Twenty two weeks old

Sometimes you have to get all dressed up.

Checking out the cows.

I feel like this past week just disappeared... what in the world have we been up to this week?

Calvin did get to go to his first dairy farm this week.  He's also desperately trying to master getting onto his belly.  He is getting some movement in him as he is no where near where we put him down.  He just can't get his arm out of the way to get onto his belly all the way. He did it today once, but he was laying on a hill, so that helped him a lot!

This week Calvin is hanging out with Mom while Caleb is at VBS.

He started on his gym.

Twenty one weeks old

Cousins!

We had a nice week playing outside and a weekend full of visiting family.  The afternoons were finally hot enough to go to the pool so I decided it was time to brave the pool with both kiddos.  The actual pool went well, my decision making on how to get to the pool, not so great.  I decided to load them up in the wagon.  I propped a towel around Calvin and strapped him in and all was good until we got to the hill.  He started to lean forward and couldn't get himself back upright, so Caleb had to hold him up the rest of the way to the pool.  On the walk home, I pulled Caleb in the wagon and carried Calvin down then hill and then put him in the wagon with Caleb for the rest of the ride.  The pool is a short walk away, but the hill is too big for Caleb on his bike and I'm afraid after playing at the pool he would be too tired to walk home.  I think next time Caleb will go in the stroller and I'll wear Calvin.  Calvin was indifferent on the pool. The water was chilly and the sun was blinding him, so he just fell asleep.  I'll try his sunglasses next time.  He head was covered and shaded from the sun by his hat, but I completely forgot about the reflection of the sun back up on him.

We finally made it! 

Fast asleep with his head completely covered in a blanket.

The walk home.

Caleb kept telling Calvin to be nice and stop scratching him. 

Sleep has been a mystery this week for Calvin.  Naps have always been a guessing game with if he wants to be held or just laid down to go to bed, but bedtime for two months has been the same.  Feed, burp, lay down, turn on the mobile, and walk away.  Occasionally return with the pacifier a few times, but for the most part he's quiet and asleep within five to ten minutes.  This week, not the case.  Everything was going normally and then he would just scream bloody murder the second Travis laid him down.  The first night I rocked him to sleep and after three attempts got him to stay asleep in his bed.  The next night he started screaming the second Travis entered his room. Again, I rocked him and transferred him to the crib asleep...only took one try.  Ok, maybe that's what he wants.  We can rock him, no big deal.  The next night we decide to skip laying him down and I just try to rock him.  The second we start rocking, he starts screaming.  Plan B, just lay him down like before.  Still screaming.  I took his other arm out of the swaddle (he still slept with one arm up and one down), instantly calmed down.  Kept my hand on his belly for a few minutes and then left and he went to sleep.  He was up three times that night, which is more than normal, but not too bad.  The next night, arms out, laid him down right to sleep and he slept ten hours!  No one get too excited yet...the next night, an hour long scream fest to finally fall asleep.  Just goes to show the second we think we have something figured out, he changes it.

I've fallen in love with a baby carrier again...the ergo baby this time.  I still like the Moby, but he's getting heavy for it and stretching it out if he's in it for long periods of time.  I had a mei tei, but found it too annoying to put him in it and struggled to get it tight enough where he felt secure.  I know with more practice we would have gotten it.  Several friends from Mom's club recommended an ergo baby, so when zulilly had then half off, I went for it.  Great decision!  I can front carry or back carry in it and it goes up to 45 lbs...if I'm still carrying this monster when he hits 45 pounds, someone stage an intervention.  He was in it twice on Friday for 60-90 minutes each.  He snuggled right in and took a nap and my back and shoulders didn't hurt!  It also has a cool little hood to put up when he's asleep to block the light. 

Trying so hard to roll over.  This is the farthest he can make it when he tries to go back to belly. 

I'm going to get you Sarah!

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Twenty weeks old

I thought it would be a good time to update Calvin's likes/dislikes:

Likes:
- three naps a day...don't even try to convince him he needs another one no matter how short they are or what time the last one ended
- sitting up
- chewing on anything he can get into his hands
- being sung to...especially by Travis
- the giraffe on his exersaucer
- food...he's loved everything he's eaten so far and often cries when it's gone.  He's tried a lot of food off of our plates and butternut squash puree.  We're going to try some carrot/cauliflower next.  So far no issues with the big eight allergens.  It's incredibly frightening feeding your four month old peanut butter when your oldest child is most likely anaphylactic to peanuts, but if it can prevent a similar severe allergy, we are going to try it!  Current research into this:  LEAP study.  This is the most exciting statistic for me from this particular study.

• Among the children who originally tested negative for peanut allergy, 13.7% of the “avoidance” group developed peanut allergy by age 5, compared to only 3.2% of the children who ate peanut regularly from an early age.

Other studies have been done as well with similar results, but this is the one that kind of got the ball rolling and has the most data. It was also interesting to me that during the years where they recommended avoidance of high allergens, the number of kids with allergies went up instead of down.
- baths
- TV...if it's on and Calvin's up we have to be strategic about where we put him.  He's like a moth to a light when it's on.
- waking up the second Caleb lays down for rest time...I guess he wants me all to himself.

Dislikes:
- bright sunlight
- four naps a day
- bottles

Indifferent or depends on his mood:
- tummy time -- he's forgotten how to roll over, so sometimes he gets really mad when he's on his stomach.  Other times, he likes it.
- car seat -- he's not screaming in the car now, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he likes it.

He's really been reaching for us this week.  Whenever one of us comes close to him, he will reach to go to the other one.

We are starting to settle into our new routine of being with Mom all the time.  I'd say the boys and I are really liking it so far.  The last day of school proved to be very hard and very emotional.  Goodbyes are hard and I will miss my students and coworkers so much.  There were lots of tears as I said good bye at school, packed my things, and picked our boys up from Gayle.  Leaving Gayle might have been hardest.  We've trusted her with our kids since Caleb was eight weeks old.  She loved them so much and provided them with great care and us with good advice!  Currently, the plan is for me to return to teaching when our boys are both in school.  I've got my renewal credits until 2023, so I'm in no rush right now.

Loves to sit up!  Can't trust him not to tip over yet though. 

Open mouth smile.

Not so sure what to think of swinging.

Loves to cover himself with blankets.  Can't always get himself uncovered. 

19 weeks old

Calvin had his four month check up this week and is doing great!  He is 17 lb 3 ounces and 24.75 inches tall.  He tolerated his shots better this time, but still had a pretty rough afternoon.

Current research in the allergy field says to feed high frequency allergens often between four to six months to hopefully build up immunities and prevent a severe allergy.  So, we are jumping right in with the big eight allergens.  We are just doing little taste off our fingers of each one each week.  So far he's had fish, peanut butter, and plain yogurt.  Just a small taste of each, but no reaction.  Now that he's had a taste of food, there is no turning back...he's in love!  I let him try some squash today at lunch and then at dinner I made him some baby cereal.  Looks like tomorrow I'll be making up some baby food for him.  I've got a trial kit of the kiinde foodii so I'm hoping that's going to be a good way to get a bunch of food in the freezer and feed him on the go when needed.

Trying out the jumper.

Eating cereal

Eighteen weeks old

Calvin is starting to get attached to a stuffed animal.  He fallen in love with an elephant head on a blanket.  It helps him to keep calm(er) in the car and helps him fall asleep.  He likes to hold it by his head and sometimes chews on it.  I'm trying to get him to like other similar ones too so that we aren't in trouble if this ones goes missing.

Calvin has also discovered his exersaucer this week and is loving it.  He was getting quite mad anytime we tried to lay him down in his play gym this week and was pushing up and using his legs quite a bit.  He loves being able to look around and see what's going on when he's in the exersaucer.  He plays with a couple of the toys, but mostly just uses it to see what brother is up to.

He's not a huge fan of being in his stroller for long periods of time.  He will sit in it while Caleb rides around the block or for maybe 20 minutes while we play outside, but after that he wants held.  This made for an interesting trip to the zoo.  I don't have a picture, but imagine this...Calvin in the Moby on me, me pushing the stroller, Caleb running around and doing a really good job of staying with us all while there were 16 busses of school aged children there for field trips.  Needless to say, we didn't stay too long and I'm not sure which one of us needed a nap the most!

Calvin also got to try swimming this week.  And like typical second time parents, we didn't bring the water camera so we only got a couple of pictures before Travis got in.  I wouldn't say he loved swimming, but he tolerated it.  He stayed in for about 35 minutes and then he started to seem cold.  He does still love the bath though!

Seventeen weeks old

Calvin had a pretty exciting past weekend.  He got to meet his new cousin, Sarah, and he slept 8-9 hours three nights in a row!  What a nice Mother's Day gift he gave me.  He slept from 8:00 until either 4:00 or 5:00 the last three nights.  The first night I was up from about 2-4:30 waiting for him to wake up and waiting for any news about the new baby, but the other two I have slept as well.

In other news, Calvin also rolled over back to front today.  He's only done it once, so we will see if he does it again.  He can pretty consistently get himself on his side, but only made it clear to his tummy once.

He's also really into his hands this week.  He will sit with his hands clasped together and just stare and stare at them.  He's getting pretty good at grabbing a toy that's within his reach and can bring it to his mouth to chew on.  He's also starting to be interested in putting some weight on his feet. 

So tired and ready for bed

All the great grandkids

Ready to go to swim lessons

With cousin Sarah

Loves to stare at the octopus

Enjoying the library

Hey Mom, why are you sitting back here with me?

Caleb didn't want him to play with his trucks.  

Sixteen weeks old

Likes:
- escaping his swaddle.  He usually doesn't break free until 6:30 in the morning, but one he has, it's full blown giggling.  I heard giggling coming through the monitor at 4 am yesterday and sure enough, there was a free little boy in his crib.
- sucking on his fingers.  He hasn't mastered his thumb, but if he starts to wake up before he's ready or if he's trying to put himself to sleep, two fingers go right into his mouth.  This and rubbing his own head are driving us nuts!  Another one of his self-soothing things is to rub his own head.  No matter how often I trim his nails, his head is scratched constantly.  He rubs his little fingers on his head as he falls asleep or sometimes even in his sleep.
- diaper changes.  He still loves to have a dry diaper and will give us the biggest smiles when we change him.
- his mobile.  If we turn that on as he's going to sleep, he watches it intently until his little eyes drift shut.  We usually crank it up and he's asleep before it's done playing the second time through.
- baby carriers.  He will tolerate the stroller for a while, but he prefers to be carried.  We tried out this  one yesterday and both loved it.  Haven't tried it in the pool, but it was much cooler for summer wearing.  Calvin enjoyed a 90 minute nap and I enjoyed only slightly sweating while wearing him in 80 degree weather.

Dislikes:
- bottles...Calvin has decided bottles are his arch enemy this week.  He took only 7 ounces each day at daycare (he was there three days this week) and went to bed without one both evenings in the last two weeks I was gone.
- being in the car.  I really thought we were over this one, but the past few days it's been full blown screaming the entire car ride.   Mom, Dad, and anyone else who was forced to travel with me as an infant, I sincerely apologize for my car screaming days.  If we can time it perfectly where he is a little tired, but not too tired, he will fall asleep after a bit of fussing, but if not and you find yourself in the car with us, we recommend quality ear plugs.  As Caleb put it, "I not like babies who cry."
- staying up late.  This boy is TIRED early and does not want to stay up late.  He is typically in bed by 7:30 if not before.

So serious on our walks.  Starting to hold on to his toys!

Warm enough for shorts!

Morning exercises

Bath time with brother