Memory Lane #4- wee little mannie

So, the sleepy picture is from December (he was 3mo or so) and the trying cereal pic is from February (5months old)...this may seem random because these memory lane posts are hurried and I just scroll around til something catches my eye- but there is a theme here: SMALL!!! Nolan looks like a wee round headed baby in both these pics, but now he's sort of a chubby cheeked, lanky legged toddler-ish BOY.

BTW he no longer displays uncertainty when confronted with food- the boy can EAT. He is increasingly interested in feeding himself but so far we have gotten away with giving him a decoy spoon to handle, and feeding him while he is playing with and mouthing it. Right now if he fed himself with a spoon I think his eye would get the lion's share, although he's pretty handy with finger foods.

Last night when we were getting ready for his bath, I was balancing him on my knee checking the temp before lowering him in, and he voluminously and warmly peed on my jeans, which was just random babyness. The funny part was when he quickly (he is FAST!) acted to
a) play in the urine stream with his hands
b) pat my face affectionately with those same hands

Parenting makes one a lot more laid back about harmless body fluids!

little buddies

Nolan had a visit with a birthday buddy this weekend- Javier was born just two days before Nolan, and it was fun watching the "baby derby"- they played simultaneously rather than together but as the pictures would indicate, have the same boyish fascination with trucks.... Look at the concentration! Look at the long suffering amused patience on Javi's face when Aunty Nica tried to distract him to look at the camera...

Then look at the somewhat annoyed "WHAT already !???" on Nolan's face. Gee, who did he get THAT expression from? ( Anyone ever try to prise me from a novel at suppertime?)

Look for more cute photos of Javi and Nolan in the next few days...

Is it me, or does Nolan have a maniacal grin?

Exhibit A











Exhibit B

Well, maybe "maniacal" is a not quite right- maybe I should rephrase it to "infectious grin" as being more appropriate?? But in the closeup picture my cuddlebug does look a bit wacky.

Here's the context of that photo:
About two weeks ago I was trying to get Nolan to laugh so I could take a picture of his teeth (new parents, I tell you...) and he developed a VERY STRONG NEED to have the camera. I was sitting on the floor trying to make him laugh and he was swinging at the camera and literally climbing over me to get it. I ended up lying back on the floor in a semi-crunch position, holding him back with one hand with him still grabbing the camera strap, while I still tried to get that darn tooth picture, laughing myself silly because he looked so gleeful and determined and, yes, CRAZED through the viewfinder.

Exhibit A is actually just a cute baby supersmile photo. Obviously pre-emergence of top teeth: it was about a month ago. Not REALLY maniacal at all, which is reassuring in a way.

Occasionally those teeth have seemed sort of frightening, and not just because I am still nursing (weaning, but...)

For example : recently, Nolan was sitting on my lap, a bit tired, looking contemplative and sweet. Big luminous baby eyes fixed on mine, he leaned forward, putting his soft (but strong) little arms around my neck, and drew in close to my face- so I could smell his milky breath.

And bit my nose.

Even babies are not always photogenic

This is a pic taken in a taxi in Stockholm, on the way to Paul and Asa's wedding party. Civilized place- the taxi's frequently have car seats, but you should call to make sure. Clean, quick to install car seats, too I noticed.

This is recent enough not to be a "memory lane" post although I note Nolan's hair is a lot longer and curlier now, especially at the back of his head where he rolls his head back and forth, matting the sweet little curls into weird felted fuzz...

So, regarding the picture- is the look on his face incredibly stunned, or is it just me -his doting mommy- who thinks so? Is it a look of astonishment/consternation about wearing a tie at 8 1/2 months of age perhaps?

He's lucky- I know someone who kitted out their baby boy in a little VELVET SUIT (al la Lord Fauntleroy) for a wedding or something. I'm sure it was very cute, but that little boy would definitely have words about that outfit if his future hockey or football team ever got a hold of a picture, I'd imagine. I understand that he managed the situation by copiously pooping (all the way up his back) immediately upon arrival, so he spent the evening in a charming diapershirt and blanket ensemble. Babies know a lot more than we give them credit for.

But I still think the tie is cute.

Memory Lane #3- first real smiles

What a payoff.....after weeks of lack of sleep and new parent worries (and a terrible wry neck, with upper back pain from nursing) the wonder of the new little critter was still there but starting to thin a bit shall we say. Then WHAMMO- Mr. Personality arrives. Smiles, cute noises, more awake, starting to bat toys: now THAT'S some fun new parent entertainment. These pics are from around 10-14 weeks ....

This is a break from work ("no show" in clinic- nice weather today!) and this only takes a second. I think it's quite funny that somehow my Nolan folder just got dumped into my general picture folder here at work (woopsie), so when looking for cute things to upload I scroll through gloriously gory pics of half amputated infected hands, terrible abnormal CT scans of lung abscesses and cavities, weird tropical skin conditions, abnormal brain MRIs and so on from my patient images. A strong reminder that I have two very different main aspects to my life- exemplified by the smiling baby and ....other. It's all good, though...

This morning I spent several minutes watching Nolan sleep- what do babies dream about? He was clenching and unclenching his hand, waving a bit, and fleeting smiles and eyebrow raises were crossing his peaceful little face. Looked like a good dream anyway. The cutest thing in the last 24h though was when Nolan was supervising me in the kitchen last night. I was shaking water off lettuce leaves over the sink, being too lazy to find the salad spinner. He interpreted this as waving, and, as a logical baby he waved back.

Repeatedly.

I think he was wondering when I was going to leave, but was humouring me!

Memory Lane #2: 12 weeks and 12 weeks

Sorry for the blurry ultrasound shot, but I think it's still appreciable that at 12 weeks post conception he looked not unlike he did 10-12 weeks post birth! Likes the hand near his face I guess. By 10 wks plus he was starting to fill out a bit, losing the furrowed brow and slightly worried look he had with the because of the "early baby- no subcutaneous fat" issue : he was a sweet little froggie, but certainly not at all plump!
The retrospective will continue for a while until "caught up"....

Memory Lane #1

So, to catch up with how much Nolan has grown and changed over the past 11 months or so, I thought I'd start a series of reminisces:

Look at what a wee peanut he was! Born at 35 weeks and 4d or so gestation, weighing 6lbs 7oz...jaundiced, so got to tan under the lights for a day then home with his somewhat shellshocked parents. The snoozing in green knitted hat pic is from October 3rd (first full day of life outside for Nolan, who was then known as "Baby Boy Hehir"), and the Mike and wee Nolan pic is within the first few days at home when he just slept and squeaked and made 'mustardy' diapers. Now he's vigourously dismantling toys and intrepidly heading headfirst off the couch whenever he can....

the goal is better communication....

Insomnia activities, Lynora, circa 2005:

Never a great sleeper, I used to get up and read novels. Having read everything in the house ( twice!) while on obstetric bed rest last summer, I now am a late night internet maven, and have started following a few blogs (will link to them on a future post once I figure out how everything works). I think that the likelihood is that friends and family may check this out semiregularly and it will be a nice way to find out what Nolan is up to...I will also post pics. I can't imagine (nor do I really want) this public domain info to be particularly well read otherwise than that select group but hello if you've stumbled into it. I am not putting on any blog listings so it can't be searched.

Nolan right now?
....sleeping in crib, for a change, but wait til he wakes up to tell me "AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa!!! Wha wha wha aAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa!" that he doesn't like the crib and would rather sleep with Mike and I. Yes, I created a situation in which my sweet cuddlebug is averse to sleeping in his crib- the disadvantages are becoming more apparent now that at almost 11 months he wants to sleep with his feet on my face, or sideways, or whatever. We will work on that a bit.

Nolan is sleeping better again, though, after having the following teething schedule:

• Born toothless Oct 2,2004
• Age 3-9 months: drooled a lot on and chewed on everything- especially adult knuckles as a fave
• July 18- 1st tooth emerges- bottom L front broke through, quickly followed by R front bottom
• end of July- second R incisor broke though (appealing vampirish grin resulted)
• Week of August 15th- The second L incisor and two front teeth all came in simultaneously!

Go hard, my little mannie! A teething tour de force!

P.S.- the photo is from Stockholm this June- Mike took it, which is why Nolan is giving the camera a big cheesy grin. It's a favorite photo- I am whispering "Smile honey!!!", Paul and Asa, just married, are inthe background, and it is in the main square, Gamla Stan, the "old town" of Stockholm.