Bye, bye, mad scientist

Anyone who has spent time around Henry knows he has some crazy hair. Or had some crazy hair, that is.

This morning, Brian busted out the hair trimmer and dispensed with Henry's long locks. No more jokes about his mad scientist look when the little wings stuck out from behind his ears. No more comparisons with Bozo the Clown (may he rest in peace). And, no more mullet comments. Yes, Henry had a mullet. But now that he reached the ripe old age of four-and-one-half months, Henry realized the look was out, and wanted an update.

Here are some before and after shots:





























And see how happy he looks with his new makeover?


Henry's feeling cooler not only in terms of style, but also in terms of temperature. It's been pretty steamy here again the past few days. We escaped the heat like countless other parents and young children today, by going to the mall. We're not really mall-going people unless absolutely necessary, so Henry tends to be enthralled by all of the activity, sound, and lights when we do go shopping. He gazes around with a look of wonderment, but also with some concern, like he doesn't quite feel secure being in that environment. Yesterday was another day of wonderment for Henry, as he watched the big kids play at his cousin Evan's birthday party. It appeared to be a mutual feeling, as the four- to six-year olds also found Henry pretty interesting. And as for me and Brian, we got a glimpse into the fun we'll be having with Henry's future birthday parties. Being a March baby, he probably will never have a kiddie pool and slip 'n' slide at his birthday like Evan did, but I'm sure we'll find plenty of other ways to entertain the kiddos as we celebrate the years with Henry. It's hard to believe, but I'm sure it will seem like no time at all has passed before Henry's first birthday.

King size cribs?

It appears that Henry is in need of a more spacious sleeping arrangement. Who would've guessed--given that it wasn't too long ago he was only happy sleeping in the close confines of his car seat. Why the current need for a crib upgrade? Henry is sleep creeping--the infant equivalent of sleep walking. And he creeps his way into the bumper of his crib no matter where we place him. When he manages to find his way into the bumper, Henry awakens himself and his parents, with cries of frustration. So I think if we just found a super-sized crib, maybe the larger creeping area would keep him happy?

Some readers might wonder about the logistics of how Henry is sleep creeping. Afterall, aren't we supposed to be placing him on his back to sleep at night? Well, we were diligently doing so until about two weeks ago. This turn of events coincided with our other dirty little parenting (non) secret of starting him on solids early. On a particularly wakeful night, Brian decided to try placing Henry on his belly to put him back to sleep. The kid rolls back and forth and has excellent head and neck control now, so belly sleeping didn't seem to pose a safety risk for Henry. And it appeared to work at the time, but I'd say results are mixed now. While Henry was settling himself back to sleep more successfully when we first placed him on his belly, he's now taking the opportunity to practice his rolling and creeping/crawling in his sleep at night. Why waste time just practicing new tricks during daylight hours? On one of my many, many trips to his crib last night, I found him rolling around on his back crying to the little animals on his mobile. Other trips to the crib found him scrunched head-first into the corner of the bumper, little butt in the air, desperately pushing off with his legs and trying to break through the barrier. It would be cute, if it weren't 3 am. Or 1 am. Or 5 am. Or all of the above. In one night. So what do you think, would a king size crib work? Or maybe a little baby track around the perimeter of his room, so he could do laps all night long without waking us?

Speaking of laps, Henry and I continue to make our almost daily pilgrimage to the local track, which has become a really nice routine. I definitely appreciate the time outdoors, and I think Henry does, too. It feels great to be exercising again, and to be returning to my pre-pregnancy, pre-baby self in an important way. At a time when there are so many changes to my identity, re-connecting with this part of my self feels especially gratifying. It helps me find my way into this role of a SAHM (stay at home mom) more comfortably. Thank goodness for the innovation of the jogging stroller--a big boost to my quality of life!

Congratulations, Jess and Tim!

This weekend, the little g-unit traveled to Western Massachusetts to celebrate my sister's wedding. It was a weekend of beautiful moments, happiness, and celebration. The bride looked gorgeous, the groom handsome. (Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the two right now.) And the very personalized, unique ceremony reflected the creative personalities of the couple. As a surprise to all of their guests-- including their parents-- Jess and Tim hired a bagpiper to play as they exited the ceremony. It was quite a stunning moment, one that will surely be remembered fondly by everyone present.

Henry will not remember it, but he too was pretty surprised by the beginning notes of the bagpipe. The little trooper was present for bits and pieces of the ceremony, this being one of them. (He also attended the rehearsal dinner, in his cute Williams t-shirt shown below. Go Ephs!) By the time the wedding reception rolled around, Henry was very tuckered out. He managed to hang in there pretty well, despite the evidence in the picture above. With the help of Brian's parents, Henry was able to chill out intermittently in quiet, which helped a lot. On Sunday night, he erased any doubt of the fact of his exhaustion, when he went to sleep for the night at 6:15! This has never occurred before. He woke up a few times during the night, but didn't awaken for the day until a full 12 hours later.

By this point (Tuesday evening), Henry appears to be fully recovered. Personally, I'm still feeling a little tired out by all of the events, coupled with the fact that Henry hasn't been exhibiting his super-star sleeping skills lately. It hasn't been too bad, but he's waking up at least once a night lately. Oh well, hopefully it's just a phase. A brief phase. Very brief...

Four month report

Henry had his four-month doctor's visit this afternoon. Eagerly anticipated for learning his latest growth stats, yet dreaded for the round of vaccinations. Henry is sleeping off the vaccination trauma at the moment, though he's sure to rouse at any time and need some comforting. He was much more bothered by the shots this time, and actually started crying prior to the event, when the nurse put on the gloves to administer the shots. The good news is, Henry's continuing to grow and develop ahead of the curve. He weighs 16 pounds, 5 ounces, placing him around the 75th percentile for weight; and he measures 27 inches in length, placing him above 95% in height. I'm not sure what the head circumference measurement was, but he was pretty much off the charts as far as percentile is concerned. When I think about the percentiles, I picture my son as a lollipop--long and thin with a big head on top--which is funny since I see him constantly and know this isn't really what he looks like. Is it?!?!

We saw a different pediatrician today, who was wowed by Henry's developmental skills and size, and commented that "one could easily mistake him for a six month old." Of course this thrilled his proud momma. The pediatrician also scored points with me by endorsing my recent decision to begin Henry on solids. She said it sounds and looks like he's definitely ready for them. Henry continues to validate this decision, too. He happily gobbles his rice cereal once a day, even when I think he's already full from nursing.

That's the latest from the little g-unit. Otherwise, we're laying low and trying to beat the heat for the remainder of the day (it's 90 degrees and very humid). Henry's also resting up for his big first wedding this weekend. He can't wait to see his Aunt Jess marry his (nearly official) Uncle Tim!

Good eats for all

After much internal debate and waffling back and forth aloud to anyone who would listen, I broke down and introduced solids to Henry today. All the angst was due to the fact that there are varying opinions about the correct age at which to introduce solids-- as with anything and everything else related to parenting, of course. Henry's pediatrician gave us the go-ahead to introduce rice cereal a little while ago, and many pediatricians do support introducing solids at four months. However, there is also a significant amount of research that advocates for later introduction at 6 months, as a way to reduce the chance of allergies, asthma, and other various conditions like eczema. Weighing everything out, it seemed like maybe if I just tried giving Henry a spoonful or two of solids to gauge his readiness, there wouldn't be much harm. Henry had been showing all the signs that he was ready for solids for several weeks, and honestly, being the sole food source for a large, growing baby has been getting pretty tiresome. He still wants to be nursed every two hours, and has been waking up hungry during the night lately. So, those were my justifications for potentially being a bad mommy and dooming Henry to a lifetime of itchiness, food allergies, and/or wheezing.

This said, I think all of Henry's signs of readiness have been very real. When I whipped out the little plastic spoon, he had a look on his face like "Finally, lady! It's about time I get to try this thing out!" I only mixed a teeny, tiny amount of rice cereal for him, and it disappeared very, very quickly. With only a small amount lost to the bib. Henry couldn't get enough of the stuff. As you can see in the first video below, the smiley boy enjoyed his intro to the world of solids. This video captures his very first spoonful of solid food ever, and the resulting grin. How could you deprive a baby of such happiness?







Later this evening, Brian and I took Henry with us to our favorite Chinese restaurant, where he behaved like an angel. Apparently, the rice cereal had contented him enough to patiently watch us eat while he played with his toys. It always feels like a triumph when we have a successful meal out with our little dining companion.

A relaxing day today followed lots of action for Henry during our trip to Pittsfield on Friday and Saturday. Henry, Brian and I joined a great celebration for my grandfather's 80th birthday, where Henry also met his second cousin (or however you call the formal name for my cousin's son), Quinn. Ever the party animal, Henry missed out on virtually all of his naps for the day, putting him into a tailspin of baby insomnia for Friday and Saturday nights. The almost hourly waking cast us back to the days of early babyhood. Yaaawwnnnnn. I'm hoping that he's down for a good span of several hours tonight, and makes a return to his status as the miracle sleeping baby. Keep your fingers crossed for us...

Stand by me

How long do you think it will be before Henry learns to walk?



In the meantime, he keeps attempting to crawl, as seen below. It's going to take a little (or a lot) more practice to perfect his technique, but Henry's working on it!

Running before he can walk

Henry and I have begun a new phase in our adventures together--running! It's been about a year since I really attempted any regular exercise regimen, and even longer since I was consistent about my running. But now that I'm home with Henry full-time, my opportunities for getting in one run a day are more expansive than ever. Thanks to Brian's boss, Bob, we have a jogging stroller that Henry now fits into. I used the head adapter from one of the other strollers in Henry's fleet, just to ensure that his head doesn't wobble around too much. So far, he's been happy as a clam on our two runs together.

Running with Henry reminds me of the many outdoor adventures that I've had with my father over the years. I think that of the many gifts my father has given me, experiencing the joy of being outdoors is one of the greatest. It's truly been an integral part of my life--from the countless hours spent running on trails in the Berkshires, to skiing, hiking, and simply having the capacity to enjoy a walk or moment in nature. I'm thankful to be passing this gift along to Henry.

In an effort to keep myself motivated in my running, and to track the progress that I make in my quest to get back into shape, I've added a new element to this blog. The "Momma Miles" section in the right-hand column will consist of a record of how many daily miles Henry has "run" in his jogging stroller (walks in the stroller don't count for the tally). We're starting at ground zero here, but I'm hoping that maybe by fall I can run far enough with Henry to enter a race. I think it would be incredibly fun to cross the finish line pushing my little outdoor buddy in front of me.