Category: Baby Update

Baby Update · Daily living · Holiday · Parenting

Berend: 7 Months

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We’re heading into the Christmas season new year with a 7 month old! Yup, posting late again… oops!

Age: 7 months on 15 December 2018
Weight: about 19.5 lbs
Height: about 28″
Teeth: 1
Clothing Size: 9-12 months and 12 months
Diaper Size: size 3 in disposable and one size in cloth
Milestones: saying “mama,” up and down motion with arms (shaking toys, slapping the water in the tub or hitting the table), reaching out to be picked up, scooting backwards on his belly, smacking his lips, using raking grasp

Likes: being carried, standing with assistance (but he tries hard to only use one hand), walking with assistance, baths, tickles, food, bouncing, babywearing, putting everything in his mouth, sucking on his bottom lip and his tongue

Dislikes: being held while sitting, Mama walking away, going to sleep, reading ( 😦 ), car rides, getting stuck on his belly

Sleep: No real changes with sleep this month. We’ve had a few slightly better nights (sleeping a stretch of 3 hours) scattered among our bad nights, but Berend still sleeps only 1-2 hours at a time for the most part. He often wants to nurse when he wakes, especially if it’s been closer to 2 hours since he last ate, but sometimes he just wants to cuddle. I really don’t think he’s that hungry when he wakes, but nursing probably give him comfort, especially now that he’s teething.

Berend is pretty solidly on 3 naps a day, although he has had a few days where he only had time for 2 naps. He still takes short (30-45 minute) naps the majority of the time, but he also takes some awesome naps that are 1-2 hours long. I’m hoping we get more of those soon, because I’d much rather work around 2 naps than 3. I’d love to get out of the house more. I never thought I’d want to cut naps out, but it definitely allows more freedom in the day!

Berend is pretty much on the same schedule he was on at 6 months: to bed between 7 & 8 depending on when his last nap ends, up many times a night, comes to bed with me anywhere between 2am and 5am, nurses quite a bit (more at the beginning of the night than in the early morning), and is up for the day between 6:30 & 7:30. He averages about 12.25 hours of sleep a day total.

Eating: Ugh, I suck at remembering to offer food to Berend! He continues to do fairly well with solids. He seems to be getting better at moving solids to the back of his mouth to swallow, but he still occasionally gags and throws up a bit. I’m not sure he likes banana, but most other things he seems to enjoy. Berend really enjoys meat just like his big brother!

Berend continues to nurse around the clock. He is still easily distracted during the day and takes full feedings only before naps. He typically nurses every 2-3 hours during the day though. At night he nurses as often as every hour and sometimes stretches it to 3 hours. I guess this explains his wonderfully chunky arms & legs!

Mommy Update: Guys, I am so tired! I seriously fantasize about sleeping. I think the lack of sleep has made me a little Grinchy this holiday season. I’m trying to enjoy it all, but I’m stressed out and feeling spread too thin a lot of the time. Look at my tired eyes:

This photo was taken after Gerrit’s first Christmas program. Berend loved all the people and singing, although sitting still was a challenge haha!

I think I’m feeling especially stressed right now with Christmas. Like it or not, most of the “holiday cheer” comes from me as the mom. I’m in charge of 95% of the holiday stuff, and that on top of caring for 2 young kids and being sleep-deprived has me spread very thin. I’m trying to just enjoy the ages that my boys are at and see the magic of the season, but it’s tough sometimes.

Memorable Events: Berend celebrated his first Thanksgiving this month! We combined efforts with our neighbors across the street, and it was great to be with another family for the holiday. They have a 2-year-old son, so Gerrit had fun playing with him. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to get a picture of all of us! So here’s the photo I had Andrew take before I got Berend ready for bed that night:

About a week after Thanksgiving, Berend’s first tooth popped through! It really caught me by surprise, because Gerrit didn’t get his first tooth until he was 8 months old. I just assumed they would be pretty close to the same age for that since they’ve been so similar for most other things.

This month we upgraded from our family car to an SUV for some extra space: more seating and more room when traveling. I was hoping we could get a new vehicle before we traveled for Christmas, so Andrew decided to just go ahead and do it the first weekend in December. It seemed like a good time to switch car seats too: Gerrit went from rear facing to forward facing, and Berend went from his infant seat to a convertible one.

The rest of Berend’s 7th month was spent getting ready for Christmas! He got to see us decorate around the house and set up our Christmas tree. After 2 Christmases with just a 4-foot tree, we were excited to get out all the ornaments for a full 7-foot tree.

 

And here is Berend’s December photo:

Berend, it’s so fun watching you experience new seasons and holidays with us. It’s probably a little overwhelming on your end, but we love having you involved in our traditions. We love your smiles, your giggles, and your dedication to becoming mobile! We can’t wait to see what next month and the new year hold in store for you, baby bear!

 

Baby Update · Daily living · Holiday · Parenting

Berend: 6 Months

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I can’t believe we are already halfway through Berend’s first year! The days (and nights) can be long, but I’m still a little in shock that our little bear is half a year old already.

Age: 6 months on 15 November 2018
Weight: about 18.5 lbs (18 lb 13 oz on 26Nov)
Height: about 27.5″ (27.52″ on 26Nov)
Teeth: none
Clothing Size: 9 months, 9-12 months, and a few 12 months
Diaper Size: size 3 in disposable and one size in cloth
Milestones: making the “buh” sound, grabbing everything in sight (faces and hair included), recognizes and responds to his name, blowing raspberries/spitting, scooting/spinning on tummy, first solid foods, turning items in hands to inspect them, moving from sink to big tub for baths

Likes: chewing on everything, standing, watching and playing with Gerrit, laughing at Mama, holding Mama’s hand while nursing, bouncing when standing and supported

You wouldn’t believe how many photos of Berend have something in his mouth: a toy, his hands, his foot…

Berend wants to be standing all the time! 

These two! They love each other so much!

Dislikes: going to sleep, car rides, Mama walking away, getting stuck on his belly, having gas at night

Sleeping: In terms of naps, Berend officially transitioned to 3 naps a day this month. He typically takes such short naps (30-45 minutes), that it seemed like he was taking 4 naps a day for a long time. But between his wake time moving to 2 hours and his naps occasionally being a decent length, he finally dropped that 4th one. Once in awhile (like I can count on one hand), he refuses that morning nap and we end up napping together:

Berend continued to spend a few hours each night in bed with me this month. He doesn’t seem as restless in bed with me for the most part, although he still has nights that he screams for no apparent reason. Then I need to get up, bounce him around a bit, and try to crawl back into bed holding him without waking him. Sometimes it takes a few attempts.

In general, Berend goes to bed between 7 & 8 at night, wakes up every 1-2 hours (or as often as every 30-45 minutes) all night, comes to bed with me around 2 or 3 in the morning, then wake up for the day between 6:30 & 7:30 in the morning. He nurses during the night every 1-2 hours as well, so I have to change his diaper around 1am every night (the kid pees so much!). In a 24 hour period, he averages about 12.5 hours of sleep.

Eating: Berend is still nursing every 2 hours all day and night for the most part. He nurses more during the first half of his night than the last half, so I still wonder if he’s not nursing enough during the day. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t want to nurse for long during the day. Even if I’m trying to nurse him before a nap, it seems like he unlatches as soon as he feels like he might be falling asleep, because heaven forbid he not fight his naps with every ounce of his being. I feel like now that he’s upright more often (sitting on his own), he spits up a lot less, although I can always count on him to spit up on himself or myself when we’re running late and heading out the door.

Shortly before Berend turned 6 months, we started giving him solid food! We are planning to do baby-led weaning (BLW) again, since we liked that method when introducing solids to Gerrit. His first taste of food was applesauce while Andrew’s parents were still here, because I wanted them to be able to witness that. About a week later we introduced other solids: banana, roasted sweet potato, and avocado.

He hasn’t actually consumed much yet: he’s still working on taking nibbles and trying to work it around his mouth without gagging (which happens a fair amount right now). I can say that he has eaten some solids though, since I’ve witnessed them on the other end haha.

So far it seems like he really enjoys trying solid food! I’m hoping the whole process is a lot less stressful this time around. I honestly don’t know if I even have the time or energy to worry as much about it this time around.

Mommy Update: I feel like having 2 kids has mellowed me out so much. Well, as much as I can mellow out, haha. I have few to no expectations when it comes to sleep for Berend, so I can’t get very upset about bad nights or crappy naps. I still definitely get frustrated here and there, but I guess I just don’t worry as much as I did with Gerrit.

Physically I feel tired but like my body may be getting itself back to normal. I’m not losing heaps of hair anymore which is nice. I finally got a hair cut too, so maybe that helped! I’m definitely not worried about my weight right now. Loving the cooler weather so I can live in leggings and sweaters. I really don’t love bringing Berend to bed with me in the early morning, but I think I definitely get more sleep going that route. I’m tired, but I don’t feel exhausted every day. Andrew is great about letting me sleep late into the morning on weekends too and that helps so much.

I’d love to get back into my hobbies, but with the holiday season upon us, I feel like I’m always working on other things when I get the chance. I did order a bunch of photos to hopefully get family photos on the wall, finish the pregnancy book I started for Berend, and finish up Berend’s bedroom (which I’m super excited to share soon). I’d love to get back into crocheting soon… I miss it.

Memorable Events: After a quiet 5th month, I feel like Berend’s 6th month was pretty exciting for him! Shortly after turning 5 months, we went to the local pumpkin patch to get pumpkins for Halloween:

Andrew’s parents came to visit for Gerrit’s 4th birthday, and they also got to meet Berend for the first time! Here’s Berend with his big brother and Gram on Gerrit’s birthday:

Right after Gerrit turned 4, we got ready for Halloween! Obviously, the boys didn’t help with pumpkin carving, but we did get a family picture out of it:

Gerrit chose the designs for our pumpkin this year. He wanted a scary face and a dinosaur, of course. Andrew took on the dinosaur, and he did an awesome job!

Even though it was pretty cold, I took Berend around our loop when I took Gerrit trick-or-treating (for the first time!). Mostly because I had put a bit of effort into our costume of a koala in a eucalyptus tree (right down to leave in my hair haha):

He seriously was such a cute koala! And it was a super easy costume: he already had a gray hoodie and gray pants, and I had the koala hat from when Gerrit’s 2nd Halloween. I just added the fur to the ears for Berend.

Berend also sat in the shopping cart for the first time this month. Normally, I leave him home with Andrew, and Gerrit and I go shopping together. But Gerrit wanted to stay home that afternoon, so I took Berend instead, and I thought I’d try him in the cart. He did pretty well, but he wanted to be carried in the ring sling after only a few aisles.

After his first go with solids, Berend also had his first bath in the big tub this month! He doesn’t really play much yet, but I think he loved all the extra space.

And literally a day or two before he turned 6 months, I got my projects done for Berend’s bedroom! I got his mobile finished over Veteran’s Day weekend (Andrew insisted I finish it haha), and then I felt motivated enough to tackle the painting for his room. I’m really happy with how this part of the room looks:

Andrew was great about hanging everything for me too. Consider this your sneak peek! I’m hoping to have a post about Berend’s nursery ready to go very soon.

Here’s Berend’s November photo:

Oh Berend, you are such an adorable handful! I feel like you don’t make things any easier for us, but we just adore you anyway. When you are super demanding, you still just flash us the cutest smiles, so we really can’t be irritated for long. You want to be a part of everything our family is doing all the time, and we love that about you. We’re just all really anxious for you to really be involved! You want to be on the move so badly, but you really don’t want to put any effort into learning to crawl, haha. We’re excited to see what milestones you hit next, but don’t grow too fast… We love you, sweet Berend!

 

Baby Update · Daily living · Parenting

Berend: 5 Months

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Well, I’m publishing this 2 weeks after B turned 5 months, but better late than never, right?

Age: 5 months on 15 October 2018
Weight: about 17 lbs
Height: about 27″
Teeth: none
Clothing Size: 6-9 months & 9 months
Diaper Size: size 3 in disposable and one size in cloth
Milestones: rolling from back to tummy intentionally, laughing, new sounds (fake coughing for one), sitting independently

Likes: Sucking on everything, watching the TV, trying to get Mama’s phone, being carried, being outside, standing with help, taking baths, watching Gerrit, crinkly toys, sleeping on his side.

Dislikes: Diaper changes at 1am, going to sleep, not getting attention all the time, waking up on his tummy, when toys don’t do what he wants

Sleeping: Not a good month for sleep. He averaged only 12.5 hours of sleep each day and mostly got 4 naps a day because they tended to be short. I think his longest stretch of sleep was maybe 3 hours? I can’t even remember.

Naps were mostly short ones (30-45 minutes), so he usually got 4 a day. All naps are in his crib with him wearing his Zippadee Zip, curtains closed, and white noise going. I almost always nurse him to sleep for naps because he usually won’t nurse well any other time of the day.

During the night, Berend was up all the time. He was generally up every hour, but sometimes as often as every 30 minutes (not including whole hours where I was in and out rocking him to sleep, laying him down, then going back 5 minutes later because he was up again). Exhausting. Frustrating. I usually gave up around 2 or 3am this month and just brought him to bed with me. He still would wake up crying, and I’d still have to get out of bed to walk him around to soothe him.

Eating: Still exclusively breastfeeding this month. Berend is still a quick nurser: 5 minutes or less when he’s awake and maybe 10 minutes if he falls asleep nursing. He also still nurses roughly every 2-2.5 hours day and night. He is still very easily distracted from nursing if I nurse around any other people, so he gets his best feedings before sleeps.

Mommy Update: I feel like the days are pretty long yet. But I feel like my attitude is generally better than it was when Gerrit was this age. I don’t get nearly as frustrated with the short naps and constant resettling all night. I feel like I’m always telling myself It is what it is. It won’t last forever. It helps more than I thought it would.

I’m definitely better when we get out of the house. I’m just not always motivated to actually do that. It seems like even if I tell myself that we’re going to leave right after Berend wakes from a nap, it still takes almost an hour to get out the door. Between Gerrit dragging his feet about getting dressed or using the bathroom and me trying to get Berend changed and ready, it all takes way too long.

Physically? I keep losing hair. My skin is better for the most part. I’ve gained a couple of pounds (oops). I’m always tired, but I somehow keep going along!

My “me time” was pretty limited this month. I really tried to take advantage of the stretches of sleep Berend had at night, even if they were only 30 minute ones. Sometimes I just spent that time catching up on folding laundry, but other times I actually sat and relaxed for awhile.

Memorable Events; It was a pretty quiet month to be honest. We had some small outings to the library on base and plenty of walks to the park. We went to our first block party on our street, which was fun, but I didn’t get a single picture! The only other “big” thing we did was visit the nearby alpaca farm.

That would be Berend chewing on his foot while he learned about alpacas!

Meanwhile, Gerrit had a great time petting and feeding the alpacas! It really was a fun afternoon out as a family.

 

October photo of Berend:

Berend, you are a mover and a shaker (as you can see in the photo ^)! You rarely sit still, and you insist on being up and part of the action, never laying back like a baby. In fact, it’s better if we just stand you up. You know what you want, when you want it, and you are very vocal when we can’t read your mind. You grunt and growl just like a little bear. You still have the most infectious smile, and we love making you giggle. We love you so much, Berend!