Milo | 8 Months

Well Milo Benny... here we are. Another month later. You continue to change so very much month to month. I am constantly surprised by you.

Milo is around 20 or 21 lbs now. Still guessing he's about 27 inches, but I could be wrong. He is a constant mover. Getting these pictures was so painfully difficult, you have no idea. He crawls on his hands and knees every where now. None of that army crawl stuff anymore. And he's so fast. He's also been really into climbing lately. Pulling himself up on everything, standing there for as long as he can possibly handle it before toppling over it and (usually) hitting his head on something. That's pretty much my whole life now. Nothing is safe anymore. Andrew and I have been talking about buying him a playpen, because we really don't have a ton of space in our house to put things, so it's been a challenge to baby proof. But Milo is just so fast and strong and determined to get what he wants. He learned how to crawl up on our lovesac and sometimes I'll find him just chillin' in there, chewing on the remote or my phone. Those are his two favorite toys as of late. Basically give him anything that's not an actual baby toy and he will love it. Especially if it can kill him. 

Milo is mostly formula fed now. It makes me a little sad because I loved breastfeeding him. It's just something that has gotten really hard to continue since I've been at school full time. He's just so used to taking a bottle while I'm gone and now he has zero attention span or patience for breastfeeding. But I feel really good about the fact that I did basically exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. I do hope that I'll be able to breastfeed my future kids longer though, since I won't be in school and therefore have no real excuse not to.  I will say, it's nice to have a break from the food thing however. Just stick a bottle in his mouth and get a little 5 minute break from life... that is a very nice thing :)

Speaking of food, Milo continues to eat just about everything. He loves any and all fruits. Especially bananas, apples, peaches, pears, and mango. He's a bit picky with the veggies. Nothing green will get past his mouth. (Looking forward to that when he's 4...) He does however love carrots, sweet potatoes, corn and mixed veggies. We also started trying some meats this past month. He loves apples with chicken and sweet potatoes with chicken. His favorite snacks are banana puffs, yogurt bites, and whatever he can swipe from my plate. We went to Tucanos on Halloween for Andrew's birthday and he managed to snag a fistful of mashed potatoes. :)

Milo has two teeth now! The first one took aaaaages to pop through, but the second one came in literally overnight and I couldn't believe it. He's got the cutest little grin now. 

He's still sleeping about 11 hours a night, although in the past week or so he's started waking up hungry around 4 am. So I usually make him a bottle and then he'll go back to sleep again until 7ish. And don't get me started on daylight savings. Ugh.

Our favorite games lately are pat a cake, if you're happy and you know it, peek a boo, and especially the wheels on the bus. The other day I started singing the wheels on the bus, except I would sing it with animal noises. "The puppies on the bus go woof woof woof..." Milo LOVED IT. That kid loves animal noises so much. He laughs so hard whenever I meow or quack or bark. I don't know what's so funny about it, but he could seriously laugh at animal noises allllll day.

Milo has gotten a bit more clingy this month. He doesn't cry when I leave him or anything too extreme, but whenever I'm in the room he always crawls over to me and climbs into my lap. He says "mama" and "dada" allllllll the time. For awhile I didn't think he really associated it with us, but I'm almost positive he knows I'm mama now. He uses it whenever he's sad and wants to be picked up, or when he's just woken up from a nap. It basically makes my heart melt every single time. 

He continues to be exceptionally sweet. He rarely cries, he is easy to please, and he smiles at just about everyone. I can't believe I've had him for an entire eight months. Time sure flies with these little guys.

34/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

Last Halloween I was pregnant with Milo and we had just barely found out that I was going to have a boy. I decided then that his first costume was going to be Charlie Brown. Andrew's dad called him Charlie Brown so it's kind of an homage to him. But also, Charlie Brown is just the cutest. And Milo did not disappoint. :)

to see other 52 project entries, click here

33/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

his favorite place in the house; the place where he gets the foodz

to see other 52 project entries, click here

32/52

A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

Sleepy dude after a 12 hour road trip to California, and those beautiful baby blues <3

to see other 52 project entries, click here

28/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

I am painfully excited for winter weather with this cute baby and his hat/sweater collection.

to see other 52 project entries, click here

26/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

handsome like daddy, indeeeeeed.

to see other 52 project entries, click here

Milo | 6 Months

Milo has been around for HALF A YEAR, YOU GUYS. I can't believe it. This has honestly been the fastest and happiest six months of my life.  He grows so much every day and it is so much fun to watch it happen. 

We went to his 6 month check-up and couldn't believe that he was only 18 lbs! All along we've been thinking he was about 20. He's 27 inches long and he still has a teeny tiny head. He's in about the 75% for weight and height, but his head is only in the 35%. 

The biggest thing that's changed this month is Milo's mobility. He can't crawl yet, but still finds a way to get from one end of the room to the other in a matter of minutes. He rolls all over the place, and has figured out how to spin himself in a circle so he can roll any direction he pleases. Let the baby proofing begin! He's so content to play on the floor with his toys and the only time he gets really upset is when a toy is just out of reach and he can't figure out how to get to it. He wants to crawl so badly but just can't figure it out, poor thing. He's getting so close to army crawling and I'm sure as soon as he figures that out, he'll never stop moving. 

Milo also learned to sit up this month! I noticed about a week and a half ago that he was sitting pretty much unassisted on my lap, so I plopped him down on the floor and he sat there for a few minutes before toppling over in search of a toy. He loves sitting up, especially when he's playing, so that's how he spends a good majority of his time nowadays until he falls over, and then it's back to rolling all over the place. 

Milo talks allll the time. He usually gargles and purrs and he loves blowing bubbles. He's been trying to say "Mama" lately. He'll study my mouth while I'm saying it, and then try to move his mouth in the same way- but he can't quite figure out how to make sound happen at the same time. He loves sitting on our front porch and watching the cars go by and he loves going on walks in his stroller. He's such an observant baby and is always looking around and taking stuff in. Also, I think Milo finally recognizes his name when I call it, but a lot of times he's too distracted to respond (either that or he's ignoring me...) 

This month we sleep trained! It was glorious. Milo has never been a bad sleeper, but after his 4 month sleep regression he picked up a few bad habits- the worst being that he had to be nursed to sleep, which is especially annoying at 2 am. He would wake up and I knew he wasn't hungry, he just couldn't fall back to sleep on his own. So I decided do sleep train. I started him on a bedtime routine: nursing, 3 stories, 1 song, and into his crib with the white noise machine on. The first night I went in after 5 minutes and calmed him down, and then again after 10 minutes and after that he was out for the night. The next night he cried for about 5 minutes and was asleep and it's been that way ever since, for the most part. On occasion when he's woken up for nighttime feedings I always wait 5 minutes before going to him and usually he'll fall back asleep in that time. If not, I'll give him his pacifier and rub his back and then wait another 5 minutes. It's been about 3 weeks since I started sleep training and now he sleeps from straight through from 8 pm - 8 am, usually. He takes 3 naps every day around 10, 2, and 5.  They usually last about an hour and a half. Honestly, when it comes to sleeping, he is a dream baby and now that I've weaned him off night feedings he's sleeping a lot better during the day and wakes up a lot happier. So.. SUCCESS!

As far as solids go, Milo's tried all the basics- and then some. His favorites include: apples, bananas, pears, peaches, carrots, and rice cereal. He tolerates chicken and rice, sweet potato, and squash. He hates green beans and peas. He likes attempting to drink out of water bottles and cups, but it usually doesn't go so well. He loves sucking on ice cubs. Oh, and he may or may not have gone crazy over my ice cream cone at Chik Fil A the other day. I mean... crazy. Like... threw a full-blown tempter tantrum when it was all gone. Definitely taking after his daddy there. I'm pretty easy-going when it comes to trying new foods. I'll pretty much let him gnaw on anything that he can't choke on. He got quite a thrill turning my fortune cookie into a big soggy mess the other day. The kid loves food, you guys.

He still loves his lion, things that crinkle, things that make noise, and things that roll. He looooves books and chewing on them, and sitting in my lap while I read to him. He loves looking at all the pictures and touching every page. He'll play with anything he can get his hands on, which unfortunately includes power cords. Ugh. Baby proofing, indeed. 

I am seriously so lucky to have a first baby like Milo. I remember being so terrified before he was born that he would cry all the time and be really fussy and that has never ever been the case. He's the healthiest happiest little boy and the past six months of being his mom has been the biggest blessing in my life. I couldn't love him more (yet somehow, I think I'm going to).

25/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

the results of a kid who wants to eat my camera

to see other 52 project entries, click here

23/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

lately we spend most of our days rolling around on the floor and desperately trying to army crawl. today i tried to fit him in some 3 months jammies before i realized i have a (rather large) 5 month old on my hands. seriously, where does the time go??? i think i love every stage more than the last.

to see other 52 project entries, click here

to my firstborn, while you are still an only child

My little one,

At some point in your life we will welcome a tiny new baby into our lives and you will become a big brother. It's hard for me to imagine you as someday being the older, bigger, braver brother in this house because right now you are so small and helpless. But someday you will become a big brother and someday you will be the head of this household whenever your father is away.  

It's impossible for me to imagine a world in which you are not the sole focus. It's so difficult to imagine another baby of mine who is so similar to you, but so so different too. To me you are everything in this world and it's hard to imagine sharing that space with someone else. 

It's also impossible for me to imagine a world in which you are not a big brother. The thought of only having one child has never even crossed my mind. Your sweet spirit and goofy personality is one that your siblings will grow to love and look up to. Growing up I wished all the time for a big brother, and now I think of my future daughter (we hope) and how lucky she will be to have you in her life. 

Little one, at some point in your life you will be sad and I will not come running like I do now. I will be in the middle of feeding another new baby or wiping someone else's tears and you might feel neglected or even jealous of these new little ones. But I promise that you have nothing to worry about. Before all these other little ones came it was just you and me and everything I did and worked for was just for you. That is something that we will never share with anyone else. Your siblings will never know a world without you, but I will. I will always remember the way you entered my life and forever changed it. You will always be my firstborn, my little one, the first tiny baby to capture my heart. 

love, mom

Milo | 5 Months

Once again, I don't even know where to begin. He just changes so much every single day. Here's the basics: he's roughly 20 lbs, 24-25 inches?, wearing 6-9 month clothing, and size 3 diapers. 

So this past month was actually one of the hardest yet. That four month sleep regression everyone talks about is a real and terrible thing. The day he turned 4 months, right on cue, he started getting really fussy during the day, would only nap for 20 minutes or so, and he started waking up in the middle of the night (!!!) This was super frustrating for me because Milo has been sleeping 10-12 hours every night since he was 5 weeks old, so for him to all the sudden be waking up every 3-4 hours was just brutal. On top of that, when he would wake up I'd feed him and rock him back to sleep and the the second I put him down he would wake up and start kicking and giggling. Infuriating, I tell you. But finally, on July 22, Milo rolled over for the first time! And that night he slept for 12 hours and took a 2 hour nap the next day. So I guess his brain was just going crazy trying to learn how to roll over that it just wouldn't shut off when it was time to sleep. We've had our ups and downs since then, but for the most part he's back to a fairly normal sleeping schedule, which I am most grateful for. :)

In addition to the sleep issues, he also started having some gnarly teething pain. He was crying and chewing on e v e r y t h i n g and gnawing my fingers until they were covered in bruises. We bought some baby tylenol, orajel, and teething rings and that has helped a ton. We haven't seen any teeth yet but I wouldn't be surprised if some popped through in the next month or two!

Like I said, he rolled over for the first time! He can only roll from back to front on his right side, but he's working on front to back. The only problem is that Milo haaaates tummy time with a burning passion, but he loves rolling over. As a result I spend most of my day watching him roll over, waiting for him to start screaming, and them pushing him back to his back. It's a real party at the Streeter household, let me tell you.

Milo has become a much more efficient nurser lately. He used to nurse 20 minutes on each side and just take his sweeeet time, but now he does 5 minutes on each side and he's done and ready to play. He also gets so distracted when he's nursing now. He loves Andrew's voice and literally cannot concentrate on eating at all if Andrew is talking. Similarly, anytime music comes on he smiles so big and pauses just to listen to it. It's my favorite. 

Milo discovered his feet this month and loves grabbing them, talking to them, and shoving them in his mouth. He loves his frog pacifier (as usual) his lion, and his duck (chicken? we don't know) rattle. Lately he's been reaching out and grabbing everything. Hair, glasses, shirts, the food off my plate...He's shown such a huge interest in the food we eat lately. Anytime there's food out he stares at it and watches me bring it from the plate to my mouth. I decided to try and give him a little applesauce yesterday, since we had some, and he went nuuuuuuts. At first he wasn't sure what to think but before long as soon as he saw the spoon he would reach for it, grab it, and pull it towards his mouth where he proceeded to slurp it clean. I was worried about giving him solids before 6 months but he did really well with the applesauce so maybe I'll go out and get some more for him. 

He looooves to play and be tickled and to dance to music. When he laughs really hard he'll close his eyes and shrug his shoulders up to his cheeks and kick his legs. It's the cutest thing, really. He loves to talk and he loves having his head rubbed. He loves to watch Baby Genius on Netflix, especially the Carnival of the Animals one, which I think is interesting because I played that in symphony when I was pregnant with him. He loves being read to and sung to. Nothing makes him fall asleep faster than his daddy singing Fleet Foxes to him. He loves to play airplane, blowing bubbles, and staring at himself in the mirror. He gets sweeter and cuter every single day. I can't believe he's going to be half a year old next month! Where does the time go??????

21/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

milo learned how to roll over, and he is absolutely thrilled with himself

via my iphone

to see other 52 project entries, click here

19/52

"A portrait of Milo once a week, every week, for his first year"

milo and his favorite pals.

to see other 52 project entries, click here

milo's birth story | livetweet edition

Yeah you read that right. The birth of Milo as told through LIVETWEETS.

When we decided to livetweet his birth it was mostly just because we thought it would be fun/funny and most of our friends are on twitter and we wanted to keep them in the loop of what was going on. But looking back on it now, I seriously love the fact that we did it. I think I want to do it for all my kids. It is such an accurate representation of that day and all the thoughts that were going through our heads and the build up that is having a baby. There was just so much going on that day (easily the most overwhelming day of my life) that it's nice to look back and remember everything that happened.
So without further ado, I bring you...

The Birth of Milo Benjamin Streeter: Livetweet Edition

(^tweet of the year. milo was born on ash wednesday)

And we lived happily ever after.