Week 27 - He's got the beat!

Hello everyone, and welcome to week 27 of the baby blog! And don't get confused - I call this a "baby blog" because of my little brother, not me. I am NOT a baby! I'M NOT I'M NOT I'M NOT!!

So what's new around Camp Joiner, you ask? PLENTY! First off, the big announcement - my baby brother is fully formed! Now, does that mean he's ready to be born? Noooooooooooooooo, but it does mean that all of his little pieces and parts are in place and built. Now, its just a matter of leaving him in there to cook for a little while. And when I say cook, I mean grow. Yep, nothing left to add to his little frame but a few extra pounds. I bet mommy is glad to hear that! Yeah sure, more weight, pile it on. At this point he could be born and be okay with a little TLC from the doctors, but there's no way I'm letting him off that easy. He needs to be born at his fighting weight so we can go toe-to-toe on Day 1!

At this point, growth is pretty much the name of the game. Right now, BabyBro is weighing it at around 2 lbs and is 14.5" tall. I can't recall how that measures up to what I was, but I'm sure I was bigger and badder at that point in my life. I mean, just look at this picture - "big and bad" is my middle name!

So as he gets bigger, my little brother will start testing the limitation of my old apartment. True, it'll get a bit cramped in there, but help is on the way! Mommy is starting to produce this stuff called progesterone now, which aids in the relaxation of her muscles and allows my old room to expand. Funny thing is, I didn't know what progesterone was. Seriously. I had to google it last night. It says that its a type of hormone, which is WAY off base from what I thought it was. I thought it sounded like the name of a fancy soup.

Hey, stop laughing! Too much of that will cause hiccups! And forgive the obvious segue but that is exactly what is plaguing my little brother right now. Hiccups! I don't know if he's laughing in there right now, but if he IS I'm assuming that he saw daddy's laughable struggles to take down the Christmas decorations. You haven't seen a knee-slappin' good time as funny as this! A grown man jumping and reaching for little Santas and snowmen will make you well up in tears. 

Speaking of those hiccups - I don't know if they played any part in this but all of a sudden he's got rhythm! Its like he needed the "beat" of his own hiccup to get him going, and now he's jamming out with me! He can move to the beat of music, so its my job to find some good tunes for him to listen to. This includes the music for the Hot Dog Dance on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and yes, the entire soundtrack to "Scott Pilgram vs. the World". Its not exactly a toddler-appropriate movie and I don't get many of the jokes, but I LOVE dancing to the music!

And after all of that dancing we nap. We have to. Dancing as intense as this necessitates a "recharge". If you've seen me dance you'll understand why. It has also helped little brother get into a regular sleep cycle. In fact, I could almost set my watch by his sleep habits….if I had one. Which I don't. Its 2013 - who needs a WATCH??? Anyways, he's sleeping normal "shifts" and fights back whenever I give him a little push or pat. At least, I think that's him I'm pushing on. Either that or mommy hit the Taco Bell drive through and isn't feeling well. I'm hoping its the first one.

With that napping comes one of my old favorite activities from back in the day - thumbsucking. Yep, right now BabyBro is developing a fun little habit. Not only is it fun….it actually serves a purpose! It is practice for him so he'll know how to eat when he pops out. Not that I'm worried about him eating - he's a Joiner! Have you SEEN us eat? We eat way above our weight class, that's for sure.

And to wrap this week up, I have one more cool little fact. Baby Brother is blinking. Yep, blinking! He can see basic images, light and dark, etc, etc. As his vision gets more crisp, he'll probably notice my old posters on the wall, a full hamper in the corner, and a stack of empty pizza boxes. Don't ask me how that happened, it just did.

That's it for week 27! Don't forget to vote on the baby names of the week. Remember, every vote is a vote for a nice, normal name and not one that will scar him for life. Help the little guy out. Daddy actually asked mommy if we could name him "RoboJeff" the other day so yes, your vote DEFINITELY matters!!!!!!!!!!

Time to potty. I'm out! Seeya next week.

Andrew Joiner, Big Brother