Friday, February 22, 2008

Week 29

Quick but long week here at the Cooley house.

Monday - Paul works, Nathan and Laura bring spaghetti lunch to Paul, do grocery shopping and mountains of laundry.
Tuesday - Paul works, Nathan and Laura go to the U of W for the last day of the infant hearing testing.
Wednesday - Paul works, Nathan and Laura have a quick lunch with Robin and her two kids and then do a trip to Costco.
Thursday - Paul works, Nathan and Laura go to the doctor for his 6 month checkup and then to parent/child class to learn about how to start a babysitting co-op.
Friday - Paul works, Nathan and Laura walk to the library after a long morning involving screaming from 6am until 10:30am due to the shots from yesterday. Laura cleans the upstairs and tries darn hard to get Nathan to eat anything all day.

Nathan is 17lbs 4 oz, 28 inches long. On the standard charts he is in the 90% for height and 30% for weight. He is off his weight curve but a friend pointed out the charts show all babies and most are formula fed and start solids before 6 months. I found a chart for breastfed babies and he is on the 50% line all the way. Nathan got 3 shots and won't need any at our 9 month appointment. So the doctor asks how he is sleeping.. umm not great. She asks how he is eating.. umm not great. Add that too the drop off his curve is enough to start thinking we failed at our doctors visit. The doctor only had positive things to say so really there is no worry.

Nathan was eating some food before this week, he would eat almost a whole ice cube full of sweet potatoes, today he decided he didn't want to eat anything. He does this cute thing were he won't open his mouth even to smile. Today Nathan also decided to start to learn how to whistle, that combined with extra drool made for a big mess.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Week 28

Ok ok we are getting later and later at posting our weekly update. Sorry to our fans... well Nathans fans anyway.

Last week Nathan started at the University of Washington. He is the youngest person to ever attend school there... Ok he isn't attending school, he is a lab rat.. hmm maybe that is a bit harsh. Lets call him another data point in a large infant hearing study. They are trying to find the shortest they can make a sound in different ranges that infants can hear. I don't think they got any information from him until today. They said they got a couple of data points covered. So I am glad our 3 visits to the University were worth it. The study looks something like a game to Nathan. They put a speaker in his ear and play a constant static sound, then change it. If he reacts to the sound change they give him a visual reward (turn on a DVD). They do this over and over and look for a reaction. Today was our 3rd and last visit. He got a t-shirt for attending, mom got free entertainment and some gas money.

If Nathan had not mastered sitting the week prior he has mastered it now, there still is an occasional mishap. Nathan has also mastered screams of joy. He was having a great time screaming at the hearing study today.

Well I will try to get some pictures up from last week later today. Nathan is up from his nap.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Week 27 - 6 Months old on the Calendar

I can hardly believe that 6 months have past since the birth of our son. Boy has time gone by fast. Nathan is growing very quickly. This week he has mastered sitting, well he has his moments when he forgets and goes flying back, but for the most part I am calling it mastered. He can sit at the barn that his cousin gave him for a good 15-20 mins without tipping over. Today at playgroup he was sitting and just watching all the other babies do other baby things. Another record was set, 6 days without a dirty diaper. Too much information?? Well these are things parents talk about.

Everyone seems to be interested in how babies sleep. Nathan is still practicing his sleep. This week he has averaged getting up twice a night. Bed at 7pm and up around 1am and 4am. He has absolutely no nap schedule. Most days he has 15-20 minutes naps about 3 or 4 times a day. Today he had a record 1 hour nap in the morning and a 15 minute nap during playgroup. Lets hope this trend continues.

Mom Report - I am doing well, my back is getting better. It has been 2 weeks since I last went to the physical therapist for some adjustments on my back. I have also lost all of my pregnancy weight plus an additional 4 pounds. I give 100% credit to Nathan for all the weight loss. I don't think I was ever this active in my old life. On the down side none of my new pants fit, they are too big.

Dad Report - Dad is still working hard and seems to have recovered from all illnesses. He is back in the swing of things, 4 days this week he biked into work. I think he is getting ready for a bike race in 2 weeks, "The Chilly Hilly". 33 miles, 2600 feet elevation gain.

Everyone have a good weekend. Nathan sends his smiles.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Week 26

For the last couple of posts we've been getting tardy. Observation of the week: Time really flies when you have a child. No body warned me strongly enough about that. Wow, week 26, that sounds like half a year to me.

This last week was really great. We went to Nathan's Grandparents cabin for the weekend, met Jason, Kirstin, Ruthie, and Celia. To make it even better there was snow and ice to keep us entertained. The lake was frozen which provided a picturesque backdrop for a weekend of catching up, scrap booking, xbox playing, eating, and general fun.

Memories include: Jason stepping thru the ice, pushing our cars up the snowy driveway, A chilly cabin to start with, lots of tasty food -- mmm chicken ole, mmmm chicken lasanga, a frozen lake, a frozen lake after a snow fall, talking about Jason and Kirstin about their new townhouse!

Nathan has certainly slept better in the past. He sometimes got up with only 1.5 hour spaced between the last time he was up. Mom and dad are trying everything they can think of to help Nathan sleep better; more clothes, less clothes, softer sheet, warmer house, ...

Nathan seemed to really have fun at the cabin. The new space keeps him entertained. He got along well up in the loft with Jason and Paul and the xbox. We all played games. However, Nathan was more interested in the controller cable than the game.

Additionally, Nathan is now the roll-over champ. This is a good thing, but it also is strikes me that we will one day long for the days of the less mobile Nathan ;)