We are over and past the hump (or the slump)!! The most difficult time of infancy is over and gone—no more floppy head, or lots of crying, or a baby who only eats, sleeps, and defecates. We have a happy baby now. A baby who still eats, sleeps, and defecates, but also loves to laugh, squeel, babble, kick, stand, suck on his hands, put anything and everything into his mouth, go for walks in his stroller, go swimming, go to the beach and let the white water crash on his feet, go shopping with mommy while he tags along in his sling and gets the googlie eye from every man , woman, and child in the store. It is so much fun having the little guy around it’s ridiculous. Mike and I play fight over who gets to greet Kanan in his crib when he wakes up from his nap. When we go out to eat, we just eat and stare at Kanan or talk to him the whole time. Yeah, we are hooked! For more pics of this month please click HERE! Or just place your cursor over it and wait for a box to appear. Then wait a few more section and my pics will show up individually in the box and you can scroll through it that way without having to go to the website.

Kanan’s Milestones:

Eating-–While still breastfeeding, when he does take a bottle, he can drink up to 7 oz in one sitting now! He is now drinking formula before bedtime to help him sleep a little longer. It is working too! He has slept through the night once so far and that was a few days ago. He is getting easily distracted now during his day feeds, making eating take longer because I have to keep his interest long enough to take a full feed. A dark room helps if its immediately after he wakes.

He is also showing great interest in solid food. He watches us eat and opens his mouth like he wants to try it too. When his grandma showed him a piece of tomato on her finger from her marinara sauce, the little guy dived down and snatched it off her finger and swallowed it like he hadn’t eaten in a month! Sooooo…I’ve tried giving him rice cereal twice to see how things would go. The first time, he ate like a champ. He didn’t push it out with his tongue, seemed to enjoy it and ate like 4 teaspoons full. The second time, he didn’t seem to like it, was pushing it out with his tongue and barely got in 2 teaspoons full before I decided to put it away and try again in a week. Either way, he has a high chair now in which we use primarily for him to sit in the kitchen while I eat, or cook, or wash dishes.

Activity–Kanan is babbling now! And his first babble word is (drum roll please….) “MUM”! It’s adorable! Of course Mike is jealous. And of course I tell him that Kanan doesn’t know what it means. But of course, I am secretly thrilled! He is also starting to laugh. He started with me about a week ago when I was tickling him. He did it again this weekend when his favorite cousin Breanna was flirting with him. And he did it again when his grandpa Don was tickling him. And squeeling has been a consistent vocal practice of the little guy for a little over a month. He loves to kick. As a matter of a fact, we believe he will be running before he crawls, he loves to “stand” and kick so much. His favorite toys are his fish rattle and my wood bracelettes. His favorite book is “Snappy Little Dinasours.”

Physical Growth— Not sure of his exact weight yet, but I’m guessing close to 16 lbs. We will find out for sure when he gets his shots here in a few days. His neck is solid strong. Doesn’t wobble or flop at all. He can roll over from front to back and is very close to getting back to front. He is starting to grab his feet, which excites me because I love a baby that can suck on his toes. We also think he is teething—He has episodes of drooling, biting, poor appetite, pulling on ear, fussing—tylenol helps…hmmmmm

Sleep–He has slept through the night once!!! Otherwise he is down to waking up once in the night to eat. He does have nights still where he wakes up more than once though, but usually, a pacifier quites him. His naps consist of two long naps (1.5-2 hours) and one cat nap of 45 minutes.

Kanan officially has a mohawk courtesy of his eager father. We have since trimmed it since we took the photos as it flopped over a bit from the length. People our age love it. Grandparents hate it of course. We figure we should jack up his hair now while he is still too young to care.

He got to show off his new do unofficially at the Matzke family reunion last weekend although when his great grandmother asked if we were enlisting him in the military, we decided it was a little too high and tight and not enough hawkish, so we sinced cut it more and that is what makes the reunion the unofficial debut of Kanan’s hawk. He also got to meet some more family that day including his second cousin Noah who is 7 months older than him. They were both too busy analyzing eachother during the family picture that they didn’t even bother to look at the camera. It was wonderful seeing family we haven’t seen in a long time. My cousins DJ, Tyler, and Trevor were there with my uncle Tim and his wife. I hadn’t seen the cousins for 15 years atleast—back when I would never had guessed I would have a son with a mohawk!

Kanan got to show off the official hawk at his third cousin Robert’s 3rd birthday party by the pool in Pacific Beach. Kanan got to go in a pool for the first time and seemed to enjoy it as it was a very hot and sunny day. We slathered him in SPF 45 and dressed him a waterproof diaper, sunhat, and regular clothes because we lost his newly purchased swim trunks. Afterward he played in his pack and play for a bit instead of napping because there was way too much activity by the pool. We finally got him to go to sleep by taking him into the dark and quite Sauna in the back of the poolhouse. Don’t worry, it was turned off. He slept there for an hour and a half. I went back and checked on him every 5 minutes of course. After he woke up he was super happy and socialized with everyone. Toward the end of our stay, he got to try cake frosting for the first time although he was so exhausted by that point, I don’t think he truly enjoyed it as much as he could. All in all it was a fabulous day.

We finished the night off by sleeping in the RV camper that night. Kanan, me, and Mike up on the bed and Smokey and Bandito down below in living area. The next morning, Kanan, who is not used to sleeping in the same bed as Mom and Dad, was so cute. He woke up smiling and kept looking back and forth at us as if to be thinking, “Dadda Mama, Dadda Mama.” I think he may of liked sleeping with us because last night when he was back in his crib for the night, he woke up every 1-2 hours all night long and boycotted sleeping entirely from 130-330. Of course by that time, I sent Mike in for a shift and when I went in to help him out, Kanan was all smiles and giggles as if that was his motive the entire time—to get Mom and Dad in his room for a slumber party.

Our little monster. We love him still. 🙂

Kanan is 3 months old today! It’s hard to believe that just three months ago I heard his first cry in the operating room after my cessarian section. A lot has happend this month. He started off the month getting his vaccinations and everything seemed to change after that. He went from sleeping until 3-530 in the morning before waking up to waking up atleast twice everynight starting at 130 in the morning. We think it was first a reaction to the vaccinations. Then the next week it was probably a growth spurt. And the week after that it was probably just habit from the two weeks prior. In the meantime, he was also getting really bad acid reflux to the point where we have recently started to medicate him with an infant dose of Zantac. He has been on Zantac for four days now. The first three days on Zantac he slept until atleast 4 in the morning. Last night, he woke up once at 230 am but stayed asleep after that. So far so good. But, I started eating dairy again after being off of it a week and the last two days Kanan has been a bit fussier in the day and very cranky around naptime. I’m getting off the dairy again tomorrow and will stay off for atleast two weeks to see if it makes a difference. Oh the price I must pay so that I can breastfeed my son. 🙂

He has still been growing and learning this month despite how tired he has left Mike and I. He is “talking” all the time and loves his newly discovered hands. Since he discovered his hands he is always analyzing them, playing with his fingers, sucking on them, grabbing my hair, holding toys, and pulling on his shirt. He is also outgrowing his hatred for car rides and is having more and more good days where he sits in his carseat quietly and sucks on his hands, looks at the dangling Zebra I hang from the handle, or out the window. Because he has gotten so observant and has strengthened his neck muscles as well, I decided to test him out in the big kid seat of his stroller instead of putting him in his carseat and he LOVES his walks now. We go everyday in the afternoon and Kanan looks around at everything while eagerly sucking on his hands or trying to eat his hooded sweatshirt while we stroll along. Today we went again during one of his fussy episodes and it was the only 15 minutes that he didn’t whine! 😛

Most days though, Kanan is in a good mood and smiles and coos all day long. He does have his fussy moments but nothing that is difficult to handle. Overall we have decided that he is a sensitive baby and in effect, is easily overstimulated by anything from a new toy to too much light coming through his window when its time to take a nap. So we do have to be careful about this or else his naps are affected. He has Mike’s intense desire to be on the move constantly and his ease at being distracted, and he has my love of color and conversation. As far as looks go, he has my bottom lip and my crooked toe. Thats it and thats all. The rest is Mike Mike Mike.

For links to more pics click HERE and for links to great videos including one of Kanan caught farting and pooping and others of him playing with his dad or of him picking up and trying to eat his rattle, click HERE.

Since Kanan started losing his hair about two and half weeks ago, he has also started showing me more and more of his personality as his milestones are helping him communicate more. He has gained much more control of his hands lately and while I already discovered a month ago that he really loves his satin blanket (I call it his silky, Mike calls it his softy) Kanan most recently showed that not only does he like to cuddle with it when he falls asleep, he also likes to put it over his head, I’m assuming to block out the light, which he finds very distracting at nap time. About three days ago, Kanan made it clear that he did not want to be swaddled for his afternoon nap. I was having a hard time getting him to relax enough to fall asleep that I thought maybe his Silky would help. He cuddled with it, pulled it over his head and passed out. When I pulled it off his head in fear he would suffocate, he whined and pulled it back over his head. So I let him do it and just periodically peak into his crib and make sure he is getting enough air under the blanket by lifting an edge up and tucking it over the top of his crib bumper. His Grammy Joella and his father both wear sunglasses until dusk because they are so sensitive to the sunlight. Looks like Kanan got that gene as well. I’m going to get some black out curtains for his room I think, so the little balding boy can relax a little easier without creating fear in his Mama.

Kanan had his 2 month vaccinations today. Not pretty. The pobresito hurt so bad, he did the silent scream. You know the kind when you are in such pain that no noise can even come out of your mouth even though your face is contorted into scream position? That was Kanan todayat the doctor’s office while the nurse stuck four-3-inch-long seperate needles into his thighs. But I was prepared today. I went out and bought a ring sling yesterday and Kanan was able to have the biggest case of Mamitas today while saving my arms from his constant weight. He cried when I first put him in it, but within a few seconds, he settled himself and hung out in it for a couple of hours today and was even able to crack a few smiles here and there. Aside from hanging around the house in the sling, we took a walk and smelled all the spring flowers in neighborhood front yards. Kanan’s favorite ones to smell were the Jasmine and his favorite ones to look at were the bright fusia flowers across the street.  We also bought some vegetables from the produce cart down the street. Then I left him with his Dad while I went out to get a video from Blockbuster and returned to see Kanan in the kitchen sitting in his bouncer with his shirt off while watching his father make tacos and dance to the music on the stereo. He even let me eat dinner while he watched from his bouncer and held his tshirt and sucked on his pink pacifier. Then I nursed him and put him to bed around 730. I was sooo impressed! I’m prepared to wake up  a bit more tonight if Kanan isn’t feeling well. But so far, without the Babywise routine, Kanan woke up only once last night at around 330am. 🙂

I had to check his temperature a few times today to monitor his fever though. But instead of using the temporal thermometer, I had to use the rectal. It was my first time taking his temperature this way. But with Mike holding the little guy’s feet and a little bit of KY on the wand, Kanan didn’t seem to mind.

The doctor did notice that one side of Kanan’s head is flatter than the other, so we will have to start having him sleep on one side instead of on his back since he tends to turn his head to the right when he sleeps. If we don’t, Kanan’s face could change shape and we would have to have him wear one of those helmets we see some kids crawling around in these days.

On the brighter side, Kanans new stats include.

• Weight: 14.5 lbs
• Height: 24.5 inches

His head circumfrence is in the 75th percentile. And both his weight and height are in the 90-95th percentiles still. So looks like he is getting enough to eat from Mommy’s milk. He will be able to sport those chunky thighs at the beach this summer, while I hide the 8 pounds of pregnancy weight and my linea nigra I still have in a tankini. Until the heat rises though, we will both go fully clothed minus the socks. Kanan loves to feel the wet sand between his toes—just like his Mama.

When I was pregnant with Kanan, I just gobbled up anything and everything I could read that would prepare me for my pregnancy, labor, and parenthood. These included What to Expect When Your Expecting, Great Expectations, Happiest Baby on the Block, Baby 411, and the contraversial Baby Wise. I’m a very organized person and things make sense to me when there is a logical pattern or steps involved in how they work and I can see visually how everything flows. I’ve kept a planner since I was in the 7th grade if that helps you understand me a bit more–with planning, I know what to expect and I can control my environment if I know the patterns and steps. So when Babywise told me that I could get my child to fit a schedule that I set and as a result also get him to sleep through the night by 8 weeks, I was dead set on following through with the author’s directions. When I told my friends and family members who have had kids what my plan was, they all smiled this knowing smile and said “that’s nice,” as if I was setting myself up for disappointment. But I kept telling myself that it would work because it had to. There were steps right? There were patterns and a framework. It HAD to work. Well I followed the book minus letting the baby cry it out and after 10 weeks of stress and anxiety over the fact that my child was not conforming to the steps and patterns I had set up, nor was he sleeping through the night despite my attempts at following the routine, I decided yesterday to throw the book out and let Kanan decide what those patterns and steps would be with a little guidance on my part.

Right when I decided to stop it, an instant weight lifted from my shoulders that I didn’t realize was there because of the constant anxiousness I have been holding about all the flaws in our day. But there were reasons I was anxious. When Kanan was on my schedule (or wasn’t), I could only get him to nap for 45 mintues most of the time and stay up for no longer than one and a half hours before he got fussy. The day never flowed the same as the day before or the day after even if I set a first morning feeding. He often woke up early for naps or wouldn’t nap at all despite his dreadful fatigue and all day, I would spend playing catch up. Sometimes when he woke up tired and fussy from his short nap and he would eat, he would then want to fall asleep when the book instructed me to make sure he stayed awake after a feeding and not go to sleep. And so with my attempts to keep him awake, he just became overtired and further fueled his inability to settle himself down and just sleep like he needed. Kanan seemed to always do what I didn’t want him to do when it came to the schedule and so I was always irritated by that fact. I’ve already got a hint of his teenage years–he won’t like a schedule and he’ll want to do the opposite of what I ask…..great (insert sarcastic smile here 🙂 )

The climax started to rise over the last 2-3 weeks when more problems started to rise (right around his week 7 growth spurt). These included much more difficulty with getting Kanan to sleep and stay asleep. Much more fussiness on his part. And then a disruption in his night sleep which hadn’t happend before. He started waking twice in the night again a couple of times.

Today has been the second day of doing it Kanan’s way. Needless to say that just today, he has had two wakeful periods that lasted 2 hours before he was ready for a nap and there was no fussiness in either one. He took two 2-hour naps and two 45 minute naps today. He was ready for bed naturally by 730 pm and went to sleep for the night at 8pm. He ate all of his needed feedings every 2-3 1/2 hours. Sometimes he slept afterward and sometimes he didn’t. Kanan didn’t get crying fussy until he told me it was time for bed around 730 tonight and one time today for a few minutes when I didn’t pick up his hunger cues, but luckily I carry the breast with me, so that was quickly remedied. 🙂

We will see tonight how his schedule affects his night sleep. But because he had such long stetches of wakefulness, some sunshine today, lots of stimulation from visiting family members, and some decent rest (a well rested baby in the day is a well rested baby at night they say) I would bet that he sleeps well.

So to all you friends and family members out there who also did the Babywise thing and either had it work or didn’t. I am saying loud and proud that Babywise isn’t for Kanan as much as it was for me. But I am quickly learning that it is not about me anymore. So I’m letting my type A personality relax into the shape of a B and I’m letting go. So goodbye Babywise. Goodbye and good riddance.