Today we had a photo session. I try to do these every once in a while, spend about an hour photographing him - because I think it helps really capture his personality at this very moment - tears, smiles, and all! As you can see, right now we are not all smiles. We have so many priceless moments from this session, that you are sure to be seeing these photos for many posts to come.
Tomorrow he will be 6 months old. I have lots of questions for the doctor. When do we get to start finger foods? When can I start really feeding him instead of just giving him an ounce of rice or a fruit or veggie here or there? Why are his rashes still here? Should we stop using the binky? And, what do we do about my constant fear that if we do not swaddle him, he will not fall or stay asleep?
There are some certainties that will come with his 6 month birthday. The end of boobie juice. The frozen supply will be all gone by the end of the week. That's right, kids. I had that much frozen that 1/4 - 1/3 of his daily intake since 4-1/2 months old has been thawed boobie juice. I wonder if this is why his rashes are still here...
The other certainty is that things are going to get harder. I'd like to think that the past 6 weeks or so have been a bit of a cake walk. He can't really move around yet, he still takes three long naps a day, he has been sleeping through the night really well, and he is generally a really happy and wonderful baby. This is probably all going to change. He will start moving, and require 100% of my constant attention. He will stop napping, right? Once the swaddle is out, cry it out is back in, and teething is upon us, I just know it. The drool factory is working overtime right now and his cranky level is dialed up a notch. I wonder if a tooth is coming, or if I am just one of those parents who think it is coming but really I have two more months at least...
Either way I am trying to enjoy the time we are at right now. He watches me make dinner. He goes in his excersaucer and "works." Really, it is like his office. He is pretty scheduled with his naptimes, and he really is a ladies man, charming every girl he meets. I hope a lot of these things stay the same, but I also hope we get to add some fun things, like sitting up for an extended period of time (longer than 1 minute), some babbling, some crawling, some finger foods, etc.
Today we had a photo session. I try to do these every once in a while, spend about an hour photographing him - because I think it helps really capture his personality at this very moment - tears, smiles, and all! As you can see, right now we are not all smiles. We have so many priceless moments from this session, that you are sure to be seeing these photos for many posts to come. 
Tomorrow he will be 6 months old. I have lots of questions for the doctor. When do we get to start finger foods? When can I start really feeding him instead of just giving him an ounce of rice or a fruit or veggie here or there? Why are his rashes still here? Should we stop using the binky? And, what do we do about my constant fear that if we do not swaddle him, he will not fall or stay asleep?
There are some certainties that will come with his 6 month birthday. The end of boobie juice. The frozen supply will be all gone by the end of the week. That's right, kids. I had that much frozen that 1/4 - 1/3 of his daily intake since 4-1/2 months old has been thawed boobie juice. I wonder if this is why his rashes are still here...
The other certainty is that things are going to get harder. I'd like to think that the past 6 weeks or so have been a bit of a cake walk. He can't really move around yet, he still takes three long naps a day, he has been sleeping through the night really well, and he is generally a really happy and wonderful baby. This is probably all going to change. He will start moving, and require 100% of my constant attention. He will stop napping, right? Once the swaddle is out, cry it out is back in, and teething is upon us, I just know it. The drool factory is working overtime right now and his cranky level is dialed up a notch. I wonder if a tooth is coming, or if I am just one of those parents who think it is coming but really I have two more months at least...
Either way I am trying to enjoy the time we are at right now. He watches me make dinner. He goes in his excersaucer and "works." Really, it is like his office. He is pretty scheduled with his naptimes, and he really is a ladies man, charming every girl he meets. I hope a lot of these things stay the same, but I also hope we get to add some fun things, like sitting up for an extended period of time (longer than 1 minute), some babbling, some crawling, some finger foods, etc.
Great pictures! He's adorable.
ReplyDeleteThe prospect of unswaddling is always scary. I knew my two kids were ready for it when they started waking up more frequently at night. It was right around 5 1/2 - 6 months for both of them. I had to do cry it out with my son, but my daughter surprised me by sliding right into falling asleep on her own/staying asleep all night - I think because she had already been sleeping through the night (my son didn't start sleeping through the night until he was 7 months old). LJ may surprise you by doing just fine without the swaddle - I hope he does!
-Allison
I agree with Allison. Plus, don't think that LJ won't nap well. If you make it a priority he will too. Cameron is 4 months older and she still naps twice a day for anywhere from 2-3 hours per nap. And it will completely save your sanity! If you think he's teething then LJ probably is. Go ahead and give him some Motrin before bed if you aren't against medicating him. Especially if you want to unswaddle him and let him CIO. That way he can find his own pacifier and sooth himself back to sleep. You will love giving him finger foods. Puffs and Cheerios are good first starterd. And try out the mesh bags that he can suck on. Those were a big hit for Cameron.
ReplyDeleteLove, love the photos! He doesn't seem scared of snow at all.
Oh, I meant to comment on the food stuff, too. Your pediatrician will probably have some good advice on that. Of course, every pediatrician has different preferences when it comes to stuff like that, so you can always just try your best to follow LJ's cues and start things a little early if you want. But to give you one perspective, my pediatrician recommended that by 7 months we have Lucy taking 3 solid meals a day (she was only getting 1-2 when we went in for her 6-month check-up). By 8 months she wanted us to introduce little things like Cheerios and puffs, and by 9 months she told us Lucy can have things like yogurt and finger foods (little bits of pancake and other soft things). At the time I almost started crying because I thought "my baby can't be almost old enough for pancakes." One of the perils of knowing you are done having kids and that this one is you LAST BABY. I'd be happy having her on bottles forever if she could just stay this young... sigh.
ReplyDeleteOn the rashes (we Jenki like to hit all your questions!) - I can't stress enough that all over rashes usually relate to food allergies which in turn can result in childhood asthma. If you don't see a difference when he's on all formula you should see an allergist - the formula he is on is not all broken down - and you'd be surprised about corn biproduct allergies, etc. I love this age - enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI love the Jenki for all their help! As you may well tell from my facebook status, unswaddling did not go well last night. He went to bed like a charm, but woke up around 945. I am a wimp and could only handle the screaming for fifteen minutes before I swaddled him again... But this morning he napped no problem without the swaddle so we will see tonight. Otherwise all went well and it sounds like we are on the same food paths as you guys were. He said though that we can start puffs now which he seems to just push around. Angus loves it! The rashes are still day to day management - another reason we need to wait to introduce too many more foods. He is almost off my boobie milk, and I really think that ironically that may be a big part of it. Thanks again for all of your help and advice!
ReplyDelete