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Thursday, February 26, 2009

6 months and potty progress.. or lack thereof.....

So, my little man will be six months old Sunday... well, sort of. He was born on the 29th and there isn't a 29th this month! So, we're just going to count it on the 1st! I can't believe that a half of a year has gone by since my little man was born! We will start solids next week. We're going to start with rice cereal but if he doesn't like it I'm not giving it to him by itself! Luke never liked it! So we just went to fruits and then mixed the fruit with the cereal. I started cereal with Luke when he was 4 months old, but he was on formula. It's recommended to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. I've already had a few people ask me why I haven't started him on solids yet. One of the reasons is that you can help to avoid allergies (or lessen them) by breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months. I could kick myself for giving him those four bottles of formula. I know formula is not poison (Luke was formula fed and is perfectly fine, healthy, and smart.. if I do say so myself!) but for a child who may be allergic breast milk is best and anything extra may hinder that. And you never know whether or not they are going to be allergic until it's too late. Now with Luke I wasn't educated on all of this but now that I have the knowledge I won't make that mistake again (for future children). Number two reason for not starting solids is that Eli is so little. I would have felt completely wrong giving him baby food at 4 months! It would have just been weird! He is so much smaller than Luke was. So, we'll be going super slow with solids. I actually get a little nervous when I think about it. Especially after I read this story. Allergies are serious. I'm sure there are people out there who think that it's ridiculous that I'm avoiding dairy and eggs and that I'm just making up Eli's issues. Well, that's ok. I'm just protecting my baby. I have actually added some hidden dairy back to my diet. I added Cheddar Bunnies. They are kind of like Goldfish. So far, no reaction. I just have to remember that just because he doesn't react to my breast milk doesn't mean that he can tolerate it. It will be a whole new ball game when we begin giving him things. I was talking to my mom tonight and after reading that story I may just go sit in the hospital parking lot the first time we give him anything with dairy/egg in it. Seriously.





In other news Luke is 3 months away from being 3 years old and is still wearing diapers. Now, I'm not terribly concerned about this but I do wish we were making a little more progress than we are. Progress isn't even a correct term... since we are making ZERO progress. I refuse to make my child sit on the potty, though. What good is it going to do to force him to sit (kicking and screaming) on the potty? None. It would just make both of us miserable. So, I'm just praying that one day he will become interested. Preferably soon. Naps these days are hit or miss. He has "Quiet Time" every day from about 3 - 4:30pm. We usually go up to his room and play together for a little bit around 2:30 and then he gets to watch PBS or a DVD. Sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he doesn't. And I don't mind that he doesn't always take a nap, as long as he is quiet. My rules are that the lights are dim and that he plays quietly on his pallet in the floor (coloring, reading books, etc). Oh, he's growing up so fast...



Well, that's what's new around here. Oh, I have something else to talk about.. but that will come later! It's after 11 now and I need sleep! BTW, that picture is the best one of the two of them I've taken recently. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get a 2 year old who hates to take pictures and an almost 6 month old who can't sit up alone to look half way decent in a picture together!!! I'm planning professional pics for Easter. Pray for me. ;)

6 comments:

Jessica said...

Wow Crystal your boys are getting so big.
As far as the breastfeeding goes...you do what is best for you guys. You are doing a wonderful thing and giving your baby a great start in life.
And potty training...wow I thought I would never get Jack to that point. I know it is discouraging, but he really will go when he is ready :)

Oh and picture sessions do get a little easier ;)

Jessica

Lisa said...

Time goes by so fast with little ones. Enjoy every minute...I'm talking to myself to.

Samuel was much harder to potty train than the girls. He still sleeps in pull ups most nights. But I know he will not go to college wearing a pull up..HA :)

Misty said...

Cute boys! So hard to believe that Luke's almost 3 and Eli is 6 months! Time passes so quickly...too quickly!

Wish I could offer advise on the potty progress, but I have no experience in that area. I've always heard boys are harder to train than girls but I wouldn't know.

Easter pictures sound fun! I'll probably do Easter/6 month pictures for Nathan - some I shoot myself and maybe some professional. The problem with profession is that I spend way too much becuase I end up wanting all the pictures! I'd be happy to take some of the boys if you'd like, but I'm far from a professional photographer!

DonnaK said...

I am EXTRA careful about the whole allergy thing too!!! I used to keep Madelynn Barker (I figure you know her from Nt. Zion) when she was little and before her I never knew how bad food allergies could be!! She was allergic to strawberries, eggs(severely), and peanuts (deathly)....I have had some people ask me questions or look at me funny for not giving my kids something until a certain age, but it just isn't anything worth messing around with to me!! Everytime I introduced something new I was a nervous wreck! One thing to remember is there is a good chance Eli could outgrow any allergies he has!! So, maybe that will be the case!

As far as the potty training goes...well, I have always heard boys are just harder. My strategy with both girls has been to have a little potty chair really easily accessible to them wherever they are. (If we were in the living room, I would have it right there) I also found that if they were bare bottomed they would almost always go to the potty. (It is so much easier to just go in a diaper, but when they didn't have anything on they would choose the potty.) I did have to clean up a few puddles here and there (luckily we don't have any carpet!!) Raegan is still pretty much running around naked!! But, she hardly has any accidents anymore when she is naked!! That probably isn't the best parenting....but, it has worked for us!! hahaha!

Anonymous said...

Hey! I think it has helped with Wes and Will that they get a "treat" ,actually an m&m or two! These aren't normal in our house so they excited about getting a treat when they sit on the potty! I have to still sit them on the potty, but I hope a day will come when they will say, "Mommy I need to go potty!"

Molly Flanagan said...

yikes! that allergy story was scary. i'm going to buy some benadryl next time i go shopping! we are doing pretty good with pee potty training... but i feel like we will never get the poop thing down. argh.