9 months- my oh my!

I cannot believe Asa is 9 months already! He just turned 6 months which basically means he'll be a year before I know it. Holy moly- maybe this is why they say kids age you- because they make the time go by so darn fast.
We took Asa to his 9 month appointment on Saturday. To my surprise, he has another ear infection. The kid gives us no signals or warnings... Other than that, everything looks good! He's still only in the tenth percentile in weight, 6th in height, and 72nd in HC- ha ha.
We're still introducing new foods. Every veggie and fruit has been a hit but the minute you give him any texture, he gags and throws up. I tried a baby dinner with bits of pasta in it and he gagged and looked at me like I'd just shot the dog. A bit dramatic if you ask me.
Asa is one of the younger babies in his infant class- most of his classmates have started walking. We think this is motivating Asa to attempt things he's not quite ready for. The result? Bumps on the noggin- lots of them :(
I recently had the flu and was trying to take care of Asa until Tony got home. My mom called and I immediately started crying. I felt so helpless! I felt like I was going to collapse but had to keep up with Asa. All I wanted was to go to bed. My mom's solution? She shipped us a baby 'jail.' I was over the flu by the time it came, but its definitely been nice to have a safe place for him to sit in when I need to get things done. And- it does wonders for our decor. Very chic.
I made the mistake of taking his 9 month pics until after work. Asa is a morning person- not an evening person. I'll do better next month...

Thanksgiving

Asa's 1st haircut was Thanksgiving Day 2012 by his grandma Gail. Here's the after photo.

Also, his Thanksgiving artwork from school.

Desperate times

Call for desperate measures!

So it's getting increasingly difficult to get ready in the mornings to go to work now that little Asa boy is mobile. We have two spots to put him where he's safe and contained (besides his crib). We have an exersaucer and a plastic car thing. He's recently decided that he doesn't really care for either which is awesome. He'll start screaming whenever we put him in them. The other day I put him in his exersaucer because I HAD to get ready. He screamed so I gave him his baby bottle filled with water (remember from prior post that this is a recent favorite toy). Sadly, it didn't work this time. So...for whatever reason I took his bottle and squirted some water on his head and gave the bottle back to him. Voila! Happy baby.
Have I tried this trick since? Multiple times and so far it works EVERY time. Wahoo- small success . :)

First Words

1st word: Dada (been saying this for a while but still not sure he associates it with Tony)

2nd word: Mama (only used when extremely pissed)

3rd word: Hi Fi (we give out LOTS of high fives in our house- ha ha). What a weird kid.

Rewind: we went and got pumpkin pics when Mimi and Pok Pok were in town!

Rewind: 8 months

Would NOT sit still and cooperate! Typical, if nothing else.

Rewind: 7 month pics

Not the happiest 7 month old I've ever seen...

Rewind: Halloween

What a sweet puppy! He hated the costume.

Rewind: Asa's first school pictures

Boy was I disappointed. What's with the tire that's about to run him over??

Neglect...

I have been neglecting poor Asa's blog! My excuse is that the last few months have been the most trying to date! Asa still has an issue with vomiting- for a while there it was a daily occurrence. After several trips to the pediatrician, he finally got an appointment at the Children's Hospital yesterday. They did a barium swallow test and an upper GI. Initial reports show that the poor little guy just has a really bad case of reflux. We'll likely be referred to a pediatric GI for treatment.
That's the bad news- which didn't turn out to be quite so terrible. The good news is that he is such a sweet and funny baby and he's learning so much! He's crawling ( recently graduated from an army crawl yo a real crawl), pulling himself up on things, and mimicking some of Mama and Daddy's actions. Asa thinks he has awesome balance but the bruise on his forehead and the knot on the back if his head tell a different story...
His favorite trick is wiping his hands. We say "Asa- wipe your hands. They're dirty" and wipe our hands together. He mimics us VERY enthusiastically! It's quite cute :)
Sleeping is very hit or miss. Sometimes he sleeps all night with no issues- sometimes he's up all night with all kinds of issues. We never know what we're gonna get!
He loves the dogs- he mimics them as well... By putting their nylabones in his mouth! Gross.
Out of all the toys we've spent our hard-earned cash on- his favorite thing is a bottle filled with water. He plays with it more than he actually drinks it but it keeps him entertained so why would I not give it to him??? :)
His least favorite thing? Besides regular sleeping habits- he HATES diaper changes and wardrobe changes. He flips over and screams and acts like having a clean diaper is the worst thing that could ever happen to a kid. Apparently shit pants are comfy. I'm not quite sure...

6 Months Ago Yesterday...

I lost an astonishing 8 lbs in one day! While I haven't seen that kind of rapid weight loss since, we have had an amazing time seeing Asa grow and change.

Huge news! Asa has slept in his CRIB for the past 4 nights! On Monday, we put him down in his crib and listened to him wail for what seemed like FOREVER. In reality, it was probably between 20 and 30 minutes. Tony and I sat on the couch and looked at each other and talked about whether this was normal, how a little baby could have such stamina, and wondered who he was going to 'break' first. It was Tony. I don't know if I'm proud or ashamed of that fact. Regardless, Asa ended up in the swing and we ended up having a peaceful night's sleep. On Tuesday, we decided to give it another go. We put Asa down in his crib and, yet again, listened to him scream for about 10 minutes. Then...silence. He didn't go from screaming to whimpering to silence. He went from SCREAMING to silence. Tony and I looked at each other with wide eyes and wondered if Asa had actually fallen asleep! I went down to Asa's room to make sure I saw his chest rise and fall. I did and it was clear that he had apparently just worn himself out. He slept all night and then we did it again on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. He's, thankfully, cried less and less each night. On Friday there was approximately 20 seconds of crying before he passed out. So, I am happy to report that I will NOT have a teenage son that sleeps in a swing. Whew! That would have been awkward.

In other Asa news, we've been messing with his diet to determine the source of his incessant constipation as well as his semi frequent vomiting. About 2-3 times a week he will vomit an entire bottle. It doesn't upset him (he usually smiles and acts like it's funny when he's done), but it upsets daycare and at times, it upsets his Mom and Dad. Daycare has a policy where vomit=go home sick. They've been really flexible with us though because they know that Asa is not sick and doesn't need to go home. However, they worry that another parent will witness said vomiting and wonder why they're allowing puke boy to play with their precious, healthy baby and potentially spread the germs. I understand their concern so we're working on it...

He's currently on Nutramigen (some pre-digested, milk-allergy, ridiculously expensive formula) and we've cut out all solids for the time being. He started off on Similac Sensitive, then went to Soy formula, and now here we are. At some point during all the transitions and the introduction of various solids, he's been ridiculously constipated (like little baby butthole bleeding constipated- TMI??) and has had hives, and of course the vomiting. The constipation is the only thing that seems to bother him so he's also on Miralax. Every time we try to take him off the Miralax, the constipation returns. Ugh.
I don't want Asa to have to deal with various allergies. I hope this is something that he quickly outgrows or we quickly determine the one thing that's causing these problems and simply eliminate that.
He has his 6 month appointment on Wednesday morning and hopefully we'll come up with a game plan.

Yesterday, on his 6 month birthday, we took some pictures in the morning with his sticker, though getting him to stay on his back to capture the sticker in the photos was tricky. Then, after 'school,' we took more pics in the front yard which turned out pretty cute! However, his right cheek is super rosy- he's probably allergic to grass...

Drinking and Blogging...

Tony drank a 5 hour energy drink and prompty fell asleep leaving me to hang out by myself (Asa is asleep) on Saturday night. So....beer and blogging it is!
Asa is amazing. If it's possible, I think I love him more and more each day. He's the happiest baby I've spent a significant amount of time with. He smiles when I put him to bed and he smiles when I pick him up in the morning. He smiles and laughs when I head bang, hold my hands up, and sing "Asa...Asa Mann" in my scary heavy metal voice. (No, I will never post a video of this). He laughs at the dogs and he laughs when I dance for him.
His current mode of transportation is rolling. He doesn't get far, but he's semi-mobile! We've added a few more foods to his diet. Besides baby cereal, he's had squash, green peas, and prunes (because he has a constipation problem). I will be the first to admit that I stink at the whole "solids" thing. I introduce foods slowly, not because I'm super cautious, but because I forget that I'm supposed to be doing that. My goal is to give him sweet potatoes tomorrow. I put them on the counter to help myself remember. Cross your fingers.
Asa is about 5 1/2 months and he's still sleeping in a swing! I've tried putting him in his crib or his pack and play. We've had a few successful nights here and there, but for the most part, he screams until we put him in his swing. Baby #2 (which is not in the oven so don't make any assumptions) will never know the joys of a swing because I'll never use it! Apparently, a swing is like baby crack and Asa is addicted. Is this something I should worry about or do I just let it go and assume that he'll sleep in a crib when he's ready? Note that the swing pooped out on us over a month ago (possibly because it was on and swinging 8 hours a night for months on end?!?) so it's not the motion that he needs- it's the reclined position. I'm at a loss. And apparently I'm one of THOSE mothers who can't stand to let her kid cry for a long time without going to him and comforting him. Who woulda thunk that?

Baby Cleavage!

A few new pics :)

Fingerpainting at "school."
His first experience with a bully- some kid bit my baby!
Sweet smile!
Asa and Mama.
Fell asleep playing- with toy still in hand. Ha ha.

Asa is 4 months old and I stink at updating the blog!

Asa turned 4 months on Saturday, July 7th. We were in Austin at Mimi and Pok Pok's house celebrating Pok Pok's retirement with a surprise party on Saturday night. We had a great time and we're so excited for Pok Pok!
Asa had his 4 month check up shortly before our trip. Tony took him to the pediatrician while I was at work. I was sad to miss it, but I'm so glad that Asa has such a good Daddy. :)
His 4 month stats are:
Height 24 in- 24th percentile
Weight 13lbs 1oz- 25th percentile
Head Circumference 17- 75th percentile (we won't mention where he gets his big head from...TONY!)
4 month pictures:

Can you tell it's getting more difficult to take his picture in the split second he's being still?!?

Here are some pictures of Pok Pok's retirement party. It had a luau theme because Pok Pok is obsessed with Hawaiian shirts. :)

He enjoyed sleeping on his Uncle Christopher! He was exhausted because we didn't get to my parent's house until 3am the night before due to a plane delay. Fun.

A few more pictures from the weekend (note the sleeping trend):

Other big news- Asa has started solids! We started with the rice cereal which went surprisingly well! We've since added squash which he absolutely loved. That made me feel good since it was my first attempt at making homemade baby food. :)

He doesn't exactly look like he's enjoying it in these pictures (this was the rice cereal), but he has since done much better.

Asa has also recently started laughing which melts my heart. I can't figure out how to upload iPhone videos to the blogger. Anybody have any tips??? Here are still photos of my happy little boy.