Owen - 7 Months

So much has happened in the past month!

Owen has started crawling, celebrated his first Thanksgiving, tried solid food, and gotten his first tooth all within the past four weeks. It has been crazy!

Owen weighs right at 18 pounds and is 28 inches long. That makes him tall and skinny currently.

On Thanksgiving Day he started crawling. Both of my parents and Cody and I were there to witness the first real scoot along the floor at my Grandma's house. Oddly enough, I accidentally coaxed Owen into crawling by setting my phone a few feet out in front of him and saying, "If you want that phone so bad, go get it." Sure enough, homeboy crawled to that phone. Now he can crawl all over this house. He likes being able to independently do his best at sticking his hands in the dog food bowls and their water dish. He also manages to crawl directly into things like walls and table legs so we have had to watch him closely. At this point, he has only perfected an army crawl on his belly, but in the past week he seems to be figuring out how to balance himself on his knees and hands.

He does love all things technological (phones, iPads, computers, televisions). We try to avoid them as much as possible but a lot of the time it feels like a losing battle. He also likes blocks and anything he can put in his mouth. He plays all of the time now, which has made the whole parenting thing a lot more fun.

We started solid foods this month. We started with bananas and proceeded from there to avocados and sweet potatoes. He was sort of unimpressed at the beginning of the food process but seems like he is getting more interested all the time.

We went to Dallas this month for Cody's business Christmas party. Owen did fine. Sleeping in bed with us actually makes travelling easier it seems. We didn't get to eat all of our normal stuff because of Owen's allergy issues, but we had fun nonetheless.

Owen also got his first tooth (and second soon thereafter) this month. It has been an exciting few weeks for our little man.

In the hotel room in Dallas before Cody's Christmas party. December 5th.

Looking at the lights on the Square in Fayetteville.

Bath time has become a real hit.

Cody and Owen watching an Adele video...and singing.

Owen tearing up the paper at his 6 month doctor's visit.

The faces of Owen as he peeks over a shoulder are priceless. 

Owen - 6 Months

Half a year! Somehow Owen is six months old. This milestone always stood out to me as an important one before I had Owen and even in the first few weeks of his life when things were pretty tough. I always assured myself that by six months life was bound to feel back to normal even with Owen in it. I was right. Life does seem normal now with a child in tow. I no longer feel like I am on the longest babysitting job of my life! We have a routine that feels easy to follow and I find myself naturally signing "Owen" to birthday cards that we give to friends. I still sort of cringe calling myself a mother or telling people that I'm a "stay-at-home mom" (ick for some reason) but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Some things to remember:

Owen weighs a little north of 17 pounds and is around 27 inches long.

He has made a lot of progress physically in the past month. He can now sit unassisted for quite a while. He does topple pretty regularly, but he certainly spends more time upright now than before. He is also getting much more comfortable on his belly. He can spin a full 180 degrees on his stomach and somehow manages to scoot around to reach a toy that he wants or a dog to "pet."

Owen is much more interested in our dogs these days. He likes to watch them play and would like all of them to lick his hands (disgusting). Felina is especially interested in Owen and would lick the kid from head to toe if I let her. Owen likes feeling Felina's fur. Staley occasionally acts interested in Owen. Finny wants nothing to do with the baby.

Owen is obsessed with cell phones and remote controls. I do my best to keep my phone away from him, but I am certain he has caught on that Cody and I are constantly on them. I tell myself that I'm giving him enough old school activities, like book reading and rolling around on the floor, to counteract some of the technology that surrounds him.

We are still limiting television as much as possible. Owen seems to be less interested in it when it's on though so I guess that's a good thing.

We have created the "family bed" as Cody likes to call it to allow for more room to sleep since we have officially accepted Owen sleeping with us as a permanent development. We have pushed together two queen mattresses in an upstairs bedroom and sleep all cozied up each night with Owen and our three (sometimes two when Finny sleeps on the floor) dogs. It's completely ridiculous and magical all at the same time. Owen goes to sleep around 8 each night (although sometimes as early as 7:30 or as late as 9:30) and generally wakes up between 7 and 8. Daylight Saving Time apparently doesn't apply to babies. He does still take a morning, afternoon, and early evening nap.

Owen got sick for the first time in his sixth month. At the beginning of November, he caught what I assume was a cold. He was really stopped up and fussy for a couple of days and nights.

Some funny Owen-isms that I want to remember: he often times poops when we go to the library (if you're up for some information about an interesting phenomenon, look up the smell of books acting as a laxative...so crazy) and he also cries in an elevator unless we cover him with a blanket and talk to him like a bunch of idiots to distract him. He also has started nearly hyperventilating when he gets really excited about nursing.

Lounging in bed with Dad. 

He sometimes holds his ear when he sleeps. 

A trip to the mailbox.

His hood has ears. I couldn't resist a picture. 

I took this accidentally one morning and then realized that it best represents Owen to me for some reason. 

He loves his Dad. 

Laughing at Felina, or the Doula as we joke. 

Owen - 5 Months

Owen is five months old and more fun than ever. I think I am continually loving this kid more and more with each passing day. That is bound to level out at some point.

A few things to remember about Owen at five months old: he weighs around 16 pounds. We went to his four month appointment on October 12th and he weighed 15.12 lbs and was 27 inches long. He seems to be perfectly healthy. We are still working through the dairy and soy issues. Other than that though, Owen seems to be perfectly healthy. I have started giving him a probiotic to hopefully help some of his food sensitivities. 

Owen is a really content kid. He rarely cries. Every once in a while he seems to get scared by something and really cry. Other than that, he fusses to let us know when he needs something and immediately stops when we get him what he wants. He is still exclusively breastfed. He nurses on and off day and night, and I love every minute of it. 

Owen still loves his feet. He drools all the time and sucks on his fingers and hands continuously. He is becoming much more active. He rolls from his back to his stomach all the time now. On occasion he manages to get from his stomach to his back, but he is still working to perfect that move. He still likes all his toys. We bought him a bouncer that hangs from a doorway this month. He will use it, although I'm not sure he gets exactly what is supposed to be happening quite yet. 

He has started doing a lot of really cute things. He laughs on a regular basis now, although we try to limit the laughing because he almost always gets the hiccups. He buries his head against your shoulder or in his hands if you make eye contact with him at the right time, which is the cutest thing ever. He still "talks" to us most mornings when we wake up. We contend that he is telling us about his dreams. 

He now sleeps in our bed all night long. He is usually asleep by 10 and wakes up around 8 or 9 each morning. He does rustle throughout the night but generally will go back to sleep immediately if I nurse him. Cody and I are both on board with him being in our bed. We realize we may be setting ourselves up for a disaster as he gets older, but there is something undeniably sweet about your baby sleeping next to you. We often times come back to how fleeting Owen wanting to sleep in our bed will be. The kid will be in junior high before we know it and none of us will want him in our bed. 

We visited the Pumpkin Patch this month with the Kratzberg's. Owen slept through most of the outing, but did manage to wake toward the end to pick out a pumpkin. We went to Little Rock this month to buy some workout equipment for Cody. We also went to War Eagle and leaf-looking around the Buffalo River with my parents. We stayed overnight in Eureka Springs for the first time away from home when we went looking at leaves. Owen did great. 

We still regularly check out books from the library. We read books everyday, another activity I really like. 

Owen rolled off of the couch one afternoon. Cody was with him while I was at the store. Cody was traumatized when I got home. Owen seemed fine, but we did rethink napping accommodations. 

Life is good with Owen in it. In some ways my life is sort of crumbling around me, but I kind of feel like I have a wall built to protect Owen and me. I refuse to react to life the way I used to. I am devoted to soaking in as much of Owen being a baby as I can without letting anything stand in the way. I love not working. I wish I could manage not to work until he is in school. I love being a parent. I think I knew I would, but it was a significant transition to get to this point. Cody and I are so happy to have this little boy.

A family photo with the pumpkin of Owen's dreams. 

At the Pumpkin Patch. By the way, this was the first time Owen ever wore shoes. 

This is our bouncer seat that Owen just sort of hangs (literally) in. 

Sleeping babies. 

At War Eagle, Poppy (my dad) held Owen under a shade tree while my mom and I shopped. 

Playing in the yard while Cody and I planted some bushes.

One Saturday before the Farmer's Market. 

Owen and I laid in our backyard one afternoon on this blanket.
We read books and looked up at the trees and watched the dogs play. 

At Spider Creek. First overnight adventure. 

The Dinky Dragon

All the kids at Halloween at the Kratzberg's. Owen was not too happy. 

On Halloween day at Chickfila in our Halloween pajamas. 

Playing with Poppy...and napkins. 

The Prater men. 

Owen - 4 Months

Owen is 16 weeks old. I don't know if parents always think their babies are continually becoming cuter and cuter, but I know Cody and I feel this way. I find myself worrying that one day Owen is suddenly going to become less fun to hang out with. I'm telling myself that maybe that doesn't happen until your kid is a teenager. Fingers crossed.

Owen has started giggling in the past month. It is the most adorable thing you've ever seen or heard. We can't quite narrow down surefire ways to make him laugh. Sometimes he'll just start chuckling and it's one of the best things I have going in my life right now.

We have started going to Fayetteville once a week to eat Chipotle (very allergy-friendly restaurant) with Cody's mom. The trips are a nice little change of routine for us.

Owen has become much more active this month. He can roll from his back to his belly, but then is pretty much confused about what to do from there. He has found his feet. He likes holding them and staring at them intently. He loves sucking on his fingers still and has started playing with toys. He likes his bumbo seat that has the tray of toys around him. He also likes his Baby Einstein bouncer. He will lay on a play mat for quite some time (10-15 minutes) without becoming bored.

At around 14 weeks, we revamped our approach to parenting Owen. One day it just sort of dawned on me that Kristen Bell said on The Ellen Show once that her child had never seen the movie Frozen because they were following the American Pediatrics Association guidelines of no screen time before two years old. As a non-parent at the time I didn't pay a lot of attention to this statement, but the memory prompted me to do a little research about screen time and babies. I had told myself that "screen time" (which is a phrase that really makes my skin crawl for some reason) didn't start until your child was at least old enough to crawl or maybe old enough to walk. The first two months of Owen's life was spent with me holding/nursing him and watching TV. That's all we did. Nevertheless, Cody and I have made a concerted effort not to watch television during the day. The transition seemed crazy at first, but Owen really had started paying a lot of attention to the TV. Sure enough, without a television I am a markedly better parent. We read a lot more books, spend a lot more time outside, play with toys, and sit and "talk" to each other a lot more than I did when a TV was stealing my attention. I feel vaguely guilty about this whole thing, but I figure righting the ship at any point is better than not at all.

A few of the books that we read recently that we (I) really liked are: The Bears Sea Escape by Benjamin Chaud, Owen by Kevin Henkes, Edwina the Dinosaur that Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems, and Naked Mole Rats Get Dressed also by Mo Willems. A couple times a week we visit the library and check out books. I've always loved libraries and have thoroughly enjoyed reading books to Owen. He seems to like reading as much as a baby can.

Owen weighs around 14.5 pounds. His growth seems to have slowed compared to past months. He wears some 6 and some 9 month clothes.

He starts out each night in his Rock 'n Play. That lasts generally around 2-3 hours before he cries and I excitedly scoop him up and lay him in bed next to me to nurse. I then spend the next seven hours contorted in bed around my infant son ensuring he is comfortable, well-fed, and warm. Go ahead and judge, all you parents who can manage to make your child sleep in a crib and go to bed at 7:30. Hats off to you, but Cody and I can't seem to make that happen.

I've thought multiple times about updating this blog more, trying to capture what life is like with a baby of my own. All that I can figure is that I can't tell you what this is like. I do not have the words to explain the feeling of being Owen's mom. I can't make you appreciate his giggle like I do. I can't recreate the profile of his face as he sleeps. I can't bring to life 3a.m. with a nursing baby snuggled up to my chest, listening to his breath in and out. I can't explain how his existence has completely altered mine in a slew of ways that I never imagined and for which I could never prepare. I just can't tell you about my life today because words could never accurately describe who Owen is for me. I understand now why being a parent is simultaneously the best and hardest experience a person can ever undertake. I worry how I will ever let this little human out of my sight. He is truly the best thing I've ever done.

This is where Owen sits most nights while we eat dinner. 

We've been going to the Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings. 

Before a bath one night. 

Cody was having some fun at Target. 

Slightly cross-eyed Owen.