Mommy Minute: Kason’s 1 Year Update

Hey y’all!

Kason Michael is ONE! December 29 was the big day, and it came and went so fast. I realize that I am posting this update late, and that’s mainly because his 1 Year Check-Up was pushed back to February 11.

Kason weighs 23 lbs. 12 oz. (75%) and is 32 inches long (95%). He now has 8 teeth, and LOVES to use them. He doesn’t bite us, or anyone else thankfully, unless of course you put your fingers in his mouth to check his teeth. He does, however, like to bite his stuffed animals and crawl around with them in his mouth (it’s really quite funny). He’s also, slowly but surely, growing more hair!

Kason was officially off of formula after his birthday and I cannot believe how easy it was. He gradually weened himself over the course of a month (around the 11 month mark), so stopping the formula was absolutely no issue. He also quit drinking from a bottle around the 11 month mark. That was all him too. He naturally preferred to drink from a straw. The last month or so that he was on formula, he drank from his sippy cup. I realized he was ready to stop the formula because he wasn’t drinking the whole serving I was giving him. He went from having three 8 ounce bottles a day, to only two 8 ounce bottles a day (one in the morning and one before bed). Shortly after that switch he stopped drinking all 8 ounces in one sitting, so I bumped him down to two 6 ounce bottles a day. I purchased his last formula refill in December and when it was gone, I didn’t buy another. He’s now on 2% milk and has had zero issues. I started him on whole milk, but it was upsetting his stomach. When we switched to 2%, he stopped have the stomach issues. I give him a cup in the morning, a cup mid day, and a cup before bed. We had a VERY easy time switching from formula to cow’s milk, and it was all because of him. He led the way and I just followed.

He is SUCH a good eater! I can already tell this boy is going to eat me out of house and home. He will eat pretty much anything you give him, but I’ve noticed he is starting to become more selective. For breakfast he has a plain waffle, torn apart into bite sized pieces, with either cut up strawberries or bananas. For lunch he has a variety of things. His favorite thing to have is sandwiches. He eats grilled cheese or peanut butter usually, along with a side of fruit or crackers. He will sometimes have a hot dog, chicken, or whatever I’m having that day. For snack we change it up from time to time. Sometimes it’s goldfish, cheerio’s, fruit, or as of recently cinnamon applesauce. For dinner he eats whatever we are having. He’s super easy when it comes to meal times thank goodness. He also drinks a lot of juice and water throughout the day. My favorite juice to buy for him is Mott’s for Tots. He has had apple and fruit punch with no issues. The only juice I have found that does not work for him is Cran-Apple and Apple & White Grape. He liked the taste, but he pooped all day long and they were giving him diaper rash, so we had to stop those.

This little guy got so spoiled over Christmas and his birthday that we are swimming in toys. He does play with a lot of different toys, and is now to the point where he actually plays. He still, however,  prefers to play with paper, explore around the house, and play with the tv remote. His favorite stuffed animal is still his Scentsy Lion and he cannot sleep or leave the house without it. We went to the zoo for Valentine’s Day, and his Lion disappeared unfortunately. I found one on eBay thank goodness, and that should be in sometime today.

He’s currently in size 12-18 month clothes, and I’m thinking by next month he will be making the switch to 18-24 months. He is not a fan of socks and shoes. He takes them off immediately. I have learned that it’s best to not even put them on him until we have reached our destination, and that when we do put on him shoes, they need laces and we have to tie them really tight with a double knot so that he can’t get them off.

He is finally walking! He took his first step at the beginning of last week, and has been progressing more and more every day. It’s so fun to watch him and cheer him on. He gets proud of himself when he walks for a good while. He is still a bit wobbly, but his balance is getting better every day.

I hope y’all enjoyed today’s post. I can’t believe Kason is already a year old. Like everyone says, they really do grow up SO fast!

xoxo,
Casey

VLOGMAS Day 3 - Mommy Minute: Kason's 11 Month Update

Hey ya'll!

Welcome to VLOGMAS Day 3! Today is all about Kason's 11 Month Update. I cannot believe we are less than a month away from his FIRST BIRTHDAY. It blows my mind that this year has gone by so fast, it makes me miss having a brand new little baby! (Baby fever in warming up...!)

Kason experienced his first Halloween and his first Thanksgiving since the last update. He was a lion for Halloween and was so cute! But he absolutely hated his costume, especially the headpiece. We trick or treated around the neighborhood with the whole family which was a lot of fun. Thanksgiving was really nice as well. Kason got his fair share of our two Thanksgiving feast's and pigged out, both lunch and dinner, on turkey, stuffing, and mac n cheese.

Kason is still not properly crawling, he still scoots around on his butt. He got a new nick name with some of my family members on Thanksgiving, "Scooter". I'd say it's pretty fitting. He's not standing or walking yet, which is the hot ticket question right now when we see people. I think I have a little bit of a late bloomer on my hands, but that's ok, he still has plenty of time to figure out the kinks and will do it when he's ready.

He JUST cut his top two teeth yesterday. What's crazy is that they weren't there when he woke up that morning, and literally sprouted over his afternoon nap, with two little white caps breaking the skin. Yes, BOTH top teeth are ascending at the same time, which explains the Beast Mode he's been in the last few weeks. I'm so happy that he will finally be getting a little bit of relief for Christmas and his Birthday. But that relief won't last long unfortunately, because he still has a lot more teeth to grow.

Kason has been obsessed with Ariel's dog bowls. Any time he gets the chance, he makes a bee line for them and gets food and water everywhere. I have to remember that when he's roaming to put the bowls up on the counter so he doesn't get into them. He's also been having a ball screaming at the top of his lungs, at the highest pitch possible. It's 100% a game to him, and currently his favorite one. He does it when we are out to eat, grocery shopping, and when we are at home. This kid has some serious pipes. He definitely is giving Mariah Carey a run for her money with his ear splitting shrieks!

Kason only say's one thing, "Gah". I've been practicing with him on getting hime to say other consonants like "Ma", "Da", and "Ba", but all he's interested in saying right now is "Gah". It's really cute too because he will repeat you, and will say it if you ask him to. I'm hoping this next month I will be able to get a "Ma" out of him. Maybe that will be his first birthday present to me! He also learned how to clap and say "yay" this month and it is the cutest thing ever. He doesn't actually say "yay", it's more like "aaahhhhh!". He knows when it's appropriate to clap, which is even funnier. If I say "good boy!", he starts clapping. It's absolutely adorable.

Over the next few weeks, we are gearing up for Kason's very first Christmas. We are super excited and can't wait to see his awe and wonder at everything. He's going to be so fun! A few days after Christmas we will be celebrating his First Birthday, which is absolutely insane! I'm so excited for his birthday party. His birthday falls on a Monday, so we are having his party on Saturday the 27th. We decided to do something at the house with our family and friends. I really just want to be comfortable, and be surrounded by loved ones for his special day. His party theme is going to be epic! I'm so excited for you to see what theme I chose and how I'm decorating!

xoxo,
Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's 10 Month Update

We're in the double digits ya'll!! I cannot believe my baby is 10 Months Old. Time is flying by so fast.   I feel like there's not a whole lot to update on this month, but then again there is. I think this was more of a "maturing" month for him, and his little personality has really been shining.

The biggest thing that happened this month is that he started crawling. He still doesn't crawl the "proper" way, and I really don't know if he ever will. He still scoots around using his arms and his butt, and he has gotten fast with it. We had to get a couple baby gates because he was going into every room and was all over the place. He's also started pulling up too. He doesn't pull up to standing on his feet yet, but he does pull up and stand on his knees. I've stood him up while he was holding onto his V-Tech Sit to Stand and he stood there for a good minute. Getting his footing and his balance down is the only issue. I really think he's going to be pulling up completely, and standing, in the next couple of weeks.

He's been eating a lot more table food lately, and less baby food. He still just has his bottom two teeth, but has gotten so much better with textures and flavors. He's chewing a lot more, and is getting so much better at feeding himself. I gave him a waffle for breakfast this morning (no syrup), but on  most days he still has oatmeal. Lunch has been the biggest change so far. Normally he would have one to two packets of baby food, but lately he's been having a sandwich. He's had peanut butter, grilled cheese, and turkey and cheese. I just make him half of a sandwich, minus the crust, and tear it into little pieces, and he feeds himself. For dinner I have been giving him one packet of baby food, and then he has some of what the rest of us are eating. He's had chicken, beef, pasta, veggies, etc.  I haven't notice any kind of food allergies either which is good. 

His favorite toy, or thing to do, has been his wagon. My parent have a wagon, and one day while they were babysitting they took him on his first ride and he absolutely loved it. We finally got one of our own so he's been able to ride in it more. He absolutely loves it and it's the cutest thing. He's so observant, and loves to look at everything and to people watch. Not only does he love riding in his wagon, but he loves being outside. It calms him, and makes him so happy. He also likes to go shopping. He loves riding in shopping carts, and loves seeing all the people. I can't go anywhere without him hamming it up with at least two people. 

Now that he's crawling, I can tell he's getting a little more independent. When we are at home and he gets bored or fussy, he likes to change the scenery and play in his room by himself. Normally he's in the living room with me, but lately he's been liking going to his room for 30 minutes or so and playing in there. My grandmother gave me this little three-tier shelf with colored buckets for my baby shower, so that's what I keep his toys in in his room. I set it up in his closet so when he goes to play, I prop open his closet doors and he pulls everything out. I love how I have that set up because when he's not in there playing, I put all the toys back in the buckets and shut the doors, so the toys are out of sight and his room stays clean and organized. He's also been getting a lot more vocal, but still isn't saying any words, or sounds, except for "Ga". I practice with him every day with "Ba", "Ma", and "Da" but he just laughs and says "Ga". He still is screaming, and making other noises, but isn't pronouncing anything else just yet.

I can't believe he's already 10 months old and that his first birthday is right around the corner. Where has this year gone?? It's seriously so crazy to think that almost a year ago he was born. It makes me sad to think about it, but at the same time I'm excited because he's starting to do more. It's really fun to watch him grow, and to see him have new experiences. He is full of personality already, and is very particular and strong-willed. Both Kevin and I are the same way, so we are definitely going to have our hands full with Kason!

I hope ya'll enjoyed this months update. Kason will be celebrating his first Halloween this Friday, so I will definitely have a blog post up of both him and Lexi in their costumes. We are going to hang around and go trick or treating with our families so it should be fun. I'm thinking of vlogging that evening, but I'm not 100% sure yet. Whatever I decide to do, I will definitely let you know here, and on Twitter & Instagram @caferg_xoxo. 

I hope ya'll have a great rest of the week and a Happy Halloween! 

xoxo,

Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's Daily Routine - 9 Months Old

Hey ya'll!!

I have a new Mommy Minute for you today, and it's an update on Kason's daily routine. Now that Kason's a little older, his routine has changed and he's doing more than just sitting in a swing or playing in a bouncer. I'm going to go over what he does on a normal day, what he eats, his napping and bedtime routines, and what he does for entertainment throughout the day. I also am going to talk about how we handle running errands and getting out of the house.

Now that Lexi is back in school, Kason gets his day going a little earlier than he was in the summer time. Lexi and I are up and starting our day about 7:15 every morning (Thursday's are great because she has late arrival, so we get an extra hour). Lucky for me, Kason isn't the type to cry as soon as he wakes up. He usually wakes up and plays with his stuffed animals for a while before I go and get him up. I like to focus on Lexi first thing, and get her ready and out the door before getting Kason's day started. After Kason is up and out of bed, he gets a fresh diaper and has his first bottle of the day. He has three 8 ounce bottles a day, for a total of 24 ounces.

After he has his first bottle, he plays in the living room and watches Disney Jr. for about an hour. I keep most of his toys in the living room at all times because that's where he spends most of his time. After he plays for a little while, he's ready for breakfast about 10:00. He has oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every morning. I make 4 ounces of formula and mix it with Gerber's Instant Oatmeal. It's my favorite thing to give him because he meets his daily iron requirement plus extra vitamins and nutrition, he gets that extra formula in case he decides not to drink one of his bottles during the day, plus it's really filling and holds him off until lunch.

After breakfast he's free to play and do what he wants. He literally started scooting around the day after I posted his 9 month update. He's not scooting in the crawling position and instead is hobbling around in a sitting position. I'm so happy he's finally moving around because it's really impacted his overall mood throughout the day. He still gets fussy here and there, but for the most part he has been so much more content. It's opened up a whole new world for him and he is steady exploring around the house and making his way to all the different rooms. After breakfast is also when we will go shopping or run any necessary errands. I like to go after breakfast because he's got some energy and his belly is nice and full, so he's more likely to be content for a longer period of time.

If we aren't leaving the house, he is usually ready to take a nap around 11:00. If we are out and about, he just takes a nap when we get back or will sleep in the car. If he takes this nap, it usually lasts about an hour and a half. When he wakes up, he's ready for lunch. We've been experimenting with different foods, and have been incorporating table food with his baby food. As far as baby food goes, he is on Level 3 (but I still get Level 2 in some flavors because he likes them). He used to only eat Gerber, but once we changed to the Level 3, he no longer would eat it. He's really picky when it comes to textures. It's weird, because he will pretty much each any table food we give him, but if it's baby food with chunks in it, all bets are off. I think he gets confused because he's used to his baby food being really soft and smooth, so when he tastes the same flavor but has to now chew it, it throws him off. Right now he's been trying different brands and types. One's that have worked so far are People's Choice, Beechnut, and Plum Organics. I give him either water, or water mixed with a little apple juice, to wash down his lunch. He continues to sip on that cup of water, or juice, throughout the whole day.

After lunch, he has another little burst of energy to roam around and play. He also has been really loving our dog lately. Ariel, thankfully, has been loving him too. Kason is constantly trying to steal her toys, but she's no push over. She is really gentle and careful with him, but has zero problem taking her toy back from him! About 2:00 in the afternoon, he's ready for his second bottle of the day.

He's ready for another nap around 3:00-4:00. If he had a morning nap then he will sleep for about an hour and a half to two hours. If he hasn't napped all day he will take a really good nap that lasts about three hours. His naps really depend on the day so I don't have a strict napping schedule. If we are running errands in the morning, he may be ready to go down at 1:00 or 2:00, and will eat his lunch when he wakes up. Depending on how hungry he is, he will have a snack before or after nap. He likes the little dissolvable puffs, Goldfish crackers, and frozen fruit in his mesh feeder. His favorite snack is sting cheese. Funny right? I break off little pieces and he loves it. He eats the entire thing, too. 

I cook dinner around 6:00-6:30 most nights, and that's about the time he gets hungry. I feed him a pouch, or jar, of baby food, and then he gets a little bit of what we eat. We had pot roast last night, so he had some beef, veggies, and mashed potatoes, and did great with all of it. Other things he has had and done well with are chicken and pasta. When we go out to eat, we are steadily giving him new things to try. The facial expressions and reactions to different foods are priceless!

After dinner it's bath time. I was bathing him in the kitchen sink, but recently moved him to the real bath tub and he absolutely loves it. He has two rubber ducks and an octopus that he plays with. I fill the tub up about two inches deep with water and bubbles, and he splashes and plays while I scrub the day away. After bath, I lotion him up and put his PJ's on. Sometimes he plays, and sometimes we read a book. He loves it when I read to him. He has a lot of fun looking at all the pictures, and touching all the pages. Right before he goes down for the night he has his third and final bottle. After his bottle, we all give him lots of love and put him in his crib. He is a very good sleeper, and sleeps through the night until morning. Very rarely does he wake up at night. If he does, it's usually a bad dream and he is back asleep in a few minutes. I've only ever had to go in there and comfort him a handful of times since he started sleeping through the night.

I hope you enjoyed today's post! If you have any questions, or video/blog requests, please leave them in the comments below.


xoxo,
Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's 9 Month Update

Hey ya'll!!

Kason is 9 MONTHS OLD! I can't even believe how fast his first year is going by. We went to the doctor today for his 9 Month Well Check and I have a big boy on my hands. He weighs 21 lbs. 3 oz. (75%), is 29.5 inches long (90%), and has a head circumference of 18.9 inches (99%).

I'm not going to lie, this month was a rough one! I love my boy more than anything, but he sure has put me through the ringer these past few weeks. He's been super fussy, all day every day. I talked to the doctor, and we've summed it up to two things. One, he's still teething. He has his two bottom teeth, and is working on the top teeth. His two bottom teeth came in pretty much a week or two apart so I have a feeling both of his top teeth are trying to come in at the same time. The second reason, I think this is the main reason, is that he gets really frustrated with himself. He hasn't started crawling yet, but he wants to SO BAD! He has been trying really hard, but he just hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. He can roll over both ways, and can move from a sitting position onto his belly, but he can't get up from that belly position which results in a full blow melt down. He's reaching for everything, and is constantly throwing every toy in sight, which make him mad when he can't reach for them and get them back on his own. At this point, I will be throwing a full blown celebration the day he learns to crawl, because I think that will solve a lot of his fussy problems.

He's been really into exploring what his voice can do. He's been making a lot more sounds, and he loves to experiment. Right now, his favorite sound to make is a high pitched scream. He screams so loud! And he doesn't discriminate where or when these screams occur. He will do it at 7am when he decides he doesn't want to sleep in, he will do it in the car, he will even do it in the check out line at Target in the middle of the day when there's only a handful of people around so that they all turn and stare at the same time. He likes to have squealing matches too. We've started the "Battle of the Squeals". He does it, I copy him, he does it back, and thinks it's the funniest thing ever.

He also really, really loves iPhone's & iPad's. Pretty much anything that lights up and makes noise he believes is fair game. He's like a mosquito to a bug zapper. He could be having a full blown mental breakdown until you pull out an iPhone. He immediately shuts up, his eyes get really big, and his mouth makes an "O" shape all while reaching as far as he can with both hands. This boy is something else. It's absolutely hilarious, but can get annoying when we are sitting on the couch and I'm trying to beat a level of Pet Rescue, and he's messing me up by reaching over me to get to the phone and falling into my lap.

His latest toy has been his V-Tech Sit to Stand and he really enjoys it. It has a ton of buttons that he can press that light up and make a ton of different sounds and noises. It can lay flat and sit next to him on the floor, or it can stand up on wheels, which is how we set it up. It will be good for when he starts to walk because he can hold the handle and push it. His favorite thing about it is the little purple telephone that detaches from it. Every time I turn the toy on, the first thing he does is take the phone off. I will put it back on and as soon as my hand moves away he's taking it off again.

He's definitely in the "Separation Anxiety" faze. He freaks out when I leave the room. Screams, kicks, cries, the whole nine yards. I will poke my head from around the corner to let him know I'm still there, or I will talk to him from the other room to let him know I'm close by, and he starts to laugh. But once I think he's ok, I turn back to leave again and the crying ensues.  He doesn't do it every single time I leave the room, but it is a daily occurrence. I know this is just a faze that he will soon grow out of. Again, I will be happy when he can crawl, because if he wants to see me he can just follow me from room to room.

He learned how to drink from a straw this month and I was super excited about it. If you've been keeping up with my Mommy Minute's then you know that I was trying to find a sippy cup that worked for him. He did finally learn how to drink from a regular sippy cup, and shortly after figured out how to use a straw. I really prefer the cups with a straw because they are much easier for him to drink from while sitting up. I mix his cup with half water, half apple juice, and he sips on that through out the day. I also introduced Mesh Feeder's to him at the beginning of the month and we have had a lot of success with them. He's getting a lot of practice with those on how to feed himself, and I've already seen improvements in his ability to feed himself in the last couple of weeks. He doesn't have the "pincer grasp" down quite yet, but he is able to pick things up with his hand and bring his hand to his mouth. He has about a 50% success rate of actually getting the food into his mouth, but it's getting a lot better! Next week I will be doing another update on his Daily Schedule and his eating routine, so I will talk more about that then.

Even though we had a tough month, it was still a good one. Little man is growing like a weed and is learning and doing new things every day. I can't believe it's almost time for me to plan his First Birthday Party. I already have some ideas and am getting pretty excited about it. Poor guy's birthday is four days after Christmas. After I had him I told Kevin that I wondered if it was going to be a bummer for him to have his birthday so close to Christmas. It may not be that big of a deal because he won't ever know any different. If any of you have kid's with birthday's close to Christmas, I'd love to know how it is for you!

If you have any Mommy Minute discussion suggestions, please let me know in the comments below.

xoxo,
Casey 

Mommy Minute: Kason's 8 Month Update

Kason is 8 MONTHS OLD today!! I can't believe how big he's getting and how much he has changed in these 8 short months. Pretty soon I'm going to be planning his first birthday party, it makes me a little sad just thinking about it because time is flying by. I'm going to update ya'll on what he's been loving this month, changes and milestones, and giving an update on the issues we were having earlier this month regarding bottle feeding.

Kason has been playing a lot more this past month. Instead of spending a lot of time in his bouncer, he's really enjoyed sitting on the floor surrounded by toys. He can sit there for long periods of time, go from toy to toy, and be perfectly content. His favorite toys this month have been a set of Infantino Stackable Rings, the Go GaGa Squeeze & Teethe Elephant from Target, and the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Love to Play Puppy. I will set him in the floor and he will rotate each toy, play with them, lick them, and throw them. Throwing things has been really fun for him lately, especially with the rings. The rings are the first thing he goes for. He grabs the base of the stacker and dumps it upside down so that all the rings fall off. He then proceeds to play with just the stacker by turning it over and beating it like a drum. As for the rings themselves, he likes to pick them up and wave them around before he launches them all over the place. The teething elephant has been so wonderful for him. It doesn't have a good squeaker like Sophie the Giraffe, but it's so much better for teething and chewing. The ears of the elephant are what he likes to chew on. He likes to bite down on the ears and tugs on them to rub him gums. It's also super lightweight so it's easy for him to hold. I got him the Laugh and Play puppy at the beginning of the month because I noticed he was starting to play a lot more. He loves it! There's a ton of different buttons and places to press to make the puppy sing, talk, and light up. The buttons are extremely sensitive, so all he has to do is touch it and it starts making noise.

I got Kason a new carseat this month because he had outgrown his carrier. I went with the Graco MyRide 65 Convertible Carseat, purchased from Target. It's rear facing and forward facing, with a minimum weight of 5 lbs and a max of 65. That's one of my favorite things about this seat, you can use it from the time your baby is born all the way through their toddler years. It's also all in one piece, so when it's time to turn it forward all I have to do is unbuckle it and turn it around.  The first time I put Kason in it, he got so excited. I would look in my rear view mirror into his mirror, and he was waving his arms around, kicking, and smiling the entire car ride. It was like he was saying "Oh my gosh! Look at all this room I have now! This is so awesome!". It was so cute and made me really happy to see him so happy. It was kind of bittersweet for me when I was picking his carseat out. It's been so fun lately now that he's getting a little older and is able to do more and play more, but at the same time I'm sad that he's no longer a little tiny baby.

Kason finally got his first tooth!! And it's the cutest little tooth I have ever seen. It came in really fast too. I saw that his gums had a tiny little slit in them, and the next day there was the tiniest little white tooth poking through. As soon as the tooth broke the skin, it's been sprouting more and more every day. It's really visible now, and can be seen when he smiles or laughs. Tooth number two is coming in as we speak. I figured since he hadn't cut them yet that they most likely would come back to back. I saw the white cap right under the skin last Sunday, and his gums now have the little slit in them so that tooth is going to pop up in the next few days I'm sure. He's been handling it really well. He's had his fussy moments and his tantrums, but they are sporadic and don't happen all the time. What I've noticed is that he was mostly irritable for about two weeks before that tooth came in. We went to dinner for my sister's birthday, and normally Kason handles being in restaurants really well. However, this time was an exception. He had a complete and total mental breakdown as soon as we got there, and it was off and on during the whole dinner. I was so embarrassed and irritated, especially when he completely changed his tune as soon as we got back in the car to leave.

After that meltdown, I started having problems with him drinking his bottles. I wrote an entire post about it, if you haven't checked it out you can click here to read about it. Well, I finally figured out why he was doing that. It was because of his tooth! Every baby handles teething differently, and apparently when mine is about to cut a tooth, his bottles go out the window. The day his tooth cut he started taking his bottles again no problem. We went about two weeks with him not taking his bottle, and about two weeks of him taking them before he started refusing them again. When this started back up, I looked in his mouth and noticed the second tooth coming in. The only thing I can figure about why he does this, is that his bottom jaw must be really sore from the new teeth that it makes it really uncomfortable for him to suck. I'm already on the highest level nipple, and if I cut the holes to make them bigger the milk will just pour out, so I can't do that. The only thing I can do is give him smaller, more frequent bottles when he's cutting his teeth, and keep the Orajel and Infant Tylenol on hand. I've found that the smaller bottles work really well when he's sore, because he gets enough to satisfy him for a couple hours, plus he's not sucking for as long of a time which makes him less sore. The Orajel offers him instant relief, and I give him the Tylenol when all else fails. After the Tylenol, he's much more comfortable within 20 minutes. Another thing that's been helping him through the teething process has been more naps. He's been taking a lot more lately, and has been falling asleep within a couple minutes of laying down. Still not a whole lot of luck in the sippy cup department. I bought a couple different types of cups and he's still kind of confused. Surprisingly he's done the best with the Nuby cup. After his tooth cut he figured out how to get the liquid out of the mouthpiece. I've been putting a little bit of apple juice mixed with equal parts water and letting him practice with that.

Something new that I've started doing with him this month is reading to him. I love to read myself, and it's something that I want to raise him to do as well. He has been enjoying our reading time and so have I. We sit on the floor of his bedroom and I sit him in my lap so that he can see the pages as I'm reading. He tries to hold the books, and likes to touch the pages. He will scratch on the pages to hear the sound it makes, and to see what the texture is. He really enjoys all the bright colors and pictures in the books, and likes to reach out and bang his hands on them. Reading is a big part of me, and is one of my favorite things to do. I remember learning to read at a young age, and how much I loved it and still do. I wanted to start something that he and I could enjoy doing together, and to give him a memory that he will always remember.

That's all for this months update! Let me know in the comments below what toys your baby loves, and what activities you like to do together.


xoxo,
Casey

Mommy Minute: Where Did My "Easy Eater" Go?

Hey ya'll!!

Well well well..... Kason sure has been putting me through the ringer these last two weeks. He has been going through some major changes! From his attitude and temperament, to his eating habits, he has been throwing me for a loop and keeping me on my toes. For the most part, these first seven months have been pretty steady, and we've been able to work around changes in feedings and being on a regular daily schedule pretty easily. All that changed about a week and a half-two weeks ago.

Kason has always been a great eater. He's never given me too trouble with feedings and I've always known what he's wanted and how much he's wanted. We've always had a really great, natural feeding schedule going on. I've never forced him to be on any type of schedule, and I've never been strict about sticking to one either. I have always let him lead the way and let me know what he liked and what he didn't like. Once we would get our schedule down, he'd be a creature of habit. If I didn't have his food ready at the same time every day, he had no problems letting me know I was late to the party. He also would eat and drink absolutely everything I'd give him. For some reason, he now has completely flipped the switch and my "Easy Eater" has become extremely difficult and hard to figure out.

He eats his solids no problem at all, but his bottle is a totally different story. He has been fighting his bottles like crazy! The first thing I thought was "Maybe his formula isn't working for him anymore?". When he was diagnosed with Reflux, I switched him to AR and it worked really great. He has been off his Reflux medicine and hasn't had any symptoms in over a month, so I was thinking that maybe the AR was just too heavy for him now. I went ahead and started switching him back to the formula he was previously on. I didn't do an immediate switch and I still haven't. I've been slowly transitioning and he is getting half AR and half Gentlease. When that didn't help, I thought about the bottle nipples. Since the AR is so thick, I had to cut the nipple holes in all my Level 1 and 2 nipples so that the formula would come out, and for months that has worked just fine. I decided to go buy all new Level 3 nipples hoping that was the issue. Nope, still didn't help. Next thing I thought of was "Maybe he's ready for a sippy cup?". I browsed through all the different sippy cups and decided on one by Nuby. It is a no-spill sippy with two handles and a silicone mouth piece. I gave it to him with just a few ounces of water in it, just to see what he would do and if he could get the hang of it. He is more interested in "waving it in the are like he just don't care" and throwing it, than drinking from it. I've been trying to get him to use it for a week now with zero luck. After that I decided I was not going to try and force him to drink a bottle, that I would just try giving it to him and if he refused I would try again in 30 minutes. Literally I have had zero luck with anything I have tried. Sometimes he will take it, sometimes he will drink two ounces and be done with it, and sometimes he will just scream.

I've checked his mouth to make sure he didn't have Thrush or any kind of sore that may be getting irritated by the formula. He still doesn't have any teeth, and his gums aren't swollen or anything, so I've kind of ruled out anything that has to do with being sore from teething. It also can't be an issue with his throat because he eats his solids just fine. I finally decided to call his doctor's office to see if they had any tips or tricks for me. The first thing the nurse asked me was "Well why won't he take his bottle?" I briefly paused and the first thing I wanted to say was "I don't know? Do you want to ask him?" Come on girl! What kind of question is that?! Anyways, I told her everything I had tried and asked if she had any suggestions. I'm sure this is just some sort of weird faze, but when he's going from drinking three 8 ounce bottles a day, to only taking 15 ounces or less a day, and screams bloody murder the minute a bottle comes close to his mouth, I start to get a little worried. She asked about his wet diapers, which he has had plenty of, and she asked if he was eating his solids. She said not to worry about "daily requirements" pertaining to formula ounces as long as he's still having plenty of wet diapers throughout the day. She also told me to try to get him to drink out of a sippy cup, and that I may have to try a few different kinds before I find one that works for him. I've tried working with him on drinking from a straw, but all he does is lick it, so we definitely need more practice in that department. My only other options are ones with the plastic mouth piece, and different shapes and sized mouth piece's. I'm going to go a grab a few different types of sippy's, and keeping my fingers crossed that I find one he likes and will actually drink from. I'm also hoping that this is just some weird faze that he will quickly grow out of, and that there's not a serious underlying issue. I will keep update ya'll on this bottle fiasco on his 8 Month Update.

Did any of your babies ever go through any weird "feeding" stages, or refuse their bottles at all? What kinds of methods did you try? Let me know in the comments below! I'm currently stumped and will basically try anything to get his crazy little butt to drink his formula.


xoxo,
Casey