Pediatrician: Cale at Nine Months

Cale turned nine months old yesterday, and had his pediatrician visit for his well-child checkup this afternoon. Stripped down, Cale is 19 pounds 14.9 ounces (so close to 20 pounds!), 28.5" tall, and 18.5" head circumference. For his appointment, he flirted with his nurse and his doctor, and he nursed. He's up to date on his immunizations, so no shots this time. (With his egg allergy, he can't get the regular flu shot.) So until next time ...

After The Trip

It's much colder here, but it's nice to be home again too. I'm trying to think about what was new for this trip. Karston now associates candy with parade floats, and he especially likes lollipops (blue is good!) and small tootsie rolls. Karston ran circles for his letter O dance several times. Cale really does look a lot like Karston when he was this size, but we were still surprised when someone asked us if the boys were twins. Hmm, only one boy is walking and talking... Cale has gotten quite good at leaning for toys, and scooching, and rolling. You have to be really careful where you set him now; no edges and no dangerous items within a two or three foot radius! He ends up on his tummy, holding himself up with his arms, but he's not sure what to do next (crawl!) so he gets bored (his hands aren't free to grab) and quickly cries to be picked up. I think Cale is ready to start crawling soon!

White String Cheese

Last night, in his sleep, Karston said, "No, white string cheese!" At home, he quit eating white string cheese (mozzarella) in favor of yellow (cheddar) a while back. Luckily he decided to go back to white on this trip, because that's the only color I've seen in the various stores. Apparently he's so serious about this switch, he's talking about it in his sleep!

Back Hurting

All afternoon, Karston said his back was hurting. We listened with an adult filter, and assumed that his back was sore from sleeping on a strange bed, as is so often the case for traveling adults. Ha! We went to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park this morning, and Karston got a sunburn on his back just above his diaper. We noticed the sunburn when changing his clothes for bed this evening, and Karston pointed to it as the area where his back hurt. Then he wanted to see the red color in the mirror so he could know what sunburn looks like.

We need to work sunscreen under the diaper's edge too, but it's such a struggle to get any sunscreen on Karston that doing it right is probably wishful thinking if we want to have any hearing left. Like an annoying parent, whenever he said his back hurt this evening, I told him that's why we wear sunscreen! Maybe that will help a little with sunscreen application next time ... nah, that implies toddler logic!

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park has some of the nicest laid-back park rangers. I assume they know they have it made! I wish FZT could keep those nice shade pines: Cale took a nap in the shade while I read a book next to him; Karston and Daddy played with another family in the surf. We learned as we were leaving that the FZT snack bar now serves beer with their lunches (wow!), and even has a water toy exchange! We didn't bring any water toys on the airplane. What a park!

Travel with Children

One of the lessons for travel with children is not to over-plan your trip. In fact, you'll be lucky to get one accomplishment per day, and you need some unscheduled days in between to recover. Today was one of those recovery days. Karston kept wanting something back at the treehouse, so we kept turning back. We went back three times before lunch, and updated our morning plan to be to get somewhere for lunch.

Letter "O" Dance

Karston says he's doing the letter "O" dance; to the uninitiated, this looks like he is running around in tight circles. I assume the dance name is homage to Sesame Street. Since he hasn't had a nap yet this trip, we're happy to let him run off energy in the hopes that he will sleep well tonight so that we can sleep well.

Birthday Tooth

For my birthday, I wanted to get lots of sleep, and to get over this lingering nasal drip. Well, so much for sleep: Cale just cut Tooth #8 today. I felt around for it yesterday and it hadn't poked through; today it has. Now I can say my baby is eight months old and has eight teeth, for whatever that's worth. Cale's more interested in chewing on everything in sight than he is in fussing; he's fussing a little bit but is overall much happier than most teething babies. I wonder if he's getting used to teeth popping through?

A Christmas Parade

When we arrived in Key West, I wanted to start off with my usual fish sandwich. Guess what? Iguana Cafe is back! I missed their fish sandwich last time in Key West (when it was a hurricane-toppled-large-tree-left-huge-hole hole in the ground), so I was glad to see it again! Yummy. Karston and Cale ate french fries. This time last year, I could count the number of times Karston had had french fries on the fingers of one hand; now we know they are a good way to get calories in him! We decided to let Cale try french fries since he enjoyed boiled potatoes at Thanksgiving so much. A hit with both kids! Karston was so much older than Cale is now before he had fries ... all those lost calorie opportunities!

The cabbie who picked us up at the airport told us we should take the kids to the Christmas parade tonight. Wow. I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect a parade that lasted almost two hours and had almost 80 floats! We also didn't expect that the floats would be tossing candy to the kids. Karston perfected the starving little waif expression, with his hand held out. Couple of candies, sure, whatever, toss 'em in my pocket. By the time both pockets in my shorts (yes! shorts at night in December! guess why I'm glad to be here?) were full, I realized that we were in for much more candy than I anticipated. I guess that's why we have a stroller with a basket below.

The Wi-Fi signal at our treehouse is weak, but who needs solid Internet access when you're on vacation?

Before The Trip

Since we're about to spend a week in Key West, I'll watch to see what new things the boys do. This week they already started doing new things!

Karston has started to ask WHY? all the time. By all the time, I mean he asks why again and again, without noticing that he's hit reductio ad absurdum. I went to school for a long time, and I can adroitly break questions down to smaller and smaller parts, but a toddler doesn't know the wall of elemental reduction (or the wall of "I'm not going to go any farther") so it's why why why. He's been doing this for a week ... maybe two.

Cale still isn't walking, but he loves propelling himself around in his walker. This week he changed that repertoire, though: he would walk away from people in order to explore. Cale is a very social baby, very likely to follow people for attention, so heading away from everyone seems significant.

Back to packing ... clothes for all, enough food and diapers for the boys until we can buy more, and small toys for the boys to amuse them on the plane. We could pack so lightly for just us, but we're packing toys, boo-boo fixin's, a double stroller, and a baby backpack!

... and a Yummy Thanksgiving Was Had by All

This morning, we loaded the car with food and folks, and headed to Opa and Grammy's house for Thanksgiving. When we explained this Thanksgiving plan to Karston, his first question was Opa and Grammy come here? (no, we're going to see them, and Mimi will come with us). When we started to explain that the rest of the immediate family would be there too, Karston jumped in, and Evan too? He really likes his cousin Evan now that he can run. When Karston was less sure on his feet, he preferred to play with Hayley, but now that he's older, he loves that Evan will jump on the trampoline for hours. Sure enough, Karston ran around after Evan all afternoon (who now accepts that his young cousin Karston is just plain going to follow him around), and they jumped on the trampoline.

A bonus to the typical Thanksgiving feast is that I didn't feel deprived by what I couldn't eat due to Cale's allergies to milk, soy, egg, and barley. I knew in advance that I couldn't eat any of the desserts, so I made a small batch of six cookies for myself. I had turkey (plain), stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans made plain especially by Grammy for me (*smile*), plain baked potato, and salad. My mother remembered that I couldn't have commercial salad dressing, so she brought some for me, so I didn't have to eat my salad plain. I have to admit, I didn't miss the creamed corn, marinated veggies, bread, or pies with everything that I could eat. (As long as there's salad, I'm probably happy anyway.) Grammy made a side of plain boiled new red potatoes for me (although the baked potatoes were safe for Cale's allergies too), but I didn't know that until I'd finished my baked potato. However, Cale was interested in potatoes from Mommy and Daddy, so we gave him some from our baked potatoes. He wanted to keep going, so we quickly peeled the red potatoes for him. What a hit! Cale like small potato quarters that he can hold and cram into his mouth! I don't think he's had potatoes before, but he sure likes them! (And they're not likely to be allergenic. I actually planned not to introduce new foods on the holiday weekend just to be sure we wouldn't need to go to the doctor.)

After we were all full, we adjourned to the comfy chairs of the living room for Hayley's birthday and general relaxation. Daddy handed Cale to Uncle Chip for what he expected would be a minute of knee bouncing. Cale fell in love with the DJ voice, and would look up adoringly at Chip when he spoke. Cale was having such a nice time on his uncle's knee that no one else wanted to hold him: those adoring gazes were priceless! So snuggly Cale fell asleep on Chip.

We thought we would get a nap for everyone when we got home, but it didn't happen. On the other hand, they both went to bed easily. And so should I! Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

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Pleased to meet you, 007

After a long session using my drawstring as floss, Cale brought out chopper #7. Yes, another tooth, this one lower left. I thought he was acting like teething, but it took this tooth a long time to appear. So far his teeth have appeared in pairs, so although it doesn't feel close, I wouldn't be surprised to see #8 within a week. Then maybe we can return to his earlier and better sleeping habits!

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Silence of the Chocolate

Our kitchen was quite, quite loud this evening, with both boys making commotions. I guessed that Cale was trying to tell us he wanted to feed himself again (he says it beats baby food, and he's done with baby bottles now that he's almost eight months old). I thought he might want a change from Rice Chex, so I opened a box of Cocoa Puffs. Karston stopped and said, Cocoa Puffs??!?! Let me tell you what's really nice about Cocoa Puffs: our kitchen got quiet. Both Karston and Cale think that Cocoa Puffs are good to put in your own mouth. Ah, blessed silence!

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Chocolate Cookie

Cale has reached "the cheerio stage" where he can grasp a moderately small item and put it in his mouth. A month ago, he didn't know what to do with them. Karston never had a cheerio stage because his tummy always hurts; his next pediatrician appointment to discuss this is Thursday. Cale's actually eating Rice Chex instead of cheerios because we don't know if he has an allergy to oatmeal but we do know he doesn't react well to barley, another gluten grain. House brand rice chex and corn chex contain barley, so Cale gets allergy-friendly Rice Chex. Several months ago, Mimi let Cale try a few crumbs of chocolate cake: he loved it! So this evening, I let him take a few bites of her chocolate cookies. Cale took a baby bite, yum. He tried to take a much larger bite, but settled out for another baby bite. Then that little hand came around and took my cookie! He crammed in as much cookie as he could over the next 20 minutes until I decided it was time to clean the crumbs from the disaster area. He likes self-feeding, a refreshing change, and just like Karston he likes chocolate! I'm looking forward to experiencing this cheerio (and Cookie Monster) stage of baby development for the first time.

Baby Banana

Cale stayed with his grandmother Mimi today while Karston watched the big equipment crane at Opa and Grammy's house after preschool. (Cale refused a bottle of milk, probably because it wasn't the perfect warm temperature he likes, and he only had a mediocre showing for baby food. He was definitely ready to nurse warm milk! when I showed up.) Mimi wanted to eat a banana when she was very hungry, but Cale informed her that she was required to share with him. I think this is the first time that he's eaten food that did not arrive in his mouth on a spoon! He took about half a dozen baby bites from her banana. He seemed to think it wasn't as tasty as mashed banana baby food, but he ate it and came back for more. Karston was much older before he ate bananas himself!

Big Orange Car(t)

Cale had a first today: his first time riding in a shopping cart next to Karston (not in his car seat)! We needed some grass seed, so we went to the really close Home Depot. They have orange carts with racing decals and two steering wheels for two kids. Karston showed Cale how to use his steering wheel, but Cale preferred to watch in awe as Karston used his. Cale did an excellent job sitting up on his own and enjoyed playing with (watching) his older brother, so I think he's ready for shopping carts now (at least when he's not tired).

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No Hot Dog

Karston's preschool had a Halloween parade (in costume) and banquet this morning. Ms. Jan told me that Karston didn't eat his hot dog, but he did have apple and cheese, and she let him go back for a second cookie. (Getting him to eat anything is the right plan! He didn't finish the second cookie, but he insisted I had to bring it home for later.) Karston very solemnly informed me, Sometimes I just don't like hot dogs. He cracks me up! I'm not going to argue with eating apples and cheese instead of kiddie hot dogs.

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The Bra

This is funny, even if it isn't G-rated. Cale got upset this evening when I was out of his sight, so he and Daddy watched me change into pajamas. As soon as my bra went on the night stand, he was fascinated with it. He stared at my bra more than me. Yes, the child who a minute ago said I couldn't be out of his sight found something more important to watch. Daddy moved him closer to see if he were staring at my night light lamp, but no, he really was staring at my bra. Oh my gosh, that thing gets to hold Mommy all day long? I want to have straps! I want to grow up to be a bra! (I think my running commentary speaking for Cale was what made Daddy laugh so much.)

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Race Car

We went to the State Fair this morning. We didn't make it to any petting zoos this time (Karston loved that last year), but we still loved it. I ran into an old friend from college and Karston won a car. We wanted to take Karston on the rides, but you have to be at least 36" tall for the rides, and it turns out that he's only 35" tall (at almost 3.5 years old!). Hopefully this Prevacid will help that!

Doctor

Karston went back to the doctor about his tummy hurting. We told him a few days in advance that we were going to go to the doctor to tell her about his tummy hurting, and this morning he very quietly said that he wanted to go to the doctor so she could help his tummy feel better.

The report is 25.9 pounds (dressed) and try Prevacid again. The Zantac worked initially, but now it seems like we're back to where we were before Zantac. So hopefully the proton-pump inhibitor will out-do the H2 blocker, as it should.

Happy Birthday

This evening during his bedtime routine, Karston kept saying, want to sing the birthday song to you Daddy!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Daddy
Happy Birthday to you

Again and again, in that sweet voice. Instead of good night kisses, tonight Karston was giving out birthday kisses too.

This morning, for his birthday, Karston and I gave Daddy something Karston picked out at the store. Karston picked out a small catchers mitt and a ball (the mitt has velcro on the fingers, and the ball is the right kind of soft to stick to it), and he told me, I want to play catch with Daddy! Get it please! I want it! Daddy want it! I really, really didn't think any present this year could top Daddy's little boy wanting to play catch with him, so of course I got it. This evening, Daddy got a DVD set and a card, and Karston got a happy tropical shirt that looks like shirts Daddy likes to wear. (Karston likes to do what Daddy does, so he got a similarly-wrapped present so he could unwrap too.) Karston tried his shirt on right away! While holding the top button, Karston said very seriously, I figuring it out ... and he buttoned his shirt! He certainly figured it out quickly, since we've never seen him button anything before! He did the second button after I opened the buttonhole (new shirt, a bit stiff), and he asked me to do the third and lowest button because it was too far for him.

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Two More Teeth

Karston has all twenty milk teeth, so you know this post is about Cale. I just felt his gums, and Cale has two more teeth poking through today. He had four teeth yesterday, while today he has four teeth on top. No wonder he's been a bit out of sorts, since he has had a runny nose for a week, and two new teeth cutting through his gums. I hope Cale feels better, and resumes sleeping better, soon!

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Cale at Seven Months

When we first came home with Cale, I put ice in my water cup, and Cale startled at the loud sound of the ice dispenser. He flailed and looked quite worried. Ever since then, I've told Cale "this is going to be loud" before I do something loud, and he's been calm ... unless I forget to announce the loud to him. Yes, I know he's not supposed to understand words yet, but he's known about loud since his first week of life.

Cale seems so much older at seven months now! It's been over a month since I've seen his baby startle, where he would stick his arms straight out and wave them and wobble his upper body. However, Daddy did see a hilarious new reaction this evening. Cale was very happy today if he was touching me (I can see two new teeth coming in), and very loudly unhappy if he wasn't touching me. So in order to cook for the week, I had Cale in the baby backpack on my back so I could have my hands free while keeping his hands far away from sharp knives for chopping and hot stoves for cooking. Before I turned on the food processor, I told him that it would be loud. Cale did what he was doing for my every kitchen task: standing up in the backpack so he could lean over my shoulder to see what I was doing.

So imagine me at the kitchen counter with my food processor, and Cale leaning over my shoulder to see what I'm doing even though he knows it will be loud. Don't forget that he still has a very plump baby face. Daddy was facing us. When I turned on the food processor, Cale shook his head, jowls flapped, and Daddy says he did a dead-on comedic Nixon impression! I'm sure even R. Milhouse Nixon could have been cute at seven months old. And Cale is even cuter doing a comedic impression!

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Careful with Those Choppers!

I think Cale was testing his teeth this afternoon, getting to know them. Tooth #3 came in two weeks ago, and #4 late last week, so he just barely has two upper teeth to match the two lower teeth he's had for two months. Well, I heard him grinding his teeth this afternoon. I told Cale that he didn't want to do that. I think that made him grind harder! So I dropped the subject.

Apparently the right answer was distration, not information, and not ignoring. Five minutes later, Cale was a scary sight with his chin covered with bloody drool. His mouth looked like his lower teeth, several millimeters longer than the new teeth on top, had gouged just inside his upper dental ridge. I can't do that because I have teeth in the way, but Cale doesn't. Hoo boy did he cry about this too!

It's always traumatic to see blood on your baby, so I really hope Cale learned not to grind his teeth.

Cale: Six Month Checkup

This afternoon, we went to Cale's six month well-child-checkup. He is now 27" tall (75th percentile), 18 pounds 3.4 ounces (60th percentile), 17.75" head circumference (85th percentile), and up-to-date on his vaccinations (polio in the US in 2005: it should be history!). So although his weight at 6 months is Karston's weight at 15 months (other measures more like Karston at 10 to 11 months old), he's following Karston's pattern of higher percentiles for height and head circumference than for weight but overall fairly proportional.

Following the doctor's advice at Cale's 4-month wcc, I learned that I could eliminate his 5-times-a-day dark green poops (in exchange for once daily typical yellow ones) by eliminating dairy from my diet. This time, as a followup, I told Dr Starnes that Cale seems to sleep better at night when I also don't eat soy. She said that 60% of children with this milk protein allergy also have the soy protein allergy, so that fits. I was going to follow the scientific method and have some soy to see what happens, but I don't want to lose sleep just to prove what's already likely. Now that I have children, sleep is more precious than ever!

Cale didn't like getting his shots, but that could have been lying down (he wants to be held upright so he can look around) without being cuddled. He stopped within a minute of being picked up! So he's a real trooper about his shots too.

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Cale's Cold

Karston had a cold (runny nose, cough) this weekend, and now Cale has a runny nose. Cale was acting very upset, although I suspect that frustration trying to work out his poop. Of course, with the runny nose, he's not eating or sleeping as well as usual either. Since there was an acute care appointment available when I called late this afternoon and I drive by on my way home, I took Cale to the doctor this evening. Dr Goldbach agreed with me: he'll be fine. His ears and his throat look very healthy, so it really is just a runny nose (and nasal drain cough). The doctor said for this weight he gets 1.5 droppers (1.2 mL) of infant tylenol, but for this condition and this close to the recommended 6 months of age, baby motrin is a good choice too. Cale weighed 18 pounds 6.7 ounces fully dressed at the doctor's office, and he weighed 18.7 pounds (that's 18 pounds 11.2 ounces!) dressed this weekend, so he's clearly off his feed. Get well soon, little buddy!

Super Mommy

This morning Karston asked if I wanted to be a Super Mommy. I wasn't sure what he meant, but I knew the answer. As it turns out, all it takes to be a Super Dad or a Super Mommy is to carry Cale and pick up Karston. In other words, it means he wants the parent carrying Cale to carry him as well!

I think I started it last week, when I saw Daddy balancing both children and finishing up in the garage. I think I said, "Oh, Super Dad! Can I help you?" Karston didn't want to transfer, so I carried Cale instead so Daddy could have one hand free at least. Daddy says while he was carrying both this weekend, Karston tapped his chest, "are you a Super Dad?"

It's a pretty effective way to ask to be picked up!

Technorati Tags: Baby, Toddler

Parent's Lexicon

As a parent, you find yourself saying and doing things that your child-less self just could not have imagined. We first started laughing about Things You Would Never Hear Without Children about 2 years ago while Daddy was watching Curious George with Karston. The improbable phrase was, Thank you window monkey. This week's addition to the must-be-a-parent lexicon is Magic Poop Shoes. Cale has a very nice pair of grippy Geox shoes. When he's really pushing his legs to work out a poop, I put him in his walker with his Geox. It's the only time he doesn't move his walker all across the kitchen, even though the shoes should make that easier. Works like a charm to soil that diaper, though. Hence the phrase, magic poop shoes.

All About Mommy

Cale decided he was all about Mommy after I had lunch today. He wanted to touch me all the time; I finally put him in his backpack so I could walk around with both hands free. (I did such interesting things as laundry and toy pick-up.) He kept waking up within 2 minutes after I would set this sleeping baby in his crib. I put him in his walker so I could put some dinner on my plate. When I walked past Cale, he changed his cry, and then reached out for me with both arms! (It worked, of course. I was ravenous but it doesn't compare to my baby reaching for me!) Cale's really developing personality and opinions like that. After dinner that I ate on the couch so Cale could nurse while I ate, Daddy held Cale for a little while. This time, he could touch me when he reached for me with both arms, and he pulled my arm in for a great hug.

Cale is learning so many skills. He has been hugging us when we carry him for a while. He's been holding his head up for several months, with better trunk control shortly after. That one's nice because then we can carry him with one arm, and he will hug on and hold himself upright. He's got a good sense of his body too; his feet bounce with each step when I take the stairs, and when I bend over, he adjusts his head and neck while still clinging on with hands and body. Cale has discovered toys, too: some make noise, and he tries to put them all in his mouth. This morning's tummy time was an obvious demonstration of infant swimming, that motion before crawling, so I expect him to start crawling soon too. He has recognized bottles of milk happily for several months, and now he'll get calmer and happier when he sees baby food headed to his high chair. And if it's not baby food that he wants, he's learned how to pull down the neck of my shirt too. Like I said, he's really developing into his own person with a big smile.

Just before lunch, I picked Karston up from preschool. The children were called up, one by one or in small groups, to pick up a treat (looked like watermelon Starburst) and then to return to their seat (on convenient carpet squares). The task was to hold the treat until everyone had one. Karston was one of the first children to pick up his treat as the teacher went around the circle, and of course he had to be reminded that he couldn't eat his treat yet. He minded very quickly! At the end, however, another teacher had to step in quickly to prevent him from having a fit. You see, he had totally forgotten he had a treat! She made him look at his hands, then open his hands, then oh boy a treat! I got to watch that routine without being to hear what his teacher said but I could read his face easily. Daddy said That's my boy! because he also forgets when he has food all too easily.

Oh, and Karston's Zantac is starting to work, we think. He still doesn't snack much, but he kept eating dinner. He started with half of a blueberry Pop Tart, then veered into M&Ms before I could intervene, agreeably switched gears to eat 2 oz of sausage, passed near fried okra, lit into potato chips, and finished off with more M&Ms. If you know Karston, you know that's a remarkable amount of food with a surprising variety. So he seems to be eating better. He still complains about Minty and tries to get out of it, but he also takes it with a lot less fighting now.

Zantac, Day 2

Luckily, we had another family, conveniently experienced with Zantac, over for lunch today. I had researched online that you should take it 30 to 60 minutes before eating, so it's first thing in the morning, and when we start to prepare dinner. I wanted to know how long to give it to work, though. Zantac doesn't cause the immediate improvement in appetite that we saw with Prevacid, so we're still trying to decide if it really helps. However, the encouraging signs are that Karston said his tummy felt good after lunch and after dinner, and Jen said it took about 10 days for her to see a real improvement in Tasha as an infant. The flip side is that Karston grabbed a juice box of Apple & Eve Very Berry at breakfast, started drinking, and then said the juice hurt his tummy. So Zantac isn't protecting him from juice, at least not yet. We're trying to keep him on diluted apple juice as the mild choice. Karston doesn't like plain water (yet) or milk (and dairy can be an irritant itself, just ask Cale). So I'll give Zantac two to three weeks.

Minty

Kaston doesn't like "minty" as we call the peppermint-flavored Zantac syrup. We both have to administer it to have enough hands. However, each time he resists less (still cries and makes us feel like heels), so we think he can tell it helps too. This evening Karston ate more spaghetti than I've ever seen him eat before. We had to coax him to eat, but once he got started, he really pushed in the spaghetti. After dinner, I asked him how his tummy felt. Karston said his tummy had said, Karston, eat more food, and now it said Yay! So his tummy is still talking to him (such imagination!), and now it says Yay! Yay, indeed. We like that tummy message.

Cale is working on being a champion eater. Or Cale might be normal in his desire to plow down baby food, and we just have no reference for normal baby eating habits from Karston. Normal can be such a slippery, subjective term.

Doctor's Office, again

The Nurse Line last night said a doctor needed to check Karston after the post-Prevacid hives. Allergic reactions are more dangerous when they happen with the first exposure. (It's possible that he reacted to the 3 chocolate malted milk balls, too. He may have had a malted once before. But Prevacid is strong medicine and I want to be cautious.) So Daddy called this morning when they opened at 8 am, and we got an appointment for 9:30 am. We rushed through breakfast, having slept in after feeding both boys at 4 am.

The doctor switched Karston to Zantac. As an antihistamine (specifically an H2 / histamine-2 blocker, primarily in the stomach), it's very unlikely to trigger an allergic reaction. And yes, he's just fine; the hives went away almost as soon as they showed up, and speaking from personal experience, that's quite a mild reaction.

We're convinced that these reflux treatments are helping. Karston generally ate more when he was taking Children's Maalox. Given the taste and dose difference, we didn't give him Tums as often, and his appetite dropped way down, back to his normal paltry level. For his one day on Prevacid, Karston woke up both at 4 am and again at 8 am saying he was hungry. I don't think we've ever heard "I'm hungry" as the first words out of his mouth before. Since these treatments have all had immediate effects on his appetite, we think we're on to something. So we'll see how Zantac goes. We'll help that little tummy feel better soon.

Hungry

*yawn* Both boys are hungry in the middle of the night. I assume Cale is on another growth spurt, since that's what you do at his age; I just hope I have enough milk to get us through the night. We're guessing that Karston's hungry because that proton pump inhibitor really is making his tummy feel better; that's encouraging. I hope we're allowed to go back to sleep soon, though.

Whoops!

There's no telling if this is actually related, but about half an hour after Karston had his first dose of Prevacid, he said his legs and tummy were itchy. I looked at his legs, and he had what looked to be half-a-dozen mosquito bites, without the bite mark. Small raised white blister on red scratched skin ... sounds an awful lot like hives! I called the Nurse Line, and we're almost in the clear now (be alert for signs of respiratory trouble, especially in the first two hours). However, the nurse wants him to be seen by a doctor first thing tomorrow morning, so once again we're going to start a long holiday weekend by camping out in the waiting room. Gah. His tummy has no end of trouble.

I had to circle with a pen the hives (uticaria) that I could still see. An allergic reaction that goes that rapidly doesn't sound serious, but Daddy will sleep with him tonight to be sure.

Now don't think I'm not taking this seriously, but I do have a funny story about Karston's tummy. This afternoon at the doctor's office, Karston told us his tummy talked to him. No, not gurgles like Daddy and Mommy tummies, no it said Hi Karston. Really. He said that again this evening too. Just so you know, Karston's tummy talks. But it won't see any more Prevacid.

Doctor's Office

We went to the doctor (the new pediatrician who is very thorough) this afternoon to follow up from Karston's 3 year appointment. She had suggested he might have reflux, and to try an antacid for a while and let her know in about a month. When we were consistent with the antacid, Karston was generally eating more food! However, when we switched from Children's Maalox to the much-easier-to-find Tums, the flavor change caused Karston to use less. In a nutshell, I told the doctor she was brilliant, and what next. She prescribed Prevacid, to use for a limited time to see if Karston can heal on his own with a little help from Prevacid for a few months.

Once again, Karston was scared to have his measurements taken while checking in to see the doctor. However, we used my tape measure to see that he is 34.5 inches tall now, and subtracting out Daddy's weight he is 25.2 pounds (fully dressed) now.

Off to the pharmacy!

Daddy mentioned possible reflux to the mom of the other very small child at Karston's preschool, and Meg said her son was on Prilosec for three months but doesn't need it anymore. I found that very encouraging! I hope for similar results.

Preschool

Karston went to his first day of preschool today, with the other 3 and 4 year old kids. Afterwards, at lunch with Mommy, Daddy, Opa, and Grammy, he said he enjoyed today best. So 3/4 it is! We're very excited, since this one has more education: letter of the week, paint day, show and tell (speaking to the class about an item starting with the letter of the week), and educational units!

Afterwards, Opa and Grammy came over with presents. Karston liked all of the presents very much. He made short work of a page of stickers. He was excited about more books and small hand-me-down toys that look perfect for travel. He also really liked the two outfits for Cale. I mean, he really liked them. So although these two outfits are very reasonably sized as the next size Cale will wear, Karston wanted to try it on. So my small three-year-old is wearing a one-piece outfit intended for my five-month-old. OK, he's small. But he's already interested in more education at preschool and he is so sweet.

Playschool

Last year, Karston was the smallest boy at his two-year-old playschool and his pal Grace was the smallest of all eight children. Karston and Grace were invited back to two-year-old playschool for the first half of this school year (the rest of this calendar year) so they could enjoy being big kids for a while. Well, this time Karston was the smallest child there because Grace looks like she grew four inches taller! So my three-year-old is smaller than a group of two-year-old. Wow.

Karston and Grace were invited to try the 3 and 4 year old preschool tomorrow to see if they like it.

Waaah!

Cale just woke up with a heart-broken, heart-rending wail. He was in his crib asleep for 20 minutes, and now he's awake again. (I'm in for a long night! He wants to comfort-nurse when he's sad.) We just gave him infant tylenol for his (presumably) teething pain, and I hope that gets me several hours of sleep tonight. He is my Cale-friend, and we'll get through this together. I just may take a nap with him tomorrow, that's all.

Technorati Tags: Baby

Friends

One nice thing about two children, or at least these two, is that they are such good friends. Karston kissed Cale when he was fussy this evening, and Cale immediately switched from fussing to laughing at Karston.

One of the bedtime stories Daddy read to Karston tonight was Curious George Goes To The Beach. When Curious George made friends with a crab, Daddy asked Karston if he would like a crab-friend. Karston said, No, I have a Daddy-friend. Then he pulled Daddy's arm around himself, snuggled in, and patted Daddy's arm. After his three stories, Karston came to kiss me good-night while Cale was nursing to sleep (extra drooling, extra fussing, extra chewing, and less sleeping: is the third tooth coming in?), and then went to bed easily. Usually Cale's the easy one to put to bed, but this evening Karston was in his bed shortly before Cale was in his crib.

Daddy-friend is a very lucky dad!

Technorati Tags: Baby, Toddler

Not What We Wanted To Hear

Karston didn't nap yesterday, unlike Cale who (as usual) napped like a champion. He fell asleep in the stroller during our after-dinner walk around the neighborhood, and was in bed by 8 PM (when Cale is usually in bed, but he was too hungry for that last night). Daddy had the dubious pleasure at 1:30 AM of hearing something you know we didn't want to hear:

Daddy, I'm not sleepy anymore!

His latest game is walking "Emma" on a leash. When Daddy was tired of playing Emma, Karston dragged around the inflatable flamingo "Mingo" until I remembered a toy from Fast Buck Freddie's: a small dog that walks and barks. Oh my, Doggie was a hit when we brought him out on Sunday! Last night, he showed Daddy that Doggie was under the covers with him (oh yeah, Karston sleeps under a light blanket now, after three years of kicking off the covers and snuggling for warmth). This morning, he shared his breakfast Pop Tart with Doggie. For a while, he was all about Piggy, but right now he's more interested in Doggie (and more interactive toys in general).

Five Months Old!

Cale is five months old today! He has grown up so much already, I'm just amazed. He has opinions (hold me!), he holds on and hugs (easy to do things while holding him), and he responds to facial expressions. He's a little person who can't walk instead of an infant who needs complete care.

He's been very hungry this past week, and it's been very difficult for my milk supply to keep up with his demand. And he bites when he doesn't get as much to eat as he wants! And he makes icky face for formula. So we're added the occasional meal of milk mixed with rice cereal to see if that helps, and he will lunge for the spoon! He's not great about swallowing, but he likes to try. So this evening we tried something new: baby food! Since he has tried to eat Karston's breakfast banana twice before and seemed to like it, we started with banana baby food. I can't say it was a success, but he did eat some. He opened his mouth for the spoon, but then scrunched up his face. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head with a big shudder. But when the spoon came back, he would start the process again. So he'll eat food, even if it's shudderingly icky! Wow. Still, we're getting calories into him that I didn't have to process first. Whew.

New Talents

This evening when I put a teether in Cale's hand, he was as disinterested as usual. It's good for chewing if I hold it in his mouth, but that's about it. I drank some water, and when I looked down again, Cale was holding it in his other hand! So now he can transfer a toy from one hand to the other, a great game in and of itself. He does seem more aware of his grip now. When we carry him, he doesn't just hold on, sometimes it's an outright hug. When he's tired, he'll hug you and put his head on your shoulder: delightful! Cale has also added new sounds, or at least a new louder volume to his squeal this week.

Last night just before bedtime stories, Cale was watching Karston from Daddy's lap. Apparently Karston rocking in his rocking chair is hilarious because Cale laughed until he got hiccoughs, and then kept laughing between major chest spasms. These boys really love each other, a pure joy to watch!

Earlier this week, Daddy asked Karston if he wanted to use the potty when he woke up. He did want to, and he went right away. The remarkable part was that his diaper was completely dry! Yes, the toddler who finishes a juice sippy during his bedtime stories stayed dry all night! I thought the order of potty training stages was awareness, #1, #2, then overnight. With motivation somewhere in there. Karston recognizes the urge for #1 but doesn't seem tuned in to #2 (yes, it happens). Motivation is weak, but if asked he'll tell you if he has to go, and sometimes he'll ask; sometimes he just wants to keep playing. This overnight dryness seems like we're still moving along the (slow) potty training trail.

Yum Yum!

Cale seems like he's always hungry, so this evening when he wouldn't fall asleep because he said he was hungry, we decided to try rice cereal. The Internet suggested that we feed him from a bowl with a soft spoon so he knows it's different so he doesn't take in more calories per ounce while still expecting the same volume for a meal from the bottle. We started with 1 Tablespoon of rice cereal powder to 1.5 Tbs breast milk, and that seemed too watery. We liked 1:1 better for the second Tablespoon-of-each bowl.

The first spoonful dribbled out of Cale. The second spoonful went in for the most part. Cale opened his mouth and leaned forward for the third spoonful! He even lunged for the spoon when he thought we were too slow bringing the spoon to him!

Yeah, I'd say it was time to introduce "solid" food to his diet. Maybe he'll sleep better (longer) with more calories in his tummy. He's been very hungry all night for a while now. I wouldn't mind a break of a good night's sleep.

Rub a Dub Dub

Karston and Daddy played repairmen outside this afternoon. Well, it was play for one of them! despite the hot and humid weather. About the time they came in, Mommy experienced dual Wardrobe Malfunctions. First I noticed Cale's diaper had let more poop shoot out the back than it caught. Then, as I put the non-poop side on my shoulder to head to the changing station, he spit up on me. Two boys soaked with sweat, me and one boy needing a full change of clothes ... We decided this meant family bath time, so we all hopped in the garden tub. I think this was the most pleasant bathing for Cale so far. He sat in his Daddy's lap, chewed his hands, looked around with great interest, and had big smiles whenever he made eye contact with Karston. Cale really looks up to Karston!

After everyone else was clean, Karston stayed in the tub another hour playing "duck boat." Currently, Cale's usual bath tub is an inflatable duck-shaped kiddy tub for travel that quacks if you press its beak. It's a good size for Cale, and cushioned. And Karston finds it irresistable. So Karston sat in this duck boat in the tub, and paddled around happily for an hour!

Pediatrician Call

I'm really impressed with our new pediatrician. She called me twice with Karston's lab results. Yes, the doctor called me! I called her back this afternoon. Karston's blood work was all normal enough, but we may want to re-test thyroid in a month. She asked if reflux might explain Karston's poor appetite and consequent small size, and that really started me going. She said to start with children's Maalox, so we will. Before I told her that he often eats only one food at a time, sometimes only one food per meal (and rarely snacks between meals), she said that reflux children often do not like texture changes. That describes Karston perfectly, and then I was really on a roll. Karston won't eat egg yolks when he eats hard-boiled eggs because it's too much of a texture change. I've been thinking about it all day, and I can only come up with two foods that he eats with more than one texture. He will eat chocolate-coated doughnuts and bread with jelly. I think he'll eat the starch just to get the sweet treat. So that reflux guess of hers just sounded as reasonable as possible, especially with her suggesting a dietary characteristic before I mentioned Karston does that. (So thank goodness for the first pediatrician being on vacation; I'm keeping this one!)

Since I was talking to her, I complimented her on the allergic colitis diagnosis for Cale. After two days dairy-free (meaning I didn't eat dairy products to transfer to Cale), he was a differently pooping baby, and happy about it too. It's hard to avoid dairy; I ate a small amount of cheese yesterday for lunch (and had to pick some cheese off my lunch today, but hopefully I removed enough). Guess what? Cale was a lot more uncomfortable today after I ate dairy yesterday, and he reverted back to the old poop pattern. It wasn't much cheese, I'm surprised it set him off, so I need to be much more vigilant. This is going to wreak havoc on my lactase levels since I barely produce enough for as much as I love cheese and yogurt. If I eat zero of those foods for as long as Cale's nursing and he nurses over two years like Karston, I may never be able to eat dairy after that either. It's worth it for Cale to be more comfortable, though. It's also possible that Cale has more than one allergy. I had had a lot of soy the day before one very fussy day, and I had had a lot of eggs before two other fussy days. I wouldn't rule those out entirely either. But before this pediatrician suggested that I eliminate dairy from my diet, I had some every day. So perhaps I should have be surprised he had good days!

Anyway, she suggested a followup visit in a month, and I think I'm a convert. She's sharp and caring.

Letters

For the past week, Karston has been very interested in his books that teach the alphabet, especially Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The last two-page spread has all the letters, uppercase and lowercase. Karston points to the letters, moving from left to right (although he jumps around not strictly top to bottom), and names almost all already. I'm impressed how quickly he is learning his letters, but I think he enjoys listening to stories so much that he's motivated to read. He also likes watching Super Why! and Sesame Street. Fun times ahead!

For his part, Cale was very talkative today, trying out his inflections, and being happy and cute.

Technorati Tags: Toddler

About Three

Thoughts on having a three-year-old around ...

Karston loves his safety scissors, an early (by more than a month) birthday present. The danger is that you must look at what he's holding when he says I want to cut! his birthday kite no longer has streamer tails ...

He's really interested in tools and repairs. He often says, I want to fix it!!! and you'd better be ready to let him help you. He said his playhouse, a birthday present that Karston and Daddy built with tools (all screws received finishing taps from Karston's plastic hammer), needed two door handles, inside and outside. Karston picked out the handles he wanted. He instructed Daddy where to drill, and he screwed both handles in all the way. Oh, and now that he has a playhouse, he doesn't build castles in his sandbox, he builds playhouses. And still laughs while kicking them down.

Karston also has a strong sense of identity. Last weekend in his cousin's play, he played a monkey, but he kept saying no, I Karston! -Who's Mommy's jumper? No, I'm Karston! -Who's Daddy's little helper? No, I'm Karston! -Who's Cale's big brother? Even that's not enough to get him to budge.

Twenty - Love

Karston and I were jumping on his trampoline this afternoon. He fell on his back and laughed so I could see all of his teeth. Yes, all: all of his teeth are in. #20 snuck out! I counted just to be sure. Luckily he's been joining Daddy for tooth brushing. He used to dislike it, but now he'll usually do a good job himself, and doesn't mind when Daddy does a touch-up.

Karston and Cale really love each other. A thunderstorm just came through, and both boys woke up. Cale is nursing. However, when he heard Karston cry, he stopped nursing and started crying too. Cale really looks up to his big brother! For his part, Karston is always saying I want to ____ baby brother, where the verb is often hug, hold, kiss, see, or read with. Karston would be perfectly happy to be in charge of all of Cale's care. He even wants to inspect used diapers visually. Karston was really disappointed that he couldn't nurse Cale, but we explained his ta-ta's, like Daddy's, weren't big enough to have food. I think he finally felt better knowing Daddy has to miss out too. (with two sharp teeth, I don't think they're missing out.) So now Karston will occasionally tell me I have really big ta-ta's, and he's not sure why we laugh so much about that. We're very proud of our boys for getting along so well already.

Pediatrician Mega-Visit

Karston and Cale went to the pediatrician this morning. Their regular doctor is on vacation, so we saw another doctor they've seen. She's very thorough. Cale was fussy (tired), and wanted to nurse, so Karston went first.

Fully dressed with shoes, Karston weighs 26 pounds and is 34 inches tall. (He didn't like getting measured one bit.) His weight is below the 5th percentile while his height is well below the 5th percentile. We discussed his cradle cap (it's not uncommon, not alarming). Amy knows a little girl who was also very small, a light eater, and a fitful sleeper until her celiac was diagnosed. Since that also describes Karston, I wanted to check him for it. Karston had his blood drawn to check his endocrine levels as well as to check for celiac. Daddy held him during the blood draw, and Karston was very brave. He watched four tubes fill with his blood at his elbow, and he didn't flinch at all. Then he got his vaccination shot in his leg. When the nurses were done, Karston said, Ouch! Ouch! Somebody poked me! He didn't enjoy it, but as always, he was a little trooper about it.

Next up, Cale had to wake up for his examination. He didn't enjoy that, but he tolerated it well enough. Cale weighs 15 pounds 9.6 ounces (I was sure he would hit 16 pounds, or more, to meet the rule of thumb to double the birth weight at four months, but he's close) and is 26 inches tall with a head circumference of 16.75 inches. When Karston was nine months old, he was only a little larger than Cale is now, at a mere four months old. Cale is 60th percentile for weight, between 75th and 80th percentile for length, and 50th percentile for head. I described Cale's sad fussy days to the pediatrician, and most of it rolled right off of her until I got to what I thought was an odd but unimportant factoid, that he often has dark green poop, but the standard yellow poop only happens on good days. Green doesn't necessarily mean a bad day, but yellow does mean a good day. Since he's exclusively breastfed (one attempt at formula so far, to which he made icky face and cried until I got there to rescue him), that's apparently surprising. The doctor suggested allergic colitis, and to eliminate dairy from my diet. Milk is the most common cause of infant colitis (followed by soy), and since I'm lactose intolerant, dairy seems a very likely culprit. I don't mind cutting out milk and ice cream so much, but I will miss cheese and yogurt. Although Cale is quite interested in our food, she said not to introduce anything new until we get a handle on the colitis. I think Cale wants rice cereal! But he can wait, at least as long as my supply can keep up with his demand. Cale also got his vaccinations, also not happy about it but he bounced right back.

All told, this visit was longer than any two previous visits combined, but we covered a lot of ground with a very thorough pediatrician.

Technorati Tags: Baby, Toddler

Talkative

Cale was very "talkative" today, making primarily vocalic sounds with varying inflections. I'm not sure what this means, unless it means he's eager to communicate verbally. His balance when he stands is remarkable so at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he were early for walking and talking.

Four Months

Hey, Cale is four months old now! He's right on target for weight. The rule of thumb is to double your birth weight at four months of age, and Cale should be there. He weighed in at 15.9 pounds fully dressed on Wednesday, and he's been nursing like he wants to be sure he is not below his sixteen pounds today! He's got two teeth, but he's also still drooling and chewing like a teething baby so he might have more very soon. Like his Mommy, Cale's hair gets lighter when he's been outside in the sun. Unless he hurts, Cale is thankfully still a good sleeper too. He sleeps 5 to 7 hours at night! Karston usually has at least one night a week where he wakes and wants a parent before Cale.

Karston has generally worn clothes by the age on the label. Since Karston was eight months old before he weighed 16 pounds, some of my size expectations are off. Cale's already wearing size 3 diapers (so was Karston at this weight, but he was twice as old!). Just after Karston's birthday, I washed the 6 to 9 month clothes for Cale. Well, now he's large enough that I actually need to retire the 3 to 6 month size clothes too!

Cale is changing, not just growing, all the time. He has added peek-a-boo to the list of games he likes to play. Well, other people say he likes peek-a-boo, but he's very scared when Mommy hides, so I don't know that firsthand. He loves watching that baby in the mirror, especially if he can practice standing on the counter at the same time. He's ticklish in more places now, at least for me. I'm pretty good at finding ticklish spots. He has more personality too, making more expressions, showing more feelings, enjoying more people. Oh, and he took his first walk, just like Karston did at this size: scooching the infant backpack across the floor. Pretty stable kickstand! And he loved it. He wanted us to see what he could do, he was so proud. Time to move up to the larger baby backpack.

Second Tooth

As if the first tooth isn't enough to disturb a baby, Cale's second tooth is coming in already. He gave me a big smile while I was fixing lunch. I could see the entire top ridge of his first tooth, and about half of his second tooth. Needless to say, anything Cale grabs goes into his mouth for chewing.

With his new teeth bothering him, Cale seems to be spitting up after he eats more than usual. He's not sleeping through the night as well as before, but he stills sleeps for 5 or 6 hours at a time. Getting him to sleep with his teeth bothering him is a challenge for all of us.

But Cale has a wonderful personality in spite of his new teeth. Last night, I thought he was fussing to nurse back to sleep, so I sat down to watch a funny movie. Instead, what he wanted was to lie on my lap and to look at me. He smiled when we made eye contact, and he started to laugh when I stroked his hair. Yes, I love this baby! He's clearly in some pain, but he smiles when he gets my attention, and actually laughs despite his pain when I cuddle him. A delight even when he doesn't feel well!

First Tooth

Wednesday, when Cale was chewing on my hand, my knuckle felt that he was chewing harder than just baby gums. Thursday he wasn't interested in his chilled teething rings, but Friday he was. Guess what peeked through on Friday, undeniably present? Yep, Cale has his first tooth, his lower right incisor.

Yes, this is early for a first tooth. Then again, he's big for his age. Karston was 7 months old, and had his first teeth, when he weighed what Cale weighs now. Cale is even showing the classic first sign of readiness for food: he intently watches us eat. I expect he'll be an early water too. Maybe he'll give Karston lessons on How To Eat.

Who Eats Bananas?

Some mornings start way too early for us parents. Daddy was tired, but plying his new trick of feeding Karston a banana for breakfast while Karston is distracted by Mickey's Clubhouse. Remember the tired part. As I walked by, Daddy paused his feeding to talk to Mommy before blearily turning back to put the banana in an open mouth. Only the closest mouth that agreeably opened up for banana was Cale's! I made Daddy stop right away, but Cale didn't seem to mind at all. I think he even liked the taste of banana, but he doesn't know about chewing yet.

Three Years, One Day

Karston received more presents this evening when family came over to watch fireworks over the lake. He's not entirely clear on when he has a birthday, especially since he has been getting presents before, on, and now after his birthday. A year is so long when you're only three years old! In the immediate term, the stickers were a hit! However, he really enjoys all of his books, so I expect those will get lots of love too. He thinks having people visit, opening presents, and watching fireworks is a lot of fun!!!

Technorati Tags: Toddler

Cale's Fever

The weather was very hot today, so it was hard to say if Cale were too hot. Just in case, we stripped him down to diaper (and socks, a funny fashion statement). When the temperature dropped this evening, Cale stayed hot, though. Finally, after several ear temperatures around 99.5 degrees, we took his temperature a little before 10pm and got 100.4. Then we called the nurse advice line (no other symptoms of a cold like nasal congestion or troubled breathing, regular number of wet diapers, no neck weakness, no new or unusual foods in my or his diet). If he doesn't develop new symptoms, we'll call tomorrow for a Saturday appointment.

What I learned is that you worry if Baby is under 12 weeks old with temperature over 100, or Cale's age (barely over 12 weeks!) and over 101. Since his weight is in the 14 to 21 pounds range, he gets 80 mg tylenol now (it was 60 mg after his last vaccinations). So I gave him a dose of tylenol and let him nurse to sleep. Cale woke up almost immediately, wanting to flirt with me, happy, and then he pooped. Pooping makes him happy.

You know, last night was a challenge: 1 hour in his crib, 4 hours asleep on me, 1 more hour in his crib, 2 more hours on me. Whew. Although that wouldn't have been unusual for Karston, compare that to Cale sleeping 9 hours straight through the night in his own crib the night before (and that's not an isolated incident!)!

Karston Is Three

The birthday present round-up:
Karston lost his belt already.
He got a toy front-end loader yesterday, to get him ready for a certain pedal vehicle on order.
He has 2 new books: hey, the original Curious George books are much longer!
He has more sandbox toys.
He has whistling straws, and we still don't know how an unobstructed tube makes a reed-like whistle!
He has a squeeze-powered flashlight, all pump powered so he can forget to turn it off and it doesn't matter.
He actually ate his Spongebob cookie! He rarely eats that many calories at one time, and this after dinner!
And the timing on this order was serendipitous, but Karston is sure the double stroller is for him. He jumped and danced for joy about getting such a large box delivered on his birthday. Daddy had to assemble it on the spot so Karston could go on a test stroll right away.

Ho Wat Fun.

Three Years Old

Karston is three years old now! My mother joined us for dinner, and for a few presents. Karston definitely understands presents this time!

Shortly after Cale was born, I filled out a survey about Karston's language skills, so it's very obvious to me how much he has learned, vocabulary and sentence structure, just in the past few months. Just in the past two weeks, Karston has switched from saying Mimi to saying Mary (too bad; I think we all liked Mimi). He has also started saying please, thank you, and sorry frequently. I planned to start my campaign for manners in about 6 months since I thought that was developmentally appropriate, but I sure don't mind if he picks it up now!

One of his early birthday presents was a pair of safety scissors. Oh my, does he love cutting paper! No wonder his preschool teachers were impressed with his fine motor skills! Another early present was a belt. He's been fixated on putting on Daddy's belt, usually on Daddy. So when he asked, Hey, where's my belt?, he got another early present. When he got sprayed by the hose recently, he wasn't worried that he and his clothes were wet. He was deeply concerned that his belt was wet! Luckily that was easy to fix.

Three Months!

Cale turned three months old today! Cale woke up this morning about 2 hours after his exact birthday (meaning he cried quietly for me about 5 AM). While carrying him, I noticed that I was holding him low, with my highest hand just on his lower back. And Cale wasn't leaning into me; he was sitting upright in my other hand, unsupported. So he has much better trunk and neck control now, at least when he's fully awake. He even turned around to see where we were going once we were almost there, so he also has a good awareness of his surroundings.

I noticed this morning that his face looks more mature to me now. I think I can see glimpses now of what he'll look like later; he doesn't look just like a baby. Karston's dark hair fell out and grew back blond; Cale's hair is getting lighter so I suspect he has my photosensitive hair.

Cale added a new "word" this evening. He has said oo-ga a few times before and has been absolutely delighted when I repeat it back to him, but this evening he said ahg-ee. I said it back to him, and he laughed, so I kept saying it while tickling his belly, and he kept laughing ...

Cale started laughing more this week. His laugh still sounds unusual (you can tell an infant larynx isn't in the same place as an adult larynx, but it's in a good place for feeding without choking), but instead of a ha-ha, I've been able to coax him into laughing much longer twice this week. In fact, this evening he laughed so much about ahg-ee that he got hiccoughs! Nothing beats the pure goodness of a baby's laughter.

Of course he's getting bigger. He weighed 14 pounds a couple weeks ago, and he's now wearing size 2-3 diapers because size 2 is now a bit tight. It helps to look back, so see how much he has grown up already!

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Too White

Yesterday, Karston wouldn't eat jasmine rice for dinner, after asking for rice, because it was too white. (He likes rice from our Mexican restaurants and brown rice.) This evening, he also complained that vanilla ice cream was too white, but I started feeding it to him anyway. In no time, I was getting seconds on vanilla ice cream for him. When it's ice cream, he doesn't cry too white for too long.

Karston also danced just a little while the live blues band played, mostly with a little girl named Sophia. They had more fun with high five, though.

Cale got a very mild case, but his first sunburn. He kept lolling his head over to the side, and Daddy had a hard time protecting Cale with a sun hat when he put his head that far over. His neck must not get sore from this because he does it all the time. Cale's been remarkably agreeable (his usual self) for having a sun burn on his face.

The Blow Off

In one episode of Sesame Street, Big Bad (a wolf, of course) huffs and puffs and blows everyone away on Sesame Street whenever he is mad because he doesn't know a constructive way to express his feelings. So for the past month, when Karston wants us to stop, or wants to change to another game, he blows at us. (He sometimes says I'm Big Bad in the same game, so I think he did get this from Sesame Street.) It's really very funny, so unfortunately we laugh first instead of reiterating the lesson to tell us how he feels.

Ah, fffffffffffffffffffffffff!

Technorati Tags: Toddler

Eight Hours

Guess who in this house slept for eight hours last night?

Sorry, that's a trick question because there's no wrong answer because we all slept for eight hours! Actually, us parents woke up a few times expecting one boy or the other to call for us, but it didn't happen. We were awake for naught! At a mere nine weeks old, Cale slept for eight hours in his crib while Mommy got eight luxurious hours in our own bed! Bliss.

As a matter of fact, I woke Cale up this morning just to be sure he was OK. He didn't like being woken up, but he'd tolerate it since it was immediately followed by breastfeeding him. Two minutes after that, Karston called for Daddy to get him up. (He can get out of bed on his own, but where's the fun in that?)

We hope this is the start of a trend!

The Tube

I think we're making good progress on potty training. The actual potty, not so much, but Karston announces when he needs to go, and then goes when he is prepared. This almost always means in his cup, but this evening Karston showed us an ingenious if disturbing variation. He used the cardboard tube from a used-up roll of toilet paper to pee in the big potty standing up. (I told Daddy he was setting an example Karston couldn't follow.) The disturbing part was, of course, us wondering how long a wet cardboard tube would hold together. It lasted long enough to be thrown away to remove the temptation to try it again ...

The Routine

Daddy and Karston left for the coast yesterday morning. Since babies don't have normal (that might be pushing it) skin until 2 months, and sunscreen is listed for 6 months (at best) and older, we stayed home. I burn too easily, even with sunscreen, and I don't want Cale to get a sunburn either. Cale and I are having a perfect weekend! We both agree that early Beatles songs are good kids' music. We played the Standing Game, where Cale stands, I provide balance, he smiles at me, and I smile back. Sometimes we skip the tiring standing business and just do the smiling part for the Smiling Game. The Ooga Game is the latest, where Cale says oo ga to me, I exagerate the same sounds back to him, and I repeat his sounds and expressions while he's smiling and cooing. Once he gets tired of making sounds, I repeat the best ones to his great delight. We like our games.

The most important lesson I learned on this toddler-free weekend was not how to play the games that Cale loves, though. I watched for his subtle signs, and I have found his routine! What I learned from this quiet time is that he prefers a two-hour daytime schedule, plus or minus half an hour. He's happiest alternating between two hours awake and two hours asleep. He likes to nurse every two hours too (like I said, it's roughly every 2 hours. This schedule is delightful! Just knowing I get those breaks from baby carrying is a wonderful notion! Today during my breaks, I took a shower, I washed the dishes, and I used both my sewing machine (my good buddy) and my embroidery machine (usually my nemesis, but a success today). What a perfect weekend!

Cale really enjoys me following his lead for the daily routine, and I enjoy knowing that I can finish what I was doing in two hours. Everyone's happy. And playing games, nursing, or going for a baby-fascinating walk outside. Just perfectly happy. We had two very pleasant days for Mommy and Cale.

Pediatrician: Two Months

We all went to Cale's two-month well-child checkup this morning. Karston told us all morning that he wanted to see the doctor, but as soon as the doctor came in, Karston covered his eyes.

Cale's specs this time are 23.75 inches long (75th percentile), 12 pounds 15.8 ounces (75th percentile), and 16 inches head circumference (60th percentile). Starting with his one-month checkup, Karston never had a measurement at or over the 50th percentile, so these big percentile numbers are surprising to us. In fact, Karston was four months old before he was about the size Cale is now.

After seeing Cale try it on my lap, the doctor tested Cale's standing trick for himself, where Cale stands and looks around while someone provides balance by holding him under his arms; his head wobbles a bit, but he loves it. Karston loved this routine at that age too, although his head was steadier and his hips were wobblier so I called him baby Elvis.

Cale got his next round of vaccinations at this appointment. He didn't like the three shots, but he wasn't too upset about it either, which was surprising given that he was very fussy this morning. Karston's been fussy too, so I wonder if 29.22 inHg is not a good barometric pressure for my boys (sinuses?). I can't tell if my headache is from hearing some kid screams up close, or from something else. I'm all worn out already, and it's still morning. Whew. At least Cale agreed to take a restless nap, and Karston cheered up after scooby snacks (that's what we call vanilla wafers now) and juice. I'm sure the day will be better for all of us after lunch and a nap.

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Happy Cale

Cale enjoys standing, with his feet on my lap, his legs straight and steady, his hands on my shoulders to provide balance, his head looking all around, and his neck sometimes a bit wobbly. He now has a recent addition to that trick to let us know how much he likes it: he looks me in the eyes and then gives me a huge toothless smile! We both enjoy that!

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Opa

After dinner, Karston brought out his Legos to play with Daddy. Daddy, help me build. -What do you want to build? hmm Help me build Opa! That could be tough. -I can't build your Opa. Thinking. Help me build Grammy? Same problem. -Sorry, I can't build Grammy either. More thinking. I want to jump; help me build Evan. Not that feasible either, so it was time for redirection. Since today is their anniversary, would you like to talk to Opa and Grammy on the phone? Of course Karston loved that idea! He did an excellent job telling them about his fishing exploits, but was less successful showing them his toolbox. Happy anniversary! Your grandson loves you.

Two Months

Cale is two months old today! (That means his skin should be that of a child, not of a newborn, now.) Cale really does look older, too! We spent the afternoon playing with Dan and Amy before they move next weekend. Cale liked being outside, so we practiced letting someone else hold him (he accepted it for the most part, a pleasant change from the recent all-Mommy trend). Karston enjoyed having a larger audience view his dancing, and sitting on furniture in the front yard. Say, he could be a good redneck if he likes that. Pretty good birthday.

Read The Kitty Book!

Tonight, Karston asked Daddy to read the kitty book (again). It's not actually a book, but a card that Will's mom sent us. Actually, she sent us two cards with two sets of hand-me-downs (thanks, I enjoy not shopping for clothes that won't fit in three months), and Karston loves both kitty cards. He also told us Wednesday afternoon, I need two kitties. At first we thought he wanted our cat Linus to have a companion (Linus likes being an only kitty since he doesn't get beaten up anymore), but then we caught on that Karston was talking about these two cute cards. I guess as long as the artwork is appealing, with words, it's his kind of book.

If he likes kitty books now, it's time to read him Space Kitty by Geneviève again. That's definitely his kind of book too: appealing artwork that speaks to his love of kitties, telescopes, the moon, and books!

I Need a Cup!

We fell off the potty training wagon after Cale was born, but Karston seems interested again. (Whew!) We're letting him set the pace and tell us what he wants when. This week, he has used the toilet three times, telling us when he wanted to use it, and being ready to go. However, he really prefers to use a cup, actually a laundry powder scoop. We use those scoops as bath toys too. He took a bubble bath this evening, and seeing his cups must have reminded him of something else. After a bubble bath, Karston goes on his naked run, running away from us through the house, usually shouting naked, I'm naked as he goes.

I was reading Cale his bedtime book while Karston was on his naked run. He stopped to cuddle with us on my lap a few times, possibly to warm up. And let me tell you, when your naked potty-training-in-progress son on your lap suddenly puts his hands down there and says, I need a cup!, you're ready to fly into action to save your baby, your lap, and your carpet from that spray. Naked Karston made it to the cup in time at least four times this evening. I suspect he has excellent control since the time to get him to a cup varied, but we didn't want to test those limits. Not when he's naked. He also seems to have a good awareness of when he's ready to go since none of those were false alarms. We've had false alarms before, but none recently.

I'm glad potty training is progressing again. Maybe we'll be back down to one child's worth of diaper changes soon.

Cale's First Word

While hiccuping this morning, Cale said his first word! (I'll say that again later when Cale means to say the word.) He very clearly said Okra! We wouldn't be surprised if Cale likes fried okra, a good southern dish, as much as his big bother and his father, but it's way too early to find out.

Moving Up

Monday afternoon during the small break when both boys were napping, I moved the straps on Cale's cat seat up from the lowest setting to the next higher setting. He fits in his car seat, now that the straps are above his shoulders!

Another sign that Cale is growing is what we did yesterday afternoon. We returned a case of 216 size 1-2 Pampers Swaddlers diapers, and bought some size 2 diapers. I knew that Will's mom had to exchange diaper sizes when he grew quickly, so she gave me the idea. I know size 1-2 diapers say they fit up to 15 pounds and Cale only cracks 13 pounds when he's dressed, but I've learned not to get hung up on diaper weight ranges, except as a suggested starting point. Makes sense instead to buy what fits. (That's why Karston wears size 5 now; he certainly doesn't weigh 27+ pounds.) Since Cale looks like he could use more crotch depth than size 1-2 offers, it's time to move up a diaper size as soon as we use the last four 1-2's later today.

Babies sure do grow and change faster than toddlers, and Cale is bigger than Karston was at this age. No wonder I bought too many of the smaller diapers: my experience isn't helping!

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More Fishing

This morning we bought Karston his own fishing pole (he hasn't set it down yet). Guess what he wanted to do after his nap? You got it: he wanted to go fishing! He doesn't cast the line yet. Not casting sounds safer, although we got some safety hooks (Target carries them) for the day when he does want to throw the hook in the water.

Karston caught six fish this afternoon!

He made sure to touch each one before the release, and he even released one of them all by himself. I don't know where he picked this up (wanting to fish, and being good at it), but he seems to be a regular little fisherman.

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Cale is Annoyed at Mommy

I have seasonal allergies, my nose is running, and I'm coughing. I'm not supposed to take anything if I can help it, because medication transfers to breastmilk and Cale doesn't need that exposure. In the case of antihistamines, most of the ones that dry up the nose are likely to dry up breastmilk to some extent too. So I'm hitting the tissues instead of the medicine cabinet. Both this afternoon and this evening when I coughed while Cale was nursing himself to sleep, he woke up startled. He's not even two months old, but I know an annoyed look when I see one!

Finally, this afternoon I set him down in his crib for his nap. I had been coughing repeatedly, and I knew he couldn't fall asleep with me and my cough around him. He wanted to fall asleep on my lap, so his eyes flew open when he touched the crib. He saw me, got that annoyed look again it's that Mommy who coughs too loudly, and closed his eyes. If I'm his only choice, the crib looks good!

This evening I opened the loveseat that folds out into a bed, and I'm going to sleep there so that I'm farther from Cale when I cough. I can tell by the way he's rustling right now that he's annoyed with me again. I'm so sorry I'm annoying my child at such a young age, but that dry tickle cough just won't be stopped. I'm not proud of this. Poor baby.

Fish Day, Lake Overlook style

Cale has discovered two new reasons to cry (not just hungry, poopy, or lonely): when he's so painfully tired, and when he has "fuss farts" (Karston had those too). Cale let out a loud wail late this afternoon, and unfortunately woke Karston up from his nap about half an hour too early.

So Karston needed hugs after his nap. Once he was ready to say anything, he mumbled about fishing. We don't know where he picked that one up. Anyway, after Daddy made sure he meant fishing, they headed down to the lake. They put on life preservers and hopped on the pedal boat. Daddy tossed the line in, but didn't get anything; he's caught two fish in the five years we've lived on this lake so that wasn't surprising. Next Karston dropped the line in and in short order caught his first fish! He's not even three years old yet, and he's caught his first fish! He got a large-mouth bass about ten inches long. We're impressed.

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The Sensor

When Karston was an infant, we would talk about his tilt sensor. When one of us would say, Oh, his tilt sensor went off, it meant that Karston was asleep until we leaned over to set him in his bassinet. His ability to wake up within a split second of setting him down (to give our backs a break) was remarkable.

Enter Cale, a better sleeper. He has a body heat sensor. We can set him down, and he'll stay asleep or even fall back to sleep ... but only up to about ten minutes, sometimes less than one minute. He won't cry until you've got your hands on something else, and then, oh yes, it's time to pick up Cale again. About the time Cale notices he's not snuggled up next to your body warmth, he wakes up. He does nap better with a hat on and covers tucked in around his tummy, so this alarm might actually be a temperature sensor.

Next Round of Clothes

Karston wore clothes pretty much by his age, maybe even a month later since he slipped off the weight chart at 9 months. Karston has stayed below the 5th percentile for weight ever since, and has been in low percentiles for height. He's slim for his height, and short for his age, so I've been surprised that the age ranges on clothes match when he wears clothes so far.

Even though I know Karston is small, I still didn't expect to bring out the 3-6 months clothes for Cale by the time he was one month old. Now I understand why! The Gap size chart for kids says 3-6 months corresponds to 12-17 pounds and 23-27 inches. Cale's already 12 pounds and 23 inches! So I need to ignore the age on clothes label for Cale in order to get clothes that fit him. Old habits die hard, but it makes more sense seeing it on a chart now. I have a little boy and a big boy ... you'll have to tell from context when I mean size or age!

More Chocolate

This morning Karston got some Hershey's Kisses from Mimi's retired next-door neighbor. (I hope he practiced his new, occasional skill of saying Thank You, but I was afraid to ask since the rest of his behavior wasn't going to win a good prize.) He ate those before and instead of lunch. Mkay, some days are like that, although we wouldn't intentionally feed him chocolate for lunch. Now we get to the embarrassing part ... after he polished off that chocolate, he headed right back next door (oh great), and hauled in a box of Hostess Twinkies and a box of Hostess chocolate chip muffins. I can feed my own child, but I prefer to offer healthier choices first. Yikes. At least Mimi got those boxes out of sight before he lit into them. At least Karston still likes and requests real food like cheese, sausage, fried okra, and bananas.

So Big!

Cale has grown so big so quickly! He already looks much older to me. And he has a plump little belly to fuel his growth. I can tell it's not my imagination about his growth because I washed the box of 3-6 month clothes, and they fit much better than the 0-3 month clothes. Yes, the 3-6 month clothes are a little long, but that was true for Karston too ... at 3 months! I'm just not sure where Cale got all of this growing when he's never had formula. Then again, yesterday at dinnertime, Cale wouldn't let me do anything for almost two hours so that he could have a nursing binge; I had a tough time getting my dinner, or doing anything else.

Weigh-In

Both boys had baths this evening, and we decided to weigh them after their baths. Karston was running away from clothes laughing, so he weighs 24.1 pounds naked as a jaybird. We didn't want Cale to get cold, so his 11.6 pounds includes a fresh diaper and romper. This means Cale now weighs more than our cat, and Karston weighs just more than twice as much. The rule of thumb is to triple birth weight after one year, so shortly after that, Cale's weight will match Karston's. I can imagine my just-over-one-year-old weighing more than my almost-four-year-old...

Sweet Son

This morning Daddy told Karston that Opa and Grammy were coming over this afternoon (I wasn't sure about getting him excited that early). Karston thought about it for a pensive moment, then said, I love them. Tonight was the last class so Daddy will have me around in the evening after this to help get the two boys to bed.

Tummy Time

Karston always hated tummy time, and didn't get much of it. (He also walked before he crawled.) So I was concerned about tummy time for Cale. Sure enough, he doesn't like tummy time on his play mat. However, a couple weeks ago I found a tummy time that Cale likes. When I need a cat nap or I'm waking up, I put Cale on my belly. (I can't sleep soundly on my back, and I have to be exhausted to fall asleep on my back. But I can be drowsy on my back until I wake up. Cale enjoys our tummy-to-tummy time. He will push up, lift his head and look around, and even move short distances. Hey wait, that is tummy time! Cale is getting regular tummy time now that I know the no-tears trick. Today, Cale did something new for tummy-to-tummy time: he rolled from tummy to side, watched me for a bit, and rolled over on his back! I think he's young for the rolling over skill, but he is strong. Although Karston's neck control, even on Day 1, was much better.

Right now, both of my boys are asleep on my lap on the sunroom couch. We came in the sunroom to watch the hail storm (temperature dropped 20 degrees quickly!). Cale nursed, then fussed to be cuddled upright until he fell asleep. He knows I've been trying to set him down all day so I can take a shower, so he was peeking for the longest time to check that I'm still holding him. Karston started snuggled up to Daddy, but curled up to me to "watch baby brother." As he got more comfortable, he slid down and fell asleep. (He napped in the bedroom doorway because he knows not to wake Cale during naptime, but he wants to see him. Karston is a dear!) I'm jealous of Daddy's freedom to walk right now. Myself, I'd be showering, but otherwise I'd probably be doing what he's doing, quick cleanup and light housework. Not that most couples are jealous of who does the housework ...

Initial Velocity

We've made "initial velocity" jokes (like the Internet joke to get pigs to fly), but today he outdid himself. The diaper change after today's fountain, Cale had a poop that shot right out the back of his diaper. Thank goodness we have a washer, a water-efficient washer at that, and solar-heated hot water. We do laundry quite often thanks to Cale.

I filled out the previous load with Karston's 3-6 month clothes. These outfits are a bit large on Cale, but not by much. These clothes are easier to put on him, so our one month old is wearing size 3-6 month clothes now. Such a change from Karston!

Karston watched the Backyardigans (his request) this evening. He's got rhythm and he dances to polka music. Must be his Wisconsin heritage!

Thumb

Cale discovered his thumb today. Actually, Daddy says Cale started to suck his thumb yesterday evening, but he was really intent on sucking today. I think he sucked his thumb, with fingers wrapped over his own face, for half an hour while he was in the Baby Bjorn and I was running errands around Main Street! A good thumb keeps 'em happy and quiet.

Cale's One Month

Cale had his one month well-child checkup this morning. He weighed 10 pounds 14 ounces (60th percentile! we now have a child who weighs on the charts!), still 22 inches long (75th percentile), and head circumference just below the 75th percentile. The doctor wasn't concerned about his sniffles or his baby acne. So we got a clean bill of health in very short order.

Headed to Eleven

I weighed Cale after a diaper change, but dressed (tomorrow at the doctor's, it'll be naked weight). He weighed 11.4 pounds! Margot down the street is 12 weeks old today and 12 pounds; Cale is 4 weeks 2 days old and 11 pounds. And he's only had breastmilk to do it. Wow. I expect he will never be as difficult about food as Karston.

Last Friday was a gorgeous day, so we walked around the neighborhood just to be outside. Cale was wide awake for three hours of mostly outside, then he nursed fitfully for three hours, then thankfully he fell asleep. I think it was life-changing for Cale. Ever since then, when I hold him near a window with a view, he lurks for the window. Cale was fussy this morning, but he went silent and looked all around with gigantic eyes as soon as we went outside. Since Daddy and I love the scenic day hike, I think Cale will fit right in with the family.

The other thing Cale has been doing for about a week is trying to stand up whenever he's alert and awake. Karston started this around 6 weeks, Cale 3. Karston was a stronger infant, especially for head and neck control, but Cale is no slouch when he wants.

Speaking of Cale, he's asleep now, so I need to take this opportunity to go to bed!

Cale History

I found this online mention of Coach Cale Keller, football coach at Apopka High School in Florida from 1939 to 1941. This could actually be my Cale's great-great uncle Cale Keller, since the Keller family lived in Florida then (before this branch moved to Wisconsin). Cool! And here's another cool Cale mention.

Scooby Snacks

We're always trying to get Karston to eat, since he will often eat very little, and he doesn't weigh much for his age. Since he ate a good dinner, we let him have an ice cream sandwich afterwards. Later this evening he wanted to watch Scooby Doo, and he asked for a Scooby Snack when Scooby Doo got one. Quickly we offered him a vanilla wafer, something we have that looked like what was on the TV screen. He ate it! Then he ate four more! I can't believe our Eatless Wonder had most of a Mickey Mouse hamburger, then 1.5 ice cream sandwiches, and then 5 vanilla wafers! Just remarkable. He probably won't eat for the next week after that, but what a surprise!

In contrast, Cale is eating well: he weighed 10.3 pounds after his bath. Yes, that's naked weight! So he has gained over 2 pounds total in the three weeks after birth (exactly three weeks in 5 hours), and that's from birth (not from the low point of his hospital discharge weight). Like they say, if you have two children, they're completely different.

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Daddy's Helpful Boy

First thing this morning, I checked my email and sent a few quick replies. Karston had some questions about my laptop screen. What's this? It's email, Karston. Email Daddy, miss you daddy. Hmm, where did he pick up that email is communication? Does he really know what email is?

Then I started to move back into my office after The Great Water Heater Flood three months ago. The repairs are finally done! Cale was asleep, and Karston was playing and talking to me. (I can safely keep an ear on Karston the Narrator without watching him.) Karston said, Want that! pointing to the picture of Daddy on my desk. Daddy!!! He looked closer. Where Mommy? I took the picture, dear. Where Daddy? He's at work right now. Karston gave me his dark thundercloud frown for a couple minutes, then said Want Daddy, want Daddy home. Then, Want this Daddy!, and showed me the picture in case I had any doubt who he meant. He's very serious about his Daddy.

He's also very serious about helping. I sent him to check on Cale several times while I was in my office, and he came back quickly with the report of baby brudder sleeping. Once Cale woke up, he was hungry of course. Karston asked, What baby brother doing? He's nursing. Yeah, nursing on ta-tas. Then Karston unzipped his romper, pulled his onesie way down, and showed me his chest saying, Karston ta-tas. Then ... Baby brother want Karston ta-tas? Yes, Karston is a very sweet, very helpful boy! I had to explain that only Mommy ta-tas have milk. But I know Karston would help me if he could!

I think Karston just had the easiest nap this year. I was set to tell him it was quiet time, and he should do quiet time in his room when he told me Want bed. I asked him, Do you want to go to bed? Yeah, want to go to bed. He walked to his room, he climbed his ladder, he climbed on his bed, he pulled the covers back, and he flopped down. Sure he made noise and sat up to play for the next ten or fifteen minutes, but I didn't have to do anything! I did check on him after some of the noises, but he wasn't crying so I just rubbed his back. If only all nap times and bed times could be that easy! However, it was so unexpected to me that you can guess this isn't the normal routine of books and snuggles.

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On to Nineteen

Karston's been a little fussier lately. I know a second molar, tooth #18, started coming in the month before Cale was born. However, yesterday afternoon he was drooling, and Daddy asked him if his mouth bothered him -yeah, did he have a new tooth -yeah. Karston opened his mouth wide when asked, and sure enough, there's another molar, tooth #19, coming in. Only one more baby tooth to come!

So right now, when Karston is fussy, we're not sure where to place the blame. Teeth? Not the youngest baby in the house? Or that runny nose he and the other boys in the house (Daddy and Cale) have? Rough!

Last night, I taught class again for the first time in a month. First was Spring Break, and then I lined up three guest speakers so I could be out for the standard two weeks of postpartum recovery (and not knowing when Cale would be born, I scheduled one just before his due date and two after; Cale was born the day before the first guest lecture). An evening with two children who need to go to bed is tough enough that I didn't want Daddy to face that alone so we asked his parents to come over. Karston did have a crying spell, but mainly he was so excited to play with Opa that nothing else mattered. He played as hard as he could, and he slept pretty well, too (after the bedtime struggle)!

Cale slept well while I was out, and responded well to Grammy by falling back to sleep. Apparently he wasn't thrilled with the bottle (his first taste was cold breastmilk; Karston prefered cold food so of course Cale doesn't), but he drank some, and we were both ready for him to nurse when I got home from class.

Crash and Honk

So Buzz says boys need nicknames.

For Karston, I think Crash fits. We don't know where he picked this up, but Karston loves crashes. He'll crash his wooden trains. He'll head right for you, grab your leg, and say crash!!! oh-so-happily. Karston likes the word and the action, so I think Crash fits him for now. (Hopefully he'll outgrow this, oh, say, before he gets a driver's license.)

Cale is a very vocal baby. He coos and snores when he sleeps. He purrs and hums when he nurses. He makes a lot of sound for someone so young. I think Honk fits right now; it goes with Crash on one level, and it describes one of the funnier sounds he makes.

So if I gave them nicknames, and I just use their given names, I would pick Crash and Honk. Subject to change as they do!