Wesley Arlo- 7 Months

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I can’t believe how big this boy is getting to be! I ‘unofficially’ weighed him on our home scale yesterday and he’s clocking in at 21.5 pounds- not too shabby!

Some stats:

He’s breastfed 3 times a day, has 2 solid food meals (about 1.5 squeeze packs per meal + oatmeal) and a bottle before bed. So yeah, with all that food, he’s producing some major craps. All’s healthy in that department. He’s taken a liking to pooping as we change him, so that’s been fun. He’s still not a fan of meat even though I’ve tried hiding it in other foods. It’s like his tastebuds just KNOW and he immediately gives a huge YUCK face and sticks out his tongue for me to get it out of his mouth.

He going to bed around 7/7:30 each night, sleeping until 7/7:30 the next morning. Only a few times has he woken up early in the morning for a feeding then gone back to sleep. His naps are still varying in time and length, but there’s usually a morning nap that’s anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours and an afternoon nap that’s 1-2 hours.

He has started to sit up on his own, but he’s still a bit unsteady and I have to sit behind him just in case. But his rolling! Man, he rolls like a fiend. He had already mastered the back to front roll, but this month he finally got a hang of the front to back. And has even steamrolled across the living room floor a few times. His dexterity is really improving and he grabs for things with both hands and can use his fingers to properly grasp a ring or his toys OR MY HAIR/BOOB. Oh, and he flipped over in his crib. Insert huge mom paranoia here.

Wes is still blowing tons of raspberries and babbles a LOT. As far as I can tell, he likes his pool class, but it mostly staring at everyone else in the pool. He kicks his feet and splashes a bit, and just this past week started bobbing his face into the water (HILARIOUS). During bath time, he’s transitioned from staring at himself in the mirror to jamming a washcloth into his mouth and sucking on it loudly. And the grunting! It’s not always when he poops…grunting is weird.

We’ve been reading a lot of books, too. I can’t tell if he 100% likes it, but he tolerates it. I mean seriously, it’s not like he can just get up and leave when I read to him…. I’ve read a lot of the Dr. Seuss books to him (ps: can someone tell me how to stop rhyming everything I see in my head now? It drives me crazy!!) and some other random ones I’ve found at the library. He loves to turn the pages of board books and his very favorite is the Dog book that has fuzzy pages and pull-tabs.

Oh, and singing. I sing to him a lot. About everything. I sing about making his food and changing his diaper…you name it. My classic go-to for nap/bed time is Do-Re-Me. Confession: He was extremely fussy a few days ago so I *might* have changed to words in the song to “go the fuck, the fuck to sleeeeeep, go the fuck-fuck-fuck to sleeeeeep’ Sing that in your head about 2309572 times. It gets funny. #goodmom #iswear

It might not look like it, but he’s getting a bit more hair. He’s wearing 12/18/24mo sleepers and 12/18 mo onesies and pants. You can forget about me buying him any shoes because his ankles are CANKLES and I’m not going to bother under he’s a bit more mobile. I don’t foresee him running any marathons anytime soon, so I’m not worried. PS: Hats are my favorite. He’s currently wearing 12-24mo in hats and I want to buy him all the hats. HATS. How many times can I say HATS? PPS: If you have any extra hats laying around, please send them my way.

Wes has started to get the hang of patting the dogs. Although, he tends to pat then GRAB so we’ll have to work on that. Layla tolerates it, but Reggie can be a bit temperamental, so I don’t want any accidents there. He giggles at them when they walk by and/or do something naughty.

His eczema isn’t so bad anymore, mostly because he’s strong enough now to stretch out his neck and get fresh air onto the skin more often. He usually prairie-dogs his neck when he’s sitting in his high chair. I can’t tell if it’s to look at what’s in the kitchen, or if he’s mimicking how he poos? Who knows. Eww, did I go too far there?

I can’t wait for the day when he purposely smiles for the camera! Kid always looks so dang serious in photos. He will reach for my phone when I’m taking his picture- just no smile. womp.

He loves to bang on the window (which drives the dogs nuts).

Wes likes to be thrown in the air and bounced around A LOT. Sometimes when I’m trying to get him to sleep, I might accidentally have too big of a bounce in my step and he loves it so much, he’ll go from drowsy to nonstop giggling. Then I face-palm myself and have to start all over with the getting-to-sleep process. It’s worth it though, because he’s so dang cute.

Oh- he finally got his feet in his mouth! Babies are so flexible. And he found his wiener. SO WEIRD- he grabs for it whenever he’s naked and sometimes will scratch at his diaper. What a boy.

And he’s still a totally mama’s boy. Needs me in his sight 24/7- preferably held. Another thing I don’t hate at all. In fact, I usually hold him an additional 5 minutes after he’s fallen asleep because I can’t stop staring at this cute little boy and thinking of how lucky I am to be his mama.

In case you missed it:

…From the Week

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Monday

So we think we’ve figured out why Wes was so grumpy- the kid is just like the dogs and likes to go OUTSIDE everyday. He was just having a nasty bout of cabin fever! After our usual morning routine and his nap (which lasted AN HOUR!) we bundled up and headed outside for a walk/run errands. He stayed awake the whole time and seemed to be so happy to look at all of his surroundings.

I was able to go to the bank, pick up some groceries and round out our walk to the library and get both Wes and I library cards! (Seriously, non parents friends- I know this is such a snooze fest, but I am beyond thrilled to bring up to 99 FREE books home for Wes at a time. Not 100…only 99 at a time. That’s what the library said.)

Since outdoors and activity seem to be a constant need for the wee one (at what point do they transition to wanting-to-do-nothing kids…college?) I waited a bit after Wes’s lunch to throw in the Happy Baby Workout DVD that was gifted to me (thanks Athena, Liz and Ashley!)

Good news: he only barfed twice! Thank goodness it wasn’t during the bench presses.

I was a sweaty mess after this workout- a 21 lb baby is quite the workout equipment. This tired him out enough for his second nap of the day.

Fast forward a bit, and we had stir fry for dinner, I walked the dogs and that’s the end of that.

Tuesday

Today’s objective was to keep Wes as busy as possible to alleviate any grump attitude. Our morning went by pretty smooth, so after the breakfast/play/workout/nap, we went over to the mall to pick up a few more fleece pjs for Wes. Size: 24 months. INSANE.

After we got back, we had lunch then walked over to the library to check out some books. I quickly grabbed a ‘Quick Picks for Baby’ bag and it wasn’t until I got home did I notice one of the things I checked out was a CD of lullaby renditions of Madonna songs. Day= MADE.

I put Wes in the jolly jumperoo and played the CD and entertainment was had by all.

For dinner, I had a salad that I put together the day before and let marinate in the fridge overnight. It consisted of shaved brussel sprouts, walnuts, mozzarella, raisins, apples and a homemade maple honey vinaigrette. YUM. We also had some cheese tortellini (but that was mostly for Tyler).

I took the pups for a nice long walk after dinner. Mostly to help my digestion. But I guess in a sense it was also to help the dog’s digestion as well. Aka: Layla does her major pooping on our walks.

Wednesday

Another pretty good day in the books! I did a pilates workout in the morning and even managed to do my hair/makeup while Wes took his nap! GASP. We then ventured out to the mall because there was a vest I wanted on sale.

I guess I wore a vest to go out and buy a vest.

It was a successful trip and I wanted to get more steps in, so we kept walking the mall for a while. Wes told me when he was done browsing, so we beelined to the nearest exit and got outta there.

Mr. was HUN-GRAY! He ate with a wide open mouth and was so happy to eat eat eat.

We played around for a bit and before I knew it, it was time for Wes to nap again. I’m trying to get as much as possible done around the house when he sleeps but sometimes I think I just need to nap too. If only I could fall asleep as fast!

To get more fresh air, we walked back over to the library to return yesterday’s books and pick up some more. We are really lucky to live so close to practically EVERYTHING. After I picked out about a dozen books, we left and I wound up walking around our neighborhood for an additional hour.

Dinner was turkey burgers and roasted potatoes.

Thursday

Ugh. I don’t even want to talk about it. Got a 3:30am wakeup courtesy of THE BABY. He didn’t go back to sleep until 5:30 and then still woke up at the usual 7:45. My whole day started out of whack, because I wound up eating breakfast at 5am and then when back to sleep when he did. I guess I can’t complain because I did get a cumulative 8 hours of sleep from the night, but those early morning hours are very headache inducing.

I didn’t get my workout done in the morning because mum SEE ABOVE. But it’s all good, I’m rolling with this *off* day. As close to tears as I was over the course of the day, I am super appreciative to have a happy and healthy baby so I’m just taking it all in stride.

I bundled us both up around 10am and walked over to the UPS store to pick up a package only to find the store was closed due to an emergency. WOMP. Trying to make the best of it, I walked around the neighborhood for another hour and Wes slept for most of the ride. Phew.

His second nap of the day wasn’t until 3pm at which point Tyler asked me if I wanted anything from the liquor store on his way home. My response? “ALL THE ALCOHOL”. My lunch consisted of some fruits, some veggies, some cheese, and a POT of coffee. Ay yay yay.

Again, not upset about this off day because I mean….CUTE MAN ALERT.

I ate leftovers for dinner, did my workout, then headed to bed. I am all about hitting the hay as soon as Wes does. I need sleep to function!

PRAISE JESUS THE WEEKEND IS ALMOST HERE!

How was your week?

Wesley Arlo- 6 Months

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I don’t know what’s scarier..that I’ve had a CHILD for half a year or that I have to go back to work in 6 months. Oy. Searching for childcare is no easy task and the cost of it? WOOF. It would probably be cheaper to pay to have my parents move here and help out.

So, 6 months! What’s been going on? Well, LOTS. I feel like Wes has turned into a little person and less and less like a baby. He is obsessed with grabbing his feet and flailing about. Now I get why they call that pose happy baby in yoga. He also has his hands in his mouth 24/7. And when it’s not his hands, it’s whatever he can get his hands on.

He’s started to try to sit up, he’s rolled over, and he can reach with both arms to grab for things.

Most major development? He is no longer in his infant car seat. This makes me ferociously sad, but he seems to love it! And he has had no problem facing outward in his strollers when we go for walks. If anything, he naps more!

We started Wes on solids too. Last month, I introduced rice cereal into his bottle at night then gradually started making it thicker like actual cereal, then buying a lot of stage 1 and stage 2 squeeze packs that he now gobbles up like a champ. His favorite was the pear/spinach/peas combo. Who would have thought?! That’s my kid. He also got some local peaches and apples pureed while we were back home in NY. With that, comes weirder diapers. It’s kind of hilarious.

He is OBSESSED with his jumperoo. I think he spends a cumulative 3 hours each day in that thing. He loves to rotate from activity to activity and just jump. Jump. JUMP. A lot of the time, he jumps himself to sleep! It’s also a nice distraction for him when I want to get my workout in during the day.

With his increase in activity, he’s more regulated in his napping which is a GOD SEND. Usually one at 9ish, 1ish and 4ish. Usually. I cannot tell you how much more I get done around the house now, it’s insane. For the first time ever, I actually showered while he napped. That has never happened because I was so paranoid he’d wake up from the noise of the shower (our house is small, y’all).

We had a few instances in New York when he would wake up at 3/4am and would require a feed, but other than that he has slept through the night from 7:30pm-6:30am.

Wes now knows his name and will respond when called. He is also a lot better at following sounds and looking around and really focusing on things.

I swear he loves the dogs. Mostly Reggie, even though Reggie still gives zero craps about him. Layla is ALWAYS wherever Wes is. He’s started to grab for them and at first I was all AHHHH DOG HAIR IN HIS MOUTH. But then I realized it’s a lost cause. Especially when I find dog hair in his diapers. Whatever.

He’s still got that stupid eczema on his neck which I’m constantly slathering with cream. I feel really bad for him, but he doesn’t seem to mind at all.

He has a gorilla face that I think is the funniest thing ever. He usually makes it when he’s super concentrating (not to be confused with poop face) or when he gets so excited about something.

He is still a super jolly kid and I’m just WAITING for the photos to reflect that. We had his 6 month check up this morning and he was all smiles with the doctor. FYI: weight is 20.5 lbs, 27 inches and an 18 inch head (for all the smarts). Right after his doc appointment, we headed over to the health center for his 6 month vaccine where he was again all smiles and only made one cry as the needle went in. I swear all doctors and nurses love him to pieces.

…and we go through about a zillionty bibs every day because the boy’s a drooler! No teeth yet though.

He has a loud voice and loves to babble all the time. Especially if you put a burp cloth up to his mouth, he will yell so you can repeatedly pat his mouth with it to make it sound funny.

Hopefully I didn’t forget anything! #mombrain

In case you missed it, here’s his past updates:

Weekend Recap

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Another great weekend in the books! Which also mean one week closer to going home..womp. Friday: Obviously the day started with pancakes! The consistency of these are way different than the ones I make at home..I now know just how awesome … Continue reading →

Wesley Arlo- 5 Months

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I’m glad to say it..this month went by nice and slow. GOOD. DON’T GROW UP BABY. I think Wes grew way too much this month and I don’t like it one bit. I super cry when I see some newborn photos because I can’t believe just how teeny tiny he used to be. But, I do love to see him learn new things as he grows and he is definitely coming into his own personality.

Since we’re in NY, I obviously can’t take his 5 month pics with his bear, but this Mickey is just about the same size. Either way…you can really tell he’s grown!

New developments: He’s started grabbing things on his own with both hands. This includes my hair, my earrings, my boobs…He blows raspberries ALL THE TIME. I think he loves the trick, but that combined with his excessive drooling means the guy goes through a zillion bibs every day. The downside from all the drool? He now has infant eczema on his cheeks, chin, neck and chest. It comes and goes in severity and I try my best to keep it dry as much as possible. I also use cream (trying to avoid using the steroid given by the doctor).

On Sept 4th, we introduced a bit of rice cereal into his nighttime bottle (Still breastmilk). Sept 5th he grabbed his toes for the first time and on Sept 10th he rolled over from his back to front (I didn’t witness this- my parents did. I am BUMMED.) Yesterday (Sept 14th) we gave him his first real food- pureed sweet potato! He loved it even though he only probably swallowed about 1.5 tsp of it.

I’m not so sure he was a victim of the 4 month sleep regression, but he was a bit more difficult to put down on some nights- he gets overtired and fussy and will wake up as we put him in his crib. So a few times we’ve had to resort to letting him cry it out until he falls back asleep, which only lasts about 5 minutes. His bed time bottle can be up to 10 oz plus a small extra feeding (Which tells me he’s probably ready for solids..the boy likes his food!)

He giggles and smiles ALL THE TIME. He loves to stare at new surroundings and lets out loud sighs with every yawn. (Oh-mah-gawdddd baby yawns are the BEST).

He’s almost outgrown his infant carseat- last time I weighed him he was 19ish pounds- since the straps are starting to be too tight.

He had his first airplane ride! (Sept 8th) I got a picture of him with the pilot AND made sure to get a pair of wings 🙂

He wears size 3 diapers during the day and 4s at night (although, now that I’m typing this, I’m pretty sure he can be in 4s all the time. Because: THIGHS.) He still loves his baths and even grips the sides of the tub when we try to take him out. And he splashes a lot. My mom got a few baths herself from his splashing!

He’s getting a bit more hair on his head which is covering some of his cradle cap nicely..

He stretches all the time. He wants to be moving all the time. He babbles ALL THE TIME.

I usually let him babble in his crib for about 10-15 minutes before I get him every morning. He loves watching Reggie and focuses on anything that’s red.

(For some reason I can’t get this photo to rotate, so tilt your head to the right)

He now watches us eat food and genuinely looks sad that he can’t have whatever we’re having.

He naps about 3-4 times a day. 3 naps are about 30-45 minutes and his late afternoon nap is anywhere from 1-2 hours.

He starting to try to sit up on his own- he’s not fully there yet, but it’s great to see that his back is getting stronger! He enjoys tummy time and can turn his head from side to side, but shows no interest in pushing himself up (he has superman arms and likes to keep them straight with his palms back).

Overall, he is the happiest, healthiest, giggliest, cutest, most sociable (insert a ton of other positive traits here) baby ever and I am so lucky to be the mama that gets to hang with him 24/7!

And if you’re questioning the ‘giggliest’ part, it’s because he immediately turns on his serious face as soon as I get the phone/camera out. Or eat crackers.