9 month Checkup

Today Logan had his 9 month checkup (even though he is 9.5 months - when I scheduled his appointment, I hadn't taken school physicals into account, so this was the earliest date available). Here are his stats:

21 pounds (51st percentile)

31 inches (98th percentile)

head: 18 inches (50th percentile)

So as you can see, he is still very much my tall, slender dude! The nurses fell in love with his looks...specifially his sparkly blue eyes. :)

He did get his last Hepatitis B shot...and didn't cry at all! I gave him his pacifier, which I have done in the past just for the shot and we played with a little Elmo toy he got from a friends birthday party...and poof, that was it! What a big boy - the nurse said he was so brave! Yeah, we make 'em tough! :)

They asked me the typical line of questions: Does he crawl? Yes; Does he pull himself to a stand? Yes; Does he walk around furniture? Yes; Does he have stranger anxiety? Only sometimes. We did share that he is solely on formula and table food - no more baby food. I went over some of the items that he should not eat, and immunization schedules going forward.

He did have a crazy icky diaper rash last night, so he was lubed up with Desitin before bed. The doctor said that some of it looked a bit like a yeast infection (which is a form of diaper rash) so he was going to give me some cream for it....yeah, he forgot, so I need to call tomorrow to see if it is a prescription or just something I can buy over the counter...or just continue using Desitin and see if it goes away.

While the doctor listened to his breathing and checked his ears and teeth - he sat perfectly still. Knowing how wiggly he can be now, I was impressed. Although, when I clean his ears with a q-tip, he always sits extremely still.

A great checkup for a super-healthy little boy!

Logan's Favorite Time

I would have to say that while Logan is a very happy baby and typically not very whiny (although, he does have his moments), he best mood of the day is right after dinner. Once he is out of his high chair, he crawls around the family room - up on the ottoman, over to the couch, playing with puzzles, in between John and I. He is just so happy and makes the cutest sounds. John and I just sit there and watch him and laugh - when he notices us watching him, he smiles so huge and laughs. Too cute!

Baby #2 - 15 week appointment

This morning I had my 15 week checkup. It was with Dr. C who delivered Logan. She couldn't believe how big he was - 9 months already...and that he looked bigger than 9 months!

The baby's heartbeat was 160 beats per minute - nice and strong. I am still so ticked at myself for not blogging what Logan's heartrate was at this same time. I think his was around 140-150. So still nice and strong...but if heartrate theory does exist....could it possibly indicate a girl? Who knows. But we WILL know in one month! My ultrasound is scheduled for Friday, September 11th at 9am - yay! So exciting!!!!

A terrible sound...

Ugh. This morning Logan woke up a little extra early (6:45). Lately it has been 7:30. He was crying when he woke up, which indicated that he wasn't ready to get up...but alas, there he was standing waiting for a rescue. We rescued him and let him crawl around while John got ready for work. At 8:40 John walked out the door and I read the very tired-eyes closing, Logan, a story and put him down for a nap. He laid down just fine like he usually does, but then did decide that he wasn't sure about sleeping and started whining. I usually endure a few minutes of it, as 9 times out of 10 he falls asleep within those few minutes. Just as I was hitting the mark of going back in his room to see what was up, I heard:

KABOOM - WHAAAAAAA!!!!!

I nearly threw my laptop across the room and ran into his room. Yes, there he was on the FLOOR, face up, with his head towards his crib and his feet towards his dresser - smack dab in the middle of the room, staring at the fan and crying. Oh, my heart dropped - I quickly made sure he was moving and not paralyzed in any fashion, then scooped him up and hugged him tightly. Just then, oddly enough, John came back home (he had forgotten his phone...which he never does) - so I yelled down to him and he rushed up the stairs to console our baby as well and make sure that there were no huge bumps or bruises. He quickly calmed down (what a tough guy...). After he was calm, I cried a bit - oh, just hearing that sound made me quiver.

When we lowered his crib just over a month ago, we thought (for a quick second) about putting it down all the way, but said that since the lowest part of the crib rail came to his chest there was 'no way' he'd get out. Apparently we didn't consider his excellent climbing skills that he would soon learn, nor his crazy-amazing upper body strength in which he would learn to pull himself up.

I wish (and yet I don't) that I had been looking at the video monitor (it wasn't plugged in since I was awake and just across the hall)....I'm just curious how long he'd been working on it and how fast it happened - and how he did it. Granted, had I been staring at the monitor, I obviously would've run in there 'before' he fell out.

Anyway, he is fine and tonight we did lower his crib to the 'very' bottom. I don't dare him to get out, but really at this point he could not. I know that this is only the beginning of his falls, but I think the distance in which he fell is what scared me. I don't get all in a tizzy if he falls on the ground, after standing or sitting...but the distance from the crib to the floor is a lot more than just standing. I did have to put him in there for a nap today and had the video monitor on and the second he woke up, I bolted up the stairs to get him before he could even stand up. I don't need 2 falls in one day. :)

Felt the Baby Move

Just thought I'd post quickly - as just minutes ago as I lay in bed working on my class and drinking some delicious chocolate milk, I felt a tickle in my stomach. I felt it again. Then it dawned on me - that is the baby moving!!! YAY! I love this feeling and have missed it since November 5, 2008. :)

9 Months Old

My little baby Logan is 9 months old today! Man alive...time sure flies. He has come such a long way - I can't believe he's crawling around like crazy, climbing stairs and walking with help! What a big boy! We love him dearly and are the luckiest parents in the world!

Logan's 1st Baseball Game

On August 1st after we finished redoing the deck, we met up with some friends at the minor league baseball field near our house. Since we were still working on the deck, we got there more than half way through the game, but we got there for good food, goofy games with the crowd, a win by the home team and fireworks afterwords! Logan is still enamored with fireworks - he stares at them, isn't scared of the noise and just watches in utter amazement. We did take a video of his straight face, just staring as you can see the flashes of light from the fireworks on his face - very cute!

It was a real nail-biter (or blanket-chewer)!

The cheerleaders went right down our aisle and Logan was all about watching them shake their pom-poms (really, just their actual poms).

After the game, we took him closer to the field for pics.

We went to Oberweis afterwards, but he was plum tuckered out!

Indiana Dunes

Last Monday, Logan and I went to the Indiana Dunes with Dawn, the boys and their longtime friend, Riley. We used to go to the Dunes often as a kid - climbing on the big sand hills and playing in the beach. I completely forgot about it until Dawn mentioned it - we had a lot of fun!

This is TJ or Michael rolling down the sand dune with their friend running after!

Tuckered out!

Our Deck

We decided that our deck needed a bit of a facelift. It needed repainted badly and while doing that, why not redo it a bit? This is a quick before picture.

Logan helped his Dad redo the deck. (Yes, on August 1st Logan is wearing jeans and a jacket in the middle of the day - it was 68 degrees and randomly rainy).

The almost-finished product! We picked out a paint color and I started painting the deck, but stopped when I realized it looked more like a purpley-taupe instead of a medium brown taupe. So....I need to go back to the store to really finish it off!

Birthday Celebrations

We celebrated Michael, TJ and my Dad's birthday recently. My Mom made another awesome cake - a Harry Potter cake!

We participated in a gooey egg toss!

Logan and Jakob hung out in Uncle Steven's truck with Grandpa (they were watching a remote control car go up and down the street).

At a friends' 1st birthday party

Passed out at the Park

Where did my sleeper go?

Logan has always been such a terrific sleeper. A month ago he would sleep from 8/8:30 at night until 8:30/9 in the morning. Sometimes til 8, sometimes till 9:30 - but regardless it was wonderful! It was especially terrific for me since I had icky morning sickness and sleeping in later always helped.

Well, like I said that was up until about a month ago...until he learned how to pull himself up and stand in his crib. Once he figured out this fantastic new trick, he stood up in his crib all the time - I swear it was even in his sleep! He was waking up an average of 3 times a night! Ack! Who was this child? My baby slept through the night ever since he came home from the hospital!

I prayed that this routine wouldn't last. I would go in his room and lay him back down, but he sprung up so fast, I wasn't even to the door yet! Sometimes in order to save his sleep and mine (because remember if I didn't get a good night sleep I would be super nauseous in the morning - which makes for a very blah morning for us all) I would rock him back to sleep - which would work. However, I didn't want this to become some type of game or habit, plus he would just wake up another hour later and we'd repeat. Part of Logan's problem was that he didn't learn how to get down once he was standing just yet. He would even take short naps due to this new skill.

I talked to a couple people about it and learned from my friend Kathy that when they learn a new skill (like standing or crawling) their bodies are so programmed to want to do it - even in their sleep. I decided that it was time for tough love - let him cry it out. I would check on the video monitor to see if he still had his pacifier and go in once to lay him back down. Well, wouldn't you know that the day I decide to do that is the same night that he learned how to get down by himself? I think he sensed that tough love was coming and thought it'd be best if we all just got some sleep. That night he woke up once and I put him back down with his paci and he fell back asleep til morning. The next night - he didn't wake up once!

Do I hear angels singing??? Yay!

Oh, I did forget to mention that during this time he thought it was best to get up between 6 and 6:30 - too early for me! He is still sleeping all through the night, but has kept this early morning habit. Some days I am 'lucky' when he wakes up at 7...but I think the days of him sleeping unti 8:30 are over (until he's a teenager and wants to sleep in all day!!!). At least until my morning sickness is all over (which should be only for another week or two) John does a lovely job of keeping Logan occupied while he gets ready for work so I can sleep at not be nauseous. :)

I just wanted to document this so when this next child (and future kids) learns to stand, I will keep in mind that it will be just a 2 week stint of little sleep. :)

3 to 5

Last week I squeezed Logan's cute brown size 3 sandals on his feet...for the last time. After he was all strapped in, I noticed that the back strap was digging in his foot a bit and yep, when we took the sandals off, there were marks. Okay, fine...onto the 4's.

Well, yesterday, August 1st it was a chilly 68 degrees and breezy...not to mention a shower of rain here and there. Logan was dressed in jeans and a jacket. We were going to a baseball game later in the night and I wanted him to have shoes on, except I didn't have any shoes that fit his 'bigger' feet. So I ran to Target and tried my darndest to squeeze on a pair of size 4 'gym' shoes. Granted I had extra thick socks on him, but I couldn't get those suckers on to save my life! So, we went on to the size 5's!!!! Ah, what a big shoe size already. They fit him great. I really think part of the reason is because his feet are very puffy. Today we were at the zoo and I put a size 4 pair of sandals I purchased from a garage sale a month ago on him. His toes definitely reached the end of the sandal, but I could see the puffiness on the tops of his feet even more! Too cute.

This week he turns 9 months old...oh gosh, I just can't believe how old he is getting! Unfortunately I waited until a week and a half ago to make his well checkup - which in the past has been fine. Would you believe out of 4 offices and 8 doctors that I have to wait until August 20th????? They apparently are so booked - what the heck!?!? It is summer for gosh sakes - why are they so booked? Oh - this just hit me...I bet kids need physicals before they go to a new school or grade...so maybe that is why? Most schools in our area start in mid-late August, so that is the only thing I can think of. Anywho, I asked if I can call for cancellations - so tomorrow starts my calls to get him in earlier. Really, it doesn't much matter - he is a very healthy boy and I don't have many questions for them. But....I love finding out his weight and height and having confirmation that all is well. :)

Pregnancy Brain Galore

Oh man....I feel like such a dip lately - pregnancy brain has hit me hard this time around. Some say it could be because I am busier with Logan....some say it is because I am not working a full time job therefore not using my brain like I did before....hm...who knows. No matter how you look at it, here are a few funny stories that happened to me lately:


Gas Cap - Yes, I became 'one of those' people...I was talking to my friend Abbey (so yes, Abs...I partially blame you) on my cell phone and getting some much needed gas. I was thrown off in the middle of our conversation when the pumped stopped because it had only been a few minutes. Well, apparently that pump happened to run out of gas. Fine - I had a half tank, so I got my receipt and left. On the rest of my 3 mile ride home, I heard a clanking (while I was still talking on the phone)...and I thought...hm, what is that? I looked in my side mirror and there it was....dangling...my GAS CAP! Ugh, I've never done that before! In fact, I make fun of those people thinking how on earth could they possibly forget the final step to getting gas? Ugh...embarrassing!

Laundry in Dryer - so a few nights ago I grabbed our sheets out of the dryer, threw the items from the washer into the dryer and went upstairs. The next morning I came downstairs and noticed that the dryer door was open. I initially thought it was strange that John needed something so desperately that he went into the dryer to get it. Upon looking further, however, I realized that I never shut the dryer door the night before and pressed start! Oy.

'State' Fair - Next week I will be attending the state fair with John's family. I keep calling it the Milwaukee State Fair - I even looked it up online calling it just that. Um, last I checked Milwaukee wasn't a 'state'...it is the Wisconsin State Fair! Oh geez. But it is in Milwaukee..so at least I got something right!

I am sure there will be many more stories to come as I am only in my 13th week!