Monday, December 20, 2010

Ryan's 10 month post!





So, I've decided better late than never right?!? I have a confession too these pictures were actually taken December 16th not the 6th. :-\ Sorry for the delay in Ryan's 10 month post. As the holiday season is upon us, we have been going, going, going, non stop ever since the first week of December hit!! As you can see from the above pictures, Ryan is a busy boy and keeps me on my toes. I've finally finished all the decorating, Christmas shopping, wrapping, etc that I was doing in my free time and am FINALLY taking some time out during Ryan's nap to write his 10 month post. Here it goes:

Ryan has such a cute personality. He certainly has his father's humor and good-natured personality with the added stubbornness/hard-headed/determined side which comes from me (as well as my parents, Mike's Mom, etc.- could be from many of us!!) He continues to look mostly like his Daddy, but definitely has some Roberts genes that are starting to shine through. :) Ryan did not have a 10 month well visit so we approximate his length to be almost 31 inches as he's been growing between 3/4"-1" each month to date.  He did have an appointment to check his ears on Dec. 17th and weighed 22lbs 4.5oz, so he was likely right at/around 22lbs when he turned 10 months old. (He does have his second ear infection to date- all have been in the right ear, although the left was starting to get infected the first time, but we caught it early.) Ryan wears size 12 month clothing and still size 3 diapers.  He is sleeping through the night without waking (7:45/8pm until 7:15/7:30am) It's generally between 11-11.5hrs of sleep! Yay! If he does wake it's usually between 5-6am and he fusses for 5 minutes or so and goes back to sleep. This generally only seems to happen around times when he is sick or getting sick.

This month I decided to start the weaning process with one bottle of formula a day (he's taking 2-4oz) in addition to still nursing 3 times a day. I nurse him when he wakes up in the morning and before bed and then one other time during the day either before lunch or mid-afternoon depending on which time is more convenient for a bottle feeding.  Ryan is eating 3 meals a day generally 6-8oz baby food plus bites of whatever we are having and one snack a day (unless he's up early in which case he sometimes has a small morning snack).

Ryan is becoming such a little "lover" as of recently.  He has never been very cuddly, in fact mostly the opposite, but is starting to give hugs and will hold on to me and lay his head on my shoulder now before nap time or bedtime which is so cute! I love all his precious hugs and wet kisses! I just soak in all these little moments because they are so precious to me!

Here is a list of some of Ryan's current "likes"/accomplishments:
  • All finger foods especially if we are eating it!
  • Waving bye bye (says "dye dah")
  • Opening and closing doors (while I say HI and BYE- he will do this for a LONG time before getting bored)
  • Reading books (he brings his favorites to me and says "diss" this or "buh" book) He also gets mad if I finish reading one and move on to another book if he's not finished. He will throw a little fit and if I start to read it again he smiles and grabs his hands and gets so excited! (uh oh!)
  • Playing peek-a-boo. This past month (Nov. 13th weekend) he started hiding under the coffee table and popping up to play (which thrills him!!) and then the end of Nov he started covering his hands over his eyes when we say "where's Ryan?" and then doing them down when we say "peek-a-boo". Sometimes I see him grinning while hiding his eyes and he is just so cute because I know he is thoroughly enjoying himself.
  • Still being assisted with walking. He has taken 2-3 steps on a few occasions to Mike or me and has great balance and can stand for awhile if he chooses too. Overall, he is still too nervous to walk on his own just yet, but will push around laundry baskets, boxes, etc. and walk on his own that way.
  • Cruising furniture and even sometimes walls just balancing up against it as he walks sideways.
  • Drinks independently from his sippy cup and loves to do it his "big self" without help from Mom. (sound like anyone we know??)
  • Loves new noises with his mouth such as clicking his tongue, bbbb- lips buzzing, "Indian" wawawawa noises, but with his finger in his mouth or toothbrush moving up and down rather than his hand over his mouth.
  • Loves naps and bed with his lovey bear and sleep sheep and generally goes down without a peep now. (2 hour nap around 9:30am, and 1hr nap around 2pm)
  • Still shys away at first when seeing family/new people, but then looks up and smiles so I think he does it to get attention and flirt because he likes the reaction he gets from people.
  • Vocabulary so far: Dada and even just Dad (he def knows who this is!!), Mama (never just Mom yet), "diss" (this), "at" (cat), "oof" (for the dogs), "buh" (book), "dye dah" (bye bye), yeah, "nana" (my mom). He is so interested in words and is quite the jabber box lately. I am amazed at how much he already understands and responds to.
Current dislikes:
  • Being put in his highchair (about half the time- likes it once he's in, but throws a fit putting him in by arching his back and crying)
  • Being put on the diaper changing table laying down- another fit throwing time, doesn't mind if I put him on it sitting up to change his clothes, just diaper changing time. I almost always have to have a toy or Mike there to distract him.
  • Certain foods he still doesn't care for: mashed bananas, egg yolks, pees, and most tomato based things.
I know this has gotten long. I was keeping notes in my iPhone through the month and wanted to make sure I got everything. It is crazy how quickly I forget when he starts doing different things and I feel like it's been forever so I like to have these up to date with each month so I can look back on it and see when he started doing certain things. I hope to publish the blog after a year with all of his monthly updates. Thanks for stopping by to check it out!

Love to all of you from "The Campbells"

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Tough November... Healthy December??

I'm happy that it is the first day of December and hope this month brings with it good health for our little boy as well as lots of wonderful times with friends and family.  November was really a pretty tough month for Ryan. From teething pain, a cold, his first real chest cough (from the cold), his first ear infection (probably also an aftermath of the cold), and his second (but longest) tummy virus. (2 sick visits and 1 well visit to the Dr- we've been busy!!) The poor little guy can't seem to catch a break!! Mommy's tired of the sicknesses and I'm sure Ryan is too. It's delayed my thoughts of switching to breastfeeding only part-time (twice) and formula (twice) a day because I feel like while he's sick is not the time to start something new.

All the sickness also makes for such weird schedules for him at night, although I'm happy to report that overall Ryan is sleeping straight through the night about 11hrs of sleep a night and sometimes longer.  He  wakes up and fusses occasionally and puts himself back to sleep now, but while he was sick I went in to tend to him just to make sure he was ok. (which one time he wasn't-tummy bug... yuck!)

During the days his mood seems pretty good and mostly his familiar happy self.  I can always tell when he's tired or not feeling well because he becomes pretty fussy and very clingy to "Mommy". However, sometimes I can't even put him down because he just wants to be carried around and point to things and say "buh" (for me to tell him what it is or let him touch it). During this most recent tummy bug he has actually wanted to fall asleep in my arms which is very unusual for him. I enjoy some of the cuddle time while I can get it, but just wish he felt better!

Please pray for good health through the holidays for Ryan and our whole family!!! We also will have a houseguest staying with us for the month of December. Mrs. Annabelle Hendrix is staying with us during her rotation at Plaza Medical in Fort Worth (she's in med school to become a DO). We are very excited to have her in our home and hope she enjoys her stay!  ~Emily