We were supposed to go out of town last weekend since Mike hadn't had a day off since returning from the holidays. Instead, he was sick and I started getting sick, so we spent the weekend holed up watching movies and resting. Mike got better by Monday. I got worse, and Dex caught my bug as well. Our nanny also got sick and couldn't come in on Monday which happens to be the one week I have a tight deadline on Wednesday (today) to make. It's my first new project in months and I'm excited about it, but every day I've been feeling worse and worse. Dexter has been getting worse too. He has a cough that I don't have. It now is an ugly sounding, congestive cough that sometimes leaves him red-faced and choking. He's a little less active, but it doesn't seem to be affecting him too much other than that pitiful cough. I'm not too worried about the cough, because it isn't affecting his breathing at all. It just sounds bad as coughs sometimes do. He just wants me to hold him more. It's his very first cold and my first in almost a year.
He sleeps through the bouts of coughing and actually has been pretty good about sleeping 6 hours straight again (crossing fingers). He's sleeping 10-12 hours total every night. Granted, because he's been choking on his coughs, I've been keeping him in bed with me. He sleeps better that way. He doesn't even need a pacifier if I lay down to sleep with him. I'm glad he's sleeping long stretches while I'm sick - we both need the rest.
New things this week - he's become absolutely fascinated by his hands. He'll reach for something and mid-reach will see his hand and stop reaching for whatever he was reaching for. He'll stare at his hand and turn it back and forth looking at both sides as if he's amazed that it has 2 sides that look different.
He also started babbling late last week. He just makes lots of sounds all together like he's talking because the rhythm is similar to conversation. He does it in a sing-song voice that's actually really beautiful to hear. He does it a lot when he's tired and I give him my hand to play with, but he also does it to his toys sometimes.
On the flip-side of beautiful sounds, he started his high-pitch screaming again. That's one noise I can do without and he seems to always do it at ear-level. He seems to be testing how high of a sound he can make because sometimes he does it and nothing comes out but air.
We have a new nick-name for him - Human Claw. He's so good at grabbing stuff that he will grab and hold on to the oddest stuff while 'm picking him up. Toys, I understand he wants to take them with him, but he's also grabbing papers, kleenex, diaper cream, and a box of paper towel like wipes I have sitting by the changer. It's funny to hold him above stuff and see what he grabs - thus the nickname.
I will soon post on how solids have changed everything - including changing diapers (gross!).
