James is 16 Weeks 2011

James is growing fast! He's been a little better recently. He still complains a lot if he doesn't have constant attention, but either I've figured him out now, or he no longer cries for no reason. If he's crying he's either hungry, tired, or teething. And he still loves his jumperoo, so that gives him something to do that doesn't involve my sore back. Although he still likes for either me or Kevin to sit in front of the jumperoo and stare at him while he jumps. He's a total attention ham. The plus side of this is he loves photos. I mean look at this big hammy smile. I love it.

James at 14 weeks + 6 days

Unfortunately, James has recently made some decisions of which I don't approve. It doesn't bode well for adolescence. He has decided that consonants are passé. He stopped cooing and now makes these lengthy vowel sounds that seem to mimic the sing-songiness of conversation without any consonants or, you know, words.

Me: Hello, James. How are you today?
James: Ah-oooo. Anh. Eeeooo. Oo-oo-oo.

I keep telling him I want the consonants back and sometimes he growls in response. I do sometimes hear him making a rolling rr sound. I'm not sure if this is a normal baby thing or if he's trying to imitate my Spanish. It's pretty awesome though.

[TMI warning.] The other decision he made was that he wasn't going to breastfeed anymore. He made this decision after his three month shots. The shots weren't necessarily to blame, as we also spent the night in North Fork the night he stopped, so maybe he was freaked out by a new location and never resumed? Or most likely, his teething is getting in the way. I still try sometimes but not with much success. It's been annoying to pump all the time, but it's interesting how little milk I was making-- it's doubled since I've been just pumping, but it's still not enough to completely keep him off formula. (Why did I ever give him a bottle?!) We're thinking about introducing food at the four-month mark. The pediatrician says it will not help him sleep through the night, but I'm not convinced. It doesn't sound true. He wakes up to eat; ergo, if he's full, he won't wake up, right?

James's usual sleeping position


Napping on our bed

Isn't he the absolute cutest when he's asleep? I go and stare at him when he's asleep sometimes, and my heart swells. It's all I can do not to pick up and risk waking him. And at night when he wakes up, I feed him, and when he falls back asleep sometimes I linger too long to justify just holding him. Also the smell on the top of his head is intoxicating. Kevin doesn't smell the same scent as me, and I'm starting to suspect it's a momma-baby link only. I seriously feel a little dizzy (in a good way) when I sniff his hair.

Repeating an outfit on the blog for Nana's sake (15 weeks + 5 days)


I am cute. Deal with it. (15 weeks + 6 days)

James is getting good at grabbing things. He often pulls his pacifier out and sometimes manages to put it back in the right way. Other times, he stabs his cheeks with it. He can clasp his own hands together. He frequently reaches for toys, especially his favorite toy--his feet. I'm not kidding. The other day he woke up for the day but then spent another hour in his crib happily playing with his feet while his very grateful parents slept. We might now be entering the period of time where his new skills are not just praise-worthy but also a threat to the peace. He has twice grabbed Kevin's glasses right off his face and put them in his mouth. And I take so many pictures... that I accidentally caught him the second time.

Looking innocent (16 weeks + 3 days)


James is so sneaky, he doesn't even look at the glasses before making a grab.


And straight into his mouth. Well done.