Because a week without Jonah news is like a week without bullet points: Unthinkable.
Finding the time nowadays to get in all the web site updates I’d like has proved difficult. I had some SiteRev.com assignments last week that took precedence and even if they hadn’t most of my discretionary time—what little of it there is—is spent recuperating from the time I’m spending with Jonah. He is a time- and energy-intensive being!
So let me talk about Jonah for a bit. His bottom two front teeth are in, and he’s started, much to Erin’s dismay, to use them occasionally when breast feeding. (Ouch!) Her yelps have perhaps given him the clue that this is bad behavior, but perhaps they haven’t. We’ll see how it goes tonight. Regardless, he continues to feed just fine. We’re only a few weeks from starting him on solids, so if nothing else his diapers are going to smell horrible (OK, more horrible) soon. Not exactly looking forward to that, but as I say, we’ll see how it goes.
Another thing we’ll see about is just how well he gets to bed. This has proved mightily difficult in the last week. Jonah simply hates going down when he’s tired, and it’s taking a lot of effort to get him to drift off to slumberland. Once he’s there, he’s usually OK for the night (which is terrific), but the nights are presently our toughest challenge with him. I don’t think there’s any benefit yet to letting him cry himself to sleep, because I think it’s a mistake to have him feel like his crib is a prison. When he cries—the only effective communication method he has in these circumstances—he needs to feel like someone will be there for him. My attitude on this will change once he’s older, but at five months I think the best thing we can do for him, at all times really, is assure him that he’s safe and secure and that the everything will be OK.
Which it is. Other than these two issues, life is happiness. He’s generally speaking a very happy child who enjoys cuddling, playing with toys and people, and looking at a variety of different things. He’s in the midst of the oral exploration stage, by which I mean that the way he experiences an object is to put it in his mouth. It’s made us very deliberate about what items we hand him, which is a good thing, I’m sure. It’s a lot of fun watch.
Since the weather has turned colder, we’ve had to shut the doors to the bedrooms at night. That’s meant using a baby monitor to keep tabs on Jonah, and I dare say that so far it’s a strategy that’s worked well. Plus we get lower heating bills, which is nice. Our repeated and continuing thanks to everyone who helped in the remodeling of Jonah’s nursery. Ya’ll did a great job, and the insulated walls make a world of difference for the boy.
Jonah’s outgrown his infant car seat. We can still squeeze him in, but it’s really time to set him up in the new Britax Marathon. That means no more carrying him around the house in the car seat, because the Marathon is huge and doesn’t have handles in any case. The upside is that he’ll be a lot safer in the Britax (not to mention in a car with antilock brakes and dual airbags for his parents).
Jonah’s six month Well-Baby appointment comes at the end of this month. I anticipate nothing but good news.