8-9 month update

At this point, it's becoming tough to remember what life was like without Owen in our family! We have finally gotten our routines pretty much down to a science, and Owen usually goes with the flow.  I pretty much manage the morning - nursing in bed, preparing his food for the day, getting him dressed,  and dropped him off at daycare or settled in with his nanny, and Kyle gets handles the afternoon responsibilities of pick-up, snack time and play.  

Both playtime and mealtime are highly interactive now! Owen actually plays with some of his toys in the manner they were designed for now, and also tries to make anything he can get his hands on into a toy.  He loves to make his little knit lion squeak, to bounce in both the door frame bouncer and his baby einstein bouncer, and to knock over towers of plastic cups and blocks.  He also loves physical play - riding on shoulders always guarantees a huge grin, and we can usually get some good giggles from tickling and tossing him into the air. 

 Our little shrimp got a good report at his nine month appointment, but he is continuing to drop in the percentiles.  This month he weighed 16 lbs, 12 oz (8th %) and was about 27 in long (7th %). The doctor didn't seem concerned - he told us it's about this time when they "start to fulfill their genetic potential" and advised that we should start to feed him some more protein-rich and fatty foods.  So, we've added yogurt, cheese, tastes of a lot of what we eat, sneak in some avocado, and my personal favorite - oatmeal, mashed bananas and peanut butter.  

 Looking back on my six month post, he hasn't really made too much progress in the mobility department!  He can manage a few crawling strides, then lunges at whatever it is he's going for.  He loves to stand now, especially leaning up against our ottoman/coffee table in the basement.  We have done a lot of practice standing up and sitting down.  He grabs onto my fingers and pulls himself up, and it has felt like he has been progressively using more of his own strength as the weeks have passed.  I think he also understands the phrases "stand up" and "sit down" which is pretty cool to see.

 He definitely understands the word "wave" - waving is his new favorite trick and the first thing I feel like we really taught him! It's the cutest little wave too - like the tour boat wave for those who know what that means.

 We are excited for spring to be here and looking forward to taking lots of walks and outings with our little man.  Can't believe he's well on his way to being one!! 

Owen for President!

Fast forward to 2056...

On the campaign trail! 

President Norton

Merry Christmas, Owen! (a little late)

This post is a long time coming, but worth doing even if late.

I really wanted to do something special for Owen on his first Christmas, and I knew it would probably be to knit him a Christmas stocking.  Knitting is the only craft that I really know how to do, although I hadn't done much of it since high school (nerd alert!).  My stocking, which Gramma Ryan knit for me, is one of my most treasured items.  I have such good memories of digging into it on Christmas mornings throughout the years, always finding a big stash of Hershey's kisses filling up the toe.  I loved the feel of the soft beard on Santa, and how my stocking matched my mom's - also knitted by Gramma.   Kyle has a similar stocking, which was also knit with love by one of several stand-in grandmothers he had, Lucille.  

Just a simple tradition, but a meaningful and memorable one that I wanted to extend for Owen.  

I knew I'd have some time on my hands right before Christmas, as I was scheduled to have surgery on my foot on December 13 and would be confined to the couch for several weeks.  So in November I set about re-teaching myself to knit.  I borrowed a few books from the library and warmed up with a few baby hats that ended up being great gifts for my nieces and nephew. I chose the pattern I wanted to follow for Owen's stocking - an intricate yet seemingly simple, and classic one. I took him to the yarn store (crutches and all!) with the help of Taylor, his nanny, and we chose a beautiful off-white yarn.  And I set off! 

And then I became pretty obsessed.  I worked on the stocking every spare minute I had - when I was supposedly "working from home," late at night after everyone else had gone to sleep ("I'll be up soon," I'd tell Kyle), even while sharing some Christmas night beers with my varied collection of semi-siblings.  

I didn't finish it in time for Christmas morning, but I did complete it while our tree was still standing.  Owen has loosened my perfectionist tendencies enough that I didn't let it bother me.  I hope he will appreciate it next year and for many Christmas mornings to come.  

I never understood how much love could go into making, filling, and hanging a stocking for your child or grandchild until now.  I know I'll tear up every year as Kyle and I sit back on the white couch, having gotten the tree up and the kids to bed and ourselves a glass of wine, gazing our little family's stockings hanging side by side and reflecting on the blessings of the year that has just passed and the many in our families' histories that came before.

for Gramma and Papa

Ever wish you could just stick your thumb in your mouth, cuddle up with your mama, and rest for a while? I know my Gram and Papa (Owen's greats!) feel this way right now, both under the weather, and I hope they will follow Owen's lead...find some comfort and lay low for a bit. We love you both and hope you feel better soon. And Papa, Owen says his thumb is chocolate today. ;-)

6-7 month update

It's probably obvious from my lack of posting lately how busy these 6th and 7th months have been.  We've been busy with work, holidays, and foot surgery for Katie, and Owen's just been busy growing. He's still pretty small on the percentile scale, but he looks just right to us and the doctor is happy. At six months, he weighed 15 lbs, 12.5 oz, putting him in the 17th%, and 25 3/4 inches long, in the 14th%.  His head continues to rank high at 44.5 cm circumference and 81% - full of brains! 

Speaking of brains, we have seen lots of progress in Owen's development these last two months.  He pays close attention to toys and items he sees us holding (to our chagrin, he already loves phone and computer screens) and has become very adept at grabbing things and passing them between his hands. He definitely has some favorite toys - he loves Sophie the giraffe, his little boom box as we call it, and a teddy bear that plays peek-a-boo with him.  He is so responsive to us now and can easily be cheered up by some goofy parental antics. We don't hear too much giggling yet, but it is a joyful sound, even if rare! One of Owen's favorite times of day is when Kyle gets home and takes him to the basement for some guitar music. 

He has had his first few bouts of illness recently.  He had a little stomach bug in November that cleared up within a few days, and currently has an ear infection and a nasty cold, with a fever on top. He has trouble sleeping because of his congestion and keeps tugging at his poor little infected ear.  We are giving him extra snuggles and praying he feels better soon! He got his first prescription..."the pink stuff" (amoxycillin) that I always hated as a kid! 

Sleep, in general, is going fine. At his six month appointment, our doctor said we should try to cut out his 4 AM feeding, and we agreed to give it until January or so until we got serious about it.  He must have understood the doctor though, because the next night and nearly every night since he has slept past 6 AM.  Bedtime has become more challenging, though - we know we need to establish a better routine and find just the right time, but I continue to nurse him almost to sleep until things normalize around the house a little bit (it's pretty exciting right now with Aunt Tera, Uncle Brett, cousin Daphne and doggie pal Gertie living with us temporarily). 

Owen is on the verge of crawling, which is why I had my foot surgery when I did! He can get himself up onto all fours and rock, but he hasn't quite coordinated moving his arms and legs yet.  He can also stand on his own for a few seconds, leaning against a low table or steady chair. 

Overall, he continues to get cuter and even more loveable!  That's not to say that we don't have plenty of challenging moments, but they are all worth it for one of his huge toothless grins.

Mother-son road trip: by the numbers

2700: approximate wipes of the windshield wipers, at 15 wipes/minute for three hours of 
rainy driving.
388: minutes it took to complete our trip (6 hours and 28 minutes).
375: minutes my iphone predicted the trip would take.
346: miles driven from Victor, NY to Parkville, MD.
210: minutes Owen slept.
37: minutes Owen cried consecutively.  This may be the longest he has ever cried at one time in his entire life.  Sorry you missed it, Kyle.
20: maximum mph above the speed limit I drove...those darn 55 mph zones get me every time! 
15: minutes wasted being lost in Harrisburg.  For the size and stature of that city, its highway system is far too complicated!
13: minutes longer the trip took me than the iphone predicted...not bad for half in the rain, half in the dark, one driver, and a baby.
8: adult stores counted along the way.
3: deer carcasses spotted on the shoulder.
2: diapers changed.
1: amish buggy passed, driving down the shoulder in the opposite direction of general traffic.
Innumerable: my gratitude for my son and family, and the chance to spend the weekend with them.

  

5 months old!

Warning: this is going to be a picture heavy post! Owen was especially cute today even though he's been feeling a little under the weather.  He turned 5 months old earlier this week, and 22 weeks...can we stop counting our lives in weeks now?! Anyway, Owen's had a runny nose for a week or so now, and had about a 101 degree fever last night.  Baby tylenol helped and he seems better today.

 As you can see, he's found his feet!  He loves to grab them when he's on his changing table, and occasionally puts some toes in his mouth.  

 He's also rolling over now - both ways!  He started with back to front.  He was a little slow at first, but once he figured out how to get some momentum behind his legs and swing them over, there was no stopping him! A few weeks later he snuck a few front to back rolls in behind our backs - we looked away for a few minutes while he was playing on the floor and in his crib, and turned around and he had flipped.  We have since seen a few, but that direction is still more rare than the other.d

 He can rotate around and scooch a little bit, and has been trying to get his knees up under his big belly.  We often put a toy just out of his reach and he becomes determined to get it, and usually does! We also find him overnight snuggled up in the corner of his crib, after having set him right in the center.

 Owen continues to become more and more vocal.  He has been making consonant sounds  more, and recently started to make the "raspberry" noise a lot.  He even mimics others when they do it! 

 We haven't noticed a big change in size since last month, but it's also tough to notice when we see him every day.  His caretakers at daycare do comment often on how big he is getting. Speaking of daycare, he really seems to love it.  The women there take wonderful care of him - he always comes home clean, full, and happy, and they've even cut his nails when we slacked! One commented recently, "we're not supposed to have favorites, but we wish all of the babies were like him!"

 He also does great and loves being with Taylor, our neighbor and nanny.  He gets so excited when she arrives on Wednesday and Friday mornings, and she has a special touch for getting him to take two 2-3 hour naps per day.  She also sends me cute pictures and videos throughout the day. :-)

 We haven't started Owen on solid foods yet.  He hasn't seemed too interested in our food, and he doesn't seem to be extra hungry, so we're continuing with mainly breast milk, and an occasional formula bottle for now. 

 Owen is an excellent sleeper, usually going for an 10-12 hour stretch overnight.  We feel so fortunate to be getting 7-8 hours ourselves every night! 

 As you can see above, he is still a finger sucker! He rarely uses a pacifier, but pretty much any other object that can fit into his mouth will find its way there.  We think teeth might be coming soon because he's been drooling up a storm lately.

 Owen can sit too!  He mainly does what we call either the "gorilla" or "triangle" sit with his legs out wide and hands on the floor between them, but sometime he can manage 10-20 seconds of sitting unassisted before he topples over. 

 He looks more and more like a little boy to me every day.  Sometimes I want to stop time and keep him this happy baby forever, but I am also so excited to meet the little boy he will become!