6 months!

My baby is 6 months old!  Time has never passed so quickly...I blinked and here we are!

Weight: 16 lbs 4 oz - 25th percentile 

Height: 26 inches - 50th percentile

It took him long enough, but Xander is finally getting some chunk.  He jumped up from the 10th percentile to the 25th percentile in weight.  His newest accomplishment is sitting up without help, he is pretty good!  He will knock himself over eventually but he doesn't slump forward or sideways anymore, so it's just a balance thing.  He is a very happy little boy and smiles and laughs and squeals all the time.  He has this ear piercing shriek that he does just for fun, which is cute, and when he's crying, which is not so cute.  

I caught him with both his Wubbanubs in his mouth.  He loves them!

He is very easily distracted these days.  This can be good because when he's fussy, I can usually just distract him with a toy or make a funny noise and cheer him up.  Also he usually doesn't cry in the car anymore, thanks to his interest in toys to keep him occupied, it's a huge relief.  But he also gets VERY distracted while nursing, which can be frustrating.  If the TV is on or Daddy is talking or Casper barks, he whips his head around to see and won't keep eating unless he is really hungry.  We are starting solids soon, so that should be a fun adventure!

Sleeping has gotten SO much better!  Most nights he only wakes up once to nurse, and he has even slept through the night once or twice!  And by that I mean, he slept from 8 to 5:15.  It was glorious - 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep for me.  I did go in and dream feed him at 10 before I went to bed, but I don't count that because he didn't wake up for it. We stopped using Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit, because he would wiggle halfway out of it in the middle of the night and then wake up, but it really helped to get him out of the swaddle.  Now I just put him in a wearable blanket and he is happy.  I think he likes the freedom to move into any position he wants; he moves all over the crib throughout the night, and he especially likes to sleep on his side, which he couldn't do in both the swaddle and the sleep suit.  He takes after his Mama in that regard (the side sleeping, not the wiggling).    

A typical day's schedule looks like this:

1st nap - 9 or 10 a.m.

2nd nap - 12 or 1 p.m.

3rd nap - 4 p.m. (Sometimes he skips this nap, it depends on how long the other two naps lasted.)

Bedtime - 7 or 8 p.m., depending on when he woke up from his last nap.  Sometimes he naps for 45 minutes to an hour, and sometimes he goes for 2 to 2.5 hours, so it's really hard to have him going to bed at exactly the same time every night.  I have found that he needs to be awake for 2.5 hours or more before bedtime.  If it's less than that he isn't sleepy enough and bedtime is difficult.  Half the time he wakes up about an hour after he goes to bed, but usually he finds his pacifier and puts himself back to sleep in a couple minutes.  Sometimes I have to go up there and give it to him.  If he goes to bed closer to 7, I usually do a dream feed around 10 before I go to bed.  If it's closer to 8, I'll skip it.  If he wakes up between 10 and 5 and doesn't go back to sleep in a few minutes, I go in and feed him and change his diaper.  If he wakes up between 5 and 7 (pretty much every morning), I nurse him in bed with me for an extra hour of sleep and snuggles.  We're up for the day usually somewhere around 7 or 8. 

When I look back to a couple months ago when he was waking up every 1-2 hours all night and couldn't put himself back to sleep, I am just amazed that he is sleeping so well now.  I used to dread night time and bedtime, and now it is usually not a struggle. Everyone tells me just when they learn to sleep through the night they start teething and sleep gets all messed up again, so I am not expecting this to last, but I am definitely enjoying it while it does.

I just love my little man so much!  I wish I could freeze time because it is going by way too fast.  We are very blessed.

My dear sweet little boy,

Tomorrow you are 6 months old. It seems like yesterday that they placed you, red and wrinkly, on my chest, and yet here you are, smiley and sitting up and oh so big. Its funny how the hours can seem so long and yet the days just fly by.

Tonight I sat in the dark, quiet nursery, nursing you, your chubby little hand holding mine, and I didn't want to let you go. I will miss this someday when you are big, these quiet, snuggly moments, just you and me. I love you with my whole heart baby boy. And I always will.

Love, mommy

What they don't tell you

When you announce that you are pregnant, everyone has something to say.  Usually right after the congratulations come warnings from well-meaning parents. 

"I puked the whole 9 months."

"Get the epidural.  Believe me you are going to want it."

"Get ready for your whole life to change."

"Sleep now because you'll never sleep again!"

"Get ready to start hemorrhaging money.  Babies are expensive."

"Free time?  I don't remember what that is anymore."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?  Kids are a lot of work."

All this is true, if not somewhat terrifying for the soon-to-be new parent.

But what they don't tell you is how amazing it is to nurture and grow a human being inside your own body.  To carry it and feel its little life expanding.  The little kicks and movements that are only known to you.  How  much beauty there is even amid the pain as you give birth to new life.  How a part of you is unlocked the instant that baby arrives and you enter into motherhood, a state that will indeed change you forever, for the better.  

They don't tell you how much your heart will expand with so much love for this tiny person that you don't know how it doesn't burst open.  They don't tell you about all the laughter and joy, and how wonderful it is to watch your baby grow and learn and become their own person.  How much fun it is to see the world through the eyes of a child.  How they become your whole world and you can't and would never want to imagine life without them.

Yes, parenting is hard, there are many challenges.  You will be stretched beyond what you thought yourself capable of.  You will have to give of yourself for the sake of your child, often when you don't want to or feel like you just can't give any more. But they fail to mention that all the difficult things, the hard things about parenting, every single thing is so worth it and you would do it ten times over for the privilege of being their mother.  

5 months old

Hard to believe my baby is 5 months old!

Weight: 14 pounds

Height: 26 inches

Every month Xander learns more things.  Yesterday he rolled over from back to front for the first time!  Unfortunately I missed it, he waited until I walked out of the room.  He is also getting closer to sitting up, he can stay upright for a few wobbly seconds with the boppy around him.  He has no teeth yet but is drooling and gnawing on things like crazy.  He has suddenly noticed the dog; when Casper walks over to him, he gets a giant grin on his face and sometimes laughs, it's very cute.  He loves to reach for things and grab things, and promptly puts them in his mouth.  It is getting very difficult to change his diaper because he grabs my arm and kicks and wiggles. He likes to play peekaboo and airplane with daddy. He is so vocal now!  He "talks" and makes funny noises all the time.  He laughs and squeals and happily babbles.  Instead of crying when he wants something, he has started whining and complaining.  He gets frustrated at his play mat now because the toys aren't hanging low enough for him to put them in his mouth, so after a few minutes of trying, he starts "yelling" at them. It's very cute.  Also, his eyes are starting to change colors.  They started out that steely gray color that most newborns have, and now they look kind of hazel/green to me.  I am very curious to know if he will end up with daddy's brown eyes or if they will stay hazel.  I'm rooting for hazel since it's a cross between my blue/green eyes and James' brown.

This past month he has gotten much easier to take places.  He likes the noise and interesting sights of public places and he is content to sit in my lap and look around; he'll even fall asleep without fussing if he's tired.  He is even getting better in the car.  We put some toys on his carseat for him to look at, and if he's not too hungry or tired, he doesn't scream like he used to.  He was a good little traveler at Christmas.  Other than fussing because he was hungry, he didn't seem to have any issues with flying.  Even when he hardly slept during the day and didn't get to go to bed until late on the days we flew, he did surprisingly well.  He is pretty flexible, and several people commented on how chill he is.

We had to do a little bit of work this month on the sleep situation, and he is starting to do better.  He still wakes up two or three times a night usually, but that is a lot better than it was.  Probably the biggest improvements are that he is now sleeping in his own crib, I don't have to rock him for 30+ minutes every time he needs to sleep, and he no longer wakes up immediately when I set him down.  Merlin's Magic Sleep Suit has been a big help with these things and allows us to not have to swaddle him.  I have also realized that sometimes he just needs 5 or 10 minutes to fuss a little and put himself back to sleep.  I used to rush in as soon as he made noise and I think I was keeping him from learning how to go back to sleep on his own.

We love our little munchkin!

A New Year

It is 2014.  I'm not sure how that is possible!  As a kid, the years passed so slowly.  As an adult, I blink and another year has passed.  

2013 was a monumental year for us, obviously.  This year I learned how amazing the human body is.  My body grew another human.  From a tiny clump of cells to a 9 lb 7 oz miracle with 10 tiny fingers and 10 tiny toes.  And then in the most incredibly beautiful and painful moments of my life, he left my body to start his life in the world, and I went from girl to Mama; changed forever. My life is so much richer, so much fuller, because of my sweet little boy.  What a year it has been for me.

In the 4 short months he has been alive, Xander has mastered smiling, laughing, rolling from front to back, grabbing things, and is well on his way to sitting up and rolling from back to front.  He loves his play mat, jumparoo, pacifier, ball, feet, and getting his diaper changed.  He does not enjoy sleeping nearly as much as I would like, but we are working on that and have seen great improvement.  We love seeing his personality blossom.

James completed another year with Lockheed Martin, and is enjoying his job for the most part.  He loves working on the F-35 and feels like he is useful and needed at his job, but he does not enjoy the variable hours; he often has to go in early or work late or on Saturdays with little or no warning.  He got his test conductor qualification this year and that is a big accomplishment, I am proud of him.  He has also really shined in the husband department and is a fantastic daddy.  He takes such good care of me and is very involved and loving with Xander, I just love seeing him in this role. We are so blessed to have him!

We are loving our church and friends, God has been so faithful to provide them for us.  I have a small playgroup that I take Xander to (though it's really more for the mamas!), and James enjoys board game nights.  We were attending a small group but it got difficult to go because of Xander.  I am hoping to go to a Bible study this year now that he is a little older.

We are enjoying our cozy little house and there are things about Maryland that we like, but we would both like to move back to Texas at some point to be closer to family.  We are thinking 2015 might be a good year for that but it will depend on James' job.

I can't wait to see what this new year holds for us!

4 months old

My baby is 4 months old!

Weight: 13 lbs 6 oz - 10th percentile

Height: 25.5 in - 75th percentile

This month Xander started laughing, it is the best sound ever! He also found his feet and will play happily with toys for 20 or 30 minutes.  He "talks" and babbles and screeches just for fun.  He can't sit up by himself yet but he tries and he likes to be propped in a sitting position where he can see what is going on.  He is also trying hard to turn from back to front, but can't do it yet.  He is an absolute joy and a happy, easy baby during the day.  We were having a bit of trouble with him arching his back and crying in pain while I would feed him, but our pediatrician put him on Zantac and he stopped! Sleep is our biggest struggle - we are all exhausted.  My little sweetie pie just likes my arms too much!  I have tried all kinds of gentle methods to get him to sleep, none have worked.  Our pediatrician told me to let him cry it out and as much as I hate that idea, we can't continue to survive on an hour of sleep at a time, so we may have to try it.

We are flying to Texas in a week for Christmas and Xander will get to meet his uncles and grandpa!  We are so excited about that!  Christmas is so fun with a kid.  :-)

3 months old

On Tuesday, our little man turned 3 months old!  He is officially not a newborn anymore. *sniff*

Weight: Around 11.5 lbs

Height: 25 inches

Xander is now starting to grow out of his 0-3 month clothes in height, though a lot of the 3-6 month clothes are too wide for him.  My long and lean little boy.  

This month Xander found his hands and he tries to shove his whole fist in his mouth, it is cute.  I'm hoping it is the beginning of him learning to self soothe, though currently it just seems it is the beginning of slobber everywhere.  He also grabs toys now, and of course tries to eat them.  He is definitely rolling from tummy to back now; in fact, he won't stay on his tummy long before he rolls.  He smiles all the time, and though we haven't heard a laugh yet, he's very close.  Some not so fun developments include very shrill screeching (usually when I don't feed him fast enough) and arching his back when he's unhappy.  Little stinker.

We finally weaned off the nipple shield!  This is a big accomplishment, but oddly, it didn't take much work on my part.  Every so often I would try to feed him without it and he would fuss and cry and not latch, so I would just put it back on and stop trying.  Well one day a couple weeks ago, I tried him without it and he latched and ate with minimal problems! In about 2 days I didn't need it at all and he refuses to eat with it now.  Each feed time is about 10 to 20 minutes, which is SO much quicker!  I feel like I have all this extra time now.  Sometimes I miss the 45 minutes of snuggle time/calm and hands free feeding (I have to be a little more hands on now since he has a tendency to unlatch himself a lot; I'm hoping that subsides soon), but mostly I am just happy for the ease and convenience.  And I was dreading the pain but I have only had a little bit of soreness, nothing worse than I had with the shield.  I am SO thankful for that!

Sleeping is slowly getting better I think.  We had a week where he would sleep for 5 or 6 hours, nurse, and then go back to sleep for another couple of hours.  It was heaven!  But then this week he went back to waking every 3 hours, and being restless in between, so that I was getting up 4 or 5 times a night.  Also this week he stopped napping well and would sleep for only 30 minutes if he even slept at all.  He was super cranky and obviously tired, and I would rock him for hours trying to get him the sleep he so desperately needed.  I really think his 3-month growth spurt is causing this behavior because it has slowly improved and last night he slept for 5 hours again, and so far today his naps have been back to normal.  Here's hoping we all get more rest soon.  He is still eating/napping in a 3-hour cycle and going to bed around 9 or so.  I am looking forward to the day when he will go to bed earlier and take a couple long naps instead of 4 or 5 short ones.

Another new thing is that we started cloth diapers this month.  It's an initial cost up front, but we were spending almost $50 a month on diapers, so it has been great to not have that expense!  I also really like not dumping all that waste into landfills.  And they are so cute!  I am a little bit obsessed with finding the best fitting and cutest diaper.  If only I knew the things I would get excited about when I was a kid...I wouldn't have believed it.

This month was Xander's first Halloween and we dressed him in his cute jack-o-lantern outfit.  The next day our life group had a Halloween party and we decided to go as Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane, and Superbaby.  I know, shocker, right?  :-p  I am very much looking forward to Xander's first Christmas!