Month 6 with the baby

Here we are - or we were, as the event as such took place a couple of days ago - in the 6th month going 7th of the baby life. For us, as parents, it was not easy and sometimes I had to went to sleep around 21.00 for getting enough energy for the next day. Which is a very unusual time to sleep for me, usually not in bed before 00.00. But the most important for the baby is to have healthy parents to take care of him so I adjusted even my white nights to cope with the new challenges. For the baby, things are getting much and much better and the changes as as fast that we better take notes and pictures of every moment. The good part is that I am with him all the time and I can be near him every time.

The biggest achievement of the month were the two cute teeth that appeared out of nowhere. Of course, there were some hard days of deep and hard to explain crying. But, as he cannot speak and explain what is the cause of his pain, all I can do in such moments is to take him in my arms and hug him tight. In most cases it works out.

We continued the therapy for improving his mobility and with one session the week for around 30 minutes for 3 months we advanced that much that right now he can easily move in the car seat and keep his neck straight. He can also move back and forth, and keep staying stable for a couple of good minutes.

On the ocassion of his 6th month anniversary we switched from the vintage crib to a huge bed where he can move back and forth, from the back to the belly and back once again. Stay tunned for some tips about how to choose a bed for your kid soon!

We also finished another important stage in our baby life, with the last batch of vaccination until the first anniversary. Soon I will explain why I am such a big supporter of vaccinations!

The food diversification continued and we tested more bottle foods, including some (kosher) meat. I am trying to expose him to as many tastes and flavours as possible and he seems to like almost everything - except some chicken with spinach that he was not too excited about. The food tasting is in process  and we promise even more diversification- we have to try some rice and some fish too. He takes kilos and moves well so no worries from this point of view.  

He got some extra centimeters too so most of his wardrobe is in process of changing. 

Changes is the word of the day ad we are so looking forward for more to come. And more cute small white teeth too.  

Month 4 with the baby

Here we are: our beautiful sweet baby is 4-month old. Compared to the first two months of his life, it seems that there were not too many nothworthy events taking place lately. Well, this is because I am looking from outside, from the height of my age and experience. But I am more than sure that for the baby boy every new day and new discovery mean a fantastic improvement. 

We already set a routine, with a specific hour to go to sleep and a long trip, usually before 13 and 15 o'clock. Unfortunatelly, given the cold days when the outside temperatures reached around -13C, we were forced to spend the day at home. Which was not necessarily a bad idea. The boy started to play more and thanks to some special toys we bought - review coming up soon - made of different materials which utter various captivating sounds, he can even play with himself for couple of good minutes. 

His degree of receptivity increased significantly in the last weeks: he is able to follow with his eyes us or a moving toy, to play with his hands and suck it in the mouth. For the last aspect, we were told by a specialist that it is a good thing and a sign of a normal development. 

The sleeping is not always regular, with some nights when he sleeps for around 10 hours and some when he wakes every three hours. The screaming is also more intense and lasts longer. As we made together the first overseas trip this month, he was able to scream for the duration of 5 months of the flight. Hope we will never meet again any of the annoyed passengers. But as a compensation, he smiles even more and with an open mouth and this is enough to forget all the hard noisy hours.

Health wise, we did again the requested vaccination and things went well. We need to deal though with a flat head issue that apparently can be fixed through weekly therapy. The German medicine is focused on prevention and one may need to get used with the many checkings and second opinions which does not mean necessarily that you have a problem, only that you have to work out for avoiding any problems.  

In order to keep him fit, we do some small gymnastics in the morning, and he enjoys it a lot. We continue also with the intensive music program and other relaxing activities.

From now on, we are entering the 5 month, with many new challenges ahead, the most important being the change of the food plan and introduction of solid foods. 

Month 3 with the baby

Predictably, after month 2, month 3 arrived. Although I did not have too much time to write - also due to the fact that in the last weeks I split my time between full time work, family meals and short nights. To be honest though, the nights were not that short as the baby offered us most of the time long sleeping hours. 8 hours of sleep! What a wonder, if you are wise enough to go to sleep shortly after he is falling asleep after the hot bath.

The other big development noticed during this time was the hand movement. He is moving frequently, back and forth, although not yet coordinating, the hands. With strength, catching my fingers during the meals, or just playing with various textures and materials. 

During this time we also made the longest trip, using in just a couple of hours both trains and elevators. It was a long awaited trip for the parents, that we wanted to make for many weekends and everything took place without too many problems during the 5 full hours: we had enough diapers and the bottle of milk. The big big issue took place at home, one hour after we were back, as our beautiful baby offered a high tone concert that brought up at the brinks of panic. He calmed down after a couple of hours - during which we also considered to go to the emergency room, without having an answer to the question: what happened to him? One of the answers was that maybe spending too much time in the buggy without direct contact with us is supposedly paying a price. Since then, we faced several such outburst of tears and screams and we decided that we better take him in the hands and make him feel less alone (after all the other options - such as changing the pampers and feeding him - failed). And we are doing this not only in order to protect our sensitive ears but simply because we feel that this little soul that is not yet able to communicate properly with us deserves more attention and a lot of love and letting him cry for long minutes does not make him stronger or more independent. 

This is all for now. Ready to share more tips and adventures with the baby in the next days.