crawling? check!
saying mama? check!
pulling himself to standing? check!
tooth #3? check! (working on #4)
chewing on the crib rails? check...?
among other major accomplishments this month, theo also managed to fit in his first major illness last week with a whopping 104 degree fever! it was miserable and even a little bit scary at times. oh, did i forget to mention that theo has also learned to share?? absolutely adorable when he shares his toys...not so much when he shares his viruses! i ended up using a full week of sick/personal time from work as i nursed theo and myself back to health...but i secretly really enjoyed the 9-10 AM wake up time and all of the extra cuddling we snuck in during my week at home with him! :-)
starting to think about weaning and whether that will happen at 1 year like i originally thought. pretty sure if theo had his way, we would never wean...he's very anti-formula. and really, i don't mind nursing him either. in a lot of ways it's convenient, and there really is a bonding aspect to it that i could have never understood before having a child of my own. but of course, there would definitely be some perks to giving it up as well...1) being able to have dairy again! and 2) not having to pump at work!!! and of course, possibly 3) maybe theo could stop waking up to nurse so many times at night?? clearly, it won't be as simple as just giving him whole cow's milk like a lot of other moms do. and i know my other options...the front runners being rice milk, coconut milk, soy milk, soy formula. these thoughts weigh heavily on my mind lately. i guess only time will tell whether we'll be ready for this big change in the next few months.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
8 month update
what? my little boy is 8 months old? you have to be kidding me. how did we get here so fast??
well, onto theo's latest mad skillz: pulling up to a kneeling position, going from laying on his back to sitting up completely on his own, sleeping longer stretches (by theo standards, which means 3-5 hours) at night, and still with all the babbling. he's got the army crawl down and he can even crawl backwards pretty well (he worked his way under a chair the other night), but that forward crawling thing is still eluding him. mostly, he loves to stand and will now cry to be lifted up into a standing position (at which point he starts smiling and babbling again). and he absolutely LOVES when we make him "walk" around the room or up the stairs. :-)
which means we are now baby proofing! gates, and cabinet latches, and corner covers, oh my! really hoping our landlord doesn't notice all of the "improvements" we're making right now.
also, we officially started theo on reflux meds (prevacid solutabs) last month. they seem to be helping with his nighttime sleep, so we're very thankful for that. it's no miracle drug, but i'll take whatever small improvements we can get!
well, onto theo's latest mad skillz: pulling up to a kneeling position, going from laying on his back to sitting up completely on his own, sleeping longer stretches (by theo standards, which means 3-5 hours) at night, and still with all the babbling. he's got the army crawl down and he can even crawl backwards pretty well (he worked his way under a chair the other night), but that forward crawling thing is still eluding him. mostly, he loves to stand and will now cry to be lifted up into a standing position (at which point he starts smiling and babbling again). and he absolutely LOVES when we make him "walk" around the room or up the stairs. :-)
which means we are now baby proofing! gates, and cabinet latches, and corner covers, oh my! really hoping our landlord doesn't notice all of the "improvements" we're making right now.
also, we officially started theo on reflux meds (prevacid solutabs) last month. they seem to be helping with his nighttime sleep, so we're very thankful for that. it's no miracle drug, but i'll take whatever small improvements we can get!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
7 month update
theo's mastered quite a few skills in the past several weeks, including saying "mamama" and "babababa" just yesterday! it is just the cutest thing, and it also makes me suddenly very aware that we are going to have a little PERSON living in the house with us in the near future. meaning, he is going to have things to SAY and independent THOUGHTS to express! it's very exciting, weird, and a little bit scary to realize how much more we'll be able to get to know him once he starts talking. scary, because once he starts talking that also means he'll be able to start correcting us and arguing back! sheesh.
still no official crawling yet, but he's now rocking back and forth on his hands and knees and will practically jump out of your arms when he sees something he wants. unsupported sitting is totally old hat now. standing is the new obsession...if you have him in your lap, he will bounce up or push himself up to standing if he wants.
the stomach issues continue, and in fact i think they've gotten worse since we started solids. i stopped giving him any type of cereal since they seemed to upset his stomach a lot. so far he's doing well on sweet potatoes, squash, pears, and prunes. the prune idea came from the new pediatric GI specialist we've been seeing. she thinks all of his nighttime stomach problems are due to constipation. so we now include prunes and prune juice in his daily repertoire. he does sleep noticeably better on the days when he poops. but getting him into a daily schedule has been a challenge...even WITH the prune juice!
christmas was a lot of fun. my wonderful mom and mother in law were so thoughtful to prepare plenty of dairy-free options for me to eat, so that was a nice perk. and of course, we had a blast giving theo all of his presents and visiting family. it snowed in virginia on christmas day, which meant that theo got to play (well, actually just sit) in the snow for the first time! and it also meant that we got to stay in virginia an extra day because that same snow storm hit philadelphia 2 days later. no big celebration for new year's eve...tyler and i went out and saw harry potter in the theater and were back and in bed by 10pm. happy new year!
still no official crawling yet, but he's now rocking back and forth on his hands and knees and will practically jump out of your arms when he sees something he wants. unsupported sitting is totally old hat now. standing is the new obsession...if you have him in your lap, he will bounce up or push himself up to standing if he wants.
the stomach issues continue, and in fact i think they've gotten worse since we started solids. i stopped giving him any type of cereal since they seemed to upset his stomach a lot. so far he's doing well on sweet potatoes, squash, pears, and prunes. the prune idea came from the new pediatric GI specialist we've been seeing. she thinks all of his nighttime stomach problems are due to constipation. so we now include prunes and prune juice in his daily repertoire. he does sleep noticeably better on the days when he poops. but getting him into a daily schedule has been a challenge...even WITH the prune juice!
christmas was a lot of fun. my wonderful mom and mother in law were so thoughtful to prepare plenty of dairy-free options for me to eat, so that was a nice perk. and of course, we had a blast giving theo all of his presents and visiting family. it snowed in virginia on christmas day, which meant that theo got to play (well, actually just sit) in the snow for the first time! and it also meant that we got to stay in virginia an extra day because that same snow storm hit philadelphia 2 days later. no big celebration for new year's eve...tyler and i went out and saw harry potter in the theater and were back and in bed by 10pm. happy new year!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
6 month check-in
Is it really possible that it's already been half a year since I had Theo?? Our little boy will be 6 months old on Sunday. That whole newborn phase seems so long ago already!!
Well, onto the updates. Theo is now sitting up unsupported quite well. He still topples over from time to time, but that's usually as a result of him leaning too far to grab a toy or to reach towards something and not as much because of lack of back strength anymore. He likes to lunge at things...he's got this funny, mysterious way of moving several feet away from where he starts out even though he can't actually crawl yet. It's mostly the result of lunging and rolling and scooting. He's started trying to climb out of his bouncers. He's also figured out that if he's laying on a blanket and his toy is just out of reach, he can pull the blanket so the toy comes closer to him. Little stinker.
In the past 2 months, we celebrated Theo's first Halloween (Fozzie Bear) and his first Thanksgiving. Have I mentioned that I've cut out all dairy because it makes Theo scream?? I miss it very much, more so with every passing day (and especially on holidays!!). Since my last update, we also went to an infant chiropractor to see if that would help with Theo's sleep/gas issues. While he was very nice and I learned a lot, I didn't see any improvement. Currently, we're giving him baby probiotics for his sensitive stomach. No obvious improvements yet, but I'll keep you posted. We also started regularly feeding him solids about a week and a half ago. He does well with the rice cereal and oatmeal cereal, but I'm still not sure if the bananas are sitting well in his stomach.
Oh yes. And now we need to devote an entire paragraph to teething. Ladies and gentlemen, I tell you that teething SUCKS! Those two little tooth buds have been hanging around for three months now, just ready to burst through and the side effects (constant drool, fussiness/screaming spells, diarrhea, nasal congestion, etc.) just keep getting worse with no actual teeth in sight!! Literally, all I want for Christmas is for Theo's two front teeth to pop through! I've met several parents who've told me that this can go on for another 2-3 months. Please please please PLEASE don't let this be the case! We've tried Tylenol, homeopathic remedies, teething toys, teething toys in the fridge, wet rags in the fridge, a metal spoon in the fridge, comfort nursing (ouch!), and even an amber necklace (that Tyler believes is a scam anyway)! I've been told to give him a chicken bone to gnaw on (no thank you). I've also been advised to just scrape at his gums with my fingernails to help the teeth cut through (also, no thank you). I recently learned that back in the day, pediatricians used to lance the baby's gums so the teeth would come through. But my (wonderful!) pediatric nurse practitioner mother-in-law has told me that none of these will actually solve the problem and that those little teeth just have to find their own way out, in their own time. So we continue to wait, fingers crossed that it happens soon!
Well, onto the updates. Theo is now sitting up unsupported quite well. He still topples over from time to time, but that's usually as a result of him leaning too far to grab a toy or to reach towards something and not as much because of lack of back strength anymore. He likes to lunge at things...he's got this funny, mysterious way of moving several feet away from where he starts out even though he can't actually crawl yet. It's mostly the result of lunging and rolling and scooting. He's started trying to climb out of his bouncers. He's also figured out that if he's laying on a blanket and his toy is just out of reach, he can pull the blanket so the toy comes closer to him. Little stinker.
In the past 2 months, we celebrated Theo's first Halloween (Fozzie Bear) and his first Thanksgiving. Have I mentioned that I've cut out all dairy because it makes Theo scream?? I miss it very much, more so with every passing day (and especially on holidays!!). Since my last update, we also went to an infant chiropractor to see if that would help with Theo's sleep/gas issues. While he was very nice and I learned a lot, I didn't see any improvement. Currently, we're giving him baby probiotics for his sensitive stomach. No obvious improvements yet, but I'll keep you posted. We also started regularly feeding him solids about a week and a half ago. He does well with the rice cereal and oatmeal cereal, but I'm still not sure if the bananas are sitting well in his stomach.
Oh yes. And now we need to devote an entire paragraph to teething. Ladies and gentlemen, I tell you that teething SUCKS! Those two little tooth buds have been hanging around for three months now, just ready to burst through and the side effects (constant drool, fussiness/screaming spells, diarrhea, nasal congestion, etc.) just keep getting worse with no actual teeth in sight!! Literally, all I want for Christmas is for Theo's two front teeth to pop through! I've met several parents who've told me that this can go on for another 2-3 months. Please please please PLEASE don't let this be the case! We've tried Tylenol, homeopathic remedies, teething toys, teething toys in the fridge, wet rags in the fridge, a metal spoon in the fridge, comfort nursing (ouch!), and even an amber necklace (that Tyler believes is a scam anyway)! I've been told to give him a chicken bone to gnaw on (no thank you). I've also been advised to just scrape at his gums with my fingernails to help the teeth cut through (also, no thank you). I recently learned that back in the day, pediatricians used to lance the baby's gums so the teeth would come through. But my (wonderful!) pediatric nurse practitioner mother-in-law has told me that none of these will actually solve the problem and that those little teeth just have to find their own way out, in their own time. So we continue to wait, fingers crossed that it happens soon!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
4 month update!
Theo went for his 4 month check up on friday. he now weighs 14 lbs 9 oz and is 25 3/4 in long. that's 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height!
he is now fantastic at supported sitting and can even keep himself propped up for 1-2 seconds before falling over. but he absolutely LOVES practicing; we prop him up with the boppy pillow around his belly and he can sit like that for 10 minutes or more! he's been "talking" a lot more in the past few weeks. even though he's not saying actual words, you can tell he definitely has a message that he wants to convey when he makes a sound...whether it's out of excitement, curiosity, silliness, sleepiness, or frustration, he always lets you know! he's also recently discovered his feet and is starting to enjoy tummy time a whole lot more. last weekend, he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time ever! there haven't been any repeat occurences, so sadly tyler missed it, but it was still pretty exciting. he just looked up at me afterwards with the most surprised look on his face! i'm pretty sure he would have started crying had i not been there smiling back at him to tell him what he did was actually exciting and not scary.
we haven't made much progress in the sleep department. the night before he turned 4 months old, he got a 5 hour stretch of sleep. but he's been back to stirring every 1-3 hours ever since. he's not necessarily always hungry when he stirs (i don't say "wakes" because he never actually opens his eyes, he just cries in his sleep until we figure out what he needs and calms back down)...most of the time he needs to pass gas and this upsets him, and other times we have no idea what's wrong and he just cries until we can help him get back to sleep either by rocking him, rubbing his feet (which works surprisingly well!), or comfort nursing him. co-sleeping is the only way i am getting enough sleep to function. and while co-sleeping wasn't my original plan, i actually really enjoy it and sometimes feel sad when i think about the fact that we won't be able to do this forever. it definitely does have its downsides though...the main problem being that he won't fall asleep at night unless i'm in bed with him, which means i am going to bed between 8:30 and 9 pm every night. it's doable for now, since i'm still waking up every few hours so i really need the extra sleep. but once he starts sleeping for longer spurts, this is going to be a silly time for me to be going to bed. especially since i work till 7 pm monday-thursdays. hmph.
we tried offering him solid foods once he turned 4 months. yeah, that didn't go so well. he hated the rice cereal and actually grimaced when we offered him banana a few nights later! he's definitely showing all the signs of being ready for solids, but after those two initial tries, we're going to wait until 5 months to try anything else. he had the worst night of sleep ever the night we gave him the banana...so yeah, there's no need to rush back into that in my opinion.
he is now fantastic at supported sitting and can even keep himself propped up for 1-2 seconds before falling over. but he absolutely LOVES practicing; we prop him up with the boppy pillow around his belly and he can sit like that for 10 minutes or more! he's been "talking" a lot more in the past few weeks. even though he's not saying actual words, you can tell he definitely has a message that he wants to convey when he makes a sound...whether it's out of excitement, curiosity, silliness, sleepiness, or frustration, he always lets you know! he's also recently discovered his feet and is starting to enjoy tummy time a whole lot more. last weekend, he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time ever! there haven't been any repeat occurences, so sadly tyler missed it, but it was still pretty exciting. he just looked up at me afterwards with the most surprised look on his face! i'm pretty sure he would have started crying had i not been there smiling back at him to tell him what he did was actually exciting and not scary.
we haven't made much progress in the sleep department. the night before he turned 4 months old, he got a 5 hour stretch of sleep. but he's been back to stirring every 1-3 hours ever since. he's not necessarily always hungry when he stirs (i don't say "wakes" because he never actually opens his eyes, he just cries in his sleep until we figure out what he needs and calms back down)...most of the time he needs to pass gas and this upsets him, and other times we have no idea what's wrong and he just cries until we can help him get back to sleep either by rocking him, rubbing his feet (which works surprisingly well!), or comfort nursing him. co-sleeping is the only way i am getting enough sleep to function. and while co-sleeping wasn't my original plan, i actually really enjoy it and sometimes feel sad when i think about the fact that we won't be able to do this forever. it definitely does have its downsides though...the main problem being that he won't fall asleep at night unless i'm in bed with him, which means i am going to bed between 8:30 and 9 pm every night. it's doable for now, since i'm still waking up every few hours so i really need the extra sleep. but once he starts sleeping for longer spurts, this is going to be a silly time for me to be going to bed. especially since i work till 7 pm monday-thursdays. hmph.
we tried offering him solid foods once he turned 4 months. yeah, that didn't go so well. he hated the rice cereal and actually grimaced when we offered him banana a few nights later! he's definitely showing all the signs of being ready for solids, but after those two initial tries, we're going to wait until 5 months to try anything else. he had the worst night of sleep ever the night we gave him the banana...so yeah, there's no need to rush back into that in my opinion.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
1/4 year old!!
ladies and gentleman, we have officially turned a corner! last week, theo finally started to eat more during each feeding, which means we are no longer feeding him every hour!! it's amazing...he had a big growth spurt in which he suddenly drank up all the milk i had saved up (both fridge and freezer) over the course of two days, then i was with him friday-monday for the long holiday weekend and by friday afternoon we were suddenly on a very clear eat-play-sleep schedule, with theo only needing to eat every 2.5-3 hours! before when i would try to feed him, he would only take one side then be done with it, but now he's finally interested in both sides for every feeding!
he's also laughing a TON now, is slowly starting to tolerate tummy time a little more, and is starting to (clumsily) move objects towards his face with his hands! yesterday in the car he gnawed on his stuffed giraffe for a good ten minutes or so. :-) it's really amazing how much more aware he suddenly is of his surroundings.
also, over the weekend he got to meet his aunts and uncles on the baber side, which he absolutely loved! grandpa charlie also volunteered to give him his first tractor ride, but i (as politely as i could) declined. :-P for now, we just took a mini tractor photo shoot.
he's also laughing a TON now, is slowly starting to tolerate tummy time a little more, and is starting to (clumsily) move objects towards his face with his hands! yesterday in the car he gnawed on his stuffed giraffe for a good ten minutes or so. :-) it's really amazing how much more aware he suddenly is of his surroundings.
also, over the weekend he got to meet his aunts and uncles on the baber side, which he absolutely loved! grandpa charlie also volunteered to give him his first tractor ride, but i (as politely as i could) declined. :-P for now, we just took a mini tractor photo shoot.
Monday, August 30, 2010
12 weeks - some updates on my boy :-)
enough whining, here are some fun little updates on Theo!
lately he's been discovering his hands, which is lots of fun! when he focuses hard enough, he can aim and swat at various objects (faces, toys, books, etc). yesterday i caught him just sitting and staring at his hands for a long time while we were in the car! :-) he's also been eating his hands and sucking on his fingers for a few weeks now, which i'm VERY excited about since he doesn't take the pacifier for any long amount of time. i think we've definitely got a thumbsucker on our hands. :-)
he's also been squealing for a few weeks now, and it is just the best sound ever! we've only caught him belly laughing two or three times now, but the squealing is now part of the morning routine. :-) he just wakes up so happy in the mornings and he loves laying on the changing pad! so most mornings we just lay him down and play with him for a few minutes on the changing pad and he kicks and squeals himself silly. :-)
over the weekend, Theo got to meet his second cousin, Tank (technically i think there's a "once removed" in there or something, but who's keeping track??). Tank (formally, Frank Howard Baber V) is 6 weeks younger than Theo. it's already so hard to remember Theo being that small!! it was also really great to catch up with Tank's mom, Tana and to swap stories and experiences. we're definitely looking forward to many years of those two growing up and playing with each other. :-)
last night, Theo gave me a 4 hour stretch of sleep, which was really nice! we've started using some of the sleep tips from The No Cry Sleep Solution book and so far i really like it. personally, this book makes more sense to me than some of the "cry it out" books out there, because it emphasizes more behavioral training and forming positive sleep associations rather than the idea that the baby will eventually just get so frustrated and fed up that he'll wear himself out. i know that's NOT the main premise of the cry it out books, but i just can't imagine how anyone could learn how to relax when they're basically crying themselves to sleep. so anyway, this is what's working for us. mostly, i've adjusted to his schedule so that i can get enough sleep and feel rested for the day, and i've learned to be very happy with ANY signs of progress. :-)
lately he's been discovering his hands, which is lots of fun! when he focuses hard enough, he can aim and swat at various objects (faces, toys, books, etc). yesterday i caught him just sitting and staring at his hands for a long time while we were in the car! :-) he's also been eating his hands and sucking on his fingers for a few weeks now, which i'm VERY excited about since he doesn't take the pacifier for any long amount of time. i think we've definitely got a thumbsucker on our hands. :-)
he's also been squealing for a few weeks now, and it is just the best sound ever! we've only caught him belly laughing two or three times now, but the squealing is now part of the morning routine. :-) he just wakes up so happy in the mornings and he loves laying on the changing pad! so most mornings we just lay him down and play with him for a few minutes on the changing pad and he kicks and squeals himself silly. :-)
over the weekend, Theo got to meet his second cousin, Tank (technically i think there's a "once removed" in there or something, but who's keeping track??). Tank (formally, Frank Howard Baber V) is 6 weeks younger than Theo. it's already so hard to remember Theo being that small!! it was also really great to catch up with Tank's mom, Tana and to swap stories and experiences. we're definitely looking forward to many years of those two growing up and playing with each other. :-)
last night, Theo gave me a 4 hour stretch of sleep, which was really nice! we've started using some of the sleep tips from The No Cry Sleep Solution book and so far i really like it. personally, this book makes more sense to me than some of the "cry it out" books out there, because it emphasizes more behavioral training and forming positive sleep associations rather than the idea that the baby will eventually just get so frustrated and fed up that he'll wear himself out. i know that's NOT the main premise of the cry it out books, but i just can't imagine how anyone could learn how to relax when they're basically crying themselves to sleep. so anyway, this is what's working for us. mostly, i've adjusted to his schedule so that i can get enough sleep and feel rested for the day, and i've learned to be very happy with ANY signs of progress. :-)
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