Two month check-up

Matt had his two-month well baby appointment today. The stats are as follows: Weight - 14lbs, 6.5 oz (95th percentile); Length - 22 3/4 inches (50th percentile - roly poly...); Head circumference - 42cm (92nd percentile - I could've told you his head was big...). Doc said he's healthy - no real problems. He (Matt, not the doctor) has a mild case of cradle cap and a clogged tear duct that makes his right eye ooze a little every now and then, but nothing major. Overall, Matt impressed the doc with his smiles, cooing, and leg kicks (as well as overall "healthy" size - code speak for "fatty"). For the next appointment (at 4 months), we should be seeing laughter (even w/o tickling), squealing (w/o crying), discovery of hands (right now his hands aren't in fists as much, which is what they expect at this stage, apparently), and rolling over.

He got his first round of vaccinations today. These included shots for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus Influenzae Type b, and pneumococcal conjugate (say that 3 times fast...), as well as an oral vaccine for rotavirus. He cried a little when he got them, but calmed down pretty quickly and was happy once I gave him the bottle of milk I brought (whew). He has since had some Children's Tylenol - and will continue to take that for the next 24-48 hours. He had a nice crying fit in the car on the way home (of course where there was nowhere to pull over even if I wanted to) - but it pretty much wore him out and he subsequently passed out.

As a quick update - the childcare situation is official. Matt starts going to Christina's on Monday...
Below are some quick pics, since no blog entry is complete without a few...
I was on campus yesterday and Maura watched Matt while I finished up a meeting. When I came back, this is what I saw... Maura and Matt at the computer (Matt's asleep):

Front view of Matt on Maura's lap. He's just such a content baby!:

And here's a pic from a couple minutes ago, Matt passed out on the couch beside me, recovering from the shots, etc.:

Childcare and some pics

First - clearly Matt pooping his pants is not good luck for the Lakers. Good thing for him...

Second - I've been looking into childcare for Matt and hitting some roadblocks... very frustrating. The wait lists for the "actual" childcare centers are really long (the one on campus, for example, said I'd have a "better chance" after he's 2) and the rates are amazing (a mortgage payment). So I started looking at some home day cares. Here I had some frustration as well... the ones I could find (that had openings) were either located in Junction City (too far), were in locations that weren't ideal (one I visited was a run-down trailer), or had high (IMHO) child-provider ratios (within the legally allowable limit - but several infants and toddlers - up to 6 - seems like a lot to me). Anyway, I *think* we've found a winner. Assuming everything goes well (I'm waiting to hear back from her today and we'll hopefully do a 2-week trial run soon - maybe starting on Monday), he'll be staying with a woman named Christina. She has two kids - a 12-yr old daughter and 10-yr old son. Matt would be the only baby/child other than hers. She's VERY into educational activities - she made a point of saying that they take trips to the library, the zoo, the park, etc. and that Matt would go with them. She doesn't have a tv (or maybe it's no cable - they have a Wii... but don't watch tv) - so he wouldn't be just plopped in front of a tv, which I like. Her form of discipline is positive redirection - so if (when) Matt starts to get mischievous, she'll "catch him" (since he's her only baby - won't get away with much) and instead of scolding (and certainly no hitting), she'll just redirect him to something he's allowed to do. I like this b/c a lot of places use time-out, which doesn't really teach kids what is the appropriate alternative - just tells them what they shouldn't do... so this is good. She's very friendly. Oh - other pluses: Matt will be less likely to get sick (or as frequently sick) and he won't pick up bad language there. Anyway, it looks good and hopefully works out. (If anyone has questions, I'll be happy to answer them...)

And now, here are some pics - Matt smiling (aww... and another one with Maura holding him - she didn't like the last one so I said I'd post another one...):

Some Updates

So, I put Matt in his Lakers outfit again today (since the Lakers play again tonight) and he pooped his pants again. He has had very few instances where his diapers have actually leaked onto the clothes, but today he did it again… in his Lakers outfit, of course. Considering last time he did this, the Lakers won by 40 points, it may not be a bad thing. Of course, if the Lakers destroy the Nuggets tonight it may mean that from now on, for his entire life, Matt will have to poop his pants as a good luck charm for the Lakers. I don’t make the rules up…

In other news… Matt has started to become even more animated. He is paying attention a little more to the mobile above the bassinet and he loves to kick his legs and wave his arms around. It’s actually pretty good exercise – I tried it… You’d think he wouldn’t be such a chunky monkey by how much “exercise” he’s getting. I guess he’s getting too much Haagen Dazs… Also, I can’t seem to catch it on webcam just yet (I’ll keep trying) but he is starting to coo a lot more and smile, especially in the mornings. His hands are also no longer constantly in fists, and he loves to grab onto your finger if it’s near his hand (and not let go).

His next appointment is this coming Friday – so if I don’t post again before then, I’ll be sure to give an update then with his weight, length, etc. – I can’t wait to have his official weight, as he’s growing like crazy, giving Mom some nice guns… :) In the meantime, below are some pics to tide some people over… :)

Here's Matt, lying on his play mat...:

Here's Matt, comfy...:

Chiefs outfit (have to counter that Raiders outfit pic...):

Maura holding Matt - he LOVES this position - I haven't mastered it yet:Awww:

And here is one of him in his Lakers outfit (pre-poop incident):

Another growth spurt

Apparently Matt is going through a growth spurt right now. From what I've read, they go through growth spurts at around 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 3 months, and 6 months. Just like his previous growth spurt where I was feeding constantly (and I do mean CONSTANTLY), we're at it again. Amber (my neighbor) was over yesterday and was amazed at how much he ate - both in frequency and amount (which was clear since he ate from a bottle a few times). In addition to the increased feedings, he has been a bit fussier the last few days. Today, he is sleeping way more than usual, which is good - though his waking times are pretty much all about eating and then he's right back to sleep. I wonder how much he's going to weigh at his 2 month appointment... Yikes. Anyway, while it lasts... time to do some stuff around the house. :)
Below is a picture of Matt in his Raiders outfit (boo, hiss), hanging out in his boppy on the couch earlier today, just staring at the car seat gallery...

smile

Not sure why it's a little blurry - but here's a video...

Mommy of the Year Award

Well, the Mommy of the Year Award doesn't go to me... Here's what happened. Matt and I went to campus today for a couple meetings. Things were going ok. Rather than carry him across campus in the car seat, I transferred him to the Baby Bjorn carrier thing - and that worked well. He slept through the first meeting, so by the time the second meeting started, he was ready to eat. So I fed him (from bottle). He was quite happy, so I put him down for a little while in his car seat and then it all started. We heard some huge explosions come from him... It was bound to happen - the first one must have filled his diaper... so it was surprising when the explosions kept coming. We all laughed... Then I looked down and realized that he had exploded right out of his diaper (which was unfortunate b/c he was wearing one of his Lakers outfits and I hadn't gotten a pic of him in it yet). He got a little fussy so I knew it was time to change him (good Mom). Unfortunately, and here's where I lost the Mom of the Year Award - when I got the diaper bag, I realized I hadn't restocked the diapers. I had taken out the old/small diapers to use them up while they still fit, but neglected to refill them with new/bigger diapers. So, there we were, in a meeting with other faculty, Matt's diaper FULL, and no spare diaper. Uh oh. My dreams of the Mommy Award flying away, I had to become resourceful. Thankfully, I had brought a cloth diaper (for a burp rag - he had already spit up quite a bit in it from that bottle...) and a fresh onesie for emergency purposes. So I wrapped the cloth diaper around him (I'm sure I didn't do it "correctly") and put the onesie on him, thereby securing the cloth diaper in place. Yay. It seemed to work. He was a happy camper... We finished the meeting (thank goodness his poo still doesn't stink) and went on our way. Unfortunately, it turns out that when babies pee in cloth diapers, especially the amount that Matt pees, it tends to get all over stuff - like, oh, I don't know... car seats. So, it's obviously time for laundry... Below are some photos to document the day, so far.

Here are his Lakers pants... soiled. (Hopefully not an omen for how the Lakers will play tonight)
And here he is in his make-shift cloth diaper/onesie get-up... obviously soiled and very mad.

Much happier after being changed... just chilling in his boxer pose with a REAL diaper on - finally...
But still not completely happy... (plus, it was time for an updated "Mad Matt" picture... FYI, he calmed down less than a minute after this picture was taken - just wanted a pacifier... he's asleep right now... peacefully dreaming about drinking milk in clean diapers)

Busy day

Today has been a "busy" day so far. We started out with a trip to campus this morning so I could attend a committee meeting. Matt joined me and - wow - not sure we'll return to campus too much more before we get the new vehicle. Right now, I can't fit the stroller in the car at the same time as him (and it probably goes without saying that I should choose to take Matt and not the stroller...) so parking even relatively far away is a pain in the butt (and back and arms... he's HEAVY, especially in the car seat). He handled it all well, though. And although we were only on campus about an hour and a half, he managed to have two diaper changes (mental note: I need to refill the diaper bag...). Once we got home and he had a feeding and a nap, we decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood - his first. He seemed to enjoy the walk. The stroller was very easy to handle, the temperature was great, and it was nice to be out of the house without it being for an errand. We're planning on making walks a regular thing. Now we're back home, laundry is going and Matt is sleeping again (for now)... Some photos - one from yesterday evening and one from our walk today:

Just a few pics

I was told that I needed to post some new pics of Matt... Sorry I haven't posted regularly - he just hasn't really done anything "new" - BUT I know I probably won't notice changes in him since I'm around him constantly, so here are some new pics...

Sleeping with butt in the air (don't worry... he normally sleeps on his back - unless I'm right there...):

And here he is, getting ready to scream:

And, of course, about a second later, he's happy again...: