Charlie's turn

(TMI warning... this post discusses bowel movements. Read at your own risk.)

Charlie went in for his six-month well-baby visit a bit late. His statistics at that visit on 10/27: height 25.5 inches (10-25 percentile), weight 14 lbs 8 oz (5-10%), and head 17.25 in (50-75%).

Although he's never been particularly large, he had "fallen off his weight curve," so the doctor encouraged me to increase his solid feedings to two times per day. This has presented an interesting challenge, since once Charlie was regularly eating solids once per day, he started going 5+ days without pooping. Sometimes he seemed uncomfortable with that situation, sometimes not so much. The doctor reminded me that a baby isn't technically constipated until the poop is hard, which Charlie's wasn't (I did warn you...).

So about a week after we went to solids 2x/day, Charlie finally pooped and I had to declare him officially constipated. Sigh. And that was after several helpings of prunes. I'm still trying to find the right balance and timing, and am keeping lots of prunes and pears in the mix.

Charlie loves to eat, and has gotten much more efficient at it. So far the only food he seemed to express any disinterest in was avocado, to my surprise. And it could be my imagination, but it seems like he prefers veggies to fruits. He is also quite determined to grab the spoon, which slows down the process, but I'm guessing this boy will be feeding himself pretty early.

I also think Charlie's own distraction level has contributed to the slowed-down weight gain. The world is way too interesting to sit and just nurse! He has finally decided formula is acceptable occasionally, and is now very happy to see the bottle - he reaches for it with both hands and opens his mouth. Like feeding himself, I don't think we'll have a problem getting him to hold his own bottle or sippy cup when the time comes.

Let's see, what else. Charlie is a master sitter, although I still stick a pillow or something behind him for insurance. When he does fall it's usually the slow-motion kind where he's reaching for something, and he often catches himself. He has not rolled from back to front yet, and I'm curious if he ever will. He does not like to be on his belly; when we put him there he instantly rolls over to his back. He still loves to lay on his back singing to the ceiling, kicking his heels hard enough that the floor seems to shake and occasionally the dog barks. His "songs" have changed a bit; as much as he continues to find great enjoyment in blowing raspberries, he is now working on an "mmmmm" sound. Getting close to saying mama! :)

Several weeks ago now we pulled out the exersaucer. It was originally my nephew and niece's, and then Zach got to use it, and now Charlie is having a blast in it. At first he would just sit there and try to chew on the various toys, but now he's turning himself around, bouncing up and down, and I'm starting to hear more of the noises and songs that are a reward for pushing or pulling on a certain toy.


Charlie continues to be an enigma when it comes to sleep. Perhaps he doesn't want to be compared to his brother, who had been sleeping 12 hours at a stretch for quite a while by this age. But the hardest part (for me, of course; he is doing just fine) is that this boy refuses to be predictable in any way - at night or at nap time. One night he'll sleep for 9 hours, the next night 5. Some days he takes a 30 minute nap, other days 2.5 hours. The combination of a cold with serious congestion, the constipation, and now daylight savings time certainly hasn't made things better the last month or so. But it's not like there was a lot of improvement before all of that happened! So we'll just keep trying, and hope that sooner or later this boy will choose to make life a little easier for his mom.

In general, Charlie remains the content little guy he's been since birth. I wish I had a dime for every time someone said "is he always this content?" or "does he ever cry?" Nothing makes him happier than to sit and watch the world go by, although I'm not sure how much longer that will last, since he's definitely showing interest in getting more involved!