Milestones age 1 to 6 months

March 5, 2011 | Chantel

According to this chart of milestones from the beloved BabyCenter.com, Ben is above the curve for his age! He’s in the “Advanced Skills” category for 3 months, the “Emerging Skills” category for 4 months, and the “Mastered Skills” category for 5 months.

Child’s Age	Mastered Skills (most kids can do)	Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)	Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
1 month	Lifts head when lying on tummy Responds to sound Stares at faces	Follows objects briefly with eyes Vocalizes: oohs and aahs Can see black-and-white patterns	Smiles, laughs Holds head at 45-degree angle
2 months	Vocalizes: gurgles and coos Follows objects across field of vision Notices his hands Holds head up for short periods	Smiles, laughs Holds head at 45-degree angle Makes smoother movements	Holds head steady Can bear weight on legs Lifts head and shoulders when lying on tummy (mini-pushup)
3 months	Recognizes your face and scent Holds head steady Visually tracks moving objects	Squeals, gurgles, coos Blows bubbles Recognizes your voice Does mini-pushup	Rolls over, from tummy to back Turns toward loud sounds Can bring hands together, bats at toys
4 months	Smiles, laughs Can bear weight on legs Coos when you talk to him	Can grasp a toy Rolls over, from tummy to back	Imitates sounds: “baba,” “dada” Cuts first tooth May be ready for solid foods
5 months	Distinguishes between bold colors Plays with his hands and feet	Recognizes own name Turns toward new sounds Rolls over in both directions	Sits momentarily without support Mouths objects Separation anxiety may begin
6 months	Turns toward sounds and voices Imitates sounds Rolls over in both directions	Is ready for solid foods Sits without support Mouths objects Passes objects from hand to hand	Lunges forward or starts crawling Jabbers or combines syllables Drags objects toward himself

Dr. Seuss day at Target 2/26/11

March 4, 2011 | Chantel

On Feb. 26, Target had a little celebration for Dr. Seuss’ birthday where employees read popular books to kids. Since we’ve been regularly reading to Ben, we wanted to go to see what it was like. Ben wore a Dr. Seuss-like prison uniform sleeper outfit, and both my mom and Blake wore Dr. Seuss t-shirts. It was cute and silly.

Cholesterol and breastfeeding

March 4, 2011 | Chantel

About a month ago, I went to the doctor for a physical and to see the results of my blood work. The PA (I’ve still never actually met the doc) told me that my cholesterol was really high. She even went so far as to suggest I stop breastfeeding so I can take a cholesterol drug. I said I’d work on exercising more and she said ok and that we’d revisit it in 3 months.

This past week I started wondering if the high cholesterol would have an adverse effect on Ben, like was I messing up his heart? So I did some research…

Not only should I have high cholesterol when nursing, docs really shouldn’t even test during lactation! See this article below. So needlesstosay, I will be finding a more competent physician…ï»¿

Overview

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance human bodies need. Too much cholesterol in your blood, however, builds-up on artery walls and leads to heart disease and stroke. Breastfeeding babies experience high cholesterol levels while nursing and it is believed cholesterol in breast milk plays an important role in health well beyond the nursing years. Pregnant women also experience a safe and natural rise in cholesterol levels during pregnancy and early lactation.

Significance to Baby

For a baby, cholesterol is a fat critical to brain development. “Breast milk contains a lot of cholesterol, while infant formulas currently contain none,” says Dr. William Sears M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, and author of over 30 childcare books. “Low-in-cholesterol may be good news for adult diets, but not for babies.” Naturally occurring breast milk fats, in fact, are easily and highly absorbable by a baby. While synthetic infant formulas are beginning to include fatty acids, the absorption of these additives is less effective than in breast milk.

Significance to Mother

Women naturally have high cholesterol and overall lipid levels during and after pregnancy. Mothers who breastfeed, however, may see their lipid levels return to a their pre-pregnancy range three times sooner than those who bottle-feed their babies, according to a 1982 study published in the “British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology”. To get an accurate cholesterol reading, a 1989 study in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” suggests women refrain from having their cholesterol checked until after breastfeeding is complete.

Theories

Breastfed babies and breastfeeding mothers seem to fare better than others when it comes to healthy hearts. A 2002 study in “Pediatrics” (the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) and a 2008 study in “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” both concluded that breastfed infants maintained lower cholesterol levels throughout adulthood. These studies suggest that by consuming cholesterol as infants, breastfed babies’ better-managed cholesterol into adulthood. Additionally, a May 2009 study in “Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology” suggests the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower her own chances of developing hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol) and cardiovascular disease after menopause.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/103144-cholesterol-breastfeeding/#ixzz1FguLdivF

3 1/2 Months or so…

March 4, 2011 | Chantel

Ben’s doing great. He’s growing so fast. He’s staying about the same weight and not quite fitting into most 6 month sized clothes. He’s cute as can be and he’s more and more fun everyday.

: Little man all spralled out

: Playing on his first laptop

: Interrupting him while he’s on his laptop

: Playing with this car-spinny-toy thing at Grandmas

: Bath time!

: Johnny Jump Up!

: Trying on a sailor hat from when daddy was a baby

: Now the sailor hat looks cute, not ridiculous

: Playing with his feet

: Being loved on by Grandma Brenda

: Playing with Grandma Brenda

: Sleeping hugging his blankey

Blake reading to Ben

February 20, 2011 | Chantel

3 months!

February 20, 2011 | Chantel

He’s just over three months now. He’s definitely grown into himself. And he’s definitely teething! He’s drooling everywhere, chewing on everything, and you can kinda see the teeth coming. He’s starting to grow out of 3 month clothes but most 6 month clothes are too big, so his in a transition stage (just like mommy and her clothes!).

Milestones to date:

He’s holding his head up perfect, as well as his entire upper body. {
He rolls over from his stomach to his back.
He’s putting a lot of weight on his feet; in fact, he’s enjoying trying to stand more than anything.
He’s working on sitting up; he’s done the “tripod” thing where he leans forward while sitting and supports himself with his hands.
He can play by himself.
He responds to moving objects and sounds.

: It’s true, she does.

: Those are some strong upper body muscles for him only being 3 months!

: Just so happy

: Sexy pose! … that’s weird.

: No problem holding his head up!

: Happy monkey

: In the Johnny Jump Up thingy Grandma bought him

: Teething on the Johnny Jump Up thing Grandma got him

: Driving his car

: In his car thingy Grandma got him… he’s a little spoiled

Ben rolls over

February 11, 2011 | Chantel

12 Weeks

February 11, 2011 | Chantel

We’re all doing good here. Ben’s getting bigger and bigger – he’s now over 13 pounds. And he’s getting very expressive, laughing a lot and babbling. More and more fun really! He sleeps pretty good at night, but it depends on the night – some nights he can be really pukey or cranky.

Ben in the buff at 11 weeks

February 5, 2011 | Chantel

In trying to capture a photo to compare to the nakie Blakey photo in the previous post, we ended up with few of Ben’s hienie. Turns out, he likes being naked!