Tristan through 6 months

Tristan on the day he was born

Tristan at 1 month old

Tristan at 2 months old

Tristan at 3 months old

Tristan at 4 months old

Tristan at 5 months old

Tristan at 6 months old

The Tristan Report - 6 Months

It's that time again! Here's the 6 month Tristan Report.

Tristan is 20 lbs, 14 oz. He's 28 inches long. And his head is 18.2 inches around. All of these are above the 93rd percentile. He's in 12 and mostly 18 month size clothes. He's still in the medium prefold diapers, which are supposed to fit through 30 lbs, hopefully they're right!

Tristan is starting to eat solids. On his 1/2 birthday, I gave him oatmeal made with breast milk. He didn't seem to know what to make of it. He seemed puzzled, and sat with his mouth open a lot. He did swallow some, and drooled some out too. And he played with it with his hands. He also did this weird shuddering thing a couple of times. But he didn't outright reject it. So, it's a start. The next month should be interesting.

Tristan is sitting in his high chair at the table. He sits there to eat his solid foods, but also to join E and me for our meals. He needs some help sitting, I have to stuff towels in around him to keep him upright. But he seems to enjoy being there.

Tristan's First Meal & First Time in the High Chair

Tristan is taking baths in the big bath tub. The little tub was just too little. The big tub seems huge of course. But, he seems to like it, playing with his rubber ducky and smiling. He especially likes splashing the water around with his feet.

Tristan has never slept in the car unless it's nap time. He usually amuses himself playing with a toy or looking out the window. And now that it gets dark at 5pm, we have discovered that he doesn't like riding in the car after it gets dark. He starts crying as soon as we get in the car and the overhead light goes off. And he doesn't stop until we turn the light back on for him. So I'm working on figuring out a way to give Tristan his own light that doesn't interfere with driving.

And lastly, Tristan gives me kisses, usually after I've just given him kisses. He leans forward and touches my cheek with his open mouth. It's pretty cute.

The Tristan Report - 5 3/4 Months

So, I'm a bit late in giving the 5 month report. But that's OK, we'll do the 5 and 3/4 month report.

Tristan can roll over now! On 10/18, he rolled for the first time. I had him on his play mat in the kitchen with me while I made dinner. I looked over, and he was on his tummy. I rolled him back onto his back, and he rolled over again. So now he can get from his back to his tummy, and does so every chance he gets. Especially when he's just finished eating, and rolling on his tummy is going to make him spit up. We have a new game: after he eats, I put him down and he rolls onto his tummy, then I roll him onto his back. And repeat! He's working on figuring out how to roll from his tummy to his back, he can get his hips and legs started, but his arms keep getting in the way of actually rolling over. For now, when he's tired of being on his tummy, and frustrated trying to roll to his back, he starts crying and I show him how to roll over again. I think he'll get it soon.

Tristan is somewhat mobile. When he's on his tummy, he scoots himself places. Not too far yet, but he can get to his toys that are scattered on the floor around him, given enough time.

Tristan gets bored with things. Especially walks in the stroller. Sigh. We've gone for some walks where about a mile out he decides he's had enough and starts crying. If I stop and pay attention to him, he smiles and is happy again. So, yes, he's bored with the walk. So far I've managed to stop him from crying by giving him a new toy to play with (thank goodness I brought the diaper bag!), and by going on shorter walks. Unfortunately, his lack of sleeping extends to the stroller, so I can't count on him taking a nap to keep him occupied.

Speaking of sleeping, Tristan is sometimes taking longer naps of 1.5 to 2 hours at a time. Woo Hoo! He doesn't do it every day, but it's frequent enough that I feel like I have some time to do stuff. So the house is not quite the disaster area it has been over the past few months, and E occasionally has dinner waiting for him when he comes home.

Tristan is imitating us. On 10/10/10 we were coming home from a friends wedding, and stopped to feed Tristan. We'd been in the car for a while, so after we changed him, we played for a few minutes. I had him standing on my lap, and vibrated my lips while making a bub-bub sound. Tristan looked at me, and then started trying to do the same! It was so very cute! He could make the bub-bub sound, or blow air, and was trying really hard to do them together. He still hasn't figured it out, but tries all the time now.

Tristan is starting to try different foods. We haven't gotten him on a normal eating schedule yet, that will come soon. But for now, when I have something I'm eating, and he seems interested, and it's baby friendly, I'm giving him tiny samples. He's had butternut squash and apples so far. He makes faces when I put the food in his mouth, but then swallows it, so I think he likes it.

Tristan is mister distracto-baby. He's so interested in what's going on around him (good!), that he will stop eating to check out a sound or even just to see if something has happened while he wasn't looking (makes feeding him take longer, not so good). It's really neat to see him exploring the world around him, and to see what makes him smile and laugh. It also means he's interested in books now, as long as they're colorful. The story holds his attention for a bit too, he looks at me as I read it to him, then looks at the book as I point out things that go along with the story.

Tristan is starting to cry when strange people (aka, not me or E) talk to him and he's tired. If he's about ready for a nap or to go to bed and someone talks to him, he starts crying, even if E or I are holding him. So we now know not to hand him off to a new person if he's tired. On the positive side, as long as the 'new' person has been around while he wasn't tired, then he's OK with them holding him when he's tired. I guess it's just that 'I haven's seen you before and no, I don't want you to hold me!' stage.

Tristan is now in 12 and 18 month clothes. He's been in them for a while, I'm thinking right around the 5 month mark was when we made the switch. There are two 9 month items that still fit him, barely, and they're so cute we're still using them. But otherwise, he's fully in the larger clothes. Some of the 12 month clothes are actually starting to barely fit. He's definitely a growing boy! I didn't get to the doctors scale this month, so I'm not sure what he weighs, but he is a heavy boy. We'll see what he comes in at during the 6 month appointment in a couple of weeks.


Tristan is playing in his ExerSaucer. I brought it in the house and set it up and his first time in it he was turning himself around and playing (well, trying to eat) with the different toys. He seems to really like it. And with it set to the shortest position, he can easily touch the base. So I guess he really was ready for it. In an effort to have some space in the living room for us too, we disassembled the swing and put that in storage. He never really seemed that interested in it, maybe the next kid will like it.

And that's it, that's all I can think of that happened in the last month and 3/4.

The Tristan Report - Prior to 4 Months

So, I've decided to compile a list of Tristan's firsts prior to 4 months. So, without further ado...


May 8 - Tristan is born!
May 9 (Mother's Day) - Tristan meets Grammy and Grandpi Thomas
May 10 - Tristan comes home and freaks out the kitties
May 15 - Tristan meets Grandpa Downing and Grandma Debi
May 21 - Tristan's first cold, and a visit to the pediatrician
May 26 - Tristan visits Grammy and Grandpi Thomas
May 28 - Tristan starts wearing newborn size cloth diapers
May 29 - Tristan is the youngest guest at our friends E & N's wedding
May 31 - Tristan meets his Great Grandma Downing
June 4 - Tristan meets Grandmamasita Phoenix who's come to visit for a couple of weeks from New Mexico
June 7 - Tristan meets Auntie S

June 8 - Tristan is 1 month old!
June 8 - 1 month pediatrician appointment, 11 pounds, 2 oz, 22 3/4 inches
June 13 - I have my first Guinness in over 10 months, yum!
June 15 - Tristan stays home with Grandmamasita while E and I go out to dinner
June ?? - Tristan swims in the pool
July 2 - Tristan and my first circus!
July 4 - Tristan and Daddy have a play date with N, while I go to the movies with E
July 5 - Tristan starts wearing small size prefold cloth diapers

July 8 - Tristan is 2 months old!
July 12 - I have mastitis, complete with fever, and I throw my back out, ugh
July 12 - 2 month pediatrician appointment, 15 pounds, 10 oz, 24 inches
July 15 - Tristan is really talking (baby talk anyway)
July 18 - Tristan sleeps through the night for the first time, 9:15pm-4:15am
July 20 - I give my 3 weeks notice, soon to be a SAHM!
July 21 - Our first visit to the mommies group at Leominster Hospital
July 22 - Tristan and I visit work so everybody can meet Tristan, and to say goodbye
July 30 - Tristan starts sleeping through the night on a regular basis, approximately 9pm-6am every day

August 8 - Tristan is 3 months old!
August 9 - I'm officially a SAHM now!
August 12 - First play date with our new friends M and S, whom we met at the mommies group
August 14 - First overnight trip and Tristan meets his twin cousins A and J
August 15 - Hulka family reunion, where Tristan meets all of his Great Great Aunts and second (and third and forth) cousins
August 17 - Tristan's first night in his crib
August 20 - First weekend trip, staying 2 nights at the island with N and E
August 25 - We attend E's company outing in the rain, but manage to stay dry
August 28 - Tristan stays home with Grammy and Grandpi Thomas while E and I go out on a date
September 5 - Grandpa Downing and Grandma Debi come to visit after returning home from 2 months in Alaska

September 8 - Tristan's 4 months old!

So, that, in a nut shell, is Tristan's first 4 months.

The Tristan Report - 4 months

I realized the other day that I couldn't remember when it was that Tristan was first standing on our laps. Or exactly when he first smiled (though I did write that one down in his baby book). So I decided to put some of what Tristan can do as of his 4 month birthday here for all to enjoy. Perhaps I should have been doing this all along, and perhaps I'll continue it at least monthly after this. We'll see.

Tristan is smiling a lot now. When I get him after a nap. When he see's E for the first time upon his arrival home. At some people, especially one of the mommies in my Wednesday mommies group. He's such a flirt!

Tristan has been really looking at everything. When we go on walks, he watches the trees go by. When we play on the floor, he looks at the pictures on the quilt I put on the floor. (Side note, it's my baby quilt. Which is blue. My mom really did think I was going to be a boy.) He examines the cloth pattern on the couch. He likes the shadows cast by the early morning light. The crane mobile I hung above his changing table is fascinating, from the crib or table.

Tristan can sit up by himself for a few seconds. I help him sit up, then he balances there for a few seconds, until he slowly leans to one side. He seems to like it. It doesn't happen every time he sits up (often he's trying to suck on my hand and can't be bothered with balancing), but it's happened multiple times.

Tristan is napping. Really napping. For more than 30 minutes. It's a new feat, it only started 4 days ago, so it might be a fluke. But suddenly I see how SAHMs can get things done during the day. I'm crossing my fingers it continues!

On his 4 month birthday, Tristan moved into the medium size prefold diapers and 6-9 month clothes. He's getting to be a very big boy, 18 lbs, 7 oz, and 26.5 inches long! I'm actually finding that the 9-12 month old onsies fit him pretty well, with only a little bit of extra length.

Tristan is laughing. Mostly when E acts like a monkey (see the video we posted on facebook). But also when we tickle him. We discovered how ticklish he is when taking off his shirt one night. Now he gets intentional daily/nightly tickles! His laugh is so cute!

Tristan is drooling. A lot. He doesn't have any teeth buds that I or the pediatrician can detect. But if this is his 'normal' drool, I don't want to know what it's going to be like when he is teething. He's already soaking at least 4 burp cloths (and my shirt) every day. And he drools more when he's standing on our laps. Which means he drools A LOT!

Tristan is talking. He babbles in the morning when he's ready to get up for the day (Mom, come get me and feed me, OK? Mom? Mom, get up!) And he babbles when he's done with his breakfast (Wow, that was yummy! But no, I don't want any more. A burp and a diaper change would be good though.) And he does his tongue exercises, where he sticks out his tongue and tries different sounds while wiggling it. It's pretty cute.

Tristan has not yest mastered rolling, but he's on his way. He can get from his back to his side, and especially likes to do this when he's done eating. Which means I get to play 'catch Tristan', because one second he's eating, and the next he launches himself from his side to his back to his other side, and starts rolling off my lap.

Tristan is able to lift his head and look around when he's on his tummy. He hasn't figured out the coordination to lift his head while pushing with his legs yet, but every day he's closer. It was just a week ago that he couldn't push up with his arms, and he started doing that a few days ago. You can see how much he REALLY wants to crawl, so he can get things more easily!

Tristan has started passing things from one hand to another. For a while, it seemed he might be a lefty, because he was grabbing and manipulating things with his left hand. But now his right hand has caught up. And he's grabbing with both. And passing things back and forth. So now I'm not sure, we'll have to wait and see which hand becomes more dominant.

That's all I can think of now. I'll try to keep this up, and maybe go back and blog about some earlier feats. Stay tuned!

Night Terrors

Tristan has bad dreams. Already. He starts crying in his sleep. It doesn't wake him up, he just cries for a few seconds, a few times in a row, and then is back to sleeping quietly.

It's happened a few days in a row. A couple of nights ago, at 1:30 in the morning, he started crying. It was the first time it happened in the middle of the night, and I thought it was something else. But no, he was still asleep. Last night it occurred just after we'd put him down for the night.

It makes me wonder, what is it he is dreaming about that makes him so unhappy? There's no more milk? Pato's (his current favorite toy, a duck) rattle stopped working? That he's back in the cradle and can't move his arms? We'll never know...

Breastfeeding in Public

Since I'm exclusively breastfeeding Tristan, there are times when I have to breastfeed in public. I have no problem with this. Except... I'm not sure how the public feels about me breastfeeding. So the few times I have been out in a very public place, I've tried to be discrete. And it ends up being more noticeable and less productive than the times I've been less discrete. Let me explain.

When I'm being less discrete, I hike up one side of my t-shirt, open my nursing bra, and let Tristan eat. Both of us have mastered this way of doing things. He latches right on, eats, and is done in a few minutes. No fuss, no muss. But, it's not very discrete. If someone were to look over, they might notice that I'm breastfeeding. They might see a bit of boob. Unless they're observant like E. But I jest.

When I'm being discrete, I take one of the swaddle blankets, and wrap it around Tristan and I. It makes it hard to see Tristan. And he has a hard time latching on. And I get aggravated trying to keep the blanket in place and nurse him at the same time. And EVERYBODY figures out I'm breastfeeding, and 'stays away' until I'm done. Which takes more time than the aforementioned less discrete method. And since everybody knows what I'm doing, I'm wondering about the 'discrete' aspect of this method.

So, you may ask, why do I try to hide behind the blanket and be discrete? Because I don't like confrontation. And I figure, if someone is uncomfortable with seeing me breastfeed, they'll be less uncomfortable knowing I'm doing it under the blanket. But then again, maybe not. In the words of Richard Feynman, what do I care what other people think? Apparently, I care just enough to be 'discrete' even though it's a hassle. For now. I may be convincing myself being 'less discrete' is better. We'll see. Maybe I should take to heart what one of my friends said: If you're uncomfortable with me breastfeeding, YOU put a blanket over YOUR head!

Any thoughts on the matter, oh friends of mine that read this? I'd be interested to learn what you think. Feel free to send me a private message if you'd like, or comment here.

What do you mean, why haven't I been blogging?

I've been blogging a lot. In my head. It seems that every time I think I have a minute or two to get the blogs out of my head and onto Magic Beans, Tristan decides he needs me. Such is the way things go for a new mom. So, instead of making those long blogs that I used to do, I'm going to try shorter versions. Then maybe you'll get to see them too!

Here's some of the things I've 'brain-blogged' over the past few months:

Tristan went on his first overnight trip to my Grandmother's family reunion. It was a long trip for him, 3 hours one way, and he let us know that more than 2 hours in the car is not fun. But the reunion was nice, and the great aunts and 2nd cousins all liked meeting Tristan.

Sleep is an amazing thing. Get enough, and I stay sane. Don't get enough and crazy things happen.

I'm a stay at home mom (SAHM) now. I resigned from my position as a tech writer at the beginning of August. I was surprised how sad it made me to do it, even though I made the decision to quit. Unexpected sadness, but it was definitely the right decision. I'm enjoying spending the time watching Tristan grow every day.

Being a SAHM is not what I thought it would be. My house is no more clean than it was when I was working 12 hour days at the office. I've figured out I get 15-30 minutes every 3 hours to do something. And, surprise, surprise, eating and sleeping take precedence over house work. But it's getting better, and I know that as Tristan gets older, his schedule will change and I'll have more time to do things.

I'm surprised at how I look forward to the weekends just as much now that I'm a SAHM as I did when I was in the office all week. Now it's for a different reason though. I love watching Tristan and E interacting. Of course, it's also nice to have E give me a break from taking care of Tristan too!

OK, guess who's looking for some attention? Hopefully, more short blogs will be coming soon!

Sleep Spurt

The best part about being a mom? Tristan! The worst part? Being a first time mom and not knowing. When Tristan was coming down with E's cold and was fussy from 5pm to midnight, was he getting sick, or was I missing something he was trying to tell me? When he spiked a fever over 100F, was it the cold or was he sick with something else? When he was having trouble breathing at night, was I right to not call the pediatrician and try to keep him propped up to sleep? All of these I now know the answer to, and think I'll be able to handle just fine next time. So the new unknown, the change in sleep patterns.

For the past 3 days, Tristan has gone from sleeping for an hour or two during the day between feedings, to three to four hours. Doesn't seem like a big difference, except when you realize it's double what it was. So, is this sleep spurt a growth spurt? I think so, and that's why I'm not worried. But it is a little nerve wracking. Part of me wonders if maybe something else is up, if something's wrong. But he's eating, and making messy diapers, and seems content sleeping, so it must be fine. Right?

The Tristan Diet

It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since Tristan was born. I weighed myself today and discovered that I've lost 24 lbs. I'm now just about at pre-pregnancy weight. I'm a bit surprised! I've been eating lots (just ask E, he cooks for me most of the time these days) and I'm losing weight fast. Over the last week I lost 5 lbs. I feel great, so I'm not too worried. I just hope that the midwives don't yell at me when I go in for my 6 week appointment!

A New Addition

On May 8, E and I welcomed a new addition to our family. Tristan Leon was born at 1:18pm. He was 8 lbs, 5 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.


Isn't he a cutie!

Stay tuned for the birth story, coming as soon as I get enough time to blog about it.

Holy cow, it's been how long since I last blogged?

I'm a bad blogger. I realized that I haven't posted since February. Since February! And to be honest, I wouldn't even have realized that if someone hadn't remarked on that post yesterday.

So, what's been going on, you ask? Well, not a lot, and a lot. I'm still pregnant (33 weeks, 4 days), getting more and more excited about our son coming into this world soon. And of course, being almost 8 months pregnant means my belly is getting huge. And I can' do as much as I used to. I'm still forgetting that I'm pregnant, and trying to do everything like I did before. Usually something reminds me - bumping my belly as I try to fit through a (now) too small space, trying to bend over and finding I can't touch my toes (let alone see them), Getting completely worn out raking a small flower bed... The plus side, I'm finding I spend a lot of time reading these days, which is so very enjoyable!

Ah, yes, back to what's been going on. Since February, I've been working like a mad-woman trying to finish up stuff at work so I don't leave my coworkers hanging when TLO comes. Well, working like a pregnant mad-woman. I don't seem to have the energy for 10+ hour days anymore.

E and I have also been spending time prepping the nursery. We cleared out my office by sorting, consolidating, putting things up for sale, and moving the rest of it into what was the guest room/E's office. Now it's the guest room/E's office/my office/library. Sounds a lot more crowded than it is. Once we got my old office cleared out, E and his dad set to work painting it. Now it's a lovely 'pale moss' green. E also painted the trim, it looks pretty sharp! And now we're starting to put stuff in it. Last night we assembled the crib. It's really starting to look like a nursery!


At the end of February, we celebrated my annual 29th birthday by going with friends to the Border Cafe. That same day, a friend of ours had a woodworking accident. He gave all of us a scare, nobody more than his wife I imagine. He was very lucky, and we're all thankful for that!

My sister also came for a visit with her significant other and his twin twelve year old boys, and we all went down to the New England Aquarium for a day. They've done some work at the aquarium since I last went about 10 years ago. It was a fun day.

Lately, we've been doing spring things, raking the yard (see my earlier comment about not being able to do as much), washing the screens and putting them back in the windows, getting the deck furniture out, the usual.

So, that's what I've been up to. I'll try to be a better blogger this spring. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Frustration Factor

Today was a frustrating day at work. One of my coworkers, who is usually a nice guy, has a stubborn streak. Not a huge deal most of the time, but when you're trying to come to a consensus, and rather than discussing the issue all you get is stonewalling, it makes for a very frustrating day.

Days like today make me glad that the little one is coming. That I'll be on maternity leave, and not have to deal with days like today.

Thoughts like this remind me of something that a friend who worked in HR once said. Make sure when you're leaving, you're going to, not running from. In this case, I'd like to think I'm going to. But sometimes it also feels like I'm running from. And maybe that's OK.