Friday, March 14, 2008

Christian's Four Month Checkup

This week was Christian's four month checkup. Actually, it was his four month, three week checkup ... he turns five months (20 weeks) old next week!

Here are his stats:
  • Weight: 15 pounds 6 oz (he gained 3 pounds for ounces since his two month check up and is in the 70th percentile for his weight)
  • Length: 24 3/4 inches (up 1 and 1/3 inch from his two month check up and he's in the 50th percentile for his length ... although Jonathan says the nurse didn't fully stretch Christian out when she measured him)
  • Head: 46.5 centimeters (up an inch from his two month check up. Not surprisingly, his head size is in the 100th percentile. Those of you who have seen Christian recently will not be at all surprised by that).

Typically at this stage, babies are started on solids. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solids at 6 months for babies who have a family history of food allergies and/or eczema. There's lots of that on Jonathan's side of the family, so we're holding off for a few more weeks on introduction of solid foods - and the Dr. said that was fine. We may not be able to prevent allergies and eczema entirely, but we want to do what we can to either delay or lessen them for Christian.

We were also told that soon we should start giving Christian water. I'm not sure how that will work out. Although, so far Christian has been a very adaptable baby, so maybe it won't be a big deal.

We're learning new things about babies all the time. For example, ever since Christian came home, he's been in his co-sleeper basinett sleeping on a memory foam wedge pillow with side bolsters to keep him on his back He had been sleeping through the night and the suddenly, he was waking up hyserical and we had no idea why.

Jonathan's mom suggested simply removing the pillow, suggesting that it might be restricting his nighttime movements. So we did and VOILA! The very first night, he slept like ... well, like a baby! :) And we realized that he was indeed moving a lot while he slept. So, thanks for the tip, Granny!

And he's pretty much outgrown his basinett now. The manual says it'll hold a baby until he's 23 pounds. But Christian rotates himself so that he sleeps diagonally. And he has a habit of lifiting up both legs together and slamming them down - he does it while sleeping and while awake (he inherited these moving legs from his mommy!). And there's just not enough room him to do that.

So our next step is to move the pack-and-play (the new name for play pens) upstairs and make it his bed. It has a basinette that is much larger than his current basinette. So that'll do for a while, until we get around to buying a mattress for his crib.

We are amazed at how quickly Christian is growing! In addition to outgrowing his basinett, he's also outgrowing his bathtub that is supposedly big enough to hold a toddler. And it seems like I'm forever packing away clothing that is now too small. Good thing his Grandmas are keeping him well-stocked with clothing!

He can also now support his own weight while standing up. Of course, we provide the support for him to stand up. He really likes standing up tall and looking around! And he's rolling over a lot ... front to back, back to front. Its just amazing! I'll look down and he's in one position ... and then I'll look away for a few moments ... look back at him and he's in a totally different position on his blanket. He amazes me!

Jonathan and I have a friendly little wager going on: since January, he's been certain that Christian will be crawling in March. He's rolling around like crazy, so crawling is the next step. There are seventeen more days in March ... so we'll see.

Jennifer

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Luceros Return!

We are back in good ol' Santa Fe after spending nearly a week in Washington State. Its nice to travel and visit family and friends ... but its always so good to be home and back to a routine.

For the flight home, we had two separate ticket agents who were insistent on seeing proof of Christian's age before he could board the plane. We weren't aware we needed proof for such a young baby ... and it wasn't asked of us when we departed Albuquerque. Long-story-short, we were able to board the flight with the understanding that for future flights, we need to be sure to bring a copy of his birth certificate.

Christian slept through most of the flight home, so that worked out nicely for all of us.

We really enjoyed our visit with family and friends, none of whom had met Christian prior to our visit. He got to meet all three of his great-grandparents, and his Grandma Janet, his great-aunts and uncles, his cousins and our dear friends, Ben and Donna. Our goal is to get back to Washington at least once a year from now on.








Christian, Ben and Donna



Grandma Janet, Christian and the Cows