Linnaeus 13.0

And another month goes by in a blur. Whew! It feels like they're getting faster & faster. The teeth just keep on coming: Sprout's first molars have cut through, to make a grand total of ten teeth. When he was in the tub a few days ago, he was gnawing furiously on a toothbrush & his mouth started bleeding. I looked around for a new tooth--as best I could with a wet, squirming toddler standing in the tub--but couldn't see anything. A couple of days later I was pulling a bit of paper out of his mouth & noticed not just one, but two upper molars. Only one side is through the gums & judging by the sleep disturbances we've seen on & off in the last little while, they're still bothering him.

On the food front, there's not much new. I think the only untried allergy risk food left to us is shellfish. He did try apple juice for the first time: though slightly perplexed by the hard, skinny straw of the juice box, he figured it out pretty quickly. We tried tomato sauce again, to see if Sprout still gets a bum rash from eating it. Unfortunately yes, though not as bad as the last one, so either it's progress or we just changed the diaper faster this time. After a couple of hours of 'free willy' time, he was fine. I think at this point, we'll avoid tomato sauce, but if he has some when we're out somewhere, we'll just have to be extra vigilant about changing diapers the next day. Sadly, it means an all day vigilance, because he still goes multiple times during his waking hours. I really hope his digestive system gets into a once-a-day routine soon. This three-to-four poopy diapers a day thing is getting old.


As for new skills this week, Sprout has started clapping. He holds his little left hand out flat, then hits it with his right palm, giggling all the while. He figured how to go down stairs suddenly a few days ago. I occasionally let him climb up the front steps outside, hovering inches away from him all the way, as they're concrete. This time, he climbed all the way to the top, then put his foot back out again & started going back down!

Despite his new skills at getting down stairs, off his little chair & even off the bed once by himself, he's still falling on his face several times a day. No sooner does the latest bruise heal, but another one (or two as is the case this week) appear on his head somewhere. It's really hard to see him get hurt all the time, but I guess it's just a part of learning to walk.

Linnaeus is communicating more & more things to us, mostly with gestures like pointing or reaching for things  (usually what we're eating). When he wants something he'll sometimes open & close his hand while reaching for it. He's waving hello & goodbye to people most of the time now. He signals being done with his meal by trying to pull his bib off. He has also become a champion pouter fairly recently, to express his disapproval. See the video for a short example.

Sprout's vocalizations are definitely starting to sound like words, but most of them aren't clearly referring to anything in particular, so I hesitate to call them words, technically. Here's a rundown with my guesses as to their meanings:

• dah seems to actually be a word, something like "that", used when he's drawing our attention to something, often as he points at it
• yeh probably doesn't mean "yes", likely just a babble
• no isn't really refusing or answering a question, but there's definitely a negative sentiment when he uses this. Often heard repeatedly when he's a bit tired & whiny, "Nooononononoonononooo." I write it as 'no', though it sounds more like 'neuh'.
• mama is what he says when he wants something, often food or milk or to be let out of the high chair. He doesn't really seem to be using it to name me though, & it's often a repeated sound, like "Mamamamamamamaaa."

Sprout's favourite activities this week: going in his swing on the deck, banging things on the glass doors of the liquor cabinet (Yes, I know, we're going to move it somewhere inaccessible), climbing up & down the front stairs, looking at plants. I keep thinking about the idea that there is a certain power in a name when I see how attracted Linnaeus is to plants & trees. (In case you didn't know, here is the  famous bearer of his name) He is always pointing at them & asking to see them, then spends a while touching them gently & laughing. He occasionally tries to rip leaves off, but usually doesn't damage them.

His least favourite thing is lying on the change table, but we've discovered that if he's handed a book, he'll instantly calm down. Getting him dressed is easiest when he's standing at a table, looking at his books. He can balance on one foot well enough as I get his legs into his pants now.

Another first, though not a skill & definitely not a favourite, was Sprout's first blood test & allergy test. (We're participating in the CHILD study, which means providing tons of information via questionnaires & interviews as well as a few biological samples. It's a very long-term project, following us from pregnancy through to Sprout's fifth birthday.) He was a little upset by the scratches on his back for the allergy test, but didn't really cry. The results showed no allergies to anything they tested for. No surprises there, really, as most of the things on the test (food, animals) we've already exposed him to. He was a bit more perturbed by the blood draw, but I think the numbing cream on his arm helped & he recovered quite quickly.