Thanks to a friend's recent gift membership, Elias and I got to go to the New England Aquarium for free last week. I've only been once before, shortly after we moved to Boston almost four years ago, so it was fun to return with Elias before he completely outgrows the Baby Bjorn.
It was also nice to go during the week, when it wasn't so crowded and my friend and I could easily maneuver our strollers, loaded with jackets and diaper bags, babies positioned front and center. It was also our second trip on the T, taking the train from where we live on the Red Line to South Station and making the 15-20 minute walk from there. The longer than usual commute to and from our typical mid-day "adventure" meant that Elias basically skipped the afternoon nap altogether, but this happens occasionally even when we stay in or close by for the day. He got a little squirmy in the carrier toward the end of our visit, as we made our way back down the stairs, checking out the side galleries that surround the central tank, but otherwise did really well for such a long afternoon and seemed to enjoy looking at all the fish. I couldn't really tell if Elias had any favorites, but I rather enjoyed watching this big turtle.
It's good to take advantage of these indoor activities while the weather is still transitioning from winter to spring, but, as I think I complain almost every chance I get lately, and I think I can speak for all of us, I am more than ready for spring. We met the same friend for a walk the week before around Dorchester's own Malibu Beach.
Added to the fact that Elias is still bundled up and there's not a leaf in sight, the painted natural gas tank in the background is a dead giveaway that we're nowhere near California's Malibu Beach.
In other news, Elias is indeed enjoying a longer than usual morning nap, which is a nice break from his napless ways of the past few weeks. After adopting a wait and see approach just about every day since we began trying to wean him from his reflux meds, he's back on the full dose. If he continues to nap like a dream, he might have to stay on for a bit more, but if we see little change over the next few days (this is only day two of the recent step backwards) we'll take him back down to half of what he normally gets. We've also been experimenting with our feeding schedule since even breakfast, usually the one solid feeding I could count on, became a total struggle a few days ago, reducing his total formula intake a bit and encouraging the self-feeding that he seems to enjoy. I've added some Gerber puffs (fruits and veggies only for now, since we've been advised to stay off dairy completely until around Elias's 11th month) to his staple of Cheerios, and began coating pieces of banana in Cheerio crumbs to make them a little easier for him to pick up. It's still a little hit or miss. Sometimes he deftly maneuvers a piece of banana right into his mouth and other times he misses completely or mashes the banana between his finger and thumb and has a sort of awkward time trying to figure out how to get the bits of banana and Cheerio into his mouth. I was thinking of doing something similar with pieces of ripe avocado, using crushed tortilla chips in place of Cheerios. Like chips and guacamole, baby style.
Otherwise, Elias has been quite a riot lately, revealing his ability to shake both his head, side to side, and finger in the same week. Whether or not he understands that he has the power to object, he seems to enjoy these new tricks. He's also enjoying chasing after the cats a bit more, both of which I'll have to try to get on video sometime this week.
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