soul coffee: January 2012

Somehow, someway our baby is SIX months old! In my free time, I am working on a way to freeze time. I've tried to at least slow it down, but what an epic fail it has been! Seriously, people tell you to enjoy every moment because they grow up so fast...but fast doesn't even begin to describe it. Oh and he'll be 7 months in just six more days...

What an amazing little ball of energy and life little man has grown into! He has learned so much over the past month. I can't remember where my last post left off (hell, I can't remember where I left off or what I was doing yesterday), so if I repeat myself just bear with me.

Six month check-up stats: We went to the doctor for Ty's six month well baby visit. He was all smiles as usual (he has no clue that doctor's office = shots just yet). He weighed 16lbs 7oz (28th%) and was 25 inches long (30th%). Still a lil guy compared to other babies his age, but right on track with his growth curve. Most importantly, he has officially doubled his birth weight and has grown 5 1/4 inches. Simply amazing! At the time of his appointment, he had met and surpassed all of the 6 month developmental milestones. In fact, we had him sitting up on the table while we waited for the doctor. Before coming in, the doctor told us that she went back and asked the nurse how old he was because she was so surprised at well he was sitting for his age! PROUD mommy moment! We don't go back until his 9 month appointment in March!

Food: The week of Thanksgiving we decided to give solid foods a try. I was holding out until around 6 months at the recommendation of his pedi and because he was doing so well as an exclusively breastfed baby. His pediatrician commends me for that every time we visit. =) I decided to start solids with brown rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. Most people start their babies on cereal. He ate it, but was not a fan. In fact, he cried through most of his feedings with the most confused look on his face. After a couple of days I added a little banana and he went to town. Magic bananas! Turns out, if there is ever a food he doesn't just love, adding about half an ounce of banana will do the trick! Never fear, Ty is now an eating machine! To date, he has had bananas, apples, pears, prunes, peaches, mangos, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, and baby yogurt. Green beans start tomorrow... He also has oatmeal for breakfast and brown rice cereal for dinner, both mixed with momma's milk. I have been making most of his baby food, which I love doing and its even better knowing exactly what is going into your baby's belly! Happy in his high chair...

Teething status: None. Ty has no teeth as of yet. As a breastfeeding mom, I am totally okay with this. The boy chews and drools constantly. He almost always has a bib on, and sometimes we go through multiple bibs because he has them soaking in such a short time. Some days he goes through more than one outfit because we fail to put a bib on him in time. I hate to think of him sitting in cold, wet clothes. The doctor didn't see or feel any teeth either and she said it would probably be another month or so. Like I said, I'm okay with that!

Happenings this month: Ty has been sitting very well for quite some time now, but his balance has improved so much. He can now lean in any direction to grab a toy of his choice without falling over. Playing on the floor is his favorite. He likes to play with rings, stacking cups, and balls. He's not picky though. He'll grab pretty much anything he can get into his mouth! What he really wants is my cell phone or the remote control!

By the way...look how red his hair looks in this pic! He isn't near as bald as he looks in pictures. His hair has actually grown a lot lately. In fact, I had to put water on it to lay down his bedhead yesterday! He's real blonde up top and light brown in the back. Back to happenings... Ty has been rolling over since he was 7wks old. For the most part, he would roll from back to belly and then get mad because he was stuck on his belly. The day after Christmas he decided he wasn't going to get stuck without a fight anymore. We were at Jeremy & Nicole hanging out on the floor and next thing we knew, he had rolled halfway across the living room! Speaking of being on the go...not only does Ty sit and roll, but he can now STAND (supported of course)! He's been working on standing while holding onto our fingers for a while now. He'd grab our fingers and we'd pull him up. Well one night Cooter was folding laundry (yes, he does laundry sometimes!) and he put Ty in the basket. Ty grabbed onto the top of the basket and pulled himself right up! I didn't believe it so Cooter sat him down...and he did it again! He can now hold on to our fingers and pull himself up without help! He can't quite pull up on any furniture yet though, he's not quite tall enough to reach anything else yet.

We're still working on crawling. Not quite sure if I'm ready for him to be THAT mobile just yet! Thanks to the fact that he can roll over and over, he tolerates tummy time much better now. If put on his belly, he'll push his little booty up in the air and move his legs back and forth. He'll also reach for objects in front of him. Unfortunately, he doesn't do any of this at the same time. Once he gets his timing down and finds something motivating enough, watch out! He'll be on the move soon enough...

Random factoids about Tyler this month... I think he likes the color green. When I lay out his stacking cups or rings, he almost always grabs the green one first. Coincidence maybe? I don't know. Data is still being collected... A pacifier is a must-have item for Ty these days. I don't know if its tender gums or just soothing, but we must have one near at all times. The good news is he can hold on to it incredibly well now. He even found a way to fuss with it in his mouth! Wonderful! Laila makes him laugh. She has always made him smile, but now that he can laugh, he thinks she is just the funniest dog ever. He loves it when we chase her around the living room. He squeals. Ty likes to test the limits of his voice, from babbling to screaming. Particularly screaming (not crying) for attention. Its a lovely sound, really. He can also stick out his tongue and spit. I found that cute and amusing until he did it with a mouth full of peas one night. Ew. We officially put the swing in the closet for the next baby. Very sad mommy moment. Ty is not satisfied in a device that doesn't allow him to move anywhere. He does like his jumperoo though. He has gotten really good at it too. We keep the Wii fit balance board under it so his short little legs can reach the ground. Even though his mobility is limited, he still manages to get into everything. He'll find every speck of dirt on the floor. If you have something in your hands, he thinks he needs it...from paper to my toothbrush. Most of Christmas was spent trying to eat paper and ribbons. We read books every day. Although he's more interested in eating the books and slamming them shut than what is on the pages. He thinks he needs to eat every time I eat. His pedi said two meals a day is just fine for him right now. Makes eating in front of him very difficult.

Ty's Santa visit with Santa went wonderfully! His pictures came out amazing!

I sit here in awe, in disbelief at the fact that our baby is already been with us for half a year. Here's a few pics from Christmas and some of my favorites from this past month...