2700: approximate wipes of the windshield wipers, at 15 wipes/minute for three hours of
rainy driving.
388: minutes it took to complete our trip (6 hours and 28 minutes).
375: minutes my iphone predicted the trip would take.
346: miles driven from Victor, NY to Parkville, MD.
210: minutes Owen slept.
37: minutes Owen cried consecutively. This may be the longest he has ever cried at one time in his entire life. Sorry you missed it, Kyle.
20: maximum mph above the speed limit I drove...those darn 55 mph zones get me every time!
15: minutes wasted being lost in Harrisburg. For the size and stature of that city, its highway system is far too complicated!
13: minutes longer the trip took me than the iphone predicted...not bad for half in the rain, half in the dark, one driver, and a baby.
8: adult stores counted along the way.
3: deer carcasses spotted on the shoulder.
2: diapers changed.
1: amish buggy passed, driving down the shoulder in the opposite direction of general traffic.
Innumerable: my gratitude for my son and family, and the chance to spend the weekend with them.
Warning: this is going to be a picture heavy post! Owen was especially cute today even though he's been feeling a little under the weather. He turned 5 months old earlier this week, and 22 weeks...can we stop counting our lives in weeks now?! Anyway, Owen's had a runny nose for a week or so now, and had about a 101 degree fever last night. Baby tylenol helped and he seems better today.
As you can see, he's found his feet! He loves to grab them when he's on his changing table, and occasionally puts some toes in his mouth.
He's also rolling over now - both ways! He started with back to front. He was a little slow at first, but once he figured out how to get some momentum behind his legs and swing them over, there was no stopping him! A few weeks later he snuck a few front to back rolls in behind our backs - we looked away for a few minutes while he was playing on the floor and in his crib, and turned around and he had flipped. We have since seen a few, but that direction is still more rare than the other.d
He can rotate around and scooch a little bit, and has been trying to get his knees up under his big belly. We often put a toy just out of his reach and he becomes determined to get it, and usually does! We also find him overnight snuggled up in the corner of his crib, after having set him right in the center.
Owen continues to become more and more vocal. He has been making consonant sounds more, and recently started to make the "raspberry" noise a lot. He even mimics others when they do it!
We haven't noticed a big change in size since last month, but it's also tough to notice when we see him every day. His caretakers at daycare do comment often on how big he is getting. Speaking of daycare, he really seems to love it. The women there take wonderful care of him - he always comes home clean, full, and happy, and they've even cut his nails when we slacked! One commented recently, "we're not supposed to have favorites, but we wish all of the babies were like him!"
He also does great and loves being with Taylor, our neighbor and nanny. He gets so excited when she arrives on Wednesday and Friday mornings, and she has a special touch for getting him to take two 2-3 hour naps per day. She also sends me cute pictures and videos throughout the day. :-)
We haven't started Owen on solid foods yet. He hasn't seemed too interested in our food, and he doesn't seem to be extra hungry, so we're continuing with mainly breast milk, and an occasional formula bottle for now.
Owen is an excellent sleeper, usually going for an 10-12 hour stretch overnight. We feel so fortunate to be getting 7-8 hours ourselves every night!
As you can see above, he is still a finger sucker! He rarely uses a pacifier, but pretty much any other object that can fit into his mouth will find its way there. We think teeth might be coming soon because he's been drooling up a storm lately.
Owen can sit too! He mainly does what we call either the "gorilla" or "triangle" sit with his legs out wide and hands on the floor between them, but sometime he can manage 10-20 seconds of sitting unassisted before he topples over.
He looks more and more like a little boy to me every day. Sometimes I want to stop time and keep him this happy baby forever, but I am also so excited to meet the little boy he will become!
Happy Halloween from Snoopy the flying Ace! (and his parents)
