10 month updates

So little J is now 10 months old. 2 more months & he'll be a year old already. He's almost not a "baby" anymore! He now weighs 24 lbs (10-25% percentile), his length is 30" (75-90% percentile), & his head circumference is 18.5" (75-90% percentile). I believe this is his lowest weight percentile to date.

He is still extremely active, crawling & cruising, but his appetite has also increased quite a bit. His feeding schedule remains pretty much the same: still breakfast, lunch, & dinner meals followed by bottle of formula as well as a bottle of diluted juice between breakfast & lunch. He is eating more finger foods, but there are still plenty of meals that I spoon feed to him. I try to always make lunch finger foods though, he likes the independence & I want to encourage that.

He is extremely verbal these days. He always has been, but is definitely more-so now than ever before. The gals in the nursery at church were cracking up telling me they can't believe all the noises he makes! They also asked me to not let him learn how to walk (as soon as he starts walking he has to go to a different nursery) because they don't want to see him go. They have known him since he was 6 days old & they really love him. They always tell me how good he is & that he never cries. He never cries about me leaving him there, he seems to love them too.

That's all the updates I can think of for now.......until next month...........

Anti-fungus diet update

So to recap I started this diet on November 16, 2009. Within a month all but one of my skin issues had gone away completely & the one remaining was much, much better than it has ever been. (It did later on clear up completely, just took a little longer than the others)

On February 20, 2010 I got sick with the stomach flu. For some reason when I am nauseated the only foods I can eat are carbs. I had this problem with my entire pregnancy--I wasn't lucky enough for the nausea to go away after the first trimester, it stuck with me for the ENTIRE pregnancy.

So as of February 20th I went off my diet. I could've gone back on in a couple of days & I should have, but I was having fun. I wasn't eating horribly, just things that aren't on the diet. One of my skin issues returned in about a week. I also had this fullness in my left ear--it was fluid in my ear & it was painful & I couldn't hear at all in this ear. I've had this problem off & on for most of my life, have had chronic ear problems since I was 1 week old. 2 weeks after falling off the wagon a second skin issue returned & I then rushed back to phase 1 of my diet.

Now, not only have my skin issues already reversed, but the fluid in my ear is gone also. I hadn't even thought that that may be diet related.

I will never be able to stick to this diet 100%, but I will definitely keep my cheating to a minimum & certainly not for a week or more at a time.

If anyone is interested in this diet, please go to http://www.knowthecause.com & feel free to ask me any questions you might have, it's an amazing diet & I want nothing more than to help others feel as great as I do.

EDIT: 2/9/10:
just in case anyone is doubting this post just a couple days after posting this I gave in to temptation & had a pineapple pastry from Whole Foods (hubby loves pastry & always has them in the house) & the next day my ear was full again. I again went back on this diet & the following day my ear was back to normal & has stayed that way.

"Your Baby Can Read" update #3

Ok, so we're still doing this program--he should be finishing it up around the time he has his first birthday.

Recently he was starting to get really bored with the DVD & not wanting to pay much attention. So even though it's a couple weeks ahead of schedule I moved him to the next DVD in the series & now he's paying attention again. The schedule they give is just an example, they encourage you to follow your child's clues & move on when the child has learned that DVD well. And with THIS DVD in the series it states you can show it once a day (instead of twice a day as with the previous DVDs) but it emphasizes showing all the prior DVDs frequently. So his first viewing now is the current one & then the second viewing is one of the previous ones, I rotate them around.

People keep asking me if I believe this really works. Honestly I don't know yet, we aren't finished yet. But I have to ask "how could it not?" I mean it may not work as fast as they promise, but at some point it has to work, right? And it's not like it's gonna backfire & make him dumber.

I think the main thing that kinda bugs me is that people are often only interested because they think it's an easy way to teach their kids to read. As if they are looking for a hands-off approach where they don't have to do anything. They can plug a DVD in & sit back & do nothing. Of course people are so stinking lazy that they are always looking for the easy way out & yeah, that kinda irritates me. Especially when it comes to your child. Is your child's intelligence & future worth so little that you can't stop being lazy & just get involved? But I digress. My opinion is this: in the grand scheme of things this program is really like just the first few steps on a staircase. AFTER they finish with the 7 month program (which is not the easy way out, it takes a lot of parent involvement with the DVDs, flashcards, as well as books) it REALLY is then up to the parent as to whether or not their child is going to be an early reader. (If you just do this 7 month program & stop there I doubt they will be as successful as if you follow through) The parenting guide that comes with this recommends exposing your child to HUNDREDS of books at this point--he strongly recommends checking books out at a library to be able to do this. So yeah, this program can give them a head start & the basics, but to take that further is still up to the parent.

Alright, that's my latest update, will post another later on.......

9 month update

So little J is now 9 months old.

He now weighs 20.2 lbs ( 25-50% percentile), is 29.5" long (75-90% percentile), & has an 18.25" head circumference (25-75% percentile). I had to double & triple check his weight cuz he lost since last month & it just didn't seem right to me. This is also the lowest percentile he's been in for weight so far--by far. But then I suddenly remembered that everyone kept telling me that once he starts crawling & pulling up, walking etc he will start to lose some weight due to all that activity. So apparently that is the case. He is now wearing 18 month size clothes. In the last couple of weeks he outgrew his 12 month clothes--first pjs, then onesies, then pants.

He started crawling properly on 1/4/10. He has started pulling up to standing very well & on a regular basis since 1/15/10. We really don't have any furniture that he can pull himself up on & I was a little worried about this interfering with his development, but it has not at all. All of what we have will tip over if he PULLS himself up on it, so this clearly shows me how strong he really is (much stronger than he even realizes I think) since he is getting up to standing without REALLY pulling up per se, just using it to hold himself kinda steady while he stands himself up really.

So once he learned to sit up when he would wake up from his nap I would find him sitting up in his crib. Now I find him standing up in the crib, LOL!! I can't help but think back to the early days--when he could do absolutely nothing for himself, it was all up to us parents to do it for him. And how he has slowly developed into this little independent guy.

We have baby-proofed our house, but we have a few things that are off-limits even though they are still there: fireplace, plants, speaker on TV (he likes the way it feels, but he's gonna end up tearing it up), curio cabinet (I'm afraid he'll break the glass & cut himself), blinds on windows (he's gonna break them), doggy door. I do keep the playpen & his chair in front of the fireplace & if he's really persistent I'll just close the doggy door, but the rest there isn't much I can do about. I have to admit that as time goes on he is behaving very well. I can now just give verbal warnings & he will obey 9 times out of 10. That one time I still have to walk over & slap his little hand & if he continues (rarely) I give a little spank on the bottom & relocate him to his toys.

The first few days of crawling were pretty crazy. I was REALLY exhausted & didn't think I would ever be able to keep up with him. I kept saying that I am too old for this! But as the newness & excitement of the novelty of crawling has worn off he has settled down tremendously now.

He still only has 2 bottom teeth. He still eats stage 2 foods & crackers. He typically eats yogurt for breakfast followed by a bottle of formula. Somewhere between breakfast & lunch he has a bottle of diluted juice. For lunch he usually has chicken or turkey followed by a bottle of formula. And then for dinner he usually has fruit & usually doesn't want a bottle after dinner. With each of those 3 meals I offer crackers. He really likes his crackers. I think he really just likes the independence of it.

That's all the updates I can think of for now.........will take a 9 month photo sometime over the weekend.

8 month update

So little one is now 8 months old. Wow, time sure does fly!

He is now 23.5 lbs & his length & head circumference are exactly the same as last month.

When I wrote the last blog I remember stating that he was still taking 4-5 bottles/day. Immediately after writing that he never took 5 bottles in a day again. He even dropped to 3 bottles some days. He is now currently taking 3 bottles of formula, one with each meal & he also has a bottle of juice once each day.

He is still trying to crawl. He now does this jumping thing while he's sitting up & has learned how to scoot himself around quite quickly this way. He does stand independently in both the walker & the jumper. And in my lap he will pull himself to standing, just holding lightly to my blouse. He doesn't seem to realize just how strong he actually is.

Just this past week he has started becoming fearful of things, which is odd. He is very afraid of the vacuum cleaner, daddy's power drill, & the hose (when it's spraying water). I recall being a very afraid child, but I had always assumed there was some explanation for it that I couldn't recall. Perhaps there wasn't & perhaps little one is going to follow in my footsteps. I shall have to look into how to best deal with this.

He also has 2 bottom teeth coming in. It's been hurting him quite a bit. I feel really bad for him. He was being really cranky & then I started using orajel after each meal. He's been a little better, except at night. He wakes quite often crying in pain. Today I went out & bought the stronger nighttime orajel for babies. I put some on when I put him to bed for the night--we shall see how well it works. If he does wake I have to remember to reapply instead of stuffing a pacifier in his mouth, which is hard for me to remember when I'm so sleepy & confused.

He is still wearing size 12 month clothes. We somehow ended up with way too many 12 month clothes, so I guess it's good that we are getting lots of use out of them. I am planning to keep him in them until he absolutely can't fit in them anymore. I have a few 18 month clothes & a few 24 month clothes. I was already thinking on my own & then someone suggested it as well, so now I'm really gonna do it: to skip a size each time we buy clothes, so they last twice as long. Because if I keep in a size until they absolutely won't fit anymore the next size you move him into isn't even a little bit big on him, & you don't get much use out of them. So I'll probably pool together the 18 month & 24 month clothes for now & then move to 2T & skip 3T, moving right to 4T. I'm just not sure if that will work with pants....the bigger size might be too long for him.

For Christmas we got him a sweatshirt, a swing for outside, hand puppets, & a learning station thing that teaches alphabet, numbers, colors, etc in both English & SPANISH. I was totally sold when hubby told me it did Spanish too. I definitely want him to grow up knowing Spanish. And it's not just because I married into a hispanic family, I think it's just very necessary in Southern California now. It will definitely be helpful in any job he'll ever have. And I think it's much easier to learn it growing up than to try to learn it later on. I want him to also learn how to read & write Spanish. I've known a lot of people who grew up with Spanish speaking families & they can speak & understand spoken Spanish, but they cannot read or write it. So the Spanish Your Baby Can Read DVD will help with that & I have several bilingual books for him too.

That's all the updates I can think of right now.............

"Your Baby Can Read" update #2

This Friday we move to the next DVD--this one will be viewed twice daily for 2 months . So I figured it was time for another update--as a lot of people asked me to keep them posted on this & I don't want them to think I've forgotten.

There's just not much to report I am sorry to say. Like I said before, it normally takes 6 months before you see any signs of learning. And we are now only 3 months into the program.

Things pretty much remain the same as the last time I posted an update. He clearly recognizes certain specific people in the DVDs. So I know he is remembering what he is viewing. He still responds to "arms up". He still enjoys the DVDs & flashcards, but is less interested in the books. I am hoping that in time that will change & he will enjoy the books as well.

That's really all there is to report at this time.

Update: ok last night it occurred to me that I've never shown him flashcards or books until AFTER he has viewed the video. So I pulled out the flashcards & book that go with the next DVD last night & showed them to lil J. He had the most confused look on his face & he kept looking at me, as if he wanted an explanation. Then I went on with his other two sets of flash cards & books & he was totally cool with it. It would appear to me that he clearly is remembering & recognizing words, since he reacted that way to words he has never seen before.......

7 month update

So lil J is now 7 months old. His length is 28.5", his head circumference is 18", & his weight is 21.6 lbs. He's still wearing size 12 month clothes for now, but I can see they are shrinking (LOL) on a daily basis. I gotta go shopping for the next size up pretty soon.

He had a little tummy virus type thing this past month & he lost a little weight during that time so he now weighs exactly what he weighed last month. For all 3 of those measurements he is at 75-90% percentile. This is a big jump up for the head circumference (which I am pleased to see) & a drop for his weight (which I am also pleased to see). His length was never at either extreme really.

This month I am introducing meat: chicken & turkey. If you will recall he started on solids at 4 months of age--first rice cereal & veggies. At 5 months I added in fruits. At 6 months I added in lentils & a few other beans. So now at 7 months I am adding meat. I think next month I'll be adding finger foods & then at 9 months he goes to a slightly chunkier texture of baby food. Beyond that I don't know yet......I'm really learning as I go. So he eats 2-3 "solid" meals per day & still drinks 4-5 8 oz bottles of formula each day.

He is very verbal these days--always making little noises & verbalizations. He is really trying to communicate with us & the dogs.

He is still trying to crawl & REALLY close to doing so well, but he hasn't quite mastered it yet. The only time he ever pulls himself to standing is when he's on my lap. he enjoys this a lot (as do I).

His mood is generally great unless he's tired or hungry. I am really in awe of how good of a child he really seems to be. I certainly hope it stays this way. That's not to say that he NEVER has his bad moments--he does (don't we all?), but it's not the norm & not all the time.

He still is doing the "your baby can read" program & is still enjoying watching the DVDs & he really loves the flashcards. The books are "just ok" it seems. He has a few other "touch & feel" type books that he enjoys--he enjoys touching different textures a lot. He still loves watching palm trees blow in the wind, the fishtank, & the dogs. He still loves his jumperoo, but now spends A LOT of time just playing on the floor (rolling around & trying to crawl). And from time to time he goes in the walker, mostly on the weekends when hubby is working outside--I put him in the walker & put his little shoes on & we head outside to hang out with daddy.

I really can't think of any other updates at this time...........

6 month update

So little one is 6 months old now. He is 21.6 lbs, 27 inches long, & head is 17 inch circumference.

He has outgrown his carrier car seat. We installed the free car seat I had gotten when I took a car seat safety class, but it was really unsafe & scaring both of us. So we went & bought one & we absolutely LOVE it (& Joseph likes it better than the other one--honestly!). This one has this amazing secure latch system that makes it soooo easy & fast to install in the car. And it converts to a booster seat when he reaches that stage. A real bargain & we are really thrilled with it.

He really loves eating & trying new things. He REALLY loves his fruit (just like dad!), but he likes most food. I introduced lentils this month. And he still continues with his veggies & fruits.

He has given up his morning nap most days, which has it's pros & cons. Allow me to explain. Pro: if I have errands to run I like to run them early & get them over with. So I normally have to wait for him to finish his nap before I can go & it always ends up being way later than I would like. Con: while I'm showering & drying my hair he isn't napping, won't stay in the swing, wants to play in the living room, but I can't keep an eye on him well (especially when the hair dryer is going) so that part of it is a little challenging. But he still takes his afternoon nap & evening nap & goes to bed around 9 pm most days. He is still sleeping through the night well too. Occasionally he'll wake & not be able to fall back to sleep & I"ll just put him in the swing & off to sleep he goes.

He is still working on crawling. Still hasn't mastered it completely. And he sits up really well if we put him there, but isn't getting there yet by himself. I am told he has to master that before he can crawl. So it should be pretty soon I think....but I'm in no rush, I can't imagine chasing after him all day, LOL. He still loves his walker & his jumper.

We were going to take a 6 month photo this past weekend, but were nonstop busy & didn't get to it, so hopefully this weekend we will get one. My stepdaughter turned 22 on the day Joseph turned 6 months. For the past few years she has chosen to have a small dinner with just us (as opposed to getting together with the WHOLE family) & that's what we chose to do once again & took her out to dinner at a great restaurant. It was a wonderful & memorable night for all of us.

"Your Baby Can Read" update

A lot of people asked me to keep them posted on this program. First let me explain how it works.

It's a set of 5 DVDs & each DVD has a book & set of flashcards that go with it. You are supposed to show the DVD twice daily for the time specified in the schedule (some are for one month & some are for two months) & review the book & flashcards daily. Each time you move to the next DVD you are still supposed to show the previous ones at least once or twice each week. The current one is always shown twice daily.

The program is designed to be started at 3 months of age (or when they start tracking objects with their eyes). I started it 2 days prior to turning 5 months. Dr. Titzer (the guy who created this) states that with young infants usually 5-6 months will go by with NO indication of learning at all. And then you will suddenly start to see signs that the baby is actually learning. He also says that the first 50 words learned take the longest. Once they learn 50 words or so things really start speeding up in the learning.

Before I actually bought the program I went online looking for negative stuff about it. Mostly I found people arguing about "whole word" learning vs. "phonics" learning. People who favor phonics language learning didn't like this program. (Although Dr. Titzer states it does incorporate some phonics in the program) BUT I must add that "I" personally learned via the whole world method & I always excelled in reading & writing. So I made the choice to disregard those folks' opinions & go with this program.

I usually show him the DVD while he's drinking a bottle. It's a good time for him to sit & be calm & actually watch it. And he does enjoy watching it. This weekend will be one month since we started & we will be able to move to the next DVD.

Having said all that I can say that in the beginning Joseph wasn't very interested & his interest in it (both DVD & book/flashcard) has grown tremendously over the past few weeks.

I can also say that when I tell him "arms up" (one of the things on the DVD) he does put his arms up. (I tell him this when I'm going to pick him up). And when I go through the book with him the last word is "wave" & every time I say it he puts his right hand up as if he was going to wave good bye, but he doesn't actually wave it yet.

I know that's not much of a report, but considering I was expecting to not see ANY signs of learning for 6 months I am really encouraged by this.

I will definitely be posting more updates later on. Stay tuned.

5.5 month update

So little one is about 5 & 1/2 months old now.

He is now eating 3 meals each day. He's been through tons of fruits now (after a lot of veggies) & seems to love them all. I make about 95% of his meals myself & keep a couple of jars around for making life easier if I have to feed him outside the home or just to give myself an occasional break. If I had more freezer space it would be a much easier task to make a lot of food at a time, but I have very little freezer space to store the food, so I am making food quite often. I do enjoy it though & love giving him so much variety & knowing that I'm giving him healthy foods. So far the only jarred food I've bought is "earth's best" brand & they are organic. He's had bananas & pears from them & liked them both. I was surprised to find that it's cheaper at Mother's market than it is at WalMart. There are a couple of other organic brands, though, I'm gonna check them out too. They all have no additives, which is good. The varieties of food get much more interesting at the 6 month mark.

So little one has been a big boy since very early on. He is still wearing size 9 month clothes for now, but some of them are already starting to show signs of almost not fitting (the snaps in the crotch & the length of legs in the pjs)--so I don't think he'll be in this size too much longer, maybe one more month at best.

So most of his stuff he has has a max weight of 20-25 lbs on it. He is now over 21 pounds, might be 22. His bouncy seat has a max of 20 lbs, but I still use this seat for feeding him bottles. It doesn't appear unsafe to me, but I am watching closely. His jumper has a max weight of 25 lbs, but it still appears safe for now, I am watching closely.

His car seat has a max weight of 22 lbs & his legs are sticking way out of it & his head is to the top. Now this is one product that I'm not gonna push my luck on because it is involving car safety & his safety if we get into a car accident. So my dilemma is that if we move him to the next car seat (which doesn't have a carry handle, stays in the vehicle, & fits him up to age 4) is that he needs to sit in grocery carts. Hubby doesn't think he can do it, but I do. This weekend we're gonna give it a try & see how he does & swap out the car seats. I do have a cover to put in the cart to protect from all the germs & it also goes in restaurant highchairs too.

My other big issue has been the swing. It had a max weight of 25 lbs on it. In the past months I kept asking hubby what we were gonna do when he maxed out the weight on the swing. We still use the swing quite often. For naps & if he wakes during the night & can't fall back to sleep easily. So even though he's not 25 lbs YET (close, but not quite) the swing was barely swinging now, it's just too much weight for the little motor on it.

Sooooo when we went to buy him a walker (& we got one that goes up to 30 lbs, it was the highest weight we could find) we also took a look at the swings. Some went up to 20 lbs, most went up to 25 lbs. There were a few that went up to 30 lbs. And then we found ONE (only one) that goes up to 40 lbs. Not only did it go up to 40 lbs, but it was the cheapest swing they had & the seat comes out & can be either an infant seat (great for feeding) or a toddler rocker. We couldn't believe what a great deal this was so we grabbed it & the next day we returned the old one (that was soooo noisey & only had one speed & was barely swinging now). Also a plus: the old one would auto shut off after 2 hours (to save on battery I guess)--which was a real pain at night when we were asleep, we had to remember to wake up & restart it. This one doesn't turn off ever, until you turn it off. And the batteries haven't died yet! Really great product IMO. I still don't know why they can't make a swing that gives you the option of plugging in or using battery though.

So he loves the new swing (even the position of the seat looks so much more comfy than the old one & this one plays music too) & the walker. So far he only walks backwards (& turns) in the walker.

I usually start his day with breakfast, then a bath, then a bottle. Then I put him in the swing for a nap. When he wakes he goes in the rainforest gym & crawls around. Once he's worn himself out there he goes in the jumper. Somewhere in there he'll have a bottle & then continue with one of those activities. Then hell take a nap. Then he'll wake for lunch. Then he'll have a bottle & then go in the walker. Later on dinner, another bottle & later bedtime. And sometimes I squeeze a walk in there or another outdoor activity too. That's just an average day. But without all three of those (gym, jumper, walker) he tends to get bored. The walker has been a great help & I love that he can go outside in it too!! He soooo loves the outdoors.