Updates on Elijah James Cole

Martha is off doing one of her Scentsy parties so Elijah and I are chilling at home.

Funny thing that I’ve learned… the boy seem to like to poop in clean diapers. After he had his yogurt and applesauce, I took him to change his very wet diaper. 10 minutes later, he was standing by the couch on his tiptoes with a certain gleam in his eye. (Then, not long after, a scent of his own.)

Before yogurt, I opted to give him some puffs. Martha has stopped feeding them to him because he’d start to choke on them and then share the contents of his stomach with who ever was is closest. My thought, give them to him on an empty stomach and then “worst case” becomes partially digested airborne puffs. My gamble paid off and he had seconds.

I think I forgot to mention in an earlier blog that all we have to do with Elijah’s bottle is, when he’s sitting his his highchair, put it in front of him. He’ll take it and feed himself. It helps that we use the “Drop-Ins” bottles. They’re the ones with the plastic liner so, when he sucks on it, it acts like one of those juice drinks that come in plastic pouches.

If I had one concern right now about Elijah, I’d have to say that I’m worried about his sleep. Quite regularly, he’ll wake up in the middle of the night with a full fledged cry and then go back to sleep. I don’t know if he’s having nightmares or was awakened by something else and simply upset.

Eli has never really been into his pacifier. Right now, he’s using one as a teething ring and chewing on the backside of it.

Still no walking. He’ll pull himself up and he’ll stand free and clear of whatever he’s next to, but no steps. He’ll pull himself along the couch , crib, or pack-and-play without issue. Sometimes, he’ll even look at me as if to say “Look what I did!”

We’re getting adjusted to life in Washington. The move was draining, but God has been smiling on us nearly every step of the way. It’s nearly impossible to list all the things that could have gone wrong with everything, only to have them work out. This is not to say that it has been easy. My take-home pay has been cut by $10K a year, so that smarts and until we get settled and pay back everyone we owe, we’re going to budget down to the last penny.

We’re also not forgetting to budget for some R&R. We’ve been to a few square dances (though not as many as we’d like as there are lots of people to see) and next September marks our 5th wedding anniversary, so I’d like to plan a trip to celebrate. Hmmmm… I wonder where we might go.

Still, it’s great to be back in Washington. I absolutely love being a full time teacher. It’s a lot of work. Teacher prep, test prep, student issues, tenure issues, and homework considerations seem constant. (I’ve been told that the second year is easier. You not only get into a rhythm, you can recycle some of those materials from the first year.)

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is a month away. Next thing you know, it’ll be Christmas and then 2011. Christmas will be on the small side, and that’s okay with me. These days I’m much more about “experiences” than “stuff.” I’m sure we’ll find some small toys for Elijah. My guess is that he’ll be happy playing in a large cardboard box.

Though, I do wish I could get him a large wooden rocking chair. My parents had one that they rocked me and my siblings in. We don’t have tons of room for one, but I’d keep it in Eli’s room and rock him when he needs it. Were we in PA, I’d head down to Amish country and find a craftsman to make me a handmade one. (Made by hand always trumps made by machine. In China.)

Well, it is 8:20 and someone looks really tired. I’m going to change his diaper, put a 12 hour one on him and then sit with him until he falls asleep.

Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!

First off, a happy birthday shout out to my nephew, Zander, on his birthday. Happy Birthday to you young man!

Being a parent, is a gift that manifests itself in many ways. One of those ways, if you choose to let it, is that you can relearn some of life’s lessons that you may (or may not) have forgotten on the way to becoming an adult. This past week’s lesson had little to do with me as his mother and I learned…

Elijah does not like clowns.

This, is an understatement. Elijah likes clowns as much as cats like to go swimming or dogs enjoy visits from the local mail carrier.

Last Friday night, we gathered up the family to visit our friends at the Samena Squares in Kirkland for their Halloween student-dance. Elijah has cute dinosaur costume this year (pictures will be forthcoming) and we went to support our friend Susan Morris who was calling the dance. Susan’s costume was one of the best clown creations ever. (I wouldn’t have recognized her had I not know it was her.) Eli burst into tears when she came within 5 feet of him. She could be in the same room, but he would scan for her and the moment she got too close, there was a powerful cry to be had.

On Saturday, we took him to our church’s Halloween party, which was fun. It’s really interesting to watch him play and interact with other kids. (Some of which are much older than he is.) He’s got a pretty low key disposition. (Especially if he’s been fed and has a dry diaper.)

Sunday, Elijah and I enjoyed a little Father/Son time while Martha helped host a Scentsy party. (Scentsy is flameless candle type of thing that allows you to have the scents of a candle without an open flame. Think aroma-therapy without the added of the pyrotechnics.) It was a nice quiet day. I try to spend as much time with Elijah as I can. Between work at work, work at home, and trying to get caught up in square dance land, there’s not much time left over. So, I enjoy all the one-on-one time that I get.

Tomorrow, Friday, I’ll get another Father/Son day with Eli. Saturday, we’ll help Zander celebrate his big 5.0 birthday. Sunday, Martha and Eli are headed north to visit Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Bill to give them a “baby fix.” I’ll miss them, but I don’t mind sharing.

Happy Halloween everyone!

First a thought about bedtime… Yes, there will come a day when Elijah can cry himself to sleep. Today is not that day. The other night, I put him to bed thinking that he’d get tired of crying and just settle down. It just didn’t happen. He was miserable and overheated and I felt horrible. So, the day will come. When it does, I’ll be strong.

Today, Elijah is 15 months old and, as luck would have it, he had his 15 month appointment at the pediatrician. One of the things the doctor said was, “Good news, he’s not autistic.” Really? Like that was the fear in the back of my head? (It was never a concern.)

At 15 months, Elijah weighs 27 pounds, 12 ounces. (For my metric speaking friends, that’s 12.59 kilograms.) He’s 31 and 1/4 inches tall. (79 centimeters.)

Compared to his peers (do babies really have peers???) he’s in the 87th percentile for weight, 56th percentile for length/height, and 99th percentile for head circumference.

He got a flu shot, and a couple of vaccinations. (I’d list them, but I can’t spell them.)

We’re going to see a speech/language therapist about some of his eating habits as well as communication concerns. Apparently, Elijah is at the age where he should be at least pointing at what he wants. Granted, he does get excited when he sees something he wants (like mom and dad, food, the kitties, or a toy) but the issue is that he should be letting us know that he wants those things.

The eating habit issue is that new foods (especially more solid ones, like cereal) frequently trigger a gag reflex that is particularly strong. (I can relate to it but hope to minimize it.) He doesn’t currently drink milk due to the fact that the last milk he drank came up as fast as it went down. So, we’ll introduce it a little slower (and warmer) and get him weaned from his formula.

I’m in no hurry to cut him off from his bottle. As long as he’s growing and is healthy, it’s all good.

According to the doctor, he has very good social interactions. Like his dad, he’s not shy at all.

It was a good visit. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there to meet his doctor. Martha liked him, so that’s a great start.

A short note, I know, but I’m going to try to get back on track with regular updates.)

Blessings to you and yours!

Has it really been over 3 months since my last Elijah update? Egads, I didn’t realize I’d been so lax. Sorry about that.

The job change, the subsequent move (and it’s related complications), and the work involved with a career change have prevented me from getting in front of my computer and delivering timely updates. Time to fix that.

For those that don’t know, Martha, Elijah, and I have moved back to Washington state from Arizona, and I’ve taken a job as an instructor at the Renton Technical College. It’s an amazing opportunity. Sort of a career change without a career change. The trip back has been an amazing adventure full of amazing blessings. (Words still fail me when I think about it and all the help we got. However, I put my thanks in prayer every day.) I am not super comfortable simply publishing my address in this blog, so, if you’d like our new address, drop me a line at stephenjcole@msn.com and I’ll get it to you. Be patient as that email address gets more than its fair share of junk mail.

The good news about Elijah is that no news has been good news. Elijah is growing stronger every day. He’s taller, stronger, and louder than he’s ever been.

His eating habits haven’t changed much. He’s eating stage 3 foods without any major reactions. Over the past couple of weeks, it seem that introducing new foods has resulted in a type of adverse reaction. Meaning that foods with new textures tend to come back up rather quickly. There’s no other reaction, so we’re discounting an allergy, but we’re hesitant to make changes very rapidly. Before we left AZ, the doctors there wanted us to wean him from his bottle, but, in a case of “parents know best” that’s something that is happening, but slowly.

Also, we were advised to migrate from formula to whole milk, but that too is on the back burner. Granted, Elijah had a full blown head-cold when we tried before, but the results of the milk were… Let’s just call it “explosive.” I think, at the time, the milk might have been a tad on the cold side, so “brain freeze” might have played a part in it.

Still, doing what we’re doing is working, so “staying the course” is the plan for now.

Bedtime has been a challenge lately. Elijah has rarely gone down for a nap or bedtime without a fight. That kid has some strong lungs, that is for sure. Today, for the first time, I resolved to put him down for his nap and not go in to soothe him no matter what. Egads, that was hard. Tonight, we’re going to attempt the same thing. (Wish us luck.)

Still no walking. However, Eli’s getting closer and closer. He will pull himself along the length of the couch or walk behind some object that is moving. (For example, he’ll push a box across the floor.) Occasionally, he’ll stand free of handholds. Once he realizes he’s not holding onto anything, he’ll sit down promptly. Tonight, there was a glimmer in his eye as he spied something across the room and he almost took a step but it didn’t happen.

Also, he’s got some first year molars coming in. I’ve felt 1, but there are probably 1 or 2 others that are nearly ready to erupt.

So, that’s the update for today. On Tuesday, Elijah will be 15 months old. It is hard for me to believe. Still, it is amazing to watch him grow and learn.

Blessings to you and yours!