Frequently Asked Questions - July 7
As happens (I guess) when you're a new parent, I have been asked the same questions with some frequency of late. That said, I present another in my popular series (though it's been a while) of FAQs. Enjoy:
Q: How old is Oliver now?
A: He turned 4 months old on July 6.
Q: Is he sleeping through the night?
A: No.
Q: Can you elaborate?
A: I will, if you ask an open-ended question. Please try again.
Q: OK. How is Oliver sleeping at night?
A: Good question, though I am tired of giving the same response. He is not sleeping well at all. On a typical night he wakes up around 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. for feedings. If we're lucky, he falls right back asleep. If it's a night this past Saturday, he keeps us up for an hour or so.
Q: Have you tried [giving him cereal, letting him cry, etc.]?
A: Yes, we've tried everything. We've read everything. We've been told everything. And no, your idea didn't work.
Q: My baby started sleeping through the night at six weeks.
A: That's not a question. And it's also really rude of you to rub that in my face. We can compare stories and have a good laugh about it after I've slept for six hours straight for more than three or four consecutive nights.
Q: Are you tired today?
A: Yes.
Q: I thought so. You look like you have bags under your eyes.
A: That's an excellent observation. Thank you so much for pointing that out.
Q: Enough about you. Can you tell me how big Oliver is now?
A: Yes I can. He went to the doctor today. He officially weighs 16 pounds, 15.5 ounces. His height is 25.25 inches, and his head circumference is 45.3 centimeters.
Q: Wow, that's a big boy. What percentile is he in?
A: He's over the 90th percentile for each of those figures.
Q: How is he developing?
A: According to the doctor, his development compares to a baby that's over 5 months old, so I would say he's doing quite well.
Q: Is he cooing a lot lately? And, umm, please describe.
A: He coos a lot now. He's also starting to learn about volume, so he adjusts his voice to different octaves. Just this evening, he made a noise I had never heard before. Sarah and I were a little startled by it.
Q: Is he smiling? Laughing?
A: He smiles all the time. He's just now starting to laugh, too, which is really cool. Grandma Annette figured out a couple tickle spots today, so we plan to explore those thoroughly in the coming days.
Q: How's he doing holding up his head?
A: He does OK at tummy-time. He's been holding his (huge) noggin up pretty well of late. He gets better at it every day. When we hold him in our arms, he's able to move his head all over. It's kind of amazing, really.
Q: What'd you do for the Fourth of July?
A: We visited my parents in Springfield, Mo. Had a nice time. Saw fireworks in Nixa (Oliver slept through all of them, even the big boomers). Went to a smoke-free "cosmic" bowling alley on Saturday (Oliver loved the way things looked under the black lights). Ate a lot of good food.
Q: I still don't care about all these words on the blog. Can you please just shut up and post some pictures?
A: OK, and with that I'm going to end this Q&A. Upon request, below are pictures of Oliver eating food for the first time and taking a bath last week.
Q: How old is Oliver now?
A: He turned 4 months old on July 6.
Q: Is he sleeping through the night?
A: No.
Q: Can you elaborate?
A: I will, if you ask an open-ended question. Please try again.
Q: OK. How is Oliver sleeping at night?
A: Good question, though I am tired of giving the same response. He is not sleeping well at all. On a typical night he wakes up around 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. for feedings. If we're lucky, he falls right back asleep. If it's a night this past Saturday, he keeps us up for an hour or so.
Q: Have you tried [giving him cereal, letting him cry, etc.]?
A: Yes, we've tried everything. We've read everything. We've been told everything. And no, your idea didn't work.
Q: My baby started sleeping through the night at six weeks.
A: That's not a question. And it's also really rude of you to rub that in my face. We can compare stories and have a good laugh about it after I've slept for six hours straight for more than three or four consecutive nights.
Q: Are you tired today?
A: Yes.
Q: I thought so. You look like you have bags under your eyes.
A: That's an excellent observation. Thank you so much for pointing that out.
Q: Enough about you. Can you tell me how big Oliver is now?
A: Yes I can. He went to the doctor today. He officially weighs 16 pounds, 15.5 ounces. His height is 25.25 inches, and his head circumference is 45.3 centimeters.
Q: Wow, that's a big boy. What percentile is he in?
A: He's over the 90th percentile for each of those figures.
Q: How is he developing?
A: According to the doctor, his development compares to a baby that's over 5 months old, so I would say he's doing quite well.
Q: Is he cooing a lot lately? And, umm, please describe.
A: He coos a lot now. He's also starting to learn about volume, so he adjusts his voice to different octaves. Just this evening, he made a noise I had never heard before. Sarah and I were a little startled by it.
Q: Is he smiling? Laughing?
A: He smiles all the time. He's just now starting to laugh, too, which is really cool. Grandma Annette figured out a couple tickle spots today, so we plan to explore those thoroughly in the coming days.
Q: How's he doing holding up his head?
A: He does OK at tummy-time. He's been holding his (huge) noggin up pretty well of late. He gets better at it every day. When we hold him in our arms, he's able to move his head all over. It's kind of amazing, really.
Q: What'd you do for the Fourth of July?
A: We visited my parents in Springfield, Mo. Had a nice time. Saw fireworks in Nixa (Oliver slept through all of them, even the big boomers). Went to a smoke-free "cosmic" bowling alley on Saturday (Oliver loved the way things looked under the black lights). Ate a lot of good food.
Q: I still don't care about all these words on the blog. Can you please just shut up and post some pictures?
A: OK, and with that I'm going to end this Q&A. Upon request, below are pictures of Oliver eating food for the first time and taking a bath last week.
OK, now I am feeling like a tard for asking some of these questions
Love you all. What a cutie. I cannot wait to see him again.
Aunt Jennifer
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Ah-ha-ha! This made me laugh out loud. Sorry you and Sarah aren't sleeping through the night yet.
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Oooh, it looks like Oliver is enjoying himself at his Baby Spa. May I set up an appointment for a pedicure, please?
Hopefully these suggestions are not coming from people who DON'T have kids. Because I love when I get those...
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That's a WHOLE other topic, probably worth a blog post at some point. Here are some classics:
"Your wife should take care of him overnight if you have to work the next day."
"Have you tried sleeping with ear plugs?"
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Wow, still complaining about the sleeping issues. I still don't feel sorry for you. Suck it up!
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Must be nice having a baby that sleeps through the night and has been doing so for a long time. Way to rub it in!
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If it makes you feel any better, we were up with Kendall last night. She's 4. Apparently there's no substitute for mom when you need your panties pulled down for you in the middle of the night. Hang in there!
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