Peter Gwydion

Last weekend, we went to Canada to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa’s fiftieth wedding anniversary!

Obviously, this after we told him we were going to see Grandma and Grandpa, but is before the car trip.

Peter Gwydion is still not even a little bit of a fan of the car.  He screams blue murder (well, purple murder, because that’s what color his face has been known to turn.).  It puts us into a really difficult situation, since a key part of our parenting is not letting Gwyn “cry it out.”  It’s important to us to honor what he tells us, to respect him and his wishes the way we want him to respect us as he gets older.  Family, though, is really important to Kevin and me.  So, I sit in back with Gwyn to sing songs and play games- we let Gwyn know that we love his mad side, too, and that he’s not alone when he cries.  Right now, that seems to be the best we can do, short of just not taking car trips anywhere.  With our closest family members three and a half hours away, though, that’s not the ideal solution, either.  Anyway, if your baby falls asleep in the car, you can trust that I’m jealous of you right now.

Once we get where we’re going, though, everything is usually pretty happy:

Snuggles from Grandma

Mr. Center of Attention

Grandma, cameras, and his crazy rattle that's made of cornstarch resin. Life's pretty good in this picture.

Note Gwyn's left hand, and Grandpa's futile efforts to minimize damage to his beard.

His intense concentration in this picture absolutely cracks me up.

Aww, look, he's so sweet and innocent...

...until he tries to pull your beard off!

Getting some cuddles from Nana Charlotte

Tired baby with Momma at the end of the party.

The next car trip we’re tackling is the one across Pennsylvania and then down to DC for American Thanksgiving.  If you’ve got any good car tips for babies, now’s the time to share!

Here at the Baker-Ewert household, September has flown by.  Suddenly autumn is here.  The leaves are changing outside, we’re wearing more layers inside, and Peter Gwydion is a year old!  Here is a whirlwind tour of the major highlights of our September 2009:

Birthday Boy!

Peter’s first birthday was September 18!  We celebrated that weekend with cupcakes, family and friends.  Gwyn immediately went to sleep - I think being the Guest of Honor was a bit much pressure for him.

Cupcakes have nothing over the flavor of nursie milk, apparently…

He also got a lovely long visit (and walk!) with Aunt Lori, Mimi and Grandma afterwards, which he liked quite a lot.

Being pushed by Aunt Lori

Walking with Aunt Lori, Mimi and Grandma

The Outdoorsman in his natural environment (and new birthday hat, which we LOVE).

Snuggles with Mimi

Developmental Clinic visit and Early Intervention

The Monday after Peter’s birthday, Momma and Peter made the trip to Du Bois to visit the Developmental Clinic.  It was a long, tearful journey for both of us.  Peter has maintained his firm anti-car stance, which makes an hour and a half trip seem much, much longer.  The visit to the clinic itself was frankly disappointing.  After a much shorter evaluation than we were expecting, their diagnosis was that Peter showed significant developmental delay, which seemed incorrect and was really upsetting!  We were referred to the Early Intervention program, whose services we had actually declined when we first came home with Peter.  No one at the clinic, though, could tell me exactly what Early Intervention would do when we contacted them (except that they’d do another evaluation - wow, sounds helpful!).  They did tell us that Peter would definitely be admitted to the program because he was an early bird, and in their assessment Early Intervention doesn’t adjust his age for his prematurity.  Typically, in an evaluation of a premature baby’s development, you have their “chronological age,” which is calculated from their actual birthday (September 18) and “gestational age,” calculated from their due date (December 13).  Obviously, you wouldn’t expect a nine month old to be doing the same things that you would from a baby who is a year old, so it’s  useful to remember that developmentally Peter is nine months old, although the calendar says he’s a year.  We know.  It’s  confusing.  What was more confusing was what would be useful about Early Intervention, if they weren’t going to make this adjustment - without it, he is guaranteed to show “delay.”

After some consultation between Daddy and Momma, we decided a phone call couldn’t hurt to get some information about Early Intervention in their own words.  Surprisingly, though, given our expectations from the lack of information at the Clinic, the phone call was very helpful!  The program is very family centered - they are as involved, or not involved, as you want them to be.  We learned that the reason Early Intervention doesn’t adjust their expectations for prematurity is because the entire purpose of the program is to get premature babies’ development caught up to their chronological age faster.  During an evaluation of his skills, though, parents are active participants, and let know where his development is at.  So, although he’s a year old, knowing that his development is on track for his adjusted age is reassuring for us and shows there’s no problem.  Knowing a few new games to play, though, that will help his chronological age be the same as his gestational age faster certainly won’t hurt!

Since the phone call went well, we scheduled a meeting with a representative of Early Intervention.  During the meeting, which happened at home, we filled out a preliminary questionnaire about Peter’s current state of development and found that he is perfect for his gestational age.  While I take some issue with the idea of quantifying development in a checklist and then scoring it, his “score” landed him squarely between eight months and a year developmentally, which is perfect (and a far cry from the six months that we were told at the Clinic in Du Bois).  Since EI services are free and low-pressure, though, we are continuing on with them to help Peter get caught up to his chronological age faster.  Nothing wrong with giving our boy a bit of a head start - although lately he’s showing us that he really doesn’t need it (turn your volume down, because the first noise is a rather high-pitched Mommy voice):

Yeah.  He can crawl all over the house now, and loves to walk while holding Mom or Dad’s hands.  He also  looks for hidden objects, puts everything in his mouth, and bangs toys on the table.  He’s experimenting with lots of noises, although “mama” is still the favorite.  Developmental delays, my tuckus.

Healing and moving forward (but not “moving on”)

We are still in the middle of doing lots of healing and processing.  While we were in Du Bois, Gwyn and I went to visit the NICU.  It’s so nice to see our friends there, but this visit was obviously imbued with special significance.  Kim and Laurie - the nurses who were there when Gwyn was born - were there for a snuggle, and Dr. Hassan even gave us a small present (because Peter is obviously his favorite baby he’s ever taken care of…I don’t know how he’d feel about me saying that, though..).  There is something inherently comforting about being with the people who know as well as I do the path that we walked to get where we are today.  We don’t need to say anything about how small he was, or how incredible he is, because I know they see him through the same eyes that I do.  I’m sure the image of the two pound twenty-eight-weeker is as strong in their minds as it is in mine, and I know they’re as proud of him as I am.  It’s an amazing thing to share.

As we were leaving, we ran into a couple who was coming in to see their daughters.  Gwyn smiled at them, and I told them a little about his birth and our journey through the NICU.  I hope it helped them to know that things would work out the way it would help me a year ago to meet babies who were NICU veterans.  On the way home, while I thought how much he’s been through, I cried quite a bit.  The NICU and our experience there is going to continue to be a huge part of our lives for years to come, and that’s okay.  I just hope they continue to be okay with us visiting.

We’ve taken some big steps into the wonderful world of solid foods!

As many of you know, we started out with thickened feeds when we came home due to issues with reflux.  Lots of premature babies have reflux (isn’t it funny that I automatically say “reflux” instead of “heartburn?”  It’s the same thing!).  Their tiny bellies aren’t big enough to hold in their food, and of course the food needs to stay in to help them grow.  One of the treatments for reflux in a preemie is to thicken their bottles with rice cereal, so that it’s got a better fighting chance of staying in there.  It also supplies some extra calories, which is a plus when baby weighs about three pounds!

Since December, though, Gwyn’s been nursing exclusively, which meant no more thickened bottles.  We had some issues with spitting up, but noticed strongly that his guts seemed to be working better!  Since then, we’ve learned a lot about solid foods, and that oftentimes grains can be difficult to digest (although rice is usually the best bet). Some theories are also that starting off on the easiest to digest foods and slowly working to more complex ones can lead to less allergies in later life. So, instead of re-starting him on rice cereal, we opted for fruit - specifically, an avocado-pear concoction that we made up.  Avocados are packed with great nutrients for Sweet Pea - tons of calories, yummy fats, iron, potassium, and, seriously, who WOULDN’T want to eat a blended avocado-pear-sauce?  I’m thinking of putting some on ice cream.

I’m also really proud that he has been exclusively breast fed (with formula boosting the caloric content for a while) until he was seven months adjusted and ten months calendar, when he began to give us signs he was ready for food.  Instead of watching a calendar, we realized he was able to sit on his own, that he was mouthing everything that he could, and that when we did let him try some food it got swallowed!  In a society where most women breast feed for a matter of weeks if not days, I feel like I deserve to pat myself on the back for continuing nursing and (among other benefits) helping to protect Gwyn against food allergies!  Breastmilk contains so many amazing properties, one of which is a special antibody that coats the intestines, helping them to not see food as a foreign body that needs to be attacked (can you tell I’ve been doing my La Leche League reading?).  As adults, we make our own supply of this antibody, called immunoglobulin A.  Infants, though, get a big supply of it from momma milk!  IgA’s important role in preventing or lessening the impact of food allergies is one of the many reasons that our motto is “food is for fun until he’s one.”  Even though he’s getting a few important calories and nutrients from what he eats, the lion’s share of his nutrients are still coming from nursie milk.

He needs lots of nutrients ’cause he’s a growing machine.  I’m hungry all the time.

Seriously, I ate three Bavarian cream donuts yesterday, and they were totally delicious.

But, since I’m sure everyone but the most die-hard lactivists (hi guys!) who read our blog are tired of nursing pictures, here’s a few of one of our recent forays into food:

We went to the alpaca farm today with Emily and Scarlett.  There’s lots of gorgeous pictures to share, but I especially wanted to show these off:

He’s still pretty wobbly and is mostly a Baby Baryshnikov on his tiptoes, but Gwyn’s doing a lot of standing these days!  This was his first time pulling up on something that wasn’t Momma or Daddy’s hands.  Mostly, I wanted to see if he’d do it.  Turns out he can and will, and since he just turned seven months adjusted yesterday, that means he’s right on track developmentally.

Here’s a few more, some with Emily’s beautiful daughter, Scarlett:

We also weighed him on the alpaca scale - while we didn’t take any pictures, he clocked in at 16.7 pounds.  We probably should have taken a picture just so everyone would believe us.  It’s more than eight times his birthweight.  He’s huge!  Holding him draped across my chest with his head resting on my shoulder is a pretty far cry from the tiny two pound baby we cradled in our hands, and it feels surprisingly bittersweet.  I never thought there’d be things about the NICU that I’d miss, but remember his slender little hands?  They are now chubby and dimpled, like the rest of him.

Most of all, looking at how much he’s grown makes me feel so proud of Gwyn for the hard work he’s done, and I hope he’s enjoying all the playing and learning that his days are filled with.  He’s more than earned it.

We got a surprise in the mail - new clothes from Great Auntie Liss!  This resulted in an immediate fashion show, which Peter was (surprisingly) keen on.  Even getting dressed for it was no big deal, which is the really surprising part.  Typically, he’s quite the baby nudist.  The past few days, we’ve discovered that he really loves the camera.  It’s clear that the camera loves him back.

We think this one is his first headshot.  Apparently the actor gene is hereditary.

He can use that headshot, along with this one, on his application for “Baby Quarterly.”

We also got to spend some time outside today to make some Vitamin D and soak up some much needed sun!  Gwyn’s very interested in the cars driving by, and had a great time crinkling a leaf while saying “mamamama,” his new description for, well, everything.  He also was very interested in the neighbors, and treated them to a long, excited greeting when they came to the fence to say hello!

Please note all the drool.  Teeth still haven’t made an appearance, and the drool faucet is on at full blast these days.

Pete-ARRRRR.  Avast!

Trying out the double squint, here.

Pretty sure a car was driving by.

Seriously.  Could he be working that camera any more?  I’m worried that I may have to get him an agent.

Here are the links for full size.  Enjoy!

Happy Canada Day (on July 1) and Fourth of July (on, uh, July 4)!  We didn’t get to see any fireworks displays this year, since Peter was asserting his independence and insisting we come home early.  I think the bright colors of tie-dye capture the spirit of the thing, though, and so thanks to Momma Emily (and to Scarlett for growing out of it), we had just the thing to dress him in!

…to the very best one in the world (okay, we’re a bit biased)! Peter is lucky to have such a patient, kind Daddy whose arms never tire of hiking Mr. Fifteen-Pounds-Six-Ounces around the house and whose voice never tires of singing silly songs.  Mommy is lucky to have a supportive partner who makes it possible for her to stay at home, who lets her sleep in EVERY SINGLE MORNING (oh, yes, you read that right!), who knows how much work making milk is, and who is willing to switch silly songs when she says one more verse of the current one might kill her.

This isn’t Kevin’s first Father’s Day, since we knew I was pregnant last June, but it’s the first one that Peter helped so actively with the present.

happy father’s day - 2009

Finally home!  Durham was lovely, but it is wonderful to be back in our little house.

With all of the traveling we’ve been doing lately, along with still exclusively breastfeeding, Momma’s been pretty busy, and time to update has been scarce…so Peter Gwyn has taken it upon himself to update.  He’s quite the helpful lad.

Right, so first I log in…”Peter_the_Pants_Punisher_2008.”  Is my password “toostinkingcute” or “pumpkinpie?”  Can’t remember…

Excellent.  I can has college now?

Environmentally, Peter is an inspiration to us all in his food choices:  you can’t get much more sustainable or local than Momma’s milk!  We’re trying to follow his lead as much as possible, and got to visit the Durham Farmer’s Market this Saturday with our friends Ed and Jeff (who is behind his awesome iPhone camera.).  Peter took it all in from his cozy Maya Wrap, which he’s started to enjoy riding in facing outward while chewing on it and reaching for pretty much everything.  I guess that’s to be expected when you’re eight months old (although five adjusted)!

In this shot, I’m trying to get it far enough from his face that we can get a clear view of him…my attempts are largely futile.  He is wayyyy into gnawing on his carriers.

The pool wasn’t as impressive to me as Mom & Dad thought it might be - I’m still much more a fan of splashing in a nice, warm bathtub!  Still, aren’t my swimming trunks the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?