A Mouse a Day

Lincoln had his 4-month well-baby visit about 2 weeks ago. He had a couple of shots and is doing quite well overall. Last week, I brought him in for another vaccination (All his vaccinations are imported so I had to decide early on which vaccines I wanted to give him and then place an order for them. They are stored at the clinic as are the vaccines for all the children treated there. This particular vaccine didn't get ordered with the rest so I had to place a special order for it.). So, he is all caught up for now with his immunizations. Yesterday morning, I noticed that he had a bit of blood from one of his inoculation sites so I brought him in yet again. Just to be sure. The doctor checked it out and pronounced everything as being tip top and just fine. While we were there, the nurses weighed him. Over the course of those two weeks, Lincoln gained about 350g or about 25g a day. Just to put it really concrete terms, I did a google search of what is equivalent to 25g. A mouse.


It turns out that the average size mouse is about 20-25g. So Lincoln is gaining a mouse a day. He weighs about 308-385 mice now. Think about that this winter when there are little visitors in your bread drawer.

What's New, What's Next and Who's Your Daddy

We just had our 4-month well baby doctor's visit. Lincoln now weighs 7.34 kg (about 17 lb) and is about 65 cm (about 26 inches). He went from being in the 25th percentile for height and weight to being in the 75th percentile for both. I thought I had seen a visible, relatively sudden, change in the size of his head and I suppose I was right. He also got a couple of booster shots, which he took rather well. For those who had guessed that Lincoln is teething, you were right. The doctor peered into his mouth and pointed out that the bottom teeth are starting to erupt. It explains his sudden need to gnaw on my chin.

As Lincoln has gotten older, he has outgrown his sling and I now carry him in a Baby Bjorn. The Bjorn also affords him a view of the outside world, which he seems to enjoy. Since he is able to look out at the world, the world can now look back at him. People like to look at him and ask the usual questions, 'Boy or girl?' and 'How old is he?' Lately, I also get asked 'Ta de baba shi shei de ma?' (Who's his father?)

Here's a picture of Lincoln and Diana:



You can see that Lincoln doesn't look like a Chinese baby, despite his mother looking vaguely Chinese. I've been asked odd questions back in the U.S. but I don't think I'd get asked that question. The women who ask the baby-daddy question usually answer it themselves -- 'Yi ge waiguoren' (a foreigner) while nodding knowingly at me. The conversation usually ends with my being told I have a beautiful baby. I couldn't agree more.

It's Curtains for Sleep

Our curtains are not really all that exciting. Cream/tan color, light pattern woven throughout. So boring and nondescript, I don't have an actual picture of them, just incidental ones where they appear in the background. All the rooms have the same curtains. There is something about the curtains in Lincoln's room that entrances him. There are times when I am rocking him to sleep and, instead of laying his head on my shoulder and closing his eyes, he leans back to gaze at the curtains. His eyes open wide and he is alert watching them and even smiling and cooing at them. I've looked over my shoulder and I can't quite fathom what is so interesting or whether there is something else there. Maybe it's that they move slightly when the back of the rocking chair hits them. Sometimes they are so fascinating, Lincoln forgets about sleep. It's up to me, that rain cloud, to remind him that it's sleepy time.

It's things like the curtains and, lately, his sudden dislike for the Barefoot Portraits Studio where I have baby group and baby yoga, that make me wonder exactly what is going on inside his little head. We're going to try going to baby yoga again and if the place again provokes such a strong reaction, we'll have to forgo it.

Lately, Lincoln has been losing his baby hair. There was quite a lot on his bed sheet this morning. When he's a bit tired, Lincoln has developed the habit of sucking on his left thumb while he grabs his hair with his right hand. Perhaps that is part of the problem, though it's overall hair loss and not one particular spot. I'm going to get him a lovey (and a backup lovey) like his cousin Wes has his sleep monkey. I know that he likes having a blanket next to his face when he's falling asleep and likely would keep it in the crib if I let him. He must get that from his father. When we were first married, Eric would uproot all the blankets on the bed and wrap them around his head.

I've just put Lincoln to bed and kissed his plump little face good-night. He is in such good health. I can't imagine being one of the Chinese parents who have to stand in line at the hospital and wait to have their baby tested for kidney stones and other ailments due to the recent discovery of contaminated baby formula.

Lincoln's New Face

It seems that once we got to month 3, Lincoln changed a lot. Lately, everything must go into his mouth. When I hold him in order to get him to take a nap, his mouth is wide open and my face, especially my chin, is soon covered in baby slobber. He is learning to blow raspberries and can grab things with a greater degree of accuracy, which he can then stuff into his mouth. It seems that every week he discovers a new way to contort his face. For a while he would purse his lips to make 'ooh' sounds. Then he figured out that he could keep him mouth closed and make 'mmm' sounds while compressing his lips. This is his latest face.



He's also discovering volume. He's really a delight.

3 weeks vs. 3 months

So much change in such a short time. These 2 outfits are the same, but different patterns. Looks like I forgot to inflate my infant in the first picture.

Perils of an Undiapered Baby Boy

I had a fabulous night's sleep. Especially as compared to the previous night where Lincoln woke up at a quarter to 3, a quarter past 3, 4, 5, 6...and then proceeded to not nap during the day. Last night, he went to bed at 7:30, I fed him at 10:40 and didn't hear from him until 4. He woke up this morning at around 6:30 and babbled to himself for about 15 minutes when he sounded the cry that he was ready to get up. Eric picked him up and we spent a bit of time together on the sofa. I mentioned he was wet and Eric kindly volunteered to change him. Shortly thereafter, I heard a panicked shriek from Eric and a consequent frightened wail from a startled baby. There is something about exposure to the air that compels a baby boy to void his bladder as forcefully as is possible. Eric got to experience this joy firsthand. Just wait until he gets hit by the projectile poo. Needless to say I had a good laugh, especially when I found Eric had laid the fresh diaper down backwards.

Home Again

We've been back in Shanghai for about a day. We're catching up on our sleep and I'm sorting through our luggage. It looks like a typhoon ran through the apartment.

I had been stressed about our home trip for a while. I wasn't sure how Lincoln would travel or how his internal clock would readjust with jetlag. I've been on flights before where when I see parents with small children boarding, I roll my eyes and grit my teeth. A 3-hour flight is bearable at best, but with squalling children, I'd rather poke my eye out with a dull stick. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, how would my 2 1/2-month old infant travel on a 14-hour flight? I avoided eye contact with the other passengers, most of whom I'm sure were scrabbling desperately in their pockets for an extra Valium or Ambien or both. So far, he has amazed me. I tried to nurse him during take-off and landing or at least to wedge a finger in his mouth to suck. He remained good-natured throughout, though he didn't really take to his bassinet.



Here he is lying in the bassinet. You can see he's trying to figure out where the heck he is. He'd sleep fitfully for about 15-20 minutes and then wake up. He slept best in my arms (of course) and we'd catch a few hours of sleep together. Despite the fact that it was just Lincoln and myself on the return flight to Shanghai, the trip back was just as uneventful.

I feel like I left Shanghai with one baby and returned with another one. It seems that he has grown. There is a bald line around his head where it seems that his head outgrew his hair. He is more talkative and engaging. He seems to notice his surroundings more and interacts more with his environment.

I think he misses his Grandma a bit. I think the sudden loss of adoring masses has left him a bit bewildered.

I returned to a hot and humid city (90's) and a needy cat. Mugsy is all purrs now that I'm back. He has been making every attempt to get into my lap, even when it's occupied by a nursing baby. I think that he'd lie on top of the baby if he could get away with it. It's now nearly 10:30 at night. Lincoln didn't sleep much last night and has been sleeping on and off during the day. I've been catching naps when I can. He's been sleeping now since about 8. I hope we can get back into our routine with little fuss.