Owens 7.5 month update

Really behind on the updates lately. Missed 6 months so thought I'd catch up with 7 months, and here we are 17 days late. To top it all off he's gone crazy getting mobile.

So he has been army crawling since just before Tim deployed in late September. The other day (14 November) he finally connected the dots and began crawling on all 4's. For several weeks he was doing 2-3 steps with all 4 crawling but all of a sudden he just did it. It was so cute too. He was in the middle of the room, shifted to all 4, and started crawling to Anna. I cheered him on and he just kept going. I was SO excited and snagged a cell phone video of it. Then I changed his diaper and left him over there and he did it again, all the way to Anna. Leiland was excited and cheering him one, calling Owen to him too. Owen started then dodged him to crawl around Leiland to get to Anna. It was hilarious, and Leiland was rather bummed to say the least.

Now that he has been crawling a few days he doesn't do all 4 100% of the time but probably 60-70% of the time he will get up one 4. In the past couple weeks he has quickly started pulling up on things too. Today I set hi outside the bathroom so I could help Leiland with his hands and teeth - less than a minute he was standing up holding onto the exersaucer. He tries to do more than he can just yet and falls over a few times a day. Usually he doesn't cry too much with bumping his head but this week it seems to be getting to him more than usual.

I've been told and on occasion experienced times where learning new things interrupts sleep - but he seems to be doing ok. Some nights he will wake a few hours after going to bed to nurse again, then back to sleep. This is usually anywhere between 9-11pm most nights when he wakes. Id say he is waking at night like this 2-3 times a week. And most nights he slept till 8am. Sometimes he wakes at 6-7am to come nurse and go back to sleep in my bed. Once this week he woke around 2am but went back to his crib at 230 and slept till the morning. So overall pretty good at sleeping. The few wake ups aren't really bothering me too much since he just eats and goes to sleep.

Owen is a dream when it comes to sleep at home. He goes in his crib and goes to sleep with little or no fuss at all. He usually naps around 10am and 2pm. Bed is between 7-8pm most nights. Being out and about definitely throws that all off but he still goes to bed so nicely. I usually play his little elephant with lullabies and put the star turtle on. He might fuss when I am still standing there but once the door is closed he just rolls over and goes to sleep.

Right now Owen is eating 2x a day. I try to feed him breakfast and dinner, but we are pretty close to adding a 3rd session. He seems like he wants more and freaks if you are eating and he isn't. He prefers puree food over solids just yet. I can give him banana and he just spits it out unless its in his little boon silicone feeder. He loves it in there, but not as pieces. I gave him olives and bits of breadstick and 90% made it to the flood. He puts it in his mouth and spits it out. He likes puffs but many get spit back out. He doesn't like to chew on food at all. But he likes purees and he eats quite a lot of it. He is a bit of a picket eater too. He HATES peas, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans. Peas are the worst, he actually acts like he might puke. Sometimes he does ok if I mix them with other foods, but Im not pushing it right now. He likes yogurt a lot but I think it makes him puke more. Or I just notice it more because it smells FOUL when he pukes after yogurt. I make most of our baby food and buy what I can't find to make myself. I also like bought food for when we are out and about  sometimes its just easier because Im a terrible planner some days.

Owen is still nursing pretty good. He's had a few bottles the last few weeks. One for me to go to the dentist, and another at a birthday party for convenience (and so grandma could feed him). I nurse whenever he wants, but he gets SO distracted, even at home. Leiland talking or playing makes him stop and not want to go back. I used to time it to nurse in the car, but now the steering wheel is too distracting. He will only nurse when out and about it seems when he is tired. He won't go to sleep but he will stop moving long enough to get some milk. I don't ever feel like he empties me or I feel like I don't have enough milk for him because he doesn't seem to nurse a whole lot these days.

With him not nursing a lot Im worried my period will be back soon, but so far still nothing. Weight is stagnant at 180 - where I started when I got pregnant.

Owen still has no teeth and isn't saying any words just yet. But he is starting to babble a little more. He does however wave now and its so adorable. He also started hitting all surfaces to hear the sound they make. We are using baby sign language and last night he was trying to make a sign with his hands, it was so precious.

Love my little Owen and his crazy little personality. He goes non stop during the day. He seriously does not sit still and cuddle. He just wants to be down playing. If I am holding him he is doing flips to reach something or trying to hang upside down. He is uber ticklish. The other day in the bath just ringing out the washcloth over his back made him squirm.

I don't know what he weighs, but he is something around 18 pounds would be my guess. He is in 12 month clothes and wore an 18 month onsie the other day. Stop growing so fast little man. And he is in size 3 diapers still.

So proud

Tonight I am so proud of Owen. We have been working lately on him going to bed on his own and he does really great with it most times. Its been really hard to be super consistent because he shares with Leiland and I can't let him lay in there and fuss if Leiland is sleeping already. But every chance I get I put him in awake. He usually gets all happy to see all the animals in the bedding then fusses for a few minutes before I go in and just reassure him he is ok, then he will toss around fussing a bit and usually fall asleep. He never really cries unless he is WAY overtired but talks in a disgruntled tone.

Tonight (after a long day at the air show) he took a bath with Leiland then played with Anna a bit. I got Leiland dressed and he slept in my bed because Anna is staying over and is in his bed. SO then I notice Owen is indeed tired - no surprise - so I take him from the living room where he is playing and laughing with Anna, lay him in bed, and within 5-6 minutes he has rolled over and fallen asleep. No fussing at all.

Most likely he was just super tired - but either way I will take it - he went to bed all on his own. Last night he also slept through the night. Went to bed great then slept all night - crazy.

He's getting too big on me. Love him though. Leiland was much older when he started going to bed on his own - Owens only 5 months but he is a finger sucker - so that seems to really help. YAY Owen.

more pictures

These eyes amaze me  -  what a beautiful color











5 month update

Holy cow - how is this little man 5 months old already? Some days it feels like it came out of nowhere then others I feel like he's been here forever. Life is not the same as it was before him - its new and so special with him as an addition. We all just love our Owen and his awesome spirit.

So rolling is simple and easy to do these days - every direction and all over the floor. Consequently he does the same in the crib. ALL OVER the place lol. But thats ok - he has fun with it. However this means he is not very safe in my bed anymore. He can squirm to the end of the bed SO quickly.

Owen has decided to get mad at me every time he sees anyone eating real food. He launches his body to plates of food and gets his hands in and on EVERYTHING he can reach. Not cool dude. But only a few more weeks and we will be starting solids.

He is sitting really well but has no real interest in it, he always goes to his belly within a minute or two. He manages to scoot backwards but hasn't figured out crawling just yet. He pushes up on his arms really well and tries to pull his legs under but if I try to place him on all 4's he gets mad and instantly flails outward. On his tummy he looks like he is swimming. Its adorable.

He still refuses all pacifiers but still loves his two fingers - everyone likes to comment on them. Most people ask if he's teething when no its just that he likes to suck his fingers. Its adorable as could be but I do not look forward to breaking the habit down the road. On a good note though he has taken 3 bottles in the last 2ish weeks. I gave the first one and he played for 20 minutes then finally took it. The next day we had a date night while he stayed with grandma - played a bit again but still took it. Then yesterday I gave another (because I would have to toss it soon otherwise) and he didn't even play but just drank it. The two I gave him he fell asleep to as well.

Because he's taken a few I have pumped a few times. I try to not over pump but I have been leaking lately so yesterday after he took the bottle I pumped. It seems to be mostly my right side that leaks, but they have both been known to embarrass me. Maybe I need some new breast pads.

Sleeping wise Owen is doing pretty good - he naps 2-3 times a day. 1/2 the time or so he lays in there awake and falls asleep on his own. At night he wakes once in the early morning and comes in my bed to nurse and sleep a little more. I think its usually between 4-6am that he wakes but I am usually really tired so I couldn't say for sure.

Lately Owen doesn't seem to be as talkative - not sure why but he just isn't talking too much. He drools insane amounts but still no teeth. He loves Leiland - man those two are so sweet together and Owen just adores his brother so much already (I know thats pretty common with siblings lol). He is the happiest baby I know - so easy to coax a smile. He will grab your face and try to eat you if you get close enough. LOVES to play with hair and will sit on your lap and just watch whats happening around him.

Right now Owen nurses every 3-4 hours. Usually right at 3 hours. He nurses just one side every feeding and for about 6-12 minutes. Sometimes he falls asleep and will go about 20 minutes but not always. He uses his top arm to cover his eyes up and never looks at me. If anyone is talking (especially Leiland) he can't stand to nurse and will just try to roll over and flip upside down in order to see what he is missing.

We've just started introducing a few baby signs. I use all done and milk through the days. I am reteaching Leiland as well so he can use them and understand what Owen is saying if Owen takes to them. Owen is also still on reflux meds. He can't miss more then a dose here and there or he is puking a significant amount more and it will take a few days to get back to his normal. I am taking him in tomorrow to weight him just to see if the dosing should be up any more because I always want to make sure he has the right dose. He is still on the zantac though. Leiland was moved off this much sooner than Owen - but I have always believed Owen's wasn't as bad as Leilands was.

Thats in for now. Now a few pictures. Sorry if they are out of order or not from month 4-5. Trying over here.


















4 month update

So we missed 3 months, oops. I will make a bigger update, but we moved.

So yesterday was Owen's 4 month appt a few days early.
14 pounds 4 oz
25" long
head was 17"
3-6m clothes (just starting 9m onsies for length)
Size 3 diapers (just moved up this week)

So he is growing good. We upped his zantac prescription to 1.5ml based on his weight. He was starting to show some more signs of reflux getting worse, but I knew it was likely we just needed to revamp his prescription.

So things have been crazy so I will try to remember things and make it pretty quick.

Owen rolls, Front to back and back to belly. I think he forgot he could roll belly to back though. He likes playing on the floor and being under his toys not he activity mat. Because he can roll he has a habit of doing it the second you lay him down. He rolled back to belly July 12th for the first time. Just needed a few days of being able to try once we moved into this apartment. June 11 was the first time he rolled belly to back.

Now we have crazy belly laughs. First laugh was 25 June - eek.

Owen has fallen into being a great little napper. His schedule right now is waking around 730, up till 9sih and down for a nap till about 11-12. He gets up and then goes back down usually between 2-3. He will sleep till 4-530 usually then up till bedtime around 7-830 depending on the day. He rarely nurses to sleep. Although he doesn't usually use the pacifier anymore he will use it when I hold him to get him to sleep. I put it in and turn him in like he's nursing (to hold the pacifier in place) and he falls asleep usually within a few minutes. I just pat on his little bottom. Lately he nurses every 3-4 hours. Usually right on at 3 hours. At night he sleeps only waking 1 time is the norm. Last week there were a few nights of 3-4 wakings.

Owen is in the crib now for naps and bedtime. He is just too squirmy to keep in the bed anymore. The boys are sharing a room and so far it hasn't been as issue with Owen waking Leiland or Leiland waking Owen. I lay him on his back or side and he usually instantly rolls to his tummy. It took two days once he learned to do it for him to not freak about it. He didn't used to prefer being on his tummy but now he does like that for sleeping.

He doesn't take the pacifier much anymore because now he much prefers his fingers. He favors his right hand and his middle and ring finger. He has started sucking his thumb all the way to having the whole fist in his mouth. Its adorable and I love that he can soothe himself.

Like Leiland, he HATES the car. He is SO happy and easy going until you get in the farm its miserable. There could be worse things, but its gotten to the point that I avoid going anywhere I have to drive more then 10 minutes because its seriously miserable. He even begun a new cry that just tugs at me and makes me start to cry. He also no longer wants to go in the ergo unless he's going to sleep. If he isn't tired he just cries in it. I don't think he likes how constricted he feels. He wants to kick and move and I guess it doesn't give him that freedom he wants. Hopefully he grows to like it.

Lastly Owen is doing great holding onto his toys and chewing EVERYTHING. He loves fingers, toys, necklaces, and whatever he can get his little hands on. He won't play with them when on his tummy but loves them on his back.

Picture time.....
26 June


3 Months old
4th of July

































Baby Owen 2 month update

Holy cow he's 2 months already? Sure is going fast. He's been doing better since being on reflux medication. I have reintroduced dairy and can say that maybe he is a little more gassy but not much difference so I'm not completely cutting it out but trying to limit quantity.

Owen really likes his play mat. He is just starting to swat at his toys. He listens intently when we read books. He is not a fan of the car seat. Still takes the pacifier but not as often. He really likes chewing his hands. When he is resting in a good mood he kicks his feet a ton. It's pretty adorable. 

Owen is beginning to chatter more often and I love baby talk. He will hold my finger when falling asleep and nursing. He loves being held and wakes most times when put down. We're working on that though. 

I'll have his height and weight on Wednesday. 

Size 3m clothes
Size 1 diapers

smiles at 4 weeks 4 days old



Owen and Austin






Leiland on the left and Owen on the right - both right at 8 weeks old