Trick or Treat!

Cranky Boy

This has been the week of Mommies alternating nights that they get to sleep.

We don't know if it's the teething or something else but Arthur's had a pretty tough time staying asleep the past few nights. He's been waking up screeching every couple of hours like he's in pain. I called the pediatrician today just to rule out something like an ear infection and was told that it could really be anything but since he has no fever, don't worry about it and keep an eye on him.

We use his teething tablets for mild crankiness and infant tylenol for those inconsolable nights. Looking at his mouth though, I still think it's going to be a while. The white bumps are still just white bumps. No broken through teeth yet.

On a fun note, Arthur has a new friend that he hasn't met yet. One of his mommies works with a nice woman named Ann who has a little boy named Darin. Mommy has met Darin and he's a real cutie. Darin's Mommy loves Arthur and always steals him when he comes to visit. After reading Arthur's blog, she made Darin his own! If you want to read about him, you can go here: Darin's Blog.

Feeling Flushed

We took a trip to the photographer today for our 6 month photo appointment. It's a little over a week early but we couldn't really find a better time.

Arthur was a very good boy for his pictures but he just wasn't himself overall today. He was flushed during the photo session and felt a little warm so we gave him a little tylenol which seemed to help.

We've been told that teething babies can get a little fever and rosy cheeks. His gums don't look any different than they have the past few days so I think it's going to be a long process for him. Those little swollen bumps haven't changed but we're hoping the teeth come through soon to spare him extended discomfort.

As with the rest of the week, his teething hasn't affected his appetite. He excitedly and ravenously consumed his squash, cereal, and apples today. (Yay for first fruit!). We're still only doing solids at dinner because his nutritional needs don't require more yet. As we did when we started food in general, we'll just wait for his cues to see when it seems like he needs more and then talk to his doctor again. We're not in any rush and he's been doing very well this way. I really enjoy our meal times but it's bittersweet in some ways to see him growing up so fast.

The teeth, I would like to rush. I don't like seeing him so uncomfortable and want it to be over for his sake...

To teethe or not to teethe

For the past few days Arthur has been crankier than average and has been waking at night several times. We kept feeling around his bottom gums to see if any teething was going on but there is nothing there.

The other day both his aunt and his caregiver told us that they thought he was teething....on top. We didn't think to look at his top gums.

And there they were...two whitish-pinkish puffy bumps on his upper gums. Normally babies get their bottom teeth first so it never occurred to us to look above. We don't know how long it will be from this point until they actually break through but we've heard that it could be 3 days or 5 weeks! Thankfully, his fussiness is only moderate and we're both pretty good at sharing "who gets up this time" duties.

Mainly, I just feel bad for my little guy because I know it's awfully uncomfortable. Remember wisdom teeth?

It certainly hasn't seemed to decrease his appetite any. We've still been giving him real food at dinner time every night and we've moved on to squash. So far, he hasn't met a veggie he doesn't like! The spoon is barely out of the bowl and he's got his mouth wide open saying "aaaaaahhhhhh." Lucky us!

I'm not a squirrel.

The title of Arthur's blog comes from the movie "The Sword and the Stone" which was based on the book "The Once and Future King." In it, young King Arthur (Wart) is taking lessons with Merlin the wizard and Archemedes the owl. For each of his lessons, he changes into a different animal. In one lesson, he is changed into a squirrel and becomes the love interest of a little girl squirrel. In his pleadings to explain his position, he exclaims the above mentioned quote.

***

Today Arthur discovered pumpkins. We took him to an outdoor garden shop so we could sneak in pictures and videos with some fall decoration. Of course, we bought a pumpkin as well as a little one for the baby so it wouldn't seem like we were taking advantage of the garden's display. He blends in with his candy corn sweatshirt.

It was the first sunny day (albeit really windy) in a string of at least eight rainy ones so we really wanted to get outside. After the pumpkin visit, we went down to a park in Onset and played on the baby swings and tires. He was really interested in watching all of the other children.

After his nap, it's on to trying some avocado!

A is for Asparagus

Arthur has decided that he is ready for solids and it's been a fun week and a half of rice cereal, peas, and asparagus.

On the day that we started asparagus, we had some leftover peas and what we have decided is that fresh, pureed asparagus looks a lot better than jarred babyfood peas. Are the peas green or are they brown? Who can tell?

He liked the asparagus quite a bit. He's already ahead of this asparagus-detesting mommy. He's got one more day of the asparagus and then I think we're moving on to avocado.

I have mixed feelings about feeding Arthur real food. First; I just can't believe he can sit at the table with us through entire meals content in his booster chair to play with a cup. It's nice to have family meals and I hope this is a tradition we don't ever give up.

Second; we had both thought we would wait until at least six months before we started Arthur on solids but at 5 and a half months, he is just so ready. He sits unattended, reaches for food, and is generally very interested in what we are eating. We're pretty happy with the decision to start now but I think it's just one of the first (and not the last) times we'll feel like our little baby is growing up too fast.

Third; the cats are getting spoiled. They've decided that they too also like asparagus, peas, and rice cereal and have been getting the leftovers. At least it's veggies. I'll probably have to stop doing that when we get to bananas.

I hope that this blog becomes a good way to write down all of this great stuff and share it with friends and family. Several friends of ours introduced us to blogs (Sorry, Sarah about the dot background being the same...I swear I didn't realize until after!) and I love checking in with them to see what their babies are up to. Hopefully, we can figure out how to copy the videos from the camera soon and we can send out some movies!

Lots of love!