You can baby proof....but you can't Tank-proof

Jim and I are fairly smart people. So when Scott first started showing signs of crawling a few months back, we figured it might be a good idea to protect our little munchkin from himself.

At first we were going to go all out on the baby-proof front, but ultimately, we opted for just a few basics, deciding instead that we would monitor Tank closely and try to teach him what he could and could not touch.

Our biggest priority was cabinet locks. We wanted to keep Scott out of the kitchen cleansers, away from the glass pots and pans and free from the tempting allure of any and all sharp objects.

Friends and online reviews led us to choose magnetic locks - which are a total pain for us, but nice and strong. The plastic part adheres under the cabinet with adhesive, and the locks don't open unless you wave the special magnet "key" in front of them.

They worked like a charm. Until a few weeks went by, and I noticed that the cabinet lock under the kitchen sink was no longer functioning. (I discovered this, I might add, when I watched Tank toddle over, yank open the door and pull out the Comet.)

Umm. Not good.

A few days later, and the cabinet door next to it also malfunctioned. I gave a gentle tug on the door and the little adhesive thingy fell on the ground.

I was stumped -- until a couple of weeks later, when Scott was in the master bathroom with me, playing with a toy while I dried my hair. He got bored, and crawled over to the bathroom cabinets (which were also locked), stood up and yanked on the cabinets' handle. It didn't budge. So it became a game. He yanked again. And again, and again. Bit by bit, the lock started loosening.

I realize I should have stopped him, but I was really quite fascinated and entertained. After about five minutes of playing, Scott gave one more big pull, and fell backwards on his butt as the cabinet door swung wide open and the adhesive lock popped off the wood.

He clapped his hands and laughed. At me, I think.

You think these locks are going to stop me? Child's play, I tell you!

Final score: Tank - 1, Babyproof locks - 0 

Mommy and Daddy? Not even on the playing field.

Growin' Like a Weed

When I gained 46 pounds (yes, you read that correctly) during the course of my pregnancy, I assumed that I was going to have a big baby. My obstetrician said the Munchkin was measuring about 7 lbs at 38 weeks, and since I went right up to my due date, I figured he'd come out closer to the 8 lb mark. I knew those measurements were inexact, but I figured if they were off, they were probably underestimating his weight - not overestimating. (Especially since it looked like I was carrying a 14 pound bowling ball in my stomach.)

So imagine my surprise when the little guy was born at 6 pounds, 12.5 oz, and just 19.5 inches long. Certainly not under-sized, but still pretty tiny. And he got tinier - dropping almost an entire pound in the first 24 hours after he was born!

Scott was so small that none of his clothes fit him - not even the multiple newborn outfits that I brought with me to the hospital. My mom had to go out and buy a bunch of preemie pajamas for him to wear because he was swimming in everything else.

The two and a half weeks after we brought him home, we were at the pediatrician's literally every other day, and we just could not get his weight stabilized. We'd put him on that little scale and pray it would show that he had put on an ounce or two. For days, he hovered in the 6 lb, 4 or 5 oz range.

My, my...how times have changed. We soon realized that I wasn't making enough milk, so we started supplementing Scott with formula...and then switched to it full-time. To say it worked some magic is an understatement. Our boy LOVES to eat, and is now downing six ounces of the liquid stuff every three hours.

He drinks so much, so fast, he's earned the nickname "Tank." I think it might stick with him for life. And the transformation since those early days has been remarkable. I mean, the kid has thighs on him the size of tree trunks. Daddy says he's going to be a lineman...or maybe its a linebacker. Can't really remember which.

Anyway, when Scott was born, and even at his two month appointment, he was on the tiny end of those percentage scales. As in, less than 10 percent across the board.

But by his four month appointment, he weighed in at a whopping 15.4 pounds (75th percentile); 24.5 inches long (50th percentile) and had a head circumference that equated to the 30th percentile.

And I am sure its changed substantially in the weeks since. I seriously cannot keep the kid in clothes. He still can still fit into his six month pajamas...but not for long. His long-sleeved onesies are getting tight in the arms and short in the torso. Mommy is going to have to do some serious shopping and stock up on 6-12 month t-shirts, shorts, pants and swimwear for this spring and summer!! (Get your credit card ready, daddy!)

The pictures show just how much Scott has grown already. My personal favorite remains the one of him screaming his tiny, scrawny little self into a frenzy on the scale at the pediatrician's office. It amazes me how different he looks already!