Everything that could go wrong did go wrong! Murphy was working extra hours on the day we decided to celebrate the first year of our first born! Even so, in the end it was a nice party after all...
Yesterday, November 28th, Jonathan was one year old! And today, Saturday November 29th we decided to celebrate by inviting the extended family to a tea party. The day started badly because it turned out that the birthday boy is sick. One of those nasty viruses that simply makes you fall flat on your face! This meant that Jonathan was stuck to me all morning and when not, he was sprawled on the floor, powerless! Not the unusual happy picture of the active little boy! The illness showed its signs yesterday, when he threw up at lunch, but as he was happy and playful after that event, we were hopeful. Saturday, showed us that indeed he did not feel well and our hopes were not answered. The fact that Jonathan required extra mommy love meant I started my preparations for the party late, another thing gone wrong, and yet there was a positive light, as the boy was mostly inactive, I could leave him be, to fall asleep in the living room, and go about my business baking his birthday cake in relative quiet and peace.
The next thing that went wrong was the cake! I wanted to try a baby healthy carrot cake recipe, and ended up with a mushy mixture that refused to bake itself into a cake despite 2.5 hours in the oven! 20 minutes before the guests were supposed to arrive I mixed a new cake and 10 minutes before the official invitation time I pushed it into the oven, relying on the bad habits of my extended family, and their usual lateness...
The second cake seams to bake well and fast, and it was ready in 30 minutes. In an hour I has it covered and decorated, and so only a small portion of my guests knew about the mishap, and they were my close family, so to quote them, they “do not really count” when it comes to etiquette, lucky for me...
The next thing to go wrong was that in my haste to change Jonathan diaper before the party, I undressed him in the living room, without having the required equipment (I.e. a new diaper and some tissues to clean him up...) of course the old diaper was full! Of everything that a diaper can be full of. My husband was called in to help save the day by bringing the required tissues and I held the unsatisfied Jon than with feet in the air until his bottom was finally clean. Then having also discovered that I did not bring diaper, my husband went to fetch it, and until that transpired Jonathan managed to pee on the carpet! Really Murphy was sitting up in heaven and having a laugh at my expense.
I finally got Jonathan diapered and the carpet clean and the new cake prepared and the party went well and people enjoyed themselves! We even managed to light the candles and sing Jonathan happy birthday song without any catastrophes! The boy even seems to feel better, and played about with his two cousins (two baby boys about his age...a few weeks older). Things were finally going my way, so I thought...until I wanted to out Jonathan to sleep and he started screaming! Not just crying! He would not take any medicine to lower his fever, showing me that anything oral was a bad idea... and then he threw up in bed! I should have listened to the boy! I should have followed his advise as he showed me with shaking his head that swallowing anything was not a good thing to do...
Lucky that my husband decided to stay home and not go out for a bear with friends. (He said he felt that is the right thing to do with the boy is sick, and this despite the fact that I urged him to go out and enjoy himself!) And so again, our cooperation was the demonstrated again, with my husband preparing a bath (yes with the kettle, as out hot water also did not function the whole day...did I mention Murphy was doing extra hours today?) and I stripped the boy and comforted him. Once Jonathan was in the bath, my husband was in charge of cleaning him up and I was in charge of making up his bad anew (a bit of improvising was required with blankets covering the walls, because his regular bed wall cover was full of puke and thrown in the washing machine!). Nice and clean he drank a bit of fennel tea and finally went to bed! The great day seamed finally over, but no! Murphy is still having fun with me. I am suffering a nasty nausea as I sit and blog the adventures of the day! Jonathan now just work up again, but its looks like a bot more tea and some farting and coughing will eventually bring him to sleep again...He now provides some background noise, whining in bed as I type.
I will probably have to stay home tomorrow, to my boss's chagrin, and a visit to the doctor is on the “menu” for Jonathan after his performance this weekend! Not the best way to start hos second year and still the party went well, the boy is developing nicely and seams to be happy! We have much to be thankful for, and Murphy...he can go make mischief somewhere else!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
According to baby books...
When Jonathan was born, my older sister gave me some first time parents books, and I took to reading one of them rather often. I found the book very helpful, if sometimes naïve (what baby drinks from a glass and can sit to eat with the family before the first year is over...) and sometimes I just think the book is not connected to reality....
The development doctor said Jonathan was a by the book baby, I just do not think I can be a by the book mom.
What I really love about such books is the idea that a mother has to have endless time... combined with a rosy picture of what education should be all about... that is everything should be explained, the baby mus always set the pace and a mother should never raise her voice...They expect you to have time to explain everything to your child, especially when you baby did something wrong you need to start a long lecture and show your little one the way to true correctness. How do they imagine I explain to my boy concepts that he cannot even grasp? They write that the baby does not understand these concepts and then expect me to take time to explain anyway! (What baby can grasp the concept of ownership – well they understand that the world is theirs! Period!) I really think a lecture is not always useful, not to mention that I really do not have time for this SH__T...,Actually, Jonathan also has not time... he is already gone to investigate other things and has long forgotten what he did wrong, or where the sin took place.
When it comes to nutrition I think the book writers really went over the bend, their recommendation:1300 calories per day for a baby! And wait until you see the food lists...
According to the book (WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FIRST YEAR BY Arlene Eisenberg, Heidy E. Mukoff E., and Sandee E. Hathaway) a baby should consume 4 “portions” of protein, 2 vitamin c portions, 4 calcium portions, 2 portions green or yellow vegetables, 2 portions fruit, 5 portions carbs (the good kind of course) 1 portion iron enriched food and 7 portions fat. Yes I know that you can mix) more than one ingredient n foods, so that the baby does not need to consume the total sum of 27 “portions” (each 25 gr) but still this seams a lot of food! Oh, did I mention that 4-6 cups of liquid must also be drunk a day? With all due respect I think this is really too much. The only explanation I might hazard for the quantities they mention is that the book was originally written in America (people in the USA are on average larger than in Israel, and I mean the healthy ones, not those who are overweight).
After filling three pages with instructions regarding to such portions and healthy nutrition and its importance for your baby from day 1, they write a sentence like “your baby's appetite should lead you” (the baby pace thing again...) and then tell you that if your baby eats/ drinks orange juice, cereal with a banana, pumpkin cake, milk, melon, pancakes, bread with cheese and apple juice (what baby giant consumed all that in one day?), you can be sure he has consumed the correct amount of portions and if he drinks enough water and get vitamin additives you are all set. Well all I can say to that is that my older sisters children have helped her discover that ice cream is food! (you know, milk has protein in it, ice cream has fat and sugar - i.e. carbs in it...so the three building blocks of nutrition are all to be found in ice cream...).
Another issue the book mentions is entertainment. A baby that sees only his/her home and the supermarket is bound to be a bored child, they say. The recommend museums and galleries! As great crawling spaces and assure you that the baby will enjoy the paintings! At first they recommend that you take your child with you on errands, that the supermarket I an adventure for a 3 months baby (and practical for mommy), but when the same baby is one year old the supermarket is no longer enough! Thank god they still recommend the mall! Suggesting that window shopping is still interesting enough, and there is space for walking practice. I have been looking for a winter solution – in summer I always took Jonathan with me on short trips to the supermarket and the mall and took care of errands in his company, but the colder days are approaching and I will need some in house entertainment for him to liven up his routine, like the book says, babies need verity. I found a playing place for him and I hope to pop over there once a week with him.
Still, when I watch Jonathan in play I learn that a simple nylon bag can afford him hours of entertainment, not to mention a spoon! Or my house keys! When one sees the simple means which he so enjoys, one really can relax and stop thinking of spending endless amounts of money. I admit that a few weeks back he seams bored with his play things, and I replaced some of them to make his toy arsenal more suitable for a baby his age, and now all is well. All I am saying is that one must not go too far! The book authors just wants the ideal situation for your child and they tend to recommend the extra. Sometimes this extra bot makes me feel guilty...but then I look at Jonathan, see that he is happy and the guilt flies out the window.
I guess one had to take the recommendations of this book, like many other things in life, in the right proportion. After all I can only be the best mom that I can be! Give to the best of my ability. And I think that's not too bad...All in all, I think Jonathan has a pretty cool mom! And looking at his smile when he comes to hug me and get a dose of mommy pampering in between his continuous “explore the house” tours I think he would agree.
Jonathan in the toy drawer
Just like his mommy...
The development doctor said Jonathan was a by the book baby, I just do not think I can be a by the book mom.
What I really love about such books is the idea that a mother has to have endless time... combined with a rosy picture of what education should be all about... that is everything should be explained, the baby mus always set the pace and a mother should never raise her voice...They expect you to have time to explain everything to your child, especially when you baby did something wrong you need to start a long lecture and show your little one the way to true correctness. How do they imagine I explain to my boy concepts that he cannot even grasp? They write that the baby does not understand these concepts and then expect me to take time to explain anyway! (What baby can grasp the concept of ownership – well they understand that the world is theirs! Period!) I really think a lecture is not always useful, not to mention that I really do not have time for this SH__T...,Actually, Jonathan also has not time... he is already gone to investigate other things and has long forgotten what he did wrong, or where the sin took place.
When it comes to nutrition I think the book writers really went over the bend, their recommendation:1300 calories per day for a baby! And wait until you see the food lists...
According to the book (WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FIRST YEAR BY Arlene Eisenberg, Heidy E. Mukoff E., and Sandee E. Hathaway) a baby should consume 4 “portions” of protein, 2 vitamin c portions, 4 calcium portions, 2 portions green or yellow vegetables, 2 portions fruit, 5 portions carbs (the good kind of course) 1 portion iron enriched food and 7 portions fat. Yes I know that you can mix) more than one ingredient n foods, so that the baby does not need to consume the total sum of 27 “portions” (each 25 gr) but still this seams a lot of food! Oh, did I mention that 4-6 cups of liquid must also be drunk a day? With all due respect I think this is really too much. The only explanation I might hazard for the quantities they mention is that the book was originally written in America (people in the USA are on average larger than in Israel, and I mean the healthy ones, not those who are overweight).
After filling three pages with instructions regarding to such portions and healthy nutrition and its importance for your baby from day 1, they write a sentence like “your baby's appetite should lead you” (the baby pace thing again...) and then tell you that if your baby eats/ drinks orange juice, cereal with a banana, pumpkin cake, milk, melon, pancakes, bread with cheese and apple juice (what baby giant consumed all that in one day?), you can be sure he has consumed the correct amount of portions and if he drinks enough water and get vitamin additives you are all set. Well all I can say to that is that my older sisters children have helped her discover that ice cream is food! (you know, milk has protein in it, ice cream has fat and sugar - i.e. carbs in it...so the three building blocks of nutrition are all to be found in ice cream...).
Another issue the book mentions is entertainment. A baby that sees only his/her home and the supermarket is bound to be a bored child, they say. The recommend museums and galleries! As great crawling spaces and assure you that the baby will enjoy the paintings! At first they recommend that you take your child with you on errands, that the supermarket I an adventure for a 3 months baby (and practical for mommy), but when the same baby is one year old the supermarket is no longer enough! Thank god they still recommend the mall! Suggesting that window shopping is still interesting enough, and there is space for walking practice. I have been looking for a winter solution – in summer I always took Jonathan with me on short trips to the supermarket and the mall and took care of errands in his company, but the colder days are approaching and I will need some in house entertainment for him to liven up his routine, like the book says, babies need verity. I found a playing place for him and I hope to pop over there once a week with him.
Still, when I watch Jonathan in play I learn that a simple nylon bag can afford him hours of entertainment, not to mention a spoon! Or my house keys! When one sees the simple means which he so enjoys, one really can relax and stop thinking of spending endless amounts of money. I admit that a few weeks back he seams bored with his play things, and I replaced some of them to make his toy arsenal more suitable for a baby his age, and now all is well. All I am saying is that one must not go too far! The book authors just wants the ideal situation for your child and they tend to recommend the extra. Sometimes this extra bot makes me feel guilty...but then I look at Jonathan, see that he is happy and the guilt flies out the window.
I guess one had to take the recommendations of this book, like many other things in life, in the right proportion. After all I can only be the best mom that I can be! Give to the best of my ability. And I think that's not too bad...All in all, I think Jonathan has a pretty cool mom! And looking at his smile when he comes to hug me and get a dose of mommy pampering in between his continuous “explore the house” tours I think he would agree.
Jonathan in the toy drawer
Just like his mommy...
Monday, November 17, 2008
First Steps
I was discussing Jonathan's early progress and history with chair walking with his kindergarten teacher, who said his first steps are a short time away, and she was right! On the very day of the above mentioned discussion, on November 17th at 17:45 Jonathan really walked for the first time!
The development doctor said Jonathan was “110% by the book”, but I read some baby books an sometimes I think he is “the book in the opposite direction”. For example, he seams happy enough to come to the kindergarten and shows no disinclination to be separated from his mommy in the mornings, but when I come to pick him up in the afternoon he truly complains about having to leave and go home! My concern is that as he sees more of the kindergarten teachers than he does of me (most of his at home hours are spent in sleep...at night) he is actually indeed suffering the first signs of the separation fear that babies go through between the age of 12 to 16 months (as mentioned in the book), but that his main contact person is not his mommy, but his care taker. If this is the case, then Jonathan is by the book alright! Only that the book's assumption that mom is the most important person is his life is just mistaken.
And yet as I write these words, Jonathan is constantly claiming my attention to himself, and I must stop! Suddenly I am important again and he is behaving by the book, seeking to share in my activity – but not really letting me get on with it!
He also seems to have a developed a keen social sense. Although one cannot expect babies Jonathan's age to play with one another, his kindergarten teacher says he is a member of a constant trio – I have also seen him at play with these two other children, and although they are not truly playing with each other, it is clear that they know the others are there, they react to one another , chase each other about the room and clearly enjoy the company! Jonathan has shown his social sense also in the repeated wish to share food! When I or my husband are eating, he will come to claim his share in the activity/ plate! He does not seem to be shocked when there are lots of people around and he repeated the “feed me” action in a family birthday party, choosing to share my older sister's food (no wonder, she was eating delicious spaghetti bolonese).
He is growing so fast! Who can believe that he has tripped his weight in the last year? (from 3.3 Kg to 10!) Who can believe that the first year is almost over? Only yesterday I was writing an email to a friend in the UK that he already needs to be followed around the house because he is crawling well and pushing chairs to his hearts content (only to be found nibbling on toilet paper in the loo...or sitting inside his toy drawer, playing with its contents quietly – just like his mommy did when she was his age) as a response to her concern regarding having to watch over a walking baby. After all Jonathan's first birthday is fast approaching! Jonathan is showing progress in the fact that he already stands alone and has recently also taken to walking holding an adults hands too. Only this afternoon Jonathan's kindergarten teacher mentioned that his first steps are a matter of a short time, since he controls the action of walking so well when dragging a chair about. She said it must come soon because to the walking control one can add the fact that he already stands so well! The woman has the talent of prophecy...I say this because today it happened! It was short, but still it was the real thing! This evening Jonathan walked 3 steps all alone! Yeppee!
And as I write these words, he is doing it again! 2 steps this time...
The development doctor said Jonathan was “110% by the book”, but I read some baby books an sometimes I think he is “the book in the opposite direction”. For example, he seams happy enough to come to the kindergarten and shows no disinclination to be separated from his mommy in the mornings, but when I come to pick him up in the afternoon he truly complains about having to leave and go home! My concern is that as he sees more of the kindergarten teachers than he does of me (most of his at home hours are spent in sleep...at night) he is actually indeed suffering the first signs of the separation fear that babies go through between the age of 12 to 16 months (as mentioned in the book), but that his main contact person is not his mommy, but his care taker. If this is the case, then Jonathan is by the book alright! Only that the book's assumption that mom is the most important person is his life is just mistaken.
And yet as I write these words, Jonathan is constantly claiming my attention to himself, and I must stop! Suddenly I am important again and he is behaving by the book, seeking to share in my activity – but not really letting me get on with it!
He also seems to have a developed a keen social sense. Although one cannot expect babies Jonathan's age to play with one another, his kindergarten teacher says he is a member of a constant trio – I have also seen him at play with these two other children, and although they are not truly playing with each other, it is clear that they know the others are there, they react to one another , chase each other about the room and clearly enjoy the company! Jonathan has shown his social sense also in the repeated wish to share food! When I or my husband are eating, he will come to claim his share in the activity/ plate! He does not seem to be shocked when there are lots of people around and he repeated the “feed me” action in a family birthday party, choosing to share my older sister's food (no wonder, she was eating delicious spaghetti bolonese).
He is growing so fast! Who can believe that he has tripped his weight in the last year? (from 3.3 Kg to 10!) Who can believe that the first year is almost over? Only yesterday I was writing an email to a friend in the UK that he already needs to be followed around the house because he is crawling well and pushing chairs to his hearts content (only to be found nibbling on toilet paper in the loo...or sitting inside his toy drawer, playing with its contents quietly – just like his mommy did when she was his age) as a response to her concern regarding having to watch over a walking baby. After all Jonathan's first birthday is fast approaching! Jonathan is showing progress in the fact that he already stands alone and has recently also taken to walking holding an adults hands too. Only this afternoon Jonathan's kindergarten teacher mentioned that his first steps are a matter of a short time, since he controls the action of walking so well when dragging a chair about. She said it must come soon because to the walking control one can add the fact that he already stands so well! The woman has the talent of prophecy...I say this because today it happened! It was short, but still it was the real thing! This evening Jonathan walked 3 steps all alone! Yeppee!
And as I write these words, he is doing it again! 2 steps this time...
Saturday, November 8, 2008
An Apology
By the way, I owe my husband a small apology for the blog last week! Although I stand behind my words, and still wish that he spend more time with Jonathan (and also wish that he were less on the computer on Saturdays and more with his son) I did not play fair and did not mention that every day, when he gets our of work, he first calls me to find out if Jonathan is still awake, before starting his way home. This way, if Johnathan is still up, my husbands hurries home to see him just in time. For lacking to mention this fact I apologize to my husband from the pages of this blog! It really is so cute when he calls so regularly...by now I can answer hs question even before he asks it...
Getting used to...
There is always something new to get used to when one has children. If at first When Jonathan was born I had to get used to being a mom for the first time, including sleepless nights and the thought that someone is totally dependent on me, now when he is almost one year old I have to get used to the noise from electronic toys and boom boxes, the fact that teething babies tend to drool a lot, and crumbs in every place and especially when he eats!
Jonathan is growing two new teeth, this time up in front. This will make the total of his teeth rise to...4! Although he has only four teeth, he books say a baby his age should chew their food. Its only really soft things, but still Jonathan chews with his gums rather well. And so, like the good mom I try to be, I have begun to include in his dinner (the only meal he gets at home, the rest are eaten in the day care center) diced tomatoes, scrambled eggs and bread cubes. The idea is he can take the small pieces of food in his own hands and stuff them into his mouth, chew and swallow – in other words, he can eat by himself! I combine the dices food still with ground meat and cooked veggies, to make sure his menu is still wholesome, besides he refuses to eat the ground paste without something to keep his hands busy, I mean if he has nothing in his hands (like diced food) he will try to grab the full spoon I am serving, and I just cant take the mess that that will make! The |give him an empty spoon to play with when you fed him from another spoon” trick no longer works, he just grew out of that one...
I think I can congratulate myself on coping well with the mess that diced food makes. After all its not too bad cleaning it, because one can pick it up! I still refuse to give Jonathan a spoon to feed himself, as I cannot even begin to imagine the mess that it will make!
The food mess is usually pretty focused to the area of his chair, but on occasion he gets a biscuit or a piece of bread to nibble (finger foods) and then he crawls all over the house with it, naturally leaving tracks! I hate that, but my comfort is that we have a cleaning woman once every two weeks, and I can hope she will be able to find the remains of biscuits behind furniture and such...
I think of myself as a relatively clean person, and I like it when things are in order. Therefore it is not easy to learn to lie with a baby at all! My husband (I think like all men) has given me some practice in tidying us after someone else, as had my little brother when we were all living with our parents, but still a baby is just a lot more work and more to tidy up.
I keep the mess under control by keeping the quantity of his things limited. That is, I just replaced Jonathan's baby toys (rattles and shakers) with toys more suitable for his age, rings on a stick, cubes and the one expensive toy he now owns – the boom box! (a toy that makes noises and plays music and has nice lights go on when Jonathan presses various buttons- action, reaction concept). The toys that fit a smaller baby have been either returned to my elder sister, where they came from, or packed up in a high closet. The amount of toys that Jonathan can get to, whether in the living room in his red basin, or in his bedroom in two large drawers is limited and they are easy to stow – tiding up is just dumping them all back in the drawers and basin. Lucky me, Jonathan seams to enjoy the concept of taking things out of their place, but also of returning them. He can sit next to the red basin in the living room, or stand next to a drawer just taking things out and putting them back again. This gives me hope, it looks like a good basis for me to teach him to tidy up after himself. Usually tidy up after he goes to bed at night, braving out the mess and scattered toys all day, but I let him see me return books onto a shelf, so he can get the idea of tidying up.
Another thing I need to get used to is that he is growing! Growing means that he is changing, not only in size but in other behavior. Lately he seems to fall asleep less lightly, and he needs not only a bottle but also my increased presence. I still try to get him to sleep in bed and not on my arms, because I think its a bad habit and he is also getting heavy! His growing also means changing all his clothes, especially now that there is a season change. My elder sister and I have just traded clothes again, me returning small and summer outfits and she giving me larger winter ones. Thank God she has a large house and can stash all this baby stuff! The stroller we brought, in the hope it will support us until Jonathan walks is also, regretfully proving too small, and we have to get used to the idea of buying a new one. Luckily his birthday is coming up and we will be able to finance this as a gift from my parents. We will still have to finance the new car seat though...
another anecdote on growing... Jonathan is a rather tall baby (even statistically) and its kind of nice to see that he is taller than his cousin, who is a boy 6 weeks older than Jonathan. Considering the height of the two fathers, it is not surprising that Jonathan is taller...
As Jonathan wails near me, complaining that his daddy will not let him grab onto an empty yogurt cup, I admit I also have to get used to Jonathan advertising his lack of satisfaction in the form of wails and cries. I know this is his way of talking at this stage, but it still can be annoying sometimes.
As his first year is coming to an end, I have to admit I also gt used to writing this blog! But this was intended as a one year project, so I have to start thinking about it's future too...
Jonathan is growing two new teeth, this time up in front. This will make the total of his teeth rise to...4! Although he has only four teeth, he books say a baby his age should chew their food. Its only really soft things, but still Jonathan chews with his gums rather well. And so, like the good mom I try to be, I have begun to include in his dinner (the only meal he gets at home, the rest are eaten in the day care center) diced tomatoes, scrambled eggs and bread cubes. The idea is he can take the small pieces of food in his own hands and stuff them into his mouth, chew and swallow – in other words, he can eat by himself! I combine the dices food still with ground meat and cooked veggies, to make sure his menu is still wholesome, besides he refuses to eat the ground paste without something to keep his hands busy, I mean if he has nothing in his hands (like diced food) he will try to grab the full spoon I am serving, and I just cant take the mess that that will make! The |give him an empty spoon to play with when you fed him from another spoon” trick no longer works, he just grew out of that one...
I think I can congratulate myself on coping well with the mess that diced food makes. After all its not too bad cleaning it, because one can pick it up! I still refuse to give Jonathan a spoon to feed himself, as I cannot even begin to imagine the mess that it will make!
The food mess is usually pretty focused to the area of his chair, but on occasion he gets a biscuit or a piece of bread to nibble (finger foods) and then he crawls all over the house with it, naturally leaving tracks! I hate that, but my comfort is that we have a cleaning woman once every two weeks, and I can hope she will be able to find the remains of biscuits behind furniture and such...
I think of myself as a relatively clean person, and I like it when things are in order. Therefore it is not easy to learn to lie with a baby at all! My husband (I think like all men) has given me some practice in tidying us after someone else, as had my little brother when we were all living with our parents, but still a baby is just a lot more work and more to tidy up.
I keep the mess under control by keeping the quantity of his things limited. That is, I just replaced Jonathan's baby toys (rattles and shakers) with toys more suitable for his age, rings on a stick, cubes and the one expensive toy he now owns – the boom box! (a toy that makes noises and plays music and has nice lights go on when Jonathan presses various buttons- action, reaction concept). The toys that fit a smaller baby have been either returned to my elder sister, where they came from, or packed up in a high closet. The amount of toys that Jonathan can get to, whether in the living room in his red basin, or in his bedroom in two large drawers is limited and they are easy to stow – tiding up is just dumping them all back in the drawers and basin. Lucky me, Jonathan seams to enjoy the concept of taking things out of their place, but also of returning them. He can sit next to the red basin in the living room, or stand next to a drawer just taking things out and putting them back again. This gives me hope, it looks like a good basis for me to teach him to tidy up after himself. Usually tidy up after he goes to bed at night, braving out the mess and scattered toys all day, but I let him see me return books onto a shelf, so he can get the idea of tidying up.
Another thing I need to get used to is that he is growing! Growing means that he is changing, not only in size but in other behavior. Lately he seems to fall asleep less lightly, and he needs not only a bottle but also my increased presence. I still try to get him to sleep in bed and not on my arms, because I think its a bad habit and he is also getting heavy! His growing also means changing all his clothes, especially now that there is a season change. My elder sister and I have just traded clothes again, me returning small and summer outfits and she giving me larger winter ones. Thank God she has a large house and can stash all this baby stuff! The stroller we brought, in the hope it will support us until Jonathan walks is also, regretfully proving too small, and we have to get used to the idea of buying a new one. Luckily his birthday is coming up and we will be able to finance this as a gift from my parents. We will still have to finance the new car seat though...
another anecdote on growing... Jonathan is a rather tall baby (even statistically) and its kind of nice to see that he is taller than his cousin, who is a boy 6 weeks older than Jonathan. Considering the height of the two fathers, it is not surprising that Jonathan is taller...
As Jonathan wails near me, complaining that his daddy will not let him grab onto an empty yogurt cup, I admit I also have to get used to Jonathan advertising his lack of satisfaction in the form of wails and cries. I know this is his way of talking at this stage, but it still can be annoying sometimes.
As his first year is coming to an end, I have to admit I also gt used to writing this blog! But this was intended as a one year project, so I have to start thinking about it's future too...
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The Development Doctor
The Development Doctor
Just as predicted, Jonathan is a healthy boy, growing and developing well. The doctor said he is really a “by the book” baby and she gave him the “grade” 10.5 out of 10! Now that\s talent!
As I paid for Jonathan's health care in advance for 5 years, I might as well make the most of the services offered at the children's station near our home (the system is Israel is that one has a general health insurance paid from one's wages – Jonathan is ensured through me, his mom, but one also pays for extra standard services a reduced price, and so I have paid the proud sum of 531 NIS (about 100Euros) for the service of having Jonathan monitored including all required shots for the first five years of his life).
A baby is supposed to visit the “development doctor” at the age of 3 months, nine months and 1.5 years (at least that is what I know so far...no idea about later visits). More visits are possible if required sue to some problem, and the service is included in the price already mentioned above. The development doctor is a children's doctor who specializes in development. We came to see the doctor when Jonathan was 3 months old and she was worried about his strength, because he could then still not hold his head up so well, she sent Jonathan to a physiotherapist. By the time we got the appointment to the physiotherapist a month later, Jonathan could not only hold his head up high but he was rolling to both sides freely and proved in general to be a rather early bird when it comes to baby movement... Since we could not get an appointment for 9 months, we finally visited the doctor again yesterday. The visit includes a physical check for Jonathan and questions about him for mom. The doctor makes a check list of his development and ability and sees if it fits the current norm. In other words, Jonathan's abilities should be more of less what the scientist think today that babies his age can do.
So,what can he do? Does he sit properly? This the doc could see for herself, because he was sitting on the play rug in her room turning our the toys (and feeling quite at home, I might add) Can he sit up from lying down, yes! Can he stand, well not quite...he can while still leaning with one hand on a wall, a chair or on mom, he even lets go by now for a few seconds when he “forgets himself”but he grabs back for support very quickly. He drags and pushes chairs about! Even pulling and walking backwards in the process of navigation (while waiting for the doctor he was walking all over the clinic and driving the secretary crazy because of the noise the chair he was pushing about made). He gave the doctor a short demonstration with a chair in her room. Does he talk? i.e. gibberish and making all kinds of sounds! Oh Yes (he is very capable of complaining bitterly if something is not to his liking...like when his heavy mom is sitting on a chair he want to push!) Does he recognize him mom (yep!) his dad (yep!) grandmas? (yep! - he sees only his Israeli grandma regularly, the other one is in Germany) is he happy to see people he knows? Oh yes! The doctor said he was string and healthy (“great Tonus” were her exact words) and as already mentioned, Jonathan is by the book! His sight, weight and height are all OK! (I got all three checkups – nurse regular follow up, development doctor and the sight check for 1 year olds, all in one day! Now we have it easy for 6 months!)
Well, that's good news, but a competitive mom may wonder why he is by the book and not beating it! After all he was an early starter! I did not need the doctor to tell me he was no longer advanced, I could see that his cousin was catching up with Jonathan. I might want to make the most of this and worry about it (as competitive moms tend to so) but as I also understand the deep workings of a lazy and convenient mind I have already got an answer to Jonathan slower advancement, its all about motivation. Convenience is the drive! As long as he is comfortable where he is now, he will no develop further... Comfort is combined with strength, understanding and curiosity with babies. For now he has developed exactly to the level that his strength, understanding and curiosity have driven him. I elaborated on this theory of mine in the last blog though, so I will not repeat myself. A competitive mother however must have something to complain about, so here it is!
I wish that my husband would spend more time with the boy when they are together. I know the working hours of my husband (10-19) do not make it easy but I would wish the in weekday mornings my husband would play more with Jonathan and not just take him directly to kindergarten (at least now my husband gets up! He no longer prefers sleep over his son... certainly a step in the right direction!). I would also wish that the half hour evenings that they have together also be spent in play! I am sure my husband means well when he calls his mom in Germany (the German grandma) so that she can also hear Jonathan's chatter, but then the conversation takes my husbands attention form the boy and oops, its bedtime for Jonathan and his dad/son evening time gets lost! On weekends my husband prefers a mix of surfing on the web, the wish to see friends and go to the market in Tel-Aviv.
I know that my husband has very little free time (just like me) and that he is tired (just like me) and that also has the need to do some grown up things in this time (I have long given up on that for now, and I guess my husband is right when he says this choice is my mistake) , but I still would wish that he spend more time with Jonathan on the weekend! After all they have really little time available to them!
I can only hope that when Jonathan is a bit older, he and his father will have more fun together (after all a little boy is more interesting to play with and one can also allow the boy to take part in activities like going to the market...).
In general I know I must be quite content! Jonathan is a healthy baby and most important a happy one!
I should have nothing more to with for, except that he continues to be so!
Here are Jonathan's Growth and Weight Details:
He is 70% in height (tall) and 50% (average) in weight.
Date Height-cm Weight-kg Head Circumference-cm
28/11/2007 3.38
03/12/07 3.2
11/12/07 53 3.76 37.2
30/12/07 55.5 4.58 38.8
03/02/08 58 5.76 41
21/4/08 66.5 7.36 44
29/6/08 69.5 8.9 45.5
30/10/08 76 10 47.1
Just as predicted, Jonathan is a healthy boy, growing and developing well. The doctor said he is really a “by the book” baby and she gave him the “grade” 10.5 out of 10! Now that\s talent!
As I paid for Jonathan's health care in advance for 5 years, I might as well make the most of the services offered at the children's station near our home (the system is Israel is that one has a general health insurance paid from one's wages – Jonathan is ensured through me, his mom, but one also pays for extra standard services a reduced price, and so I have paid the proud sum of 531 NIS (about 100Euros) for the service of having Jonathan monitored including all required shots for the first five years of his life).
A baby is supposed to visit the “development doctor” at the age of 3 months, nine months and 1.5 years (at least that is what I know so far...no idea about later visits). More visits are possible if required sue to some problem, and the service is included in the price already mentioned above. The development doctor is a children's doctor who specializes in development. We came to see the doctor when Jonathan was 3 months old and she was worried about his strength, because he could then still not hold his head up so well, she sent Jonathan to a physiotherapist. By the time we got the appointment to the physiotherapist a month later, Jonathan could not only hold his head up high but he was rolling to both sides freely and proved in general to be a rather early bird when it comes to baby movement... Since we could not get an appointment for 9 months, we finally visited the doctor again yesterday. The visit includes a physical check for Jonathan and questions about him for mom. The doctor makes a check list of his development and ability and sees if it fits the current norm. In other words, Jonathan's abilities should be more of less what the scientist think today that babies his age can do.
So,what can he do? Does he sit properly? This the doc could see for herself, because he was sitting on the play rug in her room turning our the toys (and feeling quite at home, I might add) Can he sit up from lying down, yes! Can he stand, well not quite...he can while still leaning with one hand on a wall, a chair or on mom, he even lets go by now for a few seconds when he “forgets himself”but he grabs back for support very quickly. He drags and pushes chairs about! Even pulling and walking backwards in the process of navigation (while waiting for the doctor he was walking all over the clinic and driving the secretary crazy because of the noise the chair he was pushing about made). He gave the doctor a short demonstration with a chair in her room. Does he talk? i.e. gibberish and making all kinds of sounds! Oh Yes (he is very capable of complaining bitterly if something is not to his liking...like when his heavy mom is sitting on a chair he want to push!) Does he recognize him mom (yep!) his dad (yep!) grandmas? (yep! - he sees only his Israeli grandma regularly, the other one is in Germany) is he happy to see people he knows? Oh yes! The doctor said he was string and healthy (“great Tonus” were her exact words) and as already mentioned, Jonathan is by the book! His sight, weight and height are all OK! (I got all three checkups – nurse regular follow up, development doctor and the sight check for 1 year olds, all in one day! Now we have it easy for 6 months!)
Well, that's good news, but a competitive mom may wonder why he is by the book and not beating it! After all he was an early starter! I did not need the doctor to tell me he was no longer advanced, I could see that his cousin was catching up with Jonathan. I might want to make the most of this and worry about it (as competitive moms tend to so) but as I also understand the deep workings of a lazy and convenient mind I have already got an answer to Jonathan slower advancement, its all about motivation. Convenience is the drive! As long as he is comfortable where he is now, he will no develop further... Comfort is combined with strength, understanding and curiosity with babies. For now he has developed exactly to the level that his strength, understanding and curiosity have driven him. I elaborated on this theory of mine in the last blog though, so I will not repeat myself. A competitive mother however must have something to complain about, so here it is!
I wish that my husband would spend more time with the boy when they are together. I know the working hours of my husband (10-19) do not make it easy but I would wish the in weekday mornings my husband would play more with Jonathan and not just take him directly to kindergarten (at least now my husband gets up! He no longer prefers sleep over his son... certainly a step in the right direction!). I would also wish that the half hour evenings that they have together also be spent in play! I am sure my husband means well when he calls his mom in Germany (the German grandma) so that she can also hear Jonathan's chatter, but then the conversation takes my husbands attention form the boy and oops, its bedtime for Jonathan and his dad/son evening time gets lost! On weekends my husband prefers a mix of surfing on the web, the wish to see friends and go to the market in Tel-Aviv.
I know that my husband has very little free time (just like me) and that he is tired (just like me) and that also has the need to do some grown up things in this time (I have long given up on that for now, and I guess my husband is right when he says this choice is my mistake) , but I still would wish that he spend more time with Jonathan on the weekend! After all they have really little time available to them!
I can only hope that when Jonathan is a bit older, he and his father will have more fun together (after all a little boy is more interesting to play with and one can also allow the boy to take part in activities like going to the market...).
In general I know I must be quite content! Jonathan is a healthy baby and most important a happy one!
I should have nothing more to with for, except that he continues to be so!
Here are Jonathan's Growth and Weight Details:
He is 70% in height (tall) and 50% (average) in weight.
Date Height-cm Weight-kg Head Circumference-cm
28/11/2007 3.38
03/12/07 3.2
11/12/07 53 3.76 37.2
30/12/07 55.5 4.58 38.8
03/02/08 58 5.76 41
21/4/08 66.5 7.36 44
29/6/08 69.5 8.9 45.5
30/10/08 76 10 47.1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)