saucer fun

The saucer is the best thing we have gotten for his development next to Baby Einstein videos, which are a show stopper for him, it freezes him in his tracks when he hears the intro!...I put him in the saucer with a video playing and he simultaneously gets both exercise and mental stimulation.
The saucer has activities and trinkets around the edges for him to grapple and play with, good for tactile development and dexterity. He sits in a support that lets him rest his feet on the bottom so he develops muscles for standing and crawling. The springs in the three base legs are very sturdy and allow him to bounce and jump(sort of) when he is really excited. I like the fact it has so many interactive gadgets all in one "containment device", since we really don't want him running off.
Now that he can stand with assistance, Thomas will stand on the outside to play with the gadgets while free to come and go when he opts to play with other toys for awhile. I like its versatility, sometimes he even crawls all over and underneath it, as in these photos.

They come from several of the usual manufacturers in a variety of colors for boys and girls. Themed ones are out there too, we opted for colors and music, of which this has plenty. Some can be spendy, but it all depends on what you want/need...we got ours as soon as we felt his back and legs could support him sufficiently-around 5-6 months. It was under 100 dolllars and so far has been more than worth it!

Sleep and babies

Thomas has had pretty regular sleep habits once we were done relocating. The first six weeks he did not sleep more than an hour or two. We had always heard don't let newborns sleep on their tummies, so we we didn't try it.

He wasn't taking to the bassinet we had, I think he was feeling confined/walled in. He was naturally very sensitive to noises so that was a factor as well. We weren't about to give him Benadryl, the famed fallback of harried moms nationwide(and won't to this day). He was too young for pablum(oatmeal/cereal) laced formula, which usually does the trick I have heard.

He slept better on the floor or couch, even when held, but hated the bassinet. Upon our relocation to Texas, the longest he had ever slept was on the plane trip(approx 6 hours). we were pretty harried by then, having taken care of him in shifts since both of us cannot sleep if he's up. Then about a day or so into our stay our sons godfather put him on his belly to sleep and he was out a good four hours.

Now no two babies are going to be alike, especially when it comes to sleep habits. Ours likes music and the ceiling fan, I have a friend whose daughter howled and howled, never slept except to either the vacuum cleaner or blasting 80's punk music.(which was awesome some of the time!)..Some are going to want quiet, others could sleep through a freight train passing by their window. Don't be afraid to try different things, now mine is usually good after a bottle and some rocking, but we are 11 months down the road and certain patterns have been set.

There are different methods out there, one of which is a series of techniques
called "The Baby Sleep Solution", where you are provided with 23 techniques to determine which one works best for your baby's sleep discomforts.

There are 18 Quick Techniques - many of which you could easily put into action today and which have the potential to solve your baby's sleep problem within days, often the very same night. Maybe one or two of the quick techniques are all you'll need to get your baby sleeping through the night. However, there are also 5 Major Techniques provided - where any one of them can be the solution to your baby's sleep problems.
This is an audio program you download as well as an accompanying transcript. There is also a money back guarantee and the ad is free to look at so got to Babysleep! if you are interested, desperate or just curious.

Memorial Day

As promised here is a few more pix. Thomas is learning and growing in leaps and bounds....sometime the last few days he has figured out that his legos are meant to go together, so when he his not hiding them under the bureau, he is fiddling with the different shapes to see how they fit. In the above photo he is interested a little more in his books as more than just something to gnaw on. These ones have a unique texture on each page and he is just now getting to notice it.

He is in the pool at least once a day, which is great since I grew up in and around water. He is very comfortable in the pool and doesn't mind a face full of water. The pool itself isn't chlorinated, rather it is regulated by salt water, which is great since I would occasionally get hives as a kid swimming in pools. The sun and glare have yet to be an issue, the big thing is not going out the hottest parts of the day.

My little man loves ceiling fans, so much he will talk to them sometimes. No matter how many times he has been in a certain room, he still gives everything a once over each time he goes in and the fan does not get overlooked...

Memorial Day Part II

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to my brother veterans who served so that all in this great country of ours may know freedom..

This day was special not only for its historical sense, but Thomas is 11 months old and we had a great family get together at the Grandparents, complete with sunshine, a swim in the pool, hamburgers and watermelon...Thomas had a great time and here are some pics to share

Getting ready for company requires cleanup, and Thomas likes to help, especially with the vacuum cleaner...

He really likes watermelon, and I found out I like it as well in this wretched TX heat.

We had lots of fun in the pool twice and played with toys in between...so baby was very pooped by the end of the day...

Character

Happy times abound for our little one, he is a really happy baby. We have been lucky in that he really doesn't fuss too much outside of sleepiness or hunger. This is good because he does get into trouble now that he crawls around and bumps his head occasionally.

Character is showing now, he is really getting a personality and likes to be in the middle of everything, in fact I think he feels it is an entitlement. Thomas can stand now and that means he is even closer to walking, which you will see in the video he can already do with some assistance. Valuable in the house are moving to higher locations or secure rooms as his ability to reach things grows. Don't kid yourself and think they don't notice things, Thomas gets into everything, and fabric runners (with framed photos on them)hanging over the edge of a bureau are every bit as enticing as a crumb underneath the dinner table that could be anything from a dead bug to an actual escapee from the dinner table.

He has flipped a bench, pulled off the VHS door on the TV, unpotted plants, pulled over pictures and trashcans, and consistently turns the vacuum over so he can play with the wheels(when it is on he likes to crawl alongside it). I like to let him run around the cleared(ones not gated off to him) rooms just to see what he thinks he needs to be getting into. It is interesting to see what he investigates. The vacuum has to be hidden because even though he likes the wheels spinning now, sooner or later he will find a way to get the dirt bag out and whoa what a mess that will be!

Here is an assisted walk..I love how he figure out how to turn the highchair around...the way he does it is how he pushes anything with wheels around when he doesn't feel like practicing walking

More Thomas pix

when not pushing his highchair around he likes to check if it has become edible or not....


Swiming in the pool takes its toll this time around....normally he loves it but it is probably the hat that inspired the pout, he likes those about as much a cat like a hat put on its head..

I like to look out the window alot, and I often chatter on about what i see, perhaps a video is in order....

Sorry for the time gap, there really is no excuse. Feedback helps. Thomas doing great; it is hard to believe he is closing on 1 year of life...doesn't seem that far off that we were still in Alaska and scurrying quietly around our very crowded one bedroom apartment trying to keep from waking our newborn bundle of joy... That being said here are a few throwback images of that time....

One of the earliest shots, he is a cooing bruised up mess. Thomas did not cry at all and was cooing and gurgling alot, very curious...It was very surreal and beyond description really; I was emotional, crying off and on, wiped out from the lack of sleep, and just looking in wonder both at what we had created and where life would go from here....The facial bruising is from his rough trip through the birth canal.

Was he ever this tiny?!..yes, but he didn't sleep nearly as much as these pix suggest..several shots the camera flash generated the closed eyes. It was 4 weeks before he napped more than an hour or so, once we let him sleep on his belly.

Where did my bottle go?!..it was here a second ago!

My has he changed, and the next few posts I will bring you up to date on things as we reach the one year mark, to include Mother's Day stuff and ongoing shenanigans now that he has wheels and owns the house( from the knees down)