The problem with not blogging regularly is that when you do finally sit down to write a post, it's a a bit overwhelming. So I'll probably keep this short and sweet and give you the highlights of the past weeks.
Evan is already 16 weeks old tomorrow! It's hard to believe. Looking at my postpartum body (I'm talking about you, thighs), I'd swear I'd just given birth. ;) But alas, he's growing so quickly. Evan, that is. (well, and my thighs)
Earlier this week (Tuesday to be exact), he rolled over (tummy to back) for the first time! And...of course I missed it. Oops. I looked away for a moment and when I looked back, he was on his back. I was thrilled, but also wondered if he had truly rolled over or if I had rolled him over myself and forgotten. Ah, the wonders of "Momnesia." Anyhow, after efforts to reproduce it failed, I was convinced he really hadn't rolled on his own. But this morning, he did it again! And I saw it. So yay! Watch out world--Evan is on the move.
He has also been giggling more and more the past few weeks. He's certainly not a laugh monster or anything, but makes an adorable machine gun-like sound when he is amused. It's charming.
Evan loves his books! It's amazing how seriously he looks at them, like he is actually absorbing the pictures and words on the page. We read many books to him each day. He has his favorites, too.
Jungly Tails is a fantastic book for infants--it's colorful, crinkly, makes jungle noises, and has animal tails for baby to grab. He just loves it. He also really likes a book I bought at Costco about a kitty. Really, he likes all of his books and we try to rotate them so he is exposed to a few different ones each day or two.
I tell myself that his love of books makes up for the fact that he also seems to like television. Sigh. I'm certainly not using TV as a babysitter, but he is drawn to it if he catches a glimpse. Like mommy, like son.
In the past week or two, Evan has discovered his feet and is grabbing them more and more. It's so cute! I'm constantly amazed at how flexible babies are and know it is just a matter of time before he is sticking his toes in his mouth. Ewww. And awww.
Speaking of grabbing, he has gotten quite adept at grabbing his toys and is much better at sucking his hands and fingers. He's still not crazy about his pacifier, and seems to prefer his hands. But that's ok--the fingers are always attached. It's much easier that way.
Evan still needs to be swaddled for naps and especially at bedtime. It really soothes him. I suspect we'll have to wean him when he starts consistently rolling over, but until then, I'm thankful we discovered the swaddle. It's been a lifesaver.
He is still napping in his bouncer (I know--bad habits--yada, yada, yada), but is doing really well at night in his crib. He generally goes to bed around 7:30, is fed again at 10:30, wakes once during the night to eat, and wakes for the day at 6 or 6:30. Not bad. And he is pretty good about going to sleep on his own and not fussing or crying too much. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far, we are pleased with nighttime. I'd love for him to sleep through the night, but he is a hungry guy at 3 AM, so I don't see that happening anytime soon.
We bought a jogging stroller, and even though Evan's still too young with run with, it's much better for walks. He seems to like it, especially now that we have figured out that he prefers to look out and see his world. He's very curious, so no reclining or carseat in the stroller for him. He's alert and hates missing out on anything.
Lately, he has been less interested in his activity gym and more fond of his bouncer's toy bar. We also bought him a Bebepod to sit in. His neck and back muscles aren't super strong yet (that giant head is very hard to hold up), but he can sit in it for short periods. I also think it's time I look into buying an exersaucer or jumper, but admit I really don't want a ginormous, ugly plastic plaything in my family room quite yet. But I guess that's just a rite of parenthood.
Unfortunately, he still has symptoms of relux and is spitting up a ton. I think the Zantac helps him feel better, so that's good. But man, I do a lot of laundry since by the end of the day it seems he's spit up on 72849 burp cloths, his clothes, and often, mine.
That's the Evan update for now. It's hard to capture in a few words all he has been up to and how quickly he's changing. It's pretty incredible. But I did just upload some new pictures (13-16 weeks) to Shutterfly. You can see them
here.
In other news, Dave was very sick for a few weeks (pneumonia, he thinks), and is just now feeling a bit better. He has been working crazy hours and barely gets a break. I joined a mom's group and hope to attend a few of their events in the next few weeks (they are very active and have something almost every day). Skating tryouts are soon and I need to get my butt back on the ice. Or at least try to do some sort of exercise so I'm not in such terrible shape.
