Five Months

This little ham of ours reached five whole months on the twenty third! We were tucked away in a cabin for Christmas so that's why this update is a few days behind. No doctors appointment this month, but just looking at those adorable little thunder thighs, we are assuming Mr. Calvin Wixom is doing just great in the growing department. 

Calvin is just filling our lives with more joy than we thought possible. We went in for his four month shots a little over two weeks ago (yes, a few weeks after his month appointment, but there was a problem with the immunizations), and Calvin was a doll. First the nurse had to give him a vaccine that was a gel he had to drink and it took him about 5 minutes to get it down because every time she stuck it in his mouth he would just start laughing so hard then the nurse, Robert and I would all start to crack up, which made Calvin start to laugh harder. After that vaccine came the shots. He let out a 10 second wail then started laughing again. It has definitely been my favorite memory of Calvin thus far. 

 Big news in the development area: Calvin (as of two days before he turned 5 months) started on solids! We tried waiting as close to six months as we could, but after doing to "ready marker tests" we decided he was ready! He would also have a melt down at the dinner table if we didn't let him have some of our food. So far he loves chewing on tomatoes, cucumber sticks, bread (his fathers son :) and he loves loves loves a sweet potato hummus my sister made for our Christmas Palooza (recipe coming up on Everyday Veggies in a month!) and some grilled squash my aunt gave him. We tried two different "baby" purees and he didn't really love them. He ate them, but more reluctantly. So, I am glad we are going with a more Baby Led Solids route.

 He sleeps partially unswaddled now....as in he starts off the night swaddled and by 7 am when he wakes up, his swaddler is on the other side of the crib. The other morning I woke up and turned on the monitor to check on calvin and found him tummy sleeping, cuddled up with his blanket and sucking his thumb. It was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. He also has this new thing where inorder for him to fall asleep we have to put one of his Aden and Anais blankets on top of his face so he can grab it and either rub it on his face or chew on it. Silly kid.

He is still eating every 4 hours, taking 2 2 hour naps a day and a 30 minute nap around 5:30 and then sleeping from 7:30/8 until 7 the next morning (except while the past week while we were at the cabin, but that was just a teething nightmare I never want to remember).  All I have to say is that boy definitely thrives on a routine. 

He has most surely gotten more smiley and interactive with people but is still very curious and has to touch everything. He is getting better at sitting up, but usually ends up practically folded in half and needs help sitting straight up again. He laughs whenever Robert talks to him in a British accent and whenever I sing "Sleepy Little Bunnies" to him. 

We just love this boy more and more each month and are excited to see what changes next month brings us!

Calvin's Blessing

At the end of October, when we went to Las Vegas, we had Calvin's baby blessing! We decided to go down to Las Vegas to save the hassle of over 25 people having to come up to Reno on our behalf. We had the blessing on Saturday morning at my parents house, paired with a nice luncheon and lots of family.

 First of all, can you even handle the adorableness in these pictures? The first picture is Darwin, and the one just above is Emerson. They are three weeks apart and I just can't even handle them. They are pretty darling.

A little post blessing relaxing. My nephew Ernie is 12, only a few years younger than Layne. It's a lot of fun to have him around. And he, obviously, likes to hang out with his awesome Aunties.

Later on in the evening my mom had a photographer come and take blessing pictures of Calvin, and then a "grandma & grandsons" photoshoot. She was blessed with 5 pretty incredible grandsons! 

The picture above is the only full size one I have received. My mom has the disc, so the pictures below are the poor quality/grainy pictures from online :/.

Calvin just stared the whole time, no smiles (as seen above). Once the photographer left and he was just hanging out, he was all smiles. Ham.

These are a few of my favorite things....

A few weeks after I had Calvin I had quite a few friends ask me what my favorite baby items were. Now that Calvin is getting older I definitely have my list down of my favorite products thus far. I am a pretty simple and not a frivolous person, and I really don't like have clutter in my house, so the last thing I wanted was a bunch of baby gear laying around! These are things I would suggest to anyone, and would spend my money on time and time again because they have been just that wonderful to have.

1.  Adain & Anais Swaddle blankets.

If you look on any baby suggestion list you will find these blankets, and for a good reason! They are big enough to use for a nursing cover, tummy time mat and car seat cover, durable enough to swaddle, breathable (so I feel comfortable putting them in the crib while Calvin sleeps), absorbent enough to use as a spit up cloth and light enough to throw into the diaper bad without taking too much room. Bonus, they are really soft and get softer with each wash.  (I was given Liam the Brave for my shower and they're pretty cute :)

2. Baby Bjorn Carrier One

This little gadget was actually one of Robert's only baby gear requests. He didn't want a sling/wrap because he didn't feel manly wearing it, and it's design isn't the greatest once the kiddo's get older.

 A few years ago your options were really only the Bjorn original or the Ergo. Each had it's drawbacks. The original you could only wear in the front with the baby towards you or away from you. The Ergo you could wear on the front with the baby facing towards you (not out, though), but you COULD wear it on your back. Wouldn't in be nice if they could just combine the two? Oh wait. They did. Right when we got pregnant.

We use this all the time. Robert prefers this over the stroller so he can use his hands. We use it on walks, little hikes, in stores, and airports (it makes walking through an airport a complete breeze!). Calvin also really, really likes it. I think this is his favorite piece of gear.

3. Video Monitor

I can't tell you how many people told me a video monitor was an unnecessary purchase. Now that I have one I will tell everyone time and time again how wonderful they are to have. Since we started putting Calvin in his own room when he was about 2 1/2 weeks old it was a wonderful tool or else I would have sat there and watched him during naps and night time (I was pretty paranoid for the first few weeks of his life). Calvin in a noisy sleeper and it's so nice to be able to peek into his room without going in there and him betting wound up because he sees me and wants out. Extra bonus, the last thing I want to do at 2 am is go into his room because I heard him quack to only find out he is still asleep, but just talking in his sleep.

I also can't tell you how many time I have turned on my monitor to find Calvin with his legs or arms between the slats and trying to roll in his sleep. I have been so grateful that I can just periodically check on him through the monitor to make sure he is safe and sound.  I went with the Summer Infant Monitor and have been very pleased! You can adjust/tilt/rotate with hand held portion of the monitor and it is wonderful!!

4. Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

This, folks, was a GAME CHANGER for us. I read the book while I was expecting and loved it. I bought the "Baby Whisperer Solves all Your Problems" as a companion book after Calvin was born and use it all the time. I am not really looking for a debate about Attachment Parenting vs. Structured Parenting, all I know is this has worked wonders for both us and Calvin. I know everyone is different and has their opinions, but we are a HUGE fan of this method. 

There isn't any unnecessary crying done by Calvin, I know what he needs when he does get fussy and he has been sleeping through the night for almost 2 months now. The basic idea is very similar to Baby Wise, but I liked it a tad bit more because rather than reverting to the Cry It Out method, she has suggestions to help baby learn how to sleep on their own without a prop (rocking, sucking, swinging, etc). It does take hard work, but it's worth every little minute of the hard nights and days early on. It's cheesy, but I do feel like I was finally able to give that baby of ours a gift of learning how to sleep. 

5. Nose Frida

Yes, I know exactly what you are thinking. "I suck the snot out of my child's nose? Claire, that is the NASTIEST". I thought the same exact thing when I first saw it. And then a month went by of Calvin's life and I felt like his runny nose kept getting worst and I never got anything out of it with the nose suction that they give you at the hospital. I finally decided to give it a whirl after I talked to a few people that had it. They all swore by it, and I do as well. Guys, it's the GREATEST. Super easy to use, very sanitary and I know I am actually clearing their nose out (because you can see it come out). 

So there you have it. my top 5 favorite pieces of baby gear. I could make the list a lot longer with the strollers, car seats, diapers, and all that jazz; but, I wanted a simple and concise list of my baby must haves to share with those that have asked!