Six Months Old: Happy 1/2 year birthday, Buggy!

I can't believe that my little man is going to be six months old tomorrow. Where has the time gone? There are some nights, as I am putting him to bed, that I hold him a little longer because I am so amazed and in love by the little being in my arms. I cry happy, silent tears because I know that one day, I won't be able to hold him like this anymore. One day, he will be big and grown and won't need me the way he does now.

When Kaiden reaches out for me, my heart melts. Those little hands open and close, waiting for me to pick him up, and when I do, I hug him and kiss him, and sometimes he hugs and kisses me back. I don't even mind the open-mouth, slobber "kisses" that he plants on my cheeks...I love them. I love him.

Tomorrow also marks six months of breastfeeding. I believe it is called the "silver boobies" but...I find that whole system to be ridiculous and a bit pretentious. Anyway. Today, I went to the park with the baby, and he wanted to eat. I spotted another mother nursing and an empty space on the bench next to her. So, I wandered over her way, asked if I could join her, and we nursed and chatted about our babies. It was nice, really nice.

I remember when I was trying to make this choice to nurse or bottle feed that I was only going to nurse for the first week. Then the first month. Then the first three months. Now, I am at a half a year. I think it is because I have a great support system, from my LC to Corrine, my husband and my co-workers. Most working mothers wean early because it's a pain in the ass to pump at work. I am fortunate in the way that my co-workers do not mind if I take my lunch and planning period to go nurse Kaiden, who is only ten minutes away. They also always, ALWAYS make sure that I have some coverage so I can go pump as well. No one ever makes me feel guilty about it. They are all very aware with how important it is for us.

So, what is my Bug up to now?

-He is still teething, but no sign of any teeth yet aside from drool and crankiness.
-He grabs and manipulates well with both hands now, using them together to get objects he wants
-He can drink from a sippy
-He eats 1/3 a jar of fruit for lunch and 1/3 a jar of veggies for dinner along with 1 TBSP of rice cereal. So far he's had applesauce, bananas (solid and pureed), pears, prunes, mangoes, peas, sweet potatoes, squash and carrots. He likes all of those except for the carrots, it seems like.
-His reflux is still around. It was better for awhile, but it seems to be acting up again. He needs his medicine adjusted
-He reaches for people he wants
-He cries when mommy walks away
-He doesn't mind the car seat much anymore
-He loves his blue blankey with the bears. In general, he loves snuggling under blankets.
-His favorite toy is his jumperoo or his crazy ball thingy.
-He still prefers "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" over "Hush Little Baby" at night time
-He is very impatient. Still.
-He can sit on his own.
-He easily rolls both ways.
-Sometimes he can move from a sitting position to moving forward onto his hands and knees, and then his belly
-He still doesn't love tummy time, but he is getting used to it and knows he can roll over if he's tired of it
-He loves the dog. He loves to grab the dog. The dog doesn't seem to know what to do.
-He flirts with all women
-He can play "Peek-A-Boo" on his own

I am sure there is more, so I'll add to the list when I can. :)

5.5 Months: Still Growing!

It's been a little bit since I updated, so I thought I'd let everyone know how the boy is doing.

New Things He's Learned:

- Sits up on his own without much help
- Gives kisses when you ask for them
- Gives hugs (not necessarily when you ask)
- Sleeps through the night again...for now...
- Started solids in earnest. He has eaten rice cereal, sweet potatoes, applesauce, peas, winter squash, prunes and bananas. We are also tentatively trying out baby led weaning, but I am so nervous!
- pivots around on his tummy
- gets up on his knees while on his tummy, but not quite his hands yet
- reaches and grabs with accuracy
- squawks like a bird
- sucks on his thumb 24/7
- self soothes like a pro
- can take a long car ride without a meltdown
- lazily army crawls/scoots toward objects out of reach during tummy time


He is growing up too fast...

5 Months!

A lot has happened since I last posted! I know I talked about how Kaiden was getting better at sitting for like ten seconds at a time, but I swear to you, the very next day, he went from sitting for ten seconds at a time to sitting for five minutes at a time without any help at all. I was so amazed at how quickly he learned!

In fact, the next day, he went from sitting on his own, to moving forward onto his hands and knees, then laying on his tummy and squirming to try and reach a toy, almost like an army crawl, but more like a drunk snake. He is still lazy when it comes to rolling around, which he avoids doing, even if he knows how to do it, but he will sit for as long as we will let him. Usually, he gets tired and lets himself slump over onto one of our legs, or rests his back against our tummies so he can catch a break.

He will be mobile in no time, I just know it. I also know that it'll be a huge change that I'm nervous about, especially in this shitty house of ours.

For most of the past week, Kaiden has also slept through the night, averaging about nine hours. He had one night he decided to go back to waking up every three hours, but I think that might be because he's teething. Tonight, for example, he keeps waking up and crying out of a deep sleep. So, it's either his tummy issues or his teethies, and I'm leaning toward the teethies.

We have been giving him some rice cereal with a spoon as well. I forget if I mentioned that, but because he's been so interested in our food, we tried with the rice cereal again to see if he'd take it, and he did! He eats a tablespoon when he seems to want our food, so I go and make him his own.

I think his reflux is getting better as well. The rice cereal definitely helps, that's for sure. He hasn't been spitting up nearly as much as he used to, and he doesn't seem like he's in pain from the acid reflux anymore either. I am glad that it is getting better, because nothing makes you feel more helpless than watching your baby suffer and there's nothing you can do to fix it.

Kaiden has also started to experiment with different consonant sounds, so we've been trying to get him to say "da-da" and "ma-ma" when he's stuck on those sounds. When he finds out that he can make a new sound, he'll do it at nauseum until he moves on to something new.

Oh, and he has officially become a thumb sucker, which is cute and a little annoying at the same time. :)

I can't believe how fast he's grown. I'm going to say that every month, I know.

Here he is, sucking his thumb!