Mo-ah

Baby CP has been picking up a few more words...I think he's up to 10 now.  He was able to sign for "more" a while back but a couple weeks ago he started to say "mo-ah" or "mouh" sort of like Oliver's "Please sir, can I have some mouh."  It's cute.  I think he thinks "more" means "I want some" though, because sometimes he hasn't had any of what you're eating yet, but he comes by and says "more" so he can try it. He can also say "mao" for cat, "wen" for smell my feet, and "wa" for socks and flowers (although that should be "hua" - close enough).

Baby CP also like to snort if you ask him what a pig sounds like and he sort of makes a very similar sound if you ask him what tiger's sound like.

Last week, Baby CP had his check up and received the MMR shot.  He didn't seem to exhibit any serious side effects.  They said that he is 31 inches tall (75th percentile) and 23.5 lbs (50th percentile).

Baby CP continues to attend his swim class on the weekends.  We have been instructed to try to teach him how to paddle.  After just a couple times of hearing the word, he will flail his arms around...not very good form though.  =)  The Olympic Games seem to have inspired him though - I think seeing all the athletes swimming super fast excites him and he "paddles" really wildly and likes to lie down and kick his legs.

Two weekends ago, Baby CP went to a water park in El Cerrito to celebrate a birthday party.  He seemed to have a lot of fun in the warm sun.

Photo courtesy of Cathy Leung

This weekend, Baby CP went to another birthday party for Cousin Kayla's second birthday party.  He had fun roaming the house and chasing the big kids around.  He was somewhat of a food strike though and refused to swallow any solids.  Thankfully, his appetite picked up on Sunday and he ate a ton of breakfast this morning.

Photo courtesy of Sue Chan

35 Weeks Old

This post is also a couple weeks late, and by now, I'm sure my weekly age count is wrong, but we'll keep pretending that I didn't miss any dates.  =P

We brought Baby CP back to the pediatrician's office for another weigh in.  He weighed 19 lbs 13 oz. He still hasn't broken the 20lb mark, but at least he has gained some weight.  The doctor said that he's right around the 50th percentile now, so he's fine.  I figured as much since he's a pretty happy baby, but the doctor had been a little concerned since Baby CP used to be in the 90th percentile at 3 months and and then didn't gain weight for 2 months (months 6 and 7).  Baby CP has been introduced to meat...he had some beef in his rice porridge at a couple Chinese restaurants.  He really likes to eat with us and is very well behaved if he has something to eat while we're eating.  We've also tried adding some wild caught salmon into his rice porridge, but he didn't seem to like that very much.  Last week mommy gave him some mashed blueberries without the skin and he seemed to think those were tasty.  The doctor said to try giving him some veggies and to avoid juice, since it's mostly just empty calories.


On Sunday, we tried the saline pool at the newly renovated YMCA in Chinatown.  It was about 82 degrees which by adult standards is pretty warm, but since babies don't really know how to kick yet, they just get cold.  The second Baby CP hit the water he became very upset.  That was a tough 30 minutes.  I'm lucky he didn't catch a cold!  We'll go back to Le Petit Baleen in San Bruno where the pool is as warm as a bathtub.

Baby CP likes being spun around in a circle.  It makes him laugh.  I am not sure whether he gets dizzy...but I do.  Sometimes he finds it relaxing though...if he's tired and in the ergo spinning around a little induces a smile and then his eyes close and he falls asleep pretty quickly.

Here is Baby CP at the park.  At his age, he should probably be lying down in the swing, but he insists on looking around.

Here is a photo of Baby CP in the Presidio.  We went to the bowling alley to celebrate auntie T's birthday and walked by these cannons.  Baby CP seemed to find it amusing to sit on them.  This also happens to be just a few steps away from where mommy and daddy got married.  =)

7 Months Old!

This past week, Baby CP reached the ripe old age of 7 months old.  At his checkup today, he weighed in at 19 lbs and measured 27.25 inches.  He's grown an inch since his last appointment, but apparently has lost a few ounces.  I don't think it's a big deal since he's so active these days and he seems to be eating a ton, but the doctor wants to reweigh him in a couple weeks.

Baby CP is becoming increasingly mobile these days.  He doesn't quite crawl properly, but he either inchworms or uses one leg to propel him.  It looks almost as if he wants to skip crawling and jump straight to walking, so the crawl looks somewhere in between the two.

The edge of Tooth #3 (top right) is erupting, so he's been chewing on things and drooling everywhere.

We've moved Baby CP into his own room.  He had been using the railing to help himself stand which was quite amazing, but then I got nervous that he might fall out somehow, so we dropped the crib mattress.

The last photo of Baby CP with his crib in our room.

His first night in his own room went really well.  He cries a little in his sleep sometimes, but settled back to sleep on his own.  He went 8 hours straight and then another 2 after eating.  Last night didn't go so well...he woke up super hyper at 3am and didn't go back to sleep until 4:30.  They say sometimes babies' brains become extra active when going through developmental changes and that it's a phase that passes.

We think Baby CP knows a few words now.  If I say milk in Chinese or show him the sign language sign for milk he will smile if he is hungry.  Sometimes at night if he's hungry, he informs me by climbing up my arm while I'm eating dinner so he can get a look at what the adults are eating.  He has such an intense interest in food.  This week we introduced roasted pumpkin puree and he has been eating baby oatmeal cereal.  Baby CP also loves his vitamin drops.  I think they taste disgusting, but they are a little sweet, so he will lie very still right before I drop them into his mouth.  Starting two days ago, if I say "droppies" he will smile, become calm and wait for them by licking his lips or opening his mouth.  How funny.

This weekend we're taking Baby CP to his first baby swim class.  It's a free trial class and it's nice to get them acquainted with the water at a young age.  We know he likes baths, so hopefully he adjusts well.  He also has a Mandarin playgroup to attend and a playdate with another big little guy.

30 Weeks Old - Happy New Year!

Baby CP is now over 30 weeks old.  He can sit up on his own now by moving from all fours to his side and then to sitting.

We have moved the bath location to the bathtub because Baby CP likes to splash the water and also for safety - he can get very squirmy.

Baby CP's weight and height remain steady a few ounces above 19 lbs and around 27 inches.  He has his next checkup in a couple weeks, so we'll see if he grows more before then.  He's so far eaten congee, oatmeal cereal, pureed pears, pureed apples and smashed bananas.  We didn't really stick to the 7 days between each new food program, but so far it doesn't seem like he has any allergies to what he's eaten.  For the rice and oatmeal, he lunges for the spoon so I think he likes eating.  I'm not sure if it's because he thinks it is fun or because he is hungry.  He had eaten bananas for a couple days and then didn't want them anymore.  Then when we tried apple sauce, he didn't seem to like it at all on the first day.  Today, I combined the two and added a tad of water and he ate it all up.  My guess is that you have to feed him solids during the day before he gets tired.  I think feeding him solids at night when he's fussier hasn't been as successful.

A couple weeks ago we abandoned the cry it out method.  Baby CP seemed to make progress, getting down to as little as 2 minutes of crying some nights before falling asleep on his own, but then there were other nights or naptimes where it would take 20 minutes.  After trying it for about 2-3 weeks, I felt that he was just falling asleep because he was tiring himself out and not because he had actually learned how to soothe himself.  Instead, I have started feeding him a bottle about half an hour to an hour before bedtime and I keep feeding him every so often until he seems about ready to sleep.  Then I carry him around for a couple minutes over my shoulder and he falls asleep pretty quickly.  For weekend naptimes, I pop him into the ergo and then transfer him into the crib a couple minutes after he falls asleep.  I do think cry it out did help him learn how to get through the transfer phase though so it probably wasn't a waste of time...before all of this sleep training, transferring Baby CP into his crib was always tricky and he probably woke up about 50-70% of the time.  This lead to him sleeping in our bed a night after his first night waking - I was just too tired to deal with transferring him into his crib.  The past week, however it's gotten much easier, he often opens his eyes when I'm putting him into his crib, but once he hits the mattress, more than 90% of the time, he just seems happy to go to sleep so I haven't had to put him in our bed.  I'm hoping he can keep this up. 

Today, Baby CP has been acting very strange.  He has been frantically trying to find things to chew on.  I assume he must be teething again...but this didn't happen last time.  Mr. CP caught him trying to climb into the laundry basket to find something to chew.  I gave him a pacifier the two times I put him in the ergo and he seemed to like chewing on it and it also helped him fall asleep within minutes.  It's the first time I've seen him take the pacifier in over 3 months.

6 Months Old

Baby CP is now 6 months old. He weighs in at 19 lbs 3 oz and measures 27 inches tall.  A few days after his first tooth came in, the neighboring tooth also sprouted.

He enjoyed his first Thanksgiving down at Cousin BY's house.

While at Cousin BY's house, I felt like Baby CP needed a helmet. He would try to reach up and over and then his body would sort of flip over and his head would hurtle towards the floor quickly. We had to keep catching him. That only lasted a little while thankfully because a few days later, he learned to balance on his side by exerting pressure through his big toe. Now he lounges around in such fashion regularly. 

 

Baby CP can drag himself into any direction and can move a few feet on the ground if he feels like it.  He can also get his knees under his hips sometimes and can put weight on his arms...the pieces are all there for crawling.  He just needs to put them all together.

We tried to feed him solids for the first time three days ago...mushy avocados mixed with milk. He might have swallowed a little bit on the first day, but after that it was just pretty messy without much progress. I think I'm going to try something sweet like apples next.

Today we took a walk at Chrissy Field...Baby CP got fussy in the stroller and when carried, insisted on staring at the ground the whole time even though there were interesting things to see like birds, doggies and water. Oh well...we think he either liked the crunchy sound of the sand and rocks or he wanted to walk on it himself. Then we stopped by the farmer's market at Fort Mason.

5 Months Old

Today Baby CP got his second round of vaccines - 3 shots....I was expecting the worst since he cries much louder nowadays, but he really surprised me.  He didn't make a peep during the first shot though he whimpered a little afterwards.  He did start crying for the second and third, but not too loud and he stopped once the band-aids were put on.  He fell asleep on the way home like last time...I wonder how much discomfort he'll feel later.  Last time he was a bit needy for 2 days.

Baby CP weighed in at 18 lbs 3 oz and measured 26.5 inches.  A couple weeks ago, when we weighed him at home, he was over 19lbs, so there must be some scale inconsistency and maybe he's been more active yet eating less - the Baby CP diet.  The doctor tells us that he's in the 70s as far as percentiles go and that Baby CP seems to be doing very well developmentally from the few minutes that the doctor spent with him.  He said baby CP is a very active guy and that active babies are more likely to be lean and have lower risk of heart disease when they grow up, but the cons are that they tend to get into trouble and nurse injuries more often...haha.  We gotta keep an eye on this little guy!

This week Baby CP  will officially started hanging out with his new nanny.  She starts today so that mommy can show her the ropes before returning to work.  It's good to get him acquainted with his caretakers around now before the separation anxiety phase starts at around the 7th or 8th month mark.

19 Weeks Old

The crankiness of month 4 continues...I don't think it's teething so much as it is his new super awareness.  This makes him tired faster.  It also means that he sees things that he can't get to on his own, so he gets frustrated.  He has come up with a method of "crawling" that is slow, but if he is left unattended could be dangerous.  I will try to capture a video of it soon, but basically his legs go crazy and can go under his hips and his butt can go up in the air, then he wiggles while his face remains on his hands or on the bed so he kind of scoots himself a few inches at a time.

I'm not sure what he is up to here, but it appears he may be trying to escape his changing mat. 

More clowning around with his seahorse buddy

Oh look - he DID escape!

I almost had a heart attack when I walked back into the room and his head was on the floor, but then I realized he didn't bang his head.  He had slowly moved his upper body out of the mat and rested his head on the floor (at least I think, because I didn't hear a bump and he was in a perfectly fine mood) then as I walked in, brought his legs out using his abdominal muscles.



This week, Baby CP likes to touch everything.  He seems to be very interested in texture.  The mirror, the kitchen countertop, metal, sheets, upholstery materials, the list goes on and on.  He's pulled the camera and lamp off of the desk too.

Baby CP also figured out how to prop himself up with his arms while sitting in just a couple days.  He can't do it for long before he starts to fall over thought so I spot him.

Grandma CP will appreciate this piece of news....We finally, we put together Baby CP's crib and moved him out of his bassinet.  His first nap lasted 45 minutes.  We'll see how he takes to it tonight. 

I forgot to mention last week that we made the jump and stopped swaddling Baby CP.  It was starting to be a hazard since he could roll over and he was starting to get a little too tall so his feet were getting close to the bottom of the swaddle sack.  One night, a couple weeks ago, he woke up every 1-2 hours, so I figured if he is going to wake up that often while swaddled, I might as well wean him from the swaddle at the same time so I would only have to suffer once.  It turns out, that is was a short phase and he only went through two nights of the frequent wakings.  Now he is back to sleeping longer stretches and has gone 6-9 hours without the swaddle.  He's seems to have gotten used to his new freedom and he is better able to get comfortable while he is sleeping - often rolling to his side and even onto his belly which he seems to like.

This past weekend, Baby CP visited Cousin BY and attended a baby shower for twins.  Babies are everywhere!

4 Months Old

After a cranky week due to teething and a growth spurt, Baby CP returned to his well-behaved self a few days ago.   He is back to waking only once a night (thank goodness!) - sleeping about 8-9 hours in a row the past three nights.  He can now play by himself for 10-15 minutes a couple times during the day.  He is also laughing and smiling a lot now and appears to be somewhat ticklish.  It's pretty amazing how much his temperament has changed over the past 4 days.

It's a bad angle.  His hands are big, but not that big.

Baby CP weighed in at a little more than 17.5 lbs (scary) and he is about 26 inches long.  He can grab toys with much better dexterity now.  He has a couple stuffed animals that he smiles at more than others.  His favorites seem to be the seahorse, Mr. Pineapple and his new elephant pal, who we have named Fergus.  These days, he LOVES to have people hold him up so he can work on his "walking" skills.  He will stop crying almost immediately if you do this, which is good because he's been rejecting the pacifier since he started teething.  He also rejects the bottle some nights.

Just chillin' and planning his escape from the changing mat.

10 Weeks Old

Somehow I ended up with the same outfit in two different sizes.   What a difference 9 weeks makes!

1 week old, size 0-3 months

9 weeks old, size 3-6 months

9 Weeks Old

This week Baby CP's path to obesity continues.  He weighed in at close to 15 lbs and measured about 24 inches (getting an exact measurement is kind of difficult).  According to the growth charts, this puts him in the 50th percentile for height and 75-90th percentile for weight.  What a chubbers!  He moved up to size 2 diapers a couple weeks ago.

Baby CP learned a new game this week.  If he is in good spirits, he will look at me and smile.  If I stick out my tongue, sometimes he will mimic me and do the same and smile.  If he sticks out his tongue first and I respond by sticking out my tongue he will smile a big open mouth smile.  It's very cute.  I wish I could capture it on video or camera, but he doesn't seem to like the camera and I can barely even capture a normal smile before he gets distracted and stops. 

As far as Baby CP's social calendar goes, this week, he attended an all you an eat buffet with mommy and daddy and friends and he also made an appearance at a BBQ in Berkeley.  He stayed awake during both events and was pretty well behaved.  He also made a stop at Ikea after the BBQ and that's when he had his meltdown.  Way...too...tired.

3 months? I think not.

It seems rather difficult for clothing companies to accurately size their clothing.  I tried to put Baby CP into this monkey suit which was sized 3 months...he can't extend his legs!  According to the growth charts, Baby CP is only in the 50th percentile for height, so he's not a giant.  It would make life easier if companies went with a weight or height range rather than age.  There are a whole bunch of these outfits that were handed down to us that Baby CP will never wear because we missed the window of opportunity.  Oh well.

6 Weeks Old

As of yesterday, Baby CP is 6 weeks old.  I don't have any new pictures to share, but we measured Baby CP last night and he's 22.5 inches.  That means he's grown 2 inches since birth.

This past week, Mr. CP was successful in getting Baby CP to drink about 2 oz from a bottle a few times.  The little guy still wants to eat from the source right after, but this is good progress.

Today, I swaddled him before putting him down for 2 naps.  During the first nap, he managed to wiggle his way out of the blanket without making a peep (so I had no idea until about an hour and a half later - sneaky!) and fell back asleep on his own.  During the second nap, I heard him whine a little and I saw him try to wiggle out but I was starving so I ignored him to get a couple bites of my lunch...and what do you know...3 minutes later, he had settled back to sleep on his own again.  Mommy is very impressed!


BTW - He still hates the pacifier.  Oh well.