Levi {7 Months}

Size: Wearing 6-9 mos and some 6-12 mos clothes, size 3 diapers, and our little peanut weighs 16.6 lbs on our home scale

Eating: Levi started solids at 6 mos old. I am using the Baby Bullet to make all of his food and it's been a fun adventure. The Baby Bullet makes it so easy and I love that I know exactly what he's eating and also saving us a lot of money. He's eaten avocado, peas, green beans, carrots and squash. He prefers some of his veggies mixed with rice cereal, otherwise they are hard for him to get down. His favorites so far are carrots and squash. He eats solids twice a day for right now (I occasionally offer him solids at lunch but he usually does not seem interested) and still nurses or takes a 5 oz bottle of breast milk every 3-3.5 hours (5 times a day). I am very thankful that I've been able to exclusively breastfeed Levi-- it has given me so much joy to sustain my sweet baby with my milk. Truly a gift from God! Levi is is still intolerant to dairy, soy and gluten so I'm still excluding those things from my diet and praying that his sensitivities will begin to subside as he gets older. 

Easy as 1, 2, 3! Cook veggie then puree To desired consistency (I add a little bit of water to puree then add breastmilk to the individual serving later if it needs to be thinned some more)

Store ready-to-serve food in refrigerator for up to 3 days

Individual servings ready to grab and go (and with a label so you can mark the date you stored!)

freeze leftovers (each portion is a serving size)

Remove from tray and store frozen purees in freezer safe bag and remove/thaw a serving when you need it!

Sleeping: He dropped his middle nap which has helped the other naps. He sleeps 10-11 hours at night and takes a 2 hour nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. He sometimes fights sleep at night and wants to be held but he is always asleep by 8:30 p.m. or before.

Here's his schedule which of course varies depending on when he gets hungry/tired:

7:00/7:30 a.m. wake and nurse
8:00 rice cereal 
8:30-10:30 nap #1
10:30 nurse
1:30 nurse
2:30-4:30 nap #2
4:30 nurse 
5:30 veggie  
7:00 nurse
8:00/8:30 p.m. bed

Milestones: 
~Sits great without support

~Started solids (avocado was first!) on 12/10
~Rocks on all fours and scoots backwards but not crawling yet
~Puts feet/toes in mouth 

~Babbles and imitates sounds
~Rolls all over the floor
~Trying to pull up on things, mostly tries to climb up me if I'm sitting next to him
~Waves (opens and closes his hands)

~Introduced sippy cup with a tiny bit of water and he LOVES it!

Likes: Levi is the happiest baby!! He loves smiling and laughing, playing on the floor with his toys, obsessed with Finley, playing with his ducky in the bath, being tickled, singing "Father Abraham" and doing all the hand/foot movements

Dislikes: Having his face wiped, water on his face, anything on his feet! 

29 weeks in and 29 weeks out!

After Christmas shopping

((Colossians 1:15-17))

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  

Christmas 2015

The 2nd Christmas in our house

Waking up on Christmas morning!

My little Christmas cutie

Levi's first stocking

Sitting in the rocking chair that I got on my first Christmas as a little girl

How Finley spent Christmas

Levi loves his Aunt Holley

Noah's Ark from Mimi and Poppy but Levi just wants the paper

Levi got some Bible story books!

For Levi's gifts we did "something you want, something you need, something you wear, something you read." This was his "something you read"and I absolutely love them!

Playing with all my new toys! Holding his favorite: a cell phone :)

First Christmas as a family of 3!

These two cuties are my whole entire world.

Our birthday cake for Jesus! And a dairy, soy, and gluten free one at that so mommy could enjoy :)

Christmas Eve service

Hamming it up at the student Christmas worship service

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

((Isaiah 9:6))

Levi {6 Months}

A whole half of a year, Levi?! How can it be so? We love you more than you'll ever know and have enjoyed every little bit of you these last 6 months. You are the sweetest, cuddliest, happiest baby boy and we thank God for blessing us with you! 

Size: Wearing size 6-9 month clothes. Just switched to size 3 diapers. Weighs 15.5 lbs on our home scale.

Eating: Nurses 5 times a day (or takes 5 ounces of breast milk in a bottle) and we started rice cereal  (Earth's Best whole grain organic- allergen free!) at 5.5 months old which he eats once a day around 6 p.m. as a snack before his last nursing session at night. I started the rice cereal to get him used to using a spoon and get him acclimated to "food" before we start solids. Now that he's got the swing of this eating thing, we are going to start rice cereal twice a day (at morning after first feeding and at night before last feeding) and will add a solid at lunch in a few weeks-- planning to start with avocado. I am still dairy, soy and gluten free and no symptoms to report in little Levi! Praise the Lord for a healthy, happy baby!

Sleeping: Sleeps anywhere from 10-11.5 hours at night! I think the rice cereal has helped keep him fuller a little longer. He has slept 12 hours a handful of times but 10 or 11 is usually the norm. He takes two naps: one morning (2 hours) and one afternoon (1-1.5 hours). Most of the time he will take a 3rd nap around lunch time for an hour. A few weeks ago he started sleeping on his tummy! I always put him down on his side and one night he rolled over to his tummy and stayed there. He's been sleeping that way ever since! He sometimes sleeps with his lovey at naptime and enjoys cuddling with it. I haven't let him sleep with it overnight just yet. He nurses around 7 or 7:30 (about an hour or so after his rice cereal) and then we put him down for bed at 8 or 8:30 p.m.

Milestones:  

~Started rice cereal at 5.5 months 

~Sits up well by himself for about 30-45 seconds before he falls over :)

~Rolls all over the place when I lay him on the floor 

~Found his feet and loves grabbing them

~Reflux is clearing up and hopefully just about gone!

~Put up our Christmas tree on Nov. 23- Levi's first tree!

~Sleeps on tummy

~Rides up front in shopping cart and in Bob jogger without carrier

~Traveled 5 hours to New Bern to see family for Thanksgiving 

~First pic with Santa! 

~Experienced some Black Friday shopping (on Thanksgiving night) at Belk and Target. I carried him in the Bjorn and he laughed, smiled, and grabbed at clothes the whole time. I guess he was amused at all the people out shopping! 

Likes: Jumping- in his jumper, on the floor, in our lap-- he just loves to jump! He loves being tickled, singing songs, reading books, snuggling, sitting on the floor and playing with his toys, wants everything in our hands, grabbing my mouth and nose and Ryan's beard, lights up when he sees daddy walk in the room, watching Finley, basically everything he liked last month x10 :)

Dislikes: Socks and shoes- they stay on for about 5 minutes before he kicks them off. He's now at the age that he's becoming unsure of new people and unfamiliar places. When we were in New Bern for Thanksgiving, he got very panicked when I left the room and cried until I could hold him. 

Santa sighting in New Bern

Visiting Mimi and Poppy and the Fickles for Thanksgiving

Levi's first Turkey Day 

These two. 

Sleigh Bell Trot 5k 

Nov. 22-- remembering 7 years without Dad

Blocks are yummy

My favorite little Gamecock

Rice cereal is yummy!

((Psalm 100:4-5))
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.