10 months old!

I don’t even know how to properly quantify how amazing this month has been for us.  Logan has really blossomed into his own little human this month and my heart is bursting with excitement and love as I watch him grow and develop.  It is so amazing to see this little person, who (rightly so) has been my major focus for the majority of the year, go exploring on his own and look back at me with excitement at what the world has to offer.  I can imagine it will only get better from here, but so far this parenting thing is by far the most amazing experience of my life and even though my pregnancy was hard, I would do it over and over my whole life long for the amount of joy Logan has already given me. 

Movement

Logan has changed so much this month.  Of course the biggest change is that he is now mobile!  He is a proficient army crawler (no cross crawling yet) and can get places quickly.  It is fun to see him have an opinion and go explore the house.  He self entertains much better now since he will scoot around a room playing with everything for quite a while before needing help.  He is so excited to crawl and we are just excited to watch him explore.  He hasn’t crawled over to me just to say hi, but if I am on the other side of the room and start crawling toward him, he will get excited and crawl towards me as well.  There is a neat park nearby, where there is a baby section with a little tunnel that Logan can crawl through.  It is so fun to see him able to “play” at the park other than swinging (still one of his favorite activities on the planet).

 

As to how the first crawling happened….  He finally figured out rolling back to front over his left shoulder on October 3rd and with this, he could roll all 4 directions and was really learning that he could move to get whatever he wanted (between pivoting and rolling, you can accomplish a lot).  However, I think mostly it taught him that it was fun to be the master of his own domain!  It was only a few days later that he finally started putting into practice a combination of various tactics for reaching to get something that was close by without rolling.  This involved extending his torso and reaching his hand as well as pushing off with his toes.  As he got more interested in this, he spent two days slowly scooting towards objects.  After two days, he realized that he could get there quicker by pulling with his arms (officially crawling on October 11th).  We set up towers of cups over and over again as he scooted to get them and knock them over.  He especially liked if we propped our cell phones up with the screen showing him crawling toward it.  He got faster and faster, though that first week, though his legs were mostly dead weight, often being crossed as he dragged them behind.  Then he started incorporating them more, at least having his toes push off.  Now, he uses them more and more which has drastically increased his speed.

He remembers rooms of the house and has his favorite places and toys in each.  Usually it isn’t even a baby toy, but something he has discovered (and of course sometimes things we’d rather he not have).  He loves the drapes and heating vent in the living room and of course gravitates to all the electronics (especially in the living room).  There are cords, mice, webcam, the router, and video game controllers.  He loves them all, but especially anything with lights.
 
Toward the later parts of this month, he has been expanding his crawling skills and realized he can go OVER things rather than just around them.  It is cute to see that as he develops more crawling skill, his world gets even bigger.  He has even gotten up on his hands and feet (or 3 of them), and twisted around to see what his body can do.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he transitions to cross crawling fairly soon (though he was stubbornly not crawling for so long, who knows).  He certainly appears to have the strength to do it, just not the will yet.

Besides crawling, his favorite pastime this last week or so has been standing.  Even earlier in this month, you could prop him against something (like the edge of the couch), and he would lean his chest against it while playing with whatever toy was on top.  However, if he lost interest in the toy, he would fall to the side or back with no desire to stay standing, and would rarely use his hands to support himself.  Now he very purposefully holds on and will hold himself standing.  His favorite spot is a particular outside part of his jumper (the toy he is supposed to stand inside).  There is a curved wire bar to slide toys along and he hold on and plays.  As the month went on he has gained more confidence, holding on with one hand and using his other hand to play with the toys hanging down.  He even has held himself by holding the hanging strap with a toy at the bottom.  He has gotten good and balancing and adjusting.  He hasn’t seemed interested in moving his feet to transition, but has leaned to try to get to other toys while standing.  He still occasionally falls backwards (so we are always sitting behind), but it is generally when he wants to be done or is playing a game.  No pulling up yet, but he is looking “up” more and more and trying to see what is above him to play with.  This means he has pulled a few objects down onto himself (one of his books, twice), which shakes him up, but he is learning the world is three dimensional!

Communication

Logan has also advanced a bunch in the communication department.  His “talking” shows a lot about his mood in general, but his new additions are the use of the “no” concept.  Logan says “no” by shaking his head back and forth (no words yet).  At first we couldn’t figure out why he was shaking his head so much, but slowly we realized it wasn’t random, it was when he wanted to say “no.”  He uses it if he’s not ready for another bite yet, or he’s done eating all together, or if you take away a toy he likes or if you go to change his diaper when he was having fun or if you try to give him something he doesn’t want.  It is really useful.  I love it and I actually feel like he has been happier as we have now been able to learn from his likes and dislikes.  He also communicates by “steering” us when we are holding him; he will grab ahold of our shirt on either side of the shoulder near him and pull you in the direction he wants to go.  If you have short sleeves, he will grip the flesh of our arm (ouch!)  It gets very strong if he is closer to the object he wants, his favorites are the thermostat, the fridge, and the glass panel on the front door. 

Logan also understands the word “no” when we say it to him.  When he reaches for something he shouldn’t have (usually a cord), if I say “no” he will turn and look up at me.  Then about half the time he will look at me while he does it anyway, somewhat dramatically slowly, or he will do something else.  I try not to overuse it, and we try to keep the no-nos away (removing him from the scene of the crime), but it is nice to see that he is understanding us.  I get the feeling here and there he understands more, but hard to say for sure.  We work a lot on “hello,” “goodbye,” “more,” and “all done.”  I certainly talk to him plenty, so it will come soon.  It is fun talking to him and imagining the day when he’ll participate in the conversation as well. 

Food

Logan is a self-feeding champion now.  We are far beyond the land of puffs from last month.  He eats chicken and turkey (deli and shredded mostly, hated the ground meat I made for him), peas, carrots, grapes, banana, bread, cheese, mango, and some fun stuff like green beans (he likes to gnaw on them whole, he looks so cute holding it!).  He was, most of the month, eating lots of yogurt as well, we would do half and half yogurt and other stuff on a spoon.  That other stuff was usually something like pureed carrot, applies, squash or mango.  Last few days though he has lost interest in spoon feeding, but it is possible it is a phase.  The great parts about self-feeding are that it makes it more possible to eat at the same time as him, but the downside is that there is a little more daily/weekly work with food and we have to think about eventually sharing our meals, though since I now like spicy food, we are going to have to tone everything down, which is sad.

Speaking of phases, Logan also has rejected nursing for the last 10 days.  I’m not ready to be done.  I had originally only planned for 6 months, but now that it is so easy, I have my cycle back to have another kid whenever I want, and I’m feeling so healthy, I was planning for at least a year or maybe a few months more.  I am probably going to keep pumping even if he won’t nurse, but it is so frustrating that it isn’t working.  I’ve heard of it happening, but I didn’t want it to happen to me.  I’m hoping that between his teething and his stomach being a bit off, that whatever is causing him to not nurse now will go away and everything will be back to normal.  Each day makes that thought feel a little more delusional, but who knows. 

Sleeping

Logan dropped his late afternoon third nap at the beginning of this month and over the month, his naps have also spread out a bit.  It means we have a little more awake time in the morning and midday, but a little less in the afternoon (once the nap was dropped).  Overall though, Logan seems happy with the schedule and has plenty of sleep and energy to do fun stuff.  He still mostly sleeps through the night and naps well.  Also, on days where he takes a shorter or longer nap, he seems more able to adapt than he was when he was young and following the schedule was exact and important.

House Buying!

Of course, the other big news, other than our amazing boy Logan, is that we bought a new house! We are moving a five minute drive south east toward Microsoft and into the city of Bellevue, where I grew up (though still 20 min away from my parent’s house).  We are excited to have more space for a second baby and a lot of place to play indoors and outdoors.

Other

He plays with the same toys month after month, but the way he interacts with them now is so different than how he did when he was 8 months old or 6 months old.  It is really fun to see these little changes.  His hair also got so long that he needed his first trim and is now about ready to need a second.  Overall, he is a happy kid and this month has had very few tears and whines, and far more giggles and smiles!  He also “talks” a lot and it is fun to hear how expressive he is with his sounds and his voice.  His favorite sound right now is “mamama” and I love hearing it, even though it doesn’t mean much.

9 months

Stats: 23.5 lbs (90th percentile) , 28” long (25-50th percentile), Summary: short and fat (but adorable!)

Holy moly has Logan developed into his own person with strong opinions and habits.  It is easy to assume since babies can’t really move or talk that they are less opinionated, but oh no, Logan has his likes and dislikes.  He knows all of his toys and exactly how he likes to play with them (and which parts are best for chewing).  He also remembers things and is excited by anything new – his new toy is a bob’s redmill baking mix.  Anything new and especially un-toy-like is very interesting to him.  He loves leaving the house and will get really excited when we walk into the garage.  He is very expressive with his noises, his facial expressions, and especially his little arms, which flap around when he is happy or sad.  It is interesting how they flap similarly for both ends of the spectrum (though the facial expressions are very different).

This month Logan got his first tooth.  It is his right of the bottom front two teeth.  It poked through on September 26th and is still barely out.  The other bottom tooth and the top ones are all close, with the gums being tooth shaped already.  I expect we’ll see more teeth very soon.  Logan has been pretty grumpy these last few weeks and has struggled to sleep and eat, so I wonder if it is teething, and if so, how difficult the next year of teething will be!  However, I’m hopeful that he’ll adjust as some point.

Logan is now a very proficient self-feeder.  His favorites are puffs and peas (loves them equally or maybe peas a little more), but also self-fed some squash, cheese, and pasta successfully, though tired of quickly.  He has mastered the pincer grasp (forefinger and thumb).  He appears to greatly prefer his right hand.  He will pick up food with his left, but it is less coordinated, so he will often have to bring his right hand up to help poke the food in.  He rarely drops food (unless it is intentional at the end of a meal).  We are already working (and seeing the effects) of training his behavior during mealtimes.  When he throws food, the meal is done and when he drops the water cup, he doesn’t get it anymore.  We are trying to instill these behaviors while food and water are still practicing, rather than means of getting sustenance.  We are seeing huge improvements.  Logan almost never drops his water cup and we usually have to pry his fingers off of it when it is clear he is just playing with it and no longer drinking.  He drops food on accident occasionally (rolls down his front instead of going in his mouth), but he almost never drops food over side and if he does, it is because he wants to be done and we haven’t picked up on his other cues.  We are trying to also teach sign language for “more” and “all done.”  We aren’t going to do a lot of sign language, but those seem useful especially since Logan is a chubby dude and a good eater.  It is hard for us to tell when he is still hungry or just eats because we give it to him.  We’ll see at what point he starts picking them up.

Logan has continued to be very vocal.  He says “d” sounds the most, like “da” and “deee.”  They are his happy noises.  He also will say them back to almost any baby sound we make to him.  If we say “ma ma” his answer is “da da” and same is true for “ga” or “ka” or “ba.”  He makes the other sounds too, but they aren't his go-to.  His second most common is “ba” with ga, ka, and ma all getting rare hits.  He also just squeals with joy and also has been back into his panting with excitement.  And of course, his giggle is the cutest thing in the world.  There is a definitely difference between his giggle when we tickle him and his giggle when he is having fun.  He just seems so complex already and so wonderful.  On our walks, he will often talk to himself almost the entire time (of course I’ll talk from the stroller too, but I’m not sure how much that matters). 

This month, Logan’s favorite toys have been the toys that are good for chewing/teething (his spatula is #1) and anything new that he can explore.  When we carry him around, he is much more likely to lean to grab anything or twist around in your arms.  He has a very strong core and he can use it to help you carry him or make it nearly impossible, especially when all 23.5 lbs of him is trying to wiggle to his death! 

Logan and I have been going on walks (in circles or to the park) most days this month.  He loves getting out in the later afternoon and I have been working on getting some exercise since I’ve been feeling better and I’m trying to slowly build my strength (and lose my baby weight).  On that front, I have officially lost my baby weight and now am hoping to lose a few extra while I’m still breast feeding!  Total of 18.5 down so far.

Logan really mastered rolling this month and used it and pivoting to get around to any toys he wanted.  He still doesn’t crawl and this whole month, still stubbornly refused to roll back-to-front over his left shoulder (but did finally early October).  He’s definitely less motivated on the moving front, but he spends a lot of time on his tummy and rolling around, so it seems to be a matter of time.
What an incredible month yet again.  I grow more in love with Logan every day and feel so bonded and attached to him.  I really can’t wait for his future and I can’t wait to have another (okay, yes, I’m crazy but I’m excited for #2 at some point).

8 months

What another cool month.  I find myself sitting next to him while he plays and thinking about how only 8 short months ago I brought home a teeny tiny baby who couldn’t do anything except eat, pee, poop and sleep (okay breathing and other functions too).  Now he smiles, laughs, makes tons of sounds, rolls, sits, grabs and rotates toys, eats food, drinks from a cup, and tons of other little things.  What an amazing process to watch.  We let years just slide by without changing much but think all of the growing and learning he is doing.  Incredible!

Early this month Logan figured out stomach sleeping.  Thank God!  Also, the overnight diapers combined with full stomach sleeping reduced leaking during naps/nighttime to almost none (maybe once or twice a week).  He now rarely takes a nap on his back and he will (even when very drowsy) immediately roll over to fall asleep.  Later this month, he has begun spinning around in his crib after he wakes up.  He is often facing the door (instead of away how he starts) when we go to get him in the morning or after naps.  It is cute to see his big smile right when we walk in.

Not too much in the moving category to report.  Still loves to sit and play but gets bored more easily with it inside (outside he can do longer), and music no longer holds his attention completely.  He is also very fast at pivoting when on his tummy, though still no forward momentum unless we hold his leg (we don’t need to push, he will push off our foot).  He has always enjoyed his jumper toy (his new “office”) but he has really figured out the jumping part.  He bounces up and down and gets really excited by it.  He can do it for long periods of time.  As he has learned to use his legs more, he is actually more difficult to hold standing.  He doesn’t just want to stand erect, he wants to bend his legs and hips and generally move.  This is a good thing.  Hopefully he’ll be ready to crawl soon!

Logan’s eating schedule changed this month, he went from eating milk 4 times a day and solids 2 times a day (7am, 11am w/ solids, 3 pm w/ solids, 6pm), he now eats milk at 7, 12 and 6 and solids and 12 and 3.  It has given me even more time to be out of the house without worrying about feedings, which is nice. 

New solid foods: summer squash, zucchini, green beans, peas, peaches, yam, rice crackers (mum mums), avocado, apples, puffs.  He has liked most everything with peas being his least favorite and apples being his most favorite.  He has a little avocado every day and he is always really excited to have it.  He also learned to self-feed with the mum mums.  By the very end of the month he would eat a few puffs too, but those take a little more coordination, so they are a little more hit and miss (or eat and drop).

Last week of this month Logan has been a non stop chewer, so we are wondering if teething is actually happening, but who knows.  It has been another week by the time I am publishing this, and still no teeth…

He recently figured out how to pull hard enough to make his moon and his vibrating birdy pull and retract.  He seems very proud of himself when he does it.  It is fun to see him learning more about how to interact with his world.  He is very curious in general and wants to touch and eat everything he sees.  If he can reach to touch something new, he will.  If it can be pulled into his mouth, he’ll do that too!  He has a pretty far reach, so you have to be careful if he is near something he shouldn’t have, but it is fun to show him different things.  If he is grumpy or restless, a change of pace into the kitchen or bathroom where he can explore new sights and textures is very welcome. 

I’m not sure how Logan learned to do this, but he poses for the phone or camera.  He will really ham it up so we can get some amazing pictures.  He is such a smart boy!

This month’s favorites:

Fav toys: spatula, cups, cold teether, captain calamari
Favorite books are good morning/good night and baby’s best friends.
Fav sounds: da da, clicking
Fav songs: itsy bitsy and pattycake
Fav activities:  Daddy’s games of crawling towards or popping up and down.

7 months old (posted late but about his 7 month development)

This has really been a month of firsts for Logan.  First trip to California.  First solid food.  Learning to sit up.  Learning to roll over back to front.  First trip to Portland for the Oregon Brewer’s Festival and  getting to really spend time with his cousins and get to know them.

I’ve already sent blog posts about the wonderful trip to California, so I’ll focus on his achievements and the fun since then. 

Right after we came home, Logan was a sitting champion.   It is still his favorite thing to do.  He loves to sit up and play with toys.  His favorite activities are anything where he can sit and bang his hands around. He likes to hold a toy and bang away, usually with his right hand, but sometimes with his left.  He gets really focused and it is fun to see.

We started loan on solid foods on July 20th (we waited until after he had adjusted from the trip and recovered from his shots).  He had sweet potato first and was not a big fan at all.  However, the next day he ate a bit more and by day 3 and 4 he was really enjoying it and packing it away (it is now one of his favorite foods).  We then tried him on rice cereal, which he hated and didn’t do great things for his bowels.  We have suspended the grains for a bit later.  We just added summer squash on july 31, but he wasn’t the biggest fan.  We mixed it with breast milk and sweet potato.  I think the next food will be avocado.   I like the idea of him being able to eat it as a finger food eventually, though we’ll start with it mashed.

At about 6.5 months Logan finally mastered and remembered how to roll from back to front.  Although I’m glad he has figured this out, it has really mixed up everything.  He was sleeping through the night again (after we did a little cry-it-out to recover from our California trip) and now when he wakes at night, instead of quietly putting himself back to sleep, he’ll roll over and then get annoyed because he doesn’t want to sleep on his stomach.  We have been intervening a lot in naps and nighttime to roll him back over.  Although I am all for cry-it-out, seems a little cruel to force him to cry until he learns to sleep, so we’ll play the game for a bit and see if he can accustom himself to it.  Additionally, he has started sleeping more on his side and peeing on his side so all the pee comes out of the diaper and we are changing his outfit and sheets about 4 times per day including at least once at night.  We are hoping overnight diapers will help with this. 

His favorite toy is his star stacker and anything else that makes music, like his monkey or his keyboard.  He grew tired of his favorite book, Brown Bear at the end of the month.  Since we first started reading to him, he has loved this book.  Strangely, leading up to him hating it, he seemed more into it than ever – getting the biggest grin when we open it and batting at all the pages.  But then he was suddenly bored.  We have moved on to some other books now.

It was a lot of fun seeing him with the cousins.  Logan isn’t super interactive yet, but he seemed very interested in what they were doing.  However, I could tell how used to a quiet house he is because the noise and activity would rattle him, especially if he was a tiny bit tired.  I was looking forward to seeing all 3 kids lined up for Andrew’s bday picture but Logan quickly lost his marbles and cried the entire time.  One of Tara’s friends, commented on facebook that Logan had mastered screaming his face off (her term, and a good one), while keeping his pacifier in his mouth.  I hadn’t realized he had mastered this skill, but she was right!  It gave me a good chuckle.

I really enjoyed getting to spend more time with Luke and Andrew as well.  I feel like now that I am a mom, I just find it easier to interact with kids, even ones that are older than Logan.  I think I am better able to ignore being an adult and just engage with the kid on whatever level they want to.  I had some great conversations with Luke and got to play with Andrew quite a bit.  I hadn’t really been able to bond with Andrew before so it was really special to me.  I am really looking forward to watching Logan follow closely in Andrew’s footsteps (probably literally) as they grow up together.  If only we were all closer….

Lastly, he has really improved his hand eye coordination.  He can now pick up exactly the toy he wants, rotate it and put it in his mouth, pass it to another hand, or band it on anything he wants.  He even once used his caterpillar to make his piano play (he couldn’t reach the piano from where he was).  He has extended this to his pacifier, which he will take out and put back in. 

Because I am so far behind, you will see the 8 month blog shortly, but man is this kid the apple of our eyes.  What fun we have had with him!

Logan's Baptism

During the trip to California, Logan was baptized!  It was a wonderful ceremony and it was fun to get the families together.  Here is what happened:

Friday July 5th was the start of the weekend of fun.  Kevin and Tara arrived with Luke and Andrew (we’ll call them KTLA for short ;)) at about 2 pm.  After some failed nap attempts from all 3 children present (must have been bad nap mojo in the pack and play!), we all settled in to play and have fun.  Charles’ friend and Logan’s godfather Adolfo and his wife, Onie, and daughter, Music, arrived a little later.  All together, we had Luke = 3 yrs old, Music = 1.5 yrs old, Andrew = 1 year old, and Logan=0.5 year old.  It was a fun spread of kids to see running around.  Andrew was even so inspired that he took his first steps alone while at Grandma’s.  Logan was definitely the least mobile, but he enjoyed watching everyone run around, and kids always like babies, so they were very interested in him.  My parents arrived a little after Logan went down for the night, but it was fun to have everyone get to visit and enjoy Tina’s amazing lasagna.  It was quite the treat for all!  She also made her famous chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, which Charles loves.  Grandma got the special treat of feeding Andrew cheerios.  Andrew would tug on her sleeve and she would put some cheerios on his placemat.   It was very cute and since nothing pleases her more than feeding people, and Logan was off limits, she was very happy.

On Saturday, it was an early morning for all with lots to do.  As someone who can get ready in minutes and is always on-time, if not early, having Logan has really mixed things up.  In my head, I will think “okay I have to do x, y, and z, that will take 5 minutes.” But somehow it always ends up taking 15 minutes (or more).  In some ways, I think Logan has helped me let go of time and really enjoy each incredible moment with him, but it is hard when I have to come back to the real world.  So, the point of this is that we barely made it to the baptism on time (well probably late, but on-time enough).  I dressed Logan in his cute little outfit in about 30 seconds (thankfully he cooperated) and it all worked out.  I also learned to remember to budget my own time a bit more.  I thought about watching him and getting him ready but didn’t really factor in time for me to shower and get ready.  Thankfully there was plenty of family to step in when I realized that!

The baptism was in the chapel of the Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church in Arroyo Grande, California.  It was a nice small room and quite full considering that 6 children were being baptized.  I’m not sure if it is the new policy change (no more purgatory for babies), cultural, or random, but Logan was by far the youngest baby and the next youngest was probably and year and most were over 2 years old.  Logan looked very dapper in his white outfit complete with bow tie, vest and little shoes.  It was darling.  Sadly the bow tie got lost, but hopefully it will turn up.  The ceremony was a little bit of an assembly line considering all the babies, but it was nice and casual, which, as a parent of a baby, was a relief because I didn’t want to worry that I had to keep him happy or risk ruining the day for others.  Logan actually was the best (maybe because he was first, or maybe since he is too young to care as much, or because he is awesome ;P) and didn’t cry at all when the water was poured on him.  Some of the other kids put up quite the fight!  The priest was relaxed and pretty funny and after one kid was screaming for some time he announced, “thank god for chastity!”  It was quite a hoot!

A little bit about the godparents:  We chose Charles’s Aunt and Godmother Christina (aka Tina) as Logan’s godmother.  She is a wonderful woman whom we both love very much and we feel she can not only share this love and light with Logan but also her faith and her commitment to God that is a big part of who she is and how she lives her life.  We are honored that she has agreed to be Logan’s godmother.  Logan’s godfather is Charles’ friend from school, Adolfo Dela Rosa.  He and his wife are active members in their church (and in the choir) and I am happy that they will get to share their passion for music and church with Logan as well.  Charles is also one of Onie’s godfathers, so it is fun to have it go both ways. 

After the baptism we all drove to Blacklake Golf Course where Billy (Charles’ Uncle, Golf Pro, and awesome guy!) had arranged for us to get the banquet hall.  We had a lovely buffet breakfast and the kids were able to run around and not be confined.  Logan, after all the baptism excitement and lack of morning nap, was tired and fell asleep in the car and slept in the room for another 30 minutes or so.  Then we opened his gifts and cut his cake and lastly, Billy took quite a few people on cart rides to tour the golf course and see their (He and Aunt Josie’s) new house, which is also at Blacklake.  It was a wonderful really special party and overall such a wonderful and really special day.  We are so grateful to everyone for making it so awesome, but especially to Tina, Josie, and Billy for the planning, and my family and Adolfo’s family for travelling. 

The last item in the weekend of fun was a trip to Avila Barn!  We love going to the barn every time we visit.  It is part farmer’s market, part zoo, and part souvenir shop.  It is just up our ally!  The kids (KTLA and Adolfo’s family) all really loved the animals and Onie and Luke fed the goats and other animals lettuce.  It was great to get some more time visiting and to share one of our favorite spots with everyone.  When we were done, KTLA and Adolfo’s family all headed home and we went back to Grandmas.  It was so much fun to see everyone and have them all be there to celebrate Logan and his baptism!

Pictures will be on flickr shortly!

Logan's Baptism

During the trip to California, Logan was baptized!  It was a wonderful ceremony and it was fun to get the families together.  Here is what happened:

Friday July 5th was the start of the weekend of fun.  Kevin and Tara arrived with Luke and Andrew (we’ll call them KTLA for short ;)) at about 2 pm.  After some failed nap attempts from all 3 children present (must have been bad nap mojo in the pack and play!), we all settled in to play and have fun.  Charles’ friend and Logan’s godfather Adolfo and his wife, Onie, and daughter, Music, arrived a little later.  All together, we had Luke = 3 yrs old, Music = 1.5 yrs old, Andrew = 1 year old, and Logan=0.5 year old.  It was a fun spread of kids to see running around.  Andrew was even so inspired that he took his first steps alone while at Grandma’s.  Logan was definitely the least mobile, but he enjoyed watching everyone run around, and kids always like babies, so they were very interested in him.  My parents arrived a little after Logan went down for the night, but it was fun to have everyone get to visit and enjoy Tina’s amazing lasagna.  It was quite the treat for all!  She also made her famous chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, which Charles loves.  Grandma got the special treat of feeding Andrew cheerios.  Andrew would tug on her sleeve and she would put some cheerios on his placemat.   It was very cute and since nothing pleases her more than feeding people, and Logan was off limits, she was very happy.

On Saturday, it was an early morning for all with lots to do.  As someone who can get ready in minutes and is always on-time, if not early, having Logan has really mixed things up.  In my head, I will think “okay I have to do x, y, and z, that will take 5 minutes.” But somehow it always ends up taking 15 minutes (or more).  In some ways, I think Logan has helped me let go of time and really enjoy each incredible moment with him, but it is hard when I have to come back to the real world.  So, the point of this is that we barely made it to the baptism on time (well probably late, but on-time enough).  I dressed Logan in his cute little outfit in about 30 seconds (thankfully he cooperated) and it all worked out.  I also learned to remember to budget my own time a bit more.  I thought about watching him and getting him ready but didn’t really factor in time for me to shower and get ready.  Thankfully there was plenty of family to step in when I realized that!

The baptism was in the chapel of the Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church in Arroyo Grande, California.  It was a nice small room and quite full considering that 6 children were being baptized.  I’m not sure if it is the new policy change (no more purgatory for babies), cultural, or random, but Logan was by far the youngest baby and the next youngest was probably and year and most were over 2 years old.  Logan looked very dapper in his white outfit complete with bow tie, vest and little shoes.  It was darling.  Sadly the bow tie got lost, but hopefully it will turn up.  The ceremony was a little bit of an assembly line considering all the babies, but it was nice and casual, which, as a parent of a baby, was a relief because I didn’t want to worry that I had to keep him happy or risk ruining the day for others.  Logan actually was the best (maybe because he was first, or maybe since he is too young to care as much, or because he is awesome ;P) and didn’t cry at all when the water was poured on him.  Some of the other kids put up quite the fight!  The priest was relaxed and pretty funny and after one kid was screaming for some time he announced, “thank god for chastity!”  It was quite a hoot!

A little bit about the godparents:  We chose Charles’s Aunt and Godmother Christina (aka Tina) as Logan’s godmother.  She is a wonderful woman whom we both love very much and we feel she can not only share this love and light with Logan but also her faith and her commitment to God that is a big part of who she is and how she lives her life.  We are honored that she has agreed to be Logan’s godmother.  Logan’s godfather is Charles’ friend from school, Adolfo Dela Rosa.  He and his wife are active members in their church (and in the choir) and I am happy that they will get to share their passion for music and church with Logan as well.  Charles is also one of Onie’s godfathers, so it is fun to have it go both ways. 

After the baptism we all drove to Blacklake Golf Course where Billy (Charles’ Uncle, Golf Pro, and awesome guy!) had arranged for us to get the banquet hall.  We had a lovely buffet breakfast and the kids were able to run around and not be confined.  Logan, after all the baptism excitement and lack of morning nap, was tired and fell asleep in the car and slept in the room for another 30 minutes or so.  Then we opened his gifts and cut his cake and lastly, Billy took quite a few people on cart rides to tour the golf course and see their (He and Aunt Josie’s) new house, which is also at Blacklake.  It was a wonderful really special party and overall such a wonderful and really special day.  We are so grateful to everyone for making it so awesome, but especially to Tina, Josie, and Billy for the planning, and my family and Adolfo’s family for travelling. 

The last item in the weekend of fun was a trip to Avila Barn!  We love going to the barn every time we visit.  It is part farmer’s market, part zoo, and part souvenir shop.  It is just up our ally!  The kids (KTLA and Adolfo’s family) all really loved the animals and Onie and Luke fed the goats and other animals lettuce.  It was great to get some more time visiting and to share one of our favorite spots with everyone.  When we were done, KTLA and Adolfo’s family all headed home and we went back to Grandmas.  It was so much fun to see everyone and have them all be there to celebrate Logan and his baptism!

Pictures will be on flickr shortly!

Logan's first trip to California

What an amazing trip!  It is hard to be separated from Charles’ family and it was so nice to get to spend some quality time with everyone.  Logan is such a huge part of our lives and every day and it was weird not having everyone know him as well.  We are so lucky to have such a happy and fun kid and it was fun to share. 
We were nervous about the flight to California since it was Logan’s first time on a plane.  We decided to make little baggies of candy for the people around us and put a little note.  Logan ended up doing well so we probably didn’t need it, but it felt good to be prepared and put our best foot forward.  I nursed Logan on take-off and landing which helped with the pressure.  Both times he fell asleep while nursing, but like usual, woke up shortly after.  He stayed awake the remainder of the flight and only had a few fussy periods.  I was worried some of his musical toys were going to annoy those around us, but the plane is so loud that Logan could barely hear them!  Overall we survived and were in California but with a pretty tired baby (he’d been up from about 4:45 to 10:30). 

LA was 8000 degrees, seriously, maybe 8050.  Okay it was really between 100 and 110, but given that we live in Seattle AND have air conditioning, it might as well have been 8000 degrees.  After we landed, we put Logan in the stroller and he conked out.  He slept while we collected bags, rented our car and loaded our car (which ended up being a little more complicated and HOT than we had hoped).  Then he woke up when we put him in his carseat and stayed awake until we got to the hotel at 1:00.  We went to Sharkey’s for lunch and he was happy and looking around (in blessed air conditioning).  Once we got back in car Logan got hotter and hotter and then one errand after his nap resulted in a hot, sweaty, crabby baby.  We resolved to camp in the hotel the rest of the LA trip as much as possible.  I got an awesome hair cut/dye from Gina though, and that was great!

Our hotel was perfect.  We paid a little extra to have a big room and it was completely worth it.  It meant that Logan could sleep in the bedroom half of the room (separated by desk and tv unit) and we could sit/eat/read on the other half.  Given the fact that he naps three times a day and goes to sleep at 6:30, it was nice to have somewhere to hang out.  It wasn’t completely sound proof, but there was separation and he couldn’t see us.  There was a long hallway from the door so we could turn on the light by the door which lit our seating side but kept his half dark.  We brought the Microsoft Surface (Microsoft’s Ipad) on which we had recorded his mobile music and could play white noise.  We used this and it helped to simulate his home experience and give us some cover for a little noise. He ended up taking perfect naps and sleeping through the night every night in LA.  It was a little weird having him in our room and being able to hear him stirring, but we did fine and slept decently well.   

While we were in LA, we saw Maria, Gina and Everett, and Patrick and Barbara.  It was so nice to get to visit with everyone.  Unfortunately we can’t order up Logan’s mood and it meant that everyone got different versions.  Maria got to see Logan at his happiest: giggling and smiling.  Gina and Everett saw Logan in his zonky state, where he was contentedly staring around like a zombie.  Patrick and Barbara got a half smiley/half grumpy kid.  Oh well, it all worked. 

We left the valley on Monday afternoon at about 2:30 and made it up to Santa Maria by about 5:30 pm.  It was a perfect drive with only the smallest amount of random traffic between Ventura and Santa Barbara and the rest was smooth sailing.  Logan stayed awake all but a short 20 minute cat nap and played happily with me in the back seat.

When we arrived at Grandma’s house it was both blessedly cooler and hotter than the valley.  Overall it was much nicer, but the lack of air conditioning actually made things more complicated.  Logan was too hot to put in his sleeper at night so he slept in his onesie and woke each night when he was cold.  This developed a night waking habit that continued when we got home until last Wednesday (the 17th) when we made him cry it out again.  Overall though, he managed the adjustments at Grandma’s house really well considering that the room was much lighter, the room was hotter, and there was more noise than in the hotel.  I am really proud of him.

We held to the same napping schedule in Santa Maria and took outings in the afternoon between 2 and 6.  It was certainly a different trip than others, but it worked out and I feel like we got to spend a good amount of time with everyone, which was of course, the most important part.  Logan was really social and did a great job playing with Grandma and everyone else.  He even had his first bath in a real bathtub (with mom in the tub with him) and got a few other new experiences. 

Developments on trip: Logan seemed to change quite a bit on the trip.  I’m not sure if it was taking him out of his previous surroundings that made us notice, or if he just loved all the stimulation.  He started to babble a lot on the trip and it was so fun to hear.  He also became even more smiley.  Anytime Charles or I would come into vision, he would smile at us (boy is that amazing!).  He also smiled and played with the other family members really well.  Also on the trip, he reconnected with his feet and enjoyed holding and playing with them.  We also think he started teething more in California, as he was only happy if he was chewing or sucking on something. 

Since he got home, we noticed even more changes: He sits up!  It kinda came out of nowhere, but Logan sits really well with only the occasional tip backward.   He started doing pretty well the day after we got back and the following day was doing minutes at a time.  Additionally, he now rolls onto his side by arching his back and pushing up on his feet, rather than curling up into a ball and tipping over (his old method).  His hand eye coordination has really improved too and now he can sit up and chew on objects.  Given the teething behavior, it is really nice that he can hold on his own toys while he chews!

Overall it was a magical (but a little exhausting trip)!  I can’t wait until we go down next time, but Christmas seems so far away.  It’s amazing to think that Logan will be 1 by then and will go from my little scooting/sitting baby to a walking and maybe a little talking baby.  It is going to be an incredible time for all of us!  Thanks to all the family for being so flexible with Logan’s schedule and going out of your way to come to us (especially in LA!).  We are really grateful for the time and the ability for you to connect with our little bundle of JOY!

6 months old!

Logan is a half-a-year old now!  The time has really flown by but I can’t help but feel so blessed by the whole experience.  I almost cried about 30 times on his half-birthday, just thinking about how amazing and profound this experience has been. 

I am writing this late, now that we are back from California, and it is interesting how leaving our house and coming back really shows his changes.  He was interacting with his toys very differently than when we left.  Since he turned 6 months right after we left, I’ll focus on the pre-trip Logan for now.

Weight

Logan was 19 lbs 2 oz at the beginning of the month, that means his weight gain is slowing a little, but he is still between the 90th and 95th percentile on weight.

Movement

He found his feet this month, quickly becoming his favorite toys.  He “helps” during his diaper changes by pulling his feet up, though since he can let go when he wants, it isn’t super helpful, but certainly cute.  He first found his feet right at after he turned 5 months old.  He went from reaching and reaching to first grabbing his right foot on the 3rd of June.  As of the end of the month he had forgotten about them again, but picked up quickly in California. 

Logan started really doing more during tummy time this month.  The first development is that he started pushing up on his hands, rather than just his forearms.  He pushes his torso up off the ground and he looks around with such pride.  It is adorable.  He also is working on scooting and he gets his bottom up in the air and pushes forward.  He hasn’t put his bottom and chest in the air at the same time, so it is hard for him to make it very far with any one scoot.  He will also rotate a decent amount (he can do a full 360).  In general, he went from spending about 3 min on his tummy before getting annoyed to spending close to 20 minutes several times a day.  It is clear that the more he can do, the more interested he is in trying.

He also has become really interested in touching and experiencing the world around him.  We have always encouraged him to reach out and touch things – walls, mirrors, plants, etc., but now he is actively reaching as well.  He will explore elevator walls, tables,  and our faces, and anything else he can get his hands on.  He will touch, hit, or scratch (keeping his hand still but flexing his fingers).  It means he is easier to entertain.  Several times in California, when he was in a high chair at a restaurant, he would entertain himself by repeatedly hitting/touching the table with one or both of his hands. 

Playing

He is enjoying a larger variety of toys because this month he really mastered the use of his hands and his ability to bring food to his mouth.  He can pass a toy back and forth from hand to hand and rotate the toy to find something he wants to hold onto.  He also can pinch tags or pull strings in addition to just clutching.  He is pretty obsessed with chewing on everything, and the fact that he can put stuff in his mouth himself is pretty helpful.  He has also learned cause and effect.  He loves to make his monkey play music by pulling on the handle.  He definitely knows what it does and purposefully does it.  He also will push the button on his baby mP3 player. 

He is also expressing more interest in books, but his clear favorite Brown Bear is still strongly in the lead.  We read it every night before bed.  He gets so excited when we open the book and is full of giant smiles.  It is fun to see.

Sleeping

He is a great sleeper.  He slept through the night most nights in his 6th month, including in the hotel in LA.  He has some ups and downs with nap length as we optimized his schedule.  He also tested us a few times by crying out and seeing if we would come.  We would for this first night or two (in case he got scared or was in pain), but once it was clear he was waking and just wanted to see us, we let him cry a bit and he got over it and stopped.  It usually only took 3-5 min of crying. 

Overall, he seems like we are really beginning to see his personality and his character and it is so fun and I can’t wait to see more and more and more. 

Happy 5-Month Birthday Baby Bear

Well, I am terrible at keeping up with this blog thing!  I am keeping good notes of Logan’s development in his baby calendar though, but am finding it hard to sit down and find time to write.  I know I say this every month, but what a month of change for Logan.  It is so exciting to see how he is developing!

Playing

He is still a stud at playing, though his tastes have shifted, as I guess is normal.  He isn’t as into his play mat anymore, though I am not sure why.  He loves being in his bouncer.  He plays with the toys and we usually put his blanket and his Sophie toy on him as well (sometimes parchment paper between his feet).  He loves to play on his own, and will do it for quite a while.  If you are nearby, he expects you to dance for him or generally entertain him by standing above him (sitting is frowned upon by Logan).  He loves to be in the front pack and see the world.  He is fascinated by watching people (especially watching them move).  You can watch him just soak it all in!  ON memorial day we went to Richard and Meghan’s house and he sat still on my lap for an hour (never happened before) watching their kids run around. 

He loves any kind of physical play whether flying baby, or being held upside down, or dragged on the floor by his feet.  He also loves his new sitting chair with toys.  He played with it a bunch at first and then has screamed when we put him in it recently.  Saturday, I set him in it while I washed my hands briefly and when I came to check on him (from behind), he was playing away, so I left him.  Sunday played in it for about 20 minutes while I unloaded the dishwasher and ate breakfast in the kitchen.  Charles jokes that it is “his office” because he is so serious when he is playing with the toys.  I think, like the bouncer, he likes to not be distracted while people and enjoys focusing on his toys.  Since then, we have been leaving him more alone while he’s “working” and he loves spending about 20 minutes in here playing with the toys.

Moving

He also loves to play on his mat and roll back and forth.  We have been rolling him and he is now figuring out how to roll on his own.  About 2 weeks ago he did his first back to front roll in his crib.  This last week on Thursday he rolled back to front 5 times and front to back once!  Yay!  Julia finally got to see him roll once, which see was super excited about.  Of course he hasn’t rolled since, but I am guessing it is one of those things that comes and goes for a bit.  He still loves when we roll him around on the mat.

Logan is exploring his body more and more.  He loves to play with his legs (and almost feet).  We can put his feet in his hands, but although he can reach, he doesn’t seem to grab his feet quite yet.  He is getting closer every week, starting at thighs and now holding his ankles.  This feet holding encourages the rolling since being a little ball makes rolling much easier!  His hands of course are his favorite toy, and he loves to suck on them.  He mostly sucks on his fingers, but occasionally does his thumb.  He often sticks all 4 of his fingers in at the same time.  He also touches his face and head, which is cute and different.  Now that he has more control over his hands, you also see less awesome behavior like rubbing at his eyes when he is angry or tired.  This leaves his poor eyes red, and sometimes scratches around his eyes, though I am constantly trimming his nails.

His new favorite things this month are sitting and standing.  He loves to stand up and look around.  We hold his torso or arms for support, but let him support his weight.  He can do it for long stretches at a time (probably 5-10 minutes).  He seems to get a kick out of his new perspective.  He still won’t hold on to something to keep himself standing though (like a chair edge or table), but will balance himself and stand if we hold his arms.  He loves to sit as well.  He would much rather sit or stand than lay down and although he can be held for short periods (especially if looking in a mirror or walking around and seeing new things), he would rather sit or stand on your lap.  He still loves the mirror in all cases though.  He has a giant mirrored closet in his room and we spend a lot of time in front of it.  Because he is doing much more with his legs, I am noticing he is drastically changing how he likes to be held, especially when he is falling asleep.  He used to like to have his legs tucked up or held tight and now he’d like them freer but doesn’t like them dangling, so we lay a little flatter when we rock him (we put an extra pillow below our back), and that helps him.  I imagine this is because his legs are probably a little sore from all the muscle he is gaining daily.  Although, who knows ;)

Interacting

He is getting increasingly talkative and it is so fun to hear his little voice and hear his sounds.  For a while he would stick to one sound for a few days, “ah” or “oo” or “eh” but now he is mixing them up a bit.  He definitely goes through phases where he is more talkative, but in general he is more talkative when is a little grumpy or tired.  He will also stick his hand in his mouth, and play with his tongue while vocalizing, which makes some cute sounds.  

He is full of smiles and it is so fun to see him light up when he sees us or when we entertain him.  He is a really smiley kid and we now get about a thousand smiles a day.  I love it.  Even when he is crying and fussy he will smile (though sometimes while crying!).  The giggles are getting more and more frequent too.  Like the talking, they seem to come in waves, but I have to say, a session of giggles recharges my mommy battery in a serious way!

He is also more aware of this world which makes him more entertained (like watching people) and more interactive (turning to sounds and tracking us as we walk across the room or do chores), but also he gets scared/startled easily and has some issues starting with stranger anxiety.  It is so hard when we scare him.  He will throw his arms to the side, look at you wide eyed, then the lower lip pouches out and finally the ear piercing scream!  Luckily, we can pick him up and comfort him pretty quickly.  He definitely knows who his mommy, daddy, and Julia are now and when other people try to hold him, especially if he is even the slightest bit tired or fussy, he tends to scream.  He will flirt and play with people but is less interested in being held.  Hopefully this will get better with time. 

Sleeping

Oh, what to say about sleeping.  We probably created a little bit of a monster by allowing him to sleep on us.  I am not sure what we should/could have done differently with a little one who refused to sleep at all and would scream until we came.  According to the sleep books, you are supposed to get them to sleep at all costs in the first few months, so oh well.  But now he is almost 5 months and it is time for it to stop.  On Saturday, we started sleep training.  We had a really bad night Friday and I put him down for his nap (which means I rock him until he is dead asleep and put him in his crib) and he woke up 5 minutes later.  It was ridiculous.  So I let him cry.  I feel like not spending 3-4 hours rocking Logan each weekend day has given Charles and I a lot more time together and time to get things done.

How is Logan doing?  Amazing.  In less than a week he really has learned to fall asleep on his own.  This not only helps him once he is asleep in the crib, but even the bedtime process.  He knows when he is tired and how to calm himself down.  If he wakes up, and is still tired, he knows how to put himself back to sleep.  If he waskes up and isn’t tired, we’ll hear him cooing and playing in his crib.  He has slept through the night on Tuesday night and Thursday night and has taken good naps Thursday and Friday.  They are mixing up a bit in terms of length and time of day, but overall he is putting himself back on the same schedule he had before.  The process wasn’t easy and I don’t imagine it is all over, but we haven’t had to “cry-it out” since 1 nap on Wednesday.  I am super excited for the future.  I think he will be more well rested and we can do more activities together (during known awake time) and apart, when Charles and I know he will be sleeping.  I have no doubt that the crying benefited him and if we have to do more, I know it will again.  I am also feeling much better about our trip to California now since he can sleep so much better in general.

Here’s how we did it:  All naps have to be at least an hour long.  Meaning if he wakes before an hour, he stays there until the 1 hour mark (even if this is 55 min of screaming).  We never go to him right when he cries.  We wait at least 5 min so he doesn’t associate crying with a response.  Generally we wait 15 min and try to soothe without picking him up, but after a missed nap during the day, I will rock him back down.  A missed nap happens when he cries the whole time (or a majority) and then we get him up at the 1 hr mark and make him stay up for 1.5 -2 hours of awake time before he is allowed to sleep again.  I don’t want him to get too behind on sleep but I want him to learn to self soothe and to learn that naps happen in a window and if you cry instead, you don’t get to sleep. 

Eating

He eats completely breast milk still.  He is a very efficient eater, though also quite distractible now.  The house has to be quiet and distractions (like people) have to leave the room.  When he gets distracted, he will either get fussy and detach (or bite me in the process) or he’ll just look around and coo at the people. 

He is now taking bottles really well.  Often I have done 2 bottles during the work day which allows me to focus more on work, which I enjoy.

Other

His hair is still growing and growing!  He still has a built in Mohawk with longer hair right on the crest of his head, but the rest is filling in more again (after the hair that fell out after birth).  He still hates hats mostly, and I think it is because he is so darn proud of his hair (I would be).
He doesn’t have any teeth yet but we are constantly sure he is about to get them (which apparently we are wrong).  He just loves to bite/chew/suck/slobber on anything that comes close enough.  Charles calls it “fishing” where he will reach out his hand, catch something, and bring it to his mouth.  His favorite “fish” are people’s hands, but his little jaw is pretty strong and so we don’t usually let him chew on us.

His nick names, at this point, are pretty established.  I call him “bear” or “baby bear.”  I was originally calling him Loganberry, which is a real kind of berry that Charles and I ate last year, but it somehow got shortened and has stuck in my head.  Charles calls him “baby boy.”  His occasional nicknames are “gremlin” from me (especially when he is grumpy or needs to eat) and “wolverine” and “batman” from our friends.  “Wolverine” is because the x-men character who is Wolverine is named Logan.  Batman has no reason, right Mo ;).  Of course we both also call him “Logan” and I think he is starting to learn his name as well as who “mommy” and “daddy” mean.  Not always, but occasionally, he will clearly look at one of us when the name is said.

How are mommy and daddy fairing?

Well, I would have answered differently a week ago, but now with sleep training I am feeling like we are really nailing it.  In general I think we are both such good parents and I think we are doing a great job keeping a fairly high maintenance kid entertained.  We are also both working and doing that well and although house work is still a bit of a work in progress, we have moments (like now), where our house is decently organized and clean.  I am so glad that we have kids and I am so glad that Charles is my partner in this parenting gig.  It hasn’t always been easy, but we are learning together and we are getting better every day.  I love that I work at home and can go squeeze him during my short breaks.  I really miss him when I am away, but I am also really grateful for our nanny Julia and the fact that I don’t physically have to care for Logan 24/7. 


I can’t believe it was five months ago that I gave birth.  It has flown by, but each moment has been so special (or exhausting ;), but mostly special).  He is such a joy and I love his fiery personality and can’t wait to watch him grow up.

4 months old (wrote last week but forgot to post)

Wow, my little baby is A) not so little and B) 4 months old, I can’t believe it!

Today we had our Dr appointment and he weighed 16 lbs 1 oz and was 25.25 inches tall.  That means he has gained 9.5 pounds and 6 inches of height.  That is a lot of work for 4 months.  All of his percentiles are good and he is definitely on the larger side, but nothing at all that is bad.  Doctor is very happy with him.  He loved the exam table at the doctor’s office, and got such a kick out of the mirror as well as the paper sheet thing (which he shredded).  His closet is mirrored in his room so we played a little on that tonight, but I also need to find different textures for him to play with.  He loved scratching his fingernails on the fake leather and ripping the sheet, so he will like other things too!  He also rolled over twice there.  Just goes to show how much of “liking” something is more about the specifics than the generals.  For instance, Logan likes to be held, if you are the right person and doing it right and moving around.  He likes tummy time, but apparently only with a mirror and with textures.  We will eventually learn it all, but for now it is still trial and error.

Feeding:  Logan is an amazing eater.  My feedings are between 8 and 15 minutes total.  He is distractible now, so I have to not chat with people (Charles or Julia) during a feeding.  He also has bit me twice on the left side, which I was not a fan of, but he hasn’t done since, thank goodness!  He eats about 6 times a day, with a few days at 5 times a day.  Otherwise, I am so lucky to have a good eater and good supply.

Sleeping:  Logan is getting better.  His bedtime has moved consistently to between 6 and 7 and he wakes, lately twice a night.  We are going to start some sleep training after he gets over his shots.  He has been calling out for comfort a few times a night and we are going to stop this trend before it gets out of control.  I know he can self soothe, he just would rather see us.  I am also going to enforce the once a night feedings.  I know he can go 8 hours with no problem, so I’m not going to feed him twice a night anymore.  Daytime sleep is more complicated.  Our doctor said we can do whatever but that she would focus on nighttime more.  Currently, he takes partial naps in the crib and then finishes his naps on people (or not at all).  Our doctor said it is common at this age for babies to take naps only for 30 min or so but do many times throughout the day.  We could start implementing this strategy.  Or, we could follow the sleep book that I like (and have been recommended to 5000 times).  It says to sleep train one nap at a time.  This would mean focusing on the morning nap and trying to get it organized and then hold or do whatever for other naps.  The rules would be, 1) if he sleeps for 45 min and wake afterwards, get him up, 2) if he never sleeps, get up after 1 hour, presumably of crying, 3) if he wakes before 45 min, let him cry until 1 hour.  I’m not sure yet if we will do this or not.  I think some of it depends on the success of the nighttime sleep training.  We also have to decide whether to train swaddled or not.  He still sleeps at night in his swaddle, but it does deny him the ability to use his hands for sucking.  Not sure whether  his arms will help or hinder his chances of sleeping.  He has been sucking his thumb more and more, which makes me lean toward unswaddled, but I do think the swaddle helps him stay asleep longer.

So, we have some decisions to make, but our little guy is already moving to a more mature sleep schedule, and that is good to see. 

Play: Logan is an amazing player.  He is so fun to interact with.  He smiles so big and so long it almost makes our cheeks sore! This last few weeks he figured out his handled toys.  My Auntie Jill gave him a monkey that has a big handle that you pull for music.  I put it on his play mat, subbing out another toy, and he figured it out quickly.  This then made him realize his bouncer has a smaller handled toy and started using that too.  He also has gotten much better at sucking his fingers.  His favorite are his thumb and index finger.  He also has now started playing with the same toy with both hands, where before it was always one hand on a toy and the other hand doing nothing or with another toy.  He is also repeating our “trill” noise back at us, though somewhat spittier (see flickr).  Lastly, he is learning more about his body.  He has started touching his head.  You don’t realize things he hasn’t done until he does them suddenly.  Last night and today, he put his hand on the back of his head.  He loves his feet too, though he needs some help to get to them.  After nursing, I help him sit up (folded over a bit), to play with his feet.  He loves it!

3.5 months old

I can’t wait until the 4 months mark because Logan has changed so much in the last 2 weeks.  I know I said that about the 3 month mark, but he seems to just be growing and changing constantly now.
Sleeping:  We are still working on Logan’s schedule but he seems to be working toward a more baby-like schedule versus infant-schedule.  He only eats once at night and usually sleeps from about 8:30 to 2 and then 2:30 to 8.  He is still really struggling with naps but according to the sleep books their night time sleep “organizes” first, then morning nap, then afternoon then evening.  He is still a hot mess in the evening and seems to want to be awake from about 5-7ish, but can’t seem to fall asleep until 8:30 or 9.  Makes for some rough evenings.  However, I love the 1 night-waking and he gets a lot more sleep this way. 

Eating: He is fully off the nipple shield and eating fast and furious.  He eats in 5-15 minutes generally and seems full.  He is gaining weight like crazy and has really filled out.  Previously all his outfits were really baggy in the torso and barely long enough and now he still seems really long in them, but his tummy fills them out also!  He is wearing 3-6 month or 6 month clothing now. 

Playing: Oh my gosh, he is just full of smiles and fun now.  If you put something over or in front of him now, he almost always grabs it and kicks it.  He is very interactive.  He can pull to sit up pretty well and can hold himself sitting up with only a little assistance (see flickr video).  His head and neck control are amazing and it makes him so easy to manage and pass around now.  Logan still loves his playmat but also loves sitting on my lap and doing the gestures to Itsy Bitsy Spider or dancing around.  He also loves any kind of physical play where we move his arms or legs and will crack gigantic smiles.  Flying baby (where he lays on our knees and we roll back and move him around) is also really popular.  I also like to slow dance with him (including holding his little hand in mine) and he seems to love it and be very calmed by the movement).  He is a huge music junky and is almost always happier if some sort of music is playing (whether mobile music, the music from his playmat or any modern music).  He still doesn’t love regular tummy time, except that it is easier for him to chew on his hands, but he still does it sometimes and this morning he scooted around a bit.  He really is interested in his hands, and seems to like that he can bring his hands to his mouth, sadly though, he is not as good at keeping them there and gets frustrated that he can’t continually suck on them.  Part of the problem seems to be he wants to stick all of both hands in at the same time, so he doesn’t get a good grip on either.  If he is on his tummy or being held over our shoulder, his hands stay there and he will suck and slobber away, otherwise he gets annoyed.  If you put a pacifier in though, he will use the back of his hand to keep it in or push it back in, which is neat.  The biggest new thing is giggles!  This weekend he started giggling and we got it on video.  See it on flickr.

Quiet alert time: This concept is one that we read about and see in our nephew, Andrew, but has not been Logan’s style.  He is either awake and playing, asleep or crying.  He has started having a little more quiet alert time and it is nice.  I am hoping that as he continues to get a little older and away from some of his more colicky tendencies, that he will do this more and more.  Good hard playing is nice, but he gets tired and needs to have different modes if he is ever going to learn to be awake for more than 45 minutes and not cry.

Recognition: He definitely knows his mommy, daddy, and Julia now and it is fun to see how excited he is to see us.  It is fun to come around a corner and have him look up at me and smile.  He clearly likes me and enjoys my presence.  After months of hard relatively-thankless (and worse, smile-less) work, it is nice to see he appreciates what we are doing!

I can’t even imagine what the 4 month post will say, but I guess he may weight upwards of 15 or 16 pounds and I hope he has learned to suck on his hand without it falling out!  I also hope that his naps have improved some and that he doesn’t seem as tired when he is awake and I hope he giggles more and more.

Flickr address reminder: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesandkatie/

Busy last 3 weeks

My gosh am I behind on blogging, here is the last three weekends:

Easter weekend: We had a really busy weekend with 3 days of outings in a row.  On Saturday we went to our friend Minerva’s house for her first annual Easter egg hunt.  She has twin 6 year olds (girl and boy) and our friends Richard and Meghan and their two kids went as well.  Logan didn’t find too many eggs, but was handicapped by a diaper change and a sunny day (he is a vampire and hates the sun), oh and being a baby.  We had a good time though and he did surprisingly well falling asleep on Meghan and then staying asleep when transferred to me even though I was sitting still (as Tara described, he is kinda a movement junkie).  He was a little off that night but fell back in his routine okay.

Sunday we went to our friend Chris and Mo’s house for their Easter party.  It was the first time he and Ella (born 10 days after him) were together.  Logan was super crabby at first but fell asleep in the front pack and stayed asleep for 2.5 hours despite the noise.  It was amazing.  I got pretty tired though because he doesn’t tolerate someone sitting in the front pack and I keep thinking he would wake up any second.  If I had known it was gonna be that long I would have had Charles wear him.  It was nice to see Michael and Cam (Ella’s parents) and visit.  With two young babies in our social group now, it certainly makes it so we aren’t alone.  We occupied the comfy couches inside, which worked well.  Logan was quite crabby Sunday night and we had a lot more trouble than usual getting him to sleep despite 5-7 really good days before that. 

Monday was really special.  Logan had a lot of firsts.  First trip to Mimi and Papa’s house and first time meeting Auntie Tara, Uncle Kevin, and cousins Andrew and Luke.  Logan was really tired when they first got there and greeted them quickly and then fell asleep on me.  We brought the swing with us so he had a little snooze in there while we all had lunch.  Logan got to do his first Easter basket hunt, a family tradition of ours.  My mom did picture clues instead of words, which worked great for Luke and I am looking forward to Logan picking it up in the next year or two.  After some chocolate pie in the afternoon, all the kids played together.  Logan and Andrew (5 months older) were fascinated by each other.  Andrew (having more control over his body parts) was reaching out and holding Logan’s hand, which was super super cute.  I hope to get some of the pictures from my mom and put them on flickr soon.  It was fun to see them all together.

After that, we all came down with a small stomach bug (no puking thank god) and so Logan has been a little grumpier than usual.  Add that to him being epically off schedule and it has been for a rough week.  Last night had some glimmers of improvement but today’s another grouchy day.  Hopefully it will turn around soon. 

Next weekend:  It was a lot less eventful than the Easter weekend but we had the exciting event of his future friend, Ella, getting baptized.  She is the daughter of our friends Michael and Cam. Charles has the honor of being Ella’s godfather and it was really special for us to be there to celebrate her!  Logan snoozed through Mass (on mommy or daddy as they moved around, of course because he is a movement junkie) and especially liked the singing and hated the twice people clapped.  We then went for a lunch at Ella’s house and he ate, played and slept again.  We left when he started getting a bit crabby, but overall he did really well.  The next day he started coming down with a slight cold, but he was fine.  Made for a more difficult week though. 

After the baptism at Ella's house (He is wearing the cutest button up shirt,

but this is the only pic we got)

 

This weekend:  No crazy outings or plans this weekend.  He had a bit of a rough week in terms of his daytime activities, so we did a total 180 and I let Charles choose the schedule.  It involved more soothing time between play and sleep (something that I hadn’t thought of) and much shorter naps because Logan won’t sleep very long on his own.  He had a really good day but not a lot of sleep and Sunday was totally dreadful.  I think Charles was totally right that we need more soothing in between time.  It has also changed things that Logan seems to be teething (or something) because he is suddenly obsessed with chewing and sucking all the time.  This can be difficult if he doesn’t have something to chew on but means there is generally something that will calm him down if he is upset.  After a pretty rotten day Sunday, today (Monday) has been much better with him staying in his crib for the two morning naps about 1 hr 30 min each time.  I think there is still going to be a lot of back and forth but I am seeing some hope for daytime sleeping and him sleeping on his own. 

Happy 3 months!

(writing this over the last 2 weeks but only including 3 month developments)

Wow, my little baby is 3 months old.  I can’t believe it.  It is such a joy to sit back and think about all the things he can do now that he couldn’t do 3 months ago (or even 1 month ago).  It has been such an incredible month of growth (physical, mental and social).  Nothing is better than him gazing in my eyes and cracking a giant smile! 

I can look back and I remember where he was at his one month and two month dr appointments in terms of his size and development.  What is crazy is that almost all of his changes have come in the last month.  When we left his 2 month appointment, he was not making a lot of eye contact and would only occasionally even look at specific object, much less track them.  He rarely made many noises and would mostly just lay there on the play mat with his head to one side and wouldn’t reach for or hold on to objects.

Fast forward to today and he is a flurry of activity.  He can mostly hold his head up without support (though does better on mom, dad, and Julia than on others because he wants to push back and look at the person and can’t support head tilted back that far).  He has the best control pushing head back and is working on pushing forward but is getting better and better every day.  He loves to look around and see the world around him.  His favorite toy is the activity mat where he repeatedly bats at the parrot or grasps the parrot’s feathers or ring.  He also loves sitting his bouncer and batting at the dragonfly with two discs (we call them oreos) hanging down.  He sees and hears well and likes to look around and the world around him and see what is going on, but he also just likes staring and his mommy and daddy as well.  He coos and oos and smiles for us more and more. 

His favorite things this month are his playmat and getting diaper changes.  He also started to really enjoy baths this month and has found that kicking the water is pretty fun!  He loves being sung too and mommy and daddy are quickly singing every song we can remember the lyrics too.  He heard a lot of “Sound of Music” from mom and “Edelweiss” from daddy and “I’ve been working the railroad” from Julia.

We love our little boy!

Almost 13 weeks

First of all.  Look at how big my little guy has gotten.  Started and 6 lbs 10 oz and is now about 14 lb 3 oz according to our scale.  In both above pictures he is in the car seat.  Notice the warning label and the feet are and see how much bigger he is.  It is crazy!

Oi, what a week.  I got the super unpleasant surprise of having my milk supply almost disappear this week.  To add to the trouble, it took me a day and a half to figure out why Logan was getting grumpier and he still isn’t back on track.  He much prefers the boob to the bottle, but since he doesn’t get enough then we have to also offer the bottle and sometimes he is just too annoyed to drink and sometimes he seems to want a lot.  The uncertainty of whether I am giving him enough milk makes everything harder.  Is he crying because he is overtired and needs to go to sleep or because he is starving???

He is just growing and changing like crazy.  Every day it is something new.  This week, he has moved past his pro-clasping abilities (like holding onto a ring, or a finger) and now loves to pinch things, like the foot of the toys on the activity mat or the feathers on the parrot on the activity mat.  He is also touching his own thighs a lot.  He clearly has figured out they are his and can control his hands enough to touch them.  It is cute.  He also has amazing hand eye coordination.  He still has clear preferences with each toy area.  He loves baby tigger (of course), he loves the parrot on the activity mat, and the dragonfly on the bouncer.  He likes looking to the right, so that may be part of it, since these are the toys on the right side (minus tigger who is everywhere!).  He smiles a ton and I feel like he is getting closer to giggling.  He has also rolled on his side twice in the crib while I washed my hands after changing his diaper.  He is amazing at tracking and will track from many feet away (especially his favorite toy, Daddy).  If Charles walks by him while he is in the bouncer he will follow him back and forth across the room.  He loves to watch Daddy dance and make faces.  He will mimic Charles like crazy (he only does it for me occasionally and interestingly, never for Julia, even though he loves playing with her).  His cutest moments are often on the changing table.  Even if he is grumpy, you put him there and he is a total flirt and full of smiles and sticking out his tongue.  Okay, last thing: he is getting better at putting his hands in his mouth and figured out that he can turn his hands around and stick his fingers in his mouth instead of trying to suck on the back of his fist.  Although, he is so excited about this, that he usually tries to fit all 10 fingers in at once, which isn’t as successful as he hopes. 

On the scarier side, he has always scooted down in his crib to have his feet touch the end, but now he actually gets his legs through the slats (about 8-10 inches) even though he is swaddled.  It scares me that he is going to hurt a leg, but he is too young for any type of bumper on the crib, which can suffocate young babies.  I keep trying to put his head as close to one end of the crib as possible, but he still somehow scoots the 3 feet down to the bottom of the crib.  He also is getting very consistent about getting his arms out of his swaddle.  Makes me wonder if he is getting closer to not needing it.  Or maybe the reason he cries out to us is because his arms are out and he can’t fall back asleep on his own anymore….(have I mentioned confusing signals?)

It has been a really emotional week for me.  Having milk supply troubles is so emotionally stressful and then add tons of pumpings and feedings and it leads to exhaustion.  Pile on top of all of that a really crabby kid and confusing cues (hungry, sleepy, etc) and it makes for one tired mommy.  On Wednesday I ordered a pizza and had some of a pumpkin gluten free beer, which was just what I needed.  Charles also took over that night and gave mamma a much needed break. 

On the positives (although confusingly timed), Logan is off the nipple shield and nursing directly.  He is really good at it and is much faster than with shield.  He also seems to enjoy it more and is getting more relaxed about it (at first he seemed more worried about delatching).  I enjoy it more as well.  All the drama with feeding/bottles/nursing, makes me realize that when he does have a peaceful nursing session, it really is a wonderful feeling.  Maybe it takes things being bad to realize how good something is.  I feel very connected to him and I see how much more relaxed he is than with bottles.