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.

So… here’s what Levi is up to at the ripe old age of 4 months:

• Sucking on his thumb. Usually he sucks on his left thumb, but sometimes one thumb just isn’t enough so he’ll suck on them both. He pushes them against his upper gums like he’s trying to put on some dentures. He still chews on his knuckles a little bit, and also likes the occasional right-thumb-and-forefinger combo.
• He just found his feet. He hasn’t started chewing on his toes yet, but he goes through staring spells where he won’t let them out of his sight. He also likes to stare at his fingers, and clasp his hands together in front of himself like a little gentleman (actually, he’s been doing that for a really long time – like since 6-8 weeks old).
• Standing. He is very good at it. In fact, the developmental pediatrician (by the way Robin, Dr. Pullano said to tell you, “hi!”) told us to limit the amount of time he spends extending his legs like that, so he can work on flexing them instead.
• Grabbing things. He’s starting to put things in his mouth. He intently studies objects that come into his path, and is getting very good at exploring their fine details with his fingers. When you bottle feed him, he’ll grab your thumb and will even guide the bottle into and out of his mouth when he needs a break!
• Batting at things. He’s been doing this for a really long time, but now when he bats things, he goes bananas. He hits things like a drummer playing a trap set. He’s also seemed to figure out that when he’s on his floor gym, he can make the middle toys wiggle if he pulls hard enough on the edge toys. It makes him really happy to see what he can do.
• Blowing spit bubbles. We can see some little teeth under his lower front gums, but it will probably be awhile before they sprout.
• Smiling up the wazzoo, and starting to laugh. He kinda goes “huh huh huh” and then squeaks like a dolphin.
• Learning to sleep in his crib (I know, I know… we’re such bad parents to have let him sleep in his swing this long). He’s getting better at it. Over the weekend, he stayed asleep in Brad and Kristi’s old crib for a full seven hours – a new record.
• Babbling. His favorite words are, “buh buh buh,” “uh uh uh” and “muh muh muh.” And of course there’s the ever-popular “mmm mmmm.”
• He’s got a keen sense of hearing. When someone else is feeding him in his carseat and I walk up behind him, he will turn his head to see me. He loves to hear me whistle. The slightest rustling sound will wake him from a sound sleep.
• He loves it when you read books to him. He sits there and watches just like he’s reading along. It is really cute.
• He loves his nightly bath time and massage. We’ve discovered that this is one secret to helping him sleep through the night. We prop him up in a Mother’s Touch Bather in the big boy tub. Generally he just sits there and has a ball, though he absolutely detests it when you have to clean his neck, which requires acrobatics of olympic proportions to reach beneath his many neck rolls. It’s a two-person job.
• He’s a big fan of car rides, though not for sleeping. He just likes to watch out the window as things go by.
• He’s NOT a big fan of dressy clothes. As soon as his comfie little onesies are replaced with jeans or pants, man, he lets us know that he does not approve.
• His sweet personality is really emerging lately. He wakes up smiling, and keeps it going all day. He’s really laid back, and although he is patient, he is developing a short attention span. The max mileage we can get out of his vibrating bouncy chair now is about 10 minutes.
• He is very alert and bright-eyed, intently watching everyone and everything around him. He especially loves to look at other babies and the mirror. He’s also quite a talker and interactive. I don’t know what he thinks he’s communicating to us, but whatever it is, he’s obviously convinced that it’s worth conveying. He gripes when he’s mad, and for over a month now has had distinct cries for hunger, sleepiness, boredom and pain.
• He’s a pretty good eater. He weighs over 15 pounds now. He’ll stare at his bottle (or your plate) when he’s hungry, and will start sucking before it even hits his mouth. We’re still struggling to breastfeed, only because he’s still reacting to something in my breastmilk. He eats at least half formula because otherwise his tummy hurts, he generates some brightly-hued diapers, and he screams bloody murder. I really wish we could get a break on that front. His pediatrician wanted to wait to give him the allergy blood test, thinking it might not be fully accurate at Levi’s age. I dunno… the jury’s still out on that one. But I didn’t push the issue, primarily because I think he’s allergic to something obscure that might not be covered in a standard 15- or 20-panel test anyway (e.g. cheese but not milk, coke but not caffeine or sugar… you get the idea). I’m still trying to eliminate things from my diet one-at-a-time in hopes of isolating the problem. Next up: eggs.

Let me just tell you, I am giddy as a schoolgirl. Our little man slept 8 hours straight a couple nights ago!!! Last night he did great too. Oh my gosh I can’t tell you how excited this makes his daddy and me. We’ve been trying to get him on a schedule for quite a while. We’ve had a few setbacks along the way, but maybe now he’s ready to get with the program.

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On a separate note, we had Levi’s first developmental pediatrician visit yesterday. It was very interesting! Basically, the doctor felt for various abnormalities on his head, watched him play and interact, took measurements, established baseline milestones, etc. More than anything it was a foundational visit that will help us track Levi’s progress over time so we can quantify his development and growth.

Overall the visit went great. Levi is up to 14 pounds 10 ounces and 23 and some-odd inches long. He was being his usual sweet self. The doctor kept talking about how handsome a baby he was, how well he seems to be developing, and how great and laid-back of a personality he has. He told Levi, “You’re just a delightful baby. I wish you could stay here all day.” Aw, how sweet!!! The way to a man’s heart might be through his stomach, but the way to a momma’s heart is definitely through complimenting her children.

Pretty much, he’s developing right on par with his peers, even though he was a month early. He’s rolling over, grasping objects, tracking objects as they move, etc. He loves to try to stand up all the time, and is really good at it.

One thing that will require a follow-up (an X-Ray on Monday, and possibly a CT scan and perhaps future surgeries if abnormal) is a potential craniosynostosis. Basically, an infant’s head is supposed to have loose plates that maintain their gaps until an older age to allow space for the head and brain to grow rapidly. If these gaps close up too soon, it can cause the head to grow abnormally (e.g. side-to-side instead of front-to-back). We have noticed a slight bump running from ear to ear over the top of Levi’s head, technically called a ridging of his coronal suture, that might indicate his gaps have closed up too soon. I really, really hope Levi doesn’t have this problem!!! He’d probably be fine with it, but I might come unglued if he had to go through cranial surgery.

Another thing Dr. Pullano noticed, unrelated to the other skull issue, is that one side of Levi’s head is flatter than the other, called plagiocephaly. We’ve tried rotating his head around when he sleeps or sits, but we need to do a better job of it so as to avoid the helmet.

Another thing we discussed is that Levi has been stiffening his legs lately, and the only explanation I found about that online was cerebral palsy. That Internet is somewhat of a blessing and a curse, in that you can really get a lot of answers, whether or not they’re applicable, and whether or not they’re optimistic. Basically, Dr. Pullano said that is the type of thing that Levi is at risk for, so we will have to watch and see how things go. The earliest they could diagnose that is 12 to 18 months of age. It’s usually only a motor-skill impairment ranging anywhere from slight clumsiness to complete paralysis, but occasionally it is a more global issue involving thinking/developmental challenges as well. I don’t even know if Levi has it at all, but if he does, I know it will be a mild case at worst. No matter what, we have God on our side so we Birchies can handle whatever comes our way. We just have to work on flexing his legs (bicycling, etc.) and limit the amount of time he spends extending his legs (as in the bouncy chair that I spent about 3 hours putting together for him the other day – dangett!). We also need to make sure we give him ample opportunity to play with toys using both sides of his body, especially his right side which may have been impacted by his stroke.

On a lighter note, the doctor said that Levi’s verbal skills are at or ahead of his milestones based on birth date, meaning he’s even farther ahead as far as gestational age, which is how you’re supposed to compare preemies. This is great news! The left temporal lobe where his stroke occurred is the speech center of the brain so we are ecstatic that his language skills are doing so well. He hasn’t laughed yet, and we are dying to hear his cute little chuckle!!! So hopefully he will indulge us on that here soon.