Wessy in the grass

Day two, day two hundred

New today...

-Crying when I take things away: Wessy has done this once or twice before, but now it's a regular thing.  The other day I let him gum an apple while he luxuriated in the stroller, and he got incensed when I took it away.  By the way, he does seem to have Mommy's sweet tooth.  Er, sweet gums.  Despite all my efforts to avoid giving him any processed sugars, he really does seem to have a preference for sweet things like apple sauce and tangerines.  I will admit that his breastmilk may or may not taste like chocolate at times due to Mommy's addiction to all things sweet (I try to stick to small amounts of the high-quality chocolate bars that save the rainforest that you get at Whole Foods...I swear.).

-Sitting up: He is a pro.  He is now 95% solid on this without any help.  If he reaches out reeeeaally far or turns his head too fast, he might wobble.  Otherwise, he can pretty much sit up on his own without any support.  

-Crawling: He does not crawl yet nor does he really show any interest.  If you put him on his belly and put something in front of him, he will squirm and whine and flail, but he will not crawl or make any organized movements towards it.  That is fine by me for now.  Once he learns to crawl, it's game over for ever putting him down in one place and expecting him to stay there.  Also game over for ever putting anything down on any surface without him grabbing it and putting it in his mouth (see next).    

-Grabbing everything: He will grab anything and everything in his path.  Ninety percent of the time he tries to take what he grabs and put it in his mouth.  His favorite remains taking other peoples' fingers and putting them in his mouth.  For a while, this was super cute and I obliged.  However, now he has little barracuda gums and can actually generate a lot of force when he chomps down.  Beware.

-Walks in the stroller: For a really long time, we didn't ever even use the stroller.  We mainly used the Ergo for its ease of transport and because Wessy liked being snuggled up.  However, in the last few days, I have started taking him out more in the Bob (fancy jogging stroller).  It's awesome.  I love it because he faces me and I can watch his facial expressions while I walk.  He loves to watch the scenery.  I imagine it's a vantage point he hasn't seen before.  He will look up at the tree branches passing overhead with utter awe and delight.  Just like the Ergo, however, he eventually succumbs to the relaxing rhythm of a walk and falls asleep.  

Daddy says....

Stevo, trying to convince me he is good at taking care of Wessy when I'm not around: "I'm more than just a pretty face!"

Male model

On a recent morning, the sun was just right and Wessy was in a great mood, so I snapped a few quick photos.   I really love the way they turned out--I think that they highlight his personality, not to mention his chubby, slobbery cheeks.

Mommy n Wessy

New discovery...

Laundry baskets make excellent baby containment and entertainment systems! Throw a couple of toys in there and you're good to go (for five minutes).

I woke up like this

Residency Retreat

Poor Wessy didn't get held or get any attention the whole weekend!

Breakfast guest

Changing table shenanigans

Good morning sunshine

Wessy almost always wakes up on the right side of the crib.  Usually in the morning we will get up and shortly thereafter will venture into his room.  Sometimes we will hear soft cooing or dinosaur noises from outside the door, other times he is quiet.  Inevitably when we enter the room he is already awake and bright-eyed and greets us as if he has been crawling through the desert and we are giant glasses of water.  In fact, Stevo and I have a deal that neither of us can go into the room alone because then the other will miss that magic moment in the AM when Wessy greets the day.  (Full disclosure: These pics were taken in the afternoon at nap wakeup time at which time a similar phenomenon occurs.)

My little love

Today at work during group (a weekly session with my co-residents where we share the trials, triumphs and goings-on of our lives) I was talking about Wessy.  And I found myself saying that I felt like I was falling in love.  When I watch him, my heart just flutters and I am overwhelmed by oxytocin.  Just look.  He's my little sweetheart, my baby love.

Trying out our new highchair and making out with Sophie

Instant Happiness

This morning, as I was in the usual shuffle of trying to entertain Wessy and make my own breakfast, I made an important (and somewhat obvious) discovery.  Wessy LOVES to look out the window.  All I had to do was put him in front of our large street-facing kitchen window and he was happy as a lark.


 

Daddy says...

Me: "Do you know how many people colon cancer killed in the US last year? 90,000! And melanoma--9,000. And thyroid cancer--1,900."
Stevo: Do you know how many people I killed last year?! I'm right up there with thyroid cancer!"

Alllll byyy myyselllff....

A certain bobble-headed someone is getting quite good at sitting up on his own.  He can now sit totally unassisted for a good stretch of time without falling.  He may still get thrown off balance if he tries to reach for things (eg the camera), but for the most part he is stable.

Always reaching for the camera!

Poor baby

Well, I suppose it had to happen sooner or later...Wessy is sick.  There is no doubt about the identity of Patient Zero--it seems that Daddy brought home some pestilence from the hoi polloi of the emergency department.  Probably the Influenza.  First Stevo had headache, body aches, fever, cough, and then about four days later Wessy started coughing.

Yesterday he spiked a fever to 102 and didn't stop whimpering for about 16 hours.  His cough has continued to get more harsh, and the whimpering has not let up.  We have been giving him motrin and endless cuddles.  

It sucks that he is febrile and miserable, but I think that the worst part is that he doesn't know why he feels so bad.  If I feel shitty, I at least have the comfort of being able to comprehend what is happening to me.  Wessy just seems confused and overwhelmed.  And so our hearts hurt.

Luckily, he is a strong little guy and already seems to be bouncing back a tiny bit today versus yesterday.  Also luckily, he already got his six month vaccines including his flu vax so hopefully this attenuates some of the nastiness.  Not to mention we don't have to worry about some of the more alarming diseases that were so dangerous for babies in the past. 

All in all, though, we ARE very lucky that he is only getting sick for the first time at age six months.  Even with the fever and the misery, this seems to be something that will pass (knock on wood) in a few days.  But for now, there are sick little guys who just want to cuddle and I am happy to oblige!

Daddy says...

[Snowboarding lessons from Daddy]:

"Just remember to point your board downhill and don't be afraid to get up some speed."

The first step is admitting you have a problem

Someone in our household has a La Croix problem.  That person may or may not be passing this addiction on to the next generation
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