MDG at 11 months

MDG is just one month away from being a year old.  Ready for the highlights?

This boy is still a bad/medium sleeper. But, you know, we're getting there. Maybe he will sleep all night one day.  Like, really all night.  Not wake up just long enough to wake up his mama before going back to sleep and leaving her wide awake with her thoughts at 3am.

Either way, he eats pretty well. Not the meat-lover his brother is, but definitely vocal about his hunger needs.

He loves when his brother wrestles with him, and when he's being ignored uses his lopsided crawl to chase PDG around.  And speaking of mobility, MDG has started taking up to three steps at a time... when the mood strikes.  It's nothing for him to stand for up to a minute before deciding whether to try to walk or speed-crawl elsewhere.

His top front two teeth are in with some drool overload signaling more top teeth on the way. As for words, we're stuck at "uh oh" and whatever that noise is he makes when he realizes he's somewhere that echoes.

Crazy to think that in a month he'll be eating cake and turning into a toddler.

MDG at 8 Months

On a more uplifting note.... MDG is eight months old!

So, what is he up to, you ask? Way too much. He can pull himself up on anything, and stand while holding on with just one hand. He claps when you clap and sometimes waves when you wave. And, as always, smiles nonstop.

He cut his first tooth during our trip to see Big Sis and is working on #2 as we speak.

His sleep went in reverse right at 7 months, and he's back to waking once or twice for a paci. He's also sharing a room with PDG now, so we haven't been letting him cry much. Not sure if we'll keep that no-cry strategy up during this month or not. Those early wake-up calls are just around the corner again.

He eats pretty much everything now except the common allergens. He downs a pack of baby food at every meal plus usually some cheerios or puffs and any bites of our food that he can manage.  We're looking forward to sharing more and more finger foods next month and moving away from purees.

Somewhat related, his nursing appetite has outmatched my output, so he takes a small bottle of formula at nighttime too.  This switchover will keep happening throughout the month as we have decided to wean fully before going back to school.  I'm sure I'll write more on that later.

Still no babbling, but given how much PDG is talking these days, maybe he just doesn't know how to interrupt!  Just lots of heavy excited breathing, wiggling his wrists, and smiling when he wants to say he's excited.

Such a happy, happy boy.

PDG at 17 Months

Before I know it PDG will be 18 months and I'll have forgotten the ins and outs of these past few weeks.  So, before I do, here's what he's up to.

Oh, and forgive the lack of photos.  I swear, since he started walking/running, he's pretty impossible to capture in still images. That, and this chromebook is a fabulous, easy computer, but not really photo-uploading friendly.

His appetite is finally slowing down.  I mean, he still eats just about everything, but on occasion he'll actually stop himself rather than fussing when his plate is empty.  And he's mastered handing over his plate when he's finished, usually with an "all gone."

One of his favorite games, particularly in the old apartment, has been hiding in a closet, waiting for me to say "where's PDG?!" and then stepping out saying either hello or hi.  Then, in true toddlers-love-repetition style, retreating back into the closet. Or, sometimes, cabinet.

He's mostly down to one nap and hasn't given up the Mr. Giraffe pacifier/wubanub.  While awake, his favorite things are lights.  Or, well, "yites!"  He makes different "oh" sounds for on and off and could probably play with a light switch for hours.  Whenever he sees light fixtures he'll stop and point.  Flashlights fascinate him.  Pretty much anything related to lights will grab his attention and make him smile.

Speaking of smiles, his molars are in.  That was a pain.  For everyone involved.  Though not as bad as I hear it can be for other kids.  Let's hope these eye teeth come soon so we can be done with the teething for a while.

He did have his first face plant on asphalt, leading to a busted lip and bloody nose and very worried parents.  But man, babies heal fast.  Thank heavens!

There are probably other cute things I should try to write down to remember, but something's better than nothing, right?  And, I don't want to bore you.

.75 years aka 9 months

OMG, PDG, you keep getting so BIG!

Little man is 9 months old now and moving right along his growth curve.  At 9 months 6 days he weighed in at 19.5lbs even (45%) with height 29.5in (81%).  Long and thin - shocker :)  Head size is still on the small end (31%), which was surprising given the struggle to pull his onesies over his head.

Speaking of clothes, at some point he mastered pushing his arms and legs through their respective holes, but he also mastered pulling off his own socks and hats.  Bundling up gets trickier and trickier.

PDG now cruises (don't you love how I'm learning all the baby terms?) along the coffee table and can go back and forth between it and the couch.  The doc predicted walking before age one.  I only halfway listen to doctors anymore though.  He'll walk one day and it will be exciting and terrifying at once.

Other new talents include talking a lot - you know, baby style - lots of babababa and dadada an yayayaya etc.  He talks and bounces on the bed before eventually lowering himself and/or falling over, snuggling with a blanket and finding his giraffe paci to go to sleep.

He continues to eat just about anything.  Even raspberries, which he eats while looking disgusted, then bangs the table while opening his mouth to demand more.  He's tried eggs, salmon, persimmon, spaghetti, crackers, currants, grapes and probably loads more that I've forgotten (or J-Man has snuck him).

Perhaps my favorite new thing is how he laughs when we laugh, even if he isn't involved.  It's like he wants to be in on the joke.  He smiles that vampire grin of his and giggles right along.

Oh yeah, and all we want for Christmas are his two front teeth.  Preferrably with no sleep interruptions or teething pain for this set. Please?

Out of Hibernation

Well, shoot.  I disappeared again, didn't I?

note the movember stache

Well, there are a few things I could blame it on.  For instance, PDG now has a third tooth and a fourth one that is so, so, so close - and it's killing us all as we wait for it to come through.  I'm talking orajel-as-breakfast-dessert-every-day kinds of mornings.

Oh, and there's Homeland.  Showtime, why would you let your on-demand show us both seasons at just the click of a button?  Do you really think J-Man and I have that sort of self-restraint?

There was Thanksgiving, which while full of gratitude, also meant lots of family time back at the H-house with limited internet. This year, with Mama H's knee still healing from surgery, I actually got to run the kitchen.

There's the fact that we had to move the computer from the couch area now that PDG can pull up and attack anything left on the coffee table.  Something about blog-writing from a desk feels so... formal.

And, then, you know, the usual culprit of sleepiness.



But PDG is almost 9 months (update and more pictures soon) and J-Man and I are chugging along.  We just made it out to our first movie date together since Bridesmaids and completed our traditional, non-traditional Christmas cards. Life is good and it's almost Christmas break.  Or "winter break."

PDG's First Cold

Ok, so yeah, we got through the 6 month doctor's appointment on exactly PDG's 6 month birthday.  J-Man was the one who was there to hug and hold little guy after his shots.  I was there to pick him up from daycare and snuggle him.  The next day when he started running a fever like he often does, I rushed right after 7th period to give him even more snuggles.

So when the next day he woke up with a little congestion, I figured it was still just the shots messing things up.

Nope.

Hello cold season.

According to Ms. S. at daycare, congestion and teething often go hand in hand.  Since by Monday he wasn't contagious and he was still laughing and playing, we went ahead and kept taking him all week long.

Of course, no one was sleeping.

Not PDG, because he'd get so snot-filled that we'd have to hold him upright, which would just tease him, or we'd have to do the saline-and-suction one-two punch which made him scream bloody murder.  Nursing was unpleasant because he'd have to stop to breathe better.  The usual 10 minute tummy refill became multiple struggles lasting sometimes an hour or more at a time.

Not J-Man either because he hates being sick and has particularly fickle sinuses.  Add those to stressful commission-job days and he was wide awake.

And not mama because for the very few moments between a hacking husband and crying, sniffling son, I had my own sore throat and stuffiness to handle.

It was a doozy of a week.  We are finally breathing well again and, would you believe it, Ms. S was totally right. If you feel along PDG's bottom gum, there's a rough little patch poking through that just so happens to be his very first tooth!