Now that Graeme is a crawling master, he's learning how to get into things that he shouldn't touch...like dog food and water bowls! They are one of his favorite targets. And since the bowls are ceramic (and breakable), they definitely are off-limits. But as soon as he gets in the general area, he just takes off super fast and beelines straight for those bowls. He also tries to take the dogs' nylabones, which are sharp and pointy from the dogs chewing on them. Plus, they don't appreciate his attempts to remove the bones from the dogs' mouths. Needless to say, the dogs aren't too excited about Graeme's increased mobility.
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| Proud of himself for getting in the dog bed |
Graeme can pull himself up to standing from a sitting position, but only on low surfaces. He can't pull himself up on something that's over his head, and he can't do it from a crawling position. He wants to walk so badly! He can cruise in circles around his little activity table and seems to find that quite entertaining. So far it's the only surface that he's cruised on. We finally got his first pair of shoes because he wanted to walk everywhere (with us holding his hands of course), including outside on the hot concrete. It was really hard to find shoes that fit Graeme well since his feet are small (length-wise) but very wide.
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| Wearing his new shoes for the first time |
He can sit on his own for short periods of time, but we are starting to get a bit concerned about the curvature in his spine when he sits. It's normal for babies with achondroplasia to develop some level of kyphosis, and it's a problem that usually straightens itself out when they start walking. However, we decided to make an appointment with an orthopedist just to have it checked and make sure it's not an excessive level of curvature and find out what we may need to be doing to prevent any serious problems.
Graeme is really starting to assert his personality and preferences now. He loves books, but I'm only allowed to read him the same 3 books each night. When I try to read anything else, he pushes it away and tries to get out of my arms to reach the nightstand (where he knows his favorite 3 books are located). He's started to hate diaper changes and throws a little fit during them. Baths are no longer one of his favorite things either. Some nights he's fine with them, and he loves his rubber ducky. But some nights he just cries the whole time. He's also started to stick his tongue out a lot, especially when he smiles or laughs. It's so funny.
We took him on a little drive to Tickfaw State Park a few weeks ago. He had a great time, especially when he got to go down the slide! It was his first time riding down the slide with us, and he loved it! You can always tell when he wants to do something again, because he kicks his feet and leans forward like he's trying to steer you where he wants to go.
Graeme also celebrated his first Halloween! He didn't wear a costume, since most of the costumes we found seemed to be heavy materials that he would be way too hot in (we still haven't gotten that nice cool fall weather yet...sigh). He did get a first Halloween onesie though, and we just rolled up the sleeves for him since it was long-sleeved. We didn't go trick or treating with him either. We live on a dead-end street, so no one trick or treats there, and we didn't want to go elsewhere. Plus, Graeme prefers an early to bed early to rise sleep philosophy, so his early bedtime makes any evening events difficult.
Speaking of sleep, it's still not going well. He generally wakes up a minimum of twice a night, often three times. We're trying to wean him off of his night bottles, especially since he is supposed to be off of bottles altogether by the time he's a year old. Not having much luck so far though. And during the day, Graeme doesn't mind using the sippy cup for water, but he only wants his milk out of the bottle. He'll refuse it from the sippy cup. Seriously, this kid is stubborn...must run in the family haha. He's doing better with finger foods now. He loves puffs and yogurt melts, but he still doesn't really like getting his fruits and veggies in a non-pureed form. We're just going to keep trying!
Graeme seems to be working on tooth #7...it looks like another bottom tooth is coming in. He's been drooling like a madman. Not sure if that is affecting his sleep or not. On the bright side, he is doing well during the day and we're finally getting him on some kind of consistent feeding and sleeping schedule. He's doing great with day time naps now - 2 naps, usually one that is 45 minutes to an hour and one that is 1-1.5 hours. And he's been smiling much more! He used to smile rarely, so I love that he is giving me so many smiles now. He also gets excited when he sees me after work, which is a great feeling. Overall, he's doing well. We will see how the orthopedist appointment goes and keep working on the nighttime sleep and the solid foods. Sometimes it's hard to have patience on these things, as well as when he hits milestones, but I know it will make us appreciate them all the more when they finally happen!
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