Sebby Eats Real Food

I was not the mom counting down the days till I could begin feeding my little one solids. In fact, I had no interest in starting Sebby on solids a day before 6 months until everything changed this week.

All of a sudden, Sebby seemed to go crazy for food! At every meal, he was frantically grabbing at our plates to get food and was staring and salivating every time Darren and I put anything, including our toothbrushes, into our mouths. At church yesterday, he grabbed my water bottle and put it up to his mouth so I tipped it up and he happily lapped water until his shirt was wet and he threw up back into the bottle (gross, I know). He had also began waking more frequently at night and seemed hungry every time.  Almost all the signs were there except he's still a bit precarious when sitting up unassisted.

Darren has been waiting for this day to come for months and all week, he has been tempting Sebby with whatever food he has on hand (usually junk food). Sebby has been valliantly swatting at Darren's chips, cookies and squares all week, hoping to get a taste.

Last night, Darren steamed some chicken that we mixed with breast milk and and mashed into a puree. I put a bit on my finger then put it into Sebby's mouth. No look of disgust, so I put some on a spoon and put that in his mouth. Still, no spitting choking or crying. Instead, he was all smiles as he sucked the chicken puree into his mouth. He would blow spit bubbles onto the spoon then swallow his concoction of chicken, breastmilk and saliva like it was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted.

So we're going for it! Let the adventure of solids begin! 

P.S. Sebby slept longer last night, he only woke up twice!!! Hope that wasn't just a coincidence.

Sebby's New Bed

Realizing that we'll be on the road a lot over the next year or so, we did some research on sleep options for Sebby. We know Pack n Plays are popular but we thought that it would be too large and heavy to be lugging one of those around Europe.

We remembered our friends talking about getting a sleep tent for their little girl so we thought that might be a great option. We did some research online then went to a baby store that sells several models of sleep tents.

We decided on a Pea Pod P102. Small, light, easy to transport, pack and assemble (no assembly, really, it pops open and the mattress self inflates). Darren's mom is staying with us right now so Sebby is sleeping in his tent inside our closet.

Sebby seems to like it too.

Especially when we don't make him go to sleep in there ; - )

Sucker Punched

In other health related news, Monday morning Sebby woke up with a red and swollen eye. I thought maybe he had scratched himself in his sleep but when it wasn't any better by evening, we decided to get it checked out.

The doctor took one look at his eye and said it was conjunctivitis (pink eye). He said it would likely clear up in two weeks or less but cautioned us that it was quite contagious. He said that Sebby would likely get it in the other eye and if we weren't careful, we'd get it too.

So far, Darren and I have been spared but yesterday morning Sebby woke up with another red and swollen eye. So frustrating, just as thhe first eye was starting to get better, his second eye has become infected.

I think and hope that he's on the mend. He hasn't been sleeping well and Darren thinks he looks like he was sucked punched.  (Haven't taken any pictures of him like this).

Rice Milk Lattes Aren't So Tasty...

Poor Sebby!

We've been experimenting with different creams and strategies to deal with his eczema for a few months now but nothing has helped. I know it's super itchy because I catch him trying to rub and scratch it, especially at night and in the morning.

I've been talking to different friends and health care professionals about eczema and have learned that it is often food related. I wanted to try as many things as possible before starting to cut things out of my diet so last weekend we got him a hazelwood necklace. Some people report relief in as little as 24 hours after wearing one, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be helping Sebby yet.

Finally, after a flare up on Tuesday evening where his cheeks were glowing red and hot to the touch, I bit the bullet and decided to made some changes to my diet! As of Wednesday, I'm avoiding both dairy and soy (our doctor told us that soy is more of an allergin than dairy so if I were to begin eating more soy, I may not find his skin any better). I'm thankful for friends who have given me so many cooking tips to ease myself into this new way of eating.

Rice milk lattes sure don't taste great but avoiding the dairy products that I love is a sacrifice I'm willing to make if it means Sebby's skin will feel better without having to use steroid creams.

Sure hope it helps!

Sebby's Fifth Month

Sebby will be five months in a few days and he has had an exciting month of growth (he now weighs just over 15 lbs) and development!

Strength

Sebby is a lot more comfortable with rolling and really seems to have mastered that skill over the past few weeks.

He is continuing to build upper body strength and now actually enjoys being on his tummy!

Seb has been practicing sitting up this month and he has sat unassisted for up to a minute before toppling sideways or forward.

Sleep

After lots of researching and some trial and error, we've had HUGE improvements in the area of sleep over the past month! Some of the changes include:

- Seb went from almost never napping in his crib to napping almost all of his naps in his crib.

- He went from needing to nurse or go for a walk in the carrier to fall asleep to being able to fall asleep in his crib within minutes.

- He went from needing to be swaddled to sleep to being able to sleep in a sleep sack.

- He went from waking almost hourly some nights to sleeping a four hour stretch most nights.

Speech

Seb seems to LOVE to hear his own voice! He is making many different noises and really enjoys making noises when he eats. He makes noises that sound like real words and although they make us want to thing that our little guy is super intelligent, we know that its just coincidence.

Play

Sebby still loves peek a boo and reaching for the "baby" in the mirror. He is just beginning to discover his toes and he reaches for them while we're changing his diaper.

He has also developed more of an interest in grabbing at and manipulating objects.

Sebby has also enjoyed playing with his baby friends this month. Here he is playing with his friend Vlade and Vlade's toy monkey. So cute!

Grrr

I wrote a post about Sebby's sleep & now it has disappeared! So annoyed! Makes me want to switch to Wordpress...