Sigh.... so it's been way too long since I wrote again. It's really crazy here right now - everything is covered with snow and ice and last night it was like 18 degrees. I feel like I'm back in Michigan again or something. Plus everyone here (including me to some degree) is afraid to drive around/can't drive around, so I stayed home all day today. Plus our furnace is broken. It's been broken since the night before Thanksgiving, and it was supposed to get fixed on Monday but with all the snow and stuff it hasn't happened, which I find slightly ironic. Right now our house is being heated by space heaters.
Sam has been a fussbudget at bedtime the last couple of days. He was going to bed at a good time, between 9:30 and 10:30, but has been up until midnight at least for the last couple of nights. We can tell he's really tired, but he just doesn't go to sleep. He might be getting some more teeth, but it's hard to tell because he doesn't like it when we mess with his mouth. Anyhow, we don't have an actual set bedtime for him, and it's hard to know how to establish it. There are just so many opinions ('expert' and otherwise), routines, ideas, etc. out there that I don't know what to listen to. Today I got an artile in my e-mail from one of the baby websites telling me about how you shouldn't let your baby have 'sleep crutches' (pacifiers, being rocked, white noise machine, a bottle) because they will lose their ability to put themselves to sleep or soothe themselves. It talked about establishing a bedtime routine. Then there are the people who think you should let the baby cry it out in his crib, which is hard to listen to and makes me feel bad. He's only seven months old. ARGH! So, we are thinking about starting a 'routine' with a bath and maybe reading a story together with the lights turned down, but it's just hard to know what to do. This is the first time I feel like I really don't know what the best thing to do is or whose advice to take. In the past, I think I have always been more confident about knowing what to do. Oh well, I know we'll figure it out in the end.
We had our housewarming party on the 18th, which was really a lot of fun. It was a good motivation for me to finally get EVERYTHING unpacked and get pictures hung on the walls and stuff. Our house is all tidy and we are really all settled in now! It's great. I've been a lot more relaxed and not feeling like I have to do so much in the last couple of weeks. Lots of people came over including Brie and Kyle, Suman, Esme and Ty, Mom, Kira, the Whalen-Robinsons, Courtney and Tom, and Laurie. We sort of had people coming and going between 2 pm and 8:30 pm, and we didn't even have too much food left over! Ty is adorable, and it was so cute to see him and Sam together.
Sam had his first Thanksgiving last week! And his first taste of mashed pototoes! It was really cute, it was a totally new texture for him, and he wasn't sure about it at first, but then he ate a bunch of it! A few days later he got to taste some of the delicious pumpkin pie that Mom made (we had a whole extra to enjoy after Thanksgiving!). He REALLY liked that. He definitely has a huge sweet tooth just like I do. We also celebrated my birthday and Tara's birthday some, and I got a really beautiful Unicorn calendar from Tara that I've never seen before. And Brooke gave me a couple of unicorn things and tickets to the Barenaked Ladies concert last Sunday! We actually made it to the concert despite the bad weather, although it did involve trecking through the snow from our parking place. And the arena being quite chilly for the whole concert. That's okay though, the concert was totally great. Mike Doughty's Band was the opener and that was pretty great too.
Last Saturday we went to the Pacific Science Center and met up with Jason, Stormy, Gryphon & Tempest and with Justin's Mom and Rich. We ate lunch and went around the Science Center and looked and played. Then we went and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was really cool. I was surprised at how small and perfect the writing was! It's just amazing to think about seeing writings that are so old. It was Deanna's birthday, and they gave me my birthday gift, which was the new Annie Liebowitz book of her photos from 1990 to 2005. I was very happy! I had a really good birthday this year.
Last Sunday Rob and Susan and Maggie came down and visited with us at our house, then we went out to lunch and to Babies R Us since they'd never been there. Maggie is so adorable! She is doing great! She is up to 13 lb 8 oz, catching up with Sam fast! She looks so much like Rob. I got to hold her and carry her around for a while. She loves to be held up in the air above your head, and has the cutest little smile. I am glad they were able to make it down, and I can't wait to see her again!
We went and got family portraits yesterday at the Babies R Us near our house. It was totally not busy since no one was out that early (10:00) because of the snow/ice. It went really well, and the pictures turned out totally cute! I'll post them so everyone can see. We're going to be sending out some pictures and stuff in our Christmas cards, which is the main reason we decided to get them now, and I think six months is a good age to get them done.
Not much else has been happening around here. Sam eats three meals a day now, and sometimes another snack before bed. He has breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He mostly only eats in his high chair now unless we are not at home. His favorite food is Peach Cobbler baby food, and he LOVES yogurt. We've been introducing it into his diet slowly. We started out fast, and he had two good days of not throwing up, but then he started throwing up a lot, and we think we just went too fast. He is still drinking soy formula so he's not used to real dairy. We stopped the yogurt for a couple of days and now we give him a little bit with each meal. It seems to help his digestion and helps his poops be a little more normal baby poop instead of being so firm. Although the dairy does definitely add to the stink factor! He doesn't like green food in general - definitely didn't like the peas or the green beans. We have been trying spinach & potatoes and he seems to like that a little bit better, so we're going to keep giving it to him. He also likes sweet potatoes. We've been introducing a little bit of juice to him after some meals, and he seems to like it, but isn't crazy about it.
He's working really hard on sitting up and learning to crawl. He now gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. This will help him to build up the muscles he needs to crawl. He's a lot better at getting around now, rolling and scooting around all over the floor. He really loves taking baths and his favorite bath toys are the measuring cups we gave him. He is figuring out how to splash with his hands and loves kicking his legs in the water.
We'll be leaving for Christmas in New Jersey on the 19th, and I'm super excited about the trip. I can't wait to see everyone again! That's about all that's going on right now! I'm going to go update the photo album, so take a look!
November 30, 2006
Welcome to Our New Blog!
Hello everyone! I am starting a new blog today because the blog I've been keeping for the past year and a half (http://www.babycrowd.com/jr/online/rachael/welcome.html) is reaching it's storage limit. Sam is almsot seven months old now, so from now on I'll be posting our updates and new photos via this website. Welcome!
November 13, 2006
Sam has TEETH!
Well, that is the big news! The last month has been super busy with trying to get settled in and unpacked at our new house. Who knew it took about 100 times as long to get everything done when there was a baby involved? This weekend Mom came down from Bellingham and I actually got ALL the rest of our stuff unpacked except for four boxes that are left in the garage that have random stuff, most of which I'm not sure what I'm going to do with. I feel so great! I also actually got a bunch of pictures and stuff up on the walls, which is nice, it doesn't look so bare anymore.
Sam has been fussy for the last week and we could tell that his two front bottom teeth were just super ready to pop right out. Well, he went to visit his Grandma Deanna and Grandpa Rich and spent the night with them on Thursday and Friday so I could work on sorting out the garage & unpacking. And when he got home, he had TEETH! How exciting! They were just little white lines at first, but they're coming in more every day and soon he'll have two fully emerged teeth.
Other than his being fussy about his teeth, things have been going great with Sam! He is really interested in learning how to crawl, but he's just not quite there yet. He has been scooting a little bit more and we've seen him actually get up on his hands and knees a few times now. I'm enjoying his not being able to move too much while I can. I know that once he starts crawling, I'll be crawling all over the place after him. He is a champion at turning in cirlcles on his belly though, and when he's in the living room he likes to touch the books on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf.
Sam has also recently become interested in the cats, and likes to touch them and grab at them when they get near enough. Phoenix isn't so tolerant, but Piper is actually pretty good about it. This morning he let Sam grab his tail and chew on his leg a little bit before getting up and moving away. Maybe it's because he knows he still weighs almost 4 pounds more than Sam does.
We had Sam's 6 month well baby checkup last week. I was very surprised to learn that Sam only gained about a half pound in between his four and six month checkups. He's been eating a lot, but I guess he's just a skinny little baby. His height did increase (26.5 inches) and he's right on track development wise, so the doctor said it's nothing to worry about as long as we're making sure he's getting enough to eat. She also got to witness first hand how much he wiggles and squirms all the time, and said that might have something to do with it - he's just burning all his calories!
Speaking of food, Sam has become a champion eater. He is onto the Stage 2 baby foods, which are 3.5 oz of food (instead of 2.5) and have mixtures. He still enjoys the ones that have bananas, like Banana Blueberry and Banana Orange. It's fun being able to experiment with some new foods. The doctor also said we can start trying out fruit puffs. They're little star shaped snacks kind of the size of cheerios, only they melt in the baby's mouth so there is not so much of a choking hazard if they can't really chew yet. We're giving them to him sometimes also to help him develop his motor skills in picking up small things with his hands. He still spits up frequently, but I am pretty sure it's decreasing. It's hard to tell when you're with him all the time whether things are really changing!
Sam enjoyed his first Halloween. I will post some new pictures in the photo album when I'm done with this entry. Sam was Yoda for Halloween. Not that many people got to see his costume, but it was super-cute.
So, that's about all the SAM news I have for now. In other news....
I talked to Rob the other day and he told me that Maggie weighs over 12 pounds! I can't believe she's gotten so big, and is catching up with Sam so fast! I am missing them, I haven't seen them in a very long time. I believe that they're going to be able to come and visit later this month. I'm really excited to see Maggie, Rob, and Susan, and for them to visit our new house! I can't believe she's already almost four months old! I just got an e-mail from Susan with some pictures, and she is SO cute. I can't even believe it all!
The biggest news in my world is that my friend Brie who was pregnant with twins had her babies two weeks ago. She was only 30 weeks pregnant, but her water broke in the middle of the night and they could not stop her labor, so the babies came early. She had a very fast birth and didn't have to have a c-section. The babies, Roman and Giovanna (Ginny) are in the NICU in Tacoma. They are both doing very well, although Ginny is a little bit more advanced. Ginny is breathing on her own, and Roman is on his way off his ventilator with it getting turned down a little bit more each day. Both babies are now taking breastmilk, which is wonderful. I haven't talked to Brie much since she had the babies because she's been busy working and visiting the hospital every day, which is about 30 min from where she lives. For anyone that knows her and is interested in hearing more of her story and/or seeing some pictures of the babies, her baby blog is at: http://www.babycrowd.com/jr/online/brieshon/.
So, that's the news for now! I'll be sure to post some pictures tonight or tomorrow, and hopefully I will post again soon. Now that Sam's passed the 6 month mark, there should be lots of exciting news and developments to write about!
Sam has been fussy for the last week and we could tell that his two front bottom teeth were just super ready to pop right out. Well, he went to visit his Grandma Deanna and Grandpa Rich and spent the night with them on Thursday and Friday so I could work on sorting out the garage & unpacking. And when he got home, he had TEETH! How exciting! They were just little white lines at first, but they're coming in more every day and soon he'll have two fully emerged teeth.
Other than his being fussy about his teeth, things have been going great with Sam! He is really interested in learning how to crawl, but he's just not quite there yet. He has been scooting a little bit more and we've seen him actually get up on his hands and knees a few times now. I'm enjoying his not being able to move too much while I can. I know that once he starts crawling, I'll be crawling all over the place after him. He is a champion at turning in cirlcles on his belly though, and when he's in the living room he likes to touch the books on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf.
Sam has also recently become interested in the cats, and likes to touch them and grab at them when they get near enough. Phoenix isn't so tolerant, but Piper is actually pretty good about it. This morning he let Sam grab his tail and chew on his leg a little bit before getting up and moving away. Maybe it's because he knows he still weighs almost 4 pounds more than Sam does.
We had Sam's 6 month well baby checkup last week. I was very surprised to learn that Sam only gained about a half pound in between his four and six month checkups. He's been eating a lot, but I guess he's just a skinny little baby. His height did increase (26.5 inches) and he's right on track development wise, so the doctor said it's nothing to worry about as long as we're making sure he's getting enough to eat. She also got to witness first hand how much he wiggles and squirms all the time, and said that might have something to do with it - he's just burning all his calories!
Speaking of food, Sam has become a champion eater. He is onto the Stage 2 baby foods, which are 3.5 oz of food (instead of 2.5) and have mixtures. He still enjoys the ones that have bananas, like Banana Blueberry and Banana Orange. It's fun being able to experiment with some new foods. The doctor also said we can start trying out fruit puffs. They're little star shaped snacks kind of the size of cheerios, only they melt in the baby's mouth so there is not so much of a choking hazard if they can't really chew yet. We're giving them to him sometimes also to help him develop his motor skills in picking up small things with his hands. He still spits up frequently, but I am pretty sure it's decreasing. It's hard to tell when you're with him all the time whether things are really changing!
Sam enjoyed his first Halloween. I will post some new pictures in the photo album when I'm done with this entry. Sam was Yoda for Halloween. Not that many people got to see his costume, but it was super-cute.
So, that's about all the SAM news I have for now. In other news....
I talked to Rob the other day and he told me that Maggie weighs over 12 pounds! I can't believe she's gotten so big, and is catching up with Sam so fast! I am missing them, I haven't seen them in a very long time. I believe that they're going to be able to come and visit later this month. I'm really excited to see Maggie, Rob, and Susan, and for them to visit our new house! I can't believe she's already almost four months old! I just got an e-mail from Susan with some pictures, and she is SO cute. I can't even believe it all!
The biggest news in my world is that my friend Brie who was pregnant with twins had her babies two weeks ago. She was only 30 weeks pregnant, but her water broke in the middle of the night and they could not stop her labor, so the babies came early. She had a very fast birth and didn't have to have a c-section. The babies, Roman and Giovanna (Ginny) are in the NICU in Tacoma. They are both doing very well, although Ginny is a little bit more advanced. Ginny is breathing on her own, and Roman is on his way off his ventilator with it getting turned down a little bit more each day. Both babies are now taking breastmilk, which is wonderful. I haven't talked to Brie much since she had the babies because she's been busy working and visiting the hospital every day, which is about 30 min from where she lives. For anyone that knows her and is interested in hearing more of her story and/or seeing some pictures of the babies, her baby blog is at: http://www.babycrowd.com/jr/online/brieshon/.
So, that's the news for now! I'll be sure to post some pictures tonight or tomorrow, and hopefully I will post again soon. Now that Sam's passed the 6 month mark, there should be lots of exciting news and developments to write about!
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