Baby Joaquin: 6 and 7 Month Update

My little Joaquinnie pants is now 7 months old.  These past two months have been so much fun for our little family because Joaquin has developed his little personality and has hit so many milestones. Right now, he is an adventurous baby boy. His favorite thing to do is crawl around the house following Sonic around. As you can imagine, Sonic does not approve of this, but he's a good sport about it and doesn't get mad but instead he rather calmly, yet irritatedly walks away. I'm always in close quarters just in case he decides to get crazy....and when I say he I mean both Joaquin and Sonic.

He also loves to navigate his way under, over, and through different things. Hence, this adorable picture with his playmat on his back. I don't know HOW he did this.

Other milestones include celebrating his first Mother's and Father's day,

riding on his first train,

going to the beach and the pool, lookin' all cool,

and being a big boy and feeding himself.

I'm just so proud of my smart baby boy. I can't get enough of him. I'm sure you can tell from the millions of pictures.

Here's a few other stats.

Size: He weighed in at 17 pounds during his 6 month check up. He has to be 18-19 now. He is wearing 9-12 month clothes now, mainly because he is in the 90th percentile in height.

Tall like Daddy!

Eating: I have been pureeing food like a maniac mom...a momiac. He's been eating sweet potato, zucchini squash, sweet peas, and bananas. We are limiting his fruits to one type a month  so he doesn't develop a sweet tooth and ditch his veggies. He still eats his brown rice cereal and I've put him back on baby oatmeal for breakfast. He is no longer allergic to the wheat. Yay!

Sleeping: UGH! The thorn in my sleepy paw. He is now back to waking up two times a night to eat. I've tried everything from giving him a pacifier to letting him cry (my heart can only take so much crying, you know.) and nothing but a bottle seems to work. I've done a bit of reading and all signs point to nighttime hunger. It stays consistent with his daytime feeding time frames, every  4 hours. He wakes up at midnight, then again at 4 am, then he wakes up for good at 6, but isn't hungry until 7. It's draining but Thank God I'm on summer vaction. Once, I brought him into bed with me at 6 in the morning and magically he fell back asleep. He has yet to do this again.

Next up: Summertime fun with Mommy! This might be the best summer yet.

Feeding Your Baby for the First Time

Joaquin started his Baby Foodie Adventures, starting with baby cereal.

When we started: Hubby and I spent month 4 arguing about whether or not we should start Joaquin on cereal. It was a big debate because some people think 4 months is just too early. I disagree, especially when you have a chunky monkey baby on your hands who is obviously getting tired of his milk.The LA Times came out with an article, conveniently during our argument, which talks about mothers giving food too soon. They say 6 months is the earliest you should give your baby food, including cereal. We compromised and waited until 5 months. I feel confident about our decision.

Choosing the goods: After surveying all of my mommy friends and co-workers, I took the advice of a co-worker who brought up the idea of probiotics. I take probiotics myself, so I know the benefits it can have.There are so many great benefits to probiotics and I feel great knowing he can partake in the probiotic party! Before this, he was so constipated from the soy formula we had switched to. I did some research and found Happy Bellies Brown Rice Cereal. I was so happy that it was at my local Target, too! Joaquin LOVES it and he is pooping to his stomach's content.

Target.com

Feeding Fun: We started off feeding him in the Bumbo and soon learned that it was too messy. We received this First Years Portable High Chair from our Baby Shower so I was excited to finally put it to good use. You can recline the seat just a smidge which is extra supportive for baby's back. It's a nice pick for someone who doesn't want a full on high chair.

Apparently it's a good idea to have the right type of spoon. I did not know this until I went to the feeding products section and saw a crap load of spoons. I was just going to pick the cutest of the bunch but I picked these Evenflo Zoo Friends Soft Tip Spoons because they are soft for baby's little teeth. This is important when they are learning to chew. These spoons are also nice because they change color when the food is too hot.

To limit messes, I also picked up these Neat Solutions Easywipe bibs. They are large enough to shield baby from disasterous spills and easy for me to wipe down afterwards. They have ubercute patterns, too.

While I was having fun purchasing all this junk, Joaquin was clueless and probably could care less about the excitement of trying something new. I'd like to think he appreciates his fancy spoons but who knows if he even noticed. But I do know this, he loved his cereal. He loved it in the cutest way possible. I loved watching him take his first bite and making a crazy crazy mess. THAT, is priceless.

Baby Joaquin: 4 and 5 Month Update

My little booger monster turned 5 months this month. A lot has happened in these past two months and we hit so many milestones. I can't help but squeeze him tight because it's going too fast for Mommy.

 

 

 

Size: 6-9 months. Real Babies have curves. Joke.

*I'm going to start a petition to change the sizing of baby clothes. They need to drop the "months" because it is no longer accurate. Babies are born in all sizes and grow at different rates. Who's with me?

Cuteness level: Epic proportions (not to brag or anything)

 

Eating: Soy formula and Brown Rice Cereal with Probiotics (Hipster baby)

Sleeping: Beat the sleep regression monster! Sleeps from

8:00pm- 3:30am/Bottle, back to sleep until 6:00-7:00.

(Note to self: Write posts about these two things later.)



Milestones: Sitting up for a few seconds on his own, cut his first tooth (!!!), eating cereal, rolling from back to front and back again, dropping and picking up his toys,

and toy to mouth coordination is spot on.

 

 

Likes: Mommy and Daddy, jumping, playing with anything with a washing instructions tag on it, staring at the time on the oven, the colors black, white, and red all in the same object, and his feet.

Obsessions: Sonic and splashing in bath water

Sonic is still coming around.

Dislikes: His carseat, an empty bowl of cereal, men with deep voices, when mommy burns something in the oven and the fire alarm goes off.

Next Up: Pureed foods, sitting unassisted, crawling, and turning half a year old!

 

 

As for me, I'm obsessed with my health right now. Hubby and I finally agreed that eating out as many times as we do and being addicted to coffee is not ok. We are eliminating most starches when we can and incorporating Paleo ideas (Yay, MEAT!) but still staying true to the foodies that we are. This is called the "DUH" diet which stresses the obvious: more veggies and fruit, no junk, quinoa<brown rice<white rice, sugar makes you fat, and limit the treats. DUH.

I've also been hitting well over my Nike Fuel points everyday and making sure I'm up and about instead of being comatose in front of the TV. I took out my running stroller the other day and I'm slowly working up to running again. The weather has been very cooperative.

I'm feeling good.

 

Three Months with Baby Joaquin

My son is the cutest. Sometimes I just stare at him and smell his little face for hours. It smells like love...pure love. Why do babies smell so damn good? That's what I'd like to know.

Baby Joaquin is now 3 months old. They say that this is the end of his "4th trimester." Well, he might as well just move out to college now. He doesn't even need me anymore...::sniffle sniffle:: I feel like he's just growing so fast. I'm probably going to say that in every post, but it's so true. Time flies when you're having a good time, I guess.

I have to brag and say that Joaquin is the best baby. He has a cool dude type of personality, always chill to the max. He only cries when he wants food...just like mommy. He sleeps 6-7 hours at night, wakes up to eat, then falls back asleep....sounds like a good plan to me. I might keep some cookies by my bed for myself. He melts my heart with every smile....even when he throws up all over me at 4 in the morning. And he is just getting more adorable each minute of the day. I swear, every time he wakes up from his naps, The Cute Machine adds more cute to his tiny wittle face.

Ok, now for the not so cute stuff....his shit smells worse than ever. He drools all over my back before I go to work and I don't realize it until I see a dried up milk stain mid-way through the day.
He clawed me in the face...twice...today. And the weight of his hard head feels awesome when he slams it against my nose.

God, I love that kid. I would live this way everyday just to have him stay this small forever.

Really, I don't mind any of those things. Small price to pay for this amazing baby. The one thing I'm not loving this month is his baby eczema. His face is so dry, red, and cracked. I feel so bad when he rubs it as he tries to itch himself. Poor guy. I've been using Aveeno products, giving him short lukewarm baths every 2 days, and I keep it moisturized throughout the day.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

In other news, he had his first run in with a fountain. Little man is hooked. He loves this humongo fountain in Downtown LA! We are just having so much fun bringing him around.

 

 



As for myself, I'm doing good. Physically, I can fit into most of my pre-pregnancy pants. Just in time, too because I ripped the elastic off my maternity pants trying to pull them on. Whoops. I also found more stretch marks on my body that I never knew existed. Scary how those things just pop out of nowhere. I think I had them when my belly stretched but since I couldn't see anything passed my basketball of a belly, I never saw them.Those sneaky little suckers.

 Mentally, I feel pretty good, less stressed and a lot calmer. Ladies and Gents, the hormones have left the building. I'm even starting to shift my attention back to being a wife and a mother instead of just a mother. Hubby is glad that I'm not a complete biotch, 24/7. Sleep wise, I'm living off of coffee (My Keurig is my lover) and the lady at Starbucks greets me by name. Even though Joaquin only wakes up once, it is still so hard. I'm zombie-ing my way through my work day. I am still working hard for my students but honestly, it takes a lot more brain power to successfully teach a lesson. 5 more weeks until Spring Break. 5 more weeks until Spring Break.

I have my amazing son, my patient husband, my K-cup and Starbucks Gold card, and my health. I can definitely make it to Spring Break..... 5...more...weeks.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Love Day, my friends! We hope your hearts are happy and your bellies are full of yummy sweets.

 

I will be spending my day with the two three Loves of my life. I will be mushy as hell and smother them with hugs and kisses. These lips are locked and loaded...despite the new gun laws. See what I did there?

 

 

 

 

 

I love Valentine's Day gifts and this year, I bought my hubby Skyfall on DVD. The last time we tried to watch it, I went into labor within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Joaquin also joined in on the gift giving fun. Daddy loved all of his gifts!

 

 

An extra day of love? Sign me up! Have a sweet day!



Wandom Wednesday: Winter Recess

1. This week I'm playing Stay at Home Mommy. I am off for a whole week thanks to all the Presidents days. My only goal this week is to make this kid laugh. He's almost giggling and by golly I want to be the one that makes him laugh first. My voice is permanently 15 octaves higher than it used to be and I've invented noises using my throat I never knew existed. Something I do is bound to be funny.

2. It was my husband's 31st birthday last week and all he wanted for his dia especial was to have a date night at Ooka. We asked my parents to babysit and of course they said yes. I felt a little guilty leaving Joaquin so soon but Mommy and Daddy time was very much needed. I was so excited to finally have time with my hubs, sushi, and some wine. Is it just me or does wine taste better when you're a mom?

 

3. My Nike Fuel Band is magic. It mocks me with it's flashing lights and reminds me to move my butt or I'll be wearing these maternity jeans for-evah. Damn, Fuel Band...why you gotta be so hurtful?

 

4. I went to the TOMS Sample Sale this past weekend and all I can say is that I wish my feet were a size 10. I went with my buddy Christine, who is in fact a size 10 and while I was only able to find 2 pairs that I actually liked, she was able to find about a million. Did I mention we stood in line for 3 and a half hours? And did I mention that classics were only $20? Why must everyone at the sample sale have a 7 1/2-8 size shoe? WHY!?

At least I scored some cute shoes for my little guy.

5. I'm facing a dilemma. A hair dilemma. Long hair vs. Short hair. I can't decide if I should grow it long or chop it off. Either way, something needs to happen NOW because I can't stand my hair. Growing your hair out is the pits and cutting it will only set me back in that process. What to do? What to do?

 

These are the many issue I face while on vacation. My zombie mommy brain is delirious.





Two Months With Baby Joaquin

My little baby is a whole two months old this week. I can't believe it's already two months, but I can't believe it's only been two months. Know what I mean? Joaquin is growing so fast and when I say fast, I mean chubby. We have his two month check up this week so we'll see how many pounds he's packed on. I'm guessing he's around 13-15 pounds. He's a chunkers and I just love his jiggly legs that look like they have rubber bands all up and down them and his chubby cheeks that I can't stop kissing. He's eating a whopping 4 oz of breast milk or formula each feeding and any less he screams like...well, a baby.

 

Another fav of mine is hearing him coo and ahh throughout the day. Sometimes I'll even get a loud ahh like he's trying to establish his roar as a human being. Primetime for chats and smiles is morning time and it really takes the edge off of my zombie-mommy state. He is a better conversationalist than a lot of people I've encountered and I can just googoo and gaagaa with him all day! It literally melts my heart every time.

And the question on every one's mind, how is baby boy sleeping? I feel so blessed that he is slowly but surely sleeping longer stretches of time during the nights. Since Week 2, we tried establishing a bedtime routine. I knew he wouldn't follow it just yet, but I wanted to create it early on so that all three of us could get used to some kind of bedtime routine.

His Bedtime Routine: We feed him his dinner anywhere from 7:00-9:00 pm depending on when he's hungry. On some nights, we will give him a warm bath and a lotion/baby oil massage. Most of the time he digs his baths but there are certainly those times where he screams his head off, particularly when it's time to rinse his hair. Then, I swaddle him tightly and rock him to sleep in the rocking chair while Hubby reads a bedtime story. We put on the sound machine (Joaquin enjoys the "crashing waves" channel) and he'll either fall right to sleep or he'll wiggle like a worm for about a minute and then fall asleep. He'll wake up around 1:00 or 2:00 am to eat, fall right to sleep and wake up again at around 4:00 or 5:00 am to eat again and try to chat it up, then fall asleep. I don't give in to playing with him at that hour because one, I'm half asleep, and two, I don't want him to think it's play time. He'll sleep again until about 7:00 am and that's when our day officially begins. He's a good napper as well, which has allowed me to nap, clean, or blog during the day. I'm one lucky momma! ::knock on wood::

As for me, the first month was definitely trying and was filled with hormone imbalances, c-section recovery, the lack of sleep, and my battle with breastfeeding. I felt so guilty that I wasn't "loving it" like people expected me to....like I expected to. My mommy friends reassured me that what I  was feeling was normal. The Baby Blues came and went.

But I'm so excited to report that most of that has passed and I truly, wholeheartedly love it. I love my little baby boy to pieces and I just love being a mother. Sure, there is still the lack of sleep (oh, how I miss sleep!), the hormone imbalances (sorry, Hubby), and my battle with breastfeeding pumping, but when I see my little Joaquin smile at me, my heart just melts to the floor. The good moments with my son outweigh the bad. I don't even mind poopy diapers...that has to say something!

As for my body, I am amazed at how resilient it truly is. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still have a few stretch marks, a very ugly c-section scar, and flab in some places I've never had before, but for the most part I am back to normal. My pre-pregnancy weight was about 130 lbs and while I was pregnant, I ate everything in sight and swelled so much from the summer heat that I gained 50+ lbs putting me at about 180 lbs. Right now, I am down to 145 lbs thanks to breastfeeding, my mother's genes, and not having much of an appetite. I've taken a few walks and plan to start some strength training soon. I don't care about losing all the weight, but I want to be fit and strong.

Before. During. After

     

Overall, things are amazing. My son is amazing. My husband is amazing. My dog is amazing. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.