First Bites of Rice Cereal

The original thoughts were that we'd wait until Lucas was 6 months old to start solids, because that's what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, but Lucas seemed ready so we started yesterday. When I say he seemed ready, he has been staring at our food as we take it from our plate to our mouth (kind of like Tyson does), he has good head control, and he is nursing a lot more frequently (especially at night!). It wasn't as big of a deal as I made it out to be. We only gave him 1 tblsp of cereal mixed with 3 tblsp of milk. At most it was 20 calories, so it was definitely more to introduce him to food and the spoon than to fill up his belly. He did seem to like it though. He was reaching for more at the beginning, but by the time we got to the last few bites he was turning his head to tell us he was finished. It's great how they can communicate so well at such a young age. We'll do this for a few days and then try fruits and veggies...so messy face pictures will be coming soon.

First bite

"Hey Dad"

More interested in the spoon...

Play Group

The babies get more fun each week. They are really noticing each other and the other mommy's. We are now trying to hold all of the other babies each week so that they get used to poeple other than their own moms. It's fun to hold another baby - they all feel different. All of the babies (except for little Aubrey) are now working on sitting up. Nora is even working on crawling! I think she's a little advanced with her motor skills ...she can army crawl all over the room.

Charles, Nora and Lucas
Nora checking to see if Charles's ears are clean...
Aubrey and Lucas. Aubrey is about 11wks old. Her family was gone for the summer, but they are back so she'll now be able to come to play group each week. Nora and Charles were asleep for this picture. Lucas was cranky (probably because he didn't sleep again last night), so he had to have his Soothie...

Setting Records

Lucas is ambitious to be so young. He is trying to set a record for "the most times a baby has ever gotten up in the middle of the night". Last night, for the fourth night in a row, he got up 9 times after being put down to sleep at 8pm --> 8:15, 10:15, 11:45, 1:15, 2:30, 3:45, 4:20, 5:05, and 6:00. (To qualify as a "wake up" Lucas has to wait until his mommy is snuggly tucked back into bed and just drifting off to sleep before calling her back into his room).

I knew I shouldn't have told anyone about how well he was sleeping a few weeks ago. He has never "slept through the night", but I was happy with him only getting up every 4 hours to quickly eat and go back to sleep. This has to be some sort of growth spurt or something else out of the ordinary. Of the 9 times that he woke up last night, he was only hungry 3 of the times. The other times I just turned him over or patted him on the back. He hasn't been in his crib for that long, so that probably has something to do with it. I would just bring him into bed with us, but I haven't been sleeping well that way either. He tosses and turns and I sleep in awkward positions to keep from waking him up. Here is a picture of the little turkey this morning...

Katie and Charles

Here is Lucas with his friend, Katie. Katie is almost 1yr old. She just learned to walk and is all over the place. She's keeping her mommy busy!

Here is Lucas expressing how happy he was to have Charles over to play
Look how long they are getting!

Bradley Class Reunion

Today we had our reunion with the other members of our Bradley Birth Class. Five of the babies are about Lucas's age, one is a month younger and two are two months younger.

Noah, Wyatt, Blane, Nora, Lucas, Naomi, Charles, and Aubrey
Nora had her doo-rag on today...
Poor Naomi was getting trampled....

Silly Faces

Lucas and I are having a lazy afternoon. Here are some pictures that we just took...

Christopher and Lucas

Lucas's friend, Christopher, came over today to play. He is 2wks younger than Lucas. He's a laid back little guy. Lucas was about to flip off the chair, but Christopher was just chillin' out...

Not quite ready....

The big thing with Lucas and the other play group babies right now is starting solid foods. They say you can start anywhere between 4 and 7 months. The experts are SO vague about when to start and then what to feed them and in what order to feed them. I did read one thing that makes sense - that you should pay attention to your baby and feed them solids when you think they are ready. We've been noticing that Lucas is really interested in our food. We sit him in the Bumbo Seat on the table while we eat all of our meals, and lately he just stares at our food and follows the fork with his eyes. To see what he would do, we have given him a tiny piece of banana and potatoes. Both times he reacted by pushing the food out with his tongue, which is a reflex they need to not have when they start solids...so we'll wait a bit longer.


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing

All Boy

Lucas was sitting in his Bumbo yesterday and I just thought he looked like such a boy, as opposed to a baby, so I had to take some pictures. He's got a scratch on his nose and drool all over his face and shirt...plus he's got on an outfit that looks like a jersey. I think I'll stick with the baby blue so he looks like a baby for a little bit longer!

Play Group

Lucas grabbing Nora's arm...I didn't get a picture of him sucking on it, but that's what he did next...

Lucas is working hard on sitting up. He can balance like this for about 1/2 a minute before falling over...

We learned some new holds today in play group...here is Lucas in the "Kangaroo Hold"

Exersaucer

Lucas is now big enough to fit into his exersaucer. His favorite toy so far is the elephant that he has in his mouth below, but he's starting to realize that he can move his feet to turn the seat around to see the other toys. It's amazing how fast he's growing. Just last week he wasn't strong enough to hold himself up in this thing. Next we're going to try out the Jump-n-go...

Lucas's First Hike

Yesterday we went to Umstead Park, a local state park. Lucas seems to really enjoy being outside, so it was nice. It will be even more fun in a month or so when it's cooler. Tyson probably had the best time..he was too busy to look at the camera.

Brothers, Feet and Sling

brothers hanging out....and Lucas has found his feet his week!

this sling is the greatest...although someone did ask me how old my little girl was today

Play Group

Play group was at our house this week. It was the first time that all five babies have been there in a long time. They all seemed to have fun interacting. We have to watch them closely because there is always one of them grabbing someone else's face, sticking their fingers in someone's eyes, etc. At one point Naomi had Lucas's fingers in her mouth.

Sweet babies...

Nora and Lucas playing

Tyson and Nora playing with the same toy

New Sling

Nora's mom, Lena, made Lucas and me this sling. Lucas was ready for a nap when Lena got here for play group today, and when I tried to put him in his crib he freaked...because he heard his friends playing downstairs, I'm sure. Once I put the sling on, however, he fell right to sleep. It was fun having him nuzzled up next to me during his nap.

Miss Gina, Day 2

I won't post about Gina and Lucas every Tuesday and Thursday, but I just wanted to say that they did great on their second day together. Gina got Lucas down for all of his naps and was able to get him to take both of his bottles. I was able to stay upstairs all day and get a lot of work done. It makes me happy that he is branching out a little bit from Mom and Dad...

A picture that Gina took of Lucas during his nap

Cute Giggles

We've recently discovered that Lucas has a tickle spot on his chest and his feet...

(there seems to be a problem with Drop Shots - the sound is off a little)

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

Field Trip to Farmer's Market

Lucas and I went to the Raleigh Farmer's Market yesterday afternoon. It is amazing how many good fruits and veggies that they have for such low prices. I had a great time, but Mr. Lucas slept through the entire experience. I think it will be fun to take him in a few months when he is old enough to sample some of the fruits with us.

Lucas's Weekend Adventures

Lucas had a busy weekend. On Friday he went to dinner with his two buddies, Charles and Christopher (Charles is 2wks older than Lucas and Christopher 2wks younger). On Saturday he went to Charles's house for dinner. We took his pj's and put him to bed on Mark and Wendy's bed. He woke up 1/2 an hour later, but we got him back to sleep and we were able to stay out until 11:30 - yippee!

Today Lucas took a bath in his Bumbo chair. I wasn't sure about this seat at first because he sometimes leans forward so that his nose touches his toes, but he loves to sit up so much that I find I use it more than any other seat. Turns out it works well for baths too. (thanks Nancy!)

Another adventure was going to the grocery store. Lucas enjoys being in the front carrier during shopping trips. Today he talked really loudly and made his new sound (blowing out of mouth) during the whole trip. Anyway, here are some pics...

Christopher, Charles and Lucas

Charles and Lucas in their PJs
"Come on Mom, where are the bubbles?!"

Miss Gina's First Day

Lucas's nanny, Gina, came over on Wednesday to get acquainted with us. She was a big hit with Lucas. He was just waking when she arrived and he gave her big smiles and was talking more than he's ever talked, as if he was telling her all about himself.

Yesterday was Gina's first full day. When she arrived this time Lucas was ready for a nap and a little fussy. The three of us were having fun playing downstairs, so I told Gina that I was going to my office and to let me know is she needed anything. A few minutes later I hear the "Mommy, where are you!?" cry. Gina said that Lucas was happy, but as soon as I walked up the stairs he poked out his bottom lip and started to cry. Poor baby.

So I helped Gina rock him to sleep, but he woke up twice within 1/2 an hour of going down. He had just gotten shots the day before and I thought the best thing was to get good sleep, so we put him down on our bed....and he slept for 4 hours!! He hasn't done that since he was an infant. What a day to do it - he should have been playing and getting to know Gina. Oh well.

Jeff and I really like Gina, and I am enjoying working, so I think this will be a great setup. Lucas got more comfy with the grandmas each day that they were here, so I'm sure he'll do the same with Gina.

"I love Miss Gina!...but where did Mommy go?"

Drool Monkey

Play Group

We took a few weeks off from play group, but are getting back on a schedule now that all of the summer vacations are over. Yesterday we went to Charles's house. The babies are definitely noticing each other now. It was cute to see them rolling into one another, grabbing faces, and licking each other's hands and heads.

Charles, Naomi and Lucas

Little Buddies

"Hi Mom!"

Naomi about to grab Lucas's bib and pull it towards her...
Charles, Naomi and Lucas