It's That Time Again...

Getting closer to sitting up!

If you had told me during the first month that we would have such a happy baby, I probably would have laughed and then accused you of confusing us with some other family. Ayden still has his fussy moments but for the most part he only fusses because of the usual reasons a baby may fuss (hungry, dirty diaper, sleepy, needing snuggles, boredom). And to be honest, if it's just the two of us here all day, he hardly ever fusses at all because he's pretty predictable and I can usually meet his needs before he's fussy about them.  Overall, life with this sweet baby has become so pleasant and we just love him so much!!

Ayden had his 4 month well baby checkup today (at almost 5 months old...).

I gave him a nice, long bath in preparation (any excuse to play with this little man in water!).

"Rubber Ducky, you're the one!"

He measured 24.5 inches and weighed in at 12lbs 11oz.

He's still a little guy but his doctor said he is gaining at a great rate and that he is within the healthy percentile range for his age.

We asked questions about:
Solids - we aren't starting them until 6 months and we will start with avocado. We are also planning to take the Baby Led Weaning approach.
Baby sunscreen: Is it completely necessary to wait until 6 months? He said it would be okay to use it on his legs at this age, if we really feel the need, but to test it on a tiny spot first to make sure it doesn't irritate his skin.

His doctor took note of:
Ayden's seemingly sensitive skin - he had scratched himself soon after we got there and it was bright red. He also had a little contact rash on his back.
Ayden's earwax production - Apparently babies his age aren't usually producing as much as he is. He said the only concern would be that it may effect his hearing a little and by the time he's a teen, he may have to have them cleaned out. Yikes!

He also asked us some other developmentally related questions and we were proud to answer that he had achieved of all the standard milestones that he referenced and then some!
- Rolling over
- Tracking people/things across the room
- Laughing
- Pulling objects towards his mouth
- Vocalizing
- There were a few more but I can't remember them all now...

He ended up getting only one more vaccine today which was PCV13 or Pneumococcal Conjugate.  He got a stacked vaccine last time (DTAP/HIB/Polio) and had a terrible night afterwards.  It actually made us question whether or not we wanted to continue vaccinating him.  We were planning on a staggered schedule with us going every month to spread them out.  Now we've decided to go every other month, while still spreading them out just to give his little body time to readjust between each one.  To prepare Ayden for his vaccinations, I have been taking some supplements so that he could get them through my breast milk.  Turmeric and ginger as anti-inflamatories and milk thistle and N-Acetyl Cysteine for detoxification as well as giving him an infant pro-biotic in his dream feeds.  These were all recommended by our naturopath (through which we got our food intolerance testing) to help Ayden's little body process the vaccines while avoiding as much discomfort as possible without using Tylenol or the like.

Ayden's appointment fell during his nap time, he fell asleep on the way there and was only able to get about 15-20 minutes in before he had to wake up to get measured, weighed, poked and prodded.  Then I let him nurse after his shot to help calm him down which was about a half hour before his next expected feeding; so our usual, predictable routine was all out of whack by the time we got home.  Ayden, the usually happy baby that I mentioned earlier was actually pretty fussy but we don't think it had much to do with his shot and everything to do with the fact that none of us really knew what needed to come next for him.  I tuned in and decided that he was mostly sleepy and probably needed to get in another cat nap so David decided to give the Moby a whirl.  He's usually a Ergo guy but Ayden can't tolerate it for long periods without the infant insert so we thought a fussy night wouldn't be a good time to try.  Ayden was perfectly happy in it but David wasn't a huge fan.  I think part of the problem is that I put it on him and I really feel like it's something you need to troubleshoot with a few times and put on yourself to suite your own personal preferences.  It sure was a nice sight though, seeing my boys together like that.

A baby wearing man is a sexy man! ;)

Ayden did end up falling asleep for a little bit and when he woke up it was time for bed and time to eat at the same time so I put him in his PJs and let him nurse to sleep and he's been out like a light ever since.  Last night had a lot of between feeding wake ups so I'm hoping tonight will be better!

~Sarah