7 months

Our big boy is 7 months old! Here's an update about our sweet boy at 7 months:

• He has his 2 bottom teeth! They are about 1/4 in and popped through a few days apart from each other. The day they each broke through the gums, Kyle would wake up in a pool of drool, and had a hard time falling asleep. Just as he would doze off, the pain would wake him up. No fun! But now that they've cut, they don't bother him at all. And they look so cute.
• We're trying a new food every 3 days. So far he's eaten rice cereal (which he loves), peas, green beans and avocado. He's a great eater when he likes the taste. He'll grab the spoon and keep it in his mouth until all the food is off, and open his mouth wide! Today he ate half an avocado, and I had to go back and scrape the blender because he wanted more. On deck is zucchini, sweet potatoes and carrots.
• He's turning into an amazing napper! A couple months ago, I never thought it would be like this. I can remember trying to lay him down in his crib after he fell asleep and getting so upset because he would wake right up. I spent many, many hours sitting in the glider letting him nap on my chest so he could get some sleep. But now that he's older, we did some sleep training and he's old enough to sleep on his tummy, he's been taking two great naps in his crib every day. Usually 1-2 hrs in the morning, and 1.5-2.5 hrs in the afternoon. I'm loving this phase!
• Our nighttime routine is pretty fun. We start with eating dinner as a family, if Brian's home in time. Kyle sits in his high chair at the table, and I'll feed him his cereal while I eat. Then bathtime (he's still in his baby bath on the kitchen counter), then about 30-45 mins of play/reading as a family, a quick nurse and then it's off to bed! Kyle seems to love the routine and is so mellow as we turn off the light, turn on his sound machine and sing a couple of songs before I lay him down. Sometimes he even lays his head on my shoulder, which melts my heart to pieces.
• He can jump like crazy in the jumper! 

• He hasn't really gotten the hang of crawling yet, but this boy LOVES to stand up. If you're sitting in front of him, he'll reach out, grab your hands and pull himself up into standing position (like a skier!). He also loves to be held up to a table and act like he's standing there himself, and can scoot around on his butt a little bit.
• He actually likes drinking water out of his sippy cup and is getting the hang of doing it himself.
• His favorite show is the Baby Einstein Old MacDonald. We watch it in bed sometimes in the morning :)
• We'll sit on his play mat, and bring a basket of toys over. It's fun to watch him pull them out one by one and decide which ones he likes.
• He loves to grunt, and we call it his lion impression. Sometimes he makes a low grunting sound almost all day long! He also likes to scream sometimes and blow air between his lips.
• Other kids crack him up more than anything. He loves to be around little friends and will laugh at anything they do.
• His hair is still red! I thought it would have changed by now, but maybe he really will be our little redhead for life!
• He still loves Penny. If she's around, he'll stare at her and always tries to grab her little tail. She's very patient with him.

Every single day I just stare at my baby and feel so grateful to be his mama. He is definitely the cutest thing I've ever seen and I'm loving every minute I get to spend with him.

this week's food update

After last week's peas fiasco I was a little nervous to keep giving Kyle green veggies, but we kept at it with green beans, and today avocado (which we're pretending is a veggie, shhhh). I'm happy to report that things are getting a little better! We did green beans twice at lunch, and he ate a pretty good amount with no tears. He doesn't love them by any means, but he'll put them in his mouth swallow them (while shivering) - which is progress. Today, he willingly opened his mouth wide for about 5 bites of avocado! He still made the "yuck" face, but was willing to keep trying. What a trooper.

Next up is zucchini, and then we move on to orange veggies! Excited to try sweet potatoes and carrots :)

back stabbed

I picked up a bartending shift last night, and half-way through I knew I was in trouble. I had that feeling in my lower back I've had so many times before that I knew would result in me being bed-ridden. Luckily I was able to finish up my shift and get home, but the second I stepped foot in the shower it was all over. I needed help getting out, and getting into bed. I woke up this morning and couldn't get up.

When this happens, I know it will take a few days to recover - which used to be just an annoying (and painful) pause in my life, but now is a close to impossible feat with a 20 lb. 7 month old who needs constant attention, and needs to be picked up, and put down, and nursed, and changed, and bounced, and bathed, and picked up again... (times 20).

So today I'm feeling extremely thankful to have family in my life who will drop anything to help me out in my time of need. Brian had important meetings today and couldn't stay home with us, and I couldn't have gotten through this day without my mother-in-law and sister, who took shifts watching our boy so I could take it easy in hopes my back will be better tomorrow.

Please send good back mojo my way! I need it. And this boy wants his mama to play with him again.

adventures in food

We started our food journey on Saturday and it didn't go as I'd hoped. I think it's safe to say that Kyle is not a fan of peas. After giving them to him, I'm hearing from almost everyone that their baby didn't like peas, either - so I'm hoping our next attempt veggie will go over a little better.

It's crazy how many schools of thought are out there regarding how to introduce solids. I'm reading so many books & blogs and getting advice from everyone, and it's all over the board. Many people are saying that rice cereal is no longer necessary and to start with a sweet potato, apple or avocado... but for now we're going to follow the path recommended by our pediatrician: start with rice cereal for 2-3 weeks, then introduce green veggies (along with rice cereal) for 2-3 weeks, then replace the cereal with orange veggies and continue feeding him green/orange veggies until our 9 month check up, when we can start on fruit.

Kyle responded great to the cereal (I mix with breast milk, he loves it and it didn't give him any digestive problems), and I'm hoping to find some green/orange veggies that Kyle loves. We'll keep trying something new every 3 days, and we'll see how it goes. I'm not opposed to introducing some intro fruits as well if necessary, but figure I might as well give this plan a shot and see how it goes.

Any food advice is welcome!

lazy day

When I woke up this morning I wasn't feeling 100%, and this dark, cloudy weather is making it hard to keep my eyes open! I thought this was the perfect day to stay in our jammies and laze out around the house until I have to go to work at 5. The only thing on our agenda was 1 quick work call, which happened to fall during Kyle's afternoon nap (yes!).

Aside from our normal, daily activities - playing with toys in Kyle's room, playing with toys in the living room, taking Penny on walks through the park, playing with toys in his pack 'n play - we added in lots of sing-a-longs, a new Baby Einstein video, busted out some new toys (the classic alligator keyboard and a big bouncy ball) and a good 45 minutes of playtime with kitchen stuff - on the kitchen floor of course!

It was pretty fun spending the whole day at home with my baby, with hardly a to-do list. I think he liked it too - he barely fussed all day, and took 2 rock star naps in his crib, which allowed me some time to order my new iPhone and his Halloween costume online. Successful Friday over here :)

Have a great weekend everyone! We're eating a green veggie tomorrow for the first time... headed to Sprouts to check out the green beans and peas and decide which one to go with. Can't wait to see his reaction. We'll also be taking Kyle's 7 month pics with Penny; yes I just said 7 MONTHS! What?!

Kyle's room

Some day soon I'll take pictures of Kyle's room and do a post about how amazingly awesome it is. But my favorite part is that he loves to play in it! We'll play with toys, "read," roll around. He loves his room and it makes me so happy! Here's some pictures of us just chillin in the coolest room in our house.

working with baby

I feel so fortunate that I'm only away from Kyle for 21 hours/week for work. I'm home Tuesday-Thursday and most of Friday, and still can't believe that I don't have to wake up at 6 am on those days and head to the office - something I'd grown accustomed to doing for the past 8 years.

It's relatively easy to head to the restaurant for my bartending shifts; I miss my baby, but I know he's in good hands (with my hub or mother in law) and that I'll be home soon to spend lots of time with him. I can go to work, make some cash and come home to a happy, fed, well-rested (or sleeping) baby. 

But I recently added to my schedule some working from home for my former company - which is proving to be a whole new challenge. When I have conference calls, do I need a babysitter or hope Kyle will be in a good mood for those 30 minutes? Do I push his nap up (or back) 30 minutes so he'll be asleep by the time my call starts? Do I try and take the call while driving so he's content back there... but then how will I take notes? Do I turn on a Baby Einstein video and do the call down the hallway? What happens when it's over? What if he starts crying?!

That's been my typical train of thought for the past 2 weeks. I've done 5 calls, with varying results:

• Call #1: I had my mother in law come over and watch him - easy. But she's not available every day! 
• Call #2 was scheduled during Kyle's typical naptime, except on that particular day he decided that instead of going right to sleep like he usually does, he'd rather cry his eyes out for 20 minutes (while I try and concentrate on the call and watch him on the monitor in agony) and fall asleep exactly 2 minutes before my call was over. 
• Call #3: I asked my friend Heather to come over and watch him, and the call lasted 9 minutes. Poor Heather drove all the way over with her daughter for a 9-minute babysitting session. (Bonus: it left us time to get lunch together)
• Call #4: I asked my sister to come over, and then the call was canceled at the last second. She was happy to have some time with her nephew, but I felt terrible she came out of her way for nothing. 
• Call #5: Today, my call was rescheduled for 2:30 instead of 3 - Kyle's usual naptime. Amazingly, the stars aligned and he laid quietly in his crib at 2:25 and then fell right asleep at 2:31 and is still sleeping an hour later. If only every call went as perfectly as today's!

After these initial calls are over (I have 2 more), I'll be able to make my own schedule and write whenever Kyle is asleep... but this has been a good lesson on how challenging it can be to work at home with a baby. No more lounging in bed in PJs with a laptop and cup of coffee, perusing the internet until it's time to call in :)

zoom zoom

This weekend I let Kyle's cousin Harlow take him on his first "ride" at Babies R Us. Maybe not my most responsible mommy move, but it made Harlow feel super grown up and got Kyle out of his car seat for a few minutes to stretch his legs. His expression in this picture cracks me up.

i hate you, teeth

My hatred for teeth started when I was 5 years old and chipped my 2 front shiny new permanent teeth in half. Then, I chipped them in half again when I slipped in the bathtub around age 8, and again at age 12 diving into the shallow end of my neighbor's pool (long story). As an adult, I've had to have teeth pulled, root canals, multiple fillings, you name it. The worst!

I think teeth are terrible, and now even more so because my poor baby is cutting his first tooth. I can feel a little nub coming through his bottom gums, and he is drooling like nobody's business. He wakes up in a puddle almost as big as his head.

Yesterday, he woke up from his nap and would not nurse. He just laid there in my lap and looked up at me crying and acting like he didn't know what to do (this is very unlike him). And this morning, he couldn't fall asleep even though he was so. tired. and clearly needed a nap. He would just lay there, fall asleep for 1-2 minutes, and then wake himself up fussing. I tried to help him get some rest, but it was obvious that he was in pain. This cycle went on for almost an hour until it finally got the best of him and he was able to zonk out for a while.

I've heard terrible, horrible, no-good stories about teething and was hoping & praying that Kyle would have it easy, but it looks as though he's not off the hook. Teething is most definitely a bitch and our journey is just beginning.

boom!

It's so funny when Kyle starts laughing at something out of the blue. One day, playing with blocks is mildly entertaining to him. The next day, his friend Sophia knocks them down and he thinks it's hilarious! I love that he's starting to laugh at actions, and not just at tickles or funny faces.

These baby laughs melt my heart!

baby vs. restaurant: 6 months

Brian and I love going out to eat. Pre-baby, we would spend far too much money going out for food & drinks. But it's so easy and fun! And we have the best conversations over a few glasses of wine and a yummy, non-home cooked meal.

Now that we have Kyle, restaurant outings are few and (very) far between. Mostly because Brian gets home from work so late during the week that we can't really get to a restaurant, eat and be home in time for our evening routine (feed Kyle, bath, read books, bedtime at 8). Not to mention - eating at home is saving us mucho dinero.

But once in a while it's so fun to brave a restaurant, take a break from routine and have some fun. So last night Brian left the office just a little earlier than usual and we headed to SuperMex as a fam - one of our favorite pre-baby dinner spots that we now consider baby-friendly.

Out to dinner with a 6 month old is actually really fun! There's a lot more stuff to pack, but I think this is a great age for it and here's why:

• Kyle is sitting up in the restaurant high chair like a champ, which is so much more fun for him than being stuck strapped in his car seat.
• We fed him his rice cereal (which I pre-mixed at home) while we were waiting for our food and he loved eating it at the table with us.
• He is really into looking at everything around him, so he just chilled in the high chair and scoped out the kids and dogs around us.
• He's old enough to sit and hang out and play with some toys, but not old enough to want to get out of his high chair after 10 minutes and crawl under the table (and everywhere else!).

Last night's SuperMex experience was way less stressful than our first trip, which we made when he was about 3 months old. Back then he would get fussy after a few minutes if we weren't holding him - not ideal for the restaurant scenario. I think we should take advantage of this fun phase while it lasts!

we still love our dog.

When I was pregnant with Kyle, one of my biggest worries was that our beloved yorkie, Penny, would become a neglected step-child. I had heard from many people that once I had the baby my love for Penny would decrease dramatically and she would no longer be a priority to us. This made me incredibly sad, as Penny was such a huge part of our family. I was very concerned that all of these people were right: once you have a baby, the dog gets pushed to the side - or sometimes out the door.

Six months later, I'm happy to report that our sweet girl is very much still in the picture! Although she is understandably the 2nd priority (I mean, Kyle should be #1, right?), I feel confident that she still feels loved and part of the fam. And Kyle LOVES her! He's kind of obsessed, actually. Up until he was about 4-5 months old, he acted like he couldn't even see her. But now that he's growing up and more aware of his surroundings, Penny is like his little buddy. And she is so protective and patient with him.

I wanted to make a list of memories with Penny for us to remember, so here it is:

• Penny is a snuggle bug. Wherever we are, she is right there next to us. It's been hard for her to learn that she needs to keep a little distance from Kyle, because if she gets too close he will grab her legs, face, ear and start cracking up. Poor Penny.
• When Kyle wakes up from his nap and is making noise in his crib, Penny will push his door open and go check on him, then wait outside his door for me to go get him. So sweet!
• The first time we gave Kyle rice cereal, Penny jumped up on my chair to watch him eat.
• Penny will probably be the reason that Kyle starts to crawl. When they're on the floor together, he will do whatever it takes to get closer to her! (see video below for proof!)

• Thanks to Penny, Kyle gets to take so many walks in his stroller. We usually take between 3-6 walks in the park a day and Penny acts like she owns the place. The kids in the park love to pet her, and the old ladies love to go gaga over the baby.
• Penny still barks at the front door (her most annoying feature by far), but she seems to understand that his nap time is quiet time. Of course if a cat jumps into our back yard or a dog barks outside she'll make some noise, but for the most part she takes the opportunity to nap herself. And her barking has yet to wake the baby - we use white noise in his room when he sleeps, and he's probably used to the sound from hearing it so much when he was in my tummy.
• When Kyle cries, sometimes Penny is noticeably uncomfortable. She will lay in a corner and look very sad.
• If Kyle and I are playing on the floor and he starts to get bored, when Penny comes around with one of her toys it's endless entertainment for him. Speaking of toys - Penny hasn't tried to put ANY of Kyle's toys in her mouth! They are all over the floor but she knows which ones are hers and stays away from Kyle's. It's amazing how dogs just "get it" sometimes.
• I still make Penny do silly poses like this one to post on Instagram (check out #petselfiez - hilarious!). She is such a good sport.

• Since we brought Kyle home, Penny has become so much more protective of me. If Brian wants to take her for a walk without me & Kyle, she'll pretty much stay by our side until we coax her into going without us.
• Kyle loves to sit in his bumbo in the bathtub while I give Penny a bath. It's hilarious.
• We actually make decisions about where to put furniture based on Penny's bed and toys. Seems crazy, but we didn't want to move her bed from the place it's been since we brought her home to accommodate Kyle's high chair or pack-n-play. (Quote from Brian: "Hasn't she been through enough in the past 6 months?!") 
• Since we're on a tighter budget now that I'm not working full-time, I haven't been able to take Penny to the groomer as often for her deep conditioning oatmeal treatment (haha). Poor thing looks so shaggy since her haircuts are few and far between and I have been doing some (half-assed) home grooming. Check out Kyle's 1 month and 6 month outtakes below as evidence. (While she doesn't look as groomed, I think Penny would actually consider this a bonus since she absolutely HATES getting groomed.)

it's obvious dog grooming is not my calling.

Of course Penny is not the center of our world anymore and sometimes when I have the baby she gets in the way, but she's still a huge part of the Coriaty fam. We're lucky that these 2 are getting along so well, and that we have a dog that's so easy-going and patient. I feel so relieved that I can be a mommy to our sweet boy and still have room in my heart and home for my first "child" :)

my niece is a kindergartener!

Today was Harlow's 1st day of Kindergarten - such a big milestone! My sister was understandably a wreck... I am already tearing up at the thought of Kyle starting school in 5 years! Kyle and I watched Jacob (Harlow's little brother) this morning while Harlow's parents dropped her off and got acquainted with the teacher and classroom. Then I was able to join them to pick her up from her 1st day. It was so cute to see all the 5 year olds lined up against the wall in their school uniforms with their backpacks and lunch pails in hand. Harlow gave her 1st day a thumbs up and her teacher a big hug, so it seems like she's going to have a great time in school. I'm so proud and excited for her!

my adorable niece!

can't believe my little sister has a 5 year old!

she was pretty stoked to see Kyle there waiting to pick her up!

ice ice baby

Kyle's favorite thing right now is to suck on ice cubes in the mesh food holders. I bet it feels so good on his teething gums, especially in this hot weather! He had 3 cubes today and sucked them all dry. He even tried to share with Penny but mommy caught him in time :)

These things were made to hold fruits and other foods, but Kyle isn't ready for that yet and they work great with ice cubes! They also double as a teether, since he'll chew on the bottom ring too. Makes for 30 minutes of fun!