William Wednesday

We live in a changing world. Would I be a broken record if I said I couldn't believe how much has changed since last Wednesday? Well, if I am, I don't care. I can't believe it! If I hadn't titled this post "William Wednesday" I would have called it "eating, sleeping, movin and groovin" because those are the highlights of William's week.

I don't know how much a baby is "supposed" to eat, and ever since William was born I have been rather obsessive about counting his intake daily. When he was 2 weeks old he wasn't getting enough because he had no interest in eating, so the doctor told me to make sure he was getting at least 15 ounces, but optimally 20 ounces per day. Then around one month he told me 24 ounces is ideal. I used to have daily charts (yep, I said obsessive) but then I just started keeping count in my head. It was difficult for me to relinquish the counting-control when I came back to work...no one seemed to be as concerned as I was that we knew EXACTLY how much he was drinking. I'm sure it was equally frustrating on Austin, my mom, and Candace's parts as I asked them periodically throughout the days "How many ounces has he had? ... well like 2 full bottles or did he leave an ounce in one? ...are you sure its only been 2?" It was an obsession, I'll admit it. Well, Goddard fuels the behavior by writing down exactly how much he drinks - its perfect! Two weeks ago he was drinking about 25 ounces a day. A "big day" consisted of 28 ounces.

Then one day he became a ravaging animal. Maybe "ravaging animal" is a bit extreme since he is still consuming less than I take in just in my 8 hour work day, but it was such a drastic jump. We started giving him rice cereal last week and I think we timed it perfectly because that was right when his bout of hunger began and I can't imagine if he was only on formula! He is now drinking almost 40 ounces every day plus cereal!

The cereal - priceless. On the first attempt I'm not sure if he got 2 spoonfuls in total, and remember a "spoonful" equates to one of the sample size spoons at an ice cream shop! He had fun with it at first, but grew tired of it rather quickly and just wanted his bottle. After the first attempt we gave him cereal in his evening bottle a couple of times, then tried with the spoon again. With the help of a tip from a friend of mine to nearly shovel the food in his mouth he loved it! I think he likes grabbing the bowl and playing with it as much as he enjoys eating it, but then again we like that too. We've started giving him a bowl of cereal around our dinner time, then his regular bedtime bottle at 8:00. Last night he grabbed the spoon as it was in my hand and pulled it right into his mouth. He's getting so smart! I was sure he'd jab it in his cheek or up his nose, but his spacial relations have really developed and he knew exactly where his mouth was. I think its the makings of a genius :)

On the sleeping front, he has gotten onto a more regular napping routine and has been taking 2.5 hour naps at school. He sleeps a little less at night, which has disrupted my morning routine, but he's still getting a full night's rest. And I swear one night last week he grew an inch. I swear! Fine, don't believe me. But I swear he did.

And boy is he moving! He hasn't quite figured out how to get where he wants to go which has been pretty frustrating for him. One day over the weekend he wanted to go forward to get to his coveted ball, but because he doesn't know how he ended up scooting in a circle. He doesn't know to lift his belly up, so even though he can get his legs moving, his belly stays stationary. After he had made it the full 360 degrees I think he realized he had gone no where and started to fuss. I don't want to get in the habit of giving him what he wants whenever he is slightly frustrated, but he worked SO HARD to get this ball that I thought he deserved it...call me a softie, whatever. I gave it to him :) And this morning I thought he was going to rip my hair right out of my head trying to climb up to the "artwork" hanging from the ceiling at school. Ironically, he was going for his own masterpiece. Did I mention we have a genius on our hands?

Along with his incredible brilliance, he is Mr. Tough Guy. When I picked him up yesterday Miss Colleen said "Look at his muscle definition!" pointing to his...hmm...if I could only remember biology right now...upper arm muscles? Above the biceps...not deltoids, those are on your back. Not triceps, those are behind the biceps...hmm, I'll have to relearn the muscles. Anyhow, she said he was going to be a tough guy and that proved true this morning at his doctor appointment. He went in for the second half of his 4 month shots and he hardly even cared that he was poked! He gave me this look right as she stuck the needle in his leg like, "MOM, what the heck was THAT about ???" then he started to act like he wanted to cry, I picked him up and he just started laughing! Take that Miss Mean Nurse Lady! Pretty sure I cried for him though. Ahhhhh what a big tough mom he has.

All week I kept telling myself to email myself cereal pictures to post in this week's William update, but all week I told myself "I'll do it tomorrow". So, now I'm telling you I'll do it tomorrow...I wouldn't recommend holding your breath though.

I think I look down at my clock every 3 minutes at work, my legs nervously shaking and tapping the floor, just busting at the seams waiting to get out the door and go get my baby. I want to see what he'll do next!