Carrots and Milestones

Dear Bastian,

You are just shy of 6 months and very interested in what we are eating. So, this past week I started giving you whole raw fruits and vegetables just to hold and gnaw on, which you love. You've always had an intense desire to grasp things, and you used to get really frustrated because you would drop whatever the object was fairly fast. But lately your fine motor coordination has improved so the frustration has decreased thankfully. Just yesterday I let you try our butternut squash and applesauce also, but you were more interested in grabbing at the spoon and getting it to your mouth than the actual food. I've decided this time around I'm not going to push the purees too much, and just let you experiment with whole foods for awhile.


As you can see you have become very smiley in the past few weeks. Also you are very talkative! You are experimenting with alveolar consonant sounds such as in "da da" and "ta ta." You still use your bilabial consonants (/b/, /p/, /m/) but not as much, and you don't vary your vowels very often at this point.

I really feel like this has been a real milestone week for you, in terms of your increased vocalizations, longer periods of contentedness when put down or with different people (Dad included), and general happiness. I would have added sleep to this list but as of last night you are back to old habits. I did have a week straight of waking up only one time during the night, which was nice! In that time, one evening you actually slept the WHOLE night- from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. I could not believe it! Oh, and also concerning sleep, we moved you to your crib (in our room) this week. You weren't sleeping right up close to me anymore so not a whole lot changed with this transition.

Okay, good night!

Love,

Mama

Miscellaneous

Dear Bastian,

Well, here are a few more pictures of recent happenings here in Massachusetts. You are 5 months old and getting cuter every day.

First, a picture of our trip up to the Boston Temple, where we attended a 10-year anniversary celebration. There is a church meetinghouse at the bottom of a hill where the festivities took place, and then you take a short hike up to the top, where the Temple is. It was gorgeous, although, a bit hard to enjoy because you and Luthien were having a rough day. Here you can see that mom had to carry both you and Luthien up the hill- you were already strapped on to me, and Luthien insisted on being carried by Mom only. Somewhere along the way you lost a sock, but we made it!
After the Temple we went to the town of Cambridge, which we LOVED. I didn't get too many pictures but here you are all bundled up, ready to get in the car after our long adventure!
Below, modeling your new hat! I had no winter clothes for you, and you started to get a cold. You are doing much better now that I have some things to keep you warm in.
And finally, I love this last picture because I caught you mid- spit-up. You love to be on your tummy with lots of stuffed animals to grab at and bury your face in. Luthien often gets jealous and joins and/or disrupts you in this process :)
p.s. check out those original hard wood floors from the 1800's...gotta love the east coast :)

Love you,

Mom

New England Boy

Dearest Bastian,

So here we are. You are officially growing up as a New Englander, my son! I can finally say that we absolutely love it here in Massachusetts, and I think you do too! When we arrived in Rehoboth, Mass we were staying in the upstairs apartment of a very nice lady's home we met through church. If ever you got sad, we would just go outside and you would stare at the clouds and trees (yes, trees!) while I pushed Luthien on the swing:

We finally got our own apartment in the "city" of New Bedford, where you found comfort in the pillows from our old house:

And here you are, finally getting to enjoy some time with Dad. It makes Mom so happy that you and he are getting a chance to bond these days!

You have always liked to be held upright, and would get sad and fussy whenever we set you down...turns out you just wanted to be in the standing position also! We got you this walker and you LOVED it! The novelty has worn off a bit, but you still will hang out in it for quite awhile, giving mom a chance to do a chore or prepare food, or even eat without having to hold you every time :)
Next...a new friend! Mom met Kim at church and we have gotten along great! Here you are playing with her daughter Lucy at her house. Lucy is only a couple days younger than you! You two are so cute together because you are going through the exact same stages and your demeanors seem to be a lot alike!
And finally, a shot of our messy apartment that only just now has become more orderly, and you, sitting in your favorite seat, listening intently to your Daddy play guitar. Luthien liked listening to Dad play at this age but not nearly as much as you. I have mentioned that you are very aware of your senses- this is the case with music, and especially your Dad playing live. Love your expression here:Still more to share, but perhaps I will save it for another night, so I can get some much needed rest!

Love,

Mom

Looking Back

Dear Bastian,

I have neglected writing to you in a big way, I'm so sorry! First, here are some pictures from before we left for the East Coast. You have been growing so fast- you are somewhere in your third month here:

Only when I look at these pictures do I notice how blond you have become! You are still holding on to some of your ginger-ness though :)

And here are some pictures with a few of your baby friends during final goodbye playdates (you had just turned 4 months old:

First with your friend Jayden, who is exactly one month younger than you. Note your soaked onesie- I think I have mentioned before that you spit up A LOT. I stopped changing your clothes so often because it was to no avail.

And below you are with baby Everett (Beckam's brother/Emily's son), who is almost exactly one month older than you! You always get the same blank expression as soon as the camera light flashes, even if you had previously been smiling. Oh well...

You started to get sad here, but I want to show your identical onesies. You are so long, your onesies always pull at the neck:

And lastly, here you are saying goodbye to Uncle Kade and Aunt Carlie. I am sad you won't get to know them more, your sister loves playing with them!

More to come! I have decided to keep things short and sweet for you- if you want to read more of the juicy details you may take a look at your sister's journal. This is unlike me but I am going to go with the gender stereotype that boys aren't as interested in all of those details...

Love you my Bastian boy,

Mama

Dotmouth

Bastian, I keep wondering, since we are moving you at such a young age, are you going to inherit the Massachusetts dialect?! It is highly likely, and will drive your dad nuts if so! I guess I'll have to homeschool you :)

I apologize for ignoring you with the pictures, time has been so limited lately. I hope to get some good ones once we get settled.

Your sleeping habits are always changing. Now you are going to sleep earlier but waking a lot more during the night. Some days you'll have a really long nap or two, and others (like today) you will nap for 20 minutes at a time. Eeek!

You are eating A LOT lately and spitting up a bit less. You are rolling more and more, and on the verge of giggling. I am so curious to hear what your laugh sounds like, since Luthien's is so distinct, and has been since she was a baby.

Sometimes I think you may be adding a consonant bilabial sound (/b/ or /m/) in front of your vowel sounds, but I'm still not quite sure.

Without further ado:
At 3 months, with baby Everett, who is one month older than you


















And at almost 4 months, with your big sis:


















Still in love.

-Mama

Baby Bastian Boy

Okay I just can't get over that. Luthien just can't get enough of you these days, and she can't just call you Bastian. It's only "baby Bastian boy." Except when you are nursing, then she's not so fond of you.

Finally went to get you checked out at the doctor today, and no surprise you were doing just fine. Here are the stats:

Length: 24.6, 55th percentile
Weight: 13 lbs 15 oz, 50th percentile
Head Circumference: 41.2, 45th percentile

Your percentile scores and even your weight really surprised me, but then I reminded myself how bad percentile rankings are. You feel enormous to me, and even if I were being a wimp, almost everyone comments on how long you are. Oh well, either way, you are perfect to me!!

You had a couple days where your reflux issue was very out of control and a little scary, but we are good again now.

I need to also tell you that you hate your carseat. No, I mean HATE your carseat. I thought Luthien was bad when she was a baby, but this is bad.

You are very smiley and becoming very verbal just like your sister was. You are experimenting with all kinds of vowel sounds, and love when we echo them back. Whenever we go anywhere people always say what a perfect baby you seem to be. I told myself I will never tell anyone that. You are good Bastian, and definitely easier than Luthien, but not that good :) I guess the only problem we have is that you can't be sat down anywhere for very long, we always have to be holding you. As long as we are holding you you are happy. Totally understandable for a baby, I know, but difficult when we have so much going on, and when there's another sibling involved. Wraps/slings only go so far. But of course I continue to hold you- I love it, and it's our job as parents.

You are rolling! You don't do it all the time, but it has happened enough now that I can say it officially. Every so often we would walk in during a nap and you'd be on your back after we'd put you to sleep on your tummy. But it's happened more often, and, unfortunately the other day it resulted in you falling off the bed :( You were fine, but it goes to show how far/much you can roll, because you were in the middle of the queen sized bed to begin with!

We love you Bastian boy, I can't wait to show you pictures of how you've grown!

-Mama

Big Boy

Hi Bastian,
I wish I had pictures to show you. I promise to show you soon since we are getting ready to move and I don't really have a way to get them on the computer right now. You are so big and so strong!! Such a difference from Luthien, my petite girl. We haven't taken you to the doctor since you were two weeks old, but according to our scale at home you weigh close to 15 pounds!! Just for the comparison, Luthien weighed 16 lbs when she was a year old :)

You smile and coo a lot. I think you are a bit more smiley than Luthien at this age, probably because you have more periods of contentedness. Dad's cousin Chelsea sent you a little Duckie toy which is your absolute favorite. Speaking of dad, we think you are a lot like him, especially personality-wise (yikes!). You are incredibly observant and very sensitive to your environment. Loud noises make you quickly scream, while your mama's face makes you squeal with delight. Bath water you love, while the cold air you despise.

Bastian, you have stolen my heart. Every day I am surprised by how totally in love with you I am. Maybe it is because my perspective as a mother has changed now that I'm not working, maybe it is because you are my second child, and/or maybe it is because you are a boy, but whatever it is, it makes me very, very happy.

Oh, before I forget- something that doesn't make me happy is your sleeping schedule. You are a night owl just like your dad. This wouldn't really be a problem if your sister didn't wake up at 6:30 a.m. sharp. But because she does, can you please try to get to bed before midnight one of these days?! You have a few times throughout the day/night where you will sleep about a four hour stretch, but it is not consistent yet. So yes, you've got that right- Mom goes to sleep around 12:30 after you go down, then I wake up to nurse you around 4, then wake up at 6:30 with Luthien. Proof that I love you as much as I have said...

Goodnight my sweet boy,
Mama