News Reel vol. 7

Ivan turned five months old this past weekend. We rewarded him with birthday rice cereal. John and I agreed that it was time to start him on solid foods because he was giving us all the right cues:

1. Shows great interest in the food we are eating
2. Wakes more frequently in the night
3. Superior head control
4. Significant weight gain

Ivan liked his cereal even from a small metal spoon and ate what was given to him. There were no adverse reactions. This process is a slow one where only single foods are given for days at a time for the simple reason of being able to discern any allergies. I look forward to cooking and freezing a variety of fruits and vegetables to determine his favourite tastes.
He went to get his second set of shots today and was a big boy about two needles. While we were there the doctor weighed him and measured his length. As we suspected, we’ve given birth to a behemoth: at 17.3 ounces, he sits in the 75th percentile of baby boys his age and measuring 27 inches long, he comes in the 90th percentile. These medical references to percentiles mean, for instance, that 90% of five-month old boys are shorter than Ivan. Atta boy Ivan!
More teeth are coming. I’ve read that generally, all babies grow teeth in the same order and lose them in the same order as well. The first two bottom incisors teeth are in and now we notice that two upper incisors teeth are poking through the surface of his gums. I guess that is why he’s been so irritable in the nights as of late.
A real cool move that melts my heart is that he has started kissing my cheek after I kiss his countless times in a row. Well, maybe a kiss a bit of a stretch: he opens his mouth and bobs back and forth to rub slobber all over my face and then laughs. I call it a kiss. Mind you if John ever did that to me I wouldn’t call that a kiss at all, I’d see it as provoking.