Alex's Tractor Hat

Another month has gone by, and every month I say: "I cannot believe he is 3 months old, 5 months old, 11 months old, etc." So when everyone told me to enjoy it because babies grow up so fast, I know exactly what they mean.

First Birthday:
Mark and I are busy planning for a FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!! We still have another month to go, but tentatively -- it will be a Moose and Zee-themed party on Sunday May 2. Moose and Zee are characters on Nick Jr. that host the "in-between shows" segments (perhaps instead of commericials?) Alex just loves it when Moose sings, so Mark and I thought we'd have Moose and Zee as his first birthday hosts. Mark is designing invitations, and I'm going to start menu planning. I think we're holding it at our apartment complex's party room, but that's still not confirmed.

Food:
We have successfully eliminated the 4th bottle of the day! I am quite proud of Mark and me. Along with Alex's 3 bottles per day of 7-8 oz of formula, his solid food intake has increased to 1/2 jar-1 full jar of fruit or yogurt at breakfast along with about 1/2 c. of baby cereal or oatmeal. Another 1/2 jar-1 full jar of fruit or yogurt at lunch and a combo meal of some kind. And 1/2 jar-1 full jar of vegetables and 1/2 jar-1 full jar of a meat dish (usually chicken, turkey, or beef) for dinner. He gravitates towards anything but veggies. Fruits, meats, yogurt, and cereal are all yummy. Mark said he thinks Alex's Top Three favorite foods are: 1) yogurt 2) bananas and cherries and 3) pears. He is also starting to hold his bottle more where we don't have to feed him ourselves. Not quite 100% there yet though.

Over the next month, I'd like to get him using a sippy cup more often. His Dr. will have him drinking whole milk next month instead of formula. (*sob*) He's becoming a toddler!

Crawling and Teeth:
Alex is still not quite crawling yet. I don't know if he will before he walks. He does have the army crawl mastered. I will see if I can post a video of the army crawl later tonight when I have our Flip Mino in hand. We showed Nana and Pepaw the army crawl through Skype last week. I think it made their day!

We finally were able to baby proof our living room somewhat. We removed the glass coffee table, and I still would like to give away our papasan chair to Salvation Army. We also cleaned out the bottom shelf of our TV stand because he liked to crawl up there and take out the DVDs. I am constantly chasing him and picking things up off the floor. I know that will be the case for a long while (as in the next 18 years!)

His 4th tooth is starting to decend from the top row. The bottom 2 are mostly in, and the 3rd tooth on the top is about halfway through.

Easter and Lent:
Well, it is Lent season. And you know what that means, right? McDonald's launches their silly Fillet-O-Fish commerical again. Guess what little boy's face lights up as soon as the 2 text message beeps at the beginning of the commercial go off - yep Alex. During this time last year, he must have felt my heart race in annoyance when he was in my belly and this crazy commercial came on TV. He always smiles when the Fish starts singing.

We are headed to Indiana again on Thursday night to spend Easter with my family. I am so happy that they can see Alex again. Mark and I plan to celebrate my friend Missy's birthday on Friday night while Alex stays with Nana and Pepaw, and then we will go to church with Mimi on Easter Sunday and have lunch afterwards. Hoping to stop by Auntie D's on Monday when we drive back home to Cleveland. I should have another blog entry shortly after our visit because there is always something crazy that happens on our road trips to Indiana with Alex in the car.

Other Milestones:
Shortly after my last blog post, we lowered Alex's crib one level. His little head used to pop up over the top of his crib when he pushed up on his arms, so we thought it was a good time to do so before he learned how to pull himself up.

In our apartment, Mark and I play this "around-the-corner" sneaky game with Alex that he just loves. We pop in and out of rooms and the hallway where one of us holds him and the other one jumps out at his surprise and screams "peek-a-boo". He laughs and squeals with delight. I love it.

I also absolutely love watching Alex learn about cause and effect. When Alex stayed all night with Mark's parents a few weekends ago, Grandpa Greg said that Alex likes to analyze things (probably gets that from his Mommy) and that he might be a little Engineer someday. (Now why didn't I think about going to school for that instead? I'm always noticing Human Factors/Product Design jobs that require an Engineering degree. Anyways, I digress...) I will show him how to throw his little red ball from Rudy the Truck on the bottom of his Exersaucer, and he will pick up the ball as it rolls towards him and throw it down himself. I will also spin the roller on his Silly Town toy, and Alex will take his fingers and spin the roller himself. I smile so big after he repeats something that I did myself. He is learning!

I went through another round of clothes clean-up in his dresser and closet the other day. A few months ago, I bought a large rubbermaid tub to put all of the clothes that he has outgrown in. Well, after my most recent clean-up, it's full. There is no more room for these clothes that I just retired. I recently pulled out his Spring/Summer outfits. I used to prefer onesies + pants + socks over everything else he would wear, but all of the little 12-month old outfits that our families have bought for him over the past few months are so cute. He is wearing actual shirts and not onesies, and he looks like such a little boy, and not a baby.

And finally, Alex still loves music. He especially likes the song Soul Sister by Train. Mark played it for him from iTunes the other day, and his little face lights up. Speaking of music: While we were giving Alex a bath the other day, Daddy gave Alex a hairstyle in which Mark and I said he looked like a little Beethoven. Of course, this would be the image that Mommy & Daddy have of Beethoven from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, of course! Alex's hair looked awesome. :-)

Upcoming Events:
- Easter in Indiana on Apr 2 - Apr 5
- Alex's one-year Dr. visit on Apr 23
- The aforementioned birthday party (yay!) on May 2nd
- One-year old pictures. I think I will schedule them at Sears this time. Portrait Innovations is $$$, and I received a coupon in the mail for Sears last week.

10 Months Old - (Stop Growing Up Please)

I really do love Alex at this stage, but he's growing up soooo fast! This is a new picture of him with his Bible Board Book.

Over the past month, we've reached new milestones, approached new milestones, eaten new foods, found new "wanna-be" toys, and had a flu bug (which we somehow lived through just this past weekend).

Sleep:
I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it before, but it's difficult getting Alex to fall asleep each night. There are some days where he fights us against going to sleep, and there are also days where he is just so exhausted that he throws a bit of a tantrum. Because we live in an apartment building, (and because I can't stand to listen to him cry himself to sleep), we typically have to hold or rock him until he falls asleep. I'm not proud of this, and I wish it could change. The longest amount of time that we have left him alone in his crib to "cry it out" is about 20 minutes. I can only recall a few times where he has actually fallen asleep on his own. It's a struggle, but I had to preface this paragraph with something new that I've grown to love lately:

A few weeks ago as I was trying to get him to sleep, I walked into our bedroom and laid down in our bed with him snuggled on my side. And just like magic, he shut his eyes. I repeated this for about 5-6 days, and it was pure bliss. Because he is getting too big to hold, I started enjoying this sweet little bonding time with him in my arms again. Well, since then it has stopped and my little trick no longer works. *sigh* It was fun while it lasted!

Food:
At his last Well Baby visit, Alex's pediatrician recommended that we try to increase his solid food intake, eliminate the 4th bottle of the day, and introduce meat (chicken). Since that visit, it has been quite a challenge. A few reasons: Because Alex doesn't like to sit still in his high chair long enough to eat, and because Mark and I are "creatures of habit". Typically, we realize that 4 hours have passed, and we start putting together a bottle. It's a familiar and easy routine that we have settled into. Because his pediatrician answered with "Whatever and how ever much he wants to eat when you give him solids" and because we are used to a measured quantity of formula, it's been hard to "guesstimate" how much solid foods to give him in addition to his regular bottle. So, Mark went online to BabyCenter.com to research how much food a typical 10-month old eats, and boy were we shocked!

In addition to his formula, Alex should have (per day):

1/3 c. to 1/2 c. dairy (yogurt, cheese)
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. cereal (oatmeal, rice, etc.)
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. fruits
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. veggies
1/8 c. to 1/4 c. combo foods (casseroles, stews, etc.)
1/8 c. to 1/4 c. protein (chicken, fish, mashed egg yolk, etc.)

WHAT!?

So, this past weekend when Alex remained mostly in his diaper (and with no clothes -- more on that later...), of course I started wondering if he is malnourished. I also wondered because he has these tiny bumps on his upper arms that are quite similar to the bumps that I had when I was pregnant. My doctor told me that those bumps are due to lack of nutrients because the baby was taking all of my vitamin stores. (And I even took pre-natal vitamins faithfully everyday - wow!). Anyways, I forgot all the literature that I've read (and our pediatrician has said) about his bottle providing all of the nutrients he needs until he is 1 Year Old. Mark and I have decided that yes, it is still in his best interest to increase his solid food intake. We're using the above list as a guideline, but also Alex's appetite as to when to stop when he is full. In addition to the multiple containers of homemade sweet potatoes we have in the freezer, I spent a fairly large amount of time last weekend planning meals and things to buy for him at the grocery store. I am still not comfortable giving him regular jarred baby food unless it is organic, so we picked up quite a few new foods for him to try: Chicken w/ corn and squash, chicken w/ country veggies, oatmeal w/apples & cinnamon, Yo Baby meals, and yogurt for baby. I also bought a ton of frozen veggies, so we're well on our way to trying new foods. This stage is really fun, but it's also quite hard getting adjusted.

Flu?:
Last weekend was a huge challenge. A few weeks ago, I actually thought to myself: "I wonder how awful it will be when I actually see my child vomit for the first time." Lo and behold, don't think these things. They actually come true quicker than you think...

Last Saturday morning, I woke up around 4 am to the sound of Alex gurgling and coughing. I went into his nursery, and he looked up at me. So, I pick him up and he falls back asleep immediately on my shoulder. As I lay him back down, I felt his crib sheet was wet. And then, I felt around some more and realized it was soaked everywhere. Because it was dark, I didn't really notice anything further. I go back into my room to wake up Mark and tell him, and Mark thought perhaps it was drool from Alex teething. I fall back asleep after about 1.5 hours of worrying, and then we all 3 eventually get up around 8 am. Mark and I go into Alex's nursery, and his sheet is covered with orange blobs (sweet potatoes, I assume from last night's dinner). As I give him his morning bottle, he throws up all over me and down my shirt, all over the living room carpet, everywhere. I beg Mark not to go to class and stay home with me as we make it through this mess. We call the Dr. who tells us that it's important to keep him hydrated, giving him 1 tsp of liquid every 5 minutes. Yes, every 5 minutes! How can we possibly keep up with that pace? His Dr. explained that if you gave him larger amounts of liquid, he won't be able to keep it down. As I held Alex over the kitchen sink while he continued vomiting that morning, Mark assumed the Pedialyte role. He fell back asleep for an extended period of time that morning, and then he never vomited again. His diapers on the other hand were a different story. Alex remained in only a diaper most of the day, we went through about 3 loads of his laundry, and about 1 1/2 bottles of Shout. What a challenge it was! We were all 3 totally exhausted.

Other New Milestones:

We can see a 3rd tooth! On the top, in the middle -- I can see white. I wonder how many teeth he will have before his first birthday?

He is also on the verge of crawling (finally!). After months of flattening out like a pancake when he is placed in position, he can finally hold his weight, and he rocks back and forth in place with his little bottom. I have been using his rubber block set to make a big tower a few feet in front of him, and I'll say: "Get Your Blocks!" He will move himself in a forward motion to the blocks. I think he will be crawling within the next month. (No Dad - I will NOT cry this time) :)

He also seems to enjoy playing with "non-toys": From pots and pans and spoons to beans in a Tupperware bowl, he loves them all. He also loves to watch me cook in the kitchen. He likes to watch me chop vegetables, and he especially likes it when I am boiling water on the stove. I hope he starts to understand when Daddy constantly says: "Hot!".

Finally, we are planning some outings soon. Easter is coming up, and Alex's cousin Joee will be baptised this coming weekend, so I'm on the hunt for some cute new dressy outfits. As Spring approaches and it becomes warmer, I'm hoping that we can go out as a family again... to the mall or something. I'm getting cabin fever. I'm not sure where we will be, or what apartment/house we will be in, but we'll probably have a small 1st birthday party for our families on Saturday, April 24th. Mark your calendars! (if you are able to come). Indianapolis or Cleveland, who knows? Time will tell...