Cooper updates

Cooper is growing like a weed and has been reaching some major milestones lately. I started Cooper on solids after the pediatrician gave her ok at his 4 month appointment. So far he’s tried avocado, organic brown rice cereal, peas, unsweetened applesauce, sweet potatoes, prunes, and banana. He had a reaction to something (prunes, I think) so I’ve backed off of solids for awhile. I’ll probably pick it back up at 5 months, but we’re not in any hurry right now. I plan on making as much of Cooper's food as possible, but for daycare he’ll get jarred organic food. I’m not really a “green” momma but I do want him to have a healthier start to foods than my husband and I ever did. Check out his first taste of bananas and rice cereal in the video below!



Cooper has also learned how to roll over. He did this once at 3 months and never did it again. Around 4 months, he started rolling onto his stomach like a pro. However, he doesn’t know how to roll back over (from stomach to back) so he gets mad and pitches a hissy fit whenever he’s on his tummy. Moms, when did your baby master tummy to back rolling over?

Coops has laughed for quite awhile, but around 4 months he started doing this deep, infectious baby laugh. It’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard! Check it out below. (Although I’ll warn you that you’ll hear my evil villain laugh – Cooper thinks that is hilarious.)



I posted my recommendations regarding swaddling recently – and I’m really sad to report that he seems to be over the swaddle. Cooper fusses when I try to swaddle him up now and he desperately tries to get his hands free as soon as I wrap him. I tried to stop cold turkey, but he will roll over in the middle of the night and get scared when he realizes he’s on his belly. So… I’m sort of stuck on what to do from here. I could transition him to a different kind of swaddle, like the Woombie, swaddle just his lower body, or just let the swaddle go entirely. What do you think?

My boy is such a little talker! I assumed all babies "talked" as much as he does, but my mom says he's a super baby (go figure!). I swear he said "Mama" the other day, but Jason says I am crazy. Today we were at the hospital and the nurse swore she heard him say "No!". I believe that - she was trying to hold him still for x-rays.



Cooper is back to sleeping through the night, thank goodness! Right around the time I went back to work, he started sleeping 7:00 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. A few weeks later he got sick and started getting up once during the night to eat. Now he goes down around 8:00 p.m. and sleeps until 7:00 a.m. On the weekends (if we put him in the bed with us) he'll go back to sleep after he eats and sleep until 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. My boy loves to sleep! He doesn't do so well with naps at daycare, but at home he takes a 1.5 hour morning nap and a 3-4 hour afternoon nap. He takes after his Mommy!

I've been having quite the battle with his pediatrician. She's been telling me for months that Cooper has reflux and I don't believe that he does. I think he either has environmental allergies or is lactose intolerant. My brother and I both have severe allergies and asthma, and the doctor is blowing off my concerns as reflux/starting daycare. He's had a constant cold, runny nose, congestion, cough, eczema on his cheeks and forehead.... I switched him to soy in an attempt to rule out a milk allergy, and he got extremely constipated. After a few days, he refused to take the soy formula at all. I switched him back to milk-based formula and now am stumped with what to do. His pediatrician sent us for a barium swallow study today, and the doctor told me there are no signs he has reflux. I really don't know what to do from here. I suppose I'll battle it out with the pediatrician at his 6 month appointment, but if any of you have advice or recommendations I would love to hear them!

My parents came up to visit two weekends ago, and Jason and I got our first real night out since Cooper was born. We went out for a nice dinner and saw Sex & the City 2. It was a little unreal - I put on makeup! I wore nice clothes! I wore heels, for goodness sakes! Still, I missed my little man a lot more than I thought I would. I was glad to come home to him at the end of the night.

Jason has been having some health concerns of his own. A few weeks ago, he announced to me as we were driving in the car that his heart was racing like he'd been running. He was very nonchalant about it, and as I questioned him, I discovered it had been happening constantly for two days. He'd been having hundred up these brief episodes a day. The next day he had an EKG and he received the preliminary diagnosis of tachycardia. We were referred out to a cardiologist, who ordered another EKG, an echo-cardiogram, and blood work. We go next week to find out the results. Besides my primary concern for Jason's health, we also have to worry about what impact this might have on his future in the Navy. Submariners, especially those in the nuclear field, cannot have certain medical diagnoses, and they also can't be prescribed certain medications. So while we worry about what this means for his overall health, we also have to worry about his career in the Navy. I'm trying to just trust in God right now. We'd appreciate your prayers!

What's new with you?