Paxton Owen {8 Months}

It's official. Pax has been elevated to big boy status. He no longer looks like the little baby that came home from the hospital.  He looks like a little boy.  I find it rather difficult to believe that he will be a year old in just four short months.  In the meantime, I'll cherish every single second before we reach that milestone.  Be still my heart.

EATING

Pax man is still breastfeeding, although he is seemingly become slightly disengaged.  He eats well in the morning, but then the feedings are getting shorter and shorter throughout the day.  I'm assuming it's the real food that's making him decrease his milk consumption, but we'll keep chugging along.  This little guy loves to eat real food. Any real food.  I think he's had everything imaginable now and I typically don't hesitate before giving him anything.  He gums everything down before he swallows, so he can usually eat what everyone else is eating.  He loves to chase after Cade and his beloved "nack" cup.  Cade is not the best sharer, but we're definitely working on that :)

SLEEPING

I'm extremely hesitant to post this because I know once it's in words, all will change.  This little guy has finally started sleeping through the night again.  He was at a point where he was waking up once at night, but that has been eliminated. I think he's finally figured out how to self soothe, phew.  He typically will go down around 8 and sleep until about 5 or 6.  He'll get up and eat, then go back down for a couple of hours.  His naps have gotten better during the day and he seems to be consistently taking 2 solid naps and a cat nap in the evening.  I think putting him on a little schedule has helped his sleeping habits tremendously!

ACTIVITY

Pax is constantly on the move.  Whether it's chasing the dogs, mini vac or his big brother, this boy has places to go and things to do.  He crawls like a champ and I'm afraid that walking will come soon (I totally won't be sad if he doesn't walk until he's a year).  He loves all of his toys and his big brother's toys.  It won't be long before they're both playing together and building towers out of their blocks.  He still enjoys time in his jumparoo, although it is short-lived lately.  Pictures with him are becoming harder and harder too because he finds it really annoying to have to sit still while mama tries to take a million pictures ;)

Happy eight months sweet boy!

Really, more pictures??

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Y'all.  Hope everyone up north is unthawing and finally seeing a glimpse of spring.  The weather has been quite perfect down here (not to rub it in or anything). We have been enjoying lots of warm temperatures, plenty of sunshine and many trips to the park.  

We spent last weekend dying our Easter eggs because this mama had to work Easter weekend.  I figured a toddler + dying eggs at 6:30 at night would turn into a total shit show, hence the reason for doing them early.  Cade didn't quite get the hang of dying Easter eggs.  He was attempting to throw his eggs in the cups and fish them out with his hands.  Good thing we prepped the floor with newspaper and him with his art smock ;)

The boys both slept until 7 this morning, so they got up and came downstairs. The Easter bunny "hid" Cade's basket, but didn't do a great job because he found it right away :)  He enjoyed going through his basket and Pax's basket.  He envisioned that everything was his and nothing was for Pax.  We're still working on this sharing thing!  I only put a little candy in his basket, but of course there were M&Ms and that seems to be our favorite word right now. The little stinker wakes up and goes to bed asking for "m m m m m m." We had a yummy breakfast, then mama headed into work for the day, BOO!  But I still got to spend plenty of time with them when I got home.

Paxton Owen {7 Months}

It's so hard to believe that this little nugget is 7 months already.  I better start planning his first birthday because I'm sure that's going to be here before we know it!  This little guy is growing by the day and getting to be such a big boy.  I wish so badly that time would just go a little slower, but with two in tow, it seems to be going at lightening speed!

EATING
Pax is still eating like a champ.  He has a complete obsession with food and has been eating so much.  His favorites are carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas and yogurt.  He now eats cheerios and pretzels (which we happened to wander upon on the floor, big brother drops a lot).  At first, it scared the shit out of me because I was terrified that he was going to choke, but he gums them like a champ and gets them down, so I figured what the heck!  He does have his two bottom teeth now, so they help a little to get things broken down.  He nurses typically every 3 to 4 hours and still loves him some boob.  Pumping is still going great.  I've seen no dips in supply which has been great.  I still have a freezer full of breast milk which will keep us going for a while even after he's done breastfeeding.

SLEEPING
I just recently purchase some essential oils for Young Living (I'll write another post on that someday!).  I was desperate for some sleep without a baby in my bed, so I gave these a try.  I put an oil called Peace  & Calming + Lavender on his feet and behind his ears and it helps to relax him.  Low and behold we are sleeping in his own crib now.  He was still getting up a couple of times during the night, but we'll take baby steps.  I recently started him on some Zantac (obviously I don't recommend anyone doing this without talking to their pediatrician first!!) because I've been fairly certain that he has a lot of reflux issues even though the pediatrician was thinking it was more mild and had us trying Maalox for a while.  He has been sleeping, napping and taking his bottles/boob better now that he's on that.  He even calms himself to sleep when he wakes up, which he has NEVER done.  Last night he slept from around 9 until 5am which was AMAZING!!  Let's hope that the trend continues and it was the reflux that was bothering him and now he's able to finally feel a little better :)  I think the combo of the Zantac and the oils will be our life saver!

ACTIVITY
This boy is on the move constantly.  He crawls around these floors so fast it's hard to keep up with him.  He loves his new found freedom (and being able to keep up with his big brother).  He has started to pull up on anything he can now, and I'm sure he'll be walking sooner rather than later.  He enjoys playing with anything that Cade is playing with, which is proving to be a challenge because Cade is not the best sharer.  The words "No Pa" come out of that child's mouth quite frequently.  He loves his little picture books and anything that can fit into his mouth!

Happy seven months sweet boy!

Paxton Owen {6 Months}

So I've been waiting to do this post until the little guy had his checkup so we could have some updated stats on our fast growing little man :)  We took both of the boys for their appointments today (Cade's two year and Pax's six month).  They were both the most well behaved little boys, it was definitely one of my prouder moments :P  Cade didn't shed a single tear and loved the doctor and the nurse.  Pax was great until the poor guy got stuck with 3 needles, but can you blame him for being mad?!  But back to the update, here's the latest on the Ultimate Warrior.

Height: 26.5" // 34th percentile

Weight: 17lbs // 34th percentile

Head: 17" // 38th percentile

EATING
Still eating like a champ.  We are still nursing roughly every 3 to 4 hours with bottles while I'm gone.  He's a very efficient eater and gets the job done within 20 minutes, phew!  Pumping is still great, typically getting about 13 ounces while I'm at work.  I've also been able to cut back to every 4 hours, which makes things much easier!  Solids have been going better than anticipated!  He loves his oatmeal and we have started to add blueberries and bananas to the mix.  He gets that in the morning and seemingly cannot get enough of it!  We sometimes do food at lunch, but it's typically at night when he gets his next "meal."  So far he's had avocados, green beans, carrots, and apples.  I leave everything in the whole form (minus the apples which I peeled and cut into wedges).  I then just cook everything down until it's very soft and give it to the little guy that way.  He gets some into his mouth, but usually needs some help as his coordination still needs to improve.

SLEEPING
UGH.  We have had a total and major sleep regression.  I guess sleeping through the night was short lived for this little one.  I think we may have some separation anxiety going on as he will only sleep snuggle right next to me in the bed.  I absolutely do not want him in the bed, but when I'm completely exhausted from having them in the morning, then working until 10, sometimes there are no options :/  We have tried what seems like every trick in the book with little success.  Sometimes he wakes up and wants to eat, sometimes he wants to cuddle, but he is typically up every 2 hours throughout the night.  I've tried moving him to his crib, which was another unsuccessful story.  I'm trying again tonight, but I've blown up an air mattress and plan on sleeping next to him hoping this might help with the "separation" portion.  I also ordered some essential oils, so I'm excited to get those and give those a try to see if they will help!  Any other suggestions are GREATLY appreciated :P

ACTIVITY
Pax is officially a crawler.  He is up on hands and knees and moving around like he owns the place.  I think this makes him much happier because he can get places faster rather than doing the army scoot (which we sometimes still revert to).  He's already showing interest on pulling up on things, so I'm sure that's right around the corner.  He loves to play with all the toys everywhere and wants to watch his brother ALL the time!  I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we are fighting over all the toys.  He enjoys being read to and loves to eat his books!

Happy six months sweet boy!