Six Months

So big news of the day... Bobby did not poop today. First day ever. He has been down to one big messy poop a day with the introduction of solids, but I didn't give him any yesterday so no poop.

He is doing great. I think I forgot to mention he has cut his first teeth. Two on the bottom. Not enough for a picture, but they're there. They came in without event, no rash or fussing or runny nose. He has a pretty legitimate bite too, mostly gums, but he'll clamp down on you.

The big thing we're dealing with is sleeping of course. He didn't take a nap until 3pm today. Crazy boy. It doesn't bother him either. He did fall asleep in my arms at 12:30 but when I went to put him in the crib, he was awake and ready to go. He also woke up 4 times between 7pm and 7am last night. That is a lot.

We had our friend over for a little play date. She is 5.5 months and tiny, but can crawl and get up on all fours. Not sure what this weekend will hold. Too cold and late for holiday activities downtown.

Rick is doing well, he is doing some intense training so he can get his grey belt in combat training (hand to hand, wrestling, mma, stuff like that) I just hope he doesn't get hurt doing that.

So big.

We haven't quite mastered the Johnny Jumper (or whatever it's called) yet but he loves to be held and jumped. Also loves singing Jingle Bells. And LOVES sweet potatoes. More than carrots and peas, but I don't blame him.

Don't worry family, I will keep the Gobbler tradition alive. By myself. Slowly.

Sleep

Bobby slept for 8 hours continuously last night, a new record. Then up at 6:30am. Combination of full belly and too-short naps.

November

A lot is going on in Bobbys little life right now. He is almost sitting up unassisted. He can for a few seconds and almost seems to right himself when he starts listing. He is reaching for EVERYTHING. And if he gets it, he puts it in his mouth, or tries to. He is so curious in everything around him and also checks out people a lot.

The other big development is food. So he's getting two small meal a day (mostly) , one cereal and one vegetable. Usually they go down well enough, although he hasn't really mastered the mechanics yet. Doesn't open his mouth willingly, or at the right time to accept food. But at least it doesn't come spewing out.

I am writing this while he lies in his crib awake, and trying to see if he'll put himself to sleep. He was pretty tired at bathtime and I nursed and rocked him for half an hour but he was having none of the sleep part, so we'll see if I go back in there (my bet is yes)

(still chattering away in there...)

All in all, he seems to be a very laid back, tough kid. He is very easy going and smiles a lot, rolls with the punches (figurative and literal).

Carrots

I'd call this a success. We did carrots and he seemed to like them. Was also pretty hungry I think. He hasn't necessarily gotten the mechanics of eating down, but if I get it in there, he can get it down. We're still taking it very slowly, but he has shown a lot of interest in food that I eat. I am committed to rice cereal daily, starting now. He also might be starting to teethe and mouths things even more.

Friday

Today, Bobby took a 4 hour morning nap?! But I guess it wasn't morning by the time he finished it though. My sleeping experiment last night didn't work. That was to feed him before I went at 11 in hopes he'd sleep until morning. He went down first at 6pm and for good at 7pm. Instead he woke up a little after 1am, then 5am, and for good at 7. The alternative is him sleeping 7pm to 2am or so, then up at 4 and 6. So which is the lesser of 2 evils?

Then we went swimming. He liked it well enough. Only a little spit up in the pool, oops. I feel dehydrated from it though so am trying to get more fluids in him.

Last night

Bobby slept from 7:20pm to 4am YAY

And from 5:30am to 7:30 UGH

The Latest

bobby rolled over yesterday (11/1) from back to front for the first time i think. he's done it on a soft bed but that doesn't count.

he also rolled over the day before from front to back. he did that for the first time around 9/15 but doesn't do it often. he gets plenty of tummy time but just stays there

as far as eating, we have tried the rice cereal 3 times. if you can call if that. it's been about 10 bites or less each time. i basically pump less than an ounce then mix up a very watery paste. he doesn't react poorly to it, i think it's okay to start now if for nothing else to get him to the spoon. once he sees it coming, his hands go to it and i usually spill it on him. if i get to his (closed) mouth, he sort of laps it up. If i get the spoon in, he sort of takes it. sometimes it all comes out, but sometimes not. i consider this progress. usually it comes out about 20 minutes later. i do however think he's ready (5 months old on Wednesday) he just seems to want something else sometimes. i know all babies put stuff in their mouths, but i think he's ready. of course, we'll take it way slow as we are, hardly a meal replacement at this stage, it's almost a novelty.

i have also introduced a sippy cup, which he likes. grabs it with both hands and aims for his open mouth. he never gets it there though. i know this is early, but we will skip a bottle at this rate, he's never taken it easily and has had probably 2 bottles in the last 2 months so it might be hard at this stage. again, just familiarity with the sippy cup, like the spoon.

he is drinking a lot of bathwater that he sucks from the washcloth. even if i take it away from him, he just sucks his wet fist. hmm... he has taken some sips of real water and loves it. also spills a lot but i won't give him much (think like droplets) since he needs nutrition from milk and don't want him to fill up.

and oh yah. he moved into his own room! (thanks mom) so far so good, although we did battle it out last night at 3:30am. I won, if you can call it that at 5am and he went back in the crib. woo hoo.

We went The Little Gym Monday, 45 minutes assisted exercises - tapping feet and shaking things. 4 other babies. i think he was hungry but seemed interested in it. will have to price it out, but might be something we want to do. going to the park later to walk.

October

One handed typing b/c I'm a sucker and want my baby to get a good nap. i do have to put him down soon to feed the dogs.

couple nice days here so we got a lot of outside time, even went to the dog park - what was i thinking! He is still easy enough to take care of but getting more demanding as in, he is actually worth playing with now, so we do, also needy and doesn't like to be left alone.

sleep continues to be irregular, took a 3 hr nap the other day, but last night didn't get to bed until 9:45pm! i would like a routine for naps but am not going to be a slave to a forced schedule, he gets to sleep often, if not for too long.

we have no Halloween plans but will still get dressed up, for a while at least, its supposed to be 80 almost

rick is good, they have storms so power and internet have been iffy. we talk just as if he was in california but i guess just not several times a day.

4.5 months

15 pounds, 7 ounces - 50th percentile
25 3/4 inches long - 50%
42 cm head - 75%

lungs, heart good, head shape good, eyes straight. very simple appt. looked in ears, mouth, etc. nothing really to report. will keep an eye on the spit up in case he starts to get bothered by it, i can start food anytime now, got vaccines but no flu shot for under six month olds.

he can roll over, but doesn't. he is getting more stable at sitting up - assisted for now. very good at putting weight on his legs.

doing well at night, sleeping about 5 hours, then 4 more. continuing to find a routine for naps, it will be better now that the house is back to normal.

going to start back on the vitamin drops since it's getting wintery.

Sleeping

So it's been up and down. Mainly inconsistent, but we're sticking with it. He's been in the crib all night, generally waking up every 3-5 hours still, but last night was better. We went for a 2 hour walk so that might have tired him out, but he took a little cat nap at 5:30 or so, so I let him stay up later than usual. So bath was at 7 instead of 6:20.

He was asleep by 7:45pm, woke up at 12:20, back in the crib at 12:50am and then I got him out of bed at 7am! YAY. napping now in the crib too.

it's cold here, which I like b/c he looks really cute in sweatpants.

Day 1

I know this makes for dull material, but it's my life right now.

7pm Last night went to bed well in the crib. was very tired, didn't eat much, didn't expect a long duration here

7:40 awake, easily put down again. (I guess he's one of those babies who can't put himself back to sleep easily after a sleep cycle)

8 up for a little burp, down quickly

9:10 up and down easily again

10:50 up and down still in the crib

2am awake and ready to go

3am still awake, not drowsy. here i give in. we go to the big bed.

4am he finally nods off after chattering the whole time

7:30am awake for the day

so far i have interrupted 2 good naps, by putting him in the crib. got about 75 minutes out of him b/c i had to sleep too, see above why.

Operation Crib Sleep

Get the baby into the crib to sleep has begun. I know I'm doing it wrong but it doesn't work anyway. I nurse him in a dark room with white noise and he falls asleep, put him in the crib, he wakes up, i burp him, he falls asleep on my shoulder, put him in the crib, he wakes up. Lie down with him in the bed, he falls asleep.

I get the whole, put him down drowsy but awake thing, and have tried, but that just leads to cranky and very awake. I would prefer that b/c trying to transfer him to the crib when he is asleep is asking for trouble.

He does sleep on his stomach (for supervised naps) very well. Will ask the doc if this is okay b/c he has good chest and head control.

Meanwhile, I have to move him out of 3 month pajamas. he is just too long.

Jackpot

Just got back from our second Giants game in two days. And it was all free! Last night we were coming up the elevator and the other family in there asked us if we had tickets yet, we said no and they gave us some, for free! And they were good. lower deck, right field line. The uy worked for Petco and just had extras!

Today, we met Julie for the game who was in town for a ENT conference. She had gone out last night and met some relative of Jon Miller (the Giants (& ESPN) radio guy) and gave her tickets. Also good ones, same area. It was a good game too, but we were in the shade and it was breezy. It is October, but SoCal's supposed to be sunny and 70 all the time right! So we paid $35 for parking for 2 days right next to the entrance. Good to go!

Anyway, final dinner at Outback tonight then an early morning!!!

Four months

Still in California, so no unofficial weigh in. And b/c we were late with the 2 month appt and shots have to be 8 weeks apart, we don't go back to the doctor for a week or so.

Having a really nice time with Rick, he only worked til about 6:30pm (early for him) so we got to hang out this week a fair amount. Bobby and I just killed time, walking, some errands, went to the Ocean, not much. It also meant bedtimes were a little later, but he seemed to do fine with it, he just had to get in some Dad time.

Carolyn came in for work Thursday night, so it was a great coincidence and we were lucky she was able to bring Cash and stay at our hotel. This meant I got to babysit Cash on Friday, which was actually super easy. Mostly due to the fact he took a 3,5 hour nap in the middle of it, and then we just read and explored the rest of the time. Bobby even got his morning nap in undisturbed. There was only one little boo boo ("hurt"). I was watching closely actually but nursing I think and Cash slipped on a book and whacked his eye on his truck I think. He barely whimpered but it looks bad and it's right on his eyebrow so could have been worse, but he's a tough kid, who now looks Tough.

Saturday Rick didn't have to work like usual and we went to breakfast at Mimi's, (they had a seasonal pumpkin spice muffin, yum) Then to the SeaLife Aquarium at Legoland. It worked out so well, it is about 2 miles from the hotel and opened at 10, and we got there 10:30 or something. Plus the cashier gave us coupons so tickets were $5 instead of $18.95! Kids free. It was worth about that. Not crowded, inside, cool fish. Cash was a little stubborn and Bobby slept the second half, but it was a good day. Then Carolyn got on the road earlier than planned so she could get home and rest, but it was a lovely visit.

Saturday afternoon we rested too, because the Giants are in town. So I felt pretty bad driving down to San Diego as the sun set, thinking what am I subjecting my kid to? But he did great at the 7pm game. Didn't sleep b/c it was just too loud and bright, but here it is 10:30 the next morning and he's still asleep. Got to get his 12 hours. (non continuous of course) Silly me thought I'd be able to run a few errands for us this morning.

I leave early Monday and fly all day. Rick leaves midnight Tuesday, direct to Iraq.

Back To California

We made it uneventfully, got to the hotel at 2 am eastern. Plane rides were good, baby slept about half of the way to Detroit. Detroit is a long way from San Diego, basically Canada to Mexico, so it meant for a long second flight (4.5hrs), right about bedtime. It was also 30+ minutes late leaving. Bobby was really good, very happy and quiet. He fell asleep right before 7:30pm takeoff for about 30 minutes, but then was up until 10pm Eastern. Wide awake, very happy. There was another baby, probably closer to a year old, who cried 90% of the flight. Yikes. Then he slept from then on, through landing, baggage claim the drive home. Fed him and got a few more hours out of him. The problem is a one room hotel rooms, means for early evenings and early mornings for everyone. We'll see how that goes. Same with nap time.

He spit up a lot. changed his outfit during the layover. Could have changed mine. Was also one burp away from his third shirt. And he continues to this morning, All done with a big smile, but I think watch my diet, although I had very little dairy (cheese on sandwich) yesterday.

I thought Ricks computer could take my camera card so I didn't bring the connecting cord, so photos will have to wait.

Well, I spoke too soon, the last 4 nights sleep have been really lousy, after his first chunk of sleep 8-12, maybe 1am, he is waking OFTEN. Growth spurt? or just being a stinker. I pretty much hate bed time. I'm just impatient and it's such a crap shoot whether and how I get him to sleep.

He is able to suck up to 3 fingers right now, but doesn't seem to do it at bed time.

Our days in the bouncy seat may be numbered. If he is strapped in, it doesn't take long before he is trying to sit up. Same even in his car seat. Both during his walk and riding around, he does a mini crunch and just leans forward as much as the straps allow. He just can't wait to grow up and sit up :(

Got my nails done, updated for fall season.

We are coping, as we should.

We did it

So the queen bed is a little cramped lately and I'd been meaning to use this week to transition to the crib, so I did it. I put Bobby to bed as usual, just a little late, but nurse, burp, lay down in the bed and nurse while he drift off. But at 10pm when I went to bed, I moved him to his crib (still in my room). He slept until 1am there, back to sleep 1:30-4:30 in the crib, then 4:50-7:30am in the crib! This is good. Harder on me to get up and nurse in the rocker, but I am glad he can sleep "on his own"

He also slept in later, usually he gets up around 6 and can stay half asleep but squirmy until i get him out of bed 7/7:30ish. Sometimes if he wakes 5:30am -ish, he will go back to sleep 7-8. Yesterday we woke at 6am, but nappped 8-10am. So we'll see what today brings. But hooray for the crib. The next step will be moving him down the hall.

Baby Bobby

What's new with us? Let's see....
He actually rolled over twice (front to back) unprompted during tummy time yesterday. He was in mini push up/cobra position and then just went over. I didn't turn him or anything. He had gone over back to front on the bed before but that was b/c it was so soft. He is doing really well on his stomach, where as it used to bother him after about 5 minutes, he now seems to like hanging out there.

He seems really strong for a little guy. You can see it in his quads, calves and shoulders, but probably b/c he's so lean. He doesn't like to bend at the waist. So when you pick him up from lying down, he basically goes straight to standing. One day laying on grammys chest, he straightened his legs and basically stood up. He does though like to be upright in general, mostly sitting propped up or over a shoulder. Sort of past the cuddling, depending on his mood.

Still spitting up a lot. Yay.

Sleeping is hit or miss. Sometimes good, other just okay. I think he's getting enough sleep, but I end up holding him to get in a good nap, and putting him to bed is a solid process. I can usually go from the start of his bath to asleep in 45' but it's a crap shoot whether he sleeps 1 or 3 hours at that point. The other night he slept 8pm to 2am, his longest stretch yet. I think we are still recovering from visiting Timberlake, having the Wilsons here, then picking up Rick from the airport at 9pm. Several days of wonky napping threw us off, but we're back on and today was a good day, napping 8-10am, then 3 other naps of about 45-60 minutes each (including now) so again, bedtime is any ones guess.

What else, still not taking a pacifier, I've abandoned that effort. He can sort of suck his pointer finger and sometimes a thumb (knuckle at least) but not in a soothing manner, just sort of something to do. He likes looking at his hands, sometimes holds his own hand and his grip is very strong when he gets something.

Rick is here, he has lost 10 pounds, I am struggling to keep these same 2 off, so it's tough trying to fatten him up and stick to my plan. Especially when it's so fun to eat out and get ice cream etc. Need Will power this week!

3 Months Today

Approx 13.5 pounds, so that's 1 pound in 3 weeks, about 5 ounces a week. On the slow side of gaining weight, but he's great. Very chatty. And strong. Instead of just kicking the air now, he is able to put his feet down and arch his back while lying down. Have to be careful of this one. He's studying his fist and hands and I think is just starting to reach and grab for things. Just barely though. He's been slow to open up his fisted hands but that's changing as I type. He has a good grip once he gets something, intentionally or not. He is also a "happy spitter." He spits up a lot, but it doesn't seem to upset him, just is a bit gross and stinky and means a lot of laundry for both of us.

Sleeping is hit or miss. Spends about 11-12 hours at night asleep, in bouts from 2-5 hours long, depending on the day. Naps 3 times usually, anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, either in the Pack and Play, big bed, Port a Crib, or even his swing and bouncey seat. I would like this to be about 45-75 minutes 3 times, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. And even if that's enough sleep, I don't like how he's getting it. Needs to be nursed or rocked to sleep, and he sleeps in my bed. I didn't plan it this way, but I will admit, it's much easier in the middle of the night but once he starts crawling and Rick is around, it won't work. I am going to try to get him into his crib more, but he just doesn't sleep as well there.

He's in size 2 diapers. I bought a couple new outfits, 3-6 months size. He is pretty true to size but we are getting ready for cooler days. There are 3 consignment sales next weekend, so we'll be busy! Then Rick comes Monday 9/14 and we are super excited to see him and just allow him to get some rest and family time.