Four Months!

On Monday August had his first encounter with St. Nicklaus!  August was supposed to meet him at the Stadthaus in our village.  Apparently, the village puts on a show and then St. Nicklaus asks all the children if they have behaved or not before giving them a gift!  Unfortunately August had a terrible cold and was unable to attend.  BUT St. Nicklaus came to our door to deliver his present!!

August continues to grow in all directions and is even more alert and engaged than before.  He continues to prefer the Monkey with the light-up belly over all his other toys.  That said, August likes to remove toys from his activity mat, use Mommy as his personal play yard, and will giggle whenever Kodjo passes him.  August also is talking a lot more and loves it when Mommy tries to repeat what he says.

At his three/four month checkup the doctor expressed concern about how high August can lift his head and how August enjoys arching his back.  Two physical therapy appointments later and Mommy is improving how she lifts August, carries him and puts him down.  Basically, August has to do a few tummy crunches each time to improve his abdominal muscles.  If only Mommy could work on her abs at the same time!!

We still have not been successful at getting August to nap on his own and probably won't be able to work on it again until August comes back home in January.  Unsurprisingly, August prefers to nap on Mommy.  August will have a lot to learn in January including drinking from a bottle, napping on his own and more physical therapy exercises!

I Love You Daddy!

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3 Months and 21 Days

Yesterday marked August's first Thanksgiving and first day of snow!!   While August did not like snowflakes falling on his face, we both had a nice night of Turkey-induced sleep!!  August continues to sleep through the night, regardless of the time zone, as long as his Mother is cuddled up next to him.  Also, August is rolling from his tummy to his back and can almost roll from his back to his tummy!

August had his 3-4 mos checkup today and weighs 15lbs and is 26 inches long!!  August also received his first immunization (DTaP, HIB and Polio) and barely whimpered!!  The doctor had me hold him while she gave him the shot...I was definitely more upset about the whole thing than August!

August's new likes include "swimming" in the bathtub, playing with other kids, morning cuddling with Mommy, and being tickled.  Recently we discovered that August will go to sleep within seven minutes if I play the live version of Bob Marley's No Woman, No Cry.  I saw this YouTube video of children screaming and then immediately calming down upon hearing Bob Marley.

He's Milking It! Three Months and Growing...

     After 20 hours of traveling, August and I made it across the Atlantic last week!  August apparently loves to travel by plane, probably because he is guaranteed undivided attention from his Mommy and adoring looks from strangers!  On this particular flight, August was traveling with about 200 soldiers returning from Afghanistan and squealed when everyone cheered as the plane landed on U.S. soil.  August's favorite part of the flight was definitely the landing.  He giggled and stuck his tongue out, in Mommy's arms, as the plane safely touched down.  August also received a wonderful welcome from local USO volunteers as we exited the airport!

     August also had his biggest gastric explosion ever on this trip, with an unspeakable amount of baby #2 reaching up to his neck!  I wish this was the only costume change for my little angel, but no, August had an eruption of pee mid-flight!!  I can now say that August and I know how to change a diaper and both of our clothes in one of the smallest bathrooms on Earth!  That said, August had no trouble getting over jet lag and continues to mostly sleep through the night.

Yesterday, August celebrated his first Halloween as an adorably plump Pumpkin!  After parading August and his new friend around the neighborhood, August helped his Mommy and friends pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters! 

2 months 17 days old

August now weighs 13lbs 7oz!!  This week I went through all of August's clothes to pull out what doesn't fit him and what he now can fit into!  He is mostly wearing 6 mos outfits!!  Today I introduced Mortimer the Moose to August and he loved to pull the moose in towards his body with the rings hanging from Mortimer's tail. 

His teething pains have subsided with the homeopathic treatment and we are focusing on getting August to nap longer.  I am currently working with the Elizabeth Pantley No-Cry Sleep Solution book in an effort to get August to sleep better.  After monitoring our activities over the past three days we have developed the following sleep plan:

--Maintain a flexible schedule to encourage longer naps.
--Encourage August to nap on his own in the bassinet, crib or car seat so he doesn't have to sleep right next to his Mommy.
--Be prepared to soothe August during initial wake-up signs to encourage longer naps.
--Put August down when he shows signs of tiredness versus limp limbs so he can learn how to fall asleep on his own.
--Move the bedtime to an earlier time (we are going to try 2000).
--Start the bedtime routine 30minutes to one hour before bedtime.
--Learn to read August better so I can distinguish between his sleep talk and him expressing a need for his Mommy before crying.

We are going to try the new sleep plan for about ten days to see how it goes.  One day one, August successfully woke up in the bassinet (after I put him down from the ergo carrier) and went back to sleep in the bassinet on his own!! 

I will add more pictures soon!

Ten Weeks - Baby Smiles and Drool...

At ten weeks August continues to grow in all directions!!  August is expressing himself via his mouth this week with lots of drool, shrieks, giggles, tongue-wagging, and best of all, ear-to-ear smiles!!  We are off to the pediatrician tomorrow to confirm it, but we think that August might be in the intial phases of his teeth moving up!  With the exception of a few interruptions during the night, August continues to be the perfect baby!!  (Whenever August is upset we call him Gibb!)

August and his Mommy were also blessed with a visit from Oma and Opa (aka Robyn and Len)!  August loved his exercises with Oma and nestling with Opa.  Much to our puppy's and August's delight, every day we went on at least one walk through the countryside.  We will let the pictures tell the rest...

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Two Months and Growing

                                                                                                                                                                         CURRENT WEIGHT: 12lbs, 8oz


I am delighted to be living in a world filled with coos, giggles and smiles, the perpetual aroma of sour milk, and the softest, calendula oil-induced skin! At the risk of jinxing it, I am happy to report that for the past six days, August has slept through the night! I don’t know why it took me so long to figure it out, or to get our bed baby-proofed, but I found that if I sleep right next to August and let him feed whenever he wants, we both sleep wonderfully. Dr. Sears says that it is like choosing between sleeping next to a warm body and a chocolate cake, or sleeping by yourself. While August is still colicky in the evenings, once we are settled down (usually after a walk outside) we both sleep well. I am especially happy that every morning as we wake up, August and I will cuddle!

At two months or nine weeks, August is an alert and very active little boy. His favorite activities continue to be tummy time on the activity mat, his gas-relieving exercises (includes flutter kicks, air bicycling and stretching), and climbing on Mommy.  Most recently, August learned how to wriggle his body like a worm in the swing, to the point where he is half way out of the swing!! This only had to happen twice before I vowed never to put him in it again! The second occurrence happened when I was showering. Thankfully we have glass shower doors and I was able to grab him, soap and all, before he completely fell out.






August has a very strong personality and inherited his father’s stubbornness!  For example, while August loves to take brisk walks outside, he will scream for the first five minutes until he is happily settled. He will happily entertain himself in his bouncy bed or bouncy chair…until Mommy sits down to eat something! August is beginning to enjoy our morning massages, particularly the foot massages and Eskimo kisses! What used to be a dreaded chore is now an opportunity to smile at each other and bond. At this juncture, I have no qualms about indulging August as much as possible!!

Eight Weeks!

I recently discovered that if I put August into the Ergo Carrier and walk up and down the stairs or outside, he will eventually go to sleep!!! And, I finally have managed to get him out of the carrier without waking him (the process takes about 10 minutes)!! As a result, August sleeps for at least 3 to 3.5 hours in a row, every day!! I am also now bringing the car seat inside after we run errands, with the baby inside. I get at least an hour of time to eat and clean the house and August’s sleep is not interrupted.

August is continuing to develop his personality and his visual/motor skills. August easily becomes bored and we have to continuously change the program. He will be entertained by the activity play mat for about 10 to 15 minutes, and can now purposefully hit objects he sees in front of him. His favorite toy, the monkey with the belly that lights up, inconsistently sings and plays the light show when hit. August occasionally gets frustrated because he expects a show every time he hits the monkey’s belly. August also likes to lay on my chest, arch his back up towards the sky like a lizard and then kick at my legs with his legs. When he tries to stand up I lift him into the air. We like to call this game, “Leaping Lizard.”


Yesterday, August and I went to our first German Breastfeeding Café at the St. Johannis Krankenhaus Wintergarten. It was really interesting to listen to both American and German moms explain their stories and discuss challenges, successes and recent research about breastfeeding. One article we discussed was entitled “Baby Fleisch…,” but it turned out the article was against giving meat to babies at four months (as the baby food manufacturers want) and NOT about baby flesh. This was also a great opportunity for the babies to interact with each other. August sat on my lap, facing outward, and watched the kids for most of the time.

Week Seven - The High Needs Baby

This has been the most challenging week for Mommy as August has been sick and very "high needs."  We originally thought that August was bored or just crying constantly because of growing pains (August now weighs 11lbs 11 oz) but we now know that he was coming down with something.  Our doctor has prescribed an array of homeopathic treatment until we get the lab results, but it looks like we both have some sort of bacterial infection.

As a result of Mommy's varied attempts to soothe August over the past week, Mommy has learned that August loves to dance to James Brown, his favorite toy is the musical monkey with the belly that lights up, and what worked yesterday will definitely not work today!  Despite Mommy's exasperation and exhaustion, August will always give Mommy at least a few big smiles during the day, which makes it all worth it.

Six Weeks!

August is experiencing another growth spurt, currently weighing 11lbs and a 20in wingspan!  August's latest accomplishments include giving his Mommy four kisses in a row, screaming for an hour, holding his head up for over five minutes, and looking at the stars.  Here are a few head shots...

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