7 Months

I'm 7 months old!

I'm getting really bad at posting Noah's monthly updates in a timely manner! So without further ado, here's what Noah is up to at 7 months.

• We've moved on to size 3 diapers. He's kind of swimming in them, but size 2s seemed small around his thighs.
• He wears 6-9 month clothing. Most 6 month stuff is too short, but most 9 month stuff is too roomy.
• He weighs around 16.5 pounds.
• His eyes haven't seemed to change much this month. They are still a vivid brown at the center, and a hazel, bluish, greyish mix on the outside. They are so beautiful.
• His fuzzy hair is getting longer and longer. He still looks pretty bald though, because it's so fine and light.
• He drinks around 25 oz of BM/formula per day. I pump between 16-20oz these days, and nurse him once each morning. The rest comes in the form of formula.
• With the discovery of carrots came a renewed interest in solid foods. He's tried sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, applesauce, peas, and prunes. Peas and prunes caused gagging and eye watering. Can't say I blame him. He's also tried some mashed potatoes, which he smacked around like a dog eating peanut butter, and some sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving. He didn't seem impressed.
• Sleep is slowly getting better. Since about 2 weeks ago, he has slept through the night more nights than not (about 8-6 or 9-7). But he reserves the right to wake me up several times for a bad night here and there.
• He sits up like a pro now, although there's the occasional topple backwards, usually when he's tired or trying to reach for something.
• We finally have true babbling. He likes to say "ah-da-da-da" the best. No "ma-ma-mas" yet, and I'm not pushing it. I think it's silly when moms and dads fight over which sounds they make. Aside from babbling, he loves to make "grrrr" noises. And when I say "hi" to him, he often replies back with little "ahs" and "ha's."
• He recently started sucking his lips in, smacking his mouth, and making an "mmmmm" sound. It's pretty funny to watch.
• Crawling appears to be on the horizon. He can push himself up onto his hands and knees, then he rocks forward and back. A couple of times he's been able to move an arm or scoot his knees forward. Usually once he tries to move, his legs just collapse under him though.
• He rolls all over the place. I think he's starting to realize this is a form of getting where he wants to go. He can roll towards toys to get them within reach, and rolls towards mom and dad.
• He can pass toys from hand to hand (probably since 5 months, actually), and is getting very good at grabbing exactly what he wants.
• He stands with support.
• When playing peek-a-boo, he cranes his neck around corners and tries to find where I went. I love that he's trying to find me. And when I pop back into view, I get the most heart-melting giggles.
• He has 2 good naps a day (1-2 hours), with an occasional shorter nap in the early evening. It all depends on when he wakes up. We're still not on a clear schedule, but it doesn't really bother me.
• This month when we took his official picture, he noticed that we were putting a sticker on him. He promptly grabbed it off and tried to eat it. We couldn't take the picture until mommy finally snuck the sticker on without him noticing.
• Noah is completely obsessed with tags. If his toy has a tag on it, he'll grab at it and suck on it instead of playing with the toy. He's also discovered tags on his bouncer, changing pad cover, boppy pillow, and clothes. And he loves them all. This actually isn't a new habit. He's been obsessed with tags since maybe 5.5 months. I've just forgotten to mention it until now.

In other news, he came down with his first cold over the Thanksgiving holiday break. It's mostly just been a stuffy, runny nose. It hasn't seemed to bother him much though, thankfully.

Playing after the feast

Last night we attended a party for a pregnant friend. The party was to reveal the sex of their baby. They had a baker make a cake with either pink or blue dye, so that when they cut into it, we all found out at once. (It's a girl!) Another friend of mine was there with her 6 week old baby girl. I held her for a while, and realized I've completely forgotten how to hold a newborn! It also made me realize how much I love the age Noah is at now. He's so interactive and playful, yet still very much a cuddly, sweet baby. While I'm excited that he's meeting milestones on time and getting ready for big boy skills, it also makes me kind of sad. Before I know it, he won't be my little baby anymore. And I'm so not ready for that! Time needs to slow down for a while.

His best buddy, Wilson. (My "nanny's" 10.5 month old.)

Little Turkey

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for the miracles of modern day science. Especially this one...

And yes, I'm thankful for my family, too.

Happy 1st Thanksgiving, Noah. Thank you for making me a Mommy.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

When Brian and I first moved to the Denver area 5 years ago, we were the only married couple out of all of the friends I made in grad school. It followed suit that we would be the first to have a baby. But wow, they are now following close behind! Every last good friend I've made here is either pregnant, or a new mommy herself. It's been oddly difficult for me at times to be around so many baby bumps, but I'm truly happy for each and every one of them. It's not the same bitter jealousy that I once felt around random pregnant people. It's more of a feeling of "oh how I loved and miss being pregnant." I have a couple of friends who have been dealing with infertility as well. This week, I found out that one of them is finally pregnant! She *should* have a baby about 3 weeks older than Noah, but she lost her baby at 8 weeks last fall. It was heartbreaking to go through that with her, and I felt so guilty since I went on to have my baby. She's now about 16 weeks and due around the same time of year I was. I am SO thrilled for her. I pray that her pregnancy stays uneventful, and come April, Noah will have a new friend (or by that time, about 5 new friends)! This is such a fun time in life!

6 Month Appointment

In my most tired moments I long for when Noah is a teenager, but only because at that age kids sleep. A LOT. At least I know I did. We finally introduced some formula to supplement my dwindling supply (although I have been able to pump a little more consistently). The last two nights I've mixed 3.5oz breastmilk with 2.5oz formula. Both nights he drank it like a champ. He was slower to fall asleep both nights, and he's woken up around 3:30am both times as well. And here I thought formula was supposed to help them sleep longer. Instead we seem to be going backwards. Oh well. If I've been able to hang in for 6 months, I know I can keep it up. And it all feels worth it when I'm burping him at 3:00am and he falls asleep on my shoulder. As much as I want to go back to sleep, I often wait a few extra minutes to enjoy his breath on my neck. Sometimes I miss the days where he would only nap if he was napping on me. Time goes so fast!

Last Thursday Noah had his follow-up ultrasound to check on his kidneys. (Just to recap, at our 20 week prenatal ultrasound, he was diagnosed with pyelectasis, which essentially means he had extra fluid in his kidneys. A follow up u/s at 6 weeks postpartum showed it was still there.) The tech said he still had some fluid in each, but that his bladder was really full which can sometimes cause that. We waited and waited for him to pee, but he wouldn't cooperate, so we gave up. Monday morning was his 6 month appointment. Our pediatrician checked the u/s results and delivered the not so stellar news. Basically, at this point they expected his kidneys to be fluid-free. Since they aren't, he has to have a procedure called a cystogram in which they stick a catheter up his urethra, inject dye up into his bladder, and then watch where it goes. If there's a problem with the valves in his bladder, then the dye will make its way to his kidneys. If that happens, they rate the severity of the problem on a scale of 1-5. A score of 1-3 is okay, in that he will just continue to be monitored by a urologist. A score of 4-5 though and we start to discuss surgery. I guess at his age, the odds of that are miniscule, and since he's never had any sort of urinary infection, it's very unlikely. But still, no one wants to hear the word "surgery" for their baby. He'll have the cystogram done next Friday.

Aside from all of that, Noah is a long little peanut. He weighed in at 15lbs, 9.5oz (13th %ile) and measured 27" (65th %ile). He's getting more and more personality each day. He is starting to babble instead of making random shrieks and grunts, and it's so fun to babble back at him. When I feed him these days, he likes to reach up and grab at my face. Today (11/7) I pretended to eat his fingers, which highly amused him. Each day he also gets better at sitting on his own. Wow, they grow up TOO fast!

It's so hard to leave him every morning, but he's in amazing hands. I guess I haven't elaborated much on "daycare." Every day, one of my friends makes a 30 minute commute to my house to watch Noah along with her 10 month son. On Wednesdays she leaves her son home with her husband and Noah gets one-on-one care. There's no way we're paying her what she's worth, especially considering she often goes out of her way to clean the dishes and kitchen, and she sends me picture messages and takes videos of him. I love her and feel so lucky to have such an extraordinary friend!