8 Months Old

Ryker turned 8 months today! I know I say this each time but I can't believe how the time is flying by. In the past month he got another tooth which totals four. He has bitten me a couple of times on the arm usually when he gets excited. Luckily, he hasn't tried to bite me while nursing. On December 13 (6 days shy of him turning 8 months) we introduced formula into his diet. I have been able to solely nurse him up until now however it is getting more difficult to pump enough milk for him when I am in class or away. I am planning to continue to nurse for at least the next month maybe more. Having Ryker and experiencing motherhood would not have been the same for me if I would not have breastfed. It has created a bond between us that literally NO ONE else could have with him. As difficult as breastfeeding was in the beginning and inconvenient as it sometimes still is, I am so happy that I did not give up on it. I hope that weaning Ryker slowly will help with any anxiety he may have from changing to formula. So far, he seems to be handling the intro to formula well physically. The part I am looking forward to least is having to pay for the formula! UGH! Other than that he is eating the same ole stuff and drinking just water out of his sippy cup.

Ryker does not have to go to the doctor for a check-up this month however he does have to go in for his 2nd flu vaccine. I am going to ask the nurses to weigh and measure him. I believe he is AT LEAST 20 lbs. He is so heavy and he loves for me to carry him around. He has moved into his big boy carseat (thanks to his Aunt Angelique) and is traveling in style now. He doesn't seem to like it much because it is less of a recline than his carrier seat. I think it will be more comfortable when we can front face it.

Ryker still loves to play and is able to occupy himself more. He is not a big TV watcher (hopefully that will stick) however he will catch a glimpse of it now and then. He is not crawling yet and doesn't really like tummy time so I don't know when it will happen. I believe kids that are slept on their belly crawl faster so I am OK with him taking his time. I like the safety of him sleeping on his back! He will stand next to things and play. He will stand by the couch and at his little play table (we just stand beside his so he doesn't fall). Peek-a-boo is one of Ryker's favorite things. He understands how to put a blanket over his face and pull it down all by himself:) He also loves for his daddy to hold him under the arms and bounce him around letting his feet touch the ground like he is walking especially if Dulci is in front of him. He still LOVES Dulci and she loves him too, and even likes him sometimes:) Ryker likes anything that makes noise or talks except the vaccum cleaner which he is scared of. He has a great baseball arm already and throws his toys across the room.

This month we went to Charleston for Thanksgiving at Aunt Ragan and Uncle Greg's. Ryker and Lydia got to play. I think Lydia is ready for him to be a little more active:) We had a great holiday. It was strange for me not to cook because Thanksgiving is usually the holiday I do all the cooking but it was nice to be able to relax. We also made a trip to Savannah to spend the weekend with Aunt Sonja and Uncle John. Aunt Courtnie flew down from Pennsylvania. It was a great weekend. Ryker slept really well at Aunt Sonja's house. He is super excited about her pregnancy and can't wait for baby Sophie James to be born. Finally we took a trip down home to take family pictures with the entire DeCosta family. It was overwhelming and stressful but we got it done.

The most exciting thing that we did this past month was go see Santa. Ryker sat on Santa's lap and stared him down. He didn't cry at all. Santa said he was going to take him to the North Pole and let him be his Elf! We love Santa so much and can't wait for Ryker to really understand who he is!

Ryker's birthday book this month is Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! I hope that he loves it as much as I do.

No No No

Ryker has started shaking his head "no, no, no"!!! It is the funniest thing ever. That baby knows what he wants and what he doesn't:)

Thanksgiving

We had Ryker's first Thanksgiving at Aunt Ragan and Uncle Greg's house in Charleston. The ride there and back was a little difficult because we left at night and Ryker travels better in the morning. Ryan got to experience a little taste of what I deal with when I go home to visit our families:) The holiday was great and we ate way too much. Ryker got a chance to see his cousin Lydia and get some love for her. I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving.

7 months

This is a little late but wanted to update... Ryker is now 7 months old! He weighs around 19lbs. He doesn't go back to the doctor until he is 9 months so I do my best to weigh him. I am not sure of his height, I guess I need to invest in a tape measure soon:)

He is still sleeping in his crib which is awesome! He normally goes to sleep around 7:30 or 8 and wakes up at around 5. I usually feed him and then we go back to sleep until around 7. He goes to sleep fairly easily, we either just put him in his crib or rock him. He makes the funniest noise in his throat when he gets sleepy. He also puts his hand over his mouth and turns over so we know when it is time.

Ryker has another tooth, this time on the top. This has not affected breastfeeding him but he does grind his teeth which drives me insane. On top of breastfeeding he eats cereal and fruit in the morning and at night, and veggies and fruit during the day. It does not seem to have slowed down the amount that he nurses except for in the middle of the night. I am hoping to be able to continue nursing up until he is a year old.

Playing is Ryker's favorite thing to do. He is able to throw things down and knows that someone will pick it up (so when we are out to eat this happens continuously). He bangs toys and teethers on the table and loves to pet Dulci (still working on teaching him gentle). His favorite toy has got to be this plastic ball that came on one of his toys, he likes to bite at it and shake and throw it. He still enjoys his jumpers. He loves to be outside and in town so that he can stare at everyone. He doesn't really pay much attention to TV but he will looks at it while we are watching (I hope this continues). We continue to read to him. most of the time he allows this:) I am reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to him right now (courtesy of Aunt Courtnie). His book this month was Fox in Socks which is soooo hard to read without sounding like a crazy person.

We had two adventures this month. We went to Uncle Norman's for a Halloween party. Ryker was a vampire and he was super cute. Then we went to Savannah for the first time to visit Aunt Sonja and Uncle John. Aunt Courtnie came down to see us too. We are all very excited for the arrival of Sophie James who will be here around St. Patty's Day!

That is about all for this month. Time is flying by so I will be updating again in no time.

Halloween 2010

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays so I was super excited this year. Ryker was a vampire (of course). He was the cutest thing ever. We attended a Halloween party at Norman and Tina's house with my entire family and Meme and Aunt Arlene came over to see Ryker. He was exhausted at the end of the night but it was all worth it. I can't wait til next year!

TIP:

Just a little tip for breastfeeding mommies: if you are in a town with a Babies-R-Us or Buy Buy Baby and your baby needs to eat these are perfect places to stop. The feeding rooms there are super nice. I was out with Ryker yesterday and had to feed him at Buy Buy Baby- it was almost better than feeding him at home:)

6 Months Old

Ryker is 6 months old today! WOW! I can't believe it. So much has happened this month. He is sitting up, sleeping in his crib, eating solids, has two teeth and his personality continues to grow (along with the rest of him). He went to the doctor yesterday for his check-up and his shots. He did so well for his shots, he stopped crying as soon as I picked him up. He weighs 18 lbs 5 oz (50th to 75th percentile) , is 27 1/2 (75th percentile) inches long and his head measures at 18 inches (90th percentile).

Ryker's favorite food, so far, are sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and squash. He is not a fan of any fruits but we keep trying. We have him on a pretty relaxed schedule when it comes to eating. I usually nurse him when he wakes up in the morning, then put him down for his morning nap then feed him cereal. He gets veggies at lunch and cereal or veggies in the evening and it seems like he nurses ALL day.

Sleeping in his crib is going well but his sleep patterns change a lot. Most of the time he goes to sleep at 8pm and wakes up at 4 am nurses then goes back to sleep until 7 or 8 am. A couple of nights he didn't sleep much at all waking up 3 or 4 times a night. He also wakes up screaming sometimes which makes me wonder if he is having some night terrors. I hope not but he is difficult to calm when this happens.

Playtime is getting so fun now. Ryker love to play in his jumper and in the door-way jumper. He likes his rattle toys and chewing on everything. He loves dogs. He wants so badly to play with Dulci, we are teaching him gentle when he pets. He laughs all the time. Just looking at him makes him laugh and he recognizes funny faces and noises. We still put Ryker in his swing however it won't be long before he will be grown out of it.

Going out is so fun! He is so good natured and curious. He stares at everyone and flirts with the women in the stores. His favorite place to go is the Commissary because all the old people love him:) His favorite place to be at home is in mommy's lap staring at daddy!

Sitting Up!

Ryker is sitting up! He can sit for short periods of time and can even sit up from a supported area. He still falls over sometimes so we can just sit him down yet but it is coming. WOOHOO!

Crib Time

Ryker slept in his crib for the first time last night. He went to sleep around 8pm and woke up at 10pm to eat and then slept until 4am and went back to sleep until 8am. I think considering he is teething and this was his first time sleeping in the crib, it was a good night. Of course, I slept in the guest room because I am a little nervous about him being on the other side of the house. Hopefully I will be able to move back in my room soon:)

Teeth!

Ryker is getting two teeth in on the bottom. We have purchased some teething tablets so hopefully they will help with his discomfort. Poor baby:(

Solid Foods

We have decided to start giving Ryker veggies. He was on rice cereal for about a week but he went a day and a half with out pooping so I decided to slow down on it. I may try it again later, the doctor said he really didn't need cereal anyway because it was mainly for the calories and he was getting plenty with breast milk. Anyway, he has tried sweet peas, sweet potatoes and carrots. He was not a fan of the peas but seemed to love the others. He is eating veggies in the morning and at night. I am going to start feeding him solids 3 times a day so I may reintroduce the rice cereal to break it up a little. We are going to introduce the rest of the veggies before we start him on any fruit. We shall see how it goes.

5 Months

Ryker turned 5 months this month. He is getting ridiculously big. My back hurts all the time from carrying him around. He didn't go to the doctor this month but I weighed him and he is around 16 1/2 lbs. This month he began rolling over, he is "talking" a lot, he says dadada and nananana (when he gets mad), he screams from excitement and in anger and he has started flirting and playing coy. He has tons of personality. He loves Dulci and stares at her all the time and tries to pet her. He is eating 2 small bowls of rice cereal a day and still breastfeeding. He still loves taking baths and being outside. He is sleeping for through the night ALMOST all the time.

Busy week!

Since we have had a busy week I thought I would give a little update. Ryker has had a couple of nights this week where he slept through the night which is always nice. He found his feet and rolled over for the first time on Monday, August 23rd. It is going to be an adjustment for me and Ryan not to leave him on the bed, changing table or couch unattended but we are getting use to it. We went to the doctor today for his follow up to his surgery, everything looks great. He weighs 16 lbs 1 oz which means he has gained 9 oz in 10 days... is this normal!? LOL! He is getting so big. I may not be able to hold him much longer, who am I kidding I will probably try to hold him when he is in college!

*We attempted to feed Ryker some cereal on Sunday the 22nd but he really didn't act like he wanted it and the doctor says he doesn't really need it. He did good but I don't think he is ready for it. The only reason we ever tried was for him to get use to eating. I am probably going to wait another month and see how we feel about it. I think babies get food way too early and obviously he is gaining weight and getting what he needs from breast milk so no hurry.

Has it already been 4 months?!

Ryker turned 4 months on the 19th and I can't believe it. Time really does fly! I guess four months for adults is a lot different than for babies because they do so much changing and growing in that short amount of time. Ryker has doubled in weight since he was born. At his doctors appointment this week he weighed in at 15 1/2 lbs, was 25 1/2 inches long and his head measured 18 1/4 inches. He had his shots which are never fun but he took them like a champ. He was a little fussy that night and the next day but nothing too serious. He is such a tough little guy and has had such a hard couple weeks with his tongue surgery and hos shots. We are glad that is over. Hopefully, we will have a couple months with no issues.

Ryker is definitely a mommy's boy but he loves his daddy too. I am enjoying it while it lasts because I am sure when he is a couple years old that will switch. He is still only breastfeeding (which I would like to give myself props for because it is/was very difficult). We are hoping to continue this for a year however I am thinking about introducing food to him soon. I can't decide if I want to start now or wait a couple months. He obviously doesn't need anything else to supplement so there is no hurry.

Ryker loves to go! When he starts being fussy at home it usually means that he wants to get out of the house. He likes to be in his stroller or in a buggy and people watch. He still loves to go outside with daddy and enjoys bath time. He is a lot more interactive with us. He follows us around the room with his eyes, laughs when we laugh, and talks to us a lot. We got him a jumper that he plays in independently. He is a little maniac when he gets mad! There is not a lot that we can do to calm him down when he gets in his mood. He will look you straight in the eyes and scream his head off. He went to the babysitter for the first time for about an hour and showed out. Nicole is wonderful and agreed to keep watching him when I go to class but we felt awful. I hope he gets used to being there and is better next time.

Ryker's nicknames right now are Baby, Buggy, Buggas which I call him and Boar Hog, Maniac which is what Ryan calls him. We both still call him Bubba.

Surgery Success!

Today was the dreaded clipping of baby's tongue:( It went well and was really fast. He couldn't eat for four hours before the arrival time which was at 8am so I set my alarm for 3:30am so that he could eat (I figured this would be the one night he slept all the way through). He was in a pretty good mood even though he was hungry up until they took him in. We waited for around 15 minutes and it was over. The nurses called me in ASAP to feed him because he was screaming (we could hear him in the waiting room). He latched on with no problem and didn't throw up so they allowed us to leave. He seems to be doing well, he is sleeping a lot but when he isn't he is very grumpy. They said the gas makes them that way. I am giving him Tylenol every four hours and hoping my sweet boy will be back to normal by this evening.