It's always nice to kick things off with a Justin Bieber reference.
It's been a while since I did a proper Hudson update, and since he's accomplished a lot since Thanksgiving, I've got plenty of material.
We had such an amazing Christmas with our families in St. Louis. We got to enjoy time with both sides of the family, and introduce Hudson to some friends who hadn't met him before.
With our new stroller, a Christmas gift from all the parents!
Hudson and Mommy on Christmas Eve
Christmas morning jammies!
With our friends Cara & Cody and Rob & Laura
With his new Magic Mozart Cube
He got some wonderful gifts and with the help of my mom I was able to finish his handmade stocking by Christmas. I love how it turned out and I'm so happy he'll have it to cherish for many Christmases to come!
Hudson is definitely into food! He still nurses like a champ, but in between, he is hungry for more. He is getting used to the idea of texture in his food. Most of the time if he turns up his nose at something, it isn't the flavor but the texture. I'm afraid he may be a late teether, like his mama. I was toothless until I was a year old! I certainly don't see any little budding teeth in his mouth, and none of the other telltale signs, like excessive drooling, are present either. But even though actual chewing might be a ways off, I don't want him to get addicted to the smooth purees, so I try to thicken things up with his baby oatmeal. I also have given him little veggie puffs, and picking them up off his tray helps with his coordination and fine motor skills. He rarely gets one in his mouth (Scruffy ends up with most of them) but when he does, he makes the funniest faces trying to figure out what to do with it! I made him food for the first time the other day (carrots), and that was fun to watch him eat and enjoy.
Now that he is starting to eat larger amounts of food than just a spoonful or two, I think I will be making it for him more often. For anyone else who is interested in making baby food for any stage of baby/toddler, I am LOVING this website which has SO many wonderful ideas beyond just the standard purees.
Sleeping is... improving... slowly. We have been letting Hudson cry in certain situations. It's very difficult, and not a decision we made lightly. But in my opinion, there's a big difference between letting a 7 week-old cry and letting a 7 month-old cry, and as we hit certain milestones in Hudson's development, I became more comfortable with the idea of encouraging him to self-soothe by not immediately going to him when he cried at night. He still wakes up to eat twice, usually about three hours after he goes to sleep and again about three hours before he gets up. If he wakes up in between, I try not to go to him unless he gets hysterical. Now most nights, he doesn't even wake up in between those times, which means if I would just go to bed on time, I might actually get a decent stretch of sleep! He has also stopped going to bed at 6pm, and consequently stopped waking up at 6am, which is a relief to us all! He usually goes to bed closer to 7 or 7:30, and then wakes up for good about the same time the next morning.
Sleeping is... improving... slowly. We have been letting Hudson cry in certain situations. It's very difficult, and not a decision we made lightly. But in my opinion, there's a big difference between letting a 7 week-old cry and letting a 7 month-old cry, and as we hit certain milestones in Hudson's development, I became more comfortable with the idea of encouraging him to self-soothe by not immediately going to him when he cried at night. He still wakes up to eat twice, usually about three hours after he goes to sleep and again about three hours before he gets up. If he wakes up in between, I try not to go to him unless he gets hysterical. Now most nights, he doesn't even wake up in between those times, which means if I would just go to bed on time, I might actually get a decent stretch of sleep! He has also stopped going to bed at 6pm, and consequently stopped waking up at 6am, which is a relief to us all! He usually goes to bed closer to 7 or 7:30, and then wakes up for good about the same time the next morning.
He also stopped taking his 40-minute catnaps, and instead takes two nice hour-plus naps a day, usually around 9:30ish and again around 2ish. One frustrating development with naps has happened since he started crawling. Basically, even when he seems SUPER tired, he spends a good 20-30 minutes playing in his crib or pack-and-play before finally going to sleep. There are no toys or anything in there; he just crawls around, sits up, lays down, tries to stand up, etc. I don't know if I should try keeping him up longer or if he is just exercising his new-found freedom of movement and would do it no matter what time I put him down. He will literally be half-asleep in my arms and as soon as he hits the mattress, it's suddenly playtime. He doesn't do it at bedtime, just for naps.
I sort of just spoiled it in the last paragraph, but our biggest news is that Hudson is officially CRAWLING! He was so close for so long and then finally on New Years Day, he put it all together and he was on the move. Tentatively at first, but now he's a regular motoring man. He's a classic crawler, on his hands and knees. Crawling has brought to the forefront the need for drastic, immediate babyproofing. If it is even borderline dangerous, Hudson wants to do it, and fearlessly. Crawl off the bed? Check. (Thankfully that was feet first.) Stick his hands in the floor vents? Check. Chew on an electrical cord? Check. Open junk drawer in kitchen? Check. Lick shoes left out on the floor? Oh yes, yes he did.
Crawling also appears to have unleashed his mobility in other ways, because he can do a whole host of things he couldn't do before. He can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting again. He can get up on his knees, sort of sitting on his haunches. He has also started the process of pulling up, which has resulted in many, many conks on the head. I wasn't there to verify it, but Ben told me this morning he walked up and down the length of his crib while holding on to the edge. Eek! Unfortunately, he likes to practice his standing during naptime, and once he stands up, he can't figure out how to sit back down, and so he just cries and cries until I come help him.
Crawling also appears to have unleashed his mobility in other ways, because he can do a whole host of things he couldn't do before. He can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting again. He can get up on his knees, sort of sitting on his haunches. He has also started the process of pulling up, which has resulted in many, many conks on the head. I wasn't there to verify it, but Ben told me this morning he walked up and down the length of his crib while holding on to the edge. Eek! Unfortunately, he likes to practice his standing during naptime, and once he stands up, he can't figure out how to sit back down, and so he just cries and cries until I come help him.
He's certainly a busy, happy boy these days. I feel like we are flying through the changes week by week, just trying to keep up. We love this little man who keeps us on our toes!
1 comment:
I don't know how I missed this post when it first went up. But - oh my goodness - what a freaking doll! He's so cute with those big eyes and chubby cheeks! I'm dying.
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