Look-A-Likes

After I posted the following blog I received these pictures in an e-mail--they're Joe's nephew's daughter (who was born in February) and her mom as a baby! Talk about "look-a-likes!" WOW!
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This was originally written on Monday, August 4, 2008:

Logan is a spitting image of his daddy's baby pictures. Sometimes it is freaky because Logan will make Joe's exact expressions--I think he's definitely taking after him more than me (and he has Joe's natural tan).

As far as measurements, at Joe's 4 month check-up he weighed 16 lbs, 10 oz. Right now Logan is at 17 lbs on our home scale (his 4 month appointment is in 9 days). Meanwhile, I was 18 lbs at my 6 month check-up which is the same thing as Logan & Joe at 4 months because I was two months premature. So, even though Logan is the biggest 3.5 month baby I know, LOL, he appears to be right where he should be based on his genetics! (Part of it is that he is so solid--he already has muscles. I have a friend who works at a daycare and said that Logan does a really good job at sitting up, holding his head up, and standing up with assistance compared to the three month olds that she knows.)

The downside to this is that I can only hold him for so long. Last week he wanted me to walk around with him but I had to keep trying other things because it was starting to hurt my back. The positive, though, is that he's definitely not going to be dependent on people holding him. He finds the same comfort in his car seat (his favorite place).

Since I posted a week ago, Logan has decided to have an hour each day where nothing appears to be wrong--he just cries. The time of day varies and once he goes to sleep then he's fine for the rest of the day (when he wakes up he's happy again). But that one hour is tough. This past Friday he cried for the entire hour--and then finally wore himself out. I had mentioned in a previous post that the longest he'd cried in his life was five consecutive minutes. Obviously that went out the window at 3.5 months old.

I can't imagine having a colicky baby--that one hour last Friday was exhausting! If Logan hadn't been easy-going the other 23 hours of the day I think I would have had a problem being easy-going, too! On Friday I was getting so sad for him that I had to try leaving him alone for the first time (even though, as I said in past posts, I'm not a fan of the "crying it out" method) because I seemed to be making everything worse (any comfort I tried to give made him scream louder). It used to be that putting him to the breast was all he needed, but now when he's cranky that actually makes him madder and I was worried about the dangerous effects of him screaming for so long, which I posted in my "Preparing for Brachial Cleft Surgery" post! Fortunately he did fall asleep soon after I gave him his space. Bella had even been concerned and went to see if there was anything she could do to help!

On Wednesday his fussy hour was actually more like several. Joe came home early while I went to get my hair cut for the first time since 2.5 days before Logan was born, and when I returned Joe was a train wreck. Logan continued to be fussy when I took over and Joe went to mow the lawn. I had been starving upon returning from the salon, but it wasn't until 4 hours later that I was able to eat my dinner because every time I tried to take a bite Logan would start crying. He finally had an explosive diaper and then calmed down, so I wonder if his fussy times are linked to getting uncomfortable in the tummy. I always do the recommended "bicycle" with him, as that helps babies with constipation, but he's never had a true case of constipation (for other tips and info according to the labor of love dot com, click here). I keep taking his temperature and he's not sick, either. . .and no teeth are coming through yet. I'm also not eating anything or doing anything different, so I don't think it's something I can prevent/avoid. My gut instinct tells me it's just a phase where he's learning how to relax/calm himself down, as babies are not born with the ability to do this--it is a learned thing.

On Thursday, his bumbo chair was what did the trick. Apparently he just didn't want to recline anymore that day! He also still really enjoys his music bear, mobile, and music box--he can be in the worst case of tears and I turn one of them on and he suddenly stops and smiles, it's so sweet.

Fortunately, the past three days he's fallen asleep shortly into his cranky time (so no more crying for more than a few minutes straight), so that's made things easier. Joe found a good trick--put him in his carseat, give him a tiny bit of breastmilk in a bottle, then quickly replace the bottle with his pacifier, and gently rock his carseat back and forth as he dozes off. It works pretty much every time.

Friday had been the first day in his life that he didn't poop. Needless to say, on Saturday he had his first explosion in public. We went to Sarah S's house for a BBQ and I had been eating in a different room as Logan and decided to go get him. When I reached down to pick up his carseat I noticed a poop stain by his feet! I was like, what is that doing there? Then I realized what it meant. . .oh no! I picked up his legs and there was gooy poop ALL under him, seeping out the sides of his diaper. It was the first time he'd leaked in the size bigger diapers but I don't think anything would have stopped his two-day build up! I had forgotten to bring another outfit for him, so poor guy was just in his diaper after that.

By the way, I forgot to mention in Logan's "Three Months Old" blog that when the minister was holding him to dedicate him, Logan farted! At least he didn't poop :p

For other news since my post last week. . .two of the nights this past week Logan slept NINE consecutive hours--yeay! This week I'm going to try to work on helping him get into a pattern/schedule during the day. It's still different every day--he might be wide awake for several hours in the morning and then sleep in the afternoon, or sleep in the morning and be awake for a long time in the afternoon. (Same with the evening.) I'm going to try and figure out what he prefers/what works best for him and then see if I can assist him into making it a routine.

Recently I mentioned he sorta has cradle cap. . .well last week his scalp began falling off all over our furniture--gross! I'd find circles with hair sticking straight out of them! So I looked up to find out how to get rid of cradle cap and I'm glad I did, because although it's completely harmless, it can last up to three years.

It's caused from the mother's hormones during pregnancy--they can overstimulate the baby's seborrheic (oil producing) glands--it's not due to poor hygiene or allergies, and is not contagious. The only thing that appears to work (naturally) is oil. Experts recommend putting a small amount of olive oil on a washcloth and then rub it gently on his head. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then take a comb and brush out the scales. Wash his head with non-drying shampoos (i.e. not Johnson & Johnson, but rather organic brands like Burt's Bees). They claim within two weeks it will be gone. I have to say I'm already noticing a major improvement after only three times of doing this. His head has not flaked for three days!

He's sure lost a lot of hair, though. I could tell he had been when comparing him to his newborn photos (his hair was also a lot darker back then) but now I find it all over his crib, pack n play, swing, etc! So hopefully he won't go bald, I think babies with hair are cuter :)

I've been giving him vitamin D a couple of times a week because the PA at my pediatrician's office in June said to start giving it daily since it's the only vitamin not passed thru breastmilk (my body absorbs it all)--and it is not good at this age for Logan to be in much sunlight. For more on the importance of giving babies vitamin D, click here for an article on WebMD.

It's harder than I thought it'd be! Logan actually spits--not just as in letting it drain out of his mouth but actually putting his lips together and blowing it out! It's kind of funny. Sometimes he takes it well (it tastes like orange) but from now on I'm going to put it in his milk so that he gets it more than twice a week because it is an extremely important vitamin that children worldwide are low in. (And adults, so I take a supplement in addition to my pre-natal vitamin because even the amount in just that isn't enough according to optimal health standards.)

On another subject, my cousin who lost baby boy Caden last October found out she's having a GIRL in January! We're continuing to pray that everything remains well.

Joe received the results from his cholesterol check and is healthier than me (I had mine checked three years ago). :p His total is 165 (mine was 215, they say it should be under 240). His HDL (the good cholesterol) was 53, mine was 59 (should be more than 40) and his LDL (bad cholesterol) was 85, mine was 145 (should be less than 160). Joe's triclycerides were 133 (should be below 150) and mine were 54. His c-reactive protein was .39 and mine was 3 (should be below 3). So we're glad to know that Joe is at a very low risk for a "cardiac event." Meanwhile, because of my c-reactive protein score, I am at risk for "a future cardiac event." That sounds terrible! I better get on that eliptical machine.

I've been staying up past Joe for the first time since moving into this house. I always used to go to bed later than him in our other places of residence, but once I got pregnant I was the first to hit the hay!

My only other update is that my friend from fourth/fifth grade, Heather, came over from Iowa with her husband to meet Logan this past weekend. They arrived at 9:30 PM on Friday and we hung out & talked, then on Saturday went out for brunch at I-HOP (the last time I went was a week before Logan was born and I could only eat two bites because my stomach was so full of baby and I was having braxton hicks!) and to Sarah S's where Logan was super interested in playing with the babies from last week again! :-) Lexi tried to put her cute little shoes on his feet. He was also very fascinated by the television. Anytime I turned him away from it he fussed until I turned him back! I've noticed that at home, too, whenever I have the TV on he'll just stare at it forever! I guess it's time to buy some Baby Einstein DVDs!

I thought Logan was going to have his first fussy time in public (he began crying at the party), so we left after a couple of hours there, but Logan ended up falling asleep in the car and was okay the rest of the night. Us adults rented a movie, and Heather & Scott left at 10:30 AM on Sunday.

At 6:30 PM our power went out! It was another 105-degree day, and apparently the system got overworked from everyone cranking their air conditioners. I was so worried that this was going to be a numerous-day thing. Joe called Nick and he said the news was reporting 17% of our town was without electricity. My dad & stepmom were without power for 3-4 days last week due to a tornado in Iowa! I can't imagine. . .I am SOOOO dependent on electricity. I mean, no computer, come on! No, seriously I was most concerned about all of the breastmilk I have stored in the freezer! I began feeding it to Logan last night just in case. Fortunately, OPPD came out and fixed the broken part so everything came back on at 10:30 PM.

I had been in the middle of fixing dinner when it first went out. I called my next door neighbors but neither were home. I could tell both of their's was out, too, though because their answering machines didn't pick up. When Jenn arrived home during the 8:00 hour she called us and then went outside with Joe to congregate with the neighbors behind us. They learned that it was affecting all of us as well as five blocks up. When Sean & Brenda came home they had to break into their house because they'd been gone to Chicago all week and forgot their keys but planned to use their garage code to get in!

Joe ended up picking up a pizza for supper and then I figured I had no choice but to get the ice cream out of our freezer to have for dessert! :p

When it got dark we used candles and our two flashlights. We stripped Logan down, but fortunately it was just starting to get stuffy when the power went back on so it's a good thing this happened in the evening. And, everything in our fridge and freezer was still cold so nothing was ruined. Whew!