Six Months and Family Updates

I used to be so good at this blogging thing, but not so much lately!

Fall is finally here in Texas as the weather has now dropped to the 70's. We have been getting thunderstorms for over a week now, so lots of rain as usual! For Halloween (thankfully no rain that night), Gabe and I handed out candy while Gary took Alex trick-or-treating for his first time! He had a blast. Of course, after his pumpkin filled up, Gary just had to whip out a garbage bag for more candy. Um, he got A LOT. Thankfully, Gary took a ton of it to work to spread among his co-workers (or himself, I don't know), so I didn't eat a whole lot. Okay, I did. But, well, not THAT much. Maybe. Anyway, our neighborhood was huge on Halloween. I noticed a lot of the neighbors actually sat on their porch and/or driveway instead of being inside for people to knock on the door. Gary said he did knock on a few doors, but mostly everyone was out. So, I followed the tradition and Gabe and I sat outside in the nice weather to hand out candy. That's friendly Texas for you.

"Helping" me hand out candy. More like being cute to attract more people!

Little Ninja Turtle

There was a regional LWB (Ladies with Babies) Halloween party, so this is where we're at!

This kid melts me

My cute Leonardo!

Besides Halloween and the 1,000 festivities that went on around here, we have been enjoying this time of year. I have been teaching piano in our home during the evenings when Gary is home. I don't go later than 7:15, so at I have time to get the boys into bed. It actually works out great because Gary takes the boys into their bedrooms and plays with them. Alex LOVES having that time with his dad. It's a great way for him to spend time with the boys and he's loving it. I'm also loving teaching as well. I had always wanted to teach piano from home, but I just needed the home part. Teaching from a keyboard in an apartment just didn't seem to appeal to me. Plus, with the small space, there would've been nowhere for the boys to go.  But this works out really well.

Well, a milestone has been reached here too! Gabe turned 6 months old! I'm still in disbelief this year has been FLYING by. Alex's first year felt like foreeeverrr. Probably because I was new to everything. Plus, I went from working full-time to staying at home, AND I felt more isolated. That was kind of a hard year for me. I didn't really have a close connection of friends/moms in the area, so I spent a lot of time at home. When Alex got a little older, we were able to go out more and it really starting getting easier close to a year old. But this time around, I have such a big connection of friends and support; plus, having a 2 year old makes the days go by pretty quickly with the baby.

6 Months!

Pretty much how the crib sleeping is!

Scooting around after his toys!

So, about Gabe. Two weeks ago he fell off the growth chart. He went from the 20th percentile to completely off. We had already doubled our supplementation, but now we had to triple. I still really am not certain why he's never been able to get enough milk from me, but my primary goal was to get him to gain weight, even if it meant even more formula. He had another weight check yesterday (2 week gap), and he gained an entire pound. So we're finally getting back on track. I nurse him first for about 10 minutes, then give him a bottle until he's filled up, which is about 5 ounces. I felt a little bummed at first, but reminded myself it doesn't always have to be all or nothing. According to my lactation consultant, it could be possible my supply is fine, but he may have low muscle tone in his face. He still leaks from a bottle, and he's on level 1 nipples, so it's entirely possible. I'm going to have him evaluated by a specialist to see if there's anything we need to do. Otherwise, it's likely it is my supply after all and my hypothyroidism is very likely behind it (studies show that even treated hypothyroidism leads to low milk because we don't produce enough oxytocin).

Besides all that, he's doing great! He's all smiles and LOVES to play. He sleeps 12 hours at night and naps 1-2 times each day, depending on what's going on in the mornings. He can scoot forward with his knees, but no sign of crawling or sitting up just yet. He's not super early like his brother was!

Anyway, Alex's checkup is in a few weeks, so we'll see how he's doing from there! Alex talks SO MUCH. I mean, a lot. Like, seriously kid, give it a break. But I love it. The only headache-worthy stuff is when he wants me to repeat things. He will not quit until I repeat what he says, no matter what or where I am. But he knows his ABC's, colors, shapes, letters, and can count to 40. He sings a lot, and drags his Cookie Monster around everywhere like it's his "baby". Feeds him, grooms him, runs with him, you name it. Love this fun kid.

Helping mommy exercise! Well, Cookie Monster is exercising too. 

Okay, time to end this. Until next time!