27 Weeks Old/6 Months Old

27 Weeks Old/6 Months Old

September 8-14

Monday (September 8) marked Riley's 1/2 birthday!  Our little boy is officially 6 months old!  I can hardly believe it!  I wish I could have stayed home with him all day, BUT of course, we are still trying to get used to this back to school/back to work/daycare schedule. I cuddled him as much as possible when I got home! 

Riley continues to have a rough time sleeping.  He is still congested, coughing, and not sleeping very well! We placed blankets on the floor, along with his boppy pillow, and tried having him sleep there where he was more elevated.  I realized this went against all "safe sleeping" procedures for infants; however, I've come to realize that as a parent, sometimes you need to do what you think could work and what you feel is best at the time.  We've also been experimenting with Baby Vicks and saline drops and humidifiers...yikes, having a sick baby is challenging, especially when it is happening for the very first time!  

Riley is also having some diapering problems at daycare!  He is pooping through SEVERAL outfits a day!  This is definitely keeping Amanda on her toes!

To try help with the pooping problem, we decided to introduce cereal a few day earlier than the doctor recommended (after his 6 month check-up).  So many people said they had introduced solids much earlier, and as big as Riley is, I figured he was more than ready!  We did try our very first solids on September 10--we tried some single grain oatmeal.  It did not go over well at all.  In fact, Riley spit most of it out or rubbed it on his face or in his hair! 

1st solid food--single grain oatmeal 9/10/14

We tried again throughout the week, but it just did not go very well.

On Wednesday, after hearing from Amanda that Riley coughed hard all day, we decided to take him into the walk-in clinic.  I was freaked out, because this was Riley's first medical visit to a clinic and we had to see whatever doctor was on-call....not his pediatrician.  I was also nervous, because the clinic was packed with people coughing and clearly sick, so I kept thinking he was going to leave the clinic with more than he came in with.  The doctor checked him out and he said his ears looked a bit red, indicating a minor ear infection.  He prescribed some medicine for Riley to take for 10 days.  We mixed it in with his bottle and he took it easily.  

The day after beginning his medication, he had a slight rash on his back and stomach.  I called the doctor and he said it was probably due to the medicine, but said to continue the medicine unless we see other symptoms.    

On Friday Riley got to stay home from daycare and stay with Great Auntie Oath since Daddy was in the cities for work.  

On Sunday, we tried rice cereal instead of oatmeal cereal...still not much luck!  Lots of spitting and playing with it instead of eating it!  

  6 Months Old Update

Weight:  24 pounds and 30 inches

Sleep: Alert, alert, alert!!! Problem area this month!!!! Yikes!  During Riley's first week of daycare and Momma's first week back to work, Riley slept VERY little--he was up about every 45 minutes and often had a hard time falling back asleep.  Not sure if it was the change in routine, teething, ear infection, or a combination of the three, but sleep has NOT been a peaceful time for this guy!  Napping was going great at the end of summer, but now with daycare...I don't really even know how much sleep he is consistently getting.  Hopefully, a sleeping routine will work itself out SOON!

Medical Issues:  Riley is working on 2 more upper teeth!  He was diagnosed with his very first ear infection on September 9!  This was his first medical concern doctor visit!  He got antibiotics to clear it up!

Clothes:   9 month clothes is the best bet!  There are SO many mornings where I attempt a smaller size and it just doesn't do the trick!  He is a long boy!

Diet:  6-7 oz bottles.  First solids tried on September 10.  He doesn't seem to like single grain oatmeal or single grain rice cereal!

Baby Gear: Riley is taking a bigger interest in sitting on the floor and staying content playing with his toys on his floor mats! He really likes his singing lady bug, Tad the Counting Frog, and anything else he can chew on!


Crying:  Teething plus an ear infection meant an unhappy baby at times this month, BUT his smiles are still priceless!

Mommy and Daddy News:   
Mommy is back to work and it is HARD to work with such little sleep.  It is also hard to see Riley so little throughout the day.  I miss him like crazy and just wait for a weekend!  Daddy is getting close to finishing up his online college degree in Business Management! 

Milestones:

Smiles, giggles, reaches and grabs, sits up, lots of babbling!