Brennan's Journal
December 31, 2005
I can not believe it will be 2006 in a few hours. What a year this has been. Michael and I have been blessed with a perfect little boy who amazes us everyday, we are truly lucky. Okay on to the good stuff. We survived the holidays and made it back to Florida. He is totally messed up on his sleeping and is staying up late but fortunately sleeping in (today until 10:00 am). We had a great time and Brennan came back with so MANY toys. Our place is overrun by everything. Milestones: he cut a tooth on Christmas Eve which made him totally cranky on Christmas. He seems to be tolerating it okay now. He is crawling forward now, especially if something tempting is in front of him. The one thing he will go forward to get every time is my McDonalds cup of soda. If he sees any type of cup he will go after it and all but demands a drink from it. He also can manipulate some of his toys already. He got a "gum drop" toy that he has to push a lever to activate it to release a ball and he figured it out and will play with it all the time.
December 16, 2005
Dr. appointment went fine today, another clean bill of health. He weighs 20 pounds (80%) and is 28.25 inches long (90%). He was fine with his shots, and goes back at 9 months.
December 14, 2005
We are back from the Bahamas!!! This trip could have not gone more smoothly. It is weird to say that a 6 month old (yes, 6 months) could have a good time but he did. He loves the water which confirms our suspicion that he is half fish. He floated in the ocean and the pools in his yellow floaty and loved to be carried around by his dad. The lazy river was his favorite, the current took him around while he kicked back. He was the star in the river, everyone talked to him and he ate it up smiling and talking back. Brennan has started babbling non-stop but the only thing that comes out of his mouth is dadadada. It makes Michael light up every time he says it. We stayed at Atlantis and it was beautiful. It is like Sea World with glass walls everywhere to watch fish. Once Brennan would see the fish he would sit and stare, it was too cute.
We still do not have forward moving when crawling but he is getting faster at backwards. He is also quick flipping around and squirming around especially during diaper changing. We still have not found a food the boy does not like, he likes to eat. I bought him a sippy cup today and put water in it. At first he made a funny face when drank from it but then it began his favorite toy. He played with the cup and actually did quite well drinking out of it for the first time. Once he sits up straighter he will be able to hold and drink from it on his own. We have 2 days at home and then we are on the road again except this time going home to see everyone. Once the holidays are over we will be able to take it easy again at home for a while.
November 29, 2005
We are back from the mountains!!! Brennan was very good the entire time. We had him on the move and sitting around being passed around and he handled it well. We drove up the mountain and saw his first snow and went down into a cave (which he slept). We had lots of good food and visiting with family (Nana and his aunts and uncles). He is grabbing his feet all the time, he has always making sure he could show off this new feat to whoever was watching. He is sitting up unassisted for longer periods of time, often time for a couple of minutes. He is rolling everywhere and getting up on his hands and knees. Only problem is he goes backwards and gets very frustrated. Hopefully he will be as good for us next week in the Bahamas as he was over Thanksgiving. We have now tried quite a few vegetables and fruit (squash, peas, pears, pumpkin, and bananas).
November 17, 2005
Hopefully Brennan is not getting his first cold. I can say that I officially have one (stuffed up nose, sore throat, etc). He has been sniffing when he eats today and has a little watery drainage coming out of his nose. We will keep our fingers crossed that the he fights it off. It finally cooled off here in Florida. Today we woke up to 50 degree weather (yesterday it was still in the mid 80's) so we can break out the fall/winter clothes!!!
Let's see new things with Brennan. He rolls all time, sitting up unassisted for a short time, and is now starting to get up on his hands and knees. He will scoot himself backwards away from what he wants, it gets him so frustrated. He is laughing more and more. This morning we played peek a boo for 10 minutes and he would laugh so hard when I pulled the blanket away. It was neat to watch him predict what was going to happen. When I would hesitate putting the blanket back over him he would stare at it and even grab it. We added peas yesterday. He liked them, so far we are 2 for 2 (squash and peas) and we will try a fruit next. If he is sitting in your lap and you eating something he grabs for it and puts it directly in his mouth. Last night he kept sucking on apple slices-yum yum.
November 12, 2005
We have started solids. Brennan has been grabbing at us when we are eating and will "eat" anything you have off of a spoon. So I broke down and agreed to start solids. He had acorn squash this morning and actually loved it. The first bite he looked at us if we were crazy, but then Michael could not shovel it in fast enough. We made it last night and he liked the nibbles we gave him when I pureed the squash. He looked like a kid, not a baby sitting up in his high chair eating, where did my baby go. We also made green beans, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes. Hopefully he will like these or I will have a freezer full of pureed vegetables. Of course I documented the occasion with pictures, take a peek!
November 9, 2005
We had our 5 month well check nurse visit today and Brennan is still a big boy. He now weighs 19 pounds 4 ounces (89%) and is 27.75 inches long (95%). He got a clean bill of health and did not even cry when he got his shots. He slept for an hour coming home so I thought we would stop by school. This was a mistake, he cry and was VERY tired. Needless to say we left and came home where he slept 3 more hours, I guess the shots made him sleepy.
November 5, 2005
We had a busy week in Illinois. Brennan did very well and even had his first stay in a hotel in Chattanooga. We managed to see everyone although it seems like we did not see everyone long enough, but since the holidays are coming up it will not be soon until we see them again :). Updates on Brennan, he is grabbing everything!!! He grabs our glasses, mouths, clothes, pretty much anything in his reaching radius. Once he gets a hold everything goes to his mouth. He is also grabbing toys and transferring them from one hand to another at the midline. His vocalizations continue to increase. He is screeching and laughing all the time. He even said "mama" this week. He was taking a bath and Michael was saying mama. Brennan was staring at his mouth and started mouthing it and then said it clear as day!!!! Now we have to work on "dada".
Hard to believe that his 5 month birthday is coming up this week. Will update with stats after his doctor appointment.
October 16, 2005
We have a roller. Brennan is rolling frequently from his belly to his back and a couple of times from back to his belly. At times he will do it over and over and then later that day he will have no interest and acts like he does not know how. Since it finally cooled off here we have been getting out more during the day for walks (except the mosquitoes are eating us alive). He is adding in vowel sounds when he babbles and will talk all of the time with us. When we go out he seems to be so consumed at checking everything out he is quite. I joke that I am going to carry a video of him "talking" so everyone will believe us. He is working on teeth and the drooling continues. His gums are starting to feel different so hopefully we will see something soon. Wet wash clothes are currently his favorite toy , but he will chew on just about anything. The only "problem" we are having is that he is so heavy. We have to tag team when we go out with him.
October 8, 2005
Where did my baby go!!! Today is his 4 month birthday which is so hard to believe, I guess I need to suck it up and deal with it. He has rolled over a couple of times from his tummy to his back while awake. I watch him roll over both ways (tummy to back and back to tummy) in his sleep, he just hasn't had much interest in doing it while he was awake. He is laughing, I am truly laughing which is the cutest thing in the entire world and will carry on a 5 minute conversation with you. He is definitely seeing further, he can visually track something that is on the other side of the room. He can grab anything (toys, clothes, my hair) and put it in his mouth, since he is teething his favorite seems to be a cold wet washcloth. He is still growing his 6-12 month clothes fit very well and actually some of his sleepers are just about too short. I know I am biased because I am his mom but he is the cutest baby in the world, and people are constantly telling us this. Today we ate at Ruby Tuesday and our waitress kept going on and on about how adorable he was. She finally asked if she could hold him for a second, he was being so sweet and smiling and talking to her. She said he looks like his daddy and as we were leaving said he should be in commercials which Michael took as he should be in commercials also. ;) Next we went to Sam's and the cashier kept telling us how cute he was.
September 28, 2005
We had our 4 month well check visit yesterday. Brennan now weighs 17 pounds (90%) and is 26.25 inches (95%) long. He is the size of an average 6 month old!!! The doctor was very impressed with his strength and development. We discussed introducing food and we have decided to wait until he is 6 months old. She gave us lots of information on the benefits of waiting until then, so it looks like just breast milk for a couple of more months. Dr. Miles agreed he was teething especially with all the drool we are seeing lately. She recommended Teething Tablets to help with the pain. Brennan did have 2 more shots and did not get upset, his face started to turn red and then he look at me and smiled. He was fine the rest of the day and even spent the evening with just his daddy. Michael put him to sleep with a bottle, apparently it went okay with some fussing. We are going to start doing this more often so he get used to someone besides me putting him down.
September 23, 2005
Brennan had his first bottle last Saturday!!! Actually I left the boys for 3 hours so I could get my hair cut and they did great (Saturday's are college football days). I have started pumping so we would have a supply in the freezer. Michael said he had no problems taking the bottle. This has been a busy week, we have been out and about everyday, usually in Jacksonville. It is amazing how well Brennan can tolerate being out and getting in and out of that car seat but he can definitely tell us enough is enough. I think now all of his 3-6 month clothes are to little and we had to run out and buy some 6-9 month clothes that would work in our 90 degree weather. I hope he is still wearing 6-9 when it cools off since we already bought fall clothes in that size. He is holding on and bringing toys to his mouth, he also grabs on to my shirt and grabs at my hair while he is eating.
I added a picture link with a comparison link from newborn to 3 months old. I cannot believe how big he has gotten. We have another Dr. appointment on Tuesday and will give weight and height update.
September 14, 2005
Brennan is so much fun to be around. He now is laughing and talking non-stop. We are getting closer to rolling over, he goes from his back to his side and making the rocking motion when he is on his tummy. Most of his 3-6 month clothes are to short so he is starting to wear 6-9 months. While in Illinois we moved to size 3 diapers, it just is amazing how FAST he is growing. It is official everyone thinks he looks like his daddy. We went downtown (Fernandina) Saturday and we had so many people stop us and tell us how cute and adorable he is (we already new this). His class is going well, the teacher is incorporating many Sensory Integration techniques with the children. Since the class is done entirely in Spanish it is neat to see Brennan stare at the teacher when she is talking, it is like he is a sponge absorbing everything in. Of course football mania is in full force at our house. I think Brennan is set with all of his sporting attire. Of course he has his Alabama gear which he "has" to wear each Saturday to support the crimson tide. He also has Jacksonville Jaguars, Louisville Cardinals, and St. Louis Cardinal outfits.
September 8, 2005
Brennan is 3 months old today which is hard to believe!!! He went to the doctors yesterday for his next round of vaccinations and did great. He got fussy when they took his temperature under his arm, and then fussed for a couple of seconds when they gave him the shots. As soon as we stood up and walked around he was fine. By the time we sat down in the van he was smiling and talking to me. He was weighed and he is now up to 16.3 (95%) pounds. Since we just went to the lab for shots he did not get measured length wise. I will do this today and add that measurement in. After we left the doctors office we stopped by Michael's office and had lunch with him. Once we were home he slept most of the afternoon and evening which made for a fun night. We were up and down all night long, I think partly from sleeping so much yesterday and he needed to poop which finally came this morning. A nap quickly followed and gave me a second to get on the computer.