bear

I had a couple days off work to spend with Carson and we had a lot of fun together despite being sick.  He plays so hard and then crashes... 

Took the opportunity to get another picture with name letters so I can compare how much he's grown...

Carson is cruising along furniture and will use one hand to play and occasionally let go with both hands then plop down. He is starting to hand others a toy and then immediately will take it back.  Still loves to watch others especially kids.  We purchased some more baby gates for the bottom of the stairs after Carson showed us he can climb up the seven steps to the landing.  Is starting to put items in containers and stacking blocks vs just knocking over and taking items out.  Carson started this thing where he likes to bump heads (I’m blaming Ross for this one) it’s all fun until he gets too excited with it, then ouch!

He’s been sick some with a runny nose and vomiting but seems to handle it better than us when he shares it with us! 

I read on a parenting website that at this age he could start to get an item he is attached to.  He hasn’t started this one yet and it definitely isn’t this bear!  Nor does he seem to understand why I want his picture with it.  He loves this car and will keep pushing the button until the Wheels on the Bus music starts and gets the biggest smile.

I finally got a bath mat and put the baby tub away – what a big boy!  He’s beginning to help us get undress/dressed by moving his arms and has started not helping by being very active with the use of the changing table, we are going to have to stop using it here pretty soon. 

We took Carson to a Dermatologist after his eczema stuck around with a lot of flare ups and feeling like we were drugging him with Benadryl just so he would be comfortable and not scratch his face/legs off.   Good news is that the creams although pricey have reallly been helping!

We started a baby sign language class and it has been fun to interact with the other kids and moms. I think Carson has done milk sign once and either clapped or has done more a couple times, but I guess it’s a start.

Has six teeth and I am amazed at how he has a chewing movement with his mouth now.  He has begun drinking warm formula from his sippy cup with meals.  We gave him a piece of pizza more for the fun of it to see how he would react and had fun playing with it - a lot of good sensory input :)  We haven't given Carson many sweets but thought would give him a little taste before his birthday cake!

Carson is continuously pulling up to standing now and is getting braver using hand(s) to reach and hold onto things while standing.  Love watching him imitate us clapping our hands and making mouth noises.  He loves to feed himself but hasn't quite figured out the chew and swallow before continuing to take more bites!

Carson's eczema has been doing a lot better with the perscription cream and aquaphor lotion.  We tried a soy based formula for about two weeks per our doctor with no real difference noted so back to regular formula (and appreciating its smell).  Just glad we can control it now and not have the open sores.

After a period of not sleeping through the night again we took our doctors advice and let Carson cry it out.  The first night I slept in the basement so I wouldn't have to hear him crying and after a couple nights of crying for periods he has been sleeping great.  He now takes two naps a day with one in the morning and one in the afternoon anywhere from 45 min to 1.5 hours.

Carson is on the move

• Crawling all over the place
• Pulling up to kneeling easily and occasionally up to standing
• When holding his hands he will take steps at times
• Have moved the plants, papers and a lot of the pretties out of the way but will still hear "no carson (occasionally the middle name too)" 

...just like his dada (love all Carson's babbling)!  It is not the big, orange ears but the big smile, infectious laugh and shirt sleeves too short on him.  Carson has started this thing with squinting his eyes at times when he sees the camera to pose hopefully the flash hasn't got to him or he has to work hard to have open eyes for pics like his dad.

We survived our first family flu sickness in the household!  Carson wasn't quite himself last weekend and then on Tuesday he threw up and had diarrhea and then it hit mom and dad on Wednesday.  Carson spent his first night away from mom and dad at Grandma and Grandpa Louch's Thursday night so he didn't have to take care of us.  So sorry whoever else we spread this to!!

Our 8 month old is learning new things everyday...  In church this morning he reached into the diaper bag twice to get his own toys out before I had the chance to get any out (I did have it unzipped :) ).  For lunch he is now able to get several cereal puffs into his mouth and enjoys eating them vs just playing with them and getting close to the mouth.  If I have a bottle ready for him on the floor twice now he has found his way over there (no forward crawling yet) and started feeding himself.  We are having so much fun playing peek-a-boo and he has figured out object permanence which makes hiding the remote harder (do boys really learn at such a young age to want the remote?!?).

So the "d" sound came before the "m" sound in this household for Carson (Ross must having having some extra tutoring sessions!).  But just lately Carson has been saying ma ma ma a lot and even though I know he's just learning the sound, I love to hear it!!

Carson is expanding his taste buds to hamburger and chicken and has had all the main fruits and vegtables.  He typically has formula and eats food at breakfast, lunch, occasionally snack, supper and trying to be more consistent with cereal at bed (his tummy needs it to sleep through the night!).  We've started soft puffs with Carson enjoying playing with them and occasionally getting them in his mouth.

Loved this expression!

Communication

• High pitched squeals
• Turns head in direction of sound
• Babbling with sounds like ah-ba, ka, da and ba-ba
• Waved bye-bye to dad at daycare

Gross Motor

• When on his back will lift legs to play with, but have no found the mouth yet
• Rolling from back to tummy and tummy to back with preference toward left side
• Unsupported sitting when forward leaned posture for about 1 minute when placed upright with occasional use of hands to help sit up, occasional reaching for toys and will smile if falls down to side
• Starting to put weight through his legs in standing when supported as he shows off his dancing skills by bending/straightening his legs in an uncoordinated fashion
• Is starting to scoot backwards when on tummy.  When he sees objects in front out of reach he tries to reach for it and has at times got his knees under him and his butt in the air.  When on his back uses his leg muscles to lift his butt in the air, then scoot to the side and has scooted up. 
• We never know how we will find him when he’s sleeping, but usually after putting to bed on his back he wakes up on his tummy, side, half side with butt raised up.
• Holds head straight when going from laying down to sitting up and in general supports head in all positions
• When in a reclined sitting or on his back is starting to bring his head up more

Fine motor

• Loves to grab and explore all toys
• Uses two hands to reach for and grasp a toy at other times uses only one, will pass back and forth
• Will reach for Cheerio with thumb and index finger but then switches to raking motion to be successful to pick up
• Is starting to help turn cardboard book pages with a little help

Problem Solving

• Reaches for toys with one or two hands
• When a toy drops from his high chair has this quizzical look to try and figure out what happened
• Will pick up toys (pacifier is now classified as a toy) and pass them back and forth between hands as well as put in his mouth
• When on his back if a toy is dropped and can see it will try and pick it up again
• Started banging toys on table

Personal-Social

• When playing with a mirror will reach out to pat the mirror and smile at himself
• Starting to cry a little when we leave the room occasionally
• When on his back will grab at his feet
• Starting to be able to reach more toys by rolling and turning sideways
• Starting to enjoy peek-a-boo, so-big and pat-a-cake games
• Starting to drool more and put more things in mouth so possible teething

Body

• His eyes are starting to get darker and look more brown
• Hair is blond and very fine but he is starting to get some!
• Mouth/Tummy
  • Hasn’t been helping hold on to his bottle lately
  • Easily distracted when feeding
  • Starting to like cereal now after a couple weeks
  • Hasn’t been a fan of the baby food bananas and squash but liked the real banana we prepared for him
  • Starting to drink more formula now
  • Drank water for the first time today from a sippy cup

Carson is already five months old!  He is growing lots and starting to outgrow his 3-6 month clothes. 

This picture describes Carson - instead of sitting next to his bear as in previous months he is interacting more and more with his environment.  He is getting stronger and is sitting with support using a pillow for this picture.  Although he wouldn't smile for this picture he is typically happy.  As the books state he is starting to demonstrate his love and sense of humor.

Still trialing cereal with quite the faces for rice cereal, first fruit - bananas, and multigrain cereal... although the bibs taste better!

I love to jump!

First morning we found Carson on his tummy after putting him to bed on his back.  Was even more surprised to find him in the middle of his bed.

It was time again to get the brown bear out for picture time.  It's amazing looking back on previous bear pictures how much Carson has grown.  If you click on the blog tag "bear" below you can see all tlhe posts with his picture and the bear.  Here's some other things Carson has been up to:

• Started rolling over tummy to back again
• At daycare eating 3 – 7 oz bottles
• Laughing more
• Sleeping through the night again (yep probably jinxing it)

Here’s an update on what Carson’s been up to. He’s been pretty healthy minus a couple of stuffy noses but this week got a yucky cough with it but still his happy self.  He’s only had one incident at daycare bumping his nose and I think it was more traumatic for us than him.

• Sounds
  • Laughing out loud
  • Squeals in delight
  • Ahhhh Goooo sounds
  • Starting to imitate facial and sound expressions (emerging)
• Hands/arms
  • Bringing his hands to his mouth and whatever he has grabbed onto
  • Brought his pacifier up to his mouth x1
  • Hugging  us around the neck when we pick him up
• Vision
  • Looking at people when they talk
  • Becoming a better listener and noticing sounds in the environment
• Fun activities
  • Johnny Jumper with mom helping a little
  • Rolling from tummy to back occasionally
  • Likes tummy time for longer periods up to 30 min
  • Still kicking loves kicking to music
  • Pre-crawling movement when on his tummy and scooting forward a couple times
• Head/face
  • Burying his head/nose  in whatever is close
  • Lifting head 90 degrees
  • Keeping head level when going to sitting position
  • Tickle in certain spots will give you a smile, stomach, neck, corner of mouth
  • Lots of sticking out his tongue
• Feet/toes
  • Bearing weight on legs when held upright when he wants to
  • Ticklish on his toes, have fun with This Little Piggy song
• Schedule
  • Sleeping through the night about 9 hours at a time (Can sleep through really loud noise) and sometimes still waking up around 4ish and hungry
  • Eating about 4-5oz with each bottle
  • Still lots of gas
  • Mainly one mega poop a day, moved up to size two diapers
  • Still a good traveler, survives long road trips