Weekly Recap

Eli had his last swim class this week. It was pretty sad too, considering he'd just started to really get the hang of his frog/inchworm imitation. Our neighborhood pool should be opening soon, so I'll be sure to bring him over there at least once a week so he can perfect his stroke.

Something I forgot to mention earlier: Eli is sitting up all the time now. Since March began, he has been sitting up about half the time, but in the last two weeks it is with almost 100% success. I still place pillows around him if he's on a hard surface (ALERT: OVER-PROTECTIVE MOM), but most of the time he doesn't need them. Video to follow soon...

Also, Eli has been eating via a mesh-feeder for about a month now, but very recently, he's become addicted. He can't seem to get enough of it, and continues to 'eat', even when the food is gone. (Note: the handle also makes a great teething-toy.) Finger foods still escape his less-than-stellar grasp, so this is the only way he can feed himself. Last night he devoured a huge piece of pear through the mesh in a matter of minutes. Once again, video to follow...

Another new discovery for Eli this week was the sun-roof on his BOB. While we were walking on Monday, I noticed a little set of eyes peeking up at me. Eli suddenly realized there was a window on top of his sun-shade, and he could see Mom through it. This seemed to puzzle Eli as I think he viewed stroller-time as his alone-time up until this point. He must have had a sore neck for the rest of the day considering how much he strained to look through the sun-roof during the walk.

News on Eli's feet also: less bar time has arrived. All of the recommendations and guidelines (and our doctor) indicate 6-months is a good time to start decreasing shoe/bar time, provided his treatment is going well (which it is). However, since I'm me (see above note about being over-protective), and since Lehr and I want to be sure there are no incidences of relapse, we've been extra conservative regarding the amount of time he spends in the bar. This week I started letting him 'out' a little more. Yesterday he wore his first pair of non-corrective shoes (a pair of reef sandals, just like his mom), and he seemed to enjoy it a lot! This morning I took him to the grocery store (without shoes) and he rode in the cart like a 'normal' baby for the first time, something he also seemed to enjoy.

Also, we purchased a back-pack carrier for Eli this week. Now we have something better to hike with (the Baby Bjorn is getting to be too heavy), and something to accommodate him for Jazz Fest. (Eli will be making the trip to New Orleans with us this year.) So far he loves being in it, even if it's just sitting on the floor.

One last thing, our not-so-gifted son has not yet figured out how to roll from his stomach to his back, regardless of how many times we've taught him. Not such a big deal, but since he's so eager to show off what skills he does have, he often times finds himself stuck on his stomach because he's rolled from his back to his front and then realized he had 'done it again' and can't get back. This isn't too frustrating during his wake time, but now he's started to do it in his crib when he's supposed to be napping (and last night when he was supposed to be asleep for the night). Since he's not able to get himself out of that situation, and since he prefers to sleep on his back or side, he will send out a distress signal (read: whine and fuss) until I go into his nursery and roll him back over. The kicker: he then gets mad because I leave the room and he thinks it's 'play time'. So much to learn, so little time......