8 Months

Elijah is close to being on the go. He is constantly wiggling and reaching for things when you hold him. It is getting pretty difficult to hold him because he is getting strong. When you put him down, so he will learn to crawl, he cries. I think he is just getting frustrated because he wants to be mobile and the only way he thinks he can be mobile is by being carried around. He does spend at least an hour a day in his pack and play sitting up or laying on his belly. He can pivot around on his belly. We try to spend time with him upstairs on the carpet everyday too. We tuck his legs under him but he just kicks them back out. He is getting pretty good at standing on our laps so maybe he will just skip crawling. Hopefully when it is nicer out we can put him outside on his blanket to encourage him to move around.

Elijah's vocabulary is increasing. He used to say dadadada, or hi dadada. Now he says ma. It is usually when he is whining and it more of a mmmmaaaaaaaaa, ma, mmmmmaaaaaa or mamama. He also yells at Delia and says a somewhat recognizable form of Delia. He doesn't have any teeth yet. He is getting pretty good at picking finger foods off his tray and putting them in his mouth and "chewing" them. They disolve so it doesn't really matter that he doesn't have any teeth. We are also trying to introduce him to the sippy cup. He mostly just plays with it or chews on the nipple.

Elijah is now wearing a "helmet" 23 hours a day to help his head form more symetrically. He doesn't seem to mind it. Nick and I are already noticing a difference. We are hoping he doesn't have to wear it for the 4 - 6 months that is the average time for a child to wear it. We get lots of comments from little kids and lots of stares from adults. I understand it is an unusual thing to see but some adults have no tact. Luckily we haven't gotten any mean comments. I probably wouldn't handle that to well. One little kid was so cute, he told his mom "that little boy looks like he is in outerspace". I miss the way Elijah looks without the helmet on. He gets lots of kisses and cuddles when it is off for the alotted 1 hour a day. It is hard to give him kisses when it is on. He will get his head measured again at the end of this week so we will be able to tell if the helmet truely is making a difference.

7 Months

Many new developments have occured in the last month. Elijah is now sitting up on his own. He likes to sit in his pack 'n' play and dance to the songs a little stuffed dog plays. Nick and I are going to be making a trip to babies r us and buying some baby song cd's. I am glad he enjoys music because Nick and I really do. He is also eating rice cereal two times a day. He has tried bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and peaches. He is not to fond of the peaches or the sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes was the first one we tried and he gaged a lot. I am going to try them again since he is used to eating that kind of baby food now. If he still gags then I know he really does not like sweet potatoes. He will eat the peaches but he makes a sour face with every bite. I, personally, think the peaches are kind of bitter.

Everyone comments on how happy Elijah is. He is such a content baby. He smiles and talks all the time. His smile just lights up the whole room. He is now learning how to stick his tongue out and blow rasperries. It is cute unless he is doing it when you are trying to feed him. I have gotten a nice faceful of squash. I try not to smile but he is so proud of his new talent that I can't help it. I hope I am not encouraging him to spit his food out. He is also starting to scream to get us to look at him. He normally does this when he is in his highchair and we are trying to make dinner. Nick and I are trying to ignore this behaviour. He is just so ear piercing.

Elijah's new favorite pass time is swimming. He has only gone twice but he really had fun both times. I am just waiting for the time we put him in the water and he freaks out. We got him a very cute Speedo swim suit. It has a built in diaper so we don't have to buy those swimmer diapers. I am looking forward to the summer, he will be in the pool a lot. We have a little baby pool that we will set up in the backyard. Hopefully Delia will stay out of it. She has never been to fond of the water. We are hoping to get to Midland, The Ranch, and Traverse City this summer. That will provide lots of water time.

Elijah had a doctors appointment yesterday. He is almost 20 pounds. He is getting so big. They took x-rays of his skull to try to figure out why it is a little mishappen. The PA said the x-rays look normal and that is a good sign. We are taking him to Hangar, a prosthetics and orthotics place, today to get more extensive analysis. The PA said they may analyze his skull today and then have us come back in a couple weeks to see if it has changed any. They will also determine if Elijah is a candidate for a helmet. I will be so glad when his head is normal and this is all done. It really is a minor medical thing compared to what some families have to go through it will just be a relief to have it taken care of.