Well, Sort of. He’s almost six months, and rolling over sometimes. First babies will turn you into an obsessive psychopath. The book said he should roll over at five months. Some babies even do it as early as two months. So of course I am convinced he has some sort of developmental problem. The doctor isn’t worried though, and just says “give him more tummy time.”
All my baby does when I put him on “tummy time” – that play time they’re supposed to have on their stomachs to build up muscles that will be used for rolling over and crawling – is get mad and cry. So right away he is at a disadvantage for rolling over because tummy time is not fun play time enjoyed for hours. But I try my best to help him. I play with him, distracting him with toys and even helping with a rollover or two. He likes when I rolled him sideways over and over from one end of my bed to another. Not sure that accomplishes much other than giggles, but giggles are important too. He lasts a bit longer with tummy time on his own (supervised, of course) if I prop him on the Boppy – I thought that magic pillow was just for nursing but it’s good for just about anything. He also gets plenty of tummy time on my chest, as I recline and we stare at each other with smiles.
Last month there were a couple of transitions from stomach to back that might have counted as rolling over. Both times I had just set him down, and in a matter of moments he had flipped to his side. Then after many minutes of squirming he was on his back. Was that a rollover or did I prop him at just the right angle for the transfer to occur on its own? My husband, whose world view contrasts my own, promptly began telling people our son was rolling over. I wasn’t convinced.
Then it happened. Last week on Wednesday evening he was playing on his stomach, fussing and struggling as usual. He wants to roll over, almost has it, but I thought like most time, including the time I busted out the video camera and ended up with 6 minutes of nothing, it would end in tears. Then, he pushed just right with his arm and boom! He was over. I tried not to react loudly, because last time I did I scared him. He had done it all on his own!
Although he is not suddenly mobile and rolling from one end of the house to another, he has two rollovers under his belt now, and is starting not to fuss so much on tummy time. He is also now pushing all the way up on his arms from his tummy! He’s small for his age, so I’ll just have to wait for him to take these things in his own time.
A YEAR AGO TODAY
It’s hard to believe the little guy with a million smiles just learning to roll over was a pulsing dot on the ultrasound screen this time last year. By mid September I had been nauseous since the middle of July. I don’t know why they call it “morning sickness.” They should call it “morning, afternoon, evening, and worse-when-you-don’t-eat-but-you-can’t-eat sickness.” I suppose I am fortunate that I did not actually vomit, but most of the time I wished I could. Food always sounded terrible, but I had to eat regularly or the nausea would get worse. Some foods sounded worse than others. If anyone even talked about pancakes I’d practically double over. The smell of food cooking was my doom – especially that slightly burnt smell wafting through the outdoor air near restaurants. I live in downtown Sacramento – there’s a restaurant on every corner!
I remember the first day I felt sick. I was scheduled for volunteer work at Happy Tails cat shelter in the afternoon, and enjoyed a late breakfast on my patio in the morning. I made myself eggs and toast, but I was still hungry. I told myself I should listen to my hunger since I was pregnant. So I had some vanilla pudding. Bad combo. By the time I got to Happy Tails, I was feeling so sick I could hardly concentrate. One of the other volunteers gave me some saltines, which helped a little, but nothing made the feeling go away. Nothing would for at least a month.
I tried crackers before getting out of bed, ginger tea, and drinking more water… all the cures in the book. Nothing worked. When I broke the baby news to my coworkers in August, one told me she wasn’t surprised since I’d been looking a little pale and sick.
I’m not a soda drinker, so when I had a few sips of my husband’s root beer one evening, I was pleasantly surprised to find the carbonation eased the quease. Not about to add volumes of sugar and chemicals to my diet by making soda a regular thing though, I ran out and got a sparkling water. It worked! I stocked up and for the remainder of my nausea (through about the 12th week) I was able to take 30 to 60 minute vacations from sickness by downing a bit of sparking mineral water or club soda. It was like magical fairies sprinkling numbing bubbles in my tummy. The best part was the doctor said the sparkling water had hydrating qualities and counted for water intake – getting your 8-10 glasses a day is doubly important during pregnancy.
I’m glad that slice of my life is over, but I try keep the details at close recall in case the cute little smiles of my six-month-old fool me into thinking I’d want to do this again. Two months of nausea is enough for a lifetime. My sincerest sympathies to those women who have it all nine months.
Check back next week for more about six-month-olds as well as tips and stories for the forth month of pregnancy.
Oh soo true about the smell of food making you sick! For me it was when meat, more specifically Pork was being cooked, while I was pregnant we lived with my mother in law who is Hispanic.. let's just say there were many a'night leaving the house for hours to make sure the smell had cleared!
ReplyDelete"It was like magical fairies sprinkling numbing bubbles in my tummy." I love this!!
So adorable! Good thing you were able to find an effective
ReplyDeletenausea cure.