Monday, April 25, 2011

Weight Check

I wasn't able to update before the weekend, but I just wanted to post that Eli GAINED weight! Hooray!
I went to the doctor on Tuesday and Eli gained back the 5 oz he lost, plus 5 more! So he now weighs 16 pounds and 14 ounces (25%). He is 28 inches long (50%). The doctor attributed it to the fact that he is so active, which makes sense. I just hope he continues to thrive and grow.

Monday, April 18, 2011

A Second Tooth and an Eli Update

So the day after we discovered Eli's first tooth, we discovered a second one breaking through. It was a miserable day for poor Eli (and me!). He was sooo whiny and wanted to be held at all times! You could just tell he was uncomfortable. He had a slight fever and couldn't sleep! Thankfully that only lasted a day and now he has two bottom teeth to show for it!


I still can't believe Eli is 7 months old!


He is REALLY coming into his own lately! His personality is starting to shine through! He is just the happiest little boy and will give ANYONE a smile; The cashier at Walmart, the little kids sitting behind us at church, his puppy..... He is constantly giggling too! It is the sweetest sound! We hardly ever have to work for it, sometimes all it takes is a look!


He is also more active than ever! He can crawl like a champ, although he still has his moments where he falls on his face (after which he gets right back up and moving). He is starting to pull up on everything; the dog, his toys, my legs, his crib railings and bumper. Today he even pulled up on the couch, which we thought was too tall for him to get a good grip on! The funniest thing is when he gets upset and starts crying, then crawls towards me crying the whole way!


He is still eating more than his weight in baby food! For such a little guy he can sure pound back the food! He can eat up to 26 ounces of food in one day! It is ridiculous! Anything that we are putting in our mouths he wants to try... so we let him! I'm sure people think we are a little crazy for offering our 7 month old whipped cream, salsa, pieces of chicken tenders, and LOTS more, but that's okay! It's fun to see him explore his world and I think food is just one more part of it!


A fun new milestone that Eli hit this past weekend was waving! It was so funny in church on Sunday. He was standing and holding on to the back of the pew smiling at the kids behind him, then they started waving and he started waving back!! It was adorable! Then of course everyone busted out in giggles!


Tomorrow we go in for some of Eli's vaccines and a weight check! I'm praying he has gained weight and that their are no more concerns regarding this!
Then on Thursday we are leaving for Harding for Spring Sing! I'm so excited to see my friends!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Cousin Love

This past weekend we visited Daniel's family for Owen's birthday party! It was so much fun seeing all of the cousins together! They just love each other so much; it is obvious in all of their interactions! It just warms my heart to see how Reese and Owen are so protective and loving towards Eli, while Eli stares at them and watches their every movement all day long!

It is going to be so much fun watching these three grow up together, plus Baby Sherwood who is due in July and any other babies who are added to the mix. But something just tells me that these boys will always have a special bond.






Eli's Fluffy Butt

Our cloth diapers came in the mail on Friday afternoon and we used them all weekend. We were actually at Daniel's parents house this past weekend, but that didn't stop me (actually, Eli) from breaking them in! We have actually only used about 2 or 3 disposable diapers since Friday! On the first day that we used them Eli pooped in EVERY SINGLE ONE! Even his overnight diaper, which he never does!!! At least now I know that they work well, right?! Haha!

We have six cloth diapers right now. Five of them are Kawaii's and one of them is a BumGenius One Size. I'm really loving all of them. I bought some with velcro and some with snaps just so I could get a feel for both. I think I actually like the velcro better! My ONLY complaint is that they make his booty look ten times bigger than it is, but I think that it's kinda cute!

At this point I am washing diapers every night, which SOUNDS like a pain but really it's not. Washing cloth diapers isn't the same as washing normal laundry for some reason. I am planning on getting eight more on Friday, so that will put me at washing every 2-3 days which will be perfect.

I really recommend cloth diapers to anyone who is interested! I never thought that they would be for me, but I love them! Plus, they are so much better for the environment!

Here are some pictures of Eli in his cloth:



Two new milestones!

My baby boy is growing up!

He has officially transitioned from scooting to crawling. It is crazy how fast a baby can grow and develop! On Friday Eli was rocking and scooting, not even able to pick up his hands while in the crawling position. On Saturday morning he shocked me and Daniel by picking up only his right hand very sporadically. By Saturday night he could pick up each hand, but wasn't moving forward. Finally on Sunday afternoon he moved forward by moving both his knees and hands. I was so proud of him for figuring it out! Here is a link to the video I made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD39MS16FZs

He now can crawl around the living room and get to all of his toys.... he can also get to the TV and entertainment center. He still hasn't figured out that he can leave the room and explore around the house! Haha!
Today he was on the floor playing and then he got cranky. He started whining, but I didn't go pick him up right away. He was getting mad so he crawled to me from across the room, crying the whole way and then started slapping my leg! I'm just loving this stage!

Here are some pictures of my little mobile man:





On Monday, I discovered that Eli had hit another new milestone. I was taking a sip of water from my glass and Eli was in my lap. He was reaching for my glass because he always has to get his curious hands all over whatever I have, especially cups I am drinking from. I handed him the glass and he grabbed it with two hands then put his mouth on in to "take a sip". As soon as he put his mouth to the glass what do I hear.... "clink, clink".

Yep.
We have a tooth!

The only obvious symptoms were a little runny nose and the fact that he drools excessively, but he has done that for MONTHS!
His tooth is on the bottom left and it is SHARP! It is also clear, not white, and it hasn't made it's way all the way out yet. Anyway, there we have it. A tooth. It's a bummer he couldn't hold out just a few more months!!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Deciding to Cloth Diaper

Last weekend I went to Atlanta to meet up with some of my online mommy friends who all have babies born (or due) in September. Eli and I had such an amazing time!
It was fun to see Eli interact with the other 6 month olds. The majority of the time these interactions consisted of grabbing each others heads/hands/feet/shoes/etc and sticking these various parts in their mouths!
We were quite the group; receiving enough stares to last a lifetime. I think there were about 12 moms and 12 babies, plus other older kiddos. We trekked to the zoo, the mall, IHOP, and even church.

The great thing about being surrounded with fellow moms of 6 month olds was that we all learned so much from each other. We NEVER ran out of things to talk about: sleeping habits, eating habits, pooping habits. Plus all of the other non-baby topics :)
I've definitely made some life long friends and so did Eli!

One thing that I was able to learn more about while in Atlanta was cloth diapering. I had always been interested in cloth diapering, but didn't know how to test the waters out before diving in. I researched online before Eli was born, but there was just SO much information that I got lost and gave up. A couple of my mom friends taught me about it and showed me that it isn't as confusing as it seems!
So now I've decided to cloth diaper using pocket diapers to start (Kawaii diapers). I ordered the first of my stash the other night and am just waiting for them to arrive! I am so excited to being my adventure in cloth!