4 month appt (at almost 5 months old)

I know, it's been FOREVER. It's just so hard to get on the computer now that I'm back to work. The last thing I want to do when I get home is get on the computer. But today, I made myself, because today, Kaua had his 4 month appointment (although he'll be 5 months old in 5 days).

So he is 16 lbs, 9 oz and 26" long....that puts him in the 75th percentile for height and weight. His head circumference, is at the 50th percentile. So he's still a big boy, but not a giant. I still hope he stays on the bigger side of things. He also took his two shots like a champ. We did the whole mommy tickle and distract him and he winced for the first one and cried after the 2nd one. I nursed him right after and it seemed to help. He slept longer today and was more fussy than usual, but no fever. I did, however, give him some infant tylenol in the afternoon, just cause he was fussy and seemed in pain. That helped.

And let me just brag for a bit...but the pediatrician said he's got the skills of a 6 month old already (yeah, he's a genius, send him to harvard!). She also thinks he's going to teeth soon, but I dunno, I've been feeling his gums and I dont feel anything. We shall see....

At the appointment we got the green light for solids! So according to our pediatrician, we'll start him on rice cereal with a spoon for a few weeks, then vegetables for 3-4 days for each new introduction.

Tonight we did his first ever rice cereal experience with a spoon. I mixed in a tiny bit with some breast milk...and of course we captured it all on film to share with you all (dont mind me, I'm in pjs and just out of a shower....).

Kaua is now a champion roller...going both ways, front to back and back to front. So that means, we have to really watch him when he's on the bed, couch, changing table, etc. He also rolls himself over if he wants to sleep on his tummy...and we've pretty much accepted the fact that his day time naps have to be on his tummy, because if we put him on his back, he'll just get right back up. Ever since we've been putting him on his tummy for daytime naps, his naps have been EXCELLENT! We're talking 1 - 3 hours!!! Such bliss. He is such a happy baby when he's well fed and slept. Of course, the pediatrician was not stoked on the tummy time naps, but oh well, whatcha gonna do, huh?

Kaua is also getting over his 2nd cold, ever. Lotsa congestion. So yesterday, for the first time, we tried this salt water remedy thing I saw a girlfriend do with her 6 month old a while back. She just warmed up some water, mixed in some salt (to make it similar to tears), then used the nasal aspirator and squirted it in one of baby's nostrils. The water will then come streaming out the other nostril and the same one in the process. This helps loosen the mucus so that when baby sneezes, or when you suck it out with the aspirator, it comes out easier. And let me tell you, it works. After we did this, Kaua sneezed a couple times and lotsa stuff came out. Of course, he eventually got congested again, but it seemed to help.

Anyways, life is going well with us here. Kaua is such a doll and we are loving him as much as can be!

12 weeks old and droolin'

My handsome boy made 12 weeks old on Friday. He's getting so big, that we've started putting him in 6 month old clothes!!! (But I think that for this outfit, the sizes are just running small, because really, 6 month old clothes? He's not even a full 3 months yet!)

And lately, he's been such the drooler. We've had to keep him in bibs or his clothes would be all wet. I think this means he's getting to the age where he's learning about new things by putting it in his mouth and therefore, his mouth is preparing for all of that tasting he's about to do by making extra saliva.

Also on the newest milestone agenda - Kaua is reaching for his toys.....although he's not very good at it. He's just learning how to grip his toys. For the most part, I have to put the toy up to his hand and sometimes, he'll get a finger or two around it. Then once he has the toy in hand, he'll try to get the toy to his mouth, but usually, he loses it along the way towards his mouth. And most of the time, when he does get the toy into his hand, he doesn't even realize he's got something in his hand. But its all adorable to me, nonetheless.

It's so amazing to see him learning new things! However, I'm still waiting for him to roll over. He seems quite content to just stay on his back and hasn't really progressed much during his tummy time, despite the number of times we put him on his tummy. Ah well, each baby progresses at his own pace.

Lately, he's also been saying "mum, mum, mum." which to me sounds a lot like "mom, mom, mom" and of course, I tease DH to no end saying he's calling me. I dont think he really knows that he's saying mom, but it's a start! DH was at first a little jealous and has been trying to teach Kaua, da-da-da, but it's not working. But DH has found a way to turn it around on me by saying that every time Kaua cries, he's calling me (because he does say "mum, mum, mum" mostly when he's irratated or crying) and then hands over the whining baby for me to comfort. Uh-oh, I wonder if this could be the beginning of the trend where the crying turns into nagging for mommy?

As for my life, I'm still a stay at home mom and am starting to feel a bit guilty about not contributing to our finances. I've made a promise to myself to really start applying and looking for jobs come March, right after we take a neighbor island trip to visit with friends and go to a wedding....

He talks!!

Kaua loves to talk with us! It is too adorable for words. This just gets better and better, everytime he does something new. So cool!

He is 10 weeks and 3 days old.

Tummy time - we've got head movement!

Kaua is getting slight better at tummy time. Now he can turn his head from one side to the other, albeit fairly slow, and only when he feels like it. Here's a video of him doing it today at 9 weeks old and 3 days. I'm such a proud mommy....every little new accomplishment is sooo exciting!

In news about me: I just turned down my first job offer. It was with the first firm I interviewed with and I knew it wouldn't be a good fit. They also were looking for someone who could work full time, and when I say full time, I mean, kill yourself working 60 - 70 hour work weeks. Not my cup of tea. However, I do feel a little bad because I do need a job. I just know I wouldn't have been happy there, especially with Kaua still so young. I really want to spend time with him at least until he's 4-6 months old. The place I interviewed with on Friday was more promising. The personalities seemed to be a better fit. Unfortunately, I dont think there will be much work for me and it will definitely be part time and probably not much in pay. He said he'll call me if work does come up, but we'll see. I have another interview tomorrow with another place. I heard this person is a "yeller" but that she also treats her employees with lots of good things...like an annual trip to Las Vegas. Will let you know how that goes.

Good news in the DH arena. He's finally done with training and back at his old station. This makes for a much happier DH. Sad because he's gone for 3 straight days, but happy because then he'll be home for 6 days straight. =)

2 months old tomorrow!

I cant believe it. My little boy is going to be two months old tomorrow! Wow how time flies. Last night, during tummy time, I noticed that he started to hold his head up a little more. He still hasn't figured out he has hands and arms, and so doesn't know how to push himself up with his limbs yet, but he's getting a good neck work out.

We also baptized Kaua on Sunday, January 24. And I'm loving the Godparents I chose for him. I can already tell I made a great decision in chosing my uncle and his wife. =) They are very supportive of the church and our faith. =) My goal is to start taking Kaua to church more. I must admit though, church was tough. Kaua was fussy for the first half and it was very difficult to pay attention. I'm sure we'll get the hang of it though. I want him to start getting used to church. It's important that he grow up knowing God and Jesus and the love they have for us. Having this faith and knowing about this love has gotten me through some tough times as I hope it will do the same for Kaua.

Everything is going so fast. It makes me feel as if I need to document everything, because I dont ever want to forget it. It's so hard to document everything though, because there is just so much. There are many times when I'm with Kaua, and think, I so need to write this down, so I dont forget it. But with a 2 month old, your time to write (ie. use both hands for something other than your child) is super duper limited. But Kaua is sleeping right now, in the baby b.jorn, on my chest, his favorite spot, so I've got some time to start writing down all those things I can remember....

The little things I love about Kaua, that I haven't yet documented

• the way he purses his lips and pouts out his lower lip when he's done nursing, as if to say..."No more, I dont want any." He's doing this in his sleep because usually he falls asleep when he nurses.
• Ok, maybe I dont love this...but it's just got to be documented: he farts all the time!! And man do they smell! I know, he'll not be happy about reading this, but hey, it's a big thing I need to document!
• He really does not like his carseat. He gives me the most pitiful look when I put him in his carseat. I gotta take a picture of this and show you. It just melts your heart.
• His bright shiny eyes and beautiful smile!
• When he talks and smiles at me!
• the contented sigh he makes when he's in a position that he likes.

There are things going on my life too.

DH was supposed to be done with physical training on Friday, but got called back for two more weeks! =( I really wish we had more days off together. I'm afraid that by the time he's done with PT and back to his great work schedule, I'll be back working.

I've got two job interviews this week! Both with law firms, small firms, but hey, it's work. However, I'm going to stress with them that I'm not ready to work full time.

I'm going to start dancing hula with a new halau tonight. I'm really excited because the halau is small like my old one, and not really into competitions but more into dancing hula and learning about the cultural aspects of it. Exactly what I was looking for. Interestingly, the kumu is a singer and he was the artist who sang the song that I danced for my husband during our wedding! This song was selected by my prior kumu for me to dance to and I chose the version by this artist b/c I love it. Come to find out, I may now be dancing hula for him! Practice is 2x per week, tuesdays and fridays. I'm really excited and am hoping to make new friends.

Speaking of friends...DH and I are glad we moved back to my home town, but at the same time we're really missing our old town. We miss having social interaction with people our own age. Many of our friends were just starting families of their own and so it would have been nice to raise our children together. Here, we dont know many people other than my family so our weekends primarily consist of me, DH and Kaua. We do have family activites once in a while though, but it gets old pretty fast.

Here's a video of Kaua doing tummy time last week friday when he turned 8 weeks old.

flip video and 6 week update

for x-mas i got a flip video camera to capture all those small moments in kauas life. here is one taken today at 6 weeks old.



The newest thing on Kaua's ability mark is his ability to smile at me on command. Before, he'd smile, but I wasn't sure if it was because of gas or something I was doing. Now I'm positively sure he's smiling because of something I'm doing. His best moments are in the morning, when he's just woken up (which ranges between 7 and 9 am). He's usually alert for a good hour or two and he loves it when I talk to him and play with him. The 6 week old video is during this time. He mastered his smile sometime between his six week mark and his 5 week mark. It's so much more rewarding now that I know he can recognize me and smiles at me. He is soooo much more adorable!!

Let's see, what else is going on. Well, he sleeps fairly well at night, only getting up two times, which I'm thankful for. But sometimes, like this morning, he'll get up for his 2nd feeding (usually around 3-5am,) and think its time to play. I'm still super tired, so I hate when this happens. Luckily, DH took over for me and carried him around till he fell back asleep, even though he had to get ready for a full day's worth of training.

We're also going to baptize Kaua sometime towards the end of the month. I'm looking forward to that! I'm also looking forward to buying him his first Christian story books and maybe even a child bible. I want him to grow up knowing about God, like how I know about God now. I believe a strong faith will help keep him strong throughout life.

As for what's going on with me, I'm needing to start the job hunt. =( I feel sad that I wont be making the kind of money I used to when I lived on the other island, but hopefully the tradeoff is worth it. The job market here is tough though, there are not much options in my profession. But perhaps that's a good thing, because I wasnt' sure I wanted to continue in my line of work anyway. And because I dont have a job, I dont have medical with Kaiser for the month. Both Kaua and I are under DH's plan, but he wasn't with Kaiser. He's switching over to Kaiser so that kaua and I can stay within our same healthplan, but it wont take effect until next month (February). So I've had to push back my 6 week follow up appointment till then. I've finally stopped bleeding though (it took me longer b/c I pushed my body hard after the labor due to the move). So I'm personally going to clear myself to go back to working out. I still cant really fit into my prepregnancy clothes (my boobs are way too big for most of my tops now anyway), and its really depressing. Bleh. So I'm looking forward to getting into shape.

Other than the above, I'm just really trying to adjust to living in a small town rather than the big city where we moved from. That's a feat in and of itself. I miss my friends big time, but I'm hoping that I'll get to visit them often and make new ones. For now, its just DH, me and Kaua (and my family---but that can get old too sometimes). Cant wait till kaua is old enough for the beach!! (which is about 2 months in my book...after his first set of immunizations).