7 Months

March 28, 2013

Dear Michael,

You are seven months old!  I can’t even believe it!  You are sweeter than ever and it’s such a joy to be your Mommy!  When I’m at work, I count down the hours until I get to come home again and be with you and your Daddy and puppy!  Sometimes after you go to sleep at night, I’ll look at all the pictures of you on my phone and I think about going in your nursery and waking you up to play some more because you’re just too cute for words and so much fun to be around! 

I am so thrilled and so blessed to be your mommy.  You are my sweet bitty boo and I love you to pieces. 

 

This month, here are some of your “stats” (P.S., I’m borrowing some of this template from your Aunt B.)  J

Favorite toys/pastimes: 

 

• Baby Einstein Piano
• Pop-up toy
• Baby Einstein activity balls
• Winnie the Pooh "laptop
• Engaging in Louisiana Culture (ie, watching Duck Dynasty and Swamp People reruns with Mommy) :)

 

Watching Duck Dynasty

 

Sizes:  Size 3 diapers and size 9 month and 12 month clothes.  You are so long that it’s hard to find footie-pajamas that fit you.  So, you fit best in 12 month PJs, and 9 month onesies and pants. 

 

Eating:  I feed you in the morning sometime between 4:30 and 5:30.  Sometimes you wake me up (that would be the 4:30 time frame), but sometimes it’s the opposite and I wake you up (ha) ;) around 5:30 after I’m finished getting ready for work.  You wake up between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning ready to start your day!  You get a bottle for breakfast.  For lunch, you get a jar of baby food (a fruit of some kind) and a small bottle.  In the afternoons before I get home, you get another bottle.  Then I feed you a little bit after I get home.  You eat half a jar to a whole jar of baby food (usually a veggie or a meat/veggie combo) for dinner.  On most nights after dinner, I put an ice cube in a mesh teether and give that to you to gnaw on while Daddy and I clean up dinner.  I feed you before you go to bed.  You typically wake up once a night (holla!) somewhere between 11:30-2:00, and I feed you a little bit then.

Sleeping:  Well, as mentioned in the paragraph just above this one, you usually wake up just once a night and I am totally okay with that! J  Your bedtime is around 7:30, but you have been so active during the daytime these last several days that you tire yourself out and you end up nodding off around 6:30 while playing with your toys!  It is so funny!  You will be playing with your toys, and then all of a sudden, you’ll lay your head down and put your thumb in your mouth.  You’ll lay quietly for a few seconds, and then you’ll pop back up and bang on your toy piano, or pop-up toy, or rattle to “jolt” yourself back to awake-ness.  But after another 3 minutes or so, you’ll slowly lay your head back down and put your thumb back in your mouth.  Your Daddy and I know to scoop you up, put your PJs on you, and place you in your bed.  If you are super tired, you won’t even protest.  If you’re not as tired, you will usually cry for less than 10 minutes.  On the other nights when you don’t ‘put yourself to bed’, we will get you dressed in your PJs, we’ll read a story, and then tuck you in and zip up your sleep-sack.  We turn on your mobile, and the Twilight Turtle, and the AngelCare (I can’t break myself away from it yet!).  Within 10 minutes, you are safely in Dreamland.  You always wake up so happy and that makes my heart burst with joy!  On the weekends, I try to get a picture of you when you first wake up. 



 

Falling asleep while playing with toys.

 

Waking up on Saturday!

 

 

Waking up on Sunday!

 

 

Naptime:  Naps during the daytime are hit or miss, kinda.  You kinda make up your own nap schedule. For the days during the week when you choose to nap for 30 minutes or less, you make up for on the weekends.  You are a nap King on Saturdays and Sundays!  Maybe it’s because your Daddy and I are in the easy breezy “It’s the weekend” mode, and you sure catch on to it quickly!  This past Saturday and Sunday, I was able to nap while you did and we each got a good hour nap in on both days!  That makes for a happy baby and a really happy mommy!



 

After our nap on Saturday!

 

 



Developmental Milestones:

--You tried your first “Puffs” cereal snack on Saturday!  I was curious as to whether or not you could “pinch” something with your thumb and forefinger so I decided to try your skills out by putting one Puff on your highchair tray.  These cereal snacks dissolve when wet, which makes them ideal for beginner eaters.  You have really been drooling lately as you continue to prepare for the arrival of your teeth—so you have been gnawing like crazy on everything, including your fingers which makes them very slobbery.  Needless to say, by the time you rolled around the Puff in your hand while trying to get  it into your mouth, it was nearly dissolved.  You weren’t quite sure what to make of the texture, but you certainly impressed me with your lightning fast ability to pinch that Puff and grasp it in your hand.  Once the Puff reached your mouth, you mashed down on it with your jaw and I was impressed again!   I had read on the Puffs package that ‘babies should pinch the snack with thumb and forefinger and mash on the snack with their bottom jaw to chew it.’  I was amazed that you could do those things!  You are growing up so fast!

--You made forward motion while in a crawling stance, ie, you crawled forward today for more than one movement!  Your grandparents have been working with you during the daytime, and Daddy and I work with you on the weekends.  Daddy discovered an interesting object for “bait” to get you to crawl—the TV remote!  Your Grandma Chips found another object for “bait” and this is the object she used today to encourage you to crawl for a long distance.  What is that object you ask?  Why, and xbox controller of course!  J  We are so proud of you and your abilities!  I, however, know this means that we will soon be on the chase as you are on the move. J

 

I love you forever and ever, little boy.  You are so sweet and I LOVE LOVE LOVE being your mommy!

I am excited to see you learn new things each day.  Although it’s hard to accept how quickly time slips by, I focus on making sure I live in the moment and appreciate each minute I have with you, and Daddy, and puppy. J  I love you always    Love, Mommy

6 Month Photo Shoot: Wonderful Springtime!

On Monday afternoon and a little bit today after we got home, Michael & I spent some time taking pictures for a Spring photo shoot!  Here are some of my favorite pictures! 

 

Michael can't fit into any pair of shoes that he has (minus the Under-Armour ones, which didn't match our color scheme for these photos) because his baby feet are too big!  So, although I attempted to squish his feet into these cloth shoes, he had other plans in mind.  Before I could even get one picture of him with the shoes on, he had them both off and in his hands!  Then quickly into his mouth as you can see.

 

Michael and Akuna are quickly becoming best buds!

 

Discovering a new sensation:  Grass!

I hope you have enjoyed them!

Much love, Reba

6 Months Old Already?!?

Time flies by so quickly!  I can't believe Little Baby P. is already 6 months old!  We are half-way through his first year!  So so hard to believe!  Michael learns new skills and hones existing skills as each day passes, and it's so fun to watch his progress.  But at the same time, I'm wishing that I could slow down time just for a moment because it's slipping by too quickly. 

Our little happy bundle of joy!

 

Grandma Chips took this picture on the day Michael turned 6 months old (February 28).  Look at all his hair!  I call him "duck head" because his hair is as soft as a baby duck's hair.

 

Happy to be sitting on his own!

 

Such a sweet big boy!

 

This is how I was greeted when I walked into his room on Saturday morning.  He was up in crawling stance and ready for the day's fun to begin!

 

 

Saturday night:  Chillin' out with Dad and Uncle Bryan as they watched a hockey game.

 

Sunday morning on our way to church:  Daddy and Baby share a laugh.  So sweet.

 

In our "big boy" carseat on the way to the doctor's office this morning for our

6-month old check-up.

Michael's 6-month old check-up was today and I took off work to be with him the whole day.  He weighs 19 lbs 6 oz. and is 28 3/4 inches long!  He is in the 90th percentile for weight, the 97% percentile for height and 50% percentile for head-size.  Very proportionate little boy! 

Michael is the King of Baby Pilates and works very hard on strengthening his abs to help him sit up nice and tall.  He LOVES to sit up at home and play with his toys on his "I Spy" quilt that his GG made him.  However, he refused to show off his sitting skills to the doctor today. :(  In fact, he cried and made a fuss when he had to lay on the paper-covered table to be examined.  He knows that with the help of adults, he can apply pressure to his legs and feet and stand-up so that's what he was trying to show the doctor today instead.  He was refusing to bend at the hips to sit down.  But Aaron (who got to come with us today!) was able to get Michael to sit when the doctor briefly stepped out of the room. 

Michael received his set of vaccinations and we also opted to have him get a flu shot.  He is just now old enough to get one, and we figured it is a good idea to be prepared.  With the extra shot thrown in there, that meant he had to get four shots today! :(  Two in each thigh.  But, he has EXCELLENT little chunky thighs for that!  He was a champ with his rotovirus vaccine (given orally), and he let out some cries as he got his shots, but his Mommy, Daddy, and Chicco (his toy monkey) were all right beside him to comfort him. :)  He fell asleep on the way home and Aaron delivered him swiftly to his crib for a nap-- where he is at this moment. :) 

As we've ventured out further and further into the baby-food flavor realm, we've discovered that we have a Beechnut baby rather than a Gerber baby (although he is way totally cuter than the baby on the Gerber jars).  He seems to enjoy the consistency of the Beechnut foods moreso than the textures of the Gerber foods.  Beechnut food is actually a little cheaper than the Gerber brand, so Aaron & I are totally fine with this!  Michael will definitely still eat Gerber food and we still keep some on hand.  It's better for travelling since it comes in plastic containers rather than glass jars like the Beechbut brand does. 

We have added to our repertoire of baby food flavors to include:

• Apples, pears, bananas-- LOVE
• Oatmeal and apples-- LOVE
• Sweet potato and chicken--  LOVE

We have ready in our pantry:  mixed vegetables; sweet potato & turkey;  apricot, pears, bananas;  apples, peaches, kiwi; mixed cereal and apples;  etc.  These will be making their debut this week! 

Michael receives a early morning milk-feeding, then a bottle for breakfast, then a bottle and half a jar of baby food for lunch (either a fruit or a veggie), and a milk-feeding in the afternoon, then half a jar of baby food for dinner (either a fruit, a veggie, or a veggie/meat combo) and a milk-feeding. 

What We're Looking Forward To:

• Mom's Marketplace Consignment Sale!!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this consignment sale!  It happens twice a year in Prattville (in early fall, and in early spring).  I stocked up on some baby clothes back in the fall.  My only problem was that I hung out in the 9-month old baby clothes section and kept picking out clothes in only that size.  Fortunately, Michael is comfortably wearing 9-month old clothes right now, but I know it won't be long until he outgrows those!  So, this time I am planning to stock up in clothes from size 12-month and up-- at least enough clothes to get us to the fall consignment sale! 

I also plan to look for an exersaucer or  jump-a-roo to help entertain Michael during the evenings while Aaron & I tend to housework and chores (ie, making dinner and unloading/loading the dishwasher).  Michael is no longer content to sit for very long in his high-chair when his meal is over.  And since he wants to be so mobile, he doesn't stay satisfied in his swing for more than a few minutes now.  So I think that an exersaucer or a jump-a-roo that I could put in our dining area would help to keep him entertained as we finished up our daily tasks each evening. 

Aaron & I also plan to start running in the evenings after work.  Although we have a stroller for Michael, it is not a jogging stroller.  We have read reviews on jogging strollers, and we believe that it is a safer option to use one of them to put Michael in while we run instead of putting him in our regular stroller.  However, jogging strollers are pricy pieces of equipment!  I am always down for a good deal and I know for a fact that Mom's Marketplace had a great selection of jogging strollers at their fall sale.  I am hoping that I'll be able to find a jogging stroller at the Spring sale on the cheap.

This consignment sale is "season-specific" meaning there won't be any Halloween costumes or Christmas outfits at the spring sale.  So I'm excited to search for fun spring and summer items like an Easter outfit and a swimsuit! 

Today I plan to take 6-month pictures of Michael and I'll post them just as soon as I upload them! :)  I meant to do that this weekend, but I got too busy playing and hanging out with Michael and Aaron and Akuna!  :)  

So, check back soon to see our precious 6-month old in his "Easter outfit" that I'm sure he'll outgrow before Easter (hence why I want to find a replacement at the consignment sale!) :)

Much love!  _Reba