9 Months

While Robby has been doing great... it's been a rough month for him!  Robby never had an illness the first 8 months of his life.  Within this past month, he's had pink eye that turned out to be part of a viral throat infection, then a double ear infection, a stomach bug that had him vomiting with diarrhea, then he came down with a nasty cold that ended with another ear infection.  Poor baby!  Building up that immune system I suppose... hopefully we're on the mend!

 

Robby had his 9 month check-up and weighs 23lbs, 11oz and is 30in long!  (We've had an appointment since then... where he measured over 24lbs and 31in long... so he's somewhere around there and definitely growing like a weed!)  Doctor says he's going to be a tall boy.  He is currently in 18 month clothes- and growing out of them.  He has two teeth on the bottom, but no sign of more as of right now!  Robby loves to clap (especially when you clap first), do 'So big!', and give high fives.  He's also starting to give kisses (open mouth, tongue out half the time).  He's eating 3 'meals' a day and is mostly eating finger foods.  He loves to feed himself finger foods- but continues to love eating from a spoon and 'feeding himself' from the spoon.  He had his first taste of meat- ground turkey- and LOVED it!  He really eats a much larger variety of foods now, which he of course loves.  This kid pounds food like you've never seen!  We've also introduced a few foods with milk baked-in: eggless French toast and a few bites of dinner rolls at a restaurant.  He broke out a little bit on his face, but overall was able to handle a small amount pretty well!  We still have to be careful of what we give him and can't give him a large amount of food with baked-in dairy, but we're getting there!  So far we've added into our repertoire: blueberries, plums, beets, brown-rice toast, avocado (he's been eating it for a while, but will once again eat it plain- it's one of his favorite finger foods, along with carrots), lentils (doesn't love these, but he will eat a small amount mixed with other foods), broccoli, black beans, and green beans (again, not his favorite, but will eat it mixed with other foods).  I'm sure there are more foods he's tasted or had small amounts of that I didn't list, but those are the consistent ones!  He also loves drinking from his straw cup so much that he's decided day-time bottles are a thing of the past!

Robby is officially crawling!  At right about 9 and 1/2 months he just started to crawl a few 'steps'... and within a few days he was getting the coordination down and really able to crawl!  Even though he wasn't crawling prior to that... he was still extremely mobile!  He could get at anything he wanted by rolling, sitting up, flipping to the other side while sitting, getting on all fours, launching himself forward, and repeating it all over and over.  He's so happy now that he can quickly get to whatever he wants by crawling.  Robby also will pull himself to standing using anything low to the ground- and kind of stand in a downward-dog position. :)  He tries so hard to pull himself to standing into an upright position... he's still working on that.

We took an unexpected trip home this month.  And while Robby got to see his family and took his first trip to the park, it unfortunately was a sad visit.  My grandma, Robby's Omi, passed away unexpectedly.  We will miss her more than words can possibly express, but we are so fortunate that she was able to be a part of Robby's life for his first 9 months.  We know she loved him with all her heart and we all loved her with all ours.

October 2012

On that note... let's enjoy some pictures of this adorable baby boy because Omi loved looking at his pictures!

Robby's First Easter!

 



 

-Carrie :)

8 Months

Robby's turning into such a little man.  He's growing so fast we can't believe it!  He's continuing to do great.  He's such a good baby.  Sleeping at night has been awesome- he goes to bed around 5:30-5:45pm (early, I know... but it makes a HUGE difference in how he sleeps at night), wakes up around 5am for a bottle, then plays in his crib until he falls back asleep (he'll sleep on and off for about another hour).  So he usually wakes up around 6:45-7:00am.  His naps have been changing a bit.  Sometimes he takes his short, power naps.  Sometimes we'll get at least one 1 and 1/2 hour nap per day.

 

Robby's not yet crawling... but at about 6 and 1/2 months, he started rolling to get around his entire room!  He'd just roll and roll and roll... stop, take a breather... then roll and roll some more!  At just over 7 months, he started getting up on his hands and knees and rocking.  He's now trying so hard to move forward on his hands and knees (he can scoot backwards)... but usually just ends up faceplanting as he tries to launch himself forwards!

Robby's continuing to be what you'd call a "good eater"... in other words, this kid will eat and eat and never stop!  He loves his food.  So far, we've added a few new foods: peas, green beans, kale (mixed with banana), peaches, and oatmeal with cinnamon and steamed apples (yes, he'll finally eat oatmeal... but only Earth's Best oatmeal... still hates my homemade!).  Robby still only gets solids twice a day... but he eats a LOT in one sitting!  He LOVES to feed himself with the spoon.  At the end of every meal, I hand him the spoon with some food on it and it goes straight into the mouth and he sucks all the food off (he also plays with the spoon/food.. which is Kona's favorite part of the meal)!  Robby has just started picking up food with his hands and putting it in his mouth... he does best so far with organic Puffs and whole peas.  He's also started drinking out of his straw cup... He picked up on it immediately and absolutely loves drinking from it! He amazed us at how quickly he learned what to do, and he looks like such a big boy doing so!

 

Robby's now in size 4 diapers and size 12 month clothing... and even some of the 12 month sleepers are a bit snug on him!  His spring jacket is 18 months, and as long as we roll the sleeves up a bit... it fits him now!  He's a giant.

We've also been getting to hear lots of 'stories' from Robby!  He's been really starting to babble... along with continuing to squeal and scream.  Daddy's been trying to get him to say 'Dada'... and while there is no meaning behind it yet, he really does say 'dadada' quite a bit!  Along with 'bababa' and other random gutteral sounds and screams.  His favorite thing to do is still laughing... we (especially Daddy) can get Robby laughing so hard he loses his breath!  It's the best :)  He is also MUCH more interested in Kona (Kona interested in Robby? not so much...) lately.  He smiles when he sees her walk by and laughs when she licks his hand.  Kona has a couple toys that Robby is terrified of... and when she squeaks one in particular he bursts into full blown tears!  Poor guy. 

 

 

Robby finally got his first tooth!  He was extremely fussy the other day and we finally felt the razor-sharp edge of a tooth coming through on the bottom front.  We think another one is working it's way out as well!

And last but not least... Robby got a new cousin!  Robby's cousin Gianna (Auntie Rachel and Uncle Dan's baby girl) was born 3/3/13 just before midnight.  Robby is officially not the youngest cousin anymore :)  We all can't wait to meet her!

Photo Bomb!


 

First Valentine's Day with Robby!



Naked Storytime

Oatmeal Playtime

Puma Baby!

 

Peek-a-boo!

Trying to get the bubbles.

 

Here's a short video of Robby 'talking'!

-Carrie :)

 

6 Months

Can't believe Robby is already over 6 months old!

Our big boy has been doing wonderfully!  He just had his 6 month check-up... and is 20lbs, 6oz and 27.5in long!  Big boy.  The doctor said everything looks great- he's hitting his milestones, eating well (obviously), and she had no concerns.  He's also officially off all reflux meds and doing great.  He's been sleeping really well at night- he usually goes to bed around 6:30pm, wakes up around 5am for a bottle, then goes back to sleep until 7-7:30am (the past few nights he's been waking more- which the dr said is normal at this age as they start to develop more 'adult-like' sleeping patterns and have to learn to just go back to sleep when they wake up throughout the night).  He's doing well napping, just doesn't take long naps!  He generally takes three 45 minutes naps throughout the day.  He rolled from back to tummy in the middle of the night around 5 1/2 months, and has been a tummy sleeper ever since!  He flips right over if you lay him on his back.  Just before Robby turned 6 months... he started sitting up on his own!  He loves to sit up and play with his toys (but he still also LOVES to lay on his kick 'n play piano mat).  He doesn't do too much true babbling yet, but loves to squeal, gurgle, and do all sorts of vocal play (noises, etc.).

At right around 5 1/2 months... Robby had his first solid foods!  He had been showing the signs that he was ready, and he's such a big boy, we figured we'll try and see how he does... well he was DEFINITELY ready!  Sweet potatoes were his first... and he LOVED them!  Since then, he's had avocado/banana, squash, pears, carrots (which he didn't love initially, but has started eating!  these are the only foods I actually puree for him... the rest we just mash up and he does great!) and he's tried oatmeal, which hasn't gone over very well (made with steel cut oats... no matter what I tried, they just were too grainy for him to handle right now- we'll try again soon).  Let's just say... he's a GOOD eater.  :)  He takes a bite and barely finishes swallowing before he's got his mouth wide open, leaning forward towards the spoon, and grabbing/pulling our fingers to help put the spoon in his mouth!  As of right now, he gets food twice a day.

(Notice how he's grabbing my pinky finger - this is how he  gets the food into his mouth faster!)

We also started swim class right at 6 months!  He's been doing great- loves the water!  As soon as he gets in the water, he kicks and kicks his legs!  He's been dunked under water a few times now, and he still gets a bit frazzled by it... but he'll get used to it in time.  :)  We take the class with a friend of mine from work and her daughter, who is a month older than Robby.  Daddy makes sure to be at every class- and hopefully he'll join Robby in the water soon!

No teeth have popped through yet... but we think (and HOPE) at least one is well on it's way.  No signs when you look in his mouth as of right now- but he is drooling like I've never seen him drool and is fiercely shoving everything he can into his mouth and chewing/gnawing on whatever he can.  Fingers crossed for the poor guy!

We all got to go back home to visit for about 10 days over the holidays!  It was so nice to see everyone.  Robby did better this time... but still got a bit overwhelmed around all the people.  He slept better for the most part... but still slept a lot on Mommy while we were home.  Luckily, he went right back to his awesome sleeping habits as soon as we got back!  Robby was a lucky boy- he got so many awesome gifts from all our family and friends!  We had to ship everything back because there was no way we could fit it in our car... He loves playing with all his new toys!

Robby's latest little personality trait?  Serious baby.  Whenever we are around new people or a group of people... Robby is extremely serious.  He doesn't smile for people... just stares.  Which is crazy because for us (and our sitter), he is an extremely smiley, happy baby and he loves to laugh!  Stinker.  :)

Here are some new pictures!

Helping with laundry



Looking at the giraffes on his first trip to the zoo!

Check out Robby's 6 month photos!

Carrie :)

Videos!

Here are some recent videos of Robby!  A full update coming soon :)

 

Daddy's such a funny guy.

 

First swim class!

***NOTE*** The scream you hear after the first time Robby is dunked is NOT coming from him!!  He did great and never made a sound (other than a bit of coughing from the water he got in his mouth of course!)!!

 

"Uh, mom?... I'm not so sure about this dunking anymore!"

Robby says closed.

4 month Check-up and Updates (Long!)

Well, we've definitely had a different baby on our hands lately!  Robby is officially on full formula and he's doing great.  Once we started seeing how well he was doing with the supplemented formula (he also was doing much better with my altered diet, but there was still a noticeable difference in him after he ate breastmilk versus formula), we decided to take the plunge.  It was sad for Mommy to be done nursing because we both really enjoyed it, but I didn't think it was fair to continue nursing him when he clearly felt better on the hypoallergenic formula.  The first few nights of bottle instead of nursing before bed were rough getting him to sleep, but that is quickly getting better.  The reflux is basically gone- he still gets Zantac before bed as a precaution, but I think very soon that will be eliminated as well.  He's been back to his happy, HAPPY self... cracking up hysterically at everything, smiling just because Daddy and I are talking out loud... and sleeping at night has generally been great.  He is inconsistent as we're trying to figure out a 'schedule' for feedings.  Sometimes he sleeps all night, sometimes he wakes around 1am to get a small bottle.  But the first night he got a full bottle before bed... he slept 12 STRAIGHT HOURS!  Mommy got 8 UNINTERRUPTED hours of sleep for the first time in almost 5 months!  It was wonderful. 

As we were figuring all this out, we made an appointment with a pediatric GI in St. Louis, which we went to on our way home to Chicago the day before Thanksgiving.  While we were glad went just to cover all our bases... it was the most pointless doctor's appointment we could have been to.  She basically didn't believe in dairy allergies (or true reflux) in babies... which is crazy due to the evidence to prove the contrary (questions?  Ask my friend Dana- she'll fill you in!! :) ).  So I was back to figuring this out on my own- nothing new there.  Like Nick said after the appointment- one thing we really learned from this?  Trust our own instincts.  They've gotten us this far.

Next was home for Thanksgiving!  We had a great weekend- even though Robby was extremely overwhelmed with such a busy weekend and so many new faces to take in.  He didn't want Mommy to put him down at night... AT ALL.  He wasn't quite his happy self, unfortunately.  He's a sensitive baby for sure.  But we had a wonderful weekend despite his bipolar attitude :)

Tired boy in the dr's office

On our way back to Springfield the Monday after Thanksgiving we had a pediatric urologist appointment in Kansas City (yes, BUSY weekend) to run more detailed tests on his kidneys.  He got an ultrasound on his kidneys first, then they did a VCGU- which is more detailed than other tests he's had.  Robby... was... EXCELLENT.  He laid there so well for the tests, didn't make a peep, and let them do everything they needed to do!  He got a catheter for this test, poor guy, but NO IV!  With how that went last time... we were thrilled no IV to say the least!  The doctor explained that the right kidney is still dilated, but nothing abnormal was found.  He said it could just be that as the 'tube' connecting the kidney to the bladder was forming in utero, it wasn't quite wide enough to fully let the urine through, so the kidney stretched out.  As the tube grew and the urine was able to drain more efficiently, the kidney just stayed stretched out.  So that was good news.  However, there IS reflux on the left.... ?!  Didn't see that coming.  On a scale of 1-5, he was rated a mild 3.  Basically, since he has not had any UTI's or complications with the kidneys/bladder, we are just going to continue to monitor the kidney.  He will go for ultrasounds every 4-6 months until he's 2 years old.  As long as it doesn't get WORSE (staying the same is good), we have nothing to worry about.  If it gets worse or he starts getting UTI's, we will have to consider surgery of some sort.  So as of now, no major concerns, which is good.

Robby had his 4 month check-up with our regular pediatrician last week (he was really just a week shy of 5 months though).  He weighs... wait for it... 17lbs, 1oz!  And he's 26.5in long!  What a big boy.  He's in the 75-80th percentile for height and weight.  He got two vaccines- rotavirus and DTaP... which he of course did great with.  The doctor had no concerns- developmentally, the doctor said he's doing well!

Currently, Robby continues to LOVE to stand and jump with our support.  He wants so badly to sit up on his own... he doesn't like to lean back anymore.  He either likes to lay on his back to play with his toy bars or sit up with support to play!  Tummy time still isn't his favorite, but he still does it... and while he is capable of rolling from tummy to back... he refuses to do it for Mommy and Daddy.  He'll only do it for the sitter or as soon as our backs are turned, and in a nano-second he'll roll over and lay there smiling when we turn back around.  Stinker.  :)  Robby never stays still anymore.  He loves to scoot and slide around- constantly turning himself 180 degrees on both his playmat and in his crib.  So many times, we lay him in his crib for bed, and when we wake up, his head is where his feet used to be and he's sound asleep.  We still swaddle him, so he's really quite talented!  On his playmat, he likes to turn himself around and get the toybar between his legs.  He cracks us up.  He constantly tries to roll from his back to his tummy as well- not quite strong enough, but he gets about half way!  And he's getting really good at 'talking'... he makes all sorts of noises and sounds with his mouth and tongue.  He has learned to click his tongue and will just lay there amusing himself by doing this for stretches at a time!  And while we won't start solid foods until 6 months, Robby has recently started sitting in his high chair to get used to it and exploring utensils- spoons, cups, and his teething toys.  He loves it (for short stretches at a time)!  Our little chunk has been in size 3 diapers for some time now... and has recently graduated to size 6-9 month clothes! 

First time in the stroller without the car seat!

Starting to hold his own bottle

Beautiful day... in December.

Robby's first Christmas will be here before we know it!

If you've gotten this far... Bravo!
Carrie