Andrew at 20 Weeks plus 2 Days

Last night -- Thursday, April 17, 2008 -- was the first night I can honestly say that Andrew slept through the night.

I put him down, as usual at about 7:30 p.m. I woke at his usual middle-of-the-night feeding time of 2 a.m., but he was sound asleep when I checked on him. I went back to bed, thinking he'd wake any minute to eat, but the next thing I knew it was 4:20 a.m. and he was doing his morning songbird warbling routine over the baby monitor! I let him warble for a while, hoping he'd maybe even go back to sleep until my alarm was set to go off at 5:30 a.m. He didn't, but he also didn't cry to be fed until almost 5:00! This means he went almost a whole 10 hours between feedings. And it also means that I got several hours of uninterrupted sleep last night -- although I have to say that my boobs were very uncomfortable by morning. I thought about waking him up at 2 a.m., but then I thought, "Why?"

Oh, and he also took 2 2.5-hour naps at daycare today. His hair is growing fast now, and he's learning lots of new skills -- see below.

The bottom left incisor still hasn't broken through, but it's definitely coming. There's a bump on his gum that's lighter than the rest of the gum tissue.

Skills: He's getting very good at reaching for and grasping toys, burp cloths, my hair, daddy's chest hair or neck skin, etc (ouch!). This is good news because this skill coincides with teething, when it will benefit him to be able to shove something in his mouth.

He's been using the hard "g" sound more lately.

We went for a walk in the "big boy" stroller yesterday. It arrived a couple of days ago; we had to mail-order it to get the style/pattern we wanted. He's still getting used to the "sitting upright" thing (in the stroller or the high chair), but in just the last week or so his muscles have developed significantly, so that he can sit for several seconds unassisted on the floor.

And what a sweet, sweet child: Even this morning, after having fasted for 10 hours, he greeted me with a smile when I appeared over the side of his crib...even though one of his legs was stuck through the slats. Should I put the bumper back on? Word has it that those things will kill your child instantly ;-)

We think he's going to keep his baby blue eyes. They are shaped like Daddy's, but with Mommy's coloring. How sweet!

I may be imagining it, but he does seem genuinely interested in my grown-up food these days. Two nights in a row, I've wolfed down dinner while sitting on the floor next to Roo while he plays in the Exersaucer (I know, my foodie standards have suffered greatly since he was born, but he's worth it). Anyway, last night I held up my crispy chicken BBQ snack wrap from McDonald's, and he totally went for it. As in, he got BBQ sauce all over his mouth, etc. I freaked when a little piece of lettuce almost went into his mouth (choking hazard!!!) -- I had no idea he would lunge for it! But after last night -- after 10 hours on just breast milk -- I'm not inclined to mess with his diet by starting cereal just yet.

Roo still loves his "Daisy Duck" bathtime book, complete with squeaker. He loves anything that squeaks. He's also very interested in the dogs and cats lately; sometimes he'll even give them a big grin. And he still loves lamps of any kind.

His new trick, which is utterly and completely adorable, is this: While nursing, he'll suddenly un-latch, turn his head up and make eye contact with me, give me a huge smile, and then go back to nursing. Oh. My. God. It's amazing how evolution made it so we just fall in love with our babies.