Developmental Milestone: Batting and Grasping

Jaxon has been perfecting the art of batting and grasping for things this past week. He has been randomly batting at objects for weeks but this week he began to deliberately hit at items placed over or in front of him. At the same time he also began grasping objects as well. He has always been able to hold items if you placed them in his hands (as most newborns can) but now he can reach out and grab them on his own. All of this has progressed quickly since he discovered his hands. They are his new favorite toy.

He has a musical bug that I can set to play music only when he hits it. Yesterday was the first day that he began to realize that if he hit the bug the music would play. This not only works on his batting skills for motor development but also his mental development as he begins to understand cause and effect relationships. It is so interesting to watch his brain grow and learn along with his little body.


Grabbing his caterpillar.


Hitting stuff is fun!

Spit Happens!

OK...so I know I shared Jaxon's spit bubbles but I should have waited because he has taken it to the next level. Those first pictures are nothing compared to what he can do now. He has MASSIVE amounts of spit and drool. His bubble blowing is becoming an art form. This is the amusing or funny part of teething.










These are too funny not to share. Yuck!

Wonder Weeks, Teething, or Growth Spurt???

Or maybe it is all three. Whatever it is my little guy is battling through some major development. My happy little guy, while still there for short periods after he wakes up from naps and nighttime sleep, is increasingly becoming more fussy and upset. This has been going on for about a week now and it is baffling as a parent to watch. You question everything that he is doing and look for symptoms of a larger issue. What is making him so unhappy? My little champ has these moments when he is crying in what seems like pain where he tries to laugh or smile as I try to distract him but then something brings back the tears and he is inconsolable. It is heartbreaking to watch.

Last night was a rough night for us. Jaxon had been making progress in his sleep at night. He was sleeping in his crib for 4-6 hour stretches with only one feed in between 10-12 hours of sleep and the during the feed he remained calm and went right back to sleep. Then last night happened. My little boy was up and down several times last night and was crying almost the entire time.

There are several things that could be going on. Here is what they "could" be:

Teething: Both his pediatrician and I think he is beginning to teeth. He has the excessive drool, the rash on his face, the extra poopy diapers, the pulling at his cheeks and ears, the fussiness, and now we can add night wakings. He is, however, only 3 months old but it can happen this early...God help us. I cut my first tooth at 4 months so it isn't out of the question.

Wonder Weeks: Just like physical milestones such as sitting up, crawling, and walking babies go through mental leaps during certain weeks as they acquire new cognitive thinking processes and mental skills. During these weeks where large mental jumps and perceptions in the world around them are realized babies can become more clingy, cry more often, and be more cranky as their mind adjusts to this new development and the new overload of sensory information they are now more aware of. There are 10 of these in the first year of life. One is at or around 12 weeks.

3 Month Growth Spurt: Babies go through phases where they eat more often as they signal the mother's body that they require more milk and they approach another physical increase in size. They occur at predictable times including but not limited to 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Jax could be going through his 3 month growth spurt. The fussiness is actually hunger cries as they need to eat more often because they are getting bigger and they need more food to satisfy their hunger but it takes mom a few days to increase production of milk to match the demand by baby. Eating more often lets the mom's body know their is an increase in milk needed.

Anyway...I am playing Sherlock Holmes (as most parents probably do) in trying to figure out how best to soothe my little guy right now. The trouble is that I don't know for sure what is actually causing him to be distressed so I am trying to do multiple strategies that cover any possibility.

As I said above...it could be all three at once. Yikes!

I will keep you posted on what I figure out. If I ever do...

A Historic Day in Our Country!

I just wanted to post in this day to remember it for Jaxon! Hopefully it is historic because we elected the first African-American president but just as important in terms of history is if the first woman vice-president is elected (though I don't agree with this particular woman). Drew and I voted over a week ago by absentee ballot but it is still so exciting today to see the large turnout of voters. It makes me hopeful that this very LONG 8 years is over and will not continue for 4 more years with a McCain/Palin administration. I of course voted for Obama/Biden.



Jax and I will be spending the evening watching CNN to see the results as they come in from the East Coast around 4:00 our time (PST) and will stay there until we know the results of this election. Don't you just love John King and his touchscreen election board? I could watch him all day long...oh wait I am. :)



Don't forget to VOTE!


Baby Got Barack!

12 Weeks/3 Month Update

Yes, Jax is 12 weeks old today. What a crazy 12 weeks it has been but I love being his mommy everyday. He is my heart living outside of my body (I read that somewhere).

We took Jaxon in this morning for his vaccination only appointment. He received two shots--Pc and HIB--one in each thigh according to the alternative vaccine schedule we are following (see Too Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate post in October). Poor little guy took it like a champ this time. He cried for a couple of minutes and then was back to smiling again with daddy. We got into the car and he fell asleep on the way home. He has been asleep now for almost 2 hours (a long time for Jax) and is still going. The vaccinations can make them sleepy or fussy...looks like this round made him sleepy. We head back again next month for his 4 month well-baby check up where he will receive his second dose of DTaP.

We weighed him real quick because I swear he is getting so heavy. Yep...he weighs 13 pounds now. He has doubled his weight since birth. So he has gained a pound and a half in 3 weeks (so half a pound a week) so it has slowed a little (he was gaining a pound a week originally) but still he is gaining steadily.

She also looked at his rash on his left cheek. She thinks it is from his excessive drooling. She also thinks he is teething. Yikes! I thought this might be what has been making him a little fussy but thought it was little early. My mom says that I got my first teeth at 4 months so maybe he is taking after me. Anyway...we will be trying to keep his face dry (an almost impossible task with the amount of drool he is making right now) and put some natural ointment on it when it is clean. Since he is so young normal teething techniques don't work as well since he doesn't have the hand coordination to hold something in his mouth and he can't chew on stuff. We will just have to help him which is what we have been doing...holding stuff for him to chew on. She doesn't expect a tooth to appear any time soon...maybe in a month or two but she says the most painful part is when they are pushing up through the jaw bones a month or two before hand. Poor baby! :(

We also took him to see a chiropractor who sees infants. She is at the same location as our pediatrician. We went because Jax's head is developing a little lopsided. His right ear and forehead are slightly higher than his left. We want to correct this now so it doesn't get more pronounced.

Don't worry!!! She doesn't crack him like they do to adults. It is more pressure techniques and changes in our habits at home. He is a little tight in his neck on the left side. This causes him to favor looking and laying to one side over the other. She thinks this could be from being engaged so early in the womb or from trauma from birth that many babies go through. He did get stuck for a couple of minutes during pushing (see Birth Story Part 3 post in August) so I am not surprised. If we fix it now then it won't get worse over time. So both Jaxon and I will be seeing her once a week for awhile. I need to continue the care I started while pregnant but have not had time for since I had him. Plus my issues in my neck have gotten worse from looking down while breastfeeding.

Hopefully Jaxon and I will see much improvement quickly.

I'm Supposed to Smile Right?

Perhaps it is because his Grandma Shirley has been snapping pictures of him since the hour he was born or mommy constantly tries to get him to smile for the camera but Jaxon is now starting to become aware of the camera. Whenever I take it out he stares at it for a second and then begins to flash his adorable grin. Even when I am trying to catch him doing something (like blowing spit bubbles) he stops, stares, and smiles.










Too funny!

Spit Bubbles Rock!

Not a great picture in terms of angle but I did catch Jaxon in his new favorite past time...blowing spit bubbles. Sometimes it looks like someone poured soap in his mouth he has so many bubbles. Must be something in the vast amounts of drool he has now. Leads me to wonder...how does he do that?