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Maternity & Parenting Center

Walking!!

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I can’t believe it – Micah is finally walking! He has been so close for so long, and we’ve seen him take a single step here and there for a couple of months now, but no real progress. Since his birthday, he has started standing up just from the floor without any assistance or holding on to any furniture. The past week or so, he has gotten so strong that he could bend over, pick up a toy, stand back up again, and stand and shake or play with the toy. I’ve known he has been so close, but I just wasn’t sure he would really get there.

Today, we were home with him all day (except for class). He kept getting this look like he was about to take a step, but at the last minute, he’d sit down. In the evening, we spent some time “walking” together and Micah would just hold my one hand. And then I started to encourage him. I got him standing on his own in the middle of the floor, and I stood just out of reach, holding something he wanted. He would lean and try and grab it, and after a bunch of different attempts, he took 3 steps and then grabbed me. I was able to get him to repeat this 3 or 4 times, and then he did it a few times on his own without prompting. I just can’t believe it!

One year appointment

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We took Micah in for his one year checkup today. We had to postpone it from last week because he was sick (and they won’t vaccinate when the baby is sick). Micah weighed in at 18 lbs 15 ounces, and about 31 inches. He is a tiny little thing – in the 3rd percentile for weight, but around the 75th for height. We gave him several vaccinations – the last one against meningitis and a flu vaccine. We opted not to do the chicken pox vaccination at this time. He is hitting all of his developmental milestones, and he showed off (and flirted) for the doctor. She told us he looks great, we were okayed to start him on whole milk, and we do not have to go back until he is 15 months old.

Happy First Birthday, Micah

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It is hard to imagine that a full year has passed. One year ago today, I became a mommy. That was perhaps the happiest moment of my life. Each day since then, my love for my little man has grown bigger and stronger. I’ve loved getting to know him and watching him grow, and I’m so filled with hope and excitement for the years to come. It is hard to imagine that my tiny little baby has grown so big. He has two teeth already through, and 2 others that have been sitting on the edge of his gums waiting to pop through. Micah has gone from being unable to take a bottle to downing regular grownup food. He stands and cruises and is on the verge of walking. He has an amazing sense of humor, and he loves to laugh and play. I love watching him learn, and I even enjoy dealing with his growing opinions, pickiness, and even occasional temper tantrum.

He has been such a good baby, and I hope I don’t ever forget a second of this time. I love how he still loves to suck his thumb and cuddle with me. When I hold him and give him a bottle, he plays with my fingers. He laughs a big giant laugh when I tickle his belly. When he is sad, he still cries out “mama!” I remember my heart stopping the first time he fell and cut himself – I think I physically felt pain at the sight of blood dripping from his mouth. I love how he adores the dog, and screeches with joy when he sees her. He loves it even more when she kisses him or touches him. I love watching him push to a stand on his own, and pick up his toys while he is standing. I love holding my breath in anticipation of that moment when I finally see him take off walking. I love watching him hug his stuffed animals and figure out how to work his toys.

Everyday, I’m just so amazed by my little boy, and so thankful he has forever changed my life. So, happy first birthday, baby boy!!

The Birthday Party That Wasn’t

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Last week was an insanely busy week. We spent a lot of it prepping for Micah’s birthday party – buying supplies and decorations, planning and purchasing food for the menu, making the birthday cake, etc. We were expecting about 15-20 people for Micah’s “playgroup” party, and then another 30-40 people for our Chanukah/birthday party. I purchased tuna fish and egg salad, we had over 20 lbs of potatoes for making potato latkes, and enough cake baked to feed an army! Our plan was to have cupcakes (decorated like Elmo) for the playgroup party. We baked about 3 dozen cupcakes for that. We also had a huge 2 layer cake for the “main event.” My nieces were in town for a few days before the party, so we were a bit crazy all week. We took them to a few music classes and had a great time with them. Anyway, Saturday morning rolled around…and Micah woke up with a 102 degree fever. And a cough. The cough started to get worse as the day went along, so we decided to take him to the hospital. We were actually hoping that he had an ear infection – a couple doses of antibiotics and we thought things would be back on track!

Unfortunately, we learned Micah had a viral case of bronchitis, and would likely be contagious to children. When we came home from the hospital, we sent out a note and canceled the playgroup party. We then sent out a note to all of our other friends and family, letting them know that Micah had a virus and could possibly be contagious. On Sunday, Micah woke up fever-free, but still coughing. We decided to go ahead with the afternoon party, but naturally, nearly everyone declined to come. My parents, my brother, sister-in-law and my two nieces (who had already been around Micah while he was sick), my cousin and her two children, and one of my best friends were the only people in attendance. Despite the poor turnout, we still had a great time!

Here are some pictures and video from the event:
















Micah also got SOOO many wonderful presents. My parents bought him a play gym – it has a slide, a ladder and a basketball hoop. Jen and Jeremy bought him an outfit, a dump truck, and a tool bench toy. My cousin Michelle brought him a mega blocks set, and Heather bought him some clothing, some books, and this adorable singing donkey (it sings “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch”), and Ken and Erica dropped off a baseball toy, and Ellen gave him a singing Chanukah bear. My parents’ friends Diane & Joey, Sheila & Les, and Suzette & Joel also sent him a wonderful storage bench before his birthday. We were so lucky to have such wonderful presents!

11 Months

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Once again, I’m a bit late in posting this – I’ve been a delinquent blogger lately. There are so many things I want to share, and yet, I’m exhausted and swamped with work. My computer has not been my friend the past two months – it keeps crashing on me. I have about 10 partially written blog entries, and I am working to complete them and post away. I have more videos and pictures, and I should have Micah’s 9 and 10 month photos to post soon. I’m not exactly sure when we’ll get his 11 month photos – hopefully on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Micah hit another big milestone – he turned 11 months old!! I can’t believe how big he is. We are hitting new milestones every day. He is eating real people food (he loves turkey burgers), and he has at least 2 teeth (he doesn’t let us look in his mouth, so I’m not sure if he has gotten more). With all the teething and ear infections, he has not been sleeping so well at night – he seems to wake up around 1:30 am crying most nights. He is crawling and cruising everywhere, and he is definitely using his “walker” toys to motor around the house. He is very adept at putting round shapes through a matching hole. He loves to fill up his gumball machine with all kind of toys – not just the gumballs that belong in the toy. He is obsessed with Sesame Street – it seems to be the only thing that gets us through our crying sessions at night. I really do not know how my parents managed without the ability to record episodes to have on hand when we woke up! Micah says a lot of words – he likes to say “I did it.” I’m not sure he knows what it means, but he says it often. He really does feed himself all of his meals now, and he is beginning to express preferences. Sometimes, he won’t eat chicken. Sometimes, he doesn’t like certain textures. He did not want to eat avocado tonight. Sometimes, he loves eggs, and other times, he just throws them on the floor. I think he only likes the eggs when they are cooked “perfectly” – a little soft and fluffy, but not runny. If they are over-cooked, he dislikes the texture and will not eat them. He likes to be able to separate out his food – Elliot made a stew with rice in it, and Micah wouldn’t eat it. Give him all the components separately, and he gobbles it up!

Micah also has a sense of humor. He plays, and he does “silly” things and laughs. He has such a rich laugh, and it amazes me where he finds humor. He thinks rocking side to side in his high chair is HYSTERICAL. He finds it even funnier if I say “silly, silly, silly” while he does it. He makes faces, and he plays peek-a-boo around furniture. He also interacts and plays – hands me toys, asks me to make funny noises, he plays chase with us and with the dog. I love watching him play, and seeing his little personality evolve.

Micah also has a very stubborn streak – he knows what he wants, and he throws a fit if he doesn’t get it (I can’t imagine where he gets his stubborn streak – ha!). He loves electronics – phones, remotes, etc. He knows where we hide the remotes, and he is not afraid to search behind the pillows to pull them out.

When he wakes up at night or in the morning, he calls out for “Mama.” While I dread having my sleep interrupted, hearing him call for me always makes me smile. I love the way he burrows into me and sucks his thumb when he needs a little comfort.

Most of all, I can’t believe how this year has flown by. In just a few short weeks, my little man will be one year old. He is on the verge of walking, and I can’t believe how he has grown.

Happy 11 months, Micah man!

Standing

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Once again, I’m delayed in posting things I’ve been jotting down. Back in October (around October 22), we were in our gym class. During one of the parts, all the babies are lined up on the trampoline, and we stand them up on their feet. We say 1, 2, 3 then we let go to see what they will do. Most of the babies topple right over – but that day, Micah stood. And stood. I think he stood there for 15-20 seconds before he SAT down. Everyday, he seems to be getting stronger. He is definitely standing on his own more often. I keep thinking of the Road Runner and Bugs Bunny episodes – you know, where all the animals run off the cliff chasing after either the Road Runner or Bugs and are able to float on air until they look down and realize what they are doing (and then they promptly plunge to the ground)? I think that is Micah and standing – he does just fine until he realizes he is standing, and then all of the sudden, down he goes! My little man is getting to be such a big boy. Unbelievable!

Guess what?

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Micah FINALLY has teeth! Yes, teeth – not just one tooth, but TEETH! After much cranking, moaning and crying (and being awake from 3:00 on this morning), Micah now has two little teeth poking through his lower gums. We started to see them pushing up the gums late last week, but yesterday afternoon, the first little tooth broke through, quickly followed by number two today. It is possible there are 2-4 more right behind this, although I hope we at least get a little break for a bit! As far as I’m concerned, teething is not so much fun. Can you imagine – my little baby has TEETH?

Craziness

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All I can say is “What a week.” On Thursday, Micah and I went to our gym class. There is a part of the class where we have the babies all stand up, and we let go. Micah stood on his own for 15 seconds!! He sat down, and looked a little scared afterwards, but I was amazed – that is the longest I’ve seen him hold a stand on his own so far. I’m pretty sure he’ll be walking before he is one year old.

Lately, Micah is obsessed with his Daddy. He howls and runs to the door and bangs on the screen door screaming “Dad” or “Dada” when he steps out. It is kind of adorable. He also has a new trick – he likes to feed mommy food from his tray and he laughs hysterically as I “gobble” it up. We tried catching it tonight, but Micah tends to find the camera a bit of a distraction and prefers to “mug” for the camera.

Here is another recent video of a few of Micah’s “tricks”:
And Micah playing peek-a-boo:

So…onto the crazy part. Micah and Elliot had a private night together on Friday – while I went out for a girls’ night for my friend Stacy’s birthday. I made her a cake – we bought her a mah jongg set for her birthday, so mah jongg was the theme! We went out to an Indian restaurant that was more like a Moroccan restaurant. They had a Bollywood/belly dancer, and we sat on cushions low to the floor and shared big plates of food (with no silverware). We had so much fun!


On Saturday, we were supposed to go to a birthday party, but the weather was lousy and it was canceled. Saturday night, we went out to our friends Hirsch and Lisa’s annual Sahmain Soiree – a “Black tie potluck” event. We got all dressed up, and my parents came to sit with Micah for an hour or two while we went out. When we got home, my Dad was complaining that he had the chills. I took his temperature, and it said 101. I immediately suspected he had swine flu, and I sent them off to the hospital. Needless to say, I was worried for him and for Micah. After a long wait, and a CT scan of his sinuses and a chest xray, they decided he had pneumonia. No cough at all, just fever and chills. They admitted him to the hospital and put him on IV antibiotics. Unfortunately, he does not seem to be responding, so they added more antibiotics – he is now on 3 of them. I’m hoping he starts to respond better by tomorrow. If all is well with the bloodwork tomorrow, they’ll release him.

I also think I have a sinus infection – so sickness seems to be going around. My mom’s friend Mona was in town today, so she came by to see Micah. We went for a long walk, and I was exhausted. I crashed for an hour, but then Micah woke up, and I was back to mommy duty.

Just wanted to say, feel better, Daddy!
ETA – I decided to take myself to the hospital tonight, too. I seem to have developed a case of bronchitis, and I thought I should hurry up and get antibiotics. Mostly, I was starting to worry it could be the same pneumonia my dad had, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. After the doctor was incredibly rude to me (and informed me that they don’t treat bronchitis with antibiotics – they just call it h1n1 and give people Tamiflu), she finally wrote me the script for antibiotics (and a prescription for Tamiflu). I mean, seriously? I’ll take the Tamiflu if I develop flu symptoms – but I just have a low-grade fever, my chest hurts, and I *know* that I have a sinus infection/bronchitis. It is the same thing that happens all the time to me. I had a mild cold last week, so a secondary infection following a cold is par for the course for me. Ridiculous! Oh, and according to this lovely doctor, they no longer prescribe antibiotics for bronchitis or sinus infections. Um, hello – maybe they wait a few weeks for most people, but that is NOT a good idea with asthmatics and people with chronic sinusitis. She didn’t look up my nose, or at my throat or my ears, she didn’t listen to my chest, and she didn’t feel my glands. I found the whole experience annoying and off-putting – but I’m glad I have my antibiotics now.

9 month checkup

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Yesterday was Micah’s 9 month checkup! He is doing really well – he weighed 17 lbs 13 ozs (still a little guy) and he measured around 28.5 inches. That puts him in the 10th percentile for weight (at least he is consistent!) and somewhere between the 40th and 90th percentile for height. Actually, they measured him 3 times and got 3 different heights – 27.5, 28.5 and 29. That little guy can squirm!! Developmentally, he is hitting all of his milestones right on target, and all is well. We talked about food and growth, and then my poor little guy needed a blood test (he didn’t mind the prick on his finger, but WOW did he hate the fact that the lady was squeezing his finger to get the blood out) and two vaccinations (flu and his final Hepatitis B shot). He needs to go back in 30 days for another flu vaccination. We also had them culture his nose because it has been dripping for one month. All-in-all, a good checkup!

He went to daycare after the appointment and did just fine all day. I’m off on another business trip – I leave this afternoon and will be back on Thursday. I’m so sad to leave my little guy again, and a bit scared that this is the first time I’m leaving him overnight with his Daddy (alone). My biggest fear is that Elliot won’t wake up if Micah cries – he just doesn’t hear things at all. I think he would sleep through World War III if it happened while he was sleeping. Wish us luck!

The most beautiful sound I ever heard….

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“Mama.” Micah is definitely saying “mama” (and “dada,” and “hi” and something resembling “doggy” and “Nugget”), but my heart melts every time he says “mama” and looks at me. My mother has informed me that at some point (apparently at 4 am when they are sick?), it stops being cute, so I should work on getting him to say “dada” rather than “mama!” For now, I’m going to savor the cute factor.

Micah has been a huge grump lately, and I’m getting frustrated. He isn’t drinking his milk (or nursing), he is not really eating his food, he is cranky and whining, and apparently sleep is becoming optional. I know we’ve had it quite easy all these months so I shouldn’t complain, but I’m worried that there is something wrong. I couldn’t get him to take a single bottle yesterday, or nurse for more than 15 minutes all day. He was pretty easy to put to sleep, but he woke up screaming at 11:30. I went back in, tried nursing him, tried giving him a bottle, tried soothing him, and he quickly went back to sleep…until I put him down in his crib. He woke up again, and he was smiling, waving, and saying “hi” and “mama” as long as he could see me, but screaming every time I left his sight. I decided it wasn’t worth the battle (since he so rarely wakes up, something must have been off), so I brought him downstairs. I guess he either must be teething or he has been thrown off by the fact we lowered his crib this week (since he has been starting to pull up, we thought it was a good idea to lower the crib now). We kept him downstairs playing with us for about 30 minutes. He spent some of it nestled on my chest and sucking his thumb. When I thought he looked sleepy again, I sent him upstairs with Elliot and a bottle. Apparently, Elliot is a very good rocker, and got him to sleep in about 15 minutes. Micah slept through until 8:00 this morning.

Micah has had several accomplishments this week! First, he has pushed up to a sit a couple of times. He is not doing it consistently (I think he doesn’t realize he can do it) but it has happened more than once. He is also successfully pulling himself up to a stand when he can get the leverage correct. He works so hard, and his little faces scrunches up into this expression of steely and stubborn determination. When he finally stands, he looks so proud of himself as he beams with joy, and he usually squeals with delight. He is also cruising – he can walk down the side of the coffee table or the couch, but he doesn’t always remember to hold on and keep his balance. Last, and certainly not least, MICAH CRAWLED!! I would not say he is a crawler yet, but on multiple occasions in the past few days, he has leaned forward to all fours, crawled 3 or 4 paces, and then either pushed himself back to a sitting position or flopped down on his belly. I would guess full-out crawling is just around the corner now – a bit sooner than I expected. Elliot went out and bought baby gates and things to start baby-proofing the house, so we are getting prepared for Trouble.

Yesterday, Micah gave himself a black eye. Twice. Yes, I said twice. No, it was the same eye. We bought a new coffee table (it has a shelf on the bottom and 2 drawers) and we also bought these cute little woven baskets to sit underneath on top of the shelf. One basket holds our papers and stuff, and the other basket has Micah’s toys. He already knows which is his basket, and he likes to go over there and pull it out and dig out all of his toys. Yesterday afternoon, Micah was sitting and quietly emptying the basket, and I watched him push it forward and tip it back towards him….just a little too swiftly. He smashed the edge right into his eyelid. I thought it wasn’t a big deal, so I said “YAY, Micah” and started clapping (hoping that distracting him would keep him from crying). No such luck – he started BAWLING. I went and picked him up, and was surprised when the crying went on and on and on. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a big red welt forming. Poor little guy – he did a good job beating himself up! Then again, when he was wide awake at 11:45 last night, he was playing with the remote control. He managed to whack that right into the same eye. He is a little bruised and puffy today – should look lovely in our 8 month photos. Thank goodness for photoshop!

Micah would not take a bottle again this morning or much of his breakfast. We tried putting him down for his nap at 9:30 and he threw a fit. Elliot brought him back downstairs, and I tried again 20 minutes later. He cried at first, so I sat him up in the crib, gave him a toy, and left. He played for about 10 minutes before laying down and sleeping. We’ll see how long he decides to nap, but anything is okay at this point! When he gets up, I’m going to try and figure out what to do with that crazy mop of hair, dress him for pictures and head out. We have Christin coming this afternoon, so hopefully I can get a bunch of work done.

Tonight I have mah jong with the ladies, so hopefully Micah won’t give Elliot too much trouble at bedtime. I wish I knew how to get Micah eating again. Perhaps it is just teething.

In other news, I had a bit of a scare – there were reports of a gunman at Montgomery College campus this morning on the news. My mom works there, and I had a bit of trouble reaching her at first. It took about 3 or 4 tries, but when I finally got through she informed me the gunman was in custody, no one was hurt, and all is well. What a relief! Why are there so many crazy people out there?