Hello Feet!!!

Billy seems to have realized that his feet are attached to his body this week. He's begun lifting them off the ground and can now get them about half way up to his mouth, which we have heard is where they are ultimately destined to wind up. He gets in these moods where all he wants to do is talk (oohs and aahs with some giggling mixed in) while yanking his feet up in the air and then rocking them back and forth. We're not quite sure if this is the beginning step to rolling over from back to front, but it sure looks like it. The weight of his legs has carried him over almost entirely to his side a couple times, but he's never quite finished the roll.

Piggy backing on that thought, the little guy's hand coordination continues to improve. If it involves his mouth, he has little problem pushing things up to it or getting those hands and fingers in there. He still is yet to actually get a thumb in there, but maybe that's yet to come. He still grasps in a four-fingers-at-once manner, which is normal at this point.

From a vocalization standpoint, his oohs and aahs are now flavored with the occasional high pitched squeal. It seems to be another weapon in his little communication arsenal. He's full of oohs, aahs, squeals, giggles, and laughs. Oh, and of course he still cries, which amounts to about 30-40% of all communication with us at this point. This is pretty normal since crying or whining is his only way of relaying a need to us. The rest just seem to be varying forms of contentment and development. As for the vowel sounds we talked about last week, we're not seeing any of those just yet.

His sleeping is dramatically improving now. Three days ago he broke his single night record by going five hours and forty five minutes straight between his last feeding before bed and his first nighttime feeding. We were pretty excited about that and I was all ready to report it on this blog, but before I could, he smashed that record last night, going six hours and twenty minutes between feedings. Again, the general rule of thumb is to take the baby's age in weeks and divide it by two to determine how many hours is good to be sleeping straight. At 8 weeks old, four to five hours should be solid, so we'll take nearly six and a half for sure. Sleeping through the night, defined traditionally by 7-9 hours straight between feedings during the night, are a Baby Wise target at 8-10 weeks of age. Billy's not quite there yet, but I have hope he'll hit that 7 hour mark by next week.

Some other odds and ends this week include his weight gain. Billy tips the scales at about 12 lbs. on the scale at home. According to that measurement, he's still hovering in the 75th percentile range for body weight (slightly under). He's clearly rocking a double chin these days and his little pudgy thighs and expanding waist line are good indications of a healthy diet. On the belly button front, there is still some drainage, which is not what you like to see, but on the outside, his belly button looks perfectly normal with no signs of redness or infection. I'm guessing that on the next doctor visit, Billy's probably looking at a dab of silver nitrate here or there to seal that sucker up for good. That being said, there are still no signs of infection or any other reason for concern, so we continue to clean it and wait for that appointment.

So when is the next appointment? Monday morning. Billy will get to see the doctor on Monday and will get a formal weigh in, body length measurement, and head circumference measurement. He's also due for his first round of vaccinations which are important for him if he's going anywhere that he could be handled frequently by multiple people. They also make me feel better about taking him out of the house. Since the temps today are about 110 degrees, I don't think he'll be going outside anytime soon other than a late night walk when we're a bit more dialed in to the low 80's or so.

This week, Antoinette added a Boppy pillow into Billy's life. While it helps with feeding time quite a bit, it also has other unique applications. For one, you can place this thing on the floor and lay the baby in it. Instead of laying flat, he's now sitting on a 30-45 degree angle, which he's not particularly used to. In a content mood, he enjoys looking around and interacting with objects from a new vantage point. When he's flipped over, its even better. Tummy Time on the Boppy is much better because its easier for you, as a parent, to get down there with him and for him to see you. His excitement level seems to increase quite a bit when its Tummy Time now.

Billy's officially two months old on Monday, and this upcoming week should be filled with some good stuff to be on the lookout for. By next Saturday, I think he has a 50/50 shot at being able to go 7 hours straight through the night at least one day. His ability to track objects should continue to improve. He already does a great job tracking visually and audibly. He should also continue to improve his ability to bear weight on his little legs as they continue to straighten out. He's already capable of supporting his own weight for about 3-4 seconds at a time. Also, he could begin to show the first signs of being able to hold his head and shoulders off the ground for a significant period of time. A lot of exciting stuff.

I'm going to try and hook a video of his development from birth until today to this blog site today, so if its not up when you check this, be sure to check back tomorrow and maybe by then, I'll have figured it out.