8.5 months - Princeton

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Sometimes that happens because, at the end of the day, I'm too tired. Other times it's because nothing happened and I didn't take pictures, so there's nothing to report. Yesterday it was the latter. Wait, that's not true; we went blackberry picking, but I didn't get any good shots of us, just of our friends - and I don't know if they want me posting about them (that whole privacy thing), so I didn't.

Anyway, today we went to the Princeton University campus to see Baba.

Look at those little ham hocks!:

Perspective:

 He's on the move, coming to get me:

Closer:

There he is!

8+ months - My baby from above

I just discovered a draft of a post I thought I'd published weeks ago. Oops. Click here to view it, and transport yourself back in time about two weeks.

We hung around the house today before going to music class, and I tried to take pictures of a naked baby; said naked baby, however, wanted desperately to play with the camera strap, so what was supposed to be an artful photo session ended in frustration for mama and baby - but at least I got some good shots before putting the camera away.

His hair is getting long enough to hang in front of his eyes and over his ears.

Who's that cheeky chap cruising around the coffee table?

The camera is so close! If I stand on my tippy toes...

{Sigh.} Love.

8 months, day 12 - Truffle pig

That's right, my baby eats truffle cheese:

8 months, day 11 - Corn on the cob, yoga, butterflies

Sorry I missed yesterday; Augie and I went to New York and I came home too spent to do anything except nothing at all.

We went to a barbecue this evening, where Augie had corn on the cob for the first time. (He stayed out past his bedtime, hence the tired face in the second picture.)

Augie gave me a kiss as I practiced yoga this morning:

Apropos of nothing, butterflies on my morning walk:

And a little something to make you giggle:

8 months, day 10 - Doing the laundry

Augie's learning about things like movement, balance, and cause and effect.

I want in. How do I get in?

Aha - I'll climb in.

I'm in!

Now, how do I get out?

 

(Probably not exactly what he had in mind.)

8 months, day 9 - CHoP

We spent most of today in Philadelphia, where Augie had en EEG (electroencephalography) and an appointment with a neurologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. As background, Augie occasionally does a strange head tilt/jerk movement that's a bit peculiar, and it finally raised our concern level enough to tell our doctor. The pediatrician, on seeing video of the movement, thought it could possibly be some type of seizure, so she referred us to CHOP. We booked the first available appointment and off we went.

We started the day with the EEG. A friendly technician strapped Augie into his blue mermaid suit and started measuring and drawing on his head:

Then she attached a bunch of wires to his skull with some sticky goop, and the test began. Augie watched TV most of the time, though for the first bit there was a light just above his head which flashed on and off, like a strobe light. Thank goodness he had his rubber ducky to keep him company!

He was mostly fine through the test, though every now we could see him get frustrated and pull out his lobster imitation and instantly turn bright red, trying to wiggle. I'd sing to him and he'd calm right down, momentarily distracted from his restraints. They don't "do" anything during an EEG - they just measure what's happening in the brain as Augie does normal stuff like watch TV, close his eyes, and watch lights flash about 2 feet from his head (okay, so maybe the flashing lights aren't entirely normal).

We had to wait a bit before our next event - an appointment with a neurologist. Augie explored the halls while we waited:

 

We met with the neurologist (Dr. Yum - can a pediatrician have a better name?) after the EEG. Essentially, she is neither concerned nor unconcerned; Augie has shown none of the classical presentations of a seizure (or frequent small seizures) and his EEG was totally normal; she also said he exhibited "advanced development", and her examination of him was totally normal. However, she carefully watched one of the videos we showed her several times and thought that maybe she might have seen the tiniest jerk that was fishy, but also possibly not. And it's a bit suspicious that his head tilt/jerk happens only to one side. She wants us to keep a close eye on him, take more video if it happens again, and come back in a month for a repeat EEG and exam. 

We also think there's a chance that his weird head movements could be due to water in his ears, as they might only happen on days after we've taken him in the swimming pool or got his ears wet in the bath. We don't even know if that's a plausible explanation or if there's a true correlation, but in looking back, it seems like a possibility.

I'll be honest: it was quite a stressful (couple of) day(s) for us parents. We thought things would turn out okay, but that tiniest possibility that they wouldn't was nearly unbearable at times. I know that no child deserves any disease, disaster, accident, or atrocity; but then suddenly, for a second, you can imagine that something might be happening to your child, your beautiful trusting smiling laughing happy adorable child, and for those small moments there is no sense in the world, and there is no longer sense in your own life. I am almost unbearably grateful that things are probably okay and that our shining smiling healthy baby is still just our shining smiling healthy baby.

(A very special thanks to K, who went through this all with L, and provided information, support and love as we got ready for today).

8 months, day 8 - An afternoon at the park

It was a gorgeous summer day here (unlike a typical New Jersey summer day, which is about 150 degrees Celsius with 122% humidity), so we took Augie to the park in the afternoon. We had a great time, and hope he did too.

8 months, day 7 - Brunch with babies

Our dear friends Kristin and Malin bravely hosted a brunch this morning that included no fewer than six babies, all but one of them under the age of one. And surprisingly, all went fairly well, the kids got along (probably because they're too young to even play together), and all the adults got to ignore any crying (that must be someone else's baby!). Augie seemed to love it, which makes Mama so happy.

8 months, day 6 - Playing & kissing

Augie's friend Linden came over this afternoon for a playdate (well, actually, Mama's friend Kristin came around for a mommy playdate, so the boys fought over toys while the mommies talked).

8 months, day 5 - Revisiting South Beara

I vaguely remembered that there were some photos of our last day or two in England that I didn't post; now I don't remember what I'd intended to post. So here are some pics from our last couple of days at South Beara.