Guilt-free.

Here is a complete list of all of the new things that Jim has:

• his bedroom furniture (except the glider, which was used)
  
• one bouncy chair
  
• one playmat
  
• crib sheets
  
• a couple receiving blankets
  
• diapers
  
• two rattles

Everything else? Used, whether purchased by me or by similarly bargain-hungry relations. (and a few handmade things, of course)


Toy? Auction. Onesie? Thrift store. Bouncy chair in background? Yard sale. Baby? Dismayed.

I was thinking about it this morning and wondering if I should feel guilty that the poor kid barely has anything new, but really I don't think so. I really cannot fathom paying $20 for a new outfit that he'll wear once when I could get twenty outfits for the same price at a yard sale, each of them probably worn just once by some other kid. I sincerely doubt that he cares if his wardrobe is pre-owned. Really, he'd probably just as soon go naked. (hell, throughout most of the summer, the Georgia heat led to him going naked half the time anyway)

Actually, come to think of it, half of my own wardrobe is Goodwill Black Label also. As I type I'm wearing a $3 skirt and $1 top (and a $60 bra - can't be cheap in ALL things, people). There's actually a slight feeling of accomplishment from tracking down and finding cool stuff in grungy places. The thrill of the hunt, etc etc. So yeah, now that I think of it, I feel absolutely not guilty.

Jim makes a post.

rtrtrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgD VG 676TY Bhy jbvkeAaZ cv sx r dbbnjuugyyiuucccccccccccc ffcx nbQscvcvcvcvcvcvcvcvcvcvdZ

Wordless Wednesday: Awkwardly Snoozing edition

That was then and this is now.

Sometimes I look at Jim and think he's such a little dude with so much to learn still. And yeah, that's true, but when I look back at how he was when he first arrived (almost four months ago, egads) I am absolutely shocked. Guess that's why I keep this blog.

Behold:

Jim at one week old



Jim two days ago


Note his initial reluctance to look at the camera in both instances.

Already? Seriously?

Okay, so he has to help himself out with his hands...*


...and I have to help him get there...


...but he's sitting! By himself!


With the boppy, he only needs 1.5 hands to do it.



*Look up tripod sitting - apparently it's a thing and it's supposed to happen around 5-6 months.

Photodump IV: The Musical

Pap whispers advice on how to stop autocannibalising one's fingers.

I've still got a lot of pictures of Jim and Various Relations to post, so in the interests of making this page load faster, I've put them on a separate page. Clickety click, people.

Discoveries.

Apparently, hands are for things. Shocking, I know, but hands can actually be controlled and used for grabbing interesting objects - not just grasping them when they're put in your hand, but actually reaching out and taking them. See:


Jim sees a thing.


Jim reaches for the thing.


Jim has it IN HIS CONTROL. *maniacal laughter, etc*

This, of course, means that nothing is safe. His absolute favorite thing to grab is my hair, and he won't relinquish it without a good deal of prying. He hasn't yet grabbed Bruce's tail, but I think it's only a matter of time.

Wordless Wednesday: Find the Kitty edition

Or maybe not?

So now I'm not sure if it's teething or not. He's been much more chipper the past couple of days, and he's been sleeping reasonably well too (asleep by 9pm, only up once or twice mostly). I go back and forth on whether there are any tooth-lumps in his mouth. Baby gums are weird-looking at best, and I just don't know what's normally there and what isn't. Oddly enough, he also objects to me trying to pry his little lips open to have a look-see, so I never get more than a glimpse anyway. At least now we're stocked up with teething rings and baby drugs in case it starts hurting him again.

Don't take this to mean that everything's perfect, though. His newest trick: rolling on the changing table. Trying to diaper this dude is like mud-wrestling an alligator. The second his back hits the pad, he's flipped halfway over and wriggling vigorously. This is bad enough when it's a wet diaper, but when there's poop involved... Let's just say I have several redecorated shirts.


Okay, yes, he's sleeping in this picture, but this is basically the new diaper-change position. Just try to imagine it with more flailing (and feces everywhere).

Teething?

The poor boy has been one big pile of cranky for the last week or so. He's drooling prodigiously, is very difficult to get to go to sleep (and stay asleep once there), chews on anything he can get near his mouth, and refuses to nurse until he's absolutely starving. Does this sound like teething behavior?


"Can I eat this yet?"

On the one hand, I really don't want teeth yet, because that seems like it might be a bit painful for me. On the other hand, I kind of hope this IS teething, because that means it'll be over soon (won't it? please tell me teething doesn't last long) and I'll have my happy boy back. Also, won't he be freaking adorable with teeth?

Yes, self. Yes, he will.

Photodump III: Son of Photodump

Jim is extremely excited about meeting his other set of grandparents. (he's extremely excited about most things, of course, but never mind that)


Being overly excited isn't cool. Jim tries to be reserved.


Stoicism doesn't really work well for him.


Surreptitious picture-taking.


Being held by one person and talked to by another? Glorious, glorious day.


The first dog Jim ever met.


Dog again, just because she's purty..

Daddy time...

It's a strong onesie.


Note the string of drool and puddle on Noah's chest.


Jim doesn't much care for sitting up.


But once he's there he likes it.


Apparently there is something shocking right outside.


Babies do quite well on a steady diet of shaving cream and cat hair, as it turns out.


The longer I look at this, the creepier it gets.

A good memory is priceless, but...

Grimacing at the cheesy title.

Printing my whole blog would apparently cost $81.65. Not even the whole blog, actually - just the past year, since I found out I was pregnant. I'm considering having it done, though. It's professionally printed and bound, in a nice hardcover with full color pictures, and it IS the repository for all things baby-related. I think when Jim turns a year old I'm going to have such a book made just to have a hard copy of his first year (with maybe a prologue for the pregnant months). Seems to me that it might be worth it.

Link for the curious: blog2print is the one I was looking at, but Google informs me that there are a number of sources who will do the same thing with various options and prices - I'm going to look into it more before I pick one. There's almost nine months to decide, after all.


Gratuitous adorable duck face.

Mein Hut, er hat drei Ecken...

The Family Hat.


Demonstrated here is my incompetence at putting on hats, as well as Jim's chagrin at being suddenly hatless.

Babies hate official medical recommendations.

Nice of him to pause in his rolling for a pretty picture, no?

For the past couple weeks, Jim has been rolling over like a fiend. Back-to-belly, clever lad - belly-to-back is for more pedestrian babies, I guess. Ever since he figured it out, he's been completely unwilling to lie on his back for any reason at all.


Remember how his head is officially huge? Photographic proof.

During the day, this new preference has been great. We just plop him down on his back and he promptly flips over to his belly and entertains himself for twenty minutes at a time with dazzling feats of head-holding and neck-stretching.


Yeah, when I say "just plop him down," I really do mean anywhere, sanitary floor coverings or no.

As I mentioned in his 3-month post, though, this has been very worrying at night. Doctors are terribly strident about The Proper Way for everything, and they kind of beat the "Back to Sleep" mantra into us before we left the hospital. Babies left to sleep on their stomachs will inevitably succomb to SIDS at worst, mental retardation from lack of oxygen at best. Naturally, The Proper Way changes regularly. Twenty years ago, babies left to sleep on their backs were doomed to choke on their own vomit. These modern babies are very impressive with their not-choking-on-vomit abilities, you know.


Alternative half-rolled sleeping position. Never let it be said that Jim is unwilling to compromise.

Anyway, point is, Jim has ceased being willing to sleep on his back ever. The first night he figured out that belly-sleeping is more comfortable, Noah was over there every ten minutes flipping him back over. We have since given up, though. If the kid's got a death wish, far be it from us to deny him.


Just look at those devious twining hands.

Jim's Guide to Toy Retention

Step One: Inspect the object thoroughly to assess whether it is worth protecting.


Step Two: Examine all passers-by. Use the threat of tongue-violence, if necessary, to make sure no one steals your interesting object.


Step Three: Devour the item in question before anyone can take it away.

The boy is 3 months old, as of about a week ago.

He wasn't really keen on sitting up straight and looking at the camera.

For comparison's sake, the last semi-official growth picture, taken about three weeks prior:


Not the same position, but surely you can see growth.

Notes from the last month:

• First shots. They sucked a lot.
  
• Rolling back-to-belly. He's done belly-to-back a couple times but not consistently. Back-to-belly he does frequently enough that he rarely spends any time on his back anymore - just flips right over. It used to freak Noah out to find him snoozing on his belly, since the Vital Medical Advice of the Decade is that all babies will die immediately if they sleep on their belly (never mind the entire previous generation, who were told that they would die immediately if they slept on their backs). It's impossible to keep him on his back, though, so we've resigned ourselves to it.
  
  New favorite sleeping position.
  
• Outgrew a lot of his 0-3 stuff. He is now wearing mostly 3-6 and some 6-9 clothes. Best part: overalls! So freaking cute.
  
• Hands! Specifically, he has realized that he has them. Furthermore, he likes to hold things with them, even if he can't quite figure out how to grab things on his own yet. He's very pleased if you help him out by sticking something in his hand, though, and he loves shoving whatever is in his hand into his mouth.
  
  Giraffe? I shall grab it!
  
• Many outings. He is now quite easy to go out with. We've been out to eat with him a couple times, and mostly he just sits around and stares at anybody with a beard (he did have a slight melt-down once, but such things are better left unspoken lest they be repeated). He goes on walks frequently as well, and he generally just seems to enjoy looking around at all of the interesting things around him.
  
• Outgrew the first sling carry. Now he has to have his feet sticking out or else the world ends.
  
  Bad lighting, cute feet.
  
• Nearly outgrew his bouncy chairs. His feet stick over the edge now and look absurd, and he is convinced that he can roll over while in the chair and sometimes tries to flip it. I'm not sure what we'll do when he DOES outgrow them, because that's how he goes to sleep most nights...
  
• Drooooooool.
  
  Oh yeah, and his hair is coming in, too.
  

A close call.

Jim is delighted by the approach of Aunt Mae with a cool new brightly-colored object.


Jim's suspicions are aroused as the object comes closer.


Jim is disgusted at the shocking realization that the object is intended for consumption.


Jim flees to safety.