Vincent's 6 Month Update!

Height/Weight: According to our home scale and measuring tape, Vincent weighs 17.8 lbs and is still about 26 inches long! It's difficult to measure his length at home, so I'll update with a more accurate length after his 6 month checkup on the 10th!

Update 9/10/14: weight: 17lbs 5oz, length: 25.8 in and head circumference: 45.1cm
Doc said he is a little on the short side (29 percentile), but it is nothing to worry about, since he is gaining weight. 

Daily: We've still got the same daily routine as we did last month: wake up and have a feeding, then have tummy time, while I have breakfast and drink a cup of coffee. (Or two...or thirteen...lol) Vincent also enjoys sitting on his floor mat, while we play peek-a-boo or with his toys. When not on the play mat, we continue to rotate between the bouncy seat, jumparoo and high chair and I put him in his swing in our bedroom when I fold laundry. He has gotten a lot better at keeping himself entertained, which allows me to get a lot more done around the house! I've started pretty strictly putting him down for a nap every two hours during the day, which has been working out pretty well! In the evenings, around the time Mike gets home, Vincent either spends time with him or sits in his high chair in the kitchen while I cook dinner. He seems to enjoy watching me cook! During dinner, we all sit together at the table and Vince feeds himself baby food. :) After dinner, he sits in his high chair in the kitchen while I do dishes, which is another thing he enjoys! I name everything I wash in English while I wash it, then in German when I rinse it. His favorite is when I say "BIIIG PLATE!" After dishes, I give him a bath in the sink (although I admit I don't bathe him every single night), then take him into the bedroom to begin his night routine.

New amber teething necklace

Just like Daddy!

Hanging out with cousin Connor :)

Sleep: His bedtime is still between 8 and 9. After he has a bath, I begin the same night time routine that we've done for months now: lotion, diaper, pajamas and reading, followed by his last feeding, during which he usually falls asleep. I've also started taking him around the room after feeding, to say "goodnight" to everything in the room, so all his stuffed animals and finally Mike. :)
His sleep was really, really terrible for over a month and it finally started to get better a couple of weeks ago. He still wakes up a couple of times during the night, but goes right back to sleep. Towards the beginning of the month, I purchased a Zipadee-Zip, which is basically a Woombie with arms. It has been working great! It allows him to roll on his tummy safely, all while preventing him from rubbing his face and scratching himself. (He manages to scratch himself even immediately after I cut his nails!) He is still able to remove his pacifier, but is now able to put it back in. 

As I mentioned above, I've been strictly putting him down for naps every two hours, to prevent him from becoming overtired. It blows my mind how good, solid naps help him sleep better at night! You'd think if I kept him up all day, he'd sleep better at night, but actually, it's the opposite. If he has good naps, he has a better night. 

Eating: Eating has been a little strange this past month. He just doesn't seem all that hungry! I try to feed him and he gets distracted easily, trying to grab my face and the things around us, arching his back...the list goes on. I try to feed him every 2-3 hours, but sometimes, he just doesn't want to eat. I've noticed that when he does nurse, he drinks more milk in one sitting, which could be why he seems to want to nurse less often. I've read that this is part of a wonder week and he should go back to eating normally soon, so that could be it as well. The thing that worries me, is my supply dropping a bit, or so it seems at least. So I try to pump a couple of times a day, just to keep it up.
At night, I started giving Vincent a bottle of breast milk with a little bit of oatmeal in it, which I think is part of the reason he is sleeping better at night. 
In the evening, Vince eats a solids "popsicle", just like the breast milk ones I was making last month. We've found that he doesn't like to be spoon-fed at all! He prefers to feed himself and he likes the food frozen! It cracks me up! I've given him bits of chopped up or mushed food in his mesh feeder as well; so far avocado, zucchini and bananas. I'd like to purchase a little blender to start making my own baby food! I think it would be a lot of fun, so we will look into that in the next couple of weeks. 

Trying peas for the first time

Enjoying a carrot popsicle

Sizes: Vincent wears 6 and 6-9 month clothing now. I occasionally put him in 3-6 month clothing, if it's a larger fit, but not often. I was surprised to find that he fits in 6 month pants really well, since for quite a while, he wore smaller pants than he did shirts or onesies. His little shoes don't fit at all anymore!! :( They were newborn size, so I'm fully aware he'd grow out of them quickly, but it makes me sad! I'll be purchasing a larger pair soon and paint them. He is still in size 3 diapers and I can imagine he will be for at least another month - they still fit him just fine and we don't have blowouts very often. 

Milestones and Changes:

• Vince can say: "Mama", "Dada", "Nana" and "Lala"! Usually longer though "Mamamama" or "Dadadada". He also makes the "th" sound and I've heard a "ga" here or there. I swear I hear him make a new sound every week! He has become very vocal. He also likes to yell, squeal and gasp. He will coo and gasp several times in a row when he gets really excited - it's quite entertaining!
• Vincent went swimming for the first time on the 24th! He really liked being in the water and he was for quite a while, too! It was such a fun day and I look forward to taking him again before summer is over! 

Sucking in his gut! Hahaha

• He can now sit up unassisted for 5-10 minutes! He has got pretty good balance and can look around and play with his toys without tipping over. Occasionally he will tip and I will gently push him back upright so he doesn't fall. He also sits up in his bouncy seat now!

• Vincent rode in the "big boy" part of his stroller for the first time! He liked being able to see more things, but disliked not having me in sight the whole time.

• He has tried several new foods: carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, mango, avocado and zucchini!
• To add a quick chalkboard blooper: he LOVES pulling on things, including my hair and glasses!

• Vincent nursed in the mei-tai carrier for the first time! It was a bit difficult and he latched in the wrong spot a couple times (OW!), but it worked! :D

• He likes to stick his tongue out a LOT, which why the chalkboard photo is a little different this month. Every other photo, he was sticking out his tongue and looking at the ceiling! xD

I can hardly believe I gave birth to this little sir half a year ago! It's so incredible how time flies! The difference between his newborn and 6 month photos is so extreme - he looks like a completely different baby!

Vincent's 5 Month Update!

Height/Weight: According to our home scale and measuring tape, Vincent weighs 17 lbs and is 26 inches long! 

Daily: It really varies, especially depending on how well he slept the night before, but this is generally our "routine" for the day: wake up and have a feeding in the side-lying position on my bed. Then get up and have tummy time, while I throw together some breakfast for myself. During awake time, he rotates between activity mat and tummy time, time in the bouncy seat, the jumperoo or high chair and my lap. I try to limit time on his back and in the jumperoo, to avoid putting too much pressure on the back of his head or his hips. He has recently really begun to enjoy sitting in his high chair, because he can see the whole living area and have his toys right in front of him, without them falling down. He has become a champ at tummy time and now that we have put together the foam floor mat, he is on a much sturdier surface and has begun to push up on his hands instead of his elbows. He will now do tummy time for 10 minutes at a time or longer! He still takes around 3 naps every day, never longer than two hours at a time. As a matter of fact, most of his naps don't last more than an hour. 

Sleep: His bedtime is still between 8 and 9, depending on what time Mike comes home and we have dinner. We've still got the same bedtime routine: diaper, lotion, pajamas, bedtime story (or stories - he is rather fond of them!) and nurse to sleep. A couple of weeks ago, I began transitioning Vincent out of the swaddle. Since he started rolling onto his tummy a LOT, I figured it would be best to free his arms, so he could roll over safely. It has been very hard on both of us, especially since his arms are what keep him awake when he isn't swaddled. Also, he rolls to his tummy every time I put him in his crib, which is rather nerve-wracking for me, especially since I've been advised since before he was born to always put him on his back to sleep and I'm overly paranoid about SIDS. So naturally, I am constantly jumping up to check on him, to make sure he is okay. But I'm not surprised he favors sleeping on his tummy, since both his father and I are tummy sleepers. 
As far as sleep itself goes, I'm currently at a loss. Some nights are okay, others terrible. I used to be able to put him down, give him a kiss and talk to him calmly before leaving the room and he would fall asleep on his own. Now, as soon as he can sense I'm about him down to sleep, he cries. Loudly, if I may add. I've tried just about everything and nothing helps. Between what seems like a never ending "wonder week" growth spurt, the 4 month sleep regression period, teething and out-of-swaddle transition, nights and naps have been a disaster for both him and me! I've ordered a Zipadee-Zip (I'll make a separate post about this), an amber teething necklace and a new mobile, which will hopefully help nights become a bit better. I keep having to tell myself over and over that it is just a phase and it will hopefully pass soon.

Eating: Vincent still continues to eat every 2-3 hours during the day. One night he slept for an unusually long stretch and I was very engorged, so I got up to pump. He woke immediately afterward, so I gave him a 2.5 oz bottle. He was still hungry, so I gave him another; he drank 5 oz! The rest, I used to make breastmilk popsicles (one of which he is enjoying in the first photo below). He has definitely upped his intake. Sometimes I wish I had some sort of meter that told me how much he gets during every feeding. xD We ended up changing our minds about the solids. I really didn't want to start them until 6 months, but he had been showing so many signs that he was ready to try (literally trying to put our food and drink in his mouth in particular), that we ended up getting a few jars of baby food for him to try this past weekend. So far we've only tried squash, just two tablespoons per day at dinner. He is not a huge fan, as we suspected (haha), but he will get used to the taste! We also got these little mesh self-feeders and I put a piece of banana in there for him to chew on. He liked that!

Sizes: He is now in 3-6 and 6 month clothing. He fits in 9 month Gerber clothing, which seem to run smaller. I hated having to put all of his 0-3 month clothing away, but it was time! He still fits in 0-3 month pants though, and will for a while. I put him in size 3 diapers when we ran out of size 2, which was two weeks ago. Size 2 was no longer containing number 2 haha! 

Milestones and Changes:

• As you read earlier, he ate squash for the first time! We haven't given him anything else yet, besides banana to chew on through a mesh feeder.
• He is starting to babble! He even said "Mom" and "Mama!" Not on purpose of course, but it really is awesome to hear him make new sounds! "Mamamamama" and "Nanananana" are new as well as "Cheeeee" and "Thhhh". He always seems to have something to say and I can tell that he wants to talk badly!
• He rolled over onto his tummy for the first time by himself! Ever since that first time, he does it constantly. Nearly every time I put him on his back, as a matter of fact! 

• Vincent can sit up for about a minute unassisted! He leans forward on his hands to keep himself upright. It helps if I sit and talk with him during this time, since it forces him to look up and helps keep his balance.

• We carried Vince with his legs out in the carrier for the first time - he is finally big enough to where we can do that! Mike also wore him for the first time. :) <3

• He LOVES being read to. His favorite books are "The Going to Bed Book", "The Little Engine That Could" and "Where is the Green Sheep?". I look forward to expanding his library!

• Vincent can stand, leaning onto the back of the couch! He likes being "so big"!

• Even though sleep has not been great, he did sleep without the swaddle for the first time! 

Here are a couple more photos:

Vincent: 21 weeks in and 21 weeks out!

Vincent's 4 Month Update!

Height/Weight: According to our home scale, Vincent weighs 15 lbs! And I finally got around to purchasing measuring tape, and according to it, he is 25.5 inches long. So he has gained about 1 1/2 lbs and grown 2 inches this last month! He is getting so big.

Daily: We don't really have a set routine anymore, but Vince has started getting tired around the same times every day; at noon, at around 3 and again between 5 and 6, which is generally when I put him down for naps unless we're out and about. He doesn't sleep for very long; usually between 30 minutes to an hour. On occasion he sleeps for two hours, but only seldom. And he has completely stopped sleeping on me - he hasn't in a month! He used to only nap on my chest and now, he won't fall asleep that way at all! I miss the snuggles, but at the same time, I'm glad he is getting used to his crib and falling asleep on his own. And it gives me time to get things done around the house and a little time for myself!
As far as activities go, Vincent is pretty much doing the same things as last month. We rotate between the Pack n' Play for tummy and activity mat time, my lap, the bouncy seat and the horse jumparoo. (I guess that's what it's called haha!) He has gotten SO much more patient on his activity mat! It used to be that he would lose patience after about 3 minutes. Now, he will go as long as 15 to 20! I don't like to keep him on it longer than that anyway, since I prefer him to keep upright as much as he can. But it encourages him to reach out for toys and move around a bit. Tummy time has gotten much better too! It usually lasts about 3-5 minutes, which is spent completely upright on his elbows. I also have him practice rolling over several times a day during tummy time. 
When in my lap, he likes to sit or stand, while holding onto my thumbs. When he stands up, he giggles when I say "Yaaaay!" and clap his hands together. :D 

Sleep: His bedtime is still 8, but can sometimes be closer to 9, depending on when his last nap was or when we finished dinner. Since Mike sometimes gets home pretty late, we're still eating dinner at 8. His bedtime routine has changed just a little: First I change his diaper and apply lotion while putting him in his pajamas. Afterward, I read him a story, swaddle him and nurse him to sleep in the dark. He then either sleeps in his crib or the swing, depending on whether or not he puts up a fuss. I do try to get him to sleep in the crib every night and during nap time though and use the swing as a last resort. His sleep has gotten SO much better! He has begun to sleep from about 9 at night to 2 or 4 in the morning, has a dream feed and goes straight back to sleep until about 7 or 8. It varies from night to night, but he generally has a very long stretch first, followed by a short stretch. I'm finally starting to feel like more of a person and less of a zombie, now that I'm getting more sleep! The longest he has gone between feedings at night this month was 9 hours!! :D He has just begun a pretty gnarly growth spurt, so he has gone back to not sleeping very well again, but I know it will pass soon. As far as swaddling goes, I plan to continue with it until he starts rolling from his back to his tummy. 

Eating: Vincent still continues to eat every 2-3 hours during the day. He really doesn't show hunger signs like he used to, so often I just feed him at the 2 hour mark, whether he seems hungry or not. He still seems to favor nursing on the left side. During the day, I often have to feed him in the football position if it's time to nurse on the right side, because he really fights it! I've gone back to nursing in the side lying position during the morning feeding, which gives Vince a little more shut-eye and a bit of time for me to wake up. It's nice and I get my snuggles this way. :)
Mike and I don't want to start solids until Vince is at least 6 months old. He has been gaining weight, growing well and seems very satisfied after feedings. I do look forward to introducing solids though - he is starting to give us curious looks when he watches us eat! In fact, watching me snack on popcorn makes him smile! 

Sizes: He still fits in some off his 0-3 and 3 month clothing, even though he is growing so much! The Carter's brand seems to make longer onesies, which are the ones he still fits in. They are getting small on him, but I want to continue putting him in it as long as I can, since we have so much 0-3 month clothing. I am trying to keep him out of 3-6 month until he is completely out of 0-3, just so I can continue to get good use out of it. I started putting Vince in size 2 diapers on the 11th of June. I can imagine he will just be getting into size 3 by 5 months old.  

Milestones and Changes:

• Vince is learning how to blow raspberries! It is SO cute. If I do it and wait for him, he will almost always blow them back! Sometimes with bubbles, sometimes without.

• He laughed for the first time! I was playing with him on the bed and he let out this giggle, so I set up the camera and he seriously laughed! He has only done it a few more times since then, but I try to make him laugh every day!

• He rolled over for the first time! He since then has only rolled over a few more times; he likes to roll onto his side and just stay there. He seems to fight rolling over a lot! It takes more effort for him to stay upright than to roll over.

• As speaking of rolling over, if Vince is lying on his back and I give him one of my fingers to grab hold of, he will roll onto his tummy!
• He can sit, just holding my finger with one hand. A few times, he has been able to sit upright without assistance for a few seconds, before slowly tipping forward. Hehe

• He found his feet! He is constantly grabbing them and pulling them up. Especially when he is on his back! It makes it difficult to change his diaper or swaddle him sometimes because of it.

• If I hand him his pacifier, he knows how to put it in his mouth! And if he doesn't have his pacifier, he likes to suck those same two fingers that he began to last month. 

• I believe he may be teething! He gets fussy when he doesn't have something to chew on, so I started filling his soothie pacifiers with water and freezing them. He will hold it in his mouth and chew on it until the ice melts. I also picked up some teething toys filled with purified water, that I store in the freezer for him. He seems to like them pretty well also.

• He is still very talkative and is VERY good at expressing his feelings! When he is happy, he coos and shrieks and when he is getting mad or impatient, he lets out these ridiculously long grunts and even has a grumpy cry! In the photo is the famous (and adorable) "I'm pissed off" pout!