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Four months, 16 days

Today was Sam's four-month check-up. He was such a trooper - as usual. He did not cry for the first shot - I think he only realized during the second one what was going on. But he only cried for a minute and then zonked out by the time we got to the car. Staying healthy is hard work for a baby.

We got the green light from the pediatrician to start him on solid foods. I am excited about the idea, but also a bit nervous. I know he can't live on formula forever and my wallet will thank me for feeding him something else as well... But it's such a big step for the little guy - it's the end of an era! But it will be so much fun to see him experience new tastes and textures. As with everything baby-related, there are numerous schools of thought on what and how to feed the baby. If I listen to my Mom, I would be giving him chicken paprika mushed up in a blender. If I listen to the books and the pediatrician, I should be feeding him bland rice cereal for weeks on end. I am hoping to find a nice little road somewhere in the middle - we'll start with apples and go from there.

The weather has finally turned springy over the weekend, so Sam had his first picnic experience at Fort Williams Park. This also meant that I got to practice outdoor feeding and outdoor poopy diaper changing. There's a first for everything. I think Sam had a good time - he loved the bagpipes (Drew was playing with his band). The wind, not so much.

We also had a visit from Uncle Torpe and Aunt Jenny. It is always awesome to hang with my brother and I'd like to think that Sammy likes him just a tiny bit more than other people, because I like my brother more than pretty much most people. Makes sense? Right.

(And just now, Blogger pooped out and won't let me post more pics... Argh.)

Ah, here we are... So look at them, aren't they cute together?

But of course, my other favorite view at the the end of a long day is this:

Now that's the way to relax!

For the record

I was reading the past few entries of this blog and realized that as an online diary, it's not a very good record of the times. This is probably for several reasons, the most immediate one being that I can't get my brain together for long enough periods of time to write coherently about everyday happenings. So I guess I sort of glaze over stuff and just give a general big picture of what's happening. I will probably regret this later.

I am already forgetting how little Sammy was when he was born, or how he cried, or how his little cat tongue curled in his mouth when he was screaming. OK, that one I haven't forgotten, but with all the cuteness coming, I am sure I will eventually.

Drew and I often wonder what we used to do before we had a baby. Watch a lot of bad TV, eat out, go shopping, hang out at home, go to the beach, take long drives. That's pretty much it. And strangely, that's still what we do, but now we have this little creature along for the ride. I mean, here we are, it's Monday evening. Drew is watching MTV (his favorite guilty pleasure), and I am sitting at the computer. The only difference is that Sammy is snoring in the background and his favorite new rattle is sitting next to my laptop.

I often catch myself at work with a strange sense of deja vu... It's not even that... I am not sure what to call it. But I'll be sitting in a meeting or walking around the office and suddenly think: "Wow, I've been here before, when I didn't have a baby. I sat in the same meetings with the same people, talking about pretty much the same topics. And now here I am again, like nothing has change. Except everything has." I don't know if this makes any sense.

So, for the everyday stuff: yesterday was mother's day. My first. It was OK. I sort of screwed myself, because we celebrated early, on Saturday, so on Sunday I felt a bit jibbed. New rule: mother's day has to be celebrated the day of, not before or after. Have to remember next year. Oh, we did get to nap together in bed in the morning, and that was heavenly.

Sam wrote me a card:

My parents posed him when he spent the afternoon with them on Saturday. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this. He is brilliant, what can I say?

He is getting so big! He is starting to grab and pull his bottle to his mouth and also push it away when he is done. This is helpful - takes some of the guessing out of every feeding. He is also doing much better on his belly and might turn over soon. He likes to do baby crunches - when he is on the changing table, he will pull up his legs and his head and torso, like a mini sit-up. It's so funny. It also makes him spit up, which we definitely don't need more of.

We've been taking him to a little play group on Saturdays. I think he is a bit too small for it, especially because all of the other babies are older, but it's fun to see him check out the other kids and grab at the toys. He is starting to have some favorite toys, although it's hard to tell at this point. He has a little green doll/rattle thing that he likes to hold and he also likes his colorful links above his bed. But he is just as happy to play with his binky or his bib. No need for expensive toys! That's one thing the play group made me think of: how do you resist the temptation to buy $16 rattle because you believe that it will make your child smarter? I am not sure I will be good at this resistance... I haven't placed my Amazon order yet, but I am afraid I will.

Babies are expensive.