Posts Tagged ‘sleep’

Seven and Eight Months!

Friday, July 31st, 2009

It’s a good thing that I write down Binary Boy’s milestones in my trusty Moleskin notebook, because at this point, one of the last things I want to do at the end of the day is try to remember anything.

In addition to being physically tired from chasing the little guy all over the house (yes, sometimes I literally have to run to keep up – he crawls that fast now), my brain is mush by end of day. Combine the two and, after dinner is done, all I want to do is veg out.

Binary Boy is so happy he's finally mobile. Betcha can't catch me!

Binary Boy is so happy he's finally mobile. Betcha can't catch me!

So, here are Binary Boy’s milestones during his seventh and eighth months! Better late than never, right? 😉

Seven Months

  • “Real” crawling – Binary Boy started crawling the traditional way of tummy up off the floor. See photo above. No more army crawl!
  • Babbling and words – Started saying “ma-ma-ma” and “da-da-da” more clearly.
  • Pulling up to standing – This was a fun milestone to watch the progress of. One day he would pull halfway up, then the next day he was standing tall!
  • Standing steady – After he would pull himself up, he would usually drop back down, but towards the middle of month seven he could stand for longer periods of time and very steadily.
  • Regular sleep (and nap) schedule – This was a BIG one for both of us and it is all due to the amazing book “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child“. Binary Boy has always been a light sleeper and would not stick to a sleep schedule on his own, so I had to do it for him. Let me tell you, I wish I would have started the sleep scheduling earlier. It’s been a real reliever of stress for both of us, I think.
  • Understands “No” and simple commands – I looked this one up, because the pediatrician said Binary Boy is very advanced for this particular skill. This one is usually mastered around 10-11 months! Wow.

Eight Months

  • Eating much more solid food – Both morning and evening (and soon to be lunch time), Binary Boy gets at least a serving (for his age) of solid food. I introduce new foods (with the help of “The Petit Appetit Cookbook” – love this book!) every 3 days or so and I still have several left, as the summer months bring a large amount of fresh organic food!
  • Walking using non-stationary object – His balance has improved greatly and he is using all sorts of objects to use as “walkers”. His favorite is rearranging the dining room chairs, which slide easily on the tile floor and the laundry basket, which, when full (I do not let him use it when it’s empty as it tips over too easily!), is easily pushed across the living room rug.
  • Started cruising – I think cruising is the right word to use. From what I understand, it means he walks while constantly holding onto something. His favorite is cruising around the living room couches and his Baby Einstein toy. Fun!
  • Words, words, words – In addition to the traditional “ma-ma” and “da-da”, he has now added “ba-ba-ba”, “day-day-day”, “nay-nay-nay” and “nigh-nigh”. The last one, I think, means “night-night”.
  • Dancing! – Takes after his mom with this one. 😀 He LOVES to bop to any music playing and gets this huge grin on his face. It’s seriously cute!
  • Started feeding self – Consistently, that is. He would do it intermittently in month seven, but in month eight, especially towards the end, he got really good at it. His pincer grasp still isn’t quite perfected, yet, but ohh.. he’s so close! His favorite foods to eat by himself are HappyBaby Apple Puffs and HappyBaby Banana Puffs. I want to try the Greens Puffs soon, as Binary Boy really enjoys veggies. (Also, do you see a running theme with the puffs? I had been trying O-type cereal for a while and he never quite took to them, but after I found something that melted in his mouth – the puffs – it was like he was a different baby when it came to feeding himself!)

So, hopefully, for this month (nine), I will post sometime within the actual month. No promises, though! I’ve learned my lesson with that. Mom of nine-month-old = makes no promises with her free time. 😉

3 Months, Part 1

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Wow. It’s been a little over a month since I last typed a post. It doesn’t seem that long, though! Guess it’s true what they say about time flying when you’re having fun. I knew I would enjoy being a mom, I just never imagined that I would enjoy it as much as I do!

n i nc˜ß??????????mmmn m

Heehee! That’s from Binary Boy. He’s sitting on my lap as I type this and decided to add his two cents. We’re listening to the early Beatles and he is thoroughly enjoying it.

Speaking of Binary Boy, he recently turned 3 months old! Since birth, I’ve been following a baby-centered routine with lots of baby wearing. I’ve heard that a lot changes when a baby turns 3 months old, and I gotta say, it’s completely true on our end.

The biggest change is that he sleeps a solid 5-6 hours at a time at night. His bedtime ranges from 7pm to 9pm, but from there, he sleeps 5-6 hours, wakes for a diaper change and nursing, then right back to sleep for another 3-5 hours. It’s really, really nice.

For the past few weeks he’s been teething, but this week, especially, has been really tough for him. I can already see the beginnings of a little “tooth bud” on the bottom right. It must really bother him, as he has this heart-retching “pain cry”. Sometimes, it’s so sad that I am almost crying along with him. It breaks my heart to see him in so much pain. More so because I can’t take it totally away. 😥

I have been giving him some homeopathic teething tablets, in the recommended dosage, and those do really seem to help when they kick-in. But, I know from experience that not much can completely take tooth & mouth pain away.

I don’t know anyone else with a baby who has begun teething this early (it’s genetic apparently, from my side, I got my first tooth a little past 4 months old), so I’ve been having a tough time trying to find teething items that will help him.

Much of what I’ve found is too big for his mouth and he’s frustrated with it. So, his current teething items are my pinkie finger and my thumb or Kevin’s pinkie finger when he’s holding him. Anyone know of any good teething items for a smaller baby? He actually prefers fabric, as I see him constantly trying to stuff his burp cloth or bib in the back of his mouth where he likes to chew.

Oh! I forgot to mention this and I have to as it’s pretty amazing. Because of his teething, he’s been sleeping really deep – when he does finally fall asleep – and the past two nights he’s slept 8-9 hours straight!!!! I was worried the night before last because when we woke up I realized he hadn’t had his normal 1-2am feeding.

He’s also been napping really deeply, too, for longer than normal. I’m grateful because he seems in a much better mood when he wakes up. I think the deep sleeping seems to be the way he copes with the pain. It makes sense to me because that is how I cope with illness or pain – sleep it off!

I have so much more that I want to say, so I am going to try and post about the other really noticeable changes, but it’s hard to record every little new thing that happens. Babies DO grow up fast and it’s amazing the changes and growth in Binary Boy that happens every day. For now, I am resolved to try and post at least a new photo every week. Though, with a baby, nothing much is ever on schedule! Heehee!

A Watched Pot

Friday, October 24th, 2008

One week left. To both my due date and Halloween! I feel like I’m practically shaking with excitement. 😀

Though, I have to admit, I feel like a watched pot already. Last night, right before 4:00 AM, I awoke to painful contractions – the real kind. The ones that radiate from the back forward and make it hard to concentrate on anything but how to deal with the sensation. They were a regular 10 minutes apart and lasted about 45 seconds, on average.

I resisted waking up Kevin, because I remember what our birthing class teacher told us: “Let your coach sleep as long as possible.” So, I did. I let him sleep.

I was able to sorta drift in and out of sleep between the contractions, which was nice. Then, around 6:00 AM Kevin woke himself up and asked if I was okay. I let him know I was doing fine, but that I was having regular contractions.

He’s been working on something important at work and he asked if I thought it would be okay if he went into work then to get some stuff done before I progressed further. I was completely okay with that, after all, not much was happening except for the regular contractions and I could still handle those with relative ease.

After he left, I sorta drifted back to sleep and woke up an hour later. I only then realized that I had either a) slept through the contractions and/or b) the contractions had lessened. I started timing them again and they were now 30 minutes apart! What gives?

I called Kevin and let him know. I also called the birthing center, and they said that it was normal for first-time moms to have several “rounds” of irregular contractions before actual labor starts. Super.

So, here I am again, back to square one, and since Kevin texted his family that I was having contractions (he’s since texted “false alarm” – argh), I now feel like a watched pot. And you know how that goes. 😐