7 Months

My little DJ is 7 months old already! And this past month he seems to have changed and grown so much, that I kind of want to find the "pause" button on him and press it. 

He finally cut his first 2 teeth, on the bottom. Two days before Christmas, he was grumpy, clingy and fussy, and then Christmas Day, he was an angel! And sure enough, Deagan had gotten his first tooth for Christmas. Then just after New Years, in popped the other! Now he constantly has his tongue hanging out, rubbing his teeth with it, and you have to be careful, because he likes to bite. Twice just today, he bit Savannah. Once on the finger, and once on the leg.

He is a full-fledged crawler now too. His favorite place to crawl to is underneath the coffee table, where he likes to just sit and chill. Savannah hangs out down there too, often times taking a pillow and a blanket down there. I'm not quite sure what it is about that coffee table, but they both love it. He can crawl on his hands and knees, but he prefers to army crawl if he needs to get somewhere fast. He will crawl on his hands and knees on the carpet, but army crawl once he hits the hardwood floor because he slides faster. I need to get a baby gate ASAP for the stairs. Savannah was too scared of the stairs to ever go down, but DJ is pretty fearless. 

Now that he crawls, he isn't as clingy as he was before. He used to whine and cry as soon as I set him down, but now, I can sit him on the ground, and he will play with toys, or crawl and go explore. 

He can pull himself up too! He now likes to stand in his crib or on the couch. And he especially loves to climb up and stand while hugging my legs. I think he is most proud of this accomplishment, because he's usually beaming with 7 month old pride when he does it.

He's learning how to copy sounds that we make. And he's learning how to show frustration. Savannah took a toy away from him and he yelled angrily instead of just crying. And if I'm not paying attention to him, he yells too.  

 ^^He doesn't seem to mind our costco trips, in which he nearly gets buried every time^^

He's also learned how to give big wet kisses! I LOVE it!

His spitting up problem is virtually gone. Today, he was crawling in the hallway while I was painting his room, and Savannah started yelling that he had spilled some milk. When I went out, he had spit up quite a bit, and that was the first time in weeks he had done that. 

He still doesn't sleep through the night, but It's not really his fault. He gets up around 5 or 6am, which is when the boys downstairs wake up to play video games. (What teenaged boy gets up earlier than is necessary, just to play video games? It makes zero sense) and they are pretty noisy. I get up, change his diaper and give him a bottle and he goes back to sleep pretty easily and stays asleep until 8. I think I'm going to start heading to the gym after I get up with him, since he goes back to sleep, and Savannah and Bryant are still asleep until 8, and I feel more tired throughout the day if I get up and go back to sleep. 

He really is just the happiest baby you have ever met. I'm not ready for him to be so active. I miss the sleepy snuggly stage! But I think it will be nice when he's big enough to keep up with Savannah, so they can keep each other entertained.

6 Month Update!

Oh wow, talk about a crazy couple of weeks!

Any free time I had I was spent writing final papers and revising them and studying for finals and then I nearly had a panic attack when my professor e-mailed me and said she was going to fail my paper because I didn't cite my sources and that was considered plagiarism. When I went in to talk to her about it, because I DID cite my sources, it turns out I placed a comma in my citations in the wrong place. Talk about an overly dramatic professor! (This was also the same professor that told me I had failed another paper earlier in the semester, turns out, she failed everyone BUT me. Crazy.) But I fixed it and aced the paper. Crisis averted! 

Ok, rants over! I'm just relieved to have a break and to finally get some stuff done around here! Catching up on blogging is one of those things, so expect a lot of posts this week! I figured I should start with Deagan's 6 month update, since I missed his 5 month and in another week and a half he will be 7 months old. Where does the time go?

^^Always in the sling. He's such a mama's boy!^^

So, lets get to it and start with his stats!

Weight: 16lbs, 3oz, 23%

Length: 26.25in 32%

Head Circumference: 43.2cm 46%

Teeny little guy, but for as small as he is, he's still got his chunky cheeks and meaty legs!

The doctor said everything looks perfect with him, and that he's still growing along his curve. I discussed his spitting up, once again, and the doctor told us that he's confident he will grow out of it. And to my surprise, he has! He still spits up occasionally, but not anywhere NEAR the amount he used too! It's so nice not having to change my clothes 3 times a day! I think starting him on solids has really made the difference.

I also talked to the doctor about him not sleeping through the night. And he told me what I knew he probably would, to just let him cry it out. That was really hard for me because we have had complaints from the renters downstairs about DJ crying, but I decided to just not worry about them and let him cry it out. The doctor told us that the first night to expect him to cry for up to 3 hours, and to wake up several times that night. I think he cried for 2, and he woke up 2-3 times, but I never went in and got him. After that, each night became easier, and now, I either nurse him to sleep, or if he's extra fussy, I lay him in his crib with a bottle, and he puts himself to sleep. He still wakes up 1-2 times a night, and most nights he cries for 5 minutes and puts himself back to sleep. But on the nights he screams, I get up and get him a bottle. I used to bring him in bed with me and nurse him, but then I had a hard time putting him back in his room without waking him up, so I now just do the bottle. Hopefully soon, he will sleep through the night completely on a regular basis, and not just once a week.

The biggest development this month is that he can now sit up, and is on his way to officially crawling. He gets up on his hands and knees, then propels himself forward. He also army crawls everywhere. I thought once he could move, he would not be as clingy, but he still always wants to be held and so most of our days are spent with him on my lap or in the sling. 

^^This photo is from Reno, and I realized that I still have not written about Thanksgiving! Look for that post soon!^^

He loves his sister more than anyone I think. She tries to wrestle with him and it makes me nervous, but he is almost always laughing and pulling her hair and giving her kisses. They are going to be best friends!

Well, that's all for now! Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away?! 

Also, Happy Birthday to my Dad! I love you!

3 Months Old!

 

My handsome little man is already 3 months old! 

This last month has been so fun. He's starting to get out of that sleepy little newborn stage and into that active little baby stage.

 

He smiles ALL the time. And I mean ALL. THE. TIME. I love it! He's got cheeks for days that just look so perfectly chubby and kissable when he smiles.

He also is starting to giggle, and he's even given us a few belly laughs. Baby belly laughs are just the best aren't they? He constantly wants to play. When I had Savannah, I read every baby book out there and they all said not to over-stimulate babies because they can't handle it, and it would make them fussy. But D is the complete opposite. He constantly wants you to play with him. I will sit there for 20 minutes tickling him, bouncing him, nibbling those cheeks and tiny toes, and when I stop because I'm exhausted, he gets upset and begins to cry. Then I start back up again with teasing him, and he's instantly happy. 

He's our thumb/finger sucker. I think Savy sucked her thumb maaaayyyybe twice? Deagan is constantly gumming his hands if he doesn't have a pacifier in his mouth. 

He also learned how to roll from his front to his back. I didn't even know he was trying to do it until one day, I laid him down on the floor and FLIP! He just rolled right over. I don't even think he realized what had happened that first time, but ever since then, good luck if you want to give him some tummy time. 

He's also getting better coordinated with his hands. He likes to pull the blanket up and put it in his mouth, and he pulls on my shirt whenever I hold him. He's still trying to figure out how to grab his feet. He will stick his legs straight up in the air and his arms just start windmilling, trying desperately to grab those feet and stick them in his mouth.

He's generally not a fussy baby, but he tends to spit up a lot. And not your normal, post-feeding little drool, it's more like half the contents of him stomach get shot out all over him, me, and anyone near him. I had talked to his doctor last month about it, and he said that in some babies, the muscle between the opening of their stomach and their esophagus isn't quite closed yet, and they spit up more than normal. He said as long as he wasn't in pain, not fussy, and gaining weight, that he was fine and it should go away by around 4 months. But then it just got worse and worse. He wouldn't just spit up right after eating, he's spit up 5 minutes after eating, then every 5 minutes for the next hour or so. I tried everything, changing my diet in case it was something I was eating causing it, I tried 3 different formulas, I changed his position while he eats. But nothing helped. I finally called the doctor back and asked what to do. He recommended some baby antacids. So far, they aren't doing anything either. But he's still gaining weight, so I'm trying not to worry too much.

He just adores his big sister. She is constantly asking if she can hold him, and smothers him with kisses and hugs, and likes to squish his cheeks and hold his hand. I always get after her and tell her to be soft while she's crushing him, worried that she's hurting him, and then I see his face and he's smiling and giggling and happy as a clam. Babies are always so much more tough than we think they are, and he loves the attention his sister gives him. 

I just love my little chunk!