The Seminaras

Week 38 -

Major developments! This week was all about Brady and reaching new milestones.

First, he's got 2-4 more teeth coming in. Two have already broken the skin and you can feel the rough edges on his gums. They are his left side teeth top and bottom. Not sure where those top two front teeth are hiding. The other 2 maybes are his right side teeth where we think we can see white bumps. So not a surprise he's taken to chewing on everything (Mom's shoulder, leg, window sill, ottoman, etc).

Another major development is pulling himself up to stand AND getting back down (neither gracefully, but it's a start). He half-walks half-pulls himself across the window sill to reach for objects and toys. He'll also go from window sill to ottoman or Mom, still shaky but he's determined and loves being mobile and exploring. When he hangs on to the window sill, he likes to smile and talk to his reflection, often banging on the window or sill and doing a little "booty shake" which we find quite hilarious. Looking at our videos it's amazing to see how quickly he's gotten the hang of pulling himself up and walking, just from last weekend to this weekend. Just amazing.

Since he discovered he can pull himself up we had to move his crib mattress down to the lowest setting. This we discovered one night watching the new video baby monitor - definitely a necessary baby item. The video monitor is pretty nice, we downloaded an app to our phones that allows us to pull it up and see him anytime anywhere. This comes in handy for the grandparents and will be great when Mom or Dad have to go on a business trip (Facetime for infants?). It's also hilarious to watch him sleep as he's started sleeping on his belly with his butt in the air (see picture below). And now that he's getting more vertical, we have to step up the baby proofing and are looking into getting him an enclosed play yard so he keeps himself out of trouble when Mom and Dad are cooking dinner or bringing in groceries. We also need to protect the window sill corners and hide the string for the blinds.

This week started the weaning process which brings both relief and sadness for Mom. Relief from the scheduled feedings and pumpings, but sad her son is outgrowing his Mommy time. Plus it was the only time he sits still. We tried to give him a 100% formula bottle right away - which by the way smells gross, kind of metallic but still looks like milk - but he wouldn't take it. He'd crinkle his nose and refuse. Then we tried 1 oz of formula with 4 oz breastmilk and he drank it at daycare. Another day there was no refusing him so they gave him a bottle 100% formula and he drank it. We will try again and see how it goes at home, probably shouldn't have Mom try to feed him formula or he might not take it.

And speaking of eating, this kid can eat, and eat, and EAT. He takes 3 bottles a day, plus 3-4 servings of solids, plus snacks of Cheerios at daycare. They are introducing him to new foods like peas and carrots, pancakes, bananas, noodles, and chicken. At home he ate pineapple, chicken, cheese, and pasta. We still give him baby food for dinner, but he's been eating 2 whole jars (that's 8 oz!) plus the finger foods. He will also drink water out of a glass if you hold it for him. As for the sippy cup, he gets the concept but would prefer Mommy's glass and drum with the sippy cup. Someone is definitely in a growth spurt! Hopefully he's getting all the nutrition and hydration he needs. He goes back for his 9 month checkup end of this month.

Since the time Brady was about 4-5 months old we've been using sign language for specific baby things like milk, eat, more, water, done, sleep, cat, and dog. This week he finally started signing back to us! And it's just like they tell you, it's not perfect so you have to watch for it but it does minimize the fussing and frustration. This was particularly helpful with "more" since he's been constantly eating. He also signs for milk. We'll keep using them all, and maybe add in some new ones, and see what he picks up. Not sure how long he'll sign as he seems pretty vocal and eager to start talking.

Brady constantly chatters and babbles, at all different volumes, mostly loud ones. If his ENT had any concerns about his hearing and speech development, he should hear him now (or maybe he can if he lives within 1 mile of our house). We will post some new videos of him pulling himself up, playing, and babbling soon.

Since he's doing so well, we decided to try giving him baths again. He still hates them. As soon as his feet are immersed he starts crying. We're going to try again as he was a little tired and cranky that night (someone fights naps at daycare) plus he'd given himself a scratch on his foot playing at daycare. It could have been one or the combo of both things that got him upset.

Getting excited for the weekend as Grandpa Bob and Grammie Terry come back to town before heading out for the spring in the RV. Also one of Mom's friends from high school is coming in to visit her inlaws so hoping it works out to get to see them and their kids.