Reed's new skill - Sitting Up

Reed has been able to hold himself up in a sitting position for awhile now, but this week he figured out how to go from laying down to sitting up all on his own!

A Day in the Life of Reed

It's time for another installment of "A Day in the Life of Reed." This time around I kept track of our happenings on a Monday. The power went off in the middle of the night and again at the crack of dawn so Little Guy's schedule was off from the start of the day, but I had already committed mentally to doing this post so we stuck to the plan.

4:15 am Reed is crying. He's already been up once (around 11:00 when the power went off) but I didn't feed him so this is exciting because I can nurse him and he'll probably sleep for another 2 1/2 to 3 hours
4:50 Reed is back asleep I stay up to workout
5:50 The power goes out again, the sound machine resets itself again, Reed awakes again. Normally I don't let him out of his crib until 6:00 but I break my rule, considering the circumstances. I do a diaper change and he tries to see what Dodger is doing in the hallway.

6:05 Since he ate less than 2 hours earlier he's not hungry, so we take Dodger for a walk
6:30 We are back from our walk, we feed Dodger, and then sneak in a quick "hi" to Dad before he leaves for work (can you tell Jon isn't a morning person?)

6:40 I let Reed entertain himself on the play mat in our bedroom while I brush my teeth and make the bed.

6:45 I decide to try to get Reed to nurse so that we aren't too off of our normal routine and also because I want to run an errand before his nap. He's not interested in eating so I change his diaper and we head for the car.

7:15 We get to Walmart and are able to pick up some plants for our backyard pots and some irrigation supplies for my veggie garden. The checkout guy asks me abouts Reed's eczema and reassures me that his son had the same thing and it eventually went away
7:45 We are home and I let Reed stretch out in the living room - he decides doing a Downward Dog on my yoga mat is way more fun than playing with any of his toys

7:55 Reed is hungry and we are approaching nap time so I let him nurse (usually he doesn't nurse to fall asleep, but like I said our schedule was totally wacky for the first part of the day)
8:05 Reed falls asleep nursing and I lay him down. I'm able to finish my workout, fix the irrigation in the garden, pot the plants in the yard, and get a shower taken.
9:45 Reed is awake. He is pretty calm so I take the opportunity to trim his nails. He plays on the floor in his room while I quickly change the laundry around. Then I join in the book reading fun.

10:15 Reed plays on our bed while I fold clothes

10:25 Reed finally gets out of his PJs and I put him in his clothes for the day. We read some more books (can you tell board books are big in our house right now?)

10:45 Reed nurses

11:00 We cuddle with his stuffed cow and have a little bit of a tickle fest

11:15 I let Reed play in the living room while I make our lunches

11:25 We have a major pooptastrophe that necessitates a very drawn out diaper change

11:35 We eat lunch. This is my new favorite time of the day. We usually end up sitting together and eating for about half an hour. I try to avoid checking my cell phone or doing anything else in the kitchen (this is very difficult for a serial multi-tasker like myself). It is so nice just to sit back, relax, and enjoy my Monkey's company.

12:05 I clean Reed up and then put him down for his afternoon nap.
12:25 Reed is asleep. I clean the kitchen, change the laundry around, work on a photo album, make some calls regarding our annual block party, and make a batch of muffins.
2:45 Reed is up. He nurses.
3:00 I put Reed in his jumperoo (he's pretty much outgrown it, but this is the only thing we have that can keep him contained at this point) while I put the laundry away.

3:15 We head out to the living room to play.

4:15 We have our daily dance party, usually this lasts for a good 20-30 minutes but Reed gets fussy and starts acting tired after the first song. It doesn't get any better after song #2.
4:30 I let him have his pacifier and soft sheep and we veg in one of our comfy chairs and listen to some more music
4:35 Dad gets home and we share cuddle duties with our tired Bear.

5:10 I nurse Reed
5:30 Reed hangs out with Dad while I make dinner (I'm not sure who is actually watching who)

6:00 We all eat dinner together. We usually let Reed feed himself, which at 8 months old means he gets quite messy.

6:25 Mom and Dad take turns entertaining Reed and cleaning up the kitchen
6:40 Time to check out the Bumsicle in the mirror and get cleaned up in the bathtub.

6:50 Reed gets his nightly "massage" then put into his PJs and sleepsack. Dad sneaks in to say a quick goodnight.

7:05 Reed nurses
7:25 Reed is asleep

So that's a glimpse into our daily life at 8 months old.

Reed is Officially on the Move

For Mother's Day I got a new lens for our camera, I'm loving taking still shots with it, but am still figuring out how to focus while videotaping. Sorry for the blurriness!!!

8 Months

Wow, eight months already!!! This month Reed has really gained some independence. He is able to pull himself up on a couple different pieces of furniture, can take a few steps when holding onto something, and can cover a lot of ground with his new scoot/crawl move. This does mean a little bit less independence for Mom, because while he isn't lacking in confidence he is still fine-tuning some of his skills which means a lot of falling. I try to be close enough to save him from bad falls, soften other falls, and comfort and encourage him after the less traumatic falls. It is so hard watching your little one take a tumble and not reach out to save him, but we want him to learn to be a little more cautious. We'll see how that goes - I think this kid has a lot of bumps and bruises in his future!!!

Newborn

2 Months

8 Months

Reed is a healthy and happy eight month old. He is non stop all day, he loves playing with his toys, reading books, walking Dodger, and eating. I won't say we've won the constipation battle completely, but we are definitely doing much better. His eczema seems to come and go without a lot of rhyme or reason. The only thing I think I've found a correlation to is eggs (yolks) so I've taken those out of the food rotation for now.  A couple of shots from last week:

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 20 lbs

Length: 28.25 in (this should have an asterisk by it - I did my best to measure him on the kitchen floor)

Head Circumference: 17.25 in

Clothing Size: He is wearing 9 month and 12 month clothes during the day. His pajamas are all 12 months.

Can't live without: Baby Bjorn, BOB stroller, Soft Sheep, Graco High Chair, Baby Bjorn Bibs, ZoLi Bot Sippy Cup, Any of his Board Books (especially the "If I Were A . . ." ones), Leap Frog Learn and Groove Musical Table

Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Buddy Bear, Bear, and definitely Monkey

Where/How Reed is sleeping: I always lay him down on his back but he almost immediately rolls to his left side or onto his stomach with Soft Sheep in his hand.

Eye Color: Hazel with a thin ring of blue on the outside

Favorite Moment: Hearing Reed say his first word (DaDa) was so neat, but even more special is that you can ask him where Dad or Dodger are and he finds them in the room. These first glimpses at him being able to understand and communicate have been so awesome.

Milestones:

04/28/12  Papa Jay's first solo babysitting gig - both of the guys did great
05/06/12  Reed gets to go to his first bar, "The Hub" to attend a couple's baby shower for the Siegel's
05/11/12  First weekend alone with Dad - again, everyone did wonderfully
05/17/12  Reed begins doing the scoot/crawl

Embarrassing Picture: The bane of my existence . . . Reed's Eczema

Mother's Day

So for Mother's Day I went to Santa Barbara and left Jon and Reed at home - a bit counter intuitive I know, but it is something I have been doing with the same group of ladies (including my Mom) for over five years now. When you think about it, a weekend away while Dad stays at home with the kiddo is a great way to spend Mother's Day weekend. You get to do stuff you never get to do anymore like shop, take your time getting ready, wear cute clothes, stay out late, sleep in, etc. and since your husband gets to play Mr. Mom for the weekend he gets a glimpse into your everyday life and probably appreciates what you do a bit more by the time you get back.

I wasn't worried about Jon having to take care of Reed, but I was a little worried about how Reed and I would do apart for 48 hours, since our longest prior separation had been only around 16 hours. The boys did great, Reed was a perfect little gentleman all weekend and Jon wasn't too traumatized and actually admitted that he had a lot of fun and was glad that he had done it. I left Jon with a list of "helpful hints" and what Reed's schedule generally looks like most days. I wanted them to do their own thing, but also wanted Jon to be able to have something to reference to help interpret some of Reed's cues, etc.

Other than some help from Nonna on Saturday morning when Jon had to work and Pepe and Auntie Chelsea coming by after work for some playtime the boys were solo all weekend long, which is really impressive. One of my only requests (besides the health and safety of my child and dog) was that Jon try to take at least a few pictures to document their Dude's Weekend. I think he did pretty good:

I snapped this right before walking out the door

After I got home on Sunday I was able to cuddle with my little man, then he went down for a nap, when he woke up we headed to Pepe and Nonna's for a delicious Mother's Day dinner and to spend time with the whole family, including Papa, Gran, Benny, Diana, and TJ (and Maple the Dog).

Since this is a Mother’s Day post I do need to take a moment to recognize what a significant impact Reed has had on me over the last eight months. The awe he has over a picture in a book or the sound something makes truly makes me appreciate the little things that I wouldn’t have thought twice about before and he has completely changed my perspective on the world.

He has found a place in my heart that I didn’t know existed. And while I had a great life, full of love and happiness before he came along, now that he is here it makes me feel like I wasn’t complete prior to his arrival. Being a Mom has also made me appreciate my Mom, Mother-in-law, and Grandmothers even more than before. Now I’m starting to see what they experienced in helping shape me into the person I am today, and am so thankful for their love, support, and guidance as they continue to help me down my path as a Mother.

As much as I was looking forward to getting away this weekend and finally getting a well deserved Mommy Break I still had tears in my eyes as I said goodbye and couldn’t wait to get home to give Reed a hug. He had a rough night last night and I ended up letting him sleep with me, something I don’t usually do, but I just felt like we needed to be close together and while I could have done with a few more hours of sleep, there is nothing like cuddling up with your little one to make you feel like a Mom.