Henry-isms (17 months old)

So let's just move past the fact that my last post was 6 months ago...and on to cute baby stories.  Henry's verbal communication is improving every day and I thought I'd share some of his recent "Henry-isms":

Henry can now stay "shoes" and will bring me one of our shoes while saying the word.  And if he brings you a shoe, you MUST hold it.  I learned this lesson while trying to make breakfast and holding two running shoes this morning.

We are trying to teach him "hot" and now everything that we don't want him to have is "hot".  The grill, the stove, the toaster oven, Daddy's coffee cup, iPhones

While getting ready for bed, Henry brought me his Bubbles, Bubbles book while saying "bubbles".  He also will make the sign for eat when I'm reading a story and we come across the word (we use limited sign-language with him to encourage communication).

Chris and I are frequently telling Max and Lila "No Barking" (they are fierce guard dogs and take their job very seriously:) ).  We were upstairs and Lila started barking so Chris said "Lila, no barking" out the open window.  She started barking again and Henry ran over to the window and started yelling outside.

Nanny Issues-Finding a Good Fit

Without going into all the details, we've recently had a change in nanny's for Henry.  The past few weeks have been incredibly stressful as we interviewed, hired and transitioned from our old nanny to the new one.  We've had lots of questions as to why (after only 2 months), we were searching for someone new to watch H and I think it all boils down to the first nanny wasn't a good fit.  Honestly, when we interviewed the first time around, we found someone we really, really liked.  We made her an offer but she was also interviewing with another family and choose to work for them instead.  So feeling rushed to get someone before I went back to work, we hired our second choice.  We called references, ran a background check, did a monthly review-all the "right" things to do.  Things were fine for a while and then they weren't.  I felt like I was constantly having to deal with things not being done as we asked and C was starting to dread my phone calls during the work day as they usually had some sort of nanny related issue.  Our parents have listened to me worry over our nanny situation for some time...sorry guys!  It wasn't anything one thing and honestly, the feeling was mutual (and she even brought it up!) so we parted ways last week and thankfully, she stayed until we found someone new.  It's been a new experience for us to have a household employee and learn how to set expectations that were clear (yet trying to be flexible and understanding as she was taking care of our most precious thing, Henry, in our home.  Um, I didn't want to totally peeve her as she could steal our baby and rob us blind).  

So now that we've got 4 days under our belt with our new nanny, I can say that things are SO much better already!  The energy in our home is better and I think it's a much better fit.  The new nanny came prepared with crafts (Yes, crafts for a 5.5 month old.  The fridge is covered with baby paintings already) and has all sorts of daily developmental activities they do together.  As we can only learn from our past, I've been thinking about our last experience and this is what I've learned:

1. Trust my instinct.  We know what's best for our family and need to make sure that comes first.

2.  It has to be a good fit and if it's not (see #1) cut our losses and move on.  I spent a lot of time and energy trying to make our last relationship work and bottom line was it didn't.  Next time, I'll call it sooner and take steps to move on.

3. Don't be afraid to speak up about instructions and expectations up front.  I've created a "House Rules" list that we now use for everyone that watches H.  At the end of the day, Henry (and the dogs and our home) our OUR responsibility and we, as parents, should fully be able to expect our rules and guidelines to be followed.

I'm sure this is just the first of many challenges of being a working mom :).  To those of you who have great help, be thankful and show appreciation!

If you have child-care, what are some things that work for your family?  Any "House Rules" we should add to the list?  

 

5 Months old!

How time flies-our little guy is 5 months old!  He is growing and changing more every day!  Some of his recent developments are pinching (fine motor skills), talking/having conversations with us/shrieking (verbalizing), pulling toys and his pacifier toward him/putting them in his mouth and touching faces-he LOVES faces.  He likes to go on walks in the stroller and he enjoys watching Max and Lila romp around.  He doesn't like getting dressed or waiting to eat.  When he's hungry, he wants to eat NOW :)

A few weeks ago, Henry had his first chiropractic appointment!  The chiropractor also specializes in NAET testing and we learned that Henry was deficient in fatty acids (no surprise there since his weight gain has been slow).  I'm now taking supplements and changing my diet a bit to increase the amount of fatty acids in my breast milk.  One of my nursing mom's group friends suggested reading Mother Food and it has been very helpful.  I'm (very slowly) starting to introduce diary and a few other foods back into my diet and it doesn't seem to be affecting Henry.  I will be very interested to see where he is at his 6 month well-check in August!

Henry has also had a couple more PT sessions with his PT Cathy.  We are working on sitting and pushing up on his hands and knees!  Crawling will be here before we know it, Chris and I are already talking about baby-proofing the house :)       

Henry's bedtime is around 7pm and he still gets up a couple times each night to eat.  At night he sleeps about 6-7 hours before his first wake up and then every three or so hours after that.  During the day he takes several naps still and usually we get a nice 2 hour nap and then 2-3 shorter ones.  For the most part, Henry self-soothes to sleep but we do occasionally need to rock him.  

Some recent adventures include going to a family reunion where Henry got to meet his newest baby cousin, Catherine.  He also spent the day at Grandma's house with his cousin Luke.  Last Sunday, I took him to the grocery store in the Baby Bjorn and he really liked looking around at all the bright lights, colors and shapes.  

Here are a few photos over the past month of Henry:

Helping Mommy fold laundry (otherwise known as eating
Daddy's sock)

Chris "playing" with Henry at Grandma's house

Concentrating REALLY hard on one of his toys

Bath time!  He loves to splash and kick in the tub!

Serious boy hanging out at Oma and Opa's house

And a video showcasing his new verbalization skills:

Henry-4 month well check

Last week, Henry attended his 4 month well-check with CNP Allyson.  She was his practitioner at his 2 month well check too.  Due to scheduling conflicts, Chris took him to the appointment and brought back lots of notes for me since I couldn't attend.  Don't worry, it all evens out since I took H to PT later in the week :)

Here are the basic stats:
Height- 24 inches (16th percentile)
Weight- 11 lbs 13 oz (3rd percentile)
Head circumference- 39.9 cm (2nd percentile)

So we have a peanut on our hands...no surprise there if you know us.  Chris and I are both on the short side :).  Our little guy is thriving developmentally (holding head up well, rolling all ways, being very alert) but the CNP is concerned with his size and is suggesting we start to introduce rice cereal and oatmeal.  To be quite honest, I was taken by surprise by this and probably a little defensive since I'm Henry's primary supply of nutrition AND I wasn't there to discuss my concerns with starting him on cereal/food so early.  We were told that if we don't start feeding him soon, he will "fall behind even more".  I have a bit of an issue with that, especially considering his gene pool.  After all, everything I've read states that solids should wait until six months (or close to it) because the digestive system is not ready yet and it can increase food sensitivities and allergies.  We already suspect that H has some food sensitivities, that's the whole reason I'm not eating dairy or bananas or spicy foods or broccoli...you get the idea.  So I decided to do some more research before making a decision.  I first started talking to other moms: my Mom, C's Mom, my Mom's group moms, co-workers who are moms.  Basically, it came out to we need to do what we feel is best for Henry.  Next, I checked out some online resources that are well-respected (KellyMom and Science of Mom).  I still want to call the office and ask a few questions (WHO growth charts vs. CDC growth charts) but after much thought about it, we are going to wait until closer to 6 months and follow his cues.  We have been including Henry in family meals in his infant swing for a while and just recently started sitting him in his high chair at the table with us (and a tray full of toys).

Chris also asked her about sleep (and the fact that this guy gets up a lot at night).  Thanks to her advice, we are transitioning to self-soothing.  This means no more rocking H to sleep, which is sad for me, but we are working on teaching him to go to sleep on his own to encourage healthy sleep habits.

And a video in the high chair:

Please know that we do not come from a place of judgement on those who choose to give cereal at any age, this is what we've chosen for Henry right now based on what we feel is best for him.

4 months old!

Where has time gone?  Henry is 4 months old today!  In the grand scheme of life, 4 months is a short period but it seems like he's been with us forever.  He celebrated the milestone by breaking free from his swaddle blanket rolling from his back to his front twice in the middle of the night and crying for someone to help him.  Stats are unknown as his next appt. to see CNP Allyson is next week.  I'm looking forward to hearing about his progress-I've got a work meeting I can't miss so C is taking the afternoon off to go to the appointment.  

Other developments include "talking".  H likes to carry on full conversations with us, especially while being rocked and at the end of nursing sessions.  

Henry is eating every 3 hours during the day abs every 2 hours in the evening in an attempt to "stock up" for nighttime.  He still gets up between 2-5 times a night-sometimes to eat and sometimes we just comfort him.  Clearly, he isn't self-soothing yet :)  We start bedtime between 6:30 and 7:30, with a goal of 7pm pjs, story, rocking and last feeding...sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  

We love our little guy and can't wait to see how he continues to develop!

Henry-6 weeks old (video)

I've finally figured out how to get video's to the blog-upload them to YouTube first :).  I've been taking one or two short videos on my iPhone every week to document Henry's progress and development.  Here's Henry at 6 weeks old:

More to come!

Time Flies-11 weeks old

Time has been going sooo fast!  I can't believe that Henry is 11 weeks old today, it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital on a cold, snowy January day.  Henry has been advancing and growing every single day!  Just yesterday, he learned to roll from his belly to his back.  He also is becoming more vocal and will "talk" and "sing" to us.  Henry smiles as well and we think he's getting close to laughing!  He's enjoying baths more and is kicking the water in his little tub. He is starting to reach for toys and other objects in front of him.  We get so much joy in watching him grow and change.

I did a full 7 days of strict elimination and then started adding foods back into my diet.  I started with fruits and veggies (except broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, onions), then peanuts, dark chocolate (no dairy) and a little bit of wheat products (graham crackers, pretzels, wraps).  I haven't added beans, eggs or dairy yet.  We think it's been helpful but since we started probiotics at the same time (and he grows and develops every day), it's really hard to stay what is working and what isn't.  I'm considering getting him NAET or muscle tested for allergies so we can speed up the process of identifying what (if any) food sensitives he has or if it's just colic as he still has fussy periods.  I thought maybe it was just normal but my Mom said none of us ever cried like Henry does, like he's in pain sometimes.  As our CNP Allyson said, he will continue to get more rugged and durable every day.    

Shortly, I'll be returning to work and we've decided to have a full-time (40 hours per week) nanny come to take care of Henry.  We chose to have someone come to our home to care for Henry because on the days I'm working from home I'll still be able to breastfeed, he will get individualized care and there is less chance that he will get sick because of less exposure to other little ones.  In a couple of years, I want to transition him to a day care setting for socialization, possibly a Montessori school.  Finding the right person to care for him has been a process!  I found someone I really liked but she decided to work for another family instead...bummer.  I've been reminding myself that the right person is out there and they will come to us.  We have more interviews scheduled for this week and I'm hopeful to find a good fit for our family.  After all, they will be caring for our most precious asset!

And of course, a few photos:

8 week well check visit

On Wednesday Henry went to the pediatrician for his 8 week well check visit. We met with CNP Allyson, who was awesome! She spent an hour with us answering questions about sleep schedules, vaccinations, development and gas :). I'm so so glad that Chris was able to meet me there, two sets of ears is better than one.

Here are the stats: 10lbs 8 oz and 22.5 inches long. H received two vaccinations (we are breaking them up so he doesn't have so many at once). There were a few areas of concern-both ours and Allyson's:

1. Gas. My oh my, our baby has gas! I wouldn't mind except it really bothers him (like crying in pain, wakes him up at night). H is starting on probiotics and I'm going to "food jail" (aka the elimination diet) to find out if its something I'm eating. Common causes are dairy, eggs, peanuts, soy, green veggies. Once this is under control it should help with issue #2.

2. Sleep schedules. I return to work in 3 weeks and we need to be on some sort of schedule around here. H had been getting up every three hours to eat and had gas in between so not much solid sleep for momma. I'm a light sleeper, especially when it comes to our baby so I was getting very broken sleep. We are working toward a set schedule with 2 hour naps and power feeding (feed every two hours) in the evenings to fill up the tank before bedtime. We are going in to soothe at nighttime wake ups and see if he goes back to sleep and if not, then feed. Allyson said at 10 lbs Henry should be able to go 6 hours at night between feedings. She also said the nighttime feedings were also contributing to nighttime gas (what goes in must come out).

3. Congenital Torticollis. Basically, the muscles in the left side of H's neck are really tight from his position in the womb so he favors turning his head to the right. We are going to see a PT a couple of times to get some exercises to stretch it out. (Wish our favorite PTA Brittany lived closer :)).

All in all, a very productive visit! It was do nice to have time to discuss our concerns and work through them with Allyson. Even though its only been 2 days, we think things are improving! There seems to be less gas/ fussiness and H is sleeping longer at night-he slept from 9pm to 4:30am last night! Amazing!

And now, for some photos:

Hey, I have a tongue!

Our smiley boy!

Bath time!

Post-bath, moving quick!

Playing makes me tired!

Henry- week 5

First of all, 5 weeks old-where does time go?!?! Oh yeah, it's spent nursing...a lot. We've been rewarded with growing! H is now up to 8lbs 2oz (weighted at my nursing moms group). He also is officially out of the newborn diapers and into size 1's. The newborn sized clothes will be next, as they are getting short in the sleeves and are exposing his starting-to-be chubby wrists.

Henry is really starting to enjoy his play mat while on his back-tummy time is still not so fun. He really is starting to move those arms and legs and he coos and talks to the other baby, the one in the mirror.

The weather is starting to turn here so we've enjoyed lots of walks in the stroller and in the carrier.

Henry had his first nap in his crib. I'm slowly getting him comfortable with it so he can transition to it full time before info back to work. I left the nursery door cracked so I could peek in on him and Lila had to check on him several times, I couldn't keep her out of the nursery!

Henry-4 weeks old

Henry's now 4 weeks old, wow that went by fast :). We've loved having our little guy and watching him grow and change every single day.

We certainly aren't in any sort of schedule yet as Henry rules the roost around here (he wakes every 1.5-4 hours to eat) but there are some things that we try to accomplish every day like tummy time/playing on the play mat and reading stories. He loves to be swaddled or ride in the baby bjorn and makes lots of funny faces when he's tired. Some days we live by the 5 S's from Happiest Baby On the Block (swaddle, suck, side/stomach, swing and shush) but overall he's a great baby. He's becoming more vocal and alert when he's playing or we are holding him. He's also very noisy when eating,lots of loud gulps! Thankfully, Henry doesn't cry when Max and Lila bark and usually sleeps through it.

Chris gave him his first bottle yesterday and he took it down no problem (5.5 oz). My lactation consultant suggested leaving the house for the first bottle (as it can be very emotional for Mom) but Chris wanted me around in case there were any issues. All I was needed for was taking a photo :)

Henry's Newborn Photo Shoot

When Henry was 12 days old, he had his second photo shoot (he was one day old in his first one) with the photographer (and C's cousin's wife) that will be taking images of his first year.  Stephanie took photos of C and I when Chris "retired" from the Army in 2010.  We are so grateful that Stephanie was able to squeeze us in-she drove 1.5 hours early on a Sunday morning to photograph him at our home!  You can check out more of Stephanie's work here at her website and blog.  There are so, so many great photos-I'm having a hard time deciding my favorites but here are a few from the day.  We tried to use props from our house in the images.  The brown basket is Henry's toy basket and was a Christmas gift from C's parents and the red cedar crate is very special to us, it was made by C's grandpa (Henry's great-grandpa) out of cedar that was cut from their property.  We love having the crate as part of our home!

Not sure how I'm going to pick which ones to get printed :)

Henry-3 weeks

Henry celebrated being 3 weeks old with a trip to the pediatrician in the morning and meeting some of his great grandparents and great aunt and uncle (Sandy and Jeff) in the afternoon-what a big day!

Henry has had lots of other visitors this week- Aunt Alicia, Grandpa and Grandma, Aunt Brittany and Dustin, Aunt Danielle, Oma, great aunt Donna abs cousin Deon! We've enjoyed all the family time.

Henry now weighs 6lbs 12 oz (31st percentile). He's 20.5 inches long (5th percentile). So he's getting (a bit) bigger! Our next visit is in 5 weeks for the 2 month check up (and the dreaded vaccinations).

Henry is still eating every 3 or so hours and spends some time in the mornings and the afternoons on his play mat and using his high contrast art cards. He also enjoys time in his swing. We've started something new this week-tummy time!

Max and nurse Lila

We've had lots of inquires of how Max and Lila are adapting to having a baby in the house and so far, it's going great! We introduced them to Henry's scent by having them sniff his hospital hat. At the beginning, Max wasn't very interested in Henry but he's coming around. As long as someone is still tossing the ball, Max is happy.

Lila, on the other hand, immediately went to the baby and is very interested in every move and sound Henry makes. She inspects his nursery and patrols the perimeter when we are in there. She sits with us when he is nursing and tries to lick him every chance she gets. If Max gets too close to Henry, she growls at him. We joke that Henry is her baby :).

Overall, I'd say they they are adjusting just fine.

Henry-2 weeks

Some photos of Henry on his 2 week birthday! I gave him a bath, minimal crying but he did pee in the tub and we hung out at home, playing and reading stories.

Nursery-Final Product

I meant to post this before the baby came but things happen (like going into labor a week early).  Luckily, we finished the nursery the previous weekend but it took me a while to get photos of our completed work.  We attempted to keep things very neutral because we didn't know that Henry was a "he" until he arrived!

I posted a sneak peek a few weeks ago with some of the finish details, you can check it out here.

I attempted to stick on a budget with the project and receiving the crib as a gift certainly helped.  We also refinished a dresser from my childhood (repainted and new hardware), bought our glider on Craigslist, used paint we had from the previous house, re-purposed curtains from the living room, bought the rug at a furniture outlet and the bookshelf was a floor model so we got 20% off.  Still, preparing for baby is not cheap :).  We were so blessed to have a few baby showers to get us set up.

Henry is sleeping in a Pack N Play bassinet in our room right for the foreseeable future but we've got his crib ready to go:

View of the crib and rug

We use this changing station at night.  Love having the diapers stacked on the wall for easy access.  During the day when we are downstairs, we use our other Pack N Play for changing and naps.  Yes, we have two and it is so nice with a two story house-I definitely recommend!

Between the crib and the closet, we have the glider and bookshelf-which doubles as a stand for the lamp and gives me a place to put things during nursing sessions.

Close up!  I love the embroidered lampshade but it think this lamp may be a bit too bright for night time feedings.  I'm considering getting a smaller lamp or nightlight as an alternative.

That's it so far!  Now that Henry is here, I would like to make some artwork for above his crib.  Something a bit more "boy" :).

Mom or Dad?

I found one of Chris and my baby photos to compare with Henry...so do you think he looks more like Mom or Dad?

Chris-4 Weeks Old

Sonya-4 Weeks Old

Henry, 1 Day Old

I think he's got C's mouth and eyes and my nose and hair :)