I haven't had a chance to go in depth on chuperbaby's growth and development, so here goes:
Physical growth:
- estimated 23 lb butterball
- average height (50th percentile) and above average in weight (75th percentile): he's losing his rolls since he's so active!! =( how sad!
- big head (75th percentile) haha
- finally teething! his 2 bottom teeth are starting to come in and boy does he not enjoy this, especially in the late afternoon/ evening. i might wean the lil guy pretty soon!
- waiting for his hair to come in - thank God he's not a girl! we don't know why jacob still has only "fuzzy fur" on top of his head and not hair. both chuperman and i had way more hair when we were infants. hmph... could be environmental reasons?
Diet:
- mommy's milk. I can't believe i've made it this far - will cut him off soon. =P
- grains: oats, barley, brown rice, plain rice, spaghetti
- proteins: tofu, chicken, beef, fillet mignon, turkey, egg yolk, cheese
- veggies: spinach, carrots, sweet potato, beets, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, green beans, zucchini, other garden veggies
- fruits: banana, apple, pear, mango, kiwi, figs, blueberries, prunes, apricots, honeydew, cantaloupe
- dessert: chuperdaddy of all ppl offered jacob a tiny spoonful of Red Mango original flavored fro-yo... naturally chuperbaby loved it haha
Motor skills:
- Loves crawling everywhere since he was 8 mos old, especially loves crawling on a grassy patch, climbing up a whole flight of stairs, crawling on the cool tile floors and mosaic tiles
- Pulls self up to stand
- Cruises or "walks" while holding onto furniture
- "walks" and "runs" in the walker (this is a good place to put him when mom and dad are trying to eat dinner)
- Play ball. Jacob can palm a toy baseball and kind of throw it and then chase after it, and then try to "catch" it again. We're hoping that he gets mommy and daddy's athletic gene, specifically mommy's swimming skills and daddy's tennis/ping-pong skills haha.
- Pick-up giant flashcards "ABC's" & "123's", then wave it around and look at it before throwing it to the side.
- Occassionally winks at ya;)
- Likes headbutting pillows or anything pillow-like
Musical skills:
- Loves to bang on the piano.
- Love to pluck the strings of chuperdaddy's guitar.
- Loves pounding the tambourine.
- Jumps in the jumperoo to the beat of the music
- Sings/coo's every AM when he wakes up
Hand & Finger skills:
- Uses pincer grasp to feed self (cheerio's & teething biscuits)
- Lets objects go voluntarily (sippie cup, toys, etc)
- Pokes with index finger - Jacob likes poking at mommy and daddy's faces
- Puts objects into container
- Takes objects out of container
- Making good progress with the sippie cup!
Language Milestones:
- Pays increasing attention to speech. Jacob always talks back to me when I'm on the phone with someone else haha
- Crawls to me and pulls on my leg/ tugs on my shirt when he's hungry and says "Mama"
- Says dada, daddy ALL THE TIME haha. Also says baba, mama, nana, and gibberish. Grunts a lot and as one of his auntie said, "sounds like a duck" at times.
- Responds to his name and "no".
- Responds to big smiles and laughter with his own lil smile and giggling
Cognitive Milestones:
-Explores objects in many different ways - shaking, banging, throwing, dropping, lifting
- Finds hidden objects easily
- Beginning to use objects correctly - drinking from cup, trying to grab spoon to feed self, listening to receiver, dialing phone, brushing hair)
- Loves Peekaboo since he was a newborn.
Social/Emotional Milestones:
- Overall pretty laid back with strangers unless you're trying to hold him when he's super tired - good luck haha!
- Yelps when mother leaves
- Shows specific preference for certain ppl and toys
- May be fearful in some situations (like when the vacuum is on)
- Pulls down shirt over head when being dressed, sometimes extends legs to help when being dressed
Halloween in Woodbury! I got Jacob a Goofy costume for 50% off earlier that day haha
Overall, I must say, UNBIASED of course haha, that Jacob is in general a pretty "easy" baby SO FAR. We really appreciate how independent he is. In fact, our nanny gets bored pretty fast since Jacob is so low maitenance - she's always looking for stuff to do. Jacob has no problem playing by himself, sleeps in his own room by himself, does not need to be held that much in comparison to other babies, does not have too bad of stranger anxiety, is a good eater, and most of the time a good sleeper. What can I say, he's definitely inherited the laid-back gene from mommy and daddy haha. (I just know that IF we have #2 MUCH later, that #2 won't be as easy!)
We know A LOT of other baby boys and toddlers. In comparison to these other baby boys, Jacob has definitely proven himself to be pretty mild-tempered for an infant. But as we're rapidly approaching the big milestone of walking and toddlerhood, I fear his temperament will change. Rambunctious, stubborn, strong-willed are adjectives that i do not look fwd to using, especially since he's a boy!
Santa Monica! We just got back from a mini-family vacation in Santa Monica - mixing business with pleasure. More later - I'm super exhausted from the "vacay" even tho it's WAY more work than staying at home!
