We’re expecting Tiny Tong Two this winter! We already got to see an ultrasound and hear the heartbeat of our little Tiny Tong, and all looks well so far. My due date is February 2nd, we are absolutely thrilled!
(PS. I had to make the “big brother” onesie because they definitely don’t make them in 0-3month size, which Sam is still currently wearing)
Still going strong on cloth diapering! I actually just bought some more really cute diapers, since Sam figured out how to get the velcro ones off. Whoops. These have snaps, so they are harder for him to get off.
He also got some leggings with the diaper order. I think they’re pretty cute.
Yes, they make his butt huge, but I think it’s adorable!
So now we are using half AlvaBaby and half BumGenius. Both are pocket diapers. I am really enjoying using them, I love seeing the cute patterns and some of the new ones are even “minky” which has a velvety soft outside layer, making them super soft! I know it’s gross to rub diapers on my cheeks, so I’ll refrain, but we love cloth diapering. If you have any questions regarding cloth diapering please feel free to ask in the comments!
Time for Samuel’s monthly pictures! Here’s a link to Month 1, and Month 2, Month 3, Month 4, Month 5, Month 6 ,Month 7 and Month 8 in case you missed them! And here is a link to a page that I’ll be updating every month with all of the pictures together, so you can see them side by side.
With crocheted pillow
In his crib with the bear (He was not thrilled about being made to sit down with his bear, so I got two of these, but the first one is just so hilarious!)
In the crib
Sam is moving like crazy! He is trying to walk, but doesn’t have the balance yet, so just repeatedly falls down. He’s gotten pretty good about landing on his rear, though, which is good. We had his 9 month well child check today and he’s losing weight again. We’re having him evaluated by an endocrinologist to see if he is having trouble metabolizing his food. I think that’s what the doctor said, anyway. But he is back down to just under 15lbs and is 27 inches tall. He is a mover and a shaker, that’s for sure, this kid never stops moving. Still not good about napping, usually takes two or three 45 minute naps a day, and still up 3 or more times a night. But his GERD seems to be better under control! He has completely stopped spitting up (hooray!) and has gotten less fussy. Well, he was less fussy until he started popping teeth! He started on moving day, naturally. He also had a cold, so he was teething and sick the whole time we were moving, but as of this week he has four teeth! Hooray. His bottom two middle teeth and his top two outer teeth. Weird, huh? I’ve tried to get pictures, but no luck!
Today is also our anniversary, (3 years!) so I am off to prepare some nice dinner for us!
A custom order for a ruffle hat, that will eventually go with a dress and bloomer set that someone ordered.
And yes, I had to bribe my kid with my juice bottle just to get him to pose for these pictures. Without it, pictures looked like this.
So I let him have it.
Working on some bigger projects right now, (Like a hammock! Hah!) so there hasn’t been a lot to show on the ol’ blog. We have gotten completely unpacked now, which feels great, and we are absolutely loving our new hours. We’re withing close walking distance of 4 outdoor parks and one indoor squishy park for those yucky days. We love our duplex-neighbors, they’ve got two cute little girlies! We have a huge yard, and I’ve already gotten a teeny bitty garden started (Two tomato plants, a bit of mint and some pepper plants) but am planning on adding to that soon with some Farmer’s Market starts!
Tomorrow morning is Sam’s 9month well child check, so I’ll be posting his nine month pictures, along with his stats tomorrow. We’re hoping for some good weight gain! Oooh, also, I got another stash of cloth diapers today, so I’ll be blogging about those as well this week, cuz they are CUH-YUTE! (Who’da thunk I’d ever be obsessed with diapers? Haha)
At the last place, Sam’s room was a hybrid craft/library/study/nursery. Which was fine for when he was really little, but now that he actually is playing and moving around having a bunch of craft supplies and books in his room wasn’t exactly going to cut it. I wanted him to have a place where he could actually play and touch everything in his room so I wouldn’t constantly have to be redirecting him.
I got that awesome toy shelf used a few months ago, and now we finally have a place for it. I love that thing! It’s so nice that Sam can see all of his toys and is able to pull himself up and grab whichever toy he wants.
The green elephant painting my sister Erika made for us. I love this painting so much!
In the rocking chair, with the blanket I crocheted for him before he was born.
These are all pictures that were cut out of old fairy tale books
Blackout curtain…not pretty but essential if I do not want to be up for the day at 4:45am. (it could also use an ironing. Sorry mom.)
Crib- cool poster which I believe at one point belonged to the Gibbs, his funny bicycle plaque and his name blanket. Elephant mobile made by my sweet cousin Sarah.
His red cabled blanket I made and his fuzzy monkey that he can’t sleep without. Paul won that at the fair for me several years ago, and Sam has really latched onto it for some reason!
Well, there is your tour of the nursery! It’s the only room that is completely put together, but the other rooms are very close and hopefully by early next week I’ll have a complete house tour to show you!
A custom order for a racing hat! Supposed to be checkered like the racing flag!
Sam wasn’t thrilled about modeling.
But he isn’t thrilled about modeling anything these days. That means sitting still long enough for mama to get a picture. He’s not a fan of sitting still at all.
But speaking of Sam, he is doing much better! He is sleeping better and eating better and gaining weight! He’s *almost* 16 lbs now! He gained 11oz inbetween his appointments, which were just over 2 weeks apart, which is fantastic weight gain, especially for him. He is much happier now and very, very active. He is trying to walk now, which is crazy! He hasn’t successfully actually done any walking, but he will walk with the push toy and walk along furniture. The house is a bit turned upside down right now because we are in the midst of packing and moving, he likes playing “baby in a box”and he’s loved playing with the boxes and newspapers. We are pretty thrilled with his reaction to the medication and we hope it continues to work and he’ll keep on gaining weight!
The ‘busier’ Sam becomes the harder it is for me to actually complete knitting projects. I’m sure you’ve all noticed a lack of very crafty things around here and for that I apologize. But hey, I get to spend my day with this guy, so no complaints here.
And to answer a few Knittybutton reader questions:
Cloth Diapering: Still going strong! We love it. We use BumGenius 4.0 pocket diapers and I get the flushable liners, too, which makes poopy diapers easy as disposable. I do a load every other day, and we cycle through about 14 diapers. I have more than that, but don’t find that I need more. I bought some new ones with snaps (instead of velcro like the ones I have) and I can’t wait for them to come. I only have one snap diaper at the moment, but I find I always gravitate to putting that one on him first if I have the option.
Breastfeeding: Still breastfeeding 12x a day. I know, it’s a lot, especially for an 8 month old. But with his GERD he can really only eat small meals, otherwise he throws it up, so he gets lots of small meals throughout the day.
Food: Sam really wasn’t interested in babyled weaning. But his doctor wanted me to make sure he was eating enough, since he wasn’t gaining weight, so we are back to purees. Sam LOVES carrots and sweet potatoes and applesauce. He will happily eat any or all of those anytime. It’s handy because whenever we are going somewhere (or out to eat) as long as I remember to bring some food with us he is a happy camper now. Also, he really likes Cheerios.
Sleep: Oy. We are working on that. Still getting up 2x at night to eat. I am hesitant to try ‘cry it out’ right now, until I know his GERD symptoms are under control. I just don’t feel comfortable letting him cry if he is in pain.
Mobility: He is a crazy man! He is cruising (walking along holding the couch) pulling himself up on EVERYTHING, crawling all over the place, climbing stairs. Whew. It’s hard to keep up with him!
I think that’s all. Feel free to ask me more questions in the comment section if you’d like.
Time for Samuel’s monthly pictures! Here’s a link to Month 1, and Month 2, Month 3, Month 4, Month 5, Month 6 and Month 7 in case you missed them! And here is a link to a page that I’ll be updating every month with all of the pictures together, so you can see them side by side.
With his bear
In his crib:
With crocheted pillow:
I am not thrilled with this months pictures, but he is so squirmy at this age I will take what I can get! He is the most active little guy, constantly on the move! And his mobility has just increased tenfold over the last few weeks. He’s pulling himself up on furniture, crawling all over the place and climbing stairs. He is babbling constantly (totally adorable) and says ‘babababa’ a lot, and if you say “dada” he will oftentimes repeat it. Twice he’s said “dada” when Paul walked in the room. Probably a coincidence, but hey it’s adorable!
So, as most of you probably know, Sam was incredibly ‘screamy’ as an infant. We took him to the doctor, but they just diagnosed him as being ‘colicky’ and ‘high needs’. We tried gas drops, gripe water, teething tablets, tummy massages, baths, anything that seemed like it might possibly help, but none of it made much of a difference other than momentary distraction. Around the six month mark things started to improve, but he was definitely still a grumpy and difficult baby. He seemed to cry and fuss more than he was happy. He was never content to play, and rarely would he let someone other than me hold him for more than a few minutes without a lot of tears. I chalked it all up to his “high needs baby” diagnosis, and just tried to go with the flow and keep him happy. Fast forward to last week- we were miserable. Sam was screaming most of the day, I was losing my mind. He wouldn’t nurse, was arching his back, flailing his arms, tugging on his ears and wailing. I could tell something was obviously wrong with him, so on Thursday evening Paul and I took him to Quick-Care, since his doctors office was already closed. I suspected an ear infection, but the doctor took a look at him and diagnosed him as (and I am not joking, these were his exact words) “fussy baby”. Um. What? A baby does not scream, arch his back and flail if he is not in pain and something is not wrong. He wouldn’t nurse, he wasn’t gaining weight and he was just plain miserable. I called his doctor and made an appointment for Monday morning, first thing.
We weighed him and it turns out he had lost 4 oz in 3 days. Not good. So, the doctor and I talked over all of Sam’s symptoms and he was diagnosed with “Severe GERD” (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) which is an incredibly painful thing for a poor baby to deal with, and makes perfect sense why he would struggle with nursing, why he would scream when laid on his back, spitting up more often, why he was arching his back and crying, why he has such poor sleeping habits, etc. So, now that we KNOW what the problem is that is 3/4ths of the battle. The other 1/4 of the battle is getting him to take his medication! It’s a minty smelling liquid that works as an H2blocker. Not sure exactly what that means, but it reduces the acid in his stomach.
Sam started the medication on Monday and by that evening it was like I was dealing with an entirely different kid. He was happy, smiley, cuddly and so incredibly sweet. I was in tears because I was so happy to finally have some sort of answer as to why he was so darn unhappy all of the time. Before I put him to bed that night after he finished nursing he let out this adorable little sigh, laid his head on my shoulder and just fell asleep. This kid does not just ‘fall asleep’ on you. This kid does not cuddle. EVER. This was the first time he has ever voluntarily snuggled up with me. It’s amazing! And yesterday we were out and about all day! (from 8am-8:15pm!) and he was amazing. We drove all around the Palouse (Looking at wedding stuff! Yay David and Emily!) and despite spending hours in a wedding dress shop in Spokane Sam was happy THE WHOLE TIME. He got a little sad on the way back, but hey, he had been in the car for like 4 hours that day, so I don’t really blame him. Turns out all it took was a snack and he was back to his happy little self.
All that to say, do your research. I feel so badly that it took us 8 months to figure out what was wrong with Sam. (Oh how I wish babies could tell us what is wrong with them!) Sam has been seen by several different doctors and none of them caught this. It took researching on an online forum (Hey BBC mamas!) when a friend said that Sam’s symptoms sounded familiar to her child’s symptoms and I should ask his doctor about GERD/Reflux. Little did I know that Sam’s was severe. His doctor said he doesn’t normally write prescriptions for reflux, but since Sam has had so much trouble gaining weight (and was now losing a bit of weight) he decided that medication was the best course of action. I am somewhat relieved that it was an ‘easy fix’, and we didn’t have to go through allergy testing, elimination diets, etc to figure out the cause of Sam’s discomfort, but that makes me even all the more frustrated, because it WAS such an easy fix that I feel bad we didn’t do this 6 months ago.
Wow, that was a bit more of a novel than I anticipated. If you made it through that whole post you get a gold star. I feel like I have a new lease on life with a happy baby. Oh life is so nice with a happy baby, don’t you all agree?
Sam has learned to climb stairs.
He was so incredibly thrilled with himself, though. Smiled for a good 20 minutes.
Getting back down proved trickier than he anticipated. So he just jumped. But I was there to catch him, don’t worry.
Sam also got a ride-along toy, he can’t move on it yet, but he really enjoyed sitting on it and holding onto the handle.
He is getting such a hilarious personality. And he’s getting really fun to hang out with. He’s really coming into his own, it feels like every day he is learning new tricks and getting into more stuff and it’s a lot of fun to watch him figure things out. He’s getting really good at crawling (so fast!) and he babbles non-stop now. (Lots of mama’s, dada’s, baba’s and lalalalala’s, and a WHOLE lot of squeals!) He is still having a bit of separation anxiety, but as long as dad is in view he is happy as a clam. He likes to blow raspberries on your arm. He’s also VERY ticklish and he will laugh hysterically if you tickle his feet or his armpits. Another favorite activity is pulling hoodie strings out. He’s becoming such a funny little person! And I am so glad I get to be around for all of this!
So I swear I just left him alone for a second…
I left a potted plant on the floor in the kitchen and he managed to tip it over. As soon as I walked in the room he knew he was in trouble! He scurried away from the scene of the crime as fast as he could, but he was giggling the whole time. That smile is him pleading guilty.
And now I put the babygate up if I need to run upstairs…
Knittybutton 