12/14

Bobby loves to play with drawstring cords, all cords basically - you know, anything he could strangle himself with...

I think I've mentioned it before, but Bobby loves Sophie. He watches her all the time, to the point of distraction. And now that Bobby might have some food around him, Sophie likes him back. And of course, the teething biscuits look like dog treats.

He was up at midnight, 2am and 4am last night.

12/13

Quiet weekend here.

Bobby had a good visit at the gym day care today. No tears. He was rested and well fed and is hopefully getting used to it.

He continues to not really nap though. He went down three times, yes, but for probably 3.5 hours combined. And we've reverted to being held a lot and waking up a lot in the middle of the night. He went down around 8 tonight in the hope to stay asleep a little longer than 5:30am. I didn't keep him up late, he just woke up from a nap at 5:30pm so it was natural.

Christmas shopping is almost all done, presents are wrapped and cards are sent. Still don't have the holiday spirit though and I'm really fighting the urge to bake the cookies that I want to so badly.

December

• We are now eating oatmeal with carrots. delicious.
• Took him to the child care at the gym. They came and got me out of aerobics class after about 40 minutes. He was crying. This wrecked me b/c if your kid never cries, its so hard to see him with wet red eyes. It was probably the tons of toddlers and loudness and crazy colors and tv and whatnot. We're going back nonetheless tomorrow.
• He's a really good baby. Very chill and very happy. Easy to take care of. I'm lucky.
• Soooo excited to see Cooper J.
• Rick is good. Probably a bit bored. Mentioned that it is good that everyday is the same b/c there is no build up to Christmas.
• 6 month check up and vaccines isn't until the 21st
• Thinking about driving up to DC to shop and kill time

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Update: Holy Crap

So about that last bit. Bobby pooped today and made up for yesterday. All at once, I actually have a picture but think it's improper to post it, it's that bad. Sometimes it leaks out his back along the waistline of the diaper (in a little line) but this went about 5 inches up his back AND then back over and down his bum, about a handful, for lack of a better description. WOW. And getting his filthy shirt off meant his arms and back and pretty much everything else got covered. Pictures upon request (sicko)

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.