6 Months

The 6 month post has been waylaid by G's tummy troubles. A week after Easter, we noticed that G was having some issues with bowel movements. As in, they weren't happening. I had read that it's pretty normal for little ones to go a few days between and decided not to worry about it. But it continues for about two weeks, and his 6 month birthday was coming up. We were so excited to start solid food with him, but I was worried because he often seemed in pain after eating, was throwing up about half of what he ate (even hours after eating) and was still having trouble going to the bathroom. When we called the nurse on his 6 month birthday, she recommended going to the ER. What happened with the doctor (and I use that term loosely) at CHOC's emergency department is another post in itself, but suffice it to say that despite having blood in his stool, since he looked happy at the time, we were sent home being told that the ultrasound showed an intussusception that wasn't treatable and it was probably a milk allergy, so I should cut out all dairy. We saw the pediatrician the next day who said the doctor was crazy and I could have dairy. What had happened with the ultrasound was that they found an intussusception (telescoping of the bowel that can cause blockage) but that it had cleared itself up as they watched. When pushed, we got a referral to a GI specialist, who has been fantastic. Not only did she believe us, but she listened to us and understood why we were concerned. She said it sounded like a recurring intussusception and ordered two tests to see if there was a lead point (something that the bowel was catching, causing the telescoping). This is kinda getting into 7 month territory, but G had the upper GI/small bowel test, where they feed him a barium bottle and then took x-rays to check for "structural anomalies," but it came back negative. This is good news, but also kinda bad because this means he needs the next test, which is a barium enema. That's scheduled for next week, and hopefully we will get some answers after that when we see the specialist again. For now, he's getting milk of magnesia every morning and pedialyte along with milk. He's eating much less than normal, and hearing him cry in pain and not being able to do anything about it is completely heartbreaking.
This has also resulted in a sleeping problem. Due to either pain or hunger (from not getting enough calories during the day) G has started waking up multiple times at night. We gave up the car seat, because it seemed to make him hurt more; maybe your bowels get all squished together when sitting asleep? He is now in the crib, but the constant waking is starting to wear on James and me. Although, it is pretty funny when you wake up to see him scootched all the way to the bottom corner of the crib, fall asleep and wake up again to see him turned 180 degrees around at the top of the crib. Still not sure how he did that. This has also led to a bit of co-sleeping. If he wakes around 4:30 (usually the 2nd or 3rd time, and he's already been fed), I pull him into bed with us, putting him on his back between me and James, moving the pillow far away, pushing the blankets off of me (brrrr) and not really sleeping, but dozing. This actually works like a charm and allows all 3 of us to get a bit more rest, even if I'm always at the edge of wakefulness.

G:
-is super interested in our food--grabbing our bottles, glasses, and forks. He tried o grab the communion bread from my hand, and even hooked the chalice at church
-can roll to get around, belly to back and back to belly
-can sit unassisted for 1+ minutes
-got his first two teeth at the beginning of April! Both bottom ones came in at once
-has started to grasp the idea of creeping along--he is able to move  little, but usually just kicks his legs and then gets frustrated when he doesn't move closer to the toy
-babbles and talks to us, usually just variations of "aah," but sometimes "ba" or "va"
-is standing up like crazy, even able to hold himself up on the coffee table for a bit
-can pick up pretty much anything
-is throwing things. Watching mommy and daddy pick up his toys 58 times in 5 minutes must be very amusing

Best Moments:
-Any time he falls asleep on me is a best moment. He really is a sweetheart
-James was holding him and Pippin brought G her toy. Usually she likes to tug on it, but as soon as he grabbed it, she let go and waited for him to "throw" it
-When he's getting sleepy for a nap, he will turn his head and burrow into my chest/armpit, which is pretty much the most adorable thing ever
-Running out of room in the freezer because I have so much milk in it. Seriously, we just plugged in the third fridge in the garage so I can store some milk there. As soon as he's eating solids, I'm going to wean off pumping (which btw, does anyone know how to wean when you're EPing?)
-Being back below my pre-pregnancy weight! Woot! Now, on to the pre San Diego weight...maybe I will keep pumping for another ten pounds lol
-His screeching laugh when he sees Daddy or the dogs or gets his diaper changed or is playing peekaboo
-The totally out of it look he has for the first 10 minutes or so after waking up
-Being able to calm him down just by singing to him

What a ham! 6 months, starting month 7!

5 Months

We've had a busy month! Doctor's appointments, "play dates" for Mommy, the house got tented, a surprise trip to see Grandma and Gaga, and  the Great Big Sea concert! The concert was so much fun!! They even put up the picture of me, James and G at the beach during "Good People!" It was fun to see ourselves on the screen, but it was an odd venue as it was a dinner show, which discouraged people standing/dancing (at least in the dinner section). G got the good health sign from the pediatrician, who told us that his not rolling over/sitting up/gross motor skills are more personality based and nothing to worry about, he would do it when he wanted to. We left the office after his shots and I turned to James and said "Did the doctor just call him lazy?" (I was kidding! But that's what it sounded like).

As for our trip up north--what an ordeal! But a fun one! We wanted to leave at 11 pm on Thursday night, so we would arrive before my dad left for work Friday morning. Well, that didn't really happen since we were so busy double-bagging food and removing the potted plants, G's mattress and the dog stuff from the house. Instead we left at 1 am. It was raining; a big winter storm had just blown in. When we got to Castaic, we found out the Grapevine was closed due to snow. Well, the alternate route was open, but it was snowing. And we got lost. And it was SNOWING. A LOT. I woke up a few times and freaked out--"James! Don't slow down! The snow will pile up and we'll get stuck and have to eat each other!" J:"Go back to sleep, honey." *rolls eyes*. It's California...it's not supposed to snow. Anyways, it was so heavy, we ended up going about 20 mph behind a big rig in order to safely stay on the road. It took us TWELVE hours to get up north. We did go to Mom's office and surprised her, especially since we'd just called (to find out where she was since she wasn't home) and then trooped over to the city to surprise my Dad, who didn't see us walk in so we yelled "Surprise!" at his back! They were both super excited and had had no idea we were coming! :D James is sneaky! We had dinner in the city, drove along the Embarcadero to see the bridge all lit up (very cool) and headed home. Mom and I got to go shopping the next day, Dad got sent home from work early to spend time with us and we got to have all of Sunday together too. James and I headed out around 2 on Monday and got home by 9, with many diaper change and feeding stops and hours of crying. G was up way past his bedtime since we went to a friend's birthday party after getting home. Despite not doing his routine, he was pretty good and had crashed hard by the time we got home around 11, not even waking up during the diaper change, pyjamas and swaddle. He even "slept in" until 8 am the next morning!

G:
-can roll from his tummy to his back easily. Tummy time is now nearly impossible
-sticks everything within reach into his mouth. This includes the diaper wipe container and even dirty diapers if you don't move them far away enough
-is very interested in our food. He's already tried grabbing my spoon and fork on two separate occasions
-pets the dogs. Well, only Moose sits still long enough to be pet
-stands pretty steadily for a few minutes at a time, holding onto your fingers
-has got quite a grip on him!
-can "hold" onto his bottle, although he doesn't understand how to tip it up
-sits up, holding himself with his arms. He still tips sideways pretty fast though
-"turns" the pages of his bedtime story
-loves being held up in the air
-loves being sung to, especially "shake my sillies out" with head-shaking motions
-knows Mommy and Daddy, and knows when they're not there (just ask Chris and Laura, who experienced him freaking out at bedtime because they weren't us!)
-knows his name!
-smiles with a face full of pure joy. I never want to forget his smiles

Best Moments:
-Sitting at night and reading "Goodnight Moon," and watching him turn the page, even when it takes him some time
-I know I'm supposed to put him down awake, but there have been a few times when he's fallen asleep on me, and then James comes in and we're both asleep in the glider
-Watching him trying to figure out how to roll back to tummy is amazing! He arches his back, turns his head, gets both arms on one side and tries to push with his feet. It's just astounding watching figure this stuff out
-Bouncing him on my knee and humming "William Tell Overture" and having him laugh at me after each phrase

5 months old, starting month 6!