Well overdue update

Ok, so I officially am no longer blogging on a regular basis. I assume you realize this, considering that my last entry was August 4th. I have no time or motivation to blog these days.

So what has happened since August 4th....where do I even begin. Here are some highlights, in no particular order.

Kieran celebrated his first birthday, he is now almost 14 months, yikes. I officially have a toddler, even if he isn't toddoling around.

He qualified for early intervention and CDR (Children Development Resources) we will be starting Physical Therapy with him on this coming Monday. We were supposed to start a few weeks ago, but we were out of town the first week, and than Kieran came down with the croup the following week.

Speaking of the croup, we had our first ER visit and of course it was when we were out of town. We woke up to Kieran fighting to breath, it was very scary. We took him to the ER and he was given oral steroids and a nebulizer treatment.

I have officially retired my breast pump. My last pumping session was about a week ago, and although I am slightly sad that my supply is now very low, I am happy to be rid of that time consuming machine. I wanted to pump until Kieran's adjusted one year and I did! I still have a decent supply of breast milk in the freezer and I am incorporating it into 2 out of the 3 bottles he gets at daycare. I am giving him a bottle of 100% cow milk so we don't have any transition issues once the supply runs out. I told myself I would continue to breast feed morning and night for as long as he wants. Well he told me pretty quick that evening nursing is out. He's never been a comfort nurser, and our evening nursing sessions were usually forced because let's face it, he doesn't have time to nurse when their are toys to be played with. So far the morning sessions are still going strong.

Kieran is a master at waving and giving high five. His wave is more of a "hey" since he just kind of puts his hand in the air, but it makes it super cute.

His favorite thing to do ever, is push his push walker Sean got him for his birthday. We have to teach him to turn though, since he goes until he runs into a wall and wants to be turned, unless of course their are other things nearby that he can reach and push, or a table to walk along.

Speaking of walking, Kieran always wants to walk! In fact, he still hasn't "mastered" crawling because he hates to crawl. This was one of the things CDR mentioned to us in their evaluation. Not every baby crawls, but the fact that Kieran isn't crawling is because he really can't and doesn't want to use his arm muscles is cause for concern. Sometimes when he pulls himself up he literally uses his head to brace himself, instead of his hands. The physical therapy will help strengthen these muscles!

Kieran is a babbler and although he's pretty quiet and observant when he gets excited he will talk up a storm. Still working on actual words though. He says Mamamamama all the time not sure if he knows that I AM Momma! He can also say Dada, but again he doesn't say it consistent enough or in the correct context.

Kieran loves his sleep, we are very lucky in respect to this. He goes to bed each night around 6:30 or 7 (we've been putting him to bed earlier so he can sleep more) and wakes up around 7:30. Sometimes I still have to wake him up in the morning before work. If he had a choice he would still take two naps a day, 2-3 hours each. But, while he's at daycare he has officially transitioned to the toddler classroom and only gets one nap. If he isn't woken by the other babies he'll sleep for about 2 hours. He sleeps on a gym mat on the floor and is doing really well with it, but sometimes he is literally woken up by the other babies coming over and touching him. Not cool! There were a few days he was only getting an hour nap and it was really effecting him and one of the reasons we pushed his bedtime closer to 6:30. His teachers have since moved him to a different spot in the classroom behind a baby gate so he can keep sleeping if the other babies wake up. He seems to do just fine with background noise and other babies being awake.

Kieran now has an almost 3 month old cousin. I just realized I stopped blogging 3 days before he was born. Kieran loves playing with the babies at daycare, when he gets a chance, so I know he is going to be the best big cousin. We can't wait to visit my sister for Thanksgiving.

Kieran has two teeth. The bottom two middle. He may possibly be getting another, but honestly it's hard for me to tell. I didn't notice the first until it was in. The second was awful and he was up frequently for about a week.

Kieran only snuggles when he's tired.

We're changed our bedtime to routine. We do bath everynight. Jammies and lotion. Storytime with both Mom & Dad. Family hug, Sean's idea, but I love it. And the newest addition is Kiean now turns off the light to his bedroom. He is basically an expert at turning off the light, now we need to work on turning it on. We also now allow a blanket in his crib, of course it's a knit blanket and it really doesn't stay on since he moves a ton during the night.

We have yet to break the paci habit, but he only gets it in his crib at night, and during bedtime routine starting after bath.

We are trying to transition away from bottles, but it makes me nervous that he won't drink enough. He takes a sippy cup fine, but is not willing to drink a ton from it. I'm still hoping we can get rid of bottles in about a month. The doctor recommended by 15 months. Fingers crossed.

Kieran still fits in his infant car seat. We're hoping to keep it as long as we can. I know it's safest since he is still so little. If I had to guess he's probably about 21 pounds and 28". His car seat goes to 30 pounds and 30" although I've been told that the height is just a guideline and that as long as his head is 1" from the top he is fine to stay in it. We are still on the middle setting so we have a few inches before he outgrows it.

When we do get a new car seat we will continue rear facing until at least two. This is the AAP's new recommendation and although we can legally turn him forward now, I want to keep him as safe as possible. Google extended rear facing and watch the crash test videos and keep your baby safe too.

While we're talking safety and since winter is starting, remember not to put a jacket on your kid while in the carseat. Here is a link and instructions on checking to see if a jacket will work or not.

I'm sure I'll think of more stuff later...stay tuned hopefully I"ll be back.