Friday, March 26, 2010
Stephen is rolling over!!
Stephen is now 5 months and one week and he's rolled over from his back to his belly. He started rolling from his belly to his back about a month ago and when then he started liking tummy time and that removed his motivation to roll over. He's been getting super close to rolling from back to belly but had been unsuccessful until today. I held a toy just out of his reach and he rolled to get it from me. I grabbed the camera and with the use of another toy (he tired of the first) he managed to do it again and I caught it on video.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Already 5 months
First of all I can't believe that I am the mother of a 5 month old. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was going into the hospital to have him, and yet it feels like so long ago. Kinda hard to explain. But he is such a joy in our lives. He loves it when his daddy sings to him and quiets down almost immediately, he loves to play with other people's hands and stick their fingers in his mouth. He loves to play with his cloth diaper and stuff it in his mouth. He now loves tummy time-which makes it hard to get to him to turn over because he likes it now. He absolutely loves his baths and kicks all the water out as I start putting him in. He likes to ride around in the front pack or mei tai when we go out. He also likes to practice his standing and tries to stand up all the time when you're holding him. There is very little he doesn't like and is almost always a very happy baby unless he's very tired or very hungry. He is super content to go to other people and isn't afraid at all.
Some new things in his life are that we finally got his mullet trimmed. He's had this really thick portion of hair in the very back on the very bottom that was a few inches long. Everywhere else it was evenly spread but right there it was almost abnormally thick and looked really funny. It seriously looked like he had a mullet and it was emphasized by the bald spot he has right above it from laying on his back to sleep. Our friend who is a hair dresser was cutting and doing my hair so she said that she would cut his too. I saved all the clippings but we are calling this his first hair "trim" because a hair cut is the whole head and this was just one small portion.
We've also started giving him some solid foods. I was planning to wait until he was a full six months but he started getting really mad when we were eating and he didn't get any or we would move our plates away. He wanted our food, our silverware, our cups, everything. I am starting really slow because I don't want him to get real used to solids or expect a large volume so we started with a little baby rice cereal, then gave him some oatmeal (I like that it has more fiber), and he's had avocado. He absolutely LOVES avocado, he keeps it all in his mouth and doesn't spit any out. I was trying to make the cereals really loose but the loose consistency was really hard for him to manage without spitting it out. We are also using the mesh baby feeder that allows him to try foods without having to eat it. Babies can mash it around in their mouths. He's had avocado, apple and banana in the feeder just for tastes. He loves eating and dive-bombs to get the spoon as I start going up to his mouth. We'll have to work on our highchair manners as he gets a little older.
He's also been working on sitting up. It generally ends up with his listing to one side or the other but we're working on it. It hadn't occurred to me until a couple weeks ago that he should be sitting up and he actually did really well when we tried it.
We just love our little boy so much, and look forward to him growing and learning and developing.
Some new things in his life are that we finally got his mullet trimmed. He's had this really thick portion of hair in the very back on the very bottom that was a few inches long. Everywhere else it was evenly spread but right there it was almost abnormally thick and looked really funny. It seriously looked like he had a mullet and it was emphasized by the bald spot he has right above it from laying on his back to sleep. Our friend who is a hair dresser was cutting and doing my hair so she said that she would cut his too. I saved all the clippings but we are calling this his first hair "trim" because a hair cut is the whole head and this was just one small portion.
We've also started giving him some solid foods. I was planning to wait until he was a full six months but he started getting really mad when we were eating and he didn't get any or we would move our plates away. He wanted our food, our silverware, our cups, everything. I am starting really slow because I don't want him to get real used to solids or expect a large volume so we started with a little baby rice cereal, then gave him some oatmeal (I like that it has more fiber), and he's had avocado. He absolutely LOVES avocado, he keeps it all in his mouth and doesn't spit any out. I was trying to make the cereals really loose but the loose consistency was really hard for him to manage without spitting it out. We are also using the mesh baby feeder that allows him to try foods without having to eat it. Babies can mash it around in their mouths. He's had avocado, apple and banana in the feeder just for tastes. He loves eating and dive-bombs to get the spoon as I start going up to his mouth. We'll have to work on our highchair manners as he gets a little older.
He's also been working on sitting up. It generally ends up with his listing to one side or the other but we're working on it. It hadn't occurred to me until a couple weeks ago that he should be sitting up and he actually did really well when we tried it.
We just love our little boy so much, and look forward to him growing and learning and developing.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
5 months of Stephen
I have to say that it is pathetic how bad I have been at keeping up this blog. Perhaps it's because I doubt that anyone looks at it, and in part because most people are on facebook and I update pictures there. But I will give an overall update on Stephen over the last 5 months.
In November we flew down to LA for my older brother Tim's wedding. Stephen was 2 1/2 weeks old. We drove over to Medford the night before and stayed in a hotel with Stephen sleeping in a drawer lined with a blanket. The flight to LA was uneventful but throughout the course of the day Stephen went through 5 outfits between his puking and peeing. He got to meet his grandpa Dunham, and his great grandparents, as well as most of my siblings. It was a good time and a beautiful wedding. At Thanksgiving we went to Eugene to see Lonnie's side of the family. They gather every year and we had a great time. I got some "big city" shopping in, and the family threw us and his pregnant cousin a baby shower. We also drove up to Portland and showed him off to everyone. This month he start "talking" a lot more. Now he babbles all the time especially when he is tired.
In December the biggest thing was celebrating Christmas. Stephen got to meet his Auntie Laurie who flew in from Liberia for the holidays. We went up to Portland for actual Christmas and Stephen got to meet his uncle David and spend some good time with other aunts and uncles. We hadn't seen David since his bootcamp graduation almost 2 1/2 years before that, and we got to see Amanda and Bill as well. Got some more shopping in. We came home and had Christmas with Gma and Gpa Reyman and Laurie. Stephen got to have some time to open his presents. He's such a joy to have. He is getting better with sleeping during the night and only waking once to eat. He is getting fat and happy with his eating. His naps are usually shorter as we are now experiencing "the 45 min intruder."
In January we didn't have anything big going on. At almost exactly 3 months he started losing some of his hair in the front. He's been working on his bald spot in the back for awhile now. His hair is so funny because in the back he has this bald spot and then he has this hair on the very bottom that is about 2-3 inches long and really thick. It makes him look like he has a mullet. At 11 weeks he started sleeping through the night from 11-8, only occasionally waking up for his pacifier. We had to "super swaddle" him and pin his arms down with a receiving blanket, but it worked! I also started back to work at the end of the month. It created an interesting situation because it happened unexpectedly on a Sunday and Lonnie had to take him early to church with him while I went to work and then we had to sort out what would happen for the rest of the day. It was also his first time in the nursery by himself.
In Feb he rolled over for the first time. He also had his baby dedication on Valentines day and my parents were able to come down from Portland for the weekend. It was nice to have in-home babysitting where all I had to do was feed him and put him down for his naps. Beyond that my parents did everything else. They burped, changed, played, everything. He has gained a real interest in everything that he can reach for and grab at. He also drools all over everything and tries to put it in his mouth. I don't think he's teething but it's probably not that far off for us.
It is now March. He is currently about 16 pounds, still eating like a champ. He can sit in a tripod position with someone nearby to make sure that when he lists to the side that he doesn't do a full on face plant into the floor. He is also closer to rolling from back to belly and can make it all the way onto his side. We took him to the beach for the first time earlier in the month. We didn't actually make it onto the beach but we got close. It's pretty sad that it's taken us 4 months to get him to the beach when we only live a mile away, but I blame it on the weather (sad excuse). I do try to get out with him in the stroller though, that's gotta count for something.
So I am going to try and be more consistent about updating the blog. But I think it's going to take on a new tone as well and be a blog for not only family updates but for my own thoughts on life and whatever else pops into my crazy head. So stay tuned for what is to come
In November we flew down to LA for my older brother Tim's wedding. Stephen was 2 1/2 weeks old. We drove over to Medford the night before and stayed in a hotel with Stephen sleeping in a drawer lined with a blanket. The flight to LA was uneventful but throughout the course of the day Stephen went through 5 outfits between his puking and peeing. He got to meet his grandpa Dunham, and his great grandparents, as well as most of my siblings. It was a good time and a beautiful wedding. At Thanksgiving we went to Eugene to see Lonnie's side of the family. They gather every year and we had a great time. I got some "big city" shopping in, and the family threw us and his pregnant cousin a baby shower. We also drove up to Portland and showed him off to everyone. This month he start "talking" a lot more. Now he babbles all the time especially when he is tired.
In December the biggest thing was celebrating Christmas. Stephen got to meet his Auntie Laurie who flew in from Liberia for the holidays. We went up to Portland for actual Christmas and Stephen got to meet his uncle David and spend some good time with other aunts and uncles. We hadn't seen David since his bootcamp graduation almost 2 1/2 years before that, and we got to see Amanda and Bill as well. Got some more shopping in. We came home and had Christmas with Gma and Gpa Reyman and Laurie. Stephen got to have some time to open his presents. He's such a joy to have. He is getting better with sleeping during the night and only waking once to eat. He is getting fat and happy with his eating. His naps are usually shorter as we are now experiencing "the 45 min intruder."
In January we didn't have anything big going on. At almost exactly 3 months he started losing some of his hair in the front. He's been working on his bald spot in the back for awhile now. His hair is so funny because in the back he has this bald spot and then he has this hair on the very bottom that is about 2-3 inches long and really thick. It makes him look like he has a mullet. At 11 weeks he started sleeping through the night from 11-8, only occasionally waking up for his pacifier. We had to "super swaddle" him and pin his arms down with a receiving blanket, but it worked! I also started back to work at the end of the month. It created an interesting situation because it happened unexpectedly on a Sunday and Lonnie had to take him early to church with him while I went to work and then we had to sort out what would happen for the rest of the day. It was also his first time in the nursery by himself.
In Feb he rolled over for the first time. He also had his baby dedication on Valentines day and my parents were able to come down from Portland for the weekend. It was nice to have in-home babysitting where all I had to do was feed him and put him down for his naps. Beyond that my parents did everything else. They burped, changed, played, everything. He has gained a real interest in everything that he can reach for and grab at. He also drools all over everything and tries to put it in his mouth. I don't think he's teething but it's probably not that far off for us.
It is now March. He is currently about 16 pounds, still eating like a champ. He can sit in a tripod position with someone nearby to make sure that when he lists to the side that he doesn't do a full on face plant into the floor. He is also closer to rolling from back to belly and can make it all the way onto his side. We took him to the beach for the first time earlier in the month. We didn't actually make it onto the beach but we got close. It's pretty sad that it's taken us 4 months to get him to the beach when we only live a mile away, but I blame it on the weather (sad excuse). I do try to get out with him in the stroller though, that's gotta count for something.
So I am going to try and be more consistent about updating the blog. But I think it's going to take on a new tone as well and be a blog for not only family updates but for my own thoughts on life and whatever else pops into my crazy head. So stay tuned for what is to come
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