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.