Eight Months!

As of Saturday, Baby John is 2/3 of a year old! And he's really growing up.

He has been working hard on getting into and out of the seated position. It's so cute to see him prop himself up with his chubby little arm. He can totally sit up all on his own. Sometimes he'll tip over, but all those months of doing "baby crunches" have paid off, for he simply tucks his chin to his chest as he topples. Thus he doesn't bang his head!

Another recent development is that he's starting to pull himself up. I walked into his room one recent evening to find him kneeling (in his sleep sack) at the side of the crib, clutching the rails, and gumming the top rail. Extremely cute, but also a sign that we need to lower the mattress to its lowest setting now.

Here he's rocking...

Standing Up!

Speaking of the crib, John is a mobile sleeper. He usually rolls onto his tummy now to sleep (like, immediately. I put him in on his back, he rolls right over to his side or tummy). Often he'll bang his head on the rails scooting about in his sleep. And he's never where I left him or last saw him (thankful our monitor can pan!).

John hasn't started crawling with his belly up off the floor just yet. However, he creeps quite quickly, often relying on just his upper body and left leg for power. He can get into the all-fours crawling stance and rock back and forth (as if gaining momentum), but then he ends up with his belly back on the ground when he takes off.

Eating is going quite well. He usually eats fruit and cereal for breakfast, fruit and/or veggies for lunch, and the. Veggies and cereal for dinner. He's had apples, bananas, pears, avocado, mango, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, and peas.
He's also tried teething biscuits with varying degrees of success (but always with pleasure).

Sleep is going well (knock on wood!). Normally he only nurses once or twice (or sometimes not at all!) in the night. We do have the occasional night of nursing in the chair all night (which may be as much from Mommy falling asleep there as from him wanting/needing it). The past few nights he's woken up around eleven but has gone back to sleep after Daddy soothes him. Nice! Napping is hit or miss at times because of being the second child and subject to James's schedule...

John continues to be super happy. He smiles at everybody! It's fun. His best buddy at church is the dad of three older kids (2nd, 4th, and 6th graders). John just loooooves him and practically leaps into his arms.

I've been trying to be consistent in signing to him, and Dan and I both think we've seen him sign for "milk"! He also seems to say "maMa!" when he wants me/milk. This morning I heard "dada" for the first time, but wasn't sure if it was in context or not.

Speaking of context, John's favorite books seem to be Dear Zoo; Snuggle Puppy; and Happy Birthday, Little Pookie. He tries to operate the flaps in Dear Zoo! And he smiles at Pookie and the puppy. So sweet! There are days, though, when he's too sleepy for books, and will listen to one, but then push it away and doesn't want any more.

Apart from listening to books, one of John's favorite pastimes is playing peekaboo. He laughs and laughs and seems to most enjoy playing it with James. He also enjoys time with peers. Recently he has had a few opportunities to hang out with the neighbor girls (who are just a few months older), and he smiles and laughs with them. He gets super excited. Very cute. At te playground, he's no longer just a passive observer-- he loves the swings!

John also likes to "dance" by bouncing enthusiastically to music. And making his own music-- much like his big brother, John likes playing the keyboard.

Perhaps his most favorite activity of all is bathing!! He splashes SO much and laughs and smiles. He also sits upright in his little tub instead of leaning back. Such a big boy!

No teeth yet, which is fine by me. I'm in no rush to say goodbye to that sweet gummy smile. John weighs over twenty pounds already (!), and seems tall. Footed PJs only are long enough if they're 12mo. or bigger. He's in mostly 9 mo. or 12 mo. clothes; 6 mo. clothes are all too little (and 9 mo pants are getting rather short). We'll be switching carseats soon for certain!

BREAKING NEWS: John just pulled himself to standing at the ottoman! Completely on his own!

John Eats!

So you may recall that John had begun his adventures with cereal back in late June.  Well, he came down with a bit of a cold just before we left for our two-week trip to SC, so we payed a visit to the pediatrician to rule out an ear infection.  His ears looked great, but she said to ditch the solids during our trip.  That way he'd stay hydrated and healthy (yea, breastmilk!).  Added bonus-- no need to worry about pumping, mixing cereal, finding him a seat and a bib, etc.  Excellent.

Thus we started over with rice cereal after his six-month birthday.  He did well (better than during his first foray), and we moved on to barley and oatmeal.  He's a great eater!  He gets excited when seated in his high chair, and opens his mouth wide when he sees a spoon coming his way.  And if he doesn't see a spoon coming his way, well, he'll let you know he's displeased!

Last night was his first "dining out" experience.  He had oatmeal while we were at James's friend's birthday party.  John was going after it!  He grabbed the spoon and tried to feed himself!

Today was his first adventure with veggies.  James was super excited for his baby brother!  We steamed and pureed some carrots this morning, and John looooved his lunch!  Looking forward to dinner!

A Morning at the Farm

feeding time

The first animal that James fed this morning was a baby goat/kid.  After it ate the cracker, James said to me, "He doesn't have any chin hair."  He was pleased to see the adult goat's chin hair in place.

Breakfast at IHOP

yummy! We dropped Daddy off at the train and came to the "pancake house" for a fun start to our day.

***Update***
At dinner tonight, Dan asked James where he and I went for breakfast.  James enthusiastically replied, "The Entire House of Pancakes!"

Big Boy Skills

When did my Sweet Baby James become such a BIG BOY?!

He can now handle staircases just fine on his own. Up and down. Saying, "You're such a big boy," as he does so (cracks me up).

His singing repertoire has expanded substantially. Recent favorites (that he'll just break out into all on his own) include: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," "The Mayor of Blanketville" by Tom Chapin, "Frosty the Snowman," and "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah."

He climbs in and out of the car. And sometimes into his blue chair for mealtime.

He's even jumping over things. Very low things.

Tooth brushing is improving-- we're hitting all the teeth, and he even spits every now and then.

His eating skills are improving in terms of silverware use. He eats a bowl of cold cereal with a spoon, no problem (yeah, I know lots of people are saying, "Big deal," right now). Quinoa with a fork. He really doesn't use his fingers nearly as much. Progress :-)

And speaking of table skills, check this out!

Hard Headed

Luckily it seems James has a tough skull because the boy's been having some tough times. Of course there are the everyday glances from doors, walls, doorjambs, tables, and chairs as he races through the house.

But then there are the big hits-- yesterday at church he decided it was good fun to lean back when Daddy was holding him. He'd do these "hanging crunches" over and over. Then on one trip down he whacked his head against the pew in front of us. Everyone around us looked over wincing. James, oddly, was unfazed.

Then last night at dinner he decided, as he often does, that he wasn't very interested in actually eating. Ok, fine. Our new thing is that if he doesn't want to eat he doesn't have to, but he does need to sit nicely while we eat. Sometimes he then pushes his feet against the table, and we grab his chair and say, "No." Well, last night Grandpa and Grandma were here, and we were at the dining room table. Anyway, when he pushed off he succeeded in completely tipping backwards. Frightening! He was scared, but had no bumps or bruises, and recovered quickly. Crazy.

Interestingly, not long after the tip, Dan noticed something dark in the corner of James's eye. He was quite fearful that it was blood (from the fall), but no, thankfully it was not. So, what was it? It appeared to be a large bit of spice. Like oregano. From pasta sauce. No wonder he was screaming in pain! (As Dan said, forget the two pricey prescriptions-- he just needed a good whack to the head. Kidding, of course.)

In other news, James and I attended his buddy Isabella's birthday party on Saturday morning. Like James's party, it was a lovely playdate affair at her house. James remembered right where the playroom was with all the toys. And had a great time using the doll house as a parking garage. I heard such gems as, "The tractor is going up the stairs," and "The blue car is stuck by the window."

Of course, the kids were very cute sitting at the table in big chairs to

eat. Not surprisingly, James would not stay in his seat, so

Isabella's parents graciously leant Isabella's booster chair so that James would be strapped in. Then he didn't want the pizza. Cake, however, was another story. He went after his cupcake and sat quite nicely in the seat with no straps needed!

Table for One

Someone thought he was all grown up at dinner tonight.

He climbed right up in the chair.

I asked him if he wanted to sit in his green high chair. "No." In his blue chair? "No." He was, at least, polite about it. Not all whiney or adamant.

But it was ridiculous.

Big Boy

Thought you'd enjoy this photo of James and his dinner plate.  We recently stocked up on some Ikea toddler dishes-- plate, bowls, utensils.  James, as you can see, is working on his manners.  He does say "thank-you" now and signs "please" very well.  Speaking of....

...Ikea...

We had such a fun trip there.  It was a rainy day, but James was able to burn a lot of energy on our shopping adventure.  He enjoyed holding my hand and riding the escalator (like Corduroy).  Then there were all sorts of chairs in the toddler area that he liked trying out and moving around.  The bear chair was by far his favorite.  There was also a fun slide.  James then climbed atop the many toddler beds that were set up on display.  So fun!  A few more trips up and down the stairs, then into a cart so that Mommy could actually focus on the task at hand and buy some well-priced goods.

...eating...

James has been doing a much better job of eating lately.  He can really pack it away (and often looks about 8 months pregnant when he gets up from dinner!!!).  He gets very sad every time there is no more "snack" left (it seems that "snack" has become synonymous with Earth's Best cereal bars).  We try to keep him abreast of how many bites are left, but he always gets sad and asks for more (with words and signs) when it's empty.  Sometimes a tantrum ensues.  Oh, and the boy LOVES peas!  Pops them into his mouth like candy.  Cutest thing ever.

...words...

This weekend we decided to make a list of the words that James uses correctly in context (rather than just repeating what we say, because that would be endless).  We got over 100!  There are a few that he only signs, several that he signs and says and lots that he only says.  Not really any sentences yet though.  The closest we've come is "more (fill in the blank) please."  For instance, today he wanted "More truck please," after the garbage truck left our street, and "More baby please," after seeing another baby at the grocery store.

Mmmmmm.... cheese!

Just a quick post to share a recent (amusing) development. James likes cheese. Well, that's not new, but this is-- Whenever he sees me with a stick o' cheese, he says, "Mmmmm." He will not eat anything else when cheese is in sight. He'll point and say "Mmmm." After a few bites he claps his hands. "Mmmm."
It is pretty funny. And cute.

Long Time, No Post

Sorry that it has been over a month since the last blog entry. Here's my lame excuse: the New York City Marathon. True, it was just last Sunday (Nov. 2nd), but I got injured in late September, so I spent all of October mending. I had PT three times a week, and was napping whenever James did in an effort to mend. So, with all of that, not much time for blogging. I did succeed in running the marathon, but more on that later.

James is doing WONDERFULLY. He is standing up all of the time now. He's still crawling (very fast) to get from place to place. He loves exploring: the cabinets, the bathroom (he pulled off all of the toilet paper on Saturday), the plants, the stereo (it cracks me up when he turns on the radio then crawls away in a hurry as though he's frightened himself), anything!



He's also a fan of the playground. He likes to ride the swings and go on the small slides. It is so fun. One day we did the playground twice, and he ended up falling asleep with his mouth full of fish at supper!

We did have a bit of a scare the week before the 'thon. That Tuesday evening, James got a fever after having had a runny nose all day. The fever lasted about 24 hours (with Tylenol every 4 hours), then it broke. Hooray! The runny nose stuck around a bit longer, but no RSV-like difficulties, so we're alright. Unfortunately, Daddy & Auntie Peg (who was in town for the 'thon) also got the cold, so that was no fun.

October was a busy month for parties as well. James attended THREE first birthday parties! Our friend Jolie in Brooklyn celebrated her day in Prospect Park. The next day, Marissa, one of our baby buddies, had her party complete with a magician! The following week, we went to baby pal Cora's house for a fun princess party. As if that wasn't enough, we attended TWO Halloween parties (plus the parade at Mommy's school)! Baby friend Isabella had all the babies over on Halloween, and the Whitakers hosted a bash the following day.



In these photos you can see James's homemade penguin costume. He also has a VERY cute, warm & cuddly penguin suit from his Auntie Ali & Uncle Preston-- photos will come.


James continues to enjoy lots of new foods and eats most items in bite-sized pieces rather than as mush. Lately he's enjoyed: avacado, pears, plums, applesauce, waffles, pancakes, bagles, bread, hummus, bananas in yogurt, "grown-up" oatmeal, beef, chicken noodle soup, tilapia, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots and cheese.

I hope to do much better blogging this month! Look forward to discussions of sleep progress (or lack thereof), car seat graduation, and "rotisserie baby".

Three-Quarters of a Year!

Well, James has been 9 months old for two weeks now, but he just had his check-up last Thursday. He is 27.5 inches tall (20-30%) and 18 lbs. 2 oz. (11%). Our doctor was slightly concerned about his weight. She attributed it to his active nature and distractability when nursing (which is what I attribute it to as well). Since he fights the bottle (from what I've been told), she said he could have pumped milk in a sippy cup when away from me. She also recommended he start dairy consumption (cheeses and yogurts) to get some fat ingested. He's had whole-milk yogurt for lunch every day since. I've also bought more avacados, since they are fatty and he likes them.

Otherwise, he did just fine. We have an appointment with the pediatric cardiologist next week. This is the doctor who has read his two echocardiograms. The check-up is just to be able to talk with him first hand regarding James's heart murmur. Again, our pediatrician was not worried about it at all, but this is just a cautionary measure (to make us all feel better).

No major shots this time. Just a half-dose of the flu shot (he'll get the other half in October). During this shot, James smiled at the nurse and watched her the entire time. No crying. Seriously! Both she and I were AMAZED! If I hadn't seen him cry after bonking his head before, I'd be worried that he couldn't feel pain or something.

Oh, the other thing we discussed was his sleep habits. I admitted that we either nurse or rock him to sleep, and she said we need to stop that. We can nurse or rock him to almost sleep, but then he needs to be put into his bed. I knew that; it is just easier said than done. I mean, back when he didn't roll, crawl or stand, it was no big deal: turn on the mobile and he'd fall asleep. Now he crawls around and stands up no matter how tired he is. We're working on it, and it is getting easier.

For those who are curious, James's latest culinary experiences: yogurt, flounder, lamb, chicken, cheese, bread, bagel, chicken. He still loves Cheerios and many different fruits and veggies.

Delicious!

In this photo, as you can see, James is sporting a lovely carrot mustache and goatee. It cracked me up. This was also his last store-bought baby food. I've been making it myself for a few weeks now. It is really pretty easy; I just buy fresh or frozen organic fruits and veggies, steam them, and puree them using our hand-held Braun mixer.

The first time I made any it was fresh NJ peaches. When I put the top on my final jar (I'm re-using all my store-bought containers), Dan said, "Don't you feel like a super yuppy mom now?" Yes, I do.

It is SO much cheaper to make it myself! Plus, I have plenty on hand. Right now there are several jars of peaches, plums, sweet potatoes, peas and green beans in the freezer. Other pros to homemade: it is prettier (the peas and beans are actually GREEN instead of olive colored), you can make whatever you want and however thick or thin you want it.

James has also enjoyed fresh avacado and banana. Thankfully his early distaste for Mommy's favorite wonder-fruit subsided, and we usually share a banana every morning. Lately he's been enjoying having about half a banana mashed into his morning oatmeal.

He also had a few pieces of zweiback toast. He seemed to enjoy it both times, but on subsequent offers, he wanted no part of it. In fact, he just tossed it aside.

This weekend, we gave him Cheerios instead. He liked them. Lots ended up in his high chair and bib pocket, but lots went into his mouth and belly as well.

As a baby who'd conquered finger foods, last night we gave him chicken! We'd broiled a breast with no seasoning (yum), and cut a portion of it into very small bits. He had a great time eating them, and ate quite a bit!

Our little man is growing up!

You'll Poke Your Eye Out!

So, Nana came up for a great visit last weekend. We were thrilled to have her here from Saturday through Tuesday evening. James showed her all of the tricks he's perfected since she was last here in late June: rolling, eating, splashing in the pool....

He also showed her his prized possession: Spoony.

(Daddy named it.) Now, Spoony is just a wooden spoon from the kitchen. In fact, Spoony is more than one particular wooden spoon (we have lots; I think you cannot have too many)-- just whichever one is handiest.

Well, Nana was sure that James was going to impale himself with the non-spoon end of Spoony. Hmm... hadn't really thought of that. I insisted James would be fine and continued to let him play with his beloved wooden spoon. He flings it. He wields it like a wand. He bangs the trashcan with it. He rubs it on the floor. He loves that wooden spoon.

After Nana left, her words stayed with me. What if she's right? What if James gave himself an internal organ injury or poked out an eye with Spoony? I could never forgive myself.

So now there is no Spoony in James's toy basket as there once was. Spoony still shows up at meals sometimes, especially if Daddy is feeding James (he likes to rub James's head with Spoony or perform a "Spoony puppet show" on the side of the high chair tray to get him to open his mouth).

Another Side to the Story

So, a few weeks ago I went off about how great breastfeeding is. Well, of course, sometimes it isn't. Like today.

Dan's cousin & his 10-year old son came up to visit from SC. After a ridiculous number of phone calls last night and today, it was decided that Dan & I would play tour guides in the city whilst Grandpa and Grandma would take care of James here at home. This meant that there needed to be bottles ready for him. There weren't, but I was pretty sure there would be enough pumped milk in the fridge, and there's back-up frozen.

So, off to the city. After several hours in Central Park and the Museum of Natural History, I had quite lovely bosoms, if you know what I mean....

Meanwhile, back at home, James was not loving the bottles. And Grandma took out some milk from the freezer just in case. She didn't use it, so now it may spoil...

Argh.

Three Cheers for Breastmilk (aka Mom on Soapbox)

OK, I know you know I'm a big fan of the breastmilk (you may recall the "too much information" blog post regarding pumping...). This post is not meant to offend any formula users; I realize that formula has its merits, and that many moms cannot breastfeed. Today, though, whilst running, I was thinking about how glad I am that I was able to breastfeed, and all the reasons why it's been good:

• Washing and drying bottles is VERY irritating. Especially when one is avoiding BPA leaching by not using the dishwasher.
• Dan reported that James would get very frustrated when waiting on Dan to get a bottle ready. So add preparing bottles is frustrating.
• Breastmilk is very healthy; as we were told, James's RSV may have been MUCH worse if he was formula fed.
• It is free, and let's be honest, in this economy, and with just one salary, free is darn good.
• It makes for easy portability. When I had to run errands, no worries-- the milk was there, in no danger of spoilage.

Now, all of this comes to mind because now that James is eating "solids" (and that is an appropriate use of quotation marks; babyfood is hardly solid) there is more to consider: timing, bibs, food, spoons, chair, etc. For instance, yesterday we had a very lovely baby playdate at 10:00. I threw a spoon & a new (and therefore not in need of cooling) container of pear puree in James's bag, just in case. Well, good thing I did, because we were still there at 12:30, and James was hungry.

So were his baby friends who also had lunches packed. As they're older than James, they've already moved on to yogurt, and thus had insulated cooler bags for their lunch. Man. Such planning ahead needed!

It is very exciting to see James growing up. And I'm glad that he's eating foods (today he had applesauce for the first time) and enjoying it. I'm just saying that I now truly appreciate just how easy and convenient breastfeeding is!

Oh- and one more thing about milk. I've heard an interesting argument from more than one mom: they use formula because they cannot bear to see breastmilk being "wasted" when mixed with cereal (because it gets on bib, face, etc. and/or goes uneaten). Ok, I get the fact that breastmilk is priceless, but folks, it's PRICELESS... as in FREE. I'd rather let that go to "waste" than pay big bucks for formula to go down the drain...

Again, I don't mean to offend anyone. I'm just glad things worked out like they did for me. That's all.

Happy Birthday, America!

James had lots of fun celebrating the Fourth o' July this weekend. We went to see fireworks in our town on Thursday night. The fireworks were amazing, and so was our son. He turned and watched for a little while, kind of in awe. Then he snuggled up to me (it was past his bedtime), periodically checking over his shoulder to see if they were still going on (as if he couldn't hear them). Eventually, he fell asleep.

On Friday, we went to the parade. James was not impressed. Whatevs. He did look cute in his patriotic stripes, and got many comments from other parade goers. We did vacate the parade route before the fifth regiment started (that is when all the rescue vehicles from our town and the surrounding towns come through with sirens wailing), and headed to the diner for brunch.

That afternoon it was off to our friends' house for a nice little barbecue. James faced off with their massive golden retriever puppy; they weren't big fans of one another. Aside from the pacifier stealing incident (it does look like a chew toy, we'll grant him that), they coexisted pretty well.

We were going to go to more fireworks that evening, but it started to rain. Oh well. James did very well being passed from party guest to party guest. We put him in his jammies in the evening, and he fell asleep in the car on the way home. Perfect.

On Sunday we visited Grandpa and Grandma in Ramsey for dinner. The highlight of this trip was that James got to sit in his Daddy's highchair to eat his barley cereal. Yes folks, straight out of the early 70s! We're pretty sure we could be locked up for this... oh well! He seemed to enjoy holding tight to the small tray. And banging on it. Of course. We forgot to bring jammies this time, and much fussiness ensued as we were getting him ready to leave. Again, asleep in the car. So asleep, in fact, that we got him into jammies and into the crib once we arrived home.

Long Overdue Update with Photos!

Well, it has been almost two weeks since my employment "ended," and I'm finally going to try to give you a good post here. Cutie Pie just went down for a nap, but I don't know how long it will last, so I'm going to try to work fast!

Big news:

• James started eating "solids" on Saturday, June 21st. He "ate" rice cereal once or twice a day that week. It was pretty runny (even when I tried to make it thicker, it would get runny by half-way through the meal), and James ended up with as much or more ON him than IN him.
• Beginning Saturday, June 28th, we started Baby Oatmeal. Now, that's Good Eats! James wolfs it down every time. It is a bit thicker and more flavorful, so who could blame him. He seriously leaves nothing in the bowl and little on his bib or elsewhere. (Note: this change in input has affected the output-- much more interesting diapers!)
• James has become VERY talented at grasping and holding things. He reaches for everything. Especially paper. I can no longer read the newspaper or do a sudoku while nursing. He gets totally distracted, and reaches for the paper, whining if it is out of reach. When/if he gets it, he goes nuts. Laughing and waving it about. Funny. He also grabs other items like his toys and teethers. He especially enjoyed the crab teether today as I chilled it in the fridge.
• Speaking of teething, the boy must be officially doing this now because he constantly is chewing: his fingers, his pacifiers (which he learned to use for napping when I went to work), his high chair tray and straps, .....
• Oh, so now that he can hold things and likes to chew, when he is given a pacifier in an effort to help him sooth himself to sleep (a skill that Nana taught him/us-- thanks, Nana!), he grabs it in his fingers, scoots it over to the side, and chews it-- it is pretty funny.
  
• James is also much better at sitting up unassisted. Even in the last week this has improved. He sat up for some of his photos last Wed., but one of us had to spot him the entire time because he kept tipping. No more! He is pretty stable now (until he starts to reach for a teether or piece o' paper...)
• He also has gotten good at rolling and rotating. I put him in his crib to watch his mobile while I showered this morning. When I came out this is what I found:
• James has gone swimming twice now! We went to the town pool on both Saturday and yesterday evenings. We haven't put his face/head underwater (wanting to avoid water inhalation and water in ears), but he sure enjoys splashing! Saturday he was pretty much in shock the entire time; he never smiled-- just serious face. Yesterday, he started smiling more. Both days he splashed like crazy! He looks super cute in his little swim trunks; I need to take his photo!

We had a wonderful time with all the family here last weekend. Unfortunately for me, most of the photographic evidence of said fun is on other peoples' cameras (hint, hint-- send me some photos!).

Baby Not-so-wise

James hates naps. Seriously. The boy doesn't like to go to bed until as late as possible with Dan & I going to bed as well. No napping.

The exception is that sometimes he'll nurse himself to sleep. However, if you try to put him in bed in such situations, he often awakens. Furthermore, today I read in Babywise that babies should follow this routine: eat-wake-sleep.

This made for a miserable day. James cried more than ever today as I tried to make him take naps. It was AWFUL. I was doubting when and how often to feed him. More crying. I wanted to cry too! I had myself believing that I'd ruined him by letting him eat-sleep-eat-wake-eat-eat...

This evening I did some internet research about Babywise and found that it is not very well respected in the scientific realm. Great. Now I feel like an even worse mom than before!

Bottom line: I am going back to following my instincts: feed him when he's hungry. Let him sleep when he wants to. I'll ask the pediatrician about his lack of napping when we go on Tuesday.