9 month checkup

Ewan had his 9 month doctors check up today. No injections were due today and he was pretty much A-OK. He is still a little wheezy from the perpetual daycare cold so he will still need daily nebulizing to keep his airways fully open and increased doses when he is suffering more from colds, but its no more than we have already been doing. Once the true spring arrives we're hoping the cycle will be broken.

His official stats today were:

17 lb 12.5 oz (10th percentile)
28" height (45th percentile)
46 cm Head circumference (75th percentile)

So he's a little top-heavy! Apparently his low weight is nothing to worry about at this stage. A toe prick test showed that his hemoglobin was a little low, but he's not anemic. We'll just make a conscientious effort to up his iron intake, which means time for Dad to start cooking him some meat.

None of this effects his activity. He was all over Mom in the waiting room and into every toy he could reach for in the process. He's doing just fine!

Waving "Bye-Bye"

Ewan started waving about a week ago, but it was never associated with any particular event. This week he is waving "bye-bye" to Mommy in the morning when Dad takes him to daycare and she leaves for work. It is very very cute. So far it is just Mommy that gets this special treatment but we're sure he'll start waving to everyone soon enough.

Kristina visits

Our good friend Kristina was in San Diego this week on a job interview, and she made time to drive north afterwards to spend some time with us. She arrived at our place Friday night after Ewan had gone to bed. We had a good visit and then it was off to bed for the adults.

Saturday morning Ewan greeted Kristina with a big smile. Did he remember her from Christmas or was he just pleased that someone had obviously come to visit him? After a play Ewan took a 2 1/2 hour nap and then it was off for a bit of shopping and a play in the park. For dinner we went for dumplings at a restaurant recommended by one of Jen's colleagues...delicious. Ewan passed out in his stroller after a bottle. Everyone went home tired with full tummies.

This morning Kristina was off, back to Michigan. It was a quick but very nice visit. It would be great if she ends up living closer.

Babbling

Ewan is doing lots of babbling now. He lets out streams of gobbledygook more and more frequently. It's not just the squeals and coos that he's done since he was very little, but some kind of attempt at coherent communication. It's usually when he gets a little frustrated with something (lack of pacifier in mouth, a toy that is not cooperating, a parent that is not cooperating etc etc) and he is apparently telling it, or us what he thinks. We're excited by this development and are looking forward to the day that something that makes sense splurges out in the middle of the stream of nonsense, whether it is on purpose or not.

Tooth Two Breaks Through

Just a quick update to announce that Ewan's second tooth broke through today as predicted within a week of the first.

We hope this means a short while with less pain for him and more sleep for us all!

We'll try and get a picture if and when he cooperates.

A play in the park

Since it was such a beautiful day we headed over to the local park. Ewan had a great play that tired him out so then it was home for a nap. Here are some pictures of our afternoon.

1st Tooth Breaks Through

Our money was on his bottom front left tooth making it through first, but today while we were Skypeing with Grandma Colleen we discovered that his bottom front right tooth had cut through first. He was chewing on Jen's chin, a favorite since he started teething, and she noticed that it felt a little rougher than it had done before. It has not emerged enough to get a picture yet as he always sticks his tongue over it when we try but we'll post one as soon as we can. The left front tooth should only be a matter of a couple of days behind.

Teething

Well, Ewan is finally teething...for real this time. When the drool and the fussiness increased we wondered if this was finally time for his first tooth. We have wondered before but been disappointed. Now, however, we have visual confirmation of two tooth buds just below the surface of his gums. That's right, two!! Ewan is getting both of his bottom front teeth at the same time although it looks like his left one will break through first. We are doing what we can to ease his pain but no one is sleeping well. Hopefully he'll feel better soon and look even cuter (is this possible?) with his new teeth. Sorry, no pics of the tooth buds...you can only see them when Ewan is in full scream.

Object permanence

Object permanence is the term used to describe the awareness that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible and Ewan has it down. We have seen his understanding developing for some time and now that he is not quite as easily distracted it is clear that he knows something is still available when he can't see it. This is a great step developmentally and it makes peek-a-boo tons of fun. So what's the downside you ask? As Mommy and Daddy have both found out, the end of bath time is now awash in tears. As previously posted Ewan loves his bath and eating his bath toys. Now when we take him out of the tub we are greeted with wailing unless a co-bathing dinosaur is wedged solidly in his mouth. He is also not a fan of being taken from his toys to have a diaper change. Something tells me this is just a sign of things to come...