The truth is, I was in the middle of writing his 5 month post which was days after his surgery and the thought of all that he had been through was too much for me. I had to stop writing and thinking about it. I felt so overwhelmed by life and all the changes we had been through. I spent a few months just surviving and struggling.
That's why my blog had been so quiet.
Then one month went to the next and it was hard to catch up. So here I am now on month 8 with 4 months to do!!!
Stats:
Right now he is in the 97th percentile for hieght at 31inches. He is in the 60th percentile for weight at 19lbs. He is wearing 9-12 month clothing and size 3 diapers. His hair is light red/blonde. Some lights it looks really red and other times it looks blonde. He has bright blue eyes.
Sleeping:
He was probably my worst sleeper and until fairly recently was up EVERY TWO HOURS! Oh man it was so tough. We made a few important adjustments and he has been sleeping through the night for about a month. We moved his pack n play to the livig room downstairs where it is quiet at night. We have him a bedtime routine and started putting him down awake. We also let him cry for a few minutes before patting his back to help him learn to self soothe. It was tough and we had a few long nights but now we are all happier and well rested.
Milestones:
In the last few months he has gotten 8 teeth. Four on the bottom and four on the top! He learned to sit by himself. He is now crawling and pulling up to standing! He now babbles and interacts with the family instated of being in his own world. Lol. He can find and put his binky in. He is great at finding the tiniest piece of trash or toy on the floor and putting it in his mouth.
Food:
He was exclusively breastfed for 7 months. Then my body started slowing down on my supply. I could have done things to increase it but truthfully I was emotionally exhausted. I was just surviving. I also realized there has not been a month in the last five years when I have not been pregnant or nursing. Not one month IN FIVE YEARS. Wow. I think my body was telling me I needed a break. It was a really hard and emotional choice but I knew it was the right choice to stop nursing and to put him on formula. He did really great with it! Also around seven months we started adding solids. He was so proud of himself and loves to eat. He is still doing purées because he gags on solid chunks. He loves puffs and we just started introducing crackers which he loves!
Personality:
He was a very needy baby for a very long time. He wanted to be held constantly. He would cry a lot during the day. It was very frazzling. I am not sure what changed but in the last few weeks he has totally turned a corner. Actually now that I think about it crawling changed. Once he learned how to crawl he became a new baby. He is so happy and content now. He let's me put him down and explores and plays. He is now an easy and content baby. He goes to other people. It is easy to make him smile and laugh. He is really sweet.
Favorites:
He has one binky he prefers (green soothie), he loves his sleep sheep, Pierce, Crash and food. He has recently really bonded to Dan and this week has preferred him to me (say wha???). He loves being outside and going on walks. He likes his jumperoo.
Kidney:
We had a 6 week post check up the beginning of October with the pediatric urologist. He did a sonogram of his kidney and I am happy to report it looked normal!!! The doctor was really pleased and said he considers the surgery successful. We will see him in about 6 months to do a recheck and if all is well at that appointment (which we have no reason to believe it won't be) we won't have to see him again. *HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF*
Max is a fun and sweet baby. We love him to pieces and are thankful for his sweet little life. He has taught me so much about God and myself. The last few months have been so very hard but he is worth it. So very worth it.
