Joshua's 6 Month Update

Today was the dreaded appointment but he actually did very well after the shots. Before them it was like he knew they were coming because he started crying but we got him calmed down right before. He cried afterwards but as soon as he was in the car he was asleep. Slept while we went to Wendy's to get food and then until we picked him up out of the car seat. The only drawback of the new, bigger car seat is we can't take him into the house in it like his newborn seat. So if he's asleep it usually wakes him up to take him out, oh well.

So here are his stats:

16lbs 4oz - 29th% down from the 50% at 4 months. (I totally thought he was 17lbs, he sure feels heavy!)

26.25in - 55th% up from the 25th%

44.5cm head - 73rd% down from the 90th%

She thinks (as we do) that he had a reaction to the rice cereal so she wants us to lay off of it for a while. He just may not have been ready for it. We tried oatmeal on Saturday (his half birthday) and he has been doing pretty well with it. Today we tried sweet potato. She just said to go slow. Go through all the stage 1 before we go to stage 2 and no meat before 9 months. We will probably get through all the new, stage 1 foods in about a month to a month and a half so definately by 8 months we'll be on to stage 2.

She wants us to start giving him a sippy cup to hopefully wean him off the bottle by 1yr. Also wants him weaned off his paci by then but I think that will be tougher. I'm not going to worry about the paci issue right now though, I think we have enough to deal with. I told her that if it's not the paci then it's me and she said he may self wean but he may not so at least she understands that it's me or the paci and it can't always be me.

We talked to her about him sitting up as he's not doing it quite yet. She said that at this age it's ok. She got him to sit up for just a second which is what he should be doing. By 7-8 months he should be able to sit up which is when we'll be doing stage 2 foods.

On Saturday we had a little half birthday celebration for him. We got a cake (for us) and put him in a birthday boy onesie with a little happy birthday hat and took some pics.

Joshua's is 6 Months Old!

Today my baby is 6 months old! It's so very hard to believe. I have no idea where these 6 months have gone but I'd like them back. We had his portraits done yesterday at J.C. Penney and I am so pleased with the entire experience and how well the photos came out. We haven't gotten them back yet but I know they will look great, these came off their website.

His appointment isn't until Wednesday so you will have to wait until then to hear how big he is. I am thinking about trying oatmeal and/or bananas before we go. I know it's only a few more days but it will be easier to try on a weekend. Pretty sure we're not going back to rice cereal as I'm fairly certain that was the reason for his behavior issue, well that and teething. He has been much better lately so I'm fairly sure he doesn't have a cow's milk problem.

Today we are going to do a little mini party for him. We got him a toy, a birthday boy onesie and birthday hats. I'm also going to get a small cake. We'll do a bigger party next week when we're on vacation which he'll share with his dad and his aunt who have birthdays in June. Then we'll have a cake with all their names on it and a few more people to celebrate with. I am so excited about going on vacation! It will be Joshua's first time in the water which hopefully will prepare him for his swim lessons in July.

Baby Talk

Talking Baby

Flying Baby!

Joshua's new car seat!

It arrived yesterday. It's the Britax Marathon and will last him until he's 65 pounds or 49 inches, which ever comes first. It actually makes him look little. Lately everything makes him look big, like his swing, chair & newborn car seat all make him look big. It was on sale which is why we bought it now, he can still comfortably sit in his original car seat but I couldn't pass up the great deal I got. It's MSRP is about $100 more than what I paid. They were running a sale and most seats were at least $40 off. I ordered it from http://www.travelingtikes.com/ and got free shipping! It's a bit big but it does fit in our small car which I was very relieved about. We did measure but I wanted to make sure it would fit.

These next few weeks are going to be very busy for us. Next Friday we are taking him to get his 6 month portraits taken. The following week I have my gyn annual appt and he has his 6 month appt. The following Sunday we are going on vacation for 6 days!! Joshua will see the beach and get in the pool for the first time. Oh and in July he will be taking swim lessons at the YMCA!

Joshua Laughing!

We've got laughter!

My First Mother's Day!

Saturday we spent with my mom and Sunday we spent with Jamie's family. It was an enjoyable first Mother's Day that I'll always remember.

Update

Last week Joshua was really fussy and Thursday was awful. He was screaming and crying for most of the day and it was very hard to calm him down. So we called our pediatrician's office. They wanted to rule out an ear infection but thought his symptoms very well could be teething. We brought him in and saw a resident from the hospital where Joshua was born who only comes into the office on Thursdays (our doctor wasn't in). He actually saw Joshua when he was in the NICU. Anyway, he asked us a bunch of questions and thought we should change his reflux medicine because it might not be working as effectively as before. He also wanted to check for a milk allergy (cow's milk, not momma's milk). We're pretty sure he was grasping for straws here as he doesn't know Joshua and didn't really know what to think.


Unfortunately the new reflux medicine (Prevacid) doesn't come in liquid (or so we're told). So we got dissoluble tablets. Ever tried giving one to a baby? Not easy. Even though they are strawberry flavored, Joshua wanted nothing to do with them. We tried letting them dissolve in his mouth and most of it came out. We tried a medicine syringe but most of it got stuck in the syringe. This is why we decided to give him rice cereal so we could mix the medicine in with it. He still didn't get very much. So he's either going back on the old medicine or he's not getting any until his 6 month appointment in 3 weeks.



Jamie brought in a diaper on Monday for them to test. There was a microscopic amount of blood in it. They said I should eliminate all dairy to see if that fixes the problem. Well, he hasn't been that fussy since Thursday. In fact, Monday he was a perfect angel and he's been pretty good yesterday & today too. Besides that we are pretty sure he's teething. He has all the classic signs: chewing & biting on his fingers, drooling like crazy and one spot on his gum is red. Also teething can make babies very fussy. So the only way we would know if the diary elimination had worked would be to have them test another diaper.



Jamie finally spoke to them today after playing phone tag Monday & Tuesday. I think he spoke with a nurse who said she didn't think the doctor knew we had just started him on rice cereal. I read that can cause trace amounts of blood as any new food can plus it is known to cause constipation which can definitely cause the blood. She agreed. She said to stop the rice cereal and also not give him any new foods until after his 6 month appointment in 3 weeks. We are to bring in another dirty diaper then for them to test. The best part of all is that she said I would not have to eliminate all dairy even if he has an allergy! So I don't have to totally give up chocolate! YAY!

Joshua eats rice cereal for the first time!!

Joshua eats rice cereal for the VERY FIRST TIME!!

He was switched from liquid Zantac to disolvable Prevacid tablets. We tried to put them in his mouth and use a medicine spoon to give them to him but it didn't work very well. So we figured we might as well start him on rice cereal so we can mix his medicine in with it. He sure had fun!

Help!!

I've been told that you can't post comments on my blog. I tried and when I clicked on the link nothing happened. Help!! Please send me an e-mail at Betsy0040@aol.com if you can help.


Oh and so far we have:


Noah's Ark - 2 votes

Sesame Babies - 2 vote

Boy's Lil' Cupcake - 1 vote

I really like the Noah's Ark but it doesn't say Happy 1st Birthday. So I could potentially use that for his 2nd birthday. I think that since he only has 1 first birthday all the stuff should at least have a 1 on it, ya know? So maybe I should elimate Noah's Ark & Jungle Babies. That would put Sesame Babies in the lead.

Planning A Party + A Poll!

A friend of ours baby is having his 1st birthday party next week which got me to thinking about Joshua's party. I know I have over 6 months to plan it but I'm a planner so I'm gonna have it done way in advance. Here are the themes I am trying to choose from. Please leave me a comment and tell me your favorite! Right now my favorite is Noah's Ark but that can change at the drop of a hat.

Baby Einstein

Pooh's First Birthday

1st Cupcake

Jungle Buddies

Noah's Ark

Sesame Babies

Lil' Prince

Boy's Lil' Cupcake

Just Ducky

Trying to Sit-Up

He's still learning.