Lets train

Sweet Porter (Portie, Ports, Porter-P, Pumpernickel, etc) is already a third of a year old! And dare I say it? This is such a fun age and my obsession with this child is reaching an all-time high somehow. Probably because the challenges we've had---namely the struggle to nurse, the lack of sleep, and horrid car rides---all seem to be leveling out a bit. The tough parts are either getting to be less shocking and we've acclimated (i.e. still hates to nurse) or they are actually improving (i.e. the car seat drama). So let's discuss Mr. P in depth and be aware that this will hopefully be much more upbeat and less 'I'm just barely surviving this newborn and sort of want to poke my eyes out with a spoon' like you may have read here recently. I make no promises but I'm feeling less eye-stabby lately and this may translate into a positive post for once. Yay.





Sleep: Before I go into this topic, how is is possible that I did not mention Truman's sleeping habits AT ALL in his four month post? Was I seriously *that* laid back and now I'm incredibly high strung and obsessed with sleep....or just four years older and therefore obsessed with getting more sleep? Very odd that I didn't even talk about naps or nights because I remember him being really awful at sleeping, but apparently not awful enough to make an impression for a monthly post. Weird.

Anyway. Porter. He's still not sleeping huge stretches at a time or anything but (drum roll, please) he IS sleeping in his crib!! For naps and at night my boy is finally resting his head in that beloved yellow crib, which is a huge accomplishment that felt a little like jumping off a cliff when I decided to go for it last Thursday. He's literally never ever slept in the crib before guys, and now all of a sudden he does it consistently. (Patting self on back an absurd amount for this, I know).



At first he lasted just 30 minutes for his first ever crib nap, but then Friday night I held my breath and said a little prayer as I walked past the MamaRoo with my sleepy boy and placed him in the crib. Bedtime for Porter is always around 7:00 and he usually nurses down in the glider with me (heaven, seriously I don't ever want to let that nursing session go) and I watched the monitor constantly until I went to bed around 10. It turns out he wakes up at roughly similar times no matter if he's in the swing or crib. Usually he wakes around 10:30 and we give a bottle, since I think he now expects the 'dream feed' we used to do before we'd head to bed. Then he will wake sometime around 1-ish and again around 4 or 5-ish and I'll quickly nurse him back down for both of those wake ups. Usually Porter wakes for the day around 7 or whenever the big kids' extremely loud voices wake him up. All in all, this is an incredible sleep improvement from a few weeks ago when he was up at least 5 times a night. Sometimes he will skip that 10:30 wake up and that means he'll get around 6 hours in a row and I think his max might be 8 hours but I cannot tell you when that happened recently. Two 'real' wake ups per night feels very doable for me. Especially when I sometimes go to bed at 8:30 for the night. #I'mSoOld #NoShame



Naps seem to be falling into a routine which makes me psychotic with happiness, too. Porter usually naps around 9:00 and 1:00, plus a power nap at 4:00pm to get him through until bedtime. The other naps can be 20 minutes or sometimes 2 hours long---it's anyone's guess. He still needs and loves to be swaddled, has white noise for all sleeps, and sometimes sucks on his pacifier. It's really obvious when he's napped long enough because he will wake up talking and happy, but if he's still tired he will be super cranky. I can usually get him to sleep a little longer by rocking him and sometimes he'll even nurse back to sleep mostly for comfort. He also really likes to cuddle, turned into me, while walking around. He'll be out like a light with those tricks most of the time and I'm so happy we have a bag of tricks that work with this buddy.





Eating: I mentioned it above but the only times Porter nurses is right before bed, in the middle of the night, and an occasional pre-nap here and there. Otherwise I don't even offer him the boob and we do bottles about every 2.5 hours. I'll alternate between breastmilk and formula bottles and he usually takes 6 oz at a time. At Lori's he almost always takes three 6 oz bottles, plus one right before daycare at home and one right before dinner at home. So yeah, usually 4-6 bottles a day whether at home or at Lori's. The boy loves the bottle, man.





My pumping schedule is not quite as solid as his bottle schedule, though. I pump three times during my work day without issue, then sometimes before bed as well. But on non-work days I really struggle to pump more than once during Cecelia's nap and once before bed. I'm trying to pump whenever I feel full which turns out to be about every three hours but I cannot kill myself over it when I'm home with the kids. Not worth it and I truly feel much more relaxed about our pumping/bottle/very infrequent nursing set up now compared to last month. It's working well for everyone because I'm happy he's nursing at all and Porter is happy to get mostly bottles. He doesn't care if it's breastmilk or formula as long as he can chug it quickly and I'm not as sad about giving him formula either. It's fine, we are doing the best we can, and he's still getting plenty of breastmilk. We've come a long way in the past two months of this rapid decline in nursing!



Motor Stuff: I think the four month mark is when my kids REALLY start holding their heads up during tummy time, because I notice a whole slew of tummy-time-alert-baby-big-noggins-lifted-way up pictures from this time period. Porter is no exception and seems to really understand tummy time and lifting the old noodle. This head control also means that carrying him on my hip is feasible now which is always a game changer and makes him seem so big!



He's a pro at grabbing things and promptly placing everything in his mouth, and he's started drooling and spitting up a LOT more lately. I had to dig out all of Truman's old bibs finally because of this new fun trick.



Porter started belly laughing this month and I could basically die over this milestone. He is super ticklish especially under his little armpits but he will now giggle at me when I'm acting like a lunatic to elicit a laugh. Bedsides the laughs, Porter is still one of the smiliest babies I've ever laid eyes on. Truly, he is *that* happy and will smile at pretty much anyone. And sometimes walls and his toys and really anything at all. He is also really talkative now and has the cutest coos and squeals. Baby talk is just the best and he is a talker!







Plus, he has mastered his patented X-Treme Pouty Face, even more than Cecelia did at four months. One day a few weeks ago he started poking his lips out and was staring at his shirt like he was deep in concentration. He kept collecting himself then pursing that little mouth over and over again. At first it was hilarious and I got about 100 pictures (no way, right!?) and then I got a little creeped out by how INTENSE he was being about this pouty face. Like, is it possible for him to have a mouth seizure from practicing so ferociously? He has taken it down a notch since then and I love comparing Porter's pout to Cecelia's at this age. Hilarity.

I mean, seriously?


Cecelia v. Porter

The whole sequence:


Other notables: Car rides are NOBIGDEAL anymore, guys. I think he has seriously turned the corner with his insane meltdowns in the car seat and it's glorious x 1000 to have pleasant road trips around town with the children now. Porter now just gazes out of the window, looks around at his siblings and is incredibly chill in the car and for this I say, 'Hallelujah, baby boy!' Of course, we haven't attempted any trips longer than maybe 15 minutes at a time but it's already light years better than even a month ago. We are going to push our luck and try for a trip to the Chicago area for Thanksgiving day, which will be a little over an hour. (teeth clenched emoticon goes here).



Porter had a head full of cradle cap all of a sudden this month which seems really late, but whatever. I used baby oil on the scales, let it sit a bit, and then combed them out and his scalp is as good as new. And my goodness, his bald, big head plus those ears? Such an old man and semi-resembles Elmer Fudd or possibly Mini Me from Austin Powers on any given day. Very nice dopplegangers to have, Porter!

The Elmer:

...because of these ears...




Aw, Elmer!


And the Mini Me face:


He's in 6 month clothes and could maybe rock a few niners but I'm not ready yet;) Size 2 disposable diapers. Looking mighty chunky compared to a month ago. We'll get his official stats in a few more weeks at his well-child appointment. But he seems solid and fat and I love it. I think he's close to fifteen pounds based on the weighing-with-and-without my baby technique.





He loves baths and gets very serious about them, like 'clean me up, woman, I'm covered in my own spit up and this is absurd!' He loves to have his diaper changed and if he is upset I can lay him down to change his diaper and he immediately starts to smile. I think he is a clean freak or something;)







Porter's two siblings are still nuts over this baby, which means the entire family is pretty much wrapped around his tiny finger already. Truman and Cecelia love to get in his face to say 'hello' no less than 50 times per day, they like to hold him, CC loves to jam numerous pacifiers in his face, and Truman likes to tickle Porter. So it's safe to say the novelty of having a squishy new baby in the house has not worn off for Tru and CC. They are so great with Porter and I love thinking about their relationships with him as they all grow up together. So much.



















Porter had his first Halloween this month as a consignment-sale-tiger, he is being subjected to frequent wearings of Elf Christmas pajamas. Yes, I know it's early but the kids go nuts for new jammies and I promise not to decorate the house until after Thanksgiving. Both GoGo and Memaw came to visit us this month and P really let his personality shine through for them, blowing them away with his general contentedness. Plus he did his first bedtime without mommy (I think?) when Nate and I went to dinner and a haunted house with friends one night---Tony and Lois did all three bedtimes without major drama, which is a pretty awesome notable in my book.



I just cannot even...








Such a great visit !




Basically, P-man is awesome. He is happy, smiley, and only cries if he is hungry or tired. He's a cuddle bug, is super alert, and is really chill. He isn't nursing much but is appeasing me a bit each day so I can't complain too much. He's sleeping just a teensy bit better than a few weeks ago (it would be hard to get WORSE than 5-6 wake ups per night but I'll never put anything past him) and it's much appreciated. So yeah, he is just the best and we seem to be finding our groove with this nugget of a babe.







I love you so much, Porter-P.

Wait, eleven months? That means he will be one entire year old next month? No, it can't be, just no. I didn't think I'd be all emotional and 'hold me' over Porter growing up but holy crap, I'm totally asking you to hold me right now.

Photo shoots get difficult around eleven months, yes?


And yet (wait for it), this is such a fun age!! Also, he still seems like my itty bitty baby since he is not mobile yet.

I know. Eleven months and he isn't crawling at all, so it's a bit awkward when people ask me if he is close to walking. Um, nope.  I did talk to the Pediatrician about this at our (very very belated) nine month well child check and he isn't too concerned. I mean, P-man has good tone but he is so freaking unmotivated. Actually, he is starting to get angry and semi-care that he is immobile instead of just being blissfully content so maybe that is a good sign. (hilarious video of CC and I encouraging Porter to crawl found here). It's ironic that Porter has two Physical Therapists for parents and yet neither of us has ever worked with pediatrics, so we have no real clue how to crack the whip on our lazy baby boy.  The doc said we will talk again next month at his year appointment if he still isn't crawling and we might have to take him to PT which would be kind of fun/nerdy-interesting for me and probably very helpful for my capable but stationary baby.

He'll pull to stand if I help him and he gets to all 4's with help but absolutely NOT alone. He can roll from back to tummy but really doesn't roll tummy to back. He attempts to push up from his stomach into a plank but he can't hold that position at all. He's very good at scooting when in a sitting position, spinning in circles and he will push himself backwards when he's on his stomach trying to move forward. Oh, Porter, I don't want to wish away this immobile time because it's very very convenient to have an stationary third baby in the mix. BUT, I also want to make sure nothing is seriously wrong with him, since this really isn't about me (shocking!).

Come on, buddy!!


Gah, okay, you are too handsome.


My Mom Worry Gene is in full force with all of the kids lately, something that should probably warrant it's own blog post, but yeah. I'm sort of getting worried now about Porter and his lack of moving. Nate is not worried at all and neither is the doc, so I will try to relax for a bit longer. Eager to read some 'my kid didn't crawl until 11+ months and is fine now' comments after this post, dear readers!

Besides being immobile, Porter is basically pure perfection. He is happy, sleeps well, eats well, is a highly vocal kid, and extremely handsome. Extremely.


LOL. Not interested in what you are trying to make me do, mom.


This face = entirely too much.


Temperament and Communication Skills: He loves being around people but especially loves mommy, reaching for me if he sees me across a room (don't hate it).  He will wave 'hi' and 'bye' to any and everything, including the picture frames in our stairwell and other babies we see when out and about. He can actually say 'bye' and 'hi', too---I count 'hi' as his very first word since it really is appropriate. Bye is just as cute, especially when he waves to his crib as we walk out of the nursery after a nap. His wave is just the cutest, I can barely handle it. He likes to dance and will do so on command, but he also likes having a dance party with myself and the other kids. This is when we crank some tunes and jam out by running around and jumping, I'll hold Porter and he will just be in HEAVEN. He also likes to be upside down so I frequently tip him backwards so he can enjoy the view. Then he won't let me stop and keeps pushing back from me. Strange child.

Forgot about the doorway jumper, found it in the attic. Is fun for Porter but Cecelia actually loves it the most.


Lower lip thing he's doing a lot lately.


He enjoys placing everything in his mouth for a thorough inspection, and he babbles non stop. His new thing is to point at something and with an inquisitive inflection, ask 'gah?' or bah or dah....as if to ask 'what is that thing??' He will look directly at me, throw food off his highchair tray, and then shake his head 'no'. I have yet to see him shake his head 'yes' to anything! He will fake cough at us then smile, and likes to feed me his food by jamming it into my mouth. He gives open mouth kisses now and also smacks his lips in response to me blowing him a kiss. If I ask him where Henry is, he looks around for him and will eventually point if he spots the furry beast of the house. He really can say a lot of words but obviously not many of them (if any) actually mean anything (except Dada is legitimately for Nate, Mama is reserved for random babbling at inanimate objects, hi and bye). For all that lacks in the motor department Porter makes up for it in the verbal department, that is for sure! My favorite video of him talking ever. Okay, wait, second favorite here.





Random thought: we like to imagine Porter as an adult being fat, happy, sitting down (very stationary) and ordering people around somehow. He will probably talk a mile a minute, eat a ton of food, but hate to exercise. I cannot wait to see this little personality emerge even more!

So much personality already!




Sleep: Bedtime is a solid 7:30 these days and he wakes around 7:00 or slightly earlier. Still so awesome, Porter, thank you for sleeping through the night! This past month he did go through a period of waking up around 3-4 am STARVING so we'd give him a bottle in the crib and he'd pass out again until 7-8am. He also cut his FOUR top teeth this month, so I'm sure that was somewhat related to the morning wake ups. All four! Insane!!



I just can't with this face.




I've started reading books to Porter before bedtime (about time, I know!) when Nate is doing bedtime for the other two kids. P loves to touch the pages and gets very entranced by any touch-and-feel books especially. Then I will sing him a song and force him to lay in my arms like a baby, most often resulting in him arching his back away from me, super annoyed at his mom. But sometimes he lets me sing and snuggle and he'll even rest his head on my chest. And then I die a little inside and repeat my mantra that 'three kids is enough, three kids is enough, we don't need a fourth.' Dang it.







We are teetering between dropping his morning nap and holding onto it for dear life. Many times in the past month I have forgone the morning nap (it's so inconvenient lately!) and it was fine to do a longer one around 11:00. But most of the time I try to lay him down at 9 and 1 even if the first one is just a quick 30 minutes. I would say he still naps for a total of at least 2 hours if not 3, but somedays he protests longer naps all together.

Mr. Personality.


A large belly day.


Eating: Porter is a fatty and enjoys food thoroughly but he's recently shown sign of the picky eater gene, a la Truman. He definitely prefers all carbs to protein or fruits/veggies but he goes through phases with this. We still haven't giving peanut butter, eggs, or honey but the kid has pretty much tried everything else. If he doesn't like something it's very obvious because he will toss it on the floor for Henry and then whine for whatever item of food he prefers at the moment. Current favorites: graham crackers, pretzels, greek yogurt, freeze dried strawberries, and these weird spicy dehydrated peas that my mom brought. Still drinks about 24 oz of formula a day and we are starting to practice drinking out of a sippy cup, but of course he isn't a fan. Takes too much effort for my piggy to get his beloved formula that way! So sometimes he will tolerate practicing with water if we are lucky, and I know with the other two kids I started mixing cow's milk in with their breastmilk. I could see Porter's transition from formula to cow's milk to be very touchy for awhile---kid doesn't like you to mess with his bottles, for real.







Stats: He weighed 22 pounds (75%) and measured 29.5" (61%) as his appointment last week. He lost a full pound when he was so sick last month but gained that back and then some in the past three weeks. Like I said, he is not a slim/trim guy right now and isn't exactly burning many calories by moving all over the house either. Wears size 18 months, size 4 diaper, and likes to blow them out at least 50% of the time.

Those thigh dimples.


Triple Well Child Check, success!


Other favorites: Porter loves to take a bath and had his first real experience in a pool this month, too. Splashing is like his own personal heaven and he gets kind of wild in the bathtub with absurd amounts of water strewn throughout the bathroom. He also loved the pool and I *think* I can successfully manage all 3 kids there alone this summer, if every visit is like our first. After water I think his favorite thing in the world might be ceiling fans---and pointing to them with a 'gah!' thrown in there for good measure.







Ports loves watching his siblings and the look on his face when he first sees them after waking up is the stuff mom-dreams are made of. Waving, smiling, giggling at them---it all makes me melt into a puddle of obsession with this baby. He has 'accidentally' yanked some of Cecelia's hair right out of her head when she is all up in his grill and he will now cry when she takes a toy from him. Ah, sibling conflict begins! Truman and Porter are buddies without any real drama between them just yet but CC and Porter are basically attached at the hip, since she thinks Porter is her real life baby doll. I wouldn't say she smothers him or bosses him around but kind of;)





Porter loves being out and about--swings at the playground, attempting to chow on wood chips there, running errands, being in the car (never thought I would say this when he was 0-3 months old!!!!), being in the stroller, and being in the Ergo on my back are all big hits. He's a grabby little baby and likes to pull my earrings, my necklace, my hair, and sticks his hands in my mouth when I carry him around.





Eatin' some dirt, NBD.


I think his ultimate favorite thing in the entire world (aside from his family and food) is his Ducky. It's a soft little lovey blanket and just like his two siblings, he loves the crap out of that thing. We lost Ducky for a few days and when we found him, he literally nuzzled his face into it and wouldn't let it go for some time! He likes to carry Ducky out of the crib after a nap and it's super sweet to see him already attached---just like CC loves her Froggy and Truman his Monkey.

Nicknames: Ports, Port Sport, Portie, Portsies, Porter-P, P-man, and Bubby. He is such a Bub.

We love you more than a blog post could ever express, Porter boy. Seriously, you make our hearts happier than we could have imagined. Don't get me all emotional with this growing up business, okay?

xoxo, Mommy


Truman at 11 months
Cecelia at 11 months