Thoughts of Autumn during a heat wave

Okay okay, I know I must seem like a negligent mother putting a knit hat on my three month old baby in July during a heat wave. If it's any consolation, our air conditioner was on for I think five days straight and the hat is made of cotton yarn and a light merino wool. Since we were confined to our home for a couple days due to severe heat what better to do than think about fall and cozy hats on chubby cheeks.

When I was pregnant all I did was make stuff for the baby and the babies room. I couldn't make enough tiny hats for him. I kept a journal when I was pregnant and in one of my entries I mention that I made a similar hats for Ari and Sasha. In my entry I said "I wonder if our little boy will have Ari's eyes." - who knew? I specifically made Ari's hats to pick up on his blueish/grayish/greenish eyes never thinking that we'd have a baby with gorgeous baby blues, aka the Burling Blues. 

So back to my story of putting knit hats on babies in one hundred degree weather. I decided to start trying hats on Sasha wanting to see how cute he will be in autumn, if it's possible that he will be any cuter than he is in the summer. He didn't seem to mind at all. I spared him by not taking photos of him in six different hats. I was so thrilled that 1) the hats all fit and 2) the colors were all perfect for his eyes.  I know I'm bias, but I do truly think my little boy is beyond adorable. See for yourself. 

He has a little Brooklyn 'tude here

Stay tuned next month, I think I found my feet

Three months already

I don't know how it happened but Sasha is now three months old and getting more delicious by the day. He is no longer a newborn and is now an infant according to the books. We just had his three month check up and he is now a whopping 12lbs8oz (up from 10lbs10oz) and 24.4 inches (up from 22.5). The funny thing is he is in the 69% for height. We're hoping he keeps this up so he can help his mom and dad get stuff down from tall shelves. 

Getting ready for his 3 month check up - little did he know he was getting 2 shots

Life with Sasha continues to get more fun as the days progress. He now has graduated to a big boy stroller. In his old stroller, which is a car seat on a base (snap 'n go for those parents out there) he was facing us and would fall asleep in three minutes. In his new stroller he faces out, so while it's more convenient to get in and out of our walk up it prevents him from napping. Sasha is so overstimulated aka excited by his surroundings that he can't fall asleep. He loves looking at the trees and the shadows on our daily walks in the park. There's also a convenient sun roof so silly mom's can peak at their babies every 5 er 2 um 1 minute. 

Sasha's Big Boy Stroller

Sasha's current past time remains the oral stage where he is trying very hard to get both tiny fists in his tiny mouth. The pediatrician said this could actually be accomplished and will cause him to puke. Huh? More to come on that one. We are also in anticipation of when he finds his feet.

Only the thumb featured here, fortunately we haven't seen the fist in there just yet.

Sasha had his first pool experience thanks to our friend Marivi inviting us for a play date. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he loved it, but I think I loved seeing him in the pool even more. And thanks to Izzie for letting us borrow her raft.

First time in the pool!

 

Bring on the books

As Sasha is wrapping up being a new born and headed into the infant world on Friday as he turns three month he is astonishingly more alert. He looks and listens to everything around him. His little head pokes up and his big blue eyes widen as I tour him around our apartment and Brooklyn in his stroller and baby carrier.

As a previous teacher and avid reader I was really looking forward to introducing Sasha to books. He hadn't really taken too much of an interest up until now. We received an amazing book from our friends, Elena and Steven called "ABC" by Bruno Munari. The copyright is 1960 so it has those bold and bright illustrations that only a hippie, um, I mean an infant could love. I propped Sasha up on some pillows and as soon as he saw the cover he was captivated from start to finish.  I have read him the entire book every morning since we received it last week. Reading books has been a welcomed addition to our fun filled morning ritual of songs and tickles by yours truly. The smiles and giggles in the morning make every day more special than the next. Fortunately Sasha is a morning person like his mama.

B for Burling

In addition to Sasha's new love of books, he also has a new fondness for textiles which I discovered by accident. I put him down one day on the couch and found him mesmerized by a pillow that I made with a bold pattern. He was cooing and gurgling for about fifteen minutes just staring at the pillow. Hey, who needs baby toys when you have textiles? We spend a lot of time looking at all the various patterns in our home, but this pillow remains his favorite for now. 

This is a great past time while I try to stick my hands in my mouth

Lastly, not only does Sasha have a love of literature and design, but he can't get enough music in his life. He has a fondness for my off key singing and the wonderful music box I received as a shower gift which plays "It's a small world". No matter how hungry, tired or upset he is we can put him on his changing table and play nursery rhymes top 40 and he is in the zone - smiling and cooing. He has not quite taken to the Jackson 5, but we'll get there.

We are thrilled that Sasha is just starting to get into the arts and we plan to continue to keep him engaged and entertained as his curiosity continues to grow. Fortunately we live in New York where we are surrounded by culture.

Milestone Madness!!!

For those of you that are parents you know that paying attention to everyone of your child's milestones occupies, well, lets just say "a good portion of your day". I of course am no different. I suck up all the information I can about how babies develop, whether it be from the Internet, a book, a friend, a grocery store clerk, you name it, I like to hear every one's stories. After many years of teaching early child hood I don't like to compare Sasha to other babies, but rather relish in what he accomplishes in comparison to studies on well...babies. For example, I was reading that babies around three months old start to grab a rattle, and well, sure enough he did. I am all for the element of surprise, well not really, I like to know what's going to happen next - who am I kidding. For lack of a better word, it's just "cool" that Sasha does what the books say. It doesn't make it any less wonderful or take away any of the joy I felt watching my son discover that he could hold a rattle and make sounds with it.

Exploring color and sound

The next exciting thing to happen was...get ready...sigh...sigh again...a first giggle. Yep, at 6:45am Sasha busted out a little giggle. Perhaps it was from my off key singing, or maybe me bicycling his legs or my endless crazy/funny faces I make. Who cares? It was the most adorable sound I ever heard and I look forward to giggle mania which should happen in the next month or so. 

The Giggle Culprit

The last and final milestone of the day was how Sasha holds his adorable hands together in an almost prayer position. Nothing for nothing, my darling boy has very large hands, albeit they are still tiny in comparison to adult hands, but who knows maybe he will be tall? (We could sure use some help reaching high shelves) 

Sasha has been exploring his hands for some time now and this hand holding has resulted in him trying to put his entire little fist in his mouth or perhaps even two fists at a time. Again, as a new parent, I find his new found discovery quite lovely. It was not too long ago that he was flailing his hands and hitting himself on his very own head. Now those same hands grip my fingers with Herculean strength and I smile when I think about the day he will be walking and he holds one hand with me and one with his Papa. Sigh..again...Sorry for the emotional post, but I keep falling more in love with my son every second of every day. He's truly a gift of joy.

These hands will do great things some day.

 

Check out my Crib

We spent fourth of July weekend at my in laws in Connecticut, so of course we needed something for Sasha to sleep in. My in laws bought him an adorable pack 'n play which should hopefully last him a little while until he gets too big. We (really just me) were a little concerned since he's been sleeping next to our bed in a mini co-sleeper (like a bassinet) and we weren't sure how he'd respond to his temporary lodging across the room. Low and behold he slept in it no problem for three nights.

When we got home July 4th evening we decided that he was ready to graduate to his crib in his nursery out of our bedroom. We figured if he slept in the pack 'n play it was about the same distance away from us as his crib since the nursery is right next to our room. I had been fearing sleep training and wanted to put it off until he was three or four months old since I wasn't sure what to expect. However, we realized he was getting more alert by the second and the longer we held it off the harder it would be. 

So we did our routine - bath, pajamas and a feeding. We were ready for tears and possibly a long night to come. Well, we put him in the crib and didn't hear a peep until nine hours later. Aha, perhaps a fluke. Same thing the next night and the next night. We're so proud of our little guy. He's probably thinking "why didn't you put me in here sooner, it's much more comfortable." I do know babies habits can change in an instant, but so far Sasha has proven to be a great baby who transitions very well. More to come as the little guy approaches his three month mark.

Sasha's thinking how wonderful his sleep was in his crib

But...he still loves napping in his swing...best $20 we ever spent

Sasha's comfy crib and all the handmade items I made while pregnant

 

Sasha's new work out

As new parents we want to make sure we are providing our baby with everything he needs from diapers that fit to clothing that feels comfortable to just the right bouncy chair. After careful research and a probably a waste of time on the Internet searching for a new activity for Sasha I finally decided on an activity gym. He already has a swing, bouncy seat and bebe pod chair (more to come on this as his neck gets a wee bit stronger), but I thought he was ready for something new (and so was I). Not to mention that we can not fit anything in our apartment that is not necessary unless he is in that particular stage of development.

I noticed he started to hit the animals hanging from his changing table and tracking their movement with his very alert eyes. Aha, perhaps a gym would be suitable for my little guy - he was ready. For those of you unfamiliar with the "gym", it's basically a soft mat with an array of toys hanging above it for babies to first stare at, then eventually hit with their hands and feet as they grow. I am one of those parents who does not like to just buy stuff for their baby unless I do lots of research after paying close attention to what Sasha may be ready for at his 10.5 weeks in life.

We were fortunate enough to go to a friends house and test out her son's gym. As soon as I put Sasha down he giggled with delight as the tiny stuffed animals danced over his head. He even hit one and got very excited, hence making his mommy know this was her next purchase. 

We finally went to the baby store this weekend while visiting family in Connecticut.  We picked out the perfect activity mat filled with adorable farm animals and a special pillow to help Sasha enjoy tummy time. This is an activity where babies need to spend time on their tummies to strengthen their head and neck muscles. Sasha does not enjoy being put on his belly but this little pillow gave him a little height making it more enjoyable. Yes, my little baby has a work out regime. Since we bought the toy in Connecticut the entire family had great pleasure watching Sasha enjoy his new toy as he laughed with delight so did all of us. 

As parents, we were beside ourselves with joy that we found something that made our baby so happy. Now I get why my mom still gets such joy out of buying me stuff that I love.

Sasha having fun with his new activity mat

Tummy Time!!! Baby training

Look at all these colorful animals