Seven Months

Lawson, you are SEVEN months old (one week late, mommy is a slacker when it's a week before the STAAR test, ha!)! Holy moly, where has the time gone?



What you are up to:

• You are right at 17 pounds
• You wear a size 2 diaper, 3 at night
• You wear 6-9 months clothes. Some of them are still a little big. The other day you crawled right out of your jeans, ha!
• You are CRAWLING!!! YIKES!
• You smile all the time. You are such a happy boy.
• You are a GREAT eater. You still take four bottles a day and three meals a day. You will try anything and you love all different flavors. You even eat puffs, yogurt melts, and baby cookies now. Occasionally you get a treat like grilled veggies or a whole banana. :)
• You FINALLY outgrew your dairy intolerance. WOOHOO!! We switched your formula and we don't have to worry about dairy free now. We still don't want you to have too much cow's dairy, and we will continue to bake for you with almond milk, but we don't have to watch everything you eat like a hawk anymore. :) :) :)
• You are a great sleeper, and are on a schedule with naps now and at night time. You love your sleep!
• You talk a LOT now! You mostly say sounds, but you do say "Dada." Sometimes you are just saying the "da" sound over and over, but sometimes you actually mean it! Mommy is LOVING that you know that word so that she can use it to her advantage: "Lawson, who do you want to change your diaper?" "Dada!!" LOVE IT! :)
  

Some pictures, in a random order:

You fell asleep playing, ha! Wore yourself out!

Funny face!

Sophie the Giraffe, she's your new BFF. You won't let anyone take her from you and you must take her to Honey's every day. **side note added after originally posting: I was reading back through and I noticed that Sophie is hiding not too far from you in nearly every picture except your eating ones. Cracks me up, haha!!!

Playing with your sister. Dakota is such a great big sister to you!

My happy man!

Eating a baby cookie.

Eating grilled squash, zucchini, and sweet potato.

Just playin'

Proof that you're not always happy. You had dropped your bottle (see it in between his legs). This mean momma took a picture before giving it back. ;-)

Some videos of my sweet man.

This is him crawling right at seven months. A week later, he is already a pro! He uses his hands and arms now instead of his belly. I will have to post another video later of that. :)


We can't believe how big you are getting! Mommy is already planning your first birthday party, which makes me want to cry! Slow down little man!

Graduation Day!

Lawson graduated from his DOC band on 3-14-12. Truthfully, he didn't wear it much the last week because there was a mix up at the clinic we use for his 7 week appointment (their fault), and we didn't get to have an adjustment. I knew his exit was coming up, and we were happy with is head shape, so we didn't make him wear it. Well, I didn't. Practical Chris reminded me daily that we had paid for the band and he should wear it. I'm really not sure it would have made much of a difference...

Now for the results! First, let me say, we are so so so grateful to Cranial Technologies and Lawson's therapist Cindy for all of their work with us. We were skeptical about the band at first, but looking at the results we couldn't be happier with our decision. We know it was the right one and Lawson will benefit from this is the long run. If you or anyone you know ever finds yourself with a little one with Plagiocephaly, I would HIGHLY recommend Cranial Technologies and the DOC band. We looked at the Star Band as well (Star Cranial), and we felt that the overall results weren't going to be as good as with DOC band. We had to pay more since insurance doesn't cover the DOC band (it does cover STAR), but we knew that going in. Obviously we'll never know for sure, but we feel like we made the right decision!

The photos below show Lawson's progress. The photos on the left are from 12-21 (3 weeks before being fit for the band), and on the right are from 3-14 (Exit appointment after 8 weeks of wear).

Not much difference from the front or back. The others show more. I just think his little face is precious, ha! :)

These probably show the most- look at how his head isn't flat or "coned" anymore! He had a huge slope on the front of his head and it flattened out in back (that's the Plagiocephaly part). The band didn't push the growth back in (that's impossible for a head bone), but it forced more growth in the other areas (front and back) that made his head look more proportioned. :) I think these photos show that he looks MUCH different and has a better overall head shape.


This one also shows quite a bit. The bottom set are supposed to show facial asymmetry, but he never had much of that, so they aren't very telling. The top set of photos show the actual reason that we even decided to get the band. The flat spot in the back right of his head (Brachiocephaly) really bothered us. It made his head look "out of round" and just funny, lol! I am so so so pleased with the difference the band has made! Just so you can see how AWESOME the difference is, I edited the photos below for you... :)
The front looks kind of funny because my selection tool wasn't on high sensitivity, so ignore that. The important part is the back! You can clearly see the misshape of his head before the band and how the band has made that virtually disappear!

Overall, the band was great for us! It never bothered Lawson (in fact, when we would take it off for bathtime and cleaning, he would shake his head and reach for it like he missed it, ha!). He got the band at 4 months 2 weeks and got it off at 6 months 1 week. He only had to wear it for 8 weeks. For the results he received in just 8 weeks, we are thrilled! We are so glad we chose to do it earlier so that he wouldn't have to wear it for long and he won't remember it. I know I keep saying how happy we are, but really, that's how happy we are with the results, ha!

Thanks Cranial Technologies! We will miss our weekly appointments with Miss Cindy! :)

ONE HALF!!!

Happy One Half Birthday Lawson!

I CANNOT believe you are six whole months old! It seems like just yesterday Daddy put you in my arms for the first time in the hospital.

Here is what you are up to at SIX months:

• You weigh 15 pounds, 7 ounces, which is in the 13th percentile.
• You are 26 3/4 inches tall, which is in the 62nd percentile.
• Your head circumference is 16 1/4 inches, which is in the 3rd percentile. Oh my small headed little boy. I'm so glad you aren't fatter, or you might look un-proportioned with your tiny head ha!
• Weight for height, you are in the SECOND percentile. Your doctor isn't concerned. You've lost a little weight, but you have gotten more mobile too. She says you have fat in all the right places, just not much of it. You eat well too, so we aren't worried. :)
• You have one tooth, and at least one other on it's way up. I can see it below your gum. You have been teething on your hands like CRAZY this week, so hopefully it comes up soon. :) I can't get a picture of it because you won't open your mouth with the camera out, ha!
  
• You wear a size 2 diaper during the day, and a size 3 at night to keep you dry.
  
• You wear some 3-6 months still, but I am going to pack most of that up over Spring Break and get out your 6-9 month clothes. YAY for new clothes! :)
• You are a GREAT sleeper FINALLY!!! After your pediatrician increased your Prevacid dosage again, you are a different baby, especially when it comes to sleep! You go to bed at night around 6:30 or 7, and wake up around 6 or 7 in the morning. Occasionally you'll have a night wake up, but go right back to sleep with your paci. You really LOVE your bed and start fussing for it when you get tired.
  
• You are a great eater, and are on a good schedule. You have four six ounce bottles a day about 4 hours apart. You eat 1-2 ounces of solids in between each bottle. Today you started drinking water from a sippy cup. You are a pro. :) So far you have tried rice cereal, peas, squash, zucchini, banana, apple, pear, sweet potato, avocado, oatmeal, carrots, and green beans. You hate rice, and don't care for peas or green beans. You still eat them though because we mix them in your sweet potato or carrots, ha! You are trying broccoli this month! You aren't great at eating finger foods because you gag. We will stick with purees and try again later. :)
• You are SO.CLOSE. to crawling! You started rocking on your hands and knees and inching towards what you want. I think you'll be crawling by 7 months for sure.
• You haven't really wanted to snuggle since 3 months or so because you are always so busy, but you have been letting me snuggle you for naps lately and this momma is LOVING it! You are so sweet!
• You are such a happy boy and so BUSY! You are all smiles but we can't ever catch one on camera because you are too curious. As soon as the camera or phone comes out, you stop smiling and start concentrating on how you can grab it and get it in your mouth!
• Your pediatrician was SO impressed with your social skills and overall development today. She thinks you will be very smart. Handsome too (even though I am a little biased!).
• You love bath time. It's pretty much your favorite time of day. Actually, any time you can be naked is your favorite time of day, ha!
  

Random pictures from the last month:

Watching Baby Einstein. You like the animals.

Just playing. Busy body!

You were reading a book about your Daddy while waiting on the doctor today, ha!

You hold your own bottle!

You are growing SO FAST! Slow down sweet boy!

This is an outtake from your six month pictures that just CRACKED me up! So expressive, hahahah!!

Happy SIX months sweet boy! We can't believe you are halfway to ONE. Time is flying, and we are cherishing every moment with you. We love watching you grow up, but I wish you would stay little forever! You are our joy, and we couldn't imagine life without you!

P. S. - Lawson is out of his DOC band! A post about that is coming soon! We are going to the zoo tomorrow with all of the cousins, so I hope to do a post about that as well. :)

Lately...

It's time for a new post! Life is so busy with a mobile baby who doesn't sleep as much as he used to, so I rarely have time for blogging. :)

Here is some of what's been going on with us...

Lawson had to go back to the pediatrician the first week of February because he stopped sleeping AGAIN. We suspected it was his reflux, but wanted to rule out anything else like an ear infection. Perfectly healthy- except the reflux! The pediatrician increased his dosage of Prevacid, and he has seemed much better since. He still has rough days, but overall he is a happy baby and we are looking forward to when he grows out of this reflux (between 6-9 months of age).


Our sweet friends Ashley and Luke welcomed baby Lane into the world on February 13th. He is precious and we can't wait for the boys to grow up together! Holding tiny Lane made me miss Lawson as a tiny baby, but I am loving this stage so much! He is so fun and so interactive, and I'm trying to cherish every minute with him so that I don't miss anything!

Lawson's first Valentines Day!!

Lawson had his DOC band check up (they are weekly) on February 15th, and his therapist said he is AT LEAST HALFWAY DONE! That means only 2-4 more weeks! His head is looking awesome so far! We are very pleased with the progress. I will definitely be doing a post with final results after we get the photos.

No one really tells you this when you become a mother, but one of the BEST parts of motherhood is watching Chris and Lawson interact. It makes my heart want to burst seeing them play together and seeing how much they love each other. Here is a sweet picture of the two of them. Lawson was in his own bed perfectly fine, and I was getting ready for bed and when I came out of the bathroom, this is what I saw. Melt. My. Heart. Chris hadn't gotten to see him that day because of school, so he got him out and loved him for a bit!

Lawson sits on his own!!!

Lawson is doing great with solids now. He has tried peas, rice cereal (HATED both), banana (LOVED), apples, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, pears, oatmeal, and avocado. He likes everything except the peas and cereal. He spit them both out, like ALL the way out, until there wasn't a morsel left in his mouth, ha! He is a great eater though and has gotten the hang of it quickly! He eats three meals a day now, and that has really helped with a schedule.

Here he is eating a "nana."

Here he is "helping" Mommy take pictures with the phone!

Dakota is still as sassy as ever, and loves helping with her baby brother. She only doesn't want him around when he stinks, haha!

My mom made a playroom for the kids at their house, so Dakota is loving spending time over there, and of course she loves hanging out with the "boys" at her other grandparents' house too playing bounce houses and racing cars! :)

Lawson is a rolling machine, and he "scoots" everywhere now! He definitely can't be trusted to stay in one spot. :) He doesn't really look close to crawling, and that's totally ok with his daddy and I. We aren't ready for that I don't think!

Oh, and on a side note...can anyone believe that my baby boy will be SIX months old in a few weeks. I don't think I'm ready to have a baby closer to one year old than to birth! YIKES!

FIVE months old!

Lawson, you are FIVE months old!

Here is what you are up to:

• You wear a size 2 diaper
• You wear 3-6 months (or 6 months) in most things, but 9 months in sleepers. You are TALL like Daddy.
• You are about 15 pounds and 26 inches long.
• You can roll over front to back and back to front and you are a tummy sleeper now. That really makes me nervous, but you do sleep better that way!
• You started eating food last week! You hate peas, and you REALLY hate brown rice cereal. You like squash and apples, and LOVE bananas. Other foods you will try this month are sweet potato, zucchini, and avocado.
• You are so happy now during the days and smile at everyone. You also like to people watch and take everything in. You are so curious.
• EVERYTHING you touch goes into your mouth.
• You can put your own paci in. Daddy and I watch you playing with your paci on the monitor at night, and you laugh at us if we take it from you and grab it back.
• You go to sleep so well now! You don't want to be held or rocked to sleep (sad). We put you in your crib and turn your soother on and you watch the fish and play with your feet for a few minutes then you roll to your tummy and go to sleep.
• You give us kisses now. You grab our faces and shove your mouth on us. It's really sweet (and really slobbery)!
  
• You are hilarious! Your facial expressions crack us up!

Here are some photos from this month:

Standing on your own!

With your friend Dawson. He's 3 months older than you.

With your girlfriend, Abby, at daycare. Too cute!

Eating for the first time. You thought it was SUPER fun!

You LOVE baths!

Playing with Daddy's phone. Our phones are your favorite toy.

Eating your feet! Silly man!

Early morning playtime and smiles. :)

Cups, your other favorite toy.

The first time you rolled on your tummy to sleep. This was at day care.

Sleeping on your side in your crib.

Happy FIVE months sweet boy! You are so sweet and we love you more each day. We can't believe that in just a few weeks you will be half a year old! Time flies!