10 Months Old

I can't believe Micah is 10 months old tomorrow. I don't know why 10 months seems so old to me ... maybe it's the whole double digit thing. Anyway, here's what he's up to lately:




Yup, he's started to "crawl" (more like creep like a cute little inch worm) just this week. He is SO adorable when he does this. As soon as I can figure out how to upload video from my camera to the Internet I'll have to post a video of him creeping across the floor.

Here's his typical routine:

6:30am - Wakes up and talks to himself. Sometimes he'll go back to sleep and sometimes he'll play until I feed him.

7:30am - Nurse. I've found that he nurses much better when I keep the lights off so that he's not distracted by anything (that's also why I nurse him BEFORE Jackson wakes up).

8:00am - Breakfast, usually it's applesauce (or some sort of fruit) mixed with oatmeal (he eats both infant oatmeal and regular oatmeal now).

9:30am - Nap. He still wears a sleep sack for nap time, but doesn't use a pacifier or anything else to put himself to sleep. I usually turn out the lights and turn on the humidifier (for white noise) and cuddle/pray with him for a few seconds and then lay him down while he's still awake and leave. Sometimes he'll talk or fuss a little before he goes to sleep, but most of the time he'll fall right to sleep.

11:30am - Nurse.

12:00pm - Lunch. Usually a vegetable, a fruit, grain and some sort of protein (that can be meat, fish, eggs, beans or dairy (he's had yogurt and cottage cheese so far, but they both make him a little gassy, so I have to give him gas drops afterwards)). I've still been making some pureed baby food, but I'm definitely using the baby food grinder more often and feeding him foods that the family is eating. He also gets a cup with a straw with about 1/8 or so cup of water.

1:30pm - Nap. Usually one of his naps is 2 hours and the other is 1 1/2 hours.

3:30pm - Nurse.

5:00pm - Snack (usually cheerios while I'm fixing him supper).

5:30pm - Supper. Same type of food as lunch (although I may not do a protein). Micah has a hard time making it all the way to 6pm when the rest of us eat and if he does it's hard for me to eat while feeding him, so I tend to feed him a little bit earlier on some days.

7:30pm - Bible Story. Micah LOVES Bible story time. More than any other book we have this is the book that he whines to look at and touch every time we pull it out.

7:45pm - Nurse. I do my best not to nurse him to sleep. Obviously there are some days that that is unavoidable. Most days though it's important that he stays awake enough to at least burp ... other wise I'm up with him a couple hours later when he cries because he's gassy.

NOTE: Micah still will NOT take a bottle! So, we've decided that when Colin or a babysitter has to put him to bed we just mix about 2oz of breast milk in cereal and put 2oz of breast milk into a cup with a straw and feed it to him in his high chair before bed. It seems to be working so far since he hasn't woken up in the night when we do it that way.

Micah LOVES his brother and often mimics him in his play (screams and growls, etc.). As soon as I let him he'll play cars with Jackson ALL DAY, I just know it.

Micah has started to show an understanding of the word "No!" and I now feel comfortable that he knows when he is doing something I've asked him not to ... I say "no" and he gives me "that look" and does it anyway ... you moms know what I'm talking about right?

Discipline is just around the corner and I have swatted his hands a couple of times when he's endangering himself (pulling on cords, etc.). I'm thankful for the tender heart he has when I do (he usually cries (Jackson doesn't like that)), rather than a determined defiance ... I'm praying that sticks.

He still moans and whines a lot when he wants something, but he is getting more consistent with signing "please" (although it's on his leg instead of on his chest). We're working on it.

Jackson is getting a glimpse of a brother who will soon be able to wrestle with him and he's pretty excited about it, but I have to pull back the reigns every once in awhile when Jackson is a little too rough. Those two boys are going to be such good buddies I can tell already by the way each of them light up when the other one is in the room.

Well, I think that's all for now until I hit "Publish Post" and think of a million other things I wanted to blog about. It's the same when I leave the doctor's office too ... I think of a million and one questions after I leave. Ah well.


**********************************************************************************
FEMININE INFORMATION BELOW DO NOT READ OF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW
**********************************************************************************

My cycle was 41 days this month with a spike in temp on day 35, but I was not able to take my tempurature on several days because of getting up with Micah early in the morning when he was sick, so this month's predicted ovulation date may be wrong.

9 Month Check Up

My Progress: (skip this if you don't care about the feminine stuff) I started my cycle this month.

Micah's 9 month stats:

20lbs 14oz (48%)
29" (75%)
47cm HC (95%)

Micah sits up without assistance and rolls as a means of getting to where he wants to go (hence the 48% for weight). He has yet to crawl, but definitely shows an interest in it, but gets easily frustrated when he tries to. He can also clap too and would clap for several minutes at a time in his crib after he woke up when he first learned that skill.

He also has begun to master his pincer fingers and can pick up cheerios and other finger foods and feed himself. He's had the following foods so far: Yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, chicken, black beans, salmon, beef, ground turkey, avocado, applesauce, papaya, banana, blueberries, peaches, apricots, tomatoes, oatmeal, rice, cheerios, watermelon and I'm sure there's more that I just can't remember. (I plan on trying egg yokes and yogurt some time in the next few weeks too, since I've gotten the go ahead from the pediatrician).

He's just starting to sign "please," but instead of rubbing his chest he'll frantically grab at his bib or pant leg. Overall his communication is whining when he wants something ... I'm looking forward to the next couple of months when HOPEFULLY he'll learn how to sign a few words. He's jabbering consonant sounds now like: dada, baba, adah (no mama yet).

He LOVES books, but mostly the mechanics of how the pages feel, turn and taste ... we're working on not putting everything in his mouth, but he's definitely in the oral stage right now. He's got two bottom teeth and I'm expecting the top two to pop through any time now.

His favorite thing to do is go for walks in the stroller. He also loves to be with his big brother. I will often find him mimicking Jackson at the dinner table or when they are playing together ... it's SO adorable.

Micah takes two naps during the day for about 2 hours each, but on Sundays he takes a shorter morning nap and then a longer afternoon nap because of church. I still put him in a sleep sack for naps and night time and he likes to suck on the collar (I hope that's not a bad habit that I'm letting happen there). He sleeps great at night (12 hours) even when he stayed at a different house without mom and dad for a couple of days.

While we were traveling without the boys I was able to see how much milk Micah drinks based on how much I pumped. He drinks about 10oz in the morning, then 6oz around lunch, 4oz after his afternoon nap and 4oz at bedtime for a total of 24oz a day.

His stranger anxiety has waned a little, but I think he's starting a little separation anxiety now too because he'll usually tolerate strangers as long as I'm right next to him. However, once he warms up to a person he does great. I was really glad that he got to spend some time with his Grandma Deb this weekend.

One year is just around the corner ... I'll blink and he'll be going off to college. I'm doing my best to every second!

Traveling and Babysitters

For those of you who don't know we are living in central coast California for a year and a half through Colin's work and the time has come for us to start thinking about where we'll be going next.

If you had asked me this time last year I would have said that we were going back to Omaha, BUT ideas and opportunities have come up in the mean time and it looks like we may be heading to Colorado.

SO, Colin had a work trip out there this week and I went with him to check out Denver neighborhoods, churches and pediatricians. We did NOT take the kids with us. I debated about that a lot before we left.

It was a no brain-er to leave Jackson because we have to pay a full price ticket for him and he's a little less dependent on me these days. Micah, on the other hand, was a little tougher decision. He was STILL not taking a bottle very well (only taking about 2 oz at a time when we'd tried).

But we bit the bullet and left him with church friends who have really been surrogate grandparents to Micah and Jackson while we've lived here. We've also known them for quite some time (they attended the church we went to in Omaha).

Anyway, I'm doing this blog so that I can remember a few things that really worked for this trip regarding traveling, exploring a new city and leaving my kids with a sitter:

1. As anal as it may seem I'm really glad that I wrote out a detailed schedule for the couple that watched Micah and Jackson (I even included when to ask Jackson to go to the bathroom and what types of food my kids like). My thought was that even if they decided to deviate from the schedule (which was totally fine by me) they'd have an idea of what the kids are used to. It made my life SOOOOO much easier when I came back home ... it's like I never left! (sigh of relief)

2. I had the boys go to the sitter's house rather than come to our house. I felt like that would make the sitter more comfortable. The boys and I spent the night all together at their house a couple of nights before we left for Colorado.

3. Micah didn't take a bottle for almost the entire time I was gone, but he was fine. I thought about working really hard at getting him to take the bottle before we left, but then I thought it'd be better to hand the babysitters a happy baby rather than a disgruntled baby when I left for my trip.

He slept through the night and for his naps and he ate solids like a champ (I decided to provide pureed avocado among some other foods (it's healthy and yet high in calories) just in case he didn't take the bottle well). I make my own baby food so I was also able to put exactly what I feed him for each feeding into individual zip loc bags and then put them all into a gallon freezer bag so that it was more convenient for the babysitter to make Micah's food. I have no idea if he was crabby the whole time, but my friend still seemed to have her wit when I came home, so he must have been pretty content.

4. We only stayed in Denver for about 4 days. I packed just a carry on that contained my purse and I also carried a breast pump, so that I could avoid checking and claiming luggage and avoid paying an extra $20 because we flew United Airlines. I didn't get heckled through security with the pump as long as I told them what it was before it went through the x-ray.

5. I had to pump and dump because I had no way of taking the milk back home (sad, I know). Next time I'll remember to bring my nursing cover just in case I can't find a bathroom off the beaten path that has an outlet close enough to a stall. I was smart though and brought along a car adapter for the pump, so I didn't have to go into a retail place to pump when I was driving all around Denver.

6. I'm really glad we had a real estate agent for this trip. She gave me some GREAT city maps and marked out all of the houses with map quest directions. The homework she gave me while I was there was to just pick a neighborhood. I think I found a really good one across the street from Clement Park about 10 minutes from where Colin would work and 10 minutes from the PCA church we'll probably go to.

There is one house up for sale now that meets most of our requirements, but it's a little out of our price range. Luckily it's a buyers market right now and we've got a little time before we need to nail down a house.

7. I checked out two different pediatric offices and my first impression is that they both seem like a place I'd be comfortable. Although I'm still going to ask other parents in the Denver area and will hopefully be able to make October and January appointments for Micah in August before we move.

8. I also visited the PCA church (Deer Creek Church) in the neighborhood. The staff was very friendly. It's a bigger church than we're used to, but I got a really good feeling about it. I think we'll listen to some sermons online before we move.

9. I drove A LOT!!! I'm pretty comfortable with the area we'll hopefully be in and could tell you, generally speaking, where to find a Super Target, a mall, the library, the nearest hospital, parks, etc.

Colorado felt like a hybrid between California and Omaha and I'm at peace if that's where the Lord would have us move next.

P.S. Next time I go to the Denver area I'll need to remember to stock up on lots of water because I did experience altitude sickness.

I know this was probably REALLY boring to most of you and if you made it this far I'd be surprised. Thanks for hanging in there and I hope it was of some value to you too.

8 Months Old and 3 Years Old

In order to organize my thoughts about these ages, I thought I'd write out a typical day in the life of my eight month old and three year old.

7:30am - If Micah's not already awake (which he usually is), I wake him up to feed him before Jackson wakes up because once Jackson is awake and vying for my attention Micah has lost all interest in nursing regardless of how hungry he really is. Micah nurses pretty fast now. Even in the morning when I'm pretty full he can drink everything in about 10 - 15 minutes and only needs to burp at the end of the feeding.

7:45am - I can hear the pitter-patter of Jackson's little feet as he comes running out of his room ready to start the day. He goes potty (usually he'll go all by himself, but still needs help putting his clothes back on when he's done) and I change Micah and we all head downstairs for breakfast. Of course there's usually some time to cuddle a little or read a quick book or play cars for a few minutes.

8:00am - Our breakfasts usually consist of scrambled eggs or oatmeal with some sort of fruit and a glass of milk. Micah is taking a mixture of pureed fruit (he's had applesauce, apricots and blueberries so far) and oatmeal cereal (rice tends to stop him up)about 3/4 of a tea cup full.

8:30ish - Micah plays in his saucer until he gets bored and we've picked up the toys he's dropped for the millionth time and then he rolls around on the floor. (I haven't baby proofed yet, but that time is coming VERY quickly. Luckily Jackson has been very good about keeping the big kid toys out of Micah's reach.) Jackson usually wants me to play cars with him. He sometimes drives them around on the couch or floor or makes them fly around the house, but most of the time he just wants them to talk to each other. He has quite the collection of hotwheels and pixar cars, most of which he paid for with his own money (he's now getting $3.00 a week for allowance... plus he got a bunch of birthday money).

9:30am - Micah goes down for a nap. I love how he snuggles up to me right before I lay him in bed. He's no longer taking a pacifier and whenever I give him one he treats it more like a toy than an object to sooth himself with (I can sometimes here him clanging his pacifier on his crib like a jail bird with a tin cup ... it's pretty funny). Jackson and I usually have some play time together during Micah's nap. We pull out the toys that are not safe to play with when Micah's awake like Legos and Play Doh. Some days Jackson will play by himself while I get things done, or he'll play on the computer while I take a shower. More and more Jackson wants me to play with him though and is very disappointed when I tell him I've got other responsibilities to take care of before I can play. It'll be nice when the boys can play together ... I hope.

11:30am - Micah wakes up and I nurse him. I'll usually let Jackson watch a video while I do this feeding because otherwise he's in and out of the room a lot and Micah gets too distracted. Micah LOVES Jackson and is mesmerized by him whenever he's around. Right now Jackson's favorite DVDs are "Thomas the Tank Engine" "Curious George" episodes and "Mickey Mouse and Friends." They have several short episodes on each of them (perfect for his attention span) and no "scary parts" as Jackson would say.

12:00pm - We all eat lunch. Jackson will eat just about anything. I try to serve him a variety of foods. He likes all of the regular things like hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly and chicken nuggets, but he also eats salmon, black beans, avocado, asparagus, etc. Micah usually has about 1 tea cup full of a mixture of pureed meat (so far he's just had chicken), a starch (like sweet potatoes) and a vegetable. Sometimes I'll mix in a fruit, but sometimes I'll serve the fruit in a different tea cup depending on what I'm mixing.

12:30ish - We finish lunch and play for awhile and then head upstairs to read books and get ready for naps (change diapers and go potty). If we do have the car for the day this is usually the best time for us to go to the library or store (I'll even pack a lunch for Jackson sometimes and take it with us).

1:30pm - Both boys are in bed and I get some time to blog, facebook, read, make phone calls, sleep, etc.

3:15ish - Micah talks to himself for awhile in his crib. Sometimes he'll go back to sleep and other times he'll stay awake until his next feeding.

3:30pm - Micah nurses and we have one on one time. He's figured out how to roll to where he wants to go, but he hasn't figured out how to creep yet.
He's getting there and he gets frustrated when he doesn't get or can't get what he wants. He's also starting to get frustrated when I take something away from him that he wants (particularly books).

4:00pm - Jackson wakes up groggy from his nap. He LOVES to cuddle after his nap and is usually pretty sweaty from sleeping so hard. This is probably one of my favorite times of the day. Then we all head downstairs and have a snack (all except Micah). Then we may go for a quick walk.

5:00pm - The past couple of days Jackson has befriended the girl next door. She'll be 5 in September, but they play very well together. Jackson has played at her house once and she has come over to our house a couple of times. This is the first friend that Jackson has had that I WASN'T good friends with the mom first. It was kind of weird, but a good reminder that I should be expecting that in the near future when he becomes school aged. Anyway, it's been a nice break to not feel like I have to entertain Jackson until Colin gets home. Jackson's been getting good at putting on a pouty face and saying, "but you said you would play with me Mom." Oooo ... it gets me every time. Micah's usually content enough to play by himself at this time and I can start working on supper.

6:00pm - Colin comes home and we all have supper. Micah eats with us in a high chair. I was feeding him in the Bumbo up until this week when he was insistent on bending over backwards (literally) to watch the TV (whether it was on or not) and it was very difficult to feed him that way. At the end of supper Colin and Jackson usually work on catechism or Bible memory work.

6:30pm - Micah starts getting a little fussy as bedtime approaches. He doesn't take a third nap, but he's definitely ready for bed when bedtime comes. However, he's been getting better during this time more and more every day. Jackson and Colin usually play outside while I clean up supper.

7:00pm - We get ready for bed. If they take a bath it's during this time.
After we're ready for bed we read books or play until Jackson's night light comes on at 7:30pm. Then Colin reads the Bible story. We try and get Micah to stay all the way through the Bible story, but sometimes he's just too fussy and I nurse him and put him to sleep in his own room while Colin and Jackson have one on one time.

8:00pm - Colin's already said good night to Jackson and I get some one on one time with Jackson in his room before bed. We usually talk about the day or talk about "Dis-a-neyland" (yes, Jackson STILL talks about it almost every night). I sing him one song, pray with him and say good night.

To end, here are a few of Micah and Jackson's favorite and least favorite things:

Micah's Favorite Things:

His brother.
Rolling, rolling and more rolling.
Experimenting with the sounds he can make with his mouth.
Putting anything and everything in his mouth.
Sucking on the collar of his sleep sack and or rubbing the collar on his cheek.
Playing tug of war with any fabric hanging above his head (it makes him giggle).
Going for walks in the stroller or in the wrap.

Banging, banging and more banging.

Micah's Least Favorite Things:

Vacuums
Blenders
Coffee grinders
When his brother cries.
Strangers (although he's getting much better)
Bottles

Jackson's Favorite Things:

His brother (making him laugh).
Cars, cars and cars!!
Books
Puzzles (he's mastered his 25 piece puzzles)
Legos

His Cool School computer game.
Trains (particularly Thomas although we have Geotrax toy trains).
Watching movies.
Playing outside (he pretends the lamp posts are rockets and launches to outer space)

Jackson's Least Favorite Things:

Having to stop playing to go to the bathroom.
Mr. Incredibles boss (the short guy) in the the movie "The Incredibles"
When Sully "roars" in "Monster's Inc."
Playing cars by himself.
Being stuck in a car or airplane for too long.
Getting his hair cut (although he's getting better).
Bees (but he's not at all afraid of spiders)

It's an adventure every day with my boys ... some might thinks it's kind of a boring adventure at times, but I like it ... no ... I LOVE it!

Week 18: Bottle and Boogie Man Battles

Micah had his 4 month check up this week and everything went well. He's 15 lbs 14oz and is 25 inches long. He's in the 60% for weight and 75% for height and head size. Other than a little eczema on his back the doctor said he looks like a healthy little boy! YEAH! Thank the LORD!

That being said, this past week we have been battling with Micah to take a bottle. Last week we bought a new brand of bottles to see if he would like it and he even took 5 ounces from me. BUT he hasn't wanted anything to do with the bottle since! I should have started giving him one regularly when he was a little younger ... (sigh) who knows he might have STILL had problems even now. Well, we're NOT giving up, so if any of you moms out there have any good advice for me I'd love to hear it.

Other than that Micah's week was pretty good. He was out of routine on Sunday so he did have a little bit of a hard time adjusting to naps again on Monday and Tuesday. He also woke up in the middle of the night on Wednesday due to his shots (he got four shots and an oral rota virus vaccine), but I just gave him a little Tylenol and as soon as that kicked in he went right back to sleep.

Jackson had a great week too, but we are just starting to battle his active imagination at night time. Nothing to unmanageable, but still a battle none-the-less. I didn't help matters much yesterday night ... I let Jackson watch "Toy Story." Usually I skip past the scary parts, but I was talking to my friend on the phone about my bottle dilemma with Micah and forgot to pay attention. In the middle of our conversation I heard Jackson yell, "MOMMY! MOMMY, MOMMY!" in the most frightened voice I'd ever heard come out of his little mouth. I quickly turned off the T.V. and ended the conversation with my friend (sorry Rachel). Jackson was so scared that he wouldn't even go near the T.V. He just wanted to go upstairs and cuddle with his daddy who was on a conference call for work (that was part of the reason I let him watch the movie in the first place). We interrupted the meeting for a quick cuddle and then Jackson was fine. I felt SO bad! We talked about how the movie was just pretend and how God will protect him and take care of him. I was fully expecting to be up in the night with Jackson, but he didn't wake up at all (thank you Jesus). Whew! I learned MY lesson!

Week 17: A Quick One

This week was so similar to last week that I almost didn't blog it, but there are a few notes to myself that I need to make.

My progress: I ran out of my DHA supplement that my midwives suggested I take during my pregnancy and while nursing. It enhances your memory and mood. Not to mention that it's chalk full of Omega-3s which is also good for your heart as well. I did see a change in my mood this week so I quickly ordered a refill.

Micah: I finally got Micah to take a full bottle this week. I tried one bottle a day for about three or four days this week. He takes it best while I'm walking around with him. I also switched from the Evenflo bottles to the drop-in Playtex bottles. He seems to be taking the fast latex natural latch nipple well, but I'm hoping to switch him to the silicone as soon as he'll take it because I guess the more he's exposed to latex the higher risk he has of developing an allergy to latex. Anyway, I think we will continue to try and give him one bottle a week at bedtime so that he's okay with taking an occasional bottle from a babysitter.

Jackson: we have "Mommy and Jackson Time" at 10:30 almost every morning now. I'm a little bored of playing "cars" so I found a great website called Toddler Toddler that has some fun ideas for things to do with Jackson during that time. This week we made our own puzzles out of scrap pictures, we visited a virtual circus (on YouTube) and made his bedroom into a library (he had his own library card and everything). We had a couple of sunny days this week too, so being outside helped too! I'd love to hear other mom's ideas on how to entertain a toddler without just turning on a video (which is very appropriate and tempting at times, but I TRY to make it my last resort).

Week 16: CLICK

Things really seemed to click this week for all of us. I'm sure it helped that none of us are sick right now. Sunday and Monday were the most difficult days of the week because Sunday is compelety out of routine with church and Monday is spent trying to get back into the routine that was interrupted on Sunday. I remember this to be true with Jackson too up until he was even a year old. Worshiping our Lord and Savior is well worth the sacrifice of a routine though and I'm not going to change anything in that regard. I know that Micah will learn how to bounce back quicker over time.

Well, I stuck to the three hour schedule this week like I planned and things are going well. This is the first time that I really feel like we have a good routine established. For my sake and perhaps for yours I'll write down what our daily routine looks like:

7:00am - Jackson wakes up and has time with Colin before Colin goes to work.
7:30am - Micah nurses and Colin is off to work.
8:00am - Micah has awake time downstairs while Jackson and I eat breakfast.
8:45am - Micah goes down for a nap and Jackson and I get cleaned up and dressed for the day. Then we have our morning one on one play time.
10:30am - Micah nurses and Jackson has alone play time until Micah is done and then we all play together.
12:00pm - Micah goes down for a nap and Jackson and I eat lunch.
1:00pm - Jackson goes down for a nap and I get some alone play time (SIGH).
1:30pm - Micah nurses and we have one on one play time.
3:00pm - Micah goes down for a nap and I have a little time to do devotions, rest or plan supper.
4:00pm - Jackson wakes up from his nap.
4:30pm - Micah nurses.
5:30pm - I start getting supper ready.
6:00pm - Colin comes home from work and we have supper and Micah goes down for a nap.
6:30pm - Colin and Jackson have one on one play time.
7:15pm - Wake up Micah and Jackson starts to get ready for bed.
7:30pm - Bible time with Jackson and Micah.
7:45pm - Jackson in bed and Micah gets ready for bed and nurses.
8:00pm - Micah in bed.

That's pretty much how the week went this week. It gets more complicated when you add in going grocery shopping and the library, which I'm so proud that I accomplished this week as well. I was also able to clean my entire house and do all the laundry this friday too (my sister and her brother-in-law are visiting this weekend) which I haven't done since before Micah was born.

Colin and I celebrated Valentine's last night by getting a babysitter and going out to eat. I was so excited because Micah and Jackson had had a GREAT day of naps and playtime and I got cleaning done and Colin came home early from work it was a GREAT day!! We enjoyed a wonderful meal at a very nice restaurant, but the babysitter called and said that Micah wouldn't take the bottle I prepared for him. Luckily we were pretty much done with dinner and didn't sound like Micah was too fussy. So, we finished up and headed home to feed Micah. We hadn't tried giving him a bottle since he was about 10 weeks old, so I wasn't sure how he'd do with it. We were able to successfully give Jackson a bottle at least once a week, so that freed us to go on dates whenever we wanted or needed to. This will be our next goal for Micah!!

Good week all in all!!