, everyone who saw flames showed up to help. Randy's cell phone would not let him dial 911, and he wasn't going back in, so Jim called 911 from his house. [Note: see if your cell phone actually supports 911 as it should.] One very large fire extinguisher and two small ones later, the volunteer firemen showed up to take over. Kinda smells out there, there's a wall that's been axed down, but everyone's OK, and I think the physical damage isn't too bad. (No comment on the electrical damage. The power company showed up and had no idea what started this, so fixing it is open-ended for now.) I offered them our guest bed for the night. It's probably time to check into mine, as a matter of fact.

Baby

Pediatrician: Nine Months

We went to the pediatrician this morning. Karston's vital statistics are 17.5 inch head circumference, 26.25 inches long, and 16 pounds 6.8 ounces. Really, he cracked 17 pounds on our scale this weekend, but he hasn't eaten as much the past two days so he's a bit lighter. His weight-to-length ratio is just a hair under 50%; as ever, he's on the 25th percentile for head size. Since he's now below the 5th percentile for weight and height, I asked the doctor if we should care. His doctor said he's healthy and proportional, so don't worry. Indeed, Karston hasn't been sick yet, and since he wants to be held so much, he may as well be light.

I also asked if we should schedule an eye doctor appointment, but the doctor demonstrated exactly why he wasn't worried (and said he had a low threshold for suggesting optometric followups). No shots this time, although he did get a finger prick for a hematocrit that says he's not anemic. All in all, a pretty good doctor's visit!

Baby

Two Steps

Karston took his first steps yesterday afternoon! We went for a walk to enjoy the pretty afternoon, and Karston was in his baby backpack. When we came back in, we let Karston stand in his backpack while we took our shoes off. He looked pretty happy, so I wasn't looking at him while I took my shoes off. When I turned around, Hmm, I thought Karston was closer to me than that. Then I noticed Kurtis looked surprised. Karston took a couple of steps, and moved his baby backpack himself! So while he's not cruising yet, he is on his way to walking. (He skipped crawling.)

What could top that step forward? Well, I think he tried to sleep through the night, too! Last night we all slept soundly until about 5:30 AM when the Daddy snoring hit a record loudness. I hope Karston makes a habit of sleeping for hours until awakened! I'd like to resume my habit of sleeping through the night.

Baby

Half-and-half

Karston's been out in the world now as long as he was in the womb! This really seems like a milestone, maybe because he has developed so much personality recently. He's really his own little person now, sweet-tempered and delightful. You can just watch him figure things out! His fine motor control improves daily. He's learned that if he holds on to the sides of his Jumperoo when he jumps himself silly, he won't flop around. If I tickle his foot while he's in his high chair with the tray blocking his view of his feet, he still knows I'm doing that. He's just such a person now!

Baby

A Fun Week

It's been a fun week with Karston!

On Wednesday, Karston started dancing. Well, maybe not dancing since he doesn't even stand on his own, but he was sitting on the couch, and when the sound started, he started slouching and sitting up straight in time to the music. Too bad it was just an ad on TV because we were ready to dance him around the living room!

Friday Karston picked up a useful new skill: drinking from a cup! He doesn't like bottles anymore (that was a small window), and while he thinks his sippy cup is a fun toy when it's empty, he won't touch it when it has liquid in it. He likes to play with the cups we drink from, so my mother offered him a sip from hers. And he drank from a cup! This should help keep him hydrated since he only nurses at night, and only accepts a spoon during the day. Sometimes that spoon has baby-food-prunes to offset the lack of drinking.

And speaking of food, we tried bananas again, but this time from a jar. He is nuts for peaches, but we could hardly get him to eat the canned peaches that I ran through my food processor when we were out of baby food peaches. I used peaches canned in juice, and I rinsed them just as directed. He loves peas, but when I cooked some frozen peas and ran them through the food processor, they came back on a return policy. (He also loves sweet potatoes, but that would be a lot of cooking.) And that made me reconsider bananas. He returned bananas before, but I mashed those myself. So bananas from a baby food jar was a test, and the results are in: he's not fond of bananas from a jar, and he barfs on food that I make. His parents don't! Our parents don't! But while I can apparently cook for adults, I don't seem to have the touch for baby food. I really don't like this turn of events, but at least I figured it out before I spent much time cooking for him. We'll try again later.

This morning we stopped by a small tractor store just before they closed, so they were driving lawn tractors inside. Karston thought this was the coolest thing ever! When a tractor would start, he would stare in the direction of the sound. When the tractor came in sight, Karston would turn to watch it. And then he would just watch in awe as the driver walked back for another. I said I thought he was young to be such a boy about tractors, but another customer assured that his 11-month-old son was just as fascinated. Everyone there was very nice about a squirmy little boy just staring for all he was worth.

There's still a lot of new to every week.

Number Three

The third tooth just poked through! That explains the extra drool and the rough night (at most two hours between wakings, and nursing about 20 minutes each time). It does ruin one of my bedtime songs for him, for Mister Two Toof ("toof" is easier to sing quietly than "tooth"). I wonder if Number Four will show up five days from now, just as #2 came right after #1?

Jumperoo

We bought Jumperoo on Sunday because Karston is active enough that he should get more exercise. He figured it out in three jumps. The first jump was while I was putting him in it, and he gave me a terribly upset look as if to say Mom, my toys are not this unstable. On the second jump, all on his own, he had a curious look, Do you suppose this motion is intentional? On his third jump, he had a very wide, excited smile, Oh yeah, I can do this! I'd say he loved his Jumperoo in less than 30 seconds.

On Tuesday, he jumped himself silly! He was so happy to be in Jumperoo to burn off some energy that he jumped wildly for an hour, with all body parts (other than his powerful legs) flopping around. And then he slept well. Ahh!

Baby

Buttons

Last night before bed, after swaddling and after Karston nursed, he continued to nuzzle. Lately he's been sucking on my buttons, shirt buttons, jacket buttons, any buttons. In fact, the day before, he stuck his lower lip out to reach the closest button instead of nursing! Anyway, since he was swaddled, I held my shirt button steady for ten minutes so that Karston could suck and nibble on it. So let me get this straight ... sucking on buttons is good, but not using a pacifier and sometimes not even nursing? Who knew?

Baby

Eight Months

Karston's eight months old now, so it's time to look back at the past month. My first thought is, Another month older already? He has mastered sitting, and that's great! I set him down on the carpet last week, and then quickly unloaded groceries into the refrigerator next to him. He just watched me, didn't tip over, didn't try anything that would give me a heart attack. We've really gotten used to the sitting boy! It's just so convenient!

I don't know if he became ticklish, or just got better at laughing, but now we can tickle him or nibble on him to start the laughter. Baby laughter is the best! We make sure to get all his laughter out before bed.

When he's really happy (for instance, when he knows what comes next, like a bath), Karston is difficult to hold because he turns into Bucking Bronco Baby Boy. He's so happy, he wants to jump, which is tough when you're carrying him down the hall to the bathroom. Baths don't bother him as much now, although he clings to his washcloth or his rubber ducky.

He's tried just about every kind of single-item baby food, and a couple multi-item foods. Karston likes cereal mixed with breast milk (best), sweet potatoes, peas, and pears; everything else he tolerates (especially if Daddy feeds it to him). We haven't tried bananas again, and I don't plan to try again for a good long while. He still nurses at night, but isn't interested in anything so reclined during the day.

Karston had a road trip this month too, to meet my Gramma in the mountains. The weather finally was reasonable on a weekend when we didn't have plans after the pediatrician said he was old enough to meet people. (I really didn't want a sleep-deprived person, either one of us, driving Karston on wintery roads!)

Laughing, stomping, and routines are still popular. We still haven't slept through the night. He looks older and bigger, but he's still holding just above 16.0 pounds which is just above the 5th percentile. Honestly, I feed him as much as he'll eat, but I say that about his dad too.

Baby

First Snow

Today Karston saw his first snow! We had a quick snow, over in fifteen minutes, last weekend while he was napping, but he didn't see it because he was asleep. Karston was more interested in the sleet that fell before the snow because it made a neat sound. Since we had warm 70°F weather yesterday, our daffodills, miniature daffodills, and yellow crocuses bloomed. So while Karston didn't care about the snow, I think the flowers did. (Of course we didn't have any snow accumulation! Not with the ground warmed up from yesterday's weather.) The blooms are touching the ground now, and I think I'll pick them when it's warmer. It's rough to blossom one day, and have it snow the very next day!

Baby

2.5

Sunday Karston turned 32 weeks old. Today I read that the rule of thumb is to be 2.5 times birth weight at 32 weeks of age, which would be 16.25 pounds for Karston. A few days ago he weighed in at 16.5 pounds fully dressed. He weighed 16.1 pounds this evening, but that was after we learned another lesson: even if Karston wants it, we might not want to feed him all 2.5 oz of prunes! He ate all that last night as part of his dinner, and the prunes started working after breakfast. In fact, the next five diapers were poopy, and he was fussy all day. So I'm going to guess he was 16.25 pounds at some point today, and say he matched that rule of thumb.

Baby

Seven Months

Karston is such a little person now! I think he passed from Infant to Baby this past month, just as he passed from Newborn to Infant when he was about two weeks old. In particular, his hands look like scaled-down adult hands now, not just the thumbs. He eats real food, albeit baby food from a soft spoon. He likes cereal and sweet potatoes. He'll eat peas and prunes, and maybe applesauce if Daddy coaxes him. He's no longer interested in bottles, and he'll only nurse at night. He watches us eat with great interest, but he hasn't reached for silverware yet so we haven't reached the messy independence of self-feeding. He laughs more, and he loves his routines for bath, nap, and bed times. He's down to two naps a day. He'll stop fussing and start smiling in the evening when we start his bed time routine, and he'll even put a lot of energy and laughter into playing before the final bundle off to bed. He's getting better at gripping what he wants, building hand-eye coordination. His favorite toys light up where he pushes them, not somewhere else, and music is also good (usually calms the fussing baby). He does love to stand on the counter and stomp his feet. Stomping is the best, and standing (with just a little help) is still great. Today he just started to sit on his own, too. No new teeth, though.

He's also such a little boy. He hoots on walks especially if you're not talking enough because, well, a boy has to announce himself loudly, and he's announcing that he's king of the path. He grins wildly when he shakes his head side to side vigorously, especially on a teething ring but sometimes just to shake his head. Our cat Linus, an older tuxedo cat, is very patient and lets Karston twist his ears just to sit in on family play time. However, Linus usually runs away when Karston starts stomping, which he does when he gets really happy about play time. Our dog Emma, an active terrier mix, thinks he's wonderful for licking although we try to dodge that. They both look worried when he cries, but usually stand close to him and look like they want to help.

Karston has just cracked 16 pounds, which means that he's above the 10th percentile for weight now, and that he can start wearing size 3 diapers.

Since he's only nursing at night, I pump during the day. It's easier to schedule pumping than baby feeding, so while it's not glamorous or comfortable, it's predictable. We think the breast feeding is paying off because he hasn't been sick even though Daddy's had two colds and Mommy one. We feel lucky about that!

Restaurant

Tonight we went out for the first time since Baby! I suppose that's some sort of red-letter day: we went out while Karston stayed home with my mother. In fact, he wore himself out early today, and slept the whole time we were gone. I didn't miss bouncing him in a restaurant to keep him quiet instead of eating my food, but I did miss our typical cuddles. Daddy said he wasn't very cuddly today, though, so I probably didn't miss much.

We went to Barry's retirement dinner. Barry's worked with the Networking group since it started. I even stood up during the speeches to chime in with my thanks. If he, and the people who work for him, didn't do such a consistently good job, I wouldn't love my job nearly as much because I would be plagued with installation problems, like bad cables. Starting off with excellence means that many networking problems can be avoided. If you want pesky problems, buy no-name NICs and cables from Fred's NIC Knack Shop. However, when I've gone to conferences, I've learned that I'm lucky to work with Barry because most people who do what I do (network management) aren't nearly as fortunate.

PS: if you run across a bad cable, do not put it back to annoy the next person! Test the cable in an otherwise known good configuration, and destroy it if it's still bad. (If it's an Ethernet cable, make sure it's a standard cable and not crossover, or vice versa.) Some people stand on one connector and yank to get out their frustration, although I usually just take the scissors to it. If I don't have time to test a cable, I tape a note to it that it may be bad. Don't share the headache of a bad cable!

Yes We Have No Bananas

Well, I thought we'd try bananas as the next food, especially since that's an easy baby food to make myself, but every banana deposit today came back. So maybe we'll skip bananas for a while, maybe for a long while. I made tasty banana muffins instead.

More. Food.

What a difference a week makes! We've been saying that "he's a new baby to learn every week" for a long time now, but secretly I thought the pace was slowing down. Wrong! The day before yesterday, we had to make an emergency run to the store for more baby rice cereal. I just wasn't prepared for the small box that we bought six weeks ago, back in the ancient history of four months old, to be empty. Karston was so slow to start eating (anything other than my milk or formula) that the rice cereal seemed endless. Then suddenly, BAM!, the end of the first box of rice cereal! Here we are, two days into the new box of cereal, and Karston's already eaten half of it. If you blinked, you missed his transition to food.

Yesterday he went on a nursing strike. He's only refused breast twice before. (He loves spending time with Daddy, and Daddy brought bottles. I didn't feel rejected because I think it's adorable that Karston loves his Daddy and wants to spend time with him.) We had a loud hungry morning yesterday before I decided that trying everything meant I should try a spoon as well. And Karston let me feed him with a spoon! I was so surprised, I barely knew what to do! I should have remembered that "he's a new baby to learn every week," but I thought I knew the feeding routine. Feeding him with a spoon takes longer, but he watched me raptly! I felt special to be allowed to feed him ... I'm sure this fairy dust will wear off with a few more goobers of rice and milk, but we enjoyed Spoon Time.

So today (keep up with us here folks, he's changing rapidly) we tried his second food, sweet potatoes! Daddy and I don't like sweet potatoes, but I selected that vegetable for a different reason. I went through all of the stage 1 foods at the store three days ago, a store that didn't have rice cereal when we knew we were LOW, precipitating our emergency run to re-stock the next day. I wanted a fruit (prunes), a vegetable (sweet potatoes), and a meat (turkey). After applesauce, my favorite, I picked out the other baby foods based on which ones had the most calories because Karston's in the 5th percentile for weight. And despite the recent crack I heard in response to that ("well, so are his parents" -- although we're normal-sized), I'll just feel better if I know he's not skinny because I'm starving him. Daddy has said before that he wished water had calories so he didn't have to eat food, so I think getting a high calorie density into my two boys (without ballooning up myself, and without cooking different meals for each of us) is important. As a side note on that, I got excited the first time I saw AquaCal bottled water. It's calcium-fortified water, but my first thought was that it was water with calories! Finally someone made water with calories for Kurtis! Alas, just calcium. Which is probably a good idea, and I'm probably the only person who (a) thought AquaCal meant water with calories, or at least (b) thought that was a good idea somehow. Karston says sweet potatoes are not rice cereal, and he makes funny faces about it.

I feel like he's all grown up now. He no longer nurses himself to sleep. In fact, he no longer nurses during the day when he can get fed food (not my milk or formula). He already gave up his bottle, and he thinks cups are fascinating. He's not co-ordinated enough for a sippy cup yet, but I know that transition will rush up on me, so I have two in stock, and one is currently a "toy" for him. And he gave up his pacifier. And he did all of that on his own! My mind boggles. I'm just here to hold him up so he can do his stompy dance, to feed him from a spoon, and to change those diapers.

Sleep Skills and First Food

We didn't make it a full week, but we had five days out of six of good sleep, starting on Karston's 6-month birthday. He was sleeping about five hours before nursing once in the middle of the night, and nursing again to wake up at 7 or 7:30 AM. After the first good night, we went to the pediatrician who said I shouldn't nurse Karston to sleep. I wasn't sure I wanted to mess with a routine that was finally working, but the following night, Karston wouldn't nurse before bed. So I set him down awake, and he's been going to bed without complaint and without nursing to sleep ever since! I guess he listened to his doctor!

I was really surprised he hasn't nursed at all just before bed because he's been voracious recently. He'll eat some rice cereal now, and we've had to supplement him with infant formula because I just can't keep up! He nurses when he can, and he has rice cereal mixed with formula when he's still hungry. In fact, he's finally doing well enough with the rice cereal, and with the spoon, that we gave him some applesauce today! So Karston's first food is applesauce because that was my favorite as a baby. He literally recoiled at the taste of it, but he loves the attention from Daddy, so he ate it anyway. (He won't take a spoon from me, and he stares pointedly at my chest while keeping his mouth shut. I have to put his formula and rice in a bottle.) In fact, he did so well on formula that I had to make an emergency run to the store today to get more! And so the food saga begins!

Baby

Pediatrician: Six Months

We went to the pediatrician again this morning. Karston officially weighs 14 pounds 7.4 ounces for 25 1/4 inches long, which is about the 5th percentile for both. Other than his chubby baby thighs, he does look skinny as babies go! When you combine those two, he's around the 25th percentile for his weight-to-length ratio. Since he wants to be held so often, I really don't mind having a lightweight baby! His head circumference is up to 16 3/4 inches, near the 25th percentile just like all of his doctor visits after the first month. Anyway, he's healthy and vaccinated. The pediatrician also said we need to get serious about making the house as baby-safe as possible because mobility is just around the corner. We're allowed to introduce single fruits and vegetables now, even though rice cereal isn't going down in large quantities. He often won't take a spoon from me (and his eyes make it obvious what he would rather that I feed him), but Daddy says you know he's done eating when he gets some distance sending the food back at you or when he won't open his mouth. So I'm sure it gets a lot messier from here ...

Six Months

Karston is six months old today! (And he was 26 weeks old Sunday.) It feels as though six months ought to be a landmark. Actually, my mother says that means his spleen is working now, and that means his immune system is running. It sound like good news to me, so we opened a bottle of champagne and hopped in the hot tub (we missed sunset, which was the original plan). Karston thinks the hot tub is OK, but that could be because he gets so much adult attention and constant holding. We're watching out for his safety, and he loves the limelight. We all went in the hot tub for the first time on the first, and it was a very relaxing start to the new year.

He's got so much personality now! Mostly we see happy, thrilled, hungry, tired, or fussing either for holding or for a diaper change. That sounds easier than it is, because he also needs to fill his brain which means we have to give him that safely supervised opportunity. We put batteries in his Intelli-tainer this weekend because he seemed ready to do more than stand in it. Yesterday he just scratched the buttons because he was there, this morning he was pushing the closest buttons on purpose, and this evening he was reaching everywhere to see what else, like a button, would make something happen. He even found one button that I hadn't! Mostly we're happy and learning, parents and child!

... and a Sleepy New Year!

I guess Karston wanted to keep his Christmas present to us special by keeping us awake. He was awake to see 2006, even though we were perfectly happy to let the new year roll in while we spent quality time with head on pillow. In fact, he stayed up until 1 AM, a whole hour after the new year ... and then he repeated that performance the next night. This is not how I planned to spend my vacation, staying up late and getting up several times during the night. As long as Daddy, Mommy, and Baby are all happy and healthy, I don't want to complain, so I'll just say I'm really looking forward to Karston sleeping through the night eventually! I do enjoy spending time with him as he is now ... but I also plan to enjoy later stages, with more sleep!