7 months and counting

Josh is seven months old today!!  It is hard to believe what seemed like the worse possible thing has turned out so well!!  We are very thankful for all the God has done in Josh's life and how far our little guy had come.

Josh continues to gain weight at a good rate. He weighed in yesterday at 16lbs 5oz!!  Mommy and Daddy are going to need back braces to carry him around soon (not that we mind at all!).  He is doing quite well on the new formula.  The only complaint we have is that he seems to spit up a lot more with the new formula, but it could be worse.  His favorite thing remains his daily dose of frozen breast milk. 

Josh is also doing quite well with his solid foods.  So far we haven't found anything that he doesn't like.  He has tried peas, green beans, summer squash, winter squash, carrots, pears, apples, and a pear/raspberry mix.  He had a slight rash on his forehead this afternoon, which Mommy thinks might be from the apples... but is is hard to tell since he has had so many changes recently.  We have been very impressed with his progress at eating solids in the last week or so.  He now opens his mouth for bits and has gotten quite good at keeping most of the food in his mouth.  (If you will remember, our OT thought he might have problems eating because of the different way he sucks.)  He continues to be a helper during meal times, which often means either Mommy or Daddy is digging baby food out of his nose after his meals.  We are hoping to begin introducing whole grains soon and continuing to give Josh a variety of fruits and veggies to taste.  We want him to enjoy a large variety of foods.

It appears that Josh has started the teething process.  We say process because from what we have read, it continues off and on from now until about age 2.  Then picks back up around 5 or 6 and last for who knows how long.  Josh has all the symptoms, drooling, chewing on everything, drooling, fussiness, chewing on everything, and did we mention drooling. :-)  We have tried some baby orajel when he is at his fussiest and that seems to give him some relief, for which we are thankful.  Teething has interrupted his nap schedule during the day, often resulting in short cat naps or no naps at all.  We are hoping to get him back on schedule soon.

Josh also reached a new milestone this last week. He rolled over for the first several times at playgroup!  Mommy and Daddy think he was trying to impress the boys at playgroup because he has only done it one other time since.  Oh well, there is plenty of time for him to become mobile, in the mean time, Mommy and Daddy are working on baby proofing the house.  Josh has learned to switch toys from one hand to the other and is especially good at his when it impairs his ability to suck his thumb.  We have also started working on sitting up, although we haven't made much progress here.  He can sit propped up really well but he slumps over when you try to help him do it himself. We will keep working on this.

Josh has accumulated quite the following at Publix.  The cashiers and bag boys/girls know him by name and stop by to see him when we are there.  They all try their best to get a smile out of him, which isn't hard most of the time.  Today one of the baggers walked me to the car and stood there talking to Josh while I unloaded the groceries!  Josh has also developed an affinity for being scared.  He loves for you to walk up to him and say Boo.  He thinks this is quite funny, especially when you pretend to look away and then surprise him by saying it.  You can get quite the belly laugh out of him.

Prayer Request:

• Josh would not get sick, especially now that he is receiving less breast milk
• Josh would continue to develop a good sleep pattern (particularly a long afternoon nap) and get the rest he needs
• Josh would continue to do well with his developmental milestones and not have any setbacks
• Josh would not be too uncomfortable from teething

Praises

• Josh is up to 16lbs 5oz!!
• Josh is tolerating solid foods well and is very interested in eating
• Josh rolled over on his own several times
• Josh, Mommy and Daddy are excited to not have doctors appointments every other week!!

(Daddy, Mommy and Josh with family after Noah's dedication)

(Family swim time - Josh was really sleepy)

(Big boy in his exersaucer - he is starting to play by himself some)

(Granddad spending some quality time with Josh)

(Yummy Peas!  I love peas, as you can tell by my face and shirt)

(Here let me help you with that Mommy)

(Nevermind, I can do it myself)

(Josh and Noah playing together - yes Josh is now bigger than Noah)

(Sweet sleeping baby who kept shaking his rattle even in his sleep)

(Handsome man playing with his toys while Mommy and Daddy eat lunch)

(So pleased with himself!!)

(Yeah lunch time!!)