Category Archives: First Year

Week 4 Checkup

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On Wednesday, 7 November, Paul went in for his four-week checkup. He was also one month old!

Here are the stats:

Weight: 3525 g (10th percentile)
Height: 53.5 cm (25th percentile)
Head circumference: 36 cm (10th percentile)

He also successfully did the other things one-month-old babies should do, such as

  • He holds his head up momentarily when pulled upright.
  • He momentarily lift his chin off the table when on his belly.
  • When on his back, he regards dangling objects brought into his line of vision “but not otherwise when in midline.” He follows them “at less than 90 degrees.”
  • He is quiet when a bell is rung.
  • He is interested in faces.
  • He is social—he regards the examiner and reduces his activity.

Overall, he is well. Because he is measuring small for his age, we’ll be back in on November 20 for another weighing. Then, I’ll go in at the beginning of December for his two-month checkup. I’ll also take him to his first round of immunizations in early December. Poor guy! I don’t think he’ll like his shots.

Getting Paul’s Passport

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Monday, we went to the U.S. Consulate in Melbourne. All three of us had to be there. We submitted paperwork for Paul’s Consular Report of Birth Abroad, passport, and Social Security number.

It was a fairly straight forward day. The paperwork was long but understandable (mostly), the drive took 45 minutes (including circling the block looking for parking), and time in the government offices was miraculously less than an hour (it was the day before a public holiday!).

What did take a long time was getting Paul’s passport photo the week before. Here are the required dimensions:

Here are some “helpful” requirements (courtesy the Department of State website).

7 Steps to Successful Photos

  • Photograph subject against a plain white or off-white background.

If you went to a photo shop for a passport photo, you would be put in front of a plain white screen. But for Paul, of course, there could be no arms or hands or anything to prop him up, so that wouldn’t work for us. Instead, we used white blankets over pillows to try to prop up the little guy. I don’t think passport photos are intended for infants who can’t hold up their own heads!

  • Position subject and lighting so that there are no distracting shadows on the face or background.

This is very hard to do without professional lighting. I admit, some of the shadows from the background had to be eliminated in the end.

  • Encourage subject to have a natural expression.

OK, Paul, look natural! (Should this include spit up?)

  • Frame subject with full face, front view, eyes open.

Have you ever tried to get an infant, who is awake and has his eyes open, to stay still? It doesn’t happen. Paul wanted to wriggle around. He certainly didn’t want to face forward and pose.

  • Center head within frame.

Paul kept squirming, so his head kept flopping out of the center of the frame. He really likes to have his hand by his face, too. Thank goodness for cropping!

  • Make sure photo presents full head from top of hair to bottom of chin; height of head should measure 1 inch to 1-3/8 inches (25 mm to 35 mm).

Babies faces are quite round, so I think this requirement makes the head huge in comparison to the rest of the frame.

  • Make sure eye height is between 1-1/8 inches to 1-3/8 inches (28 mm and 35 mm) from bottom of photo.

So exact!

In all, I think I took 100 pictures before we found one that we could fix up to meet the requirements. Here are the attempts and the final product.

Passport Photos

The attempts and the final product.

CRW_5902lr[1] IMG_5910lr[1] IMG_5918lr[1] IMG_5920lr[1] IMG_5922lr[1] IMG_5928lr[1] Passport-Photo.lr_[1]

Paul and the Pacifier

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Title: Paul and the Pacifier

Starring: Paul

Synopsis: Paul is minding his own business and enjoying his pacifier when an unseen force pries it out of his mouth. He knows the pacifier is nearby and struggles to get it back. It is a cruel world. The effort wears him out and he begins to fall asleep.

Editor’s note: Paul will be very happy when he figures out how to use those hands of his!

Smiles

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Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem.
Begin, baby boy, to recognize your mother with a smile.
—-Virgil, Eclogues: Book 4, Line 60

I went shopping without the family on Saturday. Shortly after I came home, I went to change Paul’s diaper. As I put him on the change table, he looked up at me and smiled! It was delightful.

There is chance it was still a reflexive smile and he didn’t recognize me or intend to smile. But it was delightful all the same. I look forward to more!

Week 3 Update

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Paul is now more than 3 weeks old. Here are some updates about him.

  • He hasn’t been weighed since he was a week and half old. Then, he was 3050 grams. His birth weight was 3116 grams, so he hadn’t yet gained back to his birth weight. However, since then, I suspect he has gained much more than those lacking 66 grams. To us, it looks like his face and chest are filling out. His thighs and legs are still skinny but that doesn’t stop Daddy from nicknaming Paul “Porkchop.” (I think it’s a bit premature since he is still so tiny!) He’ll be weighed next on 7 November, his first month birthday.
  • Mommy suspects Paul went through a growth spurt over the weekend. He wanted to eat every hour on Friday afternoon and evening and then he kept wanting to eat every two hours all night! (He had been sleeping 4 hours plus each night, but that phase ended this weekend unfortunately!)
  • Paul has stronger lungs than he used to have. His cry is louder and he is much more determined to get attention when he’s unhappy.
  • His eyes are no longer blue-ish gray. They are darkening and already look more gray than anything else. I suspect they aren’t done changing color. We could end up with brown eyes yet!