More teeth!!

So now in addition to his top two teeth, now he is getting his bottom ones. I can feel and see one and I think the other is right behind. He went so long with none and now in a little over a week he has 4. So far, he hasn't really been bad about it. No waking up at night, no real fussiness, no fever to speak of. His chin shows a little rash, but he has had that off and on for months. His stools haven't really been loose and no runny nose either. Yeah for us!!!
I weighed him this morning and he is 20 pounds even!!! He is getting to heavy for me to hold comfortably for long periods of time--not that he wants you hold him anyway. He wants to get down and get into things!!

I created a "monster"

Colton will not eat store bought baby food. Ever since he has been eating solid foods, I have made all of his baby food. I make all of his veggies and fruits and meat. At dinner, he usually has what I am having, plus Yobaby and cereal. I have tried to give him ground beef and he didn't like it. He loves chicken and pork chops. Maybe if I mixed the beef with something he might like it better. We tried to give him Spaghetti Os and he didn't like them. We tried one of those ready-made meals, I think it was chicken with stars, and he wouldn't eat it. I really think he doesn't like the way processed food tastes because he is used to fresh food. What kid doesn't like Spaghetti Os? I think he might be teething again because his appetite seems diminished again. He can throw down some fruit though!!!

Such a big boy

I took some pictures this morning before heading to Grammy's for the day. He has MOPS this morning as well. He looks like such a little man and not like a baby anymore!!

Another development

On a completely unrelated subject--I officially stopped pumping on Saturday. Normally I would pump first thing in the morning and then a couple more times throughout the day and mix his milk with what I pumped. On Saturday, I didn't pump at all and boy did I feel it!! He still is nursing before bed though so they got "emptied" then and on Sunday was the same. A couple weeks ago he wanted nothing to do with nursing before bed, now he is back to his usual. Especially these last two nights, there has been an abundant supply!! By about 3:00, I can feel the pain. I didn't even bring my pump to work with me today for the first time since I came back from leave. I guess I will endure the "pain" until I wean him completely. My shirts are fitting better now though there is more to fill them up!!

Shopping all weekend

I think our entire weekend was a shopping trip!! On Saturday morning Colton, Mom and I went to Tallahassee. Mom needed to go to a store there in Tallahassee to get my neices Christmas presents (they only sell them at this one store in Tally) and then we were going to go to Toys-R-Us and to the mall. We got to the first store and did some shopping. I bought Colton some books and Mom got the girl's gifts. Then we were off to Toys-R-Us. Well when we got there it said they were closed due to storm damage. I don't recall any major storms lately, but whatever. I was disappointed because I really wanted to get Colton some birthday/Christmas presents and get my nephew's birthday present as well. So we went on to the mall. I had to resist buying Colton more clothes. I LOVE to buy him clothesm but he REALLY doesn't need any!! I think I ended put only getting him a pair of pants and a rashgard shirt for next summer. On a side note--I had trouble getting his shoes on for a little over a week now. They were size 3s and I knew that his size 2s were too small. I had gotten him a new pair of Nikes and a pair from the Children's Place as well. He had only worn the Nikes last week and it was the first time for the others. Well when we were at Sears buying toys (they have a pretty good toy selection there) I went over to the show dept and had the lady measure his feet. Come to find out, he measured a 3.5!!! No wonder I was having trouble. I was trying to squeeze his feet into shoes that were to small!! Colton was good all day. He slept on the way there and the way back. When we got home, we watched the Alabama game and picked up pecans.
On Sunday, Steve wanted to go to the mall in Gainesville. We left here about 9:30 so when we got to Gainesville, of course the mall wasn't open yet (I told him that but he insisted that the mall opened at 11:00, when I knew it wouldn't be open until noon). Toys-R-Us was right next door and it opened at 10:00. It is a big store with a Babies-R-Us attached too. I got Colton another birthday/Christmas gift and I also found him some shoes in the right size!! I already had another pair of Nike's that were a size 4, but he needed some new "church" shoes. I also found him some cute little Christmas jammies with a Santa hat he can wear on Christmas morning. I still have some more shopping to do, but I guess I still have time.

He walked--I think LOL

I was making dinner last night and Colton was playing in the dining room. He was rearranging the chairs--as he does frequently-- and then he let go, stood there and took what looked to me like a step or two. Then is pants tripped him and he went down and crawled the rest of the way to me. He has trouble holding his pants sometimes!! LOL I know that he can do it--it is just that he is in too much of a hurry and crawling is much faster!! He will do it when he ready I guess.

New word

Colton favorite new word is "bird". He says mama, dada, bye, hi, milk and he points to the dog and when you ask "where's Mommy?" he will pat me. My Mom has two birds so that must be where he got it from. When he sees a tree now, he looks up and says "bird".

Busy weekend

We had a busy weekend. On Saturday we went to the Fall Festival. Colton got his face painted (with a small pumpkin on one cheek and he actually sat there and let her do it!!), then he had his picture taken--they had a little set with hay bales and pumpkins and I just couldn't resist, then he rode on the kiddy train. The man must have thought I was crazy for letting my 10 month old on a train without me there to hold him. He has a little car that he takes his walks in so I knew that he was used to sitting in something while it was moving. He just sat up there like a boy boy and looked so cute. Then we walked over to the horse show and watched for a little while. Normally we would have taken one of my horses but it was too cold and Mom was out of town--so no one to watch Colton while I would be in the arena. Colton kept whining and pointing at the horses because he wanted to ride. The annual dog talent show was at the same place too. So we went to take a look there too. It was nice because it was inside and warm!! On Sunday after church, we got him a pumpkin to carve. I bought one of those stencil kits. They are not as easy as it says they are. The little wheel that you trace the pattern is tiny and my drill broke after about 5 minutes. It turned out good though. I took his picture in his Eeyore costume with his pumpkin.

He made it

Well Colton made it through his first MOPS meeting. Mom said he didn't even cry when she handed him off. She asked the lady how he was when she went to get him and the lady said he was good. She asked how old he was again and Mom said "10 months" and the lady's response was "he sure is energetic!!". I am not quite sure what that was supposed to mean, but at least he didn't get kicked out!!! I guess they will be going back in two weeks.
I called my peditrican yesterday and asked if they would recommend the H1N1 shot for Colton and they said no, so I guess he won't be getting it--I didn't really want him to anyway. :o)

Teeth--Finally!!

Ok so now I can actually see the teeth coming!!! He is getting his top two teeth before his bottom ones. He doesn't like for me to look at them anymore though. I "brush" his gums with the washcloth when he is getting his bath. This morning when he was eating his grits, he was being coy and leaning over to the side and I kept imitating him and he would smile and I could see the little white tips coming out of his gums. I am not sure this is such a good thing though--cranky, nonsleeping, feverish--OH JOY!! LOL
Right now he and Grammy are at their first MOPS meeting. I sure hope it goes well. I am not quite sure what it is all about, but I thought it might be a good way for him to interact with other babies. If Mom doesn't like it, she doesn't have to go back I guess. I just hope Colton doesn't get kicked out for being mean or too rough!! :O)

Back to the "grind"

We had a nice weekend I guess. It is still REALLY hot here. On Saturday my Dad came back from NY so Colton and I spent the day over at Mom and Dad's house--Steve was at work all day. Colton wasn't quite sure who he was since he hadn't seen him since mid-August. We watched the football games and went on some walks--he LOVES going on walks and driving his car. Alabama won so that was GREAT!! On Sunday we went to church and then we went out to Applebee's for my birthday. Steve didn't want them to come over and sing, so we didn't tell them it was my birthday. I missed out on my free dessert! :o(
His transition to milk is going well. He doesn't seem to notice at all. On Saturday night and then again last night, he only nursed for like 3 minutes on one side and then was ready to go to sleep. On Sunday morning, I didn't even try and nurse him. I just got him up and gave him his cup of BM/cow's milk and he was happy. I still worry about the right-before-bed feeding, but if the last two night are any indication, he will do just fine.
Both my friend's little girl and my nephew are sick. They both have a snotty nose and can't sleep at night. Neither one got the H1N1 shot, so it isn't that. Hopefully they don't have the flu itself. I was reading how 19 babies have died since Oct 3rd from H1N1 flu. That is very scary. I am still going back and forth on getting vaccinated. I have never gotten a flu shot and I have never gotten the flu. Maybe if Colton was in day care or had siblings I would be more apt to get the shot. I just don't know!!!

Vaccines

So I have decided that Colton will be on an altered schedule for his vaccines. I know at his 12 month appointment, he is to get vaccines. Not sure which ones that they have "scheduled." He most certainly will not be getting the MMRV shot. I did some research on it because I knew that the MMR shot was one that was controversial to begin with. When you add the varicella vaccine (chicken pox shot) to it, it can cause high fever and febrile sezuires. The MMR by itself also is known to cause fevers and possibly sezuires, but when you add the "V" to the MMR, the child has a much greater chance of having problems. I read many studies and searched the CDC website for all my information. I also plan on waiting on the MMR by itself until he is 18 months old. They only need two boosters by the time they start school, which for him will be a year later than most due to his birthday being after the Sept. 1st cut-off. IF I decide to get the chicken pox vaccine, he can get it when he is older--like 2 or three. He isn't in day care, has no older (or younger) siblings and is very healthy. They certainly didn't have the chicken pox shot for us when we were growing up. I had chicken pox when I was 7 and had no problems. I know that vaccines are required to start school, but I think the timing of them should be a little more spread out. It is a personal choice and no one should feel bad for doing what they think is best for their kids.

Cow's milk

I gave Colton a little cow's milk in his BM cup at lunch today. He seemed to not even notice really. My supply has decreased tremendously since he isn't nursing as much. My body is adjusting but not supplying as much. Also I don't think I have enough fat in my BM for him. I don't eat hardly any fat and what I do eat is most likely used my my own body first. Half the time at dinner, I hardly eat anything at all since I am trying to make dinner for Steve and I and trying to get him fed and cleaned up so we can go outside before it gets dark. I know you are supposed to wait until 12 months to wean them onto cow's milk, but it is only a month off since I would have started the mixing part at 11 months anyway. We will see how the week progresses.

October in Florida

Last week was so nice we had the windows open and it got down into the 50s at night. Today at 7:00am it was 80 degrees and 100% humidity. It is like a pressure cooker out there. Hopefully it will cool back off soon. For Halloween, Colton is "going" as Eeyore and I am sure he will not want to be in that costume if it is still 90 degrees outside!! I can't wait to carve his pumpkin and to take his picture in his costume. He looks soooo adorable.
Still waiting to see if what I see in his mouth is actually his teeth coming in. It really doesn't make a difference to me if he has teeth or not at this time. I know he will get them eventually and when he does---OH BOY--watch out for those chompers!! That is how he gives kisses-with his whole moth and kinda sucks on your face and/or chin. Right now it is just gums, but with teeth it will be a whole different experience.

Maybe getting some teeth??

I think he might be getting some teeth--maybe?? At this point he has NONE. I have been thinking since he was 4 months old that he has been teething. He had all the classic symptoms--fussing, drooling, low grade fever, rubbing everything on his gums--and then nothing. Well then about a month ago I thought maybe again. Nope he just had a cold. Last night during his bath, I was wiping his gums with the washcloth and I thought his top gums looked different. I can't really remember what they looked like before though. We fought about it for a while--I wanted to exmaine better and he wanted to play with is whale. There seems to be two swollen, whitish looking bumps where his top teeth would be, but they are definitely not at the bottom gum level. Obviously they have to move down at some point so maybe he is just at the beginning stage of his little chompers dropping. He also has been sucking his top lip a lot lately. Who knows?!?!?

My first blog

So this my first "official" blog. I used to blog on myspace, but now I use Facebook and haven't really done any blogging on there. I have noticed a lot of people use blogspot so I thought I would give it a try (and I can do it at work!! LOL).
I guess the purpose of this blog is to write down random, or not so random, thoughts about raising my little man. I can't believe that he will be 10 months old in two days. That Darius Rucker song is so true--"It won't be like this for long". I actually have that as one of my ringtones for one of my friends. She has a little girl that is only 2 months older than Colton.
Mom and I went shopping yesterday. Colton needed pajamas for when it gets colder and some long pants and long sleeve onesies and shirts. I had bought him a butt load of long sleeve shirts, but they were mainly oxford types and not "play clothes", more like church shirts. Well almost two hundred dollars later, the boy has PLENTY of clothes!! I think in the last year and half I have not bought myself any clothes. All I buy these days is Colton clothes. I have even bought myself any shoes--which for me is HUGE!!
I feel like I have sooo much to say that this blog would be a book by the time I get done, so I will cut it short for now. Maybe when I get back from lunch I will write more.