Weight: Estimating
18 lbs.
Hair: The bean gets more and more hair every day! He still has a bit of a
Mohawk going on, though!
Diapers: Huggies
Little Movers Size 3
Clothes:
Little man grew and grew over these past couple weeks! Parker can still fit
into some 9-month styles and a few 6-12-month pieces, but we are pretty much
rocking 12-month clothing now!
Health: Baby
boy officially has a tooth! It’s still coming in (bottom left), but we can see
it more and more when he babbles. Parker had the sniffles this month (boo!) but
nothing too bad.
Sleep: Parker
continues to be an awesome sleeper! For the most part, we start his bedtime
routine around 7:30pm (lotion, jams, Goodnight
Moon, and one last nursing) and he wakes up around 7:00am. While I was
battling mastitis, he started waking up again for nighttime feeds but that only
lasted a few days. Parker always does a morning nap (right after breakfast),
and one or two afternoon naps depending on our day.
Diet: On
his seven-month birthday, we let Parker try his first “finger food”, organic
puffs! He knew exactly what to do with them, but struggled a bit getting them
into his month. Over the next couple weeks, practicing with them really helped
his dexterity and pincer grasp. New foods this month were: butternut squash, delicata
squash, green beans, prunes, turkey, and peaches. We also tried beef (organic, grass
fed sirloin that I poached and ground up) but little man did not like it one
bit! It's the only food he won't gobble up! Recently, little man
has been all about feeding himself! He has mastered teething biscuits and does
a nice job with his puffs, and now tries to grab fistfuls of his purees which
he tries to cram into his mouth. For the most part, Parker does breakfast every
day with me (oatmeal and pureed fruit) and we all try to eat dinner together
(Parker works on puffs or teething biscuits while we eat and then usually Max
feeds him veggie purees and sometimes meat when we’re done).
Baby
Gear Love: Parker is loving his car walker! It took him a while, but he
totally has the hang of it now and will walk fast, fast, fast across the room!
New Experiences: Sitting in
shopping carts while mommy grocery shops, feeding himself, and sitting in
restaurant high chairs!
Likes: Feeding
himself puffs, “walking” in his toy car, looking at ceiling lights and fans,
riding on daddy’s shoulders, watching the fish tank, splashing while bathing in
the kitchen sink, playing while sitting up, going on walks, and being outside.
Firsts: Parker accompanied Mommy
and Daddy to The Melting Pot for the first time for mommy’s birthday dinner. He
was the best little man and stayed in his car seat in the booth with us while
we dined.
Social: Parker gives “kisses” to us! Sure, they consist of him opening his
mouth wide and lunging for our faces, but I’ll totally call them kisses! He has
also started communicating to us when he wants water. It’s fascinating! He went
from screaming when he wanted it, to reaching out for his sippy cup whenever he
wants a drink. We try to say and sign “drink” whenever he does this to help
give him the tools to request it via sign language someday! For the most part,
Parker is a super chill and mellow baby. I get comments all the time at yoga
and when we’re out and about that he’s very “good” and “go with the flow”.
Someone asked me if he gets it from me and I had to say “Hah! No, he’s calm and
mellow like daddy!”
Milestones: “Walking”
in his car walker and feeding himself! Parker is also showing a preference for
his left hand! We’ve noticed this for a few months, but we read that it’s very
rare for babies to have a dominant hand at such a young age, so we thought
perhaps it wasn’t really anything. Over the past few weeks, however, it’s
become very clear that Parker is operating as a lefty! We notice it the most at
mealtime. He is much more dexterous with his left hand, reaching for his spoon
with it, and being able to pick up puffs with his left index finger and thumb.
With his right hand, he still does the whole hand “rake” to pick items up. Even
if we present his snacks on his right side, he’ll reach over and grab them with
his left hand. We’ve even seen him grab a puff from his right hand with his
left hand so that he can feed it to himself. Time will tell if this preference
is permanent!
Dear Parker,
Happy first holiday season, baby boy! This month we had so
much fun celebrating your first Halloween with you! From our special Halloween
music class, to Trick-or-Treating for the first time, to shopping Target
dressed as Superman, we loved every festive second with you! Your daddy and I
still look at you in awe – we love you so much and get so excited to see you do
new things like making new noises or feeding yourself. Our favorite is to see
you “walk” in your car walker – you raise your hands above your head and waddle
so fast! I will need to have my running shoes ready for when you actually start
walking! You don’t seem to have much of an interest in crawling, but you still
like to shimmy and roll to get where you want to go. You love watching the fish
in our aquarium and you love being outside! Fall in the desert is so pleasant
so sometimes we wheel your high chair out to the patio for mealtime and it’s
such a hit with you! We sing songs and read books in bed every morning and it’s
one of my favorite times of the day. You are such a sweet and happy baby and
don’t mind being in your car seat, or grocery shopping with mom (you actually
get a kick out of this now that you ride in the cart and you always get tons of
attention from workers and customers). You are still our little bean, but my
how you have grown! It seemed like you got bigger overnight, fitting into your
9-month jams one weekend but not the next! We love you so much and are so
looking forward to celebrating your first Thanksgiving and your first
Christmas!
Love, Mamma and Dad
