8 Months

On February 17th, we had Junah's 8 month check up.  Here are his stats:

Height - 29 inches (88%)
Weight - 23 pounds 4 ounces (93%)
Head Circumference - 47 centimeters (95%)

Here's what Junah's been up to:

• This month he got his first stomach bug.  He got his first cold during Thanksgiving when he was at Thatha and Patti's house.  At that time, we considered taking him to the doctor in VA, but he worked through it on his own.  This time, he puked like a little exorcist after his fever spiked to 104; it was very disturbing and so hard to see our baby so sick.  But he worked through that pretty quickly and was back to his happy old self in no time.  
• He has also started showing a little more of his personality.  He buzzes and spits (more like blowing raspberries) when he's mad.  He has a very high pitched scream that he uses liberally to express his excitement and just to experiment with his voice.  He laughs a lot and tries to distract me from putting him to bed with his smiles.  
• He has officially outgrown all of his containment devices (bouncy seat, hammock) so he's on to the co-sleeper (pack n play).  He pulls himself up and started this month standing while holding the rails but progressed to standing without holding on.  He is able to get up to standing on his own outside the pack n play too.  He can do so by pulling up on one of us (he will grab ANYTHING including hair or skin for an assist); he stands unassisted now and it's so cute!  (He pulls himself to standing in the laundry basket too which is a little scary.) He also balances on all fours like he wants to crawl so it seems like he'll be honing that skill in the coming weeks.  
• He ate his first "real food" which was just mashed up bananas.  He was very dramatic about how disgusting he thought it was complete with hysterical faces and gagging.  We're going to wait a while to introduce more whole foods.   
• Here are some other random things he's up to: he claps; he pats his toy drum because knows it will make noise (aka music) when he does and he dances to the music; we got him a walker to replace the containment devices he outgrew and he loves it though has strict time limits in there; he can un-velcro his diaper; he cried for the first time when I left him alone with his dad (luckily that did not last and I am able to leave without incident); he swan dives out of my arms in protest sometimes when I'm trying to put him to sleep or when he is having some teething pain; he loves storytime at the library where they read books and sing songs - it's so fun to see how excited he gets to participate and to watch the other kids; and he LOVES the book Goodnight Moon.

Here are some pictures:

Happy boy!

Yeah!

Serious look

Standing in his crib, about to chomp on the rail.

Check out my new ride!

This is the face that accompanies the buzzing!

focused

Sweet boy

Junah is wide awake, daddy not so much!

Loves eating his books

How about we give real food a try?

Bananas are nasty!

Why?

Drama

gag

Standing by his music table

8 months old! (okay, 8.5, mama was late taking pics)

Mr Owl is back

Junah loves playing with Mr Owl's button eyes.

Wondering what mama is doing on the floor

focused

see you next month!

7 Months

While we didn't have a 7 month check up in January, I feel like Junah is getting heavier.  Since my last post, we celebrated Junah's first Christmas.  Unfortunately, we didn't get many good pictures.  It was really fun because Junah and Maeve got to share their first Christmas in New York at Grandpa's house.  Both of them played with the wrapping paper before becoming uninterested.  Junah definitely had limited patience for the whole endeavor.  Regardless, Christmas is so much more fun with a kid.  I hate to admit, I am a bit of a scrooge, not really all that interested in gifts and frankly, not very good at buying them or receiving them.  That said, the boy gives me a whole new interest in the holidays.  Am I over my scrooginess?  We'll see.

Here's what Junah has been up to:

• While in NY, Junah had a chance to play with some of Maeve's toys.  He loved a couple of them which we bought once we got home.  One is a push down toy (not sure what else to call it, but will post a picture below) and the other is a musical drum.  When the drum's music went on, he started bouncing around like he was dancing.  It was the most adorable thing I'd ever seen.  Groove is in the heart!
• He finally rolled over.  He rolled from front to back first and then back to front all in the matter of about a week.  
• He's becoming increasingly more mobile.  While he mostly scoots and pivots on his butt, he is able to get around.  He continues to try to crawl.  He puts his hands on the ground and one knee down but can't seem to get the other one in position.  It's funny because if he's on the bed, he will take the "leap" forward and usually lands on his belly.  Somehow he knows not to do that on the floor until he's ready to commit.  
• He pull himself up to standing now.  I put him in the crib while I was folding diapers and he pulled himself up to standing.  Last month he learned to get up to his knees but it's clear now, he's ready to be on his feet.

That's all for now. Enjoy some pictures:

Junah's First Christmas with Cousin Maeve and Grandpa

Junah tired of the chaos pretty quickly so he and Daddy are having a talk

Pensive after his nap

Then happy! (diaper hanging out and all!)

Junah's first foray into laundry basket territory

He loves it!

Back at home, Junah discovers his love for daddy's hats.

7 months old!!

And it's not quite as easy to take his milestone pictures anymore now that he's mobile.

Concerned about the sound coming out of the stereo

His new favorite toy since playing with Maeve's! He's goes to town and pushes down all the lids immediately.

Our happy baby

6 Months

Junah went in for his 6 month check-up on December 13th and here are his stats:

Height - 28.5 inches (97%)
Weight - 21 pounds 3 ounces (96%)
Head Circumference - 46.5 centimeters (98%)

While he has not really had any "milestone" events, he's making progress that probably only I notice.

• He's sitting up really well unassisted and topples over only when distracted by a toy or tired. 
• When sitting, he is beginning to lean forward with such force that he lands on his belly.  Is crawling around the corner?
• He's starting to try to flip over on the changing table, about to outgrow the space we have allotted there.  We are going to have to think of another solution or start changing him on the floor.  
• He has been babbling nonstop. He screams, babbles (babababa while making a face like an old man with no teeth), and blows raspberries while making this high pitched scream/squeal.  It's all very cute.  Unless this is happening while you're holding him and on the phone with some customer service type individual.  ;)
• Oh my god, he has gone from a laugh to a full out giggle and it's simply the most wonderful thing my ears have ever heard.
• He is becoming all around more playful.  He interacts, grabs toys, laughs when you play with him and recognized the "I'm gonna get you" look from the corner of my eye.  the resulting giggle is precious.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but those are the things that come to mind.  He's at a really fun age where he is laughing a lot and interactive and not yet tantruming or whining and I'm really enjoying him.  I just want to eat him up:

 

5 Months

On November 15th, Junah turned 5 months old.  Here's what's new:

• He is now able to grab both feet and get them to his mouth successfully.  It's so cute as you'll see in the photos below.
• He loves the bath.  He's having more fun in the water and starting to splash around but still not thrilled with the resulting water in his face.
• He has transitioned from just smiling to laughing and it just makes my heart sing.
• He is beginning to sit up on his own when you put him down that way but topples over regularly.

Here are a couple pictures from his 5 month photo shoot:

One, Two, Three, Four

Here are four months worth of milestone photos, documenting Junah's birthday and his one, two, three and four month milestones.  One of these days I will get around to posting the birth story.  Man, how he has changed so much over these four short months!  When we brought him home he seemed so fragile, he had jaundice and his arms and legs were skinny.  For the first month, he would sleep on us with his legs bent up under him like a little frog.  He was a mimic from the start, he would stick out his tongue if we did so first.  He hated getting dressed, especially when it involved anything going over his head.

In month two he started babbling a ton, and started spitting or blowing raspberries and smiling about it.  It was much cuter than it sounds, I promise.  In month three he started to scream, the squeal I mentioned in a prior post, like a little piggy.  He does this randomly but much more so on the changing table.  He also started getting "shy", when Ram arrived home, he would speak to Junah who would promptly bury his head in my chest and then look back for more.  He also started to grab things with more intention and using his hands better.  He continued to work on his manual dexterity in month four.  I caught him looking at his outstretched left hand and then looking at his right hand as if willing his right hand to grab his left hand.  He also began grabbing his left toes with his left hand.  He has become super engaging and is a very happy baby boy. 

While a lot has changed, the one constant is that he still doesn't like any clothes going on over his head.  I have to post a video of that soon because it's very funny.  Until then, below are some photos.   

Two Hours Old

Two Hours Old

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Remember When ...

Often, there are moments I want to remember but I know that if I don't go over them in my head again and again, I will most certainly forget them.  That's one of the reasons I started this blog; there are so many things about this kid I fear I will forget.  Here are a couple:

• Yesterday we were skyping with Ram who is in Tokyo.  The baby was on my lap over the arm of the chair, facing the computer.  He started screaming, this thing he does where he is not crying, more like squealing.  Then he pulls back and heaves his body forward toward something (in this case his hand or the arm of the chair) and bites it.  I imagine it's similar to how a snake would attack a live mouse.  And it's hysterical.  

• He has been squealing on the changing table now for some time.  When I put his sleeves over his hands or fasten the buttons on his shoulder, he squeals so loudly.  Sometimes it's so funny, I have to put my hand on his tummy to secure him on the changing table and just laugh.

• Sometimes I walk around the house with him cradled in my left arm.  This is often the case because he prefers to be held.  He used to fall asleep that way all the time but now that he has more trunk control he is very alert and looks around.  He is now using that time to squeal and bite or suck on my shoulder (which is sopping wet afterward), attacking it like the aforementioned live mouse.  These days, he ever so rarely puts his head on my shoulder and falls asleep.

• He just started grabbing his toes while I'm changing him.  He grabs his left foot with his left hand but hasn't quite mastered the right foot/right hand combo yet.  He's trying hard to accomplish both at the same time. 

• Since he sleeps with us and I lay with him to put him down for naps, I have a ton of time to study him.  His little wrists are so chubby, the fold in the flesh from his arm just misses the fold in the flesh from his hand.  His velvety black eyelashes are so long and his skin is so soft.  He often pets my hand or arm with his soft little hand.  It's so sweet, even when it's sopping wet because he's been sucking or chewing on it.  I sometimes massage his feet and legs or stroke his soft hair/head to relax him until he falls asleep.  

I am thoroughly enjoying my time at home with Junah.  I just wish his dad could stay home with us.  Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

4 Months (minus one day)

Today we went in for our 4 month check up, one day shy of Junah's 4 month birthday.  Here are our stats:

Height - 26.5 inches (94%)
Weight - 18 pounds 8 ounces (97%)
Head Circumference - 45 centimeters (98%)

The doctor says we're doing a great job.  I say, child, you got your father's head.

We spoke about when to introduce solid foods which I am not at all in a hurry to do.  The doctor said that as the baby grows, his needs will increase and so will milk production.  However, milk production growth is not indefinite so once his needs exceed production, his weight will start to taper or he will begin to act in a way that shows us he needs more food, and then we'll get to solids.  Sounds good to me.

The Beginning

I've been putting off starting this blog for a while for many reasons including a lack of some or all of the following: a real "focus", a perfect name or the time to dedicate to it.  But I now realize that getting started is half the battle so this is the beginning.  It's also the beginning of our life with our new baby boy and while my "focus" is fuzzy, I hope to document some memories and share some highlights of our life with our little boy.

Junah is going to be 4 months old on Friday and though it is so cliche, it seems like he's been with us forever.  He entered this world a very serious newborn with a furrowed brow and has blossomed into a sweet, happy baby boy.  When he's on the changing table, he squeals like a happy little piggy and wraps his legs around my arms.  Contrary to what I might have thought about how I would handle having a baby, I'm enjoying every last second of it.

Welcome to our Post-Baby Post.