Thursday, October 14, 2010

Alex's 4 month

Alex finally had his 4 month checkup today. Yeah I know. He is almost 5 months now. With the moving and the changing of insurance and all that, it's been a hassle. But we finally got in to see the doctor today. I liked her pretty well. She's no Dr Hull. =( But she will have to do. She was nice enough, the staff was nice enough, the office is clean and relatively up to date.
Here are his measurements: 16.2 lbs (is that 3.4 ounces?), 26" long, and I don't remember his head. He is in the 50-60% in all his measurements. Even though he seems huge, he is just "average". That's okay though. Claire hit a spot at about this age where she slowed for a bit. Unfortunately, she seemed to be saving her energy for crawling and walking, and after she hit those milestones, she took off again in growth. (She's had another growth spurt. We bought her a trike a few days before we left Salt Lake. She couldn't touch the ground with the seat all the way down. Today, she was out there scooting around on it, feet flat on the ground.)

As far as Alex goes, he is growing like a little weed. He is spinning in circles and scooting backwards. In the last few weeks, he has started eating oatmeal (which he really likes), and drinking some formula. We hit a rough spot where I wasn't really producing as much as he wanted, and so he started drinking formula, and it started a downward spiral. So I decided to try oatmeal instead. He gets 1 tablespoon of oatmeal 3 times a day, and it is enough that he is usually satisfied with his nursing sessions. Instead of 2-3 bottles of formula, he gets maybe 1 every other day. I'm good with that. I go through phases (sometimes within the same day) where I feel like I can certainly make 6 months or even a year with him, and other phases where I think "I'm quitting tomorrow". But we are sticking with it. Him eating definitely makes a difference. I've also been trying to make sure I drink enough water, because that makes a huge difference too.
Also, yesterday, he started sitting. Yay! He still isn't stable, and faceplants every now and then, but he can sit for a few minutes by himself, instead of just a few seconds. We went to a pumpkin patch the other day with our playgroup, and they had a huge pool full of wheat kernels. He sat in there for a good 10 minutes on his own, and only faceplanted twice. The kernels formed to his butt, and helped stabilize him. He loved it. Claire had fun at the farm too. She got to feed the goats, and bounce in the bounce house, and run around like a crazy, and feed the chickens. It was a busy morning, but we had a good time. I am loving this playgroup. It's ladies from our ward. Most of us have a 2ish year old (Claire is the youngest) and a baby (Alex is also the youngest). Claire is starting to make friends with the other kids and seems to be a tiny bit happier to go to nursery because she sees kids she knows in there. It gives us a reason to get out of the house once a week and I get to socialize too.
As far as Claire goes, she seems to just get older every day. Funny how that happens. She is starting to maybe say stuff that is actual english. Every now and then she puts a few words together. She says things like "milk please" or "where dad go". She still uses a lot of gibberish and pointing and signing, but maybe she will learn to speak english. It's frustrating for both of us because she asks me things and you can tell it's a question. She looks you straight in the eye and asks very sincerely. Unfortunately, she could be asking me what color mars is or if she can have a piece of toast for dinner or if dogs fly to the moon. It all sounds the same to me. I wish she would just talk already. But someday soon I'm sure. Alex is starting to babble, and he sounds an awful lot like her when he does it. He uses a lot of the same noises. They say girls talk more than boys, but my kids must be backwards. He seems to talk as much or more than she does. Claire is also starting to get upset if we have a conversation while she is with us, but are ignoring her. She starts either babbling (usually at the right places during a pause), or starts screaming to get our attention. So instead of talking to each other, we end up talking to her, but talking at each other. I wish I had pictures to post, but I haven't taken any off my camera lately. I need to get better about doing that again. But anyway, we have friends coming over tomorrow and need to get the house a bit cleaner.

2 comments:

Shannon said...

Sounds like Alex is doing well and I'm glad that nursing is still working for you. I have to admit I'm jealous of your playgroup. What is wrong with Kearns? It seems like anywhere else anybody I know lives there are moms who do this. Maybe it's because I never started it and I was meant to. Well, it's not happening now. I'm way too busy. Did you hear they called me to be YW president? I know, right? Anyway, I'm sure Claire will start speaking more clearly soon enough. In the meantime it does get old trying to figure out what they want. Such is life I guess. We miss you guys, but are glad that life is settling in out in your new home!

Teene said...

I'm so glad to hear that you have a playgroup! I miss you guys a lot and wish I could see you more often. It stinks missing out on Claire and Alex's milestones :( But such is life. Hope to see you all again soon!
Love, hugs, and kisses - Teene