Drum Roll, Please!!!

Hey all,
Well I told you that Ra would have his 4-month well-baby exam today, so I figured I would tell you all about it. To start off, Ra has gained 3 pounds since his last appointment (2 months ago). So he went from 13 pounds to 16 pounds (so he is in the 50th percentile for weight...which is average). Also, in the past two months he has grown 4 inches, so he is now 27 inches long (this puts him in the 80th percentile for height). In other words, he is a big (tall) baby. He sat through the whole exam like a little gentleman...just babbling away, then the nurse came in the room with his immunization shots (3 in all). Poor thing was blind-sighted by the barrage of needles and I (des) felt horrible as I held his little hands while he cried. Thank God he stopped crying as soon as I picked him up, but he was clearly in pain. I am not joking when I tell you that those needles resemble harpoons. I was sure that the nurse was going to hit a bone or something.
Overall, Ra is doing just fine. He is still sore and a bit fussy, but that is all temporary. He will probably end up running a bit of a fever for the next couple days, so the Infant Tylenol will be on hand. Other than that, we just wanted everyone to know that RaKhem is doing great. He is growing and developing right on schedule. I guess it is true what they say, "Milk does a body good!" Until next time...

Peace & Luv,
Des, Hasan & Ra

Hallelujah!!!

Hello All,
As some of you know we have been trying to get Ra adjusted to drinking from a bottle. We've tried different bottles and different types of nipples to see if we could convince him, but he has been way too smart for that. Anything artificial (aka plastic or rubber) will not pass the threshold of his lips. We even went out and bought a spill-proof sippie cup, but that didn't work out either. Not because he didn't like it, but because he had no incentive to continue sucking on the nozzle if he couldn't taste the milk in the first place. Since it was a no-spill cup he couldn't taste the milk inside the cup to continue to drink from it. Since that plan failed, we didn't know what else to do. Then one day Des came across a regular plastic sippie cup (that we had from one of the baby shower gifts) and decided to give it a try. It was filled only about 1/3 of the cup (just in case he didn't like it, we wouldn't have wasted a bunch of milk - that's like liquid gold, y'all). A bib was secured around Ra's neck just in case he got a hold of the cup and decided to fling milk everywhere. First attempt was promising. He took little sips and swallowed everything that dripped into his mouth. Second attempt...he got a lil' too eager and grabbed the cup which caused him to take in too much milk which then led to a coughing fit. Third attempt...the more Ra drank the more he got the hang of things. Pretty soon he was drinking like a champ. He even grabbed the cup to attempt to expedite the process because apparently I (des) was movin' a bit too slow. He drank until the cup was empty!!!! I was so happy I didn't know what to do with myself. I just knew that I would forever be the sole feeder of Ra until this blessed event occurred. I celebrated so much that Ra must have thought I was losing it. Despite my little breakdown, Ra has now graduated to "Big Boy" status...from breast to sippie cup. He just may skip from standing to walking...forget crawling. Who needs a pesky middle step? Not Ra. Well, Ra may not think that his feat was very important, but Mom & Dad think it is wonderful. Just wanted to share the news. Until next time... Ra may look all shy, but don't let those baby browns fool you!
Peace & Luv,
hasan, des & ra

Hello again...We're back!

Sorry y'all! It has been awhile since the last post and we're sorry. Between looking for jobs, researching grad schools to apply to, going on interviews, etc. the blog got left behind. But we are back! Ra has gotten so big. We will find out exactly how big in 10 days. Let's just say that he is now wearing clothes for 9 to 12 month olds. HE IS ONLY 4 MONTHS OLD!!!!! Well, in the first post we were talking about Ra's elusive smile and how we could never really catch him on film. We have now, although Ra definitely didn't make it easy:) Isn't he cute! He has almost mastered sitting up on his own and, as of a couple weeks ago, he began laughing. Another thing we have discovered is that Ra has become quite the ladies man. He is one of the biggest flirts we have seen in a long time. In the presence of women he is all dimples and cuddles. Wonder where he got that from??? HMMM! Like father, Like Son! The last thing we have discovered is that he has begun to teethe. Everything is fair game...clothing, fingers, toys & shoulders all get chewed on. He is also not stingy with the drool...everybody gets some. He has been a bit cranky in the evenings, but he fights naps like the plague. He is not fond of teething rings, so toys and fingers have become his favorite substitutes. We pray that this phase is not long lived, so that he can be his charming self in the night time, as well as the day. Here is Ra sitting calmly (for the time being) with his Auntie Imani.
Peace & Luv,
Des, Hasan & Ra