8 Month Update

I'm not too happy Max's 8th month update is being posted two weeks late. We can blame the overtime at work for that. Every free minute I have is dedicated to entering orders for my work, 'tis the season right? Well I am finally pausing the order entry and getting this update written! This post is FILLED with pictures, so hopefully that will ease the lateness of this post.

This past month has been a whirlwind, filled with sickness, bottle-hating, and sleep deprivation. Oh, did I mention sickness? I kid you not, Max, Todd and I were sick ALL month. Max had his first trip to the doctor due to illness...we had to wait in the sick waiting room and all! Yuck. He got his first antibiotics and took them like a champ. Its no fun having a sick baby, especially when they are all filled with snot (that they can't blow out) and wake themselves up coughing. It breaks my heart. Of course, November wasn't all bad! We have a very mobile baby on our hands now and it is so exciting to watch!

As you can see, our monthly chair pose will no longer be the same. It was so hard getting him to sit in the chair this time (lol)! He sure is growing up!

Height/Weight: Max weighs 21 pounds and 10 ounces and is 29 inches long (again grew 0.5 inches).

Sleeping: I do want to mention, at the beginning of the month Max was sleeping pretty good. He would wake up once and that was it! Once he got sick, sleep went out of the window. Sleep deprivation to the extreme.

First, I want to give myself a pat on the back. This month I tried really hard to keep him in his crib all night instead of Todd bringing him straight to our bed once he woke up. Of course this meant I lost even more sleep, aside from him not sleeping well already from his cold, but I did pretty good! Most nights he wakes up at least twice, but one night in particular, I lost track how many times we had to get up. That was a bad night. Now though, just because he wakes up, it doesn't mean he is hungry and wants milk. In fact, most times he isn't fully awake when he starts crying. He cries with his eyes closed, acting like he was having a bad dream or his teeth are just hurting him. All he needs is some cuddling. This means Todd can help me settle him down (he does really good with helping me through the night with him). Oftentimes we just have to pick him up and rock him to settle him down, and the whole time he has his eyes closed. If he wakes up again shortly after, I may try to feed him to get him back to sleep. For a week or two, 11:30pm seemed to be the first time he "woke up" every night.

His crib set up has changed a bit for bedtime. We now have a humidifier going in his room while he sleeps, which I think has really helped his breathing through his clogged nose. We also have put pillows in his crib to act like a bumper (so he doesn't keep hitting his head on the sides when he rolls), but also to confine him so it feels like we may be next to him. We think this has helped a lot since we don't bring him to our bed anymore!

He still takes two naps during the day on the weekends (I think his naps vary during the work week at Barb's, depending on what all the other kids are doing). His first nap is usually around 10am and his second nap is usually around 2pm, both lasting usually for 1.5-2 hours. I like how routine he is with his naps, although his morning nap feels strange because it seems like we just woke up! I would say its usually about two hours after he originally woke up.

Eating/Feeding: Still breastfeeding! And unfortunately, Max is only drinking from me. Bottles? No way, he says (I mean screams). November was a month of bottle-hating. This meant he barely drank anything during the weekday at Barb's. So, he relied on solid food for sustenance most of the month. Barb tried and tried, with no luck. She tried different bottles, different temperatures, you name it! We have since gone to the doctor (in December, so I will talk more about this visit in his next month update), and he says this is ok, he is just being a stink and prefers the boob over the bottle. He is getting enough milk when he still nurses from me, but we should try to get some other forms of dairy in him like yogurt and cheese.

Thank goodness Max is not a picky eater! He will eat anything. We are still making his food, but we do rely on Beechnut and Gerbers for quick food sometimes. We tried a few different foods this month, including red bell pepper (not the biggest fan), acorn squash, yellow squash and zucchini, as well as some baby finger foods. We've also been giving him some grown up food, like pasta and bread. He had a fun time at Thanksgiving with all of the food and even had his first taste of meat. He is a little piggy, let me tell you. Takes after his daddy!

He still poops a lot and his poop face and shimmy makes me laugh every time. We can't have one meal where he doesn't poop (or try to) while he is eating. His high chair is now called the poop chair.

Behaviour: First let me talk about his mobility. Max isn't crawling yet, but boy is he close. Everyone keeps telling me he will be crawling by Christmas. Oh boy. 

This month he has gotten on his knees and started rocking, and it has progressed a ton towards the end of November. We started with him getting on his knees when something was there to help prop him up. That isn't needed anymore. He can get on his knees all by himself. When on his tummy, he is able to move all directions. He will do a 360 in a short amount of time. You have to keep an eye on him or else you won't know how he got where he is the next time you look at him. When he is on his tummy, he tends to go backwards whenever he lifts up. Put him on hardwood and he will be across the room in a heartbeat. On the hardwood, he tends to go backwards and loves to beat on the floor. He also moves in all directions while sitting. He will be facing the tv one moment, and then a few minutes later his back will be to the tv. He does that leaning thing where his feet kind of go to the side, like he is getting ready to get on his knees (hard to explain), so his transitioning from one position to the other is definitely getting stronger. Its crazy just watching him move!

That being said, he doesn't roll as much as he was last month. You can put him on his back and he will stay there. Before he wouldn't be on his back for a second before he rolled. Not sure what that is all about. He prefers sitting, probably because he can move more easily. 

He still smiles at everyone and giggles all of the time. I absolutely love it. I can always get him to giggle. He loves when I pretend to drop him but catch him very quickly, he loves when I make funny noises, he loves patty cake and peek-a-boo. He loves me "biting" his tummy, fingers, neck. He loves the claw hand. Giggles give him the hiccups. And sometimes makes him spit up...Silly boy. Everyone still mentions how he is such a happy baby and we really take pride in that.

He still only really says mama. No dada yet. I'm not complaining! I can get him to calm down very quickly if he is upset. He still has his "Chewbacca" voice and it makes people laugh in public, and he tends to do it really loud. He has this new hoarse voice he does now which is hilarious and he often does it while playing with toys (and puts his mouth in an O shape). Its hilarious. He loves straws. We will get a straw for him when at a restaurant. It definitely keeps him occupied! He loves menus and paper. He loves his binky. He has learned to put it in his mouth on his own. He will take it from your hands and know exactly what it is and where it goes. If its laying on the floor, he will find it and put it straight in his mouth. If he puts it in upside down, he will quickly turn it right side up. He is a very vocal boy, so if the room gets quiet all of a sudden, that means he has found his binky. 

We put the Christmas tree up this month and he loves it!

The 'O' face

Lets see, what else? I love when he reaches out for me to pick him up. He loves dogs. His hair really grew out and got thicker this month. He has been teething, so much that his cheeks get red, but still none have broken through. That being said, everything goes in his mouth. He loves to stand (as you can see in the pictures) and is able to stand unassisted from us as long as he is holding on to something. He loves his baths and we often leave him in there just so he can play with his toys...I mean the cup. He continues to grab for anything within reach. He loves my phone, the cats, spoons, empty water bottles, cartoons, watching other kids. 

I absolutely love him.

Can you say mini Todd? 

Everyone knows I am a huge advocate for baby wearing. This month we got the Ergobaby 360 baby carrier. It took a little while for me to convince Todd that we needed it in our lives and that it was worth the extra money, but convince him I did. When he put it on for the first time and realized how awesome it was, I relished in the fact that I got to say "I told you so." He loves it just as much as I do, and I guess more importantly, Max loves it. We can carry Max on our back, which is pretty awesome. Todd will just strap him on his back and cook dinner. Fussy baby no more. When in public, Max and I get so many stares (and smiles) when I am wearing him. We are special. Also, he tends to fall asleep as we are checking out. Every time.

We also got his first winter coat this past month. It is size 12 month, so we have to roll the arms up, making it a little challenging to get on. He's not the biggest fan, but once it is on, he is good. We do really miss the days where we could just leave the house with Max in only a onesie! Now we have to have pants, socks, winter coat, and a hat! Whew. I have always wanted to have babies in the Summer, now I really don't want to have a newborn in the Winter months. What a challenge it would be to have to make sure baby is all warm!

Max is still wearing size 3 diapers and is wearing size 9 month clothes. His sleeper is 12 month and its already snug, so I am sure some 12 month clothes would fit him just fine.

7 Month Update

Our son is seven months old. Another month with this happy, fun, loving little boy has gone by and it is definitely one for the books. He just keeps growing and keeps learning, it is incredible to watch. I have to start lists throughout the month now just to remember the multitude of things he does and learns. Again, it is incredible to experience. Todd and I keep falling more in love with this little boy every day.

I do want to mention right off the bat...we have a roller on our hands. This has changed everyday life so much in itself. More information is below, so read on!

Height/Weight: Based on my scale at home, Max weighs 21.7 pounds (gained almost 2 lbs since his 6 month appointment!) and is 28.5 inches long (grew 0.5 inches).

Routine: Long story short, Max eats solids three times a day, has three bottles throughout the day, takes two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and is in bed by 7:30pm. Like last month, I will elaborate in the sections below.

Sleeping: Remember how I mentioned Max now rolls? Well this new feat has really affected his sleep. At the beginning of the month, he has been sleeping on his side and preferred to sleep that way. Towards the end of the month after he started to roll, we now find him sleeping on his stomach. So cute! And mommy's preferred sleeping position. I'm not so sure Max prefers it yet, it just happens. Anyway, when he rolls in his sleep I believe it wakes him up and freaks him out a bit. I feel like he wakes up more throughout the night (unfortunately) and every time we go to check on him he is on his stomach with his arms propping him up, looking about. Also because of this, he tends to hit his head on the crib causing him to become even more unsettled and not happy. We are thinking about buying a bumper for this reason. All in all, this month hasn't been very promising in the sleeping aspect. He doesn't seem to be on his way to sleeping through the night...maybe next month.

He still goes to bed by 7:30pm and still starts out in his crib and ends up in our bed. I would say the average time he moves into the bed with us is 1:30am. I have been trying to be better and get up and feed him in his room and then put him back in his crib instead of immediately bringing him into bed with us, but still need to work on that. I obviously lose a lot more sleep that way and am not too fond of that idea, but we really need to get Max out of the habit of needing to come into bed with is. In time.

As for waking up, during the week, Max usually wakes up at 7am and on the weekend,we try to keep him in bed until at least 8am. Sometimes he sleeps with us longer, which is always nice! He always wakes up in a great mood. It is a highlight of my day when he wakes up smiling and cooing.

Eating/Feeding: I always like to mention first that I am still breastfeeding! I do feel like my supply has gone down a bit, but I am still producing enough for my little man. I don't pump as much as before (I took my morning pump session out of our schedule), and now my milk isn't Max's sole food source, so my body doesn't need to produce as much. I also don't feed Max before we leave for Barb's (our sitter). Since he co-sleeps with us in the wee hours of the morning, he nurses then. So by the time he wakes up in the morning, he is good to go until he gets to Barb's.
He still takes three bottles of 5 oz each a day, but now gets solids three times a day as well. He loves food. That may be an understatement. He eats so much! I mainly make his food (mostly veggies), so he usually eats 2 cubes at a time,2 oz each I believe. We are still giving him purees, and he has tried so many more types of foods/combinations this month. For convenience sake, we do sometimes give him pre-made foods, Gerber and Beech Nut, but I try to stick with the natural and organic foods if I can. I also started out putting cinnamon in the veggies puree to make them more palatable, but towards the end of this month, that hasn't been needed. He will devour anything. I guess he worked up an appetite for veggies! He really likes carrots and the butternut squash/sweet potato combination. Bananas are his favorite fruit.

If he continues to eat as much as he does, we may have to move on to more substantial foods and go into the baby led weaning route. We will see. But he sure is a chunk! His thighs...

Onto his poops, because you know we have to talk about that! He poops a lot more now it seems (probably because he eats so much!). And he always manages to poop while we are feeding him. Not sure why. He has a distinct poop face now, which cracks us up. He gets red in the face and pushes, hard. Exactly what you would think a poop face would look like. He still does the little shiver/shimmy after he was successful lol. It cracks me up every time.

Behaviour: Here we go, the fun part. He continues to be the happiest baby, giggles and smiles all of the time. Of course he gets fussy, like any baby does, but he rarely full out cries. We know something is really upsetting him if he actually cries. Teething may make him a little more cranky some days and when he doesn't sleep his day isn't as good, but his natural temperament is very positive. I still love when people comment on how he is such a happy baby! His giggles get me every time and there are definitely more of them! He loves peek-a-boo and tickles on his tummy. His back is ticklish too. 

You know what he started to say this month? Mama! Its more like mamamamamama, but I love it! No dada for this baby, his first word is mama! He also continues to give wet open-mouth kisses, will attack your face with both mouth and hands, will grab for anything on your head (which can be very painful), gives hugs, and reaches out for you to pick him up (my favorite).

He found his feet last month, and this month he is putting them in his mouth. Yum! It sure makes for changing his diaper even more difficult! I've already mentioned he is a big kicker, but now that he is putting his feet in his mouth? Let's just say changing his diaper takes quite a few minutes longer! Bath time isn't as splashy anymore, but he has definitely come to enjoy bath time so much! Bath time has become longer just so he can sit in there and enjoy playing in the water. He loves chewing on his bath toys, but he really loves the cup we use to rinse him down. Forget the bath toys, just give him a cup! I love watching him play in the bath.

He can no longer fit in his bouncer seat. He is so heavy that it weighs down so much, he is practically laying on the floor! The final thing that banished it to the basement was Max somehow managed to flip it over one day. So now, he sits in his high chair on the floor (the chair part can disconnect and act as a booster seat). When he is not sitting in his chair, he sits on the floor. Boy let me tell you how well he sits up unassisted now! It is amazing! He no longer has to lean on his arms for support, and he will sit for long periods of time! He rarely falls over. He loves it and mommy and daddy love it too. It definitely makes his more independent. He is able to entertain himself now too, just put toys out in front of him and he is good for minutes on end. This is amazing, let me tell you. I want to add here, he still loves to watch Busytown. He is transfixed to the show when it is on.

On to the rolling! he is only able to roll in one direction (to his left), from his back to his front. We are still working on his rolling in the other directions because once he rolls onto his stomach, that's it. He's done. He can lay on his stomach with his arms propped up for a while, but then he gets bored and starts fussing. If he was able to roll back onto his back, I think he would be much happier, and maybe he would be able to fall back asleep after rolling. Anyway, he rolls all the time. He loves being mobile! Him rolling changes a lot for Todd and I of course though; we can't leave him anywhere unattended where he might be able to roll off. Once he is able to crawl...watch out! Our lives will never be the same. But we are ready for that (I think). With that being said, he is not crawling yet, but he is able to move somewhat when on his stomach. We have started putting him on the hardwood, where he is able to move alittle more. He tends to move backwards though at this point. When he is on his stomach, he gets those little legs moving, so I don't think we are very far from a crawling baby! He doesn't pull himself up on things yet either, but when you have him stand up on your lap, he is able to stand up for a long time! 

I still love watching Max reach for toys when you put them out in front of him. But to show how strong his core muscles are now when he is sitting, he is able to reach for a toy that is out in front of him and then sit back up straight once he gets a hold of it. His favorite toys are teething toys: Sophie the Giraffe, this circle teething toy and a teething necklace. He also loves tags. He loves his Taggies lion. He will always manage to find the tag on anything and everything and stick them in his mouth.

He loves his jumparoo now. He can touch the floor now and we have even had to raise the seat! He always loved the buttons that light up and play music, but he now reaches for everything else on the jumparoo by himself. We also have gotten him a walker that he has fun in, mostly going in circles. Going through my camera for this post, I'm surprised I didn't get any pictures of him in his walker. I will try to get some in his next month update.

Max absolutely loves the cats. He will stop what he is doing as soon as he spots a cat and gets the cutest little cheesy grin on his face and just watches them until they are out of sight. I hope they are best buds when he gets older. Tinkerbell will sleep right next to him now when he is in bed with us and even lets him pet her, although his pet is more of a grab at the moment. Whenever he is touching the cats, he giggles. It is the cutest.

Max is still in size 3 diapers and is now wearing size 9 month clothes (although most of the month he wore 6 month clothes and can still fit in 6-9 month onesies).

One last thing I want to mention is that I no longer bring him to work with me. Once he hit six months, that was the end for the great opportunity my boss allowed for Max and I. I was definitely sad at the start, but know it is the best for him. He gets so much entertainment at Barb's and so much interaction with other kids. Barb loves him and he loves going there. I can just tell. She really works with him to hit these milestones and we are forever grateful.
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Here is a "better late than ever" post...I never got around to posting pictures of his 6 month birthday celebration we had last month. Enjoy!