Strolling in High Park

Last weekend, we decided to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring weather in High Park. Lots of other people had the same idea and we even ran into our friend Ronda and her 6-year-old son, Macsen.

The park looked beautiful with all the cherry trees in blossom. Above you can see Daddy and Nate in "stroller alley" under the cherry blossoms. This fairly steep path leads down to Grenadier Pond and was a lot harder to come back up.
Mommy and Nate watching the ducks on Grenadier Pond. We took bread to feed them, but I think they were probably stuffed by the time we got there. We saw a heron across the pond, too. We'll probably spend a lot of time in High Park this summer and the years to come. There's a playground, a children's garden, a pool, a train and even a zoo.

Swimming was a lot of fun this week, too. We all got to wear life jackets so we could go in the deep end. Nathaniel was so relaxed floating on his back that he let Mommy do all the work. 

Eight months old

It's been a pretty busy week for us. We missed swimming on Monday because I started a new part time job as a filing clerk at a law firm downtown. For now it's only a few hours a week so it doesn't effect my maternity benefits. Flex hours means that I don't have to go into work until Steve gets home to look after Nathaniel. It was pretty hard on me to be that far away from the baby, but oh so nice to talk to other adults for a couple of hours. 

Wednesday we had lunch with Laila and Finn then Nate's 8-month check-up. He's a whopping 23 lbs. and very healthy other than a head cold he's had for the past week. We don't go back now until August when he will need his year needles. 

Nathaniel has four teeth now - two on top and two on the bottom. I've been trying to get a picture, but as soon as the camera comes out, he gets very serious and focused on trying to grab the camera. The best I can do for now is get a snap of his bottom teeth. 

He still isn't interested in crawling. He will spin in circles when he's on his tummy, but he hasn't quite figured out that if he gets his knees under him he'll be mobile. He'd rather walk and seems convinced that he doesn't need any help. We bought him some leather shoes on Sunday and he had a hole worn in the toe by Tuesday. Okay, the shoes were cheap, but still...

Yay, Spring!

This picture is about three weeks old. 

I must be an awful mother because I haven't taken any pictures of Nate for a couple weeks.

Nathaniel and I are really enjoying this warmer weather. One day last week, Nate sat in the stroller while I cleaned up the front garden. Once the fall leaves were picked up, I was happy to see we had crocuses. Spring is finally here. I'm looking forward to spending our afternoons in the back garden if Nate will stand for the play pen. Lately, his favourite activity is walking while I hold his hands. It's kind of hard on my 38-year-old back, but he has shown absolutely no interest in learning to crawl. He's also showing a preference for sitting on the floor playing instead of jumping in his exersaucer.

We went swimming yesterday and went all the way underwater! The moms were more freaked out by it than the babies. Nobody cried and there was only a little bit of sputtering. Nathaniel blinked a couple of times to get the water out of his eyes, but other than that you'd never know we dunked. We have a new instructor since one of the lifeguards broke his arm. She's the supervisor of the pool and we like her very much. She's been teaching swimming lessons for 23 years and is very good with the babies. 

Warning: Mom bragging about her kid...

The new instructor asked me if Nate has had previous swimming lessons because he floats on his back so well. He completely relaxes  with his head on my shoulder and looks at the lights on the ceiling. On his tummy, he kicks his legs and looks around at the other kids. 

We don't have any plans for the rest of the week besides spending as much time outside as possible. Also, don't forget to hit the subscribe button at the left to be notified by email when I update the blog. See you next week!

Water Baby!

This week we went swimming for the first time! Our friend Judy came with us to video since my hands were full. I was worried that Nathaniel would be cold or afraid of the water. Of course, neither was the case. He was as chilled out and relaxed as ever and spent most of the time looking around at the other kids. I had a hard time getting his attention!

I will have to remember to feed him before we go next week, though. He got his face wet a couple of times bobbing for - ahem - apples. Check out the video below for highlights.

Temper, temper...

Nathaniel, 7 months old,  in a hand-me-down outfit from Reid.

We had a fun Easter (besides four flat tires on the car). Grandma and Grandpa Hoffman drove to Toronto on Sunday. We went out for breakfast at The Purple Onion. Grandma taught Nate a new game - he coughs, then you cough. Then he coughs. Then you cough. And so on and so on. 

Nathaniel also had chocolate for the first time (Mommy was outvoted) and loved it, of course. After a roast beef dinner, Grandma and Grandpa went home and the three of us drove to Kitchener (the tires were fixed by this time) to visit Grandma Darasch.

The big milestone this week was learning how to throw a fit when we don't get what we want. Yes, Nathaniel has found his temper and he sounds like the Tazmanian Devil. 

Mommy's biggest challenge is keeping a straight face. Nate is also cutting his third tooth which is not helping with his anger issues. 

The best news is that we're going on two straight weeks (with one or two blips) of sleeping through the night - eight hours in a row!

I've noticed that the baby seems to be weaning himself as he manages to get more solid food into his mouth. He only nurses three or four times during the day and, besides his bedtime bottle, once at night before I go to bed. His pincer grasp is developing well and he fed himself homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner last night. I don't know why, but I am still surprised daily by how much that child eats. Hollow leg!

Here's a video from about a month ago of Nate eating broccoli...

Special Visitors

Last Saturday was so beautiful that we had to go for a walk, Mommy, Daddy and Nathaniel. When the weather gets warmer, we can take our parrot Loki with us, too. 

Do you like the cool shades? They didn't last too long, and Mommy had to trace our steps to find where they got dropped.

This week we also had our friend Laila visit with her kids, Madeline (who just turned 3) and Finn (who just turned 1). Nate couldn't take his eyes off of Finn. Just before they left yesterday, Steve put Nate on his stomach and he seemed to be trying to crawl after Finn. Of course, he didn't get anywhere since he isn't strong enough yet, but that's the first we've ever seen him attempt to get mobile (other than climbing Mount Mommy). Something tells me that we'll miss these days of staying put. 

 Here is a shot of Mads, Finn and Nathaniel, three of the sweetest babes ever. They all got along really well.

Um, excuse me, but that's my rattle. 

Today, the house is eerily quiet. I had thought to clean, but I'm kind of tired. Don't know why.

A New Perspective

We've had a very busy week developmentally. Nathaniel's ability to sit up gets stronger every day and he has really started babbling up a storm. Instead of just crying when he's discontent, he tells me all about it. 

This whole sitting up business is a big hit with The Bean. It makes it much easier to play with his favourite toy, a Christmas gift from cousins Philip and Gracie. He still tips backwards and needs help up again, but he has figured out how to use a hand on the floor to keep from tilting sideways. 

We're still having lots of fun experimenting with food. Since the last update, we've tried pasta, pineapple and kiwi. (This runs the risk of being TMI, but it seems that kiwi seeds don't digest very well.) 

Here is a somewhat gooey picture of his new teeth. Teeth suit him, don't you think?

We also have a new rule in the house: nobody eats anything without sharing with the baby. He has found new ways to express outrage as his pronunciation of consonants improves. And when that doesn't work, he'll reach out and grab the food right out of your hand.

I've also added a button at the left if you want to be emailed when I update the blog. Just click on the link and follow the instructions. 

A Word About Growth Percentiles

Yesterday, Nathaniel and I went to the Ontario Early Years Centre drop-in to hang out with the other kids and play with some different toys. Another mom with a babe asked me how old Nate was and predictably expressed surprise when I told her six months. I asked the age of her baby and she said, "Too." But, of course, I heard "two" and assumed she meant 2 months. It turns out that her little boy, although half Nathaniel's size, is actually 2 days older than Nate. "Wow, he's big," she repeated, obviously convinced that I was lying about my son's age. 

We get that a lot. 

Which prompted me to check out some growth percentile calculators online to see just where Nathaniel fits in with other kids his age. What I learned was rather interesting (if you're interested in that sort of thing). Since birth his weight has stayed in the 50th-75th percentile, meaning he's slightly above average. His length and head size, however, have both jumped from the 25th-50th percentile to the 95th for length and 90th for head circumference. That means that only 5% of boys his age are longer and only 10% have bigger noggins. (I, for one, am glad that his head size started on the small side.)

Hidden somewhere in his fist is half a banana. I have found that if I leave on part of the peel, he has an easier time holding onto it since it isn't as slippery. By the end of the meal, though, it gets pretty squidgy.

Mmm, toast and jam.

Believe it or not, a fair amount of food actually made it into his mouth. 

This huge leap in length goes a long way toward explaining my baby's appetite. Steve has taken to calling him "Dyson" around mealtimes (presumably because it's funnier than "Hoover"). And so far, Nate has liked pretty well everything I've offered, though the jury is still out on peaches and cauliflower.

A Messy New World - Solid Food

I still haven't figured out how to post videos - apparently, they need to be converted to a different format first. But, I decided to update anyway. 

Nathaniel, now 6 months old, is getting very good at sitting on his own. He will sit and play with a toy for about 10 or 15 minutes before he leans too far and needs some propping again. Still hates tummy time. When he tries to roll over, he gets one arm wedged in the wrong position and gets stuck. That's usually when the tears start. It seems that he is happiest standing with Mommy or Daddy holding his hands. And jumping. He LOVES jumping in his exersaucer. 

We've also started playing with food. He's been eating pablum and pureed vegetables for about 6 weeks. Click here to see him trying pablum for the first time. 

Recently, I came across something called Baby Led Weaning (BLW). The idea is that a baby's oral and motor skills develop at the same pace as his or her digestive system, making pureed food an unnecessary step. If the wee one can pick up a piece of food and get to his mouth, he is developmentally ready to digest it. You start with food cut into sticks so the baby can palm it. As the pincer grasp develops, foods like peas can be introduced without a fear of choking. (For a full description and studies supporting the theory, check out the links at the left.) Therefore, the baby weans himself as he slowly manages to get more food into his mouth and down the hatch. I asked Nathaniel's pediatrician about it and she said it made sense to her so go for it. 

Now, since he had already been eating purees for a few weeks, our approach is not the purist BLW way, but more of a hybrid. When we reach the point in a meal where most of his food is on the floor or his face, I offer him some oatmeal if he's still hungry. To date, Nate has tried and enjoyed sweet potatoes, avocado, banana, carrots, pears, peaches, potatoes, bread, green beans, broccoli, chicken and apple. He tends to gag about once per meal which is perfectly normal in BLW and attributed to the learning process. The theory stresses that gagging and choking are very different things. That said, he tried a piece of cantaloupe in a restaurant last week and gagged so we don't eat finger foods in public for the time being - it seems to raise eyebrows.

I will post videos of him eating in the near future. 

Here we are...

Friends and family have often suggested that Steve and I start a blog to keep everyone up-to-date on our doings - and it makes even more sense now that there are three of us - so here we are!

This is Nathaniel at 3 1/2 weeks old way back in September. The day after this picture was taken, he actually rolled over. Before you get excited, he's only done it once since then about a week ago. Mostly, he just cries if left on his tummy too long. Right now, we're working on sitting up. Wobbly, but we are making progress.

The big news today is that we have teeth! Two just poking through on the bottom which goes a long way towards explaining yesterday. Thank goodness, because teething seems to be a long and painful road for the poor wee bean. 

I intend to post more pictures and videos once Steve explains his catalogue system to me. Hmm, better not hold your breath. More updates soon.

Karen.