Birthday

Can you believe it….today Ian is 8 months old. He’s been having doc appointments every two months since he was born, but not this month. He doesn’t have another well checkup until the first week of December, so you’re all going to have to wait to see where he is at concerning height and weight. I can tell you this for a fact….he is heavy and he is filling his 9 month jeans a little too well now. I’m actually starting to think that I need to re-evaluate him wearing a size 9mo. It’s cold out, Ian doesn’t need his pants riding up his legs when he’s being held or just in general.

Anyway, on to more important matters. Ian conquered crawling this month. He was crawling a little when he was 7 months along, but it was more of a commando crawl with a sometimes tummy in the air crawl. Now he’s trying to get as much off the ground and still move as fast as he can. Now that he can zoom around the apartment, he already has his sights set on walking. Over the last week or so, Ian has been making a point of pulling himself up and standing at every opportunity. We haven’t caught him at it, but he also seems to be moving while standing. There are times when he’s standing at one end of the couch and the next he’s right there next to you, still standing. It’s almost as if he walked along the couch. No proof that’s what he’s doing, but it does seem like it. Jesse thinks Ian will be walking by Christmas. God help us if he is, or heaven forbid, he starts sooner.

Ian’s first teeth popped through over Labor Day weekend, but now you can definitely tell they are there. You can even see them…if we could get him to sit still long enough, maybe we’ll post a picture of his teeth. Yes, I am saying teeth. His front bottom two are the ones that came through. Now that the teeth are more predominant in his mouth, he is definitely biting. He likes to chew on things and it’s not always a good thing when he tries it on mama or daddy. To make it even more interesting, Ian has started teething again. At least we think he has. He was doing really well for about a week, sleeping for most of the night, only getting up once and even then not for long; then all of a sudden, it’s three times a night screaming for no reason, can’t get any decent naps in because he wakes up screaming….etc etc. He isn’t drooling like he was the first time, so we didn’t automatically think he was teething. However, we gave him a couple of the Hyland Teething Tablets and he slept the rest of the night. So Ian is teething again. We’ll see what pops through soon (I hope).

We finally did Ian’s baby pictures. Most people take them when the kid is younger (closer to 3 months), but we had a certain photographer in mind and we waited until she had the time. Make sure you check them out, they are so adorable.

It’s October…that means Halloween. Yes we dressed Ian up for his first Halloween. He has even gone trick or treating already. We have to thank Trish for making Ian’s costume, he was Pippin from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Ian was so stinkin’ cute in this outfit, I think I’m going to try and save it for next year too. Jesse was happy with it as well and he liked how it turned out. Ian got his loot when he went trick or treating at Jesse’s work. Ian picked out which candy he wanted us to eat for him, which meant we ended up with some interesting choices. Ian had a blast though.

I think that’s all for this month. I’ll have more info next month for sure….we’re going into the holiday season after all.

Ian had his six month check up today and he is now a total of 20lbs even and is 27 inches long. That puts him in the 75-90 percentile for his weight and the 50-75 percentile for his height; his head is 17.25 inches (which is only in the 25-50 percentile). He received more of the same vaccinations – Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Pneumococcal Conjugate, Hepatitis B, and Rotavirus. The doctor also said that we can start giving Ian three meals a day now. Anything in the 2nd foods from Gerber is okay – even the mixed ones. His suggested routine was cereal in the morning, a meal in the afternoon (like beef and veggies) and then more cereal at night with some kind of dessert. Per Jesse’s instructions, I also asked to doctor about making our own food. He said we really don’t need to stay away from too much, just the foods that tend to have high allergy ratios (i.e. peanuts, dairy) and that we can even use spices as long as we don’t go nuts with it. That means we can convert the applesauce into cinnamon applesauce. We’re also one step closer to a pureed burrito. We’re able to try anything as long as we keep an eye out for an allergic reaction. We were told to stay away from the acidic foods a little bit longer, but we can start incorporating those around December. I was happy to find out that Ian should be sleeping through the night and if he isn’t, then it’s more out of habit than anything. We can start trying to get rid of one of the night awakenings, but I have a feeling it’s going to be harder on Jesse and I then on Ian. I was also concerned about Ian’s eating habits. Since he started getting the solids, it seems like he doesn’t want to nurse as often or as long and I found out that this is normal. On top of that, most infants become such good nursers by 6 months that they generally get everything they want within the first 5 minutes. The sad news was, we found out that the first couple of teeth that come in are not the bad ones. He’s definitely drooling a lot and this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s teething, but that he’s starting to use his mouth more and is getting accustomed to it. Or something like that. But he’s still teething, that’s for sure. I think that’s everything from the doc visit.

Ian is definitely on the move. He’s figured out how to roll over (the whole 360) and that he can change his location by rolling over or spinning his body. He hasn’t started crawling yet, but he can push himself backwards. He is definitely becoming mobile. I think a lot of this is due to the Mom’s Group we joined about a month ago. Ian was the youngest one there, but there are three others between 6mo – 12mos that are crawling and walking and Ian has been watching them. It’s obvious Ian wants to start crawling, and I think he’s learning from the other kids, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to crawl soon.

He is also starting to stand on his own. I can have him sitting on my lap and he’ll hold on to my fingers and pull himself to a standing position. That’s the only time I’ve seen him do it, but it’s a start. He’s also picking up that he can grab things and move them towards him. Jesse has been teaching Ian how to fish by creating a chain with his links and putting a toy at the end. Ian has been able to reel the chain in to get his toy.

Our list of solids have grown. He’s now tried pears, peas, green beans, peaches, sweet potatoes, squash, and we just started mangoes this week. We’re going to attempt to make our own baby food. Not all of it, but just certain foods. Jesse would like to try Avocados and we’re thinking of doing a couple of different fruits (strawberries, raspberries).

We’ve managed to get a couple of “cause and effect” toys for him and he’s been enjoying them. I think the newest toy he likes is the keyboard. Jesse inherited a keyboard that can take on the sound of different instruments. Right now he’s playing the piano, but we’ve had it set to a trumpet, violin, and a harp to name a few. We have also gotten out the Duplos and Ian has been enjoying those. Actually, I think he likes the tub more than anything. Either way, he’s been making a lot of noise and he’s giggling and smiling the entire time.

We found out he was teething a couple of weeks ago, but nothing has popped through yet. I have mixed feelings about whether I want him to have teeth yet or not. While it would probably help with the discomfort, it hasn’t been too unbearable yet. We’ve been using Hyland’s Teething Tablets and they seem to be working. We’ve only had to use Tylenol a couple of times and mainly at night right before he goes to bed. He’s also been sticking his tongue out more and more, but I’m thinking it’s part of the teething process. It’s been amusing to watch him concentrating…he’ll stick his tongue out until he’s finished whatever he’s doing.

He’s still getting up twice a night, but he’s been going to bed easier and easier. Both of us have finally reached an agreement on when he should go to bed. He’s generally asleep and in bed by 9pm every night. By 8:30, if he’s had his bath and is getting a bottle, he’ll start to get drowsy and will fall asleep. There have even been some nights where I haven’t needed him to fall asleep on the bottle to get him to bed. I’ve been able to put him in his crib awake, but drowsy and after a few minutes, he’ll go to sleep. Of course, he’s been moving a lot more and doesn’t always end up where I put him. It’s been interesting because he has also gotten his legs or arms caught in the bars. As I said, he’s still getting up twice a night, but he’s starting to change that a little too. I think the main thing getting him up at night now is his gums. When I give him a couple of tablets before his bath, he tends to sleep longer at night or if he does wake up, he’ll calm himself back to sleep within a few minutes. I don’t want to start introducing the tablets as part of his routine, but if it helps him sleep at night, I may.

Ian is also starting to vocalize a lot more. He’s not talking, but he’s making more and more sounds. Plus his pitch is starting to change a little too.

Ian had his four month check up today and he is now a total of 17lbs 1oz and is 25 inches long. That puts him in the 90 percentile for his weight and the 50 percentile for his height. His head has grown and is now 16-1/2 inches. He received a second round of vaccinations – Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Haemophilus Influenzae (type b HIB vaccine), Pneumococcal Conjugate, his second Hepatitis B, and Rotavirus. Yes, these are the same ones as last time. He took them rather well. He still cried as they were happening and for a bit afterwards, but by the time we were done checking out, he was fine again.

There was some good news today as well. The doctor gave us the go-ahead to start Ian on cereal. He’s allowed two servings a day, with no set amount he has to take. We’re to start off with a thin consistency at first and then gradually increase it as Ian starts to accept it. Jesse will be glad to know that we can finally start using the spoons we’ve been fishing through for the past couple of months. Ian is still on breast milk and formula, but we can increase the amount from 4oz to 6oz. The cereal is not to take the place of a feeding, but he’ll get a bite about an hour after nursing. The Doc said he can have two servings as day, preferably during the morning and early evening. After two weeks, if we want to, we can start to mix in either applesauce or bananas to add some flavor. Depending on how well he takes those (and probably another two weeks) we can start mixing in yellow vegetables – carrots, squash, etc. We are to continue to keep him out of the sun. He’s allowed some exposure, just not a lot. I’ve heard that babies can start teething as early as four months and Dr. Schnur said not to worry about it. We’ll know when he’ll starts when he has teeth. It seems that the early teeth are not as much of a problem as when he gets his molars in (around 12 months). I found out something good – even though Ian has been standing a lot and loves to stand, the doctor said that shoes really are not necessary. According to them, shoes hold no function other than keeping his feet warm. If he’s playing in the dirt, then we should put shoes on him, but he won’t be doing that for awhile and by then it’ll be cold out so he’ll have to have shoes. Also, after talking with a nurse, we should be able to put Ian in a walker or bouncer now. We’ll have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t bang his head or anything, but as long as he is holding it up fairly well (and he is), then a walker shouldn’t be a problem. I’m excited for the bouncer. I think Ian will really enjoy that.

In other news, it’s been a busy month for Ian and he has accomplished a lot of fun stuff. He is now sleeping through the night with only one wakening. There are times when he’ll get up twice a night, but that’s not very often. It’s still hit or miss, but I’m excited to say that he is doing really well sleeping at night. He has also starting trying to sit up. He is having a little problem with the balance act, but if you help support him, he’ll sit up for a bit before falling over. He is loving the idea of standing. There are times when he gets cranky that if help him stand up, he gets all happy again. Jesse and I have a fear that he’ll start walking before crawling. Speaking of which, he has the motions down, but he hasn’t put them all together yet. He’s holding his head up really well. He can get wobbly when he’s tired, but not as much as he used to. Also, he’s not rolling over completely yet, but he has been going from his back to his side and back again. It’s only 90 degrees, but it’s a start.

Ian had his first taste of swimming this past month. He wasn’t entirely sure what to think of it, but we’ve been taking him back to the pool at least once a week to get him accustomed to it. He also has started talking a lot more. Well, it’s actually screaming, but he’s happy when he does it and loves it when people listen to him. Ian joined the summer reading program at the public library this month and has already read 27 books. Most of you know how fast I read, so we’ve been going through books awfully quickly and I have slowed down a lot so Ian can pick up on my speech patterns. However, with my short attention span, we don’t normally read the books more than once, so if anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears – we’re always looking for more. At the same time, any books we like, I’ve been adding them to his Amazon wish list so I know what to buy when I am able to.

Ian had his two month check up today. He now weighs a total of 12lbs 10oz and is 23 inches long. He’s doing really well with both the weight and height. He is in the 75 percentile for his weight and the 50 percentile for his height. His head has definitely grown at 15-1/4 inches. This was also his first appointment with vaccinations – Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Haemophilus Influenzae (type b HIB vaccine), Pneumococcal Conjugate, his second Hepatitis B, and Rotavirus. He didn’t like them very much, but he only cried for a moment and then he settled back down. We’re told that if he has any discomfort (lots of crying), then we can give him some Tylenol – they gave us a dosage guide to help with this. The vaccines were done in his legs, so if his legs become sore (if we touch his legs and he cries), then we are to apply ice packs today and then warm compresses tomorrow. He may also develop a fever, but we’ll be on the lookout for that.

Overall, Ian is doing really well and Dr. Schnur was happy with his progress. He is remaining on breast milk and formula, so Jesse still has to wait before he can get that food processor. Ian is able to hold his head up for a few minutes at a time, depending on how tired he is. He’s still not stable with it, but he’s getting better. He has also been doing a lot of standing, with our help; and he is able to hold his weight on his legs for a minute at a time, but he is wobbly. Jesse and I are hoping to get him crawling soon, but God help us when he does start crawling. He is already really curious – he likes to be able to look around when he is in new environments and if you don’t let him, he’ll announce his displeasure. :) You can tell when he is happy with something – he has been smiling and laughing a lot (and not all of it is due to his gas).

Ian is still having some problems with gas, but it is a lot better than what it used to be. I checked with the Doc about it and it seems that babies will get it, but the pressure building up can start a chain reaction that isn’t attractive to parents. When the pressure builds, they [babies] will tense up, preventing the gas to pass and causing it to build even more, which causes a lot of discomfort. Basically, when Ian does get gaseous, we have to try and get him to relax and then it’ll pass. We’re told this is just a stage and he’ll outgrow it, but I’m hoping he’ll do that soon.

Some good news on the nighttime activities. For the past two nights, Ian has slept 5 hours straight before getting up again. Saturday night he slept from 8pm to 1am (then he got up two more times before 7am); and then last night he slept from 12am to 5:30am. He’s starting to sleep longer at night, but he’s not there totally yet. More or less, his gas wakes him up more than anything else, so hopefully he’ll be sleeping through the night soon.