"Look what I can do now!"

I knew that babies grew fast and that they changed very quickly. But that was all textbook knowledge. Now that I have my own little baby who is doing amazing things everyday, I am beginning to understand what everyone has been talking about. It is also very easy to see how parents are prone to thinking that their children are geniuses. Watching Matthew learn new skills is an incredible thing to see, especially when it seems that I don't really have anything to do with it! He must be genius!

Just this week, he has added a whole bunch of new accomplishments in his short life. (I wish I could accomplish that much at the same rate as him.) These are some of the new things he can do...


Tummy time has always been a chore because he couldn't hold his head up that long and Mommy couldn't watch him be so frustrated and helpless. Suddenly this week, tummy time is much more fun!

Matthew has finally discovered that he has toes and that he can reach them. Oh, the possibilities now!

He also started reaching for things. If you put something in front of him, now he wants it and knows how to get it!

It does take a lot of concentration though.

And he can walk! Well, maybe not quite yet, but he is getting the idea. (The video is kind of dark, you have to look closely)

I wonder what is to come next week.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

Matthew has always been a great sleeper. When we first brought him home from the hospital, he would sleep during the night and I would have to wake him to feed him. After a couple of weeks, we got the go ahead from the doctor to let him sleep as long as he wants at night, he was growing just fine. So we did.

He was sleeping 3 hours, then 4, then 5, sometimes even 6! By 2 months old, he was settling very nicely into a pattern of going to sleep around 10pm and not waking up until sometime around 5am. I was loving this and we were counting ourselves very lucky that we had a baby who liked his sleep. I didn't even mind being woken up at that hour, because truth be told, I kinda missed him a little bit and it was nice to have a little Matthew fix in the middle of the night.

Well, his sleeping patterns seem to be changing again, and this time it is not better. Shortly after his 4 month birthday (in fact, on the day of) he went to bed as normal at 10, but he woke up at midnight, then again at 3am, then again at 6am and again at 8am! What was this all about? I chalked it up to just a bad night. But then he did it again the next night! Within a couple of nights, he had a new pattern of waking up at 3 am and then 6am.

I know that I shouldn't complain, because I've had it so good so far and some parents would probably die to have even his new schedule. But I got used to having a baby and still getting some sleep and I liked it. Hopefully it is just a growth spurt and we'll get back to normal soon.

New Toy

Matthew got an exersaucer the other day. He is able to hold his head up pretty well, so I thought it would be a good time to introduce this new 'babysitter' and perhaps I could grab a few more minutes during the day to make myself some lunch or laundry or some such thing. Of course, it came in a big box and had to be set up so, Matthew, Joey and I endeavored to do that last Friday morning. Matthew waiting happily in his swing for Mommy to get his new toy put together. Joey waiting patiently for Mommy to get his new toy vacated.

Matthew enjoying his new toy.

Matthew thinks his new toy is the bomb!

Joey thinks his new toy is the bomb too!

4 Months

Here he is. 4 months old. I think he looks more like a little boy than my little baby. Already I miss those tiny baby days. You are thinking "What are you talking about? He is only 4 months old. He is still little!" But I have had to go through his drawer of clothes already and take out those adorable itty bitty outfits that are now too small, never to be worn by him again. It is kind of sad, really. These are his stats now...
15lbs 1.5 oz (71 percentile)
26 inches long (93 percentile)
43cm head circumference (81 percentile)
Not really sure what the percentile is all about, depending on who I ask, I get different answers. Dr. McConnell says he is the 71st percentile for weight, but when I looked on the internet, it told me he was in the 44th. Who knows. He is healthy and growing well. Really, that is all that matters.

Also, while we were at our doctor's appointment, he had to have his second round of shots. He cried for both of them this time, but he is such a trooper, he was only upset about it for a few minutes until the insult of having been stabbed by a needle (twice!) had worn off and then he never thought about it again. Tough little guy.

Hang up

This morning, Matthew and I were having a sleep in day. When he woke up at 9:30 and was still as dopey as I was, I brought him back to bed with me and we both fell asleep again, almost instantly. An hour and a half later, the phone rang. I tried to answer it without waking him, but it didn't work. So he happily laid in the bed talking to himself, while I talked on the phone to Auntie Luanne. When the phone rang again, I didn't bother to go to the other room, because we were both already awake. So I lay in bed with my head beside his and said "hello."

"Hi there. My name is Amanda and I am calling from SuperValu Carpet and Duct cleaning. I am calling to see if you would be interested in having your ductwork cleaned. We are having a special for the month of April, if you...Ok, Thanks for your time. Have a nice day." click.

???

I actually might have been interested in having our ducts cleaned since it has been way too many years since the last time it was done. However, Matthew had other ideas. He squawked, just as she began explaining the special and I guess she took that as a "no" and hung up.

I guess it is never too early to dislike phone solicitors.

Baptism

Today (for those reading this live this was actually a few months ago, but I am going to play with the 'post time' so it looks like we were all upons the blogging) was Matthew's baptism. Baptism is one of those rites of passage that the church does so well. Many people who don't have strong faith background still feel like this is an important thing to do. It is also one of the last things that is the church's alone: Marriage is done by the state, but only the church does baptism. Different traditions have different meanings and understandings of baptism. In ours, as in much of what the United Church does, there is less magic and more mystery. We don't believe that Matthew is now marked in any way, we don't believe that he now has divine protection of some sort. In fact we don't believe that what we did has any impact on Matthew at all. As Russell so profoundly put it: He breathes, therefore he is loved by God. Matthew is good, it is the rest of us that need some work. Baptism is about the community that surrounds Matthew. We use symbols and metaphor to try to articulate and understand that which we cannot fully understand. It is a chance for us, as parents, to name our faith and promise to raise Matthew so that he has a chance to know that part of life too. It is also a chance for the community to promise their support to us, which is always kinda nice. So Matthew is all baptized up now. Another milestone passed. Here are some pics from the day. We were thrilled to have family join us - Dave, Tricia and the kids from Regina and both sets of parents/grandparents, and Derek and Luanne. All the rels, as it were.


Russell Baptizing Matthew


The Grandparents


Uncles, Aunts and Cousins

2 months