Maximum Max- a week 15 update

Ok friends and family, I hear you.  You aren't coming out and saying it, but I can hear your thoughts. "Laura, that's great you and Brett starting eating steak on Sunday and you make cake in the microwave.  Sure, you love a couple of Dad's and you took a picture of a train. Good for you.  But we aren't reading this blog for you.  We want to know about Max!"  Fine.  I'll stop talking about myself for a minute.

You really want to know about Max?

Really really?

Well...he's a bit constipated and a bit cranky.   Oh, and now he has a cold.

Sorry, you asked

Actually, besides the issues mentioned above, Max is developing right on track.  At least I think so.  I stopped comparing him to what the "experts" say he should be doing because it makes me a bit insane. He's a week ahead in some places and a week behind in others. The past few weeks have had some pretty major milestones however.

The biggest development is that Max has started using his hands. He skipped the "batting at things" stage altogether.  He's grabbing at things and it's obviously intentional because when he gets a grip, the object goes directly to his mouth.  It was fun the first few days as he would swing and miss but now he's pretty accurate.  The only downside is I need to temporarily put away all my dangling earrings!

 

Another ADORABLE development is he is more verbal.  From yelps to coos to gurgles and the best- laughing, he is able to communicate more than "HOLY CRAP I'M PISSED SO FIX IT". It's totally awesome. Plus, he does this the most when we are changing his diaper, thus making a unfun task completley awesome!

I no longer dread car rides now that Max doesn't scream bloody murder the whole time. Instead, he looks around, maybe yelps once or twice and falls alseep.  It's adorable. And blissfully quiet.

Other things changing include:
-He notices himself in the mirror...and thinks he's hysterical
-He's working on sitting up and no longer despises his bumbo.
-He's able to play in his exersauser though he isn't 100% sure he likes it.
-He has rolled from tummy to back 7 times but most of the time does it when no one is looking.
-He still loves that damn bear

The only thing that isn't going well is the lack of sleep at night.  He's an adorable angel during the day but at night he's screaming  every 2 hours.  We've tried EVERYTHING but he doesn't want to sleep.  It's one thing after another.  When we finally figured out a good feeding schedule, he decided he doesn't want the swaddle all night long.  When he finally broke the swaddle habit, the constipation thing happened.  Once his tummy troubles were under control he got a cold.  So, we keep trying things to get him to sleep for more than a few hours at a time.  We all keep begging praying that one night a switch will flip and he'll sleep for a long stretch, every night. Unfortunately, my gut is telling me we have another 9 months of this.  Brett and I no longer find coffee effective.  Instead, we just ingest caffeine into our veins.

I don't want to complain too much. He's healthy and that is all that matters. All in all, he's a pretty wonderful kid and my life is better with him in it.

Evil in Toy Form

This flippin' bear is haunting my dreams. It's blinking red nose was part of my nightmare last night. It's calypso version of "Pop goes the Weasel" plays repeatedly in my head during quiet moments. When I accidentally turn on "motion sensor" instead of "off" it causes small heart attacks during late night bathroom breaks.

Yet, we can't get rid of it.  Max LOVES this bear and it has prevented many a breakdown during tummy time.  He talks to it, smiles at it and holds his head up high, strengthening his neck muscles, as another obnoxious, electronic tune begins.

I'm sure this is just one of many toys that I will learn to hate throughout my life.  It's probably karmic payback for the time I bought my nephew, then a toddler, a drum kit, set it up in my parents house, then promptly hopped on a plane back to Savannah.  

Mom.  Dad.  I'm sorry.