William: 7 Months

7 Month Stats

Weight: 17lbs

Length: 27.5in

Eating: Five nursings four hours apart a day (7/11/3/7:30/DF) with a formula bottle at 6pm and solids at lunch and dinner (noon & 6pm); We are doing chunky purees for his solids. I would like to give him some whole food as well (as per baby-led weaning), but we shall see how he takes to that.

Foods Will has tasted so far:
Fruits--> apple, avocado, banana, pea, mango (loves!) peach, plums, prunes, & blueberry
Veggies--> sweet potato, acorn squash (loves!), green beans (dislike), carrots, peas (loves!), yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, & tomatos
Grains--> baby oatmeal mixed in with bananas/blueberries/yellow squash
Protein--> chicken (not a fan of the texture)

Bedtime: Bedtime starts about 7:30pm and Will is usually asleep by 8:15pm. I nurse him right before he goes to sleep, so he's nice and drowsy when I put him in his crib. Almost everytime he is put down to sleep (put down on his back), he rolls to his left side and cuddles up in his blanket. I dreamfeed him and he goes right back down for the night. I would like to wean him off the dreamfeed so he sleeps all the way through the night with no wake-ups. I have started to pull back the dreamfeed a few minutes at a time. I go in about 10:10pm to do the dreamfeed (was doing it at 10:40pm). I'm hoping that by doing this it will stretch out his sleeping and I can eventually drop it altogether.

Naps: Still rockin' two naps a day for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Depending of the length of the day's nap & activities of the day, he may take a catnap sometime between 5 & 6pm. He goes down for his naps awake and falls asleep well on his own (within about 10 minutes). When we put him down, we give him is pacifier & cover him up with his blanket. By the time his nap is over, the blanket is nowhere near being on him anymore. Sometimes he's on top of the blanket or it's balled up next to him.

Diapers: size 2

Clothes: Will is working his way out of his 3-6mo clothes and fully in his 6mo clothes. The solid foods have helped him chunk up and get him into the size clothes of his age :)

Favorites: Always moving! He knows how to get himself from Point A to Point B pretty quickly. There is a mix of army crawl/leg drag & rolling over and over to get him where he wants to be. He is working SO HARD on trying to crawl and he's so close to getting there. He gets frustrated when he's up on his hands & knees rocking but nothing happens. Sometimes he crosses his ankles when up and then he trips himself.

Even though he doesn't like to be stuck in one place, he loves to be held. As long as whoever is holding him is moving around or bouncing him, he loves to be in someone's arms. He likes to touch the face of whoever is holding him as well. And, if you have longer hair, he will see how hard he can pull on it before you stop him (wonderful game, right??).

William seems to enjoy eating solids! He knows what his highchair is for and what happens after he is put in it. He's pretty demanding and will bang on the tray if he's not fed fast enough (such a joy!). As soon as he sees his spoon full, he little mouth opens like a baby bird for a worm.

Dislikes: Green beans!

Development: As we said above, William is working on crawling. I think each day he gets a little bit closer to crawling by himself. He gets up and is so proud of himself, but then loses it and falls back onto his belly or to his side. Sitting is going much better. He can hold himself pretty well once he is put into the sitting position by someone else. He can't pulled himself up to sit yet (that dang head is so heavy!).

Will is working on making a variety of sounds. It's easier to know what his sounds mean now as he uses them consistently in similar contexts. The sound heard the most is a "waa waa" sound that he makes when he is playing with his toys. Bret tries to convince me that he is saying "mama", but it's definitely a "w" not a "m". He turns his head toward whoever is talking near him, even if that means squirming around in the arms who whoever is holding him.

We just had his last of the six swim lessons on Thursday. He really enjoyed being in the water and we will probably put him in the class again to continue his familiarity with being in a swimming pool.

Looking Forward To:
-the last couple weeks of my summer break with Will

(not looking forward to having to go back to work instead of being with Will all day)

Food Gets Messy

Broccoli

Peas

Yellow Squash 

Plums & carrots 

Tomatoes & Rice (not a fan!)

Blueberries

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is a favorite holiday is our household! Bret has a love of fireworks and the Fourth has always meant a time to get together with family for him. We announced my pregnancy last Fourth as well and now we have Will here to celebrate with us!

Will & I made a Fourth of July craft to send to his grandparents & aunts and uncles. Yes, the flag isn't exactly correct, but this is how the military displays their flag; always flying in the wind toward victory!

The Fourth of July also always means a trip into Topeka to get together with the whole Dinkel family. With five brothers and sisters, Susie's family (plus their kids and their kids now!) is always a good time. William was quite the trooper! he had his solids like normal about 6pm, then was a social butterfly with all of the family. He nursed at 8pm and slept on me from 8:30-9:30pm, through the beginning of the fireworks. We went back outside and Will got to see some of the fireworks. He wasn't scared of the noise and was interested in all of the bright lights. This goes consistently with his always-alert attitude. The Fourth is Bret's favorite holiday and one day wasn't going to ruin our little guy (we hope!) so Bret shot off all his fireworks and we left about 10pm. Will slept on the way home and we treated putting him to bed like his normal dreamfeed. Here's hoping for back to normal routine tomorrow!

We bought Will's Fourth of July outfit last summer (the jumper; yes, I was still pregnant when we were planning what he would wear!). And it turned out wonderful!

Six Month Dr Appt

Six Month Doctor's Appointment

Today was William's six month appointment. He weighs 16lb & 6.5oz (20%). He was measured at 27.25in long (73%).  His head measured at 17.25in around (65%). Will is out of the "watch zone" on his weight! We've been trying to fatten him up with a supplement of formula each day and now solids.

She listened to his heart & lungs and looked in his eyes & ears, which are all great. Will showed off his leg strength by kicking almost the whole time he was being examined and his Dr said he is so strong. William rolled over while she was talking to us and did his attempting to crawl movements. Will isn't sitting on his own yet (something to work on), but she said it might not be long 'til he's crawling around. He already does a little bit of an army crawl to get himself closer to toys. 

No teeth yet, but he may by the next time he has a well-baby check up. His Dr recommended Tylenol or Motrin for any pain and suggested staying away from numbing things like oragel. She also said that some kids drool and have terrible pain along with teething while others just get teeth like it's a normal day. I'm hoping for the latter!

Dr did suggest working toward three square meals a day with solids. Grains and fruit for breakfast, fruit and veggie at lunch, and a protein and veggie for dinner. But continue nursing/formula as that is there he is getting most of his nutrients now and for the rest of his first year.

Will had two shots today to keep updated with his vaccinations. Bret wasn't able to be at him 2- or 4-month appointments, so he was not used to how they are given. I prepped him before the appointment as so what we were to do (hold him still/down while they gave the shots in his thighs). Both of them (Bret & William) did better than I thought! Will cried until the nurses left the room, then he was okay again. One of the nurses had to come back for something and he started crying again, maybe he thought she had another shot to give ;)

According to our doctor, what we need to be working on between now & his next appointment (9 month appointment)

-cuddles, love, and rocking :)

-reading to William each day!!

-encourage the babbling, cooing, & squealing Will does each day -- work on consonant sounds (mamama, dadada, bababa, gagaga, etc.)

-reaching and grasping for objects in his range and moving toward things out of his range

Upcoming milestones to watch for:

-sitting up on own & keeping head stable while sitting

-moving fluidly from laying to sitting

-bearing weight on legs when in a standing position (Will LOVES his jumpers & jumping on anyone holding him)

-recognizing voices & faces beyond just mom and dad

-recognizing self in a mirror

-first tooth/teeth (on average, comes between 6-9 months)

Next Appt- nine month appt in September

Father's Day

It's Bret's first Father's Day! I am so excited that he gets to celebrate this special day. He is an amazing man and has given me so much support as we  navigate this parenting thing together. It's not always perfect, but it's perfectly us. Together, we are being the best parents we can be for Will!

It's also time to celebrate the grandpas in Will's life! His Grandpa Richard loves to plant and take care of his garden & his Papa Fisher is a golf lover. We were able to incorporate those into Will's Father's Day art. These two men are wonderful examples for Will to see as he grows up!

Bret's Father's Day present was a little tougher for me to figure out. He doesn't have a desk at work to display a picture of Will and all the "First Father's Day" gifts I saw for sale seemed a little cheesy. I found this Lil' Critter book on Amazon and knew Bret would love to read it to Will! I traced Will's hand in it so we could remember how little he was on Bret's first Father's Day.

 

Here's the two of them together:

William: Six Months

6 Month Stats: Half A Year Old!!

Weight: (Dr appt Monday)

Length: (Dr appt Monday)

Eating: Five nursings four hours apart a day (7/11/3/7:30/10:30DF) with a formula bottle at 6pm and solids at lunch and dinner (noon & 6pm); We are doing chunky purees for his solids. I would like to give him some whole food as well (as per baby-led weaning), but we shall see how he takes to that.

Bedtime: Bedtime starts about 7:30pm and Will is asleep by 8:15pm. I nurse him right before he goes to sleep, so he's nice and drowsy when I put him in his crib. We are so thankful he's sleeping nights in his crib now. We retired that rock 'n' play a bit ago and were so happy to do so! I dreamfeed him about 10:30pm and he goes right back down for the night. As he is getting more and more calories from food, I would like to wean him off the dreamfeed so he sleeps all the way through the night with no wake-ups.

Naps: Still rockin' two naps a day for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Some days he takes a catnap sometime between 5 & 6pm. He goes down for his naps awake and falls asleep well on his own. Now that he's used to be unswaddled and having a blanket with him, he falls asleep much easier! He moves a lot more during his naps than his night sleep, so we never know where he will be in his crib when we go to wake him up. He sometimes puts himself in the corner and cuddles himself with his blanket. He's even started sleeping on his belly and has adorable red sleep marks when he wake up :)

Diapers: Size 2 diapers (finally!)

Clothes: 3-6mo & 6mo clothes; I packed up all of Will's 3mo clothes and I was so sad to know he won't ever wear them again!

Favorites: Moving around is a priority on William's list! He doesn't like to sit still on a lap (unless you are feeding him and even then, he throws his arms & legs around at times). If you are holding him on your lap, he likes to stand and jump. One of Bret's cousins gave up their doorway jumper this week and it has quickly become a favorite! He can spin in a circle, jump, and chew on the rings attached.

Speaking of chewing, chomping on everything is something else Will enjoys! It can be a toy, water bottle, his hands/feet, your hands, paper, anything he can get his hands on. I can't feel any teeth coming through yet, but I'm sure there are some there just under the surface. He isn't drooling a lot, but the chomping is constant :)

Rolling over and over and over is William's way of getting around. You would never know that he was once not a fan of tummy time, he puts himself in it so much now. That's how he plays with most of his toys or rolls to get to them.

Laughing/smiling is one of our favorites of Will's. Most of the time, we just have to smile or laugh at him to get him going, he has a great disposition. He likes being sung to and that usually puts him in a good mood.

Dislikes: If there is someone in the room with him that can hold him, they better be holding him! He likes to be part of the action and doesn't want to be put down (and he'll let you know!).

Development: William is working hard on crawling! He can get his legs/knees up and ready to push, but his arms are down. Or, he gets up into a push up to get moving, but his legs aren't going anywhere. He does this odd push off where he's balanced on one side. He can get himself moving by wiggling and rolling around. He reaches for everything around him, whether it's things he should or shouldn't be getting. His favorite thing to reach for is cups. If you are taking a drink while holding him, he will try to get a drink as well.

We introduced solids this week as well! He's doing pretty well with them. He is getting new flavors to taste. I have read that babies should be introduced to as many flavors as possible by 2 years old. If they are, they are less likely to become picky eaters (which comes in around 3 years old). 

William continues to work on his sounds. He has low grunts for when he's trying to figure something out (playing with a toy and wanting to get to something). He has high pitch squeals for when he's having a good time playing or being held. When he plays by himself in his jumpers, he babbles vowels and a couple consonants. He continues to look to loud noises and we use his name with him as much as possible. Those big, blue eyes of his are always watching everything around him and wanting to know what others are doing!

Will is also taking swimming/water introduction lessons this summer! It is six "lessons" on introducing babies to water. So far he has just been in the water with us and practiced some splashing. He will eventually go under in the water, wondering how that will go!

Looking Forward To:
-more solid food introduction
-time together as a family since it's summer for mama!