9 months

This kid is getting HUGE...and silly...

Felix's next doctor's appointment isn't until we get back from Ohio next week, but he's hovering right around 20 lbs based on our last "sick" visit to the doctor.  Speaking of...Felix had his first ear infection a few weeks ago...right around Thanksgiving.  He's also FINALLY teething.  I can see those two little bottom nubs just begging to break through...or maybe that's just wishful thinking!

Here are some of the milestones/tidbits I can remember, but they're becoming so many, it's hard to remember them all.  I need to start making my notes again every time I see/hear a new one!

• The last couple days, he has become much more mobile.  He has been rolling/scooting around the room for awhile now, but he's gotten fast lately.  
• He's SO close to crawling, but still not sure he'll do it.  I still say he'll get right up and walk away one day.
• He grabs my fingers, lifts himself to standing and then sits back down again and repeats.  At least he won't wind up screaming when he doesn't know how to sit down from standing
• I'm convinced he says Momma and Dadda with more purpose now...Momma whenever he gets hurt, doesn't feel good or is hungry or tired and Dadda the rest of the time.
• We are trying to get him on more of a schedule as far as his eating is concerned.  Since he was born, we've very much just followed his cues on eating/napping.  Napping is still completely up in the air, but getting better, usually getting a nap every morning and afternoon on the weekends (time varies widely).  Daycare is trying to help us set up an eating schedule.  Not sure I like how it is now, but it's all trial and error right?  Right now, during the week, he has a bottle at about 6:30am, oatmeal/cereal and fruit at about 830-9am, bottle at 11 am, lunch (fruit and veggie mix) around 12-1pm, a bottle at around 2-3pm, dinner (veggies/meat) around 6pm and a bottle just before bed around 730-8pm.  Kids a big eater!
• He loves anything "adult."  Whenever we're out and a tantrum comes at an inopportune time, you just need to give him something adult...a bracelet me or scott is wearing, a sealed bottle of seltzer, etc.
• Felix HATED santa.  We took him to sears where there were a lot less kids/less of a line and a GREAT santa.  Santa walked around, introducing himself to all the kids before the photos started.  Felix stared at him for a good couple of minutes, not sure what to make of him, before going into total meltdown mode out of nowhere...made for a great picture though!
• He's much better at opening presents then we thought he'd be.  Takes him some time, and you need to take away each piece of wrapping paper as he rips it off, so that he keeps going, but not bad.  I still wrapped all his presents in tissue paper for christmas, just to help him out a bit.
• Felix never took a pacifier, but has taken to sucking/chewing on rags instead.  He can't go to sleep/nap without one.
• HATES having his nose wiped.
• He got his first big boy car seat.  We still keep the infant seat in my car, since he only drives in it to/from daycare (and not even every day, if Scott is working from home).  It's been great for Scott's car so far.  Took a little getting used to, since he can't really see us in his headrest mirror anymore because the seat is so much bigger and sits so much higher.
• Babbles ALL the time...love it!
• He claps his feet...he's been doing this for awhile, but it's still hysterical.
• He makes kissy/fish faces.
• He blows kisses or smacks his lips together.

That's all I've got right now.  We're leaving at 2am tomorrow morning (tonight) for Ohio for Christmas.  We're hoping Felix will sleep at least 3-4 hours in the beginning...IF we can get him into the car without him waking up! 

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Felix's First Thanksgiving

As I mentioned in the 8 month post below, Felix had a nasty cold and ear infection last week...but that didn't stop him from enjoying his first Thanksgiving and even trying a little piece of turkey!

 Hugs!!

Scott also made his first Turducken, which he's been dying to make for awhile now.  It was absolutely delicious...definitely the best tasting turkey I've ever had.  It even looked like a real turkey once we put it all together:

 

We also got to see exactly what our oven was capable of.  We had no idea we had a convection roaster option, which cooked the Turducken in a fraction of the time...even though it did set the smoke alarm off for a little while.

Unfortunately, Felix didn't get any pictures with Grandma and Pop Pop, but there were plenty of pictures with his favorite aunts!

 

Next up...Christmas with the Bouchards!  That's right...we'll be heading out to Ohio for Felix's first Christmas to spend some time with Grandma, Pepere, Uncle Dan, Aunt Nicole and Grayson...can't wait!

Best Picture EVER!

I can't believe I forgot to post this picture when it was taken.  A few weeks ago, Scott's brother Alan came to visit one night and spend some time with Felix...

Proof he is his father's son...

Ok...to be fair, this was taken last week when he was sick and super stuffy.

8 Months

This little boy....

...is not so little anymore!

I can't believe the year is almost over!

I have definitely seen the biggest changes in Felix over the last couple of weeks.  He is MUCH more vocal and studies things more than he ever has before.

Still no teeth.  He keeps having these weeks where he chews on everything and grinds his gums together, but then it goes away.  I, myself, did not get a tooth until I was EIGHTEEN months old...let's pray I don't pass that one on to my son!

Still no crawling, but I have a feeling he's going to go right to walking...someday.  It doesn't help that he's figured out how to get to what he wants by rolling, scooting and folding himself in half to reach things (I, unfortunately, passed my long torso and short legs on to my son).

We also made it over 8 months before Felix had his first ear infection.  Unfortunately, that fell right about the same time as Felix's first Thanksgiving.  Luckily, the one day he seemed to be in the least amount of pain last week was Thanksgiving Day.  He came down with a nasty cold and ear infection earlier that week and still has the remnants of a cough, but is 100% better now.  Unfortunately, he passed it onto Scott who, in turn, passed it on to me.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my body fights it off before it gets any worse.

Felix's next check-up isn't for another month, but he was weighed (albeit, with his clothes and diaper on) when we took him to the doctor  last week and came in at about 19 lbs 7 oz.

I'm convinced this kid was born with what I like to call the "vroom vroom" gene.  He loves anything with wheels, especially trucks.  We bought him a little ride on CAT truck at Costco this weekend, that also came with a smaller CAT truck, some large Legos and a tool kit.  I've never seen him so interested in anything.

Felix has started dancing, which is absolutely adorable.  Of course, he does it while sitting and just rocks side to side on his butt anytime he hears music he likes.

A few weeks ago, Felix started shaking his head "no".  If you say "no" to him or shake your head, he'll do it right back.  And if you nod your head and say "yes"...well, he'll still shake his head no.  But he's getting there!

He is also starting to imitate a lot more...he smacks his lips and does fish faces when I do them...most of the time.

And for awhile there, I actually got him to say Momma.  I just kept repeating "Momma Momma Momma" to him and he, eventually, started saying it back.  Whether or not he really knows what it means, we'll never know.  BUT for about a week straight, anytime he wanted anything, he would keep saying it over and over and over and over...guess it's a sign of things to come!

Best of all...Felix has learned how to hug.  It gives me goosebumps every time he does it!

We have also been Skyping every couple of weeks with Felix's Aunt Nicole, Uncle Dan and cousin Grayson.  This last time he got very excited, but he's changed so much in the last couple of weeks, I'm excited to see how he reacts the next time.

Felix's First Halloween...

was CANCELLED!!  Thanks to the freak snow storm we had that dumped 15" on us 2 days before Thanksgiving.  At least it's been in the 50s all week, so the snow is slowly melting.  But the majority of the area still has no power, including Felix's daycare.  Luckily, my office was closed yesterday and they are really great about letting us work from home when needed. 

We took Felix to Sears to take some pro pics for our new photo wall.  They did such a fantastic job...especially considering this kid never gives anyone the benefit of the doubt and grills them for a ridiculous amount of time before ever cracking a smile.  But the girl was able to get him smiling in just 5 minutes!

We dressed Felix up before bed and walked next door to our neighbors house to show him off for a few before bed.  

 

A couple days before Halloween me and my sister-in-law realized our kids had the same unplanned Halloween costumes...adorable!!  I wish we lived closer together so the boys could hang out more.  We'll be going out there for Christmas, which will be so much fun, since Felix should be more mobile and able to play with his cousin.  In the meantime, our Skype dates will have to do!

7 Months

I know, I know...late again...

Milestones/Events:

• You now sit up without any wavering, unless you want to lay yourself on the ground.  But, you still can't get yourself to a seated position when you're laying down.
• Since you've started sitting up, you have no desire to be on your belly or crawl, which drives your father crazy!
• Still no teeth, but you're definitely slobering and chewing on everything lately.
• You are now into fruits...you've tried bananas and applesauce so far...surprisingly, you have not taken to fruits as well as you did to veggies.  It took several days for you to warm up to bananas and you have not enjoyed your applesauce the last couple of days.  Next up is probably peaches or pears.
• We made the mistake of feeding you bananas at night the first time you tried fruit.  You were bouncing off the walls until about 11pm and didn't sleep well at all that night.  From now on, you only get fruit in the mornings with your oatmeal!
• A few days ago, you learned to shake your head "no."  You even respond by shaking your head whenever we say the word "no"...most of the time.  You can't yet nod your head "yes," but you do respond to "yes," by raising your chin a little higher when you shake your head.
• Maybe not the most glamorous thing, but your poop is much harder now...to the point where you have been whiny and uncomfortable while pooping and want to be changed immediately.  This is a big change, since you never let on when you had a poopy diaper before, so we always had to check.  O, and you STINK now with all the food you've been eating! 
• You are now wearing mostly 6 or 9 month clothing, but are even in some 12 month.  We've started buying 12 month clothes.  They may be a little big now, but they'll fit you for a lot longer.  You are in all 12 month PJs, since you wake up if your PJs pull even the slightest bit.  
• We've stopped giving you a bath every night, so that your body can develop its on oils, etc. and so you don't NEED a bath in order to go to sleep.  We generally try to bathe you every other night, unless something comes up.
• You have started dancing to music (whether from the TV, radio or a toy) by swaying your body from one butt cheek to the other. 
• Your first Halloween was CANCELLED due to the freak snow storm that dumped 15" of snow on us 2 days before Halloween.  Some surrounding towns postponed it, but our actually cancelled it.  They opened up the mall for trick or treating that night and we heard it was a madhouse (too many people and the mall ran out of candy in minutes).  We dressed you up and took you over to the neighbors house for a few minutes.  Luckily, you're too young to notice!
• Your next doctor's appointment isn't until after Christmas, so we will have a weight and height check-in then. 

Update: As I was writing this post, you rolled over onto your belly and have stayed sleeping...so far.  You usually sleep on your side.  When you first learned how to roll over, there was about a week where every night you would roll onto your belly and immediately wake up and cry until daddy came in and rolled you back over.   After that week, you never rolled onto your belly in your sleep again, until tonight. 

Baby Food, Ninja’s, & BBQ Sauce

Dad’s turn to post…

The first lesson my son has taught me, is that as a parent, you need to make the most of any downtime you get.  It doesn’t come often, and it doesn’t last long.  So in the spirit of making the most out of this blog post, I’m going to drop as much useful and time saving information as I can surrounding our attempts at making all of Felix’s baby food.  I’m also going to toss in my secret homemade BBQ recipe just to add a nugget of masculinity back into my life (and possibly father’s who read this).  Oh, and yes, there is a Ninja in this story.

ITEM 1: Why are you making baby food?

That’s simple.  My wife want’s to do it.  I think I would be OK purchasing organic baby food, but Danielle has made it her mission to make sure that she has a hand in everything Felix ingests for the first year of his life.  Happy wife = happy life.

ITEM 2: When do you do it?

I find Sunday’s are awesome for making baby food.  Steaming the food takes a bit, so I have plenty of time to watch football between pureeing the food.  By watching football, I mean that I have strategically placed my son between the television screen and myself so that while I make sure he isn’t doing anything to kill himself (I find watching a baby is very similar to watching a dear friend on suicide watch), I can catch a few plays and highlights.

ITEM 3: How much do you make?

The last time we made baby food, it measured out at about 100 ounces in a day, which works out to be about a month of food at this point in his life (6-7 months).   I’m sure that it will not last nearly as long as he continues to grow.

ITEM 4: What kind of equipment do you need?

We did not go out and buy one of those baby food maker kits.  It seemed… unnecessary.  There are all sorts of these odd looking kits and appliances with various baby themed names that steam and blend food in custom containers all as a one stop shop, ranging between $100-$300+.   But, what do you do with it once the baby is eating food off your plate?  As far as I can tell by observing my nephew and my friends children, kids aren’t on baby food all that long.  There is enough outgrown and unused baby shit going into closets already, I don’t need more.

BAD

We instead decided to invest in appliances and cooking tools that we can use way beyond Felix’s baby food days.  The first and foremost, you need a good blender/food processor.  We received a KitchenAid Blender for Danielle’s wedding shower. It is the worst blender ever manufactured by man.  It’s our own fault; we put it on the registry.  We had a Red KitchenAid theme going for our appliances.  Who knew that everything made by KitchenAid, other than their Stand Mixer, is useless?

GOOD

However, a few weeks ago, while shopping for baby crap at KOHL’s, I came across a blender called NINJA.  It immediately caught my eye.  In-fact, the only thing better than a blender named NINJA would be some other kitchen appliance named after a pirate.  Danielle instantly rolled her eyes at my enthusiasm concerning the covert mercenary appliance of feudal Japan.  Although, a middle aged woman also saw my eagerness, and spoke up.  She told us how she has one at home, and that it is the most amazing blender she has ever owned.  Her husband is a chef and actually uses it in his kitchen as well.  Needless to say, even though it is a little pricey, we ended up buying it. Although, we did end up leaving and going to Bed, Bath & Beyond to drop a 20% coupon on it.

After making gallons of pureed baby food with this thing, I concur, it is the most amazing blender/food processor I have ever owned.  I highly endorse it.  A good blender saves a lot of time and headache when making baby food.

Other than that, the rest is basic.  You need a large pot with a lid, which you should own by now.  You also need a steamer basket, which ranges in price from like $5-$20.  We found one at Stop & Shop for $10 while we were picking up food.  You also need about 10 ice cube trays or more if you are going to make baby food in bulk like we did.  I found that they cost about $0.75 a tray, but can probably be found cheaper.   Also, make sure you have saran wrap handy.

ITEM 5: How do you do it?

Recipes are below, but the basics are here:  Take your food, and steam it.  Once mushy, put it in the blender.  We add breast milk to soften it up and make the consistency smoother for the baby.  If you don’t have breast milk, substitute in the water you used to steam the food.  Pour the mush into ice cube trays, cover with saran wrap, and let freeze over night.  Pop the cubes out into freezer bags, date, label, and put back into the freezer.

Each cube is about 1 ounce of food.  Our son eats about 3 ounces at a sitting right now.  When it is time to feed your baby, take the desired amount of cubes, defrost them, mix them up, and shove them down their gullet.  We try to make ours about room temperature.

We decided to introduce Felix to foods starting him on greens first (avocado, green beans, peas), then moving through yellows (carrots, squash, sweet potato), and we will finish with fruits (bananas, peaches, apples, pears).  We heard mention that if you start them on fruits; it’s hard to get them to eat veggies later, because they want the sweetness of the fruits.   Also, by having the food in 1-ounce cubes, we can mix and match and make a little meal for him.

As an additional guideline from our doctor, when introducing new foods, only introduce 1 new food every 4 days.  This way you can monitor food allergies effectively if they crop up.

WARNING:  If you put something green in your baby, they make bright green deposits in their Pampers.  If you put something orange in your baby, they make bright orange deposits in their Pampers. It doesn’t sound earth shattering here, but to a new parent, the first time you see it, it is in fact quite shocking… almost photo worthy, but definitely worth calling your spouse over to share in your amazement.

ITEM 6: Baby Food Recipes

Butternut squash
1 large butternut squash
De-seed, skin, cube
Steam 35-45 minutes
Puree with approximately 6 ounces of breast milk
Makes about 28 ounces (2 ice cube trays)
Total time = 1.5 hours

Carrots
1 pound large organic carrots
Shave, cap, slice
Steam 1 hour
Puree with approximately 6 ounces of breast milk
Makes about 20 ounces (about 1.5 ice cube trays)
Total time = 1.5 hours

Sweet Potato
 3 large sweet potatoes
wash, dry, Wrap in foil
Bake at 400 for 75 minutes
Puree with approximately 7 ounces of breast milk
Makes about 26 ounces (about 2 ice cube trays)
Total time = 1 hour 45 minutes

Green Beans
2x12 oz of frozen green beans
Steam for 35-45 minutes
Puree with approximately 15 ounces of breast milk
Makes about 31 ounces (just over 2 ice cube trays).
Total time = 1 hour


Peas
2 pound package of frozen peas
Steam for 25 minutes
Puree with approximately 9 ounces of breast milk
Makes about 28 ounces (2 ice cube trays)

Total time = 1 hour

ITEM 7: Bouchard Chipotle Bourbon BBQ Sauce Recipe

Having a baby definitely knocks a man down on the masculinity scale by a few pegs.  You can’t help it.  Between the stupid noises and voices you now make, and the cuddling, the infinite baby activities, constantly smelling like baby powder and diaper cream… you loose track of yourself and the things you used to do that made you feel like a man.  I find the grill is a good place to get some of that feeling back.  Mommy and Daddy need to eat, why not do it outside with some serious cuts of meat, over red-hot coals, with a brew in your hand?

I’ve spent some time researching, testing, and perfecting what I consider the ultimate homemade BBQ sauce.  It makes a mean piece of grilled chicken.  The sauce has an initial spicy kick, but finishes smooth, sweet, and smoky.  Feel free to modify:

1.5 C ketchup

0.5 C bottled French salad dressing

1.5 C Frank’s hot sauce

0.5 C Maker’s Mark Bourbon

0.25 C lemon juice

0.25 C Worcestershire

1 tbsp liq. smoke

1 tbsp garlic pdr

1 tbsp pepper

1 tbsp chili pdr

1 tbsp onion pdr

1.5 C cider vinegar

0.5 C Espresso blend coffee

0.25 C prepared yellow mustard

0.25 C Molasses

1 tbsp Cajun spice

2 tbsp paprika

4 crushed dry chipotle chili's

3 lg cloves garlic – minced

Combine in a heavy bottomed stock pot except for the bourbon.  Reduce on low for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.  At the 1-hour mark, add in the bourbon.  Use as you would any sauce.

Go Bengals! 

Giggles...

We had a visit from our friend, Ryan, today and I've never heard Felix laugh so much!!

Swim Lessons

A few weeks ago, we started Felix in his first round of swim lessons.  It's mostly to get him used to the water and moving his arms/legs in the water.  The first class was taught by this drill sergeant of a woman!  In fact, she was so harsh with people, half the class didn't come back the following week.  But we were SO happy to find out the next week that she was just a stand-in and that the actual teacher was very kid-friendly. 

Scott and I have been switching off week by week so Felix gets used to being with both of us in the water.  He did great the first couple of classes and then a few weeks ago he had a meltdown 5 minutes into the class and we wound up having to take him out of the pool.  It was the funniest thing...if Scott lifted him out of the water, he stopped screaming, but the second he put him back in the water, he started screaming again. 

Luckily, we made it through the next class without having to leave.  But we did discover that he HATES "jumping" off the wall.  It's the second part of every class where all the parents seat the babies on the side of the pool and simulate them jumping in the pool, while holding them.  Well...the second his little butt hits the side of the pool, he starts crying.  So, we've taken to doing another pool activity while the other kids are doing that one...just so we don't wind up having to leave early again!

Since the weather is getting colder, we have been going back and forth about getting a full membership for the YMCA so we can continue to swim with Felix during the winter months...we'll have to see how the next few weeks goes!

6 months

So I know this post is WAY late considering Felix will be 7 months in less then two weeks now!  But I blame him...seriously.  Felix has begun consistently waking up at least once, usually twice before going down for the night.  Which is fine, except that it means I don't get finished putting him to bed until anywhere between 9-11pm every night (hence, why I've been drafting this post for 3 days now).  Which also means, I barely get anything done at night anymore. 

Our schedule usually goes something like this:  I pick Felix up at about 5pm from daycare.  We play a little bit until I start making his dinner at about 6-6:15 pm.  Scott usually gets home just before or just after he finishes eating.  I use the 15-30 minutes while Scott is playing with him to do some dishes, throw in some laundry, etc.  Felix is usually rubbing his eyes and itching to get the bedtime process moving by about 7:15-730 pm, depending on the day (sometimes he's at that point way earlier, sometimes later).  Between bath and/or getting him ready for bed, we usually start the nursing process by about 7:45-8:00 pm and I get out of there anytime between 9:00-11:00 pm (sometimes I can escape for 15 minutes before he gets up again to get some things done).

I'll admit, there are times when I fall asleep in the glider and wind up getting out of there way later then expected.  I'm hoping he grows out of the stage soon.  We've started giving him baby oatmeal at in the morning too, thinking that maybe breastmilk just isn't enough for him anymore and we needed to add a second meal during the day.  We have also considered that I am not producing enough at bedtime to satisfy him, which is why he wakes up a couple more times to eat now.  My supply dwindled a bit when I switched jobs recently, most likely just my body getting used to the new pumping atmosphere/schedule. 

Enough about my night time difficulties...onto why you're really reading this post:

Milestones:

• As of your 6 month appointment a couple of weeks ago, you weighed 17 lbs 3.5 oz (42.46 %) and was 26.5 in. tall (50.43%).
• You have been reaching for things, especially me and dad.
• When you're hungry, you try to pull yourself to my boob (which freaks out your dad).
• You started rice cereal on August 20, 2011.  You loved it by the end of the meal on day 2 and, since day 3, get super excited every time you see your bowl and spoon.
• About a month after we started you on rice cereal (just after your 6 month birthday), we started making your baby food.  So far, you have had  avocado, green beans, oatmeal (not made by us) peas, and carrots.  You started carrots tonight and LOVED them (so much, you ate almost 4 oz!).
• As a result of eating "real" food, your poop has become much more solidified and it STINKS!!  I know anyone who has fed their baby formula is used to the awful smelling poop, but the difference is shocking to us! 
• On August 28, 2011, you rolled from back to front in your crib.  You did this for several nights in a row and cried until we rolled you back over.  It only lasted a few nights and you haven't done it while sleeping since.
• On September 6, 2011, you sat up by yourself for a couple of minutes.  Now, you sit all the time and love it.  Just this week, you started dropping yourself to the ground from a sitting position.  Looks like you might try crawling soon!
• On September 7, 2011, you pooped in the tub for the first time ever.  On the one hand, I'm shocked it hasn't happened before, considering that, until recently, you had a bath every night.  On the other hand...GROSS!!!
• You sit all the time now.  We can literally sit you down with all your toys and you'll play for over an hour (as long as we sit and play with you every once in awhile).  Don't worry.  We don't ignore you!  But sometimes, it's the only time we can get things done.  Although, there are plenty of times that if I walk 2 feet away from you, you scream your head off.
• In anticipation of the winter months, we've started bathing you every other day, instead of every day, so you don't dry out.  We also did it so you didn't get used to needing a bath before bedtime.
• We had our first middle of the night hospital trip with you on September 6, 2011.  You had what we thought was (and probably actually was) a cold, which turned into a nasty cough.  We had you sleeping in your Rock N' Play to keep you elevated.  As we were going to bed, we heard you start coughing, lose your breath and then we heard nothing.  We both jumped out of bed at the same time and went running into your room.  After calling the doctor for the second time that night, we took you to the ER at about 1am.  Luckily, they saw us pretty quickly and we were only there for 2-3 hours.  Unluckily, dad had to hold you in the x-ray contraption while you looked at him screaming the entire time.  The ER doctor, who I was NOT thrilled with, told us you "might" have a slight case of pneumonia.  When I pressed him as to what else it could be, he told us that it could also be nothing.  But any doctor say your baby has pneumonia is like forcing you to put your child on any medication they recommend.  We took you to the pediatrician the next day who told us it was likely just a cold, but to keep you on the meds anyway, just in case.  You healed up pretty quickly, but ran us ragged in the process!
• We got you a big boy stroller (the City Mini) in anticipation of going to the Big E.  While you still fit in your infant seat and Snap N' Go, you're so curious about everything around you that we wanted to let you start facing forward when we were out places.  
• You had your first trip to the Big E on September 24, 2011.  As you'll soon learn, we go to the Big E for dad's birthday every year.  You were very well behaved even though it was SUPER hot that day and even did well on the car ride home regardless of the fact that we kept you out past your bedtime. 
• Your 6 month shots were awful.  It was the first time your dad came to a doctor's appointment and you had to get 4 shots that day, including your first dose of the flu shot.  Your legs hurt so bad from where they gave you the shots that day that I gave you some tylenol after you ate dinner to try and soothe the pain.  Well, you choked on the tylenol and when your dad picked you up to help, you emptied the 3oz worth of avocado that was in your belly all over him, the rug and the couch!  O and you also threw up the one lone cheerio we had given you earlier, which you promptly choked on and swallowed hole (another terrifying moment).  Note to your doctor...cheerios do not dissolve quickly as you advised!

Dear Grayson,

What up Cuz?!  How's everything over in O-H-I-O?  You running Grandma and Pepere in circles yet?   Man I wish I could run... so far I've only got that sitting thing down.  Not doing much for my figure though.  Dad says I'm starting to get a bus driver butt.  Whatever.  Every time he talks smack I just blow out my diaper and smile at him.  He'll learn to keep his opinions to himself eventually.

So these threads you sent me are bang-bus!  I was like, Dinosaur? Heck yeah!  Let me crawl up inside those and get my roar on!  Oh, and the kicks?  SO SWEEEEEET.  They're just kind of decoration for me right now, I plan on driving mom INSANE soon by wearing them all over the house.  Check me out, I got Pics below!

Thanks for everything man, I really appreciate it.  Can't wait to hang at Christmas.  Felix Out!

The Best Nursing Bra...kind of

I've decided there's really no such thing as the perfect nursing bra.  Basically, you need to decide which aspects of a nursing bra are the most important to you and start there because you will never find one that has it all (at least not for us busty, Italian women).  For me, I couldn't imagine going back to work (or out in public anymore) with a wireless bra.  When you're an F cup, it just doesn't work! 

I've been through my fair share of nursing bras in the last five months, and even a few more since my last post.  Some of them I still use daily.  As soon as I get home from work, or if I'm just hanging around the house, I make sure to put on a wireless bra to help the ladies breath.  I also sleep in a sleep nursing bra at night. 

But I think I've finally found the best "out in public" bra for me.  It lifts, it shapes, it doesn't spread the ladies out to the side too much.  It also does a very good job of stretching with my every expanded breasts throughout the day.  But of course, if it looks good, it doesn't always FEEL good.  

This bra took a little getting used to...the material is a little itchy at first (until you wear it in a bit) and the band digs a little bit (again, until you wear it in).  And it's not the easiest bra to fold down when you need to nurse, but it DOES provide easier access then a regular bra and infinitely better shape and lift then any other nursing bra I've seen.  Besides, you really can't expect a bra with this much shaping to just flop down when you need to nurse.  

And let's face it...we're women...beauty isn't always easy!

So, without further ado, I present...

The Sexy Mama Nursing Bra from Le Mystere

Just a tip, I get mine from Amazon.  And if you're a soon-to-be or new mom stocking up on baby supplies, you'll enjoy free two-day shipping with Amazon Mom (free of charge and it keeps getting extended with every "baby" purchase you make).  I buy almost everything from Amazon now...wipes, diaper cream (Triple Paste is a godsend), milk pills (Motherlove for those nursing ladies out there), pump accessories...you name it, Amazon has it and, usually cheaper then anywhere else (except diapers...believe it or not, I've found Babies R' Us to be the cheapest in that department).

Now, if I could just find a good sports bra...

Happy 5 Month Birthday Baby!

My little boy turned 5 months old this week!  I can't believe how fast he's growing.  Lately, it seems like he gets bigger or smarter or more mobile with each week. 

We don't have another doctor's appointment until next month, so I don't have any new stats for you, but I do have plenty of milestones...including a new fascination with his feet!

 "O crap, I'm falling"

"Look Ma...I got them both"

"If I could just get it in my mouth..."

"I think I just pooped..." 

Look at the difference!

Here goes...

You are officially into 6-9 month clothes and have grown out of most of the socks we have for you.  This kid is going to be taller then me by the time he's 12.

You're in size 3 diapers.  We switched you a couple of weeks ago due to you consistently blowing out of your diapers at least once, but sometimes multiple, times a day.

You still love your bath every night...it helps to calm you down and give you some daddy time before you go to bed.

You're still nursing like a champ...During the week, I nurse you when you first wake up and at bedtime and you get bottles during the day at daycare.  You just increased the amount you consume at daycare and are generally taking about 20 ounces a day, plus whatever you get from me.  We have figured out that, when you get a bottle in the morning or at night during the week, you take just about 8 oz each time.  I still exclusively nurse on the weekends.

You are still sleeping through the night...by about 7pm you are begging for your bath, dinner and to be rocked.  During the week, I usually have to wake you up in the morning (at about 5:45am).  On days when you don't get woken up, you generally wake up between 6-7am, but don't start whining until about 7am.

You now reach for things all the time, including toys, your jumperoo, my boobs...you name it.

On July 29, you started trying to sit up just about anytime we had you leaning on something or laying down.

On July 30, you rolled over from your back to your belly by pulling on your activity mat, but you couldn't seem to get your arm out from under you.  On August 7, you rolled over without any help...which we both unfortunately missed (one minute you were on your back, we turn around for a second, and all of a sudden your grunting on your belly!!  Those are the only times you've rolled over, but I'm hoping you'll start making a habit of it soon.

That same day was when I noticed you getting super talkative, as well as beginning to chew on EVERYTHING...from that point on you always have your fingers in your mouth. In the beginning you only used to talk when you had your fingers in your mouth.  I think you either liked the feel of your tongue or the vibration in your mouth when you were talking.

Also on that same day, you figured out what Sophie the Giraffe was really for...to slobber and chew on!

As of August 1, you started grabbing your feet almost every time your diaper was being changed, but especially first thing in the morning. This makes for some interesting diaper changes, especially considering those are usually your dirtiest diapers.  You also grabbed my arm to chew on a few times.

Starting about August 7, you had about a week where you were very stuffy during the night and in the mornings.  You still slept great, but we could hear you snoring through the monitor all night.  So, I finally broke out the Nosefrida and started sucking away every morning.  Before you all get grossed out, there is a filter and NO WAY the boogers can make it into my mouth.  We've been running the humidifier at night since.

Since this past weekend, you have made a habit of trying to get your toes into your mouth.  And as of today, anytime your teacher at daycare put socks on you, you pulled them off.

For awhile now, you have only slept on your right side.  We were very careful to always put you down on your right side, so you wouldn't wake up...and you would always wake up if you wound up on your back or left side.  But the last few days, I've watched you sleep on your right side, your back and now your left side, throughout the night (thanks to my handy dandy video monitor that I LOVE). 

4 Months!

Felix is 4 months old!!  Well...he's about four and a half months now.

As of his last doctor's appointment last week, he weighed in at 14 lbs 6 oz (40th percentile) and 24.5 inches (32nd percentile).  Big boy!  He did great with his second round of shots too...he only cried for a few minuted.  I did wind up giving him his first dose of Tylenol that night though...every time he moved his legs he cried out in pain...poor kid!

Here's the little goon...such a little chunk!

I know I say it every month, but I can't believe how much he's changed in just four short months:

Here's some of his milestones lately...definitely the most noticeable yet. Don't mind my date references...since this is, essentially, Felix's baby book, I am doing my best to keep track with as much detail as possible.

• You started laughing out loud a bit on June 24, 2011
• You were transitioned to your crib on June 24, 2011.  You had already been sleeping in your room for awhile, just in the Rock N' Play and you had already been consistenly sleeping through the night by that time. It was a Friday when we made the transition...you woke up once that night and once Saturday night (although, your dad will tell you it was my fault for starting the dishwasher and making too much noise), but by Sunday, you were sleeping through the night in your crib.
• You started noticeably grabbing your toys on June 24, 2011.
• Your first "real" laugh was on July 3, 2011, while we were driving around the cape.  I was playing with you in the back when it happened.  It only happened a couple times and not again until July 13, 2011.  Now I can usually throw you into a giggle fit once a day.  On July 19-20, 2011, I had you hysterical for nearly five minutes playing in your room, before it wore you out!
• We first noticed you becoming exceptionally vocal on July 3, 2011, while eating breakfast at the Pancake Man in Cape Cod.  You have been consistently vocal since July 14, 2011.
• You started grabbing and becoming enthralled with your rattles on July 5, 2011
• You started realizing what it takes for your jumperoo to make noise around July 9, 2011.
• The first and only time I've ever seen you reach for anyone was at day care, on July 13, 2011, when you reached for one of your teachers.  It broke my heart!  While you've lunged for me before and stared me down until I picked you up, you haven't actually reached out for me yet.
• You've been lunging at things you want, like me/dad and your jumperoo or pirate blanket, for a while now.
• You held your own bottle at day care on July 20, 2011.  I still need to get the pictures as evidence.  I was shocked when your teacher told me!
• Over the last month and a half, you have also developed your different forms of crying...you have your real cry, your pretend cry where you stare at us and make a crying sound (without any tears, shaking hands/body, etc.) and then there are times where you just scream at us until you get what you want.
• You've got a pretty good routine going...once daddy gets home from work, you take a bath and then are usually in bed by about 8pm...that is unless I fall asleep in the glider with you while nursing...then you wind up in your crib around 9pm.  ;-)