Baby brain development

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Wow, haven't posted in a while. Been busy moving Connor's stuff out from our bedroom into his own room, trying to start Christmas shopping, my friend Jeff visited a couple weeks ago during the weekend, and the past two Mondays I drove Connor and I out to Steveston to visit Amy and walk around the area, which is very beautiful (the dykes).

Connor is now 3 months and almost 3 weeks old! He now tries to hold things like his toys and his milk bottle. He can't actually hold the stuff but he kind of tries.

I've been reading a book about how babies' minds grow. It's a very interesting book. A couple of interesting things of note, babies are not yet able to regulate their temperature that well (contrary to what I had been told or read before), especially in extreme heat and cold. To warm themselves up, they will move their bodies by kicking their legs and waving their arms. To cool down they will spread their arms and legs out to dissipate the heat. I've seen Connor do this lots of times! Also the body's ventricular system, which controls the sense of balance, can help to improve motor skills faster. The ventricular system is responsible for the Moro reflex and the tonic neck reflex/fencer's pose in babies, here's a pic of Connor doing that when he was about 12 days old (I haven't looked at his hold photos in a while, wow he looks so different.)

The book noted a controlled study of babies that were spun in an adult's lap on a swivel chair 16 times a day showed quicker development of their motor skills - so the more movement, change in balance that you provide baby with could be helpful. Also neat, if you twirl a few times and then stop, your eyes will keep on moving from side to side because while spinning, the eyes are trying to compensate for the movement and provide a still picture, and when you stop abruptly it still tries to compensate for a while. In babies the same will occur, but the eyes will move faster. So I spun Connor around yesterday and yes, his eyes did that! It was neat to see that.

We also learned last week that Connor shall be having a baby boy cousin! My brother Andrew and wife Cindy are due in March. Very exciting!

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Stroller #2

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It should not come as a surprise that I am one of those stroller-obsessed Mommies. I have been reading up on strollers now for days on end, and lurking on Craigslist for months to try and find a deal on one that I like. We already have a stroller, it is the Safety 1st Evolution travel system from Sears which we purchased without fully investigating all the options - it was on sale, it was 3-wheeled, has pneumatic wheels, comes with an infant car seat, and Linds liked it. I had spent most of my research time on infant car seats, and the Graco Snugride was best ranked for safety. But after seeing the Graco products in person, I was turned off by its cheap look and feel materials. At the time I was also determined to not have to spend an arm and a leg on a stroller,

It was only after using the stroller and doing more research that I realized the huge and confusing range of options - for example, I could have purchased the Snugride and used it with a Peg Perego stroller. Also that even the "Snugride" has various models with better fabrics (and thus a higher price tag). There is no "perfect" stroller, and I might need to purchase several to suit different functions.

The Evolution, I found, is great for almost everything and there are many things I like about it - it is easy to push with one or both hands, handles very well, has an easy one-pedal push brake, and also has a hand brake. It is not even that heavy, but, it folds up kind of wide which makes it a bit difficult for little me (at five-foot-almost-nothing) to place in and out of the car. The bad things about this are the fabric used isn't that great, and when the stroller folds up, one of the stroller bars is too close to the hood and scratches it up.


And so I have been drooling over all the higher end models available - the ones I have been most interested in are from Peg Perego, Bebecar, Bugaboo, and Quinny. I decided I wanted another stroller with these features:

• -Reversible toddler seat - that the baby can sit facing you or away from you.


• -Must be lighter than my Evolution.


• -Must handle well.
  
• -Must have decent suspension so that the ride is good for baby.


• -Easy to fold.


• -Must fold up smaller than my Evolution.


• -Buying used, must be less that 4 years old and very good condition.

Bebecar is too heavy, and the Bugaboo and Quinny are both too expensive and not reversible. I ended up buying a lovely red Peg Perego A3 Pramette (purchased off a Craiglister). It doesn't have a reversible toddler seat, but what sold me was its weight - I think it's only 18 lbs! It can also be set up as a pram that faces you. The stroller was in excellent condition - the owners had barely used it, in fact I don't think they ever used it as a pram. Bonuses were a huge basket below and cup holders. The perfect model may have been the Peg Perego Venezia which has a reversible toddler seat and a pram, but I never got to check one out and it may not have been as light as the A3.


Yesterday morning for our morning walk we took the stroller for a spin! It was great for Connor to be able to lie flat in his cute little Winnie the Pooh bunting bag - see pics below.

What would I purchase if I could do it again?

1. Save enough Airmiles to get the Peg Perego Pliko Switch Completo (4500 miles, or 3700 miles + $149.99; $539.99 at Crocodile Baby) - this is the 2008 model that has a reversible seat. It is a beautiful stroller with plush seats. The seat can recline to almost flat. It comes fully accessorized, complete with cover, zipper hood and zipper rain canopy. It is supposed to weigh 19 lbs, but when I checked it out in person it seemed a bit heavy. Would still need to purchase a car seat to use with this, probably a Peg Perego Viaggio SIP ($299.99) which is very plush and better materials than those used by the Graco Snugride.
   
2. Save enough Airmiles to get the Peg Perego Pliko 3 Classico (3700 miles; $399.99 at TJ's Kids). This is like the Switch Completo but without the reversible seat. Would still need to purchase a car seat to use with this.
   
3. If I wanted to splurge even more, I'd consider the German-made I'coo Targo ($699.99). I tested it out - it is reversible, includes a pram, not too heavy, it pushes like a dream and the materials are gorgeous. I had thought this came with a car seat but looking at a few websites now it doesn't appear to include a car seat.
   
4. If I not splurging, I'd buy a new Peg Perego Viaggio SIP carseat to use with a used Peg Perego stroller (a style that is reversible with a pram).
   
5. Don't worry about a jogging stroller for now (unless you are really into jogging regularly).
   
   

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Connor with Gung Gung... and thoughts on the screaming cries

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Yesterday Gung-Gung finally dared to hold Connor on his lap! (His right arm is non-functional) Here are the smiling pair!



Connor's screeching cries have me somewhat worried that it is a sign of a developmental disorder. His screeching cries are ear-piercing and Connor writhes his body as if in pain.

So today I read up some on autism - I thought of this disorder because my ex-husband's sister had an autistic child (the last I heard from them this was the initial diagnosis so I could be mistaken), and I recall that she used to say her baby would scream as if bloody murder. My cousin on my Mom's side also has an autistic son.

There happened to be an article in this month's Today's Parent magazine that I subscribe to, and it referenced the Autism Speaks site. It is alarming that, according to the site, 1 out of 150 children are diagnosed with autism; and 1 in 94 are boys with the autism spectrum. There is also thought to be a genetic link to having the disorder. From what I read there, such as learning the signs of autism, Connor has so far hit the milestones that he should, such as babbling by 12 months. So Connor has none of the listed symptoms, everything in his development seems normal. However it is far too early in Connor's life to diagnose this if it is the cause or not.

I did a search for "baby screams loudly", read several articles/threads and did not find any writers linking a screaming, crying baby to any disorder. So this has put my mind more at ease.

This evening Connor was screaming/crying again while we were with Po Po and even Po Po was worried that something was physically wrong with Connor. However I was able to calm and soothe him, and found that he wanted more food (his previous feed had been interrupted).

I think the fact that I am able to calm him and soothe him during these episodes means that he really is just overtired or hungry, or going through growing pains, ie. a growth spurt; I think he is due for his next growth spurt now.

Boy, I sure did not prepare myself for all this worrying as a new Mommy, although how could one prepare for that anyway?

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Decorating with BLIK

... I had bought these BLIK decorations before Connor was born and I finally got around to putting them up today. It's a great product, super easy to use - just peel and stick! And they are removable (but not reusable).

If I had known we were having a boy I may have opted for the cool video game images. Maybe we can do that for when he's older.

I bought this BLIK package online at Home Depot for about $36. Here's a pic of Connor's decorated wall.

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Teeth? And a major sleeping progress!

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I touched Connor's top and bottom gums, and the top gums definitely feel less soft than the bottom ones. Also the top gums look more defined - here is a photo, what do you think?

Also yesterday marked a MAJOR sleeping development for Connor: he fell asleep for nap during the day by himself in his co-sleeper! He was doing a fussy crying but not the crazy screaming cry. So I decided to put him down. He would cry with his eyes closed for a minute or two, then stop and gnawed at his hand, then cried another minute, or two then gnawed, and I watched this about 3 times and decided to leave the room. A few minutes after that the crying had stopped and he was asleep!

And just now at 9:30 AM, we were back from our walk earlier and Connor usually wants to go back to sleep. He was crying for a while and I was able to sooth him to stop crying; then I lay him down on his co-sleeper while he was still awake and left the room. I heard him cry about 5 minutes later, but then he stopped crying. It is now 10:00 AM, and I just checked, yes he is asleep!

So this whole sleeping exercise took a bit longer than the 3 days that the Baby Whisperer said it would - I started this process around Sept. 24, so it's almost been one month. But we are definitely making progress!

Note though... Connor is still sleeping in our bed at night. That is another hurdle we still need to go through. Whoops and now Connor is crying again - I think I woke him up by checking in on him :(

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