The Half Year Mark

Six months has come and gone -- where does the time go? These days, at the ripe old age of six and a half months, Max is trying to get into everything! Just today, he practically crawled out of his bathtub and when Erik wouldn't let him do that, he took a nose dive into the water just so he could bite his ducky. Was he upset about water going up his nose and getting all wet? Absolutely not! He wanted to splash around some more. And so begins a dangerous trend with our little Max man. In fact, in addition to attempting to drown himself or hit his head on the tub while falling out of his baby bath, there are other things that are not good for his wellbeing that he absolutely loves to do --like fall asleep with something covering his entire face, play with anything that crinkles like helium balloons and plastic bags, and wake up at 5:30 am every morning and only have sleep deprived zombies (what Erik and I are before 6am) to watch over him.

(A few recent shots -- Max in his bday suit, sleeping with his lovey over his face, out at Viva Vienna with Mom and trying to steal Uncle Derek's lemonade later that day)

Aside from being a little dare devil who lives on the edge, he's right about average as far as height, weight and head circumference, coming in around the 75th percentile for height and HC and 65th percentile for weight. All I know is that this little guy is getting a bit heavy (over 18 lbs now!) and walking around holding him is starting to qualify as "working out" ;) In fact, I'm starting to integrate Max into my calisthenics every day in hopes to really tone and sculpt some nice Mom arms.

Nothing Gets Past Max

I know parents have told me for years about how cool it is to watch your kid discover all of their "firsts", but I always figured they were referring to things like walking and talking (big firsts)... now that I have my own baby, I realize it's so much more! The other night after Max finished his bedtime bottle and I had him up on my shoulder trying to pull out some burps I realized he was mesmerized with something and couldn't stop staring at it. His eyes were so intense and inquisitive one moment and then light and playful the next-- all because he could see the sunlight creeping through his blind and lighting up a section along the wall. Something that if I had seen it on my own I probably wouldn't have even thought of, or actually, I'd have though "ugh, these black out shades don't actually always black out the light!", made Max stop in his tracks. And so watching him take in that light dancing along the wall made me realize that EVERYTHING is a new discovery to him. His little baby brain and baby senses are working overtime to take it all in and understand what it is he is seeing. It is truly amazing that someone who only a few short months ago could barely keep his eyes open and had to be held with such care is now a little person, so observant and aware.

Some recent shots of Max out and about, observing and discovering new things.... ENJOY!

Moving Madness

If I don't talk to you on a regular basis, you might not be aware that in addition to having a baby and then going back to work after having said baby, we also decided "hey, this is a great time to pack up and move into a new house"! We must like being busy (all the time!) So, as you can see below, the past few weeks have been filled with house hunting, townhouse fixing uppering (yes, that is a word! watch me use it in my next words with friends game with you if you're lucky! ;)) and then finally, moving!

(Our little giggle box)

(Max helping Erik and Papa fix up the floors in the townhouse -- he's so handy already!)

(The Swensson gang outside of their new house!)

With all of that going on it's no wonder we have all been passing around a lovely cold (even Erik had it-- and he never gets sick!). While it's mostly an annoyance to Erik and I, it turned into ear infections for little baby Max and he's had two in the past two weeks :( As you can see in his 4-month picture, he was still feeling pretty lousy and wasn't in his usual-smiley mood.

(Ugh- I have an ear infection and am grumpy!)

(We re-did the 4 month photo shoot a few days later once Max's meds had kicked in and he felt better -- yay, smiling again!)

And so to close out this blog post, I'll end with the little man's 4 month stats. He's growing big and strong just like his Daddy :)

Height: 26 inches (75-90%)

Weight: 16 lb 6 oz (50-75%)

Head Circumference: 42 1/2 cm (75-90%)

(Max at his 4-month check up)

Too School for Cool

14 weeks, or 99 days to be exact, is what I got to spend with Max at home. I know it's nothing compared to being a stay at home Mom, but for me it was as much time as I could take off from work and I had to remind myself, it's much more than what most people get. So, whether it was more time than most or less than others, I was thankful for every minute I had. Of course, it went by too fast and just as Max and I were falling into a nice little routine at home, it was back to work for me and off to school for Max.

For those of you who spent time around us right when Max was born you know I was one of those Moms who was not afraid to hand him over for a few hours to a family sitter. I jumped at many opportunities to get out and run some errands, take a nap or grab a much needed shower, but as I got down to my last few weeks at home I got clingy. I no longer wanted to get out and about, but rather stay in and cuddle with my little man.

(Cuddle time with Mommy)

Alas, my return to work was upon us. By 8am I was dressed with make up on (hadn't done that so early for several months!) and had our bags and bottles packed. Erik and I both took Max to school that day to drop him off and spend some time in his classroom (yes, I know he's not really in school yet but I like the sound of it). We arrived at his school and he couldn't stop looking around because there was so much activity-- kids arriving for the day, some babies eating food in their high chairs, others crawling around and talking. Needless to say, all of the teachers were gaga for our little cutie and he warmed right up to them as well.

(Max with one of his teachers)

I have to admit it was a bitter sweet moment for me. As much as I knew I was going to miss Max and worry about how he was doing, I had also missed work. There I said it-- I missed work, what is wrong with me!? I missed seeing everyone, I missed hearing about what new clients we had signed and in general, just missed being in the know.... you know? Luckily, or not so luckily for me, worked seemed to have missed me just as much because my first day back was packed with meetings, emails and more meetings. Before I knew it the day had flown by and I was rushing to pack up my stuff to go get Max. When I walked in, he was all smiles. Cooing and smiling for his teachers and just as happy to see me (exactly what I needed after a long day at work) made me know we were going to be okay. In addition to his happy disposition at the time of pick up, turns out Max is just a happy kid and we have the "report card" to prove it...

(It's like getting an A)

And so, Mommy is back at work and Max is discovering a whole new world at "school".

Max explores the great outdoors

Someone should have reminded me that having a baby in November meant that my entire maternity leave would be spent indoors. Although I wouldn't change a thing about my little man and when I got him, it would have been nice to have been able to spend some time with him outside for strolls around the neighborhood. Luckily, two weeks before I head back to work Spring decided to send us a teaser and the temperatures got into the high 60's and even low 70's! I was so excited about the weather that I got Max all ready for a walk only to realize that Erik had the car with the snap 'n go stroller base in it. For those of you without little ones right now, that's the base that you put the baby car seat in to create an infant stroller. Don't worry, I didn't let that stop me! Although he's still a bit young for it, Max and I broke out his jogging stroller. I figured as long as we weren't going off-roading in it and if I supported his little head enough we'd be just fine for a quick walk in the neighborhood.

(Strapped in and ready to go)

(Definitely room to grow in this thing)

As you can tell from the excitement on Max's face, it was a great walk. But honestly, Max didn't giggle or smile during the ride but he didn't cry either. It was probably the first walk I have taken with him where he didn't fall asleep after the first five minutes. I think it was the stroller and how it sits him upright rather than reclining like in his car seat. Max just gazed around the whole time and took it all in. He has become noticeably more alert in just the past week or two and it's been such a blast watching him experience all of these new things. Even though he lounged in his chair for the walk it must have worn him out because he took a long nap when we got back. When he woke up, it was all smiles!

Never wake a sleeping Max

Most of our free time this month has been dedicated to sleep. No, not getting extra sleep necessarily but rather reading about sleep and how healthy sleep habits make a happier Max. He's still a bit too young for hard core sleep training (only 3 months old people!) but we're starting to see patterns develop and have used our research to help guide us into the comfortable schedule we have right now.

Max's typical sleep schedule now-a-days:

6:30 / 7:00 am -- Wake up time with lots of smiles!

8:30 / 9:00 am -- Time for our first nap (approximately 2-3 hours long)

1:00 pm ish -- A possible second nap (not as long, but around 1-2 hours long)

(the rest of the afternoon is less predictable with cat naps here and there)

6:30 pm -- By this time there are lots of yawns and eye rubs so we head upstairs to bed

7:00 pm -- By now we've finished our bedtime routine (reading and swaddling), feed and are in bed happily sleeping

2:00 am -- A quick change and feeding and back to bed

6:30 am / 7:00 am -- Time to start a new day!

It amazes me that just a few weeks ago we were taking each day hour by hour just hoping to survive and now I can somewhat predict what he'll want and when. Also, learning how to anticipate his moods has helped us avoid crying fits and what we used to think was just his "fussy time". Turns out, fussy time was just Max being over tired and needing to go to bed.

Enough about sleep for now, let's review this month's fun awake time with Max.

(YAY- I'm 3 months old!)

(My super-duper warm snow hat)

(Weekend visit with the Jacoby family-- Connor was so much fun!)

(Play date with little Miss Audrey-- one of Max's favorites)

Playtime Deluxe

I know that there isn't much to them, activity mats that is, but they are awesome! Max particularly likes the deluxe model that not only has hanging things to grab on to, but also touts a colorful light show with a catchy tune to go along with it. When we put him on that mat, which happens to be quite frequently, he can't get enough of it. His little legs kick like there is no tomorrow and he giggles and laughs to himself and can go on playing like this for 20+ minutes or so. In fact, he has so much fun with the lights and the dangling bumble bees that we sometimes forget to practice our tummy time. I think the toy has even motivated him to flip over quickly as he'd prefer to watch his toy from his back rather than staring at the floor while on tummy time. You decide for yourself which he likes better...

(And I'm bored...)

(Can't get enough!)

Max also turned 2 months old recently and here are some shots from that big day along with some of his new skills-- drinking form a bottle (yay- a break for Mommy!) and cooing/talking to you (this absolutely makes up for all of the sleepless nights at the beginning).

(I'm 2 months old, let's dance!)

(Dad-- I love playing and talking to you!)

(Bottle time!)