A Bump in the Road: February 2012

Wow! I wonder if I can adequately sum up the last several weeks. It is amazing how much growth and development takes place in such a short time. Mr. Cohen definitely keeps us on our toes. And since he is approaching ten months old I guess I should give the 9 month report! I breathed a sigh of relief to know this appointment didn't involve shots, but they did take blood to check Cohen's iron levels. Cohen tipped the scale at 21 pounds, 4 ounces in the 55th percentile and is 29.5 inches long in the 75th percentile. Most people think he is already a year old, so I guess he's a big 'n'! Also, his iron level came back great, so I guess he is eating enough.

Cohen is not exactly the adventurous type with food. He has his favorites with several cereal types (oatmeal being his favorite), sweet potatoes, apples, squash, bananas, and a few meat dinners. He is also picking up different flavored puffs with more precision each day. Lately Cohen will pick up puffs, stretch out his hand, look at me and smile, and just open his hand and drop the puffs on the floor for Tucker. That is a good indication he is full, at least! Lately, he enjoys small pieces of soft bread and really throws a fit if I have food and he doesn't. So, if anyone eats, we best have a handful of something ready for Cohen, too!

Cohen is babbling and talking more, too. He has been saying "ma, ma, ma, ma" alot, usually when he is upset or in the middle of the night, of course! I have been working with him on saying "da da", mainly so I can nudge Chris awake in the middle of the night, telling him Cohen wants him! He is also entertaining himself for longer periods. We just watch as he plays in his crib or pack n' play with his toys or talking to himself. His newest trick is to throw every toy out of the crib or pack n' play one at a time and wait for someone to get it for him. He also pulls his socks off every chance he gets and throws them some where!

Cohen is also really pulling up on things and walking around them. He has taken a few steps with his walker, but I am not in a huge hurry for him to master this huge milestone because I know it will mean a lot more work for me (if that is possible) to keep up with him. He loves to lean over his toy box and throw things over his shoulder, but a lot of the time he will fall over into it because he still has no regard for his own physical safety. We catch him many a times teetering over the edge. The child can not be left alone for a second!

Nights are tough. I would say since Thanksgiving we have really been struggling with teething and separation anxiety and most recently a cold. It is just so challenging since he started out being such a good little snoozer. Now sometimes he wakes up a handful of times a night. Most of the time he'll be back to sleep quickly, but those occasional two-hour stints when he doesn't are brutal. I crave sleep...and when he is having a good night it is difficult for me to sleep. The cat may be extra loud or just insomnia. Last week was really difficult since Cohen came down with a cold and then I had a sinus infection that overlapped. One night I held Cohen all night so he could breathe more easily and because he would wake up five minutes after I would put him back down. Poor guy! We struggled all week, then Friday looked promising. Cohen went to bed fairly early and so we followed a short while after. We barely laid our heads down and we were out. Then a couple hours later which felt like a couple minutes, we were awakened by a continual, loud beep. We were freaking out! We both jumped up and Chris sprinted down the hall to the carbon monoxide detector. He pulled it from the wall and started ripping the batteries out. When we were finally awake enough, we ascertained we either have a carbon monoxide leak (one lingering fear in the back of my mind for years now) or it has lost its mind and has a faulty sensor. There were a few things around the house we could think of that would cause a leak, so it seemed possible. Then I was googling things that said you could fall back asleep and not wake up, etc. Chris loves when I google things, by the way! So, since we both wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway, we opted to call 911 and they said they would send the fire department. Chris asked if they would call when they got to our house since we had a sleeping baby. Amazingly, Cohen slept through the alarm. We put the dogs out to bamboozle them, and it worked. Two firemen came in with their little sensor thing and measured the carbon monoxide level in our house and in our blood. None to be found. Whew! Oh, well. Better safe than sorry. Back to bed.

We are trying to be flexible and figure Cohen out and hopefully get back on a regular sleeping schedule. Things are always changing and we cannot believe he is almost a year old! Although, exhausted, we are enjoying every moment with our little guy!