Saturday, October 11, 2008

Aaron Unleashed

Well, my nickname for Aaron in the NICU was Cinderella Man, a reference to the great Russell Crowe movie where he is a boxer during the Depression who wins against all odds. Apparently, the fighter analogy fits! And it has served him well...he fought for his life...he fights to beat the odds stacked against him...

And he fights his MOTHER!

So, I have always felt that parenting required you to be a sort of benevolent dictator. With Sam, that is mainly the case (though he is feeling his oats lately too!) However, there is clearly someone in charge of Aaron's life and that person is, drumroll please, Aaron.
He sleeps when and where he wants to (generally hardly ever and in my arms) he eats when and how he wants, you get the drift. Today I tried to feed him in the highchair, no go. His Sabba tried to feed him, no go (and this man could feed the anorexic Olson) Then, I put him in Sam's booster, and he ate a really great meal. He is so independent. And a TEMPER. We have put up cushions in the living room to box him in, which he hates!! Hates. He now can fling himself over the cushion, headfirst.

So, quite a kid. I hope he is doing all his rebelling now. On a more troublesome note, he is not gaining weight. I took him to the office and he has only gained an ounce since his 6 month check.
His growth chart is not pretty. So, I spoke to his allergist and he has to stay on the Neocate formula (thus, I am still pumping and going soy/dairy/nut/egg free) and he advised us on some ways to get more calories to him. The general consensus seems to be to encourage more solids. Fine with me, but as I said...I am not running the show. I am trying really hard not to obsess over it.

In my next blog....I am going to excerpt a wonderful letter we got about Sam- he is also a superstar!!!!!!

Signing off...a dreary UM fan

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yes, he does fling himself over those cushions! It was fun hanging with you guys last night and witnessing that first hand.

Aaron's nickname may have been Cinderella Man....your's is Saint Lauren. Seriously - While I'm sure the cooling cap contributed to his current successes, you have given and continue to give Aaron everything you possibly can. He's one lucky little boy.

I look forward to hearing about Sam's letter.