What the what?! It’s already 10 Months? I honestly feel like I just wrote the 9 Month Update. Time does fly but the month of February was no help either. It was a short month and honestly not that great of one. I don’t like to say that because I try to stay generally positive, but sometimes you just gotta call em like you see em.
The month started with Foster’s 9 Month Old check-up that didn’t go great. He had not gained weight(in fact he had lost weight) and that sparked concern in the pediatrician and in us. Whenever your doctor is concerned you immediately become that way as well! We ended up getting blood work done to make sure Foster was okay. Then over a week of waiting later we found out that they did not get enough blood for the test so we had no results after anxiously waiting for them over a week.
It was stressful to say the least. We have a follow-up appointment with the doctor to weigh Foster and then we’ll decide from there if he needs to have blood work done again. I’m hoping and praying for great results so there won’t be a need for any of that!
To add insult to injury a day after going to the pediatrician Foster woke up with a super high fever. We treated it with Tylenol and Motrin as long as we could but that wasn’t helping and his temp rose to 105 degrees and that’s when we freaked out and went to the walk-in clinic. They determined that he had Roseola and all we could do is continue to do what we were doing, but it was horrible. To see your baby sick is just the worst. So, you see why February wasn’t all that awesome?!
Despite all that the majority of our days have been good. With a lot of praying and deep breathes I’ve managed to keep the worrying to a minimal…most days. It has not slowed Foster down one bit. He has been a busy little fella!
Movement: As soon as his eyes open he is ready to start going! This month has been a huge change in what he can do and what he’s interested in.
He’s still getting around by his “army crawl” method, which works really well for him and I promise he’s going to have huge biceps from all the upper body work!
Foster is also pulling up on his own and attempting to walk while holding our hands. It’s so cute because he takes such giant step and his little face immediately becomes lit up with pride. His newest accomplishment is pulling himself up on his walker all by himself and then walking with it. He’s officially on the move!
Plus he’s interested in everything…except his toys. He loves to open and shut doors, explore everyone that belongs to Hunley, including her water and food bowl, and go through all of our cabinets.
I love the spark that has come on this month. He’s definitely going to be a little adventurer!
Smiles:
My favorite song to sing to him is “You Are My Sunshine” and that’s the best description of his smile…sunshine. He continues to give them away very willingly and I love it!
My dad used to tell me that I lit up a room when I entered it. It was a huge compliment that I always loved to hear him say. What is even more special now is that I truly know what he meant because now I see how a room changes when Foster is in it. It absolutely lights up! He spreads sunshine wherever he goes. Despite what other people are doing. Foster just keep smiling and I love that about him. Honestly, it’s a lesson I can learn. To keep smiling no matter what others think or say. Your happiness should not depend anyone else. He’s brilliant I’m telling ya!
I know God has chosen him for great things. I am so thankful that I get to be a part of his journey!
Food(aka white gold): Another not so awesome thing about this month is that Mastitis came with it. Since day one of breastfeeding I have been so leery of the “M” word. I had always heard horrible things about it and I was absolutely terrified to get it. Now that Foster was beyond the newborn stage I thought I was in the clear…I thought wrong.
I got Mastitis and it happened so quickly. I went to bed one night with a little pain in my breast and I woke up the next day feeling horrible!! I was able to get on antibiotics and felt better soon after, but, my milk supply has been different ever since. Especially in the infected breast.
Plus Foster does not like nursing from that breast, so I’m pretty sure I’m producing very little milk in that one. I’ve officially become lopsided, but the weirdest thing is I don’t even care. As long as he’s getting enough nutrition, I’m good.
Breastfeeding continues to be a favorite past time of Fosters. He does his best nursing in the morning and at night. Every other time I try during the day is very short lived, but I continue to try.
He is having enough wet and dirty diapers so that gives me some peace of mind. I have a feeling he may ween himself naturally. I have mixed feelings about that.
Solids: Since the check-up where they told us Foster has lost weight I’ve been feeding him all the food and especially all the fat. The doctor advised us to feed him lots of fatty foods, so that’s what we’ve been trying to do. His favorites are avocados, peanut butter and coconut oil. Well, coconut oil was until it gave him diarrhea so we backed off that one…#momfail.
Other than the fatty foods he’s been eating almost anything else. Thankfully his appetite is pretty good. But I’ve had to be careful not to force food on him since I’ve been so freaked out about the weight thing. I don’t want to take away his natural ability to know when he’s full. So, against my desire I don’t force feed him.
That sounds horrible to say but when the doctor labels your child “failure to thrive” I’m pretty sure you’d be tempted to force feed as well.
Oh and we introduced the sippy cup. So far all we’ve put in it is water with a splash of apple juice. He likes it for about two sips and then throws it on the floor. But hey, we’re at least treading on new ground and trying new things!
Sleep: Between Roseola and Mastitis I think it’s safe to say our sleep has been a little rocky this month. Not horrible but just different. He’s woken up crying more frequently because he was uncomfortable when he was sick. Now he is feeling better that has improved, but a recent runny nose hasn’t helped much.
Poor little guy wakes up pretty stuffy and not able to breath well. I’ve been trying to help him out with a mixture of saline spray followed with the Nose Frida but he screams like I’m doing horrible things to him, so that’s not fun. If only he knew that I’m offering him sweet breathing relief.
He is still sleeping in his crib at night and for the most part. Illness has caused a few setbacks but I have confidence that we’ll get back to where we were. But for now I’m going to go into rescue him as often as needed because who wants to be left alone when they don’t feel good?!
Another lesson I’ve learned is that everything changes. As soon as you think you have something figured out…you don’t! Keeps me on my toes and that’s a good thing…usually!
Naps: We’re still teetering between one to two naps depending on when he wakes up. Lately he’s been waking up around 5am, so he’s ready for a nap around 7am. If you do the math and know that he still naps roughly every two hours you’d figure out that we definitely need three naps on those days.
Also being sick has messed with naps. Several times I’ve just held him until he because uncomfortable. I felt like it helped his breathing situation to have him at a tilted angle versus lying flat.
I try to be flexible and just switch up the nap quantity depending on the day. Early on I really relied on time to tell me when I should attempt a nap. Now that he’s older and we know each other better I feel like I’ve got his nap signals down…
yawning, rubbing eyes, tugging ear, and arching back=ready for a nap!
Personality: I don’t know if I’m responsible for any of his personality but I sincerely hope so because it’s awesome!! Watching more of his personality shine through from month to month is really my favorite (or I guess one of my favorites). He is getting more expressive with his eyes. Case and point…
He’s also communicated with his body language. He can make it pretty clear as to what he wants by directing us with his hand. Aaron jokes and says the force is with him by the way that he guides his(or our) movement with one hand out…so cute!
He’s also so interested in people. People watching is one of his favorite things to do. Now that he does get from his mom for sure. Wherever we go he observes other kids, adults, animals. Really whatever is around. Even at the park he’d rather watch other kids than swing or play himself.
Downside is that there’s really know way to get him to look at the camera anymore. He’s too busy for that nonsense.
Oh and he’s so loving, happy and funny! For the most part he’s always smiling, laughing and giving kisses. It’s the absolute best when he finds something super funny and just can’t stop laughing.
Car:
I’m happy to report that we’ve had a bit of success in this department. He’s no longer really into the teething biscuits, but he has rekindled his interest in the teething necklace that I keep in his car seat. Lately he will play with it contently until we arrive to our destination. I don’t want to jinx it, but so far so good!
That about sums up 10 months….but still, 10 months?!?! I can’t believe he’ll be turning a year old in two months!! That excites me and breaks my heart all at once. It mostly excites me though. To see him grow up is an absolute privilege that I never want to take lightly!!
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