How to Lose a Baby in Ten Days

This little bed head baby has been very busy turning into a brand new boy! Blink for longer than a second and the Ethan you saw when you closed your eyes will be totally different when you open them.

We've been absolutely astounded by all of his changes since our last post. His fifth tooth broke through his gums, and he's putting it to good use eating more finger foods and fewer purées.

Within the span of ten days, he has:
~ Learned how to sit up from lying down
~ Mastered super speedy crawling skills
~ Started to pull up to a standing position

To keep up with him, we've had to:
~ Install baby gates
~ Lower his crib mattress
~ Get serious about baby proofing

We're keeping our eyes open and soaking up as much baby as we can... before you know it, we'll have a toddler on our hands!

I'm Watching You...

Once upon a time, we could put Ethan down somewhere, say in his bouncy chair or in his crib, and he'd stay put. Well, those days are over now! Ethan is constantly moving and exploring. His hands are reaching out to grab everything in sight, he rolls around from one end of his crib to the other, and is attempting to sit up on his own. He's also lifting up his head super high when he's on his belly. Ryan noticed that Ethan was stretching up his neck to peer over the walls of his play mat, and snapped a few pictures of our little spy.



Before we know it, this little guy will be crawling. Let the childproofing begin!

Heads Up!

Remember the post not too long ago where we said that it took Ethan about 20 minutes to roll over? He's made so much progress since then. Not only is he rolling over almost instantly from his back to his belly, we also recently discovered that he can roll back the other way! His routine when we put him down in his crib is as follows:

1) Roll over to his side
2) Insert thumb into mouth
3) Hang out for a few seconds
4) Take thumb out, roll over to belly
5) Reinsert thumb and fall asleep

It's pretty cute.


Ethan has also made a lot of improvements with his head control. Gone are the bobblehead days - this boy is doing a great job of using his neck muscles to hold up his head! Check it out:



He was doing this for about ten minutes yesterday before Ryan picked up the video camera, so he had lots of practice! Ethan is also practicing his laugh, and has tried out several different squeaks and squeals in the last week or so. He cracks himself up, and gets caught off guard by the sounds that come out of his mouth. He's such a funny boy!

Where Does the Time Go?

The days have flown by, and our baby boy is already ten weeks old! He's changed so much over the past two and a half months, and we delight in seeing what each day brings. Our favorite development is Ethan's smile - he lights up and it shows all over his whole face, which is so cute! We weren't fast enough to catch the big smiles on these shots, but you can see a glimpse of our happy, happy boy!


He's holding his head up more and more, and is getting super strong. He'll "stand up" and bear his own weight if he has someone balancing him. We recently had to start buckling him into his bouncy chair, as he'll kick and wiggle his way right out of the seat. He's no longer a limp sack of potatoes - our strapping boy is all muscle and solid as a rock. Ethan is very considerate and sleeps for about 10 or 11 hours straight at night, which we know is unusual for his age. We are lucky, lucky, lucky to have such a good baby!

In the last few weeks we've found Ethan at the opposite end of his crib when he wakes in the morning. We're amazed by how he can squirm his way around when he's swaddled and doesn't have use of his appendages. He's also a budding Houdini, and has managed to escape from his Miracle Blanket on more than one occasion. For those of you who haven't seen the Miracle Blanket before, it's essentially a little baby straight jacket, and is as impenetrable as Fort Knox - unless you're 15 pounds of sheer muscle. No blanket can match the brute strength of our little brusier!