Motor mouth

This baby talks about a mile a minute. It is so fun to see how he imitates the way we talk. One day I am going to make a video of it because it is so hilarious. While Gus's verbal skills are off the charts, he is still refusing to do what babies his age are suppose to do. Specifically, he won't roll over. One excuse is he is a product of the anti-SIDS generation. While I give Gus plenty of tummy time, he doesn't spend as much time as I did on my tummy because he sleeps on his back. The books say that it is easier to roll tummy to back then back to tummy. Gus just doesn't roll. The reason I think he won't do it is out of pure laziness. Why roll when his mom will do it for him? Especially if he screams loud enough. Besides, he likes being on his back.

I also encourage Gus to sit. The way babies learn to sit (or as I have read) is by sitting with legs apart and putting his hands in front of him in a sort-of tripod stance. This would of course require Gus to pay attention to sitting rather than going after his toys. As he nose dives for the toy, he face plants and that is the end of the "learning how to sit" lesson!

Let's talk about what Gus excels at. . .eating. And, he is not picky. Remember the Life cereal commercials with Mikey? "Give it to Mikey. He eats anything". That is how Gus is. He will eat anything from bland rice cereal to sweet peaches to gnarly looking green beans. And I can't shovel it in fast enough. He grunts and moans as he waits for his next bite. The grunting is funny. The moaning and whining is the start of a bad habit!

Another good thing is Gus is completely weaned off the burrito wrap when he sleeps. No more mommy worrying about her son turning over in his swaddle wrap and smothering himself. I love to sneak in and watch him sleep. He is so peaceful and sweet. I am still working on his nursery, but by the next post, I will have a picture ready.

We miss our Amy-bean. We miss our friends. But good news! We are coming back for a visit the last week of July. Please let me now if you want to hang out with us! We're coming home, baby.

Aunt Legume's Guest Blog

I arrived on Saturday. I could not wait to see my little man GUS! He turns 5 months tomorrow!

The mission of my trip was to get GUS to nap and poop! He did nap 2 out of the 4 days (I call that success!) Then he finally pooped today after 4 day!!! When Gus poops he looks like a cartoon character! He bears down and then his CHIN and CHEEKS become red, then his forehead becomes red and then his WHOLE HEAD IS RED!!! WOW! SCARY! THEN THE EXPLOSION ALL OVER!

I understand why he didn't poop! My visit was very exciting! We went shopping, hiking, swimming, AND even on a train ride! We spent so much quality time! I can't wait to return in a month or two with Uncle Bri Bri!

Love Aunt Aim - go phillies!

Goodnight Mr Ugg Ugg

As you may already know, Gus hates to sleep. Once he falls asleep at night, he will typically sleep 11-13 hours. One trick to get him to sleep is wrapping him in his swaddle. Last week, I was reading some girl's blog about having a baby Gus's age who still sleeps in her wrap. Then she planted a horrid idea in my head. "What if the baby turns over and suffocated because she can't turn back over?!" After that, I can't place him in a wrap at night anymore. I don't want my baby to turn over and suffocate! Geez I've turned into a neurotic mother. I've had to come up with new routines so that he doesn't cry himself to sleep as much (less than 30 minutes of crying is good).

Around 6 or 6:30, I'll read some books to him in the rocking chair. Then I take him to his room and we say good night to EVERYTHING in his room. "Goodnight hat rack" "Good night changing table" "Good night air conditioner" "Good night pictures". You get the gist. "Good night Mr. Ugg Ugg". Mr. Ugg Ugg is his favorite stuffed animal that Mary Ann gave him.

After we say good night to everything, I put him in his crib and we say good night to all the animals on his mobile. Now, I don't know if I just bore the heck out of the poor kid, or if he understand that now it is his turn to go night night, but it works. At least it works thus far!

Gus is 4 months

Gus's new crib:

Gus having his first bite to eat (rice cereal)

He has a crib

Gus got his crib last week! I'll post pictures later. I am still waiting for his nursery bedding to arrive. I really liked the farm animal theme so I got him bedding with cute sheep, cows, horses, and barns. I know it sounds a little redneck, but it is adorable.

Speaking of adorable, Gus is turning into such a good looking boy. He is still bald, but his beautiful smile more than makes up for it. We went for his 4 month check up last week. He is now 14 pounds 14 oz (50%) and 26.5 inches tall (95%). Again, they gave him some vaccinations. This time he cried a lot more than previous times. However, I still think my boy is pretty brave.

After it was okayed with his pediatrician, he was allowed to start solid food. Now, there is one thing that has always been a guarantee about my Gus is that he is a good eater. Less than an hour after his traumatic birth he was eating off the breast. When I had to go back to work and my mom had to give him a bottle, he ate from that too. In fact, he switches back and forth from breast to bottle so easily! I swear, that boy is not picky. It is not unexpected then that he ate his rice cereal off a spoon as if he was doing it his whole life. I wonder if he was one of those sport eaters in a previous life. You know, like those Nathan Hot Dog eaters. Gus is strong like bull.

I am settling into life out here with my parents. Because I moved across the country, I feel like I have to start all over again with friends, hobbies, etc. I now work two nights a week and there are a lot of young people my age at the hospital. They are into mountain biking, white water rafting ("running rivers"), and hiking. I hope to meet up with them and learn some new skills! Also, the hospital has a weekly chat group for nursing mothers. I have gone to that a couple of times and met some really nice girls. With all this networking, hopefully I can find some friends as awesome as the ones in Virginia! Or at least try.

I didn't post any pictures because I am writing my blog here at work. When I get home, I will try to post some good ones.

Due to come next week: the Ergo Baby Carrier. Perhaps this over priced gadget will let me fulfill my hippy-ish dream of carrying my baby.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to me! My first ever as a mom. Gus and I had an excellent day. We woke up (after he slept 12 hours straight) and went out for breakfast. We skyped with Uncle Geoff for awhile. My mom got a digital picture frame so while Gus took a 90 minute nap (I KNOW!) I helped my mom put that together. Later on in the day, Grandma, Gus, and I went to a Mother's Day One Mile run. Actually I ran the mile and barely survived. Grandma and Gus were in the 40+ wave. They walked and beat some old ladies who had to use canes to finish. What at team! Gus got his face painted with a nose and whiskers. This seemed like a good idea at the time, until Gus wiped his face with his hand and stuck it in his mouth. Good thing that stuff they use for kids face painting is non-toxic :)

Earlier this week, I had quite a scare. On my first day of my new job, before I left, Gus had an odd spell. I only say spell for lack of otherwords to describe it. Gus slumped over, turned pale white, and turned limp as a baby doll. I went to give him CPR but before I could start, my dad shook his legs until Gus screamed. The whole time Gus's eyes were wide open and he gazed blankley. Because we could not arouse him from this state, we called 911. By the time they got to our house, Gus was still very lethargic and pale. While the paremedics were there, he did it again. They too were worried and took him to the local hospital where the decided to admit him. He was in the ICU for 24 hours on a cardiac monitor. Poor Gus! We put him in a Graco swing in his room, and it was so pitiful. He was swinging trying to have a good time with all his wires dragging under him.

After talking to a pediatric neurologist (thanks Megan!) I found that he could have had one of two things: a petit mal seizure or a pallid breath holding spell. Babies can have one seizure and never have them again. Even if it was a seizure, waiting to see if it happens again would be more than medically okay. The second option is the pallid breath holding spell. From my google.com readings, I found there are two forms of this. One is when the baby turns blue. Usually, this occurs when the baby is screaming and very agitated. They turn blue and pass out. The second (which Gus must have had) the baby has a traumatic like being hit in the head or in Gus's case choking on some milk. The baby turns pale, passes out and look dead. The good news is while this is horrid for the parents, pallid breath holding spells are never fatal.

Well, Gus is home and doing well. He bounced right back and doesn't remember a thing. And on Mother's Day, I treaure my baby more than ever!

Do up next week: Gus will finally get a crib!

Gus's Grandmommy

A special post about Gus visiting his Grandmommy. This was a special because it was the first time Lou Ada got to see her 8th grandchild. Gus just adored sitting on her lap. When I told her how Gus had trouble taking naps, she came through and got him a book that teaches Gus how to fall asleep. Here are some pictures of Gus and his Grandmommy. This was a truly a special time for Gus.