So, another large gap of time has gone by without an update...and for a good reason. I had been working hard on an update for several hours over the course of several days. When I finally finished and went to publish it, EVERYTHING ERASED. This is despite me pressing save several times. I was pretty upset about this. I don't have much free time, and there are so many other things I would rather be doing than rewriting posts! Alas, this is important to me and so here I begin anew.
This week my sweet Meo turned 9 months old.
Happy 9 months Mattimeo!
Amazing. If you don't count the nearly two weeks that he lingered in my belly, he has officially been outside of my body as long as he was inside of me. That's spectacular. Today we had are 9 month appointment, but before I fill you in on how that went, I feel obligated to update on all the other cool things we've been doing. But first, some cute pictures that don't really fit anywhere else in this post.
Cute new Robeez shoes
8 months
8 months
New baby aviators, red like Daddy's
Too cool to keep his shades on
Out to lunch with Mom while Dad got his haircut
Fun with Dad
Theta
Loving some watermelon
Tofu and wild blueberries
Nap time with my boys
Pi on my head
Meo and Robbie blowing raspberries on my belly
Reading with Dad
8 months
Digging into some mashed potatoes
Mashed potatoes, carrots and beets for dinner
8 months old
Looking in the fridge with Dad
And now, back to our regularly scheduled blog post.
Fun outdoors
Now that it is officially spring, the weather has been great; not too warm, not too cold. We have had a fair amount of rain, but can't complain about that since it's been much needed and we still are able to go out for our walks wearing raincoats and umbrellas. We have been enjoying picnic lunches, afternoon strolls, playing and exploring in the yard, and watching the kitties play outside. Here are some photos highlighting some of these moments.
Picnic lunch (8 months)
Picnic with Grandma
Kisses from Grandma (8 months)
Theta
Pi
Theta
My little Maine boy
Theta met his first deer
Rainy day walk
8 months
Theta and bleeding hearts
"Out with the old, in with the new"
Drizzly walk
Getting on all Fours
While visiting my sister's....house? She wasn't there but let her stop in so I could feed and change Meo in comfort, we were happy to see Jack the corgi. Jack is a dog that I used to pet sit. Now that Sam's room mate took over my position, she occasional watches Jack and he happened to be there that day. As you know, Meo loves animals, and he was so excited about Jack that he wanted to get to him. And so, for the very first time, he got on all fours all by himself. No crawling yet, but still, a big step.
Looking at Jack
Meo and Jack
On all fours for the first time (8 months)
First Sunburn, boo
A couple weeks ago, I decided to go to the breastfeeding support group at Mercy, which I used to frequent when Meo was a newborn. I decided to go not so much for the support, but for the company of some of my mom friends who I know go there regularly.
Mom and Baby friends
Meo stole someone's maraca
Carter
Stella and Charlie moving in for a kiss
Leela
Meo and Charlie
After group, a bunch of us went to have a picnic lunch on the Eastern Prom followed by a walk. It was beautiful outside, near 80 degrees. I had Meo in short sleeves, shorts and a sunhat, and I slathered sunscreen all over his body. However, I probably should have had him in pants and long sleeves (though I was worried about heat stroke) and reapplied the sunscreen mid-outing, because by the time we got home, his poor little arm and thighs were red. I was mortified. He must had fallen asleep in the ERGObaby with his arm up in the air, and since he was on my back, I didn't realize how exposed he was. I have never felt like such a horrible mother until I saw that burn. On the bright side, it didn't seem to cause him any pain, and I made sure to regularly apply coconut oil and/or baby lotion on his burnt skin throughout the next week or so. I also immediately purchased two light-weight, long sleeved, UV protected shirts for him to wear on our next sunny day walk. He will wear one of those shorts and pants; I am going to try my hardest not to allow him to get burnt again.
Book Club
Some of the moms I know had the amazing idea to start a book club. We are to meet once a month, with no babies, over dinner, to discuss whatever book we decided to read that month. I am wicked excited. It so happens I suggested our first book, "The Hunger Games". I've had the trilogy on my shelf for about a year, and wanted to read it before the movie came out. Robbie decided to listen to the audio version at the same time that I was reading the book, and we were able to have our own mini book club one Sunday afternoon by going to see the movie and discuss the book while my mom (aka Mema) watched Meosaur. That was a lot of fun. I love how intelligent and thoughtful my husband is.
Our actual book club mirrored Robbie and I's date: we met at the movie theater, Smitty's, where you can eat dinner as well as watch a film. So over dinner and cocktails we discussed the novel, then watched the movie, then discussed how the book and the movie compared. It was a lot of fun, and for the most part we were able to stay on topic. During the film, I was even able to pump breast-milk stealth style under a nursing cover, since I certainly couldn't go 5 hours without having some milk removed. I believe that was the longest I have been away from Meo. I missed him lots, but it was really fun and I am glad I went. I am looking forward to our next meeting.
Our First Book Club, "The Hunger Games"
Leaving Meo and Robbie at the door
Meanwhile, at home, Robbie was tasked the difficult job of getting Mattimeo to bed, which he had never done before. He sent me pictures via text message throughout the meeting, which delighted me.
First he made and fed him dinner...
"Hmm, I'm not so sure about this broccoli"
Then he gave him a bath...
Had a little massage and some naked time...
Then he gave him a bottle, which he took like a champ...
And after many successful attempts to put him to sleep by rocking him, he got him to sleep on his back in the ERGObaby. He then walked around for an hour and half watching Netflix shows on his iPhone while Meo snoozed.
I am so grateful to Robbie for not only being willing to watch Meo and put him to bed for me, but to be encouraging and enthusiastic about it. Thank you Robbie, you're a dream come true.
Meeting Pepere Rocray
A couple weeks ago, Meo met my paternal grandfather, Pepere Rocray, for the first time. It was a long overdo visit, but I was glad we finally made the effort to go see him. My brother and his toddler, Bryce met us there, and it ended up being a very nice visit. Pepere was thrilled to meet Meo, and seemed to adore him.
Pepere Rocray and Mattimeo (8 months)
Cousin Bryce trying out Meo's sunglasses
Me with Meo and my Pepere
Pepere Rocray with two of his great grandchildren
8 and 17 months old
Visiting Family
After visiting my Pepere, my brother and I went to visit my mom. It was really cute to see Bryce and Meo "play" together. At this point, they mostly just watch each other. But they are definitely starting to interact more and soon I am sure they will have crazy fun.
Bryce (18 months) and Mattimeo (8 months)
Watching Mema
Pooping, haha
Playing with my brother
Uncle Brian trying to teach Meo how to crawl
Meo only wanted to stand though
Mattimeo and his Uncle Brian (8 months)
For lunch, my mom, Brian, Bryce, and my Grammy (aka GG) all went out to eat at a seafood restaurant. We had never taken the boys out to eat together, and they were adorable chatting to each other across the table from their high chairs.
Brian and Bryce
GG and Uncle Brian
Mema, Meo, GG, Uncle Brian and Bryce
Bryce (17 months)
Mattimeo (8 months)
The whole gang
Mommy and Meo
Later that weekend, Robbie and I went to visit my Dad and Step Mom. While Meo was very happy to see and snuggle his Memere and Pepere, he was especially enthusiastic about seeing Harley. For some reason, he can't get enough of that big, goofy pup and is always cracking up with laughter when he sees him.
Patting Harley
Laughing at Harley
Harley is loving his Meo time
Game Night!
We managed to fit in a game night with our friends recently. Our friends, Andrew and Lauren, have a spare bedroom so Robbie, Meo and I were able to spend the night. Since Meo doesn't do well in the car after 6:30 at night, this made game night possible. Unfortunately, Meo didn't really want me to sneak away to play games while he slept, and after several failed attempts I eventually gave in and curled into bed with him for the night. So I didn't get to play very many games, but still enjoyed getting to see everyone and catch up a little. Robbie, on the other hand, enjoyed playing many games and had a grand ol' time drinking beer and wine and being goofy. I'm glad he had so much fun, he deserves to have carefree nights like that...it doesn't happen very often any more!
Meo playing on the floor during game night (8 months)
Game Night
Last Ever Seedlings Class
Last week, we officially had our last Blossoming Newborns Seedlings class at Birth Roots. It was bittersweet. Sweet because we have come so far and have formed so many great bonds. Bitter because we have grown to treasure our time at Birth Roots, and we will truly miss going regularly. These Blossoming Newborns classes have given me the opportunity to meet other moms and babies, to see how other moms are doing things, to see how other babies are progressing, to ask questions, to give/receive support, and most importantly begin some important friendships. I hope to continue to be a part of the Birth Roots community, it truly is a wonderful organization.
Avery
Meo trying to grab my camera
Melony
Zephyr and Melony
Last Seedling Class
Our April 2012 Seedlings Class
Up, Down Game
One of Mattimeo's new favorite game is one we fondly refer to as the "up, down game". To play, Meo sits in front of someone, reaches for their hands or fingers and pulls himself up to standing (unaided by the adult). Once standing, he promptly plomps back down onto his butt and repeats the act of going up and down over and over again. He can't get enough of it. See for yourself!
Playing the "up, down game" with Grandma
"Up, down game" (8 months)
"Up, down game" with Dad
Croup
We had our first real health scare with Mattimeo this weekend. On Sunday, Mattimeo woke up coughing around midnight. Robbie and I though perhaps he was choking on some pooled milk or saliva, or perhaps one of my stray hairs. The coughing was persistent, and his breathing was strained as well. Se we sat him down and played with him for about an hour (once the coughing stopped) waiting for his breathing to go back to normal. Eventually (nearly half of bag of dried mangos later...Meo was hungry!), it did and we went back to bed.
At 3 am, the coughing started up again. This time we knew something wasn't right, so Robbie proceeded to call our doctor while I ran upstairs and turned the shower on as hot as it could go hoping that sitting in a steamed room with him would ease his struggle. The on call nurse was concerned he was having an allergic reaction to something and suggested we either call 911 or bring him to the emergency room. Since we currently live so far away from the hospital, we decided to call 911. When the medics came, Meo was almost breathing regularly again, but did manage to cough once before they left. They said that the "barking seal" cough he had was an indication that he had croup and that we should bring him into the emergency room right away since it's better treated if caught early. Croup is a virus that causes tightness in the upper respiratory system, and apparently it has been going around lately; the medic said his little girl and his 8 month old both just got over it.
So by 5 am Robbie and I were in the very empty emergency room. Robbie's Dad works at the hospital as the manager of Environmental Services, so he joined us for part of our visit. Meo was in very good spirits while we were there and was hardly acting sick at all. All of the nurses, staff and doctors loved him and people kept coming in to peak on him and play with him. Meo loved it. The doctor confirmed that he had a very mild case of croup and gave him and oral dose of a steroid to help open up his throat to make breathing less difficult.
Three days later, Meo is doing fine, although he still has a bit of a cold which consists of a slight cough and runny nose. The second night that he had croup he woke up frequently crying. He had been nursing a lot and I assumed he was crying because I didn't have any more milk for him. I was very tired and not thinking straight. Around 3 am, I came to my senses and realized he kept waking up because he couldn't breath and promptly took him for a walk outside (as suggested by the doctor), hoping the cool air would help him open his throat. It worked like a charm and he slept the rest of the night tearless. We have been sleeping with a humidifier all week, being sure to get plenty of fresh air and kept Meo in the bathroom when I took showers so he could breath in the steam. He has been doing awesome, but unfortunately passed his cold onto Me, Robbie and Grandma!
Meo snuggled on my while I made breakfast the morning he was diagnosed with croup (8 months)
Gardening!
All of the seedlings we started indoors have been doing very well, and this weekend we decided it was time to get them into the ground.
Cucumber Seedlings
Marigold Seedlings
On Saturday we started gardening. Robbie's dad had already rototillered and composted the garden earlier that week. So on Saturday we were busy mending the cucumber trellises and planting the cucumber seedlings, placing tomato cages in the ground and planted the tomato seedlings, building hills and planting the zucchini and summer squash, and erecting a semi-functional twine fence.
Meo and I planting tomato seedlings
Meo and I planting tomato seedlings
Robbie and his dad setting up the tomato cages
Day one completed
Cucumber seedlings in the ground
Tomato seedling in the ground
Squash seedling in the ground
Pi was a big help and kept us company all weekend
On Sunday we completed the garden by putting in interior fences/guidelines, making bean teepees and planting the bean seeds, we planted the marigold seedlings strategically around the tomatoes, and sowing the beets, radish, kale and baby spinach seeds. Meo enjoyed both days of gardening immensely, whether he was observing from one of our backs in the ERGObaby, or playing in the garden eating dirt and sticks.
Playing in the garden (8 months)
"Mmm, rock"
First taste of dirt
Meo is on the Move!
One day shy of 9 months old, Mattimeo officially became mobile. I was downstairs doing yoga after my run, when Robbie's dad called down to me, "He's crawling!!" Sure enough, when I came upstairs he was scooting at high velocity to get to a cat toy that Robbie was taunting him with a couple yards away.
He is not on his hands and knees yet, but he uses his knees, toes and elbows to rapidly inch worm his way across rooms. It's only been a few days, and already he is getting faster and more sure of himself. He loves to go after block towers and knock them down. This has become sort of a game with us: see how tall I can build my tower before he scoots over and knocks it down.
He also scooted over to his little bookcase today and started taking out his toys and board books. I put that stuff down on his level intentionally, and it was fun to watch him finally able to crawl over and have at it. I am so proud of my little mover.
Checking out books, toys and Buddy (9 months)
9 Months Old
So there you have it, we now have a moving, happy 9 month old boy! Today he had his 9 month wellness check-up. The doctor said he was so handsome, and very smart. In fact she said he was perfect. Here are his stats for this month:
Weight: 19 lbs 10.4 oz (50th percentile) Length: 28 inches (50th percentile) Head Circumference: (90th percentile)
We are so proud and in love with our baby boy. Before you know it, he will be walking...
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