Over 15 lbs

Alex had his 6 month check up today. He weighs 15 lb 3.5 oz. He's in the 10% percentile for weight and 25th for height. Adjusting for his earliness, Alex is way above average in height and weight (around 75th percentile). He got 4 shots and 1 oral vaccine. Alex is in perfect health!

Sleepover

Dad was out of town in DC and snow was in the forecast, so Mom and Alex spent the night with Grandma & Grandpa Felton. Alex slept in the pack n play with no problems. He enjoyed standing with Grandpa and practicing his rolls with Grandma.

6 months

Alex is 6 months old today! Today was a long day in daycare because Mom had some early meetings. Alex doesn't seem to mind, though. He is almost always very happy in the evenings.

Dad was very sick last night with the stomach flu. Apparently, there's a nasty bug that's been going around the daycare for the last 3 weeks. So far it has skipped Alex and Mom. Alex is over last week's cold with just a little congestion. He only woke up once last night (compared to 5 times for Dad).

Not So Perfect Sleeper

Alex has lost his title of world's best-sleeping baby. After 6-8 weeks of sleeping through the night, he has been waking up every night since he got sick last week. Last night Mom had to get up 3 times, 2 of which he wouldn't settle back down until he ate. We think the congestion in his nose and chest is bothering him. Or maybe he's cold. We put a space heater in his room and his congestion is getting better, so hopefully tonight is a better night.

Below is a video of Alex talking and trying to roll over. He is getting very close.

Garden D'Lights

One of Alex's favorite things to do is stare at bright lights, so tonight we went to the Botanic Garden's holiday light display called Garden D'Lights. Alex seemed mesmerized by it. He got to ride around in the bjorn with Dad and looked cute all bundled up from the cold.

TGIF

Mom had to work and Dad had lots of errands so Alex went to daycare today. He got lots of special attention since only 1 other baby was there. In the evening we took advantage of the holiday sales and bought Alex a big puffy winter coat for $20 at Old Navy. Even though it's cold out, they still like to take the babies out for walks in the buggy.

First Thanksgiving

Alex had an exciting first Thanksgiving. The sun came out so he went outside for the first time in a while with Mom and Dad. He talked to his grandparents in Minnesota on the phone. Grandma and Grandpa Felton came over for Thanksgiving dinner. In the late afternoon, he went for a swim in an indoor pool in Bellevue and he read books. His only regret is that he is still not eating solid food.

Slideshows!

Alex made his first artwork earlier today. With his teacher's help, he made a hand-print and foot-print turkey with a message that he was thankful for Mommy and Daddy.

We figured out a new feature in the blog. Here is a slideshow link to pictures from November.



And, here is a link to earlier pictures.

Cookie Monster

Alex did some rather boring errands with Mom and Dad today around town and he was very good the whole time. In his play times, we note that he keeps coming very close to turning over. Also, he has been waking up a couple of times during the night again. We are hoping he goes back to sleeping through the night soon.

In the afternoon, he went with Mom and Dad to a party watching football. He was too tired to watch. He slept through most of it, but he got to meet many new friends, a cat and a dog.

Below is a video of Alex being introduced to Cookie Monster singing "C is for cookie".

Big Smiles All Day

Alex was so happy to be feeling good that he spent the whole day smiling. He also had lots to say now that his voice is back. He went grocery shopping, played in his jumper, and helped Dad on the computer. For the last 2 nights in a row Alex has woken up in the middle of the night to eat (he had been sleeping through the night for about the last 6 weeks). Mom is hoping that was due to his sickness and not the start of a new pattern.

Healthy Again

Alex felt good again today except for a mild cough. He had a full day at school. Grandma and Grandpa Felton visited him there and he was glad to see them. He had a 3 hour nap in the afternoon -- about 3 times as long as normal.



In the evening, Alex was in a very cheerful mood. He was excited to feel good again and he had a lot of energy. He tried to turn over back-to-tummy a number of times and came close a few times. He also practiced shouting. I think he was glad to have his full voice back. It was very cute.

Sick Day

Alex and Dad took a sick day today. In the morning, Alex had lost nearly all of his voice and had a mild fever so he could not go in to school. He slept most of the morning and hardly ate at all until the afternoon.

After a morning with some good rest, he was feeling a little better. In the afternoon, he spent some quality time reading books and playing in his gym. He is still quite congested and we hope he is better tomorrow.

Still Sick

Alex is still sick. He had to go home early from day care because he was running a fever of 99.9F. We doubt he will be able to go in tomorrow and Dad may stay home from work with him (Grandma Felton is out of town or we would ask her to help).

He is doing ok most of the time. He has a cough and congestion. The worst part is that he has lost his voice so when he cries he sounds very sad.

First Time Sick

Alex finally caught the cold/flu bug that Mom and Dad had over the weekend. It is just the start of the sickness, but he is taking it well so far. His voice is hoarse, he is congested in his sinuses and lungs, and his energy level is down. But, he is not fussing too much. We hope he is better tomorrow, but I expect it will last a few days. There is a chance he will not make it to school tomorrow.

Here are a couple videos:

Half Day

Dad had the day off work so he picked Alex up from school early.

Alex had a good time, but he got fussy in the early evening and he was really happy to see Mom when she got home. He definitely has a cough and minor congestion. It does not look like he has the virus yet that Mom and Dad had over the weekend. Also below are a couple of videos from yesterday.

November 11

Mom and Dad have been sick the last few days and have not been posting to the blog. Luckily, Alex does not appear to be sick. We expect he will get this eventually, but we hope it is when we are better.


The big milestone that he has hit in the last few days is that he has been able to sit up on his own, without external support. Right now, he needs to be set into a position and he cannot hold it for long. But, he can balance for a little bit and he seems to really enjoy sitting.

He also spent Saturday evening with a babysitter and two of his friends, Kaye and Lila, while Mom and Dad went out. The babysitter reported no problems but she was impressed with how good of an eater he was.

Really Happy at Night

Alex has been really happy at night for 3 of the 4 evenings since he started daycare. We'd like to think he's happy to see us, but we suspect the change of scenery is also nice for him. Daycare is going well. We now bring 4 bottles instead of 3 for the day and that makes Alex happier. The daycare workers have mentioned many times that Alex is an exceptionally good eater and sleeper. Grandma F has tried to visit twice but both times Alex was sleeping. Below is a cute picture where Alex noticed that the feet of his pajamas had dog faces on them. He studied them intently for a long time.

Nov. 7

Alex was very happy in the morning before school and in the evening after school. Especially in the evening, he was in a very good mood. We like to think he had no troubles all day at school too. Grandma Felton visited him at school, but I guess he slept the whole time because he did not know she was coming. Alex and Mom seem to have fully adjusted to daycare without any problems. We did get some bad news, our favorite teacher (of 3 days), Cheryl, is leaving his school.

Here is a video of Alex playing with his burp cloth.

So Far So Good

Alex and Mom survived the first 2 days of daycare/work. Mom really likes Alex's daycare teachers. They are very attentive and loving. The other babies are mainly 6-10 months so Alex will learn some new tricks from them. The teachers marveled at how much Alex eats and then how much he spits up. Normally they ask a family to bring 1-2 extra outfits per week but we've been asked to bring at least 1 extra per day because of all the spit ups. Alex is still adjusting to the new routine. He is still shy and little fussy around the other babies. He does like it when they put the babies in the big buggy and go outside for walks.

Sign Language Class

This was Alex's last full day before starting daycare tomorrow. He is excited but he will miss all the extra time with Mom.

Today's big adventure was a 2 hour sign language class that Alex took with 5 other babies. The class is really for the parents so the parents can teach their babies to sign. The theory is that babies can learn sign language long before they are able to speak. Being able to do some simple communication can avoid some of the frustration of not being able to speak. The class covered numbers and letters and some important words like:
milk
more
eat
change
diaper
toilet
sleep

Mom also took some glamour shots for a passport photo -- no travel plans yet, but just in case.

Loves the pool

Alex really liked his swim today. We went to the Bellevue Club where they don't have a super-warm pool but he didn't seem to be cold at all. He spent about 20 minutes in the water and didn't fuss at all. His favorite part was gliding on his stomach and putting his arms up on the wall.

Alex spent the morning with Dad practicing sitting, standing, talking, and rolling. Mom entertained him in the late afternoon with a few songs he likes to sing. We are trying to extend his schedule by one hour for daylight savings time. But, as we are writing this, he is barely hanging on. We expect to be up early tomorrow.

Good Trial Run

Alex and Mom tried out the morning routine and spent 3 hours at work today. Everything went well. Alex cuddled a bit with his new teacher Cheryl. He also played with some new toys, took a nap, and had a bottle. He had no problem taking a bottle from someone new. In fact, they marveled at how much he ate. Then he spit up all over himself and they changed his outfit. Mom informed them that Alex spits up after every meal so they'd better lower their cleanliness standards or else Alex would run out of clothes.

In the evening Alex got to play with Grandpa Felton for the first time in a while. Grandpa couldn't believe how big Alex has gotten and how blonde his hair is getting. It does appear that his new hair is finally growing in. Alex's eye is better so we decided not to go to the doctor, but we'll ask him about it at our next check up.

Quality Time with Mom

Alex and Mom spent lots of quality time together as it was their last full day together. Alex will try out his new school for a few hours tomorrow and will start for real on Monday. Mom is sad.

We sang some songs, read some books, practiced sitting up. We went to Target to buy diapers and Alex had a massive screaming fit. He screamed so hard he broke a blood vessel in his eye. We will go see the doctor if it hasn't improved by tomorrow. He's happy again so we aren't too concerned.