Half a year…It has gone by amazingly quickly. Starting solids seemed so far away and here were are with a third baby eating. But let me back up and tell you about what Leo has been up to in the last month.

First – Leo finally got his first tooth. I think I see a second bottom tooth getting ready to pop out.

Second, and way less fun, he got his first tummy bug. Jack and I caught it next, then Gigi, then Audrey. He handled being sick like a champ though, and kept a smile on his face the whole time.

The third new thing in his little life was our first couple of nights away from each other. I had a quick trip to California and Leo stayed behind. So hard to be away from a nursing baby who still wakes in the middle of the night. Needless to say, we were both very happy to be reunited.

We have his 6 month check-up Tuesday for official stats and shots. He seems long so I am curious to see how much he has grown. He gets up into a crawl position and rocks, but he gets too excited and collapses to the ground to do a swimming motion.

We celebrated my birthday this weekend. Leo loved hearing Happy Birthday being sang. While he didn’t get to share in the dessert, he got his first taste of oatmeal. (It was a hit!) Kids are all so unique but I am going to try what I have before with foods, and keep my fingers crossed that Leo is as much of a pleasure to feed as his siblings. We’ll be sticking with what we have before will be a mix of baby oatmeal, a couple of purees of veggies, and mostly whatever food we are eating cut up so that he can feed himself. Jack and Audrey think that Leo being old enough to eat is hilarious!

Happy 6 months, sweet boy! We love you!

Hello, there! Our happy little boy has shared in lots of fun over the last month, including celebrating Jack’s 5th Birthday (Leo completely lit up with all the singing) and celebrating Christmas (with trips to Rossville and Effingham, and meeting Santa).

Santa was really good to Leo with an interactive train, Sophie the Giraffe, and plenty of new books. Leo was thrilled and “played” with his train for a really long time Christmas morning. He loved being right in the middle of Jack and Audrey opening presents and playing. I can already see how much fun Christmas mornings with three kids is!!

He also experienced his first snow (didn’t seem that impressed), and started daycare last week. I absolutely adore the teachers in his room. They also cared for Jack (after we moved to West Lafayette) and Audrey. We load all three kids up in the morning now to go to the same place. J & A love brining Leo along. 🙂 Despite his super happy personality, Leo is doing a lousy job of napping. He doesn’t seem to want to shut it down but I am hopeful that he will get better about napping each week. (also hoping that nighttime sleep starts to get more predictable!)

In documenting what Leo is like this month…You know those babies who just want to be held and just relish every cuddle? Yeah – that isn’t Leo! Haha! That boy wants to move! He doesn’t fall asleep cuddling, and he really prefers to be held facing out so that he can keep tabs on his siblings. He is great on his tummy, and tries to “swim” to get places. When he figures out how to get his knees under himself we are in trouble. We have put him in his highchair a bit at dinner time so he can hang out with everyone and he seems to love being a part of everything. We are still holding off on food for about another month.

Physically he seems really long and lean, maybe a bit more so that Jack at this age (check out Jack here). And unlike his older siblings, Leo doesn’t have teeth yet! It is so strange to me and Matt to have a nearly bald, toothless 5-month old (although it surely isn’t to most parents).

Leo is really, really funny though. He loves to smile and laugh. Matt and I talk often about what kind of big kid he’ll be like. Our prediction is always on the go, and always smiling. Looking forward to seeing how his personality continues to develop over the next month!

The happiest baby I’ve ever met is 4 months old tomorrow! Leo smiles from the moment you tell him “good morning, baby!” until you put him to bed. (Although he is louder and crabbier in the middle of the night).Since last month Leo has:

• Been my date for cousin Kelli’s wedding

• Made his first trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s in Effingham for Thanksgiving. 
• Relished being the “center” of his siblings’ attention every chance he gets

Leo’s most notable change in the last month is that he rolls both directions, and loves hanging out on his belly. His four month appointment is later on this week, so I’ll make sure to come back and update his stats (I love being able to look back at his trends). He is still in 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. What are we looking forward to in the next month? Seeing Santa (tomorrow!) and celebrating his first Christmas! Jack is going to share Leo’s wishlist to Santa. 🙂

The baby is 3 months old this weekend. Leo is a smiley, talkative, easy-going little man.And, oh my! He is just SO happy. His face is almost always in a smile. Leo is getting so big! He is comfortably in 3-6 month clothing, but no doctor appointment this month for stats. He is starting to get better stretches of sleep too. He isn’t consistent yet, but has had up to 4.5 hours of sleep at night. Even on nights with lots of wake-ups he goes back down to sleep fairly quickly. He loves people! Leo loves hanging out with Jack and Audrey, and seems to try his hardest to make sure he gets to be a part of their bedtime book and songs. He is a chatterbox and loves to have full (loud) “conversations” with us, especially one on one. 

Leo also has to started to “play” more with his toys, especially his crib mobile, playmat, and stuffed elephant. He also started rubbing his head this month (like he is really thinking about something).  He probably was pondering the whole Halloween thing. How cute is he as the lion in Wizard of Oz? He made it out to a couple of houses with Jack and Audrey, before he declared “there’s no place like home” and went home to bed. 🙂

At his 2 month doctor appointment yesterday, Leo weighed in at 11 lbs 1oz (34th percentile) and 24.5 inches (90th percentile).  Long and lanky! He still is comfortably in size 0-3 month clothes. And his eyes are still a very pretty blue. I know baby’s eyes can change color (maybe up until 2 years old), but Jack and I might be the only brown-eyed people in the family.

Eat:  Let’s start with one of his strengths. 🙂 He is a great eater…and certainly enjoys eating. He has had a couple of bottles and has done really well with them. (Thank goodness!) I decided I had better not wait as late to introduce a bottle to him.

Sleep:  Well this might be his “needs improvement” area. I can’t help but compare the kids, and he is not the worst sleeper we’ve had (eh hmm…Jack) but he isn’t one for long stretches of sleep yet. For the most part he is up every 2 hours at night. Still. But the good news is that he is usually up for about 20 minutes and goes back down. He naps 2-4 times a day, of totally unpredictable length, but lately his naps have been as long as two hours. (Long naps have been amazing for me getting work done during the day!)

(Leo thinks Jack is hilarious!)

Interesting odds and ends:

He still gets hiccups all the time, especially after he eats.

He is super smiley and does lots of coo-ing

Leo totally knows Jack and Audrey’s voices and immediately lights up when he hears them.

He went to his first Purdue football game over the weekend, and was really happy to hang out on me the whole game. It was a beautiful day to be outside together! Next week, Leo will have his first flight. Matt, Leo, and I are traveling to Kansas City for 24 hours for a good friend’s wedding. Wish us luck!

Leo is one month old! In the last month, he has nearly seamlessly been incorporated into our lives, and is solidly in our hearts.

He didn’t have a one month appointment, but our scale at home says his weight is up from his birth weight of 7lbs 13oz to 9lbs 13oz.

Personality

He is a really sweet baby, and started giving us real smiles right at four weeks. LOVE it! And he seems to be a pretty physical little guy, and has given us a couple of rolls from belly to back during tummy time.

He loves being held and someone talking with him. Audrey is particularly sweet about sitting on the floor, “reading” him books. He cranes his neck to check her out and seems to be very content with their time together.

Sleep

Leo is hit or miss with sleep. Some nights consist of two stretches over three hours, with a quick diaper change and eat before easily falling back asleep. Other nights, I am getting a chance to hang out with him more frequently. Ha! Naps are similar. Some days he wants held for his haps, and other times he is happy to nap swaddled.

Eat

Leo is a great eater! He seems to nurse a bit quicker than his siblings did at this age, but he is another baby who likes to eat often. Now that he is the third to do this, it is somehow reassuring. His frequent-ish eating (maybe 10-12 times a day?!) mean that he is hardly ever over-stuffed and rarely spits up.

And just for fun – here is a comparison of all three kids at one month (Left to Right: Jack, Audrey, Leo).  What do you think?  Do they look alike? Poor Leo! Audrey used up all of the hair and cheeks!

What’s different the first month a third time around?

I already am reminiscing about the first couple of weeks of having Leo home. He was not an overly sleepy baby, but was very happy to sleep for good stretches IF he was in our arms. As soon as his back would hit a surface he was awake. So Matt and I took turns holding him for two hours at a time, before having Leo eat again, and switch holding parent. A third time around I truly understood that this was nothing to be worried about. He wouldn’t need to be held forever and we would eventually get more sleep. There is nothing like holding the new little person you’ve been waiting to meet for months. It was so much easier, but quicker this time. Happy first month, Leo!