January 27, 2015

Fox | 8 Month Update

 
Weight:
19 lbs



Height:
Not sure, will find out at next month’s check up.


Health:
Fox got sick on New Year’s Eve and remained sick for the next two weeks. We went to the pediatrician twice, but he was “only” diagnosed with a cold. He had a fever, coughed really bad, runny nose and was just miserable. They said we just had to wait this one out, but man, it was rough. It didn’t help that Katie and I got sick as well, and if you’re a mom, you know that taking care of a sick baby while being sick yourself, is the worst! He is finally doing better and I hope that he’ll stay healthy for a while. I know there are much worse things than a baby with a cold and we count our blessings every day, but it’s still sad to see your baby like this.


Nicknames:
Big Honey, Big Hans, Baby Honey, Bubba, Schatzi, Bubbles, Mr. Fox, Foxy, Pumpkin, Stinky Butts, Poodle


Eating:
Still nursing every 3-3.5 hours during the day. Unfortunately my milk supply has taken a hit when I was sick and I’m desperately trying to build it up again. I’m not ready to call it quits and I hope I can make it to a year. I don’t have much frozen breast milk saved up and whenever he is with a babysitter (aka grandparents), he drinks more milk in a bottle than I’m able to pump, so I’m getting really worried. I started taking fenugreek, drinking Mother’s Milk Tea, eating Oatmeal and drinking tons of water, along with pumping every two hours when I’m away from him, but I usually only get around 3oz per session and he drinks at least 6oz in a bottle when he’s away from me.

He’s eating solids about twice a day now, but it’ still a battle. He loves banana and “Baby Mum Mum’s” (baby cracker) but is picky about everything else. It’s hit and miss, but we’ll keep trying and the pediatrician assured us that solids are just for fun at this point and that he’ll get all his nutrients from his milk.


Teething:
He has six teeth now, four on the top and two on the bottom! It’s been a rough month, he’s been miserable at night and we had to give him some baby Tylenol a few times. Hopefully he’ll get a little break now. 


Sleeping:
He usually wakes up around 6:30-7am and still goes to bed around 7pm. We had another bad month where I’ve been up every 1.5-2 hours with him. It’s just so hard to determine what’s wrong with him. Is he in teething pain, or is it because he’s sick, or is he simply a terrible sleeper? And when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, we had about a week where he would wake up at 1am every single night and just scream for an hour, nothing would calm him down. I am tired! 

Naps are still hit or miss, nothing consistent. He takes two naps a day, between 30 minutes and 2 hours (very rarely) each. 
Diapers:
We just transitioned into size 3.
 

Clothing:
9 month shirts and mostly 6 month pants.

Social:
He’s been doing better being away from me and Katie. He still hides his face in our shoulders and acts shy around people, but will let anyone hold him without issues. He’s talking up a storm, screeching, babbling and clicking his tongue. He knows who Zuma is (our dog) and will search the room for him until he finds him when we say: “Where’s Zuma?” He also responds to his name. It’s so fun to interact with him these days!



Likes:
Putting everything in his mouth, music and dancing, standing (he makes his body super stiff when you try to sit him down, just so he can stand), pulling himself up on his activity cube, his pacifier, being outside, riding in his stroller, other babies and children, when we make loud sounds that surprise him (like “boo”, sneezing, etc.), sleeping on his side, his jumperoo and walker, water bottles (he actually takes them out of my hand when I carry him and a bottle at the same time!), our dogs (especially Zuma), bath time, being carried around, having his mommies attention, bracelets, pulling hair, ripping my glasses of my face (he actually laughs when he does that!), watching videos of himself giggle (it’s hilarious, he will smile the biggest smile towards the video and is mesmerized…it’s an awesome tool during car rides when he gets mad!), sleeping in his mommies bed, the video grandma Sandie recorded for him (she is singing a special song for him and recorded it when he was sick to make him feel better ), blow dryers (he is mesmerized!), bananas and Baby Mum Mums, chewing on ice cubes in his mesh feeder, clicking his tongue and cell phones

Dislikes:
The Sun (he sneezes and it makes him mad when it shines in his face), Naps, being in his car seat for long periods of time, tummy time, laying down, being held like a baby, being away from his mommies, most food


Mama:
We’re getting a full time nanny in a few weeks and the thought about finally leaving my sweet boy for 40 hours a week, makes me nauseous. Like most working moms, I wish nothing more than staying home with my baby, but I know I’ve been fortunate to stay with him as long as I did. I miss him already!


Mommy:
While I wish time would slow down and my baby would stay little a little while longer, Katie is looking forward to the next stage and having a toddler and child, instead of a baby. She is his biggest cheerleader for every milestone he reaches and still the person who can make him laugh the most. 

Fun things we did:
We celebrated his first Christmas and New Year’s, had his friends over to play and went on his first plane ride to Alaska, where he got to meet all of Katie’s extended family!

I don’t think I mentioned it before, but last month we also received the wonderful news that our petition with the court went through and that Katie and I are now both the legal parents of Fox. We will get an amended birth certificate where we are both listed as mothers, which is such a relief and blessing for our family!

Milestones:
Getting more teeth and consistently pulling himself up



What we’re looking forward to:
We’re having lots of Birthday Parties and a Valentine’s Party coming up with Fox’s baby friends and the arrival of our au pair! 




5 comments:

  1. I just posted Emilia's 8 months update too, I cannot believe that we are on the way to celebrating their first birthdays.

    How exciting that you're getting an au pair(as bittersweet that may be for you to be leaving him), at least you know he is taken care of in his own home and can follow his routine and still attend his usual classes. Are you getting a German one?
    Being an au pair was one of the best times in my life(until motherhood came along of course)

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    1. I totally agree, my au pair year was also one of the best years of my life! We're getting one from Denmark. We really wanted a german one (well, more me than Katie), but we needed one short notice and there weren't any german au pairs available that we liked. We're excited and I hope it works out (I've seen so many bad outcomes when I was a community counselor for an au pair agency)!

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  2. About the sleeping issues. Maybe it is too cold or too hot for him. Some babies are very sensitive to that.
    E was "reading" one of his books where he discovered the fox in it. He was so in love with him and pointed on the fox all the time. I had to think about you and your LO. :)

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    1. That's super cute! All of my friends keep sending me pictures of random Fox items they see in a store or on the internet...haha.
      Sleeping has actually gotten a lot better since my post (I posted it yesterday, but actually wrote it just when he turned 8 months old), so you have to stay tuned for the next update! :) I hope I'm not jinxing myself now! I appreciate the suggestion about the temperature though, never really thought of that as a sleep intruder!

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  3. Hallo Nadine, euer Fox ist ja so megasuess. Unglaublich! Eine Freundin schwoert auf Malzbier fuer die Milchproduktion und sie hat 4 Kinder also glaube ich ihr mal, dass es hilft. Aber es wird wohl schwierig fuer Dich sein Malzbier zu bekommen.

    Es freut mich, dass ihr nun beide offiziell die Muetter von euren Jungen seid.

    Alles Gute weiterhin fuer eure kleine niedliche Familie.

    Herzliche Gruesse aus NB/Canada

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