Crystal Clear

A friend of mine e-mailed me this little blurb from a website called americanbaby.com. It helps clear up some of the confusion of Monk being called "failure to thrive."
"After checking baby's height, weight, and head circumference, she'll compare the results with those from previous visits to be sure your baby is following a normal growth curve. You'll also learn the percentile your child is in--how his height, weight, and head size compare with those of other babies his age. However, it's important to remember that the curve, not the percentile, is the best indicator of healthy development. A baby who consistently measures, say, in the 20th percentile for weight--meaning that 80 percent of babies are heavier than he is at this age--is much more likely to be thriving than one who starts out in the 90th percentile and drops to the 40th. So resist the urge to compare your baby's development with that of other babies, and ask well-meaning relatives to do the same. "
So Monk started out in a higher percentile and then he dropped. So even though he may look chunky and healthy he is still labeled "failure to thrive." Things are looking up for him since his last visit, but he has not been eating the greatest lately so I am a little scared to see what is to come at his 6 month check up in two weeks.

Monkey Boy

Three things

First and foremost we went to the doctor yesterday and Monk had a weight check. It makes me laugh when they weigh him because they make him lay on this little scale naked. I am just waiting for the time that he takes a big leak in the nurses face. He weighed in at 15 lbs. 4 oz. and came out to be back in the 40th percentile. Now I am not sure how two weeks and less than a pound gained can take you from the 15th percentile to the 40th percentile, but I guess that I have to believe the doctor (although sometimes I feel like he doesn't know what he is doing). It was encouraging none the less to hear that things were going better. It is no wonder because I have been stuffing him full of food for the last two weeks straight.

Secondly the doctor told me to start feeding Monk his second solid meal of the day right before he goes to bed or sometime in the evening in an attempt to get him to sleep through the night. I hear all these people say give the baby a little cereal before they go to bed and they will start sleeping through the night, my little Joey did. Monk laughs in their faces! Last night we fed him more than he has ever eaten in one sitting and he was up EARLIER than he usually gets up with just a bottle. He is getting up purely out of habit or just because he wants to be close to his mom. How do you break that? So for all of you out there that have babies that don't sleep through the night you can try the feeding thing, but just know that it may not work like everyone says it does.

Thirdly, I read this quote on a blog that I read sometimes called Dooce, "So many months of my life have been spent worrying that you would never be able to enjoy something as simple as running through a sprinkler, and now that you can I will never be able to look at a single one of your steps without my heart exploding into flames and setting every corner of my body on fire. There is no amount of money, no fortune or success in this world that could make me feel as blessed as I did in those ten seconds." She is talking about her two year old daughter in this quote. Since I have read this, I have experienced this feeling with Monk so many times. He was sitting in his excersaucer, grabbing at his toys, and bringing them to his mouth when my mind was brought back to this quote. There was no fame or success that could take the place of that moment. To be able to see him succeed was earth shaking to me. When you're pregnant you just hope for a healthy baby and then when they start doing things and learning your heart just explodes. It is the most amazing thing in this world to watch your children grow. If I am feeling this about the little things like rolling over and grabbing at toys, I cannot imagine what I will feel like when he takes his first step, gets A's on his report card (only if he gets Fisherman's brains), or has children of his own. I am just so thankful that throughout all this "failure to thrive" stuff that monk is still happy and still developing as he should. We are so blessed to have such a healthy baby.

Pool Party

Monk and I went to a friend's pool to go swimming. This was the perfect place for Monk to experience water outside the bathtub because the whole pool was in the shade. There was no need for sunscreen or for the sun
shade that connects to this sweet little floating device compliments of Walmart. Here he is sportin' his cute little bathing suit from Nana and Papa. Some of the time I think that he was more interested in trying to pick the fish off from his bathing suit than he was in the actual pool.
He loved this little boat that I got for him so much that I even put him in it at home while I got some things accomplished. My theory is that he likes the new pool toy smell that I and others I know of love. In the pool there were other kids playing and splashing. Monk could not get
enough of watching those kids. As you can see in this picture he could not even take a break for mom to snap a picture. The whole day was a success and hopefully he will enjoy the water for many years to come.

5 Months Old 7/8/06 - Monk

Monk is now five months old. He is the happiest little guy around. We are always getting comments from other people at how happy a baby he is. I guess when push comes to shove I would rather have a happy baby than a baby that took long naps. Monk has learned a lot of new things this month, everything from sucking on his toes to screaming this really shrill scream at the top of his lungs. The screaming makes Fisherman and I laugh, I think that if we didn't laugh we might cry. Monk just likes to hear the sound of his own voice, I am not sure, but he may have picked that up from his mom. One of his new favorite things to do is to watch Baby
Einstein in his stroller. I am not sure why he likes to hang out in his stroller, but he learned that trick from his good buddy Vera. Maybe it is the fact that he can sit pretty upright on his own in that thing or something. He likes to watch baby einstein for what I like to refer to as a "Monk amount of time," that being somewhere around the ten minute mark. He also LOVES to play in his excersaucer. He probably
spends the most amount of time in this little contraption. Whoever invented this little dohicky was a genius. I have heard other mothers talk about them, but I had yet to experience the joy from one myself. He may only be in it for a "Monk amount of time," but it allows me to wash the bottles or do other little odds and ends stuff. I love the size that he is now. I find
myself saying this a lot, but I really do like where he is at now. I don't want him to get any bigger than he already is. His little everything is just so scrumptious. I could just eat him for dinner. Since Monk has entered into our lives he has definitely turned our world upside down, but we have been much better off because of it. Fisherman and I laugh a lot more than we ever did before Monk. Before we had him we couldn't picture
our lives with him and now we find ourselves not being able to picture ourselves without him. Babies are a big commitment, but man do the blessings far outweigh the trials. We love you Monk with everything that we have and everything that we are. You really are WAY too cute for words.
-Dad and Mom

A Monk Taco

Yesterday Fisherman had Monk laughing hysterically. He does these little routines with him on the bed that Monk just loves. He does a darn good running Monk, but one of my new favorites is "the Monk taco." My two boys were having so much fun together that it made me smile too.