1 Year Old (Jan. 10th)
The last entry. We celebrated Connor’s birthday on December 30th with Grandma and Grandpa Cushman at Chick Fil A. Then we had his birthday party on January 7th at a park. He is 1!
Recap
He’s completely off of formula. He drinks milk just fine, although he drinks a lot less than most kids his age. He’s up to the 10% for weight—woohoo! He’s 88% for height. He is a big boy! Over the last month or so his mobility just exploded. He pulls himself up on everything, sits down, cruises, pretty much everything besides walking. That will come when he’s ready. He eats pretty much whatever we eat. He loves fruit more than anything and gets SO excited when we bring it out at the end of his meal. He had his first haircut and cried the entire time. But he looks like such a big boy now. I got a video monitor and I LOVE it. He sure does toss and turn before falling asleep. It is so fun watching him. He definitely says “Da” for daddy. He says other words too but none as consistently as “Da”. He naps are fine. He’s sleeping about 11-12 hours at night and takes 2 1.5 hour naps during the day (on average). I’ve just introduced “blanket time” and so far it’s really going well. He is very good at listening and obeying. When we change his diaper he waits for us to say “You’re free to go” and then he is off! I still do IP with him and it’s also going well. He has cried in the nursery for the past couple of Sundays so it seems like a little separation anxiety might be returning. At least I know that it won’t last forever. He got his two top teeth! I forget if I mentioned that. He really is becoming quite the little boy and not a baby anymore. I look forward to all the stages that await us!
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| At his first birthday party! |
50 Weeks (Dec. 22nd)
My due date was a year ago yesterday. What a year it has been!
Mobility
Changes, changes, changes. This week he sure did change a lot! First of all, he pulls himself up all day long. Whether it’s his crib, the table, my legs, the couch—he is climbing up everything. He wants to stand and walk. And he does stay put anymore. If he’s sitting down, he’ll move himself to the floor to crawl. He didn’t do that consistently before this week. It’s like he’s a new kid!
Food
Tonight Connor will get his last formula. It will be a lot easier to just give him milk rather than have to mix it. He has had mostly the same dinner that we’ve had this week. He went through a couple days where he didn’t eat much, but he bounced back. I guess that’s normal for this age. I need to figure out how to include Connor’s meals in my meal planning. He also eats dinner the same time as us, which is nice. He has a snack when he gets up from his nap at around 4pm, then we eat dinner together at around 6:30. It’s working well.
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| Loving his new skills! |
49 Weeks (Dec. 15th)
I skipped another week. I’m really glad there’s only two weeks to go because I’m ready to be done with these summaries! I know it will be very helpful next time around (which will be in about 7 months), but I’m way too sick and nauseous to spend time recapping. J
Teeth
Connor got his second bottom tooth at 11 months. I thought that would be it for a while, seeing as how it took him so long to get the first two. Then a few days ago I did the random mouth swap, and there they were, his two top front teeth! I was shocked! The day before I thought it was very strange that he woke up from his nap crying. He must have been hurting. Other than that, there was nothing to indicate two new teeth.
Food
Yesterday Connor had his first happy meal and m&m’s with Mrs. Ross. I think he like it. I’m trying to give him lots of regular food, so we’re mostly done with purees. He eats great, but he is spitting things out of his mouth now (caused my first vomit experience of this pregnancy). He had the last of his powdered cereal this morning and I’m not buying more because he’s too old for it, so I need to come up with more breakfast ideas. I’m also starting to cut out formula. There’s only a couple days’ worth left and I don’t want to buy another can of it so I’m giving him milk. He’s growing up!
Mobility
He has mastered the army crawl, but he seems to get frustrated that he can’t pull himself up. So a couple days ago I let him crawl up the steps as a way to practice this pulling up and crawling skills. He was a little rocky at first, but now it’s his new favorite thing to do and I’m a little bummed because it requires me to get off the couch or the floor (which is where I am most of the time because I’m so nauseous). He gets so excited and smiles the whole way up the stairs.
Smarty Pants
I think he started saying “Elmo” and “Amen” this week…or variations of these words. He’s very smart. He now knows what the clock is, he knows his horses (mobile), he is very good at obeying when we say no. I taught him how to clap this week. It just didn’t occur to me to teach him until now, and he picked it up right away—well, sort of. He likes to make my hands clap.
No More Catnap
It’s officially gone. It seems like it was on its way out for a few months—that took way longer than I thought. Even if he takes a bad nap or two and has a long stretch to bedtime, he still won’t take a catnap. It’s better to just put him to bed early. He is a two nap a day baby now. He sleeps for maybe 3 hours a day. But since he’s still sleeping 12 hours per night, I have nothing to complain about.
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| The picture for our FB announcement. Connor's going to be a big brother! |
47 Weeks (Nov. 30th)
November has been a busy month and I skipped two week’s worth of summaries. Oh well. Here is one big summary for the last few weeks. Our little boy is 11 months today!
Vacation
Connor got the memo that we were on vacation. He was a breeze! He took great naps, played really well, was great in our all day car rides, and was just a very pleasant baby. It was wonderful. We were busy with lots of visits and staying in different places, but he didn’t seem to mind at all. He slept great at night, too.
Naps
The wonder week ended, and that must have been the cause for the bad naps because the 45 minute intruder is gone. He pretty much takes a 1 ½ hour nap in the morning and the afternoon. There were a couple days when he needed a little cat nap, but that’s mostly over. I’m starting to extend his schedule a bit. Ideally he wakes up between 7:30 and 8am, takes a nap at about 10am, then again at about 2:30pm, and bedtime is between 7:30 and 8pm. It seems to be working well.
Weaned
I still nurse him in the morning, but I think it’s a matter of days before that is over, too. He is weaned. He basically did it himself. The transition from breast to bottle didn’t happen because he won’t drink from a bottle. He just went straight to a sippy cup. Easy, right? It would be if he drank from a sippy cup. He does, just not as much as he should. His doctor said he should get 18-20 ounces minimum of formula per day. I stopped counting because it’s too stressful, but I’m pretty sure he gets about 15 or so. I have tried EVERYTHING to get him to drink more and it’s impossible. He is happy and growing, so I have to believe that he is getting exactly what he needs.
Talking and Communication
He says “neigh neigh neigh” a lot. It’s his tired and unhappy whine. He also said “Da” yesterday and I think he meant Daddy. He also learned how to give a high five. He loves to look at pictures of Daddy, Mama, and Baby Connor. He looks for them on the wall when we ask him where they are. He signs “all done” but it means both “more” and “all done” so that’s a little confusing. He fake coughs when he’s hungry or thirsty. He waves hi and bye. He knows many of his toys by name. He know what “no” means and actually listens most of the time.
What People Are Saying
We still get comments almost every time we go anywhere. I guess that’s normal with a baby. When we were on vacation, we went out to dinner and the waiter said that he had never seen a more well-behaved baby. Yay! Most people say he looks like me. And everyone still comments on how alert and observant he is.
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| Family Vacation to Lake Tahoe-Nov. 2011 |
44 Weeks (Nov. 10th)
I think we’re in that wonderful “wonder week” that happens at around 46 weeks. Or it could be teething, or his first real cold, or weaning. It’s a good thing he’s so cute!
Naps
They’re just terrible. This afternoon he took a nap over 1 hour (right after his flu shot). I was shocked. That just doesn’t happen anymore. It’s like the newborn days with that dreaded 45-minute intruder. He’s like clockwork. Sometimes he falls back asleep but most of the time he doesn’t. Our schedule has been all over the place to accommodate his lack of sleep.
Weaning
Last Friday night he bit me for the first time (with teeth) and he refused to nurse. Thus began the weaning process. Of course, my hopes for making it to a year were getting less and less over the past several weeks. It wasn’t just the biting, although it really hurt! That second day I literally danced around the kitchen singing the DC Talk version of “Free At Last”. But then I learned that ignorance is bliss when it comes to knowing exactly how much milk your 10 month old drinks. It has been VERY up and down this past week. I let him nurse if he wants to each feeding, and sometimes he does. One day he only had one side the whole day (he had some formula, too). And I haven’t been pumping. It’s not going to be too much longer of this. I would happily drop it all together if he would just drink formula. I’ve resorted to letting him drink it from a cup like a grown-up. It’s the only way he’ll do it! I have never heard of a baby that doesn’t drink milk from a sippy cup or a bottle! He gets about 12-16 ish ounces per day. That is not even close to what he should be drinking. I’m going to call his doctor tomorrow and find out what I should do.
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| Enjoying the dinosaur exhibit at the Discovery Science Center |
43 Weeks (Nov. 3rd)
Very uneventful week, except that naps have been pretty terrible, he turned 10 months old, he enjoyed his first Halloween as a dinosaur (along with his friend Logan), and he is ALL OVER THE PLACE and into EVERYTHING!
42 Weeks (Oct. 27th)
Connor turns 10 months old in a couple days. I guess he wanted to squeeze in a couple milestones before that. This was an exciting week!
Welcome to Mobility
Connor is mobile! All that practicing last week must have worked. On Sunday he started scooting around army-style. Now he army crawls all over the house. He must be really excited about his new abilities because he seems quite frantic when he scoots. And of course he goes straight for the things he’s not supposed to get, like cords, papers, and outlets. I guess it’s time to start training him.
The Tooth
Our boy isn’t toothless anymore. I noticed his tooth yesterday. It’s the bottom front right. I’m guessing he might have cut it on Tuesday night. He was extremely cranky at dinnertime. He would start screaming if I took one step away from his high chair. I just thought he was tired and having a meltdown. Poor kid was probably in pain! After about 6 months of thinking he’s teething, he finally really was.
Schedule
For the most part we’re on a new schedule. We’ve moved dinner to dinner time, eliminated the cat nap, and added a snack after the afternoon nap. I like this schedule a lot. Here is what it looks like, give or take.
7:30am Wake, nurse, breakfast
9:30am Nap (usually 1.5 hours)
11:30am Nurse, lunch
1:30-2pm Nap (usually 1-1.5 hours)
3:30pm Nurse, snack
5:30pm Dinner
7:30pm Nurse, bed
I added the snack because my motherly instincts were telling me that milk wasn’t enough to last him until dinner. Now I love snack time. He sits in his high chair (I move it in the middle of the kitchen floor so it feels different than meal time) and eats/plays with his finger food and sippy cup.
Nursing
Nursing is still going well for the most part. He has four feedings a day and so far my supply seems fine. The only challenging thing is that I pretty much have to nurse him in his room sitting in the glider. For whatever reason, he is just too distracted anywhere else. That means I can’t really nurse him when we’re out. Oh well. Just two more months.
Fun Times
This was a fun week. On Friday we went with some friends to a pumpkin patch and got some cute pictures. On Saturday the three of us went down to Laguna Beach and hung out there. It was really cold, but we all had a fun time. Then we went to my mom’s and watched the game. She fed him dinner and watched him when we went out and got food. Even the little breaks are great! On Sunday after church we spent the day at Sue’s for a birthday party. Connor got to meet Auntie Cousin Hanna for the first time. For these three days his naps were sort of all over the place, but he slept when he needed it and got some short naps and was fine!
Nursing
Nursing is still going well for the most part. He has four feedings a day and so far my supply seems fine. The only challenging thing is that I pretty much have to nurse him in his room sitting in the glider. For whatever reason, he is just too distracted anywhere else. That means I can’t really nurse him when we’re out. Oh well. Just two more months.
New Things
This week he tried some new foods: whole peas, grilled cheese, toast with cream cheese, and homemade hummus. He seemed to love it all, especially the grilled cheese. I think I need to start giving him more non-baby food. And for new words, he says “dadada” now, although I don’t know if he makes the “daddy” connection. It’s still cute, though! He loves to play “Where’s Connor?” He’ll cover his face with a blanket, clothes, etc. and then pull it away quickly when we say, “Where’s Connor?” |
| With his BFF Noemi. He loves her ear, and she's just resting her hand on his knee. So cute! |
41 Weeks (Oct. 20th)
Naps weren’t so good this week. Maybe he needed less sleep after his growth spurt last week.
Dreamfeed
I think it’s finally over. I’ll always cherish those nights of nursing him when he was sound asleep. I knew it had to stop eventually, and this week I just decided that it was time. Hopefully he’ll drink more milk for his other four feedings, but at this point I’m not really worried. He is eating solids like a teenager (at least it feels like it to me), and he continues to grow. I’m also not pumping for it (I haven’t pumped in a month and it is WONDERFUL!). I hope my supply stays adequate!
Mobility Boot Camp
If Connor had his way, he would happily sit and take toys out of his bucket one by one all day long. While that’s a nice activity, especially when I need to get stuff done, it isn't really promoting mobility. So now any spare moment we have, Connor is on his tummy. He’s actually making a lot of progress already. He’s scooting backwards, and he’s lifting his hips off the ground a little. We’re also making him work at pulling himself up. All these things are so that he has every opportunity to be mobile if he’s ready, and he will be ready at some point.
Teething
I think I can say “any day now.” You can actually see the tooth just under the gums. This might be why naps have been so bad, but overnight has still been uninterrupted. (Might also be why I was paged at the gym because he wouldn’t stop crying L He eventually settled down and I got to finish my workout thankfully).
Sponge
He understands so much now. These are the words/phrases I know he knows: hi, bye, his letters (CONNOR), Tigger, Where's ____?, give kisses, pray, book (and he recognizes several titles like Mike Mulligan and Corduroy-his favorites), mama, daddy, bye-bye, push the button, water, all done, toy, cheerios, amen, etc. Of these, he says “mama” but I think it means many things—including me! J |
| Family teething? |
I’m actually starting to lose track of what week we’re in. I guess it was bound to happen eventually.
No More Nap
He naps great for his morning and afternoon nap most of the time, and this week I think he only took a catnap once. Maybe we’re done with it for good. I think I’ll really like this schedule.
Dinner
I also moved his dinner to dinner time. He eats somewhere between 5-6pm. It’s working out really well. He gets a “snack” of nursing when he wakes up from his afternoon nap and then he nurses again before bed. I thought he might not want it because he eats dinner not long before, but it hasn’t been a problem at all. In fact, nursing went really well this week. I haven’t pumped since being in Chicago, which I love!
Random Things
It has been very strange. For three days in a row this week, Connor has fallen asleep during his morning independent play. Maybe he’s going through a growth spurt. Who knows. He still takes a great morning nap, so it isn’t a problem. And he loves to stand now. He doesn’t pull himself up, but once he’s up, he can hold on to things very well. Oh, this week we put the step ‘n’ play in the garage, and he is no longer stable sitting in the bumbo during dinner. That saga has ended, and another one will take its place. So far we’ve just put him in his high chair with a toy. Unfortunately he doesn’t last very long. We’ll work on that. And his little tongue is always out now! J
New Foods
This week he had pineapple, chicken (real, not jarred), and cous cous. I also don’t puree bananas or avocados anymore. Feeding him is getting simpler! |
| We spent Sunday in Palm Springs visiting some of Derek's extended family. Here is Connor with his Great Uncle Dan, Great Aunt Jess and Cousin Erin |
This was a good week. Connor turned 9 months old. I can’t believe I have a 9 month old!
9 Month Check-up
I would say that I was the least anxious about this appointment out of all his appointments so far. I know I’ve done everything possible to get him to gain weight, and I know that he’s perfectly healthy. So I was hoping for 17 pounds, and he’s 16 lbs. 11 oz. and 28 ¾ inches. Close enough. J
He didn’t get any vaccines this time, but he did get a flu shot. Other than that, we just talked about his eating and lack of mobility. The doctor said I can start weaning him because Connor isn’t that interested in drinking a lot of the time anyway. The goal is to get him to three meals and three snacks a day (I’m not quite sure how that would work—he said the snacks are me breastfeeding him). He said I can start dropping one milk feeding at a time and take a while doing it. I do hope to nurse him up to a year, though. He said that since Connor doesn’t seem to want milk as much as other babies his age, we can go ahead and give him all the solids he’ll eat. It’s a relief not to worry about how many ounces he gets in a day.
And as far as mobility, I guess 10% of babies never crawl, and maybe Connor will be one of them. He said if he isn’t interested in it, there isn’t much we can do. But if he does skip crawling, then it’s important that he’s walking by 1. It will be fun to see what happens!
New Foods
It’s getting to the point where Connor gets a little of everything. This week I gave him whole wheat egg noodles, turkey, and broccoli. He loves anything he can hold and put in his mouth. Right now his favorites are cottage cheese and yogurt. He definitely has his likes and dislikes. But I’ve learned that if I constantly switch up whatever goes in his mouth, he’ll eat even the stuff he doesn’t love. One of these days I’m going to have to give him the spoon. I think the mess is terrible now—I don’t know how I’m going to handle him self-feeding. J
Nap Changes
I think we actually are phasing out this nap finally. We’ve kept it up because Derek gets home so late and it’s a long stretch until bedtime after the afternoon nap, but he can be awake for longer now and it doesn’t affect him that much. It’s so nice have more freedom. He’s napping for 1 ½ hours for both the morning and afternoon nap (almost to the minute!). He still wakes up at the 45 minute transition, but most of the time he just falls back to sleep. Oh, and the doctor said he can sleep with a blanket now. What’s next is moving “dinner” to dinner time.
Our schedule looks something like this:
7:30 wake, nurse, solids
9:30 nap
11:00 wake
11:30 Nurse, solids
2:00 nap
3:30 wake, nurse, solids
7:30 bedtime |
| Celebrating Nana's 60th birthday at Red Lobster |
We spent this week in Chicago visiting his grandparents. The last time we visited, he was only 11 weeks. Now he’s almost 9 months old!
Plane Rides
I didn’t really have expectations for how he would do. I went into it hoping for the best, and it ended up being fine. It was hard to get him to nap on the way there. He got about an hour of sleep the whole day. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem to affect him that much. He can bounce back easily. The way back was even better. He “talked” and looked at books until bedtime and Derek rocked him to sleep. That boy definitely loves his bed! It’s a challenge to get him to sleep while holding him, but we managed.
Still Not Crawling
Babies usually crawl by 9 months, but not Connor. We all “practiced” with him this week, and I think we actually did make progress. He’ll now rock a little on his hands and knees. As much as I’d like him to hit this milestone, I know that he will when he’s ready. He tends to have his own timetable for things. J
Social Butterfly
A month ago, I would not have believed that I would describe Connor this way, but he is! Good-bye separation anxiety, hello everyone! I dropped him off at their church nursery (where he has never been before), and he was happy the whole time. No tears. He loves to look at people, talk to them, smile at them. It’s fun to watch.
Sleep Uninterrupted
I think Connor is a super baby when it comes to sleep. I know I should knock on wood or something, but nothing seems to affect his sleep. I still haven’t been up with him in the night since he was 10 weeks old. He naps great, too. I need to remind myself that if we have more babies, it’s unlikely that this will be our experience. His grandparents noticed something else about his sleep habits that I hadn’t really paid attention to or appreciated. He doesn’t cry when he wakes up from bedtime or naptime. He’s content to hang out in his crib talking to himself or whatever until we get him up. For this reason, I wish we had a video monitor because we never know when he wakes up!
Nursing
We’re still doing it, but who knows for how long. He refused a couple times this week, but we seem to be back on track now. I’m not really worrying about it anymore.
Communicating
Connor makes all kinds of noises. The newest form of communication is screaming. He does it when he’s excited (for now anyways J). He still says mama, and we’re still not sure if he connects me with mama. He also signs “all done” now at meal time. That was exciting! He also waves hi and bye. He’s really starting to understand a lot. |
| At the Chick Fil A that just opened near there house, celebrating Grandpa's birthday |
Tomorrow we’ll be heading to Chicago for a week, so here is the summary one day early.
Nursing Countdown
Ideally, I would continue to nurse Connor until his first birthday. He, however, might just have other plans. There were several times this week when he wasn’t interested in nursing at all. I read that there isn’t much you can do if your child starts self-weaning. That’s fine, but I think most children who self-wean drink from a bottle. Connor isn’t interested in that, either. We did introduce formula this week, though. I was ecstatic when he drank three ounces. But that’s about all he drank. It’s so weird. He just doesn’t want milk! Maybe it’s just a phase. Maybe he’s weaning himself. I really have no idea. He’s still gaining weight and sleeping great, so we’ll just see what happens.
The Nursery
A milestone occurred this week. After MONTHS of separation anxiety, I think we have turned a corner. This was the third week in a row that I wasn’t paged. Not only was I not paged, but he wasn’t even crying when I picked him up. And…I can hardly believe it…the nice lady who was holding him said to me, “He is such a sweet boy!” Of course, I know he’s a sweet boy. But I didn’t think they did! He has been so fussy and inconsolable for so many weeks. I guess all those mothers were right when they told me that it’s just a phase. It might not be over for good, but this is progress and I couldn’t be happier.
Adventures
This was a pretty fun week. We went to the fair on Thursday night, and it was a lot of fun except that Connor decided he didn’t want to be in his stroller. I think he was tired. Derek and I practically fought over who got to hold him. J The next day we met Shawna for lunch and shopped all afternoon. Connor napped in his stroller, which he liked again I guess. On Sunday we went to a retirement party for one of Derek’s co-workers, and Connor was quite a hit. He was happy the entire time and let complete strangers hold him and play with him. Derek and I were shocked. He was up a little later than normal, and on the drive home he fell asleep before we even made it out of their neighborhood.
Baby-sitters
Connor had two baby-sitters this week. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I feel very blessed and fortunate to have people willing to watch him. Derek and I have had lots of date nights, and I get to go out by myself sometimes, too. And so far so good with the separation anxiety thing. He seems to do fine when we're not here! |
| What a fun week with a happy boy! |
36 Weeks (Sept. 15th)
After a bumpy start, this week was pretty enjoyable.
Wonder Week 37
I think I said the same thing at “WW19” and “WW26”. The theory has to be correct. Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was not fun at all. Connor morphed into a crabby, cranky, clingy baby. I was dreading church on Sunday morning, but to my great surprise, he actually did fine and I wasn’t paged for the second week in a row. Since then he has been his normal adorable self.
Fattening Him Up
It’s working! I don’t know if it’s the buttered bread, the dream feed (which hasn’t disrupted his sleep at all thankfully), or the increased amount of solids, but he gained a whole pound over the last two weeks. That’s a lot, considering he gained less than half a pound the previous month.
For the sake of having something to refer to if/when we have more kids, this is a typical day’s food for Connor at 8.5 months:
Breakfast: Either oatmeal w/2oz. breastmilk and a stage 2 fruit mix OR yogurt and a hard-boiled egg yolk, along with cheerios and banana chunks
Lunch: 3 cubes of sweet potatoes, 3 cubes of pears, half a string cheese, tofu chunks
Dinner: Some high calorie meat jar (couldn’t do pureed meat), a green or yellow veggie (stage 2 or 3 cubes), one piece of whole wheat toast (minus the crust) with butter, possibly cottage cheese or some fruit chunks
Nursing Strike?
Yesterday was the first time ever that Connor absolutely refused to nurse at lunch time. We were at Chick-Fil-a with a bunch of people, and he was way too distracted. I finally just gave him solids, which he ate with no problem. Then we went to another Chick-Fil-A right after that (yes, we spent our afternoon CFA hopping). He nursed for a couple minutes, but that was it.
It’s getting harder and harder to get him to stay on more than a couple minutes. He must be getting enough because he has wet diapers and he’s gaining weight, but I don’t know how he can possibly be getting much when he’s done after a couple minutes. Oh well. I’ll ask his doctor about it at his 9 month appointment, but until then I’m going to try not to worry about it.
No More Milk Reserves
For whatever reason, my pumped milk does not stay fresh after it has been frozen. I thawed out two bags of it. Both were bad. I have no idea why. That greatly limits the time I can be away from Connor. We’re going to try to get him to take formula for the times when I’m not here. I really hope it works.
Other Things
Connor will put absolutely any food into his mouth. He doesn’t appear to be picky at all. I tried giving him egg yolk and cottage cheese again recently, and he gobbled it up. When I first gave it to him, he was not a fan. Persistence! Oh, laptime started this week. I don’t know who enjoys it more—me or Connor. I think I do. After the summer off, it was fun seeing all the babies a few months older. They all had much more hair. J Yesterday someone asked me what kind of personality Connor has, and my answer was “intense.” For example, he has a new favorite book. He literally trembles with excitement and anticipation when we start reading it. I think he could spend his entire day turning the pages of that book. When he likes (or dislikes) something, he lets you know! |
| He loves to stand! |
35 Weeks (Sept. 8th)
The calm before the storm. J I write this 2 days into “Wonder Week 37”. I hope it passes quickly.
Highlights
We got the news that all Connor’s tests came back normal. He is a healthy, skinny boy. What a relief to know that it’s just how he is, rather than something causing him to not gain weight. I still wake him up for a dream feed, and he eats a ton of solids (this week I added yogurt and he loves it). I think he actually gained almost half a pound this week. We also lowered his crib this week. He wasn’t standing or pulling up yet, but we just thought we might as well do it. And thankfully, I did not get paged at church on Sunday. That was huge for me. Other than that, not much happened this week that’s worth mentioning.  |
| Play Date (Noemi 10 months, Connor 8 months, Logan 5 months) |
34 Weeks (September 1st)
Connor turned eight months old this week. Time is flying.
The Weight Check
I decided to make an appointment to get Connor’s height and weight checked. He just doesn’t seem to be gaining much weight, and it concerns me. He weighed in at 15 lbs 8.5 oz and was 28” long. That’s the 3% for weight and 75% for height. His doctor still isn’t concerned but he said at this point we might want to run some tests to rule out things that could be the cause of his slow weight gain. We decided to go ahead and do the tests—a blood and urine test and a chest x-ray. We’re hoping that the tests reveal nothing and that it turns out to be genetic.
New Foods
This week Connor had cheerios, cheese, and bread with butter. Yes, butter. My goal is weight gain, and that means butter. He loves all these new foods.
The Return of the Dream Feed
At 8 months! I didn’t expect this to happen. Like I said, my goal is weight gain. Surprisingly, Connor eats wonderfully when he’s fast asleep. He is so distracted when he nurses during the day, and I really think this is a big part of why he isn’t gaining weight. He must consume just enough to keep growing in height, but I really want him to eat a little extra. I hope this doesn’t mess with his amazing sleeping habits, but at this point I’m willing to risk it.
Comments
Now we pretty much get two comments from strangers when we’re out. 1) How cute he is and 2) how tiny he is. As a mother, I really don’t want to hear how tiny my child is. People must not realize that they’re feeding my worry when they say how “small” or “petite” he is. I feel like I need to follow up with “But I really do feed him.” That’s no fun. Maybe I’ll just start focusing on the cute part. He is extremely cute.
No More Bottle
Connor would not take a bottle for Nana on Saturday. He ate his solids just fine, but didn’t want the bottle or the sippy cup of milk. I nursed him when we got back from the movies. I think that makes it official. Connor won’t take a bottle. I really hope I can nurse him until he’s 1, but I am SO looking forward to another source of milk nourishing him.
The Beginnings of Scooting
It appears that Connor is in no hurry to become mobile with crawling, which is fine with me. But this week he did start rolling and “scooting” a lot more. Now when he sees something he wants, he’ll actually move to get it instead of just staying put. It’s fun to watch.
The Small Things
This really is a small detail but it’s adorable. I can see Connor in my rear view mirror when I drive because there’s a mirror we attached to the seat in front of him. I’ve noticed the last few days when we’re out and come back home that when we turn onto our street and Connor sees the garages, he gets a huge smile on his face. He knows we’re almost home and he gets excited. He must love home. :) |
| Out to lunch and enjoying it! |
After a few uneventful weeks, this week was actually quite a full week. I sort of feel like Connor became a toddler this week.
Pincer Grasp
It was seriously an overnight change. Monday morning I put him in his high chair, gave him some puffs with his breakfast, and he just picked those things right up and ate all of them. His little index finger and thumb do all the work. My boy is growing up!
Third Nap
After almost a week straight of no third nap, he woke up from his second nap a little early a few days ago and ended up taking a third nap (I actually had to wake him up from it). It has happened every day since then, too. The transition continues. I’m in no hurry to rush it. If he needs it, he needs it. And it really is perfect timing for me to get dinner ready.
The Bottle
Our battle since the beginning. Unlike so many other babies, Connor does not like the bottle. I was gone Saturday night, and he wouldn’t drink more than a couple ounces from it. I tried giving him a bottle instead of nursing him one day this week, and he refused. He’s so skinny that we don’t want to just not feed him until he’s hungry enough to take a bottle. So what I’ve started to do is give him milk in his sippy cup. He loves that thing and drinks very excitedly. The other thing we’re questioning is whether or not my pumped breast milk stays good after being frozen. I’m thinking that for whatever reason, it doesn’t stay fresh and that’s why he won’t drink it. (The milk I offer in a sippy cup is fresh). FOUR MORE MONTHS.
Rash
On Sunday night while I was nursing him, I noticed red marks on his temples with what looked like bug bites in the middle of them. They went away after about 20 minutes, but a couple more appeared in other places. After several days of more marks, washing bedding, calls to nurses, google searches, etc. we’re thinking it’s an allergy of some sort and we’re watching it. It’s a lot milder now, but a few marks still show up after his naps.
New Foods
Connor had three new foods this week: hard-boiled egg yolks, chicken, and peas. He did not like the egg yolk at all, but if I mixed it in with his fruit, he didn’t seem to protest as much. The chicken was in the form of Earth’s Best jars of chicken dinners. It’s disgusting, but at his 6 month appt. his doctor did say to start giving him meat, and this is much more tolerable than pureed meat. He has been pretty good about eating it. And surprisingly, he actually seems to like peas (WAY more than green beans).
Independent Play Success
After months of crying, dreading, and battling with independent play time in the pack n play, this week it actually improved. I did not think this would EVER happen! He doesn’t cry anymore! He talks to himself, plays with toys, and happily waits for me to return. Maybe it’s just a phase, but whatever it is, I’ll take it. He was a tiny bit better in the nursery on Sunday. Maybe he’s outgrowing his separation anxiety?
My Favorite Milestone So Far
On Friday, August 19th, Connor said “Mama” for the first time. Well, it’s more like “Mmmummmum.” He says it over and over again. I’m not sure if he makes the connection to me and what he’s saying, but Derek thinks he does. He says it a lot when I’m not with him, like when Derek is changing his diaper or feeding him. I’m just going to officially say that Mama is his first word. All my work has paid off. J
Big Boy Car Seat
This week we made the big car seat change. No more infant seat for Connor. He’s a big boy now. The reason we switched is his length. He isn’t too tall for the infant seat, but he was getting close to the limit and we thought we might as well. He definitely has more room now. We weren’t transporting him in the infant seat anymore and he doesn’t really “nap” like he used to with a cover over it. So many infant items are getting packed up and stored! |
| Taking the new car seat for a test drive in the living room |
Another pretty uneventful week except for the monster known as SEPARATION ANXIETY. It is taking over!
Separation Anxiety
I really didn’t think it would hit us so hard. I remember baby-sitting a screaming child when I was a teenager. She pretty much cried the entire time her mother was away. It was miserable for her and for me. It made such an impression on me—thoughts like “How could she let her baby get so dependent on her?” and “This can’t be healthy for her” and of course “My baby won’t do this.” Now that mother is me and Connor is just as bad as her daughter was—or at least very close to it.
I was in the nursery on Sunday for the first time. I thought he’d do better, but he basically still cried the whole time unless I was holding him. Then at night we went back for The Lord’s Supper, and I was paged after 5 minutes. He was screaming. He cried even with me standing in the hallway in front of the nursery with him. Oh my.
We’re going to have to keep getting back on the horse. We go to church. That means Connor goes to the nursery. That’s just what we do. Everyone tells me that it’s just a phase. He’ll grow out of it. And he was probably ok in the gym daycare because he didn’t quite make the connection that I leave when we get there. I’m sure it won’t be long until he gets it. He is very clear on that in the church nursery and lets us know it. So separation anxiety started for us at 5 months. It’s still in full force at 7.5 months. I hope it ends soon, but I need to work on not letting if affect me so much. He probably picks up on how stressed out I get because of it.
Finger Foods
In addition to tofu, Connor had cottage cheese this week, which he did not like at all (he gagged). But I’m starting to offer him chunks of food on his tray—puffs, bananas, tofu, cottage cheese. It’s messy! I think it’s good for him to start working on his pincer grasp. I’m feeling very bold when it comes to finger foods after just one week. I’m eager to give him carbs and more protein. Next up is hardboiled egg yolks.
Schedule
He didn’t take the third nap more days than he did take it this week. The transition to two naps continues. Overall his schedule and naps are really good.
Nursing
I feel like things are going better than ever. Maybe it will be smooth sailing until 1 year. Wouldn’t that be nice? The struggle is keeping him latched on because he is SO distracted. He nurses very quickly now, maybe 5 minutes per side. It’s easy to worry if he’s getting enough, but if he wasn’t, I’m sure he’d let me know. I still offer a bottle afterwards occasionally. He plays with it but almost never drinks from it. He must be very efficient, which is fine with me!
Swim Lesson
Connor had his first swim lesson this week! It was at Jaylene’s pool. It was Connor, Noemi, Danielle, and the swim instructor’s 10 month old. Connor was ok but it does take him a while to get used to everything. He cried both times I left him with another mom to go to the bathroom. That kid! He also cried when the instructor took him for a breathing exercise. So we didn’t have him go under the water, but he was ok with his chin in the water. |
| A crazier than normal hair day |
31 Weeks (August 11th)
This week was really good and really bad. The bad part came first and was due to a fever. Things are great now that he’s better.
The Fever
Connor had a fever from Wednesday night to Sunday morning. It didn’t get that high—just below 102 degrees—but it seemed to last forever. The nurse said that unless it’s 103 degrees, they don’t have them come in because 99.9% of the time it’s viral and there’s nothing they can do. We just gave him Tylenol and watched that his fever didn’t get any higher.
He didn’t have any other symptoms of being sick other than being extremely sleepy and whiney. He slept so much! He was taking 3 hour naps and we had to wake him up. His little body was busy fighting off whatever it was. He still slept through the night (I know it’s inevitable that I will at some point be up with him in the night, but it just keeps on not happening!). By Sunday he was pretty much back to normal. We didn’t go to church because I was supposed to be in the nursery and I didn’t want to spread germs just in case.
Our Little Man
I feel like Connor got the memo that he’s 7 months old now and 7-month-olds are big boys. After his fever went away, he was like a new kid! He just seems to be looking at the world differently. All of a sudden he is wiggly, squirmy, wants to stand up, grabs at EVERYTHING, seems to understand a lot more than just a week ago, and doesn’t lie on his back much anymore. That’s actually something that occurred to me this week—why do I keep putting him on his back when he knows how to sit up? I think it was habit. He’s so content to just lie there. But now he sits up almost all of the time he’s awake.
I also found that he likes to take toys out of a basket or bucket and play with them (instead of me just giving him toys to play with). So we have some buckets at various places throughout the house. Oh, and this week he started turning the pages of books when we read stories. I say, “Connor, turn the page,” and he does. We also stopped using the changing pad this week. He was getting way too squirmy and it didn’t seem that safe. Now I change him on his bedroom floor.
Oh, and he also is mastering the art of “giving kisses.” I say, “Give mama kisses,” and he puts his open mouth against my cheek! We have a picture of a flower in the downstairs bathroom that he likes to look at. Just to see if he really does understand, I asked him to give the flower kisses when we were standing next to it. He leaned forward and “face-kissed” the picture. So cute!
Third Nap
He is fighting this nap some days. I think it’s going to turn out to be a long transition. That’s fine. I don’t want to stop it cold turkey because some days he really does need it, and I don’t see the point of having an overtired baby just for the sake of sticking to a new schedule. We’ll just go with it for now and see what happens.
New Foods
This week he had tofu! I’ve never eaten tofu in my life and have no plans to change that. Connor, on the other hand, is quite a fan. It’s a lot chunkier than his normal pureed food. I think it’s a good segue into finger foods and regular foods. I’ve been mixing it with his fruits and veggies, and he seems to really like it. I was not expecting this at all!
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| Fun times on mommy and daddy's bed |
30 Weeks (August 4th)
This was a pretty good week, with just a couple bumps in the road. Derek and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary this week. Married two years and parents to a 7 month old. I love it!
Separation Anxiety
The bump in the road is this. Connor has discovered that he likes his mama and other people are not his mama. This is the second week in a row that he just cried and cried when we drop him off at the church nursery. This week I stayed a couple minutes until he calmed down and then left to go to the service. He cried off and on the whole time. That night we dropped him off at my mom’s so we could go out to dinner, and he cried the second we walked inside her place. It took him a little while to get comfortable but then he was happy for the rest of the night.
I started to feel trapped and paranoid about leaving him with anyone for fear him having a meltdown, so I decided to leave him at the gym daycare for the first time (go big or go home). He surprised me by doing really well. Halfway through my workout I almost wished they would page me to come get him because my workout was torturous, but he did fine. He only cried a little. Unfortunately I think we’re just entering this “phase” of separation anxiety, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world to have a precious little baby think you’re the best person in the whole world.
I Keep Forgetting
Random things I keep forgetting to write about…the bald spot on the back of his head isn’t really a bald spot anymore. He started to grow hair there about a month ago. We don’t use the snap n go at all anymore. That phase is over. He loves the city mini. There’s more but I can’t remember at the moment…
Amazing Naps
This week was probably the best nap week we’ve had yet. What made it so good? He goes down without any problem. He doesn’t wake up after 45 minutes anymore. He’s sleeping pretty much until his next feeding times, which means a 2-2 ½ hour morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap. He’s still taking a catnap (which I have to wake him up from after 30 minutes or so) with no problem. He’s going to bed fine at night (even though with his catnap he hasn’t been up for that long). He’s sleeping until I wake him up in the morning. It does not get better than this. I don’t know if it’s a fluke or if it’s the 4 hr. schedule or what, but I’m in nap heaven. He might be growing and that’s why he’s sleeping so much. Who knows? But I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
What’s New?
Connor sits in the cart now when we go shopping. It’s wonderful! Now we just have to make sure he’s not within arm’s reach of stuff on shelves. As for new foods, he had green beans and applesauce this week. His expression looked like I was trying to give him vinegar. He does not like new foods or textures. It took him a few days before he could tolerate green beans (although I don’t think he’s a big fan yet) and we’re still working on the applesauce. And we did give him rice puffs. He loves them. Watching him “chew” is the cutest thing in the world. This week we started to work on animal sounds. His favorite seems to be “The cow says mooo”. I’m really hoping his first word is “mama” but we will see. We’re also working on waving bye-bye, clapping, more/all done in sign language, and folding hands to pray before meals.
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| Happy 2 year anniversary to us! |
29 Weeks (July 28th)
This was a pretty uneventful week, which is very nice every once in a while.
Solids
These are the foods Connor eats: sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, pears, carrots, squash, oatmeal, multi-grain cereal, mangoes, nectarines, prunes, and super porridge (homemade brown rice cereal). I really want to start giving him finger foods but I’m afraid of him choking so I want to wait until the weekend when Derek is here. I let him suck on a piece of watermelon at our church picnic on Sunday and he bit a huge piece off within seconds. I freaked out and used my finger to scoop it out. I think he’s ready!
Up next: finger foods, applesauce, green beans, and tofu. Yum!
He’s Getting Chubby!
I don’t know how much he weighs (more than 15 lbs for sure), but I can tell by the chubs on his legs and arms. He’s gaining weight! I think the 4 hour schedule is just what he needed. In hindsight, I probably should have done the 4 hour schedule sooner, like maybe 5 or 5.5 months. Definitely by 6 months. I’m also giving him 4 tablespoons of avocado every day (I’ve started to do every other day), and I think this is also helping him to pack on the pounds. I love squeezing his plump little legs!
In to EVERYTHING
Connor isn’t quite mobile yet, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to touch and eat EVERYTHING he can get his hands on. The second we put him in his bumbo seat, he is reaching for the salt/pepper shakers, my water bottle, etc. When I’m nursing him, his free hand does not rest. He’s touching my mouth, my clothes, my phone, my book. I can’t even have the laptop screen up because he will come off every two seconds to see what I’m looking at. He’s fascinated by the slideshow of pictures of himself on the laptop. He smiles as he watches it.
The End of Tummy Time
Connor is a pro at rolling over. No more tummy time for him. If we try to put him on his tummy, he immediately rolls over. How do babies start to crawl? I hope it isn’t by being on their tummies. Just this morning I started put him on his tummy on my legs so that he has to support himself with his arms. I’m not worried about him learning to crawl, though. I’ve learned that he will do things when he’s ready, and that seems to be later than average. But that’s perfectly fine.
The Schedule
We’re getting into a groove with this 4 hour schedule. This is what it looks like:
7:30 Wake, nurse, solids
9:00 Nap (he usually wakes up before 11:30 and we just play)
11:30 Nurse, solids
1/1:30 Nap (two hours from when he woke up basically)
3:30 Nurse, solids (if he wakes up before 3:30, he’ll take a catnap; if he sleeps till 3:30, he’ll make it all the way to an early bedtime)
5ish Possible cat nap (wake by 5:45)
7:15 Nurse, bed
He’s eating well at all four feedings. I sometimes offer a bottle after he’s done nursing but he usually doesn’t want it. I think what’s next is completely dropping the 3rd nap, but that might be a slow process. He has done really well with going down for naps and bedtime with no crying, so if he needs that 3rd nap, it’s nice to know that he’ll go down for it.
Adventures
This week was pretty uneventful, like I said. On Saturday he had a big day, though. Derek had a work barbeque at a park. Connor slept for about an hour in the morning, then was up for probably 4 hours and he did really well. I finally put him in the city mini and walked him around until he fell asleep after about 15 minutes. It was one of those days when “our schedule served us”, not the other way around. He was crankier than normal the next day at our church barbeque, but overall he did great.
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| One of his 6 month photos |
28 Weeks (July 21st)
What a crazy week this ended up being. Last Friday Derek and I decided to start Connor on a 4 hour schedule. It has been interesting!
The 4 Hour Schedule
I feel like this is such a big event. (I think I’ve felt that way about most things over the past 6.5 months). Last week I started getting really concerned about Connor’s weight again—I know, I say I’m not going to be anxious and then I weigh him. Terrible! He really hasn’t been gaining that much weight over the past month. I think he has just been snacking with the last three feedings of the day so close together. He’d only nurse for 5 minutes or so right before bed.
So even though his naps weren’t great, we decided to just go for the 4 hour schedule. Regardless of his naps, he eats at 7:30, 11:30, 3:30, and 7:30ish. He has solids after the first three feedings. That sounds all very nice and easy, but it has been a bumpy week of figuring out what this “ideal” schedule looks like. I noticed right away that he seems to be taking in more at each feeding, both in milk and solids.
Wake Time Changes
I guess it was inevitable that his naps would change with the 4 hour schedule. The biggest thing is that his morning wake time is 90 minutes. I kept thinking in the back of my mind that he wasn’t tired enough when I put him down for that first nap and that’s why he has been waking 45 minutes into it the past few weeks. But I was so afraid of him getting over tired. I was just going by his cues, and he would yawn or rub his eyes after an hour. I decided I had nothing to lose and my hunch was accurate. He really does need to be up later in the morning. So now his first wake time is 90 minutes, then 2 hours, and then another 2 hours until the catnap.
The 3rd Nap
The last part of the “crazy” week. Why not just do everything at once? Since we’re changing to a 4 hr. schedule and extending wake times, it makes sense to try to drop the 3rd nap. Yesterday we did it successfully. He woke up from his second nap at 3:30 and made it until bedtime at 7:15. It was a long stretch, but he did it. The day before, he had a cat nap from 5:15-5:50, and the next morning he woke up at 6am wide awake. I think that’s another indication that it’s time to drop that 3rd nap. Now it will be dependent on how his first two naps are. If either aren’t good, he’ll probably need a 3rd nap, but once they start extending with the 4 hr. schedule, it should drop completely. Yesterday was the first day ever of him only having two naps and it was OK.
Highchair and More
Connor sat in a high chair at Chick Fil A this week and it was so nice! I nursed him, then fed him, and he played with toys until we were ready to leave. He is also very good at sitting up by himself now. This happened pretty quickly. Just last week I couldn’t get him to go very long without falling over. Now he’s very sturdy. He had his 6 month pictures taken this week. He really might have modeling in his future! It’s crazy—once that camera starts flashing, he just laughs and laughs. I had to get him from the nursery on Sunday. I knew it would happen eventually. I stayed in there for a few minutes, then left and he was fine for the rest of the time. Oh, and we went to the park this week with some friends. After last week’s carrot explosion, I thought I’d try putting him in the portable high chair. I sat it on a bench and fed him that way. It was so nice! I will use that thing more often now. Connor had two baby-sitters this week (Yay for mommy and daddy!!!) He did great with both of them. What a relief to know that he’s fine when we’re not around.
Short Growth Spurt
I’m pretty sure he had a growth spurt this week. He seemed very hungry for a couple days, and took in more ounces than normal (offered him a bottle after feeding). For some reason I have it in my head that growth spurts are several days long, but I think they might actually be just a day or two—which makes sense since they’re called spurts.
Rolling and Sleeping
I think Connor has learned how to get back onto his back if he wants to, but most of the time I find him on his side/stomach. He kind of sleeps with his arm under him and the rest of him is on his tummy. It looks terribly uncomfortable, but usually after he sees me he wakes up and moves onto his back, so I know he can move if he wants to. He must just be comfortable like that.
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| Mastering his new skill |
27 Weeks (July 14th)
I guess it was a “wonder week” after all. Thankfully it ended and this week was really good.
So Many Noises
Connor makes all kinds of noises now. He’s constantly sucking on his bottom lip, and his new thing is spitting. It’s a little like blowing raspberries, but really it just ends up being a lot of drool. He says lots of one syllable “words” but nothing that actually is a word. I think he’s starting to understand a lot more of what we say. For example, when he’s nursing and comes off (he is VERY easily distracted) I say “more milk” in a somewhat firm voice and he goes right back on. And when I finish changing his diaper and ask him which book he wants to read, he looks over to his bookshelf with a big smile on his face.
Schedule
Last week was a really terrible nap week. This week was much better. The morning nap is starting to get a little longer again. He’s still on the same schedule (since about 3 ½ months, with a little longer morning stretch)—no 4 hour schedule yet. I’m not in a hurry. My main concern is that he eats as many times as he needs, and for now that seems to be nursing 5x/day. I might still try it cold turkey one of these days, but until his second nap gets longer, it just seems like it would be miserable to try to extend it. His wake times are increasing, though. In the morning I think optimal is about 1 hr. 20 minutes. The next two he can go 2 hours if needed and before bed he can go about 3 or 3 ½ hours.
New Foods
He eats like I do. FAST. The second he swallows, his mouth is wide open for another bite. If I’m slow (like more than 2 seconds), he gets fussy. We have to work on patience! I gave him nectarines yesterday and it was not a hit. Maybe it was just the initial newness of it. He’s starting to eat bigger portions, too. I’m starting to think about giving him finger foods. Oh, and the new spitting thing he’s doing is cute, except when he’s eating something like carrots. Yesterday at the park it was like carrot fireworks all over him, me, and the stroller he was sitting in.
Growth Spurt?
I think babies typically have a growth spurt around 6 months. Maybe that’s why Connor drank 11 ounces for his last feeding on Saturday when I was gone and Derek gave him a bottle. I couldn’t believe it—11 ounces! And that was his 5th feeding of the day, so it’s not like he hadn’t just eaten two and four hours before. I’m sure that added to the “wonder” of “wonder week”.
Rolling and Sitting
Surprisingly, I haven’t had to get up in the middle of the night due to his rolling. Either he’s learning to roll over the other way or he’s getting used to sleeping on his tummy. I often find him on his tummy when getting him up from his nap. If he’s on his tummy when I check him before I go to bed, I’ll roll him over and he stays asleep. Overall, it hasn’t been a huge sleep disruption, at least so far.
He can sit up by himself now. He’s still a little shaky, but he can last for a couple minutes if we’re reading a book or playing with a toy. Mobility is just around the corner!
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| Swinging at the park |
26 Weeks (July 7th)
Connor turned 6 months old this week! He’ll be 1 in another 6 months. Even during the more difficult weeks (like this one), I love this baby stage and don’t want it to go by quickly.
Another Busy Week
We had a full week with Derek still off work. We went to the beach again with some friends (more on that below), went in the pool at my mom’s house and he loved it, Nana watched him so Derek and I could go out to dinner and he was fine for her (I was a little nervous), we had a barbeque at our house on Sunday for 4th of July, we went with some friends to the high school for a 4th of July celebration (but left before the fireworks), and Connor and I spent the day in Riverside visiting Auntie Shawna (where he did not nap well at all sadly).
Bottle Woes Solved
I feel so guilty about what happened! Derek tried to give him a bottle last week, and he majorly protested. We waited a few days and tried again. He was just NOT having it. I tried three different bottle types and a sippy cup. He refused it. We thought it was just him being difficult, and it was getting really frustrating (reverting back to our 8 week old who refused to drink from a bottle). Then I smelled the milk. It had a funny odor. By funny I mean gross. I got out milk I had just pumped that morning and smelled it to compare. Oh my goodness. We were trying to force Connor to drink very sour milk. I felt so terrible! I gave him some of the fresh milk in a bottle and he drank it without any problem.
The day ended with Derek going to Home Depot at 9pm to buy a deep freeze. Our freezer was too full, and all of the pumped milk from the last couple months hadn’t been getting cold enough and needed to be thrown out. Now we have plenty of freezer space, which is wonderful and freeing, and I am back to pumping like crazy to build up reserves.
Beach Visit
Connor can remain a member of our family J. We went to the beach on Saturday and he did really well. He even enjoyed standing in the wet sand. He must have gotten sunscreen in his eye because it turned all red and blotchy, but after about an hour it went away.
Milestone Reached: Rolling Over
I guess Connor didn’t appreciate being called “lazy” by his doctor. We found him on his tummy one morning when we went to get him up, and since then he rolls often. It has unfortunately disrupted a few naps. He rolls onto his tummy but can’t roll back and he gets frustrated. I think he’s learning to just be content sleeping on his tummy. We’ll see how it goes. It can’t be that long before he’s rolling both ways. Lesson learned: Connor will do things when he is ready.
Wonder Week 26
I’m pretty sure we’re going through this. It is not fun. All of a sudden he’s crying at naptime and bedtime, he’s taking bad naps, he only wants to be held or at least have me right there with him, he cries for his entire afternoon pack n play IP time, and he is WHINEY. It could be so many things—WW26, teething, recovering from the busy week, needing a new schedule, growth spurt, etc. etc. etc. I’m going to guess WW26 because this is how he was right around WW19. I think I’ll just wait it out before trying to extend his schedule to a 4-hour schedule.
New Things
He loves to stand (with support, of course). We’re sort of transitioning out of the infant seat/snap n go and using the city mini more and more. He loves to go on walks in it. It’s getting a little harder to read books to him. After about 5 seconds, he spends the rest of the time trying to grab it and put it in his mouth. He can almost sit without support. Derek gave him pineapple and he couldn’t get enough of it. I gave him squash, too. So far he doesn’t seem to be a picky eater. He’s getting way more interested in what we’re eating and drinking. It will be fun to give him finger foods.
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| 6 months old |
25 Weeks (June 30th)
This week was the start of our “stay-cation”. Actually, we ended up going to San Diego, so I guess it was an actual vacation. It was a really fun week.
6 Month Appointment
The long-awaited appointment finally arrived. Connor didn’t quite double his birth weight—he was 14 lbs, 6 oz. In fact, he dropped down to 5-10 percentile for weight. He’s still way up there with height. The doctor isn’t worried, and this week I decided that I should really stop worrying, too. Connor will grow at his own pace.
As for not rolling over, the doctor checked to make sure all was as it should be with his muscle/strength/ability. He’s just fine, and the doctor concluded that Connor is just “lazy.” He’s perfectly capable of rolling over (and he does it every once in a while), but he just isn’t interested in it.
Everything else was good. He gave the green light to move to a four hour schedule. That’s exciting. And he said if we want to try fattening Connor up, we can either add butter to his food (no thanks), or we can give him pureed meat. Mmmm. Both options sound just delicious.
More Firsts
We were busy! We went to a baseball game, went in the pool at our hotel, met family for dinner, and went to the beach. Connor is definitely a people person. He would NOT sleep at the baseball game. I guess there was just too much to see. He didn’t get very good naps in for a couple days, but it didn’t seem to affect him that much. We took him to a restaurant for dinner in San Diego. We haven’t really done that yet, and I was a little nervous. We ended up being there for about two hours, and there were fussy moments, but overall he was good. He was very entertained by our glasses of water. He actually drank from it. Staying overnight in a hotel was another thing I was a little nervous about. We put him in his infant seat in the bathroom at bedtime and moved him to the pack n play when we were ready for bed. It worked out just fine. Derek managed to get the pack n play to fit in the bathroom for naps, so that was good. Connor didn’t seem to be a huge fan of the beach. We’re hoping he grows to like it—we are beach people!
Vacation Schedule
The schedule this week was basically “Try to get in a good morning nap, then try for two more throughout the day sometime”. It was actually a little nice to be so flexible. We did a day or two of a 4 hour schedule. I guess it will be a transition instead of cold turkey. Either way is fine with me.
Talkative
Connor started making lots of new sounds this week. It’s so fun to watch him develop that way. I can’t really type the sounds that came from him, but they’re different than what he has “said” so far.
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| Daddy and Connor at Petco Park |
24 Weeks (June 24th)
This was a really fun week. Connor is such a cute little guy and so entertaining. It was such a good week that I almost thought WW26 just passed us by, but now I’m reconsidering.
The Happiest Place on Earth
Connor went to Disneyland for the first time! We went with Lisa, Lyndsey, Logan, Tynisia, and Noemi. Tynisia and I were both a little concerned with how our little ones would do with napping and crying and all that. All the kids did great! We met at 11:15am, so Connor was able to get his morning nap in. Then he napped for about 45 minutes when we were there, and we were there for 5 hours. He slept on the way home and had a 4th catnap. Again this was true—if he’s tired, he’ll sleep. He did ok on the rides, but he did get a little scared on one of them. It was still such a fun experience.
Grunting
Have I mentioned that Connor’s method of communication is grunting? He grunts ALL THE TIME. I’m trying so hard to figure out what it means. I’m pretty sure when he’s eating it means he’s done. When he’s playing it means he’s bored. Then there’s the grunting in the car, and that usually means he’s pooping. We’re starting to encourage him to “use his words”, except he doesn’t have any words yet.
New Foods
This week I introduced carrots (from a jar because they’re not supposed to have cooked carrots until 7 months) and a “mixed grain” cereal. I also tried bananas again and he seemed to like them! Up next: squash.
Outings
We tried out the Diamond Bar Library story time this week. It’s much smaller than the Yorba Linda one, but also less pressure to keep him quiet during it. It’s very informal. He did very well. On Friday night Auntie Shawna came for a visit and Connor just loved it. She was very impressed with how he folds his hands to pray after his bedtime story (we didn’t realize he did it but he does). We also went to Chick-Fil-A with the girls. He does really well now, and I’m looking forward to when he can sit in the highchair without falling over.
WW26?
For most of this week, naps were amazing. There were a few days that I had to wake him up from every nap. Then yesterday he was up crying 45 minutes into every nap. He hasn’t cried mid-nap like that for weeks. Of course there’s the possibility that he’s teething so I gave him Tylenol, but who knows if that’s what it was. Maybe it’s wonder week 26. As I write this, he’s grunting in his crib, which is quickly turning into a cry. Bad morning nap=potentially bad day unfortunately. L
New Things
Even without the teeth and the rolling, Connor is starting to do a lot more these days. It’s fun to watch him develop. He is very entertained by toys now. I always pack a few favorites when we have lunch out and it really helps. He especially likes anything with rings, and he still loves books. He is a very “busy” nurser. His hands are everywhere (in my mouth mostly), and he’s constantly coming off to arch his back and look all around upside down. He’s starting to nurse much more quickly—about 15 minutes now. As he recently discovered the fun of splashing, I have moved his bath tub to the shower. No more counter top baths. It’s kneeling for me from now on. He sits in his bumbo on the kitchen table every night when Derek and I have dinner. He LOVES to watch me eat (I’m way more exciting to watch than Derek for some reason), and he is utterly beside himself with excitement when he gets to “drink” (slobber) from our glass. Ever since Madera, he has done wonderfully for car rides. He’s slowly losing interest in his step-in-play, but it was SO nice while it lasted. Yesterday I put him in the City Mini by itself-no infant seat-and he seemed to do ok. He was a little unsure at first, but he didn’t protest. He folds his hands when we pray with him at night. I love being his mom!
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| On a ride at Disneyland...he really did like it, contrary to his expression |
23 Weeks (June 16th)
This week was pretty good. There were a few bumps in the road, but overall it was pretty uneventful.
Little Meltdowns
On Friday we went to “Nana’s” for the morning/afternoon. He took a really short nap in the car, and then was up for almost 3 hours. We tried to put him down for a nap in a pack ‘n’ play, but he was not having it. The plan was that once he was napping, I was going to go to Starbucks and read (a simple pleasure that doesn’t happen much these days). It just didn’t work out that well. After I left, he woke up crying again and Nana rocked him back to sleep. That worked for another 30 minutes. He was just overtired. He fell asleep on the way home and slept for two hours, so that was nice—if he’s tired enough, he will sleep.
The next day he woke up early from all his naps, and of course that was the day I had planned to celebrate Sara’s birthday with the girls. Daddy didn’t have that much fun with the fussy boy. I ended up putting him down for a 4th nap and the rest of the night he was fine (for our family Grocery Shopping night J ). The encouraging thing is that these bad naps/afternoons don’t ruin the rest of the day like they used to.
Morning Nap Woes
This nap has been consistently good for weeks and weeks now (probably since week 12). I’m not sure why, but he is starting to wake up from it earlier now. It used to be about 2-2 ½ hours long. Now It’s about 1 ½. Maybe he’s just needing less daytime sleep. I’m not sure yet. I’m trying shortening his morning wake time. But I don’t think that’s it. We’ll see what happens. His schedule is still pretty much:
7:30-7:45am wake, nurse, solids
9:00am nap
11:00am wake, nurse, solids
12:30pm nap
2:00pm wake, nurse
3:30pm nap
4:30-5:00pm wake, nurse, solids
7:00pm nurse, bed
Solids
This week I introduced prunes. He is a fan! I’m having trouble finding good organic produce at Sprout’s, so I ended up buying Earth’s Best sweet potatoes and carrots (to be introduced next week). I did find pears this week so I’ll try making them. He’s starting to nurse quicker and eat more solid food. I hope that’s normal and ok for this age. I still want him to get the bulk of his nutrients and calories from breast milk.
Still Waiting On Some Milestones
I guess I should add that Connor is still not consistently rolling over. And we’re still waiting on teeth. Both of these things we thought for sure would have happened a month or more ago. But Connor has other plans. He can roll over both ways. We’ve seen it. But he just doesn’t do it for some reason. And the teeth—you can see a tooth just under the surface on top. Maybe he’s just a slow teether. So nothing new to report other than we’re still waiting, and that’s ok. J
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| Reading books with Nana |
22 Weeks (June 9th)
So far 5 months is my favorite. He’s turning into a little boy—no longer an infant, but a fun, giggly, active baby. I really love this stage.
First Cold
Yesterday we were out to lunch (at Chick-Fil-A OF COURSE) and I noticed snot coming out of Connor’s nose. Seasoned mommies will probably think I’m crazy, but I freaked out a little. He has never had a running nose before! He has never been sick! It was just so strange seeing it come out of that perfect little nose. I guess it’s another sign that he is, in fact, a little person, and people get colds. He has congestion, a running nose, a really cute little cough, and he’s sneezing a lot. Other than that, he seems to be doing just fine. No fever. He’s maybe just a little bit fussier than normal, but for the most part he’s still himself. He is NOT a fan of that squeeze-snot-out-of-nose contraption!
Chub Chub Chub
Connor laughs at that phrase whenever we say it. It also describes our growing boy. He’s getting so big! Several people commented this week on how long he is and how big he’s getting. He’s over 14 lbs. so we’re well on our way to doubling birth weight by 6 months. This week I went through all his clothes and put away a very big bin full of 0-4 month clothes. The drawers and closet are stocked with 6 month and 9 month clothing. And we have a bin that’s halfway full of 12-18 months. We are so blessed—we haven’t bought him any clothes yet and we have so much. We’ve moved to the next size of socks (minor, I know, but for a first time mom this is such a milestone!), and we moved up a size setting on the cloth diapers.
Pumping Paid Off
I should mention that nursing has been going A LOT better the past couple of weeks. I think all that crazy pumping I did after his last doctor appointment really increased my supply. Connor seems more satisfied, and he is growing. Now I just pump usually twice a day—once after I put him down for his first nap, and once before I go to bed. I don’t know how long I’ll need to do this for. I’ll ask the doctor at his 6 month appointment. But it’s worth it to me if nursing is stress-free.
Solids
This week I introduced pears. I couldn’t find organic pears at Sprout’s, so I bought Earth’s Best organic pears. He seems to like them. So his food at this point consists of: oatmeal, rice cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, and pears. Next week I’m going to introduce prunes. Also, I think I’m giving up on bananas for now. For some reason, he just doesn’t seem to like them. I give it to him plain, mixed with cereal, warm—he just makes a face and gags. Sweet potatoes are his favorite.
Naps and Night
I just realized that I haven’t said much about this lately. There isn’t much to tell, which is wonderful. I haven’t gotten up at night with him since he was 10 weeks old. He is a GREAT sleeper at night—about 11 ½ - 12 hours. His naps during the day are pretty good, too. The first one is 2 – 2 ½ hours. The other two are shorter. I feel so blessed to have such a good sleeper.
Baby Laughter
Connor is starting to laugh a lot more. This week we managed to get it on video. Since then I’ve watched it about 50 times. Connor smiles when he watches it. I was cleaning up toys while holding him. I think I was explaining to him that after we play with toys, we clean up (training him young). I was holding a ball, threw it up in the air, and Connor lost it! He was belly laughing for the next few minutes. There is nothing cuter than a baby belly laughing.
Out and About
It’s getting easier and easier to go places and do things with Connor during his wake time. He’s getting better at going a 2 hour stretch, which is nice. Now I plan to do things when I know he’s awake, instead of the first five months of his life when I would try to plan it for when he sleeps. I usually put him in the baby bjorn and he’s happy. I’ve been running an errand or getting out of the house at least once a day. If we go out to lunch, I try to feed him when we get there and then he’s usually happy to just hang out for a while (no meltdowns in Chick-Fil-A lately). He was a good boy in the nursery on Sunday, too. The interesting thing will be to see how or if he naps when we’re out and not able to be home for his nap.
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| Playing board games with Daddy and Uncle Brady |
21 Weeks
Connor turned 5 months old this week! I have a feeling I’m really going to like this age. It’s amazing how much he’s changing and growing. It’s fascinating for me to watch!
Road Trip
The biggest thing this week was our trip to Madera to visit my brother and his family. Madera is about a 4 ½ hour drive normally (by normally I mean the hundreds of times I’ve made the trip WITHOUT a baby). With a baby, that is a different story. I packed up the car and left with Connor at about 2:45pm on Friday. We picked up Brady, picked up Derek from work, stopped twice to feed him, sat in traffic forever, and made it there by about 10:15pm. 7 ½ hours! Connor did ok, but Derek and I agree that it’s easier to fly with a baby than it is to drive with a baby. The way back was a little bit better, but we’re not making plans for any more road trips in the near future.
He did great while we were there. He slept well for his naps and during the night. The three of us were in a room together, and I was a little worried that none of us would sleep. We all did. We brought the mini fan and I think it helped a lot. 4 babies in one house was a little crazy, but I’m so glad he got to meet his Aunt Sara and cousins. We attempted to get a picture of the kids together. It will be fun to watch them grow.
Solids
I introduced oatmeal and bananas this week. He seems to love anything I give him, at least so far. I also started giving him three meals per day. He’s still nursing 5 times per day, as well. I think my efforts to fatten him up are working. He has gained 1 pound in 3 weeks. He’s right below 14lbs. now. If he doesn’t double his birth weight by 6 months, he will at least be very close to it!
“He is so alert!”
People have told us that since day 1. A couple days ago at Costco, I had him in the baby bjorn (facing forward) and the check-out lady commented on how alert he is. She then went on to tell me that he is going to be very smart. “I can just tell that he is going to be a smart boy.” This is just so that if Connor ever asks what kind of baby he was or what people said about him, I will be able to tell him. J
New Things
I don’t know if I mentioned this, but Connor loves his feet. Well, he loves eating his feet. And when I hold him, he is starting to “cup” my face with his hands and bring it towards his face for what I guess is his version of “kisses” (wipe all my drool on mommy’s face). Every time I walk downstairs with him, he looks straight up with his mouth wide open and smiles. Every time. It’s so funny. He grabs at everything he can now. Handheld toys are actually starting to entertain him. Independent play times are getting much better and I’m a huge fan of this. It’s teaching him how to focus and be content, and it gives me a chance to get ready in the morning and get dinner ready in the evening.
More Freedom
It’s getting easier to go out in the afternoon. This week Connor and I went to Costco and Winco by ourselves for the first time. Usually he’s only up for 1 ½ hours during this time of day before his third nap, but our outings made it 2 hours and it was just fine. I had him in the baby bjorn at Costco and in his infant seat at Winco. I felt relieved and accomplished at the end of this little trip. J He did great.
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| Connor (5 mon), Caleb (2 1/2), Kylie (1), and Ellie (1) |
20 Weeks (May 26th)
I remember hitting the 20 week mark during pregnancy. It felt like it took forever to get there. Now here we are, a 20 week old boy in our lives.
Solid Adventures
He loves sweet potatoes. He was up to 4 T per serving. He just inhaled it. Then I tried avocado. This was a much different story. The first time we gave it to him, he liked it at first but then choked on it towards the end. Apparently it gets hard to swallow. So for the next few days, I gave it to him along with very runny rice cereal. That seemed to do the trick. Oh, I also strained it. Still, he only had 2 T at most at a time. We’re learning. Up next: bananas. He has gained almost a pound in 2 ½ weeks (I think a lot of that is due to his growth spurt). We’re making progress. I’d love for him to double his birth weight by his 6 month doctor visit, but even if he doesn’t, I know he’s eating well. All my pumping is paying off.
More Changes
I don’t use the breast friend nursing pillow anymore. I just decided this week that I didn’t want to use it anymore. Another change: I’ve started doing actual timed “independent play” sessions for Connor. Basically, in the morning he has about 15-20 minutes of playing by himself without me in the room. He does fine with it, and I’m able to do stuff like make the bed, get breakfast, pump, etc. It will be a whole different story when he’s mobile. In the early evening, he spends 15-20 minutes in his pack n play right after his 4th feeding. This is when I get dinner going. Sometimes he’s fine, sometimes he doesn’t like it. Oh, and Connor has discovered his feet and he loves them!
Nap Issues
Overall he’s a really good sleeper. Nights are wonderful and I could not ask for it to be any better. During the day, especially for his first nap, he’s starting to wake up after 45 minutes and talk to himself. It’s getting to be very consistent. He usually falls back to sleep, but I wonder how good of a nap he’s actually getting if he’s awake for 20 minutes during the middle of it.
Schedule
I’m very comfortable with the schedule as it is right now (have been for a few weeks) and I’m thinking it probably won’t change until the 3rd nap is dropped and we move to a 4 hour schedule. I’m in no hurry to do that. Maybe at around 6 months? It’s basically:
7:30am wake, nurse
9:00am nap
11:00am wake, nurse, solids
12:30pm nap
2:00pm wake, nurse
3:30pm nap
4:30-5:00pm wake, nurse, solids
7:00pm nurse, bed
I think at around 6 months, or maybe a year, I’ll look back and plot out the main schedules we’ve had. It seems like the schedule has changed when these things happened (so far): STTN, dropped the 4th nap, dropped the dream feed, and longer morning stretch.
Baby Dedication
Connor was dedicated on Sunday. He did fine on stage, but I guess stage fright caught up with him once he got to the nursery. He was not a happy camper. I had to get him and hold him the rest of the time (see other blog post about how I freaked out over this).
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| After the dedication with our Pastor, Randy |
19 Weeks (May 19th)
Ok, time is officially going by quickly. I feel like the first 3 months sort of dragged on forever, but now things are definitely picking up speed. Our boy is growing up!
The Little Things
For the past 20 weeks, we go grocery shopping pretty much every other Sunday as a family. We go to Costco, eat lunch, get samples, then go to Winco. I guess it’s our little tradition. We always plan to go during Connor’s nap so that he can sleep while we shop. I knew it was just a matter of time before our little boy wouldn’t just sleep the whole time, and this was the week. I had him in the Baby Bjorn (front facing—his new favorite thing) during lunch and Costco, fed him in the Trader Joes parking lot (sometimes we’re really wild and crazy and add TJ to our itinerary), and then he fell asleep for Winco. This is very, very minor in the grand scheme of life, but to me it’s a sign that Connor is growing up and our lives will continue to change.
Milestone: Rolling Over
He did it! He rolled over from tummy to back two times in a row on Friday, May 13. I managed to get the second time on video, and it’s a good thing I did because he hasn’t done it since then and he’s right back to hating tummy time!
Growth Spurt Confirmed
Wow! That kid can eat! For three days in a row he had an extra 10 ounces of BM, not including 3 T of rice cereal and all his normal feedings! I was beginning to think that my life was going to be just a blur of nursing and pumping until he’s 1, but thankfully things slowed down a bit. I still offer a bottle of BM after the last 2 or 3 feedings of the day. He has taken anywhere from .5 – 3 ounces. Maybe all the pumping increased my milk supply, but I do think that it was a growth spurt. I’ve weighed him pretty much daily (I’m obsessed), and as of yesterday he’s over 13 pounds. He has also been sleeping wonderfully this week. No nap troubles, and he is a solid 12-hour-a-night sleeper. I'm so thankful!
More Solids
We tried sweet potatoes. I say “we” because I actually tried it, too. (While it is “baby food”, it’s really just a sweet potato that I boiled, peeled, mashed, blended, and strained). I thought I didn’t like them, and I don’t. Connor, on the other hand, can’t get enough of them. I’m only giving him 2 T at a time. Solids are meant to up his calorie intake, not satisfy his hunger. I still want nursing to do that. But I think he could eat the whole sweet potato if I let him. So this week he started having 2 T of sweet potatoes in the morning and 3 T of rice cereal in the evening.
Dirty Diapers
There are daily dirty diapers, and then there are dirty diapers that are the accumulation of 3 day’s worth of “dirty-ness.” Oh my goodness. Eating solids has affected his blowouts. Now instead of daily “mini” blowouts, I’ve experienced “gargantuan” blowouts every 2 or 3 days.
Play Date
Earlier this week, Tynisia, Lyndsey and I had a "play date." We managed to get a picture of our little ones together, and we're hoping to get a similar picture a few months from now to see how much they've grown. On facebook I put "fun times with friends" as the picture description, but as a friend pointed out, I think that was more referring to us than our kids. (Noemi-6.5 months, Connor-4.5 months, Logan-6 weeks)
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| Fun times with friends? |
18 Weeks (May 12th)
This was quite a week. I think we’re done with “wonder week 19” but I’m thinking maybe another growth spurt is happening?
4 Month Appointment and Weight Issues
Connor’s 4 month appointment was on Monday. I was really nervous about his weight, and my anxiety proved to be legitimate. He is 12 pounds, 12 ounces. He is in the 10th percentile for weight and the 80th percentile for height. I thought he would at least be over 13 pounds! Needless to say, I freaked out a little. The doctor says he’s doing fine because he is growing. He’s 26 inches. I really started to feel like a failure as a mother—like I was starving my child. The doctor said we could start him on rice cereal, so I got some on the way home and gave him his first meal that afternoon (I didn’t waste any time!) He did really well. The first time it was just one tablespoon of Earth’s Best Organic Rice Cereal, and the three days since then he has had 2 tablespoons of cereal with 2 tablespoons of milk. He is inhaling it! Also, I’ve been pumping like crazy. I’m determined to boost my milk supply. I’ve started offering a bottle for the last three feedings of the day. Yesterday he had a total of 5 extra ounces, plus the 2 ounces in the cereal. That’s 7 extra ounces! And I don’t think it’s a growth spurt (although today—the start of 19 weeks—I’m starting to think maybe it is a growth spurt). We’ll see if this continues.
Other notable things: he did ok with the shots. He had a fever the next day of 101.2 but after some Tylenol he was fine. He wasn’t that fussy at all. Dr. Kwon says he should be able to respond to his name by 6 months, and also sit up by himself. He said that Connor has very good head control (especially since he doesn’t like tummy time). He agreed that I probably don’t need to burp him anymore. Dr. Kwon also confirmed our teething suspicions. He said the bottom two teeth will soon come through.
Happy Boy Again
Last Thursday was rough, but since then he has been his cute self again. I’m thinking he did have a “wonder week”. He seems to be more aware of his surroundings much more than before (always wanting to look up and all around), and he is grabbing at my neck, hair, face, and shoulders whenever I hold him. I think he can also see further than before. He’ll smile at me from across the room. The other big thing is his voice. He talks to himself constantly. It’s so cute. He’s waking up from naps talking, and after 10-15 minutes usually falls back asleep. It’s like he just discovered he can talk so it’s all he wants to do. He’s also starting to grab at things like my water bottle and put his mouth on them.
Solid Food
Like I said, we introduced solids this week. I’m following Babywise II and Super Baby Food. It’s funny—I spent much of the weekend reading up on solids thinking it’s going to be sometime soon, and then Monday’s appointment happens and we start solids that day! Tomorrow we might introduce sweet potatoes. He just needs calories, and he seems to really like it. It was extremely messy the first time, but we’re both getting the hang of it. J
Playing
He’s not mobile yet, but his play preferences are definitely changing. He isn’t very interested in his play gyms or his frog chair anymore. I put him in his pack n play for maybe up to 20-30 minutes per day, and he’s ok in it for the most part. He really likes his bumbo as of last week (we put it on the middle landing of the stairs so he can see at our level). He also LOVES his musical step and play. And I finally found the trick to tummy time—I make sure to be in front of him with musical/light-up toys. He’s good for about 10-20 minutes. That’s progress! He’s loves being outside, loves to hold onto toys, look at books, and watch his mobile.
Our Week Day by Day
The schedule is pretty much: eat at 7:30, 11, 2, 5, and 7ish. I pump before bed. He doesn’t have a 4th nap anymore. One day this week he did have it and he woke up early the next morning. This was the last week of lap time until the fall. It was also Mother’s Day—my first one! We celebrated on Saturday by going out to lunch. He cried when we got there but fell asleep and woke up towards the end. He seems to be really fussy once the first or second naps are bad. I’m pretty terrified of him screaming in a public place (like today at Chick Fil A). I don’t know if Connor is just a fussier baby or if all babies do this when tired. But when he’s not fussy, he is an absolute joy. Last night I didn’t want to put him to bed—all I wanted to do was hold him! Oh, and I think he’s starting to get the concept of “kisses”. He sort of leans against my face with his mouth wide open. I love it!
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| What is this stuff you're putting in my mouth? |
17 Weeks (May 5th)
I think we’re experiencing what is known as “Wonder Week 19”. I’m a little confused as to why the word “wonder” is used. It doesn’t seem that wonderful to me. This week also had some milestones.
No More 4th Nap
It’s officially gone. He didn’t take the 4th nap at all this week. If he’s himself, it’s not really that bad. But as I mentioned, this week was challenging, to say the least, and it made this last stretch of the day really difficult.
Dream Feed Dropped
Another positive milestone this week was the successful dropping of the dream feed. The first day after I dropped it, Connor cried a lot for each nap. It was so strange. Maybe it was just the newness of it. He has been much better since then, and I’m happy to report that he hasn’t woken up once during the night. Of course, it has only been one week so it could still happen. But I still count it a success. He sleeps from about 7:30-7:45pm – 7:30am.
WW19
That’s how the chat groups and blogs refer to it. I’ve been doing a lot of reading. Apparently there are 8 big developmental leaps during the first 14 months, and week 19 is the toughest. It’s marked by 3 c’s: crying, cranky, and clingy. That describes Connor perfectly! All of a sudden he isn’t content in his pack n play or play gym. He doesn’t like his frog chair. Basically he wants to be held. He’s fussy when he eats. He has started to eat in less time, but cries like he hasn’t had enough. Then I warm up some milk and he doesn’t want it. We have to hold him when we eat dinner. He had a total meltdown at Chick Fil A last night and Caroline and I had to go on a walk instead of staying in the store. He wakes up unhappy more than usual. He doesn’t want to burp. He doesn’t like to be changed. Fussy, fussy, fussy! I want my happy boy back! I really do hope that this whole wonder week thing is true, because we’re almost through it if that’s the case. The great thing is that he’s still sleeping great at night and taking good naps for the most part. I guess sleep is usually thrown off by these wonder weeks, but so far so good in that area.
Teething?
We’re also thinking maybe he’s teething. It seems so early for that, but you can sort of see two little white things right under his gums on the top. He rubs his ear sometimes, and I’ve never seen so much drool in my life. He’s pretty content if we let him suck on our fingers. These things make us wonder if maybe it is the beginning of getting teeth. His 4 month doctor appointment is next week, so hopefully Dr. Kwon will be able to shed some light on it for us.
Almost Rolling Over
He’s getting so close. On Monday night, Shawna was over, I was making dinner, and Connor was in his Pack N Play (before he started wanting nothing to do with it). She said, “So Connor is rolling over now?” I responded with “NO” and then ran to see that our little guy had pretty much rolled over, but he can’t quite get his right arm free. That frustrates him very much. I know I’ll think I’m crazy for saying this months from now, but I can’t wait till he’s a little more mobile!
Outings
We had a nice Saturday—we went to Chipotle for dinner and he was content to watch us eat, then we walked over to Kohl’s and shopped. He was good the whole time. Then Sunday was our church picnic. I spent so much time trying to figure out the perfect schedule. Then when we pulled into the church parking lot, he coughed and woke himself up, and my plans turned to mush. He was a mess at the picnic, but then I nursed him on one side and he fell asleep for two hours. On Tuesday we met Henry and Noah at Chick Fil A for lunch. Noah is 1 ½ and likes to belt out screams at the top of his lungs. To my great surprise, Connor slept right through it. He was a good boy for lap time. And this week it was in the high 90’s. Our A/C broke, so one night we put Connor to bed in his infant seat in the downstairs bathroom until about 11pm. When we transferred him to his crib, he cried for a few seconds and fell right to sleep.
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| Big boy at 4 months! |
16 Weeks
Overall this was a fun week. Connor is definitely finding his voice. It’s fun to see his personality come out.
Dream Feed
Like I said last week, I spent this past week only offering one side (I pump afterwards). Last night was the big night. No dream feed and no waking up crying due to hunger. He did wake up a few times but fell back asleep within minutes. I’m a little hesitant to say it’s a success because this morning for his first nap, he cried for almost an hour and I finally had to nurse him to get him to fall asleep. That has never happened before. Was it because of the change? I have no idea. I really hope it was a one-time thing. With the dream feed gone, that puts him at 5 feedings a day, which is what baby wise says is normal for this age. I don’t know how long I’ll pump in place of the dream feed, but for now I’m comfortable with it for supply purposes.
New Things Connor Likes and Dislikes
Did I mention that we put his swing in the garage? Connor was never a big fan of it. What he is a fan of these days is his musical “walker” toy that his Nana got him. It appears he’s also growing out of his green frog chair. Unless we strap him in, he slouches to the point where he almost falls out of it. He slouches pretty much any time we sit him up. He also does not like to be burped. He makes his body stiff and leans backwards. He’s starting to roll onto his side really well. I don’t think rolling over is that far away. A couple times this week I thought it was going to happen! He also likes to be outside. He starts kicking his arms and legs and gets very excited. This week we also took the newborn net thing off of his bath, so he’s definitely a big boy now. Oh, one more cute thing…Connor now eats with his arm extended and hand in my face…whether it’s in my mouth, touching my nose, grabbing my chin. It’s the start of him being affectionate with me…I’ll take it!
The Fourth Nap
I think we didn’t have this nap more than we did have it this week. One night he fell asleep on our bed at about 6:30pm, so Derek transferred him to his crib and he slept for about 45 minutes. For the most part, though, if he’s up any time after 4:30pm, he’s pretty much ok until 7:30ish. I also think he can have a longer awake time after his second nap. So an ideal schedule would be:
7:30am wake, eat
8:35am nap
11:00am wake, eat
12:15pm nap
2:00pm wake, eat
3:30pm nap
5:00pm wake, eat
7:30pm eat, bed
We’ll see how it goes this week—17weeks. Today isn’t starting out so good. L
Easter
Connor experienced his first Easter this week. After church, we went to Sue’s for Carne Asada, an Easter egg hunt, and games. Connor was a big hit. Our little extrovert showed off his loud voice in a room full of people and talked our ears off. He wouldn’t take a nap in his pack n play or his infant seat. That was a bummer, but he ended up falling asleep on Nana. Everyone said it was because he just wanted to be where all the people were.
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| Sleeping soundly on Nana |
15 Weeks
This week was good overall, but I think towards the end of it Connor just wasn’t quite himself. It was nothing bad, but he was a little crankier than he normally is.
To Dream Feed or Not To Dream Feed
I write this 2 days into the next week, so I’m cheating because I have a plan now: wait until the night after our Growth Group ends (next Tuesday—right before 17 weeks) to officially drop the dream feed, and this week in the meantime, only offer one side to try to wean him off of it. This week was actually spent just going back and forth about it. I always feed Connor at about 6:30pm on GG nights, and that would be too early to be his last feeding. We’ll have to figure out how it will work when we again have something at 7 or 7:30pm that we need to be at, but for now deciding on next week is enough.
Naps
It’s looking like we’re slowly transitioning from 4 naps down to 3. I’m still trying to figure out how long he can last in the evening. The “schedule” has been the same. Eat at 7:30am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 7:15pm—ISH. Emphasis in “ISH”. It seems like he often wakes early from that third nap, which means he might be up at 4:15 or 4:30, and that makes it tough to get all the way to 7:15pm with no nap. Hence the “slow transition.”
Connor the Model
We took Connor to get his 3 month pictures taken (even though he was 3 ½ months). He had just started to really laugh a few days before, and he didn’t hold back! The photographer did a great job getting him to laugh, and Connor thought he was hilarious. Needless to say, we spent about 13 times what I intended to spend (we had a coupon for a $7.99 deal). And we’ll have these “priceless” pictures forever, so I guess it’s worth it.
Nursing
He seemed to nurse for a lot longer this week, with the exception of the dream feed. I struggled to keep him awake and interested for that one. But the rest of the time, it felt like I was back to nursing a newborn. Most times it was more than 30 minutes.
Big Adventures
On Saturday we went to the DB Birthday Party with the Berry’s. It was extremely hot and we went after his first nap. Well, he basically skipped that second nap all together, which made for a rough couple of hours in the late afternoon. It all worked out, though, and the Allbright’s came over and baby-sat that night so Derek and I could go on a date. He was fine for them. (We have started a “date swap”—this weekend it was our turn for a date, next weekend we’re baby-sitting Riley for them). Sunday was full of family (Cousins Laura, Jamie, Ashley, and Shawna brought Eddie over so we could meet him). Monday we spent a couple hours at Chick Fil A with Heather. And Tuesday, I’m sorry to say that Connor was not such a good boy for lap time. He started getting fussy and I almost had to take him out of the room. I hope that was just a fluke! Just in case it wasn’t, I’ve started to have him sit on my lap for about 10 or 15 minutes during the day while I read him a story. He isn’t a huge fan of it so far. We’ll see what this turns into. Oh, and this is huge for me—I’m back in the gym. It has been a year and I am ready to get back in shape! I went Saturday during his first nap and Monday when he was down for the night. |
| With Auntie Shawna |
14 Weeks
Connor is officially the cutest baby in the world. He’s so much fun. I think we’re getting to “the golden age” of babies…not quite mobile or mischievous and as cute as can be.
Swaddle-free
No more swaddle! I think we ARE out of the woods as of this week. Whether he’s in the sleep sack or not (I use the sleep sack when it’s cold in his room—usually bedtime and the first nap of the day), he doesn’t cry at all for bedtime or naptime. I put his Bear next to him, but his fingers are all he wants.
Baby Laughs and More
I think God made babies start laughing at around 3-4 months solely as a reward for the mother who has spent the last few months pretty much exhausted. I really could listen to this all day long. He laughed a couple weeks ago, then nothing until a few days ago. Now it’s often and I absolutely love it. He’s also starting to “wake up happy” as the book says they start doing around 5 months. Yesterday was the first day of it. I heard something that wasn’t a cry, and I turned the monitor on and he was just “aaahh-ing”. It’s not all the time, but it’s a start. He loves it when we blow on his tummy, and he seems to really love it when I sing to him. He gets so excited and “sings” right along with me. Another great thing about this stage is the cuddles. He’s starting to just rest his head on my chest or shoulder, especially when he’s sleepy. I melt every time. Oh, and this week his hairstyle was quite a hit. He had a Mohawk!
A New Friend
Logan Rozman was born on March 31. They’re exactly 13 weeks apart. We visited them earlier this week, and Connor was like a giant toddler compared to Logan. I can’t believe he was ever that small (I’m already saying that?!?), and I can’t believe how big he’s getting now! I hope they can grow up as best buddies. J
Schedule Schmedule
We are blessed with a baby who sleeps great at night. I have to wake him up every morning at around 7:30am. His morning nap is great (with the exception of yesterday)—usually about 2-2 ½ hours. Other than that, it’s a guessing game. Maybe it’s just this weird transitional phase that started at 12 weeks. First I thought he needed a shorter wake time, then longer, then 3 daytime naps, then 4, then maybe 3 again, then a 4 hour schedule, then a 3-4 hour schedule, then a 2 ½ to 3 ½ hour schedule. This is what the last 3 weeks have been like. The important things are that he eats and sleeps enough each day. If his naps are bad one day, it’s ok. It’s not going to be perfect. Like I said last week, I think it will all be changing soon, so we’ll just see what it morphs into. I think the next thing is going to be dropping the 4th nap officially, and also dropping the dream feed.
Dream Feed
Babywise says that most babies go to a 3-4 hour schedule and drop the dream feed between 13-15 weeks. Here we are. But I just don’t know about dropping the dream feed now. Maybe I should. He has started to get a little fussy during it…like he’s upset that we woke him. I just don’t know if 5 feedings is enough, although the book says an average of 4-6 is fine. That would also mean that he would get about 11 ½ hours of sleep. His day would look something like: 7:30am-eat, 11am-eat, 2pm-eat, 5pm-eat, 7:30pm—eat, 8pm—bed for the night. This would be the “ideal” right now. Then it would be dropping the last “catnap”. Then it would probably be going down to 4 feedings and moving to a 4 hour schedule. This makes sense, but it actually happening this way is yet to be determined. Should I drop the dream feed? Maybe next week.
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| Check out the bumbo AND the mohawk |
13 Weeks
This week was challenging trying to figure things out. Sometimes it feels like a guessing game. It’s a good thing Connor is such a good baby. It makes even the challenging times so rewarding.
The Schedule
Most of this week was spent letting things happen and trying to figure out what was happening—if that makes sense. I just couldn’t do a 4 hour schedule. I worried that he wasn’t going to get enough to eat, and he really wasn’t going that long between feedings with the exception of the first nap. So what I’ve decided to do is: wake him by 7:30am, put him down for a nap at 8:30am, let him sleep until 11am (which he does consistently), wake him at 11am to feed him, keep him awake for another hour, and then he’ll usually wake up by 1:30pm or 2pm to eat, put him down after an hour, eat again around 4:30-5pm, take a catnap at 5:30-6pm, eat again close to 7pm, bed by 8pm. It looks like this:
7:30am wake, eat
8:30am nap
11am wake, eat
12pm nap
1:30 or 2pm eat
2:30 or 3pm nap
4:30 or 5pm eat
5:30 or 6pm catnap
7pm eat
7:45 or 8pm bed
10pm dream feed
What’s different is letting him sleep for 2 ½ hours in the morning, keeping his wake times closer to an hour (especially the first one) and letting the 4th nap be a catnap. I feel like this schedule is going to be changing quickly, but for now this looks like it is working. The next thing will probably be either dropping the dream feed or eliminating the 4th nap. For now, I’m happy to keep 6 feedings per day. I want our boy to grow big and strong!
Lap Time
We went to the Yorba Linda library for an infant version of story time. It was so fun! I had to wake Connor up for it, but it was worth it. We’ll be going every week now. Afterwards we went to Tynisia’s and visited with her and Noemi.
Swaddling
This week was the end of March and the beginning of April, but it was in the 90s. Because of that, we pretty much had to wean Connor from being swaddled. Not an easy task! He protested by screaming, which we haven’t experienced for a while and it was terrible. Because it still gets cold at night, I used the Halo sleep sacks. I also gave him his bear. He’s getting better, but I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.
A Couple of Bad Nights
I mentioned this week was challenging. I guess that’s to be expected when the schedule is changing. I wasn’t prepared for the couple of bad nights we had, though. One night he was up too long and had a very rough time going to sleep (which is rare now). The other night he fell asleep, then woke up 20 minutes later and ended up drinking more than 7 ounces. I really need to figure out what to do when the late afternoon gets off schedule. Disruptions are going to happen. There has to be a way to make the effects minimal. Or maybe it’s just part of having a baby. That’s the other thing I’ve been learning this week—how desperately I need to learn to “go with the flow”.
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| Connor with his new hat |
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