Yogi's Six Month Check Up

Yesterday was our six month visit with Dr. Wonderful and the little dude is now big enough to sit and wait patiently in his own chair.  Funny.  Everything looked good to the doctor and he was particularly pleased with the state of his ears after the illness we had a few weeks back.  Although we decided not to run the lab to make sure, Dr. Wonderful was fairly confident that it was RSV when we came to the office for our first sick baby visit.  Apparently ear infections are a common follow-up to RSV and the fact that Yogi didn't have that complication suggests that he has "good ears".  Hooray for that!  My wife has terrible ears, so perhaps Yogi didn't inherit those?  That would be nice.

Here are the details:

• 27" long (70th percentile)


• 14lbs 8oz (7th percentile)


• 16.5" (4th percentile)

While it's possible that he didn't get my wife's ears, it is clear that he got her tiny head. :)

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More Baby Friends

This is Yogi's best buddy.  She is six weeks older and has been kind enough to show him the baby ropes.  Last weekend when she and one of her Moms came over to play, I took out the camera and this is what happened.  Both of them were immediately cheesing.  I think the camera is something they are both pretty used to. ;)

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Yogi's Latest Trick

Watching the little guy learn new things is mostly exciting, but it can also be frustrating.

His latest trick?  Pulling his bib off his neck.  In case I haven't mentioned this here, my son was a St. Bernard in his last life.  Surely.  It is the only way to explain the unbelievable amount of drool that he produces.  He has been this drooly since maybe the first month and in spite of what everyone says when the drooling becomes apparent to them, there is not a tooth in sight.  I really think I'm right on the money with the St. Bernard thing.

At any rate, a drooly baby who loves to pull his bib right off as soon as you put it on is a wet baby.  I can only replace the bib so many times and I think it just eggs him on anyway.  The "putting the bib back on" game is not nearly as entertaining for me as it seems to be for him.  So when he starts in on the bib I've just decided to let it go.  It means lots of clothes changes as the front of his shirt now functions as a bib, but what can you do?

 

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Just What I Needed

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may  go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

from The Prophet Khalil Gibran

 

This reading was part of the worship service this morning on the theme of letting go.  "Letting go" is the theme for March and I think it's a good one, at least for someone like me.  Someone who is not so good with letting go.  These words were just what I needed this morning.

I particularly like the idea of bending in the hands of the archer.  Well, I don't like bending, but the idea resonates.  It's true.  Bending is the way of things and certainly the way of parenting.  I might as well let my bending be for gladness.  Working on that.....

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You Want Me to Do WHAT?

As you can see, Yogi was stunned by our expectation that he try a little sweet potato this afternoon.  This was our first foray into solid foods and it was highly entertaining.  The facial expressions alone were worth the urgent necessities of bathing (for all three of us) and laundry that followed.

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Moving Too Fast

I really must catch my breath.  During the last few weeks life has been moving at such a frantic clip that I have barely had time for a good, deep breath.  As the Anxiety Queen, this is not a good thing.  Happily, the bulk of the rush has been associated with positive changes that are great for our family.  In an effort to clear my head, here is the bulleted version of recent happenings at my house.

• Yogi went up on the airplane and all three of us survived.  We manged to travel out-of-state with two checked bags, a car seat and a diaper bag carry-on.  My wife wore Yogi in the Ergo and he flirted with EVERYONE in the airport.  The boy will stop at nothing to get the attention of someone he has his eye on.  ;)


• Yogi met just about everyone we knew in our old hometown.  We walked every inch (mile?) of the hospital and my wife was able to be proud Mommy with all of her colleagues.  My job at the hospital involved being the family pack mule and making sure that none of the secretaries grabbed Yogi and ran when we weren't looking. Not an easy job. We tried to get a picture with our RE, but he was in surgery (I knew we should have called ahead....).


• We walked through our old neighborhood and discovered that the bank has finally wrangled possession of our old house from our no count landlords.  Surprise, surprise....


• We spent our last evening with friends who gathered for a "Meet the Baby" dinner party.


• We arrived home to moving boxes and the emergence of Sickie #1 (me).


• I organized the packing and loading while sick and with a baby strapped to my body.


• After all of the major packing and loading tasks are accomplished, my parents arrive.


• Yogi starts acting fussy and odd and Sickie #2 is born.


• Yogi reaches the crescendo of illness on moving day while we wait (not so patiently) for the gas man (brrrrrr!) and can only wonder about where anything we might want or need is actually located.


• My wife takes the post-move day off and we have four adults to focus on moving tasks and sick baby care.


• After performing their duties as AV/Tech guy and Kitchen Organization pro, my parents head for home.


• Four days into Yogi's yuckiness, he wakes up screaming from a nap in a way that alarms me and I decide we need to take him to Dr. Wonderful.  The three of us spend Friday night in a doctor's office to find out that yes, it is true.  Our baby is sick.  Other than that, all is well.  Give him Tylenol and snuggle him.  Gee, so glad we decided to use our time that way.


• My wife's parents arrive and settling in/sick baby care continues.


• My wife's parents head for home.


• The three of us are finally settled (and well!) in our new house.

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Baby Friends

Friday afternoon Yogi met the young lady pictured above. She was born just before we moved and it was great to be able to see her (and her parents) during this trip. Plus she was wearing a Cheer Bear t-shirt. Cool kid.

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Six Months Old!

The collared onesie is both ridiculous and (in spite of my considerable resistance) absolutely adorable.  This outfit is a hand-me-down that I didn't have in heavy rotation, but on Sunday morning I got out of the shower to find this little Yogi on my bed.  I guess my wife saw potential where I hadn't.  Seriously cute.

In addition to being seriously cute, Yogi (as of today) is 6 months old.  He has no teeth and no hair and has yet to venture into the land of solid foods, but he is growing up.  Tomorrow afternoon he will be taking his first plane ride.  We are eager to get back and show him off to friends and co-workers in our old stomping grounds.  Yogi was born in our new city, but the idea of him was certainly born in what I'm thinking of as our "couple hometown".  I can't wait for the little guy to see it!

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