Saturday, October 23, 2010

6 months

Preston is growing leaps and bounds. For his six month check up he weighed in at 21 lbs, 14 oz. He's now 28 inches long and last week we bought him a pair of size 4 shoes. The sales associate assured us that we were in for trouble. Even though he's still big for his age, his weight has slowed down considerably so maybe he can stay in his 12-18 month clothing for the entire winter.

New skills this month include rocking on all fours and getting around in a caterpillar like fashion. It's not a fluid motion but it gets him from point a to b. Other skills include trying to feed himself with a spoon and responding to our comings and goings. He gives this killer smile and a chuckle when we come to pick him up from daycare. It just melts your heart.

Over this past week his appetite for solids has grown. He likes yams, mashed potatoes, blueberries, and acorn sqaush. He doesn't care for peas and is lukewarm about bananas. With solids comes a change in poop. Yes, I went there. I miss breastfeeding poop for both the consistency and smell. His new poop is foul and difficult to clean. It's also causing redness.

Weekdays are incredibly overwhelming that I find myself longing for the weekend to just rest more than anything. I'm trying to figure out what could make it easier and the only thing I can think of is a housekeeper. A good friend of mine has one and finds her indispensable. Not only does she clean their apartment but she also does their laundry AND puts it away. God, the jealousy is immeasurable.

I'll figure something out in the meantime. What works for you guys?




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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

25 Weeks

Drive by posting:

Preston was diagnosed with broncholitis two weeks ago. It's an infection of the lung's airway. He was prescribed breathing treatments from Thursday to Sunday which seemed to help. Seeing your child sick is so sad. It really triggered memories of being in the NICU. He still has cold like symptoms but his breathing has improved.

I've started to make Preston's baby food. It's really fun and incredibly easy, not to mention really cost effective. For about a $1 per fruit or vegetable, I'm able to get several meals (cubes). We haven't ventured into combos yet because we're still making sure he doesn't have any allergies to common fruits and veggies. However, he seems really lukewarm about solids at this point. He'll take a few bite and then resist the rest by blowing raspberries. I don't push the issue so we generally just end it at that point. But so far he's tried peas, sweet potatoes (seems to be his favorite), avocado, peaches, banana, and acorn squash.
Our breastfeeding relationship is still going strong. It's interesting to see how Preston now noticeably uses nursing for both nourishment as well as comfort. He's generally a really happy baby but if he gets worked up for some reason (dreaded car rides) nursing will calm him. Even though I can tell when he wants to nurse, I'm trying to teach him the sign for milk. Right now, he just throws his body back and paws at my breasts/shirt until it's available to him. Apparently, I'm not fast enough for Preston. What a demanding kiddo!
Other signs that we are going to teach him include mom, eat, more, and sleep. On one hand I can see the use for these signs but on the other hand I feel like I'm pretty aware of his needs such as when he wants to eat and when he's tired and wants to go off to sleep. I wonder if they will become more useful in a few months as he gets older.
We go in and out of teething hell. Last week, he woke up several times per night and could only be soothed by nursing or gnawing on my finger. Let's just say, I was very tired last week. However, we seem to be back on schedule. His gums are swollen, a sign that teeth are coming but none have sprouted yet.
Preston continues to amaze me with his skills. He can scoot backwards and is circles. He rocks on his hands and knees but isn't able to move forward the way he wants to. He can sit effortlessly on his own which is awesome because I can put a toy in front of him while I get dinner started.
His smile is infectious. He is so aware of our voice and face and lights up when he sees that we've entered the room. One of his daycare teachers said that when he hears our voices in the hallway when we pick him up in the evening, he gets excited and smiles. For some reason, it just melts my heart.
Until next time...



Getting ready for church.




Breast milk popsicles are a big hit with Preston. Simply freeze breast milk in ice cube trays. Then put a cube is a sassy mesh feeder and there you go. He really enjoys it during the day to ease the pain of his gums.