Linnaeus 9.3

I realized the other day that Sprout clearly understands the word 'kitty' now. He was on the change table yesterday, looking up at his mobile, when the cat walked in. Surprisingly, the cat didn't yowl so Sprout didn't notice. I said, 'Kitty!', he got excited, making a 'kkkkk' noise & craned his neck to see Stimpy.

Something Sprout's been doing a lot lately, though not just this week, is yelling. I've so far been unsuccessful at filming it--he gets distracted by the camera. He says something like, 'Aaaaaaaayaaaaaaayaaaaaal,' or 'Aaaaawuaaaaya' at the top of his lungs. I'm still surprised that such a loud noise can come out of someone who weighs less than 20 pounds.

Speaking of weight, at Monday's baby group, I discovered Sprout is about 19 pounds 6 ounces, which puts him at the 45th percentile for weight now. Until recently, he was hovering just around the 15th-20th percentile. I think I need to stop calling him my skinny baby! I still find it hilarious how babies & kids grow up then out, then up, then out... Between four & five months, he grew nearly two inches in length, but barely followed the line on the growth chart for weight. Now his length has plateaued, he's growing that belly & I suddenly need to adjust all the diapers to a different snap setting around his thighs.

Sprout's first jewellery arrived in the mail Tuesday: an amber teething necklace. Theoretically, when worn next to the skin, the amber slowly releases oils containing succinic acid, which helps with the pain of teething. If nothing else, it looks cute--kind of a mini surfer chic. Once it's on him, he doesn't seem to notice it's there.

Sprout's latest eating skill is picking up handfuls of small things & stuffing them in his mouth. Tonight he ate his blueberries two or three at a time & this morning his Nutrios went in the same way. Also related to eating, I think, is his latest round of diaper rash. I'm not positive, but he got a bad rash after eating spelt bread the last few times. I'm going to hold off on feeding him any more of that & see if the rash stays away. Poor little nipper has had a raw bum so many times in his short life already. I'm fairly sure that kiwi gave him a raw bum another time--it's just too acidic for him to digest yet.

He continues to sleep 10-11 hours at night without waking most nights, but napping is still hard at home. On the weekend we tried going out with Sprout in the Beco carrier, but he resisted napping until he fell asleep from exhaustion, so I think it's going to be back to the stroller if we're going out over nap time. When we're at home for nap time, the only way he'll sleep is on my lap while nursing or in the stroller. It seems ridiculous to put him in the stroller to nap, while it sits there in the living room. But it works--once he gets over the annoyance of being strapped in, he calms down & plays a bit, then goes to sleep, often with a minimum of grumbling. I'm hoping we can try to somehow transition him from stroller naps to crib naps. Maybe the next step is putting the stroller in his bedroom? Then eventually trying the crib again?

EC is going well still. Sprout actually thinks it's fun when I bring him into the bathroom & sit him on the loo. This morning he's pooped on the toilet twice already, with none at all in his diaper. I've been using timing as well as watching for grunting to get him on there & it seems to work. Right after his morning feed, then right after breakfast. Plus after lunch & dinner--this kid poops three or four times a day! Never managed to get him to pee in the toilet though. Maybe the timing will help with that one, or maybe I'll just have to wait until he's older. I'm not concerned. The goal here isn't to toilet train him by his first birthday or anything. I envision this as very gradual process, starting now & maybe finishing when he's two or three.