Fields of Flowers - 10 month old (pics)

So BIG Already

 

Finley just turned 10 month old. He started walking with 9 month which so many tell me is pretty early for the first child (well, he is a very determined person) and he is able to reach things he wasn't able to reach before because he has grown so fast the past few weeks it's amazing. He is so big. His appetite has increased also. He loves eating apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast. Sweet potatoe and squash are one of his favorites and bread. Amazingly he loves the dark rye bread like "Bauernbrot" (typical German) more than the white bread. That made me happy :) Finley has two favorite books right now. Both are animal books and one is a touch and feel one. We baught him a sheep stuffed animal with a blue face. It's fluffy and soft and he loves throwing his face into the fluffy body and slober it wet and pinch his ears. He sleeps cuddling it. So cute.  I can't believe he will be one very soon. He has grown so fast and his personality is developing more and more. So much to discover about him. It's thrilling and exciting.

Laughing at Daddy (movie)

9 Month (pics)

 

 

 

Finley loving his Book (movie)

                                                                     8 month

Atlanta Trip

We stayed in Atlanta a few days to see the Aquarium, Coca Cola Museum, Zoo, CNN, Fernbank Museum etc. Lots of Fun :)

Breaking through Teeth

Finley at 7 month has his frist 2 lower teeth emerging :) On one day Finley was taking my finger as many times and began to chew on it and I felt something sharp and edgy. Surprised I looked into his mouth and found the tips of 2 teeth that broke through. That must have been the reason for crying at night, waking me 5 to 6 times. They're still very small but cerainly sharp. Now soon I will have to start figuring out how to clean and brush his tiny teeth with all these baby teeth hygiene tools to prevent any cavity. Something new to learn for David and me and our little fast growing Prince :)

Banana Baby

 

I read an article about the shapes of babies. Apparently there are three different kind: Apple, Pear and Banana. It is said that formula fed babies take the shapes of apples or pears and are more round and junkier looking than their breastfed companions. Breastfed babies on the other hand tend to be more slender and longer lookng which makes them appear more like bananas and are therefore called Banana Babies. Well, we sure have one cute and adorable Banana Baby :)    

Finley is standing (movie)

Finley's Exercise (movie)

Finley is almost crawling. He hasn't fully figured out how to use his legs yet but he sure knows how to get anywhere by pulling himself. We need something like a fence where I can put him knowing he can't get anywhere and can't put anything ion his mouth dangerous. I always have to run to the bathroom and come out as quick as possible so I can catch him in time :)

Sleeping Prince (pics)

 Finley's favorite sleeping position!!!

I always ut him down on is back but he rolls himself over and stays like that until he wakes up.

He just likes sleeping on his belly :)

First Solid Food

Finley at 6 month eating

I went to the pediatrician for Finley's 6 month old check-up. He is well and healthy but the doctor said that he is a little skinny and hasn't gained much weight since the last visit. She recomended to start with solids and come back in a month to ensure he is gaining. I was noticing that he seemed skinnier than usual and no matter how much he was nursing he stayed skinny winny. So we have decided to start feeding him his very first solid foods, starting with organic rice cereal. For a whole 6 month I exclusivley fed him breastmilk only (which was my goal to at least nurse him untill 6 month before starting any solids) but he has become so much bigger and my milk alone is not giving him enough calories anymore. Besides, he was eyeing my food for quite some time with great interest, always reaching his hand out to it. I have been feeding him rice cereal for about 4 days (twice a day, moring and evening) and he is doing great. At first it started out with 1 to 2 babyspoons, then 2 to 3 spoons up to 4. At the beginning he made a grimace by the frist taste and looked at the spoon with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. Today he ate a whole littel bowl which were around 8 spoons!! crying if was taking too long to give him the next bite. I'm surprised how fast he is learning to eat solids. Soon I will introduce him to oat cereal and then we will see from there. I know already it will be a "messy" adventure :)

Finley - 5 month old (pics)

**Like Father Like Son** (pics)

 

 

 

My two very serious men (Finley, here 5 month old) modeling infront the camera LOL. They look very alike. Same nose, same eyerows, same head and face form etc. Like father like son :)

Mother's Day :D

Fynn Fynn (movie)

Roll and Play or Taste?

Finley likes to play with everything every child loves to play; keys, remote controls, cellphones, shoes, books, the diaper box. Everything except his toys. Not to mention that all these items apparently taste delicious. This is how it goes:  Finley sees, Finley grabs, Finley inspects his new won item, he focuses and.....stuffs it in his mouth, looks at it again, seems to be fond of it and decides to slober it until satisfied with his work or until he is getting bored of it. After that he goes on a new hunt for not yet discovered treasures to.....taste. If not "tasting" Finley usually goes on to do his everyday excercise. Rolling from one side of the room to the other, always to the right until he can't go further. Then he turns his head to locate me, when he finds me he puts on a desperate face expression and starts crying because he is upset that he can't keep rolling to the right, feeling stucked rather than thinking of turning left. Apparently left is not an option, he is determined to go right no matter the cost. When even rolling stops to intertain him he starts locating me again and this time he cries out until I lift him up to nuggle, sing or dance. And when that stops being of his interest then.....well????.....Last but not least if all exploring and "tasting" has reached its limits, sleep comes over him until he awakens and starts everything all over again.

Rolling Finley (movie)

Finley by 4 month old rolling on the floor. Right now he only rolls in one direction and gets frustrated if he gets stucked and can't get going.

I'm sure though very soon he rolls back and forth as he pleases :)

bed BATH & beyond

The very first times we were tying to give Finley a bath were welcomed with hysteric screaming and a red and teary face. It was more stressful for all of us rather than fun and enjoyment. And I thought babys love baths but Finly seemed to fear the water. So I decided to sponge bath Finley and try to give him a bath once a week to slowly get him used to it. After many trials he still despised the full body bath and I started to wonder if he will ever like bathing. So one day we decided to try something different. I went and took the bath with him together, holding him close, skin to skin, nursing him while I entered the water with him in my arms. At first as usual he would startle by the wet touch of the water and became squirmy but he calmed down quickly since I was there with him. There was Mama and Papa, talking with soothing voices and smiles, assuring him that all is well. It worked out just fine and so we went on giving him a bath, still only once a week, but with me or David together. Finley seemed to feel secure by the skin to skin contact by his parents while in the water and he started to enjoy  himself at bath time. After a while I tried to transfer the bath time into his blue babyfishtub and the transition went smoothly. Finally I am giving Finley a bath every night  as part of his bedtime routine and he has become accustomed to it nicely. Now bath time is fun and relaxing. Not only for Finley but for his parents also.

Random Pictures - 4 Month

Pacifier - Update

So I have tried with no pacifier for about a week and a half and it seemed to go quite well. It was easier than I thought it would be and seemed to become a success story. So I thougth. He fell asleep quick and stayed asleep longer. I was pleasantly surprised and thought that the pacifier was "snow from yesterday" (German saying). But then all of a sudden all went downhill. He would cry at night almost every hour and nothing seemed to calm him down untill I would nurse him. But it couldn't be that he would be hungry each hour and I couldn't give him my breast everytime. If so i might as well superglue him on my chest. I tried giving him supstitutes to a paci like a stuffed animal or a blanky to hold on to but he wouldn't calm down instead his screams were becoming louder and worse. One day I decided to give him back the paci (though being hesitant about it) and he fell asleep almost instantly, not waking up for 4-5 hours. So in the end I decided to give him back his precious paci with the intention to try not to let him become too stronlgy attached to it. I am now giving him the paci only at night times and when we are out and about. Well, what can I say. I believe that it was too early for him to say goodbye to his paci and taking it away "cold turkey" was apparently too harsh of me which he made himself clear of. Every baby is different. I grew up with no paci and had only a bottle as long as I was fed with milk and went straight to cup. I can't even remember any time that I was helding a bottle. It was my mistake to think that maybe Finley was the same like me. *sigh* I kind of feel bad about it and hope my sweet Finley can forgive his mother's cruel action of taking away his paci. I guess I was subconsciously somehow trying to make him like me or to make him be the way I think he should be. Very wrong thing to do! I learned my lesson through this realization. I want my Finley to be who he is and not as I like him to be. So if he looooves his paci (though I rather want him to be without it) he shall be allowed to have it. I know for the future that I want my son to have the freedom to chose what he wants and likes, the freedom to be who he is and not the way I think he should be. Of course I will guide and teach him all I know as his parent in hopw that he will make good life decisions. But I don't want him to feel he has to be a certain way to please me or receive my love and acceptance. Well, who thought that such a simple pacifier issue can reveal such psychologial deepness, isn't it?

Pacifier Madness

Pacifiers - invented to sooth babys. Some families clearly state they couldn't have survived their children's early years without it and see it as "parent's best friend". Others on the other hand view them as an abomination and as an unforgiving sin to use them, giving the evil eye to all those whose child nibbles on a pacifier in public. Especially if the child is no longer an infant but 2 years old. Pacifiers - Blessing or curse? or both?.......*mystery*. Well, I wouldn't call them necessarily a curse. The first few weeks up to 2 month of Finley's life he had colic and giving him a pacifier seemed to work wonders in helping him to overcome his discomfort. When rocking, singing, swaddeling etc. lost their powers the pacifier came like a superhero to rescue and Finley would welcome it with vigorous sucking and eventual sleep. Being out and about in the car and the city the "paci" was a comforting companion when the little one (unable yet to sooth himself) was overwhelmed by to much stimulation and information. Also it is just simple fun to suck on it. To find comfort in sucking is natural to babys and is part of their survival to be able to get milk and grow. It's a natural reflex that babys practise already in the womb on their thumb before birth. So it's no wonder that babys like pcifiers. According to my research it's fine for a child to suck on a paci until the age of two. After that they should stop because of the possibility of deformed teeth and jar which will more likey cause the child to need braces later on in life. One way or the other I have decided to wean Finley (now 4 month) off the pacifier. Now the first family group may say "How can you? You heartless woman!" The other may say "Good choice. Welcome to the club of Anti-Pacifiers!" But I am for neither. After several nights (and days) of fights with the falling out ot the paci which was resulting in endless frustrating crys of Finley (and much frustaration on my side) I have come to the decision that it's time to try if Finley is able to learn to sooth hinself to sleep (without the rescue of a paci) and come out of the paci-addiction. It's been around 4 days now since my experiment started and so far he is doing pretty good. I started with no paci during the day and naptimes (with great protest) but he now sleeps within minutes with no paci and stays asleep soundly up to 2 and half hours. At night he is now falling asleep within 15 minutes (instead of 45 min. to 1 hour), waking up after 7 hours later to nurse (instead of every 2 hours) and then again after 4 hours and greets the morning between 7:30 and 8:00 am. So there was much improvement in a short time, less frustration and more sleep for both of us and he detached from the paci much easier than I thought. I only offer it to him now when we go out but even then he seemed to not be interested in it anymore as he used to be and instead prefers his blanky or stuffed monkey animal that he both likes to chew on until they're swimming with his saliva. So we'll see where we go from here.

Finley - 4 Month old (pics)

Callaway Gardens (pics)

Beautiful!!! The Azaleas are blooming! 

Finley and his Papa