Elliott - 12 months old

Here we are at the last monthly update for our sweet Elliott, who turned one last weekend.

Sweet is a great way to describe our little boy. People often ask me if he's always that happy. Mostly. When he's not happy, he is really not happy. But most of the time, he is generously spreading cheer with that big, crazy grin. I think we're entering the third month of virtually non-stop teething with Elliott's sixth tooth just below the surface. Even so, none of his teeth are fully into place, so he looks pretty silly when all of his teeth are showing. I worry a bit that he has my dental genes, which basically means that we should start saving our pennies now.

Those teeth allow Elliott to eat any and everything. He continues to eat the same food as the rest of the family and consistently eats more than Madeleine and close to my portion. He's doing slightly better with the silverware that we introduced last month, though he has a long way to go, and meals are so messy now that he's feeding himself everything. We've also started pulling him straight up to the table without his tray, which does not help the mess factor. On his birthday, I gave him cow's milk for the first time, a bit fearful that he'd reject it. Nope. He downed the entire sippy cup. While he still won't sign for more, he does throw things on the floor, push himself away from the table, and wave his hands forcefully when he is finished.

All of the food is necessary to fuel this very, very, very busy boy. He has surprised me by not taking to walking ahead of his birthday, but I think that is because he wants to move and knows that crawling will get him around quickly. Within the last week, I'd say he's switched to more regular crawling than army crawl, but he definitely reverts to old faithful whenever he's on a mission. He pulls up on any and everything, even walls. And he is a climber. He has crawled up the fireplace hearth and the stool at the bathroom sink. He can also climb both up and down the stairs, though he can't yet get himself into the right position for the descent. He doesn't often stop moving, but when he does, I find that he's sucking his thumb more and more. I'm glad he can use it to soothe himself at sleeping times, but I'm not excited about this habit expanding as we're currently in the process of breaking Madeleine's finger sucking habit.

Elliott still takes two naps a day, but his afternoon nap has gotten noticeably shorter. I'm both excited about and dreading nap consolidation because we'll gain some more freedom from the house while I'll lose some quiet time. Overnight, he generally sleeps from about 7:30/8pm to 7am with earlier wake ups during particularly bad teething times. I'm still nursing Elliott when he wakes up in the morning and before bed, but I plan to have him weaned within the next month. Although I reeeeeeeally hate breastfeeding in the early months and tolerate it the rest of the year, I'm once again finding the end bittersweet. Of course, Elliott's current habit of ending each feeding with a little bite is helping to encourage me.

There is still plenty of babbling going on around here. Pretty much everybody is Dah-dah, and there are certain words that he will repeat. He attempted to say Madeleine the other day, which was both hilarious and adorable. I've been trying to teach him that owls say hoo-hoo, and he seems to say "ow" and "hooooo." I'm not sure if I have a higher standard or his language is just more muffled than Madeleine's was at this age, but I'm not really ready to say that he has his first word.

I can hardly believe I'm saying it, but Elliott is more a toddler every day. He loves spending chunks of time looking at books (but will not sit still to listen to them) and playing. He likes playing games and laughing at silly songs or funny faces. He loves riding the plasma car inside and giraffe tike outside. We do laugh that he's part dog because he loves to find and chew on shoes - gross. On the other hand, it was so fun to see him soak up all of the attention he received on his birthday and just bask in the celebration.

When my big (90th percentile for height and 75th for weight) boy tries to wiggle from my arms to go and explore, it's hard for me to believe that it was a year ago that a short and intense morning labor brought our sweet boy into this world. I just want to hold his soft, plump baby skin in my arms forever.

The fox that used to be the size of Elliott...well, isn't anymore.

Elliott - 11 Months Old

On one hand, I can't believe this is the penultimate monthly Elliott update. On the other hand, are these torturous monthly shoots over yet?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: our Elliott is on the move! He is one speedy army crawler. Within the last couple of days, he is spending more and more time up on his knees, even doing a bit of traditional crawling. Mostly, though, his knees are used to get him high enough to pull up on whatever object is nearest. He has done very little cruising but seems surprisingly stable when standing, holding hands.

He has been teething pretty much the whole month. His first two teeth are still working their way down. His bottom middle two teeth are through the surface but not much else. A fifth tooth (top middle on the right side) has just peeked through the gum. As a result, many nights have included some sort of interruption at some point, and naps have been less than stellar. Poor boy.

Elliott's personality is shining through more every day. As I've said previously, he is persistent, and redirection is successful less than half the time. He's most interested in what his sister is playing with that that very moment. When she's not here, he loves her Duplo (and the table) and putting things into and taking them out of her pots and pans. Elliott has developed quite a love for books. When his bedroom door opens, he almost always jets out to start taking them out of the shelf. When left alone, he can spend a long time (in baby time) looking at board book. Reading time before naps is one of the few times in the day when our busy boy actually stops for a few minutes. Elliott continues to be generous with his (vampire) smiles and puts his arms out to be held by familiar people.

Elliott still only signs for milk, but I have noticed him paying close attention to the other signs I've been doing with him; hopefully a breakthrough is around the corner. He continues to babble and be rather vocal. In the last week or so, Elliott has started to repeat our words by making noises in similar intonations. I've had him do this with banana, brown bear, all done, and a few others. Yesterday, he said "dah" while pushing away from me and trying to get down. Today, he said "bah" while reach for a ball and "nah nah nah" while shaking his head side to side. I think a language explosion may be on the horizon, and I can't wait! After catching Madeleine's first word on video (at almost exactly the same age!), I feel a bit of pressure to over-document.

In addition to language output, I've also noticed that he seems to be more aware of his behavior and instructions given to him. Diaper changes have been more pleasant since I realized that he actually listens when I tell him "no rolling on the changing table" like I actually mean it rather than just for play. He responds when we call to him and is starting to follow basic instructions ("arms up" "come to the table for dinner").

Elliott still eats well and turns away very little. When he turns away food, we continue to offer it at subsequent meals. I'm currently working on getting him to eat one of his sister's favorites: cottage cheese. This week, I started weaning by eliminating his feeding after his morning nap. I figure that this one usually came right before lunch, so he's still getting fed in the event that he's hungry when he wakes from his nap. I'm still nursing him at wake up, after his afternoon nap, and at bedtime. While I look longingly at my non-nursing friendly fall wardrobe, I also cherish these last remaining weeks of quiet time with my otherwise busy baby boy.

By some miracle, I snapped this one (and only one) shot of Elliott on his back on his sheepskin before he pulled the tie over his head and scooted away. Look how long and lean he's getting with all this activity!

Oh, I do love my little gingersnap! 

Elliott - 10 Months Old

The first thing that everyone seems to notice about Elliott is that he is active. This boy likes to move and explore and is never still. He's still army crawling, but I see more use of his legs all the time. He can pull himself up and down a single step and is working on figuring out how to pull himself up multiple steps. Elliott does like to be upright, and he'll hold himself up if put in the standing position. Sometimes, though, he seems to forget that he can't stand alone and will just let go. He rolls constantly and doesn't seem to like to be on his back. He does this funny side lounge position when he needs to reach something, which is usually whatever also interests Madeleine, books from the shelf, or heating/cooling grates.

The other thing that is often mentioned about Elliott is his size. He continues to grow and is now pretty solidly into size 18 months. After a week or so of what felt like non-stop requests for nursing followed by a few days of long naps, I think he may have just gone through a growth spurt. He eats pretty well, doing most of the feeding by himself with his fingers and his well-developed pincher grasp. I'm hesitant to hand over the spoon for messy things because I know just how much mess is possible. He nurses four times a day (wake up, after each nap, and at bedtime), though I think he may be cutting out the feeding after his afternoon nap because he hasn't been interested in it the last two days or so. In general, his nursing is getting a lot faster, like less than five minutes total per feeding.

Elliott does some signing. He opens and closes his fists (the sign for milk) when he wants something, especially milk. We've been consciously working on more and all done, and it's a slow go. I think he's catching on to "more" by doing clapping as the sign, and he will sometimes repeat a noise that sounds like "all done" when I'm signing and saying it. Signs or not, Elliott has a lot to tell us. He babbles most of the time and loves the attention it brings him. I'm not sure that he properly associates the words yet, but he says "dada" and "mama." For the last week or so, "gah gah" has been his chant of choice. He tends to babble "nah nah" when he's unhappy (like at pre-nap diaper changes). I can't wait until I can understand all of his lovely stories and find out what it is that so frequently makes him squeal with delight!

One big change this month is that Elliott's gummy smile now has a couple of pearly whites. Two have poked through (upper lateral incisors, unusual) with four more on their way. Teething has definitely interrupted his sleep, though it has been a little hard to distinguish between teething interruptions and jet lag. It has also interfered with his normally ferocious appetite, and he has been happiest munching on cold melon, cold cucumbers, and peanut butter sandwiches. In general, we've been treating the teething symptoms with the occasional Tylenol and plenty of extra cuddles and naps on the lap.

Elliott continues to have two naps, one is usually an hour and the other 2+ hours. He sleeps about 11 hours at night. As soon as I lay him in his crib, he rolls onto his side or sometimes his belly. Even if he falls asleep right away, he seems to always end up with his head in one of the corners - silly boy. He still sucks his left thumb to put himself to sleep and sometimes while he's sleeping. I introduced a lovey this month to give him something to chew on when his teeth are sore, and he seems to notice it about half of the time. After I saw him pull himself to sitting and pull himself to nearly standing once on the crib, we lowered the mattress to its lowest setting. That was a sad moment to realize that my baby is growing up...and that the crib skirt no longer works for the bed height. It's a toss up as to whether Elliott is going to wake up screaming or happily babbling, and he frequently wakes up with bedhead now that his hair is starting to grow a little bit.

I'm so excited to see Elliott's personality develop. He is incredibly determined and persistent. He's also insanely sweet. I just love when I hold him and he gives me gentle, loving pats on the shoulder. He's generous with his infectious smile and loves to wave at people. He can be really goofy and loves playing games. I'm not very fond of the one where he grabs my glasses and laughs, shaking his head side to side while I sternly tell him "no" or the one where he pulls his sun hat off of his head as fast as I can put it on him again. Nonetheless, it's fun to see him anticipate the next thing that is going to happen or laugh at his sister playing peek-a-boo.

Apologies for this month's blurry photo. It was the only one where he was actually on his back. Every other time that I picked up the camera, he'd roll over and take off. See what I mean about the games?

Elliott - Nine Months Old

I'm late with Elliott's nine month post because I wanted to get his growth stats at our check-up. Unsurprisingly, he's still in the 75th to 90th percentile for height and weight while his head circumference is perfectly average.

His biggest change this month is that he started army crawling just a few days into the month. He gets faster and shows more stamina with each day. He can even go up and down a single step on his belly. He loves all of Madeleine's toys (especially her tea cups), floor heating/cooling vents (which he has mastered removing), and doors. Like his sister, he's also interested in electrical outlets, so I'm glad that all of ours remain childproof.

We've done a lot of traveling this month (Hawaii and Texas) with mixed results. Elliott is less contemplative than Madeleine and more insistent about being mobile. Combining that personality with his size, flights are challenging. His sleep was mixed during both of our trips with more screaming than I would have liked. I think he just wakes up when he is between sleep cycles and has a hard time going right back to sleep in a new place. The first night back from each trip was rough, too, but, after one long session of crying (yes, we're those parents), he has otherwise slept through the night.

Elliott continues to be a pretty good eater, not showing much favoritism. He passed his baked egg challenge, which means that he is cleared to eat foods that contain egg as long as the egg is thoroughly cooked. We've used our favorite sippy cups with Elliott, and he has taken to them pretty well. There are times during meals when he will start to fight the food (throw it on the floor, bat at the spoon) because he's thirsty and only wants water, which he gets at each meal. He still nurses four times a day (wake up, after each nap, and bedtime), which I anticipate continuing until we start weaning in earnest (August probably). Hopefully I can survive his current habit of pinching me while nursing. The pediatrician drew my attention to swollen lower gums, so I may have teeth to contend with sooner rather than later.

Elliott continues to be chatty. Most of the time that means babbling, but it can also mean screaming. He screams - in the highest pitch, most ear-piercing scream ever - when he is really excited. His crying also tends toward screaming and away from fussing. Between his voice and his crawling, I think we're seeing more and more of Elliott's personality. He's not quite as laid back as we'd originally thought but rather persistent and determined. At the same time he's very sweet and cuddly, generously offering smiles and laughs.

I had a little help in the photography department this month as big sister wanted to photograph Elliott with her "camera" (a turtle toy with a tiny mirror on it, which she consistently pretends is a camera).

Elliott - Eight Months Old

We are into my favorite stage at our house. Elliott is eight months old and both learning new things and showing more preferences each day. George put it well when he recently told a new parent that, from about six months to two years, it is constantly getting better and better. After that, it gets rough, and we're not through that period with Madeleine yet. But Mr. E is at a happy place, so yay!

Let's start with eating, which is one of Elliott's favorite things. He is a good eater, consuming more or less the same thing as the rest of the family. Most meals consist of something(s) that Elliott feeds himself (cheese stick, vegetable sticks, banana, mango, toast, small pieces of meat, etc.) and something(s) that I feed him on a spoon for the sake of neatness and getting it into his mouth (soup, yogurt, oatmeal, etc.). His pincher grasp has started developing the last week or two, and that is doing wonders for his eating. It's so fun to watch him concentrate, make contact, pinch, and then shove the food into his mouth! We started seeing his allergist this month, who confirmed that he's allergic to eggs and identified him as likely allergic to peanuts. Long story short, due to this very new study, Elliott was given and passed the oral challenge for peanuts, and we're now feeding him peanuts (in the form of peanut butter at this age) at least three times a week. He is positively adorable eating his little peanut butter sandwiches. 

The allergist is also an asthma doctor and diagnosed Elliott as having asthma. We now do a nebulizer breathing treatment once a day, and none of us love it. The smallest mask is a terrible fit, and it's hard to keep him still. On the up side, it is 10 minutes of pure attention to Elliott, which is a rarity for our easy-going second child. 

Elliott's prime mode of movement is still rolling, and he can roll across a room in a matter of seconds if he's motivated to do so. He wants badly to move but seems to make the most effort to do so when he's sitting upright. Speaking of sitting, he's doing that very well. I don't have any crawling predictions as he sometimes seems like he could start very soon and other times seems entirely unsure of how to begin the process. 

His language is developing nicely. He frequently babbles and says "dah dah" on repeat, but he isn't very good at realizing who "dah dah" is. Elliott has starting signing for milk when we sit down in the nursing chair in his room and also other times when he wants fed, like when sitting at the table and watching food being brought to everyone else. He hates having his food presented last. He's not signing for more or all done, but I think he's starting to make a noise like "mah" when I ask him if he wants more. With Elliott, the answer is always yes, more. 

We had a rough patch in the sleeping department about three weeks ago. I had to let him do some crying one night, and it's been better ever since. I'm expecting the next rough patch to start any day now, as that has been Elliott's MO for his entire life. When he's sleeping well, Elliott will nap for an hour or two in the morning and two or three hours in the afternoon, followed by overnight sleep from about 7:30 or 8pm until 7am or so. 

Elliott is grabbing, squirming, and engaging in his environment more every moment. He started to clap this month, and he does so with wild abandon at every opportunity. We're working on high fives and waving, and I'm betting he'll be able to do them by next month...especially with his big sister as his tutor. He loves playing with Madeleine, even when she is tackling him or otherwise being far too rough. They are so incredibly sweet together. 

Speaking of sweet, here's our Elliott:

Elliott - Seven Months Old

It's been a crazy month at our house, which is why you haven't heard from me very much (ok, at all really). That's a topic for another day. Today's topic is ELLIOTT.

This has been a big month for our (not so) little guy. A couple of hours after his six-month post went live, he started rolling. As expected, he hasn't really stopped. He's proficient bordering on expert, though he still hasn't figured out how to roll in his sleepsack in bed. It's not for lack of trying (and crying), I assure you. In the last couple of days, I've noticed a rather sudden interest in getting to things out of reach and even some scooting. It makes me slightly terrified, but the one who should be really terrified is the big sister because Elliott has his eye on her stuff!

Elliott is also sitting up pretty well. He has the tripod down and is doing better about being able to self-correct when he gets excited and leans back too far or too abruptly. I don't really trust him to sit on his own unless he has the Boppy behind him, but that will probably change soon. He's surprisingly good at getting out of the seated position and into a tummy laying position. It's hard to tell if he's doing that by choice or because he has collapsed too far forward to recover.

Aside from all of this gross motor development, we've had some excitement in the food department with Elliott. When he was first exposed to eggs, he swelled up and broke into itchy hives with some wheezing. We are now the (not so) proud owners of an Epi-Pen and waiting for our appointment with the allergist before getting too adventurous with other potential allergens. Our pediatrician did say that dairy should be fine because he has been fine on the formula that I occasionally use to supplement (which is apparently dairy-based). Elliott's happy about that and loved the yogurt we gave him on his 7-month birthday. His other favorites are zucchini and banana. I don't think he has turned away anything we've given him, though it wouldn't stop me from continuing to offer it. We're doing primarily baby led weaning, and he hasn't really had anything pureed to any finder than a chunky mash. Part of this method is inspired by Denaye and part is, frankly, out of laziness. We fed Madeleine the food that we ate (more or less) from almost the beginning, but this time I have the confidence to not spend the extra time pureeing and blending and watering down and instead just feeding from the beginning. Elliott eats three meals a day, and I'm constantly challenged to find more and more that is appropriate for him right now (especially with the allergy concerns) because this guy loves food! I'm currently nursing Elliott four (occasionally five) times a day and (sadly) often once overnight. I hope that things will soon slow down enough for my milk supply to re-connect with Elliott's needs.

For the most part, Elliott is still a happy guy. He continues to be chatty, and his "bwah, bwah, bwah" and "bah, bah, bah" have been joined by "bahp, bahp, bahp" and "dah, dah, dah." I swear he looked at George the other day and said "dah dah," but George thinks I'm nuts. He and Madeleine continue to interact more and more, and he absolutely lights up when she walks into the room. Elliott is also starting to encourage his sister to get into trouble, like when he smiles and laughs at her being naughty at the dinner table. We are in serious trouble when these two are a bit older.

In the sleep department, we are experiencing a rough patch. He takes two or three naps during the day. If the first two are long enough and the second one ends late enough, he doesn't need the third nap. I'd say he only takes the third small nap 25- to 50-percent of the time. At night, he is generally pretty easy to get to bed but has been waking up once a night, sometimes just an hour or so before he should be up for the day. I'm guessing it's either because he's not getting enough milk from me during the day or because his schedule is confused between early daycare days and later other days. No matter what, I'm really hoping to get back to having a boy who sleeps through the night!

We had a particularly bad night last week when he (finally) had his six-month pediatrician's appointment, complete with a whole slew of vaccines. For a baby who is constantly wiggling and moving, having sore thighs is the pits...and he let us know about it. I know that I often talk about how good and happy Elliott is, which is true, but when he is unhappy, look out!

On that note, I'll leave you with this month's photo of our sweet, sweet Elliott:

You've come a long way, baby:

One Week

Two Weeks

Three Weeks

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Elliott - Six Months Old

It's a little hard to believe that our sweet Elliott is six months old. Even though I've tried to embrace the infant days and savor every sweet baby smell, I think these past six months have gone even faster with Elliott than with Madeleine. That said, I feel like our family is hitting its stride.

Elliott's sweet personality is shining through more and more each day. He is smiley and bright, causing strangers to regularly comment on his good nature. He doesn't really have a bad time of the day, but his best time of the day is definitely when he's naked on the changing pad at bedtime. This kid has some lungs and can squeal with the best of 'em. Wow! He uses his whole body to show his excitement, waving his arms and legs and blowing raspberries, too. It's quite charming most of the time, except at meal times, and then it's just messy.

Speaking of meals, Elliott's entry to the world of solids is the biggest change over the past month. He eats oatmeal/rice cereal for breakfast and either thick purees and/or large, soft handheld food for dinner. So far, he has tried avocado, sweet potato, asparagus, red potato, pears, applesauce, and bananas. I'd say banana is the favorite thus far and not just for its creamy, sweet flavor but because he loves holding half a banana and shoving it into his mouth for little bites. Elliott is a very social kid and loves to sit at the table with the rest of the family at meal times. He has made big strides in his ability to sit in the booster seat over the last couple of weeks. In general, he can sit either in tripod (leaning forward with weigh on both legs and his arms between his legs) or with some assistance.

Even though he has taken to solids really well, Elliott hasn't backed off his breastmilk consumption and still gets fed five times a day, sometimes having formula mixed in. It seems like he is starting to lose some of his baby rolls, but the scale says that he has gained a full pound in the last two weeks. Although it doesn't contribute to his heft, Elliott grows finger nails at an alarming rate; I have to cut them about every two days.

Elliott needs lots of fuel to keep his moving body going. He still isn't completely rolling over, but he is oh so close. Any time he is put down, he spends most of his time on his side, just about completing a roll one way or the other. He even sleeps on his side about half the time, sometimes resulting in arms and/or legs getting stuck outside the crib. A large part of me is nervous that he has made it to six months without rolling, but the practical part of me knows that he is never going to stop once he gets moving. He already scoots from place to place on his back and with rocking side to side, and he is clearly interested in keeping up with Madeleine.

Speaking of Madeleine, Elliott is totally enamored with her. He lights up when he hears her voice, turns to look at her, smiles, basically makes her the star of the show. George and I have already caught ourselves telling him to not encourage her (to act up). In order to try to keep up with his big sister's chatter, Elliott is often very chatty himself. He usually says baahh, baahh, baahh or bwah, bwah, bwah on repeat, though I have caught a couple of mah, mah, mah and baap, baap, baap sequences.

Finally, I hate to talk about sleep. Each and every time that I mention it, we end up having a four to five night stretch of wake ups. Nonetheless, I'll do it again. We seem to be in a good place with two solid daytime naps (usually two hours each or a three-hour afternoon nap if the morning one was short) and a little cat nap just before dinner. I can see that last nap going away soon as it seems to be starting later and later. Elliott goes to bed between 7pm and 8pm and gets up around 7am. He was having wake ups most nights, but we did some minimal sleep training a couple nights ago and have since had full nights of sleep. Elliott still sucks his left thumb to show that he's getting tired and to put himself to sleep. I think it's here to stay. If he's really upset (a pretty rare occasion), I'll give him the pacifier, but he immediately takes it in his hand and either chews on the side or just holds it.

He fought several viruses this month, and I'm so happy to have him back to his happy, healthy self. Mind you, he never really acted sick, but his breathing and congestion said otherwise. This is a really long update, but Elliott is just so much fun right now. I can't wait to see where the next month takes us!

The "official" photo was too good not to use, but this photo really shows where Elliott is this month: lots of smiles, raspberries, and movement.

A look back:

One Week

Two Weeks

Three Weeks

One Month

Two Months

Three Months
Four Months
Five Months

Elliott - Five Months Old

Our sweet boy continues to grow at the rate of approximately one day per day. In the size department, Elliott is wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes. Yes, you read that correctly. He has long arms and big feet, so I can't wait to see how tall he ends up being!

Elliott is a good eater. He gets four 5-ounce feedings during the day and an 8-ounce bottle at bedtime. Fortunately, Elliott seamlessly transitions to taking a bottle on the days I work. We've found his bedtime process improved after moving to a bottle feeding at night; it keeps him awake long enough to eat the food he needs before bed. He gets mostly pumped milk in them, but we do sometimes supplement with formula. If you'd asked me before last night, I would have told you that we're in a good place with sleep as a result of our switch to a bedtime bottle. For the last few weeks, Elliott has been sleeping through the night (~8pm-8am) the vast majority of nights, but last night was a rough one with two wake ups due to congestion and an abnormal daytime schedule. If he continues to wake up at night, we're going to start solids; otherwise, we'll wait until closer to six months. Fortunately, Elliott's daytime sleep has made big strides, with almost all naps lasting at least an hour and many going two hours or more. He currently takes one morning nap and two afternoon ones, but he shows some interest in spacing out feedings and may be transitioning to two daily naps sooner rather than later.

Developmentally, Elliott has changed a lot. When he turned four months, he was very interested in his fingers but still shopping around. Within a week, he settled on his left thumb as the finger of choice, which is his go-to soothing method when he's getting tired or laying in bed and trying to go to sleep. As a result, he never uses the pacifier for more than 30 seconds at a time, if he even accepts it at all. The thumb discovery is likely the reason for his improved napping because I often see him on the nursery cam frantically sucking on the thumb before falling back asleep.

Elliott still isn't rolling (he regressed from his previous irregular tummy to back roll), but I don't think it's too far away. He found his feet this month, and he grabs them whenever he can reach them and uses that momentum to roll to his side regularly. He's not far from going all the over, and I suspect that he'll get back his tummy to back roll around the same time. When he gets excited, his entire body moves, and he can cover a surprising amount of distance. I have to be deliberate about giving Elliott time to lay on the floor and practice moving because we're so often on the go with big sister or cuddling. I can't seem to get enough cuddling with my happy, roly-poly baby.

Our lil' dude loves to be part of the action and is way happier sitting up on someone's lap than being in the Rock-N-Play at meal times. He's not sitting up on his own yet, but he shows a lot of interest in sitting up assisted. He loves (loves, loves, loves) the Jumperoo, which makes up for the incredible amount of space it consumes. Tall boy is already on the second height setting. He has become very chatty over the last few months, currently favoring (very, very) high pitched squeals, raspberries, and bbbbbb sounds. We encourage his vocalizations, but end up getting a lot of competing squeals from the Big Sister of the house. It's fun to have Elliott become more part of the family every day.

Despite this picture, he really is a very happy baby.

A look back:

One Week

Two Weeks

Three Weeks

One Month

Two Months

Three Months
Four Months

Elliott - Four Months Old

As with most babies, four months is a time of big change. This is when the four month sleep regression, a growth spurt, and a developmental leap collide for a plenty of challenges and monumental changes in the little one's life. We seem to be getting off pretty easy...so far.

I know that I always say this, but Elliott is a really chill baby. He is happy and smiley, patient and content. He loves his big sister and all the doting she does on him. He hasn't loved being worn in the Beco Gemini (possibly because of his length) but seems pretty comfortable in the Ergo. Because so much of our schedule and routine are based around Madeleine, we're still figuring out Elliott's schedule. He takes three naps during the day and has been consistently cooing himself to sleep...even after using the Swaddle Up 50/50 to transition him to free arms in the Swaddle Up 50/50 or a merino sleepsack. (Knock on wood!)

Evenings are not quite so consistent or pleasant with Elliott. Sometimes he takes a fourth nap and sometimes he doesn't. His bedtime varies based on his daytime feeding times and temperament. As a result, he is really difficult to get to sleep at night - like George or I have to feed or rock him for hours at a time and get basically no evening to ourselves. This is really our only difficulty with him, so it's hard to complain about it, but it's also hard to not have any adult time in the evenings. Hopefully a more consistent, earlier bedtime will resolve this lingering issue. Once he's finally down for the evening, I can expect one wake-up a night unless it's the one (unpredictable) night per week when he sleeps through the night. Fortunately, he takes after his sister and rarely wakes before 8am and sometimes closer to 9am.

The big four month changes mean that almost every time Elliott wakes up, he is doing something new and revealing more and more of his personality. He's a chatty boy! Within the last week or so, he has discovered the upper octaves of his voice and loves to play with them when he's chatting with us. He loves participating in conversations and getting smiles and responses from the nearest human. Our pediatrician said that his vocalizations are more in line with a six-month old, so maybe we'll have another early talker. That would be great by me! Words = less frustration = fewer tantrums

In the last month, Elliott has made huge strides in his hand coordination. Practically the day after I wrote his last update, his consistency of hand to mouth contact improved. He almost always has hands in or near his mouth, though he isn't showing any sort of finger preference yet. Even though we are currently working to decrease/eliminate Madeleine's finger sucking, I still think this method of self-soothing has major advantages. Elliott is also doing a great job at gripping, which includes everything from his toys to my clothes.

As he's getting more alert, Elliott really enjoys being in on whatever activity we're doing. He loves looking at Christmas lights and has developed a great kick in the pool. I can't wait to see what other interests catch Elliott's attention as we learn more about him!

Our big boy continues to grow. While he still wears some of the medium itti bitti d'lish diapers, he's also wearing the BumGenius elementals handed down from Madeleine just a couple months ago (on a smaller setting, of course). In disposables, he's into size 3 (Seventh Generation). The clothes that fit him best are 6-12 or 9 months. Despite all the hype about boys being boring, I love shopping for and dressing our little guy!

We've been cleared by our pediatrician for solids, but I'm inclined to wait a little longer. Elliott is primarily nursed but will also take my milk in a bottle from babysitters or George. Now that I know I'll be going back to work part-time in the new year, I'm especially treasuring every moment with my sweet, round, smiley little boy. I love having this little boy in our family!

A look back:

One Week

Two Weeks

Three Weeks

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Elliott - Three Months Old

One Week
Two Weeks
Three Weeks
One Month
Two Months

This weekend, we celebrated Elliott's three month birthday: a quarter year on Earth! Elliott is a very happy baby and has started being a lot more generous with his smiles. He does the occasional subtle laugh and lots of chatting. It seems like he went from silent to constant chatter nearly overnight, and now he's using his voice to show both his happiness and when he's bored or tired. Generally, he is incredibly patient as he now spends a fair chunk of his day waiting for us as we help Madeleine use toilets here, there, and everywhere.

He's not yet gripping toys, but he is accurately swatting and kicking at his toys. Elliott spends a lot of time staring at his hands and gets one of them into his mouth a little less than 50-percent of the time. It's obvious when he makes the connection because the sucking noise is profound. He enjoys a moderate amount of tummy time on the floor and lots on my shoulder as it gives him a chance to really look around. He rolls from his belly to back pretty regularly. Elliott has entered the world of distractions and often gets totally mesmerized by the ABC poster and Madeleine's art hanging behind the nursing chair in his nursery.

Elliott gave us a week or more of sleeping 10 to 12 hours through the night and then had a growth spurt. He's still either working through the spurt or regulating my milk supply because he's been up (usually only) once a night for the last week or two and his nursing sessions have doubled in length the last couple days. He seems to be doing better with resettling himself during naps and overnight, though certainly not every time.

Did I mention that Elliott is a growing boy? At three months, he's the same size as Madeleine at six months, and that's pretty consistent with his clothing. This week, he started wearing some 6-12 month clothes. He is already growing out of his 0-6 and 0-12 socks, so he's going to have some big piggies. He has sprouted a little more (seemingly auburn) hair, and his eyes are continuing to play tricks on us, depending on what he's wearing and how the light hits them.

Elliott's biggest fan wanted to help with his photoshoot this time:

Elliott - Two Months Old

Elliott continues to be an incredibly chill baby. He is settling into a schedule beautifully, yet seems to be able to adapt and be patient (mostly) when things are a little off our typical routine. He's pretty quiet, but we are getting a little more feedback from him - unsurprisingly - when his sister isn't around. He loves Madeleine, though, and smiles from ear to ear basically every time he hears her voice...to which she shrieks, "Elliott, you smile at me!" We're all enjoying playing little games with Elliott. He's catching onto the tongue game (sticking tongues out at each other), and I think I even got a little giggle out of him the other day when I pretended to munch on his adorable little hand.

Probably the thing I most notice about Elliott is his size. He's currently wearing clothes that Madeleine wore at five to six months, and he's pretty close to her four month stats. His strength is pretty close to her four month strength as well, and we're already thinking that the Bumbo will be coming out soon. It's not terribly surprising that he's growing like crazy given his appetite. He nurses for roughly a half hour every 2.5 to 3 hours; occasionally, he has a day where he wants to eat every two hours. If he's being fussy for George and I ask if Elliott seems hungry, George will typically respond, "he's always hungry." That about sums it up.

Elliott now sleeps in his crib full time after starting out with more sleep in his Rock-N-Play than crib. I hesitate to comment on sleep for fear of ruining what we have going for us, but here goes: he typically takes about four approximately one-hour naps during the day, a longer nap in the evening, and then sleeps from about 10:30pm to somewhere between 4am and 5am and then again until 8am. I'm sure I'll love getting to sleep a full night through again, but I am certainly not complaining about just one nightly feeding right now. He still sleeps primarily in his Swaddle Up; I want to transition him into a more traditional sleep sack with free arms before he gets too attached to the swaddle, but I'm waiting until he figures out how to more consistently connect with his hands and use them to soothe himself. He takes a pacifier, which is extremely helpful when he is fussy in public or having a hard time settling down for a nap, but he doesn't seem reliant on it and rarely uses it at night.

It's a little hard to believe Elliott is only two months old because it really does feel like he has been a part of our family for much longer. On the other hand, I can't believe my baby isn't a newborn anymore.

Elliott - One Month Old

This week, Elliott turned one month old. Honestly, the last month feels like about a year in length. While it has been challenging in many ways, my recovery feels a lifetime ago, and Elliott well and truly feels like he has been part of our family for a lot longer than a month.

Our little guy is rocking a particularly harsh and enduring case of baby acne on his uber sensitive skin. This week, we're hoping to finally kick the diaper rash he has endured for most of his life. Poor guy. None of these things bother him that much, and he continues to grow at an impressive rate. I can hardly believe that I'm already packing away large swaths of 0-3 month clothes that my one month old has outgrown!

Elliott is getting more and more alert and, somewhat reluctantly, finding his voice. I love hearing his squeaks and look forward to our early conversations. He is still somewhat chill, though we definitely notice that we're in the peak infant fussiness zone. While his sleep isn't horrible, I long for those nights where I'd feed him and, upon putting him in his crib, instantly have a sleeping baby until the next feeding. We'll get there again - this, too, shall pass.

Madeleine continues to adore her brother, as you could see from the fox photo, though her enthusiasm has gotten her into trouble from time to time. She often lays beside Elliott in the mornings when he has tummy time and, the other day, she told Elliott, "I love you, Elliott" unprompted. I feel so fortunate to have front row seats to this budding friendship.

Elliott - Three Weeks Old

We got to know Elliott a little better this week. As his vision improves, he is spending more time taking in his surroundings, and it's fun to catch him staring at some little detail that I never would have noticed...like the other morning when I was pumping and he was checking out his reflection in the gloss white paint of his built-ins. He continues to be pretty chill with a flash of drama when he wants fed or has to have his diaper changed. The word content is often used when people see him, though I can tell you that he has the ability to nearly turn himself inside out with screaming, too. I think he's going to follow in Madeleine's footsteps and be a finger sucker, but I think he may be a little quieter as I've only been able to elicit a few little squeaks from him in the vocal department.

Life with a newborn revolves around eating and sleeping. Elliott has been all about eating this week, and he has an extra pound and second chin to prove it. Given our difficult start with his imperfect latch, I was particularly chuffed to have a pediatrician compliment his latch yesterday. Elliott's eating exhausted me earlier this week when he decided to demand milk every 2 to 2.5 hours around the clock for about 30 hours.

Fortunately, sleep follows eating during a growth spurt. If last night is any indication, Elliott's sleep is getting into a better pattern with longer blocks at night. We're still working on getting him to sleep in his crib most of the time and on establishing a bedtime routine. I'm curious to see what his sleep looks like over the next several months because Elliott already wants to roll onto his side as soon as he's laid down and he manages to wiggle around the crib, covering a surprising amount of ground in the process.

I'm pleased to share that Madeleine still adores her little brother. She loves to kiss him, report her adventures to him ("Baby Elliott, I saw an octopus!"), sing to him, and tell him what to do ("Wake up, Elliott." "Drink milk, Baby Elliott."). When I'm feeding him, she likes to crawl up in the chair beside me and ask to have his "piggies" sit on her lap so that she can admire his toes. It's pretty cute.

Speaking of cute, check out our little dude.

Elliott - Two Weeks Old

Elliott's second week of life included the low experience of being ready to throw in the towel on breastfeeding and the high of getting a great report from the pediatrician. This is the week that Elliott seems to have figured out how to eat, and his mum seems to have figured out how to chill out and trust herself a bit.

Elliott continues to be very chill, though I have seen a stubborn streak show through from time to time. I'm super interested to watch his personality develop. When he starts to fall asleep, he flashes this huge grin, which totally melts my heart. Tonight, his daddy seems to have gotten one of these grins during awake time; I hope my turn is next.

Now that Sir E has figured out how to eat, he seems to be growing very quickly. He is so long! The few newborn items I have will probably only get one more wear, and I'm not sure how long the 0-3 month clothes are going to fit at his current rate. Did I mention that he is one long baby?! As you can see, we've introduced cloth diapers. Because we only have a handful of tiny ones, we're still using disposables for about half of our daily diapers, and I'm anticipating that we'll need to move into the next size of cloth diapers within a week or two.

Although Madeleine did tell us "all done Elliott" this week, she continues to be very fascinated with her little brother. He is the first thing on her mind when she gets up in the morning and has to get a goodnight before she goes to bed at night. She is just dying to pick him up, which keeps us on our guard at all times. I hope that Madeleine's positive affection for her brother continues!

Elliott - One Week Old

Here we are with a one-week-old baby. As anyone who has had a newborn knows, the first week is such a rollercoaster with plenty of challenges mixed with the highest of highs.

Elliott continues to charm us as we get to know his personality just a little bit. Primarily, he is one chill dude. As a result, I've had more than a handful of feeding frustrations as he would rather sleep, relax, or give a crappy latch rather than properly feed. We're working through it, and I know that he'll be a champion eater again before we know it. I'm hoping that his lax attitude pays off when we can finally let him sleep until he wakes up.

He's opening his eyes a little more each day, and his umbilical stump is hanging on by a tiny thread. He has dragon talons that grow at an incredible rate. His jaundice seems to be slowly dissipating, and his purple feet are slowly coming right. Hopefully his weight will be headed in the right direction from now on, too.

Although I am not undertaking the full 52-week photo project that I did with Madeleine, I do want to document Elliott's growth these first few weeks and then monthly through the first year. And so, without further ado, enjoy this first week: