Weekend in DC

This past week Tani had a number of milestones. He starting crawling forward on his hands and knees - a few weeks before he was getting around on his belly. Also Tani's 4th tooth came through! He was having difficult nights during the week - we think from the teething pain. On Thursday night we drove down to DC to see Grandma Susan and Grandpa Morris. Tani slept on the drive down and was suprised and delighted to see Grandma Susan when he woke up. Grandpa Morris made a wonderful Shabbat dinner the next night and Tani enjoyed chicken and sweet potatoes. On Saturday Tani picked up Cheerios and was able to feed himself. Eating is an even more enjoyable activity now and Cheerios have risen to the top of his favorite food list - Tani can feed himself peas too but they're a little harder to manage and he sometimes needs help from his mommies if he wants the majority of them to end up in his mouth. We took walks with Tani to the Washington Mall. The solar decathalon was taking place - very inspiring to see college students designing and building homes that run just on solar power. We had a wonderful visit and were sad to leave Sunday morning.

Sleep

We've been working on helping Tani to sleep better over the past 6 weeks, starting in earnest on August 24, with the help of Dr. Weisbluth's book and the support of our pediatrician. Tani had been waking up every 1-2 hours all night and Mommy Melissa was exhausted and it was only three weeks before High Holidays. In fact, she was waking up every hour or two even if Tani hadn't woken up. We had read multiple books and talked to family, friends, and colleauges about the best ways to help babies sleep through the night. We thought we'd never let him cry but realized that might be the best solution for all (ok, sometimes the generation that came before us is right!). Mommy Melissa made him special pajamas with the Hebrew names of the angels on them to protect him. We put him to bed ~7 pm after a bath, book, and songs - he had previously been going to bed at 9 pm. Mommy Neysa thought he'd cry all night if we didn't go to soothe him. Tani's mommies prayed for him to sleep and for God to be with him. He did cry for 45 minutes but then fell asleep and slept for four hours (that's what we remember anyway). Mommy Melissa did nurse him then and when he was finished put him back to sleep and he fell asleep quickly. We can't remember if he slept until 6 am or woke at 4 am, but whatever it was this was a great improvement - he slept much better and was happier during the day and Mommy Melissa was able to get better sleep herself. We are also more conscious of helping Tani get his morning and afternoon naps. When we wakes from his naps he is ready to explore the world. When he's tired he gets frustrated easily. Melissa wrote her Rosh Hashanah sermon about overcoming fear and experiencing awe, inspired by our experiences helping Tani to fall asleep.

Tani's seven month update

Tani has learned so much this past month. He turned 7 mos. Aug. 14. He's now sitting up on his own and really enjoys the new view. Although not yet crawling, he can roll to get to where he wants to go. He can control his grasp much better and reaches for everything. When he wants to be picked up, he raises his arms to indicate this to us. He has had several encounters with a piano or keyboard. He first bangs on the keys but then plays them individually listening to the different sounds. When someone plays the guitar he focuses on their playing and reaches out to try to play it himself or at least bang on the guitar. He clearly loves music - when we play different CDs from children's songs to Klezmer he's delighted. In the car when he's in a fussy mood we play a CD of Hebrew children's songs called Meah Shirim Rishonim (100 1st songs) - he loves the song about the baby elephant (track 19). His current favorite foods are oatmeal, avocado, and fresh peaches/nectarines. He enjoys eating but not wearing a bib. We're going to have to find one that can tie in the back instead of the velcro which he can often just pull off. The picture with this blog entry was taken by his Auntie Heather on Aug. 22. She installed the security gate at the top of the steps so we'll be ready when Tani starts to crawl and walk. This was no easy task and Tani's mommies are very grateful.

Tani summer update

Tani's had a busy summer. He spent the week of July 9 in Ithaca, NY. He got to see his cousin Max, Uncle Mitch, and Aunt Val and her family at Lake Skaneateles and spent several days with his Grandma Diane and Grandpa Arthur. He got to swim in the lake, take nice walks, and hang out with family. He grabbed a handful of carrots off Mama Neysa's salad at the Moosewood Restaurant, which was a new achievement for him. See Ithaca and other pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevinsklein/. When we got back to PA, Tani got to spend some time with Grandma Susan and Grandpa Morris, who came to Philadelphia on their way to NH to help his mommies clean up their Mt. Airy apartment before it is rennovated. Tani is realizing all the fun things he can do and gets frustrated when he can't do them as soon as he'd like. But mostly he's a happy explorer and enjoys people. When he swims with his mommies in the pool he doesn't seem to mind if he gets his face wet. He smiles at everyone at the pool. At synagogue last Saturday, he enjoyed the prayers if they were sung but got fussy at the responsive readings and sermons (i.e. the talking parts). He's also eating more foods. This past week he ate avocado and today he had peas for the first time. He really enjoyed them, as you see from this picture.

Tani dining

Yesterday, Tani got a new space-saver high chair that attaches to a regular chair. We're planning to take it to our Mt. Airy place and buy him a regular high chair for Allentown. But in the meantime Melissa decided to try it out in Allentown. Tani's been eating simple solids for about two weeks now about once a day (if that). He's had rice cereal, apple sauce, and pears. But today prunes were on the menu. He apparently enjoyed them (see for yourself). He enjoys the eating experience much more when he feeds himself.

Weekend

Tani had a fun weekend. We went to the Poconos for a day to celebrate a friend's birthday. Tani slept in the car there and back. We've been lucky that he enjoys car rides or at least gets a good nap along the way. There were other children there who enjoyed playing with Tani as well as adults - Melissa got to swim in the lake which she enjoys very much. Melissa and Tani also swam in the pool at the Lakes, our apartment complex in Allentown. Tani loves to splash around... as long as he doesn't get his face wet. He's wanting to eat more - last night he downed a large portion of rice cereal and then had a tummy ache until he burped. He's grabbing anything in reach - the blinds, the clock, hair, whatever. He loves to sit up but can't quite do it without assistance. If you prop him just right, he can sit in the love seat with pillows on either side as shown here. He eventually slides down or will droop forward. Don't worry - a Mom is always right there!

Hold onto your food!

Melissa decided to have a nectarine for snack and play with Tani on her lap. Before she knew it, Tani had grabbed the nectarine and was happily munching away. We have some video to chronicle his first fruits. He really is showing us how to enjoy food! He drank 7 oz of milk during the 3.5 hrs he was in day care today, Wednesday June 20. He goes to the Allentown JCC day care twice a week for 3-5 hrs. He seems to enjoy the interactions with the other babies and care providers.

Swimming, swimming in the swimming pool

Melissa took Tani swimming last Sunday June 17. We weren't sure if he would like the water, but on such a hot day he had a blast!

Happy Tani

Wanted to include a picture of Tani here. He's really happy most of the time. He was a bit fussy today - we call him Fussy McDoogal when he gets fussy. I think the hot weather and the fact that we think he's in a growth spurt might have had something to do with it. In this weather he likes to hang out on the porch with one of his Moms.

Introduction to Tani's blog

To keep our family and friends posted to our son Natan's, who we call Tani, daily activities we've created his blog. Tani turned five months three days ago and is growing and learning so quickly! Just yesterday he ate his first real solid food meal - rice cereal! He loved it! About 2-3 weeks ago he first rolled over and now can roll over more regularly although not on command. See - we need to keep a diary because it can be hard to remember the exact dates. From memory here are some milestones:

1. First smile: 8 weeks at the home of Myrna and Mort
2. First laugh: He doesn't laugh out loud often but when he does it melts our heart. Melissa was playing with him and he was so happy he laughed out loud. I think he was 3.5 months.
3. First time holding something: about 3 months

We'll add more as we think of them. We keep photos of Tani at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevinsklein so we won't post too many here. Neysa's cousin Jen's fiance Joel has taken some great pictures of Tani that are on his photo website http://jafphotos.smugmug.com/People

This morning Tani is playing in his bouncy seat while his Mommy Melissa catches up on some sleep. He seems hungry now so I'll try to feed him some more rice cereal. He's already nursed twice this morning - he's a growing boy!