Proof Reed can actually Crawl

This video is proof that Reed can actually do a "two-knee" crawl, but there is definitely some "peg-leg" crawling thrown in there as well.

9 Months

Reed is growing up before our eyes. It seems like everyday he can get around faster and understand a bit more. I have so much fun with him these days. He loves taking Dodger for walks in the morning, pillow forts, going for runs in the BOB, our long lunches, reading, playing with his toys, and our daily dance parties. He however is not a big fan of Mom cooking dinner and absolutely hates it when I put him in the Go-Pod in an attempt to contain him.

The kid is definitely on the move, he can cover a room in a few seconds, pull himself up to standing using just about anything, and can climb on to anything that is his waist height or lower. He is rarely still and I'm usually exhausted by the time bath time rolls around.

Getting a picture of him sitting still, not making a ridiculous face, and without a toy in his hand proved almost impossible this month. I finally got one that wasn't too bad and called it a day. I've included some of my favorite outtakes as well.

Newborn

3 Months

9 Months

The McClarty household has finally quieted down a bit after a very busy few weeks. This week we had Reed's nine month pediatrician visit. He is doing great. We have a new set of prescription ointments for his eczema and we are both still off of dairy and eggs. Tuesday was Grandma's Birthday and she got to spend most of the day with Reed and then Nonna and Pepe babysat so we could enjoy and adults only dinner.

I"m going to change up the statistics section a bit. Some of the items have become repetitive from month to month and Reed is also doing some new things I want to keep track of.

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 20 lbs 15 oz

Length: 29 in

Head Circumference: 17.5 in

Clothing Size: He is wearing 9 month and 12 month clothes during the day, but I'm getting ready to buy him some new tops because the 9 month stuff is getting pretty snug and/or short. His pajamas are all 12 months.

Teeth: 4 - all on the bottom, but the top two are working their way down

Can't live without: Beco Gemini Carrier, BOB stroller, Soft Sheep, Graco High Chair, Baby Bjorn Bibs, ZoLi Bot Sippy Cup, Any of his Board Books, Blackout Curtains for the nursery at night

Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Bear, and Monkey (this is the most popular right now)

Favorite Foods: Avocado, Sweet Potato, Banana, Fish, Yellow Squash

Words: DaDa and Da (pronounced like Dog without the g)

How Reed is sleeping: Reed takes a nap in the morning and one in the afternoon each lasting around 1.5 hours, but sometimes longer. He goes to bed around 7:30pm and (knock on wood) has been sleeping until 4:15ish. I no longer nurse Reed in the middle of the night and I can usually get him to go back to sleep until 6:00 am or a little later.

Favorite Moment: Seeing Reed teach himself to crawl and get around has been so neat. He's gone from being able to get to a toy if he really wants it to being able to get to the toy in a matter of seconds, pick it up, and then take it to another part of the room/house.

Milestones:
05/22/12   Reed can get into the sitting position on his own

05/24/12   Jon finds Reed standing up in his crib

06/01/12   Reed can sit back down after he pulls himself up (this was huge because it meant we didn't have to go back in his room every time he stood up in his crib to lay him back down)

06/03/12   Reed's first time in the swimming pool

06/03/12   The kiddo starts waving purposefully

06/09/12   Reed decides the scoot/crawl and peg leg crawl aren't working too well and moves into the full two knees crawl

06/13/12   Reed and I took a solo trip to the coast and he did great in the car

Embarrassing Picture: I couldn't decide which I liked more, so you get both; Baby Boy in a speedo and Muscle Arms

Reed and Annaliese provide Father's Day Entertainment

I was pretty busy running around making dinner yesterday afternoon and missed some great interactions between Reed and Annaliese. I was able to get this video recorded so you can at least see them interact a little bit and hear Little Missy have another gab session.

I definitely didn't have to worry about entertaining our crowd of 17 with these two around!!!

Birthdays, Road Trips, BBQs, and Father's Day - Oh My!

It was a super busy weekend, preceded by a very busy week, that was part of a busy month. I'm exhausted, Jon's exhausted, and Reed is definitely exhausted, but we've been having fun and spending time with friends and family so that makes it worth it.

Last week Great Grandma Joan (aka G-Momma) came down for a visit and brought Grandaunt Laurie with her. They were both celebrating milestone Birthdays and instead of a luxurious getaway they decided Grand-baby time was all that they wanted. They literally stopped at our house on Saturday before settling in at my Parent's. On Sunday my parents had us and Mark, Penny, and Auntie "M" over for dinner.

Tuesday was G-Momma's Birthday so Pepe and Nonna were sweet enough to babysit while we went out for an adult dinner. I definitely needed this because on Wednesday Grandma, G-Momma, and Aunt Laurie headed to the coast to get some Annaliese time in and Reed and I met them later in the afternoon. I was super nervous about doing the drive just the two of us, but Reed did great, sleeping for about two hours and then was cheery and awake for the last half hour of the trek. Once in town we headed straight for Uncle Kyle and Aunt Kari's for another cousin play date. The two month age difference is already disappearing and the two can actually "play" with each other a bit now.

That night we all went out to dinner at a pretty nice restaurant and both kiddos did great. I was definitely a proud Mom and will think about taking Reed along with us for a "nicer" dinner sometime in the near future.

Thursday was pretty much an all day play date. The kids played in between naps, we met Kyle for lunch, did some shopping in San Luis Obispo, and then went to the Farmer's Market after Kyle got off of work. Reed did okay. He got a little overwhelmed by the large crowd and all the strangers, but once I got him out of his stroller and into his carrier, closer to me, he settled down pretty well. We even were able to meet-up with Jon's Aunt Diana who helps run the Market.

All good things must come to an end so on Friday we had to say goodbye to G-Momma and Aunt Laurie. Luckily for me that meant Grandma got a ride home with us and was able to entertain Reed for part of the drive.

It was hot on Saturday, like really hot, like 105+ F hot, and we had two outdoor events to go to. We celebrated a friend's 30th down by the river after Reed woke up from his first nap. It was actually pretty nice, we stayed in the shade, and the river really helped keep the temperature down, plus there were a bunch of dogs playing fetch which made Reed's day! When Reed was ready for nap #2 we went home and then once he was up again we headed up to Clovis for a BBQ Jon's cousin Bryan and his wife Jessica were hosting. Uncle Allan immediately took over babysitting duties which was a nice break for this Mom. Reed and I ate a quick dinner, he got really hot, I stripped him down, but the poor guy was exhausted and overheating so we headed home. Luckily I was able to snap a shot of Reed and Jon's Aunt Margie before we left - she was Jon's only Aunt/Uncle I didn't have a picture of Reed with.

Finally it was Sunday - Father's Day!!! Every year Jon and I host both sides of our family for a Father's Day dinner. Now that Jon is a Dad that means he has to work on his special day, but he said he didn't mind and we had a great afternoon/evening with our families. Kyle and Kari made the trip over with Annaliese so we were able to get even more cousin playtime in.

One of the three tables - but it was the one that had the eating babies

The Cozzi/McClarty Men

As if this post wasn't long enough already I do have to acknowledge how lucky Reed is to have such amazing Men in his life. Three Great-Grandfathers who will teach him a lot, Two awesome Uncles that he is going to have so much fun with, a Grandpa who was/is the best Father I could have ever asked for, a Pepe who has been like a second Dad to me for over a decade, and one kick-ass "DaDa" that words can't describe what he means to Reed or me. I love Jon so much, but seeing him as a Father has made me love him even more. I will get in trouble if I write too much more about him here, but Reed and I are truly blessed to have him.

My Boys in Action

I don't know what makes me happier - how willing Dodger is to tolerate Reed and his shenanigans or how in love Reed is with Dodger. Either way I love watching my boys interact. I'm apologizing now for the middle of this video - you hear me disciplining the dog, but I love the beginning and the end of the clip and had to share.

Summer Fun

We have been soooooo busy lately and it doesn't seem like we are slowing down anytime soon, so we've been trying to take advantage of the quiet moments when they come, enjoying the nice weather while it lasts, and having some summer fun in the process.

The other day I spread our awesome picnic blanket out on our front lawn and introduced Reed to the world of bubbles. Usually when he is excited about something he screeches but he was so mesmerized by the bubbles he sat completely still and watched them float around. Eventually he tried catching them, but he was in awe the entire time.

A few days later we lathered on the sunscreen, layered the kiddo in a swim diaper, swim trunks, swim shirt, sunglasses, and a hat - overkill much? The pool was a little colder than we thought it was going to be so I think it probably took longer to get him suited up than the actual "swimming" itself. Oh well! He loved putting his feet in the water and kicking around, but when we went any deeper he wasn't to sure of it. I'm chalking this up to a win because a) he didn't ever get upset and b) the water was freezing.

Last week we also enjoyed a nice barbecue at Pepe and Nonna's in honor of our Chilean friend/colleague Gerardo, who has dubbed Reed "Mr. Boss"

To round out our week of fun, Reed and I had a play date on Friday with my good friend Heidi and her four month old son Drake. Reed seemed to enjoy himself, checking in with Drake, giving him a little pat, and then moving on to a toy. I think these boys have some fun days together ahead of them.

Reed loves his Munchkin Mesh Feeder

I mentioned the Munchkin Mesh Feeder in the previous post. Reed loves these things, and when I say LOVES I'm not kidding. Onetime we gave him two at the same time and he was so excited he tried to fit both in his mouth!

I always have one in his diaper bag so if we are out I can grab a pear out of a salad, a carrot off of my plate, etc. and hand it over. Like I mentioned before I will use them to keep him occupied in his highchair while I clean up the rest of his mess.

What Reed is Eating

Reed is an adventurous little guy and when it comes to food his attitude is no different. He has never turned away from a single thing we've offered him. The closest we got was a bad face he made when he tried greek yogurt two weeks ago. In his defense, that really is a weird taste, and I only offered it to make sure there was nothing wrong with his sense of taste after he bit into a banana peel (didn't make a face) and got mad at me when I took it away. I know lots of kids are picky when it comes to food and that may just be the case for Reed someday, but for now I will happily accept his "little eater" status and keep offering up new foods.

I don't know why starting solids is so exciting to parents, but it is, I couldn't wait for Reed to take his first bite of food and that seems to be the general consensus amongst the parents I know. Even now when I offer him something new I can't wait to see his reaction. There is so much information out there about when to start, what foods to start with, what time of the day to offer solids, etc. - it is OVERWHELMING! We had a pediatrician tell us to wait and start solids at 6 months, we had family and friends asking at 4 and 5 months when we were going to start him, our nurse practitioner questioned why we were bothering giving Reed solids at 7 months, we had a lactation consultant tell us to only offer solids right after nursing, there are articles by doctors that tell you to place solid meals between nursing sessions so as not to impede with nutrient absorption, some people swear by rice cereal, others advise to beware of its' constipation powers (learned that lesson the hard way). So what did we do?

Shortly before Reed was 5 months old he started yelling at me anytime I ate in front of him. If he was sitting in my lap during a meal he was trying to get the food off of my plate. He was able to support his body in a sitting position at this point, so we went ahead and let him try out some mashed avocado - he's been eating ever since. In the end I think we started Reed at the perfect time, for him, we listened to our child and our instincts and did what was best for our family.

Right now Reed typically nurses when he wakes up in the morning (6:00ish), nurses when he wakes up from his first nap (10:00-11:00am), then 30-60 minutes later I offer him lunch, he nurses again when he wakes up from his second nap (anywhere from 2:00 to 4:00 pm), depending on how early his nap eneded I may try to nurse him again around 5:00 pm. I try to have both the adult dinner and Reed's dinner ready every night at 6:00 so we can all eat together and then he nurses before falling asleep around 7:30. Typically he also has an overnight nursing session between 1:00 and 4:00 am.

My goals for Reed when planning his meals are:
1 - Variety, I don't want him to have the same meal every time he's in the highchair
2 - Balance, I try to offer a fruit, a veggie, a protein, and a grain portion at each meal
3 - Independence, I try to let Reed feed himself as much as possible. If he is having a puree I will often just pre-load the spoon and then let him feed himself.  If we are out I might feed him to cut down on the mess and I also try to leave the messier dishes for dinner (which is followed by bath time) and the tidier ones for lunch.

4 - Similar, I always introduce age appropriate foods, but since I "make" all of Reed's foods, those ingredients that we regularly have in the house or are part of our meals for the week get introduction priority. Also, anything that he's had before that I'm using to make our meal with goes on his plate as well.

Trying Cherries for the first time

Meal planning for the week, is something I try to do every Sunday. I usually get Sunday through Thursday dinners planned out and then assume Friday and Saturday we will figure out as we get closer (inevitably something comes up earlier in the week and one of the meals is pushed to Friday, someone plans something one of those nights, we go out to eat, or we hit up the grocery store again). Anyway, now that Reed is eating big boy foods I still plan Jon's and my week of dinners out first, then I look over what I'm making for us and figure out what Reed can have and what we might want to introduce him to. This past Sunday he tried eggplant for the first time at Nonna and Pepe's so then I made sure he had it again for lunch on Monday and dinner on Tuesday. He also tried garbanzo beans this week because I was making a salad that had them in it and cherries because they are in season and we picked a bunch of Pepe's on Sunday.

Reed's lunch and my lunch both had
zucchini, carrots, garbanzo beans, and cucumber

Adults had Chicken Quinoa Salad
with Baked Cheesecake Peaches

Reed had peaches, chicken, and avocado

Mom and Dad had Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries
No bun because I'm giving up wheat to see if it helps Reeds eczema :(

Reed had ground turkey, steamed sweet potatoes, and peas

A few of our must-have items for mealtimes are:

ZoLi Bot sippy/weighted straw cup

Dr. Sears Nibble Trays for when we are on the go or
Nonna/Grandma are on lunch duty

Right now we just take a little bit out at a time and put it on his tray or the table, but I'm hoping we can use these for awhile and he grows into eating directly out of them.

Munchkin Mesh Feeders

These are great when you are at a restaurant and don't want to make a huge mess. In the beginning we used them to help introduce new foods, Reed loves them so much we found that he was willing to try anything we put in them. Now if I'm in a hurry at lunch or Jon's not around at dinner I'll give him one to play with while I clean up the rest of his mealtime mess.

Baby Bjorn Bib

These bibs are genius! They basically have a huge catcher at the bottom so you have less mess on the floor and baby when he's done, plus Reed and I will both dip into the little bowl for seconds from time to time.

Last, but not least, on the list is the Beaba Babycook. It is a steamer and food processor in one. It is so easy to use and was really convenient in the beginning when we were chopping and pureeing Reed's food a bit more. I still use it a couple times a week to steam a quick batch of veggies or make a batch of "poop sauce" (our constipation solution - fruit of your choice and prunes blended together).

This week Reed and I started on a three week experiment to find out if his eczema is related to a food sensitivity. This means no dairy, eggs, fish, peanuts, wheat, or soy for Mom or Reed. Hopefully we find a cause or just rule it out completely. I'm definitely struggling to stay satisfied and can't wait to, hopefully, have some of my favorite foods back soon. This isn't as big a deal for Reed but he was eating a lot of fish and eggs and I was hoping to introduce some yogurt and cheese soon. Oh well!

In the meantime here is what Reed has enjoyed eating so far: Apples, Avocados, Apricots, Bananas, Black Beans, Carrots, Chicken, Cherries, Cucumber, Eggplant, Eggs, Fish (Salmon and Mahi Mahi), Garbanzo Beans, Mango, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Peas, Prunes, Rice, Sweet Potato, Squash, Turkey, Watermelon, and Zucchini. On the shortlist to try out sometime soon are Blueberries, Grapes, Plums, Beets, Peppers, Beef, Pork, and hopefully some Cheese and Yogurt.

Like I mentioned before meal times can get pretty messy at this stage, but I have a faithful clean-up crew ready at my beck-and-call.