Name Game

Reaction from friends and family about Dexter's name:

"Sounds like a soap opera doctor."

"Sounds like a private eye."

"You really should consider using it as a middle name."

"Oh, you must be jazz fans."

"Will you have to rename him if he turns out to be left-handed?"

"Have you seen that HBO show?"

The answer to the last question is no, but now that there are several billboards promoting this program, we are very keen to watch it.

Jazz fans out there usually ask us if we named him after the sax player, and the answer is also no. We liked the name and in choosing a second name, we decided on Gordon, just because.

For the record, Dexter is the name of his paternal grandfather. We thought it would be nice to honour grandpa in this manner. Besides, we thought the name was cool so there you go.

Still teething

Who knew that teething was a process and not an event? Dexter has been drooling a lot (a sure sign of teething) since he was four months old and today, on his seventh month, there is still no tooth. The arrival seems imminent; I can see the spot on his gums where I suspect the first tooth will emerge. Everyday, as I help Dex through another painful day ("Here honey, bite on this soother, or this little rag, or this soft toy..."), I keep hoping that the tooth will finally push through, but nothing yet. Luckily, the pain seems to come and go, with some days better than others.

A friend of ours got him a shirt with the saying "I'm not going to remember any of this." It's a good thing, too, since I'd hate for him to remember the pain. It breaks my heart to watch him cry when I can't do anything about it.

Seventh Month

Here are some of the things that Dexter can do at seven months:
- roll: back to tummy and tummy to back (diaper changes are now more interesting)
- drool: volumes and volumes
- stand up with some support
- sit down with some support
- pushes off with his legs and arms (making him difficult to carry)
- sit up in his baby bath tub
- pet the cats
- grab objects
- move objects from one hand to the other
- grasp things with index finger and thumb
- eat rice cereal and oatmeal cereal
- hold his own spoon
- hold and drink from his sippy cup
- drink water from a glass or a water bottle
- recognize mommy and daddy
- play with daddy's face (grabs his nose and glasses)
- follow the sound of our voice
- stare at hands: his, ours
- gets tickled when we massage the back of his thighs
- emit a gleeful laugh, especially when we blow on his belly
- make a razzing sound
- get amused by peek-a-boo
- laugh at his reflection in the mirror
- stare at his cats
- etc.

I'm sure there's lots more, but I can't think of them at the moment. Oh, he also wears a size 3 diaper now!

Communication 101

No, we are not going to debate whether or not there is such a thing as a distinct Canadian culture nor talk about the vastness of the Canadian landscape and the proximity to the US as we did in those intro communication courses at SFU. This is a lot more basic than that. Basic as in "a-goo."

There's really not much by way of vocabulary for Dexter but he is getting good at making himself understood. One recognizable and consistent sound he utters is "ning ning." As far as we can tell, "ning ning" means "no, no." He says it when we're trying to do something that he obviously does not want to do. For example, he might be cranky and when I try to change his diaper, he would cry, resist and say ning ning as if to say: "No, no, you got it wrong -- I'm hungry, not wet."

Jon's taken to calling him Flipper since Dexter started making these strange dolphin-like sounds: a combination of throatal, gutteral vocalizations along with some "aaaaaahs" and "errrrrrrrggggh" and other vowel-like, growly noises. I think it's his first attempt at speech. Sometimes the utterings follow the cadence of a real conversation, but most of the time, I think he's just trying out different sounds.

In terms of trying to understand the boy, we still rely a lot on non-verbal cues. Smooshing face into our chests or rubbing his eyes means he's tired. Crying and pulling his knees up to his chest means he's got stomach cramps. Tugging at his ears means his teeth/gums are ache-y. Crying along with a cough-cough means he's hungry.

We're trying to learn sign language so that he can communicate some of his basic needs. The theory is that the ability to comprehend along with the child's fine motor coordination predates the ability to speak. So, if we teach him basic signs for things like milk (fist squeezing as if milking a cow), eat (tips of thumb and fingers together and tapping the mouth), and happy (palm touching chest over the heart), we can communicate a little better.

Dex vs. Fergus

I was trying to take more roll-o-dex pictures one day when Fergus kept bugging me for some attention. I would point the camera at Dexter but Fergus kept trying to rub against my camera hand to ruin the shot. It took several tries before I could get a good video. In the final one, Fergus actually walked in front of the camera so he can be in the shot and therefore the centre of my attention. The bell you hear in the background is Fergus' bell.

These are short videos and I think it's worth watching all of them.

Take 1 (11 sec)
Take 2 (10 sec)
Take 3 (25 sec)
Take 4 (17 sec)

A hint of independence

He just started cereal a few weeks ago and already he is insisting on feeding himself. Feeding time thus takes longer and is waay messier these days.

He's trying to figure out how this spoon thing works. I think he partially has it. He actually lets go when he wants a re-load of cereal so I think he's getting it. He needs to work on the coordination a bit. But no rush there... he's only six and a half months old (and really, only four and a half in his corrected age).

Before, during and after shots here.

I should add here that the breakfast routine is usually between Daddy and Dex. Dad takes the first shift of the day. It usually starts with the first diaper change and a change of outfit upstairs. Then, they move downstairs where they make coffee. I believe Dexter knows more about coffee than most adults -- how coffee plants are planted in Ethiopia, or Costa Rica, or elsewhere; how beans are harvested when they are ripe then sold to imperialist profiteers raping the land of third world nations. But we tell Dex that we only buy fair trade coffee and we buy green beans so that we get the freshest cup of coffee we can. But, I digress. The point is, Daddy had a meeting this morning so Mom took over the feeding and of course, she can't resist a good photo op.

Smiley baby is back

He's all but forgotten the trauma of the last doctor's visit. He woke up this morning after a 10 hour sleep (he woke up once to nurse) and our smiling baby is back!

Ow, that hurt!

The lower lip jutted out, the eyes squeezed instant tears, and the wailing started as soon as the needles were jabbed into his thighs. Yes, I mean, needles.

The paediatrician and a resident each took hold of a meaty leg and administered a shot simultaneously. I'm not sure if the simul-shot was a better strategy than the one-after-the-other approach, but what I know is that my little boy felt this one. Poor guy. Jon was holding him at the time and I was trying not to cry.

These shots were his six-month shots. The good news is no more needles until the one-year mark. Poor guy.

Sixth Month

I take a picture of him every month with Stretch, his little giraffe, so I can see how he's growing and changing. I posted his four month picture earlier.

And here's a couple of photos of him on August 24, his sixth month: