How old is Asher now?
He turned 6 months old last week.
How big is Asher?
At our 6-month doctor's appointment last week, he weighed in at just over 16 lbs and was just over 26 inches long. He is still the 25 percentile for weight, but it's okay because he continues to grow and maintain that 25 percentile. I guess he really is going to be a skinny boy (this is not surprising considering Greg's size).
Is Asher still colicky?
Thankfully, no. Somewhere between 3 and 4 months of age, the colic really started to disappear on its own. It keeps getting better and better every week, although he still is, what I call, a "sensitive" baby.
Does he sleep through the night?
Thankfully, yes! His first time doing this was at 3 months old, and every week from there he just kept doing it more and more. He has slept through the night every night now for probably close to two months. It's great!
Are you still breastfeeding?
We sure are! It's going wonderful and it's something we plan on continuing to do atleast until Asher is a year old.
How is Asher making out with eating solids?
He LOVES to eat his baby food! I have been busy making it at home (it's so easy) and so far he has had rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes. We've been waiting about 3 days in between introducing new foods, that way in case he has a reaction to something, we can pinpoint what it was. We'll probably be adding barley cereal, avocado and carrots next.
He turned 6 months old last week.
How big is Asher?
At our 6-month doctor's appointment last week, he weighed in at just over 16 lbs and was just over 26 inches long. He is still the 25 percentile for weight, but it's okay because he continues to grow and maintain that 25 percentile. I guess he really is going to be a skinny boy (this is not surprising considering Greg's size).
Is Asher still colicky?
Thankfully, no. Somewhere between 3 and 4 months of age, the colic really started to disappear on its own. It keeps getting better and better every week, although he still is, what I call, a "sensitive" baby.
Does he sleep through the night?
Thankfully, yes! His first time doing this was at 3 months old, and every week from there he just kept doing it more and more. He has slept through the night every night now for probably close to two months. It's great!
Are you still breastfeeding?
We sure are! It's going wonderful and it's something we plan on continuing to do atleast until Asher is a year old.
How is Asher making out with eating solids?
He LOVES to eat his baby food! I have been busy making it at home (it's so easy) and so far he has had rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes. We've been waiting about 3 days in between introducing new foods, that way in case he has a reaction to something, we can pinpoint what it was. We'll probably be adding barley cereal, avocado and carrots next.
Will Asher be a vegetarian too?
This question is getting increasingly popular these days. Of course I want Asher to make that decision for himself, when he is old enough to understand and make an informed choice. For now, Asher will follow the diet we have in our home, which is meat-free. I'm not going to have a canary if Asher eats meat every once in a while when we are out somewhere else for supper, just like Greg does, but I'm not going to go out of my way to make sure that happens either. I've done quite a bit of reading on the subject and talked with my doctor and a dietitian, and it seems that Asher does not need to eat meat, as long as he is getting sufficient protein from other sources (just like the rest of us).
Does Asher have any teeth yet?
No he does not. Although I think every day that one must be coming with the amount of drooling and chewing on toys he does, but there's no sign of any in there.
How are swimming lessons going?
Awesome! He loves it! Asher is really into splashing in the pool these days, which is pretty fun to watch. At this weeks swimming lesson I finally dunked Asher all the way under the water. Twice. Although I had been working up to this for weeks, I was quite nervous to do it, but he made out totally fine. He didn't even cry.
What are all the classes you're doing with Asher?
Well, we are quite busy, but we're having fun! We've obviously been doing swimming lessons at the Y for a few months now. We did a 3-week baby massage class, which Asher LOVED (who wouldn't, really?). We are almost done our 10-week Mother Goose class, which is the nursery rhyme and song class. It was offered free through a local program, and unfortunately we are only eligible to take it once during Asher's first year. Bummer. We like this class a lot. We are taking an 8-week Kindermusik class, which is focused on brain development, music and movement. Also, we are a part of a weekly mom and baby walking club. There's so much out there to do with babies, and it's fun to see all the stuff Asher is learning.
What is Asher's favorite toy and favorite thing to do?
He is really happy to be out and about because he's pretty curious right now. He loves checking out people, especially other babies (read: he stares, a lot). He is really enjoying his exercauser toy, his small wooden blocks, and he loves it when we play music and sing songs.
How is Greg adjusting to being a dad?
Greg loves Asher to pieces. He is the first thing Greg wants to see when he comes in the door after work, and if we're not right in the kitchen or living room, he comes looking for us. Greg still says Monday's are the hardest day to go to work because he's been with Asher all weekend. Also, Greg continues to be the only one who gives Asher his bath... it's their thing.
I think that's all the normal questions we get asked on a weekly basis. Anything else you're wondering that I didn't answer?
4 comments:
Hey, thanks for sharing. It was quite informative...now what are we going to talk about?! :o)
But, now you won't have to answer the same questions over and over. You are a very smart girl.
I have a question: Do you/did you pump? Or have you been up all hours of the night breastfeeding?
Deb - Still lots to talk about, huh? Like you said, now we just have the boring kid stuff out of the way! :)
Nikki - my breastpump and I are intimate regularly! We started out with a "just ok" pump, but managed to get a killer one. SO WORTH THE INVESTMENT! I found with the "just ok" one, it took so long to pump, that it almost wasn't even worth it. We have the Medela Pumpin' Style double electric pump and it's GREAT.
So to answer your question, I do pump regularly and Asher takes the bottles of breastmilk just fine (his first one was when he was about 5 weeks old). But, I did get up at night to nurse him, and here's why. Through all our readings and learnings we found out...
a) since breastfeeding works as a supply and demand system, it's very important, especially during the first few months when you're developing your milk supply, to have those night nursings. It's a hormone thing... if you don't demand the milk at night, your prolactin levels drop and you make less milk during the day. This was true for us because once Asher started sleeping through the night, and we weren't having that night nurse, my milk supply went down and I had to start taking supplements. That's not to say that occasionally we didn't do it... Asher did sleep over at my moms a few times now and I didn't get up to pump at night, but I wouldn't do that regularly.
b) also since it's a supply and demand thing, you can't just say "hey I think I'll pump a bottle tonight before bed for my child to have in the middle of the night and my spouse will give it to him/her"... I can't just produce a bottle of milk at a time when Asher wouldn't normally demand it... the milk wouldn't be there. Know what I mean?
c) the composition of milk actually changes at different times of day, and the milk you make in the middle of the night has more fat in it, which helps the baby to stay full longer and sleep longer. Whereas the milk you make in the morning has more lactose and is meant to quickly fill the baby after a good sleep. So if you gave the baby a bottle of milk in the middle of the night that you pumped during the day, there is also the chance that the baby wouldn't sleep as well (a risk I did not want to take!)
d) I actually found that my body adjusted to getting up at night. The hardest thing I found was when Asher would sometimes sleep through the night and sometimes get up for a nurse... the inconsistency just really threw me off and I would be more tired during the day. If I just regularly got up at night to nurse him, my body adjusted and compensated for that, and I felt good during the day.
I think that was a long enough answer huh? I love talking about this stuff... thanks for asking! And also, this was just our experience... what we learned and read and what worked for us. So not to say that it couldn't work, but this was our experience.
man I'm hiring you as a lactation consultant when/if the time comes!
You sure know your stuff Mandi!
Thanks for the update. It was fun reading the answers. I'm enjoying Asher's alertness and curiosity. The starring is funny in a creepy kind of way. ha ha ha
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