Almost 4 months old!
Unfortunately for me, I can't sleep. William began stirring at around 2:45 for one of his middle-of-the-night meals, and he was done by 3:00. That's usual. What is unusual is that he did not just fall back asleep, and he wanted to look around and bounce for almost a full hour. He fell back asleep about 15 minutes ago, but now *I* cannot sleep. I'm not complaining because he has let me get restful sleep every night for the last couple weeks. Of course, I hope the pattern continues (not counting what happened tonight), but I've learned not to expect it.
Another lesson that I've learned since becoming a parent is not to dread the wee hours of morning. I used to inwardly groan every time he stirred between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. But once I started hitting REM sleep fairly regularly, I found that those early mornings hours are quite peaceful and not-so-bad.
On another note, William is growing like a weed! I haven't tried to weight him in a while, but I estimate he's about 14-15 pounds now. During any particular week, I get used to how much effort it takes to lift him from the bed, but after a few days, that effort just isn't enough. I can literally feel him getting heavier. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change...even for me, who sees him every day. Gradual though it is, I can still see it. Sometimes I worry that he's not developing as quickly as other babies who were born around the same time as him, but then I remember that he was a premie, which means that his development may not be the same as a baby who was full-term when they were born. He's still 10 weeks old if you adjust the time that he was premature. His next appointment (4-month check-up) with the pediatrician is February 13. We'll see what she says about his development then.
He's holding his head up much better these days, and he's just starting to bat at things with this arms (gross motor skills) and grab at things with this fingers (fine motor skills). He hasn't turned over yet, but I suspect that this will just happen at some point, so the camera phone is not usually far from my reach. Up to now, I've been somewhat "bad" about just letting him lay on the couch and/or changing table because he doesn't roll around at all, but lately, I'm constantly telling myself that he is going to start rolling over any day now, which has been pretty effective at increasing my paranoia which means that I *don't* leave him unattended on raised surfaces. (Exception being the king-size bed, on which he lays in the center)
William and I have been having conversations. This entails me talking to him as though he can understand and talk back, and he responds with cooing and smiles. It's really quite fun. Dave seems amused when I do this, and honestly, I think it's hilarious and a great way to inundate the baby with language. It truly is the only way to learn (coming from someone who has learned a 2nd language).
Speaking of languages, I have been thinking a lot about it. I *really* want to visit Japan again and maybe even the Philippines. I'm not sure when, but it is something that is climbing higher on my list of priorities. It's A LOT of effort to travel, especially for this homebody, but the desire to go back to Japan is reaching desperate levels (not sure why), and going to the Philippines seems reasonable if we're already on that side of the world. Plus, Dave has never been to either place and (I think) he wants to visit the latter. I believe the warm/hot climate appeals to him. I'm not keen on the humidity there, but as we are currently in the midst of winter (with snow on the ground and frequent nights with temps in single, or near-single digit, temperatures), I'm inclined to agree with him on being in a warmer climate...at least for the winter months.
My brain is jumping to all sorts of topics. Diapers. I have switched to using cloth diapers. At first, I wasn't so sure about it because they made William really hot, but in this cold weather, that isn't really a problem. I'm thinking that in the summer, I will switch back to using disposable diapers 'cause it's just easier and a lot less trouble. Plus, he'll probably have outgrown his current cloth diapers, but at least I will have used them and gotten my money's worth. Strangely enough, it only takes about a month-and-a-half to "get my money's worth" from cloth diapers. Disposables are quite expensive and you go through them very quickly.
Well, I can't think of much else to say in this update. Plus, I'm starting to get tired now. Hopefully, it won't be as long until my next post. (It's just hard to find time where I have two hands to type and can spare the time. My free moments are usually spent doing laundry, folding clothes, stuffing diapers (new chore), cooking, eating, sleeping, or cleaning.)
Anyway, good night!
PS...Eventually, I will change the name of the blog...
Another lesson that I've learned since becoming a parent is not to dread the wee hours of morning. I used to inwardly groan every time he stirred between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. But once I started hitting REM sleep fairly regularly, I found that those early mornings hours are quite peaceful and not-so-bad.
On another note, William is growing like a weed! I haven't tried to weight him in a while, but I estimate he's about 14-15 pounds now. During any particular week, I get used to how much effort it takes to lift him from the bed, but after a few days, that effort just isn't enough. I can literally feel him getting heavier. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change...even for me, who sees him every day. Gradual though it is, I can still see it. Sometimes I worry that he's not developing as quickly as other babies who were born around the same time as him, but then I remember that he was a premie, which means that his development may not be the same as a baby who was full-term when they were born. He's still 10 weeks old if you adjust the time that he was premature. His next appointment (4-month check-up) with the pediatrician is February 13. We'll see what she says about his development then.
He's holding his head up much better these days, and he's just starting to bat at things with this arms (gross motor skills) and grab at things with this fingers (fine motor skills). He hasn't turned over yet, but I suspect that this will just happen at some point, so the camera phone is not usually far from my reach. Up to now, I've been somewhat "bad" about just letting him lay on the couch and/or changing table because he doesn't roll around at all, but lately, I'm constantly telling myself that he is going to start rolling over any day now, which has been pretty effective at increasing my paranoia which means that I *don't* leave him unattended on raised surfaces. (Exception being the king-size bed, on which he lays in the center)
William and I have been having conversations. This entails me talking to him as though he can understand and talk back, and he responds with cooing and smiles. It's really quite fun. Dave seems amused when I do this, and honestly, I think it's hilarious and a great way to inundate the baby with language. It truly is the only way to learn (coming from someone who has learned a 2nd language).
Speaking of languages, I have been thinking a lot about it. I *really* want to visit Japan again and maybe even the Philippines. I'm not sure when, but it is something that is climbing higher on my list of priorities. It's A LOT of effort to travel, especially for this homebody, but the desire to go back to Japan is reaching desperate levels (not sure why), and going to the Philippines seems reasonable if we're already on that side of the world. Plus, Dave has never been to either place and (I think) he wants to visit the latter. I believe the warm/hot climate appeals to him. I'm not keen on the humidity there, but as we are currently in the midst of winter (with snow on the ground and frequent nights with temps in single, or near-single digit, temperatures), I'm inclined to agree with him on being in a warmer climate...at least for the winter months.
My brain is jumping to all sorts of topics. Diapers. I have switched to using cloth diapers. At first, I wasn't so sure about it because they made William really hot, but in this cold weather, that isn't really a problem. I'm thinking that in the summer, I will switch back to using disposable diapers 'cause it's just easier and a lot less trouble. Plus, he'll probably have outgrown his current cloth diapers, but at least I will have used them and gotten my money's worth. Strangely enough, it only takes about a month-and-a-half to "get my money's worth" from cloth diapers. Disposables are quite expensive and you go through them very quickly.
Well, I can't think of much else to say in this update. Plus, I'm starting to get tired now. Hopefully, it won't be as long until my next post. (It's just hard to find time where I have two hands to type and can spare the time. My free moments are usually spent doing laundry, folding clothes, stuffing diapers (new chore), cooking, eating, sleeping, or cleaning.)
Anyway, good night!
PS...Eventually, I will change the name of the blog...
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