Anton's Updates :: 18 Weeks (Hawaii Edition)

We were in Hawaii last week with some of our good friends. Anton proved to be a champion traveler as he didn't even cry on the plane and had we all had some of the best sleep of our lives. This photo was taken by our friend Lucy and I'm hoping to snag a couple more to showcase later this weekend. We decided we'd rather snuggle our babe and carry less equipment on this trip so we left our cameras at home. Anton was not the most photogenic anyway considering he was snuggled up in his carseat or carrier most of the time. He loved the warm weather and had a blast watching the other  babies on the trip. He also took a dip in the ocean a few times. All in all it was an excellent adventure and we are glad we took the time to do it before my maternity leave is over next week. Boo Hoo!

New Favorites: Anton has a couple new sounds that involve clicking and flipping his tongue. He is really experimenting with all kinds of new sounds.

Eating: He is still on a bottle strike but I figure he will take one at daycare if he gets hungry enough. My schedule works out so I'm able to go in and feed him a couple of times a day. I must say it was really nice to travel with your feeders attached to you. One less thing to pack and worry about.

Sleeping: His naps were pretty consistent in Hawaii although some of them were in the car. Like I said before, he slept really well on this trip and mom and dad were able to get some quality zzzzz.

Milestones: He has rolled over a couple more times but he is still a bit unsure about it. I'd say a major milestone is airplane travel. He really was the best little baby on the plane. Multiple people commented that they didn't even know he was there.

Mom and Dad: We feel like we've mastered a bit of baby travel and are ready to tackle the next steps of mom going back to work next week. Crossing our fingers that it goes well!

Anton's Updates :: 17 Weeks

 New Favorites: Screeching. Anton has decided he loves to make himself heard . He practices making his voice as loud as it can go all day long with happy screeching. Sometimes if he gets really upset he uses his screeches to show frustration, but mostly its just a happy sound. Anton is an absolute crack up lately. He is so much fun to play with and interact with now. I love to see his little personality starting to emerge. 

Eating:He had is 4 month well baby doctor visit and he had a great report. He is now in the 75 percentile for weight and height. The doctor told us we could start him on solids whenever he shows signs of being ready. We have a lot of adjusting to do with daycare just around the corner so I think we might hold off for a bit.

Sleeping: We had a rough patch of night sleeping for a while there but it seems as if were back to his regular 2 wake ups schedule. He is such a champ at going to bed early which will come in handy when we go back to work in a couple of weeks. He is still napping 3 times consistently during the day.

Milestones: He is really good at holding toys with one or two hands. It has been really cool to see him gain control of his fingers and hands.

Mom and Dad: I'm going to toot my own horn for a bit and celebrate the fact that I have returned to my pre-pregnancy weight. I was just curious so I stepped on the scale, and sure enough, four months of rocking, lifting, bouncing, feeding,  and working hard as a mama has caused me to shed some serious pounds. 

Anton's Updates :: 16 Weeks

 New Favorites: His tongue! He is sticking it out and waving it around constantly. As you can see from the pictures he is really fond of making silly faces these days. He wakes up in the morning happy as can be, showing me his tongue. I have to admit, it's pretty adorable.

Eating: Eating is going well, he has decided he likes nursing after naps instead of before, which is fine with me.

Sleeping: Uughh! Not well. I've pretty much given up on getting more than 2 hours of sleep at a time. We're pretty sure teething has started. What used to be a pretty predictable night pattern has become a very unpredictable and unsettling journey every night. Some nights he goes right back to sleep when he wakes and others he just seems fussy and grunty and struggles to settle back down. It is not my favorite, but I know it is just a phase and I still manage to make it through the night fairly rested. It gets frustrating when you feel like you are going backwards with sleep habits, but I know he will figure it out eventually.

Milestones: He is really enjoying playing copy cat type games. He will copy hand movements and facial expressions. It is really fun to interact with him these days.

Mom and Dad: Doing a lot of crazy singing and dancing moves to entertain the little tyke.

Activities: Anton has his 4 month well baby Dr. Appointment this Friday. It is a bit early since we are going to Hawaii in a week!

Anton's Updates :: 15 Weeks

 New Favorites: Playing copy cat. We like to dance for Anton and he has picked up some of our moves. He will slap his knees when he sees us do it and he also tries to copy claps. He has become very vocal and has a lot to say.

Eating: He is still a good eater. He was spitting up a lot for a while and now he seems fairly adjusted to larger quantities of milk. He is a loud grunty eater and I'm enjoying nursing him more and more. He looks up at me with a big grin at times. I have a feeling he is going to start getting distracted easily soon.

Sleeping: Naps are still going really well. Three naps a day at fairly consistent times. Night sleeping could be better but I just keep reminding myself that it's temporary. He had a couple of really rough nights this week. I think he's teething already.

Mom and Dad:  I'm really starting to get the hang of this mama role. Loving it more every day. Ivalle is becoming a superstar papa. Anton's eyes light up when he walks through the door.