25 weeks

25 weeks old today!

-This week I decided that with him being so close to 6 months and our BIG change coming up in just a little bit, it was high time he learned how to fall asleep 'on his own'. So, step one ... weaning him off of being held and rocked by us as he falls asleep. So far it's been 4 nights, and SO FAR SO GOOD! I work really hard to make his schedule end up with his bath, his feed, and his sleepy time (2-3 hours from his last nap) all falling around 7:30, 8:00. So we used to take him out all evening and give him his bath sometime during his long day-time nap, but that was in the summer and nowadays it starts getting dark around 6 so I try to take him out around 5:30 (which is when he wakes up from his nap), and come home by 7:30 or 8 in time to give him a bath, feed him, and put him to sleep. It's been working pretty good ... yesterday he was so tired that I even skipped the bath and went straight to changing him into PJ's and feeding him and he fell right to sleep. Tonight it took him a little longer and he played around a little on the bed but by 8:30 he was sleeping! So 4th night that he has fallen asleep without getting picked up! HOORAY for MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! The next step is somehow weaning him off of the pacifier ... which I really am not sure how to go about ... but here's my idea ... we bought him a sippy cup so I will teach him how to drink from that, and then once he has learned it properly, I will give him his milk in that instead of the bottle and start teaching him to sleep 'on his own' for real in his own crib ... maybe along with the baby mobile. Of course it'll take time but I'm encouraged by his progress so far!

-He's really eating more and more! This week we went out and bought a whole SLEW of feeding materials ...

Like so: The big Avent box in the back are storage cups that can be sterilized, warmed in the bottle warmer, and they even have an adapter that I can hook up to the pump and nipples to use as bottles too ... so awesome! The small Avent box in front of it is the sippy cup ... the handles are attachable to any of the Avent bottles, as is the top portion ... so that is awesome too! The box in the back right is cereal, and in front are some baby waters. The glass jars in the front are different types of puree ... we bought a whole bunch of different tastes: veggie, salmon, veal, chicken, etc etc ...

And so far I have started with the cereal, and homemade juices (carrot and apple). I also give him homemade pureed avocado, peach, mango, and banana ... one type of puree per day (no mixing types). So I haven't had a chance to try the bought purees yet ... but so far he loves the cereal, and its been awesome as my milk supply has REALLY dwindled in the past week. Now I am trying to feed him enough so that he drinks 200 ml less of milk every day ... and so far so good! And even with the 200 ml less every day, I STILL almost don't make enough every day! Needless to say it really has me stressing! All the books I have read so far say that eventually the milk should start coming back (the quantity) but I really hope that EVENTUALLY isn't like 2 or 3 months .... but that it's REALLY soon! Cause I REALLY REALLY want to be able to keep feeding my baby! I'm trying to eat even more healthy. I eat 2 servings of veggies every day, and

fruits with every meal, and tons and tons of water. So we'll see how things progress.

-He continues to shake off his laziness and get more interactive with his toys, roll over (he used to be too lazy to do it), etc etc. He is easier to entertain without picking up (although sometimes all he wants is to be carried), so that is so nice.

-I was moaning a little while ago (maybe just last week) how I haven't been able to buy him a lot of toys here ... but as if she had been reading it, Grandma came home with a few new toys for him the other day! One was a Lamaze crib poster thingie ... 2 soft books with pop out features, squeaking, touchy-feely spots, etc. Now he has like 6 toys that he can rotate and play with ... which is awesome. It's also been a couple months now since I started experimenting with the exersaucer ... but now he really enjoys it so we put the batteries in the toys and he has so much fun with it too.

I know I'm so behind on his pictures ... but I will get around to it eventually. eheheheheh.

Now I must sleep ....