Jeff and Ashley

Time is really going by too quickly. I look at Theo and can’t believe how big he is. This month has been full of amazing developments (and some scares). I’ll start on a positive note – Theo is starting to become much more mobile. He’s not crawling – but he does this cute/odd thing where he rolls from his tummy to his back – and then back to his tummy to help maneuver himself. I can tell he wants to get from point A to point B – he certainly gets frustrated when he isn’t able to get where he wants fast enough! He is also starting to move backwards (using his legs) while he is on his back. It doesn’t seem like he’s kicking to move himself – rather, the movement is just a byproduct of kicking his legs. In any case, I have a feeling that true crawling isn’t far too far in the distance.

Theo had one of his biggest “firsts” this month – his first dip in the pool! Theo had a blast swimming with Daddy and using his new floatation device. He loves bath time, so this really wasn’t a huge surprise to us. We are going to have a great time in Palm Springs! In other news, Theo’s new favorite party trick (besides being ridiculously cute) is clapping his hands. He has just started to clap on demand (though he definitely has to be in the right kind of mood!) He will also give you a high five – if he’s feeling particularly cheerful. He has also started to wave good-bye – though he is a little delayed. The wave usually comes about 30 seconds after the person has left his sight! Dr. Araya mentioned that this might happen – I guess it’s not as weird as we thought it was

Speaking of Dr. Araya, we had Theo’s 8 month appointment the other day. She is really happy with his overall development – but is a little concerned about his weight gain. He hasn’t gained much in the past few months – and she not sure why he isn’t keeping up with the “curve”. His height and head circumference have been growing perfectly – all well above the 90%. His weight is another story, he has been dropping percentage points and is now in the 70% for weight. It’s a problem I would love to have! In any case, we have started to explore options to increase his weight gain. In Dr. Araya’s words – feed Theo the way you wish you could eat. This means full-fat dairy (yogurt, cheese, butter) and protein including egg yolks and ground beef. She would like us to keep him away from egg whites until he is a year – so for now, Theo is my perfect hard boiled egg partner. We have stopped pureeing his food (so happy I didn’t cave and buy one of those baby bullets – since it would have been in use for all of 2 1/2 months!) and we are basically feeding him smaller versions of what we are eating. Since he only has two teeth – I am being cautious (probably overly cautious) about the size of the morsels we give him…but choking terrifies me. Speaking of teeth – Theo did what I had been fearing he would do since day 1…he BIT me. There. The first time he clamped down with those razor sharp teeth – I flinched and laughed out of surprise and pain. Then, as if to test me – he bit down again. When he bit me a THIRD time, I got serious. I firmly told him no and pulled him off. I don’t know if it was the shock of being pulled off – or my stern voice – but he certainly got the message. He started to cry and it was a different kind of cry than I had ever heard. He was clearly upset that I had reprimanded him and it took a few minutes for him to calm down. When he started to feed again, he didn’t bite down at all – and hasn’t bitten me since. Is he totally reformed? Who knows? But I’m certainly grateful that he seems to have learned his lesson for now.

Other lessons learned this month include the dangers of overfeeding. It was the last day of Pesach and I fed Theo some sweet potato soup. He was enjoying it so much that he just kept going – and going. I think he probably ate two adult servings. He just loved that soup. Well, he certainly paid a price. After he fell asleep, my mom and I went out for a night walk. When we returned, we found my dad at the front door saying “everything is okay, but the paramedics are on their way for Theo.” Naturally, I flipped out and ran upstairs to find a vomit covered Theo, about to put in the bath. Apparently, about an hour after he fells asleep, he awoke crying. Jeff went to go check on him and felt some wetness in the crip. He picked Theo up to console him, and Theo vomited all over him. Having never experienced vomit like that, Jeff called 911. Had I been there – I would have done the same. The fire department showed up (6 burly-ish men) in our living room and checked Theo out. We definitely felt a little silly at that point – by then Theo seemed totally fine. Still, they recommended that we take him to the emergency room (just to be safe). We decided against going in the ambulance, Theo is too young to appreciate the ride anyway. On our way to the ER, Theo started violently throwing up in his carseat (this was not fun to clean up!) Once at the ER, Theo was in much better spirits. Besides for the vomit stuck to his hair, you would never know anything was wrong with him! The staff at the ER was super friendly and we were in and out within an hour – which was UNBELIEVABLY fast. They examined him thoroughly, and gave us a prescription for some anti-nausea medication. In retrospect, we probably didn’t need to take him to the ER, but I’m happy we did. It’s a right of passage, and I’m just happy that it turned out to be a case of overeating and not something more serious. When we told Dr. Araya about the ordeal, she gave us that look of “oh you guys are SUCH first time parents” but we figure we only get to be this neurotic once, so we might as well take advantage of it.