6 Months

It has already been half a year since our little man came into our lives. Here is a recap of what's going on with Kyler at 6 months.

• He can sit supported and is learning to keep his balance sitting without support. He can scoot backward a little but doesn't like staying on his tummy for very long.
• He is a big eater. He loves his cereal in the morning and eats about 4 cubes of homemade baby food for lunch and dinner. He eats takes between 4 and 8 ounces of formula every few hours and holds his own bottle.
• He usually wakes up once each night after sleeping for around 6 hours. He goes to bed around 10:00 and wakes up between 7:30 and 8:30. He takes two naps each day for about an hour or so each.
• He is growing out of the 2nd size of cloth diapers and I am going to have to order the next size. He is wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes now (and most are hand-me-downs from my cousin Nolan).
• He is all boy. He loves electronics and always wants our phones, computer, and remotes. When he plays toys he shakes them around really hard and sometimes they go flying quite a distance. He is liking noisy toys and "big kid toys" like his little dump truck.
• He still loves books. He is starting to get into the ones that have textures in them. When we sit in the rocking chair he reaches for the pile of books. He flips through pages of his board books.
• He really likes the dogs, especially Baxter. He is getting better at catching them and they are learning to avoid Kyler.
• He is making new noises. He sometimes puts different sounds together, making an incoherent sentence. His newest sound is "bababababa." He has started laughing quite a lot too.
• It looks and feels like he finally has a tooth about to come through.

We are really looking forward to Christmas - Kyler loves paper so he will probably actually sort of unwrap some gifts (until the paper makes it to his mouth). And we can't wait for him to start crawling (although we have yet to babyproof hardly at all).

He has a doctor appointment on Monday so we will include an update with his vital statistics then!



Update: Kyler weighs 16 lbs, 8 oz and is 26" long. Head circumference is 17. All fall in the "25-50%" range in terms of percentile. Poor guy got 3 shots this time. He did good though and just ran a slight fever for a couple days. That and his irritability may have been due to his cold and the fact that his gums are swollen and we are expecting teeth to pop through any time now. We also went to the K-State basketball games with him Monday and Tuesday (late nights) so he was a tired boy.

What's so funny?

The other night Kyler and I were on Skype with Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Tammy when he started getting a little fussy. To distract him for another couple of minutes I grabbed one of his toys and tapped it on his highchair tray. Little did I know that Kyler would find this laugh-out-loud hilarious. He needed a diaper change so we had to stop and I hoped he would still think it was funny when Brett got home. Sure enough he was really giggling this time. We couldn't figure out why that was so funny to him but Kyler got us laughing too.

Kyler and the Peas

After he had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, Kyler stopped eating his peas (that's what he up-chucked at daycare). I kept offering them to him occasionally thinking that he still wasn't feeling well and they just didn't taste good. But I'm pretty sure he hates them now just like his mom and dad. It was also mildly entertaining watching him take a bite...

Another Cold

I think we need a good hard freeze (although I hate for it to be that cold). Kyler has another cold and this time it seems to be a little worse than the first one. His nose is runny and stuffy and he's got some congestion in his chest too. We haven't gone to the doctor yet - I really don't want him on antibiotics more than absolutely necessary - but we are keeping a close watch. He's been acting and eating fine and no fever and he hasn't really been coughing either, just some raspy breathing. We got some baby vaporub this morning and have been running the humidifier in his room the past couple of days.

On a similar note, we were sad to get a letter in the mail last week saying that Ky's pediatrician was leaving. She has been great and very patient with my requests to break up vaccinations. We will see her one last time at Kyler's 6-month checkup and then we will have to find someone else. Bummer!

Lunch Time

Here is our typical lunch time. Kyler just woke up from a nap and is ready to eat!

"Yum!" Right down the hatch.

Distracted by the doggies...

Angry face means "Hurry up with that food, Mom!"

"Just let me do it."

Messy face!

But he loves getting cleaned up...

A drink of water from the big boy cup.

And an after-lunch cocktail.

Did we make you hungry?

So Much Fun

Kyler is getting to be so much fun. He is actually starting to think Brett and I are funny and entertaining (rather than just the dogs). He laughs at us and squeals when we tickle him. He's definitely got a big personality.

Sick Baby

When I picked Kyler up from daycare today they told me he was sick. He had woken up from a nap a couple of hours before and just vomited all over. Then he was a little lethargic the rest of the afternoon. When I picked him up and held him in my arms he turned to me and very lightly gave me an open mouth kiss. It was so sweet but I would much rather have seen his usual big smile.

This is the first time Kyler has vomited. He has had a cold and runny stools before but this time he is really not feeling too hot. He wouldn't even take his bottle of formula - and that is very uncharacteristic of my little eater. I got him to drink a little water after we got home but within 20 minutes that came right back up. But he's such a sport. He doesn't even cry. He just gives me a sad look and sort of yells to let me know he's not all that happy. And then other times he will sit there and play or talk to his toys and you wouldn't even know he was sick.

He's such a trouper, even tougher than his Mama and WAY tougher than his Dad. We are more of babies when we're sick than he is at 5 months old. Hopefully he feels better by Sunday for his first Chiefs game!

Kyler and Baxter

These two have an interesting relationship...

There is mutual affection...

And tolerance from both sides.

Baxter knows his master...

And lets him do whatever he wants...

He secretly likes it...

Why else would he put up with this?

Well, sometimes he has no choice...

But mostly I think he likes the attention.

5 Months

At 5 months, Kyler...

• Sits supported and can support his weight standing with help,

Driving Grandpa's boat.

• Eats solid foods (baby cereal, pureed fruits and veggies) - he is a great eater and hates when his bottles or food are gone - he even grabs the spoon to try to get the food into his mouth faster,
• Has stopped nursing (not his choice) and holds his own bottle,

Getting sleepy drinking his bottle.

• Puts everything in his mouth including books as we are reading them and his own feet,
• Has a new funny face (wrinkles his nose and breathes heavily through his nose when he thinks something is funny),

Making his new wrinkle-nose face.

• Makes lots of sounds (sometimes really loud ones and occasionally responds to us when we make a sound he can repeat),
• Rolls around a lot on the floor and kicks to splash out of the tub at bath time,

Grabbing for the camera.

• Still looks like a little man (it's the 1st thing everyone says when they see him),
• Is all boy - he loves remotes, phones, anything with buttons and he grunts a lot,
• Is not afraid of strangers - he will go to anyone and smiles at everyone (he has learned how to flirt),

Getting pumped up with Dad.

• Laughs occasionally - but only at the dogs,
• Interacts with the dogs - he is really good at grabbing their collars when they are nearby.

No More Nursing

I have decided to wean Kyler from breastfeeding starting this week. I am really really glad I did it but I think it is the right time to stop. I thought I would nurse for a full year but some things happened that just made it a lot harder that I originally expected. This isn't a post that many of you will be interested in, but I thought I better document why I stopped in case someday I have regrets.

1. Pumping at Work - Originally I did not plan to return to work after Kyler was born. But now that I am back 3 days per week I have to pump on those days. And let me tell you, that is just not any fun. I have to lug around a big bag with a pump, cooler, and bottles. I have to keep track of time and pump when Kyler would normally eat. This started out at every 3 hours but he is now eating every 2.5 hours at daycare. This is especially hard when I am out of the office. Sometimes I have had to pump in the vehicle. Besides the inconvenience, I cannot pump as much as Kyler eats at a feeding so then I end up having to fit in extra pumping sessions at night. It is just a constant battle that I am tired of.

2. Pregnancy Prevention - While it is definitely not foolproof, breastfeeding is somewhat of birth control. We have decided to have one more child in the near future and breastfeeding will prohibit that from happening. Especially because my doctor will not start fertility treatment again until I have stopped nursing for 3 months. You can check out my other blog for more information on what we hope to be our upcoming second pregnancy.

3. Attachment Issues - I feel a little guilty about this one because I think it is the most selfish reason but it is a big one for me. Kyler is really whiny around me a lot of the time. And when I hold him he almost always wants to nurse. So he ends up crying in my arms and I have to either nurse him or hand him off to his dad. (And this is often after he has just eaten so I know he isn't really hungry.) He is also starting to use nursing as playtime and after he is done eating or not hungry he will bite and pull which is, as you might imagine, not comfortable.

4. Convenience - I guess this one is a little selfish too but I spend a ridiculous amount of time pumping and nursing. In the past couple of days I have started giving Kyler more bottles and it is so nice. I don't have to leave the room or go to a bathroom in a crowded public place to nurse. I can actually be folding laundry or cleaning up the kitchen while he takes a bottle (he can hold it on his own). I don't have to think about when I am going to pump when Brett and I go out without Kyler. I know washing bottles will be somewhat time consuming but I can do that while Kyler is taking a bottle - and I won't have to clean a pump all the time.

5. Confusion - Kyler thinks anyone and everyone can nurse him. Anytime someone (especially women and more specifically well-endowed women) holds him, he will turn and put his mouth on their goods. It is sometimes very embarrassing with people we don't know that well and they always think my child is starving. Typical guy I guess?

So I know for some people these would not be good reasons to stop nursing at 5 months. But for me, they are more than enough. I have gritted my teeth and done it a month or two more than I really wanted to but now is the time. I did enjoy it a lot at first when I knew I was sustaining my baby and giving him the most healthy food available. And especially recently when he gets full and gazes up at me with a big smile on his face before going back for a little more. That is something I know I will miss immensely but it would have to stop eventually because my little baby boy is growing up fast!

Update: This turned out to be a good decision. Kyler is now much happier with me. He has stopped fussing so much when I am around or holding him. Within a week he was all smiles around me and it has helped our relationship tremendously. Even B noticed he became a happier baby. He also stopped trying to put his mouth on everyone else's ta-tas.