fancy footwork

sweet boy

the latest trick

Rhys surprised us in speech today when he grabbed the spoon and started gnawing on it.

He is back on his eating hiatus, so he doesn't want to eat with it, but wasn't have any trouble chewing on it. I keep telling myself he won't go to kindergarten like this. Right? His coordination is still developing and he gives up easily when he can't get the desired object into his mouth. The fingers are a sure thing so it is much easier for him to go for his hands and drop whatever it is he is holding.

During PT yesterday we discussed the fact that Rhys seems to have a little trouble getting things "organized". He can do elements of whatever it is he is supposed to but still hasn't put everything together yet. One of these days!

Today I am: 11 months, 1 week and 2 days old.
Adjusted I am: 7 months, 2 weeks and 3 days old.

watch out puppy dog

If only I'd have been able to capture the look on Rhys's face when Rollie jumped up on the couch beside him. Priceless!

He has been eyeing her for weeks when she walks near him, but hasn't really come in close contact. Until today. Rollie is a smart little dog and knows that Rhys can't do much, therefore she has zero interest in him because he's no fun! I think today is the first of many, in which Rollie will learn to stay far, far away from Rhys's grasp.


Rollie doesn't jump on the couch much since Rhys came home. But today she did. She hopped up and proceeded to present me and Rhys her backside. That is full of hair. Did I mention that Rollie is a Sheltie? With a full coat of hair? That is perfect for a little boy who prefers to grab and eat Mom's hair, his cannula and his hands more than his toys?

Rollie now knows! (Look very closely and you can see a few of Rollie's hairs that came out when Rhys didn't want Rollie to jump down.)

high chair

We're trying something new. We hadn't yet purchased a regular high chair because I wasn't sure if we were even going to use one. I have always liked the booster type approach that puts the kids at the table, but hey I have first-hand experience with things changing on the fly.

Anyway, I found this online and thought it looked promising. It has all the "features" of a full sized high chair but is much more compact and versatile. It is supposed to attach to a normal table chair, but we are using it on the floor for the time being. Rhys seems to love it! He hates the Bumbo/tray, and the bouncy is in more of a recline position, but this allows him to sit (supported since my boy is a little lax) in an upright position. He is sitting in it now, after eating, just chattering away while watching TV and playing with his toys on the tray. I'm thinking maybe I should probably reserve this as "eating only" so not to allow Rhys to confuse the chair with play time since we already have issues with him wanting the spoon.

Today I am: 11 months and 4 days old.
Adjusted I am: 7 months, 1 weeks and 5 days old.

glasses

I really like my glasses.

I really like to take them off...

and play with them...




and eat them!

Rhys at 11 months

Weighs 17 pounds and is between 26/27 inches long (depending on whose measurements you believe). His last nutritionist visit indicated he had moved up the growth chart for his adjusted age to the 10-25th percentile for weight and height!

Has enough hair to spike in the front, but also has enough hair in the back to look suspiciously like the beginnings of a mullet.

Has TWO hard-earned bottom front teeth.

Started eating solids like a big boy over the last few days. Way to go little man!

Is beginning to open his mouth for a straw or cup, but doesn’t know what the heck it is for or what to do with it.

Can almost push up with straightened arms while lying on his tummy.

Is trying really hard to roll himself over from back to tummy. I think he’s just looking for the right motivation to want to roll over, though he does attempt to roll out of the bouncy chair and bath tub seat.

Is in desperate need of his daily naps to keep from getting fussy.

Eyes Rollie when she happens by.

Sleeps fairly well through the night, though usually not uninterrupted, depending on how well he ate during the day.

Isn’t too jazzed about riding in the car, but the upgraded “big boy” car seat seems to be preferable to the infant carrier seat.

Is satting high 80s/low 90s and still needs his O2. Though, he is becoming a monster when you put it on him. The cannula is out of his nose every time you look at him.

Is grabbing for lots of stuff, but still doesn’t hold onto things for very long. He’d much rather you hold it for him.

Enjoys his bath and loves being naked!

Has zero desire to sit on his own. He is capable of balancing for short periods of time, but as soon as he realizes what he’s doing he leans back to “rest”. Ahem, lazy! However, he will support himself while sitting in your lap, or try to sit up while in his bouncy chair.

Has begun turning around to look at you while sitting face forward in your lap. I guess he wants to take a look at who is back there!

Would probably be content to be held and loved on and never put down. At this point he is not even picky at who does the holding or loving.

Is one nosey little fella, who loves attention, but is content not to be the center of it all.

Smiles like a madman and chews his top lip.

Loves to stand and bounce!

Babbles all the time and responds when being talked to.

Adjusted I am: 7 months, 1 week and 1 day old.

something exciting (at least for me)

Yes, this is Rhys sitting in a booth at a public restaurant.

No, he didn't touch anything.

Yes, I thoroughly disinfected every surface he could possibly touch before I removed him from his carrier. I even covered the table with a blanket for whatever good that would do.

No, Rhys did not go the entire time without fussing. He was tired and needed a shoulder to lie his head on before he'd go to sleep.

Yes, that is a straw in his mouth and it is full of Mom's blackberry tea. That is the "something exciting" from my perspective - he liked the straw and loved the tea!

No, we were not by ourselves. It is difficult to do much of anything by yourself when you're constantly worried about "contaminated" surfaces. Especially when you have a needy boy such as mine.

Yes, it appears that I am making the same face I am trying to get Rhys to make.

No, Rhys is not wearing his cannula.

Yes, he still needs it but he is becoming increasingly violent in his attempts to avoid wearing it, so he went without it for most of the two days he was feeling so yucky when his teeth came in.

picture worth a thousand words

If any illustration could accurately capture Rhys's mood the last few days, this would be it. In a word... BLAH! My poor boy had one heck of a time getting that first tooth to break the surface. He is feeling much better today and is mostly back to acting like himself.

Family resemblance anyone? When Rhys first started smiling I swore he looked just like my brother's baby pictures. I still think they look a lot alike. But I also think Rhys looks like me, my grandpa, Cody, and several others. It's funny how you see similarities to so many people in your offspring.

teeth and other stuff

In the past 48 hours Rhys and I have slept very little. Not by my choice, trust me. He had a low grade temp yesterday morning and it continued through the remainder of the day. I got concerned thinking maybe he had a bug of some sort since this has never happened before, so I called the pedi and brought him. I am forever paranoid of not being aware of something that is important to catch early.

Since his ears, throat, and lungs looked/sounded great the pedi thinks this is teething related. It seems there is a bit of tooth poking through his gums! I'd say "finally", except that I'm fairly certain I could have lived the whole of my life without ever experiencing this continual restless, not sleeping, yucky diaper making experience. Holy moly. For Rhys having only (literally) slept a couple hours in the last 36 he is behaving remarkably well. It has been horrible watching him be so tired and being unable to sleep. Holding, rocking, walking, soothing - nothing worked. He wants so badly to go to bed, yet when he closes his eyes he continually tosses and can not get comfortable. It has been somewhat better this afternoon and he taken two small naps. The fever seems to be less as well and he is acting a bit more himself.

He is still tearing up his bottles and demanding to eat every 3-4 hours, sucking it dry every time. The pedi said this is fine and let him eat if he wants to. This is a new experience for us since Rhys has never wanted to eat like this. He weighed 17 pounds 1 ounce with a onesie and clean diaper yesterday and is almost 27 inches long! Any attempt to put his cannula in his nose results in him becoming violently angry so he went most of the day without it. He was satting high 80s, which isn't fantastic but I have to choose my battles. He is wearing the cannula again right now, but I know his little nose is raw so I hate making him wear it.

maybe I should just leave him like this

Meet our little Buddha. Lately I have been thinking it is perhaps best that Rhys spend the day just so. I truly don't think he'd mind because he loves being naked.

If you're thinking to yourself this "draped" furniture look is a recurring theme in many of our pictures, you're spot on. In our home we have Rhys approved sitting zones. We also drape his bouncy and swing to prevent us from having to wash the covers daily. It is much easier to snatch up the blanket or towel and wash it instead. Why would we need to wash things so often? Well, I am glad you asked...

Rhys has been eating great lately. Between him sucking properly and this being an "on" time for him wanting to eat he is draining nearly every bottle in record time. On the other hand, Rhys has been throwing up. A lot. So much so that he requires multiple clothes changes and baths a day and mom gets to wash the extra loads of soiled clothes, blankets, covers and toys. It has been going on long enough that I called the pedi. The pedi says it's normal at his age and no cause for alarm as long as Rhys doesn't seem bothered. Nope, none of that here, in fact he thinks it's funny! I believe it is a combination of him accidentally gagging himself while sucking on his fingers, him coughing from the increased saliva from teething (which triggers his magnificent gag reflex), and him eating more quickly and more volume.

The only thing that makes me scratch my head is that when he throws up it is typically several hours after he eats. At that point I'd think he would have completely digested the contents of his stomach. He is still on Prevacid and isn't demonstrating classic reflux symptoms. While I'm glad the doctor thinks it is nothing to be concerned about, it is seemingly random not to mention stinky and messy. I'm scared to take him anywhere for fear he will throw up either in my car or in public. It is that bad. Ick.

The good news is that he does not appear to any worse for wear. In fact I'd say he looks down right roly poly, wouldn't you? Though he might be on the peanut end of the growth chart he sure is a healthy looking little guy. He is shaped just like his daddy. From the very long torso, super low waist and short legs, we might have another Michael Phelps on our hands. (Mom is secretly thinking please let there be! Haha.) Many of his 3-6 month tops are now too short. His 3-6 month shorts fit his muffin top belly, but mostly hit his ankles. It's kinda cute. He is able to fit in a few 6-12 month tops, even if they are a little wide.


Today I am: 10 months, 3 weeks and 2 days old.
Adjusted I am: 7 months old.

me an' my daddy

The two men in my life. Aren't they a handsome pair?

In case you were wondering where little man gets his dimples, it wasn't from my gene pool.

I also tried to get a few of just Rhys but our little pocket-sized camera, while great, isn't quite as fast as our really nice camera. So, I ended up with this for my efforts.

And this.




Before giving up after these.

We have missed three weeks of PT due to Rhys and his teething issues. He has good days and bad, and somehow his day for PT always starts out less than ideal. I am still working with him as much as he will allow and though he still isn't rolling over all the way, or sitting, I can definitely tell a difference in his mobility, both in his ability and his interest (which so far seems to be what is hindering him most).

He is still sucking properly, which is the craziest thing. It is like someone turned a switch. We aren't using as much Simply Thick in his bottles, barely any at all, though we still add cereal. Rhys cares nothing for the spoon still, but to be honest I haven't been trying a whole heck of a lot. Any time I eat I always try to give him whatever I have (obviously I would not let him try to eat a burger) and always put the straw or cup up to his lips to see if he's interested. Yesterday he actually opened his mouth for the straw so I put a little water in his mouth.

As far as the oxygen, we still have it, though I'd say it's actually doing its job only half the time. Rhys is beginning to scream and throw a fit when you put the cannula in his nose, which is slightly embarrassing when you're in public. During the night Rhys pulls off the cannula while we're sleeping so I'd say he probably wears it maybe 35% at night and 80% of the day. Yes, he still needs it, but there is only so much a person can do with baby Rhys's age. He is satting low 90s pretty consistently on his own, sometimes dipping into the high 80s for a few seconds and coming back up on his own. He should be satting 95 or better to come off the O2 completely, so we're not quite there. He is still gaining weight, never turns blue and doesn't have difficulty breathing so I am not too concerned about it. I even "captured" a fit on his pulseox this afternoon and was thrilled to see that without O2 through the whole red-faced, barely breathing, non-sissy fit he stayed in the high 80s.

Today I am: 10 months & 3 weeks old.
Adjusted I am: 6 months, 4 weeks and 1 day old.