First Time using a Plate

December 22, 2012 - First time eating from a plate!

Nine Months

Dear Conor,

Mommy is having a hard time with your monthly post this month as you are 9 months old.  You have now been a little part of this giant world for as long as you were a tiny person-to-be inside Mommy's tummy.  I have done my best to protect you, shelter you, and gain your trust in these last 9 months so that you know now and will know forever how much you are loved.  I have worked hard to comfort you and anticipate your every need so that you never felt abandoned or neglected. I've tried to introduce you to the world in ways that encourage you to participate in it and not just observe; to be cautious but not afraid of all it has to offer.  I have made you my focus in order to show you that I would always give you all of me whenever you required it and at those times that you don't.  I promise you that no matter what else Mommy has on her plate YOU are the most important and will always come FIRST.

Nine months little man - you are wearing 9 and 12 month clothing.  You are growing leaner and therefore clothes are fitting you for longer periods of time (our wallets appreciate this!).  The pants are always still too long on you but since you are not walking yet that is ok as it helps keep your legs covered when you are in the backpack.

You have started to accept food a tad bit more regularly though not each day.  I have stared only offering it to you every few days in order to not pressure you.  Since you are so inconsistent with eating I have stopped making your food by hand as I don't feel it stays fresh long enough so you are eating "Happy Baby" brand as well a few other all organic pouches.  You tend to like to suck the food from the pouch instead of using a spoon and that is ok by me (for now).  You also really like puffs.

 

You are now officially unstoppable!  You are crawling everywhere and over everything!  You can crawl over humps and under bridges and its been real fun to watch you go (and also trying to always keep one step ahead of you).  You also pull up on everything and you have started holding onto things with only 1 hand - you aren't supporting yourself unassisted at this time but I'm sure in one month I will be writing about you doing just that.  You have started becoming more vocal and both Daddy and I LOVE your little voice and all its octaves!

 

You have such a a great personality.  You are truly a very happy baby.  You are typically all smiles all day unless you are hungry or have an unmet need (which isn't often).  You have started getting upset when things you want are taken away from you or someone you want leaves the room (usually mommy when I am trying to get a drink before sitting down to nurse you).  You have a little bit of stranger anxiety (mostly towards men) but you easily come around when/if the man is able to spend a little time making you feel comfortable.

You are also fearful of animals.  You get very nervous when they come into the room or come near you on the street.  You want to be as far away from them as possible and you shriek very loudly and start crying if you are not picked up or the animal moved away.  Your Daddy and I want you to love animals but as your Mommy used to be fearful of them when she was a little girl she understands that we need to support your fear until you are ready to explore them further.  So for now we make sure that Grandma and Grandpa Jakan's dogs are not around and that anyone else we know who has animals is able to put them away when we visit (and for the most part they are).

 

 

You are still not a fabulous sleeper.  You tend to go to sleep between 7 and 8:15 and you will sleep until 11pm or so.  At that time you nurse for about 10 minutes until you fall back asleep.  You wake up next around 3:15am and at that point you nurse for a little bit longer.  Some nights I struggle to get you to go back to bed at this time and so you are up for a good hour - but this is not every night.  You are usually up for the day around 6:30am unless I nurse you a little bit more before I go to work -then you will sleep for Daddy until 7:30am or if I get to sleep in and pull you into bed with me you will often sleep until 7:30am.  Your Daddy and I talked about sleep training but we feel you simply aren't ready yet so we will be talking to your pediatrician about our concerns and if you need to be eating so much at night (so far what Mommy reads says that you do because you are not eating a lot during the day - mostly at night and you aren't eating much solids).

 

 

You are moving further and further away from being my baby and closer and closer to being my 'big boy' and while Mommy is sad she is loving every minute she gets to watch you grow and learn new things.  I love you so much little man and I can't WAIT to continue to watch you grow.

 

Until next month little man -

 

xoxo

Mommy

 

PS.  My how you have Grown........

 

 

SEVEN MONTHS & Doctor Check-up

Dear Conor,

I truly can't believe it - seven months!  You are now closer to being ONE than being a newborn!  Mommy has some great ideas for your first birthday and since the days are now flying by I better get started on the planning!

While physically you haven't grown that much in the last month developmentally you have blossomed.  You have become so much more mobile.  You use your arms to reach for things to grab and then you pull yourself towards those items.  When you can't reach something you use your toes to push off the floor or any object behind you to give you some momentum.  You are also pulling yourself up onto your hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  You also now LOVE to stand and walk!  Taking you to see Erika the Chiropractor has really made a difference in your gait and stability.  You are walking much straighter now and you are using both legs equally.  While you right step is still shorter than your left we are very happy with your progress.

You love to observe things.  You take them into your hands and you turn them around and around or you drop them and pick them back up.  You explore your toys in this manner - sometimes shaking them so much that we watch you bop yourself in the head!

You are very aware of your surroundings.  You look for us when we come down the stairs if you hear the creaking of the steps.  You cry/whine when someone you want to play with leaves the room, you turn to the voice of both Daddy and I when you hear us somewhere in the house call your name.  You are such a smart little boy already!

We took you for your 6 month check-up (which was really at 7 months) and here are your stats:  weight 18obs 14oz (58%); height 26 inches (20%); head 45cm (72%). You were such a good boy at the doctor's office until the final shot.  Once it was in your leg you gave a swift kick and the needle tracked down your thigh.  The nurse felt terrible because she wounded you.  I felt terrible because I hadn't held you tightly enough and Daddy felt bad because the nurse felt bad.  We all laughed and said next time we were going to put you in a straight jacket but on your legs!

While we waited for the doctor you had a great time ripping up the paper on the exam table!

Of course, as soon as we got home I had to check and see how your stats compared to your old ones - here they are (in order):

As you can see, your weight gain has slowed down and instead of gaining 2lbs a month you are gained 2 pounds in almost 3 months.  Your head circumference is back up which is a good thing because it means you will not be evaluated for further treatment on your flat spot (more on that later).  You are still a little shorty but you have plenty of time to grow so no one is worried since you are still growing.  They would only be worried if you had stopped!

I don't know what else to say Conor except you are wonderful in every way!

Happy 7 month birthday!

xoxo
Mom

PS.  Look how you have grown!  As each month passes its getting harder and harder to remember you as the little red faced baby in the first picture!

First Foods!

Dear Conor,

Your 6 month of life has been a busy one full of lots of firsts.  A big one was your first taste of 'real' food! On June 9, 2012 we started your road to first foods.

We decided on Sweet Potato for your first food because it is not too sweet but not too bland, it purees well, and one potato would make enough food for one week so we could try a little each night.

To prepare your first food I had to use our Baby Brezza. Its a machine that steams and blends the food for us and then reheats it via steam at a later point if you need it.  Because we don't have a microwave I loved this idea!

All chopped up and ready to steam.

Pureed Goodness!

One Sweet Potato made several containers of food.  I was not sure how you would take to this new experience and so I divided the puree into small amounts so that we could defrost little bits at a time so as not to waste and have to repeat.  My plan was to have you on Sweet Potato for 2 weeks to allow you to get used to the consistency of purees and also to allow for the flavor to stay the same while you did this.


All your containers ready for the freezer.

 Once the puree was cool enough to place in the fridge before it went in the freezer I knew it was also time to scoop some into a bowl for you to try.  Because we try to include Hunter in everything you do we also scooped some into a bowl for him.

Sweet Potato for both my boys

Of course, I firmly believe in learning through all five senses so I dumped some sweet potato onto your tray for you to squish and touch.  You were very delicate at first and then you really got the hang of it.

Squishing Sweet Potato

 The actual eating of the Sweet Potato did take some time.  You weren't quite sure about me putting the spoon into your mouth with something on it.  But, we took our time and by the end of the meal you were opening your mouth just a little bit to accept the tip of the spoon.  Your first food experience was caught on video but I have to figure out how to cut it down so that the blog will accept it.  Either way - we have those first few precious faces you made as you tried your first taste of solid food!

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you for trying new things!  And judging by this picture - yo uwere pretty proud of yourself too!

Here's to a new adventure with you Con-man!

xoxo
Mommy

Happy 6 Months 6.14.12

Conor,

Mommy is behind in her posts but since you turn 7 months old tomorrow I wanted to get this post up so that they stayed in order.

On June 14, 2012 you turned 6 months old.  Mommy and Daddy simply couldn't believe that you were 1/2 way to one and that you had been in our lives for half a year.  You continue to amaze us each day with all the things that you are learning.

Your 6 month birthday cake!

This month you have become very good at manipulating your hands.  You love to reach for things, pick things up, and bring them to your mouth.  Toys, shoes, our fingers, basically anything you can reach. You are grabbing things with an open fist and drawing your fingers closed around the object.  You have not mastered the pincher grip just yet.  As you can see from the two pictures below you are even able to grasp thin items....I have a feeling our monthly photo sessions are going to get tougher!

One of the things you love to do is pick things up and shake them.  You spend a lot of time shaking your toys and the ones that make noise excite you the most.  You have a renewed interest in some toys that you haven't touched in a while such as your links and sophie the giraffe.

You are now a champion at sitting up.  You don't need anything for support though we often still put the boppy pillow behind you because when you get excited you throw yourself backwards :)

You are very aware of your surroundings and you have a need to touch everything!  Its really cute to see you look at something, reach for it, and then get excited when you are able to touch it.  You are so inquisitive.

Not only are you rolling over like a champ these days but you love to do 'push ups'.  You push your body up with your arms till your elbows are locked and you smile because you are so proud of yourself.  This is the first stage in preparing to crawl and while this mom is excited to see you developing she is also so sad because it means pretty soon you will be on the move all by yourself.  You are already so very independant at 6 months old.

You are wearing size 6-9 months clothes (more 9 months than 6) and you have a pretty decent sleep schedule.  You tend to take 2 naps a day (though they are short) one in the morning and one in the late afternoon.  You go to bed between 7:30 and 9pm waking at least once but usually twice (midnight and 3am).  You wake for the day between 6:30 and 7:30am.  After your 3am wake-up I usually crawl into the big bed with you because you seem to need extra love to get back to sleep at that hour - your body just wants to party!  You are still exclusively breast fed but we are going to start solids this month!  Your hair is also starting to grow in - its still has an auburn hue to it but we shall see what happens as it fills in more.

We love you so very much little man.....Here's to another 6 months of fun!

My how you have grown!

xoxo
Mom

Family Time

Conor is just 4 days shy of being 5 months old.  I seem to say it a lot but I truly can't believe how quickly time is flying by.  While I intend to continue to supply most of Conor's nutrition it is time to start introducing him to the wonderful world of food.  In order to do that I had to do some thinking about how we would go about this. 

Growing up we always ate dinner as a family at the table.  It was a time to reflect on the day that had passed and talk about things that were coming up.  While there are certain memories of the dinner table that are not fond (like sitting at the table until bedtime because I refused to eat my meatloaf), most of my family dinner memories are good ones.  I specifically remember when Danielle was little and she would sit in her high chair eating while we ate and she just talked and talked as she tried to be apart of our conversations about math class, hockey practice, and reading circles.  Dinner was simply a time when the TV was turned off and we just focused on each other.

I very much want this same experience for Conor.  Currently Josh and I do not sit down at the table and eat together (we usually eat in the living room while working or watching a show).  But, in order to give Conor the best that we can, this habit must change.  But first, Conor needs a place to sit!

I had originally wanted a booster type high chair but after playing around with it a little a realized it is not what I wanted and therefore I returned it and now searching for just the right highchair to meet our needs.  I would like a chair that allows Conor to be apart of our dinner experience and one that will be easily cleaned (so many of the plastic ones have too many places for food to hide!).  I have been looking at wooden high chairs that will be able to grow with Conor as he gets older but is still too small to sit in a regular chair as it is important that Conor always feel apart of dinner time.  I have my eye on a few and can't wait to make the final decision.

Once I do then it will be time to reveal our new dinning room and prepare for Conor's FIRST family dinner!

xoxo
Erin