Thursday, December 27, 2012

Cooper's Sixth Month

Cooper was five months old (in his sixth month) from November 25 - December 24.  Here's what my big boy was up to:

Stats:
Weight: 18 lbs
Diapers: size 3
Clothes: All either 6 months, 6-9 months, and just starting to get into some 9 month

Eating:  Obviously, by the looks of him, eating is still going fine.  ;)  Just like last month, he eats 4 times a day between 7-8 oz at a time.  He's still averaging between 32-35 oz a day.  If he does wake up at night (we're about 50/50 now), he gets a 5 oz bottle and goes back to sleep.  

We also started him on cereal this month.  At his 4 month appointment, she cleared us to go ahead and start him around 5 months since he's drinking so much.  When we first started, he was not a fan at all.  We didn't push it and just tried again every 4 days or so.  One day (Dec 4), it just clicked and he *got it*.  Ever since, he has been chowing down!  He gets cereal right before his nap around 8:00am.  He gets it again around 5:45 - 6:00 when we eat dinner.

Towards the end of the month, we also started putting some banana in his mesh feeder while we ate dinner.  It wasn't really intended for him to actually eat much of it; it was more trying to keep him entertained while we ate.  Eventually, he started to get that, too, and has really come to love his banana time!  I did try avocado one night, but he didn't like that so much.

He also started fussing pretty badly when it was time for a bottle.  It took a little bit to find out why, but we finally did: he was frustrated at how slow the nipple was.  We changed his nipples from slow flow to fast flow and he has been much happier since!

Here's a video of Cooper eating cereal.





He also started holding his own bottle some this month!


Sleeping:  While this month has had its ups and downs, it was much better than the month before.  We did have a few set backs with him being sick for a lot of the month, but his sleeping has gotten much better.  

He slept through for the first time at the beginning of the month, and did it pretty consistently until he got sick for the second time.  I'd say he slept through the night about 50% of the time this month.   Not bad when you consider that that was 0% last month!

He continued to have trouble with some of his naps (like last month), but it got to the point where, if you got him out, he would NOT go back to sleep with you holding him.  Eventually, we just had to do cry it out.  It wasn't fun.  I don't like it.  We still have to do it occasionally.  But it really did help fix the problem.


Last time holding him while he slept before starting CIO.

Schedule:  Here's his new 4 hour schedule to incorporate solids:
7:00 - up for the day! (7 oz bottle)
8:15ish - solids (oatmeal cereal)
8:30ish - down for nap
11:00 - up and eat (8 oz)
12:30ish - down for nap
3:00 - up and eat (7-8 oz)
4:30ish - down for cat nap (usually only about 30 minutes)
5:45 - solids (oatmeal cereal, banana in mesh feeder)
6:30 - bath
6:45 - bottle and bed (7-8 oz)
Sometimes he sleeps through the night, and sometimes he still gets up and eats.  We just take it day by day!

Rolling:  Cooper started rolling from his tummy to his back SUPER early.  To me, it was taking FOREVER for him to go from his back to his tummy.  Finally, on December 2, he rolled from his back to his tummy!  He did it like 6 times in a row, and then he didn't do it again for the rest of the month - haha.




Fingers/Teething:  I really don't know if it's teething or just what they do at this age, but Cooper CONSTANTLY has something in his mouth.  Usually, it's his fingers, but he will put anything in there that he can get a hold of!  I don't see any signs of a tooth yet, but he sure seems to be working on it!  LL didn't get her first tooth until about 7.5 months, so I'm sure we still have time.

Sitting:  The day he turned 5 months he started sitting (very low - haha), and he's been practicing all month.  He still doesn't sit up completely straight (with a straight back), but he does have a lot of weight to support.  ;)  While he's not great at sitting yet (we have to be right there to catch him), he has improved a lot over the last month and is getting better and better.



Swaddling:  Praise the Lord, I can officially say that the swaddle is GONE!!  Last month we worked hard at getting both of his arms out, but he still liked it around his body (because it was tight).  I tried to wean him out of it and just unzip it a little and a little, but that got old REALLY quickly, so we just did it cold turkey.  He had a rough couple of days without it, but now he does fine.  I am SO GLAD to be rid of that thing!



Happy:  I know I've said it every month, but I just can't get over how HAPPY this little boy is!  It just fills me up!!  He is constantly smiling or laughing and I just love it!!  






I LOVE his gummy grin.  I kind of don't want him to get teeth any time soon just so I can enjoy this longer.  :)


My new fav pic of him - SO HAPPY!

Feet:  Coop found his feet this month and has been loving them.  Any time he's laying on his back, he will probably be grabbing at his feet! 



Vocalizations:  Cooper has really started to be vocal this month.  He doesn't really babble yet (mostly still just coos), but he has discovered this month that he has a voice.  He has become a SCREAMER.  It's not an upset scream - in fact, it's always a happy scream.  But boy can he get loud!  

Spitting Up:  I'm going to talk to the pediatrician at his 6 month appointment (around the middle of January) because this has gotten worse.  He's always been a big spitter, but the amount has increased significantly.  He's still happy about it, but it makes me nervous how much comes out.  

Jumper:  Just like last month, Coop still LOVES his jumper.  We call it his happy place because it really is.  He will literally jump in there for 30+ minutes if we let him.  He just laughs and has a great time.  He's also gotten to the point where he can touch the ground (feet completely flat) with both feet.  LL liked it when she was his age, but he LOVES it.  It really is adorable, and he can jump so high!  Here's a cute (blurry) video my mom took of Coop just jumping and talking away!


My mom took this pic one day -  LOVE it.


Sickness:  This was a month of sickness.  We started out the month with a trip to the ER with croup.  As soon as he got over that, he got a strange rash that we ended up taking him to the doctor for, too.  LL also struggled with a stomach bug and I got strep throat right before Christmas.  It was rough for everyone!  Thankfully, he's over both of those things now, and we're praying for a much healthier month!

Misc:
-He has started blowing raspberries all the time (especially when he's mad - haha).
-He started giving kisses on December 15, and it's now one of my favorite things.  :)

He LOVES to be outside!  It makes him super happy, for sure.














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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Cooper - 6 Months Old!

Um - excuse me, WHAT?!  How in the WORLD are we already half way through my little man's first year?!?!  I can say with 100% assurance that time goes by MUCH faster with the second baby.  With her, it seemed to take a long time to get to 6 months.  With Coop, it really does feel like he was just born a few weeks ago.  I have enjoyed this month SO much and he is such a joy to our family!

Here's how Cooper is doing compared to the milestones in What to Expect the First Year:

Stats:
Weight: 18 lbs.
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes: All either 6 months, 6-9 months, and just starting to get into some 9 month



Schedule:
He's still on the 4 hour schedule, but we have adjusted it a little to incorporate solids:
7:00 - up for the day!  (7 oz bottle)
8:15 - solids (oatmeal cereal)
8:30ish - down for nap
11:00 - up and eat (8 oz)
12:30ish - down for nap
3:00 - up and eat (7-8 oz)
4:30ish - down for cat nap (usually only about 30 minutes)
5:45 - solids (oatmeal cereal, banana in his mesh feeder)
6:30 - bath
6:45 - bottle and bed (about 7 oz)
Sometimes he sleeps through the night, and sometimes he still gets up to eat.  We just take it day by day!




Cooper can do all of the things that a 6 month old baby should be able to do:
-keep head level with body when pulled to sitting
-say "ah-goo" or similar vowel-consonant combinations {Matt swears he said "alligator" the other day - haha}



Cooper can do all of the things that a 6 month old baby will probably be able to do:
-bear some weight on legs when held upright
-sit without support {not for long, but he can do it!}
-turn in the direction of a voice
-razz 




Cooper can do some of the things that a 6 month old baby may possibly be able to do:
-stand holding on to someone or something {he can hold our hands and stand for about 30 seconds}
-object if you try to take a toy away
-work to get a toy that's out of reach
-pass a cute or other object from one hand to the other
-feed self cracker or other finger foods {he uses his mesh feeder wonderfully}



There were a few things that Cooper can not do from the "may possibly be able to" section:
-look for a dropped object {he just flings it, but doesn't care where it is afterwards - haha}
-rake with fingers a tiny object and pick it up in fist {um -WHY would I let him try this??}
-babble, combining vowels and consonants such as ga-ga-ga, ba-ba-ba, etc.




Cooper could NOT do any of the things from the "may even be able to" section:
-creep or crawl
-pull up to standing position from sitting
-get into sitting position from stomach
-pick up a tiny object with any part of thumb and finger
-say "mama" or "dada" indiscriminately





Here's how much my handsome boy has grown in the last 6 months!


And here's how much I still think he and LL look alike:






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