Nappy update

Here was Riku in his S.waddlebees nappy at 3 weeks old:

And here he is at 21 weeks and just under double the weight:

What a difference! It wasn't that long ago, but already it's hard to believe he was that tiny!

New things

We had some chilly weather this week, so for a couple of days Riku was in long sleeves and trousers, which he hasn't worn since he was a new born- he looks different somehow!

A new thing this week is that Riku is getting close to being able to sit by himself- in fact he already can for a few seconds if he is on my lap or the sofa. I have to be ready to catch him though or he does a faceplant...

Almost there...

He has never really been into dummies (pacifiers)- we got him to take one about 3 times when he was around 5-7 weeks old and it did help him sleep, but mostly he would spit it out after just a few seconds. Since he is constantly chewing/sucking on his hands these days I thought I would try a dummy again just to see how he would react- he sucked/chewed on it for a while before spitting it out quite a distance, so still not that keen on the idea apparently!

Not too sure about this

Yep, hands are definitely better!

A big development in the last week is that he has suddenly taken an interest in his feet and will use both hands to pull his toes into his mouth- I don't have a photo of that unfortunately but will try to get one soon.

Froggy legs ;)

Riku at the beach again

Last Saturday we drove down to the beach, this time to Enoshima which is the Tokyo summer mecca and can get very crowded.

Riku enjoyed the trip in the car but was most unimpressed with the water this time- the photos tell the story well :)

Getting used to this carseat thing

Slip- check, slop- check, slide- check- oops, forgot to slap on a hat!

Hmm, this is interesting

Eek, cold stuff!

Don't do that again, Daddy!

Sunset at Enoshima beach- it was quite cloudy that day but when it's clear you can see Mt. Fuji behind where the people are, even in summer.

Riku in the jumper

We got Riku a jumper toy because he loves to stand so much- he's probably a bit little for it still, I think they are recommended from about 4.5 or 5 months, but we've tried him in it a few times and he absolutely loves it and leaps around all over the place- you can see we have to put a cushion under it for his feet to touch the ground properly though!

It takes up quite a lot of space in the living room, but I think it will be worth it :)

Four months today!

He is getting so big! In the last week he has got a lot more coordinated with his hands and can grab things quite accurately whereas until now it was often very hit and miss :) He can also roll onto his side from his back and has found his feet- he hasn't got his toes into his mouth yet but no doubt that's not far off!

He has had a bit of an upset tummy for the last 10 days which is still not better- he seems quite happy in spite of it but there are a lot of dirty nappies for me to change and wash! He is on some antibiotics at the moment which hopefully will help, or if it's not bacterial then with luck the bug should run its course soon.

Here is one photo from this afternoon with his gorgeous smile and one from Tuesday with his current favourite toy (I put it on his head...)- until very recently it was a bit too heavy for him but he's handling it well now, passes it from hand to hand and gums it- he seems to like the insect parts best!

Other Rikus

Riku has been one of the more common names for boys in Japan in the last few years, but we don't know any others personally. We were walking around the baby section of I.kea the other day though and a lady kept calling out "Riku! Riku!" so I wonder how many other Rikus will be in the same class as our one at school :)

I had no idea that Riku is actually the Finnish form of Richard, so common as both a first and last name in Finland.

I've found a few other Rikus on the internet, one is a character from a video game series called K.ingdom H.earts (I put the "." so that game fans doing searches don't come up with this blog, since I'm sure it's not what they're looking for!)

This Riku is described as "a self-confident youth who was seduced by the powers of darkness..."

There are a few others- here's another video game/manga Riku:

He is apparently a kind, intelligent boy who loves to cook.

And our Riku!

He probably looks more like the second one ;)

Baby armchair

The older Riku gets, the less he seems to like lying on his back, so to keep him amused I got him this blow-up chair:

He can play with toys while he's sitting there and it usually keeps him happy for about 15 minutes or so before he gets bored and wants out!

I can feel him using his little stomach muscles to keep himself more upright these days so it shouldn't be too long now before he starts to be able to sit- maybe only a month or so!

Riku close-up

I took this photo using an iPhone application which lets you select the "filter" and makes photos look quite arty! They are only thumbnail-size unfortunately unless you put them on Facebook.

Riku's new hobbies

Just in the last week or so Riku has developed an interesting new habit- he'll grab anything made of cloth that he can reach- towels, muslins, nappies- and put them over his face, then lie there making snorting noises until he either gets it off himself or I take it off his face- at first when I took the towel or whatever it was off his face I expected him to be upset, but he's usually quite happy- once or twice he's woken up from a nap upstairs, pulled his cover (very thin muslin so no danger of suffocation) over his face and then not been able to get it off and got upset, but it seems like he's actually doing it on purpose!

Apparently when I was a toddler I used to put towels over my head and walk around the house bumping into things, so maybe it's hereditary ;-)

Mmmf, mmmf

Today he moved on to pulling tissues out of the box on his changing table and then shredding them into at least ten pieces- it's interesting to watch him get more and more coordinated and aware of what is around him, but I know that this is only the beginning of baby destructive tendencies!

Oops, I broke it!