Seven Months

Dear Lachlan,

Every month seems to go by quicker than the last. I could swear I was sitting here last week writing your half birthday update.

Im feeling tired today and getting a migraine so this will likely be short and sweet.

What a busy month you've had with your developments. The biggest is your new skill of sitting. You're still a little wobbly and a little too interested in other things and busy to concentrate on keeping your balance but you're getting it. A few times you've gone from laying to crawling position to sitting, which is pretty impressive. You're becoming more mobile and can scoot almost across the living room. You're able to get your entire chest off of the ground, get in crawling position, but fail to move from there. You have a half army crawl and use your arm as leverage to scoot yourself to get what you want.

We're working on eating more solids. You're not too keen on hard foods, like cheerios and puffs but enjoy gnawing on num-nums. Earlier in the month you would gag when anything of the sort would hit your tongue but you are getting better. You tried yogurt this last week and really enjoy both the banana and peach yogurt. You're not too fond of anything green - it is okay, I am not either. :)

Your sleeping has been really good for the most part; waking up around 430 to eat and going back to sleep until 630 or 7. A couple nights you've slept for 11 hours straight, not waking until morning time to eat. You have a few random nights here and there where you wake frequently throughout the night but they are hit and miss and far and few between. I appreciate that since I am the one home with you at night the majority of the time! Sometimes you fall asleep just from going in your crib and others you want to lay chest to chest and be rocked to sleep.

You really love daycare and love Tina. I think you're more excited to see her in the morning than you're ever glad to see me or daddy. Speaking of daddy, you're quite fond if him, his hat, his beard and his glasses. I would say right now you're more of a daddy's boy than a mommy's boy. When he comes home in the morning and we're eating breakfast, you turn your head when you hear the door open and watch for him. When you see him, you smile and squeal. It's nice that you're starting to show excitement when we come home from work or you haven't seen us for awhile.

You're starting to show an interest in everything around you making us realize how much trouble we are in once you're mobile and how un-babyproofed our house is! Im sure we will learn as we go, I just dont think it's necessary to proof everything when we dont know what you're going to be interested in discovering.

No teeth yet and I am convinced you'll never have any... maybe by your first birthday (which I need to start planning by the way)?

As always, I struggle with you growing up and seeming like anything but a "baby" in my eyes. Obviously you're still a baby (and will always be my baby boy) but you seem like such a big boy these days.. your independence is already shining through. I worry for the day where you won't let me kiss you anymore or won't want to sit on my lap and cuddle before bedtime. :( I know I have awhile to go and should just enjoy the time I have for now. You're a special little guy. I love you so very much.

Love,

Mommy

Six Months

Dearest Lachlan,

I am in a bit of disbelief that you are half way to your first birthday. It's hard to believe in the amount of time we've had together, we only have that until you're one year old. Time has gone by so fast and it seems to go faster with each passing month.

This month has been exciting (I know I always say that) but you're turning into such a big boy. We tried some new foods this last month. You first had avocado which wasn't a total failure but definitely wasn't a hit, either; you seem to not mind it as much if it's mixed with your oatmeal. Next up was carrots. Grammie was here visiting so she was able to give you carrots for the first time. At first, you weren't too sure what to think but eventually enjoyed them. They were pretty easy to make but turn your face (and everything else) orange. After carrots we gave you sweet potato and that was a hit as well. The last couple week you've had sweet potato for dinner with a mix of green beans one night. The green beans were far from a hit and I think it may have been worse than the avocado. You were spitting it back out and made such retching faces. We gave you banana last night and you really enjoyed that.. so much so that you ate an entire banana (pureed, of course!). Unfortunately we learned that bananas tend to leave babies constipated so they're going to have to be a treat now and then.

Your sleeping has been hit or miss. You went through about a 2 week phase where you woke up every 15-90 minutes, which was really tiring for me since daddy starting working overnights as soon as you started refusing to sleep! It was a pretty stressful period but I tried to remember that this too shall pass, and it did. Most nights you fall asleep between 730 and 8 and wake up around 430 and 5 for your morning feeding and then go back to sleep for one to two hours. I can't complain, you're a pretty good sleeper and I consider myself lucky :)

You're starting to scoot a little bit but you're not crawling. You can turn yourself around in circles with ease and tuck your legs under your body and grunt. You definitely get the idea that you can be mobile and reach things, it's just a matter of figuring out how to be mobile. I am fine with you being immobile for awhile longer.. I like putting you in one spot and finding you in the same spot when I walk out of the room. You're sitting a little bit but lean forward and catch yourself with your hands and remain like that or topple forward doing a face plant or falling over to the side. You reach for everything and said everything goes right to your mouth. You bite like crazy with those little gums of yours. Speaking of, still no teeth or signs of one poking through any time soon other than your biting and drooling which has been going on for awhile.

You like to make the ptttttb sound and while it started out as something you just like to do for fun and smile, you mostly do it now when you are frustrated and can't voice yourself. Not only do you blow the raspberries when you are frustrated, but you also pant like a dog. You switch back and forth between pttttb and heeehhhh hehhhhh heeehhhhhhhhhh!! I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for you to try to voice yourself and not be able.

Like I said earlier, grammie and grampie came to visit for 11 whole days! It was nice to have them here and when the weather cooperated, you guys spent a lot of time at the park or on walks. Your daycare was closed for a week so they watched you during the day and you did pretty well especially considering it was out of your routine. It was nice having them visit and as always, was emotional when they had to leave.

You're smiling and laughing a lot more now. Sometimes you laugh when we tickle the bottom of your feet and you especially laugh when we tilt you up and blow on your side.. I think you're going to be a pretty ticklish guy. Its so funny how daddy and I do something totally random and you think it's the funniest thing ever. Daddy does little gun movements with his fingers with a "pewww pewwww pewwwww" sound and it is SO funny to you.. well, sometimes. That's another thing. Sometimes things are hilarious and the next day you look at us like we are stupid!

You've especially taken a liking to all of the animals with preference for the dogs. You think they are so funny and laugh at them when they come up close to you. You giggle when Frankie gives you kisses. You definitely like them more than they seem to like you. You have some sort of fascination with Sammy's fur and love to pull on it, and well, he doesn't love it so much. You watch them walk by and they bring so many smiles and laughs to your face. Warms my heart.

Your favorite thing right now is your jumperoo. I feel like it is a circle of neglect because you just rock out in there for 30-45 minutes at a time; laughing, squealing and yelling. When you're not in your jumperoo, you still like to jump/push off everything that is against the bottom of your feet. That was definitely a good investment!

You had your six month appointment today and daddy took you as I had to work. You did pretty well with your shots and didn't cry until the second leg. You weighed in at 16lb 0.5oz which is the 25th percentile, were 26 1/4" long which is the 45th percentile and your head circum. was at the 30th percentile. You're staying pretty close to on track and at the same percentile at each appointment. You're a skinny little dude.. so much so that you still fit into some 0-3 month pants.

As always, I am overwhelmed with this great amount of love for you. Sometimes I still lose my breath when I think about you and you're away, my entire body smiles when you laugh and I often find my face hurting from you making me smile so much. I miss you when I am at work and I miss you when you're in bed for the night. I never knew that being a mommy would be the greatest thing I'd ever experience. Everyone said it was so great being a mom but I had no idea. Being a mommy is something I am good at. I have an overwhelming sense of need to nurture, love and protect you. Sometimes, like when you wake up every 30 minutes at night, my patience is tested, but even at my moments with no patience, I still find the great in it and appreciate that I extra time I get to spend with you in the middle of the night. It's the truth. I love you more than I can express in words.

Love,

Mommy

Half Full or Half Empty?

I have the most amazing little family ever.

Sometimes (seems more often than not these days) I am just overwhelmed with joy, love and a sense of thanks for my family. I sit back and remember all of the thoughts that went through my head before I was pregnant and before Lachlan arrived. I remember thinking that I was too selfish of a person and that I didn't want my free time taken away and that my life was great and perhaps the grass wasn't greener like I thought it would be. How wrong I was. I wouldn't change anything for all the money in the world. There's no more determining whether the glass is half full or half empty.. my glass is full. I love being a momma.

Five Months

Dear Lachlan,

While we were in the office taking your five month pictures today, I had a flash back to your first month. It seems crazy that you're a month shy from being half a year old.

How much you've changed in the last month!

We ended up giving you cereal a little after you turned 4 months. I was expecting quite the reaction but you were pretty straight faced and seemed to enjoy it. We started out with just a tablespoon or so and have moved up to about 1/4c of cereal mix. We decided to go with the oatmeal rather than the rice as you already have issues being "regular" and it seems to have helped a little bit in that department.

Up until about 4.5 months, you slept on your back. You gradually started to turn and eventually preferred to sleep on your side. That preference has gone from side to stomach. Speaking of sleeping, you've had a bit of a regression, especially the last few nights.. we're talking waking up every 2 hours or less. We've tested the waters with giving you a few minutes to cry and then going back in. Usually, you cry because you're exhausted and can't settle yourself down enough to sleep. You're to the point now that you start on your back, roll to your side and end up on your stomach. When you wake up in the middle of the night and you're on your tummy, you cry. We assume that you're crying because you're too tired to roll yourself over. We're hoping this is short lived as it is a little exhausting!! :)

You've made the move and almost always roll to your tummy when we put you on your back. Sometimes you go back to tummy and back to your back. You've started to tuck your knees under your body and stick your butt up in the air. Obviously, I am new to this and am not too sure how the progress works, but with the positioning and your determination, I wouldn't be surprised if you are crawling by the time I make another monthly update.. guess time shall tell! You do turn yourself around in a circle when you are down on your tummy.

I think I may have felt a TINY bit of a ridge on your gums. You sure have been drooling a lot so it wouldn't surprise me if something pops through sooner than later. You've been drooling for quite awhile but its now getting to the point where your shirt is constantly wet from drool.

You started your new daycare with Michael and Tina. We are SO happy and it seems that you are as well. When you see Tina in the morning, you smile and kick your legs. :) You've been a happier baby all around since starting there. You're a lot happier in the evenings when we pick you up than you were when we would pick you up with Sharon's.. I am thinking there is more to it than just being a coincidence.

You're grabbing everything and anything.. including daddy's beard, our nostrils, lips, glasses, skin on our necks, etc. Everything you grab, you put in your mouth. You've started to show interest in petting the animals. Salem doesn't so much appreciate you pulling his fur, but you seem to enjoy it! Hopefully they all continue to be gentle and patient with your new found love of grabbing and pulling.

You giggle and blow raspberries now. The raspberries are hit or miss and are on your terms, but we enjoy the special treat when we get it! You giggle when we make stupid faces and sounds, blow on your belly and when we make high screeched noises and attack you with our face. I am waiting for the day when you start laughing uncontrollably. When you laugh, I lose my breath. You make me smile so much that I often find my cheeks hurting. You're starting to cuddle a little bit. When we hold you upright, you sometimes lay your head on our shoulders. You fell asleep on me yesterday, which is a rare occurrence. I enjoyed every minute of it.. even the warm pool of drool I had on my chest when you woke up.

With the funny and happy times comes the scary times. You've developed a small case of stranger anxiety. Sometimes when you see people, they get too close to your face or just startle you, you scream and cry. We went out to dinner for father's day and you did not like our waitress. She said hello, your bottom lip curled under and you let out some horrible high pitched screams. I tried settling you by holding you, rocking you, shhhh'ing you, giving you a bottle, walking you around, etc, etc and nothing seemed to work. So, we had to leave. Way to ruin your father's first father's day, kiddo! :)

We've finally gone back to cloth diapering and am hoping that we can keep up with it. You don't seem as uncomfortable when you're in them and they fit you so much better now that your tummy and thighs have filled out a little bit! Since our daycare provides diapers (and won't use cloth) we won't really have to buy any more diapers now other than having a small handful on hand as you have to go to daycare in the morning in a disposable. Either way, we will save money from here on out!

You've discovered how to use your jumperoo and really get a kick out of jumping up and down. Im sure by next month you'll be flying in the air and it'll be one of your favorite things.

I decided to give you avocado as your first food (minus the oat cereal of course) on your 5 month birthday, which is today. I suppose that is next month's writing material but for now, we will leave it as you not being too impressed!

I think as far as learning new things and skills, this month has been the most eventful. I still miss you like crazy when you're away (sometimes even when you're only in the other room sleeping) and I am pretty sure I will for the rest of my life. You light up my day when you give me that big smile every morning when I come in to your room. You allow me to see the good and happiness in the smallest things in life. You give living life and everything we do in it a whole new meaning. Being a momma is one of the greatest feelings I've ever experienced. The amount of love that exists in our little family is unreal. I hope someday you are able to feel as grateful to have me as your mom as I feel to have you as my son. I'm looking forward to the rest of our lives together as a family.

xo,

Mommy

The many faces of Lachlan

Four Month Stats

We went for Lachlan's four month appointment today.. a couple weeks late! He looked great and did really good with his shots.. we only had tears for a couple seconds. He is snoozing away now.

His stats:

Height: 25 inches, 50th percentile

Weight: 13lbs 14ounces, 30th percentile

Cant believe that last time we were there you were a screaming babe. Life goes too fast.

Above is a video of Lachie "swimming" - and puking last weekend!

The First Four Months