Milo, Milo, and more Milo

12 weeks!

As he reaches the end of the Fourth Trimester, Milo is becoming more and more aware of his world every day. He recognizes his favorite people, and lights up the room with a huge smile whenever he sees them (especially Mommy and Daddy).

Milo has learned a lot about his routine and his surroundings, too. He knows that sitting in the big orange chair means he's about to eat, so that even if he's crying frantically, he'll settle down and take on a look of eager anticipation as soon as we sit down. He has learned that lying on the changing table brings a dry, clean tushie, and is sure to start grinning whenever he's placed in that happy spot. The other day, Grandma and Mommy tried to buckle him into his carseat not long after he ate, and he erupted into howls of displeasure. Immediately upon being removed, he offered up an enormous, frat-party-worthy belch. It seems he had a burp left in his tummy, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to release it once he was trapped in his seat.

One of Milo's favorite new discoveries is his crib aquarium. For weeks, he pretty much ignored this gadget, and concentrated all of his attention on his beloved mobile. But suddenly, the aquarium has captured his attention. For those of us who were getting a little sick of the Symphony in Motion music, this is a welcome development!

Milo is also learning how to use his hands more effectively. He still scratches himself all too often with his flailing fingers, but he can also control his hands and use his thumbs to grip his new favorite toy, the O-Ball. He grabs, turns, waves, and gnaws on this clever gadget with quiet concentration.

On Monday, Milo helped Grandma and Mommy pick up bags of donated food at three local grocery stores and deliver them to the food bank. We are very proud of our budding young philanthropist.

Today is Daddy's birthday! Milo had his very first experience with the Birthday Treasure Hunt, a Cohen family tradition for three generations. He did a wonderful job of helping Daddy find and open all the presents. Milo should be all ready to help Daddy write some tough clues for Mommy's birthday hunt on Saturday!

To go with his new telemark bindings, Daddy got an extra special birthday gift - our first real snow of the season. This is MIlo's very first snow! When we took him for a walk to the coffee shop, he was a little confused by the frosty white stuff landing on his little cheeks.

By the time we walked home, he had snuggled into the Moby Wrap for a nap. Little does he know how much snowy fun lies ahead for him!

Getting physical.

Milo is still working on learning how to roll over. He hasn't even done it accidentally since we were in New York, although he's somehow managed to turn himself completely around lengthwise in his crib. It's somewhat disconcerting to go into his room at 3:00 a.m. and find his feet in the spot we placed his head several hours earlier!

While he isn't rolling yet, Milo really enjoys tummy time. We try to give him at least one or two sessions on his belly every day, using his sheepskin, his floor gym, a blanket, or his crib. Milo is working hard on lifting his head, his torso, and various appendages, often all at the same time. Here is a video of a recent tummy time session.

Milo has also started waving his legs around in the air a lot, just for kicks (weak pun intended). His Grandpa Bill is very impressed with the ab muscles this feat requires. Mommy and Daddy think it's completely adorable, although it is making diaper changes rather more adventurous. Milo has developed a frustrating habit of freezing up and staring blankly at the camera when he notices it pointing his way, but here's some Feet In The Air footage we managed to capture.

The latter video also shows Milo's great love for his hand, which he tries to stuff into his mouth as frequently as possible. Lately, he's been trying to get both hands in his mouth at the same time - a hilarious, if mostly unsuccessful effort.

More MiloTV

Two new videos for your Milo-viewing pleasure!

#1: Milo wiggles and giggles





#2: Milo isn't quite sure what to make of his Bumbo
(Please note that the Bumbo, while lacking a warning label, is neither left unattended nor placed on an elevated surface.)

11 weeks!

After all the travels and visitors, we weren't sure how Milo would enjoy returning to a somewhat slower-paced lifestyle. Happily, he reacted by sleeping for SIX WHOLE HOURS at a stretch, two nights in a row. Even better, most of those hours came during a time when Mommy and Daddy could sleep, too. We're feeling rather well-rested, for a change.

At 11 weeks old, Milo is a total delight most of the time (aside from his early evening Extra Super Fussy period). He breaks into the most enormous, happy grin whenever the mood strikes him, particularly when he sees Mommy or Daddy from across the room, or when he's just about to offer up an exceptionally explosive poop.

Milo is also very strong, and is working hard on learning how to roll over (on purpose - he has done it a few times accidentally). He can hold his head up for a long time, and can "stand" on his feet when we hold him upright.

(Note that the Packers/Broncos blanket seems to spend most of its time on the yellow and green side these days. Mommy is not making an issue about it, partly because this means that all the spit-up lands on that side of the blanket!)

This weekend, we took Milo rock climbing! We were a little nervous about taking a baby to the crag, but we went with friends whose babies are a little older than Milo, and who have experience bringing kiddos climbing. We set up pack 'n plays for the older babies, while Milo spent most of the day snoozing in his carseat under his little sun dome. We had plenty of people to trade off climbing, belaying, and baby wrangling, and we had a great time!

We think the altitude (around 8,000 feet) contributed to Milo's rather somnolent response to the adventure. He woke up, cheery and rested, just as we drove back into town, and seemed none the worse for the experience. Here he is, all bundled up for outdoor play. Maybe next time he'll even watch Mommy and Daddy climb a little!

Double digits!

Milo is ten weeks old today! Here, you can see how thrilled he is to have hit the double-digit mark.

Actually, he's pretty thrilled with everything right now, especially people who smile and grin at him.

So far, he seems to be a happy, social, adaptable boy. We feel so very lucky to have this little naches-machine (as Grandma S-J would say) in our lives!

Taking after mama.

Milo seems to have inherited some of his mother's traits, including a general disdain for daytime sleeping. If this led to long stretches of peaceful sleep at night, we'd encourage it, but Milo has yet to sleep for longer than 4 or 5 hours at a stretch at night. Happily, though he still wakes a couple of times a night, those wake-ups have become quick and peaceful, just long enough for a feed and a burp. Mommy can function on this kind of sleep, at least for now (ask her again after she goes back to work in 4 weeks).

Back to Milo and The Elusive Nap. On a typical morning, he and Madeline take a walk over to Caffe Sole, our neighborhood coffee joint, some time in the mid to late morning. Mommy relaxes with a cup of coffee, a pastry, and the newspaper, and Milo takes a nice nap in the Beco baby carrier. He often stays asleep for up to two hours, allowing Madeline to do some work, laundry, or two-handed e-mailing after she gets home. (This is one of our favorite times of day, second only to the sheer delight of Milo's first hour or two after he wakes in the morning, when he likes to lie on his changing table or in his crib and wiggle and giggle and chortle at the world - see below.)

But once that nap comes to an end, Milo is pretty much Awake For The Day. He'll catnap for 10-20 minutes at various points, but though he grows obviously fatigued, he just refuses to sleep for any length of time. Mommy can sometimes get a second nap of up to an hour out of him if she puts him back in the Beco and goes for a long walk, and he'll sleep for 30 minutes or so in the jogging stroller on occasion, but if he's anywhere else - crib, bouncy seat, swing, sheepskin, someone's arms, whatever - he won't last long in slumber. Here he is, pretending to be a good sleeper:

Not surprisingly, all this wakefulness makes for some pretty fussy evenings in Milo-land. Once we get through those trying "witching hours," he often returns to his congenial self for another couple of hours, before he finally conks out and we settle him for the night. We have high hopes of instituting some sort of bedtime routine in the near future, and we're trying assorted techniques to promote daytime napping, but our best intentions somehow all seem to fall by the wayside, and we end up following Milo's lead. Perhaps daycare will do a better job of it?

This weekend, Milo got his very first cold, which he caught from Madeline, who caught it on the plane ride home from New York. Happily, he also takes after his mama in being a relatively pleasant sickie, and he sniffled and coughed for a couple of days without really breaking his stride. He seems to have kicked it already, without any major unpleasantness. In fact, the most obvious outward sign of his illness involved sleep. Not that he napped any more during the day, but he went back to sleep for a long snooze on daddy's chest on Saturday and Sunday mornings, after his 6:00 a.m. wake-up to eat.*

Milo also got a visit this weekend from his Aunt Laura, Uncle Doug, and Grandma Eileen and Grandpa Peter. He had lots of fun with everyone, and especially enjoyed all the great new spots to cat-nap they provided.

*We've been trying to get him to do exactly this on weekend mornings, but when he's healthy, he's just not interested in playing "Sleeping Lions."