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Forgot to mention a few things in Levi’s last update:

1)  His body has now caught up with his head.  Previously, you may remember that his body was somewhere around the 45th percentile, while his head was in the 75th percentile.  That’s quite a large noggin’, comparatively speaking (perhaps a future chess champion?).  However, we’re proud to report that now his head circumference, body length and weight now all proportionately fall somewhere in the 60th-65th percentiles.

2)  Speaking of weight, he now clocks in at just over 20 pounds.  At least he did a couple of weeks ago.  Five more pounds, and no more baby jumper!  Anyone know of a high capacity bouncy device?  We did eventually kick the swing, but we might be asking too much to kick this toy too.

3)  He has a new “thing” - it’s grinding his upper and lower teeth together.  It makes this horrible nails-down-the-chalkboard sound, but actually seems to calm him down.  Everything I’ve read said it’s no big deal - they’ll grow out of it.  If not, judging from the huge gap between his two front teeth, we inevitably have substantial orthodontic bills in our future anyway.

4)  He seems to be developing a slight case of separation anxiety.  The sad thing?  It’s in relation to the nanny.  On the weekend, he’s like “Who are you, and what did you do with my Susy?”  Saturdays are now not so fun in the Birchfield household.  I sure hope this doesn’t last.  Seriously, this might be the single most depressing development in his brief little life so far.

Wow - just when I got used to saying that Levi is 6 months old, he turned 7 months old.  This means he’s now closer to one year old than not.  Good thing I already bought all the supplies for his first birthday party. 

So here’s what our little man’s life is about these days:

• Sprouting more teeth.  His top two teeth broke through a few days ago.

• A sly grin.  He’s such a flirt.  He’ll do his new trick: starting with a high-pitched scream and gradually deepening his voice until it’s a loud, low, gutteral grunt.  Then he’ll look at you out of the corner of his eyes and smile, obviously satisfied with himself.

• Bouncing.  I now know why they call them “Bouncing Baby Boys.”  As far as entertainment stations around the house, the bouncy chair is by FAR his favorite.  It lasts probably 20 or 30 minutes, compared to the average 5 minutes everything else lasts.  Although his exersaucer is not a bouncer, he bounces in it anyway, making a huge racket.  If you hold him on your lap, he’ll start jumping up and down and making this irresistable little giggly face, so you have to indulge him in his activity.

• Eating more food.  We tried to give him a Cheerio the other day, and apparently he’s not ready for that yet.  He made the most offended face, held it in the middle of his tongue, and gagged quite dramatically.  But he is making progress - his diet now consists of sweet peas, squash, applesauce, sweet potatoes, bananas and prunes in addition to formula and rice cereal.

• Chasing the doggies.  He thinks it is really funny when his dad holds him while playing with the boys.  It gets a few cackles out of Levi every time.

• Scooching.  He can’t really crawl yet, but he can spin himself in circles and push himself backward.

• Sleeping like a champ.  I guess he decided he was ready to sleep through the night (thank the Lord) and he has been for about a month now.   Most nights he sleeps from around 8PM until 6AM.  We’re still working on naps, but we have finally figured out a little trick.  Once he goes down for a nap, we set a timer for 25 minutes, and then go wait in his room once the timer goes off.  He will awake three times in a row after exactly 30.0 minutes, and you have to be in his nursery ready to pat his little bottom and lull him back to sleep all three times.  Then he’ll sleep another hour or so.

• Just generally being a charmer.  He now likes to play with my hair - he gingerly twirls it in between his fingers.  He also likes to gently touch his hands to people’s cheeks when they hold him.  When he awakes, he’ll lie contentedly in his crib, quietly cooing and sucking on his toes until he sees you, at which point his face erupts into the sweetest little smile.

• He kinda reminds me of a baby bird.  He has this fuzzy hair on top of his head, his moves are spastic, his eyes are bright and curious, and he pops his little mouth open when you feed him something he likes.

• He now does the “baby banana.” He has already figured out how to arch his back until he’s roughly banana-shaped, and wriggle so that it’s very hard to hold onto him.  He usually invokes this maneuver when you’re trying to get him to sleep before he’s ready, or when he’s reclining when he wants to sit up.

   

Wow, has it been six months already?  As Jessica commented the other day, “our little boy is growing up fast.”  Here is what Levi is up to these days:

• Sitting up on his own.  As you can see above, Levi is now able to sit up for an extended period of time without any support from us or the bumbo.  He’s a little wobbly at times, but is getting pretty good at figuring out how to balance himself and keep from falling over.

• Gaining weight and getting taller. At Levi’s 6-month checkup, Levi was in the 70th % for weight, 50th % for height, and 75th % for head size. Considering he was below the 10th % for height and 15th % for weight when he was born, that’s not too shabby! And as for his head, well, he’s always had a pretty big noggin. Our pediatrician continues to monitor his head size closely and is watching for any signs of macrocephaly, which is a condition where the head grows abnormally large. But so far, everything looks great.

• Growing more hair.  Levi is definitely going to have a full head of hair real soon.  It’s growing in pretty thick, especially in the middle, and it looks like we’ll have to cut it in the near future.  I think he got this from me.  My dad always had a full head of hair and ladies who cut my hair always comment on my think hair and how I’ll never go bald.  It looks like Levi’s hair will be similar.  As for the light brown/blondish color - we’re still puzzled where that came from.

• Eating solid foods. Well, if you call baby food a solid food, that is.  Levi has been eating cereal for several weeks now. He’s still not a huge fan, but Susy (our nanny) can usually get him to eat a bowl every morning. Fruits and veggies, however, are a different story. We bought just about every variety of Gerber baby food the other day.  We picked out what we thought to be the blandest one and let Levi try it.  He made the most horrible faces and basically refunded everything we were able to get in his mouth.  We tried several others to see if we could find one he liked but with similar results.  So at this point, he’s eating mainly cereal and occasionally we’ll try a fruit or veggie.

• Throwing stuff.  We think Levi is a southpaw because he loves to throw his toys with his left hand.  He loves to grab, hold, and touch things with both hands, but when it comes time to get rid of something, he always uses his left arm for the job.  This is what we’ve been anticipating all along.  Since his stroke affected only the left side of his brain, we’ve been expecting him to utilize his left arm more (since it is controlled by the right side of the brain.)  Other than that, though, he shows no signs of having any disabilities or limitations using his right side.  In fact, he primarily uses his right foot for pushing off while in his bouncer.

• Getting talkative.  Levi loves to jabber and make sounds.  Sometimes, we’ll talk to him or ask him a question and he’ll respond with some random sounds like he’s trying to talk back to us.  Also, he’s discovered how to scream in this high-pitched voice in the last few days.  At first it was really cute, but now it reminds us a lot of that line in Dumb & Dumber where Jim Carrey asks, “You wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?”  It still makes us chuckle when he does it - but we also hope he grows out of it in a hurry.

• Loves his bouncer.  Levi just loves spending time in his bouncer.  He’ll cackle and laugh the whole time he’s in there.  He’ll bounce and bounce and seem to never get bored with it.  We bought an exersaucer for him the other day that has tons more toys and sound-makers than his bouncer.  Levi tries and tries to make it bounce like his bouncer, but since it won’t, he gets bored with it pretty quickly.

• Sending emails.  I received this email the other day.  Although he hasn’t quite grasped the idea of email addresses, the internet, or even the English language, Levi definitely loves to bang on his mom’s keyboard when she is working:

From: Jessica Date: Aug 1, 2007
Subject: an email from your son

mny vk yukj b kn,
,m s        ,./l.uuuuuuuuuj|K<<”

…Starting with our big news for those of you who don’t know.  Levi’s going to be a big brother.  And no, we aren’t adopting another pet.  Basically we defied certain aspects of nature and are now expecting kid #2 almost exactly one year after Levi’s original due date (2/18/08 vs. 2/21/07).  It’s crazy, but we’re really excited nonetheless.  We’re well on our way to those 4 kids after all.  The second crib is already on its way, and we’re planning to shoe-horn #2 into the same nursery with #1.  What a sad sign - we’ve already started referring to them by number.

I’m a little more tired and sickly this time around, but otherwise things seem to be good.  I do think it’s true that you show earlier your second time around.  I’m only a little over 2 months along and am already wearing maternity gear.  Even last time I started showing early, but not quite like this.

This time they’re treating me as high risk because of our history, so that means I’m guaranteed lots of sonos and specialists.  Bring it on - I’m all about it.  Hopefully we won’t have any placenta previa, NICU, stroke, blood clotting disorders, apnea etc., although I’d be totally okay going into labor a little early again.  That was kinda nice.

Next update: as I’ve lamented in previous blogs, bedtime seems to bring a myriad of ailments for Levi.  I truly believed he didn’t feel well b/c he’s still experiencing various digestive difficulties that I probably shouldn’t describe in detail.  Plus, we know he’s teething, which purportedly creates a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde effect on even the most placid young one.  And at the end of the day, babies are tired and don’t have much fuse (especially when they’re poor nappers, like Levi).  He’s not much of a fusser so it’s totally out of character for him to cry simply because he’s upset.

Well, one night about a week ago, it got really bad.  We had already dosed the poor kid up with Mylicon, Tylenol, and were about to give him a chaser of infant Orajel when Brad finally made a breakthrough discovery.  He could completely resolve all of Levi’s tumult by simply leaving the nursery.  In the den or media room with us, Levi’s misery was completely and mysteriously eradicated.  Upon returning to the nursery, apparent pain and suffering ensued.  While holding Levi in perfect calm, Brad astutely observed, “You know what I think?  I think he’s mad because he doesn’t want to go to bed.”  Yep.  Turns out that little booger has been taking us for a ride, for no telling how long.

As Brad later commented, Levi might be sophisticated enough to manipulate his parents like the saps that we are, but he isn’t cunning enough (yet) to fake it once he gets his way, to ensure we don’t catch on.  The little guy couldn’t hide his elation and contentment at the fact that he “won.”  Da ha.  The tide has shifted, and the score went from Levi: 427, Parents:0 to Levi: 427, Parents: 1.  How pathetic that a simple victory against an infant took so long, yet yields such a sense of pride.  Let me tell you - this has officially spawned a new phase in the Birchfield bedtime routine.  Our precious little almost-6-month-old got his first “stern talking-to,” which actually yielded a stop to his little tantrum, at least that night. 

Things are getting a little better… slowly.  We haven’t fully embraced any cry-it-out methods yet, but the no-cry recommendations (and/or the passing of time) seem to be helping a bit.  Like a few nights ago - he fell asleep at 9 after 30 minutes of resistance, and slept until a 4 am feeding.  Then, he awoke around 6-something (which is when we always move him to his swing…. I know, you don’t even have to tell me…), but after that he slept until 8:45!  That’s been his best night yet.  We’ll get there.

I must apologize again for being MIA. Brad’s “gravy train” as well as our normal busy-ness are keeping us pretty near capacity lately. It’s been fun, but we’ve had something extra most nights of the week since he started the summer, in addition to our normal stuff like church and family time. Still I just had to take a break to write a little bit about what our little man is up to these days.

Here he is with Nonna at Dr. Sugerman’s office (our pediatric allergist, whom we love!) on his 5-month birthday.

• He has already sprouted his two bottom teeth! I saw them for the first time at that allergist visit on his 5-month birthday. He had been slobbering to beat the band, and was really cranky (for him, which still isn’t very cranky) for a few days prior. My mom said that she had noticed that his gums were really red earlier in the week. So when they took his temperature, he was running a very slight fever and I mentioned that I thought he was about to start teething. I pressed on his gums a little to make them feel better, and lo and behold, felt two little hard things. I looked to discover that his little teeth had already poked right through!
• At the advice of two pediatricians and the allergist, we’ve officially abandoned breastfeeding. Dr. Sugerman thinks Levi may have a soy intolerance. Since switching to formula, things have been better, but I’m still not convinced he’s 100% there. I think I’m going to take him to a pediatric GI specialist just to see what they can tell us.
• We have all but confirmed Brad’s (and therefore most likely Levi’s as well) Factor V Leiden blood clotting disorder, which is probably the cause for Levi’s intrauterine stroke. We see the hematologist first thing next month to get more info.
• Levi’s still not such a good sleeper. He sleeps from about 7 PM to about 6 AM, but wakes up maybe 5-8 times in there. He goes down fine, but has trouble staying asleep. He also takes about 4 naps a day, but for no more than 30 minutes each. We’ve already read Babywise, Baby Whisperer, What To Expect the First Year, and several other books, and now we’re reading the No-Cry Sleep Solution and Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child in hopes that they’ll shed some light. I can’t tell you how old this is getting.
• Levi LOVES his bouncy chair. He just bounces and bounces in that thing. He looks really cute in it, with his beaming little round face, giggles and wide open smile, and fuzzy hair.
• I’m not sure if this is normal or not, but he’s developed quite the penchant for flapping his arms like a bird. Aggressively. He lifts his little arms and repeatedly punches himself in the gut with gusto.
• He weighs about 18 pounds now. We got his length and head circumference measurements at the allergist’s office too, but they didn’t quite register with me because they were in centimeters.
• He can still roll over, but more by virtue of throwing his large noggin around than purposefully and coordinatedly “rolling over.” He doesn’t do it often, but occasionally will in order to see what toys are dangling over his head.
• He loves to make raspberry sounds. The more drool slobbering down his chin, the better.
• Already we can tell that he is such a boy. He sits in his bouncy chair, pummels the heck out of the dangly toys, and cackles in amusement at how funny he thinks that is.



• He absolutely loves the dogs and cat. He reaches out to pet them, watches them in quiet amazement, and talks to them. Sushi is getting more curious about Levi lately, and seems to be more comfortable in getting close enough to sniff or even touch the boy on occasion. The dogs really love him too. Poor mutts. They have no idea what they’re in for.
• He is such a flirt. He will sit there and do something funny, and then when we laugh at him, he will smile real big and do it more. He’s very engaging. He will sit there and watch you from anywhere he can - across the kitchen, in the other room, or right next to you. He loves to give big ole smiles to random strangers at church and when we’re out shopping. When you wave hello, he seems to struggle to lift his hand to imitate you. I’m not sure if that’s what he’s doing, but that’s what it seems like he’s trying to do - but just doesn’t quite have the coordination for it yet. My mom, Brad’s mom, and I have all noticed this independently of each other, so maybe it’s really what he’s doing. One time, he did the little hand thing on his own, and my mom waved back to him, and he just cracked up laughing.
• He LOVES to “ride the horsey” on his daddy’s knee. He will just laugh and laugh. I have got to get that on video one of these days so you can see how utterly cute it is.
• He hates to recline. He wants to sit up and check out all the action. If you put him down in his carseat or hold him sitting back in your lap, he will struggle and strain pulling up with his little head until you prop him up. It doesn’t matter how tired he is - he just doesn’t want to lean back for some reason.
• He’s starting to “skooch.” If you put him down on his tummy, next thing you know he’s at a 90-degree angle (or more) to where he started. I have this bad feeling like he’s going to start crawling soon.
• He’s really into grabbing things. He grabs things with both hands, passes them from hand to hand, and grabs two toys, one in each hand. He loves to put them in his mouth, but he’s not a big chewer though. Normally just a second or two in the mouth, and then it’s back out so he can look at it.
• He’s starting to repeat words he hears a lot. Right now, that’s primarily “hi” and “Mom.” He has no idea what they mean, or that he’s saying words, but he does a good job faking it!

 

Here we are at my parents’ house for Brad’s first father’s day.