Gerrit: 10 Months

September 2, 2015September 29, 2015 nk3302 Comments

Age: 10 months on 27 August 2015
Weight: 22.5 lbs
Height: 28.75 inches
Teeth: 4
Clothing Size: 12 months
Diaper Size: size 3
Milestones: pulling up to standing, taking steps

Sleeping: Right after Gerrit turned 9 months old, we were still going through a Wonder Week (#6 – Categories), so sleep was not great. And pretty much as soon as he was out of the leap, we were on a trip to Michigan. I think this trip and sleeping in several different places kind of messed him up too. He was just a restless sleeper. Sharing a room with him meant that I heard him tossing and turning throughout the night… so I didn’t sleep great either!

Once we got home from our trip, sleep started getting back on track. Naps became a little better (but still irregular) and night wakings decreased quite a bit. But that only lasted a few days. Things got pretty rough for the rest of the month in terms of night sleep. I have decided I’m blaming it on those 2 top front teeth. They were much worse than the bottom 2 teeth!

Naps seemed unaffected by it, but night sleep was brutal. There’s supposed to be another sleep regression between 8 and 10 months as well, so maybe we were dealing with all of that together… who knows. Most nights in August had 4 or more night wakings. I am happy to say that most of those wakings were brief: I’d nurse him back to sleep within 10 minutes. But there were a few nights where I was back and forth and back and forth trying to get him to settle back down to sleep. Hopefully things improve in month 11!

Eating: I feel like almost to to day, eating solids improved when Gerrit turned 9 months old. I suddenly realized that the food on his tray was disappearing… and not into the recesses of his high chair or the floor! It didn’t appear that he was consuming a lot, but he obviously was. It was pretty exciting!

20150818_085250 — Eating breakfast: French toast and nectarines

Some favorite foods? Blueberries and nectarines are probably his favorite fruits. He still enjoys green veggies, especially broccoli. Although Gerrit will sample any meat, I think he still prefers having a slice of steak or pork to gnaw on. Chicken seems to be a bit dry for him yet, and he’s not impressed with ground beef. Carbs are hit or miss: sometimes he really seems to enjoy pasta and bread and other days it gets swiped to the side for fruit or veg instead. He also LOVES these:

I’ve tried them, and I like them too! I think he probably likes that they have a yummy fruit flavor and that they melt in his mouth pretty quickly. He doesn’t have to work too hard to ingest those!

Breastfeeding is going great! I feel like after Leap #6 (Wonder Week), he started nursing better during the day. I also think Gerrit is getting better at letting me know that he wants to nurse. He either smashes his face into my boob or starts fiddling with my straps. But he still nurses the best right before he sleeps. I’m really starting to cling to these moments of breastfeeding. I can tell that I’m going to be sad to see it end, and I hope he doesn’t rush the weaning process.

Nursing really increased during those weeks of teething with those top teeth. I now know it was comfort nursing, and I’m so glad it was something that comforted Gerrit. I am really hesitant to give pain meds to him since he’s so little, so if he could be comforted by nursing, that is much better in my opinion.

Mommy Update: I feel like I need to do a separate post on Wonder Weeks, because my mood during those times versus “sunny” weeks is very different. As soon as a Wonder Week ends, I absolutely love being with Gerrit. Not that I don’t love being with him all the time, he’s just a lot more demanding during Wonder Weeks. So Wonder Week = stressed out, tired, grumpy Momma. And after it passes, I love my days with my little guy.

We have so much fun together during the day! Sometimes I feel like we really didn’t do anything at all, but we both enjoyed lots of smiles and cuddles, so it must have been a good day, right? 🙂 I will really miss our time together when I have to go back to work.

I was pretty sleep-deprived during this month. I started drinking coffee again (which I hadn’t done regularly since early in my pregnancy) to get through the afternoons. I also took a nap during Gerrit’s morning nap most days — I would barely make it back to my bed sometimes before I passed out!

Best Moments: Gerrit meeting more of my extended family. Everyone was completely smitten with him! He was so friendly and easygoing… I was pleasantly surprised! I was afraid he would have some stranger anxiety, but he did so well.

20150807_134007 — Spending time with Grandma Great

It was great for ALL of us to spend time with family! We had so much fun with my family, and I’m so glad that so many of us were able to get together.

Likes & Dislikes: Gerrit still enjoys being on the move! He crawls all over the place now, although he still does the army crawl when he’s frustrated or tired. He still likes us to walk him around, but he’s pulling up on furniture now (and me when I’m standing in the kitchen!) and walking along. He is still not sure about turning around corners though!

He also enjoys nursing in crazy positions now. He’s rarely content to let me just hold him to nurse unless he’s going to sleep. He likes to stand and bend over to nurse, lay across me, grab his feet and swing his arms around… it’s like breastfeeding a monkey.

Gerrit also loves getting into things! The biggest issue is keeping him away from cords. I’ve had to block off lamp cords in the living room and the cords in our bedroom too. He also likes going into the bathroom and pulling up on the bathtub so he can push his bath toys in.

He still loves books, and his favorites now are lift-the-flap books. This is his absolute favorite. I’ve had to use tape to fix this book several times already. I have started rotating his books and toys to help keep him interested in his toys, minimize wear and tear, and help cut down on clutter and clean up time. Every Monday (“New” Toy Day), Gerrit quickly digs out his favorite books and toys that he hasn’t seen in a few weeks!

Gerrit is playing with one of his favorite toys in the photo above with his cousin Kaiden. Here’s a link to it on Amazon. He started out just enjoying looking at the different sized cups, but he’s starting to try to stack them now. My favorite thing about this toy is that there are several ways to play with it, and I think he will be able to enjoy it for a good amount of time.

Gerrit dislikes being left behind or not being included in things. He hates it when I walk away from him since he can’t keep up with me yet. He’ll normally just crawl after me while vocally complaining, but if he’s tired or cranky, he starts crying, wanting me to pick him up. He doesn’t like it when I’m cooking because he can’t be a part of that. I tried carrying him in the Ergo on my back while cooking, but that just wasn’t good enough for him! All chores include Gerrit: he needs to unfold clothes as I fold them and he tries to crawl into the dishwasher when I load and unload it.

Gerrit also dislikes getting ready for bed. He has never particularly enjoyed getting ready to sleep, but toward the end of the month he really started fighting it. It’s really tough to get a diaper on him as he’s trying to flip himself over the whole time. It’s pretty much a two-man job to get his pajamas on him now. And he gets so upset when he realizes that his fun his over and the parents are going to win again. I seriously need to try to get a video of his shenanigans!

Memorable Events: I think the biggest event for this month was our road trip to Michigan! After a lot of thought, we decided to split the 15 hour drive into two days with a stop near Columbus, OH (we stayed with friends there) to get the best result from Gerrit. He is a very busy little boy, and being stuck in his car seat for hours and hours is really hard on him. He is not the type of baby to just conk out for a nap or two while traveling, which means he needs lots of interaction and entertainment. Because he is not guaranteed to sleep in the car, I felt pretty wary about trying to drive through the night. Especially because that meant minimal sleep for Mommy & Daddy too. Not good!

We planned both driving days to begin shortly before Gerrit’s morning nap. Yes, that meant a later start than we may have wanted, but it also meant we got some relaxation and play time between breakfast and driving. And giving Gerrit the opportunity to burn some energy is always a plus! So he got a morning nap on our driving days, but he refused his afternoon nap those days too. That’s a LONG time for him to be awake, but he also wasn’t able to burn any energy either.

I spent the first part of the driving days in the front seat. It gave Gerrit less distraction when trying to fall asleep for that morning nap, plus I got some time to crochet or just rest. But once he was awake, I moved to the back seat to begin my entertainment routine! I packed a big bag of Gerrit’s favorite books and toys, plus we had his kid music playing on Pandora so I could sing for him too. It worked pretty well, although it was pretty tiring for me.

20150811_163416 — Hello, North Carolina! We’re back!

But it paid off: Gerrit really did quite well on the road trip. I was so anxious about the trip because of our last big road trip (back in February). But I knew he was older and more easily entertained now, so I tried to be optimistic. The trip back down to North Carolina was not as great, because he was over all the driving by that point. In desperation, I actually breastfed while we were driving! I buckled myself into the middle seat, then leaned over into the car seat for Gerrit to nurse. It really helped out Gerrit, and I only got a few weird bruises from it, haha. I avoided looking out the window, because I wasn’t sure what kind of looks I would get from other drivers!

Overall, month #10 was pretty good. Despite the crappy sleep Gerrit and I got, we had so much fun seeing family and friends! This is such a great age, and I love playing and interacting with Gerrit. I love watching him discover new things, and his personality just makes me smile. There is no better feeling than being loved by this little boy!

Here are some more photos from his 10 month photo shoot:

Happy 10 months, sweet boy! We love you so much, Gerrit!

Daily living · Holiday · Parenting

Gerrit: 9 months

July 28, 2015July 28, 2015 nk3304 Comments

Age: 9 months on 27 July 2015
Weight: 21.8 lbs
Height: 28.3 inches
Teeth: 2
Clothing Size: 12 months
Diaper Size: size 3
Milestones: army crawling, clapping, pincer grasp, making sounds with his tongue (like the beginning of making the ‘nuh’ sound), sleeping solo all the time, sitting up from laying down, growing more hair (finally!), crawling, looking for attention

Gerrit went from a speedy army crawl to the occasional “real” crawl right before he turned 9 months old. He usually starts crawling the “real” way, then it’s back to the belly because it’s faster right now.

As for the looking for attention? I mean that literally. He will lean over and cock his head to the side to try to get into my line of vision if I’m not paying attention to him! It’s pretty cute, and it always works. 🙂

Sleeping: I’ve really started worrying less about Gerrit’s sleep lately, if you can believe that. I mean, he has good nights, he has great nights, and he has some not-so-great nights. And it is what it is. I still keep track of how much sleep he gets, but I don’t fret so much about his sleep unless he’s getting much less than normal all of a sudden.

This month I started pushing 2 naps instead of 3 each day. That third nap is such a battle most days, and since it takes so long to get him to sleep, it ends up going too late so I have to wake him up. Which I hate doing! That being said, if his first 2 naps are short, I definitely go through the pain of giving him a third nap.

Speaking of naps, I have stopped napping with Gerrit completely now. I was noticing that his first nap was getting increasingly difficult: he would try to roll around or crawl instead of laying and nursing next to me, and he would wake up a bit, see me, and be wide awake, cutting his nap too short. So one frustrated morning, I put him in his crib to nap. And he took a great nap! I was honestly sad to lose that cuddle time with him. I’m realizing that that nap together was more for me than for him at this point in time. Oh, but don’t worry, I still take a nap when he naps in the morning. 😉 I was surprised how much I felt like I still needed it. Sometimes I think I will never catch up on sleep.

A good portion of Gerrit’s 9th month was spent in another Wonder Week: Leap #6 – The World of Categories. I was expecting the worst with this one, because reading other peoples’ accounts of this Wonder Week made it sound awful. Some people even said it was the worst one! But nothing really changed. Gerrit’s sleep was still pretty good. He is so unpredictable with sleep & eating, that things would have to be significantly worse than normal for me to notice a change. Other moms complained that their child would scream when they put them down at night or wake frequently, wanting close contact with Mommy all night. Gerrit just kept nursing to sleep, occasionally falling asleep on his own, and having 2-3 wakings a night. If anything changed, it was that I heard more sounds while he slept: whimpering or the occasional grunt or groan. Once we got to the “stormy week,” I did notice more crying (due to frustration, it seemed), worse sleep (we had some 30 minute “crap naps” and frequent night waking), and general crankiness from Mr. G. We should be coming out of it in the next week or so, so my fingers are crossed for better sleep soon!

Eating: In terms of breastfeeding, Gerrit continues to do fairly well. I still struggle to get him to nurse anytime that he’s wide awake. He takes a full feeding right before naps or bedtime. If I offer the breast when he’s not tired, he will usually nurse for a minute tops, then pull away and want to go play. I’m hoping that if he continues this way, he starts eating more solids to hold him over between feeds!

In terms of solid foods, Gerrit may be eating a bit more FINALLY! He has really come a long way with the pincer grasp, so I’ve started cutting his food into smaller pieces. The smaller pieces are more manageable for him, and I think it’s much easier for him to eat. Don’t get me wrong, most of his food still gets squished and thrown around, but I have seen evidence of more actual consumption! I have started offering more of the foods that I cook instead of just single items (some chili cornbread casserole vs a strip of bell pepper for example). It makes things much easier, since I just save a small amount of our dinner in a container for him to eat the next day. I have started reading more into the BLW cookbook I got for some recipe inspiration too.

Mommy Update: This mommy is doing pretty good! Summer clothes are making me more self-conscious about my tummy area, but I tell myself I will have plenty of time to deal with it after Gerrit stops breastfeeding. Mood-wise, I’m doing really well. I’m usually in good spirits, but that might be because I spend all day being silly with Gerrit!

I seriously love the time I spend with Gerrit now. Yeah, sometimes it’s exhausting, especially when he’s being crabby, but there is nothing better than knowing that I put the smiles on his face.

Best Moments: Definitely watching Gerrit learn and master new things. I love watching him sit and inspect things. He’s so serious about it!

I also love watching him get braver with standing on his own. He can stand by himself for about 5 seconds right now. It really surprised me the first time I saw him do this!

We’ve heard more laughs and giggles out of Gerrit this month too — I LOVE it! Just the cutest sound ever! I think he has figured out that I like it when he giggles… so sometimes I think he forces/fakes it, haha. He’s a smart cookie!

I also love doing sensory and art activities with him. Gerrit likes anything new and different, and I’m pretty sure he thinks “the messier, the better!”

Finger painting with colored rice cereal

Likes & Dislikes: Have I mentioned that Gerrit likes standing and walking? 😛 This is still true!

He has gotten pretty obsessed with walking. Sometimes that is ALL he wants to do. And he isn’t easily distracted from it! He will try to climb me, take my hands, and whine until I help him stand. And then he wants to take off walking, expecting me to help him along, haha.

Gerrit has gotten very quick with his army crawling! He will often go up on all 4s, but he still drops down to his belly to scoot across the floor. Since he’s so fast, I really have to be aware of anything he can get into. He loves going after electrical cords, but this is really only a problem in our bedroom (lamps, phone chargers, his baby monitor, the fan… lots of temptation!). He also likes shoes and sandals and tries to eat them.

So I have gotten much better about putting my sandals in the closet when I’m not wearing them! Who knows what he’s going to ingest after sucking on one of those… gross.

Gerrit’s mobility has gotten him stuck a few times too, haha.

Gerrit likes our hair. He’s getting good at giving Andrew scalp massages when Andrew puts him up on his shoulders. With me? Yank, pull, twist… OW! As soon as he gets his hands on my hair, he uses a death grip and goes to town waving his arms around. My hair is almost always way up on top of my head to prevent this, but he never misses a chance to snatch it if he can. I tell him, “No, no, that hurts Mommy’s head,” and he just grins.

Gerrit has always enjoyed us reading to him, but lately he has become really into books. When I open his closet doors (where all his toys are), he crawls straight for the books on the bottom shelf. These are a few of his favorites:

Along with books, Gerrit likes music! His face lights up when he sees the Pandora app opening on my phone, haha. This is one of his favorite songs. I try to be pretty silly and exaggerated when I sing it, which he loves. He also likes “If You’re Happy & You Know It” and anything I add my own dramatic flair to. 😉 Sorry (not sorry), I don’t have any videos of that!

What does Gerrit dislike? Us walking away from him! He will fuss or start calling, “Mamamam!” and army crawl as quickly as he can after us. He also dislikes getting his pajamas on. I’m pretty sure he knows the bedtime routine well enough to know what’s coming after the pajamas go on. Despite that, he really is not difficult to get to sleep at night. Another thing he dislikes is us trying to sit him down when he’s standing, haha. He will lock his legs to try to prevent it! What a stinker…

Memorable Events: Gerrit celebrated his first 4th of July! And we celebrated our first 4th of July in the USA since 2011!

20150704_202939 — Celebrating at our friends’ house

We also got some family photos done this month! You can check those out in a separate post, but here’s my favorite:

Overall, we had a great month! It was a hot one, so we didn’t spend a lot of time outside, but I do try to get him out every other day or so for some type of activity once the patio is shaded (after 4pm). These months are starting to fly by now that Gerrit is so much more active. Here are a few more from his 9 month photos… he has some funny expressions!

20150727_151125 — Haha! Sick of photos already?

20150727_151134 — He doesn’t stay sitting for long!

Guess he didn't care for the flash — Guess he didn’t care for the flash

20150727_151111 — Happy 9 months, Gerrit! We love you!

Daily living

Summer Family Photos

July 23, 2015August 18, 2015 nk3304 Comments

I absolutely loved Gerrit’s newborn photos, and I was hoping to get photos done around 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months to remember his first year. But moving to another country kind of threw a wrench into those plans! We hadn’t gotten any proper family photos done since Gerrit was less than a month old, so I have been itching to get some done.

Well, I came across someone local who is starting up a photography business and was offering FREE photo shoots for a small number of people. Heck yes! I jumped on the opportunity and had us scheduled for a weekend in July. I figured that even if we only got a few nice photos, you really can’t beat free!

I was thrilled to receive quite a few cute photos of the three of us, plus some cute daddy-and-me and mommy-and-me photos. And some cute ones of Baby G, too, of course! He wasn’t very smiley, but that didn’t surprise me much; he’s been pretty wary of strangers for the past month or so. We still got some cute shots!

A few of just Gerrit:

Doesn’t he look proud of himself sitting in that little rocking chair? Haha… I love him.

He just loved this furry blanket! Gerrit really enjoys his super soft blankets at home too, but this was just too much fun for him to pull on.

My good-looking guys!

A few mommy-and-me photos with my cutie!

Overall, I really like the photos we got! I’m surprised I didn’t look like a sweaty mess by the end, haha. These North Carolina summer days are HOT!

Are you in the area and looking for some new family photos? Check out Blue Birds Photography on Facebook!