August 2006

August 30th, 2006 | by Matt |

We will start with the latest news first – Kevin is finally getting his first tooth! He’s been a lot more fussy lately, and we wondered if he was teething, then finally felt it today. He’s getting ready to crawl, rocking on his hands and knees. He can roll around very well to get to most things he wants, but he gets frustrated when he tries to go forward. He just hasn’t put all the pieces together yet to take make that first move. He’s also waving now, and thinks it’s fun and silly to wave at new people he sees. We got a pull-behind bike trailer a while ago and he’s now big enough to ride in it, which he likes quite a bit. We just took a bike ride this past weekend with grandpa Rich and Karen and he went 12 miles with no complaints.

Now that’s he 9 1/2 months old, we’re thinking that it’s about time to stop spoiling him rotten and teach him what “no” means! He likes to slap people in the face and knock the bottle clear out of our hands when he thinks he’s done eating. He has quite the little attitude, and when we tell him no he looks at us kind of like “who do you think you are?” We’re sure he will catch on, though. Or at least we hope. He knows his mommy doesn’t want to hurt his feelings, and he uses it to his advantage. Smart boy.

His last doctor visit was his 9 month checkup at the pediatrician. He weighed 17 pounds and was 28 inches long. That’s 50th percentile for height and only 5th for weight, so he’s a tall and skinny boy! The doctor was okay with his weight, though, since he gained 2 pounds since his 6 month checkup and grew so long. His next doctor visit is on the 12th with the cardiologist. It’s just an EKG and checkup, though (no echo), so it shouldn’t be too bad. He certainly won’t sit through an echo anymore, so they will all need to be sedated for a while. That’s quite a process. We also called in with his pacemaker check this week, which we have to do a few times a year. It’s a small device that we hook up to the phone and straps attach to his wrists. It’s much more difficult now than it was back at 4 months when we first did it, but luckily it’s not that often and we can manage it while he’s asleep.

He’s still eating okay, slowly moving up to new baby foods. He likes to suck on pickles and cucumbers and prefers fruits over vegetables. He’s at the age where it’s quite a challenge to feed him. He moves and wiggles and tries to hit the spoon as it gets close to his mouth, so feeding time often ends up pretty messy.

He babbles even more now and gets quite loud with his screams. He says “mamama” but we don’t think he’s really saying “mama” yet. He loves constant attention and even seems to “expect” it, since when we leave the room he’s very clear that he wants us to come back. The boy can scream!

He finally started sleeping in his own room a while ago too. After 9 months, it’s about time his crib gets some use instead of the cradle right next to our bed. He sleeps pretty well but still usually likes to eat once during the night. He still hates naps and hates being put to sleep at night, fighting it with everything he has until he just can’t keep his eyes open.

That’s all for now, we’ll try to update again after his next doctor visit.