7 Months

Little Jimmy is over 7 months old, and I am falling more in love with him by the minute.  It's that stupid, smile when you think about him kind of love.  Everyday I picked him up from the babysitters this past month was like Christmas morning.  He'd be playing in a bouncer quietly by himself.  I'd come in and say, "Hi!"  His face would light up as he looked towards me.  Every moment with him is beautiful.   

 A parenting book I'm reading called Bright from the Start mentions that there are three personality types that babies can be:  easy, difficult (intense, active, spirited, uninhibited- all fall under this umbrella), slow-to-warm-up (cautious, inhibited, slow-to-adapt).  James definitely fits in the easy category.  He smiles when you smile, eats solids like a champ, takes naps, and loves to explore the world.

This month James seems to have grown tremendously.  He now sits up on his own without toppling over! He stands in his activity saucer and can be pulled to standing position while we're just holding his hands!  No crawling or scooting, he's still just a roller.  : )

J has been eating tons of food and has enjoyed everything we've given him so far: rice cereal, sweet potatoes, chicken, peas, pears, carrots, apricots, and apples.  He eats twice a day- once at noon and again around seven for dinner.  All in all, he eats 8-12 ounces of food each day in addition to nursing 5 to 6 times.  This might explain all of the growing he's doing; I'd say he's right around 16 pounds.

James' sleep habits have been off-the-hook wonderful (knock on wood).  He takes two naps during the day IN HIS CRIB, then goes to sleep from 8ish until 6ish.  B-e-a-u-t-y.  We still swaddle him and let him sleep with his pacifier, which looks something like this, except with his eyes closed and in his bed.

Perhaps the biggest event of the month was James' Christening at Good Shepherd. 

It was a precious moment to see him baptized.  We were so happy to have our family there for the occasion- especially his Godparents who traveled from out of town!  

James wore a gown and bonnet (hehe- I couldn't help myself with the bonnet, it was too cute).  The gown was made from a bolt of fabric Great Grandpa Perko brought back from Japan when he was in the occupation army back in World War II.  When he brought the bolt back, he gave it to his 'old-maid aunts' who made it into three Christening gowns- one for Laura, her twin Diane, and one of their cousins.  In addition to McGrandma wearing it, Aunt Caitlin wore it as well.  Many people have asked why Kyle wasn't baptized in it.  Well, Laura's mom didn't tell her about the gown until Caitlin was born a few years after Kyle.  Our guess is that she didn't think boys should wear dresses.  : )

 

After the church service, we had a brunch at my parents' house.  All in all, a great day.

Everyday with James is something new.  A coworker told me this week, "each age just gets better."  I'm finding that to be very true.  Who knows what joys 8 months will bring... 

6 Months

Each month with James just keeps getting better and better.  This one started off with my spring break.  Our family spent a few days in St. Louis before heading to our real Spring Break destination- ST.JAMES! You guessed it- we went wild!  It was little man's first time spending the night at the Land.  He woke up one to two times each night, which wasn't out of the ordinary.  One of the exciting things he did was accompany his grandma and me to my favorite grocery store.  He also helped Grandpa B record how many 'shrooms were on each mushroom log.  Most importantly, he found HIS FEET!  Little man found them and couldn't get enough! 

We spent the rest of spring break trying to get on a sleep schedule.  Thanks to the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, I learned Kyle and I were approaching James' sleep habits all wrong.  Emphasis on: ALL.  Here's a T-chart to give you an idea of our way vs. the right way.

Our Way                                                     The Right Way
keeping James up late                                Put baby to sleep when the sun goes
so  that he would sleep late                       down (usually btwn 7 and 8)
 (works for teenagers....)                            Babies should sleep from sunset
                                                                  to sunrise, starting their day no earlier
                                                                  than 7 am

letting him nap whenever,                          Have baby awake for about 1.5 hours,
wherever  (channeling our                         then let him nap for awhile, for a total
inner Shakira for that philosophy)              of 2-3 naps per day before starting
                                                                    the bedtime routine

put baby in crib sound asleep                     Put baby in crib slightly awake so he
                                                                    will learn to fall asleep on his own
                                                             
So yeah,  the book totally opened my eyes to what we were supposed to be doing!  Now that we're following the books suggestions, James' days are much more predictable and he is significantly more pleasant to be around.  When he does get cranky, I know he either hungry or ready for a nap.  I am so happy to have finally read the book.  Thanks to Bryan and Katie for recommending it!

James started eating solid foods this month!  I wanted to wait until 6 months, but I read an article from the Mayo Clinic that made me realize James was ready.  The article gave these three questions,

• Can your baby hold his or her head in a steady, upright position?
• Can your baby sit with support?
• Is your baby interested in what you're eating?

I answered an enthusiastic "YES" to all of three.  Plus, the Easter Bunny delivered rice cereal in James' basket!  The stars had truly aligned.

James LOVED eating cereal.  The first time eating it, he grabbed the spoon and yanked it towards his mouth.  It ended up being very messy.  Now he just sits there like a hungry baby bird and waits for the next bite. His mouth hangs open and he says, "Ahhhhhh."  Then the spoon goes in his mouth, and he squints his right eye.  I can't get enough of it.  I look forward to feeding him his dinner way more than I look forward to eating my own!

James also started rolling from his back onto his stomach this month.  He used to cause a loud raucous kicking and screaming when he tried to roll over because his arm would be in the way.  Now, he just rolls right over.  This new mobility means we're putting him down on one side of the room, and he'll end up on the other!  We've even come into his room in the morning to find him sleeping on his stomach.   Frankly, as long as he's asleep, we're cool with it.

Happy Half-Birthday, James Eugene!  You're turning into such a big boy!

3 Months: A Letter to James

 Dear James,

Wow baby, you've been having a blast this month!   You started out with Christmas and meeting so many new people. They loved you, you know. Of course they did. You are 11 lbs. of cuteness in your sweater and baby jeggings pajama jeans. The holidays were a little rough on your mommy and daddy because we just couldn't figure you out at family gatherings! Later in the evening around 9, momma would feed you, play with you, and then you'd fall asleep. You'd be passed around to grandma, grandpa, and your great aunts. Sound asleep and then... "Waaaaaah!" out-of-control crying. We'd leave the gathering with you screaming in your carseat. We'd be sad for allowing you to get to is point. I'm sorry buddy! We're new at this! We did figure out that you enter a trance when we turn on white noise on the radio. Thank goodness for that! One awesome thing: you slept through Christmas church so momma and daddy got to worship and sing carols. (mommy's favorite!)

Another of mommy's favorites is you sleeping through the night! On Christmas you slept from 11:44 to 6:32. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.   It was the perfect gift.  We all needed that sleep! 

We rang in the new year with you. You swung in your swing while we ate a delicious meal. We played with you on your gym- little kicker! Then we read books, you ate, and we all went to bed by 11. Can you believe how wild your parents are?  We're a little worried about you being a party animal when you're older.

We started talking baby talk to you is month. "Ma, ma, ma, da, da, da, James" is our favorite phrase to say to you.  (I'm only slightly offended that you smile more at the 'da, da, da' part) All of the goos and gahs, mahs and dahs have paid off- you're now talking back to us. I love watching your little mouth change shape as you start making new sounds. Your tongue moves around and you smile as you coo. It's amazing watching you develop language. 

You are sitting in our laps and looking at books when we read to you. It helps that you have better head control now- you even hate tummy time a little less these days. Can you believe it?  Your teacher (from Parents as Teachers) was impressed by your head control and hand-eye coordination.  She was so amazed that a 2.5 month old baby could look at something and decide to hit it.  Her eyes were wide as she watched you, and she told mommy and daddy, "This is really good, you know, for a 2.5 month old baby."  We just shrugged and said, "It's just what he does."  After she left, we praised you for being a genius and bought you this hat.

source

These days you eat like a champ. I can hardly believe we're a quarter of the way through nursing! It's such a part of our lives that I am not sure how to be a momma without it. Maybe this is greedy, but I love that it's time just between you and me.   You are becoming such a chunker- especially those arms! 

This past month we celebrated our first snow day together.  Mommy got up early to feed you since school hadn't been called off yet.  She sat there thinking about how great it would be to stay at home with you all day.  Then 15 minutes later daddy came in and said school was cancelled.  Mommy got her wish!  You started the day off with a bang by rolling over from front to back for the first (and only) time. We were all so excited for you!  The rest of the day was spent sleeping, kicking, eating, and reading.  It was perfect.

You mean the world to me buddy! I can't imagine loving anyone or anything as much as I love you! I look forward to spending the rest of my life watching you grow.

                                                                                    Love,
                                                                                      Mommy