Hello everyone,
Well, this will officially be my last post. I'm going back to work in September (3 days/week - Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays), so will be needing the time to mark student work, plan lessons, etc. Sure hope you've enjoyed keeping track of Spencer through this blog, though - I've definitely enjoyed writing it!
As of Friday (4 days ago), Spencer weighed in at 26lbs 3oz. He also grew 1 cm in both length and head circumference this month. To "get around", at this point, he log rolls. Yes, log rolls. If he sees a toy he wants and it's out of his reach, this is what he'll do. It's not pretty, but it works, haha! : ) By way of teeth, he's now the proud owner of 4. The top two and the bottom two. Pretty cute it is. Yup, our little boy is indeed growing up!
A cute thing he does these days is when he's given something in his hand (a toy, a piece of food, whatever), he'll "examine" it. He'll look at one side, then turn it around and look at the other side, then he'll shake it a few times. Then, it might go into the mouth after that. It's pretty funny to watch. I know for some babies, everything immediately goes into the mouth, but for Spencer, he likes to take his time and check it out at every angle first.
We haven't had another asthma attack, thank goodness. Clear for the past 6+ weeks now. I'm hoping it won't happen again, but if it does, I'm hoping they won't crop up often. So far, so good. Same goes with allergies - none to speak of to date. In fact, I was thinking about it since Spencer's turned 1 this past weekend and we've been unbelievably lucky when it comes to illness. Especially considering he's a preemie! Aside from the 2 asthma attacks (the initial one was diagnosed as croup, but because it had exactly the same symptoms as the second one, I'm almost certain that an asthma attack was what it was), Spencer's been remarkably healthy. No fevers at all to speak of, not even a runny nose. Knock on wood!! Drew and I don't get sick too terribly often, so I'm hoping that Spencer follows after us in that regard.
We have him signed up for swimming lessons (Waterbabies 2) and music classes this Fall. The daycare we're bringing him to is called Rainforest and it seems fantastic. It's right around the corner, about a 3 minute drive from us. We go for gradual entry three times the week after next, to "ease him in" to the idea. I'm praying it will all go smoothly!!
Well, that's all the new news for now. Again, thank you for reading his blog all these months .. as I said, I've really enjoyed writing it. If you're ever wanting an update, please don't hesitate to call us. We'd love to hear from you!
Lots of love and hugs,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xo
PS - Scroll down to see the birthday party pictures ...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Spencer - 8 Months Corrected
Hi Everyone,
Well, Spencer continues to thrive in the growing department - as of last Wednesday, he was 25 lbs 3 oz! 1 lb 9 oz gain from last month. Percentiles when measured against other 8 month olds: for his head circumference, which is 47 cm, up 0.5 cm - last month he was in the 95% and now is 96%, weight was 98% last month and now is 99%, and length (which is now at 75 cm, up 2 cm) was 93% last month and now is 95%. If measured next to other 11 month olds (Spencer's "actual" age), he'd be at the 80% for head circumference (last month was 75%), 90% for weight (last month was 81st) and 63rd for length (last month was 52nd). Not that I'm surprised in the least, considering how much this boy loves his food! He still cries when he hasn't had enough or if he's not being fed fast enough. Too funny! He eats a whole array of things now and thankfully continues not to show any signs of allergies. I don't give him any jarred food at all anymore - instead, I mash up "regular" food. So far, Spencer likes/will eat everything he's been given. The one thing he makes a funny face with (but still eats it) - surprisingly, considering how yummy it is - is watermelon. Maybe it's the texture he doesn't like. Who knows. He'll still eat it, but I can tell it's not his favourite. Something he really seems to like though is when I blend up an apple to add to his morning cereal and then sprinkle some cinnamon on it. He loves it and gobbles it up at breakneck speed!
Milestone-wise, Spencer is sitting up beautifully now. No more sitting and falling over, sitting and falling over. No interest in crawling yet, though not that I'm wishing for it ... I know how much life will change once he's on the move! Developmentally, Spencer tends to do things according to his corrected age rather than his actual age, which I guess makes sense.
Another fun thing he's just started doing as of about a week ago is clapping his hands. If you say to him, "Pattycake, Spencer", he'll actually clap for you ... most of the time. Drew's mom figured this out and now it's a game to see if he'll do it for you on command or not. 75% of the time, he will. It's very cute!
A sound he likes to make these days is, "Aaa-Ddd". No idea why. Just two sounds he likes the sound of, I guess.
One "scare" to mention that happened on June 21 ... after taking Spencer to Maplewood Farm for a couple of hours, that night at 3am, he woke up wheezing and not being able to take proper breaths. Down to the hospital we went and after a blood test, chest x-ray and doctor exam, it was deemed that Spencer likely has infant-onset asthma. He was given an inhaler complete with a mask ('cause of course, a baby doesn't know how to inhale the medicine in, so it has to be puffed into a storage chamber and the baby then breathes it through the tiny mask that fits over their nose and mouth). I'm told that baby asthma gets triggered by something at this age (in this case, they think it was the animal dander in the air at the farm) ... so basically he doesn't need the inhaler every day, but rather when he's showing signs of being "wheezy". He hasn't needed it since and I'm hoping he won't for a while. It was scary hearing him breathe like that, but thankfully, we're only minutes away from the hospital! Asthma is definitely something I can deal with, considering how premature Spencer was.
We've also been seeing a physio for Spencer's "flat head" ... it's from lying too much on the left side (when he is sleeping or in the car - his head always went to the left) and now - unfortunately - that side has a flat spot to it. The physio gives us exercises to do and insists that we position Spencer's head to the right whenever and wherever possible, which is what we've been very diligent about for the past month now. It seems to be working - I've noticed a difference from a few weeks ago. Thankfully, his head is still soft enough to still be "mold-able" ... one year corrected age (so, in November) is when a head starts hardening up, so we have about four more months to mold it into a nice head shape for him! Some babies have to wear helmets to correct the shape - Spencer was assessed for one, but told that positioning and the exercises in his case would be good enough. Apparently, the "flat head" issue is becoming more and more widespread these days, ever since the push to put babies on their back to sleep (to prevent SIDS) came into practice about fifteen years ago.
Well, that's about all for this post ... the day after tomorrow, we leave on a 3 1/2 week vacation to New Mexico, Texas and the Caribbean and are hoping that Spencer will be a good little traveler! We're looking forward to showing him all there is to see in that part of the world.
So, until next month then!
Thanks for reading,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xo
PS -Please scroll down to see this month's latest photos. Enjoy!
Well, Spencer continues to thrive in the growing department - as of last Wednesday, he was 25 lbs 3 oz! 1 lb 9 oz gain from last month. Percentiles when measured against other 8 month olds: for his head circumference, which is 47 cm, up 0.5 cm - last month he was in the 95% and now is 96%, weight was 98% last month and now is 99%, and length (which is now at 75 cm, up 2 cm) was 93% last month and now is 95%. If measured next to other 11 month olds (Spencer's "actual" age), he'd be at the 80% for head circumference (last month was 75%), 90% for weight (last month was 81st) and 63rd for length (last month was 52nd). Not that I'm surprised in the least, considering how much this boy loves his food! He still cries when he hasn't had enough or if he's not being fed fast enough. Too funny! He eats a whole array of things now and thankfully continues not to show any signs of allergies. I don't give him any jarred food at all anymore - instead, I mash up "regular" food. So far, Spencer likes/will eat everything he's been given. The one thing he makes a funny face with (but still eats it) - surprisingly, considering how yummy it is - is watermelon. Maybe it's the texture he doesn't like. Who knows. He'll still eat it, but I can tell it's not his favourite. Something he really seems to like though is when I blend up an apple to add to his morning cereal and then sprinkle some cinnamon on it. He loves it and gobbles it up at breakneck speed!
Milestone-wise, Spencer is sitting up beautifully now. No more sitting and falling over, sitting and falling over. No interest in crawling yet, though not that I'm wishing for it ... I know how much life will change once he's on the move! Developmentally, Spencer tends to do things according to his corrected age rather than his actual age, which I guess makes sense.
Another fun thing he's just started doing as of about a week ago is clapping his hands. If you say to him, "Pattycake, Spencer", he'll actually clap for you ... most of the time. Drew's mom figured this out and now it's a game to see if he'll do it for you on command or not. 75% of the time, he will. It's very cute!
A sound he likes to make these days is, "Aaa-Ddd". No idea why. Just two sounds he likes the sound of, I guess.
One "scare" to mention that happened on June 21 ... after taking Spencer to Maplewood Farm for a couple of hours, that night at 3am, he woke up wheezing and not being able to take proper breaths. Down to the hospital we went and after a blood test, chest x-ray and doctor exam, it was deemed that Spencer likely has infant-onset asthma. He was given an inhaler complete with a mask ('cause of course, a baby doesn't know how to inhale the medicine in, so it has to be puffed into a storage chamber and the baby then breathes it through the tiny mask that fits over their nose and mouth). I'm told that baby asthma gets triggered by something at this age (in this case, they think it was the animal dander in the air at the farm) ... so basically he doesn't need the inhaler every day, but rather when he's showing signs of being "wheezy". He hasn't needed it since and I'm hoping he won't for a while. It was scary hearing him breathe like that, but thankfully, we're only minutes away from the hospital! Asthma is definitely something I can deal with, considering how premature Spencer was.
We've also been seeing a physio for Spencer's "flat head" ... it's from lying too much on the left side (when he is sleeping or in the car - his head always went to the left) and now - unfortunately - that side has a flat spot to it. The physio gives us exercises to do and insists that we position Spencer's head to the right whenever and wherever possible, which is what we've been very diligent about for the past month now. It seems to be working - I've noticed a difference from a few weeks ago. Thankfully, his head is still soft enough to still be "mold-able" ... one year corrected age (so, in November) is when a head starts hardening up, so we have about four more months to mold it into a nice head shape for him! Some babies have to wear helmets to correct the shape - Spencer was assessed for one, but told that positioning and the exercises in his case would be good enough. Apparently, the "flat head" issue is becoming more and more widespread these days, ever since the push to put babies on their back to sleep (to prevent SIDS) came into practice about fifteen years ago.
Well, that's about all for this post ... the day after tomorrow, we leave on a 3 1/2 week vacation to New Mexico, Texas and the Caribbean and are hoping that Spencer will be a good little traveler! We're looking forward to showing him all there is to see in that part of the world.
So, until next month then!
Thanks for reading,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xo
PS -Please scroll down to see this month's latest photos. Enjoy!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Spencer - 7 Months Corrected Age
Hello,
So as of today, the 3rd, Spencer's a whopping 7 months corrected! Wow. This afternoon, I just had him weighed and measured .. he is now 23 lbs 7oz - he gained 2lbs 1oz this past month, is 73cm tall (gain of 1cm) and his head circumference is 46.5cm (1 cm gain .. please ignore the typo in last month's update - it said 25.5cm, but it should have said 45.5cm). So, all continues to go well with the growing! As for the percentiles, they are steadily swinging upwards - if compared to other 7 month olds, he is at the 95th for head circumference (last month, 86th), 98th for weight (last month, 93rd) and 93rd for length (last month, 91st). If compared to other almost 10 month olds (chronologically, Spencer will be 10 months on June 7th), he is at the 75th for head circumference (last month, 49th), the 81st for weight (last month, 60th) and the 52nd for length (last month, 41st). We are very pleased!
The biggest news of the month is that Spencer is now the proud new owner of two little teeth! The first one (the bottom left) came in on May 10th and the second one (bottom right) on May 27th. Neither one is completely all the way up yet, but both have cut through the gums, so the most painful part is over. By way of symptoms, he escaped the fever and the crankiness, but got a terrible diaper rash (his first one) that took just over a week of dousing every diaper change with zinc oxide to clear. He's also been waking up once a night to feed again .. has been for the past 2 weeks. Either the teeth or a 6 month growth spurt that's brought that on, I'm thinking. Hopefully, he'll go back to sleeping through the night again very soon!
The eating continues to go well. He has graduated to jarred meat foods now, rather than just the vegetables - things like vegetable beef, chicken noodle dinner, sweet potato and turkey and vegetables, beef and spaghetti. He loves it! He now has one entire jar for dinner (he used to only eat 1/2 a jar) and finishes up with an entire piece of fruit (mainly apples, pears or bananas, but I've given him plums, apricots and peaches too) that I blend up for him. Breakfast is 6-7 tbsp of cereal and one piece of fruit. Definitely a big eater! And still no allergies at all to speak of, thank goodness. Up until today, I have only been feeding him breakfast and dinner because I was told that at his age, he should still be getting most of his nutrients from breast milk/formula, so shouldn't "fill up" on solids. Today at preemie group, though (we go once a month), I was given the go ahead to start giving him lunch and as well, graduating from purees to mashed foods! For lunch today, he got a mashed up avocado (his first time for mashed food, which is a lot chunkier than blended, as well as the first time for avocado) and he loved it! At first, he gave me a funny look, as if to say, "what's this you're feeding me", but as he got into it, he really liked gumming the bits and swallowing them up! Maybe a new mom thing, but I was paranoid he was going to sputter and gag on the chunkier pieces .. but he didn't at all. Next, I'm going to try him with Cheerios. So much fun, this new foods thing - it's a lot of fun to watch his reaction to different tastes and textures!
As for milestones, Spencer is able to roll over both ways (back to front just came recently, but he's been doing front to back for a while now), pick up toys from the floor or ground and transfer them from hand to hand, and is at the stage where he can sit for about half a minute before toppling over. Apparently, sitting up solidly without toppling comes at 8 months corrected, so we still have another month before he'll be able to do that more solidly than he can do it now. He also likes to bang things and loves the copy game, where we bang, he bangs, we bang, he bangs. He makes all kinds of sounds - the latest ones being a "kkk" sound in the back of his throat and a "ppp" sound with his lips pursed tight ... the hardest one to take though is the high pitched scream, followed by a big grin - he is so proud of himself that he's able to make such a loud noise! He doesn't do it often, but when he does, it's ear piercing! His favourite sleeping position is on his back, with his hands up at right angles up and over his head. It's very cute. It'll be interesting to see if he'll always be a back sleeper? It's definitely my least favourite way to sleep! One of my favourite things this past month has been when he falls asleep on my shoulder, as I'm giving him a burp. It is one of the sweetest and most serene moments of my day and I'll never tire of it. He curls up in my neck and I can feel his little breath .. I love every second of it!
Swimming lessons are going well, as is music class. Being put underwater doesn't phase Spencer anymore .. he is perfectly fine with it now. There are two more lessons in this session, then we'll break for the summer and start up again in the fall. Music goes through the summer and I've signed him up for fall classes .. he loves it and I definitely see the benefit of the class.
Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next month's update! Oh, and I'll post some new pictures as well, so please stay tuned for those.
Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
So as of today, the 3rd, Spencer's a whopping 7 months corrected! Wow. This afternoon, I just had him weighed and measured .. he is now 23 lbs 7oz - he gained 2lbs 1oz this past month, is 73cm tall (gain of 1cm) and his head circumference is 46.5cm (1 cm gain .. please ignore the typo in last month's update - it said 25.5cm, but it should have said 45.5cm). So, all continues to go well with the growing! As for the percentiles, they are steadily swinging upwards - if compared to other 7 month olds, he is at the 95th for head circumference (last month, 86th), 98th for weight (last month, 93rd) and 93rd for length (last month, 91st). If compared to other almost 10 month olds (chronologically, Spencer will be 10 months on June 7th), he is at the 75th for head circumference (last month, 49th), the 81st for weight (last month, 60th) and the 52nd for length (last month, 41st). We are very pleased!
The biggest news of the month is that Spencer is now the proud new owner of two little teeth! The first one (the bottom left) came in on May 10th and the second one (bottom right) on May 27th. Neither one is completely all the way up yet, but both have cut through the gums, so the most painful part is over. By way of symptoms, he escaped the fever and the crankiness, but got a terrible diaper rash (his first one) that took just over a week of dousing every diaper change with zinc oxide to clear. He's also been waking up once a night to feed again .. has been for the past 2 weeks. Either the teeth or a 6 month growth spurt that's brought that on, I'm thinking. Hopefully, he'll go back to sleeping through the night again very soon!
The eating continues to go well. He has graduated to jarred meat foods now, rather than just the vegetables - things like vegetable beef, chicken noodle dinner, sweet potato and turkey and vegetables, beef and spaghetti. He loves it! He now has one entire jar for dinner (he used to only eat 1/2 a jar) and finishes up with an entire piece of fruit (mainly apples, pears or bananas, but I've given him plums, apricots and peaches too) that I blend up for him. Breakfast is 6-7 tbsp of cereal and one piece of fruit. Definitely a big eater! And still no allergies at all to speak of, thank goodness. Up until today, I have only been feeding him breakfast and dinner because I was told that at his age, he should still be getting most of his nutrients from breast milk/formula, so shouldn't "fill up" on solids. Today at preemie group, though (we go once a month), I was given the go ahead to start giving him lunch and as well, graduating from purees to mashed foods! For lunch today, he got a mashed up avocado (his first time for mashed food, which is a lot chunkier than blended, as well as the first time for avocado) and he loved it! At first, he gave me a funny look, as if to say, "what's this you're feeding me", but as he got into it, he really liked gumming the bits and swallowing them up! Maybe a new mom thing, but I was paranoid he was going to sputter and gag on the chunkier pieces .. but he didn't at all. Next, I'm going to try him with Cheerios. So much fun, this new foods thing - it's a lot of fun to watch his reaction to different tastes and textures!
As for milestones, Spencer is able to roll over both ways (back to front just came recently, but he's been doing front to back for a while now), pick up toys from the floor or ground and transfer them from hand to hand, and is at the stage where he can sit for about half a minute before toppling over. Apparently, sitting up solidly without toppling comes at 8 months corrected, so we still have another month before he'll be able to do that more solidly than he can do it now. He also likes to bang things and loves the copy game, where we bang, he bangs, we bang, he bangs. He makes all kinds of sounds - the latest ones being a "kkk" sound in the back of his throat and a "ppp" sound with his lips pursed tight ... the hardest one to take though is the high pitched scream, followed by a big grin - he is so proud of himself that he's able to make such a loud noise! He doesn't do it often, but when he does, it's ear piercing! His favourite sleeping position is on his back, with his hands up at right angles up and over his head. It's very cute. It'll be interesting to see if he'll always be a back sleeper? It's definitely my least favourite way to sleep! One of my favourite things this past month has been when he falls asleep on my shoulder, as I'm giving him a burp. It is one of the sweetest and most serene moments of my day and I'll never tire of it. He curls up in my neck and I can feel his little breath .. I love every second of it!
Swimming lessons are going well, as is music class. Being put underwater doesn't phase Spencer anymore .. he is perfectly fine with it now. There are two more lessons in this session, then we'll break for the summer and start up again in the fall. Music goes through the summer and I've signed him up for fall classes .. he loves it and I definitely see the benefit of the class.
Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next month's update! Oh, and I'll post some new pictures as well, so please stay tuned for those.
Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Spencer - 6 Months Corrected Age
Hi There,
So hard to believe Spencer is 6 months old (corrected) already! Time sure goes fast. As of today, May 5th, he weighs 21 lbs 6 oz and is 72 cm long. Head circumference is 25.5 cm. From last month, it's a gain of just under 2 lbs weight wise, 3 cm length wise and 1 cm head circumference wise. Again, if you're someone who reads into percentiles, when measured against other 6 month olds, he's in the 86th for head circumference (last month was 84th), 93rd for weight (exactly the same as last month) and 91st for length (last month was 89th). If you were to compare him to other 9 month olds (chronologically, Spencer will be 9 months in two days), he'd be in the 49th for head circumference (was 40th last month), 60th for weight (was 49th last month) and 41st for length (last month was 33rd). Heading in the right direction! All is well on the growing front.
Holy cow, as I mentioned last month, Spencer LOVES food. To date, he's had each of the different cereals (rice, oat, barley, wheat), several vegetables (carrots, peas, squash, green beans and sweet potatoes so far) and quite a few different types of fruit (so far, apples, pears, peaches, bananas, blueberries and raspberries) and he'll happily gobble up whatever is being offered to him ... there hasn't been a single thing he doesn't like! (Thankfully, there hasn't been a single thing he's been allergic to, either). He eats quite a lot, too - he'll have 6 tbsp of cereal AND half a jar of fruit for breakfast as well as half a jar of vegetables and half a jar of fruit for dinner. This is in addition to all the milk he gets in one day! (I nurse him, on average, three times a day and he gets topped up with bottles of formula when we're out and about). He is definitely quite the eater. He also likes those little Baby Mum-Mum rice rusk things and will gum away at those whenever he's offered them.
There are two things that will cause him to cry while eating. One, if you're not putting the food on the spoon fast enough for him (pretty funny) and two, if you finish the bowl and he hasn't had enough yet, he'll let you know it and off you have to go to the kitchen to get more! It's cute. : D We've been feeding him jarred food so far, mainly because at first I was worried that I wouldn't do as good of a job as Heinz or Gerber does at blending the food well enough for there not still to be any little chunks in it that could choke him. Maybe a paranoid first time mom thing, but so be it, haha! : D The past few days though, I've tried making my own applesauce, pears and bananas and that's gone ok. So, I'm thinking maybe I'll do a combination of jarred food and homemade food.
Music class (once a week) and swimming lessons (once a week) are the two "activities" we have Spencer in right now. I think it's just the right amount for a baby of his age - I definitely don't want to be one of those parents who overschedule their kids! The music is outstanding - the teacher is fantastic - and the swimming is something he seems to enjoy. One thing that the instructor (on only the 2nd class!) had the parents do was blow in the child's face so that, by instinct, they'd close their eyes, and then dunk them under the water for a couple of seconds. The first two times Drew put him under, Spencer came up crying, but the third and fourth time, he was fine with it. I guess the thought is to get the babies comfortable with being under water as early on as they can.
Thumb sucking isn't something that Spencer has been doing too much of this month (maybe Drew's idea with the socks on the hands worked!), but he has now taken to sucking on his pointer finger! A funny choice - I've never known a baby to pick that one to suck on, but Spencer loves it - sucking, gnawing and chomping on it a few times a day.
Speaking of chomping, there's no teeth to speak of yet ... but, they're coming. He hasn't had the fever or the red cheeks that I hear can come with teething, but he's been drooling up a storm for the past two months! We'll see when his first tooth breaks - I imagine it may be in the next month or so.
One more thing to mention - 'cause I find it hard to believe - is that Spencer is an outstanding car traveler. Sometimes, I'll think he's asleep 'cause he's so quiet and when I glance in the rearview window to see, he's just sitting there, as relaxed and content as can be, looking out the window at the passing cars, trees, etc. It's awesome ... and I sure hope he'll be like that when he's older, rather than being one of those "are we there yet" and "how much longer" kids (like his mommy was)!
Well, I guess that's it for this month. Hope you enjoyed the update and if you have a chance, scroll down for this past month's photos - there's 5 of them.
Alright, stay tuned for the next installment of the "Life and Times of Spencer" in another four weeks' time!
Tara, Drew & Spencer xo
So hard to believe Spencer is 6 months old (corrected) already! Time sure goes fast. As of today, May 5th, he weighs 21 lbs 6 oz and is 72 cm long. Head circumference is 25.5 cm. From last month, it's a gain of just under 2 lbs weight wise, 3 cm length wise and 1 cm head circumference wise. Again, if you're someone who reads into percentiles, when measured against other 6 month olds, he's in the 86th for head circumference (last month was 84th), 93rd for weight (exactly the same as last month) and 91st for length (last month was 89th). If you were to compare him to other 9 month olds (chronologically, Spencer will be 9 months in two days), he'd be in the 49th for head circumference (was 40th last month), 60th for weight (was 49th last month) and 41st for length (last month was 33rd). Heading in the right direction! All is well on the growing front.
Holy cow, as I mentioned last month, Spencer LOVES food. To date, he's had each of the different cereals (rice, oat, barley, wheat), several vegetables (carrots, peas, squash, green beans and sweet potatoes so far) and quite a few different types of fruit (so far, apples, pears, peaches, bananas, blueberries and raspberries) and he'll happily gobble up whatever is being offered to him ... there hasn't been a single thing he doesn't like! (Thankfully, there hasn't been a single thing he's been allergic to, either). He eats quite a lot, too - he'll have 6 tbsp of cereal AND half a jar of fruit for breakfast as well as half a jar of vegetables and half a jar of fruit for dinner. This is in addition to all the milk he gets in one day! (I nurse him, on average, three times a day and he gets topped up with bottles of formula when we're out and about). He is definitely quite the eater. He also likes those little Baby Mum-Mum rice rusk things and will gum away at those whenever he's offered them.
There are two things that will cause him to cry while eating. One, if you're not putting the food on the spoon fast enough for him (pretty funny) and two, if you finish the bowl and he hasn't had enough yet, he'll let you know it and off you have to go to the kitchen to get more! It's cute. : D We've been feeding him jarred food so far, mainly because at first I was worried that I wouldn't do as good of a job as Heinz or Gerber does at blending the food well enough for there not still to be any little chunks in it that could choke him. Maybe a paranoid first time mom thing, but so be it, haha! : D The past few days though, I've tried making my own applesauce, pears and bananas and that's gone ok. So, I'm thinking maybe I'll do a combination of jarred food and homemade food.
Music class (once a week) and swimming lessons (once a week) are the two "activities" we have Spencer in right now. I think it's just the right amount for a baby of his age - I definitely don't want to be one of those parents who overschedule their kids! The music is outstanding - the teacher is fantastic - and the swimming is something he seems to enjoy. One thing that the instructor (on only the 2nd class!) had the parents do was blow in the child's face so that, by instinct, they'd close their eyes, and then dunk them under the water for a couple of seconds. The first two times Drew put him under, Spencer came up crying, but the third and fourth time, he was fine with it. I guess the thought is to get the babies comfortable with being under water as early on as they can.
Thumb sucking isn't something that Spencer has been doing too much of this month (maybe Drew's idea with the socks on the hands worked!), but he has now taken to sucking on his pointer finger! A funny choice - I've never known a baby to pick that one to suck on, but Spencer loves it - sucking, gnawing and chomping on it a few times a day.
Speaking of chomping, there's no teeth to speak of yet ... but, they're coming. He hasn't had the fever or the red cheeks that I hear can come with teething, but he's been drooling up a storm for the past two months! We'll see when his first tooth breaks - I imagine it may be in the next month or so.
One more thing to mention - 'cause I find it hard to believe - is that Spencer is an outstanding car traveler. Sometimes, I'll think he's asleep 'cause he's so quiet and when I glance in the rearview window to see, he's just sitting there, as relaxed and content as can be, looking out the window at the passing cars, trees, etc. It's awesome ... and I sure hope he'll be like that when he's older, rather than being one of those "are we there yet" and "how much longer" kids (like his mommy was)!
Well, I guess that's it for this month. Hope you enjoyed the update and if you have a chance, scroll down for this past month's photos - there's 5 of them.
Alright, stay tuned for the next installment of the "Life and Times of Spencer" in another four weeks' time!
Tara, Drew & Spencer xo
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Spencer - 5 Months Corrected Age
Howdy,
Well, it's been an eventful month! Spencer had his first ever illness ... it started out as croup, complete with the barking seal cough and everything, poor little guy. Thankfully, after twelve days worth of prescription medicine, it cleared up and he's now as good as new.
A couple of weeks ago was Spencer's pediatrician check-up and Dr. Cieslak said he couldn't be more pleased with his progress. He weighed, measured, poked and prodded Spencer and at the end of the appointment, he said for me to "bring Spencer back when he is one year old unless you have any concerns up until then, but I sure don't anticipate any, you have one completely strong and healthy baby there"!!! Wow, music to a preemie parent's ears. ; ) Believe me, I don't take a single thing for granted and am so thankful that we're so lucky that Spencer is doing so well. He truly is our little miracle.
On the same day as the pediatrician appointment, Spencer had his follow-up eye exam with the pediatric optometrist. His eyes are healthy and fine. "No glasses or other corrective measures required", she said! Another stroke of good luck and another reason to thank our lucky stars. And believe me, I do. EVERY DAY! : )
For a few weeks now, Spencer has "graduated" to solid foods. He started out with rice cereal and has since made the rounds through oat, barley and as of today, wheat. So far no allergies to any of it and once we make our way through this package of wheat cereal, we'll start in on the veggies. Can I just say though, how much he LOVES the food? At one of our preemie groups, I was told that oftentimes, preemies have a hard time eating and can choke and gag on the cereal when they first start on it. Well, from the get go, Spencer has downed every mouthful and more times than not, will cry for more as I'm putting the next spoonful on the spoon! In other words, I can't get it into his mouth fast enough! Pretty funny.
Two weekends ago, Drew and I took him swimming for the first time. He starts lessons on the 11th of April (this coming Sunday), so we wanted to bring him to the pool a couple of times first, so he'd be somewhat used to the water. We take him to the pool right around the corner from us (it's a 7 minute walk, which will be super nice in the summer!) and - thank god - it's as warm as a bathtub and is also ozonated, which means there's not much chlorine in it. When Spencer first got in the water, he was looking around with a very apprehensive look on his face - not scared, not upset, just a look of "where am I and what is this?" It was pretty cute. By the end though, he was splashing his arms, kicking his legs and squealing .. he loved it!
As of today, he now weighs ... get this, 19lbs 10.5 oz! He gained 3 lbs this past month - holy cow, a big boy he is turning out to be. Length-wise, he's now 69 cm (up 3 cm from last month) and head circumference is at 44.5 cm (up 1 cm from last month). If you go by percentiles (some people swear by them, others don't think they mean much - I'm somewhere in the middle), he's now at the 84th for head circumference (was 81st last month), 93rd for weight (was 73rd last month) and 89th for length (was 85th last month) when measured against other 5 month old babies. If we were to measure him with other 8 month olds (which is Spencer's "chronological" age), he'd be in the 40th for head circumference, the 49th for weight and the 33rd for length. Last month, it was 30th, 12th and 18th (when measured with other 7 month olds). So, this month has certainly been a good growing month for our little man!
All is well. Personality-wise, Spencer is still a happy, easygoing baby who smiles easily and loves to gab away to all who will listen. He still sucks his thumb from time to time ... a habit neither Drew or I want him to have (I was a thumb sucker and had the buck teeth and braces to prove it, ouch - not fun!) ... so Drew has come up with a way to try and put a stop to it -- by putting socks on his hands! Not sure if it'll work, but it's worth a try, haha! Take it from me, thumb sucking is a tough habit to break and never starting in the first place is the best way to break it! Socks don't taste nearly as good as a nice, soggy thumb, so we're hoping this'll do the trick. ; )
Well, I guess that's all the "new news" until next month. Please scroll down for some recent pictures .. I've uploaded 8 for you all to see!
Thanks for reading and take care, everyone ...
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Well, it's been an eventful month! Spencer had his first ever illness ... it started out as croup, complete with the barking seal cough and everything, poor little guy. Thankfully, after twelve days worth of prescription medicine, it cleared up and he's now as good as new.
A couple of weeks ago was Spencer's pediatrician check-up and Dr. Cieslak said he couldn't be more pleased with his progress. He weighed, measured, poked and prodded Spencer and at the end of the appointment, he said for me to "bring Spencer back when he is one year old unless you have any concerns up until then, but I sure don't anticipate any, you have one completely strong and healthy baby there"!!! Wow, music to a preemie parent's ears. ; ) Believe me, I don't take a single thing for granted and am so thankful that we're so lucky that Spencer is doing so well. He truly is our little miracle.
On the same day as the pediatrician appointment, Spencer had his follow-up eye exam with the pediatric optometrist. His eyes are healthy and fine. "No glasses or other corrective measures required", she said! Another stroke of good luck and another reason to thank our lucky stars. And believe me, I do. EVERY DAY! : )
For a few weeks now, Spencer has "graduated" to solid foods. He started out with rice cereal and has since made the rounds through oat, barley and as of today, wheat. So far no allergies to any of it and once we make our way through this package of wheat cereal, we'll start in on the veggies. Can I just say though, how much he LOVES the food? At one of our preemie groups, I was told that oftentimes, preemies have a hard time eating and can choke and gag on the cereal when they first start on it. Well, from the get go, Spencer has downed every mouthful and more times than not, will cry for more as I'm putting the next spoonful on the spoon! In other words, I can't get it into his mouth fast enough! Pretty funny.
Two weekends ago, Drew and I took him swimming for the first time. He starts lessons on the 11th of April (this coming Sunday), so we wanted to bring him to the pool a couple of times first, so he'd be somewhat used to the water. We take him to the pool right around the corner from us (it's a 7 minute walk, which will be super nice in the summer!) and - thank god - it's as warm as a bathtub and is also ozonated, which means there's not much chlorine in it. When Spencer first got in the water, he was looking around with a very apprehensive look on his face - not scared, not upset, just a look of "where am I and what is this?" It was pretty cute. By the end though, he was splashing his arms, kicking his legs and squealing .. he loved it!
As of today, he now weighs ... get this, 19lbs 10.5 oz! He gained 3 lbs this past month - holy cow, a big boy he is turning out to be. Length-wise, he's now 69 cm (up 3 cm from last month) and head circumference is at 44.5 cm (up 1 cm from last month). If you go by percentiles (some people swear by them, others don't think they mean much - I'm somewhere in the middle), he's now at the 84th for head circumference (was 81st last month), 93rd for weight (was 73rd last month) and 89th for length (was 85th last month) when measured against other 5 month old babies. If we were to measure him with other 8 month olds (which is Spencer's "chronological" age), he'd be in the 40th for head circumference, the 49th for weight and the 33rd for length. Last month, it was 30th, 12th and 18th (when measured with other 7 month olds). So, this month has certainly been a good growing month for our little man!
All is well. Personality-wise, Spencer is still a happy, easygoing baby who smiles easily and loves to gab away to all who will listen. He still sucks his thumb from time to time ... a habit neither Drew or I want him to have (I was a thumb sucker and had the buck teeth and braces to prove it, ouch - not fun!) ... so Drew has come up with a way to try and put a stop to it -- by putting socks on his hands! Not sure if it'll work, but it's worth a try, haha! Take it from me, thumb sucking is a tough habit to break and never starting in the first place is the best way to break it! Socks don't taste nearly as good as a nice, soggy thumb, so we're hoping this'll do the trick. ; )
Well, I guess that's all the "new news" until next month. Please scroll down for some recent pictures .. I've uploaded 8 for you all to see!
Thanks for reading and take care, everyone ...
Tara, Drew & Spencer xoxo
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Spencer - 4 Months Corrected Age
Hello there,
Just wanted to give a written update, since today is Spencer's 4 month "corrected age" birthday! Wowsers, time goes quickly. STILL no runny noses, fevers or diaper rashes (knock on wood) ... he continues to be a healthy and happy little guy. Today, I had him weighed and measured - he now weighs 16lbs 9oz (up 2lbs 7oz from last month), he's 26 inches long (up 1/2 an inch from last month .. doesn't sound like much, but gaining 2lbs 7oz in one month is quite a bit, so it seems he's been using his energy for that!) and his head circumference is 43.5cm (up 1.5 cm from last month). As far as percentiles go, he's 73rd for weight, 85th for length and 81st for head circumference. Weight has gone up pretty drastically from being in the 53rd percentile from last month .. definitely a lot of energy spent packing on the ounces this past month!
As for new things he's doing, he can hang on to (grasp) toys now. He still hates being on his tummy, though his head/neck are just fine by way of strength .. they have not been wobbly for the past 3 weeks or so. From what I hear, babies just "all of a sudden" grow into liking being on their tummies; suddenly, they like the view of the world they get at that angle. Still waiting on that for Spencer. This past month, we've started brushing his teeth .. well, his gums, anyway since he doesn't have any teeth yet .. the dentist told me that Spencer will have an easier time later letting us brush his teeth, if we start him off young. We use Gerber apple/banana flavoured toothpaste (which doesn't have any fluoride). He doesn't mind us brushing his teeth at all - he'll happily open his mouth for us and let us brush away. He's not a big fan of having his hair brushed, though .. I have a soft baby brush I use and he shies away from it. Kind of funny. He's also graduated to a bigger bath! He no longer fits in the infant baby bath we had for him, so I bought him a different one that is supposed to be the one to use in between the baby bath and the regular bath. Spencer's always quite liked bath time - just sits and listens to all the goofy songs I sing to him. Still a big fan as well of sucking on his hands (and thumbs, for that matter .. hoping this habit doesn't progress!)
Spencer now goes to a once per week Music Class. It's fabulous. The teacher is outstanding. There's singing, dancing, instruments, a little bit of baby massage and we're taught a new sign (for baby sign language) each week. Not bad for a 45 minute class. Next, I want to get him into baby swimming lessons.
For the past 6 days, Spencer has decided to wake up for a feed in the middle of the night again ... he hasn't done that since January 5th! It's just for 15 mins or so, then once he's fed, he drifts back to sleep, but now that I know there's been quite a bit of weight he's put on this past month, I'm thinking (hoping!) it's just a growth spurt and we can enjoy the peaceful, full nights of sleep once again as soon as it's over. I know, I know, I won't get my hopes up 'cause teething is right around the corner ... but a few more weeks of blissful sleep would be fantastic! : D
The newest and cutest thing Spencer has been doing these days is, he's found his voice and can't get enough of listening to it. For the past couple of weeks now, he babbles and gabs at the top of his lungs - "talking", we call it. My favourite time of day used to be when he'd greet me with a big ear to ear grin when I went to get him from the crib in the morning. Now, my favourite time of day is when he greets me in the morning with a big ear to ear grin AND a happy, excited squeal. It's absolutely adorable, I will never tire of it.
Well, that's about it for now. Hope those of you still reading this are enjoying the updates ... stay tuned for more pictures and another update next month!
Love,
Tara, Drew and Spencer xo
Just wanted to give a written update, since today is Spencer's 4 month "corrected age" birthday! Wowsers, time goes quickly. STILL no runny noses, fevers or diaper rashes (knock on wood) ... he continues to be a healthy and happy little guy. Today, I had him weighed and measured - he now weighs 16lbs 9oz (up 2lbs 7oz from last month), he's 26 inches long (up 1/2 an inch from last month .. doesn't sound like much, but gaining 2lbs 7oz in one month is quite a bit, so it seems he's been using his energy for that!) and his head circumference is 43.5cm (up 1.5 cm from last month). As far as percentiles go, he's 73rd for weight, 85th for length and 81st for head circumference. Weight has gone up pretty drastically from being in the 53rd percentile from last month .. definitely a lot of energy spent packing on the ounces this past month!
As for new things he's doing, he can hang on to (grasp) toys now. He still hates being on his tummy, though his head/neck are just fine by way of strength .. they have not been wobbly for the past 3 weeks or so. From what I hear, babies just "all of a sudden" grow into liking being on their tummies; suddenly, they like the view of the world they get at that angle. Still waiting on that for Spencer. This past month, we've started brushing his teeth .. well, his gums, anyway since he doesn't have any teeth yet .. the dentist told me that Spencer will have an easier time later letting us brush his teeth, if we start him off young. We use Gerber apple/banana flavoured toothpaste (which doesn't have any fluoride). He doesn't mind us brushing his teeth at all - he'll happily open his mouth for us and let us brush away. He's not a big fan of having his hair brushed, though .. I have a soft baby brush I use and he shies away from it. Kind of funny. He's also graduated to a bigger bath! He no longer fits in the infant baby bath we had for him, so I bought him a different one that is supposed to be the one to use in between the baby bath and the regular bath. Spencer's always quite liked bath time - just sits and listens to all the goofy songs I sing to him. Still a big fan as well of sucking on his hands (and thumbs, for that matter .. hoping this habit doesn't progress!)
Spencer now goes to a once per week Music Class. It's fabulous. The teacher is outstanding. There's singing, dancing, instruments, a little bit of baby massage and we're taught a new sign (for baby sign language) each week. Not bad for a 45 minute class. Next, I want to get him into baby swimming lessons.
For the past 6 days, Spencer has decided to wake up for a feed in the middle of the night again ... he hasn't done that since January 5th! It's just for 15 mins or so, then once he's fed, he drifts back to sleep, but now that I know there's been quite a bit of weight he's put on this past month, I'm thinking (hoping!) it's just a growth spurt and we can enjoy the peaceful, full nights of sleep once again as soon as it's over. I know, I know, I won't get my hopes up 'cause teething is right around the corner ... but a few more weeks of blissful sleep would be fantastic! : D
The newest and cutest thing Spencer has been doing these days is, he's found his voice and can't get enough of listening to it. For the past couple of weeks now, he babbles and gabs at the top of his lungs - "talking", we call it. My favourite time of day used to be when he'd greet me with a big ear to ear grin when I went to get him from the crib in the morning. Now, my favourite time of day is when he greets me in the morning with a big ear to ear grin AND a happy, excited squeal. It's absolutely adorable, I will never tire of it.
Well, that's about it for now. Hope those of you still reading this are enjoying the updates ... stay tuned for more pictures and another update next month!
Love,
Tara, Drew and Spencer xo
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
3 Months Corrected Age - An Update
Hi Everyone,
Thought I'd write a few lines as an update, rather than just uploading pictures all the time. Having said that, there are 4 new ones up, so please scroll down to have a look! : )
Today, February 3rd, is Spencer's "3 month corrected age" birthday. : ) He is doing very well. Still has yet to get so much as a runny nose ... or even a diaper rash! He's happy and healthy and getting bigger by the day. Just had him weighed today .. 14 lbs 2 oz. Had him measured, too .. 25 1/2 inches. Head circumference ... 16.75 inches. As far as percentiles go, he's at the 53rd for weight, 84th for height and 71st for head circumference. This of course is using a special "premature baby" growth chart, which is what we'll use for the first year and a half or so. After about 20 months they say, he'll have caught up to his peers.
What kinds of things is he doing? He smiles all the time (a pretty easy-going, happy-go-lucky baby so far .. phew!) and "talks" (babbles, coos, etc - such a sweet little sound) and pretty much only cries for two reasons - 'cause he's hungry or 'cause he's on his tummy. He HATES "tummy time", though we're told how important it is for building strong neck, shoulder and back muscles needed for sitting up and crawling ... he screams bloody murder when he's put on his tummy, though - yikes! My solution is, I'll do it for a few minutes at a time and then give him a break.
The best news is ... he sleeps through the night now! Since January 5th (the first night he did it), at 9 weeks corrected age, he's been sleeping from 11pm (ish) until 7am (ish). A few nights, he's even gone slightly longer (9 1/2 hours has been the longest). Can't even tell you how thrilled we are for that ... the sleep deprivation you get from middle of the night feedings is rough! Of course, once he starts teething, etc, we'll likely be back to night-time wake ups ... but for now, we're very happy about it and so thankful for the uninterrupted sleep! : D
We read to him every day and the way he scans the pages and intently looks at the pictures is very cute. He also loves to "stand" on our legs .. we hold on to his hands and with his little legs, he pushes and bobs up and down. So far, he's mastered being able to roll from side to back or side to tummy, but he hasn't managed the complete all the way over, yet. It's coming, though! Another favourite thing he likes to do is suck on his fingers and hands ... he's not a big soother fan (probably a good thing, one less thing to have to wean him from later), but will stick his hands in his mouth and suck away! It's actually quite cute. : )
We're having a ton of fun with him and absolutely love him to pieces. He's a real sweetheart.
Will write again another time. Until then, take care and check back from time to time for more pictures/updates!
Lots of Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer
xoxo
Thought I'd write a few lines as an update, rather than just uploading pictures all the time. Having said that, there are 4 new ones up, so please scroll down to have a look! : )
Today, February 3rd, is Spencer's "3 month corrected age" birthday. : ) He is doing very well. Still has yet to get so much as a runny nose ... or even a diaper rash! He's happy and healthy and getting bigger by the day. Just had him weighed today .. 14 lbs 2 oz. Had him measured, too .. 25 1/2 inches. Head circumference ... 16.75 inches. As far as percentiles go, he's at the 53rd for weight, 84th for height and 71st for head circumference. This of course is using a special "premature baby" growth chart, which is what we'll use for the first year and a half or so. After about 20 months they say, he'll have caught up to his peers.
What kinds of things is he doing? He smiles all the time (a pretty easy-going, happy-go-lucky baby so far .. phew!) and "talks" (babbles, coos, etc - such a sweet little sound) and pretty much only cries for two reasons - 'cause he's hungry or 'cause he's on his tummy. He HATES "tummy time", though we're told how important it is for building strong neck, shoulder and back muscles needed for sitting up and crawling ... he screams bloody murder when he's put on his tummy, though - yikes! My solution is, I'll do it for a few minutes at a time and then give him a break.
The best news is ... he sleeps through the night now! Since January 5th (the first night he did it), at 9 weeks corrected age, he's been sleeping from 11pm (ish) until 7am (ish). A few nights, he's even gone slightly longer (9 1/2 hours has been the longest). Can't even tell you how thrilled we are for that ... the sleep deprivation you get from middle of the night feedings is rough! Of course, once he starts teething, etc, we'll likely be back to night-time wake ups ... but for now, we're very happy about it and so thankful for the uninterrupted sleep! : D
We read to him every day and the way he scans the pages and intently looks at the pictures is very cute. He also loves to "stand" on our legs .. we hold on to his hands and with his little legs, he pushes and bobs up and down. So far, he's mastered being able to roll from side to back or side to tummy, but he hasn't managed the complete all the way over, yet. It's coming, though! Another favourite thing he likes to do is suck on his fingers and hands ... he's not a big soother fan (probably a good thing, one less thing to have to wean him from later), but will stick his hands in his mouth and suck away! It's actually quite cute. : )
We're having a ton of fun with him and absolutely love him to pieces. He's a real sweetheart.
Will write again another time. Until then, take care and check back from time to time for more pictures/updates!
Lots of Love,
Tara, Drew & Spencer
xoxo
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
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