Size: 20 pounds and 30 inches. He has gained weight in the last couple months but hasn't gotten longer since his 9 month appointment. (We could have kept the infant car seat those extra 3 months!!)
Clothes: Still firmly in 12 months. Of all the sizes, we have the least amount of 12 month clothes because the girl who generously handed down her kids' wardrobe gave the 12 month bag to another appreciative girl at school, and I bought a couple variety packs of onesies and some pants and called it a day. Luckily it will start getting warmer soon and he'll get to wear the cute short sleeve 12 month ones too. I was worried that if he grew too fast he'd miss those, and he has some great ones!
Eating: We experienced 8 glorious days of having a downright normal kid when it came to food. Starting on Feb 28 (3 days pre birthday) we got the all clear to challenge dairy using a baby serving of yogurt a day as well as allowing him to eat foods that have hidden dairy. We didn't have a complete free for all - no cheese, ice cream, milk, or true hard core dairy things other than yogurt, but it was a whole new world! About 10 days before that, he finally was able to keep whole food down without the gagging and vomiting which is what gave us the all clear to try. Since vomiting and stomach bug style symptoms are what he'd get if he was allergic to dairy, we had to get that under control before the challenge. It's like his body just decided to cooperate one day. He ate, and then ate more...he had likes and dislikes, but was willing to try pretty much everything and just shook his head no instead of puking it everywhere. He was even able to eat almost all the center food for those days, and loved it (especially snack time. He very much has a sweet tooth!) A stomach bug after 8 days derailed everything, but those 8 days were great and give us something to look forward to hopefully soon.
Sleeping: He has totally given up the morning nap at daycare or when things are fun (like grandparents visiting.) When it's just us here at home, he still takes a morning nap and just adjusts his afternoon one to a little later. Regardless of nap times, durations, or quantity, he wants to go to bed around 7 or 7:30.
Physical/Talking: He finally has started physically mimicking us. Not all the time, but we can get him to do some things. He spontaneously does some things like clapping, but won't do them on command. This is apparently part of learning language and is tied into his lack of trying to speak. The food situation may have affected his physical ability to make certain letter sounds, but his language skills are delayed in general, so this is something we're working on. He's very good at going up stairs but hasn't figured out how to come down. One too many face plants on the single step into the family room put that skill on pause for awhile. He still makes lots of D sounds and not much else. He says Da for Daddy when Daddy comes home in the evening or when he's been out of the room for awhile, so we know he does know how to use it appropriately at times, but he also uses it just for random reasons.
Other: He was evaluated by Infants and Toddlers the week before his birthday. Originally they were brought on board to help with the eating issues but since he got those under control he didn't qualify for services in that area. They were the ones that officially ID'd his language delay though and he is getting language services 2x a month. We're starting with teaching him how to mimic which is interesting. I wouldn't have thought that clapping when Mommy claps is a precursor to talking, but it is! I thought it was a physical thing. This also explains why we've been doing certain signs for most of his life and he has yet to react to one or make one himself. If I say "I see Daddy outside! He is home!" it gets no reaction or response whatsoever, but as soon as he hears the key in the lock he goes nuts and gets all excited. That always baffled me, now I know what's going on. Hopefully in the next few months we'll learn some tricks of the trade and get him on his way. This seems to be his MO ... not do something forever and then explode in skills. Fingers crossed!
Showing posts with label month summary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label month summary. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
10 Months (9 days late)
Size: 26 inches, 18 pounds 9.6 ounces (What, you say? He shrunk? I know. Confusing. But I'm marking it here because at his GI appt on the 8th, that's what they measured. We even had them do it again. However, even though they have a fancy measuring board, the sticker isn't the whole length so I think the sticker was put on in the wrong place. Especially since he's been over 26 inches for months in multiple offices.)
Clothes: In 9-12 months, length and arm length are ok, but baggy
Eating: 5 bottles that are about 5.5 ounces, plus 2-3 containers of stage 2 baby food. Continuing to super-spit-up anything more textured than stage 2 purees including chunky food, plain old regular not that chunky apple sauce, and puffs. The GI doctor referred us to our local Infants & Toddlers intervention program to get him checked out by an OT (occupational therapist). The goal is to get him to eat before he hates food from spitting it up all the time. Fingers crossed. Also got the go ahead to try foods with soy as an ingredient. The plan was to have him eat the real puffs instead of the everything-free organic ones we found. Since he isn't willing to actually eat puffs, that is complicated. In reality, the allergy doesn't matter as long as all he wants is stage 2 foods, but we want to know because passing the soy challenge is a step on the way to passing the dairy challenge. SO...we pulverized about 10 regular puffs with soy, added water, and fed some of that to him. Luckily it tasted good and he was game. Now we wait for a diaper to check. (It's been almost 24 hours and he isn't screaming with a tummy ache, and he slept all night, so we're hoping for the best.)
Sleeping: Still 11-12 hours at night (except on school days where I have to wake him up early, however there have been very few school days in the last 3 weeks) and a couple naps on an average day.
Physical: He started pulling himself up, but only on one knee or with one knee/leg bent at a funny angle. He gets frustrated when he tries to lean for something and then winds up on his tummy, but at least he's trying to lean for things now! He really likes to stand, either at the ottoman or the play table. (Truthfully, it's gotten better in the last couple days but it wouldn't be fair to officially document that since I"m writing late. So that will have to go in the next month's update.)
Vocal: Lots of talking, d, b, g, p, and n in consonants.
Other: Total of 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)
Clothes: In 9-12 months, length and arm length are ok, but baggy
Eating: 5 bottles that are about 5.5 ounces, plus 2-3 containers of stage 2 baby food. Continuing to super-spit-up anything more textured than stage 2 purees including chunky food, plain old regular not that chunky apple sauce, and puffs. The GI doctor referred us to our local Infants & Toddlers intervention program to get him checked out by an OT (occupational therapist). The goal is to get him to eat before he hates food from spitting it up all the time. Fingers crossed. Also got the go ahead to try foods with soy as an ingredient. The plan was to have him eat the real puffs instead of the everything-free organic ones we found. Since he isn't willing to actually eat puffs, that is complicated. In reality, the allergy doesn't matter as long as all he wants is stage 2 foods, but we want to know because passing the soy challenge is a step on the way to passing the dairy challenge. SO...we pulverized about 10 regular puffs with soy, added water, and fed some of that to him. Luckily it tasted good and he was game. Now we wait for a diaper to check. (It's been almost 24 hours and he isn't screaming with a tummy ache, and he slept all night, so we're hoping for the best.)
Sleeping: Still 11-12 hours at night (except on school days where I have to wake him up early, however there have been very few school days in the last 3 weeks) and a couple naps on an average day.
Physical: He started pulling himself up, but only on one knee or with one knee/leg bent at a funny angle. He gets frustrated when he tries to lean for something and then winds up on his tummy, but at least he's trying to lean for things now! He really likes to stand, either at the ottoman or the play table. (Truthfully, it's gotten better in the last couple days but it wouldn't be fair to officially document that since I"m writing late. So that will have to go in the next month's update.)
Vocal: Lots of talking, d, b, g, p, and n in consonants.
Other: Total of 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)
Saturday, December 14, 2013
9 month posting (super late, oops!)
Size : 29 3/4 inches and 17 pounds 9.6 ounces - As suspected he has grown too long for the car seat long before he grew too heavy.
Sleeping: No real changes - naps better at home than school, approximately 8p-8a on weekends, 7 or 7:30p - 6a on school days. A couple naps a day, usually a longer one and shorter one but sometimes two long or two short.
Physical: He can push himself backwards on his tummy now, but not always. The harder he tries to go forwards, the more he goes backwards. It is kind of funny. When sitting on our lap on the couch, he can launch himself to get something further down on the couch (remote, phone, cat, etc) and he can stand up holding on to things as long as we put him there and spot him. He can't lift himself to standing or sitting yet. His pincher grasp is pretty good. (About a week after the 9 month day, he managed to untie my double knotted shoe. Nobody saw it happen, so we don't know how he did it, but when we looked over he had both laces in his hands.)
Vocal: Sometimes we hear consonants - b, d, g, and starting with n. Sometimes there's raspberry sounds but not very frequently
Other: Two top teeth popped through right at the beginning of December. The week before that was rough on the eating front but we were home for Thanksgiving break so at least he got to be blah at home. He's enjoying musical toys these days like the musical mirror from Fisher Price and the Leap Frog learning table. He also likes unstacking the rings and stacking cups.
Clothes: He needs to move to 9-12 in almost everything, but only because of length. Everything is so baggy! Things are capris instead of pants, 3/4 length sleeves instead of long, and onesies are pulled tight at bottom where they snap.
Eating: Just before the 9 month day, we went through almost a week of barely any eating because of top teeth erupting. It was a long week. We're trying to move to more food slowly. The doctor recommended trying to squeeze an extra container of food into him. Unfortunately, his gag reflex is holding him back on eating whole food. It's frustrating, but he'll figure it out eventually. He currently is happy to put food in his mouth and then he immediately spits it up. We hid a couple grains of rice in a spoonful of baby squash and he gagged but kept it down. He can also occasionally keep down a small spoon of real, unsweetened applesauce. Puffs and potatoes are no-gos right now.
He now eats every stage 2 food from Gerber that we can find that doesn't have dairy or soy. That is some grains, some meats (chicken/apples, turkey/rice, chicken/rice, beef vegetable (that was a problem, we think...some kids who are allergic to the protein in milk react to beef and some don't. We think he had a mild reaction - not sure about the blood, but lots of discomfort when filling diapers) He particularly liked mango, interestingly enough.
Sleeping: No real changes - naps better at home than school, approximately 8p-8a on weekends, 7 or 7:30p - 6a on school days. A couple naps a day, usually a longer one and shorter one but sometimes two long or two short.
Physical: He can push himself backwards on his tummy now, but not always. The harder he tries to go forwards, the more he goes backwards. It is kind of funny. When sitting on our lap on the couch, he can launch himself to get something further down on the couch (remote, phone, cat, etc) and he can stand up holding on to things as long as we put him there and spot him. He can't lift himself to standing or sitting yet. His pincher grasp is pretty good. (About a week after the 9 month day, he managed to untie my double knotted shoe. Nobody saw it happen, so we don't know how he did it, but when we looked over he had both laces in his hands.)
Vocal: Sometimes we hear consonants - b, d, g, and starting with n. Sometimes there's raspberry sounds but not very frequently
Other: Two top teeth popped through right at the beginning of December. The week before that was rough on the eating front but we were home for Thanksgiving break so at least he got to be blah at home. He's enjoying musical toys these days like the musical mirror from Fisher Price and the Leap Frog learning table. He also likes unstacking the rings and stacking cups.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
8 Months
Size: He was 17 pounds 3.2 ounces a week before 8 months. 28ish inches
Clothes: He's wearing 6-9 clothes now. The pants are getting a little short already, but the next size up is too big for his waist, so he's wearing a lot of capris. :) The small sleep sack is technically too short, but since he sleeps with his legs bent, that buys him a couple inches. The medium one is just so long that it gets cumbersome.
Eating: 5 bottles approx 5.5 ounces mixed. (12 scoops & 24 ounces of water still) Plus usually 2 baby food containers of Gerber stage 2.
Foods he's up to:
Avocado, peaches, pears, prunes, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans (although he hates them), and this week we started a soy/dairy free version of oatmeal with some fruit. (Thank you, Gerber.) Coming soon: Carrots and a meat
Sleeping: On a good school day he gets up around 6 (not willingly, most of the time) and then takes a nap around 9 and a nap around 1. He goes to bed around 7:30. On the weekend, he sleeps until 7:30 or 8 if we leave him alone so then the naps get pushed to 10 or 11 and then 2 or 3 and he goes to bed around 8 or 8:30
Physical/Facial/Activities: He likes to sit and play with toys. His current favorites are the stacking rings and other hard things he can bang together and use to make noise. He loves to splash in the bathtub. We started baby swimming lessons and he loves to 'float' (supported) on his stomach and frog kick with his legs. He won't mimic blowing bubbles yet though.
Crying/Vocal: We're starting to hear a few more consonants than we had been hearing. We're hearing a 'g' fairly frequently and sometimes a d or b.
Other: Poor kid has had issues the last few weeks. He had bronchitis that they believed was the bacterial kind, so unfortunately he needed amoxicillin. That really helped, so at least we knew it was necessary. But on day 8 he got a whole body rash which made him super fussy, hot, and uncomfortable. 8 days later it was mostly gone, but he didn't feel good for almost 2 weeks. He even slept through Halloween which was a bummer. As soon as that ended the drool started up so maybe we're getting another tooth?
Clothes: He's wearing 6-9 clothes now. The pants are getting a little short already, but the next size up is too big for his waist, so he's wearing a lot of capris. :) The small sleep sack is technically too short, but since he sleeps with his legs bent, that buys him a couple inches. The medium one is just so long that it gets cumbersome.
Eating: 5 bottles approx 5.5 ounces mixed. (12 scoops & 24 ounces of water still) Plus usually 2 baby food containers of Gerber stage 2.
Foods he's up to:
Avocado, peaches, pears, prunes, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans (although he hates them), and this week we started a soy/dairy free version of oatmeal with some fruit. (Thank you, Gerber.) Coming soon: Carrots and a meat
Sleeping: On a good school day he gets up around 6 (not willingly, most of the time) and then takes a nap around 9 and a nap around 1. He goes to bed around 7:30. On the weekend, he sleeps until 7:30 or 8 if we leave him alone so then the naps get pushed to 10 or 11 and then 2 or 3 and he goes to bed around 8 or 8:30
Physical/Facial/Activities: He likes to sit and play with toys. His current favorites are the stacking rings and other hard things he can bang together and use to make noise. He loves to splash in the bathtub. We started baby swimming lessons and he loves to 'float' (supported) on his stomach and frog kick with his legs. He won't mimic blowing bubbles yet though.
Crying/Vocal: We're starting to hear a few more consonants than we had been hearing. We're hearing a 'g' fairly frequently and sometimes a d or b.
Other: Poor kid has had issues the last few weeks. He had bronchitis that they believed was the bacterial kind, so unfortunately he needed amoxicillin. That really helped, so at least we knew it was necessary. But on day 8 he got a whole body rash which made him super fussy, hot, and uncomfortable. 8 days later it was mostly gone, but he didn't feel good for almost 2 weeks. He even slept through Halloween which was a bummer. As soon as that ended the drool started up so maybe we're getting another tooth?
Sunday, October 6, 2013
7 months
Size: ? We'll have to see if we can figure out a way to check.
Clothes: Still pretty much in 3-6, but wearing some 6-9 as well.
Eating: 5 bottles a day, 24 oz of water + 12 scoops. Seems like there's always something keeping us from getting all the calories in whether it's falling asleep before the last bottle is all the way finished or the runny nose causing a cough/spit up episode. He does eat food now, but that's not too many calories. It took almost the whole week before he decided to accept avocado. Then we moved to peaches because I thought he'd like them better. Also, avocado completely made him stop going to the bathroom so the doc recommended the 3 P's (peaches, pears, prunes) to solve that problem. He literally shuddered. It was hilarious. We thought maybe he'd like them better as the week went on because the peaches we bought were getting riper, but he never took to them all that much. Pears were slightly better. He would gnaw on a hunk in his feeding mesh bag, but didn't like to eat them on a spoon. Prunes were next and while none of these things have really sped up his digestive track, he liked prunes more than the other two. (Plus, prunes were a gift to us in the sense that we could buy them from Gerber. They're one of the few foods available that is just food and water.) Then squash made an appearance because they're another safe Gerber food. Now that he's had squash, he LIKES food. He will open his mouth and ask for them. He much prefers to eat if he's allowed to help with the spoon. Very cute. He does need pretty watery food. We weren't adding enough water in the beginning and he was doing a lot of coughing and sputtering. Watering it down made him happier. The Gerber packages are a good consistency for him, too.
Sleeping: A couple naps during the day, longer if he is home instead of surrounded by the fun at school. Between 10-11 hours at night. Every once in awhile he'll wake up at night, especially when he doesn't finish his bedtime bottle. It was worse when he was sick a couple weeks ago. Now he's back to normal for the most part. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night to talk and sing, but he goes back to sleep by himself.
Physical/Facial/Activities: There are now two teeth on the bottom sticking up! The second one came in several days after the first, but they're starting to even out in amount of white that is showing. He recently learned to shake his head no. He has no idea that it means no, but he thinks it's funny when we do it so now he does it too. We're having fun treating him like a Magic 8 ball with only one answer. ;) He finally spontaneously rolls back and forth onto his tummy and back, but not often enough that we have it on video yet. After weeks and weeks of wobbly sitting, this weekend (a couple days after the 7 month mark) he sat up for a couple minutes before flopping over. He likes to hold the bottle, but not for eating purposes. He is totally capable of holding it and sort of putting it in his mouth, but just for fun. When it's time to eat he'd rather put his hands behind his head and relax while we feed him. He is good at getting things in his mouth when he wants to.
Crying/Vocal: He spends lots of his waking hours talking, singing, babbling, squealing, (and unfortunately) screeching. I love them all except for the screeching. :) Still not really mimicking us. (Who knew there was a k in that word?)
Other: He had his first virus/fever this month. It only lasted about 3 days and he was pretty down and out. Luckily there was minimal screaming, just wanted to cuddle and lay around. Very glad that it did not last long!
Clothes: Still pretty much in 3-6, but wearing some 6-9 as well.
Eating: 5 bottles a day, 24 oz of water + 12 scoops. Seems like there's always something keeping us from getting all the calories in whether it's falling asleep before the last bottle is all the way finished or the runny nose causing a cough/spit up episode. He does eat food now, but that's not too many calories. It took almost the whole week before he decided to accept avocado. Then we moved to peaches because I thought he'd like them better. Also, avocado completely made him stop going to the bathroom so the doc recommended the 3 P's (peaches, pears, prunes) to solve that problem. He literally shuddered. It was hilarious. We thought maybe he'd like them better as the week went on because the peaches we bought were getting riper, but he never took to them all that much. Pears were slightly better. He would gnaw on a hunk in his feeding mesh bag, but didn't like to eat them on a spoon. Prunes were next and while none of these things have really sped up his digestive track, he liked prunes more than the other two. (Plus, prunes were a gift to us in the sense that we could buy them from Gerber. They're one of the few foods available that is just food and water.) Then squash made an appearance because they're another safe Gerber food. Now that he's had squash, he LIKES food. He will open his mouth and ask for them. He much prefers to eat if he's allowed to help with the spoon. Very cute. He does need pretty watery food. We weren't adding enough water in the beginning and he was doing a lot of coughing and sputtering. Watering it down made him happier. The Gerber packages are a good consistency for him, too.
Sleeping: A couple naps during the day, longer if he is home instead of surrounded by the fun at school. Between 10-11 hours at night. Every once in awhile he'll wake up at night, especially when he doesn't finish his bedtime bottle. It was worse when he was sick a couple weeks ago. Now he's back to normal for the most part. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night to talk and sing, but he goes back to sleep by himself.
Physical/Facial/Activities: There are now two teeth on the bottom sticking up! The second one came in several days after the first, but they're starting to even out in amount of white that is showing. He recently learned to shake his head no. He has no idea that it means no, but he thinks it's funny when we do it so now he does it too. We're having fun treating him like a Magic 8 ball with only one answer. ;) He finally spontaneously rolls back and forth onto his tummy and back, but not often enough that we have it on video yet. After weeks and weeks of wobbly sitting, this weekend (a couple days after the 7 month mark) he sat up for a couple minutes before flopping over. He likes to hold the bottle, but not for eating purposes. He is totally capable of holding it and sort of putting it in his mouth, but just for fun. When it's time to eat he'd rather put his hands behind his head and relax while we feed him. He is good at getting things in his mouth when he wants to.
Crying/Vocal: He spends lots of his waking hours talking, singing, babbling, squealing, (and unfortunately) screeching. I love them all except for the screeching. :) Still not really mimicking us. (Who knew there was a k in that word?)
Other: He had his first virus/fever this month. It only lasted about 3 days and he was pretty down and out. Luckily there was minimal screaming, just wanted to cuddle and lay around. Very glad that it did not last long!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
6 Months (and a week) (and a day)
Size: 16 pounds (20%) 27.5 inches (80%) (Every calorie goes to making longer femurs)
Clothes: Carters 3-6 fit, most others have issues snapping. But 6-9 month fits too. Some PJ's are getting too short in the 3-6 month, but some are huge. (Everything is different!) There are some 6-9 onesies that we have to start wearing ASAP for length issues.
Eating: 5 bottles a day, less than 6 ounces. This is due to the lingering runny nose he's had for weeks. It started on day 3 of daycare so I figured it was that, but now I'm pretty sure it's allergies. Kids at daycare have gross runny noses that indicate illness. His is just runny and it gets worse and better on the same days mine is worse and better. (And I know mine are allergies) He's been spitting up more with the runny nose too because he coughs and then spits up. So he's way down in calories hence the slowing down of weight gain. (That plus all the extra movement because he's never still. Ever.) We don't force food because the spitting gets worse and the doctor agreed with that. He lets us know when he's hungry and he's growing so he's ok and nobody's concerned. He also got to start real food last week. We had some suggestions from the GI doctor about what to go with. We did pureed avocado. We started with just a little water and he couldn't handle thick food and the runny nose/throat thing so we watered it down really far. I'm guessing he doesn't hate it, because he doesn't scream. He does open his mouth and ask for more, and he will stick the spoon in his own mouth with food on it. But he makes faces like he hates it. Who knows. It's funny. We can only introduce a new food once a week after investigating diapers for allergy signs as well as watching for rashes and all the things that didn't happen with the original allergy diagnosis. So he's only eating with us right now, not at school.
Sleeping: If it's a school day, he often falls asleep before 8pm. He is sometimes ready to wake up just before 6am when I have to get him up to eat. Other days take more encouragement. We just turn on the lights at 5:30 when I get in the shower so that he can wake up gradually. He's not a fan of early wake up times. On the weekend, when he nods off around 7, we keep him downstairs around noise so that it's just a nap. Then he wakes up for a little while after 8 and eats a little more before going to bed for good. That lets him sleep til 7 on the weekend. He naps great here and sometimes great at school, it depends on the day and how much fun they're having. He would much rather look at babies than sleep. :)
Physical/Facial/Activities: He's finally willing to bear weight on his legs when we hold him up. We know he can roll both ways, but he chooses to do it very rarely. His hands are getting pretty good - he can get a spoon in his mouth, and he can grab the bugs on his car seat and pull. (The bug thing clicked today so a little later than 6 weeks.) He makes funny faces when he eats, and in the last couple days he's also started sticking out his tongue and wagging it. That seemed to start when he started eating. He uses his tongue to push out food, so then he mimics that same motion for fun. He can do "the worm" when he's doing tummy time and he loves jumping in the jumperoo.
Crying/Vocal: He's starting to make some consonants but still won't really mimic us. We laugh because some of his sounds kind of sound like "mean mommy" and "mean daddy."
Me: I really did start feeling almost normal right around the 6 month mark. Normal in a "I have a baby" way, but more normal than before. I can even run a few steps here and there to get something, like down to the mailbox in the rain. That's new and exciting!
Clothes: Carters 3-6 fit, most others have issues snapping. But 6-9 month fits too. Some PJ's are getting too short in the 3-6 month, but some are huge. (Everything is different!) There are some 6-9 onesies that we have to start wearing ASAP for length issues.
Eating: 5 bottles a day, less than 6 ounces. This is due to the lingering runny nose he's had for weeks. It started on day 3 of daycare so I figured it was that, but now I'm pretty sure it's allergies. Kids at daycare have gross runny noses that indicate illness. His is just runny and it gets worse and better on the same days mine is worse and better. (And I know mine are allergies) He's been spitting up more with the runny nose too because he coughs and then spits up. So he's way down in calories hence the slowing down of weight gain. (That plus all the extra movement because he's never still. Ever.) We don't force food because the spitting gets worse and the doctor agreed with that. He lets us know when he's hungry and he's growing so he's ok and nobody's concerned. He also got to start real food last week. We had some suggestions from the GI doctor about what to go with. We did pureed avocado. We started with just a little water and he couldn't handle thick food and the runny nose/throat thing so we watered it down really far. I'm guessing he doesn't hate it, because he doesn't scream. He does open his mouth and ask for more, and he will stick the spoon in his own mouth with food on it. But he makes faces like he hates it. Who knows. It's funny. We can only introduce a new food once a week after investigating diapers for allergy signs as well as watching for rashes and all the things that didn't happen with the original allergy diagnosis. So he's only eating with us right now, not at school.
Sleeping: If it's a school day, he often falls asleep before 8pm. He is sometimes ready to wake up just before 6am when I have to get him up to eat. Other days take more encouragement. We just turn on the lights at 5:30 when I get in the shower so that he can wake up gradually. He's not a fan of early wake up times. On the weekend, when he nods off around 7, we keep him downstairs around noise so that it's just a nap. Then he wakes up for a little while after 8 and eats a little more before going to bed for good. That lets him sleep til 7 on the weekend. He naps great here and sometimes great at school, it depends on the day and how much fun they're having. He would much rather look at babies than sleep. :)
Physical/Facial/Activities: He's finally willing to bear weight on his legs when we hold him up. We know he can roll both ways, but he chooses to do it very rarely. His hands are getting pretty good - he can get a spoon in his mouth, and he can grab the bugs on his car seat and pull. (The bug thing clicked today so a little later than 6 weeks.) He makes funny faces when he eats, and in the last couple days he's also started sticking out his tongue and wagging it. That seemed to start when he started eating. He uses his tongue to push out food, so then he mimics that same motion for fun. He can do "the worm" when he's doing tummy time and he loves jumping in the jumperoo.
Crying/Vocal: He's starting to make some consonants but still won't really mimic us. We laugh because some of his sounds kind of sound like "mean mommy" and "mean daddy."
Me: I really did start feeling almost normal right around the 6 month mark. Normal in a "I have a baby" way, but more normal than before. I can even run a few steps here and there to get something, like down to the mailbox in the rain. That's new and exciting!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
5 Months Old (Belated, As Usual)
Size: 15 pounds 1 ounce, 26.5 inches (on Aug 7)
Clothes: He is all over the map! The best fit is Carter's 3-6 onesies. They fit like they're made for him. Many 3-6 ones are just about right in the length but very wide. (Gerber 3-6 onesies haven't fit in months because they're miniature clothing) PJ's are hard. His legs are long, but his body is tiny so it's hard to find snug fitting PJ's without them being SO snug fitting that his toes pop through the seams. (This happened on one pair already - but that outfit is so big in the chest area that he can get his chin under the neck and chew on the top!) If I had to put money on it, I'd say he won't be ready to leave his 3-6 clothes in a month, but who knows. He does keep getting longer so onesies have problems with snaps staying closed long before they appear to be to small.
Eating: 5 bottles a day, between 5-6 mixed ounces. When we switched from Alimentum to Elecare, he went down a little. I thought at first it was because the new formula was more fortified, but they have the same caloric intake so who knows. He isn't drinking drastically less, but those last couple ounces really mattered before and now he's happy back at his old intake. He's a riddle, that's for sure!
Sleeping: He's going to bed a little earlier, usually around 9:30. He wakes up around 7:30 or 7:45 every day but we let him lay there and talk for awhile and don't get him up, changed, and fed until between 8 and 8:15. (2 weeks from now school starts. It'll be culture shock for all of us!)
Physical/Facial/Activities: He's so expressive with his face. Lots of big grins for pretty much anyone who tries to get one. Very inconsistent with the rolling front to back. He can get 99% of the way over from back to front, but then just pops back on to his back like a rubber band. He moves all over the place on his mat and in his crib. (This is not as cute at 2am when he gets a foot stuck and starts screaming.) He grabs for toys, pulls them down, pulls the ring on the buzzy chair to play music, and will hit the ipad screen to get music. He is just in the last few days starting to put his hands together. We've been doing the sign for "more" during meals for more than a month, so maybe now that he's physically capable of putting his hands together something will click. It's hard to get him to eat when there's things to look at because he likes to look at the world around him.
Crying/Vocal: His voice went up an octave recently and then he added in consonant sounds. He makes a sound that sounds like "Hey!" which is pretty funny. He's much quieter around big groups because he's fascinated by other people and things going on. He spends a lot of time making sounds, though.
Me: More than one person told me in the beginning to expect it to be 6 months before I felt normal again. That seemed like such a long time. Every day I don't feel like I hurt less, but when I think back to a month ago I do agree that I feel a lot better than I did back then. I still get sore when I do lots of walking. Last night we walked around the mall for an hour to kill time before driving home during rush hour and I had to go pretty slow at the end. Same with our day trip to WV a couple weeks ago. Then I have to take care of myself for a couple days. But overall it's better!
Clothes: He is all over the map! The best fit is Carter's 3-6 onesies. They fit like they're made for him. Many 3-6 ones are just about right in the length but very wide. (Gerber 3-6 onesies haven't fit in months because they're miniature clothing) PJ's are hard. His legs are long, but his body is tiny so it's hard to find snug fitting PJ's without them being SO snug fitting that his toes pop through the seams. (This happened on one pair already - but that outfit is so big in the chest area that he can get his chin under the neck and chew on the top!) If I had to put money on it, I'd say he won't be ready to leave his 3-6 clothes in a month, but who knows. He does keep getting longer so onesies have problems with snaps staying closed long before they appear to be to small.
Eating: 5 bottles a day, between 5-6 mixed ounces. When we switched from Alimentum to Elecare, he went down a little. I thought at first it was because the new formula was more fortified, but they have the same caloric intake so who knows. He isn't drinking drastically less, but those last couple ounces really mattered before and now he's happy back at his old intake. He's a riddle, that's for sure!
Sleeping: He's going to bed a little earlier, usually around 9:30. He wakes up around 7:30 or 7:45 every day but we let him lay there and talk for awhile and don't get him up, changed, and fed until between 8 and 8:15. (2 weeks from now school starts. It'll be culture shock for all of us!)
Physical/Facial/Activities: He's so expressive with his face. Lots of big grins for pretty much anyone who tries to get one. Very inconsistent with the rolling front to back. He can get 99% of the way over from back to front, but then just pops back on to his back like a rubber band. He moves all over the place on his mat and in his crib. (This is not as cute at 2am when he gets a foot stuck and starts screaming.) He grabs for toys, pulls them down, pulls the ring on the buzzy chair to play music, and will hit the ipad screen to get music. He is just in the last few days starting to put his hands together. We've been doing the sign for "more" during meals for more than a month, so maybe now that he's physically capable of putting his hands together something will click. It's hard to get him to eat when there's things to look at because he likes to look at the world around him.
Crying/Vocal: His voice went up an octave recently and then he added in consonant sounds. He makes a sound that sounds like "Hey!" which is pretty funny. He's much quieter around big groups because he's fascinated by other people and things going on. He spends a lot of time making sounds, though.
Me: More than one person told me in the beginning to expect it to be 6 months before I felt normal again. That seemed like such a long time. Every day I don't feel like I hurt less, but when I think back to a month ago I do agree that I feel a lot better than I did back then. I still get sore when I do lots of walking. Last night we walked around the mall for an hour to kill time before driving home during rush hour and I had to go pretty slow at the end. Same with our day trip to WV a couple weeks ago. Then I have to take care of myself for a couple days. But overall it's better!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
4 Months Old
Size: At last Friday's appointment, he was 13 pounds 9.6 ounces (25th%) and 26 inches long. (85th%) While he is definitely on the thin size in physique, the doctor says he's still on pace to double his birth weight in the right time frame so that's a-ok. We really think the height measurement was off at his 2 month appointment because we were never able to get a measurement that long but the mat we have in his pack & play is 26 inches long and that's how long he is, so we think this month is right. :)
Clothes: Carter's onesies 0-3 months fit his trunk (limbs not included) perfectly, but he wears lots of 3-6 onesies if they are other brands. He missed out on wearing a few things because we didn't think to go into the 3-6 tub while the 0-3 still fit. I'm better at knowing which brands run tiny (Carter's) and which run huge (Circo - the 0-3 is still too big!) so we won't miss outfits on the next go round, hopefully.
Eating: Five bottles a day, almost 6 mixed ounces each. (It's 26 ounces of water and 13 scoops of formula which grows to almost 30 ounces once mixed.)
Sleeping: If we're not doing anything that day (and therefore not riding in a car which induces sleep) he wakes up in the neighborhood of 8-9 and goes to bed between 10 and 11 with an hour or so nap in the morning, 3 hours or so in the afternoon, and a snooze in the evening. We are desperately trying to get that 10 or 11 to be earlier, but we're working on it little by little. If we wake him up earlier in the morning, he takes more naps to compensate. We tried keeping him awake once but that made everything worse. Our plan was do move it 15 minutes sooner, wait a few days, and then do that again. Doctor basically gave us that as a suggestion so our plan seemed to be on target. But when he sleeps for 10 hours we can't complain. :)
Physical/Facial/Activities: He can grab things now. He bats the toys but grabs them too. He can grab the ring on his buzzy chair's toy to make music but gets annoyed when he successfully grabs and isn't rewarded with the song. He will also bat at toys on the Bumbo tray now, but that's new so he isn't as good at it. He was more interested in using both forearms to pick the squishy cube up and move it towards his face so he could gnaw on it. He is starting to extend his hands when he wants something, but he has very little control over them so they don't do what he wants. It's interesting to see his brain work behind the attempts though. Lots of funny faces, smiles, frowns, intense concentration, and furrowed brows. He has rolled to his back a few times, but he's very inconsistent. It was interesting to see how a week of vacation took away the momentum he was making in the physical department because he chilled out and didn't have baby stuff in California. He also spent a lot of time in the car rather than playing on the mat. We gave him time in the middle of the bed to flail around every day, but it was definitely different than being at home.
Crying/Vocal: He talks all. the. time. Mostly when we're home. I think when we're out and about he's more interested in taking in the new sights. When we're here and he has already investigated his surroundings, he is very vocal. Lots of vowel sounds.
Me: I've heard from others it could take up to 6 months to feel physically recovered from the delivery. That makes me feel good, because I'm still not there. Walking almost 5 miles in SF (even on flat ground!) one day was not my best idea and I'm still paying for it 2+ weeks later. It set me back a couple weeks in the sitting, standing, and walking departments. I'm closer to healed than not healed at this point in the long run though! :)
Clothes: Carter's onesies 0-3 months fit his trunk (limbs not included) perfectly, but he wears lots of 3-6 onesies if they are other brands. He missed out on wearing a few things because we didn't think to go into the 3-6 tub while the 0-3 still fit. I'm better at knowing which brands run tiny (Carter's) and which run huge (Circo - the 0-3 is still too big!) so we won't miss outfits on the next go round, hopefully.
Eating: Five bottles a day, almost 6 mixed ounces each. (It's 26 ounces of water and 13 scoops of formula which grows to almost 30 ounces once mixed.)
Sleeping: If we're not doing anything that day (and therefore not riding in a car which induces sleep) he wakes up in the neighborhood of 8-9 and goes to bed between 10 and 11 with an hour or so nap in the morning, 3 hours or so in the afternoon, and a snooze in the evening. We are desperately trying to get that 10 or 11 to be earlier, but we're working on it little by little. If we wake him up earlier in the morning, he takes more naps to compensate. We tried keeping him awake once but that made everything worse. Our plan was do move it 15 minutes sooner, wait a few days, and then do that again. Doctor basically gave us that as a suggestion so our plan seemed to be on target. But when he sleeps for 10 hours we can't complain. :)
Physical/Facial/Activities: He can grab things now. He bats the toys but grabs them too. He can grab the ring on his buzzy chair's toy to make music but gets annoyed when he successfully grabs and isn't rewarded with the song. He will also bat at toys on the Bumbo tray now, but that's new so he isn't as good at it. He was more interested in using both forearms to pick the squishy cube up and move it towards his face so he could gnaw on it. He is starting to extend his hands when he wants something, but he has very little control over them so they don't do what he wants. It's interesting to see his brain work behind the attempts though. Lots of funny faces, smiles, frowns, intense concentration, and furrowed brows. He has rolled to his back a few times, but he's very inconsistent. It was interesting to see how a week of vacation took away the momentum he was making in the physical department because he chilled out and didn't have baby stuff in California. He also spent a lot of time in the car rather than playing on the mat. We gave him time in the middle of the bed to flail around every day, but it was definitely different than being at home.
Crying/Vocal: He talks all. the. time. Mostly when we're home. I think when we're out and about he's more interested in taking in the new sights. When we're here and he has already investigated his surroundings, he is very vocal. Lots of vowel sounds.
Me: I've heard from others it could take up to 6 months to feel physically recovered from the delivery. That makes me feel good, because I'm still not there. Walking almost 5 miles in SF (even on flat ground!) one day was not my best idea and I'm still paying for it 2+ weeks later. It set me back a couple weeks in the sitting, standing, and walking departments. I'm closer to healed than not healed at this point in the long run though! :)
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
3 months...late again
Size: Memorial day weekend, he was about 12 pounds using Kevin & Tracie's baby scale. It's 2 1/2 weeks later now, so hopefully he weighs more than that. We have a doctor's appointment at the end of this month for the 4 month shots so we'll know officially then. We don't own a regular-size-people scale, so we can't even do the weigh yourself with/without the baby and subtract thing. :)
Clothes: Some 0-3 onesies still fit, but the regular brand 0-3 footy pj's are getting small. He also wears some of the smaller 3-6 outfits. I think he slowed down on the length growing thing and is starting to get a little more round. He still fits in the long category I'd guess, but it isn't happening as fast as before and his legs finally have some chunk to them.
Eating: We've been on formula exclusively for more than a month now. We were doing 6 four ounce bottles and lately we've been putting those same 24 ounces into approximately 5 five ounce bottles. It's a little complicated for our brains because 24 ounces of water + 12 scoops of formula turns into way more than 24 ounces of product for him to eat. So even though it's 24 ounces, it looks like more than 5 ounces in each of the 5 bottles. Brain hurting yet? :) Some days he eats 26 ounces. I feel like he should be eating more soon since we've been on this number for awhile.
Sleeping: Before I went back to work, we were getting consistent 8-10 hours at night with a morning and afternoon nap. It got a little messy over the last couple weeks with having a different person here every day and so every day was a little different. Some days he isn't in to napping as much in long stretches and does little short ones (like right now.) We'd love for him to start going to bed a little earlier, but we're waiting until after our California trip (and it's time zone change craziness) to start working bedtime up a little bit each day.
Physical: He's starting to grab things - the washcloth/spit rag, the owl toy's wing, the rattle if you put it in his hand for him, my hair. If I had to put money on it, I'd guess he was going to turn from front to back first. He is now back to being able to pop up on his side (a skill he had at birth but lost along the way before recently regaining it.) It's easy to push him over and complete the roll, and that wasn't easy a week ago. He just can't figure out what to do with the arm that gets stuck under him. When he's doing tummy time, he can get a hip up pretty far in the air, but it just doesn't look like he's quite as close. His head control is getting even better and he can sit in the Bumbo for longer periods now.
Facial: Huge smiles! And huge pouts! And tears when he's really mad at getting left somewhere he doesn't want to be, like the pack and play after being changed sometimes. He looks around at everything all the time. Sometimes the last bottle before bedtime takes forever unless we turn off lights and TV and anything interesting.
Crying: When he wakes up from a nap and is hungry, that gets a cry. He's also doing one as he fights the 30 seconds before sleep a lot these days too. When he's mad at getting left somewhere or put down when he wants to be held. He's also started fussing sometimes when his diaper is messy and gross. Sometimes after a big spit up he cries, but not always which fascinates me because *I* want to cry when it's big and gross!
Vocal: He's super vocal. We've gotten some really big laughs in the last couple days after starting small with giggles. I clapped his hands together yesterday for an Adam Jones home run and he thought that was hilarious. He continues to talk to the owl and turtle on the mat and will bounce around and chat in the pack n play when we lay him down in there.
Activities: He still likes hitting the owl and turtle. He grabs the owl's wings and feathers and is starting to be able to grab the turtle feet and legs. He sits in the bumbo and sits in our lap and looks around. We do tummy time on the mat and sometimes on the yoga ball, too.
Me: Sometimes I go several hours feeling normal and then I'll sit down or do something that reminds me I'm not 100% yet. But that's much better than a month ago!
Clothes: Some 0-3 onesies still fit, but the regular brand 0-3 footy pj's are getting small. He also wears some of the smaller 3-6 outfits. I think he slowed down on the length growing thing and is starting to get a little more round. He still fits in the long category I'd guess, but it isn't happening as fast as before and his legs finally have some chunk to them.
Eating: We've been on formula exclusively for more than a month now. We were doing 6 four ounce bottles and lately we've been putting those same 24 ounces into approximately 5 five ounce bottles. It's a little complicated for our brains because 24 ounces of water + 12 scoops of formula turns into way more than 24 ounces of product for him to eat. So even though it's 24 ounces, it looks like more than 5 ounces in each of the 5 bottles. Brain hurting yet? :) Some days he eats 26 ounces. I feel like he should be eating more soon since we've been on this number for awhile.
Sleeping: Before I went back to work, we were getting consistent 8-10 hours at night with a morning and afternoon nap. It got a little messy over the last couple weeks with having a different person here every day and so every day was a little different. Some days he isn't in to napping as much in long stretches and does little short ones (like right now.) We'd love for him to start going to bed a little earlier, but we're waiting until after our California trip (and it's time zone change craziness) to start working bedtime up a little bit each day.
Physical: He's starting to grab things - the washcloth/spit rag, the owl toy's wing, the rattle if you put it in his hand for him, my hair. If I had to put money on it, I'd guess he was going to turn from front to back first. He is now back to being able to pop up on his side (a skill he had at birth but lost along the way before recently regaining it.) It's easy to push him over and complete the roll, and that wasn't easy a week ago. He just can't figure out what to do with the arm that gets stuck under him. When he's doing tummy time, he can get a hip up pretty far in the air, but it just doesn't look like he's quite as close. His head control is getting even better and he can sit in the Bumbo for longer periods now.
Facial: Huge smiles! And huge pouts! And tears when he's really mad at getting left somewhere he doesn't want to be, like the pack and play after being changed sometimes. He looks around at everything all the time. Sometimes the last bottle before bedtime takes forever unless we turn off lights and TV and anything interesting.
Crying: When he wakes up from a nap and is hungry, that gets a cry. He's also doing one as he fights the 30 seconds before sleep a lot these days too. When he's mad at getting left somewhere or put down when he wants to be held. He's also started fussing sometimes when his diaper is messy and gross. Sometimes after a big spit up he cries, but not always which fascinates me because *I* want to cry when it's big and gross!
Vocal: He's super vocal. We've gotten some really big laughs in the last couple days after starting small with giggles. I clapped his hands together yesterday for an Adam Jones home run and he thought that was hilarious. He continues to talk to the owl and turtle on the mat and will bounce around and chat in the pack n play when we lay him down in there.
Activities: He still likes hitting the owl and turtle. He grabs the owl's wings and feathers and is starting to be able to grab the turtle feet and legs. He sits in the bumbo and sits in our lap and looks around. We do tummy time on the mat and sometimes on the yoga ball, too.
Me: Sometimes I go several hours feeling normal and then I'll sit down or do something that reminds me I'm not 100% yet. But that's much better than a month ago!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
2 Months ... A little late
Size: At his 2 month appointment, he weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces and was 24 1/2 inches long. That's only the 40th percentile for weight, and the 98th percentile for length. Guess he doesn't know that he has short parents! We're not sure that he really weighs that much, because (how can I say this delicately?) his belly was FULL when he was weighed. The next day at 'baby breakfast' he only weighed 10 pounds 8 ounces, and his belly was very very EMPTY. So I'd guess he weighs somewhere in the high 10's in general.
Clothes: He's completely out of newborn clothes now. He's so long and thin that lots of the onesies we have in the 0-3 size are barely snapping, but are still super super wide. He's in size 1 diapers, but they still leak around the legs sometimes because his legs are so thin!
Eating: When breastfeeding, he eats about 12 times a day. Some long meals, some shorter. In the late afternoon/evening he eats almost every hour. During formula week, he ate 4oz when he woke up the first time, 4 more a few hours later and again for lunch. 4 after his long nap and at bedtime, but in the afternoon it was 1 ounce every hour or so, like he was mimicking nursing. Luckily he doesn't seem to care what he's eating, the temperature, or delivery method. We started using a pacifier when he was on the bottle because babies this little have a strong need to suck for comfort. We don't want him hooked on it, but it worked really well when he finished a bottle because we could tell if he was hungry and really needed more, or if he just needed to suck. (He'd refuse the pacifier and scream if he was still hungry, mellow out and suck on the pacifier for a few minutes and then gently give it up if he just needed the sucking motion.)
Sleeping: When breastfeeding, his long stretch is still about 5 hours on a generic night. Many nights on formula he did 7 to 8 hours, woke up for a bottle, and then slept another 3. We are trying to move bedtime back. We got it to 10:30 or 11 which means a middle of the night feed when nursing but it will help in the long run. During the week of bottles, we worked hard on getting him to sleep, since he was used to nursing to sleep. It was hard and took a lot longer, but it got better as the week went on. I'm more aware of it now that we're back to breastfeeding just in case our experiment fails and we have to return to the formula. He is not yet doing his big nap in the crib. That's a future-but-soon goal of mine. He sleeps really well in the swing or buzzy chair even if he's in the same room as me, but I'd like to get him good at sleeping in both the pack n play and crib in the afternoon.
Physical: He still does tummy time and his neck is getting stronger. I can hold him with one arm sometimes now because he can hold his head or prop it on my shoulder! He recently learned to bat/punch dangling toys on the mat. He also loves sucking on his hands. That used to be purely a feeding cue, now it seems like he does it just because he can.
Facial: Lots of smiles! At us, at toys, at the baby in the mirror. Unless the camera is out!!! Sometimes he'll mimic our facial expressions, and he's been iffy with that since between 3 and 4 weeks, but usually he seems to think we're just making funny faces and then he smiles at us.
Crying: Often means hungry, especially when waking up. Was also meaning bellyache for awhile. He rarely cries at bath or diaper change anymore, unless he is hungry and we're quickly trying to squeeze it in.
Vocal: He is SO vocal. Cooing, happy noises, mad noises, hungry noises, whiny noises, and a hilarious squawk that seems to mean, "hey people you left me here just FYI!" because he uses it when he's in the pack 'n play while I throw out a diaper and wash my hands, or when he's done batting the owl and turtle on his mat. It isn't really an angry noise, but he seems to use it for attention.
Activities: After several days of picking up his hands and making him bat the animals on the rainforest gym, he started accidentally doing it himself. Then a few days later we realized it wasn't an accident anymore because when we moved him, he moved his hands to make it keep happening! He spends 2 or 3 sessions a day on his mat playing with "his friends" the owl and turtle.
Me: In several ways, I am healed. I can lift the car seat with him in it now pain free. I lifted a box of litter to fill the box pain free, too. But I can't sit for too long still or wear tight clothes. I've lost all the pregnancy weight (and I think more, but I don't own a scale and haven't been weighed in 3+ weeks at my dr's appointment) but mostly because of being on the soy and dairy free diet. No easy snacks means much less eating during the day or just less eating in general!
Friday, April 5, 2013
One month (2 days late)
Things to remember at this one month point...
Size:
The day before one month, he was 8 pounds 11 ounces. The day after one month, he was 8 pounds 12 ounces. (So I guess we could say he was 8 pounds 11.5 ounces?) ;) Unofficially, he's just over 21 inches. I feel like I didn't do a good job with that though because his pants have a bigger difference than just an inch, and he was almost 21 inches three weeks ago.
Clothes:
None of the newborn sized sleepers fit anymore. First the Faded Glory brand stopped fitting, then the Gerbers. He still fits in most of the newborn onesies but a couple are too small. The brands are SO different. Size 0-3 months is still a little big, especially the brands that are wider because he's so long and skinny. The "one size fits all" pajama bags and sleep sacks fit him more reasonably now and don't get up in his face when he wiggles around. That makes me feel better. His fleece pajama bags still have the sleeves rolled up a little so his hands can stick out though. For some reason, baby clothes makers think that once they're out of newborn size, parents prefer snaps to zippers. I much preferred the zippers that went from neck to toe. SO MUCH EASIER! Ones with snaps that just go neck to toe down one leg are ok, but the ones that snap up both legs and then the chest are a pain in the butt.
Eating:
During the day, he eats every 1 to 3 hours for a total of approximately 10 times a day. In the last week to 10 days, there have been times were the 40 minute feeding has turned into just 10, and it appears he is getting the same amount of food. Other times it's still long and he is lazy. He ate 3.2 ounces in a sitting at baby breakfast the day after he turned 1 month old. Our previous high was 2.6 ounces. He makes a distinct "ah ah ah" sound while bobbing his head against our arm/chest/shoulder/neck/face while making fish faces or chomping motions to tell us he wants to eat. So far, he has done great with bottles. We have been successful with 2 different brands of bottles and nipples, all with pumped milk. He has been fine eating after the bottle as well. It appears that he enjoys the instant gratification of the bottle but luckily it hasn't messed up his regular eating habits.
Sleeping:
He will sleep for about 5 hours after his midnight feeding many times now. Then after an early breakfast at 530 or so, he will sleep or at least chill in the crib for a while longer to let me sleep. I did pop him in the buzzy chair next to the bed to increase my morning sleep a couple times too. There is no pattern to daytime naps really, but he does tend to have awake times in the mid morning and in the evening. After his midnight feeding when his eyes are droopy, I put him in the crib. Just a couple weeks ago it took forever for him to lay down and chill out. Now it might take a couple more tries, but he seems to be starting to understand what the crib is for. He doesn't get quiet right away, but he doesn't cry. More just babbling to himself while he conducts the invisible orchestra, waving his hands around to some mysterious music he hears in his head.
Physical:
His tummy time head control is constantly improving. He can keep it up for lots of seconds now and flips from cheek to cheek while he is down there. He also moves his knees back and forth a ton resulting in random movement and turns. In the crib, he moves himself to the edge of the crib so that he's touching the rails and sometimes his arm is sticking out. If we hold him up, he'll look around especially if he recognizes the voice of the non holding parent nearby. He still has his startle reflex and the one that makes him hold our finger.
Facial:
He makes many silly faces now. He will hold our gaze on a regular basis. He smiles a ton, but it's just a reflex for now. He laughs and smiles in his sleep all the time. We have yet to catch it on video though. He appears to recognize the two of us, but this gazing stage got more pronounced this week since it's just been the two of us so who knows. He saw and heard 3 people for the first 4 weeks and now he's down to 2 on a daily basis.
Crying:
He doesn't scream bloody murder during every single diaper change anymore. Sometimes, if he's sleepy or in an exceptionally good mood, he can ignore it altogether. Often there is still some crying and sometimes it is full meltdown, but an improvement upon a couple weeks ago, that's for sure. So far we have a 100% success rate with crying stopping as soon as the car starts moving which helps because often getting locked into the car seat starts a little crying. We are lucky in that the wailing, screeching crying for extended times hasn't been a regular occurrence yet. Now that he lost his belly button stump and can have more water in his little bathtub, the crying ends there quicker as well. He will sit contentedly for a little while while getting washed. He really hated the sponge bath portion of his life, but I don't blame him for that. If it's been a little while since he ate and he goes from peaceful to unhappy cry in 0.1 seconds, it's often followed by the need for a diaper change. ;)
Vocal:
It's hard to put in writing, but he makes a lot of different noises now. We don't know what they all mean, but it changes all the time. It's funny when his random noises make words. We get uh-huh (like the grunting version of yes), uh-uh (grunting version of no), and ut-oh!
Activities:
We put him in the rainforest gym on his back and stomach at least twice a day. Once in the morning while that corner of the room is nice and toasty which also happens to coincide with a time he's usually alert and happy. He will kick his legs and conduct the invisible orchestra. If he's sad to be put down, the calipso music usually quiets and calms him down. He swings in the swing about once a day, usually around dinner time in an attempt for both of us to eat a hot meal. He sits on our laps and we try to get him to mimic facial expressions like opening and closing our mouths, or sticking out our tongue. We can't tell if he can really do it or if we just get randomly lucky sometimes because those are things he does do on his own. He also likes to lay propped up in the boppy pillow and stare around the room. It's possible that he noticed the cat earlier this week, because the cat walked by him while he was on the boppy and his eyes definitely tracked the cat's walking path. We've taken several walks around the neighborhood as the weather has started being more cooperative.
Me:
In many ways, I feel back to normal. But if I do too much (or sit too much, interestingly enough) I am still sore. I don't know what exactly is sore because Advil doesn't help much. You don't realize how much you use those muscles for lifting until you're waiting for them to heal. I keep telling myself that there's a reason the first appointment isn't until 6 weeks. Even though it feels like another lifetime that was before March 3rd, a month isn't that long in the healing stitched muscles department. On our first outing I carried the car seat too much and I think I'm still paying for that. Even if it takes more time, I really need to pull the snap 'n go up to the car and pop the stroller on there. (I was carrying it to the store and putting it in the big part of the cart - my arms are strong enough, but the rest of me isn't.) On top of it, I haven't used my muscles since the end of May last year before I started my meds, so that probably doesn't help. I'm really ready to be able to move again! Walking is good, but I have to take that slowly as well. I'm trying to be very aware of my mental state. I had a terrible mental day on Wednesday - our second day alone, nowhere to be, and I only saw Mike for 6 hours in 2 days combined. There's not always something I can do about the circumstances, but I'm going to have to find a way to cope and get used to it for the next 4.5 months...then I'll have a whole different circumstance to deal with as a (10 months at a time) working mom!
Size:
The day before one month, he was 8 pounds 11 ounces. The day after one month, he was 8 pounds 12 ounces. (So I guess we could say he was 8 pounds 11.5 ounces?) ;) Unofficially, he's just over 21 inches. I feel like I didn't do a good job with that though because his pants have a bigger difference than just an inch, and he was almost 21 inches three weeks ago.
Clothes:
None of the newborn sized sleepers fit anymore. First the Faded Glory brand stopped fitting, then the Gerbers. He still fits in most of the newborn onesies but a couple are too small. The brands are SO different. Size 0-3 months is still a little big, especially the brands that are wider because he's so long and skinny. The "one size fits all" pajama bags and sleep sacks fit him more reasonably now and don't get up in his face when he wiggles around. That makes me feel better. His fleece pajama bags still have the sleeves rolled up a little so his hands can stick out though. For some reason, baby clothes makers think that once they're out of newborn size, parents prefer snaps to zippers. I much preferred the zippers that went from neck to toe. SO MUCH EASIER! Ones with snaps that just go neck to toe down one leg are ok, but the ones that snap up both legs and then the chest are a pain in the butt.
Eating:
During the day, he eats every 1 to 3 hours for a total of approximately 10 times a day. In the last week to 10 days, there have been times were the 40 minute feeding has turned into just 10, and it appears he is getting the same amount of food. Other times it's still long and he is lazy. He ate 3.2 ounces in a sitting at baby breakfast the day after he turned 1 month old. Our previous high was 2.6 ounces. He makes a distinct "ah ah ah" sound while bobbing his head against our arm/chest/shoulder/neck/face while making fish faces or chomping motions to tell us he wants to eat. So far, he has done great with bottles. We have been successful with 2 different brands of bottles and nipples, all with pumped milk. He has been fine eating after the bottle as well. It appears that he enjoys the instant gratification of the bottle but luckily it hasn't messed up his regular eating habits.
Sleeping:
He will sleep for about 5 hours after his midnight feeding many times now. Then after an early breakfast at 530 or so, he will sleep or at least chill in the crib for a while longer to let me sleep. I did pop him in the buzzy chair next to the bed to increase my morning sleep a couple times too. There is no pattern to daytime naps really, but he does tend to have awake times in the mid morning and in the evening. After his midnight feeding when his eyes are droopy, I put him in the crib. Just a couple weeks ago it took forever for him to lay down and chill out. Now it might take a couple more tries, but he seems to be starting to understand what the crib is for. He doesn't get quiet right away, but he doesn't cry. More just babbling to himself while he conducts the invisible orchestra, waving his hands around to some mysterious music he hears in his head.
Physical:
His tummy time head control is constantly improving. He can keep it up for lots of seconds now and flips from cheek to cheek while he is down there. He also moves his knees back and forth a ton resulting in random movement and turns. In the crib, he moves himself to the edge of the crib so that he's touching the rails and sometimes his arm is sticking out. If we hold him up, he'll look around especially if he recognizes the voice of the non holding parent nearby. He still has his startle reflex and the one that makes him hold our finger.
Facial:
He makes many silly faces now. He will hold our gaze on a regular basis. He smiles a ton, but it's just a reflex for now. He laughs and smiles in his sleep all the time. We have yet to catch it on video though. He appears to recognize the two of us, but this gazing stage got more pronounced this week since it's just been the two of us so who knows. He saw and heard 3 people for the first 4 weeks and now he's down to 2 on a daily basis.
Crying:
He doesn't scream bloody murder during every single diaper change anymore. Sometimes, if he's sleepy or in an exceptionally good mood, he can ignore it altogether. Often there is still some crying and sometimes it is full meltdown, but an improvement upon a couple weeks ago, that's for sure. So far we have a 100% success rate with crying stopping as soon as the car starts moving which helps because often getting locked into the car seat starts a little crying. We are lucky in that the wailing, screeching crying for extended times hasn't been a regular occurrence yet. Now that he lost his belly button stump and can have more water in his little bathtub, the crying ends there quicker as well. He will sit contentedly for a little while while getting washed. He really hated the sponge bath portion of his life, but I don't blame him for that. If it's been a little while since he ate and he goes from peaceful to unhappy cry in 0.1 seconds, it's often followed by the need for a diaper change. ;)
Vocal:
It's hard to put in writing, but he makes a lot of different noises now. We don't know what they all mean, but it changes all the time. It's funny when his random noises make words. We get uh-huh (like the grunting version of yes), uh-uh (grunting version of no), and ut-oh!
Activities:
We put him in the rainforest gym on his back and stomach at least twice a day. Once in the morning while that corner of the room is nice and toasty which also happens to coincide with a time he's usually alert and happy. He will kick his legs and conduct the invisible orchestra. If he's sad to be put down, the calipso music usually quiets and calms him down. He swings in the swing about once a day, usually around dinner time in an attempt for both of us to eat a hot meal. He sits on our laps and we try to get him to mimic facial expressions like opening and closing our mouths, or sticking out our tongue. We can't tell if he can really do it or if we just get randomly lucky sometimes because those are things he does do on his own. He also likes to lay propped up in the boppy pillow and stare around the room. It's possible that he noticed the cat earlier this week, because the cat walked by him while he was on the boppy and his eyes definitely tracked the cat's walking path. We've taken several walks around the neighborhood as the weather has started being more cooperative.
Me:
In many ways, I feel back to normal. But if I do too much (or sit too much, interestingly enough) I am still sore. I don't know what exactly is sore because Advil doesn't help much. You don't realize how much you use those muscles for lifting until you're waiting for them to heal. I keep telling myself that there's a reason the first appointment isn't until 6 weeks. Even though it feels like another lifetime that was before March 3rd, a month isn't that long in the healing stitched muscles department. On our first outing I carried the car seat too much and I think I'm still paying for that. Even if it takes more time, I really need to pull the snap 'n go up to the car and pop the stroller on there. (I was carrying it to the store and putting it in the big part of the cart - my arms are strong enough, but the rest of me isn't.) On top of it, I haven't used my muscles since the end of May last year before I started my meds, so that probably doesn't help. I'm really ready to be able to move again! Walking is good, but I have to take that slowly as well. I'm trying to be very aware of my mental state. I had a terrible mental day on Wednesday - our second day alone, nowhere to be, and I only saw Mike for 6 hours in 2 days combined. There's not always something I can do about the circumstances, but I'm going to have to find a way to cope and get used to it for the next 4.5 months...then I'll have a whole different circumstance to deal with as a (10 months at a time) working mom!
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