Elijah Phillip Stake: I HAVE FEET!!!

Hello again,

I suppose it is time for another post! Not a whole lot going on, but we are definitely growing big and strong!! Elijah is really working on sitting by himself! He can sit unsupported for a little while which is neat to see. He still needs someone there in case he falls, or he just sits nicely in the boppy pillow. It is so fun to see him explore new things. He is talking more, making some fun new sounds, definitely getting his own personality! He has also discovered his feet! We will catch him pretty much bent in half because he has his toes in his mouth. Hahaha. But with his new found abilities come some challenges. He is into anything and everything he can get his hands on!! Gone are the days when he can sit in our laps during a meal or while playing a game. We were playing Settlers of Catan the other night and he kept grabbing the cards. Take those away and he is grabbing the pieces. Take those away and all of the sudden he throws the dice on the floor! What a little busy body! I think we are going to have our hands full when he starts moving on his own!

We are having issues with sleep still, but it is slowing getting better. While he was sick and when everything was going on, he slept with us in our bed most nights. As his issues started clearing up we tried to keep him in his bed. Then he was up all the time and it was tough! Now he is sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night. Yes, it still seems like a lot, but it is WAY better than is was before. I am working on getting out of bed to feed him instead of just bringing him to bed and falling asleep. Hopefully we can keep this up and he can learn that he needs to stay in his own bed and maybe sleep longer! And Zech has been good, too. When Elijah wakes up and it's not time to eat, he tries to help him get back to sleep. I guess babies know their mama and know what they can give :) But because Zech obviously can't give him that, then he 'should' be ok and go back to sleep. Naps are an issue too. He is not a napper most days. However, he can take good naps every now and then. Yesterday morning was about 2 1/2 hours (with a few interuptions, but he went right back to sleep). I could tell a HUGE difference in his demeanor after that time. He was happy and content. Lately his naps have been 45 min to 1 hour. He is not as peaceful during the day when this happens. So we are working hard to help him sleep. It's tough when everyday is different, but you do what you can.

We also learned that jumpers and exersaucers are not ideal for little ones. Our chiropractor said their hip joints are not fully developed until a year old, so should not be weight bearing until then if at all possible. Of course, babies stand and sometimes walk before then, and you can't stop them. Elijah is definitely strong and loves to stand up. We can't stop that! But for now we will avoid the walker and the jumper when we can. Every now and then is not bad, but long exposure should definitely be avoided. Sad, though, as Elijah really enjoys both--as you will see from pics below!

Here are some pics!!!

2-10-12

He really does love his jumper

2-10-12

4 month pic!

2-11-12

2-12-12

We tried some buckwheat cereal as he was having trouble b-feeding, but he didn't really like it. Maybe in a month or two we will mix it with some fruit.