Skinny Legs

We've started making a lot of music together as a family. E Ben plays the guitar and I sometimes sing. Jude hums along and kicks to the beat. Our current favorite is "Skinny Legs" by Lyle Lovett. Although E Ben is the only one of the three of us with anything approaching skinny legs these days... Here's a family photo from tonight:



Jude also likes dancing, especially from our shoulders. It's a sure way to get a smile out of him, although we do have to watch out for messes in our hair - he has been spitting up quite a lot lately...



Jude has now eaten a few more foods. We gave him rice cereal for a few days (see photo below of him sticking his tongue out while eating - one of his favorite new faces). Today we tried stewed pears for the first time, and he reportedly gobbled them right up. I think we have an eater on our hands...



Jude had a great time spending the weekend with his Grammie. He even had a bath in her sink!



We're looking forward to an upcoming visit from my mom and sister. Jude will visit Mt. Hood for the first time, and maybe even play in the snow!

Cultural Anthropology

Jude and E Ben were playing a hilarious game the other night called "Kiss my Foot, Kick my Face". We got a little bit of the end on video.



Jude is currently spending the weekend with his Grammie Terry. We're enjoying some time alone, but the house does seem very quiet! I was happy to discover that I can pump enough in 24 hours to feed him while he's out visiting. I was a little worried that the weekend would not be good for my milk supply, but everything seems to be just fine.

We started Jude back on solids early last week. We tried some rice cereal, but it made him a little constipated so we switched back to the sweet potatoes, which went right through him! At this point, we're mixing sweet potato and rice cereal, and Jude seems to really like it! We're going to try some avocado this week.

Wheezing

Jude started wheezing on Sunday, and it continued through the next few days. We called his pediatrician on Monday, and Dr. Jack said that while it would be highly unusual for Jude to be allergic to sweet potatoes, it's possible that he's just not physically ready for solids yet. So we're waiting another week or so to reintroduce solid foods. He seems really hungry, however, especially at night, so we've started giving him a pretty sizeable bottle right before he goes to bed. Even though he's just been nursing for twenty minutes, he sucks it down as if he's never eaten before in his life! Poor little guy - we can't wait until he can have some food again!

Close-Up

Here's another video of Jude eating. This one is a little closer so you can see the action a bit better!



We also had the first sweet potato diaper. Pretty gross!

Sweet Potato Puree

Jude had his first meal today - sweet potato puree! Here's a video of the first couple of bites:



It was a little bit dicey whether or not we'd get to feed him his first meal today. We had planned to do it between his 10am feeding and his nap, but by the time we got the sweet potato roasted, pureed, mixed with formula, and him ready to eat it, Jude was ready for his nap and in no mood to try something new. So, we put him down for his nap and tried again later in the afternoon.

He did really well, finishing almost the whole bowl of food! Of course, a lot of it ended up on his face, up his nose, in his hair, and on the bib, but I think he did actually swallow some. I think part of the problem was that the only baby spoon we had was too big for his mouth, so we bought a few smaller spoons last night at Target. We both jumped in the bathtub afterwards to get him cleaned up.

Here are a couple of cute photos of the process:

Five!

Jude is five months old today. I completely missed the four-month post, because we were on the road for two weeks and our Internet wasn't working for the couple of days before we left. I'll have to make up for it with this one!

During his fifth month of life, Jude picked up four new states and re-visited New York and New Jersey. He also met many of our friends and family for the first time. We went to a Christmas party last weekend (delayed due to the weather over the holidays). Here's a photo of all of us with Grandma Miller.



Jude is still fairly uninterested in rolling over and moving around. He is reaching for objects and grabbing them if they are in reach. He loves the Exersaucer and Gymini, and even seems to enjoy the swing sometimes (as long as it's on the highest setting). He's not so fond of the jumper, although that may change as he gets a little older.

We've set up a little chair for him to use once he starts eating solids (which will be any day now) and he's getting better at sitting up in it. He's also doing really well with the Bumbo seat.





Jude has also learned a new trick - holding his own bottle. E Ben likes that one, since he can get the boy set up and then leave him to feed himself on the days when I'm at work!



Speaking of work, my going back to work has been a big adjustment for us all. Jude has had to get used to spending all day with his dad (which he loves) and eating from a bottle. I've had to learn to get by with fewer naps and frequent visits to the Nursing Mother's Room to try to pump enough milk to keep Jude happy. E Ben has had to get used to spending his days with just Jude sometimes, and also arranging his days so that Jude has the opportunity to take good naps.

We've also started looking around for some child-care help. Jude is asleep at night by 7pm, which is great, but it also means we can't really both leave the house unless we can find a sitter. It really helps our collective sanity to be able to get out from time to time, and a few of our friends have graciously offered to help us out by holding down the fort while we get out for a couple of hours. It's a pretty easy job, since Jude is asleep the whole time, but we really appreciate it. Thanks guys! You know who you are!

Speaking of sleep, Jude is usually a great sleeper. He falls asleep at around 7pm, eats once in the night (usually between 2am and 4am) and then wakes up at 7am happy and ready for the day. Some nights are not as good, but I think it's usually when he's either hungry or isn't feeling well. Since my return to work, Jude has seemed hungrier and my milk supply seems to be going down, so we've started supplementing with a little formula to keep him satisfied. I don't really have the time to pump as often as I would need to in order to get my supply back up, so we're going to do the best we can and supplement with formula as needed. We're also planning to start with some "solid" foods soon. Probably sweet potato first! We'll be sure to update with photos of his first meal!

OHH-BAA-MAA!

Jude has been babbling a lot lately and we've been hearing a few words in his stream of sounds (of course he has no idea what they mean). I've heard him say O-MA and E Ben has heard MA-MA. Both of us have heard O-BA-MA, sometimes even on cue! We are so proud...:)