Harmon had rice cereal for the first time last night! At his four-month appointment on Friday, we anxiously were awaiting the go ahead from the doctor. He’s been inhaling seven-to-eight ounce bottles at almost every feeding and still seems hungry afterwards, so we were happy to move forward with the cereal—at least for his sake. For us, it was hard. Kevin keeps saying Harmon will be eating a steak next week! And, last night, in Babies R Us, there was a brand new baby boy who was so sweet and it seemed like just seconds ago, Harmon was that small. Small he isn’t, though. At his appointment, he weighed in at 16 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 27-3/8 inches long! All this stuff got me thinking about all his firsts. Granted there are lots more to come but I wanted to document some here, while I’m thinking about it!
Lifting the head:
Since Harmon was so big when he was born, he was lifting his head while we were still in the hospital. I remember being in the bed and looking at Kevin holding Harmon and seeing him using that big strong neck!
Rolling over:
This one is kind of odd! On Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005, Kevin and I were watching the Miami-Michigan basketball game and Harmon was sleeping on his belly on the couch with me. I got too distracted enjoying my delicious Starbucks lite mocha frappuccino and barely noticed Harmon rolling to his left and almost off the couch. Luckily, I reacted quickly and caught him! The next day, Harmon was lying on his belly in our bed, parallel to Kevin and awaiting his bottle. When I came in from the kitchen, he had rolled to the right and did some additional moving. He now was perpendicular to Kevin! Finally, the real “first” rollover came on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006. Right after his bath, I was getting him dressed and he rolled to the right, from belly to back. Since then, he’s continued to roll belly to back and is working on back to belly!
Smiling:
The first “real” smile, not related to a bodily function, came Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005. In fact, it came AFTER a diaper change! Kevin and I were just playing with him on our bed and he began to smile. It was so wonderful—and a great payoff after those first five weeks—to finally see a real smile! We can’t get enough of it!
Sleeping through the night:
We are SO lucky with this first as it occurred at only seven weeks! Since I wanted to extend my leave past the paid eight weeks, Kevin and I stockpiled our vacation time. Kevin decided to use five weeks of his time between Nov. 12 and the end of the year. As his time off was coming to an end and the first day back at work (Jan. 3) was looming, we began to wonder how Harmon would do with the sleeping thing. Well, we put him to bed the night of Jan. 2 and he’s slept through the night ever since! I thought it was just to give Kevin a break, but he continues to be a great sleeper. Every once in a while, he’ll wake up around 5:30 a.m. but that’s it. He even adjusted to his crib quickly and, more importantly, putting him to bed has become one of the easier things to do!
OK, so that’s all the BIG firsts so far. Here are some other smaller milestones:
First bath (Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005): We used the infant tub that goes in the bathtub and it was a disaster. He cried FOREVER! After a few more attempts at this, my Mom bathed him in the sink when she was visiting one day (Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005) and he was a little angel! Turns out he likes this method much better so we continue to use it. Pretty soon, though, he’ll be too big for the kitchen sink!
First time out sans Harmon (Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005): Harmon was a week old and Kevin and I just had to go see Michigan lose to Ohio State AGAIN in football! Although he was in great hands (my Mom, Dad and sister, Stacey, were fawning over him at our house), I still wondered why I left him. The game wasn’t worth it and I was still way sore from the c-section. Maybe a win would have made me feel a little different! Our next time without Harmon was a yummy dinner at P.F. Chang’s for our annivesary (Dec. 2). Not only did Kevin’s parents watch Harmon (they were in town for their first visit with the little guy), they treated us for dinner, too!
First day out (Monday, Nov. 21, 2005): On Harmon’s first, non-doctor-related trip out of the house, we went Christmas shopping at Briarwood Mall. We got a few things done but kept looking at him like he was a ticking time bomb! We fed him and changed him while we were out (the first time for that, too) and even ventured to Qdoba for some quesadillas!
First “real” restaurant meal (Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005): Harmon and I went to visit Kevin at work and, after seeing Kevin’s co-workers, we had a great lunch at the Cottage Inn. Although we made it a quick lunch (God forbid Harmon should wake up), we thought it was great to have our first, real sit-down meal with him at the same restaurant we had our rehearsal dinner! After that lunch, we got more used to taking him to restaurants and had visits to Border Cantina on Dec. 14, Pizza House on Dec. 23 and 31 and El Taco Loco on Dec. 30.
First night in the crib (Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006): Although I thought this would happen our first night home, it turns out I’m a sucker for Harmon! At eight weeks, we put him to bed in his crib and he slept like a little lamb. Guess that Sealy mattress is more comfortable than the Pack ‘n Play!
And, for good measure, here are his monthly stats:
Friday, March 17, 2006 (four-month appointment)
16 pounds, 11 ounces and 27-3/8 inches
Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006 (two-month appointment)
13 pounds, 13 ounces and 24 ¼ inches
Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005 (one-month appointment)
11 pounds, 9 ounces and 23 inches
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005 (birth weight)
9 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches
