My Smart Boy

Sorry for the pause in posts…been a tad busy with Senor Fussy Britches. Last Thursday we had an appointment to “get to know our newborn”. At SAS healthcare, they will examine all babies(no matter if they are primary cared for there for not) to show their temperament to their parents. It is all based on their reflexes and the way they respond to stimuli. So here is Mr. Landon:

What I’m Good At:
Great tracker; good reflexes; calms easily*

How I Send Out an SOS:
turn red; tremors; activity increases

How I Try To Bring Myself Under Control:
Fencing; sucking

How You Can Help Me:
tummy time; swaddling; pacifier

What I’m Working On:
neuromuscular development; learning to trust; getting into a routine

It was very fun. Of course, he was a gem while there. Note the *. That is because of COURSE he calms when someone else is watching him…this exam wasn’t at 5 in the evening, we could have had different results. But she showed us all his reflexes. She was very impressed with his tracking with a rattle and looking for me when I talked. Since the exam, we have been learning more about him. Going along with the tracking, he really likes to focus on something to calm himself. For those of you have been to the house, there are a series of glass pictures with trees on the wall in the living room. He LOVES looking at these. We walk around the hall and he just stares and stops crying(sometimes…it ain’t magic). He also likes looking at faces like most babies. I had him on the ottoman to play and caught him watching the TV when it would be a single person on the screen. He also was crying for like an hour yesterday afternoon off and on and when I changed his diaper, he just wanted to lay there and stare at the people on the wall. If I tried to pick him up, he cried….so I just sat in the nursery while he stared at the wall :). Very interesting. She also explained that he is a very active baby…so what interests him one minute, will change…so we have to be on our toes. Joy! But she pointed out at least he can go with the flow. Some babies are really routine and get all out of whack when things are exactly the same. He loves to be jiggled as well. Last night he was bright eyed at bedtime and I swaddled him up and walked on the treadmill for, no lie, 36 seconds and the eyes were shut and he was a like a rag. Awesome. I just let his head jiggle a little and it is kryptonite. I did it again this morning for 5 minutes and he was out then for a 2 hour nap. Cha ching. Now I just have to work on him taking naps without us getting him to that state. Fun…..