Sam- 11 months

Late again :)

So late that I didn't do a monthly picture! It's too close to 12 months!

I wrote this a couple weeks ago with the intention of posting MUCH sooner than now, but life happens and here we go!

Some things about our little guy:

*have not been to the doctor recently (thank goodness) but guessing 18-19 pounds
*wearing 9-12 month or 12 month clothes, size 3 diapers
*I could have SWORN he had a tooth come through on the top, but now it's disappeared!
*eating 3 times/day, usually 5 bottles (avg 4-5 oz each)
*he's a pro at crawling now, hardly ever "army crawls" any more
*2 naps/day, about 2 hours each, give or take
*we've tried a few finger foods like green peas, pancakes, and peaches- he'll try a couple bites and then get tired of chewing- it's hard with no teeth!

A few pictures:

 I usually cook with him attached to my leg...

Pumpkin Patch

Halloween (the night before)

Happy baby :)

Sam- 10 months

I am sooooo late, but Sam was 10 months old on Sept. 25th!

That ear infection that I mentioned on his 9 month post? Took us 3 1/2 weeks to recover. The first antibiotic did not work, so we had to go back and get a different kind.

A few things about our little guy:
*Sleeping better at night, but still not consistently though the night. Maybe 3-4 times a week.
*We tried out a new cereal for breakfast- I think it's Gerber's strawberry something. He loves it! He'd never been a fan of rice cereal or oatmeal, even when we mixed fruit with it, but now I think we've found a winner!
*Eats 3x a day- cereal for breakfast, fruit and veggie at lunch, fruit and veggie at dinner.
*Drinks water from a sippy cup, although about half of it ends up all over him.
*New foods this month (that I can remember): cauliflower- not a fan, and mashed potatoes- loves them! We didn't try new fruits, he pretty much likes everything he's had. Favorites are still avocadoes and pretty much any fruit.
*Naps 2x a day, usually 2 hours each
*Pulling up on everything! He can travel across the length of the couch too. He can also balance while only using 1 hand to hold on. I think he'll be walking by his birthday (Nov. 25).
*Still no teeth!
*Wearing size 3 diapers, 9 month 9-12 month clothes, haven't put shoes on yet :)
*Sleeps with a paci, but sometimes it falls out at night and he's usually fine. He's gotten to where he can find it and stick it back in. Definitely uses it at nap time.
*"Talking" all the time! Recognizes "Daddy", "Mommy", and "Will" and usually looks for them when asked.
*Crawls, but mostly army crawling with his belly on the ground. He's still super fast!

So I didn't do much better with pictures this month, but here's what I've got!

Mashed potatoes!

Sam- 9 months

Happy 9 months (1 week late) to this guy!

Will had to get in the picture

Trying to give him kisses

Bless his heart, he's recovering from an ear infection. The first time he's ever been sick in his whole little life :( Because of this, we've been to the doctor recently. She went ahead and checked all his stats for a 9 month check-up he was supposed to have soon anyway.

*He weighs 16 lbs, 4 oz and is 28 inches long
*Still has the heart murmur- we go back to cardiologist at 1 year
*Had infection in 1 ear only, the only noticeable symptom was a little runny nose and a low grade fever.
*Just switched to size 3 diapers, but could probably squeeze in size 2s if we found them lying around
*Wearing 9 month size clothes, except some pajamas that are 12 month
*Eating 3 meals a day, no snack usually, and 5 bottles a day (we fill to 6oz, but hardly ever finishes one)
*Loves all baby food except green beans, peas, and eggplant - avocado is still a favorite
*Taking 2 naps a day, usually 1 1/2 hours each around 9:30 and 1:30
*No teeth yet
*STILL waking up at night, at least once. If it's more than once, he usually just needs a paci to go back to sleep. Eating around 2-3:00 a.m.
*After this ear infection fully passes, I'm considering letting him CIO, or at least try the Ferber method. In spite of his small size, I know he physically does not need to eat in the middle of the night. I hate to hear him cry, and I know it will be a rough few nights, but we'll see how it goes. I may change my mind.
*He has recently (last week) started pulling up on things. After a few days of practicing, he can make it to his feet and hang on to the couch for a minute or so. He is so proud of himself!
*Sam still army crawls, but is trying out real crawling. He's just much slower when he's on his hands and knees, so he usually opts for scooting.
*We've been on formula for about 2-3 weeks now. I thought the gallons of breastmilk I froze would last forever, but that's not the case. I really think that's what has kept him well the past 9 months. Now we've got out first sickness :( but school also started, which means more germs at daycare

I hardly have any pictures from this month! This is sad :( Sorry buddy, mommy will do better next month!

I tried to upload a couple videos, but I was having technical difficulties :(

Here's a comparison of Will and Sam at 9 months:

 Will

Sam

Sam- 8 months

Sam was 8 months old on July 25th!

A few things about our little guy:

*We have not been back to the doctor for weight/height, but he's probably around 15-16 lbs,, maybe 26-27 inches long. Still wearing size 2 diapers, 6-9 month clothes
*On his 8 month birthday, he decided he'd try out this whole crawling thing! And in just 3 days, he's gotten pretty good. At first, he wouldn't get his belly up, but last night, he actually got off the ground and was on all fours. It's happening fast! Guess it's time to put away all the little pieces of Will's toys.
*Still no teeth, but lots of drool!
*Unfortunately, little man is still waking up at least once during the night. I mentioned it in his 7 month post. He started about a month and a half ago when we stopped swaddling. Last night, for example, he was asleep at 8:30, woke up at 3 (put the paci back in), woke up at 4:30 (put the paci back in), and 5:30 (fed a bottle). He went back to sleep until about 6:30. So I get good sleep for about 5 hours :( This will NOT be fun when school starts back next week.
*Some favorite baby foods right now: AVOCADO is #1 for sure, bananas, squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Usually, I just look at the produce I have and see what I need to use up before it goes bad. Then I just throw it in the Baby Bullet- love that thing. A new one this week- eggplant. He hasn't had it yet, but we'll see how it goes.
*Drinking pretty well from a sippy cup (water). Likes puffs and can almost get them to his mouth. Has eaten some yogurt and little rice biscuits.
*Usually takes two 1 1/2 hour naps and then a short 30 min nap around 5 or 5:30.
*Takes about 5-6oz breastmilk in bottles 6 times a day. Eats breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sometimes some puffs or a rice biscuit for an afternoon snack.
*Now that he sits up pretty well by himself, we have started bathing the boys together. By the time we're done, the bathroom is pretty much flooded and I'm soaking wet!
*He loves swimming in the lake/pool in his float!

A few pictures from this month:

4th of July

Blueberries!

Bathtime

Playtime

Sam- 7 Months

This sweet baby is 7 months old today! Oh how time flies!

Some things about our little guy:
*At his 6 month check up, he was 14 lbs, 10 oz so I'm guessing maybe 15 1/2 pounds and possibly 27 inches long.
*Wearing size 2 diapers, mostly 6 month or 6-9 month clothes (some 3-6 jammies still fit).
*We have stopped swaddling with the Miracle Blanket as of 6 nights ago. Let's just say it's been a rough past 6 nights :/ Right before we made that decision, one night he rolled over and got stuck with his face against the bumper and scared me to death! No more swaddling after that. We are using a blanket by Summer Infant that is more like a sleep sack, but you can swaddle with arms out. He used to only take a paci at nap time, but now we use it at night sometimes when he wakes himself up.
*Our schedule now (hopefully this will change in a few days when he gets used to arms out):
   -bottle (formula) and bed about 8:30-9
   -wake up anywhere from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m & bottle
   -wake up for good usually around 6 & bottle
   -7:00 breakfast- fruit
   -1st nap around 9:00 for hour and a half
   -10:30 bottle
   -lunch 12:00- vegetable
   -nap around 1:00 for hour and a half
   -wake up 2:30, bottle
   -snack (usually he gets a little whiny around 4:00 or so, so we've given him some water in a sippy    cup and that usually does the trick)
   -nap around 5:00 for 30 minutes
   -bottle around 6:00
   -dinner 6:30ish, fruit or veggie
   -sometimes he can make it till 8:00 awake, sometimes he'll doze off in the living room with us until     the last bottle
*Drinking all breastmilk except right before bed. We mix a tiny bit of rice cereal in there too.
*No teeth yet, but there HAS to be something going on in there!
*Can almost sit up by himself, but I don't leave him alone because he's still wobbly.
*No crawling either, but he can spin all the way around and roll pretty much wherever he needs to go
 *Loves all baby food except green peas. I went out on  limb and bought a Baby Bullet and have been making all his food. It is so easy and so cheap!! It makes me feel a little domestic, too ;)
 *Loves to jump in his jumperoo and play in the exersaucer (he jumps in that too)

Here are a few pics from this month:

Beach pictures:

Trying to get a picture of both of them. NOT easy

While brother swims....

At Norah's 1st birthday party

We found out that he LOVES to swing!

Lunch time! Sweet potatoes are delicious...

...and so is his big toe!

Here's a comparison of Will and Sam:

 

Will- 7 months

Sam- 7 months

Sam- 6 months

Sam was 6 months old on the 25th. Getting a good picture was a little tricky this time. He can't quite sit up by himself, but it's not for lack of trying!

 Had to get one with the little bandaids on his legs :)

A few updates on our little guy:
*At our 6 month check up, he weighed 14 lbs 10 oz, and was 26 inches long (4% weight, 26% height)
*Also, the doctor could not hear the heart murmur anymore! Sam was diagnosed with a heart defect when he was 2 months. We went to a cardiologist and found a tiny hole in one of the chamber walls of his heart. Doctor said that with the size and placement, it should heal itself. We go back at 1 year just to check, but now that it's not audible, we're pretty sure it's closed.
*Wears size 2 diapers, 6-9 or 9 month clothes
*Does pretty well sleeping through the night. Every now and then he'll wake up at 3 or 4, but will usually go back down after he eats.
*Taking about 5 oz breastmilk in each bottle, usually 6 times a day. We've started cereal, but most of the time he spits it out. I can't imagine that it tastes much better than cardboard. We do cereal in the morning, about an hour after his first bottle (sometimes I mix a little baby fruit in there and he seems to take it better).
*He eats a 1st food veggie around dinnertime, depending on his bottle schedule. So far he's liked everything we've given him. Sweet potatoes are probably the favorite, and peas are the least favorite. , but he'll still eat them.
*He's rolling ALL over the place. He'll be clear across the room in 30 seconds. Will thinks this is hilarious!
*Putting everything in his mouth (favorite being hands), but no sign of teeth yet. Will was 7 months when his first one popped up, so we'll see.

A few pictures and videos from this month:

selfie at the doctor

 Love some baby laughs

He's a kicking machine!