Noah James is 6 months old now! He’s far from a newborn and is getting more and more independent all the time. Today, he occupied himself for 40 minutes in his bouncer while I vacuumed all around him. He gets super focused on solving the intricacies of a toy and he can focus on that for large chunks of time.
He is also always on the move now! His favorite thing to do is to squirm all the way down on his swing so that his butt is on the floor. He’s so proud of himself when he does this!
He is a little wobbly, but he can sit up on his own for the most part now.
And his feet! Oh how he loves feet! His socks are always wet because he has to have a foot in his mouth at all times!
It doesn’t even need to be his foot! A friend’s foot works just as well!
It is just amazing how much he is learning, growing, and changing. Reflux is still an issue, but he just started solid foods this week, so we are hoping that solids will help with the reflux and help put weight on him. He loves to eat and to nurse, but he loses a lot of his milk from spitting up which has slowed his weight gain. In case the solid food doesn’t help, we’ve scheduled an appointment with a GI doctor for later this month.
Here’s Noah James showing off his love for avacado!
This was his initial reaction…
But he decided that he loves it! Today I had to mash up some more because he cried when it was gone!
Mr. Independent has also spent some time away from mommy this past week. Dave and I left on Saturday morning for Key Largo, Florida, and returned on Tuesday morning. Noah had a great time with his grandma. (I think my mom is still having withdrawls since she left him!) Noah did great without me… but I was a mess! I cried all the way to the airport! We were only gone for 3 days, but I missed him more than I can explain.
The trip was great! But it was tough… I had to pump for the month leading up to the trip so that Noah would have enough expressed milk for my mom to give him. But I also had to pump the whole time we were gone so that my supply wouldn’t drop. It was tough! Much tougher than I thought. Aside from the fact that the last thing you want to do while on a romantic, sunny getaway is to spend time inside attached to a breast pump… it is also just really hard to pump while traveling! Airports are not made for pumping moms! I pumped once on the floor of baggage claim and once at an empty gate. I tried to be discreet, but it was really embarrassing! And then storing and keeping all that milk cold… it took a lot of planning. But I arrived home with a cooler full of 90+ ounces of breast milk, so I can tell you that it can indeed be done!
It was such a short trip, that we spent much of the time traveling. But it was worth it (even with the pumping frustrations). We had a chance to reconnect, enjoy the sun, and spend some uninterrupted time together. We snorkeled.
We read.
We had a picnic and watched the sunset.
We went to the beach.
We ran. I did 10 miles both days.
It was glorious to run outside again! And since we have snow on the ground in Boston today, it might be a while until I get off the treadmill again.
It was just a lot of fun and I am very thankful to my wonderful husband for planning this trip for us. We needed it! And after a relaxing weekend together, I was more than ready to see this precious face again!
Speaking of that precious face… I hear him waking from his nap. Time to go!
Awww, so glad you and Dave got away for a few days. That is definitely a short trip though. I can only imagine the crazyness of pumping, it’s one of the many things about pregnancy/being a new mom that freaks me out haha. Just cuz I know I’d be embarrassed too!
Anyway, Noah is still a total cutie. I hope the solid foods help him!
Thanks Kelly. There are so many things to figure out. Pumping was definitely one of them. You just take one thing at a time and recognize that every mom starts out not knowing how to do it!
MAJOR KUDDOS TO YOU FOR PUMPING AND RUNNING ON VACATION! (i hate pumping so much i took baby on our 2.5 day trip and had to hear him cry in the car for hours on end; but i didnt have to pump so it was worth it LOL).
happy 6 months to noah! he needs to teach blaine how to entertain himself for 40 minutes (heck i’d take 10!!).
love the pics! noah is soooo adorable!!! i especially loved the faces when he was eating 🙂
Thanks so much 🙂 The pumping was a pain, but it was worth it to get away for a little bit. Next time though….Noah comes with us, along with a grandparent to provide us eith some babysitting and alone time.
I love that picture of him wriggling out of his swing — he looks so proud! Gosh, there are so many things I’ve never thought about, like the pumping. You really have it figured out! It looks like you had such a nice time in Key Largo . . . we’ve been saying that our next vacation may be to the Keys now that it’s not a long trip for us!
By the way, thank you so much for your comment on my blog a few weeks ago — that was really, really sweet. You brought a tear to my eye. As always, great to keep up with you!
I’m dying over the swing photo! He really is proud of himnself lol. Great job on running and pumping. Pumping is blah but it’s all for good. I prefer nursing though. 🙂
He is adorable. I am glad to hear you and Dave got away for a few days. That is really nice. It rocks that your mom was able to help out like that.
Wow. I cannot believe it has been six months! Noah is getting so big. I love the pic of him sneaking out of his little chair.
And I am so happy you got a little vacation, even though you missed him… and had to pump so much! 😛
oh my goodness what an adorable face! look at those bright eyes! made me smile 🙂 Glad you got a nice vacation together, looks like a blast
He’s getting so big! What a handsome little man. Your vacation looks glorious. Glad you were able to get away!
What a nice getaway! I can’t believe how big our babies are getting! My son is 7 months old today-it’s crazy!