Cats vs. Baby: Getting ready to rumble

Holden's learned to pull himself up onto his hands and knees! Just one step closer to the day when we have to really, truly, baby proof.
So far, though, all movement goes backwards...

Only so long, though, before the cats have a true nemesis! But not yet...

Because, really, how threatening can this be?

Teeth!

Yes, we have teeth! Just one day after Mike posted on Holden's possible separation anxiety, on May 20, two little bottom teeth buds popped through! Soo...perhaps it wasn't anxiety all along, but just a general "I'm so not in the mood to see other people right now, because, seriously. I'm in pain!" Or something like that.

In any case, Holden's been so much happier since these started coming in. Teething seems to give our little guy tummy troubles too, which leads to bad napping, cranky afternoons, etc etc. The moment also seemed to signify a kind of breakthrough in other ways as well. Just after the teeth popped through, he started pulling himself onto his hands and knees--a big step in the development towards crawling. He also seemed to grow over the course of that week, so maybe a growth spurt also had to do with his fussiness. Because he's now starting to wear some 9 months clothes. So many changes, so fast!

Once we can get a picture of those teeth, we'll post it.

Yes, we finally caved on this one...

I mean, an ExerSaucer, of course. We had totally intended not to get one, but then a friend suggested to bring Holden to the store and have him try them out to see if he likes them. So we did, and he loved them. So my advice would be: DO NOT bring your baby shopping for stuff like this, since it is rather hard to resist the expressions of utter happiness as they experience a new toy (or in this case, an entirely plastic environment designed to "exercise the body and mind" ... and the credit card). But he does enjoy it!

Holden has a new ride!

Well, not completely new....

Last Christmas, Holden's grandparents got him a super cool BOB jogging stroller in pretty brown and blue, and just recently he's gotten big enough to ride it--or should I say a little to big for us to take around constantly in the bjorn? In any case, he LOVES his new ride, and we do too, because the big tires and shocks are perfect for our very imperfect sidewalks.

Plus, as you can see in the pictures, he has a little pocket for his giraffe!

Happy Birthday to you, blog!

Guess what? We just passed the one-year mark on our little ole' blog. Yes, a year ago Mr. Holden was known to us as the Short Stranger, and he was about the size of an avocado. Which...is the next food after carrots that he'll be trying on his tour through solid foods!

Here's some fun facts about the blog:
-Total number of blog posts: 196
-Month with the most posts: October (no surprise there since I was due that month!)
-Months with the least entries: December,when Holden was a month year old, and April, when I had many many work projects due
-And...besides the "baby's size," and "Holden," the most popular topic has been "sleep" (or lack thereof, heh heh)

separation trepidation

The human mind is an amazing, complicated, troubled thing. And as babies develop their own, they hit these crazy milestones (ie. torturous obstacles) which require some pain before there can be gain. Now in the midst of month #7, we fear that Holden may have hit the dreaded "separation anxiety."

Just this past weekend, Bryna's parents visited, and Holden freaked when held (or even touched) by them. We were worried it might be that he wasn't feeling well that day, but it continued the next day (which was VERY odd for Holden -- he's such a social baby and loves to be around people, and has no problem with strangers). Then, on Sunday evening, we went to a get-together for Bryna's department, and he freaked again. This time, it really screamed "separation anxiety" (pun intended). Maybe just an inkling of it, though.

According to all the baby website and books, this is a positive sign that your baby has formed a healthy attachment to you, sees you as separate from him for the first time, and is now developing intellectually (so he's smart!). He now knows, apparently, that he can make an impact on the world around him, and no longer is forced to passively accept a situation that makes him uncomfortable. Sounds like trouble to me! And they forgot to mention the crying.

For me, separation anxiety seems like a mixed bag. On one hand, it's upsetting to see the little guy get upset in new situations and around other people. And this new type of crying is something that can be soothed only be removing him from the situation and making sure he's with mommy or daddy (although we need to work on the distractions -- one recommendation for making it through this stage). On the other hand, it's very heart-warming to know that this little new addition to the family suddenly has such an attachment to his parents that he dreads being away from us. It means that all the diaper changes, late-night feedings, and afternoons spent rocking him or singing to him have really made a strong bond that he has with no one else. Might sound a little selfish ... but, it kind of rocks!

Good and bad, parenting can be so cool sometimes, and can have its funny little surprises -- separation anxiety is perhaps just the newest one. On top of that, he's eating solids, popping out his first teeth, working on crawling like a fiend, and mastering new verbal sounds all the time. Little Holden has so much going on, it's amazing he has time to focus on this whole "separation anxiety" thing.

Artwork above is "Separation Myth" by artist Paul Bradley: http://lupavision.net/lupa

Sleep problem solved, but a new problem emerges

A couple of weeks ago I posted a short update about our new post-trip sleep problems. After a week or two or sleep training, adjustments to the routine, and general experimentation, we figured out that the problem was that Holden wasn't getting enough food at his final feeding. First we noticed that when Mike fed him with a bottle he wouldn't cry. So at first we thought it was a sleep-association problem. But then one night last week when Mike was away, after nursing him I tried giving him some more milk in a bottle. And...he drank another 5 oz and went to sleep without a wimper. The previous night when I had just nursed him he had cried over an hour. So...needless to say, this was a dramatic difference. Since then we've been supplementing, sometimes with formula (not my favorite option, but we have no other choice), and he's been his normal self, and has been sleeping all the way until 7 am. While I'm happy that we solved this problem, I really sad that my supply seems to be dwindling. Sigh. Any advice from you mothers out there who may have gone through this?

Solid Foods, Redux...or "they change so fast!"

A few weeks ago, the very curious Holden had a test-run of solids. And while he liked them very much, they didn't settle too well with his digestive system. After, er, constipation (yuck, I know!) with rice cereal, and painful cranky gas with oats, we decided to take a little break.

So now that he's officially 6 months old, we're ready to begin again. This past week Holden has started on rice cereal again, this time--thankfully--without any painful problems. We've made some tactical adjustments, like feeding him in the morning instead of the evening, so that he can work through any tummy troubles by bedtime. This seems to help, psychologically, anyway. And based on our doc's advise, we're holding off on the oats for a little while, and moving on to fruits and vegetables instead. So far this week, he's tried homemade sweet potatoes, which he royally protested. We'll keep working on that one. By the way, if your ever interested in making your own food, wholesomebabyfood.com is a great website.

All this solid food business is making me realize, as they cliche goes, "they grow up so fast!" A year ago at this time, I was telling the world that I was pregnant! Plus, I find the whole task of getting them from breast milk to adult food daunting. How do we get from point A to point C? I know we take it day by day, but it's amazing how quickly it all goes. Whenever I see an 18-month old I am in disbelief that Holden could possibly ever look or act like that. I guess that's what people mean when they tell me that once you get to the 6 month mark, time really starts to fly. In the meantime, we'll keep charting our food adventures here for the one or two of you who remain curious.

0.5 years old!

On Tuesday, Holden turned 6 months! Ha. When he was born, I remember thinking...gee, 6 months is a long time from now. So much for that. This past month I've been a little absent minded about the blog because I've gotten so busy with my own school work, but that isn't due to any lack of cuteness on Holden's part. Besides practicing his "b" sounds (because his first word will be "Bryna," right?) he's also been working the acoustics of the rooms. You know, squawking at the top of his little adorable lungs(!).

And though no crawling yet, he's working on it. For some strange reason he chooses not to roll about very much for mobility, even though he knows how--he does it mainly just to grab something. It's almost as though he said, "okay, learned that one, check that off the list. Let's move on to the next challenge."

Oh, and did you notice in these pics that he's growing more hair? We're particularly proud of that one.

Holden's 6 month doctor's appointment was pretty uneventful. He received the same shots as the last two appointments, and seemed to take it a little better than last time, thanks to some good old tylenol, which I learned (a little too late) has been recalled. Garrr. And to no surprise, he's still coming in towards the bottom of the growth charts--save for his head--which is in the 25th percentile. If not for that big head, I think he's probably look a lot younger than he is. He weighed a lovely 14 lbs., 3 oz. To put this in perspective, his friend Zeke weighed about 13.5 lbs...at his 2 month appointment! Since this is the trajectory he's been on since the beginning, our doctor has no concerns bout his diminutive size and informed us he's in great health.

Huzzah! We survived the winter with barely a sniffle! Now onto the summer dangers of insect bites, bee stings, and sunburns. And to that, we say, bring it.

Rollin' with My Homie

This past Sunday, Holden's buddy Wolf came over (so his parents could go to the Symphony). And Holden had a blast hanging out and playing with Wolf. He thought Wolf was hilarious (video proof below), and they each had a chance to play with each others' toys ... yep, even for babies, the grass is always greener on the other side. I think Bryna and I were hoping that Holden would get inspired by Wolf's mad skills at moving around and grabbing things, and perhaps Wolf's parents were hoping that he would absorb some sleep tips from Holden (although these days, I'm not sure Holden has many tips to give).

Anyway, the boys had fun, and didn't get into too much trouble (just wait until they get older ... yikes!). Here's a video of Holden laughing hysterically at Wolf (yes, he's the baby off-camera on the right). And it just wouldn't feel right without continuing the tradition (or creating one) of posting a "classic" soundtrack for the dynamic duo ... so this post concludes with a little tune by Tupac and Coolio you might recognize from the Academy-Award-winning and critically-acclaimed film "Clueless."

Holden Makes It Through Another Tornado Warning

I can't remember the last time St. Louis had 2 Tornado Warnings during the span of one week in April! In fact, I think there have been more threats of tornadoes here recently than there have been since we have lived in St. Louis (I vaguely remember having to go to the basement maybe once in the past few years).

Last night we were forced to head for the basement once again. And this storm really made us mad, because we had to wake up Holden to bring him with us to the basement (well, actually the thunder woke him up right as we were going upstairs to get him). We watched the over-detailed weather report on the local news, and tried to hold out as long as we could before taking cover in the basement (which we did after the weather people reported a storm cell with rotation headed almost straight for our neighborhood -- luckily it went south of us). With Holden's recent sleep challenges post-DC trip, this was not good timing to wake him up after he'd gone to bed. But we did, and spent about an hour in the basement while the sirens blared and the storms passed overhead. And again, there seems to have really been another tornado, passing about 8 miles south of where we live (so I'm glad he hit the basement).

Just on a side note: it's so interesting how one's experience of a Tornado Warning is so different now then when I was a kid. Now, we have iPhones, laptop computers, and WiFi to keep up connected with up-to-the-minute radar and storm reports. But I remember when you'd just head to the basement and wait without knowing how close a storm was, or what was going on (or standing out in the driveway with my dad looking for a funnel cloud ... that was always safe).