Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Video fun...
My friend Erin asked for a video of Henry almost crawling - so I made this little video - trying to figure out how to use our movie maker abilities on the computer!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
26 weeks ... 6 months old!
He's half way to 1 year old! Amazing!!
Here's his 6 month stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 13 oz ~ 58 percentile
Height: 27 3/4 in. ~89 percentile
Head: 17 3/4 in ~ 83 percentile
So he's definitely slowing down and becoming more average - but big and healthy like I like him! He had to get 4 shots yesterday - but handled it like a champ! A few tears and then he was good for the whole day. He got a little fussy in the evening, and a low fever overnight - but I'm thinking it's just residual from the trauma of the day.
Nursing: Going good - except this heat! Yuck! I was convinced that I was going to switch to formula during the day and just nurse morning/night ... but then we received some not so good financial news and I just feel guilty spending money on formula when I don't have to. The doctor said that we're about at the age to move to a 4 hour schedule - which means nursing only 4 times a day - that's exciting! I know the hardcore breastfeeding people would disagree - but it sounds good to me!
Solids: This week we added oatmeal, peaches, and carrots. I'm thinking of adding 1 tablespoon to each meal - as he's getting angry when it's all gone. Doc said we could start meats - but purred meats freak me out ... I tried giving him the tiniest bit of mine the other night and he just didn't know what to do with it! I also give him his sippy cup with a little juice and water in it now - he's really enjoying figuring out how it works - he just can't lift it up by himself yet.
Waketime Length: Usually 2 hours, sometimes 2 1/2 depending on what we're doing.
Naps: We've had several naps over an hour now! I'm not sure if this was making up for weekend time and busy days - we'll see if we're about to change! I think he's getting ready to only take 2 naps a day, and this is helping move towards that goal.
Nighttime sleep: Unfortunately, we're still waking in between 2-4 am and not going back to sleep until he's in our bed! Not sure yet what our next step is going to be ... do I cherish this cuddle time while I can? Or put a stop to the madness with several rough nights of CIO?
Milestones: Henry is now doing his own form of army crawling. He doesn't quite use his arms to pull himself - it's more using his knees to scoot up while on his elbows. If he would just pick his head up - he'd be on the go!
Here are a couple of his 6 month photos that I took this week:
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
25 Weeks
My Henry is almost 6 months old!! Can you believe it?!
I'm excited to take his 6 month photos - I've been browsing photographers websites for pose ideas.
Nursing: Continuing with 5 times a day, all is well.
Solids: To combat some of his nighttime wakings, we bumped up his solid amounts. This boy loves to eat! I think I'm going to add another tablespoon to each meal, because he's starting to still be fussy once the food is gone! Here's our meal plan for this past week:
7:00 nurse, 2 T cereal, 2 T fruit
10:30 nurse, 2 T fruit, 2 T veggie
2:00 nurse
5:00 nurse, 2 T cereal, 2 T veggie
7:00 nurse
He now eats bananas, applesauce, pears, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, and rice cereal.
Waketime Length: Still 2 hours.
Naps: Still 30-45 minutes. Sometimes will fall back asleep in swing for another hour - about once a day.
Nighttime Sleep: Henry has been waking up at 3am consistently for the last week. We've tried feeding and CIO and it doesn't work. Last night he fussed/cried for 2 hours (I fell back asleep after turning monitor down a little, not off though... opps!!) The only solution that works is bringing him to our bed, where he promptly falls asleep until 7am. Bad Habit? Yes. Worth it for me to get sleep? Yes.
Milestones: He now can roll both ways, and is making his way across our floor. He's really working on crawling, he just needs to figure out how to get his arms involved!
I'm excited to take his 6 month photos - I've been browsing photographers websites for pose ideas.Nursing: Continuing with 5 times a day, all is well.
Solids: To combat some of his nighttime wakings, we bumped up his solid amounts. This boy loves to eat! I think I'm going to add another tablespoon to each meal, because he's starting to still be fussy once the food is gone! Here's our meal plan for this past week:
7:00 nurse, 2 T cereal, 2 T fruit
10:30 nurse, 2 T fruit, 2 T veggie
2:00 nurse
5:00 nurse, 2 T cereal, 2 T veggie
7:00 nurse
He now eats bananas, applesauce, pears, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, and rice cereal.
Waketime Length: Still 2 hours.
Naps: Still 30-45 minutes. Sometimes will fall back asleep in swing for another hour - about once a day.
Nighttime Sleep: Henry has been waking up at 3am consistently for the last week. We've tried feeding and CIO and it doesn't work. Last night he fussed/cried for 2 hours (I fell back asleep after turning monitor down a little, not off though... opps!!) The only solution that works is bringing him to our bed, where he promptly falls asleep until 7am. Bad Habit? Yes. Worth it for me to get sleep? Yes.
Milestones: He now can roll both ways, and is making his way across our floor. He's really working on crawling, he just needs to figure out how to get his arms involved!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
24 Weeks and Sleeping Frustrations
Time for a long overdue update, inspired by sleepless nights!
This past weekend was my first mother's day with a live child in my arms. While the entire day I was blessed to spend time with loved ones - I still felt a little off. One of my blogger friends described this feeling as "survivors guilt" and it's so true. For those of us who went through IF to conviece our children - I do not think we ever fully recover from that pain. Of course we are beyond happy with our blessings - but we know that there are women out there who are dying for the same gift. And days like Mother's Day break their hearts ... we remember that pain all too clearly. I still pray daily for the friends I left behind when Henry joined us!
Henry Update:
Nursing: Henry and I are continuing our nursing relationship. He can be distractable, especially when he's not quite hungry. If he gets too many solids, he also doesn't nurse as well. I am thinking of moving to a 4 hour schedule to see if that helps - but I want to make sure he's still getting enough milk in his diet.
Solids: Henry now eats rice cereal, bananas, green beans, and sweet potatos. This week we are going to introduce peas and pears. See sample schedule below.
Waketime Length: He is now able to be awake for about 2 hours at a time. Sometimes, especially his first wake of the morning, this is still only 1 hour 45 minutes.
Naps: Henry continues to only nap for 30-45 minutes. Once in a while he'll sleep for over an hour, but these are rare and far between. He takes 3 naps a day. Most of the time he goes right down for a nap, but every once in a while we have to do CIO and battle the roll over monster.
Sample Schedule: Right now his schedule looks something like this:
7am: wake/nurse/2 T of rice cereal
9am: nap
10am: nurse/2 T of green beans or sweet potatos or banana
11:45am: nap
1pm: nurse
4pm: nurse/ 2 T of rice cereal
7pm: nurse/bedtime
Nighttime Sleep: Here is where the drama unfolds. Henry was sleeping beautifully from 7 to 6:30/7 for about 3 weeks. Then last week he caught a little cold and woke up in the middle of the night because he couldn't breathe. He also began rolling to his tummy in his crib at this time. The first night I nursed him, then put him in his carseat - the uprightness of that position helped his breathing. Since then - he has been up everynight. And after an hour or two of me being awake, I give in and bring him into our bed, where he's out like a light. I know - bad mommy. Last night was the worst - as he was awake from 12:20 until well after 2:30am - just happy to be awake. I didn't bring him into bed out of my own stubbornness, and now I'm tired as a result!
According to Babywise Theory, there is something called 5-8 Month Sleep Disruptions, and here are their suggestions of possible causes:
Teething
Ready to Drop 3rd Nap
Growth Spurt
Change in Routine
Plus, he had a cold, so I originally thought that was the problem. He still has a bit of a runny nose and congestion.
I thought that teething may be part of the problem - but he's not really extra fussy during the day and his gums look normal. He's extra chewy on my fingers, but he is using his back gums for this - is that normal if his teeth are coming in the front?
I'm thinking about trying to turn the 3rd nap into a shorter cat nap - but that would require him to take longer naps during the day and we all have seen how well that works. There is the suggestion of leaving him in his crib for the full 90 minutes and let him CIO once he's awake and eventually he'll learn that it's nap time no matter when he wakes up. But sometimes he wakes up happy and ready to go after 45 minutes, and sometimes he does wake up crying and I can tell he needs more sleep. The crying times we try to finish the nap in the swing - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Some people have also expressed concern that he goes to bed too early - but I know he needs 14-16 hours of sleep a day - and when he only naps for not even 3 hours during the day, I know he needs atleast 11 hours of sleep by night. And he was doing that.
So - the trial and error process begins. Unfortunately to try to rearrange his sleep in his nap schedule, this would involve staying home for a couple days and really working on it. Which is no fun for mommy - but we'll have to give it a try.... starting tomorrow because today is mall walking day, and I need my food court stromboli!! :)
This past weekend was my first mother's day with a live child in my arms. While the entire day I was blessed to spend time with loved ones - I still felt a little off. One of my blogger friends described this feeling as "survivors guilt" and it's so true. For those of us who went through IF to conviece our children - I do not think we ever fully recover from that pain. Of course we are beyond happy with our blessings - but we know that there are women out there who are dying for the same gift. And days like Mother's Day break their hearts ... we remember that pain all too clearly. I still pray daily for the friends I left behind when Henry joined us!
Henry Update:
Nursing: Henry and I are continuing our nursing relationship. He can be distractable, especially when he's not quite hungry. If he gets too many solids, he also doesn't nurse as well. I am thinking of moving to a 4 hour schedule to see if that helps - but I want to make sure he's still getting enough milk in his diet.
Solids: Henry now eats rice cereal, bananas, green beans, and sweet potatos. This week we are going to introduce peas and pears. See sample schedule below.
Waketime Length: He is now able to be awake for about 2 hours at a time. Sometimes, especially his first wake of the morning, this is still only 1 hour 45 minutes.
Naps: Henry continues to only nap for 30-45 minutes. Once in a while he'll sleep for over an hour, but these are rare and far between. He takes 3 naps a day. Most of the time he goes right down for a nap, but every once in a while we have to do CIO and battle the roll over monster.
Sample Schedule: Right now his schedule looks something like this:
7am: wake/nurse/2 T of rice cereal
9am: nap
10am: nurse/2 T of green beans or sweet potatos or banana
11:45am: nap
1pm: nurse
4pm: nurse/ 2 T of rice cereal
7pm: nurse/bedtime
Nighttime Sleep: Here is where the drama unfolds. Henry was sleeping beautifully from 7 to 6:30/7 for about 3 weeks. Then last week he caught a little cold and woke up in the middle of the night because he couldn't breathe. He also began rolling to his tummy in his crib at this time. The first night I nursed him, then put him in his carseat - the uprightness of that position helped his breathing. Since then - he has been up everynight. And after an hour or two of me being awake, I give in and bring him into our bed, where he's out like a light. I know - bad mommy. Last night was the worst - as he was awake from 12:20 until well after 2:30am - just happy to be awake. I didn't bring him into bed out of my own stubbornness, and now I'm tired as a result!
According to Babywise Theory, there is something called 5-8 Month Sleep Disruptions, and here are their suggestions of possible causes:
Teething
Ready to Drop 3rd Nap
Growth Spurt
Change in Routine
Plus, he had a cold, so I originally thought that was the problem. He still has a bit of a runny nose and congestion.
I thought that teething may be part of the problem - but he's not really extra fussy during the day and his gums look normal. He's extra chewy on my fingers, but he is using his back gums for this - is that normal if his teeth are coming in the front?
I'm thinking about trying to turn the 3rd nap into a shorter cat nap - but that would require him to take longer naps during the day and we all have seen how well that works. There is the suggestion of leaving him in his crib for the full 90 minutes and let him CIO once he's awake and eventually he'll learn that it's nap time no matter when he wakes up. But sometimes he wakes up happy and ready to go after 45 minutes, and sometimes he does wake up crying and I can tell he needs more sleep. The crying times we try to finish the nap in the swing - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Some people have also expressed concern that he goes to bed too early - but I know he needs 14-16 hours of sleep a day - and when he only naps for not even 3 hours during the day, I know he needs atleast 11 hours of sleep by night. And he was doing that.
So - the trial and error process begins. Unfortunately to try to rearrange his sleep in his nap schedule, this would involve staying home for a couple days and really working on it. Which is no fun for mommy - but we'll have to give it a try.... starting tomorrow because today is mall walking day, and I need my food court stromboli!! :)
Monday, May 10, 2010
Long Time No Update Eh?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
20 weeks
Oh yes, my little boy is now 20 weeks old. A week and a half away from being 5 months old. Wowza!No new milestones to report - unless finally fitting his toes into his mouth counts. He actually seems to have stopped rolling over. I think this is because he is now preoccupied with his feet again.
Oh, scratch that. He has slept through the night 3 out of the last 4 nights! I am glad that this new thing is coinciding with starting cereal again - because I worry that nursing 5 times a day isn't enough! He does seem to be moving towards a 4 hour schedule as well - which means only nursing 4 times a day!
On the sleep training front -- we are having difficulties with nap time. I decided to take Monday and Tuesday (today) as days to stay home and revisit the CIO for naptime. It has been a rough couple of days - he is screaming again when I put him down. I will update later this week how this all goes. It feels like we're starting over.
On the rice cereal front, we tried again yesterday and got this face for most of it:
And then tried again today, and by the end, I couldn't shovel it in his mouth fast enough - he was loving it!! I am so glad. Some people have mentioned it has a nasty taste -- but I tried it and it wasn't so bad!
Ok - that's all the updates for now!
19 weeks (and 1 day -- I had forgotten the day before!)
19 weeks (and 1 day -- I had forgotten the day before!)
20 weeksMonday, April 5, 2010
Overdue Update...
So it's been a week or so since our last update!
Henry Details:
~ Henry is so close to sitting up all by himself already! We barely have to support him - he has strong core muscles!
~ Henry now rolls from his back to his tummy, and does this more and more everyday. In fact - today I've found it frustrating because I usually lay him on his little gym while I'm running around getting stuff done, but now he keeps rolling to his tummy and then crying because he's uncomfortable there! But as soon as I roll him on his back - it's back to the stomach!
~ We gave rice cereal a go about a week ago. He opened his mouth for the spoon, but then just pushed it all back out. We're gonna give it another week or so and try again.
~ I am so proud of how he's doing being around different groups of people. Easter was great - he only had a few fuss moments, but overall he was the life of the party!
Sleep Training
Well, it's been an interesting week in this aspect. We had such a beautiful schedule down, and of course, now it's gone. Last Wednesday he cried through his whole morning nap - out of no where! Same thing Thursday. Then we've been gone and busy all weekend so nothing was done there.
Just based on today - I'm thinking he's extended his waketime by about 15 minutes. I also think because we've been on the go - he's not used to being put down in his crib. He's become accustomed to the car seat and swinging motions. So it's back to CIO we go!
I think that's about it for now! Enjoy these pics!
Before trying the cereal ... he was a happy duck!
Chillin' in the saucer!
Henry Details:
~ Henry is so close to sitting up all by himself already! We barely have to support him - he has strong core muscles!
~ Henry now rolls from his back to his tummy, and does this more and more everyday. In fact - today I've found it frustrating because I usually lay him on his little gym while I'm running around getting stuff done, but now he keeps rolling to his tummy and then crying because he's uncomfortable there! But as soon as I roll him on his back - it's back to the stomach!
~ We gave rice cereal a go about a week ago. He opened his mouth for the spoon, but then just pushed it all back out. We're gonna give it another week or so and try again.
~ I am so proud of how he's doing being around different groups of people. Easter was great - he only had a few fuss moments, but overall he was the life of the party!
Sleep Training
Well, it's been an interesting week in this aspect. We had such a beautiful schedule down, and of course, now it's gone. Last Wednesday he cried through his whole morning nap - out of no where! Same thing Thursday. Then we've been gone and busy all weekend so nothing was done there.
Just based on today - I'm thinking he's extended his waketime by about 15 minutes. I also think because we've been on the go - he's not used to being put down in his crib. He's become accustomed to the car seat and swinging motions. So it's back to CIO we go!
I think that's about it for now! Enjoy these pics!
Before trying the cereal ... he was a happy duck!
Chillin' in the saucer!
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