Mother of the Year (and 6 Months)

Just kidding. I am officially withdrawing from any "Mother of the Year" contest, after causing Graham to break his leg. Two days ago I slipped on our evil, narrow stairs when I was carrying him. I landed on my butt and broke his fall, but he screamed like crazy for a long time. I called our pediatrician's office, and the nurse had me answer a couple questions to be sure he didn't suffer a concussion, but that was it. I was still worried because he cried when I laid him down, and he wouldn't roll over or put weight on his legs. Eventually I noticed that his left leg seemed sensitive to him. So....yesterday morning I called the nurse back, and she suggested Graham go in for a check-up (she probably figured if we didn't do this, I would continue to call her all day). This is where things turned worse. The doctor agreed that his left leg wasn't moving like his right, and she sent us to the lab for x-rays. I had to hold down the hungry, tired, crying baby as they took several pictures. Then we went back to the doctor to talk about the results: he had a small buckle fracture on his left femur (just above the knee). They wanted us to go to a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon asap. I started to panic as I thought about what might have to happen. Surgery? A Cast? All this on such a little baby who was just learning to sit and crawl.

Fast forward a couple hours, and Drew and I were at the orthopaedic clinic (I had to call Drew for this appointment because I was a wreck). The doctor told us good things: this type of fracture is really common, babies heal quickly, and it won't have any lasting impact. He said the bone will grow back correctly on its own, but he wanted to put a cast on for 3 weeks just for the extra support. I held Graham in my lap while the nurses wrapped his leg in a cast. It was actually a very non-threatening process...they said it was like a craft project. When we left, Drew and I cheered and clapped for Graham, and he smiled. I felt okay when I realized he was still a happy baby. He even got a new stuffed animal last night to cheer him up. Its name is Femur.

Happy half-birthday Graham!! I'm so sorry!!

First Football Game

Things change so fast that I can hardly keep up with the baby milestones anymore. I've been curious about whether or not Graham may be teething because he has been drooling, coughing, and chomping down on toys like a little piranha. I thought there was some suspicious texture on his bottom gum, and on Sunday, Drew and I spotted two little white specks! It looks like his two front bottom teeth are coming in! He's been handling it well though, because his mood has been pretty good for some big events recently.

Thursday night, our friend Kate came by during her visit from NY. Though Graham was not very cordial at first, he warmed up to her quickly over a Cracker Barrel pancake breakfast. On Saturday, he attended his first Carolina football game. Actually, I should say that he mostly just visited the campus. He had a good time hanging out on a blanket in the quad with his friend JT. He also showed off by doing some independent sitting (for about 15 seconds)! Just before kick-off, Graham and I strategically strolled around the library and student store to wait for the loud jet fly-over to happen. By the time we got to the stadium, I realized he had fallen fast asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake him up, so we sat in the shade for about an hour while he napped (through fireworks, loud cheering, etc). When he woke up, we headed down to our sunny seats to watch the game. That lasted for about three plays. We were both really hot, and when he started to whimper, I decided to end the day around halftime before things went downhill (for us and the team). Wait -- does that mean Drew left at halftime? No, we drove two cars of course!

No More, PLEASE!!

Since Graham's pediatrician okayed starting rice cereal, we've been trying to figure out when the right time might be. I bought baby bowls, spoons, and the cereal, but there was no clear "go time." He's never been one to go very long between feedings, but he does seem pretty satisfied after he eats. Recently, we weighed Graham and plotted his weight on the bell curve to check his percentile rank (keeping my school psychology skills fresh!). His 14-lb self is only around the 15th percentile compared to other 5 1/2 month babies, so we decided to break out the solids. As you can see, he was NOT a fan!! We've been experimenting with the consistency because the texture must have grossed him out. Last night (night 4) we had success! He opened his mouth for the spoon, and didn't make the throwup face. We'll see if this happy eating continues.

Our Den Is a Baby Playground

Graham used to only need a swing during the day. When we had to put him down, that's where he went. He probably could have taken naps in his pack 'n play or crib, but all we knew was that the swing worked. Now that he needs much more entertaining, he spends his wake time alternating between his activity mat, the bumbo, the bouncer, and us. Each can only keep him happy for a little while, so it's nice to have lots of options. (Uh oh...is he getting spoiled already?) His favorite thing to do is stand up and "walk," so I'm glad his legs finally got long enough for the bouncer, since Drew and I run out of steam before he does. It seems like Graham's going to skip the sitting and crawling stages and go straight to walking. He's very mobile now, doing a variety of rolls and leg pushes. It makes it really challenging to change his diaper without a helper to hold him in place!

We spent labor day weekend at the beach with my parents, and everyone was glad to have each others' company. Graham watched his first Carolina football game, and even offered his hand when Drew requested a high-five! Unfortunately, he went to bed before the team's rally. He's hoping he'll get to witness a good game with a full roster of players this season!