23 Weeks

We have our first toothy!!

Brooks cut his first tooth on Friday... as in Friday the 13th. On Friday we could really just "feel" the tooth, but it's slowly (and painfully) trying to push it's way further north. If you can distract the clinching drool monkey long enough, you can just now start to see the outline of a faint white line where the tooth is peeking through. I give it another week or two and it will really be visible when he smiles.

Last Wednesday, we knew something was up. Brooks was fine all day and afternoon (and really evening). We fed him, played with him, and gave him a bath... then, all the sudden, the flood gates opened. I can literally count on ONE hand the times he's truly cried. This was number four. Nothing soothed him. Nothing made him better. I thought for sure his tummy was hurting from the green beans he'd had for the first time at dinner. He cried for 2 hours straight--save maybe three 5 to 10 minute pauses to catch his breath or focus on whatever I was trying to get his attention with. After 2 hours, he finally tuckered himself out and feel asleep. (By then, the Baby Tylenol, Mylacon, and Orajel had all probably kicked in too... and he slept all night.) By Friday we realized the real culprit--a tooth!

He has had a few little (minor) meltdowns over the weekend... but still [knocking on wood] nothing like Wednesday. Now we know what the true problem is and can treat it appropriately (Baby Tylenol, Orajel, and/or a wet washcloth and his teething ring).

Brooks is LOVING his baby food and sits through the entire meal saying, "Mmmmmm" and smiling. He's not keen on peas or green beans, but has loved everything else (carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, apple sauce, pears, and peaches). He's growing bigger (taller) every day... we're up to 6 month clothes and a few 6-9 month onsies. He has maybe 5 3-6 month short outfits that still fit, but other than that, we've pretty much moved on up.

Aunt Kristie brought a walker to Jo Jo's over the weekend so he'd have something new to sit in and keep him occupied... and well, let's just say we had to bring it home with us. He LOVED this one and can move in it SO much better than the one we bought (obviously, the more expensive one would have been the better bet). Brooks is slowly getting the concept that moving his feet will get him where he wants to go. He will sit in the (new) walker for 30-45 minutes at a time, just tooling around the livingroom, laughing at the dogs, and trying to figure out how to get closer to Mommy or Daddy. He's so smart! On top of that, he's also getting closer to figure out how to "crawl." He can already get up on his knees and scoots around. As soon as he figures out he can go faster by moving his arms too, we are in trouble!!