A Chunky Update

How can you not love that cute little face?

We brought Chunky in to the pediatrician (my new favorite pediatrician that I am currently working with this month!) for his 9 month checkup.

His stats:
Weight: 18lbs 1oz (8th percentile)
Height: 28.5 inches (46th percentile)
Head circumference: 18.3in (74th percentile)

He is a little guy but full of spunk. His favorite toys are cars, balls and anything he can steal from big brother. He loves to read books and can dance to any music. He is a speed crawler and races to our bathtub every single time he thinks someone is going in there. He can stand up by himself without holding on to anything for a minute or two but hasn't quite figured out how to take a step by himself. He has finally gotten the whole solid food business down and is eating 3 meals a day with a snack or two. His favorite food is a mix of spinach, pears and mango. He is still routinely waking up multiple times each night, even more so now that he has been sick. We have cut him down to 1 middle of the night feeding between 10pm and 6am and hope to cut that one out soon. He is such a sweet, happy little guy. All of his giggles and smiles make up for him not sleeping at night.

Sunday Seven: February 20-26, 2011

Daddy and Chunky sharing an iced hazelnut coffee with whip cream and caramel.

My boys and their girlfriends.

Monkey is still obsessed with birthday parties and cake. Today we made purple birthday cupcakes... for no one in particular. Monkey really enjoyed tasting the cake batter.

Daddy teaching the boys how to load the dishwasher. Never too young to start learning.

Mr. Sick and Mr. Not-so-sick "resting" on the couch.

This is Monkey's sick face. He was diagnosed with his first ear infection today.

Chunky celebrated Go Texan Day a day late by wearing the cutest little red cowboy shirt and his new Levi's! Isn't he adorable?

The Sickies

Chunky, Monkey and the future-M.D. behind this whole gig have the sickies. I started working in a general outpatient pediatric clinic 2.5 weeks ago. By last week I  started spiking temps, was unable to swallow and routinely coughed up large amounts of mucus (gross, I know.) I ended up at the doctor with a diagnosis of exudative tonsillitis and a questionable sinusitis. Unfortunately Chunky and Monkey followed in my footsteps and have been fighting off their own little colds. I am pretty conservative when it comes to treating cold symptoms in my boys. There are currently no cough and cold medications on the market for children under the age of 4 years due to the potential risks associated with these kinds of medications. For my own kids, I monitor their temperature but do give acetaminophen or ibuprofen unless their clinical condition warrants it. I don't treat the number on the thermometer. Fevers enhance the body's natural defense against infection so why try to reduce that with medication if the child is handling the fever fine?

So what can you do for the little ones with colds**?
- cool mist humidifier to moisten the air they breathe and help with congestion
- steam showers to loosen thick mucus
- warm tea with a teaspoon of honey (honey is only for children over 1 year of age)
- fluids such as water or dilute gatorade to maintain hydration
- saline drops in the nostrils and bulb suctioning
- lots of cuddles and movies

Monkey ended up with a bacterial ear infection as a result of his little viral illness. He started on antibiotics today for his ears and has been getting lots of cuddles and rest to help him fight it off.




**These are my personal opinions and should not take the place of your own pediatrician's advice. I am only a medical student!

Sunday Seven: February 13-19, 2011

There are two of them!

The boys playing in the dark with their Mickey Mouse light sticks from Gammy for Valentine's Day!

Yummy! Guess who got a cupcake for breakfast? Yes, Monkey is totally healthy like that (and mom was at work and had no say in his choice of breakfast foods...)

Big brother Monkey teaching Chunky how to walk. It won't be long now and we'll have two walkers!

Which one dumped goldfish all over the floor? and guess who is eating them? Chunky! He can now eat solid things without gagging or choking.

This kid cracks me up. We have been doing a lot of art project over the past few weeks - and he always ends up with crayong/marker/paint all over him. He thinks its hilarious.

Chunky in a box!

The Flower

 

This is Flower, Monkey's science project over the past couple of weeks. He made sure to water it every couple of days. He made sure to turn the pot so it wouldn't grow towards the sun. He even made sure to not let Meiko and Stinky (our cats) eat it.  Flower recently died, and then the cats ate it...

Seconds and Stats

Chunky suffers from second child syndrome.

Bumps on the head = oh well, we've seen worse with Monkey...
Runny nose, cough, fevers = well Monkey had a fever of 104 that time, and he was ok...
Naptime = he can sleep in the car on the way to our 43rd errand of the day...
Playing with his favorite car/ball/block when Monkey steals it and runs = poor Chunky, play with your dirty socks...

Ok, so it isn't quite that drastic (or maybe it is?) but we are definitely more laid-back with Chunky. We go with the flow a little more. We let him explore the world around him without constantly breathing down his neck. We let him climb up slides at 9 months old (see below) and chew on grass. We try to enjoy every moment of the present instead of wishing for him to grow into a new stage. We rock him to sleep because we know he won't let us rock him forever. We accept the fact that he doesn't like to sleep without us. He'll eventually grow out of it. We try not to compare him too much to Monkey. But we still do. They are very different babies - but still somehow very alike. Neither slept too well. Neither liked textured food. Both have totally awesome, happy dispositions. Both like to make people laugh. Both were mobile way before we were ready. Both are absolutely beautiful and perfect.

The Second Child Comparison:
Chunky is now 9.5 months old. He weighs almost 18lbs and is 27.5in long.
Monkey at 6.5 months old (minus a few days) was 18.5lbs and 27.5in long.

As you can see Chunky is our little peanut. It isn't for lack of eating, because he does plenty of that. He just doesn't gain very quickly. I'm pretty sure it is a mechanism for survival.  If he gets too heavy he knows we'd stop carrying him all the time and put him down to play with his dirty socks. 

Sunday Seven: February 6-12, 2011

Payback! Yes, that would be Chunky climbing up the slide after Monkey while holding a bat. At least it was a really soft bat, and Chunky never got past the floor.

I want to play iPad, too! Monkey wasn't in the mood for sharing.

Monkey trying to lend a helping hand to Chunky climbing up the slide.

Paint anyone?

Chunky and Monkey sharing some breakfast. Chunky wasn't too happy about all the sharing going on... it was more like Monkey stole all of his cereal.

Guilty.

Brothers celebrating Valentine's Day a little bit early. Can you feel the love?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from Chunky and Monkey!

We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day a little bit early! I have to work Monday and wanted to spend as much time as possible celebrating with my boys... so we just moved Valentine's Day up a couple of days! They are young enough not to know the difference, and who cares what day it is when presents and love and cupcakes are involved?!?!

Cupid brought the boys sand buckets full of goodies. Monkey's bucket was Toy Story themed, and Chunky's was full of new books.

One of our cats, FatBoy, decided he wanted to check out the new sand shovels. 

Attempting to get the boys to sit still on a couch to take a picture is completely impossible. At least Chunky didn't fall off of the couch trying to grab his bucket.

They really do love each other... even if Monkey is doing his goofy, closed-eye smile.

Chunky liked checking out Monkey's new big boy underwear.

But Chunky was most excited about his very own sippy cup! He doesn't have to share any of brother's old ones or use the baby cups! He is now a big boy with a Toy Story sippy to prove it. He was slightly distraught that the cup was empty.

I think Chunky realized something was wrong with Monkey's reading of his Valentine's card... or he was wondering where the heck the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song was coming from (inside the card.)

Filled up the boys' new cups with a little bit of water for a mid-present drink break.

 They were crying inside when we took away their new cups... look how pitiful.

A little bit better.

Monkey helped me make some Valentine's Day cupcakes. We used neon pink and purple gel food coloring to make the batter, and some boyish baseball cupcake cups so they wouldn't be too girly.
Monkey thoroughly enjoyed his icing and sprinkles.

 Shh.... don't tell his pediatrician but Chunky had a little bit of dry cake, too. 

 All smiles with a little bit of icing and sprinkles on his face!

Partners in Crime

Something extraordinary has happened over the past few weeks at our house. Chunky and Monkey have become the best of friends! Gone are the days when we didn't have to worry what Chunky was doing. He is now extremely mobile and following Monkey everywhere. Of course, Monkey is setting the best of examples for his little brother and teaching him the finer things in life such as...

- how to splash water out of the bathtub

- how to throw food on the floor during dinner

- how to chase the cats and pull their tails

- how to hide in Mommy's closet in the dark

- how to play tickle wars

- and how to climb up the big boy slide...

(In the interest of Chunky's safety Daddy had to help him out a little bit...)

Brothers

All for one and one for all
My brother and my friend
What fun we have
The time we share
Brothers 'til the end.
~Author Unknown

Sunday Seven: January 30 - February 5, 2011

Chunky was exhausted after a busy morning playing with Gammy. Too bad his little cat nap only lasted twenty minutes. He looks like a giant right here, but I'm pretty sure its because of the angle of the photo. He does not look nearly that big in person.

Before the crazy winter storm hit Texas, Monkey and Mommy played ball in the backyard. Monkey thought it was hilarious to throw the ball at the camera.

Where is Chunky?

Tickle, tickle, tickle. Monkey was being a good big brother by entertaining Chunky while we prepared dinner.

Monkey was supposed to be playing quietly while getting ready for bed. Instead he decided to play music. I think the neighbors could hear him.

Static electricity anyone?

We did a little finger painting today... or foot painting in Chunky's case.

What I'm For...

I'm for tucking in "tight tight" every single night.

I'm for blowing twice the kisses when I walk out the door.

I'm for hour-long bubble baths with 20 rubber ducks.

I'm for building sand castles at the beach on hot summer days.

I'm for sharing my chapstick, even if it ends up on Monkey's chin.

I'm for matching footed-pajamas that zip to the neck.

I'm for special lunch dates with my handsome 2-year-old son.

I'm for the Hot Dog dance at 7am.

I'm for blowing raspberries on chubby baby bellies.

I'm for smelling stinky baby toes over and over again.

I'm for late night cuddles when I haven't slept.

I'm for tickle wars that make Monkey laugh so hard he snorts.

I'm for my boys.

Buddy Fruits: Review and Giveaway!

We are constantly on the lookout for quick, healthy, and kid-friendly foods for Monkey. He will almost always choose a fruit when given the option, but the biggest problem we have in our area is finding good quality produce. That is where the fruit squeeze pouch comes in!

Recently we were given the opportunity to try out Buddy Fruits. Each Buddy fruit pouch contains pure, blended fruit equal to the amount of one fresh fruit serving. It is blended to a perfect, smooth, non-gritty consistency that is super easy to slurp right out of the pouch. But one of the best parts about Buddy Fruits is that there are no preservatives, colorings, high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors added to the fruits. It is 100% delicious fruit.

Monkey has tried and thoroughly enjoyed all four flavors that we received. They are a perfect snack for on the go and even sitting at home. I tried both the apple and multi fruit pouch and the apple cinnamon pouch, and they were both delicious.  They were the perfect blend of flavors in a smoother consistency than apple sauce.  I have a hard time getting in my recommended daily allowance of fruit, and these are perfect to throw in the pocket of my white coat. They don't get squished, bruised or turn a horrible brown color after sitting in your coat pocket for a day or two. I often don't have a lot of time to eat (as in no lunch break many days) so these are perfect for a quick pick-me-up. These little fruit pouches have become a staple around our house. We can find them at our local HEB (a Texas store) but I've heard Walgreens also has them.

Buy Buddy Fruits at their online store or on amazon.com or diapers.com. Or you can win a pack of 18 Buddy Fruits here!

THE GIVEAWAY

Would you like to WIN a free 18-pouch display case of Buddy Fruits? Chunky & Monkey are giving a set away to one of our readers!

MANDATORY ENTRY:  You must follow Chunky and Monkey, MD on Google Friend Connect (see my top left sidebar) publicly to be considered for this giveaway.  Please go to BuddyFruits.com and tell me which flavor you would like to try! (or you can cheat and just look above!) If your email is not visible, please leave me a way to get a hold of you!

Extra Entries:

2 entries - Follow Buddy Fruits on Facebook. Leave 2 separate comments with your facebook user name.

2 entries - Follow @ChunkyMonkeyMD on twitter and leave me a comment with your twitter handle.

1 entry - Be one of my first followers at Chunky and Monkey, MD on facebook. Leave a comment with your facebook user name.

1 entry - comment on any non-review post on my blog! Tell me which post you commented on for an extra entry.

2 entries - Subscribe to Chunky and Monkey, MD emails (feedburner link on left sidebar). Please leave 2 separate comments.

In compliance with the FTC Guidelines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given a sampling of Buddy Fruits to review free of charge, however, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.

Not the Maid

My house is perpetually in a state of "mess." I've gotten used to it. Its not that our house is dirty - because we do actually keep up with the normal type cleaning stuff of dishes, dusting, toilets, vacuuming, etc. Its just that we have toys everywhere. Its not uncommon to find a small plastic ball (or 20) in the bathroom and a firetruck on the kitchen counter.  We have puzzle pieces under the slide, race cars on the window sills and wooden trains all over the floor. There is a stack of books in the corner and the marker box is dumped out. But guess what? I'm okay with that.

I could spend all day just cleaning up mess after mess that Chunky and Monkey make. But guess what I do instead? I throw plastic balls into the bathroom and have race car races in the entryway. I make Playdoh pancakes on the floor and have nightly puzzle and book time where ever there is a clutter-free spot. We paint and build blocks and play kickball in the hall. We have fun. I don't have the opportunity to spend every waking hour with my boys and the time I do spend with them will drastically decrease once I start my residency program in July. In the meantime, I'm not the maid. I'm the mom. I'm going to play with my boys and love on my boys and have as much fun as I can while I can.

The toys do eventually get picked up and put into their proper boxes or bins... but guess what happens a few seconds later? That's right. We have fun!