April Catch Up

Whoa! Way behind on the blog posts (again . . . ). So sorry about that! So much has happened since I last posted. I can't believe we're rounding the bend on 9 months for Brayden. It's so great to look at last month's post and see how much he has grown! Here are the highlights from his 8 month photo shoot. As you can see, he tried to eat the sign! He's into anything he can get his hands on these days!

April this year meant Easter, and Brayden and I took our first flight alone (without the help of Nonni) to Atlantic City! Brayden did really well and slept most of the flight. It was cool to fly in over all of the casinos! We stayed at Nonni and Poppy's beach house in Ocean City, and we had a really good time putting Brayden in his Easter outfits!

We decided to go see the Easter Bunny, but when we arrived (30 minutes early), the line was already around the block. Instead, we took our own photos in the lifeguard stand. Maybe we'll get to see the Easter Bunny next year!

Nonni and Poppy have a lot of toys at the beach house, and of course, there is always Bailey and Rusty who are up for some sniffing around!

Nonni and Poppy bought Brayden a bunny cup for Easter. He loves it! He has become very proficient at sipping out of the straw!

Laughing at Nonni and Poppy!

Uncle Brendan and Aunt Patrice also came to visit and we took a walk on the boardwalk. As always, the salt air made Brayden sleepy, and so he is asleep in his stroller in this picture!

Brayden and I have been going to a playgroup since he was about four weeks old. One of the babies in the playgroup just turned one, and so we headed to the country club in Sudbury for a princess party! Brayden had a great time getting dressed up and playing with his pals! 

Brayden and his girlfriend Peyton. 

The moms! We met in prenatal yoga, so our babies were in our bellies when they met for the first time! 

We also went to the allergist this month, and they did the scratch testing on his arm. It wasn't too bad for him, even though he cried. I distracted him with a Fisher Price app on my phone (which I have never let him watch before!). The allergist was really great with him, and she was very helpful in coming up with solutions for Brayden's eczema (The solutions, you ask? Daily bath and an amazing cream that we put on his cheeks and legs twice a day). It turns out Brayden is allergic to  . . . . EGGS!! (as well as soy and dairy, but we pretty much already knew that). I had not been very strict about avoiding eggs, so after about 10 days of an egg free diet, we saw such a change in Brayden! He was less fussy, and his eczema cleared up! He finally started sleeping longer stretched, probably because his tummy felt better and because he wasn't scratching his skin! All of that equals a happy, better rested baby and mom!! More postings soon! His nine month birthday is right around the corner!  

Lucky Number Seven

Brayden has been a busy little bee these past few weeks! We celebrated his 7 month birthday two days ago. It really was his best photo shoot to date! 

We have also been concerned about his weight. He didn't really gain much in the span of about three weeks, and so yesterday we went to see the doctor for a second dose of the flu shot and a weight check. And . . . he gained a full pound in two weeks as well as a quarter of an inch in length! He is now 15.3 lbs and 26.25 inches long! Hooray! We were worried about our little man. I am hoping that the trend continues.

We celebrated this great success and his birthday by going to baby yoga. This was our last session before I have to go back to work. Brayden is also ready to move up to Tots Yoga, since he is on his way to crawling! He has too much energy now for the mellow baby yoga class!

Toes to the nose!

Brayden has also been eating solid foods! Here are the most recent food pics.

Sweet potato!

Avocado!

He enjoys the eating part, but it's the digesting part that often make his tummy very unhappy. Either he has a lot of gas and is uncomfortable or he has the opposite problem . . . nothing happens and he is extremely uncomfortable. I am still breastfeeding, and while I have been restricting my diet (no soy, dairy, or nuts), it's still unclear to us what might be upsetting him. We've tried everything. Everything. We can't seem to win. We have been to the pediatrician who referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist. The GI nurse practitioner was extremely unhelpful, and (I thought) very rigid in her understanding of Brayden. Our next stop is the baby allergist. Please pray that we can figure out what is going on with our little man. Dan and I just want him to be comfortable and to sleep better. We have held off on sleep training because, well, how can we let him cry when he is obviously in pain? We can't. And so some times we just don't sleep a lot. Lately, though we have been getting some 5 hour stretches, which has been great.

Speaking of sleeping, Mr. Brayden also does not like to nap in his crib, and so we have been walking him to sleep. It has been good exercise for me, and the weather lately has been beautiful! Here are a few pics of Brayden asleep in his stroller.

He also likes to sleep on Dan's shoulder (and mine. Currently, he is asleep in the Ergo carrier on my chest. This is new for us!).

But sometimes we do get the oh-so-sweet (and often oh-so-short) nap in the crib.

Asleep in Ocean City, NJ!

At home in Milford.

If only those naps would last just a little longer!!

Finally, Brayden has been rolling over like a champ! He's been going front to back for a while, but now he can go from back to belly! We found him asleep on his belly this morning in his crib! This was a first! No pics of this yet, but we will try to get some video! Crawling is sure to follow soon!

Catching Up with Brayden

Wow! Has it really been since January that I last posted? That says to me that time moves way too fast! And it reminds me of how busy we have been! We'll stick to short summaries and long pictures since it has been so long! Brayden had his half birthday (6 months) on Valentine's Day! He was as cute as can be! He was my perfect Valentine! We love you, Brayden!

He also had his six month check up. He is a little guy, weighing in at just 14.4 lbs and 25 inches long. That puts him in the 3.5 percentile for weight and the 2.98 percentile for height. His head is in the 26 percentile! He got a lot of shots, and so we had a tough night. That darn Roto Virus is the worst. It really messes with his stomach! 

Because Brayden has so many suspected allergies, we decided to wait to give him solids until 6 months. And so, the day after his birthday, I gave him his first taste of "solid" food--baby rice cereal! We had fun giving it to him, and I think he really liked it! 

Since then, he has had sweet potato

 

And baby oatmeal . . . 

We also went to visit Nonni and Poppy in Ocean City, New Jersey. Brayden was such a great traveler! He slept for most of the six hour ride down there. I love going to their new beach house. It's very relaxing--even in the winter! We had awesome weather. It was so incredibly warm the first few days we were there! I ran on the boardwalk twice, which was such a treat for me! Of course, we took Brayden for walks, too! Here are so pics from the trip. 

You can see Atlantic City!

Brayden fast asleep in his stroller!

We had fun playing inside, too! 

I can't believe we are on the other side of six months! Time goes by so, so fast! I will do my best to post more frequently in the upcoming month of March. Stay tuned for more cuteness!