Saying 'Ball'

So last night at Carrie's bday/going away party, Georgie said 'baw' (the way he attempts to say 'ball') in reference to a ball! This was the first time he'd said an actual word in reference to it's respective 'thing'. I was soooooo excited! He does also say mama and dadda, but only when we say "Say mama" or "Say dadda" - he doesn't look at us and say "mamma" or "dadda" (even though he definitely knows who we are and who is who). Anyway, just thought I'd share that adorableness! Also, he is FINALLY breaking his two top teeth - sooooooooooo excited and relieved (though last night was hell because of it!). Love him!

Overview of the Last Three Months!

So instead of not blogging at all (from being overwhelmed), I'm going to at least just write an overview of some 'things of note'! Georgie is becoming so fun! He is watching our every move now, and imitates us - soooo cute. Does this with the play phone (holds up to his ear), chews like us, sticks his tongue out, tries to put my sunglasses on, tries to brush his own hair with the brush, and now he can wave (doesn't raise his hand, but opens and closes his fingers), and does the signing for 'more' (clapping, but recently it's been a fist with one hand and a flat hand with the other!), 'please' (learned this in MN when me and him visited the Robinsons - Jeanne had him doing it the first day we were there!), and at first he would scratch his tummy with both hands for this (soooo cute!), but now he scratches his chest with one hand (still soooo cute), 'all done' (learned this in MN too, thanks to Jeanne who is more persistent than I!) - at first he would just raise his arms up like 'what did I do?', but then he started doing the shaking his hands - now he kindof does both - it's realllly cute! It's been cool bc he can communicate with us a little now, through signing. He's still at the point though where he doesn't totally understand what he's saying - he knows the sign that goes with each word, but he's not always sure what they mean. For example, even if he just started eating dinner, and is obviously not full, if we say "All done?" he'll do the sign (instead of signing to us when he really is all done). If we say the word, he'll do the sign. And 'more' was the first one he learned and did it for awhile and he would do it for lots of things like "give me that", "I want that" - pretty much for anything he wanted he would sign 'more'! So cute! Anyway, the wheels are REALLY turning all the time now - it's the most AWESOME thing to see him learning life. He's such a blank slate with no knowledge, that is literally learning 100's of things a day. It's awesome. And again, scary, bc we realize what an impact we have on who he becomes. BIG responsibility! MN was great - I learned some parenting strategies from Jeanne and Matt who are awesome parents. They made me realize how I should have a plan for his life (not be controlling, but just goals we want our kids to achieve, and when and how they can achieve them). Just watching them parent taught me not to discipline in anger, but calm and love. And spanking works. And having quiet time, even after they're too old for naps. Their house was such a 'home' - so inviting and comfortable. Not perfect, but truly a home where family and God takes precedence over everything else. Jeanne gave me a book to read, which I'm going to try to read even though I'm not much of a reader! And I still want to read 'Premeditated Parenting' - one they read and recommend as well. They taught me how to emphasize teaching their kids to be like Jesus, and constantly working on their 'heart'. That's what kind of family I want. It was pretty crazy with Ben and Virginia AND Georgie running around - so fun though. I absolutely LOVE the energy that kids bring to a house. It made me want more. :) I really would like 4, but George only wants 2, MAYBE three if we have a boy next. We'll see...it's up to God! Jeanne was doing really well considering she was 23 weeks pregnant with twins! This is probably the best part of her pregnancy (over sickness, not too big that she's too uncomfortable!) Georgie walked in MN - I got it one video once, but then my photo memory ran out! I got a few steps! It was pretty sudden, as I just set him down on his feet and handed him a book, then he started walking!!! He did it right then and there 3 times in a row, but then he hasn't done it since! So he CAN walk, and I got it on video, but he just doesn't have the confidence yet! I haven't really hounded him that much since, just knowing that he'll find the confidence when he's ready! It was funny bc I'm pretty sure he only walked bc he THOUGHT he was pushing something (the book) - he thought he was holding on to something! So funny! He's so cute when he drinks his water bottle (camelback that auntie got him for his birthday!). His hair is growing a lot - I had to cut the back a couple months ago (just trim the bottom). Still no more teeth! Cruising EVERYWHERE and LOVES pushing anything around that can be pushed (to walk). Can say 'nana' now - so I say "say banana, nana", and he'll say 'nana' Just today he was saying "ba", so I really emphasized it and encouraged it and have been making him say it all day, so he won't forget! I've been waiting for him to get his b's bc then he can get 'ball', 'binky', and others. Mom and Ted have kept him overnight a few times now. He never sleeps enough, but it's okay. :) They LOVE him! Baby Steward is due in 2 1/2 weeks and we're sooooo excited. I try to explain it to him but he's too young. But he does get some experience not being the center of attention when Ben, Rebecca and Wes' son that I babysit, comes over. He definitely gives me a look like 'mom - why are you holding/feeding HIM?', but he really does do good at not getting too jealous. I'm hoping he'll do well with baby Steward, then when he have another one it won't be too difficult of a transition! He consistently takes two naps now - YAAAYYY! His first one is almost always one hour 15 min, and starts AROUND 10:00am, and his second one is often the same amount of time at around 3:00 or 3:30ish. Then we TRY to do bedtime at 8:00, though we're not always great about that. We try really hard to find a balance of protecting his sleep schedule, while still having a life! He sleeps usually until about 7:00 or 7:30 if we're lucky (sometimes a little earlier). But has been sleeping the the night consistently for the last probably 5 weeks - he would've before that too but... He got sick right around his first bday (that DAY, actually!) - he held up for his party, but definitely wasn't at his best! :( We had ALL (me, Janae, Kevin, George, Mom, Ted, and Georgie!) gotten sick the week of March 12th, after Kevin brought it home from his work trip to FL - vomiting, the 'other' end, laid up on the couch with nauseau for 2-3 days. Georgie got it first (after Kevin), then the rest of us. It was really sad to see him vomiting and not holding down liquids, and this made it difficult to get any milk down him for awhile. He didn't like to drink anything bc he knew he'd throw it up! :( Anyway, after he was FINALLY getting better after that (it takes a lot longer for babies to kick any sickness), he got a cold on his birthday, and then it seemed like he was coughing for a month. The cold went away within a few days, but then the cough lasted FOREVER!!! It would wake him up so he wasn't sleeping as good and it was SO sad! So, needless to say, I'm so happy he's been better for over a month now, FINALLY, and we're in a good routine! He doesn't like cold milk. I've tried everything. The only way we can get milk in him (which is important), is in the morning (when he's hungry), warm, and in a bottle. No other way! So we've been doing that. He is good about drinking water though, and we try to supplement what they need in milk with other foods like avocado and yogurt (loves those!). Anyway, I'm going to stop for now, but there's a few tidbits!

Behind!

So behind on blogging! Here are some things I want to eventually blog about!

Sitting, then standing up in crib (on our trip), and having to lower the crib the night we got back in town!
Saying mamamam and dadadadada
Blood tests for his possible growth hormone issue
Pulling himself up on everything!
Getting a little clingy-er, yet still not cuddly
Hair growth - big forehead and hair growing funny!
Sleeping through the night since we got back from our trip (6:00 or even 7:00 or 7:30 sometimes)
Cry it out success (and hardly having to let him cry it out) and putting him down awake success (wasn't a difficult transition at all!)
Nap schedule and stretching wake times to make him nap longer
Liking almost any solid until he started eating OUR food :) - then got pickier and we have to 'doctor' things up now!

So at the very least, if I don't get around to blogging about these things in depth - hopefully these notes will jar my memory to remember these things about Georgie!

Missing my Babe...

Sometimes when Georgie goes to bed at night, I miss him. I just want to hold, squeeze, and play with him! Sometimes I wish I could go in and wake him up to play with me, and to kiss him. I love him SO much that I just well up with tears sometimes imagining my life without him. He's my little peanut butter. His smiles and laughs melt me like nothing else can. And he does that all the time (he's very smiley!). LOVE LOVE LOVE him so much.

Crawling!

Georgie started officially crawling on New Years Eve! Went about 3 feetish. A few days before that he had done a couple 'crawling steps', but nothing substantial. But then New Years Eve he kept going – about 3 feet! On New Years Day he got a little more brave (and less wobbly) and went maybe 4 or 5 feet, with lots of coaxing and a 'reward' (a toy or his binky) that he would 'chase' (we would put it just a couple feet in front of him – not too far – and then he would go for it and we would pull it a little further away as he got close to it – sounds mean but it really worked and I think it distracted him!). The day after that and after that we just kept practicing with that same method, and he got stronger and more confident. And the last few days he's been full on crawling several feet at a time – even entering the bathroom from the nursery and the family room to the pantry. The lip transitions from room to room tripped him up a little a few times, but now they don't stop him. We have to be much more cognoscente of how fast he can move locations (be a few feet away and then we turn our back for 20 seconds and he's at our feet!). We officially need to completely child proof our home now too since he can, and is, getting into about everything! Trying to open and close the bathroom door, knocked a plant over, and has put lots of little things in his mouth!

Now we're at the vacation rental in Sedona and I spent an hour 'babyproofing' our bedroom here the best I could! There's so much to think about, and it's hard to be in a completely different house and trying to babyproof the best I can! And make sure he stays clear of other people's feet since he's crawling and most of these people aren't used to watching for little people on the ground!

Crawling Attempts and Nursing

Okay – on my way to Denver so I'm going to try to write a little more! Major milestones:
He was sitting up by himself around 4 ½ months, I'm pretty sure. And probably without bobbling (very stable) by about 6 ½ months.
Started leaning forward from sitting, attempting a crawling position around 7 months (?)
7 ½ – 8 months he was leaning forward quite a bit, getting in crawling position, but not on his knees – it was a 'crab crawl' position – one knee and one foot. He's 8 ¾ months now and just now starting to rock back and forth on BOTH knees – he would do this before if we PLACED him in the regular crawl position, but now he's been doing it by himself (which I'm happy about, because I thought he might never crawl on both knees – just crab crawl until he walked, and it's better if he crawls on his knees because he learns the opposition movement of one knee and the opposite arm going forward simultaneously – important for brain development – I've read a lot about how important it is for them to not skip crawling – ideally they should crawl for 4-5 months). At around this same time he would get in the crab crawl position or we would put him in the regular crawl position and he would try to move, but usually end up on his belly, which was pretty frustrating for him! Often he would collapse to his belly, then promptly roll over to his back. Early on when he first learned to roll from his tummy to back (which was probably around 3 months), we would praise him like crazy and get so excited, so he loved doing it because it would make us so happy! And he never liked being on his belly (tummy time wasn't fun), so he would always promptly roll over (so we couldn't really FORCE him to stay on his tummy!). Because of that, I fear he didn't quite develop those back and tummy muscles as quickly as he could've, making the crawl position hard for him to sustain.
At about 8 months or 8 months and a week he was pretty mobile. He could get in a crawl (crab) position and sustain it . He would get in a regular crawl position and sort of 'crawl' backwards. This is all very normal and common, from what I've read. His leg (?) muscles weren't quite as strong so he would push back with his arms and end up moving backwards. He can now move several feet by himself – maneuver around a room. He does this by crawling backwards and by kindof leaning forward from a sitting position, getting in a crab crawl position, then sitting back down in a different place.
Right from the get go (when he started to discover moving from a sitting position), he wanted to (and would rather) stand. He would just smile and grin when we would lean him against his walker toy. And now he'll maneuver his way to the coffee table and then try to pull himself up. It's so cute! And it's so cute how happy it makes him to stand!
He's also at that point where he does get frustrated sometimes – I think he just really wants to crawl, and to move FORWARD. He has been getting on both knees and rocking back and forth more just in the last week, so I know he's close!

Nursing:
I weaned to nursing ONLY during his night feeding when he was about 7 months (?). I would pump during the day. And I was getting very little. I think when I stopped nursing during the day, my milk just really started to wane. Nursing him was a struggle (minus the night feeding – and he wouldn't put up as much of a fight then because he was tired and hungry, plus I would have a little more milk after that surge of prolactin(?) in the middle of the night) that got more and more of a struggle the older he got. My milk really STARTED waning at around 4 months. I was calling and meeting with lactation consultants, taking TONS of fenugreek, drinking lots of water, and just keeping up with nursing and/or pumping. It was kindof stressful, and got more and more stressful after I was only nursing him once a day. I would take my pump with me a lot of places, just trying to keep my very little milk going.

I am posting this a few days after I wrote it. To sum up, I stopped pumping at about 8 months. It was sad and I cried a couple times, because in my mind, as long as I was pumping, I could always get the milk back and even plentiful. But I truly believe (now) that my milk couldn't ever have gotten that plentiful with just pumping - my body had been done for awhile, and Georgie had definitely been done for awhile, and I finally just let it be and let it go. It was a big relief once I accepted it (and saved me so much time!).

Also, a couple days after we got there (the 26th I think?) Georgie finally mentally grasped rolling from his back to his tummy! I gave him just the slightest push, and then I kept just really encouraging him saying "push, push!!!", and he finally did it all on his own (in Grommer and Papou's family room!). It was really exciting - they were there and so was daddy! After he figured it out, he did it over and over, and that night changing his diaper was a chore because he wouldn't stop rolling over! Careful what you wish for!!!

Ahhh!

Well, I'm going to just try to touch on a few major things (yeah right, this is me we're talking about!). He's over 8 months now. I feel so bad I haven't posted more. I really should just print out my facebook wall for the last 8 months and call it his baby book!
Major Points!:

He now, as of about maybe a month ago, USUALLY, and FINALLY takes about 50 min. - 1 Hour and 15 min. naps - 3 a day! I had tried that a few times when he was maybe around 6 months old, and it seemed to be working, but then I kindof forgot and went back to making him sleep every two hours, so he was doing short naps - 4 or 5 every two hours. He wasn't sleeping quite as well at night either (sleep crying a few times and waking up early for his night feeding - like 3:00-4:00) during that 'short nap stint', so I remembered to try the 3 nap 'method' again, and it works! It's really the only thing that works! Basically, I increase his wake time between naps, and only allow 3, and try to be on a general schedule. So then he's pretty tired by the time he gets to nap (and usually, contrary to what I've read in Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child), and goes down 'like warm butter on toast'. Sometimes he gets pretty fussy because he's tired (maybe overtired), but I've found that sometimes if we wait another few minutes beyond that point, he'll go into a 'zoning' stage and then he'll go down SO easily. We still rock him pretty much fully to sleep (usually, anyway), but we don't mind because he almost fall asleep within 5 min (and usually like 2 or less). Anyway, it took me 8 months to figure it out (and probably was helped by the fact that he IS older and that it's winter now so much darker early and later (less daylight)), but I finally did. It also took kindof disregarding what I've read!

More to come!