Seth Stats

Seth had his six month checkup today, and aside from yet another reinfection of thrush, we checked out OK. (And we now have a new regimen for the fungus among us.) We reevaluated Seth's tummy issues, determining that he has grown out of the reflux, but will likely not be able to consume cow's milk until around age two. We're not going as far as to call it a "milk allergy," but rather an "intolerance." Doc says it's not an issue of the immune system... his GI tract just doesn't know what to do with the milk proteins, and it might take a while for him to grow out of it. Other than that, he's a happy, healthy kid... well, happy until they gave him four shots!

Seth weighs 17 lbs. (50th percentile) and his head is 17.5 cm (also 50th percentile). The kicker is that he is 28.5 inches LONG which puts him in the 95th percentile! No wonder he's already growing out of size 6-9 month clothing! In other news, tooth #2 (bottom right) broke through today. We haven't hit many other milestones lately. He's rolling around a lot and starting to babble and coo more. He's not sitting up unsupported, yet, but can usually lean on his hands or a toy and do it.

Overall, Seth's sleeping is better, although his patterns are not consistent. Sometimes he cries himself to sleep at bedtime, sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he cries for a little while in the night, sometimes he doesn't. He usually wakes up once to feed, and about every third day or so, he sleeps all night long. He's been taking good morning naps, but fighting his afternoon naps, so those are still tricky. Generally, he's pretty happy when he's awake... well, as long as he's getting attention, actually. He loves people interaction and will smile at anyone who makes eye contact. Of course, mom and dad get lots of smiles... but big brother gets some of the biggest smiles and giggles.

I've taken a lot of pictures of Seth lately that I've posted here, so I didn't do a "six month shoot." We did, however, take family portraits this past weekend, so those will serve as a sixth month marker as well as photos for our Christmas cards.

Gym Kid

Shortly after we moved, I stumbled upon a gymnastics place that offers "open play" two times a week. In the heat of the summer, this became our new favorite place to go blow off steam, and Ian really took to the activities and equipment. In fact, he told me today, "I love the gymnastics place!" Last week, we enrolled Ian in a weekly class. One of the instructors had watched him during open play and said he would do fine in the 3-4-year-old class. (We did a trial of the 2-yr-old class a while back, and quite frankly, he was too advanced for it.)

So, we have a little gymnast on our hands. Or really, just an active kid who has always loved to jump and climb since he learned how. His favorite thing right now is doing flips on the bars, and he can do them forward and backward. John is taking him to the class on Tuesday evenings (while I go to Zumba), and he said that if anything, Ian will benefit from learning how to interact in the group setting and follow instructions. Physically, he was able to hold his own in the class, according to John. As "members" we now have free access to the open play times, so here are a few pics I snapped the other day... oh, and a video, too.

 

Ranger Babe

Racker Babe

Ian's Imagination

Watching Ian's language develop so dramatically over the past year has been really amazing. But what gets me even more is when he stopped just repeating what we said and started verbalizing his owns thoughts. And now we are at this wonderful stage where his imagination is starting to kick in. And I can't believe that I started three sentences with conjunctions and then also ended a sentence with a preposition! But, alas, I digress.

So, imagination! Here are a couple of examples:

Ian likes to tell us about his rocket ship. It's green. He says, "Do you want to ride on my green rocket ship?" Then he continues, "Daddy and Seth can come, too, but I drive it!" It also has seats in it and can go way up high and touch the stars! It can also go really fast, but sometimes it goes really slow.

Here is a new one that he started telling me about the other day (after we passed by a horse racetrack, and I told him what it was). "I have a race horse!" "What color is your horse?" "It's blue." "What is your horse's name?" "Doggy." The story continues... Doggy has a dog that is his friend, and he is Seth's friend, too. Doggy can run really fast.

This has nothing to do with his imagination, really, but it made me laugh. I told Ian to tell his daddy, "Thanks for bringing home the bacon." Then later we were talking about how he could eat steaks with his new molars that are coming in (one 2-yr molar is surfacing right now). Then he told his daddy, "Thanks for bringing home the steaks!"

Ian has also been telling me lately that he will be three years old at his next birthday. I tell him that his birthday is a long time from now. That birthday is exactly four months from today... which IS a long time to a toddler, I'm sure, but seems really SOON to me!

Random Cuteness

The Sleep Saga: The I Factor

Well, we had another successful night last night (number six). Seth cried for an hour when I put him down at 8 p.m. but then slept from 9 p.m. until 6:45 a.m. So, who knows? The real test will be tonight when we add in the "I" factor, that is, Mister Ian. We'll see if either of them can sleep through the other's crying because Ian has been known to get up in the night, too, and he hollers LOUD. Of course, Seth is a screamer which he is proving right now as we are attempting a nap.

I think this is the last post of the sleep series. I mean, "boot camp" is essentially over now that the fam is back under one roof. I'm glad to have my boys home, but I did enjoy my Seth time this week... aside from all the tears, of course. Poor little dude is even kinda hoarse from all the crying. It makes a mama sad, but if we truly making progress, then I guess it's a small price to pay for everyone's sanity.

Thanks for checking in! Ian walked in the door and immediately said, "I want milk and a snack and to watch videos." Ha, he's right back in the swing of things, isn't he? He's had plenty to tell me about his trip to Grandma's house, though. If you'd like to see more about his adventures, click here.

The Sleep Saga: Night Five

Five nights into this, and I feel like I have five different stories to tell. There is nothing consistent here. Sometimes he fusses when I lay him down, sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he fusses for a few minutes in the middle of the night, sometimes HOURS. Sometimes he wants to eat, sometimes he doesn't.

Last night's story? He went to bed without a problem. Then he woke up shrieking at midnight. I had to go in and check on him just because of the nature of his crying, but he was fine. He then cried for an hour at which point I went in and changed his wet diaper. Then he cried for another hour, and this time it was a poopy diaper. I think he finally went back to sleep around 3 a.m.

I do feel helpless here. The book says they could cry for up to two hours. The book says this could take up to two weeks. The book says I am teaching him a valuable lesson in how to put himself back to sleep. But the book doesn't tell you how to NOT feel completely horrible as you lay there and let your beloved child scream and writhe in his crib, clearly needing some sort of comfort. I mean, he's only 5 months old... still a little guy!

I hope this week has been productive. Ian and Daddy come home tomorrow, but I don't know what we have to show for it. Well, at least Ian had fun at Grandma's house, and John got some nice quiet time to get some work done.

The Sleep Saga: Intermission

I would like to interrupt our regular scheduled programming to share some super cute pictures of Seth man. See he IS having some fun during sleep training week! Sorry for the repetition here Facebookers, but you don't really mind seeing him again, do you? Besides, here you can download higher res versions if you like.

The Sleep Saga: Night Four

Ian watches a cartoon called The Little Einsteins. There's a character on there named Quincy who always exclaims...

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!

Seth fussed for 30 minutes when I put him down at 9 p.m. last night. And then he slept ALL NIGHT LONG! We got up this morning at 6:45 a.m. CRAZY!

I did actually hear him fuss a little at 1 a.m. But by the time I was coherent enough to decide whether or not to go feed him, he stopped. I also heard a little fuss around 4 a.m. but again, it must not have been enough for me to wake up enough to do anything about it. So, he must really be learning how to put himself back to sleep... hooray!

I hope this isn't a fluke. I guess we'll see how the next night(s) go.

On a separate note, I woke up with two enormous ROCKS attached to my chest. Even my armpits hurt. But hungry man soon helped me out with that.

The Sleep Saga: Night Three

Seth went down for bed without a fuss and didn't wake up until 2:45 for his feeding! Usually after he eats, he's milk-drunk and easily drifts back off to sleep. However, last night was different... he was very, uh, awake-ish after eating. Maybe the later feed time made him think it was time to get up? I don't know, but he cried from 3:30-4:30 at which point I went in and pat his back for a little bit and sang his little song. (I was also wide awake myself and found it difficult to go back to sleep.)

Then I heard him start to fuss again at 5. At this point I just closed my door and headed back to bed. I woke up at 6:30 and turned on the monitor. Nothing. So, I'm not sure when he went back to sleep, but then we didn't get up until 8. I guess getting to sleep a little later helped with the fact that we were up from 3-5. I'm not sure if we can call that a good night.

I am also not sure what to do about that middle-of-the-night feeding. Does he really need it? Should I just let him cry then and see what happens? Why am I an educated, well-meaning person who just can't figure this baby thing out? I think I'd rather take a chemistry exam right now than sleep train a baby... ha, and I'd probably do about as well on both of them!

The Sleep Saga: Setback/Progress

Since Seth's naps the past two days have been iffy, he's been tired and cranky during his awake times. When I put him down for his afternoon nap today, he cried for 30 minutes before I just couldn't take it anymore. I went and got him, all teary-eyed and sniffly (him, not me), and took him to the couch for a snuggle. So, we both ended up taking a nap there for two hours, and we were both in better moods this evening. I don't know if this counts as a setback, but I'm going to cut myself... and the kid... some slack.

I think naps are going to take a while.

However, perhaps third night's a charm? I put Seth down an hour ago without a fuss and haven't heard a peep since. We shall see!

The Sleep Saga: Night Two

Well, night two went about the same as night one. Seth cried for 30 minutes when I put him down at 8 p.m. Then I think I heard some fussing around 11, but not enough for me to get up or anything. I woke up at 12:45 out of habit and listened for him. Not a peep. But by 1:30, I guess he remembered it was time to eat, so we did that whole song and dance, and then it was back to bed until I heard him crying around 6:15. I didn't go get him until 6:45, though... I think I was in denial about having to get up. I have to remind myself that my toddler is usually up sometime in the 6 o'clock hour, so there is no use for me trying to "sleep in" this week.

It's hard to say how our first nap of the morning went. I was attempting a nap myself during that time, and I heard bouts of crying as I faded in and out of consciousness. I think he cried for the first 30 minutes, slept an hour, and then cried off and on for another 30 minutes. He's acting relatively "rested" right now which is better than his post-nap mood yesterday.

In other Seth-related news, he cut his first tooth this past weekend. I think it's through by now, so hopefully that's now thwarting any of our sleep efforts. He also has a nasty case of thrush that has come back now for the third time... I think I'm going to blame the tylenol medicine dispenser this time because I have seriously cleaned everything else. Gentian violet clears it up in his mouth just fine, but he's reinfecting somehow. Stupid fungus, why won't you just die!?

The Sleep Saga: Naptime

We had trouble with our naps today. I have heard and read that naps are harder. And what I don't understand is that if you let them cry for an hour, well that was naptime, you know? It's not like you have the night ahead of you to reap the benefits of sleep. It also didn't help that he had two poopy diapers during his first nap today. I did actually go in to check on him a few times... and consequently did diaper changes. For his second nap, he cried for an hour, then slept for an hour. We have definitely been spoiled by our naps in the swing, I think.

So, it is 8 p.m., and I just put Seth down. He's crying. So, we'll see how night number two goes!

The Sleep Saga: Night One

So, this is how it went. About 7:30 p.m. we started with a bedtime routine. First, we did pjs and some "relaxing" scented lotion, and I sang Jesus Loves Me. (On some nights, this part of the routine will occur after a bath.) Then we went to Ian's room to read bedtime stories because when Ian gets home, we'll be doing this together (we started that a while back). Then, Seth nursed in the rocking chair which is the only time I plan to actually sit in that chair to nurse (trying to set some sleep associations with it). Then I sang "his" song, You Are My Sunshine, while I laid him in his crib. He was pretty darn drowsy after eating (maybe too much so), and went down without a hitch. That was at 8 p.m.

Then at 9 p.m. he started crying. And it started escalating. I was watching a movie trying to keep myself distracted. He cried, or screamed rather, for 30 minutes. Then, between 9:30 and 10, I would hear an occasional moan or fuss. And by 10 o'clock, all was quiet, and I decided to go to bed myself.

I don't know if his fussing woke me up or if I just woke up out of habit, but I was up at 12:45 a.m. This is when Seth normally feeds, so I went ahead and got up, fed him, changed his diaper, and put a very drowsy boy back to bed. Interestingly enough, I found him facing the other direction in his crib from how I laid him down, and he was on his belly.

I didn't wake up again until 6:30 a.m. I had the monitor turned off, so I really have no idea what happened during the night. As I laid there half-awake between 6 and 6:30, I could faintly hear some fussing. I turned on the monitor to check, and yes, he was crying, but not loudly, and I have no idea for how long or if he was fussy during the night. Usually with the monitor on, I can hear his first rustles in the night, and I respond pretty quickly so as not to wake up Ian. I might spend a night in Ian's bed to get that perspective... to see if I really need to worry about Seth waking up Ian or not.

So, it really wasn't that bad. Hopefully we'll make some progress from here. And we'll see how naps go today. Thanks for checking in!

The Sleep Saga: Intro

The short of the Saga is that Seth doesn't sleep. Well, he rarely sleeps for more than 3 hours at a time (at night and for an occasional long nap) and most nights he wakes every hour or two needing his pacifier popped back in. I am still feeding him once at night, too, around 12:30-1 a.m. In our attempts to improve his sleep habits, we've observed that it is most likely just some form of separation anxiety or the inability to self-soothe. Since this has been going on for several months now, it's time for an "intervention."

Ian and Daddy are road trippin' it to Grandma's house for the week while Mom and Seth work on this sleep thing. I sure don't like to hear the babe cry, but I'm so sleep-deprived, I'm willing to do anything at this point. I have largely been concerned about Seth's crying waking up Ian (who is also not a great sleeper and getting up once or twice in the night, too). So, hence the need for Ian's little vacation... about which he is totally stoked. (I hear Grandma's got some fun things planned.)

Stoked, however, I am not. John says he is hopeful for the weeks' efforts, but I'm not so sure. I'll be posting updates here, so you can see how our week is going. We are not only trying to get Seth to sleep better, but we are weaning him from the swing AND swaddle. It's about time, too, because this morning I actually found Seth turned OVER in his swing! (Seth was on his belly, the swing didn't turn over, mind you.) Scary! He's getting strong and moving more, so the crib is the place to be! And we have to cease the swaddle so that he can find his fingers or his stuffed bear to help him self-soothe. And gosh, won't it be nice to just lay a baby down and not worry about all that stuff?

Yes, it would be nice. So, here we go. I anticipate a few days of a lot of tears. Be thinking of us, especially this weary mama, and pray things go well!

Arts and Crafts

Whenever we had a streak of hot or rainy days, and we just felt cooped up in the house, we did some craft projects.

Of course, there's always paint.

And then we cut paper and made collages. He loved using scissors and glue.

And then John showed Ian how to color over leaves and make their pattern.

And of course, paint again.

All Boy

I read somewhere that calling a child "all boy" was just a euphemism for "out of control." Well, I don't know about that... but "all boy" certainly has a meaning around here when it comes to Mister Ian. And I love the "boyness" about him. He's definitely rough and tumble, snips and snail, and all that.

I love how the boy loves to be outside. And his favorite outdoor activity by far is throwing rocks. We try to channel this by throwing rocks into a creek or puddle or something and not the playground rocks targeted at other kids.

I love how he starts to describe something and says, "It goes like this!" Then he follows with some sort of hand gesture and a boy noise. Oh, and the boy noises... yep, we've got those a plenty!

I love how he's obsessed with lawn care (in other words, it's cool because Daddy does it). He loves lawn mowers, weed eaters, shovels, water hoses/sprinklers, fertilizer, etc. He even makes a big deal out of the gloves, ear plugs, and goggles Daddy wears.

I love how he runs around the house sometimes proclaiming, "Nakey boy!" This occurs either pre-bath or post-potty when he refuses to put his pants back on right away. And let's face it, with his recent potty training, he has really, uh, discovered himself lately.

I love how he gets so excited over his latest trick (like jumping or flipping), and he does it over and over again insisting that you keep watching by saying, "Watch I do!"

I love how he loves typical boys things like cars, trains, dinosaurs, bugs, balls, etc.

I love how he loves to make his brother laugh. And quite frankly, he's a pretty funny kid.

I guess it's a good thing I love these boy things because well, like the blog header says, it's just me and the boys around here!

Brotherly Love