Vitamin Fortified

As of our last doctor visit, Baby is now a little over 12 pounds, as we were guessing because our arms are as tired now as if we spent the day at the lanes with a similar weighing bowling ball. He's still only in the 50th percentile for his age, but maybe they weren't using 50th percentile babies as models for all his clothes that have turned into snug bodysuits.

We also learned an interesting fact: unlike cow milk, human milk contains very low levels of Vitamin D. Not that you should ever compare any Mommy to a cow, (again, don't ever compare a Mommy to a cow) but you should be conscious that not all milk is the same. Cow milk can make babies under a year very ill, and Mommy milk doesn't have the same nutritive properties as cow milk. So along with his normal feedings, we now have a prescription of vitamin drops to add to his diet, in a "natural cherry flavor..."

"Cherry flavor, plus it's natural? Sounds good!"

...which he hates.

"Cherry flavor, my diaper! Get that away from me!"

Apparently, this study was just released this month, so it's nice to know our doctor is on top of these things:

• Reuters
• Washington Post
• HealthNews
  

We'll figure a way to get you to eat those vitamins Baby, so you can keep filling out that crib of yours.

Cheap Entertainment

Now that Baby is passing the two month mark, we're seeing lots of changes in his baby development. He's definitely smiling more:

And noticing his toys now instead of the ceiling:

But the most exciting thing he's discovered he's had with him all along. They're a couple of fatty fingered fists, which one morning he found at the end of his arms:

Now when he's not sleeping or eating, he has something new to do:

When he wakes up in his crib, we'll catch him quietly staring at his little digits. Over the next few weeks, he'll hopefully be quickly learning how to use those hands, to play with his toys, reach out for Mommy, and pour something cold to drink for Daddy.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Sure, we didn't give birth to our babies, but Momma can't open those really tightly sealed formula bottles without Dad around.

"Good job, dad. Knuckles for you."

On The Move

When you're dealing with a newborn, there's always a sense of security in that if you lay the baby down, he's not going anywhere. At two months, our boy flails around quite a bit, but he can't roll or crawl yet, which means it's probably safe to leave him on the floor and go out to see a good action flick. By the time you get home, he might be a little wet, hungry, grumpy, and probably resentful, but he wouldn't have moved an inch.

About a week ago, I laid Baby down to sleep in his crib, tucking his round tummy in between the cushions that are supposed to keep him from turning on his stomach. When I go to check on him a couple of hours later, his head was now in between the cushions. I thought that I just placed him incorrectly, being that his room was dark and I was lacking sleep.

We realized now that he did indeed move himself. Baby discovered a primitive form of locomotion by kicking both legs repeatedly when he's on his back, which will drive him down towards the foot of his crib. The slick surface of his diaper and the extreme mass in his thighs is probably all working in his favor to gain distance and speed.

"A few more kicks to freedom!"

Now this complicates a couple of things. First, we'll have to keep a closer eye on him on the changing pad, because there's nothing to keep him still until we get some bungee cords installed. Secondly, there is the potential of his flailing legs getting caught in the slats of his crib now, which is where we entrust the safety of our baby's limbs to a baby bumper. A baby bumper is the equivalent of turning a wrestling ring into a steel cage, but prettier and softer. When shopping for a bumper, also keep away from something too stiff, as the baby will use it as a foothold once he starts climbing. We picked out this one after a bit of research, as seen in the above pic.

Everyone keeps telling me how fast babies grow up, but no one told me how fast these little buggers move.

Total Recalls

Parents need to be constantly aware of lots of things that pertain to their kids. Feeding times, nap times, coupons for diapers, and government recall lists. Most people I know stay away from those recall lists, as they tend to make the average person fear everything from clothing to crossing the street. Now that I'm actually reading these things, I find many of them rather nonsensical, and it makes you wonder what they were thinking when they invented the recently recalled highly flammable candle holder. Kids products constitute half of these recall lists, like the boy's hooded sweatshirt where the drawstring can cause a choking hazard, or various obscure toys made of bite-size lead pieces.

I was recently informed (thanks, LF!) of a recall that actually did affect me, and will affect anyone who had purchased the best-selling and highly rated Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat. If you own, or know of someone who owns this, no need to panic - the recall only affects users of the LATCH system (a term you would only be familiar with if you've attempted to install a car seat beyond 2003). The simplest fix is to just use the traditional seat belt instead of LATCH, until you can get a replacement base. Details on how to find out if you're affected, and how to send back your recalled product can be found here.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with my car seat."

You too can become suspicious of the world around you by reading the following links:

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• U.S. Food & Drug Administration Recalls
• Recalls.gov

Check these sites every few hours for increased paranoia.

All Smiles

Did you know that a newborn baby only starts to smile between one and two months of age? Our baby only smiles in his sleep. (Which one source says is a sign of gassiness.) Anytime I thought he smiled at me was because he was falling asleep while smiling. Momma's claimed to see him smile, and so has Grandma. I personally, have not seen a full-fledged, conscious smile from my boy yet. Any attempt from me to make him smile makes him look at me like he wants to fight me. My friend explained it as "Maybe you're just not funny."

"I don't get it."

This morning, like every morning, when I hoist Baby out from his crib to change his diaper, I speak to him in a high-pitched voice and run my fingers along the folds of his neck, to have him stare past me or at the ceiling. This morning though, Baby looked me in the eye and gave me the slightest little smile. I poke him a couple of times to make sure he's awake, and sure enough, an even bigger smile now. My Baby smiled at daddy today!

Momma claimed he smiled at her the day after Mother's Day. Today, I get a smile the day after my birthday. So even though he's a little late, at least he acknowledges the important days. Thanks, Baby!

"Oh, now I get it! Oh, stop it, Daddy! You're so funny!"

If you need to buy your smiles like I try to, here's $5 off $25 worth of smiles at Babies R Us (expires June 8th).

Life of the Party

We had a traditional 1 month dinner party for the li'l guy this past Sunday, albeit a little late - he actually hit 7 weeks that day. The entire party was attended by over a hundred guests, and there was plenty of conversing over the banging of plates and dishes. Baby slept through every minute of it. Most of the comments we got were "He's such a good baby," while the more experienced parents wished us luck getting sleep when we got home and he woke up.

Well, he did sleep through the entire dinner and through the car ride home. I was thinking that he probably didn't even realize he left the house for the whole day, since he slept for the entire ride there. He finally woke up when I pulled him out of the car seat to get him ready for bed, after changing his diaper which was probably half his weight in liquid. Luckily, he did sleep that night, but we didn't have so much luck the day after. And the two nights after that. This was basically all he was doing from about 6 PM till 11 PM:
Not sure what was setting him off, but if I get like this after a party, it's usually because of a hangover.

We've read that a baby's 6th week is the roughest week, and these sleepless evenings were pretty close to the sixth week. He might be going through a growth spurt, since he won't fit his newborn clothes anymore. And both mine and Momma's wrists are getting sore from holding his 10 pound plus diapered butt. As long as we can get him sleeping for at least a few hours at a time, it's probably worth the pain for the moment. He was back on "schedule" by Wednesday night.