My Kid is So Smart!

Sure, that's what every parent says, but I'm serious, my kid is really smart. In reality, we are always comparing our children to others around them. Daycare has some advantages in this field as there are always kids below and above his age level that I can compare him to. For instance, he was a late walker - kinda. I felt that he should have been walking by 12 months but my boy had other plans. You see in order for him to move up from the baby room to the toddler room he had to be able to walk. You can imagine my surprise when they moved up a girl who not only wasn't walking but was two weeks YOUNGER than Elliot. Sure, she crawled sooner and she was much beefier than my kid, but she wasn't walking either. So, fast forward to a couple weeks ago when Elliot was spending all of his time in the toddler room, even though he wasn't walking yet. But apparently, watching the other kids walk was enough for him because my kid is walking and little girl in his class still isn't! That's only one of his many brilliance's - he's a fast learner. He's gone from taking two to three steps at a time, to walking from the kitchen to the living room (at least 30 steps) to practically running tonight!

Brilliance number 2 of about a gazillion - my kid talks like you wouldn't believe! He's always been vocal, loved to make noises. About 4 months ago he started saying something that resembled "tickle tickle". That has progressed to words, mini sentences, and even repeated recognition of items instead of just repeating. Take this weekend for instance - he points to the dog and says clearly "puppy". He picks up a ball and not only says "ball" but "my ball". He knows mama and dada. Brilliantly, the kid says "caca" when he's pooped (the Spanish word for poop). He says "baby" in reference to himself, especially when he's upset about something. When he's excited or proud, he can be heard saying, "I did it". He talks constantly!! I just wish most of the time he made sense. My kid is so cool.

Did I mention he's brilliant?? Apparently they've been working on body parts in daycare. This has been a focus for Sam and I as well. I really hope that I can get the following on video, but as of now, you'll just have to take my word for it. When asked where his "belly" is, he takes one or both hands and pats his belly. When asked where his "nose" is, he promptly sticks a finger up his nose - not the most hygienic but he knows where his nose is. When asked where his "head" is, he smacks himself on the head repeatedly. The other day when asked where his "foot" was, he did two things. First, he took off his sock and second, he put said foot in his mouth. After meals when we go to clean him up, we ask for his hands, and he will give us one but not always the other.

So feel free to compare all of my kid's brilliance to yours - hands down, mine will always win. (No bias here!)

We have a Walker

Last Saturday Elliot surprised us by getting from a sitting position to a standing position, followed by taking a couple of steps before falling into the arms of myself and/or Sam. Each day he has progressed to taking a few more steps. Now, for me, the walking is really exciting. It means that we have more opportunities to play outside and he doesn't always have to be carried, won't necessarily be just sitting around in the dirt and can really begin to experience more of what the world has to offer.

Sam, on the other hand, is scared to death that he has started walking. Sam sees more falls in Elliot's future, a child that is much harder to wrangle and keep still as well as the fact that this is something that he can't unlearn. I have tried my best not to focus on the falls - he's a little boy, they're bound to fall. Besides, scars build character.

What I wasn't prepared for was the confidence that comes along with walking. This confidence has translated into climbing. Climbing on us, climbing on the couch, climbing on his walking toys, climbing over the step-stool. Last night, Sam caught him climbing his dragon walker, standing on the walker's head (about 2 feet at least from the ground) and attempting to climb INTO his pack n play. His teachers at school reported catching him climb to the top of his chair and stand on a tray used for food. Oy, this little boy is gonna give me a heart attack!

So, as much as I look forward to the positives of Elliot walking, I can definitely see Sam's side of things. I plan to try not to be a hovering mom, letting him fall so that he can learn. Unfortunately, I foresee stitches in our future...

Seeing if I can stick to blogging!

A lot has changed since the last post of this blog. My pregnancy went as well as could have been expected. I had gestational diabetes which I managed beautifully and our amazing Elliot Simon Levine was born on Monday, November 22, 2010 at 11:22 am, weighing in at 8 lbs, 4 oz and 21 inches long. Not too bad for our 38 w 1 d baby boy. Elliot had a few complications after birth as he was unable to get rid of the fluid in his lungs. I was unable to see him for about 5-7 hours. My amazing husband stayed by his side in the nursery and my mom stayed by mine as I began to recover from my planned c-section. I had a planned c-section because we were told that Elliot would be well over 10 pounds given that his head was measuring about the size of a 43 week old fetus. His head never descended and as it turns out, this was the best decision for us. My pubic bone seemed to have fused on top of itself, which would have never allowed me to have a natural birth.

I did so great in recovery and was walking less than 12 hours later. So after only two nights in the hospital they sent us home. We came home the day before Thanksgiving, which was such a relief. I really didn't want us to spend our first Thanksgiving as a family in a hospital room.

The day after Thanksgiving, we had an appointment with the pediatrician to make sure that Elliot was doing well. Unfortunately, we were told that he had jaundice and that he was losing weight. They gave me two days to try to feed him more, which entailed waking him every two hours and putting him in the sun for a bit every day. Two days later, he was getting better, but not fast enough. My heart broke when I was told to supplement with formula at least 1-2 ounces every day until we saw the doctor at the two week appointment.

It's funny, weight gain has always been an issue for Elliot - apparently he didn't get that from me. I'm a fantastic weight gainer! Try as I might, my milk supply was low. I ate tons of oatmeal, took lots of Fenugreek and my supply was "ok". I'll tell you, breastfeeding my son may have been the most stressful thing that I have ever done in my life and although at times I felt like a failure and that I wanted to quit, I successfully nursed him for 13 months!!

So, we've hit many many milestones over the last almost two years since I started this blog. We have an amazing family of three now and are even beginning to talk about baby #2 (not this year!!). Elliot is the light of my life and I couldn't imagine life without him. My goal is to try to utilize this little slice of cyberspace to keep an ongoing journal of my thoughts regarding my growing child. I'm sure I'll also include a number of pictures/videos/milestones that my son is achieving.

Looking forward to continuing to share Levine Family News!!