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Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts

Saturday, February 23, 2013

10 months under my belt (belated).

I'm a horrible baby mama in getting these blogs written in a reasonable amount of time.  This is the amount of free time I have lately... 0.  Between work, driving to and from work (my commute is about an hour now), getting the kids from daycare, trying (operative word is trying) to get in a gym workout/run a few times/week, having the ability to actually sit down and write a blog is not within my scope of accomplishment.

But, alas, I'm here now, so let's do it.

Temperament:
Jojo is still an angel.  A squeaky, snotty angel, but an angel nonetheless.  He's a bit more impatient these days and will squeal like a large, scary bird when he doesn't get his bottle or next bite of food right away.  His teachers have even commented how he fusses when OTHER babies are eating.  Chill, boy, chill.  He's still a charmer with his big smile and sweet eyes.  He's great with other babies and other people.

Feeding:
The boy is a pig.  He's drinking about 6 - 8 ounces of formula every 90+ minutes.  He isn't too keen on the purees, so we've started introducing regular foods to his diet as well.  He's tried bananas, apples, grapes (cut up super tiny), some cheesy biscuits we got at a local restaurant, and puffs.  He does great with most of the foods although he will get a bit gaggy from time to time - especially with the grapes.  His pincer grasp function is great, so he can feed himself the bits of food.  I'm still not comfortable with the more solid types of food, so he's still eating mostly purees and just drinking his bottles. 

Sleeping:
He's still doing great sleeping through the night.  He will wake up every once in a while with a cough, but I go in his room and give him a pacifier (he only takes it when he's sleeping), and he falls right back to sleep.  He's still napping every 90 minutes or so based on the sleep cycle our pedi recommended, but he does have days where he just flat out refuses to nap still. 

Milestones:
He had a huge month last month with his milestones, but these past few weeks have been pretty quiet.  He's perfected his crawl, and he's able to pull himself and stand while holding onto something.  The other day he stood back from the coffee table and actually stood on his own for about 2 seconds, but once he realized he wasn't holding on, he quickly sat himself down. I keep trying to get him to take a few steps with me while holding his hands, but he doesn't like that too much.  He sits down and is like, "Hell naw." 

He's started blowing raspberries and will mimic you if you do it back to him.  He's also saying one syllable words like da for dada and uh for uh oh.  When I say certain words to him, I can see the little cogs going in his mind, and I know he's just so ready to blurt it all out.  One day, son.

Addendum: He’s clapping and saying dada now.  (2-23-13)



Health:
Well, he still has the snot-nose and the cough, but we have official word from the ER docs that he just has a chronic cold and nothing more than that.  After a pretty big scare one night when his temp was super high, we decided to take him to the ER to make sure he was OK.  After a chest x-ray and full exam, and another RSV test, they ruled out everything other than a common cold and instructed us to just keep suctioning that funk out.  I also got him a cool mist humidifier that I leave on in his room all night. I actually want one for my room now!  It's the perfect white noise, and it makes his room feel so cool and comfortable.  I haven't noticed much difference other than his cough sounds better.  We've taken him to multiple doctors since he's had RSV, and they've all told us that he will have this over-production of mucous until he's a bit older.  RSV is bad stuff, yo.

Size:
He hasn't really grown much lately.  We're still stalled at him being in size 3 diapers and 9 - 12 months clothes.  He's super long, so most of his pants are high-waters.  Size 3 shoes. According to the ER doctor, his 7 month old daughter could eat my son alive, so he’s definitely a peanut.

Activities:
We haven't been able to do much as a family lately - NO TIME!  Hopefully this summer we can all go to Destin for a weekend.  I think the kids would love the beach!

Siblings:
I'm still dealing with the sibling jealousy with Anna.  If I so much as look a JoJo or play with him for a few seconds, she immediately jumps in front and wants me to play with her only.  I'm trying my best to make her feel like she's loved and there's no reason for her to feel insecure, but she still seems pretty insecure about Joe.  So, now I've instituted Anna and mommy time where we go in my bed and have girl talk about her day/my day.  She tells me about her boyfriend Mason and how she's going to marry him at school, etc.  It's kind of adorable.  I hope she knows how important she is and that my love for her has not been replaced, it's just grown.  How do you deal with this as a mom of two?

To add one more checkmark to the mom-fail category, I somehow managed to misplace my camera  battery charger and didn’t realize it until I was ready to take Joe’s 10 month photos (a week late, mind you).  So, I had to use my cell phone, and of course the quality is total crap.  I figure some pictures are better than none, so here are his 10 month photos.

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Watch my baby grow: 
10monthcomparison

Monday, December 10, 2012

8 months under my belt & Merry Christmas!

8 months.  2 weeks late (again), yes, but at least I’m trying, right?  Working 5 days a week in the office has really zapped all of my blogging energy, so I do what I can when I can.   

Here’s my little man for his photo session (which was taken right around 8 months). 

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Temperament:

Happy.  That’s the one word I would use to describe Joseph.   He’s very easy going, very adaptable to new people and new situations, always smiling and laughing, rarely does he get fussy.  He started a new daycare last week, and his teacher put on his daily report that he had the best first day ever and was smiling and laughing the whole day.  Yep, that about sums him up.  They just left out the part where he’s a ball of energy and constantly into everything. 


Feeding:
I’m still nursing, but at this point it’s mainly for comfort.  Since starting work, my supply has dwindled quite a bit.  I don’t even have to pump in the middle of the day anymore.  He prefers the bottle now.  Since I’m not ready to quit nursing just yet, I’ll continue as long as he will let me.  Call me selfish, but I’m just not ready to quit yet. 

He seems to be less fond of solids these past few weeks, and I’m not really sure why.  He honestly doesn’t seem to have a preference for anything at this point.  I’ve been mixing his vitamins and probiotics with his food, so maybe he’s on to me?



Sleeping:
Nightmare.  Total nightmare.  He’s sleeping worse now than he did as a newborn.  The major problem with this?  I have to work now.  How I’m able to function is beyond me.  It’s amazing just how sleep deprived one can be.  He typically goes to bed around 8:30ish (sometimes a bit earlier) and wakes at 12.  Again at 2.  Again at 4.  Again at 6.  Yes.  No matter what I do before bed – feed him solids, formula, nurse, make him stay up longer, make him take more naps during the day, shorter naps during the day – none of it makes any difference.  So, I’m about to start using the Ferber method on him to see if I can get the boy to learn how to self-soothe.  At this point, I know that’s the problem.  He refuses a paci most days, so my options are pretty limited. 

Milestones: 
This month has been HUGE as far as milestones go.  Here’s what he’s working on currently:

- He can sit up all on his own
- He can army crawl super fast
- He’s starting to lift his butt up in the air and his legs straight in an attempt to stand
- He’s starting to rock on his knees and hands in an attempt to crawl
- He can stand with assistance and even walks a few steps
- He can stand while holding on to something
- He’s starting to pull himself up in his pack-n-play to peer over the side

      

Here’s a video of a few of those things:
 


He’s sprouting about 6 teeth (that I’ve been able to count).  It’s crazy how quickly all of his teeth are coming in. 

Health:
He still has a nasty cough, but things seem to be getting better.  Still snotty, but I guess that’s to be expected.  It seems like kids his age are always snotty.  He had a bad diaper rash for a few days, but some extra-strength Butt Paste really helped. 

Size:
He’s wearing 9 – 12 months clothes and size 3 diapers.  Size 2 shoes.  He’s super long and has out grown most of his pants. 

Activities
We took the kids to see Santa this year at Bass Pro Shops.  The Santa there is so nice and believable.  Now that they have a ticket system where you make an appointment and only have to wait about 10 minutes, it’s much easier to get a good shot with the kids. 

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We were also able to take some family photos this year.  I absolutely LOVE the way they turned out.  Thanks to my friend Sandra at Eau Claire Photographics for doing such a fantastic job! 

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From our family to yours, may you have a blessed Christmas and a very happy New Year. 

Saturday, October 6, 2012

6 months under my belt.

The days are flying by like seconds. It’s scary to think that 6 months ago I was laboring in a hospital when it really only feels like 6 minutes ago.  Both of my kids will be married with their own kids before I can blink. 

Here are Joseph’s 6 month photos.  He is just getting over RSV (more on that in a bit), so, once again, he was under the weather for these photos (and it really shows near his eyes).  Our photo session was very brief today!

eIMG_3351eIMG_3356eIMG_3361eIMG_3364eIMG_3373eIMG_3374eIMG_3385eIMG_3397eIMG_3403 6monthcomparison

Temperament:
This monthly temperament update has somewhat been skewed since Joseph has been sick pretty much the entire month.  My poor baby contracted RSV somewhere (I’m thinking when I took him to church and he stayed in the baby room), so he’s been a bit fussier and needier this month.  We’re at about two weeks of dealing with this junk right now, and prior to that he was dealing with a cold/sinus crap from the pollen in the air.  Even with all of that funk, he’s still pretty content and happy, still smiles and giggles all the time, still enjoys pretty much everything.  Loves his mama. 

Feeding:
Well, I made it to my six month breastfeeding goal, and I’m so excited that I made it this far.  I will be starting a new job on the 15th, so I’m on the fence as far as if I’ll continue pumping and nursing.  I probably will because, at this point, it kills my heart to think about stopping, but I’m not going to feel any guilt (at least I won’t let myself) if things don’t work out past this point.  I just really enjoy it now, much more than I ever thought I would.  And since Joseph is our last, I want to hold on to it as long as I can. 

Other than that, we started him on solids at exactly 6 months (Wednesday, October 3).  I put it off as long as possible because if I can be honest here, it’s kind of a pain in the butt.  A sloppy, crazy pain in the butt! 

Anna was the first to feed him, and she did a great job.  His first meal other than boob milk/formula was squash. 

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Sleeping:
Well, the pack-n-play didn’t quite work out.  He hated it.  So, he’s back in his RNP sleeper and strapped in like he’s wearing a strait jacket.  I have no idea what we’re going to do to transition him to his crib.  He still refuses to nap/sleep in his crib, too.  Le sigh.  I love the RNP sleeper, but it does set a rather ridiculous precedent that no standard crib mattress will be able to live up to. 

Joseph isn’t 100% consistent with his nightly sleep ritual.  He still wakes up some nights more than once, others only once, sometimes not at all.  He’s just a mixed bag. 

Milestones:
Joseph is flipping from front to back and back to front like it’s no one’s business.  He’s also sitting up constantly in his swing and RNP.  He’s not quite ready to sit up on his own on a flat surface yet, but I know he’ll be there shortly.


Such a little creeper.

He has two teeth on the bottom (front).  Anna didn’t get teeth until well past her first birthday, so I was a bit shocked to see not one but TWO of those little suckers.  So cute, though! 

He started eating solids on Wednesday, October 3.  First on the menu: Squash.

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Health:
Unfortunately, my guy has had a rough month this past month.  He was diagnosed with RSV on Monday, September 24th.  He is only the second case his pedi’s office had seen this year.  He had a weird bark cough which I initially thought was croup.  So, moms, if you’re wondering what an RSV cough sounds like, click below. 

Joseph’s RSV cough


I’ve been having to give him breathing treatments – initially every four hours around the clock.  He slept through the night ones, so that was great.  He didn’t fuss or fight the daytime ones too much.

photo(13)

And then Anna wanted to give her baby a treatment as well.  ATTENTION: THIS IS NOT JOSEPH, THIS IS A BABY DOLL.  A VERY REAL LOOKING BABY DOLL.  THIS BABY FREAKS ME OUT ON A DAILY BASIS.  I HATE THIS BABY. 


So, I brought Joseph in for his 6 month pedi appointment on Wednesday, October 3.  He checked out fine although his chest is still “junky” from the RSV.  One thing that did concern his pedi was his weight.  Here are his stats:

Height: 26.5 (50th percentile)
Weight: 14 lbs. 12 oz. (10th percentile)
Head: 17” (40th percentile)

While he’s gaining at each appointment, he’s still on the lower end of the chart.  She wasn’t too concerned about it since he’s so darn active all.the.time, but she did instruct me to feed him solids three times/day vs. the regular two times/day that is recommended at this age.  He may have been down a few ounces from being sick, but I’m definitely feeling a bit let down that maybe my boobs aren’t giving him the nourishment he needs.  He’s also super pale, paler than I’ve ever seen him.  Granted, Joe and I are one shade from mime paint, but Joseph is just way too pale.  I’m hoping that the solids will put some meat on that boy’s bones and help him get his color back.  He just looks so pitiful and wiped out all the time. 

Other than that, he’s meeting all of his milestones, early even, so he’s right on track with everything.  He’s just my lil’ peanut. 

Since he was still under the weather, his pedi recommended we bring him back within a week for his 6 month shots.  I was glad she decided that because my poor baby has been through enough these past few weeks.  Round the clock breathing treatments, nose running like a faucet, pale like a vampire –poor kid doesn’t need shots just yet!

Size:
He hasn’t grown much since the last time I posted.  He’s still wearing 9 months clothes (I think I’ve even put him in a 12 month outfit because he’s so long).  He’s in a size 3 diaper.  Size 2 shoe.

Activities:
We haven’t really done much this month, but we did go to an off the beaten path pumpkin patch.  It was so off the beaten path that we were the only people there which was quite nice. 

photo(14)Two Joes

photo(16)Anna wore this costume everywhere we went that day.  Eh, why not?

Siblings:
Anna and Joseph are little buddies.  She’s really taken a motherly approach to sisterhood with him, if that makes any sense.  She treats him like he’s her child – very gentle, kind, loving.  It’s adorable to watch.  She was so excited to be able to feed him his first solid, and he took it from her better than he does from me, actually. 

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