Six months old

Wow, Jacob is six months old. That is half of a year! I cannot believe my little baby is growing up so fast. It is amazing to see all of the wonderful things that he can do, but I am sad to see the days, weeks and months pass by so quickly!

We went to the doctor for his six month checkup last Wednesday and she said that he looked great. He weighed 18 lbs, 1 oz (55th percentile) and was 26 1/4 inches long (45th percentile). Unfortunately, he had to get five shots (including the seasonal flu & H1N1 shot). It was hard to see him in such pain after getting all of those shots, but once I scooped him up and cuddled him for a little while, he was all better. I did give him some Motrin & Tylenol later that day (as instructed by the nurse) just in case he had some additional pain, but he didn't seem to be any fussier than normal. We have to go back in a month for him to get the 2nd shot of the seasonal flu and then will see the pediatrician again at 9 months.

The doctor did have a small concern about a slight tilt to Jacob's head. I honestly never really noticed it until she said something, but it appears that when Jacob holds his head up, it tilts every so slightly to the right. She suggested that we see a pediatric Physical Therapist for one appointment to get some ideas of stretches and exercises we can do to make sure his neck muscles on the left are being strengthened like they should. We have not gotten the referral to the PT yet so I am sure the appointment will be after the holidays. I am not concerned one bit about this because he has really good head control and is able to move his head and neck really well (especially when he is on his tummy). I am confident that he is growing just fine.

One of the exciting things that we started recently is feeding Jacob vegetables. As you know from previous posts, Jake has been eating rice cereal for some time now and really loves it. He also seems very interested in whatever we are eating or drinking. When I am eating something in front of him, he stares at it as it goes from my plate to my mouth. Sometimes, he even opens his mouth hoping that the food will somehow land in it! It is really cute, although I do feel guilty sometimes. I think it will be easier once he can eat what we are eating.

I am definitely going to make my own baby food. It seems like such a simple process for the most part and this way Jacob will be getting fresh fruits and veggies. For now though, with the craziness of the holidays and with us traveling to Richmond and PA in the coming weeks, I am just giving Jake Gerber baby food. I started with sweet potatoes last Thursday and it didn't take him long to really enjoy them. He did make a funny face the first time, but by the second meal, he didn't seem to mind them. He started on carrots on Sunday and really liked those. I am still nursing him four times a day in addition to the cereal and the veggies. Like I have said before, I am confident that he is going to be a good eater, which I am thankful for.

I also introduced a sippy cup with water in it in the last week. Jacob has no earthly idea what to do with the cup other than hold it and put it in his mouth. I have been letting him just play with it to get used to it. At times, I have taken the valve out of it so that the water comes out freely when it is tipped over. When I put it up to his mouth and the water comes out, he usually spits it out. I am sure that it is weird for him to feel a strange liquid substance in his mouth. I know that over time, he will get the hang of it.

Jacob has started to notice his feet a lot more now too and will put them in his mouth. He especially likes to grab for them when he is on the changing table. I think that is because it is one of the only places where his feet are exposed and don't have socks on them. He will pull at his socks and try to put them in his mouth too. He doesn't quite have the strength to pull his socks off yet, but he is close!

Another thing that he is close to mastering is sitting up by himself. As you can see in this picture, he can do it for a very short period of time. Most often, he does not like to sit up (he will arch his back to get back into a laying down position) although I try to pile up lots of toys in front of him so that he has something to distract him. I love seeing him sitting up and I think it makes him look like such a big boy.

The REALLY exciting thing (in my opinion) happening lately is that Jacob's two bottom teeth are coming in! It's hard to get a picture of them so you may not be able to really see them, but they are there! They are popping out more and more everyday. Unfortuantely, because of this, Jake has been a little bit fussier the past few days, mostly in the afternoon and evenings. Thankfully, a little bit of Infant Tylenol usually does the trick and he doesn't seem to be in too much pain most of the time.

A few other things to note (mostly for my own documentation):

• Jacob definitely knows his name and responds to it. If you call his name, he will turn his head and most often smile.
• EVERYTHING goes in his mouth! He will attempt to "eat" anything he can including my shirt, his blanket, his toys and the remote control.
• I can't "sneek" into his room anymore when he is awake in his crib. He pushes himself up and holds his head up really high so that he can see my every move. If I do need to go in there to check on him or get something, I have to duck down so that he can't see me. It's quite a challenge sometimes!
• Sometimes Jacob gets stranger anxiety, but for the most part he smiles at everyone he sees. He has a harder time when I am not around. Even when Keith is holding him, he often turns his head to make sure he knows where I am at all times. He recently stayed with my parents for a few hours and did remarkably well. He seems to take awhile to warm up to my Dad, but my Mom said that Dad was able to make him smile a few times the other night!
• He does not recognize me if I have my sunglasses on. He just stares blankly at me until I take them off.
• Jacob LOVES to jump. He has taken a tremendous liking to the Exersaucer and will jump up and down to make the music and lights turn on. He also loves it when we hold him and he jumps on our laps, or on our stomachs if we are laying down. He is a ball full of energy!
• He is still sleeping really well. I read on babycenter.com that six month old babies require 11-15 hours of sleep a day. Jacob is currently getting more like 15-18 hours. I guess he just really likes sleep!
• He is becoming more flexible when it comes to missing one of his naps. This is good as it allows me to have some flexibility in going places during the day.
• He has not really added much to his vocabulary of sounds lately. He mostly says "ah", "oh" and something that sounds like "hi". He does laugh and giggle a lot, which is really cute. He also yells at times when he is really excited.
• He loves music and when I sing it calms him when he is fussy (especially in the car).
• He is scared of the vaccum cleaner and the dust buster. He cries when I turn them on. He also gets scared if we sneeze loudly. He doesn't always cry, but he gets this really frightened look on his face.
• He is starting to do some things that require us to tell him "No", like putting his fingers in his mouth when he is eating or trying to roll over while we are changing his diaper. It is hard for me to "discipline" him at such a young age, but I know that I need to teach him right from wrong. Slowly, I am sure he will start to understand.
• He is still spitting up A LOT. I am definitely ready to be done with this stage! He is still taking Zatac twice a day and we will continue that for as long as we need to (the doctor said he can probably go off of it by the time he is one).
• He definitely has a few favorite toys that go everywhere with us. These include his teething ring, his orange ball and the green monkey. He has others that he likes to play with at home, but those three are the standard favorites right now.

As you can see, I am very busy raising a beautiful, smart little person! I am LOVING my life right now and look forward to all of the wonderful things that are to come!

Thanksgiving 2009

I am way behind in posting about recent happenings, but I wanted to be sure to include a post about Jacob's first Thanksgiving. So here goes....

Every Thanksgiving that Keith and I have celebrated together (4 years) has been spent in Richmond with my family. This has usually happened because one (or both) of us had to work on the day after, so traveling wasn't going to work.

This year, since neither of us had work, we decided to venture up to Western PA to spend the holiday with Keith's family. We left on Monday afternoon and came back on Friday. We would have stayed through the weekend, but we had plans to meet up with friends of ours in Richmond on Saturday (Daryl & Ana who were in town from Toronto) and Sunday (Mark & Tanya who were in town from Asheville, NC). Unfortunately, the visit on Saturday didn't pan out, but we were overjoyed to see the Burdettes on Sunday!!

While we were visiting in PA, like we do many times, we stayed with Keith's aunt Kay & uncle Barry in the house that Keith grew up in. It was the first time we had taken an extended overnight trip with Jacob since September and I was worried that his schedule would get a bit messed up (which it did) and he would get overtired (which he did) and the trip would be stressful for me (which it was) because I am such a control freak when it comes to his schedule! All in all, though, I was pleased at how flexible he became and how easily he took to being around people that he doesn't see very often.

As you can see, he was quite happy hanging out with uncle Barry one morning:

And, aunt Kay got him some really fun toys to play with. She got down on the floor with him numerous times and he really enjoyed playing with her:

On Thanksgiving day, we went to Keith's cousin Susie's house and had 14 people around the dinner table. It was great to see everyone and for them to enjoy time with Jacob.

Of course, Jacob wasn't able to enjoy all of the delicious food that we had (they had turkey AND ham AND manicotti, not to mention all of the wonderful side dishes. And, the desserts were awesome!!) But, he did get to sit in his portable high chair and eat some yummy rice cereal!

He also got to experience the "Grand Illumination" of Susie & Tad's Christmas decorations. Jacob got to "hit the switch" and turn all of their outdoor lights on. Of course, at this point he was tired and probably cold (it was a bit chilly there that night), but he looked at all the lights with Daddy.

After he took his evening nap, he got to play a bit with Grandma Marge (Keith's mom) and his cousin Becca. At times, I think he wasn't sure about all of the people around but for the most part, he really relished the attention.

On Friday morning, we woke up to snow falling and Jacob got to experience his very first snowfall. It snowed for a few hours and a couple of inches accumulated on the ground. Keith and I were really excited to see snow & glad that we were able to show it to Jacob. I think he wasn't quite sure what to think about it, but he didn't cry or fuss when we took him outside in it.

We didn't keep him outside long since he didn't have super warm clothes on, but he did get to put his feet on the snowy ground.
He enjoyed being out there with Mommy & Daddy and we are hoping he gets to experience more snow when we travel north again for Christmas.

Feet

I am not a big fan of feet, except for my own. Well, and these......

The Hop 'N Pop

We have been on the go so much this last week and I have a lot of things to blog about including our trip to PA for Thanksgiving with Keith's family. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to sit down and put anything together yet.

In the meantime, I wanted to post this video (which in my opinion is super cute!) of Jacob in one of his favorite toys right now - the Fisher Price Hop 'N Pop. This is a toy that we borrowed from a friend of mine about two months ago and Jacob is just now really starting to enjoy it. When he jumps up and down, it "pops" and music plays.

This video was taken on Sunday night after we returned from a week away from home. As you can see, Jake was very animated that night and his laughter was contagious! The funniest thing was that he could see himself on the computer while I was recording and it was almost mesmorizing for him! He would stop and just stare at himself. I just love his little laughs!

A day at the playground

Last Monday, I met my sister, Katie, and her kiddos at one of the playgrounds in my neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day and was even a bit warm when you were standing directly in the sun.

Katie & I enjoyed catching up and we even chatted with a few moms and their kiddos who were also visiting the playground. Pierce really enjoyed playing with another little boy who was about his age. I wish I had gotten a picture of them sitting together on the playground talking about the plane that had just flown over us. It was so cute!

We have visited the playground a few other times with Katie & Pierce, but I have never put Jacob on the swingset before since he wasn't really able to sit up very well until recently. This time, I put him in the swing and when I pushed him a little, he smiled. I think he really liked it.

Here are some fun pictures from our adventure:

Pierce & Jacob on the swing while another little boy looks on.

Reid was fast asleep in the front carrier.

Weeeeee....Jacob is happy on the swing

Katie doing "triple duty" - pushing Pierce on the swing

while wearing Reid in the carrier AND talking to another mom

He looks so grown up! :(

He's thinking, "Mom, stop taking pictures so you can keep pushing me!"

Five months old (a few weeks late!)

Warning...this is going to be a long post because I am so behind with blogging lately. I feel like I have so much to post about, but I just don't get around to actually typing out my thoughts. It's frustrating and I wish I had more time in the day to get things like this done. In addition to sharing what's going on in our lives, I want to "journal" what is happening with Jacob so I can go back and remember all of the fun things he is learning and doing. I have recently gone back and read some of my posts from when he was first born and I really enjoy seeing how little he was and remembering those times.

Alas, he turned 5 months old two weeks ago and I am just now getting around to post about it. I guess I need to be more organized and on top of things in the months to come. Maybe that can be my New Year's resolution this year :)

Anyways, I cannot believe that Jacob is 5 months old already!! He is growing up so fast before my eyes and I often want time to stop so I can enjoy this wonderful stage in his life!

Developmentally, he is changing so much every day. The biggest change in the last month is that he can now hold on to things, like rattles and such. He can also pick them up if I put them in front of him. He has always had a really strong grip, but now it is so cool to watch him actually focus on a toy, reach out and grab it. I know it's a small thing, but it just makes me so proud!

He still loves to be on his stomach (as soon as I put him in his crib or on the floor to play, he instantly turns over onto his stomach). He is not very fond of laying on the activity mat and playing with the toys that hang down above him. He would much rather be on his tummy with his head up looking at the things around him. I need to be very careful when he is on the couch or the bed as he tends to move around a lot also and I am worried that he may roll right off! I am certain that crawling is not too far away although I am not in any hurry for that to happen! As you can see from this picture, he has a lot of strength in his arms and he pushes himself up often to look around. He hasn't mastered anything with his legs let except for kicking his feet, but I am sure that will come soon.

He also has no desire to sit up at this time. I often prop him up on the couch, but he arches his back and pushes himself down to a laying position. It's weird, but I guess that is how he is most comfortable!

He is more and more alert these days and enjoys playing with things like this Exersaucer that we borrowed from Sierra (Thank you, Karen!). He still can't really push any buttons himself, although sometimes he accidently hits something and music will play. He is very interested in looking around at everything and enjoys anything that lights up or plays music. We have put the bouncy seat away and he doesn't sit in the swing that much anymore. I guess we are moving to a new stage of "playing".

I am not sure if he is teething or not, although I suspect that he is. I have been periodically checking his gums to see if I can feel any teeth popping up, but I haven't felt anything. He constantly has his hands in his mouth, either sucking or chewing on his fingers or pulling on his gums. He drools a lot too, although not as much as I had imagined. I try to give him appropriate things to "chew" on like teething rings and toys, but he often will grab one of my fingers, a blanket, his bib or his burp cloth. Basically he puts everything in his mouth!!

He has started making more sounds now too. He will babble on and on and he makes a really cute raspberry noise (although it's not so cute when he does it while he is eating as it makes a big mess!). He also likes to make a high-pitched squealing noise when he gets excited (like when Daddy comes home from work). I love "talking" with him and he is contantly smiling, either in response to someone smiling at him or even on his own. He has started laughing a lot more now too (especially when I kiss him on his neck or tickle him). Last night Keith was getting him ready for bed while I was cleaning up from dinner and I could hear them both laughing really hard over the monitor. It was so cute hearing them interact and I know that Keith really enjoys those times too!

He continues to do really well with eating. On November 4th, I decided to get his high chair out of the box and see how he would do sitting in it while eating his rice cereal. As you can see, he really enjoys it. Keith said that seeing him in the high chair really made him look like a little boy and I would have to agree. I am sad that he is growing up so fast!

He is still breastfeeding about five times a day (usually every 3-4 hours). After he breastfeeds mid-morning and mid-afternoon, I give him a 1/4 cup of rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. He has become really good at eating with the spoon and he really likes to eat! He gets excited when he sees me coming with the cereal and he waves his arms and legs. He finishes all of it in a very short time and would probaby eat more if I gave it to him. A few weeks ago I was thinking about giving him some fruits and vegetables too, but I have decided to wait a few more weeks until he turns six months old.

In addition to being a good eater, he is also an awesome sleeper! He has really stared to establish a pattern which is nice for me! He usually gets up around 7am (give or take 15 minutes). When he wakes up in the morning (and from most naps), he doesn't cry or really even fuss. Most of the time I will hear him just babbling to himself in the crib. Usually after about 45 minutes of being awake in the morning (including feeding time), he starts to get fussy and will go back down for a morning nap. These days, he will sleep anywhere from an hour to three hours during that nap. Once he gets up, he eats and plays for about an hour to an hour and a half, and then he goes down for another nap. His afternoon nap is often shorter than his morning nap, but he sometimes sleeps three hours in the afternoon too (if he takes a long nap in the morning, it's often shorter in the afternoon and vice versa). Depending on what time he wakes up from his afternoon nap, he will sometimes go down for a short nap around 5pm and sleep for about an hour. He is usually in bed for the night between 7 and 7:30pm.

He does really well with going down in the crib. I think we taught him well that the crib is the place you go to sleep. He will often lay his head right down as soon as we put him in it. He very rarely fusses or cries, although sometimes he will babble for quite awhile until he falls asleep. One cute thing is that he will "talk" to the bears that are on the bumper around the inside of his crib. If he is "talking" a lot, sometimes I will go in to see if he has spit up or if something else is wrong and he will just be staring at one of the bears making "ooh" and "aah" sounds. I usually smile and just walk out of the room.

One thing that he does have trouble with is falling asleep in the pack and play when we are traveling. It usually takes him some time to fall asleep and he sometimes gets fussy if he is in an unfamiliar place. I am hoping this is something he will grow out of. We are traveling to PA next week to spend Thanksgiving with Keith's family so I will have to see how he does.

He is still taking Zantac for his reflux issue. I have decreased his dose to 1 ml twice a day and I am hoping to get it even lower (and eventually not have to use it at all). I tried to decrease it to .5 ml, but the next day he was very fussy so I decided not to mess with it for now.

I wish I could say that he isn't spitting up as much now that he is eating cereal, but that isn't the case. In fact, in the past few days, he seems to be having more stomach issues and is spitting up more than usual. I don't know what the cause might be, but thankfully he doesn't seem to mind it, except when he does it in the crib and then he gets it all over his face. As for me, I am definitely ready for it to STOP! I walk around most days smelling like sour milk....not fun!

All in all, Jacob is growing and changing so much! I love being around him and find it a joy to hang out with him every day. I cannot believe that he will be six months old in just two weeks!! He has his six month checkup with the doctor scheduled for December 9th, so I will be sure to report his new "stats" and let you all know what else he is up to!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to us!

Today Keith and I are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. Some days it seems like our wedding was just yesterday and sometimes I feel like I have known Keith my whole life!

This past year has brought many changes to our marriage, most importantly being the addition of Jacob to our family. Three years ago, on our wedding day, we could only dream of the childen that we hoped to have. Today, we are not only husband and wife, but we are also Mom & Dad to this precious baby boy.

I am truly thankful to Keith for being a caring husband, a loving father and a gracious provider for our family. I look forward to many more years of health and happiness with this wonderful man.