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.