So Much To Do, So Little Time

I'm convinced Eli will learn to roll from his back to his stomach before the other way around (which is normally the 'easier' way for babies to roll). He is really good at flipping his legs and arms out once he rolls to his stomach (if he falls forward from sitting, or if we prompt him to roll). Eli is showing signs of wanting to crawl and scoot also. He does this inch worm move where (when he's on his stomach) he sticks his butt up in the air and then flattens out again, in an attempt to move closer to a toy or object he wants to touch. Little does he know, he barely moves when he does this. However, he is good at turning his body around when he's lying on his back....he is still always in a different spot in his crib when I get him up in the morning.

**Two hours after I posted this blog, Eli rolled from his back to his stomach without any prompting. Had I ignored him a little more, I might have missed it myself.**

Speaking of his crib....Eli has discovered that he can interact with his Fisher Price aquarium. This week he started playing with the crab-roller (think a small version of the big wheel on Price is Right), and he started turning the lights and music on and off by hitting the seashell button.

As you know, we've stopped the sweet potatoes, but this week we did start with rice cereal. Eli seems to love the act of eating. He doesn't seem to enjoy the rice cereal as much as the sweet potatoes, but he still loves to open his mouth wide when we get anywhere near his mouth with the spoon. It's hilarious to see him get all excited, arms outstretched and mouth open wide, only to get a less-than-excited look as soon as he tastes the weird, white paste. He's even started to open his mouth wide when he seems me eating with a fork or spoon; he obviously thinks it is time for him to eat too.

Food Strike

Today was Eli's check-up with the pediatric orthopedist. Eli's feet are looking great, and there is no sign of relapse. Now if he could just learn how to roll over and start crawling, we could decrease the amount of time he's in the bar! Seriously, the doc said we can be the judge of how much to take the bar off once he begins to crawl, but I know Lehr and I are going to remain on the cautious side of things to make sure we prevent a relapse.

No new news in Eli's life right now... He's still off of solids due to the rash (I tried again this week, but the rash came right back), he still doesn't roll over (he does really well when Lehr or I prompt him, but he seems to not be motivated to roll at all on his own yet), and he's still enjoying his exersaucer nightly.

Re-Cap

Eli is taking a break from 'solid' foods for now...he seems to love them, but he's had a small rash the last two days right after he's eaten (a possible indication of an allergy). So for now, we're back on the liquid diet for now.

Today I registered Eli for swimming lessons. He and Cooper will be starting to mimic frogs and fish in March, when they are both 6-months old. Time sure flies! This last weekend Cooper came over for a visit and it was the first time we were able to get the boys to both smile for pictures. Eli actually grabbed onto Coopers hand a few times.

Eli is still loving every minute he gets to spend in his exersaucer; every night we put him in it without his shoes for abut 30 minutes. We try to 'ignore' him because we've noticed how much more animated and active he becomes when he thinks no one is watching. It's quite fun to watch him do laps around the toy and squeal in delight.

I Think I Like Green Eggs & Ham

Today was a BIG first for Eli. He tried solid (and I use that term loosely, as the consistency was that of soup) foods for the first time! We decided to start Eli out on sweet potatoes; I'm attempting to make all of his baby food and that was one of the recommended starting points. He ate a full cube and probably would have liked more, but I wanted to make sure he would still eat the liquid portion of his meal. In the last few weeks, Eli has started opening his mouth really wide when it's time to eat, so we were curious to see if he'd react to the potatoes the same way: he did! Eli made it quite easy for Lehr and I to feed him because he kept most of the food (at least half anyway) in his mouth each time and he opened up every time he saw a spoonful coming his way.

Also, right now Eli is going through a phase where he has a little 'mommy preference'. Although it is frustrating that most of the time I am the only one who can calm him, it melts my heart. It really amazes me that he 'needs' me.....

On a side note, I came across a video explaining the correction process we are following for Eli's feet. The full video is about 15minutes, but the last part (about parents) isn't as informative. (If you decide to watch, just focus on the first half; it explains the casting, tenotomy, and brace.)

Jump Around!

Eli had a very busy day yesterday; lots of errands and new surroundings! I am 90% done transforming the house back to it's normal decor (read: I'm finally getting around to putting the Christmas decorations away), and this seems to puzzle Eli, as he'd become quite fond of the big dead tree in our living room.

Yesterday we bought and assembled an exersaucer for Eli. It is a bit challenging with his bar, as I have to unscrew the bar to place him in the seat and then re-attach once he's seated. On top of that, it is difficult for Eli to balance on the bar once he's in the seat due to the slickness of the pad on which he is supposed to jump. For a while I'll put a towel underneath him, for traction, but I don't imagine it'll take him too long to figure it out. Also, while we were assembling the new toy, Eli decided to flip himself over on the couch (from a sitting position), almost throwing himself off the couch and onto the floor. This means no more unsupervised sitting anywhere there is not 3-square feet of level land. He's been wiggling around in his crib too. For the last two weeks or so, whenever I go in to wake him in the morning, he is usually in there talking to himself and he's turned sideways (90-degrees from where we put him the night before. Yesterday morning he changed his position completely: when he went to sleep, his head was at the South end of his crib, but when Lehr woke him up in the morning, his head was due North! Houdini strikes again!

Today was a day of firsts: Eli went to the church nursery during the service this morning. I stayed in with him to help with the transition, but he didn't seem to need it; he enjoyed sitting in the middle of the room and watching all of the other babies, as if it were entertaining to him.

He's BAAACCKK!

Eli's back, baby! No more crazy screaming or major meltdowns: I guess the holiday stress is over for him! I wish I could figure out how to help him deal with extra people around the house. He gets plenty of exposure to 'outsiders' on a daily basis; we're always going to someone's house or lunch with friends.... He does fine with that, but once they invade his domain, all hell breaks loose!

He's had a pretty laid back week so far..walks, errands, playing around the house, nothing too exciting. He's still sucking away at the thumb, but no developments with rolling. He is getting REALLY close, but no spontaneous flips yet.