8 months!

First of all, let me just say that I find it hilarious (and completely appropriate) that my last post for two months was the "hey look, Kieran is crawling!" post. Clearly, I have been too busy chasing around a newly mobile baby to post. But today, I have a few moments (at least until somebody wakes up). So.

As of yesterday, Kieran was 8 months old! Yikes!

Since my last post, he has been perfecting his crawling, standing, and pulling-up technique and is now something of a pro. And yesterday, we added cruising to that list. That's right; he successfully cruised halfway around the coffee table in pursuit of Lyndon's sippy cup. I let him have it; I figured he earned it. Don't tell Lyndon.

I took him to the doctor this morning for his first ear infection, and they plopped him on the scale. And my jaw hit the floor.

20 lbs. 3 oz.

At 8 months, he has officially outgrown an infant carseat.

He is so ridiculously curious and jumps headfirst (sometimes literally) into everything. He's the opposite of his petite, cautious older brother in almost every way.

But, the two of them have started to play together anyway. Or, rather, Kieran tries to join in with Lyndon, and from the living room, I hear, "No, Kieran! No have that!"

Lyndon and I have been having long discussions on the topic of sharing. One of the benefits of having a crazy little brother.

proof, part 2: he crawls!

 

I made this video last week, and he's only gotten better since then. He's recently started to try to pull himself up, and if you hold his hands, he will take a step or two. I think I may have an early walker on my hands!

proof, part 1: he sits!

In my last post, I claimed that 6 month-old Kieran is sitting and crawling. I realized that I should post some irrefutable proof of this so I don't get blasted for lying... or maybe just because it's cute. Either way, here he is:

6 months! (Also, teeth.)

Kieran is 6 months old!

And, boy, is he delightful! He smiles and laughs almost constantly, sleeps like a Calvinist, and eats everything I give him. He can play by himself on the floor for 10 or 15 minutes, but he also loves playing with us. Peek-a-boo is a favorite game now. He's sitting. And crawling. He loves being mobile and is so curious about everything. He's pretty much given up his third nap, except on particularly busy days. He's a little snugglebug and will eat up affection with a spoon.

He has two teeth, on the bottom, right in the middle. He had a bit of trouble when they first came in, but a little extra love and a bit of ibuprofen got him through the worst of it, and now he's back to his happy self. You can just barely see them in this picture, but it's the best one I've got.

I took both boys to the library today, and felt, for the first time, like I was traveling with two kids, instead of one kid and one baby. Oy, they grow up so fast.

I'm sittin' here I'm 5 months old...

(Kudos to anyone who can identify the song reference in the title above.)

I have noticed that the blog seems to be a little Lyndon-heavy as of late. This is partly because Lyndon is awake for significantly more of the day than Kieran is, and partly because when Kieran is awake, I usually have my hands full. Also, he wasn't particularly photogenic.

Well, the times, they are a-changin'. Kieran is 5 months old, so he needs less and smiles more. So here we go...

 

Aaaaugh! A naked baby!!! (Actually, I'm pretty sure he had a diaper on.)

"Nom nom nom, mmmm fingers!"

Mischevious smile at the beach.

He loves to "fly". If he's in a good mood, pretty much any fast motion will make him scream with laughter.

"Say what?"

The hat was Lyndon's idea.

Concentrating very hard on how to get the toy into the mouth.

Yep, he's a boy all right. I've seen that vacant stare before.

If I only knew what goes on inside that cute little head of his, I'd have better captions for some of these. But who knows what babies are thinking when they make all their crazy faces? All I know is that I love this little guy who's showing so much personality these days.

on parenting and jury duty

When Kieran was almost 2 months old, I was summoned to jury duty. With a doctor's note, I managed to get a postponement, since I was exclusively breastfeeding. I asked to be reprieved until January or February, since I plan on breastfeeding Kieran for at least a year, like I did with Lyndon. We don't do many bottles around here, and Kieran has had a really hard time taking them. So, the government postponed my summons... until June. Bizarre, I know, but I figured I could ask for another postponement when the time came.

Well, I could ask, but I couldn't receive.

That's right; even with a note from the pediatrician, stating that Kieran is breastfed and has had trouble taking a bottle, I am expected to report to the courthouse bright and early on June 11th. I'm considering taking him with me. At the very least, I will be taking my breastpump and written proof that they have to give me a private place to use it. Of course, I'm annoyed at the inconvenience, but, beyond that, I'm pretty disappointed in the way our government is treating me, and moms in general, for that matter.

I'm sure you've heard about that Time Magazine article, entitled "The Mommy Wars". Quite a few people have seen this article as an attempt by mass media to encourage moms to fight amongst themselves, instead of fighting together for bigger causes. Like decent maternity leave. Or respect for motherhood in the workplace. Or . . . you know, our children's education.

It's easier to judge and bicker and backstab each other for our different parenting choices than to try to make some real difference in the world.

I read an article recently outlining the United States' provisions, or rather, lack of provisions, for paid maternity leave. It's pretty embarrassing. From the article:

"Did you know that the United States in one of the only industrialized nations that does not provide a mandatory maternity leave benefit?... 'According to USA Today, 'out of 168 nations in a Harvard University study last year, 163 had some form of paid maternity leave, leaving the United States in the company of Lesotho, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland'."

Yes, the Family Medical Leave Act provides some benefits, but only to those who "qualify" (which is kind of a short list), and nowhere near the kind of provisions necessary to raise a family. The article spells out the specifics, but let's just say it's pretty sad. Mothers are expected to be back at their desks before their babies are breastfeeding successfully or sleeping through the night. Parents are harassed for taking time off to care for sick children. And paternity leave? What's that?

Now, I'm not saying this is all, or even mostly, the government's fault. But when a state government ignores the pleas of a family and a pediatrician and refuses to postpone something like jury duty for more than 3 months so that an infant can be near his only source of food, it is helping to create a culture that devalues children. Raising a family is hard, and parents need as much support as they can get. Instead, we get jury duty and the "mommy wars".

Really, America?