We have tooth

Marcelo's first tooth appeared last week on the bottom right. His fussiness prompted me to do a quick check with my finger and sure enough I could feel the little points of the ridges poking out of his gums. A more thorough visual inspection was fruitless as I did not have the proper strapping system to hold him down and a powerful enough magnifying glass. But after waiting just a few days, I am now able to see the little beauty with my plain old glasses if I'm lucky and able to get him to laugh. Otherwise, the tip of his tongue is constantly covering it up especially if you try to pull his bottom lip down or manipulate him in any way to see it.

I think some more may be following right behind because the fussiness continues. Either that or someone is just developing a little attitude.

(I tried to get a picture of it to absolutely no avail).

7 months

Lots of good things have happened this past month. You learned to sit about 5 days after your 6 month Well Baby checkup where they asked me among many things if you could sit on your own and I had to say no. I swear you were just doing it on purpose. One day it was immediate toppling over, the next, just sitting there like you had secretly been practicing for weeks.

Among other accomplishments, you grew hair. I'm proud to say goodbye to the baby mullet -see, I didn't even need to cut it off, and hello to a full head of chocolate brown baby boy hair. I love boy hair, you don't even have to comb it. You wake up in the morning like the cheery little fellow you are with your messy hair and it looks like the I'm-so-good-looking,-I-look-hot-even-with-messy-hair hair do. However, because you now have no remaining bald spots, I felt obliged to trim off the long comb over hair at the top of your head that was single handedly trying to make up for the bald areas. I felt it gave you personality, but it was time to move on and you are so adorable with or without it that it didn't take me too long to get over my heartache over the loss of your baby hair.

You've started eating baby food, rice cereal and bananas this past week. Once we added the bananas to the mix, you're enthusiasm for food definitely improved. And an added bonus, only one poop in 24 hours! I think that's a record for you. Sadly, your poopies had finally gotten to a point where they didn't really smell like a toxic waste dump explosion in my sinus cavity. Kind of like they were supposed to be all along because you're breastfed. So, I'm bracing myself for the moment where enough baby food has gone through your system and a new, more mature poop smell develops. This is usually the point where the diaper champ becomes utterly ineffective and I'll probably just start throwing the diapers out the window of your second floor room like baseballs in to the neighbors security spotlights that light up your entire room at night. I guess they think if a burglar tries to breach their compound, he will surely be coming from the roof of our house. ... Anyway.

This past month, you've been super into toys. You must have toys at all times. I'm glad I had the forethought to buy a second car seat toy while you still enjoyed the first froggy one with Irish music. Because, suddenly, you bored of it, I attached the other one and magically kept the momentum of happiness going without a hitch. But only after a couple of weeks of the new chime elephant toy whose tags are so so soft and nutritious to suck on, I think you're on to my plan. I'm afraid the resistance movement has begun after all. Yes, the dreaded arching of the back accompanied by high pitched squeal of indignation upon being placed in the car seat. Last Monday, you cried hysterically all the way home from daycare which is a 30 minute drive. I think we all need psychotherapy now, thanks a lot. The minute we got home, I hurriedly took you out of the seat expecting that I would need all my motherly love to calm you and bring you back to a balanced state of mind. But before I even had you out of the seat, you turned that switch off like it was nothing. So the next day, you cried hysterically in the car seat on the way home for 10 minutes and we just ignored you and didn't even feel bad about it.

Health Watch - you've been to the pediatrician's office every week this month: ear infection, Hand Foot Mouth Decease, Fifth's Decease, another potential ear infection and runny nose & coughing throughout. The only other person I know that gets sick as much as you is your daddy. If in ten years from now, the medical community comes to the realization that the current emphasis on the superiority of breast milk to formula in building babies' immune systems, lower incidence of eczema, ear infections, vomiting, etc. etc. is completely unfounded, I'm going to be really pissed off. This is probably the only thing I have done in my life based on faith alone. So far, I can't say I'm seeing the benefits except for less bottles to wash ... and being close to you. I'm just saying, it would be nice to have some degree of validation that this is actually good for you and not possibly giving you eczema, diarrhea and a puny body. Thank god, you don't have to breastfeed for 18 years or something, that would suck (no pun intended).

Sofia can't wait for you to grow up. You're really not much use to her if you cannot stand up to her rough play. I hope you're tough and not too much of a cry baby (I'm sorry I know you're a baby and you cry, but you know what I mean) because I have a feeling you are going to be the subject of many experiments in torture and unless you learn how to bite back like Lolo, you are not going to do well. Sometimes while I'm holding you, she pulls on your limbs like she's pulling on one of her stuffed guys and I explain to her that you're a real boy and that hurts you but I think she still has a ways before she really understands that ... or, maybe she never will. Sorry, I just can't really make any promises there. Maybe it's because you almost never cry when she tries to squeeze the life out of you that she doesn't really understand the effect. She still manages to envoke complete happyness and excitement in you with her crazy antics.

I think you are possibly more flirty now than ever. Your smile makes me so happy or maybe just the fact that you still like me. One of two isn't too bad I guess. When you get older, and not even too much older, the girls are going to be all over you. And although Sofia has plenty of boyfriends, they like her because she is just like them, but you are going to dazzle all the girls with you're dreamy eyes and yummy smile. Just try not to drool so much, ok.

By the way, right now you weigh 15 lbs 10 oz.

Now I can do it

slowly but surely

1, 2, Buckle my shoe; 3, 4 Shut the door ... Fifth's Decease

At the rate that Marcelo is contracting every childhood illness, I'm going to have to get better with these titles.

Marcelo takes another hit with presumed Fifth's Decease and even manages to outdo Sofia as it appears this is not something she's already had (but has now). It's hard to differentiate the red cheeks of Fifth's Decease from his regular eczema caused red cheeks but I knew it wasn't his regular malady this time. Staying home with a-da-da again with a runny nose and cough.

On the good news, Marcelo can now sit unsupported. He still takes a tumble now and then after a few minutes but one day he was falling over immediately and the next he was sitting on his own. Isn't it amazing? I wish I could accomplish things like that.

Head and shoulders, knees and toes ...Hand-Foot-Mouth Decease

Just as Marcelo was finishing up his antibiotic treatment for the ear infection he develops a mild fever. Another trip to the pediatrician's office reveals Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease sans hand and foot. Staying home with "a-da-da" today.

Daycare . . . any ideas on how to publicly shame parents to stop bringing coughing and snotting mobile toddlers to school when they know %@$# well that they're sick. And also, can you take YOUR FREAKING SHOES OFF when you come into the baby room because I think that's what the three signs on the door with pictures of shoes are trying to tell you.

I'm a growing boy... I think

Marcelo did very will at his 6 month Well Baby Checkup. His ear infection seems to be improving despite all the diarrhea the antibiotic is causing. No more fever.

Last week I had a bit of a anti-vaccine freak out for some reason. I think I was running low on sugar and my anxiety over it just went through the roof. But I'm mostly over it now and although I considered post-poning his vaccines until Marcelo's next appointment, his pediatrician made me feel more at ease with doing them now. He got all his vaccinations except the HIB which was unavailable. I was bracing myself for the crying but he actually did really well this time. It took until the second shot for him to notice he was being stabbed with a sharp object and then the 3rd one was done quickly and by the time I picked him up he was done with his brief protest. I think the chubby thighs really helped this time. He had no reactions and didn't even need Tylenol. (Not that I ever gave him Tylenol for his shots before either).

He's falling down the growth chart a bit but somehow I kind of expected him to be this way, "this way" meaning the opposite of Sofia who weighed 18lbs 7oz (95th percentile) at six months. Marcelo weighed 15lbs 1oz which puts him in about the 20th percentile according to his doctor, the 10th percentile according to the nurse, and about the 15th percentile when I look it up. Maybe Dr. Arnold was compensating for him being sick the last week and loosing a bit of weight. Those pesky growth charts. I'd like to find one where you can plug in the measurements and have it chart it and keep track of the whole growth pattern so I can save it. His length was 25 3/4 inches (~25th percentile, maybe 30th). And his head circumference was 43.5cm (50th percentile). At least his head is not suffering.

They also asked me about his developmental milestones. There were a lot of no's, "no, he can't do that yet", but I think they might have either been looking at the wrong list or his puny-body/big-head just isn't allowing him to do triple back flips off a diving board yet. But, did I mention he's very good a scratching himself anywhere on his body and he can fart very loudly. Does that count for something?

6 months

Well you're now 1/2 a year old. Why does this time go so much faster than all the months I had to carry you around in my tummy?


This past month has been pretty good for you. Although your eczema has not gone away, your skin has improved greatly with the steroid treatment. I just hope we won't have to keep using it too much longer. It's so nice to see your cute little face again and to be able to cuddle cheek to cheek. We have to be very vigilant about treating each little spot and constantly apply lotion and petroleum jelly on them. Despite the aesthetic improvements, you continue scratching and gauging yourself all over especially your head and when you don’t have clothes on, your tummy and thighs. Maybe as you get older you are more aware of the discomfort and the itching. We’ve tried some calming creams but the thing you like the most after scratching yourself violently is having me massage your head with lotion. I can tell it brings instant relief.

Your hair is starting to come in more now and you don’t look as bald. You still have a few really long strands at the top of your head I usually use to the comb over. I’ve considered chopping it off, but you look so cute even if it is with the comb over hair do. You seem to be following the same growth pattern to Sofia, OK maybe not quite the same; she was probably a lot chunkier than you. But you have the same short, chubby, midget thighs she had at this age that are totally unproportional to the rest of your body. You really have to look at them for a while to try to make sense of how small and wide they are. You also have tiny little feet.


You’ve started the taste testing phase, sampling everything you get in your hands with your mouth. I think you have pretty good dexterity with your hands for your age. After all, you manage to scratch yourself anywhere you want on your big head. You scoop things up, turn them side to side to examine them carefully and put them in your mouth. You can even pass things from one hand to the other. You also like to bounce up and down on your feet when I hold you under the arms.


In the last few days, you’ve started babbling more, saying “a-da-da” over and over. Daddy is very pleased. You’re also more vocal about expressing displeasure with a combination of squealing, screaming, grunting, and crying.


We tried to get you started on baby foods although you haven’t shown too much indication that you want to eat. At least nothing obvious like Sofia. I think at this point Sofia pretty much snatched a chicken thigh away from me and started eating it. You didn’t seem to mind the rice cereal, but you didn’t really have much of a reaction to it at all. I think you swallowed some of it but it was almost accidental. We tried it a couple more times but it was just hard getting you to pay attention to the fact that I was putting a spoon in your mouth while Sofia was clowning around you and making noise. You were far more interested in her than the rice cereal. Why would you rather eat my hair than rice cereal? I don’t know, maybe we’ll hold off a bit longer.

We got you down to five feeding a day now that you are waking up later for your first feeding around 6am. You still wake up once a night any time between 2 and 5am but Daddy just put’s you back to sleep. This moderate improvement has enabled us to put you in your own room for overnight sleeping and you seem to be doing pretty well in there. You like to sleep with your head touching something. You'll often wiggle yourself backward until you make contact. I miss you.

Last Saturday, you got to be in the St Patrick’s Day parade. When you finally woke up and we uncovered you, you were so interested in everything there was to look at around you. You even forgot it was time to eat.



As I write this, you are sitting in your rocking chair. We moved the back up so you can sit more upright. You’ve been kicking the hanging toys, grabbing at them and struggling to get them off the velcro. You grab your foot and stick in your mouth. But after a while, you get bored and prefer me holding you. We’re home from school/work today because you came down with a fever last night. After taking you in to the pediatrician this morning (you weighed 15lbs 3oz), they confirmed you have an ear infection. I noticed you’ve been a little more fussy at times the last couple of days. You took your antibiotic like it was some kind of treat but then had a big diarrhea a little while later so I don’t know if any stayed in your system. Hopefully you start feeling better soon. You’re such a happy little guy but you don’t hold back when you don’t feel good. Unlike Sofia who seemed not to notice when she was sick, it’s clear when you don’t feel good.