More Local Field Trips

As I've mentioned before having a baby in New York is wonderful. There are so many things to do that are just a subway or a walk away. I look forward to when Sasha is older and we can hit all the museums and explore the city. For now we mostly keep local in Brooklyn. 

A few weekends ago we decided it would be nice to go to the beach for a walk. We thought Sasha would enjoy looking at the ocean, little did we need the ocean would put him to sleep in seconds. We picked up a couple sandwiches and then we got on the subway en route to Brighton Beach. Sasha really likes the subway and now he just flat out stares at people. So many colors and patterns on the train, it's like ongoing entertainment at every stop. 


Now please don't make fun of how we have our child covered at the beach. If you haven't noticed both my husband and son are a bit on the fair side so I need to make sure they are both not exposed at all to the sun.

Below is Sasha after a long walk on the beach. He had a nice snooze and Mommy and Daddy got to catch up with some adult conversation.

Next up for a local field trip was the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a mere 25 minute from our house. On a random Tuesday, which is also the free admission day, we took a nice walk to the gardens. As usual when I put Sasha in the carrier he fell asleep, but he did wake up towards the end to take in the beautiful trees and flowers. He really likes when we walk on the outside of the park since he loves looking and listening to all the cars. I know he's excited when he says "oh oh ewe ewe" and bobs his head from left to right. 

I know I've said this before but we are so lucky to have access to so many great activities just outside our door. We can't wait until it's apple orchard and pumpkin picking season, for this we will need to explore outside the neighborhood. Yes, I have fall on my mind.
 

Mr. Rock and Roll

For about a couple weeks now Sasha has been rolling from his back to his front. This is fairly common for babies his age and considered a gross motor development and a precursor to crawling. Now when babies, at least ours, learn a new skill they like to practice. Apparently our darling son is an overachiever since not only does he like to practice during the day, but also at times during the wee hours when he should be counting sheep. 

Rolling is a new found hobby for Sasha, not quite as popular as sucking his hands, but pretty darn close. I've read that babies like to practice new things that they've learned in their sleep, and why should our little guy be any different. We had a few nights where Sasha woke up crying since he ended up on his tummy and wasn't quite sure what to do. For now he can't roll from front to back only back to front. 

At Sasha's four month check up (he's now 25.4inches and 13.5lbs) last week our pediatrician told us we should flip him on his back and leave his room immediately. Well, that may work for other babies but our little guy is well, how do I say this, but sorta obsessed with rolling. 

On the few nights Sasha woke up here's how it went down. Mommy places Sasha on his back to start the night, Sasha ends up on belly, Sasha cries, Mommy quickly puts Sasha on his back, Sasha rolls onto his belly, Sasha cries, Mommy quickly puts Sasha on his back, Sasha rolls onto his belly, Sasha cries....you get where I'm going with this. After about 20 minutes Mommy won or the little guy exhausted himself. 

Below is some live footage from an attempt at nap time of how this goes down. Please note that Sasha's sheets are not stained and I am not a bad mother. I had just put new sheets on his bed and he drooled all over them while, well, rockin' and rollin'. 

Taking a little break before he gets to his tummy

Success

Repeat (please note the crying portion was eliminated)

Alas, on his tummy again...and so on and so on....

Apparently barrel rolling is next which means a full roll from back to tummy to back. We can't wait for that!

Circuit Training

Having not had a 4 month old baby before I was not privy to the fact they they need to work out. Not the rigorous work outs that us crazy adults do, but they too need to strengthen bones and work on their fine and gross motor skills. In order to develop tiny little muscles, Sasha does his daily circuit training. Don't worry, it's all fun and we are seeing amazing results. 

We usually do some tummy time in the morning since Sasha was on his back all night. He has just recently started to play with toys while lying on his tummy, before he would just look around. This new development occurred at about the same time he started rolling from his back to his tummy. All of a sudden every time I lay him on his back he's on his tummy squirming around. He is really working his upper body and trying to tone up for I suspect sitting up in a couple months and then oh no crawling. Can someone say baby proofing? Yikes.

Next up on the circuit we need to work the fine motor and eye hand coordination. What better way to do than to sit in a bouncy chair. In between sucking on his right thumb, his left thumb, his right hand, his left hand and all hands at once he does love to play with toys. 

Our third activity is working on sitting, which not only strengthens Sasha's back but gives him an exciting new perspective of his world. He loves to play with toys on the tray but today he just loved looking at the design on the tray which is why I couldn't get a full frontal shot. Just a few days ago Sasha wasn't able to sit up like he did today, he leaned to the right or left. It's amazing how were seeing the fruits of his labor. Go Sasha!

So you must be wondering how we ended our rigorous circuit training? Well, by stretching of course. And what better way to stretch than to find you adorable toes. Get that guy a Gatorade. 

Call me a first time mom

As you've read in other posts Sasha has been working very hard at getting both fists in his mouth.  He's nearly mastered sucking his thumb, but there is quite a bit of his hands poking in eyes until he gets his tiny thumb in his tiny mouth, but it does eventually get there. 

As a result of working towards his goal of thumb sucking Sasha has developed a tiny rash under his chin and his eyes tend to get red from all the poking he does to himself. We try hard to keep his nails short so he won't scratch his eyes, but as you can guess we have no control what he does with those busy hands. 


This morning I noticed his right eye had a rash around it and it was nearly shut and tearing. I watched it for a couple hours then finally decided to call the doctor. Once I described Sasha's eye they said to come on in to see the doctor. So I very calmly put Sasha in the carrier hoping it was nothing serious. I was more worried that I would have to put drops in his eyes, I already fear taking his temperature in his tiny tush. If you haven't guessed I'm a little squeamish when it comes to the first aid treatment.

I had a feeling it was nothing too serious since the second we got outside he was investigating the neighborhood as usual and happy as well, a baby. Once at the doctor's office his eye suspiciously did not seem that red. When I put him on the examination table he seemed to think this was very fun as he rolled back and forth making the paper on the exam table crinkle. The doctor looked in his ear and then put a wood tongue depressor on Sasha's tongue. Sasha seemed to find this whole visit quite amusing and couldn't stop smiling at the doctor.

See, his right eye does look red, right?

So the verdict was that he's perfectly fine and I should just keep an eye (ha, no pun intended) on it for yellow stuff or swelling. As I walked home I called Ari and we discussed our babies almost first non scheduled doctor appointment. I had that first time mom feeling that perhaps I overreacted, but in all truth what's the cost of a measly co-pay to make sure your precious baby is okay. It made me feel lucky that we have such a healthy baby and can get confirmation from a doctor within minutes. I generally dis the U.S. health care system, but in this particular case I was thrilled to hear everything is okay and I didn't have to put drops in Sasha's eyes...whew.

Our happy and healthy Sasha

A Special Morning with Sasha

Of course every moment with Sasha is special, but today was a particularly special day. What was supposed to be a rainy stormy day turned into a sunny not too hot beautiful day. So, after our usual morning routine of singing and books I decided to take Sasha to the Central Library at Grand Army Plaza about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. 

The library offers a weekly free program for children under five years old. RIF (Reading is Fun) sponsors the program which consists of a librarian reading age appropriate books and singing nursery rhymes in a sweet little kid friendly space. I was very excited for Sasha's first time at the library and he seemed equally excited. When the librarian sang "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" he was all smiles since this is one of our daily songs. 

Here we are outside the library

As we made our way back into the park I walked under the trees in the shadiest spot I could find. Sasha loves to look up at the shadows and listen to the sounds of the park. When I carry him in the Bjorn I call him the "The Little Yenta", since all he does is poke his little head out and look at everything all around him. We may not share the same eye or hair color, but observing everything around him he definitely gets from his mama.

Walking in the park usually soothes him to sleep. Since he was sleeping I decided to walk to the Wednesday farmers market at Bartel-Pritchard Square. Sasha likes to look at all the vegetables and fruit and we talk about how in not too long we will let him start to sample some this wonderful food in the pureed version of course.

Me and Sasha at the Farmer's Market

We're so lucky to live in such a great place where we have culture, parks and locally grown food all within a few blocks of our home. It's so wonderful to explore Brooklyn with Sasha and look at everything through his gentle inquisitive eyes. I look forward to exposing him to New York City as he (and I) continue to grow.