Florida!

Last week all three of us set out on our next great adventure...a trip to Florida! Chris was scheduled to present a paper at a conference for work (in Orlando), so we've been planning this trip since well before Sam was born. Over time it turned into quite the extravaganza, with both sets of grandparents joining us in one big condo in Orlando for the first half of the week, and then the three of us and the Florida grandparents heading back to Sarasota for the last few days. Here's how it all went down...

We flew out to Tampa very early on Saturday morning and Sam was once again a trooper on the plane. I much prefer to fly with him and another adult! He didn't really sleep this time, as the world is just so interesting these days! We loaded up into Grandma Hunniford's car and drove to Orlando, where we met up with the Ohio Grandparents, Aunt Becky and Grandpa Hunniford at the Condo. Becky only stayed one night, but the rest of us settled in for some fun.

Well, kind of. Chris spent most of the time in Orlando at his conference, business dinners, etc. But the rest of us enjoyed some wonderful time at the pool, outlet shopping, dinners out and in, meeting some cousins, and lounging. Sam enjoyed the pool this time - he hadn't been in one since 4th of July. He kept trying to pick up the mesh in the bottom of his float, as well as the pretty blue tiles on the edge of the pool. Tricky how those things are all stuck in place! But splashing was working well. He even kept his sun glasses on the whole time - so cute!


On Wednesday we all (even Chris) went to Disney World! I have to brag that my baby was a ROCK STAR. We left the condo a little before 9am and didn't leave Disney until after 7pm. During that time Sam caught a few naps on people's shoulders, but nothing longer than 30 minutes. But with all the bright colors, fun songs, and new sights, who has time to get cranky? I think it also helped that I am still breastfeeding, so I had the option to feed him where ever and when ever he needed. The first ride of his life was his favorite: Its a Small World. He especially liked the Holland room with all the spinning windmills, and the last room with all the sparkling white lights. He also seemed to get a kick out of the Country Bear Jamboree - he kept squealing at those anamatronic bears! He did well on the other rides as well, but didn't really like it when the lights went all the way off on Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. He spent the entire Carousal ride trying to eat the shiny gold pole in front of him. We got his picture with Mickey, and pair of ears with his name sewn on the back, and stuffed Mickey, and a Disney World onesie. It was a great day!

Back in Sarasota most of our time was spent with Sam meeting new people. He met Great Grandma Nordin and cousins Andy and Krissy on Thursday, and then most of the remainder of the family at a big party on Friday night. That night he met his second cousin twice removed (yes that's the correct relation - we looked it up) who was born an hour after him. She now weighs about 5 pounds more than Sam, but Sam is still a bit longer. Crazy to see them next to each other! Everyone thought that she'd be able to take Sam, but he tried to eat her head. Oh well.

Saturday morning we took him to the beach, but he was cranky so we didn't last long there. He seemed to enjoy picking up the sand, but I spent the time trying to keep him from putting the sand into his mouth. I don't think you're supposed to eat sand before you start veggies, right? He was unfazed by the water lapping over his feet, but a little confused by the sand disappearing under his feet. I think he'll really enjoy it next summer.

It was a great week, but it really wore out my little man. We tried to get him his naps, but it didn't always work and he didn't share a room with mom and dad well. Someday we'll tell him that the solution to that problem was to move his pack n play to the large laundry room in the Orlando condo ;-) Plus all the long car rides, plane trips, etc. So now that we're back home its all about getting him back onto a regular eating and sleeping schedule.

I'll leave you with a picture from the week with each grandfather. Did I mention that Sam wants EVERYTHING in his mouth these days?

Cereal

*I'm behind with this post - Sorry!*

As Sam was about to turn 5 months old, he seemed to be hungry ALL the time. So we decided it was about time to introduce him to solids. On his 5-month birthday we gave him rice cereal for the first time. You could barely call it a solid, as our pediatrician told us to mix only 1/2 teaspoon of cereal with an ounce of milk. And Sam really didn't get the whole concept of a spoon that first day. So I pretty much poured the cereal from the spoon into his mouth. But slowly over the course of the next week or so he began to understand the spoon thing.

But understand the spoon doesn't mean he liked to eat his cereal. I believe it is safe to say that Sam greatly dislikes rice cereal. He makes the nastiest faces when we put it in his mouth, and sometimes tries to gag himself. Silly boy. But I really can't blame him - I tasted it and that stuff is really bad.

So we have switched him over to baby oatmeal, and we've worked our way up to a full tablespoon of cereal twice per day. He likes the oatmeal much better, and I can confirm that it has more taste. Still not exactly excited about the stuff, though.

It is exciting to see him eat "solids," but that's tempered by his lack of enjoyment. We use a lot of toys, songs, and stupid noises to distract and entertain him as he's eating. I think he is looking forward to the fruits and veggies we'll be introducing shortly!

Operation Re-Wash

Last weekend I was discussing Sam's continuing skin issues with my mother. "Is it mainly just on his arms?" she asked. "No, its everywhere, his whole body. Well, everywhere except his diaper area," I responded. LIGHT BULB!

Of course I'd realized this before, but for some reason saying it out loud really made it click. The redness and itchiness was worst on his chest, which was always covered by clothing even when in a short sleeve onesie. Obviously, something that was touching his skin was making it worse. Thus began Operation Re-Wash.

I went out a bought some Dreft. I did a load of Sam's laundry and since Sunday he was been wearing clothing exclusively from that one load. I'm happy to report that his skin looks much better. Cured? No. But definitely better. I had been using a hypoallergenic, free and clear detergent, but apparently he wants the good stuff.

So after 4+ days of consistently clearer skin, I am convinced enough to re-wash all of his stuff. I feel like I'm 36 weeks pregnant again, diligently cleaning everything my baby owns. Towels, washcloths, sheets, onesies, clothes, burp clothes, bibs...its all in the process of being washed. I've also switched the detergent I'm using on our adult laundry, and kicked our scented detergent to the curb.

So if anyone's keeping score, we now know two things that make Sam's skin worse:
1. Heat (lovely, since we still have highs in the 90's)
2. Tide Free and Clear Laundry Detergent

Five Months

My baby boy is getting so big! A couple of weeks ago we passed the one-year anniversary of my first OB appointment and our first little peak at a kidney bean-shaped "Poppy" - Boy has he grown in a year! Anyhow, I'm realizing that he really isn't a newborn anymore in any way. He's so alert and attentive, active, and capable!

Of course he is reverting to eating a bit like a newborn. For the past two days he's eaten almost every three hours, including overnight. His long stretch is more like 4-5 hours right now. Not good little man. He really is hungry when he wakes up - trust me he eats a lot. So I think its about time to get him started on some cereal...wish us luck!

Sam sleeps on his stomach a lot. I know, I know, SIDS. I sweat I put him to sleep on his back every single night and for every single nap. But 90% of the time he rolls himself over and sleeps on his tummy. He sleeps well on his stomach - he must get that from me. He gets some pretty awesome sleep marks on his face sometimes, too. Unfortunately that means he wakes up on his tummy, which makes it harder for him to fall back to sleep. Hopefully he'll get better about that, and maybe all the tummy time will help him develop the strength to crawl.

His major accomplishment this month is sitting. In the past week or two he has made huge strides on this milestone. If properly balanced, he can sit for up to a minute before tumbling over. He can't yet get himself into the position, but he does try to sit all the way up when he's in his car seat, stroller, and sometimes lying on the floor. He's got the whole "tripod sit" figured out. I give it a few more weeks before he is officially a "sitter" rather than a "supported sitter."

He's also getting very good with his fingers. He has great control when holding and grabbing his toys. Unfortunately, this also means he's getting better at scratching. He's no longer just rubbing his itchy spots, he's actually using individual fingers to relieve the itching. Side note on that topic: I think the scratching is becoming as much a habit as a relief mechanism. When you're holding him he often tries to scratch your arm, and it certainly is a sign that he's tired. Hmm, how are we going to nip this in the bud?

So at 5 months, here are Sam's likes and dislikes...
Likes:
-Watching Cars
-Being Outside/Stroller Walks
-Anything He Can Get Into His Mouth (his fingers, your fingers, remote, toy, burp cloth, etc)
-Scratching
-Blowing On His Tummy

Dislikes:
-Waking Up On His Tummy
-The Evening (still a very fussy time of day)

Tickle Tickle

Sam now loves it when you blow on his belly - its pretty much fool proof that you'll get a smile. A few days ago I was getting way more than a smile out of him, he was giving me all kinds of giggles! So here are some happy sounds for you today:

And a funny story to go with it: I recorded this right as Chris was getting home from work. I played back the recording to make sure that it captured the sound just as Chris was walking in the door. As soon as the giggles started, Sam BURST into tears. Of course he was all smiles again as soon as he saw Daddy. So I tried to play the recording for Chris and Sam BURST into tears again. I guess - even as a baby - no one likes the sound of his own voice on video!

Playgroup

Sam and I recently joined a wonderful, large, and well-organized family group in our neighborhood. It has playgroups for all ages, family events, online discussion boards, Moms Nights Out, etc. Honestly, I had no idea how many families with young children there were in our neighborhood until we joined. Sam falls into a Playgroup of babies born in March-August of this year.

The first "playgroup" we went to was at a neighborhood coffee shop. Yes, that makes it much more a playgroup for the moms than the babies, but isn't comparing parenting stories, tips, and ideas really for the babies in the end? This week we went to a playgroup at someone's home. How fun to see 9 babies all over the huge blanket on the floor, looking at each other, rolling onto each other, etc. One would cry and that would set off 3 others. Towards the end they were all falling asleep.

One of the slightly older babies decided to explore Sam's face by touch, as they often do. Usually the baby being explored gets quite annoyed by the intrusion of hands all over his face. Not Sam. He merely saw another new set of fingers to suck on, and that's exactly what he did. You should have seen the look on the other baby's face when Sam started munching on his fingers - so confused!

I think we are going to have a lot of fun with this group - we already have several more playdates scheduled. We can't wait to host everyone at our house soon!

Four Months

Sam turned 4 months old on Sunday (sorry I'm a few days late with the post). I was still thinking of him as a new baby until two things happened: First, I visited a friend's newborn 7lb baby. Second, Becky commented that he was 1/3 of a year. Holy cow, the first third of his first year is already over!

We went to the pediatrician for his "well baby" visit on Monday. Turns out my baby boy is long and lean. He's a respectable 25 1/2 inches long (75%), but only 13lb 7oz (25%). He'd been in the 50% for both height and weight, so we saw some big changes this month. I must have had a worried look, because the doctor asked if I was concerned about his weight. I responded with, "Are you?" (thinking, he you went to Med School!). He wasn't, so I'm not.

Sam did MUCH better with his shots this time. I was holding his hands, making stupid faces at him while the nurse was prepping his legs. All of the sudden she says, "Do you even know I gave you a shot?" Holy Cow! She'd given him one and he didn't make a peep! He did cry for the second shot, but stopped as soon as I picked him up. Yay!

As far as accomplishments in the last month, his biggest is standing. He much prefers to be in a standing position than a sitting position. He can bear all of his own weight (not that there's much of it!) and stand by just holding my hands - or by leaning against furniture. He is SUPER smiley, especially at girls and Daddy.

His cradle cap is looking better, but that's only because he gets some type of lotion all over his body 4+ times per day (and he now sleeps in mittens to keep from scratching his face). He'd still be a very itchy boy if it weren't for some serious persistence. I was given the OK to start solids, but I read somewhere that its better to wait till closer to 6 months in babies with skin problems. My baby definitely has skin problems. Plus, if I'm being honest, I'm not quite ready for him to not be 100% breastfed.

So at 4 months, here are Sam's Likes and Dislikes:
Likes:
-Exersaucer
-Standing
-Pacifier (this one comes and goes, and we now own one of every kind sold in Target)
-Lovies
-Flying Baby
-Inchworm

Dislikes:
-The evening period (he just gets fussy)
-Missing out on people interaction (if Chris and I are talking and he can't see us, he gets sad)