9 months!

I know I didn't write an 8-month post, but it's been unreal how much Soren has learned to do and develop over the last 1-2 months! It's crazy!

Eating: Soren eats 3 'meals' a day now, and has 3 bottles during the day, then nurses at night. His meals usually consist of a a combo of fruit, veggie, protein, and/or carb. The pediatrician said he can eat normal food now except for ice cream and nut products. He LOVES vanilla yogurt, and will often have that with a fruit for breakfast. For lunch we've recently been doing deli meat or chicken breast, a carb (rice, brown rice, potatoes, oatmeal), and a veggie. For dinner, he'll have protein (yogurt/meat), fruit, and a veggie. Soren's pediatrician recommended we let him essentially 'play' with his food so he gets used to feeling and tasting different textures; she said that the more textures he's exposed to now, the better eater he'll be as he grows up. He's a great eater and will take pretty much anything you give him. However, since he's been teething, he hasn't been eating the best. He only eats 4 oz. bottles during the day normally, and when he's teething he'll do 3 oz. or less. He is mostly holding his own bottle now, but often gets lazy and has us hold it.

Sleeping: Oh jeez, still not great. We FINALLY were getting him to sleep 7 hours at a time consistently but then daylight savings and teething hit, and he now sleeps 5 hours, then is up every 1.5-2 hours. It's also getting difficult to get him down for his naps, he doesn't like rocking, and when we put him in his crib, he sits, then pulls up to the standing position which really wakes him up and keeps him stimulated. The last couple days, we've literally held him down with his paci in his mouth and rubbed his back and he was out in a minute or two. When he wakes up, he is instantly awake, bright eyed, crawling around, it's the weirdest thing and I'm slightly jealous ;-). So far he takes a morning nap and 2 afternoon naps. Over the last week or so, his naps have lengthened so he's sleeping for more than 30 mins. at a time. Sometimes we get 2-hour naps out of him, and it's glorious! We are beginning to do some crying it out with him, but we do go rub his back while he's crying and try to keep him in a laying down position in regular increments. He has no self-soothing skills yet and doesn't really have an attachment object to assist him in helping him fall back asleep, except for the paci. He doesn't know yet to look for the paci when he wakes up and put it back in his mouth. He wants to eat to fall back asleep and we are working on breaking that. It's hard at 2am to not just give in and nurse, but for now we're starting to take him off feed-to-sleeps at bedtime and naps. One day we'll get there, right?

Time for bed

What he *thinks* is a good idea instead of sleeping

Development: Soren has made leaps and bounds in the past month. I swear he learned to sit, crawl, crawl-to-sit, and pull to stand in 1.5-2 months time! I'm guessing he will likely be walking in the next month or two. He's developing some object permanence now and when we play peek-a-boo, he looks for us where we were hiding. He unfortunately does not stop for even a second when we say 'no', so that has been a real challenge, he'll just keep doing what he's doing, and sometimes he giggles. He is a pretty social little guy and has not yet developed stranger and separation anxiety, except with my brother's girlfriend (silly silly boy). His pincer grasp is starting to get better, he's also beginning to be able to get ger.ber puffs from the highchair tray to his mouth with some concentration and effort. Soren is also 'clapping' now and beginning to wave (though not yet consistently, and not to say 'goodbye'). He is also babbling alot and just started using the consonant 'm'. His first two words have been 'mum' and 'yum'...both when he's eating foods :-). He also babbles alot in the car if the radio is playing, I'd like to think he's singing, as he makes many different pitches and volumes. Overall, we are mostly forgetting that he was 1 month early and he seems to be caught up now.





Likes: Bath time, swimming, food, electrical cords, cat food and water bowls, our kitties, my parent's doggies, touching daddy's beard, playing tickle games, newpaper or any kinds of paper on the floor


Dislikes: Getting his diaper changed, clothes, being restrained, not being able to roll over, not being able to have things he wants, going out to eat (man, will family dinners in restaurants be put on the backburner for awhile!), teething

Soren weighs 18.5 lbs (25%) and is 29 inches long (75%)...he's a long-and-lean boy and pediatrician says he's perfect, especially considering he fell off the growth chart a while back. He's transitioning to 12-month clothes. The elasticized waist pants don't actually fit around his waist and he sports the 'pants on the ground' look often. Length-wise for pjs and pants, he's needing 12 month pants though.

Reflux update- we will SLOWLY be weaning Soren off the Prev.acid soon. We can either start now and have him weaned by 12 months or wait until his 12-month appt. then start. It will be a very slow weaning, because cutting cold turkey will make his reflux terrible, and for that, we are in no hurry! His spit-up is finally getting better, most likely due to him starting to eat more solids. He still does spit-up, but not too much in frequency or volume.

Soren's hair is really coming in now and is a bleach blonde color, sometimes strawberry blonde in natural lighting. We will likely need to get his hair trimmed soon. His eyes are very interesting, they're gray on the ouside with brown on the inside like bicycle spokes...very dark and beautiful! He now has 2 teeth (the first one came in on March 24th, the second came in a week later on April 1st) , and I imagine more are on their way!

Daddy has been a stay-at-home dad and both Soren and daddy are developing a strong attachment and liking to one another! The other day Brian was holding him and I tried to take him, and Soren turned and nuzzled his head into Brian! It's so fun for me to watch my husband as a fun-loving, caring, involved daddy! He really is the light of our lives and brings so much love and joy!

Life Lately

Life has been very busy lately, and as I sit typing this, I realize I forgot to write Soren's 8 month post...woops. Work has been very busy for me lately, I've been putting in overtime and picking up shifts. I was also asked by my supervisor to be part of a committee that looks at internal policies and procedures to find strengths and areas for improvement... her invitation reasoning was because I have been able to identify 'system issues' quickly and work to improve them...lol. Hey, anything to get some brownie points with the boss, eh? I am excited and see the invite as an indicator that I'm doing well and am valued.

Along with my work being busy, the hubs has been completing orientation and such with his new school and is gearing up for registration in a couple weeks here. We're still working on getting some things figured out for getting it funded. For now though, he is stay-at-home daddy and is doing a great job! I think initially the change was difficult for him, especially given he's had pretty much no experience working with infants. There were a few S.O.S. calls I got at work, but since then, we've come up with a good plan and so far it's been working. I think the biggest thing was that Soren was getting bored in this environment and likes to be out and have a change of scenery (just like his momma). Once we've figured that out, Brian has been taking him shopping, on walks, to the YMCA, etc., and this has helped immensely. It's so fun for me to watch this amazing attachment forming between the two of them:



The last month has been CRAZY with the amount of things Soren is learning to do! On March 17th (8 months, 12 days), Soren was being a huge stinker in the bedtime hours. After a couple minutes of letting him cry (after 1 hr. of trying everything else), I went in his bedroom, and found this:

He pulled up on his crib for the first time! The next night Brian lowered the crib. Now Soren's been pulling up on anything and everything. He also has an attraction to any kind of cord. Because of this, we've had to build a barracade-of-sort during the day:
We're really needing to buy some baby gates, but funds are tight, so this works in the meantime.
We're finding that now he's mobile, we're quickly outgrowing this space. We won't be buying a house for a couple years, so we'll have to see what we're going to do when our lease ends in December.

Soren is also now using his walker, and I will guess that in the next 1-2 months he will be a walker.



We have also graduated from his baby bathtub, to filling up our regular bathtub. We bought a non-slip mat to put down, and so far he is loving all the extra space and bigger splashes ;-).


On March 24th (8 months 19 days), Soren cut his first tooth on the bottom. He's been pathetic since then, but today I'm noticing a little bit better mood. Baby tylenol has been our friend lately :-).

There's so many more things to update about with his growth and development, but I'll have to save some things for his 9-month post. 9. months. Wow!

7 months!

Eating: Soren continues to do well with eating solids. We currently rotate peas, green beans, yams, butternut squash, carrots, apples, bananas, and avocados. He now eats after his second nap in the afternoon. He's wanting to eat around 2 oz. of food and 2 oz. of oatmeal cereal now, and I'm noticing he's wanting bottles less frequently. My guess is that he's taking in between 20-25 oz. in bottles a day. He's taking in Breastmilk and Formula about 50/50. He does still nurse at night, so he's getting more then too. We have also started giving him some teething biscuits and Gerber 'puffs' and Baby Mum-Mums...he likes the Earth's Best organic wheat teething biscuits the most.

Sleeping: Just when I think his sleep is starting to regulate, it changes again. However, on our *good* nights, he sleeps from 8pm-4ish, then is up either once or twice after that. He is starting to regularly get an 8-hour stretch at night, which is nice. We are definitely seeing some improvements. He usually gets a bottle/nurses before naps, then we put him down in his crib in a tired state, and he can put himself to sleep. If we try to rock him to sleep, he fights it, so we're just laying him down in his crib now. I've found that if I lay him on his side, and place my hands on his front and back, it helps him to relax and get sleepy... I think it's our new 'trick'. If he wakes up before 3am, I will put his paci back in his mouth, but I will not nurse him. At his 4ish awake time, I do nurse him, thought it's only for about 3-5 mins. before he falls back asleep. His naps still only last for 45 mins., but I think that's just how he is.

Development: Soren sits like a rock-star, is even beginning to go from a sitting position down onto his tummy! He also barrel rolls now and can make some distance. Just the other day I found him very close to putting a pen cap into his mouth...gahhh we need to baby proof! Soren's fine motor is continuing to develop well, he's working on his pincer grasp right now, but I imagine it might be a little bit before he masters this skill. Soren continues to be a very social baby, and we really haven't had any stranger anxiety yet. I work hard on taking him many different places and allowing others to hold him often, so I think this has helped. He loves smiling, giggling, and 'jumping' when you hold him. He also is becoming quite the squirmer during diaper changes. He's a very busy little guy! Soren still does not have any teeth, but during his aspirating test, xrays showed 8 teeth near the surface...I think we're in for some big trouble here soon! Soren has also moved up to a convertible car seat, and I think he much prefers this as he can see more around him. It doesn't look as comfortable to sleep in, but he's managing.

Likes: Soren loves playing 'tickle time', and really any kind of one-on-one interactions. His favorite toy is probably a set of plastic toy 'keys'. Soren loves food, pretty much any kind of food you give him. Soren loves being active, rolling, jumping, 'flying' (laying on his stomach and putting his arms out and his legs up off ground), and bath time. Soren also likes stuffed animals and tries to eat them. He LOVES playing with his feet and also tries to eat them ;-). Soren wakes up so happy and we can hear him cooing and squealing, and when we go get him out of his crib he gives us the BIGGEST smile ever, melts.my.heart!

Dislikes: Getting his diaper changed (there's too much to look at and do!), getting strapped into his car seat, and stopping in the middle of a feeding. He is a great baby, there's not much that bothers him.

Medical update: Soren had a re-check for his aspiration and reflux this week...it was pretty traumatic for both of us. The first test he was put in a car seat type thing, then they fed him a barium solution and took x-rays while he was swallowing to check to see if it was going down his airways... Soren didn't like the taste of the barium and wouldn't drink it so results were inconclusive on that. The second test they had to strap him a board and put a tube down his nose, then put barium down the tube to check his upper anatomy and reflux. The test showed no reflux, however after the test, he spit up a ton, which the tech. responded 'well there's the reflux we were looking for'. So yeah...probably still has it. He is growing normally now and *knock on wood* has not gotten sick, so we are very thankful of that! The plan is to keep him on his Prevacid solu-tabs and Pulmicort nebulizer until the Summer once cold season has gone away. (Side note: Apparently the makers of the generic Prevacid solu-tabs are discontinuing production, so the only option for solu-tabs are the actual Prevacid. Target stores are having difficulty keeping them in stock, but we were able to get ours at Wal-mart).

Lots of Firsts

This week I feel like Soren took a huge jump in his development...I swear it all happened over the weekend I worked. Soren has now discovered his feet and loves playing with and trying to eat them. Soren also is sitting amazing well, and when laying on his stomach, he is beginning to push up and is working on pulling his legs under his body...we're gonna have a crawler before we know it! Also this weekend my sister watched him and I think he got alot of play in with his cousins...he slept 9 straight hours that night! He even kinda fussed just a bit on two occasions, but fell right back to sleep, I barely even remember waking up to it.

Here's a video from only a week ago when he was starting to sit, now he's a pro:


Last night when I changed his diaper, I noticed a really nasty diaper rash, and I was sure it was the dreaded yeast that I've read about. I was able to get him into the pediatrician this morning, and sure enough, it's the start of yeast. I also noted to her that it appears his legs were getting dry, so she recommended we use Eucerin calming creme. By tonight, his whole body is covered in a rash, and I have no idea what is causing it. It looks very similar to rashes I get from dry skin in the winter, and it wouldn't surprise me since we give him a bath every night. I just feel like it all came out of nowhere, which makes me now question if it's food-related, or the last 2 nights of new jammies that I mistakingly didn't wash first before putting them on him. Whatever is causing it, I hope it looks alot better tomorrow morning! I debated giving him a bath tonight, but decided to do an oatmeal bath then lathered him up. Also at his pediatrician appt., he weighed 16 lbs. 12 oz! She said length-wise he's growing out of his infant car seat and we need to get him into a convertible car seat soon... trying to figure out which one to get. My baby is literally growing every night and learning so many new things, it's exciting and heart-breaking all in one.

Here's another short fun one of him laughing and 'talking':

First time sitting

Soren's first day sitting (without falling over in a matter of seconds) was Wednesday, January 11th, at 6 months, 6 days! Now he's pretty much a pro, only falling over once in awhile. Here's some pics:

6 Months!

At his 6-month well child check, Soren weighed 16 lbs. even, and was 26.5 inches long. We're very excited that Soren has moved up from 10% to 25% for weight, and still remains at 50% for length. Soren is now starting to wear his 9month/6-9month clothes. I *think* Soren's eyes are turning Hazel, neither Brian nor I have Hazel, but we'll see (yes, I know it's possible). He also has strawberry-blonde wavy hair. He got his first 'haircut' the day after Christmas when we were down in IA, just the little front piece snipped because it was getting close to going in his eyes.

Eating: Soren's been eating about every 2-3 hours by nursing/taking a bottle. After his 10:30 nap, he will get spoon-fed some oatmeal cereal mixed with formula, and either a fruit or veggie. We've sometimes done a dinner too, but it's hard to keep this consistent at the moment. So far Soren has had carrots (like), sweet potatoes (like), peaches (unsure of), bananas (like), avocado (really like), and butternut squash (dislike). We have been doing some store-bought baby food, but I plan to make mostly everything from here-on-out. We have peas and green beans in the freezer that I made a few months ago, but they didn't get pureed thin enough so I'm holding off on those. This week I made butternut squash and carrots, and still need to do yams, blueberries, apples, and a re-do on beans and peas. He is SUCH a great eater, except for the butternut squash today...hopefully he'll come around. Our pediatrician has recommended we start off with yellow veggies, then green veggies (mixing with yellow if he doesn't like them), so that's what we're doing at the moment. She also said to do both cereal and a fruit/veggies at a feeding, so he's getting both carbs. and vitamins. Sometimes we'll add in fruits since he can tolerate them. I'm finding the easisest way to make most of our foods is to buy a bag of steamer veggies, pop them in the microwave for a bit longer than the directions say, then throw them in the blender. Then I just spoon into ice cube trays for nice 1 oz. portions, then once frozen, I'll pop the cubes out and store them in freezer ziplocs. One bag of veggies cost us $0.99 and yields about 14 oz oz. of food, so basically for the price of the cheap store-bought stuff (not organic either), I'm getting three times as much for making our own, plus no preservatives, score!

Sleeping: Oh jeez, I'm gonna hold off on this and write a whole separate post on sleeping soon.

Development: Soren rolls consistently from tummy to back and back to tummy. He's also beginning to army-crawl, and can move about 5 feet in less than 5 minutes(I think it's time to baby-proof this place!). He's beginning to roll onto his tummy to sleep. He's not yet sitting, but we're working on this quite a bit with him. When placed in a semi-reclined position, he will often do a sit-up. Soren can hold things with both hands, and I watched him switch a toy from one hand to the other today. He is beginning to 'hold' his bottle with both hands and I can let go. Soren does not have a tooth yet but boy, it better come soon! He is chewing on his hands and everything that comes near his mouth! He is a very social baby, and loves to 'talk'. Mostly he likes to yell and squeal, he's one loud baby! He's beginning to make consonant sounds, including 'ma' which I guess is advanced for his age (according to pediatrician). We talk alot with him, and I may or may not be working on the word 'mom' extra-hard with him ;-). He's a very happy baby, really only cries if he becomes bored or is tired. We're pretty blessed to have such a great baby!

Likes: Soren enjoys sucking on his fist and fingers or anything that comes close to his mouth. He loves to jump in his jumperoo now, and also enjoys watching "Blue's Clues" or "Baby Einstein" while doing so (mommy and daddy love this time too!). He enjoys looking around and being upright. He still loves Sophie the giraffe. We really enjoy tickle time now too, he's pretty ticklish in his armpits and hip area, and we will lift him above our heads and 'tickle' him with our hair. Soren likes to touch faces and will pull at hair, necklaces, glasses, etc. We're working on getting him attached to an elephant lovie to aid in his sleep-training...he's kinda 'ehhh' about it right now.

Dislikes: Sleep-training and getting into his carseat (we may be moving him up to a convertible carseat soon, I think he likes to be able to look around, and in his infant seat, he can't see much).

Medical update: I *THINK* his reflux is pretty much gone. He still spits up, but I think the amount and frequency are pretty normal now. He is still on medication for it, but even a month ago it was still bad. His increase from 10% to 25% for weight is also indicative that it's getting better. Pretty soon we will be steam-cleaning our carpet and furniture ;-).

Now that we're starting to have a more consistent afternoon routine, here's what his day looks like:

8-9am eat, wake up
9-10:30 play
10:30- nebulizer, book, bottle/nurse, naptime
11:30- 'lunch'
noon- 1:30 play
1:30 bottle/nurse, nap
2:30-6ish play and eat
6- nurse/bottle, nap
7-8:30 play
8:30-9:30- bath, get dressed, bottle, book, bedtime

His nighttime is all screwed up due to working on sleep-training, but hopefully by next month's update we'll have a good routine down!

Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy

Look what Soren's discovered (Well, the PG-version anyways)
I know this is developmentally-appropriate and normal, but 6 months old?!?! Really?!?! Oh well, at least it makes him laugh, can't help but smile and laugh myself ;-). P.S. I'm debating about putting this under the label "developmental milestones"...yes?

First Foods- Bananas

Soren has taken an interest to foods lately. He intently looks at food, and will follow food from plate/bowl to my mouth. He's beginning to reach for it also, and sometimes even opens his mouth when I put the food in mine. Tonight while at Babies R' Us, I bought some jarred baby food on a whim. I plan to make his own food, but wanted to see if he would even be interested in food first before I start making it. I bought 1 small jar each 'Earth's Best' organic bananas, sweet potatoes, prunes, and carrots. I was pretty excited to try them out, so I decided to give him a taste of banana tonight. I know you should try their first food in the morning so you have all day to see how they would react, but we've given Soren licks of banana here and there with no problems, so I wasn't worried about it. I think he was interested in it and seem to take to it well...what do you think?









And just too funny not to share:

5 Months!

I can't believe Soren is 5 months already! That just seems so crazy to me! Last week, Soren weighed 14 lbs. 2 oz., and was 25 inches long.

Eating: Soren has been an on-demand feeder, and as of lately, there's no rhyme or reason to when he wants to eat. When he wants to eat, he eats. It generally is every 2 hours but I've been noticing my milk supply has been running low again (*bangs head on table*) and so he's not getting much, then wants to eat every hour sometimes. We visited the Lactation Consultant last week, and he only took in 2 oz. before I ran dry. Unfortunately he's been receiving more formula bottles lately. Once I go back to work Monday, I imagine he'll fall back into a routine feeding schedule. Trying to boost my supply and meet his needs is going to be tough. I just need to remind myself that any little bit helps. He is also becoming curious about food and will look at my food while eating, sometimes following it up to my mouth. He's grabbed for my food once, but not consistently yet. We are waiting to feed him solids until we get the pediatrician okay in January, though he has had a lick of stuff here and there.

Sleeping: Soren goes to sleep between 9:30-10 and wakes up between 4-6am. Last night he slept from 9:30-5:30 (8 hours), which was awesome! I'm slowly starting to move back his bedtime, so tonight he went to bed at 8:45 and he seemed to do great! As long as we follow our routine, I think he knows it's nighty-night. One thing that I have discovered is that the poor little guy has night terrors. He cries in his sleep, pouty-lip and big sniffle breaths and all, but he's still sleeping. The other morning he was doing this and I tried to wake him up and it only served to make him cry in big ways...the cry that I know means he's really hurting or scared. I'm going to talk to his pediatrician about it at his 6 month appt. but from what I know, trying to wake him up only exacerbates it. It's hard to imagine what could be so terrifying at 5 months old, but it definitely is the saddest thing I've ever seen :-( . Most times when he wakes up though, he gets a HUGE smile on his face and squeals when he sees me. He'll even do this after I have just rocked him to sleep and lay him in his crib. Soren is somewhat of a high-maintenance sleeper. He almost always rubs his eyes when he is tired. He doesn't take a nap for longer than an hour during the day, most times it's about 15-30 mins. He needs it to be quiet, he likes to nurse/eat a bottle when falling asleep, and he likes movement. Usually I'll rock him, but sometimes that doesn't cut it and I end up pacing and bouncing him. We have an air purifier in his room that we use as white noise that I believe drowns out little noises that could wake him up. It's pretty easy to rock him to sleep in his own room for naps when I turn the air purifier on.

Development: Soren rolls from tummy to back great now, and rolled from back to tummy the other day. When placed in a sitting position, he will fall, but I think his little abs are getting ready, and one of these days he will be able to. He also enjoys being a standing position, and going from a laying-to-standing position. His little legs are pretty strong! Soren is becoming much more interested in toys, and manipulates ring toys and spinners on his jumperoo. He can now touch the floor in his jumperoo but he doesn't jump yet as any sudden movement still startles him. Soren is becoming very social now and enjoys making many different sounds and facial expressions. He enjoys squealing quite loudly ;-). When I leave the room, he will sometimes visually follow me and start to cry if I run out to the garage to bring something in...as soon as he sees me, he's fine. If a 'stranger' (to him) holds him, he will look at me and look for safety and re-assurance that he's okay... it's pretty cool to see the attachment process at work within my own self and my child. Soren also has little nubs on his gums and is drooling quite a bit and chewing on everything he can. I have a feeling a little tooth is going to pop out soon.

Likes: Soren enjoys sucking on his fist and fingers, squealing and 'talking', interactive games between him and Brian or myself, bath time, eating, Sophie the giraffe, watching youtube videos on daddy's lap, t.v., music, shopping :-)

Dislikes: Within the last week, I've noticed Soren has begun to dislike car rides. He's good for a little while, but anything over 15 mins. and he starts to fuss. Today I had fed him before we left our friends, and within 5 mins. he was fussing. We pulled into a gas station so I could nurse him some more and as soon as I took him out of the carseat he went from instant fussing to instant squealing and laughing...little stinker! When he cries in the car, it breaks my heart when I can't console him right away. There's been way too many times that we've been stuck in traffic or almost home and he screams in such a cry of desperation. Not gonna lie, I get teary when he does it.

Soren also still dislikes getting his clothes changed. Whatever arm we try putting in the sleeve, is always the hand he tries to suck on. He also hates when I interrupt his feeding to burp him or switch sides...he has a very distinct fuss for that, it kinda makes me laugh :-). Other than that, he's a pretty happy boy.

Breastfeeding & Reflux Updates

I feel like it's been awhile since I updated on how our breastfeeding adventures are going. Looking back, getting started was a little overwhelming, especially given his weight drop and reflux/aspiration issues. Once we got over that initial bump, things started going much more smoothly. I can't say he is exclusively breastfed due to his night-time thickened formula feed, but I can say that we do our best to nurse for all the other feedings. Sometimes, formula is more convenient. However, it's only more convenient if I hadn't planned ahead. Now I stocked up my parent's freezer with some frozen BM so that whenever we are over there, we only have to run the bag under some hot running water. It takes probably 3 mins. longer to get it ready, but if we can distract him it's really not a big deal. While at my parent's we only do bottles if it seems like my supply is running low. He will continue to pull off and go back on but gets frustrated, and I can feel my breasts are not full. I really need to drink more water, I think that is my main issue. Whenever I sense a drop in my supply I just take my Mother's Milk Special Blend capsules for a few days and my supply jumps back up. Since Soren is going to bed around 9:30, and I don't hit the sack until midnight, I always pump before going to bed. I will usually get anywhere from 4-7oz., so I will have a bottle's worth of BM in the fridge for the next couple of days if we are going anywhere. I also feel like I have gotten much more comfortable nursing in public when I need to. Overall, things have been going well for us and I think it's because I kept putting in the extra effort to make sure that we succeed. It definitely is easy to just say 'forget about it' and take the formula route, but I'm sure glad I kept fighting and seeking help and support whenever I needed it.

Currently Soren nurses less often in the morning and does alot of feeding in the late afternoon/evening, I'm guessing it's what also helps him sleep longer stretches at night. When he wakes up after his long stretch at night (usually between 4-6am), he'll nurse for a little bit in bed with me then go back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. After he wakes up from that he keeps nursing for a bit, then back to sleep, every hour. I usually can get him to sleep a little longer in the morning when we do that for my own sanity, but soon that will be put to halt.

We are entering a couple new stages simultaneously in our breastfeeding adventures now which will make things more interesting. Soren is exhibiting alot of 'teething behavior' as the pediatrician likes to call it. Just 2 days ago he's been starting to bite down on my nipple at the end of a feeding, and it hurts in big ways. He doesn't have teeth yet, but it still makes me jump. Tonight I broke his latch when he did it and spoke firmly to him saying "no biting momma"...and he smiled and laughed. Little stinker! I have no idea how to break him of this habit, I can't imagine how bad it will hurt once he does get teeth! I notice he'll only do it towards the end of a feeding so maybe once he's starting to get 'bored'.

In a little over month we will be starting solids with him which will definitely be changing up his eating schedule. In the beginning he's more-or-less just learning how to eat from a spoon and it's not necessarily for nutritional purposes. We've already given him little licks of my mom's homemade (unsweetened) applesauce and let him gum the tip of a banana. He definitely is becoming more interested in food and when he sees people eating food he watches with curiosity. I think he's going to be a great little eater once he does start!

Also, now that I will be returning to work, I will need to somehow fit pumping sessions into my work schedule. I have talked to the HR rep. and she said there's many private meeting rooms that I could use and that other employees have needed to pump during the work day as well. She seemed supportive of it, hopefully I'll get a similar response from my co-workers. I am hoping I can get by with 2 pumping sessions during an 8-hour workday. I'm really going to need to implement taking in lots of water during my workday and will probably start the Mother's Milk Special Blend capsules as well to ensure that I am pumping enough so he has enough to eat the next day. One thing we *MAY* try implementing is what's called 'reverse-cycling', where he basically eats little during the day, but then power feeds in the evening and at night while we're together. Some babies do this naturally because they prefer breastfeeding over a bottle. We'll see how things go, I'm not necessarily going to push it because the thought of him not eating when he wants to breaks my heart.

As far as the reflux goes, I think we may have turned the corner. I'm not sure whether it's due to his medicine staying down now with his thickened feed, he's growing out of it, or my elimination of caffeine (most days, there is still occasional intake here-and-there). He does still spit-up but nothing like he used to. I also have become smarter and know when to expect now too. In the morning it's usually worse because he's been feeding laying down in bed with me. After he's been laying down any time during the day, and you pick him up, I usually am prepared. Also after a longer nursing session I expect it. But then there's the occasional time he'll catch me off guard like when I got home from running an errand and daddy handed him to me and as I went to kiss him he spewed all over my chin and down my chest and stomach. Many times he laughs afterwards, so I can't help but smile, find a burp rag and wipe myself off, and change my clothes if needed.

Soren is still occasionally aspirating, but most of the time it's only when he's nursing. I have a forceful let-down and I think it gets difficult for him to handle it. He'll pull off and cough (meanwhile I am probably spraying him in the face), gain his composure, then hop right back on. I'm glad we are continuing with his nebulizer since he is still aspirating. *Knock on wood* he hasn't been sick yet, hopefully we can continue to keep him healthy through the Winter.

Well I think that's it for now, I'll be sure to update as we start our new changes. Let me know if you have any questions or tips!

Bathtime Giggles and Exciting News!

Well, to start off with the exciting news, I was given a job offer today and I accepted! I will be working as a social worker at an inpatient psychiatric facility for children and teens. It is a permanent weekend position (Friday-Sunday), 8-4:30. Although working the weekends will have its drawbacks, I am looking forward to not having to pay for childcare, and still get to spend Monday-Thursday at home with Soren! I will be leading two groups a day and also doing case management with the families. I am SUPER excited, it seems like a great place to work and has great pay and benefits! It will also allow me to work towards my clinical licensure so I can someday be an independent therapist! I start December 5th. It will definitely be a new transition and figuring out who can take care of Soren and when makes my head spin already, but it will all get figured out; I am very blessed to have so many supportive people in my life who are willing to watch him (and free-of-charge is always a bonus too ;-).

I thought I'd throw in this video of Soren's bathtime from tonight. The beginning is kinda slow (feel free to fast-forward to :55). I just LOVE his giggles, they totally melt my heart!

4 Months Old!

Soren turned 4 months old this past weekend, and he is beginning to look like such a little boy!

Today at his 4 month appt., he weighed 13lbs. even and was 24.5 inches long. He is still in the 10th% for weight, but the pediatrician is very happy with his numbers as he is staying on his growth curve.

Soren's eating schedule is not so consistent anymore. He's starting to use nursing as a soother, so sometimes he wants to nurse at 30 min. increments for just a short time, and other times he can go a long time without nursing. It's frustrating, but at the same time, I am his safety and security, and there's nothing wrong with that. He also is starting to want to nurse to fall asleep. This last week we went to a nursing mother's group and the lactation consultant reminded us that babies nurse for many different reasons, not just for eating. That made me feel better about his nursing habits as of lately. I just wish there wasn't such a stigma attached to nursing.

I have started giving Soren a 4 oz. thickened formula bottle at bedtime to help keep his medicine down and also keep his belly full for a longer night stretch. He seems to be tolerating it much better now and it doesn't seem to be backing up his bowels like it did before. Sometimes giving a formula bottle is more convenient (in the car, at a restaurant), but I really need to start nipping this in the butt. I have plenty of breast milk, that's what he needs to be eating. It will just take a little bit more planning on my part. I think I need to buy a car bottle warmer, and also another bottle warmer to have at my parent's house.

A few weeks ago, Soren began sleeping for 5-6 hour stretches at night in his crib, and it was glorious! Then we went down to visit family in IA, and his whole routine got thrown off and when we came back, he was up every. 2. hours, just like a newborn. That's when I decided to try the thickened bottles. Since then, he has been back to sleeping for a 4-6 hour stretch at night. Once he wakes up, I bring him to our bed and nurse him off and on for the remainder of the night. Co-sleeping is beginning to get more difficult as I wake up with an achy, sore back from not moving at all out of fear of rolling on him. He is also getting heavier too, so when he lays on my arm I also often wake with a numb arm. I'm not sure where we will go from here, whether I will try to nurse him in his room then put him back in his crib or what we will do. I do know that our morning cuddles are precious and I love them. Soren is also now starting to be able to fall asleep in his crib on his own. I do rock him a bit before laying him in there, but then he will just fall back to sleep on his own. He's doing great in the sleep department, and I think it's because we followed his lead. We will continue to try new things as I feel that he is ready, but if he's not, that's okay.

Soren's reflux is still a PIA. I sure love this baby stage, but I will NOT miss the constant spitting up. I think the Prevacid helps to make him feel more comfortable, but it does not decrease the frequency or volume of his spit-up. I have even tried cutting out caffeine but it doesn't seem to consistently be helping. When I spoke with his pediatrician today, she said caffeine in moderation is fine, but lots of caffeine can worsen it. Most days I drank caffeine in moderation, so who knows. I'm just starting to get really irritated about it, especially when he does it out in public, and it gets all over the floor, furniture, etc. It's exhausting. His pediatrician said it will also get worse now since he is scrunching, rolling, sitting, etc. which all can put pressure on his stomach. Once he begins standing and walking more, it should get better.

Soren is now standing straight when you hold his hands which seems to enjoy. He also can sit up straight when you put him in a sitting position, but he's not quite ready to sit on his own. When laying on his tummy, he pushes his head and chest up using his arms, can hold the position for quite some time! He's beginning to try rolling from his back to his side. Just this last week we put him in his jumperoo, and he started reaching for the toys and tries to manipulate them. His hands are still in a semi-clutched position when he does this, but he loves feeling them now. Soren is also getting very 'grabby' with his hands. Yesterday he grabbed my friend's necklace, and he is often grabbing our hands tries bringing them to his mouth. His hands are in his mouth constantly now, and he is starting to drool, indicating 'teething behavior' as the pediatrician calls it. Usually he will put 2-3 fingers in his mouth and go to town. He also loves sucking on my knuckles and sides of my fingers. He's not-so-much a fan of putting toys in his mouth yet, but I'm sure that is just around the corner.

Soren is becoming more fearful of strangers and loud noises. I am able to comfort him if he becomes scared, which feels pretty special for me. He is also doing alot of sad-laughing lately where he laughs and coos, but also starts to pout...it's kinda funny actually. He used to love his car seat, but since this weekend, he's not liking getting put in his car seat... I wonder if it's because he is getting more curious about his environment and feels trapped in it. He does still do well on car rides though, so that helps considering the many trips to IA we take. Soren is 'talking' much more now, using many different sounds and pitches. On occasion he will even match our pitches we give him. He is beginning to squeal and giggle now too.

Soren is wearing 3-6 month clothes, and I have officially packed away all of his 0-3 month clothes :-(. It's so hard to pack them away, not knowing if we will ever use them again (another blog post for another day), and also knowing he will never wear them again. We are needing to go and buy more 3-6 and 6-9 month clothing because he doesn't have enough...especially when we're averaging 5 outfits a day from the reflux. His precious newborn bear hat is starting to get too small on him, so I'm thinking about ordering another to have for the Winter. He is also still wearing his one-size (fits all) cloth diapers, and fuzzibunz perfect size smalls. We just received a free itti bitti d'lish in a medium and that seems to fit him very well too.

We've been pretty busy this month visiting grandma & grandpa Johnson for 4 days, and also this past weekend we visited my friends for the weekend. We also just signed up for a YMCA membership, so hopefully we'll start getting him into the pool and used to the water. At 6 months we can start him in parent-child swim lessons.

I have to say, I really love this age. I love the interactions we get to have with him, and I love all the new things he's learning.

I'll try and post videos later.