11 months

I better get this 11 month post up before Asa turns ONE next week!!!!

Stats:  Asa is 20lbs, 3oz

Likes:  He likes reading books, toys that make noise, getting into all of the cabinets, and trying to climb the steps.  Asa can be a little tornado!  He was in my closet for just a minute and cleared all of the clothes off on one of the shelves.  He also love to pull every book off of his shelf!

Dislikes:  He is starting to have quite an opinion.  If he doesn’t like something, he will let you know.  Not a fan of green beans or sitting still for any length of time.

Eating:  He nurses 3 times a day and eats 3 meals and one snack.

Sleeping: Asa sleeps 11 – 12 hours a night (about 7pm – 6am).  He takes a morning nap at home and an afternoon nap at daycare.  He has been waking randomly in the middle of the night here lately.

Milestones: He walks about half of the time.  He puts his hands up for touch down and plays peek a boo.  Asa got his first haircut on Oct 2.

10 months

Stats:  Asa is 19lbs, 8oz.  He gained over a pound in a month!

Likes:  He likes daycare now that he knows that we come back to get him every day.  He loves to watch the washing machine.

Dislikes:  Baseball just started and Asa does not like the cheering.

Eating:  Asa is still nursing 4 times a day and eats 3 meals.  His lunches at daycare make me laugh…..pizza, corndogs, fish sticks.  No wonder he gained a pound in a month!

Sleeping: Asa sleeps 11 – 12 hours a night (about 7pm – 6am).  He takes a morning nap at home and an afternoon nap at daycare. 

Milestones: He had his first ear infection.  We are on the second antibiotic for it.  Asa has 4 teeth on top and 3 on the bottom.  He stands, blows kisses, waves, and took a step on Saturday (10 months, 1 week).

Nine months

Stats:  Asa is 18.5 lbs (25th percentile) and 27 1/4 inches (10th percentile).  He’s in 6 – 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

Likes:  He just learned to clap so he does it quite often.  He crawls all over the place and loves to try to climb the steps!

Dislikes:  Daycare 😦  Asa started daycare at the end of July and he’s not a fan.  He cries at drop off and doesn’t take a nap there so he’s pretty grouchy in the evenings.  He also despises stage 3 baby food.

Eating:  Asa is down to 4 nursings a day (about every 4 hours).  He takes one feeding through a bottle daycare with no issue.  He has started eating real food for most meals.  He still prefers being fed over feeding himself.

Sleeping: Asa sleeps 11 – 12 hours a night (about 7pm – 6am).  He takes a morning nap at home.  I’m hoping that we can start getting him to take an afternoon nap at daycare but that hasn’t happened yet. 

Milestones: He says dada all. the. time!  I’m really sick of taking about dada.  We heard him saying dada on the baby monitor this morning, when Tim walked into Asa’s room he was sitting up and started clapping.  Way to follow directions Dada!  Asa has 5 teeth and is still cruising furniture.  He joined Janie and Nolan for their first day of school pictures.

8 months

Asa is 8 months old!

Stats:  Not sure what he weighs but he’s definitely getting bigger!  Asa is wearing size 3 diapers and 6 – 9 month clothes.

Likes:  This baby was born to be on the go.  We went to Orlando over the 4th of July weekend and he was amazing.  Not only is he good in the car but he sleeps wherever.  We stuck the crib in the closet in the hotel so he couldn’t see us and he was great.  He loved the hotel pool and loves to sit on the edge of his seat in the stroller and look around.

Dislikes:  I really can’t think of anything that he doesn’t like other than coming home from vacation.

Eating:  Asa is down to 4 nursings a day (about every 4 hours).  He eats baby food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Sleeping:  He is down to two naps a day one morning nap (about 8:30 – 10:30) and an afternoon nap (about 12:30 – 2:30).  Then he goes down for the night around 7pm and sleeps through the night to about 6:30am.

Milestones: Asa has started to army crawl, pull up, stand on his own, and babble a ton in the last month.  Also, his top two teeth broke through so he now has 4 teeth.

Seven months

I have a 7 month old!

Stats:  Asa got a virus last week so I know his weight this month.  He was 15lbs, 14oz.  He is still wearing mainly 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

Likes:  Asa loves food!  He wants to eat everything so we have to really watch him around food.  He has been know to shove it all in.  He hasn’t really hit the stranger stuff yet but he does prefer me to anyone else.

Dislikes:  He was not a fan of the pool the first time that he went.  However, it was still pretty cold.  The sitter tried it again last week and he was a fan.  There is really not much this boy doesn’t like.

Eating:  Same as last month….nursing every 3-4 hours during the day (a total of 5 times) and I’ve been giving him solids for breakfast and dinner.  I tried Baby-Led Weaning in the beginning but he was shoving everything in his mouth so we went to purees.  I’ve been making them myself, other than the prunes that I bought last week because he needed them.

Sleeping:  Still sleeping from 7-7:30pm to 6-6:30am and napping after being awake for about 2 hours.  Some days that’s 2 naps and some days it’s 3.  Now that the kids are home for the summer, he doesn’t nap as long.  It’s hard to sleep with all that racket!

Milestones: Asa’s two top teeth are right under his gums.  I expect them to poke through any day now.  He peed on the potty yesterday.  The Baby Whispered recommends putting them on the potty as soon as they are sitting up.  We just do it before bath or after eating.  It’s hit or miss at this point but it does work to introduce them to the potty so it’s not a scary thing.  I did it with the other two and they were potty trained shorty last turning 2.

6 months

 

Stats:  Asa is 14lbs, 14oz and 23.75inches.  He made the charts at 8th percentile!  He is still wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

Likes:  He has started eating.  We’ve tried bananas, avocado, chicken, broccoli, carrots, eggs, and toast.  He seems to like chicken and toast because they are easier for him to hold onto.  We also tried peanut butter after our doctor appointment last week.  He really enjoys toast with a little peanut butter for breakfast!  Asa also likes sitting up and playing with toys and walks around the neighborhood.

Dislikes:  He is not a fan of being hungry or tired.  That’s really the only time he cries these days.  I can’t say I blame him!

Eating:  Nursing every 3-4 hours during the day (a total of 5 times) and I’ve been giving him solids for breakfast and dinner.

Sleeping:  Asa finally sleeps through the night!!!  One of the moms at baseball told me about The Sleep Sense Program.  I looked it up and took the quiz.  Asa’s only issue was sleeping through the night, he was good with the other stuff so I thought I could figure it out on my own.  Well, after a few more days of waking around the clock to nurse him, I gave in and bought the program.  Best $50 I ever spent!  It’s nothing new but she packages it up and give you exactly what you need to be successful at getting your baby to sleep through the night.  The first night was rough but luckily, he woke up while I was still awake so I held my ground.  He has slept through the night since then…..from about 7-7:30pm – 6-6:30am!   He just needed me to show him that he didn’t need a snack in the middle of the night.  Asa naps after being awake for about 2 hours.  This usually makes for 3 naps a day for about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Milestones: Lots of them……sleeping through the night, sitting up, getting up on all fours, and two bottom teeth!  It’s like he grew up over night!

Five months

This boy is 5 months old!

Stats:  We were at the doctor for Janie on Friday so I asked if we could weigh Asa.  He was 13lbs, 10oz with clothes on.  He feels like a chunk to me but I guess not.  He has lost his chicken legs but we can’t call him thunder thighs just yet.

Likes:  He likes his putting things in his mouth, especially his fingers.  He starting to play with toys now and loves when people talk to him.

Dislikes:  He still startles very easily so he is not a fan of loud noises and people.  He is not much into the pacifier anymore.  He really only takes it when he’s tired.

Eating:  Nursing every 3 hours during the day and most nights.  The Baby Whisperer says to move to a 4 hour schedule at 4 months but I didn’t since he doesn’t sleep through the night.  I don’t know if moving to a 4 hour schedule would get him used to lasting longer.  I don’t even know if he would make it that long.  I’m open to advice or suggestions.

Sleeping:  Asa does great with going to sleep, its staying asleep at night that’s the problem.  He’s been waking every 2 – 3 hours all night.  I try not to nurse him every time but sometimes I have to because he is so mad.  He is a good napper and takes three one – two hour naps a day.

Milestones: He is very close to sitting up.  He rolls to him tummy for sleeping most nights (I think this may be one of the sleep issues because he can’t roll back over).  I think he may also be teething.  He drools non stop and chews on his fingers (this too could be a contributing factor to the sleep issues).

Overall, Asa is a very happy baby!  He loves to laugh and is pretty easy going most of the time.

4 months

Stats: Asa is 11lbs, 14oz and 23 1/8 inches.  He’s not on the chart for length or weight but his head is 30%…..big brains.  Still in 0-3 month clothes but he’s getting too long for some of the sleepers.  We are finishing up the last pack of size 1 diapers.

Likes: Asa loves standing.  He just started putting weight on his legs and he’s so proud of himself.

Dislikes:  Baseball games.  Nolan’s season just started and Asa is not a fan.  He startles so easily and does not like all the yelling that goes on.  This could be a long season!

Eating: Still nursing every 3 hours during the day.  We tend to cluster feed in the evening.  He goes 3 – 5 hours at night.  Although there was a day last week that he nursed every 2 hours at night…..ugh!

Sleeping:  After the night of waking every 2 hours, I decided it was time to make a change.  He was getting pretty long for the bassinet so we moved him to his crib.  He woke twice the first night.  The second night, he ate at 10:30pm and then made it to 4am!  I thought we were onto something but no such luck.  He woke twice again the past 2 nights.  Oh well, he’s still pretty tiny so I guess I will feed the boy!  He does pretty good in the nap department and is much easier to put down these days.

Milestones: Asa rolled from back to tummy at 16 weeks.  He doesn’t do it regularly yet though.  He’s also picking up toys now.  He loves to babble, especially when you babble back.  Everything goes into his mouth, even bunny ears!

 

Wilderness at the Smokies Review

The kids had a winter break from school so we decided to take a little road trip.  I planned this back in December and I guess in my head it seemed far off.  As I was packing Asa’s stuff, I wondered if I was crazy taking a 3 month old to a water park.  Luckily, he was a dream!  Except for the afternoon that Tim walked all the way back to the room with a screaming baby only to find that he forgot his room key.

Sadly, I was unimpressed with Wilderness at the Smokies.  I will break this review up because some parts were good but some were just bad!

Room – B

The room was nice.  We got the bunk room at the River Lodge that connects to the indoor Water Dome.  The kids enjoyed the bunk bed.  There was a little wall between their bunk and our bed so we each had a TV.

Water Dome – C

We have been to Great Wolf Lodge so I am comparing the two parks.  There were not as many slides as Great Wolf.  It also wasn’t as clean.  There was no one checking wrist bands or swim diapers as you walk in and they ran out of towels.  I will say that the lifeguards are on it.  I saw a life guard jump in the wave pool after a little girl whose life vest came up over her head.  My husband enjoyed the Storm Chaser.  The kids enjoyed the other two slides and the wave pool.  No one would try the Surf Rider!

Food – F

They advertise “Kids Eat Free” for the two onsite buffets.  We went to the Thirsty Miner on the first night.  It was after the water park so it was later than we usually eat.  The hostess was not very friendly.  The kids and I walked over to the buffet and it was horrible.  Everything looked like it had been sitting out for hours and many of the items were empty or very close to it.  I walked back to the table to have Tim take a look.  At $20 per adult, I would expect more even if kids do eat free.  He agreed that there was not much that looked appetizing.  We went to the front desk to see what our other options were.  She told us about their “fast food” option (sounded good since it was after 7pm by this time).  We walked down there and paid $40 for fast food and waited 30 minutes for it to come out.

Activities – B

They have some fun stuff onsite that you pay extra for.  They offer a one day pass or a whole stay pass.  Since we were only there for one whole day, we just did the one day pass.  It included a little ride, the rock climbing wall, a ropes course, miniature golf, a laser maze, and bowling.  It didn’t include laser tag but we didn’t spend the extra for that.

Hospitality – C

The staff wasn’t very friendly.  We got a call from the “concierge” our first night and he asked how the room was.  When I said the room was good but we were not happy with the food, he said that he could help with that.  We were invited to a catered lunch by Wyndham the next day for $10 per person and “it’s not hotel food.”  No thanks!

If you are looking for an indoor water park, I recommend Great Wolf Lodge over Wilderness at the Smokies.

We didn’t eat at the hotel for the rest of the trip.  We made a trip into Pigeon Forge one day and had lunch at Paula Dean’s.  Wow!  It’s family style dining and it was wonderful!  The kids thought it was super fancy.

The good news is that we survived our first vacation as a family of 5!

Asa at 3 months

Three months is the best age.  I feel like we have hit our stride and Asa is so much fun now!

Stats: I think he weighs around 11 pounds.  We haven’t been to the doctor in a month, that is a feat in itself!  He is wearing 0-3 month clothes and has started to grow into some of the 3-6 stuff.  He’s in size 1 diapers.

Likes: Asa loves his mama!  Probably because I provide his meals but he also thinks I’m pretty funny.  He laughs when you tickle his neck.  He loves when his siblings talk to him.

Dislikes: Tim is convinced that he is one of Asa’s dislikes but I think it’s just that he’s not the mama.  He is back to not loving his car seat or he may just not like running his older siblings all over town for their various activities and school projects.

Eating: Still nursing every 3 hours during the day.  He’s been doing one 4 hour stretch at night.

Sleeping: Asa goes to bed around 8pm, dream feed at about 10:30, wakes around 3 to eat, and up at 6am.  He goes down for a nap after being up for about an hour and a half during the day.  Morning naps seem to be longer than afternoon naps.  I would say he takes about 3 naps a day anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours.