Crawling, standing, eating, teething...swinging!

This is a picture of Ryan from last Sunday (the 7th) at our local park...it's his first time on a swing and he really enjoyed himself. Look at that big smile!

In just the past couple of weeks, so much has occured. He's now crawling really well and has added a new skill. He wants to climb on everything and he pulls himself to a standing position. This weekend we went to a BBQ so we put him in the pack n play with a few toys. In no time he was showing off his new skill. He would pull himself up, then sit back down, pull himself up, then back down...over and over.

He also started saying "mamamamamama"...you know I love that!

Since my last post, I have tried to organize the freezer twice and although slightly better, it still really needs an overhaul. I thought I had larger rectangular tupperware but I actually don't. I ended up putting some things in a larger round bowl and then other stuff in smaller square tupperware. It's not perfect but it's better. It doesn't help that hubbs bought a box of 48 popsicles this weekend.

I did also make him some additional foods: pork, beef, turkey, chick peas, lentils, pasta, and brown rice. So far, he's liked them all! I made the meats seperately in a pressure cooker with some unslated beef/veggie/chicken stock that I purchased from the supermarket. I've realized that the turkey doesn't need as much water as the pork and beef during the puree process...turkey ended up a little watery so I added some baby oatmeal to thicken it up. The brown rice was hard to puree at first because I didn't realize how much water is needed for that. It kept having this really sticky quality to it but eventually it all worked out.

My little koala bear is teething in full force now. Poor baby is also congested so that sucks as well. His pain cry is so much different than any other cry it's heartbreaking. Humphrey's pellets have really been helpful but we're also going to try an amber teething necklace. It's supposed to arrive today and I hope it works. I am a little nervous about putting it on him for night time but I will have to see when it comes how it fits him.

Anyone out there try an amber teething necklace? I will give an update after we try it.

New Yummies for Ryan!

As soon as I get my freezer organized (which I think I might do tonight!), I plan on buying some more fresh organic food to make into baby food for Ryan.

My freezer sucks!! I can't wait to buy a house next year so that I can buy a new fridge with an awesome freezer (of course, I can't wait to buy a house for so many other reasons!). We also want to buy a freezer for the basement to store plenty of other stuff (probably mostly meats). But of course, by then, I won't be making purees for the little guy anymore (pause for tears).

My freezer is basically a really small cold box with a door. No shelves or anything. And for some strange reason (I think when DH and I were in our health kick) we have 2 or 3 huge bags of veggies in our fridge taking up most of the space. I will probably have to start cooking those veggies for Ryan...but then I'll have to store them where? You guessed it! Back in that freezer. We also need room for meats and all of Ryans purees.

Anyways...

When I first started giving Ryan solids, he started at 4 months with rice cereal and oatmeal. I think it was literally 3-4 days of that for practice before we moved on to avocado...his first real food. He loved it and did very well. At first, I was so scared of the thicker texture that I added lots of formula to the avocado making it more watery...errr...milky. He did great. I did this with some of the other first foods too like his butternut and acorn squash and some other things.

At first, I only gave him one food at a time. No mixes...being very careful to follow the 4 day rule. He did great with them all. After a couple weeks of trying different foods, I began to mix the ones he'd already tried. A little squash and avocado puree...peas and carrots...banana and apples and so on.

At around 6.5 months I began to add a couple of other foods that I thought he was ready for like chicken, mango, papaya, white potato, and yogurt. He loved it all. I also began to get more creative with his combinations. Once I made a combination I wasn't too sure of. I tried it for the first time at a friend's house and found myself feeling the need to justify it. "Well...I know it looks a little weird but I think he'll like it?" And like it, he did! I think it was something like carrot/ blueberry/ sweet potato or something like that.

Today, I sent Ryan to day care with a rainbow! I was so proud of myself last night after looking at the 3 bowls I was preparing for his breakfast/lunch/dinner at day care and deciding to throw in a small cube of blueberry to complete the rainbow of colors in that 1 day worth of food.

Here is what he's having today...
Breakfast: Yogurt/Pear/Banana/Blueberry
Lunch: Sweet Potato/White Potato/Avocado
Dinner: Chicken/Carrot/Peas

Being that he's now eating 3 solid meals a day, my stash of baby food cubes is dwindling faster than ever before. I am now planning on adding some additional foods with more flavor cooked into them. Such as a salmon/dill/mustard recipe I found on someone's blog recently. I plan on adding onion and peppers and cooking meats in low-sodium broths.

My grocery list includes (in addition to Ryan's usual faves)...
Lentils (red/yellow)
Butter Beans
Chick Peas
Onion
Bell Pepper
Salmon (skin removed)
Pork (center cut)
Beef (lean ground beef/top sirloin/eye of round roast)
Turkey
Eggplant
Zucchini (yello or crooked neck)
Low-sodium chicken/beef/veggie broths
Tofu (maybe...I just don't have any experience with tofu but I don't want that to stop us from offering it to him).

Tonight I am going to empty the freezer and put my zip-lock baggies of food cubes into labeled tupperware containers. I have somewhat large rectangular deep containers with lids that I can stack. I might separate the veggie from fruit from meats into their own containers. Hopefully this will work. I will try to remember to take before and after pictures for you (my thousands of faithful readers! hehehe)

Wish me luck!

Gimme a beat! Updates on Ryan :)

Over the weekend, Ryan had us cracking up! For the first time, he started bopping to the music that was playing...and he was totally on beat! It was so adorable. I've seen him do this a few times since then - even this morning to some music on TV.

He's growing up so fast I can't believe it's been 7 months (tomorrow)! It seems so short of a time span but he has changed and grown so much. He makes us so proud everyday.

• He's got to be at least 18 pounds and I'd say 26-26.5 inches (his next appointment isn't until 9 months).


• He's trying to crawl now anytime you put him on the floor. He gets on his hands and knees and does this cute worm thing to move forward. He's even taken 2-3 steps crawling.


• He has only once figured out how to go from crawling position to sitting.


• He goes from sitting to hands and knees very well now.


• He hasn't figured out how to go from lying down to sitting up yet.


• He stays seated very well when you place him correctly.


• He has stayed standing when placed that way and holding onto something. Like a week ago when DH placed him in the pack n play in a standing position and placed his hands on the railing. He stood there on his own very well.


• He eats 3 solid meals per day (homemade) plus 24-30 ounces of formula. He's at around 6 ounces every 3-4 hours during the day.


• He has started trying finger foods like puffs and Mum Mums and does very well.


• He is sleeping anywhere from 8pm/9pm until about 6:30am/7am every night with only 1 or 2 times where we end up coming in to put the paci back in his mouth after whining a little. He hasn't been asking for the bottle in the middle of the night for several days now. He naps usually from 9:30am-10:15(ish) then again for 2 hours at school from 12:45pm-2:45(ish) and then again around 5pm or 6pm for 20 minutes or so. He now falls asleep without a problem when we put him in his crib for naps while awake but drowsy.


• He loves to blow raspberries all the time


• He vocalizes a ton. "Dadadadadada" and stuff like that. He's even trying combinations of sounds.


• It's definitely harder to keep him entertained now. We bought him new toys to stimulate his brain. He still enjoys his jumperoo but it seems like he's not able to spend as much time in it as he did before. He enjoys his walker too but he doesn't move in it too much yet. He has moved back and forth in it but hasn't figured out how to really get it going. And of course, we interact with him a ton!


• He loves to bounce in our laps while we hold him in a standing position.


• When DH says "Where's Mommy?" he turns in every direction looking for me and stops when he finds me. He does the same for Daddy when I ask "Where's Daddy?"


• We put these wall decals in his room of various animals. Whenever we leave his room we point a few out to him "Say 'Hi Monkey friend!", "Say 'Hi, Turtle friend!", etc. That puts a huge smile on his face! We have a large monkey decal right above his crib and whenever I have him standing on my lap in the rocker he has a direct view of the monkey. Without being prompted he starts smiling at his monkey friend...so cute!


• He makes this funny sound that's like a prelude to his laughter. It sounds like when you inhale while constricting your throat muscles a little. It's hard to describe. Sort of what someone with asthma sounds like trying to inhale during an asthma attack. (He doesn't have asthma! No worries!)


• He loves the water! Bath time calms him down quickly if he's fussy and he LOVES pool day at school (it's not actually a pool, just water squirting out of this plastic kiddie splash pool thingy).


• He still has eczema on his face and some places on his body but it isn't too bad. His face is actually much better now.


• He is so resilient and flexible. He doesn't mind being held/changed/played with by different people.

I can keep going but I'd like to keep the readers I've still got (if any?) lol!

I will try to do better with keeping up with my blog and I will try to make it interesting.

Things I'd like to post about soon:

• Our plan to buy a house next year


• Ryan's food...I'll be experimenting with new recipes soon


• Our planned trip to FL to visit my mom in a couple months


• I'm sure there's more ;)

Ok...ta ta for now!

Update in pics :)

It's insane how long it's been since I've updated. About 2 months ago I was promoted at work and I now manage more programs in 2 different locations. I've been supre busy at work and when I get home, I want to soak up as much time with Ryan before he falls asleep.

Here are some recent pics of the little dude :)

Practicing the sippy:Trying to crawl (this was taken on my phone last week)Sitting up with Rosco (this was a couple days before turning 6 months)Same day...looking oh so adorable :)At St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC attending his Aunt's high school graduation (DH's little sister)

At school playing in the splash pool!

So far so good at day care!

I know I know...we've barely just begun day care but I love his "teachers" and "school"! The center is actually a day care/pre-school/kindergarten combo. They take babies from 6 weeks all the way to kindergarten. I LOVED school when I was little so being in that environment just puts a smile on my face. It's not fun being away from him but I do find comfort in the fact that he's in good hands with sweet people. They are even doing his neck exercises at the school! His head teacher is a nurse and they've taken care of babies with Doc Bands before so they know what to do. (Ryan is being fitted for his band on Wednesday) Here are some pics from his first day:

We taught him how to defend himself at day care lol!

The Butterfly Room His crib is by the window :)

Ryan is starting day care tomorrow

(Sorry for the word wall...blogspot keeps messing with my paragraphs!!) Time really does fly. It didn't really feel that way during maternity leave as much as it does now that I'm back to work and I look back on the last 3 months. Ryan has grown and changed so much. I started work again on Monday but hubbs took the week off from work to stay home with the baby until he starts day care on Friday. I know that may seem wierd...that we're having him start on Friday but we paid for April which starts on Friday and we've agreed that it might be easier for us to use that 1 day as sort of a practice run...getting our feet wet with day care before jumping into an entire week. We took him before my leave ended to the center and introduced him to the caregivers there. They were so sweet! We dropped off some items that he will need like diapers, wipes, etc. Tomorrow we have to bring the rest of his stuff (crib sheets, extra clothes, blankets, bibs, etc). We even bought him an extra mobile to put on his day care crib. His crib is right by the window which is so cute (it's elevated off the ground level so it's not like someone could be looking it at him from outside - and anyway the playground is right outside his window, not a sidewalk). We're going to get there extra early tomorrow to set up his crib for him and stay with him for a little while - this is more for us than him I'm sure. We're also going to take pictures of his first day so I hope to post those sometime during the weekend. Miss Monique and Miss Carly are his caregivers. Miss Monique is this older French lady...she's so sweet. She sings to them in french, reads stories during circle time. They asked us if it would be ok for Ryan to participate in ART PROJECTS...lol! I'm thinking, how much can my 12 week old really do?? But they said that they paint their little hands and make handprints and stuff like that. Picturing that jusy makes me giddy. We said YES...please get our little boy messy! I'm definitely nervous but more excited about day care. I can't wait for him to have these experiences. Here's a picture of the Ladybug Room where the baby's stay: On another note: Ryan is getting a DOC Band for the Plagiocephaly. The DOC Band is that thing they put on the baby that looks like a wrestler's helmet to help their head round out again. Insurance didn't cover it so there goes $3500 (and that's after a $300 discount for paying the entire balance up front). But they are pretty confident he will only need it for 4-6 weeks tops. In some cases, especially when the babies start the process later on, it can take significantly longer. And being that they have to keep it on for 23 hours a day...that's a hell of a LOT! So hubbs took him yesterday to have the imaging done. I'm glad I wasn't there because they had to put something that looked like a stocking over his head and face and I was told Ryan kind of lost it. He was licking the stocking, had snot coming out of his nose, and was sobbing the entire time. That image breaks my heart but I'm glad it's over. The purpose of the imaging is so the band can be manufactured to fit his exact dimentions. Next week he will be fitted with the band. This should all be over by mid-May. Here's a link to a page on the Cranial Tech website which has a video showing how they do the imaging.

And now for some pictures!!

Here he is in my brother's fireman boots

Not quite ready for the Bumbo...but almost

Updates and pics :(

Where do I begin?

Ryan is awesome. He's now 9.5 weeks old. At his 2 month appointment he weighed 11lbs 8oz and was 21.75". He is such a good baby. He rarely cries...he does only when he's hungry and even then it's not a full on cry unless we take longer than normal to get the bottle in his mouth lol. He's smiling and cooing all the time. He sleeps through the night (this started at 5 weeks) in his crib in his own room.

Recently we had to start swaddling his arms at night because he has eczema on his cheeks so he rubs his face a lot in his sleep.

At his 2 month appointment, he got his first round of vaccines. He handled it so well. After the first shot he looked confused. After the second he looked pissed. And after the third he screamed for about 10 seconds and it was over. I picked him up, popped the pacifier in his mouth, shushed him...he wimpered a little and it was over. He didn't react badly to it at all. No fever or fussiness.

He's eating 4.5 ounces every 2.5 to 3 hours from about 7am to midnight and then he sleeps.

We do tummy time but he really doesn't like it too much. He's been tolerating it more and more every day so I'm hoping he gets better at it. He favors his right side so he has a flat spot on his head. We have an appointment next week to evaluate his neck and head for torticollis and pagiocephaly. I want to learn what exercises we should be doing with him to get his neck muscles stronger so that he can start turning his head the other way when he sleeps. This is where we need to get creative with tummy time. We started doing "airplane" exercises which he tolerates longer than tummy time on the floor. We also are using the Boppy Noggin which allows him to turn his head easier when he is laying on his back in his crib, swing, rock n play, bouncer, car seat...basically everywhere. He has 2 already; one stays in his car seat and the other is used everywhere else. We are going to buy a 3rd to take to day care when he starts in a couple weeks.

I go back to work on the 28th of this week :( so Ryan starts at his day care soon. I have mixed feelings about it but we chose a center that we both love. It's a center that takes children from when they're babies until Kindergarten. It's so cute!

Anyway...here are some recent pics:

"What u talkin' 'bout mom?"

"I'm 2 months old today!" (3/3/11)

"This is my cool Woolverine band-aid for my shots"

"And this is Iron Man!"

"Do I look chubby in this towel?"