Weight: 20.2lb (9.2kg) (47th percentile) That tummy bug took it's toll!
Length: 29.2" (75cm) (71st percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.1" (46cm) (71st percentile)
Milestones:
- 2004.07.03
Duvan had his first thorough taste of authentic South Africa fare - droë wors! Dried sausage. See the picture below!
- 2004.07.03
Duvan started playing peek-a-boo behind large objects. He hides behind anything that he can pull him up against, crouches down and then shoots up with a big "whoa!!". It's so cute!
- 2004.07.03
Duvan finished a whole Provita all by himself today.
- 2004.07.05
Duvan's rather low weight during his visit to the clinic a couple days ago prompted a swift introduction of a number of exotic new items on Duvan's diet: meat, egg yolk and liver.
- 2004.07.08
We've been trying to convince Duvan for the longest time to hold his own bottle when drinking formula. He's super relaxed when he eats though, and much prefers to lie back, arms lazily thrown outwards and have us hold the bottle in position. :) Today he managed to hold it up by himself while drinking, though only after he emptied it a little to lighten the load.
- 2004.07.09
Duvan weaned himself. This is the weirdest thing, and certainly most unexpected. Maybe he felt empowered that he could cope with the bottle all by himself, but he refused the breast today. Marésa persisted for another two days, trying to offer the breast, but he refused.
- 2004.07.12
Duvan understands a lot of things that we ask him. We'll ask him to "press his bug", which is a bug on the activity console thingy that came with his high chair, activating a fun repertoire of music. He'll be in one part of the room, the "activity console" on the other side, and he'll scoot right over to slam it, plop down again and dance to the music with the biggest grin on his face! He also knows the names of his bunny, monkey and bear, three of his favorite soft toys.
- 2004.07.13
Today we had our first real scare! (See the story below).
- 2004.07.15
Duvan shows the first sign of knowing the difference between right and wrong. We've started to set boundaries about where Duvan can pull himself up against, or which drawers he can open etc. Today, while Marésa told him not to stand up against one of the tables, he turned around at her and had the cutest guilty look on his face. He also showed a mannerism (which is now persisted for some weeks) which he did not display before, he held his arm behind his back in a weird way, almost shy about doing something that he knows is not allowed. We were quite surprised by this behavior!
- 2004.07.20
Today one of the most amazing things to date happened. Maresa asked him (after he had lost a shoe on his way to a toy) "Duvan, where's your shoe?". He immediately looked at his foot, made a little shriek, then looked over at his shoe, and went over to it! She told him, "Duvan, put it on your foot.", sure enough, he picked it up and basically dropped it on his foot. Maresa said, "Bring it to Mommy, I'll help you put it on", and without hesitation he scooted over to Mommy and handed it to her. Duvan feels very strong about putting things together that belong together. All caps that came off a bottle belong back on it, he will fight you to put it on. Hence, he has a strong notion that because the shoe came off the foot, it must surely go back on it!
- 2004.07.21
Eating has become quite an interesting adventure. Duvan has started to take a very keen interest in the mechanics of feeding. He becomes very disinterested in his food, and tries with all might to hold the spoon and play-feed himself. This is quite satisfying to him, though not so much to his tummy, which meant we had to be creative for a couple of days to have him first eat, then play with the cutlery!
- 2004.07.03
On a recent visit to the Van Tonder's, Duvan enjoyed a typical South African Saturday afternoon! We all gathered around a rugby game on TV with some dried sausage, and he was allowed to taste it as well. Whoa, his veins are definitely pumping the SA genes, because he would not let go of that piece of sausage. He sucked on it for about an hour, and was dead quite, all the while just staring wide eyed at us all.
We mentioned above about the newest game of peek-a-boo behind large objects... Well, here's a sequence of shots with Duvan being particularly bubbly behind the couch. He thoroughly enjoys it to pop up from behind something, with a loud "Here I am!!" kinda "Whoa!". It is so adorable! The middle shot in the second to last row captures the expression pretty accurately.
We started allowing Duvan to stand up in his carseat while we drive to the gate of the housing complex, or when we come back from somewhere. This is his MOST favorite time in the car! He "jumps" up and down, hissing as he laughs through his teeth and as he exitedly watches you in the rearview mirror. He'll play peek-a-boo behind the car-seat as well! It is so cute.
Here's another sequence of Duvan having fun with a Provita and a piece of raw brocolli (which he did not care for). He's loves to share his food with us.
Duvan holding up his own bottle! This morning we placed a bottle of Rooibos tea and his formula in front of him, curious to see which one he'd prefer. He had no problem identifying the more nutritious choice though, and went straight for the formula. :)
Bottle during bedtime...
It's so cool to see Duvan recognize objects. He knows what this hairbrush is for, and always tries to brush his hair when he gets a hold of the brush. :)
There's more boy and less baby with the passing of every month...
Well, let us share the story of our big scare! Our GP prescribed cough medicine for Duvan one day (you only get to see a pediatrician here after you're referred by a GP). He started coughing a little and Maresa asked that I give him some of the medicine after bathtime. I had in my head 2 teaspoonfulls, from a conversation we had earlier (she mentioned she gave him two spoonfulls). So when she brought the bottle and syringe, I judged the syringe was about a teaspoonfull and duely administered 2 of them (much to Duvan's delight). Well, when Marésa came into the bathroom she almost fell on her back when she heard that I gave him 10ml! I looked at the bottle and saw that only 1.5ml was prescribed. My heart sank to my feet, and I cannot begin to describe the emotions that swept over me as I realized my mistake.
Maresa called poison control, I called the cellphone emergency line and we both found out that it's a big overdose (max recommended dosage is 4ml) and that the syrup is not even recommended to kids under 3 years. We rushed to the emergency room, where another doctor was like "Nah, don't worry about it, just keep an eye on him". We didn't feel comfortable with this approach though and asked that they rather treat him now than deal with any symptoms later. So they decided to give him something to induce vomiting. Duvan was meanwhile all bubbly and despite being very tired and sleepy, quite excited about the trip out the house when he looked sure to be heading for bed. So he took the medicine (not without putting up a fight though), but was quite happy afterwards and would not vomit for 10 minutes or so, just giving a big burp :). So the doctor's like, "Man this is a tough little guy", and he gave him the rest of the dose. Finally after about half an hour he gave in and threw up. Phew, though by this point the cough syrup surely was in his tummy long enough to have an effect. Praise God Almighty! He was happy all along, chatting with the doctor, only really crying when he had to throw up (and of course while the sister force fed him the medicine). We got home 8:20ish, and he slept like a rock the rest of the night. What an experience though!
As we mentioned above, Duvan loves to share his food and his experiences. While feeding him one afternoon, Duvan promptly offered Jan the remainder of his lunch! (Jan doesn't really prefer the soya formula though, so had to fake the suck & swallow).
Duvan also loves to give high fives, which Maresa taught him about a month or so ago.
Duvan loves to press buttons. This alarm clock holds a special charm for him, as it has a big blue button on the front that makes the LCD display light up. He also never tires of opening and closing (it flips open).
Now you may notice that this boy no longer looks like he's in the 47th percentile for weight! The weighty new additions to his diet sure helped him regain all the weight he lost during the sick week!
Dad and Duvan.
These bottom two drawers in the kitchen is Duvan's favorite place for exploring, unpacking and packing. He's also now figured out not to close the drawer while holding it this way, as he's had a couple of nasty experiences getting his fingers stuck in the drawer.
We spent a weekend just hanging out at home. Duvan is now quite mobile, and very comfortable crawling all over the place. He does not stop at anything, and also enjoys climbing back and forth over your legs. Here we're chilling in the afternoon sun.
Something caught Duvan's attention on the carpet...
The empty bookcase (Mom & Dad's stuff from the USA hasn't arrived yet) is a fun place to play.
The way Sunday afternoons are meant to be...
Duvan had another meat experience tonight. We grilled some ribs, and Duvan got to chew on one of the bones. He absolutely loved it, and provided for a real quiet dinner for Mom and Dad as Duvan enjoyed the bone for more than half an hour. :) There's something about meat that Duvan really loves!
