Love: 8 and 9 months

Age: 8 months

Weight: 17 pounds 14 ounces

Length: 26 ½ inches

Clothing Size: He is mostly wearing 6-9 months, most sleepers, onesies, jeans, and we had to move up our sock size. However, there are some 3-6 month things that still fit- sleepers, short outfits  from Gymboree), some pants, and jackets.

Likes: He loves to be outside, so going for walks continues to be a favorite. Often times it is something we can use to relax him and calm him down, and help him go to sleep if he is fighting it. (I am dreading winter and losing this…) He also enjoys bath time in the big boy tub, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and playing with his toys. His favorite toy is the remote control (go figure), but he also enjoys his taggie ball, and an old pop up thing that was mine (you know the ones that you press a button or spin something and the door pops up with something…ironically this one is Mickey Mouse, just from the 80’s!)

 

 

Dislikes: Being left in the room alone is still a dislike. He can go from happily playing to screaming because you are not in there. Strangely enough his does not care for his swing either. We bought a swing and hung it on the back porch thinking he would love it, nope, after 30 seconds he is not a happy camper (and I have tried it multiple times…).

Sleeping: Sleeping has been inconsistent this month, between his first ear infection, and going to visit daddy, he has been a little thrown off. He tends to go down pretty easily at bedtime (I mean who wouldn’t if you were in a milk coma, but he has been waking up in the night anywhere from 1-3 times, which makes for a long day for mommy. I cannot figure out what the factor is. I have tried nursing, giving milk with some cereal, letting my mom put him to bed, not letting him nap after we get home, I have no idea what gives. We have also got to get to the point that he can soothe himself back to sleep. I think some of the problem is that when he does wake up he doesn’t know how to get himself back to sleep.

Eating: Baby food is going great! He eats fruit with cereal for breakfast, then take 2-3 bottles during the day, and has 4 ounces of food for dinner! He is so routine, and you can guarantee that between 5:45 and 6 he is going to want to eat his dinner. He gets pretty into it, smacking the high chair and making noises if you aren’t going fast enough (worries me he is going to have a temper). After dinner he eats a few puffs, then we are good until his bedtime feeding (still nursing at this one and the 4:30 to 5 am one).

Playing: He has started crawling, but not making much progress. As always he enjoys bath time. In spurts he does well in his playpen, the jumper, or on the floor.

What we did this Month: We took a family trip to Branson, Missouri, which was some much needed family time. Connor loved the pool, even outdoors in October. He also enjoyed the open air tram ride and seeing buffalo, Texas longhorn, and elk up close. He was also a great traveler!

 

 

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Age: 9 months

Weight:18 pounds 2.5 ounces (25^th percentile)

Length: 27 ¼ inches (11^th percentile)

 

 

Clothing Size: 6-9 months, and they are still fitting very well. I actually just bought another pair of lined jeans for him that were 6-9 months. He finally grew out of his sleepers that are 3-6 months, he just got too long for them. I have been putting hoodies on him that are 9-12 months, but he will be able to wear them for a while.

Likes: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse continues to be his favorite TV show, so much that there are shows he will not watch like Jake and the Neverland Pirates or Sophia the First. He has a new stand up toy at day care that he enjoys, it looks like a horse with toys at the top like a saucer. He loves food! He would eat as much as I would feed him, so I do have to watch how much he eats.

 

 

Sleeping:  Sleeping has been hit or miss this month. After we got back from Branson we found out he had a double ear infection. Sleep was rough while in Branson, up several times a night and very fussy, the whole next week was rough. A week after finding out he had the ear infection we took him back to doctor thinking he wasn’t getting over it. He was healthy as could be (thankfully). This did give me the chance to talk with someone about his sleeping habits. The nurse we had that day suggested not getting him out of bed, he was already not getting a bottle in the night so it was frustrating that he was getting up. I tried the whole pat the butt and not get him, the first night was rough, then we had 3 great nights!!! I’m thinking progress. Then a rash showed up on his back, when I took him to the doctor it was strep throat! We went back to up in the night. After another week we have finally started making progress again at bedtime. There have been some nights that he sleeps all night, and others that he wakes up for the pacifier. While that is frustrating for me, I have to consider that I just recently stopped breastfeeding completely.

Eating: Shortly into the I stopped breastfeeding. While I had already cut down on pumping I was still allowing him to nurse at bedtime. In turn he was not doing so well at taking formula. I decided to stop breastfeeding all together, with school it made it very difficult. I had to try 2 different formulas to find one he likes, but now he takes 5-6 bottles a day, at least 30 ounces. It is a mixture between breast milk and formula, but he will not take them mixed any more, just one or the other. He eats cereal with fruit (2-3 ounces) in the morning, and gobbles it up. Day care has asked for more food, but it goes back to that he could eat and eat and eat. His fruits include apples, peaches, mango, blueberries with apples or bananas, and pears.  I have started sending juice to make it go a little further. Since I am making his baby food I feel that he gets a good variety at dinner. He is eating 5 cubes of food now (5 ounces) and sometimes 6 cubes. Two have a meat in them such as chicken or turkey with apples, or chicken with peaches. I tried mixing it with white or brown rice, but I’m not sure he was ready for it yet. Then he has 2 vegetable cubes, generally both different. His vegetables include carrots, peas, green beans, squash, and avocado (I know it is technically a fruit). Then he will eat some kind of “dessert” such as blueberries with bananas, or pumpkin. He loves applesauce, and I have started keeping a jar of natural unsweetened applesauce as a backup. He is also eating “puffs” as a snack.

Playing: He has fallen in love with his new table toy. It seems to have been a great purchase from the kids consignment sale. He is doing great standing up at it, and has even managed to pull up at it (that took some practice too since it is top heavy). He did pull up in his crib first, I of course lowered his mattress, without realizing it was the only thing that was a height he could pull up on. He is “crawling” all over the house now. He is still on his belly, but we have decided that could be because of the hard wood floors. His knees and arms get so red, I can’t imagine it if he was up on his knees. We have to be sure to keep certain door closed, and we will shortly be putting up baby gates for the kitchen. We have also decided to move where we normally put the Christmas tree, and put it in the bay window in the kitchen since it will be blocked off. Even in the stored he loves to look at the trees. Depending on how much time he spends in a jumper at daycare, he does jump a bit at home. He also plays in his playpen.

What we did this Month: Connor went to his very first U of L Men’s Basketball game, it was just a scrimmage, but still at the YUM! Center. We took a trip to visit daddy, and got to go on a hayride, aside from being hungry he loved it, but we were outside after all. Our vacation to Branson overlapped into this month also. We did go shopping a few times, and I have to say he is a great little shopper. And, it was his first Halloween! We dressed him up as a lobster in a pot, and his dad was the cook, too cute!

 

 

Football Blanket

I had the material for months to make a U of L Football blanket. Finally, before the football game this past weekend I decided I was going to sit down and make it. It took me about 2 hours from start to finish. It was relatively easy. The hardest part was cutting out the stitches and sewing them on.

I got the pattern from:
http://www.happytogethercreates.com/2011/10/cozy-football-blanket-pattern-free.html

As you can see I did not put the stitches down the side of the football, and I love it just fine without them. After cutting out the basic shape I centered the stitches, and using a zig-zag stitch I sewed it on. I then pinned the fabrics facing each other and sewed them together, leaving about an 8 inch opening. I did have to do some clean up cutting here, just where there was some extra overhang from not being exactly the same.  After flipping, I ironed the edges for a nice clean edge. I then sewed about a half inch stitch all the way around, and sewed the opening shut.

7 Months

Age: 7 months

Weight: about 17 pounds

Clothing Size: mostly 6-9 months with a few things 3-6 months that still fit, some shorts, and Gymboree outfits.

Likes:  Bathtime. He took his first bath in the big boy bathtub and loves it! He plays and splashes, and even flops down to his belly.  Taking walks.  Playing outside. Laying in bed with mommy.

Dislikes: Being left alone in the room, he at least wants to be able to see someone.

Sleeping: Bedtime has backed up about an hour. Day care really wears him out. He is occasionally sleeping through the night, but he does wake up wanting to eat, and I have to relax him and get him back to sleep. Hoping it gets easier. Not much consistency.

 

 

Eating: At his 6 month check-up I was told to eliminate the middle of the night feeding. After waiting for him to get over his first cold it has been going pretty good. Other than that, he eats cereal in the morning for breakfast, and loves it. He is doing much better taking a bottle at day care. At home he eats baby food at dinner, and nurses before bed. He is hilarious at bedtime when I am getting ready to feed him, he gets so excited and animating waiting for me. He learned to hold his own bottle, and is doing very well feeding himself.

Playing: Right after he turned 6 months he began to sit up very good on his own. One night, he was just able to sit up, and sat there for a good 20 minutes. We have also found that he is entertained in his “ghetto” playpen (a laundry basket). I think it is because it keeps his toys close. The “ghetto” playpen didn’t last too long, we had to move him up to the full size playpen, which isn’t as convenient but works just as well. He likes to watch Mickey Mouse in the mornings on my iPad, and many times if I am on my iPad in front of him, he acts as though he wants it.
 

What we did this Month: With the move, starting school, and going to day care things have been very busy.  

Tooth number 2 has made its appearance, again the lower middle. Grandma or Grandpa takes him to daycare in the morning, it’s a big help to me since it’s so far out of my way. We made a trip back down to Murray, which completely threw off his schedule for the weekend. I took Connor to his first U of L tailgate, although we didn’t stay for the game. He of course loved being outside, but seemed to be taking the whole experience in.

First Tailgate

 

Baby Contest: Second Runner Up

Love: 6 months

Things have been a little crazy since Connor turned 6 months. Although I did get the pictures taken on time, it has taken me a while to sit down at the computer. Better late than never though.



Age: 6 months

Weight: 16 pounds 6 ounces

Length: 26.38 inches

Clothing Size: 3-6 months, except for sleepers, cotton sleepers shrink so badly I’ve had to move him up a size.

Likes: Time outside, going for walks, watching Mickey Mouse, bath time, and most importantly to be interacted with. He loves to have someone there with him.

 

 

Dislikes: Being left alone.

Sleeping: After starting vegetables he went backwards. I struggled to get him to eat good right before bed, so then he would only sleep for 2-3 hours. It was a constant battle for the month, and hopefully it will get better. As always he is a cat napper, not a long afternoon nap.

Eating: After a few weeks of learning how to eat cereal, we started vegetables, the first was green beans. The first night did not go well, he was gagging and spit a lot of it back up. However, it did get much better, and by night 4 he ate a whole container, with minimal mess. I big decision for me with baby food was to make my own. I bought a used Baby Bullet, with the little jars and the freezer trays. It was really easy. I just steamed the green beans and then blended them in the bullet with some water.

 

 

Playing: We struggled going outside for the heat, but there were times that we could put him in his bumbo at the front door and he was content. He enjoys his jumper, and is doing much better with tummy time. I can notice too that he gets frustrated when he can’t reach toys.

What we did this Month: Well after we returned from vacation, things got a little bit crazy. I was offered a job back home 7 days before school started. Meaning, over the weekend we moved my stuff from our house, to my parent’s house, I had to get a classroom together, and I had to find a day care for Connor. The first few days were a little rough. After discovering a few weeks ago that he really didn’t care to take a bottle, and then going to needing to take 3 bottles a day, he did not like that. The first day I was gone, he went 10 hours without taking a bottle, the second day he went about8 hours without a bottle. Thankfully things did get better. We are still struggling to get into a routine, but my parents have been so helpful, and Connor’s daddy is always so supportive of me.

He also got his first tooth, a lower middle tooth. About the day he turned 6 months, he learned how to sit up on his own, such a big boy!

 

Cartoons with Grandpa.

Sitting up all by myself!

 

Love: 5 Months

I'm a bit late on posting this, but the week he turn 5 months old was also the week of his great-grandma's funeral, needless to say it has been crazy. So here we go.

 

Age: 5 months

Weight: 16 pounds

Clothing Size: 3-6 months

Likes: Bath time still tops the list as a favorite time of the day. Also, playing outside, he can be screaming, and as soon as we go outside he is quite.  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is by far his favorite TV show, especially the hotdog dance at the end, he laughs and laughs.

Dislikes: Being left in the room alone.

Sleeping: I broke the habit of putting him in our bed. He is now sleeping all night in his own crib (minus a few nights on vacation). There are a few nights every once in a while that he actually sleeps all night, but normally he wakes up to eat in the middle of the night. Many mornings he will also go back after the morning feeding and sleep until about 8 or 8:30.

Eating: Bottle feeding has become increasingly harder. There have been instances where he will skip a feeding rather than take a bottle. I have decided that I am going to have to make a point of giving him one bottle a day. At Connor’s 4 month check-up we were told we could start cereal and then a few weeks late fruits and vegetables. Starting cereal was a bit interesting; I learned that runny cereal was not for him. It has to be thick, like mashed potatoes.

Playing: Tummy time has gotten better. And he has learned to roll over! It took a lot of practice, he could not figure out what to do with that arm. He has also found his feet, and grabs at them all the time.

 

What we did this Month: This month we took Connor on his very first vacation. We went to Inlet Beach, Florida. The car ride down there was a little rough, he was just done with the car seat. While down there, he enjoyed the pool, slept through his first visit to beach, and did not like the bright sun. Unfortunately, our vacation was cut short due to the passing of my grandmother, Connor’s great-grandmother. I am so happy that she got to meet him, I know that she loved him.